Selling Drugs in the Dungeon should be a profitable business, no? Chapter 22 (Patreon)

“Albert Waldstein?” I repeat as I stare up at the clear sky with a slow blink, having just been rudely smashed into the floor by Calydonia.

Her smug grin does not recede one bit as I sit up and dust off my robes, “Uh-huh…” She nods, then sniffs, “Name rings any bells?”

I shrug, “I am afraid I haven’t studied up on history. At all.” Her leg swipes at my, and I let her hit it, yet the blow doesn’t make me twitch despite the strength behind it.

“Uncultured swine!” Calydonia hollers, seemingly pleased to have something over me, “You should pick up a book sometimes!”

“I have a hard time believing the fact that you ever did.” I point out.

“She didn’t.” Atalanta instantly confirms, sat to the side and looking rather amused while her sister yelps at the sharp betrayal, “I did the reading. She spent the whole time sleeping and drooling all over the books.”

“D-Did not!”

“There is still a big wet spot on the Dungeon Oratoria book Lady Hera had us read all those years back.” Atalanta deadpans, and I hold back a snort as the flushing Calydonia twitches and gnashes her teeth. “At least Riley admits to not having picked up a book.”

Instantly, all of Calydonia’s anger and indignation are thrown my way. Because why the fuck not. “Hey, don’t look at me-” And she just lunged at me.

I sigh and dodge the easily predictable lunge, then just wrap my arm around her neck as she goes by and lock her against my chest.

Despite her massively improved strength, I am no slouch. I’ve taken the five body enhancing Pills myself too already, and I have to admit that the increase is… rather massive.

I’m not exactly sure how much stronger I have gotten, but I’d say it’s close to a  fifty percent increase.

After all, those Pills were all Golden Grade. Though, the increase they gave me is nothing compared to the one given to the likes of Atalanta and Calydonia.

The Falna is… weird. Despite them being so strong, when I examined their bodies – under their permission – I found out that… Their bodies aren’t strong at all.

They are as weak as normal mortals, but there is something that just gives them that immense strength out of nowhere, hence the body enhancing Pills I gave them had a far greater effect than I anticipated.

After questioning them about it, I found out that the Falna givesthem strength, but if it is taken away, then their strength will disappear.

It’s a rather chilling thought. All their strength, all their hard work, can all disappear with a snap of Hera’s fingers.

Now I understand why that was the threat she decided to use against Calypso’s dumbass.

It also explains why my Pills are so much more effective on them than normal. The stronger the body already is, the weaker the effects of certain Pills are, hence why there are Healing Pills of differing Tiers, because the stronger the Cultivator, the stronger the medicinal energies must be to heal them.

But due to how the Falna works, no matter how strong the girls are or will become, even the weakest of Healing Pills will still have effect on them. Though their bodies will form a resistance towards Pills.

The more a Pill is taken, the faster the body grows resistant to all of them in general, no matter the effect. Pill toxins can be expelled through Impurity Cleansing Pills, but the tolerance for Pills in general will just keep on going up and up.

It’s why I am in such a rush to heal Meteria, because decades down the line, even Gold Grade Pills will just last a day or two at most due to her immense requirements of Pills to keep healthy and not stay bound to a bed.

And right now she is currently under the effects of a Gold Grade Pill, which will last an entire month for her unless she gets hurt and stuff.

“So, why bring up this guy?” I ask as I pull myself out of my thoughts, holding Calydonia in a headlock as she kicks her feet and chomps down on my arm angrily.

“You remind us of him.” Atalanta states with a relaxed smile, easily ignoring her sister’s antics, “He is known as the Strongest Man in History.” Oh? “Like you, he wielded a sword… And he is the one that took the Black Dragon’s eye during their final battle.” My eyes widen at that.

So that scar is this Albert guy’s doing, huh?

“And just like you…” Atalanta keeps going as she stands, “He did not have a Falna.” Huh… So I guess there was another abnormal dude before me.

I mean, I’m using Qi. This Albert might have just trained so hard he reached that level of strength on his own. Unless he knew how to use Qi…

“Huh… Wish I could have sparred with the guy.” I’m kind of in a mood to fight with a fellow swordsman, just to test how good I am.

But that’s the battle junkie part of me speaking.

“Sister, switch out with me.” Atalanta says as she takes the spot her sister was standing on before before she lunged at me.

The grass is all messed up, and there’s a small crater to my right. Courtesy of my body being smashed into the ground by a cackling Calydonia.

It didn’t hurt, and I very much expected that to happen when she asked me to shake hands.

Also, she is still biting down on my forearm. Though she does let go to answer her sister, “Why?! I ain’t done!” Bullying me? I don’t think you’ll ever get enough.

Mostly because I’ll keep annoying her.

Atalanta gives her twin a deadpan look, “You’re just messing around, while I really want to help Riley train.” The gray haired beastkin clicks her teeth, twin tails flicking side to side as she quickly pulls her head out of my hold, making me raise a brow.

“Why did you keep biting my arm when you could have just escaped?” Like, seriously, you slobbered my damn forearm all over.

The woman doesn’t answer me and simply sinks on all fours and hops towards the spot in the grass her sister was seated on, rolls around a few times on it, then lays down with a grumble.

“She likes your scent.” Then sits back up with a scream and heavily flushed face at Atalanta’s blunt words.

I raise a curious brow at that reveal, “What?”

Atalanta shrugs with a smile on her face, “We like your scent.” Et tu?

Her words make Calydonia scream even louder, “Sister!” Furred claws jab an accusatory finger towards the emerald haired demi-human, “The fuck are you saying!?”

Atalanta very easily ignores her sister, “There is a very… intense scent about you, when you are fighting.” The emerald haired woman admits, if a bit shyly, “It’s a Skill of ours. Our sense of scent is special, allowing us to smell emotions and other qualities.”

I rub my chin with a hum while Calydonia keeps demanding silence while screeching and hissing, “Just when I fight?” Atalanta nods, a slight flush to her own cheeks.

“You… restrain yourself, don’t you?” One of my eyebrows rises in confusion at her question. “People have this… Aura around them. The stronger they are, the more it can be felt, and the more powerful it is.”

“It’s usually how some of the mortals can distinguish powerful Adventurers even when they hide themselves. But you… You appear weak, like a normal human, to our senses… And then you become an enormous pyre when you unleash yourself.” Atalanta breathes out in awe, gaze distant.

“And your scent is attached to it. Weak when you restrain yourself, and downright intoxicating when you are fighting all out, like you did against the Black Dragon.”

So… They like the scent of strength? Is that what I am understanding from this?

“You smell like a very wonderful mate to have strong children with.” Nope, it was not what I was understanding.

“Huh…” I let out dumbly, not really knowing what to say as Atalanta laughs softly. She is quite open and blunt, huh? “I hope that doesn’t bother you?” I mean, am I making them go into heat whenever I exercise a bit?

Because I do that often, and now I am starting to feel bad if I just make them horny when I go through my usual training routine.

“It’s a pleasant scent, and it’s not as intoxicating as it was when you fought the Black Dragon, so it is alright!” Atalanta reassures me, but I still feel bad.

I mean, I’m a guy, and I remember that they aren’t big on ‘em due to a very bad incident in the past. “Are you sure?”

Atalanta pauses and blinks, then realization fills her eyes. Her gaze soon grows soft and warm as soon as she does.

I blink when she steps close to me, then rests a hand on my chest, “Unlike my sister who is stubborn-” Calydonia is being oddly quiet, “-I always knew that not all men are bad, I just… never really saw a reason to interact with one willingly before hand.”

“Aside from hunting bad criminals that are male and butchering them painfully, that is.” And you say you have no problems with males?!

That sounds like a whole lotta problems, lady!

“Guess Calydonia is just overprotective because of… Uh…” What was the reason they were attacked again? “I forgot.”

Atalanta bursts out in a fit of giggles at my words while I just awkwardly scratch the back of my head.

My memory is really shitty, huh?

I think it was about a Skill? Or something?

“T-That’s also a reason on why I like you!” She playfully punches my shoulder while I just tilt my head in confusion, “Just forgetting that we have a Hereditary Skill, something that many would love to get their greedy hands on! Hah!”

“I mean, it’s just a Skill, no?” I feel very dumb. I mean, if the Skill is as strong as Via Lactea, then maybe- Ah, no. Via Lactea is pure bullshit in the way it works.

Atalanta’s hand whips forward to poke my nose almost chidingly, “It’s Hereditary!” She repeats, stressing out the last words, “It means that our children will get it, and so will theirs, so on and so forth.” That’s… convenient.

“And people want it just for that?” Man, my father would be fucking pissed if he heard of this…

Atalanta shakes her head, a scowl crossing her pretty features, “If it was just that, we wouldn’t have been assaulted back then…” She sighs and crosses her arms behind her back, turning her back to me as she does so, “The Skill is very special. How much do you know on how the Falna works?”

I lean back and turn my gaze to the skies, “You get it, you hunt monsters, Lady Hera does… something with it, and you get stronger?” At least, that’s the jumbled up version I remember.

“That’s… accurate enough.” I feel even more dumb now. “But the growth is different for each person. Some say it’s because of the God, others say it’s the person wielding it, but few realize that it’s a mix of both the Falna and the one bearing it upon their back.”

“The Falna is sentient. The more you desire growth, the faster your achievements are sometimes. The greater your desires, your willpower, the higher the chances for a Skill to appear that matches you and you alone.”

“But sometimes, there are monsters that gain wings when granted a Falna. Like Alfia.” My eyes widen at that, “She is known as the Monster of Talent due to her downright horrifying growth speed. She masters everything within minutes or just at a glance, wields horrifying strength capable of breaching the Level differences, and has broken record after record when it comes to Leveling Up.”

Huh… Guess I never truly realized how amazing Alfia is. I’ve sparred with her, and aside from that slight fight we had when we first met, I’ve never really seen her go truly all out.

The ‘Monster of Talent’, huh?

Now I am even more excited to fight her than I was before.

“And then there’s me and my sister.” Atalanta keeps going, and I refocus back on her, “Born with a Skill that… can be defined as utter bullshit.” I snort faintly at that, and she turns to me with a relaxed smile.

“Any Status growth I experience, she experiences it too. Same for any growth she experiences, so will I gain it too. Any Skills she gains, I gain their benefit too, and any Skill I gain, she will benefit from them too.”

“Our growth is twice as fast as others, our arsenal far greater. And others want that too.” But they cannot gain it though?

It’s Hereditary, as she said. So they cannot-

It clicks instantly.

Calydonia told me that they were nearly raped by those coveting for this Skill of theirs.

My knuckles pop as I clench my fists hard enough until my bones creak.

So just because those useless fucks couldn’t achieve shit, they tried to rape some poor girls in order to have their spawns come out with a better start than they did?

“I see you’ve understood their real aim.” Atalanta muses softly as she glances at my trembling fists.

I breathe in, then exhale deeply, “Just… Why?” What good would it do to have a child out of rape just for one goddamn Skill?

One that very likely requires a sibling to work, so that- Gods, how fucking deplorable and disgusting.

Atalanta lowers her gaze and kicks away a stray pebble in her path, “A ‘Legacy’. That’s what we call the child of an Adventurer. A lot of girls in the Hera Familia are Legacies, like Calypso. Me and my sister are too, Legacies of a woman in the Artemis Familia.”

“And the Legacies are, for those that never manage to achieve anything in their Adventuring life, a way for them to try and experience the glory they couldn’t grasp with their own hands. So they decide to spread their seed, and watch their Legacies try to achieve greater feats… or die trying.”

...

I fucking hate this place.

Different world, different views- I don’t give a fuck. Children are the one fucking thing that for me, must never be harmed.

My upbringing was strict, but my father always showed me love. Always told me that he was proud of me for every minor thing, and always disciplined me for every mistake.

Children must come into the world when one wants them, and one wants to love them.

Not to fulfill your fucking wishes when your useless ass couldn’t fucking do shit.

I breathe in, then breathe out. “Seeing you get mad on our behalf is quite heart-warming, you know.” Atalanta giggles, and her words bring a few chuckles out of me.

“You’re really kind, aren’t you?” I hold back a snort at that.

Kind, me? As if. I just want to be left alone. I came here just because I had nowhere else to go.

I came here and found an excuse to remain and to try and settle my guilt, then… Then Meteria happened.

I’ll admit that at first first, I did kinda feel manipulated… for the first few seconds. Then I realized that Meteria can’t manipulate people for shit and just outright demands stuff with her adorableness being weaponized. Or her sister being weaponized.

Now, I’m not just here to try and uselessly settle my guilt by selling medicine, but also for several other things.

I’m falling for Meteria. I’m falling for Alfia. I’m falling for Kirin.

But do I even deserve them?

I want to enjoy my life. Build a family. Just sit back and be a father like I have always wanted to.

But at the same time, I don’t feel like I deserve to.

I want to fight. I want to experience more. I want to see where my limits are. I want to fight the Dragon even more. Again and again and again until I kill-

I breathe out and throw away those thoughts. Everything just leads back to more fucking violence with me, doesn’t it?

“How deplorable.” I sigh out, regarding both myself and the issue with Atalanta. “Still, let me know if this… scent, gets annoying.” I dunno what I can do about it honestly, but I can think of a few things.

Atalanta just waves off my concerns, “You’ll probably only hear my sister complain because it gets her horny.”

“And you don’t?”

“I’m asexual.” Atalanta shrugs, “Plus, I made a vow of chastity back when I was in the Artemis Familia. I’d rather be the Aunty all children love than have children of my own.” Her eyes gain a sly glint to them, “So make sure to give me plenty of nephews to spoil and fawn after!”

I give her the most flat look I can possibly muster, “Like your sister would want me as her… mate.”

“I never said it had to be with my sister.” That sly smirk on her face is very punchable.

Also, why has Calydonia been so quiet?

Ah, she slammed her head into the ground- Wait what?

Both me and Atalanta do a double take at the view before us. Calydonia, sat on the ground, arms crossed below her chest, and back arched down, with her head buried under the ground.

“How cute. She’s shy.” Atalanta teases with a faint laugh, and I am glad Calydonia isn’t listening, else she’d have attacked.

Me, of course.

And that’s when said woman wrenches her head out of the ground, then gives it a quick shake to toss away dust, dirt and pebbles stuck in her wild hair. Following suit, her narrowed eyes fix upon me and Atalanata, “You two assholes done?”

“Nope.” Atalanta instantly answers, arms playfully crossed behind her back, “But I won’t embarrass you more in front of your mate-” A screech is hurled her way from her feral sister, “-and focus on more important matters.” With that, she fully turns to focus on me, “I actually wanted to ask you what the Pills you gave us did exactly. Like, what exactly did they improve.”

I blink and pause. Did I not explain what they did to them when I gave them the bottles? Did I forget?

I should have at least wrote a small explanation, but I guess it slipped my mind.

“Well, the first three I had you take are the most important, but also did not give you any strength increase.” I start as I cross my arms, “First was the Marrow Cleansing Pill, then the Blood Condensation Pill, followed by the Organ Strengthening Pill.”

“The first one cleansed your bone marrow, making it so that it produces blood cells of far higher quality. The second one condensed your blood, making it thicker and a lot better in general. Now it takes you at least three times the amount of blood loss to actually start feeling faint and weak.”

“The third one strengthened your organs. All of them. Heart, lungs, liver- Son on and so forth. You breathe better and more air, your heart pumps blood far easier and better, you digest food and alcohol with far greater ease and produce a lot less waste and impurities.”

“Finally, the last two Pills are the one that made you feel a massive increase in strength. The Bone and Flesh Forging Pill, and the Tendon Transformation Pill. The first one cleaned your bones and flesh, then pretty much… reforged them. Now both should feel as hard as steel.”

Atalanta hums, then narrows her eyes, “Is that why I had to peel a layer of skin off my body?” I nod, having experienced that myself too.

Bit disgusting, but it made an enormous difference.

“The last one instead made your muscles, tendons, nerves and everything else as hard as possible, but also incredibly flexible.” All together, the Pills are known as Body Reforging Pills.

And that’s a fact. Once taken, the body is basically reborn. Dozens of times healthier, works dozens of time better and with far more efficiency, far less waste produced, so on and so forth.

“Fascinating…” Atalanta whistles, eyes wide in pure awe.

I smile and roll my shoulders, then stretch out my right arm and open my palm towards her. “Here, hit me.” I call out, drawing her attention, “Put all your strength behind it too.”

Her eyes glimmer with excitement at my proposal, but she soon falters, “Are you sure?” My smile grows a bit as I nod.

“I can take it, don’t worry.” Her hesitation fades away just like that, and her eyes soon sharpen.

Her stance lowers, her right leg stomping on the ground ahead of her. The ground cracks and splinters below her feet as her knees bend.

Then she pounces forward, obliterating said ground and creating a plume of dust and debris that soars high in the air.

Her fist darts forward the next split second and smashes into my open palm with an ear-splitting crack, creating a whirling of rampaging winds that tear apart the field behind me, sending grass and stone all over the place.

For not being a purely physical fighter, her strength is definitely not bad. And they are Archers, from what I have seen.

If they can have a bow made that can match their strength, then the arrows they shoot can probably punch through a mountain.

I turn my head to stare at the destroyed field behind me, nearly more than two dozen meters of destruction caused by her punch hitting my palm. Had it gone free, she would have obliterated far more than this.

“Whoa…” Atalanta whispers while Calydonia whistles from her spot on the ground. “That’s… Scary.” Yeap, a simple Pill managed to make you so much stronger than before.

There are also some crazy Pills that are meant to be used only in dangerous situations. They can raise one’s strength all the way over ten times in certain situations and depending on the Grade, though the user might either end up dead, crippled or best case scenario, insanely tired and weak for months on end afterward.

So this increase, while insane, it’s not really the biggest increase I can grant with Pills.

Still, with these newly found strength… “I’d say you’d be capable of nearly killing the Leviathan with your current strength.” Especially if it transfers to their arrows and bows. If so, the Leviathan has barely any decent defenses to speak of.

My words leave the twins in a shocked daze, their mouths hanging open and wide eyes fully locked on me.

Calydonia is the first to recover, “You’re shitting me.”

I chuckle and shake my head, “No, I am not.” They gulp loudly, eyes wide and trembling with disbelief. “But, I can guess on why you are hesitant to believe me. After all, centuries went by without a victory ever gained against these beasts, right?” I can only imagine the sort of mental mark all these losses have left upon them.

I mean, I was told that Hera did nearly break down once she learned that me, Leonidas and Zald made the Leviathan our bitch and nearly killed it.

“So of course you have come to believe that they are unbeatable. Huge mountains that you cannot break or climb- Which is very true when we consider the Black Dragon.” That bastard is on a whole different level than the Leviathan that comparing them is just stupid.

It’s like comparing an ant to an elephant.

“I do not know about the Behemoth, as I haven’t gotten a read on its capabilities just yet, but I know for a certain fact that you two together can fuck up the Leviathan real bad.”

Maybe if I didn’t push myself out of pure inexperience… Maybe if I had truly gone all out, I would have been able to easily kill the Leviathan back then-

Nah, what am I thinking. I didn’t hold back.

“Now then, shall we resume our training?” Atalanta perks up and nods, then swiftly distances herself from me.

The twins are honestly good teachers. With them around, I can practice so much better. Just hitting the air doesn’t really do me any good, and monsters can’t really help either.

Now, if only I had someone to practice with my sword. I’d try Kirin, but the woman has been avoiding me for a while now, always running away with a flushed face when I spot her or call her.

It’s cute though. That I shall admit.

Hera probably told her that I know how to heal her, hence the reaction.

Oh hey, speak of the devil.

I perk up when I see Kirin come into view, though my eyes narrow when I take notice of her frowning face.

“Guys, we have a problem.” Well, that’s not good…

Calydonia sits up at that, looking ready to kill someone, “What happened?”

Kirin pauses and bites her lower lip in thought, then shakes her head with a sigh. “There’s been a murder in the Red Light District. Sigurd was assassinated.”

I blink as the other two girls hiss.

Sigurd, the asshole that traumatized sweet little Bryn? “So? That ain’t a great loss.”

“Trust me, I know… But this is very likely Evilus’s doing.”

                                                                           xxxXXXxxx

He was dead.

Then man she fell for in the past, was assassinated.

Should she feel something? Pity? Anger? Hate? Something?

Brynhildr doesn’t know. The source of all her trauma is gone, yet she remains the same. She keeps hiding, head between her knees in the darkness of her own room.

Kirin would rejoice at his death, that much she is sure of. Her best friend always wanted to rip the man apart after what he did to her, yet was always stopped by others, or Sigurd would just hide away, too much of a coward to face consequences.

With a sigh, she shakes her head and reaches for one of her bottles, only to find it empty. So, she stands and absentmindedly employs her inhuman speed to reach the bottom floor, then the kitchen, grab a bottle of fresh water, then rush back upstairs and close the door to her room in a split second.

The Faster Adventurer in History,that’s what they called her. And this is what she is using her speed for-

A strange sound reaches her ears, making her stop sipping the fresh water to look around her room.

Then the hair on the back of her head stand on end when the door to her wardrobe slowly creaks open just a tiny bit.

Gulping, Brynhildr slowly makes her way over. Something might have fallen over… It’s impossible for anyone to have sneaked in during the span of time it took me to go downstairs!

Her hand reaches for the wardrobe door, fingers slipping between the opening- And then she yanks the door open-

“Hello Bryn!” Riley waves at her with a big goofy grin, huddled up in the corner of her wardrobe.

Brynhildr screams at the top of her lungs.

The other door is kicked open, revealing the form of Meteria, equally huddled up in the other corner. “Huh…” The girl muses, lifting her hands and spreading a certain undergarment between her fingers, “I didn’t know this was the kind of stuff you wore, Bryn.” The lacy pair of panties falls to the ground.

Brynhildr screams even louder, face growing as red as a tomato.

“Hey, that’s a joke!” Meteria startles at the much louder scream, “That’s one of my pairs!”

“Wait what?” Riley perks up, glancing between Meteria and the lacy panties with amused yet surprised eyes.

Meteria nods proudly, “’Tis to make my meatiness shine!” A grin with full dimples spreads across her face as she turns towards Riley, “You like?”

Why are you two having this conversation before me?! And in my room?!

“Think we bullied her enough?” It was a plot!?

“Nuh-uh! She deserves a lot more!” Why?!

“Why are you two in here?!” Bryn finally screams… from beneath the safety of her bed.

Riley chuckles and stands out of her wardrobe before stretching, “It was either us, or Kirin.” Brynhildr shudders, “She is outside the window, by the way.” Eh?

But she doesn’t have a balcony? And she is on the third floor?

Meteria steps out of the wardrobe herself, then pulls the blinds apart to reveal a Kirin plastered against the glass of her window, intense eyes locked upon Brynhildr’s form. Unblinking and overflowing with crackling purple thunder.

Brynhildr screams again even as the blinds are pulled shut. Then her scream keeps on going as Riley easily drags her out from beneath her bed.

What is this torture!?

“There there, no moping.” Riley pats her like a child, a fond smile on his face as she pouts up at him with big teary eyes.

Meteria, obviously, feels left out. So she does what Meteria does best, “Sadness go away!” And she tackles the air out of Brynhildr’s lungs, making the poor woman see the stars and her Ancestors.

“Meteria, I did not make you stronger so that you can put holes into walls as you desire and turn yourself into a living rocket.”

“What’s a rocket?” Meteria asks, totally ignoring the scolding and the fact that Brynhildr is wheezing beneath her.

Mostly because her face is full of breasts. Huge breasts.

Why is little Meteria so developed!?

“You are suffocating her.” Riley sighs with a facepalm. Meteria does not pull back.

“What? Jealous?”

“Keep trying me, you damn gremlin. See how it ends for you.” Meteria finally pulls back while making noises and faces at Riley, clearly riling him up like the little shit she is.

Feeling vindictive, Brynhildr pouts and reaches up with one of her hands, then delivers a sharp and quick poke to Meteria’s side.

The girl squeaks and jumps nearly high enough to hit the ceiling with her head.

Alas, the overpowered gremlin soon recovers, and looks ready for battle, “Alright, put them hands up girl. I’m gonna put ya in a headlock, I swear on the name of Lady Hera!” Brynhildr watches as the huffing Meteria advances towards her menacingly.

And advances.

And advances.

Her legs keep moving, but she remains in the same spot.

Slowly, her cheeks flush in indignation, “My love, can you not?” Riley does not let go of the back of her dress and just ignores her.

“How are you feeling?” Riley asks, speaking to Brynhildr, who went back to huddle herself up on the ground while pouting.

She’d love to run away, but she is stuck between a Meteria and a Kirin. Between the two, Meteria is the best choice.

Her best friend is very affectionate, and Brynhildr loves her dearly… But if she tries to run, she’ll be chased to the ends of the world by an irate Kirin.

“The usual.” Brynhildr huffs out, hiding her face between her legs-

“What’s the usual?” Riley asks flatly, reaching down to poke at her head, “I’m new around here, after all.” Meteria joins him in poking at her head, mostly to be the annoying gremlin that she is.

“I’m fine!” Brynhildr whines, using her speed to swat away all the poking hands as quickly as she can, only to keep on going, her pout deepening and her cheeks puffing up when both Riley and Meteria just start using both of their hands to annoy her.

So she does the same, and the trio is locked in a silly hand slapping session. Riley smiles in amusement at it all while Meteria cackles madly, trying and failing to gain the upper-hand or just trying and succeeding in making Brynhildr pout more and more.

“I’m not fine anymore!” With another huff, Brynhildr uses her speed to appear on the other side of the room, escaping from the endless hands trying to poke at her.

“Wanna talk about it?” Riley asks, a far more calm and gentle look on his face as he takes a seat beside her. Even Meteria decides it’s time to stop messing around and takes a seat on her left, then leans on her and hugs her close.

Brynhildr happily leans into the hug, far too touch starved to avoid it.

“Why do you care?” There was no real bite to her words, and luckily Riley’s smile just softens more.

“You remind me of someone I care about. A lot.” That brings both Meteria and Brynhildr to a pause.

The huddled up woman may have spent the whole time in her room, but she still hears the recounts of what is happening by Kirin when her best friend decides to ignore her privacy and mental well-being by just barging in all of a sudden.

And thorough all those recounts, one thing always sticks out to her.

The fact that outside a few things, Riley’s past is mostly unknown.

They know that somethinghappened, which led to him killing a man in… gruesome ways, before the Dragon attacked and destroyed his village.

But that’s it.

“Who..?” Brynhildr forces herself to ask, turning her head so to stare at the man beside her.

Riley sighs through his nostrils and leans his head back against the wall, “My younger sister.” He whispers softly, voice heavy. “She’d have loved you, but you’d have hated her.”

“She…wouldn’t have left your side for even a second. She’d have ignored your wishes and your privacy in order to help you come out of your turtle shell, no matter how long it would take for her to do so.”

Brynhildr slumps her shoulders and hides her face between her knees once more, all to just hide a small smile.

So she’s just as kind as you?

“So, wanna tell me what happened?” Riley asks kindly and warmly, and Brynhildr breathes in, “I want to hear it from you. Not from others.”

Her hands clench into fists, but soon relax, “Only if you tell me about yourself.” She fires back, a cute glare in her eyes as she tilts her head to stare at the man beside her.

Amusement fills his eyes, and his hands come up in surrender, “We have a deal then.” Brynhildr ignored the way Meteria pumped her fist in victory.

The stupid gremlin didn’t even realize she would just need to ask Riley about his past and he’d gladly tell her everything.

Still, the ice-blue haired woman shakes her head and breathes in, then shares her past with Riley.

It was five years ago, when she had recently become a Level 7, that she ran into Sigurd. At that time, he was a new recruit of the Zeus Familia, having been sent over by the Odin Familia so to further develop his talent and Skills in a place far better than theirs.

She had fallen in love at first sight with the young man that was only a new Level 4 at the time, and while the Hera Familia was happy for her, Brynhildr found herself growing afraid and paranoid.

She did not know how to approach the man, nor what to say. Things only worsened after one of her Guild Sisters, a Level 6, died during their Expedition.

Brynhildr grew afraid and paranoid that such a thing could happen to Sigurd too. That he could be attacked by powerful monsters in the Dungeon, a pass parade, fellow nasty Adventurers- So on and so forth.

So… she started following him around, watching him from a distance. Either from a corner, or a rooftop, or anywhere she could easily hide in and watch over him as he walked the city or the Dungeon.

But one day she was found, and he had approached her. He was charming, kind, warm and funny. He didn’t seem bothered by her actions and instead asked her out.

The date, was not a date.

She had dressed up with the help of Kirin and all of her Familia, with even Lady Hera being there and happy for her. She wanted to truly go all out despite her shyness…

Yet, when she got to the meeting point for her date, the person waiting for her wasn’t the handsome man she had fallen for at first sight.

But a vile, cruel monster.

He wasn’t even dressed up well, just rough clothing he had put together at random as if he was just going out to do a quick chore. Brynhildr instantly felt her stomach drop when his previously kind face now had a disgusted, cruel smirk on it.

Sigurd waited until she was right in front of him before shouting, gaining the attention of all the people in the square at the time. Far too many people, and even some Gods, she realized too late.

He called them all to attention, and made them aware of the ‘creep’ among them. Of the ‘stalker’. And so many more insults that she couldn’t bother to remember.

The Gods laughed and jeered at her, the people sneered and walked away in disgust, and Brynhildr could only run away and hide in her room to cry, and cry, and cry more.

She knew that it wasn’t right. She knew she shouldn’t have followed him. But she couldn’t contain her love and worry, and wanted to make sure he was always alright.

And that’s where it got her.

The fallout of the whole… disaster, ended with Kirin and her sisters nearly tearing apart the Zeus Familia grounds, and with Lady Hera declaring several War Games against the majority of Gods that made fun of her.

All those Gods were sent back to Heaven within a week, their Familias utterly destroyed, and with the whole of Orario once more realizing how utterly terrifying and ruthless Hera can and will be.

Yet it fixed nothing, and Brynhildr refused to ever leave her room or have much contact with her comrades.

Riley sighs deeply as the woman beside him goes back to hiding her face between her knees, too afraid to see even his reaction. He is a kind man, but-

“It’s a good thing the fucker is dead now.” A chill goes down Brynhildr’s spine. Goosebumps rise all over her body as she feels the cold, horrifying killing intent within Riley’s words. “Else I’d have done something far worse to him.”

Those were calm words, yet Brynhildr could feel the promise within them.

For a second, the person beside her is not the kind and warm Riley everyone in the Hera Familia adores.

For a second, the person beside her feels like a monster willing to do horrid things for those he cares about.

The mere fact she is among those people that Riley is willing to go so far for warms her heart so, so much.

He breathes out, then raises his hand to rest it on her head and pull her against his side. Brynhildr tries not to melt at the physical contact, “You did nothing wrong. You just fell for a sensitive pussy who didn’t realize how lucky he got.” His words bring Brynhildr to a pause.

“Y-You don’t mind what I did?” She asks fearfully. Despite the fact that the whole of the Hera Familia sided with her, she saw and heard that some of her fellow comrades did not like her actions themselves. They found them weird.

Riley shrugs, “It’s not for everyone. Not everything you do will be accepted by everyone.” He says without care, face utterly bored, “Take me for example. I fought the Black Dragon to protect Orario, but aren’t there civilians and Gods asking me to give up my life to appease the wrath of the Three Great Beasts?”

That’s… true. Despite the fact that he could save the world, and that he can bring an end to a thousand and more year long conflict with his strength… There are still people that deny that slim chance at salvation. That slim chance at victory.

“I see nothing wrong with what you did because I did the same with my sister. And I’d willingly do the same with Meteria, Alfia and Kirin-” Said Vice-Captain squeaks from outside the window, followed by a crashing sound coming from down below a second later, “-but I am holding myself back from that mostly because I’d be led by… uncontrollable anger.”

“I’d cut down anything that can pose a threat to them before I even start following them, and I’d rather not abuse my strength like that, else I’ll become exactly what I fear and hate.” He sighs softly and shakes his head, his hand giving her head another gentle pat, “You did nothing wrong. It’s adorable, even.”

It was at this moment that Brynhildr remembered some wise words that Kirin gave her on her last visit.

“Knowing you, I am sure that you’ll fall head over heels for Riley after just five minutes of interacting with him.”

Brynhildr gulps.

‘Oh no, he’s so hot!’ Luckily, no one could hear her deafening mental scream- Wait, why is Meteria looking at her with an understanding look? Why is she giving her a thumbs up too?

“Why do you even want to help me?” She finds herself whispering out softly. Too afraid to open her heart to another man.

Too afraid of doing too much. Being too much. Of being hurt again.

Riley shrugs and smiles softly, “I’d like to think that this is my home too now, until I fully settle down with a family.” Meteria looks ready to make that family a reality right about now. Even in her room. “And within my home, I don’t want sad or lonely people. It’s all together, or nothing.”

‘He’s so hot.’ ‘So handsome.’ ‘So nice.’ ‘Too nice.’ ‘Has a beautiful smile.’ ‘I want to hug him.’ ‘I want to hold his hand.’ ‘I want him to smile more.’

This man is too unfair!

“Plus, I’d like to have you covering my back when we go and beat up the Behemoth!” He grins at her, then pats her head as he stands. “Of course, just take your time. We are all here for you, and I am just a shout away in case you need-”

“I-I’ll come out more…” Brynhildr starts, accidentally cutting Riley off, her flushed face staring up at me with determined eyes, “I-If you go out with me. Just o-once.”

Riley blinks at her, then turns a deadpan stare towards Meteria.

The girl looks offended and raises her arms in surrender, “Hey, this time I didn’t plot this!” Wait, what? “But I am very proud and support this heartily!”

“Y-You do?”

“Yes!” Meteria nods eagerly, “Now, hopefully, ya won’t be a disappointment like Kirin and actually rip his pants off and start fuckin-”

“Alright, enough out of you.” Riley just sighs and grabs Meteria’s head while the girl keeps on talking and making very inappropriate gestures with her hands.

“As for your request, Bryn.” He calls out as he shoves the perverted gremlin out of the door. “I’ll accept, but don’t force yourself, okay?”

Brynhildr nods eagerly, a light smile on her cheeks.

Still, she relaxes when the door clicks shut, and she lets out a relieved breath-

-A hand coated in lighting punches through her window, and a downright feral Kirin slowly crawls in on all fours, looking like a beast straight out of a nightmare.

Brynhildr does not scream.

She straight up passes out instantly.

                                                                              xxxXXXxxx

I’m three seconds away from punching this bitch across the continent, I swear.

“Seeing you get mad at failure is quite amusing.” Hush you, Goddess in my head. “No, I don’t think I will.”

Want me to quote cringe cultivation stuff to torture you then?“...I would like to apologize.”As expected, not even a God can handle the cringe.

“It’s like having your parents recount embarrassing childhood memories, but so much worse because I did this even in my adulthood.” Oof, now I pity you a tiny bit…

Either way, my nerves are tested.

I have discovered nearly all the perfect cycles tempos for the simplified Healing Pills I want to sell to the civilians, and I only need the last one.

Yet, the last one is the most difficult to find. It’s the cycle near the core of the flame, so fucking up might destroy all the Pills I have in the furnace.

And this is just for the easiest Pill I have available. I still did not start practicing on the Tier One Pills, which shouldn’t be much harder since these are a watered down version of them, but still…

I sigh and run a hand through my hair. That was the twelfth furnace of Pills I made and… I might have too many already.

I’ve already filled nearly sixty boxes, so I’d say I have around… several thousands?

Considering that each box holds two hundred bottles, and each bottle can hold twenty pills, that’s… four thousand Pills per box- Wait a second… Holy fuck!

How the fuck do I have so many Pills already!?

“Riley…Your most recent refining yielded nearly two thousand Pills.” Eh? You serious?

Ah… That might be why they were overflowing out of the furnace… Guess perfecting the cycles does improve the quantity of Pills refined by quite a bit, huh?

“No shit.” You’re no fun.

But also, I should pay more attention.

I toss a glance towards the table, then sigh and stand once I notice that I ran out of ground ingredients. Time to prepare some more- “Riley, take a break.” I pause and raise a brow at that.

‘Why? I’m nearly done.’

“Because you are tired. Stop forcing yourself, the Furnace won’t go anywhere.” I roll my eyes and keep walking towards the storage room, only to pause when I feel my Qi just… freeze, like it’s out of my control.

‘I am not tired-’

“Really now? Trying to lie to someone that lives in your very Soul? Try again.” I sigh and palm my face out of pure exasperation. “Take a rest. Do not use Qi to refill your energies-”

“You think I haven’t tried doing that?” I ask aloud, too uncaring to even fucking ‘think’ right now. “I haven’t slept properly since I fucking died. Give me a break.” It’s just nightmares and more nightmares, so why sleep?

I just rest my eyes and body, then use Qi to energize myself for another long day.

It’s why I don’t want to have Meteria sleep in the same bed as me, because she’s seen me sleep. She’s seen me being under the effect of my nightmares.

I know that she wants to ask, that she wants to help, and that it is eating at her to not do so, so I’d rather just avoid having her see me like that in the first place.

Seeing her hurt and worried just tears me apart.

“Give you a break? That is what I am trying to do, but instead you are tearing yourself apart and using Qi over and over to compensate for what your body isn’t given time to give! You don’t realize how dangerous this is!”

“What’s it gonna do? Kill me? I already fucking died-”

“When you had nothing left, you dumbass!” Her loud shout startles me into a pause, “Now you have a lover that you are deeply attached to- No, several lovers! Can’t you bring yourself to live for them instead of being buried in the past?!”

“What would you know?” I hiss out sharply, nearly putting a hole through the wall beside me to release my rising temper, “You had a fucking moment and decided that all your past actions – which I know jackshit about – are bad and warrant a change. I don’t give a fuck about my past actions.”

“I killed that man and enjoyedit. But I never asked to be here, to be reincarnated, for a second fucking chance. I want my family back, but I fucking can’t!” An oath to never kill again? That’s just bullshit. I’ll fucking do it again the moment someone dares to harm Meteria or any of the other girls.

I’m just fucking deluding myself with so many things so to distract myself of the real issue. The mere fact that I do not want to be here-

“You don’t truly believe that.” Ning Guang whispers, making me clench my fists. “Do you truly believe in those words? You used to… Until you got here and fell in love, that is.”

I hate the fact that she is right. I may not have wanted this, may have gone ahead with my life like a fucking robot until I got here, but now… Now I do not know.

If I am happy, then why am I still like this? What is eating at me? What is it that is making me not move ahead?

I hear Ning Guang sigh deeply, and I draw in a breath to calm myself too, “Can you trust me?” Her question makes me pause and narrow my eyes.

“I know nothing about you.” She sighs again, and I feel a bit bad for that, but I cannot bring myself to trust a Cultivator.

“Then it is best that we keep this for when I can create a body.” And with that, her presence fades away.

Did my words hurt her- No, that’s bullshit. She should be who knows how many millions of years old knowing how certain novels are about Cultivation taking so long to advance each Realm or Stage.

She knows something, but doesn’t feel like it’s right to either say it or request something from me due to me not knowing anything about her.

Must be something important then…

I shake my head with another sigh, then pause when I hear the door to the front open.

I tilt my head out of the storage room to see if it’s either Meteria or one of the other girls, but the person that steps inside is instead the mature, breathtaking beauty that is Agnodice.

Been a while since I’ve seen her.

Tall, long golden eyes, bright blue eyes, pointy ears, long white sundress that… reveals a lot, and a figure that is just divine and is only barely matched by Meteria.

Be still, mine beating heart.

“Miss Agnodice.” I call out, stepping fully into view as her cheeks flush and her eyes grow shy. Damn Meteria.“To what to I owe the pleasure?”

She fidgets shyly, trying her best not to look my way as my smile grows in pure amusement at the sight, “I was w-with Meteria and we were just walking around, but then she left as she wanted to go draw something real quick and… Well, told me to wait here.”

Another plot from that gremlin, huh?

“Draw something?” I raise a brow at that, knowing of the… things she draws. And shares around her Familia. Damn perverted gremlin.

Agnodice shrugs with a light smile despite what that action alone ends up doing to her mountains, “I do not know what caught her attention.”

I pause, “It’s Meteria. For all we know, she might’ve gone out there to draw the Black Dragon.”

Agnodice pauses too, then nervously opens her mouth, “S-She wouldn’t do that, w-would she?”

“It’s Meteria.”

                                                                          ….

The Dragon stares down at the human before it with a wide, confused eye.

The Dragon is confused, amazed, and utterly bamboozled.

Whose lost gremlin is this?

“Stay still, you fuck.” Said gremlin grumbles, sitting on the ground ahead of the crater that became its new nest, and fiddling with something in her hands.

The Dragon could smell the scent of the Sword on her, so it merely watched her curiously.

Is she the Sword’s mate? It could smell nothing special from the girl, and could feel nothing special. Peculiar.

“That scar over your eyes is so bland.” The Dragon twitches, “I’d have gone for a zigzag style instead of a bland straight line.” It twitches again, “Bah, at least I ain’t the one that got it on my face.”

Should it use a claw to flick the annoying gremlin back into the city?

It might make the Sword come out to fight too! Now that is a nice thought- Alas, said hopeful thought is squashed when an army of women overflow out of the city to grab the gremlin and drag her back.

Some among them are quite strong, so the Dragon watched in pure amusement.

“Now, back to drawing your ugly ass.” The gremlin sighs, pats her hands, then sits back down, leaving a horde of women knocked out and beaten up behind her.

...How did this gremlin win?

Who is it supposed to call to make her go away?

“Stupid, ugly ass lizard, daring to harm my handsome Riley…”

Forget flicking her. Punching her would be better.

                                                                             ….

“Let’s have faith in her?” Agnodice suggests, but it’s clear that she isn’t so sure about this herself.

I want to go out there and find her instantly so to make sure she won’t go under harm, but I know that Hera always makes sure there is someone following Meteria when outside.

Either that, or Alfia is the one watching over her. So, I force myself to relax.

I shake my head with a sigh, then smile at the slightly taller, mature woman, “How have you been doing recently?” I ask her gently, causing her expression to fall a little.

“It’s been… the same. Nothing changed.” By ‘same’ I presume that it’s still a shitty situation. That brat really deserves a beating. “I… wanted to thank you, for saving my daughter’s life.”

“Little Cally told me that if it weren’t for you, she’d…” Tears fill the woman’s eyes as she halts her words, the mere thought of losing her child being capable of reducing her to such a state.

And that bitch takes it all for granted, and only wishes to heal her mother just so to gain a dumb title back.

“I’ll be honest, Miss…” I breathe in, then give her a serious look, “If I had known the real reason she went after that ingredient by herself, then I’d have watched her die without shame.”

She flinches harshly at my words, her face going pale and eyes widening in a panic, “I-I know how she can be, b-but she doesn’t mean-”

“Ma’am.” I cut her off harshly, and she flinches again, her gaze leaving mine. “I understand how you are feeling, and I understand that it’s a parent’s duty to protect their children… But to me, family is everything. It’s sacred.”

“And then I see an idiot disregard her own wonderful caring mother all for a fucking empty title and position.” It’s a miracle that Alfia did not punch Calypso’s jaw right off after she woke up in the Dungeon. Must’ve taken a lot of restraint on her part.

“I just…” The tall mature woman releases a shaky sigh, looking like she is on the verge of crying. “I do not know where I went wrong with her…” How could anyone bring themselves to harm this wonderful woman?

I sigh and shake my head, “Why do you think it’s your fault?” She startles at my question, red teary eyes locking with mine, “Sometimes, children fuck up. It’s a part of growing up. And sometimes, it’s a parents duty to correct them.”

“Other times, they need the rougher hand of someone else.” And I want to, and will be, that someone else.

“Y-You… Wished to take her under your wing, right?” I nod at Agnodice’s question, giving her a light smile.

“You might come to hate me thought.” Her eyes widen, “I will not be kind to your daughter, miss. I will be a monster. An asshole. I will break her, make her cry, weep and scream. I will become her worst nightmare.”

“She’ll reach a point where even a minor mistake like dropping something will lead to me being upon her.” Her hands shake, and she gulps loudly.

There’s fear and worry and anger within her teary eyes. But also resignation. “I can’t stop you, can I?”

I give her an apologetic smile, “Hera left this in my hands. It’s either this, or having her Falna ripped out.” In the end, the mother could only sigh in defeat. “I’m sorry.”

She shakes her head with a low noise, “I should have been a better mother.”

I have nothing to bonk her with, so I draw close, reach up, then flick her forehead.

She staggers back with a yelp, then gives me an adorable flushed pout. “No blaming yourself. We may have not have interacted a lot, but you are a wonderfully kind woman. Both Meteria and Alfia can only sing you praises when they talk about you.” And now she is on the verge of tears again.

Meteria did describe her as a crybaby…

Still, the breathtaking mature woman swiftly wipes her tears away, “When will you start… teaching my daughter?” More like torturing her.

“When she least expects it.” I drawl out, “Right now, she is wallowing in nervousness and fear, and dealing with the general disgust and disapproval of the whole Familia, isn’t she?” Agnodice nods sadly, and I hide a cruel smile at that. That’s what that bitch deserves.“Then I’ll let her stew in that some more. Let her wallow in her own delusions.”

Then I’ll strike and shatter her pride, giving her a beating she’ll never forget. The first step of trying to reform that idiot.

Agnodice breathes out, then her gaze flickers to the side and towards the Pill Furnace, “It’s much bigger than I thought…” I twitch at the innuendo, “The previous was so small, yet this one is enormous.” Woman…

“Careful, it’s still hot.” I tell her as she approaches the enormous furnace. It can cool itself down very quickly, but after so many refinements it’s normal that its cooling capabilities can’t keep up.

“It’s shaking so much…” She breathes out in a way that I can only call sexual, making me twitch again. Is she doing this on purpose?

Despite myself, I find my eyes wandering her body. Incredibly long legs with very thick, juicy thighs that ended in huge, round and bouncing buttocks.

Hourglass hips meant to be gripped, a nice and fit showing that she used to be a fighter, and immense melons resting and wobbling while barely contained within her white sundress.

Damn thing is screaming for mercy- Oh dear, she’s going commando too, huh?

I shake my head and calm down my rampaging hormones, then perk up when Agnodice does too, “I almost forgot!” The woman chides herself, then turns towards me with a slightly apologetic smile, “I still haven’t returned that notebook of yours you gave me the day after we met!”

The notebook I gave her…? Ah, the one I quickly wrote overnight before Meteria pounced on me.

“I’ve just been studying it all, as it is so interesting!” I raise an amused brow at that, “The way of making Pills is so different from making Potions. Potions require more ingredients, and their effects depend on how much is drank, but both require a precise cooking process!”

“Potions require a cooking process too?” I question out of surprise, though my eyes narrow. Then what the fuck is Dian Cecht exactly doing wrong? The mass production so for quantity over quality?

Agnodice nods with a big smile on her face, making her plump lips stand out, “Indeed! Though the end result will also depend on the fact if someone holds the Mixing Development Ability, like I do.” Interesting…

“So the presence of this… Development Ability, how much does it improve the end product?”

“Quite a lot. The general range is between a fifty percent increase to a two-hundred percent increase. Though it has a massively higher threshold with a higher Rank of the Development ability.”

“So it’s similar to the Cycles in Pill Refinement…” I muse in interest, “Though there is a small difference. The higher rank of this ability increases the quality of the potions, while the Cycles in Pill refinement mostly raise the quantity of Pills that are refined in total. The quality does increase, but not by much.”

So potions aren’t as bad as I thought, but they still rely on outside interference to make them better.

After all, Agnodice just confirmed this for me. One requires a Falna and this Mixing ability to improve the quality of the Potions, unless they can slowly improve upon it themselves through study and research.

While I do not need such things with my type of Alchemy. I just require patience and time, and pay lots of attention too.

But… perhaps it’s not that Pills in general are better than Potions… It is what makes Pill take shape that makes them better than Potions.

My eyes widen, “Miss Agnodice-” I find myself pausing when the woman boops my nose, suddenly being right in front of me with a charming motherly smile.

“Just Agnodice is fine, dear.” ...Be still, mine beating heart.

I cough into my fist and recover, “Agnodice, can I ask your help in something? I’d like to see the process of Potion making, if possible.” She blinks curiously, then nods with a big smile.

So I lead her towards the storage, watch her pick more ingredients than I usually do, then pick some of the bottles meant to hold Pills so to contain the Potions.

Back to the living room, she puts a pot of water over the fire until it boils, and as it does she swiftly and perfectly dissects the ingredients.

The roots are spared, the leaves are ground to dust, then all the ground ingredients are ground again, but together.

Then some of the boiling water is added into the mortar, and she grinds the mixed ingredients once more, turning them into a light pulp.

Said pulp is then divided perfectly, then poured into the five bottles Agnodice grabbed. The hot water is finally added to the bottle, and Agnodice mixes the both of them while holding the bottle over the fire.

It’s a meticulous and slow process, and I watch as the Potion takes shape, taking a light red color as it does so.

I pick one of the finished bottles as Agnodice goes through with the third, then sniff the contents.

I can smell the medicinal fragrance, not massively concentrated like Pills, but very diluted and mild, yet still quite effective. Far more effective than the ones Dian Cecht sells.

With a hum, I take a sip of the Potion and focus internally, watching as it flows down into my stomach before it dissolves and unleashes it’s healing energies.

And the way it works surprises me, because it’s completely different from Pills.

Pills force the wound to heal with pure healing energies, while instead the Potion energizes the body inherent healing capabilities to speed up the healing process of the wound.

Pills function as external, forced aid. Potions functions as internal, gentle aid.

And thus, this does not make the body grow a resistance towards it…

I palm my face with wide eyes as I process my findings.

This can possibly be game changing… If I can fuse the processing way of both Pill Making and Potion Making, then I could possibly do something new, something greater and more potent.

Something that has the potency of Pills, the gentleness of Potions, does not waste as many ingredients as Pills, and does not make the body grow a resistance to the effects.

So, out of curiosity, I reach out and rest a finger against the last bottle Agnodice is cooking, then let a Qi Strand flow forth.

Agnodice’s eyes widen when the finished Potion now is a glowing and vibrant red, unlike the mild and tame red of before.

Huh, it works with them too…

Qi is generally gentle in nature. A calm, nourishing energy that can be molded to do millions of different things.

So of course pairing it with a Potion would massively enhance it’s effects…

Me and Agnodice lock eyes for a few seconds before I speak, “I think I just discovered something very good.” And, of course, that’s when the whole city shakes.

Agnodice stands in alarm while I tilt my head, feeling the oppressive presence of the Black Dragon draw near.

I shrug, then walk outside as I feel the Dragon start to float in the air, casting an enormous shadow over the panicking Orario while Agnodice hides behind me.

The Dragon looks around with its lone eye before finally its gaze locks onto me… Then its enormous right claw slowly descends above me.

I blink, stretch my senses and- You gotta be fucking kidding me…

I stretch my hands and catch Meteria just as the Dragon opens its claw to drop her, then turns around with a loud huff and leaves.

I lower my gaze to stare at Meteria, and she does the same and blinks owlishly at me.

Then smiles and raps her fist on her head, “Tehee~!” ‘Tehee!’ my fucking ass!

“I’m going to tell Alfia.” I decide to settle with that as a final threat, because any other threat will just make this gremlin horny.

“W-Wait! A-Anything but that-!”

“-UUUUYYYSSSS!!” Her pleas for mercy though are cut off by an approaching shout, and I lift my gaze to stare at a running and approaching Hera.

“What’s up-?”

“W-We need to get the fuck out of here! Now!” The woman shouts in a hurry, face pale and eyes wide in panic as she gets behind the stunned Agnodice and starts pushing her.

I just blink as I settle Meteria down, “Why? What did you do?” First Meteria, now you?

Said Goddess keeps trying to push Agnodice, “I fed the Pills to Dian Cecht!” Eh?

Ah, the laxative Pills- Wait… Pills? Plural?

“Which one…?” I ask slowly.

Hera’s manic eyes lock with mine, “All of ‘em!”

“I made a hundred of them, Hera!”

“And I shoved all them bitches down his throat!” She cackles cruelly, “Gods, his belly started inflating! That bitch gonna blow up!”

Oh my God…

There was a Golden Grade Pill in the mix…

Dian Cecht is about to have his asshole destroyed!

“Run.” That’s the only thing I can say.

Because shit is about to rain all over Orario.

Literally.

Needless to say, the final report made Hera wheeze her guts out.

Dian Cecht was found on top of a roof, covered in… well, shit. Four streets were quarantined, the God having apparently rocketed down three of them on his take-off when he finally exploded.

Four Adventurers are in a coma, having been caught in the ‘Poop Disaster’ as Meteria named it.

Lots of property damage, lots of… poop to clean up. A traumatized God with a  destroyed asshole, and a wheezing Goddess that nearly peed herself from laughter.

Oh and, let us not forget the fact that Meteria managed to annoy the fucking Black Dragon. Somehow.

And to think that Hera now wants to do the same thing to Zeus...

                                                                                xxxXXXxxx

You know, the more I think about it, the more I believe that Alfia is a Goth, just minus the extreme make-up.

Why? Because who the hell asks you to go out with her, late at night, hidden tool strapped to her back, and then leads you far out of the city in a very sketchy way?

“So…” I start, entirely amused by the situation as I hold her gloved hand, “What’s this all about?” Orario by now is a dot in the distance, and stretching my senses I can tell that Hera, Calydonia, Atalanta, Kirin, Juno and Meteria are very far away and watching us.

Alfia gives me a charming smile, “You promised me a fight, remember?” Ah, that I did. Is this what this all is about?

Guess getting far away from Orario is a smart move then.

“Excited about this, aren’t you?” I tease, and her cheeks flush lightly.

“Like you aren’t yourself.” Fair. I’ve heard much about her capabilities, and want to experience her going truly all out without interference. “It took a while, but I also had something prepared for this. So that I can match your sword.” She steps back and I watch curiously as she grabs the hidden tool strapped to her back.

The towel is released, and what comes into view is an immaculate bitch black blade that is very similar to my own.

There’s a deep and powerful primal feeling to it. A blood lust that I’ve felt from only one being so far.

“Is this…?” I question with wide eyes as I stare at the glimmering pitch black blade. Utterly immaculate and looking insanely sharp.

Alfia nods with a smile, “It is made from the scales of the Black Dragon, and forged by the Goddess Hephaestus herself.” Damn… So this is a truly perfect blade, huh?

An eager will to clash against it rises from Bladey and reaches me through our link, bringing a smile to my face.

“This is probably the first time I will ever truly cut loose.” Alfia whispers as she stares down at the glistening black blade in her hands. It looked very heavy, yet she holds it easily with a single hand. “I even stopped taking your Pills, just for this.”

My eyes widen in alarm at that, and she smiles softly, stopping me from saying anything, “It would have been a crutch. I want to fight you with everything I have. With everything that I have gained with my hard work. Your Pills… They would have gotten in the way in making me truly enjoy this.”

She is really serious about this, huh?

“There’s more to this than just testing your capabilities, is there?” I ask softly, and she lets out a soft chuckle, her expression soft and delicate. Utterly beautiful.

“Since we were little, I was the one protecting Meteria. I was the one taking care of her. I was the holding a goal to one day heal her even if it costed me my life.” Her cheeks flush, and she rests the tip of her black blade against my chest. Right over my beating heart.

“So I can only pass all of that down to someone stronger than me. I will take you on with everything I have and can do, and I want you to do the same.” Her heterochromatic eyes twinkle eagerly, but also gain a teasing glint to them. “If you win, you’ll have a pair of sisters calling you ‘Husband’ from tomorrow and until death takes us.”

Husband…

Hearing Meteria and Alfia call me that? I’d fight the Black Dragon, Leviathan and Behemoth all together just to have that.

“You are so on.” I am probably grinning like a fool right now. Alfia bursting out in a peal of adorable laughter just proves it.

Recovering herself, Alfia breathes in and gives me a sharp look, “Remember, no holding back.” My hand twitches, and I force myself to nod.

She doesn’t know.

“Yes yes, milady.” I chuckle and draw Bladey, then draw in a slow and deep breath, feeling the Qi of the world stir and rush into my lungs and energizing my body.

Alfia steps back, putting several meters of distance between me and her… And hesitation instantly strikes.

I do not wish to harm her…

I shake away those thoughts and raise Bladey’s sheath, then toss it high into the air, making Alfia understand what it signifies.

Her stance relaxes, her blade aims downward, and she takes in a low breath herself.

I steel my will, sharpen my eyes and senses, and let my Qi stir and rumble inside of me.

The sheath hits the ground, and the place we were standing on collapses as we shoot forward.

A deafening metallic crash rips the land asunder as Bladey clashes against her black blade, sending millions of sparks flying everywhere as our feet dig into the ground.

Her heterochromatic eyes sparkle with delight, and her breathtaking face lights up with a wonderful, joyful smile.

A screech of metal dragging against metal wails forth as I push forward with Bladey, only for my eyes to widen when Alfia’s lips part open.

“Gospel.”

A plume of earth and dust blasts into the sky, and I myself am hurled across the destroyed fields as an invisible freight train slammed into me at full speed.

It didn’t hurt much, but being flung through the air ain’t a pleasant feeling.

So I breathe in, Qi stirs, then is set ablaze.

I flip one last time through the air, my foot touches the ground, and I shatter the Sound Barrier as easily as I breathe.

Bladey howls through the air and comes crashing down like a meteor like a meteor falling from the heavens.

Swords clash, and another deafening sound wave crashes through the fields, booming across the land.

Alfia staggers back from the clash, eyes narrowing as she stomps forward, eager to match me blow for blow.

Neck, left side, open.

I don’t attack that opening and instead meet Alfia’s blow for blow. Minor openings show themselves with each clash, yet I do not follow through.

I do not want to harm her.

Alfia’s eyes are narrowed, her long hair whipping through the air as she flips around.

Bladey is high in the air, and I don’t bring it down as my eyes widen when I see a gloved palm peek out from Alfia’s left side.

“Gospel.”

I grit my teeth and hack down with all of my strength, cleaving the invisible blast in half and hitting the ground, causing our surroundings to collapse for dozens of meters.

The ensuing destruction to the ground sends Alfia in the air, where she flicks her blade out faster than the blink of an eye, using the flat side to hurl flying debris my way.

My Sword Intent flares to life, slicing those debris to dust as I raise an amused brow her way.

She lands and tilts her head as I breathe in, Bladey purring eagerly in my hands.

“Done with the warm-up?” I ask playfully, and Alfia hums softly.

Then her black blade rises high in the air, “I guess I am now.” Her blade falls, and the ground below us ceases to exist.

Alfia strikes the ground with enough force to blast it all skyward with ease. Dozens of meters of land all turned into rubble and dust and debris.

Jesus Christ, how strong is she?

I stand on the small patch of ground I safeguarded from the horrifying blow and stretch my senses as far as I can, and I chuckle softly. “Goddamn…” Alfia is everywhere.

While the debris is falling, she is using it as stepping stones to move around, and is going around so fast that I cannot lock onto her no matter how hard I try.

She is insanely fast, huh?

Since I can’t lock onto her, and she can’t attack me as she knows I’ll block the blow with ease… I’ll just remove everything around.

I breathe in, my Qi rumbles, and my Sword Intent roars outward.

An invisible ripple washes forth, and everything disappears, ground to dust by millions of invisible blades conjured by my Will.

Dust, rubble, ground and rocks and stone disappeared in an enormous dome all around me, clearing my field of view and senses…

And yet, Alfia is gone.

I was focused on unleashing my Sword Intent and did not keep an eye on her. Where did she go..?

Down into the ground? No, impossible- The ground behind me cracks, and I flip around instantly, only for my eyes to widen.

What hit the ground was a piece of debris. I thought I erased everything- Above!

Something smashes into the ground right beside me, and I swiftly flick Bladey and tilt my head to the side to intercept the sharp stab that would have otherwise taken my head off, instead leaving a large gash across my shoulder.

I breathe in, then jump back to put some distance between us.

Alfia… did not look pleased. “Riley.” She starts with a harsh voice. “Stop holding back.” My hand twitches. “Come at me with intent to kill.”

My eyes narrow lightly.

“I’ve been watching you.” Alfia states flatly, eyes still narrowed. She’s angry. “I’ve watched you fight many times now. Your fighting style… It’s terrifying. If you truly go all out, no one is a match for such a style.”

“Had you gone truly all out, you’d have felled the Leviathan by yourself within the Dungeon. Of that, I am sure.” My grip over Bladey tightens.

“I don’t know what you are talking about-”

“Riley.” Alfia cuts me off sharply, but this time anger gives way to a gentle and loving look in her eyes. “You don’t need to be afraid. I can take it.”

Holding back… It’s less holding back, and more not fighting like a real Sword Cultivator.

A Sword Cultivator puts their all behind each blow. No remnant energies for defense or movement. Just all in pure offense.

They put their lives on the line, a blow for a life, a wound for a life. That is how they fight.

“Or must I give you a reason to go all out?” Alfia calls out with a challenging smile, and I raise a confused brow towards her. “I told you, didn’t I? I’ve been watching you. Always.”

And this time, I am the one that is watching her as she relaxes her stance…

And breathes in.

The Qi of the world stirs, then surges towards her as my mouth falls open in shock.

Alfia breathes out, then grins, “So this is what it feels like…”

She is...

Despite what i am seeing, i cannot help but grin.

                                               She truly is the Monster of Talent.

She sighs out, and slowly raises her left arm.

Her gloved palm faces towards me.

And with glimmering eyes, Alfia chants once more.

                                                                               “Gospel.”

The world goes white.

                                                                                 XxxXXXxxx

“Those fools…” Ning Guang sighs with a shake of her head as she turns her gaze away from the outside world.

She could not bear to watch it any longer, as it only hurt her more.

They thought they were helping Riley by letting him go all out… But instead, they were harming him. Horribly so.

Her bare feet step upon the reflective water surface of his Soul, the warm water tickling her feet as her gaze falls and grows sad.

As much as she wished to intervene, she could not afford to. She could not help Riley and free him of his burdens.

He was still needed. This world still needed him. They were all far too weak to handle that thingbeneath the city.

Only Riley can. And he’d gladly do that for his lovers, even if it simply destroys him more.

Qi is a type of energy that adapts near instantaneously to its surroundings. No matter where it finds itself, it will quickly adapt and either improve or worsen the area it is in.

If Qi is born in an area full of flames, then it becomes Fire Qi, and the temperature can skyrocket to reach even levels hundred times greater than before.

If its born in a windy area, then it becomes Wind Qi, and the winds turn into howling storms that ravage the surroundings.

If born in the depths of the ocean, it becomes Water Qi, causing the pressure to become immense, which can lead to further changes to the creatures living within those depths.

So on and so forth. No matter where Qi is born, it adapts. A lot of Qi in the blood? Blood Qi.

Near a lot of corpses? Corpse Qi.

Anything can affect it. Even emotions.

Her gaze falls on the reflective water surface below her feet. Her ardent gaze pierces past her reflection, and into the dark abyss below.

There, instead of a Heart Devil… Lay all the fear and insecurities and worries of a young man who lost everything… And is still not used to this second chance at life.

“I want to die.” “I don’t want to die.” “Why am I alive?” “I miss dad.” “I miss mother.” “I failed her.” “I’m a failure.” “You’re a failure.” “He should have suffered more.” “Murderer.” “Murderer.” “I want to be alone.” “I don’t want to be alone.” “It hurts.” “I want to hurt more.” “Make it stop.” “I love them.” “This world is dangerous.” “Kill any threat.” “Protect them, you failure.” “Be a murderer.” “Leave me alone.” “I am just making excuses.” “I do not fit in here.” “I want to leave.” “I want to stay.”

“Why me?”

Her eyes screw shut as millions of voices assail her. All of Riley’s fears, insecurities, dark thoughts- Anything negative is absorbed by the Qi, and dumped here.

It builds up, and builds up, and builds up. The worst type of Qi of all.

Bewitching Qi. Once loose, people break and just snap. They do not restrain themselves any longer.

And if this happens to Riley… She highly doubted that Orario as a whole can survive. He’d do anything to keep his lovers safe, so to not fail once more.

The more he used Qi, the more these dark thoughts gathered, and the more Bewitching Qi takes form, slowly tearing at Riley’s mental walls, slowly breaking him down, slowly tiring him out until he finally snaps.

She had gone through this herself, and she knows well what the only way to get rid of Bewitching Qi is.

The only way for Riley to finally relax and take a breather.

She is the cause of this, she led him to suffer this much just because she wanted to see what he’d do with Qi.

Now, this was her problem to fix, and she had to hurry.

One way or the other, she’ll convince Riley to do this once everything is done.

One way or the other…

She must convince Riley to relinquish Qi as a whole.

A.N. Apologies on the long, long wait.

I wanted to post multiple chapters of multiple fics at once, but ended up getting caught in other stuff.

First writers block, then other irl matters that just annoyed me, plus health problems.

But now am back! Hope y’all enjoy this chapter!

Also, I decided to shrink the harem just a bit, cause I made it too big like an idiot.

So Brynhildr, Atalanta and Calypso aren’t part of the harem anymore. Brynhildr will become like a sister to Riley.

End waifus are Meteria, Alfia, Kirin, Hera, Agnodice, Ning Guang, and one last one.

And thaz it!

Toodles!