Orario.
Around noon we went out into town in full force to eat and walk around a bit, which was a new routine for us. The sun hung high in the sky without a single cloud, and the streets were noisier than usual.
As I managed to overhear, it was because of some event called 'Monstrophilia', organized by the Ganesa Familia and taking place at the moment in the 'Colosseum', which in architecture and purpose matched its Roman counterpart. True, instead of gladiators, captured Dungeon monsters and adventurers performed during the event.
Two days had passed since the banquet, and they had been relatively quiet, except for the increased attention to our Familia. Especially Morgan, who was not behaving with much restraint... which was her style.
During this time, I managed to go down to the Dungeon once with the child, that is, Familia member, Hestia, and I can say that he's rather... ordinary. Though, no. Naive, inexperienced, kind, and with huge ambitions. Signs of either a protagonist or cannon fodder, I'd say.
At some point, screams of terror and panic of a large number of people were heard from the direction of the Colosseum. At this I raised an eyebrow, Morgan became interested and Tia began to worry, and we each turned our heads to where the sound was coming from.
- "Should we look?" I asked, and my companions nodded in agreement.
Having chosen a relatively passable route, we practically reached the Colosseum itself, where adventurers were dealing with monsters that could be found at most on the seventh floor of the Dungeon, amidst the market stalls and piles of people. I was able to recognize a couple of the people present, which were Loki, Isa Wallenstein, the girl that Morgan was interested in, and the Guild administrators, including Eina.
By the time our group arrived, the last monster had been defeated, and I decided to approach Eina to find out the details. Morgan and Tia, on the other hand, followed me.
- "Good afternoon, I presume, Ms. Tull?" I said as I approached her.
- "This is no time for jokes, Mr. Archaman," Eina replied sternly, "The monsters have escaped from the Colosseum, and any help is needed now."
- "Isn't that the problem of the god who organized the event?" Morgan grinned, essentially speaking my thoughts as well.
- "Ganesa Familia has already activated their men, and Lord Ganesa himself will later formally apologize and pay compensation," Eina said professionally, ignoring Morgan's hint, "But we still can't find the Silver Grieve that escaped into the city. It's the monster from the eleventh floor, and it's very dangerous."
- "Escaped?" I raised an eyebrow, "You mean it didn't attack like the other monsters?"
- "Oh, so you think it's weird too, Romani?" Loki, who came up along with Ais, joined in.
- "Monsters attack any surface dweller as soon as they see it, and this behavior is questionable to say the least." I replied thoughtfully.
- "Aaaaaa~" Tia whispered worriedly.
- "A few injured, but no casualties," Loki said, to which she received a short nod from Tia, "I'll go get my Familia up, maybe some of the monsters are still running around. You, on the other hand, are advised to go somewhere safe. Although, considering what I've heard from Finn, you guys are weird too."
And with that, she left, and Ais went after her. I looked at the members of my group.
- "What are we going to do?" I asked, "I don't think we'll be able to eat properly now."
- "Let's go see that monster," Morgan said, and Tia seconded her, "At least we'll see something interesting from the last few days."
- "Suit yourself," I shrugged and scanned the city and found the monster, "Bingo. He's pretty close."
We moved away from the Colosseum and entered a deserted alleyway, then a magic circle lit up beneath us, which carried us straight to the spot. It dropped our group off on the roof of one of the buildings, and as soon as we arrived we immediately heard the rumbling and sounds of a battle that was going on below.
It was going on between Bell and what was called Silver Grieve, a huge monster-monkey with silver fur, with broken shackles and long chains hanging from its arms. A dozen meters away from them, Hestia was watching everything, holding her fists and looking at Bell with a troubled expression.
The monster swung the chains around, destroying the street and trying to hit the boy while Bell dodged and tried to get closer to his opponent. In his hand, instead of the usual short sword he wielded in the dungeon, was an elongated dagger of black metal, and it reeked of small divinity.
The battle was coming out exactly as it should be when a first level fought a monster stronger than himself alone. That is to say, a single hit from the monster could very well end the boy's life.
However, the monster was behaving strangely. It didn't rush into close combat using its strength and size, but for some reason it was confined to chains. And Hestia, who was quite close, for some reason did not interest him in any way. That is, all his attention was focused solely on the boy.
- "How interesting." Morgan said, while Tia worried about Bell and Hestia.
- "Indeed," I nodded, "There's not a single adventurer around, even given the sounds of battle, and the boy is moving much faster than he was just yesterday."
- "Oh? You mean he's gotten stronger in just a day? Do you think he has some special skill or magic?"
I wondered.
In this world, skills and magic have their own peculiarities. A skill is an innate gift that can be discovered when you get Falna, and it doesn't depend on level, always reinforcing its owner. And no one knows what determines its occurrence, though, skills are definitely valued.
Magic, on the other hand, can be both acquired and innate, plus it has DnD-type restrictions, where slots for magic are present, and learning a new one will require the development of basic characteristics such as strength, dexterity, etc. On top of that, you need to recite an aria to activate it. This is different from magic based on imagination like in DxD, or research like in the Nasuverse. Magic is just there and that's it.
Bell doesn't have magic, otherwise he would have used it in Dungeon, but the skill does. And, as I understand it, it increases the rate of growth of characteristics, from which we can conclude that the boy is the main character, for there are too many royals in the bushes.
And while I was thinking in my head, Tia suddenly jumped down from the roof and covered the monster, spreading her arms and standing in front of Bell.
- "W-what?!" He shouted, not knowing what to do.
- "Tiamat!" Hestia exclaimed in exasperation, "Get away! It's dangerous!"
Tia didn't move, defending the monster, who ignored Tia and was about to lunge at Bell, who was standing behind her. And even if there was no way he could hurt her on principle, Tia would be hurt, which meant I needed to intervene.
In the blink of an eye, I was at Tia's side, and a magic circle lit up beneath the monster, from which golden chains erupted, twisting it and turning it into the likeness of a mummy. Morgan, on the other hand, remained on the roof, as if waiting for something.
- "Mr. Archaman?!" Bell was surprised to see me.
- "Romani?!" Hestia added in the same tone, looking at the chained monster, "What...?! How...?!?!"
I said nothing and gave a short nod to Tia, to which she smiled gratefully and touched the monster's forehead slowly and affectionately.
And then the unexpected happened. The red light in the monster's eyes slowly went out with every movement of Tia's hand, and when it disappeared completely, I felt a full-fledged soul start to form inside it in a strange way. It was very unexpected and definitely drew the attention of the disembodied inhabitants of the surrounding buildings, but I let Tia finish.
- "What is she doing...?" Hestia asked in an uneasy tone, "It's not like we're not allowed to use the Arcanum..."
In the distance, I felt Morgan's mana flare up for some reason I didn't know, but I didn't pay too much attention to it. As-is, what was happening now was far more important and mesmerizing.
After a few seconds, the soul was fully formed, and now the monster began to fondle itself against Tia's hand under the gazes of those present frozen in disbelief. It looked like a large child that was genuinely delighted at its mother's attention. And it looked cute rather than dangerous.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, because I realized where this single event would lead.
In this world, monsters are thought of as surface enemies, just a source of income and a stepping stone to gaining power. They are the basis and raison d'être of this city, the Tower of Babel, and the Dungeon. And what Tia did...
- "You okay, little one?" I heard Loki's voice in the distance, "Why is it so quiet in here? What was… going on..."
I clucked my tongue and produced a cup of coffee, draining it in a gulp.
I guess there's going to be a lot of talking... A lot...
-0-
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