Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Waking up, I grunt in slight pain from my abdomen. It seems that 'stab through the stomach' really isn't that good a sensation, especially since I am pretty sure there was some wind magic that tried to cut me up from the inside there.
Good thing the crazy blond tried to do that in my stomach, my Sky Dragon Slayer stomach that can convert air into pure magic energy. Now that I think about it, I am quite sure that is the only reason I am still alive... and probably the absurd durability of this body.
Seriously, anyone who has seen Fairy Tail can tell how impossibly durable the body of any dragon slayer is, Wendy was no exception even if not as absurd as some others.
It still is hurting like a bitch now, though.
The door to the room I was in opened and from there I could spot a teenage elf girl with blond hair. Her eyes widened upon seeing me and she shouted.
"Goddess, the little guy Ais tried to kill is awake!"
Guess I am in Loki Familia, huh. It could be worse, I suppose.
Surprisingly, it isn't Loki who gets inside first, but a blond boy who looks no older than me with green eyes. He looks confident and walks as if he owns the place naturally, my instincts tell me he is decidedly an extremely strong person, I could probably take him on only if I use Dragon Force and Henge Musou, but even that was a toin coss at most and I can't really maintain that form for all that long right now. I would need at least a few days to try and get those under proper control.
"Hello there, my name is Finn. I am the captain of the Loki Familia and I would like to apologise for what happened." He said honestly.
"Who exactly was it that decided to greet me with a sword through the gut?" I question, being doubtful regarding that... sorta. I am pretty sure it is Ais, but it is not like I should even know her now.
"That would be my adorable Ais!" A boisterous voice arrived as a red-haired woman with slit eyes and a face that resembles a fox entered the room.
Seeing her my instincts as a dragon slayer flared in a weird way. It was a mixture of not feeling anything about her presence, and being scared shitless about it.
"... Whatever, I still have things to do. Can I leave already?" I say, wanting to see if I can leave already.
"Not yet, mister. I want you to answer a few questions of mine before I let you leave." Loki said as she sat in a comfy-looking chair smugly. I simply huffed in indignation at that.
"Look," I say, trying to stay calm. "I have just survived over a week in the lower floors without any supplies, faced a weird bone dragon thingy, then climbed all the way back, only to not even be able to sell my stuff since I am not in any Familia. I am hungry, dirty, and tired, and now I also got stabbed through my stomach by some crazy woman who called me a dragon. So EXCUSE ME if I do not want to stand here answering your questions."
As I finish my tirade Loki keeps staring at me.
Her eyes open a bit, her face serious before she speaks.
"How about a trade, I will have my Familia members go sell your loot and bring back the money, I will also let you sleep here for today, in exchange you answer me a few questions."
GROWL
My stomach grumbled and I almost felt like flushing due to it.
"We will also provide you with a meal." The goddess says and I nod my head.
"Deal."
///---///
3° Person P.O.V.
"So, what is going on?" Tione Hiryute, one of the Amazones sisters and a Level 5 adventurer of the Loki Family, questioned in doubt.
She and her sister Tiona were in Hephaestus's shop, having gone there to Hephaestus's Family to see if there was any blacksmith around that could fix their weapons. Thanks to that, the Hiryute sisters did not see what happened at the guild and were only informed that a situation happened after they came back to the Twilight Manor.
"I don't know what to say, Ais just went crazy because of some pipsqueak." Bete Loga, another adventurer of the Loki Family and a Level 5, said with a shrug. There wasn't really much he could say about it, she really just went mad and attacked some kid while yelling about a dragon.
"I had to tackle her away when that happened or she would kill someone inside the guild." Garret stated. The dwarf looks exasperated he really didn't enjoy striking at a friend, even if it was for a good cause like making sure said friend wasn't going on a blind killing spree.
Even the stupidest idiot did not attack or kill anyone inside the guild otherwise their entire Family would be banished. If Ais had managed to kill a kid, an aspiring adventurer if his hearing was right at the time, then it would not be pretty. The guild was where they could sell their loot and magic stones, the main source of income for the Loki Family, if they no longer could sell, or would need to pay some extra taxes for it, it would damage the family as a whole, to say the least.
"This is not like Ais at all." Tiona said with a frown on her beautiful face. "Do we know anything about the boy?"
"Lady Loki is with him in the sick bay together with Finn." Riveria, an elf with long green hair and a regal presence said. "Lady Loki also informed Ais she is not to try and assassinate the kid or anything like that when he is here, the guild has already gotten a bit pissed after what happened, and our taxes raised by 4% even without the kid dying. If he died, I don't like to think what would happen."
Every one of the officials present shuddered, they had seen Familias who were banned from the guild before and they all either had to disband in the end or turn to very much unsavory jobs to sustain themselves.
Thankfully, it was only a few more minutes before Loki came down with the said boy who was walking far too well for someone who had been stabbed through by Ais.
"Everyone, meet our new Familia member, Wendel!" Loki said excitedly and everyone widened their eyes slightly, being somewhat surprised their womanizer goddess would bring in an unknown man into the Familia just like that.
Wendel, meanwhile, just raised a brow at this.
"You DO remember I did not accept your invitation, right? I am pretty sure I said 'Nope' when you asked me to join, and when you told your captain to make me join." Wendel said in a deadpan that all the officers could only sigh at.
They wish they could say their goddess wouldn't do such a thing, but she totally would if someone catches her fancy.
It was like that with some of them, after all.
"I remember you said that, and I remember I did not agree with you not agreeing with me. No way am I letting someone like you escape." The red-haired goddess said and Wendel looks peeved at that. "Anyway, we are going to the Hostess of Fertility, we have to celebrate our new Family member!"
"I am not-"
"You will be one, boy, believe it." Loki said and she would have said more if not for Riveria to actually dragging the Goddess away, literally dragging her away by her ear. "Ouch, ouch, ouch, stop that, Riveria. I need my ears to hear when little Wendel accepts reality he is joining in."
"I honestly doubt you need these ears all that much, Goddess, as you do not seem to listen to others." Riveria said coldly.
"I listen to everything, I just choose to ignore what I don't like." Loki said proudly and Riveria actually pulled the Goddess out of the ground by her ear alone. "Stop, stop, you are ripping it out!"
Riveria kept like that for another moment before releasing her Goddess and turning to Wendel.
"I apologize for lady Loki, she can become like that when she sees something she desperately wants."
"Whatever, I just want to eat already." Wendel said with a tired sigh.
Bete, not caring much about the commotion or if another scrub would join their family or not, simply asked.
"So, party?"
Riveria was about to say no when the Hiryute sisters and Loki said at once.
"Yes!"
The elf could only sigh in frustration at her companions.
"Very well, but before that, I must ask something, Lady Loki."
"What's up?" Loki asked in a cheerful tone of voice.
Riveria, used to her Goddess's excentricities, continued.
"Why do you want this child to join our Familia like this?"
Loki showed a smug grin at that and was about to answer when she had an idea.
"I could tell you, but it will be better to show you. Wendel, you will fight one of my family members!"
Wendel, meanwhile, just looks at Loki with an incredulous face.
"You do remember you promised me a meal, right? A 'feast' if I am not mistaken."
Loki wanted to wave him off, but she did promise it so she decided to compromise.
"Very well, we can wait until after we had a feast for that spar." Loki said before turning to the others. "Sorry, you guys will have to wait at least until after the feast to see what little Wendel can do. I will just let you guys know this, he does NOT have a falna but he could still survive solo for over a week on the lower floors."
"Impossible." No one could tell exactly who said that, but all officers agreed that such a thing was impossible.
The Lower Floors was a place that one should be at least level 2 to go to, and even then only if properly equipped and in a group with stronger adventurers. To survive alone there, only the stronger level 3s or level 4 adventurers should be able to do it.
Even at the most lenient measurement, to be comparable with a level 3 while you don't even have a falna should be completely impossible.
"Hey, hey, do you guys doubt me?"
They all wanted to say 'yes', having been cheated by their goddess more than once, but they also knew that she had her more serious side as well so she wouldn't be lying at a time like this.
///---///
In the end, they all accepted and soon all the officers of the Loki Familia left for the Hostess of Fertility, sans Finn and Ais who stayed behind. That was mostly due to Ais being confined to her room and someone needing to be around to watch over her, and Finn wanting to tell her about what was going on.
In the Hostess of Fertility, the table where the Loki Familia was located had a weird mood in it.
The officers were all far too curious about Wendel, wanting to ask questions of the young boy, not trusting for a single second someone could be equal to a Level 4 even without Fauna. Loki was just watching as the officers were all discussing amongst themselves and the heavy mood of the table, finding the whole situation hilarious. And as for Wendel, well...
"Another one!" Wendel shouted as he finished his seventh plate of food. As it turns out, dragon slayers had an abnormal appetite. It was not to a truly absurd degree, but clearly more than regular people, as shown by Wendel who was not done even after eating several plates of food.
Watching the weird scene, especially since there was no commotion or overly joyous mood at the Loki Familia's table at this time, Anya, a beautiful cat girl who has brown hair and eyes with cat ears and a tail of the same color, couldn't help but ask.
"Do you guys know what is going on?"
Mama Mia, the owner of the establishment, said.
"I do not know. The best I could gather is that the Loki Familia screwed up earlier today in the Guild."
"Oh, how so?" Anya asked in curiosity, loving such gossip.
"No clue, ask Syr if you want more details. I don't care about gossip like that." Mama Mia said before shouting at two adventurers who were trying to escape without paying up first.
Anya shrugged and decided to go ask Syr, but one look at the girl who was staring in fascination at Wendel was enough to make Anya decide not to bother asking anything right now, instead just deciding to ask later... and tease Syr like crazy later on.
Poor Syr, she did not yet know how much she would be teased by the brown-haired cat girl.
Not that the girl seemed to mind... anything really. She was just transfixed as she watched Wendel with a flushed face, her eyes wide and her thighs rubbing against each other.
At a different spot in the pub, Mama Mia kept an eye on Syr and almost wanted to go there and make sure the dumb bitch wouldn't do anything stupid, but she knew better than to hope for the impossible. The last time she had a huge reaction it resulted in a third of Orario in flames and a few hundred dead, and her reaction at the time was not even a third compared to what was happening now.
'Maybe I should relocate? I heard good things about the money one can make in Arcantelia and... oh, who am I kidding, an Orario in the middle of a civil war would still be infinitely better than that city. Those Axis Order fanatics make the Evilus fanatics look like well-adjusted members of society by sheer comparison.' Mama Mia thought with a shiver.
Mama Mia noted when Syr approached the table of the Loki Family, the owner sighing as she prepared to bail the girl out if she tried anything stupid.
Well, especially stupid, as just approaching them in her state was already bad enough.
"Uhm, welcome to the Hostess of Fertility." Syr said with a shy smile to Wendel who was mostly fine by now, but he could still eat some more.
"Thank you for having me." Wendel said with a smile, his mood much better now that his stomach no longer wanted to kill him for ignoring its need for so long. Now that his stomach was full he could concentrate on the one vice of his that he had to abstain from for a full week straight now, one of his top 5 things in the world.
Getting smash drunk! Thankfully there were a few bottles of liquor on the table that the rest of the Loki Family had asked out of costume, but not really drunk as they were far too curious to bother with drinking all that much right now, concentrated instead on talking to one another and speculate on how it was remotely possible for someone without a Falna to survive alone in the deep floor for a whole week.
"Are you a new member of the Loki family?" Syr questioned with a curious expression as Wendel took the closest flask of liquor to himself.
"No I am no-"
"Yes, he is my new child!" Loki said with her usual boisterous ways.
Syr twitched slightly at that before turning to Loki.
"Lady Loki, I believe he was about to say 'no' though." Syr said and Loki just waved the waitress off.
"He is a member of it, because I said he is. He just hasn't accepted reality just yet." Loki said with absolute certainty before a mischievous expression appeared on her face as she knew perfectly well that the Hostess of Fertility was a place highly associated with the Freya Family.
The Loki and Freya Families were the two largest and strongest families in Orario, rivals in most things and highly competitive the two knew many details about each other.
"Besides," Loki said, a big smile on her face. "Who better than my family for a monster like him?"
A tick mark appeared on Syr's forehead at that.
"I believe there might be other families that might be good as well, deciding too fast the Family to join is no good. Besides, you already have miss Ais in your family who I heard is a handful, wouldn't it be better for him to join another family so you can focus more on your current members?"
Loki waved her hand at that.
"Nothing to worry about. I am an excellent goddess who treats my children well and kindly. They all love me!" Loki said, earning several raised brows and coughing at their goddess's words. "Besides, what other family would be able to handle him as it should? He has the potential to reach the same levels of power as Licht from the Hera Family, at the absolute least."
That was enough to shut the entire pub up as all those present could only stop and stare at what was being said.
Licht was the former captain of the Hera Family, one of the previous two strongest Families and one of the very, very, very few people who has ever reached Level 9. He was a single step away from turning from a mortal to a God, so anyone who was said to have a similar potential was something all of Orario would take note of.
Loki, of course, understood that and boasted like that for a rather simple reason.
Showing off her new 'toy', and making it so that Wendel had to choose who to join fast. If he took too long a time there were sure to be some Gods and Goddesses that would not be able to help themselves and do just about anything to get to him as the bragging rights of having someone like that in their family was no laughing matter.
If his potential was revealed and confirmed there would be no end of Gods trying to forcefully take him, and only the strongest of Families would be able to keep him, and the only two who truly could are the Loki and Freya Familias!
"There are many other Familias around, like the Freya Family for instance." Syr said with a 'kind' smile. The silver-haired girl was emanating a slightly threatening presence as she looked at the grinning Loki. "If he has such potential as you said, wouldn't a Family that prizes individual power more be the best option instead of one that centers on cooperation like yours?"
"Actually," A new voice spoke up as someone else entered the pub. It was a beautiful brown-haired woman, her expression kind as she entered and walked towards Wendel after she saw him there. "I was thinking of inviting him to join my Astrea Family."
THAT actually shocked everyone in the pub almost as much as the mention of someone with the same sort of talent as Licht had. Astrea was one of the three virgin Goddesses, the goddess of justice was very well known and her Family was the closest thing Orario had to a 'police' since this was an inherently chaotic city. Another interesting thing was that, since the day she descended into the lower world, she would always only allow women in her Familia, so her inviting a man was unheard of and unthinkable as far as everyone else was concerned.
"Oh, to think miss virgin wants a man for once, how interesting." Loki said with a chuckle. "But too bad, he is joining my Family and that is final."
Astrea frowned ever so slightly before sighing.
"I do not wish to enter into a conflict with you, Loki. All I want is to help this child a bit as compensation for saving my Family members, since I heard he has yet to get a Falna I thought of letting him join for a while as he searches for some other Family he feels comfortable joining." Astrea said.
She was still shaken by the near annihilation of her children and was very much heartbroken at the moment, but her heart for justice still demanded she should try and repay the boy who saved some of her children from a worse fate. The Goddess knew that, as someone without a Falna, he would not be allowed back in the dungeon, so she would give it to him and help him for a time until he found someone else he would desire to join.
It was as simple as that, an action she would have done even if Wendel had no particularly attractive potential or power.
Loki was about to say no when Syr's eyes shined for a moment and smiled.
"That is a good idea. Oh, where are my manners, I will go and get a table ready for you, lady Astrea."
Loki smiled dangerously at the direction things were going, seeing that her plans were not going well thanks to Astrea's intervention and that the other occupants in the pub were talking amongst themselves. Soon the news would spread and nothing good would come from it in Loki's eyes.
She was about to say something when the door to the pub was slammed open. At the door was Ais, her face red as she was breathing hard, running after her was Finn who was trying to stop her, but was quite literally kicked away by Ais who sent him back several steps as she had boosted her strength and speed with her wind magic.
Ais did not care about that as she approached Wendel who was still drinking the liquor with a happy expression, oblivious to the surroundings almost entirely.
The level 4 adventurer bordering on level 5 got in front of Wendel and got him by his collar, raising him up from the table and seemed like she was about to hit him or something when-
"Show me." Ais says with a serious face.
Wendel was not paying attention, simply enjoying the liquor even as Ais continued holding him up. A goofy expression on his face as he continued to savor the taste of the damn best liquor he has ever tasted to this day.
The sword princess, seeing her words were not paid attention to, started shaking him.
"Show me the magic you said you have."
"Nnnooo~~~, hiccup. I am enjoying my drink now, hiccup. It is my much-awaited feast, let me enjoy it!" Wendel said with a slightly whiny tone at the end.
Ais's eyes hardened as she said.
"Either show it to me, or, or, or I will break the liquor bottle you are drinking from." Ais said, making Wendel's face go from drunk to serious.
"Those are some fighting words."
The other officers of the Loki Family wanted to intervene, but Loki waved for them to not do anything as she also wanted to see just what Wendel could do in person.
Astrea was much less troubled about it, but she was smart enough to see that she could not stop this from happening as her Familia had lost most of its members and their strength was simply not enough to reign in Loki if the Goddess wanted to push her own agenda at the moment.
Since she could not stop this, she decided to go for the next best thing, namely making sure that a fight would not happen right in the center of Orario where many innocents would possibly be hurt.
"If you two are to fight, why not do it in Ganesha's colosseum?" Astrea proposed, making both Wendel and Ais stop. "He owes me one or two, he won't mind letting us use the colosseum."
Ais did not like the idea all that much as she simply desired to get to this fight already, but Wendel didn't mind it.
"You know what, fine I accept." Wendel said, "If I win, you will have to pay for almost breaking a bottle of liquor this good by buying me another 5!"
Ais just nodded her head as some of the officers of the Loki Familia actually snickered over the ridiculous demands. Defeating Ais who was so close to reaching Level 5 when one did not even have a Falna? It was absurd to even consider.
Soon the news spread and despite it being at the last minute and out of nowhere many Gods and Adventurers began moving to the Colosseum. Thankfully there was barely even a need to ask Ganesha who quickly accepted the request and actually started a betting pool and a sudden 'festival' happened from out of thin air.
So was the nature of Orario, the dungeon city where Gods reunited.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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