Power Corrupts: Divine Desires (Patreon)

His penis was touching her butt. That was the first thing that Hestia noticed as the grips of sleep slowly released her. She felt it through the thin cloth of her dress, the tip of it just barely holding on by the hem to separate the two. If she moved upwards ever so slightly, his penis would be touching her bare bottom. If she moved up enough, it would be touching her…

Would that count as sex? Or was it already too late to still call herself a virgin goddess? 

Her face warmed as memories of last night came back to her, the second thing she thought about after waking up. Jericho’s hands on her body, his knuckle accidentally scraping against her sacred place and the mindless pleasure that came after. The...orgasm. 

She should regret what happened last night, Hestia tried to tell herself as a sigh of contentment left her. Her cheek pressed against her child’s chest, his powerful frame able to rise her just a little bit every time he took a breath. He meant to ease her aches and relieve her tension with a massage, but she turned it into...what happened. Jericho didn’t seem displeased with her, or anything, but she couldn’t imagine what happened was his intention. 

Idly, Hestia looked up at his sleeping face. Even as she rested on top of him, there were times when she found it hard to believe that Jericho was real. Sometimes it was like he was too good to be true. Like last night, for instance. He absolutely terrified her when he admitted that he went down to the sixth floor. Without armor. But, his hands…

Another sigh of contentment left Hestia, deflating her as she settled against his chest- Only to go stiff as a board when she felt her dress shift forward just enough that his penis lightly smacked against her butt. 

Not enough to... do anything, but the warmth coming off it was impossible to ignore. If it went down a couple of more inches, it would be prodding at her entrance. A place none had ever penetrated before. Not even herself.

That...should horrify her. For centuries, she prided herself on being a virgin goddess. If only to rub it in the face of those that tried to sleep with her. She was one of the big three, among Artemis and Athena. Considering she had nothing else going for her, it was pretty much the only thing she could take pride in. 

And yet, despite it all, despite what Jericho might thing of her wanton behavior...she kinda wanted to move up a little. Just to see what it felt like.

Then Jericho’s eyes cracked open, and her idle fantasies came grinding to a halt. For a moment, she stared at him, feeling caught in the act. As if he could somehow know her innermost thoughts. 

“Morning,” Jericho greeted, an easy smile on his face, one hand gently caressing her back. “Sleep well?”

“Mhm,” Hestia hummed, nodding her head, finding herself smiling back. “You? I’m not too heavy or anything, right?

Jericho chuckled a low rumble that vibrated her. It was a shockingly pleasant feeling.  “No, I slept great. He shifted underneath her, letting her feel the powerful muscles underneath, only for him to stop a split second later. Judging by how his eyes widened a little, he realized where his penis was poking her. “I’m-”

“It’s fine,” Hestia reassured, heat rising to her cheeks. It was just resting there, between her cheeks. She could swear it seemed to be growing larger by the second. Hestia swallowed thickly, looking away from Jericho, unable to meet his gaze. “Would you...like me to…?”

There was a beat of silence. Hestia tried not to fidget where she laid, knowing that would only make things worse. For both of them, maybe. That beat of silence seemed to last an eternity and a half, but eventually, Jericho’s hand continued to caress her back. With his other, he gently guided her gaze to his, exactly how she had done to Rye yesterday. 

His dark blue eyes seemed to burn with how intensely he gazed into her eyes, “I do.” He said, making her heart throb in her chest. He wanted her to touch it. To do what she did on the first morning they spent together. Last night, towards the end, she wanted to do it too. Now that the time it was actually here, the task seemed so daunting. 

Slowly, Hestia nodded, pushing herself off Jericho, raising one leg off him to make sure...nothing happened down there. Already, she almost missed the warmth his penis gave on her butt. She tried to ignore that thought as she pushed the covers off both of them, revealing his lower half. At some point during the night, his penis had slipped free between a gap in the front of his underwear. 

Hestia looked at it, her breath quickening before she slowly reached out to grab it with her ungloved hand. It was thick, her small hand just barely able to fully encompass it, and warm. It felt like a rod of steel wrapped in velvet, his penis unyielding as she squeezed down experimentally. It was long too, making her hand look small in comparison.

She started to move her arm back and forth, small movements that focused on the top half near the head as he showed her. The skin bunched and smoothed out with her movements -- it didn’t look like it would feel good, but maybe it was like a massage? Hestia couldn’t bring herself to look away from what she was doing, her short strokes steadily getting longer. 

“That feels great, my goddess,” Jericho said, the tips of her fingers tracing her spine. At that, Hestia managed to shoot him a look, even as her hand kept moving. Jericho was grinning at her -- he totally knew what calling her his goddess did to her! She puffed out her cheeks, but that only made his grin grow. “Keep doing that. You’re making me feel so good, my goddess.”

Yeah, he definitely knew. Even still, Hestia continued to stroke his penis, throwing herself into the task. She was making him feel good. Hopefully as good as he made her feel last night. Or better. Maybe it would feel better if she used both hands?

She grabbed it with her other, stroking him with both hands at the same time. Her breast shook with each moment, having to get her entire body into it. Her gaze flicked to Jericho’s face to see a look of bliss on his face. His eyes glancing upwards, catching him looking at her swaying breasts. Hestia though he would look embarrassed, or stutter out an apology. Instead, his eye just looked...hungry. 

“Try spitting on it,” Jericho ordered, his hand still tracing her spine, gooseflesh rising wherever he touched. The sudden order made her pause. 

“You want me to spit on your…?” How was it that she could touch his penis like a brazen harlot, but saying the word gave her so much trouble?

“To lubricate it,” Jericho answered, his hand dipping low to the small of her back. She wondered if his hand would go lower, beneath her dress to her bare bottom. With her blood running so hot in her veins, Hestia wondered if she was hoping for it or not. 

“Okay,” Hestia agreed, thinking that made sense. She leaned over his penis, from the angle she looked down at it, it looked...so weird. A wide flared head with a little slit at the top -- almost like a mushroom, in a way. Gather spit in her mouth, she let out fall out of it directly on top of his penis. Her spit coated it, a hand spreading it down his shaft. 

Then she started to stroke him again, her hands gliding over his wet shaft, and her face burned at the naughty sounds that her hands were making now. Before was the sound of flesh rubbing flesh, now it was...Hestia didn’t even know what to compare it to. 

“That feels really good,” Jericho said, his hand climbing up her back. “You’re doing amazing.” He muttered lowly at her, showering her with praise that made her stroke him that much faster and harder. Her hands glided over the length of his penis, from base to the tip. She felt it throb under her grip, seeming to grow even larger. 

“Does it really?” Hestia heard herself ask as she looked over his penis, trying to see if any precum was leaking out. Her spit gave it a glossy look, so it was impossible to tell. 

“It does,” Jericho reassured while his hand dipped low. His hand rested on the small of her back, but his fingers rested a little lower, almost touching her butt. “Keep going. It won’t be long before I cum,” he told her, making her heart beat as fast as a hummingbird’s. She nodded, keeping her pace going and felt him throb in her hands. 

She pumped him faster, and faster, the sounds her hands were making only barely managed to drown out the sound of her heavy breathing. It throbbed again in her hands, making her squeeze it a little tighter in response. She spat again on it, re-lubing her hands, as she stroked him how he showed her. 

The longer she did it, the more Hestia found that she enjoyed it. The sounds of the act sounded so naughty, how the heat seemed to pool in her stomach around her bellybutton. Above all else, every time she glanced up at Jericho, the blissful expression he wore, knowing that it was her that made him wear that expression, that’s what she enjoyed most of all. 

“I’m about to cum Hestia,” Jericho warned, giving her enough time to put a  hand over his head to stop his cum from spraying out all over the bed. And her. She felt the first rope of it coat her hand, slamming into her with actual force. The second rope hit her just as hard, her free hand still gripping his throbbing penis. By the time the third rope came, hot cum dripped from her hand onto her other. 

A fourth shot came, weaker this time, or maybe her hands were just too coated to tell. A fifth shot came, and then a sixth, each on weaker than the last. With one final throb, his penis shot one last shot over her hands. Jericho let out a slow breath, his head resting against a stone wall. 

“That was amazing, my goddess,” Jericho said, making a shiver run through her. She felt his penis softening under her grip. Letting go of it, it didn’t flop downwards immediately, but it made a slow descent as it softened. Hestia turned her attention to her hands, seeing the seed that covered her palm, with a ring of it on her other hand. 

It was a solid white, and it felt so thick when she moved her hand a little. She could recall what it tasted like from the last time -- it wasn’t bad, but it hadn’t been good. It coated her tongue, a unique flavor that she couldn’t compare to anything, that seemed to linger no matter how many times she swallowed. If it wasn’t for the sweet flavor it had, Hestia would say that she didn’t like it at all. 

“Here, let me wipe that up for you,” Jericho said, leaning over to grab the blanket that he used to clean her last night. For a moment, Hestia considered licking it from her palm free of his seed like she did before, but now that there was an option other than ruining his nice shirt, she wanted to take it. She held her hands out, letting Jericho wipe them free. 

Now that she was done, Hestia found that her tongue was tied in knots. She touched his penis again. And-

“What are your plans for today?” Jericho asked, distracting her from her growing mortification with her behavior. He wiped her hands free of his seed, tossed the stained blanket to the side, but his touch still lingered on her hands. Hestia welcomed it. 

“I,” Hestia stated, unsure. Should they talk about what happened? Or was she just going to make it weird? Jericho seemed at complete at ease, a harsh contrast to her bundle of nerves. Well...if he wasn’t going to bring it up...then she wouldn’t either. “I have to work today. In a little bit,” Hestia answered, glancing at the day glass. 

It was five o’clock. In the morning. What were they doing up so early?!

“Hm. What time do you get off?” Jericho asked, massaging her hands. Hestia savored the feeling of his large hands on hers -- it was almost like comparing a child’s hands to an adult. Yet, he managed to be so gentle. Now that she thought about it, that more or less summed Jericho up rather nicely. 

“Around eight or so, it’s going to be a long day,” Hestia said, leaning into his touch. More than twelve hours on her feet. She was going to need a massage when the day was done. Any joy she might have found at the thought was replaced with worry as she looked at Jericho, “are you going into the Dungeon?”

“I am,” Jericho agreed, his voice turning serious. “I don’t want to jinx myself, but the first five floors are manageable. The sixth...if I wear my chest armor, then I won’t have any trouble with the frog things. I haven’t come across a war shadow yet, so I can’t say anything about them -- but, I think I’ll go down to the sixth floor again.”

He wasn’t lying. That fact stopped her from shouting at him that he should stay on the first floor until he was wearing enough armor that he couldn’t fit through the door. He hadn’t seemed hurt last night, but that could be because his body healed so fast. Though, that didn’t explain why he was so confident that he could go down to the sixth floor. 

Hestia took a bracing breath that she let out slowly, curling her hands around Jericho’s. “No further than the sixth,” she told him, her tone grave. Jericho believed in himself, and she would a poor goddess if she didn’t believe in him just as much. “With your armor. And, before you go, I want you to stop by Miach’s store to buy some potions. Okay?” 

“That sounds like a plan to me,” Jericho agreed, squeezing her hands with his. “Do you know if they’re open now? I should get down there as soon as I can, get as much done as I can before you get off.” The promise he made last night rang in her head like a bell, her lips tugging up into a smile. 

“They won’t be open for a few more hours, but you can probably get in if you knock and tell Micah who you are. He’s a real big softy,” Hestia said, letting go of Jericho’s hand when he moved to get up. Knowing Micah, he would probably shove potions in Jericho’s hands by the handful. 

Jericho grabbed his pants, looking at them with some confusion that she was quick to answer. “A girl named Syr stitched them up. She brought your clothes with the children that stole them to apologize…” Hestia trailed off, seeing Jericho go still as he put his pants on. “Are you...still mad?” She hazarded a guess, sounding uncertain. 

He buttoned up his pants before answering, “more at myself for not being fast enough to catch them. And for overreacting,” Jericho answered, turning to face her. Her gaze drifted over his sculpted chest, leading to his powerful arms before she responded. 

“She offered a free meal at the Hostess of Fertility, the children can apologize to you there if you want.” It could even be called...a date. She blushed at the thought. 

“The kids are fine so long as they don’t do it again,” Jericho said, going to grab his tank top-

“Wait, let me update your status first,” Hestia stopped him. If he had such a long day yesterday, then he should have something to show for it. Not to mention that it would make his next trip to the sixth floor easier. 

“Good idea,” Jericho agreed, laying back down on the bed, exposing his blank back made of defined lines and hard planes. The trick that Hephaestus taught her worked. After grabbing a blank piece of paper and a pin to prick her finger, Hestia updated his status. 

Jericho

Level: 1

Progress to level 2: 1,033/1,000,000

Strength: 5 

Endurance: 25 

Dexterity: 20 

Intelligence: 2 

Sense:15

Development Abilities:

Physical Resistance: The user receives 2% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat. 

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.

His Strength and Dexterity stat had practically doubled. And he had over a thousand exp? Yesterday, he had less than a hundred! It was difficult to tell just how much of a jump his stats got since his template wasn’t the one that she learned, but this had to be good, right? If he was confident that he could go to the sixth floor with half these stats, then he should be safe. Even without his leg armor. 

“Done,” Hestia said, climbing off him, scanning the paper one last time before passing it over. “Your Physical Resistance ability got a one percent increase,” she informed, “but no new Skill or Development Abilities.”

“Hm. Not bad,” Jericho said, glancing at the paper before folding it. He tossed it onto the bed, Hestia glanced at it for a moment before asking. 

“How did you get a thousand exp so quickly?” She questioned, watching him put on his tank top. 

“The monsters on the sixth floor give more exp than goblins and kobolds. I’m pretty sure the deeper I go, the more they’ll give me when I beat them.” He answered, going to his armor before putting it on. When she saw him struggle to bend his arm enough to get one latch, Hestia was quick to hop off the bed and do it for him. “Thanks. I’ll head straight down to the sixth floor and spend as much time as I can down there, but I’ll be back here before you get off. Promise.”

“Don’t break it,” Hestia said, wrapping her arms around him, her cheek pressed against cold steel, but she didn’t care. Jericho hugged her back -- well, as much as he could since he was so much taller than her. 

And, with that, her child left for the Dungeon yet again. 

…

“I need my leg armor,” I said, walking through the mostly empty streets, guided by my map towards Micha’s shop. The frogs proved that the lower I went, the more exp I got. Three exp was great for now, but it wasn’t anywhere near enough. If I wanted to keep with the timeline comparable to Bell, then I needed to hit level 2 in about a month from now. 

To do that, I needed to gather about...25,000 exp a day. No, closer to 27,000. So, I would need to kill about 9000 frogs to do it. Or, I could go to lower floors and kill stronger monsters. 

Should I have gone to a different smith? Maybe a level 2 could get my armor done faster. Right now, every day seemed to matter, and if I couldn’t go past the sixth floor without leg armor...then that would put me behind by five days. 

“Or,” I mused, spotting Micha’s store. “I could try to run past the next few floors to floor ten.” That was where giant monsters started to spawn, and where killer ants stopped. If the anime reflected reality, then I could find myself facing a horde of dozens of them if I wasn’t careful. Without a magic weapon, I doubt I could get myself out of that situation. 

A sigh escaped me as I dismissed the plan. I learned that lesson the first day that the Dungeon was easy to travel into but much harder to leave. I could get to the tenth floor, maybe, but I’d probably find a horde waiting for me on the way up. The only other way I could think of was to increase my stats to the point that they didn’t reflect my level. Which would get progressively harder as they rose. 

There just wasn’t an easy solution, despite all my wishing. 

I came to a stop in front of a glass pane door, knocking lightly before taking a step back. It didn’t take long before I saw a man appear inside the potion store, spotting me. I half expected him to wave me off since they weren’t open, instead, he smiled as he approached to open the door. 

“You must be Jericho,” Micha greeted. His long blue hair brushed past his shoulders while his blue eyes matched his hair. “Hestia’s told me a great deal about you. I’m pleased to finally meet you,” he greeted with an easy smile. The powerful air that belonged to the gods around him was kind, friendly even. 

“Ah,” I didn’t know Hestia had talked to Micha about me yet. “Same here. I hope she said good things?” I said, earning a smile out of the god. 

“If Hestia is to be believed, then you are a saint that’s too good for this world,” he answered, gesturing for me to come inside. I did, having to duck to step into the potion shop -- ingredients lined the walls, from monster drops to herbs, to potions to crafting supplies. At the counter was a plane of glass that protected rows of vials of three different colors. Red for health, blue for mana, and yellow for stamina. 

“Well, I’d hate to disappoint her,” I said, watching as the god walked behind the counter to retrieve a small satchel. He held it out to me to take and, after a moment of hesitation, I did. Pushing back the flap revealed three health and stamina potions. 

“Take these, please, as a welcome gift,” Micha requested, smiling kindly at me. 

There was no way in hell I was going to say no to free potions. “Thank you very much, Micha,” I said, throwing on my friendliest smile. “Well, since we’re giving gifts,” I started, reaching into my pouch as I summoned my inventory to it, making it look like I was just reaching into my pouch. “Here, take these. It’s not much since they’re from the upper floors…” I trailed off, handing him a few frog tongues and kobold teeth before he could refuse them.

Micha blinked as he took the still slightly damp tongues, unconcerned by the slime that clung to them. “These are from frog shooters,” he observed, looking at me with a puzzled look. 

“They are.” So that’s what they were called. Not the most inventive name, but I couldn’t say that it didn’t fit. 

“These are on the sixth floor.”

“They are.” I agreed, feeling no small amount of amusement at the growing perplexed expression he wore. 

“Were you in a familia before joining Hestia’s?” He questioned, earning a shake of the head from me as I deposited the potions into my inventory. I still had the one that I looted from that corpse, so I was set for the Dungeon. As much as I could be, at any rate. 

“No. Hestia is my first and only goddess,” I answered. It took every ounce of will that I had to not let my smile turn into a smirk. I never would have guessed that those two words would have such an effect on her. She tried her best to hide it, but it was clear as day that she loved hearing the words from her reactions. 

“And you’ve been an adventurer for...two days?” Micha asked for clarification. I nodded, making him frown lightly but not in a bad way. “Then Hestia is very lucky to have you in her familia, Jericho.”

At that, I shook my head. “I’m the lucky one,” I stated. As bad as it sounded, dying and coming back was probably the best thing that had ever happened to me. Just this morning, I got a handjob from a god. Last night, I made her squirt by simply accidentally dragging a knuckle across her clit, bring her pleasure that she had never known before. She really was the perfect waifu. 

Life was pretty great, all things considered. All I had to do is get a handle on my exp problem, and I’d be living the high life. 

“Thanks for the potions -- you got a loyal customer out of me. I’ll see you later then?” I said, starting to leave when Micah nodded, waving goodbye. 

“And we are happy to serve you. Give Hestia my regards,” Micha said as I left, locking the door behind me. That went rather well. I got some potions out of it, so now I could afford to push things a little further in the Dungeon. 

My stamina returned quickly in the Dungeon, going from exhausted to normal in about thirty minutes. The issue was, that thirty minutes, I couldn’t afford to hunt down monsters. Worse, since the Dungeon didn’t typically leave me alone during that time, it took longer for me to recover. With a stamina potion, in theory, the time frame went from about forty-five minutes to about two seconds. 

With that, I made my way to the Dungeon. Luckily, since it was so early, neither Eina or Misha were working, letting me descend without pause. I blew past the first floor, as I did with the others all the way down to the sixth. I didn’t bother exploring anymore than necessary, the sooner I got down there, the better.

“Twenty-seven thousand exp,” I mused, spotting a frog shooter hopping down the tunnels. I walked towards it, tapping my naked blade against my shoulder. There was absolutely no way I was going to be able to kill 9000 frogs in the...14 hours I allowed myself to be down here for. I probably wouldn’t be able to kill a third of that number. 

“Okay…” I said, striding towards the frog shooter that took notice of me. “Today, I’m going to grind my stats.” I would have to make up for lost time later when the monsters I killed didn’t give me single-digit exp. Once I got down to the 10th floor and below, then I could worry about exp. What I needed right now was… “Fifty in Endurance, Strength, and Dexterity,” I decided. 

My Intelligence really was becoming my dump stat, still at a pitiful 2. Maybe, after Hestia was done cumming her brains out, I would read one of the books that Misha gave me. Finally, test my theory on if I needed to sleep or not. 

I dodged a tongue that raced towards my chest, sidestepping it with ease I hadn’t managed yesterday. My sword slashed outwards, barely more than a blur to cut it in half before it could return to the frog’s mouth. As the tongue severed, I raced forward with surprising speed to dispatch the monster. 

“A good start,” I said, continuing to wander the tunnels. Let’s see if it kept up.

…

Hours passed as I mindlessly slaughtered monsters, using whatever trick I could think of to grind my stats with what time I had. Instead of walking through the tunnels, I ran. Instead of instantly dispatching monsters as I found them, I would lead them until I was fighting two or three at the same time. Sometimes, I simply dodged their attacks, ignoring openings to kill them. Other times, I accepted hits that I could have dodged. 

Between my armor, and my 7% physical resistance, I had yet to take a single point off my new 121 total health. It seemed I got a 10% increase in health every 10 stat points in Endurance. It kinda sucked right now, but later on, that would be pretty great. Which seemed to be a theme with my gamer ability, now that I think about it. A lot of the stuff I had right now kinda sucked, but if I grinded them enough then they because great. 

I dodged out of the way of a frog tongue, grabbing it before it could retreat back to the frog’s mouth. Giving it a savage yank, I pulled the frog to me, feeling my muscles burn with effort. The frog flew towards me, meeting my fist in its large eye that gave way. It felt a lot like sticking my hand in jello, then ash as it dissipated. 

I pushed myself forward, my legs feeling heavy as I continued to sprint through the tunnels, forcing myself to inch closer to those growing elusive stat points. Strength was a big issue since I started off so strong, my sword not heavy enough to grind the stat, so I had to get creative. 

Another monster spawned in my path, a kobold that I killed with a slash as I raced by, one eye on my map as I steadily mapped out the sixth floor. After spending hours down here, today and yesterday, I still hadn’t found the entrance to the seventh floor. Still, I was making great progress, so it was only a matter of time. 

I rounded a corner before I was forced to skid to a halt when I ran into another dead end. Tsking to myself, I turned around to see monsters spawning from the walls. Goblins, kobolds and...something new. A black, shadowy figure like a shadow was peeled off the ground, almost, crawled out of the walls. A war shadow. 

Sprinting forward, I dispatched a goblin with a swing of my sword while I stomped on a kobold. Another swing of my sword, my sword ripped through another goblin, rather than cut it. I really needed to sharpen it because it was dull as all hell. The war shadow hung back, letting its companions be slaughtered before it lunged forward once I was close enough. 

I shot backward, making its black claws miss my armor by an inch as I swung at its head. My blade lodged itself into its neck, unable to cut all the way through. Seizing upon my moment of surprise, the war shadow reached up to grab my arm, its claws puncturing soft flesh as it carved deep furrows down it. I snarled in response, grabbing my blade with my other hand, bracing it, as I kicked the war shadow. 

The cut finished, beheading the monster as it faded into nothing. Awarding me...5 exp! Perfect! “Now to find more of those,” I decided, taking off sprinting again, sweat dripping down my forehead. Despite my efforts, I couldn’t keep my breathing even. Should I drink an endurance potion? No, not yet. 

I continued to race through the tunnels, slowly accumulating stat points and magic stones. Already, I earned more than a thousand exp, but still, it was a long way from my desired goals.

“Hurry it up, you slow piece of shit. You’re costing me money with all that dragging your feet you’re doing!” I heard a voice shouting in the distance, somewhere ahead of me. An adventurer. I slowed down, trying to pick up where exactly the source was coming from if only to avoid it. 

A hand reached into my inventory, pulling out a stamina potion that I uncorked and shot down in a gulp. It tasted of...lemons? Instantly, I felt my exhaustion fade into nothing, leaving me feeling refreshed if a bit sweaty. So it did work. Perfect. 

“Lili is going as fast as she can, Mr. Adventurer,” I heard a small voice respond, making me go still. Did she say Lili? 

“Well, it ain’t fast enough. Get moving before I leave you behind,” the adventurer continued, his voice growing louder. They weren’t that far away. Should I leave? It was still weeks away from when I was supposed to meet her if I stuck to the canon timeline. It might even be a bad idea since I would be much more prepared for whatever antics Lili would drag me into. 

Despite my thoughts, I found myself walking towards the voices, wiping sweat from my face to make myself look a little less dead on my feet like I was a few minutes ago. 

“Of course, Mr. Adventurer. Lili will do her best-”

“Just stop talking and do your job,” the adventurer interrupted, the sounds of his footsteps getting louder. “Sometimes, I don’t know why I bother with supporters. All you do is leech off your betters...you know what girl? If you don’t stop dragging your feet, you aren’t getting paid. Hell, you should be paying me for putting up with you instead of letting a monster rip you to pieces.” 

Well...that was rude. 

“Thank you Mr. Ged for protecting Lili,” Lilli said, her voice sounding actually thankful. That...that, I didn’t like. It was one thing to hear it in an anime, but hearing her sound so convincingly thankful that the jerk hadn’t left her to die was just...wrong. “She’ll keep up, Lili promises!” 

“What did I say about talking?” The adventurer groaned, sounding like he was just around the corner. From the sound of it, that last comment was more to himself than Lili. He stopped by the corner, revealing an average looking man wearing a dark red trench coat, his long black hair done up in a ponytail. He carried a sword in one hand-- he looked like a competent adventurer if I had to say anything about him. 

He looked left, spotting me instantly. His eyes widened, he fell into a fighting stance, the sword posed to stab me in the face, one hand on the pommel that would give the thrust a little more power. That was...quite the reaction, I guess. A fair one, though. I can’t say I would react any different if a guy my size suddenly appeared right next to me. 

“Who are you?” He barked his demand, hiding behind his shield. 

“Er,” I was not expecting this kind of conversation. I figured we’d exchange customary nods to acknowledge that we saw each other, I would steal a glance at Lili, and maybe try to endear myself to her. “My name’s Jericho. Hestia familia.” I greeted him, holding my dull sword a little tighter when he didn’t relax. 

“Who’s the Hestia familia?” Asshole demanded to know, his sword poised to pierce my throat with a lunge. 

“We’re a new familia,” I answered, jerking my chin at him. “Who are you?” Two can play at this pissing contest. 

“Caishen familia,” Asshole answered, not giving me his name. And since I had absolutely no idea who his god was, he probably wasn’t important. “Are you alone?”

I tilted my head, considering the question. My eyes went over to Lili, who hung back slightly, her bag comically huge compared to her slight frame. In one hand she carried a handheld crossbow, it wasn’t pointed at me but that would change soon enough with reason to. Then my gaze slid back to Asshole. “And if I am?”

“Well then...I’m just going to have to ask you for your magic stones, is all,” Asshole said, his shield hiding his face but I heard the grin in his voice. At that, I hesitated. He sounded confident. Confident enough that he took one look at me and thought he could take me despite being nearly two feet shorter and about a hundred pounds lighter. 

Could he be a level 2? I know they were few and far in between, most adventurers living and dying as a level 1. Not all of them were named in the anime, so I didn’t know if he was or not. Or, maybe, he was an extremely proficient adventurer with high stats. Or, just as likely, he was an idiot.

I shrugged my shoulders, eyeing where the blade was poised to strike at. “In that case, I’m not alone,” I said, forcing my lips to curl into a smile. 

“Too late for that, big guy. I’ve never seen you before. I bet you’re new to this, aren’t you? Bet you thought that since you didn’t have much trouble with goblins and the like, so you thought you were good enough to come to this floor. Now you’re in over your head.” Ah, so it wasn’t that he was really strong. It was that he assumed I was really weak. And...well...everything he said wasn’t exactly untrue.

I was distinctive, to say the least. Had I been a veteran adventurer, I’m sure eventually most would know me by the description ‘that tall guy.’ So, he assumed I was a total rookie that came down to this floor without thinking. 

“Hm, maybe.” I noncommittally replied, a sinking feeling in my stomach. I don’t think I was smooth enough to talk my way out of this fight. There would be a fight too since there was no way I was handing over my magic stones. 

“So, how about you hand over your magic stones...or I’m going to take them off your corpse,” Asshole threatened. I clenched my jaw, considering what I was about to do. Unlike proper RPGs, there wasn't a third option. Well, I suppose that wasn't exactly true…

"Come take them, then," I spoke, the sword leaping at my throat before I finished speaking. I wasn't surprised. Reacting instantly, I raised my free arm, feeling white-hot pain as his sword pierced my forearm. The pain gave way to fury as I yanked my arm to the side, making him go wide open. Judging from how wide his eyes got, he expected that thrust to stab me in the throat. 

He tried to kill me. I knew the Dungeon was considered a lawless place-- or, rather, it was a place where laws couldn't be enforced. But I didn't expect him to try to kill me. Over pocket change. 

I grabbed him by the face like I did so many monsters before. "Hey, wait-" he started to plead, only to be cut off when I turned sharply and slammed the back of his head against the wall hard enough blood splattered on impact. I held him there, my arm hurt worse than anything I had ever felt. He stabbed me! He tried to kill me! 

I took in a deep breath, letting go of him. His body fell into a heap, his eyes wide but seeing nothing. He was dead. I killed him. 

"Shit," I cursed, more because my arm really hurt. Blood pumped from it, dripping down the sword still stuck in my arm. I could only stare at it with mute horror. I had been stabbed. I was bleeding. A lot. I...I needed…to drink a health potion. What was my health? 

106/121. 15 points. I lost 15 Heath points. 

My hand moved to grab the blade of their own will, touching it sent waves of agony coursing through me. Even still, I wasn't the soft city boy that I was a few days ago. I was an adventurer! I...I could pull a sword out of my arm, no problem! It was easy! I...I just needed to pull…!

"Ahhh…!" I hissed, the blade sliding free, then clattering to the floor. Holy motherfucking shit dicks, that hurt so fucking much! Blood pumped from the wound like a leaking faucet, dripping down my fingers as I reached into my inventory to grab a health potion. It was still attached to my pouch and I dug a health potion from it. 

Knocking back the vial so fast that I didn’t taste it, I felt the pain vanish instantly. The 15 points of health were restored. Looking down, I saw my arm was fine underneath wet blood. So, at the very least, health potions restored 15 health. 

It was only after I dropped the vial that I recalled that I still wasn’t alone in the tunnels. Lili still stood there, her crossbow trained on me. Her gaze was firm, her jaw set. This...wasn’t the Lili for the last half of the first season. This was a Lili that was down to murder me if I made the wrong move. I think I could stop her -- she would only be able to fire once before I was on top of her, so as long as she didn’t hit something vital, I could subdue her. 

With that thought in mind, I held up my hands and took a step back. “I don’t have any problem with you. I didn’t have any issue with him until he tried to kill me,” I said, giving her space so she wouldn’t feel threatened. She was just so small though, it was easy to mistake her for a child. A child aiming the fantasy equivalent of a gun at me, but that just made things more heartbreaking. 

At that, Lili looked a little uncertain. She didn’t lower the weapon, though, but she looked less likely to put a bolt between my eyes. 

“I’m not going to hurt you,” I swore, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible. “Do you need help going back up to the surface?” I let the offer hang in the air, keeping my hands where she could see them as I kept an ear out for any monsters sneaking up on me. 

“You killed him,” Lili observed, her words not sounding like an accusation. 

“I didn’t know how strong he was,” I told her honestly. “I couldn’t let him rob me, I couldn’t let him kill me, so I had to end the fight as fast as I could.” Her expression was still hard, so I continued with, “I’ve been an adventurer for about two days. My goddess, Hestia, she has no one else. I promised her I wouldn’t leave her alone. I couldn’t let him kill me. And I don’t want to hurt you at all, so could you please lower the crossbow?”

This was not how I imagined my first meeting with Lili. I never in a million years would have thought our first meeting would be me killing a man in front of her then being held at crossbow point. I should have walked away. 

Then, slowly, Lili did lower the crossbow. “Does Mr. Adventurer promise not to hurt Lili?” She asked in a very small voice- ah. Right. She was trying to play me right now. The anime really did not do her justice in that regard, because without my meta knowledge, I never would have guessed that she was acting. 

“I promise I won’t hurt you. And my name is Jericho. Nice to meet you, Lili, just...wish it could have been better circumstances.” I said with what I hoped was a friendly smile. 

“Lili does too Mr. Jericho,” Lili returned, her voice adopting an almost childlike quality to it. 

“Lili, would it be okay if I pick up and sheath my sword?” I asked, gesturing to my blade that I dropped to grab Asshole’s head. “I won’t hurt you. I promise.” If she was trying to pass herself off as a child, and she could with the ratty beige cloak that covered her, then I needed to treat her like one. I had to pretend that I believed her, especially when there was still a risk of her shooting me. 

“...Lili thinks it’s okay…” Lili trailed off, sounding unsure. 

“Are you sure? I don’t want to scare you either. Well, any more than I have, at least,” I tacked on, not exactly helping my case. 

Lili nodded firmly, the wary expression leaving her face, but not her eyes. “Lili is sure,” she decided and, cautiously, I picked up my sword and slid it in its sheath at my belt. 

“Thank you,” I said, hoping that this was a good sign. Eventually, my gaze turned to the corpse. To the man I killed. Was it murdered? No, I killed him in self-defense. This was on him. He tried to rob and kill me. This wasn’t my fault. “What...do we do with him?” 

“The Guild forbids bodies from being brought up from the Dungeon,” Lili explained, walking towards me but staying out of reach. Giving the impression that she trusted me without putting herself at risk. “They say it's to stop adventurers from risking their lives to retrieve their comrade’s bodies, but it's really to stop feuds between familias.”

That was one hell of a lesson. “What?” I asked honestly, looking at her with bewilderment. 

“What happens in the Dungeon stays in the Dungeon,” Lili quoted. “Murders happen all the time down here. The Guild doesn’t want proof of them. If an adventurer goes down into the Dungeon alone and he never comes up, then it’s assumed that a monster killed him. If someone brings up a corpse and its clear that’s not the case, then the familia starts asking questions. Or makes accusations. So, the Guild wants to avoid all that.”

“...Huh,” I summarized my feelings on that, turning from her to look at the corpse again. “I might have chosen the wrong profession.” The anime did not seem this grim when I was watching it and masturbating to Hestia on rule 34. Wait -- was Lili implying something there? That no one would look into my murder if she plugged me here and now? Or was she trying to reassure me that nothing would happen since I killed that guy?

“Lili doesn’t think so. If Mr. Jericho is already on the sixth floor in two days, he must be a super amazing adventure!” She practically beamed at me like she totally wasn’t ready to plug me a couple of minutes ago. 

“Thank you Lili,” I said, feeling a different kind of exhaustion. “Would you like me to take you back up to the surface now?” I asked, still looking at the body of a man I killed. 

Lili fidgeted shyly out of the corner of my eye, “actually, if it would be okay with Mr. Jericho, would he take Lili as his supporter?” She requested, throwing on a puppy dog look that was highlighted by her fake dog ears that jutted out of the top of her head. Her magic spell that made her look like whatever she wanted with the restriction that she stayed the same size. 

That would...actually be inconvenient for me. Auto-loot would have to be turned off so she wouldn’t get suspicious, and she would probably end up slowing me down. Then, on the other hand…well...she was Lili.

I came to this world with a very few select goals. One of those goals was Lili. 

However, Lili saw my hesitance and continued with, “Lili doesn’t want to sound desperate, but Lili needed to support Mr. Ged even if he was really mean. She has rent due soon, and Lili doesn't want to lose her home…” All blatant lies. 

“I...don’t mind at all, Lili. Thank you for...understanding,” I finished lamely, not sure what I should say about not judging me for killing a man right in front of her. Worse, I had no idea how she would react to it. 

“No, Lili thanks you for letting me be your supporter,” Lili deflected. “Though, Lili does think that...maybe Mr. Jericho should take Mr. Ged’s sword? Mr. Jericho’s seems to be in really rough shape.” She noted, patting her hip where my sword rested. Well...she wasn’t wrong. 

“Please forgive me,” I told the corpse of a man I killed as I took his sword from his dead hands. It looked Asian -- a long straight blade, a small hilt that I could only barely fit one hand on, with a tassel hanging from the pommel. I tested the weight, finding it fine. The blade was longer than my sword, so it had that going for it. Plus, it wasn’t nicked and blunt, so it was a definite improvement. 

Turning to face the Dungeon again, I looked down at Lili. Her massive bag the size of two of...huh. 

Lili tilted her head as I looked at her, trying to not look wary at me. 

“Actually, how about this,” I said, crouching down to her level. Well, as much as I could. Lili was a loli. I was a massive guy. I watched enough anime to know exactly what I had to do. I turned my back to her, gesturing to it with a thumb. “Hop on.”

“Lili is confused,” Lili informed, not jumping on my back like planned, forcing me to explain. 

“I’ll carry you. I’m trying to push myself down here, you know, train those Endurance and Strength stats. I don’t want to leave you behind, and if I’m carrying you and your bag, then I can train Strength at the same time.” I explained, looking back at her with an easy smile on my face. 

“...Lili is still confused...but okay…?” Lili muttered uncertainty, walking up to me. She had to jump to wrap her arms around my throat, holding on tightly. I felt the weight of her and her bag instantly -- Lili wasn’t quite a shoulder loli, yet, but that was fine for now. My Strength stat was going to shoot up with this plan. 

“Alrighty then. Let’s go!” I warned, breaking into a sprint, the sound of Lili yelling in my ear to slow down as I ran was almost enough to make me not think about the man I just killed. 

Hopefully, the fights to come would manage that for me.