"Do we actually need all of this?" The sudden question dragged my gaze up from my packing, hands full of bundles of dried herbs as I raised an eyebrow at Judith.
She flushed, fidgeting a little as the nervous energy that had driven her to pacing for the last hour came back. I could hardly blame her though, today was the day of the expedition and impatience was burning in my own veins.
Enchanting and monsters I'd never fought before await after all.
"Half of every battle is just having the resources to fight. Here, with some hundred bodies, continuously fighting for two weeks?" I shook my head. "This isn't even half of what'll probably be needed. Loki will have their own healers though, and our potions only really work on the low level members anyway, so this should be fine."
Well, somewhat.
I was actually loading up our packs half with decoy ingredients in case Loki decided to try and figure out the recipe, with the rest -and more- sitting cheekily in my inventory. There were also completed potions in the pack and my inventory of course, but in general it's more space efficient to pack ingredients, and safer too. So I was doing what was expected even if that meant carrying around a bunch of butterfly wings I really didn't need.
"Seriously?"
"Anything can happen." I shook my head, thinking back on what I remembered from the source material.
Expeditions in canon were basically just excuses for the normal story loop to happen on crack. In normal arcs the main character would do something or go somewhere, the absolute worst odds possible would then immediately fuck him over, before eventually he would survive by sheer luck and pluckiness.
Expeditions however were that, on steroids.
Monsters so rare they were thought to be myths appearing on floors they were stronger than by far, hordes of monsters appearing out of nowhere, the main characters coincidentally falling through holes in the dungeon down multiple floors.
Every expedition Bell ever went on ended in disaster that probably should have wiped out everyone that ever dared join him.
Hence I was overpreparing a little.
Extra weapons, extra armour, anything I could think of was being thrown into an inventory which seemed to be scaling with my stats, allowing me to carry a pretty ridiculous amount of materiel. So if it came down to it, I was confident in at least having the resources to handle that kind of luck. The only question would be whether I was strong enough.
I kept packing as Judith fell silent, a strange look on her face.
"It's weird." She eventually spoke up. "I kept worrying over what the others would say since I switched Familias and everything, but looking at this kind of prep… it kind of trivialises that feeling. It's like we're getting ready for war or something."
"We are." I state, finishing up the pack and casually tossing it to Judith, her eyes widening as the weight of it almost bowled her over. "We're going down to a place where any random hazard could demolish us without even the chance of us fighting back. If that isn't war then what is?"
"Huh." She uttered. "Fuck…"
"Pretty much." I agreed, throwing the second pack I'd stuffed earlier over my shoulder.
"Why are we doing this again?"
"To get stronger." I grinned.
She laughed almost self-deprecatingly. "I guess that'd do it."
"Hey… I've told you why I do all this, yeah?" She asked.
"You mean like overall motivations?" I tried. "You didn't -but no offense- it's pretty obvious."
"Fuck you." She tried to glare, but her blush ruined it. "Whatever… I guess an orphan with something to prove isn't exactly unique."
"It's not, but that counts for pretty much everyone." I said without really thinking about it, because normally that would've been true for me too. Unfortunately my motives since coming to this world have become the opposite of stereotypical.
"Even you?"
"Well…" I trailed off awkwardly.
"How did I know you would be the exception?" She said, side-eying me, naturally I ruffled her hair in response.
"It's complicated, so I'll tell you one day, yeah?" I laughed as she batted my hand away, and struggled to get her hair back in order.
"Oh and about what you were saying earlier… if anyone gives you shit for joining my Familia, just beat the fuck out of them in a duel." I grinned. "You're my first student, you don't have to take shit from anyone."
For a moment an expression crossed her face like she was about to snark at me for how arrogant that statement was, until she paused and thought it through.
Being my student was a bit uncertain in terms of rep right now, but in two months? Three?
I was the man who would bear the title of Sword Saint, as well as someone who could already punch above their level; being the first student of someone like that held weight. It might take a while for it to fully materialise, but given my pace it wouldn't be long until she'd benefit from it.
"Huh… yeah." She muttered excitedly. "Wait, what about if they're stronger?"
"Then I'll beat them up for you."
"And if they're stronger than you?" She asked, eyebrows scrunching up like she was having a hard time picturing it. And well, I'm starting to think I might have beaten her a bit too hard if she was having thoughts like that.
"Adventurers have their own pride, they don't like to punch down in levels unless the situation demands it." I shook my head. "But if they do, we'll just have to come back and give them their beating later, yeah?"
Her lips twitched into a smile. "Yeah."
I smiled back before realising the time. "Ah, we gotta go, Loki's probably already started the speeches."
Judith's smile turned weary at that. "Fuck, we should probably head out then. But, just so you know, my old Captain likes to talk… alot."
Ah.
For someone like me that was not good news.
Still, it would be rude to be overly late and I do need to butter Finn up to get a shot at Goliath.
"C'mon." I sighed as I made my way to the stairs. One day, I'd be free of time wasters and boredom, even if that is not this day.
Judith awkwardly patted my armour commiseratingly as she followed me up the staircase to the church proper, where we found Hestia trying far too hard to appear casual as she sat on a pew.
"Bwah!" Hestia exclaimed in surprise as she noticed us. It didn't really sound like a natural exclamation, but then Gods have always been off to me and that was before I'd taken a peek under the hood. "E-Elric-kun!"
"Hestia." I greeted simply.
It'd been a few days since that fuck up with the Soul Sight spell and, despite all that time, I still don't really have the words to describe what looking into a God is like. I think the closest analogy I can think of would be like looking through a kaleidoscope into a schizophrenic's mind. Just a plethora of conflicting personalities and aspects and weird shit that you have no context for.
That and power, but that was both obvious and didn't really fit the analogy.
It was an almost alien existence to me, and it was hard to even imagine existing in the state she did; which kind of drives home just how different we are on a core level. Hestia was a fundamentally different existence to the rest of us, something completely other despite how personable she could be.
And yet, despite that…
"Um, a-are you done with… y'know…" This Godly existence had spent the last few days stuttering like a shy teen whenever she saw me, embarrassed beyond belief by a single quip I'd made to stop myself from being speechless in front of something I couldn't really comprehend.
…This world was weird, and I'm also probably weird for being kind of into it.
"We're good to go." This simple reply brought an entirely new hue of red to her cheeks.
"A-Ah, that's good!" She said, but her eyes hesitantly shifted to the side, to where Judith was hesitating.
"I'll get out of your way." The redhead announced instantly, beautifully employing the tactic I'd taught her for handling weird situations you weren't directly involved in; swiftly departing before people could drag you into their shit.
"Ah- no, wait!" Hestia panicked a little, throwing up her hands in a stopping motion that cut off Judith's textbook escape. "I didn't mean- sorry, I'm a bit of a mess, but you're my child too and…"
Hestia straightened up and made her way to Judith. "Good luck, and please come home safe alright?"
The redhead looked at me for advice, my training not having prepared her for a sincere Hestia that was now pulling her into a hug.
"R-Right, will do." Judith uttered awkwardly from within the Goddess' embrace, understandably so given the interrogation their relationship had begun with.
The hug lasted longer than was probably comfortable, but my student bore with it well and eventually escaped the emotional Goddess' clutches.
"Can I…?" A nod was all Judith needed to swiftly walk out of the building with her head held high, leaving me alone with Hestia.
"Are you going to wish me luck as well?" I asked, a slight smile getting the expected reaction from her.
"O-Of course!" She blushed. "But I was hoping to ask you something else first…"
I didn't know where this was going, but still nodded.
"Ah… I was just wondering, Elric-kun… since you saw my, uh, private stuff-"
"It was private?"
"I-It is!" She shouted in embarrassment. "Mou… you're not supposed to see that kind of thing."
"Don't other Gods see you like that all the time?"
"That's different, you're… mortal." She whispered the word, not as an insult, but more like an admission. A reluctant one at that. If I had to guess, she probably didn't want to admit just how differently she viewed me from herself and her peers.
Likely the same kind of distinction I now beheld her with.
The worry that was underpinning her embarrassment was pretty obvious in the face of that; she was worried I would see her differently after seeing, well, her. Did I already suspect that was the case? Obviously, but confirmation is nice.
"Well sorry for being human." I joked and as she went to respond in a panic, I pulled her into my arms. Considering I was wearing articulated plate it probably wasn't the most comfortable of hugs, but based on the sounds she was making, the thought seemed to be what counted. "What were you going to ask?"
"…A-Ah!" She started in my arms. "Uh, I know you don't like to talk about it, but since you saw my um… could you tell me more about your past please?" She rushed, her words jumbling as she forced them out.
Huh, that's what she wanted to ask in such a panic?
I suppose I used to avoid the topic when we first met because my past felt a bit more private than our relationship at the time allowed. But she'd stopped asking at some point and I wasn't really the type to go out of my way to talk about myself.
"Sure." I agreed easily. "When I get back alright?"
"E-Eh?" Hestia froze. "Just like that?"
"Yeah, I would have told you had you asked."
"Ehhh…" She uttered. "No wait-! you used to mess with me anytime I'd bring it up!"
"You're very mess-with-able." I poked.
"Mou!"
I laughed, just enjoying the moment. Unfortunately though, there was a ticking clock in the back of my mind.
"…I have to go." I admitted reluctantly.
"Oh…" Hestia wilted.
"Wish me luck?"
She opened her mouth to do just that before pausing, her gaze slowly panning down to my lips. "U-Um…"
I could see what she wanted, anyone could, yet I didn't move.
To encourage this one way or the other had always felt wrong; I was the type of person who wasn't willing to settle down, both in lifestyle or romantically. It was part of why I had beaten around the bush in regards to Hestia for so long. In the show she was jealous and possessive and almost certainly wanted a type of relationship I just couldn't offer.
…The other part was admittedly that in the same show she tried to get into the pants of a fourteen year old kid. And well, that's a crime. Not one that she's committed in this timeline, thankfully, but it definitely makes things weird on my end.
Either way, despite finding myself slowly becoming enamoured with her personality that was equal parts chaos and sunshine, this wasn't something I could push her into. Not with the knowledge of how this could wind up hurting her down the road, and not with how much I'd come to care for her.
So I intentionally showed parts of myself to her and she took the hint. Despite all her demands for 'dates', or how much she pouted about the unspoken thing between us, she never pushed things further.
At least until now.
"Are you sure?" My words startled her out of whatever trance she was in, her eyes widening and a blush exploding across her face.
She stammered wordlessly for a moment, before looking down, her bangs hiding her expression from me.
"…When you get back…" She muttered almost silently, before seemingly working up the courage to peer up at me through her fringe. "When you get back… you can tell me about your past, and…" She trailed off, leaving the implication open.
"Sure." I smiled softly. "When I get back." I finished, happily sealing the death flag.
I was hoping it'd make things more interesting.
Squeezing her once, I finally let go, letting the Goddess step away from me shyly, her bright eyes shining as she smiled uncertainly.
"Good luck, Elric-kun." She finally said.
"Thanks, I'll be off then."
"Come back safely…"
I almost laughed outright at all the flags she was setting up on me.
"Later." I promised instead, walking out the church into the blazing sun, only to find Judith giving Sticky a nuggie.
"You little brat!"
Well then.
"Boss, save me! She's crazy!"
I laughed and walked into the sunshine.
-
Twilight Manor, the home of the Loki Familia. It was honestly less of a manor and more of an eccentric castle, made up of dozens of different towers and just as many architectural styles and quirks.
It was… an impressive sight in spite of my gripes about the mixture of elements. Hell, it almost felt fitting in a way; for a Goddess like Loki, something this chaotic was perfect.
"This is your first time right?" Judith spoke up from beside me.
I hummed in agreement, content to simply take in the sight for a moment.
That, and the street was absolutely rammed with onlookers interested in seeing off the residents of the building we were staring at.
Expeditions represented both the hope of mortalkind finally overcoming and conquering the dungeon, and also the potential of an absolute fuck load of money being injected into the local economy.
Both things the average Joe can appreciate.
That unfortunately did mean that the way forward was a little blocked however, leaving us with only one clear path forward.
"We're going to have to jump."
"Wait, wha-?" Before she could finish her sentence, my hand clapped onto the back of her new armour and grabbed the strap I'd specifically added for this purpose.
Feather.
The spell took effect with an ease I was still getting used to, and a simple hop was enough to carry us -packs and all- up two stories to the nearest rooftop. Eyes -and intent- immediately snapped onto us from various positions, the guards of the Loki Familia suddenly on full alert.
"Fuck! Gimme a little warning next time!" My passenger complained, while I flashed my most disarming smile at the guards.
"I did." I reminded her absently, as I felt out their intent.
From the feel of things, most seemed to recognise either me or Judith, but they also didn't seem to know why I was here. Which makes sense, I highly doubted that Finn was informing every member of his Familia of every deal he'd made.
Thankfully though, a specific person both recognised us and was high enough up to wave us in.
"This is your warning." I kindly cut through Judith's grumbling about wanting to be set down to give her the warning she wanted, before promptly leaping over the wall into the Loki complex proper.
She might have screamed a little, we'd need to work on that.
"Raul." I greeted calmly, following a textbook perfect landing, with Judith not faring quite as well as she unsteadily tried to keep her balance and composure upon seeing her old teacher.
"Elric, good to have you with us." He greeted, before turning to the student I'd sniped out from under him. "And Judith…"
"Raul." She answered back curtly, though it seemed to come from her just not knowing how to handle this situation than any kind of negative feeling.
His eyes took her in. "You look… stronger." He admitted, almost reluctantly.
That reluctance likely came from his student leaving the Familia, his clear insecurities both in general and specifically about teaching, and maybe a dash of lingering feelings about that argument we had on the seventh floor.
Though if he was taking this as me being right about everything, then I was kinda speechless. I was right about that shit of course, but Judith getting stronger under my tutelage didn't prove that. The only thing that proves is that I'm better at throwing her into danger.
"Of course!" Judith puffed up, grinning at the acknowledgement. "Elric's training is… well…"
"It's…?" Raul tried, obviously getting concerned at her speechlessness.
"Uh, it's great!" She smiled fakely, evidently this kind of thing did not come naturally to her.
Raul looked at me in concern, so I rolled my eyes at him.
"It's just dungeon training and coaching on swordplay, I don't know why she's being so awkward." I covered for her.
"Fuck, it's hard alright…" She shot back.
We bantered back and forth a couple times just to avoid suspicion as Raul awkwardly watched from the side, yet after a bit, his lips started to curl.
"I see." He smiled fully. "I'm glad you guys are doing well. Unfortunately, I can't stay here, the Captain's second speech is about to start and…" He trailed off, laughing awkwardly.
"Don't let us hold you then." I nodded.
"Right." He then turned to Judith, an almost traumatised look appearing in his eyes. "Stay safe in there alright?"
Excellent, more flags for my collection.
She glanced over at me uncertainly before nodding herself.
"Good, you guys should be able to put your baggage on the wagons if you need, but I really should get going."
In the silence following our goodbyes, Judith spoke up. "Everytime… I know he's been through some shit, but it's seriously weird when he starts staring at you like that."
"Whatever…" She uttered, shaking her head. "C'mon, let's take him up on that offer, this thing is stupid heavy."
I hummed. "If it's that heavy for you, perhaps we need to step up your training." I said innocently, greatly enjoying the moment she froze and almost woodenly turned to me. "I'm joking."
Her sigh of relief at my words was almost comparable to the one she made as she ditched her pack onto the last wagon in the train, not really paying them any mind. But I couldn't help but pause and consider them.
More than even the crowds outside, these wagons represented the sheer amount of investment that was being thrown into this whole thing. Tens of millions of vali worth of resources piled high across almost a dozen wagons, ready to be expended just to give the Familia a shot at reaching the monsters that could help their top members level.
It was a display of just pure dedication to grinding, one that I could wholeheartedly respect, and one that made me appreciate my inventory and stamina mechanics all the more. Because for all that regular adventurers need this kind of thing, I was kind of immune to this pitfall just by the nature of my Skills.
It was as I was contemplating all this that Judith let out a bark of laughter.
"Wait, are you wearing that? I thought you were just messing with me earlier." Judith spoke up after I'd taken off my own pack, revealing the cloak I was wearing over my armour.
"Doesn't suit me?" I grinned. It did of course, the blue was just about the same shade as my eyes and it fit well with the silver hue of my nosteel armour.
"It does, but it's, y'know…"
In response I just laughed, yeah it was a bit extra, but that was the point. Adventurers already had some pretty wild looks in the first place, this was to set me apart from them, to finally lean more fully into the heroic and knightly imagery I decided on in the first place.
Attire was meant to emphasise the image you were trying to convey, and as long as you had the reputation and looks to pull it off, then that was all that mattered.
Plus if you slap a cape and a set of armour in a heroic style and colour palate onto someone with an already swelling reputation, then it's pretty obvious how it'll start to be taken. To the masses, the idea that I'm something more than other adventurers will sprout, and then because of Falnic shenanigans, it'll simply become true in the form of Skills.
And damn but do I love Skills.
Hell, I love this entire world in all its strange, story obsessed glory; it was simply perfect for me.
A lull fell over us for a moment, before I nodded with certainty. "You'll get it someday."
"…I won't."
"You probably already do."
"I don't!"
"You definitely will." It was every Adventurer's destiny to start looking extra as hell when they start to level up. The sole exception being Raul, but his entire thing seemed to be looking average.
It was as we were bickering back and forth however that I felt a pair of eyes on me.
Turning, I returned the gaze with a smile and found the third member of our party loitering on the same rooftop I'd been on a short while ago. She was clearly running into the same problem I had, only there was no one to let her in like Raul had for me, so we'd have to go out to her.
Which meant going out to where the speech was taking place on the street.
Right.
"Miyabi's here. Let's go."
-
A bit of a slower chapter, but it came out in four days! + Goodbyes are sometimes needed.
Like if you liked it or don't, I'll just be mildly sad, it's fine. The next three chapters are up onhttps://www.patreon.com/c/OneFallLeaf, have a great day xD
-
Falna
I couldn't really find a good place to put this in the story itself, so I figured I'd just include the update down here as opposed to just forgoing it entirely.
• ⋅☾ ☽⋅ •
Elric Carne
Lvl 2
Str - H 148
Vit - H 135
Dex - H 181
Agl - H 186
Mag - G 258
Developmental Abilities:
Mage I → H, Swordsman
Magic:
[Yol] The wielder's soul burns with Hearthflame, a connection is carried to the Flame of Heaven.
Skills:
[Qahnaarin] The bearer's existence in this world is a miracle, their steps an impossibility; they face this new world with the stars' guidance written into their soul. (0)
Alchemy – 71
Alchemist 4, Physician, Benefactor
Alteration – 100
Novice Alteration, Apprentice Alteration, Journeymen Alteration, Expert Alteration, Magic Resistance 3, Stability, Atronach
Archery – 40
-
Block – 62
Shield Wall 3, Quick Reflexes
Destruction – 38
Novice Destruction
Enchanting – 15
Enchanter 1
Light Armour – 74
Agile Defender 3, Custom Fit, Unhindered, Wind Walker
Lockpicking – 49
-
One-Handed – 80
Armsman 5, Dual Flurry 2
Pickpocket – 21
-
Restoration – 22
Novice Restoration
Smithing – 69
Steel Smithing, Elven Smithing, Advanced Smithing, Arcane Blacksmith
Sneak – 62
-
Speech – 47
-
[Hungaar Heyv] While fighting in defense of others, agility increases significantly. Furthermore, the user can sense when others are in danger.
[Golahtuz] Grip strength and dexterity increase greatly while wielding a sword, additionally the user is temporarily able to use the development ability Swordsman. The effects of this ability are dependent on the user's level.
• ⋅☾ ☽⋅ •