The massive tower in the distance was actually not that far away. It was a landmark in this massive city that Hestia had informed me was named Orario. The city wasn't exactly bustling at this hour but I could still see the life within.
"So Goddess are you going to go inside of the Dungeon with me?" I gave the petite woman a soft smile but behind my eyes was a hope that she would say no. I don't want a Goddess running around instant killing every monster! There would be no point for me to even be there. Or maybe this is one of those world's where the Gods are just another fantasy race like elves.
"O-oh well I wouldn't be of much help, we have to seal our powers in order to come to the lower world and if we use them we get sent back to Heaven . . . but if it makes you feel safer I can go with you." I give a nod, I probably shouldn't put her at risk. I give her a smile and pat her on the head.
"Then you go rest up, I'll be back when I'm done beating up bad guys!" I heard her yell something about not being a cat as I ran towards the Dungeon. I'd run not only because I loved doing it, but to test how much this armor limited my mobility.
Much to my pleasure it didn't seem to hold me back that much, I could still tell the difference but I'd trained to be able to move in armor without it slowing me down. I'd run through the streets until my inevitable arrival and I once again entered the Tower's ground floor. The massive open room inspired a sense of wonder within me.
This was it. This was the entrance to the Dungeon. My hand clenched around my sword as I made my approach with a smile upon my face. I'd prepared for this moment my whole life but I couldn't help but be a bit nervous!
My head turned upwards to somehow see the sky glistening above me. My eyes narrowed as I realized it was instead a massive mural upon the ceiling. I let out a small exhale of breath as I started down the spiraling stairs.
A few adventurers locked eyes with me and I flashed them a smile as we moved past each other, eventually I'd made my way down to the bottom of the staircase and my foot collided with the light blue rock. In front of me was a massive open cavern. It was a gigantic tunnel that went forward and had countless paths spliterning off the main one.
Some of the other groups that went down the long hallway had a single person with an absolutely massive bag upon their back. It looks like having a designated supply holder was important, and also was probably used to gather all the magic stones needed.
Perhaps one of my fated companions shall serve such a role! Currently I'm at the early stage where I don't have any party members. While it would be far safer for me to ask to stick with another group that isn't the way of the shounen protagonist at all!
Whenever I meet my future party members they MUST be fateful encounters where the stars align for our meeting! It looks like this little area doesn't have too many monsters. Or at least they've been cleared out already.
Going down one of the side paths I decided to just spend my first day in the Dungeon on the first floor. As I split off from the protection of the many adventures I heard walls crack and break causing me to clench my sword tightly and enter a neutral stance. A group of four goblins broke forth from the walls and charged at me in a pack.
Something I'd learned about sword fighting, and really just fighting in general is that it all comes down to one thing at the end of the day. Reach. These goblins were small child sized and had no weapons. I was 5,9 and had a bastard sword.
Clutching the piece of steel I rotated my body and the little creatures didn't even attempt to dodge. My sword cut through the first one's chest leaving a massive gash and slid through the next one's neck. Instantly I was on the backfoot at the suicidal charge from the other two.
They had no sense of fear, their only goal to kill me and rip me to pieces. I couldn't help but smile at the thought. This was my first battle against monsters! I pivoted on my foot in order to bring my sword back around in a swiping motion that killed the next goblin with ease.
As the final goblin was now past the sweet spot of my blade I didn't even try to use the sword. Instead I kneed it in the head and it let out a cry as it stumbled backwards, and while it clutched its head for a moment it fell prone.
I angled the tip of the sword with its throat and brought it down. My sword tip rested there or a moment as my hands clenched around the sword. The body of the goblin faded to reveal a magic stone as the ground seemed to reabsorb it.
I blinked myself out of my stupor and let out a light breath. It had been a while since I'd killed anything. The last time I'd done such a thing was in preparation for moments like this. I hadn't wanted to freeze up at the sight of blood or the guilt of taking a life if I ever was able to go on a crazy adventure like I'd hoped.
I'd gone hunting with my uncle, a respectable man who taught me the importance of feeling when you take a life. Taking a life is the ultimate end for someone, so it carries immense weight and responsibility. Well at least I believed it was the ultimate end until I got hit by a truck and sent here.
I ponder the thought for a moment before letting out a light laugh. Either way my uncle's words still held true in the context of sentient life. These monsters seemed to just be murder hungry creatures so I didn't really care too much, but if Rose's words were anything to go by I'd inevitably find myself facing off against other people.
She'd shown me this world wasn't kind, but that didn't mean I had to give into despair! I would become the Fool that would guide us to a brighter world! Perhaps the Dungeon noticed my pondering form, or perhaps it was a coincidence, but the Dungeon still took advantage of my weakness as I heard the sound of cracking from behind me.
I had turned on a dime and rotated to a single handed grip to extend my reach and stab the goblin through the heart. It keeled over immediately as I pulled my sword back. This is why I loved the Bastard Sword! To me it would always be the Best Friend Sword (Bastard Sword sounds way too mean). It could be used one handed, hand and a half, or two handed! One hand was good for agility and reach, while also allowing room for a shield if need be. Two handed was more control and power while hand and a half was a solid middle ground for the weapon.
I'd worked diligently on sword techniques for reach style and my teacher said I was a 'little monster' so I could only assume I was pretty good! After all, calling a shounen character a monster means they are stupidly strong!
Flicking some of the loose blood off of my sword I crouched down to the little stone in front of me. So this was a magic stone then? Interesting. It was a tiny blue rock about the size of my pinky toe. I picked it up alongside the four others and tossed them in my little bag.
This was easy so far but I wasn't going to get cocky! I refused to be an arrogant Young Master! I would be confident. There is a difference. Moving through the tunnel my warm breaths left my lungs. My stamina was fine, so far I'd run into no problems and I was honestly kind of confused.
Where the foes at!?
As though the answer to my call was being answered. Two Kobolds broke from the wall with vicious snarls on their faces. They broke off some sharp rocks as they exited the wall in the form of daggers causing me to smile. Seriously, you brought a knife to a sword fight?
They charged together and I side stepped while slicing one of their heads off allowing me to have a sacred duel! Sending a smile towards the Kobold, it didn't return my gesture and instead just charged at me with the knife.
Rude. I responded by taking a single hand off the blade and dodging to the side while sweeping its legs. The legs crumbled under my strength and I pushed myself up with my sword. Then I slammed a foot on the back of its head to stun it further. Then I gently slid the blade into its heart. I gave the dog-like creature a sad look.
Hurting anything that looks like a dog makes me sad! From the body of the Kobold however was not only a magic stone, but one of the creature's sharp nails causing me to furrow my eyebrows. Is this a loot drop? Picking it up I tossed it into my pouch and kept moving. I'd moved through the tunnel and massaced anything that got in my way with relative ease.
Eventually I'd made my way to another staircase and I pondered descending before shaking my head. Not today. I can head down tomorrow instead. I gave a small shrug and decided my current haul was pretty good. I didn't know how rare drops were but I'd gotten a total of:
23 magic stones
1 Kobold Nails
3 Goblin Fang
I wasn't sure if that was a good haul but my pouch was basically full at this point so any extra time I spent in here was purely for fun. I bounced the thought around in my head for a moment and gave a smile before tapping on the wall with my sword.
"Hi Dungeon! Can you send some more monsters my way? I'm getting bored down here!" I'm pretty sure the Dungeon is alive based on the way Rose spoke of it, so hopefully this works. A beat passed and then the walls began to crack and snap as five kobolds broke free.
Finally! Something that might actually pose a threat! I gripped my sword and took a deep breath.
"Thank you!" Then I moved towards the creatures and with a massive two handed swing I'd sliced two of them in half. The other three wasted no time and one of them was already past my guard. I hit them with the Spartan Classic and kicked it in the head and into another one of the Kobolds with a slight hop on my back foot to bring extra power to the movement.
I pushed off the Kobold with the kick and then fully rotated my body and swung towards the lone Kobold. However to my surprise it actually ducked out of the way of my attack and flung a claw towards my throat.
However I puffed out my chest and pulled back my neck forcing the claw to dig into my chest armor instead while I raised my arms high in the air to move them out of the way of the assault and to prepare for my next attack. Then I dragged backwards and cleaved through its shoulder in chest while the other two scrambled from the ground.
As they stood up I saw an opportunity and took it. My sword pierced through the spine of one and into the stomach of the other, ripping my blade from their bodies. I took a step back and waited for the bodies to fade. Yet the Kobold stabbed through the stomach rose from the ground while clutching its wound and started to move towards me with hate in its empty eyes.
I sent the creature a laugh.
"Yes! Show me your intensity, do not give up in the face of adversity!" At my words it paused as the ground beneath it pulsed. Then it started eating the magic stones of its comrades causing my eyes to widen. Am I really about to let my opponent finish powering up?
I pondered it for a moment and gave a shrug. I did tell it to show me its intensity. I guess it's only fair that I let it get stronger. After eating the stones nothing really seemed to happen so I tossed a few its way and it gobbled them up before clutching its stomach as a grin grew on its face.
Then in a disgusting display a creature crawled out from the wound as the Kobold fell back dead. From the body was a two-headed kobold that absorbed some of the dungeon floor to help gain mass for its body. Its form was my height and its claws were razor sharp.
It ran at me with a scream while thrusting a hand towards my head. I ducked out of the way with a near dive movement while trying to regain my balance. It's fast! It took a moment to stop its charge before turning back to me and charging again.
I couldn't help but smile at the worthy opponent! My steel clashed with sharp claws and a clang echoed throughout the hall as we faced off against each other. My sword got chipped in the exchange causing me to narrow as I moved back from the force in order to stay balanced.
Alright, that's not going to work. I slowly moved backwards and the creature prepared to charge again. I lightly tapped the wall behind me with my heel to measure the distance as I smiled at the beast. Its charge continued unabated, however just before its downward claw strike could cave in my skull I stepped to the left away from its attack and sliced its leg open with a light swing causing it to stumble and slam into the wall.
I brought down my sword towards its heart, but it recovered quickly and my sword instead met one of its heads with a cracking sound as the creature's skull broke under the weight of my blade but it threw its body away from my next strike as my smile grew more intense.
Is it wrong to be a Battle Maniac in a Dungeon? I flew towards the creature with a heavy step as a swipe, its claw whipped through the air at nothing. Looks like its depth perception is fucked up now! Awesome!
I rushed to the side where its missing head was and it threw another claw swipe towards me, this one was far more accurate than the previous, but that was just as planned. I angled my sword and stepped right next to it to allow the blindly swung arm to cleave itself off as the claw was far past me.
The sheer force of the attack caused me to stagger lightly, but I quickly recovered. Looking at my work I couldn't help but smile. The right side of its body was horrifically ruined, its weak side was obvious! It tried to turn towards me but I kicked out its knee mid turn causing it to fall to the ground.
"Thank you for the fight!" I stabbed the sword into the back of its thick neck and after a moment it stopped struggling. I looked down at the body of the creature and while the magic stone was larger than normal I didn't seem to get any special drops. I let out a small sigh in response.
How unfortunate!
Nonetheless I bagged the thing and reviewed my haul as I made my way back up to the surface with minimal trouble. Perhaps being covered in monster blood staved off any would be looters, or maybe it was the jovial smile on my face in combination with that previous fact!
As I exited Hestia slammed into me with a hug and I looked down at her with faint surprise as she cried into my chest.
"You're alive! You're alive!" I sheathed my sword with my belt and gave her a smiling hug in response.
"Sorry for worrying you!" She looked up at me with glassy eyes and started berating me instead.
"You can't just run off like that into the Dungeon! Especially not on your first time inside! Y-you could have been killed!" I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment. I understood the Dungeon was dangerous . . . but it wasn't that bad. She started looking over my body for wounds and I tried to placate her.
"Don't worry Hestia! It's not my blood!" She let out a sigh of relief before her eyes turned down to my pouch and for a moment I swore I saw dollar signs in her eyes before she went back to be concerned for my safety. Truly the warmth of the Sun knows no bounds!
"You seemed to get a lot . . . are you sure you're alright?" I give her a smile before deciding to tell her a bit about my past.
"I've trained for ten years with a blade, I'd be embarrassed if the first floor was all it took to beat me!" She looked up in shock at my words.
"T-ten years!?" I gave a nod at her shock and a smile bloomed on my face.
"Don't worry Hestia! I'm pretty good with a sword like this one." I look over at the blade with a slight chip near the tip and frown. I'll need to find a blacksmith. Hestia cupped the sides of her face for a moment as she stared at me.
Then she bowed.
"I . . . Thank you." I blushed at the action and my eyes widened. Why is a Goddess thanking me!?
"Uhm, why?" She looked up at me as she rose from her bow and in her eyes I could see some pondering for a moment before she decided to tell me what she was holding back.
"You could have joined basically any Familia with ten years of training like that . . ." Instead of responding I picked her up and held her up to the sky, as though I were looking at a radiant Sun! Though with how her tits were basically in my face it might as well have been the case!
"Put me-" She scrambled with her tiny flip flops but I cut her off.
"Hestia! You are my Sun! The light I look at when I leave the dark pit beneath! Your comradery and presence is more than enough!" I blushed as lightly as I set her down and continued. "I really do appreciate your kindness . . . I couldn't have picked a better Patron."
I meant every word. The Sun Arcana is an extremely rare set of positive personality traits that fuse together in someone who will always be there for you. That's the type of person you only ever get to meet if you're lucky.
A person who shall be the radiant warmth that makes you feel as though you can be a better version of yourself as long as you are with them. That is what it means to be a Sun, and Hestia is that type of person.
Honestly I'm just glad I had the system to confirm it. Even if I didn't have the system I still would have liked her a whole lot without knowing she was represented by the Sun Arcana!
She stared at me as a blush started to bloom on her face. Then she hugged me and mumbled something into my chest I could barely make out.
"I'm so happy to have you."
Rank 4: Stoke the Embers - Grants basic Fire Magic.
"Thank you!" She pulled back with an eep as her blush grew a deeper shade of red, realizing I had heard her words. Foolish Hestia, we've been through this song and dance before!
However after a moment of reading my eyes widened as I looked at the notification I'd just received. I-I have the ability to manifest the inner flames of my heart!? This is perfect! I pull Hestia back into a hug with a large smile.
"You're the best Hestia!" She returned the gesture and then looked up at me with seriousness.
"You should still be more careful. Always tell me where you're going!" I gave a smile to her and released the hug after another moment.
"Of course! But don't worry . . . I'll always find my way back to my Sun!" She blushed and lightly shoved me before muttering in embarrassment.
" . . . I already told you I'm not a Goddess of the Sun." I laughed, she was way more than some random Sun God!
She was my Confidant!