New Game Plus [The Gamer/Danmachi]
- Thread starter ryuan
- Start date
- Location
- Chile
Maybe because it's predicatable?
I mean, it's pretty nice but there's not much to say when everything's going as expected.
I do have a question though. Does Jee-han still remember recipes and blueprints?
I mean, he could have actually started using crafting-type skills in the time before his death, so if he did, does he remember how to create all sort of stuff?
I mean, it's pretty nice but there's not much to say when everything's going as expected.
I do have a question though. Does Jee-han still remember recipes and blueprints?
I mean, he could have actually started using crafting-type skills in the time before his death, so if he did, does he remember how to create all sort of stuff?
Xryuran
I'm very hard right now... Hard boiled that is.
- Location
- I a sea egg now.
I like it but I am on a phone so large posts to talk about a story are hard for me. If it helps you I'll try when I get a little free time, but my phone hates the little post box and it always jumps around.
So... in site coming g in like an hour or so.
So... in site coming g in like an hour or so.
- Location
- Montana
Perhaps you mean "plunged my sword into its chest,"
I've just noticed the story so if you want some feedback I'll offer some.
I haven't noticed any major issues and you seem to be combining the two storylines fairly well.
My one concern so far is the first chapter, that part felt awkward and a little too long. After Jee-han woke up in the dungeon the story flows better. Trimming the final battle down and breaking it up into memories like the final conversation with Gaia might have worked better but I'm not sure its worth revising.
Bell and Hestia seem to be adjusting to a new person fast, but if I recall the characters correctly they were both rather desperate for some help at the start so falls well inside my acceptable boundaries. I don't remember anything about her having a Lie detection ability but I don't remember her not having it either. Is that something you added or do I need to go refresh my memory?
- Location
- Usa
Story is going fine, however the reality is that we are still following the anime/LN plot so far. Jee-han has not jumped the story off the tracks yet. Probably need episode 3 to start shifting things, everything was an introduction and since both Bell and Hestia are still there and Jee-han has only been here for two days, butterflies have not spread too far. Unlike the two other ongoing Danmachi ficts where Bell is either yanked or the other character has been creating butterflies for 2 years.
Jee-han will drive Hestia a bit crazy since he will likely unlock a mix of spells, skills and developmental abilities seemingly random. Some things like sword mastery would fold into the swordsman developmental ability, physical resistance sounds like another developmental ability the same with Spirit Healing touching on meditation. His lack of common sense will just reinforce some of Bell's worst tendencies too.
Going to be interesting to see how Lili will interact with them if they still meet though, since if they don't she is likely dead.
Akatsunami
The Bonetatoist
- Location
- Brazil
That and theres not much to review só far, the pace is good, the plot progression is going really nicely, even though it's a bit predictable you are being able to maintain us entertained, so yeah, beside basically unavoidable predictability on the beginning of the plot, I really can't find anything to criticize thifs for as of yet.
- Location
- Singapore
Kinda.
The story is good and the pacing is nice, so please don't rush on plot. So far what I see are reasonable stuff that Jee-han would do, build up and such.
I would describe it as the stuff that would happen, slices of life and such before a major arc/storyline happens in an anime.
English is my 2nd language so I can't comment on the grammer, sentence structure, etc.
Skelethin
Barebones Writer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The only real thing that I see an issue with is how much he is mentioning a different Skill for things, and how fast he is gaining them, despite the setting having Skills being basically hard coded to be a MASSIVE deal and not something that a level 1 would have so many, and getting more of with minimal issue. It is basically begging every God around to try and kidnap him to try and learn how he is doing it.
In addition, all the new 'Skills' that he is picking up aren't the same level of power that Skills generally are. At least for what the people in DanMachi are expecting from skills.
Biggest suggestion is setting it up more like sub-skills, that are part of his main Skill - Gaia Magic. It gives people better context to things, as there already exists Fairie Ring(I think thats its name? also forget the user's name), the one that lets its user to use any Elf magic. Gaia Magic Skill is very similar in this regard, as it gives him many different abilities as he learns(or rediscovers) them, but aren't a full Skill as the people of DanMachi would consider it.
Also Eina is reacting far less than expected from learning that he picks up Skills like candy. Such a thing is so unheard of it is impossible in setting as normal. Granted he cheats like a cheating cheater Gamer he is, but for people who aren't familiar with him or his Gamer abilities he is a walking impossibility.
In addition, all the new 'Skills' that he is picking up aren't the same level of power that Skills generally are. At least for what the people in DanMachi are expecting from skills.
Biggest suggestion is setting it up more like sub-skills, that are part of his main Skill - Gaia Magic. It gives people better context to things, as there already exists Fairie Ring(I think thats its name? also forget the user's name), the one that lets its user to use any Elf magic. Gaia Magic Skill is very similar in this regard, as it gives him many different abilities as he learns(or rediscovers) them, but aren't a full Skill as the people of DanMachi would consider it.
Also Eina is reacting far less than expected from learning that he picks up Skills like candy. Such a thing is so unheard of it is impossible in setting as normal. Granted he cheats like a cheating cheater Gamer he is, but for people who aren't familiar with him or his Gamer abilities he is a walking impossibility.
Last edited:
Birth of a Crazy Duo 6
ryuan
From Zero to Hero!
As I finished grabbing the last magic stone from the ground I heard sounds of combat, and while normally I ignore it since other adventurers don't like being snooped on, I heard a familiar voice shouting. With a quick run I arrived at where Bell was panting, at least three kobolds dead at his feet.
"Not bad", I told him while inspecting the damage. Aside from being a bit tired, he was in good shape. The kobold corpses had several cuts and gashes around their arms and a large wound around their torso with the exception of the last one which had a clean cut through his throat. "There's some room for improvement but I reserve a more detailed opinion for when we fight at each other side."
"Jee-han hyung", he looked at me with surprise, "I thought you would be at home buying supplies and such, if I knew you would come I would have waited you for a bit."
"I just came in", about two hours ago, "I did spent most of my time back at Hestia's place setting things up though. Good news is that we now have a 'boy's room' of sorts with our own beds. It's a bunk bed, but I think it will feel more comfortable than sleeping on the couch with no pillow. I was thinking on making some money today and to finish furnishing the place later. The entrance of the church is also a lot cleaner now that I got rid of all the broken benches, in fact the main hall looks quite empty now, perfect to make a living room or something else with all that space."
"That sounds nice", Bell said in appreciation, "but I think the goddess would feel lonely in that room by herself."
"She's", I hesitated since I couldn't quite use the words 'big' without sounding like a jackass, "an adult, she will cope. Besides she's right next door to us and we will see plenty of her since the bathroom and the sink are also on the basement."
"Still, I will miss", he started before becoming beet red. Oh, so the episode with her sneaking into the couch to sleep with him isn't a rare occurrence, huh? "There, this is the last stone. Oh! Lucky, a drop item! Today's a good day."
Just as he said that I heard several cracks from the walls, and around five kobolds dropped from the walls, growling at us. I was unconcerned as I held my sword at ready, but Bell looked nervous. "Uh... should we run?" He asked, glancing at me.
"Your call, I'm fine either way to be honest." I said, truth be told I could deal with them in an instant, but Bell need to have the courage and determination to press on or else he won't go far in this business.
He gulped and was ready to give an answer, when he suddenly blinked and got a goofy smile on his face. "I'll do it!!!" He said charging the enemies. I briefly wondered what he suddenly remembered to have such changed attitude but quickly dismissed it in favor of evaluating his fighting style. Enthusiasm aside, he was quick in his feet and had firm blows, with a good instinct overall, but it was clear that he was a complete amateur fighter. His swings were too wide and he did unnecessary flips and rolls when a mere sidestep would have sufficed, and his aim wasn't the best since he missed a couple of fatal strikes on the enemy that could have ended things faster.
He needs proper combat training before he learns bad habits which he will spend some unnecessary time being hammered out by the dungeon monsters, or else. How to get a proper stance, how to move more smoothly and how to properly target the vitals of the enemies. Granted with the wide array of monsters on the dungeon the last one will be a tall order, but since he will be risking his life on it it's only natural to do his best in learning about the enemy, can't slack off on the essentials after all.
When he finished I clapped my hands, catching his attention. "Not bad, but as I said earlier there's room for improvement. Though if you keep fighting with this much drive you will improve in no time."
"Heh, hehe, thank you Jee-han hyung", he said a bit embarrassed and I grasped him on the shoulder.
"If you're finished for today let's clean up this last group and let's head back to the surface. I have a couple of magic stones to change and I rather not brave the line at Babel."
He nodded in understanding as we both proceeded to carve out the magic stones out of the enemies.
"I wonder how stronger I became today." He said, once more getting a goofy smile on his face.
~~O~~
"EEEHHHH!!!" I heard Bell yelling from Hestia's room where he was getting his status updated. I had already updated mine once I found an option on my stat sheet for that, earning a pout from the small goddess, and I promised her I would rely on her from now on unless it was an emergency or we did deep expeditions on the dungeon. Not like the current enemies are that much of a challenge unless they come in overwhelming numbers.
Speaking of stats Bell was staring at the piece of paper on his hands like it held the secrets of the universe. "My stats raised by over one hundred sixty points! How's that possible? Goddess, do you know why's that?"
Said goddess in question had her cheeks puffed, a definite sulky look and she was avoiding looking at Bell in the eyes.
"Er... if it where possible", Bell tried and Hestia just blew some more steam, "I'd like to know...", she was starting to make some 'mumumu' sounds which I think was substitute for grinding of teeth for her, "how that happened?"
She went to her closet and pulled a jacket before looking back at Bell, "why don't you celebrate by eating a good meal and having a good time tonight? I'm going out with my coworkers from my job!" She said in a loud tone before stomping away, briefly stopping in front of me and I wisely took a sidestep to let her through.
Once we heard Hestia slamming the outside door I looked back to Bell. "I think I'm missing some context here. What happened?"
Bell sighed. "I don't know, I mentioned to her that I was invited to come to a pub later at night and I had asked her to come with me, but once she updated my status her mood turned upside down and she became upset", he looked a bit desperate as he glanced at my direction, "did I do something to her that I don't know about? What if I really angered her?"
I went to him and patted him on the shoulder in reassurance. "Don't worry too much about it. She might be upset but I doubt it's something serious, just let her cool down a bit on her own. If you're still worried you can always ask for forgiveness to her later, and since she will know you will mean it she will eventually forgive you if you really did something to her."
He nodded, a bit more confident in himself. "If that's the case, would you like to accompany me? I wanted all of us to go but with the goddess gone..."
"Sure", I told him, "but I'm paying. It's tradition from where I come from for someone older to shoulder some responsibilities and paying for the bill of a younger colleague is one of them."
"I-I can't!" He said in surprise, "I can't possibly abuse of your generosity like that Jee-han hyung!"
I just rolled my eyes. "You're only going to abuse my generosity if you make an habit out of it or expect it to be the norm. There will be plenty of times for you to pay me back. As a new adventurer you should be saving up money for better equipment and supplies in order to reach deeper floors on the dungeon, right? Either that or use the saved money to take Hestia to dinner, I'm sure she will appreciate the gesture."
Bell blushed at the mention, clearly equating dinner with Hestia to date, which wasn't that far off to be honest. I'm sure Hestia will thank me later if I manage to have Bell notice her as a woman, or at least to notice her as an available woman.
Heh, so much for being the namesake of one of the three virgin goddess of the greek mythology.
Once we were ready we departed the church and went to the pub he talked about. It was a stone building with plenty of wooden details, and it was all around homely if I had to say so. "What's it's called?" I asked Bell once we entered.
"Welcome to the Hostess of Fertility", said an elf in a maid outfit, surprising us. Her tone of voice was serious in a no-nonsense manner, and had sharp eyes that would be considered intimidating to almost anyone. "Do you want a table or to sit on the counter?"
"The counter should do", I said while we three walked to the counter.
"Someone will come to get your order." Said the elf woman. "Do you wish to drink something? I recommend the house's fruit liquor."
Bell ordered a lemon juice while I ordered some of the fruit liquor she recommended. It was quite good actually, with a strong kick but not to the point to make it difficult to drink. We also ordered something to eat and it came in big portions, both in quantity and price. "Ah Bell, you came!"
We turned around and saw a girl smiling at Bell, one of the staff members of the pub. She had light gray hair and eyes and a pale complexion that was free of blemishes, all in all she was quite pretty. "Thank you for coming Bell. I hope you have a good time here, finding this place to be nearly as special to yourself as it is to me."
"That's nice", Bell said with a somewhat strained smile, after all he almost had a heart attack when he saw the prices of the place. I wouldn't blame him, with the meal we're eating right now we could have bough a new weapon and those things are quite expensive. For someone that's used to a tight budget for food it must have been a surprise to him. He wanted to split the difference but I waved him off, after all I had earned the money on the dungeon just for this kind of situation.
She chuckled lightly. "Looks like I will be paid quite well today too."
"How fortunate", Bell said dryly while munching on his food.
"Isn't interesting that so many different people come to this place? So many people, so many stories, my heart start pounding when I think about that. You could say that my hobby is to meet with new people." She said with a smile at the boy, while she blatantly ignores me. So much for 'meeting new people'.
"Nyah~! The customers with a reservation arrived!" Said another maid, an honest to Gaia catgirl. I'm still not used to seeing so many non-humans walking around since they stayed in their own dimensions for the most part back at home. Taking a glance at the new arrival I saw that it was a quite eclectic bunch and I used my observe on them to see who they where. All had an average level around five with high stats depending on their specialties. They also had a bunch of development abilities at a reasonable rank and I could see their magic and skills, but sadly I couldn't get information out of them.
"So Bell, how are you enjoying the night?" I asked the boy and he seemed frozen in place. "Bell?"
His face was beet red and his gaze was firmly following a certain girl. I followed his gaze and saw that he was starting at a blonde teenager I previously identified as Aiz Wallenstein. A powerful adventurer, perhaps the strongest of the group depending on how she improved on her previous levels. Bell tracked her movements until she sat down and someone else got in front of her.
Hmm... looks like Hestia have a rival and she's starting at a disadvantage. Guess she will have her work cut out for her.
We ate and drank our fill making small conversation. Bell told me that he previously lived with his grandfather but he died, and he decided to come to Orario to try his luck, but no Familia allowed him to enter until he found Hestia on the street and she gave her blessing to him. They have been together for about two weeks now. I listened to him and talked a bit about my adventures, specially when I first learned about the Abyss and when I went to help Sung-Ah and her father from those in the Abyss that wanted to extract her soul, which was a cover up for a powerful group to try and recruit her father into their organization forcibly.
As the night died down I finished my drink and was just waiting for Bell to stop staring at Aiz for us to go home when the werewolf of Loki Familia, Bete, started talking.
"Hey Aiz, how about we tell the others about that story?"
"That story?" Aiz said in a cool tone which was apparently her default tone of voice.
"Remember when we let some minotaurs escape from the seventeen floor, and you took the last one on the fifth floor, and you remember the tomato dork in there?"
Bell stiffened, surprised by what he was hearing. Already a picture was forming in my head and it wasn't pretty.
"A complete wimp running around at the fifth floor before he was ambushed by the minotaur, then he started running around screaming for his life until Aiz killed the monster and showered him with that stinky blood, looking like a tomato. Then he ran away screaming from Aiz even though she saved him! Isn't that pathetic?"
Bell was shaking on his seat, gritting his teeth as he listened to the story. Yeah no, I think I got enough of this. "Check please!"
I ignored the group taunts while I pulled the exact amount of money from my inventory, dropping it at the table. When I realized however Bell had stood up and started running away. "Tsk, Bell wait up!"
I followed him closely behind but I couldn't really bridge the gap. He was faster than me and I believe he had more stamina, but I still managed to see him entering Babel. He doesn't plan to enter the dungeon at this hour, does he?
I sprinted at the building and descended the stairs until I heard the sounds of yelling from someone coming in front of me. Once more I sprinted at the source of the sound until I found Bell cleaving at the kobolds and goblins like a man possessed.
"BELL!" I yelled to him but he ignored me, until I approached him and he turned around with a slash at my face forcing me to block the blade barehanded, drawing a tickle of blood for a few instants before it healed.
"Jee-han hyung?" He said, his head cleaning a bit before he realized what he did. "Oh no, I'm so sorry!"
"No harm done", I dismissed his concerns, "looks like you need to kill something. We can talk more later and there is something I want to show you anyway." I said while leading to the shortest path to the lower floors. He just stood there for a few moments before nodding and following me.
We ignored most monsters, dispatching them quickly until we reached the fourth floor. "Ever wondered how come I brought so much money back to your Familia", I asked him with my back turned. "I'm going to show you what I have been doing all this time."
I took a deep breath before starting. "Come on! I'm here you weakling! You can't even kill a single man, do you expect us to fear you? You're nothing but a cow I'm going to milk for all it's resources leaving hanging dry a broken piece of shit!"
Sure enough I started hearing the cracks on the wall. One, two, three, ten, twenty. Hmm... looks like the dungeon started to pick up the pace, or is it because there is someone else with he this time? "They're coming, prepare yourself." I said and prepared my sword, leaving the armor away in solidarity to my bullheaded junior.
With Bell motivated strikes and my careful assault and defense it was a slaughter, feeling it easier than going at them by myself. As I set Bell to extract the magic stones from the enemies he killed solo I started lecturing him. "I can't work on your stances right now but on thing I noticed is how you move while dodging the attacks of your opponents. While you're fast, even faster than me actually, true speed comes from economy of movements. I don't know if you noticed it earlier, but when we fought we were both dodging our enemy attacks however it was me that managed to quickly go from one enemy to another."
As he finished carving the monsters and handling me the magic stones I took my sword and set into a stance. "Let me show you a few tricks then you can try them on the enemies I will call."
And so it went our night, with me giving pointers to Bell both on offense and defense while we both killed our fill of monsters, taking the time we were gutting the corpses to catch our breath. After some time I decided to stop for a few moments as Bell was panting from exertion. "So, now that you calmed down a little can you tell me what happened?"
He stayed silent for a few moments, avoiding his gaze from me and I patiently waited for him to start.
"Normally I don't go to the fifth floor", started Bell, "but I went to it anyway. The reason for why I went there is", he paused, "damn, you will think I'm a moron."
"Not anymore than coming to the dungeon and try to commit suicide by monster", I told him making him wince, "but since I didn't bring that up before I'm not going to hold against you whatever reason you had to go to the fifth floor."
"Well, I went to the fifth floor for... I want to, uhh, I wanted to have an encounter on the dungeon."
I blinked at his choice of words, not really getting what he was saying. "Come again?"
"My grandfather told me stories about heroes meeting girls during adventures, and making an harem was necessary for a hero and that making an harem was the dream of every man." He continued with a blush, "I... kind of agreed with him and was brought up dreaming of having encounters with cute girls, and once I got my Falna I tried my hardest to get as far as I could in order to save a cute adventurer on the dungeon like a hero in the stories."
I stared at him for a few moments before walking towards him with a serene expression. I knelt at his side before slapping the back of his head.
"Ouch!"
"Didn't it occur to you that kind of stuff only have a chance to be successful if you're strong. Last I checked you're still a rookie who got your Falna just two weeks ago, it would make sense if you stayed on the upper floors and found another adventurer that got over her head when fighting a big group of enemies, but on the fifth floor? Isn't that where the enemies get noticeably stronger? If this hypothetical adventurer need saving, I'm certain that if you interfered you would also need saving, and most likely there would be two corpses instead of one to bring back to their respective heads of the Familia."
He flinched at my words, but he had to hear them. I let him mull over it for a few moments before I put my hand on his shoulder. "But I heard far worse reasons for someone to risk their lives, and while your reasons might have been a bit selfish at least it didn't hurt anyone else, other than possibly endangering yourself of course. Still I think what happened back then in the pub, but why don't you tell me?"
He slowly nodded. "When I was saved by Aiz, I got so happy. I had practically, I mean", he started tuning red and stuttered a longish string of words that I couldn't quite catch but I'm sure weren't that important, "but then when I heard that werewolf talking, it really hit home how I was pathetic. How I wanted to be acclaimed as a hero, to gain the spoils while being weak and without doing anything to deserve that. I realized that the way I am right now I would never have Aiz look at me."
As suspected. While I have half a mind to punch that werewolf for being a dick on general principle, the first think I will do once I meet him is to thank him for helping get my junior thoughts set straight. "And you wanted to get as stronger as possible, as fast as possible, right? That's why you came to the dungeon."
Bell nodded, and I stood up. "Well, if you have rested enough we have a long night ahead of us. I gain a lot of points to my stats by fighting plenty of enemies so you should do fine if you do the same. Didn't I told you before? With my guidance you will be shoulders to shoulders with the best in no time flat, or do you doubt me?"
Bell looked up at me, and had a determined look on his face. "No! I want to, I must do this! Please help me get stronger!"
I nodded, and held my hand for him to stand up. It's a pity that I can't create parties like before, it would have helped Bell in getting stronger faster, but since basically everyone with a Falna have a gamer lite set up going for them it might not have helped much in the end. "Alright then Bell", I said as I turned to face the dungeon, "let's do this then."
"Hey dungeon, are you done resting? Because we're going to beat you up so through you will cry tears of impotent rage. Oh, are you doing that already? What a pansy!"
"OOOOOOOOHHHH!" I cried with my fist in the air, prompting Bell to follow me. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!!"
With a shrug Bell did the same. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!!"
As several more cracks appeared on the wall we stood against each other back to back, ready to get stronger for our own reasons. Bell in order to one day stand at the side of the woman he loved, and for me...
Maybe I wanted a new chance to make a difference. To become strong enough to protect myself and my own, to make my name be heard through the legends, to have fun. Whatever the reasons, I simply didn't wanted to waste this second chance I got.
Once more, thank you Gaia.
~~O~~
We arrived back at the church at dawn, with Hestia dozing off while waiting for us. As she saw us coming back she sprinted to greet me and Bell, who was sleeping on my back as I carried him. He had a couple of injuries but nothing too serious since I had his back during the night, while I was as always in pristine condition aside from my clothes being torn in certain places.
"Is he alright?" Hestia whispered once she noticed he was sleeping.
"Tired, but not too hurt. I prefer if he gets some medicine later but it can wait until he had a good night's sleep."
Hestia sighed in relief. "I'm glad. Thank you Jee-han for protecting Bell."
I smiled at the small goddess, "you're welcome."
"I want... to become... stronger..." Bell muttered on his sleep, earning a small smile from Hestia and a chuckle from me.
Now that he had the right mentality he certainly will become stronger.
"Not bad", I told him while inspecting the damage. Aside from being a bit tired, he was in good shape. The kobold corpses had several cuts and gashes around their arms and a large wound around their torso with the exception of the last one which had a clean cut through his throat. "There's some room for improvement but I reserve a more detailed opinion for when we fight at each other side."
"Jee-han hyung", he looked at me with surprise, "I thought you would be at home buying supplies and such, if I knew you would come I would have waited you for a bit."
"I just came in", about two hours ago, "I did spent most of my time back at Hestia's place setting things up though. Good news is that we now have a 'boy's room' of sorts with our own beds. It's a bunk bed, but I think it will feel more comfortable than sleeping on the couch with no pillow. I was thinking on making some money today and to finish furnishing the place later. The entrance of the church is also a lot cleaner now that I got rid of all the broken benches, in fact the main hall looks quite empty now, perfect to make a living room or something else with all that space."
"That sounds nice", Bell said in appreciation, "but I think the goddess would feel lonely in that room by herself."
"She's", I hesitated since I couldn't quite use the words 'big' without sounding like a jackass, "an adult, she will cope. Besides she's right next door to us and we will see plenty of her since the bathroom and the sink are also on the basement."
"Still, I will miss", he started before becoming beet red. Oh, so the episode with her sneaking into the couch to sleep with him isn't a rare occurrence, huh? "There, this is the last stone. Oh! Lucky, a drop item! Today's a good day."
Just as he said that I heard several cracks from the walls, and around five kobolds dropped from the walls, growling at us. I was unconcerned as I held my sword at ready, but Bell looked nervous. "Uh... should we run?" He asked, glancing at me.
"Your call, I'm fine either way to be honest." I said, truth be told I could deal with them in an instant, but Bell need to have the courage and determination to press on or else he won't go far in this business.
He gulped and was ready to give an answer, when he suddenly blinked and got a goofy smile on his face. "I'll do it!!!" He said charging the enemies. I briefly wondered what he suddenly remembered to have such changed attitude but quickly dismissed it in favor of evaluating his fighting style. Enthusiasm aside, he was quick in his feet and had firm blows, with a good instinct overall, but it was clear that he was a complete amateur fighter. His swings were too wide and he did unnecessary flips and rolls when a mere sidestep would have sufficed, and his aim wasn't the best since he missed a couple of fatal strikes on the enemy that could have ended things faster.
He needs proper combat training before he learns bad habits which he will spend some unnecessary time being hammered out by the dungeon monsters, or else. How to get a proper stance, how to move more smoothly and how to properly target the vitals of the enemies. Granted with the wide array of monsters on the dungeon the last one will be a tall order, but since he will be risking his life on it it's only natural to do his best in learning about the enemy, can't slack off on the essentials after all.
When he finished I clapped my hands, catching his attention. "Not bad, but as I said earlier there's room for improvement. Though if you keep fighting with this much drive you will improve in no time."
"Heh, hehe, thank you Jee-han hyung", he said a bit embarrassed and I grasped him on the shoulder.
"If you're finished for today let's clean up this last group and let's head back to the surface. I have a couple of magic stones to change and I rather not brave the line at Babel."
He nodded in understanding as we both proceeded to carve out the magic stones out of the enemies.
"I wonder how stronger I became today." He said, once more getting a goofy smile on his face.
~~O~~
"EEEHHHH!!!" I heard Bell yelling from Hestia's room where he was getting his status updated. I had already updated mine once I found an option on my stat sheet for that, earning a pout from the small goddess, and I promised her I would rely on her from now on unless it was an emergency or we did deep expeditions on the dungeon. Not like the current enemies are that much of a challenge unless they come in overwhelming numbers.
Speaking of stats Bell was staring at the piece of paper on his hands like it held the secrets of the universe. "My stats raised by over one hundred sixty points! How's that possible? Goddess, do you know why's that?"
Said goddess in question had her cheeks puffed, a definite sulky look and she was avoiding looking at Bell in the eyes.
"Er... if it where possible", Bell tried and Hestia just blew some more steam, "I'd like to know...", she was starting to make some 'mumumu' sounds which I think was substitute for grinding of teeth for her, "how that happened?"
She went to her closet and pulled a jacket before looking back at Bell, "why don't you celebrate by eating a good meal and having a good time tonight? I'm going out with my coworkers from my job!" She said in a loud tone before stomping away, briefly stopping in front of me and I wisely took a sidestep to let her through.
Once we heard Hestia slamming the outside door I looked back to Bell. "I think I'm missing some context here. What happened?"
Bell sighed. "I don't know, I mentioned to her that I was invited to come to a pub later at night and I had asked her to come with me, but once she updated my status her mood turned upside down and she became upset", he looked a bit desperate as he glanced at my direction, "did I do something to her that I don't know about? What if I really angered her?"
I went to him and patted him on the shoulder in reassurance. "Don't worry too much about it. She might be upset but I doubt it's something serious, just let her cool down a bit on her own. If you're still worried you can always ask for forgiveness to her later, and since she will know you will mean it she will eventually forgive you if you really did something to her."
He nodded, a bit more confident in himself. "If that's the case, would you like to accompany me? I wanted all of us to go but with the goddess gone..."
"Sure", I told him, "but I'm paying. It's tradition from where I come from for someone older to shoulder some responsibilities and paying for the bill of a younger colleague is one of them."
"I-I can't!" He said in surprise, "I can't possibly abuse of your generosity like that Jee-han hyung!"
I just rolled my eyes. "You're only going to abuse my generosity if you make an habit out of it or expect it to be the norm. There will be plenty of times for you to pay me back. As a new adventurer you should be saving up money for better equipment and supplies in order to reach deeper floors on the dungeon, right? Either that or use the saved money to take Hestia to dinner, I'm sure she will appreciate the gesture."
Bell blushed at the mention, clearly equating dinner with Hestia to date, which wasn't that far off to be honest. I'm sure Hestia will thank me later if I manage to have Bell notice her as a woman, or at least to notice her as an available woman.
Heh, so much for being the namesake of one of the three virgin goddess of the greek mythology.
Once we were ready we departed the church and went to the pub he talked about. It was a stone building with plenty of wooden details, and it was all around homely if I had to say so. "What's it's called?" I asked Bell once we entered.
"Welcome to the Hostess of Fertility", said an elf in a maid outfit, surprising us. Her tone of voice was serious in a no-nonsense manner, and had sharp eyes that would be considered intimidating to almost anyone. "Do you want a table or to sit on the counter?"
"The counter should do", I said while we three walked to the counter.
"Someone will come to get your order." Said the elf woman. "Do you wish to drink something? I recommend the house's fruit liquor."
Bell ordered a lemon juice while I ordered some of the fruit liquor she recommended. It was quite good actually, with a strong kick but not to the point to make it difficult to drink. We also ordered something to eat and it came in big portions, both in quantity and price. "Ah Bell, you came!"
We turned around and saw a girl smiling at Bell, one of the staff members of the pub. She had light gray hair and eyes and a pale complexion that was free of blemishes, all in all she was quite pretty. "Thank you for coming Bell. I hope you have a good time here, finding this place to be nearly as special to yourself as it is to me."
"That's nice", Bell said with a somewhat strained smile, after all he almost had a heart attack when he saw the prices of the place. I wouldn't blame him, with the meal we're eating right now we could have bough a new weapon and those things are quite expensive. For someone that's used to a tight budget for food it must have been a surprise to him. He wanted to split the difference but I waved him off, after all I had earned the money on the dungeon just for this kind of situation.
She chuckled lightly. "Looks like I will be paid quite well today too."
"How fortunate", Bell said dryly while munching on his food.
"Isn't interesting that so many different people come to this place? So many people, so many stories, my heart start pounding when I think about that. You could say that my hobby is to meet with new people." She said with a smile at the boy, while she blatantly ignores me. So much for 'meeting new people'.
"Nyah~! The customers with a reservation arrived!" Said another maid, an honest to Gaia catgirl. I'm still not used to seeing so many non-humans walking around since they stayed in their own dimensions for the most part back at home. Taking a glance at the new arrival I saw that it was a quite eclectic bunch and I used my observe on them to see who they where. All had an average level around five with high stats depending on their specialties. They also had a bunch of development abilities at a reasonable rank and I could see their magic and skills, but sadly I couldn't get information out of them.
"So Bell, how are you enjoying the night?" I asked the boy and he seemed frozen in place. "Bell?"
His face was beet red and his gaze was firmly following a certain girl. I followed his gaze and saw that he was starting at a blonde teenager I previously identified as Aiz Wallenstein. A powerful adventurer, perhaps the strongest of the group depending on how she improved on her previous levels. Bell tracked her movements until she sat down and someone else got in front of her.
Hmm... looks like Hestia have a rival and she's starting at a disadvantage. Guess she will have her work cut out for her.
We ate and drank our fill making small conversation. Bell told me that he previously lived with his grandfather but he died, and he decided to come to Orario to try his luck, but no Familia allowed him to enter until he found Hestia on the street and she gave her blessing to him. They have been together for about two weeks now. I listened to him and talked a bit about my adventures, specially when I first learned about the Abyss and when I went to help Sung-Ah and her father from those in the Abyss that wanted to extract her soul, which was a cover up for a powerful group to try and recruit her father into their organization forcibly.
As the night died down I finished my drink and was just waiting for Bell to stop staring at Aiz for us to go home when the werewolf of Loki Familia, Bete, started talking.
"Hey Aiz, how about we tell the others about that story?"
"That story?" Aiz said in a cool tone which was apparently her default tone of voice.
"Remember when we let some minotaurs escape from the seventeen floor, and you took the last one on the fifth floor, and you remember the tomato dork in there?"
Bell stiffened, surprised by what he was hearing. Already a picture was forming in my head and it wasn't pretty.
"A complete wimp running around at the fifth floor before he was ambushed by the minotaur, then he started running around screaming for his life until Aiz killed the monster and showered him with that stinky blood, looking like a tomato. Then he ran away screaming from Aiz even though she saved him! Isn't that pathetic?"
Bell was shaking on his seat, gritting his teeth as he listened to the story. Yeah no, I think I got enough of this. "Check please!"
I ignored the group taunts while I pulled the exact amount of money from my inventory, dropping it at the table. When I realized however Bell had stood up and started running away. "Tsk, Bell wait up!"
I followed him closely behind but I couldn't really bridge the gap. He was faster than me and I believe he had more stamina, but I still managed to see him entering Babel. He doesn't plan to enter the dungeon at this hour, does he?
I sprinted at the building and descended the stairs until I heard the sounds of yelling from someone coming in front of me. Once more I sprinted at the source of the sound until I found Bell cleaving at the kobolds and goblins like a man possessed.
"BELL!" I yelled to him but he ignored me, until I approached him and he turned around with a slash at my face forcing me to block the blade barehanded, drawing a tickle of blood for a few instants before it healed.
"Jee-han hyung?" He said, his head cleaning a bit before he realized what he did. "Oh no, I'm so sorry!"
"No harm done", I dismissed his concerns, "looks like you need to kill something. We can talk more later and there is something I want to show you anyway." I said while leading to the shortest path to the lower floors. He just stood there for a few moments before nodding and following me.
We ignored most monsters, dispatching them quickly until we reached the fourth floor. "Ever wondered how come I brought so much money back to your Familia", I asked him with my back turned. "I'm going to show you what I have been doing all this time."
I took a deep breath before starting. "Come on! I'm here you weakling! You can't even kill a single man, do you expect us to fear you? You're nothing but a cow I'm going to milk for all it's resources leaving hanging dry a broken piece of shit!"
Sure enough I started hearing the cracks on the wall. One, two, three, ten, twenty. Hmm... looks like the dungeon started to pick up the pace, or is it because there is someone else with he this time? "They're coming, prepare yourself." I said and prepared my sword, leaving the armor away in solidarity to my bullheaded junior.
With Bell motivated strikes and my careful assault and defense it was a slaughter, feeling it easier than going at them by myself. As I set Bell to extract the magic stones from the enemies he killed solo I started lecturing him. "I can't work on your stances right now but on thing I noticed is how you move while dodging the attacks of your opponents. While you're fast, even faster than me actually, true speed comes from economy of movements. I don't know if you noticed it earlier, but when we fought we were both dodging our enemy attacks however it was me that managed to quickly go from one enemy to another."
As he finished carving the monsters and handling me the magic stones I took my sword and set into a stance. "Let me show you a few tricks then you can try them on the enemies I will call."
And so it went our night, with me giving pointers to Bell both on offense and defense while we both killed our fill of monsters, taking the time we were gutting the corpses to catch our breath. After some time I decided to stop for a few moments as Bell was panting from exertion. "So, now that you calmed down a little can you tell me what happened?"
He stayed silent for a few moments, avoiding his gaze from me and I patiently waited for him to start.
"Normally I don't go to the fifth floor", started Bell, "but I went to it anyway. The reason for why I went there is", he paused, "damn, you will think I'm a moron."
"Not anymore than coming to the dungeon and try to commit suicide by monster", I told him making him wince, "but since I didn't bring that up before I'm not going to hold against you whatever reason you had to go to the fifth floor."
"Well, I went to the fifth floor for... I want to, uhh, I wanted to have an encounter on the dungeon."
I blinked at his choice of words, not really getting what he was saying. "Come again?"
"My grandfather told me stories about heroes meeting girls during adventures, and making an harem was necessary for a hero and that making an harem was the dream of every man." He continued with a blush, "I... kind of agreed with him and was brought up dreaming of having encounters with cute girls, and once I got my Falna I tried my hardest to get as far as I could in order to save a cute adventurer on the dungeon like a hero in the stories."
I stared at him for a few moments before walking towards him with a serene expression. I knelt at his side before slapping the back of his head.
"Ouch!"
"Didn't it occur to you that kind of stuff only have a chance to be successful if you're strong. Last I checked you're still a rookie who got your Falna just two weeks ago, it would make sense if you stayed on the upper floors and found another adventurer that got over her head when fighting a big group of enemies, but on the fifth floor? Isn't that where the enemies get noticeably stronger? If this hypothetical adventurer need saving, I'm certain that if you interfered you would also need saving, and most likely there would be two corpses instead of one to bring back to their respective heads of the Familia."
He flinched at my words, but he had to hear them. I let him mull over it for a few moments before I put my hand on his shoulder. "But I heard far worse reasons for someone to risk their lives, and while your reasons might have been a bit selfish at least it didn't hurt anyone else, other than possibly endangering yourself of course. Still I think what happened back then in the pub, but why don't you tell me?"
He slowly nodded. "When I was saved by Aiz, I got so happy. I had practically, I mean", he started tuning red and stuttered a longish string of words that I couldn't quite catch but I'm sure weren't that important, "but then when I heard that werewolf talking, it really hit home how I was pathetic. How I wanted to be acclaimed as a hero, to gain the spoils while being weak and without doing anything to deserve that. I realized that the way I am right now I would never have Aiz look at me."
As suspected. While I have half a mind to punch that werewolf for being a dick on general principle, the first think I will do once I meet him is to thank him for helping get my junior thoughts set straight. "And you wanted to get as stronger as possible, as fast as possible, right? That's why you came to the dungeon."
Bell nodded, and I stood up. "Well, if you have rested enough we have a long night ahead of us. I gain a lot of points to my stats by fighting plenty of enemies so you should do fine if you do the same. Didn't I told you before? With my guidance you will be shoulders to shoulders with the best in no time flat, or do you doubt me?"
Bell looked up at me, and had a determined look on his face. "No! I want to, I must do this! Please help me get stronger!"
I nodded, and held my hand for him to stand up. It's a pity that I can't create parties like before, it would have helped Bell in getting stronger faster, but since basically everyone with a Falna have a gamer lite set up going for them it might not have helped much in the end. "Alright then Bell", I said as I turned to face the dungeon, "let's do this then."
"Hey dungeon, are you done resting? Because we're going to beat you up so through you will cry tears of impotent rage. Oh, are you doing that already? What a pansy!"
"OOOOOOOOHHHH!" I cried with my fist in the air, prompting Bell to follow me. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!!"
With a shrug Bell did the same. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!!"
As several more cracks appeared on the wall we stood against each other back to back, ready to get stronger for our own reasons. Bell in order to one day stand at the side of the woman he loved, and for me...
Maybe I wanted a new chance to make a difference. To become strong enough to protect myself and my own, to make my name be heard through the legends, to have fun. Whatever the reasons, I simply didn't wanted to waste this second chance I got.
Once more, thank you Gaia.
~~O~~
We arrived back at the church at dawn, with Hestia dozing off while waiting for us. As she saw us coming back she sprinted to greet me and Bell, who was sleeping on my back as I carried him. He had a couple of injuries but nothing too serious since I had his back during the night, while I was as always in pristine condition aside from my clothes being torn in certain places.
"Is he alright?" Hestia whispered once she noticed he was sleeping.
"Tired, but not too hurt. I prefer if he gets some medicine later but it can wait until he had a good night's sleep."
Hestia sighed in relief. "I'm glad. Thank you Jee-han for protecting Bell."
I smiled at the small goddess, "you're welcome."
"I want... to become... stronger..." Bell muttered on his sleep, earning a small smile from Hestia and a chuckle from me.
Now that he had the right mentality he certainly will become stronger.
Last edited:
- Location
- Chile
So have you actually read the novels?
- Location
- Arizona
Nice update.
Few things I noticed. You put "gamer little" when I think you meant to put "gamer lite" when talking about Jee-han's lack of Party system.
And you didn't include the rest of the bar scene. Wolf boy was being a drunk asshole and trying to get Aiz to go out with him, and disparaging Bell at the same time to make himself look better. What I loved about the anime scene is that Aiz gives non-committal and/or neutral answers, thus possibly implying she doesn't actually agree with his statements. But Bell doesn't realize this and runs off.
Now, Jee-Han (or rather, your version of him) is insightful, and I think would have noticed the non-committal answers. However, he might have been paying more attention to Bell. Also, there's a good chance he didn't actually hear Aiz's responses over drunk Wolf Boy loudness.
Ehh, just my thoughts. Not even sure if I have any good feedback in this post...
Few things I noticed. You put "gamer little" when I think you meant to put "gamer lite" when talking about Jee-han's lack of Party system.
And you didn't include the rest of the bar scene. Wolf boy was being a drunk asshole and trying to get Aiz to go out with him, and disparaging Bell at the same time to make himself look better. What I loved about the anime scene is that Aiz gives non-committal and/or neutral answers, thus possibly implying she doesn't actually agree with his statements. But Bell doesn't realize this and runs off.
Now, Jee-Han (or rather, your version of him) is insightful, and I think would have noticed the non-committal answers. However, he might have been paying more attention to Bell. Also, there's a good chance he didn't actually hear Aiz's responses over drunk Wolf Boy loudness.
Ehh, just my thoughts. Not even sure if I have any good feedback in this post...
ryuan
From Zero to Hero!
Jee-han was more concerned with paying the bill and going home so he didn't catch the rest of the drunken rant.
- Location
- Chile
Are you trying to change the name of your story?
Start a Danmachi self insert?
Or saying that you are going to try to gain a harem?
- Location
- Usa
Perhaps rename Gaia's Magic to a straight "Gaia's Blessing: Allows gaining both skills and magic native to Gaia." That way you can slot both Taunt and Observe there, while filling it in with a collection of other skills/abilities over time without cluttering the sheet too much. Most of the abilities look like they will play off Developmental abilities along with character level to gain strength.
Good to see that the first episode is done, however Jee-han's changes just means that Bell has someone to watch his back and properly provide backup. Jee-han's stats currently are just below what is advised for levels 5-6.
At some point enemies will get too fast for Jee-han to respond to. However he is going to be waiting for the stats on the over night session so he may be at the point where going downstairs makes sense.
Monsterphilia 1
ryuan
From Zero to Hero!
Bell was currently asleep on his bed while both me and Hestia talked. She had grabbed a coffee from a store earlier which helped alleviate the effects of Tired status effect.
"Hmm", she said while staring at me intently in the eyes, her presence somehow making her bigger than she really was, and for the first time I felt more than knew that she was a goddess. "What you did yesterday was dangerous. I can sort of forgive Bell from doing something so reckless due to his youth, but I don't think you can have that excuse."
"Bell was distraught yesterday", I replied in an even tone, "and dashed straight to the dungeon to kill anything in his path. In fact he was so unbalanced that when I approached him from behind he tried to attack me. I don't have the wounds to prove my claims, but if I didn't block his attack and had Gamer's Body I would have a very nasty scar on my face, if I survived the encounter at all."
Hestia gasped in shock, but I waved her off. "No harm done, my skill Gamer's Body prevents me from taking this kind of damage. So long as I have enough health I will always work at one hundred percent efficiency and injuries last only for a few instant giving the impression that I'm invulnerable. We can work on Bell's reaction later since he needs to be always in control, but if he didn't had those kind of reflexes he would have been dead several times over in that dungeon, so I won't hold it against him."
She sighed in relief before nodding, opening her mouth for a moment before starting to fidget with the coffee cup in her hands. "Bell is going to be strong", she whispered and I agreed with her, with his new mindset he can definitely reach new heights.
"As a member of your Familia it's my duty to help my fellow adventurer", I said to the small goddess, "besides even if I lost most of my power I'm not that bad if I am honest with myself. I don't plan to be left behind by him even if he had a head start, and as senior fighter, mage and adventurer, it would be a shame if I let him leave me in the dust. Even if I knew people that advanced faster than me under certain conditions I was always good at punching way above my weight class."
She nodded before standing up, "I will need to go to my job soon, can you take care of Bell for me while I'm out?"
"Don't worry, I will hold fort." I said with a grin. "I will make sure that Bell doesn't try to do something hare brained when he wakes up."
"Thank you Jee-han, you are a real help to us. I wish I could do something for you as a show of gratitude."
I just waved her off, "no need for that. If you insist I can think of something later but don't beat yourself over it. Have a good day Hestia."
"You too Jee-Han. Take care."
As she went out I finished Hestia's cup myself before going to the boy's room and sitting on the ground, making myself comfortable before starting meditating. While it's no substitute for actual sleep it can help prevent the Tired status from reaching Exhausted status before Bell wakes up. Besides, there's something else I wanted to try anyway...
~~O~~
A few hours later Bell stretched on the bed, yawning cutely like some kind of small, fluffy animal. If I were a girl I would squeal over how cute he looked, but alas even if he looked like the perfect younger brother right now it was my duty as an older sibling figure, or was it parental figure with my age, that were expected of me.
"Good morning sleeping beauty", I said while cracking one eye open, "I was getting worried I'd need to wake you up with a kiss."
"WOAHHH- Ouch!" He said while waking up with a start, hitting his head on the bed above him. "Where, were am I?"
"Back at Hestia's Familia headquarters", I told him while standing up, "you collapsed yesterday in the middle of the dungeon, and I had to drag you out of there by myself, even having to kill a couple of monsters with you on my back. Please be more considerate next time you decide to take a nap."
"Oh... oh! Sorry about that mister Jee-han!" Did he drop the hyung or did the translation suit changed once more? I hope it stops flip flopping and settles down already. "But I was so exhausted after fighting with all those enemies, and it was already so late..."
I shrugged before motioning him to come over, "let's go to the bathhouse and clean ourselves up. I would also suggest for you to go back to the pub and apologize to that girl Syr since she was talking with you before you ran off."
"Okay... oh no, the bill! I ran off before I paid the bill!"
Once more I slapped him on the back of his head earning a soft 'ouch' from him, "did you forget that I was supposed to pay for it? I took care of the bill no problem. Now take a change of clothes since we will take a bath and then finish furbishing our 'room' after we drop yesterday loot."
"Ah... I almost forgot that we took the time to pick them up."
"A wise adventurer once said: pillage, then burn. Let's get going."
Hestia wouldn't come back until late evening so we had plenty of time to bring clean ourselves up, cash our earnings from yesterday and buy a closet for our 'room'. Maybe another table, a couple of chairs and perhaps even another couch for the 'living room'. At least some mattress to put on the remaining church chairs, or perhaps hiring someone to come and clean up the broken windows of the first floor?
The first stop was at the Hostess of Fertility however, where Bell was bowing to Syr. "I'm sorry for leaving so rudely yesterday", he said with a deep bow. Quite a familiar sight for a mostly western looking place. "I was upset yesterday but it doesn't excuse my behavior, after the kindness you displayed me yesterday by giving me your lunch."
He wisely left out the 'and scammed me into paying for expensive food with that one act of kindness', but I can't fault her for wanting to attract more clients to her workplace.
"It's alright Bell, no harm done. Though if you didn't had paid the bill mama would be rather upset with you."
Said mama was a tall, muscular woman with a square jaw and hair tied in a ponytail cleaning up behind the counter, which she just grinned and cracked her knuckles before going back to her task at hand. Bell shuddered at the sight. Frankly I would too if I didn't learned to school my reactions with ludicrous application of Gamer's Mind, now that was a hard trick to learn.
"We will come back again", I told the girl who smiled at me, "this felt like a lovely place, after all. Good atmosphere, good food, good drink, definitely will come back later. The beautiful sight wasn't nearly as bad either", I said with a teasing grin to the girl.
Syr turned beet red at my words but before she could answer another one of the staff, the blonde elf, interrupted our byplay. "Syr, don't you have something to do at the kitchen?" She nodded, before running off but not without taking a glance towards Bell. The elf, Lyon Ryuu level four (seriously, is this forgotten realms with the infamous twenty level fighter as a tavern owner?) stared at me with cold, judgmental eyes. "Please don't toy with the hearts of a maiden sir Jee-han."
I chukled before nodding. "Sorry, it was just light teasing. I wouldn't dream of upsetting a girl like that. Besides", I said with a shrug, "I don't have many ties with flirting and romance anyway."
"I see", she said while keeping those same eyes towards me, "so long as you don't try anything and keep your hands to yourself then there's no problem."
Heh, it kinds of reminds me of Shi-Yun in a sense, as in 'the immediate feeling of hostility between us'. Why my luck with women is so bad, if it isn't one thing then it's another. Hiding my internal grievances I gave her a mock salute. "Aya aye ma'am!"
Lyon narrowed her eyes a minute amount and I knew I had overstayed my welcome, but it won't do to appear like I had been kicked out from the place, there are appearances to maintain. "If you're done Bell let's get going", I said before performing a small bow, "keep up with the good work."
Bell also bowed, and we both were out of the pub.
Now that business is taken care off we can get back to more important matters, like post-battle shopping!
"Hmm", she said while staring at me intently in the eyes, her presence somehow making her bigger than she really was, and for the first time I felt more than knew that she was a goddess. "What you did yesterday was dangerous. I can sort of forgive Bell from doing something so reckless due to his youth, but I don't think you can have that excuse."
"Bell was distraught yesterday", I replied in an even tone, "and dashed straight to the dungeon to kill anything in his path. In fact he was so unbalanced that when I approached him from behind he tried to attack me. I don't have the wounds to prove my claims, but if I didn't block his attack and had Gamer's Body I would have a very nasty scar on my face, if I survived the encounter at all."
Hestia gasped in shock, but I waved her off. "No harm done, my skill Gamer's Body prevents me from taking this kind of damage. So long as I have enough health I will always work at one hundred percent efficiency and injuries last only for a few instant giving the impression that I'm invulnerable. We can work on Bell's reaction later since he needs to be always in control, but if he didn't had those kind of reflexes he would have been dead several times over in that dungeon, so I won't hold it against him."
She sighed in relief before nodding, opening her mouth for a moment before starting to fidget with the coffee cup in her hands. "Bell is going to be strong", she whispered and I agreed with her, with his new mindset he can definitely reach new heights.
"As a member of your Familia it's my duty to help my fellow adventurer", I said to the small goddess, "besides even if I lost most of my power I'm not that bad if I am honest with myself. I don't plan to be left behind by him even if he had a head start, and as senior fighter, mage and adventurer, it would be a shame if I let him leave me in the dust. Even if I knew people that advanced faster than me under certain conditions I was always good at punching way above my weight class."
She nodded before standing up, "I will need to go to my job soon, can you take care of Bell for me while I'm out?"
"Don't worry, I will hold fort." I said with a grin. "I will make sure that Bell doesn't try to do something hare brained when he wakes up."
"Thank you Jee-han, you are a real help to us. I wish I could do something for you as a show of gratitude."
I just waved her off, "no need for that. If you insist I can think of something later but don't beat yourself over it. Have a good day Hestia."
"You too Jee-Han. Take care."
As she went out I finished Hestia's cup myself before going to the boy's room and sitting on the ground, making myself comfortable before starting meditating. While it's no substitute for actual sleep it can help prevent the Tired status from reaching Exhausted status before Bell wakes up. Besides, there's something else I wanted to try anyway...
~~O~~
A few hours later Bell stretched on the bed, yawning cutely like some kind of small, fluffy animal. If I were a girl I would squeal over how cute he looked, but alas even if he looked like the perfect younger brother right now it was my duty as an older sibling figure, or was it parental figure with my age, that were expected of me.
"Good morning sleeping beauty", I said while cracking one eye open, "I was getting worried I'd need to wake you up with a kiss."
"WOAHHH- Ouch!" He said while waking up with a start, hitting his head on the bed above him. "Where, were am I?"
"Back at Hestia's Familia headquarters", I told him while standing up, "you collapsed yesterday in the middle of the dungeon, and I had to drag you out of there by myself, even having to kill a couple of monsters with you on my back. Please be more considerate next time you decide to take a nap."
"Oh... oh! Sorry about that mister Jee-han!" Did he drop the hyung or did the translation suit changed once more? I hope it stops flip flopping and settles down already. "But I was so exhausted after fighting with all those enemies, and it was already so late..."
I shrugged before motioning him to come over, "let's go to the bathhouse and clean ourselves up. I would also suggest for you to go back to the pub and apologize to that girl Syr since she was talking with you before you ran off."
"Okay... oh no, the bill! I ran off before I paid the bill!"
Once more I slapped him on the back of his head earning a soft 'ouch' from him, "did you forget that I was supposed to pay for it? I took care of the bill no problem. Now take a change of clothes since we will take a bath and then finish furbishing our 'room' after we drop yesterday loot."
"Ah... I almost forgot that we took the time to pick them up."
"A wise adventurer once said: pillage, then burn. Let's get going."
Hestia wouldn't come back until late evening so we had plenty of time to bring clean ourselves up, cash our earnings from yesterday and buy a closet for our 'room'. Maybe another table, a couple of chairs and perhaps even another couch for the 'living room'. At least some mattress to put on the remaining church chairs, or perhaps hiring someone to come and clean up the broken windows of the first floor?
The first stop was at the Hostess of Fertility however, where Bell was bowing to Syr. "I'm sorry for leaving so rudely yesterday", he said with a deep bow. Quite a familiar sight for a mostly western looking place. "I was upset yesterday but it doesn't excuse my behavior, after the kindness you displayed me yesterday by giving me your lunch."
He wisely left out the 'and scammed me into paying for expensive food with that one act of kindness', but I can't fault her for wanting to attract more clients to her workplace.
"It's alright Bell, no harm done. Though if you didn't had paid the bill mama would be rather upset with you."
Said mama was a tall, muscular woman with a square jaw and hair tied in a ponytail cleaning up behind the counter, which she just grinned and cracked her knuckles before going back to her task at hand. Bell shuddered at the sight. Frankly I would too if I didn't learned to school my reactions with ludicrous application of Gamer's Mind, now that was a hard trick to learn.
"We will come back again", I told the girl who smiled at me, "this felt like a lovely place, after all. Good atmosphere, good food, good drink, definitely will come back later. The beautiful sight wasn't nearly as bad either", I said with a teasing grin to the girl.
Syr turned beet red at my words but before she could answer another one of the staff, the blonde elf, interrupted our byplay. "Syr, don't you have something to do at the kitchen?" She nodded, before running off but not without taking a glance towards Bell. The elf, Lyon Ryuu level four (seriously, is this forgotten realms with the infamous twenty level fighter as a tavern owner?) stared at me with cold, judgmental eyes. "Please don't toy with the hearts of a maiden sir Jee-han."
I chukled before nodding. "Sorry, it was just light teasing. I wouldn't dream of upsetting a girl like that. Besides", I said with a shrug, "I don't have many ties with flirting and romance anyway."
"I see", she said while keeping those same eyes towards me, "so long as you don't try anything and keep your hands to yourself then there's no problem."
Heh, it kinds of reminds me of Shi-Yun in a sense, as in 'the immediate feeling of hostility between us'. Why my luck with women is so bad, if it isn't one thing then it's another. Hiding my internal grievances I gave her a mock salute. "Aya aye ma'am!"
Lyon narrowed her eyes a minute amount and I knew I had overstayed my welcome, but it won't do to appear like I had been kicked out from the place, there are appearances to maintain. "If you're done Bell let's get going", I said before performing a small bow, "keep up with the good work."
Bell also bowed, and we both were out of the pub.
Now that business is taken care off we can get back to more important matters, like post-battle shopping!
Last edited: