Is it wrong to Speak in a Dungeon? Chapter 10 (Patreon)

I do not own Danmachi/Jujutsu Kaisen or any other referenced franchise, only my own OCs.

{Thoughts}

“Speech”

Character Sheet / System Text

“Tvs, Radios, Texts, and newspapers…”

(Disclaimers)

*Onomatopoeia*

“Cursed Speech”

…

…

[Somewhere, sometime. A certain Elf Girl’s POV]

I ‘calmly’ make my way into the Loki Familia’s Estate as I cover my face with my hands to ward off the heat.

Of the sun, of course.

What else would it be from? The heat is CLEARLY from the sun. Nothing else.

The soft wind breeze colliding with the back of my hands proves my words wrong, but no one can see my thoughts thankfully so I can continue lying- speaking to myself unimposed!

Why did h-he have to be so… similar to me. He doesn’t even realize what he’s doing… It’s just like A-ais all over again…

I lower one of my hands and grip the newly acquired weapon of mine as I feel its unfamiliar weight pulling down on me, but I do not let it weigh me down mentally.

I will protect this weapon with all I’ve got! I will make sure to have it on my hip all the way from the start of the expedition till I finally leave the dungeon and visit M-mikey Shishou again.

U-unless it needs to break to protect me…

“Hey! Lefiya!” A sudden voice of a cheerful amazon breaks me out of my thoughts as I see Tiona run up to me with a happy smile and an excited wave.

“A-ah! Tiona, it’s good to see you.” I happily greet the excitable amazoness as she jumps at me with a hug, and it's only because of the years of conditioning to her lunges that I am able to stay standing.

“Good morning! Where were you off to? We were looking around for you but we were told you left early in the morning?” I freeze for only a second before sheepishly smiling and nervously clutching my other hand.

“U-uh… I was picking up some last-minute preparations from the market.” I quickly say a lie and feel slightly bad for lying to my friend.

I’m sorry Tiona, but I have to!

“Oh? Is that so?” The familiar sound of a certain trickster goddess reaches my ears as I freeze in place and the familiar red hair of my goddess rounds around the corner while smirking at me with one raised eyebrow.

“Oh! Hi Loki!” Tiona enthusiastically waves to our goddess as Loki grins and waves back. I am still frozen in my spot as she continues to grin at me.

Did I already fail?

It’s not even been a day and I’ve already revealed it?

“Hello, Tiona, Lefiya. Are you both ready for your expedition today?” She casually asks without sparing me another glance as Tiona gives Loki a confident thumbs up while beginning to list off everything she’s packed and rechecked 5 times already to make sure she doesn’t forget anything again.

I blink as Loki nods to Tiona without looking at me anymore, completely ignoring my earlier lie as if it did not happen.

W-why? This is… very unlike Loki.

They continue speaking and Tione eventually enters alongside Lady Riveria and Gareth as the group discusses their plans and preparations without Loki mentioning my slip-up at all.

I feel my head become light-headed and in a few moments (maybe hours?) I find myself walking alongside my Familia to the dungeon entrance, leaving a waving and dramatically sobbing Loki behind as I continue walking with an unsettled weakness in my body.

“... Lefiya? Are you… okay?” A-ais suddenly asks from next to me as I squeak and jump from where I was walking, almost bumping into another person but thankfully catching myself before I did.

Everyone looked at me with raised eyebrows as I flushed at their looks and looked down in embarrassment.

“Y-yes, I’m fine! I promise.” I quickly try to reassure as everyone looks at me doubtfully.

“Are you sure you are well, Lefiya? There is no shame in admitting something’s wrong.” Lady Riveria asks me as I flush and open my mouth to respond.

“I’m sure she’s just nervous about going into the dungeon after yesterday’s earthquake. It has taken most of us by surprise after all.” Captain Finn smiles at me while speaking as I notice in the corner of my eyes that his thumb was twitching slightly.

That’s weird… Is he perhaps nervous? No… Captain Finn could never be nervous, he’s too… strong… to be nervous.

He’s one of Lady Riveria’s two partners after all, and the Familia Captain of the Loki Familia.

“Y-yes! That’s it…” I quickly jump at the chance to explain my nervousness as Lady Riveria narrows her eyes at me with suspicion but simply nods and looks away.

Whew. Safe!

The group goes back to chattering and talking after that little episode as we eventually enter the dungeon and begin descending the floors of the dungeon.

I wonder if Shishou’s already entered for his daily dungeon run? Maybe I can even catch him on our way down!

With Bell with him, he probably wouldn’t go anywhere past the 12th floor, right? Those floors aren’t too big, maybe I’ll get to see him again!

I walk with a pep in my steps and a smile as we continue moving before someone speaks to me again.

“Hey, Lefiya, I forgot to ask, but why do you have a sword on your waist now? Aren’t you a mage?” Tiona asks curiously as I exhale.

“W-well, I’ve been thinking of keeping my options o-open for in case a monster gets within close range of me and I can’t cast a spell fast enough. I-I wanted to have some way of defending m-myself…” I grip the weapon with my hand while speaking as Lady Riveria narrows her eyes at me while Ais frowns.

“... Don’t worry about monsters getting close to you… We will protect you.” Ais speaks to me seriously, and while I’m touched by her words, my smile turns slightly sad at them.

That’s exactly what I want to avoid. I don’t want to only be protected.

I don’t wish to be a ‘glass cannon’...

“I personally believe the young lass is thinkin’ right.” Mr. Gareth speaks in my defense as I look at him with widened eyes. “Ya never know what critter could crawl outta nowhere and bite ya. Aye, havin’ another option’s some good planning lass.” I flush slightly at the praising looks I get from him and others, slightly feeling bad since this was Shishou’s idea, not mine.

“T-thank you, Mr. Gareth.” I quietly thank him as he lets out a boisterous laugh and rejoins his conversation with Finn while Lady Riveria keeps frowning at me.

“... Are you sure you’re alright, Lefiya? You’ve been acting… ‘off’ today.” … Lady Riveria, respectfully, please stop trying to use slang.

“I-I am, I promise, Lady Riveria.” I bow my head to her in shame for making her worry as she sighs and simply shakes her head while continuing to walk.

Hehe. They’re all none the wiser!

… Except Loki…

We don’t need to think about her right now! Happy thoughts, happy thoughts…

…

Okay maybe not him in those thoughts.

I shake my head to clear it from the unneeded distractions as we finally begin traveling through the middle floors.

All of a sudden, the walls all around us begin spouting monsters in droves of all types.

Our familia is quick to respond and enter formations, quickly wiping all of the monsters easily faster than they are spawning.

“It’s a monster party!” Someone shouts, I don’t know who but everyone agrees. It’s quite odd for a monster party like this to happen out of nowhere, especially with this amount.

I raise my staff and prepare to chant while Tiona and Ais quickly dispatch some minotaurs in front of me, only to suddenly feel something amiss and look up.

From above me, a dozen minotaurs break out of the roof and fall towards me with mindless eyes of hatred while I panic to move away from them.

I hear Tiona shout out something to me with panic and concern, but cannot make out what she says as a Minotaur nears me-

“-Sword of Surtr - my name is Alf!” I hear the voice of Lady Riveria finish chanting as all of the minotaurs are engulfed in flame and scream out in pain and rage before a few moments pass and the flame dies, leaving nothing behind.

I let out a breath I unknowingly held as I continue staring at the ceiling above me with widened eyes and a gaping mouth, unable to process how close to death I was.

“Lefiya!” Tiona screams out and shakes me as I snap back to reality to see everyone staring at me with concern. I quickly realize that I must have fallen at some point as Tiona was staring down at me with worry while shaking my shoulders

“I-I’m… okay…” I manage to stutter out through shocked breaths as Tiona frowns at me but helps me up anyways.

“That was odd… I’ve never seen a minotaur drop from the ceiling before, let alone 12…” Lady Riveria speaks with a grave tone as Captain Finn nods with a complicated look on his face.

“It seems the guild was not correct about the dungeon not having any changes after the freak earthquake… This is… dangerous.” He speaks solemnly while staring at the ceiling that dropped the minotaurs on me as I feel some anxiety enter my body.

What if Shishou entered the dungeon already and encountered something like this? Would he be fine…?

“... Are you alright… Lefiya?” I squeak and look to my right as Ais stares at me with worry again and I quickly nod.

“Y-yes, I’m fine. I was j-just… shocked… I did not expect M-minotaurs to suddenly drop out of the c-ceiling…” Ais nodded to me with furrowed brows and a very imperceptible frown.

“... It is odd…” We both look at Captain Finn as he announces that we will continue making our way into the dungeon.

“-make sure you stay on your guard the entire time. We do not know what other changes may have occurred in the dungeon, so treat our entire stay here as if we’re fighting in the deep floors no matter where in the dungeon we are, not even on the 18th floor. Am I clear, everyone?” Everyone lets out sounds of affirmation as Captain Finn nods with his usual smile if barely strained with worry.

I notice that his thumb is throbbing again… That is odd…

Lady Riveria checks on me thoroughly again despite my protests and embarrassment before we continue making our way down.

Once we enter the boss room and stare at the Big Wall of Grief, I notice that Captain Finn seems to have frozen moments before the entire floor begins shaking aggressively.

As I stare behind us at the way we just came from, my eyes open in horror as the pathway is suddenly blocked by large boulders.

I quickly stare forward to check if the path to Rivira is open, just in time to see something on the Wall of Grief.

My mouth suddenly becomes dry and lips quiver in horror as a gigantic black goliath slowly opens its eyes in the wall, moving its face to stare at our familia.

No, to stare at me.

I am only able to let out a single gasp of something before it suddenly roars in the dungeon walls while glaring hatefully.

Then, it punched.

…

…

I slowly opened my eyes as a painful headache immediately made its presence known to me alongside a terrible ache spreading throughout my entire body that almost pushed me to tears.

I quickly try to make sense of what happened as my eyes become blurry from the tears threatening to spill.

We were going to move past the monster rex room…

But a goli- an enhanced goliath suddenly spawned in the walls a week before its expected spawn.

All I could remember was a rock rushing my way after it obliterated the wall to escape its confinement before darkness overtook my senses and I woke up here.

… Where is here? I feel the familiar soft feeling of a bedroll under me… so I am most likely alive…?

I bite the inside of my mouth and squint my eyes to remove the tears inside of them and regain my sense of sight.

The first thing I see when I reopen my eyes is the familiar violet orbs of the man I now call my teacher alongside his lengthy platinum hair falling down the side of his face as he stares down at me with concern, and I suddenly realize that the feeling on the side of my head is not something I normally feel on my bedroll.

I feel something touch cold touch my lips and I instinctively open my mouth with the familiar feeling of a potion’s head impacting my lips and I feel Shishou’s hand raise my head so I can swallow easier.

This taste… it’s a high-quality elixir!

How did Shishou get his hands on something like this? Even if he’s quite powerful, the amount of money he gains should be nowhere near enough to where he can spare me one even though I’m not dying.

“... You’re awake, Lefiya?” He asks me with a low, calm tone, as I suddenly realize how close his face is to me and feel my body’s temperature rise until it could rival the sun.

I fight to keep the heat off of my face and clear my throat to regain any bit of composure I can back, only now realizing how dry it feels and I let out a few dry coughs unwillingly.

“... Here, drink, it’s water.” He puts a waterskin next to my mouth as I nod shyly and drink as he ordered.

Wait… I-Is this his personal waterskin? W-was that an i-indirect…

“... Are you feeling better now?” He breaks me out of my thoughts as I try to distract myself from the very unhealthy thoughts by nodding my head and trying to rise.

He allows me to get up to a sitting position but no more as I quickly look down from his pointed stare.

“I-I’m fine… T-thank you. F-for the elixir and water I m-mean…” His eyes wrinkle in what I believe might be amusement before they gain a sad glow to them that makes my heart ache slightly.

“It’s fine. I’m the reason you’re like this anyway, so I’m only repaying you for my mistake.” What? How could that have been his mistake?

My eyebrows furrow in confusion. No one’s ever blamed themselves for my own weakness before, it’s always promises of protecting me or promises of more studying…

I shiver slightly at the latter, thinking of Lady Riveria.

No, not right now. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts!

I refocus back on Shishou’s face as he seems to be in deep thought, his face twisting in disappointment and sadness every few seconds.

The first does not seem to be aimed at me (thankfully) but it doesn’t look like it’s self-loathing either… That’s odd.

Why does he think it’s his fault though? He’s done nothing to warrant that kind of responsibility… Wait…

“Y-you’re wrong. Y-you aren’t at fault for what happened in the d-dungeon. T-that was a freak accident you couldn’t h-have caused…” His eyes widen slightly at my words before a knowing and pensive expression reaches his eyes, as if he knew something I didn’t that made my words null.

“... You do not understand, but that’s fine. You will, eventually. For now, I need to leave before your familia members realize I’m here.” My eyes widen to considerable degrees at his words as I feel heat reach my ears and my mouth gapes.

H-he snuck in here??? How?? Wait… Does no one know he’s here, alone, with me?

My eyes glaze over as I remember certain books I found in the library while studying and i-indulged in my free time with.

W-what if we…

H-held hands??!?!??!

I am broken out of my fantasies as Shishou stands up from his sitting position next to me and places his hand on my head.

H-headpatting?? T-that’s so…

“... Sorry Lefiya, I’ll be going now. I promise I’ll make this up to you when you visit me once you’re back out of the dungeon.” I go to protest but his last words make me freeze with another intense blush that reaches my neck this time. “Make sure not to tell anyone about me being here, alright?” He puts his hand in front of his mouth, shushing, winking at me as I almost pass out.

W-why must he be so…

Before I can finish that trail of thoughts, M-mikey Shishou takes his hand away and steps back before staring down at the ground with a heated stare before tapping it once.

I stare in shock as the floor splits under him and swallows him whole before connecting again and patching itself perfectly, leaving no signs of its splitting.

I continue staring at the ground Shishou just left through for a few moments before the sound of someone walking to my tent reaches my ears and Lady Riveria steps inside with furrowed brows.

“... I could’ve sworn I heard something in here… You’re awake, Lefiya?”

This is fine.

…

…

[Michael POV]

I silently walk out of the dungeon while ignoring Edias’s pleading inside of me and making my way back to my manor to check on Bell and possibly pick him up for the beginning of our training.

[... I’m sorry… Please speak to… me…]

I continue giving her the silent treatment as she shifts inside of me with bubbling negative emotions.

She spawned-

No. I’m not even gonna think about it right now. I’m not allowing her the privilege of inhabiting my thoughts. I will simply think of this later. I have things to do right now.

I walk through the bustling crowds of civilians and adventurers while breathing ‘calmly’ and distracting myself with planning.

Planning training, planning expeditions, planning recruitments. Anything to keep my mind occupied and-

My eyes widen as I hear the sounds of battle from ahead of me.

Coming from the direction of… the manor!

“Jūryoku no Hakai!” I declare and immediately fly into the air at max speed, ignoring the shouting and confusion of the civilians under me as I fly through the air at mach speed towards my home with worry bubbling inside of me.

The pit in my stomach grows steeper as I near the street, hearing the sounds of shouting, clashing, and some explosions.

I round the corner to my manor and freeze at the sight.

My house, my home… is in ruins. Bell bleeds from his right eye while standing in front of an unconscious Hestia as two dozen adventurers surround the manor from the roofs and street while aiming their weapons toward Bell and shouting jeers and insults at Bell from their positions.

Bell is bleeding from his left arm, hip, and head. He looked in critical condition as he stood in the remains of the front entrance of the manor, now destroyed by some form of magic blade.

My eyes glaze and dilate as I stare at this scene and hear the laughter of the adventurers that are spouting mockery at MY familia member and goddess while aiming distinctly colorful weapons that I recognize to be more magical swords at MY home.

…

… Do these fools really dare?

To attack MY home.

To attack MY Familia.

To insult MY people.

… Do they not fear death?

…

They will.

“Do not move.” I speak ‘calmly’ while emitting the full presence of my Cursed Energy into the world as everyone in the street freezes at my words involuntarily and widen their eyes in fear at the concentration of negative emotions, some being forced into frozen tears as they feel their limbs give up under them, but are unable to move themselves from their present position and are forced to stand on painfully weak limbs and fail to even scream out in agony.

They do not deserve the right to even scream at what I’m about to do to them.

I slowly float towards Bell while ignoring the emerging presence of a goddess from above me as Bell stares at me with happiness and hope, not even caring about how late I am.

Not even caring about the ruined eye he now has because I decided I wanted to stroke my own ego by going as deep as I can into the dungeon.

He did not care. He happily accepted my presence back home without batting an eye.

An amazing younger brother like that does not deserve the fate the befell him from these scum today.

“M-mikey! You’re here-” I raise my right hand, requesting silence as Bell immediately complies while staring at me worriedly, noticing my gaze.

I ignore that for now and continue moving right hand while placing it on his right eye and closing my eyes.

I slowly multiply my incredibly massive Cursed Energy reserves with each other as I feel MY own reserves reject my pull, harmlessly bouncing against each other as I reopen my eyes and feel them grow cold.

I slowly move my left hand to my side while closing them into a fist.

I then PUNCH the pillar to my left as my fist gains black sparks of lightning around it and the pillar explodes into a million pieces and flies out of the manor, coincidentally impacting one of the scum as they are hit in the head and fall to the ground, unconscious.

Black flash…

I feel my understanding of Cursed Energy increase dramatically as I once again close my eyes and slowly stack my Cursed Energy Reserves together, feeling the resistance they once again reply with and frowning.

Unacceptable.

I PULL.

My reserves successfully pull themselves together and multiply as I feel the negative emotions of my power glow in positivity, and my body is filled with feelings of happiness, serenity, and love. I ignore Edias’s wonder inside of me.

I PUSH the energy into Bell’s body as he gasps with one widened eye at the energy entering him. The one widened eye is then slowly joined by the other as it flutters through the blood and flesh blocking it before slowly opening and widening like its sibling.

The injuries on Bell’s body begin visibly healing at a rate noticeable to the normal human eye and I slowly open my eyes while letting out a single sigh of exhaustion.

That is all I allowed myself to show as I moved my hand from Bell’s right eye and to the back of his head while pulling his forehead to mine as he stares at me with awe.

“You’ve done well, Bell. I’m proud of you.” His eyes widen further and slowly fill with tears as his face slowly allows itself to express the pain he had to endure while protecting our goddess. Our home. “I’ll handle it from here. Please, rest now. You can… sleep… now.” His eyes widen at my command and I watch his eyes grow the slightest bit defiant before they roll to the back of his head and close involuntarily while his body collapses.

I slowly hold his body in my arms while looking around my manor.

… Destroyed… It can be repaired, no… It will be repaired, but…

I have animals to slaughter first.

“Jūryoku no Hakai” I rechant to ensure my magic stays active and I pick Bell and Hestia up with my magic while slowly turning around to face the confused, angry, and extremely terrified scum that stands frozen before me.

I look at the one I knocked unconscious earlier, a human woman that seems to have been at the head of the group and held the nicest clothing and equipment.

I see… The leader of this operation. The others are not necessary, then.

“... Die.” I command into the air as all of the filth that dared attack what was mine paled dangerously before gasping a single time.

A red mist enveloped the street as two dozen adventurers exploded into a gorey mess of blood and flesh and engulfed the entire street in red.

… Paint the town red, they said.

I calmly walk forward to where the girl was knocked down into unconsciousness and grab her with my gravity while raising her into the air with her hands extended out, akin to crucifixion, and I stare at her with lidded, cold eyes.

“Awaken.” I command and her body twitches before she painfully opens her eyes and slowly tries to regain composure before landing on me and opening wide in panic.

“W-wait-” “Shut up.” I immediately and ruthlessly command as she begins speaking and her mouth shuts closed while her features pale with fear.

“... You will not speak unless spoken to. Your usefulness barely keeps you away from death, do not prove yourself to be more trouble than worth to keep you alive…” I order with a glare as tears begin streaming down her eyes and she nods with terror.

“State your familia.” I command to start as she begins stuttering to speak, spouting the name of some random Familia she probably was told to say in case she was captured.

I glare at her as she locks up and stops stuttering. “... I will repeat myself only once.” She stiffens and gasps in pain as I twist her arms with my gravity.

“State. Your. Familia.” I demand, and her eyes widen in fear before her mouth opens involuntarily.

“S-Soma Familia…” Her eyes are filled with terror as she speaks against her own will, and I simply sigh while staring at her with more disgust.

“... A group of drunkard pests come and disturb the lion’s nest? … You truly have not learned fear from your days in the dungeon.” I twist her limbs with greater intensity as she screams out in pain. I do not suppress the small smile that reaches my mouth.

“P-please…” She begs and my eyes fluctuate as her mouth slams shut immediately as per my will.

“... I remember commanding you not to speak unless I allowed you to do so. Do not test my patience, pest.” Tears continue streaming down her eyes as she nods painfully, her eyes pleading.

“What was your purpose in attacking my Familia?” I question again with intensity, my eyes begging her to lie again as she gasped once her mouth was allowed to open.

“Z-zanis! I-it was all him! I swear! H-he had been asking about you from before your l-level up, so he already knew where you l-lived before the information lock! H-he knew you killed the other level 2 a-after they went after you… I-It wasn’t personal, I s-swear! H-he said everyone that entered this o-operation would get a small bottle of S-soma wine and that our objective was to d-destroy your manor a-and…” Her face twisted throughout her speech, starting with fear, regret, becoming slight obsession when speaking about Soma wine, before suddenly turning into horror at my face as she spoke about her objective. “... c-capture your younger F-familia member.”

I like to think that I’m a reasonable ma- … My aura exploded out of my body, releasing pure wrath as I glared into the filthy eyes of the woman in front of me while she gasped in fear and sobbed helplessly like a vermin.

Like the vermin that she is.

“... You… You spoke of ‘the other level 2’... Do you mean to tell me that you’re a level 2…?” Her eyes lit up at my question, mistaking my tone for curiosity.

It was not. It was disbelief and apathy.

“Y-yes! I’m one of the only remaining f-four level 2s in the f-familia! I-If you let me live, I-I’ll join your familia and do anything you w-wish for!” She pleaded with hopeful eyes while puffing her chest out in a hasty attempt at seduction as I raised an eyebrow and inspected her.

She is quite the beautiful woman, courtesy of the Falna most likely, with curly brown hair that falls to her shoulders, emerald orbs for eyes that are currently shining from the tears, and a healthy body.

“... You truly believe I’d allow a pest like you into my familia? Utterly foolish.” Disgusting. It matters not how beautiful she may be, she is nothing but an animal to be slaughtered in the end.

Her face freezes before slowly morphing into horror and despair as I raise my left arm slowly and place it right in front of her face.

“... Die.” With that non-cursed command, she coughed out blood and her eyes widened as she slowly looked down to see a raven-black spike extending from my chest and impaling her stomach from front to back.

She looks back up at my indifferent face as I lower my hand slowly. “... If it allows you better passage to the afterlife, know that this was ‘not personal’.” I throw her words right back at her apathetically as tears streamed down her eyes and they slowly lost their light. “... After all, how could a lion ever hate an ant? All it can possibly feel for you is pity…” The spike in her abdomen slowly begins covering her entire body before pulling it back into my chest, leaving nothing behind.

I slowly walk back to our destroyed manor as the red mist begins dying out from the surroundings and I register the yells and screams of people outside this scream begins ensuing.

I do not mind it however and approach Hestia and Bell’s bodies to take them to a safe place.

Now… where is the safest place I can put them…?

…

…

“I apologize for disturbing you again with this, Miss Mia.” I apologize to the large dwarven woman and she waves my apologies away with a frown.

“Ya ain’t gotta worry ‘bout that. I understand needing a place to put yer Familia member and goddess. How long are ya gonna need to keep ‘em here though?” She asks me with curiosity as I tap my foot against the ground a few times in thought.

“I will be dismantling the Soma Familia in a few days at most, once that’s done I’ll repair my house and be out of your hair in no time. For now, though, I’ll do my best to repay you for their stay.” Mia’s eyebrows raise at my arrogant remark, but her eyebrows raise even higher as I pull a large pouch of Valis and place it on the counter for her, way more than what would be needed to rent a room in a tavern.

“Aye, I understand. That much money though, what’s it for?” I stare at her with an incredulous look while unimpressed thoroughly as she pockets the money faster than she speaks.

“The protection.” I answer simply and she snorts while cleaning a random cup she picked up.

“What’re yer plans for now?” She asks with more curiosity as I get up from my stool with a sigh.

“Now that I have ensured the safety of my Familia, I will begin my extermination of the unwanted pests named the Soma Familia.” My tone grows cold halfway through my sentence as Mia blinks in surprise before frowning.

“Revenge ain’t a good goal boyo. Hate’ll only bring ya down.” Oh no… the ‘revenge bad’ speech is incoming.

“... Revenge? Hatred? I seek none of that. I merely wish to remove an annoyance before it grows and becomes a minor pain. I could never hate something beneath me, I could only pity it.” I give her a similar speech to the one I gave to the dying human girl earlier while slowly walking away from the counter with a wave, not missing Ryuu staring at my back from the side room of the kitchen.

Mia snorts at my words again but doesn’t say anything as I slowly walk out of the pub and feel the cold breeze of autumn on my face despite the still-present sun.

This is my fault.

I killed those Soma Familia members a week or so ago without care, despite one of them saying that they were a level 2.

Of course they’d come back for vengeance after losing one of their heavy hitters.

I should’ve thought of them as people rather than characters in an anime, where they had to follow a certain timeline and I should expect them to do so with minor deviations.

Instead, they schemed and slithered in the dark and attacked like snakes out of nowhere.

Too bad. It will be their downfall.

I slowly begin walking into an alleyway with my hands in my adventuring coat, only stopping once I’m far away from the middle of the street to not be noticed easily.

“Jūryoku no Hakai.” I mutter absentmindedly as gravity fails to take hold of me and I slowly float into the air and fly out of the alleyway while making my way through the roofs of the buildings around.

My destination, the Soma Familia Headquarters.

I notice something peculiar following me, but shake my head in minor amusement.

How amusing… There’s no need to worry, this is all part of my plan.
I idly try to raise non-existent glasses on my face higher to try and make my mood lighter, and I succeed slightly as my lips twitch upwards.

All part of my keikaku indeed.

I eventually reach the building I was flying towards as I step onto the roof of a nearby building and raise my hands upwards.

“Jūryoku no Hakai.” I chant again, this time not aiming my magic inwardly and instead aiming it at the building as the building begins shaking violently before its roof is ripped off, revealing the insides of the manor as the screams and yells of surprise and confusion fill the air.

“Silence.” I demand from where I stood as everyone inside of the now broken building stared at where I was with confusion, incapable of speech anymore as some of them try to yell at me but fail to let out a single noise and slowly begin to panic.

“This is a declaration of war, Soma Familia. You have attacked what is mine and are to pay the price for your foolishness.” I float the body of the level 2 human woman that I killed as all of them try to scream at the sight of her impaled body floating in the air between the broken remains of their manor roof.

My eyes slowly move towards the god himself, Soma, whose eyes slowly moved upwards to meet mine from where he was mixing in a cauldron.

His eyes twitch at the sunlight, probably unused to being in the light due to always being in darkness while making his alcohol or whatever.

He stares at me expressionlessly, with such apathy I almost felt jealous at his ability to have no emotion.

Though my blank state is a mask, this is his true nature as he is nothing but a husk. A slave to his divinity that wishes to do nothing but make wine.

“I declare a Wargame, with the disbanding of the Soma Familia as my desired prize. In three days, you shall all face me in combat. Bring all of your allies, I shall face you myself, alone. You will need the numbers.” I solemnly declare as they stare at me with shock. Perhaps because of my challenge itself, or my demand.

I allow my Cursed Energy to wear off as they all regain the ability to speak and begin yelling profanities and mockery at me, unaware of their slowly deepening grave.

I watch as a man standing on the stairs leading to Soma’s exposed room steps forward and clears his throat loudly, silencing everyone in the Soma Familia as they all stare at him, some with a glare, others with fear.

That is… Zanis? The Captain himself.

The main reason MY Familia, MY Family, were hurt.

“Surely this must be a mistake, Mr. Inumaki! We of the Soma Familia could never have attacked your Familia as you claim.” He shook his head in ‘confusion’ as I rolled my eyes.

“... So this adventurer that attacked my Familia’s manor and members does not belong to your Familia?” I ask dryly as he looks at her with ‘confusion’ before turning back to me and shaking his head.

“Why, she may have been part of our familia, but she voluntarily moved to a different familia some time ago. She has no formal relationship with our Familia anymore!” He declares to me confidently with a hint of a smirk on his face as I tilt my head to the side while staring down at him.

I ignore Edias’s attempt at contacting me, probably sensing this man lying and wanting to gain my favor by informing me. I’m still upset at her and I already know this man is full of shit.

They have a puppet familia? That makes sense. Just intoxicate their captains and members with their wine and they’re now under your control.

It matters not.

“... Are you ready to confirm those claims in front of my goddess?” I ask him the deciding question as he pauses and loses his smirk, now turning into a frown.

“... Very well. The Soma Familia will accept your request for a wargame under two conditions.” Here come the incessant demands that won’t matter once I win. Let’s hear it I guess, maybe he’ll surprise me.

“... Speak. Overstep and you lose your head.” I’m not about to let him think I’ll accept just anything though. He seems annoyed by that comment but nods nonetheless.

“The Soma Familia demands financial compensation for all of the damage you’ve caused once we win.” Ah, he’s going to try and milk every little pebble that I removed from his roof for all it’s worth. Maybe even make some members look injured so they can get more money for medicine and whatnot. He also didn’t say ‘property damage’ so he expects to be able to get money for the members they lost.

Whatever. It does not matter.

“... Your other condition?” I do not allow him a reaction to the first demand or his words of ‘once we win’ as he clicks his tongue with a sneer.

“You must drink a cup of this wine.” He raises a glass into the air in front of him as the people under him scream in outrage at the sight of the wine, screaming and yelling about the injustice and demanding a drink themselves.

I raise an eyebrow at the pathetic display as Zanis grits his teeth, probably angry at the terrible show of force they’re showing right now.

He didn’t get time to make sure they behaved, so now they’re showing their true colors without a filter in front of the enemy, showing their weakness and putting them at an even greater disadvantage.

They probably don’t know how much of a disadvantage they have though. They will though, soon enough.

Eventually, Zanis is able to calm them all down with force and turns back to me with a ‘pleasant’ smile while still holding up the cup of wine.

He probably thinks I’ll get addicted to it and fall into his trap even if I ‘somehow’ won, or just give up straight away to get a chance to drink more.

Too bad for him…

“... Very well. Jūryoku no Hakai.” I chant the latter words under my breath and float the cup out of his hands under everyone’s disbelieving face before placing it in front of my lips.

They all stare at me with intensity, some with envy, others with mirth, okay MOST with envy.

I slowly bring the cup to my mouth and begin gulping it down nonchalantly and feeling its taste begin aggressively invading my tastebuds.

It tastes…

…

…

Garbage.

Seriously. It’s disgusting.

I knew I would be easily able to resist its effects because of my Indomitable Will, but is this its true taste without all of the addictive additives it has in it?

I felt a poke at the edge of my skull, but nothing else after drinking it.

Honestly, what a fucking joke.

“... Will that be all? It tasted disgusting if that’s what you wished to know.” I throw the cup into the building as they all stare at me with shock for a second before jumping over each other in an attempt to grab the cup and drink any remaining droplets inside.

What a disgusting sight… mere animals chasing a carrot on a stick…

I stare at Zanis’s horrified look before turning my head to the now very expressive Soma as he gazes at me with visible shock, unlike the lifeless and blank face he had earlier.

“... H-how…?” Zanis speaks speechlessly as I glare down at him with my hands in my pockets.

“... It’s quite simple, really… I do not savor the same delicacies enjoyed by pigs beneath me.” My eyes grow cold as the now completely dismantled roof begins falling from the sky onto the building as people screamed and ran for cover while Zanis continued staring at me while gaping.

“... You have three days, Soma Familia. Fight, Run, Gather together. Do whatever you think will help you survive, but know that nothing will help you in the end. You may run, but you cannot hide.” With my piece said and done, I jump off the roof and leave the area on foot to not advertise my ability to fly more than I already have.

I’ve only shown it around civilians so far (and you can argue I was always too fast for them to make out my features), not counting her, no one important should have learned of it unless I somehow missed them.

Oh, and the other her.

I glare at the presence still above me as it decided it had enough and slowly dissipated out of my senses.

I pause in an alleyway far from the Soma Familia building and slowly turn around.

“... Miss Ryuu, are we going to continue acting like I can’t sense you?” I call out to nothing and wait for a few seconds as a heavily disguised (not really) Ryuu falls from the roof of a nearby building while staring at me silently.

“... I presumed I would be able to escape your senses if I kept my distance… It seems I may have strayed too close at some point. Please forgive me, Mr. Michael.” My lips twitched upward slightly. I knew she was following me from the start, but I’ll let her think otherwise.

Though from how she narrowed her eyes at me, I say she’s noticed my amusement and probably knows I knew the entire time now.

“... May I ask what you aimed to achieve by following me, Miss Ryuu?” I keep my tone calm to show I was not offended, only curious, and she visibly relaxed from that.

“... I expected you to begin attacking the Soma Familia head-on recklessly, and wished to ensure that you did not die during that.” She pauses for a second as I raise my eyebrows. “It would’ve been a shame if your Familia woke up to find that you died to avenge them.” She added hastily and I almost smirked.

That was definitely a poorly made Tsundere comment. Sadly, I’m not a naive anime MC that will take her words at face value like an idiot.

She clearly was worried about me and wanted to make sure I didn’t die like an idiot when I arrived at the Soma Familia building.

How cute…

“... I appreciate your concern, Miss Ryuu. I’m sure my Familia would as well.” Ryuu’s eyebrows raise at my words, probably expecting me to say something like ‘but I would’ve been fine anyway, no need to concern yourself’ or something of the sort.

“... Do you not feel offended that I expected you to act recklessly? Or that I thought you’d need help facing the Soma Familia?” She asks with a certain… hesitancy as I smiled.

“It would be normal for anyone to act recklessly in a situation like this, but I am not any normal anyone, am I?” She nods after a moment of hesitation, probably remembering how she learned of my stats being in the thousands range and my 3-week level-up record. “... And… How could I ever be upset at someone being concerned for my well-being? That would be the height of idiocy.” I subtly hint at knowing her true intentions as she moves her hand to raise her facemask up higher, covering more of her cheeks and face.

Adorable.

I frown slightly at the feeling of Edias’s bubbling, overwhelming jealousy as it quickly dies down in favor of apology and shameful regret.

“... I see…” She simply says while moving her hand back down after another tug on her mask.

We stand there for another few seconds before she speaks up again once I am about to move.

“... May I ask, Mr. Michael… How did you hold yourself back from simply attacking the Soma Familia instead of allowing them a chance to retaliate by challenging them to a war game?” Oh… She lost her Familia to bad guys, right? Then she killed them Shirou’s ‘people die when they are killed’ style, and that’s why she’s depressed.

I think.

“... That would’ve been overreacting. When I extend my hand and a dog bites it, I do not hate the dog for being mindless and doing as its instinct forced it to. It’s foolish seeking vengeance against a creature so beneath me in every way.” I shook my head as Ryuu’s eyes widened and she took a step back.

The alleyway is covered in another silence for a few long moments before Ryuu finally turns around.

“... I see… Do you believe you may need assistance in preparing for the war game with the Soma Familia?” She asks suddenly and I blink at the unexpected offer.

“... I was planning on training for the next few days to ensure my already inevitable victory. I do not have a suitable training partner as Bell… is currently lacking.” I begin slowly while staring at her back. “... Assistance would certainly not be unwelcome…?” I end with a question, mostly confused about what she planned to help me with.

“... I will give you a location in the pub… Meet me there later tonight…” She jumps out of the alleyway without letting me get another word in and I’m left standing in the alleyway, alone.

… okay.

I guess I have a training partner now. That’s cool.

I have wanted to fight a higher level for a very long while now. Someone who could resist my magics and give me a good fight.

And… you know… is an actual person.

The only fighting I’ve had with actual people is the few idiots I left for dead in the dungeon a week or so ago, Bell (but that’s not exactly a challenge), the idiots I just murdered a couple hours ago, and Lefiya.

I never got to fight Ais and Tiona as they were beating the shit out of each other relentlessly.

Lefiya… is a higher level, yes, but definitely not stronger than me physically.

I’m actually pretty excited now that I think about it. How good would I fare against someone as experienced and powerful as Ryuu? I always say that I can beat a very weak level 4, but Ryuu is nowhere near the bottom, being closer to the top most likely.

… Is it wrong to feel excited at a time like this, after Bell and Hestia got hurt because of me?

…

No. It’s not.

I’m not about to enter my dark and gloomy phase yet. That was very clearly not completely my fault, but the fault of the pests of the Soma Familia. Namely Zanis.

I know Bell and Hestia wouldn’t want me to be sad about it anyway, so being sad despite their wishes would be fucking stupid.

Speaking of, I want to go back before they wake up so I can make sure they’re fine and ask them what exactly happened.

It seems I must rush back then. I wouldn’t want to keep them waiting for too long.

…

[Minor Timeskip]

It’s been a bit of time since I returned to the pub. Ryuu dropped a piece of paper with an address and time written on it to Mia who gave it to me when I passed by.

I guess I’m gonna get my ass kicked tonight. Probably. I may be overestimating Ryuu, but I honestly doubt it. She’s a really strong adventurer I think.

I thanked Mia for the note and moved upstairs to enter Hestia and Bell’s room just in time to watch the latter one get out of bed with a panicked expression and the former… still sleeping like a log. She’s even got the anime bubble sleep thing.

“Why so stressed, Bell?” I close the door behind me as Bell quickly turns around to face me with shock before tearing up and doing a running jump at me.

… “Jūryoku no Hakai.” I raise my right hand in front of me as Bell freezes mid-air, caught in my gravity.

He looks at me with pleading puppy-dog eyes as I raise an eyebrow.

“I am fine. There is no reason for you to be unnecessarily emotional.” I comment dryly as he crosses his arms in the air with a pout. “The better question is, are you well?” He lights up at my question.

“I feel so good! At first, everything hurt from your earlier training today-” I wince. “-and also all of the damage the bad guys did to me, but after you… did whatever it was you did, everything immediately became better!” He flexed his two arms out with a bright smile and I matched it with a small smile of my own.

I’m happy he’s alright.

“Does your eye hurt in any way? Or perhaps you feel your vision has deteriorated a little?” I am not a mama-bird or whatever. Go kill yourself (in a video game).

“No! I actually can see better now! From when I was a child, I always felt a little blurry when I looked at faraway things, when I got the Falna it improved a lot, but now I don’t feel blurry at all!” He excitedly exclaimed while miming punches in the air in zero gravity as my eyebrows rose to the top of my face with a disbelieving expression.

Did Bell need glasses? Well… He is a dense fucking anime harem protagonist, so there has to be a canonical reason he’s such a dumbass. He just can’t see obvious things. Heh.

Though I’m upset that I didn’t notice that earlier. All is well though.

“I’m glad you’re feeling more than optimal now. I’m proud of you for fighting to defend Hestia and our manor, Bell.” I pat him on the head with pride as he smiles brightly at my praise.

Hestia decides that now was the right moment to wake up as she yawns loudly, drawing both my and Bell’s attention as she slowly rises into a sitting position.

“Haah… Good mornin’... I had the weirdest dream…” She slowly mumbled to us once she saw our faces before she noticed Bell’s still slightly bloody body and clothes and my own blood-stained clothes (not my blood, obviously), and promptly froze.

“W-w-wait… ThaT WASN’T A DREAM!?” Her voice cracked at the start of her sentence from its dryness before continuing with a scream, making me facepalm.

… I’ll let it go for today, she’s been through a lot.

“... No. It was not, Hestia. You both were attacked while I was away and our manor was destroyed at the entrance and sides. We’re currently at the Hostess of Fertility.” I placed a finger to my lips in a shushing motion while staring at Hestia knowingly as she remembered the last time and nodded hastily.

“Got it! I won’t say anything loudly!” I facepalmed. I then gave her a thumbs up with my free hand while still facepalming, much to Bell’s confusion.

“... I declared war on the Soma Familia.” I suddenly decide to drop it with the subtlety of a sledgehammer against glass as Hestia and Bell froze for only a second before they both sighed in resignation.

“Just finish them quickly without making a mess.” Hestia grumbled and decided to lay back down on the bed while Bell laughed awkwardly.

“I know you can do it without trouble, Mikey! I believe in you!” Bell smiled widely at me with closed eyes. “If you need my help then I’ll stand next to you right away! I feel ready to take on the world!” He flexed his arms again in a ‘fierce’ display as Hestia’s eyebrows twitched despite the fond smile on her face.

She then quickly turned to me with a raised eyebrow at how Bell was floating in place right now, turning from me to him in a questioning manner.

I shrugged. No need to waste my time explaining, she’d get that Bell was being Bell anyway.

As I thought, she wryly smiled and nodded before looking away.

“Hm. Hestia, would you be fine with updating my Status? I have some training to do later tonight and I’d like to be at the top of my game during it.” I request from the lazy goddess as she groans in annoyance.

“We don’t even have paper… And I definitely won’t read your stats out loud again like last time…” I slowly put my hand behind my back and pull out some paper from Edias’s storage while placing them in front of me under Hestia’s shocked and then despairing face.

“... I forgot about Edias… Where is she anyways?” Hestia grumbles but asks curiously as my face twists into a frown and nothing more.

“... We’ve had some issues and I am currently upset with her.” I reply simply as Bell and Hestia look at me with shock and disbelief.

[... I’m sorry… Please forgive me…]

You’re sorry you were caught, not sorry about doing what you did.

“... You guys were all over each other just this morning… How have you already had your first disagreement…?” Hestia asks incredulously as I raise an eyebrow at her.

“Things become very strained when she decides to drop an enhanced Goliath on my disciple out of jealousy.” I comment dryly after making sure no one is anywhere near our room and Hestia and Bell stiffen with shock before staring at me warily.

Probably more towards Edias, who’s inside of me, but yeah.

“... Edias, I just want you to know that I am nothing but Michael’s goddess, please spare me from your wrath, thank you.” Hestia quickly mentions to Edias as I facepalm.

“You don’t need to worry about her doing something to you. I’m already plenty upset with her for what she did to MY disciple. If she did something to my goddess… Well, that’d be the end of that.” I feel Edias emit overwhelming feelings of despair and negativity at those ominous words and Hestia stares at me worriedly but doesn’t comment on that topic anymore.

Most would call me out for being too harsh right now because of what I’m doing and saying, but I’d like to remind them that Edias dropped an ENHANCED GOLIATH on my disciple because she was jealous I head patted and teased her a little bit.

I cannot condone or allow something like this, no way.

“... Um. Well, anyways, just come here so I can update your status.” Hestia gestures for me to come onto the bed as I nod and take my shirt off before laying down and putting my senses on max.

I will not allow a repeat of the last time to happen.

I hear Hestia hum behind me and feel the familiar feelings of my Falna being updated on my back.

She didn’t… scream… So uh, there’s probably nothing too crazy on there.

“Alright, I’m done. Here.” Hestia placed a sheet of paper on my back and trailed a circle on it before smacking it on the back of my head as per tradition.

Let’s see…

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Name: Michael Inumaki

Race: Human (Jujutsu Sorcerer)

Level: 2 (!)

Ability Scores:

STR: H- 198 —> F- 345

END: F- 382 —> D- 501

DEX: G- 267 —> F- 389

AGI: G- 291 —> E- 404

MAG: D- 501 —> C- 671

Development Abilities:

Mage: I

Spearman: I

Sorcery: E

Magic:

• Cursed Speech

This magic allows the user to infuse their words with cursed energy to improve the spirit of their commands, forcing all those who hear it to obey.

• Jūryoku no Hakai

No Chant Magic. Gravity is a mere illusion to be manipulated and to manipulate with. Attraction and Repulsion, Telekinesis and Microgravity, all are within your grasp, and all shall be within your grasp.

“... Never again, never will it escape my grasp.”

“For the peak shall grow; extending to the tallest point of existence, yet be brought down to its knees all the same when the time comes.”

“... Attack it may, Reality held no authority over the one unbound by the world.”

[]

[]

Skills:

• Cursed Energy Manipulation:

The ability to gather, channel, and release Cursed Energy. The greater the Negative energy present, the more energy can be channeled and gathered.

• Privative Gathering:

Increased Excelia gained from the gathering of Cursed Energy.

• Indomitable Will:

Your willpower is your greatest strength. You tread on through life unobstructed by what goes around you, incapable of stopping your march.

…

… Well…

My Sorcery skill goes crazy with those rank-ups. I did achieve Blackflash and Reverse Cursed Energy today…

Though uh… I don’t think I can use the latter on demand yet.

I close my eyes and try to layer Cursed Energy onto itself to multiply it, but I’m met with heavy resistance from my body and it harmlessly bounces off of itself.

Unfortunate… I’m happy it at least worked with Bell, but I may have been pushing my body a bit too much in the heat of the moment.

I sigh and stare at the points gained from today.

They’re… a lot. But I don’t expect myself to grow like this everyday since I don’t push myself to the deepest floor I can everyday.

I also used a lot more time than usual in the dungeon while having Edias help me with killing monsters and dismantling them and whatnot.

If my calculations are correct… I’d give it two weeks at most for my next level up. Unless the Falna decides that me 1v Familia’ing the Soma Familia is a worthy feat for high-quality excelia despite how easy it’s going to be.

I mean, honestly, I am literally an army-killer. I am not made to fight units (though I work just as well in a 1v1 fight), I am a man you’d put against an army of a thousand fodder and expect to win.

Which is exactly what’s about to happen here.

Place 20 level 2s against me, I win without a sweat. Place a single experienced level 4? I’ll probably be done in.

So an army of fodder level 1s with a few level 2s sprinkled in? Merely breakfast for me.

Though a lot of that depends on a lot of other factors. Now that I can fly, I’m basically a gigantic nuisance to any melee fighter without ranged options.

“Oh! Oh! Can I get a status update myself? I want to see how much I grew!” Bell raised his hand with excitement as Hestia blinked and grinned.

“Of course~ Just lay down here and we’ll get started right away!” … Perverted goddess. Not any better than Loki, I say.

Bell looks at me and I blink before letting him go from my gravity as he jumps to the bed and takes his shirt off.

Well, he did fight the level 2 girl alongside a lot of ‘experienced’ level 1s. He probably gained some improvement.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Name: Bell Cranel

Race: Human

Level: 1

Ability Scores:

STR: C- 624 —> A- 808

END: C- 681 —> A- 899

DEX: B- 777 —> S- 934

AGI: B- 798 —> S- 969

MAG: H-171 —> D- 582

Magic:

• Fire Storm

No Chant Magic. Release an Unrelenting Storm of Fire consisting of many scorching rays and bolts of flame to bombard your enemies and obliterate everything in your path.

“... The reality I face is undesirable, it shall burn.”

“Only when all other paths have burnt… will my fire finally subside.”

“The fire that shall illuminate the path of the darkness.”

[]

[]

Skills:

• Kinēshon Kikuro:

Denial of Reality. The user experiences extreme growth as long as they are working towards the reality they desire. The more they struggle to attain their desired reality and the more they reject their undesired one, the higher the effect.

…

… Fucking main characters…

Well, he’s a lot closer to leveling up now I guess.

If Lefiya comes back from her expedition as a level 7 and demands a fight from me before beating me effortlessly and demanding her reward out of sheer Plot Armor Main Protagonist power, I’ll actually cry.

“Good job, Bell. I’m proud of you.” I pat him on the head as he stares at his paper with a slightly moved face, probably shocked at the first 2 S stats on his sheet.

He’s a good boi. He deserves his growth.

“T-thank you, Mikey… I-I couldn’t have done it without you.” Technically wrong, but I’ll take your gratitude silently because I’m nice.

“Believe in yourself more, you were always destined to be great.” I pat him on the head before standing up from the bed and adjusting my clothes, signaling how I’m about to head out.

“You’re going somewhere?” Hestia asks curiously.

“Probably should drop by the guild to inform them of everything that’s happening and also ask them to get someone to begin repairs on our manor. I’ve been putting it off to check on you guys, but I do still need to handle Captain stuff.” Hestia and Bell nod at me with grateful smiles as I wave and make my way out of the door.

I slowly make my way to the guild and inform Eina of everything that happened (coincidentally raising her stress levels and unwanted grief) before signing all of the necessary paperwork and exiting the guild building with purpose.

It’s time to test myself against a non-fodder in this fodderful world.

I slowly make my way through the lesser populated part of Orario while moving to where the note told me to go.

I eventually reach an isolated building barely illuminated by the broken magic stone street lights. I slowly enter it nonchalantly, already aware of Ryuu’s hiding presence in the back.

Ho? Trying to get vengeance because of my amusement earlier? It’s not my fault you’re a beacon of Cursed Energy, okay?

I enter the open-roofed area and stand at its center while staring in a random direction with my hands in my pockets.

“Good evening, Miss Ryuu. Will we be training tonight or playing hide and seek?” I ask with slight mirth as she shifts and steps out of the shadows with narrowed eyes.

She’s wearing the same adventuring gear she had earlier, this time with less focus on disguising herself and more on actual combat capability.

“... Training, Mr. Michael.” I fail to hide a chuckle as she grips her weapon while staring at me.

I quickly take the spear I had taken out earlier out, one that should be a level 3-4 weapon based on its quality.

I normally wouldn’t use such a strong weapon, but I’d rather not have to bring out a new spear every 5 seconds once they snap against Ryuu.

“Very well. I presume we’re simply going to start with a simple spar then?” I raise my spear in front of me as I feel myself settle into a natural stance, courtesy of Spearman.

“Yes. Prepare yourself.” Those words are all she offers as she dashes forward and I prepare myself for what could be the toughest battle I’ve had against a person in this world.

Let’s see… How strong are you, Ryuu?

…

…

Hihi. It’s me. The Anx Man. Woah! Big mama drama today! Owoah. Impossible! No one expected that after 3 chapters of downtime and simplicity.

Right??

Anyways… Yandere Edias go crazy. Also hello Lefiya POV.

Mikey's Arrogance might be slowly turning into a problem.. Uh oh...

I had something I wanted to write here but I forgor so I guess uh. Hi.

Also hi Patreon guys. Y’all getting a new chapter the same day I’m posting one for the non-patreons so you can stay 2 chapters ahead of them until I finish the next 2 chapters next week so you guys are 3 chapters (30k words) ahead at all times.