Power Corrupts: Touch of Divinity (Patreon)

I didn’t expect to wake up with Hestia next to me. I should have, in hindsight. I knew she did it in the anime, and that she was naturally affectionate, but I thought it would take her some time to open up to me. I mean, we met yesterday...then again, we were a familia now. I guess she trusted me by default?

Blinking to clear my hazy vision, I looked down at the slumbering goddess laying on top of me. Her head laying on my chest, her breasts pressing against my stomach while the rest of her body was laying between my legs. The blanket that covered me earlier laid over her, by extension me for the most part, my legs left hanging off the edge. At some point, she started to drool in her sleep because there was a wet patch on my tank top. 

For a long minute, I just stared at her. Everything that happened yesterday catching up with me. I died. I gained a power that I read an unhealthy amount of fanfics about. This was the world of Danmachi and laying on top of me was an actual goddess. I’m not entirely certain that I didn’t have Gamer Mind because that was...okay. Apparently I skipped five of the stages of grief and went straight to acceptance. 

Because what could I do about it now? Nothing. No point worrying about it. Especially when I had other things to worry about. 

Like my rapidly hardening cock that strained against my blue jeans. For once I was grateful that I wasn’t sleeping in the nude like normal. It was pinned between us, jutting off to the side so there was a chance she wouldn’t notice, but it made the base of it ache with strain, wanting to go straight up but Hestia and my pants kept it restrained. 

With my free hand, my other tucked behind my head to offer more support to my head than the lumpy pillow gave, I reached down to it. Pressing against a painfully hard head, I tried to change the angle so that it was a little more comfortable for me. If anything, I made it worse. 

Grimacing, I tried to shift my cock back, stopping when Hestia muttered in her sleep. Right. This plan wasn’t working. I needed another. I needed...to think about something else. Something that wouldn’t make my dick feel like it was about to rip through my jeans. Okay. What could I think about?

Not going to think about my untimely demise or the life I felt behind because that’s too depressing. Alright. Uh, what was my plan for this world then? Go Dungeon diving, hammer out the specifics of how my abilities work, then...no...that was also bad to think about. What else was there-

Hestia shifted, turning her head to the other side, likely prompted by something poking her in the stomach. Looking down at her, my eyes widened a fraction when I saw her new position gave me a perfect angle to see just how deep her cleavage went. I tried to stop it, but my cock throbbed in response. With Hestia laying pretty much directly on top of it, and already halfway woken up, it was little surprise when her eyes opened. 

She blinked the sleep out of them, resting her pointed chin on my chest as she looked at me. Then she blinked once. Then twice. Then another time just to be sure. I braced myself for a panicked shout or screaming that I was some kind of pervert because, at the end of the day, this was an anime world. 

“It wasn’t a dream?” Hestia asked herself more than me, her bright blue eyes wide. She didn’t notice. Thank Go- er, the gods, she didn’t notice. I’m not sure how, but I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. 

“It wasn’t,” I answered, very, very aware of her weight on my dick. And how painfully tight my pants felt. How Hestia’s face lit up in a gleeful smile offered up a distraction that I gratefully accepted. Wait, shoot, I should have said something like ‘if its a dream then I’m pretty sure it's mine.’ That would have been so much better.

“We’re a familia…” She trailed off, basking in the fact. She shifted again to get herself more comfortable, unknowingly grinding on my dick. A huff of laughter escaped her as she rested a cheek against my chest, apparently a big fan of cuddling. I was too when I wasn’t sporting morning wood.  

I needed to take my mind off just how much my dick was starting to ache, “do you work today?” I asked, daring to lower my free hand so it rested on her side. She didn’t seem to mind as she shook her head. 

“No, I’m off today.” She informed, her tone sleepy. Already her eyes drifted half shut, a sigh of contentment escaping her that could only come from those that had no responsibilities for the day. I cracked a grin at that, having that same sigh come out of me more times than I cared to count. 

“Well, after I’m done registering with the Guild, I’ll probably spend some time on the first floor.” She went tense at the mention of me going into the Dungeon, so I was quick to move on. “After that, though, would you want to go out a celebrate? I have some money left over-”

“Yes!” Hestia said, her head shooting off my chest to give me an excited look. A wide smile devoured her face, practically giddy at the mere mention of it. “I wanna go!” She was like a little kid told she was going to Disney World. 

I laughed, “alright, so its a plan. Do you know what time it is?” I asked, making Hestia look over at an hourglass that I hadn’t noticed earlier. 

“It’s about 6 o’clock,” she answered, resting her head back down as she hummed contentedly to herself. That...really wasn’t helping me. 

“Then I should go ahead over to the Guild,” I said, giving myself an out. Hestia groaned, clearly unhappy to lose her cuddle partner, but it was a necessary sacrifice. I didn’t know how she’d react if she noticed my...situation. “I know, but it’ll be a lot faster if I get there before the morning rush. Plus, the earlier I go into the Dungeon, the more money we have to party with.”

“I guess,” Hestia muttered sleepily, taking a moment before she pushed herself up, planting her hands on my chest. Leaning back until she was nestled between my legs, the blanket fell back and it was only then did I realize a flaw in my plan. Now there was nothing to hide my obvious erection. 

Sure enough, almost as soon as she leaned back, when she looked down at me, my crotch was the first place her gaze went. I...might have made my dick too big. I had to though, for consistency. I was a mountain of a man, an average sized dick looked really small in comparison!  It strained against my jeans, a clear outline that lifted the denium up, leaving little to the imagination. Her eyes widened a fraction, the naive goddess knowing exactly what it was, unfortunately. 

“I’m sorry,” I blurted, not knowing what else to say. “It gets like that, sometimes, in the morning.” I offered up an excuse. I mean, this was hardly my fault, was it? She climbed on top of me when I was sleeping! I never stood a chance. 

“O-oh,” Hestia said, her eyes never leaving my crotch. Her face was turning a bright red, though she didn’t move. After a horribly awkward second, I pulled myself back so the small of my back rested against the armrest. Only then did Hestia’s gaze flicker to mine, before looking away a split second later. 

“Sorry,” I repeated. My other leg trapped between Hestia and the couch. Unfortunately, that was the side my dick was leaning, so the problem couldn’t really be hidden by curling my legs up. 

“Are you okay?” Hestia asked hesitantly, my face burning as I nodded. 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I quickly reassured. “It’ll go away on its own or I take care of it later.” And I just told her I was going to masturbate. Smooth move on my part. A real stroke of brilliance. I didn’t feel tired but I clearly wasn’t firing on all cylinders. 

“Does it hurt?” Hestia asked, looking down at it again, her arm gripping her other, pushing her already perky breast up. Naturally, my cock twitched at the visual stimulation. 

“No,” I answered, getting a sharp look from Hestia. Right. Built-in lie detector. She knew my dick ached from being restrained, a sharp burning pain of a stiff muscle being pulled in a direction it couldn’t go in. “It’s fine, really. Don’t worry about it.” 

Hestia shifted where she sat, a conflicted expression on her face before her gaze drifted to mine. She swallowed audibly, pointedly looking away as her face flushed crimson. “You’re my familia,” she started fidgeting where she sat. “Last night, you said it was your job to support me, but that’s not true. We’re supposed to support each other.”

Her gaze darted back to mine, my mind picking up the hints she was leaving and painting a picture with them. I almost knew exactly what she was going to say before the words left her lips. “So, if it hurts, the let me support you.” She said, using the same words I told her last night. 

‘You don’t have to.’ Those words nearly left my lips, my cock twitching at her offer, making her face burn. I should say them. This was taking advantage of her generosity. I should say no. Instead, I said, “if you’re sure…”

For a second, neither of us moved. Then I moved my hand to my zipper, watching Hestia’s face as I did. She didn’t so much as blink, her face a deep red that stretched all the way to her collar bone. Hooking a thumb on my pants and boxers, I yanked them down to let my cock spring free. Almost instantly, the dull ache in the base of my dick let up, a breath of relief leaving me. 

Hestia gasped, not recoiling but eyeing it like it was about to grow teeth and bite her. Looking down at it, I realized I might have gone a little overboard. It wasn’t a stupidly massive horse cock or something that could be described as a monster cock. Mostly because I didn’t want to have halfway sex since not every world I went to would work by anime physics and biology. It was just well above average and thick, enough so to be impressive but still in the realm of believability. 

“Uh...W-what do I…” Hestia trailed off, looking like she just realized she offered to do. She was a virgin goddess, and I guess she was a virgin in all regards. My gaze drifted to her lips, then to her large breasts. No. That was too much for her. Way too much. If we were going to do this, then it had to be slow. 

“Try touching it,” I instructed softly as if she would take off running if I spoke too loud. Hestia looked at me, then at my free cock standing proudly, before nodding to herself. Reaching out, she extended a finger that floated over the underside of my cock for a second before she poked it. 

“It’s really hard,” Hestia observed, poking me again. She swallowed thickly again, slowly tracing the large vein underneath with her finger. I twitched in response, and that was enough to get her to jerk her hand back as if she was burned. 

“Yeah, it is,” I agreed, I was probably the hardest I have ever been in my life. “That felt really good, though. That’s why it twitched. Do you want to try holding it?” I explained, patiently waiting for her decision. Hestia licked her lips before nodding, reaching out with a small hand and gripping my cock with the strength of a newborn. 

Hestia looked like she could barely believe what she was doing. Which, to be fair, I could hardly believe it either. 

Taking in a slow breath, I said, “now, try stroking it.” Hestia obeyed a second later, her hand began to slowly stroke me. She started at the bottom, her small hand showing that there was enough room for both hands and then some. Slowly, she stroked upwards, unsure. Her gaze darted up at me to check my reaction, earning an approving nod. 

She stroked again, firmer this time. Her speed increased, her hand gliding over my cock as she worked the shaft, the sound of skin on skin the only sound in the room except for Hestia’s heavy breathing. I was too big for her to only use her wrist, forcing Hestia to use her entire arm so her hand could glide along the length of my dick. Her breasts began to sway as her tempo increased, the pale flesh wanting to leap out of her low neckline. I watched them, memorized as she got faster and faster and faster until she stroked down too hard and too fast. 

I hissed, wincing in pain. Hestia stopped instantly, letting go, “I’m sorry!” She blurted, “Did that hurt? I’m sorry.” She repeated, looking at me with eyes filled with worry. She really was best girl, hands down.  

I gave her a small smile in response, “it’s fine, don’t worry about it.” I quickly reassured. I held out a hand, Hestia hesitating before she placed hers in mine. “Try work the head a little too with smaller strokes. Here, let me show you,” I said, guiding her hand up until it rested just under my head. Huh, it was a random thought, but I wonder if circumcision was a thing here. Well, not that it mattered. 

“Squeeze down a little tighter,” I said, Hestia obeying with a nod. Satisfied, I guided her through the motions, almost like I was jacking off with her hand. Once I was satisfied she had it, I let go. “Just like that Hestia,” I whispered, watching her stroke my cock with complete concentration, doing her best to mimic my movements. 

“Just like that,” I said, feeling the pleasure begin in my balls as the minutes ticked by. I was nearing my release, regardless of how much I wanted this to last for eternity. “You’re doing really good,” I murmured.  

“Uhh, something is leaking from your…” Hestia spoke up, bringing my attention to the pre leaking, dripping over her fingers to give them a shine. My cock throbbed with arousal, making another dollop leak out. 

“That precum,” I explained, shifting slightly so my dick wasn’t pointed straight up. “It means I’m about to cum.” I looked at her mouth when I spoke, imaging myself emptying my balls there. It was a fantasy that brought me closer to the edge, but one that I couldn’t fulfill. 

Hestia nodded, her gaze unwavering as she stroked me, waiting for the moment that was getting nearer with every pump. I felt my orgasm building in my balls, she wouldn’t have to wait for much longer. 

“I’m about to cum Hestia. You’re about to make me cum,” I muttered lowly to her. I pictured unloading my orgasm on her face, painting her face white with my seed. Or burying my cock in between her breast and emptying myself there. I couldn’t do either. Not yet. Instead, I grabbed her hand to complete the last few strokes. 

The pressure began to build, begging to be released. I staved it off for as long as I could, wanting the feeling over her hand wrapped around my dick to never end. Alas, all good things did, but as far as endings go, it was a great one.

“Ah!” Hestia flinched back when her hand was coated with thick white cum. At the same time, I groaned as the first rope of cum erupted from me, splattering over the palm of her hand. The second rope did the same, then the third did too. Each blast was weaker than the last, so the fourth missed her hand entirely and landed on her thighs. 

“Ohh…”I groaned, letting go of her hand to do a few more strokes, getting a fifth shot of cum that splattered on her thighs again. “Oh, that was great,” I said, a shudder ran through me. I looked at Hestia to see her staring at her painted white hand. The sight stirred something primal in me. 

Hestia was a virgin goddess, her hands and legs stained with my seed. I don’t think I have ever felt more powerful in my entire life. 

“That was amazing Hestia,” I said, letting out a deep breath, my dick already beginning to wilt. My heart began so slow, a sense of ease filling me. Post orgasmic bliss wasn’t just for women, it felt like I just shot out every ounce of stress I ever had into the palm of her hand.

“Really?” Hestia said, looking up from her hand. Still uncertain, but happy that I felt good.

I nodded, “really. That was perfect.”

Hestia smiled before she gestured to her hand, and - woah, that was a load and a half. Huh. “What do I do with this?” She asked, looking unsure. I looked around for something for her to wipe her hand with, only to find the blanket, couch and my dress shirt. With a grimace, I grabbed my shirt and held it out to her, only for her to shake her head. 

“I don’t want to get it dirty,” she denied. I was thankful for it since I didn’t know when I could get more clothes. Plus, using my one good shirt as a cumrag was just sad. 

As I looked for something else, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hestia stare at her hand. She licked her lips, warning me what was about to happen. I turned to see her drag her tongue over her pointer finger, licking up the cream that coated it. She drew back, seeming to judge the taste. Then she went back in to lick her palm. 

I stand corrected. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more powerful than watching Hestia lick her hand free of my cum. She blushed when she caught me watching, I felt too proud to be embarrassed. 

“Does it taste good?” I felt compelled to ask. 

“It’s kinda sweet?” Hestia answered, using a finger to get the cum on her thighs. There were a lot of reasons why oranges were my favorite food and this was one of them. Once she was done, she turned her attention back to my now flaccid penis. “Do you feel better now?” She asked, so eager to please I wish I could overcome the refractory period with sheer force of will. 

“I feel like a new man,” I stated honestly, starting to pull up my pants. Buttoning them up, I turned to Hestia. “Thank you,” I said, grabbing her hand, it was so small compared to mine I just now noticed. I gave it a reassuring squeeze, “I’m sorry you had to do that-”

“No! I mean,” Hestia began, fidgeting where she sat. “We’re a familia. I...really want to be a good goddess,” she admitted quietly, letting me bring her in close, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as her head rested against mine. “But I can’t do much to support you yet.”

Annnd now I felt like a total asshole. “Hestia, it’s fine. I know you’ll do your best, so if it makes you uncomfortable, then you don’t have to do stuff like that.” My empty balls disagreed with me but it was easier to ignore them now that I had the lion's share of blood to my upper head. 

“I didn’t feel uncomfortable,” Hestia said a little too quickly to be the truth. “I’ve just never done anything like that before,” she said, her blue eyes glancing up at me. “Are all...p-penises so big?” 

Huh. So that’s what pride felt like. 

I tried to wipe a grin off my face. It was a stupid testosterone thing, but hearing a beautiful girl compliment your dick, well, there as nothing quite like it. “Ah, no. Mines a bit bigger than most,” I admitted since I made damn sure that was the case. Hestia nodded, one of her hands fiddling with the hem of her dress. 

“I can’t do much to support you yet,” she repeated quietly, “but I can at least do this much. I promise I’ll do whatever I can to help you!” She declared, louder this time. She pushed off my shoulder, twisting so she could look me in the eyes. Her bright blue eyes burned with an intensity I couldn’t describe, 

I nodded, giving her hand another squeeze. “Alright. How about this then -- we support each other as much as we can. Promise?” Hestia smiled at me, nodding before she slammed me with a hug, squeezing my ribs with all of her strength. 

“It’s a promise!”

…

Becoming an adventurer was a lot like getting a normal job, I thought, signing my name for what felt like the tenth time. There were tax forms, liability forms, disclaimers and so on. Some of it had to be filled out by Hestia later, but it was a fairly thick stack of papers that more or less covered every angle to say ‘if you die down there, it's not our fault.’

It was really ordinary. It was kinda disappointing, in a way. I mean, I didn’t want to fight a lion with my bare hands to earn the right to become an adventurer. It would just be more fitting than filling out tax forms.

“Almost done?” Misha asked, the Guild employe that helped me yesterday, stepping into a private room available for these kinds of things. I shifted through the papers, searching for a missed signature and finding none. Stacking them back together, I held them out for her to take. 

“I think so,” I said, watching Misha shift through them before giving me a nod. 

“Looks good to me! Your goddess will need to fill some of these out, but you can pick those up later since you’re heading down into the Dungeon.” She said as I stood up, she barely reached my chest, only an inch or two taller than Hestia. 

And, just like that, I was an adventurer. 

“I’m going to be sticking to the first floor for now, so is there anything I should know?” I asked, getting a serious nod from Misha. She walked over to a desk, grabbing a few sheets of paper then passing them over to me. It was a map of the first floor. 

“Don’t underestimate goblins,” Misha started, her tone deadly serious. “They call War Shadows the rookie killers of the upper floors, but that’s not entirely true. More rookie adventures die by the hands of goblins on their first days because they don’t think they’re a threat. They’re small, more so than normal for you, so rookies think they’re safe with behind their armor. Right up until a goblins jumps up to tear their throats out.” 

I nodded, her words hitting a little close to home. I was guilty of pretty much what she said, word for word. 

“Take it slow. You don’t have backup, so don’t take any risks. At all. Not on your first day. Take the goblins on one at a time, if you find yourself getting outnumbered, I want you to stop fighting and run away.” Misha ordered, her pale brown eyes boring a hole through me. 

“Don’t fight more than one goblin and run away if I get over my head,” I repeated. Misha stared at me as if she were trying to see into my soul to find out if I was just saying what she wanted to hear. “Promise.”

Oddly enough, that seemed to reassure her- oh, right. The vague protagonist line I fed her as an excuse. “Good. After your done with the goblins, cut the magic stone out of their chest, it’ll be right about here,” she said, poking the center of my chest. “To be honest, they won’t be worth much, but you might get lucky with a monster drop. With one of them, you could get a real big meal at a nice inn.”

Ah. So rookie adventurers pretty much lived paycheck to paycheck, day by day. Maybe that influx of funds I purchased was more useful than I thought. 

“Got it. Anything else?” I asked, very aware of the short swords at my hips and how my armor clung to me. It wasn’t uncomfortable per say, but I wasn’t used to wearing it. 

“We’ll be here all day if I told you every trick of the trade,” Misha said with a light laugh, probably saving those tips until she was sure I wouldn’t go down once and never do it again. “What I can do is recommend that you get armor for your arms and legs, and maybe a shield. We have some available for purchase, or finance, but…” She looked a little sheepish. “I don’t think we’ll have anything in your size, though…”

I chuckled, “that’s fair.” Making myself this big might have been a mistake, but I couldn’t bring myself to regret it. 

“Just remember what I said.” She stressed, earning another firm nod from me. I had absolutely no intentions of dying down there. Once was more than enough for me. 

“I won’t, and thanks,” I said, getting a grin from her. 

“I’m just doing my job. Make sure you do yours and come back,” she returned. With that, Misha left the room, taking my papers with her, leaving me behind. I stepped out after her, turning to my right to see the staircase that led down into the Dungeon. For a second, I just stared at it. 

I was about to risk my life. I realized, my feet moving of their own will. I was calmer than I thought I’d be, setting foot on the stairs. Gamer Mind didn’t appear on my Skill list, but right now, I couldn’t imagine that I didn’t have something keeping me calm as I descended into hell. It was either that or dying had broken me of my fear of death. 

The staircase leads to an almost mineshaft looking drop, the stairs clinging to the side. They were wide, dully gray stone. No decorations of any kind. It struck me as odd earlier, now I realized it was intentional. This wasn’t a place for finery. This was a place where boys become men. 

Finally, my feet reached the first floor. It almost looked man-made, the floor was tiled stone while the walls were stone slabs. The halls were illuminated by a dull yellow light, giving the place an eerie feeling. I looked left, then right, then at my map. Doing a mental coin toss, I chose left, stuffing the map into the coin purse I emptied out at home, then pulling my short swords free of their sheaths. 

The halls were large enough that the light above didn’t fully illuminate them. Shadows gathered in the corners, my eyes searching them for a goblin to leap out at any moment. The same for the walls and floor, knowing that monsters spawned from them. The only sound was my own footsteps that echoed, my breathing soft and light. Even now, my heart wasn’t pounding as I walked down a hall worthy of a horror movie. 

Then I heard it. The sound of a wild animal messily ripping into a meal almost drowned out the sound of meat tearing apart, blood splattering on the ground. My grip tightened on my short swords, softly tiptoeing to a corner before I peeked out ever so slightly. 

A goblin crouched next a body, its hands in its stomach and gorging itself on the contents. The body was short, so either a small child or a pallum, the hobbits of this world. A torn backpack leaked its contents, bigger than what was practical for a fight. A supporter. 

I let out a low breath, stepping out from where I peeked and towards the goblin. It stuffed its face, blood trailing down its arms, as it noisily ate. I doubt it could hear me if I wasn’t sneaking up on it. I came to a stop directly behind it, sparing the corpse a glance to see that it was a black-haired pallum. Not Lili. Good. 

Raising my longsword up high, I brought it down directly on top of its head. It managed to make a strangled pained noise, my sword sinking through its skull and all the way down to its collar bones before it fell over dead. As far as fighting went, I hoped all of them were that easy. 

Kicking its corpse to the side, I looked at the dead pallum. Nothing identified what familia had was with, his blood-soaked clothing ruined and ripped. I spotted a slash on the back of his legs, hamstringing him, but I couldn’t tell if it was done with claws or a sword. So, he might have been murdered. 

Right. Not going to touch that issue with a ten-foot pole. Instead, I turned my attention to his bag. Ripping it open further so everything spilled out, a grin found its way onto my face. “Lucky,” I cheered, grabbing a deep red vial. A health potion. 

Well, lucky for me. 

I looked at it, spotting other vials in the bag along with basic medical supplies, rope and other useful items in a pinch. “Inventory,” I said, making a screen appear in front of my face. My grin grew as I shoved the vial into it, seeing an icon appear. As much as my gamer abilities had in common the falna of this world, I still had some of the cornerstone aspects. 

After shoving the entire bag into the screen, leaving no trace there ever was a bag, I dismissed the window. Alright. I had an inventory. How about everything else?

“Status,” I said aloud, seeing another screen appear in front of me. 

Jericho

Level: 1

Progress to level 2: 1/1,000,000

Strength: 0

Endurance: 0 (+3)

Dexterity: 0

Intelligence: 0

Sense: 0

Skills:

Gamer Body: The user’s body is that of a video game.

Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.

One goblin was worth one exp point. Only 999,999 left to go. And what was up with my endurance stat? Where was the +3 coming from? Unless...my stats weren’t updated instantly like normal. Hestia had to do that for me like in the anime. And I already had a skill! Neat. 

“Where is that plus +3 from?” That hardly counted as a fight, so- oh. This morning. I pressed on Endurance to read the definition of it, my grin becoming a full-blown smile. Enduring Hestia’s ministrations, holding myself back from erupting, that counted as grinding endurance. A huff of laughter escaped me. “If I want to munchkin this, then I need to start edging myself.”

And you know what? There were a lot more important things in this world than efficiency. Like orgasms. 

As for my last stat, I pressed it to figure out if it meant Sense in the sense of common sense, or Sense in the sense it meant my senses. Try saying that five times fast. 

Finally, I turned to the corpse of the goblin. Unfortunately, it didn’t vanish in a puff of black ash and leave behind its magic stone like it did in the anime. This one I was less sure about. “Options?” I spoke and, to my delight, another screen appeared. Then, to my annoyance, I saw that the options were rather barebones. No music options or master volume control or anything of that nature. Though, I did find what I was looking for. 

“Autoloot on,” I muttered, pushing the yes button to save my changes. Now the goblin vanished with a puff of black ash, leaving no trace that it was ever here. 

“Awesome,” I said, nodding to myself. That made things a lot more convenient. And way less gross. Sparing the corpse one last look, I turned around and started walking again. It was only the first floor, eventually, someone else would find him and take him up. 

It didn’t take me long to find my second opponent when I saw a wall in the distance begin to crack, a clawed hand punching outwards through it. A goblin drug its way out of the wall, I took the time to make sure that there weren’t any others. By the time I made sure we were alone, the goblin landed in a heap. 

Its dark green skin, bright yellow toad eyes looked at me. For a second, we stared at each other, unsure who was going to make the first move. Then the goblin rushed at me, barely reaching my waist in height. Those claws, on the other hand, were perfectly poised to tear into my stomach. 

I sucked in a breath, my heart started to pick up, waiting for it to near. It lashed out at me, its razor-sharp claws arcing towards my thighs, only to be blocked by my sword. I diverted the blow, then jerked my blade back, slashing at its exposed stomach. It cried out in pain, blood splashing out as I yanked my blade to the side. 

Pressing my lips into a thin line, I drove the tip of my blade into its eye, killing it. It dissolved into dust, the only traces of it left was staining my longsword. Okay. I could do this. One at a time, to get a feel for adventuring. I...I needed a goal. 

How about...fifty exp...until my stats get to ten...I make enough money to treat Hestia...or five hours. If I was lucky, I could get all three done. 

My goal set, I began to stalk through the eerily quiet halls. Now that I know what it sounded like, my ears were seeking the sound of rock breaking and pebbles falling to the floor. I walked for some time, the tension that steadily built up each second that I wasn’t attacked made those seconds feel like minutes. Already, I couldn’t begin to guess how long I had been down here for. 

Then my ears caught the sound of the click-clack of pebbles hitting the ground. Another goblin pushed its way out of the walls. I settled in a mockery of a fighting stance, waiting for it to come to me. It attacked blindly, wildly slashing its claws long before it reached me. I took in a deep breath, waiting for it to lunge at me, then dodging out of the way. It opened itself up to a counter, but I didn’t take it. 

If I was going with a warrior build, then dexterity shouldn’t be a high priority, it was just one of the more difficult ones to train well. Since holding out on cumming for a few minutes could give me three stat points, then I would imagine that dodging when my life was on the line would give more. Not only that, it would let me learn just how stat points were rewarded. Did the amount go up the more danger I was in? Or did how hard I tried to dodge determine if I was awarded a stat point? Perhaps it was how close of a call it was? 

At the moment, there was too much I don’t know about my newfound ability. This was the perfect time to change that. 

The goblin growled, saliva dripping from its malformed teeth. It lunged at me again, attacking at my legs. This time, using the flat of my blade, I diverted its claws so I could sidestep it. Misha’s warning rang in my head like a bell, but when I dodged it again, making it howl with frustration, I couldn’t stop myself from comparing it to a child. An ugly, stupid child with very sharp claws, but still a child that was easy to lead. 

It growled in growing anger, stomping its feet when I dodged it yet again. Its attacks became faster, wilder, no plan or thought behind its actions other than desperation to kill me. My confidence grew, letting its attack get closer and closer until I inevitably screwed up and felt its claws scrape across my leg, carving lines into my pants. It lashed out again, encouraged by its success, only for me to jump back.

“Status,” I said, pushing the screen off to the side. I couldn’t take the time to analyze it, but I did see a (+5) next to Dexterity and a (+4) next to Sense. Endurance went up by (+1) while Intelligence also went up by (+1). Was that because my stats were so low or because this went by Danmachi stats, where 999 was the theoretical max until Bell broke the game by being so thirsty. Hestia had said that new adventurers see a lot of growth early on — is that what this was-

I heard more pebbles falling behind me, forcing to abandon my experimentation. The goblin lunged at me, jumping into the air to attack my head, just like Misha warned, only it couldn’t jump high enough. I reacted instantly, lashing out with my longsword like it was a baseball bat, catching the goblin on its side. My muscles weren’t for show, its spine offering little resistance as I cut it in half. The two halves hit the ground, vanishing to dust, as I whipped around to see the goblin jump up at me.

I threw myself to the side to put some distance between us. My heart started to hammer at my ribs. It was still one on one, but it nearly got the drop on me. The other goblin landed on all fours, leaping up at me, its claws poised to take out my eyes. I met it halfway, using its momentum against it to make it plunge itself onto my sword. It turned into dust almost instantly. 

For a moment, my longsword hovered there, my heart hammering away at my ribs. It rapidly slowed down now that the danger had passed, allowing me to take in a deep breath of air. That wasn’t even a close call. Not really. I was toying with the first, and I doubt that a second would have changed much. Was I taking them too seriously? Maybe? It was better than not taking them serious enough, though, so it was fine. 

I glanced down at my leg, seeing a little blood staining my blue jeans where the first one scratched me. To my displeasure, there wasn’t smooth skin underneath. I didn’t heal instantly, damage only being done to my health bar. Speaking of which, “health?”

99/100 HP. This time the knowledge of how much hp I lost appeared in my mind instead of on a screen. Probably so it wouldn’t distract me in a fight. Actually, now that I was looking for it, I realized that the knowledge was always there in the back of my mind. Useful. 

Still, a single point of hp wasn’t that big of a deal...and it was at the same time. It was just a scratch, a kinda deep one, but it represented a full point of health. A hundred of those scratches and I would be dead. In a way, right now, I was at a disadvantage. A glass cannon without all the power. 

“Okay...I need to be more aggressive,” I said, lowering my sword. I could find out more about my stats later. Right now my goals were to get fifty exp, grind some stat points, and make enough money that I could treat Hestia to a nice date night. No pussyfooting. As soon as I saw the goblin, I needed to murder those little monsters dead. 

Wiping some sweat that built up on my brow, I straightened up and started hunting again. Another goblin was wandering the halls. I rushed at it, my long legs covering the distance between us in seconds. I was on top of it before it had a chance to react. Another kill for me. 

It was next to impossible to keep track of the time down here, I realized as I continued to stalk through the halls. I couldn’t tell if I had only been down here for minutes or hours…”Time?” I tried, seeing another screen pop up to tell me the date, time. Convenient. Apparently I had only been down here for an hour. If felt a lot longer. 

Now that I thought about it...I shoved my map into my inventory, then said, “map.” Like I hoped, a map appeared, marking my position with a little blue dot. Sadly, it didn’t show where any enemies are, but it was still better than what I had. My eyes found another staircase that would take me to the second floor. 

“I’ll just check it out,” I said, moving my map so it was out of sight. If only to see what I could expect when I intended to go to a lower floor. 

The next three hours were spent slowly making my way towards the second floor. I explored the deadends, circled about, and took the long way. Goblins came in a steady stream, maybe they would have ganged up on me but I ended up killing them too fast. Slowly but surely, my exp began to climb, as did my stat points. 

Then I spotted it down the hall. A section of the wall was missing that looked no different than a normal turn. From the angle I approached, I saw dull gray stairs like the one I walked down on earlier. I came to a stop in front of it, staring down at the second floor of the Dungeon. If the first floor could be called a tutorial, then the second floor was the first level. Only it was a dark souls game in this analogy. 

I lifted one foot, considering it. Then a huff of laughter escaped me, “Nah,” I dismissed with a shake of my head. That was a really stupid idea. Turning around, I started to walk back, only to pause when a sound reached my ear. 

The sound of pebbles hitting the ground followed by small thumps. Goblins. As in more than one of them. I turned to my right, spotting five goblins spawning. Turning to my left, I saw another three. My eyes widened, my grip on my sword growing so tight my knuckles were bloodless. 

Why now? What changed? It was tossing them at me pretty much one at a time, and all of a sudden it drops eight on me at once? Wh-

Right. I forgot. The Dungeon was alive. It desired the death of everyone that stepped foot in it. I forgot that it would lead you on a trail, weakening you every step of the way, and right when you were at your weakest, it would throw everything that it could at you. I forgot that it was always easier to dive deeper into the Dungeon but it would make it impossible to leave. 

That was a lesson I wouldn’t soon forget again.