Power Corrupts: Small Steps (ch.13) (Patreon)

Jericho

Level: 1

Progress to level 2: 197,804/1,000,000

Strength: 60

Endurance: 73 

Dexterity: 74

Intelligence: 24

Sense: 48

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. 

"You've made some pretty crazy progress, Jericho," Hestia noted as she straddled my back, her hands lingering despite long since finishing updating my falna. I didn't mind as I closed the slip of paper, in fact, having her small hands caress my back felt rather nice. 

"I'm almost a fifth of the way there," I agreed, mulling over my progress for the past week. I made great gains in terms of exp now that I was doing quests and spending something like sixteen hours a day in the Dungeon. My stats, on the other hand, had slowed dramatically. I guess it was to be expected since stat grinding got much more difficult the higher they got, though that didn't mean it wasn't frustrating.

Though, I did get a Perk recently for my Strength Stat. Unlike most gamer systems, Power Attack wasn’t a Skill, but a perk. Now, when I tried to hit something with all my strength, the ‘damage’ went up. Whatever that meant.

Then there was the lack of a reward for taking Hestia’s virginity. I got the Skill Sex out of it, but I could have gotten that my sleeping with those two guards at the red-light district. Hestia was a goddess. If I really was the gamer, then there should be some grand reward for taking the virginity of a goddess, right? 

If there was, then I hadn’t seen it yet. Though, I couldn’t imagine I wouldn’t get one. 

"But is that stuff working?" I asked, pushing my thoughts away from the ever consuming frustrations with my progress. 

"It is!" Hestia exclaimed with no small amount of relief, patting my back where my now disguised falna resided. She brought a vial of stuff that could disguise what my falna looked like yesterday, but we were too...distracted to use it then. Now my falna looked normal to the naked eye -- my stats were numbers in the hundreds with their rank next to them, my Development Abilities were gone and, if I had to guess, my Skills were edited as well. 

“Should I get my status confirmed by the Guild later? I have lessons with Eina, so I can do it then,” I asked, moving to get up and Hestia allowed me to. Though, as soon as I was in a sitting position, Hestia glomped me. 

“No...I think asking to get it confirmed out of the blue will make the Guild suspicious. They’ll ask when you level up, so it might be best to wait until them,” Hestia refuted, humming contentedly to herself as she hugged me as tightly as she could. After a week, I was used to it. Hestia was affectionate before, but after we had sex, she was downright clingy. But, I guess that wasn’t entirely her fault. 

“Fair point,” I said, wrapping an arm around her. “How much longer until you have to leave for work?” I asked, getting a small sigh as she continued to hug me with all her might. Ever since I started going into the Dungeon at nights, and she worked during the day, we only really saw each other for a couple of hours each day. 

Which was pretty much the same situation as before, but it seemed Hestia was convinced she had to cram eight hours of cuddling when we were asleep into the few hours we did see each other. 

“Not long enough,” Hestia muttered unhappily, one of her hands going to mine. When she started, Hestia had claimed that she was going to have more flexible hours, but that seemed to be a hook to rope her into the job. She worked eight hours every day, starting at ten and all the way until eight in the afternoon, so it was still better than her other job. 

“If you don’t like it…” I left the offer in the air, knowing she was going to refuse before she shook her head. I knew she didn’t dislike it, especially when she came back each day far less haggard, but both of us shared the opinion that there were more hours in the day for other activities. 

“No, I do! Plus, we need to keep saving money to help Lili out of her horrible familia!” Hestia reminded, getting a nod out of me. We had quite the stash hidden away. Hundreds of thousands of valis. I still haven’t gotten a new bed or a new place, but outside of getting bare necessities, everything went into the bank. And by the bank, I meant my Inventory since Hestia’s hidey-hole was nowhere near big enough. “And I’m having a lot of fun while I’m there, I don’t have to deal with that many customers and my co-workers are really nice!”

Hestia’s hand traveled up my arm, glancing up at me before she transferred her hand to my thigh. That got a crooked grin out of me, moving her hand up to where my half-mast dick resided. “I’m game, but you’ll be late for work,” I pointed out. 

Her touch lingered, but it wasn’t a surprise when she pulled her hand back, a pout on her face. “I’ll make it up to you later,” Hestia promised, tilting her head back and closing her eyes, telling me that she wanted a kiss. I was all too happy to oblige, closing the distance between our lips until mine pressed down on hers. 

It didn’t last anywhere near long enough. Hestia ended it before she could lose herself in the kiss, pulling back before she buried her face into my side and breathed in deeply. With sheer force of will, Hestia managed to push herself to her seat, leaving me alone on our bed. She was dressed in the bright red and white uniform of the Hesphustus familia. 

“I have to go to work. Are you going back into the Dungeon with Lili?” Hestia asked dejectedly, pulling on her slippers. My gaze roamed over her legs hidden beneath her stockings, her miniskirt leaving a small gap where her pale skin could be seen. It covered a lot more than her usual attire did, but I couldn’t say I didn’t like the view. 

“I am,” I confirmed with a nod of my head. I only came back up to spend some time with Hestia before she left for work. “Only for about six hours, or so. Then lessons with Eina, and after that, you’ll be off work.” 

“I don’t know how you can stand that,” Hestia commented, referring to my full schedule that allowed absolutely no free time. “I’d go stir crazy in no time if I didn’t have any time to read.”

I gave a shrug, “I’m used to it.” Two weeks in a fantasy world couldn’t undo years of working two jobs on top of going to school, first high school then college. I was more used to not having free time than having it. “And it’s not like I don’t enjoy dungeon diving. I like...I dunno, seeing how much I improve each day.” 

If I didn’t enjoy it then there was no way I could stay down there for over sixteen hours a day. My falna wasn’t just numbers on a paper, those numbers represented me. I wasn’t just feeling the effects of self-improvement, I was looking at evidence of it. There was something oddly motivating about that. Not to mention, the amount of money I was pulling in. 

“I guess if you’re happy…” Hestia muttered, not quite able to wrap her head around that, slipping on her other shoe. She hovered at the door, looking back at me with a look of determination. She turned around fully, her hands curled into fists as a heavy blush appeared on her face. 

“I-I-I love you! BYE!” Hestia yelled, fleeing our home in a rush, driven by embarrassment. I just smiled away, feeling light as a feather as I heard her leave the dilapidated church. She still got embarrassed saying it, always fleeing as soon as the words left her mouth. It seemed Hestia was firmly stuck with flight when it came to fight or flight. 

A groan escaped me as I pushed myself off the bed, having missed the chance to offer to walk Hestia to work. Grabbing a bucket of water to splash on myself, I woke myself up by cleaning my face. In the past week, I hadn’t slept a wink, and while my body didn’t need sleep, my brain kept telling me that this was wrong and I should be sleeping at night. That feeling diminished as the days went on, thankfully. 

After checking my internal clock, I started putting my armor back on. It only took a couple of minutes since I was used to it at this point, but once I was ready, I made my way to the Dungeon for another long day of grinding. 

It was strange how normal this stuff became. Living in a fantasy world filled with elves, dwarves, hobbits, and beast people. With magic. I mean, I was off to fight a horde of monsters for money and a couple of weeks ago, my biggest worry was making sure I got enough hours at my second job. 

Before I could make that downward spiral into my musings, a voice called out to me. “Good morning Jericho,” Syr greeted me, a pleasant smile on her face. In her hands was a bento box wrapped in a brightly colored cloth, topped with a perfect bow. A week later, and as soon as I saw her, the image of her naked appeared in my mind. 

I didn’t know her exact relationship with Freya, other than she was some kind of agent for the goddess of fertility and she looked like her. And, did she look like her. Her full breasts, her absolutely drenched pussy that dripped with every step she took, her eyes filled with lust as she stared at my cock, asking if I wanted her to finish me off. It was an image that was going to stick with me every time I saw her for a long, long time. 

“Morning,” I greeted, blinking the image away. Syr’s smile grew a fraction as if she somehow knew exactly what I was thinking about. She held out the bento box to me, smiling sweetly. 

“Another long day in the Dungeon?” She asked as I accepted the meal with a smile. Since that day a week ago, Syr had started going out of her way to deliver me meals. I saw the tactic for what it was, but I was a little less certain on why she was going out of her way to meet me. Did Freya order her to? Or was this her own initiative since I doubt Freya would have ordered her to peek and masturbate. Or maybe she would, I have no clue. 

“Seems like it,” I agreed with a nod, rolling a shoulder as I deposited the bento into the satchel I looted from Asshole the First. 

“Don’t overdo it, okay?” Syr warned, her expression growing concerned. I couldn’t be certain, but I think she suspected that I was spending all night in the Dungeon. If she did, then I guess that would lend more credence to the possibility that she was following Freya’s orders. “I’d be reallly upset if you stopped coming around, Jericho…!” 

“I won’t, I promise,” I reassured easily, ignoring how she took a step forward, invading my personal space. I still hadn’t spoken to Hestia about other girls since...well...there was no easy way for that topic to come up, and what was between us was still too new. I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t the brightest, but I wasn’t that stupid. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to cheat on Hestia. “I have Lili watching my back, so I don’t have to worry about anything.”

Syr let out a small laugh, having met the pallum once before. Unlike the anime, it was under much better circumstances. “In that case, you’ll be safe and sound,” she teased, clearly amused by the idea of a pallum protecting someone like me. 

“Thanks again for the bento, I’ll bring it back around sixish,” I told her, getting a beaming smile from Syr in response. 

“Then I’ll see you then! Work up a really big appetite and order a bunch of food!” Syr said, waving goodbye and telling me that she was working as a waitress tonight instead of a cook. The anime really had underplayed how lazy she was about working. Well, maybe not lazy, but she certainly cut more than her fair share of corners. 

“Will do,” I said, waving goodbye as I continued on my way to the Dungeon. Now that it wasn’t five in the morning, the streets were a lot busier. Most people cleared way when I walked, which made sense. I was a big dude, but, more importantly, I was a big dude decked out in heavy armor and carrying a huge sword. My gaze landed on Micha’s shop, and before I could think better of it, I found myself walking towards it. 

Pushing open the door, a small bell chimed to announce my entry. The place looked about the same since the last time I was here -- though, I did notice several dop items that I had given Micha as gifts hanging up to be sold. They were leftovers from completed quests that I didn’t need, and it was better to give them to Micha since he had a habit of giving out potions like candy. 

“Ah-! H-hello!” A boyish voice greeted me, bringing my attention to who stood behind the counter. It wasn’t Micha or Naaza. Instead, it was a young man with a mop of stark white hair and ruby red eyes -- a unique appearance that I would have recognized anywhere. The expression he wore told me he was a mess of nerves, probably because it was his first day on the job, but there was no mistaking who he was. 

Bell Cranel was behind the counter. 

“I mean,” he hastily corrected himself as I struggled to recover from the sucker punch that was his sudden appearance. Was he working here as a part-time job? But Micha didn’t have the money for that since he was deeply in debt because he bought a prosthetic arm for Naaza when she lost hers. “Welcome to Micha’s emporium! How can I help you today?”

It took me a second to find my voice, this was the very last place I ever expected to see Bell. After so long, I kinda figured that my being here had somehow written out his entire existence, or something. When he looked increasingly nervous, I realized I was staring at him. 

“Er, yeah,” I started, trying to play it cool. I mean, I was meeting the main character of this series. Despite my gripes about his Skill Realis Phrase, I actually rather liked Bell -- especially when I was proving to be as bullshit as he was. He was hardly my favorite protagonist or anything, but as far as harem protagonists go, he was a cut above the rest. He was a sweet kid that was unwavering in his feelings towards Ais -- it was almost enough to make me forgive him for rejecting Best Girl in the canon timeline. "I was hoping to get some antidotes."

"I can get that for you!" Bell blurted, sounding absolutely elated that he could. In a quick dash, he went to the back room for a few moments, then he came running back with a great big smile on his face, practically firing pure, undiluted Jljoy from every pore. It was nearly blinding. He set a box filled with antidotes on the table, "Here you are sir!" 

"Thanks…" I said, grabbing a few vials. Glancing at Bell, I idly observed that he was a lot smaller than I thought he'd be. I mean, I knew he was only a little bit taller than Hestia, but he seemed like he was tall for his age in the anime. "So, did you just join up with Micha's familia?" I asked, fishing for a few valis in my pocket. 

Bell nodded, beaming so much happiness that it was getting hard to look at him. "I joined last night! Micha found me when I, ah, got kicked out of the inn I was staying at," he admitted with some embarrassment, but it didn't detract from his happiness, it simply made it softer in nature. He really was a sweet kid. "I asked to join and he said yes!" 

"Congratulations," I said with an honest smile on my face. I was happy for him. It was better than being written out of the universe or ending up in a familia like the Soma familia. "I'm Jericho, Hestia familia. Our gods our friends," I explained as I offered an oversized hand to him. His face lit up as he took my hand, uncaring how mine engulfed his. 

"Bell Cranel!” Bell returned before he chuckled, “ah, Jericho...you wouldn’t happen to be an adventurer, would you?” He asked hesitantly, clearly unsure how to begin. I would think that since I'm decked out in heavy armor, it was pretty obvious, but I nodded all the same. 

"Um, I was wondering if you could tell me a little about the Dungeon? As someone who's been there? I would ask Naaza, but she…" Bell trailed off, looking worried and sad. I only met Naaza once in passing, but that didn't really surprise me. 

"Sure," I agreed easily enough, having to squint when he started beaming again. "The first floor is nothing but goblins but don't underestimate them. They’re kinda like rabid animals that throw themselves at you, and the like to jump to tear out your throat. It's a little different for me," I said, gesturing to the near three feet height difference, "but I'd recommend taking them out fast. Be aggressive so they can't group up on you but, if you find that you're getting surrounded, run away." 

He blinked at that, and I saw why. A guy the size of me was telling him to run away from the weakest monster in the Dungeon. I just smirked at his puzzled face, "It sounds weird, but it's true. Keep this between us, but I got cocky in the Dungeon and nearly got myself killed by a swarm of goblins." Bell blanched, clearly reassessing what he thought of my abilities or goblins. "But the important part is to know when to run away. Your life is way more important than your pride, so if you're in over your head, turn tail and run. Live to come back bigger and stronger." 

Bell nodded determinedly, eating up every word. "I will!" He confirmed, nodding again. This was...kinda cool. I was mentoring what should be the protagonist of this world. 

Well...might as well make sure the kid doesn't get himself killed… "actually, have you registered with the Guild yet?" I asked, getting a no from Bell. "When you do, ask for the Guild advisor Eina Tulie. She's mine and she'll make sure you'll know every last thing you could ever want to know about the Dungeon." 

I could see the growing joy in Bell’s eyes, the admiration. It was only because I knew him so we'll through meta knowledge, but it was easy to tell that he was starting to look up to me. That was pretty awesome. To seal the deal, I slid over a small pouch filled with valis as I took the vials. To set up the scene I was going for, I started to turn away, waving goodbye as Bell thanked me only to realize I had overpaid by a stupid amount. 

"J-Jericho! You gave me too much-" 

"It's a tip. Use it to buy some decent starter gear -- like a long or short sword, or armor that'll keep your insides on the inside," I dismissed, waving over my shoulder and indulging on a long harbored chunni desire. I must look so fucking cool right now. "I'll see you later Bell." 

"Thank you so very much!" Bell shouted as I left the store, I didn’t look back to secure my image of the cool, friendly senpai look I was going for. I went as far as to take the long way to the central plaza to make sure that I disappeared ‘mysteriously’ instead of walking by the front window. Once I was certain I was out of sight, I ran a hand through my hair, blowing out a breath. 

“I didn’t expect that,” I mused to myself as I approached the central plaza that was overlooked by the tower of babel. Running into Bell out of the blue was a shock. I was glad he found a good familia, depending on Naaza, he could have someone to train him. And, hopefully, Freya wouldn’t notice him so he wouldn’t have to deal with her special brand of crazy. 

But, still, I’m glad he was doing alright for himself. And, I was even more glad that he wasn’t in the Hestia familia. I had a good thing going this past week -- I was earning a pretty great amount of exp, finally. Perhaps not enough to level up by the time Bell did, but I would only be off by a few weeks. Me and Hestia were great, I was making a ton of money, my stats were coming along nicely…

Everything was looking like it was on the up and up. The only thing I had any suspicions about was Canoe’s utter lack of any kind of action against me. Maybe he was waiting, letting me fatten up my bank account before he robbed me for all that I was worth, but…

Next time we spoke, he wouldn’t be walking away. 

It didn’t take long to spot Lili thanks to her oversized bag. She sat at the fountain, waiting for me with her head hung low. Even after a week, I still had trouble reading Lili, but if I had to guess, something was wrong with her. She seemed to sense my approach because she glanced up at me without any warning, pinning me with a gaze filled with worry. 

All the mirth I was feeling at meeting Bell was blown away like smoke in the wind. “What’s wrong,” I asked, taking a seat next to her. Lili gripped her knees with white knuckles, her expression hidden from me but I could guess that she was scared and worried. 

“Lili found out how much Lili would have to pay to leave the Soma familia,” Lili answered, her shoulders sagging. Ah, so that’s what it was. I’m guessing that the number was a rather big one if it had her this discouraged. Still, I had prepared myself for a stupid amount- “Zanis says it will take ten million valis for Lili to leave the Soma familia.”

“T-ten million valis?” Despite myself, that number caught me completely off guard. It was a straight-up gut punch. In the past two weeks, I more or less got a handle on how much a valis is worth, and asking for ten million valis to leave was like asking for a million dollars. It was absolutely insane. 

“Zanis says it’s because Lili has been a member of the Soma familia for so long,” Lili answered my unspoken question. “So Lili knows ‘vital information’ about the familia’s inner workings, so Lili would have to pay that much because of a ‘safety risk.’” I could practically see the air quotes as she spoke, frustration leaking into her tone. 

“Well…” That was still way, way, way too much. Far beyond what a level 1 supporter could earn in a decade. “It sounds like he just doesn’t want you to leave.” Asking for that amount was asking for the impossible. So, there had to be some other motive beyond money. 

In the anime, I’m pretty sure he asked for that much because Lili was connected to Bell, the Little Rookie. Right now, the Hestia familia was just me, a level 1 adventurer. 

“Lili thinks so too! But Lili has no idea why! Lili hasn’t paid her dues in months, she doesn’t stay there or anything! Why would he want Lili to stay?!” Lili snapped, not at me but venting her frustration that was boiling over. Her hands curled into fists, her head so slow that her chin was nearly touching her chest. 

Then she turned to me, tears gather in the corners of her eyes, “what should Lili do?” She asked, almost begging for an answer. 

There was a way to get around Zanis. Soma, the piece of shit that he was, would be impressed enough that if she fought off the intoxicating effects of Soma wine. I couldn’t bring myself to make that suggestion. For one, I doubt that Zanis would let sleeping dogs lie, but, more importantly, I wasn’t sure if my relationship with Lili was strong enough that she could fight off the effects of Soma. 

I hadn’t saved her from certain death, accept her for all her flaws and forgiven her for her betrayals. Lili didn’t love me. She might like me, she might respect me, but gambling on her feelings being deep enough to resist Soma wine was a gamble that I wasn’t willing to take. Though, that could be because I was more than a little biased. 

Soma was a drug as bad, if not worse, as heroin or crack. I watched drugs ruin my dad’s life. Him doing drugs damn near ruined my life. When he died a year ago, when I was eighteen, I got saddled with more debt I knew what to do with out of absolutely nowhere when I was already taking out student loans to go to college. I hated drugs and I hated debt, and, for a time, I hated my dad too. 

Soma, as his test, did the equivalent of sticking a needle full of heroin in Lili’s arm and told her to fight off the high. He was surrounded by drug addicts of his own creation, he grew apathetic to them when they kept disappointing him until it got to the point he could see a little girl screaming and crying and begging to leave the familia and do exactly fuck all to help her when all he had to do was say a fucking word. And he did nothing. Not until she drank Soma and proved that she wanted her friends more than she wanted the high. 

Fuck Soma. He was a garbage god and just as responsible for what was happening to the Soma familia as Zanis was. And I wasn’t going to put Lili through that even if I knew it would work. 

“Are you sure he doesn’t know about the others?” I asked, trying to approach this problem from all angles. I knew he was going to argue for an unreasonable amount, but that was more than I was expecting. If it was a couple of million, then I would have said that we wait a couple of weeks and earn that amount, but ten million? It would take months of pinching every valis so hard that they bruised. 

“Lili doesn’t think so. No one has said anything about them,” Lili denied with a shake of her head. Still, I couldn’t help but be suspicious. Perhaps this was Canoe’s move? Maybe he was whispering in Zanis’s ear that I was a cash cow that had a soft spot for Lili and they were trying to squeeze us for all we are worth? It made more sense than I would like. 

A sigh escaped me, “then I guess we go with plan B. I wouldn’t piss on Zanis if he was on fire, much less hand over ten million valis to him.” Lili looked worried for a moment, but I reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. Well, it was more three fingers, but it was the thought that counted. “We challenge Soma to a war game after I reach Level 2. I kick their asses, and you get to leave that...mess...of a familia.” I said, biting back some very sharp words about those degenerates. 

Despite her tears, worries, and fears, Lili managed a small giggle at that. “Mr. Jericho...Lili finds it amazing that Mr. Jericho can say stuff like that.” She commented, her tone still sad, but the angry frustration was fading as my words reassured her. She...must have been pretty worried that I would get scared off with a price tag like that and abandon her. To be honest, most sane people would. 

“Say stuff like what? That I’m going to kick Soma’s ass? Because that’s not a threat, that’s a promise,” I pointed out, earning another giggle from her. However, she shook her head. 

“That Mr. Jericho can say that he will become a level 2 so easily. Most adventurer’s never make it past level 1,” she pointed out. Admittedly, she was right. My point of view was a little skewed because I was comparing myself to canon Bell, who became a level 2 in a month and a half, level 3 a month later and level 4 two months after that. Everyone else was lucky or talented if they made it to level 2. 

“Is that doubt that I hear?” I teased, glad that the subject was changing away from a topic that dredged up more than a few bad memories. 

Lili shook her head, “no. Lili believes that Mr. Jericho will level up,” she denied, looking up at me to show a small smile. “Soon, if he continues as he has.”

“Exactly right,” I declared, pushing myself up and offering a hand for Lili to take. “And when I do, the first thing I’m going to do is kick down the Soma familia’s gates and demand a war game so loudly that there’s no way Soma can ignore me. You can take that promise to the bank,” I reassured, smiling back as Lili took my hand. 

With that, off into the Dungeon we went.

…

The tenth floor was different than the others. Gone were the claustrophobic tunnels, the low light, and rocky ground. The tenth-floor was massive in every way. The ceiling was so high up that the fog that illuminated the grass-covered ground that it was pitch black. It was impossible to tell just how high up it was, but it must be at least a hundred feet. What wasn’t pitch black was illuminated by the heavy fog so thick it was difficult to see more than fifty feet around you at any given time. 

Barren trees were sprinkled across the floor, serving as landform weapons -- basically, the tree would transform into a club when a large monster grabbed it. And the rabbits. And the imps. And the kobolds and goblins too. If a monster so much as picked up a rock, then it got turned into some kind of weapon from a simple club, to a shiv to an axe.

Seeing that first hand never gets old, I noted as I spotted a lumbering orc coming my way as it reached out to grab a barren tree. Orcs were the first monsters to be bigger than me. It stood at just over ten feet tall, its stomach was bulging, making it seem fat and round, but it couldn’t hide the corded muscles on its thick arms. Its mouth was filled with sharp teeth that didn’t quite fit in it, two large tusks protruding out of the corners of its mouth.

Other than that, it looked like what I expected an orc to. Deep green skin, bald, pointed ears, and its eyes were filled with a dull, stupid, intelligence. 

Taking in a bracing breath, I rushed towards the orc as it hefted a massive wooden club that the tree turned into overhead. Faster than one would expect, I brought the club down hard enough that a crater formed, dust and dirt kicked up that obscured the fact that it had missed. Bursting through the dust, I slashed my sword down across its hands. Bone and muscle offered up some resistance, just not enough to stop me from cutting off its hand. 

The orc bellowed, stumbling back as it lost its balance. Twisting my grip, I slammed my sword into its knee, cutting through it so it tumbled over. It collapsed in a heap, writhing on the ground right up until I switched my grip and plunged my sword into its neck and severed its head. 

Orcs, as far as I was concerned, were exp cash cows that I discovered a few days ago. A hundred and twenty-five exp. Each. I’m guessing since orcs were giant class monsters, they were worth a lot more than any previous monsters. Still, I just about creamed myself when I did the math after I killed my first one. At first, I thought I screwed up with keeping up with how much exp I earned on the way down. It wasn’t until I killed eight of them and gained a thousand exp that it sunk in. 

“Lili thinks that Mr. Jericho is enjoying this floor too much,” Lili commented as she went to the carcass to retrieve the monster stone. This floor was still too new for me to risk fighting with her on my back yet, but my stats were getting there and I was getting used to fighting the monsters on this floor. It was only when she made that comment that I realized I was smiling, still overjoyed with the sudden influx of exp. 

“I’m glad I can finally fight something without having to bend over to take a swipe at it,” I corrected, searching the heavy mist for another orc. The one downside to this floor was that the monster spawns went way, way down. Instead of getting constantly besieged like I was on the ninth floor, on this floor I spent more time looking for a fight than I did fighting. 

“It must be odd for Mr. Jericho to have to look up at something,” Lili teased, getting a huff of laughter from me. It was a good sign that she was able to make jokes -- both because I was taking it as a sign of trust and that she was feeling a little better. 

“Eh, only until I knock ‘em down,” I bantered, spotting another orc lumbering towards us, likely drawn by the noise. If Lili said something in response, then I didn’t hear it when a high pitched screeching assaulted my ears. Instantly, I looked upwards, catching a glimpse of a bad bat, a monster that seemed to have dialed up the sound of its echolocation up to fifty. 

Thankfully, Lili was quick to shoot it down, putting an end to its ear-piercing screeching. I watched its body fall to the ground, an arrow punched through its mouth. “Thanks,” I told her, turning my attention back to the lumbering orc marching our way, picking up a landform weapon. “I really need to get a ranged option…”

“Lili thinks Mr. Jericho is better off as he is. In a normal party, Mr. Jericho would be the vanguard, while Lili is support. Most have another member to prevent the vanguard from getting overwhelmed, but Mr. Jericho’s aggressiveness seems to have prevented that issue.” Lili denied, retrieving the monster stone and making the corpse disappear in a cloud of ash, leaving behind an orc hide.

“Makes sense,” I commented, idly adding another one to our total of twenty. Five more than we got fifty thousand valis, and fifty thousand exp. Wonderful, wonderful exp. Though, more importantly, should I get a third party member? Actually, wasn’t Welf stuck on this floor for like a year? I haven’t seen him since he taught me how to maintain my armor, but if I popped my head in and brought it up, he could say yes.  

The orc bellowed a war cry as it began to approach. Settling into a stance, I darted forward to meet the monster halfway. I swiped at me, swinging like its club was a baseball bat, and forcing me to bend out of the way. I felt the wind on my face as I leaned back to dodge the attack even as I lashed out with my sword. The wickedly sharp edge bite into the orc’s flesh, drawing a line of crimson that went so deep my blade scraped against bone. 

Twisting on the heel of my boot, I built up momentum and brought my blade back down on the monster’s legs. With the cut already half done, I cut the monster’s legs off, making it collapse on its face. Jumping up onto its back, I hacked into its skull and netting me another hundred and twenty-five exp. 

From my view, I peered into the fog, searching for another monster. If there were any nearby, then they weren’t orcs, unfortunately. “Hey, Lili, do you think I could use some monster bait?” I asked, wondering if that would do the trick to finally bring some monsters to us instead of us hunting them- 

Lili looked at me like I said the stupidest thing she had ever heard, so I’m going to go ahead and assume that was a no go on the monster bait. She opened her mouth to make a comment about my hair brained scheme, only for another bad bat to come swooping down to assault our eardrums. And it brought friends, three purple moths. 

I watched the exp get skewered by Lili’s hand crossbow, and it only took her a few moments to fetch the monster stones from their corpses. I opened my mouth to compliment her aim, only to be cut off again. This time, it wasn’t by the high pitched screeching of a bad bat, but instead a much deeper, brassy bellow that seemed to echo through the floor. 

Turning around, I gazed into the fog, confused on what made than noise. Was it an orc? I didn’t know what else could let out a roar like that. “Lili? Do you know what that was?” I asked, already starting to wonder how much exp it would give me if I killed it. 

Lili shook her head when I glanced at her, “Lili has never heard a noise like that before…” she said, her tone was suspicious. I frowned at that -- Lili had been as deep as the eleventh floor, so as far as I was concerned, she was an expert on the upper floors. If she never heard of it before then-

Oh. Oh fuck. Oh, FUCK!

“We have to get out of here! Now!” I snapped at Lili, jumping off the corpse of the orc to run towards her. Lili looked at me utterly perplexed, not understanding my sudden panic. Another bellow of the monster lurking in the fog changed her tune. It was closer now. 

Worse, that bellow was answered by another three more. 

It was all too simple to do the math. It had been about two weeks since the Loki familia went on their expedition. Either they were early, or it was a roundup, but regardless, it meant I knew exactly what was giving chase in the fog. Or, rather, what was fleeing from the Loki familia as they made their return trip up. 

Minotaurs. Multiple of them. 

Any thought of trying to kill them went right out of my mind as I grabbed Lili by the bag and booked it towards the exit. Minotaurs weren’t just a level 2 monster, but they were the strongest level 2 monster. It would be like fighting something twice as fast, twice as strong and twice as durable than me. At least. The only way to find out if I had a chance was no way to find at, so I wasn’t going to.

“Mr. Jericho! What is that?!” Lili cried out as I ran with her as fast I could go. I pumped my legs as fast as I could, pushing myself to my absolute limit to get myself as far away as I possibly could. I knew exactly what I was going to see when I glanced over my shoulder, but I looked anyway. 

I saw a minotaur. Shockingly, it was roughly my height, a little bigger if you count the horns. Its body was lined with a reddish fur, only the front half of its muscular torso was left bare, revealing blackish gray leathery skin. Its eyes seemed to glow a malevolent red as it chased us with its hooved feet. 

My heart plummeted to my boots as I pushed myself to go even faster, but I knew it was no use. It was faster than me. I could hear its labored breathing, have been chased up about seven floors had tried it out a bit, but it was getting closer with every passing second. I wasn’t going to be able to getaway. 

What if I get out of its way? Let it go up to the upper floors? Newbies could get killed, but that was hardly my problem. 

I tried it. I darted to the side, taking a risk because it cost me precious momentum. I desperately hoped that it would just keep running off the exit to this floor, but those hopes were dashed. It was still following me, its instincts to kill were too strong for it to ignore. It kept chasing me. Plan A was out. On to plan B. 

“Lili, I’m going to stop in a second. I want you to run away!” I shouted at her, not missing her horrified face and...betrayal? Fuck, I didn’t think how that sounded. “I’m going to hold it off for as long as I can, but I need you to get help! Alright?!” I shouted, gripping my sword so tightly I’m pretty sure that warped the handle. 

“But, Mr. Jericho-”

“I’ll be fine!” I lied through my teeth, “just come back with help! Tell the Guild that there are minotaurs loose on the upper floors! Ready?” I warned, and I could swear that I felt the fingers of the minotaur on the back of my neck as it grasped out to catch me. As soon as I saw that Lili nodded, I tossed her to the side before I turned on my heel, putting myself between her and the minotaur. 

Turns out that I had more of a gap than I expected, but it was rapidly closing the distance between us with a few steps, not slowing down in the slightest. 

Now the plan started. Waiting for Ais to save my dumb ass like the damsel in distress I was.