"Haaaaaa..."
With a forceful stab, with all of his weight behind the blow, Orion pierced his latest opponent's chest, delivering a lethal attack and ending the match.
ENEMY FELLED !
'Finally done.' Orion heaved a sigh of relief before slowly lowering himself to his knees. He was tired, so very tired.
In a line, he challenged up to level 5 of the dungeon, not only beating the monsters but also beating the bosses of the area.
Most bosses were actually quite weak. Orion just had to get used to their fighting style before defeating them.
His newly learned fondness for his Uchigatana also had something to do with that. Now he remembered why he liked this weapon so much. It was honestly amazing.
Especially the Ash of War, Unsheathe.
But the technique costed him much. There was no way for him to measure his magic level according to this world's power system; however, the moment he got close to running out of mana, he started feeling light-headed.
Mind Zero, according to Danmachi's power system. Where one loses their consciousness entirely due to overload on the mind.
It was nasty business. He died two times just because he couldn't get a gist of how much magic he was using.
Around four times.
That was his current limit if he only used Unsheathe with his Uchigatana. Any more and he would go into Mind Zero and go limp. He could increase this with flasks; however, he had both of his flasks set to healing Crimson Tears. He still rather had health over magic.
He patiently waited for the enemy to drop something, but again, nothing.
'Seems like Trevor was an exception, or perhaps it's luck-based. I recall in-game, Arcane was required to increase the chances of loot drop. How do I do that here?' he wondered.
Sighing, he dragged his tired and aching body towards the newly spawned Site of Grace after his last assailant fell.
Instead of moving on, he planned to rest there for some time and then call it a day. He didn't have a watch on him to know the current time—hell, he didn't even know whether this world even had clocks to measure time—but he could somewhat tell that he still should have time to continue.
However, he gave it a rest. Aside from converting the stones he harvested in today's run, he also had to find a place for himself. He didn't wish to sleep on the side again.
"Goddess, mind updating my status. I'm planning to call it a day for today."
[Already? That was swift indeed. Very well—let us see how much mine Tarnished hath grown, carving through these paltry mockeries of foes that once gave thee such trouble.]
She, as always, was full of sarcasm. Slowly floating towards him, she waited for him to remove his top.
As soon as his top was off, her keen eyes caught the minor changes in his definition almost instantly. He wasn't muscular earlier, soft muscles at best. However, his structure looked more defined now.
Stronger and upright.
It was mild; however, Marika caught the sight.
[In just a day]
Even she couldn't help but fall into silence. She didn't need the strange numbers called status her champion demanded her to give him on a regular basis to check his progress—though she wouldn't deny its convenience—however, she could see it.
He grew just in a day. From the way he walked to how his muscles had changed, it was rather evident. Very minor improvement, to the point calling it an improvement would be folly, but this much change in just a day was a feat she hadn't seen in anyone.
Slowly, her soft hand full of radiance and gold caressed his back, sending a shiver down his spine.
Orion could feel it. It wasn't just a touch. She caressed his shoulder and back, running her fingers through his muscles.
It was nothing but a mere touch; however, Orion's blood started to boil at how sensual her mere touch felt.
'Damn, she's dangerous.'
"W-what are you doing. Is there something wrong..." he spoke out, both his tiredness and flustered state making him stutter.
[Hahaha… why, of course I am. I merely admire my lord's stalwart, most manly back.]
She said, laughter ringing out, making him purse his lips harder. Good thing his back was facing her.
'For gods sake, this woman is a tease.' he grumbled to himself.
"If you're done admiring my sweaty back, then update my status please, oh goddess of mine," he taunted, and waited before he finally felt her energy flowing into him.
And soon he felt it, the comforting feeling of his status getting updated.
In real time, he saw from his own status window his Falna getting updated.
-x-
Name - Orion Star Storm
Familia - Marika Familia
Level - 1
[Stats]
Strength - H 183 > E 404
Endurance - G 210 > E 451
Dexterity - H 143 > F 398
Agility - H 156 > E 437
Magic - I 0 > H 113
[Magic]
None
[Skills]
Soulslike...
Elden Lord...
Animus Ignus...
-x-
Orion's mouth was agape at the improvement he was looking at. He knew that improving in the initial stages was easier; however, a leap of 200 points across the board in a single day was mind-boggling.
Not to mention his magic also improved, that stat had remained stagnant until now.
Meaning using his skill to improve his magic was a viable option.
That send a thrill inside him.
As soon as his status was updated, he could feel it. His tiredness vanished, and new energy seemed to enter his body.
Strength and mental fortitude surged inside him.
"HOLY SHIT..."
[Must thou curse the divine so openly each time something beyond thy imagining comes to pass? I do grasp thy surprise at such improvement, yet show at least a measure of proper reverence to the divine, oh mine Tarnished.]
Marika said dryly at his de facto response to anything he felt was too amazing.
Orion sheepishly smiled, knowing he was in the wrong. Cursing the gods elsewhere might be fine, but not in Orario. The city would eat him alive before he knew it. Good thing this was the dungeon.
"But come on, even you have to agree that the improvement is impressive," Orion said gleefully.
[Yes, impressive it is indeed. Yet lose not thy composure over such meagre gains. As mine Elden Lord, it ill befits thee to prance and gape like a child over first-found strength.]
Orion just rolled his eyes at his goddess' words. How would a literal goddess like her know his happiness—a man who thought his future would be nothing more than sitting on his office chair and making spreadsheets.
Disregarding her scolding, he got up, now completely refreshed upon his Falna getting updated, ready to move back.
"Let's teleport back to the city. Gonna convert the stones and get myself a place to stay. Then if we got some time, let's go find ourselves a place to eat something. I'm already starving," he said, grinning.
Marika, seeing her words couldn't penetrate his defenses, just gave up. She was his goddess, not his mother.
By the time Orion came out of the dungeon, it was already near evening. He spent five or so hours in there.
Orion returned to the Guild Hall with the firm intention of making this a very quick visit. He wouldn't mind spending a bit more time with his lovely advisor lady, but he had stuff to do later.
"In. Exchange stones. Out. No lectures. No concerned looks. No—" That was the plan.
"Miss Eina?"
She looked up from her desk with a practiced smile. "Ah, Orion. Back already?"
She was honestly worried about this boy all day. Seeing him safe finally made her sigh in relief.
"Yes. Very quick trip. Just here to convert some stones into valis," he said casually, reaching into his pouch.
Eina nodded, quill ready. "Alright, just place them on the counter and—"
Orion dumped the contents out.
Clink. Clatter. Thud.
The stones scattered across the desk in a very incriminating pile.
The smile vanished.
Eina stared.
She leaned forward slowly, ears twitching, eyes narrowing as she examined the drops. Her complexion darkened with every passing second.
"…These," she said carefully, "are not first-floor monster drops."
Orion froze. "Ah."
"These are second and third-floor materials. Some of them are from multiple encounters. And this one—" she lifted a stone between her fingers, "—this is from a War Shadow. They don't appear before floor 5."
Silence.
Orion laughed nervously. "You know, when you say it like that, it sounds worse than it felt."
Her quill snapped.
'What the hell… she can tell by just a look. This woman is more scary than I thought...' Orion completely forgot that by looking at his loot alone, Eina would know that he went deeper. Lying was useless.
"Orion," Eina said sweetly, standing up, "you told me you were just 'getting familiar' with the dungeon."
"I was!" he protested. "I just… got familiar very efficiently."
She crossed her arms. "You went deeper. Alone. On your first day."
"Technically, it was my second day..."
Another tick mark appeared on her forehead. Orion took that as a sign to just shut the fuck up...
"…When you list it like that, it sounds irresponsible."
"It is irresponsible!"
He scratched his cheek. "In my defense, that place is like a maze. I couldn't say one floor apart from another. How am I to say I accidentally went deeper."
Eina pinched the bridge of her nose, inhaled deeply, then exhaled. "You're lucky you're alive."
"Of course I'm alive, I had to come back to you, didn't I."
That earned him a glare sharp enough to qualify as a weapon. But her cheeks dusted pink at the same time. So perhaps he would not be dying anymore for today.
Maybe.
"…Sit," she ordered.
Orion obeyed instantly.
Thus began Lecture Number Two—longer, louder, and somehow more personal than the first—while Orion smiled sheepishly, silently counting his valis and wondering if adventuring always came with this much concerned yelling.
xXx
A/N : Any idea what I can do more in this story, please tell me, I'm interested in knowing
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