Power Corrupts: Small victories (ch.14) (Patreon)

Let me know how you feel about the fight scene. I’m a little iffy on it, but I can’t tell if its me being overly critical or if it needs some work. 

...

The minotaur hit me like a linebacker, nearly folding me in half and it would have if it weren’t for my sword absorbing the bulk of the blow. Even still, it slammed into me hard enough that the harsh sound of metal on metal rang out before its horns made contact with my armor. 

For the briefest seconds, I thought it might hold. Minotaur or not, my armor was solid steel. And I meant solid, but that hope lasted right up until I felt a burning pain in my stomach where its horns tore through steel like it was tissue paper. Memories of rodeo’s appeared in my mind, and they saved me. 

Grabbing its horn, I managed to stop myself from getting disemboweled with a pained grunt. Attempting to use its own momentum against it as it jerked its head to the side, I tried to trip it up to buy myself precious seconds to do...something. Scream for help, or give Lili a head start before this thing killed me. 

Instead, I somehow forgot that it also had arms. It grabbed my wrist with a grip of iron before it threw me to the side like I didn’t weigh something like a quarter ton. I landed heavily, but I was already scrambling to my feet as soon as I hit the ground. My lungs were empty of air, my stomach hurt more than anything I had ever experienced, but I pushed myself up to my feet. 

It wasn’t my Endurance that made me do it. It wasn’t some chunni resolve to protect Lili or to win this fight against all odds. I just knew it deep down in my gut that if I stayed down then I was dead. Maybe I would get to start a new game, and maybe I wouldn’t. I had no way of knowing. What I did know was that I didn’t want to find out. 

As soon as I rolled to my feet, the monster was on top of me. It lashed out with a fist, a wild haymaker, no form or anything, but with a fist the size of my head, I guess it didn’t need precision. It raced towards my face in a blur, I would have died if my sword wasn’t already in the perfect position to divert the attack. Lashing out, I slashed at its wrist, making it punch empty air. 

Now the only problem was I was face to face with a pissed off monster that was so much stronger than me it went so far passed not being funny until it looped around back to being hilarious. It seemed to realize that at the same time, but somehow, I managed to react first. Closing the distance, I jabbed a leg between its and shoulder checked the monster. 

Both of us came tumbling down to the ground with me on top, having managed to trip the monster. Despite every instinct telling me to keep a hold of my sword, I let go of it. Its size was a burden when the fighting was this close. No sooner than I did, I seized the chance to do whatever damage I could to the monster. 

My thumbs went into its eyes, making the monster bellow in pain-

Something hit me and I only realized it when I found myself off the minotaur as it clutched at its face in pure agony. I had to blink a couple of times, making sure that I didn’t have a concussion, but I wish that was the case. If that second minotaur that appeared out of absolutely nowhere could just be a trick of the light, that would be great. 

Whatever hope that I had that it was a hallucination was quickly dashed when it let out a deep bellow just before it rushed towards me like the one earlier had. Only this time, I was still on the ground. What could I-

My body moved on instinct, knowing that I could never get out of the way in time. Instead, I would just have to do what I could. As it rushed towards me, intending to skewer me with its horns, I twisted so my feet were facing it. In a desperate attempt, right when it neared, I shot my feet out, catching it in the gut, while I gripped its horns to send it flying harmlessly over me. I felt the vibrations travel through the ground, into me. It must weigh as much as me. 

Twisting to my feet, trying to get on top of the monster to at least blind it like I had the other, but my face was met halfway by a clumsy fist. Blood filled my mouth as my head snapped to the side, dark spots fluttering across my vision but I fought them off. If I blacked out now, then I was dead. 

With a wordless roar of rage, I punched the monster back, feeling like I hit a brick wall wrapped in thick leathery skin. Right. Brute force was absolutely useless to me here. What did I have? Pretty much nothing else. Sticking to what I knew worked, I went to blind the monster, only for by that time it had recovered. 

Not knowing what else to do, I pulled up a handful of dirt with my free hand and threw it in its face. It worked well enough, enough to buy me some time to scramble to my feet, as I became painfully aware how my ribs ached. I didn’t have time to look, but I felt my armor pressing against my ribcage, dented from where this thing hit me. 

As the monster lashed out wildly, scratching at its eyes, I retreated towards my fallen sword. I saw the first minotaur was on its knees, still clutching at its ruined eyes, but steadily rising to its feet. It seemed to hear me approach with my sword poised to strike, so it lunged at me, but I sidestepped its clumsy attack. 

Gripping my sword with all the strength I had, I brought it down on the monster’s neck. My sword bit into its neck, hot blood squirting out, but it wasn’t enough. Barely an inch into the monster before my sword was stopped in its tracks. Letting out a frustrated roar, I ripped my blade free at the same time the other minotaur cleared its vision. It bellowed, running at me with its head down low, but things were different now. 

The blind minotaur attacked at me, guided by its sense of smell, but it couldn’t see the Sparta kick that I planted in its gut that sent it spiraling into the other minotaur. My sword wasn’t tough enough to cut through its dense muscle and flesh, but the same wasn’t true for the minotaur that tackled it in the back. 

Both of them came to a crash and it was then that I saw my chance. Hefting my sword another time, this time I didn’t bring it down on the minotaur’s neck, but rather its horn. My sword bounced off, wobbling in my hands, a dent forming on the edge, but I was undeterred. Before minotaur that could see could recover, I swung down again. This time, my sword managed to bite into the tough bone. 

It wasn’t enough, but it was a start. 

As the minotaur recovered, I talked it, my hands going for its horns, trying to put some distance between me and the other minotaur. The very last thing that I needed was to get ganged up on. The minotaur that could see bellowed its rage, grabbing onto my arm and-

“AHH!” I screamed as I felt my arm snap under its incredible strength. I always thought my instinct would be flight when it came to fight or flight, but apparently, I was wrong. I spat in its eye as I refused to let go of its horn as I tried to trip it up again. It’s hoved feet didn’t offer much in terms of stability, so once I put my leg behind its, and turned sharply, it came crashing down. 

I controlled my fall, tucking myself into a ball as I made sure that I landed on its throat with my knee. I didn’t have the raw strength to hurt it, but I doubt it was tough enough that it could be fine after having a quarter ton of muscle and heavy armor land on its neck. Actually-! 

Rolling off the monster, I reached into my inventory and pulled out my other bag. The one filled with a metric shitton of rocks. I grabbed it with one arm, feeling its incredible weight, forced to grab onto it with my other despite the...lack...of pain in my arm? Whatever, not the time to think about that. 

I slammed the bag onto it as it clutched at its throat, trying and failing to breathe. The bag tore, but that didn’t matter. I doubt getting hit with a hundred and something pounds of rock to the face felt good. More importantly, it stunned it long enough that I could grab its horns and start to push. Kinda like I was starting a lawnmower, I brace one hand against one horn and tried to pull the one that was cut towards me. 

For a long second, I just about shit myself when absolutely nothing happened. Then, all of a sudden, the horn ripped free. The sound that the minotaur made was sweet, sweet music to my ears. It lashed out at me, a hand hitting my legs so hard that it swept them from underneath me by accident. But that was fine. As soon as I hit the ground, I was scrambling towards the fallen minotaur, my new weapon raised high.

The minotaur hit me again, its fingers digging deep furrows across my arm. I snarled in pain and rage as I plunged the broken horn into its eye socket. I hoped that it would kill it instantly, but it still thrashed, dislodging the backpack as it twisted so it it was on all fours before lunging at me again. Even with its poor positioning, it managed to knock me flat on my butt, but I managed to keep myself from getting skewered again. 

“Fucking DIE!” I shouted at it, hammering the broken horn deeper into its skull. It slammed a fist into my chest that knocked any trace of breath out of my lungs, something giving way in my ribs as my armor dented around its fist. I couldn’t breathe. Air refused to enter my lungs, all I could do was gasp and gargle on my own blood. 

Even still, despite it all, I hammered the horn into its skull and this time something gave way. The minotaur went limp above me, falling on me, the horn finally reaching its brain. I pushed it off me, still gasping for breath, my lungs burning as I started tearing at my armor. Yanking it off, I finally gasped for breath, air entering my lungs and I felt something shift in my ribs. 

I didn’t have time to think about that. The other minotaur was on its way, driven by main and lead to me by the smell of blood and the screams of its dying kin. I pushed myself to my feet, hurting all over, as I rose I ripped the horn free. Clutching it like it was a lifeline, I spat out an alarming amount of blood as I tried to prepare myself for another bout. 

Everything hurt, my arm was completely fucked and I had no idea how my arm and ribs weren’t broken. Still, I had one enemy left. Even blind, I didn’t dare go near it as it stumbled its way towards us, slowly retreating for every step it took towards me. Hot blood poured from my arm, the claw mark it left across my shoulder was deep and I was having some trouble moving it. My stomach still poured blood, drenching my undershirt and my pants. 

Reaching into my inventory, I grabbed a handful of health potions and downed them in a single gulp. I felt better, a lot better. After pouring some onto my wounds, the bleeding slowed significantly. I was going to kiss Micha when I got out of here. These health potions were saving my life. 

Only when I confirmed that I was back to full health, how low it got, I didn’t want to know, did I stop retreating. Taking a bracing breath, much like the minotaurs did before, I rushed towards it and went low. Tacking what felt like a solid wall of muscle, I slipped behind it, grabbing it from behind as much as I could before I slammed the monster into the ground. The minotaur roared its rage, lashing out with an elbow that flattened my nose with a spray of blood but I pushed through the pain. 

As it struggled to get back up, I wrapped my arm around its throat, knowing that it was pointless to try to strangle it, I simply slammed the broken horn into its eye. The minotaur clawed at my hands, stripping flesh until I felt fingers scrape against bone -- the pain was indescribable. It deafened me to everything, it filled my mind of agony until I couldn’t think about anything else. 

Even then, I hammered the horn into its skull, trying to reach its brain. It wasn’t because of the rage or the desire to kill. I wanted the pain to stop, and the only way to stop it was to kill the fucking thing. 

“Fucking. Die!” I cursed, slamming the horn one last time and the monster went still above me. Its hands went limp, falling from clawing my arm off before it just became deadweight that pinned me to the ground. 

My strength left me. I clutched my arm to my chest, hot blood pouring from it that soaked my tank top, my nose bleeding like a broken faucet I just laid there for a minute, relishing in the fact that I wasn’t dead. Somehow. Somehow, against all logic, I wasn’t dead. 

My thoughts were sluggish, the adrenaline fading and it left a bone-deep exhaustion in its place. I should have lost that fight. I only won because we were a similar height, and that was it. If I hadn’t been able to blind that one minotaur before the second came, I would be dead. If I wasn’t able to break off a horn, I would be dead. If that fight hadn’t gone down exactly as it did, I would be dead. And, even then, it was a close thing. 

Despite my stupor, I wasn’t completely deaf to the world. Hearing the sounds of footsteps, I glanced over just in time to see Ais Wallenstein running towards me, her golden eyes widening when she saw me. Part of me wanted to just lay there until the end of time, but instead, I started to wiggle myself out from underneath, only for Ais to close the distance in a blink of an eye and flip the corpse off me. 

“Thanks,” I said, wincing as I sat up. Ais knelt next to me soundlessly as she shook her head, eyeing the wound on my forearm. It looked...bad. I didn’t want to look at it too closely but I’m pretty sure I could see bone. 

“No, it’s my fault that this happened,” Ais said, her expression was blank but her eyes were filled with worry. “They were running from us -- did you see any more?” She questioned, making me shake my head in response. 

“I don’t know,” I admitted, “I didn’t see any others, but if more were nearby then they probably would have attacked me to.” We were close to the exit, so I’m pretty sure one of these was the one that ended up attacking Bell in canon. 

Ais nodded, accepting my logic...but… “I sent my supporter to the Guild to ask for help, but if there is a chance one is rampaging up there, then I don’t think she’s going to make it in time before someone gets killed.” At that, Ais’ eyes hardened. 

“Will you be okay here?” She asked, standing as she drew her sword. I’m going to go ahead and chalk this thought up to blood loss and shock, but her armor was the stupidest thing I have ever seen. It only protected a little bit of her chest, and one of her boobs was left half exposed. I guess armor became more for style than practicality at higher levels, but that didn’t mean it didn’t look dumb. 

“I’ll be fine. I have some health potions in my bag, and I think those things scared off all the monsters in the area," I guessed, figuring that was why no orcs or rabbits showed their ugly faces during the fight. Still, Ais hesitated, looking at my sounds like every scratch was a personal sin. "Go. The rest of your familia is coming up, right? They can give me a ride back." 

That did the trick. With a determined nod, Ais took off to the ninth floor without another word, leaving me all alone. Shifting so I could face the direction Ais came from, as I reached into my inventory and grabbed as many health potions I could fit in one hand. Health potion spamming was a viable strategy, and one I was going to abuse. Dumping the vials onto my arm, I dated to look to see that my ripped and torn flesh was regrowing. Almost as if someone was hitting the rewind button, the skin and muscle stopped pumping out blood, then they began to creep forward to close over. 

Still, as good as they were, apparently fifty of them weren’t enough to heal my wounds completely. So, either I was using them wrong, or there was some kind of mechanic the game wasn't telling me about since the tutorial seemed to be off. By the time I exhausted my stores, my arm still looked like it had been mailed by an angry bear, but now it looked like it happened a week ago instead of about five minutes. 

Still, when my hands went to my stomach, I felt smooth skin still damp with blood where the minotaur skewered me. And my bones weren't broken anymore. That had to be Gamer Body at work -- if I had to guess, it either instantly healed what should be a fatal wound if I had enough hp to survive it, or it was some kind of battle healing. A broken arm wasn't fatal, but in that fight, it would have been, so it healed the arm after it broke. They were as good of a guess as any. 

Eventually, I heard the sound of footsteps again, this time I saw that it was the main force of the Loki familia. Spearheading the small group was Finn the Braver, followed by Riveria Nine Hells. Behind them were Tiona and Tione, the two bronze skinned Amazonians looked uncharacteristically serious. Finn noticed me first when I waved then over. 

"The, uh, Sword Princess is checking out the upper floors to make sure none got by, but those two were probably the last ones," I explained before anyone could ask, gesturing to the monster corpses. Finn looked them over before he turned a concerned gaze to my sorry state. 

"Did you kill-" Finn started to ask, only to be shoved aside when Tione rushed over, her eyes wide and framing until I could see stars in them. 

"You're blanket guy!" She announced, invading my personal space, forcing me to lean back or I'm pretty sure she would have headbutted me. I blinked at her before I felt something splash onto my arm. Looking down, I saw Riveria had appeared my side, an expensive-looking vial in her hand, a red liquid and- oh. My skin just kinda melded together like the wound was never there in the first place. 

"Er," what was she talking about- ah. Right. "Yeah, that's me. But most people call me Jericho. And thanks," I said, turning to Riveria, the green-haired elf simply nodding with what seemed to be a slight smile on her face. 

"I'm Tione!" Tione introduced herself, moving backward only because her twin sister, Tiona, grabbed her by the shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay? I can carry you if you want?" 

I shook my head as I pushed myself to my feet with only a little difficulty. After testing my arm, I gave her a lopsided smile. "I'm good, thanks though. I mean it," I told her, all of them, getting a positively beaming smile from Tione while the others just nodded back, except for Liefia, who was hunched, panting for breath. My gaze settled on Finn, catching the deceptively powerful pallum inspecting my torn backpack and the corpses. 

"Are these...rocks?" He asked, lifting up the backpack with utter ease. 

I nodded, "I was doing a bit of training." I explained, long prepared to explain why I was wearing a hundred and something pounds of rocks on my back. 

"Is that why you were just wearing a blanket that one time?" Tione asked, earning a small wince from me as I remembered that memory with more than a little shame. It was hardly my best moment, after all. 

“Well…” I trailed off, not missing Tione’s adorable pout when she saw me hesitating. 

“Buu-! You said you’d tell me about if when I came back from the expedition!” Tione reminded me pointedly, making me blanch. She giggled at that, likely sensing that it wasn’t exactly a story to be proud of. “I know, you can tell me on our way up!” She decided, grabbing me by my arm and she would have started dragging me behind her if I didn’t stumble after. 

She was strong. Tione looked like a normal girl, for the most part, but I don’t think I could break her grip on my wrist even if I tried. 

“Wait, what about the monster-” I started, only for Finn to wave me off. One of the bodies was already a pile of ash that was fading, and he was hands deep in the other one. He pulled the stone out, making the minotaur collapse into a pile of ash, leaving behind a monster stone and the horn. 

“This incident is our fault,” Finn said, echoing Ais from earlier, “so this is the least we can do.” He said, handing me the sizable monster stones and the broken-off horn. I looked down at them for a moment and nodded. 

I just about died. Again. Since I’ve arrived here, I’ve been in plenty of situations that could kill me -- heck, every single time I go down into the Dungeon, I could die. Maybe I was becoming more desensitized, or maybe it was because it was an honest mistake, or maybe I was too mentally exhausted after just fighting for my life, but…

“Don’t worry about it too much,” I dismissed with a shake of my head, my gaze landing on my armor. I hadn’t noticed when I was tearing it off, but it wasn’t just bent, it was flat out crumpled. Just looking at it, I could see that without Gamer Body, I would be dead. If not from getting stabbed, then getting blindsided by the second minotaur. 

I tore my gaze away, “you patched me up, so other than needing some new armor and clothes, I’m all good now.”

Finn looked marginally relieved, then amused when Tione started pulling me again, all but dragging me as we approached the exit. “We’ll replace all that stuff for you too,” she decided and before I tore my gaze away from Finn, I saw him wince ever so slightly at that. “So don’t worry about that and tell me blanket guy!” 

“Ah, well…” I started as I started walking so she didn’t start dragging me. She was watching me so intensely it was kinda uncomfortable. She walked backwards through the halls, utterly fearless of the upper floors and anything in them. I felt a flush creep up my neck, realizing that there was no talking my way out of telling that story. 

So, I shrugged. “I got my clothes stolen by a couple of kids, and I didn’t have anything else to wear,” I explained shortly, a self-deprecating grin on my face. 

“Kids?” Finn asked while Tione laughed really, really, really hard like I had just said the funniest thing in the entire world. I gave her an odd look, glancing at her twin for an explanation, only to see she was staring at Tione with dawning horror. It took me a second to register that Finn said anything at all. 

“You...are a level 1 adventurer, are you not?” Riveria was the one that figured it out first, getting a nod from me that made her frown ever so slightly. 

“You killed to minotaurs when you’re a level one?!” Tione shouted, bringing my attention back to her, but not before I caught the glance that Finn and Rieviria shared. She squeezed down on my wrist hard enough to hurt, her breathing getting oddly heavy.

“Er, yeah?” I confirmed with some apprehension. I could hardly explain it was because I cheated with Gamer Body. Without it, I would have died within the opening seconds of the fight. By all rights, I should be dead right now. “But...it wasn’t nearly as impressive as you’re thinking.” I hedged, looking at Tione. 

She was really clinging to me. It was a little odd since this is the second time we’ve ever spoken. 

“How’d you do it?” Tiona questioned, looking interested, though far less so than Tione, who seemed to be hanging off my every word. 

“A crap ton of luck and even more health potions,” I started. As nice as it was to be admired, something like this was going to spread like a wildfire in California. When I challenged Soma in a war game, the best-case scenario was them thinking that I was a rookie getting too big for my boots. I needed them to underestimate me for as long as possible. 

Hell, maybe I would keep my level up under wraps until after I challenged them and pass my victory off as what leveled me up. 

However, that explanation didn’t seem to satisfy the twins, forcing me to continue. “One of their horns was already damaged pretty badly, so I ended up tearing it off when I realized my sword wasn’t going to be much use. Speaking of my sword- ah, Finn was carrying it. That was a really weird look. “And I managed to get a lucky hit at the beginning that blinded one of them. From there, it was just a whole lot of fighting dirty and trying not to die.”

“Wow!” Tione gushed, “you killed two minotaurs with your bare hands?!” Well...technically yes, but...I dunno, it felt a little hollow knowing that I straight up cheated to win. I should be dead right now. 

“Well, I guess so?” I returned, smiling woodenly as we made our way out of the Dungeon. The entire trip up was lead by Tione as she bombarded me with questions, all the while I wondered what I did to deserve this much of her attention. Even still, I answered them doing my best to keep my answers vague until we reach the Guildhall-

“Mr. Jericho!” Lili cried out as soon as we walked up the steps. She glomped me, her hands curling up as she grabbed my bloodstained pants, her eyes filled with relief. “You’re alive! Lili...Lili was really scared you’d…!”

I patted her head, idly noting that she didn’t have any animal ears on top of her head, “Sorry to worry you, but the Loki familia saved me.” I told her, casting a look over at Finn and Riveria. Finn smiled as he nodded, knowing exactly what I was trying to do. 

“But-” Tione started to blurt out the truth, only for Riveria to clap a hand over her mouth. 

“We were happy to help,” he said just loudly enough that the half-full lobby would hear him. So, now as far as they were concerned, I was the extremely large rookie that got his butt saved by the Loki familia. Much better than level 1 rookie that killed two minotaurs with his bare hands. 

“Though,” a new voice pitched in. We turned to see it was an elderly elf, rather heavy set around the waist, with his graying hair slicked back. He wore a guild uniform, and judging by the Loki familia’s expressions, he was fairly high up the food chain. “That could be the least that is expected of you, Loki familia. Please, follow me. There is much to discuss about this...incident.” He said, turning on his heel and marching into the Guildhall to a part that I’ve never seen before. 

“Right,” Finn said, letting out a tired sigh as he handed over my sword. “It was nice meeting you Jericho.” He said, following after the elderly elf. 

“Bye! I’ll see you later blanket guy!” Tione said, be dragged by Tiona and Riveria. I waved goodbye, thinking that sounded a lot like a promise. Once they were out of sight, a sigh escaped me as I turned my attention back to Lili. 

She seemed to realize that she was still holding onto me so she quickly let go. “Is Mr. Jericho really okay? Were is Mr. Jericho’s armor?” She asked, eying the sheer amount of drying blood on me. The potions helped wash away some of it on my arm, but my face was still coated in it from my broken nose and my tank top was officially a lost cost. 

“Left it behind. I’m going to have to get some new armor, so I’ll go do that now,” I said with a frown. I didn’t want to wait another...what, week to get my armor repaired? I would have to either go without or buy some premade armor and bring it to someone to make it fit me. “After a shower, of course.”

Then I pressed the monster stones into Lili’s hands, making her eyes go wide at the size of them. Up until this point, the biggest stone we’ve seen was about as long as one of her fingers and as wide as a pencil. These were proper stones, I couldn’t even guess how much these were worth. 

“After that, I think we’re done for the day. Would you exchange those for me?” I said, seeing the hesitation on Lili’s face. “I trust you,” I told her, causing her to look down in shame. I hadn’t meant it like that, but I think she needed to know that. And now, finally, she would start trusting me. 

After a quick shower, I checked myself out in the mirror to see how my nose was. To my relief, it was perfectly straight. My Gamer Body skill seemed to be a little weird on how exactly its heal mechanics worked, but it saved my life so it could be as weird as it liked. Not wanting to put on my bloody tank top, I walked back into the Guildhall shirtless. 

Lili was waiting for me, holding onto a small bag of gold to her chest, her gaze darting around, expecting someone to materialize out of the shadows to steal it. Lili light up when she saw me, rushing over before she handed the small sack of gold to me. It was fairly light, enough so that I checked inside of it to see what was going on because I doubt that if Lili was going to steal from me, she would be this obvious about it. 

Inside were golden coins different from the normal ones. If I had to guess, these were thousand dollar bills of the Danmachi world. Doing some quick math...oh. Oh...no wonder why Lili was so warry about someone stealing this from her. Those two monster stones were worth than two days worth of dungeon diving. 

“...level 2 adventurers make some crazy money, don’t they?” I muttered with a frown, getting an agreeing noise from Lili. But, I guess that made sense. Armor that level 2 Blacksmiths made hicked up in price, so despite making more money, they were forced to spend more money. 

“Will Mr. Jericho be coming to the Dungeon tomorrow?” Lili asked, making me think on it for a second. Eventually, I nodded. I couldn’t let a lack of armor stop me from making progress. I was making so much of it now, just a few more weeks and I could be a level 2. 

“I will. I can take the big guys easily enough, but I’ll be relying on you to deal with the little guys,” I said, tucking the small fortune into my pocket. And by pocket, I meant my Inventory. 

“You can count on Lili!” Lili proclaimed with a firm nod. After that, we said our goodbyes for today. I watched her walk off in the direction of her home, another sigh escaping me. I still had some daylight left, so I might as well run some errands while I could. Hestia would get off work in a bit, and I wanted everything taken care of before then. 

…

With my newfound wealth, I ended up ordering a chest piece from Welf, and asked him to repair my sword’s edge since the dents in it were beyond my ability to repair. After that, I went to Micha and ordered not one metric fuck ton of potions, but three epic fuck ton of potions. When I described what the potion that Riveria used on me did, he told me it was a high potion, so I ordered some of those as well. It would just take some time to make. 

“Status,” I said aloud, relaxing on my bed, a book in hand that I was staring at rather than reading. 

Jericho

Level: 1

Progress to level 2: 219,398/1,000,000

Strength: 60 (+2)

Endurance: 73 (+3)

Dexterity: 74 (+1)

Intelligence: 24 (+4)

Sense: 48 (+2)

Development Abilities:

Physical Resistance: The user receives 7% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat. 

Abnormal Resistance: Poisons, Toxins, and Drugs are 7% less effective. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.

Swordsman: Increased parameters when wielding swords. Effectiveness is determined by Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and Sense.

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.

Kissing: An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target. Effectiveness is determined by the Dexterity and Sense stat.

Sex: Greatly enhances parameters when engaging in sexual intercourse. Effectiveness is determined by Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, and Sense stats. 

My damage resistance probably saved me more than anything during that fight. It was at twelve percent resistance thanks to Durable, then Life-Giver, which had doubled my hp a while ago, gave me enough hp to survive those attacks. The fight was too intense for me to keep up with hp, but I couldn’t shake feeling that I had just about died down there. 

Though, it was very nice to know that each minotaur gave me about ten thousand exp. Which also told me that when I hit level 2, the exp requirement to hit level 3 was going to be balls off the walls insane. 

“I killed two level 2 monsters,” I muttered, thinking aloud as I set my book to the side. It was messy. Extremely messy, and a lot of it relied on the monsters being to stupid to work together and flailing wildly at me, but that didn’t change the fact that I had killed them. If I was able to kill the strongest level 2 monster, then it stood to reason that I stood a chance against a level 2. 

In the anime, Zanis went down like a little bitch. Welf smacked him with his sword once, and that was it. Didn’t even cut him. And Welf was a newly minted level 2, so Zanis might not be as strong as I think he is. The fight might be a little more even than it should be. 

But...why take that risk? Zanis likely didn’t know who I was just yet. By the time he did, I wanted it to be too late. 

“I should keep going as I have,” I decided, mulling it over for a few minutes. Keep striving for level 2, grinding my stats and racking up exp. And...actually...I had an opportunity, didn’t I? Later tonight, the Loki familia was going to party at the Hostess, if I went there since what happened was their fault even if they didn’t mean for it to happen, maybe I could get an apology gift or something? 

Or, even better...if I asked for training from one of them, as Bell did with Ais, then they couldn’t turn me down! During the day, I could grind stats like crazy, maybe get some Skills too, and that would allow me to go even deeper into the Dungeon. Maybe I could talk them into taking me deeper into it before I hit level 2, kinda like they were power leveling me! 

Huh. Nearly getting killed by the minotaurs was probably one of the best things that could have happen-

“I’m home!” Hestia announced, coming down steps with a pep in her step. 

“Welcome back,” I greeted, pushing my machiavellian manipulations to the side and focusing on my goddess. “How was work?” 

“It was wonderful! I told a lot of armor today!” Hestia said cheerfully, practically skipping over to me. “I heard about an incident in the Dungeon, though -- apparently the Loki familia scared a whole bunch of minotaurs onto the upper floors! You didn’t see…” she trailed off, unable to finish when she saw my expression. 

I quickly told her everything that had happened, making Hestia go very, very, very quiet. When I was finally done, she exploded like an erupting volcano. 

“Loki! How-how dare her familia be so reckless!?! You could have been killed! I, I don’t know what…!” Hestia shouted, but much like a volcano, her initial outburst was the loudest. Reaching out, I pulled her in before the waterworks could come. 

“I’m fine. What could have happened, didn’t,” I reassured, embracing her. “So don’t worry too much. I’m fine. I promised I wouldn’t leave you alone, didn’t I?” I said, getting a small giggle out of her. Pulling away from her, I pinched her chin to see that she didn’t look like she was about to cry anymore. 

Before I could, Hestia leaned in to kiss me. It was a raw kiss filled with need, her hands found themselves in my hair, gripping me so tightly it was like she was planning to never let me go. I kissed her back, my tongue snaking into her mouth as my hands dipped down to her shapely ass. 

She kissed me that much harder when my hands went beneath her short skirt of her uniform, her tongue battling against mine. Her kissing skills saw prodigious improvement over the past week, I noted as I nibbled her bottom lip. Her enthusiasm made up for her lack of skill before, and now it was damn near overwhelming. 

One of her hands left my hair, tracing down my chest, gliding over my abs until it rested on my groin. I smirked into the kiss as Hestia wasted no time unzipping my pants and fishing out my half-mast cock. She grabbed the hardening flesh, placing both of her hands onto it as she kissed me forcefully. 

What I didn’t expect was for her to climb up on top of me as soon as I was at full mast. She placed a hand on my chest to push me back so I was laying down, and I let her, though I gave her a questioning look. “No foreplay?” I ask, cocking an eyebrow as Hestia reached underneath her skirt to push her panties to the side. 

“I just…” Hestia trailed off, unable to put her thoughts into words. “I want you,” she decided, teasing my cockhead with her slick slit before she pressed down. I watched her face as she enveloped my length in a tight embrace, a soft moan escaping her as she wore an expression of pure relief. 

Instead of slamming her hips up and down, she went back and forth. It was a lot easier for her that way, and it felt amazing for me. With my hands on her hips, my fingers massaging the soft flesh of her ass, I helped guide her hips. Hestia panted on top of me, bracing herself with her hands on my unyielding abs. 

Her mouth hung open, her gaze staring into mine as her body was racked with pleasure. Reaching up, I caressed her cheek and presented a thumb. She latched onto it, her tongue coiling around it as she treated it exactly as she would if it were my cock. A heavy blush framed her face, her bangs getting plastered to her forehead as she worked up a sweat riding me. 

After a week, I got pretty good at telling when Hestia was nearing her orgasm. Her walls clenched around my length, her moans became pants for air as she fucked herself breathless on top of me while her hip movements became more frantic. Dressed in her uniform, I couldn’t see where we were connected, but I felt her juices dripping down my cock.

Then she came. Cum poured down my cock, soaking her panties that were tucked to the side, and my pants but I hardly cared. Hestia would have collapsed right on top of me if it wasn’t for my arms keeping her up. She quivered above me, her eyes glazing over even as she continued to stare at me. 

Slowly, she regained control over herself. And, to my continued surprise, Hestia picked up her pace right where she left off.

Wordlessly, I took my thumb out of her mouth and began unbuttoning her blouse. Fucking her in uniform was great, but I would rather see her boobs. Hestia never stopped moving as I removed her top half, revealing her perfectly sculpted breasts. Having to hunch over, I lifted my top half off the bed so I could clamp my lips over one of her delicious looking nipples. 

“Ahhh~” Hestia breathed as I sucked on her nipple, playing with her other, while my other hand still playing with her ass. Though, maybe I could put it to better use. Reaching over, I moved her panties to the side to grant me access to her clit. Rubbing it with my thumb, Hestia threw her head back and moaned. 

Pulling back, her breast leaving my mouth with an audible pop. I opened my mouth to say something, but Hestia slammed her lips into mine, driven by hunger only sex could sate. 

As I kissed her, tasting the sweets she likely snacked on while working, I felt her walls start to clench down on me again. Between teasing her nipples and clit, her natural sensitivity and her heightened sensitivity from her recent orgasm, it only took a few short minutes before I felt her cum again. Hestia leaned into me, her hands holding me as tightly as she could as pleasure swept her away. 

Then, as soon as the tides of ecstasy receded, Hestia started moving her hips again. 

Well...if she was game, then so was I. 

I took off her skirt and ripped off her panties, leaving her wearing nothing but her stockings. All the while Hestia desperately thrust back and forth, filling our small home with the sounds and smell of sex. A sheen of sweat covered her, a drop of sweat forming on her chest, trailing all the way down to her pink nipple before it was flung off from the force of her movements. They swayed every time she thrust, right up until I lavished attention on them with my hands and tongue. 

Hestia came again, faster this time. Her eyes butterflied, the tides of pleasure claiming her for the third time. My lap was absolutely soaked with her fluids already, and more gushed out of her. She went limp against my chest, trembling in my arms as her walls milked me for my cum. Only none came. 

“Jericho…!” Hestia moaned, trying to move her hips again, but I kept them still with my hands. Her eyes opened, half-lidded, and her sapphire blue eyes were overflowing with sheer want...and something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Before I could ask, she tried the thrust again, and spoke with a husky voice, “Jericho, I want you. Please, fuck me.”

Well then. 

All of a sudden, whatever it was I was about to say seemed very unimportant as I flipped Hestia over. Because of the size difference, unless I wanted to smother her, I couldn’t lean over. Tucking my knees underneath me, with Hestia still fully wrapped around my cock, I laid her down, adjusting my positioning. Hestia squeezed down on me, her hands going down to my wrists as I gripped her waist. 

I pulled back slowly, watching her pussy do its absolute best to keep me sheathed inside her, my cock covered with her juices. Hestia breathed, her breasts rising and falling as she braced herself for what was to come. Then I slammed my hips forward hard enough that her breasts bounced, “Hu!” Hestia moaned as I pulled back out, then hammered my hips against hers. 

“You look like you’re enjoying yourself,” I noted with some humor as my hips found a tempo. Normally, I had music going on to help me find a rhythm, otherwise, I thought too much about my hip movements and threw it off completely. Hestia couldn’t answer as I thrust, her mouth wide open as she threw her head back. 

The sounds of her pleasure were music to my ears as I fucked my goddess into a puddle of goo. I looked down at her, watching her squirm under my ministrations, her sensitivity must be making this torturous for her. To be honest, with just how much dick was inside her, I always expected to see some kind of bulge to mark where my dick resided. 

As I entertained myself by fucking Hestia until her breasts swayed in small circles, I felt the signs of yet another impending orgasm. Her...fourth in about half an hour. Hestia’s hips bucked, her walls clamping down on me again, massaging my cock to milk me of my orgasm, but my cock endured unflinchingly. 

“K-keep going!” Hestia moaned even as she squirmed, her chest heaving with every breath, her body was coated in a sheen of sweat. 

The thing about Hestia’s extreme natural sensitivity -- it made it so very easy for her to get worked up and cum, but she didn’t have the stamina to keep that up. Four orgasms in, and she looked like she was getting fucked for hours. 

“Are you sure?” I questioned, getting a frantic nod from Hestia. I didn’t need any other prompting as I started to hammer away at her. Because of the size differences, my options for positions was limited. However, I had a few in mind. Twisting Hestia so her back was facing me, the goddess limply letting me do what I wanted even as she moaned in approval, I held her hips up and started pounding into her doggy style. 

I lost myself in the sensation of her pussy wrapped around my cock. Despite only a week of sex, I was rapidly learning her most sensitive spots. I tormented them, feeling Hestia cum on my cock a fifth time. Then a sixth. And a seventh and an eighth and a ninth. Another half an hour passed, Hestia was face down into the bed, her mouth wide open as she drooled, her eyes open but seeing nothing as I mercilessly fucked her. 

Sensing that her tenth orgasm was nearby, I massaged my thumb against her puckered asshole before entering. Hestia groaned, proving that she was still somewhat aware as a weak spatter of cum raced down my cock and dripped off my balls. 

Looking down at her, I let out a small sigh. Yeah, she was done- “Noooo,” Hestia moaned when I began to pull out of her, her hips moving to keep me lodged as deeply as she could take me. “You haven’t...I haven’t…!”

Ah. My stats and skills had a bit of a drawback, as we learned over the past week. The higher my endurance was didn’t just mean that I had more and bigger nuts to bust, but it took me longer to bust them. With Hestia’s stamina, she was having trouble making me cum once, much less the three times. 

“Hestia, it’s-” I started to reassure her, but she was shaking her head.

“It’s not fine!” Hestia argued, twisting around so she could look at me. The pleasure she displayed before was gone, replaced with an upset expression. “You’ve been taking care of yourself because I can’t do it for you. I can’t satisfy you.” She pointed out, trying to thrust while she spoke but her hips didn’t have any strength in them left. 

“I-” I started, not knowing what I could say about that. In a way, she was telling the truth. After we were done the past couple of nights, I took care of my erection since Hestia was usually too out of it. Fucking an unconscious girl, even if it was because I fucked her unconscious, left a bad taste in my mouth. 

“Jericho...did Syr come into our room the first night we made love?” Hestia asked directly, getting a wince out me. That probably told her all she needed to know because she nodded slowly. “I thought so. I thought it was just a weird dream, but…”

“Hestia, you don’t have to worry about me cheating on you,” I told her with a small frown. I’ve been cheated on in the past and I wasn’t going to do that to someone else. Especially a goddess who knew when I was lying and loved me unconditionally. 

Hestia was quiet for a moment, but it was the fact that she didn’t look angry that kept me from pressing the issue. She took in a deep breath, coming to some conclusion based on how she nodded to herself. “You...could?” She said in a small voice, looking up at me with a piercing gaze. “I can’t satisfy you, so…”

“Hestia-” I started, only to cut myself off. I wasn’t expecting this. I figured, eventually, I’d muster up the courage to ask her about other girls, but the very last thing I expected was for her to bring it up first. I took a second, gathering my thoughts before I continued. “Hestia, would you really be comfortable with that?”

It took Hestia a moment to respond but she gave me another slow, deliberate nod. “I think so...I mean, I...yes. I think I am. But, could you...let me meet them first? If I can’t satisfy you on my own, then…” She started and stopped, embarrassed and unsure. I simply nodded, knowing what she was getting at. 

“Before I do anything with anyone, I’ll run it by you first, okay?” I told her, leaning over to give her a long kiss. Hestia nodded before my lips pressed against hers. I savored the feeling of her body against hers and, despite myself, I felt as giddy as a schoolgirl. My life was so fucking awesome. 

Breaking the kiss, I pulled back to smile down at her, “would you like to go to the hostess tonight?” 

Hestia blushed, a small smile tugging at the edge of her lips. 

“I would.”