Dungeon Menagerie 6 (Patreon)

Commissioned by ChaosInfiniteRai

Dungeon Manegerie

Chapter 6

-VB-

‘Humans adapt.’

Despite the fact that Vanessa was a stranger in a strange world living a strange lifestyle the likes of which she had never lived, she found herself growing increasingly bored and, well, adapting to said lifestyle.

The days started to blend together. She woke up early with the sun, ate, went into the dungeon, killed goblins, kobolds, and dungeon lizards, left the dungeon, washed her clothes and sold her loot, ate her fill, and then slept mere hours after the set sun. When the sun rose again, she repeated it all over again. 

It was her life on Earth brought here and put on repeat. 

It was … stifling. She did it to survive, but surviving wasn’t living. She wanted to live! She wanted to do new things, find a man for herself, make beautiful whatever, and … whatever else.

Right now, all of her energy was spent just surviving.

‘Should I join a familia?’ she thought morosely.

She didn’t like being beholden to someone, but right now, she wasn’t in any condition to do anything else but continue … this. 

Not unless she took a big risk.

But there was a problem with that. 

Had it been back home, the risk she took would be in her time and money. She might start up a business or invest in commodities. But here, she had to risk her life. 

She wasn’t sure if she could.

The only reason she went into the Dungeon was because Mori was with her. Mori was scarier than any Upper Floors monsters and even Middle Floors and their bosses. He was closer to an eldritch horror than he was a living being. 

But herself?

If Mori was occupied and a single monster came after her, then she would die and it would happen because a party of one and a half can only keep so many monsters occupied. Hell, she wasn’t even a supporter; at least, they can carry a lot more than she ever could. 

Was this it then? Was this the best she could survive in Orario? Was staying in this city a mistake in and of itself? 

“Oh My Me~!” 

Blinking, Vanessa turned around on her way to the Dungeon and saw someone … fondling Mori.

Mori did not look pleased. In fact, he looked like he was about to bite her head off.

“Mori, don’t!” she shrieked as she rushed to her friend and pushed the girl that had suddenly ambushed her friend. “What’s your problem?!” she demanded angrily at the girl.

The girl, someone who was a little shorter than her with flowing brunette hair and petite figure, looked at her while blinking before doing that Japanese fist hitting palm motion right at her chest level. 

“You are shocked!” 

“Shocked?! What -? What part of not approaching a monster without permission from their friend is not shocking?!”

Everyone in Orario knew that, especially the adventurers.

(Addendum: not everyone knew that. Dumb ones didn’t know that. Dumbe ones died early, leaving the smart ones who knew not to do that. Survival of the fittest left only the smart adventurers who knew not to approach “tamed” monsters without permission, and thus everyone Orario knew that because everyone left in Orario was smart enough to not risk their life or on their way to death and thus irrelevant.)

“Ah, I should be apologizing at this point, I think,” the girl said. She nodded to herself. “I apologize. I am still new to this world!” 

New to this world…?

She blinked. 

“You’re … not from this world?” Like her?

“Indeed! I have freshly descended from the Heavens!” 

Vanessa felt her swelling heart immediately shrivel up as her hope of companionship died. “Ah. Right. Gods and goddesses do that,” she muttered. “... So who are you?”

The goddess in question couldn’t be some kind of goddess of beauty or whatnot. Yeah, she was definitely on the cute side and wore toga that definitely made her stand out among the more medievally-dressed and armed denizens of Orario.

“I am a goddess of wisdo-.”

“Athena?”

The girl stumbled.

“Huh?! How did you know?!”

Vanessa found that it was her turn to blink with surprised pause. “Umm… Greek dress, not ugly, goddess of wisdom, and not blonde?” she blurted out. 

Athena looked at her before crossing her arms and grumbling. 

“But I didn’t think you would be this energetic. Most people think calm and collected when they think of wise.”

Athena pshawed. “Yeah, well, they can go suck it! I am also a goddess of war, you know? Dancing around like a rabbit and striking like a snake is what I do!”

Vanessa stared at her for a moment before nodding slowly. “Right. Eh, right. So what are you doing here?”

Athena struck a pose. “Finding children for my familia, obviously! “

Vanessa stared at her.

And then she got an idea. 

She knew that familias had internal hierarchies and cliques within them, but if she joined a new familia… then wouldn’t she be someone that newcomers would not mess with? Hell, she might even be able to find a good man~! After all, where else was she going to interact a guy without being creepy or clingy for weeks on end to see if he was right for her? 

“Okay.”

Athena stumbled again. “Huh?”

“I’ll join your familia.”

The goddess stared at her. “Wait, aren’t you already in a familia?” she asked while pointing at Mori, who was cawing at Vanessa.

“Nope,” she replied, ignoring her friend’s aggrieved cawing. 

Athena stared at her before growing suspicious. It was clear on her face, though Vanessa wasn’t sure if the goddess was playing that up or not. 

Oh, right. Deities could tell if someone was lying or not, and here she was, not lying but also in “possession” of a tamed “monster.”

“I have my circumstances. I’ll explain it to you after you let me join your familia. I promise it’s nothing too damaging. Deal?” she asked as she extended a hand.

Athena stared at her before nodding resolutely and not a little excitedly. “Deal! Come on, let’s go find a place to give you your falna! I’m so excited, you’re going to be my first -.”

---

“What is this bullshit?” Athena asked with horrified gaze as she somehow felt Mori’s true nature through Vanessa’s falna.

Vanessa sighed. 

She thought it was going to be smooth-sailing but maybe not?

And before she could even get off the bed, she felt something welling up inside of her. She froze.

… Did she eat something bad? Was she about to far-?

But then nothing happened and the feeling subsided.

“Whew,” she let out.

Ah, well. What’s not to like about a few inauspicious events to spice up her life? 

-VB-

Vanessa Meinhardt

Basic Abilities

Strength - I0

Endurance - I0

Dexterity - I0

Agility - I0

Magic - I0

Abilities

Celestial Menagerie. “Let not the mortals dictate your future but these friends you find.” - Friend Summoning through accumulated Essence. Essence: 100.