Store in Danmachi: 53 (Patreon)

Title: The Path Forward

Shamelessness is a skill Jackal is only beginning to master, and it’s not based on his inherent aptitude for saying the wildest thing to others around him—that speaks more about his recklessness. Jackal feels his cheeks stinging as he leads a small party into the Dungeon. Why won’t he? He is getting paid for his time—The Takemikazuchi Familia.

But that’s not the cause of Jackal’s slight embarrassment that he suppresses firmly. As it turns out, English doesn’t always translate well into Koine, and his songs may sound jarring. It won’t stop Jackal. He is happy to enter the Dungeon since the Familia asked him to ‘introduce’ them to the dangers of the lower floor. They could always turn to the Guild’s advice, but the Guild earned itself distaste from Take’s Familia after recent events. Not that it would ever matter to the Guild. Not to mention Jackal, Eina, Rose, and Misha are good Dungeon Advisors in their own right. Yet, a peppy song echoes on the illuminated moss-covered ninth floor of the Dungeon, even if the contents sound more cynical to the listeners.

“Welcome to your life♪ There’s no turning back.♪”

“Even while we sleep, we will find you.♪”

“Acting on your best behavior, turn your back on Mother Nature♪ Everybody wants to rule the world!♪”

“Lili-dono,” Mikoto whispers to an ill-tempered Lili. “Does Jackal-Dono always sing?”

“Not always,” Lili walks alongside the rest of the group. Jackal made everyone agree he would kill the monsters in the Dungeons until they encountered their first Infant Dragon. The rest accepted reluctantly, especially Ouka and Lili—The former is already a Level 2 Adventurer, while the latter is eager to display her growth to Jackal.

“He sounds so carefree,” Ouka frowns. “Should he not be more attentive? Just because he can breeze through the upper floors shouldn’t mean he is above the risks of many unknown accidents bred within the Dungeon.”

Before Lili could explain the matter, Jackal skids across with his boots, ax gripped in his hand as he times his slash, his tone growing louder to drown the discontent and curiosity as he starts feeling the groove. The song he is singing feels too good inside the Dungeon!

“It's my own design♪ It's my own remorse.♪♪”

“Help me to decide♪ Help me make the most.”

*Slash*

His ax cleaves through the shadowy War Shadow— who barely sneaks out of the Dungeon Wall, more powerful than its counterpart on the higher floors, but the ax shatters its magic stone as the ashes of the monster form a small mound on the ground.

“Of freedom and of pleasure♪ Nothing ever lasts forever.♪”

“Everybody wants to rule the world!♪♪”

“There's a room where the light won't find you.♪”

“Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down♪ When they do,♪ I'll be right behind you.♪♪”

“So glad we've almost made it♪ So sad they had to fade it.♪”

“Everybody wants to rule the world!♪♪♪”

“Jackal-Dono?” A curious voice cuts the performance of his life as he looks back with a hearty smile, feeling refreshed as the song continues to replay in his mind and create one heck of a guideline for the world he was in and is now living in!

“Yea?” He slings his cheap ax across his shoulder as Mikoto chews her lips in nervousness. Other looks at her curiously as she whispers, “Do you want to?”

He peers into her nervous purple orbs as the honest kunoichi-like woman with a side ponytail voices fully. “When you sang, you seemed the most excited about the last bit. Do you want to rule the world?”

Lili blinks in surprise. Engrossed with how the song revealed the true nature of humans and demi-humans, she never considered the notion.

Jackal snickers as he half-shrugs. “Didn’t you hear? Nothing lasts forever! So, what use is conquering and ruling when I can spend my time better.”

“Exploring the Dungeon?” Mikoto tilts her head as Jackal scoffs and shakes his head.

“Exploring the world, setting up shops, and hiring the cutest babes around as my employees!” He winks at Lili, “Isn’t that right, Lili-Sama?”

“It would have been fine if it was just employment, Jackal-sama!” Lili whines with a pout, wearing her hoodie in the representation of boycotting Jackal’s smile. “But you’re sharing your room, too! It’s unacceptable!” The righteous, self-acclaimed Spear of the Butcher ignores how ironic the situation sounds.

“Heh,” Asuka snickers, “We can be considered your employees, too. That means you’re cute, Captain Ouka.~” She pokes fun at her Familia’s captain with a teasing smirk as the man shifts uncomfortably, squaring his shoulders, “No, I’m not!”

Lili looks at the illicit flirting occurring in front of her eyes. For all it is Holy, Lili would want some of that with Jackal, but she resists the urge—Lili isn’t here to wag her ass! She would wag her perky treat in a heartbeat, but damn it, she’s got to act like a spear! There is already one slut who wags her ass around Jackal, and Lili refuses to fall as low as Loki!

“Right, right,” Jackal cringes, “Stop your flirting. We’re in the Dungeon. You guys can’t take it easy.”

Ouka and Asuka flinch before red filters their cheeks as Chigusa glances at the duo, her hair hiding her worried eyes.

“We aren’t flirting!” Ouka snaps.

“Y-yeah!” Asuka grumbles. “And you’re singing without care! We should be telling you to take the Dungeon seriously!”

Lili shakes her head. Jackal used to sing a few times while the duo prowled in the Dungeon, so she knows he becomes even keener when singing as if solely focused on one task!

‘Tch,’ Jackal scorns Ouka, forgetting to stare at the mirror today as he grumbles internally, ‘Lucky Bastard!’

Unwilling to see unholiness continue in his wake, Jackal dismisses the group’s other queries, “We’re only here for two hours, but we’ll only have about 20-30 minutes on the last two floors. I need to hunt one Infant Dragon AT LEAST. We have to pick our speed since the floors become more complicated as we descend.”

“Hmph,” Asuka snorts, tossing Jackal a stink eye, grumbling loud enough for the rest to hear. “I don’t interrupt when Maria flirts with you.”

“What flirting?” Jackal scoffs. “I can barely get her to—”

He turns silent as they walk. Meanwhile, Asuka goads, “Yeah, think! What can’t you get from her? She keeps talking about you whenever I train her in basic self-defense.”

“And the towel.” Lili points out with a pout.

“Yep!” Asuka nods. “Towel.”

“What about the towel?” Jackal looks behind curiously as Ouka expresses his confusion, too. “Isn’t it just a towel? Chigusa also gives me a towel when I get sweaty after training.”

“And I always carry a towel,” Mikoto nods, confused.

The other two men of the group, whose names Jackal can’t remember for the life of him, speak a bit, too, as Chigusa blushes and turns her face away when Lili and Asuka glance in the girl’s direction.

“No wonder,” Asuka huffs, shaking her head as Lili piles on, “And then he associates himself with the likes of Takemikazuchi-sama and Miach-sama!”

“What’s wrong with Takemikazuchi-sama, Lili-Dono?” Mikoto inquires curiously.

“You wouldn’t understand.” Lili and Asuka speak simultaneously, empathic of the other’s dilemmas as Jackal shrugs. “Let’s get going. Learn from Chigusa. She is still silent and attentive to her surroundings.

The blushing girl wakes from her stupor, stammering in whispers, “Th-thank you.”

“Good job, Chigusa!” Ouka snickers, warmly smacking the back of her shoulder as her fair face blushes harder while Asuka and Lili stare at the silent seductress with open mouths.

---

*GRSHAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH*

A reptilian shriek mixes into a primal roar as the group watches dumbly. Corpses of Orcs, Imps, Silverbacks, Bad Bats, and Hard Armoreds trail behind the path taken by Jackal. In front of them is a wide pool of blood unhindered by the heavy mist covering the floor as a massive frame cries out its last breath before its head impacts the ground.

It was no fight.

Ouka, Mikoto, and Lili stare quietly. A chill jolts their spine. They face countless monsters on the higher floors, but the group has never seen someone making a Monster buckle on its knees with a look—slaughtered! None could match Jackal!

‘So, most ‘Level 2’ monsters are weak to the Spirit of Conqueror. But it also has moderately heavy consumption over my reserves unless I keep things efficient as I practiced with Take. The trick is to keep the ‘aura’ in a line than to let it spread,’ Jackal contemplates as he silently removes the fist-sized magic stone from the Infant Dragon’s chest as the giant corpse dissipates into ashes, leaving a long tooth.

‘Infant Dragons are physically stronger than most ‘Level 2’ monsters in the deeper floors, but their physical power fails in the face of Ligerfang’s agility or Minotaur’s combat intelligence. Maybe the Infant Dragon is also mentally weak. I mean, ‘Infant’ is in its name. But this also makes me wonder if my Spirit of Conqueror’s output is related to the ‘amount’ of Mind and energy used, or does it include my mental strength?’

Questions for later. Jackal came here to see if he could spam his trick and quickly kill Infant Dragons to saturate the Monster’s power into his body. If this wouldn’t work, Jackal planned to return to his usual trick of using the ‘Death Sight’ and strike the monster’s ‘Threads of Weakness.’

“We are lucky to have 40 minutes,” Jackal looks back at the group and smiles. “You guys want to practice tactics, right? Clear the corpses, and I will be around hunting for Infant Dragons.”

Jackal gazes at Lili before she can speak, “And you’re with me, Lili. Let’s see you handling Imps with that spear of yours.”

“I can even face Silverbacks!” She sticks her chest out proudly as Jackal nods and gently smiles, “Sure, you can.”

“I’m speaking the truth!”

“Of course, and I believe you.”

“Jackal-sama!” She groans before clenching her spear and shaking her head. The results will speak for themselves! “Let’s go!”

Jackal smirks and looks at Take’s Familia. “Shout my name if you need me. I’ll be there in jiffy.”

Ouka nods, understanding they could need Jackal’s assistance since only he is suited to be on this floor. As they leave, Mikoto’s sharp ears pick another tune from Jackal’s direction, making her glance over her shoulder in curiosity. She saw Jackal bodying Soma for the first time, but Takemikazuchi only beat the man since the start of their training. And when Jackal trains with others, he likes aiming for the crotch or their clothes exclusively, so the current massacre is eye-opening for Take’s Familia. While Mikoto despised how Orario called a man so kind a ‘Butcher,’ she is starting to believe it’s not out of disrespect—but facts.

“What a man,” Mikoto mutters to the rest of the group, “I would have liked for others in the Orphanage to meet Jackal-Dono.”

“Maybe they will,” Ouka smiles, recalling fond memories of his home, “We are earning enough money as is. We will earn more money as we get more powerful.”

“But we have to risk our lives to become more powerful,” Asuka sighs. Not everyone is a born warrior eager to face constant challenges. “That’s how Falna works, right? Breaking our limits to earn excelia and becoming stronger only to face new challenges.”

The group turns silent until Mikoto hums softly, “Everybody wants to rule the world.♪”

Others glance at her as the woman smiles widely. “I think I like the song’s melody.”

---

The subsequent 40 minutes pass uneventfully to a certain extent for Jackal. But the same doesn’t apply to the rest. Lili fails to compete against a Silverback. It wasn’t surprising. Her skills are surprisingly great—too great, in fact! But she lacks the proper gears and stats to compare to a Silverback. But she made a quick work of the Imps. Orcs are generally harder for her to face, but she can kite around an Orc at a time until spearing its legs enough times to make it tumble down and stabbing it from the back of its neck.

Take’s Familia fared better. While they barely survived a Silverback without asking for assistance since the monster was intelligent enough to retreat from Ouka and target the rest—proving to be a massive pain—they had moderate success with Orcs, Imps, and Bad Bats. They managed to slay a Hard Armored, marking the end of their forty minutes.

As for Jackal? He didn’t find another Infant Dragon. But finding one is already a great boon. A few more, and he will have quite the boost to his body! The Infant Dragons are as rare as a Blue Papilio, so finding one in such a brief interval will only work if Jackal has luck in store, too—which he admittedly spent the second his house became the landing zone for his girlfriends and a few more. But he did not waste his time.

The Secondary Effect of the Excretion portion of the trait should allow him to use the Spirit of Armament! He spent his time thinking of ways to achieve that! He can finally have a magic system of his own—Chantless Magic—at that. Why would Jackal squander his time? It’s a precious resource.

So, he recalled what he knew about the skill—a transparent armor around his body. But the thing is that it’s hard to visualize it. Chimpanzee C. Buffy would always have a ‘black’ armor coating over his body or weapons when it comes to other characters. There’s also the problem of visualizing the type of armor itself. Should he research iron like Nen from PreyXPrey? He can already imagine the feeling of energy wrapping around his body since he could eject massive Getsuga Tenshou. But what about the rest? The essence of the Armament is to wear brass knuckles that allow the user to hit harder, but this time without injuring their firsts in any manner—offense, and defense!

So, he dropped the idea of ‘researching’ Iron.

But then it hits him.

‘Durandal.’

Sure, Durandal is an attribute and not a material, but ‘Superiors’ crafted with Durandal boasts the highest strength, right?

He can find an item with Durandal or learn the base materials needed to have Durandal smithed on the item!

‘There are also metals like Adamantine, and hmm, what was it? Orichalcum? The stuff is supposed to be a super-secret alloy. Only a few Smiths know its components. But,’ Jackal narrows his eyes, his gaze tracing Lili’s worked-up butt as she fought against a group of Imps, his thoughts in a state of enlightening flow.

‘Why stop at Durandal? There are monster hides nigh impenetrable, right? Dragon scales, Unicorn hides—wait!’

A magic lamp lights in his mind as he blinks.

‘What if I use the Monster Phantom with Haki? What if I coat myself with a Haki as tough as an Infant’s Dragon and use the Infant Dragon Phantom?’

His trait can synergize with its aspects! For instance, when Jackal uses Butterfree Era with a Blue Papilio’s phantom, it nullifies the use of Mind to use the item since the Phantom already consumes his mind! The same is true for the shields and armors of Dungeon Lizards and Hard Armoreds! It means the Secondary Effects of his trait’s Digestion synergizes with the primary effect of Excretion. What about the Secondary Effects of both features?

He struck gold!—Jackal’s urge to find an Infant Dragon increases. But he understands the fallacy of his thoughts.

Infant Dragon is only the stopgap. There are monsters like Crystal Mantis with great resistance to Magic. Will the Armament learned from Crystal Mantis’ body also be resistant to magic? He could body the likes of Nine Beefiness!

‘Holy fuck,’ Jackal draws a gasp as Lili’s ears perk further as she sticks her ass out even more, not knowing the truth, ‘I’ll be fucking op in a few years!’

As stated, Jackal didn’t waste his time. Since he didn’t find another Infant Dragon, Jackal used the Hard Armored Pendant to create armor on his torso to ‘study’ it. Of course, he isn’t a great intellectual, so this ‘research’ included touching, tracing, and even breaking the scales to lick and understand their texture!—Just like a red-eyed female chain user in PreyXPrey!

---

*Step*

*Step*

*Step*

Clear footsteps echo in one of the darkening alleys of Daedalus Street as the dusk turns dimmer, giving way to a breathtaking starry night above Orario. A Blonde Deity looks at the cloaked individual, waving, “Yo, Norn. Glad you could make it.”

“I didn’t have much of a choice, did I?” The cloaked man shrugs. “I hear you want me to step out of Orario again?”

“Hmm, I do. You will encounter Artemis Familia as long as you keep track of Aphrodite Familia. Send me a notice if anything changes with Artemis Familia,” Hermes nods, recalling his intuition when viewing the moon. But he is starting to sense more. Trouble is brewing, and Hermes wished Artemis alone was in the center of it all! But there is something else he can’t put a finger on—A breath of death, destruction, and demise.

The cloaked man huffs as Hermes regathers his thoughts, snickering, “You’ll get paid! Geez, other Familia members pay their Deities, not the other way around.”

Norn snorts, “Well, we’re professionals, right? Anyway, I’ll take the job. How are you and Asfi doing babysitting the orphanage.”

“Just great,” Hermes smiles, tossing a Butterfree Era in the man’s direction as Norn catches it with ease.

“A bonus,” Hermes smiles. “Thank you for being so kind to me like always, Norn.”

Norn grows silent before taking off his hood—a black-haired dark elf!

“You’re the kind one, Hermes,” Norn mutters as he wears the pendant like a locket around his neck before covering his features under the hood again. “Let me add to my kindness. There are rumors in the Entertainment District that Ishtar’s Berbera is facing some internal issues.”

“And you know something more aside from rumors?” Hermes smiles knowingly.

Norn nods.

“Berbera’s leader dropped Goliath alone and reached Rank 4.”

“But?” Hermes questions eagerly like a gossip his divinity represents.

“There was a gap between Phryne and others since the former tried and successfully killed other Rank 4 Adventurers of her Familia who threatened her position. But Berbera’s leader is Ishtar’s strongest force and the greatest attraction.”

“Just stop with the tease!” Hermes rolls his eyes with a smirk.

Norn snickers under his breath.

“The Amazoness is taken, Hermes,” Norn states breezily. “Make of the information what you will. Of course, I wouldn’t know who could be the cause of such a sudden change. And others of Berbera are riled up, you know. Amazon and all. They are streaking the streets of the Entertainment District to find their fated ones.”

“Ah!” Hermes sighs.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Hermes groans. “I’m just lamenting. Hmm. How should I put it? In mortal’s terms, I’m lamenting how lucky a Bastard can get!”

Norn shrugs, “Anything else?”

“No, just keep an eye for Artemis.”

“Hmm,” Norn nods and leaves as Hermes' light-hearted nature disappears and he looks at the sky, seeing a small portion of the crescent moon.

‘There is something else brewing around you, Artemis. And it’s dangerous. I only felt this around the heroes of the Golden Age left years ago. It feels warm and bright, but the absolute hint of fate and death around this veneer of brightness is troubling.’

He shakes his head, thinking of something else.

‘I wonder when she will lose her patience and just challenge Jackal again.’

After all, Amazons are a simple breed. They only know of a few primal things, unlike their sophisticated and well-renowned Goddess and Spiritual Leader.

***

Alternate Title: Jackal Brings Some Cultured Tears for Fears in Koine Language; Conquering the World? No! Jackal Just Wanna Conquer Some Bad Bitch—ehm, Employees!; A Curious Kunoichi; The Butcher of the Dungeon; Asuka’s Unholy Flirtations!; Maria and Chigusa Low-Key Using the Towel Tactic!; They Know What They Are Doing… Except Jackal, Ouka, and Mikoto; Mikoto is too Pure—Must Corrupt!; The Nature of Humanity—Nothing Lasts Forever; Butchering Infant Dragon; Dragon Buckles Under a Conqueror’s Stare; Jackal is Orario’s Butcher Not Out of Disrespect but Facts—Ollie Can Attest; Jackal’s House is Ground Zero For Harem!; Chicks Gonna Crawl in Lili’s Space IN Jackal’s Bed; Lili Must Find A New Spot… on Jackal; Eager to Show-Off… Silverback: Denied!; Lili Must Be A Proper Spear… But the LewdSide is Calling Her; Loki to Lili: Wag Your Ass, Oshiri-Chan, We Have Cookies in the LewdSide; Take’s Familia Grow; Haki; Bestial Armament Haki; A Way To Continuous Improvement; Kirapuca from PreyXPrey is the Chain User; Fuck Durandal, We Can Have the One-Eyed Black Dragon Armor; Jackal Needs A Good Smith Regardless; Lili’s Butt is a Way to Enlightenment; Lili Sticks Out Further, Half a Step into LewdSide; Lili Has Enlightening Rizz; Whoa, Lili is Actually Strong? Jackal: Yabe; Hermes’ Troubling Intuition; A Goddess Surrounded By Fate, Legacy, Heroism, and Death; Ishtar’s Dilemma; A Rank 4 Adventurer’s Bachelor Nights Close Indefinitely; A Horde of Eager Amazons?; The Kind God and Adventurer; Follow Aphrodite’s Ass For Artemis’ Ass—Hermes’ Advice to Jackal Probably

***

A/N: I will be writing a few side chapters to tie some characters in, including a few masturbation scenes and what not.

Ps. I only call them side chapters because they may or may not be shorter than usual and may be heavily leaning on the pov of other characters, but if possible, don’t skim them since they tie into the usual chapters. Again, side chaps mostly tend to have one smut scene at least.