Danmachi: Thunder Valkyrie

[Colin Yeo]

Prologue​

The city of Orario, the Labyrinth City. A place where many had ventured to in pursuit of dreams and riches. The reason for that was due to the massive dungeon the city was built over, one that spawn countless monsters indefinitely which threatened the surface.

They would have spilled over and destroyed the world, if the Gods from the heavens, from Tenkai hadn't descended down to the mortal realm to seal it with the city.

The parts from these monsters were greatly valued as materials across the world. As such, many people were willing to brave its depths for them.

These people were known as adventurers.

These brave warriors, blessed by their gods' grace, challenged the massive underground labyrinth to gain riches beyond their wildest dreams, or to carve their own legends in history. Regardless of the reason, they were the source of the city's wealth.

But despite gaining a God's blessing, the dungeon's monsters still were extremely powerful and many had perished in its depths, lost and forgotten. Those who survived grew stronger from it, and became walking legends in the making.

This is the story of one such adventurer. One adventurer whose story will become one of the many legends carved into this city.

…​

Heavy rain poured down from the heavens above. That was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes.

My body was cold, wet, and aching all over. That was the first feeling I got when I was fully conscious.

"Where… am I…?"

I slowly got back up on my feet and took a glance around my surroundings. Cold gray brick walls covered on both sides in a long wide corridor. There was no sign of anyone else present. I saw signs of what looked to be windows over the tall walls.

This place doesn't look familiar at all. How did I get here? The last thing I remember was—

"…huh?"

I… can't remember anything at all…!? Everything is a complete blank! I don't even remember my own name!!

Who am I!?

How did I get here!?

Why can't I remember anything!?

I did not know how long I had been in a fetal position suffering a mental breakdown from all of this, whimpering and sobbing into my arms till my eyes felt puffy.

"…O-Okay… ca-calm down…" I took a few deep breaths, nearly choking from my own sore throat, "M-Maybe there's something on me that could tell me something…"

I checked myself down, trying to find anything on my body that might tell me who I was. As far as I could tell, I had no such thing on me. Not even a journal or anything that could have my name on it.

All I had on me were some dirty clothes that looked to be barely holding together by its seams and nothing else, all covered up by a brown hooded cloak.

"There goes that plan…"

With that failing to get me anything, I decided to leave the alleyway and hopefully make for a main road. If I head somewhere with more people, someone should hopefully recognise me. It was a big gamble, but it was my only option.

But just as I was about to begin my trek…

"Well, well…"

A soft yet ominous voice suddenly spoke from the shadows as a figure walked out towards me.

The woman was adorned in a dark purple frilly dress that reached down to her knees with wide sleeves and a matching witch hat that barely covered her long light blue hair and shadowed over her green eyes. Besides having one of her eyes being covered by a black leather eyepatch, she looked like a stereotypical witch.

"Looks like fate has once again brought me to another fellow lost soul." She chuckled, "Rest assured, one whom fate was lost to time, our meeting is fated by the stars—H-Hey, wait!!"

I didn't care for what she wanted to say to me as I took off running. All my warning bells screamed that getting involved with her was a very bad idea. I mean, walking out of the shadows like that, wearing that kind of outfit and then speaking about some fated meeting? That's a very bad combination if I ever saw one.

"Wait!! Come back!!"

Her screams were echoing behind me as she chased after me, which I promptly ignored as I picked up my pace. I quickly made a few turns along the way and looked back, glad to see that I had finally lost her. Whoever that lady was, she had to be bad news—

"Managed… to catch up with you…"

I flinched when I saw her in front of me, panting slightly from the run I just gave her. How did she…!?

"Listen, the stars had foresaw our meeting—HEY!! At least let me finish my monologue!!"

I didn't waste any more time listening to her rabble and took off running. I don't know how she had managed to find me so quickly, but I need to lose her if it was the last thing I do!!

But despite my best efforts, she would always find me in this maze of alleys. No matter how many turns I had made, how many feints I did, she would always be right where I would stop. It didn't help that the streets went on for miles with no sign of it leading anywhere.

What is this place? A labyrinth!?

We must have been running for hours, or at least it felt like hours. The heavy rain had lessened to a light shower. I had finally reached my stamina's limit as I sat down on the brick floor trying to catch my breath, while the lady from before was the same while leaning against the wall.

"A-Are you done…" She panted out heavily, "C-Can you finally listen to what I had to say…?"

"How… How did you keep finding me…?"

"I've strolled about Daedalus long enough to map the place out. I've conquered most of this place by now."

Daedalus? Is that the name of this labyrinth?

"Who are you?"

"Ah, yes! Introductions!" She straightened up and took on a more confident stature, "I am the one that reads the fate written in the stars, who guides the lost souls to their supposed destiny; I am the one and only Goddess of Fate, Hecate!"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…What?"

I wasn't sure what to make of her overly dramatic introduction, or that she made a few over-the-top yet hilarious poses as she did so. On one hand, she at least gave me her name. On the other, it was so cringe-inducing!!

Also, who called themselves the Goddess of Fate!?

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

"Didn't I mention it before? Our meeting was foreseen by the stars." Hecate pointed out, "It was fate that you and I would meet, and that I would be the one that guides you on your destined path."

"To the point you chased me around all day?"

"You ran off first! Right when I was in the middle of the monologue!"

"You came out of the shadows wearing that outfit and saying stuff about fate! How is that not suspicious!?"

"…It worked well with most other mortals, though…"

She is really committed to her goddess persona, huh?

"R-Regardless of that, I am speaking the truth about our fated meeting!" She stated proudly, "Come with me, and I'll guide you to your destined path—!"

"No thanks."

"…Eh?"

Her monologue stopped when I refused her invitation and proceeded to walk away. Everything about her just screamed shady; especially when she is going around masquerading as some goddess. Nothing good would come out of getting involved with her.

"H-Hey, hold on a minute there!" The lady called out, "Can't you at least hear me out!?"

"No thanks." I refused her again as I picked up my pace.

"Not even when it involves your missing memories?"

That sentence stopped me, as I immediately turned around to face her. "H-How did you—?"

"Know about your amnesia?" She regained her composure as she struck a pose with one hand on her eyepatch, "Like I said, the stars have foreseen our meeting, and your destined path. The path that would lead you to your missing memories. A path, that I am fated to guide you towards."

"…Who exactly are you?"

"I've told you, the one that guides lost souls to their destinies; the Goddess of Fate, Hecate."

"…"

Not sure if she is adamant in her goddess role play, or that she is indeed telling me the truth and she is a goddess. Regardless, she definitely holds the clue to my missing memories. If that's the case…

"Now, will you come with me? Allow me to guide you to your destiny?"

With a heavy heart, I reached out and took her hand, not knowing that it would bring me into the world of monsters and adventure.

…
To be continued…​

Spoiler

So, I got this idea roaming about in my head and with the new season of Danmachi already in production, I decided to just write this down and see how it fares.

For reference, this was inspired by the crossover Heroic Myth. It is crazily good fic that mixes FGO with the Danmachi mechanics still intact. Give it a read if you ever get a chance.

So yeah, here is my Danmachi fic, at least the prologue of it. And no, it is not a SI, just an amnesiac OC. With an OC Familia as well.

As for my OC's gender and name? Just wait for the next chapter for its reveal.

With that, I thank you all for reading this!​

 

[Colin Yeo]

Chapter 1: Hecate Familia​

The chirping of birds from the window sill stirred me from my slumber. I got up from my soft bed as I rubbed my tired eyes. A glance out of the window showed me the clear blue morning sky overlooking a forest.

*KNOCK-KNOCK*

"Wake up, Dae! Breakfast is ready!"

"I'll be right there…" I groggily replied.

Reluctantly, I got out of bed and walked towards the wardrobe to change out of my sleepwear.

Several months had passed since I accepted that goddess's hand. The moment I did, she guided me out of that labyrinth, which happened to be a district of a big city, and brought me to her home where she introduced me to her Familia.

They were made aware of my amnesia and proceeded to explain to me all about this city, and had me registered as an Adventurer before finally explaining to me the concept of a Familia and Falna.

Apparently, I was currently in the labyrinth city of Orario, a metropolis built atop a giant underground dungeon where countless monsters were spawned. It was home to many Familias, groups of people who receive grace from a god that essentially made them part of their family.

This grace was called the Falna, which gave whomever received it the strength to brave the underground dungeon and more. A Falna's power grows with its bearer as he gained experience, called excelia, via fighting or anything.

Those goes into increasing one's basic abilities like strength or endurance, which were categorised via ranks from I to S, and often manifesting in special skills that reflect and boost the bearer's powers.

The people that received a Falna and dived into the dungeon were known as Adventurers, and they made up a prominent part of the Orario's population. They were warriors that explore the dungeon and battle monsters on a daily basis to both earn a living and get stronger via excelia, which were gained by doing anything related to that.

They were split into two main categories; the Low Class Adventurers that make up the bulk of the Adventurer population, and High Class Adventurers which are the upper crust of them.

They were then further divided by their Falna's rank, known as Levels. Levels are basically the rank of an Adventurer's Falna, and was the basic measurement on how strong they are compared to others. The most average newbies like me would be at 1 and the current highest being at 7. There were people who had reached 8 and even 9, but they weren't around anymore.

The way to raise one's Level was pretty vague, but it involved at least two things; getting one of the basic abilities to a D rank, and accomplishing an amazing feat that impressed the gods.

I was currently part of the Hecate Familia. They also gave me the name Dae, named after the labyrinth of a district I had found myself in, a room of my own, bestowed on me a Falna of my own and registered me as an Adventurer.

After putting on the last piece of my attire, I double-checked myself in the mirror one more time to make sure everything is in order.

Long light grey hair which I tied into a bushy tail akin to a wolf's and bright blue eyes, as well as pointed ears that indicated my elf lineage. Or half-elf considering how small my ears are compared to a full-blooded one.

My attire for the day would be the same as most; a dark blue tank top under a white short-sleeved cropped jacket that's only clipped at the top to show off some cleavage, a pair of white shorts and brown leather boots with black high-knee socks.

My clothes were chosen by a fellow newcomer to the Hecate Familia when she saw that I was in rags; said something along the lines of "A lady's true beauty only shines through when she wears beautiful clothes!" before forcing me into a bunch of outfits.

Not sure why Adventurers would need to look beautiful when we were always fighting monsters, but I wasn't one to turn down charity. Even if that charity was being used as a dress-up doll.

After adjusting my boots one last time, I left my room and headed for the dining hall on the first floor.

The Hecate Familia's home, named the Arcane Manor, wasn't something you would consider habitable at first glance. The iron fence and gate surrounding the two-story mansion were rusty while its exterior wall looked worn down with vines and moss crawling all over it, while the roof appeared to have a few tiles missing.

From the outside, it looked like an abandoned mansion. The interior, on the other hand, says otherwise.

The walls and floors were refurbished and brand new, and the ceiling didn't have a single hole in them. All the rooms were cozy if minimalistic, and even the kitchen was clean and fully functional with proper plumbing. There was even a small vegetable garden in the backyard.

The idiom 'Never judge a book by its cover' came to mind when I first came here. I had asked why no one bothered to clean up the exterior in which they all said it was the goddess's idea.

"An abandoned house out in the forest is a must for a cryptic witch's setting!" Hecate had declared as such when I asked her.

As expected, a goddess's common sense would be out of mortal's comprehension, so I just chose to accept it as one of her many weird quirks.

As I made my way downstairs to the shared bathroom, the sudden sounds of quick footsteps behind alerted me to the danger as I swerved to the side to avoid the Amazoness girl skipping past me down the steps excitedly.

"Morn', Dae!"

"Morning, Tetra."

Tetra's a Level 2 Adventurer, an Amazoness child with long maroon hair and bronze-coloured eyes. She is the youngest member of the Hecate Familia to date, and she often acts like it.

She is often seen wearing a white halter top that shows her stomach, a long beige skirt that has a long slit that goes up to her thighs with a pair of brown leather ankle bands. Perhaps due to being an Amazon, she prefers to walk around with her bare feet.

She is also the most friendly to me when I first joined and is the most enthusiastic in helping me out at times, something about being my senior despite being younger than me.

"Woah! Careful, Tetra!"

"Sorry, Drake! But breakfast's calling to me!"

The young man Tetra had nearly ran into let out a yawn and a sigh at her cheerful response as he followed after her. "It is much too early in the morning for this…"

He was Drake, a Level 2 Adventurer with short messy dark-blue hair and grey eyes. He was basically Tetra's caretaker and partner since he and Tetra entered the Familia at roughly the same time.

He usually wore a red shirt under a white sleeveless jacket with a matching pair of slacks and white leather shoes.

He may appeared to be lethargic and lazy, but he was one of the more hardworking people in the Familia; though he took things rather seriously and often tried to look out for us rookies.

I made it to the bathroom and got started on my morning routine. As I began brushing my teeth, a fellow newbie came in with the same intention.

"Morning, Dae." The human girl greeted me as she started brushing her teeth.

"Morning." I greeted back.

"Aw, you didn't put it in a braid." She sighed as she felt my hair, "You would look so much nicer with one."

"It is too much of a hassle to do." I told her.

She is Tris Lecia, a fellow newcomer who had joined the Familia a few months before me. She has bright orange eyes and long dark blue hair that she ties in a bun behind her head, held in place with a white cloth.

She was my partner whenever we delve into the dungeon, and was the one that provided me with my current attire among many others. Even my sleepwear is chosen by her. Which was to expected, considering her usual attire.

A light brown sleeveless top with light yellow accents, a pair of yellow detached sleeves, a dark blue skirt and a pair of knee-high boots; all which made her appeared to be the weak girly type, except she was actually quite ferocious when she fights in the Dungeon.

Especially when considering her weapon of choice…

After we had finished our morning routine, we entered the dining room, a big room with smooth wooden floors and walls that had an equally big and round wooden table right in the middle of it.

Seated around the table were the rest of the Familia, excluding our patron goddess and our captain.

"Good morning, Dae." A well-endowed Pallum girl with bright red hair that was tied in a long braid and bright green eyes greeted me as she drank her morning tea.

She was Lisa Drayer, a Level 3 pallum Adventurer. She was one of the older members of the Familia, and was often the Familia's de-facto advisor in place of Hecate when the goddess wasn't around.

She usually wore a white one-piece dress with a collar and a light blue bow tied above her chest, a dark corset around her abdomen, a pair of black gloves covering her hands, and a pair of dark brown knee-high boots.

Contrary to her youthful appearance, she was actually in her late thirties, though she didn't like it when people pointed that out.

Apparently, Falna could slow the bearer's aging as well. It was quite surprising when I found out.

The pallum grimaced once Tetra began devouring her meal of eggs and sausages with extreme gusto, " Jeez… slow down, Tetra. You're going to choke with how fast you are eating."

"Im nmot-hrgk!?"

"That's what you get."

That came true almost immediately when Tetra tried to rebuke only to start choking on an especially large piece of sausage; Drake calmly gave her a hard pat on her back to dislodge it from her airway.

The Renard sitting next to her wordlessly handed the Amazon a glass of milk to wash it all down.

"Thanks, Kyumaru."

"Don't mention it."

Kyumaru was a fellow Level 3 Adventurer like Lisa, a renard with orange hair that he tied in a spiky tail and sharp dark brown eyes. He often came off as aloof and grumpy, but he is surprisingly friendly when given the chance.

Too bad his face looked to always be frowning. It didn't help that he was always wearing that metal face guard everywhere he went, which just adds to his fearful face even more.

His attire didn't help with the image either; a kind of black robe with white accents called a yukata with a pair of matching boots; the robe was tied together by a black belt with a gap at the back to let his fluffy tail out.

I sat down on an empty seat, just as a similar plate of eggs was placed in front of me. The human passing the plate gave me a knowing smile before he sat down with a plate of his own.

He was Garos, another Level 3 Adventurer and the Familia's vice-captain, a human male with spiky light brown hair and dark green eyes.

Despite not being among the Familia's high level members, he was considered one of the toughest adventurers in Orario despite being only a Level 3.

He wore a black long-sleeved tunic with a green scarf around his neck, white pants that stopped halfway down his shins, and a pair of high cut brown leather boots.

In contrast to his gentle demeanour, he was extremely strict on the field, since he was also the field leader of the expedition team.

"Garos is in-charge of breakfast today!" The blonde human sitting next to me stated as he bit into the hard toast with a smile, "He always makes the best meals ever!!"

"You say that every time he is on kitchen duty, Leos." I noted as I nibbled on some eggs while he let out a laugh in response.

Leos was a fellow Level 1 Adventurer, though way higher than me in terms of seniority, having joined the Familia a few years before I did.

He was currently the one in-charge of looking after the new Adventurers like me. Apparently, he was on the verge of becoming a Level 2 himself.

Wearing a white shirt under a red jacket, a pair of brown slacks and leather high-cut shoes, he was really friendly and outgoing, if a bit loud and pushy, but he was a good leader and good comrade to have your back.

"Where's the captain?" I asked.

"She went to get Jirou." Lisa told me, "Though it is taking a while…"

"…I think I saw him stumbling in after midnight." Kyumaru mused.

"Ah, his bad habit is reeling its head again…" Garos groaned.

We all let out a collective groan at that. Jirou was the Familia's strongest Adventurer aside from our captain, though everyone else thinks he was definitely the stronger of the two. He, along with our captain, was a Level 4 Adventurer and one of the Familia's founding members.

If I was to describe him in one word, it would be wild, with one heck of a drinking habit, which had caused the captain and Garos many headaches

"You would think he would learn about moderation with how many times he got lectured…" Lisa sighed.

"And on the eve of the expedition, too…" Drake groaned.

The expedition they were talking about was the monthly trip down the Dungeon the entire Familia had to undertake by orders of the Guild. I didn't go on the last few expeditions on account of being the newbie, but I was tasked to join in for this month's as a supporter along with the rest of the Low Class Adventurers.

Moments later, the dining room's doors opened and the two people we were talking about entered, all the while bickering like an old married couple.

"Ow! Ow! Stop it with the ears!! You're going to turn me into an elf!!"

Long black hair that was tied in a high ponytail with sharp grey eyes and a small stubble, Jirou gave off the presence of a veteran despite being pulled by the ear like some misbehaving child.

He wore a similar style of robes to Kyumaru, only in white and with the addition of a pair of greyish-blue pants called a hakama along with steel toed boots and a red jacket over the top.

"You really need to fix your drinking problem!! We have an expedition tomorrow!!"

The one pulling his ear while dragging him to his seat was the Familia's captain, Jeanne Claes; a tall female elf with sharp dark blue eyes and long flowing silver hair with the bangs combed back and held in place with a metal brooch.

Though being an elf, a species known to be prideful and modest, her outfit was anything but modest; consisting of a white sleeveless top that shows off her muscular abs with a fair bit of cleavage, a pair of tight dark red pants and boots, and a blue scarf around her neck.

She was usually the one that calls the shot in the Familia, the one to make the important decision for us to follow. And being the only other Level 4 around, she definitely held that position for a reason.

If anything, she is probably the only other person in the Familia aside from Hecate and Garos that could handle Jirou like this.

"Sorry for the wait, everyone." Jeanne greeted us as she sat down.

"Eh, we kind of expected it." Garos shrugged his shoulders, "On the bright side, he doesn't seem to have overdone it last night."

"See!?"

"What do you mean, 'see'!?"

Jirou flinched back at Jeanne glare, slouching over his breakfast plate to chew on his bacon.

Once we had finished our breakfast, our patron goddess finally walked in, droopy and semi-conscious like the not-morning person she was dressed in her usual attire minus the hat and eyepatch.

Why she would sleep in those uncomfortable looking clothes was beyond my understanding. I could never understand gods and their version of common sense…

"Garos… coffee…"

"On the table."

"Thanks…"

Hecate dragged her feet to the table and took a big chug from the steaming mug. Moments later, her eyes were as bright as when I first met her as she shot up from her seat in a dramatic pose.

"Good morning, my lost children of fate!"

"Morning, Lady Hecate." Jeanne greeted while everyone just gave a wave or a nod of acknowledgement, her overly dramatic greetings and speeches were the norm in the Familia.

Though I had no idea how a hot mug of brown bitter drink could wake her up like that.

"I trust that the final preparations for the expedition is done?"

"Just about." Lisa stated, "Just have to collect our batch of potions from the Miach Familia and we are set."

"And our weapons from the Goibinu Familia." Drake added, "Hopefully, Marco didn't try to add some useless stuff on them this time…"

"Aw, but like her little gadgets!" Tetra stated.

"Mm… good, good." She nodded like a wiseman before turning to address us, "Alright! The stars had spoken to me last night! This month's expedition would be a trial of great ordeal, but it was foreseen that you would overcome it and emerge stronger than ever before!! Believe in thyself, in thy strengths, and thy destiny would naturally come forth!!"

"Understood!"

The entire Familia resounded as one to that out of nowhere speech. At this point, it felt like she just likes giving dramatic speeches in the morning at random.

But it does wonders to motivate us for the day ahead.

"That being said, everyone take it easy today, rest up for tomorrow's expedition! For those who wished for a status update, I'll be in my chambers. Garos, egg sandwiches please!"

And that last sentence just destroyed any enthusiasm the speech had even brought up. Hecate sure is as random as ever…

…​

The Dungeon was located in the middle of the city, under the enormously tall tower called Babel, which was also where the organisation called the Guild was stationed. They were the one that managed the activities in and out of the Dungeon, and the overall authority of the Adventurers and Familia in Orario.

Every Familia had to listen to the Guild, regardless of ranking or influence. Even the famed Loki Familia was still under their authority. After all, you had to register at the Guild first before you could start earning money from diving into the Dungeon

In return, they would often assign an Advisor to you, someone who would give guidance and tips on being an Adventurer.

"Hello, Misha." I greeted the pink-haired Advisor at the front desk.

"Oh, good morning Dae! Haven't seen you in a while!" She excitedly greeted me while looking up from her paperwork. Her half-elf friend gave her a small glare that prompted her to change to a more formal tone, "Is there something you want to ask about?"

"I'm just here to let you know that I would be going for an expedition to the Lower Floors tomorrow with the rest of my Familia."

"Whoa, already!? You just registered a few months ago!" Misha cried out in awe, "Well, with your Familia's rank and that not-captain of yours, you should be in good hands! Though… Dae, are you sure you don't need a weapon to fight with? The one the Guild issued isn't the best quality, but it is better than nothing."

"I'm fine without one." I stated as I showed the Advisor my leather gloves that had metallic armor around the knuckles and fingertips.

"I-If you say so…"

The way she looked at me told me that she still didn't buy it, even if it was true.

I wasn't sure why, but I had always preferred to fight with my bare hands than with any weapon. The first time I entered the Dungeon with Leos and Tris, I didn't even attempt to draw out my knife when a Goblin attacked me.

My body just moved and punched it at its face. After killing with more bare knuckle blows, a pack of Kobold came my way, which I took them out the same way, without ever drawing my weapon. And even when I did, it just felt wrong in my hands.

Leos and Tris were left completely stunned by my actions, saying that I was probably the only Adventurer who punched a Goblin to death on their first day.

Was I some martial arts expert before I lost my memories? That gave me something to think about.

"That's all I came here to say. I'll be off."

"O-Oh, okay. Take care now…"

For some reason, Misha looked really lonely as I left the Pantheon.

…​

"Hyah!!"

"Hurrah!!"

My armoured fist slammed into an Imp's face, breaking its skull in and killing it without any trouble. I immediately turned around and backhand into one behind me and broke its neck, followed by a spin kick to the Bad Bat, sending it flying into the wall where Leos intercepted and killed it with a thrust from his spear.

"Dae, don't go too far ahead!!" He told me as he bashed his shield against an incoming Horned Rabbit, "Stay with the group!!"

"Ah! Sorry…"

I then noticed a Kobold sneaking up behind Tetra and rushed to intercept its attack.

"H-Hey!!"

"Strike, and break free; Electro!!"

My magic sprung forth as sparks arced around my body as I dashed forward, stabbing my arm into the monster's chest. I felt my fingers wrapped around its magic stone, the core of its existence and pulled it out; the Kobold body turning into dust once it was extracted.

"Brutal…" I heard Tetra say that out loud and choose not to comment on it. As long as the monster was dead, it didn't matter how it got killed.

In preparation for tomorrow's expedition, I decided to head into the Dungeon to raise my status as much as possible. Apparently, I wasn't the only one with the same idea, thus the party of me, Leos, Tris, Drake and Tetra headed out for the ninth floor with Drake taking command.

"Stay with the party, Dae!!" Drake shouted as he punched away a Goblin with his trench knife while impaling another, "The Middle Floors are dangerous if you don't operate in a party! Stay in formation!"

The Dungeon is separated to four main levels, with the difficulty and dangers increasing the lower you go.

The top twelve or so floors are the Upper Floors, which is where we are right now and where small time monsters like Goblins and Kobolds are most apparent. These floors are most frequented by Low Class Adventurers, the rookies and newbies like me and Tris. I personally hadn't been past the ninth floor myself, though Tris and Leos have gone all the way to the twelve floor.

The floors after that down to around the twenty-fourth floor are the Middle Floors. These floors are populated with pretty tough monsters like Minotaurs and the such, and is where the difference between a Level 1 and Level 2 will make a huge difference in whether one survives or not. This is where most of our Familia do most of our monster hunting; even Leos came down to this Level with Drake and Tetra from time to time.

Further below after that are the Lower Floors, and these are where the more veteran High Class Adventurers would go. The monsters here are on a whole nother level of dangerous, with the certain powerful monster being known to travel between the floors at random intervals. This is the lowest level the Hecate Familia has gone, with the deepest at the twenty-fifth floor.

The last level of floors are known as the Deep Floors, where only the elite of the elite Adventurers have ever set foot in. So far, only the highest ranking Familias have dived this far, with the Loki Familia being the only one known to reach this level's deepest depths.

Our expedition target this month would be the Middle Floors, with the goal possibly at least going down to the twenty-fourth floor. This would be my first time going to the Middle Floors.

"And this is the last of them!" Tris shouted as she smashed her mace into the Killer Ant's head as it splattered into a mist of red, "Whew, what a workout!"

"So far so good." Drake noted as he handed a potion to our young caster, "We do need to work on the formation more… especially with you, Dae. You need to stop rushing at any monster in front of you!"

"I understand—"

"Do you really!?" He gave me a glare, grabbing my shoulder as he started to lecture me to my dismay, "You had been charging at every monster we came across since we entered! We have to play catch up to you so many times now! Formation is key to surviving the Middle Floors, especially for rookies like you!"

"Now, now, Drake. I think she really gets it now." Tetra told him as I nodded vehemently to her words. I totally get it! Just stop with the lecture already! My ears are ringing!

"She better do." Drake scoffed, "Or else tomorrow's expedition would be jeopardised…"

"Then we better stop here for now." Leos suggested, "Wouldn't want to overdo it before tomorrow."

"I agree." Tris nodded, "Let's go before things get—"

*CRACK*

As if on cue, the walls around us cracked. We all quickly got into battle stances as a few dozen Goblins and Kobolds, along with some Killer Ants as well as some Needle Rabbits, started crawling out of the bedrock walls.

It was a widely accepted fact that the Dungeon was in fact alive, and had a huge dislike for anything of the divine nature. Considering that Adventurers gained their strengths by a God's blessing, they were included among them and would attempt to kill them in all sorts of ways.

The most prevalent of those methods was what we were experiencing now, a mass monster birthing event known as a Monster Party.

"…You triggered a flag." Tetra pointed out.

"Sorry." Tris sighed tiredly as Leos nervously laughed.

"It's okay, we can handle this no problem." Drake calmly said, "As long as someone remains in formation."

"I understand…" I sheepishly stated as I tightened up my gloves.

"Here they come!!"

The monsters let out a roar and charged at us with great vigor, the Killer Ants and Horned Rabbits taking the lead with their superior speed.

"Tetra, cast your enchantment spell on Leos and then begin chanting that big spell of yours!" Drake commanded, "Tris and Leos take up the vanguard! Don't let any monster get to her!"

"Already on it!"

"The rest of us will buy time for her to finish her chant!!" Drake shouted, "And Dae, stay close to the group!!"

"I know, I know!!"

We immediately charged into the monsters; I immediately aimed for the most troublesome ones and killed the Killer Ants group as fast as I could. Drake was not too far behind me as he sliced and diced through the smaller monsters with little effort.

"May the shroud of the land protect thee; Terra Evlogia!"

Tetra quickly casted her enchantment magic, Leos's body began to emit a bright glow as he immediately took up the vanguard position and raised his shield to block the rabbit monsters' sharp horns while killing several from behind it with his spear.

"Strike, and break through; Electro!"

Casting as I dodged the claw strike of one of the charging Kobolds, I quickly countered with a kick to its gut, sending it crashing into the rest behind it. I didn't stop that and began an assault on them, punching and kicking into them as fast as I could. I glanced over to see Drake doing the same for the Goblins, slicing through them just as quickly.

One particularly massive Kobold managed to knock me out of its way. Another Kobold didn't waste the opportunity his brethren had opened up and charged at me, slashing its claws into me. I managed to duck out of its attack before I countered with an Electro charged fist to its side. When it collapsed onto its knees, I spun on my toes and broke its neck with a kick.

I glanced back at the defenders and saw the massive Kobold charging at them. Leos attempted to intercept it and thrusted his spear at it, only for the Kobold to scale the walls and leapt over him. Once gotten through, it reeled back its claws and prepared to slash at Tetra.

I prepared to dash back to intercept it, only for the monster to get knocked out of the air by Tris and her mace. With a loud roar, she spun around and slammed her mace down onto its skull with a gruesome crunch. I let out a sigh before charging back to kill the Kobolds.

"There's too many of them!!" She cried out as she knocked away a Horned Rabbit.

"Just keep defending!" Drake shouted as he stabbed into a Goblin which turned into dust moments later, "Tetra should be just about done!!"

"Easier said than done!!" Leos shouted as he stabbed into a Killer Ant while another was pushing on his shield, "We're kind of reaching our limit here!"

"I am ready!!"

"Got it!! Everyone, move!"

Drake's warning was the signal for us to get out of the way of the incoming bombardment. Once we were back with Tetra, the young Amazon swung her wooden staff down.

"Ignitis Lumine!"

Arcs of fiery bolts shot out of the ring tip of her staff towards the monsters, carpeting the area around them and destroying them in a massive series of explosions. Not even the magic stones remained once the dust settled.

"That was really close…" Tris panted, "Magic sure is really useful. Kind of wish I had one. Dae got really lucky on her draw."

"Most of us gain magic once we reach Level 2." Drake pointed out, "Give it some time, you'll get one."

"Come on." Leos called out to us, "Let's head on up before the Dungeon throws another Monster Party our way."

"""Agreed."""

With that said, we immediately sped off towards the entrance as fast as we could. Luckily, we didn't experience any more monster spawning on the way back..

…​

"And there we go. Oho, your growth is as the stars have predicted and more."

After putting back on my top, Hecate handed me the sheet of parchment with my stats written on it:

{Dae}
Lv: 1

STR: F339 -> F347
END: H104 -> H106
AGI: F332 -> F344
DEX: H196 -> G201
MAG: G251 -> G267

{Magic}
[Electro]:
Enchantment magic that imbues lightning.

Strike, and break free;
Electro!​

{Skills}
-None-

Considering that I had encountered Monster Party, the amount Excelia gained was more than my usual run. At least my dexterity is finally in the G rank. Hopefully, it would be enough to handle the Middle and Lower Floors.

"As I have thought, your growth is definitely higher than most. And your magic allowed you to handle most monsters high above your skill range. You might be the next Aiz Wallenstin at the rate you are growing."

"It doesn't really matter to me, though."

"So you say." She chuckled, "But I have read your stars and know your future destiny. You are destined for greatness. Ah, but I am not allowed to tell you! That's the deal I have with the stars for being able to read the paths of destiny!"

"I would rather know about my past than my future."

"…I take it that your memories still haven't returned?" She suddenly asked.

"…None…"

So far, I have made no progress in recovering my memories. All I knew was that I was definitely not from Orario, considering that the idea of gods and goddesses walking about was foreign to me.

If that's the case, why did I wake up here? Where did I come from? Who was I before I lost my memories? Why did I lose my memories in the first place? It had been months, and I was still nowhere closer to answering any of those questions!

Will I ever recover my lost memories? What if I could never remember them!? What if they were lost for good and I could never get them back!?

"And enough."

A clap in front of my face snapped me out of my depressive thoughts, "Your memories will return someday. The stars had predicted it so; they would never lie."

"I guess so…"

"Now come on! Go to bed!" She then pushed me towards the door, "You need to be well rested for the expedition tomorrow!"

"Okay, okay. I'm going."

I proceed to leave the room and head back to my room. As laid on my bed, my mind went back to my memories and my blank past as it had always.

…
To be continued…​

Spoiler

Yup, another female OC mc. It just fits, not to mention that I had this fic idea in the back burner for a long time since I read Heroic Myth. Hopefully, her stats aren't too much for a promising rookie.

FYI, Electro basically acts similar to Aiz's Ariel, only way less powerful and is more of a buff than the all-purpose wind 'enchantment' spell.

For the members of the Hecate Familia, it is the same as Dae. I had already all of them planned out, from the top executives to the rookie members.

With that, I thank you all for reading this!

 

[Colin Yeo]

Chapter 2: Expedition​

When morning came, the entire Familia assembled at our Home's front yard after breakfast, with our weapons and armors polished and sharpened, as well as a couple additional bags filled with medicine and extra equipment. One of the bags was given to me to carry, one that was almost more than half my size with a tower shield strapped on the back. The same was given to Tris only hers looked to be a bit bigger than mine.

Apparently, this was the usual load for most Adventurers heading for the Middle Floors, something that I had never known due to only ever dealing with the Upper Floors. And with the ease Tris was carrying it, she had plenty of experience doing exactly that.

"Is everything ready?" Jeanne asked.

"Got as many potions required from the Blue Pharmacy." Lisa noted, "Naaza was really pleased with the order, though she still charged us quite a bit."

"We had ordered quite a lot of them in bulk." Drake pointed out.

"Miss Marco finished the maintenance on our weapons nicely too." Garos noted as he checked his shield, "And with no complicated contraptions this time."

"Good." She then turned to address us, slamming the pommel of her spear to get our attention, "Alright, listen up! As you all know, this month's expedition goal is to finally dive into the Lower Floors. I'm sure most of you are well experienced in the Middle Floors, but that isn't an excuse to be careless. Stay vigilant, look out for each other, and stay alive. Got it!?"

"""Understood!"""

"Alright. Let's go, Hecate Familia!"

As one, we all made our way to Babel, and our expedition truly began.

…​

"Can't believe we have to leave behind all those magic stones…" Tris sighed as she smashed her mace into an Orc.

"We don't have the time and energy." Drake explained as he sliced into an Imp, "You of all people should know that."

"Yeah, but it still feels like a huge waste…"

After what felt like an hour of hit-and-run monster slaying in the foggy twelfth floor, we made it to the stairs to the next floor. I was allowed to take down a few monsters that came my way, though it was tricky with the bag and tower shield on my back.

"Okay, the Middle Floors are coming up!" Garos called out, "Dae, after this floor, you are on support duty only! Do not fight any of the monsters unless it is truly necessary!!"

"Yes sir!"

"Alright, everyone! We are charging right to Under Resort—!"

*CRACK*

As if on cue, the walls by the stairs cracked. Moments later, out crawled a monster known to be the strongest in the Upper Floors, an Infant Dragon. It turned to look at us, head reeling back to release a flaming breath—

"Screw off."

With one clean strike from Jirou's okatana, its head was sliced clean off and its body collapsed onto the ground. The Infant Dragon that required at least a party of Level 1&2 to take down, was killed with one swing.

So, this was the strength of our Famila's strongest Adventurer, the strength of the one with the alias 'Bloody Blade'.

"How is he not the captain?" I asked.

"I asked that every time I came down with him." Leos sighed.

"Mostly due to the fact that he isn't fit for such an administrative role." Jeanne told us, "Not to mention his drinking problem."

"Ah, that's true."

"Hey, are we going or not?"

"Coming!"

…​

"There's no way I can finish all of this in time…!"

"You reap what you sow, Misha."

Misha let loose a small whine as she worked on the massive stack of documents on her work station. In hindsight, she should have heeded her friend Eina's advice and started working through it instead of letting it pile up.

Now she was required to finish all of it before ending her shift; considering the size of the stack, that was borderline impossible.

"Help me, Eina… I'll treat you to dinner…" She whined to her friend.

"Hah… fine…"

Without another word, Eina took the top third of the stack and started working through it; Misha thanking her before working on hers too. They might just go through this yet!

"…Hey, Misha."

"Hm? What is it, Eina?"

"Aren't you worried about your Adventurer?"

"Hm? You mean Dae?"

"Yeah." Eina nodded, "She's attempting to go through to the Lower Floors, right? But even if she is going with her Familia, she has only been an Adventurer for a few months. Isn't it a bit too early for her to even attempt to reach that far?"

"She would be fine." Misha told her, "While I'm not sure about Dae herself, her Familia had reached the twenty-fourth floor before. They are well experienced in the Middle Floors, not to mention their captain is a Level 4 Adventurer."

"Really? What Familia is she from?"

"The Hecate Familia."

Misha could hear the jaw dropping from her friend's face from the mention of that Familia. She couldn't blame her, since that Familia was quite infamous in Orario.

The Hecate Familia was one of the smallest Familia of the current generation, with their members only reaching the two digits just recently.

Despite that, they were in the higher ranks among all the Familia in Orario, thanks in part to the fact that more than two thirds of its members were High Class Adventurers, having three Level 3 Adventurers as well as two Level 2 on top of having two Level 4 including its captain.

Such a Familia was nearly unheard of today, not since the late Astrea Familia which disbanded two years ago. A lot of the newer Adventurers thought they were bluffing, but their track record says otherwise.

Unfortunately, its infamy came from the members themselves.

While there were a couple of Adventurers in the Familia that could be called decent individuals, like some of their rookies, most of them were known to be troublemakers both in and out of Orario. There were countless rumors that portrayed them as troublemakers that had caused many incidents since their founding.

It didn't help that one of their Level 4, a swordsman known as the Bloody Blade, was notorious for starting bar fights at random taverns ever since he came to Orario.

They were the type of Familia that many in Orario tended to avoid unless it was necessary.

"You sure got your work cut out for you…" Eina noted.

"Nah, Dae isn't that bad. Though it would be nice if she could rely on me more…"

After the registration and orientation, Misha had hardly ever interacted with Dae, even as her Advisor. She knew that the more veteran members of her Familia had that covered, which was nice since it gave her lesser things to do, but it made her feel kind of unnecessary.

Besides yesterday, the last time they interacted was when Dae had gone past the fifth floor to the sixth floor during her first week and had nearly got herself killed by an Enhanced War Shadow; her captain had to basically ordered her to come to her Advisor for guidance on how to handle the lower levels of the Upper Floors.

It also didn't help that she looked to have an eternal deadpan expression akin to the Sword Princess, even if her appearance was similarly pleasing to the eyes.

Though she was way better than most of her other Familia members. That Kyumaru guy still freaked her out whenever he came to the Guild.

…​

After leaving behind the Infant Dragon's corpse much to the chagrin of Tris, we made our way through the Middle Floors, specifically the area known as the Cave Labyrinth.

It was called that for its winding tunnels that act like a maze much more complex than the Upper Floors. Its tunnels were often the reason why many Adventurers perished, either from starvation due to getting lost and running out of supplies; or more commonly, by getting cornered by monsters in a dead end.

We repeated the same hit-and-run tactics from the Upper Floors, only with Jirou, Kyumaru and Drake leading and Garos, Jeanne and Leos pulled up from the rear while Tetra and Lisa provided magic support to both ends and me and Tris acted as supporters for them. So far, we must have descended several floors already.

"Ignitis Lumine!!"

Tetra's magic tore into the bigger monsters that got into her range, the Minotaurs and Wyverns getting decimated within moments. The smaller ones, like the Hellhounds and Almiraj, managed to dodge past most of the spell and rushed towards us.

"Hmph!!"

Kyumaru charged forward through the smoke and cut them down with his katana, Drake following right behind him with his trench knives. A Dungeon Worm burst out of the ground behind them, only for it to be sliced to half by Jirou almost immediately.

Tris handed Tetra a Mind potion to replenish her Mind, just as Garos blocked a stone axe thrown at them by an Almiraj. The rabbit monster was then immediately taken out by one of Jeanne's spears getting thrown through its body.

"On your left!"

"Thanks!"

Several Hellhounds had managed to dodge past all three men and fired blasts of fire at Lisa, which Leos quickly got in front of to block. Not a moment later, Lisa unloaded her magic on them.

"O spirits of wind, blow hard and far. Send my enemies flying; Void Impact!"

A blast of air shot out from her hand and slammed into the pack hard with an impact akin to a hammer, sending them flying back. Lisa immediately swung out her kusarigama at them and sliced into both of them; their body turning to ash moments later as their broken magic stones dropped to the ground with a thud.

"Your magic sure is useful, Lisa." Tris noted.

"Yeah but it isn't all that powerful compared to Tetra's. Its speed is all it has going for it." She sighed.

"But it is still very effective." I pointed out, just as my hand instinctively shot up and grabbed the stone axe being thrown at me out of the air. Once I had located the one that threw that, I aimed and threw it right back at it, embedding it deep in its head.

"For a newbie, you sure are handling yourself pretty well, Dae." Lisa pointed out.

"Thanks." I nodded, "Though being a supporter is kind of restrictive." Heaving this giant bag around wasn't as easy as my partner made it out to me.

"It helped to have the Artel Assist Skill." Tris told me, "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"There's a hole up front! Get ready!"

We stopped chatting and prepared ourselves for the plunge. Right in front of us was the Cave Labyrinth's unique gimmick.

Aside from its winding pathways and tunnels, there were also several portholes dotted all throughout its floors, all leading to the levels below. They were random in their location as well as how deep it would be, with most of them being traps that dropped Adventurers into a room of monsters.

Normally, these were avoided by most Adventurers unless absolutely necessary. Even the strongest parties tend to not attempt to tempt fate with them.

Our group, on the other hand, had decided to search for them in order to reach the lower floors quicker. From what I know, we were the only Adventurers to actively use them as shortcuts. So far, we had jumped down at least five portholes with only three of them having us dropping into a Monster Party that the vanguards took out pretty quickly.

"Alright, jump!!"

Garos took the lead and jumped down first, followed by Kyumaru and Jirou. Me, Tris, Tetra and Lina jumped next, with Jeanne and Leos taking up the rear after us.

A few moments of weightlessness later, we emerged into a rather massive room, larger than any room we had been into.

"Oh, lucky! We made it all the way down to the seventeenth floor." Leos noted happily.

Its walls were smoother compared to the usual bedrock in the tunnels we had traversed. The lighting appeared to be brighter as well. On one end was what looked to be a massive wall that towered over us.

"What is this room…?" I mused.

"That's the Wall of Grief." Jirou told me, "This is where the Monster Rex Goliath spawns."

"Monster… Rex…?" I think I'd heard that name in passing once before.

"A kind of extremely powerful monster. The Gods referred to them as floor bosses, whatever that means." Leos explained to me, "They usually spawn past the Upper Floors at certain floors at fixed intervals. Goliath usually spawns every two weeks."

"They are extremely hard to kill. It usually takes a few Familias working together to take it down." Tris added.

"Ah…"

"Let's head to Under Resort right away." Jeanne noted, "We were lucky to reach here during the intermission. I don't want to push that luck any further than I wished."

"Got it. Everyone, stay in formation and make haste!!"

Following Garos's orders, we dashed towards the exit as quickly as possible. I glanced back at the massive wall. Monster Rex, huh? What kind of monster would spawn from that kind of wall?

"It is a shame that I couldn't see it…"

"Ah…"

"Oh…"

The silence after I had said that had me looking around as everyone stared at me before I realised what I had just did. "…Ah shit."

"…Did Dae just do what I think she did…?"

"M-Maybe the Dungeon didn't hear her—"

*CRACK*

Moments after my partner said those words, a huge crack grew on the massive Wall of Grief. It was way larger than any I had seen before.

"Crap, Dae jinxed us!"

"Run for it!!"

Without looking back, everyone immediately just started running as fast as we could. Garos then shouted at me, "Dae, Rule 1 of being an Adventurer, NEVER try to tempt the Dungeon! That is just asking for a Monster Party to drop on you!!"

"I know!! I'm so sorry!!"

"Less talking, more running!!" Jirou shouted.

"GROOAAAAHH!!"

A loud roar echoed throughout the room, I glanced back to see what looked to be a gigantic gray skinned humanoid. Despite being covered by its dark bangs, I could feel its red eyes on us as it ran towards us at speeds that shouldn't be allowed for a creature of that size.

"It's gaining on us!!"

"Just Keep running!! I'll take the rear with—!!"

"Dae, look out!!"

Leos got behind me and swung his shield back and catching the Golaith's massive feet, the ringing sound of clashing metal echoed upon impact. The force of its strike was strong enough to send him flying.

"Leos!!"

"That isn't good—scatter!!"

We broke formation just as it stomped its foot down on us, everyone scrambling away to avoid it. The shockwave from it had us flying and tumbling all over.

"Are you still alive, Leos!?" Garos shouted.

"I-I'm still breathing…!" Leos called back, "And nothing's broken…"

"That's good."

*CRACK* *CRACK* *CRACK* *CRACK*

Countless cracks started to appear all over the room. Moments later, several other monsters spawned out of the walls as well. Minotaurs, Almiraj, Hellhounds, Dungeon Worms, all the monsters that we had fought before were emerging one after another next to the room's exit.

"And now a Monster Party!?" Lisa cried, "Things couldn't get any—"

""Don't jinx us again!!""

"What now?" I asked.

"We have no chance of beating it by ourselves." Drake pointed out, "And its speed is unreal for something that big, so we can't outrun it."

"Not to mention all those monsters that just spawned…" Kyumaru noted, "We don't have the manpower to deal with both a horde and a Monster Rex at once."

"Then there's only one option." Jeanne noted, "Stun the Goliath with magic, clear a path and then book it for Rivira. Let's leave its defeat to Bors and the others."

"Agreed." Jirou noted, "Then our formation is settled."

"Got it in one…" Garos then shouted out, "Tetra! Ms Jeanne! Start chanting!! Leos; you, Dae and Tris with me on guard duty!! The rest of you, keep that thing back as long as you can!!"

"""On it!!"""

We all dashed into our formation, with almost every attacker lunged at the giant monster. Meanwhile, Tetra and Jeanne remained at the back while chanting their respective magic as a magic circle appeared under each of them.

Though in Jeanne's case…

"Ride through the sky—Rise from the deep! May your rage rain down—Burn all with your fury, o great guardian of the sky—dweller of Tartarus!"

Unlike Tetra's chant, her chant seemed to be a mixture of two different spells being chanted at the same time. Such a feat was impossible for any mage except for Jeanne herself, made possible thanks to her unique Skill; Caster Duet. With it, she could cast two different spells at the same time at twice the cost. That earned her the alias of Orthus; the two headed hound.

Though I wasn't sure where the hound part came from…

As the spell casters carried on chanting, the front liners all made valiant efforts to strike some kind of damage against the Goliath.

Lisa was swinging her kusarigama at the giant, her weapon barely making a scratch on its hide. Sometimes she pulled herself up onto its arm and struck with her sickle to little result before she quickly jumped off to avoid getting swung off by it.

Kyumaru, Drake and Jirou got in close, slashing at its feet and ankles with only the Level 4 managing to cut into its hide. The other two were having as much luck as Lisa with their attacks leaving only scratches. It didn't help that their weapons were getting worn down with each strike, diminishing the effect of their attacks even more.

"Dae, shield!"

"On it!"

I handed the tower shield from my pack to Tris who used it to block a flaming assault from a pack of Hellhounds, while Garos and Leos took care of them. A few Almiraj had come close, only for them to be taken out by few punches and kicks from me. So far, the rear guards were barely pushing back the onslaught of monsters charging at us without stopping. Hopefully, the spell casters will finish up their magic chants soon.

Eventually, the inevitable happened; Drake's knives were the first to snap at the hilt. The sudden breaking of his weapon caught him by surprise and left him open for the Golaith to swing at him.

"Protect my comrades with your song, spirits; Venti Troy!"

Garos chanted out his spell and a translucent shield projected itself in front of Drake, taking the blow and breaking. That gave the Level 2 enough time to move out of harm's way, the giant's fist barely grazing his cheek.

That spell unfortunately drew its attention and it dashed towards us. Garos and Leos took to the front with their shields ready as our vice-captain recited another spell.

"Be steady, my body. Be steady, my heart. Plant thy feet and stay strong. Be strong, be steady, be the protector. My heart is steady. My heart is strong. My spirit will not waver. Defender Spirit!"

A glow covered both of them as their shields took on the Golaith's fist. This time, they held their ground and did not get flung back. They even managed to push it back and some.

"May they know your judgement—Feel the flames of your sins!"

"The ground will be scorched and rebirth!"

"Magic is ready!!"

At that call, the attackers all ran back towards us, just as Jeanne and Tetra unleashed their spells at the Golaith.

"Ignitis Lumine!!"

"Caelum Lupical—Tartarus Canis!!"

Jeanne's magic, which consists of two blasts of lightning and molten magma in forms of a wolf and a hound respectively, shot towards the Golaith and hit it straight in the face and through its foot. It groaned out in pain as it dropped to its knees while grabbing his smoking head.

Meanwhile, Tetra unloaded her flaming arcs of magic right at the hordes of monsters, destroying a whole lot of them and managing to clear a path for us towards the room's exit.

"Right! Now, book it!!"

Everyone immediately took off towards the opening as fast as we could. Or get carried towards it in the case of the extremely exhausted Tetra under Drake'a arm. The few remaining monsters tried to stop us, but were quickly dealt with by Jirou and Kyumaru.

"Keep it up!!" Garos shouted, "We're almost home free!!"

"GRROOOAAAHHH!!"

"What the hell!?"

The loud roar of the Golaith echoed throughout the room. I looked back and nearly tripped in horror at the sight of the giant, still recovering from Jeanne's attack, charging towards us at speeds impossible for someone with only one leg.

"How is that possible!?" Drake cried out.

"Don't look back!! The exit is just there!!" Jirou shouted.

"Forget killing the monsters!" Jeanne stated, "Just avoid their attacks! Let the Goliath take care of them for us!!"

We picked up our pace and ran faster than we had ever done; formation be damned as we ducked and weaved through the monsters. And judging from the roars and cries behind us, the Goliath was going through them like they were insects.

After what felt like hours, we finally made it into the exit, just as the Goliath's hand slammed down behind us.

"W-We made it out…!" Leos panted out.

"Never thought we would end up dealing with a Monster Rex spawning on us…" Kyumaru noted.

"No thanks to Dae!" Drake then grabbed my shoulder and started shaking me as he scolded, "You damn idiot!! Didn't yesterday show you how bad the Dungeon could be for those who would try to tempt it!?"

"I'm sorry!! It just slipped out!!"

"Now, now…" Lisa tried to calm him down, "What's done is done. She just has to be more careful next time, right?"

"She better." Drake huffed as he let me go, "Any form of carelessness in the Dungeon is an invitation for it to kill you in the worst ways possible…"

"Drake…"

The way he said it seemed to have come from experience. Did he nearly die from a similarly careless action before?

"I don't know about you guys, but I would prefer we head out before you-know-who starts getting ideas." Jirou stated.

"Agreed. Let's move."

At Garos's command, we continued on our way through the corridor until we exited on the other side into the first 'safe' area of the Dungeon.

"Whoa…" I gasped as I took in the sights in front of me. "So amazing…! Is this really in the Dungeon?"

"The first time was always the most breathtaking." Jeanne noted with a giggle.

Despite being underground, it was just as bright as it was above ground thanks to the countless crystals in the ceiling that glow brightly to simulate sunlight. It also had akin to a forest around it, along with streams and springs.

With such beautiful scenery, it was no wonder this place was called Under Resort.

Under Resort was the only floor in the Middle Floors where monsters would not spawn. The reason for it was unknown, but it didn't really matter to the Adventurers that had taken advantage of it to rest up during their many expeditions.

"We took longer than we had hoped…" Garos mused as he gazed at the dimming crystals in the ceiling, "Doesn't look like we could make time for the Tree Labyrinth today. Let's set up camp for the night. We'll head there first thing tomorrow."

"Too bad we can't show off Riveria to Dae, huh?" Jirou noted.

"Riveria… that's the town run by Adventurers, right?" I asked.

"Yup. It is one heck of a town, I tell you."

The Guild once had an outpost down here, but the cost of maintaining it was too much for them to fund so they shut it down. Some Adventurers had taken the opportunity to build a small town from it, and that became the rogue town known as Riveria.

Though it was known to get destroyed only to be built back up time and time again. Why do they keep building it if they eventually get destroyed anyways?

"Wouldn't it be better if we stay there instead?" I asked.

While monsters didn't spawn on this floor, I'd heard from Drake that monsters from the lower floors were known to make their way up to Under Resort from time to time and roam the forest, making camping out in them extremely risky.

"It would be preferable, but the inns there are notorious for hiking up the prices on a whim." Lisa explained to me, "And after all our preparations, we don't have the extra funds for it."

"I see."

"Don't worry. We had done this a lot of times." Kyumaru told me, "Just trust in us, okay?"

"Mm. Okay."

"Enough chatting about. Let's go."

Following Garos's lead, we made our way into the forest. Along the way, we encountered a few monsters that were instantly taken out with incredible ease. We eventually found a small flat space under some trees next to a flowing stream to make camp.

We had two big tents set up, one for the guys and the other for the girls. By the time we finished setting everything up, the crystals had dimmed down to the point that it looked to be night, and we had sat down around the campfire for a late dinner. We had some dried food and a bit of warm soup.

"Hey, Dae. Have a taste of this." Tris handed me what looked like a fluff of pink cotton, "It's a fruit native to this floor alone. It's called Honey Cloud."

"I didn't know fruits could grow down here." I looked at the 'fruit' in my hand, it being as light as a wet sponge. Was this even edible?

"And so does every other Adventurer." Jeanne noted as she chewed on some nuts, "The Dungeon still has many mysteries about it that scholars have been trying to decipher for centuries, even after the Gods had built Babel over it."

"It's best not to think too hard about it." Lisa helpfully pointed out, "Just accept it as part of the Dungeon's many little gimmicks."

"I see…"

I bit into the Honey Cloud, and nearly choked the intense sweetness that came out of it. It tasted like someone just fed me an entire jar of pure honey!

"Hahaha, I guess you don't have that much of a sweet tooth, huh?" Leos laughed as he handed me a canteen to wash out the taste.

"Yeah, that stuff is intense." Jirou chuckled, "Though the girls seem to like it."

"It's not that bad." Tetra noted while stuffing a few more of that 'fruit' into her mouth.

"Says the kid that eats her weight in sweets every other week…" Drake groaned as he took away a few fluffs from her much to her dismay.

"Hey, give them back!"

"No! You had more than enough."

We watch the Amazon try to climb on her older partner who was desperately trying not to let her take the sugar fluffs, letting loose a few giggles at their antics.

"Okay, let's discuss our plan of action tomorrow." Jeanne stated, getting everyone's attention before continuing, "While the end goal is to dive into the first floor of the Lower Floors, we still have to finish the Guild issued quest first."

"Collect drop items from Sword Stags, Libellulas, Trolls, and Mad Beetles, right?" Kyumaru pointed out.

"The monsters shouldn't be much of a problem." Jirou noted, "But it would take at least a day to hunt for all of them."

"Then let's postpone our final dive till after we finish the quest." Garos suggested, "Our supplies should last for two to three more days. We'll head for the Lower Floors for the following day after."

"I agree." Drake nodded, "It would be best if we are in the best possible condition before tackling the Lower Floors."

"So we are in agreement?"

Nods and words of affirmation from all of us was our answer.

"Right. Then we'll head for the Tree Labyrinth at first light. Now everyone, rest up. Drake, you got the first watch."

He nodded to Jeanne's orders as we all retreated into our tents to rest for the day. After removing my jacket, I laid down on my sleeping bag next to Tris and Tetra, the young Amazon already snoozing away the moment her head touched her mat.

"You still awake, Dae?"

"I just laid down, Tris."

"Ah, right." Tris sheepishly laughed, "This sure is crazy, don't you think? The Middle Floors sure are different from the Upper Floors."

"Yeah, it is."

"I had heard how terrifying a Minotaur can be, but to actually see one charging at you… seeing is really believing."

"It sure is." I noted. If we weren't in a party with High Class Adventurers, I'm not sure if we could even make it to Under Resort in one piece.

"And that Monster Rex…" I could hear her shudder at the memory, "I had never thought monsters could be that big."

"And it is fast, despite being that big."

"Yeah, being that fast while being that huge? The Adventurers that kill it on the regular basis must be something else…"

"Seeing that Jirou and Jeanne were the only ones that could even hurt it, I would think so."

"And tomorrow we will be heading for the Great Tree Labyrinth… man, I'm getting real nervous now…"

"Mm."

We continued to talk throughout the night until we eventually fell asleep.

Unknown to me at the time, that the next leg of our expedition was going to be one we weren't going to forget for a long time.

…
To be continued…​

Spoiler

Sup! Finally done with this chapter! Took me a while to finish this, with a writer block and my work schedule being a killer.

The expedition to the Lower Floors began, and hopefully I didn't put them to be way too OP while not part of Freya or Loki Familia. With seven High Class Adventurers, the Middle Floors before Under Resort shouldn't be a problem to them at all.

As for skills, hopefully Caster Duet isn't too broken, as we have Leyfia with Elf Ring that allowed her to spam a Level 6 magic spell.

With that, I thank you all for reading this!

 

[Colin Yeo]

Chapter 3: Disaster​

"Dae, on your right!"

"On it!"

I raised the massive shield and blocked the volley of stingers firing at me and the chanting Tetra. I peeked out from behind it and growled at the giant flying dragonflies hovering above us.

The expedition team was currently at the twentieth floor, in what was known as the Large Tree Labyrinth.

As per its namesake, this part of the Dungeon looked to be inside of a giant tree. The walls, the ceiling, even the ground looked to be made out of wood. And all around it were plants of all abnormal variants, making it looked to be a forest kingdom.

And perhaps due to the forest theme, many of the monsters we had encountered so far were mostly insects or plant-based creatures. There were a few times we nearly hit a Dark Fungus and nearly self-destructed from it.

And thanks to the wide open area we were currently standing in, the flying annoyances that were the Gun Libellulas had taken to firing their stingers from above at a range far from any of us could reach

At least, all but two of us.

"Hiyah!!"

The swarm of Libellulas immediately got taken out with several swings of Lisa's chain sickles. In response to this, they flew even higher to get a further range from us.

"Lisa, duck."

An arrow then flew above my head and struck its target in the abdomen. I glanced back at Drake who was now wielding a bow due to what happened to his knives yesterday. I was surprised how skilled of an archer he was.

A few more arrows were fired and took down most of the flying monsters in no time; some even impaled two or more in one arrow. Parts of the now dead monsters rain down in front of us and I could hear Tris squirm beside me behind her own shield.

"Damn it, why does it have to be bugs…" She grumbled.

"Hey, if you got complaints for the Dungeon, you are welcome to voice it!" Drake called out.

"I would rather not get a monster party spawn on us, thank you very much!"

"If you guys are done back there, mind giving the front lines some support!?"

At Garos's cries, Drake turned his bow to the front of us and started firing at the Bugbears our shield wielders were holding back; Leos and Garos pushing against the pack of monsters as hard as they possibly could. The arrows flew and struck the monsters, getting them to back off a bit and allowing our vice-captain to strike back with his sword.

Past them were a flurry of strikes by our fastest attackers, Jirou and Kyumaru dashing left and right as their swords slashed into the pack of Lizardmen and their flower shields while Jeanne had taken to dealing with the larger Trolls.

"Magic is ready!!"

"Alright! Everyone, clear back!!"

"Ignis Lumine!!"

Tetra unloaded her spell, arcs of flames flying towards the monsters as everyone pulled back away from the area of destruction. The resulting bombardment resulted in the attacking monsters getting blown to bits.

A few stragglers managed to survive the spell, but they were quickly taken out by our attackers in no time at all.

Once all the monsters were finished off, me and Tris made our way to collect all the magic stones and drop items left behind. Some of the stones, we had to cut the dead monsters' bodies open to pull it out, which wasn't fun at all.

"That should be all the drop items we need for this floor." Leos noted as he checked the haul in the massive bag I was given to store them in.

"That's faster than I thought." Jirou noted in awe, "Looks like it was the right call to bring the newbies with us."

"More hands make less work, as they say." Jeanne told him, "So, what else is left?"

"Um, let me see here…" Garos took out a rolled parchment paper from his pack and read through it, "We left only those from the Mad Beetles and Sword Stags."

"We haven't encountered them yet. Let's head to the lower floors."

Getting back into our usual formation, we slowly and steadily made our way down. Thankfully, those annoying Libellulas don't spawn in the lower floors, so we had an easier time dealing with most of the monsters we came across.

At times, we changed formation to have me or Tris in the vanguard with a massive shield alongside Leos while Garos took out a few monsters our attackers had missed.

"How are you holding up?" Leos suddenly asked me as we slowly moved down a level.

"I'm doing okay. Though using a shield was way harder that I had imagined." I noted as I rubbed my sore wrists. Leos and Garos sure were tough to deal with this all the time.

"The trick is to push into the attack." He told me with a grin, "Bracing would only work against long range attacks."

"Ah, I see." I'll try that the next time we encounter more monsters.

"Still, I'm impressed with how well you have taken to the Supporter role. I was certain you would dash out to slay any of the monsters in front of us the first chance you get."

"I don't think I'm that bad."

""Yes, you are.""

I let loose a groan when Tris decided to add her own thoughts to it. "But to be fair, you wouldn't be able to fight like you normally do while lugging that backpack around. I bet you will get the Artel Assist Skill when we return."

"Oh, please no. I think Drake would get a heart attack if she dashed about carrying that giant backpack." He then paused and mused to himself, "…though it would be interesting to see that."

"…actually, I had been wondering about that." I asked them, "How does one get Skills?"

"Hm, Skills are quite rare, and more difficult to obtain compared to magic spells." Leos stated, "The requirements to get one are vague at best, and there is no way to know what kind of skills you will get. Most Adventurers almost never get any skills in their entire career."

"Really? Then Tris getting the Artel Assist is…"

"It's pretty shocking, to say the least. I'm honestly quite jealous. I have been an Adventurer longer than either of you, and yet I don't have a Skill or Spell."

"You'll get there someday." Tris told him, "Who knows, maybe you'll get a Skill after this expedition."

"Hopefully… otherwise I'm nowhere close to achieving my dream…"

"Dream?" I asked.

"Oh, you heard that?" Leos nervously laughed with a blush, "Well… the reason I became an Adventurer was to be a hero, like the Braver of the Loki Familia. And with me right now, I'm nowhere near that goal."

"I see… but I think you're pretty close to being one."

"Huh?"

"I mean, heroes are those that protect people, right?" I pointed out, "And back at the 17th floor, you protected me from the Goliath. So technically, you are one."

"…"

"…hm? Is something wrong?"

"Ah, no! Nothing's wrong!"

"Pft-hahaha!" Jirou suddenly laughed from the front, "Isn't that nice, Leos? A cute girl just called you a hero in the most technical sense."

"Oh, shut up!" Leos shouted with red tinted cheeks which only got him to laugh even harder.

"It's fine, Leos." Jeanne added, "Every boy dreams of becoming a hero at one point in their lives."

"You too, Jeanne…!?"

"Did I… say something wrong?" I asked worriedly.

"Nah, you did just fine, Dae." Tris assured me.

"Huh…" I wasn't convinced, but decided to not think too hard about it.

…​

"Hey, isn't that a Vouvire!?"

We had descended down a couple more floors and taken down a few more monsters required by the quest. All of the sudden, Lisa cried out loud and drew our attention to her. Following her finger, I saw a humanoid dragon monster half the size of a Troll with a distinctive red gem on its forehead just wandering about between the trees.

"Oh, we are lucky." Jirou whistled in awe.

"Lucky? Why?" I asked curiously.

"Vouvire are rare monsters that almost nobody would come across." Leos explained to me, "That red gem on its head alone can be sold for a small fortune, and that's not including its drop items."

"Small fortune?"

"At least 9 digits."

"…That is lucky."

"You said it."

"It doesn't look like there are any other monsters around." Drake noted.

"Then let's get it before someone else sees it."

"Kyumaru, wait! It's still—"

Not hearing our vice-captain's warnings, the Renard dashed up to it and unsheathed his sword in a strike. The monster reacted quickly and blocked his attack with its long nails. With a growl, it pushed him back before hitting him away with its long serpentine tail.

"—a dragon."

"God damn it. Jirou, Garos, with me. The rest of you hang back."

At Jeanne's command, most of the attackers charged at the half-dragon humanoid monster. The rest of us grouped up, with me and Tris took the rear with our shields while Lisa and Leos took the front with Tetra and Drake in the middle.

There was no telling when the Dungeon would attempt to drop a Monster Party on us, so we were on high alert.

The fight with the half-dragon humanoid went as well as it could with four second-class Adventurers. With Garos and Jirou drawing the Vouvire's attention, Kyumaru and Jeanne were able to attack it as much as they liked. Even then, it looked to be quite difficult for them to take down.

Its scales were hard enough that their weapons could only leave scratches on it, its wings acting as pseudo shields and its claws were as long as daggers that slashed against Garos's shield and leaving grooves in them.

It also didn't help that its massive tail could whip hard enough to send any of them flying back, with the sole exception being Garos.

"This is going to take them a while." Lisa noted.

"Yeah, hopefully—"

"Dae."

"Ah, right."

I quickly closed my mouth to prevent another Goliath incident from yesterday. The Dungeon sure knows how to screw with Adventurers…

"Hey, since Leos had told us why he wanted to be an Adventurer, what about the rest of you?" Tris suddenly asked, "Why did you all become Adventurers?"

"That's pretty out of the blue." Lisa noted, "Why the sudden interest?"

"Curiosity, mostly. It has been a year since I entered this Familia, and yet I don't really know much about the rest of you."

"That is true…" I mused. I don't really know much about everyone else except for my fellow rookies.

"Mm… my reason is nothing special, really." Drake stated, "I was born into a Familia and just ended up becoming an Adventurer."

"You were born into the Hecate Familia?"

"No, another one."

"Oh yeah, you converted from the Miach Familia, didn't you?" Tetra noted.

"They are the Familia we bought our potions at, right?" I noted. I'd been to their pharmacy once to help stock up for a previous expedition. "The one that has only one member?"

"They used to have more." Lisa added, "But I heard they ended up owing a large debt to the Dian Cecht Familia and everyone left, with Miss Naza being the only one to remain."

"That sounds terrible…" I mean, they just left when their Familia was shouldering a heavy burden. And Drake is one of those selfish jerks?

"It's more complicated than just running from debt." Drake argued, "But I wouldn't lie that it wasn't one of the reasons."

"I'm sure you have your own reasons." Tris noted.

"As for me, well…" Tetra nervously laughed, "I was an orphan when Lady Hecate invited me to her Familia. I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I accepted and here I am."

"Oh… sorry for bringing it up…"

"No, it's fine!" The Amazon girl assured her, "I'm just glad that I accepted her offer! Now, I have a home and a family!"

"Ahaha, that's nice to know." Lisa chuckled.

"What about you, Lisa?" I asked.

"Me? Well… to be honest, it was a long time ago, so I don't quite remember—"

"I think Jirou had mentioned offhand that you came to Orario looking for a husband."

"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!!"

Leos flinched at the sudden rage the Pallum was unleashing; though that got Tris blinking in surprise at the revelation, "Wait, you came all the way to Orario just to get hitched?"

"I was young once!" Lisa cried out, "And, well… Finn did look quite dashing, and I might have thought that becoming one would give me a shot at being his…"

"So you were a Braver fan girl?"

"Yes… Ah, my dark past…"

Drake patted her back in an attempt to reassure her, though it only got her to sulk a bit more.

"Hey, I don't blame you." Tris noted with a shrug, "For a Pallum, Braver is a hunk."

"What about you, Tris?" I asked, "Why did you become an Adventurer?"

"Me? To be honest, I didn't intend to become an Adventurer." Tris confessed, "I came to Orario to get a fresh start. I was content with getting any job I could find, but I ended up getting fired from every job I got. I was broke and homeless when Lady Hecate invited me in."

"And you couldn't exactly turn down a job and a place to stay." Lisa concluded, "No wonder you were so enthusiastic when you first came."

"I wanted to prove to you all that I can make it through as one."

"I think you had more than proved yourself when you got the Artel Assist Skill." The Pallum told her, "And considering our goddess, she isn't the type to just kick someone out. If anything, once she got her eye on you, she wouldn't let go."

"Most definitely…" I muttered to myself. I could still remember the chase she and I had months prior.

She was really persistent…

"Ah, Dae! You haven't tell us your reasoning!" Tetra exclaimed.

"I think we all know why Dae became one." Lisa noted, "Speaking of which, how is your search for your missing memories going?"

"Nowhere, sadly." I sighed.

"That bad, huh?" Leos muttered, "Eh, give it some time. I heard Amnesia is temporary, so they should return sooner or later."

"I sure hope so…"

"Even if you don't," He placed his hand on my shoulder, "You'll still have a place here. You can make new memories with us, ones that you would never forget."

"Smooth, Leos. Smooth~!"

"S-Shut it!" He shouted back at Tris's teasing with a heavy blush.

"I still don't get why we can't just hit her head and get her memories back that way?" Tetra asked.

"Because that is not the way to cure amnesia, no matter what other people said…" Drake sighed, before turning around, "I think they are finishing up with the Vouvire."

We turned our attention back to the fight as we saw the second-class Adventurers finally take down the rare monster.

Kyumaru and Jirou attacked from its flanks which it had no choice but to block with its claws. Garos then managed to get it to attack him with its tail which he blocked with his shield. In the brief moment after its strike, Jeanne managed to get close and stabbed the monster right in its heart with her spear.

With one final shriek, the Vouvire collapsed and turned into dust. All that was left of it was the red jewel on its forehead and one of its claws.

"That took longer than expected…" Lisa noted, "I guess it is still a dragon-type monster, after all."

"Good job, you guys!" Tetra cheered.

We all walked forward to rejoined them—

"DAE, LOOK OUT!!"

It happened in an instance. Leos grabbed my arm and pulled me away. I turned around and saw him raise his shield up to brace for something, a deep grimace in his expression. And then…

*SWISH*

*BLAM*

Something large slammed into him, sending him flying and crashing into the tree hard; his bones breaking on impact with a loud sickening crunch.

…​

Garos was the first person to notice the monster's first attack. And Leos was the first to react to it in attempting to defend against its strike despite his low level.

And he paid dearly for it.

"LEOS!!"

A Troll, one unlike any they had ever faced before, suddenly appeared behind their lower levelled members from out of nowhere. It was at least a head taller than the average Troll; its ash-grey skin looked almost like rocks; its body was covered in splashes of blood while it wielded a stone club smeared with the same crimson fluid.

Its abnormal appearance meant one thing, one that struck fear into his gut.

'An Irregular!?'

If there was one thing that Adventurers feared in the Dungeon above all else, it would be encountering abnormal monsters.

Going by the term Irregular, these monsters were often stronger, larger, and far tougher than their normal counterparts; almost to the point that they were a Level higher in strength. Any surprise encounter with such beings almost guarantees certain death to any ill prepared Adventurer.

And one such monster had taken out one of his comrades so easily.

"GROAARRRRR!!"

'This is bad… Leos may be a Low-Class Adventurer, but his toughness is definitely the best among the ones in our Familia. He could handle hits from most monsters in the Middle Floors. If he got taken out so easily by that monster…'

"Get away from there!!" Kyumaru shouted as he ran towards the abnormal Troll.

"Be careful!! That monster has to be at least Level 3!" Garos shouted as he dashed after him with his shield raised.

The Renard leaped at the monster and slashed at it, but his blade could only scrape against its rocky skin leaving nay a scratch while parts of his weapon's edge was scrapped off instead. Unperturbed by the attack, the abnormal Troll swung its massive club at him.

Garos managed to get in front of Kyumaru in time and attempted to block its strike like Leos had done. And like him, both the vice-captain and Renard were sent flying and crashing into the trees.

"Garos! Kyumaru!" Lisa cried out.

"Shit!" Drake picked up a petrified Tetra, "We need to move, now!!"

"No need to tell me twice! Tris, Dae, let's move!!"

"B-But what about Leos!?" Tris cried out, "We need to help him!"

"It's too risky!! We would all get wiped out before we could do anything!" She told the rookie Adventurer. 'And even then, it is highly unlikely that Leos survived that attack…'

"B-But—"

"Look out!!"

Tetra's warning had them turning around and seeing the giant Troll swinging down its club at them. Lisa quickly tackled Tris and Dae out of the way, the massive stone weapon just a few inches from directly hitting them.

"Sorry, Tetra!"

"Whoa!!"

As the Troll raised its club again, ready to strike at them again, Drake dropped Tetra and drew his bow. He took aim at the monster, then fired an arrow at it and pierced its eye. It let out a loud shriek as it reeled back in pain, dropping its club while clutching on its injured eye.

"Now, run!!"

Not wanting to waste the chance her comrade had given her, Lisa grabbed the wrists of the two rookies and dragged them with her away from the monster, with Drake following suit with Tetra under his arm like a bag of potatoes.

After the massive Troll had pulled the arrow out of its eye, it let out roar and dashed at them, not even bothering to pick up its weapon in its fury; its massive feet creating tremors with each step taken. Due to its long limbs, it was able to catch up with the fleeing Adventurers in no time at all.

"Take this!!"

"Guh!?"

"Captain!!"

Unfortunately for it, the Captain of the Hecate Familia managed to intercept it and stopped the monster in its tracks; Jeanne swung the end of her spear into its face as hard as she could. The attack had it stumbling back a few steps before managing to stabilize itself.

But before it could react, Jirou leaped at it and slashed at its chest. His blade couldn't break through its tough skin as well, but the strike did managed to leave a small scratch on it. The monster retaliated by swiping at him, Jirou managed to dodge the strike by leaping back before retreating back to Jeanne.

"No good?" She asked him.

"Its skin is way tougher than I thought. I could break through it if I strike it a few more times, but…" Jirou grimaced as he looked at the scrapped notches on his sword's edge, "I'm not sure if my sword would hold till then."

"A Troll with hard and spiky skin… I seemed to recall a similar description pinned on the Guild's announcement board when I last checked… if I remember it right, it was estimated to be Level 4 at least."

"Wait, seriously…!? No wonder Leos got destroyed in one strike… I doubt even Garos could handle more than one attack from that thing…"

"ROOOAARRR!!!"

"T-This is…!"

As if facing the Irregular was bad enough, the Dungeon had decided to add fire to the fuel by getting a horde of monsters to dash towards the adventurers; the dreaded Monster Stampede. The number of monsters stomping towards them was enough to have the ground quaking.

"We're boxed in…!" Drake grimaced, "There's no way out…!"

"What do we do!?" Tris cried.

"There's no choice…" Jeanne steeled herself and gave the order, "Me and Jirou will handle this Irregular. The rest of you, try to hold out against the Stampede as long as you can."

"T-That's crazy…! We can barely handle a Monster Party on the seventeenth floor!"

"We have no other options. The Irregular is too much for anyone below Level 4, and we can't afford to divide our forces any more than we already have."

"B-But…"

"…Understood." Drake nodded as he drew his bow, "I'll take command. Tetra, start chanting."

"…A-Alright…!" The young Amazon nervously nodded as she began her chant, her magic circle appearing under her.

"Lisa, sorry but can you handle the front lines? I'll try to provide you support as much as I can."

"I'll try." Lisa nodded as she drew out her kusarigama.

"Tris, do you still have the tower shield with you?" She shakily nodded and he continued on, "Take point in front of Tetra. Try to stop most of the monsters from getting to her. She is the cornerstone for our survival."

"A-Are we seriously going to do this…?"

"It is either this, or let them tremble over us." He pulled back the bow string and took aim, "But at least like this, we have a slight chance to get out of this alive."

"May the shroud of the land protect thee; Terra Evlogia!"

Tetra unloaded an enchant on Tris, who gave a short sigh before walking in front of the young girl and braced with her shield; the young Amazon already began chanting her second spell.

"And Dae, help out… Dae…?"

Drake looked over at the half-elf, who only kneeled on the ground with an unfocused gaze. He grimaced at the sight as the reason for her behaviour formed in his mind.

'Crap, she is in shock… If I had more time, I'll try to snap her out of it, but…'

"Tris, guard her as well." He told the fellow Low Class Adventurer, who nodded before pulling Dae close behind her.

"The ground will be scorched and reborn! Ignis Lumine!!"

With the final chant, a barrage of fire magic was unloaded onto the incoming monsters, and their battle for survival commenced.

…
To be continued…

Yup! Sorry for taking so long with this chapter!

The last couple of months had been exhausting, so I didn't have the energy to write this chapter. But I managed to finish it, so here it is.

For those unaware, the Irregular that they are facing is an abnormal monster that was mentioned offhand in Sword Oratario. It was just an example for Irregular monsters, so I thought to use it for this fic.

As for its Level, it was stated to have killed hundreds of High Class Adventurers before getting slain by the Freya Familia, so Level 4 seemed to be a right fit.

With that, I thank you all for reading this!​

 

[ptbptb]

"Ah, his bad habit is reeling its head again…" Garos groaned

Click to shrink...

The phrase is "rearing its head". Although the spoken speech disclaimer applies: If it's in character then it's fine.

 

[Colin Yeo]

Chapter 4: Regret​

"Jirou, buy me some time." Jeanne told her old friend as she slammed her spear on the ground, a magic circle spawn forth under her feet as she began to chant, "Ride through the sky—Rise from the deep!"

If physical attacks wouldn't do much against that monster, then they had to rely on magic. That would be the only tactic they could use right now.

If that doesn't work… she would rather not think about it.

Unfortunately, she wasn't capable of concurrent chanting like the certain famous elven mage, so she could only stay stationary as she chanted. That made her unable to defend herself or evade any incoming attack.

The Irregular seemed to take notice of that flaw and charged at the chanting elf with every intention to stop her spell from being casted. Thankfully, Jirou immediately intercepted it by smashing his sheathed sword into its face, the strike managing to stun it for a moment.

"Not on my watch!" He shouted as he began attacking the monster in earnest.

That last attack had the desired effect of switching the monster's attention to him; the Irregular started swinging its fists at him wildly, as if trying to get rid of an annoying fly.

And like an annoying fly, Jirou managed to avoid all its strikes while managing to strike back as swiftly as he could. And just like it, while his attacks didn't even leave much of a bruise on the monster, it did look to be somewhat hurting it.

Barely, if at all.

It didn't help that in order to keep his blade from breaking, he decided to assault it with his sword sheathed.

"Lightning is your domain—May hellfire rise up…"

'Barely halfway done…!?' Jirou mentally cried out, 'Damn it, I'm not sure how long I can keep this up…!'

He could feel his stamina was starting to drain as a few of its attacks were starting to be grazing him despite him managing to avoid them. If a single of its strikes hit him, he doubted he would be able to walk away from it any better than Garos or Kyumaru.

Even so…

"Raaaaahhhh!!!"

Jirou kept up his assault as much as he could. He needed to buy Jeanne enough time. Her magic was the only thing that could kill the Irregular; it was capable of blasting off the feet of a Goliath, after all.

So, if they were to survive this monstrosity, he had to buy enough time—

"GUUHH!?"

In his desperate assault, an attack managed to overcome his evasion and struck him square in the chest. He could feel his ribs breaking under the stone-hard fist as he was sent up into the air; his consciousness fading as the taste of iron coated his mouth.

The Irregular then smashed its fist into his airborne body and sent him crashing into a bunch of trees; the trees uprooting and toppling on top of him.

Satisfied with the outcome, it turned its attention back to the chanting elf—

"May they know your judgement—Feel the flames of your sins!"

With one final verse, her spells were ready to fire. No doubt sensing the danger, the Irregular dashed as fast as it could towards her; desperate to stop whatever she had planned for it

But unfortunately for the monster, it wasn't fast enough.

"Caelum Lupical—Tartarus Canis!!"

With a wave of her hand, she unleashed upon the duet of spells that gave birth to her alias; the pair of wolves of lightning and magma lunged forward at the monster with the ferocity of one.

The two spells struck true, thunder boomed across the entire floor as a flash of light blinded anyone looking at the attack before a flaming inferno devoured the target.

The heat of the resulting explosion had Jeanne sweating up a storm, not just from draining most of her Mind for the dual spells; she fell to her knees, panting and wheezing in sheer exhaustion.

'It's been a while since I've experienced an almost Mind Down… If that didn't take it down, I could only—'

"Grrggghh…"

"…hahaha…"

A dejected laughter left her mouth as the smoke clear to show the Irregular Troll standing in the middle of a molten crater still alive, but not unscathed.

The tough skin it was no doubt proud of, it had heated up till it looked like a skin of molten magma that was cooling back down; though there was a huge crack in its chest that was showing some burnt flesh. One of its arms was burnt away, while the other was covered in cracked and black skin that shows burnt flesh underneath as well.

Her magic definitely broke its tough hide, but it wasn't able to pierce into its flesh. Despite that, while it was still standing, the spells left an irreversible mark on its body. It wouldn't be as powerful as it once was.

"GRAAAHH!!"

Letting out a loud roar, the Irregular charged at her with half the vigor as it once did, but with twice the ferocity. Jeanne shakily pulled her spear up in front of her in an attempt to block its attack, as futile as it may be.

It reeked its remaining arm back, ready to strike down the elven spearwoman—

"Where do you think you're going!?"

"Guuh!?"

A sword slashed into the monster's back. But unlike the previous few times, the blade had sliced through its rocky and now molten skin and drew blood. It let loose a cry of surprise before turning around and facing the Adventurer it thought to have defeated.

Jirou limply walked up to the Irregular; blood dripping from his head, bruises all over his body, his non-sword arm laid limp on his side, his clothes in tatters; and yet, he still stood strong.

"I'm not done yet…!!" He shouted as he brandished his sword at it, as a crimson aura began emitting from his body.

The skill Wounded Warrior; it increased Jirou's parameters in accordance to the amount of damage he received for five minutes. He couldn't have counted the number of times this skill of his had saved him from certain death.

At his current state, his status would no doubt have at least doubled.

'Even so… the injuries are way worse than I originally thought…'

He grimaced as he felt the pain from his no doubt broken ribs. He could also feel his knees about to buckle any moment, 'Jeanne is no doubt dealing with a Mind Down right down… and I have no idea if the rest managed to survive the Stampede…'

"I have to end this, right now…!"

"GRRAAAAAGGGGHHH!!"

The Irregular let out a low growl before roaring and charging towards him with a downward swing of its fist.

Jirou steadied himself as much as he could and swung at its fist, parrying away the attack. The monster staggered back, slipping on the molten ground before falling backwards, leaving itself open for him to deal the fatal blow.

"RAAAAHHHHHH!!"

He leaped towards it, reeling his arm back before piercing his sword through the burnt flesh in its chest. As the Irregular fell on its back, he stepped in it and pushed the blade in deeper until he felt the breaking of its magic stone.

Letting loose a final cry, the abnormal monster finally collapsed into nothing but ash. Once his skill's aura dissipated, Jirou collapsed on the remains, wheezing from sheer exhaustion.

"If… if this doesn't get me… a Level Up… I'm going to rage so hard…" He panted out.

"You and me both…" Jeanne panted out in response as she limped up to him, "I'm out of healing potions. Do you have any left?"

"Left thigh pouch."

"Thanks." She withdrew two potions from said pouch and uncocked them, "We need to get to the others… I doubt they could hold against those monsters for long–"

"RRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"

An emotionally charged reverberated across the forest, one coming from their latest newcomer.

"Was that… Dae…?" Jirou asked, "Did something happen!?"

"What it is, it can't be good…" Jeanne agreed as she haphazardly poured the potion down his throat while she drank hers.

"Bbbuubbbuu—are you trying to drown me with a potion—!?"

*BOOM*

Her worries doubled when she heard the sound of thunder.

…​

Tris thought she knew how dangerous the Dungeon was, of the risks an Adventurer would have to face as their job; and she thought she was fully prepared for it.

Boy, did she think wrong.

Comparing the current shitstorm she was facing to the Monster Party and Monster Rex combo she faced yesterday, she would have picked the latter over the former.

At least with the Monster Rex, they had a sure fire chance of escaping with everyone alive and well.

Here? It would be a damn miracle that they made it out of this mess alive at all.

With an Irregular Monster behind them that was at least as strong as the Familia's best fighters, if not stronger, and a stampede of the floor's monsters rushing at them in the front, the phrase between a rock and a hard place came to her mind.

"Ignis Lumine!!"

Tetra's spell bombarded the incoming monsters, the third time she had cast that spell over the past hour or so; and the fourth time she had to drink a magic potion as well.

The little girl was no doubt exhausted, her voice starting to sound a bit scratchy from the back to back casting she had to do. Even so, she pressed on and began casting once more.

"Graahh!!"

"Guh!"

Tris braced as a hobgoblin pushed against her tower shield; part of its snarling face peeking on the side as it tried to reach her with its lanky arms. With a mighty heave, she pushed the monster off her shield, just as an arrow pierced into its chest and it turned to ash.

Their current makeshift formation was barely holding it together.

Tetra's bombardment magic definitely made things easier for them, being strong enough to take down most of the tougher monsters. They would have been overrun three times over without it.

Even so, Lisa was still barely able to hold the frontlines if at all. Her specialty was rear support with her kusarigama, so being forced to the front was doing her no favours.

It also didn't help that her attacks couldn't get through the more armoured monsters like the Mad Beetles. She was able to somewhat deal with those by aiming for their joints to slow them down, but that was only the bare minimum against such monsters.

It was thanks to Drake's support that the frontlines didn't collapse; his arrows always hit their mark and often killed most of the monsters Lisa couldn't kill on her own, and monsters that Tris wouldn't be able to kill at all.

"Graaahh!!"

"Oh, crap!"

It was hard enough that she had to defend against monsters that were way above her weight class, both figuratively and literally, she also had to do so while protecting not just their magic caster, but also the newest rookie to their Familia; the half elf still not fully responsive, if at all.

"Dae, snap out of it and help me out!!"

She had been calling out her friend since the start of their fight, but to absolutely no avail. She was on her own, and she was reaching her limit.

"I-Ignis L-Lumine—grk!"

"Tetra!?"

Just as she was about to cast another bombardment, Tetra collapsed onto her knees; her magic circle faded as her spell sizzled away, just barely avoiding an Ignis Fatuus.

She had reached her limit.

"Damn it!" Drake fired another arrow at the monsters before turning to rear, "Tris, get Tetra a healing potion! Guard her till she recovers!"

"G-Got it!!"

"W-Wait…!" Tetra hoarsely called out, "I can still…!"

"And risk getting our only advantage killed by an Ignis Fatuus? Not a chance!" He told her, "The stampede is already down by half, so we should be alright for a few minutes—"

"GAH!!"

"Lisa!!"

Just as he said that, the only second-class Adventurer in their formation was sent flying by a Troll. She crashed into the tree hard, the sounds of her bones cracking could be heard from their location. The Troll stomped towards her, reeling back its fist to finish her off.

"This is bad…!" Jirou reached for more arrows, and feel out only one left in his quiver, "And of course, I'm down to my last one."

"Grraaaghhh!!"

At around the same time, a Sword Stag had begun to charge at him with equal vigor. He now knew that he had to make a choice; which one of the monsters would he fire his last arrow at.

Without any hesitation, he drew the arrow and cocked back his bow; taking aim at the Troll, "At least I'll die saving my comrade."

He let loose the arrow, the arrow pierced into the Troll's head and killing it almost instantly. The Sword Stag soon came close to him, aiming to pierce into his body with its sharp horns.

"Protect my comrades with your song, spirits; Venti Troy!"

A familiar spell was cast and a green translucent shield appeared in front of him, blocking the monster's charge.

"That spell is…!"

"Don't you count us out yet!!"

From behind Tetra, Garos and Kyumaru leaped out ready and eager to fight; the vice-captain stabbing and killing the Sword Stag before immediately taking over the guard position from Tris

Meanwhile, the Renard swordsman charged into the fray with his blade at hand, slashing into the monsters with reckless abandon.

"Garos! Kyumaru!" Tris cried in joy, "Y-You guys are alright!!"

"We were almost dead for sure if it weren't for the extra potions we kept well on hand." He told her, showing her the empty potion flasks, "So, how's the current situation?"

"Bad." Drake grimaced, "Tetra is too exhausted to chant, while Lisa just got knocked away by a Troll. She hadn't gotten up yet–"

The fallen trees suddenly moved and the pallum rose from within the pile, staggering back onto her feet while coughing up a blob of blood in the process; with her left arm bent the wrong way and with a broken bone sticking out.

And yet, her eyes still burned with a determination to fight.

"…I stand corrected."

"Yeah, she is a tough one."

A Troll charged at her with a fist ready to strike her down. Twisting the chains around her hand, the Pallum dashed forward to meet the attack head on.

She dodged the fist by mere inches before with a firm grip, swung her chain and sent the sickle swinging and slashing into the Troll's neck, decapitating its head almost instantly.

A sigh escaped her lips as the monster body collapsed down next to her, before she turned to them, "You guys took too long!!"

""Sorry."" They meekly apologised to her.

"Forget it, can someone spare me a potion? I think mine broke with my arm."

"Got one here!" Kyumaru said.

Garos blocked a Mad Beetle's mandibles and killed it with a thrust of his sword before turning to Drake, "Heal the girls up. I'll take over command."

"On it."

Drake holstered his bow and ran over to the two girls; he then withdrew a potion from his pouch and passed it to Tetra, the Amazon girl immediately started chugging its contents.

Tris let loose a long sigh, knees almost buckling under her weight from the relief she felt. 'We might survive this after all…'

"Garos, above!!"

Kyumaru's warning came a bit too late; the vice-captain looked up just as a Deadly Hornet flew over them towards the lower levelled Adventurers; specifically Dae, who was on her knees out in the open completely unaware.

He tried to stop it with his spell, but he couldn't finish his incantation fast enough.

"Dae, look out!!"

His warning to her managed to reach Drake in time and he reacted swiftly; grabbing the tower shield from Tris and ran towards Dae as fast as he could, ignoring every cry from Tetra for him to stop.

Just as the Deadly Hornet was about to bury its stinger into the half elf, he managed to get in front of her and braced—

*BANG*

*SPLAT*

…​

It felt like being in fog. Everything felt numb. Why did Leos do that? Why did he have to push me out of the way?

Why wasn't it me?

"Guh!"

Something warm splattered on my face.

The smell of iron, the smell of blood.

"…g-grgk…"

The sound of something heavy dropping into a wet puddle broke me out of my thoughts and brought me to a horrifying sight.

Drake was in front of me, collapsed on the ground in a puddle of blood spewed forth from a hole in his gut. His eyes half-lidded and unfocused, soft wheezes coming out of his pale trembling lips.

"D-Drake…?"

"DRAKE!!" Tetra cried out.

"Damn it! Someone gets him a potion, now!" Kyumaru called out.

"That's not good enough! We need an elixir! Did we stock up on that!?" Lisa asked.

"There should be one in the bags!"

"F-Found it!!"

"Hurry!!"

I barely registered Tris digging through my bag and pulled out the elixir. She quickly began feeding its contents to Drake; his wounds beginning to heal, but his complexion didn't look to be getting any better.

"D-Drake…" Tetra sobbed, "Please… don't die…"

I could feel my mind going blank, not sure what to do. My fingers started to feel numb. What was happening? Why is Drake on the ground? Who have done this to him!?

"GGRROOOAAARRRR!!"

I turned to the direction of the roars; my thoughts halted as I saw the horde of monsters everyone was fighting.

Lisa and Kyumaru swinging their weapons and killing them by the dozens, Garos holding back the ones that got past them.

As I saw the chaos happening in front of me, a certain emotion came to surface, one I had no idea was capable of feeling at such intensity.

Anger.

"RRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"

"Dae, wait!!"

Letting out a cry that surprised even myself, I found myself tossing the massive backpack aside and charging right at the monsters. It was them, it was those monsters that did this to Drake, to Leos!!

They must pay for that!!

They all must die!!

"Strike, and break through; Electro!!"

My magic flowed into me as I reeled back my arm and struck the first monster in my path; my lightning coated fist piercing into the Hobgoblin's chest and breaking its magic stone.

As it turned to ash, I turned my attention to the next monster; a Troll raised its hands and slammed down at me with a hammer strike. I leaped back and avoided the attack before climbing up its arm and stabbing my hand into its eye.

It shrieked in pain before swatting me off of it with a backhand, the strike sending me crashing and bouncing off the ground hard. Pain erupted from my back as I felt my bones cracking from the attack; I ignored all that and I leaped back at it.

As I reeled back my fist to strike at it, the Troll swung its arm at me and landed a lariat, sending me crashing back into the ground.

"Guah!!"

The taste of iron coated my mouth, making me want to throw up my lunch in response. A sharp pain erupted from my chest; more painful than all the wounds I had suffered before.

Even so, the rage in my veins had turned them numb as I staggered back on my feet. I refused to go down. Not until the monsters in front of me were dead.

Not until they were ripped to shreds!!

"Then allow me to help."

A voice echoed in my head, and that was immediately replaced with an enormously sharp pain in my head as well as a huge sense of nausea.

"Dae, run!!"

"Not good, we won't make it!!"

Words started to pop into my mind, words of a foreign language that I had never heard before, but I was able to understand all the same.

When stringed together, the sentence formed by them resembled something of a chant for a magic spell. That was followed by the effect of the spell, as well as its possible usage.

Then, as if on its own, my mouth started chanting that spell.

"Rage, wrath of Heaven. Caelum Veil."​

A new form of power erupted from within, what could only be described as pure lightning surrounded my body like Electro, only this felt way different. Like the source was coming from somewhere else.

Then, as I saw the fist was coming close to me, I spoke the next chant.

"Dispel."​

And my world turned white.

…​

Lightning struck, and thunder roared.

That was the scene that followed afterwards when Jirou and Jeanne managed to recover enough strength and dashed over to assist their Familia in fending off the monsters; they even forcefully fixed Jirou's dislocated arm.

Their newest member, looked to be half-dead from a direct strike from a monster that was leagues above her in strength and power, stood her ground as it threw its fist at her.

Then, foreign words left her mouth in a chant; and almost immediately after, lightning exploded from her, and then shot in all directions around her.

The effect was instantaneous; the Troll that was attacking the half-elf was completely fried to a crisp, its pale skin now as black as soot like the ground around it; said monster was now fallen on its back unmoving.

Any monster that was near them wasn't left unharmed as well; several of them were on the floor spasming out. The caster stumbled a bit before falling face first onto the charred ground.

"What… was that…?" Jirou asked, "Did… Dae had a spell like that?"

"No, I don't think so." Jeanne stated, 'The only magic she has is the enchantment magic, but that didn't seem to be it. And that chant…'

"…Now!! Kill all the monsters!!" Garos quickly commanded, an order everyone immediately took action and began killing all the remaining monsters.

Soon enough, the area was left with nothing but ash, broken magic stones and Drop Items.

"Dae!!"

Tris ran over to her friend as fast as she could; as she flipped her over, she found the half-elf to be unconscious.

"W-What is…?"

"She'll be fine. It's just a Mind Down." Jirou assured the girl.

"That's… the condition when you used too much magic, right?"

"Yup. She must have used up all her mind in that last spell. It is expected, considering the result of it. She should be fine after resting for a bit."

"I think we all need to rest up." Jeanne stated as she took in the current state of the expedition team.

Both Drake and Dae were unconscious, the former being on death's door with his life hanging by a thread; Tetra also looked ready to keel over from exhaustion, and that's not mentioning…

"Is… Leos…" Tris turned to her captain and asked, "Is he…?"

"…" The elf grimaced at the question, fully aware of his fate, but not sure how to break it to the young girl.

"…He didn't make it." Kyumaru interjected, walking over with a broken spear at hand, the spear that Leos wielded for this expedition.

"N-No…this can't…"

"He didn't die instantly, but… he didn't last for long with his wounds." The Renard stated, "The spear was the only thing I could retrieve off of him."

"We… we were just talking… teasing and joking about…" Tris stuttered, tears started falling past her cheeks. Jirou pulled her in close, letting her sob into his chest.

"…Let's head back to Under Resort while we still can." Garos suggested, "We need to regroup before we can ponder over our next move."

"I agree." Lisa nodded, "We can't afford to continue while carrying the two of them."

Jeanne agreed with that as well. The two unconscious fighters aside, they had used up almost all of their healing items.

If they were to encounter another Irregular…

"Then it is settled." The elf captain stated, "We're returning to Riveria!"

""Aye!""

As they all got into formation, Jeanne glanced at the unconscious half-elf on Garos's back; the chant and spell Dae casted still clear in her memory.

'That language is the ones Elves used in casting their spirit magic, magic that they never taught anyone outside their forests or their clans. Why would a half-elf know such magic?'

As the thought crossed her mind, she muttered to herself, "Just who are you, Dae?"

…
To be continued…

Spoiler

Yup. Two chapters in a row!

This was originally going to be one long chapter, but I thought it would be too long so I split it into two. Make things much more manageable.

Against all odds, they managed to defeat the Blood Smeared Troll and lived. And it was a close match, with Jirou only barely able to pull the win via his skill.

As for Dae and the whole suddenly new magic, all I can say is that she is more than she appeared. You just have to read on to find out the reason.

With that, I thank you all for reading this!

​