Part Seven
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My luck is shit. Shit, shit, shit. This is simply fact. How else can you explain running into a pack of 5 goblins, on the 1st Floor, on my first day in the Dungeon?
If I believed in karma, I'd say it was a balance for the bullshit luck that put me here with Gamer powers. But I don't.
It's just a shitty coincidence.
Still, my choice to put that stat chapter directly into agility was being validated. I ran as fast as I could back through the halls, chased by the eager battlecries of the goblins chasing me. I was faster than them, but not by nearly as much as I would have liked.
Everything had been going fine up to this point, after that first goblin at least.
The second goblin was easier than the first. It was walking away from me when I turned the corner, and I slowed my steps the instant I saw it, doing my level best to sneak up on it.
I failed, but not too terribly. It was only a few feet out of my reach when I made a misstep, the heel of my boot making a soft but clear sound on the floor, alerting it to my presence.
The creature spun about, only to find my spear a mere instant from its face as I charged it. It went down screaming as it jerked its face out of the way, but only half-successfully. My second thrust went right into its throat, ending it before it could put up any fight.
I watched as its body shrivelled up and wasted away before I continued on ahead.
I found a third all alone, and killed it too, only to be found by a pair coming down a connecting corridor. I won out with little more than a couple of minor injuries which were quickly healed by my magic.
Already my new healing power had shown its usefulness. Even if the first, minor injury I had received hadn't made me go back to the surface, then fighting the pair certainly would have.
Of course, I'll have to go back anyway if I can't shake this group.
I had considered trying to lay a trap somewhere ahead and fight it out for just a moment before slapping myself for even thinking it. I definitely couldn't take five goblins even in an ambush where I was setting the terms from minute one. Much less so an ad hoc surprise attack by hiding around a corner or something.
I ran back the way I had come, thanking Eina's rule the whole time. Always know the way back to the exit, she said. For just this reason.
I rounded a turn and ran out into one of the larger rooms on the floor, and found myself confronted by a pair of fellow adventurers, one scanning the room and the other carving a magic stone out of a group of four or so fallen goblin bodies.
The standing one's hand went to his blade as I dashed into the room.
"Goblin pack," I yelled, skidding to a stop before the adventurer got the wrong idea.
His eyes narrowed. "How many?"
"5," I said, holding up one hand.
"Mark!" The other adventurer had gotten up and drawn his own sword.
The one speaking jerked his head back at the hallway I wanted to get into, the way that led back to one of the main halls connected to the exit stairwell.
"Get out, newbie."
I blinked. "I can help if..."
"Get!"
I raised my hands placatingly at the same time I heard the howls of the goblins rounding the corner behind me. With nothing but a glance behind me, I ran around the two adventurers stepping forward to meet the goblins and left.
I stopped when I reached the long hallway to catch my breath. I was presented with a simple choice. Stay or go?
My hand went down to the pouch at my side. 5 magic stone fragments and 2 goblin fangs. It was more than an average brand new adventurer could expect to have gathered, I was sure, but after spending so much money on my spear, it felt like so little still.
I had received another Drop Crystal from the goblin pair earlier, which I used to get the second fang. The fact that I had already gotten one from a Monster Drop was a good sign to me that the Drop Rate for those crystals would be more than reasonable. 5 wasn't a statistically significant sample, but I could hope.
What really decided it though, was that I was exhausted. Not physically, but emotionally.
I wanted out of this place. To reset my thoughts.
A look into my HUD told me the time. It was getting towards the end of the afternoon, which is when Eina had told me the majority of adventurers were heading back up to the surface after a day's work in the dungeon.
It was the safest time to return, because the rush of adventurers converging on the floor exits meant that monsters were largely entirely cleared out of those areas, and the most direct routes between them.
Indeed as I approached the stairwell, I could hear the sounds of lots of people talking and laughing and arguing. I was just one more body, one low-class adventurer in a throng of much similar individuals, all climbing their way out of the Dungeon together.
There were adventurers in heavy armor and light armor, with spears and swords, bows, shield, every weapon I had ever seen and a few more besides. And more than a few supporters, lugging huge backpacks stuffed full of gear and loot.
My own haul, apart from the stuff I had to sell wasn't bad either, my Ability Pages. Every single goblin I killed dropped at least one, and two of them had dropped two. How much was due to my Adventurer Class bonus to their Drop Rate, I was unsure. But the fact that they could drop more than 1 per enemy was a good sign. I could only assume that stronger monsters on the lower floors will have even higher rates.
[Inventory]
(3) Page of Least Strength
(1) Page of Least Endurance
(1) Page of Least Dexterity
(2) Page of Least Agility
I considered the other adventurers walking up the stairs alongside me. They didn't have anything like this, what I was getting for free. They all had to fight goblins on their first day too, without the clarity my Game gave me, to know that what they were doing would pay off in the end.
It made me feel a little pathetic. They didn't get access to Magic immediately after killing their first goblin, after all. They didn't know when their stats would go up, and had to rely on chance to find a monster that would leave behind a Drop Item.
What drove them down into the Dungeon?
That was the real question, wasn't it? No, it was why was I going down there?
Because I felt it was expected of me? Because the Game told me to? Because it was what Bell did?
I was just going with the flow. That was it.
I clenched my teeth. My feet felt heavier somehow, like each step up was a greater challenge than the last.
Just going with the flow. That was how my parents had described me.
But it had worked for me. I had a good life. A good job, internet access, enough food. I was content, by and large. I just lived… going whatever direction life took me, following the path of least resistance.
A path that led me down into this Dungeon, because I never stopped to actually ask myself one question.
What did I actually want to do? What was I willing to work towards, to work for?
I looked down at my blood-splattered clothes. What was I willing to go down there and risk my life for?
The answer escaped me. It was all I could think about, all the way up to Babel. I followed a group of adventurers like me to the facilities the Guild oversaw here in the tower, including the public showers. But I barely noticed anything around me as I showered and left the tower, heading for the Guild building to meet Eina as I had promised I would.
She greeted me with a wave and a beautiful smile. I could see why people in this world called elves the most beautiful race. Even as a half-elf, Eina was radiant when she smiled.
"You're back."
"Yeah," I replied automatically. My thoughts were still long gone. "About our lesson… Can we reschedule it for the morning instead?"
"Is something wrong?" she asked, looking me over, as though to find an injury.
"I just need some time to think," I confessed. "It's something… I won't be able to focus until I figure it out."
With a sigh, Eina shook her head. "I'd like to, but I do have other adventurers to advise. They're further along, and I can't easily reschedule them. I'm sorry."
"I see. Then let's just push it back until tomorrow evening?"
"Okay. If you think you need it."
"I do."
"So… how was it?" she asked, breaking the silence that had settled between us.
"Scary," I replied honestly. "I was terrified when that first goblin saw me."
"But you made it back," Eina pointed out. "So you succeeded at the most important thing. Come on over this way, I assume you have the magic stone?"
I nodded. "It was exactly where you said it would be."
At Eina's direction I dumped the contents of my pouch into the sliding drawer at the counter that the Guild Employee would use to retrieve my monster loot and return me valis.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Eina exclaimed. "Are those? How did you get two Goblin Fangs?"
"The goblins dropped them?"
"I know they-" Eina cut off with an inarticulate screech. "But they're rare. Especially on the first floor."
I shrugged my shoulders noncommittally. Sorry Eina, I like you I think, but I'm not going to tell you how I actually got them.
Eina shook her head. "Such luck. Just don't expect this every time, Blair. Drop Items are rare, understand? Don't go trying to seek them out."
I gave her a little smile. It was hard not to smirk. It wasn't as though she could know just how often I would be coming back with Drop Items.
The drawer was withdrawn back into the counter, and returned a few seconds later with a stack of valis.
"6800 valis." The clerk stated as I took the coins. "1800 for the magic stones, 2500 each for the Fangs."
Not enough to cover the cost of my spear yet, but another haul like that would do it.
"Thank you," I replied, before putting the coins into my other pouch, with what remained of the money I had taken with me this morning. "And thank you too, Ms. Eina, I said, giving her a little bow. Your advice was most helpful today."
"You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," I agreed. As I left the building I looked back towards Babel and the Dungeon, and felt the pouch of coins on my hip. It was a way to make a living, for me and Hestia, but that just didn't seem like enough reason, now that I had experienced it for myself.
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She had no reason to be worried, Hestia reminded herself as she waited in the basement of the church. She knew her child was safe, and he had just left the Guild, so he should be home soon. Her Menu told her so. But she couldn't help it.
All day she had been distracted by it, ever since she watched her first child trudge down into the Dungeon. She had to keep an eye on it, even though she knew she couldn't affect anything. Maybe this [Familia] menu was actually a curse in disguise.
It remained there, off to one side of her vision as she worked, always just a momentary glance away. She saw when his Status had shifted from Healthy to Minor Injury, and it was like a physical pain in her chest. Even when it went back to Healthy just a little while later, the knowledge that her child had been injured remained.
And it happened again! Not once, but twice in the same day. She wasn't sure her heart could take it if she had to go through this every day.
She jumped to her feet the moment she heard the sound of the hidden door opening and went to meet him.
Tired. That was the word that best describes the way her child looked. Not so much in his posture, his body looked fine, but his eyes… they were tired.
"I'm home," he said, giving her a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Go lie down on the bed," she commanded. "You've worked hard today. No arguments!"
"Okay."
He leaned his spear against the wall and left for their room. Hestia watched him go, lost in thought. She double-checked the oven, the potatoes wouldn't be ready too soon, which gave her time.
She followed her child and sat down next to him, where he had collapsed back onto her bed and lay staring at the ceiling. Gingerly she reached a hand out and lay it on his arm.
"Can I help?" Hestia asked. Blair hummed in response. "Did something happen in the dungeon?"
"No, but also yes." How wonderfully inexact of him. "I realized something…"
"Something?"
"What do you want?" he asked her out of the blue, tipping his head over to look at her. "From this Familia thing, I mean?"
What did she want?
To not be alone anymore. To live comfortably, surrounded by books.
Were those worthy goals? Or would she just be taking advantage of her child by asking for those things from him.
"Maybe I don't know either," she finally said. "But isn't that okay? Not to know?"
"I don't like not knowing what I want," he confessed.
"But isn't that part of the adventure?" Hestia asked, thinking back to all those books she read at Hephaestus' place. All the stories of heroes and villains and damsels. "That you don't know where you're going to wind up in the end?"
He was staring at her. She felt her cheeks burn a little at his continuing look.
"I mean, isn't that how it is in the stories? People find what they want eventually, as long as they keep going."
"Yeah," he said, so softly she could barely make him out. "In the stories…"
Clearly she had hit on something, because his thoughts had clearly wandered off. So she left him alone with his thoughts to go double-check the oven. After that incident at the potato-cake stand - which shall never be mentioned by anyone ever - she felt she had better make sure no mistakes occurred in her own home.
When she came back, Blair seemed less despondent.
"Thanks, Hestia." he said suddenly. "I needed that."
"I don't think I did much, but I'm glad you're feeling better." She looked him over again. He didn't look like he had been injured twice that day at all, other than the sorry state of his pants. "Are you ready for an update?"
"Lets," he replied, pulling his shirt off and laying back down so that she could climb on top of him, resting her butt on top of his. One little prick and a drop of her divine blood fell down onto his back, and she reached down into him, pulling out the excilia he had received…
Blair
Level 1
Strength I-0 -> I-44
Endurance I-0 -> I-32
Dexterity I-0 -> I-40
Agility I-10 -> I-61
Magic I-0 -> I-19
Skills:
The Game: Life is but a game, and I the player.
Magic:
Class Change: (Variable Chant Magic)
[Class Change, [Class]!]
Alters The Gamer in accordance with the named Class. Longer Chants result in reduced Mind cost.
Healing Hand: (Short Chant Magic)
[Goddess's Light, bless us with your presence. Come forth and sooth this wounded soul with your Healing Light!]
Healing Magic. Mends wounds on the target starting from the heaviest to the lightest. Mends broken bones slowly.
"So it does work that way," she heard Blair muse as she drew out his newly realized potential.
"That Skill is missing," Hestia said, uneasy at its absence.
"I was wondering what would happen if you wrote my Falna with a different Class active," Blair said. "I have the Healer class now. That's what the new spell is from. I was wondering if I could change what you write onto my Status if I used a different Class. It seems I can."
"That's very helpful," Hestia said, "But we still need to hide your Status. It's still much too conspicuous."
"Before you finish," Blair said. "Just let me… there. Double check my Magic, would you?"
She reached back in, and found new excilia there to add in.
Magic I-19 -> I-29
"Magic is going to be slow going," Blair said by way of explanation. "Since I lose the effects of Blank Slate while a Healer, I don't seem to get its stat boosting effect for that magic, only for Class Change."
"Still, these gains…" Hestia couldn't help but look at them again. She'd overheard plenty of complaints from Hephaestus' adventurers about how slow stat gains could be, even at these lowest levels. He was only in the dungeon for a few hours, and yet he grew so much.
She wrote out his new Falna, and then like Hephaestus had told her, she pushed it down, deeper until the text and symbology of her Status had disappeared entirely from his back.
"It's done." Hestia slipped off him. "Your Status is hidden."
He leaned up, making her look up at him as he looked down at her. He was smiling, and this time it did reach his eyes. "Thank you."
"For what?" she asked, but he just shook his head with that dumb smile.
"It's hard to explain."
"Fine," Hestia huffed. "Be that way."
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I watched Hestia flounce her way back to the kitchen, and I swear I only took one peek at her ass as she went.
Really, how dumb was I? I came in having an existential crisis and Hestia defuses the whole thing in a few words.
"Isn't it okay not to know?"
Isn't it okay to go with the flow for a while? So what if I don't know exactly what I want yet? I had what I wanted back home, more or less, and so I was content to let things come as they may.
Here, I don't know what I want yet, so why not let things come as they will?
Hestia really is wiser than she looks. Her face makes her look like a child, but she's not. Definitely not. There were two very obvious facts that made this evident.
I looked at my Quests. Why don't I see how far they'll take me? I'll see if Hestia can set up some Familia Quests for me, and I'll do those too. For now, at least, I'll let the Game be my guide. By my choice.
Hestia came back with a tray of roast potatoes and that intoxicating smile of hers, and I found I couldn't look away as she set it down on the table at the end of the room and waved me over to come eat.
It reminded me of what I thought I already knew. There was already one thing I wanted out of this new life of mine. I wanted her.
Her personality was even better than her assets. And they were nothing to sneeze at.