Because of how early she had gone to sleep the previous day, Riveria awoke in the twilight hours of the morning, long before Vahn would generally awaken. He only allowed himself to be comfortable around the girls so, unless something unexpected happened, he would continue to sleep regardless of what they might do. In this instance, Riveria just watched his sleeping face after being slightly startled when she first opened her eyes. Vahn was still in his High Elf form so she had panicked a little at first but, after remembering everything that happened, she calmed down and just tucked her head into his chest. She didn't focus on his scent like the Beast Human girls, but Riveria did notice he had a strangely warm aroma that smelled subtly like flowers...
After her initial embarrassment the previous day, Riveria did her best to try and open herself up to Vahn, finding it surprisingly easy to just go with the flow of things. Thinking about it after the fact was actually harder to cope with than simply going through with it, indicating to Riveria that she really did overthink things a great deal. Aina had often talked to her in the past about things like 'love', especially when she met Thomas, but Riveria didn't truly understand her words at the time. She couldn't understand how Aina would fall in love with a man that wouldn't even live half as long as she did, watching them age and slowly decay until eventually dying. As for children, that made even less sense to her since it seemed almost 'tragic' to give birth to children that wouldn't be able to continue the cycle further...
Staring at Vahn's face, Riveria realized none of that mattered at all now and, though she felt a little giddy just thinking about it, love didn't seem as difficult to understand as before. The warmth and comfort Vahn brought to her, even when he was simply sleeping next to her, made Riveria feel like she had found something lost long ago, something that the heart needed to be 'complete' and whole. The most comforting thing, however, was the fact that Vahn was 'bigger' than she was, not physically, but emotionally and spiritually. It was like he could encompass the entire world with his compassion and love for life, shouldering great burdens and reshaping the fates of entire species, almost as if it didn't take any great effort at all. The only thing she needed to give him in exchange was her love, something that was much easier to do than she initially expected...
As she had been staring at his face for a while now, Riveria began to blush slightly as she reached out her finger and poked his cheek, finding it to be a little squishier than expected. This made a small smile appear on her face because it showed that Vahn was completely comfortable around her, even though it was the first time they slept together. She couldn't open herself up to people nearly as fast as he could but, knowing he already opened his heart to her, Riveria felt it wouldn't be long before she did the same. With that thought in mind, Riveria brought her hand to Vahn's chest, once again marveling at how powerful his heartbeat was in conjunction with the almost 'scalding' temperature of his body. It wasn't that it actually burned her, but Riveria felt like the heat flowed directly into her body and made her feel somewhat anxious...
Feeling Riveria touching him, and sensing the change in her aura, Vahn opened his eyes slowly and saw her just staring at his chest from just a few inches away. He raised his brows slightly and was tempted to watch her before she suddenly seemed to realize he had awoken. There was a big difference in the flow of mana in a person's body between when they were asleep and when they were at rest, something Riveria could detect. She lifted her head to match his gaze and Vahn could see there was already a slight blush on her face before he smiled and said, "Good morning, Riveria...you look even more beautiful today~."
Riveria released a surprisingly hot sigh before resting her head against the bed and lazily saying, "You never stop with your words..." She felt like Vahn was always complimenting her beauty, even before they officially entered a relationship. Though it made her happy, it also felt a little tiring hearing him repeat it so many times since it always twinged at her heart and made her feel a little exasperated. She almost wished he would just be quiet at times since one-sidedly receiving compliments was difficult and, though there were many great things about Vahn, Riveria couldn't really vocalize them without feeling embarrassed.
Vahn just smiled in response to Riveria's 'complaint' and said, "I think it's important to be honest and forward about things...I don't want to ever cause people to misunderstand what I'm thinking, so I try to say it out loud as much as possible. I think, when we're alone like this, it would be good if you tried doing the same, Riveria..." As she had a habit of thinking about her responses, Vahn used the small gap to lean down and kiss Riveria's forehead again since he couldn't quite reach her mouth. Riveria's eyes opened slightly wider before she released another sigh and just tucked her head to his chest, protecting herself from his lips while hiding her face at the same time.
Knowing that she would probably take a few days to sort through her thoughts, Vahn didn't continue to pressure Riveria and simply closed his eyes to get a short nap in. It was currently only around 2 AM and there were a few more hours before he needed to be up. As for Riveria, she found it very hard to go back to sleep after feeling a bit of excitement in her body earlier. Being so close to Vahn didn't really help much and, the moment she started to get even a little excited, it was like the formation in her body became even more powerful as heat slowly built up in her lower body.
Riveria held her thighs together in a vain attempt at resistance, but it didn't seem to help much until she eventually had to roll over to avoid Vahn's smell. It helped a great deal but, even though he was sleeping, Vahn instinctually hugged Riveria's body from behind and she suddenly felt a lot hotter than before. It was almost like his body could completely envelop her's when he hugged her from behind and, though it made her feel strangely safe, it also put her whole back into contact with Vahn's body. Even worse was the fact that he pulled his legs up against her's and Riveria could feel a heat around her butt that made her feel very anxious...
By the time Vahn woke up again, he found Riveria breathing somewhat heavily in his arms and was surprised to find that she was covered in sweat. Tilting his head, he could see she had a bit of a pained expression on her face and, activating his [Eyes of Truth], noticed she was having difficulties processing the natural energy in her body. Though he startled her at first, Riveria quickly calmed down when she realized Vahn was awake again and began to help her diffuse the energy in her body. She released a long sigh of relief as the hot sensation in her body slowly dissipated and a refreshing feeling took its place. It made her feel a little 'lonely' for some reason, but the relief made it easier to tolerate and Vahn's heat became much more bearable against her back.
After helping Riveria calm down, Vahn continued to use [Petting] on her while explaining, "The natural energy that gets looped into your core also intermixes with your own mana. If it becomes difficult to bear while I'm not around, you should be able to deal with the effects by using up your mana. Since you have healing spells, it should be pretty easy to use up your mana reserves..." Riveria nodded her head at first but then explained, "Yes, but that would also mean the predominant energy in my body would be natural energy...so I would just be tired and frustrated at the same time..." She had already made the same deduction as Vahn in the past when she tried wearing the [Sage Aldrnari's Blessing] and knew that, while it helped at first, it didn't actually fix the problem in the end.
Vahn was a little surprised by Riveria's words but, after thinking about it logically, he could understand the truth of the matter. Her mana helped to dilute the effects a bit so, if she was completely drained, the natural energy would work to help replenish her mana, yes, but it would also be 'taxing' her body at the same time. Vahn suspected this would help Riveria become stronger but it would also take a while for her to adapt to the changes. Natural energy was very difficult to process and, though she would inevitably get used to it, the adaptation period would be a little 'difficult'.
Riveria surprisingly placed her hand over his and said, "Don't worry...I can always meditate to help calm my mind. I know it will get better, so I will tolerate it to the best of my ability. This is important for the safe development of our child...I won't stay a weak woman anymore." She still remembered Vahn's words about her already being 'strong', but Riveria felt like she needed to do more to earn such high praise. Vahn was already doing most of the work himself so learning to deal with the urges of her body was 'literally' the least she could do. After all, the [Sage Aldrnari's Blessing] actually nourished her body and protected her vitality while also ensuring their child would develop properly. This was something inconceivable in the past, so Riveria felt it really was a blessing...
Hearing the underlying confidence in her words, even though he disliked how she referred to herself as a weak woman, Vahn smiled and kissed the back of Riveria's head. She curled up a bit in response but Vahn just embraced her gently from behind for a while before it was nearing time for him to leave. Riveria rarely attended the morning training sessions and today she would be spending most of her time 'recuperating' from the previous day. Loki had stayed over last night and she would probably want to talk with Riveria while Aina, Eina, and, potentially, even Risna would come to visit with her. Though he wanted to spend a bit more time with her, Vahn knew it was 'important' for Riveria to have the time to think things through since she was that type of woman.
Watching his departing figure with her jade green eyes, Riveria immediately sighed when Vahn exited the room. She let the tensions release from her body completely and found that the bed suddenly seemed much bigger than in the past. There was still a faint warmth on the bed where Vahn had slept, but Riveria resisted the urge to lay in that spot. Instead, she used the time to collect herself before moving away from the bed and pulling out a few parchments to begin writing a missive to her father.
Riveria already had a few ideas about the families taking action against them right now and wanted her father to pressure them in order to avoid war. Though it would still be a secret from most people, Riveria explained that her child with Vahn was a pure-blooded High Elf and used Vahn's race from the Divination, Progenitus, as the reason for why this was the case. This would allow her father's mind to be at ease and would potentially even cause him to take a firmer stance against the other families since they would have already secured an heir through their main line. The only reason he had originally betrothed her to Alosrin was because of the pressure from the other families and their adherence to 'traditions'.
Though he may hate gods, Riveria knew her father wasn't actually as foolish as the vast majority of High Elves. His greatest flaw was that he was essentially just a 'puppet' of a corrupt system since the transition for him becoming King hadn't been a smooth one. He had been forced to make many concessions in order to regain stability within the Kingdom and her 'desertion' in the past had actually made things even more difficult, at least until she accumulated some achievements. Right now, his position was barely maintained by the Sage Council and, without a 'proper' heir, he had been forced to arrange her marriage to the then most powerful Duke family in order to appease the traditionalist faction.
Riveria hoped that her father was wise enough to understand Vahn's significance for their entire race and, even though it would probably cause some internal strife, she hoped he would take a firm stance against the other houses. The Elven Kingdom 'needed' to change if they wanted to avoid future destruction and Riveria hoped it wouldn't come to the point they 'had' to create a new Kingdom elsewhere. However, feeling the flow of natural energy around her abdomen, Riveria hardened her heart and resolved that she would do her best if that ended up happening. Even with just a few female Elves, Riveria knew it would be possible to create an entire Kingdom with Vahn's help considering how long-lived they would be. Since none of the offspring they produced would have the same 'issues' as the previous generations, they would quickly overtake the numbers in the Elven Kingdom after a few decades passed...
Imagining what it would be like to live inside a Palace, surrounded by dozens of her own children, Riveria had a deep flush on her face and had to rest her head against the desk for a few minutes to calm down. It was a 'peculiar' thought, but Riveria did a bit of math in her head and knew she could 'easily' produce around four-hundred children if 'necessary'. She might have to spend the rest of her life pregnant, but it would still be 'worth' it in the end since her people would never die out. Instead, they would actually be much stronger in the future with the introduction of a new Magic system and the support of the Alliance. They could also implement policies to avoid the same situation from occurring again by allowing their children to love whomever they wanted as the 'purity' of their offspring wouldn't make much of a difference with Vahn's research progressing even further...
A loud knock suddenly came from the door, startling Riveria from her thoughts as she looked to the nearby clock and saw it was already around 8 AM. She had completely got lost in her own thoughts and realized her heart was beating rapidly in her chest while she had been imagining a 'paradise' for Elves on the 50th Floor of the Dungeon. Looking towards the door, Riveria 'calmly' said, "Come in..." using her masked voice once again. Though she tried to speak 'normally' around Vahn, she couldn't bring herself to drop her facade around other people just yet, especially when she was already in a 'compromised' state. When she saw who had arrived, a loud sigh escaped her lips as Loki laughed mischievously and said, "Wow, your face is super red, Riveria. Did Vahn go overboard and 'break' you a little~?"
Loki entered the room but she was also accompanied by Aina, Hestia, Hephaestus, and Syr. They all had different reactions to Riveria's appearance because her face was almost tomato red and she had an uncharacteristically 'pouting' expression compared to her typically stoic and cool disposition. Aina had the most normal reaction and simply showed a happy smile as she said, "Congratulations, Riveria...I'm so happy for you~." The greatest concern Aina had about Riveria in the past was that she would never get to experience love. Since she was such a dutiful woman, it was very likely Riveria would one day return to the Elven Kingdom and have to marry that 'despotic' fool Alosrin. She hated the thought of Riveria spending the last few years of her life being with that idiot just so she could have his child and simply wilt away like a flower after serving its 'purpose'.
The main reason why there were no Elven Queens after the first King came into existence was the fact that, as their population had been declining, the women 'needed' to produce more offspring. However, this often resulted in the inevitable death of the females, allowing a King to eventually came into power while essentially 'relegating' females to the position of breeding stock. After all, they 'couldn't' have a Queen sitting on the throne for hundreds of years without producing an heir while their population continued to decline. With a King on the throne, they could watch over the child after the mother's death and 'raise them properly' to rule over the next generation. Unfortunately, reality had the exact opposite happen and this was the primary reason behind the cultural stagnation and corruption of the Elven people...
Loki saw that Riveria was writing a note on a very official looking piece of paper so she smiled and asked, "Were you sending a message to your father?" Riveria had been matching Aina's smile with a small one of her own before immediately becoming more serious when she heard Loki's question. Nodding her head, Riveria explained what she was writing and how she wanted things to progress in the future. By the end of it, however, Loki shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, Riveria, but that isn't really acceptable..." If the Elves had 'behaved' themselves properly, going Riveria's route wouldn't be a bad choice. Now, since they went out of their way to badger the Alliance once again, they needed to show the Elven Kingdom they weren't a turtle with a hard shell, but a wasp nest that couldn't be poked without consequences.
Hearing Loki's words, Riveria sighed because she already knew things would likely come to this after the 'infiltration' the night before the wedding. As if understanding Riveria's thoughts, Loki nodded her head and said, "We already got the report from Eirene about the purpose behind the foolish attempt to sneak into the Manor. There are groups actually propagating the idea you're being held captive by the Alliance and being used as an experimental subject to 'steal' the superior genes of High Elves. They're even trying to say some bullshit about how Vahn is holding the information about the 'cure' hostage as a method to blackmail and force you to do his bidding...kukukuku..." Loki had a very evil look in her eyes and, though it was subtle, her divine power was radiating from her body a result of the rage she was feeling.
Hephaestus stepped in at this point and said, "Feel free to send a message to your father, but you also need to add a warning that we won't allow them to try and tarnish Vahn's reputation to suit their political agenda. From now on, Elven caravans have been stripped of their right to trade with any Familia associated with the Alliance. If they can't control the bogus information they themselves spread, we 'will' be forced to take more drastic actions in the future..." Hephaestus never had a 'calm' disposition when it came to dealing with the people trying to make Vahn's life more difficult. He was a kind and honest boy that worked hard to help people so it royally pissed her off when anyone, god or mortal, tried to drag him into their disputes just because it was 'convenient' for them to do so. There were already several 'good' people that did that so she couldn't tolerate any 'bad' people from trying to interfere with his life...
As if she didn't want to be left out, or couldn't be left out, Hestia showed an uncharacteristically serious expression and said, "I will not allow anyone to tarnish the reputation of those in my Familia, especially Vahn. This is our home, a place we have all come together to create and share our happiness with each other. If anyone thinks they can just barge into our home and cause trouble, they will find that I'm not so forgiving..." Much like Loki, Hestia's aura spread out a bit but, unlike Loki, her's was much stronger and it put pressure on everyone in the room, including Loki and Hephaestus. Hestia was actually pretty passive by nature but, the one thing she could never back down on was protecting her 'family'. Vahn was the boy she had dedicated her everything to her and, in exchange, he had given her a 'real' family and a form of love she had never experienced before. If anyone wanted to take that away from her, Hestia would make them pay a steep price...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn is so 'hot', literally','Hundreds of tiny High-Elven babies...','TFW you poke a hornet's nest and several enraged goddesses come flying out...')
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=14397149
paypal.me/Einlion
Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh
In preparation for the upcoming Expedition, where they would be establishing a permanant defensive line and Supply Depot on the 39th Floor, Vahn had put his own ventures into the Dungeon on hold. Tina and Shizune were already aware of this so, for the next few months, they would primarily be studying under Riveria and Tsubaki while spending most of their afternoons training with Chloe and Milan. They were both still very young and, now that Tina had once again shown it was possible to awaken even Development Abilities, there was no particular rush for them to increase their strength. Tina wanted to learn [Featherfoot] while pushing her [Counter] and [Shield Bash] to greater heights while Shizune would be learning tracking, enhancing her [Stealth], and [Mixing].
As for what Vahn would be working on, it was the armor sets for Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya, as they would all be going into the Dungeon on the upcoming Expedition with him. Because of how little cloth was used for Tiona's and Tione's outfits, Vahn wouldn't have to spend that much time on them and was confident it would only take about a week per outfits. Lefiya's was decidedly more complex, but Vahn believed he would be able to at least finish her prototype if he pushed himself. They were supposed to be heading down in around five weeks, but it wouldn't be too difficult to push things back a few days if necessary. There was also the option of completing the outfit in the Dungeon itself, but Vahn didn't really want to deal with any potential emergencies when he was focused on his work.
Since the girls went into the Dungeon after their morning training, Vahn used simplified mannequins that still matched their basic proportions, though with decidedly less detail than the past. Most of the time would be spent forming the circuits in the scales, so he really didn't have to worry about 'fitting' them right now. Remembering how the armor had 'adapted' to Ais' body in the past, Vahn also felt less inclined to make the measurements exact and focused primarily on the strength of each individual rune and the solidity of the underlying formation. It was actually pretty 'interesting' work because it felt like he was making a scale brassiere for Tione and a durable breast band for Tiona. Their basic designs matched their current clothing pretty closely, so it almost felt like he was making very powerful underwear instead of armor...
Around the time he was taking his lunch break, a white figure walked through the wall before leaping up to his head and saying, "Vahn, give us energy..." in a tired voice. Though she knew better than to 'bother' him during work, Shirohime usually stayed nearby and would show up whenever he took breaks. Grabbing her from his head, Vahn cradled Shirohime in his left arm and pressed his palm to her chest, asking, "What are the girls up to right now?" Shirohime had her eyes squinted and muttered, "My counterpart is fighting a Goliath...a lot of the other girls are there as well."
Because they had pushed the Expedition back, the Goliath had actually spawned around this time and had yet to be cleared by anyone else over the last four days. Vahn already knew they were heading down to fight it but it seemed like Haruhime was taking a go at soloing it given how Shirohime was acting. She would twitch around every now and then, almost like she was exerting herself, so Vahn increased the flow of energy into her body to support Haruhime on the other side. Shirohime began to writhe about, saying, "Ah, we feel very pleasant..." in an excited voice before licking around Vahn's wrist in an affectionate manner. Haruhime got much stronger when she was a little excited and Vahn expected she would be able to defeat the Goliath much easier with a bit of 'assistance'...
As he expected, Haruhime did indeed get an edge against the Goliath almost immediately after she felt the energy entering through her chest. Her face became slightly flushed and the marking around her eyes became a deeper shade of red as she side-stepped the Goliath's attack before running up its arm in the next instant. She actually could have defeated the Goliath much easier but, instead of using her powerful magic and relying on her [Sakura Blossom], Haruhime had wanted to fight it directly. Though other's might not take it as seriously, Haruhime believed almost every word Vahn spoke as if it was a sacred doctrine. He constantly emphasized the importance of individual strength and not being overly reliant on equipment so Haruhime had been improving her own skills in recent weeks. It was fortunate that she had mentors like Tiona, Tione, Tsubaki, and Lunoire to learn from because her hand-to-hand combat techniques had already reached a very surprising level of fluency.
With her ability to read the tempo of her enemies, Haruhime could exploit their movements better than most people, allowing her to take advantage of the gaps in their attacks to counter with her own. She was lacking in strength, but Haruhime had already learned how to use the mana stored in her bracelets to simulate shockwaves when she touched objects. Using this technique, she jumped forward and placed her palm against the Goliath's head, sending a pulse of energy into its brain as she flipped over its body in the same motion. Though it was a little jarred, the attack didn't damage the Goliath that much and it immediately tried to sweep behind itself to intercept Haruhime's fall. Having already anticipated this, however, Haruhime coiled up her body and evaded the powerful fist by using the barriers generated by her bracelets to 'roll' over it.
The Goliath released a loud roar and tried to strike at her with its massive fist, enraged at missing its attack for the umpteenth time. This time, Haruhime couldn't really evade the attack as easily but didn't have to as a small figure 'bulldozed' into the Goliath's gut with enough force to completely knock it off its feet. There was a very small hole on the front of its abdomen that quivered slightly before a large explosion of flesh and organs emerged from its back. On the other side, having just struck the Goliath with all her might, stood Lili with an incredibly excited look on her face. Haruhime quickly dashed by her, pursuing the Goliath as she said, "Thanks for the assistance, Lili~." before continuing the fight.
Lili originally didn't like Haruhime that much but they had gotten much closer over the last few months because it was actually very easy to talk with her. While the latter had been the primary combatant against the Goliath, she and Mikoto had been supporting her during sticky situations. Lefiya was standing off to the side with her [Heal] staff at the ready, as she always carried it for emergency situations, while Ais, Tiona, and Tione protected her. The last person present was Naaza, but she wasn't helping out since her [Yi's Bow] would actually make pretty short work of a monster like the Goliath. Targetting its joints and head would completely lock down its mobility since, though it was incredibly strong, it didn't have enough strength to resist the gravitational singularity created by the arrow's impact.
With Vahn's energy pushing her forward, and the support of many trustworthy allies, Haruhime's excitement continued to build until she eventually managed to destroy both of the Goliath's eyes. Unfortunately, she didn't actually have enough Power to kill it with her bare hands but it was still a great accomplishment being able to get an advantage against something so large just using her physical capabilities. Satisfied with her progress, Haruhime smoothly dodged the blind attack of the Goliath before jumping away and 'tagging' Lili's hand, saying, "Good luck~." in an almost sensual voice because of the 'heat' in her body. Lili gave her a strange look with a tinge of envy before kicking against the ground hard enough to cause the durable bedrock to crack.
Lili's leap had sent her forward nearly ten meters in an instant before she kicked off the ground and launched high into the sky, releasing a loud "Iyaaaaaaaaaaaa!" as she smashed both of her tiny fists into the Goliath's head. As if a meteor had crashed into it, an indentation appeared in the Goliath's skull and its head was actually pushed into its chest cavity under the might of Lili's blow. Vahn had roughly calculated her Power output in the past and, with the combination of her [Atlas] and [Atlas' Grips], Lili's raw Power could exceed 6,300 at the cost of a large portion of her stamina. The best part of this was that most of the force she generated was based on laws and it had almost no influence on Lili's body, allowing her to essentially become stationary after smashing down the Goliath's head instead of being shot away with an equal amount of force.
Even with its head destroyed, the Goliath's vitality wasn't a joke and it continued to try and attack mindlessly while a large volume of steam emerged from the gaping hole around its neck. It was slowly regenerating from the damage it had suffered but Lili wasn't going to simply wait around for it to happen. When she landed back on the ground, she hopped around like a jumping bean on a skillet and sequentially smashed both of the Goliath's knees, forcing it to to the ground. Getting around behind it, she then jumped off with as much force as her small legs could manage before dropkicking the Goliath in its spine, aiming for the core in its chest. Once again, her attack caused a very small indentation where both of her feet contacted, making a small V-shaped set of footprints before the Goliath's chest exploded on the other side of its body.
Falling forward, the Goliath tried to support itself before instinctually crossing its arms to protect the core in its chest. Lili, seeing this behavior, immediately jumped onto its back and started slamming her fists over and over, causing the ground beneath the Goliath to actually fracture a bit from the force. Though it tried to resist, Lili's attacks kept it forced down until her fists eventually reached the magic core below. They were very susceptible to being pierced, but monster cores actually had almost perfect shock resistance unless it was applied internally. This was how the Goliath always survived against Vahn in the past, even though his attacks would make a huge hole all the way through its body. Lili's attacks were much the same but, when she finally managed a direct blow on the core that was several times the size of her body, it immediately shattered along with the Goliath's body.
A huge explosion of purple dust surged out from where the Goliath had previously been located before Lili dropped down into a pile of magic cores, several times more than they would actually be able to carry. The others had already come forward at this point so Tiona leaped forward and picked up Lili like a ragdoll, hugging her body tightly as she said, "Well done, Lili, that was amazing~!" Tiona was the type that got excited when 'unexpected' situations occurred and it was very peculiar to see a 110cm tall Pallum overpower a 1400cm tall Goliath with brute strength. Even though Lili was covered in an incredible amount of blood, Tiona didn't care at all and rubbed her cheek against Lili's while happily laughing.
Lili had a mix between a smile and a grimace as she pushed against Tiona, saying, "Unhand me, Tiona! Only Vahn is allowed to touch me like this~!" Tiona, seemingly unperturbed by Lili's words, just hugged her from behind and said, "Aww, don't be like that, we're all friends, right~?" with a happy smile on her face. Lili actually had to work pretty hard to control her strength at times so she couldn't easily escape from Tiona's grasp without potentially causing harm. This, combined with the fact that she was kind of happy to be considered as a 'friend', caused Lili to eventually give up with a loud sigh that made Tiona laugh even louder...
Naaza and Lefiya had moved over to the pile of magic cores and started putting them away into their large backpacks, but they didn't have near enough space for the several thousand present. If it had been Lili's old backpack, she likely would have been able to manage, but she hadn't used that thing in months and now barely wore anything at all. Other than the [Nezha Lady's Togi], which didn't cover below her ribs at all, Lili just wore a pair of small red shorts with black leggings and a set of brown boots, which were now maroon red because of blood. Other than that, she just wore a pouch at her waist, attached to the belt provided by the [Nezha Lady's Togi], and the [Atlas' Grips] Vahn had forged for her. She wasn't even carrying her naginata right now because, much like Haruhime, Lili wanted to increase her individual power instead of relying too much on powerful weapons.
Haruhime, seeing the 'conflict' on Naaza's and Lefiya's faces just smiled and said, "It's fine if we leave some behind and just return to the surface. Little Shiro already told Vahn we defeated the Goliath and I'd like to return early to get a reward~." With her 'reminder', Lili's eyes also glowed expectantly because a Goliath was worth 70,000 points within their reward system. Even if she split it with Haruhime, that would give her 35,000 and bring her total 'balance' up to more than 300k, more than enough points to exchange for some big prizes. It only took 100,000 points to get an hour-long massage from Vahn, whereas 300,000 could be exchanged for a private bath time of the same length. Though she could already get Vahn to wash her body, things would definitely be a lot more interesting if they were alone together since there would be 'heavy petting' involved...
Tiona had still been holding onto Lili body so she noticed very quickly when the small Pallum began to breathe a little heavily with her body temperature increasing. With an 'understanding' look on her face, Tiona nodded her head and said, "Yeah, let's go home. I want to see how much progress Vahn made on my armor set as well~." It was already around the time when they would normally head back anyway so it wouldn't make a big difference if they did so a little sooner. After all, they actually 'capped' out on loot and it wouldn't really be sensible to continue fighting unless they just wanted to have some fun. Monsters this high up were kind of 'boring' to fight so Tione and Ais also agreed to head back without any argument. They carried as many of the magic cores as they could, stuffing several kilograms into the two backpacks worn by Naaza and Lefiya, before heading deeper into the 17th Floor so they could ascend the stairs and return to the surface...
On the way back, Mikoto led the way since she was feeling a little antsy after not being able to help finish off the Goliath. Though she had supported Haruhime a bit, the majority of the battle had been fought by her and Lili since using her sword would have defeated the purpose of the fight. Unlike the two girls, who were 'direct' disciples of Vahn, Mikoto walked the path of the sword and couldn't set it aside to make the fight more difficult. She pursued the principles of 'Godspeed' and bringing the fight to an end in the shortest amount of time. Thus, on the way back, Mikoto cut down almost every monster that appeared while Naaza sniped the few that were outside her basic range.
The trip through the 17th Floor only took around thirty minutes, but there had been plenty of monsters since their group size was well over the 'recommended' amount of four people. However, even after completely bisecting a Lygerfant from head to tail in one clean strike, Mikoko wasn't satisfied with her progress because all of these monsters were far too weak to test her limits. She never considered herself a battle junky in the past but now she 'craved' finding a worthy opponent because one of the principles behind the [Heavenly Flying Sword] was to exceed one's limits through actual combat. The best method would be by fighting other swordsmen, but monsters were a good alternative if she could find something durable enough to truly test her skills...
---
Unbeknownst to the girls, a white-haired man was currently watching them progress through the Dungeon with a condescending smile on his face. He had been very tempted to try and fight them several times of the past few weeks but never found an opportune moment to strike. Though he wasn't afraid of fighting them individually, he knew it would be too 'troublesome' to fight them as a group. Unfortunately, they always traveled together and he had never found an opportunity to strike, even when they were fighting against Monster Parties. Damaging the Dungeon and causing a Juggernaut to appear could be a 'viable' option, but there was no guarantee it would actually be able to defeat the girls since their weapons and armor seemed very strong. Even the weakest amongst them used a bow that seemed able to destroy anything the arrows touched...very troublesome.
Throwing a peculiar golden magic core into his mouth, the man smiled cruelly before smashing the small crystal ball he had been observing them through. Ein would probably get pissed off at him, but the man was annoyed by the fool's constant pestering and trying to pressure him to act. He actually hated the fact that his goddess wanted to 'capture' Vahn alive because it annoyed him greatly that she was so interested in an 'inferior' man. Remembering the 'taunting' letter from before, the man's eyes glinted with a cruel light as he walked through the group of near-death Adventurer's that he had been toying with earlier. Placing his foot on the head of the group's leader, the man said, "If you want to blame anyone, blame that stupid brat for your tragic end!" before stomping down and crushing the Adventurer's skull. He began laughing like a deranged madman before tormenting the remaining survivors to release some of his pent-up frustration...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'S-Rank Battle Bikini ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)','Lili likes domination...','Angry Boi Reeeeeee')
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=14397149
paypal.me/Einlion
Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh