Chương 24: We got another one lads
Shout-out to my new patron:
Kraxis93
You are a legend!
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I left Hephaestus's office with my copy of the contract rolled up underneath my arm. Gale was on my back once again and I had a large smile on my face. Tsubaki was sitting on a chair, flicking through some book before she glanced up and saw me.
"Hey Garth. That took quite a while." She said.
I had made my way to the first door, and paused to look at her to reply.
"We both got carried away doing other things. But we're done now."
The half-dwarf raised an eyebrow an eyebrow at me before her eyes narrowed and a mischievous smile spread across her face.
"Carried away doing what exactly?"
"Nothing momentous. At least I don't think. But expect Hephaestus to act out of character for a little while."
"Why is that?"
"You'll know when you see her. Bye for now."
I walked out of the door. before I closed it, I heard her mumble in reply.
"Yeah. Bye."
The door clicked shut and that would be the last time I'd see her for a bit.
---
(General POV)
Tsubaki stared after him as he left, her brows furrowed in confusion. Her single visible eye flicked between the door he came from and the door he left, perplexed and intrigued at what had happened.
She didn't really know what to think of him, that boy. Despite his seemingly friendly nature, he carried an air of mystery around him as well that slightly put her on guard.
And as a first class adventurer, even she could sense the aura of power that constantly surrounded him. Even when he wasn't pulling off absurd feats of magic, she could still couldn't forget the feeling she had when he created that giant barrier.
A wave of power had gone throughout Orario itself, and slammed into the Mind pools of every adventurer around. The pressure that had been put on her was something she doubted would leave her anytime soon.
Judging by how he responded to her hug earlier, he didn't seem at all like a bad person. But the aura he carried still had an element of danger to it. So she'd decided to sit outside the office room in case something happened.
She doubted anything would happen, and she even further doubted she would actually be able to do anything to stop him. But she owed Hephaestus everything, and like a grateful child was willing to put her life on the line for her.
And so she sat there, entertaining herself but keeping herself aware using her enhanced senses to the fullest to pick up on even the slightest bit of ill will or bad intent. But nothing happened, at least nothing that she could pick up on.
Though now she was beginning to question herself due to his mysterious words. She stood up and tossed the book somewhere she didn't both to check and marched trough Hephaestus's office door.
If she had paid more attention, she would have seen that she'd flung it out of the window.
Walking through the door she paused and looked around. The office was empty, although she could clearly see a quill that was still resting on a stack of papers instead of an inkwell.
"Hephaestus?" She called out. She did not receive a reply.
Her eyes flitted further to her right and landed upon the book shelves. One of them had been drawn back in to reveal a secret room on the other side.
'What were they doing in her forge?'
She peeked inside round a bookshelf and found Hephaestus standing in front of a window, motionless. She tentatively stepped inside, feeling something was off.
"Hephaestus?" she asked again.
Upon moving closer, her eyes widened as she realized something. Well two things actually. One was that she saw one of the goddess's hands holding that infamous eyepatch she was known to wear. Tsubaki was confused, as not even she had ever seen the eye which her patron hid from view.
The other thing she noticed was the Hephaestus's cheek, the side that was visible to her was red and damp. Tsubaki gasped as she saw a tear leak out of the goddess's eye, roll down her skin and glint in the sunlight before dropping with a small splash on the floor.
"Boss, what did he do to you? Are you okay?"
Hephaestus sighed and her shoulders sank. At last she turned around to look at her Captain, And the Collbrande froze in shock and awe as for the first time in her many years of service to this Familia, she saw the full face of her goddess.
The person who stood before her was not somebody who should have possessed the insecurities Hephaestus did. Nor should it be someone who dressed like a man most of the time.
She was breathtakingly beautiful. Now that both her eyes were visible, Tsubaki could see how much their crimson colour stood out in her face an an alluring way, complimented by her fiery hair.
The tears that were rolling down fresh soft skin on the right side of her face suddenly looked like pearls shining in the sunlight. Tsubaki's cheeks reddened as she took in the sight of her goddess, in the state she'd known she'd pined for for millennia.
Hephaestus sighed again and decided to answer her Captain.
"I'm fine Tsubaki...In fact, I've never been better."
---
(Garth POV)
I wiped a bead of nervous sweat off my forehead as I stepped out of Babel Tower. The moment I'd locked the door behind me, I'd teleported to the bottom floor and came out behind a corner.
I didn't expect any confrontation to happen, bit I didn't want to be in any awkward situation. Tsubaki was inevitably going to check up on Hephaestus, and I didn't want to be around for any drama that may occur, so I just zipped out of there as fast as I could.
To be honest, it hadn't been a pretty sight for sure. But unlike what I'd heard from other people, I wasn't grossed out at all. As a matter of fact, I was rather unaffected by it despite the disturbing sight.
The skin around the eye had become pale, and was festering with warts full of pus. The eyelids were somehow dry and chapped, which gave me the impression that it was extremely itchy. And the eye itself...well, it was definitely not human looking. Let's put it that way.
And yet for all that, I was completely unfazed. All I'd done was immediately cast [DISPEL CURSE]. But being a lower tier magic spell, it didn't work. I literally felt the hope seep out of her before I held up my hand again and cast [GREATER DISPEL CURSE]. Again it didn't work.
I saw Hephaestus resign herself in disappointment. But I was not going to let that happen, so I did the ZA WARUDO and froze time. (Actually I just cast [TIME STOP]). I scrolled through my list of spells to see if I could find another spell which I could break the curse with. Finding none that weren't super tier spells, I resorted to my last card.
I unfroze time and put my hand to her face. Inwardly, I activated Orlen's unimaginable power. This bit of rotted skin and pus slowly slid off her face. They disappeared before they hit the floor, leaving fresh rosy skin underneath.
It was little strange seeing fresh healthy skin next to older one but it was only noticeable if someone were standing up close. The demonic eyeball disappeared, revealing a crimson eye identical to her other one.
Sparing no moment, I grabbed my small mirror out of my inventory. I hadn't used this thing since the day I arrived. Seeing her face in the mirror, she couldn't help but touch her face, trying to see if it was an illusion or not.
I guess not feeling any wart nor feeling any pus, plus seeing they eye itself was what made it finally real to her. She'd burst out into sobs and cries and sank to her knees, gripping the ends of my waistcoat while howling in pain and relief.
I'd only just managed to cast a silencing spell in time. What happened afterwards...it was probably not one of my best moments nor was it hers. But rest assured, if nothing else, I had a new permanent ally, and the Freya Familia gained further means of support.
Having had enough excitement for today, I exited babel tower and slowly began walking in the direction of Folkvangr. Before I'd gone ten paces, I heard somebody shout at me.
"Oi you little fraud! Where do you think you're going?"
I felt the blood pulse in my forehead as I turned around to see a skinny little gimp making rude gestures while beckoning me to come closer. When I refused, he started advancing towards me, sauntering in a way that looked more retarded than intimidating.
I clenched my fist and grit my teeth to the point they creaked. I'd hit my limit of these ingrates harassing me wherever I went. This would have been the last one!
However, before he reached any short distance of me, we both heard a whistling sound. We both looked around confused at what it was. Focusing more on it, I realized it was the sound of something falling.
And he seemed to realize it too but a second too late as something bonked him on the head, knocking him clean out. He collapsed on the floor with his eyes rolling around. I ignored him though to see what it was that had landed on him.
'A book?'
Who would throw a book out of a window? Judging by where it came from, it could only have come from Babel. But as I looked up the height of that entire tower, I could see several windows open. There was no way I could tell who had thrown that.
I shrugged and continued homeward, silently thanking whichever blockhead indirectly took care of the other blockhead for me, and saved me the trouble of dealing with him myself.
---
I was halfway home before I came across a familiar face coming out of a bakery with a loaf of bread under his arm. Unequipped with his spear, but he was till wearing his usual outfit.
"Hey Finn." I waved over to him.
People saw me waving over to him and they began whispering amongst themselves. I heard a few bit here and there.
"He knows the Loki Familia captain?"
"Well of course he does idiot. He's the most powerful adventurer in the city!"
"Which one?"
"The taller one obviously. Where was your head during the meteor incident?"
"I had too many drinks..."
"Moron."
Shaking my head at this random piece of convo I'd locked on to, I saw Finn acknowledge me and walk across the road to me.
"Hey Garth. What's up?"
"Nothing much. Just came back from signing a deal with Hephaestus."
"Selling more of that special metal of yours?"
"How many times do I have to tell you that it's normal iron?"
"You've said that enough times already. But it doesn't change that it's iron from outside this world. That's what makes it so special."
I shook my head.
"Anyway, what are you doing?"
"Just came to pick up some bread to have with dinner tonight. Going to be eating a whole lot tonight."
"Any particular reason why?"
"Our expedition begins tomorrow?"
My eyebrows raised in surprise. Wasn't there supposed to be a couple more days left until that?
"Shouldn't there be at least two more days until that happens?"
Finn rubbed the back of his head chuckling to himself.
"Yeah. But Riveria scheduled it early. I'll be the one who has to lead everyone on this dive, and it's really a pile of work to bear with. Probably her way of getting back at me for putting all that paperwork on her shoulders that other day."
I laughed at him, while holding my sides.
"That's why you shouldn't shed responsibilities Finn. What goes around comes around after all. By the way, what is she doing with that bit of metal she asked from me?"
Finn shook his head exasperatedly.
"She's trying to see if otherworldly iron has any magical properties. And while she hasn't found anything yet, she's adamant on finding out. She's probably going to take it with her into the dungeon."
"Sounds like her."
We stood in silence for a bit before an idea hit me. I'd been a little bored lately, and I needed something to cheer me up. This was good an opportunity as any other.
"So where exactly is this expedition going to?"
"We'll be going down with some members of the Hephaestus and Goibniu Familia down to Rivira. That's a small town built on the 18th floor. We'll mostly be harvesting materials for them to collect and make stuff with. Some will be sold in Rivira and the rest will be brought back to the surface. We may go to the lower floors as well to try and collect drops from the monsters down there and possible try and kill a few Monster Rexes to raise the level of some of our Familia members. That's not determined though."
"You wouldn't mind if I tagged along?"
Finn held up a hand to his chin.
"I don't see what's wrong with it. Though if you do come, it'll be up to you to collect the cores you earn. We won't be able to help you in that regard unless you hire one of our supporters."
"That's understandable. So what time you heading down?"
"Well try and meet us outside Babel at midday if you can. We'll leave sometime later than that, so it would probably be best if you met us at the start."
"Will do."
"Looking forward to it. With your insane Level, we might be able to breeze through the floors and come back in half the time needed."
"How did everyone react when they found out?" I asked.
"Well, we were taken aback for sure. I' be lying if I said we didn't disbelieve and disregard it as fraud and madness. " Finn sighed. "But after that performance of yours with the meteor, I don't think anybody is going to disbelieve it any more, me included."
He then looked at me inquisitively.
"Tell me Garth. How exactly did you destroy it?"
"I just punched it."
"...Yeah. What other answer should I have expected? I'll tell everyone you'll be coming. They'll certainly be excited I'm sure, Ais especially."
I raised a brow.
"Why do you say that?"
Finn chuckled and shifted the bread under his other arm.
"Don't know if you've realized it. But Ais has become a little infatuated with you lately. I know for a fact she thinks about you a lot."
"I wonder why."
"As do I. Well, my dinner is calling me. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"And my dinner is also calling me. I'll meet you at noon. It's going to be my first expedition after all. I'll be relying on you to guide me around the lower floors."
"Sure thing. See ya."
He waved to me and walked away. I set my course back to the Meteor Tower. Upon arriving home, I found Freya reading in my bed. She looked up at me as I entered, smiling.
"Welcome back Odr. How much did you make this time?"
"A few billion Valis richer today than I was yesterday."
She giggled as I looked at her questioningly.
"I didn't think that your skill would that part of it's perks so soon." She said while giving me a side eye.
"Huh?"
"Remember, 'Vanadis Odr' increases the chances of you becoming wealthier in the near future and brings about plenty of opportunities to do so?"
I facepalmed in realization. I was so invested in trying to figure out the other perks of that skill, I'd completely forgotten about the most straightforward one.
"You forgot didn't you?"
"Yes. I'm afraid I did. By the way, I'll be going with the Loki Familia on an expedition tomorrow. I'm meeting them outside Babel at midday."
She gave me an intrigued look.
"Oh? Your second time in the dungeon and you're already taking on something like that?"
"What do you expect? Look at my level and the reputation I've made for myself. I can't imagine anybody not doing the same in my position, nor can I imagine anybody turning me away from partaking."
She narrowed her eyes at me.
"Will the Sword Princess be there?"
I nodded.
"Yes, she will. What of it?"
"No funny business, you hear me?"
"She's one of the people I plan on recruiting for my harem, so I'm afraid that is not possible."
Freya huffed and threw the book at me. It bounced off my face and hit the floor. She kissed her teeth at seeing that.
"What's the point of trying to get my point across if I cannot even hurt you?"
"Maybe don't try to get your point across?"
Freya pouted and folded her arms.
"But I'M your wife. I am all you need. Why are you so hell bent on building a harem?"
"I'm only half serious about it. I mostly just do it to wind you up and keep you on your toes."
"You're heartless."
"Kettle meet pot."
"What?"
"You won't get it."
I pulled the covers off of her exposing her to the cold air and gave her a shock.
"Now come on, I'll be cooking tonight. With cinnamon rolls for dessert as well."
She gave me a bewildered look.
"Cinnamon rolls? What are those?"
My jaw dropped.
"You don't know what a cinnamon roll is?!"
She shook her head. I grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the bedroom.
"Then my goddess, allow me to enlighten you."
"At least let me get changed first!"
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