Chương 3: Chapter 3: Unexpected Preparations
(This chapter was uploaded on Sunday 23/June/2024 8:10 PM, timezone GMT+3)
A reminder: The skill names I write in the falnas of my characters are NOT literal translations. They are mostly rough translations by combining individual words that would be written differently had they been put together from the beginning.
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('1), ('2), ('3), etc. means that there is some explaining for the thing in the chapter's footnotes.
"..." small moment of silence.
"Talking"
[Different Language Dialogue] (What language it is: Accent if necessary)
"He-" Someone was interrupted.
'Inner Dialogue'
{Skills' names, chanting, spell keys and spells' names}
(PoV)
(Flashback, including the text)
Don't shy from commenting on typos and/or inconsistencies. That and/or suggesting a modification to certain things that didn't make sense to you.
I hope you enjoy reading this chapter.
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(Day 3, morning)
(3rd person PoV)
"So, we meet again, lord Ganesha" Henryk said as he was invited back into Ganesha's office for the second time.
"I'm happy to see you so soon!" Ganesha welcomed Henryk. It was not often that someone not from his familia came to see him willingly and voluntarily. "What brought you to Ganesha today?"
"I'll be direct with you. I believe lady Artemis's life might be in grave danger, along with her familia members" Henryk said, interlocked fingers covering his mouth and hair shading his eyes, his back hunched forward.
Henryk feared someone would have their eyes on Fey, so he told her to remain silent unless told otherwise. He also had her remain in her usual size, that being 0.62 Ottars (1.3 m). He inspected her back to try and lock her falna, but was positively surprised to see her feathers covering all of it. He had to specifically look for the crest of his familia to be able to find it.
"In what way do you need help? And why shouldn't we be the ones helping her? Don't you think your lone effort might not make it in time?" Ganesha's face lost some of its apparent carefreeness. He gained a strain of seriousness in his voice, which now sounded somber. In spite of that, his smile never parted with his lips.
Henryk took a deep breath before opening his eyes to look directly at Ganesha's own, or where they should be behind his mask.
"That's in part due to a time limit of less than 2 weeks. My method to bypass that lies in my ability to empower Fey using magic stones" Henryk parted his hands and raised his left. He raised three of his left hand's fingers. "By the end of 3 days' time, if your familia agreed to help, she would be as strong as a level 4 monster, or even stronger. And her speed? Much higher than that, since, you know, she flies. All we need are magic stones in large quantities"
"Oh! Then why don't I just take you over to my side without your or Hestia's consent?" Ganesha laughed at Henryk, mockingly so.
"Because you won't. Because for me, the Ganesha I know never puts someone in danger or forces things around while abusing his power. Because, you are not that type of person" Henryk said. He then smiled knowingly, in a carefree manner that was not rude. "And that isn't to mention that you're an honorable god. You already know that I'll be a member of your familia or a close ally. You won't act against the implied patience I perceived in your behavior"
"Buhahaha! I am very pleased by your analysis! Young man!" Ganesha laughed loudly. He wiped a tear from his eyes without showing his face, then returned to the serious mood that was before.
"Let's finalize the agreement. For the help we offer you now, for no monetary gain, you would help us in our time of need. Do you agree to that?" Ganesha asked Henryk without hesitation. He did not care for his image as a god. He cared for the people he protected, his familia and the people of Orario.
"I promise you. As long as it doesn't go against my personal beliefs, I will help when requested" Henryk agreed. He knew that what was to be requested was something he would have helped with regardless.
"You didn't need to put it that way! Hahaha!" Ganesha laughed it off as they shook hands.
"Then, should we start today? Time's of the essence" Henryk said.
Ganesha had a hunch that the magic stones needed will be from the lower and the deep floors. He had his familia members go around the dungeon, gathering magic stones from every floor they could reach before the end of 2 days and a half, including the trip back.
(Day 4, morning)
Today marked the first day of Henryk's plan to rescue Artemis and her familia.
He made his way to Ganesha's home to receive the first of many piles of magic stones. Since he needed many, magic stones from the middle and lower floors were gathered. Ganesha masked it to the public as gathering funds for an expedition, something to be expected from a familia like his.
Ganesha gave Henryk a private room within his home to manage this 'empowering' process, as he called it. The room was totally unmonitored, soundproof, and closely guarded from the outside to prevent interruptions. It was done like that to preserve Henryk's trust in the familia. Ganesha valued his trust as a promising tamer and someone who went out of his way to ask for help when he was not obliged to rescue someone else using the help he got from another.
"Fey, we will start by eating magic stones until we reach a certain point" Henryk said as he started feeding Fey her magic stones.
"Yes! Papa!" Fey ate them while enjoying Henryk spoiling her.
Henryk welcomed the surprise that these magic stones, coming from the middle floors, increased ASP by numbers between 10 and 60, sometimes increasing it by 120 points at once. It took him 69 magic stones to reach the stat-point limit.
(AN: Here is a picture of my Java compiler, for those thinking I chose that number for some double-meaning joke. It was out of my control ╮(╯-╰)╭)
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Name: Fey Williams
Familia: Henryk's Familia
Species: Harpy Eagle
Variant: N/A
Level: 1
STR: I0
END: I81
DEX: I0
AGI: I0
MAG: I0
ASP: 0 --> 4914
Magic:
None.
Skills:
Xenos
Megálo Anástima (Sizable Stature)
Deliniens Plumas (Soothing Plumage)
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'So, we're locked at the maximum points possible, that being 4995 points across 5 stats. And here I hoped my skill broke Fey's limit' Henryk thought wistfully. He imagined how life might be if he could make Fey's progress like Bell's, where he broke not just the record for the fastest rank-up, which Fey will break soon, but also for achieving what was thought to be impossible by breaking the falna's hard number limit.
Henryk distributed the stat points across the board, then fed Fey an extra magic stone.
'It still won't go up, it seems. We should try going to the next level, then' Henryk thought.
As soon as Henryk dripped his blood on Fey's crest, he knew that she was not eligible for a rank-up. He knew that she needed a feat worth ranking-up.
'Stupid rank-up system' Henryk cursed the falna system. He appreciated the gate on increasing one's level since it prevented some criminals from becoming too strong. But that also posed a problem at the moment. Henryk needed to make Fey do something dangerous. He agonized over the thought and was tempted to give up on saving Artemis.
Henryk sighed dejectedly.
"Fey, you will need to do something worth calling an adventure to become stronger. Do you want that?" Henryk wanted to ditch it. But he can tell. He would end up seeing Fey in greater danger if he never allowed her to rank-up.
"Fey wamts to plotect papa!" Fey spelled her words wrong, which was so sudden that it caught Henryk off-guard. He chuckled.
'Cute' Henryk noted internally.
"Then, my brave daughter, we should head to the dungeon" Henryk informed Ganesha that he and Fey would go into the dungeon for something necessary and that they would be back before the end of the day.
Henryk geared up and went to the 9th floor. He relied heavily on Fey's newfound strength and speed to brute-force their way there without much trouble. On the way, he dealt with a war shadow, suffering a slash wound to his left arm. Fey interfered and saved his life before it was taken 'from her'. Henryk used one of the potions Bell bought them from Blue Pharmacy, which was barely enough to close the wound.
'Diluted' That was Henryk's evaluation of the potion's efficiency.
Going past that war shadow, Henryk played mainly as Fey's instructor. His eyes could follow the movements for now. Although he saw afterimages, he could still tell Fey what was coming before it reached her.
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"Papa, where are the mister rabbits?" Fey asked with a tilted head. Her beady black eyes were looking at Henryk expectantly.
'Dangerous eyes, Fey' "They are around here. We need to walk around to find them," Henryk told her as he was looking around them constantly. He feared a monster sneaking up on them and killing him before Fey could act, which was probable.
As they were walking around, they saw what they came for: a pantry.
"Fey, remember our plan?" Henryk said as he was grooming her feathers.
"Yes, papa" Fey was hushing her words as she whispered them. "Fey should attack and become Small Fey to escape if it is dangerous" Fey over-simplified the plan but nailed down the important points.
"Go, Fey. Show them" Henryk said in a low voice. He did not want to unnecessarily attract the monsters' attention to him.
"FIGHD FEY!" Fey entered and screamed her presence.
'Diabetes' Henryk thought as he was shivering. Fey was just too cute; it could give one a heart attack.
Henryk watched as Fey slaughtered the monsters. She flew to the ceiling, which was almost 3 Ottars high (6.3 m high), avoiding many monsters. Any who were brave enough to jump at her met her talons, ending their lives.
Fey got impatient at some point and dove at them. It had an obvious result: a monster jumping on her back and attempting to bite her. But as soon as the monster's teeth were about to reach her, Fey became Small Fey and went behind that monster. Enlarging again, she bit the monster around the neck, severing its arteries. It bled to death.
The fight went on for some more time before Fey had to struggle with the remaining monsters, and that was when Henryk interfered by backstabbing them in complete silence.
Fey left the best for last. She lunged at the last monsters to remain, needle rabbits. She bit on them with so much fervor that she embodied predation at that moment. As it happens, one of the needle rabbits dropped a piece of meat.
'This...' Henryk gazed at the piece of rabbit meat in as much shock as Fey's hunger for it was. 'There was no mention of any monster that drops meat. Amphisbaena drops its liver, but not meat. This's strange. But, regardless, Fey eats it first, and we report it if we find another one later' At that time, Henryk never would have thought that this was the first time in existence that a drop item was a piece of meat. He also never would have known that only Fey would get this drop item and no one else.
"Will Fey allow papa to see her back?" Henryk asked.
"Feei 'll!" Fey munched her words with the piece of needle rabbit meat filling her beak.
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Name: Fey Williams
Familia: Henryk's Familia
Species: Harpy Eagle
Variant: N/A
Level: 1 --> 2
STR: S999 --> I0
END: S999 --> I0
DEX: S999 --> I0
AGI: S999 --> I0
MAG: S999 --> I0
(AN: I will keep development abilities in English, since all of the existing ones are mostly so, at least to my knowledge)
Choice of Development Ability:
> Hunter (AN: Fey just slaughtered an entire pantry. That should be enough)
> Flight
Magic:
None.
Skills:
Xenos
Megálo Anástima (Sizable Stature)
Deliniens Plumas (Soothing Plumage)
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'Just my luck. Fey has the chance to develop {hunter}, an expected result after slaughtering many species of monsters in a single brawl. And then my heart and mind are torn apart when my mind says to pick flight against my heart's word to puck hunter. But many a situation could've been solved if one chose the mind. And, it isn't like not choosing {hunter} now will end things on a bad light. Assuming flight did what I think it did, then it's just as useful. And one never knows when an ability doesn't show henceforth' Henryk thought. He was going to pick a random ability or none at all. Between the 3 options offered, he had to choose quickly before a bunch of monsters showed up since this is a pantry they are in right now.
'Dammit! Flight it is, then! If she can't fight, she could always fly away from it!' Henryk made his choice. It was then that knowledge about possible skills flooded into his mind, with the ability to only form one of them.
'So, the skill meant that I can force a skill to appear regardless of the requirement, huh? Then what would happen if another skill's requirements were fulfilled? Would the skill manifest on its own? Let's pick {Syngeneís Pnévma} for now. Its requirement might take too long for it to be effective anymore' Henryk picked this one for now. He eyed another skill, {Pétagma Velóna}, to pick for the next rank-up. 'If luck's on our side, the next rank-up will be today or tomorrow. That's a day or 2 faster than planned. It's good. I should inform Ganesha about it when we return to his familia's home'
On their way up, Henryk fed the magic stones of the monsters that blocked their path to Fey. It barely increased her ASPs by even 1 point for every few magic stones.
'The same ones to give her 81 points before only gave her a meager 8 points. For what? 14 magic stones? That's a fall, and it's a hard one' Henryk realized a shortcoming in his skill. It required the monsters to hunt stronger monsters or equal ones to become stronger themselves. Hunting the weak isn't worth the effort, it seems. 'Fair, though inconvenient'
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"What I'm saying is that I want to know what monster gave the magic stones and from what floor they came. Can you sort them that way?" Henryk asked a Ganesha familia member. Ganesha himself was out for a matter that necessitated his presence.
"That can be done" As told, the familia member listened to Henryk's request since it was not unreasonable. The use of a simple magic tool will help them identify the magic stones and the floor they belong to.
After they were sorted, Henryk started experimenting. Feeding Fey a few magic stones from each monster species by floor, he noticed a pattern.
'The skill didn't recognize the monster's species but the floor. All species gave the same numbers when they belonged to the same floor. And the magic stones that gave Fey dozens of points only give her up to 9 points now, maybe 18 if we were lucky' Henryk thought.
He mentally noted that magic stones from floors 1-12 were appropriate for level 1 monsters. Those from floors 13-24 were appropriate for level 2 monsters. And if a level 2 monster was given magic stones from floors belonging to a higher monster level, they would increase their points by a large number, something along the lines of 10-60, going up to 120 occasionally.
At the end of that day's evening, Fey reached level 2's peak after devouring nearly 600 magic stones from the middle floors.
'For a peak level 2, she should be able to defeat minotaurs to reach level 3. I'll pepper them with rocks to distract them if needed' Henryk thought. "Fey, we'll go hunt some bulls"
"Yes! Papa!" Fey agreed.
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After somehow managing to kill minotaurs without getting themselves killed, Fey finally fulfilled the condition by killing her 3rd minotaur in a row. Recovering her lost stamina by eating a magic stone helped her immensely.
'This might sound weird to others, but I need to get it out of my system' Henryk thought as he laid eyes on the only minotaur to not die yet, the 11th one. He fed it a magic stone.
He then inscribed it with his falna and fed it another minotaur's magic stone. It resulted in the minotaur's skin turning pitch black and its fur turning as red as blood. It did not stop at that. The minotaur's build also changed. 'This looks more in line with the manga minotaurs, not the anime ones. Shit just escalated, and this one became more intimidating than he should've been'
Henryk took a really deep breath, and opened his mouth to utter the most cursed words to grace his tongue for a long while to come. "They are rage, brutal, without mercy. But you... you will be worse. Against all the evil that the dungeon can conjure, all the wickedness that non-intelligent monsters can produce, I will send unto them... only you. Rip and tear... until it is done!"
(AN: SOMEONE! KILL ME! THE CHEESINESS IS JUST TOO MUCH! I'M DYING INSIDE RIGHT NOW!... As said in last chapter's footnote, no one is to take this minotaur and his bunny from me)
"MUUUU!!!" The minotaur rushed at the closest ligerfang, ripping it in half and showering in its blood unintentionally. "MUUU!!!" He bellowed again before stomping an unsuspecting almiraj that unfortunately descended to the 15th floor at the wrong time. The poor almiraj turned into a mushy puddly of rabbit remains and blood.
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Name: Taurus
Familia: Henryk's Familia
Species: Minotaur
Variant: Bloody Menace
Level: 2
STR: I0
END: I0
DEX: I0
AGI: I0
MAG: I0
Glorious Gore I ('1)
Magic:
None.
Skills:
Thysía Dýnami (Strength of Sacrifice):
Exchanges half of the excellia of agility for strength.
A modifier is applied to STR's real value.
Effusio (Absorption):
Actively imbue the body with properties and abilities stolen from eaten monsters and animals.
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'That's never gonna snowball, is it?' Henryk smiled fondly. His smile hid many morbid thoughts on how to utilize the aftereffects of this one skill of his minotaur.
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Name: Fey Williams
Familia: Henryk's Familia
Species: Harpy Eagle
Variant: N/A
Level: 2 --> 3
STR: S999 --> I0
END: S999 --> I0
DEX: S999 --> I0
AGI: S999 --> I0
MAG: S999 --> I0
Flight I
Silent Raptor I
Magic:
None.
Skills:
Xenos
Megálo Anástima (Sizable Stature)
Deliniens Plumas (Soothing Plumage)
Syngeneís Pnévma (Kindred Spirit):
People become less guarded over time.
Pétagma Velóna (Flying Needle):
Highly increases flight speed in a straight line.
(Line Break)
'This time, it only gave one development ability option, huh?' Henryk thought. Afterwards, he continued to feed Fey more magic sto-
"Fey wants to stop! Papa! Fey wants meat!" Fey threw a tantrum about magic stones boring her. She started thrashing around, allowing her thrashing to carry her limp body around the room.
"Then let's stop. What about tomorrow morning? And I'll get you your favorite meat soon, rabbit meat, more than the bite you had today" Henryk suggested.
"But Fey knows! Nothing's free! What was papa's plan?!" Fey bitterly looked at Henryk, who, in turn, looked ashamed.
"Fey needs to help papa rescue some ladies. They need Fey's help to live" Henryk confessed.
"Fey wants lots of rabbit meat! Enough to last Fey an entire day!" Fey recovered quickly from her act.
'Scary. She knows I'll comply if she does that and uses it in a childish manner' Henryk thought. 'I may need to start curbing that behavior after a while, when she starts growing up mentally'
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After feeding Fey deep floors' magic stones, and fighting monsters from the Large Tree Labyrinth repeatedly, Fey became level 5.
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Name: Fey Williams
Familia: Henryk's Familia
Species: Harpy Eagle
Variant: N/A
Level: 3 --> 4 --> 5
STR: I0 --> S999 --> I0 --> S999 --> I0 --> S999
END: I0 --> S999 --> I0 --> S999 --> I0 --> S999
DEX: I0 --> S999 --> I0 --> S999 --> I0 --> S999
AGI: I0 --> S999 --> I0 --> S999 --> I0 --> S999
MAG: I0 --> S999 --> I0 --> S999 --> I0 --> S999
Flight I --> H
Silent Raptor I --> H
Abnormal Resistance I --> H (She fought Large Tree Labyrinth monsters, known to be largely poisonous/venomous)
Intimidation I
Magic:
None.
Skills:
Xenos
Megálo Anástima (Sizable Stature)
Deliniens Plumas (Soothing Plumage)
Syngeneís Pnévma (Kindred Spirit)
Pétagma Velóna (Flying Needle)
Syntriví Δαγκάνα (Crushing Claw):
Grip strength is twice as strong.
Summus Impulsum (High Impact):
Strikes are thrice as strong.
(Day 6, late morning)
Ganesha had returned by the time Henryk exited the room and was waiting for them. The room's guard informed them. And here they are, standing in Ganesha's room.
"When's the Goliath spawning?" Henryk asked. If it was possible, a quick trip to the boss and back might be more than worth it.
"The Goliath is to respawn within a week from now. But when are you departing?" Ganesha shook his head.
"Then, we'll try something for today. We'll depart tomorrow morning" Henryk answered.
"Fey wants rabbit meat! Papa! Before Fey and papa go to rescue the ladies!" Fey incessantly reminded Henryk after pecking the top of his head. Hearing her talk, Ganesha's smile widened.
"Fine, Fey. But that's only if there was any in the city" Henryk did not expect the city to stock up on that particular type of meat. 'Now he knows. But after our talk this morning, I think it's okay. Let's bet on him not acting up because of it'
"I am Ganesha! And my familia raises wild rabbits for rudimentary taming training!" Ganesha came to the rescue. Henryk, the one intending to rescue someone else, was himself rescued by Ganesha, who was striking a pose for no apparent reason.
'Phew! He seems to be cool with the fact that Fey can talk' Henryk was relieved. It was an extra layer of relief that Ganesha did not pursue it or ask about it.
"Rabbit meat!" Fey screamed in joy. "PIIEEE!!!"She spread her wings wide, victoriously. Her soft, angelic voice (Henryk's delusion) made her charming.
"Haahh..." Henryk sighed. 'My ears hurt. At least, she has her favorite meat now. I can play with my daughter after everything's over, right? Or maybe during the trip? When we're stopping for nighttime?'
(End of Chapter)
'1:
The more caked in blood Taurus is, the more powerful he becomes. And not to be mistaken, the buff of every bit of gore that graces him is permanent, even if washed off.
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So, hear my journey through the last 2-3 days.
Day 1 (Friday):
Finished writing and editing chapter 3.
Decided to hold off uploading it because the end reached a cliff and was hung from it.
Day 2 (Saturday):
Magically finish writing the entirety of chapter 4.
Slept it off because I wanted to do more editing before uploading them, for the sake of consistency.
Day 3 (Sunday, or today if you read the chapter as it came out):
I wrote them in sync with each other but got the short end of a stick when the natural progression of my skill lead to yet another cliff for the chapter to hang itself from.
Decide to make a chapter 3.5, label it as chapter 4, and make the initial chapter 4 into chapter 5 because why not.
And that is basically it.
You can expect the next chapter to come out within a week, not a promise.
A thing to note, I noticed that the status being repeated, prominent in this chapter, is too much to read through repeatedly. If a monster or adventurer had their falna updated in the coming chapters, it will be added at the footnote, here, between the numbered explanations and this section.
Have a nice time, ladies and gentlemen.
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