DanMachi Universe, Lower World, Dungeon, Fourth Floor.
"Damn… I wanna go down to the next floor,", James said while cutting down a Kobold, his two katanas intersecting to cut off its head.
{Pic}
About three hours have passed since the Aislynn Familia set out for the Dungeon. For most of that time, Tatsuo and Sakura traveled with James, Elicia, Violet, and Aletia while traveling down to the Fourth Floor. However, as soon as they arrived on the Fourth Floor, Tatsuo and Sakura split from the rest of the group and made their way down to the Fifth.
"I'm pretty sure we all do,", Elicia said as she threw a handful of needles at a Goblin that just crawled through a crack in a wall. Then, after chanting her Magic, "But throwing ourselves into situations the Guild and Aislynn say is a bad idea is reckless."
"You know, I thought you were gonna say something you shouldn't,", Violet said with a smile.
"*Sigh* Even though I don't think it's my fault that all this stuff has happened, I won't do anything that will lower morale.", Elicia replied while shaking her head.
"I want to go with Tatsuo,", Aletia muttered as she walked around, picking up the magic stones that dropped from the slain monsters.
"Me, too,", Violet said while still smiling gently. "I miss fighting side by side with him."
"That's how I feel about Fonzie,", Elicia added.
"Damn… Now I know how Ize felt whenever I showed off all my girlfriends to him In the past." James said while wearing a nostalgic expression. "Slapping him upside the head when he looked too hard was good, too. But seriously, it sucks to be the only one without a partner in a room full of couples and shit."
"Really, is it really that bad?" Elicia asked curiously. "The guys in my guild are kinda dull when it comes to romance. So, I've never seen anyone break down. The old guys in the guild used to get jealous of Fonzie, though. But they never offended him. I'm pretty sure they were scared he'd stop cooking at the guild if they did."
"I can believe that.", Violet said. "Alfonzo-San's and Tatsuo-Kun's cooking really is unmatched."
"How is Tatsuo doing now?", Aletia muttered while barely paying attention to the conversations the others were having.
Ever since the conversation she had with Tatsuo last night, Aletia's thoughts have been even more occupied by Tatsuo than usual. So, being split up from him again has really been weighing on her.
DanMachi Universe, Lower World, Dungeon, 5th Floor.
At the same time, Tatsuo and Sakura were just arriving on the Dungeon's Fifth Floor. Upon arrival, they noticed that the Dungeon's aesthetic had changed. First, the Dungeon's corridors were wider, and the ceilings were a bit higher. On top of that, the color of the walls changed from a light blue color to a light green color.
"How can the layout change so much by descending one floor?" Sakura asked as she spread out her [Kage Sosa] spell to scout the surroundings.
"How does a Living Dungeon even exist?" Tatsuo asked in return. "Honestly, it's better not to even think about it. Dissecting anime logic usually only leads to headaches."
"I'll take your word for it,", Sakura replied. "I never got to watch very much anime growing up."
"Neither did I, actually,", Tatsuo said as the two started walking through the corridors of the Fifth Floor. "But I've been practically binging it since I got away from DOATEC."
*Crack!* *Crack!*
Before the conversation could continue any further, it was interrupted by the sound of two walls cracking. And when Tatsuo and Sakura looked in the direction they heard the sounds coming from, they saw a pair of Goblins crawling out of the walls.
{Pic}
However, what they did not notice, or at least it appeared they did not notice, was the humanoid shadow with blade-like arms that silently rose from the ground behind them.
"More Goblins.", Tatsuo said with disinterest. "You know, I'm really sick of these things. All we ever saw on the Fourth Floor were Goblins and Kobolds. Why the hell didn't we even run into a single Dungeon Lizard up there?"
"Huh? You never saw any?" Sakura asked in a surprised tone as she formed the shadows into spears and pierced them through the Goblins' heads. "We ran into quite a few of them in the past two weeks."
The Dungeon Lizards Tatsuo mentioned were the rarest of the monsters that could be found on the First to Fourth Floors of the Dungeon, only appearing on the Second through Fourth Floors. These monsters are brown, quadrupedal lizards with suction pads on their feet that allow them to climb the walls and ceilings of the Dungeon to deliver devastating ambushes on unsuspecting Adventurers.
Yet, despite spending a total of thirteen days exploring the first four floors of the Dungeon, Tatsuo never encountered even one. Instead, he found a variant Kobold and more than his fair share of monster hordes consisting of Goblins and Kobolds.
"And don't get me started on the Jack Birds,", Tatsuo muttered. "Those things only show up on the First Floor."
"To be fair, we rarely spend any time on the First Floor,", Sakura replied quietly. "And those are the rarest monsters on the Upper Floors, or so I'm told. So, it makes sense we never saw one, doesn't it?"
"I guess,", Tatsuo said in a weary tone.
Jack Birds, monsters resembling roosters with fluffy yellow-green feathers, are one of the few monsters in the Dungeon that show absolutely no aggression towards Adventurers. Even so, hunting one is quite difficult. Especially for the Adventurers who usually frequent the First Floor, as they are extremely fast for their Level.
Yet, if one is able to hunt one, they are guaranteed to gain a fair amount of wealth. And the reason for this is due to their drop, the Jack Bird Egg, also known as the Golden Egg, which sells for 1,000,000 Valis at a minimum.
"*Sigh* I blame Lici,", Tatsuo muttered in an annoyed tone. "For all of it."
Back on the Fourth Floor, Elicia sneezed just as she was about to throw a volley of her throwing needles at a Dungeon Lizard she spotted on the ceiling. Unfortunately, thanks to the sneeze, her needles ended up flying in a completely different direction, nearly piercing into James' butt. Luckily, James reacted quickly, avoiding the fate of having his butt peppered with needles like someone getting testosterone injections.
At the same time, Tatsuo tilted his head, avoiding a thrust from a shadowy blade-like appendage.
"Well, at least I get to see one monster other than Goblins and Kobolds.", Tatsuo said while spinning on his heels, a magic circle flaring into existence in front of his right hand. "[Void Dragon's Tearing Claw]."
*Swish!*
In the next instant, Tatsuo's hand tore through the monster's chest and his fingers wrapped around the new monster's magic stone.
{Pic}
"And as it just so happens, it's one of the so-called Newbie Hunters,", Tatsuo said as he tightened his grip around the magic stone.
"That's a War Shadow, isn't it?" Sakura asked while looking at the monster curiously.
War Shadows, one of the monsters that appear on the Fifth through Seventh Floors commonly referred to as "Newbie Killers." Though they appear more often on the Sixth Floor, they can occasionally be found on the Fifth, as well.
Standing at 5'3" tall, with a smooth shadowy body, no facial features, a single, large, round silver eye in the center of their heads, and three blade-like fingers at the end of each of their abnormally long arms.
*Rip!*
"Yup,", Tatsuo replied while ripping the War Shadow's magic stone out of its chest, causing it to dissolve into a puddle of shadows that quickly started to dissipate.
However, before the shadows dissipated completely, a small amount of the shadow condensed, leaving one of the War Shadow's blade-like fingers behind.
"Not bad,", Tatsuo said while crouching down to pick up the monster drop. Then, while tapping one of his gauntleted fingers against the War Shadow Blade Finger, he continued. "This is even better than the Black Tungsten Steel I [Transmuted]. Looks like Akatsuki is gonna get a new dagger next week."
"I bet that will..." Sakura started to say.
However, before she could finish what she wanted to say, Sakura's eyes widened as Tatsuo vanished from where he stood with a [Blink], reappearing near the ceiling a moment later with his tail, covered in the midnight purple light of his [Void Dragon Slayer Magic] as he swept his tail through a second War Shadow's neck, killing it on the spot.
"… make her smile," Sakura finished her earlier sentence.
"Probably,", Tatsuo replied with a shrug after blinking back to Sakura's side. "Speaking of getting new weapons next week, I'll be able to make something for you, too."
"Huh?" Sakura exclaimed with a mix of confusion and surprise. "But... I don't use weapons. So, there's no need for that."
"And who said I was going to make you a weapon?" Tatsuo asked while tilting his head with a mischievous smile on his face. "As long as I can make something to amplify your Magic, it doesn't have to be a weapon, does it?"
The look on Sakura's face after hearing Tatsuo's response made it clear she was thoroughly dumbfounded by what she heard.
"*Sigh* That Matou Zouken son of a bitch really wasted all your talent.", Tatsuo muttered while shaking his head. "He didn't teach you anything about Magecraft, did he?"
"No... Not really,", Sakura replied while lowering her head.
"Well then, we'll just have to fix that,", Tatsuo said as he reached out and raised Sakura's chin. "And as it just so happens, we've got a three-thousand-year-old monster that can guide you."
{Pic}
Hearing that, Sakura's eyes began to mist over in happiness. However, before the tears could start to form, her expression turned cold. Then, her shadow expanded at an explosive speed before a tendril shot out and skewered a second War Shadow that was creeping across the ceiling.
"How dare you interrupt our moment,", Sakura said in a glacial tone as the War Shadow melted into a puddle of shadows.
Seeing Sakura's quick change in expression, Tatsuo could not help smiling. Then, he pulled his hand away from her chin and turned towards the depths of the corridor.
"Well, this wasn't really the best place to have a moment, anyway,", Tatsuo said while rolling his shoulders. "Besides, we're only gonna be down here for a few more hours. So, let's make the most of it."
With that, Tatsuo started walking towards the unexplored corridor. Meanwhile, Sakura pouted for a moment. Then, she expanded her shadow, letting all the magic stones fall into it, and followed Tatsuo further into the Fifth Floor.
Time passed quickly after that with the three teams of the Aislynn Familia tearing through any monster unlucky enough to spawn in front of them. And before anyone knew it, they had been down in the Dungeon for almost ten hours. Figuring it was about time they headed back to the surface, Tatsuo and Sakura started making their way back up.
However, when they reached the stairs leading up to the Fourth Floor, they ran into a group of Adventurers who seemed to be guarding the path upwards.
"What are they doing?" Sakura asked curiously.
"They're probably here for me.", Tatsuo said while narrowing his eyes. "I remember seeing that one with Phoebus Apollo last time. But he doesn't really seem to think too highly of me. From what I can tell, all of these losers are just Level 1."
As soon as Hyakinthos' alias was mentioned, Sakura's eyes turned hollow, murderous intent sprang from her body, and the shadows around the stairs started to squirm.
{Pic}
"They're just Level 1." A man from the Apollo Familia said while completely ignoring Sakura's killing intent. "Why did Hyakinthos send so many of us to deal with them?"
"Who knows." A woman said with a shrug. "But since he said to get rid of them, all we have to do is follow orders."
"He's really handsome, though." An Amazoness said while licking her lips as she stared at Tatsuo with obvious lust in her gaze. "*Sigh* Do we have to kill him right away? Can't it wait until I have some fun with him?"
*Swish!*
As soon as the Amazoness' words ended, a tendril rose from her shadow and wrapped around her neck before lifting her off the ground, leaving her to claw at the shadow while kicking her legs in a feeble attempt to escape.
"What the hell is that?" Another man asked in a panicked tone as he drew his weapon, a longsword, from his waist.
"It's Magic!" The first woman shouted as she pointed her own weapon, a spear, at Sakura. "And it's her. That bitch is the one controlling it."
"Let her go and we'll let you live." Another man said in a stern tone. "Otherwise, you're gonna end up dead just like him."
Instead of making Sakura cower, those words only managed to make the killing intent she was emitting thicken. She then slowly began raising her right hand, intending to kill everyone who stood before them.
"Did I just hear a member of the Apollo Familia threaten to kill another Adventurer?"
That familiar voice caused everyone to pause before slowly turning towards its source. When they did, they saw a group of Amazonesses who were clearly returning from deeper in the Dungeon. And leading them was the leader of the Ishtar Familia's battle prostitutes known as the Berbera, Ankusha, Aisha Belka.
However, Aisha was not the one who drew most of Tatsuo's attention. Rather, it was a girl at the back of the group covered in a hooded cloak. And the reason this girl drew his attention was because of the twitching he could see at the top of the cloak, as if a pair of animal ears were twitching nervously underneath. Unfortunately, because of the shadow cast by the cloak, he was unable to get a good look at her face.
'I'm almost certain that's her.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'What is Ishtar up to? Why would she let her come down here? Is she thinking of moving on Freya earlier than in the canon?'