Part Forty-four
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Life was going smoothly. So smoothly that, perhaps, I should have known something serious was bound to occur. Getting Lili out of the Soma Familia was stressful, but in the end it was largely uneventful. The days that followed were similarly easy.
Lili's stats were brought up to speed, and together the three of us headed down to the eighth and ninth floors of the dungeon. It was a good place, both for Lili to get used to her newfound strength, and for us to collectively farm out more Ability Pages for us to use. The goblins and kobolds were strong enough that Bell or Lili could meaningfully grow through the use of Blank Slate, while the enemies were numerous enough that we never wanted for monsters to fight through. With one of us on Healer duty at all times, the other two could focus on the monsters in relative security.
Finally having what I could do out in the open made the process so much faster than before. Although Lili initially objected, probably more out of instinct than anything else, we agreed to destroy the Magic Stones rather than collect them. It wasn't that we couldn't use the money, but that Magic Stones were a waste of our time.
I was reminded of my days playing old-school Diablo 2 or, more recently, Path of Exile back home, cleaving my way through levels at lightning-speed leaving behind piles of loot that were theoretically valuable, but wasn't worth the time to pick up and then go back to town to sell. That was the position we were in. Just push ahead, kill more monsters, and bring back what you can carry home at the end of the route.
Sure, those Magic Stones were worth something, but when I could simply guarantee a batch of Monster Drops at the end of our day, lugging around individual magic stones or monster drops for hours at a time was just a drag on us. Far better to spend our time hunting the monsters for their far more valuable Ability Pages.
Every monster was a tiny little bundle of excilia waiting to be collected by us. And time wasted collecting Magic Stones, and energy wasted carrying heavy Drop items, was time and energy spent on not making us permanently and appreciably stronger.
It was a matter of simple efficiency, of the sort that only we could get away with. No doubt any other Familia in our situation would be crying over the lost valis as we destroyed goblin and kobold magic stones by the hundreds, rather than collect and sell them.
All of my basic abilities had been pushed up to SS-Rank by this point. As of today I was now officially the strongest Level One Adventurer in the history of Orario, and only future-Bell could have hoped to compete with me. At least in raw stats, anyway. In skill, I wasn't arrogant enough to make that claim.
And so I let my guard down. I felt safe and comfortable in my strength, and in the steady growth of Lili and Bell. After all, this new life was all coming together for me. My personal strength grew by the day, I had friends and companions to share my time in the dungeon with, and I had a gorgeous goddess to come back to in the evening.
Taken together it made it all too easy to become complacent. I knew what was coming, but only in my head. I didn't believe it- or maybe I couldn't feel it, not where it counts. Not until it was too late to do anything about it.
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It started without any real fanfare. Lili, Bell and I had been down on the Lower Ninth for the morning, steadily fighting our way through packs of kobolds and goblins. As had become our habit, one of either Bell or Lili led from the front, enhanced with the Adventurer Class, while the other took my Swordsman Class. I held the rear with the Healer Class active, ready to jump in if things looked hairy, relying on my superior stats to keep us safe.
Lili had been experimenting with a few weapons, but settled on a sort of hand-and-a-half sword, which she could wield with either one or two hands. She still kept her wrist-crossbow, whether out of a sentimental attachment, or actual preference I was uncertain. She still made use of it quite a lot, enough that I learned something new about my System. My Familia members could unlock Basic Classes for me through their own efforts. The Marksman Class showed up just the day before, while Lili was using her crossbow to snipe monsters from the rear of the party while acting as our healer.
Lili had really leaped on the opportunity to not be a Supporter, and was positively eager to fight monsters herself in a way that truly surprised me. And she was 100% on board for taking full advantage of my ability to effectively feed her excilia.
Bell, by contrast, was notably less enthused by the prospect than I had expected, and I was unsure how to deal with it. He didn't seem to begrudge me, or more importantly Lili, making use of the Ability Tomes, but although he did use the one I had given him a few days ago, he had confided in Hestia that he didn't want another.
If I had to guess, I think it felt like cheating to him. Hell, it was cheating by any reasonable metric. For me, I don't really care about that, but for Bell, who grew up on stories of heroes, perhaps being handed power like that felt wrong to him. Like it wasn't earned.
I just didn't know how to convince him otherwise. He was unlikely to ever develop Realis Freese, not like he did in canon, and the only thing I could give to make up for that was these Ability Tomes. But I could hardly just come out and tell him that the reason I desperately wanted him to use them was because I had derailed his future for my own benefit…
Maybe it was just a lot easier for me, without any cultural baggage, to treat the Falna like a game. So what if your stats get boosted artificially? Surely it was what you did with those stats that mattered? And it wasn't like I could cheat their Level Ups, or Skills or Magics. It was just Basic Abilities… right?
Those were the thoughts that concerned me as we made our way down one of the wide corridors of the Ninth. Bell was leading, when he came to a sudden stop.
"What is it?" Lili asked.
"Something's coming," Bell replied.
"Danger Sense?" I asked.
He nodded, just as the first sounds could be heard coming from the rooms ahead. The cries of kobolds and goblins mixed together, growing louder.
"Looks like they're coming to us," I said, shifting my grip on my new spear. I had just gotten it from Welf the evening before, its blade being forged from the claw of an Infant Dragon, one that I had convinced the Takemikazuchi Familia to let me purchase outright from them on our last trip down to the Twelfth. I was planning on us heading down to the Tenth soon, and for that I was planning on taking Bell and Lili both to see Welf to commission new armor and weapons for the both of them.
We took up our usual formation in the hall, choosing not to advance or retreat to a dungeon room proper, although calling the expansive areas that the corridors connected together rooms was a bit of an understatement. They were much more akin to full-size fields, nothing like the cramped, claustrophobic dungeon rooms of traditional RPGs. The Dungeon of Orario was simply enormous in a way that was quite awe-inspiring.
But such rooms existed because they gave the monsters, which outnumbered adventurers in almost every case, room to flank and surround. Things our small party of three was quite susceptible to, despite being stronger and faster individually than any monster on these floors. Three people abreast couldn't even hold most of the hallways consistently on these floors. However, the constrained space helped keep the monsters in our sights and it was easier to keep the walls to our backs, and thus the goblins and kobolds from our blind spots.
Still had to listen for cracking in the walls behind you, though, just in case the Dungeon tries to spit out a pack from behind, which has happened to us once or twice.
The cries of the monsters grew louder as they entered the room ahead of us. Bell drew in a shocked breath. I followed suit.
That was a lot of monsters. Several full-size packs of goblins and kobolds, all barreling down the room towards us in a veritable wave of monsters. And then several more. And more...
"Monster Party," Lili gasped.
"Fall back," I ordered. "We don't want to fight that."
Could we handle it? Maybe.
"It's really bad, Blair," Bell said as we turned and ran back down the way we had came. "The Danger Sense, it's screaming at me."
I pursed my lips and looked behind us at the slowly receding Monster Party. "Is it still growing worse?"
Bell nodded, nervousness clear on his face. If the look was anything to go by, it must have been worse than he'd ever felt. And whether or not Danger Sense took into account me and my abilities was unclear… I mean, a Monster Party of that size was surely more than sufficient to kill either Bell or Lili. But we can outrun the monsters, so why?
We ran through the last room we were in, and down another hall together, back to the room where we had stopped to eat lunch not long before, our campfire still slightly smoking in a corner.
"Stop." Bell finally said. "We're… we're going the wrong way."
"Mister Bell can't be serious," Lili gasped.
Bell clenched his fists and looked up at me. He was scared. Looking to me for support. If the Danger was getting worse the further we got from the Monster Party, then what was the Dungeon trying to force us into? What was worse than a Monster Party.
My blood ran cold.
And at that precise moment, just at the edge of my hearing, I felt like I could just make out the fading echo of a monster's cry. It sounded like a bull.
I swallowed heavily, staring down the hall we would have headed down next. Was it today? I wracked my brain for when it was that we saw the Loki Familia… 7, 8, 9… 11. 11 days ago… One week to get down there, and then they're attacked and have to rush back up…
"Mister Blair!" Lili shoved my side. "What are we doing?"
Do we turn around and try to go through the Monster Party? No, if a Minotaur came upon us from behind while we were fighting it would surely crush us. Maybe I could fight one… maybe. They're Level 2 monsters, middling to high strength ones too, not like an Infant Dragon. I was in no way confident of anything other than being able to probably outrun one, but that would mean leaving Lili and Bell behind which was…
My heart clenched. Unacceptable.
We had to try and get out of here. And there was only one way we might be able to do that… Through the Monster Party.
"We turn around." I said. "I think the Dungeon is trying to herd us towards something worse."
Lili shifted uneasily. "If Mister Blair is sure."
"I'm not," I admitted, "but it's all I can think of. I'll lead. Lili, I want you to take over as Healer."
Lili nodded and I began my chant, transferring to Lili the Healer Class and then following that switched my own Class to Spearman. Spearman, along with Swordsman, I had both upgraded all the way to A-Rank, and Spearman was undoubtedly my strongest pure-combat class. Before, it was strong purely by improving my much-lacking skill with my weapon of choice, now, fully upgraded, I had new tools to work with.
I swung my spear, reminding myself of my new strength, before turning back to my fellow adventurers.
"Here's the plan..."
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Bell ran closely after Blair and Lili. In the back of his mind, that Skill of Mister Blair's, the Danger Sense, blared warning in his mind. They were in serious trouble, more trouble than he'd ever felt, and from what he could see, his Captain thought so too.
Blair had looked positively grim when he explained the plan to him and Lili. And he couldn't say he liked it anymore than Lili, but they agreed to it for one reason, that neither of them had a better plan. Going forward was suicide, that was what the Skill was saying.
So he ran after his new family, sword in hand. He'd keep them safe, Blair had said. He was going to charge ahead, clearing the way for him and Lili to follow behind. Lili would focus on healing if anyone was injured, which is why she was in the middle, sticking closest to Blair. While he had to follow right behind and keep any monsters that got too close off their backs.
Easy.
But as the Monster Party came back into view, a howling mass of monster-flesh baying for their blood, Bell couldn't help but think that this was a horrible idea.
And then Mister Blair crashed into the Monster Party, spear flashing around him so fast Bell found it hard to track. And everywhere the spear moved, a monster died. It occurred to Bell that he had never actually seen Mister Blair fight at his limits. It was always himself and Lili being pushed, not Mister Blair. He was always cool and collected, watching them and stepping in only when there was a danger of them being injured.
Bell knew his Captain was stronger than them, but only now did he realize what a difference there was. Monster howled and threw themselves at them, but they were intercepted by that flashing spear every time.
A goblin slipped under Blair's range, scrambling to get at Lili. A bolt of fire leapt from Bell's hand with his Chant, slaying it instantly. But as they made their way deeper, more and more monsters began to close on them from the back. Bell's sword rose and fell, killing these monster's he'd slain so many times before today.
Step aside, slash, lean, Firebolt, dash closer to Lili. The fight continued.
"Force Pulse," Bell intoned, using Blair's Magic instead of his own. The wave of force spread out behind them, throwing kobolds off their feet and away from Bell. They were slowing down. Blair was still trying to push forward, but the monsters were everywhere, and more and more he was having to move around piles of the dead as the goblins scrambled over the corpses to get at them.
Frustration and anger lay bare on Blair's face as he tried in vain to find a way forward for them. The bodies of goblins and kobolds piled up in front of them, the mass of monsters forcing them off their intended path by sheer weight of numbers.
And then the walls cracked open, spilling out still more monsters to replace the ones that perished stopping them from advancing.
Blair was already breathing hard as he stared at the reinforced army of monsters still ahead of them, turning on his heel and scooping Lili up in his arms.
"Run, Bell," Blair said, jerking his head back the way they had came. Back towards that imminent sense of danger.
They ran together, Monster Party nipping at their heels. A blast of fire warmed the air behind them as Lili swung her Magic Sword, a blast of fire claiming several of the faster Kobolds that thought to catch them.
"Firebolt, Bell!" Blair commanded as they approached their old campsite, pointing to the fire.
"What?"
"Quick!"
Confused, Bell chanted, his magic restarting the fire they had eaten at before. Blair stood over the fire, uncaring of the monsters closing in on them by the moment and chanted.
"Estia Tomea!"
That was one of Hestia's Blessings, Bell recalled. Yet another strange thing about their little Familia. Any one of them could cast this spell, a magic given to them by way of the goddess rather than their Falna or a Grimoire.
The small campfire roared to life, blazing a brilliant shade of bright orange and red and a presence washed over Bell.
It felt like Hestia. He'd felt her divine presence before. It was like that, but without the sense of being in the presence of divinity. But it was unmistakably hers.
The monsters, mere moments away from them, came to a screeching halt. Like they had lost the scent of their prey. Almost as a unit, they retreated from the presence of the fire. They moved away until they were no longer touched by the bright light of the flames, and milled about in the room, as though they didn't know where they were supposed to go next. The flickering light of the fire reached out farther than it had any right too, making almost a full quarter of the room the buffer between themselves and the Monster Party.
"We're… we're safe?" Lili gasped.
"I hope so," Blair replied, stepping closer to the fire. He looked exhausted. "There were just too many."
Bell wished he could believe they were safe, but it still hadn't gone away…
That was when he heard it, the pounding of hooves and the snorting cries. It wasn't like any monster he'd ever heard. But as the sounds grew in magnitude, so did the screaming sense of Danger.
Blair had clearly heard it too, and he stood stiffly by the fire, hand clenching and unclenching on the shaft of his spear. He was muttering something, but Bell couldn't make it out.
That was when it charged into the room. It was fast, and the milling Monster Party parted for it, giving it wide berth.
Horns twisted up from its head, which took the form of a Bull, attached to a humanoid body.
"Minotaur," Blair breathed.
Bell couldn't breathe. Why was such a monster here? They don't even begin to appear until the 15th Floor.
The bull monster slowed, eyes searching the area. It snorted and sniffed, walking closer and closer.
Bell held his breath as the monster approached, finally coming to the point where the other monsters had been forced back and away from them.
Step, step. It paused at the very edge of the light, its eyes seeming to lose focus. But only for a moment.
The beastly figure snorted, shaking its head. And then it stepped into the light, its eyes locked onto Blair, and roared.
A promise of murder.