DanMachi Universe, Lower World, Orario.
Babel Tower, owned by the Guild, stood at the center of Orario. However, this tower was not just an impressive piece of architecture that pierced the clouds above. It also acted as the lid to the Dungeon, stopping the infinitely spawning monsters from ravaging the Lower World.
However, it was more than just that, as there were many Familia Facilities located on the first twenty floors, such as the Hephaestus Familia's shops that took up every inch of space on the fourth floor all the way to the eighth.
Floors above the twentieth were only for gods. And on these floors, you can find everything from meeting rooms to living quarters. And the higher up you go, the more powerful the gods you can find on those floors.
And the top floor was reserved for the deity of the city's strongest Familia. And unfortunately, that title did not belong to Loki, though she held second place by a large margin.
The difference between first and second place was the absence of one Adventurer, Orario's sole Level 7 Adventurer known as the King. And because of that one individual, Loki found herself just short of Orario's top spot.
As for the deity behind the city's strongest Familia, she was sitting in front of a window on the top floor looking down at the Adventurers preparing to enter the Dungeon in the plaza below.
"*Sigh* I've spent so much time looking." A goddess of immeasurable beauty with long silver hair and violet eyes said in a lethargic tone while swirling a glass of wine in one hand. "Oh, where are you, my Ódr?" {Pic}
This woman, the deity behind the strongest Familia in Orario was the Goddess of Beauty, Freya.
*Knock!* *Knock!*
"Ottar, is that you?" Freya asked while lazily glancing towards the door to her private chamber. "If so, come in."
As the words ended, the door was pushed open. Through the open door, a large, extremely muscular man with rust red hair and eyes and a pair of boar ears stepped into the room before closing it behind him. {Pic}
"So, is there any interesting news today, Ottar?" Freya said languidly.
"There is." Ottar replied as he moved to stand guard behind Freya. "According to the staff at the Guild, Lady Aislynn has created her Familia."
"Oh, that certainly is interesting." Freya replied as her eyes widened slightly. "Is there any information about the child or children she invited into her Familia?"
"Yes." Ottar replied with a nod. "Apparently, there are ten of them. Four males and six females. One of the males is even an elderly man."
"This just keeps getting better and better." Freya said as she slowly ran her tongue over her lower lip as she once again turned to look down at the plaza below. "I wonder what their--- *Gasp*"
Before she could finish her sentence, Freya's breath was caught in her throat. Then, she fell out of her seat, landing on her hands and knees. However, completely uncaring of her image, she crawled towards the window and pressed her face against it as she looked down at a group of eleven who just stepped into the plaza.
"They… They're beautiful." Freya said breathlessly as she looked at the group below. "All of them have such pure souls. Yet, they're all pure in different ways. How… How is this possible?"
"My Lady." Ottar said, a hint of concern in his tone.
However, before Ottar could approach, Freya absent-mindedly waved one hand in his direction, signaling him to stop. At the moment, Freya did not need anyone interrupting her enjoyment.
Over and over, Freya shifted her eyes between the ten souls she found so beautiful while consciously ignoring the deity who was accompanying them. Though, she knew that she would have hell to pay if she made a move on any of those children, as they were the children Ottar just mentioned, the new members of the Aislynn Familia.
"I can't decide…" Freya said as she continued to gaze at the ten pure souls. "Which is the most beautiful…? The most radiant…? Mmm~~~~~! It's too hard to tell from this far away."
"Shall I set up a visit to Lady Aislynn's estate?" ottar asked in that same serious tone.
"Ah~~~~! Yes!" Freya moaned loudly as she writhed with her face pressed against the glass. "That would be perfect. Thank you, Ottar."
"All I do is for your happiness, My Lady." Ottar said while bowing at the waist.
Meanwhile, down in the plaza, Tatsuo, James, Alfonzo, Elicia, Violet, Aletia, Akatsuki, Sakura, Zelretch, and Momo wore uncomfortable expressions. Aislynn, on the other hand, clicked her tongue while glancing up at the highest floor of the tower.
"That woman better not try to touch something that doesn't belong to her." Aislynn growled. "Otherwise, I don't mind sending her back to the heavens after killing every member of her Familia right in front of her."
The killing intent leaking out of Aislynn as she made that threat made every nearby Adventurer, the members of the [Dimensional chat] included, shudder involuntarily.
"*Cough* Anyway, we're already getting started later than most Adventurers do." Tatsuo said while trying to shake off the fear Aislynn's killing intent caused. "So, we should get going before it gets too late."
"Tatsuo-Kun is right." Sakura said softly. "Otherwise, we won't get to explore very much today."
"Then, we should split up into groups." Alfonzo said while shaking his head. "A normal Adventurer party on the upper floors is five, right?"
"That's what Miss Rose said." Zelretch replied with a nod. "The question is, how should we split up?"
"Me, James, Akatsuki, Sakura, and Momo in one group." Tatsuo said, taking the lead as the Familia's Captain. "And Alfonzo, Elicia, Zelretch, Violet, and Aletia in the other."
"I want to be in the same team as Tatsuo." Aletia complained with a pout.
"This is only a preliminary team." Tatsuo explained. "Most of us have never worked together before. So, I put people who have never worked together on the same team to see how you do as a group. If it doesn't work, I'll reshuffle the teams for the next dive."
In fact, Tatsuo had already fought in a team with everyone other than Zelretch. But the others have not really worked together. Though, they did fight Wyverns together in Violet's world, they were not exactly fighting as a team, as Tatsuo, James, and Alfonzo did their own thing while the others just kind of fought around each other.
"Don't you like us, Aletia?" Elicia asked while pretending to cry as she swept Aletia into a hug. "You're gonna break my heart."
"Let go of me." Aletia said while struggling to free herself.
That caused the others to laugh. But like Tatsuo said, they were starting later than most Adventurers. So, they could not play around for too much longer.
"Alright, you all go and get stronger." Aislynn said, putting an end to the fun. "After you get back to the surface, we'll go and have a meal at the best restaurant in the city, the Hostess of Fertility."
"Really?" James asked in a deadpan tone. "You were just talking about killing all of her Familia members a second ago. And now, you wanna go to the restaurant where she plays house?"
"Hmph! Don't underestimate me." Aislynn said. "If I'm right, that little human girl she pretends to be, Syr Flova, will find a reason to be absent from work once she realizes that I'm there."
James only response was to shrug his shoulders. Meanwhile, everyone else nodded to Aislynn's arrangements. Then, after a short goodbye, the group, led by Tatsuo, entered Babel Tower before making their way down into the Dungeon.
DanMachi Universe. Lower World, Dungeon, 1st Floor.
After entering Babel Tower, the group saw a line of Adventurer's heading for a deep hole in the floor. When they got close, they saw that there was a spiral staircase leading down into the hole. So, like the rest of the Adventurer's they headed down.
When they arrived at the bottom of the staircase, the group found themselves standing in a wide hallway with light blue walls and a ceiling that was about twenty-feet high, an area commonly referred to as "Beginner's Road." {Pic}
"Alright, everyone." Tatsuo said, drawing his party's attention. "We're only checking the place out today. So, no one goes any deeper than the fourth floor, got it?"
"Ooh! Look at you acting like a Familia Captain!" Elicia cooed loudly.
"Please stop." Tatsuo replied in a deadpan.
"Don't worry, we know the drill." Alfonzo said while pulling Elicia back before she took her joke too far.
"Yes, I believe all of us are experienced enough to handle this without issue." Zelretch said with a nod of agreement.
"Alright then, let's split up, pick a passage, and move out." Tatsuo said while nodding at Violet, Alfonzo, Elicia, Aletia, and Zelretch.
Receiving nods in return, Tatsuo led his team down a passage while Alfonzo led the other team down another.
"We've got memories of fighting goblins and kobolds, the monsters we expect to see most often on these floors." Akatsuki said while her eyes scanned the passage ahead. "But from what I hear, the monsters in the Dungeon are much stronger than the ones on the surface."
"Yeah, that's what everyone says." Tatsuo replied with his daggers held in a reverse grip. "Still, we shouldn't have any problem handling them. Just don't under estimate them."
*Crack!*
As if the Dungeon knew they were talking about its creations, one of the walls ahead let out a cracking sound. Then, the green, wrinkly head of a goblin poked out of the crack in the wall.
"I call dibs on the first one." James said as he lowered his stance and put his right hand on the hilt of one of his katanas.
"Make sure you try out the [Flash Step]." Tatsuo said casually while watching for any other cracks. "Because I doubt one monster is enough for [Senbonzakura]."
"Got it." Jame said before vanishing from where he stood with a [Flash Step].
*Swish!*
In the next instant, just as the goblin climbed out of the wall completely, James appeared behind it. Then, he flicked his sword to the side, flourished it, and sheathed it in one motion.
*Click!*
And as soon as the katana's guard met the mouth of the empty sheath on his hip, the goblin's head fell off.
*Poof!*
*Clink!*
Then, before the head could hit the floor, both it and the goblin's body burst into a cloud of black ash, leaving behind a small magic stone that clattered against the floor a moment later.
"How was it?" Tatsuo asked while leading the others over to James' side.
"Well, they're definitely sturdier than the ones I have memories of from the surface." James replied with a shrug. Then, he continued while drawing the katana he used to attack and inspecting the blade. "Honestly, I'm not sure how long these weapons we brought with us from the village will last."
"Hopefully, we'll find some drops we can use to create new weapons." Akatsuki said.
"You say that like you'll actually be making any of those weapons." Tatsuo said while rolling his eyes.
"Of course not." Akatsuki replied while smiling cheekily. "We'll be leaving that to you and Alfonzo-San. Just like the cooking."
"Tch! You were cuter when you were all stoic and depressed about being trapped in that Elder Tales game." Tatsuo muttered while looking away from Akatsuki.
Immediately, James, Akatsuki, and Momo started to laugh at Tatsuo's expense. Meanwhile, Sakura looked down at the magic stone that no one had bothered to pick up. Then, she closed her eyes briefly before starting to chant.
"[Bind, trap, restrain, and skewer. Oh shadows, follow my will and do my bidding. Kage Sosa.]." Sakura's chant rang out clearly in the cave.
With Sakura's chant, her shadow expanded, connecting with all the nearby shadows. Then, as the shadows expanded to underneath the magic stone, it sank into the darkness.
"How's the Mind cost?" Tatsuo asked after noticing that Sakura was trying out her magic.
"It doesn't seem too bad." Sakura replied with a contemplative expression on her face. "If I'm judging correctly, I should have no problem keeping the spell active for about six hours at this range. But if I use it to attack or expand the range, that time will shorten."
"We should test just how much strain each of those things will puts on you." Momo said in an analytical tone. "We have plenty of Mind Potions Aislynn-Sama granted us before we left the villa. So, we can afford to experiment."
Sakura nodded in response.
"In any case, if we're not fighting or picking up loot, you should keep it restrained to just your shadow." James said. "You never know how the Dungeon will react. I mean, what if it can't spawn monsters with your shadows in the way."
"Yeah, that could be a problem." Tatsuo added. "I think James is right."
"Well then, if we're experimenting with our Magic and Skills, I'll scout ahead." Akatsuki said as she lowered her stance. "I'm perfectly suited for that role with my Skills, after all."
With that, Akatsuki activated Sneak and Silent Step. As she did, she started walking ahead of the group. And with every step, her footsteps grew quieter while her presence got harder and harder to perceive.
*Crack!*
Yet, just as Akatsuki got a fair distance away from the rest of the group and they were preparing to follow, the sound of another crack came from behind them.
"Yeah, whatever this Dungeon is, it's definitely watching us." Tatsuo muttered as he tightened his grip on his daggers.
"I'll take care of this one." Momo said as she spun around.
When Momo turned around, instead of a goblin, she saw a dog-headed humanoid creature, a kobold, climbing out of the wall. Yet, unlike James, Momo did not charge in to deal with the monster quickly. Instead, she raised the shield in her left hand while readying her short sword behind it.
"Roar!*
Seeing Momo slowly closing in, the kobold roared. Then, it kicked off the floor and dashed at Momo with its claws raised to strike. However, Momo did not panic. And when the kobold pounced, she calmly raised her shield into its path.
*Screech!*
The sound of the kobold's claws scraping across the shield was piercing. Yet, thanks to Momo's stable stance, she handled the attack easily. Then, she angled the shield slightly, causing the kobold to lose balance before she raised her short sword and cut down diagonally, bisecting the monster from its left shoulder to right hip.
*Poof!*
*Clink!*
Just like with the monster James killed, the kobold turned into ash shortly after it was killed, leaving behind a second magic stone. Then, just like she did with the first one, Sakura expanded her shadow and let the magic stone sink into it.
"It's like an auto collect feature." Akatsuki said, having returned to the group during Momo's engagement with the Kobold.
"Yeah, it's definitely convenient." James replied with a nod. "But we'll have to either put the magic stones in the bags we brought before we leave the Dungeon or only do exchanges at the Guild in a private room."
"If other Adventurers find out about this, it would be a problem" Tatsuo agreed. "Because it would definitely get back to their gods. And there are definitely some gods who are dumb enough to challenge Aislynn, even if they know she's likely to tear them and their Familia apart for doing so."
James, Akatsuki, Sakura, and Momo nodded in agreement, deciding to keep Sakura's [Shadow Space] a secret for as long as they can, or until their strong enough that it does not matter if anyone knows about it.
"Alright, let's get going." Tatsuo said. "We've still got Magic and Skills to test."
With that, Akatsuki once again took off to scout ahead. And this time, there were no monsters that spawned behind the group, so they followed her from a short distance as they trekked deeper into the Upper Floors of the Dungeon.