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[nsfw] Power Corrupts (Gamer Si) (Complete)

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    Не могу читать через переводчик на оригинальном сайте - https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/power-corrupts-gamer-si-complete.10700/reader . Так что, выкладываю здесь, чтобы спокойно читать. Текст не мой, права не мои, выкладываю без разрешения автора. Ссылка на произведение выше.
  Dying really didn"t feel like I thought it would. Maybe I just watched too many movies where the protagonist/love interest/best friend/redeemed villain and so on got to say a few dramatic words before they died, but I always thought I would get to say...something. Something beyond "oh shit" before truck-kun crossed three lanes, rounding on me like I owed him money then splattering my brains over his front bumper.
  
  You are dead! Would you like to start a new game?​
  
  "...yeah, I figured that out. Thanks, though?" I tried, eyeing the words in a floating text box warily. Because, you know, floating text box. Then my eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Did I just get isekai'd? Am I the gamer now?"
  
  Yes! Since you are familiar with the concept, would you like to skip to the world selector?​
  
  I scratched at an unshaven cheek, taking in a bracing breath. I feel like I shouldn"t be handling this so well. Gamer Mind? Or did I just desensitize myself by reading so many self-inserts before my untimely demise? At this point, it could be either. Regardless, I was glad that I wasn"t if only because it made moving on that much simpler.
  
  "Yeah, let"s do that." I agreed. I was the Gamer and I was about to be isekai'd. And you know what? I"m pretty okay with that.
  
  Please select your starting world!
  RWBY
  Danmachi
  Fallout
  Halo
  Mass Effect
  One Piece
  Tokyo Ghoul
  Evangelion
  Attack on Titan
  (additional worlds will be unlocked as you progress)​
  
  Eyeing my choices, I immediately tossed Attack on Titan, Mass Effect and Halo out. I loved the worlds, but I don"t want to start out on the losing side of a genocidal war. Mikasa"s abs weren"t worth it. The same for Tokyo Ghoul, Evangelion, and Fallout -- Craving human flesh, dealing with madmen playing god, or living in a post-apocalyptic hellhole weren"t worth the waifus they offered.
  
  "That leaves RWBY, Danmachi, and One Piece." I mused, frowning at my choices. RWBY was technically a post-apocalyptic world, even if they never really showed it...so it was out. Danmachi or One Piece... if I had the power of the Gamer, I needed to think about what kind of soft level cap there was. What did the endgame look like? And what was I looking at in terms of midgame?
  
  One Piece had people cutting mountains in half, able to jump from orbit head first and be totally fine, and power that treated the laws of physics as a suggestion. Early and mid-game would be determined by pirates I could fight, if I could find a decent teacher and failing that, being self-taught.
  
  Danamchi... had a lot more structure. The Dungeon offered more stable sources of exp, what"s more, it was set up in a way that I always had an idea of what I would be facing. If I found an established familia then I would have a support structure. Endgame was able to blow up mountains and wipe out armies, but those were a lot fewer than One Piece. And...
  
  I was totally biased.
  
  I pressed Danmachi then another list appeared.
  
  You have selected Danmachi. You can now proceed to the character creator.
  Previous game data has been analyzed. You earned: 2000 points during your last game! ​
  
  The great nothingness that surrounded me began to shift until I found myself in the Sims character creator. Standing on a platform was me, or a creepily accurate doll of me. I looked at myself for a moment -- truth be told, I wasn"t horrible looking. My hairline started to recced already, I had a bit of a stomach since I hadn"t worked out in some times but I was hardly fat...I supported the whole body acceptance thing mostly because I didn"t really care about it. But now I had a chance to give myself the body of adonis? Yes, please.
  
  My eye caught a tab labeled Races. Clicking it, another list appeared.
  
  Human: (Race already purchased)
  Amazon: 250 (Female player models only)
  Demi-human: 150 (Click here to see subcategories)
  Pallum: 100
  Elf: 300
  Dwarf: 250
  Spirit: 100,000,000
  God: 1,000,000,000
  Xeno: 50 (Warning: monsters, mortals and gods will want to kill you.)
  ​
  As boring as it was, I stuck with the human race. It was what I knew.
  
  I made the changes, then pausing to admire my work. I handcrafted the best looking version of myself. Well muscled, handsome and...my lips pressed into a thin line, tilting my head as I looked at my best reflection. It was me. Maybe if I made myself a little taller...?
  
  Giving myself an extra inch, I finally broke the six-foot barrier. Then I gave myself a few more inches. Then a foot. Then one more inch. And another inch. And one more just to be sure until the doll in front of me became a 7"5 giant of a man. Fiddling with the skinny/fat/muscular window, I maxed out muscular, all the muscles bulging out almost comically, so I scaled it back just a little.
  
  "Hmm..." I should give myself a tan. I was Irish, so the sun burned me and nothing else. Looking at my work now, I saw that my face really didn"t suit the mountain of man standing in front of me. I squared my jaw a little bit, keeping my stubborn chin...yeah, it was better, only now my hairstyle looked completely out of place. Cycling through the presets, I eventually found a wild mane of hair that looked-
  
  "..." Huh. I looked like Conan the Barbarian. Or Broly. Since I was going to an anime world, I was going to say I more or less looked like Broly.
  
  And you know what? I was pretty okay with that too.
  
  "I"m done," I said aloud, not seeing a Next icon.
  
  Please select your start:
  Wannabe adventurer: 350 p
  Rookie Adventure: 100 base p. Additional cost included: (dependent on God chosen) Rank S: 10000. Rank A:5000p, Rank B:4000, Rank C:3000, Rank D: 2500, Rank E: 2000, Rank F: 1500, Rank G: 1000, Rank H: 500, Rank I: 350
  Novice mage: 1000 (Start with magic with one spell slot filled)
  Novice Blacksmith: 500 (start with level 5 in blacksmithing)
  ...​
  
  The list went on for some time, listing out various crafting starts. I skimmed them over for a long minute before I pressed Novice Mage. It was magic, how could I possibly resist? A giant warrior man flinging lightning from my fingertips...I couldn"t wait. I could even up with Danmachi"s necessary chants to use magic.
  
  Please purchase your perks. Points remaining: 1000
  
  Strong: (250) All strength exp is increased by 5%
  Weak: (+125) All strength exp is decreased by 5%
  Natural deodorant: (100) Natural musk never smelled this good.
  Reek: (+50) A bath and soap won"t wash that smell away
  Song bird: (100) Angels wish they sounded as good as you
  Annoying voice: (+50) Your voice has a habit of getting on people's nerves
  Limber: (250) All dexterity exp is increased by 5%
  Stiff as a board: (+125) All Dexterity exp is decreased by 5%
  Perfect memory: (500) Every moment of every day is perfectly recalled at any time
  Great memory: (250) You can recall most things with a passing glance
  Fast learner: (500) General exp gain increased by 5%
  Forgetful: (+150) Where are my car keys?
  Warrior: (250) All endurance exp increased by 5%
  Wimp: (+125) All endurance exp decreased by 5%
  Super immune: (200) Great resistance to Disease and Toxins
  Sickly: (+500) Max HP is halved with greatly decreased resistance to Diseases and Toxins
  Durable: (500) Physical damage reduced by 5%
  Frail: (+300) Physical damage increased by 10%​
  
  What kind of build was I going with? I was built like a mammoth, so definitely a warrior build. Up close and personal combat. Strong and Fast Learner for exp gains, leaving me with 250 points. Then I pressed Limber since the only thing better than being big and strong was being big, strong and dexterous. Bringing my total to zero.
  
  Despite myself, I found myself lingering on Natural Deodorant. I was going to be doing a lot of fighting, a lot of killing and I wasn"t sure what Danmachi"s hygiene situation was. Did they have modern showers there? I recalled Hestia and Bell having to use some kind of brush. Not to mention the days I would end up spending in the Dungeon without a convenient way to bathe.
  
  "This is dumb," I told myself, going back to the previous tab to reselect my Start. Should I pick a few bad traits? No, I don"t want to if I can avoid it. The negative traits were a little too harsh one way or the other, and they only gave me half of the points I bought the positive one with.
  
  I pressed Wannabe Adventurer since it was the cheapest, bringing my total up to 650 points. I could always learn magic later, but who knew when I would get this chance again? With that, I made pressed Natural Deodorant, my final total being 550. Naturally, I made one final choice of Durable, since any reduced damage as a warrior was a must, leaving me with 50 points left.
  
  Clicking Next, another list appeared only this one was long and broken up into countless tabs. Weapon types, armor, potions, spells, materials and so on. Hundreds of thousands of choices, maybe even a million. Out of curiosity, I went to the bottom of the swords list before quickly scrolling back up, wincing internally at the billions it would cost to buy a diamond enchanted sword possessed by the soul of an ancient evil god.
  
  "Warrior type build," I muttered, planning out my goto build in RPGs. High Strength, high Endurance, Dexterity lagging behind with Intelligence being my dump stat. So, I needed armor and weapons. I eyed my total, wondering if I should go back to pick a bad trait or two to get some more points.
  
  I needed to prioritize. What did I need? Armor first. I searched for something that was cheap and would cover my torso. My arms and legs would have to be left bare for now, it was more important that my insides stayed inside. I found a steel set of armor, blackened with a piece of metal jutting up at the front to protect my neck. The layered plates should make sure that I had full range of movement. 20 points left.
  
  Weapons... I was pretty big. Huge, really. My reach was long already. As much as I wanted a humongous sword, they were too expensive. I found something that would suit me, a steel longsword. It would look out of place, but it would do. I could always make money and buy a better one. This was just to make sure I had some starter gear without taking any loans.
  
  That cleared me out except for a few points. Not knowing what else to do with them, I changed them out for some valis, the currency in Danmachi. I don"t know if 1,000 valis was a lot, but it was better than nothing.
  
  "Neat," I said, satisfied with my choice. Perhaps it wasn"t the best build for Danmachi, but when in doubt, go with what you know. And I knew warrior characters from over a decade of DnD and RPGs.
  
  Are you satisfied with your choices?
  ​
  "I am," I said with a nod. I took my time with it, so there was no point in second-guessing myself.
  
  Game system reformatting to sync with world...enjoy your game!
  ​
  And, just like that, I found myself standing in a busy street filled with all kinds of people. Demi-humans, amazons, elves, dwarves...oh, and humans. The smell wasn"t exactly pleasant, but it wasn"t the typical stench I associated with a big city. Not everyone wore armor like I was, all the things that I bought on my new body, they wore brightly colored dresses or fur or pretty much anything that wasn"t modern attire.
  
  For a long minute, I just took the city in. Slowly, my gaze drifted upwards, spotting the white spire that stretched over the city, piercing the sky until it touched the clouds. The Tower of Babel. Inhabited by gods, actual gods.
  
  "..." Right. Speaking of gods, let"s go find Hestia and become an adventurer. With that thought in mind, I started walking, watching the people as I went. I saw girls with cat ears, dog ears, pointed ears and so on. The city felt like a giant melting pot of cultures, I noticed as I walked by a stall selling rice-based food next to something that looked like lasagna. There was a smell of spices in the air as I wound up wandering further into a food district, towards the Tower of Babel.
  
  I wandered the streets, the food eventually giving way to shops that lined the street filled with more adventure-oriented supplies. The closer I got to the tower, the more common they became. Potion shops, arms, and armor, tailors and so on.
  
  I kept my eyes peeled for the goddess of hearth, only to find no trace of her. It was surprisingly easy since I towered over everyone, having over a foot on the biggest people around. More than a few stopped to look at me, gaping at my new height. Making myself this big might not have been the best idea, but I was going to make the most of this second lease on life and that meant indulging myself.
  
  The anime never gave a hint exactly where her stall was located, so I was left searching for a needle in a haystack. Which was fine for now, I guess. It gave me time to get a lay of the land, so to speak.
  
  Eventually, I made my way towards the Tower of Babel, seeing a long set of stairs leading to it while the entrance was richly decorated. It was easy to forget that there was a vast sprawling dungeon beneath my feet teaming with monsters that wanted to kill everything that wasn"t a monster. And some monsters that were monsters. If anything, it reminded me of a bank.
  
  An idea struck me, driving me to cross a busy street into a large plaza filled to the absolute brim with people dressed exactly like me. Some had much finer armor, weapons and clothing, I noted, eyeing a group of seasoned adventurers that I didn"t recognize. Others had worse armor, I saw, spotting a lone elf limping his way out of the tower, his iron armor battered and bent.
  
  I made my way into the tower, stepping foot into the Guild, the organization that made its profit by exchanging magic stones for money. Stepping inside, I was struck with familiarity. It looked like a bank lobby. Complete with a front service desk, an exchange off to the side, with a sitting area on the other. A few doors marked different hallways, but my gaze was drawn to a seemingly inconspicuous staircase. Nothing stood out about it other than it went down.
  
  Down into the Dungeon.
  
  I searched the adventures for a familiar face, only to find none. The main cast was rather small in the grand scheme of things, so maybe I just missed them. Or maybe I was at the start of canon or a little before. Striking out on the adventures, I turned to the sharply dressed Guild employes.
  
  I didn"t see Enia, the Guild advisor that helped Bell out in canon, unfortunately. From what I understood, she was the type to go above and beyond for those shes advising. Instead, I caught a glimpse of strawberry pink hair, a petite girl dressed in black business slacks, a button-down white shirt, and a black vest. It really shouldn"t work, but she made it work for her. More importantly, I recognized her even if I didn't remember her name.
  
  Walking over, she looked up to catch me approaching. Instantly, she put on a well-practiced smile, one that I recognized after working a few years in retail. "Good afternoon, how can I help you?"
  
  "Uh," I started intelligently, "I was hoping to become an adventure, and I was wondering if, uh, there was a familia recruiting? Hestia, she should have descended from Heaven not that long ago?" I asked, heat rushing to my face as she gave me a well-practiced patient look.
  
  Her light brown eyes dipped down to rack over my body, probably thinking that my appearance and personality didn"t match, I would imagine. "There"s a notice board over there that gods sometimes post on if they"re looking for a new child that has certain characteristics, like being an elf or really tall." She tapped her chin, tilting her head in thought. "I don"t think a goddess named Hestia made a notice, but I remember hearing some rumors about her."
  
  "Oh?" So I wasn"t something like a decade before the start of canon. That was great. As much as I could use the time to get some gains, I came to this world with a very specific purpose in mind.
  
  Misha winced, "w-well, maybe you should consider another god?" She tried to nudge me off my chosen path. "From the looks of you, most familias would be willing to take you in," she said gesturing to my...everything. I guess I looked the part, giving the impression of experience even though the closest thing I have ever been to a fight was that time I got punched in the face for skipping in line for wiffle ball. I was six.
  
  I shook my head, "sorry, but if you know anything about Hestia, could you tell me? I, ah, made a promise," I said, heat crawling up my neck to my cheeks. Apparently, after dealing with adventurers and heroes all day as her job, she accepted the vague motivation with a nod of her head. Though, technically, I did make a promise. It was just to myself.
  
  The girl nodded, a look of resignation on her face. "Lady Hestia works at a jagamarukun stall on by Spirits Cross, just off the main road. Short, black hair, blue eyes, bells in her hair. You won"t be able to miss her," she explained, offering up fairly detailed information. Most of it I already knew, but now I had a lead.
  
  "Thanks," I said, giving her a smile.
  
  "I hope to see you again. Good luck!" She said, giving me a wave as I walked away. I waved back, making it a couple of steps before I realized that those directions didn"t do me a lot of good because I had absolutely no idea where Spirits Cross was or the main road.
  
  I didn"t turn back, though. It would be too embarrassing to ask for more help after I already walked away. If I had to guess, the main road would be the one that leads to the Tower of Babel. So, if I just went straight then I should eventually find her stall. With that thought in mind, I resumed my blind wandering through the city, taking in the sights. All around the tower, the Dungeon rather, were all kinds of shops. In the central plaza, stalls of all kinds could be found.
  
  Double-checking the heavy coin purse tied to my belt, I felt it's reassuring weight. Should...I buy something? Was there a process of joining a familia? Or was it good to just show up and ask? Hestia in canon was cool with it because she was desperate...was Bell already apart of the familia? I didn"t know. Better to be on the safe side.
  
  I bought a bouquet of flowers from a flower shop run by an elderly couple, making me twenty-five valis poorer. They looked nice, the lavender would bring out the white in her dress while the lilies would bring out the blues of her eyes and ribbon boob holder thing. So, with that, I continued to explore the main road, looking for a sign to give me a hint that I was going the right way.
  
  Eventually, I saw Spirit Cross written on a sign. Finally. Looking down both ways, my gaze was drawn to the left as if they were pulled by a magnet. The magnet was a girl wearing a stark white dress, bells in her hair that was done in long pigtails, a light pink apron over her dress with ping-pong antennas bouncing with every movement she made. As ridiculous as they were, they couldn"t detract from the presence that she had as she helped a long line of customers.
  
  A god. I was looking at a god.
  
  A wide smile was on her face, showing off perfect white teeth, as she took the change after handing over a fried potato looking thing, a jagamarukun I would assume based on the sign. She bowed slightly, the antennas bouncing wildly as the bells jingled. Her face was shaped like a heart, her large blue eyes were wide and expressive, displaying an earnest joy for all the others to see.
  
  Yup. I made the right choice.
  
  Eyeing the line, I decided to sit on a nearby bench, waiting for it to die down before asking. It would be a little awkward for me to ask, she says yes, then have to finish serving customers. So, I waited. And waited. And waited. And waited some more. Each time the line began to die down, more would rush to it.
  
  Slowly, the sun began to make its way across the sky, from hanging directly above to dipping towards the horizon. I must have waited hours for the line to die down, only to end up inadvertently waiting for her shift to end. Another girl dressed the same way as Hestia took her place behind the stall.
  
  I stood at the same time that Hestia grabbed a cloth bag filled with leftover potato puffs. The hours had worn her bright smile down, but she walked with a pep in her step, her uniform in hand. Right. It was time.
  
  Walking up towards her, I opened my mouth to say something, only to realize I had absolutely no idea how to begin. Do you know what would have been really smart? Using the past few hours to think of what I should say.
  
  "Excuse me?" I tried, falling on old habits of being overly polite to cover my awkwardness. Hestia came to a stop, looking at me with bright blue eyes. Right. It wouldn"t have mattered if I did prepare what I was going to say, because I would have forgotten it right then. "Um, my name is Jericho and I heard that you were recruiting familia members...?" There. Nailed it.
  
  Hestia blinked slowly at me, her bright blue eyes racking over my body, having to crane her head back to look at my face because she only barely reached the center of my stomach. Then she looked to her sides, then behind her when she didn"t find whatever she was looking for. The silence between us stretched on for a few seconds, but they felt like hours.
  
  "Are...you talking to me...?" Hestia asked, looking back at me with a dull expression. This...really wasn"t going how I thought it was.
  
  "Er, yes?" I answered, shifting from foot to foot.
  
  "You want to join my familia?" She questioned, trying to make sure. I nodded, feeling a little more confident by the lack of a no.
  
  "I do. If you"ll have me," I added. A lack of a no wasn"t a yes, after all.
  
  Hestia stared at me for a long second. Long enough that I shifted from foot to foot again before blinking. I held out the flowers to her, making her look down at them with dull shock. "These are for you. Figured they"d help make a good impression?" I said, trying to sound smooth but the words came out like a question.
  
  Hestia took them, slowly looking back up at me. "You want to join my familia?" She repeated, her bottom lip starting to quiver. Then it started to quiver really bad, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. I found myself smiling lightly at the sight, a coil of tension that I hadn"t known was there vanishing.
  
  "If you"ll have me," I said, causing the dam to break. Hestia shot towards me like a speeding bullet, slamming her face against my armor hard enough that it must have hurt. That wasn"t why she burst out crying, though as she wrapped her arms around me, squeezing me until the steel creaked.
  
  We got some odd looks from those that passed by, but I didn"t let that stop me from hugging her back.
  
  ...
  
  Hestia had dreamed of this moment since she first stepped foot on the lower world. Sure, she got distracted with...pretty much everything when she actually arrived, but the dream itself never changed. She would start a familia filled with children of the lower world, they would go on adventures worthy of legends that would be told for another thousand years, while each day will be filled with joy and laughter.
  
  After two long weeks of searching, seeking the first member of familia only to be rejected so many times it made her heart ache just thinking about it, she finally stood in the bookstore she frequented so often. Surrounded by stories, fables and legends, real and imaginary. Her first child"s story would start surrounded by those that will one day be his peers.
  
  A giddy giggle escaped her, her face sore from all the smiling she was doing. It was funny that her first child, after weeks of searching and failure, would walk up to her out of the blue and ask to join. Her eyes darted to him, standing a head and shoulders and then some taller than her, watching him as he looked over titles of books. He was so big. It was impossible to not notice it, but he dwarfed everything around him, and he wasn"t just tall, but wide too. His shoulders were broad enough that Hestia was certain it would take two of her standing shoulder to shoulder to match him.
  
  "So, how do we do this?" Jericho asked, turning to face her, earning a small eek from her when she was caught staring. Looking everywhere but at him, Hestia gestured wildly to a couch in the center of the room.
  
  "Take your armor and shirt off so I can apply my falna," she instructed, feeling butterflies fly free in her stomach. It was happening! It was finally happening! She was going to form a familia! Another giggle escaped her, rocking from the heels of her feet to her tippy toes. She felt so light she could fly away.
  
  The sound of Jericho fumbling with his armor brought her back down. Looking over, she saw him struggle to undo a leather strap, blushing when he caught her looking. So, he didn"t have much experience putting in on and off. Maybe he was less experienced than she thought?
  
  "Er, sorry, but, uh, could you help me a little?" He asked, going beet red when she skipped over to help him. "Thanks," he muttered when he shrugged off the armor.
  
  "It looks new," Hestia commented, eager to learn more about her first child. Maybe it was a bad idea to say yes to the first person to ask -- Hephaestus had a long, drawn-out process to pick the best smiths for her familia, but Hestia couldn"t afford that. Not to mention he bought her flowers! There was no way he was secretly evil or planning to abandon her the first chance he got when another familia made an offer-
  
  "It is. I kinda spent my life savings on it. Figured if I was going to become an adventurer then I should invest in good armor to make sure my insides didn"t become outsides." Jericho explained, taking off his arm guards, revealing a white dress shirt underneath. Hestia twitched at the reminder of the fatality rates for adventurers.
  
  The Dungeon was alive in its own way and it desired the death of all those that walked its halls. Thanks to Ouranos, it had its rules that it followed. Certain monsters could only spawn on certain floors, they only got stronger the further you went down, it couldn"t just collapse a tunnel on an adventurer whenever it felt like...it had rules, but even if it didn"t break them, that didn"t mean they weren"t bent. It wasn"t uncommon for experienced adventurers to find their ends in the Dungeon.
  
  That took the edge off her undiluted joy. She watched Jericho unbutton his shirt, revealing a tank top underneath- oh. Oh. Heat rushed to her face until she swore steam was about to erupt from her ears, torn between looking away and gaping. Muscles clung to his frame, each movement making them ripple, straining the tanned flesh that contained them until she worried they might break free.
  
  "Now what?" He asked, breaking her free of her hypnotized state. Blushing even harder, she gestured to the couch again.
  
  "L-lay down on your stomach," she instructed, swallowing thickly. He was going to be an adventurer, so of course, he was going to be all muscley. Once he obeyed, laying flat on his stomach, Hestia climbed on top of him, straddling his back. It was here. The moment she had been waiting for so long. Before she set foot on the lower world. For hundreds of years, she waited for this moment.
  
  And yet...
  
  "Are...you sure you want to do this?" Hestia asked in a small voice, eyeing the small pin that she would use to prick her finger. "It"ll just be the two of us, and I don"t really have much I can do to support you. You"d...you"d be better off finding a bigger familia, you know." She knew it was true. She lived in a dilapidated church basement, she was forced to work at a sweets stall to make ends meet and even then she was scraping by.
  
  Hestia knew when compared to other familias, who could buy potions and armor and weapons for their children, she was lacking. As much as it made her heart ache, she understood why she was rejected all those times. Mortals supported their god in exchange for their blessing, but a good god supported their familia just as much. And she couldn"t do that.
  
  "Hmmm. Maybe," Jericho began, making her heart plummeting to her stomach. "But I don"t want to be in another familia. I want to be in yours, goddess of hearth. Plus, so what if we start at the bottom? Just means we can only go up."
  
  ...She wouldn"t cry. She definitely, totally wouldn"t cry. Her sniffling and her eyes blurring were just because of the dust -- the owner really should do something about that. After wiping her nose on her sleeve, she swallowed thickly before giving him a shaky nod. "Yeah. That"s exactly right. Alright, I"m going to begin."
  
  Taking the needle, she poked her finger with it. A bead of blood welled up that she held over Jericho"s back. She summoned upon her arcanum, proof of her godhood, and blessed the droplet as it fell from her finger. It sunk into his back, light rippling like water where it landed. Her falna formed on his back, a cauldron lite with a flame, text written in the language of the gods...forming...uh...
  
  Did she screw up? Hestia thought, her eyes slowly growing wide enough they could fall out of her head.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 1
  Progress to level 2: 0/1,000,000
  
  Strength: 0
  Endurance: 0
  Dexterity: 0
  Agility: 0
  Intelligence: 0
  Sense: 0
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game​
  
  Hestia stared with growing horror. She screwed up. She totally screwed up! Intelligence, and Sense?! Those weren"t supposed to be there! Progress to level 2? What?! What did mean a million exp? He already had a skill? What was a video game?! What?
  
  "What did I do...?" Hestia whined, at a complete loss. She was so sure she did everything right! It was just a blessing, she learned how to do it back in Heaven and she managed it fine there. Did...did she accidentally use her arcanum? No, if she had then she would have instantly been booted back to Heaven. What did she do wrong then? This wasn"t the normal blessing that everyone else got!
  
  "Is everything okay?" Jericho asked, starting to turn over to look at her, only to stop when she slapped his back, keeping him down.
  
  "Nothing's wrong!" She lied through her teeth. Okay. She had absolutely no idea what she did wrong. The better question was what she could do about it now. She could...go to Hephaestus! And...get yelled at...a lot. She could practically hear her friend already "what? You couldn"t even manage a simple blessing? You really are helpless."
  
  Hestia shook her head hard enough that her bells jingled, filling the small room with the sweet sound. A pity she couldn"t hear it over the sound of her heartbeat in her ears. That option was out. Hestia promised herself that she wouldn"t rely on Hephaestus anymore. No, it was up to her to do something about this.
  
  And that was...to cover her tracks!
  
  Grabbing a slip of paper, she pressed it to his back, tracing a circle on it as his status was copied to it. Peeling it off, Hestia saw that she managed to do that right, at least. "Here, let me show you your status." She said, climbing off of him.
  
  Jericho twisted into a sitting position next to her, looking over his first status, right next to her. He smelled like spices and oranges. Forcing her attention back on track, Hestia pointed to his status, "these are all of your stats. You can increase them through physical training, but the best way is through experience."
  
  Words of admittance about her mistake weighed heavily on her tongue but refused to leave her mouth. He was her first child. He picked her knowing that she had nothing to offer him, that he would fight in the Dungeon alone, without any kind of support. Even still, he picked her. And the very first thing she did to repay his faith in her was to mess up his falna.
  
  Hestia wanted to admit it, but fear overpowered desire. Fear that he would leave as soon as he joined her familia. It was one thing to stick with a useless goddess that couldn't do anything for her children, but choosing to stay with a goddess that couldn't even give her blessing right? If he left then, Hestia couldn't blame him. And she would be all alone. Again.
  
  "That tells you how close you are to leveling up," Hestia said, hastily moving on before he asked questions she didn"t have the answer to. "And this is your first Skill! I heard stories that some children start off with a Skill when they get their falna because of previous life experiences, but I never thought my first child would have one! This is really rare, you know."
  
  Even more so because she never heard of it before. There were plenty of Skills -- Berserk, Diver, Artel Assist and so on. Any one of them appearing at on a level 1 would have most gods trying to poach him. Rarer Skills like Mystery, which allowed the user to create items that far surpassed enchantments of normal development abilities like Blacksmith or Mixing could make, would have all gods fighting over who got him. A skill that had never been heard of before?
  
  Whether he wanted to stay or not, one of the stronger familias would take him. Most likely Loki or Freyja. There would be nothing she could do to stop them.
  
  Hestia's expression turned grave, "which is why you can"t ever, under any circumstances, reveal that you have a skill even though you"re level one. Or your status in general, okay? This is really, really, really important!" She stressed, leaning in close. Jericho leaned away slightly, looking down at his status before giving a shallow nod.
  
  "Because other gods would get interested?" He guessed, getting it half right. The gods came down to the lower world not to save it from troubled times it found itself in, but to entertain themselves. Words like unique or interesting were synonyms for fun and entertaining. The other part was...well...if he didn"t know if his stats weird then, with the natural secrecy about status, he would be in the dark long enough that she could think of a way to fix it.
  
  "Exactly. They"re like bloodhounds when it comes to these kinds of things, they"ll be all over you and try to take you away," she explained, her chest clenching at the idea.
  
  "Well, we wouldn"t want that. My lips are sealed," he said, giving her a lopsided grin. Hestia found herself beaming at him in response. She spent thousands of years doing little more than reading, but not even she had the words to describe the sheer relief she felt at his words. He was going to stay. He wasn"t going to leave her alone. Even better, he didn"t want to leave her alone.
  
  "Hm!" Hestia nodded, savoring the feeling.
  
  ...
  
  After getting my falna, Hestia lead me to one of the seedier parts of town. It wasn"t the ghetto, but it was a long time since anyone thought to do any kind of maintenance in this part of the city. The stone slab road was cracked and broken, weeds growing in between the spaces or flat out overgrowing in some places. Eventually, she brought me to a rundown looking church.
  
  The stained glass was broken, a door knocked in with another leaning on rusted hinges. The interior wasn"t much better, the wooden pews rotting from time and exposure, weeds growing between the stone slabs with vines crawling on the walls.
  
  "I know it doesn"t look like much, but that"s just for now!" Hestia blurted as she walked through the church, her ears burning. "One day soon enough, we"ll be living in one of those apartments in the Tower of Babel!" She declared, walking towards a door up on the platform where the ceremonies would be performed.
  
  "This is just our start," I agreed, getting another beaming smile from Hestia as she threw open a door, revealing a staircase. Walking down, a turn revealed a small basement area. An old green couch that saw its best days a long time ago, a small table that looked like it was salvaged. A bed dominated the small room, taking up almost a third of the space. At least it looked nice. To the right was a curtain that separated a wooden tub to do our washing.
  
  Somehow, it looked more cramped than it did in the anime. And it wasn't just because I had to crouch down to enter the room.
  
  "It looks homey," I said, knowing that Hestia was waiting for me to say something.
  
  "Thanks," she muttered shyly. "Hephaestus helped me find it after I came down from Heaven a couple of weeks ago." She explained, leaving out the parts where she mooched off her for a couple of months, but I wasn"t going to say anything about that.
  
  "She"s the goddess of smiths, right?" I asked, setting my armor and weapon in a corner, leaving me in the clothes that I died in. At least there wasn't any blood on them.
  
  "She is. Hephaestus is the best! Her familia is really big and they make all kinds of amazing stuff," Hestia said, from the sound of it there were no hard feelings on her side about getting kicked out. If anything, she sounded happy at the opportunity to brag about her friend. Though, that did bring me to a topic that needed to be discussed.
  
  "So," I started, taking a seat on the couch, Hestia quickly sitting next to me, managing to almost reach my shoulder now. "Since our familia is just starting, do you have any kind of ideas of what kind you want us to be?"
  
  "Er," Hestia winced, a hand going to one of the jagamarukuns.
  
  "Because there are all kinds of types, right? I mean, do you want me to try to aim for a particular development ability like Mixing or Blacksmith?" With one of those, I could craft potent potions items or weapons, far beyond what I could manage with the Skills. Though, since I had a different variation of the gamer system, I would have to find out how easily I could gain them. "Since you like books, we could do something with that."
  
  "...What do you want to do?" Hestia asked, deflecting the question.
  
  That was a good question. "I think I want to dive into the Dungeon. It"ll be dangerous doing it solo, but I think it"s worth the risk." If only to find out exactly how my system worked. Gamer Body gave me some hints, but I needed to find out the specifics as soon as I could. Hopefully, I could get the stupidly fast strength gains that gamers typically had. Ideally, it would be comparable to the insane jumps in growth that Bell had because of Realis Phrase.
  
  "Okay," Hestia nodded, not exactly sounding enthused about the prospect. I gave her a lopsided smile, reaching out to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
  
  "I"ll be fine. Between my armor and my height, the goblins won"t be any trouble," I said, having absolutely no idea if I was lying. I must not have since Hestia looked reassured, my words not tripping a built-in lie detector that all gods had.
  
  "You won"t go past the first floor?" Hestia asked though it sounded much more like a request.
  
  "I won"t go past the first floor," I promised, giving her shoulder a squeeze. She gave me a slight smile in return, reassured. That was good. The last thing I wanted was to accidentally trip on an emotional landmine and have her forbid me from entering. She was too new at this, and so was I even if I had a decent idea of what I was doing. In theory, at least.
  
  The touching moment was ruined by Hestia"s stomach growling. Loudly. She eeped, clutching her stomach while I just looked amused. Heat rushed to her face as she stammered out, "i-its because I had to skip my lunch break!" She explained, making my eyes dip down to what served as her dinner. A potato thing and some kind of paste.
  
  "You can still have some, though!" She said, mistaking my glance for hunger. "I-"
  
  "Thank you, but I can always get myself something latter. Actually, would you want me to get something for both of us?" Something that actually had some nutritional value, maybe? However, Hestia shook her head so hard that I spared a worry that she was going to give herself whiplash.
  
  "It's fine!" She said too hastily, still clutching at her empty stomach. "You don"t have to do that," she decided, looking longingly at the food before her. I don't think it was possible for someone's words and actions to be more at odds. She was practically drooling.
  
  "I do, actually," I said, grabbing the potato thing and holding it out to her. She looked at it, then at me with confusion. "You"re my goddess. It"s my job to support you." That was a good line. I"m mildly impressed with myself. Pressing the potato thing towards her, Hestia gingerly took it. "For example, before I asked to join your familia, I was watching you work." And it looks like I used up my quota of suave social skills and made myself look like a stalker.
  
  "You skipped your lunch, didn"t get a break and they never stopped coming," I said, earning a nod as Hestia began nibbling the potato thing. I knew exactly how much that sucked. Worse, the slippers she was wearing wouldn"t offer any lumbar support. "Your back and legs must be killing you."
  
  Hestia looked surprised, "how"d you know that?" She admitted, finishing off the potato thing. She looked honestly shocked, it was enough to get a laugh out of me.
  
  "Because I used to work at a store like yours, and it never stopped. I"m actually surprised you had the energy to give me your blessing, I would have dropped into bed after a day like you had." I complimented, gesturing to the potato puffs for her to have.
  
  Hestia huffed a laugh, "of course I did! I was scared that I wasn"t ever going to get a familia." She said, grabbing the potato puffs, and after making one last offer for me to take one that I refused, she swallowed them down so fast I doubt she chewed.
  
  "So, let me support you," I murmured, gesturing to her legs. She gave me a confused look in response. With a slight grin, I explained, "you said your feet hurt, right? Let me take care of that for you."
  
  For a split second, I worried that I might have pressed too far when a hesitant expression appeared on her face. Prompting me to continue with, "I"m trying to impress you, Hestia." I admitted, "I have no idea what I"m doing and I want to make sure that we get along." In my experience, blunt honesty was always the way to go when you had no idea if your flirting was working. Either it worked great, or let you know you were wasting your time and making someone uncomfortable.
  
  Hestia lite up, a giggle bubbling out of her. "So am I," she admitted, raising a leg so I could grab her foot. Cupping it, I pressed my thumb into the center of her foot, getting a startled groan from Hestia. She gave me a wide-eyed, embarrassed look, but I just smiled in response and got to work.
  
  My technique was nothing to write home about, but sometimes that didn"t matter as much as letting the tension ease out of you. Before long, Hestia was laying on the couch, one leg in my lap as I gave her a foot rub.
  
  "Jericho?" Hestia whispered softly, her eyes closed as her aches and pains were steadily rubbed away.
  
  "Hm?"
  
  "I"m really glad you joined my familia," she said so earnestly that it gave me pause. My eyes glanced at her face, trailing down her skin tight dress, her cleavage threatening to spill out of her neckline, then to her waist. I always thought the white underskirt was either a pair of shorts or part of the dress, but I was surprised to see that they were a pair of white panties with a small blue bow on the front. All of it was revealed to me from how short her dress was and the angle I was giving her the foot rub.
  
  Then I smiled, continuing to massage her.
  
  "I am too."
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
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  I didn"t expect to wake up with Hestia next to me. I should have, in hindsight. I knew she did it in the anime, and that she was naturally affectionate, but I thought it would take her some time to open up to me. I mean, we met yesterday...then again, we were a familia now. I guess she trusted me by default?
  
  Blinking to clear my hazy vision, I looked down at the slumbering goddess laying on top of me. Her head laying on my chest, her breasts pressing against my stomach while the rest of her body was laying between my legs. The blanket that covered me earlier laid over her, by extension me for the most part, my legs left hanging off the edge. At some point, she started to drool in her sleep because there was a wet patch on my tank top.
  
  For a long minute, I just stared at her. Everything that happened yesterday catching up with me. I died. I gained a power that I read an unhealthy amount of fanfics about. This was the world of Danmachi and laying on top of me was an actual goddess. I"m not entirely certain that I didn"t have Gamer Mind because that was...okay. Apparently I skipped five of the stages of grief and went straight to acceptance.
  
  Because what could I do about it now? Nothing. No point worrying about it. Especially when I had other things to worry about.
  
  Like my rapidly hardening cock that strained against my blue jeans. For once I was grateful that I wasn"t sleeping in the nude like normal. It was pinned between us, jutting off to the side so there was a chance she wouldn"t notice, but it made the base of it ache with strain, wanting to go straight up but Hestia and my pants kept it restrained.
  
  With my free hand, my other tucked behind my head to offer more support to my head than the lumpy pillow gave, I reached down to it. Pressing against a painfully hard head, I tried to change the angle so that it was a little more comfortable for me. If anything, I made it worse.
  
  Grimacing, I tried to shift my cock back, stopping when Hestia muttered in her sleep. Right. This plan wasn"t working. I needed another. I needed...to think about something else. Something that wouldn"t make my dick feel like it was about to rip through my jeans. Okay. What could I think about?
  
  Not going to think about my untimely demise or the life I felt behind because that"s too depressing. Alright. Uh, what was my plan for this world then? Go Dungeon diving, hammer out the specifics of how my abilities work, then...no...that was also bad to think about. What else was there-
  
  Hestia shifted, turning her head to the other side, likely prompted by something poking her in the stomach. Looking down at her, my eyes widened a fraction when I saw her new position gave me a perfect angle to see just how deep her cleavage went. I tried to stop it, but my cock throbbed in response. With Hestia laying pretty much directly on top of it, and already halfway woken up, it was little surprise when her eyes opened.
  
  She blinked the sleep out of them, resting her pointed chin on my chest as she looked at me. Then she blinked once. Then twice. Then another time just to be sure. I braced myself for a panicked shout or screaming that I was some kind of pervert because, at the end of the day, this was an anime world.
  
  "It wasn"t a dream?" Hestia asked herself more than me, her bright blue eyes wide. She didn"t notice. Thank Go- er, the gods, she didn"t notice. I"m not sure how, but I wasn"t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
  
  "It wasn"t," I answered, very, very aware of her weight on my dick. And how painfully tight my pants felt. Hestia"s face lit up in a gleeful smile offered up a distraction that I gratefully accepted. Wait, shoot, I should have said something like "if its a dream then I"m pretty sure it's mine." That would have been so much better. Eh, I would just have to save that line for later.
  
  "We"re a familia..." She trailed off, basking in the fact. She shifted again to get herself more comfortable, unknowingly grinding on my dick. A huff of laughter escaped her as she rested a cheek against my chest, apparently a big fan of cuddling. I was too when I wasn"t sporting morning wood.
  
  I needed to take my mind off just how much my dick was starting to ache, "do you work today?" I asked, daring to lower my free hand so it rested on her side. She didn"t seem to mind as she shook her head.
  
  "No, I"m off today." She informed, her tone sleepy. Already her eyes drifted half shut, a sigh of contentment escaping her that could only come from those that had no responsibilities for the day. I cracked a grin at that, having that same sigh come out of me more times than I cared to count.
  
  "Well, after I"m done registering with the Guild, I"ll probably spend some time on the first floor." She went tense at the mention of me going into the Dungeon, so I was quick to move on. "After that, though, would you want to go out a celebrate? I have some money left over-"
  
  "Yes!" Hestia said, her head shooting off my chest to give me an excited look. A wide smile devoured her face, practically giddy at the mere mention of it. "I wanna go!" She was like a little kid told she was going to Disney World.
  
  I laughed, "alright, so its a plan. Do you know what time it is?" I asked, making Hestia look over at an hourglass that I hadn"t noticed earlier.
  
  "It"s about 6 o"clock," she answered, resting her head back down as she hummed contentedly to herself. That...really wasn"t helping me.
  
  "Then I should go ahead over to the Guild," I said, giving myself an out. Hestia groaned, clearly unhappy to lose her cuddle partner, but it was a necessary sacrifice. I didn"t know how she"d react if she noticed my...situation. "I know, but it"ll be a lot faster if I get there before the morning rush. Plus, the earlier I go into the Dungeon, the more money we have to party with."
  
  "I guess," Hestia muttered sleepily, taking a moment before she pushed herself up, planting her hands on my chest. Leaning back until she was nestled between my legs, the blanket fell back and it was only then did I realize a flaw in my plan. Now there was nothing to hide my obvious erection.
  
  Sure enough, almost as soon as she leaned back, when she looked down at me, my crotch was the first place her gaze went. I...might have made my dick too big. I had to though, for consistency. I was a mountain of a man, an average sized dick looked really small in comparison! It strained against my jeans, a clear outline that lifted the denium up, leaving little to the imagination. Her eyes widened a fraction, the naive goddess knowing exactly what it was, unfortunately.
  
  "I"m sorry," I blurted, not knowing what else to say. "It gets like that, sometimes, in the morning." I offered up an excuse. I mean, this was hardly my fault, was it? She climbed on top of me when I was sleeping! I never stood a chance.
  
  "O-oh," Hestia said, her eyes never leaving my crotch. Her face was turning a bright red, though she didn"t move. After a horribly awkward second, I pulled myself back so the small of my back rested against the armrest. Only then did Hestia"s gaze flicker to mine, before looking away a split second later.
  
  "Sorry," I repeated. My other leg trapped between Hestia and the couch. Unfortunately, that was the side my dick was leaning, so the problem couldn"t really be hidden by curling my legs up.
  
  "Are you okay?" Hestia asked hesitantly, my face burning as I nodded.
  
  "Yeah, I"ll be fine," I quickly reassured. "It"ll go away on its own or I take care of it later." And I just told her I was going to masturbate. Smooth move on my part. A real stroke of brilliance. I didn"t feel tired but I clearly wasn"t firing on all cylinders.
  
  "Does it hurt?" Hestia asked, looking down at it again, her arm gripping her other, pushing her already perky breast up. Naturally, my cock twitched at the visual stimulation.
  
  "No," I answered, getting a sharp look from Hestia. Right. Built-in lie detector. She knew my dick ached from being restrained, a sharp burning pain of a stiff muscle being pulled in a direction it couldn"t go in. "It"s fine, really. Don"t worry about it."
  
  Hestia shifted where she sat, a conflicted expression on her face before her gaze drifted to mine. She swallowed audibly, pointedly looking away as her face flushed crimson. "You"re my familia," she started fidgeting where she sat. "Last night, you said it was your job to support me, but that"s not true. We"re supposed to support each other."
  
  Her gaze darted back to mine, my mind picking up the hints she was leaving and painting a picture with them. I almost knew exactly what she was going to say before the words left her lips. "So, if it hurts, the let me support you." She said, using the same words I told her last night.
  
  "You don"t have to." Those words nearly left my lips, my cock twitching at her offer, making her face burn. I should say them. This was taking advantage of her generosity. I should say no.
  
  Instead, I said, "if you"re sure..."
  
  For a second, neither of us moved. Then I moved my hand to my zipper, watching Hestia"s face as I did. She didn"t so much as blink, her face a deep red that stretched all the way to her collar bone. Hooking a thumb on my pants and boxers, I yanked them down to let my cock spring free. Almost instantly, the dull ache in the base of my dick let up, a breath of relief leaving me.
  
  Hestia gasped, not recoiling but eyeing it like it was about to grow teeth and bite her. Looking down at it, I realized I might have gone a little overboard. It wasn"t a stupidly massive horse cock or stupidly thick that it could be mistaken for a third leg. But...well...in my quest for consistency, I might have given myself a penis that could more or less be described a bitch breaker. Accidently. I foresee a lot of halfway sex in my future in worlds that weren"t governed by anime physics/biology.
  
  "Uh...W-what do I..." Hestia trailed off, looking like she just realized she offered to do. She was a virgin goddess, and I guess she was a virgin in all regards. My gaze drifted to her lips, then to her large breasts. No. That was too much for her. Way too much. If we were going to do this, then it had to be slow.
  
  "Try touching it," I instructed softly as if she would take off running if I spoke too loud. Hestia looked at me, then at my free cock standing proudly, before nodding to herself. Reaching out, she extended a finger that floated over the underside of my cock for a second before she poked it.
  
  "It"s really hard," Hestia observed, poking me again. She swallowed thickly again, slowly tracing the large vein underneath with her finger. I twitched in response, and that was enough to get her to jerk her hand back as if she was burned.
  
  "Yeah, it is," I agreed, I was probably the hardest I have ever been in my life. "That felt really good, though. That"s why it twitched. Do you want to try holding it?" I explained, patiently waiting for her decision. Hestia swallowed thickly before giving a small nod, reaching out with a small hand and gripping my cock with the strength of a newborn.
  
  Hestia looked like she could barely believe what she was doing. Which, to be fair, I could hardly believe it either.
  
  Taking in a slow breath, I said, "now, try stroking it." Hestia obeyed a second later, her hand began to slowly stroke me. She started at the bottom, her small hand showing that there was enough room for both hands and then some. Slowly, she stroked upwards, unsure. Her gaze darted up at me to check my reaction, earning an approving nod.
  
  She stroked again, firmer this time. Her speed increased, her hand gliding over my cock as she worked the shaft, the sound of skin on skin the only sound in the room except for Hestia"s heavy breathing, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. I was too big for her to only use her wrist, forcing Hestia to use her entire arm so her hand could glide along the length of my dick. Her breasts began to sway as her tempo increased, the pale flesh wanting to leap out of her low neckline. I watched them, memorized as she got faster and faster and faster until she stroked down too hard and too fast.
  
  I hissed, wincing in pain. Hestia stopped instantly, letting go, "I"m sorry!" She blurted, "Did that hurt? I"m sorry." She repeated, looking at me with eyes filled with worry. She really was best girl, hands down.
  
  I gave her a small smile in response, "it"s fine, don"t worry about it." I quickly reassured. I held out a hand, Hestia hesitating before she placed hers in mine. "Try work the head a little too with smaller strokes. Here, let me show you," I said, guiding her hand up until it rested just under my head. Huh, it was a random thought, but I wonder if circumcision was a thing here. Well, not that it mattered.
  
  "Squeeze down a little tighter," I said, Hestia obeying with a nod. Satisfied, I guided her through the motions, almost like I was jacking off with her hand. Once I was satisfied she had it, I let go. "Just like that Hestia," I whispered, watching her stroke my cock with complete concentration, doing her best to mimic my movements.
  
  "Just like that," I said, feeling the pleasure begin in my balls as the minutes ticked by. I was nearing my release, regardless of how much I wanted this to last for eternity. "You"re doing really good," I murmured.
  
  "Uhh, something is leaking from your..." Hestia spoke up, bringing my attention to the pre leaking, dripping over her fingers to give them a shine. My cock throbbed with arousal, making another dollop leak out.
  
  "That precum," I explained, shifting slightly so my dick wasn"t pointed straight up. "It means I"m about to cum." I looked at her mouth when I spoke, imaging myself emptying my balls there. It was a fantasy that brought me closer to the edge, but one that I couldn"t fulfill.
  
  Hestia nodded, her gaze unwavering as she stroked me, waiting for the moment that was getting nearer with every pump. I felt my orgasm building in my balls, she wouldn"t have to wait for much longer.
  
  "I"m about to cum Hestia. You"re about to make me cum," I muttered lowly to her. I pictured unloading my orgasm on her face, painting her face white with my seed. Or burying my cock in between her breast and emptying myself there. I couldn"t do either. Not yet. Instead, I grabbed her hand to complete the last few strokes.
  
  The pressure began to build, begging to be released. I staved it off for as long as I could, wanting the feeling over her hand wrapped around my dick to never end. Alas, all good things did, but as far as endings go, it was a great one.
  
  "Ah!" Hestia flinched back when her hand was coated with thick white cum. At the same time, I groaned as the first rope of cum erupted from me, splattering over the palm of her hand. The second rope did the same, then the third did too. Each blast was weaker than the last, so the fourth missed her hand entirely and landed on her thighs.
  
  "Ohh..." I groaned, letting go of her hand to do a few more strokes, getting a fifth shot of cum that splattered on her thighs again. "Oh, that was great," I said, a shudder ran through me. I looked at Hestia to see her staring at her painted white hand. The sight stirred something primal in me.
  
  Hestia was a virgin goddess, her hands and legs stained with my seed. I don"t think I have ever felt more powerful in my entire life.
  
  "That was amazing Hestia," I said, letting out a deep breath, my dick already beginning to wilt. My heart began so slow, a sense of ease filling me. Post orgasmic bliss wasn"t just for women, it felt like I just shot out every ounce of stress I ever had into the palm of her hand.
  
  "Really?" Hestia said, looking up from her hand. Still uncertain, but happy that I felt good.
  
  I nodded, "really. That was perfect."
  
  Hestia smiled before she gestured to her hand, and - woah, that was a load and a half. Huh. "What do I do with this?" She asked, looking unsure. I looked around for something for her to wipe her hand with, only to find the blanket, couch and my dress shirt. With a grimace, I grabbed my shirt and held it out to her, only for her to shake her head.
  
  "I don"t want to get it dirty," she denied. I was thankful for it since I didn"t know when I could get more clothes. Plus, using my one good shirt as a cumrag was just sad.
  
  As I looked for something else, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hestia stare at her hand. She licked her lips, warning me what was about to happen. I turned to see her drag her tongue over her pointer finger, licking up the cream that coated it. She drew back, seeming to judge the taste. Then she went back in to lick her palm.
  
  I stand corrected. I don"t think I"ve ever felt more powerful than watching Hestia lick her hand free of my cum. She blushed when she caught me watching, I felt too proud to be embarrassed.
  
  "Does it taste good?" I felt compelled to ask.
  
  "It"s kinda sweet?" Hestia answered, using a finger to get the cum on her thighs. There were a lot of reasons why oranges were my favorite food and this was one of them. Once she was done, she turned her attention back to my now flaccid penis. "Do you feel better now?" She asked, so eager to please I wish I could overcome the refractory period with sheer force of will.
  
  "I feel like a new man," I stated honestly, starting to pull up my pants. Buttoning them up, I turned to Hestia. "Thank you," I said, grabbing her hand, it was so small compared to mine I just now noticed. I gave it a reassuring squeeze, "I"m sorry you had to do that-"
  
  "No! I mean," Hestia began, fidgeting where she sat. "We"re a familia. I...really want to be a good goddess," she admitted quietly, letting me bring her in close, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as her head rested against mine. "But I can"t do much to support you yet."
  
  Annnd now I felt like a total asshole. "Hestia, it"s fine. I know you"ll do your best, so if it makes you uncomfortable, then you don"t have to do stuff like that." My empty balls disagreed with me but it was easier to ignore them now that I had the lion's share of blood to my upper head.
  
  "I didn"t feel uncomfortable," Hestia said a little too quickly to be the truth. "I"ve just never done anything like that before," she said, her blue eyes glancing up at me. "Are all...p-penises so big?"
  
  Huh. So that"s what pride felt like.
  
  I tried to wipe a grin off my face. It was a stupid testosterone thing, but hearing a beautiful girl compliment your dick, well, there as nothing quite like it. "Ah, no. Mines a bit bigger than most," I admitted since I made damn sure that was the case. Hestia nodded, one of her hands fiddling with the hem of her dress.
  
  "I can"t do much to support you yet," she repeated quietly, "but I can at least do this much. I promise I"ll do whatever I can to help you!" She declared, louder this time. She pushed off my shoulder, twisting so she could look me in the eyes. Her bright blue eyes burned with an intensity I couldn"t describe,
  
  I nodded, giving her hand another squeeze. "Alright. How about this then -- we support each other as much as we can. Promise?" Hestia smiled at me, nodding before she slammed me with a hug, squeezing my ribs with all of her strength.
  
  "It"s a promise!"
  
  ...
  
  Becoming an adventurer was a lot like getting a normal job, I thought, signing my name for what felt like the tenth time. There were tax forms, liability forms, disclaimers and so on. Some of it had to be filled out by Hestia later, but it was a fairly thick stack of papers that more or less covered every angle to say "if you die down there, it's not our fault."
  
  It was really ordinary. It was kinda disappointing, in a way. I mean, I didn"t want to fight a lion with my bare hands to earn the right to become an adventurer. It would just be more fitting than filling out tax forms.
  
  "Almost done?" Misha asked, the Guild employe that helped me yesterday, stepping into a private room available for these kinds of things. I shifted through the papers, searching for a missed signature and finding none. Stacking them back together, I held them out for her to take.
  
  "I think so," I said, watching Misha shift through them before giving me a nod.
  
  "Looks good to me! Your goddess will need to fill some of these out, but you can pick those up later since you"re heading down into the Dungeon." She said as I stood up, she was a few inches short to reached my chest, only an inch or two taller than Hestia.
  
  And, just like that, I was an adventurer.
  
  "I"m going to be sticking to the first floor for now, so is there anything I should know?" I asked, getting a serious nod from Misha. She walked over to a desk, grabbing a few sheets of paper then passing them over to me. It was a map of the first floor.
  
  "Don"t underestimate goblins," Misha started, her tone deadly serious. "They call war shadows the rookie killers of the upper floors, but that"s not entirely true. More rookie adventures die by the hands of goblins on their first days because they don"t think they"re a threat. They"re small, more so than normal for you, so rookies think they"re safe behind their armor and shields. Right up until a goblins jumps up to tear their throats out."
  
  I nodded, her words hitting a little close to home. I was guilty of pretty much what she said, word for word.
  
  "Take it slow. You don"t have backup, so don"t take any risks. At all. Not on your first day. Take the goblins on one at a time, if you find yourself getting outnumbered, I want you to stop fighting and run away." Misha ordered, her pale brown eyes boring a hole through me.
  
  "Don"t fight more than one goblin and run away if I get over my head," I repeated. Misha stared at me as if she were trying to see into my soul to find out if I was just saying what she wanted to hear. "Promise."
  
  Oddly enough, that seemed to reassure her- oh, right. The vague protagonist line I fed her as an excuse. "Good. After your done with the goblins, cut the magic stone out of their chest, it"ll be right about here," she said, poking the center of my chest. "To be honest, they won"t be worth much, but you might get lucky with a monster drop. With one of them, you could get a real big meal at a nice inn."
  
  Ah. So rookie adventurers pretty much lived paycheck to paycheck, day by day. Maybe that influx of funds I purchased was more useful than I thought.
  
  "Got it. Anything else?" I asked, very aware of the short swords at my hips and how my armor clung to me. It wasn"t uncomfortable per say, but I wasn"t used to wearing it.
  
  "We"ll be here all day if I told you every trick of the trade," Misha said with a light laugh, probably saving those tips until she was sure I wouldn"t go down once and never do it again. "What I can do is recommend that you get armor for your arms and legs, and maybe a shield. We have some available for purchase, or finance, but..." She looked a little sheepish. "I don"t think we"ll have anything in your size, though..."
  
  I chuckled, "that"s fair." Making myself this big might have been a mistake, but I couldn"t bring myself to regret it.
  
  "Just remember what I said." She stressed, earning another firm nod from me. I had absolutely no intentions of dying down there. Once was more than enough for me.
  
  "I won"t, and thanks," I said, getting a grin from her.
  
  "I"m just doing my job. Make sure you do yours and come back," she returned. With that, Misha left the room, taking my papers with her, leaving me behind. I stepped out after her, turning to my right to see the staircase that led down into the Dungeon. For a second, I just stared at it.
  
  I was about to risk my life. I realized, my feet moving of their own will. I was calmer than I thought I"d be, setting foot on the stairs. Gamer Mind didn"t appear on my Skill list, but right now, I couldn"t imagine that I didn"t have something keeping me calm as I descended into hell. It was either that or dying had broken me of my fear of death.
  
  The staircase leads to an almost mineshaft looking drop, the stairs clinging to the side. They were wide, dully gray stone. No decorations of any kind. It struck me as odd earlier, now I realized it was intentional. This wasn"t a place for finery. This was a place where boys become men.
  
  Finally, my feet reached the first floor. It almost looked man-made, the floor was tiled stone while the walls were stone slabs. The halls were illuminated by a dull yellow light, giving the place an eerie feeling. I looked left, then right, then at my map. Doing a mental coin toss, I chose left, stuffing the map into the coin purse I emptied out at home, then pulling my longsword free of its sheath.
  
  The halls were large enough that the light above didn"t fully illuminate them. Shadows gathered in the corners, my eyes searching them for a goblin to leap out at any moment. The same for the walls and floor, knowing that monsters spawned from them. The only sound was my own footsteps that echoed, my breathing soft and light. Even now, my heart wasn"t pounding as I walked down a hall worthy of a horror movie.
  
  Then I heard it. The sound of a wild animal messily ripping into a meal almost drowned out the sound of meat tearing apart, blood splattering on the ground. My grip tightened on my sword, softly tiptoeing to a corner before I peeked out ever so slightly.
  
  A goblin crouched next a body, its hands in its stomach and gorging itself on the contents. The body was short, so either a small child or a pallum, the hobbits of this world. A torn backpack leaked its contents, bigger than what was practical for a fight. A supporter.
  
  I let out a low breath, stepping out from where I peeked and towards the goblin. It stuffed its face, blood trailing down its arms, as it noisily ate. I doubt it could hear me if I wasn"t sneaking up on it. I came to a stop directly behind it, sparing the corpse a glance to see that it was a black-haired pallum. Not Lili. Good.
  
  Raising my longsword up high, I brought it down directly on top of its head. It managed to make a strangled pained noise, my sword sinking through its skull and all the way down to its collar bones before it fell over dead. As far as fighting went, I hoped all of them were that easy.
  
  Kicking its corpse to the side, I looked at the dead pallum. Nothing identified what familia he was with, his blood-soaked clothing ruined and ripped. I spotted a slash on the back of his legs, hamstringing him, but I couldn"t tell if it was done with claws or a sword. So, he might have been murdered.
  
  Right. Not going to touch that issue with a ten-foot pole. Instead, I turned my attention to his bag. Ripping it open further so everything spilled out, a grin found its way onto my face. "Lucky," I cheered, grabbing a deep red vial. A health potion.
  
  Well, lucky for me.
  
  I looked at it, spotting other vials in the bag along with basic medical supplies, rope and other useful items in a pinch. "Inventory," I said, making a screen appear in front of my face. My grin grew as I shoved the vial into it, seeing an icon appear. As much as my gamer abilities had in common the falna of this world, I still had some of the cornerstone aspects.
  
  After shoving the entire bag into the screen, leaving no trace there ever was a bag, I dismissed the window. Alright. I had an inventory. How about everything else?
  
  "Status," I said aloud, seeing another screen appear in front of me.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 1
  Progress to level 2: 1/1,000,000
  Strength: 0
  Endurance: 0 (+3)
  Dexterity: 0
  Intelligence: 0
  Sense: 0
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game.
  (Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.)​
  
  One goblin was worth one exp point. Only 999,999 left to go. And what was up with my endurance stat? Where was the +3 coming from? Unless...my stats weren"t updated instantly like normal. Hestia had to do that for me like in the anime. And I already had a skill! Neat.
  
  "Where is that plus +3 from?" That hardly counted as a fight, so- oh. This morning. I pressed on Endurance to read the definition of it, my grin becoming a full-blown smile. Enduring Hestia"s ministrations, holding myself back from erupting, that counted as grinding endurance. A huff of laughter escaped me. "If I want to munchkin this, then I need to start edging myself."
  
  And you know what? There were a lot more important things in this world than efficiency. Like orgasms.
  
  As for my last stat, I pressed it to figure out if it meant Sense in the sense of common sense, or Sense in the sense it meant my senses. Try saying that five times fast.
  
  Finally, I turned to the corpse of the goblin. Unfortunately, it didn"t vanish in a puff of black ash and leave behind its magic stone like it did in the anime. This one I was less sure about. "Options?" I spoke and, to my delight, another screen appeared. Then, to my annoyance, I saw that the options were rather barebones. No music options or master volume control or anything of that nature. Though, I did find what I was looking for.
  
  "Autoloot on," I muttered, pushing the yes button to save my changes. Now the goblin vanished with a puff of black ash, leaving no trace that it was ever here.
  
  "Awesome," I said, nodding to myself. That made things a lot more convenient. And way less gross. Sparing the corpse one last look, I turned around and started walking again. It was only the first floor, eventually, someone else would find him and take him up.
  
  It didn"t take me long to find my second opponent when I saw a wall in the distance begin to crack, a clawed hand punching outwards through it. A goblin drug its way out of the wall, I took the time to make sure that there weren"t any others. By the time I made sure we were alone, the goblin landed in a heap.
  
  Its dark green skin, bright yellow toad eyes looked at me. For a second, we stared at each other, unsure who was going to make the first move. Then the goblin rushed at me, barely reaching my waist in height. Those claws, on the other hand, were perfectly poised to tear into my stomach.
  
  I sucked in a breath, my heart started to pick up, waiting for it to near. It lashed out at me, its razor-sharp claws arcing towards my thighs, only to be blocked by my sword. I diverted the blow, then jerked my blade back, slashing at its exposed stomach. It cried out in pain, blood splashing out as I yanked my blade to the side.
  
  Pressing my lips into a thin line, I drove the tip of my blade into its eye, killing it. It dissolved into dust, the only traces of it left was staining my longsword. Okay. I could do this. One at a time, to get a feel for adventuring. I...I needed a goal.
  
  How about...fifty exp...until my stats get to ten...I make enough money to treat Hestia...or five hours. If I was lucky, I could get all three done.
  
  My goal set, I began to stalk through the eerily quiet halls. Now that I know what it sounded like, my ears were seeking the sound of rock breaking and pebbles falling to the floor. I walked for some time, the tension that steadily built up each second that I wasn"t attacked made those seconds feel like minutes. Already, I couldn"t begin to guess how long I had been down here for.
  
  Then my ears caught the sound of the click-clack of pebbles hitting the ground. Another goblin pushed its way out of the walls. I settled in a mockery of a fighting stance, waiting for it to come to me. It attacked blindly, wildly slashing its claws long before it reached me. I took in a deep breath, waiting for it to lunge at me, then dodging out of the way. It opened itself up to a counter, but I didn"t take it.
  
  If I was going with a warrior build, then dexterity shouldn"t be a high priority, it was just one of the more difficult ones to train well. Since holding out on cumming for a few minutes could give me three stat points, then I would imagine that dodging when my life was on the line would give more. Not only that, it would let me learn just how stat points were rewarded. Did the amount go up the more danger I was in? Or did how hard I tried to dodge determine if I was awarded a stat point? Perhaps it was how close of a call it was?
  
  At the moment, there was too much I don"t know about my newfound ability. This was the perfect time to change that.
  
  The goblin growled, saliva dripping from its malformed teeth. It lunged at me again, attacking at my legs. This time, using the flat of my blade, I diverted its claws so I could sidestep it. Misha"s warning rang in my head like a bell, but when I dodged it again, making it howl with frustration, I couldn"t stop myself from comparing it to a child. An ugly, stupid child with very sharp claws, but still a child that was easy to lead.
  
  It growled in growing anger, stomping its feet when I dodged it yet again. Its attacks became faster, wilder, no plan or thought behind its actions other than desperation to kill me. My confidence grew, letting its attack get closer and closer until I inevitably screwed up and felt its claws scrape across my leg, carving lines into my pants. It lashed out again, encouraged by its success, only for me to jump back.
  
  "Status," I said, pushing the screen off to the side. I couldn"t take the time to analyze it, but I did see a (+5) next to Dexterity and a (+4) next to Sense. Endurance went up by (+1) while Intelligence also went up by (+1). Was that because my stats were so low or because this went by Danmachi stats, where 999 was the theoretical max until Bell broke the game by being so thirsty. Hestia had said that new adventurers see a lot of growth early on - is that what this was-
  
  I heard more pebbles falling behind me, forcing to abandon my experimentation. The goblin lunged at me, jumping into the air to attack my head, just like Misha warned, only it couldn"t jump high enough. I reacted instantly, lashing out with my longsword like it was a baseball bat, catching the goblin on its side. My muscles weren"t for show, its spine offering little resistance as I cut it in half. The two halves hit the ground, vanishing to dust, as I whipped around to see the goblin jump up at me.
  
  I threw myself to the side to put some distance between us. My heart started to hammer at my ribs. It was still one on one, but it nearly got the drop on me. The other goblin landed on all fours, leaping up at me, its claws poised to take out my eyes. I met it halfway, using its momentum against it to make it plunge itself onto my sword. It turned into dust almost instantly.
  
  For a moment, my longsword hovered there, my heart hammering away at my ribs. It rapidly slowed down now that the danger had passed, allowing me to take in a deep breath of air. That wasn"t even a close call. Not really. I was toying with the first, and I doubt that a second would have changed much. Was I taking them too seriously? Maybe? It was better than not taking them seriously enough, though, so it was fine.
  
  I glanced down at my leg, seeing a little blood staining my blue jeans where the first one scratched me. To my displeasure, there wasn"t smooth skin underneath. I didn"t heal instantly, damage only being done to my health bar. Speaking of which, "health?"
  
  99/100 HP. This time the knowledge of how much hp I lost appeared in my mind instead of on a screen. Probably so it wouldn"t distract me in a fight. Actually, now that I was looking for it, I realized that the knowledge was always there in the back of my mind. Useful.
  
  Still, a single point of hp wasn"t that big of a deal...and it was at the same time. It was just a scratch, a kinda deep one, but it represented a full point of health. A hundred of those scratches and I would be dead. In a way, right now, I was at a disadvantage. A glass cannon without all the power.
  
  "Okay...I need to be more aggressive," I said, lowering my sword. I could find out more about my stats later. Right now my goals were to get fifty exp, grind some stat points, and make enough money that I could treat Hestia to a nice date night. No pussyfooting. As soon as I saw the goblin, I needed to murder those little monsters dead.
  
  Wiping some sweat that built up on my brow, I straightened up and started hunting again. Another goblin was wandering the halls. I rushed at it, my long legs covering the distance between us in seconds. I was on top of it before it had a chance to react. Another kill for me.
  
  It was next to impossible to keep track of the time down here, I realized as I continued to stalk through the halls. I couldn"t tell if I had only been down here for minutes or hours..."Time?" I tried, seeing another screen pop up to tell me the date, time. Convenient. Apparently I had only been down here for an hour. If felt a lot longer.
  
  Now that I thought about it...I shoved my map into my inventory, then said, "map." Like I hoped, a map appeared, marking my position with a little blue dot. Sadly, it didn"t show where any enemies are, but it was still better than what I had. My eyes found another staircase that would take me to the second floor.
  
  "I"ll just check it out," I said, moving my map so it was out of sight. If only to see what I could expect when I intended to go to a lower floor.
  
  The next three hours were spent slowly making my way towards the second floor. I explored the deadends, circled about, and took the long way. Goblins came in a steady stream, maybe they would have ganged up on me but I ended up killing them too fast. Slowly but surely, my exp began to climb, as did my stat points.
  
  Then I spotted it down the hall. A section of the wall was missing that looked no different than a normal turn. From the angle I approached, I saw dull gray stairs like the one I walked down on earlier. I came to a stop in front of it, staring down at the second floor of the Dungeon. If the first floor could be called a tutorial, then the second floor was the first level. Only it was a dark souls game in this analogy.
  
  I lifted one foot, considering it. Then a huff of laughter escaped me, "Nah," I dismissed with a shake of my head. That was a really stupid idea. Turning around, I started to walk back, only to pause when a sound reached my ear.
  
  The sound of pebbles hitting the ground followed by small thumps. Goblins. As in more than one of them. I turned to my right, spotting five goblins spawning. Turning to my left, I saw another three. My eyes widened, my grip on my sword growing so tight my knuckles were bloodless.
  
  Why now? What changed? It was tossing them at me pretty much one at a time, and all of a sudden it drops eight on me at once? Wh-
  
  Right. I forgot. The Dungeon was alive. It desired the death of everyone that stepped foot in it. I forgot that it would lead you on a trail, weakening you every step of the way, and right when you were at your weakest, it would throw everything that it could at you. I forgot that it was always easier to dive deeper into the Dungeon but it would make it impossible to leave.
  
  That was a lesson I wouldn"t soon forget again.
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
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  Ideas-Guy
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  She touched a penis. No matter what she did to distract herself, from tidying up, to reading a book, to trying to sleep, no matter what, Hestia"s thoughts drifted back to that thought. It wouldn"t leave her head, playing on a loop or creeping up on her each time she managed to distract herself. Without fail, each time her face began to burn.
  
  "Gah!" Hestia groaned, double face palming as she threw herself into her bed. A broom clattered to the floor, now forgotten, as she died of embarrassment. She kicked her legs up into the air, cringing so hard they kicked up and down. She had touched a penis. Full on. She grabbed it. And rubbed it and- "Ughh!"
  
  The memory of what she did wouldn"t stop replaying in her head. Never in a million bijillion quintillion years would she ever have thought...that...would happen when she snuck into his bed last night! Hestia never would have done it if she knew what would happen!
  
  She just wanted to cuddle her new child is all! Hestia has tossed and turned for hours, her excitement keeping her up. Jericho"s deep, even breathing certainly didn"t help. For weeks, she slept alone in this abandoned basement, and the silence was unbearable. During the first few days, it was only her pride as a goddess that stopped from crawling back on her hands and knees to Hephaestus, begging to just spend the night there so she wouldn"t feel so alone.
  
  And then there was suddenly someone else other than her in this hovel. Hestia had nearly woken him up when she finally abandoned sleep with a frustrated shout, tossing her covers up to see that the couch was far to small for him. His legs hung off, almost at the knees. Jericho really was huge, easily the biggest human she had ever seen.
  
  Hestia"s face burned even hotter as if she were trying to cook her hands that still covered her face. She had watched him sleep for a time, poking at his cheek to make sure that he was really real. And he was. He was larger than life, powerfully built, and he was real.
  
  And he was kind, the feeling of his hands on her feet, practically enveloping them, as he rubbed away the pain in her legs came to mind. Her face burned even hotter because of it. He bought her flowers than found their new home in a vase she went out and bought because there was no way she was going to let his gift wither away and die. Above all else, he chose her as his goddess.
  
  Jericho was huge, almost unnaturally so. That alone would be enough to interest some gods. He looked so strong and powerful, his body made up of nothing but defined lines and hard planes. Hestia couldn"t imagine any familia rejecting him from his appearance alone. When the found out how kind, gentle and thoughtful he was, they would never let him leave.
  
  And she touched his penis. "Ughhh!" She groaned again, curling up into a ball and wanting to disappear. She did a lot more than touch it! She-she-she...!
  
  Hestia blushed all the way down to her toes. "He must think I"m some kind of harlot! Like Freya or Ishtar, or...or...or Loki!" She heard rumors about how the latter constantly molested her children. Freya"s familia might as well be her personal harem, that slutty goddess offered herself to anyone caught her eye. Ishtar, well, her familia were all prostitutes!
  
  She couldn"t stop herself though! When he was asleep, Jericho looked so inviting and she really wanted to just hold her child! But, when he woke up...!
  
  "Ahhh!" Hestia yelled, her cry of horror muffled by her hands. She threw her head back, folding herself until the back of her head practically touched her feet, probably pulling something as she cringed. Hopefully to death. Her memories were all to cruel to replay the exact moment she realized what had been pressing against her stomach.
  
  She was a virgin goddess! For thousands of years, she rejected all suitors, none of them ever so much as laying a finger on her. At first, when Hestia was much younger, she wanted to save herself for her soulmate, her perfect other half, just like the stories. Then it was because every single god wanted to sleep with her because she was a virgin, for bragging rights that they made the big three virgins in Heaven the big two. Then it was because they were all in on a bet on when she would lose it and to who.
  
  Virgin goddesses weren"t supposed to touch penises!
  
  But he was hurting! All gods could tell when a mortal was lying to them and he lied when he said that it didn"t hurt. And...and when her back was killing her, her legs felt like they were filled with lead and her feet ached, Jericho helped her. Hestia had practically melted under his touch, the stress of a long day, no matter how great it ended, erased. She...all...she wanted to help him like that.
  
  "And I messed up his blessing," Hestia groaned, curling back up into a ball. The most basic thing that a god could do, she somehow found a way to mess it up. She hadn"t thought that was possible. If anyone found out about that, then she was done for. She"d actually die of humiliation, only to go back up to Heaven and be mocked there since the overworked gods still there had to find their enjoyment wherever they could.
  
  A sigh escaped her. As much as she regretted it, Hestia knew exactly why she did it. Already, she owed Jericho so much. He chose her as his goddess. For messing up his blessing. For the flowers and the foot massage and for being so kind to her. So, when he said...it...hurt, she wanted to make it stop.
  
  It wasn"t until it came out of his pants that it dawned on her what she offered to do.
  
  Slowly, Hestia lifted the hand that did the deed off her face, still blushing down to her toes. She stared at it for a moment, recalling how he had felt in the palm of her hand. Hard like steel wrapped in velvet, so warm and thick that she could barely wrap her hand fully around it. Hestia stared at her hand, practically seeing the seed that spilled on it.
  
  Hestia could swear she could still taste it, no matter how much water she drank. It was thick, clinging to her tongue and throat. It tasted sweet. Hestia wasn"t sure if she liked the taste at all, but she didn"t think she hated it.
  
  "He probably thinks I"m a slut," Hestia repeated, her heart falling. She crawls into bed with him and then she touches his penis within a single day of knowing him. It was hilarious in a way that really wasn"t funny. She was a virgin goddess that acted like a harlot. All the other gods would laugh until they cried if they ever found out.
  
  Then she brought that hand down onto her face. Hard. Her cheek stung, but it was the kick she needed to get out of bed. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself," Hestia ordered herself, pushing herself to her feet. She couldn"t change the past, well, not without using her arcanum, so there was nothing she could do about it.
  
  "I"ll just have to prove to him than I"m not like those other floozy goddesses!" Right, this was no time to feel sorry for herself. Hestia closed her eyes, finding the blessing that connected her to Jericho. It was still there.
  
  "He should be in the Dungeon by now," Hestia muttered, wondering if her first child was standing somewhere beneath her. He wasn"t. He promised that he wouldn"t go past the first floor, and it wasn"t anywhere near as big as some of the others. Each floor got bigger the further you went down, the first was only the size of a couple of blocks, while the deeper floors were the size of countries.
  
  If he was down there risking his life, then she could do something other than dying of cringe. With a surge of motivation, Hestia threw open her closet, revealing its sparse contents, and grabbed a well worn light blue coat. "I should tell Micha and Hephaestus the good news," she spoke aloud, an old habit from when she was alone to fill the silence.
  
  Hestia left her home with a pep in her step that was only slightly forced, striding out of the ruined church and into the city. It was a little after noon, so the city was in full swing as she made her way towards the heart of Orario. Humming a tune to herself, Hestia"s eyes bounced between stores, stalls, and people.
  
  Her gaze lingered on a roll of cloth displayed behind a glass window. Between her savings and Jericho"s, they had a little over 2000 valis. Which wasn"t a lot. They didn"t have money to throw around on pointless things.
  
  But Jericho only had the clothes on his back, so was it really a pointless expense?
  
  Hestia made a note to stop by later to see how much it would cost to get a tunic and a shirt in...XXXL size. At least then his normal clothes could be spared the wear and tear they would collect in the Dungeon since they were far too nice for it.
  
  Her trek through Orario was uneventful, letting her enter the tower of Babel without any trouble. Hestia"s eyes glided over the staircase that lead to the Dungeon. An impulse struck her to run down them, to find her child just to make sure that he was okay. Again, she checked the bond between them and found that her blessing was still there. He was okay.
  
  "Stay safe," Hestia whispered, turning away to step onto a lift. Pulling one lever that would take her to floors 200 and above, then another to bring her to the 230th with the minimum amount of difficulty, the lift jerked for a moment before it began taking her up. As the lift climbed, Hestia fiddled with her gloves, made sure her ribbon was perfect and smoothed out her dress, wishing for a mirror.
  
  After what felt like an eternity, the lift came to a stop, the doors sliding open to reveal a richly decorated hallway. Smooth marble floors, white painted walls with large panes of glass every couple of feet to display ridiculously fine weapons and armor. Sets of armor made of adamantine, trimmed with mithril, imbued characteristics like Featherweight, or Durandal to make it unbreakable...
  
  "Y-you could buy a hundred million jabamarukuns with that kind of money," Hestia knew that prices inflated to an insane degree for first-class adventurers since they needed first-class gear made by first-class smiths, but it always shocked her every time she saw a price tag with more zeros than she wanted to count. Hespustus must be rolling in valis...
  
  Shaking her head to get rid of the stray thoughts, Hestia continued down the hallways, trying not to think about how out of place she felt surrounded by so much wealth. She walked towards Hephaestus"s office, treading a path she walked countless times before. She passed smiths by, or potential customers, smiling at them as she walked.
  
  "Isn"t that Hestia?" One of the muttered just loud enough for her to hear.
  
  "Hm. She lasted longer than I thought she would."
  
  Hestia twitched when she heard them talking behind her back. Instead of turning on her heel to shout at them that she wasn"t here to mooch off Hephaestus, Hestia kept walking. It was hard to yell when she knew, deep down, they weren"t wrong. But things have changed!
  
  Reaching Hephaestus"s office, Hestia wasted no time throwing it open, "Hephaestus, guess-" She started, beaming joy out of every pore, only to be interrupted by her redheaded friend. A beautiful woman sat behind a desk, a mountain of papers piled upon it, with a large black eyepatch that covered some of her forehead and cheek.
  
  "You aren"t getting a single valis from me," Hephaestus cut her off, her voice monotone and blunt. That took the wind form Hestia"s sails, making her wilt practically instantly.
  
  "I"m not here for money!" Hestia shouted forcefully, getting her friend"s attention. A lone red eye bore into her as if she could see if she was lying since the lie detector all gods had didn"t work on gods. When they first came down from Heaven, it was one of the only advantages they allowed themselves to have over mortals, a safety net to stop something...unfun from happening.
  
  "Oh?" Hephaestus asked, leaning back, suddenly looking much more welcoming. She wore a white dress shirt, her sleeves rolled up past her elbows, the exposed flesh covered by black long arm covers to protect her when she applied her trade.
  
  Hestia nodded quickly, planting her hands on her hips, puffing out her considerable chest. "I have a child now! The Hestia familia has officially begun!" Hestia declared, laughing confidently. An expression of surprise appeared on Hephaestus"s face, but there was a smile playing at her lips.
  
  "Did someone finally give in?" Hephaestus teased lightly, poking fun at the fifty or so times she was rejected.
  
  "No! His name is Jericho and he asked me to join," Hestia stated forcefully, crossing her arms and looking sharply to the side. She heard Hephaestus humm at that. Cracking one eye open ever so slightly, Hestia saw her friend"s lone eye narrow considerably.
  
  "Did he?" Hephaestus questioned, leaning forward, brushing a hand through her untamed red hair. "Tell me about him." There was something in her tone that Hestia couldn"t quite describe. That didn"t matter, though, not when she could boast about her first child.
  
  "He"s really big!" She kinda felt bad about always using that as his main description, but it fit too well. It was the first thing that anyone would notice about him.
  
  "...Big?" Hephaestus echoed, her eye narrowing even further as she interlocked her fingers, not quite managing to hide the frown tugging at her lips.
  
  "Hm! And he"s really sweet. He bought me flowers when he asked to join," Hestia gushed, skipping over to Hephaestus. "Then he let me have all the jabamarukuns to myself because he knew that I skipped my lunch and break. Oh, and he gave me a foot rub and it felt amazing!"
  
  Hephaestus looked at her for a moment, her gaze growing more intense with every word that she said. Was she jealous? She should be!
  
  "It sounds like you"re rather fond of him already," Hephaestus observed, propping her head up by a gloved hand. "And it looks like I lost some money. I put a thousand valis that you"re first familia member would be a girl."
  
  "Hephaestus!" Hestia cried, annoyed but not surprised. She pouted for a moment, then nodding to her first statement. "I do like him," she said, taking a seat in one of the soft leather chairs in front of Hephaestus"s desk. They really hadn"t gotten the chance to get to know each other yet, but he seemed exactly what she hoped her first familia member would be like.
  
  Then she grabbed the hem of her dress, fingering the edge of it, a nervous habit she picked up at some point. "But, that"s not the only reason why I came here today," Hestia started, seeing Hephaestus"s guard went up. As much as she wanted to, she couldn"t blame her friend for that.
  
  Hestia bowed her head, her hands going to her knees, bending them slightly to create the image of complete submission. It wasn"t the dogenza that Takemikazuchi had taught her. That was her secret weapon. Taking in a deep breath, Hestia begged, "please teach me how to be an excellent goddess like you!"
  
  "...what?" Hephaestus asked, sounding more confused than surprised.
  
  "I-" "managed to screw up giving a blessing." "I want to be able to care for my child like you do yours! But...I can"t. And I don"t want any money or anything like that, I just..." in hindsight, it might have been a good idea to figure out exactly what she wanted before coming here. "I just want him to be able to rely on me and right now he can"t."
  
  A sniffle escaped Hestia, "I can"t give him potion or armor or anything that he actually needs! I can"t do anything!" All she could do was provide a place to sleep that he didn"t fit in. "So please, teach me your ways!"
  
  Hestia bowed even further, hearing Hephaestus let out a tired sigh. Whatever it took, she would do it. Any skills she needed to learn, Hestia would master!
  
  "Did Takemikazuchi teach you that?" Hephaestus asked, sounding exasperated.
  
  "...he said you wouldn"t be able to say no with this technique," Hestia answered honestly.
  
  "What a troublesome guy," Hephaestus muttered under her breath, a deep sigh escaping her a moment later. "Fine, stop bowing. I"ll help you a little bit."
  
  Hestia jumped to her feet, throwing herself at her friend, uncaring of the stack of papers that got in the way of her hug. "Thank you! Thank you thank you thankyouthankyouthankyou! Thank you so much, Hephaestus! You"re the best-!" Somehow, Hephaestus managed to slip in a hand between their faces to push her back.
  
  "Be careful! Some of those were important!" Hephaestus shouted, but Hestia could tell she didn"t mean it. She might not be able to use her arcanum, but Hephaestus was still a master smith and that meant she was strong. If she wanted to, Hephaestus could easily shove her away.
  
  "You"re the best Hephaestus!" Hestia ignored her, trying to bring her friend even closer. That Hephaestus didn"t push her away was telling that she didn"t want to. "I love you!"
  
  "Alright, alright, enough," Hephaestus said, her cheeks a dusted pink. "I don"t have much time today, Loki is coming soon and I don"t want to deal with the two of you in the same room." Instantly Hestia let go as if she were burned, darting back to her chair with a look of disdain on her face.
  
  "Ew," Hestia said, more or less summing up her feelings about the trickster goddess. If she could be called a goddess at all with that flat chest of hers. "Good idea," Hestia commended, putting her hands in her lap, looking like the perfect student.
  
  Hephaestus sighed, scooping up some of the papers that were knocked astray, "We"ll, if it makes you feel any better, Loki"s familia is going on an expedition soon. She"ll be causing every else trouble then." Again, Hestia grimaced. By that, Hephaestus meant there would be a pranking spree in Orario and no man, woman, or child would be spared. It always happened when Loki"s familia delved into the Dungeon, trying to reach floors that had never been seen before. Worse, since she was one of the most powerful familias, none would dare to strike back at her.
  
  Not yet, at least. One day, and one day soon, Hestia would make that flat chested goddess pay for all the wet willies, whoopie cushions and buckets of water perched on top of a door.
  
  "Well then," Hephaestus started, leaning back into her chair. "Since I"ve never done this before, is there anywhere you"d like to start?"
  
  "How about...the blessing I gave him?" Hestia asked, trying to stealthy nudge the conversation in the direction that would tell her how she managed to-
  
  "Oh, you want me to show you how to hide his blessing?" Hephaestus guessed, earning a blink out of Hestia. Then another one. And another one. And one more to be sure. Then her eyes narrowed into slits.
  
  "Hide?" She echoed, tilting her head.
  
  "To make the blessing invisible to everyone unless you"re using your blood or Status Thief," Hephaestus explained, knocking the breath from Hestia"s lungs.
  
  "You can do that?!" She shouted, though not quite enough to miss how her friend sighed in exhaustion.
  
  ...
  
  "You little-!" I shouted, feeling a goblin latch onto my leg, its razor-sharp claws biting into it, slicing through my blue jeans like they weren"t even there. I grabbed it by its head with my free hand, yanking it off me at the sacrifice of 3hp, before I slammed it against the Dungeon walls. My muscles proved they weren"t just for show, the goblins head cracked open like an egg, then its body became ash.
  
  With my other hand, I slashed at a goblin that tried to seize the chance to go to my head. The two halves lasted long enough that they stopped another goblin from taking out my hamstrings, letting me skewer the little bastard. It didn"t die instantly. Twisting my blade, the monster howled in pain, then I swung with all my strength. The flat of the blade stopped me from cutting it in half, then at the apex of the swing, the goblin flew off.
  
  It slammed into another two goblins hard enough that it reduced one of them to ash, the sounds of bones breaking and pained cries filled the not so empty halls of the Dungeon. Rushing forward, I brought a foot down on the remaining goblin that survived the throw, crushing its head underneath my sneaker. Hot blood flooded my shoe a moment before it was coated in a layer of ash.
  
  Goblins, despite their size, were a lot like rabid dogs. It"s easy to think all it would take is a good kick to drive them away, that since you were so much bigger and stronger, it would be easy to deal with them, but I learned that couldn"t be further from the truth. Especially when there was more than one dog attacking you, taking bites out of your leg and chipping away at your health.
  
  "I hate you. I hate you all so much," I hissed, spotting another goblin. Grabbing my longsword with both hands, the handle not being big enough so I ended up ripping the pommel in my hand, and swung the sword like a bat. It cut the goblin in half, adding yet another magic stone in my growing collection.
  
  My legs hurt. Looking down at them, I saw over a dozen cuts where they managed to get me, each one burning with pain. Again, the movies lied to me. Getting deep cuts like the ones that covered my legs hurt like a mother -- there was no way action heroes pretty much get a leg chopped off then keep walking on it with only a small limp to remind the audience that they were hurt. It hurt so much I wanted to curl up into a ball and die.
  
  "Fuuuuuuuuuuck..." I groaned, sucking in a deep breath. The adrenaline helped drive me forward, along with the fact that if I stopped more would swarm me and I really would die. "Map," I bit out, swallowing a slew of curses. The screen appeared, telling me that I was still on the right path to get out of this hellhole. It wouldn"t be long now. A few more turns and I would be free.
  
  Another goblin crawled out of the walls, the Dungeon intent to cut me off, but a quick punch to the back of its head killed it. I spared a glance at the empty hole, half expecting a portal to the depths of hell, but there was only a small crevice just large enough to fit a goblin.
  
  "Come on," I told myself, forcing my legs to move a little faster. Almost there. I rounded a corner, another goblin grasping at me, only to be met by a backhand that knocked it away. In the distance, I saw the exit. Along with another three goblins milling about, likely waiting for an adventure to kill. With my new weight and me abandoning any thought of stealth, all three of them whipped around to look at me.
  
  Gritting my teeth, I gripped my sword even tighter, rushing towards them. I could hear another goblin struggling to keep up with me, quickly left behind thanks to my long strides. Before long, I was on top of the goblin, swinging my sword with reckless abandon. The goblins attacked just as recklessly, my sword beheading one of them while the others went for my legs.
  
  One latched on, biting into my thick with deceptively long fangs. Snarling in pain, I slammed the pommel of my sword against the top of its head, caving it in. The last goblin circled around, going for my achilles tendon. Only my very recent experience with the tactic warned me that it was going to happen, letting me turn around in time that it carved a bloody line into my calf instead.
  
  Anger surged in my chest, fueled by pain. Grabbing the goblin by the head, I picked it up before throwing it down. Not killing it, but hurting it. It screamed in pain, my snarl of primal anger twisting into a satisfied smile as I stomped on its head. The satisfaction of hurting something that hurt you, the satisfaction called vengeance. All that crap about vengeance being hollow was just that -- total crap. At the moment, watching the goblin turn to dust, vengeance was fulfilling as all hell.
  
  Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the last goblin running towards me, undeterred by the violence. I gripped my sword, ready to run at it just so I could throttle the little monster, only to realize what that would mean. Going back into the Dungeon when I was already at the exit.
  
  "You get to live this time," I told it, hoping that the next adventurer that came down murdered the ever-loving fuck out of that goblin as I walked up the stairs. I walked up the steps, then stopped at the third step, turning around to look at the entrance to the Dungeon. The goblin came to a stop at the first step, looking at it, then at me, then at the step again. It hissed at me, stomping its feet, angry that I wouldn"t let it take a bite out of me. It looked like the entrance to the Dungeon was a hard barrier that monsters couldn"t knowingly walk through. Good to know.
  
  You know what? Screw that goblin. With that thought driving me forward, I took two quick steps and kicked the monster in the face hard enough that it flew away. God, that was satisfying. I hate monsters.
  
  "Right," I said, taking in a deep breath. "Let"s see the gains." Summoning my inventory as I walked, I saw that I had over thirty magic stones, two goblin fangs, and three goblin claws. Neat. Hopefully, that would be worth a whole lot to make all this crap worth it.
  
  "Status," I said, reaching into my inventory screen, grabbing hold of the magic stones to start shoving them into the empty coin purse attached to my hip.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 1
  Progress to level 2: 42/1,000,000
  Strength: 0 (+1)
  Endurance: 0 (+11)
  Dexterity: 0 (+9)
  Intelligence: 0 (+1)
  Sense: 0 (+5)
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.​
  
  Huh. I thought with how my legs were cut into ribbons, I would have picked up some kind of physical resistance skill. I was hoping for it actually. Well, at least I made some gains with Endurance and Dexterity. Intelligence and Strength were lagging behind already. Strength, I guess, is because I started off so strong so I wasn"t pushing myself to my limit with it. Intelligence was probably because I wasn"t really using my head much down there.
  
  "I need some armor for my legs," I mused, walking up the stairs, stepping past another adventurer, who kinda just stopped and stared at me. Which was fair. My health was at 55 of 100, so I was technically nearly half-dead at the moment. On the first floor. Yeah, that couldn"t fly.
  
  "I need to do some grinding too," Hestia said that I could do physical exercise to gain stat points. With Gamer"s Body, if I went full masochist, I could be much more effective in gaining them. Doing push-ups while wearing weights while I read textbooks as Hestia beat me with a broom. Stuff like that.
  
  At the same time...date night. To be blunt, most of the will-be-money hanging off my waist was going to treat Hestia to a special night. Was that smart? No. No, it was not. Should I be spending this money on leg armor, potions or other useful things that make sure I wouldn"t die on the first floor of the Dungeon? Yes. Yes, I should.
  
  Was I? No. No, I am not.
  
  Reaching the top of the stairs, I saw that the Guildhall was in full swing. I was too new to know when the busy and slow times were yet, but it seemed that adventurers liked to sleep in, and by mid-day, they started dungeon diving. A few glanced in my direction as I made my way over to the tellers, unstringing my hard-earned winnings from my belt. Coming to a stop in front of a glass window, a metal slot for me to dump the magic stones and drop items in with a Guild employee standing on the other side.
  
  It took a minute for the teller to catalog everything, but he dropped a handful of coins into his end before pushing it through. "Your total is 1500 valis."
  
  As much and then some as what I started yesterday. If flowers were 25 valis and a jabamarukun was 10, then an expensive meal should be somewhere in the hundreds. Which made sense given Bell"s reaction when he went to the Hostess of Fertility. Using that thread of logic, a meal costing 400 valis, in addition to the others that cost around 200 each...wow...Syr was really cutthroat.
  
  "Jericho!" I heard a familiar voice call out. Turning left, I saw a crowd of people. After a few seconds of thinking that I had imagined it, I saw Hestia pushing her way through the crowd. Walking over to meet her halfway, the adventurers that she was trying to squeeze past suddenly gave way when I approached, trying very hard not to look at me.
  
  It was kinda hilarious. If only they knew I was technically one foot in the grave already.
  
  "Hestia? What are you doing-" I started, only to be cut off when Hestia zeroed in on my legs, a gasp ripping from her throat. A pained hiss escaped me when she started to poke at the wounds, fretting over them, but unsure what to do about it. Looking down at the wounds now, the blood had spread, peppering my pants with dark wet spots.
  
  Huh. That was a lot of blood but I felt...fine? No lightheadedness or anything. The wounds hurt, so they weren"t just for show, but if I had lost that much blood then surely I would feel some side effects by now. Was this Gamer Body"s effect?
  
  "It"s fine Hestia, it looks worse than it actually is," I said, getting a disbelieving look from her. Right. Lie detector. I need to get a lot better at telling half-truths. "It hurts, but it"s not going to kill me or anything. I"m going to be fine once I get a few bandages on." I hope.
  
  "How...?" Hestia said, looking at the crimson blood on her fingertip. I felt some heat rush to my face, acutely aware of how everyone around us was at least listen with one ear. It was impossible not to. I was easily a foot and a half taller than anyone else here and Hestia was a goddess. It was impossible not to notice her.
  
  "I, uh," I started, trying to say this that didn"t make me sound like a trash tier noob. There wasn"t one. Goodbye pride. I enjoyed you while I had you. "Well, I reached the entrance for the second floor- I didn"t go down it," I quickly added, seeing Hestia"s Look. "but when I tried to turn back, I got swamped with goblins. I think I killed about thirty on my way back alone."
  
  Hestia"s eyes went so wide that if they weren"t filled with a bone-chilling fear it would have been hilarious. "Thirty of them?" She echoed, her voice faint.
  
  "Not all at once," I clarified, keeping my voice low. I"m not sure why I bothered. I heard someone snickering behind my back, so it wasn"t like I could stop the secret that I wasn"t a badass mega warrior...well a secret. "Usually on about five or six at a time." Yeah, judging from that look, I didn"t exactly assure her fears.
  
  "The Dungeon isn't supposed to send that many," Hestia muttered more to herself than to me. I went to place a hand on her shoulder but paused when I noticed that there was still some blood on my hands. Instead, I dropped to a knee...I was still a head taller than her. I"m starting to think making myself over seven feet tall might have been a little much.
  
  "I"m fine, Hestia. I promise. Most of it was because of how tall I am -- I think I bought the wrong armor since everything on the first floor can only go for my ankles." I said with a lopsided grin, hoping to get one in return, but her lips were pressed into a thin line, a grimace on her face that looked out of place. "Once I get used to the height difference then it"ll be no problem at all."
  
  "Jericho, you could have died," Hestia cut to the matter bluntly, her hands bunching up into fists. Her voice was oddly calm, a harsh contrast to the naked worry and fear in her gaze.
  
  I wish we weren"t doing this in front of so many people. Pushing that thought to the side, I gave her a slow nod, trying to think of something to put her at ease. "I could have," I agreed after a second, an answer coming to mind. I doubt it would solve the problem, but it would certainly help.
  
  A sigh escaped me, feeling far more mentally exhausted than physically all of a sudden. "Hestia, if I"m going to do this, then I"m going to get hurt. That"s just part of the job." I pressed forward when her lips parted to tell me that I didn"t have to do this. "So let me add something to the promise I made."
  
  "I promise that, no matter what, I will not leave you alone," I swore, drawing...inspiration...from the promise between her and Bell. Hestia sucked in a breath, telling me that my words struck home. Her bottom lip started to quiver, warning me of incoming waterworks, so I hammered the point home. "Just...believe in me a little, okay?"
  
  Hestia tried to say something but it was incomprehensible as the waterworks came. She threw her arms around my neck, sobbing for all to hear. I heard some snickers and awws at the scene we made over Hestia sobbing in my ear. Yeah, it was time to split.
  
  "It"s okay, it"s all okay..." I soothed, wishing I could at her back but my hands were covered in blood. "Do you want to go home?" Great, now it sounded like I was talking to a small chil-
  
  "Mm-hmm," Hestia managed to get out, clinging to my neck with a surprisingly strong grip.
  
  "Are...you going to let go?"
  
  "Nu-uh."
  
  Right. I don"t know what else I could have expected. Unless I wanted to stay here, in a busy lobby, under the scrutiny of dozens of hardened adventurers and Guild employees, until Hestia calmed down then I would have to do something about this. With a lack of better options, I started to stand, feeling Hestia"s arms wrap around me even tighter, before I swept one of my arms under her legs to pick her up.
  
  Hestia just sniffled in response, squeezing me for dear life. Bringing myself to my full height, over everyone's heads, I saw Misha talking to a brown-haired elf -- Eina, Bell"s canon advisor. Misha caught my glance, giving me a cheeky smile and a wave as I walked through the crowd. Feeling more than a little embarrassed, I gave a small wave back. Misha said something to Eina that made both girls laugh. Probably at my expense.
  
  Making a quick exit out of the Guild with significantly less dignity than I came in with, I hastily walked down the steps and into the main plaza. Where there were even more people. Of course, there were. Oh well, nothing I could do about it now.
  
  "So," I said in a low voice, carrying Hestia through the busy streets. She sniffled, trying to get a hold of her emotions. "I think I had a pretty decent day in the Dungeon all things considered. I made about 1,500 valis to celebrate with-"
  
  "No," Hestia interrupted, sniffing as she adjusted her grip so her face wasn"t muffled by my shoulder.
  
  My heart went still. "No?" I echoed, afraid of what she was saying no to.
  
  "W-we need to save up until you can buy some armor for y-your legs," Hestia said, her voice oddly firm despite how thick it was with emotion. "And pants since yours are all ruined. And potions and bandages and a whole lot of other stuff!" Hestia decided before burying her head into the crook between my shoulder and neck.
  
  Ah, dammit. There goes that plan. But...at the same time...yeah, it was a lot smarter. I really shouldn"t think with my dick when my life was on the line. It was just...kinda hard. Not my dick. Maybe it was because my untimely death was so fresh, but it felt as if I had to make the most of this new lease on life. And so far, it was going great. Almost perfect really.
  
  "Yeah, you"re right," I admitted however begrudgingly. "How about this -- after we go patch my legs up, I"ll check in with Misha to see if she can give me a lead on where I can get some decent armor for cheap." I offered, mulling over the issue myself. Maybe I should look into finding Welf Corozo. Actually...yeah, that was a really good idea. I"m certain he would be willing to make some decent armor for cheap.
  
  "Misha? Is she your guild advisor?" Hestia asked, her tone still thick with emotion but her sobs had subsided. That was good. We got fewer odd looks as I steadily took us home.
  
  "I think so? She didn"t really say anything about it, but she"s the one that - ah, shoot," I muttered, "I forgot to pick up the forms that you had to sign." I realized with a frown. Well, Misha looked like she understood my situation when I head out, so I wasn"t worried. "I"ll pick those up while I"m at it. Does that sound good?"
  
  Hestia sniffled before she answered, "it does...and I"m sorry for crying. It"s just..."
  
  The anime really undersold how hard it was for Hestia before canon, I thought, stepping off Main Street. It did really explain why Hestia grew so attached to Bell, and to me, in such a short amount of time. That had to be why she broke down crying so often, completely overwhelmed with what I hoped was happiness.
  
  "You don"t have to apologize for a thing," I dismissed, walking down the road that would take us home. "I get it. It must have been pretty hard for you, huh?" Hestia responded by sniffling loudly, another sob trying to escape her. "You"re not alone anymore, Hestia. And you won"t be again if I have anything to say about it."
  
  I half expected Hesta to start crying at the cheesiest of cheesy lines, instead, she squeezed down on my neck hard enough that I started to choke. "Jericho?"
  
  "Hm?"
  
  "Thank you."
  
  ...
  
  Ducking low to enter the basement, I walked towards the bed as softly as I could. Leaning over it, I gently deposited the slumbering goddess onto the bed, earning a soft mumble of protest before Hestia curled up into a ball. I grabbed the blanket I used last night and placed it over her.
  
  I don"t know if it was her emotional outburst, but something had tuckered her out.
  
  "Guess that works out for me though," I muttered softly, walking back to the couch as I gingerly pried off my pants to expose bloodied legs. I wasn"t scared to wake her up. Hestia was out like a light. Summoning upon my inventory, I grabbed the bandages I looted from the supporter.
  
  "Do I have an Observe skill?" I asked myself, trying to ignore how much worse the pain felt now that I was actually looking at the wounds. Some of them were kinda deep. Most of them would need stitches...
  
  I stared at the white bandages for a long second, analyzing how bandagey they were, only for nothing to happen. Nothing from my status, so either I didn"t have Observe, or I couldn"t get it yet. Maybe it was tied into my Sense stat somehow.
  
  With an internal shrug, I started wrapping the bandages over my leg- "Oh," I uttered, feeling the pain instantly lessen from a wound on my upper thigh. I checked to see that the wound was still there but it was a little smaller, if only by a fraction. My mind drifted to my unseen health bar, curious.
  
  56/100 I kept the bandage there, waiting a moment, constantly aware of my health bar, then smiling when it ticked up to 57. Then 58. Then 59. Each time the wound hurt less and less and by the fourth tick, when I looked underneath a bloodied bandage, I saw that it was gone.
  
  "So, bandages restore 1 hp a minute," I muttered, moving on to the other wounds that covered my legs. That was...honestly kinda terrible. For starters, I had no natural regeneration. I couldn"t exactly stop to bandage up in the middle of a fight. I didn"t have a Bleed status effect or anything, but I couldn"t imagine there wouldn"t be a drain on my hp with a bad enough wound.
  
  I grabbed a rag, dipping it into a tub of water to wipe down my legs as the last few cuts healed. If my health got low enough, it would take over an hour for me to fully heal. Which was great in terms of reality, but really bad in terms of gamer mentality.
  
  "I guess I"ll have to stick with potions," I mused once my lower body was clean. Though, it would be a question of how effective they were, or if they instantly restored health. I recall that they did in the anime and light novels, so I was hopeful. Still, the only way to know for sure would be to test it.
  
  With no other clothes, I had to put on my bloodied jeans, careful not to stick a foot into one of the many cuts in them. Teenager me would have liked how they looked. Teenager me was also an idiot.
  
  I started to walk back out, intent on taking care of my errands as soon as possible, only to pause when I reached the door. Glancing over at Hestia"s slumbering form, I walked over, a hand outstretched...that I gently placed on her shoulder to bring up her blanket.
  
  There was no need to rush anything. Hestia trusted me. Doing something stupid like molesting her in her sleep was a bad move all around.
  
  "Goodnight."
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
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  Bit of a setup chapter and setting up the relationship between the SI and Hestia. Things start to pick up next chapter, I promise.
  
  ...
  
  I"m not hungry. I haven"t been hungry since I found myself here, I thought as I walked through the streets of Orario. Between dying, fighting and just walking around the city, by now I should be starving. And yet, I wasn"t even peckish despite not eating for a day and a half. Not so much as a cracker or apple or anything.
  
  Same with being thirsty. I was really thankful that I picked Natural Deodorant because I must have sweated gallons down in the Dungeon. Steel armor didn"t exactly breathe, after all. Without Natural Deodorant, I would absolutely reek. Maybe I already did -- I was nose blind to my own scent, and unless it made sweat smell like flowers or something. Hopefully, that was the case.
  
  "Gamer Body," I muttered aloud, walking back towards the Tower of Babel. I was still figuring out how it worked, but my Skill had changed me in ways I hadn"t really expected. Could I ever get hungry? Thirsty? Did I need to sleep? I mean, I could, but did I need it? I hadn"t felt tired when I fell asleep last night, so I might not need any of the most basic needs of humanity. I could still do them, but I didn"t need them.
  
  That, I wasn"t sure how I felt about.
  
  A sigh escaped me as I ran a hand through my black hair, pushing it out of my face. I know it looked good, but maybe I should have picked a shorter hairstyle. Or I should put it into a braid or something. I had short hair for most of my life, putting any real effort into my hair was a new experience for me.
  
  Straightening out my appearance, my nice button-down a harsh contrast to my torn and bloodied blue jeans, I started to trudge up the stairs and reentered the Guild. I scanned the crowd, seeing some familiar faces. Too many familiar faces. Right. I should have waited longer to come back here. That way the crowd that witnessed that scene would have cleared out.
  
  "Hello Jericho," I heard someone call out to my right. Glancing over, I saw it was Misha. Her eyes darted to my legs, likely spotting the bandages visible between the tears to cover up the fact that my legs were fine. Best keep how fast I heal under wraps for as long as I could.
  
  "Hey," I greeted, "sorry about leaving. Hestia..."
  
  Misha laughed lightly, "you don"t have to apologize, I understand. Your goddess seems to worry quite a bit about you already," she noted, her tone warm.
  
  "She does," I agreed with a lopsided smile. "Thank you for pointing me in her direction. I really do appreciate it."
  
  Misha shook her head, "no, I"m glad just glad you were able to keep your promise." She said, her eyes darting down again at my pants, "though, she might have a reason to be so worried." She commented lightly, gesturing at my lower body.
  
  "Eh, it looks a lot worse than it actually is." I dismissed, feeling more than a little embarrassed. It was just...goblins did this to me. The weakest monster there was. "I, ah, kinda got swarmed by a bunch of them on my way back."
  
  Misha frowned, "swarmed? By how many?"
  
  I shrugged, "about eight of them spawned when I reached the entrance to the second floor. Then groups of three or more kept popping up on my way back." Now Misha looked flat out worried, making me frown right back at her. "I"m guessing that"s not normal?"
  
  "No, not at all. Well, not for the first floor at least," she explained. "Were they pre spawned or did they come out of the walls? Did you wear any kind of monster bait? Can you tell me exactly how many spawned, or even just a general guess? I haven"t heard of any unusual monster mobs from other rookies-, so did you happen to kill them as well?" Misha asked rapid-fire questions, her tone suddenly going all business.
  
  "Uh," I started intelligently. "They were coming out of the walls, no, around thirty or so on my way back and I killed them all," I answered, earning a firm nod from Misha as she made a note on a pad that she pulled from her vest. Then she paused, looking up at me.
  
  "Thirty?" She questioned, looking surprised. Huh. Maybe I could salvage some of my dignity. Apparently what I dealt with was well outside the norm. I mean, it wasn"t good because the Dungeon was making an extra effort to murder me, but, you know, it means I sucked a little bit less than I thought I did.
  
  "Yeah, somewhere around there. I killed just over forty in total," I summarized with a nod. Misha hesitantly wrote that down, unsure if she could believe me. I hoped she would give me the benefit of the doubt. The last thing I needed was for her to think I was lying to impress her or something.
  
  "But, you are right that Hestia should be worried. Is worried. I was actually hoping to get my hands on some leg armor before I went back down there since everything on the first floor can only chew on my ankles." I said, nudging us away from the topic.
  
  Misha nodded, "I looked into our stock after you left with your goddess, but we don"t have anything in your size." She said, earning a small blink from me. That was surprisingly attentive of her. "You"ll have to contact a smith about making a custom order."
  
  I nodded, "I figured I would have to." At 7"5, 325 pounds of muscle, it was just a fact of life that most stores would have any ready stock for me. "Since you helped me with Hestia, I was actually hoping you could help me find a smith. A Welf Corozzo?" I asked with a smile that I hoped came off as charming.
  
  Misha cocked an eyebrow, "already looking to get your hands on a magic sword?" She teased, making my smile grow.
  
  "As much as goblins irritate me, I"m not annoyed enough nuke them with hellfire. Yet," I returned. "I"ve just heard good things about his light armor, and, uh, he"s in my price range," I explained, stretching the truth.
  
  It worked going by Misha"s nod. "I can help you with that. It"ll take a second to find where his workshop is, but since he"s a member of the Hesphustus familia, odds are it"ll be somewhere outside of the city walls." That made sense, from what I remembered Welf lived in a shack that doubled as a forage.
  
  "And," I started, making Misha pause, "could I also get some reading material about...you know, how not to die in the Dungeon? I"m not really sure what I would need to know..." I admitted, earning another firm nod from Misha.
  
  "Yeah, easily! Actually, I could arrange some study lessons if you're serious about it," Misha offered, getting a nod from me.
  
  "That sounds great. Thank you," I agreed.
  
  "Great, now let me get your forms and books," Misha said, dashing off behind a counter, out of sight, with a pep in her step. I saw Eina follow her not long after. With nothing better to do, I took a seat in the waiting room, sinking into a too soft couch to the point that there was probably going to be a permanent indentation of me.
  
  After twiddling my thumbs for a few minutes, wishing I had a phone or something to entertain me, Misha came back with a tall pile of books in her hands. Her hands cupped at her waist, the tower stretched all the way up to her nose. Quickly getting up and taking the stack from her, I noticed that the forms were on top.
  
  "It"s a little much," Misha admitted, "but everything in here is really valuable information on the upper floors. If you know all of it inside and out, I promise you that you"ll have a much easier time if you apply what you learned in the Dungeon."
  
  "I"ll learn it all," I promised. Not only would it help me, you know, not die, but there was the possibility of skill books. Even if there weren"t any, then these should help me start grinding my Intelligence stat.
  
  "Good! And this is the address to Mr. Corozzo"s workshop. I don"t know if he"s in or not, though," Misha said, placing a note with the girliest handwriting I had ever seen on top of the pile. "Anything else?"
  
  "Nothing comes to mind. Thank you again for all your help Misha," I said, starting to turn to leave.
  
  "It"s what I"m here for!"
  
  I smiled a goodbye, walking out of the Guild with a new destination in mind. As soon as I could, I dumped all of the stuff into my inventory before summoning my map. Now that I wasn"t in the Dungeon, the map was a lot less complete. It was a vast map that was mostly left blank except for the paths I had walked.
  
  The blip that marked Welf"s workshop was ways out the way, giving me a general direction but not much else. Exactly like a typical RPG.
  
  I slowly made my way through the city, taking my time to explore the other districts to get as much of the map filled in as I could. Looping back to fill in a small blank spot in a game was annoying, doing it in real life would be infuriating. Shops eventually gave way to a housing district, then to a park, then to more shops, then more houses. Eventually, I saw the walls of Orario grow near, a massive ornate gate cut out to let people leave.
  
  "Ais! Look at these! You"d look ssuuuuuuper cute with them," a loud voice managed to cut through the general chatter of the city. Glancing over at the source, interested by the name, I saw a short deeply tanned girl, dark brown hair that brushed against her shoulders. She wore a white tube top that covered a modest bust. Very modest. A tan skirt was tied off at her waist, the back of it dipping down to her ankles while the front was tied into a bow.
  
  She was speaking to a slightly shorter golden-haired girl. Her hair dipped down to her lower back that was left exposed. A white dress covered her front, dipping down to loop around into a short skirt that was black on the back half. Her slender legs were covered by royal blue boots, leaving only a couple of inches of thigh exposed.
  
  Ah. Ais Wallenstein and Tiona Hiryute. Loki familia. I think at this point, both of them were Level 5s.
  
  Ais said something back that I couldn"t hear, her golden eyes blank as her expression. Tiona was far more expressive, waving around a pair of earrings, making her own numerous golden necklaces clink loudly.
  
  "Come on! We"re about to spend two weeks in the Dungeon, they won"t be here by the time we get back." She protested, holding the earring up on each side of Ais" head, her hands were in the way so I couldn"t see what they looked like.
  
  Ais said something else, her lips moving but I sucked at lip-reading. And I lacked a subtitles function.
  
  Tiona groaned, passing the earrings back to a disappointed looking vendor. "No fun. They would have looked really nice on you," the tanned girl pouted, puffing out her cheeks as she crossed her surprisingly defined arms. The two of them started to walk my way, Ais" eyes going forward, then flicking up to look at my face.
  
  She blinked once and other than that, there was nothing else. I walked towards the two of them as they chatted -- well, Tiona chatted at Aiz. During the split second we walked past each other, I half expected one of them to say something. Neither did, leaving each other in peace.
  
  Neat. I met more main characters. Well, met might be a strong word, but the point stood.
  
  Still, two weeks until canon would start since they were coming back from the expedition at the start of the anime. Though...speaking of main characters, what about Bell? Shouldn"t he be showing up soon? He and Hestia met...on chance, hadn"t they? She was looking for her first familia member, she saw Bell get rejected, then accepted him into her own.
  
  Except she wouldn"t be looking for her first familia member. So she wouldn"t run into Bell. So Bell was...
  
  "Hm," I hummed, stepping out of the city, letting my map guide me. Should I try to find him? Bring him in? He was the protagonist after all. More than that, of all the harem protagonists in anime, he was one of the few that I actually liked. Mostly because if there was ever a justification for a harem obsessed horndog, then being raised by Zeus was it.
  
  I thought about it as I walked towards Welf"s workshop. I gave it a good long think. There were good reasons for including him. It wasn"t guaranteed that he would get Liaris Freese, which was probably the most overpowered Skill in this setting. Once he leveled up a couple of times, between the two of us, the Hestia familia would be fairly formidable. Not to mention that he had the attention of several important gods, like Zeus and Hermes.
  
  But...at the same time...well...Hestia fell in love with Bell in canon.
  
  "I need to stop thinking with my dick," I told myself, putting a pin in the issue for now. Welf"s workshop was completely unassuming. The grass that surrounded a small building was tall, hiding a stone path. The house itself was compact, only a brick chimney and piles of wood marked it as anything other than a hastily built shack.
  
  "At least he"s home," I muttered, spotting smoke coming from the chimney. Walking up to the door, I heard the sharp ring of metal banging against metal. I knocked on the door, a little harder than normal to make sure that he heard me, before stepping back. The sound stopped instantly, letting me hear a low curse.
  
  "Uh, just a minute! I"ll be right there!" Welf yelled out, almost drowned out by something hitting the floor followed by an even louder curse. I heard him stumble his way to the door before it slid open with a bang, revealing a soot streaked man around my age, his short red hair plastered to his face with sweat.
  
  "Uhhhh..." Welf gaped, his gaze looking up and up and up until he looked me in the eyes. "can...I help you?"
  
  "Yeah, actually," this time I came prepared. "I was hoping to commission some armor from you. For my legs. But if I came at a bad time...?" I trailed off, slightly unnerved by how Welf kept staring at me.
  
  "Er, no," Welf said, straightening up to his full height, bringing him my chest. "I was just finishing up a piece, but...you...want armor from me...?" He stumbled out, looking lost. Then his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why?"
  
  He was suspicious. Corozzo magic swords were apparently the equivalent of a nuke in a high fantasy world. I couldn"t imagine how often he must have been bothered by people with good and ill intentions to make one for them. What I did know was that his constant refusal had cost him a great deal, and he accepted the price to save his pride.
  
  "Do you want the truth or do you want me to kiss your ass?" I asked bluntly, getting a blink of surprise from Welf. He dealt with all kinds of liars, tricksters and traitors, all of them hoping to make him create a magic sword for him for one reason or another. I couldn"t imagine that he wouldn"t find blunt honesty refreshing, even if he didn"t like what was said.
  
  "The truth, then kiss my ass to make it better," Welf decided, getting a genuine smile out of me.
  
  "The truth is that I"m pretty broke, and I know you don"t have a lot of customers." I started honestly, an indignant expression appearing on Welf"s face. "It"s not that you don"t do good work or anything like that. I just know that since everyone only ever wants magic swords, the armor you make gets overlooked-"
  
  "More like shoved in a box and left in the back," Welf cut in, grumbling, the indignant expression fading.
  
  I nodded, agreeing with him. "Pretty much. I need some armor for my legs, and you're one of the few I know can make good armor and would be willing to do it for cheap."
  
  Welf seemed to mull that over for a minute, wiping sweat from his brow with the oversized sleeve of his kimono thing. Slowly, he nodded, "and to make it better?"
  
  "I purchased some of your work before and I can"t imagine myself using anything that wasn"t crafted by your hands," I said with a smile, earning a smirk and a huff of laughter from Welf. He nodded again, this time more to himself.
  
  "I guess I should be more careful what I wish for," he commented to himself, looking up at me again. He stared at me, trying to find any hint of deceit, only to find none. Even still, he asked, "you don"t want a magic sword?"
  
  I shrugged dismissively, "I became an adventurer about five hours ago. What would I use one on?"
  
  That got a full-blown smile out of Welf, his expression warming. "You could want to sell it though," he countered, still trying to poke a hole in my story even if he didn"t want there to be one.
  
  "I guess," I admitted, "but me asking you to make one would imply I have enough money to pay you to make one. And I did mention that I was broke, right? Because that"s kinda important."
  
  Welf finally gave in, sticking out a hand as a friendly smile tugged at his lips. "Welf Corozzo," he introduced himself. I took his hand, trying to not think about how small if felt in comparison to mine.
  
  "Jericho," I returned, shaking his hand firmly. My hand might be bigger, but Welf was a fairly accomplished adventurer despite still being Level 1 and it showed. His grip was like iron.
  
  "Come in, sorry about the mess, I was finishing off a dagger," Welf said, stepping into his sweltering home, revealing a messy workshop. Weapons of all sizes lined the walls, the floor was made of dirt darkened with years of soot and ash, a pile of wood was tucked next to a forage that dominated the small building. Tools of all kinds laid around an anvil with a knife laying on top of it.
  
  "You said you were looking for leg armor? Anything specific you were looking for?" Welf asked, hastily cleaning things to make everything look a little more organized. I pondered the question for a moment, having not thought about that. Did I want anything specific? I just needed armor.
  
  "I have a black chest piece already, so I guess if it could match that?" I spoke, earning a nod from Welf.
  
  "I can do that. What kind of black are we talking about here?" Welf asked, grabbing a long tangled piece of string. He fumbled to untie it, letting me think of how I could describe the color black.
  
  "It"s...that color," I said, pointing to a patch of built-up soot. It looked about right.
  
  "I can manage that easily enough. And I"ll need to check your measurements," Welf said, grabbing one end of the string. Without further ado, he placed one end at the center of my thigh and wrapped it around. I shifted, letting it happen and after a moment, I heard him let out a breath. "Not surprised the Guild didn"t have anything for you," he noted, marking the string.
  
  "What kind of armor are you looking for? Light, medium, heavy? Full coverage?" He asked, going down to my calf.
  
  "I don"t know to be honest. I just need to keep monsters from chewing on my ankles. What would you recommend?" What did I see myself in the future? What was my end goal? In D&D, I always ended up becoming a walking wall of armor, but that didn"t have to be the case here. I wanted mobility.
  
  In this setting, there were people as fast as lightning. I didn"t know if having thick heavy armor would offer up the kind of protection that I needed. What"s more, being slow and big was a major disadvantage. Look at every boss battle ever -- the big guy that could deal major damage, but since he never hit, none of that mattered. Then his health bar would get chipped down until it hit zero.
  
  That couldn"t be my fate. I needed to start taking steps now to make sure that it wasn"t.
  
  "If maximum protection is what you"re looking for, then I"d have to go with heavy armor. I"ll fully encase yours legs, except for your knees for mobility. You can cover up the weakness with some chainmail," Welf explained, making another mark on the string.
  
  "Will it affect my mobility?" I asked with a thoughtful frown. I could make up for any loss in Dexterity with training at the moment, but I doubt that would hold for when my stats leave the single digits. From what I"ve seen, most of my stats were going to come from direct combat, exactly as Hestia said. What I used would inevitably become my higher stats.
  
  But, at the same time, I was ridiculously fragile at the moment. All it would take was a hundred goblin scratches and I"d die. I needed armor. At this point, the more armor the better.
  
  "Not as much as people think. It"ll weigh you down some, sure, but you"ll still be able to run jump and so on in it. If you"re worried about it, I can leave some space near your waist to make sure you don"t lose any mobility." Welf offered, getting a hesitant nod from me as he took the measurements of my other leg. From the sounds of it, my mobility in heavy armor would be determined by my strength more than anything else.
  
  "And how long were you wanting for this armor to last?" Welf said, measuring my entire leg from ankle to waist. "Because I can whip something up in no time flat if you"re just wanting it for the first five floors. None of them really have the strength to actually break armor, so I can make it thinner than normal. That"ll shave off some weight if you"re that worried about mobility. After the fifth floor, though, it won"t hold up. Killer ants will rip through it no problem."
  
  I made it to the entrance of the second floor in a few hours. I did get swarmed by goblins and I handled them with relative ease. The second floor was where more monsters started spawning, in bigger numbers and different types. Things were going to get a lot more difficult on that floor.
  
  "Eh, don"t do that. Might as well get as much mileage as possible out of it," I said with a shake of my head.
  
  Welf stood up, writing down my measurements and nodding to himself. "Now for the fun part. Let"s talk price," he said, turning to face me, crossing his arms. "You did say you were broke, so I"m guessing you want it made out of steel?"
  
  Feeling faintly embarrassed, I nodded. "Whatever is cheapest," I agreed, wanting to cross my arms but not wanting to copy Welf. That would be awkward. "As for price...I"m going to be really honest here, I have absolutely no idea what I should be paying you."
  
  Welf barked a laugh as he shook his head, "you"re not supposed to be honest when you"re bartering." He reminded more laughter in his voice. He uncrossed his arms, scratching at his short red hair before giving a small shrug. "I tend to favor making light armor, and to cover your legs, I"ll use enough steel for two sets. How about...7,500?"
  
  ...Wasn"t that nearly the same amount that he charged for the armor Bell ended up wearing? For an entire set of light armor?
  
  "That"s just the amount of steel, though, right? You aren"t actually making two sets of light armor, so that should bump the price down a little bit?" I said though it came out like a question. Welf nodded at that, pinching his chin with soot-stained fingers.
  
  "I"m not, but it"s going to take some time to make it. Making good heavy plate takes longer to make than light armor," Welf said. I didn"t think that was true, but I didn"t know if it was or not. It could be. I knew exactly nothing about blacksmithing. "But...I"ll bump off another 500 valis."
  
  I knew I was going to have to go into debt to this armor, but that didn't make it any easier to swallow. I hated it. I hated it more than words could ever possibly say. Still, I needed the armor if not for the goblins, then for the deeper floors. I could spend a few days without it, grinding up the money then hand it over at once, but then I would be waiting longer to get the armor and I would still have to go into the Dungeon anyway to make money. I would lose days to save my pride.
  
  I could pay it off in a few days. If I focused, spent a little longer in the Dungeon each day, then I could pay it off in about three days. Two, maybe. That was...that made it a lot easier to swallow. Probably more than it should.
  
  "Alright, sounds fine to me," I agreed, swallowing my irritation. "I don"t have all of it on me right now, but here, take this as a down payment," I said, holding out my earnings for today. Welf took it, checking inside.
  
  I half expected him to make a comment about the pitiful amount but it seemed admitting that I was broke stopped him. Thankfully. I really didn't want to blow through our savings already.
  
  "Appreciate it, big guy. I'll go ahead and start on it. Should be done in about five days or so." Well said, tucking his newfound wealth away.
  
  "Sounds good. See you in five days then," I said, shaking Welf"s hand again and saying goodbye. I stepped out of his workshop, as poor as I started this morning, and the door slid shut behind me. I looked up at the sky, seeing the sun was still firmly hanging above. Checking my time, I saw that it was nearly 3 o'clock.
  
  "It's been a long day," I missed, walking back towards the city. Part of me wanted to head back home, crawl in bed with Hestia and let the rest of the day pass me by. My laid-back instincts told me I had done enough for one day.
  
  If I hadn't spent over 5000 valis that I didn't have, I might have gone home. Instead, my eyes found the Tower of Babel, the white spire stretching up until it pierced the clouds. With a tired sigh, I set a waypoint.
  
  As long of a day as it has, it wasn't over yet.
  
  ...
  
  "Don't be burnt, don't be burnt, don't be burnt-!" Hestia whispered desperately, flipping a piece of meat suspended over a wood fed stove with her finger, revealing a dark brownish color with darker lines where it sat on the grill that kept it out of the fire. A breath heaved out of her, practically deflating her as she pinched the meat and dragged it off the grill and on to a plate. It looked like it belonged there, she thought happily as she whipped her hand back and forth to cool her fingers.
  
  I should look like it belonged there. Especially when she splurged a little to buy a nice cut of steak from the Ninsun familia. She had it all planned out perfectly in her head; Jericho would come back from a long day of errands, tired and hungry, then he would be greeted by the smell of her delicious food before he descended the steps into their home.
  
  She would have it all laid out for him, ready to eat with a warm tea to help wash it all down. He would light up, smiling at her in a way that showed off his startling white teeth, and he would eat every single last bite because it was too good not too. After he was done, he would look at her and say something like 'that was the best thing I have ever tasted.' Or something like that.
  
  Jericho seemed to have a habit of saying exactly what she wanted to hear, even when she had no idea she wanted to hear them so desperately.
  
  With a pep in her step, she took a small dishrag to wipe up the stray juices from the meat, a nice pile of broccoli next to it along with a potato cut up in wedges topped with a generous helping of salt. She cut open the steak to see a nice pink color, telling her that it was fully cooked. She was lucky that Hephustus was kind enough to treat her to special meals like this back when she lived with her.
  
  She brought the plate over, setting it down next to a steaming cup of tea. Then she ran back to the door, standing on her tiptoes as if that would make up for the near three feet hight distance before she rushed over to make things a little more symmetrical, turning the plate so the steak facedthe door. Hestia ran back again, nodding her head in satisfaction as she darted back to the couch, idly noting that she could feel indent where Jericho had slept last night.
  
  Again, memories of what happened this morning replayed in her mind, making her blush and fiddle where she sat. Then she let out a small, depressed laugh, "what must he think of me?" She wondered, fiddling with the hem of her dress. Hestia had good guesses. "A crybaby and a harlot," she decided dejectedly.
  
  What else had she done since meeting him? She...touched his penis and ended up crying her heart out twice in the day they"ve known each other. Whereas he seemed to impress her more and more every time he opened his mouth.
  
  But that would change now! She cooked a perfect meal to convince him that she wasn't some floozy. With this, she took her first step to show that Jericho could rely on her. She might not be able to go down with him into the Dungeon or buy him expensive gear, but at the very least, she could do this much.
  
  Hestia was broken from her thoughts when she heard the sound of a heavy stone door grinding wood, the false wall moving away that hide their home.
  
  "Oh," Hestia lunged to her feet, scrambling up to her feet as she smoothed out her dress, straightening her bow and fixed her hair. It took a moment, but luckily, Jericho was so tall that she had just enough time to make herself presentable. When he entered their home fully, he looked over at her with an easy smile, and she found herself smiling back at him. "I made you dinner!" She blurted, wincing at her delivery.
  
  "Thank you, Hestia, I haven"t eaten all day," Jericho said, shifting something in his hands. Unfortunately, he wasn"t lying.
  
  Then she noticed the pile of books in his hands. Instantly, she went to grab some of them, eyeing the covers, "101 ways to kill goblins?" She read aloud, setting the pile of books off to the side. The others were in the same vein -- monsters and how to deal with them.
  
  "Hm, Misha let me borrow them. I figured I needed every advantage I could get," Jericho said, taking a seat in front of his meal. Hestia traced the spines of the books, fighting off a twinge of jealousy. This Misha girl was simply doing her job as Jericho"s guild advisor. If she should be annoyed with anyone, it should be herself for not thinking of it first. "There are also some forms for you to fill out."
  
  Hestia spotted them, turning to face Jericho to see him grab a knife and a fork. He went to cut into his steak, only to pause. In that split second, Hestia"s heart jumped all the way from her feet to her throat and nearly leaped out of her entirely. Jericho turned to her, bowing his head, "Thank you for the meal. Did you already eat?"
  
  "I did," Hestia lied. "Did you find out anything about some armor?" Hestia asked, changing the subject as she pretended that she wasn"t watching Jericho cut into his steak like a hawk. He cut a sliver off, popping it into his mouth and...his face lite up as he chewed, swiftly swallowing to cut off another bite
  
  "This is great," he complimented before he answered, making her feel so light she could fly. "I did, I commissioned some from Welf Corozzo. They should be done in about five days," he said, swallowing and following it up with a sip of his tea. "It"s going to cost about 5,500," Jericho said, earning a wince out of her like he punched her in the stomach. She tried to hide it but apparently he was watching her like she was him.
  
  "It shouldn"t be a problem," Jericho dismissed, reaching to his belt after taking another bite of his steak and another sip of his tea. He pulled out a coin purse that looked like it had some weight to it. "I made a down payment of about 1,500 and I made another 1000."
  
  Hestia"s eyes went so wide they could have fallen out of her head, "you made 2,500 valis in one trip?!" She couldn"t stop herself from shouting, stunned by the number. That was...so much! She barely made 500 valis a week at her stall! Did all adventurers make that much?! Her stunned amazement faded somewhat when Jericho shook his head, shoveling a couple of potato wedges into his mouth before washing it down with more tea.
  
  "No, I went back to the Dungeon after I talked to Welf-"
  
  "You went back down there?" Hestia interjected, stepping forward. "But you"re hurt!" She reminded him, looking down at his ripped and torn pants, or rather the white bandages that laid underneath. His pants looked to be in even worse condition now, another half dozen of cuts between each leg.
  
  Jericho chewed his vegetables for a moment before swallowing them down with some trouble. After drinking more tea, nearly leaving his cup empty, he nodded. "I did, but I"m not hurt," he explained, earning a bewildered look from Hestia. What did he mean he wasn"t-
  
  Hestia eeped when Jericho stood up, unbuttoning his pants. She felt herself blush all the way down to her toes, watching him shrug off his pants, her shock turning to concern when she saw the blood. Then it became shock again when he peeled off one of the bloodied bandages, revealing smooth skin underneath.
  
  "What...?" Hestia whispered, her feet carrying her forward. She traced a line where she thought the wound would be based on the bloodstain on the bandage. There was only smooth skin under her finger. "Did you drink a health potion?" Had he run into Micah? She hadn"t told him that Jericho was her familia member yet, but knowing him, he was probably handing out potions at a street corner.
  
  "I think it"s because of my Skill Gamer Body," Jericho explained, peeling off the other bandages to reveal more smooth skin underneath. His colorful underwear marked with hearts was bloodied at the hem. He would need new underwear too, Hestia made a mental note even as her mind tried to wrap her head around this.
  
  "I...think that makes sense. I don"t know what else it could be," Hestia admitted, feeling like she was in completely over her head. If he drank a potion, then this wouldn"t be surprising at all. Depending on the quality of the health potion, even fatal wounds could be healed by drinking one. But to heal this fast because of bandages?
  
  Her mistake was taking on entirely new consequences that she hadn"t foreseen. Hestia was worried that she might have impacted how he could level up, or what those other stats would mean, but this was...her blessing had changed his body. A good change, one that let him heal so quickly without needing expensive healing potions, but that wasn"t what worried her.
  
  How else had his body changed? What else had she unknowingly done to her child?
  
  "Don"t look so worried," Jericho instructed, gently grabbing her hand that still touched his lower thigh. "This probably one of the best things that could have happened. I"m still figuring the Skill out, but I"m not really seeing a downside. To any of it," he spoke truthfully, putting the edge of her worries at ease. The rest of them still lurked under the surface.
  
  He squeezed her hand, finishing his meal in silence for a few minutes before continuing. "How about we update my status? I think I made some gains," he said. Hestia recognized it for the change of topic that it was, but she gave a shallow nod all the same. He flashed a smile at her, pulling off his tanktop. After he took it off, for a few blissful moments, Hestia forgot her worries.
  
  "I think you"ll need to get on the bed," Hestia pointed out when he started to lay down on the couch, his legs hanging off at the knee. She would imagine it would be really uncomfortable when she got on his back. Jericho nodded, getting up, and moving to her bed, and she was forced to swallow a laugh. Even then, his legs hung off.
  
  She climbed on top of him, fetching the pin to prick her finger. His status was tattooed in the center of his back, she would fix that soon enough. With a drop of divine blood, light rippled out across his back like water, her falna glowing as it lifted off his back, revealing his new experiences. She coaxed the experiences into numbers, increasing his stats and making him grow stronger.
  
  "Done," Hestia said, pushing a piece of paper to his back, making the flight fade as his status was copied to it. Peeling the paper off, Hestia looked at it.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 1
  Progress to level 2: 82/1,000,000
  Strength: 2
  Endurance: 13
  Dexterity: 10
  Intelligence: 2
  Sense: 6
  
  Development Abilities:
  Physical Resistance: The user receives 1% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.​
  
  Hestia"s eyes zeroed in on a new slot called Development Abilities. Abilities that could be improved similar to a stat, making them grow stronger the more they were used and their effectiveness increasing each time the user leveled up. There were plenty of common ones like Blacksmith, or Mixing, each rank up letting the user create more impressive things. Then there were more rare ones, like Mystery, that let the user create things that were worthy of legends.
  
  The issue was, it was supposed to be impossible for a level 1 to have one. Development Abilities could only be gained from level 2 and up.
  
  She couldn"t tell anyone about this, Hestia realized with no small amount of panic. The other gods wouldn"t just accuse her of cheating and send her back to Heaven, but Jericho would be in danger. As much as they would shout at her for messing up, breaking the game balance, they would wage war against each other to have Jericho in their familia. Hestia couldn"t even go to Hesphstus, because as much as she was her friend, the red-headed god would know that Hestia had accidentally upset the delicate balance in the city.
  
  Numbly, Hestia got off Jericho as her mind raced. What did she do? Did she just keep hiding the truth and hoped no one noticed? How long would that last? Jericho would have to get his Status confirmed by the Guild when he inevitably leveled up...
  
  "Oh, Physical Resistance?" Jericho said, looking over her shoulder down at the slip of paper, blissfully unaware of how lost Hestia felt. "That"s going to be useful," he commented, her bed shifting under his considerable weight. He smelled like cinnamon. And, despite herself, Hestia agreed.
  
  Taking less damage? Did that mean if he got it up to 100%, would he be immune to physical attacks? She heard of Magic Resistance and Abnormal Resistance, but never physical resistance. That Skill alone would plunge the city into chaos if anyone ever learned about it.
  
  "And Massage," Jericho said, not sounding surprised that there was a Skill there. Probably because he didn"t know Skills weren"t that easy to get. Skills were meant to be slowly shaped, coaxed out of the child"s soul through repetition.
  
  But, maybe this was a good thing. It couldn"t last, but for now, it meant that Jericho could advance at an incredible pace. Maybe he would be strong enough to protect himself when this inevitably blew up in her face.
  
  "I think it looks pretty good for my first status update," Jericho decided, smiling down at her. Hestia smiled back at him, trying to push her troubled thoughts to the side. He didn"t know. To protect him, she couldn"t let him know. When the gods came knocking, demanding that she go back to Heaven, he would be able to answer honestly that he had no clue about her mistake.
  
  "It does, I think it"s really good progress for a day"s work," Hestia said, folding the paper. She would have to burn it later. She looked up at him, and only then did it dawn on her that she was sitting on a bed with a man wearing nothing but his underwear.
  
  "And it was a long day. I"m glad it"s over," Jericho said, earning a look from her. Hestia saw that it was nearly 10 o'clock, cooking had taken a lot longer than she thought it would. Still, she was glad for it. At least then her day seemed to go by fast.
  
  "Don"t worry about it, it"s your day off. I"ll take care of the dishes," Jericho offered, getting up before she could. "And, do we have a way to wash my clothes? They need a good soak." He asked, distracting her from her growing insecurities.
  
  "Um," Hestia hesitated, before nodding. "We do! I usually just fill up a bucket and lather them up a little bit before letting my dress soak overnight. Here," Hestia explained, gathering up his clothes. It was hard to believe that all they were was a pair of pants and a tank top. They barely fit in her washing bucket.
  
  "Thanks," Jericho said, finishing off the dish and grabbing a bar of soap. Hestia noticed the embarrassed expression on his face, and when he caught her look, his face got redder. "Well, all of my clothes need to be washed. All of them," he clarified, gesturing to his underwear as well. That would mean he would sleeping naked- oh.
  
  "R-right," Hestia said, looking away down at his now soaking clothes. He was telling her this because he didn"t want her molesting him in his sleep like she did this morning. "T-then I"ll go ahead and go to bed!" Hestia decided, standing up and all but sprinting to her bed. She dove behind the covers, the only sound she could hear was her heartbeat thundering in her chest.
  
  Then she heard the sound of cloth on flesh, a subtle sound that she never would have paid any mind to. She noticed it now because there was now a naked man standing less than ten feet away from her. Hestia swallowed thickly, the image of his hard penis at the forefront of her mind. Would it be hard again? Would...she have to rub it again?
  
  If she was going to look, then she missed her chance. The sound of the couch groaning underneath Jericho"s weight echoed throughout the small room. After he settled in, Jericho let out a breath, likely blowing out the candle that illuminated the room.
  
  "Goodnight Hestia," Jericho said, prompting Hestia to poke her head out of the covers. She looked over at him, seeing that he curled up slightly so his legs weren"t dangling off the edge. Though, his knees were by a dangerous amount.
  
  "Goodnight Jericho," Hestia returned, wide awake as she settled against her pillow. The events of the day running through her mind. Not just what happened this morning, but what happened at the Guildhall. The promise he made rang in her head like a bell.
  
  She smiled lightly, turning in her bed so she could look at her child. It was a bad angle, but she knew that his wild mane of hair would be covering some of his face. And underneath that thin blanket was a sculpted body left bare.
  
  "Thank you," Hestia whispered underneath her breath. What exactly she was thanking him for, not even she knew. Though, if she had to guess, it was because she didn"t feel alone anymore.
  
  And she never would again.
  
  ...
  
  Edit: Hestia can now cook and there was no five-hour delay so the food didn't get cold.
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
  Completed Stories: Going Native (DBZ/DC Comics), Power Corrupts (Gamer SI), See No Evil (Young Justice SI)
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  Ideas-Guy
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  Unfortunately, Hestia hadn"t climbed into bed at some point during the night. I awoke alone on my couch, and after a few minutes of failing to re-enter the blissful realm of unconsciousness, I got up to see that I was alone in the room as well. A note was folded on top of the coffee table, my name scrawled across it in messy handwriting. Picking it up, I flipped it open to see:
  
  Went to work, be back at 5. Your clothes are drying up top.
  Take care!
  Hestia​
  
  Looking at the time, I saw it was barely past 6. "She's going to have a long day," I missed, tossing the note into my inventory. Twelve hours. You never knew how much you needed something until it was gone. Never thought I would be missing labor laws, of all things. "But, I guess it'll give me a chance to use my Massage Skill."
  
  Wrapping the blanket around my waist, I stood up, my back popping like a machine gun. A groan escaped me, as I popped my neck as well, "ugh, the next thing I"m getting is an actual bed." I don"t know where I would put it, but sleeping on the couch that felt three sizes too small was murdering my spine.
  
  I looked around for a moment, somewhat at a loss on what to do. It was still early, so maybe I should head down into the Dungeon? I was still 4000 in the hole, so I might as well start making some cash ahead of time. The last thing I needed was to wait until the last minute to make it all, only to fail, then not get my armor.
  
  Still, my gaze found the pile of books that I needed to thumb through. I preferred fiction, but if those self-help books could save my life, then I should read them sooner rather than later. Meh, I should go check my clothes before I decide on anything. Tying the blanket at my hip, leaving one leg dangerously exposed, but it covered all the important bits.
  
  Ducking low to walk back up the stairs, I pushed away a false wall that served as a door to reveal the ruined church. In the low light, it looked a lot creepier. The stone felt rough underfoot, so I was careful where I stepped. I don"t know if Gamer Body would protect me from tetanus, and the only way to find out was no way to find out.
  
  "Where is the clothesline?" I muttered, wiping the last vestiges of sleep from my eyes. It was weird, it didn"t feel like I needed sleep but waking up in the mornings was just as hard as it was before. I searched the interior of the church, only to find nothing. Did she mean that it was outside?
  
  Stepping out, I looked around, spotting the clothesline on the side of the building. There was a slight problem, though.
  
  It was empty.
  
  "Er," I started, blinking at it with some confusion. Did they get blown away or something? It didn"t storm last night, so I don"t see how they could have. Even then, my clothes were big enough that they wouldn"t have gone far if they did get blown off the line. "Am I looking in the right place?" She wrote that they were hanging up, but she didn"t mention that they were on the clothesline.
  
  "Hurry it up!" I heard a high pitched voice yell out, bringing my attention to what looked like a small kid in the distance. Which then lead my attention to another small kid running towards the first carrying a bundle of...were those my pants? Dark blue and ripped in a dozen places -- those were my pants. That kid was stealing my pants!
  
  "H-Hey!" I called out, quickly giving chase. The one running off with my pants looked over his shoulder, revealing young-looking kid with dark brown hair, a face covered in scratches and smudges of dirt. His eyes widened comically when he saw me running after him, rapidly closing the distance between us thanks to my significantly longer legs. "Get back here! Give me back my clothes!"
  
  Instead of dropping my clothes, the brat turned around and booked it towards the other two kids down the street. One was holding my dress shirt while the other was holding my tank top and boxers. The first was a young girl with straw blonde hair, while the other looked like an elf. They looked torn between waiting for their friend and running for the hills.
  
  The first kid had a pretty big lead on me, but I closed it with every step. I raced down the street, barely believing what was happening. They were stealing my clothes. Why, of all things, were they stealing my clothes?!
  
  "Hurry Rye! This way!" One of the punks shouted, running behind a building into an alleyway. The elf looked at her, then at me chasing the first punk down, before quickly deciding to cheese it.
  
  "Don"t leave me!" Rye, I"m guessing, shouted back, barely slowing as he rounded the corner, missing my swipe at the back of his shirt by an inch. He darted into the alleyway, gasping for breath. I rounded on the kid, grasping at him again, his stubby legs unable to keep up with me. He seemed to realize it to as he grabbed the edge of a barrel as he ran past, tipping it over to slow me down.
  
  "Just stop kid and give me back my pants!" I shouted after him, nearly tripping over the barrel as he darted out of my reach. He dared to look back at me, his eyes so wide they could have fallen out of his head before he darted...into the wall? What? Cursing loudly, I scrambled after him, moving a curtain that fed moths for months to reveal a hole.
  
  "He"s coming! He"s coming!" One of the punks shouted, followed by the sound of footsteps that grew fainter by the second. I didn"t even bother trying to fit down the hole, into what looked like some kind of cellar. I looked at the building, standing up and sprinting around it, intent on catching them on the other side.
  
  Sprinting around the old half-decayed building, I rounded on the other side just in time to see one of them disappear down another alley. I ran after them, cutting across a street, ignoring an odd look I got from one of the few inhabitants that lived in this part of the city. I must look quite a sight -- only a thin short blanket to protect my modesty, and only barely at that.
  
  Reaching the alley, I turned into the alley, to see that it lead to a dead end. I smiled briefly to myself, expecting to find the punks trapped. That smile was quick to fall when I realized when I was the only one in the alley.
  
  "God damn it," I hissed, searching for where they slipped into. I found a wooden door cellar at the end of the alley, but when I grabbed it, it was locked on the other side. They must have locked it behind them. With a growl, I ran around the building again, intent on cutting them off now that I was so close.
  
  I turned the corner, searching the streets for any sign of the punks...but this time, the streets were devoid of any life. My heart started to fall to my stomach, "no, no, no!" I muttered, searching the alleys for any trace of them. There was none. "This cannot be happening to me," I cursed, looking at the building I just ran around. Could they still be inside? They had to be!
  
  I ran over, reducing the door to splinters when it got in my way. Thankfully, it didn"t look like anyone"s home, so I didn"t just commit a crime. I tore through the abandoned house, searching for the cellar. When I found it, I found it locked with a thick padlock. Snarling with anger, I grabbed it and pulled, ignoring how rust bit into my hand. Eventually, with a loud groan, it broke free.
  
  "Look, I don"t want to hurt any of you, just give me back my clothes," I said, swinging the doors open to reveal...an empty cellar. "No!" Instantly, I spotted another tunnel carved through one of the walls. I dropped to my knees, looking down it only to see darkness. I couldn"t tell where it went.
  
  I lost them.
  
  "Ugh," I groaned, dragging a hand down my face. How did this happen? I- no, I lost them. I wasn"t going to see those clothes again. I needed new ones. Standing back up, I looked down at my makeshift skirt. Tied off as it was, the blanket covered it dangly bits, all the way down to my knee. The blanket wasn"t big enough when I slept with it, and now it seemed painfully small.
  
  I was going to have to buy more clothes. Which would cost me money. Money that I didn"t have. Should I dip into our savings? I"m sure Hestia would understand when I explained what happened, but how much would it cost? A lot, given my size, and I didn"t know enough to stop myself from getting ripped off.
  
  Very aware of the 1000 valis in my inventory, I ran a hand through my hair, noting that some grease was starting to build up.
  
  Looking down at myself, I shook my head. "Fuck it," I muttered crossly to myself, stomping my way out of the cellar. I needed money for armor and clothes. I needed to go down into the Dungeon. I pulled my sword and scabbard from my inventory before I stepped out of the building. I turned to the Tower of Babel and started walking, silently fuming every step of the way. I strode forward with a single-minded focus, uncaring that I didn"t have my armor in my inventory or my shoes. All because I wanted to cover my tracks about my inventory, so I had to be seen with them on and taking them off at home.
  
  Thankfully, it was still fairly early so the city wasn"t in full swing yet. Though, that didn"t mean that the streets were empty. Far from it. I earned more than a few looks from those I walked by, ranging from outright amusement to sly smirks to scowls to wolf whistles. From men and women. When I made myself this hot, I really didn"t think I"d end up walking through a city half-naked.
  
  With burning cheeks, I walked up the stairs into the Guild. I"m not sure if the gods in Heaven could hear my prayers, but I was praying my heart out to them any way that I didn"t run into anyone - annd there"s Eina. The brown-haired elf eyes zeroed in on my pretty much as soon as I stepped through the doors.
  
  I offered her a smile, snapping her out of whatever stunned dazed she was in. I can"t imagine she saw many adventurers that were stupid enough to enter the Dungeon half-naked. Without any armor on. Gods, I was so stupid. Eina seemed to pick up on my stupidity from where she was standing because she was quick to cut me off.
  
  "Um," she started, not sure where to start. Which was fair. I had a whole situation going on.
  
  "Kids are evil," I supplied, more or less summing up my feelings on children going forward. "They stole my clothes. My only set of clothes. And now I"m going into the Dungeon in a blanket to make money so I can buy new ones and not default on the armor I purchased." I said, not angry...but...no, I was angry. Fuck those k- actually, just fuck it.
  
  "O-oh..." Eina muttered, giving me a pitying look. Not the kind of pity that would give me the clothes off her back, not that they would fit, but telling me that she wouldn"t do anything about my problem. "Are you absolutely sure you want to do this? I understand you"ve made some progress in the Dungeon, but going down there without armor is reckless."
  
  I don"t think she would accept the reasoning that I forgot my armor and as too pissed to go back and get it as an excuse.
  
  "I really don"t have much of a choice at the moment," I said, some of my frustration leaking through. I needed money. I hated needing money. Since I moved out of my parent's house the day I turned eighteen, I struggled to keep my head above water. I managed it by pinching every penny hard enough that it bruised. And now, in the span of a day, I was around 5000 in debt. At least.
  
  Eina pushed up her glasses, an expression of disappointment hovering around her. "I can"t stop you, but please, reconsider. Have you considered taking out a loan?" She offered, trying to nudge me off my path.
  
  I shook my head. I spent my entire life, my last life, without ever going into debt. The idea galled at me -- I had my reasons for never wanting to go into debt. Being in as deep as I was to Welf was already too much for me, I could accept it only because I knew I could pay it back quickly. Racking up further debt with the Guild? No, I couldn"t do it. Especially when there was a much simpler option in front of me.
  
  "I know what I"m doing is stupid and dangerous," I admitted freely. "But I"m doing it. I"ve gotten pretty good with dealing with goblins, I won"t go past the first floor, and if I do find myself in a bad spot, I"ll turn tail and run." I said, hitting all angles of attack. Unfortunately, my words didn"t make her magically okay with what I was doing but her shoulders slumped in defeat.
  
  "Please be careful. Misha would be really upset if you..." Eina trailed off, getting a nod from me.
  
  "I don"t plan on dying any time soon. I"ll be as safe as I can," I said, stepping past her, hearing her mutter something under her breath but I couldn"t make out what. It didn"t matter. I had a goal and I was going to see it through. I walked into the Dungeon, unsheathing my sword and depositing the sheath into my inventory. As soon as I stepped foot in it properly, a goblin lunged at me.
  
  I cut it in half, gaining the first magic stone of the evening.
  
  For hours, I vented my frustrations on the goblin, slaughtering them in droves. I felt the effects of my status update -- my body felt a little more nimble, my hearing was a little sharper. Goblins came at me in groups, but none came close to taking a bite out of me this time. It seemed between my status update and getting used to their attack patterns, I could dispatch them with relative ease.
  
  I beheaded one goblin, before bringing my sword back down and bisection another with the backswing. Two more kills, two more magic stones. My breathing was steady as I walked over the rough stone ground. Maybe I should have gone back for my shoes and armor, I just hadn"t been able to stop myself from coming straight here.
  
  Even hours later, I still felt the anger simmering in my chest. I was robbed by a couple of kids. I couldn"t catch up with them, and then I lost them. That was pathetic. Because of it, I was in the Dungeon wearing a blanket. I looked like an idiot. I sure felt like one. "When I get my hands on them, I"m gonna...!" I brought my sword down on another goblin, finishing the thought.
  
  A sigh escaped me, knowing that I was lying. Pushing my hair out of my face with some irritation, I said status to summon the screen. I tsked when I saw my pitiful gains. A (+1) to Endurance and Dexterity after killing nearly thirty goblins. All in an hour"s work. Between the monster stones and monster drops, maybe I would have enough...
  
  A sigh escaped me as I found myself wandering to the second floor. I should keep grinding. For one, I was still pissed, and two I might as well make as much money as I could at once. I wandered the halls, slaughtering whatever goblin dared to spawn near me until another hour ticked by.
  
  Then I heard the sounds of chatter echo through the empty halls. Of wooden wheels on stone, the wood creaking with every bump. I looked up, eyes narrowed. Who could that be? It sounded like there were a lot of them.
  
  Soon enough I had my answer. I saw a short man, bright blonde hair, with blue eyes that stood out with his dark purple shirt. He carried a spear that was twice the size of him on one shoulder as he looked up to chat with an elf walking beside him. She was taller than him by a head and shoulders taller than him.
  
  She had long mint green hair, dull green eyes with sharp pointed ears that poke out of her hair. She wore a high collared coat that stopped midthigh with a cream-colored cloak on top of it. She carried a magic staff in her hands, it almost looked like a spear but teardrop crystals branched out of it, connected by a silver hoop.
  
  Finn the Braver and Riveria Nine Hells. Both Level 6 adventurers. They chatted with each other, paying me no mind as I stood off some distance away, watching not only then pass by, but over a dozen others. I saw more familiar faces as they trailed by, wagons of supplies protectively placed between them. I saw Ais and Tiona, along with Tione, Tiona"s twin sister. Along with Bete, a silver-haired sour attitude werewolf, another blonde elf. Lefiya, the elf that had the hots for Ais.
  
  Where were they all going? With the...oh. They were going on the expedition, weren"t they? The one they were coming back from at the start of canon.
  
  Which meant that I was two weeks away from the start of canon.
  
  "Hey, why aren"t you wearing pants?" Tiona yelled out, spotting me as I stared at the passing expedition to the deep floors. I didn"t keep up with Sword Orario, but I did read the early bits. I knew they were walking into a horde of new monsters that were made of a powerful acid. I don"t remember anyone dying, though, so it should be fine.
  
  "Long story," I summarized, not having to fake the exhaustion in my tone. I didn"t feel tired at all, but I was already done with today. And it was only 8 o"clock. "If you want to hear it, then don"t die." I offered with a wave, earning a giggle from the amazon.
  
  "I won"t!" Tiona said, waving back at me before she descended down to the second floor. I watched them go down, something settling on my shoulders like a heavy weight. I stood there, long after the final member of the Loki familia went down, just staring at the entrance to the second floor.
  
  Pressing my lips together into a thin line, I muttered, "status."
  
  Jericho
  Level: 1
  Progress to level 2: 123/1,000,000
  Strength: 2
  Endurance: 13 (+1)
  Dexterity: 10 (+1)
  Intelligence: 2
  Sense: 6
  
  Development Abilities:
  Physical Resistance: The user receives 1% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.​
  
  My jaw clenched when I read my experience points. 123 exp. Out of 1,000,000. Two of my stats were in the double digits, barely. I had one decent Development Ability, but it was a long way from being useful even with the Durable trait I picked up at the character creator. Maybe it was good progress. I had only been in the Dungeon three times now, but that didn"t matter.
  
  I had two weeks until the start of canon. In a month after that, Bell would have maxed out stats and then some before reaching level 2. Two weeks after that, he would reach the eighteenth floor, deliver the final blow to an enhanced monster that was level 4 with nearly maxed out stats again.
  
  At the rate I was going, it would be...about 27 years before I reached level 2.
  
  That wasn"t good enough. That wasn"t anywhere near good enough. Hell, should I go find Bell, let the rails of canon continue as they were, and let him be the protagonist? He was apparently much better suited for it with his utterly broken growth. Before he got that stupid Skill, didn"t he go down to the fifth floor in like a week?
  
  I blew out a frustrated breath, the simmering anger starting to boil in my chest. If I was going to find Bell, then it had to be soon. He was probably out there, in the city, wandering about to find a familia that would take him in. If I was going to find him, then I had to start looking now. With the Skill Realis Phrase, he would turn the Hestia familia into a powerhouse. And...
  
  My gaze shifted to the second floor. At the rate I was going, it was going to take way too long for me to level up, much less be useful when canon events started to tick by. I needed to set a goal. I needed...
  
  I found myself walking towards the second floor even as any sense of rational thought railed against the idea. I didn"t have my armor. I was mostly naked. I should spend this time looking for Bell. Instead, I walked down the steps down to the second floor with a sense of grim determination.
  
  "One thousand exp," I decided, looking to my right and left for monsters. I wouldn"t leave here until I had 1000 exp. At least. No matter how long it took. I didn"t need to eat or drink, and I had a health potion for emergencies and bandages for breaks. I had no reason to go back up. Until I reached that goal, I wouldn"t leave the Dungeon.
  
  Nodding to myself, I started to stalk the halls, bringing up my map function to make sure I didn"t get lost. It didn"t take long for me to find a monster, they likely spawned in response to the Loki familia, but they were too afraid to challenge them. I knew that monsters could feel fear since that"s why the minotaurs fled to the upper floors in the first place.
  
  This one wasn"t a goblin. It was nearly the same size, generally the same build, only that it had a dog-shaped head. Dog fur, dark brown eyes, with razor-sharp claws. A kobold. It barked at me, running on all fours, determined to take a bite out of me. Instead, I plunged my sword down into it before it could come close, making it vanish in a puff of black ash.
  
  Just like killing goblins. I heard more barking up ahead, looking up I saw another three were running at me. Clenching my jaw, I strode forward to meet them halfway. My bloodied sword lashed out, slicing through one as it jumped at me, the cut continuing until it slammed into another kobold. The third went for my legs and reached them when I kicked it in the face hard enough that its snout crumpled. I stabbed it in the head, killing it.
  
  My nostrils flared as I summoned my status again, this time the number had ticked up. They were still one exp each. I was going to be here all day.
  
  And that was okay.
  
  ...
  
  For hours, I stalked the halls of the second floor, killing any monster I came across. The second floor was bigger than the first by half, it took me nearly two hours to completely map it out. After that, I slaughtered my way through the halls with a single-minded focus. At some point, I stopped bothering to check my exp after every kill. I didn"t need to.
  
  233/1,000,000. I nearly doubled my previous exp but I wasn"t even a third of the way to my goal. It just wasn"t enough. It wasn"t even close. I spent nearly five hours down here and I accomplished practically fuck all.
  
  A growl escaped me as I slashed at a lizard monster. I had no idea what it was, and, frankly, I couldn"t care less. If it took me five hours to gain 100 exp, then I was going to be down here for nearly two days. Hestia would be worried sick.
  
  I stabbed a kobold, kicked another in the face before stomping on its head until it became ash. Blood coated my legs, splattering over my blanket. Sweat dripped from my forehead, my breathing deep and even. I felt the edge of being exhausted, but nothing that couldn"t be solved with a quick break.
  
  Leaning against the entrance, I took in deep breaths to regain my stamina. Stamina potions were a thing. I needed to look into those. Which would take more money than...well...I might have, but the fact remained that it was another expense. How much would they cost? A 100 valis? 200? More? Expense quickly racked up as an adventurer, it seemed.
  
  Wiping the sweat from my face with a blood-spattered arm, I walked down the steps to the third floor.
  
  ...
  
  I hadn"t really noticed it on the second floor, but the number of monsters slowly ramped up with each floor. There seemed to only be a few types of monsters on the uppermost floors, goblins, kobolds, and those lizard things. It was an idle observation as a mob of ten of the monsters raced towards me, a mix mash of species to make things interesting.
  
  Running forward, I threw myself at them, my sword slashing through two of them while I struck out with a foot. The rest circled me, attacking at my exposed legs, and at this point, I learned to expect it. As they jumped at me, I jumped into the air over them, tucking my legs up to ensure they went under me. I nearly bumped my head on the ceiling, but I cleared the distance. As I began to fall, I landed on two goblins, my weight killing them.
  
  A kobold managed to land on all fours, lashing out at me, catching my thigh. I hissed in annoyance more than pain, grabbing the monster by the scruff of its neck before launching it at the remaining monsters all the while I struck out with my sword. The kobold slammed into two goblins, knocking them off their feet and giving me time to deal with the last remaining three.
  
  With the backswing, I finished off the one I kicked in the face before I kicked a lizard thing in the throat hard enough that it was reduced to ash. The last upright goblin tried to lunge at me, plunging itself onto my blade. As it was reduced to ash, I raised my sword up high, gripping it with both hands, and swung down with all my strength. My blade caught the three remaining monsters, all of them neatly clumped together, slicing all the way through all of them with a single swing.
  
  "Hah," I breathed, pushing my hair out of my face, sweat plastering it to it. My chest heaved, my blood thundering in my ears as my heart hammered away at my ribs like it was trying to escape. I looked down at my thigh, seeing three claw marks bleeding freely. I pulled a bloodied bandage from my inventory and placed it on there. Over the hours, I learned that bloodied bandages were worse than normal bandages, taking twice as long to restore a single point of health.
  
  109/110. I was still good to go.
  
  Taking in a long slow breath, regulating my breathing as I continued to walk down the halls. I noticed with each floor I descended, everything looked a little...rougher. The floors were tiled a little less completely, almost like someone gave up halfway through at some points. The walls were left bare, displaying rough rock. The lights were dimmer, the shadows darker, making the darkness feel suffocating.
  
  Slowly, my stamina returned, my breathing grew more even as I walked. My feet were sore from so much walking, another three hours ticking by as I cleared the third floor. From the look of it on my map, I was only halfway done. By the time I was, Hestia would be off work and at home. She probably wouldn"t be worried at first, but the longer I stayed the worse she would.
  
  "Ten o"clock," I decided, my brisk walk turning into a jog, slashing at a goblin that leaped at me. I had until 10 o"clock to earn 1000 exp. It was...flat out impossible. I counted my kills, I knew exactly how much exp I had gathered over the hours.
  
  445/1,000,000. Still less than halfway. It was around 1 o"clock. If clearing this floor would take me another three hours...then I could always fully clear it later. I needed to go down deeper, where more monsters spawned to quickly farm the exp. Just one floor down, no more. I was doing really good so far. Great, really. I could handle one more floor. Easy.
  
  With that thought in mind, I made my way to the fourth floor.
  
  ...
  
  The fourth floor wasn"t so bad, I realized. There were monsters, a sharp uptick in them, but they were manageable. Instead of groups of 3, I got groups of 5. Or groups of 10, when I found myself at a dead end, there were around 12 or 15. I knew their attack patterns at this point, more importantly, I knew not only how to dodge them but how to counter-attack as well.
  
  The floor itself was rougher, almost completely bare of the manmade feel the first floor had. The only traces I found of it was sometimes the floor almost looked like it had a pattern to it. It was like I was walking through a cave now. A very large cave system because the fourth floor was twice the size of the third, it would take me hours to fully map it out. Instead, I just kept pressing forward, intent on gathering as much exp as I could to accomplish my goal of the day.
  
  "But," I said, spotting the entrance to the fifth floor, "even if I do get a thousand exp a day...it would still be about three years before I level up." Worse, if my current time wasn"t improved on, it would take nearly twenty hours to do it. Pretty much all day, spent down here, mindlessly fighting. To reach level 2 in years.
  
  I looked at the edge of my sword, noticing the nicks and flattened edge in some places. It was in desperate need of sharpening. Another thing I needed to take care of.
  
  A tired sigh escaped me as my feet carried me to the fifth floor. Above all else, I needed more exp. Or, rather, I needed monsters that gave me more than one exp a kill. Even two exp a kill would cut the time this took in half. More monster mobs were helping, but it wasn"t enough. At the rate I"m going, I could live down here and I wouldn"t make the gains that I needed. The gains that Bell made by wanting to fuck Ais.
  
  And you know what? I"m not okay with that. You know what? Fuck Bell. How is it right that he gets a stupidly broken skill that lets him go from a no-name scrub to beyond fucking plus ultra max level stats in about two weeks? All because he fell in love with a girl that saved his dumbass.
  
  Do you know who could have really used that Skill when she was being beaten and tormented by adventurers? Lili. Why couldn"t her hate for adventurers, or desire for freedom trigger a skill equal or greater to Realis Phrase? Do you know who also could use that Skill? Ais. She spent the last decade of her life trying to grow strong enough to kill the big bad evil dragon and save her mom.
  
  How was it right that Bell got this amazing Skill and no one else did? Was Bell really so goddamn thirsty for Ais that he apparently wanted her more than everyone else on the planet wanted anything? I knew the answer. It was because Bell was the protagonist, so of course, he gets the extra rare super-duper powerful Skill that completely breaks the setting because his dick is just that fucking big-
  
  I shook my head, half to clear it of stray thoughts and half exasperation. "No point in thinking about it now," I muttered, descending to the fifth floor. Bell was probably still wandering around the city. Or he got picked up by another familia. Or, better yet, he flat out didn"t exist. Of all the harem protagonists I"ve come across, he was one of my favorites but now that his bullshit was put in perspective? Fuck that guy.
  
  ...
  
  I sped through the fifth floor in a little over an hour. Apparently, the secret was to make right turns until you reached the entrance to the sixth floor. Immediately I noticed that the sixth floor was different. Everything had a cold blue hue to it because of the lighting and any man-made trace was gone. The halls were more of tunnels, much larger and wider than what they were previously.
  
  Stepping onto it, I gripped my sword a little tighter. If I remember correctly, this was the floor that new monsters start to spawn. War Shadows and...cyclops frogs, or something. Either way, it meant that I had to keep my guard up.
  
  The first monster the sixth floor threw at me was a goblin, of all things. I dispatched it with ease, a single swipe of my sword as I began to map the floor. My blanket was growing heavy with blood, stiff on the upper parts where it began to dry. I was going to need a serious shower after this was done.
  
  I aimlessly wandered the tunnels, taking right turns where I could. An old tactic born of over a decade of experience when dungeon diving in RPGs. Minutes passed in silence, only the sound of my feet on stone sounding impossibly loud before I picked up on the sound of croaking. I took in a steadying breath, trying to peer through the darkness ahead to see what it contained.
  
  The croaking got louder, nearer as did the sound of thumping as the frog began hopping towards me. It landed underneath a cool blue light, revealing a deep green toad with a massive eye. It was bigger than the other monsters, though not by much. If the goblins were about two feet tall, then the toad was closer to three. Still, it made for an easier target.
  
  Instead of rushing it, I settled into a mockery of a fighting stance, waiting for it to make the first move. The frog blinked its massive eye, croaking, the skin underneath its jaw ballooning out before it hopped forward once. Then again. And again. And another time. Every muscle was taut, ready to spring into action. When the monster"s mouth cracked open, I was already moving.
  
  Just like a normal frog, its tongue shot out of its mouth at speeds I could only follow because I knew it was coming. It raced through the spot I stood a mere moment ago. It was gone just as fast at it shot at me, forcing me to keep moving as it attacked again. It missed by inches, close enough that I would swear that I could feel some of my hair get blown out of place.
  
  With one final massive step, I stabbed the frog in its massive eye, making it squeal for a quick second before being reduced to ash. No sooner than that it was dead, I summoned upon my status screen, hoping that it gave me more than one exp.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 1
  Progress to level 2: 783/1,000,000
  Strength: 2 (+2)
  Endurance: 13 (+4)
  Dexterity: 10 (+5)
  Intelligence: 2
  Sense: 6 (+4)
  
  Development Abilities:
  Physical Resistance: The user receives 1% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.​
  
  A wide smile split my face, reinvigorating me. All of a sudden, it was all worth it. "They"re worth three exp," I said, feeling so relieved that it was hilarious in a really sad way. Three exp was absolutely nothing yet it was three times better than what I was getting before. I guess it"s true what they say -- feed a dog four times a day and he will be angry if only fed three times. Feed a dog three times a day, he will always be thankful for a fourth.
  
  My smile fell when I heard more croaking. Looking over, I saw another frog. And another one behind it. I dismissed the windows and started moving, sprinting towards the frogs as their mouths cracked open. Making myself a giant was proving to be a hindrance again, since I was such a large target, between the two of them, there was no way I wasn"t going to get hit.
  
  I made eye contact with the second toad, trying to gauge where it was going to try to hit me. I had no idea. At all. So simply held my sword in front of me, hoping that it-
  
  My thoughts were thrown off track when something slammed into my chest hard enough that I was knocked off my feet. I gasped, hitting the ground hard, any breath in my lungs exploding out of me in a gasp. The two sides of my chest hurt, marked with blood. Through the sudden pain, I looked over at the frog and saw blood leaking from its lips as it mewled pathetically.
  
  It went for my chest and got its tongue split by my sword. One thing they never mention in the movies -- a sword isn"t wide enough to make something split apart far enough that they two halves would sail harmlessly by.
  
  Ignoring the dull ache in my chest, feeling like I got kicked by a horse, I scrambled forward to put an end to them before they could do the same to me. I threw myself to the side, feeling the wind wash over me as the first frog narrowly missed. Rolling to my feet, I crossed the distance between us and plunged my sword into the monsters. They seemed to have no close rang defense, so it was a simple task to kill them.
  
  "Ugh," I groaned, grasping at my chest. Looking down, I already saw a bruise forming. And that my blanket had gotten untied during the fight, so I stood nude in the Dungeon. Gods, I really was an idiot. No wonder my Intelligence stat was 2.
  
  After tying my blanket back to my waist, I glanced back at the exit. No. Not yet. A thousand exp. At least. Plus, I still had a few hours before Hestia started to get worried.
  
  I was almost there. Just over two hundred exp left until I reached my goal. I could do it. I had to.
  
  ...
  
  Hestia collapsed face-first into her bed, a sigh of relief escaping her, but she wasn"t able to properly relax because her spine had a sharp pain in her lower back every time she tried. Her legs ached, her muscles burning from overuse while her feet felt like they were hollowed out then filled with lead.
  
  She reached out to grab her pillow, dragging it under her head as she shifted her back so it wouldn"t hurt so much. The smell of a sack full of jagamarukuns was typically a welcomed scent, but if she never smelled the delicious snacks again, it would be too soon. After today, Hestia never, ever, ever wanted to look at them again.
  
  Customers...there were just so many of them! And they never stopped coming! All-day, Hestia doubted that she had less than ten people waiting in line for a scrumptious jagamarukun. During the lunch rush, it was closer to twenty. She moved as fast as she could, she said the company motto with a smile like a broken record, but still, she got the occasional customer that got really mad that he or she had to wait.
  
  It was a really long, really bad day and she wanted nothing more than to fall asleep. Maybe cuddle with Jericho as she fell asleep. Instead, she was greeted by an empty home.
  
  "I wish he would have left a note," Hestia muttered, crawling underneath the covers. Where was he? She hoped he would have stayed in to read, but the pile of books looks like it hadn"t been touched. His armor was still here, so he couldn"t be in the Dungeon-
  
  Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard knocking at the stone false door that lead to her room. Hestia went stiff, unsure who would knock at her door. It couldn"t be Jericho. Maybe it was Hesphstus? It had to be. Who else could it be?
  
  Throwing off her covers, Hestia winced as she pushed herself up to her feet. Everything hurt and everything sucked. Even still, she pushed herself forward to push open the door. Instead of being greeted by her redheaded friend, she saw a girl with dull silver hair and eyes dressed in a lime green maid outfit with a white apron. She was pretty, somewhere around Jericho"s age.
  
  "Hello?" Hestia greeted, looking down to see three children. A brown-haired, sullen-looking boy that found his shoes very interesting. A young girl with blonde hair that looked like she was about to start crying. A younger child, an elf, stared up at her dully.
  
  "Hello, goddess Hestia," the older girl greeted, curtsying. "My name is Syr Flova, these are Rye, Fina, and Roux," she said, a sweet smile on her face as she pushed the children forward. "And they owe you and your familia member an apology."
  
  Hestia blinked, tilting her head as she tried to puzzle out what they would need to apologize for. The boy stubbornly refused to look at her, while the girl, Fina, made eye contact with her for an entire second before she threw her head back and started sobbing.
  
  "I"m sorry! I"m sorry!" Fina wailed, fat tears running down her face as she acted like she was apologizing for the end of the world. Hestia reached out to her, unable to bear the sight of a crying child, and hugged her even though she still had no idea what she was apologizing for.
  
  "It"s okay, shh, shh," Hestia soothed, rubbing calming circles into Fina"s back as she looked at the others with a bewildered expression. It was Roux, the elven child, that answered her unspoken question.
  
  "We"re sorry for stealing Mr. Tall Guy"s clothes," Roux said, holding out...Jericho"s tanktop, underwear and socks out for her to take.
  
  "What?" Hestia asked, that being the very last thing that she expected for the child to say.
  
  "The children wanted to play a prank of your familia member and stole his clothes earlier this morning," Syr began, clarifying the situation instantly. However, her expression was too serious to be making a couple of kids apologize for what amounted to be a harmless prank. It didn"t take Hestia long to figure out why. "They meant to hide them from him for a little bit then return them. But, your child...went into the Dungeon."
  
  "Oh," Hestia muttered, a sinking feeling in her gut. Why would he do that- money. Jericho would be worried about money. He owed Welf several thousand for his leg armor, and he would be worried about buying new clothes. So, he would go into the Dungeon. But without his armor? That... "foolish..."
  
  "I"m sorry! We just wanted to be funny! And now he"s in the Dungeon without any armor and...and...and he"s dead!" Fina wailed into her chest, holding onto Hestia for dear life. Her words made Hestia"s heart go still in her chest, her attention going to her blessing to see that it was still there. Jericho was alive.
  
  "He"s alive," Hestia reassured, pulling back to look down at Fina. "You might not have noticed, but Jericho is pretty strong. There"s no way some goblins would be able to hurt him! He"ll be just fine. I promise," Hestia swore, desperately hoping that she wasn"t lying. To go into the Dungeon without armor, without clothes apparently, even on the first floor for a rookie adventurer that was one less than a day...
  
  "...Really?" Fina asked, sounding hopeful. Rye looked up sharply, not as disinterested in apologizing as he tried to seem. Roux just blinked, his...or her expression revealing nothing.
  
  "Really. I bet when he gets back, he"s going to find this really funny." Hestia promised with a bright smile, far more genuine than the ones she wore towards the end of her shift. "I bet he"ll feel really silly too."
  
  "See," Syr began, placing a hand on Roux and Rye"s shoulders. "Goddess Hestia is very understanding, you don"t need to be afraid." She nudged Rye forward a little, making the boy shot a glare up at her before he turned to Hestia.
  
  He shifted from foot to foot, unable to meet her gaze. Hestia smiled lightly, placing a hand on his cheek guiding his gaze to hers. His eyes had a red tint to them, fighting back tears, his bottom lip quivering. Even still, he puffed out his little chest, trying to make himself appear much bigger than he actually was. "I-It was my idea, so i-If anything bad happens to him, then I"ll take responsibility. I promise!"
  
  Hestia simply smiled, the children completely unaware of what their words were doing to her emotions. Thankfully, Syr seemed to pick up on it by gently prying Fina from Hestia. "I took the time to stitch up his pants," she informed, passing Hestia Jericho"s clothes. Hestia glanced at the stitching to see that it was nearly flawless. She...should have done that for him.
  
  "Thank you," Hestia said, taking Jericho"s clothes. Syr smiled at her as she took back a reluctant Fina. "For bringing these back. And for apologizing," she said to the children.
  
  Syr nodded, "to make up for it, I can treat you to a meal if you would like. I work at the Hostess of Fertility, over on Main Street. And I"m sure the children will want to apologize to Jericho personally, hmm?" She offered, turning her attention to the children at the last bit. Rye looked down, while Fina nodded her head, sniffling lightly as Roux just nodded.
  
  "I think he would appreciate that," Hestia said, waving goodbye as they children and Syr turned around to leave. She watched them go, Fina turning around to wave goodbye at her, and before long they were far down the street. Now that they were gone, a stone of worry settled in her stomach.
  
  Her blessing was still there, so Jericho was alive. She had a hard time believing that he would fall to goblins, but he was down there with no armor or clothes. Hestia couldn"t stop herself from worrying. With a sigh that seemed to deflate her, Hestia gripped his clothes to her chest as she descended down the steps. The soap worked a little too well for her liking. They didn"t smell like him.
  
  She collapsed into her bed, curling up into a ball as she watched the day glass begin to trickle down. Sand began to fill it, steadily climbing past lines that marked the hour. 6 o"clock. 7 o"clock. 8 o"clock. With every hour, her worry grew. He was only on the first floor, so what was taking him so long?
  
  Was it just a slow day? Did he lose track of time? Or was he lying on the Dungeon floor bleeding out? She couldn"t imagine that goblin could seriously hurt him, but what about other adventurers? Lok"s familia went on an expedition today. What if one of them did something?
  
  Hestia clutched his clothing closer to her chest, trying to put her worries at ease with faith in her child. Jericho was strong. He promised that he would never leave her alone. He would return to her. She had to believe that. She had to believe in him. She...she had to believe he was coming back.
  
  "Right," Hestia said, forcing herself out of bed. She had to believe in him. Coming home so late, he would probably be tired, but maybe he would like something to eat before he went to bed? What could she make? Something...easy to make. Hestia realized now that she was a little overly ambitious cooking for the first time on the lower world. She should start smaller...a sandwich?
  
  Hestia wiped her eyes of stray moisture, if she was going to cook then she needed ingredients. Opening up the cupboard that served as their pantry, she found only dust bunnies. She would have to dip into their savings again, but Hestia was happy to. She would just pick up more shifts to cover what she spent.
  
  Now, what did boys like to eat? Hestia wondered, practically sprinting down the road to the markets. To her disappointment, she didn't see Jericho making his way some.
  
  Boys like to eat meat. And potatoes? Those were manly foods, right? Wait, she was making a sandwich. Umm... cheese was manly? What would Jericho want after a long day that she could make? A lot of things came to mind but when she looked at the pitiful amount of valis in her purse, that eliminated a lot of options.
  
  In the end, she settled on getting ham, cheese and bread.
  
  To her growing worry, Jericho still wasn't back yet. His falna was still there, so he was alive. She had to trust that he would be back soon.
  
  Taking in a deep breath, Hestia glanced at the day glass to see that it was nearing the tenth hour. Hestia prepared the food, able to take her time since nothing could burn if she didn't go fast enough. Within a few seconds, she had two ham and cheese sandwiches. But...wouldn't it taste better hot? A nice hot meal was what she always looked forward to during her lunch, even if it was jagamarukuns that she deep fried earlier.
  
  "Don't burn," Hestia ordered the sandwiches, shredding the ham so it would cook a bit easier. Hestia doubted that she so much as blinked during the five minutes or so it took to cook. By the end of it though, under her vigilant gaze, neither side of the sandwiches was burnt when she played them-
  
  As Hestia plated the food, she heard the familiar sounds of Jericho trying to softly push the stone door open. Hestia shot off her bed like a speeding bullet, racing up the steps before Jericho could fully open the door. As soon as she saw him, she slammed into him hard enough that he stumbled back a step, knocking the breath from his lungs.
  
  She squeezed him as hard as she could, burying her face into his stomach, fighting back tears of pure relief. A few moments passed, and she heard him sigh, a hand caressing her back. "I worried you. I"m sorry," he said, his voice low and rumbly.
  
  Hestia"s throat was too clogged up with emotion to say anything, so she nodded.
  
  "I"m fine, I...not going to lie and say that I didn"t do something stupid. I did do something stupid. I got my clothes stolen by a couple of kids, I ran across the Loki familia in the Dungeons and I...felt frustrated with my progress. I mean, they were going to the deep floors while I was stuck on the first floor dealing with goblins." Jericho muttered softly to her, his words calming her as she listened.
  
  "You went down to the second floor. Without any armor," she guessed, making Jericho go still. He heaved a breath, telling her that she wasn"t going to like what he said next. She was right.
  
  "Sixth floor," Jericho corrected, her gaze snapped up to him. The sixth floor?! On his second day of being an adventurer?! "I"m fine," Jericho was quick to reassure her as if he could. Hestia pulled back from him, intent of finding every single scrape and cut. Only then did she noticed that he wore his blanket, that was worse for wear, with no small amount of blood spattered over the bottom half.
  
  "I"m fine," Jericho repeated, placing his hands on her shoulders to calm her down. "The worse that I got was some bruising on my chest, but its already gone," he said, gesturing to himself. Hestia looked at him for a moment, something giving way in her chest that made her feel exhausted.
  
  "What were you thinking?" Hestia asked, letting Jericho lead her into their home.
  
  "I wasn"t thinking," Jericho answered, guiding her to her bed. "I was frustrated with- are those my clothes?" He asked, spotting the pile of them peeking out from underneath the covers. Hestia nodded, a hand going up to his massive hands on her shoulders, gently starting to massage them. It felt fantastic. .
  
  "The kids that stole them brought them back. They wanted to play a prank on you, but you went off into the Dungeon. Without any armor," Hestia answered, turning to face him. Her tone did the trick because he looked properly chided.
  
  "I overreacted," Jericho admitted. "I realized that we were already in debt and I couldn"t stand the thought of us going any deeper. I meant to just go to the first floor, but then I saw the Loki familia." Jericho explained, not defending his actions, she noted. "I just...expected more from myself." He finished, earning a nod from Hestia.
  
  They had that in common, she thought.
  
  "I understand," she decided, accepting his apology. A sigh escaped her, the tension leaving her body with it. "Just...don"t scare me like that again. Promise?" She requested in a small voice as Jericho"s hands began to massage her shoulders.
  
  "I promise," Jericho swore as she leaned into his touch. That Massage Skill...was really good. Hestia liked it. She liked it a lot. "Now...what smells so good?" He asked, his thumbs working on her upper back, the knots of tension she hadn"t known were there were slowly being rubbed away.
  
  "I made you dinner," Hestia blurted, wincing again at her delivery as she crossed her fingers as she eyes the sandwiches, looking for some imperfection. It was a little crisper around the edges, but they looked-
  
  "They look great," Jericho said, going towards them. Hestia tried not to stare at him when picked one up, and took a bite. He made a noise of appreciation that nearly made her heart jump out her throat before he turned to her, smiling with crumbs on his lips.
  
  A breath of relief escaped her as Jericho ate, the sandwitches practically vanishing off the plate into his stomach. If she had somehow messed that up too then she was going to end up crying, she knew it. As soon as he was done, he drained a glass of water, turning back to her. She sharply looked away, pretending that she hadn"t been paying attention, but his hands on her shoulders told her that he knew.
  
  "They were fantastic, Hestia," Jericho said, making her humm with joy. "Thank you for making them for me," gently massaging her shoulders again. It felt wonderful. "So, how was your day?"
  
  "It was fine," she was hardly going to complain to him after the day that he had. Jericho chuckled, working a little lower to between her shoulder blades, her head rolled back to rest against his hard stomach.
  
  "I had a rough day, but that doesn"t mean you didn"t too. Remember what we promised?" Jericho murmured, his dark blue eyes gazing into her own when she cracked them open. "We support each other. You had a long day. Your back is pretty much a giant ball of tension. Let me take care of that for you."
  
  Words of protest were heavy on her tongue. He just left the Dungeon -- if anyone should be getting a massage, it should be him. Instead, Hestia found herself nodding mutely, enjoying the feeling of his powerful hands gently working the stress from her body.
  
  Jericho smiled, "then hop on the bed. And, uh, let me get changed." Jericho said, letting go of her. Hestia instantly missed the feeling of his hands on her shoulders, but she hopped on the bed all the same. Jericho reached out to grab his underwear, the sound of the blanket dropping to the floor seemed incredibly loud.
  
  He was naked behind her. Hestia"s faced burned at the thought. She buried her face into her pillow to hide the evidence.
  
  "Do your legs hurt again?" He asked, hopefully fully dressed. Hestia peeked out from her self imposed suffocation, taking a deep breath to calm herself. Though, she had little luck with her heart pounding in her chest.
  
  "They do," Hestia admitted, closing her eyes. "I didn"t get a break again. Or lunch," she admitted, almost wishing that she could take the words back as soon as she said them. She was complaining about standing around all day when Jericho had been fighting for his life. On the sixth floor. He-
  
  Any trace of rational thought was blown away when she felt his hands on her feet. A soft breath escaped her, she clenched her pillow as he pressed down on the center of her foot. Jericho laughed when he heard it. "I guess the Massage Skill is the real deal," he said, sounding too amused for his own good.
  
  "It isss," Hestia breathed, taking in deep breaths as she let herself relax for the first time today. Her child was safe, and hopefully, he learned a lesson from this.
  
  "I guess I should be focusing on Strength and Dexterity. Maybe look into getting some oils," Jericho mused aloud, focusing on her heel.
  
  "No, I don"t need anything like that," she protested firmly, doing her absolute best not to imagine his oily hands on her feet. How would that feel? She couldn"t imagine that it didn"t feel good. No, great. Getting a normal foot rub felt good, add oils to the mix and the combination had to feel great.
  
  "I actually made a fair bit today," Jericho responded, massaging her toes. "I can pay off my armor tomorrow. Might get a sharpening stone while I"m at it and some potions. The rest, Hestia, is going to be spent on you." Jericho decided, moving on to her other foot. A gasp stole her breath away before she could argue.
  
  "What would you like?" Jericho asked, making sure every last bit of soreness was through expelled from her feet. Then his hands traveled up her leg, massaging her calf. For a moment, Hestia couldn"t respond, the only thing she was aware of was his hands on her legs. And how good they felt.
  
  "We should save it," Hestia protested, her heart rate starting to pick up even faster. Despite her words, she couldn"t stop a dopey smile on her face that was thankfully hidden by the pillow. He wanted to buy her nice things. It was so sweet.
  
  "But I want to spend it on my goddess," Jericho argued. He said goddess differently than he normally did, Hestia noted as she basked in the feeling of his hands massaging her calf. Lower. Hungry, even. It made her blood feel hot in her veins. Not the kind of hot that she felt when she was particularly embarrassed, but like her entire body was going to overheat. It seemed to pool in her lower gut, where her belly button was.
  
  Hestia didn"t...dislike it, she decided.
  
  "I want to buy oils to give you proper massages every single day when you get off work," he said, his hands going to her other calf. "To get out all the stress that builds up because of customers. I want to buy you shoes, and dresses...and books."
  
  Hestia perked up at the last one, her mind drifting when she imagined what he said. Every single day? This? That sounded...amazing, she thought as she took in shallow breaths through her nose. Her heart was still pounding at her ribs, her body felt so hot, and everywhere Jericho touched felt like electricity was coursing through her.
  
  "Books?" She echoed, the last one bringing her back down to the lower world, helping her focus on something other than his hands slowly making their way up towards her thigh.
  
  "Hm. Books. I know I don"t look like one, but I"m actually a pretty big reader," Jericho said, earning a giggle out of her. He certainly was a big reader. "Oh, is that funny goddess?" He asked the way he said goddess sending...something through her. Almost like a shiver that made more heat pool in her stomach.
  
  "Do you really like reading?" She asked to cover up her bad pun. His hands glided over her thighs, replacing the aches with pure pleasure.
  
  "I do. Mostly fantasy books, and some si-fi when I"m in the mood," he answered, his hands gliding up, switching between her thighs. They inched upwards, her blood growing hotter with every inch. Was she sweating? She hoped not. The very last thing she wanted right now was to gross out Jericho.
  
  "What"s si-fi?" Hestia muttered, Jericho"s hands going still for a moment before they continued to work their magic.
  
  "They"re stories about the stars, and those that travel them," Jericho said, his hands climbing higher. They traveled over her upper thighs, his thumbs tracing her inner thigh. Hestia felt herself clench...down there...when she realized that his thumbs were mere inches away from touch her most sacred place.
  
  Impossibly, her heart started to beat even faster. She was so incredibly aware of his hands, feeling them massage upwards, kneading her flesh to rid it of any tension. Each time he pressed down, his hands would move just a little higher, each time bringing him closer and closer and closer to her sacred place.
  
  Should she say something? It wasn"t like he was doing it on purpose! No, she couldn"t say anything. If she let him know how much she was enjoying it, then he would think of her like she was a slutty goddess like Freya! He was just trying to make her feel good.
  
  "Wh- ah, what stories? Can- can you tell me one?" Hestia requested, fumbling with her words. His hands traveled upwards, his thumbs inching upwards- "ah," a breath escaped her, a sound that she never made before escaping her throat before she knew what it was. His thumbs pressed against the sides of her panties, his hands pushing up the hem of her dress to expose her butt.
  
  His hands continued to massage her, pressing down on her inner thigh while his hands massaged her hips. He...was just giving her a massage. His thumbs traced where her panties met her thighs, ghosting over her flesh, making it rise in gooseflesh in response. Her breathing became harsher, more ragged, as she tried to calm her heart that felt like it was about to jump out of her throat.
  
  "Of course," Jericho said, completely unaware of the effect his hands were having. His thumbs were so close to her sacred place, tracing the outline of her panties all the way to her butt. Not touching it exactly, but so close she could swear he felt his hands on it. She clenched again at the sound of his low voice, gripping her pillow until her knuckles were white.
  
  "Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a young boy." Jericho began, his hands massaging over her hips. His thumbs traced the inside of her thighs, and when he squeezed down, Hestia swore she felt her lower lips part. She tried to listen to the story, but his hands proved to be too big of a distraction. His low rumbly voice wasn"t helping either.
  
  "Young and foolish, he lived his entire life on a farm. He dreamed of one day leaving it, to hop on a ship that would take him across the stars, but deep down, he knew he would never leave his home. It was where his parents lived, and where their parents lived and where their parents lived, and, one day, it would be where his children lived." His voice wasn"t helping at all. All she could think about was how close his hands were to her special place, a place none had touched except for her.
  
  What would his hands feel like if he touched her there? She wanted to know. It would feel good. It had to feel good. His hands would take care of the burning ache between her legs like he did the ones in her feet. But...no, she couldn"t...
  
  "Until one day, the boy"s world came crashing down around him. His family died, killed by an evil empire that stretched across the stars. And on that day, he learned that he was not destined to live and die on that farm. A goddess," Jericho muttered, that word making a shiver race through her as she clenched again at how he said it. How could a word make her feel so good? "Appeared before him. Beautiful. Short with long black hair, her eyes were the same color as the purest sapphires. She wore a white dress-"
  
  A giggle escaped Hestia, her chest light. "You"re describing me," she pointed out, a smile in her voice. He thought she was beautiful.
  
  "Oh? Am I? Hmm," Jericho said, and she could hear him smiling behind her. "I"m not sure. Let"s turn you over to find out." He said, making her eyes go wide before he turned her over with such ease. Hestia didn"t fight it, but she clutched her pillow, letting it cover her face. "That won"t do. I need to see if your eyes are the same as the purest of sapphires." How could he say something so ridiculous so seriously?
  
  With a hand, he gently placed it on her wrist. He didn"t pry it away, simply massaging her wrist as his other hand ghosted over her thigh. Then it came to a rest on her hip, the tips of his fingers resting on the side of her butt. Her breathing was ragged, her chest heaving -- she couldn"t let him see her like this. Like some...
  
  "Let me see your face, my goddess," Jericho said, using those words again. His hand left her wrist, going to her waist to join the other one, though only for a second. He traced her sides, the tips of his fingers barely touching her ribs, as the palm of his hand barely brushed against the side of one of her breasts. Despite herself, Hestia felt her grip to lessen on her pillow.
  
  She swallowed thickly, feeling Jericho"s hands caress her arm, traveling to the pillow, and when he grabbed it, Hestia allowed him to take it. The first thing she saw was how he seemed to take up her field of view, towering over her. It might have been scary if she didn"t see his smiling face.
  
  "Ah, you do," Jericho said, sounding surprised. "I suppose I was describing my goddess," he said again, his hand going up to caress her cheek. A thumb lightly traced her parted lips as she stared up at him, unblinking. Slowly, her gaze dipped down to see that her nipples poked through her dress, pebbled against the thin fabric.
  
  Beyond that, Hestia saw his penis again. He wore his underwear, but his hard thing was too long to keep it trapped. It pushed one leg of the underwear up, standing straight up as much as it could. Hestia couldn"t look away. She knew of sex, if only from naughtier books and tales from others. She knew that...was supposed to somehow fit inside her. As she gazed at it, half expecting it to rip through the cotton at any second, Hestia couldn"t imagine that working.
  
  "Don"t worry about that. Tonight is about you, my goddess," Jericho whispered to her, his hands moving across her body. The hand on her thigh shifted, a knuckle-dragging across her-
  
  "Ah!" Hestia managed to get out before the dam of heat in her gut, the coil of pleasure became undone. Pleasure raced through her like a million volts of electricity, her mind going white as her hips jerked upwards, sounds that she never made escaping her lips because she couldn"t stop them. Distantly, Hestia was aware that she was really...wet down there.
  
  Through her pleasure hazed mind, she spared a worry that she had accidentally wet herself. Even the prospect of that humiliation was far gone as white-hot pleasure raced through her. She grabbed Jericho"s arm, squeezing down with all her might, her hips jerking again to seek out more of his touch.
  
  Slowly, Hestia came down from her high, her legs trembling from...whatever that was. She greedily sucked down deep breaths of air, her face flushed as she blinked to clear her glassy vision. Jericho was still above her, gently tracing her lips with a thumb. She should say something, anything, but she didn"t have the words. Her mind couldn"t form them. Instead, she gazed up at him, her body shaking from the aftershocks.
  
  "Was that your first orgasm?" Jericho asked, laying next to her. Hestia blinked slowly, her mind sluggish. Was this an orgasm? Really? Maybe...maybe slutty goddesses were on to something...
  
  "Y-yes?" Hestia managed to get out, her gaze slowly dipping down. It swept over his chest, stomach and...penis before it landed on her lower body. She could see a wet spot on the covers, she could feel it on her skin, soaking her panties to her -- she-
  
  "You squirted," Jericho said, getting her attention before she died of embarrassment over wetting the bed. "It"s nothing to be embarrassed about," Jericho said, reassuringly caressing her arm. Hestia looked at him, her mind full of fuzz. Slowly, she nodded, shifting slightly. "But, we should clean you up before bed."
  
  Again, Hestia nodded, not trusting her voice. She could catch a cold or something. She didn"t think that when she didn"t move to clean herself up, Jericho would lean over her to grab a towel that he borrowed from the Guild showers. What was he going to do with that-
  
  Any rational thought came to a screeching halt when Jericho leaned over her, hooking his thumbs underneath her panties, and pulled them down. Her eyes went wide -- he could see her-! No, he couldn"t. His gaze never left hers, his dark eyes unusually intense as he pulled her soaked panties off of her. Hestia couldn"t so much as breathe, unable to even blink as she stared back at him.
  
  Then, slowly, he bundled up the towel before he pressed it between her legs. He started at her thigh, gently wiping upwards, then going to the other thigh, then he-. A...moan...tore itself from her throat at the contact, her body sensitive in a way it never had been before. Still, Jericho gazed at her as he cleaned her lower body. It only lasted a few seconds, less than a minute, but it felt like an eternity. When he was done, Jericho tossed the blanket to the side.
  
  "Did you enjoy that, my goddess?" He asked, smoothing her dress back down so that she was covered. She was starting to suspect that he knew what that word did to her.
  
  She should say no. What would he think of her if she admitted that she had? This was meant to be a simple massage, and she turned it into something else with...with...her wanton lust!
  
  "Yes," Hestia heard herself say, unable to lie. She never felt anything like that before. It was...mind-blowing. Her eyes dipped to his penis, her hands twitching towards it. "Should I...?"
  
  Jericho grabbed her hands, "no, not tonight. Tonight was about your pleasure," he whispered huskily. That was...it should be good, but it wasn"t. She wanted to hold it. She wanted to feel the hard pillar of flesh in her hands.
  
  He started to get up, to go sleep on the couch like normal, but Hestia stopped him. She gripped his muscled arm, she knew what she wanted to say, but not how to say it. "Please," she started, her voice soft enough that she could barely hear herself. "Stay with me?"
  
  Jericho paused, then settled back down. A hand snaked underneath her, picking her up with what should be frightening ease, before depositing her on top of him, in the same position they woke up in on the first night. To keep her out of the wet spot she created, Hestia tried to rationalize to herself.
  
  "Always."
  
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  His penis was touching her butt. That was the first thing that Hestia noticed as the grips of sleep slowly released her. She felt it through the thin cloth of her dress, the tip of it just barely holding on by the hem to separate the two. If she moved upwards ever so slightly, his penis would be touching her bare bottom. If she moved up enough, it would be touching her...
  
  Would that count as sex? Or was it already too late to still call herself a virgin goddess?
  
  Her face warmed as memories of last night came back to her, the second thing she thought about after waking up. Jericho"s hands on her body, his knuckle accidentally scraping against her sacred place and the mindless pleasure that came after. The...orgasm.
  
  She should regret what happened last night, Hestia tried to tell herself as a sigh of contentment left her. Her cheek pressed against her child"s chest, his powerful frame able to rise her just a little bit every time he took a breath. He meant to ease her aches and relieve her tension with a massage, but she turned it into...what happened. Jericho didn"t seem displeased with her, or anything, but she couldn"t imagine what happened was his intention.
  
  Idly, Hestia looked up at his sleeping face. Even as she rested on top of him, there were times when she found it hard to believe that Jericho was real. Sometimes it was like he was too good to be true. Like last night, for instance. He absolutely terrified her when he admitted that he went down to the sixth floor. Without armor. But, his hands...
  
  Another sigh of contentment left Hestia, deflating her as she settled against his chest- Only to go stiff as a board when she felt her dress shift forward just enough that his penis lightly smacked against her butt.
  
  Not enough to... do anything, but the warmth coming off it was impossible to ignore. If it went down a couple of more inches, it would be prodding at her entrance. A place none had ever penetrated before. Not even herself.
  
  That...should horrify her. For centuries, she prided herself on being a virgin goddess. If only to rub it in the face of those that tried to sleep with her. She was one of the big three, among Artemis and Athena. Considering she had nothing else going for her, it was pretty much the only thing she could take pride in.
  
  And yet, despite it all, despite what Jericho might thing of her wanton behavior...she kinda wanted to move up a little. Just to see what it felt like.
  
  Then Jericho"s eyes cracked open, and her idle fantasies came grinding to a halt. For a moment, she stared at him, feeling caught in the act. As if he could somehow know her innermost thoughts.
  
  "Morning," Jericho greeted, an easy smile on his face, one hand gently caressing her back. "Sleep well?"
  
  "Mhm," Hestia hummed, nodding her head, finding herself smiling back. "You? I"m not too heavy or anything, right?
  
  Jericho chuckled a low rumble that vibrated her. It was a shockingly pleasant feeling. "No, I slept great. He shifted underneath her, letting her feel the powerful muscles underneath, only for him to stop a split second later. Judging by how his eyes widened a little, he realized where his penis was poking her. "I"m-"
  
  "It"s fine," Hestia reassured, heat rising to her cheeks. It was just resting there, between her cheeks. She could swear it seemed to be growing larger by the second. Hestia swallowed thickly, looking away from Jericho, unable to meet his gaze. "Would you...like me to...?"
  
  There was a beat of silence. Hestia tried not to fidget where she laid, knowing that would only make things worse. For both of them, maybe. That beat of silence seemed to last an eternity and a half, but eventually, Jericho"s hand continued to caress her back. With his other, he gently guided her gaze to his, exactly how she had done to Rye yesterday.
  
  His dark blue eyes seemed to burn with how intensely he gazed into her eyes, "I do." He said, making her heart throb in her chest. He wanted her to touch it. To do what she did on the first morning they spent together. Last night, towards the end, she wanted to do it too. Now that the time it was actually here, the task seemed so daunting.
  
  Slowly, Hestia nodded, pushing herself off Jericho, raising one leg off him to make sure...nothing happened down there. Already, she almost missed the warmth his penis gave on her butt. She tried to ignore that thought as she pushed the covers off both of them, revealing his lower half. At some point during the night, his penis had slipped free between a gap in the front of his underwear.
  
  Hestia looked at it, her breath quickening before she slowly reached out to grab it with her ungloved hand. It was thick, her small hand just barely able to fully encompass it, and warm. It felt like a rod of steel wrapped in velvet, his penis unyielding as she squeezed down experimentally. It was long too, making her hand look small in comparison.
  
  She started to move her arm back and forth, small movements that focused on the top half near the head as he showed her. The skin bunched and smoothed out with her movements -- it didn"t look like it would feel good, but maybe it was like a massage? Hestia couldn"t bring herself to look away from what she was doing, her short strokes steadily getting longer.
  
  "That feels great, my goddess," Jericho said, the tips of her fingers tracing her spine. At that, Hestia managed to shoot him a look, even as her hand kept moving. Jericho was grinning at her -- he totally knew what calling her his goddess did to her! She puffed out her cheeks, but that only made his grin grow. "Keep doing that. You"re making me feel so good, my goddess."
  
  Yeah, he definitely knew. Even still, Hestia continued to stroke his penis, throwing herself into the task. She was making him feel good. Hopefully as good as he made her feel last night. Or better. Maybe it would feel better if she used both hands?
  
  She grabbed it with her other, stroking him with both hands at the same time. Her breast shook with each moment, having to get her entire body into it. Her gaze flicked to Jericho"s face to see a look of bliss on his face. His eyes glancing upwards, catching him looking at her swaying breasts. Hestia though he would look embarrassed, or stutter out an apology. Instead, his eye just looked...hungry.
  
  "Try spitting on it," Jericho ordered, his hand still tracing her spine, gooseflesh rising wherever he touched. The sudden order made her pause.
  
  "You want me to spit on your...?" How was it that she could touch his penis like a brazen harlot, but saying the word gave her so much trouble?
  
  "To lubricate it," Jericho answered, his hand dipping low to the small of her back. She wondered if his hand would go lower, beneath her dress to her bare bottom. With her blood running so hot in her veins, Hestia wondered if she was hoping for it or not.
  
  "Okay," Hestia agreed, thinking that made sense. She leaned over his penis, from the angle she looked down at it, it looked...so weird. A wide flared head with a little slit at the top -- almost like a mushroom, in a way. Gather spit in her mouth, she let out fall out of it directly on top of his penis. Her spit coated it, a hand spreading it down his shaft.
  
  Then she started to stroke him again, her hands gliding over his wet shaft, and her face burned at the naughty sounds that her hands were making now. Before was the sound of flesh rubbing flesh, now it was...Hestia didn"t even know what to compare it to.
  
  "That feels really good," Jericho said, his hand climbing up her back. "You"re doing amazing." He muttered lowly at her, showering her with praise that made her stroke him that much faster and harder. Her hands glided over the length of his penis, from base to the tip. She felt it throb under her grip, seeming to grow even larger.
  
  "Does it really?" Hestia heard herself ask as she looked over his penis, trying to see if any precum was leaking out. Her spit gave it a glossy look, so it was impossible to tell.
  
  "It does," Jericho reassured while his hand dipped low. His hand rested on the small of her back, but his fingers rested a little lower, almost touching her butt. "Keep going. It won"t be long before I cum," he told her, making her heart beat as fast as a hummingbird"s. She nodded, keeping her pace going and felt him throb in her hands.
  
  She pumped him faster, and faster, the sounds her hands were making only barely managed to drown out the sound of her heavy breathing. It throbbed again in her hands, making her squeeze it a little tighter in response. She spat again on it, re-lubing her hands, as she stroked him how he showed her.
  
  The longer she did it, the more Hestia found that she enjoyed it. The sounds of the act sounded so naughty, how the heat seemed to pool in her stomach around her bellybutton. Above all else, every time she glanced up at Jericho, the blissful expression he wore, knowing that it was her that made him wear that expression, that"s what she enjoyed most of all.
  
  "I"m about to cum Hestia," Jericho warned, giving her enough time to put a hand over his head to stop his cum from spraying out all over the bed. And her. She felt the first rope of it coat her hand, slamming into her with actual force. The second rope hit her just as hard, her free hand still gripping his throbbing penis. By the time the third rope came, hot cum dripped from her hand onto her other.
  
  A fourth shot came, weaker this time, or maybe her hands were just too coated to tell. A fifth shot came, and then a sixth, each on weaker than the last. With one final throb, his penis shot one last shot over her hands. Jericho let out a slow breath, his head resting against a stone wall.
  
  "That was amazing, my goddess," Jericho said, making a shiver run through her. She felt his penis softening under her grip. Letting go of it, it didn"t flop downwards immediately, but it made a slow descent as it softened. Hestia turned her attention to her hands, seeing the seed that covered her palm, with a ring of it on her other hand.
  
  It was a solid white, and it felt so thick when she moved her hand a little. She could recall what it tasted like from the last time -- it wasn"t bad, but it hadn"t been good. It coated her tongue, a unique flavor that she couldn"t compare to anything, that seemed to linger no matter how many times she swallowed. If it wasn"t for the sweet flavor it had, Hestia would say that she didn"t like it at all.
  
  "Here, let me wipe that up for you," Jericho said, leaning over to grab the blanket that he used to clean her last night. For a moment, Hestia considered licking it from her palm free of his seed like she did before, but now that there was an option other than ruining his nice shirt, she wanted to take it. She held her hands out, letting Jericho wipe them free.
  
  Now that she was done, Hestia found that her tongue was tied in knots. She touched his penis again. And-
  
  "What are your plans for today?" Jericho asked, distracting her from her growing mortification with her behavior. He wiped her hands free of his seed, tossed the stained blanket to the side, but his touch still lingered on her hands. Hestia welcomed it.
  
  "I," Hestia stated, unsure. Should they talk about what happened? Or was she just going to make it weird? Jericho seemed at complete at ease, a harsh contrast to her bundle of nerves. Well...if he wasn"t going to bring it up...then she wouldn"t either. "I have to work today. In a little bit," Hestia answered, glancing at the day glass.
  
  It was five o"clock. In the morning. What were they doing up so early?!
  
  "Hm. What time do you get off?" Jericho asked, massaging her hands. Hestia savored the feeling of his large hands on hers -- it was almost like comparing a child"s hands to an adult. Yet, he managed to be so gentle. Now that she thought about it, that more or less summed Jericho up rather nicely.
  
  "Around eight or so, it"s going to be a long day," Hestia said, leaning into his touch. More than twelve hours on her feet. She was going to need a massage when the day was done. Any joy she might have found at the thought was replaced with worry as she looked at Jericho, "are you going into the Dungeon?"
  
  "I am," Jericho agreed, his voice turning serious. "I don"t want to jinx myself, but the first five floors are manageable. The sixth...if I wear my chest armor, then I won"t have any trouble with the frog things. I haven"t come across a war shadow yet, so I can"t say anything about them -- but, I think I"ll go down to the sixth floor again."
  
  He wasn"t lying. That fact stopped her from shouting at him that he should stay on the first floor until he was wearing enough armor that he couldn"t fit through the door. He hadn"t seemed hurt last night, but that could be because his body healed so fast. Though, that didn"t explain why he was so confident that he could go down to the sixth floor.
  
  Hestia took a bracing breath that she let out slowly, curling her hands around Jericho"s. "No further than the sixth," she told him, her tone grave. Jericho believed in himself, and she would a poor goddess if she didn"t believe in him just as much. "With your armor. And, before you go, I want you to stop by Miach"s store to buy some potions. Okay?"
  
  "That sounds like a plan to me," Jericho agreed, squeezing her hands with his. "Do you know if they"re open now? I should get down there as soon as I can, get as much done as I can before you get off." The promise he made last night rang in her head like a bell, her lips tugging up into a smile.
  
  "They won"t be open for a few more hours, but you can probably get in if you knock and tell Micah who you are. He"s a real big softy," Hestia said, letting go of Jericho"s hand when he moved to get up. Knowing Micah, he would probably shove potions in Jericho"s hands by the handful.
  
  Jericho grabbed his pants, looking at them with some confusion that she was quick to answer. "A girl named Syr stitched them up. She brought your clothes with the children that stole them to apologize..." Hestia trailed off, seeing Jericho go still as he put his pants on. "Are you...still mad?" She hazarded a guess, sounding uncertain.
  
  He buttoned up his pants before answering, "more at myself for not being fast enough to catch them. And for overreacting," Jericho answered, turning to face her. Her gaze drifted over his sculpted chest, leading to his powerful arms before she responded.
  
  "She offered a free meal at the Hostess of Fertility, the children can apologize to you there if you want." It could even be called...a date. She blushed at the thought.
  
  "The kids are fine so long as they don"t do it again," Jericho said, going to grab his tank top-
  
  "Wait, let me update your status first," Hestia stopped him. If he had such a long day yesterday, then he should have something to show for it. Not to mention that it would make his next trip to the sixth floor easier.
  
  "Good idea," Jericho agreed, laying back down on the bed, exposing his blank back made of defined lines and hard planes. The trick that Hephaestus taught her worked. After grabbing a blank piece of paper and a pin to prick her finger, Hestia updated his status.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 1
  Progress to level 2: 1,033/1,000,000
  Strength: 5
  Endurance: 25
  Dexterity: 20
  Intelligence: 2
  Sense:15
  
  Development Abilities:
  Physical Resistance: The user receives 2% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.​
  
  His Strength and Dexterity stat had practically doubled. And he had over a thousand exp? Yesterday, he had less than a hundred! It was difficult to tell just how much of a jump his stats got since his template wasn"t the one that she learned, but this had to be good, right? If he was confident that he could go to the sixth floor with half these stats, then he should be safe. Even without his leg armor.
  
  "Done," Hestia said, climbing off him, scanning the paper one last time before passing it over. "Your Physical Resistance ability got a one percent increase," she informed, "but no new Skill or Development Abilities."
  
  "Hm. Not bad," Jericho said, glancing at the paper before folding it. He tossed it onto the bed, Hestia glanced at it for a moment before asking.
  
  "How did you get a thousand exp so quickly?" She questioned, watching him put on his tank top.
  
  "The monsters on the sixth floor give more exp than goblins and kobolds. I"m pretty sure the deeper I go, the more they"ll give me when I beat them." He answered, going to his armor before putting it on. When she saw him struggle to bend his arm enough to get one latch, Hestia was quick to hop off the bed and do it for him. "Thanks. I"ll head straight down to the sixth floor and spend as much time as I can down there, but I"ll be back here before you get off. Promise."
  
  "Don"t break it," Hestia said, wrapping her arms around him, her cheek pressed against the cold steel, but she didn"t care. Jericho hugged her back -- well, as much as he could since he was so much taller than her.
  
  And, with that, her child left for the Dungeon yet again.
  
  ...
  
  "I need my leg armor," I said, walking through the mostly empty streets, guided by my map towards Miach"s shop. The frogs proved that the lower I went, the more exp I got. Three exp was great for now, but it wasn"t anywhere near enough. If I wanted to keep with the timeline comparable to Bell, then I needed to hit level 2 in about a month from now.
  
  To do that, I needed to gather about...25,000 exp a day? No, closer to 27,000. So, I would need to kill about...9000 frogs to do it. Or, I could go to lower floors and kill stronger monsters.
  
  Should I have gone to a different smith? Maybe a level 2 could get my armor done faster. Right now, every day seemed to matter, and if I couldn"t go past the sixth floor without leg armor...then that would put me behind by five days.
  
  "Or," I mused, spotting Miach"s store. "I could try to run past the next few floors to floor ten." That was where giant monsters started to spawn, and where killer ants stopped. If the anime reflected reality, then I could find myself facing a horde of dozens of them if I wasn"t careful. Without a magic weapon, I doubt I could get myself out of that situation.
  
  A sigh escaped me as I dismissed the plan. I learned that lesson the first day that the Dungeon was easy to travel into but much harder to leave. I could get to the tenth floor, maybe, but I"d probably find a horde waiting for me on the way up. The only other way I could think of was to increase my stats to the point that they didn"t reflect my level. Which would get progressively harder as they rose.
  
  There just wasn"t an easy solution, despite all my wishing.
  
  I came to a stop in front of a glass pane door, knocking lightly before taking a step back. It didn"t take long before I saw a man appear inside the potion store, spotting me. I half expected him to wave me off since they weren"t open, instead, he smiled as he approached to open the door.
  
  "You must be Jericho," Miach greeted. His long blue hair brushed past his shoulders while his blue eyes matched his hair. "Hestia"s told me a great deal about you. I"m pleased to finally meet you," he greeted with an easy smile. The powerful air that belonged to the gods around him was kind, friendly even.
  
  "Ah," I didn"t know Hestia had talked to Miach about me yet. "Same here. I hope she said good things?" I said, earning a smile out of the god.
  
  "If Hestia is to be believed, then you are a saint that"s too good for this world," he answered, gesturing for me to come inside. I did, having to duck to step into the potion shop -- ingredients lined the walls, from monster drops to herbs, to potions to crafting supplies. At the counter was a plane of glass that protected rows of vials of three different colors. Red for health, blue for mana, and yellow for stamina.
  
  "Well, I"d hate to disappoint her," I said, watching as the god walked behind the counter to retrieve a small satchel. He held it out to me to take and, after a moment of hesitation, I did. Pushing back the flap revealed three health and stamina potions.
  
  "Take these, please, as a welcome gift," Miach requested, smiling kindly at me.
  
  There was no way in hell I was going to say no to free potions. "Thank you very much, Miach," I said, throwing on my friendliest smile. "Well, since we"re giving gifts," I started, reaching into my pouch as I summoned my inventory to it, making it look like I was just reaching into my pouch. "Here, take these. It"s not much since they"re from the upper floors..." I trailed off, handing him a few frog tongues and kobold teeth before he could refuse them.
  
  Miach blinked as he took the still slightly damp tongues, unconcerned by the slime that clung to them. "These are from frog shooters," he observed, looking at me with a puzzled look.
  
  "They are." So that"s what they were called. Not the most inventive name, but I couldn"t say that it didn"t fit.
  
  "These are on the sixth floor."
  
  "They are." I agreed, feeling no small amount of amusement at the growing perplexed expression he wore.
  
  "Were you in a familia before joining Hestia"s?" He questioned, earning a shake of the head from me as I deposited the potions into my inventory. I still had the one that I looted from that corpse, so I was set for the Dungeon. As much as I could be, at any rate.
  
  "No. Hestia is my first and only goddess," I answered. It took every ounce of will that I had to not let my smile turn into a smirk. I never would have guessed that those two words would have such an effect on her. She tried her best to hide it, but it was clear as day that she loved hearing the words from her reactions.
  
  "And you"ve been an adventurer for...two days?" Miach asked for clarification. I nodded, making him frown lightly but not in a bad way. "Then Hestia is very lucky to have you in her familia, Jericho."
  
  At that, I shook my head. "I"m the lucky one," I stated. As bad as it sounded, dying and coming back was probably the best thing that had ever happened to me. Just this morning, I got a handjob from a god. Last night, I made her squirt by simply accidentally dragging a knuckle across her clit, bring her pleasure that she had never known before. She really was the perfect waifu.
  
  Life was pretty great, all things considered. All I had to do is get a handle on my exp problem, and I"d be living the high life.
  
  "Thanks for the potions -- you got a loyal customer out of me. I"ll see you later then?" I said, starting to leave when Micah nodded, waving goodbye.
  
  "And we are happy to serve you. Give Hestia my regards," Miach said as I left, locking the door behind me. That went rather well. I got some potions out of it, so now I could afford to push things a little further in the Dungeon.
  
  My stamina returned quickly in the Dungeon, going from exhausted to normal in about thirty minutes. The issue was, that thirty minutes, I couldn"t afford to hunt down monsters. Worse, since the Dungeon didn"t typically leave me alone during that time, it took longer for me to recover. With a stamina potion, in theory, the time frame went from about forty-five minutes to about two seconds.
  
  With that, I made my way to the Dungeon. Luckily, since it was so early, neither Eina or Misha were working, letting me descend without pause. I blew past the first floor, as I did with the others all the way down to the sixth. I didn"t bother exploring anymore than necessary, the sooner I got down there, the better.
  
  "Twenty-seven thousand exp," I mused, spotting a frog shooter hopping down the tunnels. I walked towards it, tapping my naked blade against my shoulder. There was absolutely no way I was going to be able to kill 9000 frogs in the...14 hours I allowed myself to be down here for. I probably wouldn"t be able to kill a third of that number.
  
  "Okay..." I said, striding towards the frog shooter that took notice of me. "Today, I"m going to grind my stats." I would have to make up for lost time later when the monsters I killed didn"t give me single-digit exp. Once I got down to the 10th floor and below, then I could worry about exp. What I needed right now was... "Fifty in Endurance, Strength, and Dexterity," I decided.
  
  My Intelligence really was becoming my dump stat, still at a pitiful 2. Maybe, after Hestia was done cumming her brains out, I would read one of the books that Misha gave me. Finally, test my theory on if I needed to sleep or not.
  
  I dodged a tongue that raced towards my chest, sidestepping it with ease I hadn"t managed yesterday. My sword slashed outwards, barely more than a blur to cut it in half before it could return to the frog"s mouth. As the tongue severed, I raced forward with surprising speed to dispatch the monster.
  
  "A good start," I said, continuing to wander the tunnels. Let"s see if it kept up.
  
  ...
  
  Hours passed as I mindlessly slaughtered monsters, using whatever trick I could think of to grind my stats with what time I had. Instead of walking through the tunnels, I ran. Instead of instantly dispatching monsters as I found them, I would lead them until I was fighting two or three at the same time. Sometimes, I simply dodged their attacks, ignoring openings to kill them. Other times, I accepted hits that I could have dodged.
  
  Between my armor, and my 7% physical resistance, I had yet to take a single point off my new 121 total health. It seemed I got a 10% increase in health every 10 stat points in Endurance. It kinda sucked right now, but later on, that would be pretty great. Which seemed to be a theme with my gamer ability, now that I think about it. A lot of the stuff I had right now kinda sucked, but if I grinded them enough then they became great.
  
  I dodged out of the way of a frog tongue, grabbing it before it could retreat back to the frog"s mouth. Giving it a savage yank, I tried to pull the frog to me, and managed it somewhat even if the outcome was wildly different from what I imagined. Instead of flying through the air, it drug on the ground, trying to withdraw its tongue until it got close enough that I could stomp on its head.
  
  I pushed myself forward, my legs feeling heavy as I continued to sprint through the tunnels, forcing myself to inch closer to those growing elusive stat points. Strength was a big issue since I started off so strong, my sword not heavy enough to grind the stat, so I had to get creative.
  
  Another monster spawned in my path, a kobold that I killed with a slash as I raced by, one eye on my map as I steadily mapped out the sixth floor. After spending hours down here, today and yesterday, I still hadn"t found the entrance to the seventh floor. Still, I was making great progress, so it was only a matter of time.
  
  I rounded a corner before I was forced to skid to a halt when I ran into another dead end. Tsking to myself, I turned around to see monsters spawning from the walls. Goblins, kobolds and...something new. A black, shadowy figure like a shadow was peeled off the ground, almost, crawled out of the walls. A war shadow.
  
  Sprinting forward, I dispatched a goblin with a swing of my sword while I stomped on a kobold. Another swing of my sword, my sword ripped through another goblin, rather than cut it. I really needed to sharpen it because it was dull as all hell. The war shadow hung back, letting its companions be slaughtered before it lunged forward once I was close enough.
  
  I shot backward, making its black claws miss my armor by an inch as I swung at its head. My blade lodged itself into its neck, unable to cut all the way through. Seizing upon my moment of surprise, the war shadow reached up to grab my arm, its claws puncturing soft flesh as it carved deep furrows down it. I snarled in response, grabbing my blade with my other hand, bracing it, as I kicked the war shadow.
  
  The cut finished, beheading the monster as it faded into nothing. Awarding me...5 exp! Perfect! "Now to find more of those," I decided, taking off sprinting again, sweat dripping down my forehead. Despite my efforts, I couldn"t keep my breathing even. Should I drink an endurance potion? No, not yet.
  
  I continued to race through the tunnels, slowly accumulating stat points and magic stones. Already, I earned more than a thousand exp, but still, it was a long way from my desired goals.
  
  "Hurry it up, you slow piece of shit. You"re costing me money with all that dragging your feet you"re doing!" I heard a voice shouting in the distance, somewhere ahead of me. An adventurer. I slowed down, trying to pick up where exactly the source was coming from if only to avoid it.
  
  A hand reached into my inventory, pulling out a stamina potion that I uncorked and shot down in a gulp. It tasted of...lemons? Instantly, I felt my exhaustion fade into nothing, leaving me feeling refreshed if a bit sweaty. So it did work. Perfect.
  
  "Lili is going as fast as she can, Mr. Ged," I heard a small voice respond, making me go still. Did she say Lili? And refer to herself in third person?
  
  "Well, it ain"t fast enough. Get moving before I leave you behind," the adventurer continued, his voice growing louder. They weren"t that far away. Should I leave? It was still weeks away from when I was supposed to meet her if I stuck to the canon timeline. It might even be a bad idea since I would be much more prepared for whatever antics Lili would drag me into.
  
  Despite my thoughts, I found myself walking towards the voices, wiping sweat from my face to make myself look a little less dead on my feet like I was a few minutes ago.
  
  "Of course, Mr. Ged. Lili will do her best-"
  
  "Just stop talking and do your job," Ged interrupted, the sounds of his footsteps getting louder. "Sometimes, I don"t know why I bother with supporters. All you do is leech off your betters...you know what girl? If you don"t stop dragging your feet, you aren"t getting paid. Hell, you should be paying me for putting up with you instead of letting a monster rip you to pieces."
  
  Well...that was rude.
  
  "Thank you Mr. Ged for protecting Lili," Lilli said, her voice sounding actually thankful. That...that, I didn"t like. It was one thing to hear it in an anime, but hearing her sound so convincingly thankful that the jerk hadn"t left her to die was just...wrong. "She"ll keep up, Lili promises!"
  
  "What did I say about talking?" Ged groaned, sounding like he was just around the corner. From the sound of it, that last comment was more to himself than Lili. He stopped by the corner, revealing an average looking man wearing a dark red trench coat, his long black hair done up in a ponytail. He carried a sword in one hand-- he looked like a competent adventurer if I had to say anything about him.
  
  He looked left, spotting me instantly. His eyes widened, he fell into a fighting stance, the sword posed to stab me in the face, one hand on the pommel that would give the thrust a little more power. That was...quite the reaction, I guess. A fair one, though. I can"t say I would react any different if a guy my size suddenly appeared right next to me.
  
  "Who are you?" He barked his demand, hiding behind his shield.
  
  "Er," I was not expecting this kind of conversation. I figured we"d exchange customary nods to acknowledge that we saw each other, I would steal a glance at Lili, and maybe try to endear myself to her. "My name"s Jericho. Hestia familia." I greeted him, holding my dull sword a little tighter when he didn"t relax.
  
  "Who"s the Hestia familia?" Asshole demanded to know, his sword poised to pierce my throat with a lunge.
  
  "We"re a new familia," I answered, jerking my chin at him. "Who are you?" Two can play at this pissing contest.
  
  "Caishen familia," Asshole answered, not giving me his name. And since I had absolutely no idea who his god was, he probably wasn"t important. "Are you alone?"
  
  I tilted my head, considering the question. My eyes went over to Lili, who hung back slightly, her bag comically huge compared to her slight frame. In one hand she carried a handheld crossbow, it wasn"t pointed at me but that would change soon enough with reason to. Then my gaze slid back to Asshole. "And if I am?"
  
  "Well then...I"m just going to have to ask you for your magic stones, is all," Asshole said, his shield hiding his face but I heard the grin in his voice. At that, I hesitated. He sounded confident. Confident enough that he took one look at me and thought he could take me despite being nearly two feet shorter and about a hundred pounds lighter.
  
  Could he be a level 2? I know they were few and far in between, most adventurers living and dying as a level 1. Not all of them were named in the anime, so I didn"t know if he was or not. Or, maybe, he was an extremely proficient adventurer with high stats. Or, just as likely, he was an idiot.
  
  I shrugged my shoulders, eyeing where the blade was poised to strike at. "In that case, I"m not alone," I said, forcing my lips to curl into a smile.
  
  "Too late for that, big guy. I"ve never seen you before. I bet you"re new to this, aren"t you? Bet you thought that since you didn"t have much trouble with goblins and the like, so you thought you were good enough to come to this floor. Now you"re in over your head." Ah, so it wasn"t that he was really strong. It was that he assumed I was really weak. And...well...everything he said wasn"t exactly untrue.
  
  I was distinctive, to say the least. Had I been a veteran adventurer, I"m sure eventually most would know me by the description "that tall guy." So, he assumed I was a total rookie that came down to this floor without thinking.
  
  "Hm, maybe." I noncommittally replied, a sinking feeling in my stomach. I don"t think I was smooth enough to talk my way out of this fight. There would be a fight too since there was no way I was handing over my magic stones.
  
  "So, how about you hand over your magic stones...or I"m going to take them off your corpse," Asshole threatened. I clenched my jaw, considering what I was about to do. Unlike proper RPGs, there wasn't a third option. Well, I suppose that wasn't exactly true...
  
  "Come take them, then," I spoke, the sword leaping at my throat before I finished speaking. I wasn't surprised. Reacting instantly, I raised my free arm, feeling white-hot pain as his sword pierced my forearm. The pain gave way to fury as I yanked my arm to the side, making him go wide open. Judging from how wide his eyes got, he expected that thrust to stab me in the throat.
  
  He tried to kill me. I knew the Dungeon was considered a lawless place-- or, rather, it was a place where laws couldn't be enforced. But I didn't expect him to try to kill me. Over pocket change.
  
  I grabbed him by the face like I did so many monsters before. "Hey, wait-" he started to plead, only to be cut off when I turned sharply and slammed the back of his head against the wall hard enough blood splattered on impact. I held him there, my arm hurt worse than anything I had ever felt. He stabbed me! He tried to kill me!
  
  I took in a deep breath, letting go of him. His body fell into a heap, his eyes wide but seeing nothing. He was dead. I killed him.
  
  "Shit," I cursed, more because my arm really hurt. Blood pumped from it, dripping down the sword still stuck in my arm. I could only stare at it with mute horror. I had been stabbed. I was bleeding. A lot. I...I needed...to drink a health potion. What was my health?
  
  106/121. 15 points. I lost 15 Heath points.
  
  My hand moved to grab the blade of their own will, touching it sent waves of agony coursing through me. Even still, I wasn't the soft city boy that I was a few days ago. I was an adventurer! I...I could pull a sword out of my arm, no problem! It was easy! I...I just needed to pull...!
  
  "Ahhh...!" I hissed, the blade sliding free, then clattering to the floor. Holy motherfucking shit dicks, that hurt so fucking much! Blood pumped from the wound like a leaking faucet, dripping down my fingers as I reached into my inventory to grab a health potion. It was still attached to my pouch and I dug a health potion from it.
  
  Knocking back the vial so fast that I didn"t taste it, I felt the pain vanish instantly. The 15 points of health were restored. Looking down, I saw my arm was fine underneath wet blood. So, at the very least, health potions restored 15 health.
  
  It was only after I dropped the vial that I recalled that I still wasn"t alone in the tunnels. Lili still stood there, her crossbow trained on me. Her gaze was firm, her jaw set. This...wasn"t the Lili for the last half of the first season. This was a Lili that was down to murder me if I made the wrong move. I think I could stop her -- she would only be able to fire once before I was on top of her, so as long as she didn"t hit something vital, I could subdue her.
  
  With that thought in mind, I held up my hands and took a step back. "I don"t have any problem with you. I didn"t have any issue with him until he tried to kill me," I said, giving her space so she wouldn"t feel threatened. She was just so small though, it was easy to mistake her for a child. A child aiming the fantasy equivalent of a gun at me, but that just made things more heartbreaking.
  
  At that, Lili looked a little uncertain. She didn"t lower the weapon, though, but she looked less likely to put a bolt between my eyes.
  
  "I"m not going to hurt you," I swore, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible. "Do you need help going back up to the surface?" I let the offer hang in the air, keeping my hands where she could see them as I kept an ear out for any monsters sneaking up on me.
  
  "You killed him," Lili observed, her words not sounding like an accusation.
  
  "I didn"t know how strong he was," I told her honestly. "I couldn"t let him rob me, I couldn"t let him kill me, so I had to end the fight as fast as I could." Her expression was still hard, so I continued with, "I"ve been an adventurer for about two days. My goddess, Hestia, she has no one else. I promised her I wouldn"t leave her alone. I couldn"t let him kill me. And I don"t want to hurt you at all, so could you please lower the crossbow?"
  
  This was not how I imagined my first meeting with Lili. I never in a million years would have thought our first meeting would be me killing a man in front of her then being held at crossbow point. I should have walked away.
  
  Then, slowly, Lili did lower the crossbow. "Does Mr. Adventurer promise not to hurt Lili?" She asked in a very small voice- ah. Right. She was trying to play me right now. The anime really did not do her justice in that regard, because without my meta knowledge, I never would have guessed that she was acting.
  
  "I promise I won"t hurt you. And my name is Jericho. Nice to meet you, Lili, just...wish it could have been better circumstances." I said with what I hoped was a friendly smile.
  
  "Lili does too Mr. Jericho," Lili returned, her voice adopting an almost childlike quality to it.
  
  "Lili, would it be okay if I pick up and sheath my sword?" I asked, gesturing to my blade that I dropped to grab Asshole"s head. "I won"t hurt you. I promise." If she was trying to pass herself off as a child, and she could with the ratty beige cloak that covered her, then I needed to treat her like one. I had to pretend that I believed her, especially when there was still a risk of her shooting me.
  
  "...Lili thinks it"s okay..." Lili trailed off, sounding unsure.
  
  "Are you sure? I don"t want to scare you either. Well, any more than I have, at least," I tacked on, not exactly helping my case.
  
  Lili nodded firmly, the wary expression leaving her face, but not her eyes. "Lili is sure," she decided and, cautiously, I picked up my sword and slid it in its sheath at my belt. Its sheath came with a sachel-like bag attached to it, but, uh, my shoulders were too broad for it to fit the leather strap both were attached to, so I was forced to sling it over one shoulder since attaching it to my waist would have been too annoying.
  
  "Thank you," I said, hoping that this was a good sign. Eventually, my gaze turned to the corpse. To the man I killed. Was it murder? No, I killed him in self-defense. This was on him. He tried to rob and kill me. This wasn"t my fault. "What...do we do with him?"
  
  "The Guild forbids bodies from being brought up from the Dungeon," Lili explained, walking towards me but staying out of reach. Giving the impression that she trusted me without putting herself at risk. "They say it's to stop adventurers from risking their lives to retrieve their comrade"s bodies, but it's really to stop feuds between familias."
  
  That was one hell of a lesson. "What?" I asked honestly, looking at her with bewilderment.
  
  "What happens in the Dungeon stays in the Dungeon," Lili quoted. "Murders happen all the time down here. The Guild doesn"t want proof of them. If an adventurer goes down into the Dungeon alone and he never comes up, then it"s assumed that a monster killed him. If someone brings up a corpse and it's clear that"s not the case, then the familia starts asking questions. Or makes accusations. So, the Guild wants to avoid all that."
  
  "...Huh," I summarized my feelings on that, turning from her to look at the corpse again. "I might have chosen the wrong profession." The anime did not seem this grim when I was watching it and masturbating to Hestia on rule 34. Wait -- was Lili implying something there? That no one would look into my murder if she killed me here and now? Or was she trying to reassure me that nothing would happen since I killed that guy?
  
  "Lili doesn"t think so. If Mr. Jericho is already on the sixth floor in two days, he must be a super amazing adventure!" She practically beamed at me like she totally wasn"t ready to plug me a couple of minutes ago.
  
  "Thank you Lili," I said, feeling a different kind of exhaustion. "Would you like me to take you back up to the surface now?" I asked, still looking at the body of a man I killed.
  
  Lili fidgeted shyly out of the corner of my eye, "actually, if it would be okay with Mr. Jericho, would he take Lili as his supporter?" She requested, throwing on a puppy dog look that was highlighted by her fake dog ears that jutted out of the top of her head. Her magic spell that made her look like whatever she wanted with the restriction that she stayed the same size.
  
  That would...actually be inconvenient for me. Auto-loot would have to be turned off so she wouldn"t get suspicious, and she would probably end up slowing me down. Then, on the other hand...well...she was Lili.
  
  I knew about the bad hand life dealt her and I could relate, in a way. I wasn't tormented and horribly abused, forced to work a step above slave labor to survive, but...ah, well, let's just say I knew a thing or three about shitty parents and the sins of the parents do seem to be inherited by the children. I wanted to help her -- to give her that happy ending that Bell gave her. I wanted to pull her out of that deep pit of depression and hopelessness that was practically suicidal because I was struggling to pull myself out of that same pit for years.
  
  Dying was what freed me from it. And I didn't want that to be the case for Lili.
  
  However, Lili saw my hesitance and continued with, "Lili doesn"t want to sound desperate, but Lili needed to support Mr. Ged even if he was really mean. She has rent due soon, and Lili doesn't want to lose her home..." All blatant lies.
  
  "I...don"t mind at all, Lili. Thank you for...understanding," I finished lamely, not sure what I should say about not judging me for killing a man right in front of her. Worse, I had no idea how she would react to it. She seemed fine with it, which was its own problem, but Lili was proving harder to read than I expected. The only thing I did know was any time she sounded chipper or happy, then she was probably lying.
  
  "No, Lili thanks you for letting me be your supporter," Lili deflected. "Though, Lili does think that...maybe Mr. Jericho should take Mr. Ged"s sword? Mr. Jericho"s seems to be in really rough shape." She noted, patting her hip where my sword rested. Well...she wasn"t wrong.
  
  "Please forgive me," I told the corpse of a man I killed as I took his sword from his dead hands. It looked Asian -- a long straight blade, a small hilt that I could only barely fit one hand on, with a tassel hanging from the pommel. I tested the weight, finding it fine. The blade was longer than my sword, so it had that going for it. Plus, it wasn"t nicked and blunt, so it was a definite improvement.
  
  Turning to face the Dungeon again, I looked down at Lili. Her massive bag the size of two of...huh. If my goal was to grind stats, then I just had an amazing idea.
  
  Lili tilted her head as I looked at her, trying to not look wary at me.
  
  "Actually, how about this," I said, crouching down to her level. Well, as much as I could. Lili was a loli. I was a massive guy. I watched enough anime to know exactly what I had to do. I turned my back to her, gesturing to it with a thumb. "Hop on."
  
  "Lili is confused," Lili informed, not jumping on my back like planned, forcing me to explain.
  
  "I"ll carry you. I"m trying to push myself down here, you know, train those Endurance and Strength stats. I don"t want to leave you behind, and if I"m carrying you and your bag, then I can train Strength at the same time." I explained, looking back at her with an easy smile on my face.
  
  "...Lili is still confused...but okay...?" Lili muttered uncertainty, walking up to me. She had to jump to wrap her arms around my throat, holding on tightly. I felt the weight of her and her bag instantly -- Lili wasn"t quite a shoulder loli, yet, but that was fine for now. My Strength stat was going to shoot up with this plan.
  
  "Alrighty then. Let"s go!" I warned, breaking into a sprint, the sound of Lili yelling in my ear to slow down as I ran was almost enough to make me not think about the man I just killed.
  
  Hopefully, the fights to come would manage that for me.
  
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  Ideas-Guy
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  I"ve made a mistake, I realized as I ran through the halls, my legs aching with every step. Lili probably didn"t weigh fifty pounds soaking wet, but her bag was another matter entirely. It was huge and packed to the absolute brim with what I could only assume were bricks. I couldn"t even guess how much it weighed other than a lot. Worse, since it was on Lili"s back, my balance was pretty much nonexistent.
  
  "Is Mr. Jericho okay?" Lili asked, from her vantage on my back, her arms wrapped around my neck. I was forced to lean over so she wouldn"t choke me just by holding on. At the very least, it made swiping at goblins and the like easier.
  
  "I-I"m fine," I said, rivers of sweat falling off me with every movement. I"ve made a mistake but I"m too deep in at this point. If I back out now, after about...ten minutes of this, then she was going to think I was a wimp. Oh, and I want to get those stat gains, of course.
  
  "Lili isn"t sure she believes that...but, frog shooters up ahead Mr. Jericho," Lili called out at three frog shooters hopped into view. I licked my lips, tasting salt, as I gripped my new sword. Right. Three of them at once. I could manage that. I just had to get in close.
  
  Taking a bracing breath, I pushed myself forward, ignoring the burn with every step I took. At once all three of the frog shooters seemed to notice me. Which made sense. The ceiling was pretty high, but between my height and Lili"s backpack, I"m sure we made a pretty big target.
  
  I rushed forward, breaking into as much of a sprint as I could manage but it was far too slow to close the distance between us before they could shoot their tongues. I raised my sword so the flat of it was facing towards them and picked a frog. Their tongues launched out at me at once, and I was too big for them to not hit. The one that I chose smacked into my blade with enough force that my sword nearly brained me, while the other two struck home, hitting just as hard.
  
  One hit my thigh with enough force that my leg was knocked out from underneath me. The other hit me in the chest, nearly knocking me on my back. I kept my balance only because I expected it, pushing myself up as fast as I could. I could already feel the bruise forming on my thigh, making it flare with pain as I ran forward before they could fire off a second shot.
  
  I didn"t make it in time. "Mr. Jericho!" Lili shouted in my ear, firing off her crossbow, her arrows punching through a frog"s eye, making it ribbit as it jerked to dislodge the arrow. The other two managed to fire a shot off before I got in striking range. A tongue hit me in the stomach, my armor absorbing the worst of the blow while I managed to block the other. With a snarl of my face, I took the final step forward as I brought down my sword, cutting through the two offending frogs in half with a single swing. After that, it was child"s play to stab the final one to death.
  
  "Whew," I breathed, wiping more sweat off my face with my unbloodied forearm. That was...good. I took a little damage, but my armor took the worst of it. My leg hurt though, but the pain was fading. Health?
  
  120/121
  
  "Lili thinks it might be a bad idea to fight with Lili on your back," Lili commented as she let go, dropping down to collect the magic stones.
  
  I wiped sweat off my face, straightening out and my back feeling sore already. "...Yeah," I admitted, taking in a deep breath, cracking my neck. That hadn"t been my best idea. "That bag sure is heavy though, I"m surprised that you can lift it." Now knowing just how stupidly heavy that bag was, it made the sight that much weirder because Lili barely seemed to notice the weight as she began digging up magic stones.
  
  "That is because Lili has a Skill that helps her carry heavy bags for adventurers. It might look impressive, but Lili is very weak -- that"s why Lili has to rely on strong adventurers like Mr. Jericho." Lili explained, sending me a smile that looked genuine. It was hard to remind myself that I probably couldn"t trust anything she said. Lili, before Bell melted her heart with his teeth rotting sweet fluff, was kinda...in a self-destructive downward spiral.
  
  She wanted out of the Soma familia, but she didn"t trust anyone to help her do it. When she saw Bell talking to someone that she had screwed over, she assumed that Bell was going to betray her when he wouldn"t elaborate on what was said, so she betrayed him first. If she had talked to him about what was going on, then a lot of drama could have been avoided, but she didn"t because she didn"t trust anyone.
  
  "Huh, well, either way it"s impressive," I answered, pushing my thoughts away from the topic. I needed to be aware I couldn"t trust anything that she said, but at the same time I needed to chip away at the wall she built up around her heart. Words were meaningless to her. Action was the only thing that could convince her.
  
  "Mr. Jericho is kind for saying so, but it"s really not impressive. Most supporters have the Skill -- it"s a shameful Skill if Lili is being honest. It means that all Lili is good for is carrying bags," Lili said, her tone not reflecting her words at all. Even still, it was hard hearing stuff like that. An emotional gut punch. Worse, I had no idea if those were her true thoughts or if she was trying to tug on my heartstrings.
  
  "That"s not true. You"re a dead shot with that crossbow of yours, and, well, you seem to have a lot more common sense than I do," I said, watching her work. I flashed her a smile when she looked up at me.
  
  I watched her work, if just because I would learn how to do it the normal way. Lili cut just under their rib cages, right at the diaphragm, stuck her hand underneath the sternum and pulled out a small sliver of a purple stone. The entire process took about thirty seconds, so it wasn"t horribly slow, but compared to auto-loot...
  
  I walked over to one, kicking it over to copy the movements that she made, I reached in - "Mr. Jericho shouldn"t lower himself to retrieving magic stones. Lili can do this, she"s just a mere supporter after all." Lili protested, earning a look from me.
  
  "It"s fine, I don"t mind at all," I responded, shoving my hand into a frog"s chest and searched around for the stone. It took a few seconds to find it since it was so small. Pulling it out, the frog was reduced to ash, letting me look at the stone. They were so small, no bigger than a fingernail and about as wide as a pencil. Then I dropped the stone in inventory, disguising it as putting it in the pouch that hung off my belt.
  
  "Lili knows Mr. Jericho means well, but please let Lili do it. It"s only right -- Mr. Jericho killed the monsters, he shouldn"t have to do supporter work as well." Lili insisted something about this conversation sounds familiar. Did this happen in the anime? I don"t remember.
  
  "I don"t mind helping out," I returned. "It makes me feel awkward watching someone else work while I"m twiddling my thumbs."
  
  "If other adventurers see Mr. Jericho doing supporter work, then they"ll think that Lili isn"t a hard worker. They"ll say all sorts of mean rumors about Lili, and she might not find any other adventurers willing to hire her. So, please Mr. Jericho, at least let Lili do this much," Lili pleaded, a smile on her face, but her beige cloak hood covered her eyes.
  
  "I-" couldn"t force the issue, could I? "Alright, I guess," I finished lamely, standing back up and watching her go to the last frog shooter.
  
  "Thank you, Mr. Jericho," Lili said, digging the magic stone out with practiced ease. She deposited the magic stones into a small bag attached to her backpack, looking up at me with a beaming smile. "Lili still thinks its a bad idea to fight while carrying Lili and her bag on Mr. Jericho"s back, but if Mr. Jericho is trying to...grind...stats, then would he like to carry Lili between fights?"
  
  There was an idea. "Huh. Yeah, that"s a lot smarter than what I was doing, wasn"t it?" I muttered more to myself than here, though Lili did spare a giggle at my expense. I don"t think my Intelligence stat governed my actual intelligence since I didn"t feel any stupider than I did before, but I guess now that I was fighting in life or death scenarios, bad habits became more apparent. Like having an idea or goal and chasing after it directly when there were other better, easier, paths to take.
  
  I"ve always been stubborn like that. Once I started doing something one way, I didn"t like changing halfway through. It caused me more than a few problems, but there were times that stubbornness helped far more than it hindered.
  
  I nodded at Lili, crouching back down, "let"s do that then. Hope on."
  
  ...
  
  We spent the rest of the day like that. Lili on my shoulder, slaughtering monsters as I racked up exp and magic stones. We made small talk -- me doing my best to convince her that I wasn't a scumbag that was about to rob and beat her, Lili giving half-answers and somehow telling me absolutely nothing about herself. It was a decent day, even if I was still light-years away from the progress I needed to make. I even got a new sword out of it.
  
  "I think we did pretty well today," I voiced my thoughts, looking down at Lili. It hadn't clicked just how small Lili was until I walked beside her up the steps to the Guildhall. She was less than four feet tall, around 3'7 if I remember right. I was more than twice her size.
  
  "Lili thinks so too," Lili agreed with a chipper nod. "Mr. Jericho might have an...unusual way of doing things, but Lili can"t say Mr. Jericho doesn"t get results. Is Mr. Jericho sure that he"s only been an adventurer for two days?
  
  "I am," I confirmed, feeling more than a little proud at her disbelief.
  
  "Then Mr. Jericho is super amazing for a rookie adventurer! Lili can"t remember the last time she supported a solo adventurer that killed so many monsters!" Lili praised, and that took the edge off my pride since I"m sure she was just buttering me up. So, I just smiled in response as a thank you.
  
  We walked up to the Guildhall, seeing that it was mostly empty during the later part of the day. Those that went in later wouldn"t come up until sometime at night, while those that went in early like me left hours ago. That meant that we didn"t have to wait in a line to cash in our magic stones.
  
  Lili handed me a sack filled with them that I passed through to the teller before I added my own sack. Both were pretty heavy with magic stones, I couldn"t guess just how many stones there were. Over a hundred, at the very least.
  
  "Your total is thirty thousand valis," the teller informed, pushing two large bags of gold our way. I heard Lili gasp behind me, telling me we just made a lot since I still didn"t have a grip on how much a valis was worth. I recall her and Bell freaking out about...was it 20,000 valis?
  
  "Thank you," I said, turning to Lili, her eyes darting up like she hadn"t been eyeing the money like a dog over a bone.
  
  "Well, Mr. Jericho, we should-" Lili started, looking off to the side, and it was for that reason she was nearly hit in the face with the sack of gold I tossed in her direction.
  
  "Here you go," I said, dumping about 15,000 valis on goodwill. It hurt to do. Almost physically, but I did have the money to spare at the moment. I still had a big enough budget to buy my armor and supplies to make Hestia"s night...relaxing when she got off. I would even have some leftover to start a piggy bank.
  
  "W-what?" Lili asked, too startled to hide her shock. She stared down at the heavy bag of gold like it might vanish before her very eyes. "Y-you"re splitting it evenly with me? Why? Mr. Jericho should-" She started to protest, turning her wide-eyed gaze back up to me. And there it was. The reaction of me completely stepping outside the mold that she built for those that called themselves adventurers.
  
  "Should be paying you for your work in full," I dismissed her protests easily with a smile. Actions mattered, not words.
  
  "But, Mr. Jericho -- Mr. Jericho carried Lili!" She blurted, then glanced away when she realized what she was announcing, searching for someone that might have overheard her. To put her at ease, I started to walk away from the teller to make sure he couldn"t overhear either. "Lili was more of a burden than normal for adventurers. The work wasn"t fifty-fifty," she pointed out.
  
  She had a point, I had to admit. "Well...in that case, if you won"t just accept it, then think of it as...hazard pay," I said, giving myself another mental pat on the back for that one. My other option was to think of it as a bribe to keep quiet about the guy that I...killed, which would remind her that I killed someone in the Dungeon. And that reminded me that I had killed someone in the Dungeon. I"m...still not going to think about that.
  
  "Hazard pay?" Lili echoed, sounding doubtful, but less so than she was a moment ago. Now she was holding onto the money with a death grip, I doubt I could pry it from her hands even if I tried.
  
  "I know today was a bit much for you. I don"t exactly do things the smart way in the Dungeon," I admitted freely. "So, it"s extra pay since I did put you in more danger than you would normally be in and I didn"t exactly tell you that upfront. Thus, hazard pay."
  
  "You"re weird." I wouldn"t have heard it if I wasn"t trying to, but just underneath her breath, I heard her call me weird. Despite all the...mishaps, I was still on track with the Lili route. Fantastic.
  
  "And, if you"re willing, would you like to be my supporter tomorrow? I usually start around five in the morning, but if that"s too early for you we can agree to meet at a time and I"ll just pop back up." I offered, making Lili go silent. She stared down at the heavy bag of gold in her hands, then back up at me.
  
  "That sounds good to Lili. She"ll meet Mr. Jericho here at five o"clock!" She decided, throwing on a happy look. A hand twitched to offer it to shake to seal the deal, but I didn"t want her to think I was trying to take the money back. Lili was as skittish as a cat in that regard. Instead, I offered a small wave as she started to leave.
  
  "I"ll see you then," I returned, watching her go. After waiting until she was firmly out of sight, I went back into the guildhall, found a quiet corner and reached down to my new bag looted off that guy. The contents was basic stuff including potions, so that alone was a win in my book. Just health and stamina potions. Once it was empty, I dumped my haul from yesterday into the bag. It bulged outwards, the seams threatening to tear.
  
  I didn"t have enough room, I realized. I mean, I still had plenty more left. After a moment of thought, I dumped more into my pouch -- it might look a bit odd, but I doubt that anyone would assume that I was pulling monster shards out of a pocket dimension. I stuffed it with loot, nearly emptying out my inventory of monster stones, though I still had some monster drops left, I made my way back to the teller.
  
  "Sorry, forgot that I had these," I told him with what I hoped was a convincing grin. The slight man looked down at the bulging bags, then at me and I could practically see him giving a mental shrug.
  
  "Your total is thirty-five thousand valis," he said, sliding over two more bags of gold my way. I picked them up, enjoying their considerable weight. I had money now! I could pay off my armor, load up on supplies, get some clothes, a bed and a couple other odds and ends. But...half of it was going to be spent on Hestia.
  
  I made a promise, after all.
  
  "I should take a shower," I decided, pulling off my armor as I walked towards the shower room that I found the other day when I walked up from the Dungeon wearing nothing but a blanket and covered in blood. As soon as I was out of sight, I shoved my armor, weapons and newfound wealth into my inventory before stepping into a shockingly modern-looking public bathroom. Danmachi seemed to follow Japan"s sensibilities when it came to nudity, so there were no sheets for privacy. Just an open room lined with showerheads and lockers to store our stuff.
  
  Stripping off my clothes, I stepped towards a faucet and let a blast of lukewarm water hit my chest -- well, more of my stomach really. I was too tall to stand underneath them by a more than a little, so I had to crouch down to let the water run over my face, getting the sweat that had built up. My hair plastered to the back of my neck, dipping towards my shoulder. I think I was going to cut it soon. I picked longer hair for the look, but it wasn"t worth the irritation of it getting in my face all the time.
  
  I"ve had this body for a few days, and despite how natural it felt to move around in it, there were times when it caught me off guard. When I ran, I was so much faster, each step covering more distance, or when I grabbed something I ran the risk of breaking it if I squeezed too hard. There were times when I thought I might have gone a little overboard with my self-indulgence, but I couldn"t bring myself to regret any of the changes I made. I would just have to get used to the little things over time.
  
  After drying myself off and shoving a half dozen towels into my inventory, I stepped out of the Guildhall to see that the sun was beginning to dip towards the horizon. My clock told me it was nearly 7 o"clock, so I had a little over an hour to get what I needed to get. Luckily, I knew exactly where I needed to go to pick them up. With the clock ticking, I let my feet carry me to my destination.
  
  The Guildhall might be slow, but the city was in full swing. The streets were packed with people going about their day, trying to do last-minute errands much like I was. I didn"t have much trouble with crowds since most gave way to me -- no one wanted to be the one blocked the way to a guy that looked like me. Though, I wasn"t complaining.
  
  The stores that lined the streets steadily became less adventurer oriented to be more generic. Clothing, pawnshops, sweets, rugs and so on. Anything that could be sold, there was probably a shop on the main street that had it. This city was the center of the world because of the Dungeon, and it felt like it too.
  
  Then, the shops gave way to a solid wall guarded by to amazons. They wore what could be called a bikini if your standards were low enough, showing off their tanned bodies, full breasts, and shapely figures. Through the entrance, they were protecting, or tempting customers to enter, was a street dyed red in the dying light. The city of the night, or pleasure district. I walked by this gem yesterday.
  
  "Hello there," one of them greeted me as I approached, a sultry smile tugging at her lips. She leaned against her spear, pushing her breasts together until they practically spilled out of her top. "It's early, but I'd happily let you inside!"
  
  The other followed her lead, placing her spear between her sizable mounds, squeezing it until the shaft was enveloped. She nibbled at her bottom lip, giving me bedroom eyes as she said, "we"re so bored with guard duty. Would you like to rescue us?" A hand trailing up her heavenly muscled bronze thigh suggestively. Then her eyes narrowed into a glare as pretty boy started to walk up towards them. "Not you, him." They informed, making the guy look behind him.
  
  He quickly looked away with a beet-red face, all but running away. Not going to lie, I felt more than a little pride at that. It really was great being me, all things considered.
  
  Smirking as I walked over, the two guards eyes lit up as I approached. It was a real shame I was here on business. My smirk became apologetic in nature as I came to a stop in front of the gate, both of them abandoning their posts. "Sorry ladies, I'm not here for pleasure," I informed as the first wrapped a hand around my bicep to squeeze it.
  
  "Then you might be looking in the wrong place," the second began, running a hand over my abs, her smile growing to show that she liked what she found. I didn't even need to flex. "All we sell here is...pleasure," she continued, her hand dipping to my rapidly hardening cock. I waited for her reaction and was more than a little satisfied when her eyes widened a fraction, her sultry smile becoming a lot more genuine.
  
  They were a lot more forward than they were in the anime, I reflected. Probably because Danmachi was an anime, not hentai, that dealt with a hentai topic like prostitution. There was a certain amount of censorship even though they milked it for fanservice.
  
  "I'm looking to buy massage oils, and maybe some lingerie for my goddess," I said, the first Amazon pressing her breasts against my side, one hand slipping down to caress my balls through my pants.
  
  "Oh, it sounds like a romantic evening," the first said, her gaze shifting from bedroom eyes to fuck me now eyes.
  
  "But don't you think it's a bad idea to go fully loaded?" The second asked, her hand tracing my now fully hard cock that made a very clear outline against my pants. "You'll last longer if you clear the pipes a little." She said, putting her legs around my own and leaned heavily against me, practically dry humping me in the middle of the street.
  
  It would be a lie to say that I wasn't tempted. Women never threw themselves at me like this before, even if it was faked to score a customer. Odds were, I wouldn't get my rocks off with Hestia tonight, and I wouldn't until tomorrow morning.
  
  Even still, I shook my head, "sorry, but not tonight." They pouted, though they didn't let go. The second one ground herself harder against my leg, grinding herself against my thigh, an inviting expression on her face to tempt me. "It"s a special night for my goddess. So, could you please point me in the right direction? I can make it worth your while?" That line always seemed to work in the movies.
  
  For the first time movies didn"t let me down. Both girls looked disappointed, but they let me go, their hands lingering on my crotch. "Boo, no fun." The first girl said.
  
  "Meany," the second one agreed, "to get me worked up like that then just leave me for another woman..."
  
  "I"m sorry," I said, feeling...good. I never really understood the appeal of strip clubs or cabaret clubs in Japan, it always struck me as dumb to throw your money away on someone that was being paid to like you for a few hours. Now, I could understand it better. It felt good to have beautiful women fawn over me. I liked it more than I should, probably. "But it"s my goddess. It can"t be helped."
  
  The second one turned her head away from me sharply, puffing her cheeks out in a pout. The first one chuckled, giving me a sultry smile, a finger lightly stroking my chest through my tank top. "Massage oils, hmmm?" She teased, tilting her head as if she had to think about it. "I know a few places where you can get some...though, how much are you willing to part with?"
  
  "I have about fifty thousand to play with," I informed as my chest swelling with more pride at the number. I wouldn"t spend all of it -- not when I had to pay off my armor, and naturally I was going to build up a nest egg, but the fact that I had 50 thousand valis when the other day I was in the hole...it felt gooood.
  
  "Then I know just the place for you. Go down the main road, towards the Ishtar familia home, until you see a far eastern style building with a statue of a mermaid in front of it," she said, reaching up to caress my cheek. "Oh, and don"t let the Ishtar familia catch you. It would be such a shame to ruin such a romantic night because I doubt they"ll let you leave for days."
  
  "Thank you," I said, trying not to think about the implications of what she said. Amazons were a female-only race that sought out powerful men to breed with. Meaning, they kidnapped strong men, fucked them until they made that sound in old cartoons when a well was tapped dry when they came, then they kicked them to the curb. The guy really never got a choice in the matter. Which was, you know, rape. "Now, what do I owe you for the information?"
  
  The first one stopped my hand from going to my pouch, "I don"t want money. How about you give us something to think about while we stand here all night while everyone else is enjoying themselves?" She said, a smile that told me exactly what she wanted.
  
  Well, I couldn"t say no to that. I leaned towards her, her going on her tippy toes but a problem was quick to present herself. She was nearly six feet tall, and I was 7"5. There was about a foot and a half distance between our lips. I fixed that by reaching behind her, my hands lifting her where her ass and thighs met and picked her up to close the distance.
  
  Her lips pressed against mine, I felt her purr as she opened up her mouth, her tongue snaking into mine as she ran her hands through my hair. Her tongue pressed against mine, tasting of cherries before she began to explore my mouth. Never one to submit, I pushed against hers, waging a war that let both sides win.
  
  I was the one that pulled away after a few long seconds, seeing the second amazon pout at us. She followed, pressing her lips against mine one last time before leaning back. "Good enough?" I asked, giving her firm ass a slight squeeze. She smiled in response, her hips perfectly poised to grind against my painfully hard dick. When I didn"t take it out and start fucking her then and there, she looked disappointed before nodding.
  
  "I suppose," she said, putting her hands on my chest and pushing me. She shot a smirk at the second guard, who scowled. I let her drop, though when I looked down I saw a wet spot on my thigh. Thighs. Both of them. So, maybe it wasn"t all fake after all. "Have a nice night. Oh, and if your goddess doesn"t satisfy you...feel free to come back!"
  
  "We"ll take every last drop! And, if you"re any good, we"ll let you do it for free!" The second one agreed, yelling out as I entered the pleasure district properly. There were few on the streets, most scantily clad women, some not bothering to wear a top at all. A few approached me, attaching themselves to my arms as I followed the guard"s instructions.
  
  I could still taste her as I walked through the street, feeling...conflicted. I mean, me and Hestia weren"t official or anything like that, so arguably I hadn"t done anything wrong just now. But...hm, I felt like I betrayed her in a way. No, not in a way, I straight up betrayed her just now, didn"t I? I was certain that she had feelings for me, though I doubted it was flat out love like she felt for Bell, but I knew she at least felt something for me.
  
  Then I made out with another woman. Shit, I fucked up. It didn"t matter that there wasn"t anything official between us yet, she had feelings for me, I had feelings for her and that should be enough. Other girls would come up eventually, but that was something we had to talk about before I started making out with...whoever that was. Shit. Goddamn it.
  
  "Hopefully she won"t find out about that," I muttered to myself, my boner gone. It had been just so intoxicating that I completely lost myself in the felling of...being powerful. Wanted. It was too late to do anything about it now, but what I could do was make sure that it didn"t happen again.
  
  With their warning in mind, I went into the pleasure district, doing my best to keep a low profile, but found no success in that regard. Stealth really wasn"t a strong suit for me at 7'5. Even still, after pushing through a small crowd of groping prostitutes, I found the place guard spoke of. A small building tucked between two brothels that almost looked out of place in the district.
  
  I stepped inside, finding a store filled with oils, soaps, underwear, and lingerie. My eyes glanced over the price tags, descriptions of the contents and what they did. I came as no shock when I found that most of them were aphrodisiac. Expensive ones too. The cheapest I found was 10,000 and the most expensive was over 100,000. Still, that was fine.
  
  I ended up picking one that cost 20,000. Its description sounded like what I was aiming for. A mild aphrodisiac that would heighten sensitivity, but that was it. Meant to enhance a massage, but not overwhelm. Perfect for a virgin goddess.
  
  Next, I found some lose lingerie since I didn"t know Hestia"s sizes and didn"t want to get her something that didn"t fit. I stuck with the white and blue theme she had going for her. That cost me another 8,000 since it was made of silk. Since I still had some money to play around with before I hit my limit, I bought scented soaps, a towel, and an inflatable mattress thing that kinda looked like what you used to float in a pool.
  
  I checked out, waving goodbye at the cashier that looked like she was wearing her products, and headed home for was shaping up to be a nice night.
  
  Thankfully, I beat Hestia home, enacting a plan that formed the moment I saw the soaps. I grabbed a bucket, filling it with water and set it on top of the stove to warm it up. Once it got to an acceptable heat, I took it off and began blowing up the mattress after unpacking everything.
  
  Before long, I heard the front door scrape open, Hestia coming down the stairs. She looked dog tired, her eyes glazed over, her movements were stiff and overall, she looked miserable. Which was why I was here.
  
  "Have a rough day?" I asked, standing up and walking towards her. Hestia blinked at me, then she smiled half-heartedly at me, life returning to her gaze as she nodded.
  
  "Yeah..." She said, making no move to explain, but she didn"t need to. I worked in retail. People were stupid. Customers were worse. Having to deal with them pretty much all day, nonstop? That sounded like a nightmare.
  
  "Well then, let me take care of that for you, my goddess," I said, taking her by the hand, suppressing a smile when I saw her flush at the pet name. Then her blush deepened when she saw the oils and the inflatable mattress thing.
  
  "You were serious?" She asked, not sound displeased by it.
  
  "Of course I was. You"ve been working all day, and I think you need to relax a little after a long day," I said, earning those brownie points, as I brought her to a stool. "I bought some oils for you, but I found some other odds and ends that I think you might enjoy," I said, showing her the soaps.
  
  Hestia"s face lite up. At first, I thought it was because of the soaps, but I was proven wrong when she wrapped her arms around me in a hug, squeezing me with all her strength. I placed a hand on her back, lightly tracing her spine as she buried her face in my stomach. She didn"t say anything at all, she simply hugged me, but she didn"t need to say anything.
  
  "The water is getting cold," I spoke up after a few minutes. Hestia peeled her face off my abs to look up at me with some confusion.
  
  "Water?" She asked, telling me that she hadn"t realized that the soaps were soap.
  
  "Well, I thought you would like to get clean for the massage. Sweat and oil don"t really mix, you know?" I said, having absolutely no idea if what I said was true, thus it wasn't a lie. "We don't have a bath, but a quick scrub should do the trick." Then, lowering my voice, I continued with, "if you want, I could help you wash your back?"
  
  I felt Hestia go stiff against me, her eyes widening. I only had the guts to ask since she was so okay with Bell seeing her naked when Hermes tricked him into peeping. But, seeing how she hesitated, I continued with, "I have a towel for you to cover yourself with. Or, I could just head upstairs while you-"
  
  "You don't have to do that. Go upstairs, I mean. I would appreciate it if you could wash my back. Just...no peeking, okay?" Hestia agreed, earning a nod out of me.
  
  "No peeking," I agreed, knowing I would have to keep that promise since she was likely to ask if I had peeked. I took a step back, giving her a smile as I turned around. It didn't take long for Hestia to undress. The only thing keeping her dress up was the blue bow ties at her neck. I heard one-foot raise, then another as she took off her panties, then I heard her set down on the stool.
  
  "You can look now," she informed, sitting on the stool with her back facing towards me. For the most part, it wasn't anything I hadn't seen before since her dress left her back exposed. All except for her butt, the little I could see of it. Her front was covered by the towel, kept up with her hands. "Did you peek?"
  
  "No, I didn't," I answered honestly, seeing some of the tension in her shoulder vanish at that. "I'm about to start," I informed, grabbing a smaller towel that I bought and dipping it into the water. Wringing it out, I pressed it to her back and started to wipe her down. "Would you like to talk about your day? Vent a little?"
  
  Small talk would help her relax. It was already working since she let out a breath that I was sure she was holding the entire time. "They wouldn't stop coming! And I got yelled at by this really big adventurer- well, not as big as you, but he was really scary looking. The brute."
  
  "Did you now?" I asked, my voice going hard. "Did you get this adventurer"s name?"
  
  Hestia giggled as I slowly cleaned her back with a hot soapy towel. The tension eased out of her back, the intimate act of washing each other becoming more casual. "I didn't, but what if I did?" She asked, a smile in her voice.
  
  "Then I would find him and have a very strongly worded talk with him. With my fists," I tacked on, getting a bubbly laugh from her.
  
  "Don't do that. I can handle rude people like that no problem now! I mean, it used to really hurt my feelings before but now it's like water off a duck's back." Hestia proclaimed as I washed her lower back.
  
  "Are you sure? How about if I stand behind you when you're working. I bet you the rude customers would go down by a hundred percent," I said, smiling. Worse, I'd do it too if she asked. Was I whipped? A little? Eh, I couldn"t care less.
  
  "It's fine, I promise," Hestia refused with a laugh, twisting around to look at me and give me a broad smile. I smiled back at her, my washcloth edging towards her sides.
  
  "Hey, would you like me to wash your hair too?" I asked, grabbing a bottle of lavender smelling shampoo. I held it up under her nose to inspect. I expected her to think about it but she gave a happy nod. It seemed when she let her guard down, she let it all the way down. "Close your eyes," I said grabbing a small wooden cup to wet her hair.
  
  After wetting it, I poured some of the clear fluid onto her scalp and began to lather it up. "That feels really good," Hestia said, leaning into my touch. I had to pour more into her hair to lather it all up.
  
  "I don't know how you handle your hair being this long," I admitted, lathering it all up. "I'd think I'd go crazy if mine was."
  
  "That's because you're a boy," Hestia informed, letting her hands rest on her thighs since the towel was plastered to her body because of the water. "Girls get used to it pretty young," she continued as I then turned my soapy rag to her arms. She didn't go stiff or anything, letting me clean her arms as well.
  
  "I suppose that's true," I agreed, cleaning her other arm. I inched closer, on my knees but I still towered over her. I traced her sides, nearly touching the towel that covered her, as I began to wash her thighs. At that, she did stiffen up a little, so I continued with, "I was thinking about cutting mine. It gets all up in my face when in a fight."
  
  That distracted her as I reached forward, washing all the way down to her knee. Then, slowly, I brought it back until it pushed the edge of the towel up. "Really? I think it looks good how you have it," Hestia said, her ears going red as I went up and down again, moving to her inner thigh.
  
  "Well, in that case, I think I'll keep it then," I said, starting to wash her inner thigh. When I came up, Hestia's breathing hitched, the cloth brushing up near her vagina. "If you like it so much, then I have to keep it."
  
  Hestia laughed breathlessly as I switched thighs, putting the towel in my other hand. To keep the conversation going, I said, "We still have that invite out to the Hostess of Fertility, right?"
  
  "Y-yeah," Hestia confirmed as I washed the inside of her thigh. I wish the towel was thinner to let me feel her smooth skin, but I suppose I would feel it soon enough. Her breathing was becoming shallow and faster, her switch flipped.
  
  "We still haven"t celebrated forming our familia yet. Maybe we should do it soon and get a free meal out of it. I"ve heard the Hostess is an adventurer restaurant and that the food is pretty good." I said, pulling back. Before she could answer, I followed it up with, "would you like me to wash your front too?"
  
  "W-what?!" Hestia blurted, her spine going ramrod straight. So, she wasn"t that aroused. I would have to fix that soon enough.
  
  "Your stomach," I clarified with a smile in my voice, "but if you want me to go a little higher..."
  
  "My stomach is fine!" Hestia shouted, sounding so panicked that I couldn"t stop myself from laughing. She turned her head, pouting at me in an adorable way. "You"re teasing me," she accused me with the gravity of an accusation of witchcraft in Salem.
  
  "Only a little," I admitted. "I"m going to need you to move the towel, though. Don"t worry, I can"t see anything." Hestia blushed, but nodded, setting the damp towel to the side. With careful movement, I began to scrub at her stomach. I probably could see her breasts if I leaned forward some, but I didn"t. When I saw Hestia"s breasts, I wanted it to be a full-on view, not a top-down peek.
  
  I scrubbed her stomach, my reach inching higher until my hand scraped the underside of her breast. Hestia sucked in a breath, I quickly moved on, my touch not lingering. I shifted my arm, going in at a downward angle, and this time I really did touch her breast by accident. My forearm scraped against a pebbled nipple, her breath hitching again as she rubbed her thighs together.
  
  I dunked the cloth in the water as I leaned in, "are you sure you don"t want me to clean higher? It"ll be best for the massage," I added, giving her a reason to say yes. I"ve learned, despite living less than two decades, that people will say yes to things they never would have imagined if they"re horny enough. From stupid to sad to pathetic to flat out self-destructive.
  
  And Hestia had absolutely no tolerance for pleasure. She had her first orgasm last night. If she ever masturbated, she never did it well. An intimate act like bathing each other, teasing around her vagina and breasts?
  
  "W-Well, if it"s for the massage...I wouldn"t want you to waste the money you spent on me..." Hestia said, finding justifications for something that she wanted. I didn"t respond, simply flattening out the towel as I pressed it against her stomach, then traveled up. I cupped one of her breasts in my hand, making her moan. When my hand began to slip upwards towards her nipple, she practically melted.
  
  Hestia slumped against me, getting soap suds over my tank top, but I couldn"t care less as I groped her boob. I teased her hardened nipple between my fingers, pinching it ever so slightly. She might not even need the oil, Hestia was already proving to be exceptionally sensitive. As I moved my hand to the other breast, my thumb dragged across it, her head rolled back as she moaned my name.
  
  Shoving the caveman part of my brain that told me to take my dick out and fuck her, I took my time to caress her other breast, teasing and tugging at her other nipple just as much as I did the first. Minutes ticked by, the room filled with the sweet sounds of Hestia losing her mind as I switched between her breasts. They grew higher in pitch, her pants began gasps -- I probably knew what was about to happen long before Hestia did.
  
  Her hips jerked as she came, cum splattering out on the stool, as she went completely boneless in my arms. She moaned senselessly, trembling against me as I continued to drag out her pleasure by playing with her nipples. As much as I wanted to claim credit for being that good, I knew it was because of Hestia"s natural sensitivity. And maybe my Massage skill was more broad in its purposes than the name let on.
  
  I held her until she calmed down, her breathing evened out and she stopped trembling like a leaf. When she did, I leaned down and whispered, "are you ready for the massage my goddess?" I asked, making her shiver. She looked up at me, her expression telling me that she had completely forgotten about the massage. "First, we need to wash you off. Now, close your eyes..."
  
  After gently dumping the bucket of warm water over her, I grabbed a towel that I liberated from the Guildhall and began drying her. "Actually, I think I made some pretty good gains in the Dungeon. If we update my Status, that could make the massage feel even better."
  
  "Even better?" Hestia echoed, her mind still apparently recovering from the orgasm, sounding like she could hardly believe such a thing. She blinked slowly at me, then nodding shallowly. "I...I can do it here. Just...turn around please," Hestia said, her voice soft. I made sure she wasn"t going to fall over or anything, I turned around to fetch a needle and piece of paper.
  
  Sitting down while she sat on the stool, I felt her update my status-
  
  "KISSING?!" Hestia screamed so suddenly I nearly jumped to my feet, my heart nearly coming out of my throat. Then it plunged down to my stomach when I realized that wasn"t an offer. I got a Skill, didn"t I? "WHY DO YOU HAVE A KISSING SKILL?!" Hestia yelled loud enough she could have deafened me.
  
  "I..." I should tell the truth. But that would lead to other questions and those answers would lead somewhere that didn"t end with my hands on her body as she came while moaning my name. People did stupid things when they were horny enough, and I was no exception. I couldn"t lie and I sure as hell couldn"t tell her the truth...but...I could tell her a version of it. "I picked up the oils and stuff in the redlight district- please, let me continue," I interrupted when I heard her suck in a deep breath to do more yelling. "And...well...the Amazons...well, they liked me. A lot."
  
  "YOu..." Hestia started, falling silent. "Oh."
  
  "I asked for some advice on where to find massage oils, and when I offered to pay for it, she said that she didn"t want money. She wanted me," I explained, feeling Hestia rest her hands on my back. "They were groping me already by that time, and I"m pretty sure they were adventurers, and then one of them kissed me." All technically true.
  
  "I"m sorry," Hestia said, using the voice I was rapidly associating with her getting teary-eyed. "I-I shouldn"t have yelled, I should have-"
  
  I"m such a fucking asshole. I felt bad about that. I really, really, really did. Just...not enough to not be one, apparently.
  
  I shook my head, "I should have mentioned it to start with. Plus, it does look kinda shady." I admitted, reaching back with a hand to take one of hers to give it a reassuring squeeze.
  
  "No, I"m sorry." Hestia refuted strongly, squeezing my hand. "I should have asked for an explanation instead of start yelling at you. I should have trusted you," she stated, peeling the piece of paper off my back. "I promise I won"t make that mistake again."
  
  Fuuuuuuuuck...
  
  "...I know sometimes you think you aren"t a very good goddess, and you aren"t. You"re a great one, Hestia." I said, wishing I could turn around to hug- oh, no Hestia threw herself at my back, pressing her bare breasts against me. I could feel her rock hard nipples against my back, her cheek against my spine.
  
  Gently, careful not to ruin the moment, I stole a glance at my Status.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 1
  Progress to level 2: 7,683/1,000,000
  Strength: 11
  Endurance: 30
  Dexterity: 24
  Intelligence: 4
  Sense: 19
  
  Development Abilities:
  Physical Resistance: The user receives 3% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.
  Kissing: An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target. Effectiveness is determined by the Dexterity and Sense stat.​
  
  How did I get so much exp- the guy I killed. It had to be. I killed plenty of monsters today, but nowhere near enough to get around 5,000 exp. That...I was going to think about later when the lion"s share of blood wasn"t residing in my dick.
  
  "It"s okay, there"s nothing to forgive, Hestia. Let"s just move on to your massage," I said, gently moving away from her. She let me, covering her breasts with an arm and closing her legs to preserve her modesty.
  
  "But," she started to protest, still feeling somewhat dower.
  
  "Hestia, tonight, more than anything, I want you to enjoy yourself as much as you can. This? If I have my way, then this is just the start of your night," I told her, placing a finger underneath her chin so she would look me in the eyes. Her blush really brought out how blue her eyes were.
  
  "I"m really lucky that you joined my familia," she informed me, getting up. She walked over to the mattress, displaying her pale ass to me. It wasn"t as big as her breasts, but it complimented her figure perfectly. The gap between her thighs offered up the briefest view of a narrow slit before she laid down on the mattress, ass up.
  
  I...made a mistake. Hestia was a virgin goddess, but that didn"t make her naive. I overplayed my hand. Of course, I did -- I lost myself playing with her boobs. There was no way that was an accident when I fondled them for minutes. However, instead of giving me a rightfully deserved slap in the face, Hestia chose to continue. Now it was a question of how far she was willing to continue.
  
  "I"m the lucky one, my goddess," I told her, grabbing the massage oil and uncapping it. There wasn"t a whole lot in there, despite the price tag, but hopefully, it would work as advertised. Hestia shivered when I said her pet name, then again when the oil dripped down her back, a few droplets landing on her butt, then a few on her legs all the way down to her feet.
  
  Then I started to rub it in. Despite wanting to delve right into it, I started with her back, working the oil into her skin. Despite her willingness to continue, I felt how tense she was. A blush colored her cream flesh a deep red, probably very aware of her nudity.
  
  "How does it feel, my goddess? Does it feel any better than it did yesterday?" I asked, starting to spread the oil on her other half, giving her skin a glossy sheen. I skipped her butt, for now. Judging from the amount of arousal leaking from her, her switch was still flipped, but she needed to relax first.
  
  "Yesss..." Hestia moaned so deeply I nearly started laughing. I massaged her feet, working my way up her calves and then higher like I did yesterday. "It, I don"t know how to describe it, but it feels soooo goood."
  
  "That"s what I wanted to hear," I told her, my hands tracing up her thighs before zeroing in on her butt. I started on the outer edges before slowly working my way in, leaving no mistake that it was purely intentional. A ragged breath escaped Hestia when her entire butt was covered in oil, letting me massage it in. "I want you to relax. Forget about today, and just focus on what you"re feeling right now.
  
  "I can doo that," Hestia groaned, turning her head to the side so I could see the glazed over look in her eyes, completely lost in a sea of pleasure. I rubbed her inner thigh, going up towards her vagina, and teasing around it without touching the narrow slit that wept arousal, her labia puffy and red, opening up ever so slightly to reveal her pink inner lips.
  
  I drug out her anticipation, constantly going near her vagina without ever touching it. I felt her twitch underneath my ministrations, seeking the pleasure that would send her over the edge again. Her breathing became ragged, lifting her hips off the mat to give me better access that I didn"t use, tempting me. Even better, I doubt she realized she was doing it.
  
  I thought about edging her, denying her the orgasm she so desired to make her more desperate, but I couldn"t do it. Hestia looked a mess, her groin soaked with oil and arousal, her eyes glazed over while her face was flushed. I couldn"t not send her over the edge. I drug a thumb over her clit, making her hips buck upwards as she came. And she came hard.
  
  "Hngh," Hestia tried to keep her moans in as quim erupted from her. It came out with less explosive force than her first orgasm, but it still soaked her lower half, droplets running down her oiled skin, shook off by her trembling legs. As much as she tried, she couldn"t keep down her sweet moans as waves of pleasure crashed over her.
  
  I traced her spine throughout her orgasm, watching her tremble like a leaf for the second time tonight. This time I got a much better view of her face as it twisted, her mouth slack as her eyelids butterflied open and closed.
  
  "Now...," I said, a hand dipping lower to caress her ass. "Time for the front half."
  
  It took Hestia a moment to formulate words, an expression of incomprehension on her face. "There"s more?" She asked breathlessly,
  
  "Tonight ends when you"re a puddle of goo, my goddess," I informed, gently flipping her over with her consent. Instantly, my eyes were drawn to her breasts. Large full breasts capped with a small hard light pink nipple. Even laying down, her breasts perked upwards, displaying their firmness for me to see.
  
  "You"re staring," Hestia informed, mumbling shyly as she looked anywhere but at me. Her embarrassed expression torn between seeming meek and pleased.
  
  "I couldn"t help myself, my goddess," I told her honestly, pouring more oil on her front half. "You"re too beautiful for me not to stare." I started to rub in the oil on her surprisingly firm stomach, leaving her breasts for last. Her groin was devoid of a single hair, a small cleft between her legs marking her vagina, the sensitive button of ecstasy free of its protective hood.
  
  "I"m not as beautiful as Freya," Hestia pointed out, calming down somewhat now that I resumed massaging her legs.
  
  "You"re much more beautiful than Freya," I argued, my hands gliding over her smooth oiled skin. "She might be a goddess of love and fertility, but I don"t think she knows what love is. Love isn"t like the wind that blows one way, then another, leaving a trail of broken hearts in its wake. Love is a rock that moves for nothing and no one. Against reason, logic or reality -- true love will stay in face of it all with a person until their dying day."
  
  I"m not sure who I just ripped that speech off, but I sent them a silent thank you.
  
  I massaged her stomach, meeting Hestia"s enraptured gaze, "Freya might be beautiful physically, but she"s all ugly on the inside. You, on the other hand...you"re even more beautiful on the inside than you are on the outside. And you are drop-dead gorgeous," I told her, seeing her bottom lip quivering again.
  
  "Jericho, I...I want to...uh...your...your Skill! I, we, should..." Hestia fumbled with her words, her face going bright red until I was sure steam was about to erupt from her ears. Still, I knew what she was trying to say.
  
  "Hm," I started, my hands closing in on her breasts. "I want to kiss you Hestia, and it"s not to test my new Skill," I told her. Her eyes went wide, her lips parting to say something, whatever it was, it was lost to time when I sealed my lips over hers. Unlike before, it wasn"t a battle of tongues for dominance. It was a sweet, chaste kiss -- perfect for Hestia.
  
  My hands enveloped her breasts as we kissed, Hestia grabbed my shoulders to bring me in closer, which I obliged. She moaned into my mouth as I tweaked her nipples, without the cloth I felt just how firm they were. I rolled one between my fingers as I thumbed the other back and forth. Hestia"s hips bucked again beneath me -- this time it wasn"t a physical high that made her cum, but an emotional one.
  
  She squirmed underneath me, her mouth opening wider to moan. I licked her bottom lip, tasting... salt and jagamarukuns. It was so fitting that I nearly laughed into her mouth. I felt her smile in response to mine, even as she shivered like she was freezing. Slowly, reluctantly, I pulled back, Hestia trying to keep her lips on mine until she couldn"t anymore.
  
  "Wow," Hestia murmured, leaning into my touch when I reached up to caress her face, uncaring of the oils still on my fingers.
  
  "That"s my line," I told her, going back down to press a featherlight kiss to her waiting lips. Hestia hummed in appreciation, copying my movements. She was a quick study. Cautiously, she licked my bottom lip like I had done to her, prompting me to open my mouth a little more. To my surprise, she slipped her tongue into my mouth. She didn"t explore, I could feel her hesitation as she gently prodded her tongue against mine.
  
  I resisted the urge to dominate the kiss, to blow her mind to smithereens. Instead, I gently prodded her tongue back, letting her explore my mouth at her own pace. We kissed for some time, before this time, it was Hestia that pulled back. Her usually pale lips were red and swollen, it took everything that I had to not lean down and capture her lips in mine again.
  
  "Jericho...are...we...going to...?" Hestia asked, unable to look anywhere but at my face now. I felt myself stir at the question, my cock doing its absolute best to rip through my pants to answer the question for me. I would be a liar if I said I didn"t want to give in, to take out my dick and wrap Hestia around it.
  
  But...this wasn"t how I wanted to take her virginity. She was a goddess. My goddess. She deserved better than to lose her first time in a hovel, on a massage mat, after a long day of work.
  
  "Not tonight," I answered, pulling off her, smirking slightly as she ran her hands down my chest as I did so. "The first time we make love, I promise you it"s going to be something special." With my decision made, I grabbed a clean towel from a warm bucket of water that I set earlier to clean up the aftermath.
  
  "Making love. I like that," Hestia said with a smile bright enough it illuminated the dark room we lived in. I started to wipe down her body to get the oil off, fidgeting a little when I wiped down her breasts first. They really everything I hoped they'd be. "Have you ever...?"
  
  "I have," I answered, wiping down her legs.
  
  "Oh," Hestia said, disappointed. I offered her a smile as I moved on to her other leg.
  
  "I think it might be for the best," I told her, lifting one leg to rest on my hip as I cleaned the bottom half. "There's rarely any pleasure during a girl's first time. Especially when the guys a virgin too. This way, when we do make love, it'll be nothing but ecstasy, my goddess."
  
  Hestia blushed down to her toes. "You know what calling me that does," she accused, her eyes closing as I began to clean her butt of oil.
  
  "Does my goddess want me to stop?" I asked, watching her nether lips twitch at the pet name. The answer was obvious.
  
  "No, I don't," Hestia replied, obediently sitting up so I could clean her back. "I like it."
  
  "I like it too," I admitted, now drying her off. This time I simply cleaned her, my hands lingering nowhere. Well, not for long. "now, are you ready for the final part?"
  
  "There's more?" Hestia exclaimed, her eyes dipping down to my cock. I wish that what came next, but it was too late to backtrack now.
  
  "I noticed how you always sleep in your dresses," I told her, grabbing a bag and holding it out for her to take. "I thought you might like this since it would be a little more comfortable."
  
  Hestia reached in, pulling out a white silk nightdress lined with soft blue fur around the edges. Hooked underneath was a connected string that could be called underwear if your standards were low enough. "I love it! Let me- whoa," she said, starting to get up but her legs failed to support her.
  
  Every man dreams of this moment. I made Hestia cum so hard that she couldn't stand.
  
  "Let me," I said, taking the top from her and pulling it overhead. Hestia slipped her head through, marveling at the texture with childlike joy. I underestimated her breast size, they pulled up the front of the nightie to show off her flat stomach. Then I grabbed the thong, making Hestia fall silent as I began to slid it upwards.
  
  "Its-!" She started to protest when it slipped between her buttcheeks.
  
  "I can't speak from experience, but I've heard that once you get used to it's a lot more comfortable than wearing panties," I explained. Hestia looked uncertain, shifting her hips to get used to it. "Do you like it?"
  
  "I love it," Hestia repeated, wrapping her arms around me. "It's perfect."
  
  "Glad to hear it. And now it's time for bed," I said, picking her up bridal style and carrying her to the bed. Setting her down, I hesitated to go to the couch, but a hand pulling me forward gave me permission to get into bed with her. I settled in next to her, looking over at Hestia to see she was giving me bedroom eyes.
  
  With no other choice, I picked her up and deposited her on top of me. Hestia sighed with contentment, settling in as I pulled the blanket over both of us, leaving my feet and shins exposed.
  
  "Goodnight."
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
  Versed in the lewd.
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  Have you ever had a scene that just...keeps going? That"s what happened in this chapter. I intended a scene to be around two thousand words and it ended up being around six. And I have no idea how it happened.
  ...
  
  Days that I woke up on the right side of the bed were rare. I mean, there's waking up feeling normal, as in you didn't wake up on the wrong side of the bed, but that's not what I meant. As sleep lost its grip on me, I woke up feeling good. Great, even. I felt like the world was my oyster. The past couple of days, despite minor setbacks, have all been pretty great. Amazing, really.
  
  For a moment each morning, right before I opened my eyes, I worried that I would wake up to find myself back in my old room, in my old body, and in my old life. I worried that all of this was just a dream. Then I opened my eyes each morning to see that this dream was reality. That moment was the moment I woke up on the right side of the bed. With Hestia on top of me, lightly snoring as she drooled on me, a wet spot forming on my chest -- drool was somehow cute when a smol goddess did it.
  
  What time was it? 4:00. In the morning. That was early for me and I was an early bird by every definition. Ah...well...early bird gets the worm and all that.
  
  I shifted, intending to pull that maneuver Bell had in the anime so Hestia would be flipped onto the bed without being any the wiser. However, as soon as I started, Hestia's eyes opened. She looked at me, her eyes blinking a few times to clear them of sleep, then a lazy smile appeared on her face while a deep blush graced her cheeks. "H-hey," she greeted, her blush intensifying.
  
  "Hey," I returned, feeling I should have said something a little more romantic. "Sorry for waking you up so early, didn't mean to."
  
  Hestia unsuccessfully stifled a yawn, "s'fine," she dismissed. She shifted - ah. So that's what woke her up. To be honest, there was absolutely no way I wasn't going to be sporting some morning wood with Hestia on top of me. Especially when I blue-balled myself last night in the name of the greater good.
  
  Her eyes dipped lower to my mouth, it was barely noticeable, but when she looked back to my eyes, only to look down again, it was kinda obvious. I smirked, Hestia blushed, realizing that she had been caught, but when her lips parted to say something, I reached down to grab her where her thighs and butt met to pull her towards me.
  
  I pressed my lips against hers, Hestia melts in response as she kissed back. My hands gripped her waist, I could nearly grab both sides with one since she was so small, with my fingers spread wide. The kiss was chaste her lips moving against mine in a similar fashion that we did last night. Deciding to mix things up a bit, I licked her bottom lip, earning a small "eep" than got a chuckle out of me.
  
  Tilting my head, I gently pried open her mouth, Hestia hesitantly allowing me before she moaned into my mouth as my tongue brushed up against hers. I squeezed her butt, playing with the soft globes of flesh. Het tongue probed mine, unsure -- I should take it easy on her since this was quite literally her second kiss in her life,...but I wanted to see those expressions that she made last night again.
  
  Instead, I dominated the kiss, ravaging her mouth with my tongue as one hand slowly crept upwards. My fingers ghosted over her side, slipping underneath the silk nightdress lined with soft blue fur. Hestia went tense when my hand groped her breast, zeroing in on her pebbled nipple. I rolled in between a finger and thumb, making her relax as she moaned again, her breath tickling my cheeks.
  
  Slowly, Hestia pulled back -- had I pushed too far? The expression that Hestia wore told me that I hadn"t gone far enough, "your thing is really hard." She pointed out breathlessly, swallowing thickly. I opened my mouth to say something, but Hestia was quick to cut me off. "Can I take care of it?"
  
  I kissed her again, just because I could. Hestia leaned into the kiss, both of my hands going up to grope both her breasts. Her breathing grew harsh, her hands hesitantly going up to my face and hair. We kissed for a long minute before Hestia pulled away again, panting. "T-that didn"t answer my question," she pointed out, getting a chuckle from me.
  
  "Do you want to?" I asked, dragging a thumb over her nipples. Her hands went to mine, caressing them as I caressed her breasts. The smooth flesh was surprisingly firm as I squeezed ever so slightly. It took Hestia a moment to answer as she panted for breath, a heavy blush that stretched all the way down to her chest on her face.
  
  "You said last night was all about my pleasure...so, I want this morning to be about yours," Hestia said, growing more and more embarrassed with each word she spoke. I smiled, pushing myself up so I was resting against the wall.
  
  "I think I"d enjoy that a lot," I told her, one hand going up to her face, my thumb tracing her lips. I was painfully hard at this point -- after not finishing last night, and seeing Hestia"s needy expression, I doubt I"d last long, unfortunately. "But," I started, tracing her bottom lip, logic telling me not to ask but my penis overruled it. "Do you want to try something a little...different?"
  
  Hestia looked dangerously excited at my question, "something different?" She questioned, leaning into my touch.
  
  "A blowjob?" I tried, picturing her soft lips wrapped around my cock. I doubt she would be able to take me very deep but it would be enough. My cock throbbed with anticipation, bumping into her lower back. Hestia, this time, didn"t freeze up at the contact, though she did advert her eyes.
  
  "Um," she started shyly, "what"s a blowjob?"
  
  Wow. "It's where you..." How did I explain blowjobs in a way that actually sounded arousing? "You kiss my dick, kinda like how we were kissing earlier. But, we should start slow, if you want to. How about...licking it?" I tried, feeling like I through botched making sticking my penis in her mouth sound exciting. Luckily, Hestia was too aroused to care -- her switch flipped as she nodded mutely, blushing all the way down to her toes now.
  
  "I can do that," Hestia said, lifting herself off me to put herself in between my legs. She looked at my cock standing proudly so intensely she almost went cross-eyed. Words of dismissing the idea weighed heavily on my tongue, only held back by the fact that Hestia looked more uncertain than uncomfortable. Eventually, she nodded as she licked her lips, her head bobbing down as her eyes darted up to mine. Then, she planted a small kiss to the head.
  
  It felt good, but that wasn"t what made my cock throb to the point that I nearly erupted then and there. A god, a bonafide deity, just kissed my dick.
  
  I smiled at the thought, Hestia mistaking it as approval, though she was hardly wrong there, and prompted her to kiss it again. She planted butterfly kisses down the length of my cock, starting at the head and slowly making her way all the way down to my balls. Her breath tickled the underside of my penis before she pulled back ever so slightly. I saw her lick her lips again, our eyes making contact a moment before she leaned back in to give the underside a small lick.
  
  I let a breath out, making a show that what felt good. A lesson I learned a long time ago was that girls tended to prefer vocalizations over dead silence. As expected, Hestia was encouraged by the noise, giving me a second lick, bolder this time. She dragged her tongue along my length, going from the base back up to the head.
  
  "Like that?" Hestia asked, getting a nod from me as I let the tension bleed out of me.
  
  "Exactly like that," I praised, encouraging her to dive back into the task. She licked the underside again, tracing the thick vein with her tongue before her hands joined in on the fun. Her hands went down to the base as she coated the top half of my dick with saliva. Hestia focused on the head, her lips scraping against it as she lapped at my dick, seemingly absorbed in the task.
  
  I closed my eyes, taking a bracing breath and felt the orgasm brewing after a couple of minutes. I wasn"t going to last much longer, much to my disappointment. My eyes shot open when Hestia licked around the head before popping as much as she could of it into her mouth. I expected to feel teeth, but when my eyes snapped open, I saw that she had opened her mouth as wide as it would go while still keeping her lips around my dick.
  
  Like I expected, she couldn"t take me very deep though she managed to take in the head and a little more. Her tongue swirled around the head-
  
  "I"m about to cum," I warned, my cock throbbing, telling her that. Hestia pulled her head back just in time to catch the first blast of cum. It splattered over her lips, making her flinch back but for some reason, she didn"t back off entirely. A second blast came out with more force, this one landing on her forehead, a strand connecting it to her cheekbone over her eye. Another blast landed on her cheek.
  
  Another blast came from the apparently endless supply of cum stored in my balls, landed lower, painting her collar bone and cleavage white. Then another blast came, weaker this time that landed on her breasts and nightie. A sixth rope came out, the weakest by far that limply landed on her cleavage. The last didn"t have any force behind it at all, it spilled out of my dick, running down its length and over her hands.
  
  "Whoa," I muttered, torn between awe and concern. That was...a lot of cum. Like, a lot of cum. Seriously, where did all of that come from?
  
  Hestia finally pulled back, looking at me with panic in the one eye that wasn"t glued shut with cum. Her gaze dipped down back to my dick and, to my greater surprise, it didn"t show any signs of going down at all. That...was new. I mean, the spirit was willing, but the body was weak and had a refractory period -- an insurmountable obstacle to overcome.
  
  Wait, did my body start following hentai logic now that I was in an anime world? Cumming literal gallons of cum, the refractory period only applying to beta males that couldn"t cum fifteen times in a row and so on? Because...well...I"m not exactly going to complain about that.
  
  "You"re still hard," Hestia noted as she gave me an experimental squeeze to find that I hadn"t gone limp at all. My eyes dipped lower to where my cum splattered over her breasts, thick white drops slowly dripped downwards into her cleavage. Well...
  
  "It probably because of my Endurance stat," I hazarded a guess, shifting forward. It was over 25 now, so perhaps that was some kind of milestone. But, wasn"t there usually some kind of update that came with stuff like that? Actually, outside of my menus, there hadn"t been any kind of interaction with the game system at all.
  
  "Oh," Hestia muttered, her hands stroking my cock at a snail"s pace. "Can I keep going?" She asked, straightening up, her arms pushing her cum covered cleavage to view -- she probably caught me looking. Her hips shifted, grinding her thighs together, bringing my attention to her groin. A drop of arousal dripped down her inner thigh, telling me she was enjoying this as much as I was.
  
  "I"d love it if you did," I told her honestly, a hand going up to her nightie. Hestia let me take it off her, careful not to get more cum on it, before I tossed it to the side, revealing her chest to me. She started to move to cover her breasts, only for my hands to grab her wrists, stopping her. "Would you like to try something else?" I asked, my gaze darting back down to her marvelous breasts.
  
  Her sizable breasts fought against gravity, perfectly perky despite their weight with a small pink nipple serving as their peek.
  
  "Something new?" Hestia asked as I let go of her wrists so my hands could go to her chest. A breathless moan escaped her, tilting her head back, my cum still coating her face. I assaulted her nipples again, rolling them between my fingers as I leaned in close. The size difference made it awkward, but I planted a kiss at the base of her neck, leaving behind a lovebite.
  
  "Do you know what a titjob is, my goddess?" I asked, whispering in her ear. I heard her swallow thickly, her hands continuing to stroke my cock.
  
  "I think I can guess," Hestia muttered back, "but how..." She trailed off, one hand going up to touch my abs. Her fingers were a little wet with something, but I paid it no mind.
  
  "There are a couple of ways. I could lay on my back with you on top, or if I sit on the edge of the bed you can do it like that. And, I guess you could be on the bottom and I thrust," I explained, trying to picture the last one. I"d probably crush her underneath me on accident, so maybe I shouldn"t have brought that one up.
  
  Hestia"s hand retreated from my abs to push on my chest, "lay down," she ordered, her voice husky. "T-this is all about you this morning, so I don"t want you doing anything but relaxing, okay?" She said, trying to copy my tone. She hadn"t succeeded there, but the results were the same. Hearing her speak like that was arousing as all hell.
  
  "Yes ma"am," I agreed, a smile in my voice as I shifted back down, using a pillow to make myself a little more comfortable. Hestia glanced down at my still hard cock, uncertainly. Right when I was about to instruct her how to start, Hestia leaned forward, cupping her breasts and planting my penis between them. Squeezing down, she glanced up at me to see if she was doing it right and when she got an approving nod, Hestia slowly began to rise up and down, the cum and spit providing lube.
  
  It felt surprisingly good. Her breasts were firm enough to offer some resistance but were just as soft. Her movements were awkward, unsure of herself, but that didn"t detract from the experience. "Does it feel good?" She asked, forced to move her entire upper body to cover the length of my cock, a significant portion of it poking up between. Her open eye looked down at it, memorized by the sight, an expression of shock appearing each time the tip of my penis neared her face each time she moved.
  
  "It feels great," I told her, a hand going down to rest on top of her head, savoring the feeling of her breasts wrapped around my cock. My words encouraged her, prompting her to increase her pace. Her gaze flicked up to me for a moment before she stuck her tongue out to lick the head, getting a soft sigh from me. "Keep doing that," I instructed, my other hand going down to play with her nipples.
  
  Minutes passed and I felt another orgasm brewing in my balls. Hestia"s eye was glazed over, lost in pleasure even as she pleasured me. She took the head into her mouth, her tongue lapping at it, drool dripping from the seal around it down my dick, into her breasts that offered more lubrication. A sheen of it marked her chin, the sounds of a sloppy blowjob echoing in the small room.
  
  A small gag escaped her when she took me down a little too far, forcing her to back off. Before I could say anything, she went right back to it, licking at my dick free of its coat of cum and saliva and popped it back into her mouth as her breasts continued to massage me.
  
  "I"m about to cum again," I warned her, feeling my climax inch closer the longer she continued. At the very least, I lasted a lot longer this time. Instead of backing off like last time, Hestia latched down around my cock, probably wanting to avoid another blast of cum to the face. My balls clenched as my dick throbbed as I felt the cum erupt from me, telling me it was a massive load before Hestia"s eyes shot open in shock.
  
  Her cheeks bulged out comically as a groan escaped me, she pulled back after taking a few blasts. When she did, another rope of cum hit her in the face, coating her cheek while another two did the same to her bare breasts. Hestia looked down at herself in some panic, my dick finally beginning to wilt -- it seems two shots was all I could do for now.
  
  "Are you supposed to cum this much?" Hestia asked, cupping her hands around her breasts to catch drops of cum that dripped down her body. Her upper body wasn"t completely coated in a glaze of white, but there was a lot of cum. A lot of cum. I watched one droplet drip down between her cleavage, going down her flat stomach where it would have hit her thong but Hestia killed its ambitions by wiping it away, spearing it over her stomach.
  
  "I have no idea," I admitted, searing the sight to memory. She looked good like that, I decided as she searched for something to clean herself with. Still, my attention dipped to her groin, she was completely drenched. Had she cum again from me playing with her nipples? I don"t think so, I hadn"t seen the signs of her having an orgasm. I guess she really did enjoy that as much as I did. "But that felt amazing," I told her as I pushed myself up, towering over her.
  
  Hestia smiled up at me, the fact that her face had more than a little cum on it didn"t detract at all from the sight. "I"m glad," she told me honestly, "did...you feel as good as you made me feel?" She questioned, unsubtly looking down at my flaccid dick.
  
  I cracked a grin, "I dunno...last night was so long ago..." I started, a hand going down to her thigh as I started to lean over her. Hestia leaned back, surprised until her back hit the bed. She looked up at me wide-eyed, her mouth open to ask what I was doing, but a moan came out instead when my fingers went to her covered vagina, zeroing in on the pleasure button.
  
  Hestia"s hips jerked, her breath hitching, clearly enjoying it but when she shook her head, I paused. "T-today was supposed to be about you," she protested weakly, her hips going up, searching for my touch of their own will.
  
  "But I like watching you cum, my goddess," I told her, my fingertips going back down to her aching clit. She had already soaked through the fabric I realized when I traced her slit. "And how could I leave my goddess alone when she needs me so desperately?" I asked, making small circles on her vagina, something she seemed to love as she quivered underneath me.
  
  "You- fuuu," Hestia breathed, her hands latching onto an arm as she stared up at me, her jack slack so her mouth was wide open. Her moans were music to the ear, slowly getting higher in pitch as she rapidly neared her own orgasm. I saw the exact moment it hit her like a sack of bricks, her hips bucked underneath my touch, her juices gushing out of her, the thin fabric offering up as a flimsy barrier. I kept making those small circles, drawing out her orgasm.
  
  It was minutes later when Hestia finally began to calm down, though she still trembled. I knew she finally came to when she closed her mouth, her breathing evening out. "J-Jericho..." Hestia moaned, a hand going down to mine, bringing it closer to her groin- at least she was before she pushed my hands away.
  
  "I"m sorry, was that too much?" I asked, not sure if I had overstepped or not. Hestia quickly shook her head, soothing my fears.
  
  "No, I-" Hestia cut herself off, closing her legs as I moved to get off her, her hand still gripping mine. "I just...I want your...thing...to be the first thing that enters me...down there," Hestia said, and impossibly, she blushed even brighter than she had before. I half expected steam to come bursting out of her ears like a teapot left on the stove too long.
  
  It was a very good thing that I didn"t have a third shot in me because I probably would have buried myself into her right then. Luckily, my brain had the lion share of blood now, and immediately I zeroed in on the issue there. "Hestia, have you ever masturbated before?" I asked, catching her off guard with the question.
  
  Hesitantly, still blushing but at ease as I rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb. "I haven"t," she admitted shyly.
  
  Wow. So, a virgin in every sense of the word, huh? "Then that might be a bad idea," I told her, my voice low, "I could really hurt you when we make love for the first time. I mean, like physically hurt you." Vaginal tearing was no joke. I had a bitch breaker and Hestia would be beyond virgin tight -- I watched enough hentai to know anime women"s vaginas were probably one of the most durable things in existence, but I didn"t want Hestia associating sex with excruciating pain.
  
  "It"s fine," Hestia tried to dismiss the issue, but I pressed on.
  
  "Hestia, the very last thing I ever want to do is hurt you," I told her, getting a giddy smile since I was telling the truth. "But if we don"t stretch you out before we have sex, then you"re going to be in incredible pain. I"m talking about the kind of pain that we"ll need to keep a health potion nearby, to-"
  
  "Then we"ll do that," Hestia decided, squeezing my hand, giving me a firm look. "Jericho, I know you mean well, but I"ve been saving my virginity for thousands of years. This is how I want to lose it," Hestia told me firmly, cutting me off when I opened my mouth to argue. I really didn"t think she understood just how much that was going to hurt.
  
  But, if we"re going by hentai biology, then, theoretically, if I got her aroused enough then somehow that would mean it wouldn"t hurt going it. Not entirely sure how that worked, but it was a pretty prevalent thing in hentai. Hell, if I did enough foreplay, then me thrusting into her could give her a mind-blowing orgasm, or something.
  
  However, Hestia took my hesitation as something else. "I know I"m acting all...slutty," she told me, unable to look up at me all of a sudden as I blinked in surprise. "I know we"ve only known each other a few days, and I"ve been tempting you, but I-I, Jericho, I...!"
  
  "What?" I blurted before I could stop myself, probably cutting off an emotional outburst. If I could have stopped myself, I would have, but that caught me completely off guard. Tempting me? I mean, I guess, but that was me being a horndog more than her putting any effort into tempting me.
  
  "I"ve been tempting you," Hestia explained as if what she said made any sense. "When you give me massages, I always turn it into...something else. And I touched your p-penis and stuff," she kinda explained, but not really.
  
  "Hestia," I interrupted, "I"ve been seducing you," I told her bluntly, wanting to nip that miscommunication in the bud.
  
  "What?" Hestia blurted, looking at me with no small amount of bewilderment. "You"ve been seducing me?"
  
  "...yeah?" I admitted with some sheepishness. Maybe I shouldn"t have said anything?
  
  Hestia still looked completely bewildered, like I was trying to tell her that the sky was green and it was raining jagamarukuns. "But...really?" She questioned, trying to wrap her head around the fact but she was visibly struggling with the concept that I was seducing her.
  
  "Yeah," I confirmed, feeling more than a little awkward about it now. I shouldn"t have said anything. I should have reassured her, or something, then we could have ended on a cute, high note. "I...kinda thought you knew?"
  
  "Oh..." Hestia trailed off, not looking...displeased by that, which was a lot better than her getting angry. "Is that why you"ve been so...?" She questioned, drawing into herself.
  
  I shook my head, buying me a second to gather my thoughts, "I can"t say that it doesn"t have something to do with it." I admitted honestly, seeing Hestia tense up at that, "but, it"s not like that was the whole reason, you know?" I quickly continued, feeling like there was a lot better way to tell her this. "I mean, I, well, I do care about you, Hestia. A lot. And it"s pretty clear you"re exhausted after work, so I would have done a lot of that stuff anyway."
  
  She hadn"t let go of my hand, so that was a good sign. "And since you were so receptive to it, I guess I kept pushing the envelope. I..." I trailed off lamely, having no idea what I was trying to say. "I guess, I wanted you to like me as much as I liked you? So, I went out of my way to get massage oils and stuff?" Which was pretty much the textbook definition of seductions. God, when I wasn"t ripping off one-liners, I actually sucked at this whole conversation thing.
  
  "So...you aren"t just doing this because you want to sleep with me?" Hestia asked, her voice carefully kept even as she looked up at me. The serene expression she was going for was ruined by the sheer amount of cum on her face, but I took her seriously all the same.
  
  "No, I"m not doing all of this just because I want to sleep with you," I answered, squeezing her hand. Again, I couldn"t help but note it was comically small in mine. "If you want to stop all this, then we can," I offered, "just say the word."
  
  Hestia fiddled where she sat, "I don"t want to stop," she told me and I couldn"t hide the relief that flowed through me. Hestia looked up at me for a moment before she leaned in for a hug- ah, that was gross. The cum on her chest and face smeared over me, Hestia completely oblivious to it as she hugged me as tightly as she could.
  
  Clenching my eyes, ignoring the gross factor, I hugged her back. I let out a breath I hadn"t realized I had been holding. This was...nice. Clearing the air, making sure that we were on the same page. When I opened my eyes, I looked over the room, spotting the oils and mat still on the coffee table, next to a pile of books that I hadn"t touched yet. I really needed to take a moment and start reading them, but it felt like there was never enough time in the day.
  
  Then my gaze landed on my breastplate leaning up near the door. I had to be seen taking it off so no one would know about my Inventory at the Guild...but...call it post nut clarity, but why was I keeping it a secret from Hestia? She was my goddess. I always preferred it when I was reading fanfiction that the gamer abilities remained a secret and exclusive, but just because that"s how I preferred it in fiction didn"t mean it was a bright idea to do it in reality.
  
  It was a pretty big thing to keep secret for no real reason. At all.
  
  "Hestia, there"s one more thing I need to tell you," I said, ruining the tender moment before I could talk myself out of it. This was something she needed to know. Not just about my Inventory, but about my Skill Gamer Body.
  
  Hestia pulled back from me, her expression more curious than cautious underneath smeared cum. I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn"t come. How did I explain this? It would be similar to show her, I figured.
  
  I reached into my inventory, sticking my hand into empty air, and pulled out one of the leftover magic stones. I held it out to her, seeing growing confusion on her face. You know what? I probably should have saved this conversation when Hestia wasn"t covered in cum. When I didn"t more than a little of it smear over me from the hug. She took it from my hand, looking back up at me, "a magic trick?" She tried to rationalize but I shook my head.
  
  "I figured out what my Skill Gamer Body does," I started slowly. Actually, to further prove my point, I pulled another towel that I stole from the guildhall out to pass over to her. Now, Hestia looked far more concerned than confused, there was no mistaking that for a sleight of hand. She took it, looking it over for a moment, then her gaze silently demanding an explanation.
  
  "Tell me everything," Hestia asked, wiping cum from her face.
  
  So, I did. I started right from the beginning. I started with my death at the front bumper of Truck-kun, which lead me to explain what a truck was. Then that lead me to explain that I was from a different world. And, oddly enough, Hestia hadn"t been totally blown away by that fact like I expected.
  
  Despite it only happening for a couple of days, there was a lot to talk about. Some parts got glossed over as we moved on from topic to topic. My character creator wasn"t mentioned beyond that I could choose my start and what perks I could get. Which lead to Hestia asking if that was why I always smelled good. My Inventory raised more questions than my stats, though I did explain what an exp bar was.
  
  Hestia listened, nodding every once in a while to show that she was still following along. When I finished, she gave one final serene nod. "It sounds like one of the gods in heaven is making their own fun," she said, handing me the cum stained towel to watch me put it back into my inventory.
  
  "Er," I started, not exactly sure how to respond to that. Of all the responses I expected, that...hadn"t been on the list. I expected yelling, or an existential crisis, or something like that. Hestia saw my confusion and continued.
  
  "Jericho, the gods in heaven can still use their arcanum, so they can do some very...incredible, if questionable things," Hestia began, leaning against me as she spoke, one hand tracing my bicep. "It sounds like one of them looked into the far future and took your soul when...when you died and instead of reincarnating you like normal, they altered your soul in some way before sending you down back into the past."
  
  What? There was a whole lot to unpack there. I don"t even know where to start.
  
  "I"m...not sure about that," I argued, frowning in thought. I knew about the Danmachi universe, and I had my choice to pick which world I went to. "Wait...do the gods know about other worlds?" I questioned, making Hestia"s hand stop.
  
  A sigh seemed to deflate her, "yes?" Hestia said, the confirmation sounding like a question. "Heaven is timeless, Jericho and it"s everywhere. This world, the lower world, was the only one that we can interact with at all, but the gods do know of a couple of other worlds. Some have a talent for finding them -- they, ah, served as entertainment back in Heaven before we came down."
  
  Huh. This...brought up a lot of theological questions that I wasn"t prepared to think about. "So, what, do all souls go to heaven?" I asked, thinking back to my strict catholic upbringing. Was that true for the entire multiverse?
  
  Hestia shook her head, "no, not all of them. If the world is close enough, then a god can take a soul from that world. I think that"s what happened to you," Hestia elaborated, "but this is the only world where all souls go to heaven. From there, they"re usually reincarnated since the gods back in heaven are really overworked. Like, really, really, really overworked. If all the souls from all the worlds went to Heaven..." Hestia trailed off, giving an exaggerated shiver, a haunted look on her face since it wasn"t that long ago she was one of those overworked gods.
  
  "So, did they...arrange my death?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around the idea. Was it possible? I don"t know. It made as much sense as a game system deciding to give me a second lease on life after death. And there was the whole typical ROB thing that most self-inserts used which was pretty much the same thing as Hestia was describing -- a bored god seeking entertainment at another's expense. Not to mention I had a literal god confirming that it was possible.
  
  But I couldn't bring myself to fully buy into the idea. I could have gone to an entirely different world, so...I don"t know.
  
  It was pretty much the basis of most self-insert stories, but getting it confirmed like that...I don"t know. It made me feel...small. And weak. And completely at the mercy of a being that I wasn"t aware of that could be watching me right now for its own amusement.
  
  "That"s impossible," Hestia denied with a shake of her head, "when we"re in heaven, a god can"t interact with the lower world at all. Well, there"s the occasional oracle that can communicate with a god every once and a while, but we can"t do anything like...what happened to you."
  
  "Huh," I muttered, mulling that over for a moment before Hestia continued. She squeezed my hand, bring my attention back to her.
  
  "Did...it hurt?" Hestia asked, her eyes filled with concern. It...helped more than one would think, knowing that was her priority out of everything I had just told her. She didn"t ask why I wanted to keep it a secret or try to metagame my ability or anything like that. What she took out of it was that I remembered my own death and she was worried about how that affected me. I really didn"t deserve her at all, did I?
  
  My mind went back to those few moments -- all of it had happened so fast. I was walking back from a house party, minding my own business, then I looked up just in time to see a truck cross three lanes to slam into me. "No, not really. As soon as it hit me, everything just went black. So, there"s that, at least."
  
  Then I shoved those thoughts to the side, wrapping an arm around Hestia to bring her in close, "but, in the end, whoever did this to me did me a favor. Without it, I never would have met you," I pointed out, looking down to give her a grin.
  
  Hestia let out a small huff as she made herself comfortable, content to be cuddled. "Jericho, I"m not worth you..." she couldn"t even say it, her voice so small, barely above a whisper.
  
  "I think it was," I told her honestly. "Back home, ah, well, let"s just say that I didn"t leave much behind. So, as odd as it is to say, I think dying might have been the best thing that has ever happened to me," I said with a small laugh. Hestia tried really hard not to smile back at me, but I knew that she was when she snuggled into my chest.
  
  "Just don"t do it again," Hestia muttered, squeezing me with surprising strength, her breast pressed against my stomach.
  
  "One death was more than enough for me. I promise I"m here to stay."
  
  ...
  
  In the end, I had an appointment to keep, so I was eventually forced to depart. Hestia had crawled back into bed after making a shocked sound when she saw the hourglass. Her side of the bed was still damp from our activities -- I needed to get some sheets, and that new bed I was wanting because I was tired of having my legs dangle off the side. Actually, while I was at it, I should start looking into getting a new place as well.
  
  Still, after everything, I felt good as I approached the Guildhall. Coming clean felt good. Even better, Hestia reacted better than I could have imagined.
  
  I didn"t see Lili in the central plaza, so I walked up the steps to the Guildhall to see that it was practically deserted. A skeleton crew working the Guild, while not a single adventurer to be seen, nor Lili. I was a little early, so I guess she hadn"t arrived yet.
  
  I looked around the Guildhall, wondering what I should do to kill some time before my eyes lingered on a board that covered the far wall. I noticed it before, recognizing it for what it was, but I dismissed it since I couldn"t do anything on it. Even still, with nothing else to do, I walked over to inspect a board covered in dozens of sheets of paper.
  
  Quests. Requests for items, to investigate something on the deeper floors, recruitment posters and so on. Anyone could put up a quest for just about everything it seemed. As I expected, most of them revolved going down into the deep floors -- requests for ten minotaur horns, thirty orc hides and so on. Nothing for the upper floors, either because they were quickly taken or whoever wanted them got them themselves.
  
  Idly, I reached out to lift one to see another quest underneath it, only for a screen to fill my vision.
  
  Quest: Retrieve Blue Papilio Wings
  Objective: Go to the seventh floor to find a Blue Papilio, kill it and bring pack the drop item.
  Reward: 5,000 exp. 25,000 valis.​
  
  Hold up. You wait one fucking second. Was this why I wasn"t getting random generic quests every three seconds for mundane tasks? Because they were locked behind this crap? And what was with those rewards? 5,000 exp? I killed a man for that much exp, and all I had to do to get the same amount was kill whatever the fuck a blue papilio was?!
  
  I...I don"t even...Well...at the very least, I found another source of exp. With new interest, I poured over the quests, trying to find one that was on the sixth floor or above. No such luck. I found another for the seventh floor, to get 100 killer ant mandibles for 20,000 exp and 50,000 valis as a reward. But nothing for the sixth floor.
  
  "Good morning Mr. Jericho!" Lili returned, sounding extremely chipper for this early hour. I got up at this time most days, but that didn"t mean I liked to do it. I needed at least three cups of coffee before I became anything recognizable as a human being. That God- er, gods for Gamer Body. "Are you looking for a quest to take?"
  
  "Er, good morning. And yeah, " I confirmed, looking down at her. "But, it looks like there"s nothing above the seventh floor.
  
  Lili nodded, adjusting the straps to her backpack. I was never going to get over how odd it looked seeing a small girl like Lili lifting a bag like that with utter ease, especially when I struggled with it so much yesterday. "There won"t be, but if Mr. Jericho is fine with taking quests that don"t involve the Dungeon, then he can always visit a tavern and most tend to have a quest board."
  
  I guess that was another reason to check out the Hostess of Fertility.
  
  "Well, it"s something to keep in mind, I guess," I said, taking one last look at the quest board before turning away. I needed to start taking quests, the sooner the better. If it was possible to catch up to the amount of exp I needed every day, then that was it.
  
  "Lili is all set! Lili will admit that she isn't used to waking up this early -- does Mr. Jericho always come this early?" Lili asked as we walked towards the Dungeon.
  
  I shrugged my shoulders, "I haven"t been an adventurer long enough to call it a habit, but I"ll probably usually come around this time. If that"s okay?"
  
  Lili nodded, "Lili is really impressed," she said, sounding impressed but I got the feeling that she wasn"t beneath the facade. "Did Mr. Jericho start this early yesterday?" When I nodded, she continued to gush, "Mr. Jericho really is an incredible adventurer! Lili wishes she big and strong like Mr. Jericho instead of being a weak pallum!"
  
  And it was never going to stop catching me off guard when she said really depressing stuff like that in such a happy voice.
  
  "Lili tried to be an adventurer, but she didn"t have any talent for it, that's how Lili became a supporter instead," Lili said, giving me a smile as she craned her head to look up at me. I knew what she was doing too -- she was trying to drum up pity, to tug at my heartstrings. And it was working.
  
  "Well," how did I navigate this minefield? "If you"d like, maybe I can try to help you with that?" I offered, though it sounded a lot like a question. "I mean, I can act as your backup-" I would have continued but Lili was already shaking her head no.
  
  "Mr. Jericho is very kind, but it's okay. Lili just doesn"t have the talent to be a strong adventurer. Maybe in the next life, the gods will bless Lili with the strength to be one," Lili dismissed with a shake of her head.
  
  "I..." I trailed off, not knowing what to say to that. I could hardly grab her by the shoulders and tell her to stop being depressed and believe in herself. For starters, we met each other once. Bonds were quick to form in combat, but not that quick.
  
  "Jericho!" A woman's voice interrupted me before I could say anything, I looked over to see Eina waving me down as she walked up to me.
  
  "Oh, hey," I greeted, giving her a smile that hid my nervousness. I knew exactly what she was about to say before she said it.
  
  "Good morning," Eina greeted before turning to Lili, a pleasant expression on her face that couldn"t hide her suspicious eyes. "Are you his supporter, miss...?"
  
  "Lili"s name is Lili, and she is Mr. Jericho"s supporter," Lili confirmed with a nod of her head, looking at me with some confusion. That pleasant smile on Eina"s face turned downright deadly.
  
  "I see. And, why would a rookie that's only been an adventurer for three days, who should still be on the first floor, need the help of a supporter?" Eina asked, her tone sharp as a blade. It must have been because each word was a different cut into my soul with how she was looking at me.
  
  "Ummm," I started, looking absolutely everywhere but at her, "a rookie adventurer that's going down to the sixth floor?" I answered, bracing myself. It seemed that I was going to get yelled at this morning, and Eina didn"t disappoint in that regard. Unfortunately.
  
  "The sixth floor?!" Eina shouted, bringing the few people that were in the Guildhall to turn their attention to us. "You"ve been going down to the sixth floor? Since when?" She demanded, but something in her tone told me that she knew exactly when I went down. "Since. When?" She repeated when I failed to answer.
  
  "Uh," I started, my gaze drifting over to the Dungeon, wondering if it was worth it to just make a break for it. "You know. The other day..." Did I really have to take this? Wait, I don"t think I did. I didn"t have to stand here and get yelled at-
  
  "You mean the day you went down there in nothing but a blanket?!" Eina shouted, the growing fury on her face cutting off any thought of telling her off for yelling at me.
  
  "Mr. Jericho went into the Dungeon wearing a blanket?" Lili questioned, making me look at her with no small amount of exasperation.
  
  "It"s a long story," I avoided the question before turning to Eina. "And...yeah- But!" I hastily continued when she took in another breath to continue yelling at me, "but I can handle it. Yesterday, I pulled in about thirty thousand valis, and I barely suffered a scratch -- see," I pointed out, gesturing to my pants that were still stitched together, revealing no skin.
  
  "Lili can vouch for Mr. Jericho," Lili offered, giving Eina a nod, "Actually, Lili thinks that Mr. Jericho could go down to the seventh floor with his abilities."
  
  Eina turned on the smaller girl, her glare so sharp it probably would have taken off some health points if she aimed it at me. Lili just smiled back sweetly, which took the edge off Eina focused fury. "Are you saying that a rookie adventurer should go down to the seventh floor, where killer ants spawn? The rookie killers of the upper floors?"
  
  That might have been a rhetorical question, but Lili nodded all the same as my mind raced. Did she actually think I could make it on the seventh floor? But...hm...I had wondered about my stat points since they lacked the letter grade that Danmachi went by, but hadn"t the game system before I arrived here said something about syncing?
  
  I figured I was able to advance so fast was mostly because of my height, natural strength, and the monsters I was up against being so weak I could step on them to kill them. But that didn"t explain the jumps in power I was experiencing. Did my stats not match up with the typical falna system?
  
  Or...was I overthinking it, and it was the quality of my enemies that made it so easy for me to advance and Lili was lowkey trying to get me killed?
  
  "Lili might not look very reliable, but she"s been as deep as the eleventh floor," Lili said, earning a shocked look from Eina. "Lili believes that Mr. Jericho can go to the seventh floor, but if he does get overwhelmed, then Lili promises that she"ll make sure that he returns," Lili stated and what I wouldn"t give to have Hestia standing next to me to see if she was telling the truth.
  
  I had no idea where I stood with Lili other than I made a really, really awful first impression then kinda made up for it by slitting the loot evenly. What I did know was that she hated adventurers and I was an adventurer.
  
  Though, thankfully, that seemed to take the wind from Eina"s sails. She searched Lili"s face for any hint that she was lying before she let out a sigh, turning her attention back to me. "I...can"t stop you from going down there, but have you at least done the reading that I gave you to prepare for it."
  
  "I-" I started, a lie on my tongue, but I hesitated to say it. That hesitation cost me. Eina frowned at me, pushing up her glasses and giving me a disappointed look.
  
  "I see. Misha said you were serious about this," she commented, earning a small wince from me. That was...fair, I guess.
  
  "I meant to read them, but there just hasn"t been much time," I protested, "I"ve been in the Dungeon for about twelve hours every day, and when I get back home I"m spending time with Hestia."
  
  Eina"s lips pressed together into a small frown, then she nodded slowly, apparently accepting my excuse which made me warier than reassured. "I understand," she said, "you"re the first member of a new familia, so it"s understandable that you"re feeling overwhelmed..." She trailed off and I couldn"t shake the feeling that there was a but coming.
  
  "But," she continued, "these are things that you have to learn, Jericho. Especially when you don"t have a senior to teach you. If there's not enough time, then you have to make time!"
  
  "Well," I started, frowning at her. She wasn"t wrong, not really. I just had higher priorities -- gaining exp, Hestia, earning Lili"s trust and providing for my familia. There just weren"t enough hours in the day.
  
  "I"ll do whatever I can to meet you halfway," Eina offered, her expression serious. "I can tutor you, offer lessons, explanations, whatever you need to survive down there. But I can"t help you if you don"t try to help yourself."
  
  She really wanted to help me. My excuses for not accepting it felt hollow -- how much exp could I gather in two hours? A couple hundred? Maybe a little more? I was already so far behind the amount of exp I needed to gain to level up in sync with the canon timeline that a couple of hundred exp was just a drop in the bucket.
  
  If they were that important, then I just had to make up for the lost time.
  
  "Okay," I agreed with a nod, seeing a smile tug at the edges of Eina"s face. "I"ll cut my day short by a few hours. Around...threeish?" I offered, getting a firm nod from Eina. She visibly relaxed, the tension easing out of her posture.
  
  "Threeish it is," Eina agreed, her smile becoming a lot friendlier in nature. "I know I"m being pushy about this, but I"m doing this for your own good. I hope that you know that," Eina said, getting a lopsided grin out of me.
  
  "Don"t worry about that," I dismissed with a shake of my head. "To be honest, it"s probably a good thing that you are pushing the issue. It"s not like I"m avoiding reading about the Dungeon, but I have so many other priorities it got bumped down the list."
  
  "I understand," Eina said, offering me another smile and a nod, stepping out of our way. "I"ll see you at three. Just...please, be careful."
  
  With that, we made our way into the Dungeon, passing through familiar halls. As soon as we hit the second floor, I looked down at Lili to catch her looking up at me. "Does Mr. Jericho want to carry Lili again?"
  
  "If it wouldn"t be a bother," I said, dropping to a knee so Lili could climb on. Rising to my feet, I felt the difference between today and yesterday. It still felt like Lili"s pack was filled with bricks, and I still had to hunch over to avoid her strangling me, but I could lift her with more ease. Walking was still a struggle, though.
  
  Picking up the pace, I started to jog through the tunnels, the Dungeon offering up minimal resistance to let me delve deeper into it. A goblin jumped out of a shadow, only to be skewered as I passed it by. We didn"t bother picking up the monster stones from the first couple of floors anymore. With my map open, it didn"t take us long to pass through the third, fourth or fifth floors.
  
  Arriving on the sixth, I already felt my legs burning with exertion, my breaths were deep but under control even as a sheen of sweat formed on my forehead. "Does Mr. Jericho need to take a break?" Lili asked, hanging off my neck.
  
  "I"m good," I told her, picking up the pace as I began to head towards the unexplored parts of the floor, still searching for the entrance to the seventh floor. I heard the sharp sound of the Dungeon walls cracking to give birth to monsters. "Lili-" I started, only for Lili to let go of me so I could fight unimpeded.
  
  A war shadow emerged from the shadows, a lone eye turning towards me as three others appeared behind it. I raised my sword, rushing towards the first and it lunged to meet me. Its three claws slashed at me, only to feel the bite of my new sword as I swung at its arm. My blade felt like it was moving through cement or tar, I was able to cut through it but it was hardly a clean cut. The offending arm fell to the ground, but before it hit, I switched my grip to hit the monster with the backswing.
  
  I slashed at its hip, intent on bisecting the monster, but again it felt like I was cutting through tar. I was forced to grip my sword with both hands to force my sword through. As the two halves hit the ground, I moved on to the other three.
  
  Head strikes seemed to be the most effective against these monsters, I thought as I thrust my sword at the oversized eye of one of the war shadows. It bobbed out of the way, the edge of my sword cutting its face. But that was fine. I lashed out with a fist at another when it lunged at me, trying to seize an opportunity. My fist slammed into the side of its head, my reach far greater than its, and as it lost its balance, I skewered it with my sword.
  
  By that time the other two were on top of me. I backed off, dodging a swipe at my chest before backing off another few steps. My chest was protected, by my legs weren"t. They were what I had to worry about. Sucking in a low breath, I attacked the closet war shadow. I swiped at its head, only for it to duck underneath. That was fine, I figured as I threw a knee at its head.
  
  It smacked into its giant eyeball, crushing it. At the same time, the other war shadow swiped at my thigh. My sword was in position to absorb the worst of the attack, but I felt pain flare in my thigh as its claws bit into them. Snarling, I stabbed the monster through the chest, grabbing it by the head to slam it against the Dungeon wall, hitting the last war shadow, knocking it off its feet. When the war shadows head cracked open like an egg, I finished off the last one.
  
  20 exp right there.
  
  "Is Mr. Jericho alright?" Lili asked, appearing from behind me, sparing a glance at my leg. I inspected the cut, seeing that it was little more than a flesh wound that took off a single point of health, I gave her a nod.
  
  "All good," I told her, looking out at the tunnels in front of us. Lili grabbed the monster stones with practiced ease, spending less than two minutes to do all of them. It was a small break, but I appreciate it before Lili retook her place on my back as I continued to jog through the tunnels, my sword at the ready.
  
  "Did Mr. Jericho get a lot of stat points for carrying Lili?" Lili asked as I ran, surprising me. Yesterday, I was the one that had to make idle conversation.
  
  "What makes you say that?" I asked, keeping my breathing even. Who would have guessed those years in cross-country would have paid off? I spotted another monster crawling out of the walls. A goblin. "Hold on," I said, jumping up to come down on the monster, crushing it underfoot.
  
  "Ah, Lili shouldn"t have asked that. Falna is supposed to be super secretive," she informed, probably thinking that I didn"t know. "Please forgive Lili"s rudeness!"
  
  "Eh, it"s all good," I dismissed the issue, turning a corner, "but, yeah, I made a bit of progress." How much progress, I wasn"t certain anymore. I thought I was still a scrub level newb adventurer, but if my stats had more weight than normal, then I wasn"t sure where exactly I stood.
  
  "...Mr. Jericho, when Lili said statuses are secretive, she meant that Mr. Jericho shouldn"t say anything about his." She commented lightly, earning a huff from me.
  
  "It"s not like I"m listing out how much I gained, or anything. The reason you asked was that you noticed I was able to run with you longer, right?" I shot back, keeping my pace and breathing even. Four steps breathing in and four steps breathing out. "But...Lili, did you mean what you said you thought I could make it on the seventh floor?"
  
  Lili didn"t answer for a beat of silence, "Lili thinks that Mr. Jericho could, but it would be a bad idea." She answered slowly, her tone carefully even to give nothing away. "Mr. Jericho"s swordsmanship is very...erm..."
  
  "Bad? Awful? Sucks?" I offered, thinking that much was true. Unless the times me and my brother beat the ever-loving shit out of each other with lightsabers counted, I never held a sword before coming here.
  
  "So, she would be worried about Mr. Jericho not being able to kill the killer ants fast enough since if they have a chance to release pheromones as they"re dying, they"ll attract a swarm. But, Mr. Jericho is also super strong, so he might be able to cut through the ants exoskeletons." Lili said, ignoring my suggestions, but confirming them with her lack of a comment.
  
  I nodded at her words, turning another corner before being forced to take a hit in the chest from a frog shooter. My hand darted out, grabbing the tongue, and yanking it towards me. I stomped on its head, the eye breaking apart like jello before I moved on. All the while, I pondered what she said.
  
  Images of a cavern filled with ants came to mind from a scene in the anime. Dozens of ants, like what you see when you poke an anthill, only the ants were the size of people. I wouldn"t be able to do anything against numbers like that. But, if it was a few at a time...if hacking at the exoskeleton didn"t do the trick, then I could always just start stomping on them since that always seemed to do the trick.
  
  "...Could you tell me their weak points?" I asked, mulling an idea over. I was so far behind where I needed to be, it went so far beyond not being funny that it looped back around to be hilarious. I needed exp and, unless I want to start murdering people, then I needed better sources of it. Quests would give me a ton, but the floors I had to get to to do them were out of reach. I could fight on the sixth floor practically naked if I could go into the seventh, then I should.
  
  What if a killer ant gave 10 exp? Killing the same number of war shadows earlier would net me 40 exp. The spawn times increased, so I would spend more time fighting them -- if I increased my stats enough, I could fight with Lili on my back and grind them even further. Stats were the priority, but if I could avoid falling further behind the daily exp need, then I would.
  
  "Their necks, legs, and eyes are weak points. The legs more so to disable a killer ant to make finishing it off easier," Lili answered.
  
  "And how long does it take for a swarm to gather?" I questioned, thinking I could do that easily enough. Chop off heads, stomp on them if I couldn't, or take out the legs before doing either above.
  
  "It depends," Lili hedged, "the pheromones attract killer ants that are nearby after a few minutes. Swarms don't really happen until you reach the lower floors or you're near a pantry." Lili explained, eliminating my biggest worry. If I wasn't going to face down a hundred of the buggers, then I was feeling pretty confident about my odds.
  
  "...Are we near the entrance?" I asked after a moment of thought.
  
  "...we are. Just up ahead, and turn left then right. Is Mr. Jericho sure about this?" Lili questioned as I picked up the pace. I nodded in response, taking a left and spotting the right.
  
  "I won't explore too far. I'll hang around the entrance for a quick escape," I told her, thinking over the plan again. There could be some resistance when we try to retreat, but, for the most part, I could run through whatever the Dungeon threw at me. The ants weren"t likely to follow me up, but even if they did, I was certain I could outrun them.
  
  "If Mr. Jericho is sure," Lili agreed as I finally laid eyes on the entrance to the seventh floor. I looked down at it, an innocent-looking hole in the wall with steps carved downward. I lowered myself, letting Lili hop off my back while a hand went to the satchel to pull out a stamina potion. I downed it in a single gulp before I found myself walking down the steps, Lili a step behind me.
  
  Then, I set foot on the seventh floor for the first time.
  
  I took in the new floor. It looked nearly identical to the sixth, except for that the color had changed. The floors lost the bluish hue to them from the glowing crystals in the wall, revealing everything to be a dull yellowish-brown. The stones overhead were yellow in color, acting as a fluorescent light almost.
  
  "Mr. Jericho seems very happy," Lili noted, adjusting her strap.
  
  "I am," I agreed, smiling faintly, my eyes peeled for trouble. I was on a new floor, fighting new monsters, and hopefully making leaps forward instead of baby steps.
  
  "Most adventurers spend at least a year getting to this floor," Lili reminded lightly. And I did it in less than a week.
  
  Before I could make a comment back, the wall cracked in front of us, a killer ant pushing itself through. It looked like the ant in the Ant-man movie, I noticed as I rushed towards it. Except its exoskeleton had an almost glossy sheen to it underneath the light and its black eyes were the same color as the deepest, darkest pit in the depths of hell. It was a lot larger than the other monsters I fought so far, standing tall it would be around 5 feet, though it was the same size as Lili when it stood on all its legs.
  
  No sooner than it freed itself from the Dungeon wall, I fell upon it. Lili"s words were fresh in mind. I swung at its head, where its thorax and head met and felt my blade sink into it. It caught halfway, almost like the war shadows before, but this time it was something hard that stopped me from decapitating it in one go. Even with my sword buried in it, the ant lunged at me, intent on biting down on my thigh, and it would have managed it if I hadn"t jerked my leg back.
  
  Clenching my teeth, I forced my blade through, cutting through what looked like a bone to do it. Its head fell to the floor, its body still half into the Dungeon wall. I summoned my status with a thought, eager to learn how much exp they were worth.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 1
  Progress to level 2: 6,735/1,000,000
  Strength: 11 (+4)
  Endurance: 30 (+1)
  Dexterity: 24 (+1)
  Intelligence: 4 (+2)
  Sense: 19 (+3)
  
  Development Abilities:
  Physical Resistance: The user receives 3% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.
  Kissing: An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target. Effectiveness is determined by the Dexterity and Sense stat.​
  
  12 exp. They were worth 12 exp. Dear lord, that felt good. Oh, man...12 exp. More than double any monster offered up until now. 12 exp...whew. That...that was almost as good as the orgasms I had this morning. I mean, I would still have to kill several thousand of them to meet my daily quota, but, at the moment, that 12 exp felt so, so good.
  
  More killer ants began to spawn ahead of us. Tilting my head back, I saw that the same for behind us. Since next to no one was on this floor, the Dungeon could afford to throw everything that it had at us. By the time the crowds came, the respawn time limit would have ticked by.
  
  "Lili, stay close," I ordered, rushing forward to dispatch the monsters ahead of us.
  
  "Lili will hold the rear," Lili informed, the twang of her crossbow echoing in the tunnels that slowly grew noisier. I don"t know how it managed it, but it was pretty much a machine gun that fired deceptively powerful bolts. I heard the pained cries of the killer ants behind me, Lili would know better than anyone to quickly finish them off.
  
  I neared the first killer ant as it rushed to meet me, its giant mandibles widening to take a bite out of my leg. I raised a foot to crush its head instead, throwing all my weight behind it. I felt a lot more resistance than I normally did, but the killer ant"s head still cracked open like an egg. I paid the gunk coating my shoe no mind in favor of turning my attention to the other three killer ants that crawled out of the walls.
  
  All three of them converged on me as they made weird clicking noises that managed to creep me out. My reach was so great that I could bring my blade down on the nearest one long before it came anywhere close to me. I brought it down on its head, my sword managing to cut through some of the exoskeleton, by not enough to kill it. Moving forward, I angled the blade down, with my weight behind it, it pierced the monster instead, stabbing it in the head.
  
  Switching my grip, I yanked my blade free before I thrust it into one of the eyes of the second one. There was a lot less resistance there. The third lunged at me, forcing me to dart back a half step, pulling my sword free in the process. I slashed at it, my sword digging into the monster"s face, lodging halfway through its eye, but that wasn"t enough to kill it.
  
  With a snarl, I lifted the monster up, grabbing the other end of my sword, before I slammed the monsters head into the Dungeon wall, my sword parallel to it. The sword dug in further, the ant lashing out with its legs, the blows that it landed were powerful, easily stronger than the frog shooters by half, but I didn"t let it stop me from finishing the ant off. With another slam, I shaved the ants head in half, killing it.
  
  The fight wasn"t over, though. I turned around to see Lili still fighting off a single remaining ant. Its eyes had a lot in common with pincushions, an arrow wherever there was a chink in the exoskeleton. The ant wasn"t even making its way to her, just thrashing wildly right up until I walked over to stomp on its head.
  
  Looking around, I saw the fight was over, and only then did I let out a breath I hadn"t realized I was holding."Whew," I let out a breath, flinging gunk off my hand. "That was kinda intense," I said, glancing at the corpses to make sure they were all dead. They were. Perfect.
  
  "Lili thinks Mr. Jericho is more suited to this floor," Lili commented as she began to retrieve the magic stones. "The larger monsters are normal-sized monsters for Mr. Jericho."
  
  "Yeah, they"re easier to hit than goblins, at least," I agreed with a nod of my head. Once I get used to fighting them, I don"t think killer ants would be any problem at all-
  
  "But, please don"t get too overconfident! This floor is very dangerous, Mr. Jericho," Lili commented, looking concerned but unworried. "It"s very easy to get overwhelmed down here, so please do not stray too far from Lili. She"d really weak. Lili would die if Mr. Jericho doesn"t protect her."
  
  ...It was like she could read my thoughts or something.
  
  "I won"t let you die," I told her. It was only now that I started to realize what I was trying to do. Lili hated adventurers. Not like how I hated people who didn"t use their turn signals or people who crank up the bass in their cars until the entire apartment complex can feel the vibrations at 1 in the morning. She harbored a deep personal hate for adventurers and I had absolutely no idea if I was included in that. I think she was warming up to me, but...I just didn"t know. "And, even if you aren"t strong, you"re a hell of a lot braver than me. If I wasn"t built like I am, then I"d be too terrified to ever enter the Dungeon the first place."
  
  "Mr. Jericho is very kind," Lili said, giving me a smile that I hoped was a little more genuine. I just had absolutely no idea if she meant it.
  
  "I"m honest," I lied, turning my attention back to the tunnels. It didn"t take Lili very long to finish retrieving the monster stone, and she found a mandible too. So, I just needed another ninety-nine and I would get that sweet, sweet exp.
  
  Lili silently fell in step behind me as we walked through the tunnels. I expected it to be a constant fight down here, but there was only the occasional monster spawning. That was...kinda disappointing.
  
  Before long, I heard the sounds of footsteps and labored breathing echo through the tunnels, getting closer with every second. I held a hand up for Lili to stop, as I got ready for a fight. I heard her cock her crossbow and take aim, the footsteps getting closer until-
  
  To my surprise, I recognized him. A middle-aged guy, his shaggy brown hair flowing into mutton chops with two little round ears on top of his head. A thin goatee sprung up around his mouth, whispy and thin. He stood just over five feet tall, a red scarf around his neck. He looked almost identical to how he did in the anime. Everything about him reminded me of a middle-aged man that was only happy with a beer in his hand and a football game on the tv.
  
  He came to a skidding halt when he saw us, sweat dripping down his forehead. His gaze darted to me, clenching the sword in his hand before they shot over to Lili. His eyes widened a fraction when I heard Lili suck in a low breath.
  
  This was the guy that tormented Lili. Who beat, betrayed and left her to die in a swarm of killer ants.
  
  "Is there a swarm?" I asked, making a show of lowering my guard ever so slightly. I stole a glance at Lili, her hood made it impossible to tell what expression she wore, but she trembled ever so slightly. Her crossbow was pointed to the ground, so I didn"t think she was going to shoot him.
  
  "There, ah, there"s no swarm," Asshole the Second said, wiping his brow with his forearm. He swallowed thickly, looking nervous as all hell as he glanced at Lili again. "Just in a hurry to get back up top," He wasn"t anywhere near as good of an actor as Lili was as he gave a shrug of his shoulders. Then he paused, his eyes looking away from my face down to my sword.
  
  "Nice sword," he suddenly changed the subject- oh, fucking shit. That guy. That guy that I killed yesterday, wasn"t one of the guys that laid a trap for Lili carry an Asian sword? Did Asshole the First and Second know each other? I couldn"t remember, the former was such a nonentity I completely forgot about him.
  
  "Thanks. Bought it at a pawn shop," I answered, trying to throw him off the trail. "They sell decent stuff for cheap. Can give you the name, if you want," I offered, hoping that he wouldn"t call my bluff.
  
  Except it didn"t matter, did it? Lili was standing right behind me. She didn"t know me. She didn"t trust me. I was willing to bet all the money in the world that if Asshole the Second asked where I got the sword, she would answer. Except he wouldn"t have to because, judging from that smirk on his face, he didn"t buy my bullshit at all.
  
  "Eh, I prefer quality work myself," he said with a shrug. I...what should I do in this situation? This guy definitely suspected that I murdered whatshisface. Would he do anything about it? I don"t think so? Maybe? I had absolutely no clue, and that was the scary part. I didn"t know what he would do with the information. Would he blackmail me? Sell me out to the familia that guy belonged to?
  
  What were my options? I...convincing him to tell no one...or...making sure that he couldn"t tell anyone?
  
  Should I kill him?
  
  "But, as much as I love chit-chatting in the Dungeon, I have a delivery to make. Nice meeting "ya," he said, walking towards me with a carefree expression on his face that didn"t match up at all with his hand gripping a sword at his belt.
  
  Killing him would make sure that he couldn"t tell anyone. Lili would be a separate matter, but this guy tormented her so I doubt she"d be the loose lips that sunk the ship. Not to mention the nice pile of exp I would get for it. And whatever was in that bag of his. And...but...
  
  Last time, I was acting in self-defense. He would have killed me if I hadn"t killed him first. This...would be straight-up murder, wouldn"t it? Killing was one thing, but murder? In cold blood? For something that he might do? That...I wasn"t so sure about.
  
  I knew he was an asshole from the anime... It wasn"t like I would be murdering a saint or anything. But, still, it was murder. Like, actual murder. Last time, I killed that guy because he was trying to kill me. Maybe I didn"t have to kill him, but he had forced my hand. I didn"t have a choice.
  
  There was a difference between reacting to a guy trying to kill you and premeditating murder to kill a guy over what he might do. And I had a deep feeling in my gut that no matter what I picked, it was going to regret my choice.
  
  I was hesitating, I realized. And that probably answered my question.
  
  Asshole the Second didn"t give me time to think it through. He kept walking, the confident expression on his face a silent challenge for me to try to stop him. And, in the end, I stepped out of the way. His smile grew when he walked by me, sending Lili a look that she refused to meet before he continued on his way.
  
  I clenched my sword so tightly that my knuckles were white. I knew I was going to regret whatever choice I made, but I think out of the two bad choices I found myself with, I think I picked the wrong one.
  
  ....
  
  AN: And since I know the ending is going to ruffle some feathers -- When you've realized you've made a mistake, you aren't likely to repeat it.
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Ideas-Guy
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  The next few days were...normal. Extremely normal. Things seemed to fall into a routine of sorts. I got up, went into the Dungeon with Lili for around ten hours or so, then Eina would give me lessons. Apparently, she figured since I agreed to it once, then I was agreeing to it for all time. Then I went home to Hestia. Calling it a routine might be a bit much since it was only two days, but I noticed a pattern the week I"ve been here.
  
  There was a distinct lack of anything from Asshole the Second. I don"t know what I was expecting, but I was expecting...something. To find him standing at the end of a dark alley, a note telling me to leave a dead drop of money at a location, or just...something. Something other than a stunning lack of nothing.
  
  "I shouldn't think about that," I decided, walking towards Welfs workshop. Maybe this was a good thing? Maybe it meant that he didn"t care at all? I don"t think they were friends in the anime because I recall Asshole the First getting screwed over, then running face-first into a swarm of killer ants. For all I knew, I was completely overthinking it and nothing was going to happen at all.
  
  Maybe it wasn"t a mistake to not murder him. Maybe I made the right choice...or...he just hasn"t screwed me over yet.
  
  As I walked outside the city, waving at some guards playing a card game as I did. To my relief, as I approached his workshop, I saw smoke drifting up from the chimney. I wouldn't be left standing outside his door waiting for him to wake up, or wasted time walking in and out of the Dungeon.
  
  If I was getting blackmailed or something, then I needed to be prepared. I think Hestia suspected I was stressed about something, or that I was going to the seventh floor, trying to complete those quests while I still could. I hadn"t said anything about it yet, using the excuse of that I could be just overthinking things so I could be worrying her about nothing, but that excuse sounded hollow to myself.
  
  I didn"t want her to know that I killed someone. And I didn"t particularly regret it beyond the trouble it might have brought me. I don"t know how she would react to that, but I couldn"t imagine that going over well. At all.
  
  I knocked at Welf's door, taking a step back. Over the days, my Sense stat increased and I was noticing the effects. I heard Welf curse underneath his breath, a loud clanging sound, followed by another curse. It took about a minute, but the door slid open to reveal an exhausted-looking Welf, his eyes bloodshot with dark bags hanging underneath. He blinked at me, then his eyes went wide.
  
  "Is it night already?! Sorry, I was just putting some finishing touches on your armor, I must have lost track of time," Welf babbled, gesturing for me to enter his home. I ducked my head to step inside, looking over the messy interior. The forge was still hot, raising the temperature until it was sweltering hot, while tools laid around an anvil, a greasy rag stained with soot laying ontop what looked like my armor.
  
  "It"s not night, I"m just early. I wanted to check in on my armor," I explained, turning to look at a devilish Welf. His short red hair stuck up at all angles, a white rag keeping sweat out of his eyes. He blinked slowly at me, then stuck his head outside to look at that dark sky.
  
  "What time is it?" He asked, looking back at me with an uncomprehending expression.
  
  "Around four-thirty," I answered, trying really hard not to walk over to my armor. It had to be my armor. It was a shin guard that I doubt would fit anyone else in this world. A smoky black color and certainly looked like heavy armor.
  
  "...What? Like, in the morning?" Welf asked, still confused.
  
  "Yeah," I replied, looking back at him with just as much confusion now. What was so hard to understand about that?
  
  "What are you doing up at four-thirty in the morning?" Welf questioned, looking at me like I grew a second head. That started singing.
  
  "I"m an early bird," I defended, sounding indignant. "And you"re up too, so I don"t know why you"re complaining."
  
  "Yeah, but I stayed up all night. There"s a difference," Welf pointed, crossing his arms as if he made an irrefutable argument. I huffed, rolling my eyes as I grinned goodnaturedly. It was hardly the first time I heard this argument, but it was usually from my roommate.
  
  "Well, I"m here now. Is my armor ready?" I asked, giving a not so subtle glance at the armor across the room. Welf nodded, running a hand through his hair, uncaring of the soot he left behind. Taking that as permission, I walked over and picked it up. It was, well, heavy armor. It was fairly thick, nearly half an inch of solid black steel -- altogether it would probably weigh about 20 pounds or so, or 10 to each leg.
  
  Before Lili and using her and her bag as training equipment, I would have commented that it seemed too light. Now I knew better. 10 pounds on each leg would be easy to ignore at first, but when time passed, and you were exhausted, those 10 pounds would feel like 100.
  
  "I was just polishing them off. Looks like I got the color right," Welf said, gesturing to my black armor.
  
  "They look great. Can I try them on?" I asked, going to do so anyway no matter what he said. After 5 days, I finally had leg armor.
  
  "Sure, let me know if you feel any pinching or anything like that," Welf said, leaving the door open as he moved to help me put it on. I was thankful for that. I had no idea where to start. Welf knelt down, starting at the shin that he clasped on. "I put some chainmail to protect the back of your knee -- figured you were at more of a risk getting hamstrung than most adventurers."
  
  "Thanks," I said, flexing my thigh a little against the constraining thick metal strapped to it. Welf let me test its limits, and to my surprise, I had full range of motion. "It fits great," I told him, trying to bring my knee to my chest. A bit of chainmail dangled off the back end, also blackened, to be tucked into the shin guards that would encase my legs.
  
  "Great, now for the bottom half," Welf said, attaching the shin guard. The design was simple, the front pushed forward in a small peek, a line of red going upwards until the knee where the shin guard tapered off into a point. It flushed well with the thigh portion, the red line tracing up it at an edge. Eventually, I would have to commission a chest piece to match.
  
  Once both leg pieces were on, I continued to test them. It might be because of my growing strength stat, but I barely felt them. That could change after about eight hours of fighting, but for now, they felt great. "And you said they could stand up to killer ants?"
  
  "They will. Given your build, I made the armor a little thicker than normal for some extra protection. It won"t feel great when one of them bites down on you, but the armor will hold. But, that"s a long way off, you know?" Welf said, giving me a humoring smile- ah. Right. The last time we spoke, I was stuck on the first floor.
  
  "Actually, I"ve been going to that floor for a couple of days now. Lili, my supporter, recommended that I don"t go past it until I got some leg armor," I told him, untying a pouch full of valis from my belt to pass it over to him. Welf blinked, giving me an odd look that prompted me to explain. "Those rabbit things are the biggest problem for me since they"re so small, and they like trying to hamstring me."
  
  Fighting goblins and kobolds was bad enough, but those rabbits with a horn on their heads were a flat out nightmare to deal with. Not only were they the size of a rabbit, but they were so quick too. You didn't know one was there until it headbutted the back of your knee, that horn only stopping when it hit bone. I thought the killer ants would be the biggest threat on the seventh floor, but it was easily the rabbits. And, not gonna lie, that made me feel really dumb.
  
  "Seriously?" Welf asked, not believing me.
  
  "Hm. Speaking of which, I actually had some questions," I said, gesturing to my swords at my hip. "I"ve been having some trouble cutting through the exoskeleton with these. Do you think you could give them a look over?"
  
  "Er," Welf started, seeming to struggle with the fact that I was planning to head to the 7th floor in less than a week. Then he shook his head, with a shrug of his shoulders, dismissing the issue. "Yeah, I can do that. Had "em over." I did and Welf looked like he swallowed an entire lemon tree when he pulled them from their sheaths.
  
  "Have done any maintenance on these?" He asked, an accusation in his tone. He scanned the battered blades, covered in scratches, the edges nicked and blunted. They saw some pretty hard use in the few days that I had them. "At all?"
  
  "Well," I trailed off, giving a shrug. "No?"
  
  Welf stared at me, looking personally affronted. "How long have you had these? You"ve only been an adventurer for a week, right? Did you get these second-hand?" He pressed, sheathing the swords as he pinned a mild glare on me. I was glad he put the swords away, at least that way he was less likely to use them on me.
  
  "I got the eastern one second-hand," I told him to hopefully divert some of his irritation to a now-dead adventurer. "And, well, I spend about fifteen hours in the Dungeon on most days. Wear and tear builds-up, you know?" I defended weakly, unwilling to tell him that the reason I hadn"t used the sharpening stone I bought was because I was making Hestia cum her brains out. That, and I"ve never sharpened anything in my entire life before.
  
  An explosive sigh escaped Welf, "maintenance is supposed to take care of that." He pointed out, "these aren"t too far gone that I can"t save them but it"s going to take some time."
  
  I frowned at that, my gaze drifting over the weapons that lined the walls. It wasn"t like I hadn"t seen this coming. "In that case, are any of those for sale? I"ve been meaning to buy something with more reach. And a hilt I can fit both hands on," I requested, eyeing a long broadsword with a hook towards the tip.
  
  "That one is a commission," Welf said, dashing my hopes. It looked cool too. A proper fantasy sword that would go well with my armor. "But...yeah, I have a couple of swords that fit the bill," he said before giving me a sideways glance as he walked across his workshop. "They"re not magic swords," he added, compelled to point that out.
  
  "Still don"t want one," I told him bluntly. "I mean, maybe once I reach the mid-floors I would want one, but on the upper floors, I"d probably kill everyone and everything on them with one of your magic swords. Myself included. And I like living."
  
  Welf"s gaze lingered on me, as if he could see if I was lying, then a small huff escaped him. "You really couldn"t care less about them?"
  
  "Not a bit. I"m sure you have your reasons for not making them," I told him, knowing that he didn"t make them out of stubborn pride. "So I"m not going to ask. If I really need a magic sword for some reason, I"ll just buy one somewhere."
  
  Welf turned away to enter his room, but I saw a slight smile on his lips. If I had a relationship manager then I"m sure I scored some major points with him. He returned a few minutes later with a bundle of swords, one of them I recognized as his sword from the anime. All of them were broadswords, the longest among them nearly 5 feet.
  
  Naturally, I zeroed in on it. The hilt was wrapped in white cloth that left a long bit of it to hang free at the pommel. There wasn"t a crossguard, just a solid bar that the sword seemed to emerge from. The blade itself started off thick at the bottom, then jutted inwards about a half-inch before continuing to stretch upwards the remainder of the straight blade. Towards the tip of it, it jutted outwards a half-inch, giving it a nice fantasy feel to it.
  
  "Ohhh," I muttered in delight, picking it up to feel its weight. It was surprisingly light too, somewhere around 6 pounds or so, but it felt lighter because of the balance. I grabbed it with both hands, seeing that the hilt was long enough for me to fit both of them. "It"s perfect."
  
  "Heh, you"ll make me blush," Welf said, a grin on his face. "It costs about eight thousand valis-" I was already digging into the spare pouch of gold I had hanging off my hip in case I had to buy another sword. "And, you have to learn how to take care of it. Seriously, if I see that sword all banged up like your other ones, I"m gonna cry."
  
  I nodded, accepting the condition as I handed over the money. I had a nice nesting egg building up since the only things I was buying was potions. Without those extra costs, even splitting the spoils evenly with Lili, and I did make sure that they were even, my savings were back around 50 thousand. Half of which was set aside for emergencies.
  
  "That sounds fair to me. I just use a whetstone on it, right?" I asked, managing to tear my eyes from my new awesome sword to look at Welf. He closed his eyes slowly, visibly swallowing some probably mean words about my ignorance before letting out a soft breath.
  
  "You know what? Maybe we should just meet up sometime and I"ll show you how to take care of your equipment," he offered, trying to sound patient but not quite managing it. I was going to blame that on the lack of sleep. Judging from how pale he was and the dark bags under his eyes, it wasn"t his first one.
  
  I nodded, "I usually leave the Dungeon around five, but I can head out a little early whenever you"re free."
  
  Welf returned my nod, stifling a yawn. "We can do it tomorrow since I need to get some sleep. I'll meet you at the Guildhall at five?"
  
  "See you then," I said, stepping out of his workshop with a wave goodbye. As soon as he closed the door behind him, I gave my new sword a test swing. It swished through the air, the sound it made was a song to my ears. With it, I had a reach that could only be matched by spear users. Maybe not even then with my massive arms.
  
  I tossed my other swords into my Inventory, and there they would likely stay until I bothered to clear it out at some point down the line. Smiling all the way, I practically skipped to the Tower of Babel. I was one step closer to my usual D&D build. I even had the low Intelligence stat to prove it.
  
  It didn't take long to reach it. At this early hour, the main plaza was practically devoid of anyone, all accept Lili. Her oversized green bag made it easier to spot her. "Morning, Lili," I greeted, coming up behind her.
  
  "Good morning Mr. Jericho! Lili sees that you received your armor...and a new sword?" Lili returned, glancing over the blade that was bigger than her, quickly dismissing it. I couldn"t tell if she decided that it wasn"t worth stealing or just admiring it. If it was the former, then not only was I offended but I wasn"t going to let go of the weapon until I shoved it into my inventory.
  
  "Yup, fresh off the forge. Are you ready?" I asked, feeling as light as a feather in my heavy armor. For the past few days, I was stuck on the seventh floor, doing whatever I could to grind my stats as I mapped out the floor. None of my stats had broken fifty yet, but some were close. I could run with Lili for longer without getting completely exhausted, the weight, while stupidly heavy, was more manageable as for balance. Well, there was only so much a Dexterity stat could do when there were a hundred something pounds hanging from my neck.
  
  "Hm! But...does Mr. Jericho promise not to use his usual method for hunting monsters?" Lili asked, her eyes narrowing even as she smiled sweetly at me. "Because that"s very dangerous. More dangerous than how Mr. Jericho usually does things."
  
  "I promise," I agreed easily as we started walking up the stairs. During the upper floors, I could somewhat fight with Lili on my back. So, naturally, I wanted to fight with her on my back, backpack and all. It worked...well enough.
  
  "That"s not what Lili wanted to hear, Mr. Jericho..." Lili said with a dramatic sigh, her shoulders slumping. I glanced down at her and swallowed a sigh. In the days since we ran into Asshole the Second, Lili hadn"t exactly proved to be a well of information. She confirmed that she was in the same familia as him, and that was about it.
  
  "Don"t worry Lili, no matter what, I"ll make sure you get out of the Dungeon in one piece. I promise," I told her, her beige hood hiding her reaction to that as we stepped into the Guildhall. Much like the city, it was deserted except for a skeleton crew. I scanned the faces, a small group of guild employes chatting, one of them glancing over. Eina.
  
  "Morning," I greeted, "you"re here early. Nightshift?" I asked when she broke off from the others to approach. I saw a more of her now since I was having study lessons for the past few days, where she drilled information into my head. It didn"t matter if it was relevant or not, Eina wouldn"t be satisfied unless I knew the Dungeon down to the last pebble in it.
  
  At the very least, I got some maps out of it.
  
  "I could say the same to you," Eina responded, smiling lightly as her gaze racked over my form. "I see you finally got your armor...I suppose you"ll be going back down to the seventh-floor today?" She asked, her eyes sharp. I knew she was a worrier, but I had underestimated how much. I"m not sure what I did to endear myself to her either since she didn"t treat every adventurer like this. Wait, I knew why. The whole going to the sixth floor in a blanket was probably what did the trick.
  
  "We are, and I did the reading on it that you gave me. And I studied the map until I"m pretty sure I can find my way down there drunk and blindfolded." I said with a patent smile. You"d think reading about monsters and stuff would be exciting because they were, well, monsters. You"d be wrong. The textbooks were as dry as a science textbook back in my old world. It took a special talent to make monsters and myths boring.
  
  Eina nodded, believing me even though she really shouldn"t. "And you have your potions?" She asked, acting like a mother hen.
  
  "We do Miss. Tulle," Lili spoke up, "Mr. Jericho made extra sure that we had plenty!"
  
  Eina nodded again, letting out a small breath. "Then I suppose you"re as ready as you can be," she said, sounding like she"d rather pull teeth than let us down to the 7th floor. Still, the fact that I kept coming back from it the past couple days stopped any real protests.
  
  "We"ll be fine, Eina. I won"t ask you not to worry -- mostly because I think that might be impossible, but just have some faith in us. We"ll be back up around five, so if you"re still here then we"ll see you then." I reassured, getting a thin-lipped smile from her.
  
  "I won"t, but Misha will be. Check-in with her before you leave, okay? She worries about you, you know." Eina said with an air of defeat. At the very least she wasn"t arguing me to not go down anymore. I guess my results spoke for themselves.
  
  "I will. See you later," I waved goodbye, walking into the Dungeon with Lili at my back. We walked down into the Dungeon, walking through the first six floors with ease, arriving to the seventh with cautious excitement. For me, at least. That sweet, delicious 12 exp per kill awaited me. I already had a lot of killer ant mandibles, not close to the hundred needed, but I was getting up there. That 5000 exp would be mine.
  
  Stepping onto the seventh floor, at this early in the morning, it didn"t take long for us to hear the first sounds of monsters spawning. A tidbit I learned from the books was that the Dungeon had a soft cap on how many monsters it could spawn. It seemed to take some unseen energy to spawn monsters -- early in the morning, it could afford to throw more lone adventurers since it didn"t have to split focus on dozens of other adventurer parties.
  
  Three killer ants emerged from the walls, two on one side and one on the other. I hefted my new weapon, feeling its weight before I swung down with all my strength on the two ants on my right. The edge of new sword bit into the exoskeleton -- before, because of how dull my swords got, even as I got stronger the exoskeleton proved too tough for me to slice through. With my new sword, with its extra weight and a wickedly sharp edge, I carved cleanly through the head and thorax of the first ant.
  
  My sword slammed into the other one with enough force that I cleaved off the bottom half of the killer ants front legs. It let out a screech, collapsing without its support. My sword was out of position to seize the opportunity, too large to easily maneuver a downward strike to finish it off. With what was becoming well-practiced ease, I raised a foot and slammed it down on its head. It cracked open like an egg, killing it.
  
  Whipping around, I saw that Lili had put some distance between her and the killer ant, a few arrows lodged in it, but just to slow it down enough so I could finish it off. The ant turned its attention to me when I rushed towards it, viewing me as the bigger threat. It jumped at me, lunging at my stomach, only to be greeted halfway by my sword skewering its bulbous head.
  
  "Sweet," I couldn"t stop myself from breathing, a stupid grin on my face as I looked down at my new sword. It worked like a charm -- the weight was a great, so much better than the light swords I was using before. And the reach was absolutely fantastic! The killer ants never came close, even if it was a little awkward to get back into position for another good swing.
  
  My good cheer was broken when more ants spawned down the hall, another five. Glancing behind me, I saw Lili was holding her own against another two that were in the process of leaving the Dungeon walls. She slowly backpedaled, calm, though I couldn"t see her face through the giant green pack she wore, but she didn"t seem to be panicking.
  
  "I have another five. Are you good?" I asked, backing up slowly to get a little closer to Lili, letting the monsters come to us.
  
  "Lili will need to reload soon," Lili said, firing a bolt that killed another killer ant. Like an anthill, another two crawled over its corpse. Right. I needed to start taking these things out faster.
  
  "Go ahead and do it. I"ll keep them off you," I said, turning on my heel to run at the four killer ants behind us. In the low light, their blackish-red exoskeleton looked menacing now that there were more of them. Three of them lunged at me at the same time, jumping up to knock me over then swarm over me.
  
  Gritting my teeth, I swung my sword with all my strength, slicing through the three of them at the same time, bisecting them at the thorax with some difficulty. The halves fell on the remaining killer ant, stunning it so I could stomp on its head. No sooner as they were dead, I rushed back to deal with the other five.
  
  Lili reloaded her weapon, firing off at the killer ants to slow them down until I could reach them. They rushed us, practically crawling over each other to get to me. Holding my sword like a giant baseball bat, I swung through the ants, cleaving three them while the other two continued undaunted. I stomped on one"s head before it could bite me, using a well-tested tactic while the final one nearly managed to bite down on my leg before I grabbed it by the base of its neck. With a snarl, I lifted the deceptively light ant and crushed its head against the Dungeon wall.
  
  That was a great fight, I concluded, looking down at the corpses, making sure that they were dead. Then I turned my attention down to my armor, noting small marks where the ant bit down on, but not much else.
  
  "All good?" I asked, turning to Lili to see her topping up her crossbow. The smaller girl gave me a firm nod, displaying a radiant smile.
  
  "Lili is okay," Lili confirmed. "Is Mr. Jericho ready to continue?" She asked, making quick work of retrieving the monster stones. When she was done, she walked over to me as I crouched down to let her hop on.
  
  "You bet," I said, picking her back up as we continued to clear the floor.
  
  ...
  
  It was days since Jericho had dropped the revelation of his origins on her, almost randomly after they indulged in an act of intimacy. Hestia had two days to come to terms with it, but she still struggled with it. It was just so...
  
  Less than a year ago, she was one of the few gods left in Heaven, stuck overlooking countless souls as she rubber-stamped them to be reincarnated. She knew first hand just how overworked the gods left in Heaven were and how they jealousy looked down at the ones on vacation. Before, each soul would be judged and punished or rewarded for their deeds in life. Now, with a skeleton crew in Heaven, all souls just got reincarnated or tormented when a petty god was in need of some stress relief. It wasn"t right, but it happened more than a little.
  
  Still, to take a soul and change it...Hestia wished she could say she was surprised by it, but she wasn"t. If anything, it was more surprising that what was done to Jericho wasn"t done to more souls -- altered in ways to break the carefully crafted game the gods on the lower world enjoyed. A spiteful move that would entertain the ones that looked on from above. Two birds with one stone.
  
  Jericho"s altered falna. That Skill Gamer Body. Those weren"t the results of a mistake on her end. Jericho"s soul and body were changed in a fundamental way that Hestia didn"t fully understand. Nor did she have any idea which god could have done it -- there were only a couple dozen gods left in Heaven, and she could easily see every single one of them doing something like this if the idea struck them.
  
  "Haa..." Hestia sighed, her shoulders slumping as she felt the beginnings of a headache. She thought about what he said nearly nonstop for days now, trying to think of something to do about it. But, she couldn"t. If she had access to her arcanum, then it would be a different story, but she didn"t. All she could do was plan for the future, support her child, and make sure the worst-case scenarios never came to pass.
  
  Which was why Hestia found herself walking down the familiar hallways that lead to Hephustus"s office. She needed advice more than anything. Jericho was advancing at an incredible pace. She didn"t know much about normal adventurers, but it was easy to see that Jericho"s growth was abnormal. It wouldn"t be long before the Guild took notice of it, or worse, the gods.
  
  With a plan in action, Hestia knocked on the door to her friend"s office-
  
  "You can come in if you"re not here for money," Hephustus welcomed her, somehow knowing that it was her. Pouting, Hestia threw open the door, striding into her office with her arms crossed.
  
  "I don"t need money!" Hestia half yelled at her friend, who simply stamped a piece of paper with her seal. That much was true. Jericho was bringing in a lot of money now. Yesterday, he brought home thirty thousand valis, and that was apparently after he split the spoils with his supporter evenly. Their nest egg grew until it no longer fit in her hiding place.
  
  "Then what can I do for you?" Hephaestus asked, glancing up as she stamped her seal again.
  
  Hestia uncrossed her arms, recalling why she was here. She crossed the distance after closing the door behind her, taking a seat in a soft leather chair. Hestia took in a deep breath before she bowed her head until her forehead was nearly touching her knees. "I need your advice!"
  
  Hephaestus sighed, the leather creaked as she leaned back in her chair. "About what?" Hephaestus asked, sounding more exasperated than annoyed. Hestia could hardly blame her for it -- this was the second time in as many days that she came for advice from her friend. "And stop bowing, please. I"m going to strangle Takemikazuchi when I see him for teaching you that..."
  
  Hestia refused to raise her head. Of all the favors Hestia had ever asked, this was possibly the greatest one so far. And the most important. "Hephaestus...is there a way I can make my child"s status look like something else?" Hestia asked, still bowing.
  
  It wouldn"t be long before Jericho tried to go down the eighth floor, or deeper. At the rate he was going, it would be less than a week before he was on the tenth floor. Soon, the Guild was going to start noticing something. At first, they would probably think that he was getting help from another adventurer, but as soon as they realized that Jericho was strong enough to do it himself, the Guild would accuse her of hiding his true level or something.
  
  The only way they could refute the charge would be to show them Jericho"s status. And that would be the final nail in the coffin. Jericho would be treated like a toy, or stripped of his falna and exiled from the city. She would be sent back up to Heaven, even if it wasn"t her fault. They needed a way to make Jericho"s status to look normal.
  
  "Hestia...what"s going on with that child of yours? Why would you need to hide his status? You"ve already hidden it from sight, haven"t you?" Hephaestus questioned, her tone still sounding exasperated, but it couldn"t hide the suspicious undertone.
  
  "...Jericho has a Skill that makes his growth...explosive. He"s already on the seventh floor," she informed, and that seemed to catch Hephaestus off guard.
  
  "How- I, no, don"t tell me," Hephaestus said, sounding like she really, really wanted to know. A lesser goddess, like Loki, would have demanded to know in exchange for help, but Hephustus was better than that. By miles and miles. "What exactly do you want? To make it where this Skill doesn"t show up?"
  
  If only it was that simple, "I...need to make his stats look a certain way too." Hestia added hesitantly, trusting her friend, but there was so much at stake.
  
  "..." Hephaestus fell silent, her mind undoubtedly mulling over what could possibly make her request such a thing. An explanation weighed heavily on her tongue -- she could blame it all on some god up in Heaven that was trying to have a bit of fun at their expense, but Hestia couldn"t bring herself to say the words. Maybe Hephustus had enough clout that she could protect them from any consequences of Jericho"s falna. Maybe, the gods would understand that they hadn"t done anything wrong. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
  
  Hestia wasn"t going to risk Jericho"s future, his life, on maybes.
  
  "I don"t know if something like that is possible," Hephustus admitted, "...but...Hestia, you do realize you"ll be lying to the Guild?" Hephaestus said, having more or less guessed what Hestia planned. "You"re not going to get off with a slap on the wrist if you get caught."
  
  "I"m absolutely positive," Hestia said, speaking with as much conviction that she could muster even as she continued to bow her head. This could blow up in her face if the Guild ever found out. Orario was a city filled with sharks with the Guild keeping the peace only because the strongest familias allowed them to. Any reprisals would be harsh, to say the least.
  
  "Fine..." Hephaestus said after a moment, "just stop bowing to me." Unlike before, Hestia didn"t launch herself at her friend to give her the hug of a lifetime. A weight seemed to be lifted off her shoulders, only when it was gone did she realize it had been crushing her. Instead, a small sigh of relief escaped her as she raised her head. "I have to go to Hermes' familia for this. Their captain has the Mystery development ability, so if it can be made then she can make it. Though, knowing Hermes, he's going to charge out the nose for it."
  
  "I'll pay you back!" Hestia swore, "no matter how long it takes, I'll pay back every single valis!"
  
  Hephaestus let out a small laugh, "it'll take you a couple of decades to do it working at the potato stand." She commented, earning a small wince from Hestia.
  
  "That's fine," Hestia nodded, undeterred. Hermes was the kind of guy that would triple his prices and say he was giving you a friend"s discount, worse, he would figure out she wanted the item to trick the Guild, so he was already going to jack up his prices. The jerk.
  
  "Hestia..." Hephaestus opened her mouth to continue, but she paused for a moment. After letting out a sigh of defeat, she continued. "Then why don't you work for me then?"
  
  "Huh?" Hestia blurted, broken from her musing just how deep her debt was going to be.
  
  "Come work for me. A position opened up for a clerk in one of my stores for my level 2 blacksmiths. It's commission-based, so you'll be able to pay off whatever Hermes charges a lot faster if you work hard." Hephaestus offered, a sharp look in her eye. A look that Hestia learned to recognize during the weeks she stayed with her friend. The Look that said 'or else.'
  
  "R-really?" Hestia asked, the offer catching her off guard. "But I thought you were done helping me?" She questioned, unable to stop herself. Before she started coming to Hephaestus for advice, their last meeting hadn't been pleasant. For her, at least. Mostly because it ended with her getting kicked out.
  
  "That was when all you did was sit around and read all day. I've heard good things about the potato food stall you've been working at and I know you're taking running a familia seriously -- you wouldn't be here if you weren't." Hephaestus answered, crossing her arms, giving her a serious look. "But, I have to ask -- is he really worth this, Hestia? If this blows up in your face, then Loki will probably exile you from the city. Or send you back to Heaven if she's in a bad mood."
  
  Others might disagree with Loki, but in the end, their voices didn't matter. In this city, strength was what mattered. Freya and Loki -- their word was law.
  
  "He is," Hestia confirmed with a nod of her head. That was all she had to say. The serious expression on Hephaestus' face melted away, replaced by faint amusement.
  
  "I didn't expect anything different. Though, if I didn't know you any better, I'd say you have a crush on your child-" Hephaestus cut herself off when she must have noticed how quickly Hestia's face turned bright red. "What? Wait, do you-"
  
  "Thank you for your help!" Hestia shouted, jumping to her feet and all but running to the door. "Bye!"
  
  "Wait-"
  
  "BYE!" Hestia practically screamed, interrupting Hephaestus as she threw open the door.
  
  "Hestia!" Hephaestus shouted as Hestia broke out into a Sprint, leaving her friend in the dust.
  
  "TELL ME HOW MUCH IT IS WHEN YOU FIND OUT! BYE HEPHUSTEUS! LOVE YOU!" Hestia screamed as she fled the building. She ignored Hephustus" shouts for her to stop, but she didn"t until she was in the elevator and going down. Her face burned, so she buried it in her hands, letting the elevator carry her down.
  
  Maybe...she could have handled that a bit better...
  
  "Haa...I hope Jericho"s doing better than me..."
  
  ...
  
  I hate getting poisoned. I know that should be a given, but I"ve never been poisoned before. Well, not counting food poisoning, but that just proved my point since I absolutely loathed having food poisoning. Now that I had suffered real poisoning, I could honestly say that I didn"t care for it very much.
  
  Sweat poured off me, my body feeling incredibly hot as I glanced up at a few moths hanging above. They were the size of a seagull, the wings a light purple while the fuzzy stuff at the top of their thorax a darker purple. With every flap of their wings, purple powder fell on top of me, seeping into my skin, further poisoning me.
  
  I jumped into the air, swinging wildly at them. Between my reach and their limited mobility, I sliced through one of them, severing its wings. After stomping on it, I jumped up again and lucked out by getting both of them. They had no defensive abilities beyond flying above you, and after awhile the poison kicked in so other monsters could finish you off.
  
  "Mr. Jericho, here"s an antidote," Lili said, offering me a vial filled with a dark purple vial. I wasted no time snatching it from her hands, popping the cork and draining it in one go. Almost instantly, I felt better.
  
  "Thanks, are you feeling okay?" I asked, keeping a watchful eye on the tunnels to our sides. I saw Lili nod out of the corner of my eye before she spoke.
  
  "Lili is fine, her coat protected her from the poison powder," she commented as she began to harvest monster stones. I nodded, keeping a lookout while she worked. There were quite a few corpses, so it would take a few minutes. Which made it the perfect time to catch a breather. "Lili has another mandible," she spoke up, holding it out. "This makes sixty-three."
  
  "Sweet," I said with a nod, watching Lili stuff the monster drop into her bag. The things really were rare, for the most part. I hadn't been keeping track, but it was something like every fifteen dropped one. "Thirty-seven left to go."
  
  "Does Mr. Jericho wish to keep going today?" Lili asked, looking up at me. A sheen of sweat coated her face, and I noticed that it was taking her a little longer to retrieve the stones than normal. Something I noticed was that just because I was carrying her, that didn"t mean she was having a relaxing time. Holding onto me proved to be much more tiring than simply walking around. From the looks of it, she was asking since she hoped the answer would be yes.
  
  I checked the time to see it was only an hour before we usually left anyway. Well...might as well, I guess. Not to mention, we already blew through our antidotes.
  
  "Yeah, might as well. Are you done?" I asked, watching her pick up a pair of purple wings that disappeared into her bag. Lili turned around to give me a nod, smiling brightly despite her tired appearance. She usually looked wiped by the end of the day, but if she was asking to call it quits early then there had to be an actual problem. Maybe she was getting overworked?
  
  I did spend something like twelve hours a day down here, whereas most adventurers called it a day after five or so unless they were going deep into the Dungeon.
  
  "Lili is finished! Thank you for understanding Mr. Jericho," Lili said, bowing so low that I"m honestly shocked that she somehow didn"t fall over with that stupidly massive bag on her back. "Lili will understand if you want to punish her for being so lazy-"
  
  "No, that"s fine, no punishments or anything like that," I hastily cut her off. It still creeped me out when she said stuff like that with her usual chipper tone. "Just don"t worry about it, okay? I"ve been pushing you pretty hard every day without a break so don"t worry about it."
  
  "Thank you Mr. Jericho," Lili said, rising back up. I looked at her, my mouth open to say...something. What exactly, I didn"t know, but I thought better of it. Words didn"t matter to her, only actions did.
  
  "Do you want me to carry your bag?" I offered, starting to walk back towards the exit. Thanks to the maps of the upper floors Eina provided, I already had this floor mapped out. Next to me, Lili shook her head.
  
  "No thank you, Mr. Jericho. Lili can at least do this much," Lili said as we made our way out of the Dungeon.
  
  Our way back was far less eventful than our start of the day. When you knew your way, and the Dungeon didn"t bother throwing too much at you as you left, it took about fifteen minutes to reach the Guildhall from the seventh floor. Barely anything at all. Before long, we stood in front of a teller as Lili unloaded our earnings for the day.
  
  "Your total is...fifty-three thousand valis," he said, passing over several heavy bags of gold through the slot. The guy looked up at me, his expression blank, but I didn"t miss how he glanced between me and Lili. Though, I paid it no mind because...
  
  I thought our earnings would be higher today. The seventh floor really ramped up the spawn rates compared to the upper floors, and the monster stones were worth more. Over the past ten hours or so, I killed a whole lot of monsters -- easily blowing past my bare minimum of one thousand exp.
  
  I took the bags of gold and turned to Lili. She tried to not stare at them as she fiddled with her straps, a sinking suspicion forming in my gut. Lili...was stealing from me, wasn"t she?
  
  "Here you go," I said, my voice not reflecting my thoughts. I guess it was half because I expected her to do it at some point, but I didn"t really feel betrayed or anything like that. Still, I couldn"t say it wasn"t disappointing. I guess I would have to keep better track of how many monsters I kill to learn how much she was skimming off the top.
  
  I had a nice nest egg, so I wasn"t hard pressed for money anymore, but I wouldn"t let what happened to Bell happen to me.
  
  "Thank you again, Mr. Jericho. Lili promises that she"ll make up for it tomorrow," Lili promised, tucking the bags of gold away. I shrugged, dismissing the issue as I glanced around the room. My gaze landed on a group of adventurers, most of them looking at me, though they were quick to look away when I caught them. They wore decent looking armor, one of them wore an emblem emblazoned on their shoulder pad. A crescent moon with a fancy looking cup inside of the moon. That was...the Soma familia"s emblem, wasn"t it?
  
  My eyes narrowed as I tore my gaze away, trying to play it off as a coincidence. I turned my attention down to Lili and sent her a lopsided smile, "I said don"t worry about it, Lili. Just make sure you get some rest for tomorrow."
  
  "Lili will! Goodbye, Mr. Jericho," Lili said, waving goodbye as she left the Guildhall. I watched her leave, a small sigh deflating me as I made my way to the showers. I didn"t see Eina anywhere, so she might be off today. As I made my way to the showers, I walked by the group that was eyeing me, none of them glancing my way as I passed them by.
  
  As soon as I was out of sight, I shoved my earnings into my Inventory before stripping off my armor. After everything was off, I paid close attention to how everything looked before I took a quick shower. Less than five minutes long. After wiping myself down, I went back to the armor rack and my locker and found exactly what I expected to see.
  
  My clothes had been moved, the same for my armor. Someone had tried to rob me. Well, Lili had already robbed me, but someone else was trying to steal from me.
  
  And, as I expected, that group of people was nowhere to be seen when I came out of the showers.
  
  "Hm," I hummed, leaving the Guildhall. That could be a problem. No, it was a problem already. Was this Asshole the Seconds move? It"s not what I expected, but that didn"t change a couple of guys from his familia were trying to steal from me. Was it just coincidence, or were they following orders? I didn"t know. Maybe I should have stuck with the canon timeline so I wouldn"t have to deal with these questions.
  
  Still, if they were after my money...then there were better ways to get it. I was still expecting something from Asshole the Second, so maybe this was just testing the waters or something? Again, I had no idea. I"ve never had to worry about getting blackmailed before, so all of this was new to me.
  
  "Excuse me," a woman"s voice broke me from my plotting. I came to a stop, turning to the source of it, and blinked in surprise when I saw who it was. Silver hair with matching eyes that were the same color as steel, a heart-shaped face while her lips pulled upwards into a smile. Her hair curled inwards ever so slightly near her mouth, two locks of hair hanging by her cheekbones. Syr Flova. The girl that looked like Freya.
  
  "Yeah?" I started, coming to a stop, feeling more than a little cautious. Her connection to Freya in the anime was vague, only that she looked like the goddess and she seemed to take orders from her. Though she did seem to have genuine feelings for Bell, other than that Syr was a great big mystery. "Wait, your Syr, right? You stitched up my pants for me."
  
  Syr nodded, beaming joy out of every pore. She clasped her hands behind her back, smiling at me in a cutesy way. "I did! But, I wanted to apologize on behalf of the children, they wanted to have a little fun, but..." She shrugged dramatically, a troubled expression passing over her face. "I hope they didn"t cause you too much trouble..." She said, fishing to see if I was still pissed.
  
  "Eh, I"m more embarrassed about how I reacted. Just...could you tell the kids if they want to play pranks, then stick to stuff like whoopie cushions? I mean, I"ll just laugh it off, but not everyone will," I said, shrugging as I scratched at my cheek. Syr nodded gravely as a look of relief replaced the troubled look.
  
  "I will. I"ve already had a stern talking with them, I promise," Syr informed, then her smile became a little more shyer in nature. "I"m not sure if your goddess told you, but the offer of a free meal is still open!" Oh, yeah...I completely forgot about that. With everything else going on, going out to eat was the last thing on my mind.
  
  "I won"t say no to a free meal, but are you sure that"s okay?" I asked, recalling Mia, the owner of the Hostess of Fertility. She seemed to cut Syr a lot of slack, while also giving her a hard time when she slacked off too much.
  
  Syr nodded, "it"s all okay!" She answered, her shy look transforming into a slightly pleading one. "Please, could you come? I feel really guilty about what happened, I was supposed to be watching the children when they stole your clothes, but I was just so tired after work that I took a small nap! Can you please come, it would make me feel better," she finished, a light blush dusting her cheeks.
  
  She looked so embarrassed that I felt a blush on my own cheeks rise as I looked away, "er, yeah. I think my goddess has a day off coming up, so we"ll come then, okay?" And then we could finally celebrate forming our familia a week after it happened.
  
  "Yay!" Syr cheered, clapping her hands as she beamed at me, "I"ll get everything set up, Mr...?"
  
  "Jericho," I introduced myself.
  
  "Jericho," Syr repeated, sounding like she was considering the name. Then she nodded, satisfied. "Your name suits you, Mr. Jericho. I"m Syr Flovel, by the way. I look forward to seeing you! Don"t keep me waiting," Syr said, giving a small wave as she turned to walk down the street towards the Hostess of Fertility. I waved back, my mind slowly turning over the odds that this was by chance.
  
  Could I have attracted Freya"s attention? I know her thing was finding noble souls, souls of heroes and those that were unique...I was no hero, but was my soul unique? Did death leave its mark on my soul, or was she seeing the Gamer System in some manner? Or was I overthinking this, and it really was chance that Syr was inviting me to the Hostess, much like she did Bell.
  
  The odds were against it, but I still doubt that I had managed to attract Freya. I was...normal, hardly the beacon of innocents that Bell was.
  
  Either way, I wasn"t likely to find answers standing here and thinking about it. I would have to be on the lookout for signs that this was more than a chance meeting, like monsters rampaging through the city, a grimoire dropping in my lap or trained monsters cornering me in the Dungeon.
  
  A sigh escaped me as I started walking again, shoving the issue to the side for now. I had bigger fish to fry at the moment. As much trouble as Freya stirred up, her interference with my life could help a lot more than it would hinder. If what I recalled from the anime could be believed, then Zanis wasn"t likely to part with Lili for any amount of money simply out of spite. Which meant my only option was likely to be a War Game.
  
  A randomized battle that could end with me fighting him in a 1v1 duel, or his entire familia at once. It all boiled down to the same issue.
  
  I wasn"t anywhere close to being strong enough.
  
  I let out a huff of laughter as I started walking the final stretch home, the sun beginning to dip towards the horizon. It seemed that anime-protagonists-ites had infected me already since all my thoughts recently seemed to revolve around how I wasn"t strong enough.
  
  Stepping inside the church, I opened my inventory and took out the black backpack and shrugged it on. After that, I pulled out the chest that I tucked under one arm. Had to keep up appearances, and all that.
  
  "I"m home," I called out, ducking my head to enter the small room. Hestia had apparently beat me home because I smelled something cooking. Hestia made an adorable sound as I walked down the steps, she rushed to get in her usual position, only for something to clang to the floor.
  
  "Welcome back!" Hestia said sheepishly, picking up a pan that was thankfully empty. "You"re home early, is everything okay?"
  
  I nodded, letting her check me over, but she paused when she noticed that I was wearing my leg armor. "Woah," Hestia muttered, patting it down as if to test its integrity. Then her eyes lingered on a few scuff marks where the occasional killer ant or horned rabbit got me. Though, none had managed to injure me.
  
  "I picked it up this morning. It"s pretty great so far. And I"m back early since Lili couldn"t keep up and it was too late for me to bother going back down." I answered to draw her attention away from the scuff marks. Welf really did do good work.
  
  "Oh, well, dinner won"t be ready for a little bit," Hestia informed, taking a step back to look up at me.
  
  "That"s fine. Need any help?" I asked, starting to shrug off my armor. I would have just shoved it in my Inventory, but just because Hestia knew about my pocket dimension didn"t mean others had to learn about it. Especially when I was being watched by the Soma familia.
  
  "No! I can do it, just relax, okay?" Hestia hastily denied with a shake of her head as she went back to making dinner. I opened my mouth to tell her about what happened with the Soma familia for the thousandth time, and for the thousandth time, I closed my mouth. Telling her about the Soma familia meant that I would have to explain why I caught their attention. Which would lead me to explain that I had killed someone.
  
  How would Hestia react to that? No matter how I formed the justifications in my head, I don"t think any of them would work. I didn"t want her to look at me and think "murderer."
  
  "How was the Dungeon today?" She asked as she cooked something that smelled delicious. Just because I didn"t need to eat anymore, didn"t mean that I didn"t want to. Hestia was proving to be a talented cook.
  
  "A lot better now that I have my leg armor. Didn"t take a single scratch," I told her as I shoved my armor into my Inventory. "And I got a new sword while I was at it. Way better than my old ones." I said, taking it out of my Inventory to show Hestia. Her eyes widened a fraction when she saw the blade that was bigger than her.
  
  "Is it made by the same smith?" Hestia asked, inspecting the sword with a clueless expression on her face.
  
  "Yeah, Welf Corozzo, he"s apart of the Hephustus familia," I tacked on, seeing Hestia looked pleased at that.
  
  "Speaking of the Hephaestus familia, I got a new job!" Hestia exclaimed, sending me a proud look. "I"ll be selling weapons and armor made by level 2 blacksmiths!" She said, striking a pose that practically screamed "praise me."
  
  "Congrats! How"d that happen?" I asked, feeling some confusion. This hadn"t happened in the anime, at least not until Hestia took out an incredible loan for Hestia"s Knife. Given her lack of a reaction to my new weapon, then it didn"t seem like that was the case here.
  
  "Ah, I met up with Hephaestus and she told me about a position that opened up. It"s commissioned based, so my hours are going to be a lot more flexible." Hestia said as she turned her attention back to the stove. And since I was raking in the money now, it didn"t matter as much if she had a bad day profit-wise.
  
  "Hestia, if you want, you don"t have to work. I"m making enough money to support the two of us," I offered, making her look back at me. I knew what she was going to say just by looking at her expression. She smiled at me as she shook her head, filling the room with the sounds of bells chiming.
  
  "No, I want to work. If I sat here all day, every day, then I wouldn"t know what to do with myself!" Hestia exclaimed, dismissing the issue. I opened my mouth to argue but fell silent instead. I couldn"t help but feel there was a lot she wasn"t saying there.
  
  "Alright...just...know the option is on the table, okay?" I said, settling on the couch. There was a slope in the cushion where I sat the past couple of days. Pulling a book from my Inventory after shoving my sword back into it, I started to thumb through a chapter about the eighth floor of the Dungeon.
  
  To my disappointment, I still hadn"t found a Skill Book among the pile that Eina gave me. So, either there weren"t any or I needed to look into different kinds of books. Time passed rather quickly as I finished off the chapter just before Hestia informed me that dinner was done.
  
  "Smells great," I complimented, getting up to help her take the plates. On them I found a not-Phillie cheesesteak sandwich-- practically overflowing with strips of steak, topped with a liberal amount of cheese, with some peppers. There were also a nice pile of not-french fries off to the side. "Looks better."
  
  "He-he," Hestia puffed her chest out with pride as we both sat down. She really was easy to please. Not just sexually, but a word of praise was all it took to make her day. Honestly wish my relationships in my last life were this simple.
  
  I took a bite of the sandwich. Then another. And another. And another and another. I would have taken another one, but by that time it was gone entirely. I never put it back down. I caught a look of amazement from Hestia out of the corner of my eye, so I gave her a closed-lipped grin while I chewed. "S"good."
  
  It took Hestia a lot longer to finish her"s off, but even then she only made it halfway before she passed me the remainder. After finishing off her plate as we chatted, I picked up the dishes to wash before taking off my tank top. I caught Hestia blushing as she looked at me, and that blush only intensified when she realized I caught her looking.
  
  "Let"s update my status. I think I did pretty well today," I said, throwing myself onto the bed and feeling it groan underneath my weight. A moment later, I felt Hestia climb up on top of me. A bright light filled the room as she began to update my status.
  
  "I ran into Syr earlier," I started, realizing that I forgot to tell her. "She says that offer for a free meal is still on the table. I told her that you had a free day coming up...would you want to go-"
  
  "L-like a d-date?" Hestia stammered, getting a chuckle out of me.
  
  "Like a date," I agreed. "The Hostess of Fertility is an adventurer"s bar, but I"ve heard good things about its food," I told her, also thinking that it would be a good time to check out the quest boards in taverns.
  
  "Let"s go tomorrow!" Hestia decided, practically vibrating she was so excited at the prospect.
  
  "What-" I started, only to cut myself off as a screen appeared before my eyes.
  
  You have reached 50 in Endurance! Please select the perk you wish to be awarded:
  
  Toughness: 5% damage resistance.
  Life-Giver: Total health is immediately doubled and an additional 5% health is awarded with every permanent increase in health.
  
  You have reached 50 in Dexterity! Please select the perk you wish to be awarded:
  
  Dexterous: Bonus 5% exp awarded for all Dexterity related actions.
  Graceful: Finding your balance is a simple task, regardless of positioning.
  
  Due to reaching 50 in Endurance and 50 In Dexterity, you have been awarded the perk:
  
  Ballerina: You now move with an almost unnatural grace. ​
  
  "What"s wrong?" Hestia asked as I read over the boxes again, surprised to see them. They were the first popups I"ve seen in the week I"ve been here.
  
  "I"ve reached a milestone with my stats, and my falna is letting me pick a perk," I answered, my brow furrowing as I stared at my choices. How did Graceful or Ballerina work? Would I suddenly be able to dance, or something? What did it mean by "almost unnatural grace?"
  
  "Tell me about it," Hestia demanded, her voice uncharacteristically serious. I did so, repeating what I saw, the light still glowed so she paused updating my status. Hestia fell silent after I was done, both of us thinking on the perks. "I don"t understand this -- is this from Gamer Body?"
  
  I nodded, "yeah, it is." I confirmed
  
  "I can"t finish updating your status until you pick one, it seems. I...don"t know which one you should pick. I"m sorry..." Hestia trailed off, I could practically see the frown she wore despite the fact she was behind me.
  
  Which one should I pick? More damage resistance sounded nice, but so did that instant boost in HP and more gains each time my Endurance went up by ten. But...that five percent wouldn"t do me a lot of good down the line, would it? It was already getting harder and harder to increase my Endurance stat. Still, doubling my health right now sounded fantastic.
  
  My health now was 161. Doubling that would put me at 322. Getting stabbed in my arm cost me about 15 hp. Probably less now that my physical resistance was higher. At the same time, that extra 5% physical resistance would bring me up to 15% total. Between that and my armor, that was a pretty decent number. At that point, I doubt cuts and scrapes would damage me at all.
  
  But..."I"ll pick Life-Giver," I decided after a long minute of thought. The extra 5% boost in hp sold me on it. So, my next health boost would be...370 or so. And that number was going to keep getting bigger alongside my physical resistance.
  
  You have gained the perk: Life-Giver!​
  
  As for my Dexterity perk...I couldn"t lie, that 5% gain for Dexterity was tempting as all hell. Between Limber and Fast Learner, my total bonus exp for Dexterity would be 15%. That sounded fantastic. However, Graceful caught my eye. How would it interact with the perk Ballerina? If I was almost unnaturally graceful now, then wouldn"t having near perfect balance be some pretty great synergy?
  
  Or, was there no point to it since I handcrafted this stupidly huge body? Between it and my heavy armor, it sounded like I needed to make sure I got as much exp as possible for Dexterity. But, at the same time, the synergy between Graceful and Ballerina sounded pretty powerful. I was already fairly flexible -- I could touch my toes without bending over, and stuff like that. Not to mention that if I was more graceful, I could fight more dexterously, which, in turn, would give me more exp for that stat. If carrying heavy stuff gave more strength, and continuing to carry stuff when I was tired gave endurance, then moving like a ballerina in heavy armor would grant more dexterity.
  
  ...You know what? Let"s science it.
  
  "And I"ll go with Graceful," I decided before I could think better of it.
  
  You have gained the perk: Graceful!​
  
  Instantly, the light began to fade, Hestia letting out a sigh as she patted my back lightly. "I really don"t know what to think of this," she mused aloud as she peeled off the paper on my back. As she got off me, I nodded, feeling much the same, if a little less lost.
  
  "But, it sounds like it"s going to help me in the long run," I told her as I accepted the paper to look down at my new status.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 1
  Progress to level 2: 23,867/1,000,000
  Strength: 38
  Endurance: 53
  Dexterity: 50
  Intelligence: 12
  Sense: 33
  
  Development Abilities:
  Physical Resistance: The user receives 5% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Abnormal Resistance: Poisons, Toxins, and Drugs are 5% less effective. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.
  Kissing: An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target. Effectiveness is determined by the Dexterity and Sense stat.​
  
  "I sure hope so," Hestia muttered, cuddling up to me as I turned over. I wrapped my arm around her, hugging her to my body.
  
  "Don"t worry so much. Everything is going to turn out fine."
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
  ​
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
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  "Lili, you feeling okay?" I asked, spotting the smaller girl as I walked up to the central plaza, the dark sky hanging overhead. Even in the low light, the moment Lili turned to look at me, I saw something was wrong. She looked absolutely haggard like she stayed up all night for the second day in a row. Dark bags hung underneath her eyes, her light brown eyes were bloodshot and her face was pale. Practically bloodless.
  
  Even still, Lili nodded, looking as chipper as ever. "Lili is fine! Lili just stayed up a little too late past her bedtime, is all," she said, beaming joy and happiness out of every pore.
  
  I frowned at her, not believing that in the slightest. "I"m serious, are you feeling okay? Do you think you"re up for going into the Dungeon?"
  
  Again, Lili nodded, undeterred by my tone. "Lili won"t slow Mr. Jericho down at all, she promises-"
  
  "I"m not asking because I think you"ll slow me down. I don"t want you getting hurt or push yourself when you"re ill. Lili, you look absolutely exhausted." I observed, wishing that her coat didn"t cover so much of her so I could find more symptoms. She looked awful.
  
  Lili blinked, my concern catching her off guard, but she shook her head a moment later. "Lili isn"t sick. She...just hasn"t been sleeping really well," she admitted, looking down so I couldn"t see her face. "Lili"s familia dues are coming up, and she has rent too. Lili has been stressing out a whole bunch because she doesn"t think she can afford both."
  
  That was a lie. I"m ninety-nine point nine percent sure of it. In the canon timeline, Lili avoided paying her dues for months to stockpile funds to buy her way out of the Soma familia. I guess it wasn"t any real surprise that she didn"t trust me enough to not tell me the real reason, but I had my suspicions.
  
  "...Are you absolutely positive that you"re okay to go into the Dungeon," I pressed, making Lili look up at me as she gave another nod. I didn"t believe her in the slightest, but she seemed determined to come with me into the Dungeon. Did that mean there was a trap, or was she that eager to impress her cash cow? Did she think that I would just find another supporter? "Because if you can"t, then I"ll go in alone. You can take the day off and we"ll just pick up tomorrow."
  
  Still, Lili shook her head, "Thank you for the offer, Mr. Jericho, but Lili is certain that she can keep up. Please, don"t worry about her." She insisted, still smiling at me but when she looked as ill as she did, then it looked that much more out of place.
  
  "Then...at least take this then," I said, pulling out a stamina potion that I passed over to her. "I don"t know how much it should help, but at the very least then it should keep you going for a bit," I said, watching her as she popped the cork and drained the potion. "And, I want you to tell me if you don"t think you can go on. None of that toughing it out, crap, okay?"
  
  This time, Lili"s smile seemed a little more genuine, "that"s a little hypocritical coming from Mr. Jericho," she commented, her tone light and teasing.
  
  Well, she had me there. "Do as I say, not as I do," I quoted to cover up my hypocrisy. I learned that tidbit from my dad. "So, what will you do if you feel like you can"t continue?"
  
  "Lili will tell Mr. Jericho that she needs a break," Lili said, her tone serious, seeming a little more alive now that she had an endurance potion in her. I guess those were the energy drinks of the fantasy world. Ah, I just reminded myself of coffee. I really needed to look into if there was any of that lovely beverage in this world.
  
  "Exactly," I said, gesturing for us to go on our way. Lili happily nodded as we made our way up the steps. Again, there was no Eina or Misha to be found, so we were able to march our way into the Dungeon without any complications. We blew through the first six floors in no time -- with my greatly improved Strength and Endurance. I could sprint all the way down, barely winded by the time I reached the seventh floor.
  
  I gripped my sword in one hand as we stalked down the halls. Unlike all the times before, we weren"t immediately besieged by monsters as soon as we stepped onto the seventh floor. We walked down the tunnels, and not so much as a single killer ant. Another few minutes later, there was still nothing. That told me one of two things -- either the monsters were floating around somewhere else, already spawned, or someone got here first and already killed them so they were on cooldown.
  
  If it was the second, then that sucked but oh well. If it was the first, that meant there could be a swarm of killer ants somewhere in the halls. With that thought in mind, I summoned upon my map to make sure we had a simple path back to the surface, and to make sure we didn"t go near large open spaces or pantries.
  
  Minutes passed as we walked through the halls, only the occasional monster appearing. Without constantly fighting, it made exploring the Dungeon exceptionally faster. I did my best to avoid open areas, but as we consistently found nothing, the more it looked like someone had cleared out this floor before heading down.
  
  Which raised some questions. How high of a level were they if they could solo a floor? Or was it a group? Either way, for the past twenty minutes, I only had a hundred exp to show for it and, usually, by this time I had closer to five hundred. At this rate, I was better off going back up to the sixth floor.
  
  "Perhaps we should go down to the eighth floor?" Lili suggested in my ear, her grip tight but already I heard the beginnings of labored breathing. She really wasn"t doing too hot, was she? Though, I considered her words for a moment, feeling...uneasy about the proposal.
  
  The recommended stats for the eight floor and below were E. Most of my physical stats were D, so technically I could go down there.
  
  But...it was a bit odd that Lili was suggesting that we go down there. To be blunt, I didn"t think she was trying to get me killed. Why would she? I was making her a crap ton of money, but there was something about this that raised red flags. Or, was I just overthinking it? It wasn"t like Lili didn"t know I seemed to make some incredible gains each day. I went from being able to barely carry her for more than a few minutes, to being able to sprint for thirty minutes and barely breaking a sweat.
  
  She wouldn"t need to know my stats to know that I made some pretty big jumps. She could be assuming that I was strong enough to at least hang around the entrance. Not to mention, if things did go bad, then there wasn"t much on this floor that would try to ambush us. Actually, this was probably my best shot to test the waters of the eighth floor.
  
  "Good thinking," I praised as I started to make my way towards the entrance of the eighth floor. We were already kinda close, so it didn't take very long to reach there. Especially when the only monsters we came across were a few purple moths, and that was it. The entrance to the eighth floor looked similar to the seventh, only it stood out less. If I didn't know it was the entrance, then I would have assumed that it was another tunnel.
  
  The man-made feeling was gone from the Dungeon. The steps were uneven while some were a lot bigger than others. Like it was trying to look man-made, but it was crafted by a drunk toddler that only knew what stairs were because an equally drunk toddler described them.
  
  Slowly, I made my way down to the eighth floor, trying to spot the differences. Walking down, I stepped onto the eighth floor for the first time.
  
  It looked...pretty much exactly the same as the seventh floor. Maybe a little bigger, the ceiling was higher, but the tunnels looked to be about the same size. I waited a moment, waiting for the sound of monsters erupting from the walls, only for nothing to happen for a moment. A deep frown tugged at my lips as I walked a few more steps. Still nothing.
  
  "What"s going on?" I muttered to myself, not expecting an answer.
  
  "Maybe another familia came down here on a money gathering run?" Lili answered me, sounding just as thoughtful. That caught my attention.
  
  "Money gathering?" I asked, starting to walk down the tunnels, slowly mapping out the floor since Eina hadn"t given me one. I don"t think she expected me to get to this floor any time soon. Oh, man, she was going to be so pissed when she found out.
  
  "It"s where a familia brings out all their members to gather as much money as they can. It"s a more common tactic for adventurers going to the middle floors, but if a familia doesn"t have any members that are level 2, then they"re forced to do it on the upper floors." Lili explained, sounding just as annoyed about this as I was. Which was surprising. And reassuring.
  
  "So they don"t bother with the first six floors because the monster stones aren"t worth it?" I hazarded a guess, walking through the tunnels with growing confidence. This one seemed to be even emptier than the seventh.
  
  "Exactly. Depending on the familia, it could be like this all the way down to the twelfth floor," Lili confirmed with a nod of her head. That was extremely frustrating.
  
  "Do you know who it could be?" I asked, picking up the pace a little bit to jog through the tunnels. If there was nothing here, then I might as well map as much of it as I can. I sincerely doubt that Eina was going to be handing over any maps to this floor when she found out I was on it. Or, maybe she would, but either way, there would be a whole lot of yelling involved.
  
  Lili shook her head, "Lili doesn"t know. Doing money farming on the upper floors is usually frowned upon since most adventurers can"t go into the middle floors, so the rest of the city won"t make as much money. Lili is sure she"ll learn who it is later today when everyone starts bad-mouthing that familia."
  
  Well...that freakin sucks. I was kinda pumped for taking on the eighth floor, not to mention that today was a complete loss in terms of exp and stats.
  
  "Should we go back up to the sixth floor?" Lili questioned, sounding like she wanted something for waking up this early. I couldn"t blame her there.
  
  "Could you tell me where the entrance for the ninth floor is- I"m not going down, but so I can map it out in my head when we come back down here," I hastily explained, hearing Lili suck in a breath to tell me that was a horrible idea. "And we know this floor is practically empty for the next couple of hours, so we should be fine. What do you think?"
  
  Lili didn"t say anything for a moment before I felt her nod. "So long as Mr. Jericho promises to run away when it looks like were put in a tight spot and not leave Lili behind," she requested, forcing me to swallow a sigh.
  
  "I promise I won"t leave you behind," I swore, feeling awful that I had to promise that in the first place. It seems that she still didn"t trust me.
  
  With Lili directing me, it didn"t take long to find the entrance to the ninth floor. There were only a handful of monsters crawling about, the Dungeon offering minimal resistance as I delved deeper into it. The entrance looked nearly the exact same as the entrance to the eighth, and when I stepped down the stairs, I saw that it looked similar to.
  
  Everything was just getting a little bit bigger. As I glanced up at the ceiling, I frowned since I doubt I"d be able to jump and get the purple moths and other flying critters now. And since everything was bigger, the shadows the minimal light cast were longer and darker. Not so dark that I couldn"t peer through the darkness, but just dark enough to hide something if I didn"t pay attention.
  
  My musing was cut short when I heard the sounds of the Dungeon walls crumbling. My hearing was so sharp at this point, I guessed that three monsters were spawned. Glancing over to my right, I saw that I was correct. Three killer ants pulled themselves from the walls -- instantly, I noticed the difference between the ones I was killing on the seventh floor.
  
  These were bigger. The head was almost twice as big, its legs were thicker as they spread out more for stability. The mandibles were nearly the same size as a short sword, twitching as they seemed to be imagining ripping me apart with them. The ants earlier were the size of Lili, but these came all the way up to my stomach.
  
  They were creepy looking as all hell. Their exoskeleton was darker, almost black in some places -- these must be soldier ants.
  
  Wasting no time, I rushed towards them, Lili dropping off my back so I could fight this new enemy unimpeded. I gripped my sword with both hands, angling it so the tip was even with the closest killer ant before I thrust my sword forward. Immediately, I felt the difference as my sword plunged into the monster"s skull. The exoskeleton was thicker. Worse, since its head was so big, I think I missed the brain.
  
  The killer ant threw its head back, nearly ripping my sword from my hands, as the other two moved to flank me. I backpedaled, yanking my sword free. The action was so sudden that I should have fallen on my butt, instead, I deftly dodged out of the way as an ant lunged at me. I guess Graceful did what it said on the tin.
  
  Seeing an opening, I brought my sword down on the ant"s neck. Its thorax seemed too small in comparison to its head and abdomen. Snarling, I cut my way through the tough exoskeleton, beheading the monster. Even as its head flew free, the other two monsters pressed the attack, one of them gushing bug juice from its head.
  
  They climbed over the body, delaying them just enough that I could rear back my sword and unleash a slash at their heads. Swinging with all my strength behind it, I cleaved through the fist killer ants skull but the second was spared of any serious damage. With my sword out of position, it lunged again, its mandibles going for my neck. I dodged to the side, the monster sailing by. I couldn"t kill it, but I slashed at its legs, they served with far greater ease.
  
  The monster collapsed in a heap, lashing out in agony before I put it down with another stab in the head.
  
  "So, that was new," I commented, checking the tunnels to see that they were still empty. Lili wasted no time going to the corpses to dig out the monster stones. Out of the three I killed, one of them dropped a large mandible that Lili dropped into her bag. Hopefully, that trend would continue while we were down-
  
  I heard more stone clatter to the floor, not as many this time. A lone killer ant emerged from the wall. I darted forward, killing the monster before it could fully escape, cutting it in half at the thorax.
  
  "Mr. Jericho sure is strong," Lili commented as she retrieved another magic stone. No mandible. That quest reward would be mine! "Usually, only veteran adventurers can cut through the exoskeletons of soldier ants. And Mr. Jericho moved really well just now for being in heavy armor."
  
  I nodded, feeling pleased with myself. I had my worries about not getting that extra five percent exp boost for Dexterity, but I think it was the right move. I didn"t really notice it when I was walking around or carrying Lili, but when I was fighting, it was easy to see the difference in how I moved. My movements felt smoother, more...reactive to what I wanted.
  
  Yeah, I think I made the right choice.
  
  "Thanks, but these things feel a lot tougher than the killer ants before. I doubt I could have managed it with my old swords." I replied, keeping an ever-vigilant eye on our surroundings. Once I got used to fighting them, they wouldn"t be an issue, but for now, they seemed to be a pretty big threat. "Do they only spawn this floor? I know things change a lot on the tenth floor."
  
  That"s when large monsters started to spawn like orcs. Landform weapons became a thing. Smaller monsters got stronger and faster.
  
  "They do," Lili confirmed with a nod of her head as we slowly moved away from the entrance. "Soldier ants are why the guild recommends having stats that are at least E to come to this floor."
  
  I glanced over at the entrance before turning the corner, before turning my attention back ahead. We still had a clear shot back. This floor didn"t seem to be completely cleared out like the others, but so long as we hovered around the entrance, I didn"t see any problems with exploring a bit. Neither did Lili since she didn"t say anything about it.
  
  As I jogged through the tunnels, killing the occasional monster, I heard a sound behind us. The sound of footsteps, of metal tapping against metal. For a long while, I figured that it was something in Lili"s bag, but the sound was never consistent. As minutes turned to hours, for a time, I thought I had imagined it.
  
  I sidestepped a soldier ant before I cut it in half, eyeing the horned menace that lurked in the shadows. The horned rabbit launched itself at me like a speeding bullet, its horn aimed at the back of my knee. I turned sharply so the horn hit the knee guard of my armor, breaking the horn. Before the monster could flee, I stomped on the rabbit, crushing it.
  
  Whipping my head around, I looked behind us. To my surprise, I saw someone peeking out of the corner to watch the fight. They jerked their heads back, but it was too late. Someone had been following us.
  
  "Come out," I hollered at the person, turning around to face them. Lili glanced at me, then at the direction that I was facing. She pulled out her crossbow and pointed it at the corner. For a moment, the only sounds on the ninth floor were the hushed voices of whoever was behind the corner -- meaning, there was at least two.
  
  I gripped my sword tighter, ready to shout the demand one more time before they stepped out with confidence. And they should feel confident. There were five of them, three of them were decked out in armor while another two hung back, wearing leather armor with bows in their hands. All of them were men, the tallest of them was the one at the center that carried a sword and shield.
  
  The three warriors spread out, making it difficult to run by them. The one on the left carried a broadsword, a handsome man if it weren"t for three long scars that dragged down half of his face. On the right was a smaller elf, two twin daggers in his hands, his hair a deep blue while his golden eyes burned with greed.
  
  My gaze swept over them, taking a step forward as I pushed Lili behind me. My gaze lingered on the two in the back, humans holding bows aimed at me. Brothers, if I had to guess.
  
  "Well then. It"s like that, is it?" I spoke, keeping my voice calm, my gaze landing on the emblem emblazoned on the guy"s shoulder pad. Soma"s emblem. These were the guys that tried to rob me yesterday. And...I just put Lili behind me. Had I just surrounded myself?
  
  Was this a trap? Because this looked like a trap. She nudged me to come down here, now these guys appear? Were these the guys that cleared out two floors? Because if that was the case, then I was fucked.
  
  "Lili didn"t know," Lili spoke, her voice desperate as the men chuckled at my question. "Lili didn"t know! Please believe Lili, Mr. Jericho!" I...didn"t entirely believe her, but, at the moment, it didn"t look like I was about to get a bolt to the back of the head. That was good enough for me, at the moment.
  
  "Lili, I want you to take off your bag and get ready to run," I spoke quietly, glaring at the man that stood front and center. A plan formed in my mind because there was no way that this was going to end well.
  
  "Ah, yeah, it"s like that," the leader said, raising his shield as Lili dropped her bag. "We were hoping for a big payday before familia dues, but we barely have anything. I don"t suppose you"ve had more luck?" He asked, a knowing grin on his face. His sandy blonde hair was cut short, revealing the face of a young man.
  
  So, they didn"t clear the floors. That was better. It was still five to one, but it was better.
  
  "No, I don"t think I have anything for you," I said, my tone nowhere near as friendly. I was going to have to kill them. There were too many of them. They were going to kill me if I didn"t hand over everything that I had. I doubt they would stop at monster stones -- they would take my sword, armor, and potions too. They would leave me with nothing, forcing me to start from scratch.
  
  "Don"t be like that! We"ve been watching you, you know. You"re so generous with that girl behind you. Why can"t you throw a little of that generosity our way?" He asked, taking a confident step forward as the other two moved up with him in sync.
  
  I should have seen this coming. I was a huge guy, and it wasn"t like it was a secret at this point that I was a rookie. And most days I came back up with around fifty thousand valis.
  
  "How about this -- you hand over your magic stones and send...Lili, was it? Send her to collect whatever you have saved up. And we"ll let you live." He said, throwing me a smile filled with white teeth. "And, maybe, you let us in on that generosity from now on? Nothing crazy, but maybe you toss us half of what you make down here?"
  
  Yeah, this was only going to end one way.
  
  "To be honest, I think I"d rather just kill the lot of you," I told them, speaking with far more confidence than I felt. My heart pounded in my chest, my heartbeat thundering in my ears. They had ambushed me, they were trying to rob me. This wasn"t like with Asshole the Second. I had a choice there. I didn"t have one here.
  
  "That"s a real shame. We could have a pretty profitable relationship, you know. You"re apart of a new familia -- there"s all kinds of things we could help you with-"
  
  I reached back to Lili"s book bag and threw it at the group of people. It sailed through the air, not fast enough that they couldn"t dodge it, but the bag was so big that it covered my approach. I heard the sharp twangs of a bow, so the archers had shot at me but the bag served as a shield. They were expecting me to go left or right, to thin out the numbers with a surprise attack.
  
  Instead, I dropped to my knees, sparks flying as my momentum carried. Like I thought, they had mostly stayed in formation based on their legs. That changed when I swiped at their legs with my sword. My sword wasn"t long enough to get all of them in one swing, so I picked the easy targets. The elf and the guy in the center.
  
  The elf was wearing light armor, so only his knees were armored. I cut through his boots and legs with ease, severing his legs as my sword continued the path towards the guy in the center. He was wearing armor, unfortunately, so I didn"t manage to do the same to him. Instead, I knocked his legs out from underneath him.
  
  The elf screamed bloody murder as the center guy went down, Lili"s pack hitting him since he wasn"t prepared for it. There was still the broadsword guy, but I ignored him for now. As I pushed myself up, I looked at the archers to see that they wore matching expressions of terror. They both went to fire off another arrow, but one of them fumbled, dropping it as I rushed towards them. The second did not.
  
  An arrow raced towards me, I don"t know if they were aiming for my chest, but that"s where they hit. Thank the gods for heavy armor. The arrow bounced off my armor, letting me get in close. Readying my sword, I swung with all my strength, pivoting for a little extra power because I heard Broadsword Guy rushing my back.
  
  My greatsword cut right through their leather armor. Flesh and bone gave way with some resistance, but it was easier than cutting the soldier ants in half. I cut through one brother, then the other, both halves falling to the floor as I turned on my heel just in time to block an attack from Broadsword Guy. A loud clang rang out, Broadsword Guy"s face twisted int a ferocious snarl.
  
  I guess they were friends. He pushed me back a half step, slashing at me with a ferocity that I was barely able to block in time. Each time our swords clashed, I felt the vibrations race through my arms, my grip so tight on my sword that my fingers could mold it. His sword was little more than a blur to me, forcing me to be on the defensive. In a way, it felt a lot like fighting my brother with lightsabers back when I was a kid. Only about a thousand times more dangerous.
  
  Sword and shield guy pushed himself to his feet, and unless I wanted this to be a two on one fight, then I had to end this fast. He was faster than me. Stronger too, despite my larger size. What did I have on him? Dexterity. Grace and Ballerina.
  
  Instead of blocking the blow that was poised to behead me, I stepped out of its way as I readied a counter-attack. Broadsword Guy was already moving to block the attack, so plan A was already a failure. Instead, I angled my sword away from me as I took a step forward, making his sword effectively useless. His eyes widened when he realized what I had planned, jerking his head out of the way but it was too late.
  
  The edge of my sword opened up the side of his neck, red blood spurting out as I shoulder checked him hard enough that he fell. He let go of his sword, a hand going to his neck to stem the bleeding as another hand went to his pouch.
  
  Ah. Then he would live.
  
  The thought came from something ice cold and rational in my mind. Health potions were incredibly effective -- if he poured one powerful enough on his neck, then he would be back in the fight. He was using the same strategy that got me through every video game I have ever played: Spam health potions.
  
  So, I cut his head off.
  
  As his head flew free, I heard a snarl rip itself from Sword and Shield Guy"s throat as he rushed towards me. "What the fuck is this?" He roared at me, swinging at me- my legs nearly buckled at the near overwhelming force he hit me with. He wasn"t just stronger than me, he was stronger than Broadsword Guy as well. "You killed them!"
  
  I did. I cut a guy"s legs off. I cut two guys in half. I executed another. I... "I told you I would," I said, pushing my thoughts into the deepest, darkest pit in my mind I could find.
  
  That was the wrong thing to say. Sword and Shield Guy snarled, shifting his grip to make a thrust at me. I blocked the blade, but not enough. I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder as he practically stabbed my shoulder, only to yank his blade to the side. It hurt a lot, just not enough to stop me. I"m sure at this point there was more adrenaline in my veins than blood.
  
  "What kind of bullshit are you trying to pull?! You"ve been an adventurer for a fucking week, my fucking ass!" Sword and Shield Guy roared at me, swiping at me. I managed to block again, but I felt another cut on my arm, though it was shallower this time. I was losing this fight.
  
  "You"re in over your head, you stupid kid. I"m nearly a level 2 adventurer!" Sword and Shield Guy yelled, lunging at me. I blocked a swing aimed at my arm, no sooner that I blocked it, he was attacking again. His sword slipped downwards, dragging across the back of my knee and only Welf"s foresight saved me from getting hamstrung.
  
  As he withdrew, tsking to himself, I seized the chance to press the attack. My blade was completely out of position, so I reversed my grip and lashed out at his face with the pommel. Sword and Shield Guy dodged a second too late, the heavy pommel slammed into his forehead hard enough that skin broke.
  
  Sword and Shield Guy stumbled back, recovering from the blow. Gripping my sword with both hands, I swung as hard as I could, intent on cutting him in half. Unfortunately, he wasn"t stunned enough that he was out of the fight. He raised his shield, blocking the blow, and even as he skid a few inches over the rough ground, my sword came no closer to him.
  
  He was so much stronger than me. His stats had to be somewhere around...B, or A even. He couldn"t be a level 2 since I was able to fight back at all, but this was insane.
  
  "You actually suck at this," Sword and Shield Guy sneered, sliding his blade forward to cut me again on the arm as he retreated out of my reach. "Is this your first time fighting something that isn"t a monster?" He taunted, making me grit my teeth in response.
  
  Now more confident with his superiority, he went on the attack. His sword darted to my face, I went to block it but it proved to be a feint, leaving me completely out of position to stop a cut at my hip. When I went on the attack to drive him away, he simply parried my sword before cutting my forearm again.
  
  "It"s a lot different fighting a man than a monster," he pointed out, sneering so hard that I hoped he pulled something as he drew another red long on my upper arm. Blood dripped from my wounds freely, trailing down my arms and dripping from me with every movement. I was lucky that I had the neck guard and leg armor, otherwise, he would have gone for an artery by now.
  
  I wasn"t winning this fight, I slowly started to understand. I had no sword skills beyond wildly swinging my sword. He was stronger, faster and more experienced. What did I have on him? My size?
  
  With lack of a better plan, I darted towards him, swinging my blade with a wordless roar. Sword and Shield Guy smirked as he dipped below my blade, his own poised to stab upwards. I let go of my sword with one hand, lashing out at his blade and smacked it off course with my wrist. I felt the blade cut into the bone, but I would be fine. All I needed was a health potion and I would be fine.
  
  Now that he was wide open, I threw myself at him, knocking the both of us over. But I was on top.
  
  "Get off me-!" Sword and Shield Guy started to shout, thrashing underneath me with shocking strength. He tried to flip me over, and he would have managed it if I hadn"t jabbed a thumb into his eye, crushing it. "AHHH!" He screamed in agony, his face twisting. He hit me with his sword, but it harmlessly bounced off my armor.
  
  Since my sword was too long, I had to reverse my grip and raised it high before bringing it down on his forehead. Once. Then twice. Then a third time and a fourth time and a fifth. I kept slamming the pommel into his head until it cracked, splitting open.
  
  I won.
  
  "Fuck me," I cursed, rolling off him. The elf from earlier was still screaming his lungs out. Looking at him, I saw him clutching at his bleeding stumps, trying in vain to slow the bleeding. Crimson blood slipped between his fingers, dripping into a pool that rapidly expanded. My stomach clenched at the sight, dawning horror filled me.
  
  I did that, didn"t I? At the time, I wasn"t really thinking about anything other than surviving. Of winning the fight. I was...very different now that the fight was over. I cut that guy"s legs off. I was watching him bleed out. Broadsword Guy, I straight up executed him. Sword and Shield Guy, I broke his skull open-
  
  No. No, none of that. I could think about all that crap later when time was of the essence. I pushed myself up, spotting Lili pretty much exactly where she had been earlier. Her crossbow was still in hand, but when she caught me looking at it, Lili dropped it like a hot potato.
  
  "Lili didn"t know," Lili swore, tears gathering up in her eyes. "Please believe Lili, Lili had no idea that Soma familia was trying to steal from Mr. Jericho!" She took a step passed the weapon, her bottom lip trembling as she held her hands up in surrender. I wanted to believe her. She seemed genuine.
  
  But I couldn"t. Lili was a brilliant liar and actor. No matter how much I wanted to believe her, I couldn"t.
  
  "Just..." I trailed off when the elf let out another horrified scream, clutching at his legs. He looked up at me, holding out a blood-drenched hand, an expression of pure horror on his face.
  
  "Please! Please, a-a health potion! Please!" He begged, his face devoid of a single drop of blood, his dark blue hair plastered to his sweaty skin. A hand went to my pouch to give him one, only for my hands to pause. They...they tried to kill me. They tried to rob me. Maybe they didn"t deserve this, but...
  
  I regret not killing Asshole the Second a couple of days ago. If I hadn"t been such a pussy, I wouldn"t have to worry about blackmail or the Soma familia or anything like that. If I had just killed him, then this entire thing would have never happened.
  
  I swallowed my horror and put on a brave face. I could do this. I could totally do this.
  
  Taking a knee, the dying man clutched at me weakly, only to catch a second wind when I pulled out a health potion. My mouth felt uncomfortably dry as I held the health potion out of reach, his weak clawing at my armor doing nothing. I quenched my thirst by drinking the health potion in front of him, his expression crumbling into utter despair.
  
  "Please, I"m begging you, I don"t want to die!" He wailed, fat tears trailing down his face. My will to do this nearly crumbled then and there. A hand went to my pouch again to give him one, but I stopped myself. Swallowing a lump in my throat, I pulled out another health potion that I held out of reach.
  
  "Who put you up to this?" I asked, trying to keep my voice firm. Showing weakness when I was...was practically torturing a guy would defeat the purpose.
  
  "No one did! We- we saw that you were kept bring up a lot of money, so we did some asking around and found out that you were a rookie! We thought you were just cocky since nothing could seriously hurt you!" The elf practically screamed at me, a hand lunging for the health potion. I don"t think he was lying.
  
  So, this wasn"t Asshole the Seconds move. Which was...good?
  
  "D-Did anyone tip you off?" I asked calmly, glancing up at Lili, who looked frozen stiff. She stared at me, wide-eyed, appearing so scared I half expected her to take off running.
  
  "No! I told you, we heard that elf screaming about you and kept seeing you making a lot of cash!" The Elf roared at me, apparently pissed that he had to answer the question again. "Please, please, just give me the health potion. I-I won"t say anything about this. I swear. I swear on my fucking life! Please, give it to me!"
  
  Lili...wasn"t in the clear yet. It was possible that he didn"t know. I couldn"t trust her about this because I wanted to. No matter how I looked at this, this looked shady as all hell.
  
  "Did you tell anyone you were going to do this?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around what I was about to do. Knowing that I was going to do it, and kneeling here to do it were very different things. My hands got all sweaty, my heart pounded in my chest even harder than it did in the actual fight.
  
  "No! W-we didn"t tell anyone, didn"t w-want anyone to muscle in our p-payday," the elf stammered out, still weakly grabbing at the health potion in my hand.
  
  "Are you sure that no one knows? Because if you"re lying..." I moved the health potion away from him, and the pathetic noise that he made nearly made me puke.
  
  "No one knows," the elf swore, practically sobbing as he grasped at the health potion.
  
  "Is anyone else planning anything? Has...uh...Canoe said anything?" I demanded, struggling to recall Asshole the Second"s real name. The elf was fading fast. He didn"t have much gas left in the tank.
  
  "I don"t know! I swear I don"t know! Please, just give me the health potion. I-I don"t want to die. I don"t want to die..." the elf said, his voice trailing off as it was lost in heavy sobs. Everyone thought that when they stared death in the face, they"d be the cool, collected, badass that didn"t blink. I sure did.
  
  After dying once, I"m certain that if it hadn"t been so fast, I wouldn"t be any better than the elf.
  
  Swallowing thickly, I pushed myself to my feet. I didn"t get all the answers I wanted, but I got enough. The elf grabbed onto my leg, muttering denials because he knew what was coming. I...doing this was probably going to royally screw things up with Lili, but in this scenario, I couldn"t bring myself to care. Especially when I wasn"t sure if Lili hadn"t set this up.
  
  "Don"t," The elf ordered, trying to control his voice as he squeezed down on my armor. "Please, don"t."
  
  I raised my sword and, for a moment, I hesitated. Did I really have to do this? Were there better options? Maybe if I made him promise...no. I picked the wrong choice once already when it came to this decision. I should have killed Canoe when I had the chance. If I let him live, then I was going to constantly wonder if he was going to keep whatever promise he made to save his life. He was begging now because he was in shock. That shock would turn to anger soon enough.
  
  So, I plunged my sword down into his chest. The elf gargled, his hands going to my sword, but they never made it. The fell to the side, his gaze staring up at me but his eyes were blank. He was dead.
  
  A huge sigh escaped me as I pulled my sword free. I stared at his body for a second, then I turned my attention back to Lili. She stared up at me, so still I don"t think she was breathing. When it was clear she wasn"t going to speak, I broke the heavy silence between us.
  
  "Lili...you have to understand how this looks, right? I was just ambushed by your familia members," I spoke, keeping my voice calm. Slowly, Lili nodded, her expression a mix between fear and anger.
  
  "Lili knows how this looks, but Lili didn"t know about this. Or any of it! Lili didn"t set a trap for Mr. Jericho! I- the Soma familia is really big, and-" She cut herself off, taking a step forward, another step away from her weapon. I wanted to believe her. I really, really did.
  
  But..."Lili, if I brought you in front of my goddess, and asked you to say that you didn"t know about this, what would my goddess say?" I asked, watching her very carefully. Hope ignited in her eyes as she gave a firm nod.
  
  "Lady Hestia would say that Lili is telling the truth!" Lili declared with so much certainty that it made me pause. She looked half ready to grab me by the hand and march me to Hestia herself. That was...good, wasn"t it? If she was so confident, then that had to mean she was telling the truth, right?
  
  I hesitated before I gave her a slow nod. "Okay. That"s what we"ll do then," I said, watching very carefully for any hint that she might be lying. If anything, Lili looked relieved.
  
  "Thank you for giving Lili this chance to prove herself, Mr. Jericho," Lili said, going towards her bag with my permission. I turned my attention to the bodies, swallowing back bile as it sunk in that I caused this carnage. I pushed my disgust away and started following Lili. The urge to loot the bodies was lost underneath the desire to get the hell out of here.
  
  After Lili picked up her bag, neither of us said a word to each other.
  
  ...
  
  "Is this Mr. Jericho"s home?" Lili asked, looking around the hovel, trying to disguise her interest. She seemed surprised, which was fair I guess. Hestia and I could afford to move to a better place, one with a ceiling that wouldn"t leak when it rained, but the topic hadn't come up yet. It would soon enough if only because I wanted a bed that could actually fit me.
  
  The small home was empty at the moment, so Hestia was probably off getting ingredients for dinner. She would be back soon enough.
  
  "Hm," I confirmed with a nod, sitting on the bed to give Lili some space. I gestured to the worn-down couch for her to sit on, paying close attention to her. She looked drained physically and emotionally. For a few seconds, there was a heavy silence, Lili doing her absolute best not to look at me while I didn"t know what to say.
  
  "I know it's not to look at but it's enough for me and my goddess," I spoke, at last, going to a safe topic.
  
  "Goddess Hestia? What...what is she like?" Lili asked, sitting on the center cushion. She clasped her hands in her lap, looking down at them to prevent me from seeing her expression.
  
  "Bubbly," I started, scratching at a smooth cheek. "Kind. And she worries a lot about me, probably more than she should. She works hard too -- if you've gone down Spirits Cross, then you've probably seen her work a jagamarukun stall." At that, Lili glanced up at me sharply, surprised.
  
  "She is your goddess? Lili thought Mr. Jericho's goddess would a little more..." she trailed off, shifting where she sat as she looked back down at her hands.
  
  "Yeah," I agreed, knowing what she was trying to say. I would take a double look if I saw someone that looked like me walking down the street with someone like Hestia. "But I couldn't ask for a better goddess," I told her honestly, getting a small nod out of Lili. She fell silent after that, staring at her hands in deep thought. It would seem that I was going to have to carry this conversation.
  
  "Lili...tell me about the Soma familia," I requested, leaning forward so our eye levels at the same level. Lili"s hands curled into fists before she realized it, forcing herself to unclench them.
  
  "Does Mr. Jericho know what Soma is?" She asked in a quiet voice, still refusing to look at me.
  
  "I know your familia specializes in selling wine, but only your God makes it," I told her, not wanting to overplay my hand. It would one thing to know common knowledge about her familia, but the inner workings were closely guarded secrets. "But I'm guessing there's more to that story. I've seen some other members of your familia at the teller, and they always seem...desperate for more money."
  
  "That's because they are desperate. Lili's familia isn't like Mr. Jericho's," she continued, clasping her hands together. "The wine that the Soma familia sells, it's all labeled as failures to make true Soma wine. The familia sells it to recoup some losses, and failures are still worth tens of thousands of valis, but it might as well be water when compared to true Soma wine."
  
  "Lili's familia has dues to determine who gets to drink Soma wine. It's no more than a single sip but that's all it takes to get drunk...and...Soma wine...it's..." Lili trailed off, making me glance at my own hands in thought.
  
  "The euphoria that it gives is addicting," I supplied. "The feeling of release. It becomes all they think about, everything that they do is to chase that feeling. It makes the time when they"re not feeling it unbearable. They do things that they never would have done before to chase it. And, in their own minds, no matter how twisted and awful, make perfect sense if it gets them what they want."
  
  I glanced up to see Lili staring at me with naked shock. "Has Mr. Jericho...?" She asked, the question a sensitive one.
  
  "My dad," I answered shortly, not wanting to delve deeper into painful memories and a lifetime of disappointment. Thankfully, Lili seemed to pick up on that since she nodded in understanding.
  
  "Lili"s parents died because of Soma. They went into the Dungeon to make money to get more Soma, and they never came out." From the sounds of it, that was an old wound for her. "But no one cared. Plenty of members of the Soma familia go into the Dungeon and are never seen again."
  
  "And it"s not always the monsters that get them," I stated, earning a slow nod from Lili.
  
  "Lili"s familia isn"t a real familia. All everyone cares about is drinking more Soma and nothing else. All the stronger members of the familia steal from the weaker ones like Lili, or...kill them to avoid paying them." Lili explained, painting a very grim picture for the Soma familia.
  
  "So...will anyone notice that, uh-"
  
  "Lili doesn"t think so. Lili recognized some of them, and most of them were new members," she said earning a sharp look from me. "But Kylar, the one with the sword and shield, did drink Soma regularly, so it"s possible that the leaders of the Soma familia might notice that he"s gone but they"ll probably assume he was murdered for money."
  
  Well, that was a relief. If the Soma familia decided to show up on my door right now, I"d die. No questions asked. I barely won that fight against Asshole the Second, and apparently, he was a generic mook that existed solely to show off how bad the bad guys were.
  
  "The leaders of your familia...they"re level 2, right?" I recalled, earning another nod from Lili.
  
  "Zanis and Chandra. They don"t really get along, but Zanis is the captain of the Soma familia. He"s the reason why the Soma familia is what it is. He"s the one that made it that you had to pay to drink Soma, and he doesn"t just let his familia kill each other for money, but he encourages it!" Lili practically shouted, the anger I saw a glimpse of before returning, only she was too tired to maintain it. She slumped into the couch, her shoulders drooping in defeat.
  
  I nodded, having known all that already. Zanis was scum of the highest order. He was the worst kind of villain -- a narcissistic mastermind that bought into his own hype that was evil for the purpose of being evil. When I came to this world, I can"t say killing him was one of the reasons, but it sure was on the list now.
  
  "And your god just lets that happen? Why doesn"t Soma do something about it? I mean, if he just told him to fuck off and not update anyone Status, then I can"t imagine Zanis would stay in power long after that," I asked, making Lili clench her fists again, the anger surge in her tense, but small frame.
  
  "Because Soma doesn"t care enough to stop it. The Soma familia exists to support him so he can spend all his time making wine. He couldn"t care less what happens to the members of his familia," Lili muttered bitterly. I nodded slowly at that, let out a soft breath now that the exposition dump was over.
  
  I heard the door opening behind me. Lili went stiff where she sat as Hestia hummed loudly to herself right up until she noticed that we were here. Several expressions passed over her face before she landed on concerned.
  
  "Is everything okay?" Hestia asked, rushing over with arms full of ingredients, her gaze going over both of us for any signs of injuries. A small gasp escaped her when she found the blood on my arms. "What happened?"
  
  "We were ambushed in the Dungeon by the Soma familia," I told her, making Hestia"s eyes go so wide they nearly fell out of her head. "We"re fine, but..." I trailed off, feeling oddly exhausted from everything.
  
  "Lili is apart of the Soma familia," Lili picked up, understanding flooding Hestia"s eyes. "Mr. Jericho was afraid that Lili might have lead him into a trap, so he wanted Lady Hestia to confirm that Lili hadn"t."
  
  Hestia glanced at me and got a nod to confirm what Lili said. "I want to believe her, but it looks sketchy as hell. We went down to the ninth floor, and five of them had been following us for a while. All of them Soma familia." I explained, watching Hestia"s lips thin until she wore an expression I had never seen before.
  
  Anger. Hestia looked beyond furious, achieving a tranquil fury that allowed her to take in a long breath before she turned to Lili.
  
  "Did you have anything to do with this?" Hestia asked, her voice ice.
  
  "Lili didn"t! Lili didn"t know about the ambush! If she did, she would have warned Mr. Jericho about it!" Lili said with conviction. I glanced at Hestia to see that she let out the breath she took as she nodded softly to herself.
  
  "She"s telling the truth," Hestia confirmed, lifting a great big weight off my shoulders. Lili wasn"t involved in this. She wasn"t secretly planning to murder me. There was still the issue of her stealing from me, but at this point, money was money and I knew what she was going to use it for.
  
  Actually...
  
  "Lili...do you want to be in the Soma familia?" I asked, the question completely catching her off guard. She blinked at me, displaying clear confusion that couldn"t be faked. Then, slowly, her expression became far more guarded when she glanced at Hestia, who turned to me with a puzzled expression.
  
  "Lili..." Lili trailed off, her mouth open to continue but the words wouldn"t come. Then she looked down at her hands, unable to continue. As Lili fell silent, Hestia shared a meaningful glance with me. Somehow, she knew exactly where I was going with this and, despite knowing none of the circumstances, she gave a nod of approval.
  
  I reached out with a hand to give one of hers a squeeze. She offered me a smile that I returned before turning my attention back to Lili.
  
  "Well, that settles it then. I guess we"re getting you out of the Soma familia."
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
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  So, I"ve noticed some serious problems with the pacing of this story. When I was plotting out my outline and writing the backlog of chapters, I didn"t really notice it at the time, but it"s become pretty clear that the plot of this story is moving at a snail"s pace. So, to rectify this, after the next chapter there"s going to be a small-time jump.
  
  ...
  
  Lili looked down, her voice thick with emotions when she spoke. "Why does Mr. Jericho want to help Lili? You were really careful about it, but I still stole a bunch from you!" Had she? "Yesterday, I got really cocky and the split was thirty-five sixty-five!" Whoa, I knew she stole from me yesterday, but that much?! "So, why? Why does-"
  
  It would be a lie to say that I didn"t think of stealing Bell"s line when she asked that question. However, here, it didn"t fit. I hadn"t saved her from the jaws of death, choosing to save her even though she had betrayed me. Especially when I only knew her for a few days.
  
  "Because you need help," I told her instead, speaking gently as I knelt next to her. She still had to look up at me, her eyes filling up with a fragile cautious hope. "And I want to help you. Simple as that." I told her, making tears well up in her eyes again. She started to look down, but I gently placed a finger underneath her chin to make her gaze met mine. "Just have a little faith in me, okay?"
  
  Lili opened her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn"t come out. Instead, she nodded her head, trying to hold back tears. I looked over at Hestia to see her looking at me, I could exactly tell what she was thinking despite her habit of wearing her emotions on her sleeve, but if I had to sum up her expression in a word, it would be peaceful.
  
  Hestia walked over, placing a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it lightly to show her support. "Have a little faith in us," Hestia corrected, forcing Lili to glance up at her. And...I could see it. She didn"t believe us. Not fully. She might want to but she couldn't bring herself too, having been burned too many times in the past. That"s why she wasn"t saying anything. She was avoiding Hestia"s lie detector. I guess this is what happens when you don"t learn about a heroine"s problems without a life and death dramatic event.
  
  "We"re going to get you out of that familia as soon as we can. Do they expect to see you, or anything?" I asked, trying to hammer out a game plan. The more time I had to do it, the better.
  
  Lili shook her head, "N-no. Lili doesn"t live in the familia home, so they only see her when it's time to pay dues. So, in a couple of weeks." She answered, swallowing down her emotions with more than a little difficulty.
  
  "Good." I had about two weeks to power grind my stats. Provided that no one suspected anything, I could have even longer. "I"m still new to stuff like this, but we can buy your way out of the familia right?" I questioned, earning a nod. "Then I"ll start saving up. If Zanis is as big of an asshole as he sounds, I wouldn"t put it past him to ask for a stupid amount."
  
  Lili stared at me, her expression so carefully guarded that it betrayed absolutely nothing that she didn"t want it to. "How does Mr. Jericho know Lili wants to leave the Soma familia?" She questioned suddenly, catching me flat-footed. I could hardly tell her the truth, and when Hestia looked up at me, her gaze asking the same question, I realized that I had to stick as close to the truth as possible.
  
  "Because of how you acted around that Canoe, guy. And how those guys in the Dungeon acted. Then you"re talking about rent and familia dues -- you didn"t have to tell me, it was fairly obvious if you knew what to look for," I said, making Lili blink slowly.
  
  Lili agreed with a slow nod, "Lili has been saving up a bunch to buy her way out too. But...Lili is scared that he won"t take it..."
  
  "Then I"ll kick his ass and take you away," I told her, cracking a smile when I saw a rose tint on her cheeks.
  
  "Zanis is a level 2, Mr. Jericho! You can"t beat him -- I know you"re really big and strong, but the difference between even a high level 1 and the weakest level 2 can"t be overcome. He"ll kill you," she told me, sounding like she believed it. And I believed it too. Before fighting Sword and Shield Guy and Broadsword Guy, I might not have -- it felt like I was making great gains, and with everyone"s reactions, I thought I was too. And, I was. They just weren"t enough to close that gap.
  
  "Lili is right," Hestia seconded, her eyes filled to the absolute brim with worry. "If it comes to a fight, then we can"t win."
  
  I nodded, agreeing with her. As of right now, the most I could hope for is that my blood was hard to wash out of his clothing when I tried to fight Zanis. "That"s why I"m going to do some sit-ups, push-ups and drink plenty of juice to make the gains I need to win that fight. If he won"t take a price, then we"ll challenge him in a war game." I told her, standing back up, my armor jingling lightly with the movement. "If we have time, then I"m going to become a level 2 to even the playing field."
  
  Lili seemed uncertain but nodded all the same while Hestia sputtered. Probably because she could tell I was telling the truth. "Lili believes that Mr. Jericho will reach level 2 eventually-"
  
  "A month," I decided with a sense of finality, ignoring the stunned look that Hestia and Lili were giving me. I wasn"t even close to leveling up after nearly a week in this world. I was nearly a fifteenth of the way there. Worse, the plan was still the same -- increase my stats until I could reach the lower floors to get more exp. The killer ants were great, but the monsters below would be even better.
  
  "I"ll reach level 2 in a month," I repeated, giving myself a deadline. Now, if I didn"t manage it, then I would look really stupid. Now, it was time to buckle down. I needed to push myself even harder in the Dungeon. I needed to start pushing myself outside it too -- possibly at the expense of spending time with Hestia. Maybe. Whatever it took, I needed to blow through the upper floors to the fast, exp rich deeper floors.
  
  "But that"s impossible! The record holder managed to do it in a year, and before that, the record was five years! Mr. Jericho can"t level up in a single month," Lili proclaimed at me, standing up, all traces of the exhaustion that seemed to weigh her down was gone.
  
  I looked at Hestia to see her biting her lip. She knew about my weird falna -- my standards for leveling up were different than normal. One million exp. I could do it.
  
  "That so? Well, then, bet on it." I said, sending her a grin as I picked up my sword. "If I level up in a month...hm..." I paused as if I had to think about it.
  
  Seizing on my hesitation, Hestia decided for me. "Then join our familia," she blurted, earning a sharp look from Lili. Despite her best efforts, I think I saw a crack in her mask. Her eyes shone with unshed tears. She swallowed thickly as she looked away from Hestia"s warm gaze.
  
  Lili wiped her eyes of the gathering tears before they could fall, not quite managing to hide the small smile on her face as she did so. "...okay. Lili will take that bet," she said, turning to look at me. There was no question in my mind that the small smile she sent my way was genuine. And, judging by Hestia beaming expression, I think she meant what she said.
  
  That was progress, wasn"t it? I still don"t think she fully believed us, but if she was willing to take this chance, if we followed through then that was progress. At the very least, it was way better than rescuing her at the last moment from a swarm of killer ants after getting betrayed by her. Less dramatic, to be sure, but this was a good thing. Words meant little to her, so if she saw us following through on our end, then, eventually, I think she would start to trust us a little.
  
  "Great, and if I don"t...well, you get "I told you so" rights until the day I die, sound fair?" I asked, sticking out a hand for her to shake. Lili reached out with a dainty hand, I engulfed her hand and shook it once. Her hands were even smaller than Hestia"s.
  
  Lili let out a huff that could have been a laugh if she put a little more effort into it, but I guess the fact that she felt comfortable to not laugh or giggle at my lame joke was a good thing. "Lili will do that," she said, her voice starting to grow rough with emotion.
  
  "Lili," Hestia started, smiling brightly at the girl, "would you like to stay for supper? I brought more than enough to feed an extra person."
  
  Lili shook her head, "Lili...would like to." She started, sounding honest, but she continued a moment later, "but, Lili shouldn't. Lili's familia could notice that the people that attacked Mr. Jericho haven't come back. Since Lili is the only one that can do it, Lili wants to make sure that no other Soma members are planning to attack Mr. Jericho."
  
  "Oh," Hestia wilted ever so slightly as Lili moved to get off the couch. I swallowed my suspicions -- insisting that she stay would just push her away. All I can do is hope that she wasn't planning anything against us. Or self-destructive. "I understand. Thank you for looking after my child, Lili," Hestia said, giving a small bow and, out of everything, that was what got the biggest reaction from her.
  
  Lili's eyes went wide, caught off guard by a god bowing to her. "L-lady Heatia shouldn't bow to Lili!" She blurted, clearly uncomfortable with the act, looking up at me for me to back her up. Maybe I would if my goddess was anyone else.
  
  "Thank you for looking out for me Lili," I said instead, offering a smile to her. "Will I see you tomorrow at the usual place?"
  
  Lili looked at Hestia, then at me, her hood blocking my view of her eyes. Slowly, she lowered her head, trembling ever so slightly. For a moment, I thought she was going to say no, but then her head rose back up to look at us again. "Mr. Jericho will see Lili tomorrow! Lili promises!" She declared, getting a grin out of me and a full-blown megawatt smile.
  
  "Good!" Hestia decided, going over to hug the smaller girl, practically smothering her in her chest. "And when this is all over if you wish it, I'll be happy to welcome you into my familia." I saw Lili go stiff in Hestia"s arms as she repeated the offer shortly before leaning into the hug until she was practically supported by Hestia.
  
  "Joining Lady Hestia"s familia would make Lili really happy," Lili told her. I didn"t need a lie detector to know that she was telling the truth.
  
  "I believe you. Come back as soon as you can, okay?" Hestia said Lili"s words struck her as true. Hopefully, this meant we could avoid any dramatic self-sacrificing that anime tended to have when it came to characters seeking redemption.
  
  "And if you need any help, I want you to come running back to us before you try to do anything on your own," I tacked on. "Promise me," I said, making Lili go stiff again. Ah, so she did plan to go off and do something stupid. Yeah, no. None of that.
  
  A huff escaped me as I walked over, having to reach down some so I could place my hand on top of her head. "Lili, we can only help you as much as you let us. So, please, let us help you."
  
  Lili swallowed thickly, "Lili doesn"t deserve help-" Lili started to protest, only to be cut off when I lightly thumped her on the head.
  
  "Life doesn"t care about what you deserve. Life is about making do with what you get -- and, Lili, whether you think you deserve it or not, we"ve decided to help you. Now, tell Hestia that you aren"t planning to do anything stupid, and if you"re lying, I"m going to tie you to me to make sure you don"t run off." I ordered, getting a firm nod from Hestia to back me up.
  
  I saw a tear race down Lili"s cheek before she wiped it away, sniffling as she fought back a fresh wave of tears. When she looked back at us, I saw that her eyes were brighter than they were before. A glint called hope in them. "Lili promises. Lili will come back as soon as she can and she won"t do anything dangerous until she comes back."
  
  Hestia"s expression told me that Lili wasn"t lying.
  
  "We"ll be waiting."
  
  ...
  
  "How did you know?" Hestia asked as we walked towards the Tower of Babel. Lili departed not too long ago, probably off to see that spirit that ran a pawnshop if I had to guess. Hestia seemed to think that Lili meant her promises, but I would be lying if I said I didn"t have any doubts. The promises she made weren"t exactly loophole-free.
  
  I didn"t need to ask what she meant. "Just because you aren"t lying doesn"t mean you"re telling the truth," I answered, knowing that from experience. "I don"t know the full story, but I know that Lili has been in a dark place for some time now. You can"t shake something like that off with a pep-talk."
  
  "I see," Hestia muttered, looking thoughtful. "Do you think she"s going to be okay?" She asked, sounding worried.
  
  I sighed, "I think so. Lili can take care of herself, and she did promise that she would come to us for help if she felt she was in over her head... at this point, we just have to have faith in her."
  
  "Hm," Hestia agreed with a small nod. She took a seat next to me, grabbing a damp cloth as she went to clean up my arms. For a few minutes, there was silence as I let her wipe up the dried blood that coated my arms. I thought about nothing in particular, simply replaying the conversation in my head, wondering if I could have done something better.
  
  Then my thoughts drifted back to the Dungeon. That elf that clutching at my leg, begging for his life. Instead, I killed him. And...I think...that was the right decision. I don"t know about anyone else, but I sure as fuck wouldn"t forgive someone cutting my legs off. Any promises that he made meant nothing -- as soon as he was back in his familia home, he would have told everyone that I did it.
  
  Maybe Zanis would use the excuse to challenge us to a war game, or something. I didn"t know. Just like I didn"t know what Canoe was planning. What I did know was that we wouldn't stand a chance against the Soma familia if they decided to pull time thing, so the longer they thought we were some no-name new familia, the better.
  
  "Jericho...," Hestia started slowly as her hands came to a stop. I glanced up at her to an unusually serious expression on her face. "What are we going to do?"
  
  That, I had to admit, was a very good question. "For now, we just try to save up some money, but from what Lili told me about Zanis...well, I don't exactly have high hopes that things will be that simple," I said with a sigh, feeling tired despite it being so early. "Especially if we do manage to pay him some stupidly high price -- he's going to wonder how we made so much money. Worse, he's going to want in."
  
  I could end up in the same situation those guys had threatened, only it wouldn't be to some punks. It would be to an entire familia that had level 2s in it.
  
  "You think something like that could happen?" Hestia asked, sounding worried. I nodded gravely, my mind all too helpful to offer up plenty of worst-case scenarios.
  
  "Zanis is scum. I'd be shocked if he didn't try something like that," I answered, reaching out with a blood-covered hand and placed it on top of hers. I could see the growing fear in her eyes, so I was quick to reassure her. "But that won't happen. Right now, he has absolutely no reason to come after us. And by the time he does have a reason-"
  
  "Do you really think you can reach level 2 in a month?" Hestia interrupted softly, not disbelieving, but double-checking to make sure I wasn"t talking out of my butt. Which was fair, because I realized how it sounded.
  
  "I think so," I said, mulling over what I had learned. "My stat growth has been pretty significant," Hestia agreed with a small huff of laughter as she continued to wipe up the dried blood. I couldn"t be certain since the anime never really covered it, but I think my stat growth was even greater than Bells.
  
  Admittedly, it was slowing down rather significantly, but I still reached the equivalent of D rank in my more important stats in about a week. In a month, if I could continue the trend, I could have SSS rank stats like Bell did. While that was extremely important, grinding stats was a means to an end. That end is to level up.
  
  "So, I should be able to go down to the lower floors pretty soon. I...might have gone to the ninth floor today," I admitted, making Hestia go very, very, very still but she wasn"t yelling. "And I could handle the biggest things on it easily enough. I"m not going to go any deeper yet, but I think I could go down to the tenth sometime soon." Which would give me more exp, but, more importantly...
  
  "The quests experience rewards get pretty big once the tenth floor starts since only veteran level 1s or level 2s and up can make it there. I saw one for twenty-five thousand exp if I get thirty orc hides," I explained, seeing Hestia nod slowly, following my logic. Then, not to mention...
  
  I summoned upon my Status screen with a thought.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 1
  Progress to level 2: 60,202/1,000,000
  Strength: 38 (+2)
  Endurance: 53 (+1)
  Dexterity: 50 (+4)
  Intelligence: 12 (+5)
  Sense: 33 (+3)
  
  Development Abilities:
  Physical Resistance: The user receives 5% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Abnormal Resistance: Poisons, Toxins, and Drugs are 5% less effective. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  (Swordsman: Increased parameters when wielding swords. Effectiveness is determined by Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and Sense.)
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.
  Kissing: An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target. Effectiveness is determined by the Dexterity and Sense stat.
  ​
  I had just over a twentieth of what I needed to level up. If I continued to grind down in the Dungeon against soldier ants, if I did the quests, then I could have enough exp by the time Bell did in canon. But, doing the math, I realized just how much exp killing those five guys gave me.
  
  Altogether, they gave me nearly 32,000 exp. If I had to guess why they gave so much, it would be because some of them had been stronger than me. Sword and Shield Guy especially. If I hadn"t tackled him and fought dirty, then he would have won that fight. There wasn"t a single doubt in my mind.
  
  No matter how I looked at it, murdering people was the fastest method to leveling up. It could even be the smart thing to do. A war game with the Soma familia could happen in a dozen different ways, and very few of them I could win. If the war game was on an open field, me vs a hundred or so, then I was absolutely fucked. If it was a duel between captains, then maybe I could pull out a win, but it wasn"t likely against a level 2.
  
  If I started to kill off the Soma familia, then that could even the playing field a little bit. It was just... I don"t regret killing those five people. I didn"t start that fight, but I finished it. Hunting down Soma familia members and straight-up murdering them for exp like some kind of serial killer...that just rubbed me the wrong way.
  
  "What are you thinking about?" Hestia asked, and it was only then that I realized I was staring at nothing and had been for the last few minutes if the fact my arms were clean was any indication.
  
  "Just thinking about how to best level up," I answered, leaning back. Hestia sat down next to me, leaning into my side. I wrapped my arm around her, shoving all those thoughts to the side in favor of thinking about nothing at all. "I have a few ideas..."
  
  "Like what?" Hestia said, snuggling into me.
  
  "I could try staying in the Dungeon overnight," I said, thinking aloud. If I wasn"t going to start murdering people for exp, then I needed to maximize my time spent in the Dungeon and completing quests. Staying overnight would have the least impact on my actual daily activities.
  
  "But, when would you sleep?" Hestia questioned, sounding like she didn"t like that idea at all.
  
  "Er, I don"t think I need to sleep anymore?" I explained, looking down at Hestia. She pulled back from me, sending me a bewildered look that got a small laugh out of me. "I mean, I still can, but I don't have to. I was thinking something like I go around ten at night and come back whenever you get off work." So, I would be in the Dungeon for something like eighteen hours a day, or more."
  
  Hestia frowned, not liking the sound of that at all. The topic of my falna, and how I got it, wasn"t one we really discussed further in the past couple of days. "I don"t like the idea of you being down there all by yourself," she pointed out, "especially after you just got attacked! What if it happens again?"
  
  "Then I fight. If I can"t win, then I"ll run," I answered simply. There wasn"t much I could do other than that. "But, Hestia, I"m going to have to go down there eventually. One way or the other."
  
  Hestia made a face that was quickly followed with a sigh. She nodded, knowing that was true if we wanted to help Lili. "But...if it"s that dangerous, then maybe..." she trailed off, hesitating. "Then maybe we should do something else? With your falna, I bet you could pick up development abilities like Blacksmithing or Mixing really easy!"
  
  She wasn"t wrong there, I had to admit. However, when she saw my expression, her face fell when it was clear that I wasn"t interested in becoming a blacksmith. As odd as it was, I didn"t just want to be an adventurer to be relevant to the plot down the line. It played a part, to be sure, but it wasn"t the whole reason. I...kinda...liked being an adventurer.
  
  There was something so viscerally satisfying about slaughtering monsters. It wasn"t the slaughtering monsters that did it for me but knowing that I was powerful enough to do it. A week ago, in my old life, the best I could have hoped for was a quick death.
  
  "All my development abilities are determined by my stats, though," I argued gently.
  
  Hestia nodded, frowning, "can...you please not go into the Dungeon for today, at least? Until Lili is sure that the Soma familia isn't planning anything?" Her expression was pleading as she gripped my hand hard enough that her knuckles were white. I couldn"t have gone back into the Dungeon even if I wanted to.
  
  "I won"t go back into the Dungeon today," I agreed easily enough. "Plus, I have some errands to run like picking up my clothes, finally, and meeting up with Welf so he can teach me how to take care of my armor and stuff." Hestia practically sagged with relief. With her satisfied about that, I pulled her back in.
  
  "Though, I guess since I"m going to be so busy for a while now, maybe we should use that free meal at the Hostess? Make a date out of it," I offered, catching to look Hestia sent up at me. Idly, she began to play with my hand, her pale skin starting to turn a pleasant red from embarrassment as she caught the hidden meaning.
  
  "Yeah, I have-" Hestia cut herself off, the light blush that dusted her cheeks rapidly fading until her face was bloodless. "I forgot about work! I"m so late! I"m so, so, so late!" Hestia sprung to her feet, leaping out of my grip in panic.
  
  "At your new job?" I wondered, torn between telling her to skip work and encouraging her to go. Hephaestus seemed like a good friend, for the most part, so I think she would forgive Hestia for being late, but it was probably better not to push our luck-
  
  "No, for the jagamarukun stand!" Hestia asked, practically tripping over herself to get to the door. Ah, in that case...
  
  "Aren"t you quitting that job?" I asked, getting a nod from Hestia as she bounced around to put on her shoes. "Then why bother?"
  
  "I-I can"t just not show up!" Hestia argued, sounding absolutely shocked that I would suggest such a thing. "I could get fired!"
  
  "Then when you see them tomorrow, tell them the truth -- your familia had been attacked by another. If they fire you after that, then they didn"t value you in the first place," I said, seeing Hestia hesitate at that. She didn"t want to go to work -- few did, and I"ve learned from experience that it"s all too easy to talk someone out of doing something they didn"t want to do, even if they knew they should.
  
  "So, instead of getting yelled at by your boss, getting worked to the bone, then going on a date when you"re exhausted, why don"t you treat yourself before we go?" I could practically see Hestia coming around to the idea. I sealed the deal with, "maybe a visit to the spa? There"s some kind of god only bathhouse, right?"
  
  Hestia slipped on her shoes, her gaze looking at something far away. I knew I convinced her before she gave me a shallow nod, a look of...determination...on her face? Um...why did Hestia look like she was about to march off to war? What? "You"re right! There is! I"ll go there today and...meet up here at six for our d-date?"
  
  I feel like I"m missing something here, but I nodded all the same. "Sounds good to me."
  
  ...
  
  Today was the day that she lost her virginity, Hestia decided as she sunk into the steaming hot water of the bathhouse. There were a few other gods swimming and chatting, most she recognized, but this was not the time for idle chatter! It was the time of action!
  
  "ORA!" Hestia roared, scrubbing herself down with a soapy towel. Her pale skin was turning a bright red, the filth that remained from washing herself down with a rag and a bucket was steadily being wiped away with excessive force. The pain she felt was it lemon and flower-scented soap she was using seeping deep into her skin.
  
  Picking up a new clean rag, she applied a liberal amount of soap on it before she started to clean her other arm. "ORRRAA!" She yelled her fierce battle cry, ignoring how tears stung at her eyes. The pain was worth it! Just like it had been worth it when she took the time to pluck absolutely every single hair on her body. Every. Single. One.
  
  "Erm..." A goddess spoke up as Hestia continued to wash herself with vigor. Through blurry eyes, Hestia saw it was Demeter. Well, she was assuming it was Demeter because only a few goddesses were as well endowed as the goddess of harvest. When the goddess leaned down, Hestia saw it was Demeter, her honey blonde hair tied up while her orange eyes were filled with confusion. "Would...you like me to wash your back, Hestia...?"
  
  "Yes!" Perfect, she had wondered how exactly she was going to wash her back thoroughly. "Here, use this," she instructed, pressing another soapy towel into Demeter's hands from the clean pile that resided on her right.
  
  "Okay," Demeter agreed, still sounding a little unsure. She took her position behind Hestia, placing the towel on her back before she started to scrub away. Instantly, Heatia noticed the issue.
  
  "Harder!" Hestia ordered, dropping her towel into the dirty pile. She grabbed a fresh one before resuming her furious cleansing.
  
  "But-"
  
  "Harder! Like this! ORRRRAAAAA!" Hestia roared, cleaning her collarbone so frantically her soapy towel could catch aflame. Until every single last spec of filth, until every last germ was eliminated, Heatia would never stop. No matter how sore her arms got.
  
  "But that looks like it could really hurt-"
  
  "ORRRRRRAAAAAAAAAA!!"
  
  "O-oorrraaaaa!" Demeter yelled, her pace increasing. From the mirror, Hestia saw that the busty goddess clenched her eyes shut as she threw herself into the task. Better, but not enough.
  
  "Even harder, Demeter! Put your back into it!" Hestia shouted, grabbing another towel and putting it to work. She ignored the clamoring at the entrance, dismissing it as one of the male gods trying to peep again.
  
  "O-ORA!"
  
  "Harder! I can take it! Harder!"
  
  "ORRRRRAAAA!"
  
  Perfect! Now she just had to scrub herself another three times to make sure she was squeaky clean, clean her hair, then have a nice long soak in the bathwater. Jericho wasn't going to know what hit him!
  
  ...
  
  My lesson with Welf was surprisingly short after I came back up at our agreed upon time. Weapon maintenance was simple in task, just time consuming and tedious to do well. Special oils before taking a whetstone to it, be careful not to over sharpen the blade since it makes it more fragile and its best to do it every single day. He gave me a starter kit since he assumed I wouldn"t have them, which he was mostly right, and after that, Welf went about his day.
  
  "I wonder what he thinks of me," I wondered, my feet carrying me home. He seemed to like me well enough, enough to go out of his way to teach me how to take care of my weapon and armor, but I noted a distinct lack of a bromance between us. We weren"t friends, I reflected, feeling some disappointment. I liked Welf in the anime, he was a solid bro.
  
  Was it going to cause problems down the line?
  
  Maybe? If the War Games with Apollo still happen, there was a possibility that it would just be me and Lili facing down against level 2s and 3s. But, at the moment, that was a distant worry. I had a lot on my plate as it was, looking for more problems to deal with was going to end with me biting off more than I could chew.
  
  All I could do was hope that he changed his tune when he learned that I was going down to the deeper floors. I think I recall something about him being stuck on the 10th floor for about a year or so. I hadn"t said anything during our meeting, but I fought my way down to the 10th floor today. I didn"t go down it, unsure if I was ready for it. Even still, I could have if I wanted to. It wouldn"t be long before I cleared it out and moved on to the 11th, which would undoubtedly tempt Welf into joining my party-
  
  "Here is your order sir," a sweet-sounding voice, sliding over a large stack of clothes. I picked a shirt up, inspecting it and I felt my doubts about Hestia"s theory about a god in heaven taking my soul from the future lessen. The red shirt in my hands wouldn"t look out of place in the modern era, not counting it was XXXXL to fit my massive frame.
  
  "Thanks," I said, offering a smile as I paid for my new wardrobe. Walking out, as soon as I could, I shoved my new outfits into my Inventory as I made my way back home. They were added to my newest acquisitions: a futon, blanket, pillows, and a shit ton of candles. You know, for ambiance, and shit. I even had a nice place picked out for it just outside the city.
  
  As I made my way back home, I also picked up a supporter bag from a general shop. A large gray bag roughly the shape of Lili"s. Since I doubt that she would want to join me for my overnight Dungeon diving, I needed to make up for her absence. After that, I went to a broken road near my home and started loading up rocks.
  
  Then I cleaned up at the Guildhall before I got myself ready for my date. Hestia still didn"t have nice clothing yet, so I ended up going with business casual -- dress pants and shoes, button-down with a leather belt with my sleeves rolled up to my elbows. I don't know what it was about rolled-up sleeves, but apparently, they bumped a man up a notch when it came to attractiveness. When I checked myself out in the mirror, I couldn't stop myself from smiling from ear to ear.
  
  I looked good. No, fantastic! A ten out of ten if there ever was one. My muscular frame pushed against the white dress shirt that was tucked into my pants, highlighting just how stacked I was without showing off any skin. I couldn't stop myself from flexing a little as I checked myself out. I probably would have stood there all day if it weren't for some adventurers coming in to clean up.
  
  Glancing at them as I walked out, I left out a breath of relief when I saw they weren't Soma familia. At-
  
  "Jericho?" Eina's voice interrupted my thoughts. Looking over, I saw her staring up at me with wide eyes, her cheeks dusted with a blush. I smiled at her, knowing just how good I cleaned up. That just made her blush that much harder as she fixed her glasses. "You're dressed very...nice," she observed.
  
  "Thanks," I accepted the compliment, turning to face her. "Hestia and I are finally celebrating forming our familia," I explained, not missing how her eyes closed over my form as she fixed her glasses again. She was checking me out. Huh. I didn't expect that from the straight-laced Guild employee. To be honest, I had written her off since she made it clear that her personal and work lives were kept separate.
  
  "Oh," Eina inked before nodding. "I'm sorry, I didn"t know. I, ah, I thought you were avoiding our lessons," she explained, giving me the impression that wouldn"t be a first for her. That didn"t surprise me at all. Her lessons had been...extreme, to say the least.
  
  "No, I," I paused, realizing that Eina could probably help me if only a little. "I got attacked in the Dungeon," I explained, my smile falling as her eyes widened in shock. "By the Soma familia."
  
  "We should talk privately," Eina said, her lips pressing into a thin line as she marched towards a consolation office. As soon as I crossed the threshold, Eina closed the door behind me and said, "explain."
  
  I quickly explained what had happened -- that I was attacked, by who and how. Eina"s expression grew more and more serious with every word. She sat down heavily on the couch while I was forced to stand since the chairs weren"t meant for someone my size.
  
  "Jericho, did you kill them?" She asked, her tone carefully neutral as she gazed levelly at me. I opened my mouth to say no because in the right mind would admit to murder? Only to pause before I could say the denial.
  
  Eina was probably in the best position to help me. I was flying blind despite my confidence. If she could tell me what I needed to make happen to make sure that my familia was protected, then...I needed to be honest.
  
  "...I did," I admitted with a slow nod of my head. "They outnumbered me, all of them were stronger and I wasn"t sure if my supporter was working with them or not at the time. I didn"t have a choice."
  
  "I"m sorry, this is because of me," Eina blurted, taking me by surprise. She took off her glasses, massaging her eyes as her shoulders slumped in defeat. "I kept shouting about what floor you were on and questioning you in public when I should have taken you into a room so we could discuss it. I-I"m just so used to adventurers ignoring me unless I confront them!"
  
  I...hadn"t really considered that and that wasn"t the reaction I was expecting to me confessing that I killed five people. But... "I don"t think so, Eina," I argued with a shake of my head. "This probably would have happened at some point -- I"m making a lot of money, and my size does single me out. I"m sure someone would have noticed something eventually."
  
  However, Eina shook her head. "They could have assumed you were going down with a higher leveled adventure, but when I confronted you in public, it made it clear that you weren"t. This is my fault -- I"m so very sorry, Jericho!" She said, bowing so low she nearly banged her head on the coffee table.
  
  Huh. When she put it like that, then...yeah, it was kinda her fault that I got attacked. That was...I"m not going to lie, I was kinda pissed about that. I could have died. I had to kill those guys because Eina couldn"t keep a secret. She glanced up at me, and my frustration must have shown on my face because when she glanced up at me, she winced.
  
  I took in a deep breath, swallowing my anger by thinking of how it worked out for me. I was taking steps in the right direction with Lili. I got around 30 thousand exp for the fight. I also got the development ability Swordsman that"ll go into effect the next time Hestia updates my falna.
  
  "I"m not going to say that it"s fine, because...I think you know that it"s not," I said after a long minute of heavy silence. "But I know you didn"t mean for this to happen. And you can"t control what other people do." She hadn"t been thinking that some opportunistic pricks would overhear her and use the info to jump me in the Dungeon.
  
  That was a mistake in itself, but it wasn"t an intentional one.
  
  "It won't happen again," Eina swore, looking up at me. "I fully understand if you request another Guild advisor, and file a complaint, but I promise you that something like this will never happen again!"
  
  I wanted to run a hand through my hair, but I couldn"t mess it up. I still had a date after this. "I know it won"t. And you don"t have to do that or worry about me putting in a complaint or anything like that." I said, letting go of my irritation. Eina practically jumped off the couch before she bowed again.
  
  "Thank you for your understanding, but I will make this up to you somehow. I promise," Eina swore again, straightening out to show off how serious she was about it. I gave her a small nod, caught off guard by the sheer intensity of her stare. She meant every word.
  
  "I believe you," I said, offering her a smile that I hoped didn"t look as brittle as it felt. It would be a stretch to say that it was water under the bridge, but it wasn"t. Maybe it could be with a little time, and I did want it to be water under the bridge eventually. It was just too fresh. "And I"ll see you tomorrow," I said, making my exit.
  
  Eina didn"t follow me out. When I closed the door behind me, I caught a glimpse of her collapsing onto the couch, her head in her hands. She was really torn up about it. Oddly enough, that did make me feel a bit better about it -- it was easier to swallow that it was a thoughtless mistake when I could see she felt so guilty about it.
  
  But, that was enough of that. I had a date tonight and, by God, it was going to have a happy ending.
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
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  I really wish I had a mirror, I reflected as I fiddled with my rolled-up sleeves. I had a good idea of how I looked thanks to the ones at the Guildhall, but walking through a city of sweaty, filthy peasants tended to leave small details out of place. Was my hair still in the same position? Did everything look as I left it? I knew Hestia wouldn"t notice these things, or if she did, she wouldn"t care, but it was the first-date jitters.
  
  Even if it might be a formality, it was still a first date. The need to want everything to be absolutely perfect was getting to me, just a little. It didn"t need to, not really -- more often than not, so long as the other person was having fun, the details of the perfect date didn"t really matter, and I knew that, but this was an actual goddess. A goddess that came down from heaven.
  
  Things didn"t have to be perfect, but I wanted them to be. And...shit, I was bringing Hestia to an adventurer"s bar as our first date? I had money, I should be taking her to some fine dining faux-Italian rip-off or whatever equivalent this world had. Something fancy, and expensive and...I...was overthinking this. Again.
  
  Letting out a small sigh, I adjusted my collar before making sure that not a single hair was out of place on my head. I did the breath trick by licking the back of my hand, waiting a few seconds, then smelling to find that my breath nearly stank of mint. At least I didn"t have to worry about deodorant.
  
  I probably would have gone right back into messing with my clothes if I didn"t hear the sounds of footsteps approaching. Ordinarily, I never would have heard the soft taps that told me that whoever was approaching was small, but as my Sense stat rose, my hearing got better and better. I heard a soft breath that was nearly lost to the sound of the false door moving enough so that Hestia could squeeze herself through.
  
  I turned to the steps, seeing her slender legs first that gave way to a short wavy white dress with a deep purple hem at the skirt and the collar. Her hair was down, letting her long black locks fall all the way down to her butt -- it was weird just how different Hestia appeared without her hair done up. If it weren"t for her bright blue eyes filled with nervous energy, I probably wouldn"t recognize her.
  
  "You look amazing," I said, smiling at her as she blushed while fingering the hem of her dress. I held out a bouquet of flowers that I had picked up on my way back from the Guildhall, Hestia lite up when she saw them, crossing the distance to take them. "I saw that the others were starting to wilt a little bit, so I picked up some fresh ones."
  
  "I love them," Hestia smiled back at me, her gaze traveling the length of my body as she went to go put them in a vase. "And you look very handsome, Jericho." She returned the compliment, her blush deepening as she turned to face me. Again she fiddled with the hem of her dress, looking at me- ah.
  
  "I mean it, you look fantastic," I told her, guessing that she was worried about how nice she was dressed. I saw her relax at my words, knowing that they were the truth because they didn"t pick up on her lie detector.
  
  "I see you finally got your clothes," Hestia said, clasping her hands in front of her, her arms left bare of their signature white gloves. Now she was looking absolutely everywhere but at me, except stealing small glances every couple of seconds. It was adorable, if not very stealthy. I let out a small laugh as I closed the distance between us.
  
  It seemed I wasn"t the only one with first-date jitters.
  
  Slowly, I reached down to take one of her hands in mine. Hestia squeezed my oversized hand as I lead us up the steps into the ruined church. "Yeah, I got this and a few other outfits but I"ll keep my old outfit for dungeon diving," I said, making small talk as we made our way out of the church. One of the biggest hurdles, in my experience, was making small talk until you found a topic that swept the time away.
  
  "I"m glad you won"t be stuck wearing the same clothes all the time. Did it really have to take so long?" Hestia chatted away with me as we made our way towards the Hostess of Fertility. The sun was beginning to make its descent to the horizon, basking the streets in an orangish glow. It was picture-perfect.
  
  "I"m more shocked that they had enough cloth. When I told the tailors I wanted a few outfits, their eyes nearly bugged out," I said, earning a giggle from her. "I will admit, it is nice to not be wearing clothes that were soaked in sweat and blood all the time." My tank top had more than a few spots were blood wouldn"t wash out.
  
  "But," I continued, running a thumb over the back of her hand. "It"s your turn now."
  
  "My turn? For what?" Hestia questioned, mimicking the action back to me.
  
  "To buy more clothes," I explained as we slowly made our way to the Hostess of Fertility. "Dresses, shoes, you name it. Fair is fair, after all." There was something different about buying clothes from a store than having them custom made to fit your body. It wasn"t exactly fun or anything like that, but it was more enjoyable than picking out a shirt you liked and that being that.
  
  However, Hestia was shaking her head. "We can"t, we have to save every valis for Lili!" She reminded, her voice firm, earning a small wince from me. If there was such a thing as a downer topic, then talking about how a larger familia might be forcing us into indentured servitude if they found out what we were planning was it.
  
  "We do," I agreed easily enough, "but I can"t imagine that Lili would want us to go without. If you want," I offered when Hestia looked ready to refuse again, "I can ask her tomorrow about everything. If she can get a quota from Zanis, then we"ll have a real number to work towards."
  
  I couldn"t remember how much he had asked for in the anime, but I knew it was a stupid amount that wasn"t reasonable. Pretty sure it was like a million valis, or something. I was making some serious money on the upper floors but-
  
  "Ah," I caught my thoughts spiraling down that rabbit hole. Hestia looked up at me questioningly, so I smiled down at her. "Tonight is all about fun and taking it easy. So, no more talk about the Soma familia and what they might do."
  
  Hestia nodded happily at that, blowing out a small sigh that seemed to blast away her worries. "You"re right! Let"s not think about those jerks at all tonight! I want to think about..." she trailed off, blushing as she leaned against me, her bright blue eyes darkening with... "more pleasant things."
  
  Well then.
  
  "I couldn"t agree more," I told her honestly, shoving the issue with the Soma familia far out of my mind for the rest of the night. I could spend all day worrying about them tomorrow -- tonight was all about me and Hestia.
  
  After that, it didn"t take us very long to reach the Hostess of Fertility. The building itself didn"t look that much different than it did in the anime. A large sign up top that proclaimed what it was, a two-story building that could best be described as homey despite being an adventurer"s bar. Though, I guess that was what they were going for.
  
  "I like it," Hestia decided, spotting the building. "It looks homey," she said, more or less speaking my thoughts word for word.
  
  "Hm, I"m guessing it"s because adventurer"s come from all over the world to delve into the Dungeon. The owner is an adventurer, or was, so I guess she wants to give people a taste of home," I commented, wondering if the fact that Mia was an adventurer was common knowledge. It wasn"t ever brought up in the anime, but I knew that everyone that worked here was at least a second rate adventurer.
  
  Given the reactions to Mia"s threats, I"m guessing that most people knew.
  
  "Let"s go inside," Hestia decided, rushing forward to shove open the doors to make a grand entrance. I followed in after her, having to duck down to avoid hitting my head, but luckily the ceiling was fairly high. My gaze swept over the interior to see that it was fairly packed out with adventurers. I recognized a few of them, though only in passing.
  
  The bar was filled with the sounds of chatter, laughing, boasting and arguing. Some still wore their armor, but people of all shapes and sizes sat at the tables, eating and drinking their fill. All the while, waitresses dressed in forest green maid outfits with white aprons, identical to the one Syr was wearing before.
  
  It didn"t take me long to spot Ryuu. Her face was deadpan as she weaved between tables with a grace that I was learning only belonged to seasoned adventurers. Her eyes a deep blue that almost matched Hestia"s, her pointed ears sticking through her short blonde hair, the angles of her face were sharper than most -- almost in an uncanny way.
  
  "Ah! It"s Syr"s catch of the day, nya~!" I heard a woman exclaim and when I looked over, I saw that she was dramatically pointing at me. A girl wearing the same outfit as Syr and Ryuu, her eyes were gold with her pupils slants like a cat. The chestnut brown cat ears on top of her head only completed the image.
  
  "Uh," I started, seeing a few people glance over at us, their gaze lingering on me, then Hestia. The aura around her made it impossible to ignore her. "That"s me?" I knew it was an open secret how Syr roped customers into eating here, but I figured that would be a trade secret. You know, not the kind of thing that you blurt out in the middle of a packed room.
  
  The cat-girl made a strangled noise -- I couldn"t see it because of the angle, but whatever expression Hestia wore was enough to make a seasoned adventurer start sweating. She held her hands up in surrender, or to push Hestia off if she attacked before she turned her head to yell at the kitchen. "Syr! Come seat your special guests!" She yelled, making a strategic retreat back to the kitchen.
  
  Hestia let out a huff the same time as I let out a small laugh. I went to go pat her on the head as a reassurance, but I knew first hand just how touchy girls could be when it came to their hair. Instead, I placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze as Syr came out of the kitchen. A megawatt smile broke out on her face the moment she saw us, her clothing and hair immaculate, so since she wasn"t an adventurer, then that probably meant she wasn"t working very hard in the back.
  
  "You finally came! I was really worried that you were avoiding eating here," Syr said with a friendly smile as she looked over both me and Hestia. Her gaze glided over my length, much like Hestia"s had done earlier before her smile grew a bit bigger. "My, you certainly clean up nice Jericho."
  
  Before I had a chance to respond, Hestia darted out in front of me, putting herself between us. As if she were acting as some kind of human shield. Then she got in close with Syr as if they were huddling up to discuss a play, Sry playing along even as amusement danced in her steel-gray eyes.
  
  "W-what are your intentions to Jericho?!" Hestia demanded in a stage whisper that I could have probably heard without my enhanced hearing. I stifled a laugh -- Hestia was jealous. Normally, it was the guy that got antsy when others were eyeing up his date.
  
  "Ah," Syr started in a tone that suggested she was enjoying this entirely too much. Her dull gray eyes flickered up to me over Hestia"s head, her friendly grin growing just enough to show a hint of white teeth. Then she leaned in closer, cupping her hand around Hestia"s ear to stop me from overhearing. Whatever it was, it made Hestia"s ears turn bright pink before Syr pulled back.
  
  Hestia cleared her throat, throwing me a smile that would have looked painfully forced if it weren"t for the embarrassed expression she wore. "T-they have a table r-ready for us!" She blurted like she was forcing the words out of her mouth. She turned on her heel and practically fled towards a table tucked into the corner. Syr placed a hand over her mouth, her shoulder shaking from a few giggles that escaped her.
  
  Syr turned to me, giving me a kind smile, "you have a wonderful goddess." She informed, getting a lopsided grin from me.
  
  "The best," I corrected, "and thank you for doing this," I said as we made our way to the table. Hestia was looking around her like the walls themselves had eyes. I had no idea what Syr told her, but as soon as she met my eyes, she blushed so hard I worried that her heart might stop from lack of blood.
  
  "I"m just making up for slacking off," Syr dismissed the issue easily as we came to a stop. I glanced down at the chair and...huh. It was bigger than the others. For starters, it was a lot bigger and it looked like it could take my weight unlike the rest of the simple dining chairs. "It"s Mama Mia"s. I told her how big you were and she figured a normal dining chair couldn"t support you."
  
  "Thanks," I said, taking a seat. It didn"t have a cushion, so it wasn"t exactly comfortable, but it was a lot better than squeezing into a normal chair.
  
  "Like I said, just making up for slacking off!" Syr responded, though her expression told me she was pleased. "Now, everything on the menu is free! So order as much as you like-" Syr paused before clearing her throat, ever so slightly. If I had to guess, she was one of the cooks tonight. "Please order whatever you like," she corrected.
  
  Syr rattled off a few specials before Hestia and I ordered. I was nineteen, lived on my own and was putting myself through college -- well, I was. You could put a plate of anything in front of me and I"d eat it. Hestia picked whatever Syr suggested, her face still beet red as she looked absolutely everywhere but at me. What did Syr tell her?
  
  "I"ll bring your drinks and have that right out for you!" Syr said with a cheery smile, twirling around fast enough that her skirt fanned out before she disappeared into the back. Leaving Hestia and I alone.
  
  I turned to face her to see that she still wasn"t looking at me, finding the walls extremely interesting. More amused than annoyed with Syr, I let out a small laugh that brought her attention to me. As soon as our gazes met, Hestia looked away.
  
  "So," I started, seeing that Hestia wouldn"t be breaking the silence. "Did you enjoy your time at the spa?"
  
  The only way I could think to describe Hestia"s expression was a thousand-yard stare. She wasn"t even looking at me and I could feel her vacant stare.
  
  Okay. Apparently, spa days were somehow trauma-inducing. That"s one topic to steer clear of.
  
  "Er," what was a better topic? "Are you excited about your new job?" I tried, getting Hestia to glimpse at me before quickly looking away. She managed to give me a mute nod, but that was it. What in the hell did Syr tell her?
  
  It was less funny now. How were we supposed to have a date when she wouldn"t- Any thought in my head went right out the window when I felt Hestia"s leg brush up against mine. At first, I thought it was an accident -- my legs were a lot bigger than hers, so I needed a lot of room, but when her foot began to rub up against my calf, and her face turned so red and bright that she could be used to pull Santa"s sled, it was clear it was no accident.
  
  Ah. So, that's what"s going on.
  
  "Has she told you any more about it?" I asked, a knowing smirk on my face as Hestia"s leg continued to rub against mine. I wasn"t expecting this at all, but it was hardly a bad surprise. Hestia, when she was chasing Bell, was pretty proactive in trying to seduce him. Now that I thought about it a little when I compared how she acting in the anime to how she was with me -- I think Hestia was chasing Bell how she was chased.
  
  I knew at the very least Apollo was chasing after Hestia, and he didn"t exactly strike me as the wine and dine type. Hestia had just kinda thrown herself at Bell and hoped it stuck. If I had to guess, that"s how the gods up in heaven tried to get into her panties.
  
  Hestia shook her head, a small smile on her lips as her foot raised even higher. She got her other leg involved, not doing anything naughty yet but it was a clear invitation. Her foot ran the length of my inner thigh- well, as much as she could, nearly touching my groin. If she was doing the other leg, she would have noticed my hardening cock.
  
  When she did switch legs, instead of looking shocked or embarrassed, Hestia looked immensely pleased with herself. I couldn"t stop the laugh that escaped me even if I wanted to. Grinning, I said, "you know, I"m going to have to deal with that when we get up."
  
  Even as every single drop of blood went straight to Hestia"s face, that pleased grin didn"t falter. "No you won"t," Hestia spoke for the first time since we sat down. I tried not to think about the implications of that. Was...There was no way that she was offering to...in public? No, now way. Not for her first- "The Hostess," Hestia continued, running her foot down the length of my cock that was so hard at this point it could be used to bludgeon someone to death.
  
  "They have rooms upstairs," Hestia said, reaching out with a hand to grab one of mine, tilting her head at the stairs. "Sty...secured a room...I know that you had something planned, but..." Hestia squeezed my hand, "I don"t want to wait."
  
  Fuck my plans for candles, blankets and making love underneath the stars. The primal caveman part of my brain told me to flip the table, toss her over my shoulder and march up those stairs. Instead, I squeezed her hand back, my grin growing as I leaned in ever so slightly.
  
  "You know, we haven"t even been served our drinks yet," I observed, getting a giggle out of Hestia as she withdrew her foot so she could stand up.
  
  "Please," Hestia said in a low whisper that was nearly lost in a sea of noise. The sheer need in her voice... You know what? The date was a formality. Let"s just skip to the ending that both of us were waiting for.
  
  Pushing myself up, I glanced over to see if anyone would notice our departure just in time to meet Syr"s gaze. There was a knowing smirk on her face as she held a handful of mugs of beer. "Enjoy" she mouthed at me before sending me a saucy wink.
  
  Well, I guess I knew who to thank for this turn of events.
  
  'Thank you' I mouthed right back at her as I stood up, careful to keep my back to most of the patrons. I was sporting some serious wood at the moment and it was very obvious. It was only because my gaze lingered on her, but I saw Syr's eyes widen a fraction when she saw my cock threatening to tear right through my new dress pants. I was never, ever, going to get tired of seeing that expression on a beautiful girl's face when she saw exactly how big my dick was.
  
  And with that, it was Hestia that lead us upstairs. I'm certain that at least one person saw us go because I heard a wolf whistle as we walked up. Hestia paused at the top of the stairs, her gaze zoning in on the center door. Hestia marched towards is with a sense of purpose, grabbing the handle with her free hand she threw the door open to reveal a very basic room. A simple bed that was made, a bookshelf filled with books, and a sitting chair to read in.
  
  I closed the door behind us, nearly silencing the crowd below. Hestia stood in front of me, her back facing me. I dropped my hands on her shoulders, making her lean into me. We stood there in silence for a long second. I swallowed down an offer to end things here before they went too far. Hestia wanted this just as much as I did. There was no point.
  
  Slowly, I pushed the open collar that hung on her shoulders down. Heatia shifted to let the dress fall, it coiling at her feet. Her sizable breasts were exposed, the familiar pink pebbled peak pointed straight ahead. I heard and felt Hestia let out a shuddering breath as my hands lowered to cup her breasts. My hands were big enough to cover them, but pale flesh spilled between my fingers.
  
  My fingers closed in on her nipples, earning soft sighs as I played with stiff breasts. Perfect soft, perfectly form and just...perfect. But, tonight was more than just fooling around before bed. Tonight was the night that Hestia lost her virginity.
  
  The plan was still in effect. Well, more of a desperate hope that this world functioned under hentai logic. Either way, the plan was to make her cum her brains out long before I inserted anything. If my years of watching hentai taught me anything it was that it made no difference just how big the dick was if she was aroused enough then getting split in half felt so good that it could inside a mind-shattering orgasm.
  
  Gently, I spun her around to see Hestia was already aroused. Bending down, much like I did that Amazon, I picked Hestia up and closed the considerable distance between our lips. Unlike before, the kiss didn't taste of jagamarukuns and salt. It tasted of cherries and something sweet. Chocolate, maybe. The kiss started off simple, our lips pressed together, moving in harmony before it began to deepen.
  
  Hestia wrapped her legs around me as I carried her towards the bed, groping her ass shamelessly. I hit the bed with my shin hard enough that I probably lost a point of health. As my tongue explored her mouth, the room filled with the sounds of Hestia's clumsy and desperate kissing. Her breasts pressed against my chest, she held me so tight that they were practically flattened against me so she could run her hands through my hair.
  
  Lowering her onto the bed, I ran into a problem that I saw coming a mile away. Hestia was smol. I was very swol. The height difference was way too much -- if I was on top then I could crush her, or something. So, that meant Hestia had to be on top. After all, the best part of a mating press was to kiss your lover at the same time. The impact was kinda lost when Hestia would be left kissing my stomach.
  
  I broke the kiss to plant a kiss on her jugular as a hand went down to her pussy, the plain cotton panties were thin, so there was already a damp line that traced her slit. Hestia"s moans were music to my ears as I angled myself off so I wasn"t directly on top of her. A dainty hand grasped at my back, feeling the powerful muscles that flexed and moved with every movement.
  
  "Jericho," Hestia breathed, opening her legs to grant me better access to her lower lips. After nearly a week, I knew exactly where to touch to drive her wild. Her tolerance for pleasure was slow-growing, but not enough to keep up with the assault on her senses I was delivering. Already, I could tell there was an orgasm brewing inside her. "Please...!"
  
  "Not yet, you have to be ready first," I whispered into her ear, making her shiver as my fingers massaged her clit. I had a health potion ready to be used if worse came to worst, but that was my very last resort. The one that came after trying to talk Hestia out of shoving a dick pornstars would bulk at inside her.
  
  Her moans grew higher in pitch as I continued to massage her clit through her panties, feeling her grow wetter and wetter with every second. I kissed lower, tracing her collarbone, then her breast until my lips clasped around her stiff nipple. Hestia"s breath hitched while her hips jerked. It wasn"t an orgasm, not yet, but I would fix that soon enough as I began to lap at her nipple.
  
  "Jericho!" Hestia moaned my name as she came hard. Her pussy gushed through her panties, soaking my hand as I rubbed her clit throughout the orgasm. Her lower legs shook, trembling as Hestia let waves and waves of pleasure crash over her.
  
  I never stopped playing with her body throughout it, drawing out her orgasm and to work her way towards her next one. When she finally got her breathing under control, I pulled my head back, sucking on her nipple until it gave way with an audible pop. Hestia let out a small giggle, making me flash a smile at her before I began to kiss downwards. Down her flat stomach, on her bellybutton...
  
  "Jericho?" Hestia breathed, her hands gripping my hair as I grabbed the band of her panties with my teeth and gave them a sharp yank. I tried this move back in high school, thinking was hot, only to fuck it up so it was embarrassing. Now, the sound of cotton tearing was one of the sexiest sounds I had ever heard.
  
  "Not yet," I repeated, placing my hands on her thighs that hung off the edge of the bed. I was awkwardly hunched over between her legs, forced onto my knees so I was eye level with her lower lips. Her vagina was beautiful -- her slit was narrow, the clit fully exposed, while the small opening her slit offered revealed the pink inner lips. It was glossy, reflecting light from the few lights, covered in her quim while a drop of arousal dripped from her as I watched.
  
  I think she knew what I was going to do before I did it because Hestia moved her hips to meet me halfway. I dragged my tongue across her slit, smiling when I heard Hestia let out a deep moan while her hips pressed harder against my face, her grip tightening to stop me from leaving. Not that I ever would.
  
  Her vagina wept arousal as my tongue pushed open her labia, the taste of her heavy on my tongue. To my surprise, she tasted rather sweet. I lapped it up, the room filled with Hestia"s growing moans. My hands snaked upwards, ghosting over her thighs, her stomach until they found her breasts again. I toyed with her nipples, flicking, pinching, and rolling them. Everything that I learned that drove her wild.
  
  Hestia"s second orgasm hit with the same force as her first only a few minutes of my ministrations. I knew it was coming, her breaths and moans got lighter and lighter until she was breathless.
  
  "Oooohhh..." Hestia moaned as her cum gushed out of her. It didn"t come out with the same explosive force as her very first orgasm, but I couldn"t keep up with the amount rushing out of her as her hips trembled until she was shaking. It dripped down my chin, spilling onto the floor until there was a small puddle.
  
  Her grip went loose as Hestia was lost in a sea of pleasure. Pulling back, I hovered over her, watching her eyelids butterfly open and close. Seeing that I was hovering over her, Hestia reached out to hold onto me. "Jericho...!" She moaned, her desperation was almost palpable.
  
  But...was this enough? Maybe? If I was having to second guess myself, then I should probably make her cum a few more times.
  
  "Not yet," I whispered right back, going in to kiss her while a hand dipped between her legs. Hestia took in a sharp breath before my lips pressed against her own before she moaned into my mouth. My fingers zeroed in on her abused clit, hammer on the pleasure button until, within a minute, Hestia was cumming again.
  
  Hestia pulled back, her gaze unfocused as she stared up at me. "Y-you"re still dressed," she observed and it took me a second to realize that she was right. I was still fully dressed and she was as naked as the day she was born. Probably. Kissing her quickly, I pulled back so I was standing. Hestia"s gaze drunk me in as I made quick work of my dress shirt, tossing it to the side carelessly.
  
  "You"re so strong," Hestia idly observed as I took off my undershirt, revealing my upper body. I looked down to see a torso made of defined lines and bulging muscle. I think I was actually more buff after a week here, which was even better.
  
  "I get a good work out every day," I replied, going to my pants. I watched Hestia as I unbuttoned them before pulling them down. I think this was the first time she saw me fully naked, my cock saluting proudly. She swallowed thickly, a look of nervousness and determination on her face. I don"t think she was ready just yet.
  
  "I have an idea," I told her, kicking off my pants before taking off my socks. There was no way to make taking socks off sexy, but I think Hestia was too far gone to care.
  
  "Oh?" Hestia muttered, blinking a few times as I walked around so I was on the other side of the bed- ahh, it was really soft. Like it was made of feathers or something. If only it was about three feet longer, it would be a perfect bed. Hestia rolled over, crawling towards me.
  
  "It"s a position I learned a long time ago. Face that way and crawl on top of me," I explained, it only took a moment for Hestia to realize what was happening. She crawled on top, her pussy facing me so she could suck my dick at the same time. As soon as she settled down, I wasted no time lapping at her pussy once again.
  
  Hestia squirmed on top of me, her moans were...different? Was she trying to get away from me? Pausing, I noticed the only attention my dick was receiving was a small hand grasping it. Not stroking it, but pulling.
  
  "I..." Hestia trailed off, shifting so that she could look back at me. Her expression was absolutely devastated like she was told the entire world was ending and it was her fault. "I can"t reach."
  
  What? "What?" I asked, confused but there was an edge of amusement.
  
  "I can"t reach! I"m too short!" Hestia shouted forcefully, clenching her eyes shut as if she could will herself to grow taller. I blinked, still not fully getting it, but then it clicked. In this position, Hestia couldn"t give me a blowjob while I was going down on her. She was too short.
  
  I snorted, a laugh bubbling out of me. That laugh only got louder when Hestia glared at me, "It"s not funny!" She shouted, making me laugh that much harder. Like a domino being tipped over, I couldn"t stop myself from descending into chuckles. All the while, Hestia glared at me, her lips pressed into a thin line while her bangs hung over her eyes to give her an ominous look.
  
  Eventually, I ran out of steam. "Alright, let"s try this then," I said, still smiling as I pushed myself back so my back was against the wall. Now that I was hunched over, the distance was reduced. Thankfully, Hestia wasn"t so annoyed at me for laughing that she refused to suck my dick. As soon as she was in range, I felt Hestia"s mouth clamp onto my dick. Just as my tongue was lapping at her pussy, hers was licking the crown of my dick.
  
  A hand went up to trace her spine, going down until it rested heavily on one of her ass cheeks. I shifted a little more, letting Hestia take me in further. Her tongue lavished attention all over the head, licking it all over like it was a lollipop. It was clumsy, but I couldn"t say that it didn"t feel good. With my free hand, I reached down and settled my hand on the back of her head before gently encouraging her to bob up and down.
  
  Hestia got the hint and threw herself into the task. Her head bobbed, taking me deeper than she ever had before. She managed to get passed my wide flared head, each time she moved she made it her mission to take me in deeper. She made a gagging sound when I bumped into her throat, forcing her to back off. My mouth was a little busy, so I couldn"t tell her it was okay if that was all she could take, but Hestia probably wouldn"t have listened anyway.
  
  Arousal dripped from Hestia like a leaking faucet while her head bobbed on my dick. She forced her head back down, gagging on my dick, but she held her head there. After a few seconds, she rose back up, letting herself breath before she went back down. Her tongue licked what she managed to fit into her mouth all over.
  
  She was nearing another orgasm, and I felt my first brewing in my balls. I redoubled my efforts, savagely lapping at her pussy until the room was filled with the sounds of our pleasure. I held myself back, my cock throbbing as Hestia began to rapidly bob her head, sensing my upcoming release.
  
  Her pussy gushed for a third time before cum erupted from my dick. Hestia kept her mouth firmly clamped on my dick, swallowing my cum as soon as it entered her mouth. I felt some drip down the nearly airtight seal, the goddess unable to keep up with the sheer amount of cum my balls could produce. All the while, Hestia came hard. Not wanting to get blasted in the face, I drank her release like she did mine.
  
  Sluggishly, Hestia raised her head, my cock leaving her mouth with an audible pop. Her legs trembled around my head, her pleasantly muscled thighs pressed around my ears. I heard her pant for breath before she slowly turned around to face me. Her face was a mask of ecstasy, her gaze unfocused and her skin flushed.
  
  "Jericho...I"m ready," Hestia decided, licking her lips. I nodded, thinking that she was as ready as she was going to be. I reached out, cupping her face with a hand before I nodded, agreeing. Hestia smiled, leaning into my touch before she made to swing her legs over so she was facing me as she straddled my waist, but her legs refused to move. "Ah..."
  
  Yeah, I think she was ready, I figured as I had to slide my hands underneath Hestia"s thighs, turning her so she faced me as I lined her entrance up with the tip of my cock. Hestia looked down in wonderment, moaning my name when my penis pressed against her entrance.
  
  "Are you ready?" I asked, making her look at me. Her eyes were filled with want, with desire. She nodded rapidly, shifting her hips ever so slightly so I was perfectly aligned with her entrance. This was it. I was about to take Hestia"s virginity. This was...
  
  Dying was the best thing that had ever happened to me.
  
  With that thought in mind, I gently began to lower Hestia onto my dick. Her entrance pressed down on the tip, more weight pressing down on my dick, but I noticed the issue already. Hestia was absolutely drenched, so it wasn"t a lubrication issue. Her entrance was too small-- or, rather, my dick was way too thick.
  
  It couldn"t fit.
  
  Fuck. Fuck! Fuck past me who thought giving myself a bitch breaker was a good idea-
  
  "Hnn!" Hestia took in a bracing breath before she blasted every trace of rational thought out of my mind. I felt my dick get enveloped with a warm, wet embrace, her walls enveloping my cock in a vice grip. Hestia thrust her hips down with all the strength she could manage, filling her pussy to the absolute brim with a single thrust.
  
  "Ughhhh...!" Hestia groaned, holding onto me tightly. I felt myself bump against her cervix, Hestia filling herself with my cock. She managed to take a lot more than I expected, though there were a few inches left over, still, she had a far deeper pussy than I ever expected. Hestia collapsed forward, her head settling on my chest as I felt her wall clench down on my dick hard enough that it hurt. She was cumming.
  
  Thank god for hentai logic.
  
  Her entire body shook, her pussy milking me, but it wasn"t enough to make me blow my second load so early. Hestia drooled on my chest, moaning my name wantonly as waves of pleasure crashed down on her. Cum gushed from her pussy, soaking my waist, but I hardly noticed. She was so tight. So very tight that it was an honest miracle that I hadn"t hurt her, much less gave her a mind-blowing orgasm.
  
  It took minutes for the tides of her orgasm to finally recced. Her breathing became less erratic before she managed to lift her head off my chest, a stand of drool connecting us. She blinked slowly at me as if she had no idea what was going on, but when she swallowed thickly and spoke, I realized that wasn"t true.
  
  "You haven"t moved yet," Hestia observed, lowering her head back down so it rested against my chest again. I traced her spine with my fingers as I answered.
  
  "I was letting your pussy adjust," I told her, "do you feel any pain or anything?"
  
  "I feel...full," Hestia admitted, getting a small laugh out of me. "And goooood. I want to...!" Hestia muttered before she gave a small thrust, making her moan breathlessly. Her walls clenched down of me, trying to keep me buried inside her. When her strength gave out, and she sank back fully onto my dick, she moaned loudly.
  
  It seems like I was going to be doing the work, but I was hardly complaining about that. I gripped her ass, my fingers sinking into her soft flesh, while her legs were hooked over my arms. With ease, I lifted her bottom half, making Hestia moan again as inch after inch after inch left her body, only to plunge them back inside of her.
  
  "Yessssss!" Hestia moaned as I began to pick up the pace, lowering and raising her up and down my cock. The sounds of sex filled the room as Hestia moaned carelessly, losing herself back into that sea of pleasure. Her juices dripped down my cock, flowing freely with every movement.
  
  Hestia held onto me, a deep, full-bodied moan when I gave a small thrust as I lowered her. My hips found a small tempo, thrusting into her pussy. One of her hands grabbed my bicep, squeezing the muscle, feeling it move each time I moved her. When I looked down at her, I saw that Hestia"s gaze was vacant, completely lost in pleasure. The expression that any man wanted to see when he was making love.
  
  The fucked stupid look, otherwise known as the Ahegao.
  
  Fuck, dying was the best thing that had ever happened to me. I don"t know who was behind the wheel of Truck-kun, but I owed him a drink.
  
  My pace picked up, thrusting into Hestia now that I knew she could take it. Hestia let out another long moan as I began to seriously fuck her pussy. Sweat began to build upon my brow, lifting Hestia was starting to get tiring, so without any warning, I flipped her on her back. Once I was settled in between her legs, I brought my hips back, drawing out inches of cock before I slammed them back in.
  
  "I love it!" Hestia muttered, her voice slurred as if she were drunk. "I love you!" She blurted as I began to hammer in and out of her gushing pussy. A wet spot formed on the covers, soaking through the blanket.
  
  I smiled, loving the sight of Hestia lost in pleasure. I felt another orgasm brewing in my balls, but I fought it off with sheer force of will. I wanted this to last forever, I wanted to lose myself in thrusting into Hestia and bringing her pleasure she could have never imagined. Her breast swung with every thrust, her nipples swinging in circles as I began to pound in and out of her cunt.
  
  "I love you," I told her honestly, my orgasm nearing despite my efforts. Hestia clenched down so hard on my cock I was nearly forced to stop in my tracks. With those three words, Hestia came again and by far this was her most extreme orgasm. More cum gushed out of her, her hips bucking wildly as she threw her head back and moaned, the orgasm ripping through her with explosive force.
  
  I let go of my self-restraint and unloaded my second orgasm, burying myself deep inside her. I think that set off another orgasm because she trembled, her breath shaky as waves of white-hot pleasure raced through her. I could feel the cum travel from my balls and through my dick, filling Hestia with a few spurts of it.
  
  Hot cum, with nowhere else to go when I filled her womb to the absolute brim, seeped through the seal of her vagina. Rivers of cum escaped from Hestia, dripping down her ass until it pooled underneath her. That, by far, was my largest orgasm to date. Seriously, there had to be like half a cup of cum or something.
  
  Hestia went still, her eyes closing -- for a moment, I panicked, but I quickly realized that she had simply passed out. I fucked her until she passed out. Hello pride, welcome home.
  
  Grinning to myself, I began to slowly pull out of her, more cum seeping out of her until it came out all at once when I freed myself from her vagina"s iron grip. I was only a little surprised when I saw that my cock was still hard as a rock. I did hit fifty in Endurance, so I guess that meant I got a third shot in.
  
  I looked down at Hestia to see her peacefully sleeping -- her legs wide open to reveal a river of white escaping her vagina, a sheen of sweat covering her, while her expression, even asleep, could only be described as satisfied. For the briefest of moments, I considered diving back in, to get another shot off so both of us would be fully satisfied, but I dismissed the thought-
  
  Blinking, I cocked my head when I heard a familiar sound. I wouldn"t have noticed before my hearing became so sharp, but I could hear moans and the sounds of...masturbating? Was someone else using a room next to us? My gaze zeroed in on the source, the wall to my right. The very last thing I ever expected to see was a steel gray eye staring back at me through a peephole.
  
  I looked at it, my mind grinding to a halt, blinking in surprise.
  
  The eye blinked at me, realizing that she had been caught.
  
  We stared at one another, my brain recovering from the bluescreen it just suffered. I knew who it was. Had she been watching us the entire time? Maybe? I was a little preoccupied, so I hadn"t noticed at all. Then, without any warning, the eye withdrew and the hole was plugged up. I stared at it for a moment, not sure what to do.
  
  I was even less sure when I heard someone fiddling with the door, the doorknob twisting to reveal...a very naked Syr. Her skin was creamy, without so much as a single blemish, her full breasts were capped with small nipples that looked like they had seen some recent abuse judging from the reddish hue to them. Her long legs carried her inside, bringing my attention to the heart shape her pubes were shaved in and how her groin was absolutely covered in her own arousal.
  
  "Sorry," Syr apologized casually like she hadn"t just been caught peeking and walked into the room completely naked. "I couldn"t help myself," she explained, her gaze drinking me in, but they settled on my cock that was still standing proudly, covered in semen and quim.
  
  "Uh," I was not prepared for this in the slightest. "It"s...cool...? But, what are you doing here?" I asked, not sure if I should cover-up. What the actual fuck was going on here? Syr wasn"t looking at me like Hestia did -- with love and adoration. There was something lurking in her eyes, but it was masked by naked desire and lust.
  
  "I noticed that you weren"t satisfied...after two times..." Syr breathed, striding forward with a sexy grace that brought my attention to just how wet she was. She was dripping onto the floor as she walked towards me, stalking me like a predator. Uhhhhh...was...she like this in the anime? I don"t...
  
  The offer in her words was clear as the sun on a cloudless day. She was offering to take care of me, to empty my balls. Looking at her, it would be a bald-faced lie, and a bad one at that, to say that I wasn"t tempted. My cock throbbed at the idea, making Syr smile ever so slightly, as I imagined bending her over and just fucking her.
  
  But...
  
  "I"m sorry, but no," I said with a small shake of my head. Not the same night that I took Hestia"s virginity, and had our first date. Not before we had any kind of discussion about other girls. Especially not when Hestia was in the same room.
  
  Syr just beamed in response, apparently pleased with my rejection, "aw, the two of you are so cute!" She commented, smiling at me as she made to retreat out of the room. "But, if you don"t want me to service you, then would you mind keeping this between us? I rather like your goddess, she"s very kind to the children."
  
  "...Sure?" I said, feeling that this entire situation was just kinda weird. I"m not sure I would want to tell Hestia in the first place that Syr was watching us the entire time and getting herself off.
  
  "Thanks!" She said in a stage whisper, stepping through the door, going to close it, but she poked her head through the crack. "And if you ever change your mind, you"ll know where to find me! Goodnight!"
  
  With that, Syr closed the door with a soft click. I stared at the door for a moment, replaying that entire interaction in my head, before a soft sigh escaped me as my gaze drifted down to my still rock hard cock. A beautiful woman just offered to take care of it for me, I just made love to a goddess -- my goddess...
  
  I never would have expected that this night would end with me jacking off to make my hard-on go down.
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
  Versed in the lewd.
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  Jericho
  Level: 1
  Progress to level 2: 197,804/1,000,000
  Strength: 60
  Endurance: 73
  Dexterity: 74
  Intelligence: 24
  Sense: 48
  
  Development Abilities:
  Physical Resistance: The user receives 7% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Abnormal Resistance: Poisons, Toxins, and Drugs are 7% less effective. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Swordsman: Increased parameters when wielding swords. Effectiveness is determined by Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and Sense.
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.
  Kissing: An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target. Effectiveness is determined by the Dexterity and Sense stat.
  Sex: Greatly enhances parameters when engaging in sexual intercourse. Effectiveness is determined by Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, and Sense stats.​
  
  "You've made some pretty crazy progress, Jericho," Hestia noted as she straddled my back, her hands lingering despite long since finishing updating my falna. I didn't mind as I closed the slip of paper, in fact, having her small hands caress my back felt rather nice.
  
  "I'm almost a fifth of the way there," I agreed, mulling over my progress for the past week. I made great gains in terms of exp now that I was doing quests and spending something like sixteen hours a day in the Dungeon. My stats, on the other hand, had slowed dramatically. I guess it was to be expected since stat grinding got much more difficult the higher they got, though that didn't mean it wasn't frustrating.
  
  Though, I did get a Perk recently for my Strength Stat. Unlike most gamer systems, Power Attack wasn"t a Skill, but a perk. Now, when I tried to hit something with all my strength, the "damage" went up. Whatever that meant.
  
  Then there was the lack of a reward for taking Hestia"s virginity. I got the skill Sex out of it, but I could have gotten that by sleeping with those two guards at the red-light district. Hestia was a goddess. If I really was the gamer, then there should be some grand reward for taking the virginity of a goddess, right?
  
  If there was, then I hadn"t seen it yet. Though, I couldn"t imagine I wouldn"t get one.
  
  "But is that stuff working?" I asked, pushing my thoughts away from the ever consuming frustrations with my progress.
  
  "It is!" Hestia exclaimed with no small amount of relief, patting my back where my now disguised falna resided. She brought a vial of stuff that could disguise what my falna looked like yesterday, but we were too...distracted to use it then. Now my falna looked normal to the naked eye -- my stats were numbers in the hundreds with their rank next to them, my Development Abilities were gone and, if I had to guess, my Skills were edited as well.
  
  "Should I get my status confirmed by the Guild later? I have lessons with Eina, so I can do it then," I asked, moving to get up and Hestia allowed me to. Though, as soon as I was in a sitting position, Hestia glomped me.
  
  "No...I think asking to get it confirmed out of the blue will make the Guild suspicious. They"ll ask when you level up, so it might be best to wait until them," Hestia refuted, humming contentedly to herself as she hugged me as tightly as she could. After a week, I was used to it. Hestia was affectionate before, but after we had sex, she was downright clingy. But, I guess that wasn"t entirely her fault.
  
  "Fair point," I said, wrapping an arm around her. "How much longer until you have to leave for work?" I asked, getting a small sigh as she continued to hug me with all her might. Ever since I started going into the Dungeon at nights, and she worked during the day, we only really saw each other for a couple of hours each day.
  
  Which was pretty much the same situation as before, but it seemed Hestia was convinced she had to cram eight hours of cuddling when we were asleep into the few hours we did see each other.
  
  "Not long enough," Hestia muttered unhappily, one of her hands going to mine. When she started, Hestia had claimed that she was going to have more flexible hours, but that seemed to be a hook to rope her into the job. She worked eight hours every day, starting at ten until seven, with a guaranteed hour lunch break, so it was still better than her other job.
  
  "If you don"t like it..." I left the offer in the air, knowing she was going to refuse before she shook her head. I knew she didn"t dislike it, especially when she came back each day far less haggard, but both of us shared the opinion that there were more hours in the day for other activities.
  
  "No, I do! Plus, we need to keep saving money to help Lili out of her horrible familia!" Hestia reminded, getting a nod out of me. We had quite the stash hidden away. Hundreds of thousands of valis. I still haven"t gotten a new bed or a new place, but outside of getting bare necessities, everything went into the bank. And by the bank, I meant my Inventory since Hestia"s hidey-hole was nowhere near big enough. "And I"m having a lot of fun while I"m there, I don"t have to deal with that many customers and my co-workers are really nice!"
  
  Hestia"s hand traveled up my arm, glancing up at me before she transferred her hand to my thigh. That got a crooked grin out of me, moving her hand up to where my half-mast dick resided. "I"m game, but you"ll be late for work," I pointed out.
  
  Her touch lingered, but it wasn"t a surprise when she pulled her hand back, a pout on her face. "I"ll make it up to you later," Hestia promised, tilting her head back and closing her eyes, telling me that she wanted a kiss. I was all too happy to oblige, closing the distance between our lips until mine pressed down on hers.
  
  It didn"t last anywhere near long enough. Hestia ended it before she could lose herself in the kiss, pulling back before she buried her face into my side and breathed in deeply. With sheer force of will, Hestia managed to push herself to her seat, leaving me alone on our bed. She was dressed in the bright red and white uniform of the Hesphustus familia.
  
  "I have to go to work. Are you going back into the Dungeon with Lili?" Hestia asked dejectedly, pulling on her slippers. My gaze roamed over her legs hidden beneath her stockings, her miniskirt leaving a small gap where her pale skin could be seen. It covered a lot more than her usual attire did, but I couldn"t say I didn"t like the view.
  
  "I am," I confirmed with a nod of my head. I only came back up to spend some time with Hestia before she left for work. "Only for about six hours, or so. Then lessons with Eina, and after that, you"ll be off work."
  
  "I don"t know how you can stand that," Hestia commented, referring to my full schedule that allowed absolutely no free time. "I"d go stir crazy in no time if I didn"t have any time to read."
  
  I gave a shrug, "I"m used to it." Two weeks in a fantasy world couldn"t undo years of working two jobs on top of going to school, first high school then college. I was more used to not having free time than having it. "And it"s not like I don"t enjoy dungeon diving. I like...I dunno, seeing how much I improve each day."
  
  If I didn"t enjoy it then there was no way I could stay down there for over sixteen hours a day. My falna wasn"t just numbers on a paper, those numbers represented me. I wasn"t just feeling the effects of self-improvement, I was looking at evidence of it. There was something oddly motivating about that. Not to mention, the amount of money I was pulling in.
  
  "I guess if you"re happy..." Hestia muttered, not quite able to wrap her head around that, slipping on her other shoe. She hovered at the door, looking back at me with a look of determination. She turned around fully, her hands curled into fists as a heavy blush appeared on her face.
  
  "I-I-I love you! BYE!" Hestia yelled, fleeing our home in a rush, driven by embarrassment. I just smiled away, feeling light as a feather as I heard her leave the dilapidated church. She still got embarrassed saying it, always fleeing as soon as the words left her mouth. It seemed Hestia was firmly stuck with flight when it came to fight or flight.
  
  A groan escaped me as I pushed myself off the bed, having missed the chance to offer to walk Hestia to work. Grabbing a bucket of water to splash on myself, I woke myself up by cleaning my face. In the past week, I hadn"t slept a wink, and while my body didn"t need sleep, my brain kept telling me that this was wrong and I should be sleeping at night. That feeling diminished as the days went on, thankfully.
  
  After checking my internal clock, I started putting my armor back on. It only took a couple of minutes since I was used to it at this point, but once I was ready, I made my way to the Dungeon for another long day of grinding.
  
  It was strange how normal this stuff became. Living in a fantasy world filled with elves, dwarves, hobbits, and beast people. With magic. I mean, I was off to fight a horde of monsters for money and a couple of weeks ago, my biggest worry was making sure I got enough hours at my second job.
  
  Before I could make that downward spiral into my musings, a voice called out to me. "Good morning Jericho," Syr greeted me, a pleasant smile on her face. In her hands was a bento box wrapped in a brightly colored cloth, topped with a perfect bow. A week later, and as soon as I saw her, the image of her naked appeared in my mind.
  
  I didn"t know her exact relationship with Freya, other than she was some kind of agent for the goddess of fertility and she looked like her. And, did she look like her. Her full breasts, her absolutely drenched pussy that dripped with every step she took, her eyes filled with lust as she stared at my cock, asking if I wanted her to finish me off. It was an image that was going to stick with me every time I saw her for a long, long time.
  
  "Morning," I greeted, blinking the image away. Syr"s smile grew a fraction as if she somehow knew exactly what I was thinking about. She held out the bento box to me, smiling sweetly.
  
  "Another long day in the Dungeon?" She asked as I accepted the meal with a smile. Since that day a week ago, Syr had started going out of her way to deliver me meals. I saw the tactic for what it was, but I was a little less certain on why she was going out of her way to meet me. Did Freya order her to? Or was this her own initiative since I doubt Freya would have ordered her to peek and masturbate. Or maybe she would, I have no clue.
  
  "Seems like it," I agreed with a nod, rolling a shoulder as I deposited the bento into the satchel I looted from Asshole the First.
  
  "Don"t overdo it, okay?" Syr warned, her expression growing concerned. I couldn"t be certain, but I think she suspected that I was spending all night in the Dungeon. If she did, then I guess that would lend more credence to the possibility that she was following Freya"s orders. "I"d be reallly upset if you stopped coming around, Jericho...!"
  
  "I won"t, I promise," I reassured easily, ignoring how she took a step forward, invading my personal space. I still hadn"t spoken to Hestia about other girls since...well...there was no easy way for that topic to come up, and what was between us was still too new. I"ll be the first to admit that I wasn"t the brightest, but I wasn"t that stupid. And I sure as hell wasn"t going to cheat on Hestia. "I have Lili watching my back, so I don"t have to worry about anything."
  
  Syr let out a small laugh, having met the pallum once before. Unlike the anime, it was under much better circumstances. "In that case, you"ll be safe and sound," she teased, clearly amused by the idea of a pallum protecting someone like me.
  
  "Thanks again for the bento, I"ll bring it back around sixish," I told her, getting a beaming smile from Syr in response.
  
  "Then I"ll see you then! Work up a really big appetite and order a bunch of food!" Syr said, waving goodbye and telling me that she was working as a waitress tonight instead of a cook. The anime really had underplayed how lazy she was about working. Well, maybe not lazy, but she certainly cut more than her fair share of corners.
  
  "Will do," I said, waving goodbye as I continued on my way to the Dungeon. Now that it wasn"t five in the morning, the streets were a lot busier. Most people cleared way when I walked, which made sense. I was a big dude, but, more importantly, I was a big dude decked out in heavy armor and carrying a huge sword. My gaze landed on Miach"s shop, and before I could think better of it, I found myself walking towards it.
  
  Pushing open the door, a small bell chimed to announce my entry. The place looked about the same since the last time I was here -- though, I did notice several dop items that I had given Miach as gifts hanging up to be sold. They were leftovers from completed quests that I didn"t need, and it was better to give them to Miach since he had a habit of giving out potions like candy.
  
  "Ah-! H-hello!" A boyish voice greeted me, bringing my attention to who stood behind the counter. It wasn"t Miach or Naaza. Instead, it was a young man with a mop of stark white hair and ruby red eyes -- a unique appearance that I would have recognized anywhere. The expression he wore told me he was a mess of nerves, probably because it was his first day on the job, but there was no mistaking who he was.
  
  Bell Cranel was behind the counter.
  
  "I mean," he hastily corrected himself as I struggled to recover from the sucker punch that was his sudden appearance. Was he working here as a part-time job? But Miach didn"t have the money for that since he was deeply in debt because he bought a prosthetic arm for Naaza when she lost hers. "Welcome to Miach"s emporium! How can I help you today?"
  
  It took me a second to find my voice, this was the very last place I ever expected to see Bell. After so long, I kinda figured that my being here had somehow written out his entire existence, or something. When he looked increasingly nervous, I realized I was staring at him.
  
  "Er, yeah," I started, trying to play it cool. I mean, I was meeting the main character of this series. Despite my gripes about his Skill Realis Phrase, I actually rather liked Bell -- especially when I was proving to be as bullshit as he was. He was hardly my favorite protagonist or anything, but as far as harem protagonists go, he was a cut above the rest. He was a sweet kid that was unwavering in his feelings towards Ais -- it was almost enough to make me forgive him for rejecting Best Girl in the canon timeline. "I was hoping to get some antidotes."
  
  "I can get that for you!" Bell blurted, sounding absolutely elated that he could. In a quick dash, he went to the backroom for a few moments. Then he came running back with a great big smile on his face, practically firing pure, undiluted joy from every pore. It was nearly blinding. He set a box filled with antidotes on the table, "Here you are sir!"
  
  "Thanks..." I said, grabbing a few vials. Glancing at Bell, I idly observed that he was a lot smaller than I thought he'd be. I mean, I knew he was only a little bit taller than Hestia, but he seemed like he was tall for his age in the anime. "So, did you just join up with Miach's familia?" I asked, fishing for a few valis in my pocket.
  
  Bell nodded, beaming so much happiness that it was getting hard to look at him. "I joined last night! Miach found me when I, ah, got kicked out of the inn I was staying at," he admitted with some embarrassment, but it didn't detract from his happiness, it simply made it softer in nature. He really was a sweet kid. "I asked to join and he said yes!"
  
  "Congratulations," I said with an honest smile on my face. I was happy for him. It was better than being written out of the universe or ending up in a familia like the Soma familia. "I'm Jericho, Hestia familia. Our gods are friends," I explained as I offered an oversized hand to him. His face lit up as he took my hand, uncaring how mine engulfed his.
  
  "Bell Cranel!" Bell returned before he chuckled, "ah, Jericho...you wouldn"t happen to be an adventurer, would you?" He asked hesitantly, clearly unsure how to begin. I would think that since I'm decked out in heavy armor, it was pretty obvious, but I nodded all the same.
  
  "Um, I was wondering if you could tell me a little about the Dungeon? As someone who's been there? I would ask Naaza, but she..." Bell trailed off, looking worried and sad. I only met Naaza once in passing, but that didn't really surprise me.
  
  "Sure," I agreed easily enough, having to squint when he started beaming again. "The first floor is nothing but goblins but don't underestimate them. They"re kinda like rabid animals that throw themselves at you, and they like to jump to tear out your throat. It's a little different for me," I said, gesturing to the near three feet height difference, "but I'd recommend taking them out fast. Be aggressive so they can't group up on you but, if you find that you're getting surrounded, run away."
  
  He blinked at that, and I saw why. A guy the size of me was telling him to run away from the weakest monster in the Dungeon. I just smirked at his puzzled face, "It sounds weird, but it's true. Keep this between us, but I got cocky in the Dungeon and nearly got myself killed by a swarm of goblins." Bell blanched, clearly reassessing what he thought of my abilities or goblins. "But the important part is to know when to run away. Your life is way more important than your pride, so if you're in over your head, turn tail and run. Live to come back bigger and stronger."
  
  Bell nodded determinedly, eating up every word. "I will!" He confirmed, nodding again. This was...kinda cool. I was mentoring what should be the protagonist of this world.
  
  Well...might as well make sure the kid doesn't get himself killed... "Actually, have you registered with the Guild yet?" I asked, getting a no from Bell. "When you do, ask for the Guild advisor Eina Tulie. She's mine and she'll make sure you'll know every last thing you could ever want to know about the Dungeon."
  
  I could see the growing joy in Bell"s eyes, the admiration. It was only because I knew him so we'll through meta knowledge, but it was easy to tell that he was starting to look up to me. That was pretty awesome. To seal the deal, I slid over a small pouch filled with valis as I took the vials. To set up the scene I was going for, I started to turn away, waving goodbye as Bell thanked me only to realize I had overpaid by a stupid amount.
  
  "J-Jericho! You gave me too much-"
  
  "It's a tip. Use it to buy some decent starter gear -- like a long or short sword, or armor that'll keep your insides on the inside," I dismissed, waving over my shoulder and indulging on a long harbored chunni desire. I must look so fucking cool right now. "I'll see you later Bell."
  
  "Thank you so very much!" Bell shouted as I left the store, I didn"t look back to secure my image of the cool, friendly senpai look I was going for. I went as far as to take the long way to the central plaza to make sure that I disappeared "mysteriously" instead of walking by the front window. Once I was certain I was out of sight, I ran a hand through my hair, blowing out a breath.
  
  "I didn"t expect that," I mused to myself as I approached the central plaza that was overlooked by the tower of babel. Running into Bell out of the blue was a shock. I was glad he found a good familia. Depending on Naaza, he could have someone to train him. And, hopefully, Freya wouldn"t notice him so he wouldn"t have to deal with her special brand of crazy.
  
  But, still, I"m glad he was doing alright for himself. And, I was even more glad that he wasn"t in the Hestia familia. I had a good thing going this past week -- I was earning a pretty great amount of exp, finally. Perhaps not enough to level up by the time Bell did, but I would only be off by a few weeks. Me and Hestia were great, I was making a ton of money, my stats were coming along nicely...
  
  Everything was looking like it was on the up and up. The only thing I had any suspicions about was Canoe"s utter lack of any kind of action against me. Maybe he was waiting, letting me fatten up my bank account before he robbed me for all that I was worth, but...
  
  Next time we spoke, he wouldn"t be walking away.
  
  It didn"t take long to spot Lili thanks to her oversized bag. She sat at the fountain, waiting for me with her head hung low. Even after a week, I still had trouble reading Lili, but if I had to guess, something was wrong with her. She seemed to sense my approach because she glanced up at me without any warning, pinning me with a gaze filled with worry.
  
  All the mirth I was feeling at meeting Bell was blown away like smoke in the wind. "What"s wrong," I asked, taking a seat next to her. Lili gripped her knees with white knuckles, her expression hidden from me but I could guess that she was scared and worried.
  
  "Lili found out how much Lili would have to pay to leave the Soma familia," Lili answered, her shoulders sagging. Ah, so that"s what it was. I"m guessing that the number was a rather big one if it had her this discouraged. Still, I had prepared myself for a stupid amount- "Zanis says it will take ten million valis for Lili to leave the Soma familia."
  
  "T-ten million valis?" Despite myself, that number caught me completely off guard. It was a straight-up gut punch. In the past two weeks, I more or less got a handle on how much a valis is worth, and asking for ten million valis to leave was like asking for a million dollars. It was absolutely insane.
  
  "Zanis says it"s because Lili has been a member of the Soma familia for so long," Lili answered my unspoken question. "So Lili knows "vital information" about the familia"s inner workings, so Lili would have to pay that much because of a "safety risk."" I could practically see the air quotes as she spoke, frustration leaking into her tone.
  
  "Well..." That was still way, way, way too much. Far beyond what a level 1 supporter could earn in a decade. "It sounds like he just doesn"t want you to leave." Asking for that amount was asking for the impossible. So, there had to be some other motive beyond money.
  
  In the anime, I"m pretty sure he asked for that much because Lili was connected to Bell, the Little Rookie. Right now, the Hestia familia was just me, a level 1 adventurer.
  
  "Lili thinks so too! But Lili has no idea why! Lili hasn"t paid her dues in months, she doesn"t stay there or anything! Why would he want Lili to stay?!" Lili snapped, not at me but venting her frustration that was boiling over. Her hands curled into fists, her head so slow that her chin was nearly touching her chest.
  
  Then she turned to me, tears gather in the corners of her eyes. "What should Lili do?" she asked, almost begging for an answer.
  
  There was a way to get around Zanis. Soma, the piece of shit that he was, would be impressed enough that if she fought off the intoxicating effects of Soma wine he would let her leave his familia. I couldn"t bring myself to make that suggestion. For one, I doubt that Zanis would let sleeping dogs lie, but, more importantly, I wasn"t sure if my relationship with Lili was strong enough that she could fight off the effects of Soma.
  
  I hadn"t saved her from certain death, accepted her for all her flaws, and forgiven her for her betrayals. Lili didn"t love me. She might like me, she might respect me, but gambling on her feelings being deep enough to resist Soma wine was a gamble that I wasn"t willing to take. Though, that could be because I was more than a little biased.
  
  Soma was a drug as bad, if not worse, as heroin or crack. I watched drugs ruin my dad"s life. Him doing drugs damn near ruined my life. When he died a year ago, when I was eighteen, I got saddled with more debt than I knew what to do with out of absolutely nowhere when I was already taking out student loans to go to college. I hated drugs and I hated debt, and, for a time, I hated my dad too.
  
  Soma, as his test, did the equivalent of sticking a needle full of heroin in Lili"s arm and told her to fight off the high. He was surrounded by drug addicts of his own creation, he grew apathetic to them when they kept disappointing him until it got to the point he could see a little girl screaming and crying and begging to leave the familia and do exactly fuck all to help her when all he had to do was say a fucking word. And he did nothing. Not until she drank Soma and proved that she wanted her friends more than she wanted the high.
  
  Fuck Soma. He was a garbage god and just as responsible for what was happening to the Soma familia as Zanis was. And I wasn"t going to put Lili through that even if I knew it would work.
  
  "Are you sure he doesn"t know about the others?" I asked, trying to approach this problem from all angles. I knew he was going to ask for an unreasonable amount, but that was more than I was expecting. If it was a couple of million, then I would have said that we wait a couple of weeks and earn that amount, but ten million? It would take months of pinching every valis so hard that they bruised.
  
  "Lili doesn"t think so. No one has said anything about them," Lili denied with a shake of her head. Still, I couldn"t help but be suspicious. Perhaps this was Canoe"s move? Maybe he was whispering in Zanis" ear that I was a cash cow that had a soft spot for Lili and they were trying to squeeze us for all we are worth? It made more sense than I would like.
  
  A sigh escaped me. "Then I guess we go with plan B. I wouldn"t piss on Zanis if he was on fire, much less hand over ten million valis to him." Lili looked worried for a moment, but I reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. Well, it was more three fingers, but it was the thought that counted. "We challenge Soma to a war game after I reach Level 2. I kick their asses, and you get to leave that...mess...of a familia." I said, biting back some very sharp words about those degenerates.
  
  Despite her tears, worries, and fears, Lili managed a small giggle at that. "Mr. Jericho...Lili finds it amazing that Mr. Jericho can say stuff like that," she commented, her tone still sad, but the angry frustration was fading as my words reassured her. She...must have been pretty worried that I would get scared off with a price tag like that and abandon her. To be honest, most sane people would.
  
  "Say stuff like what? That I"m going to kick Soma"s ass? Because that"s not a threat, that"s a promise," I pointed out, earning another giggle from her. However, she shook her head.
  
  "That Mr. Jericho can say that he will become a level 2 so easily. Most adventurer"s never make it past level 1," she pointed out. Admittedly, she was right. My point of view was a little skewed because I was comparing myself to canon Bell, who became a level 2 in a month and a half, level 3 a month later and level 4 two months after that. Everyone else was lucky or talented if they made it to level 2.
  
  "Is that doubt that I hear?" I teased, glad that the subject was changing away from a topic that dredged up more than a few bad memories.
  
  Lili shook her head. "No. Lili believes that Mr. Jericho will level up," she denied, looking up at me to show a small smile. "Soon, if he continues as he has."
  
  "Exactly right," I declared, pushing myself up and offering a hand for Lili to take. "And when I do, the first thing I"m going to do is kick down the Soma familia"s gates and demand a war game so loudly that there"s no way Soma can ignore me. You can take that promise to the bank," I reassured, smiling back as Lili took my hand.
  
  With that, off into the Dungeon we went.
  
  ...
  
  The tenth floor was different than the others. Gone were the claustrophobic tunnels, the low light, and rocky ground. The tenth floor was massive in every way. The ceiling was so high up that the fog that illuminated the grass-covered ground that it was pitch black. It was impossible to tell just how high up it was, but it must be at least a hundred feet. What wasn"t pitch black was illuminated by the heavy fog so thick it was difficult to see more than fifty feet around you at any given time.
  
  Barren trees were sprinkled across the floor, serving as landform weapons -- basically, the tree would transform into a club when a large monster grabbed it. And the rabbits. And the imps. And the kobolds and goblins too. If a monster so much as picked up a rock, then it got turned into some kind of weapon from a simple club, to a shiv to an axe.
  
  Seeing that firsthand never gets old, I noted, as I spotted a lumbering orc coming my way as it reached out to grab a barren tree. Orcs were the first monsters to be bigger than me. It stood at just over ten feet tall, its stomach was bulging, making it seem fat and round, but it couldn"t hide the corded muscles on its thick arms. Its mouth was filled with sharp teeth that didn"t quite fit in it, two large tusks protruding out of the corners of its mouth.
  
  Other than that, it looked like what I expected an orc to. Deep green skin, bald, pointed ears, and its eyes were filled with a dull, stupid, intelligence.
  
  Taking in a bracing breath, I rushed towards the orc as it hefted a massive wooden club that the tree turned into overhead. Faster than one would expect, it brought the club down hard enough that a crater formed, dust and dirt kicked up that obscured the fact that it had missed. Bursting through the dust, I slashed my sword down across its hands. Bone and muscle offered up some resistance, just not enough to stop me from cutting off its hand.
  
  The orc bellowed, stumbling back as it lost its balance. Twisting my grip, I slammed my sword into its knee, cutting through it so it tumbled over. It collapsed in a heap, writhing on the ground right up until I switched my grip and plunged my sword into its neck and severed its head.
  
  Orcs, as far as I was concerned, were exp cash cows that I discovered a few days ago. A hundred and twenty five exp. Each. I"m guessing since orcs were giant class monsters, they were worth a lot more than any previous monsters. Still, I just about creamed myself when I did the math after I killed my first one. At first, I thought I screwed up with keeping up with how much exp I earned on the way down. It wasn"t until I killed eight of them and gained a thousand exp that it sunk in.
  
  "Lili thinks that Mr. Jericho is enjoying this floor too much," Lili commented as she went to the carcass to retrieve the monster stone. This floor was still too new for me to risk fighting with her on my back yet, but my stats were getting there and I was getting used to fighting the monsters on this floor. It was only when she made that comment that I realized I was smiling, still overjoyed with the sudden influx of exp.
  
  "I"m glad I can finally fight something without having to bend over to take a swipe at it," I corrected, searching the heavy mist for another orc. The one downside to this floor was that the monster spawns went way, way down. Instead of getting constantly besieged like I was on the ninth floor, on this floor I spent more time looking for a fight than I did fighting.
  
  "It must be odd for Mr. Jericho to have to look up at something," Lili teased, getting a huff of laughter from me. It was a good sign that she was able to make jokes -- both because I was taking it as a sign of trust and that she was feeling a little better.
  
  "Eh, only until I knock "em down," I bantered, spotting another orc lumbering towards us, likely drawn by the noise. If Lili said something in response, then I didn"t hear it when a high pitched screeching assaulted my ears. Instantly, I looked upwards, catching a glimpse of a bad bat, a monster that seemed to have dialed up the sound of its echolocation up to fifty.
  
  Thankfully, Lili was quick to shoot it down, putting an end to its ear-piercing screeching. I watched its body fall to the ground, an arrow punched through its mouth. "Thanks," I told her, turning my attention back to the lumbering orc marching our way, picking up a landform weapon. "I really need to get a ranged option..."
  
  "Lili thinks Mr. Jericho is better off as he is. In a normal party, Mr. Jericho would be the vanguard, while Lili is support. Most have another member to prevent the vanguard from getting overwhelmed, but Mr. Jericho"s aggressiveness seems to have prevented that issue," Lili denied, retrieving the monster stone and making the corpse disappear in a cloud of ash, leaving behind an orc hide.
  
  "Makes sense," I commented, idly adding another one to our total of twenty. Five more, then we got fifty thousand valis, and fifty thousand exp. Wonderful, wonderful exp. Though, more importantly, should I get a third party member? Actually, wasn"t Welf stuck on this floor for like a year? I haven"t seen him since he taught me how to maintain my armor, but if I popped my head in and brought it up, he could say yes.
  
  The orc bellowed a war cry as it began to approach. Settling into a stance, I darted forward to meet the monster halfway. I swiped at me, swinging like its club was a baseball bat, and forcing me to bend out of the way. I felt the wind on my face as I leaned back to dodge the attack even as I lashed out with my sword. The wickedly sharp edge bite into the orc"s flesh, drawing a line of crimson that went so deep my blade scraped against bone.
  
  Twisting on the heel of my boot, I built up momentum and brought my blade back down on the monster"s legs. With the cut already half done, I cut the monster"s legs off, making it collapse on its face. Jumping up onto its back, I hacked into its skull and netting me another hundred and twenty-five exp.
  
  From my view, I peered into the fog, searching for another monster. If there were any nearby, then they weren"t orcs, unfortunately. "Hey, Lili, do you think I could use some monster bait?" I asked, wondering if that would do the trick to finally bring some monsters to us instead of us hunting them-
  
  Lili looked at me like I said the stupidest thing she had ever heard, so I"m going to go ahead and assume that was a no go on the monster bait. She opened her mouth to make a comment about my hair brained scheme, only for another bad bat to come swooping down to assault our eardrums. And it brought friends, three purple moths.
  
  I watched the exp get skewered by Lili"s hand crossbow, and it only took her a few moments to fetch the monster stones from their corpses. I opened my mouth to compliment her aim, only to be cut off again. This time, it wasn"t by the high pitched screeching of a bad bat, but instead a much deeper, brassy bellow that seemed to echo through the floor.
  
  Turning around, I gazed into the fog, confused on what made than noise. Was it an orc? I didn"t know what else could let out a roar like that. "Lili? Do you know what that was?" I asked, already starting to wonder how much exp it would give me if I killed it.
  
  Lili shook her head when I glanced at her, "Lili has never heard a noise like that before..." she said, her tone was suspicious. I frowned at that -- Lili had been as deep as the eleventh floor, so as far as I was concerned, she was an expert on the upper floors. If she never heard of it before then-
  
  Oh. Oh fuck. Oh, FUCK!
  
  "We have to get out of here! Now!" I snapped at Lili, jumping off the corpse of the orc to run towards her. Lili looked at me utterly perplexed, not understanding my sudden panic. Another bellow of the monster lurking in the fog changed her tune. It was closer now.
  
  Worse, that bellow was answered by another three more.
  
  It was all too simple to do the math. It had been about two weeks since the Loki familia went on their expedition. Either they were early, or it was a roundup, but regardless, it meant I knew exactly what was giving chase in the fog. Or, rather, what was fleeing from the Loki familia as they made their return trip up.
  
  Minotaurs. Multiple of them.
  
  Any thought of trying to kill them went right out of my mind as I grabbed Lili by the bag and booked it towards the exit. Minotaurs weren"t just a level 2 monster, but they were the strongest level 2 monster. It would be like fighting something twice as fast, twice as strong and twice as durable than me. At least. The only way to find out if I had a chance was no way to find at, so I wasn"t going to.
  
  "Mr. Jericho! What is that?!" Lili cried out as I ran with her as fast I could go. I pumped my legs as fast as I could, pushing myself to my absolute limit to get myself as far away as I possibly could. I knew exactly what I was going to see when I glanced over my shoulder, but I looked anyway.
  
  I saw a minotaur. Shockingly, it was roughly my height, a little bigger if you count the horns. Its body was lined with a blackish-brown fur, only the front half of its muscular torso was left bare, revealing blackish gray leathery skin. Its eyes seemed to glow a malevolent red as it chased us with its hooved feet.
  
  My heart plummeted to my boots as I pushed myself to go even faster, but I knew it was no use. It was faster than me. I could hear its labored breathing. Having been chased up about seven floors had tired it out a bit, but it was getting closer with every passing second. I wasn"t going to be able to getaway.
  
  What if I get out of its way? Let it go up to the upper floors? Newbies could get killed, but that was hardly my problem.
  
  I tried it. I darted to the side, taking a risk because it cost me precious momentum. I desperately hoped that it would just keep running off the exit to this floor, but those hopes were dashed. It was still following me, its instincts to kill were too strong for it to ignore. It kept chasing me. Plan A was out. On to plan B.
  
  "Lili, I"m going to stop in a second. I want you to run away!" I shouted at her, not missing her horrified face and...betrayal? Fuck, I didn"t think how that sounded. "I"m going to hold it off for as long as I can, but I need you to get help! Alright?!" I shouted, gripping my sword so tightly I"m pretty sure that warped the handle.
  
  "But, Mr. Jericho-"
  
  "I"ll be fine!" I lied through my teeth, "just come back with help! Tell the Guild that there are minotaurs loose on the upper floors! Ready?" I warned, and I could swear that I felt the fingers of the minotaur on the back of my neck as it grasped out to catch me. As soon as I saw that Lili nodded, I tossed her to the side before I turned on my heel, putting myself between her and the minotaur.
  
  Turns out that I had more of a gap than I expected, but it was rapidly closing the distance between us with a few steps, not slowing down in the slightest.
  
  Now the plan started. Waiting for Ais to save my dumb ass like the damsel in distress I was.
  
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  The minotaur hit me like a linebacker, nearly folding me in half and it would have if it weren"t for my sword absorbing the bulk of the blow. Even still, it slammed into me hard enough that the harsh sound of metal on metal rang out as its horns made contact with my armor.
  
  For the briefest seconds, I thought it might hold. Minotaur or not, my armor was solid steel. And I meant solid, but that hope lasted right up until I felt a burning pain in my stomach where its horns tore through steel like it was tissue paper. Memories of rodeos appeared in my mind, and they saved me.
  
  Grabbing its horn, I managed to stop myself from getting disemboweled with a pained grunt. Attempting to use its own momentum against it as it jerked its head to the side, I tried to trip it up to buy myself precious seconds to do...something. Scream for help, or give Lili a head start before this thing killed me.
  
  Instead, I somehow forgot that it also had arms. It grabbed my wrist with a grip of iron before it threw me to the side like I didn"t weigh something like a quarter ton. I landed heavily, but I was already scrambling to my feet as soon as I hit the ground. My lungs were empty of air, my stomach hurt more than anything I had ever experienced, but I pushed myself up to my feet.
  
  It wasn"t my Endurance that made me do it. It wasn"t some chunni resolve to protect Lili or to win this fight against all odds. I just knew it deep down in my gut that if I stayed down then I was dead. Maybe I would get to start a new game, and maybe I wouldn"t. I had no way of knowing. What I did know was that I didn"t want to find out.
  
  As soon as I rolled to my feet, the monster was on top of me. It lashed out with a fist, a wild haymaker, no form or anything, but with a fist the size of my head, I guess it didn"t need precision. It raced towards my face in a blur, I would have died if my sword wasn"t already in the perfect position to divert the attack. Lashing out, I slashed at its wrist, making it punch empty air.
  
  Now the only problem was I was face to face with a pissed off monster that was so much stronger than me it went so far passed not being funny until it looped around back to being hilarious. It seemed to realize that at the same time, but somehow, I managed to react first. Closing the distance, I jabbed a leg between its legs and shoulder checked the monster.
  
  Both of us came tumbling down to the ground with me on top, having managed to trip the monster. Despite every instinct telling me to keep a hold of my sword, I let go of it. Its size was a burden when the fighting was this close. No sooner than I did, I seized the chance to do whatever damage I could to the monster.
  
  My thumbs went into its eyes, making the monster bellow in pain-
  
  Something hit me and I only realized it when I found myself off the minotaur as it clutched at its face in pure agony. I had to blink a couple of times, making sure that I didn"t have a concussion, but I wish that was the case. If that second minotaur that appeared out of absolutely nowhere could just be a trick of the light, that would be great.
  
  Whatever hope that I had that it was a hallucination was quickly dashed when it let out a deep bellow just before it rushed towards me like the one earlier had. Only this time, I was still on the ground. What could I-
  
  My body moved on instinct, knowing that I could never get out of the way in time. Instead, I would just have to do what I could. As it rushed towards me, intending to skewer me with its horns, I twisted so my feet were facing it. In a desperate attempt, right when it neared, I shot my feet out, catching it in the gut, while I gripped its horns to send it flying harmlessly over me. I felt the vibrations travel through the ground, into me. It must weigh as much as me.
  
  Twisting to my feet, I tried to get on top of the monster to at least blind it like I had the other, but my face was met halfway by a clumsy fist. Blood filled my mouth as my head snapped to the side, dark spots fluttering across my vision.I fought them off. If I blacked out now, then I was dead.
  
  With a wordless roar of rage, I punched the monster back, feeling like I hit a brick wall wrapped in thick leathery skin. Right. Brute force was absolutely useless to me here. What did I have? Pretty much nothing else. Sticking to what I knew worked, I went to blind the monster, only by that time it had recovered.
  
  Not knowing what else to do, I pulled up a handful of dirt with my free hand and threw it in its face. It worked well enough, enough to buy me some time to scramble to my feet, as I became painfully aware how my ribs ached. I didn"t have time to look, but I felt my armor pressing against my ribcage, dented from where this thing hit me.
  
  As the monster lashed out wildly, scratching at its eyes, I retreated towards my fallen sword. I saw the first minotaur was on its knees, still clutching at its ruined eyes, but steadily rising to its feet. It seemed to hear me approach with my sword poised to strike, so it lunged at me, but I sidestepped its clumsy attack.
  
  Gripping my sword with all the strength I had, I brought it down on the monster"s neck. My sword bit into its neck, hot blood squirting out, but it wasn"t enough. Barely a few centimeters into the monster before my sword was stopped in its tracks. Letting out a frustrated roar, I ripped my blade free at the same time the other minotaur cleared its vision. It bellowed, running at me with its head down low, but things were different now.
  
  The blind minotaur attacked at me, guided by its sense of smell, but it couldn"t see the Sparta kick that I planted in its gut that sent it spiraling into the other minotaur. My sword wasn"t tough enough to cut through its dense muscle and flesh, but the same wasn"t true for the minotaur that tackled it in the back.
  
  Both of them came to a crash and it was then that I saw my chance. Hefting my sword another time, this time I didn"t bring it down on the minotaur"s neck, but rather its horn. My sword bounced off, wobbling in my hands, a dent forming on the edge, but I was undeterred. Before the minotaur that could see could recover, I swung down again. This time, my sword managed to bite into the tough bone.
  
  It wasn"t enough, but it was a start.
  
  As the minotaur recovered, I tossed it, my hands going for its horns, trying to put some distance between me and the other minotaur. The very last thing that I needed was to get ganged up on. The minotaur that could see bellowed its rage, grabbing onto my arm and-
  
  "AHH!" I screamed as I felt my arm snap under its incredible strength. I always thought my instinct would be flight when it came to fight or flight, but apparently, I was wrong. I spat in its eye as I refused to let go of its horn as I tried to trip it up again. It"s hoved feet didn"t offer much in terms of stability, so once I put my leg behind its own, and turned sharply, it came crashing down.
  
  I controlled my fall, tucking myself into a ball as I made sure that I landed on its throat with my knee. I didn"t have the raw strength to hurt it, but I doubt it was tough enough that it could be fine after having a quarter ton of muscle and heavy armor land on its neck. Actually-!
  
  Rolling off the monster, I reached into my inventory and pulled out my other bag. The one filled with a metric shitton of rocks. I grabbed it with one arm, feeling its incredible weight, forced to grab onto it with my other despite the...lack...of pain in my arm? Whatever, not the time to think about that.
  
  I slammed the bag onto it as it clutched at its throat, trying and failing to breathe. The bag tore, but that didn"t matter. I doubt getting hit with a hundred and something pounds of rock to the face felt good. More importantly, it stunned it long enough that I could grab its horns and start to push. Kinda like I was starting a lawnmower, I brace one hand against one horn and tried to pull the one that was cut towards me.
  
  For a long second, I just about shit myself when absolutely nothing happened. Then, all of a sudden, the horn ripped free. The sound that the minotaur made was sweet, sweet music to my ears. It lashed out at me, a hand hitting my legs so hard that it swept them from underneath me by accident. But that was fine. As soon as I hit the ground, I was scrambling towards the fallen minotaur, my new weapon raised high.
  
  The minotaur hit me again, its fingers digging deep furrows across my arm. I snarled in pain and rage as I plunged the broken horn into its eye socket. I hoped that it would kill it instantly, but it still thrashed, dislodging the backpack as it twisted so it it was on all fours before lunging at me again. Even with its poor positioning, it managed to knock me flat on my butt, but I managed to keep myself from getting skewered again.
  
  "Fucking DIE!" I shouted at it, hammering the broken horn deeper into its skull. It slammed a fist into my chest that knocked any trace of breath out of my lungs, something giving way in my ribs as my armor dented around its fist. I couldn"t breathe. Air refused to enter my lungs, all I could do was gasp and gargle on my own blood. The minotaur bellowed in agony, sensing it"s death coming and did whatever it could to stave it off. The blind minotaur moved towards us, drawn by the sound.
  
  Even still, despite it all, I hammered the horn into its skull and this time something gave way. The minotaur went limp above me, falling on me, the horn finally reaching its brain. I pushed it off me, still gasping for breath, my lungs burning as I started tearing at my armor. Yanking it off, I finally gasped for breath, air entering my lungs as I felt something shift in my ribs.
  
  I didn"t have time to think about that. The other minotaur was on its way, driven by pain and lead to me by the smell of blood and the screams of its dying kin. I pushed myself to my feet, hurting all over, as I rose I ripped the horn free. Clutching it like it was a lifeline, I spat out an alarming amount of blood as I tried to prepare myself for another bout.
  
  Everything hurt, my arm was completely fucked and I had no idea how my arm and ribs weren"t broken. Still, I had one enemy left. Even blind, I didn"t dare go near it as it stumbled its way towards us, slowly retreating for every step it took towards me. Hot blood poured from my arm, the claw mark the second minotaur left across my shoulder was deep and I was having some trouble moving it. My shirt was completely drenched with blood and I could only hope that my insides were still inside.
  
  Reaching into my inventory, I grabbed a handful of health potions and downed them in a single gulp. I felt better, a lot better. After pouring some onto my wounds, the bleeding slowed significantly. I was going to kiss Miach when I got out of here. These health potions were saving my life.
  
  Only when I confirmed that I was back to full health -- how low it got, I didn"t want to know -- did I stop retreating. Taking a bracing breath, much like the minotaur did before, I rushed towards it and went low. Tackling what felt like a solid wall of muscle, I slipped behind it, grabbing it from behind as well as I could, using my momentum to follow through, I slammed the monster into the ground. The minotaur roared its rage, lashing out with an elbow that flattened my nose with a spray of blood but I pushed through the pain, gripping the horn in my hand with a death grip.
  
  As it struggled to get back up, I wrapped my arm around its throat, knowing that it was pointless to try to strangle it, I simply slammed the broken horn into its eye. The minotaur clawed at my forearm, stripping flesh until I felt fingers scrape against bone -- the pain was indescribable. It deafened me to everything, it filled my mind of agony until I couldn"t think about anything else.
  
  Even then, I hammered the horn into its skull, trying to reach its brain. It wasn"t because of the rage or the desire to kill. I wanted the pain to stop, and the only way to stop it was to kill the fucking thing.
  
  "Fucking. Die!" I cursed, slamming the horn one last time and the monster went still above me. Its hands went limp, falling from clawing my arm off before it just became deadweight that pinned me to the ground.
  
  My strength left me. I clutched my arm to my chest, hot blood pouring from it that soaked my tank top, my nose bleeding like a broken faucet. I just laid there for a minute, relishing in the fact that I wasn"t dead. Somehow. Somehow, against all logic, I wasn"t dead.
  
  My thoughts were sluggish, the adrenaline fading and it left a bone-deep exhaustion in its place. I should have lost that fight. I only won because we were a similar height, and that was it. If I hadn"t been able to blind that one minotaur before the second came, I would be dead. If I wasn"t able to break off a horn, I would be dead. If that fight hadn"t gone down exactly as it did, I would be dead. And, even then, it was a close thing.
  
  Despite my stupor, I wasn"t completely deaf to the world. Hearing the sounds of footsteps, I glanced over just in time to see Ais Wallenstein running towards me, her golden eyes widening when she saw me. Part of me wanted to just lay there until the end of time, but instead, I started to wiggle myself out from underneath, only for Ais to close the distance in a blink of an eye and flip the corpse off me.
  
  "Thanks," I said, wincing as I sat up. Ais knelt next to me soundlessly as she shook her head, eyeing the wound on my forearm. It looked...bad. I didn"t want to look at it too closely but I"m pretty sure I could see bone.
  
  "No, it"s my fault that this happened," Ais said, her expression was blank but her eyes were filled with worry. "They were running from us -- did you see any more?" She questioned, making me shake my head in response.
  
  "I don"t know," I admitted, "I didn"t see any others, but if more were nearby then they probably would have attacked me to." We were close to the exit, so I"m pretty sure one of these was the one that ended up attacking Bell in canon.
  
  Ais nodded, accepting my logic...but... "I sent my supporter to the Guild to ask for help, but if there is a chance one is rampaging up there, then I don"t think she"s going to make it in time before someone gets killed." At that, Ais" eyes hardened.
  
  "Will you be okay here?" She asked, standing as she drew her sword. I"m going to go ahead and chalk this thought up to blood loss and shock, but her armor was the stupidest thing I have ever seen. It only protected a little bit of her chest, and one of her boobs was left half exposed. I guess armor became more for style than practicality at higher levels, but that didn"t mean it didn"t look dumb.
  
  "I"ll be fine. I have some health potions in my bag, and I think those things scared off all the monsters in the area," I guessed, figuring that was why no orcs or rabbits showed their ugly faces during the fight. Still, Ais hesitated, looking at my sounds like every scratch was a personal sin. "Go. The rest of your familia is coming up, right? They can give me a ride back."
  
  That did the trick. With a determined nod, Ais took off to the ninth floor without another word, leaving me all alone. Shifting so I could face the direction Ais came from, as I reached into my inventory and grabbed as many health potions I could fit in one hand. Health potion spamming was a viable strategy, and one I was going to abuse. Dumping the vials onto my arm, I dared to look to see that my ripped and torn flesh was regrowing. Almost as if someone was hitting the rewind button, the skin and muscle stopped pumping out blood, then they began to creep forward to close over.
  
  Still, as good as they were, apparently fifty of them weren"t enough to heal my wounds completely. So, either I was using them wrong, or there was some kind of mechanic the game wasn't telling me about since the tutorial seemed to be off. By the time I exhausted my stores, my arm still looked like it had been mauled by an angry bear, but now it looked like it happened a week ago instead of about five minutes.
  
  Still, when my hands went to my stomach, I felt smooth skin still damp with blood where the minotaur skewered me. And my bones weren't broken anymore. That had to be Gamer Body at work -- if I had to guess, it either instantly healed what should be a fatal wound if I had enough hp to survive it, or it was some kind of battle healing. A broken arm wasn't fatal, but in that fight, it would have been, so it healed the arm after it broke. They were as good of a guess as any.
  
  Eventually, I heard the sound of footsteps again, this time I saw that it was the main force of the Loki familia. Spearheading the small group was Finn the Braver, followed by Riveria Nine Hells. Behind them were Tiona and Tione, the two bronze skinned Amazonians looked uncharacteristically serious. Finn noticed me first when I waved then over.
  
  "The, uh, Sword Princess is checking out the upper floors to make sure none got by, but those two were probably the last ones," I explained before anyone could ask, gesturing to the monster corpses. Finn looked them over before he turned a concerned gaze to my sorry state.
  
  "Did you kill-" Finn started to ask, only to be shoved aside when Tiona rushed over, her eyes wide and shining until I could see stars in them.
  
  "You're Blanket Guy!" She announced, invading my personal space, forcing me to lean back or I'm pretty sure she would have headbutted me. I blinked at her before I felt something splash onto my arm. Looking down, I saw Riveria had appeared by my side, an expensive-looking vial in her hand, a red liquid and- oh. My skin just kinda melded together like the wound was never there in the first place.
  
  "Er," what was she talking about- ah. Right. "Yeah, that's me. But most people call me Jericho. And thanks," I said, turning to Riveria, the green-haired elf simply nodding with what seemed to be a slight smile on her face.
  
  "I'm Tiona!" Tiona introduced herself, moving backward only because her twin sister, Tione, grabbed her by the shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay? I can carry you if you want?"
  
  I shook my head as I pushed myself to my feet with only a little difficulty. After testing my arm, I gave her a lopsided smile. "I'm good, thanks though. I mean it," I told her, all of them, getting a positively beaming smile from Tiona while the others just nodded back, except for Lefiya, who was hunched, panting for breath. My gaze settled on Finn, catching the deceptively powerful pallum inspecting my torn backpack and the corpses.
  
  "Are these...rocks?" He asked, lifting up the backpack with utter ease.
  
  I nodded, "I was doing a bit of training." I explained, long prepared to explain why I was wearing a hundred and something pounds of rocks on my back.
  
  "Is that why you were just wearing a blanket that one time?" Tiona asked, earning a small wince from me as I remembered that memory with more than a little shame. It was hardly my best moment, after all.
  
  "Well..." I trailed off, not missing Tiona"s adorable pout when she saw me hesitating.
  
  "Buu-! You said you"d tell me about it when I came back from the expedition!" Tiona reminded me pointedly, making me blanch. She giggled at that, likely sensing that it wasn"t exactly a story to be proud of. "I know, you can tell me on our way up!" She decided, grabbing me by my arm and she would have started dragging me behind her if I didn"t stumble after her.
  
  She was strong. Tiona looked like a normal girl, for the most part, but I don"t think I could break her grip on my wrist even if I tried.
  
  "Wait, what about the monster-" I started, only for Finn to wave me off. One of the bodies was already a pile of ash that was fading, and he was hands deep in the other one. He pulled the stone out, making the minotaur collapse into a pile of ash, leaving behind a monster stone and the horn.
  
  "This incident is our fault," Finn said, echoing Ais from earlier, "so this is the least we can do." He said, handing me the sizable monster stones and the broken-off horn. I looked down at them for a moment and nodded.
  
  I just about died. Again. Since I arrived here, I"ve been in plenty of situations that could kill me -- heck, every single time I go down into the Dungeon, I could die. Maybe I was becoming more desensitized, or maybe it was because it was an honest mistake, or maybe I was too mentally exhausted after just fighting for my life, but...
  
  "Don"t worry about it too much," I dismissed with a shake of my head, my gaze landing on my armor. I hadn"t noticed when I was tearing it off, but it wasn"t just bent, it was flat out crumpled. Just looking at it, I could see that without Gamer Body, I would be dead. If not from getting stabbed, then getting blindsided by the second minotaur.
  
  I tore my gaze away, "you patched me up, so other than needing some new armor and clothes, I"m all good now." I almost died. I almost got ripped apart by a bull monster. I...I wasn"t mad because I was too happy to be alive.
  
  Finn looked marginally relieved, then amused when Tiona started pulling me again, all but dragging me as we approached the exit. "We"ll replace all that stuff for you too," she decided and before I tore my gaze away from Finn, I saw him wince ever so slightly at that. "So don"t worry about that and tell me Blanket Guy!"
  
  "Ah, well..." I started as I started walking so she didn"t start dragging me. She was watching me so intensely it was kinda uncomfortable. She walked backwards through the halls, utterly fearless of the upper floors and anything in them. I felt a flush creep up my neck, realizing that there was no talking my way out of telling that story.
  
  So, I shrugged. "I got my clothes stolen by a couple of kids, and I didn"t have anything else to wear," I explained shortly, a self-deprecating grin on my face.
  
  "Kids?" Finn asked while Tiona laughed really, really, really hard like I had just said the funniest thing in the entire world. I gave her an odd look, glancing at her twin for an explanation, only to see she was staring at Tiona with dawning horror. It took me a second to register that Finn said anything at all.
  
  "You...are a level 1 adventurer, are you not?" Riveria was the one that figured it out first, getting a nod from me that made her frown ever so slightly.
  
  "You killed two minotaurs when you"re a level one?!" Tiona shouted, bringing my attention back to her, but not before I caught the glance that Finn and Riveria shared. She squeezed down on my wrist hard enough to hurt, her breathing getting oddly heavy.
  
  "Er, yeah?" I confirmed with some apprehension. I could hardly explain it was because I cheated with Gamer Body. Without it, I would have died within the opening seconds of the fight. By all rights, I should be dead right now. "But...it wasn"t nearly as impressive as you"re thinking," I hedged, looking at Tiona.
  
  She was really clinging to me. It was a little odd since this is the second time we"ve ever spoken.
  
  "How"d you do it?" Tione questioned, looking interested, though far less so than Tiona, who seemed to be hanging off my every word.
  
  "A crap ton of luck and even more health potions," I started. As nice as it was to be admired, something like this was going to spread like a wildfire in California. When I challenged Soma in a war game, the best-case scenario was them thinking that I was a rookie getting too big for my boots. I needed them to underestimate me for as long as possible.
  
  Hell, maybe I would keep my level up under wraps until after I challenged them and pass my victory off as what leveled me up.
  
  However, that explanation didn"t seem to satisfy the twins, forcing me to continue. "One of their horns was already damaged pretty badly, so I ended up tearing it off when I realized my sword wasn"t going to be much use." Speaking of my sword- ah, Finn was carrying it. That was a really weird look. "And I managed to get a lucky hit at the beginning that blinded one of them. From there, it was just a whole lot of fighting dirty and trying not to die."
  
  "Wow!" Tiona gushed, "you killed two minotaurs with your bare hands?!" Well...technically yes, but...I dunno, it felt a little hollow knowing that I straight up cheated to win. I should be dead right now.
  
  "Well, I guess so?" I returned, smiling woodenly as we made our way out of the Dungeon. The entire trip up was lead by Tiona as she bombarded me with questions, all the while I wondered what I did to deserve this much of her attention. Even still, I answered them doing my best to keep my answers vague until we reach the Guildhall-
  
  "Mr. Jericho!" Lili cried out as soon as we walked up the steps. She glomped me, her hands curling up as she grabbed my bloodstained pants, her eyes filled with relief. "You"re alive! Lili...Lili was really scared you"d...!"
  
  I patted her head, idly noting that she didn"t have any animal ears on top of her head, "Sorry to worry you, but the Loki familia saved me." I told her, casting a look over at Finn and Riveria. Finn smiled as he nodded, knowing exactly what I was trying to do.
  
  "But-" Tiona started to blurt out the truth, only for Riveria to clap a hand over her mouth.
  
  "We were happy to help," Finn said just loudly enough that the half-full lobby would hear him. So, now as far as they were concerned, I was the extremely large rookie that got his butt saved by the Loki familia. Much better than level 1 rookie that killed two minotaurs with his bare hands.
  
  "Though," a new voice pitched in. We turned to see it was an elderly elf, rather heavy set around the waist, with his graying hair slicked back. He wore a guild uniform, and judging by the Loki familia"s expressions, he was fairly high up the food chain. "That could be the least that is expected of you, Loki familia. Please, follow me. There is much to discuss about this...incident," he said, turning on his heel and marching into the Guildhall to a part that I"ve never seen before.
  
  "Right," Finn said, letting out a tired sigh as he handed over my sword. "It was nice meeting you Jericho," he said, following after the elderly elf.
  
  "Bye! I"ll see you later Blanket Guy!" Tiona said, being dragged by Tione and Riveria. I waved goodbye, thinking that sounded a lot like a promise. Once they were out of sight, a sigh escaped me as I turned my attention back to Lili.
  
  She seemed to realize that she was still holding onto me so she quickly let go. "Is Mr. Jericho really okay? Where is Mr. Jericho"s armor?" She asked, eyeing the sheer amount of drying blood on me. The potions helped wash away some of it on my arm, but my face was still coated in it from my broken nose and my tank top was officially a lost cost.
  
  "Left it behind. I"m going to have to get some new armor, so I"ll go do that now," I said with a frown. I didn"t want to wait another...what, week to get my armor repaired? I would have to either go without or buy some premade armor and bring it to someone to make it fit me. "After a shower, of course."
  
  Then I pressed the monster stones into Lili"s hands, making her eyes go wide at the size of them. Up until this point, the biggest stone we"ve seen was about as long as one of her fingers and as wide as a pencil. These were proper stones, I couldn"t even guess how much these were worth.
  
  "After that, I think we"re done for the day. Would you exchange those for me?" I said, seeing the hesitation on Lili"s face. "I trust you," I told her, causing her to look down in shame. I hadn"t meant it like that, but I think she needed to know that. And now, finally, she would start trusting me.
  
  After a quick shower, I checked myself out in the mirror to see how my nose was. To my relief, it was perfectly straight. My Gamer Body skill seemed to be a little weird on how exactly its heal mechanics worked, but it saved my life so it could be as weird as it liked. Not wanting to put on my bloody tank top, I walked back into the Guildhall shirtless.
  
  Lili was waiting for me, holding onto a small bag of gold to her chest, her gaze darting around, expecting someone to materialize out of the shadows to steal it. Lili lit up when she saw me, rushing over before she handed the small sack of gold to me. It was fairly light, enough so that I checked inside of it to see what was going on because I doubt that if Lili was going to steal from me, she would be this obvious about it.
  
  Inside were golden coins different from the normal ones. If I had to guess, these were the thousand dollar bills of the Danmachi world. Doing some quick math...oh. Oh...no wonder why Lili was so wary about someone stealing this from her. Those two monster stones were worth than two days worth of dungeon diving.
  
  "...level 2 adventurers make some crazy money, don"t they?" I muttered with a frown, getting an agreeing noise from Lili. But, I guess that made sense. Armor that level 2 Blacksmiths made hiked up in price, so despite making more money, they were forced to spend more money.
  
  "Will Mr. Jericho be coming to the Dungeon tomorrow?" Lili asked, making me think about it for a second. Eventually, I nodded. I couldn"t let a lack of armor stop me from making progress. I was making so much of it now, just a few more weeks and I could be a level 2.
  
  "I will. I can take the big guys easily enough, but I"ll be relying on you to deal with the little guys," I said, tucking the small fortune into my pocket. And by pocket, I meant my Inventory.
  
  "You can count on Lili!" Lili proclaimed with a firm nod. After that, we said our goodbyes for today. I watched her walk off in the direction of her home, another sigh escaping me. I still had some daylight left, so I might as well run some errands while I could. Hestia would get off work in a bit, and I wanted everything taken care of before then.
  
  ...
  
  With my newfound wealth, I ended up ordering a chest piece from Welf, and asked him to repair my sword"s edge since the dents in it were beyond my ability to repair. After that, I went to Miach and ordered not one metric fuck ton of potions, but three epic fuck tons of potions. When I described what the potion that Riveria used on me did, he told me it was a high potion, so I ordered some of those as well. It would just take some time to make.
  
  "Status," I said aloud, relaxing on my bed, a book in hand that I was staring at rather than reading.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 1
  Progress to level 2: 219,398/1,000,000
  Strength: 60 (+2)
  Endurance: 73 (+3)
  Dexterity: 74 (+1)
  Intelligence: 24 (+4)
  Sense: 48 (+2)
  
  Development Abilities:
  Physical Resistance: The user receives 7% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Abnormal Resistance: Poisons, Toxins, and Drugs are 7% less effective. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Swordsman: Increased parameters when wielding swords. Effectiveness is determined by Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and Sense.
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.
  Kissing: An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target. Effectiveness is determined by the Dexterity and Sense stat.
  Sex: Greatly enhances parameters when engaging in sexual intercourse. Effectiveness is determined by Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, and Sense stats.​
  
  My damage resistance probably saved me more than anything during that fight. It was at twelve percent resistance thanks to Durable, then Life-Giver, which had doubled my hp a while ago, gave me enough hp to survive those attacks. The fight was too intense for me to keep up with hp, but I couldn"t shake the feeling that I had just about died down there.
  
  Though, it was very nice to know that each minotaur gave me about ten thousand exp. Which also told me that when I hit level 2, the exp requirement to hit level 3 was going to be balls off the walls insane.
  
  "I killed two level 2 monsters," I muttered, thinking aloud as I set my book to the side. It was messy. Extremely messy, and a lot of it relied on the monsters being too stupid to work together and flailing wildly at me, but that didn"t change the fact that I had killed them. If I was able to kill the strongest level 2 monster, then it stood to reason that I stood a chance against a level 2 adventurer.
  
  In the anime, Zanis went down like a little bitch. Welf smacked him with his sword once, and that was it. Didn"t even cut him. And Welf was a newly minted level 2, so Zanis might not be as strong as I think he is. The fight might be a little more even than it should be.
  
  But...why take that risk? Zanis likely didn"t know who I was just yet. By the time he did, I wanted it to be too late.
  
  "I should keep going as I have," I decided, mulling it over for a few minutes. Keep striving for level 2, grinding my stats and racking up exp. And...actually...I had an opportunity, didn"t I? Later tonight, the Loki familia was going to party at the Hostess. If I went there, since what happened was their fault even if they didn"t mean for it to happen, maybe I could get an apology gift or something?
  
  Or, even better...if I asked for training from one of them, as Bell did with Ais, then they couldn"t turn me down! During the day, I could grind stats like crazy, maybe get some Skills too, and that would allow me to go even deeper into the Dungeon. Maybe I could talk them into taking me deeper into it before I hit level 2, kinda like they were power leveling me!
  
  Huh. Nearly getting killed by the minotaurs was probably one of the best things that could have happen-
  
  "I"m home!" Hestia announced, coming down the steps with a pep in her step.
  
  "Welcome back," I greeted, pushing my machiavellian manipulations to the side and focusing on my goddess. "How was work?"
  
  "It was wonderful! I sold a lot of armor today!" Hestia said cheerfully, practically skipping over to me. "I heard about an incident in the Dungeon, though -- apparently the Loki familia scared a whole bunch of minotaurs onto the upper floors! You didn"t see..." she trailed off, unable to finish when she saw my expression.
  
  I quickly told her everything that had happened, making Hestia go very, very, very quiet. When I was finally done, she exploded like an erupting volcano.
  
  "Loki! How-how dare her familia be so reckless!?! You could have been killed! I, I don"t know what...!" Hestia shouted, but much like a volcano, her initial outburst was the loudest. Reaching out, I pulled her in before the waterworks could come.
  
  "I"m fine. What could have happened, didn"t," I reassured, embracing her. "So don"t worry too much. I"m fine. I promised I wouldn"t leave you alone, didn"t I?" I said, getting a small giggle out of her. Pulling away from her, I pinched her chin to see that she didn"t look like she was about to cry anymore.
  
  Before I could, Hestia leaned in to kiss me. It was a raw kiss filled with need, her hands found themselves in my hair, gripping me so tightly it was like she was planning to never let me go. I kissed her back, my tongue snaking into her mouth as my hands dipped down to her shapely ass.
  
  She kissed me that much harder when my hands went beneath her short skirt of her uniform, her tongue battling against mine. Her kissing skills saw prodigious improvement over the past week, I noted as I nibbled her bottom lip. Her enthusiasm made up for her lack of skill before, and now it was damn near overwhelming.
  
  One of her hands left my hair, tracing down my chest, gliding over my abs until it rested on my groin. I smirked into the kiss as Hestia wasted no time unzipping my pants and fishing out my half-mast cock. She grabbed the hardening flesh, placing both of her hands onto it as she kissed me forcefully.
  
  What I didn"t expect was for her to climb up on top of me as soon as I was at full mast. She placed a hand on my chest to push me back so I was laying down, and I let her, though I gave her a questioning look. "No foreplay?" I ask, cocking an eyebrow as Hestia reached underneath her skirt to push her panties to the side.
  
  "I just..." Hestia trailed off, unable to put her thoughts into words. "I want you," she decided, teasing my cockhead with her slick slit before she pressed down. I watched her face as she enveloped my length in a tight embrace, a soft moan escaping her as she wore an expression of pure relief.
  
  Instead of slamming her hips up and down, she went back and forth. It was a lot easier for her that way, and it felt amazing for me. With my hands on her hips, my fingers massaging the soft flesh of her ass, I helped guide her hips. Hestia panted on top of me, bracing herself with her hands on my unyielding abs.
  
  Her mouth hung open, her gaze staring into mine as her body was racked with pleasure. Reaching up, I caressed her cheek and presented a thumb. She latched onto it, her tongue coiling around it as she treated it exactly as she would if it were my cock. A heavy blush framed her face, her bangs getting plastered to her forehead as she worked up a sweat riding me.
  
  After a week, I got pretty good at telling when Hestia was nearing her orgasm. Her walls clenched around my length, her moans became pants for air as she fucked herself breathless on top of me while her hip movements became more frantic. Dressed in her uniform, I couldn"t see where we were connected, but I felt her juices dripping down my cock.
  
  Then she came. Cum poured down my cock, soaking her panties that were tucked to the side, and my pants but I hardly cared. Hestia would have collapsed right on top of me if it wasn"t for my arms keeping her up. She quivered above me, her eyes glazing over even as she continued to stare at me.
  
  Slowly, she regained control over herself. And, to my continued surprise, Hestia picked up her pace right where she left off.
  
  Wordlessly, I took my thumb out of her mouth and began unbuttoning her blouse. Fucking her in uniform was great, but I would rather see her boobs. Hestia never stopped moving as I removed her top half, revealing her perfectly sculpted breasts. Having to hunch over, I lifted my top half off the bed so I could clamp my lips over one of her delicious looking nipples.
  
  "Ahhh~" Hestia breathed as I sucked on her nipple, playing with her other, while my other hand still playing with her ass. Though, maybe I could put it to better use. Reaching over, I moved her panties to the side to grant me access to her clit. Rubbing it with my thumb, Hestia threw her head back and moaned.
  
  Pulling back, her breast leaving my mouth with an audible pop. I opened my mouth to say something, but Hestia slammed her lips into mine, driven by hunger only sex could sate.
  
  As I kissed her, tasting the sweets she likely snacked on while working, I felt her walls start to clench down on me again. Between teasing her nipples and clit, her natural sensitivity and her heightened sensitivity from her recent orgasm, it only took a few short minutes before I felt her cum again. Hestia leaned into me, her hands holding me as tightly as she could as pleasure swept her away.
  
  Then, as soon as the tides of ecstasy receded, Hestia started moving her hips again.
  
  Well...if she was game, then so was I.
  
  I took off her skirt and ripped off her panties, leaving her wearing nothing but her stockings. All the while Hestia desperately thrust back and forth, filling our small home with the sounds and smell of sex. A sheen of sweat covered her, a drop of sweat forming on her chest, trailing all the way down to her pink nipple before it was flung off from the force of her movements. They swayed every time she thrust, right up until I lavished attention on them with my hands and tongue.
  
  Hestia came again, faster this time. Her eyes butterflied, the tides of pleasure claiming her for the third time. My lap was absolutely soaked with her fluids already, and more gushed out of her. She went limp against my chest, trembling in my arms as her walls milked me for my cum. Only none came.
  
  "Jericho...!" Hestia moaned, trying to move her hips again, but I kept them still with my hands. Her eyes opened, half-lidded, and her sapphire blue eyes were overflowing with sheer want...and something else I couldn"t quite put my finger on. Before I could ask, she tried the thrust again, and spoke with a husky voice, "Jericho, I want you. Please, fuck me."
  
  Well then.
  
  All of a sudden, whatever it was I was about to say seemed very unimportant as I flipped Hestia over. Because of the size difference, unless I wanted to smother her, I couldn"t lean over. Tucking my knees underneath me, with Hestia still fully wrapped around my cock, I laid her down, adjusting my positioning. Hestia squeezed down on me, her hands going down to my wrists as I gripped her waist.
  
  I pulled back slowly, watching her pussy do its absolute best to keep me sheathed inside her, my cock covered with her juices. Hestia breathed, her breasts rising and falling as she braced herself for what was to come. Then I slammed my hips forward hard enough that her breasts bounced, "Hu!" Hestia moaned as I pulled back out, then hammered my hips against hers.
  
  "You look like you"re enjoying yourself," I noted with some humor as my hips found a tempo. Normally, I had music going on to help me find a rhythm, otherwise, I thought too much about my hip movements and threw it off completely. Hestia couldn"t answer as I thrust, her mouth wide open as she threw her head back.
  
  The sounds of her pleasure were music to my ears as I fucked my goddess into a puddle of goo. I looked down at her, watching her squirm under my ministrations, her sensitivity must be making this torturous for her. To be honest, with just how much dick was inside her, I always expected to see some kind of bulge to mark where my dick resided.
  
  As I entertained myself by fucking Hestia until her breasts swayed in small circles, I felt the signs of yet another impending orgasm. Her...fourth in about half an hour. Hestia"s hips bucked, her walls clamping down on me again, massaging my cock to milk me of my orgasm, but my cock endured unflinchingly.
  
  "K-keep going!" Hestia moaned even as she squirmed, her chest heaving with every breath, her body was coated in a sheen of sweat.
  
  The thing about Hestia"s extreme natural sensitivity -- it made it so very easy for her to get worked up and cum, but she didn"t have the stamina to keep that up. Four orgasms in, and she looked like she was getting fucked for hours.
  
  "Are you sure?" I questioned, getting a frantic nod from Hestia. I didn"t need any other prompting as I started to hammer away at her. Because of the size differences, my options for positions was limited. However, I had a few in mind. Twisting Hestia so her back was facing me, the goddess limply letting me do what I wanted even as she moaned in approval, I held her hips up and started pounding into her doggy style.
  
  I lost myself in the sensation of her pussy wrapped around my cock. Despite only a week of sex, I was rapidly learning her most sensitive spots. I tormented them, feeling Hestia cum on my cock a fifth time. Then a sixth. And a seventh. Another half an hour passed, Hestia was face down into the bed, her mouth wide open as she drooled, her eyes open but seeing nothing as I mercilessly fucked her.
  
  Sensing that her eighth orgasm was nearby, I massaged my thumb against her puckered asshole before entering. Hestia groaned, proving that she was still somewhat aware as a weak spatter of cum raced down my cock and dripped off my balls.
  
  Looking down at her, I let out a small sigh. Yeah, she was done- "Noooo," Hestia moaned when I began to pull out of her, her hips moving to keep me lodged as deeply as she could take me. "You haven"t...I haven"t...!"
  
  Ah. My stats and skills had a bit of a drawback, as we learned over the past week. The higher my endurance was didn"t just mean that I had more and bigger nuts to bust, but it took me longer to bust them. With Hestia"s stamina, she was having trouble making me cum once, much less the three times.
  
  "Hestia, it"s-" I started to reassure her, but she was shaking her head.
  
  "It"s not fine!" Hestia argued, twisting around so she could look at me. The pleasure she displayed before was gone, replaced with an upset expression. "You"ve been taking care of yourself because I can"t do it for you. I can"t satisfy you." She pointed out, trying to thrust while she spoke but her hips didn"t have any strength in them left.
  
  "I-" I started, not knowing what I could say about that. In a way, she was telling the truth. After we were done the past couple of nights, I took care of my erection since Hestia was usually too out of it. Fucking an unconscious girl, even if it was because I fucked her unconscious, left a bad taste in my mouth.
  
  "Jericho...did Syr come into our room the first night we made love?" Hestia asked directly, getting a wince out me. That probably told her all she needed to know because she nodded slowly. "I thought so. I thought it was just a weird dream, but..."
  
  "Hestia, you don"t have to worry about me cheating on you," I told her with a small frown. I"ve been cheated on in the past and I wasn"t going to do that to someone else. Especially a goddess who knew when I was lying and loved me unconditionally.
  
  Hestia was quiet for a moment, but it was the fact that she didn"t look angry that kept me from pressing the issue. She took in a deep breath, coming to some conclusion based on how she nodded to herself. "You...could?" She said in a small voice, looking up at me with a piercing gaze. "I can"t satisfy you, so..."
  
  "Hestia-" I started, only to cut myself off. I wasn"t expecting this. I figured, eventually, I"d muster up the courage to ask her about other girls, but the very last thing I expected was for her to bring it up first. I took a second, gathering my thoughts before I continued. "Hestia, would you really be comfortable with that?"
  
  It took Hestia a moment to respond but she gave me another slow, deliberate nod. "I think so...I mean, I...yes. I think I am. But, could you...let me meet them first? If I can"t satisfy you on my own, then..." She started and stopped, embarrassed and unsure. I simply nodded, knowing what she was getting at.
  
  "Before I do anything with anyone, I"ll run it by you first, okay?" I told her, leaning over to give her a long kiss. Hestia nodded before my lips pressed against hers. I savored the feeling of her body against hers and, despite myself, I felt as giddy as a schoolgirl. My life was so fucking awesome.
  
  Breaking the kiss, I pulled back to smile down at her, "would you like to go to the hostess tonight?"
  
  Hestia blushed, a small smile tugging at the edge of her lips.
  
  "I would."
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Ideas-Guy
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  Orario had a bustling nightlife, it seemed as Hestia and I walked through the streets. The magic stone lamps were on, a crescent moon hanging overhead, countless stars twinkling in the sky. As a city boy, born and raised, that was taking some getting used to. I never knew just how many stars were hidden by the light given off from the city that never sleeps.
  
  There were almost as many stars as there were people milling about through the busy streets as we stepped onto the entertainment district. The streets were lined with bars, restaurants and more. Every single one of them looked like they were packed to the absolute brim with groups of people in varying stages of drunkness wandered about.
  
  "Are you feeling okay?" I asked, looking down at Hestia as she watched a group of adventurers drunkenly play a game of cards in the middle of the street. No one tried to stop them simply because of their fine armor, marking them as third-rate adventurers at least, which meant that they were at least a level stronger than me. And, given that I"m pretty sure this chaos was because of the Loki familia"s return, I"m guessing that no one would have said anything if they were dressed in rags. No one wanted to cross one of the most powerful familias in the city, after all.
  
  "I"m fine," Hestia said, holding my hand. "Just a little sore," she admitted after a moment. I guess that was to be expected -- Hestia was quick to please and quick to exhaust, and it was for that reason we haven"t had much time to experiment. I guess she wasn"t quite ready for doggy style, or any position that wasn"t missionary.
  
  "Would you like a health potion?" I asked as we made our way through the busy streets. I"m not sure what was in those potions, but it seemed like there was next to nothing they couldn"t fix. Soreness was included in that list, thankfully.
  
  "I"m fine, don"t worry about me," Hestia dismissed with a shake of her head. "It just feels funny when I walk, and my legs are still a little weak." I wiped a smirk off of my face, feeling manly pride swell at that. Instead, I nodded and glanced away, my gaze landing on the Hostess of Fertility. I don"t think it was as packed as it looked in the anime.
  
  And I really underestimated just how big the Loki familia was. Adventurers hung around the entrance, one of them sleeping as another three drew dicks on his face while they cracked up about it. I couldn"t be sure if they all belonged to the Loki familia, but there had to be at least a hundred adventurers scattered about on the main road. Every single one of them was treating the celebrations as a frat party -- and, if that was the case, I"m willing to bet all the money in the world that there were more Loki familia members in the red light district.
  
  "Do you think we"ll have to wait?" Hestia asked, eyeing the crowd warily. "Or...come back another time, when it"s not so busy?" She asked, a flush creeping up her neck as she squeezed my hand. We weren"t here for food, but for Syr and I had a tough time imagining that Mama Mia, the owner, would let Syr take a break. If I was here for only Syr, I probably would have agreed with Hestia.
  
  Before I died, I was a college student. I practically survived off the free food and booze that parties offered before I got claimed by Truck-kun. This party looked liked it was about to become a real swinger -- everyone was getting drunk beyond reason, no one was trying to organize the chaos, and considering a lot of these people were actually superhuman...well...I feel very, very, very sorry for whoever had to clean up the mess.
  
  "Let"s just stop by. Even if she can"t take a break, then she might appreciate some friendly faces. Or, maybe I could help out in the kitchen. Before I found myself here, I was a line cook and a barista," I told her as we approached. Hestia blinked in surprise at me, getting a smile out of me. "I started out as a dishwasher there before I worked my way up."
  
  "I didn"t know that..." Hestia trailed off, frowning lightly. "Do you...miss it?" She asked, trying to pass off a very loaded question as a casual one. I gave her hand a squeeze as I shrugged carelessly.
  
  "Not really," I dismissed her concerns easily enough. "Most of my family is dead, and the friends that I had were fairweather." People that I partied with, but few I would ever confide in. Well, excluding drunken rants. "So, no. I don"t really miss it. At all, really." It was hard to when I so clearly traded up.
  
  Hestia looked relieved at my words, relaxing as we pushed through a small crowd of adventurers chugging what looked to be an entire keg of beer. They gave way to me, careless of my presence as I pushed open the door to reveal that the inside was just as packed as the streets. Every table was taken, the bar filled, everyone shouting on top of one another until the tavern became a mess of noise.
  
  The waitresses ran between the tables and patrons, their green uniforms marking them out as they carried arms full of plates loaded with food and what appeared to be several kegs worth of beer in frothy mugs. However, none looked stressed or frustrated by how packed the place was -- I guess that was to be expected when this place was staffed by first and second-rate adventurers.
  
  "Ah! It"s you!" A brown-haired cat girl exclaimed, pointing dramatically at me. Something about it struck me as familiar before I recalled it was the same cat girl that greeted us last time. "You gotta lot of nerve showing your face around here! Do you have any clue who had to wash the sheets when the two of you were done?!" She shouted, her voice thankfully lost in a sea of noise.
  
  Hestia went bright red while I gave a sheepish smile. "You?" I hazard a guess, only for the cat girl to scoff.
  
  "No! Ryuu had to do it and since she"s so nice, I"m being offended on her behalf!" She clarified, earning a cocked eyebrow from me when, as if summoned by her name being uttered, the elf materialized behind her.
  
  "I would have preferred it if you had helped me instead of watching and giggling," Ryuu deadpanned, making the cat girl go stiff. She turned on Ryuu, a nervous expression on her face as Ryuu simply stared her down.
  
  "O-oh! It sounds like Mama Mia needs me!" She lied through her teeth as she ran towards the kitchen. Ryuu seemed to let out a sigh as we watched her go before she turned towards us. Her expression was blank, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking, but I did notice how her gaze drifted from me to Hestia for a brief moment.
  
  "We currently have a rather long seating wait. Unless you wish to see Syr, then I would recommend finding somewhere else to dine tonight. You aren"t likely to eat until well past midnight," Ryuu spoke, her tone even but it somehow managed to carry through the near-deafening shouting around us.
  
  Well...now I kinda felt bad. I could recall what those sheets looked like after Hestia awoke from her stupor. We really did leave a mess to be cleaned up.
  
  "We were hoping to speak to Syr, but, if you"d like, I can try to make up for leaving a mess? I have cooking experience and I can wash dishes?" I tried, getting a slow blink from Ryuu before she shook her head.
  
  "You shouldn"t concern yourself with what Anya said. There is nothing to make up to me -- cleaning the sheets fell under my duties list, nothing more," Ryuu denied with a small shake of her head. I couldn"t tell if that was what she really felt, or-
  
  "We can help!" Hestia answered for me before I could accept what Ryuu said at face value. "Jericho can help in the kitchen, and I have a lot of customer service experience!" she exclaimed, her expression unusually serious. Ryuu blinked at the sudden offer of help, especially when Hestia was being so forceful about it.
  
  Ryuu hesitated, and it was Mama Mia who decided despite the fact that she was standing on the other side of the building, several tables full of screaming patrons between us while she was serving drinks. "If they want to help, then let him. Get Lady Hestia a uniform," Mama Mia ordered Ryuu -- I had extremely underestimated just how sharp a level 6 adventurers hearing could be.
  
  Hestia lit up, happily following Ryuu as she nodded and lead Hestia upstairs. Mama Mia gestured to me to come to her, which I did with a little difficulty. "You"re in the kitchen with Syr, big guy. If you try anything while you"re on the clock, then I"ll toss you out on your ass in a heartbeat, understand?"
  
  "I understand," I agreed with a nod, not wanting to test the smaller woman. I had a foot and a half on her, and even my success with the minotaurs didn"t inflate my ego enough to think I took a chance against Mama Mia. The woman looked like...a mom, which I guess explained her nickname. Brown hair pulled back in a simple ponytail, a round face, brown eyes...yeah, she looked like a mom.
  
  "Then get in there," Mama Mia said, jerking her head towards the kitchen. "And don"t hit your head on nothing." She ordered as I ducked to enter the kitchen to reveal Syr, who frantically washed dishes in an oddly modern-looking sink. She turned to face me, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.
  
  "Save me!" She cried overdramatically, splashing soapy water on her already drenched uniform. Before I could ask from what, another waitress dropped off a stack of plates that were nearly as tall as my goddess onto an already considerable stack. Syr was beyond behind, there were so many dirty dishes that I"m shocked that any of the patrons outside were eating on one. "They won"t stop coming! Jericho, take me away from this horrid place!"
  
  "Can"t do that, I"m afraid," I said, rolling up my sleeves as I threw on my best prince charming smile. "But I am here to rescue you. I"ll wash and you dry?" I said, the tears in her eyes vanishing like smoke in the wind, replaced with a sunny look that was almost blinding.
  
  "My savior!" Syr cried, stepping to the side as I began the familiar work of washing dishes. It was funny, in a way -- so much of my life had changed, but I still found myself washing dishes in a restaurant.
  
  "Will I be getting a kiss from the damsel in distress?" I flirted as I cleaned a plate and handed it to her. Syr giggled, taking it from me.
  
  "Nope!" She answered cheerfully, and that caught me off guard to the point that I nearly dropped the plate. She giggled again at my surprise that must have been visible on my face as she dried the plate. "Strike while the iron is hot," she quoted, giving me a coy look.
  
  "Ah," I realized why she was rejecting me. "It"s not like I could have, though. Sleeping with another woman after I just took my goddess"s virginity? That"s just bad manners," I told her, continuing to wash the dishes. The more I did it, the faster the task came back to me. I wonder if I was going to get a skill out of this?
  
  "Hm, I wasn"t blaming you," Syr returned, smiling sweetly at me as we found a rhythm. "Just pointing out that it"s rather forward of you to come back to me after you left me wanting."
  
  I quirked an eyebrow at that, "not as forward as peeking then coming into our room completely naked." I pointed out and that remark got me an adorable pout and a faint blush. She glared at me playfully as she accepted another dish to dry.
  
  "I couldn"t help myself," Syr defended her actions without a hint of shame. "It was so obvious what you were here for, and I just wanted to help..." She trailed off, her smile growing a fraction as she gave me a coy glance. "And the act of making love is so beautiful, how could I not want to witness such a thing?"
  
  To me, it sounded like she was trying to be poetic about being a voyeur, but I wasn"t going to say that to her face.
  
  "But I didn"t expect to see what I did," Syr continued with a blush. "I"m guessing you"re here because your goddess realized that she can"t handle you all by herself?" I paused as I washed another dish, glancing at her before I let out a small sigh.
  
  "Something like that," I confirmed with a nod. "It"s not that she bad in bed, or anything like that. I just..." I trailed off, not sure how to say it without coming off like I was humble-bragging. "Last for too long. And she was a virgin up until last week, so-"
  
  "So, you have the exact opposite problem most men have," Syr teased, this time as I handed her a dish, her touch lingered on my hand. Right when I started to wonder if it was on accident or not, she tossed a wink my way. Right. I think in terms of seduction skills, She had me beat. Handily.
  
  "Something like that," I agreed with a nod.
  
  "Hmmm," Syr hummed as the conversation lapsed. We washed in silence for a long minute and, for the life of me, I couldn't tell if it was an awkward silence or not. Well, it was for me, obviously, but I couldn't tell if it was mutually awkward or not.
  
  "I suppose..." Syr began right when I was about to speak -- there was no way that wasn't intentional. "I could be...convinced to help you with your rather...large issue." Syr spoke slowly and deliberately, "but only if you do something for me as well."
  
  Sensing that she didn't mean doing more dishes, I asked, "what would you like me to do?"
  
  Syr blushed cutely and, at this point, I'm nearly positive she was somehow doing it on purpose. She smiled as she turned her attention to drying dishes. "The act of making love is such a beautiful thing -- two hearts becoming one through a connected body, passion and pleasure intermingling until one cannot be separated from the other. Even simple sex has its own beauty -- the passion, heat, and lust...it is desire made manifest."
  
  Ah. I knew exactly where this was going.
  
  "You want to watch," I predicted, a teasing note in my tone. Syr turned to me, her deepening blush striking me as much more genuine as she hip bumped my leg.
  
  "Muuu!" She pouted at me, "I was setting up a mood, you know."
  
  "Right. Sorry. Please continue," I said, swallowing a laugh.
  
  "There's no point now! The mood is already gone," she muttered, hip checking me again. Then she relented with a dramatic sigh, her shoulders slumping as if the will to live had suddenly vanished from her. "But, yes, I would like to watch. Whoever you might bring up in that room."
  
  Again, I paused as I washed the dishes. Just...how much did she know? First, she gets Hestia to blow off the actual date portion of our first date to skip to the fun ending with a few words, then she guesses why we were here and now she apparently knows that Hestia gave me a Green card to sleep around? That was...a little unnerving, to be honest. I guess she really was raised by Freya.
  
  "Well then, I guess I could help you with that as well," I said, tossing her a smile as the rapidly diminishing pile of dishes began to dwindle. Syr returned the smile, opening her mouth to say something, only for a loud shot to cut her off.
  
  "EHHHHH?! What are you doing here you big titted chibi?!" A voice demanded and it was only then that I noticed that I could hear the shout so clearly because the crowd outside had nearly gone silent. I didn"t recognize the voice, but the manner of speech, there was no doubt in my mind that it was Loki, the god of mischief.
  
  "EHHHHHH?!" Hestia shot back, sounding just as annoyed by Loki"s presence as Loki was with hers, "what are you doing here you flat-chested beanpole?!" Despite myself, I let out a snort of laughter as I made to peek out of the kitchen, only for Syr to give me a small push, nearly making me bump my head as I stepped through. She gave a mischievous giggle but closed the door behind me.
  
  Wondering what that was about, I turned my attention to the two goddesses having a staring contest. Loki looked nearly exactly as her anime counterpart. A redhead pulled into a simple ponytail, while her black and blue clothing was...weird, to say the least. She wore the sleeves and shoulders of a hoodie, but the hoodie ended there. A blue tube top clung to her...admittedly meager chest, leaving her flat stomach bare all the way down to a pair of black shorts that clung to her waist, covering about as much as a pair of panties would. There was a small gap before the black and blue stockings, which covered the rest of her legs.
  
  Her hands were on her hips, leaning over to glare at Hestia, who stood on her tippy toes to glare up at Loki. She wore a green uniform with a white apron -- she looked good in it, just not as good as she did in her red uniform.
  
  "I"m here to celebrate my familia"s triumphant return from the Dungeon," Loki snapped at my goddess, her tone full of mockery. She planted her hands on her hips, a wide grin that seemed to consume her face. "They nearly broke the record that the Zeus familia set!" She said, throwing back her head and letting out a boastful laugh.
  
  "Oh? Almost? All I heard was a bunch of your familia members chased a bunch of minotaurs to the upper floors!" Hestia shot back, earning a wince from Loki. Yeah, I"m unsure about the anime, but I"m guessing that there were some repercussions for that in this timeline. "You almost got my child killed!"
  
  "Ehhh?" Loki sneered so hard I"m absolutely certain that she pulled a muscle in her face as she poked Hestia in the forehead, "that"s right! You finally stopped mooching off of Heph-y and got yourself a familia."
  
  "I stopped mooching off Hephaestus awhile-" Hestia started to argue, only to pause midway when she realized that defense wasn"t going to do her any favors. She stamped her foot out of frustration when Loki looked so smug that it was honestly kind of impressive. "Don"t change the subject! Your reckless familia caused a lot of trouble!"
  
  Behind Loki, I saw the heavy hitters of the familia. Finn simply smiled, nodding in agreement while Ais flinched like the words had been directed at her personally.
  
  "And we had to pay a bunch of money for that so it"s all good! We"re here to party now, and you"re ruining my buzz!" Loki snapped right back at Hestia, leaning in so close that their foreheads were touching. "So you should buzz off!"
  
  "I was here first," Hestia argued, gesturing to the uniform. "You should leave!"
  
  "Huuuuuuuuh?" Loki said, tilting her head- leaning back so she could look down at Hestia. "Did you have to get another part-time job to make ends meet? Maybe you should leave the city since you clearly can"t hack it!"
  
  Hestia leaned back as well, trying to look down at Loki despite being nearly a foot shorter than her. "I can too hack it! My child has been making tons of money in the Dungeon," Hestia boasted, making me go very still. My gaze swept over the crowd, most of them looking amused by the shouting contest, a few of them taking bets, but-
  
  No. No. No, no, no, no, no. No. God. Fucking. Damnit. No.
  
  My gaze landed on Canoe. Of all people that could be here, in the absolutely packed tavern, it had to be him, didn"t it? He sat in the corner, nursing a mug of beer as he watched the argument with an amused expression. Then, as if he could feel my gaze, his gaze drifted over to me. My heart stopped in my chest as he smiled at me, raising his glass in a mocking fashion.
  
  I swallowed down whatever panic I felt with no small amount of difficulty. I know I said that I would kill him the next time I see him, but doing so in front of so many witnesses kinda seemed like a bad idea. Instead, I forced myself to nod in his direction, pretending that I wasn't planning to murder him just like he was pretending that he wasn't planning to rob me blind.
  
  Tearing my gaze from him, I stiffly started to walk towards the scene, bringing Loki's attention to me. "Whoa, you're huge!" She observed, making Hestia look back at me.
  
  "Ah! It's Blanket Guy!" Tiona exclaimed, brushing past Loki so fast she nearly knocked the goddess over. Tiona grabbed onto my arm, smiling brightly up at me and I nearly bust out laughing -- not because of Tiona, but because of the utterly stunned look, Hestia pinned onto her. If I had to summarize her expression it would be 'whos this bitch?' "You're okay!"
  
  "Yeah, I'm all good," I returned, resisting the urge to glance over at Canoe. Originally, I came over here to keep Hestia from blurting out where we kept our savings, but this was perfect. Maybe, now that he's seeing me be all friendly with the Loki familia, even if our goddesses...didn't get along, Canoe would decide that the Hestia familia was more trouble than we were worth. "I just heard some shouting and-"
  
  "Oi!" Loki interrupted, her eyes narrowed slits, giving her the appearance of a cat that just caught the canary. "You're Hestia's child?"
  
  I thought that was a little obvious so I simply nodded, "I am?" I confirmed, not liking at all how her smile grew to dangerous proportions. Apparently, I'm not the only one who noticed.
  
  "Loki! Don't bully him, we caused a lot of trouble for Blanket Guy already," Tiona exclaimed while Riveria nodded her head in the background.
  
  Loki held her hands up in surrender, but her smile just got sharper. "I ain't going to cause trouble for him," she lied through her teeth. I didn't need a built-in lie detector to know that. "I'm just really curious how a level 1 adventurer that's only been one for about two weeks managed to kill a minotaur with his bare hands on the tenth floor all alone."
  
  Well then. So much for keeping that a secret.
  
  "Loki," Ais spoke up from behind the red-headed goddess, her soft voice carrying over the whispers that erupted over that tidbit of information. "Bad."
  
  Loki flinched like she had been struck by a bolt of lightning, utterly caught off guard. "I-" Loki started to argue, pointing at me accusingly, but before she could continue, Riveria nodded again.
  
  "Bad," she echoed, her solemn tone unable to hide a note of amusement.
  
  "Yeah! Bad Loki! Blanket Guy wanted to keep that a secret!" Tiona shouted, clutching my arm protectively. I still had absolutely no idea what I did to deserve this kind of attachment, but it was completely worth it to see Loki's betrayed expression.
  
  "Oi! Don"t make me the bad guy in this!" She protested, sputtering at the reaction she was getting. "I was just pointin" out that he could be lyin" about his level or-" Loki cut herself off when Tiona humphed, turning her head sharply to the side as if she couldn"t bear to look at her goddess anymore. Loki"s jaw dropped while the rest behind her started laughing, teasing her rather than mocking.
  
  "We apologize for our goddess," Riveria stated, nodding at me while ignoring Loki sputtering at her while Bete, a silver-haired werewolf, laughed at her far more mockingly at the goddess"s heartbroken expression.
  
  "Don"t go apologizin"-" Loki started to argue but fell silent when Ais shook her head.
  
  "Loki," she said sternly, "bad." She repeated as if she were disciplining a dog rather than a goddess. Though, when Loki looked at me, I guess it worked.
  
  "Eh...sorry about blurting out that you"re a level 1 that can kill a level 2 monster with your bare hands in the middle of this crowded tavern," she said loudly, making me suspect that she wasn"t exactly repentant. But that was okay. Maybe...maybe this was okay. It made my plan of staying under the radar until it was too late for the Soma familia die a dog's death, but maybe this would convince them to back off just as much as me being friendly with the Loki familia?
  
  Though it did bring up its own sort of problems, but so long as it didn"t end with anyone dying then I could handle them easily enough. Meddlesome gods, I could handle. Probably.
  
  "You better be-" Hestia started to yell, only to fall silent when I clasped a hand over her mouth to stop her from escalating the situation.
  
  "It"s fine," I told her, not knowing if I was telling the truth in that regard. "But, what happened probably isn't as impressive as you"re thinking. I got lucky. And I didn"t kill it with my bare hands, I had to use a horn that I ripped off to finish them off," I said, telling the truth. From a certain perspective.
  
  That seemed to mollify, Loki somewhat, but there was still that shameless smile on her face. I"m guessing this was anything but over. Especially considering that the night was still young.
  
  As if she could read my thoughts, Tiona looked up at me, her eyes practically sparkling, "hey, Blanket Guy, sit with us!" She requested, pressing her chest against my arm, her tone eager. I really, really, really needed to figure out exactly why she took such a shine to me because she was acting a lot as her sister did in the anime. Towards Finn. Who was her love interest. As far as I was aware, we had like two conversations.
  
  "Actually, I"m not sure if we can, we agreed to help the-" I started, only for Tiona interrupt.
  
  "Then I"ll help too-"
  
  "No," Mama Mia spoke up from behind the bar, pinning a judging glare onto all of us. Every pair of eyes went onto her as she idly cleaned a mug, "just enjoy yourselves. You two as well," she informed, jerking her chin at us. Tiona just beamed as she dragged me, and Hestia by extension, who if the muffled shouting was anything to go by, wasn"t exactly happy about spending any time near Loki.
  
  A table vacated when Tiona neared, and I don't think she even noticed. She practically shoved me into a chair that I barely fit in that groaned loudly underneath my weight, Hestia sitting to my right with a humph, while Tiona- Tione threw herself into the chair before Tiona could. Looking over, wondering if I had somehow, accidentally, NTR'd Finn, only to see that Tiona was giving me a too-sweet smile.
  
  Ah. Big sister does not approve. Got it.
  
  "Tione!" Tiona whined, pouting before panicking when she realized the rest of her familia was taking a seat at the table. To my annoyance, Loki sat in front of me, Ais to her left while Tiona managed to snag a seat to her right. Ais simply looked between me and Loki, her gaze narrowing in suspicion as Bete sat next to her and the others took their seats.
  
  Loki made a show of leaning forward, her elbows on the table as her fingers served as a bridge to support her chin.
  
  "So, Jericho, was it?" Loki asked, her tone loaded with not so hidden contempt. Given the more exasperated expressions her familia wore, I'm guessing it wasn't true contempt. "What makes a guy like you join the chibi's familia? Did she get on her hands and knees to beg-"
  
  "I asked her to join," I interrupted, the easy smile on my face becoming a little strained. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hestia shoot Loki a smug look while Loki's smile only grew.
  
  "And why not ask to join another, more established familia? I can't imagine anyone refusing you if you showed up on their doorstep-"
  
  "Loki," Bete spoke up, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair. "You're being a pain in the ass right now," he informed, making Loki puff out her cheeks in a pout much like Hestia. Loki turned to the werewolf while I did the same, a surprised look on my face. I didn't expect that. From what I knew of Bete, he was an asshole with a chip on his shoulder the size of a mountain. Why- ah.
  
  Because I wasn't a rookie that ran away scared from Ais. I was a rookie that killed a minotaur with my bare hands.
  
  "Boo! Stop bullying me!" Loki cried out as She came out, delivering drinks. She smiled when our eyes met, giggling at what I'm pretty sure was my expense. Loki grabbed a mug and started to down it, prompting Hestia to grab her own mug to down it. Something that didn't go unnoticed by the red-headed goddess. She grabbed the mug from Ais, yanking it out of her hands while Hestia did the same to me.
  
  "Ah~ indirect kiss with Ais," Loki announced before she downed the second mug of beer, making Ais flush. Hestia"s mug paused on her way to her lips before she turned to me.
  
  I have a feeling tonight wasn"t going to end well, I figured as I read her mind and took the mug back to take a sip of it. I couldn"t stand the taste of beer -- when I did drink, I preferred bourbon or vodka, but as far as beer went, I guess it wasn"t completely god awful. Handing the mug back to her, Hestia downed the pint of beer like a champion before slamming it back down on the table. She wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve, sending a stunned Loki a smug look.
  
  "W-what was that?!" Loki cried out in unison with Tiona, though I"m guessing their motivations for saying it was very different.
  
  "Tee-he," Hestia giggled, a look of pure superiority on her face. I"ve never seen her act like this before, but she was looking at Loki like she was something Hestia had scraped off her shoes. In a friendly way, if that made any sense. Like two friends saying awful, horrible things to each other but it was in the name of good fun, so it was all good.
  
  "Tee-he?" Loki echoed, her eyes widening as her jaw dropped. "Tee-he?!" She shouted again, slamming a fist into the table hard enough that Finn"s beer sloshed out its mug. The rest of her familia simply watched in amusement, having long since gotten used to their goddess"s antics. Well, except for Ais. She was staring uncertainty at Loki and Hestia, likely trying to figure out if they liked each other or not.
  
  From what I recall from the anime, they didn"t like each other very much, but it was a "no one can mess with my younger sibling but me" kind of deal. A friendly rivalry.
  
  "No! It"s not possible!" Loki denied with a shake of her head, likely realizing what Hestia meant by that giggle. I heard Tiona gasp next to me as it clicked into place for her while Bete just cackled. Ais looked around her, sharing a lost look with Leafiya. "You"re one of the big three! I watched the things you did to Apollo when he tried to lay a finger on you!"
  
  "Ha-ha-ha," Hestia laughed in delight, making a great big show of attaching herself to my side, snuggling up close. Tiona"s jaw dropped while Loki numbly fell into her chair, looking on in abject horror and bewilderment. "That was with Apollo, Jericho is a million billion trillion times better than him! And, unlike some goddesses, I don"t have to sexually harass my familia for affection!" She announced triumphantly, though I could barely hear her over the sound of Bete laughing his ass off.
  
  He really was enjoying this far too much.
  
  It seemed to click with Ais what she was talking about, her golden eyes darting up to meet my gaze. She flushed, quickly looking back down. Which was fair. I could feel every pair of eyes in the tavern on me, and that was more than a little embarrassing. I really didn"t expect Hestia to announce that we were having sex to a crowd of people. Much less doing it so proudly.
  
  "Hey, maybe you"ve had enough-" I started when Syr brought another round of beer already that no one had ordered. I gave her a pleading look when Hestia shut me up with a hand over my mouth, much like I did to her earlier, only for her to giggle as she set the round on the table. Putting two mugs in front of Loki and Hestia. That little instigator...
  
  "I do not sexually harass..." Loki started to argue but quickly falling silent when every female member of her familia turned on her.
  
  "Loki"s a dirty old man," Tiona commented while Ais nodded in agreement. Loki looked to her left and right, tears gathering up in her eyes and for a moment, I thought we might have gone too far with the teasing. Right up until she grabbed both tankards of beer and started dumping them in her mouth, drowning her sorrows with what looked like well-practiced ease.
  
  Not to be outdone by the red-headed goddess, Hestia grabbed her tankards and started chugging. There was a pretty big height difference between them, but I doubt either goddess weighed more than a hundred pounds soaking wet. I watched, impressed, but not surprised when both of them sported flushed faces as the four pints of beer began to reach their livers. In perfect unison, they slammed their tankards onto the table and shouted out a demand for more.
  
  While they started an impromptu drinking contest, I took a sip of mine and tried to fight off a grimace, thinking that while it took a very...very, very different from than I thought it would, this was more or less what I wanted.
  
  "I"m sorry," Tiona spoke up, giving me a sheepish look, "I didn"t think Loki would cause your trouble like that when I pulled you over..." she trailed off while Ais nodded again, take a sip of her beer and openly grimace as she swallowed. Seemed that I wasn"t the only one that had a tough time with the taste.
  
  "Eh, don"t worry about it. No harm done," I dismissed the issue easily enough, hoping that I was telling the truth. However, Ais shook her head firmly.
  
  "You wanted to keep it a secret and Loki ruined that. She"s..." Ais trailed off, struggling to find the words but ended up falling silent instead. Still, I understood what she was trying to say.
  
  "A pain in the butt, but she"s your pain in the butt?" I hazard a guess, watching the two goddesses knock back another tankard like they were drinking water. Hestia was going to be sick tonight. That was going to be barrels of fun.
  
  Ais seemed to think that over while Tiona nodded. "We were hoping to make it up to you -- not Loki blurting out the secret, but for almost..." getting me killed. But, I wasn"t even mad about that anymore. Because that was perfect.
  
  "Well," I started, wanting to be sly about it, "if that"s the case then-" I started, only for Tiona to lean forward, shoving Loki to the side hard enough that she fell backward in her chair. Hestia laughed so hard at that she tipped backward as well, laughing the entire way down.
  
  "Yeah?" Tiona asked far too eagerly, but I was fine with that.
  
  "If none of you would mind helping train me? I"m the only member of my familia, so there"s no one else that I can ask. And I learned from a reliable source that I actually suck at fighting," I requested, trying to keep an eye on everyone"s reactions at once but there were just too many people sitting at the table for that.
  
  Tiona nodded so quickly I"m pretty sure she was going to give herself whiplash, Ais seemed to be thinking about it, while the others remained impassive. The big three, Finn, Riviera, and Gareth looked interested in the request itself, while Bete looked like he couldn"t care less. Lefiya, on the other hand, looked concerned.
  
  "Um, should we really train another familia-" She started, bringing up either a rule or something but Tiona overruled her.
  
  "I"ll train you," Tiona decided, beaming happiness and joy out of every pore, practically throwing herself over the table to get closer to me. She might have crawled over it entirely if it weren"t for Tione to pushing her back with a hand, a deeply disturbed expression on her face. "Tione!?"
  
  "Is this what I"m like?" Tione muttered to herself, ignoring her twin sister"s attempts to push away her hand.
  
  I leaned back in my chair, feeling it shift underneath my weight as I watched the interactions. I took another sip of my beer, mulling over what happened tonight. I entered into an agreement with Syr that appealed to her voyeur tendencies, might have scared off the Soma familia, and Tiona was going to train me with, or without her familia"s approval.
  
  Tonight was a good night.
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
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  "That"s right, get it all out..." I reassuringly whispered to Hestia, holding her hair back as she puked her guts up in an alleyway. Rubbing small soothing circles on her back, coaxing up another wave of vomit and unlike in anime, Hestia sure wasn"t puking up rainbows. Grimacing, I turned to the others in the Alley, Riveria doing the same as me to Loki, who puked in unison with Hestia.
  
  "I"m...I"m never drinking again," Hestia moaned right before she puked again. She was braced against the wall, coughing loudly as she emptied her stomach. I sighed, looking over at the others. A lot of the Loki familia didn"t stick around to continue the party inside, leaving only Riveria, Ais and Tiona behind. I"m guessing that Tione would be joining us soon enough because she was hitting the bottle pretty hard back in the Hostess.
  
  "T-that chibi...outdrank me...!" Loki groaned before puking, her tone laced with the bitter taste of defeat. "My liver was the one thing I had going for me! Stupid big-boobied midgit...!" Her rant was cut short by more vomit. Riveria simply sighed as she patted Loki"s back, looking at the other members of her familia.
  
  "There"s no need for both of you to suffer through this," River started in a kindly tone, her point punctuated by another wave of vomit from both goddesses. "Go back inside. Perhaps make sure your sister doesn"t join us out here." So I wasn"t the only one that noticed how much Tione was drinking, though I"m guessing it was out of character for her.
  
  Ais shook her head, her eyebrows drawing together while her lips pressed into a thin line. I don"t know what she was thinking about so hard, but Riveria seemed to have and idea. The elf smiled lightly, nodding in acceptance of Ais" unspoken denial. "I see, and you Tiona?"
  
  Tiona threw on an incredibly fake smile, pretending like she hadn"t been looking at me, "Oh, I, uh...want to make sure Loki is okay?"
  
  "Liiiiiarrrrr...!" Loki moaned before dry heaving, slapping a hand against the wall out of frustration that whatever was left in her stomach wasn"t coming up. I had to swallow a laugh at the dramatic pain in her voice, then another one at Tiona"s panicked expression. Riveria gave Tiona a reproachful look, while Ais tilted her head questioningly.
  
  "A-anyway," Tiona quickly moved on to a different subject, turning her attention back to me. "You said you were looking for training, right? What kind?" She asked, not so subtly changing the subject as she scratched the back of her head.
  
  That was a question I actually hadn"t given a whole lot of thought to. I wanted to train my stats for the most part, but actually learning how to fight was appealing considering that I"ll be fighting people soon enough. But, I"m pretty sure that I would train my stats as I learned how to fight. So, that"s what I said.
  
  "My fighting probably needs the most work. I...uh, well, I just kinda swing my sword around until whatever I"m fighting stops moving," I admitted, still rubbing soothing circles into Hestia"s back. Memories of the fight with Sword and Shield Guy came to mind -- I had killed the others because surprise was on my side, but once it became an actual fight I got my shit wrecked.
  
  Tiona nodded, "that"s how most adventurers are in the beginning, especially if they don"t have someone to teach them." Then she threw on a megawatt smile, clasping her hands behind her back, pushing out her modest chest. "I can teach you whatever you want to learn!"
  
  Seriously, what did I do to earn this many heart points?
  
  Ais tilted her head at Tiona, "Tiona...you"re acting like Tione?" She questioned, sounding just as lost as I felt. Tiona flinched as if Ais had physically struck her, making an alarmed look pass over Ais" face because she had no clue the critical emotional strike she just delivered. Riveria just let out a small huff of laughter while Loki groaned, pushing herself off the wall as she wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve.
  
  "I-!" Loki started, letting out a burp that warned of more vomit, but she swallowed it back down. "I haven"t signed off on this yet! I"m...I"m still the goddess of this familia, even if it is filled with dirty traitors!"
  
  Loki turned her attention to me, clearly still drunk, but she was making a stand. Well, she was swaying dangerously side to side, but Riveria kept her standing. "Yooooouuu...I don"t think you"ve thought this through, you really...really...really big guy," she exclaimed jabbing a finger in my general direction, but she was off by a couple of feet. "And don"t think for a single, itty bitty second that I didn"t notice you eyeing up that dirty middle-aged man at the bar!"
  
  I winced at that. Canoe had made a quick exit after I sat down with the Loki familia, and I hadn"t stopped myself from watching him leave. I could only hope that what he saw and heard tonight was enough to convince him that it wasn"t worth pursuing me and my wallet anymore. I guess I hadn"t been as subtle as I thought-
  
  "First...you take the virginity of a goddess...and you steal the maiden heart of one of my favorites...!" Loki stumbled towards me, nearly face planting and ignoring Tiona"s sputtering. "And now you want to sleep with a dirty old man?! You...fiend! You deviant!"
  
  I blinked, looking at the other three for an explanation but Tiona was too busy hiding her face while Ais looked embarrassed by the mention of sex. Riveria simply sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. I looked back at Loki to see her thrust a finger at my chest, only to miss and would have fallen flat on her face if I hadn"t caught her.
  
  "Uh, that wasn"t what you thought it was?" I tried, really not wanting to get into the troublesome situation I found myself in. Mostly because I knew they wouldn"t be able to help. I doubt they felt bad enough about the situation to throw their weight around to take down the Soma familia for me.
  
  "HUUUUUUU?!" Loki made a disbelieving noise, slapping my hand away and nearly falling over because of it. "Then what was it like, huh? Stop toying with fair maidens hearts!"
  
  I hesitated before I gave a mental shrug. I wouldn"t expect anything, but if the Loki familia made the Soma familia...go away, then I wasn"t going to stand in their way. "He"s a member of the Soma familia. About a week ago, five members of his familia attacked me in the Dungeon and I"m pretty sure that he put them up to it."
  
  Loki blinked at that while Tiona peeked from behind her hands. "Is that why you want to learn how to fight?" She questioned, getting a confirming nod from me. She shared a look with Ais while Loki shook her head.
  
  "Oh. So you didn"t want to have s-s-s-s-s-s-sex with him?" Loki questioned, sounding like she didn"t quite believe me. I blanched at the mental image that she put in my head. Great. I was going to be seeing that for some time. I wonder if there was a brain bleach potion out there?
  
  "No. I don"t want to have sex with him," I said as bluntly as I could manage. I wanted to nip that misunderstanding in the bud then and there. Loki blinked at me, looking like she was struggling to comprehend that I didn"t want to have sex with him, but she slowly nodded.
  
  "Oh...so...those Soma guys have been giving you some trouble?" Loki asked, squinting up at me. She really was out of it. I stopped bothering to keep count just how much both goddesses had over the past few hours, but it was a lot. Too much, obviously.
  
  I gave a shrug, glancing over at Hestia, wondering why she was being so silent, to find her leaning against the wall fast asleep. Well...at least she wasn"t drunk enough that she laid down in her own vomit. Glancing back, I gave Loki a nod. "Pretty much. I"m the new guy and some of them have noticed that I pull in a fair bit of money for being a rookie. Then my supporter, Lili, is trying to leave the familia but their captain is doing his best to make it impossible for her."
  
  Behind Loki, Tiona wore an expression of anger while Ais frowned.
  
  "In that case-" Tiona began, only for Loki to make a sweeping gesture that nearly knocked her over. With a sigh, Riveria caught her goddess and brought her back to her feet.
  
  "In that case," Loki continued, pausing for a long moment as she seemed to be fighting off more vomit. "In that case, you could join my familia, you know?" She offered, reaching up to me, pulling me down so she could whisper in my ear. "Tiona is really sweet on you," she informed in a stage whisper, her breath reeking of beer.
  
  "L-L-Loki!" Tiona snapped, rushing over to pull the redheaded goddess away from me as if she was telling me new information. Hadn"t she told me pretty much the same thing like a minute ago? Or did they somehow think that Tiona was being subtle about her advances?
  
  "I"m just sayin" that if he joined, then all those problems would go-"
  
  I held up a hand, a small smile on my face. It would be a lie to say that the offer didn"t feel good, but there was no chance in hell I was going to take it. There were all kinds of reasons why I should -- stats, access to better gear, and so on. In terms of net gain, joining up with the Loki familia was by far the smartest option. Hands down. With my falna, I could be a level 2...by tomorrow if they power leveled me. I could be a level five within a month.
  
  No matter how anyone looked at it, joining up with the Loki familia was the smart option.
  
  "Sorry, but I refuse," I stated, making Loki look irritated while Tiona"s face fell, obviously disappointed. "Hestia is the only goddess for me."
  
  "Tsk," Loki muttered, letting the topic drop. Riveria chopped her on the top of the head lightly, starting an argument between them while Tiona kept Loki restrained. Ais paid them no mind, looking at me and Hestia, a slight smile playing at the edges of her lips.
  
  "You have a good goddess," she observed as I went to pick Hestia up. I smiled right back at her, my goddess resting her head against my shoulder as if she were a child.
  
  "The best," I corrected.
  
  "I..." Ais started, glancing back at Loki before her gaze returned to me. "...want to make up for our mistake. I can...train you?" She offered hesitantly, sounding like she expected me to refuse.
  
  "I"d appreciate it," I said, inclining my head to her, making her eyes widen a fraction. However, not a second later, the small smile on her lips grew ever so slightly. "Is there a time and place you would want us to met up?"
  
  Ais seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding. Then she seemed to realize that she hadn"t told me, so in a soft voice, she continued. "The outer walls of the city by the eastern gate," Ais decided, using the same location as the anime.
  
  I nodded, confirming, but before I could respond, someone else joined us in the alleyway. Tione. Lefiya carried the bronzed skin Amazonian, her eyes a puffy red while a dribble of snot dripping from her nose before she wiped it away. She barely managed to cross the threshold of the alley before she leaned over to start puking.
  
  "No wonder he doesn"t want to marry me!" Tione wailed between bursts of vomit, Lefiya sending Ais a panicked look. The golden-eyed girl made to go over, but hesitated, sparing me a glance.
  
  "I"ll meet you there...tomorrow around dusk?" I said, getting another nod from Ais. "And good luck. Seems like you"re going to have your hands full.
  
  And with that, I left the alley that reeked of puke.
  
  ...
  
  "Goodnight," I muttered to Hestia, laying her down on her side on our bed. I put a bucket next to the bed, just in case she had something left inside of her. She didn"t respond, fast asleep, completely unprepared for the killer hangover she was going to suffer later. On that note, I poured a glass of water, left the pitcher and some potions. I don"t know if they would help with a hangover, but better safe than sorry.
  
  Especially because I"m pretty sure that she had to work in the morning.
  
  After making sure that she was tucked in, I left our home and as soon as the door slid shut behind me, I couldn"t stop the deep sigh that escaped me. "Tonight didn"t go the way I thought it would," I muttered, running a hand through my hair. I knew Hestia liked it long, but I was getting tired of it always being up in my face.
  
  It didn"t go wrong in a bad way or anything, but I expected a lot of mindless sex with Syr. Instead, I was blue balling myself since I didn"t finish myself off after me and Hestia had sex. I spared a thought of finishing myself off just to get the poison out of me, but jacking off in an abandoned church...
  
  My feet carried me out of it, feeling aimless. I promised Hestia that I wouldn"t go into the Dungeon, and no matter how hungover she was, I knew she was going to ask if I kept my promise. I could try going back to sleep, but after a week of none of it, I felt wide awake. Should I do some training or something? Ah, my backpack got all ripped up. Shoot.
  
  "I guess...I"ll...run some errands?" I muttered, my feet carrying back down the path that lead into the city. It was weird -- now that I actually had some free time, I felt completely lost. At the very least, I had another six hours to do whatever I wanted, but I had no idea how to spend them. So, I defaulted to running errands. That was probably pretty sad, but whatever. "I"ll go check in with the Guild...see if I can snag another quest and look into getting a cheap sword."
  
  With my plan set, I walked into the city. Now that it was nearing midnight, the streets were a lot emptier, but they were still fairly busy. The anime hadn"t shown it, but apparently large familias returning from long expeditions spread their good cheer. I saw dozens of drunks stumbling down the street, most of them were regular citizens from the look of it.
  
  It was kinda like the Superbowl. A reason to invite people over, get drunk and have fun. Or scream at the tv. I never cared much for football, but when I went to a Superbowl party, I didn"t go to watch the game. The city had that same air about it -- the Loki familia had returned, perhaps not victorious, but they returned and that was reason enough to party.
  
  Because of them, it took some time to reach the massive tower of babel. Not for the first time, I glance up, trying and failing to see where the top was in the night sky. I"m not sure if there was magic involved, or if the tower itself was connected to Heaven or something, but if it didn"t then I"m pretty sure it could be considered a space elevator. Made of marble. I entered the building every day, but when you took the time to really think about things, it really stood out just how weird fantasy worlds were.
  
  Putting one foot after the other, I walked into the Guildhall, noting that as always at this time of night, it was pretty much empty. A few adventurers cashed out for the night, a skeleton crew of guild employes, but for the most part, it was empty. I wandered over to the quest board, my eyes darting between quests, but, as always, the bulk of them was beyond my current abilities.
  
  "Twentieth floor...seventeenth...fifteenth..." I muttered, failing to find any that were for the tenth floor or lower-
  
  "I think you"ve already snatched up any quests for the upper floors," Eina announced her presence behind me. Glancing at her, I saw that she had a teasing smile on her face -- there had been some grumbling when I kept snatching up quests as soon as they were posted. For everyone else, they were a great source of money, but for me, they were exp boosts. The money and item rewards were just an added bonus.
  
  "Eh, just making sure. You"d tell me if there was another one getting posted soon, right?" I asked, throwing on an easy smile while Eina"s smile grew in return. For a moment, my hopes soared.
  
  "Absolutely not," Eina said in the same tone, ruthlessly crushing my hopes. "All quests are made available when they"re posted." She explained, giving me the textbook answer to my question. I knew because she made me read the textbook.
  
  "If I want to get a quest ahead of time then I must be specifically requested by the poster," I finished for her, making a show of rolling my eyes so hard they could have fallen out of my head. "Yeah, I remember, but aren"t rules just made to be broken? And what are friends for?"
  
  "Sorry, Jericho, but I won"t be breaking that rule for you," Eina returned, seemingly enjoying the playful banter. Then I caught her glancing at my attire -- a black v-neck long sleeve thermal looking thing, and a pair of blue pants that weren't quite denim, but it felt close enough. "And I hope you don't plan to go into the Dungeon wearing that," she said, a warning in her tone.
  
  I shook my head, "no, I learned from that mistake already. I'm just here to check out if there are any quest available. Maybe head upstairs to look into getting another sword, too, while I'm here." I liked Welf and his weapons but at the end of the day, he was a level 1 blacksmith. I had a crap ton of money at the moment, so while brand loyalty was important, so was having a sword that would last longer than a week. Hopefully, a level 2's weapon would last longer.
  
  Eina's smile fell ever so slightly, "Jericho...you don't have to push yourself so hard. Not only is it dangerous, but it's unhealthy!" She pointed out sternly, "Not only are you staying up all night, but you've been continuing on during the day too! Just how long do you spend in the Dungeon, Jericho?"
  
  Ah. She found out. "Uh...awhile...-"
  
  "I don't want guesses, and that expression of yours tells me you know exactly how long you spend in the Dungeon every day," she accused and all of a sudden, I felt like I was being scolded by a teacher. Her tone and attire probably didn't help matters there.
  
  Wincing, I gave a lopsided shrug. "Around...sixteen hours or so?" I admitted, bracing for impact as Eina sputtered.
  
  "Sixteen hours?!" She half shouted before she realized what she was doing. "What about sleep? When do you eat? Jericho, you have to take care of yourself-"
  
  I cut her off by raising a hand. It would be a lie to say it wasn't a little frustrating getting chewed out for something like this, but it was infinitely easier to swallow since I knew that Eina cared. "I've been sleeping for six hours a night for the past couple of years, and I eat in the Dungeon. I'm fine, Eina. If anything, I'm feeling a little lost because I have free time at the moment."
  
  I half expected Eina to argue the point -- since she didn't know I didn't need to sleep, I knew what I was doing looked unhealthy and dangerous to outside observers. It wasn't just Eina who noticed, Syr did too. Somehow.
  
  "I...You know yourself best," Eina conceded, closing her eyes for a brief moment. "I'm sorry -- I thought you were...avoiding me, or something." Recalling what she had said before, it seemed like she expected that to be the case.
  
  "Don't worry about it," I dismissed the issue easily, making her smile.
  
  "But, I'm glad to see that you're taking the day off," she started and...oh. I knew exactly what she was about to say. "There was an incident in the Dungeon today when the Loki familia returned from their expedition. They scared a bunch of...mino...tarus...Jericho..." She trailed off, her gaze narrowing in suspicion.
  
  "Hm?" I hummed, trying to look as innocent as possible. Which probably gave me away because Eina's Look was sharp enough to cut.
  
  "Why do you look so guilty? Like you did something, very...very. Very foolish?" She asked ominously, her smile looking a lot sinister in nature.
  
  Right. Well, it"s not like it was a secret anymore, "Okay. The thing is, I tried to run away-! Hey, hey," I tried to calm her down when Eina looked about ready to erupt. "I tried to run away, but the things were too fast. They caught up-"
  
  "So you fought them," Eina finished, her voice dangerously quiet.
  
  "So," I continued, "I sent Lilly up to get reinforcements, but...you know, someone had to stay behind to cover her retreat. And since I was the only one there...it had to be me." Um. I don"t think I was doing a good job of explaining my situation.
  
  Eina took in a deep breath and held it for about ten seconds. Which told me that, no, I didn"t do a good job of explaining my situation. Then she let it out very slowly as if she was forced to calm herself down, otherwise, she would try to throttle me. I opened my mouth to continue, but she held up a hand as her lips pressed together into a thin line.
  
  "So," Eina repeated, "you fought them."
  
  "So, I fought them. Two of them. Well, one at first, then another one came out of nowhere...but...yeah," I confirmed with a small nod. Eina took in another deep breath, counted to ten before she let out the breath in the form of a sigh that seemed to deflate her. She nodded to herself, making red flags raise high before she gestured me to continue. "And, uh...I...killed them?"
  
  "You killed two minotaurs?!" Eina exclaimed, only to realize what she did a moment later. She slapped a hand over her mouth as if the action could take the words back. I pressed my lips together into a line -- it seemed that she still had a habit of shouting information that she shouldn"t when it caught her off guard.
  
  "I"m so sorry-" She started, but I shook my head.
  
  "It"s fine. Loki already blurted the secret out, so no harm done," I tried to dismiss the issue because, well, chewing people out really wasn"t my thing. Especially when they looked as genuinely remorseful as Eina did. However, the half-elf simply shook her head, a defeated expression on her face when I mentioned that I wanted it to be a secret, even if it wasn"t one anymore.
  
  "No, it"s not alright," Eina refuted, sounding frustrated with herself. "I could have just caused a lot of problems for you if Loki hadn"t already," she muttered, looking up at me. "I already promised that it wouldn"t happen again, and it did. I"m so sorry, Jericho."
  
  I opened my mouth to completely dismiss the issue, but Eina didn"t look like she was ready to let it drop. She saw my hesitation, and followed it up with, "please, let me do something to make it up to you."
  
  Despite myself, that piqued my interest, "like what?"
  
  My question seemed to catch her off guard despite her making the offer. She seemed to think about it for a moment, before saying, "you said you were looking for a weapon, right? If you"d like, I have a day off in a couple of days and we could meet up?"
  
  I blinked -- that sounded a lot like something that happened in the anime. The only issue was, I couldn"t wait for a couple of days.
  
  "Actually," I said instead, "how about we do something now?" I offered, "my sword is going to be repaired by tomorrow, so I was just going to do some window shopping and pricing an upgrade."
  
  "The shops are closed at this time of night, Jericho," Eina reminded lightly. And she had a good point there. It was easy to forget that I was a nocturnal now when I spent most of my time in the Dungeon. "But...is the reason you spend so much time in the Dungeon that important?" she questioned gently, trying not to pry and that told me she thought the reason was far graver than I wanted shit tons of exp.
  
  She was used to dealing with Protagonists with tragic backstories and stuff. I needed the exp to level up so I could...beat up the Soma familia and rescue Lili.
  
  Huh. I had a Protagonist motivation now. When did that happen?
  
  "It is," I confirmed again with a small nod of my head. Eina nodded as if she expected that answer. "Sorry," I said after a moment, not sure what exactly I was apologizing for, but I felt like I should.
  
  "Don"t be," Eina dismissed, throwing on a smile, "if now is the only time that you have, then I"ll make it up to you now." She decided, taking a step back from me before gesturing to the side at one of the private rooms. "I"ll go tell my boss that I"m taking a break, you go wait in there. I"ll think of something."
  
  With that, Eina walked away and, of course, my mind jumped to one thing. My gaze darted to her waist, watching the subtle sway as she walked to the front desk. And by subtle, I"m pretty sure she was just walking normally. Even still, my brain tugged to the obvious meanings of her words.
  
  She wanted me in a private room and promised to make it up to me? What else could she mean, though?
  
  But, in the anime, she made it a point to not get romantically involved with adventurer s under her care. Was I overthinking it? Yeah, I was overthinking it. At least that's what my upper head decided. Having been blue balled, tempted by Syr and now with Eina, my cock was about ready to revolt.
  
  Quickly turning around so no one would notice the growing erection that struggled to rip through my pants. And now that my stats were starting to get up there, it was a real concern that my dick would rip through my pants. I stepped inside the office room used for consultations, crossing my legs to...no, that didn't work.
  
  Right. Try thinking of something other than Eina and what she could have meant. Don't think of that shapely ass that was perfectly complemented by business pants. Also, stop thinking about elf porn. And stop trying to picture what Eina would look like choking on my dick.
  
  Somehow, I don't think this was working. No, it clearly wasn't because I'm pretty sure I just heard a thread snap in my pants where my cockhead valiantly struggled for freedom.
  
  Instead, I turned my attention to the room only for it to prove to be the most boring, unimaginative, office I had ever set foot in. A couch, chairs, knee-high table, flowers in a vase...I'm pretty sure there was this exact office space if you googled 'generic offices.' There wasn't even a book or anything I could read or use to cover my glaring erection.
  
  "I just had to go with a tight fit," I muttered darkly, having given in to temptation because tight clothing when you were as jacked as I made myself was a big win. Though, to be fair, if I went with a loose fit, in sure the problem would be a lot worse. It just looked like I was stuffing one of those comically large pencils down my pants. All I could do was hope that she didn't notice.
  
  So, naturally, when Eina entered the room after a minute or so, the very first thing she noticed as my dick tearing at my pants with all of its might. As if my dick was just so stupidly massive it created its own gravitational pull that just drew her attention to it like it was a matter of physics instead of bad luck. Her eyes widened, her face flushed red, before she quickly looked away, pretending that she hadn't noticed.
  
  That told me that I was getting my hopes up. When she said 'make it up to me' she didn't mean taking care of my rather obvious...situation. That was...not great, but unsurprising. There were a lunchbox and a book in her hands, telling what she did mean. An innocent not-date between friends. Right. Of course, that's what she meant.
  
  "I was thinking that since you're so serious about delving deeper into the Dungeon, I could move up some of your lessons," she explained, taking a seat across from me. Ah, and it seemed by innocent not-date, I meant torture session. Just...just perfect.
  
  "Uh," I started, trying to think of absolutely anything better than studying. A lot of not PG-13 things came to mind, none of which helped me. "Sure, sounds good," I lied through my teeth. Eina didn't seem to notice as a relieved expression appeared on her face as she cracked open the lunchbox and book.
  
  She opened her mouth to begin the lesson and I was instantly bored again. It wasn't because she was a bad teacher or anything, but to learn you had to be in the mood to learn. And I certainly wasn't. I watched her pink lips move, but I didn"t hear what she said. All I could think about was how fantastic they would feel wrapped around my dick. Worse, she wasn"t even trying to be flirty, or anything.
  
  I was just bored and horny, the absolute worst combination imaginable.
  
  Then I noticed that she was blushing again, and I"m pretty sure I just got caught ogling her. I threw on a smile, hoping that she hadn"t asked a question to cover it up, but her gaze dipped down. All the way down to my groin to where my erection remained, taking the lion"s share of the blood and leaving me running on whatever hormone causes arousal.
  
  Eina kept talking and I kept not listening. Every so often, though, her eyes would glance down while her blush renewed. Was she interested in me? I was less certain -- with Tiona and Sy, they pretty much threw themselves at me. Hestia, well, things escalated with her because she offered to give me a handy. Which was always a problem of mine -- I rarely, if ever, made the first move. Too uncertain, too afraid of rejections and so on.
  
  But, was she looking at my groin because she was interested, or was it because I was obviously sporting a hard-on? She didn"t look uncomfortable, or anything, just embarrassed.
  
  You know what? Fuck it. I was a new me, I was a badass adventurer, and I was mega-hot now.
  
  "My eyes are up here, you know," I teased lightly, catching her glancing down again. Eina winced at being called out, her face going bright pink while her eyes widened.
  
  "I-I wasn' t-" she started to protest, her mouth snapping shut when she saw me grinning. She looked away, clearly embarrassed. "Sorry," she muttered with mounting mortification. So, bad opening line.
  
  "No, don"t be," I said, feeling like I tripped right out the gate. "It's fine. Kinda my fault in the first place," I admitted, gesturing to my entire situation. What I meant as a flirtatious joke made the atmosphere beyond awkward.
  
  "I...did...you take some kind of potions...or..." Eina trailed off, apparently not letting the topic drop despite how it clearly embarrassed her.
  
  "No, nothing like that," I was quick to pick up where she left off. "It"s just...you know," except she didn"t know because she lacked a cock. "It"s just been a while for me, so it"s...acting up." And now I was making it sound like my dick had a mind of its own. Which, to be fair, might actually be true.
  
  "Oh..." Eina trailed off, her attention falling to the book that she was reading. The seconds that ticked by felt like they were each separate eternitys. After a few of them, Eina glanced back over, her gaze landing back on my crotch before her gaze flicked back up to me.
  
  Okay. Be bold. "Eina?"
  
  "Yes?" Eina said, her gaze just as intense as mine was. She still looked embarrassed, but there was a calmness there.
  
  "I"m going to kiss you now," I told her, Eina"s expression not changing at all when I said that. "Would that be okay?"
  
  "I..." Eina started, only to trail off. She met my gaze after looking away for a moment, twiddling her thumbs in thought before she gave a small nod. I leaned in, having to hunch over a bit so my lips pressed against hers. She tasted of strawberries, I noted as I kissed her, our lips moving in a steady rhythm.
  
  I felt one of her hands land on my thigh as I deepened the kiss, her breath soft against my cheek. The wrong thigh. Ever so gently, I reached down to the hand that was on me and moved it over to the correct leg, directly onto my cock. Eina went stiff for a moment, her hand shifting as if she couldn"t understand what she was grabbing. Her hand ran the length of my cock-
  
  Eina pulled back so suddenly, practically jumping out of her chair, that I was left kissing empty air for a split second. I blinked, looking up at her with surprise, to see that there was growing mortification on her face.
  
  "Uh," I started poetically as Eina took a step away from me as I moved to get up. "Is...everything okay...?"
  
  "I"m just..." Eina started, failing to find the words as she turned around to bury her face into her hands. I stood there for a few seconds, feeling at a loss because I had no clue what the sudden change in heart was about.
  
  Slowly, as if she might take off running otherwise, I took a step towards her. I rested my hands on her shoulders in a reassuring gesture, "do you not want to do this?" I questioned, thinking that she had jumped away from me as if I had burned her. I was getting some pretty mixed signals at the moment.
  
  "If I have to..." Eina muttered as she accepted my touch, but her words made me go still. Unless I had vastly, vastly, vastly misread the situation, then she seemed to be into it. But "have to" made this sound...rapey. I didn"t think I was that socially incompetent to make a mistake with consent, but that wasn"t something I was going to take a risk on.
  
  "Oh?" I muttered lowly into her ear, simply standing behind her as I withdrew my hands. "And why would you have to?" I asked, making her fidget where she stood. I heard her swallow thickly, and if my hearing was any sharper, then I could probably hear her heart beating as fast as a hummingbird.
  
  "You...could go to my boss, and file a complaint," Eina pointed out, her voice shy but I couldn"t tell why. I was really starting to worry that I completely and utterly royally fucked up. "I could get fired. Or you could tell them that I started...this and I would get fired."
  
  With her back turned towards me, I took a step back. As much as I was worried that I had screwed up and completely misjudged how into this Eina was, I also had my doubt about that as well. She had been into it. Now that I took a step back from her and the situation, I"m nearly positive that it was a case of her getting cold feet.
  
  Right. So, I was going to get blue balled. Again. Well...if she didn"t think that she had a choice in this, then I had better give her one.
  
  "Eina," I started slowly, "I"m not going to do any of that." I told her flat out, making her turn around to face me. "I"m not going to tell your boss a single thing, I"m not going to file a complaint, and if you want to stop this, then I"ll stop."
  
  Eina shifted from foot to foot, looking unsure as I took another step back. I tried to make my descent into the couch look natural, and like I hadn"t completely misjudged how far away I was from it. I landed heavily, the couch forming what would probably be a permanent dent, all the while I looked her levelly.
  
  "But, if you want to continue," I said, spreading out my arms so they pretty much covered the length of the couch as I rested them on it. "Then I"d be happy to."
  
  Eina hesitated, staring at me with wide eyes as she flushed all the way down to her neck, and further I"m guessing. She hesitated long enough that I was about to apologize for the misunderstanding and then never enter the Guildhall ever again out of embarrassment. Right when I was about to move, Eina took a step forward and a tension that had been suffocating me vanished without a trace.
  
  She didn"t meet my gaze as she took another step forward, crossing the small distance. When she stood in front of me, she dropped to her knees, her hands going out to mine as I obediently made room for her. A hand went to my groin, undoing the buttons and, for a moment, I was too stunned to say anything. I was expecting more kissing, or getting a little handsy, but she was jump straight into the deep end, wasn"t she?
  
  After undoing my buttons, she grabbed the hem of my pants, her gaze intense as she looked up at me. I shifted, letting her pull my pants down, letting my cock spring upwards so fast that it nearly uppercuted her. I saw Eina swallow thickly now that she was so close to my cock, if I was any less hard then it probably would have flopped onto her face at this point.
  
  "This only goes as far as you want it to," I reminded as Eina licked her lips, her gaze briefly meeting mine. To my relief, she nodded carefully.
  
  Then, without a word, she opened her mouth and dragged her tongue on the underside of my cock. One hand went to the head, idly pressing her dainty fingers on the pillar of flesh as her hot tongue started from the bottom and went all the way to the top, her forest-green eyes never leaving mine as she did so.
  
  I sighed in relief, falling into silence as Eina continued, her gaze never leaving mine as she lavished attention onto my cock. That silence continued even as she reached into my pants to fondle my balls, her tongue lapping at the head while her free hand performed lazy strokes. I don"t think either of us so much as blinked as she began her blowjob.
  
  After a long minute, Eina pressed her lips onto the tip of my cock, her glasses falling to the tip of her nose. I swallowed thickly, anticipation humming in my veins as she began to press down. Her soft lips parted around my cock with ease, her mouth warm and wet -- within a moment, she took me down deeper than Hestia had ever managed. I don"t know if it was a case of lack of experience on Hestia"s part or experience on Eina"s, but as she continued to take me deeper, her tongue playfully licking my cock as she did so, I was willing to bet experience on Eina"s.
  
  I groaned at the sensation, savoring the feeling of her wet mouth around my cock, her tongue battering at the underside of my dick. Reaching down with one hand, I couldn"t stop myself from resting it on top of her head. Her forest-green eyes never left mine, the sight of it was more intoxicating than the beer I choked down earlier. An actual elf was sucking my dick. Her lips felt better on it than I could have ever imagined, and in recent weeks, I was no stranger to blowjobs.
  
  She stared up at me with wide green eyes darkening with lust, her hands braced on my thighs as she began to drag her head up, nearly taking my dick out of her mouth entirely. For a moment, I worried she might, only for Eina to slowly push her head back down, her tongue lavishing attention on my cock wherever she could reach.
  
  It was probably wrong to compare them, but I couldn"t stop myself. Hestia"s blowjobs were enthusiastic, the clumsiness was cute, and how she tried to take more of me each time was simply...divine. Eina, on the other hand, was clearly more skilled. Which raised some questions because I had her pegged as a virgin married to her job, but I guess you couldn"t judge a book by its cover.
  
  She shifted her weight into a more comfortable position, her speed increasing, each time she took me a little further until I was pressed against the base of her throat. I could have forced her to take me in deeper, but I reframed and instead, used the hand that was on top of her head to fix her glasses so they didn"t fall off. Eina hummed her appreciation, her hand skillfully fondling my heavy balls.
  
  "Ohhhhh..." I groaned, my cock throbbing in appreciation, which only spurred her on more. "You keep that up, and I"m going to blow sooner rather than later." As if to test the truth of that statement, she started to twist her head from side to side, rubbing more and more of my cock with her tongue as she does. Soft hums escape her throat, vibrating my cock as she fucked her mouth with my dick.
  
  Then she kicked up a notch. Eina gagged a little as my cock pressed against her throat, she shifted again and I knew what was coming next. She dragged herself deeper onto my cock, sputtering, tears forming in her eyes, but she didn"t stop. Eina took in one inch, then another, and another and another.
  
  All the while I marveled at the sensation of her throat. My cock throbbed again, a warning on what was coming, but I fought it off out of habit. Eina tried to push herself down even further, absolutely determined to take me all the way, only to sputter as she pushed herself back. Her green eyes were determined as she tried again, her mouth never leaving my cock while her gaze never left mine.
  
  Eina pushed herself as far as she could go, taking me another inch, but she was forced to pull herself back. I felt her harsh breathing on my spit covered cock, it felt cold before Eina quickly rewarmed it again by taking me in as far as she could go. She gagged, sputtering, but she held firm, managing to take me even deeper but she couldn"t bury the entire length of my cock in her throat.
  
  "Don"t force yourself," I told her, her mascara smudged from the tears that formed in her eyes. "There"s always next time."
  
  Eina seemed to disagree because this time, as she drew herself back, a look of pure willpower appeared on her face -- it looked at complete odds with droll falling from her chin, her makeup smudged. Even still, she pushed herself even further, my cock once again entering her throat, throbbing to the point it was nearly painful as an orgasm brewed in my balls. This time, no matter how she gagged, Eina pushed herself until her nose was pressed against my groin.
  
  Then she hummed.
  
  "Of, fuck," I hissed, "I"m cumming," I informed, my cock throbbing as I let loose. Eina kept herself where she was without any prompting, though she made a shocked noise as she felt just how much I was unloading into her. After an entire day expecting to get a nut? My balls tried to empty themselves as if they expected to never get another nut off in my entire life.
  
  Eina gagged, slowly drawing herself back as I came down her throat. I didn"t even try to count how me ropes of cum I was unleashing into her, simply losing myself in the blissful pleasure. I was lucky I was sitting down because if I was standing, my legs probably would have given out from underneath me. All the while I just kept cumming even after Eina passed the point of no return, forced to swallow cum else she would have been covered in it. And, even then, she couldn"t keep up with the sheer volume my cock seemed bent on releasing.
  
  "Oh, fuck me," I groaned, feeling as light as a feather as Eina took my cock out of her mouth, her cheeks full, only to be hit with one final blast that smacked her in the forehead and dripped over her glasses. For a moment, both of us just recovered from that -- Eina swallowing cum while I panted, feeling like I had just run a marathon.
  
  "Wow," Eina returned, her voice rough. I let out a little laugh at that, bringing her attention back to me. Or, rather, my still rock hard cock.
  
  "I don"t suppose you could do that again before your lunch break ends?"
  ...
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  "How"s the sword looking?" I asked, stepping into Welf"s workshop. The place looked about the same as the last time I saw it -- organized chaos, soot stains everywhere and tools of his trade left everywhere. The only place that could be described as clean was a wall with hooks in it where polished weapons hung that gleamed in the low light that his forge offered. Welf himself was the same as well with his short red hair drenched with sweat, soot stains on his face, and hands and looking like he hadn"t slept in a week.
  
  "I hammered out the edge and gave it a good sharpening," Welf answered as he handed me my weapon, not so much as showing a hint of the damage it had suffered. It looked as it did when I first bought it.
  
  "Thanks, it looks great," I told him honestly, surprised just how reassuring the weight of my weapon was. I hadn"t realized how much I had missed it until it was back in my hands, and I had only been without it for a day.
  
  "I didn"t want to ask since you looked pretty rough yesterday," Welf started, watching me with a satisfied smile, "but what did you hit with it? I about started crying when you bought it in, it looked like you were bashing it against a rock or something."
  
  I gave a shrug, "did you hear about the minotaurs that managed to get to the upper floors?"
  
  "Oh," Welf uttered, wincing as I nodded. Yeah, that pretty much summed up everyone"s reactions so far. "Well...in that case, I"m surprised it held up so well," he muttered with a grimace as his gaze roamed over me. "Are you okay?" He asked after a moment, getting a nod from me as I fished a hand into my pocket and pulled out my second reason for coming here.
  
  "Yeah, I"m good after a bunch of health potions. Seriously, there"s nothing those things can"t cure," I said, pulling out the minotaur horn. "As for what I was hitting it against, this is the culprit," I informed, making Welf"s eyes go wide as he stared down at the drop item. It wasn"t all red like Bell"s had been, which I suspected was because the minotaur he killed was a lot stronger than the ones I had. Even still, it was a level 2 drop item.
  
  "Oh, man," Welf said, taking the horn from my hand after getting a nod of permission. He inspected the horn for a moment, turning it over in his hands as he nodded at something only he could see. "I thought it was going to be years before I saw one of these -- minotaur horns are a pretty rare drop item, you know? They only get really common when you reach the lower floors, and by then there"s literal armies of them and they"re all level 4."
  
  Huh. Now that he mentioned it, I recalled something like that in Ais" series. I never read it much, I didn"t have money for the light novels and the updates for the manga updated about as frequently as Berserk, or so it felt at times. Well...I guess I had that to look forward to eventually.
  
  "Do you think you could do anything with it?" I asked, making him pause, an excited gleam in his eyes. My lips twitched upwards at the sight. Welf looked like a kid told that Christmas had come early this year, and he got every present on his wishlist.
  
  "Are you sure?" He asked, giving me a look that told me that the correct answer was that I was absolutely sure. "I"m just a level 1 blacksmith, so I can"t do any kind of serious enhancements to it," he reminded, and I nodded, pretending that I hadn"t absolutely been considering going to a level 2 blacksmith a few hours earlier.
  
  "Yeah, I"m sure. Better the blacksmith that you know than the one you don"t," I figured with a shrug of my shoulders. Though admittedly, a pretty big influencer for that decision was the knowledge that Welf was fairly close to leveling up and that even among level 2 blacksmiths, he was something special.
  
  Welf looked relieved, holding onto the horn like he was afraid I would suddenly change my mind, "Thanks." He said with a surprisingly genuine smile on his face. Then his expression became a bit more serious, "do you have any ideas what you"d like to do with it?"
  
  I did, actually. "I was wondering if you had started on my armor yet?" I questioned and it only took Welf a moment to figure out what I was getting at.
  
  "There"s not enough to make any plate armor, especially for a guy your size," Welf said more to himself than to me as he turned the horn over. To be honest, I think he might have forgotten I was here altogether. "But, I can reinforce the armor with it if I distill the adamantine from it...or, I could make one thin plate out of it..."
  
  "Actually," I corrected after a moment, "I was wondering if you could make some light armor out of it for a pallum? My supporter doesn't wear any, and after getting wrecked by minotaurs, that makes me a little nervous." Lili didn"t have Gamer Body to fall back on, or any of my advantages.
  
  Welf considered that before nodding, "I can do that. I"ll need measurements and stuff like that -- there isn't much here, but if it's for a pallum, then it should be enough to make a chestplate out of it. Like I said before, it"s going to take me about a week to make your armor. Maybe longer now since I"m going to lose a day with this guy," Welf informed, turning over the horn again as if he could barely believe it was in his hands. At the very least, it seemed that I made his day.
  
  "That"s fine," I said with a shrug of my shoulders, "I wasn"t planning on going any deeper into the Dungeon for the next couple of days, so no rush." Again, that decision was made a few short hours earlier when Eina resumed our lessons like she hadn"t just been choking on my dick. And without being so backed up semen was practically leaking out my ears, I was in a much better disposition to actually listen.
  
  Turns out that the eleventh floor is where things start to get crazy. There were those giant monkey things that Bell fought on that floor, and armored armadillo-like things too, so the giant monsters got a lot more dangerous on top of higher spawn rates. Not to mention that infant dragons could spawn on that floor, and they were a level 2 monster.
  
  Maybe if I had my armor, I might have risked it anyway, but I didn"t. Between the training lessons I was going to get with Ais and Tiona, my stats were going to shoot up, not to mention that I was making a rather nice amount of exp on the tenth floor. In short, I was well on track to keep my promise with Lili and Hestia.
  
  Welf gave me a look, nodding at that but his lips tugged down into a slight frown. "I heard about the minotaur incident through the grapevine, so correct me if I"m wrong, but didn"t it happen on the tenth floor?" He questioned, his tone friendly but suspicious. Right. Because a week ago, I was on the seventh floor.
  
  "Yeah," I confirmed, knowing exactly where this was going. Welf stared at me for a moment and I basked in it. It was so much fun being a bullshit character. The anime hadn"t really covered it, but Bell"s, and mine, progress was balls-off-the-walls incredible. The tenth and eleventh floors were for veteran adventurers, and I reached the tenth in a couple of weeks.
  
  "Huh," Welf summarized his thoughts as he scratched the back of his head in thought. He looked away, considering if he wanted to ask, but I knew he didn't have much of a choice but to. A small sigh escaped him as he came to that same conclusion before he looked back at me. "Jericho...please let me join your party," he said, bowing his head to me.
  
  "Sure," I agreed so readily that Welf faltered. My grin grew at his disbelieving expression, giving him a shrug. "After my run-in with the minotaurs, I figured that I should listen to my supporter about getting a third member. To be honest, if you hadn't asked I would have eventually."
  
  Welf grinned at me, straightening up, "you have no idea what a relief that is." He admitted, completely unaware I knew exactly how big of a deal this was for him. "I've been stuck on the tenth floor for the past year as a solo adventurer. I'd probably be stuck there for another year if I didn't find a party. Thank you." And he couldn't find one up until now because of his refusal to make magic swords -- basically medieval fantasy nukes.
  
  His familia looked down on him for refusing to use his talents to their absolute fullest because of his pride and everyone else lost interest when they learned that he refused to make them.
  
  "No need to thank me," I brushed off the issue easily enough. "But, we won"t be moving on to the eleventh floor until I have some armor to make sure I don"t get myself killed," I explained since the eleventh floor was his goal. He was trying to level up, just like I was, but because he didn"t have a safety net, he couldn"t afford to take the risks that I could.
  
  The leveling up system was weird -- all I knew was that once you got enough "high-quality exilia," or something like that you could level up. The amount you could get was entirely dependent on the adventurer. Most leveled up after years of grinding against foes like Goliath, a level four monster, and helping taking it down. Then you have cases like Lefiya, who leveled up by graduating university. Not to mention Bell, who killed a minotaur that was classified as a low level 3 as a level 1.
  
  As stupidly high as my exp requirement was, I was pretty glad that I had a far more clear cut system.
  
  "You"re already planning to go to the eleventh floor?" Welf questioned, sounding surprised and...pained. Ah, right. It sounded like I was humble bragging, didn"t it? He was stuck on the tenth for a year, and I planned on moving on in a few days.
  
  "We are," I confirmed, "it"s mostly because of my size -- the monsters are only like a foot taller than me rather than three or four like everyone else, so that"s a big part of it," I admitted shamelessly, glad to see that Welf nodded, thinking that made sense. The other explanation would be I went from a newbie to near veatern stats in a few weeks. And, once my training started later today, then my stats should shoot up.
  
  "Ah, well, I wasn"t going to say anything about it," Welf said with a lopsided grin, before his expression became a tad more serious. "But, I"ll make sure you get your armor as soon as I can make it. I"m a blacksmith first and an adventurer second, so your armor is my priority," he clarified a little stiffly. A reminder that we were customer and provider, rather than the bro that he and Bell had been.
  
  "I understand," I nodded, "so long as I get it by the delivery date, then it"s all good. Would you be up for going with us now or...?" I trailed off, gesturing to his disheveled appearance. Now that I think about it, I don"t think I"ve ever met Welf when he hadn"t pulled an all-nighter. Seems like I wasn"t the only one that was nocturnal.
  
  Welf started to nod his head, only to realize that he shouldn"t. A small sigh escaped him before he shook his head, "no, I have to smelt this down and forge a plate of it. It"ll take all day to do it, so I have to pass today. Tomorrow, though?"
  
  "Tomorrow, same time," I confirmed with a nod, "I"ll see you then." with that, I waved goodbye to Welf, feeling satisfied with my progress with him. If only my gamer system had some kind of relationship tracker, or any kind of tutorial at all, but it seemed that we were on track to becoming friends. Maybe once I reach level 2, and after he leveled up, he would eventually consider making a few magic swords if only because of practicality.
  
  I walked down the familiar roads, shoving my sword into my inventory when no one was looking. My gaze landed on the tower of Babel, thinking about what had happened only a few short hours ago. I could still feel the phantom of Eina's soft lips wrapped around my cock as she took me all the way down. I hadn't asked, mostly because it would have been pretty rude, but if she was able to deep throat a bitch breaker, then I'm guessing she had more than a little experience sucking dick. She certainly felt like she had a lot of experience.
  
  Even now, after she sucked two loads out of me like a succubus, I still had trouble comparing the straight laced guild advisor that I knew to the girl that placed herself between my legs and went to work on my dick. Especially after she reverted to the same girl that I had known before once her lunch break was up, all but kicking me out of the room while she made herself presentable.
  
  My dick twitched at the sight of the tower, but I tore my gaze away as a sigh escaped me. I wonder if I should head back there? We didn"t exactly have any time to actually talk about what just happened, and given how fast she pushed me out the room, I was worried that she might regret it. But, if I go there now...not only would it look desperate, but Eina worked the night shift. She would be exhausted. And her throat would probably be sore, so it would be a bad time to talk in the first place.
  
  I would give her some space, I decided, my feet carrying me home to check in on Hestia before I went Dungeon diving for the day. I knew she was going to feel absolutely awful, but I needed to make sure she wasn"t the "I"m actually dying" level of feeling awful. I walked through the city, idly noting just how much it had changed over the course of the night.
  
  Before, it was a non stop party. Now, looking at group of adventurers puke their guts up into a garden, it seems that Hestia wouldn"t be alone in her misery. There were more than a few drunks milling about in place of the normal citizens, but more were either hungover or sobering up. Not to mention, there was a literal parade of Walks of Shame, from girls and guys alike.
  
  I guess it was no wonder this wasn"t included in the anime, I mused, stepping off the main street before my nose caught the scent of something other than sweat and puke that seemed to linger in the air. Glancing over at the source, I saw the fantasy equivalent of a food truck with a line standing in front of it. The employee behind the counter handed over what must have been the biggest, meanest, sloppiest breakfast burrito that I had ever seen in my life. Before I knew it, I found myself walking towards the medieval food truck. I didn"t need to eat anymore, and I still wanted one.
  
  Taking my place in line, idly listening to the quiet grumbling and moans of those waiting for a hit greasy food to help them with their hangovers. It took a few minutes but I neared the front of the line. It was then that I saw a familiar face turn down the street, walking towards the stand. Since I towered over anyone, it only took her a moment to glance at me.
  
  "Hey," I greeted, glancing behind me to find that the line had grown considerably, looking back at her, I offered up a grin. "Saved you a spot."
  
  Ais looked up at me questioningly, her golden eyes turning towards the line those suffering a hangover or those that soon would be, before she nodded her thanks. She took her place next to me, forced to crane her head back to meet my gaze. "Thank you," she said softly.
  
  "Eh, don"t worry about it," I dismissed, shugging. "I"m guessing your familia has you doing a food run since the rest of them are down for the count?" I asked, Ais" brow furrowing at the unfamiliar term but, as much as she was an airhead, she wasn"t stupid. She gave a small nod in response.
  
  "Yes," she answered simply before she fell silent. After a few moments, she seemed to realize that the ball was in her court to continue the conversation. "Is your goddess...?" She asked, trailing off in a soft voice.
  
  "She"s either dead asleep, or wishing that she was," I answered, taking a step forward when a sloppy drunk group of girls waddled away from the stand with arms full of greasy food. "Figured I would get her something to help since she has work today." If she didn"t skip, but given who her boss was, I"m doubting that was a good idea.
  
  Ais nodded and fell silent again. It really was tough to keep a conversation going with her. At the very least, the silence didn"t feel uncomfortable as we waited for our turn. I gestured for Ais to go first, which she did and it was only after that she started ordering that I realized that might have been a mistake.
  
  "I need thirty-two breakfast wraps, a hundred orders of pancakes..." I stopped listening, recognizing the hundred yard stare of the girl behind the counter. I felt that. I felt that all the way down to my soul -- there were few things worse in this world that customers who came in with stupidly big orders with absolutely no warning. And that stare of hers became more devoid of life every time Ais added something to her order... "with extra red bean paste. Extra red bean paste," Ais repeated, just to make sure that it wasn't forgotten.
  
  "Coming right up," the woman behind the food stand said as she relayed the order to three other women who started cooking like their lives depended on it. They all had smiles on their faces but I knew better. When a waitress or a cook said 'no problem' or "its fine" when getting an order like that dropped into their laps, what they really meant was 'I hope you die in a fire.'
  
  Ais watched them work like a well oiled machine, blissfully unaware of their internal grumbling. I glanced behind me and saw that the line grew even more, and they weren't grumbling internally. Ais didn't react to it, but if I could hear it then she certainly could.
  
  "What's taking so long?" Someone grumble loudly, announcing their displeasure. I couldn't hear who answered him, but I could guess what was said. "A bitch ordered what?!" He exclaimed, and the people in line shuffled, bringing my attention to who said it. It was an adventurer, but rather than the flushed face of a drunk, he seemed to have sobered up at some point and regretted the decision.
  
  Other than that, he looked like the most generic adventure that had ever existed. Were this an anime, he would be one of the characters in the background that was so unimportant that the artists wouldn"t bother giving the guy eyes. His grumbling seemed to spread to others -- everyone here already felt terrible, and now they would probably have to wait forever for their fix of food.
  
  Ais looked over, her face displaying some confusion, but largely unconcerned as...whoa, the ladies in the back might be master chefs because piles of food were already starting to form on the window. Then I heard the grumbling get louder as someone loudly sighed before stepping out of the line. For a moment, I thought they were going to walk over to confront Ais, but it never happened.
  
  The adventurer walked out way, took one look at who had order the insane amount of food on such short notice, and promptly kept walking. Well, that was one thing I wouldn"t have to deal with today because there was nothing more stereotypical than dealing with a belligerent drunk. However, Ais looked troubled. I could only tell because her usually blank face hinted at it -- her lips were pressed together into a thin line and her eyes were sad.
  
  "Don"t mind them," I reassured her, pretending like I hadn"t been thinking awful things about her as well. "You could have paid for their meal and they"d still find something to moan about," I said, but it was clear that my words didn"t help. Ais simply let out a small sigh that made her shoulders droop ever so slightly as she nodded.
  
  "They"re..." she trailed off, thinking about it. "Scared of me," she spoke after a small silence. Well...she wasn"t wrong.
  
  "Eh, it"s only because they know you by your level," I answered, making her frown in thought before she craned her head up to look at me.
  
  "Are you not scared?" She questioned, tilting her head. Maybe if I didn"t know what I did about her, then that question would have caught me off guard. Or, maybe, I would be scared of her -- Ais was a first class adventurer, and if things went the way as canon, then she was a few weeks away from hitting level 6. It was kinda like going up to a celebrity, except the celebrity is famous because of how well they can kill things.
  
  I shrugged, deciding to be honest. "Not really. I mean, you don"t strike me as the kind of person that enjoys lording their power over everyone else." I knew that solely because her series made it very clear that she didn"t. From what I saw of her series, Ais was more of a socially awkward airhead when she wasn"t fighting to become stronger.
  
  That seemed to cheer her up, her small frown turning into a gentle smile. The moment was ruined by the lady behind the counter coughing to get our attention and...what...
  
  "How did you make that so fast," I couldn"t stop myself from asking, staring at a mountain of food fit to feed a small army. Which, I guess the Loki familia was.
  
  The tired woman behind the counter gave me a cheeky grin, "trade secret. Now, what can I do for you big guy?``she asked and, to be honest, I was expecting her to tell me that they had run out of ingredients. I glanced at the mountain of food, then to Ais, who was staring at it as well. A small laugh escaped me and I caught her attention.
  
  "If you"re willing to wait a bit, then I can help you carry that," I offered. Hestia was probably dead asleep anyway, and would be until the last minute. There shouldn"t be any problem. Ais looked relieved, her slight smile growing as she nodded.
  
  "Thank you," she said before I ordered. I ordered two mothers of all breakfast wrapps, and they had actual weight when the woman handed them to me. And, as agreed, I loaded up on food crates while Ais got the other half.
  
  The Loki familia lived some distance away, outside of the city proper. I could tell I entered the rich neighborhood when we walked past mansion after mansion, each one better than the last. The Loki familia"s...well, there was no mistaking it. It looked oddly out of place -- the rich decorations on the exterior to the point that it became gaudy. White marble walkways that lead to a fountain of Loki blowing a horn that poured water, beyond that the walkway lead to a central plaza. While all the others were tasteful, Loki"s home was a mess of decorations, like someone went down a checklist rather than trying to make the place look nice.
  
  Finn was waiting for us, though he seemed unsuprised to see me as we approached. "We"ve been seeing a lot of you lately, Jericho," he commented, one eye closed as he watched me step by the iron gates. There was a smile on his face, but there was something about his tone that sounded a lot like a warning to me.
  
  "We ran into each other in line," I supplied a reason, not exactly sure what he was hinting at. Or if he meant anything at all, and I was just reading too much into it.
  
  Ais nodded, "he let me skip. And carried food," she added, holding up her arms as if to bring attention to the mountains of food stacked in them.
  
  Finn"s gaze lingered on me for a moment before he opened his other eye and gave a small shrug. "Sorry about sending you out alone. Loki"s been unreasonable since she woke up," he explained, an exasperated grin appearing on his face while Ais simply nodded, as if she expected that.
  
  Finn walked up to me, his hands out reached, "thanks you for your help, Jericho, but I can take it from here." He said, and if it wasn"t for the fact that I saw Lili carrying a massive bag all the time and he was a level 6 adventurer, I would have hesitated before handing over the food. Leaving me with my much more reasonable smaller order.
  
  I caught Ais looking at me as Finn began to head inside. She looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn"t find the words or know how to say it. In the end, I broke the silence, "I"ll see you later today?" I asked, making her blink. I think she might have forgotten about the training because she looked surprised.
  
  Ais nodded, and it seemed that the surprise wasn"t a bad one. "I"ll see you then."
  
  With that, Ais walked inside while I left the property. I idly glanced around the mansions, replaying that encounter in my head before I pursed my lips in thought. "Well...that happened," I muttered as I dug into my order and pulled out my food. I didn"t really know what I expected with that sidequest, but getting the stink eye from Finn wasn"t it.
  
  Taking a bite of the most delicious greasy, egg, bacon, sausage and cheese I started to make my way home. At the very least, I got a good meal out of it.
  
  My feet carried me home as I ate my meal, wishing that I had some coffee to wash it down with. Huh. I should look into if coffee was a thing here -- they had modern plumbing, clothing and magic stone based electricity, then surely this world had coffee as well? I didn't have time to check it out now, but I was putting a pin in that thought for later. I didn't need three cups of coffee in me at any point to keep me going, but that didn't mean I didn't want that much coffee in me.
  
  Unfortunately, the Loki familia lived in the exact opposite direction as my familia did. Now that I think about it, that was probably intentional to put as much difference between the poor and the rich as possible. It took me a little while to make my way back, walking down familiar broken stone roads. Looking at the rundown building, especially have just come from a much nicer neighborhood, I couldn't help but notice just how shabby they were.
  
  Now that we weren't pinching every valis, we really should look into getting a better place. If only because squeezing in another person into that hovel would actually make it unlivable. A mansion was still out of our price range, but I'm sure that we could get a nice apartment or rent out a small house outside the city. I never pictured myself living in anything but an apartment before, but there was the appeal of living in a small house with Hestia.
  
  Though, that meant I would have to do crap like cut the grass. And that wasn"t happening. I guess I could just hire someone to cut the grass for me...yeah, that"s what I would do. Hire gardeners, maids and shit to take care of the house for me. It was a nice mental picture. I would have to bring it up with Hestia once I was done training with the Loki familia-
  
  As I walked down the broken cobblestone towards the broken down church, my gaze landed on something outside of the building. A red pool that suspiciously looked like blood. No, it was definitely blood, I saw enough of it in the Dungeon, and there was no mistaking that dark red liquid for anything else.
  
  "Holy shit," I muttered, my gaze spotting droplets of blood that lead down the street. There was a fair amount of blood in the pool that looked like it was still wet. Did someone get stabbed or something in front of my home? I knew I lived in a rough neighborhood, but that was something else.
  
  Then my gaze narrowed as I realized the pool had smears around it. No, it wasn"t that someone got stabbed in front of my house. Someone was stabbed, then they rounded the corner before collapsing in front of my home. I looked around me for any obvious evidence of a trail because whoever got stabbed lost a dangerous amount of blood. I didn"t spot a trail behind me, but when my gaze landed on a drop of blood on the stone path towards the front of the church.
  
  My feet started moving before my brain realized it -- whoever got stabbed was in the church. Possibly dying. I ran through the collapsed doors, noticing that the door to our room was left open. I nearly slammed my head on the top of the door I raced down the steps, "Hestia?!" I yelled, going down ten steps with two.
  
  "Jericho!" Hestia yelled back as I descended, and for a moment, my heart went still in my chest. Before I turned the corner, I had a horrible thought that...maybe Hestia didn"t find the stab victim, but rather...she...I turned towards the bed and I nearly sagged with relief when I saw that wasn"t the case. Hestia looked at me with panic in her eyes, red blood staining her white dress and her gloves. "It"s Lili!"
  
  That didn"t compute as I crossed the short distance between us, looking down at the small form on the bed. Blood plastered hair to her face, but I could barely recognize her. What skin wasn"t deathly pale was bruised and covered in blood -- her nose was broken, her eyes were swelling shut while her lip was badly split. However, that paled in comparison to the dark stain on her beige coat where she was stabbed, her blood soaking into the fabric of the bed.
  
  Even looking at her, it still didn"t make sense. This couldn"t be Lili. There was no way.
  
  But, impossibly, her eyes opened as much as she could manage and I saw familiar light brown eyes. "Mr...Jeric...ho?" Lili muttered quietly, my heart dropping like a stone to my boots. Her head fell limply to the side, reaching out with a hand and my stomach started doing flips because her fingers were dislocated. Like someone had stomped on her hand.
  
  "Lili..." My mind was blank, struggling to understand what was happening. It was easier to accept my death and my new life than what I was seeing before me. "What happened?!" I half shouted, looking at Hestia, who looked to be on the verge of tears.
  
  Lili swallowed thickly, tears welling in her swollen eyes, "Lili...tried to leave...Soma familia..." She gasped out, her voice pained.
  
  "I..." No, this was not the time to ask what in the hell she had been thinking. That didn"t matter. I could get my answers when she wasn"t about to die. I saw an empty vial resting on the bed, prompting me to reach into my inventory and pull out whatever health potions that I had left. My heart clenched painfully in my chest when I felt only pulled a few vials out.
  
  "Hestia, what...?" I trailed off, uncorking the vials as Hestia kept pressure on the wound, briefly moving her hands so I could pour the vials over it. Like my arm, the wound didn"t magically disappear, but it looked better. It just wasn"t enough, the stab wound was about a half a foot away from being dead center, but Lili was so small that there was no way that something vital wasn"t hit. Worse, the exit wound was just as big.
  
  "I don"t know!" Hestia shouted, wiping her eyes of stray tears. "I just woke up and went to check the laundry and...! I just found her like this!" She looked just as lost that I felt. Right. I had to step the fuck up right now. Take charge. Be a man. Whatever the fuck it took to make sure that Lili didn"t die.
  
  "We need more health potions," I said, knowing that normal potions wouldn"t cut it for a wound like this. "High potions. A lot of them," I reached into my inventory and pulled out a sack of coins, I didn"t even know how much it was. I went to hand them over to Hestia, but my legs were a lot longer and I was an adventurer. No matter how much I wanted to stay here right now, me being the one to run to Miach"s shop was the smarter option.
  
  "I"ll be right back with the potions," I forced myself to say, looking down at Lili, still unable to believe what had happened to her. I...fuck, I should have been here. If I hadn"t walked Ais home with her food, or decided to get breakfast...fuck. Fucking fuck. Hestia looked at me with wide eyes and I forced myself to swallow a lump in my throat, "stay here, keep pressure on the wound and don"t let her fall asleep. Talk to her," I said, having absolutely no idea if the advice would actually help.
  
  Hestia still looked up at me with clear panic, at a complete loss on what to do even with my directions. I opened my mouth to say something, but I paused. A sound echoed down the steps, an echo that I would know anywhere after being an adventurer for a few weeks. The sound of chainmail rustling, of metal on stone. Of someone taking a fucking step down our fucking steps into my fucking home.
  
  I turned to the door, moving on instinct. As soon as the adventure took the final step, I moved and time seemed to slow to a crawl. I didn"t see his face. I didn"t even know if he was a he because I didn"t see the gender either. All I saw was an emblem emblazoned on a shoulder pauldron of some medium armor of a wine cup in a moon. The Soma familia.
  
  In my house. After assaulting Lili.
  
  Murderous rage didn"t feel like I thought it would. I thought it would be so intense that I would completely lose control, or black out and only realize what I had done after the fact. That"s how I always pictured it in my head, but that wasn"t the case. It was almost like I was calm as I lashed out with a hand, catching the adventurer unaware, gripping their face in my hand. I knew exactly what I was doing when I slammed their head into the wall hard enough that it cracked open.
  
  There were no thoughts of what the story was -- perhaps the adventurer was trying to help Lili. Or maybe he was here to finish her off. None of it mattered. At all. Hot blood erupted, coating my hands and the wall as my face twisted into a snarl. The corpse collapsed into a heap and I was faintly aware that Hestia was screaming behind me. I didn"t look at her.
  
  Instead, I looked up the stairs to make eye contact with another adventurer. Her eyes were so wide that they could have fallen out of her head, her jaw slack but there was still a sword in her hands. And a moon and wine glass on her stupid looking boobarmor.
  
  I didn"t think to get the story from her as I raced up the steps, my blood boiling in my veins. She stumbled back, her sword going into a defensive position but I didn"t care. I batted it away with my hand, slicing it open, but that was okay because I grabbed her neck at the same time and squeezed. I never realized just how strong I was before. Her neck snapped with a deafening crack, killing her.
  
  "Oh, fuck, you live here?" I heard a voice ask. A voice that was faintly familiar, though I had only heard it once before. With blood on my face, with a corpse of a young woman in my hand, I slowly looked over to my left to see who was speaking. My gaze roamed over the three men standing behind the man who spoke. A man that I had seen twice before.
  
  Canoe.
  
  "You"re dead." After all, I made a promise, even if it was only to myself.
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  I strode forward staring at Canoe as I approached, tossing the corpse to the side. Their lips moved, shouting something as they drew their weapons, but I didn"t hear it. I couldn"t. It was like my head was underwater, or the red mist that descended was so dense it blocked all sound. But, at the same time, my mind was perfectly clear. If anything, I was experiencing a clarity that I had never experienced before.
  
  All because only one thought ran through my mind as I reached into my inventory and pulled my weapon from it. I saw their faces morph into ones of surprise, but I didn"t care. They would all be dead soon. I was going to kill them. All of them.
  
  What would have happened if I had arrived any later? What if the line was a little longer? What if I had stayed around to talk with Ais? What would have happened if I wasn"t here?
  
  Lili would have died. Hestia...she might not have died, but if she suffered a fatal wound, or used her godly powers then she would have been sent back to Heaven. I would never be able to see her again. Ever. All because I wanted to get some breakfast or chat with Ais before we trained later today.
  
  My heart thundered in my ears as Canoe shouted something out me, holding his sword out while the other flanked out. They weren"t wearing armor, telling me that they didn"t have time to put it on before they gave chase, but they did have their weapons. One carried a hammer and a shield, Canoe and another carried a simple long sword while another in the back had a bow. She flinched when my gaze landed on her, shifting nervously.
  
  I gripped my weapon with white knuckles, Canoe"s mouth still moving, taking a step back for every step I took forward. The other two had flanked me completely, shifting nervously as they stood ready to rush me. I took in a deep breath, sparing a wish that I had my chest armor on, but I didn"t need it. I was topped up on health, I had my sword, and none of them had armor.
  
  I was going to hack them to pieces.
  
  With that thought in mind, I moved. I raised my blade high, acting like I was going to bring it down on Canoe, only to throw myself to the side when an arrow rushed where my right eye had been moments before. The one with the hammer rushed to meet me, his shield up and his hammer swinging at me. Unfortunately for him, I had learned something from my fight with the minotaurs.
  
  I blocked the swing with my arm, barely feeling it when it snapped and only because I expected it, I felt the bone shift back into place like it was never broken in the first place. As he completed the swing, I grabbed his arm, his eyes having just enough time to go wide before I slammed my pommel into the top of his head. I was so much stronger than I was before, the only thing I could compare it to was a tomato being hit by a hammer.
  
  Still gripping the corpse, I pivoted, turning on my heel as I heaved the corpse. Canoe and the other swordsman rushed at me, a slow panic creeping on their faces. I felt my face twist into a snarl as I flung the corpse at them, knocking them both- ah, was that another arrow sticking out of the corpse? I think I blocked another shot on accident.
  
  That gave me my next target, I decided as I turned towards the archer. Our gazes met and she flinched, her hand pausing ever so slightly as she went for another arrow. It cost her a second at most, but I learned that a second could be the difference between life and death. That second, I decided, would cost her her life. I crouched down, feeling the powerful muscles in my legs bunch up and tense before I launched myself into the air.
  
  I weighed a lot, I learned over the weeks. Chairs groaned when I sat in them, there was a permanent indentation in the bed from where I laid and the same for the couch. I didn"t know the exact amount, but if I had to guess it was somewhere between three-fifty to four hundred pounds. Nearly a quarter of a ton and every single ounce of it was pure muscle.
  
  I leaped over several broken and old pews, easily clearing them as I jumped towards the archer, my sword in hand. Whoever she was, she didn"t let her nerves get to her too much because once I cleared the three pews that separated us, she fired off an arrow. This time there was nothing to block it with and I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder, an arrow sticking out of it. She made to retreat as I neared the ground some feet away from her, but she completely misjudged just how huge my reach was.
  
  With a five-foot sword, my long arms, there was no escaping me when I took a swing. The girl threw herself back, only to slam into a wall as I brought my sword down. My blade bit into one of her legs, carving through it as she threw her head back and screamed, blood pouring from the wound. I still couldn"t hear a single thing over my heartbeat in my ears. But, I knew that wasn"t going to be the case for everyone else.
  
  The others scrambled to their feet, so I couldn"t use my sword to finish her off. That was a problem. If she kept screaming then people would investigate, or they could have other members of the Soma familia nearby to reinforce them. So, I raised my boot and like I did with so many monsters before, I raised it over her head, her hands trying to ward me off for a split second before I stomped on her head. It gave way underfoot, my sock getting drenched with blood but that was fine. With me, that was practically normal at this point.
  
  There were only two left, and now our positioning was reversed. I was blocking their exit, and if they turned their backs to me to go after Hestia or Lili...gods might walk the earth, but not even they would be able to undo what I was going to do to them if they tried that. They would die, and they would die screaming. I would make sure of it.
  
  They were cautious now, their weapons poised to strike as they slowly advanced. I"m guessing that they were used to working together, but I didn"t recognize the other guy. It didn"t matter, I suppose. Teamwork wasn"t going to save them.
  
  I took a slow step forward, blood and brain matter squishing in my boot as I held out my sword in front of me. I wish I could have gotten a lesson in with Ais or Tiona so I could actually call myself a swordsman, but it should be fine. The Skill Swordsman increased my stats when wielding a sword, it didn"t specify by how much, but I"m guessing a bit. Enough to close whatever stat gap there was between us.
  
  My gaze landed heavily on Canoe, his generic brown eyes narrowed, his face puffy and red while sweat dripped down his brow. He was nervous. Scared, even. Good. Throwing myself forward, I moved in a blur, but Canoe was just as fast. Sparks flew where our weapons clashed, his sword warping where the edge of mine bit into. Welf really did do good work. And, unfortunately for him, I had learned other lessons from my previous fights.
  
  My sword was hardly my only weapon.
  
  I lashed out with a knee, driving it into his gut and knocking the breath from his lungs. The second Soma member lashed out with his weapon, and I narrowly dodged a thrust to my throat. Twisting my blade while Canoe backed off, I took a wild swing at the man but he managed to block my blade. Only this time, the blade folded around mine as he tried to stop my attack. The adventurer managed to dodge the swing that would have taken his head off, but he was weaponless.
  
  I turned to him to kill him so I could focus on Canoe, only for the middle-aged man to tackle me. His shoulder hit my hips, trying to knock me to the ground, but he couldn"t. Not with my Perks, it was practically impossible for me to lose my balance. I brought the hilt of my sword down onto his back, feeling a rib give way to me before I took another wild swipe at the other adventurer, driving him away long enough that I could throw Canoe off of me. I was saving him for last.
  
  The other adventurer pulled out a dagger about the size of his forearm. Or was it a short sword? I couldn"t tell the difference. Didn"t care either. He glanced at Canoe to realize that he wouldn't get any help from him before lunging at me, realizing that unless he got in close then he didn't stand a chance. We both knew that unfortunately for him. I lashed out with a fist that caught him in the side of the head even though he tried to dodge it. He went down like the sack of shit that he was as he slammed into a pew, the rotting wood giving way and showering him with splinters.
  
  I've gotten a lot stronger, I noted as I saw teeth flying. The last time I was in a situation like this, I had to completely rely on the element of surprise, and even then I nearly lost. Now, I was winning through brute force. It was a refreshing feeling, in a weird way, I mused as I raised my sword high before plunging it down into the adventurer's chest. Crimson blood erupted from the wound when I yanked my blade out, my chest expanding as I took in a slow breath. Almost absentmindedly, I grabbed the arrow sticking out of my shoulder and yanked it out.
  
  Now, there was only one.
  
  Slowly, I turned around to face Canoe to find him on a knee, one hand clutching his ribs as he wore an expression of naked fear on his face. I almost laughed at how small he was. How weak. For weeks, I had been shitting myself over what he was planning, how he was going to get me and...now, he was on his knees before me, limply pointing a sword at me as he looked about ready to soil himself. It'd be a lie to say that it didn't feel good. An enemy that I struggled against for weeks getting swept up like this.
  
  All of a sudden, the trope of villains monologuing when they thought they defeated the hero suddenly made so much sense. I wanted to gloat. I wanted to mock him. I wanted him to know that he was nothing compared to me. Only I was the hero and he was the villain. I took a step forward, unable to keep the small grin tugging at my cheeks away, as I approached, resting a bloodied blade on my shoulder. I couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head as he looked up at me in defeat.
  
  His sword shook in his hand, trembling in pain, fear, and exertion, jerking upwards when I took another step forward. Then another, and another and another until I was standing just outside of his range. Then, slowly, mockingly, I hefted my blade off my shoulder, before lowering it down until it pressed against his neck. Canoe flinched at the feeling of steel against his throat, swallowing thickly. He stared up at me, fear gleaming in his eyes before he did something I didn't expect.
  
  He dropped his sword. Impossibly, the sharp sound of metal clanging against hard stone was the first thing that I heard over the sound of my heartbeat thundering in my ears. The sound was enough to make me hesitate, buying Canoe enough time to throw his hands up in surrender, one hand higher than the other because of the ribs I broke. He...was giving up. He was surrendering. I...I didn't expect that.
  
  I expected a...fateful clash or something. I expected him to fight through the pain, to throw himself at me in revenge for his dead friends. For weeks, ever since I let him walk away in the Dungeon despite knowing that he knew I had killed someone, I dreaded this moment. I feared that he was going to make a move and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. I feared that I was going to be stuck underneath someone's thumb, practically an indentured servant and this new paradise I found myself in would turn into a hellscape.
  
  "You..." I started, my voice was low and rough to my own ears as I gripped my weapon that much tighter. I wanted to murder him, I realized with some faint surprise. The others -- I killed them in defense of my home, or I finished a fight they had started. I knew I wanted Canoe dead, I regretted letting him walk away that day, but looking down at the pathetic sight before me, I wanted to take his head off. Or stomp on it until it cracked open like an egg. Like something deep and primal in me wouldn't be satisfied until all my enemies were rotting in the dirt.
  
  "Don't kill me," Canoe begged, looking up at me with wide eyes filled with fear. He was shaking like a leaf, fat drops of nervous sweat running down his face. "Please, just don't kill me! I'll do whatever you want!"
  
  ...this was the man that I was afraid of for weeks. This is the man who I was convinced that would rain hell on my second lease on life, and ruin it. My growing rage must have shown on my face because Canoe flinched so badly that you'd think I had hit him.
  
  "What," I heard myself say, my voice a low growl as I gripped my weapon with white knuckles, "happened to Lili?"
  
  Canoe didn't answer for a moment, likely knowing I wasn't going to like anything that he had to say. He quickly realized that staying silent was going to land him the same brutal fate though, so he began in a shaky voice. "She tried to go around Captain Zanis' back and leave the familia!"
  
  That much I had learned from Lili, and I wasn't going to learn why she tried to do so from Canoe. Even still, I had to take in a deep breath to calm myself from lashing out. "And why is she in my home bleeding out?"
  
  Canoe swallowed thickly, eyeing me nervously before he continued, obviously choosing his words with care. "Captain Zanis' wanted to make an example out of her. You know, make a big show of how you couldn't leave the familia without paying an exit fee, and going around his back was a bad idea." Canoe swallowed thickly and looked away from me ask clenched my jaw so hard I'm pretty sure my teeth were about to crack.
  
  "What. Happened." It wasn't a question.
  
  Canoe licked his lips nervously before he took in a shaky breath, "he had a bunch of our guys rough her up a little-! That's all! Just a couple of punches and kicks is all! Nothing like that!" He said and it must have been really obvious what my mind immediately went to. "It went on for a bit, but Captain Zanis' decided that wasn't enough. He's the one that stabbed her! Not any of us!" He added as if that was going to help his case.
  
  "Did you hit her?" I asked softly, my tone sharp.
  
  "I..." Canoe hesitated and that was answer enough for me. My foot lashed out before I could stop it, my blood-covered boot slammed into his face hard enough to send him skidding back a couple of feet. His nose was flattened and he spit up a few teeth, groaning in agony as he clutched at his ribs. He practically whimpered when I slowly approached, my mind a mess of emotions.
  
  I wasn't nearly too late now, but I was too late to save Lili. I wonder what was going through her head when she was being beaten within an inch of her life or when Zanis' stabbed her? Did she expect me to kick down the door and rescue her? Where was I when that was happening? Chatting with Welf? Getting a blowjob from Eina? Drinking with the Loki familia? Have a great fucking time when my friend was dying, wishing that someone would save her?
  
  There weren't words to describe what I felt at that moment. The only ones that came close were anguish, wrath, and malice.
  
  "What happened after he stabbed her? How did she get here?" I had to stay focused. If I didn"t, I was going to stomp on him until he was a red smear on the ground. I don"t recall being this...violent...in my last life. I guess being an adventurer affected me more than I thought it had.
  
  Canoe spat out another mouthful of blood and teeth, it poured from his nose like a broken faucet. It soaked his disgusting beard that clung to his jawline, dripping from his face and leaving a long streak mark on his forearm when he tried to wipe it away. It took him a couple of seconds to answer, and he only did when I nearly kicked him again.
  
  "She crawled away," he spat out, revealing that he was missing his front teeth. "We didn"t notice until she was out of the door, and we were sent to finish her off. We followed the blood trail here- we didn"t know this was the home of your familia-" I lashed out again, kicking him in the ribs before I could stop myself. Canoe let out a choked scream as I held myself back from kicking him again. My blood felt hot in my veins, burning me up from the inside out.
  
  "Is there anyone else after her?" I asked sharply, rage making it hard to think but I managed it. Somehow. If other groups showed up, then things were going to get very messy very fast.
  
  Canoe didn"t answer me, coughing up blood. I guess one of his ribs pierced a lung. He didn"t need to. He looked up at me with something beyond fear. He looked like a man that knew he was lost, that his life was forfeit and the last seconds of life he had left were of pain and despair. There was no one coming for him. That was good. That gave me time.
  
  "I...I answered- urk...your questions," Canoe gasped out between coughs as I looked coldly down at him. His words were desperate but hopeless. He knew that this was only going to end one way, and yet he still clung to that faint chance that he could walk away from this. Even if I wanted to, I couldn"t. They saw me use my inventory. Maybe it would lead to nothing, but I was done taking dumb risks like that. Especially when there was so much at stake.
  
  "Please..." He trailed off before falling silent, that faint hope dying a dog's death as I lowered my sword so that the tip was pointed at his throat.
  
  "I think we both know how it is," I stated flatly, staring into his eyes. I saw the fear, pain and despair melt away in them, leaving only a haggard exhaustion behind. I guess it was better than screaming, crying and begging for his life. I wouldn"t have lost my nerve, but Hestia didn"t need to hear that.
  
  "...Yeah," Canoe spoke his final word before my sword moved. A flick of the wrist was all it took, and his head parted from his shoulders. He was dead. His body slumping, blood rapidly pooling underneath his corpse. I stared at his corpse for a moment -- I don't know what I expected to feel when I killed him. Society said I was supposed to feel guilty because all life has inherent value, while I almost expected to feel overjoyed.
  
  Instead, I felt...satisfied. I won. He was dead. And that was the end of that.
  
  Now, it was time to move on to more important things.
  
  I ran down the stairs, rounding the corner and...Hestia was hovering over Lili protectively, a knife in her hands pointed at the door, the fierce image undercut by the naked fear in her eyes. When she saw it was me, relief flooded her expressive blue eyes as she dropped the knife, nearly sagging on top of Lili.
  
  "Are they...?" Hestia asked, almost afraid of the answer. I spared her a look as I crossed the threshold.
  
  "They"re dead," I answered shortly. There was no time to sugar coat it. I reached into my inventory to pull out another potion. I poured some of it onto her stomach, but it barely slowed the bleeding, and I was worried about internal injuries already. I pressed the vial to her bloodied lips, and she was aware enough to part them ever so slightly so I could pour what was left down her throat.
  
  "Jericho...what do we do?" Hestia asked, her gaze drifting to the first man she had seen me kill. I followed her gaze, the corpse propped up by the wall, but bright red blood coated the wall, dripping downward. I looked away, turning my attention to Lili as she looked like she was struggling to open her eyes.
  
  That, I had to admit, was a very good question. This...had escalated to a point that it couldn"t be swept underneath the rug. If they had attacked in the Dungeon, everyone would have shrugged their shoulders, but they had broken into my home after trying to kill my friend, and instead, I killed them. We needed advice on how to get ahead of this, and there was only one place that came to mind.
  
  "We need to go see Eina," I said, wishing I had more potions so I could pour some on Lili"s face so the swelling would go down. Or do something for her injured hand. She was so battered, I didn"t know where to touch her so that she would know I was there. "We need to get our story in first before the Soma familia realizes what happened. Then it"s their word versus ours, rather than our word against theirs." I guess acting out in highschool taught me something after all.
  
  "R-right," Hestia agreed with a shaky nod, swallowing thickly as she took in a calming breath. Despite it all, I thought she was holding it together rather well. "When-"
  
  "Mr...Jericho...?" Lili muttered weakly, turning her head to look up at me. Both of our attention snapped to her to see that she was weakly reaching out. Tentatively, I took her hand in mine, the rage and hate gone like smoke in the wind. Replaced by a sense of helplessness I haven"t felt since I watched my mom waste away in a hospital bed.
  
  "Lili? Are..." I was about to fucking ask if she was okay. "Is there anything I can do?" I asked, feeling lost and uncertain. No. Not uncertain. I needed more health potions.
  
  "Lili"s sorry...she...went to see Soma...but..." Lili trailed off, a stray tear dripping out of her swollen eyes. "He...looked at Lili but...didn"t say anything. He...he didn"t do anything..."
  
  I was going to fucking kill him. There was a certain clarity that thought brought as my heart squeezed in my chest. It didn"t matter if he was a god or not. At that moment, I don"t think I cared about the consequences at all. I just wanted him dead, and I wanted to be the one that killed him. That was it.
  
  "Lili...why?" I couldn"t stop myself from asking as Hestia sniffled. We had a plan, why would she try to leave the familia now?
  
  "Lili...Lili didn"t want to trouble Mr. Jericho. He...he was going to fight the entire Soma familia. I didn"t want Mr. Jericho to get hurt for Lili," Lili explained weakly. I closed my eyes, picturing what had happened. She was nervous about telling me the amount that Zanis had asked for. And after the minotaur had attacked...fuck. It was clear that something was bothering her, but I hadn"t picked up on the signs. I just assumed it was about the money.
  
  So she tried to do something about it on her own, where I wouldn"t have to challenge the Soma familia for her to be released from them. She went to Soma, begged to be released much like she had in the anime, only for her pleas to fall on deaf ears. Then she was caught, beaten within an inch of her life and stabbed. She crawled away, likely using her magic to make it to my home where she collapsed, hoping to be found by me. And I...
  
  I"m going to kill Soma. I"m going to kill Zanis. If I did nothing else in the world, I was going to murder both of them with my bare hands.
  
  "It"s okay Lili," I said, gently sliding my hands underneath her body. "It"s all going to be okay, and you know why?" I asked, sending a look at Hestia. Or, rather, her gloves. She seemed to realize what I was getting at because she tore off her clothes, any thought of modesty gone and quickly started getting changed. "It"s all going to be okay because I"m going to make it okay. We"re going to pump you full of potions and they"ll fix you right up."
  
  Lili didn"t say anything as I began walking up the steps, and the silence made my heart go still in my chest. "Lili, want to know something? I was saving it as a surprise, but I was going to get some armor made for you," I said, trying to give her focus on something as we reached the ruined church. I heard Hestia gasp at the sight of corpses and...I couldn"t blame her for that, I thought as my gaze landed on the girl who"s head I crushed.
  
  I performed that action so many times on monsters, but now, looking at my handiwork, using it on a person was...
  
  "Jericho," Hestia said, and I braced myself for...something. Shouting, horror, disgust. I hadn"t just killed some of them, but I straight-up butchered them. I- "I"m going to run by Miach"s to get potions, you go ahead to the Guild, okay?"
  
  I...I didn"t want to let Hestia out of my sight. Not when there was even the slightest possibility that there were other Soma familia members that could stumble upon her. The chance was slim that they would in the time it would take for them to realize that we had killed their hunting party, but that slim chance was too much for me. But, she wasn"t wrong to want to split up, especially when time was of the essence.
  
  Lili needed potions. Maybe...maybe bringing Lili battered and wounded into the Guild was a bad idea. First of all, she needed rest. Secondly, it was going to bring a lot of attention our way and, from what I could gather from Canoe, it sounded like we had some time before Zanis started to wonder if anything was wrong.
  
  The question was where could I bring Lili? Where would she be safe at?
  
  "I"m taking Lili to the Hostess of Fertility. Everyone that works there is at least a level 3, and I know they"ll protect her," I informed, desperately wishing that to be the truth. Hestia looked like she had a lot of questions about that, but nodded firmly. "They"ll have potions there. I...I don"t want to split up," I admitted when Hestia looked like she was about to argue.
  
  "Okay, but if they don't, I'm running to Miach"s," Hestia swore, her gaze drifting down to Lili. I nodded in acceptance, that way she wouldn"t be able to pick up the lie that I would let that happen. Even if I had to drop down to my hands and knees and beg, I would ask one of the ex-adventurers that worked at the Hostess to get the potions while keeping Hestia under watch. I picked her up with ease and felt her hands grip my shoulders for stability.
  
  "Hold on," I told her before I started running with both of them in my arms. I looked down at Lili-- it felt like I was carrying a child, and that thought just pissed me off more. At the Soma, his familia and every single one of them that had hurt her. However, I swallowed it down and threw a smile on my face even as I barreled through a group of hungover punks. "Did you hear that Lili?"
  
  "Hmmm...?" So she was awake. That was good. That was really good.
  
  "I"m getting some armor made for you. It"s made of adamantine from the minotaur horn I had. I actually had this really elaborate plan of how I was going to get your measurements, but..." I trailed off, not sure what else to say.
  
  "Hmmm..." Lili hummed to show that she was listening. Her chest rose and fell at a steady rate, but the silence from her was pure torture. I pushed myself that much faster, knocking over a couple holding hands as I sprinted towards the Hostess of Fertility. Having walked the main road so often, I knew the way there by heart and now that I wasn"t stopping for anything, it didn"t take me long to reach the Hostess, and, luckily, I saw Ryuu standing outside tidying up.
  
  She must have heard my steps as I ran towards her since she turned around. Her expression didn't change until her gaze landed on Lili, her dark red blood that drenched her cloak clear to all to see.
  
  "We need help," I told her bluntly, her gaze snapping up to me. "She tried to leave her familia, and they did this to her," I explained before she could ask. Ryuu's gaze narrowed while her lips pressed into a thin line as she nodded.
  
  "Come inside, we have a room that she can stay in," Ryuu decided, rushing inside as I followed after her -- from the look of it, the party had only ended a short while ago and everyone was busying themselves with cleaning up the aftermath. And there was a lot of aftermath to clean up, so all hands were on deck. Perfect. Lili and Hestia would be protected by several level 3s and 4s and one level 6. The Soma familia wouldn't be able to do a damn thing to them even if they knew they were here. "Mama Mia, we have an emergency."
  
  Mama Mia looked up, her gaze landing on Lili before they hardened. "Get here upstairs, and get her some potions," she barked at me, making the others glance in my direction. She didn't ask what had happened, or who did it. Mama Mia just decided to help. Bringing her here was the right choice.
  
  I rushed to obey her order, sprinting up the steps, slamming my feet down hard enough I spared a worry that they were going to snap underneath my weight. Ryuu lead me to the same room that we stayed in last time, tossing open the door and gesturing to the bed as she opened the drawer next to the bed, revealing potions of all kinds.
  
  I laid Lili down, Hestia dropping off me to cling to Lili"s bedside as Ryuu began to dump potion after potion onto Lili, and every third she made her drink. It was hardly the most efficient healthcare I had ever seen, but high potions were literally bullshit magic, so I don"t think it mattered too much.
  
  "What happened?" Mama Mia questioned, having followed us up the stairs. From my view, I saw that everyone else was peeking by the stairs, all curious. I told her what I knew, which wasn"t much, and slowly Mama Mia"s expression transformed into a grimace. Though, I couldn"t tell if it was over what happened to Lili, or for the problem that I had brought to their doorstep.
  
  "I"m sorry for bringing her here, but I had no idea where else-" I started, just in case but Mama Mia cut me off with a dismissive gesture.
  
  "Don"t bother apologizing," Mama Mia said with a frown, turning her attention to Lili, who already looked better after getting more than a few potions in her. Even still, I had to convince myself that she was simple sleeping when she laid on the bed motionless, likely because of just how much blood soaked into her coat. "Tell me what you"re going to do about it?"
  
  I nodded, feeling no small amount of relief. If she had turned us away, then I had absolutely no idea what I would do. My only other option would be the Loki familia, but I was less than certain that they would be able to help. Being one of the most powerful familias granted them a lot of freedom, but it restricted them in just as many ways.
  
  "I"m going to the Guild and see what can be done-"
  
  "I"m not talking about that," Mama Mia cut me off, glancing at me, or more pointedly, my shoes...ah. There was a bit of brain on my shoe. That was...really different than having monster brains on my shoes. "What are you going to do about this? Because I"ll tell you right now, the Guild won"t be able to protect you from any kind of retribution, and they"re not going to be able to make this go away if the Soma familia wants to push the issue."
  
  Her gaze was as sharp as a knife when she looked up at me, "So, what are you going to do about it? How far are you willing to take this?" She asked, and I didn"t even have to think about my answer. Lili...was my friend. Maybe at the start, it was all about me wanting to stick my dick inside her, but it wasn"t that anymore. She was my friend that got dealt a bad hand by life and kept getting bad cards from it.
  
  "As far as it takes," I answered, clenching my jaw. "If I have to challenge them to a War Games, then I will." At that, Mama Mia rose an eyebrow and I couldn"t blame her for that. I"ve been an adventurer for only a couple of weeks while the Soma familia had two level 2s and a lot of members. Maybe hundreds. But that didn"t matter.
  
  The rage I had felt faded somewhat, but I meant every single word that I had said. This wasn"t over until I killed Soma and Zanis.
  
  "I know," I continued, knowing exactly what she was going to say. "But I don"t care how stupid or impossible it is. I"m doing it anyway."
  
  Mama Mia chuckled at that, her severe frown tugged into a smile. "Hm. In that case, you can stay here," she stated, casting a look at Hestia and Lili. I did the same and saw Hestia sag with relief. She turned to Mama Mia before bowing her head to the level 6 adventurer until she was nearly folded in half.
  
  "Thank you," Hestia said, her voice thick with emotion as her hands curled into fists that shook at her side. I couldn"t even begin to guess what was going through her head but as much as I wanted to hold her and never let go, this simply wasn"t the time for it. We had to get ahead of the situation before we could take a moment to decompress. "I promise, I"m going to make it up to you."
  
  "This place," surprisingly, it was Ryuu who answered Hestia, "is for those that have nowhere else to go." Her voice was quiet, but her expression and voice were kind.
  
  "But...!" Hestia started, tears welling up in her eyes and I heard Mama Mia let out a soft sigh.
  
  "If you want to make it up to us, then I"ll put you to work. You did a good job last night despite how crazy it was," Mama Mia said, offering a way for Hestia to salvage her pride. I was grateful for it, even if I didn"t like the idea of Hestia being out in the open. But, I guess with so many high-level adventurers, she and Lili would be safe even if the Soma familia knew where they were.
  
  Hestia gave Mama Mia a watery smile as she bowed again, sniffling.
  
  I nodded, "thank you. I"ll be back as soon as I can," I said, wanting to leave as soon as I could now that things were settled here. With any luck, Lili would be awake and able to give me more details and testify to the Guild. Mama Mia was probably right when she said going to the Guild wasn"t going to solve anything, but if we could be in the right in this situation, then that would help our case in the long run.
  
  "Jericho?" Hestia said, looking at me as she wiped a tear from her eye. "Please be careful."
  
  I offered her a half-smile that I hoped conveyed a lot more confidence than I felt.
  
  "When am I not?"
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
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  A short chapter with a lot of set up.
  
  ...
  
  I don"t think I"ve ever been so nervous to walk into the Guildhall before. The trip here had been absolutely nervewracking, constantly looking over my shoulder, expecting for the entire Soma familia to show up as I rounded each corner to accuse me of murder. I kept my cool, though, having learned that the easiest way to get caught was to act like you were nervous. Even if people didn"t know what you did, they would know you did something.
  
  Even still, I made it to the Guildhall without any issue. I could only hope that the trend would continue throughout this. Taking in a deep breath, I walked up the steps, glad that I took the time to wipe off my boot so I wasn"t leaving bloody footprints behind me, and pulled the door open. Predictably, with what half of the city suffering from varying stages of drunk and hungover, the Guildhall was practically empty.
  
  A small skeleton crew manned the tellers and front desk, but none of them were expecting a busy day. None of them looked fresh-faced, so that ignited the hope that I caught Eina before she went home. I"m not sure how much she would be able to help me, but I knew she would be much more likely to go the extra mile.
  
  As if summoned by my thoughts, Eina stepped from the backroom. As if she were drawn to me, her gaze instantly landed on me. Our eyes met and she instantly flushed a deep crimson. Right. We had that whole blowjob situation hanging between us. I approached, feeling some faint embarrassment as well, but nowhere near enough to stop me. Too much was on the line for me to avoid having an awkward conversation.
  
  She fidgeted as I crossed the room, looking like she wanted to run away, but she didn"t. Thankfully. "Hey, Eina? I...had a couple of questions I wanted to ask you. About the Dungeon," I said, making up an excuse to have a private conversation as I came to a stop. Eina looked absolutely everywhere but at me, her face practically on fire, and it wasn"t missed by her coworkers. Any other time I might have found it amusing, but not now.
  
  I couldn"t. Lili was still in her bed -- Mama Mia and Ryuu assured me that she would be fine and she just needed rest, but I couldn"t get the image out of my head. Of her battered face, swollen eyes, split lips and a broken nose. The Soma familia did that to her. Zanis tried to kill her, and if Lili hadn"t gotten lucky or didn"t have her magic then he might have succeeded. She could have died.
  
  "Please?" I asked softly, something in my voice drawing her attention to me. Her gaze lingered on mine for a second, her eyebrows drawing together before she gave a small nod.
  
  "Of course, Jericho. Follow me," Eina agreed, stepping from behind the counter and leading me into a private room. I stepped inside, idly realizing it was the same room as before. It was obvious because of the clear dent on the couch where I sat. I heard Eina take in a deep breath as she shut the door behind me.
  
  "About last night," Eina started hesitantly, fixing her glasses to give me a level look but it was undercut by her blush. "I know what we did crossed a line, and I do value as a friend-" any other time, I would have cringed at being friend-zoned, or whatever she was doing to me right now.
  
  "The Soma familia attacked my home about an hour ago," I interjected, making it clear that I wasn't here to talk about what happened last night. Eina blinked, recoiling from the sudden shift, the blood draining from her face as her expression became stormy. They looked absolutely furious on my behalf.
  
  "What happened? Start from the beginning, and leave nothing out," she said, her tone going from hesitant and shy to all business that barely covered the righteous fury burning underneath. She gestured for me to sit down, and I took her up on the offer. I dragged a hand over my face as the coach groaned underneath my weight. I gathered up my story, mulling over it for a moment before nodding to myself.
  
  Back during my freshman and sophomore year of high school, I was a troubled kid. Some of my reason we're valid, others less so, while the rest was just pubescent bullshit. However, those years taught me something incredibly valuable. A life skill that paved the road to success, whether anyone wanted to admit it or not. A skill so powerful that if you mastered it, then it was essentially playing life with cheat codes.
  
  I learned how to lie. I learned all of the little tells that gave a person away -- maintain eye contact, keep your hands still, maybe add in embarrassing details. After all, no one liked to feel embarrassed, so if you admitted that, then you had to be telling the truth. I learned how to keep details vague, to keep track of them so I never contradicted myself, and to keep the lie as close to the truth as possible because the devil was in the details.
  
  Because, in the end, no one cared for the truth outside of idealists. The entire reason I was here was because if I got my story in first, then the biggest part of winning this battle was over. Because I had a good impression and the Soma had a bad one, so the bias would be on my side. Because appearances mattered more than the truth -- my familia was small and weak, while the Soma familia was powerful and numerous, yet they were disregarding the law to attack me in my own home.
  
  I needed to get my story in first before the Soma familia had a chance to react, but more importantly, I needed to paint myself in the best light possible. They had broken into my home, but I also killed them all. That, I think, would make things appear a little gray to an outside observer. I needed to gods, or whoever dispensed justice, to be on my side so the Soma familia couldn't immediately seek retribution. I'm sure they would eventually, but even a week would be enough to make a difference.
  
  A week could be enough to determine if I was strong enough to challenge the Soma familia to a war game or not.
  
  "It started when I was an adventurer for about a week, or so," I started, clasping my hands together. Despite myself, I couldn"t help but find it a little ironic what I was about to say next. "It"s actually when I met Lili. I ran into an adventurer that she was supporting. Me and the guy practically ran into each other, and...he tried to rob me. Demanded that I hand over my magic stones and supplies since he guessed that I was a rookie."
  
  Eina"s expression told me she knew exactly where this story was going. She closed her eyes briefly before nodding for me to continue, so I did. "I refused, then he attacked me. Tried to stab me in the throat. I...I panicked and did what I...did what I would do if a monster had attacked me."
  
  "You killed him?" Eina questioned for clarity, getting a slow nod from me, watching her take notes. Never in a million years did I ever think I would be the one admitting that story. Hell, keeping that a secret is what started this whole mess, now that I think about it. Now things had simply escalated until that story was inevitably going to see the light of day. My only choice was to give my version of it first before Zanis tried to undercut me with it.
  
  "I didn"t mean to," I admitted. "I blocked the stab with my arm, and I didn"t think. I just lashed out, and he died." I offered a weak defense, carefully watching Eina"s expression. She didn"t display the horror that I expected to see. She simply nodded, looking at me with a gaze filled with...empathy.
  
  "I"m sorry you had to go through that, Jericho. The Dungeon...the Guild would like to enforce laws in the Dungeon, but it"s simply too big on lower floors. There used to be familia"s that upheld justice in the Dungeon, but...they were all killed some time ago. Unfortunately, as you"ve learned, what happens in the Dungeon simply stays in the Dungeon."
  
  Fuck. I really did mess up on that day, didn"t I? I wonder, if that was the reaction if there were no consequences...did Canoe...really have anything over me? That, I didn"t want to think about. Not until this entire mess was done.
  
  "Yeah...well, after that, Lili became my supporter. She fed me a sob story about needing rent, and I caved." Again, Eina nodded, having met Lili, but here was where things started to get complicated.
  
  I took that as a cue to continue, "sometime later, after a couple of days, we"re in the Dungeon when we run into a man named Canoe, who"s a member of the Soma familia. I"m not sure how, but he knew the guy that tried to kill me. I think they were friends, or something. Nothing happened then. He just kinda looked at me, made a few comments and that was that. I was worried, but nothing happened for a bit."
  
  I frowned, "Then members of the Soma familia started trying to rob me. First, they tried to steal my earnings when I was taking a shower, but they couldn"t find them. I had my suspicions then, but things really came to a head later." Understanding flooded Eina"s gaze as she gave a firm nod.
  
  "They were the ones that attacked you in the Dungeon?" She asked and I confirmed it with a nod. She made a note of that and I waited for her to finish before I continued.
  
  "I was forced to defend myself, but yeah, they attacked me. They said they were doing it on their own, but I don"t believe them. The timing was too perfect -- my run-in with Canoe, then the Soma familia starts harassing me a day later?" I stated, forming a connection between the two. "But, I"m not sure if you know this, but Lili is a member of the Soma familia."
  
  Eina"s eyes widened and before she could ask, I explained, "I thought she was setting me up for a bit," I admitted, "but she was adamant that she had nothing to do with it. I took her to my goddess to confirm that she was telling the truth, and she was. Lili had nothing to do with the Soma familia attacking me. But, after that, my goddess and I got her to open up a little about her familia."
  
  At that, Eina"s lips thinned, "were you trying to get secrets from her?" She asked sharply, and I"m guessing that was a great big no-no.
  
  I shook my head, "no, nothing like that. I asked her if she wanted to be part of the Soma familia because I knew she had it rough. She didn"t live in the familia home, she was constantly worried about money...she, ah, well, I knew she was stealing from me a bit, but she seemed so desperate that I let it slide. She told me that she was absolutely miserable in the Soma familia and that she wanted to join the Hestia familia."
  
  Eina nodded slowly, her expression troubled, and that was a bad sign for me. "Please, continue," she gently ordered, her tone making my insides clench. I didn"t like that look or tone at all.
  
  "Well, after she said she wanted to leave the Soma familia, we decided to help her," I said, deciding to not mention that she told us just how bad of a cesspit that familia was in case it could be considered a familia secret. "She"s my friend, you know? But, uh, she went to Zanis to find out how much it would cost to leave the familia." I paused for a moment before my lips thinned.
  
  "He asked for ten million valis," I said, making Eina sputter, her composure lapsing for a moment at such a stupidly high sum. "Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction."
  
  "Ten million?!" Eina exclaimed, her expression twitching for each zero that sum had. "That"s completely ridiculous! I could understand if she was a level 3, or higher, but a level 1 supporter? And Soma allowed this?"
  
  I nodded seriously, anger rising in my chest at the thought of the god. "He"s apathetic at best," I half spat out, only slightly regretting that I knew that information. "So, no. He didn"t do anything about it." Before I could spill more information that I probably wasn"t supposed to know, I moved on. "So, since that was well outside of our budget, I told Lili I would challenge the Soma familia to a War Game to help her escape that familia."
  
  That took Eina back, "and...you meant to do that?" She questioned, likely all too aware how insane that sounded to someone who didn"t know how bullshit I was. "Jericho, the Soma familia has hundreds of members and several level 2s-"
  
  "Doesn"t matter," I dismissed firmly, "I made her a promise and I intend to keep it."
  
  Eina took in a slow breath, closing her eyes for the briefest of seconds. For the briefest of seconds, she wore the expression of someone that heard something profoundly stupid, but then her lips tugged upwards into the slightest of smiles. When she opened her eyes, the smile was gone but her gaze was warm even as she tried to disguise it by adopting a professional demeanor.
  
  That was good. I"m not sure how much it would help me in the grand scheme of things, but at least she seemed to be on my side.
  
  "Then, at some point last night, Lili tried to leave the Soma familia by speaking directly to Soma," I started, more rage bubbling in my chest, "I don"t know the details yet, but Soma didn"t say anything and their captain decided to make an example of Lili. They beat her within an inch of her life, then their captain stabbed her."
  
  Eina seemed taken back, her mouth opening to say something, but the words poured out of my mouth. "Lili managed to crawl away, she has magic that lets her change her appearance and I think she used it. She managed to make it to my house where Hestia found her bleeding out on our doorstep. I came back from helping Ais Wallenstein deliver some food to her familia home-"
  
  "You"re associated with the Loki familia," Eina questioned sharply, getting a nod from me. She made a quick note then gestured for me to continue.
  
  "After I came back, we dumped a lot of potions into Lili. She was in really bad shape...then I heard people break into our home. The Soma familia followed her to my home. I don"t know their names, but Canoe was there."
  
  "How many were there?"
  
  I thought for a moment, "five of them." I said, Eina nodding encouragingly. Now came the important part. "They seemed surprised by me being there, so I caught a couple of them off guard. They had an archer in the back, so I was aggressive when I fought. The archer got me once in the shoulder..."
  
  "You killed them as well?" Eina asked, getting a slow nod from me. The goal was to paint me in a sympathetic light because, when it came right down to it, I had killed quite a few members of the Soma familia. I had my justifications for it, but if someone looked at it from the wrong angle, they could see me as the aggressor.
  
  "I did," I answered shortly, Eina taking a final note before she set down her pen. She took in a slow breath before she nodded at me.
  
  "The first thing I want you to do is to bring Lili and Hestia here so they can give their testimonies, as soon as they"re able." She saw my expression before she grew concerned, "are they okay?"
  
  "Lili is recovering at the Hostess of Fertility, and Hestia is there as well. I was afraid of reprisals, so leaving them at our home seemed too dangerous. I don"t know when Lili will wake up, but I"ve been assured she"ll be fine after a couple of dozen health potions and a few high potions." Eina frowned deeply, her gaze angry. I think I might have skimped out on too much detail because she seemed surprised that it would take that many potions to heal a pallum.
  
  "Bring them as soon as you can," Eina amended. "Secondly, I want you to reach out to the Loki familia. Get them to vouch for your character. If you can do that, then I can"t see the Guild trying to hit you with any kind of consequences." She said, her tone so serious it caught me off guard. I knew the Loki familia had a lot of pull, but just them saying a word would be enough to make this whole situation with the laws I might have broken go away?
  
  "I think I can manage that..." I trailed off, thinking that I would either have to ask Ais or Tiona.
  
  "Jericho..." Eina started, easily seeing that I didn"t understand how important that was. "The laws in Orario don"t work like other places in the world. In this place, it"s all about power. You"re familia is small, practically brand new, and it"s you against the Soma familia, an established familia. The Guild..." She trailed off, her hands curling into fists as she took a steadying breath.
  
  "The Guild does whatever it can to give the impression that it"s in control of the city, but...that means exercising whatever power that it has where it can. From what I"m hearing, one of two things will happen when this moves forward -- either the Guild will decide to come down on your familia," she started, delivering a blow that knocked the wind out of me.
  
  She saw my reaction, and the growing anger at the thought that the Guild would side with that...familia of drug addicts over me, and quickly continued. "Or, more likely given some of the details of this case, it"s going to catch the attention of some of the more powerful familia"s. Then it"s a matter of how much they like you."
  
  I...that was completely unfair. How could the law be decided by how much you liked someone or not, or if an organization wanted to flex its power? What the actual fuck was this? My hands curled into fists, feeling...helpless despite my best efforts. There were things I could still do, ideas that I could try, but it was infuriating that the end decision was decided by stupid arbitaray reasons.
  
  Eina reached out, placing a hand on mine, her gaze firm. "I understand," Eina said, and from her tone, I could tell that she did. I wasn"t sure how, but there seemed to be a lot more to the straight-laced Guild employee than the anime hinted at. "But that"s why it"s so important that you get the Loki familia"s support. If the Soma familia chooses to push this, then it"s certainly going to end in a War Game...and if it doesn"t, then...they"ll ambush you in the Dungeon with numbers you won"t win against. That"s the kind of familia they are."
  
  I grit my teeth, remaining silent while Eina continued, "but you do have some things in your favor. If you get the Loki familia"s favor, then the rest of the city will fall in line. They"re just that powerful. The Soma familia wouldn"t dare to attack you, not when it would mean angering them. Also, the Soma familia"s reputation is awful. After you told me they attacked you the first time, I began investigating them on my own, and what I"ve found...they will have few allies." She explained, offering some hope.
  
  But, even as she spoke, I couldn"t help but think about what Mama Mia had said before I left. Even if I got the Guild involved, they couldn"t make the problem go away. I didn"t know how true those words were until right now.
  
  "But going to the Loki familia is your best bet. Do you understand?" She asked, getting a slow nod from me. I took in a slow breath, trying to calm myself down. The situation wasn"t hopeless, I wasn"t likely to go to jail or anything, but the idea that the law might not be on my side just because I was defending myself was scary in more ways than I thought possible.
  
  Eina smiled lightly, "everything is going to be okay, Jericho. I"ll take this to my boss and we"ll start the process. You do have good chances, Jericho -- the gods love stories like these and most of them don"t like the Soma familia. Just bring in Hestia and Lili so they can testify, then our case will be secure." She reassured me, but I couldn"t help but notice just how empty the words were.
  
  She probably meant them from the bottom of her heart. I knew she did...but this wasn"t the total sweep that I had wanted. I wanted promises that my familia would be fine from any kind of interference from the Guild and instead, I got reassurances that things would probably be fine. Probably.
  
  I never knew I could hate a word so much when it wasn"t just my life on the line, but Hestia and Lili"s.
  
  Eina gave my hand a small squeeze breaking my thoughts free of the downward spiral they were descending into. She honestly believed that I had a good case, so I forced myself to push my worries to the side and gave her hand a gentle squeeze back.
  
  "I"ll go talk with Loki," I confirmed, letting myself feel hope. She owed me a fair bit, so there was no way that she was going to say no.
  
  ...
  
  "No," Loki said, her tone flat before she punctuated her refusal with a loud slurp of her tea. Her red eyes never left mine as she took a long sip, the sound of her slurping echoing in the silent room despite it being rather packed. Finn sat behind a desk, his fingers interlocked in front of him, Riveria sat next to Loki while Ais and Tiona stood behind me. I was lucky that I was already sitting because I"m pretty sure that my legs would have given out at the flat refusal.
  
  My mouth was devoid of any trace of moisture, both because I just retold my story for the third time in a few hours, but mostly because a deep sense for dread slowly wrapped its ice cold fingers around my heart and gave it a savage squeeze.
  
  "...What?" I heard myself ask. I...I should argue with her that she owed me, but I couldn"t find the words. I didn"t come here expecting my plea for help to be rejected out of hand.
  
  Loki stopped slurping her tea to let out a sigh that screamed exasperation while Riveria simply closed her eyes as she took a silent sip of her own tea. "I"m telling you that we can"t help "ya," she explained, giving a dismissive shrug of her shoulders while her red eyes were as sharp as a knife. "The mess you landed yourself in is too messy. And I like Soma"s booze." She tacked on as if that was supposed to make this bitter pill easier to swallow.
  
  "But-" I started, something ugly bubbling in my chest. Was...was this because I refused to join her familia? I knew from the anime that Loki was petty as all hell, but this just was plain cruel.
  
  "No buts," Loki interrupted sharply, killing any protest that I had. In this small room, surrounded by first-class adventurers, sitting across from an actual god, I was all too aware that my protests meant nothing here. "That Guild advisor of yours didn"t think about what kind of trouble helping you out would bring to us."
  
  "If we get involved with your mess, then it could blow up in our faces. And messin" with smaller familia"s problems is a good way to piss a lot of people off cuz" no one likes being flexed on," Loki continued when I couldn"t argue. The words just wouldn"t come. The rug was swept from underneath me and now I was free falling.
  
  The plan I had to buy myself time to grow strong enough to take on the Soma familia was gone if she wouldn"t help me. The Guild being on my side wouldn"t be enough to protect my familia from any reprisals. The Loki familia vouching for me was supposed to do that.
  
  "Since I"m smelling a War Game in the air, I"m afraid we can"t be seen training you either," Loki said, her tone ambivalent as she stuck a knife in my heart and gave it a twist. So, I wouldn"t even have training? How else was I going to increase my stats enough to pose overcome a level 2? I couldn"t get a eight hundred thousand exp in a few days...
  
  "I...see," I forced myself to say, trying to keep my voice level even as I gripped my knees with white knuckles. I swallowed thickly -- I wanted to scream. I wanted to shout. I wanted to curse and rage and punch her in her smug face, but I couldn"t. It would only make things worse for my familia. Not to mention it would be pointless since the others would stop me long before I could give Loki a well-deserved punch.
  
  "Sorry about this, big guy," Loki said with a small shrug of her shoulders, not sounding very sorry at all. "But I"m not going to involve myself in this mess. Good luck dealing with the Soma familia." As if I were some pest uninvited into her home, Loki made a dismissive gesture. I swallowed a lump in my throat feeling so many things at that moment that I couldn"t begin to tell if I was furious or terrified.
  
  Ais and Tiona watched me get up, Ais unable to meet my gaze while Tiona was looking between me and Loki with an uncomprehending expression. I didn"t trust myself to say anything to them. As calmly as I could, I walked past them and left the room without saying a single word.
  
  What else could be said at this point?
  ...
  
  "Loki..." Ais started, her tone frustrated and disappointed. At her. Oh, her heart! It felt like she was stabbed! Even still, Loki remained strong and didn"t immediately cave, summoning upon an endless fountain of pure willpower that mortal minds couldn"t even begin to comprehend.
  
  Tiona, fortunately, was far more direct with what she was feeling. She didn"t respond with a word but simply grabbed Ais" hand and left the room, slamming the door behind them hard enough that wood splintered and the entire manor shook. Loki didn"t breathe until she heard another door slam, this one much further away. The front door.
  
  "Honestly, that brute has muscles for brains," Loki muttered darkly to herself as she slumped on her couch. Did he honestly not know the meaning of subtlety? Probably not. The entire freakin world shook whenever that mammoth of a man took a step. And he was probably too stupid to understand what it was even though it was thrown in his face like that.
  
  Ais and Tione, she could understand. Ais struggled with social interactions, which was so cute and her confused face was absolutely adorable it made Loki want to pinch her cheeks and coo every time she saw it. She didn"t have the experience to be able to read in between the lines. Tiona...well, she treated conversations a lot like monsters -- she barreled through them without a hint of tact, so the finer arts of the unspoken word were lost on her.
  
  That brute didn"t have that excuse, Loki decided darkly, crossing her arms. Was she being unreasonable, expecting the child to be able to read her mind, to foresee what she was planning, to understand the great sacrifice she was making to protect his itty-bitty familia? Absolutely. Did she particularly care? No, no she did not. Because she was she was making a grave sacrifice of the likes that no one in the history of forever had ever made before, and the idiot wasn't immediately grateful.
  
  Turning her children against her...Loki was going to see Ais and Tiona"s disappointed stares in her nightmares for the rest of her life!
  
  "Don"t be too harsh on him," Finn defended the brute with an easy smile on his face. "He thinks he has to face an entire familia on his own without any help."
  
  "He shouldn"t have come here expecting to get a handout!" Loki shot back, grumbling as she sunk further into her couch. If only they didn"t owe that giant buffoon a debt -- first for almost getting him killed, then she was wrong about him lying about his level. "You saw how Ais and Tiona looked at me!" Honestly, it was like no one understood her sacrifice.
  
  Riveria frowned slightly as she sipped her tea, "though I"m not sure how much good it will do. The Soma familia is sizable, and Jericho is only one man. Even if Ais and Tiona train him, the odds are stacked against him." She commented lightly, earning a soft sigh from Loki.
  
  They couldn"t be seen helping Jericho, not when that idiot landed himself in the mess that he did. Well, they could, but that would cause a lot more problems in the grand scheme of things. The Loki familia"s many enemies would be all too happy to crush the Hestia familia if they thought it would hurt her familia. It would be safer too since the Hestia familia was so small. Blatantly helping them when so many eyes were on the Hestia familia would simply paint a target on their backs.
  
  It would scare off the bottom feeders, absolutely, but the Loki familia wasn"t so powerful that they were unchallenged. Instead of being picked apart by bottom feeders, powerful familias would fall upon the Hestia familia"s heads like a ton of bricks.
  
  Because in a city like Orario, you didn't fall from the top position to number two. When you fell from grace, you fell all the way to the bottom, ripped to pieces from dozens of other gods on the way down as they claimed their pound of flesh. Loki knew that better than anyone, because she and Freya were the ones that tore down Zeus and Hera when they were weakened from failing the last great quest. The gods, once so powerful that they were completely unchallenged with level 8s and a 9, were banished from the city for eternity.
  
  Now, no one had heard from them in years. And Loki knew all too well that she was one disaster away from the same fate.
  
  Which is why Loki was forced to arrange that little scene. Ais and Tiona would go train the colossal idiot "against" her wishes, and if any uppity god tried to question them on it, they wouldn"t be lying when they said they acted independently, Jericho would be able to say that she refused to help him. It would be a balancing act -- for the majority of the simple-minded gods in this city, they would take the lie at face value. Those that didn"t would know that there was a lie there, but wouldn"t know what it was about.
  
  Was the Hestia familia under the protection of the Loki familia? Were they trying to poach a promising rookie? Or where two of her favorites looking to change familias and the Hestia familia would go from a I-rank familia to a A-rank? The gods would prod and poke, but they wouldn"t act. Not when they knew she was lurking in the shadows with an anvil to drop on their heads. The fact that she ended up with some egg on her face would only seal the deal because no one liked getting egg on their face.
  
  "He"s a freak of nature," Loki commented, her frown deepening. He seemed like a decent sort -- and, admittedly, Loki did kinda like his guts. It took a special kind of stupid to be willing to fight an entire familia alone for a friend. "His progress in the Dungeon is absurd. If he maintains that growth, he should have a chance..."
  
  A chance that she gave the oblivious ungrateful idiot. He had better change his tune when she revealed that it was all apart of her brilliant plan along, or she was going to start smacking some cheeks.
  
  "Hm. You really did make a sacrifice this time Loki," Riveria commented, her tone teasing. Loki turned her gaze to the green-haired elf, throwing on the most pathetic pout that she could.
  
  "I really did! Their scorn...! Riveria! Comfort me," Loki cried out, throwing herself forward, her face landing in the bountiful bosom of the elven royal. Whoever said that elves were supposed to have small tits clearly didn"t know a damn thing about elves. Even better, instead of getting smacked away, Riveria simply let out a small sigh as a hand patted her head.
  
  "There there," Riveria said with exasperation while Finn simply chuckled. Loki ignored him as she clung to one of her eldest children.
  
  So, maybe helping out that lumbering oaf wasn"t all bad.
  
  ...
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  I returned to the Hostess of Fertility in a daze, my feet carrying me there as my mind replayed that conversation, wondering what I could have done differently. Should I have argued? Was there a point? From how she sounded, it seemed that Loki never had any intention of helping me and I doubt I could have said anything to change her mind. I guess I seriously misjudged her.
  
  What really struck me was going back on the promise of training me. Getting my butt whipped by Ais and Tiona was going to push me past the limit, breaking my stats into the hundreds. If I pushed myself far enough, I wouldn't even need to level up to take on Zanis. Now, without any kind of warning, that security net was ripped from underneath me, and I was left free falling into an abyss.
  
  I needed another plan. Eina was doing what she could to keep the Guild off my back. I hesitated to say that was a done deal, especially having my faith shaken as badly as Loki managed to do, but Eina wasn't Loki. I still had to get Lili and Hestia's testimonies, which would help, but by far my greatest concern was what the Soma familia would do when they found out what happened.
  
  In total, I killed ten of their men. Even in a dumpster fire of a familia as the Soma familia was, they couldn't just overlook something like that.
  
  "Hestia and Lili will be safe at the Hostess," I reassured myself. At their very best, the Soma familia wouldn't be able to do a damn thing to those that worked at the hostess. If a single level difference was incredibly challenging to overcome, then a four-level difference was utterly impossible. Actually, thinking of Hestia brought my attention to a certain fact.
  
  Hestia was friends with Hephaestus, who might not be the most powerful in terms of hard strength, but as the biggest supplier of weapons in a city of adventurers, she had a lot of soft power. Even better, she wasn't a two-faced bitch, so she would certainly help us out. With her backing us, then the Guild would certainly back off and maybe the Soma familia as well. It was just less likely simply because while the Hephaestus familia wasn't a combat-oriented familia, they were blacksmiths, and even the high-level members weren't frontline fighters.
  
  The crushing weight that had seemed to have settled on my shoulders lightened a fraction. We still had other options. The situation wasn't completely unsalvageable.
  
  "Jericho!" I nearly flinched when I heard my name shouted out, my gaze snapped to the source and to my infinite relief it was only Syr. She looked concerned, and it was only then that I noticed my face was twisted into a deep scowl. I tried to throw on a smile, but it felt brittle and fake. "Did the meeting with the Guild not go well?" She asked, knowing there was no easy way to ask if I was getting vanished or blacklisted from the Guild.
  
  "The meeting with the Guild went fine. Eina is doing what she can, and she just needs testimonies." I couldn't bring myself to admit that the case might not go our way because of dick-waving bureaucrats and arbitrary gods. I didn't even want to think about it. "I went to the Loki familia to see if they would be willing to pull some strings since they almost got me killed, but they kicked me to the curb instead," I stated bitterly, Syr's lips twisting into a frown. Glad to see I wasn't the only one who thought that was a bit fucked.
  
  "Has anything happened on this end?" I asked, trying to change the subject simply because I didn"t want to think about that anymore. A bad habit of mine. Rather than think a problem to death, I distracted myself with something else. Usually, the problem went away, but I doubt that would be the case now. But, I wouldn"t be able to do anything else about it for now.
  
  "Mama Mia has us all on the lookout, but we haven"t seen anyone yet," Syr reported to my relief. So, they either didn't know yet, or they didn't know where my familia was staying. That couldn't last forever, but until it did, I would savor every moment of safety.
  
  "Thank you," I said, thanking her for a lot more than telling me the one nugget of good news I had gotten today.
  
  "What are friends for?" Syr said, hip checking me as we walked back to the Hostess.
  
  "Is Lili awake," I asked once we neared the door. Apparently the Hostess was closed today, using the previous night as an excuse to not let anyone in. I had some hope that she would be awake given the number of potions she drank, but Syr crushed that hope with a shake of her head.
  
  "She hasn't. Ryuu says that's normal, though, considering how badly she was beaten. Health potions accelerate the healing process, and that takes up a lot of stamina. She says we should only start to worry if she doesn't wake up by tomorrow," Syr answered, her voice soft. "But...did her familia really do that to her? For trying to leave?"
  
  I gave a shallow nod, trying to keep my expression from twisting into a scowl. "Yeah. Their captain is a real piece of work on a power trip. Lili tried to leave once before, but the Soma familia found her and assaulted the flower shop that she worked at. They won't let her leave unless someone forces them to let go."
  
  Syr sent me a sly smile, "And you"re going to make them let go, aren"t you?" She asked, her tone telling me that she knew the answer.
  
  Even still, I nodded, "no matter what." I repeated, not for the first time today. I wouldn"t let Lili suffer at the hands of those degenerates any longer.
  
  Syr"s smile grew by a fraction before she beckoned me down with a finger. Curious, I leaned down to feel her lips press against my cheek in a chaste kiss. As soon as I felt them, she pulled away, humming contently to herself.
  
  Then, without a word, she turned on her heel and disappeared into the kitchen. After everything, the simple action actually picked me up a bit. Absentmindedly scratching at my cheek, I walked up the stairs, each one groaning underneath my weight, announcing my presence to Ryuu, who swept upstairs.
  
  Our eyes met, and she inclined her head to me. "Your goddess is in the room on the far left. You may want to speak to her," she commented. I gave her a tired nod in response, not liking that I was going to have to dump more bad news on her. I knocked on the door, hearing a dull "come in" before I pushed the door open.
  
  Hestia was on the bed, the covers pulled over her and a book in her hands. I don"t think she was actually reading it since it was upside down. Her eyes lit up when she saw me even as her expression became deadly serious. "What happened?" She asked and I really needed to get better at hiding what I was thinking.
  
  I told her, starting from the beginning. I could see each piece of bad news weighing her down like I was throwing a physical weight on her to the point that she couldn"t even muster up any outrage at Loki"s betrayal. We fell into a heavy silence once I was done delivering the bad news, her hands curled up into fists. My other plan to talk to Hephaestus seemed to help if only a bit.
  
  "Your status," she said, breaking the silence. "We haven"t updated your status in a while, have we?" She asked and I realized that I hadn"t gotten it updated since before the minotaur attack. Was it only a day? It felt like so much longer, though. The past hours felt like weeks. Before I could say anything, Hestia got out of bed and started tugging at my shirt.
  
  Within a few moments, I found myself laying on my stomach with her hands on my back-
  
  You have reached 75 in Endurance! Please select the perk you wish to be awarded:
  
  Toughness: 5% damage resistance.
  Quick Healer: You can now regenerate health. Effects determined by Endurance stat.
  Iron Bones: Your bones are as breakable as iron.
  Super immune: Great resistance to Disease and Toxins.
  
  You have reached 75 in Dexterity! Please select the perk you wish to be awarded:
  
  Dexterous: Bonus 5% exp awarded for all Dexterity related actions.
  Boneless: Your ligaments have too much in common with rubber bands and contortions look at you with envy.
  Hand-Eye Coordination: Your reaction times are increased. Effects determined by Dexterity and Sense stats.
  
  You have reached 25 in Intelligence! Please select the perk you wish to be awarded:
  
  Great memory: You can recall most things with a passing glance
  Comprehension: When you learn new skills, you gain an innate understanding of them.
  
  You have reached 50 in Sense! Please select the perk you wish to be awarded:
  
  Bloodhound: Your nose is sharp enough to be used for tracking.
  Sonar: Your hearing is sharp enough that you can tell where things are by sound alone.
  
  Due to reaching milestones in your stats, you have been awarded the following perks:
  
  Light Footed: Your footsteps make as much noise as a feather hitting the ground
  Devil in the Details: Small details jump out at you. Effectiveness is determined by Intelligence and Sense stats.
  Mimicry is the highest form of Flattery: You will have greater ease copying something that you have seen.
  Perfect Practice makes Perfect: Highly repeated actions now cost less stamina to perform.​
  
  Ugh, so many windows, I thought with a grimacing, unused to getting bombarded with them since I rarely, if ever, got popup windows. Now I was getting hit with so many of them at once, I realized just how intrusive the things were. It was only after I was done grimacing that I bothered to read the contents and my annoyance was replaced with excitement. I could choose more perks, and now that they were the second batch, some of them looked pretty good.
  
  I moved the other windows to the side, deciding I would look at them when I was done picking my perks. It was even better than I thought, recognizing the ones that I didn"t pick the last go around. So I could pick them up later if I wanted to.
  
  "Did you get more perks?" Hestia asked softly, practically whispering in my ear with her hands cupped around her lips. It seemed that she understood just how sharp high-level adventurers were. Probably didn"t help when we knew at least one was peeping at this very moment.
  
  I nodded wordlessly, whispering back what choices I had. Hestia lit up when she heard some of them, and I was in agreement with some of her choices. Some of them were instant benefits, much like Life-Giver was, while others would have some long term gain, similar to how Balerina changed my fighting style from angry bull to graceful angry bull.
  
  I went ahead and picked Fast Healer simply because there were times that I couldn"t afford to take a potion break. If I hadn"t blinded that minotaur, then I would have died before I could start downing potions like my life depended on it. Super Immune was kinda useless since I had Abnormal Resistance, but Iron Bones was going to be picked eventually.
  
  Then I went with Hand-Eye Coordination simply because it would mesh well with my other perks and the fact that I was a front line fighter. The last two choices were less easy to pick. Would it be better to have a sharp nose or better hearing? Was having a better memory more important or understanding what I learned better?
  
  "Comprehension," Hestia answered as if she could read my thoughts. "You can learn how to better leverage your skills if you understand why you"re doing the things that you are." She explained and I saw the logic in her choice. It would also synergize well with Mimicry and Perfect Practice.
  
  Then the last one...was Sonar. The vast majority of the fighting I did was in the Dungeon, so knowing if I was going to be hit with a horde, or an ambush sounded invaluable.
  
  Once that was done, only then did I turn my attention to the other screens.
  
  You have achieved a feat worthy of a Title! Congratulations!
  
  Due to valiantly facing foes that are undoubtedly stronger than you yet emerging victorious through wits, grit, and luck, you have earned the Title:
  
  Under Leveled: Greatly increased parameters when pitted against foes that are stronger than you by at least 1 level. Greatly increased rewards. Greatly increased chances of a rare drop item when against monsters in the Dungeon.​
  
  Huh. I...guess I did get something for killing those minotaurs. Well, that was nice. No, actually, this was perfect! I really wish that my system would give me hard numbers instead of saying "increased parameters" but between this and Swordsman, would my inflated stats be enough to bridge the gap between a level 1 and 2?
  
  It was a possibility at least. I could work with this. Did they have to be stronger than me or only a level stronger? I"m guessing the latter since it's the only thing mentioned in the description. A coil of tension that was strangling my heart let go, letting me breathe a little easier. It was hardly the game changer that I needed, but this balanced things out a little more.
  
  Depending on how the War Game was done, I could still end up facing down hundreds of Soma familia members, but there was hope. It could end up being a one on one duel, and with this, I could win. I just needed to get my stats up. That topic, naturally, led my train of thought to how I was supposed to be getting trained by the Loki familia, making a wave of bitterness swell up in my chest.
  
  "All done?" Hestia asked, freeing me from my thoughts before they could spiral down. I nodded, getting up and taking the slip of paper that Hestia handed to me. There was a broad smile on her face and, hopefully, the good news didn"t stop there.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 1
  Progress to level 2: 244,698/1,000,000
  Strength: 64
  Endurance: 78
  Dexterity: 77
  Intelligence: 30
  Sense: 53
  
  Development Abilities:
  Physical Resistance: The user receives 7% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Abnormal Resistance: Poisons, Toxins, and Drugs are 7% less effective. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Swordsman: Increased parameters when wielding swords. Effectiveness is determined by Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and Sense.
  Berserker: Increased parameters proportional to users rage.
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.
  Kissing: An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target. Effectiveness is determined by the Dexterity and Sense stat.
  Sex: Greatly enhances parameters when engaging in sexual intercourse. Effectiveness is determined by Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, and Sense stats.
  Dishwashing: Stains and dried on food are easier to remove. Effectiveness is determined by Strength stat. ​
  
  The first new addition to my status that I noticed was Dishwasher, it drew my eyes like a magnet because of the sheer ridiculousness. "Of all the..." I trailed off, a grin threatening to tug at my lips despite the situation. I got a dishwashing skill. Of course, I did.
  
  "I guess we know who"s cleaning up after dinner," Hestia teased, clinging to my side. I was glad for it. Her presence helped distract me from...everything. Loki, Lili still being asleep, the Soma familia. It felt like I was being pulled in a dozen different directions and something was close to giving out. I wrapped an arm around her and savored her warmth.
  
  "Berserker is going to be useful against the Soma familia," I said, recalling how I felt when I butchered the Soma members that broke into my home. The rage so intense that I looped back around to being perfectly calm, everything that I did made so much sense, no matter how brutal. Between Under Leveled and Berserker, my stats would be getting quite a boost when it came time to deal with Soma-
  
  "It"s going to be okay, Jericho," Hestia told me, her tone certain, trying to reassure me to calm my growing stress. "I"ll go talk with Hephaestus-- I"ll take Ryuu or Anya with me, I promise. She"ll get the stupid Guild off our backs and she"ll chase off the Soma familia too."
  
  A sigh escaped me, "but this won"t end with that." I said, feeling more exhausted than I had after a week of no sleep. "I"m not letting Lili anywhere near those pieces of...and so long as we have her, the Soma familia is going to have a justification to harass us. Hestia, I"ve killed ten of their members. They"re not going to let that go." Hestia"s expression became troubled, my words taking the edge off her optimism.
  
  "This has to come to an end, sooner or later," I said, holding her tight. I needed time but time worked against me. The longer it took me to get ready, the bigger the chance that the Soma familia would do something. Could I even go into the Dungeon alone anymore or would I just be ambushed? And the longer this dragged out for, the less fresh it'll be in the Guild"s memories so fewer eyes would be on them. Once enough time had passed, then they would try something big and, while that time could help me, if I stagnated because I couldn't go into the Dungeon...
  
  Hestia looked afraid. Not for herself, if I had to guess, but for me and Lili. I gave her hand a small squeeze, prompting Heatia to hold me that much tighter. "It's still going to be okay," Hestia repeated, clinging to her optimism. "You'll figure something out. Lili will wake up, and then we'll beat up the Soma familia," she said in the tone of someone trying to put their hopes into reality.
  
  Well...then I had better make sure that they do.
  
  I let go of Hestia, placing a kiss on top of her head as I rose to my feet. "I should go to the Dungeon while I still can," I said, shrugging on my shirt. Hestia gave me a serious nod, raising to her feet as well.
  
  "Then I'm going to see Hephaestus now," she decided, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. I...guess I was showing how badly the situation was getting to me. I thought I was keeping a firm cap on it. Never before have I felt like...I was hanging off a cliff and waiting for the moment that the frayed rope keeping me up snapped. I could feel that moment approaching deep in my bones but I didn't know when. "Have a little faith, Jericho. Everything is going to be okay. I promise," she said, her voice slightly muffled from burying her face in my stomach.
  
  I certainly hope so.
  ...
  
  "Hestia...why didn"t you come to me sooner with this?" Hephaestus asked, massaging the bridge of her nose after Hestia had finished telling what her familia had landed themselves in. Hestia didn"t know that she was massaging the bridge of her nose since she couldn"t see her long time friend, but she knew her well enough to know what her response would be.
  
  "Because I didn"t want to rely on you," Hestia answered honestly, speaking loudly so the floor wouldn"t muffle her words. Her forehead was pressed to the cool stone, though it was rough on her knees. The dogeza, a legendary technique taught to her by Takemikazuchi, who claimed that none could resist doing the users will when used. The ultimate begging technique.
  
  She hated it. Hate wasn"t something that Hestia had a lot of experience with, not in the thousands of years she had lived. There were plenty of things, and people, that she disliked, but Hestia would hesitate to say that she hated any of them. But, without a shadow of a doubt in her mind, she hated...that she had to use this technique.
  
  Hestia knew her familia was small, only one member at the moment, but she found a great pride in it. In Jericho. He was proving exactly the kind of man that she always imagined her familia being filled with -- heroes that ignored incredible odds to do what they believed was right. Jericho was determined to help Lili even if it meant taking on the entirety of the Soma familia. Of course, he was scared, but that fear was for her and Lili if he didn"t win. He didn"t fear for himself.
  
  That pride, Hestia had come to love. She basked in it like a warm sunny day because her familia, as small as it might be, was exactly what she wanted.
  
  And here she was, throwing that pride away to beg for help because, as much as she wished otherwise, Hestia knew that this was the most she could do. She had no great skill at arms, or a web of secrets to be used. What she did have was a powerful friend that could protect her familia since she couldn"t.
  
  "Hestia..." Hephaestus muttered, a sigh escaping her. "Stop bowing, please. Just...sit down," her friend said, sounding exhausted. However, Hestia didn"t move. She couldn"t. The only thing that she had to offer was her pride and she knew it wasn"t worth the lives of Jericho or Lili.
  
  "I can"t," Hestia refused. "Not until you agree to help us. Please-"
  
  "Oh, for- of course I"ll help you!" Hephaestus half-shouted, sounding annoyed. "I can"t believe that you thought I wouldn"t for a second, Hestia." She exclaimed with a huff. Hestia"s head snapped up, her eyes blurry with unshed tears but she fought them back with an iron will.
  
  She had cried enough, Hestia decided. First when she found Lili battered and broken in a puddle of her own blood. When she realized that there was nothing that she could do to make her wake up to the point that Ryuu and the others put her in a separate room so Lili could get her rest. From now on, the time that she could have spent crying, she was going to spend doing something. Anything other than wallow in self-pity over her own inability.
  
  So, she swallowed a lump in her throat and wiped the unshed tears away before she rose to her feet. Her knees hurt a bit from bowing for awhile, but sitting down in the chair was a welcomed relief. It took her a few seconds to bring herself to look up at Hephaestus to see her lone red eye was filled with worry.
  
  "I think I have a grasp on the situation, and I promise I will throw my weight around to make the Guild go away," Hephaestus swore her voice firm. There weren"t words to describe the relief that flooded through Hestia at that reassurance. "And I"ll put pressure on the Soma familia, but, I"ll be honest, I"m not sure how much good that will do."
  
  That, Hestia thought, was less reassuring. "Because of Soma," she could guess the reason between Lili"s story and her own memories of Soma back in Heaven. He was always one to get lost in his own world, indulging in his few hobbies with a single-minded devotion that it was honestly impressive even by the standards of gods. However, never in a million years would she have ever thought he would be so devoted to his hobby that he could completely ignore the suffering he was causing.
  
  "Because of Soma," Hephaestus agreed with a nod. "I could throw the book at him, and I doubt that guy would even notice. Their captain has full reign of the familia, but the gods won"t recognize his authority when it comes to godly matters. So, throwing the book at them could make the situation worse -- Zanis will lash out, perhaps not at you, but as someone that"s drunk on freedom, having stipulations thrown on him when he won"t be able to argue to get them removed..."
  
  Members in his familia would suffer. Other weak familias would suffer. People just trying to live their lives would suffer. Because the Hestia familia didn"t want to suffer when they had a friend in high places. Worse, a lot of the other gods wouldn"t care about that at all. If anything, they would find it funny to watch someone like Zanis get the rug pulled out from underneath him, to watch his reactions, no matter who they hurt.
  
  The gods came down from Heaven in search of entertainment. And a lot of gods had a very cruel sense of humor.
  
  "We just need some time," Hestia said, echoing her child"s words. He was in the Dungeon right now, undoubtedly pushing himself to his absolute limits to progress enough that he could take on the Soma familia single-handedly if he needed to. He wasn"t even close to leveling up, but, maybe, with enough time he could. If they had a few weeks, then maybe...
  
  "I don"t think a few weeks is going to make much of...a...difference," Hephaestus started to say, only to trail off when Hestia wouldn"t meet her gaze. "Hestia..."
  
  "I didn"t do anything wrong," Hestia was quick to defend herself, wincing internally. "Jericho...is something special." She answered, keeping it simple but still telling the truth. It was absurd to think, but Hestia was certain that he would be able to level up in a few weeks. Maybe one. His title would help close the gap between him and a level 2, but the Soma familia had hundreds of members. He wouldn"t be able to take on such a force unless he was level 2 at least.
  
  Hephaestus stared at her for a moment, before giving a slow inclination of her head. She was letting the topic drop for now, just not forever. "If what I"m hearing about him is true, then I would imagine so. But, people are already starting to talk about your child. I"m sure a lot of it is just rumors, but some of them believe them. Apollo especially -- I heard him screeching this morning about you."
  
  Why would...oh. It was a rare thing to see the god of smiths blush as brightly as her hair, so Hestia knew what the rumor mill was spinning. She guessed she should have seen it coming -- the topic of her virginity, and who would take it, was a topic that the gods seemed to love to entertain themselves with. Now that she had announced that she lost it to rub it into Loki"s stupid face, of course the gods would be talking about it and collecting on their bets.
  
  "W-well, I"ll deal with Apollo after we"re done with the Soma familia," Hestia decided, not wanting to deal with the creep at all. He was obsessed with her, taking whatever opportunity he could think of to be around her. And no matter how blatant his creepiness was, he just insisted that he was being nice and she was rude for not appreciating him. Only replace appreciating with sleeping with him.
  
  Hephaestus gave a shallow nod, and Hestia went on a limb to guess that she wasn"t sure if she believed the rumors or not. It didn"t matter. What mattered was her familia and their safety.
  
  "Thank you," Hestia said, bowing her head again, a knot of tension released. Jericho wouldn"t be blacklisted from the Guild for defending himself and their home. "I know you"ve already helped me out so much Hephaestus, and I promise you I"ll return everything that you"ve done for me a hundredfold one day." She would do it too. She owed the red-headed goddess more than words could ever say.
  
  Not just for helping her, but for kicking her out. It had been dreadful living alone and having to work, but because of it, she met Jericho. Now, she couldn"t picture her life without him. Even if he one day died from old age, when his soul was reborn, she would find him. No matter how many lifetimes would pass, she would always be by his side.
  
  "I"d say not to worry about it, but I know it won"t do any good," Hephaestus said, her lips tugging into a frown that she only wore when she was trying to not smile. "But, I"m glad you"re taking this seriously. I"ll admit that I was pretty worried about you when I kicked you out." She admitted, letting the smile win as she grinned at Hestia.
  
  Hestia found herself smiling back. "I think it all worked out perfectly."
  ...
  
  I wasn"t alone in the Dungeon, despite expecting myself to be. Off in the distance, just out of sight like a shadow in the mist, there was another adventurer watching me. There were times that I thought that she was gone, but every once and a while, I would hear the sound of an orc hitting the ground to alert me that she was still lurking nearby. With Sonar, I could tell where she was too.
  
  I could hear so much, and I had more or less the exact position of the source of the sound, except instead of being monsters spawning ahead or behind me, my brain told me that they were Soma familia members. They weren"t, I hadn"t seen anyone else in the Dungeon so far, but each time I heard a footstep behind me, I turned around to expect a dozen Soma members lead by their level 2s.
  
  My hands were shaking from the nerves, I realized, noticing a small tremor in my blade. I took in a calming breath, delving deeper into the tenth floor. My torso felt bare without any armor on it, but there was nothing that could be done about it. My armor was still a week away from being completed, and even reforging a chest piece would take way too long.
  
  It was fine. As if to prove that point, I heard some rustling grass behind me, alerting me to an imp trying to sneak up on me. I pivoted, leaning out of the wild swipe it made at my kidneys, the gray-skinned bone-thin creature letting out a squawk of surprise before I drove my pommel into its face hard enough that it's skull cracked open. I underestimated how much Hand-Eye Coordination would help me when dealing with small but fast monsters. Between it and Ballerina, I could dodge most attacks with ease now.
  
  I ducked underneath a wild swing from an orc, feeling air brush against my sweat-soaked face as I countered at the same time. I slashed at its stomach, gutting the monster before I took off its leg. Controlling my breathing, I thrust my blade forward, stabbing it in the neck before yanking my blade forward to take its head off. The body collapsed to the ground, and I wasted no time kicking it over to yank out its magic stone. The body collapsed to ash, leaving behind an orc hide.
  
  I stuffed it into my bag, before continuing forward.
  
  I needed a few more orc hides to complete a quest, and that would land me a nice pile of exp. Then there were other quests I could look into getting and try to cash in before it became too dangerous for me to enter the Dungeon. With that in mind, I jogged forward, exploring the wide-open room in search of more orcs.
  
  Instead, I found something else entirely. I wasn"t even looking for it, but my eyes fell upon the staircase that would take me to the eleventh floor.
  
  "You shouldn"t go down there, yet," the adventurer that was shadowing me announced her presence. My heart lurched in my chest, but it was quick to settle. I glanced over my shoulder to see Ryuu dressed in what was quite possibly the most anime outfit ever. A deep green cloak with the hood shaped like the petals of a flower, a green mask that covered the bottom half of her face, with a white tunic underneath leading to a pair of green panty-like booty shorts. Two cloth belts made an X around her hips, while her legs were covered from the mid-thigh down with brown leather boots. In her hand was a wooden sword, but even if it was a practice weapon, she could easily kill me with it.
  
  "I have to," I said, turning my attention back to the entrance to the eleventh floor. "I"m not pushing myself enough on this floor anymore." I could kill orcs easily and even the monsters that had troubled me before were simple to dispatch thanks to my new perks. I needed something to push me to a new limit and this floor wasn"t doing that for me.
  
  "There will be other opportunities. You don"t have to go now," Ryuu argued gently, her deep blue eyes narrowed into a sharp look that I felt even though half of her face was hidden.
  
  I gave her a cheeky grin, "when else will I have a high leveled adventurer to protect me if I bite off more than I can chew?" I retorted, meeting her gaze. To my surprise, she looked away, letting out a quiet sigh before she nodded, apparently seeing the logic in my words. Perfect.
  
  Turning my attention back to the entrance, I squared my shoulders and took a deep breath. I took the first step and I could only hope that Ryuu was following behind me because she was soundless. I nearly was as well, almost shockingly so as I made my way down the stone steps. I"m not sure how the exact mechanics worked, but it seemed I really was feather footed. Neat.
  
  It didn"t take long to reach the bottom of the stairs to the eleventh floor, the last floor that level 1 adventurers were able to go on. Everything below this was level 2 and up. I was greeted by a wall of heavy fog that nearly made it impossible to make anything out. The little that I did see was that the ground was less grassy and rockier. There seemed to be objects in the distance, boulders, and outcroppings.
  
  There wasn"t much detail to be had, I mused stepping into the heavy mist, glancing over my shoulder to see that Ryuu had followed me down. She was watching me as I searched the dense mist for enemies only to have no such luck. In a way, I think I understood why it was recommended for B+ stats on this floor. If the mist was always this dense then it would be easy to find yourself surrounded.
  
  Except for one thing.
  
  Closing my eyes, I tried to focus on my hearing. It wasn"t as easy as anime made it sound, pardon the pun. I didn"t get exact pinpoint coordinates on a 3D map inside my head, or anything. I just got a vague "over there" or "directly ahead of me" instead. And, despite the heavy fog blocking them from view, there was activity in the distance. Heavy footsteps, the sound of stone breaking...
  
  Let"s get to it then.
  
  Opening my eyes, I strode forward, zeroing in on a source of the noise. Cautiously, I approached, Ryuu vanishing in the mist but I didn"t doubt that she was nearby. The sound of footsteps grew closer and closer until I could make a shape out in the fog. Swallowing thickly, I braced myself for another fight and strode forward.
  
  It was a silverback, I saw shortly before I made eye contact with a large gorilla-like ape. Unlike the anime, it wasn"t two stories tall like a baby King Kong. It wasn"t that much bigger than a normal-sized gorilla, actually. I"m sure compared to Bell and Hestia the thing had seemed absolutely massive, but compared to me, it was still smaller than me. I don"t think it broke five feet hunched over on all fours.
  
  It snarled at me, letting out a screech as it slapped the ground in a challenge. Thankfully, Eina had prepared me for this. Exactly as she said, it stood up, beating its chest as it let out another screeched before it launched itself at me. It launched a wild haymaker at my head as it practically flew at me, crossing the small distance between us with surprising speed.
  
  I moved at the same time, going to meet it halfway, my sword shifting. I thrusted my sword forward, catching the monkey in the chest and used its momentum against it. It sank deep into my blade as I continued forward, ducking underneath the wild haymaker as I yanked my blade to the side. As the silverback monster continued forward, my sword yanked free of its chest, exiting by carving a path through its ribs, spinning around from the sudden exit, before it crashed onto the ground into a pile of ashes.
  
  The magic stone was destroyed, which is why the tactic wasn"t a common one against the silverback monster. Eina said that they were highly aggressive, typically launching themselves at adventurers where they would then use their incredible weight to knock through defenses. Which, now that I think about it, reminded me a little too much of my own tactics.
  
  I would have to aim a bit lower, skewer them through the stomach rather than the chest. I summoned up my status screen to do some mental math at how much they were worth. I killed about a dozen orcs, some imps...-
  
  I was interrupted by the sound of a deep rumbling roar that echoed throughout the eleventh floor. It was nearly deafening and I didn"t need Sonar to tell me that whatever it was, it was too close. I scrambled up the rock that the silverback had been sitting on, the mist lightening enough that I could see a glimpse of what made the sound.
  
  A dragon. There was no mistaking it. I read enough fantasy books to recognize it on sight. The large head, the gaping maw filled with sharp teeth, the deep blue scales that covered its lizard-like face that flowed down a long neck. I couldn"t see its body because of the fog, but I could imagine it with ease. Four legs to support it, a long lizard tail, it wouldn"t have wings...and it was so huge. After the past few weeks, I got used to looking down at everything.
  
  The dragon was still taller than me with an extra five feet. I couldn"t imagine facing that thing down on the ground.
  
  "An infant dragon," Ryuu commented, a frown in her voice. "Bad luck. Its presence will scare off any monsters nearby." She said but I was glued to my spot. An infant dragon was like a floor boss. A floor boss was characterized by having an unusually high level that marked a stage in the Dungeon. In a way, the infant dragon marked the separation between the upper floors and the middle floors.
  
  A level 2 monster.
  
  "Jericho-" Ryuu started, knowing exactly what was going through my mind. I guess it must have been obvious as the infant dragon turned to face in my direction, bright orange flames licking at its lips.
  
  A random thought struck me as I looked at the infant dragon that stood at least twenty feet tall and twice that long.
  
  It was a quote from my English teacher back when we read Beowulf in class. "The dragon is never a dragon." The dragon was a representation of something -- fear, an insurmountable obstacle, a personal decision or anything at all. Triumphing over the dragon was triumphing over the issue, marking a change in the character from then on. The dragon was simply a literary device rather than a creature that inspired fear and awe to those that witness it.
  
  I hadn"t thought about that class in years. I wonder if Mrs. Wellis would say the same now that a dragon existed outside of a storybook.
  
  "I need to kill the dragon," I heard myself say, my voice oddly calm despite essentially saying that I wanted to commit suicide by fire. Yet, I wasn"t turning tail and running away. I wasn"t armored, not that it would matter. All I had was a sword...and a title. I didn"t have magic or an OP ability that was a literal asspull whenever I needed one. Bell one-shotted the infant dragon in the anime, but I don"t think I would manage that same feat.
  
  None of that changed that simple truth. I needed to kill the dragon. For the exp. For the monster drop. For the stat gains.
  
  Because the dragon wasn"t a dragon.
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
  Versed in the lewd.
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  This was such a bad idea, I thought, jumping off the rock when I reached the end of it. I could hear the dragon slowly moving to meet me halfway, each step it took sent vibrations running through me. I didn't even want to think about how much that thing would weigh. I didn't even want to think about how big it was either. The only thing going through my mind was how I was going to kill the dragon.
  
  "Jericho, stop-" Ryuu started, darting out in front of me but whatever she saw when she looked at me made the words die in her throat. A hand that she meant to stop me with fell limply to her side, her deer blue eyes staring up at me but I only saw her in my peripheral vision. With each second that passed, the dragon drew closer. It wouldn't be long before we clashed. My hand tightened on my sword -- out of anticipation or fear. Not even I knew at this point.
  
  At this moment, the only thing that I did know was that I had to kill the dragon.
  
  "..." There was a tense silence as I kept walking forward, willing to go through Ryu if I had to. Then, without warning, her shoulders slumped ever so slightly in defeat. She stepped out of my way, letting me continue forward without having to say a single word to her. "I have high potions," she informed as I walked by her. "But I won't interfere unless my promise to your goddess is at risk."
  
  I hadn't known that Hestia made Ryu promise anything, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Hestia was a worrywart. Considering that I was about to fight a dragon that was a whole level stronger than me, I couldn't say she was one without reason. But that was okay. Just an added layer of safety that I wasn't going to need because I wasn't going to die here.
  
  The dragon was. I wasn't sure how yet but looking at my track record, my guess is that eyes were going to be stabbed. And seeing as it hadn't failed me yet, stabbing the dragon in the eyes just became plan A.
  
  But...there was no point wearing my armor, was there? It wasn't tough enough to survive a blow from a level 2 dragon. It was only going to slow me down. With well-practiced ease, I unclasped the armor that covered my legs and tossed the metal plates to the side while the thumps of the dragon moving grew louder. I tested my legs with a few hops, feeling a bit freer but I don't think it was going to make that much of a difference. Still, I felt better for it.
  
  Another thump seemed to shake the floor and for the first time I saw a vague shadow lurking in the mist. Now that I was at ground level...damn, that thing was huge. With its serpentine neck stretched back, it was probably closer to thirty feet tall on all fours. It was hard to think of this monster as an infant anything. I wonder how big the one on the deep floors were?
  
  Ehh, I would find out one day. Because I wasn't going to die here, I decided as the dragon came to a stop some distance away, it's long neck rearing back. I knew what was coming next as I settled in a stance. My heartbeat was oddly calm, all things considered. My breathing was even, my hands were steady...I was calm. Perhaps a little too calm for what came next, but, for now, I savored it.
  
  The dragon threw its head forward as it unleashed a deep, powerful roar that shook me down to my bones, my ears ringing as the force of the roar washed over my skin. The mist swirled, pushed away from the mighty roar, revealing a silverish blue dragon with dark golden eyes. Its mouth was filled with teeth the size of kitchen knives, and there were a lot of teeth. Its claws that supported that massive body were about the size of me, leading to "short" bulky leads that lead to a barreled chest.
  
  I wish I had time to admire the creature, but time spent admiring was time that could be spent killing. As it let out a roar that I"m sure could be heard in the Guildhall, I rushed forward, my gaze finding its golden eyes as I poised my sword for a thrust. My sword shot out like a bullet, aiming to end this fight in a single strike if I could, only for the dragon to flinch back at the last moment. My sword scraped against silverish scales, and I don"t think I managed to so much as scratch them.
  
  With my surprise attack failed, I immediately fell on the defensive. This wasn"t an enemy that I could overpower by throwing my weight around. The only thing I could do was whittle it down, or wait for my next opportunity. Regardless, the issue now became making sure that I didn"t die before I could do either of those things. As if to confirm my thoughts, the dragon lashed out with an arm, its massive claws racing towards me. They missed by an inch, displaced wind battering me, blowing my hair all up in my face.
  
  If I had moved a second later, then I would have died, I realized, my heartrate starting to pick up, hot blood surging through my veins. I threw myself back again, putting some more distance between us, and as soon as my feet touched the ground, I was forced to throw myself to the side as the dragon made a wild lunge at me with its other arm. Since I"ve come here, reach has always been in my favor, and now that it wasn"t I could honestly say that I didn"t care for it very much.
  
  I felt broken pebbles rain down on my back and shoulders as I rolled to my feet, a sizable boulder reduced to small rocks as the dragon"s hands smashed through it. I really didn"t want to find out what they would do to my bones. Maybe I should have picked Iron Bones after all? Though, I doubt that would have helped much either.
  
  The dragon"s head turned on a swivel, orange flames licking at the edges of its mouth, telling me what was going to happen next. I rushed to a boulder that would be big enough to cover me, and no sooner than I had curled up into a ball, a torrent of flames washed over the rock. Worse, they didn"t seem to act according to action movie logic.
  
  Tongues of flames licked at my sides, the heat was nearly unbearable -- in a moment, my undershirt was drenched with sweat, which is probably the only thing that kept it from catching on fire. I couldn"t breathe and the one gasp I dared to take sent superheated air into my lungs, making them burn just as badly as my skin did. The only thing I could think to compare the heat to was cranking a stove up to high, waiting until the elements glowed a bright red and holding my hand above it. The feeling rapidly moved on from a slight annoyance to a sharp pain that grew worse and worse and worse with every second.
  
  I swallowed thickly, my lungs burning for air as I shifted my feet, ready to move. I wasn"t out of the fight yet. As if to agree with me, the torrent of flames stopped, revealing charred patches of dirt and stone glowing a faint orange from the heat. I pivoted, jumping up onto the rock and throwing myself forward and up. I was greeted with the sight of the dragon lunging at the rock that I hid behind, its double eyelids blinking in surprise as I leaped to meet it.
  
  It jerked its head out of the way as I made another wild slash at its eyes as I sailed past it. But that was fine. I was on a crash course with its back. Gripping my sword with all of my strength, when I neared, I thrust down with every ounce of my strength -- my blade punched through its thick scales and hide, steam erupting where my sword sank in deep enough to serve as leverage to keep myself from being thrown off when the infant dragon bucked, roaring its pain for the world to hear.
  
  Good. I can hurt it. I was worried about that.
  
  Bracing myself, the dragon tried to throw me off, only to manage for a bone to slip out of the way so I could sink my sword even deeper. Every muscle I had was tensed, ready for sudden action. I was anything but safe on the back of the beast. My gaze was trained on its neck and the back of its head, waiting for its next move. Because, in the end, with a monster like this I was forced on the defensive.
  
  It"s head shifted, the oversized head turning towards me and that was what I was waiting for. I yanked my blade out as the dragon craned its head back, more fire licking at the edges of its mouth. I ran forward a few steps before it launched another torrent of fire at me since it was apparently immune to its own heat. I didn"t falter, lunging forward to thrust my blade into the back of the dragon"s neck, feeling the smaller scales give way-
  
  Then there was pain. The burning sensation before was nothing compared to the blast of fire that slammed into me with the same force as the truck that killed me a few weeks ago, washing over me and leaving behind a hellish pain. It wasn"t from the dragon"s mouth, but from its neck, my sword punching through its throat, offering two new exits for the torrents of flame to escape from.
  
  My momentum carried me away from the fire, but that brief moment was pure hell. I barely felt it when I hit the ground heavily, I couldn"t feel anything other than the pain in my hands and arms. I forced myself to look at them, only to regret the action a moment later. My skin was black in some places, a greasy fluid seeping from the cracks of my flash heated skin...and I"m pretty sure my fingers were fused to the grip of my sword.
  
  But that was okay. That just meant I wouldn"t drop my weapon.
  
  Gritting my teeth, I pushed myself up, watching as the dragon roared in agony that I could only hope rivaled mine. Spurts of flame erupted from the new exits, blood pouring from the wound ir rivers so I might have nicked an artery as well. For all the good it would do me since I had the feeling this fight wasn"t going to be determined by who could outlast the other. Its claws dug into the stone, carving deep lines into it.
  
  Then the dragon lunged at me, not so hurt that it couldn"t move. I threw myself out of the way, narrowly dodging a- my vision was filled with the sight of a large claw racing towards me -- I dove into the path of the second attack. My eyes went wide, my heart lurching. This wasn"t Dark Souls and that one mistake was going to end me.
  
  It might have too. I felt something slam into me, but it couldn"t be the claw because I was flying upwards. We landed an impossible distance away before I was lowered to the ground, though it was more of I just leaned back to touch my feet to the ground.
  
  Ryu didn"t say anything as she looked at me, her gaze landing on my heavily burnt hands. One of her hands going to her pouch to grab a healing potion...
  
  "Don"t," I said, my voice sounding raspy to my own ears as the dragon roared in rage at my sudden disappearance. The mist swirled around it, jets of flame surging from the wounds in its neck, offering some light that made its body look like a long shadow in the mist. "I have to do this on my own," I insisted, looking at Ryu, who"s hands stilled at her waist.
  
  A mask covered her face, so it was hard to tell exactly what she was thinking, not that I normally could in normal situations. However, if I had to guess, the look she gave me was of resigned acceptance. It was hard to put into words what passed between us in that moment as I turned my attention back to the dragon that I had to kill. I don"t think I could put it into words if I had a thousand years to try.
  
  The only word that came close was understanding.
  
  Sucking in a low breath, relishing in the fact that I could still breath, I strode forward for round two. My hands were pure hell, my lungs still hurt, and my shirt was mostly gone from the flames. The dragon was crouched low, likely unaware that the jets of flames were giving away its position -- and the shadow that it cast made it appear that much more daunting.
  
  There was no war cry of desperation or hope or to intimidate my foe as I rushed forward, my feet barely making a sound as I closed the distance between us. This wasn"t an honorable duel where sneak attacks and low blows were forbidden or frowned upon. This was a fight for survival.
  
  The dragon didn"t notice me until I broke through the mist, my sword raised high, the usual polished steel color dyed black from the heat, and slammed the edge of it into the back of its front leg. Tendons, I learned, made a sound when they were severed. A loud pop rang out as the dragon roared, its other claw going up to take a swipe at me, but it didn"t account on its other leg from giving out on it. I threw myself forward to make sure I didn"t get crushed as the dragon fell heavily on its side.
  
  I moved, my feet carrying me despite the pain in my hands, my sword sinking into the dragon"s underbelly. The dragon took a swipe at me, squirming, but I didn"t let it stop me from running the length of the dragon"s stomach, gutting the creature. Heat hit me like a wall, the internals of the dragon was stupidly hot, but I accepted the pain if it meant victory.
  
  The dragon abandoned attacking me in favor of rolling over so suddenly that it nearly took my weapon with it. Its guts slipped out, damaged and pouring scalding hot blood over the rough stone by the gallons. Even still, the dragon appeared to be made of sterner stuff than that because as soon as it was free of my weapon, its head twisted to look at me before darting towards me to swallow me whole.
  
  Despite its head being vertical, our eyes seemed to meet as the dragon made a desperate final attack. Then, another moment passed, and all I could see was the dragon"s throat as it rapidly approached me. This time, I reacted on instinct rather than any kind of plan. Naturally, I took a wild swing at the dragon"s mouth, throwing all my weight behind the swing. My sword slammed into its bottom jaw hard enough that it slammed shut, diverting its path just enough that it slammed into the side of my body rather than hitting me dead center.
  
  I spun from the blow, wondering just how many bones I had broken with that stunt. But I was alive, that was the important part. I slammed into the ground with a groan, tasting blood in my mouth as I face planted. No sooner that I went down, I was already struggling to my feet just in case the dragon tried one final attack. It hadn"t.
  
  Blood pooled underneath the dragon, it"s breathing weak as its head rested on the ground. It was bearing its throat to me, waiting for me to deliver the finishing blow. I didn"t want to disappoint it or give it time to change its mind. There would be no final acknowledgment between man and beast, no sense of empathy or anything like that. None of it. That crap can be saved for the movies.
  
  With no hesitation, I took a few short steps forward and thrust my blade through the bottom of its jaw, and I didn"t stop pushing until the hilt of my weapon touched the scaly skin. Nor did I take it out until the dragon"s breathing had stilled.
  
  It was dead. I killed the dragon.
  
  "Why..." Ryu said, appearing behind me as I collapsed onto my ass, dragging my weapon out of the dragon"s skull. "Did you do that?" She asked quietly, kneeling behind me as she retrieved a high potion from her bag.
  
  I didn"t answer for a long moment, though I knew exactly why I did it. This wouldn"t be enough to make me level up. I might get a Title out of this, but that was a secondary concern.
  
  I did it because the dragon wasn"t a dragon.
  
  "To see if I could," I decided on my answer as pain melted away in my hands as burns were washed away. Burnt and melted skin was washed away like dirt, revealing smooth skin underneath. That stuff was really something, wasn"t it?
  
  "That seems a rather arbitrary reason to risk your life," Ryu commented, but her gentle voice lacked a judging quality. Gently, I started to unpry my hands from my sword to see that I was right -- my skin had fused with the grip, the cloth that wrapped it having been burned away.
  
  She wasn"t wrong, I guess, and I couldn"t expect her to understand what I meant with that answer. There was no way for her to.
  
  The dragon wasn"t a dragon.
  
  The dragon had been...me.
  
  I"ve been living it up the past couple of weeks. I was in a relationship with Hestia. I was making shit loads of money. I might spend sixteen hours in the Dungeon, but it was hardly like I hated being down here -- if anything, I loved seeing those stat numbers rise. I was friends with Lili, Eina, Syr and maybe even Ryu if the fact she was dumping more high potions on me was anything to go by.
  
  The past weeks...have been great. Including all of the bullshit.
  
  Only this wasn"t a vacation. This wasn"t a place for me to unwind. This second lease on life wasn"t a free ticket to do whatever I wanted with no consequences, where everything was going to go my way because I was me. Yet, I had been treating it as one. From making connections to canon characters even though there were better options, to wanting to stick my dick in waifus to all this other stupid shit that I had been doing.
  
  When I went into the Guild, I might have been nervous, but I fully expected to leave that building with them on my side. Because I was me and the Soma familia was the Soma familia. When I went to the Loki familia, I expected them to throw their weight around because I asked and because they owed me, I never even entertained the notion that they wouldn't help me. Instead, the situation with the Guild was a toss-up and glorified popularity contest while the Loki familia kicked me to the curb.
  
  This second lease on life was just that -- a second life. That meant shit not going my way, it meant things could be unfair, that meant being disappointed. Except here, the stakes were so much higher than they were back in my old life but I was treating them less seriously. Here, if I fucked up or failed, then Lili could die. Hestia could die. I could die.
  
  And, because of me, we were in this situation. Because I wanted to make a lot of money. Because I wanted to move to a nicer place. Because I wanted to be relevant when the plot started in a few months. Because I wanted to do what was best for me to have fun rather than what was smart -- I should have followed up with the Guild at the very start rather than keeping secrets. I should have tried to stick to Canon plotlines because then I would know what to expect. I should have done a lot of thing differently, but I didn't because I was treating this as a vacation. Now we were in a shaky spot with the Soma familia, waiting for them to make a response.
  
  The dragon was me and I killed the dragon.
  
  I felt light as a feather as I stared at the dragon corpse, idly curling my hands into fists to make sure that everything was alright with them. They felt fine. Ryu worked in silence, letting me think as I came to terms with...everything. It was weird, but after accomplishing such a feat, I was feeling motivated, ready to do something else, and yet there was an exhaustion in me that told me to go to sleep for the next couple of days.
  
  Right now...what I needed to do...was find a way forward. To find a light at the end of the tunnel, and if there wasn"t one, then I needed to make one.
  
  "Thanks for saving me earlier," I told Ryu, glancing at her out of the corner of my eye. She simply nodded in response as she stood up, satisfied that my hands didn"t look like burnt meat now. Now that they were healed, she handed me another potion for the lesser burns on my chest.
  
  "I was merely keeping a promise I made to your goddess," Ryuu answered, turning watching me dump the potion onto the onto my chest, likely to make sure that she didn"t need to give me another potion.
  
  "I know, but thanks all the same," I insisted, scratching at the now smoothed flesh that was still damp from the potion. All of my burns weren"t healed, but the worst ones were taken care of and that was enough for me. Being an adventurer had given me a growing pain tolerance, but...with my hands, if I had been able to feel them at all then I would have lost that fight.
  
  Ryuu nodded in acceptance, turning her attention to the dragon corpse. "I will retrieve the monster stone. Wait here," she said, a warning in her gentle tone. She...probably thought I was pretty reckless, huh? Couldn"t blame her for that after this stunt. Still, after this, it was hardly like I was going to run off into the mist to fight some more.
  
  For starters... I picked up my sword to inspect the damage. "Welf"s going to be pissed," I decided, looking at the blackened blade, the dulled edge in some places, the scratches and I could only assume there was some heat damage to the blade. I had entertained the thought of going to another blacksmith that was a higher level, but I didn"t follow through because I thought it would ruin whatever budding friendship I had with Welf.
  
  But I just got this sword back from getting repaired. Part of that was on me -- both for fighting things that the sword wasn"t made for, and for how I was using it, but I couldn"t imagine that a level 2"s weapon would need such extensive repairs after each fight. I liked Welf, I really did, but it looked like the stuff he was making wasn"t up to what I was asking of it.
  
  A small sigh escaped me as I set my battered weapon to the side to watch Ryuu begin cutting the dragon open with a wooden sword with ease that I envied. I guess I should check out my gains, yet part of me didn"t want to. I knew I hadn"t leveled up, that exp mark, which at first seemed like the much better option than simply doing a heroic feat, screwed me over. Even my stat gains were going to be relatively minor. The most I could hope for was that I landed a nice pile of exp, only it would be a drop in the bucket of what I needed.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 1
  Title: Under Leveled
  Progress to level 2: 301,360/1,000,000
  Strength: 64 (+1)
  Endurance: 78 (+6)
  Dexterity: 77 (+1)
  Intelligence: 30 (+5)
  Sense: 53 (+2)
  
  Development Abilities:
  Physical Resistance: The user receives 7% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Abnormal Resistance: Poisons, Toxins, and Drugs are 7% less effective. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Swordsman: Increased parameters when wielding swords. Effectiveness is determined by Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and Sense.
  Berserker: Increased parameters proportional to users rage.
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.
  Kissing: An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target. Effectiveness is determined by the Dexterity and Sense stat.
  Sex: Greatly enhances parameters when engaging in sexual intercourse. Effectiveness is determined by Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, and Sense stats.
  Dishwashing: Stains and dried on food are easier to remove. Effectiveness is determined by Strength stat.​
  
  So, I got about fifty thousand exp for killing a dragon. Which was great -- especially compared to the other monsters I"ve killed outside of minotaurs. They gave me little more than a hundred, at best, but I couldn"t help but feel that I was being cheated. If I had a normal falna, then I would have leveled up by now. I would have leveled up yesterday when I killed the minotaurs. I could be strong enough to take on Zanis and that other level 2 the Soma familia had.
  
  "You don"t think you leveled up," Ryuu commented, likely guessing my thoughts based on my expression. She didn"t know that I knew I hadn"t leveled up with this stunt, so she went with the easiest explanation that would make sense to her. I shook my head, my lips pressing into a thin line.
  
  Part of me wanted to whinge about how unfair it was. I might have if I hadn"t just decided to stop complaining when things didn"t go my way.
  
  "No, I didn"t," I confirmed, watching the dragon collapse into ash once Ryuu removed its magic stone. It was easily the biggest on that I had seen so far -- it was about the size of my head in length while being about as wide as my sword was, or about five fingers width. I"m guessing it was going to be worth a lot, even more than the minotaur magic stones.
  
  At least it wasn"t the only thing left behind. There seemed to be a pile of some kind of hide, a whole lot of it. Given the creature that it came from, I"m guessing that it was dragonhide. Then, where a claw sticking out of a pile of ash some distance away. Unlike the other monsters, the ash wasn"t so quick to vanish into nothing since there was so much of it. Looking at it now...that thing had been flipping huge.
  
  "Hm. Dragonhide and a claw...both of these are very rare drop items," Ryuu commented, surprise coloring her tone. I looked at them, my mind mulling over possibilities -- it would take time, but I'm certain that a blacksmith could make something great with this. My gaze lingered on the dragon claw, wondering if more adamantine could be extracted from it to make me a more durable weapon.
  
  Or...hmmm...I put a pin in a brewing plan in the back of my mind because Ryuu fetched them for me, stuffing them into my bag that I had dropped, then looked at me with a gaze that could best be described as awkward. As if she had something to say, but wasn"t sure if she should. I recognized it instantly simply because I had plenty of experience with that same feeling.
  
  She seemed to realize that I caught her staring at me because she let out a soft sigh. "I understand your frustration," she said, her gentle voice filled with empathy, "but if you continue to do this, then you"ll die before you level up. You won"t be able to do anything for Lady Hestia or Lili then."
  
  "You're right," I agreed, knowing that much. I could dress it up all I wanted, but it couldn't be denied that fighting a dragon was stupid. But, as stupid as it was, I didn't regret it. It proved that I could do it. I could defeat the Soma familia. No matter what they threw at me.
  
  If I couldn't defeat them as I was now, then I would hide and grind until my stats hit one hundred, and whatever perks I would get them could give me even more options.
  
  I turned to Ryuu, holding out a hand to take my bag, but she seemed to have decided that I was still too injured to carry anything...but...maybe...
  
  "Ryuu...please train me," I said, turning to her, wishing I knew how tightly this place followed Japanese customs to know if I should bow or not. Her eyes widened a fraction at my sudden request, likely not expecting it. I hadn"t expected it either, so there was no surprise there. Right now, too much came down to chance and other people's decision.
  
  The War Game could have me fighting Zanis one on one, and if that was the case, then there was a good chance that I would win. I could demand that Lili join my familia, and if he was feeling confident, then I could do something like give the order to disband the Soma familia. However, that was a temporary solution. They don't have to leave me alone just because I won the War Game. So long as he was willing to swallow the monetary circumstances, he could harass me, burn down my house, attack me in the Dungeon and so on.
  
  However, given that the type of War Game was decided by a roulette, I could end up fighting the entire Soma familia at the same time. That fight, I had to admit, I wasn't sure I could win. I didn"t have exact numbers, but the Soma familia was hundreds of members strong. I would get swarmed, then I would lose. Lili would stay in the Soma familia, and I would be completely at the mercy of whatever demand Zanis made.
  
  I needed a crushing victory regardless of whatever type of War Game happened.
  
  "I don"t think my style would suit you, Jericho," Ryuu commented lightly, not quite a denial, so that gave me hope.
  
  "I need experience fighting people. I...need a lot of help in a lot of areas, really, but if I have any chance to beat the Soma familia, then I can"t stay as I am right now," I said, having some trouble putting my thoughts into words. "I don"t care if you treat me like a punching bag. I can take it. I just need to be better than I am."
  
  And that was the crux of the issue, wasn"t it? But that would change today. The dragon was dead, and it was time to move on from the teenager that constantly thought with his cock and become a goddamn man.
  
  Ryuu paused, looking at me for a moment before she gave a small nod of her head. "I will do what I can to prepare you for the Soma familia. It won"t be a pleasant experience," she agreed, giving me a small warning that I wasn"t going to enjoy whatever time I had before this Soma situation came to a head. That was fine. Actually, that was perfect.
  
  "Then I"ll buy as many potions as I can."
  
  I had to do all that I could with whatever time that I had...and that meant that I had one more stop before I could go back to the Hostess.
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
  Versed in the lewd.
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  "What-" Eina started, dark bags underneath her eyes as she walked out of the backroom the same moment that I walked out of the Dungeon. Ryuu was already outside, not wanting us to be seen together with the feeble excuse of tempting the Soma familia to take enough rope so we could hang them with it. In Eina"s hands were stacks of paper, files upon files, and I could guess their contents. She really was giving it her best shot, wasn"t she?
  
  I offered her a lopsided smile, "I can"t let you outwork me on my behalf." I teased, hefting the bag packed with hides, drop items and the dragon"s magic stone. Eina"s gaze raked over me, a deep frown tugging at her lips in response.
  
  "You did something reckless again," she deduced, getting a confirming nod from me for her prize. "Jericho...the only monster that uses fire is on the eleventh floor. And is a dragon...unless you were attacked-?" Eina started, coming closer to me and speaking in a low whisper. It seemed that she learned her lesson after blurting sensitive information.
  
  "I wasn"t attacked by the Soma familia," I reassured. "I picked a fight with an infant dragon- but, I had someone down there with me. A level 4," I quickly explained. With those bags underneath her eyes, Eina"s already sharp glare looked positively murderous. "I won"t say that I wasn"t in any danger, but she pulled me out of the fire when it was too much for me. Pardon the pun."
  
  Eina stared at me for a long moment, her lips parted to chew me out for my recklessness, only it never came. "Jericho...you can only be so reckless when you"re trying to level up," she admonished, but with the same breath, she continued. "But you clearly survived...somehow, and I"m glad that you managed to find someone to watch your back. The Loki familia agreed to help you?"
  
  I shook my head, making Eina"s expression fall. "No, Loki said that she didn"t want to get involved with this mess. Hestia is talking to Hephaestus now, though, so we should have someone throwing their weight around up top."
  
  "I"m glad it worked out, even if it is a shame about the Loki familia," Eina said more to herself than to me, her gaze dipping down to the stack of papers in her hands. "I"ve been doing what I can on this end, but I could use the testimonies from your goddess and Lili. You said that she"s here?"
  
  "She is. Lili...hasn"t woken up yet, but that was a few hours ago. I have to go talk to someone that may be able to help when this comes to a War Game, but I"ll go check in on her after that," I said, part of me wanting to glue myself to Lili"s bedside, but I couldn"t afford to. At least out here, I was taking steps to get a Happy Ending. Not to mention, I knew all too well that I would only feel useless sitting by Lili"s bedside when I could be doing something.
  
  A flash of anger passed over Eina"s face, "she"s still not awake after drinking high potions? That suggests the assault was very server." She pointed out, shifting the pile of papers in her hands, flipping open a file filled with lines of lawspeak.
  
  An image of Lili"s battered face appeared in my mind. "...Yeah...it was."
  
  "I'll go find her. Good luck, Jericho," Eina said, offering me a tired smile that I returned. In a rush, she headed towards the elevator, leaving me behind. I glanced at the teller, wondering if I should take the time to cash in the drop items. No, not yet, I decided as I headed to the front door.
  
  Ryuu was waiting for me outside, "I have to go talk to someone. Could you stay here and take Hestia back?" I asked, deciding not to question why she was dressed in her Hostess uniform. Because of that, I saw a brief expression of apprehension pass over her face. Then it was replaced with resolve as she gave me a shallow nod.
  
  "Please go straight back to the Hostess once you're done. If you don't arrive within an hour, I will assume the Soma familia has abducted you," she informed, her tone so serious I couldn't so much as crack a smile. "Please don't worry your goddess any more than necessary."
  
  "I won't. Thanks, Ryuu. I'll be back as soon as I can," I told her. With that, I walked away from the Guildhall, feeling nervous. Already, I had a good idea of how this was going to end, and if Hestia ended up delivering more bad news... I had to think about it, no matter how much I just wanted to assume that everything was going to work out.
  
  "We'll...leave the city," I decided after a moment. There were monsters outside of the Dungeon, so I would still be able to grind some. It might take months, and by that time I would have missed the vast majority of the plotlines in Danmachi and Sword Orario. Still, that was a better outcome than dying. I would find a way to smuggle us all out of the city, then we would go somewhere else. Maybe that country that was run by Ares, the god of war.
  
  The only real thing I knew about him was that he was an idiot that couldn't win a battle, much less a war unless he had overwhelming firepower in the form of magic swords. Where a single swing of them could wipe out entire armies, destroy forests and dry up entire oceans. They were the equivalent of a nuke in a fantasy setting, and when one side had them while the other didn't, then the side that did won handily.
  
  That fact is what led me down the cobblestone path to a small workshop with smoke billowing out of a chimney. The workshop of Welf Crozzo, one of the few smiths that could craft those magic weapons.
  
  Taking in a bracing breath, I knocked on the door. "Welf? It's me, Jericho."
  
  "...Jericho, I swear if you've done anything to that sword..." Welf warned me through the door before he opened it. Welf's eyes widened a fraction when he saw me -- shirtless with a few burns left on my arms and chest, smelling of smoke and sweat...and I hadn't noticed earlier, but I think my hair was burnt a little shorter. Then his gaze narrowed into slits when his gaze landed on my sword.
  
  "...it's been, like, six hours. What have you been doing to my weapon? I spent all night fixing it! Couldn't you have at least waited a day before...what did you use this against? That's extreme heat damage," Welf muttered darkly as he took the weapon from me, inspecting it.
  
  "An infant dragon," I answered, making Welf go very still. A finger paused as he inspected the edge, before he slowly looked at me. I might as well have said that the sky was green and I was a giant dwarf for the uncomprehending expression that he gave me. Any other time I would have found it funny, but not now. Not when I came here with something in mind.
  
  "Didn't you say you weren't going deeper in the Dungeon until you had your armor?" He asked, frowning at me.
  
  "Yeah...about that," I started with a sigh in my voice. "Can I come inside? A lot happened in the past couple of hours."
  
  Welf stared at me for a moment before he stepped back from the door, gesturing for me to come in. I nodded my thanks, ducking to step in before I sat down on a bench that looked like it would hold my weight.
  
  "What's up?" He asked, leaning against the wall as he set my weapon to the side. For what felt like the tenth time today, I told him what happened. It was the same version of the truth that I told Eina. Welf's brow furrowed, his frown deepened and he scowled fiercely when I told him what happened to Lili.
  
  It took some time, and after the fight with the dragon, my mouth felt devoid of any trace of moisture. I could really use a glass of water or something.
  
  "It all comes down to what kind of War Game is held," I stated. "If it's a duel with Zanis, then I have a chance. But...if it's an open battle or a siege...then I'm going to lose. They have hundreds, and I'm just one guy," I finished, my voice feeling dry and raspy. Welf's expression twisted into a pained grimace, realizing why I was here.
  
  I let out a small sigh, "I meant it every time I said I didn't come to you for a magic sword. I'll stand before your goddess and say as much if you doubt that. I'm asking now because too much is on the line for me to not ask."
  
  Welf looked away from me, running a hand through his hair. He opened his mouth to say something, only to cut himself off when our eyes met. A hand curled into a fist as he looked away again, a sigh escaping him that seemed to deflate Welf. I closed my eyes for a moment because I knew his response before he said a word.
  
  "I'm sorry, but I can't," Welf refused with a small bow of his head. It looked like the act of refusal was causing him physical pain. Maybe it was because I expected the answer, but I didn't really feel anything when he shot my Hail Mary down. I wasn't mad, or disappointed, or anything.
  
  I simply nodded, hearing what I expected to hear.
  
  "I...hate magic swords," Welf explained. "They're brittle, they break so easily and when they are needed the most, they shatter. The fact that I can make them has brought me nothing but trouble. People have died because of it. And someone sacrificed themself so I would never have to make one."
  
  He looked away, his gaze landing on the battered blade of a sword he fixed this very morning. "I'd rather never touch a forge again than make a magic sword," he said at last, forcing himself to look at me. "I can't help you."
  
  "I understand," I said but I think that was a lie. He could help me. He was making the conscious decision to not help me. There was a difference. But the fact of the matter was that we weren't friends. Welf has never met Lili. He wasn't willing to swallow his pride to help people he barely knew. In the anime, he only barely managed to swallow his pride for people that he was good friends with.
  
  Welf rubbed his eyes as I stood up as both of us felt the gulf between us appear with his refusal. "I'll finish your armor and repair your sword. Free of charge," Welf offered as a farewell because we both knew what this meant. Whatever budding friendship had been growing between us was ripped out down to the roots, killed before it's time.
  
  I wouldn't come to him again and he didn't expect me to.
  
  "...No, don"t worry about it," I responded, my voice flat to my own ears. Was it petty? No? Maybe? "I...need something now, and I don"t think I"ll have time to wait for repairs. I think I have to go to another smith," I explained my position, seeing an expression of hurt flash over Welf"s face, but he pushed it back to give me an understanding nod. I wasn"t glad that it hurt if anything I felt kinda bad about it, but this wasn"t something I could compromise on to win heart points.
  
  "...Yeah, I understand," Welf agreed, his expression grim with an edge of sadness. I simply nodded, glad for it. The dragon claw and hide felt heavy in my bag, but I couldn"t bring myself to give them to him. Not only would it add more time until my armor was done, but...Welf wasn"t my smith anymore. That ship had sailed. "I finished distilling the horn you gave me -- I haven"t hammered it into a plate yet, but any other smith can finish the job."
  
  He stepped to the forge, grabbing a lump of metal that I"m guessing was adamantine. It looked like any other metal, and the only thing I knew about it was from Marvel comics, but I"m guessing that the name was the only thing that they had in common. I took it from him, the ball of metal surprisingly heavy despite its small size.
  
  "Thanks," I said, tucking it away into my bag with the other monster drops. "What do I owe you?" I asked, only for Welf to shake his head, waving me off with a hand.
  
  "Don"t worry about it," he dismissed the cost. "It"s just some busywork, and getting a chance to work with adamantine more than covered any cost. You don"t have to worry about paying me anything." An attempt to make this parting on good terms as it could be.
  
  "I appreciate it," I said in place of goodbye as I saw myself out. The door slid shut behind me, but I heard Welf heave a sigh through it.
  
  But, I guess it was to be expected. Maybe if I teamed up with Welf earlier, maybe if I introduced him to Lili before all of this happened...I had more what-ifs than I knew what to do with.
  
  In the end, none of them meant a single thing, so I simply made my way back to the Hostess with a heavy heart.
  
  ...
  
  "Hephaestus is keeping the Guild off of us," Hestia said in place of a hello once I arrived back at the Hostess, having beat me back. Ryuu was sweeping near the door, so I cleared my hour time limit with ease. She gave me a quick rundown of all that was said, and I felt a weight lift off my shoulders that I hadn"t realized was there. Between Eina and Hephaestus, the Guild wouldn"t be able to bring down the hammer of the law on top of us.
  
  "That"s fantastic," I said, hugging Hestia back after she glomped me. "Did you talk to Eina?" I asked, feeling her nod against my stomach.
  
  "I did," Hestia confirmed, her face twisting into a scowl. "I don"t like the Guild, but Eina seems alright," Hestia said and...I...was an absolute idiot, wasn"t I? Never occurred to me to bring up what had happened with me and Eina, there simply wasn"t any time. But, judging how she was hugging me instead of giving me a rightfully deserved smack in the face, I"m guessing that Eina didn"t bring that topic up.
  
  "Jericho..." Hestia said, squeezing me a bit tighter, and I heard someone "awwwww" in the kitchen. Anaya or Syr, probably. "I know you"re really worried about what"s going to happen, but that"s no excuse for being so reckless. If you had died..."
  
  I let out a small sigh, idly noting that I seemed to be doing a lot of it lately. "I"m sorry, but it was something that I had to do. And Ryuu had my back, so there was nothing to worry about in the first place." Hestia picked up on that lie, and even if she didn"t, then it would have been obvious because of the dull look Ryuu sent me as she paused mid sweep.
  
  My shoulders slumped, "Okay, so there was some danger, and it was a dumb thing to do in hindsight, but...I had to do it." I didn"t know how else to say it. I didn"t usually fumble over my words like this, but there just weren"t words that could make them understand what killing the dragon meant to me. It was closing a chapter in my life, and opening a new one.
  
  Hestia, thankfully, seemed to understand what I was trying to say. She held me a little tighter, squeezing me with surprising strength, and for a moment, I savored it. "Has Lili woken up yet?" I asked, not wanting to ruin the tender moment, but I had to. Hestia shook her head, making my heart fall, but it was Ryuu who spoke.
  
  "There"s still time before it becomes dangerous," Ryuu reassured. "I didn"t see any sign of a head injury bad enough that it could put her in a coma. She"s simply resting." The words were a small comfort, but her waking up would be a greater one. She seemed to sense this, so she quickly changed the topic. "Did your detour go well?"
  
  I shook my head, "No. No luck there." My grimace must have said it all because Ryuu chose not to press the issue.
  
  Hestia let go of me, her blue eyes filled with resolve. "Let's go check your status. I"m sure you got something nice for killing an infant dragon."
  
  Ryuu nodded, "even if you believe you haven"t leveled up does not mean that you didn"t. People can level up from the oddest of things," she encouraged gently. And I wish I could tell her that I knew I didn't because my system was broken. If only I had a regular falna, this would have been so much easier.
  
  "Thanks, Ryuu," I said before Hestia led me upstairs by the hand. My gaze lingered on the door that Lili resided behind for a moment. My gaze was only torn away when Hestia pushed me into the room, closing the door behind us-
  
  "Ouch!" I yelped when Hestia"s hands started to smack my back. The pain vanished as soon as it appeared, it was more shocking than anything. "Hestia?"
  
  My words died in my throat when I saw that tears were gathered in the corner of her eyes. I turned around, and she glomped me again, slamming her face into my stomach hard enough that she managed to knock the breath out of me, squeezing me so hard that her arms trembled. "Think about how other people feel, Jericho! If I lost you-!" She cut herself off, her shoulders hitching as she fought off a sob.
  
  Now I feel like an idiot. Worse, I was a selfish one.
  
  "I"m sorry," I repeated, kicking myself for not seeing this coming. After everything, I didn"t even think about how she would react to hearing that I had fought an infant dragon.
  
  "Ryuu told me how you almost got squished by the dragon! If she hadn"t been there, you"d be...!" Hestia said, sniffling as I cradled her against me.
  
  Making an empty excuse weighed heavily on my tongue, but I couldn"t bring myself to say it. Saying that I might have survived because of my health function sounded incredibly hollow simply because I wasn"t sure if I could survive that kind of blow in the first place. And I certainly wouldn"t be able to if the infant dragon followed it up with another since I doubt I would be in the condition to dodge.
  
  "I"m so sorry. I just...I couldn"t bring myself to run away from it. The minotaurs were a fluke. If that fight had gone any differently, then I would have died then. And...we"re going up against the Soma familia. I needed to prove to myself that I could defeat a level 2." I explained gently as Hestia pulled herself away from me.
  
  "I know," Hestia said before leading me to the bed, pulling at what was left of my shirt. "I know that, and I'm not going to make you promise never to do anything like it again...but..."
  
  I brought her back in for another hug, "I already promised I'd always come back, didn't I?" I reminded, feeling Hestia nod. "And I have a pretty good track record so far. But, if you have any doubts, then I'll promise you again. Whenever I do something stupid or dangerous or both, I will always come back to you. I promise."
  
  Hestia let out a shuddering breath, a tension easing out of her. After everything that has happened...
  
  "Let's update your status now," Hestia decided, pulling away and wiping away a stray tear before throwing on a sunny smile. My question of how she was holding up died on my tongue in face of it. Hestia wore her heart on her sleeve and saying that she was bad at hiding her emotions was an understatement. But, if she was trying so hard to keep it together then I wouldn't poke at the house of cards. There would be time to decompress when we sorted this all out.
  
  Nodding, I climbed into the bed and felt Hestia straddle my back before-
  
  You have achieved a feat worthy of a Title!
  
  Dragon Slayer: In literature, the dragon represents all of mankind's fears in one fire breathing package. By slaying the dragon, you have slain your fears. ​
  
  That was vague and unhelpful.
  
  "I got another title," I informed, dismissing the window with a wave of my hand.
  
  "And another development ability," Hestia added. All things considered, I could guess what it was. Even still, I took the slip of paper that she passed to me.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 1
  Title: Under Leveled
  Progress to level 2: 301,360/1,000,000
  Strength: 65
  Endurance: 84
  Dexterity: 78
  Intelligence: 35
  Sense: 55
  
  Development Abilities:
  Physical Resistance: The user receives 8% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Abnormal Resistance: Poisons, Toxins, and Drugs are 8% less effective. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Fire Resistance: The user receives 8% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Swordsman: Increased parameters when wielding swords. Effectiveness is determined by Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and Sense.
  Berserker: Increased parameters proportional to users rage.
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.
  Kissing: An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target. Effectiveness is determined by the Dexterity and Sense stat.
  Sex: Greatly enhances parameters when engaging in sexual intercourse. Effectiveness is determined by Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, and Sense stats.
  Dishwashing: Stains and dried on food are easier to remove. Effectiveness is determined by Strength stat.​
  
  That was-
  
  Due to unlocking a second title, you have received a perk point! Please select below:
  
  Toughness: 5% damage resistance.
  Iron Bones: Your bones are as breakable as iron.
  Super immune: Great resistance to Disease and Toxins.
  Dexterous: Bonus 5% exp awarded for all Dexterity related actions.
  Boneless: Your ligaments had too much in common with rubber bands and contortions look at you with envy.
  Great memory: You can recall most things with a passing glance.​
  Bloodhound: Your nose is sharp enough to be used for tracking.
  
  
  It was as if the game system could feel my disappointment the moment I looked at the slip of paper to see my meager rewards for slaying a dragon. Fire Resistance was nice, but until I got my endurance stat up there, it wouldn't do much.
  
  "Did something else pop up?" Hestia questioned, and I told her that I had my choice of a perk to pick and my choices. "Hmmm...maybe you should save it for now? You can use it when you get better perks," Hestia offered her opinion. I gave the idea some thought, reading over my choices one more time to see if any of them jumped out at me.
  
  Iron Bones did, but its effectiveness was undercut by my bones healing after they got broken. Sure, the pain sucked, but if I"m in a situation where bones were getting broken, I was too hopped up on adrenaline to really feel the pain. Bloodhound also had its own appeal -- being able to track people could come in handy in a pinch...but I was still getting used to my enhanced hearing. Adding another enhanced sense on top of it was asking for trouble.
  
  Toughness and Dexterous were appealing, the former more so than the latter. With an extra five percent of damage resistance, my total would be around twenty percent of damage ignored. However, with my training with Ryuu, those stats were going to climb anyway and I doubt a five percent boost to exp gain or damage resistance would matter much in the long run.
  
  Super Immune was practically useless, while Great Memory wouldn"t help much in a fight...
  
  "With Mimicry, Great Memory could help me learn moves faster," I thought aloud "But, yeah, I think you"re right. I"ll save it for a rainy day or when I have better choices." I decided before I dismissed the window, my gaze landing on the piece of paper with my status on it. My gaze landed on new development ability, my brain trying to find ways to leverage my gains.
  
  "Hm. With the dragon hide, my body should be protected from fire...I might be able to grind endurance pretty fast if I set myself on-" I was interrupted when two hands slammed into my back with a loud smack. Wincing, "right, nevermind. Bad idea-"
  
  "I know about Eina."
  
  ...it was incredible how much power four words could hold. I think they did more damage to me than the dragon did. My heart went still in my chest, my blood turned to ice in my veins and, after weeks of being an adventurer, when my first instinct was flight over fight, I think that meant a lot.
  
  An excuse nearly made it past my lips, but I swallowed it back down. I was done with excuses. That kind of stuff is the reason why I killed the dragon in the first place.
  
  "I"m sorry," I started. "It was stupid, I was being stupid, and nothing like it will ever happen again."
  
  There was a silence that felt so heavy it just about crushed me as Hestia pressed her hands down on my back. I preferred that over the location of her hands being a mystery. Hestia didn"t strike me as the kind of girl who went for a kitchen knife when they were upset, but I"m sure a lot of guys that got murdered by their lovers thought the same thing.
  
  "I thought we agreed that I got to meet them before you did anything with them?" She asked, her tone neutral, only there was no concealing that dangerous edge in her voice.
  
  "We did," I agreed, not making any excuses. I didn"t have any, to begin with. I was horny, wanting to bust a nut, and that was about the extent of my higher thinking. If Hestia would be okay with Eina, or the fact they hadn"t met in this timeline, hadn"t even crossed my mind. How Hestia would feel about it was the very last thing on my mind when Eina"s lips touched my dick. "I don"t have anything to say in my defense other than I"m sorry and it won"t happen again. Ever."
  
  Hestia let out a drawn-out sigh before she raised her hands off my back. I tensed, only to be surprised when Hestia flopped down onto my, her breasts pressing into my back as her breath tickled my shoulder blades. "You"re telling the truth," she observed after a moment, her arms going over to my hand to hold it.
  
  I started to relax ever so slightly before Hestia continued with, "But! You aren"t out of the doghouse, Mr. When Lili wakes up, and you"ve beaten up the Soma familia, I"m gonna get mad at you, okay?" She informed me and I couldn"t stop the rueful smile that tugged at the edges of my lips as I gave her hand a small squeeze.
  
  "I won"t keep you waiting too long then," I agreed. Hestia let out a content breath, our usual sleeping position completely reversed. It was really weird being the small spoon when you were over seven feet tall. And when the big spoon was under five.
  
  "Good..." Hestia trailed off, her thumb brushing over mine. "And, if you had introduced us first, you wouldn"t be in this situation. I like her...she really cares about you, you know? Ryuu didn"t sell you out about the dragon." She informed me with a smile in her voice. "She just said you went on an adventurer, and that was it."
  
  "Heh," I chuckled. "You really are way too good for me, you know that?"
  
  Hestia snuggled into me, "don"t you ever forget it."
  
  For a moment, we simply savored each other's company and the comfort we shared. But, like all good things, it came to an abrupt end when there was a harsh, urgent, knocking at the door. Hestia lifted her head off of me as Ryuu spoke through the door, "The Soma familia captain is downstairs."
  
  It took a second for those words to register. Hestia got off of me, pushing herself to her feet while I slowly did the same. The Soma familia knew that we were here, and he came here himself. My heart pounded in my chest, but my mind was blank as I opened the door to see that Ryuu was standing on the other side. Her blue eyes widened a fraction when she saw me.
  
  It was only then that I realized my face was set in a furious scowl, my hands clenched into fists so tight that my knuckles were bloodless. My deep and even breathing sounded a lot harsher than it should if I was trying to keep myself calm.
  
  "Don"t do anything, Jericho. He"ll use it against you. Any momentary satisfaction you"ll feel won"t be worth the consequences you"ll suffer," Ryuu warned, her tone telling me that she knew that from experience. "You might think it was worth it until the day that you die, but can you accept it if Lili and Hestia suffer for your actions?"
  
  That was a slap in the face. Hestia grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly. I looked down at her, her blue eyes hard as she gave me a firm nod. She looked as furious as I felt, enough so that I spared a worry that she was giving me the go ahead to do what I wanted. That worry was that I wouldn"t be able to stop myself if I had her express permission.
  
  Instead, I held my breath for a few seconds before letting go. "Alright. Let"s go see what Zanis has to say," I decided, keeping my voice even as I walked down the steps. Each one felt like I was walking to my execution, my blood running hot in my veins. It didn"t take long for me to clear the second floor, letting my gaze fall on the captain of the Soma familia for the first time.
  
  I barely remembered what he looked like in the anime, only that he had gray hair, glasses, and his appearance could best be described as a sleazeball. That description fit him rather nicely, I decided, striding towards him. He was handsome enough for a guy in his mid-thirties to early forties -- gray eyes, high cheekbones, a narrowed jaw with a stubborn chin. Odds were he was a heartbreaker back when he was my age.
  
  A slender longsword looked out of place with his immaculate clothing, one hand resting on it as he waited for me to approach. He radiated smugness as he stood there, completely unconcerned as I walked up to him so close that his chin was nearly touching my chest as he was forced to crane his head all the way back to look up at me. Even still, the expression that he wore was like he thought I was something he had scraped off his boot.
  
  "You," I growled, clenching my hands tight enough that my nails bit into my palms. If I hadn"t, I would have taken a swing at him. Maybe throw myself on top of him and slam my fists into his face until his head was a smear on the floor.
  
  "Me," Zanis agreed easily. "And you are the one that"s been murdering my poor familia members," he provoked, his tone light.
  
  Surprisingly, it was Hestia that reacted to that. "You seem pretty intent on murdering your own familia members," she spat, the sheer venom in her words catching me off guard. I stepped away from Zanis, letting Hestia step forward as she glared up at the man.
  
  "An unfortunate internal familia ordeal," Zanis responded instantly. "But that is a Soma familia matter to be dealt with. I understand you have grown rather attached to Lili, but she still is a member of my familia." He said, his tone becoming sharp as he fixed his glasses with a finger. "I believe that she is being kept here, is she not?"
  
  I had to remind myself to breathe as I glared hatefully at Zanis, "if you think for a single second that we"re giving Lili to you-"
  
  "Then you"re abducting a member of my familia?" Zanis questioned, giving the impression that I had just walked into a trap. That"s why he was here. He was doing the same thing that I was -- he was trying to turn the situation around so I would be painted as the bad guy who was breaking the rules, even if I was doing it for the right reasons. What an absolute piece of work.
  
  "Only after you tortured and tried to murder her," I shot back, unclenching my hands. This is the guy that stabbed Lili. And now he was here, completely surrounded, and he was acting like he owned the place. Something dark and ugly welled up inside, something toxic that infected every thought with murderous rage. "And sent your degenerates into my home to finish the job."
  
  Zanis smiled lightly like I was a particularly stupid animal that he was taking pity on. "That is rather unfortunate. I will admit that had we known we were attacking your home in that hovel, then I would have ordered my men to not approach...however, I believe we are beyond the point of excuses. The fact of the matter is that you"re holding one of my familia members captive, and I would like her back."
  
  I"m going to kill him. "You can take her back in a War Game," I snarled out him.
  
  "And what reason would I have to accept a War Game for taking back what is rightfully mine? You can say what you like, but you are the one that has thoroughly violated the rules. Attempting to learn familia secrets, murdering members of my familia, both inside and outside of the Dungeon, and now you hold one of my familia against her will-" Zanis responded. When he was interrupted, I completely expected it to be me the one that had snapped. After everything, all the stress, and disappointment, after all the fear and worries, to have this piece of shit stand in front of me and demand that I had Lili back to him...
  
  I was going to kill him. Water was wet, fire was hot, the sun rose in the east and set in the west, and I was going to kill Zanis.
  
  Yet, I wasn"t the one that snapped.
  
  I was hit with a wave of pure power -- it made every hair stand up on end, as the weight of the presence behind me was pressing down on me like a physical weight. The rage and hate vanished, replaced with a deep unsettling fear that I was in the presence of something that I could never comprehend. I knew who it was. Even as oppressive as it felt, there was no mistaking that presence even if I had gotten used to it over the past few weeks. Light filled the Hostess, shining so brightly that it was like the sun itself was behind me.
  
  Numbly, I looked over at Hestia to see that the flowerlike ribbons and bells in her hair had fallen to the floor, her body radiating a multicolor aura that seemed to shake the planet when she took a step forward. I couldn"t bring myself to breathe, and she wasn"t even focusing on me.
  
  Slowly, Hestia opened her eyes and glared at Zanis. The action was enough that the smug asshole fell on his ass, the haughty expression he wore was gone like smoke in the wind.
  
  "You don"t get to decide anything," Hestia informed. Her words a statement of fact. She stared Zanis down for a moment before taking another step forward.
  
  "I"m going to go have a chat with Soma."
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Zanis knew better than to try to argue with a pissed off god and made a hasty retreat, practically fleeing the establishment as if Hestia was the devil herself. Given that I had never seen her like this -- the absolute fury etched onto her face as she marched out of the Hostess, bombarding every sense with her godly presence until bystanders were left gaping...Maybe he wasn"t wrong. Because Hestia was marching to the Soma familia"s house, her fists clenched so hard that they trembled at her sides, forcing everyone in our way to part like the red sea, the air around her telling them that if they didn"t then she would go through them.
  
  I trailed behind her, the power that Hestia kept under a lock and key washing over my skin in crashing waves, leaving behind a tingling sensation. She wasn"t using her divine power or anything. She was simply taking the top off, reminding everyone exactly what she was -- a god playing at being human. Only now someone had pissed her off to the point she didn"t feel like playing anymore.
  
  Hestia marched through the streets, hungover adventures and drunks instantly sobering up the moment that her power washed over them. It was hard to describe it in words, but it was like realizing that you were in the presence of a being that you couldn"t even comprehend even if you tried for millions of years. Like all of a sudden, you realized that you were an ant in comparison to a giant so massive that it could reach out and pluck out the sun from the sky itself.
  
  I carried my blackened and battered sword in hand, but I"m not sure I needed to bother. I doubted anyone so much as noticed my presence as I trailed behind Hestia as we made our way through the winding streets of Orario. Neither of us spoke because there was nothing to be said. In the end, both of us knew that this was a bad idea. Both of us knew that this was only going to escalate the situation, but neither of us cared. Or, rather, we were pushed well past the point of caring.
  
  "Oi, is that Hestia?!" I heard someone exclaim. I glanced over to see that it was a plain-faced man that would be completely indistinguishable from the crowd that gathered if it wasn"t for the fact that he was a god as well.
  
  "Ohhhhh! Someone sure got her worked up!" Another god commented, "the last time I saw her this pissed was when Apollo transformed himself into her underwear back in Heaven!"
  
  "So scary! Who"s gonna get smited?" A god asked, their voices carrying only because they were the only ones capable of speaking. Mortals were left speechless, myself included, but gods...they watched on and talked. Laughed and gossiped. This really was just a big game to them, wasn"t it?
  
  "I heard it was Soma!"
  
  "Ehhh?! I totally forgot that guy came down from Heaven!" One god gasped dramatically as we continued towards the Soma familia home.
  
  "Yeah! Go beat him up Loli-big tits! And raid his alcohol cupboard while you"re there!"
  
  "Yeah! Go, Hestia! Bring us booze from that stingy NEET jerk-face!"
  
  "You can do it, Hestia! We believe in you!"
  
  """"""Hestia! Go Hestia!"""""
  
  They were cheering for us, and I knew that was a good thing, but I couldn"t bring myself to feel happy about it. Not when it felt so mocking, and their main drive was the dim hope that we would share Soma"s wine with them. From the sound of it, it already got around why we were butting heads with the Soma familia, yet the vast majority of the gods that were drawn to Hestia"s presence didn"t seem to care about the reason.
  
  They were here to be entertained. That was it.
  
  Back when I was watching the anime, it never clicked just how scary that was.
  
  "Ignore them, Jericho," Hestia spoke, not looking at me as she continued forward. Her voice was hard and sharp enough to cut, each word reverberating through me like the air itself shook when she spoke. "Let them have their fun," she said. My head nodded of its own accord. I"m hoping that she had a plan for them, or in general, because my head felt so numb that I don"t think I could come up with one if I tried.
  
  I tried to speak but my tongue felt fat and clumsy in my mouth, so I abandoned the effort. I simply followed after her, the mutterings of the gods falling on deaf ears as we continued forward. The busy streets and shops gave way to a district filled with homes, grand mansions hidden behind massive gates. I didn"t recognize any of them, but Hestia seemed to be drawn to a particular mansion like a moth to a flame.
  
  It proved to be the right one, because Zanis was standing outside of it along with his familia. To his right stood a dwarf with brown hair that flowed into a short brown beard, a battle axe held loosely in his hands as he leaned against the gate almost casually. He, I"m guessing, was the Soma familia"s second level 2. Standing to Zanis" left was an elf that I didn"t recognize, but he seemed to be tweaking out so badly that I named in Twitch in my mind with a single glance.
  
  "Lady Hestia-" Zanis started, trying to put on a brave face, but it was impossible. It didn"t matter if you were a level 2, 6 or 100 when it came to staring down a god"s might. No, not even her might, it was simply her natural presence that she wasn"t suppressing.
  
  "No," Hestia cut him off with a single word, the gathering of Soma familia members shivering as she spoke. My gaze swept over them, my stomach clenching at the sight of them. I knew that only two of them were level 2 adventurers, but there were...hundreds of them. They filled up the courtyard, dozens of them taking up positions in the windows with bows in their hands, all of them pointed directly at us.
  
  My weapon felt impossibly heavy in my hand as I took in the crowd of adventurers, their rough faces blurring together as I asked myself a simple question.
  
  If I had to fight them all right now, would I win?
  
  And no matter how I looked at them all, there was only one answer that I came to.
  
  No. I couldn"t.
  
  "I"m not here for you. I don"t care about anything you have to say. Now get out of my way," Hestia continued, undeterred by their numbers. She didn"t even slow down as she continued forward, setting herself up to crash into Zanis if he didn"t do what she said.
  
  "I understand you"re upset, but this could be considered an attack on-" Zanis started, only to be cut off as Hestia neared simply because she didn"t slow down. They played a game of chicken, and Hestia won. Zanis stepped out of our way, our eyes meeting as I walked by him. I could see the raw rage in his gaze, and I could only hope that he could see the hate in mine as we entered the Soma familia property without issue.
  
  Zanis stepping out of the way seemed to be a signal for the others. The dense wall of adventurers stepped out of our way, parting to reveal a stone pathway. I could feel hundreds of pairs of eyes on us as we walked up the stone path, hundreds of adventurers flanking us as we walked towards the front door.
  
  According to Eina, the Soma familia had about three hundred members, though more than a few were questionable since they seemed to be inactive. I"m hoping that meant that they were dead rather than retired, but even then...if this came to a fight...I wasn"t sure what I could do. And, more than anything, that scared the hell out of me.
  
  Hestia pushed the doors open with surprising strength, revealing a home that might have been nice at some point, but someone had long since stripped the place of any wealth, leaving behind only hints that it had been there at all. The wooden staircase looked like it was meant to be covered with a fancy rug up the middle, but it was gone, while the staircase itself looked like it hadn"t been polished in years. The floors were scuffed, the same with the walls while any decorations looked like had been stripped from them.
  
  What really caught my attention was the fact that there were more adventurers indoors. Archers took up positions at the top of the stairs, their bows trembling badly enough as they aimed at me rather than at Hestia that I spared a worry that they might shoot on accident. Hestia didn"t seem to notice them as she walked up the stairs, completely unafraid, and it was only as I walked up the stairs after her that I realized that we were being followed.
  
  I knew who it was without having to look and I hated it. At the very least, I was putting myself between Zanis and Hestia, even if it did mean my own back was left exposed to him.
  
  The archers at the top of the stairs melted away as Hestia approached, letting her walk towards a large set of doors that overlooked the doorway without issue. She came to a stop in front of it, glaring at the door as if she was silently demanding that it open itself. Or, rather, that Soma be the one to do it. Instead, the door remained closed for a long second until Hestia"s face twisted into an almost uncharacteristic snarl before she pushed the door open herself.
  
  "Soma," Hestia started, striding into the room with me a half step behind her. My gaze landed on the god of the moon for the first time and...
  
  The guy looked like a corpse. His mane of black hair was an unkempt mess that fell into his eyes so I couldn"t see them, leaving the bottom half of his face bare. A scruffy beard grew over gaunt cheeks, his skin was devoid of any pigment as if it had been years since he last saw the sun. He was dressed in a simple loose cloak that was covered in old stains, as were his hands.
  
  Worse, he didn"t even look up as we entered. A mortar and pestle were in front of him as he ground away at some ingredient, the sound of it impossibly loud as we stood there before him. A moment passed. Then another. Then those moments turned into a minute. Then another minute passed in near silence.
  
  He hadn"t even noticed us. An actual god was broadcasting her displeasure at him, and he was so absorbed in his task that he didn"t even notice that we were here. I wonder if he noticed when Lili was here, trying to be released from his familia? Did he notice when they took her from this room, beat her then nearly killed her? Now, with every passing second as the tension grew heavier, I felt my rage growing. It certainly didn't help that both of the people responsible were standing in the same room as me.
  
  I wasn't the only one apparently because Hestia took two small steps forward before she lashed out with a hand, smacking the mortar off the desk and sending it flying until it broke against the wall. Only then did Soma look up.
  
  "You," Hestia began as she slammed her hands onto his desk, making the dozens of vials jingle from the force. "Do you have any idea what you've let happen?" Hestia demanded, her voice filled with raw emotion.
  
  Soma stared at Hestia for a moment, his rat's nest of hair blocked his eyes from view, but I felt his gaze on me for a moment. He tilted his head as he looked back at Hestia, his lips quirking down.
  
  "No?" He questioned, his voice filled with so much innocent confusion that I wanted to hit him for it. "Why are you here?" He asked, either oblivious or not acknowledging that Hestia was about ready to smite him into nothing.
  
  "Your familia has been attacking mine for weeks," Hestia spat, his ignorance infuriating her just as much as it did me.
  
  "That," Zanis spoke, his voice level despite everything, "is untrue. I never gave any order to harass the Hestia familia-"
  
  Hestia whipped around, rounding on Zanis before she jabbed a finger in his direction. "You don't get to talk," she decided, making Zanis' mouth snap shut. The air itself seemed to tremble with a silent 'or else.' Satisfied she made her point, Hestia turned back to Soma. "Your familia tried to murder Lili. Do you remember her? She was here last night begging to be released from this...disaster of a familia to join mine!"
  
  Something passed over Soma's face at that but Hestia either didn't notice or she didn't care. "Then your familia beat her and that...that piece of...shit tried to kill her!" Hestia swore for the first time, jabbing a finger in Zanis' direction. "They broke into my home to finish the job! And now he tried taking Lili back by saying that we kidnapped her!"
  
  "Oh," Soma commented, sounding more than a little lost. "I'm sorry?"
  
  I could hear something snap inside of me at the half-assed apology. How could someone be so out of touch, so oblivious...
  
  "Do you think that being sorry is good enough?" I snarled at him, squeezing my blade hard enough that Zanis reacted by placing a hand on his. I couldn't be bothered to care as I glared at the deadbeat god, something dark welling up inside of me. Soma looked at me for a moment, shifting in his chair.
  
  "I'm very sorry?" He tried instead, scratching at his cheek absentmindedly.
  
  I wanted to jump over that desk and throttle him. I...think I might have only a short hour earlier. Before the dragon, with the raw rage and hate bubbling in my chest, I might have done it. Just because it would feel good. Because I would find a way to justify it to myself to make it worth it.
  
  "We're not here to hear your empty apologies," I stated, surprising myself with how calm I managed to make myself sound. "We're here to take Lili from you degenerates."
  
  "Name-calling from a murderer?" Zanis poked, his voice smug and judging. What he said didn't make an ounce of sense, but it didn't need to. He was needling me. Trying to get me to lash out.
  
  "Yes. Name-calling from a murderer. And I'll murder every single one of you down to the last man, woman, and child with my bare hands if it means Lili is free of you pieces of filth," I swore, realizing I was telling the truth when Hestia gave me a sharp look.
  
  "Ah..." Soma muttered, "you're the one she talked about."
  
  He...
  
  Hate surged in my chest like the biblical flood sent by God, ready to wash everything away to start over fresh. If Zanis wasn"t in the room, I would have dropped my weapon just to make sure that I didn"t murder Soma with it.
  
  "I am," I agreed, my voice tight as my heart hammered at my ribs. The gall...he sat there and did nothing, and now... "What did Lili say when she was here? Were you even listening?" I heard myself ask, not sure if I wanted to hear the answer. If he had no idea, if he hadn"t...I don"t know what would be worse -- if he listened and didn"t help her or hear her at all.
  
  Soma gave a shallow nod, "she was worried about you." Soma explained, delivering a punch to the gut. "She didn"t think you could win in a War Game but knew you"d try anyway. She came here to be released so you wouldn"t have to risk your life."
  
  ...Lili...
  
  "Why didn"t you let her go?" Hestia asked with a quiet anger in her voice, and it sounded all the deadlier for it.
  
  "Because she wanted Soma more than she wanted to leave-"
  
  "I"m going to kill you," I swore, interrupting Soma, making him flinch because he could hear the truth in my words. Zanis reacted by drawing his sword, bearing it at me, but he didn"t move to strike me down. He was waiting for me to give him that ironclad reason to kill me, to make this whole problem go away with the excuse of "I was defending my god." I wouldn"t give it to him.
  
  "Jericho..." Hestia trailed off, her expression shifting from anger to worry as she looked at me.
  
  "You put that filth in her, got her high out of her goddamn mind, then used that as proof if she was worth helping or not? Fuck you, you piece of shit," I swore, standing perfectly still. Not even my voice conveyed the raw rage and hate I felt for the waste of space before me. "I couldn"t care less that you"re a god. This isn"t over until you"re dead. Not fucking off back to heaven, but I"m going to do whatever it takes to make sure you"re rotting in the dirt when this is over. You can smite me when it happens. So long as you die, then I"m happy."
  
  I should have been here. To stop Lili from ever touching that garbage to prove anything, much less if she deserved to be saved.
  
  "You..." Soma trailed off, the shock of my promise seemed to wear off a lot faster with him than the others. He tilted his head before giving a shallow nod to himself. "You want a War Game?" He hazarded a guess, making Zanis sputter, lowering his weapon as he turned to his god.
  
  "Lord Soma, you can"t be considering this?" Zanis shouted, "you cannot bet your own life in a War Game! They have wronged us just as much as we wronged them, this can be settled without dragging this into the public eye!"
  
  Soma gave a small shrug, "It"s not against the rules, so it should be fine." The deadbeat god turned his attention to me, his eyes hidden by his hair but, as much as I hated him, I couldn"t say that he didn"t have the air of a god around him. His gaze was heavy, just as heavy as I would imagine that Hestia"s felt on her walk over here. "I"ll accept your War Game challenge on one condition..."
  
  I let out a breath I hadn"t realized I was holding. "You want me to drink your crappy wine," I deduced, getting a small nod from Soma.
  
  "If you manage to resist it, then I"ll accept your challenge of a War Game. You can have whatever you want -- Lili, our wealth, home and my life. Whatever you wish," Soma stated, shutting Zanis up with a gesture of his hand. "But only if you resist."
  
  "Jericho," Hestia started, shaking her head at me, but...I wanted to do it. I wanted to knock back that drink, spit it in his face, and rub his face in it.
  
  "Fine," I agreed, feeling Hestia grab my hand, squeezing it tightly. I glanced down at her and offered what I hoped was a gentle smile. "You don"t have anything to worry about," I told her, my voice soft as Soma fetched a sake glass and an urn of Soma wine. Hestia felt the truth in them because she relaxed ever so slightly, believing me. Zanis, on the other hand, radiated smugness out of every pore. I was going to enjoy watching that face crumble.
  
  Stepping forward, Soma poured me a wide shallow cup of murky white alcohol. Even from so far up, I could smell its sweet scent. Soma handed it to me, his hair still hiding his eyes, but I felt his gaze on me as I took the glass. Slowly, I raised it to my lips and...
  
  It was delicious. I would go as far as to say perfect. I felt warmth travel all the way down to my soul like there was a fire burning in my gut that was as pleasant as a thick blanket on a cold winter morning. The taste of it reverberated through me, assaulting every sense with a feeling of pure bliss. Despite myself, I could see why people lost themselves to this feeling.
  
  It was euphoria. It was too good to be true. Everything melted away -- pain, fear, stress, all of it, which would lead me higher until I was completely gone for however long this high lasted. A single sip, and I could only describe it as being freed from worldly concerns.
  
  Yet, I slowly reached out to the urn, gripping it tightly, idly aware of how Hestia gasped and Zanis began to chuckle.
  
  Maybe, just maybe, if things had been different then I could lose to this feeling. If I hadn"t watched drugs destroy my dad"s life to the point it nearly ruined mine, maybe I wouldn"t have the hate and spite to fuel my resolve. Because, unlike Lili, it wasn"t love that let me overpower the high. It was spite. It was rage. It was hate. It was every dark feeling that had built up over the day over what happened until that haze was pushed away in favor of murderous rage.
  
  I picked up the urn and threw it against the wall, the sound of glass shattering was impossibly loud in the silent room. Soma leaned back in his chair as I gently placed the glass back on his desk.
  
  "One week," I said, drawing myself up to my full height. "We"ll have the War Game in one week." One week to train. One week to level up. One week to get new armor and weapons.
  
  Soma smiled at me and I hated him even more for it. "One week it is then," he agreed with a nod of his head.
  
  I turned around, seeing Hestia smile at me. I grabbed her hand and walked away, my gaze landing on Zanis as I walked out of the room. His dull gray eyes promised vengeance, a bloody and brutal one at that. I maintained eye contact the entire time before I left the room, feeling the gaze of dozens of eyes.
  
  These people were the ones that beat Lili within an inch of her life. I looked at them all, refusing to feel intimidated as I led Hestia out of the building. All of them looked rough now that I was looking at individual faces. Deadspots on their teeth, ruined skin, greasy hair, and beards. Some sneered at me, others impassively stared me down, while a few looked completely impassive, only here because Zanis told them to be here.
  
  This was what I was up against. Hundreds of adventurers.
  
  And I had a week to be ready to crush them all.
  
  ...
  "Did anyone die?" Was Mama Mia"s greeting as we stepped into the Hostess, her gaze dipped down to my sword, so I held it up to show that it was still blood-free. Then her gaze slid over to Hestia, who looked more than a little sheepish. Her anger had a long fuse but was explosive when she reached the end of it and she settled back down after the outburst.
  
  Hestia shook her head, "no! Nothing really bad happened. We had a nice, civil discussion with Soma and now we have a week to prepare before we crush them into the dirt!" Okay, maybe all of her anger hadn"t dissipated during the walk back. Only mine had.
  
  It felt like a stone was lifted off my chest -- I said what I wanted to say. Soma and Zanis were still alive, but their execution date had been set. Now it was simply a matter of making sure I was strong enough to make sure both of them died when the time came.
  
  "Good," Mama Mia said, glancing over to the side where several members of the Hostess peeked out, eavesdropping on the conversation. "If you had, then we wouldn"t have been able to help you. A lot of these strays aren"t the kinds of girls that want people looking too deep into their pasts."
  
  I saw Anya nod sagely while the others simply nodded, so I"m guessing her deep, dark and tragic past wasn"t as dark as the others. The only one I knew was Ryuu"s -- she killed everyone connected to an organization that had killed her familia. Even a tenuous connection was enough to eliminate entire familias down to the last member.
  
  "That"s probably why Zanis was here -- he figured you"d cut us loose if too much attention was drawn onto you," I hazarded a guess, something he said back in Soma"s office standing out to me. "It sounded like he was pretty against this becoming a War Game, or getting the Soma familia in the public eye." Something that was impossible now since Hestia"s walk to their home was going to be the talk of the town.
  
  "Hmph," Mama Mia scoffed as she cleaned a glass. "Idiots like that can only understand how they think. But, eh, the worst case didn"t happen. Now, what happens next for you?" She asked, a challenge in her tone, but it was softened with a kind edge. It was less than she was grilling me, and more of pressing me to take the next step.
  
  That was a good question. "We need to let the Guild know that there"s a War Game happening. After that, it"ll be decided what kind of War Game it will be." At that, Mama Mia nodded.
  
  "They"re decided by roulette most of the time, but some gods like pulling a type from a hat," she informed, reminding me just how random the outcome was decided. It really came down to chance what kind of odds I was going to be facing and I hated it.
  
  "Then I need to make sure I can win no matter what kind of War Game it is," I said, making Mama Mia crack a smirk. Hestia squeezed my hand, still refusing to let go of it, and I savored the gesture of support.
  
  "Good attitude," she complimented before she turned her attention to where the girls were hiding out. "Now, the rest of you get back to work!" She barked the order, making the girls scramble out of their hiding place. The slowest amongst them was Syr, who offered me a wink and a wave as she disappeared into the kitchen. However, Ryuu met Mama Mia"s gaze evenly, making the older woman let out a small sigh before she made a dismissing gesture. "Go beat some sense into him."
  
  I feel like I should be offended, but, if anything, that was very fair.
  
  "I"ll go inform the Guild-" I started, only for Hestia to firmly shake her head.
  
  "No, I"ll go take care of the Guild. You focus on your training! Don"t let anything distract you, got it?" Hestia decided, letting go of my hand to cross her arms and put on an authoritative air. I glanced down at her to see that she was serious. I...didn"t like it. Especially after we had just royally pissed Zanis off, but would he do anything so soon?
  
  "Take someone with you when you go, please," I requested, relenting despite how much I wanted to lock Hestia in a room and not let her out until all of this was settled. She nodded firmly in acceptance. Perhaps I was worrying too much -- it would be self-destructive to attack us right now, but when has that ever stopped anyone? I couldn"t risk Hestia on even the slightest chance.
  
  "Course!" Hestia said before she wrapped her arms around me. She let out a small sigh, and I could practically feel her want to speak about what happened at Soma"s, but there was too much else to be done. Maybe later when there weren"t so many other people around. I gave her a small squeeze back before letting go, looking at Ryuu to give her a nod to show that I was ready.
  
  "We will be back by nightfall," Ryuu told Hestia, pulling up her mask as she donned her adventuring outfit. I still thought it looked ridiculous, but if she was going to be training me then I couldn"t care less what she wore. Hestia looked back at her to give Ryuu a firm nod. At the very least, I"m glad that they"re getting along.
  
  My gaze lingered on the stairway as we turned to leave the Hostess to begin my crunch time, only to tear my gaze away. As much as I might want to, I couldn"t wait by Lili"s bed, waiting for her to wake up. I secured us a single week, and I had to make the most of every second. And I knew that she wouldn"t want me to sit around when I could be working out my legs to deliver the boot to the Soma familia.
  
  Even still, my mind lingered on what Soma had said as I tore my gaze away to follow Ryuu out of the building. Lili had taken Soma and she had succumbed to it. It wasn"t a surprise, not really. Back in the anime, she only barely managed to fight through it because Bell was kicking down the door at the final second for her to deliver her answer.
  
  And I hadn"t been there.
  
  That wouldn"t happen again.
  
  Ryuu led me out of the city, taking me to a small grove that looked like it had seen some use. I looked around, brandishing my burnt weapon, while she held a wooden sword. "This is my training ground. I would appreciate it if you told no one of it," she requested as she turned to face me.
  
  "I won"t say a word about it to anyone," I promised with a nod, parking myself across from her.
  
  She nodded her thanks before her gaze roamed over me -- I still wasn"t wearing a shirt, was I? But, it seemed that Ryuu was looking me over with a critical eye rather than checking me out. "You said that your goal is to learn how to wield a sword, and increase your stats? Is that still true?"
  
  My grip tightened on my sword as I gave a shallow nod, "yeah, it is." I confirmed, only to pause after a moment. "And I"m not stupid enough to say that you shouldn"t hold back, but you can batter me around more than you should be able to. I"ll survive so long as I have a health potion handy."
  
  "Is it a skill?" Ryuu questioned, tilting her head to the side in thought. "No, don"t-"
  
  "Yeah, it"s a skill," I confirmed before she could retract the question. There was no point in trying to hide it. It was impossible that she wouldn't notice and, after everything, I could at least trust her with a piece of the truth. "And it's part of the reason why I can get stronger so quickly. The harder that I'm pushed physically, the bigger the gains."
  
  She seemed to digest that for a moment. "I see," Ryuu said, and that was the only warning I got before she moved. She was a blur that I could almost follow, and that was only because of my perk, but reacting was impossible. I barely had time to move my blade before I felt her wooden sword crack across my cheekbone hard enough that I flew to the side, lifting off the ground for a short flight before crashing to a sliding halt.
  
  Blood filled my mouth as I blinked slowly, my face more numb than pained. Was that a good sign? I think it meant my face wasn't broken.
  
  "I will fight you with the strength of a level 3, then," Ryuu decided on her own as I rolled into my side, spitting blood before I staggered to my feet. "Most believe that a level up makes you worth twenty of your previous level in a fight. As far as generalizations go, it's not completely wrong. In theory, fighting me is akin to fighting four hundred level 1s."
  
  That's some scary math, I thought as I leveled my sword at her.
  
  "Is there anything else I should know about your skill before we continue?" Ryuu asked, her tone dangerous.
  
  "I don't need to sleep."
  
  "Excellent."
  
  ...
  
  It was weird to think of Jericho as scary. Hestia knew him as a giant cuddlebug that enjoyed her cooking and gave her massages. Even when he killed the Soma adventurers who broke into their home, Jericho never really struck her as scary. Angry, absolutely, but it was hardly like she was calm.
  
  Jericho threatened to kill a god and he meant every word.
  
  "Do you need some help, Lady Hestia?" Syr asked as Hestia dragged Jericho's backpack with her. He made it look so light, but that dragon claw weighed an absolute ton and so did that lump of metal.
  
  "No," Hestia grit out, pushing herself to take another step as the bag dragged against the cobblestone. She was getting odd looks from those that passed her by, and more than a few were pointing and whispering. Hestia ignored them, knowing they were whispering about her outburst. She didn't regret it. She was angry-
  
  Actually, she was still angry. The nerve of Zanis to come to the Hostess and accuse them of keeping her captive after he tried to murder Lili! She couldn't bear to listen to another filthy word that came out of that sleazeball"s mouth, and she snapped. Hestia hadn't broken the rules, so she was safe from being booted back to heaven, and she wouldn't suffer any consequences simply because the gods were being entertained.
  
  And then with Soma...that clueless...she was getting worked up just thinking about it. Hestia channeled that anger into taking another step while Syr watched her with a worried expression.
  
  "Why do you need the monster drops?" Syr asked, grabbing a sleeve of the backpack anyway to help her pull. Honestly, it was like Jericho filled the thing with rocks.
  
  "Because Jericho needs armor," Hestia explained, recalling what Jericho told her. It was a shame about that Welf child, but it sounded like he was dealing with his own personal issues. "And there's only one smith that I trust to make it." Her friend wasn't going to be happy with her, but at the very least she was providing the materials.
  
  Syr accepted that as an answer and helped her drag the heavy bag of loot all the way to the Guildhall. They ignored the odd looks they were getting, dragging the thing all the way there until they ran into their next mortal enemy. The stairs. "I'll pull, you push," Hestia ordered, undaunted as they dragged the bag up.
  
  If Lili would wake up, then this task would be so simple. The thought hit her like a punch, her grip slipping on the bag for a moment. Ryuu said not to worry because Lili was just resting, but seeing Lili there, dead to the world was just...!
  
  Hestia only realized her mistake when the bag began to tip backward while Syr made panicking noises. "H-hey!" She shouted, snapping Hestia out of her thoughts in time before the bag tipped back enough to crush Syr. Hestia heaved, but it seemed that Syr had lost her balance because she felt the bag get tugged away from her.
  
  Then it suddenly stopped.
  
  "...Rocks?" Hestia heard a gentle voice question, a familiar one. She glanced over to see long blonde hair, golden eyes, and a slender body. Ais Wallenstein. She held the bag up with a single hand, staring questioningly at its surface and...of course Jericho would fill his bag with rocks. Hestia didn"t know what she was expecting.
  
  "Thank you, Miss Wallenstein," Syr said, letting Ais hold the bag in place with an ease that the two of them hadn"t managed with a single hand.
  
  Ais turned to Hestia, her face blank but her eyes were shockingly expressive. Despite herself, Hestia saw why Loki favored Ais amongst her children. Loki always had a thing for kuuderes. In her golden eyes, Hestia saw nervousness and sorrow. And it was then that Hestia recalled that Loki had kicked Jericho to the curb instead of helping.
  
  "Lady Hestia..." Ais started uncertainly, "we want to train-" Ais didn"t get to say anymore because the hussy that was throwing herself at Jericho last night slapped a hand over her mouth. Tiona, Hestia recalled only because she was an A-cup while her sister, Tione, was an E-cup.
  
  "There, uh...is...something we would like to help you with...and...it has to be a secret or we"ll get yelled at a lot by Loki?" Tiona hedged, making Hestia wonder who she was trying to fool with that act. Her eyes kept darting to the side, making Hestia glance over, just in time to see the tail end of a ponytail of someone jerking out of sight behind a pillar. Right.
  
  Loki was the god of mischief, so there was no point in wondering if she was scheming something. The answer was simply always yes. It was a question of if she was scheming something against her or not...
  
  Hestia looked into Ais" golden eyes that silently pleaded with her. If Loki was plotting against her, then at least Ais and Tiona were ignorant of it, that much she was certain. Slowly, despite her anger from before, a small smile began to tug at her lips. It seemed Jericho had much better luck with his female friends than he did his male ones, she thought.
  
  "Thank you...we could use the help."
  ...
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
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  One of my supporters, Fellgar is looking to commission some fanart for this story, but they're having some trouble finding an artist that they like that takes commissions. So, to help them out, it would be appreciated all of you could suggest some artists. Thank you very much, and thank you doubly so Fellgar.
  
  ...
  
  Ryuu, for all of her willingness to teach, wasn't much of a teacher. That much was very clear when the tip of her sword buried itself into my gut, hardened muscle offering no defense, and it was only by her restraint that I merely had the breath knocked from my lungs rather than be ran through. I skid back from the blow, leaving behind a trail of upturned dirt where my feet dug in to remain standing. As soon as I came to a stop I dropped to a knee involuntarily, clutching my stomach -- the only reason I didn't puke was because Ryuu made me vomit up everything that was in me already.
  
  "You're open," she warned, moving in a blur I could almost follow before her wood sword swept my legs from underneath me, and to hasten my descent, she smacked me in the face hard enough that I face-planted into the dirt hard enough my face left an impression. "Even when you're recovering from an attack, exhaustion is no excuse for being sloppy. Would you rather be tired or dead?" She asked me -- with the ruthless taskmaster she was proving to be, I half expected her to start kicking me until I rose to my feet to emphasize the point.
  
  "Can you continue?" Ryuu asked, not even sounding winded, but I guess she wouldn't. It wasn"t like it was hard for her to kick my teeth in.
  
  I was on the other end of the spectrum -- I was soaked with sweat, dirt clung to my skin, cuts and scratches littered my body and my breathing was ragged to my own ears. Even still, my weapon was still gripped in my hand, I was willing to fight even though I hadn't even come close to blocking one of her attacks yet.
  
  "Let's take a small break," Ryuu answered her own question when I was too busy savoring air to answer her. I simply rolled over onto my back, unable to insist that I could go for another round simply because I knew that I couldn't. There was being stubborn and then there was delusion. "You are making progress," she reassured as she sheathed her weapon in a cloth belt. "Your eyes are getting a handle on my speed.'
  
  "Doesn't mean much if I can't react to you," I returned, enjoying the cool ground as rivers of sweat poured off my body. In the grand scheme of things, getting Natural Deodorant back when I was in the character creator might have been a mistake, but it wasn"t one that I could bring myself to regret. Without it, I doubt Ryuu would be able to stand downwind of me without gagging because I would reek by now.
  
  Ryuu frowned at me, "the gap between a level 1 and 3 is insurmountable. Only in the most extreme circumstances could you ever hope to beat one." She reminded, chiding me for my negativity. "There is no shame in the progress you"ve made so far."
  
  My doubts must have shown because her hand dipped to her weapon, a signal that I was learning to fear. It seemed that she changed her mind about the break- Ryuu moved in a blur, giving me enough time to roll to my feet. I angled my sword, trying to block, only to feel her wooden sword slam into my shoulder hard enough that I think she might have broken it.
  
  I know I shouldn"t complain, but just because my bones healed didn"t make it okay to break them in the first place!
  
  "How can you defend yourself when your posture is so lax?" Ryuu questioned, her weapon blurring towards my leg. I tried to move my blade in the way to block the attack, but before I could so much as move, she slammed her weapon into my leg hard enough that my legs were knocked out from underneath me. I slammed into the ground heavily, I made to scramble to my feet but paused when Ryuu"s weapon was poised about an inch away from my nose.
  
  "Swordplay is more than attacking and blocking. Sometimes it's simply better to dodge an attack, like that one. If you had simply moved your leg out of the way, then I would be the one out of position." Ryuu pointed out, teaching me a lesson that I thought I learned, but apparently not.
  
  Then the harsh mask that Ryuu wore lessened before she lightly chopped me on top of the head, "I know you"re frustrated with your progress, but it"s only been a day. These things take time."
  
  "I just don"t have a lot of that," I argued weakly, my tone frustrated. I felt the pressure of the deadline that I gave myself, thinking it would be enough to push my stats to where I needed them to be...I was making progress, but it just wasn"t fast enough for my liking. I was buckling down, pushing through, and it felt like I was slamming into a brick wall instead of progressing.
  
  "You don"t," Ryuu agreed easily, her tone never changing. "So are you going to waste it lying in the dirt and complaining?" She questioned, her tone still the same but her voice was sharp enough to cut.
  
  In response, I pushed myself up, the aches and pains of my body letting themselves be known with the action. Diving in the Dungeon for over twelve or sixteen hours was a cakewalk in comparison to the brutal training that Ryuu put me through. There was no comparing the two. If only I could get exp from training.
  
  "Good," Ryuu commented lightly once I was back on my feet before she moved again. Her wooden blade blurred to my legs, and I started to move one of them back, only for Ryuu to change targets with a flick of her wrist. Wood cracked against my knee, and this time it was only because I was expecting the attack that I managed to stay on two feet. Gritting my teeth, I slashed with my blackened sword, trying to catch her out of position, only for the wooden blade to stop mine dead in its tracks.
  
  "Swordplay isn"t something you can cram in a few days' time," Ryuu lectured, nearly knocking my blade out of my hands. "But I can instill the basic principles into you -- finding openings, misdirection, decisions on when to dodge and when to block, and how to do either from any position. You need to learn how to react."
  
  "What about-urk," I was cut off when Ryuu stabbed me where my kidneys were hard enough I"m pretty sure she hit them. "Attacking?"
  
  "Do you think knowing how to attack is going to make a difference in this fight?" Ryuu returned, easily dodging a wild haymaker I sent to make her back off. She made me pay for it by rapping my knuckles with the back of her weapon with an almost lazy gesture. "Despite what you seem to believe, a good offense does not offset a good defense."
  
  That was fair, I thought, trying to shift back onto the defense. Like a snake, Ryuu"s blade seemed to slither into the gaps, the edge of her weapon tapping my ribs, heart, and neck. If she wanted me dead, then I would be a thousand times over.
  
  "As you are right now, you"ll be dead with the opening move when you fight Zanis," Ryuu pointed out, her tone still flat and that took the bite out of her words. "No matter how much your stats increase, you cannot close the gap between a level 1 and a level 2. Your fighting must improve."
  
  "You"ve just been beating the shit out of me for the past day, how is that helping me improve?" I questioned, some of my frustration leaking out. It seemed that her actions and the lessons she was trying to teach were completely at odds. The only progress I"ve noticed over the past day was in my Endurance stat. If anything, it was like Ryuu was using me as a training dummy, or a giant stress ball.
  
  Surprisingly, Ryuu smirked at my comment, her weapon blurred to my face. I reacted as well as I could, jerking my weapon to the side and the most amazing thing happened. Instead of feeling pain blossom when she hit me somewhere else, her wooden weapon bounced off mine-
  
  Then I felt pain somewhere else when Ryuu flicked her wrist downward to slam her weapon against my defenseless leg. My entire leg went numb, bringing me to a knee because I could feel the bruise forming all the way down to my tibia. Again, Ryuu bonked me on the head, a mocking gesture, but her slight smile stopped me from getting pissed at her for it.
  
  "That last attack was what a level 2 should manage," Ryuu informed, only then did it sink in that I had time to react. Barely. "And just because you managed to block one attack doesn"t mean your enemy is suddenly going to give up." Now her lecturing tone had a teasing edge to it and, despite myself, I found myself grinning right back at her. Because, at the very least, I managed to make some progress.
  
  "Now, do you wish to continue?"
  
  I answered by standing up.
  
  ...
  
  Hestia looked up at the large double doors, knowing what laid on the other side. Her heart pounded against her ribs to the point that she expected it to jump out of her chest any second. Worse, she was going to face what laid behind the door alone. Even if Jericho was allowed, he was better off spending his time training. Even worse, she wasn't going to have a single ally because Hephaestus was stuck in her forge, and she wasn't likely to come out for a week because of her request.
  
  Hestia closed her eyes for a moment. Taking in a bracing breath, Hestia reached forward to push the doors open. Her stomach dropped to her feet when she saw exactly what she expected to see.
  
  "Hey! It's Hestia!"
  
  "Look, everybody, Hestia's come to see us!"
  
  "Ohhhh! Is she still mad? I wanna see an angry Loli-Big Boobs!"
  
  "Did Soma die?"
  
  "Did you loot his booze like I asked?!"
  
  "I don't see any booze! She's hoarding it for herself!"
  
  "Stingy!"
  
  "Sharing is caring!"
  
  "I am Ganesha!"
  
  Hestia was bombarded with questions as soon as she stepped inside the Pantheon, a richly decorated room with a large round table placed at its center. Like every Denatus, or meeting of the gods, the table was stuffed to bursting with the various gods that made Orario their home. Dozens of them, screaming and shouting over each other to be heard, pushing and shoving to be the center of attention -- the only ones that had any semblance of self-restraint were Loki and Freya, which scared her more than words could ever say.
  
  Loki sighed as she leaned on one hand, raising one hand that had a goblet of wine in it. She made a mocking toast at her, taking a sip before she slammed the goblet onto the table hard enough that it sloshed over the rim. Hestia was pretty sure that the action was supposed to impose silence on the room, only for the sound to get drowned out by the dozens of gods talking. An irritated look passed over Loki's face before she rose her goblet higher, then slammed it back down again.
  
  It still didn't quiet down. The only one that seemed to hear her was Freya, who sent Loki an amused but pitying look. That set the goddess of mischief off because she stood so suddenly that her chair flipped backward, "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Loki screamed at the top of her lungs, slamming her hands down onto the table hard enough that goblets of wine tipped over. "It's been twelve whole hours since Ais-tan has spoken to me, so I'm going through withdrawals!"
  
  The other gods shut up real quick in face of an angry Loki. They sat down in their seats, their hands in their laps, while silently praying to the remaining gods in heaven that they wouldn"t be obliterated. All the while, the gods above laughed and crossed their fingers, hoping that at least one of them was taken out so they could come down. Hestia knew that from experience.
  
  "Oh my, it sounds like there"s trouble in paradise," Freya commented, her voice carrying only because the other gods had quieted down. As the other most powerful familia in the city, she was the only one that could possibly stand up to Loki.
  
  The goddess of love and fertility looked the part -- actually...now that Hestia looked at her...the color of her hair, the shape of her face, the color of her eyes...Freya looked a lot like Syr. Or, rather, Syr looked a lot like Freya. The resemblance was uncanny, enough so that they could pass as twins if it wasn"t for the impressive bust that Freya sported. Hestia"s eyes narrowed in suspicion -- if it wasn"t for the fact that Syr lacked the aura of a god, then they could pass as the same person.
  
  And Hestia knew better than most what could be created by an adventurer with the Mystery development ability. The item that hid Jericho"s true status from view was made with such an item made by Asfi of the Hermes familia. And...now that she thought about it, had she ever seen the goddess and Syr in the same room together?
  
  "Shaddap," Loki waved her off, pouting. The other gods likely missed it, and Hestia would have likely have too if it wasn"t for the fact that she knew that Ais and Tiona were helping Jericho against her wishes. Even still, Hestia spent enough time on the wrong end of Loki"s pranks to know that the goddess of mischief had a trick up her sleeve. It was just a question if that trick was going to help or hurt her. "But, you all know why we"re gathered here today!"
  
  """""""""WAR GAME!"""""""" The gods shouted as one, throwing their hands into the air with the passion of a thousand sports fans each. Amongst all the sources of entertainment found on the lower world, the War Game was held most sacred. A rare treat to be savored, but never over-indulged else it would spoil the taste, and it tasted that much better when there was a large gap between them. For mortals, that amount of time would be years.
  
  For gods, it was a month or two.
  
  Hestia"s race might be immortal, but she knew all too well they severely lacked in patience.
  
  "That"s right! A War Game! The Hestia familia has challenged the Soma familia and- wait, where is Soma? Don"t tell me that idiot skipped this meeting too?!" Loki shouted, scanning the room while Hestia slinked to an available chair, feeling all the god"s eyes on her. Barely three seconds in, and she already wished that Jericho would kick down the door and rescue her from this hell.
  
  "Did Hestia gank him?!"
  
  "I bet she did!"
  
  "Murderer!"
  
  "Wait, I didn"t see a bright light!"
  
  "Soma ain"t dead," Loki shouted, banging her goblet like a gavel. "He"s just...being himself and decided not to show up." Honestly, just how deep did his apathy run to not bother showing up to a Denatus about a War Game against his familia? Hestia had barely recognized Soma when she saw him -- gods could never grow or age, and since they couldn"t shapeshift in the lower world, even their appearances were static. Outwardly, Soma appeared as he ever did -- an unkempt man with an air of mystery about him.
  
  Only that air of mystery had been replaced with an ignorance and apathy that shocked her.
  
  "I don"t believe it! Everyone felt Hestia"s explosive torrent of unyielding murderous rage! Soma definitely died!" A god shouted, making Hestia splutter.
  
  "I didn"t send Soma back to heaven," she shouted, lobbing an accusing finger at the god that had spoken. "And stop saying stuff like that! I was a little angry, but-"
  
  "EEEKKK! Somebody save me!" The god shouted, throwing his hands up as if Hestia could have struck him down from across the table. Though, if he didn"t wipe that smile off his face, Hestia was going to cross the table to throttle the idiot.
  
  "Ah, so violent! It"s always the quiet ones..."
  
  "I thought she only reserved that for Apollo..."
  
  "Wait, is Apollo here?! I wanted to see his reaction to Hestia losing her virginity! I wanna see him cry!" Hestia placed a hand on the table, an embarrassed blush warming her cheeks at the sudden change in topic. She folded over, the sheer amount of stupidity in the room causing her no small amount of physical pain.
  
  It shamed her to think that she used to want to be important enough to be invited to these meetings. Now if she never had to step foot in this room again, it"d still be too soon.
  
  "Talk about size difference."
  
  "Huh? Is he that big or that big?"
  
  "Bet I could see the top of the Tower of Babel if I rode on his shoulders."
  
  "I want to ride him in a different way-"
  
  "Who said that?!" Hestia shouted as the gods descended into laughter and gossip. Hate might not be something that she had a lot of experience with, but she was starting to hate everyone in this room. Even Freya laughed lightly behind her hand, her lips quirked upwards. Yeah, she really hated everyone in the room. They were all jerks.
  
  "We"re not here to talk about who Hestia is sleeping with, even though she was supposed to be a virgin goddess forever!" Loki shouted, making Hestia round on her. Who decided that she had to be a virgin forever?! "And we can hold off on making fun of Apollo until he"s here so we can watch him break down and cry. Right now, we"re talking about the War Game and what led up to it."
  
  That was her cue. Taking in a deep breath, she composed what she wanted to say. She couldn"t be too wordy, or these...morons would never be able to understand. She had to say whatever it took to make it entertaining.
  
  "The Soma familia has been harassing mine for nearly a month -- but my child became friends with a supporter that is a member of the Soma familia." She ignored a cry of "what a twist" from a god before continuing. "Lili has been tormented, abused and stolen from by her familia for her entire life. My child, Jericho, couldn"t let that stand and neither could I. We offered to help her pay her way out of her familia but the sum was exorbitant." She shouldn"t have used that word. She doubted they knew what it meant.
  
  "Ten million valis," Loki spoke up, making several gods blanch like the number had stabbed them in the kidneys. "And Hestia has testimonies from her child as well that match up. Nothing from Lili, though."
  
  Hestia"s hands curled up into fists, "Because Lili is unconscious. She tried to go directly to Soma to be released from her familia but..." But Lili failed the test that he set. "He didn"t let her, then Zanis, the familia captain, gave the order to beat Lili within an inch of her life before trying to murder her with a stab to the stomach."
  
  "Ah, so mean."
  
  "Wait, is this Lili? She"s a loli?!"
  
  "What? No, she"s a pallum-"
  
  "The Soma familia hurt a loli!"
  
  "Kill them!"
  
  "Kill them all!"
  
  "Fire and blood!"
  
  "Blood for the blood god!"
  
  "Who"s that again?"
  
  "Doesn't matter! Sacrifice them all!"
  
  They were on her side, but Hestia couldn"t bring herself to be grateful for it. Because...justice didn"t exist in Orario. Only gods and their whims. They"d just as likely be calling for Jericho"s head if they knew that he broke a bottle of Soma wine rather than be impressed with his strength of character.
  
  "Zanis tried to accuse us of keeping Lili hostage, or something. And that"s when I got really mad. We went to his house and challenged Soma to a War Game. No one died!" Hestia felt compelled to add on.
  
  "A likely story..."
  
  "Soma isn"t here, so he"s hella dead..."
  
  "And she didn"t share his wine...so stingy..."
  
  "Soma is still alive," Loki repeated herself, sounding as exasperated as she felt. Which was saying something. "But, is anyone in favor of hitting Hestia with any kind of consequences?" She asked, and the gods started to hem and haw over it to drag out the suspense. Just to mess with her. All the while, Hestia couldn"t help but think that they didn"t bother hearing the whole story. Or bothering to get Soma"s.
  
  Because they didn"t care enough to. It was something that had always lurked in the back of Hestia"s mind, but the city of Orario was a really scary place, wasn"t it?
  
  Then, on some unseen signal, they all gave their answer at once.
  
  """""""""NO!"""""""""
  
  Hestia sagged with relief, some of the gods laughing at her suffering. She wondered how much of that was because of Hephaestus throwing her weight around and how much of it was some god"s love for lolis. Such...such a stupid reason...and these people ran the city...it honestly hurt to think about.
  
  "Good!" Loki shouted, eagerly moving on, "now for the fun bit! Deciding what War Game it will be!" A great big cheer went up, and the tension returned to her. Now, it all came down to this, didn"t it? What kind of War Game decided not only Lili"s fate but theirs. Soma hadn"t asked for anything if he won, but he might not care enough to stop Zanis if he demanded for something outrageous.
  
  "We should do a roulette!"
  
  "Pull from a hat!"
  
  "Put Hestia in a booth with a big fan and a bunch of options and whichever one she pulls out is the winner!"
  
  "Oh, that last one sounds fun!"
  
  "It"ll take forever to make though."
  
  And it did take forever to make. An hour of pointing fingers to make someone foot the bill before Loki got sick of the arguing and decided to pay for it, which was probably the plan the entire time. It took a few hours for the blacksmiths to make it, and when Hestia was feeling absolutely exhausted from dealing with the gods, only then did the contraption get wheeled up to the room.
  
  A giant glass box with a grate floor for her to stand on, which would protect her feet from a fan that could be spun by a crank. The gods that weren"t turning the crank were fervently writing down possible war games on slips of paper. From the few that she caught a glimpse of, some of them were outrageously simple, written as a gag option -- like a drinking competition, or arm wrestling, or who could hold their breath the longest.
  
  Others were far more challenging. Constant one on one duels until every member of a familia was defeated on one side. An open battle. Sieges. Capture the god. Capture the captain. Capture the flag. King of the hill and so on. Challenges that would pit Jericho against the entirety of the Soma familia.
  
  Then, when someone noticed that she was looking, a blindfold was slipped onto her face which is how she found herself in the box, unable to see, with her heart trying to jump out of her mouth. Hestia tried to calm herself, only to flinch badly when someone rapped on the glass. "Oi, so the rules are you can grab two options -- one for each hand. When you step out, we"re going to have a vote on which hand and the option in the hand that wins is what we"re going with." Loki explained, getting a hesitant nod from Hestia.
  
  Then, without further ado, the fan beneath her began to spin, blowing up the slips of paper. They fluttered across her body, rising and falling as she stood still. She racked her brain to think of a way to cheat a little, just enough to make sure that she didn"t pick two bad options. If there was a way to cheat, then it was gone from her now that the slips of paper were so thoroughly mixed up.
  
  In the end, Hestia just had to have faith in Jericho. That no matter what, he would find a way to win.
  
  With that thought driving her hands forward, Hestia reached out and felt two slips of paper slide into her hands. The gods cheered outside, the fan came to a stop, all the other options falling on her head before she took off her blindfold. Stepping outside, she held her hands out, clenched so tightly that the paper was crushed in her grip.
  
  "Time to vote! Left or right, gods and goddesses?" Loki called out and gods cast their vote by raising their left or right hand. A few hands rose for the right, more hands rose for the left...then Freya voted.
  
  "I think the right would be fun," Freya spoke aloud, making Hestia"s insides clench. Did she see what was in the right hand? Did she know? Was it a good thing or a bad thing? Hestia desperately hoped it was a good thing because with a few words, the entirety of the male population voted for the right hand, several of them changing their votes. It was a landslide victory.
  
  Swallowing thickly, Hestia opened her right hand and read the slip of paper.
  
  King of the Hill.
  
  ...
  
  "That"s enough for today," Ryuu decided as I panted, covered in bruises, sweat, and blood. The sun hung overhead, mercilessly burning in the sky without even a single cloud to grant any hope of shade. We started at the crack of dawn, yet Ryuu looked like she hadn't so much as broken a sweat.
  
  I knew there was a gap in power between a level 1 and a level 2 and that gap grew with each level, but...it hadn't really sunk in until now just how powerful Ryuu was.
  
  This time, I shook my head, willing to argue. "I can keep going. All I need is a few potions-"
  
  "No," Ryuu interrupted. "You're making mistakes that you shouldn't be, which makes you frustrated, and that in turn makes you make more mistakes. You need a break. Mental exhaustion is a thing, even if you don't believe in it."
  
  "But-" I argued, cutting myself off when Ryuu fixed a glare onto me. I didn't want to stop, though. Sure, I took more hits, but that was fine since each one helped my Endurance stat. Only...we were working on my swordsmanship, and if I kept making those mistakes, they were going to become a habit. A habit that could get me killed. "I...!"
  
  "A break can only help you right now. Get something to eat, take a nap, and should you wish, I will continue to train you after that." Ryuu offered, "you can't simply brute force your way through every issue."
  
  Which was something I already told myself I was going to stop trying to do. Even still, I didn't like it. Time spent eating and sleeping was time I could spend training. However, I swallowed my complaints and let out a soft sigh.
  
  "...fine," I agreed with some reluctance. Standing up, a hand dipping to my pocket to retrieve a health and stamina potion. Knocking them both back, my aches and physical exhaustion faded into nothing. Ryuu simply nodded, sheathing her weapon.
  
  Ryuu couldn't afford the attention, so she vanished from sight once we entered the city. Leaving me to walk back to the Hostess on my own. I felt eyes on me the moment I walked through the gates. In a way, I was used to it now, assuming it was my size, but when I glanced down an alley, I saw an adventurer there, a crescent moon and a cup of wine on his armor. Our eyes met, his flat gaze boring into my own before he offered a sarcastic smirk and a mocking wave. With that, he turned around and walked away, but I knew there were other eyes on me from Soma members I couldn't see.
  
  The fact that Ryuu was with me was more of a comfort than words could ever say.
  
  I walked back in silence, refusing to look like a coward, but it would be a lie to say that I hadn't rushed the last few steps when the Hostess entered my view. I glanced over my shoulder as I closed the door behind me, my gaze drifting upwards to see an adventurer on top of the roof, a bow in her hands. Our gazes met right up until I closed the door behind me.
  
  "Fuck me," I cursed. I knew it shouldn"t be a surprise that I was being followed, and it wasn"t, but I liked it a lot less than I thought I was going to. And I thought I was going to hate it.
  
  "W-w-w-well, I-I mean, if that"s..." A voice sputtered out behind me, making me flinch in surprise. Turning around, I saw that it was Tiona -- her bronzed skin made it hard to tell if she was blushing or not, but how she refused to meet my gaze as she played with a lock of hair that was clasped together with a gold piece of jewelry told me that she was.
  
  She was here to help with my training, that much I knew...but she was early. Way early.
  
  "Sorry," I said, shaking my head. I wasn"t a dense harem protagonist by any stretch of the imagination, and that was a clear sign of interest if I"ve ever seen one. "I was just talking to myself. The Soma familia seems to have staked the place out." I told her, not missing how a brief expression of disappointment flashed over her face. Seriously, girl, what did I do to make you this thirsty?
  
  "Yeah, they"re being pretty obvious about it, but I snuck in pretty easily," Tiona said, throwing her hand behind her head, puffing out her chest in a vain attempt to make her breasts appear bigger. I don"t think that she got the memo of "flat is justice."
  
  "They"re being too damn obvious," Mama Mia spoke up, relaxing in a chair as she nursed a tankard of beer that she used to gesture to the empty Hostess. "They"re scaring away all my damn customers." She said, sounding like she was a few seconds away from going outside to throttle the Soma familia...and, to be honest, I would be more than okay with it if she did.
  
  But, in the end... "I"m sorry. I can-" I started to offer to pay back the losses she was taking, but she waved me off with a hand.
  
  "You can pay me back by winning. I stand to make a pretty valis if you win the War Game," Mama Mia said, taking a sip of her beer but it wasn"t enough to hide the smirk. Still, that was a lot of faith.
  
  "You"re that certain I"ll win?" I questioned, making her smirk grow as she let out a short laugh.
  
  "No, but the odds were so against you that I can make a fortune betting pocket change," she said, laughing at my expression, but not in an unkind way. "But, if you"re here and not fleeing for the hills then I"m feeling confident. If only because you look like you want to go another round with Ryuu, and I know well enough what she calls training."
  
  On the topic of the War Game... "Is Hestia back yet?" It wasn"t a promising sign when her smirk fell, replaced with a grimace as she nodded.
  
  "Upstairs, with Lili. And, no, she still hasn"t woken up yet," Mama Mia answered me before I could ask.
  
  "It"s been more than a day," I pointed out. She should be awake by now. Ryuu said that she needed to rest, and...
  
  "She"s not in the danger zone, yet," Mama Mia reassured, but it sounded hollow. An empty reassurance that meant nothing since not even she seemed to believe that. "Just give her some more time. If she"s not up by tomorrow morning, then...then I"ll help you find an elixir. There aren"t many things that potions can"t fix."
  
  "I"ll help too!" Tiona pitched in, interjecting herself back into the conversation. "I"ll get one from, uh, Loki," she winced when she said her goddess"s name before continuing, "or I can ask one of our potion makers to hook me up. Lili will be okay! I"ll make sure of it," Tiona declared, giving me a megawatt smile.
  
  The knot of tension didn"t vanish, and there was a part of me that was still worried, but I let myself hope that Lili was going to be okay.
  
  "Thank you. I"ll go talk to her now," I said, giving them both a thin smile before I trudged upstairs. I knocked before entering, my gaze instantly landing on Lili when I pushed open the door. Her face had healed thanks to a liberal use of potions, and her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. She looked like she was simply sleeping, it was just the fact she had been for over a day that was scaring the crap out of me.
  
  "Jericho..." Hestia said, her face set in a determined mask. "We know what the game is going to be." She started as I closed the door, a knot of tension forming between my shoulder blades.
  
  "I"m guessing it's bad?" I asked, looking at her.
  
  "King of the Hill," Hestia informed, her hands clenched into fists so tight that they trembled in her lap.
  
  That...was about as bad as it could get, honestly. I guess I must have prepared myself for the worst-case scenario rather well because I simply nodded, scratching at my cheek in thought. "Huh."
  
  Hestia seemed to deflate at my tone, "the other option was a slap match between you and Zanis."
  
  "Heh," I chuckled, picturing that in my head. "What are the rules? Is it timed?" I asked, recalling playing the game back when I was a kid at after-school care during middle school. I"m guessing it was going to be a lot rougher than slinging kids around until I was toppled.
  
  "Whoever controls the hill by the third day is the victor, or when one familia is unable to continue. It"s taking place outside of Orario, on a large hill with an old fort on it, so the defenders get an advantage. Both familia"s start an equal distance away, so whoever reaches the fort first gets the advantage."
  
  I nodded, "would I be able to get my status updated during the War Game?" I questioned, getting a tired nod from Hestia.
  
  "No, I can't. The gods aren"t allowed to interfere in any way during a War Game. That includes status updates," Hestia answered, her gaze drifting over to Lili. I knew for a fact that she was just as worried as I was, if not more so since she didn"t have a distraction since it was too dangerous for her to go to work. Still, that wasn't the answer I wanted to hear, but it was the one that I expected.
  
  "Hestia...with these War Games...is killing allowed?" I asked, making her attention shoot towards me so fast that I spared a worry that she gave herself whiplash. Her eyes were wide, surprise and horror on her face because she knew exactly what I was asking. "The only possible way I can win is if I thin out their numbers to the point that they can"t simply overwhelm me. Unless there"s a way if the hill is contested?"
  
  Hestia slowly shook her head, "no. Then it goes to whoever has been on it the longest. But...Jericho...killing?" She asked, a quiet horror in her voice that stabbed at my heart. I hated that she was looking at me like that, but I had to know. Simply because I didn"t have a lot of options to win.
  
  "If I can avoid it, then I can, but unless I can contest the hill for three days straight, then I can"t win that way. The only way I can possibly win is if I thin out their numbers enough that I can kick them off the hill on the final day." Three days and three hundred members. It was rather frightening how that math worked out.
  
  "But, Jericho..." Hestia started, reaching out to grab my hand, squeezing it for dear life. She didn"t continue for a long moment, her bright blue eyes looking away, filled with shame as she failed to come up with another plan. "Can you really do that?" She asked a loaded question despite its appearance.
  
  "...if it"s to keep you and Lili safe...if it means we"re taken care of...then yeah. I can," I told her, knowing that she could tell the words were the truth. Did that make me a monster? At the very least, it made me a bad person, but...I didn"t care. This was my second lease on life, and I wasn"t going to let anyone threaten it.
  
  If I had to murder three hundred people to take care of me and mine...then I"d do it in a heartbeat.
  
  Hestia didn"t say anything after that. She simply squeezed my hand, leaning against my shoulder as we both stared at Lili"s resting face.
  
  Wondering...hoping...that she would wake up.
  
  ...
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  "Jericho?" Hestia muttered quietly once we were back in our own bed. In the end, waiting for Lili to wake up did exactly what I thought it would -- it stressed me out because she wasn"t waking up, and I was worrying myself sick. Hestia wasn"t much better in that regard, and our negativity must have been felt throughout the building because Ryuu sent us to our room with a vague excuse that neither of us had the will to argue.
  
  "Hm?"
  
  "Are you going to try something with Tiona? She"s interested in you, you know," Hestia pointed out like it was somehow possible that I hadn"t. Honestly, dense harem protagonists were apparently an entirely different breed protagonist if they could miss hints like that.
  
  "I have so much on my mind that sex is the very last thing on it," I told her honestly. Time spent fucking was time that could have spent training. Even now, as I cuddled with Hestia, I was getting antsy. I felt like I should be doing something. Pushups, or reading a textbook -- anything other than sitting around, waiting for my next bout of training.
  
  "I think Ryuu's right," Hestia spoke, lazily caressing my bicep as she cuddled into my shoulder. "You need to do something that lets you turn your brain off. I can tell you're getting stressed out," she stated, and as if to prove her point, she lazily put a foot on my knee and it was only then that I realized it had been bouncing up and down. I stopped, a soft sigh escaping me.
  
  "It doesn't have to be sex, though. And things are complicated with Loki enough. I don't think she's going to react well if she finds out I slept with one of her familia members," I pointed out as I held Hestia a bit tighter. Hestia made a small noise at that, her hand clenching down on my arm.
  
  "She's already here against Loki's wishes. And...I don't care what Loki thinks!" Hestia snapped, frustration bubbling over. "I know all of this is a part of some stupid elaborate plot of hers, but I can't believe she would do this to us to make sure that it worked!" From the sound of it, she didn't believe it in a way that she thought Loki secretly had our best interests in mind for whatever plot she hatched. And neither could I.
  
  "I think it's a plan to get me to join her familia," I told Hestia. "That I'll get desperate enough to come crawling to her to make this entire situation go away." That's was the explanation that made the most sense to me.
  
  "Hmph," Hestia scoffed, not even considering for a moment that I would leave her. And neither did I. "But, Jericho...if something does happen..."
  
  "Hestia," I started, one hand climbing up her thigh to play with the hem of her dress. "It doesn't have to be with a different girl." Hestia rested a hand on mine, shifting to look at me. Her gaze was unusually serious, and that alone was enough to make me pause.
  
  "I know that," Hestia muttered with some embarrassment. "But...I don"t know how to put it...they"re willing to go so far for us. For you. I know it doesn't have to be with a different girl, but I"m just saying that if something does happen, and you want it to...then you can."
  
  "...are you sure about that?" This sounded like a bad idea. I had no clue how Loki would react. I had no clue how Tiona would react if it came to a choice between me and her familia. Actually, I couldn't possibly see her picking us over her familia.
  
  "I am," Heatia said with utter certainty. "If it comes down to it, we'll leave this awful city behind until you're strong enough to wipe the floor with everyone here. So...if something does happen between you two...you have my permission to let it happen." Hestia spoke, leaning in to kiss me on the lips. I kissed her back, my mind turning over this revelation.
  
  When she gave me permission to sleep around, I didn't expect it to get this complicated. But that was likely because I was thinking with my dick. Now, if I did fuck Tiona, and Loki found out...
  
  But...at the same time...
  
  I broke this kiss minutes later, Hestia pressing one last quick kiss on my lips before she pulled back as well. I looked into her dark blue eyes and nodded slowly. "Okay. I'm not going to make the first move, but if...when she does then we'll hook up." Still, I couldn't help but feel some apprehension. After all, it was hardly like Loki couldn't send someone after us.
  
  "I love you," Hestia muttered, pressing her lips against mine one more time. When she pulled back, I leaned forward, kissing her again before pulling back as well.
  
  "I love you too," I told her, and a small relieved smile appearing on her face.
  
  Hestia climbed off of me, taking in a deep breath before her smile became gentler in nature. "You know, I never said anything about it, but you always smell so nice. Is that one of your perks?" She asked and-
  
  Huh. Huh.
  
  I recalled something that I had barely paid any attention to back when I first found myself in that void that told me that I was the gamer. A handful of words that I had glossed over back when I was selecting my starting world. "Additional worlds will be unlocked as you progress" or something like that. I never gave it much thought, mostly because it never seemed relevant, but now that we were thinking about running away...
  
  The only question was what it considered advancement. And the likeliest of answers was to level up.
  
  I didn"t say anything about it, mostly because it was a long shot and we needed to think realistically. I simply kept the idea in the back of my mind, mulling it over, and crossing my fingers that would be the case. Because if it was, then so long as I could take Hestia and Lili with me, I was content to leave this world behind
  
  I realized that Hestia was still waiting for an answer. "Oh, yeah, it is. Natural Deodorant. It doesn"t give me any bonuses, though," I pointed out, wondering if I should have picked another perk at the start. I went with Natural Deodorant because of convenience, but now, even if I didn"t regret picking it, it couldn"t be denied that there were better options. I could have started out as a mage, or something, and that would give me some options I could desperately use.
  
  "Never smelling bad is a big bonus. If you didn"t pick it, you"d probably smell so bad I wouldn"t want to be in the same room as you," Hestia teased, the tension easing out of her as we bantered, leaving the heavy topics behind. I cracked the first grin in what felt like forever. I stood up, straightening out, but thinking that she was probably right.
  
  "Fair...but I'll skip out on the shower for now. I'll take a dip once I'm done training with Tiona," I said, glancing around our small room. I had a few spare shirts in my inventory, but I didn't bother putting one on. I was just going to create more laundry for myself. Hestia gave my hand one final squeeze before she let me go. I stepped out of the room, sending Hestia one last glance before I closed the door.
  
  I let out a small sigh, running a hand through my stiff hair before I started walking down the steps. Tiona seemed to be waiting for me, shifting from foot to foot, idly leaning against her weapon of choice. It was a double-sided broadsword, each blade connected by a slender handle. What was more eye-catching was just how thick the blades were -- from what I recalled it was a weapon only used by Amazonians because of the ridiculous Strength stat required to wield it.
  
  Just by looking at the weapon, I knew it must weigh a lot more than my own sword. Even if Tiona lifted it with utter ease, waving the weapon at me as a smile lit up her face. It was hard to tell with her bronzed skin, but I"m certain that she was blushing.
  
  "Are you all rested up?" Tiona asked, throwing a megawatt smile my way. I nodded, preparing myself for another ass-kicking, and all the while, what Hestia and I just talked about lurked in the back of my mind. Looking at her now, completely oblivious, I felt a bit bad. Then I reminded myself that things were already moving in this direction anyway, and I only felt bad because Loki had fucked me over.
  
  "Yeah, I"m good. Are we going to the Dungeon?" I asked, glancing around the empty Hostess, seeing no one but Syr, who kept sweeping the same location since I came down the stairs.
  
  "Yup! There"s no better place to train, cuz I always get yelled at when I try to train in the city. Oh, and don"t worry, I"ll stay out of sight of those dummies following you," Tiona said, and I"m guessing that someone already had that talk with her. That, and I"m guessing that Tiona was trying to avoid Loki finding out that she was training me. I would have assumed Loki already knew by virtue of being Loki and Tiona being Tiona, but Tiona could apparently sneak into a building that was being watched by a dozen people unnoticed, so maybe she was being sneaky about it.
  
  "Sounds good," I said, nodding as I spared one last look up the stairs, wondering if Lili would finally wake up while I was out. I could only hope. Stepping outside, my gaze instantly landed on the adventurer girl perched on a building across the street, standing watch. The street itself was devoid of anyone, a tense moment passed worthy of tumbleweed to roll by before I turned and started walking towards the training ground.
  
  I had enough experience in these kinds of situations to know that showing fear was a good way to get jumped, so I kept my expression calm as I waited for an arrow in the back. It never came as I made my way up main street, and I felt gazes on me the entire way. Like with Ryuu, knowing that there was a friendly one as well helped more than words could say.
  
  The Guildhall seemed to go silent as I walked in, everyone taking the time to look at me. By now, news of the War Game had gotten out. Especially when Ganesha, the god of the masses, was taking charge of it and hyping it up. It wouldn"t be long before the news spread outside of the city, into the countryside. Bell had become famous after his War Game, and I wondered if the same would happen to me.
  
  I scanned the room for Eina, only to see that she wasn"t here. I could only hope that she was enjoying her day off -- Hestia told me about the files she had compiled to support my case during the Denatus. And I could only hope that she never learned that the gods didn"t read a single word of it.
  
  My steps into the Dungeon sounded impossibly loud as I descended down, my blackened sword at the ready. The only armor that I wore was on my legs -- Hestia said that she had taken care of getting me new armor, and I had a suspicion that I knew what that meant, but for now, my torso was left bare.
  
  The last time I went down here so bare, it was in a towel, and the days prior I was nearly killed by goblins. Now things were different. It was as if the Dungeon itself knew it too because it barely threw any monsters in my direction as I descended down its floors. Now, I was a dragon slayer. I killed a level 2 monster as a level one, so the Dungeon didn"t bother wasting its time on me with trash mobs. Not when it could spend those resources on weaker prey with better chances of success.
  
  Then, finally, I stepped foot on the eleventh floor once again. I took in a deep breath of the heavy mist that clung to the ground, turned around and waited by the entrance. I held my breath before I heard the sounds that I was expecting. Footsteps. They were coming down the stairs in an organized fashion, the heaviest at the front while the lightest were at the back.
  
  To my surprise, I felt calm as my grip tightened on my weapon, my breathing even as I waited in the mist. It felt a bit dumb to say, but if I couldn"t see them through the fog, then it wasn"t likely that they could see me. I heard them fall into a formation -- there were ten of them in total that slowly advanced into the eleventh floor.
  
  I severely underestimated how useful Feather Foot was because as I made my way around the group, I didn"t make a sound. The fog lessened ever so slightly, letting me catch general outlines as I began to approach from behind. Four of them were heavily armored, two of them had spears, another two wore medium armor with a sword and shield, while another two carried bows.
  
  There wasn"t a need to, but I confirmed who they were. A moon and a cup. The Soma familia.
  
  After all, why would Zanis not take this chance to kill me before the War Game began?
  
  Air entered my lungs slowly, my grip tightening, my muscles tensing...then I sprung into action. With my sword poised level to the ground, I rushed out of the mist, ambushing my ambushers. The archers had enough time to let out a short-lived scream before my blade skewered her through the side with enough force that she was lifted off the ground. Idly I noticed it was the same girl that had been perched outside of the Hostess.
  
  The others started to react, the other archer going to his quiver, while the warriors pivoted. If they were on this floor, then they were seasoned adventurers. Unfortunately, they acted like it. Letting out my breath, I shared my grip and flung the girl"s corpse off of my blade. The corpse slammed into two of the warriors, making them stumble, but that gave all the time that I needed to close the distance between me and the last archer. He fumbled to notch and arrow, but by the time he managed it, it was too late.
  
  I slammed my pommel into his face as I continued to rush forward, knowing that I couldn't afford to get surrounded. His face gave in, his skull fracturing until I caved it in as I ran forward, back into the fog. They shouted, and cursed, but none of them followed me, fearing an ambush. I took in a deep breath, feeling sweat gathered on my brow, my heart starting to pick up as I but some distance between us.
  
  "Do you want my help?" I flinched at the soft whisper so badly I nearly jumped a foot into the air while my heart nearly jumped out of my throat. I settled down when I saw it was Tiona, but that shaved a few years off of my life.
  
  "I'm sure," I confirmed with a nod. "I need to deal with them yourself." For the exp. To test my growing skills with swordplay. Because I needed to make sure that these adventurers couldn't make an appearance in the War Game in a few day"s time and I didn't think Tiona would kill them.
  
  Tiona looked troubled but nodded all the same, "but I'm going to help if you look like you're going to lose." She decided, not giving me a choice in the matter. I appreciated it all the same. I gave her a nod before I turned my attention back to the Soma familia and listened. They tightened up their formation, spreading out the heavily armored, and covering the spear users with the sword and shield guys.
  
  Hm. I unslung my backpack that was now free of the drop items, so only rocks remained. There was no way I was going to be able to brute force my way through that formation without taking some damage. Instead, I threw my backpack at it with all of my strength. They reacted well, all things considered, the spearman thrust his weapon into my bag before it could slam into anyone. Only issue with that was the rocks escaped as the bag tore.
  
  A rock brained a sword and shield guy, bringing the total of enemies to seven while more slammed onto others, injuring but not killing them. As he dropped like a sack of potatoes, I rushed the gap that formed, even as the others went to cover it. The one with the spear was completely out of position to block my attack, but the armored guy next to him wasn't. He took a swing at me, a heavy warhammer racing towards my body.
  
  As Ryuu taught me, I dodged the attack rather than block it. Leaning out of the way, I thrust my blade forward. Spear guy tried to deflect the attack, but my sword still caught him in the neck. It wouldn't kill him, not with a health potion, but it would do for now. With Warhammer guy out of place to counter, I slammed into him hard enough to knock him off his feet, sending him sprawling into another two.
  
  Now that I was inside of the formation, I could do some damage. I slammed a foot on Spear guy's head, killing him as I rushed the others. Shield guy rushed to block me, but he wasn't ready for me to slam into him hard enough he was sent tumbling to the ground. An armored guy attacked, taking a swing at me with a mace, only I dodged out of the way before the blow could land. He was too armored, and we were too close for me to use my blade.
  
  So, as the mace sailed overhead, I grabbed it while I thrust my pommel towards his face. His helmet protected him from the blow, saving his life, but he lost his grip on his weapon. All the while the others converged on me, gang up on me to overwhelm me with numbers. With my freshly seized weapon, I had a better close range option. I slammed my mace into a guy's shield hard enough that he buckled under the blow while I slashed at the others to keep them at bay.
  
  Duel wielding was a lot harder than it looked, apparently. I knew I looked like an idiot, but there was some merit in the idea of being so unpredictable simply because you had no idea what you were doing. The other spear guy made a lunge at my throat, only for me to jerk my head out of the way, feeling the weapons edge bite into my cheekbone, before I repeated the wound a thousand times over by slamming a mace into the side of his head. He wore a helmet, but it wasn't enough to keep his skull intact.
  
  The two of the others scrambled to their feet, one of the armored guys going for a weapon. I lunged at the others, pretending that I hadn't noticed the armor guy until I slammed my mace into the back of his head. Then I stopped on his neck to make sure he was dead rather than knocked out. Now it was me against four others. Two of them heavily armored, while the other two carried swords and shields.
  
  I slept them up by chunking my weapon at them, acting like I was going to go high, then I spiked it into a sword and shield guys leg had enough that it broke. He went down as he screamed, clutching his leg and I took the moment to rush the other. I blocked his blade before I slammed into him, knocking him off his feet -- the tactic was simply too good to not use. The other two pressed down on me, forcing me to back off, but not before I thrust my sword into the guy's neck. It didn't kill him, but it would soon enough.
  
  The last two wore matching grimaces, holding their warhammers at the ready. The approached slowly, flanking out as I continued to back off. I took another step back, feeling my foot hit what I wanted it to. Rolling my foot back, I kicked up a warhammer into my hand before I rushed forward. They took a swing at me, one going high, and the other low. A practiced combo, I'm guessing.
  
  What they weren't expecting was for me to jump up, sailing over the low attack and letting my weapon absorb the impact as I lashed out with a foot that kicked back the one that hit me, taking the bone-shattering force out of the blow. As he fell backward, the other took another swing with surprising speed. I blocked the blow, catching his warhammer where the hammer was at, yanking it to the side as I gripped my second weapon high up before I slammed it into the guy's head. His metal helmet dented, crushing his skull, and then there was only one.
  
  I heard him sigh over that one guy screaming. At the very least, he didn't beg for mercy before I killed him. I spared one last look at the last guy still screaming -- a part of me wanted to finish him off for the exp. But the decision was taken out of my hands. A horned rabbit made its presence known by jumping out of the mist, a landform weapon in its paw, that it brought down on the screaming man's neck. He was dead.
  
  The monster took one look at me before it fled.
  
  "You're not that bad at fighting," Tiona commented, making her presence known. "It's pretty sloppy, but it gets the job done and that's all that matters!" I got the impression that she had some personal bias about the topic.
  
  "I need to get better," I answered, glancing down at the warhammer in my hand. I decided to hang onto it, if only because it was rather useful for dealing with armor. "If I"m struggling with this many, then I don"t stand a chance against the entire familia."
  
  "Well, that's why I'm here!" Tiona reminded me, tossing me a megawatt smile. She seemed awfully undisturbed by the death she had just witnessed. I wanted to ask, but I couldn"t, only she seemed to realize what unspoken question my gaze held. "This kind of thing is really common in the Dungeon. Adventurers...well, we"re a violent bunch and familias butt heads for any reason. A couple of years ago, the Loki familia got attacked fairly often before everyone hit high levels. It's a lot rarer now but it still happened every once and awhile."
  
  Huh.
  
  Tiona smiled at my faintly surprised look -- in the manga, they all seemed so...above it all? I guess it was a case of details being skimmed over, but I guess all of the Loki familia had killed before. "So, don"t worry about nothing! I won"t say anything!"
  
  Then her smile faded a fraction, "but are you sure you want to go down to the eighteenth floor? Just because it's a safe floor doesn't mean there are no monsters on it."
  
  I nodded, "I'm sure. Outside of two of their familia members, the Soma familia can't go down that far so I won't have to worry about them watching me train or ambushing me." I said, having come up with the idea after I realized that I was being followed everywhere. At the eighteenth floor, I wouldn't have to worry about ambushes like the one that tried to kill me.
  
  And if I helped Tione kill some high-level monsters, then that was just a happy coincidence.
  
  "Plus, I'll have you to protect me, won't I?" I asked, flashing Tiona a grin that made her preen.
  
  "Let's go! Stick really close to me, okay?" Tiona spoke before she led me down, deeper into the Dungeon.
  ...
  
  "The Goliath is dead, right?" I asked, eyeing the utterly massive hole in the wall. The floor itself was big, covered in crystal-like structures. It made up the walls, the floors, and on the far side of the wall, there were several holes that would take us down to the eighteenth floor. The entirety of the floor was this single room, the fist boss floor of the Dungeon. I took in the simple box-like structure of it with flat surfaces all around -- given that the Goliath has some kind of breath shockwave attack, I knew it was to deny any cover.
  
  "Yup, it's dead. We killed it on our way back up a couple of days ago, so we should have plenty of time before it respawns. Why, were you hoping to fight it?" Tiona asked as if she fully expected me to say yes.
  
  I let out a small huff, "more like I don't want to be stepped on." I corrected. Despite my hopes, the trip down was relatively tame. Worse, Tiona killed whatever monsters that came at us with extreme prejudice. To impress me I'm guessing, if the fact she kept looking back at me, waiting for approval, each time she killed a monster.
  
  But, since there was no giant monster to serve as a final obstacle we continued downwards towards our destination. Unlike the previous floors, the ride down was a crystal slide that twisted and turned, plunging us into darkness until there was a light at the end of the tunnel. It was a short ride down, and once it was done, we were on the eighteenth floor and it was...
  
  The eighteenth floor was beautiful. The crystal ceiling that shone like a sunny day, the forest, rolling hills and cliffs, with an ugly little town sticking out like a sore thumb in the distance. It was breathtaking -- a slice of paradise in the depths of hell.
  
  "We should take a small break before we continue your training," Tiona said, fidgeting as she pointed to a waterfall in the distance. "I know of a camping spot where we can wash up a bit."
  
  I glanced at her to see her bronzed face had darkened as she stubbornly refused to meet my gaze. Any question of why either of us would need to wash up died on my tongue -- I doubt she was going to work up a sweat kicking my butt, and there was no point in me bathing since I was going to be getting my butt kicked. This was her play, I realized, nodding as I followed her off the beaten path.
  
  After what happened a few floors up, I figured that if anything could kill the mood, it would be watching your crush kill ten people. I mean, I know she said she understood, and had been through similar, but...it still felt like killing ten men should put a hold on her shooting her shot. If only for a day.
  
  Tiona led me to the place where the Loki familia bathed in the anime -- a small deep river that was fed by a waterfall, the water crystal clear. She took in a deep breath that seemed to inflate her before she turned around to face me. "We should bathe together," she stated bluntly as could be.
  
  "Sure."
  
  "The monsters are-" Tiona blinked, clearly not expecting me to agree so easily if judging by the fact she had a list of reasons why we should bathe together. "O-oh! You agree...that's...good..." Tiona said, swallowing thickly as her eyes roamed my body, her breathing getting heavy. I hadn"t even laid a finger on her, and it already looked like she was about to cream herself. Honestly, it was rather flattering.
  
  An earnest smile found its way onto my face as I kicked off my boots, watching Tiona watch me. Her breathing hitched when my hands went to my thoroughly ruined pants and popped the button. In the end, there"s no real way to make taking your pants off sexy, but it wasn"t for a lack of trying on my part. Though, I guess it didn"t really matter because Tiona openly gaped when I stood nude before her.
  
  "Ohhhh..." Tiona muttered, a shudder running through her. She swallowed thickly, her gaze fixated to my crotch. It was like she was a deer in headlights, and the comparison became more appropriate when I strode towards her, closing the distance between us until I was close enough to touch. Slowly, her gaze drifted upwards, our eyes meeting, and she seemed to realize that I knew exactly where she was trying to lead this encounter and decided to skip to the good part.
  
  Tiona launched herself at me. She didn"t weigh a whole lot, but Tiona was a level 5, so that didn"t matter. She slammed into me, knocking me back so that I fell onto my ass. Her hips straddled mine -- Tiona wasn"t wearing any underwear, I noticed a short moment after I noticed that she was absolutely drenched. Now that comment that she was about to cream herself without me doing anything seemed a lot closer to the truth than not.
  
  She slammed her lips into mine, a desperate clumsy need driving her forward as her hands indulged themselves by caressing my body. Her tongue shoved itself into my mouth, my own pressing against it, and I quickly realized that Tiona was completely taking control over the encounter by virtue of being four levels stronger than me. In terms of strength, I couldn"t even hope to compete.
  
  So, if I wanted to take the lead, I had to make her want me to. I kissed her back hard, my hands going to her skirt and undoing the knot within a moment. Tossing it to the side, my hands went to her ass as her hips ground themselves against me, making my skin slick with her arousal. The moment my hands gripped her butt, I felt more of it erupt from her -- she just came. Already.
  
  Her legs clenched down on me hard enough to hurt, but even as the tides of her orgasm crashed down upon her, she restrained herself enough not to crush me outright. Tiona moaned into my mouth, her tongue bashing against mine, no form or technique, just desperate lust begging to be saited. I battled her tongue as well as I could, but I only won a victory when my fingers inched to her dripping slit and slipped a finger inside of her.
  
  "Jericho...!" Tiona moaned, her walls clamping down on the digit hard enough that it made me seriously worry for my cock. She was tight, but more than that, her walls had such strength in them. There was a non zero chance that she could actually crush my dick...but some risks were just worth it. As she writhed from her orgasm, I flipped us over so her back was on the grass.
  
  Leaning over her so my body dominated her vision, my fingers dipped inside of her slit, deeper with a better angle that she offered when her hips bucked upwards. Her hands continued to explore my form, dragging my face down to kiss her again as my fingers pistoned in and out of her. Steadily, my rhythm grew rougher and faster, leaving the speeds I would use on Hestia long behind. Tiona was an adventurer, and one of the best in the world. She could handle me getting a little rough.
  
  "You like that?" I breathed, pulling back enough before pressing my lips to her jugular and sucking hard, leaving behind a love bite. Tiona answered me with a moan as her hips bucked again, the sounds of her pleasure refusing to be drowned out by the waterfall. Her hands went to my wrist, nearly crushing it and throwing off my rhythm as she pressed my hands to her weeping lips.
  
  "Yesssssss! This is so much better than doing it myself," Tiona moaned as my thumb pressed down on her clit to make up for my new restriction. I grinned when I heard that, my free hand going to her tube top to push it up, revealing small breasts capped with a chocolate brown nipples. Seeing as how she liked it a bit rough, I pinched her nipple with my free hand, rolling it between my thumb and finger, the action seemed to drive Tiona wild.
  
  "Oh?" I asked, whispering in her ear as I leaned over her. "It sounds like you"ve been playing with yourself a lot, have you? Who are you thinking about when you"re playing with your pussy?" I punctuated the question by curling my finger upwards, directly on what I was certain was her g-spot. Tiona howled in ecstasy, her wet walls clamping down on my fingers hard enough that it felt like they were being crushed. I touched out the pain though, tormenting her pussy as I tugged on her nipple.
  
  "You!" Tiona shouted, her hips jerking as she came. Between Massage and Sex, Tiona was putty in my hands. "I-I've been thinking of you!"
  
  I grinned as I lowered myself to her chest, running my tongue over her budding tits. It was really hard to see Tiona as Tione's twin when they couldn't be more different in the breast department. "And how often have you been fucking yourself when you think of me?" I asked, resuming to finger her pussy once her walls eased up on the pressure.
  
  It took Tiona a moment to answer as I edged her towards another orgasm already, teasing her pleasure button with my thumb to help her along. "Every day! Every night!" She answered, her breathing ragged, a Sheen of sweat building up on her bronzed skin. I guess she ended up breaking a sweat after all.
  
  "And what do I do to you in your fantasies?" I asked, drawing her attention back to me by harshly tweaking her nipple. Tiona seemed to love it, her breathing harsh as her walls bared down on me, massaging my fingers as they continued to piston in and out of her.
  
  "You...you..." Tiona tried to answer, only to trail off when her gaze landed on my cock. She reached out, looking at it almost reverently as she gave my rock hard cock an experimental tug. "You put this inside of me..." Tiona muttered before she decided to make her fantasies a reality. She reached out, pushing me so that I was laying on my back with terrifying strength. My cock stood tall, forcing Tiona to stand on wobbly legs before I felt her lower lips kiss the tip of my cock.
  
  "Unnnnhhhh!" Tiona groaned as she thrusted her hips down sharply, burying my entire length inside of her in one go. Her head rolled back, her jaw slack -- if it wasn't for a low groan, I would have thought she knocked herself out. I didn't have any time to be worried about her, though, because I was really worried that she was about to crush my dick. Her depths were like a furnace, impossibly hot as her pussy massaged my length, eager for cum.
  
  A long minute passed as both of us adjusted to the sensations -- I had always wondered how it would feel to fuck a girl with super strength, and now I had my answer. It was awesome and terrifying. In the end, it was Tiona that recovered first, leaning forwards, propping herself up with her hands on my stomach, before her hips rose slowly. Her inner lips dragged, trying to keep me completely buried inside of her, my cock glistening with her arousal.
  
  "This is amazing," Tiona breathed, speaking to herself more than me as she nearly pulled out entirely, leaving only my cockhead inside of her. Sweat dripped down her face, a shaky smile on her face as she gazed at me. "This is---" she cut herself off as she slammed her hips down hard enough I spared a worry that she was going to break my pelvis. I was impressed despite myself. Tiona took every inch of me despite I'm guessing, being a virgin.
  
  Then Tiona found her own frantic rhythm as she began to fuck the shit out of me. Her hips shook frantically, my hands on her waist to help support her but her pace was frantic, desperate for pleasure. Her hips slammed into mine, the harsh sounds of sex were almost as loud as Tiona's moans as she announced her pleasure to the world. Despite my desire to take the lead, I found myself laying there and taking it.
  
  Tiona dominated the pace. She was simply so strong that she overpowered me on accident. Without noticing, even. But, despite appearances, I wasn"t going to take that laying down. I lifted my torso up, Tiona rested her hands on my shoulders, giving herself better leverage to thrust. With that done, I shifted my legs, propping them underneath me before I began to rise.
  
  Her rhythm didn"t even pause for a moment as she continued to thrust, her face was a mask of pleasure. She rested her head against my chest as I stood up, her thrusts growing more desperate because now she didn"t have gravity working in her favor. Which is fine, because once I hooked my hands underneath her legs, I met her thrusts with my own. "How"s it compare to your fantasies?" I asked, fucking her with a roughness that I didn"t dare try with Hestia.
  
  Tiona orgasmed so hard that her arousal gushed out of her, drool running down my chest as she, her hands gripping my shoulders so hard that I"m surprised that she didn"t break skin. She tried to answer me, only her words were so slurred with pleasure that I couldn"t make them out. Though I suppose it was a stupid question, all things considered as her arousal dripped down like a broken faucet.
  
  I chuckled, feeling...powerful again. Tiona was a level 5, and now she was cock drunk, mindlessly bouncing on my dick as she drooled on me because she suffered too many mind-blowing orgasms back to back. It was a refreshing change in pace compared to the past couple of days with the Soma familia and everything else.
  
  "I"m about to cum," I warned her, feeling a tightening in my balls. I didn"t expect for Tiona to lock her legs around my waist, holding tight as her hips pace picked up.
  
  "I want it inside," Tiona moaned, looking up at me with her face twisted in orgasmic bliss. "I want you to cum in me." And, deep down, I knew that was a real stupid idea. I hate kids. All they do is slobber over each other and ask for stuff. But, like so many times before, I didn't let that stop me.
  
  I hissed as I unleashed my orgasm, painting Tiona's walls white. She groaned, cumming in return, the biggest one yet for her so far. Her breathing hitched before she moaned loudly, trembling against me. I actually had to go back down to the ground, worried I would fall over. Once Tiona was laying on her back, lost in pleasure, I slowly pulled out of her, hot cum flowing out after I left her pussy. Letting out a content breath, I spared a moment to thank Ryuu in my head.
  
  She was right. I did need something to take my mind off the Soma familia and the War Game.
  
  "That was great," I said, watching Tiona writhe in orgasmic bliss. But, I underestimated her. Tiona pushed herself up, gasping for air as cum dripped from her. Her gaze landed on my still hard cock, and before I could even think about reacting, she lined herself up and slammed her hips down. We groaned in unison as I returned to being on the bottom. Back where I started.
  
  "What about my training?" I asked as Tiona experimented on how she preferred to thrust. Her hips swayed to the sides, then back and forth, before she decided to thrust up and down hard enough I swear that I was going to have bruises.
  
  "Later?" Tiona answered, pushing my body down so I was laying flat on my back. She moaned as she found her intense rhythm, my hands on her hips.
  
  Well...I guess an hour or two couldn't hurt.
  ...
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  "Will it be enough?" I asked, looking down at the slip of paper in my hands, several windows arranged around me. All of them filled with important decisions that could influence how the battle went down. Because, after a week of hellish training, the time had come. Tomorrow morning, at noon, the War Game began.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 1
  Title: Astute Student
  Progress to level 2: 890,765/1,000,000
  Strength: 123
  Endurance: 150
  Dexterity: 130
  Intelligence: 88
  Sense: 155
  
  Development Abilities:
  Physical Resistance: The user receives 15% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Abnormal Resistance: Poisons, Toxins, and Drugs are 15% less effective. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Fire Resistance: The user receives 15% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Swordsman: Increased parameters when wielding swords. Effectiveness is determined by Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and Sense.
  Bludgeon Expert: Increased parameters when using blunt weapons. Effectiveness is determined by Strength and Endurance.
  Berserker: Increased parameters proportional to the user"s rage.
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.
  Kissing: An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target. Effectiveness is determined by the Dexterity and Sense stat.
  Sex: Greatly enhances parameters when engaging in sexual intercourse. Effectiveness is determined by Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, and Sense stats.
  Dishwashing: Stains and dried on food are easier to remove. Effectiveness is determined by Strength stat.
  Footwork: The basis for all martial talents. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity.​
  
  "I didn"t level up," I continued, looking down at the scrap of paper. It was more of an observation than a complaint because I knew I hadn"t leveled up.
  
  "I thought you weren"t trying to?" Hestia pointed out, getting a nod out of me as I continued to pore over the progress I made during the week. I gained development abilities and skills and nearly doubled my total stat points. If my stats were a normal falna, then I pulled a Bell and broke into bullshit territory.
  
  "I wasn"t," I confirmed with a nod. "Under Leveled is giving me a boost and I don"t know how leveling up will affect my stats. I could make myself weaker on accident." Which would be the ultimate irony, wouldn"t it? A lot of my strength came from vague boosts in "parameters" from various skills and I didn"t know if my stats would reset like a normal falna with an invisible base underneath them.
  
  Say all together, I had a 50% boost in stats. If I leveled up, and my stats were reduced to zero -- would the invisible base be included? I wanted to say yes, but I didn"t know for certain. And just how big of an increase was the level up? Would my stats be doubled? Tripled? Or maybe it would be a marginal boost? No one knew for sure beyond vague estimates. Or, was it possible that my stats wouldn"t be reduced to zero, but stay as they are because I didn"t have a normal falna?
  
  I didn"t know and the only way to find out was to level up. Right now, I felt good about my chances. Leveling up was so vague in its power up that it was a risk. Which is why I killed enough minotaurus on the lower floors to bring up until I could easily level up if I needed to.
  
  Because I had a game plan for the War Game. I just needed to choose wisely and stick to that game plan.
  
  "You got another title, so you can pick two extra perks," Hestia muttered, cuddling against me, pressing into my back. She seemed to like being the big spoon now, no matter how ridiculous it might look. And after an entire week without her touch, I more than welcomed it. "You sure worked hard Jericho," she told me, her voice quiet as she lazily explored my improved body.
  
  Back when I created the body, I went with what looked good. Now, my build was more geared to what was beneficial to how I fought. If anything, my build was more intimidating now than it was before -- each muscle was corded, straining against tanned flesh, losing some mass but more than making up for it with definition. At the very least, Tiona seemed to love it.
  
  "I picked up Astute Student with Ais," I told her, my gaze lingering on the paper. A knot of tension was in between my shoulder blades, a pressure on my shoulders. Out of my three trainers, Ais was the only one that actually taught me anything. Which was shocking. Tiona and Ryuu beat the ever-loving hell out of me, getting me used to fighting stronger opponents while Ais fought me more on my level, letting me develop a style to attack and defend with.
  
  "What does it do?" Hestia asked, her breath tickling the back of my neck. Her tone was gentle and quiet, indulging in a rare moment of peace. Both of us pointedly ignored what came next.
  
  "It gives me increased experience gains when someone is teaching me in a subject," I answered, my voice just as quiet. Slowly, I turned my attention to the half dozen choices that I had available to me. There was a lot, and I had some tough choices ahead of me.
  
  You have reached 100 in Strength! Please select the perk you wish to be awarded:
  Cleave: It takes more than a flimsy shield to block your attacks.
  Explosive strike: Power Strike can create shockwaves, causing AOE damage.
  Featherweight weapon: Weapons below 25 pounds feel as if they have no weight.
  
  You have reached 100 in Endurance! Please select the perk you wish to be awarded:
  Toughness: 5% damage resistance
  Iron bones: Your bones are as breakable as iron
  Super Immune: Great resistance to Disease and Toxins.
  Life Giver II: Current Health immediately doubled and health increases an additional 5%.
  Second wind: Stamina returned once exhausted.
  
  You have reached 150 in Endurance! Please select the perk you wish to be awarded:
  Cut resistance: Your skin is resistance to cut (penetration damage notwithstanding)
  
  You have reached 100 in Dexterity! Please select the perk you wish to be awarded:
  Dexterous: Bonus 5% exp awarded to all dexterity related actions.
  Boneless: Your ligaments have too much in common with rubber bands and contortionists look at you with envy.
  Dexterous II: Bonus 10% exp awarded to all dexterity related actions.
  
  You have reached 50 in Intelligence! Please select the perk you wish to be awarded:
  Great Memory: You can recall most things with a passing glance.
  Mana sensitive: (Restricted)
  
  You have reached 100 in Sense! Please select the perk you wish to be awarded:
  Bloodhound: Your nose is sharp enough to be used for tracking.
  Expanded vision: You can see the far peripheral of your vision as well as the center of your gaze.
  
  You have reached 150 in Sense! Please select the perk you wish to be awarded:
  Instinct: The sixth sense that warns the user of some dangers.
  ​
  I had a lot of choices. Worse, some of them were really good, and others seemed very vague but powerful. My eyes lingered on Mana Touched, thinking about it for a long moment. "I could become a mage," I informed Hestia, who didn"t even react to my announcement. I"m guessing she expected some bullshit from me, especially after a week of nonstop training.
  
  "Do you get a spell?" She asked, her fingers lazily tracing the defined muscles that covered my shoulders.
  
  "No. It just says that I become mana touched," I answered, mulling it over for a long moment. It was the new option in Intelligence, but I didn"t like how it said Restricted. Did that mean I couldn"t use it? "I think I"ll pick Great Memory. I"m not sure what it does and I don"t want to waste a perk point." Picking it now, when I wasn't sure, was a risk and I wasn't in position to take risks.
  
  I was a juggernaut build. The harder to hurt and the harder I could hit, the better. Which, naturally, made it a simple decision to pick a few Perks. Cut Resistant and Explosive Strike were obvious picks. Then I picked Iron Bones -- between it, my armor and harder to cut skin, I would never have to worry about anything getting cut off.
  
  Next was Instinct. Then Expanded Vision, still leaving Bloodhound behind for now. My picks for Dexterity were a bit of a letdown, but I picked boneless, simply because it was a better immediate option. Which left me with my choice of two extra perks because of my titles. Life Giver II jumped out at me -- it would help me last longer on the field and that was everything, so I picked it, leaving me with one more choice.
  
  "Toughness," Hestia spoke up, giving her opinion. "With it, you"ll almost have twenty-five damage resistance." I considered it for a moment, my gaze lingering on Featherweight weapon and Cleave, but I pressed Toughness instead. It gave me more staying power, and all things considered, it synergized extremely well with my other perks.
  
  I didn"t want to jinx anything, but looking at my build, I had an idea what my ephiate was going to be. Jericho the Juggernaut because I had a tough time picturing me taking much damage when I wore heavy armor.
  
  "All done?" She asked, getting a nod from me before she pulled back. I stood up, rising to my full height and instantly I noticed the effects of Expanded Vision. I looked down at Hestia, but what was once on the fringe of my vision felt like I was staring right at it. That was going to take some getting used to. I"m glad I decided to cut my training a few hours short in case I got a perk like this.
  
  "It"s almost time," Hestia said with some trepidation.
  
  "Eight hours," I agreed, not even needing to look at my clock to know it. I was acutely aware of every minute that passed, counting down the seconds. I came up from the Dungeon only a short while ago. The river on the eighteenth floor was better than nothing, but my clothes were a lost cause. My boots were gone, the seams giving out, while my pants became shorts. Dirt, dust, and blood coated me. "Are you nervous?"
  
  Hestia shook her head, and I didn"t need a lie detector to know that wasn"t the truth. "I"m not," she said, trying to convince me. Glancing at me, only to glance away a moment later at my knowing look, she amended with, "okay, maybe a little. But...," she continued, reaching out to grab my hand, uncaring of the dirt and dust that coated it, "I believe you"re going to win. Do you have a plan?"
  
  "I do," I confirmed with a nod.
  
  "Then stick to it and you"ll win. I...want you to do whatever you have to do," Hestia stated, squeezing on my hand to give me permission to do what I had asked over a week ago. Slowly, her gaze shifted over to Lili.
  
  Lili didn't wake up that day. She didn't wake up the next day. Or the day after that. Or the day after that. Her eyes didn't snap open at a dramatic moment when I was pacing the room, Hestia grabbing her hand so tightly that her knuckles were white. She didn't wake up at the very last moment before we started to give up hope. Her eyes remained closed, her breathing even, and her injuries healed. There wasn't a medical reason for her coma...but...
  
  "Soma," I spoke, looking down at Lili for the first time in days.
  
  "Are you cursing the god or the wine?" Hestia asked, still beside Lili's bed as the girl quietly slumbered away. I knew that Hestia hasn't stayed in this room the entire time, but it seemed she spent every free moment here. I could see the effect it was having on her. The dark bags underneath her eyes, the haggard expression of someone that had emptied their reservoir of tears.
  
  I gave the question a moment of thought before I answered. "Both," I said, looking at Lili, feeling numb. Helpless. We gave her high potions. We gave her an elixir. Nothing worked because the reason why she was asleep wasn"t that she was injured. "If he hadn"t given her that wine, then..."
  
  Then Lili would have never given in to it. Even if she crawled her way home, bleeding and dying, she had still given in to Soma. And, knowing her as well as I did and how much she hated Soma wine, I knew that destroyed her. The fact that she gave in to it, that she couldn"t rise above it...it was like she gave up on life. Now she was alive, but sleeping her life away. And I...
  
  I had absolutely no idea what to do. Just like I didn"t know what to do back when I was a kid and my mom was dying from liver failure.
  
  "We"ll figure something out," I told her, willing myself to believe it just so Hestia could believe me. "We haven"t tried magic yet...and, who knows, Lili might wake up when she hears that I kicked Zanis" teeth in." I wasn"t sure how well of a job I managed to do because Hestia didn"t respond. She simply gazed at Lili"s face, waiting for her eyes to open, just to talk to her. Just so that she would know that she was there.
  
  I let out a small sigh, my gaze turning back to Lili. At the very least, she looked to be at peace. I could feel that same feeling that I hated swell in my chest as I looked at her. Guilt, helplessness, and anger -- it was out of my control, and I hated it. I hated it more than words could ever hope to convey.
  
  "I could wake her up with my arcanum," Hestia interrupted me, sounding like she was speaking more to herself than to me. She wasn"t wrong. I don"t think there were a lot of problems that couldn"t be solved with some divine intervention.
  
  "But then you would be forced back into heaven. And do you think Lili would forgive herself when she wakes up, knowing that it would be thousands of years before you could come down again?" I asked, knowing that Lili would hate herself for Hestia"s sacrifice. Even if it wasn"t her life, we would never see her again and that was close enough. "I know this must be killing you, but you can"t give up hope. We will find a better way to wake her up. I promise."
  
  At that, Hestia looked up at me. Apparently she hadn"t quite managed to empty her reservoir of tears just yet judging from the ones that gathered in the corners of her eyes. She wiped them away with a hand, forcing herself to smile. She closed her eyes for a moment before she nodded, "you"re right. We"ll make sure that she wakes up," Hestia agreed, and I guess I believed those words more than I thought.
  
  Lili would wake up. No matter what, I would make it happen. Until then, I would focus on the Soma familia.
  
  A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. "Syr made lunch," Ryuu informed through the door, earning a small blink from me as I realized how clearly I could hear her voice. Huh. Suddenly having enhanced senses didn"t feel like I thought it would. Maybe it was because it wasn"t overwhelming, or anything like that?
  
  I could hear things clearer, I smelled something drifting up from the kitchen and I could see in more detail...but it wasn"t beating me over the head to the point that I felt the need to clamp on my ears or shut my eyes. It was rather user-friendly, all things considered.
  
  "We"ll be right down," I said, speaking for the both of us. It would do Hestia good to get out of the room, no matter how much she wanted to stay by Lili"s bedside on the off chance she did wake up. Hestia looked down at Lili"s still sleeping form with some reluctance but nodded all the same. With that, we followed her down the steps to see that the Hostess was still empty. Even higher leveled adventurers hadn"t entered because they didn"t want to get dragged into the mess. Especially when Zanis had doubled down on surrounding the Hostess with his familia.
  
  And, naturally, as we reached the bottom of the stairs that the door was thrown open hard enough that it bounced off the back wall. As one, everyone sprung into action -- Tiona settled in a stance, grabbing a stool to be used as a weapon, wind coiled around a butter knife that Ais wielded while I placed Hestia behind me. All of us ready to fight.
  
  A man stood in the doorway, a grin on his face that managed to be both apologetic and eatshit at the same time. His eyes were dark orange, his hair blonde with a hint of curl to it that was mostly hidden underneath a leather hat with a feather in it. He wore what looked like traveling clothes -- brown leather boots and gloves, a dark blue tunic thing that went down to the center of his thighs and a pair of khaki pants that were tucked into his boots.
  
  "Sorry about my dramatic entrance," he said, not sounding very sorry at all. He kept a hand on his hat, stepping inside, his gaze boring into me. "I thought it would be funny," he admitted, his smiling growing a fraction.
  
  "Hermes?!" Hestia shouted with some surprise, stepping out from behind me. "You"re back in town?"
  
  Hermes, the messenger god, smiled in response, giving a theatrical bow at the waist. Revealing behind him a blue-haired woman wearing glasses, her face stern and serious. Behind her was the Soma familia, their expressions nervous before one of them broke off. Probably to tell Soma. After she stepped inside, she closed the door behind her, the Soma familia flinching as one when she looked at them.
  
  "I heard about the War Game, so I just had to make my way back as fast as I could! Never thought you had it in you," Hermes said, closing the distance, his gaze roaming from Hestia to land on me. "And this must be your child! He looks like the kind of guy that would challenge an entire familia alone," his tone made it impossible to tell if that was a compliment or an insult. Judging by the look in his eyes, that was what he intended.
  
  "Hermes," he introduced himself, holding out a hand when he came close enough. "And that lovely angel is Asfi!" He introduced the girl, who seemed to look thoroughly disinterested in being here. "She"s the one that is helping Heph-" That was all he managed to get out before Hestia lashed out, burying a fist into his gut hard. She folded the man, forcing him to take a knee as he struggled to not throw up.
  
  Asfi looked faintly alarmed for a split second, then it quickly faded to amusement. "W-Why...?!" Hermes asked, clutching his gut. Hestia glanced over her shoulder at me, like realizing that I suspected something, but she was too committed to keeping the secret. She slapped a hand over Hermes" mouth, leaning in and whispering something in his ear.
  
  Syr just smiled at the sight, humming contently to herself as she set down several plates filled with sandwiches. Ryuu"s head cocked to the side, her lips twitching upwards since she could hear what Hestia said. Which was impressive considering I just got my hearing upgraded.
  
  "I"m...so doubling...your debt...oh, why can you hit so hard? It feels like you hit me with a brick," Hermes muttered more to himself than to Hestia. My attention zeroed in on a single word.
  
  "Debt?" I asked, my voice calm as I braced myself for what I was about to hear. Asfi glanced at me while Hestia was throttling Hermes. "Are we in debt?" I asked, directing the question to Hestia. She went very, very, very, very still, as if she had been turned into a statue. A small tense moment passed, and that really was answer enough.
  
  "Twenty-five million valis," Asfi answered, her tone frigid. Which was fitting because it felt like my blood turned to ice in my veins. That was...a lot of money. A whole lot of money. That was more than twice the insane amount of money that Zanis had asked. And what was it even for- the stuff to hide my falna. That little bottle cost twenty-five million?! "It was a specialty, one of a kind item," she explained as if she could justify that kind of price tag.
  
  I took in a deep breath and nodded. I hated it. It galled at me. It felt like the hole I was in suddenly opened up and I fell even deeper. But, even still, I had bigger issues to deal with. "We"ll pay you as soon as I"m able," I said, a plan lurking in the back of my mind.
  
  Hermes pushed Hestia"s hands away from his mouth, "oh?" He said, his smirk sharp enough to cut. It certainly didn"t sound like he was here to start busting knees for not having his money.
  
  "We have about half a million," I informed, bracing myself for the words I was about to say. "I"ll put all of it on me winning the War Game. We can pay you back and then some when I win," I said, making his grin grow. I hated gambling, but only because I didn"t like taking risks with money. And with that suddenly hanging over my head, I needed a hail mary.
  
  "Jericho..." Hestia started, her tone apologetic.
  
  Hermes just smiled away, a glint of amusement in his eyes. "Sounds more than fair to me," he said, pushing himself back to his feet. Though he still placed a hand on his stomach. "But that wasn"t why I came here! You can pay me back whenever," he waved off the topic, making Hestia relax right up until he slapped a hand down on her shoulder. "I"m here for you!"
  
  "Eh?" Hestia started with a fright, and I could practically see the question mark hanging over her head as she blinked at Hermes questioningly. "What do you need me for?" she asked, making Hermes smile broadly.
  
  "Hephustus needs you for the super secret special deluxe item you ordered-" I could tell Hermes was still grinning even as Hestia slammed her hands over his mouth. She whipped her head around, an explanation on the tip of her tongue, only to falter when she saw that I was smiling at her.
  
  I suspected that she was getting something made for me, but I guess this just confirmed it. It was only a question of what it was at this point. My sword needed to be replaced for good, but I maintained its edge well enough that I could still get some use out of it. Though...that did bring up another issue...
  
  "How much is that going to cost us?" I asked, my gaze going over to Asfi. She was one of the few people that had Mystery, a development ability that allowed her to create items that were worthy of being called "miracles." Blacksmiths could make armor that was lighter than normal, or unbreakable, but with Mystery, Asfi could make armor that let the wearer fly or turn invisible.
  
  Even better, she had Mixing and Metalworking, I think, so everything she created would be that much better. She went with a crafting build, and given that she was a level 4, I couldn"t say it wasn"t working out for her.
  
  "A favor," Hermes answered before Asfi could. "If you survive the War Game, then you seem like the kind of guy that"s nice to have in your pocket. Just in case." He said, and I had to fight to keep my expression neutral.
  
  "I"d rather pay money," I admitted. "You seem like the kind of guy that owing a favor to is more trouble than it's worth." At that, Syr laughed in the background.
  
  "You are a troublesome guy," Hestia agreed with a nod. Hermes seemed nonplussed by the rebuke, simply grinning away. It was like he was laughing at a joke that only he could hear. Given who he was, that was probably the case.
  
  "Ahhh...that hurts my feelings..." Hermes whined before giving a dismissive shrug, apparently not that broken up about it. "But Hephestus says she needs you. We"ll make sure that she gets there and back okay," he said, turning his attention back to me. Hestia let out a soft sigh, looking back at me.
  
  "I wanted to surprise you..." She started, going in for a hug that I was all too happy to return. I rubbed her back for a moment, hoping that I didn"t get her dirty with stray dust smudges.
  
  "Can I ask what it is?" I asked, savoring the touch because I knew that I wouldn"t feel it again until after the War Game. It was so close...it felt like ages, but only a few more days and the time would come. And I could only hope that I was ready.
  
  Hestia seemed to consider it for a moment before nodding. "It"s armor," she answered simply and that was a relief. I would have armor going into the fight. My Endurance stat was climbing higher, so were my damage resistance and health bar, but I needed every advantage I could get.
  
  Nodding, I returned a final squeeze before Hestia let go with no small amount of reluctance. All the while, Hermes watched with an enigmatic smile on his face-
  
  "Oh, so the rumors are true? Ohhh, I bet Apollo is so mad..." Hermes said, ruining both his mysterious air and the moment. Hestia whipped around, glaring balefully at the messager god, who just laughed as he made a hasty retreat. Asfi let out a long-suffering sigh before she turned to me.
  
  "We will take care of your goddess," she promised, likely sensing my unease at letting them escort Hestia. It wasn"t even because Hermes was a sketchy guy, but if they decided to keep her, then I wouldn"t be able to do anything about it.
  
  "You will," Ryuu agreed, her tone unusually serious. Asfi glanced at her as I did the same to see that her arms were crossed, her expression a quiet promise of violence even as it remained serene in appearance. Asfi"s eyes narrowed a fraction at that, a suspicion lurking in the back of her mind. Ryuu was a level 4, as was Asfi, but that didn"t make them equals. And my money was on Ryuu in that fight.
  
  Asfi nodded in acceptance before turning around, while Hermes pulled open the door. "I"ll see you later Jericho! I"ll collect on that favor after you win!" He yelled out, practically announcing that something had gone down in the building and he was supporting me. I didn"t know if that was a good or a bad thing.
  
  "Go ahead with the plan!" Hestia announced, making me frown in confusion for a moment. Before I could ask what she meant by that, the door closed with a slam. The last thing that I saw was Hestia giving me a reassuring smile and a wave goodbye.
  
  "Hermes is a sketchy guy, but you can trust him. With these kinds of things," Syr offered up a reassurance, though that add-on kinda lessened its effectiveness. I nodded, turning to them, trying to ignore the what-ifs tugging at the fringes of my thoughts. "He'll have her back before the War Game starts," she continued, sounding like she would go get her herself if Hermes didn"t bring her back by then.
  
  "But," Syr continued, smiling pleasantly at me. "First, you need a bath," she decided, taking one look at me. Which prompted me to look down at myself. She wasn"t wrong -- even if I didn"t smell, I was covered in sweat, blood, dust, and dirt from the through ass-kickings delivered to me at the hands of Ais, Tiona, and Ryuu. "It's downstairs, I'll show you the way."
  
  Before I could even think to argue, Syr walked to the back half of the Hostess before she opened a door I was always curious about, but figured it was just storage. Instead, I saw a set of stairs that led downward. After grabbing a plate and stuffing the sandwich down my throat, I followed Syr down the steps.
  
  It would be a lie to say that some part of me didn't expect a sex dungeon. That part of me would have been wrong as a bath was revealed. A large tube that took up half of the room, white tiled floors, painted walls, a place to wash off before getting into the tub. Steam drifted upwards, telling me that this ambush was pre-planned since the tub, which was more of a small pool, was filled to the rim.
  
  "I didn't know this was down here," I pointed out, taking the place in. Then my gaze settled on Syr, who smiled knowingly at me as her hands undid her apron, letting it fall to the floor. My eyebrows shot up as she began undoing buttons.
  
  "You have Hestia's permission," she informed, shrugging off her tight-fitting green uniform. As it pooled at her feet, it revealed high stockings clamped by a white garter belt, her sizable bust hidden behind a matching white bra. She still wore her heels as she stepped out of the ring of clothing.
  
  I swallowed thickly, "and how do I know that?" I asked because even the slightest possibility that I could screw things up with Hestia was too great of a risk. She might have given permission a week ago, but that was when she was here with me and that was also a week ago. I didn't know if these things had expectation dates but the only way to find out was no way to find out.
  
  Syr's smile grew as she reached back to unclasp her bra, shuffling it off as she revealed her pale breasts capped with rosy nipples. "She told me to tell you that I should bathe you like you did her," she explained, making a reference to something that Hestia had to tell her about for her to know. "It was the plan that both of us would help you wash off. So you can relax for a bit before the War Game."
  
  That, I could see happening. Which is why I didn't push her hands away when she went to the button of my pants.
  
  "Believe me now?" She asked, pulling down my zipper before pushing my pants down to reveal myself in my entirety. A dainty hand went to my cock, wrapping around it as she slowly stroked while looking up at me. "I'm just here to help you relax with a nice hot bath...so take a seat so I can wash you off..."
  
  I obeyed, thinking that she was likely telling the truth. Hestia had been rather annoyed with Hermes...I guess this is what she meant when she said to go ahead as she was dragged through the door. The stool was specifically made for me, it felt like as I took a seat in front of a mirror. Syr stood behind me, smiling a sweet smile as she undressed, as nude as I was.
  
  "I know you"ve been busy, but you could at least take care of yourself," Syr said as she began to pour warm water over me. In countless rivers, dust and dirt began to run down in dark brown rivers. "Ryuu told me that if she didn"t make you eat, then you wouldn"t eat at all," she continued, making idle conversation as she grabbed a brush and began to rub me down.
  
  I enjoyed the sensation of her hands, feeling some of the tension ease out of me. It was impossible to distract me fully from what would start in a handful of hours, but Syr was making a good attempt.
  
  "Thanks for what you sent down," I said, realizing that I hadn"t thanked her in person yet, watching her reflection. She seemed pleased, humming to herself as she grabbed a bar of soap and began to lather me up. I didn"t need to eat, but that didn"t mean I didn"t want to. And it was good for appearances, even if Ais, Ryuu, and Tiona probably noticed that I didn"t need to eat or drink. They were too observant not to.
  
  "My pleasure...," she trailed off before she dumped a bucket of water over me. Water flooded over my head, washing all the suddes down and...yeah, I needed a bath. The water was a murky brown below as it made its way into a drain. Then my attention was seized when Syr pressed her breasts into my back as her hands began to roam the front half of me. "You"ve become even more impressive. You probably look scarier out of your armor than in it at this point."
  
  I let out a huff as Syr"s hands began to drift downward, impatient. Or, rather, given that we made plans to hook up only for nothing to happen, she was tired of waiting.
  
  "I don"t think the Soma familia will be that intimidated," I shot back, my cock hardening in anticipation of feeling her hands on it. Only for Syr to pull at me, choosing to tease around it and leaving it wanting. Ah...I"m sorry Hestia. That was cruel of me.
  
  "Then you could show them this...," Syr said, gliding around me to stand in front of me, relieving my cock as she caressed it with both hands. "At the very least, you"ll make them feel inadequate. Hmmm...it"s bigger than I thought. Lady Hestia is made of surprisingly stern stuff, isn"t she?" Syr asked, looking up at me with a sly smile as she slowly stroked my cock.
  
  Her gaze dipped low, her breathing getting heavier with every second. My hands went to her waist, only to feel them surged forward a moment later. Syr turned around, so she was facing the mirror. Our eyes met in the reflection, holding the gaze as Syr impaled herself onto my cock, her jaw-dropping as a moan tore from her throat. Yet, her gaze never wavered as she adjusted herself.
  
  I probably shouldn"t be, but I was surprised at how tight she was. Given that she seemed to be the most sexually aware of the girls that I"ve flirted with, I had just assumed she was fairly sexually active. Not a slut or anything like that, but Syr was the kind of girl that knew what she liked and made sure that she got it. Then again, I was big enough that I probably wouldn"t notice if she was loose by other standards.
  
  "You"re so big," she breathed, bracing herself by planting her hands on my knees as her legs seemed to give out from underneath her. Even as she whispered those three words reverently, Syr sank even deeper onto my cock until her round ass almost touched my hips. "I can"t even take it all..."
  
  "Everything you"d thought it"d be?" I asked, starting to get up but Syr shook her head. At first, I thought she meant that she was disappointed with my dick. Which would have been a first. Instead, I realized she wanted me to sit down.
  
  "It"s time for you to relax," Syr said as her hips rose slightly. "You"ve been pushing yourself so hard...it"s time to just sit back and let me do the work." Well...who could say no to that? Leaning back, I watched as Syr thrust her hips, finding her own rhythm rather quickly. Her walls clamped down on me at random intervals, the light slapping of flesh echoing in the bathhouse.
  
  That slight smile that tugged at her lips only grew as time went on, her rhythm growing faster. Her breasts swayed with every thrust, beads of sweat forming on her milky white flesh. It was easy to tell that she was, at the very least, experienced. Far more so than Hestia, Eina or Tiona. It was as if her warm walls were massaging my length with an expert hand to quickly earn a reward.
  
  The sight of her was a vision, even though a reflection. Suddenly, her grin became a wide smile as she let out a moan worthy of a pornstar. Her pace picked up, her thrusts becoming harsher and more desperate, "oh yes! That"s so good! Right there, right there, you"re fucking me so good!" She shouted, earning a curious look from me.
  
  Mostly because, well, if you"re going to fake it, could you at least make it a bit more believable? And, you know, have me be the one moving when you"re throwing out that kind of dirty talk?
  
  "Ryuu!" Syr moaned a name other than mine, which confused the hell out of me for a moment. "Save me!" Whoa, wait, hold the fuck up- before I could think any further on it, the door upstairs was practically kicked down. I froze in place, yet the sounds of sex didn't stop because Syr continued to fuck herself on my dick, even as Ryuu came to a sudden stop in the middle of the room. Her expression was blank as Syr continued, "save me from his huge dick! It's too much for me all alone."
  
  "You couldn't have given me a warning?" I asked, my heart coming down from my throat as Syr ground her ass against my hips as an apology. My eyes narrowed at the cutesie act. Seriously, I just saw my entire life flash before my eyes. Nothing scared a man like a false rape allegation. Especially when there wasn't a convenient god to tell if I was telling the truth.
  
  "It's so big Ryuu," Syr breathed as she continued to ride me, her breasts swaying with every motion. Ryuu just blinked slowly, as if she couldn't quite comprehend what she was seeing. Which was fair, all things considered. "I can't handle it. He's ruining my tight little pussy. I need you to save me from his perfect cock because I'm falling in love with it! He could ask me to do all sorts of shameful things and I'd do them if it meant he'd shove his fat dick in me." All the while she spoke, she shifted her position -- her feet resting on my knees, her back pressed against me, before she opened her legs up to give Ryuu a view of where we were connected.
  
  That was another warning you should give someone. A surprise threesome wasn"t the worst surprise I"ve experienced, but it's one of those things best discussed with the other people involved. Especially when two of the participants didn't know it was going to be a threesome.
  
  "What do you want me to do?" Syr breathed the question as she continued to slam her hips against mine, one of her hands dipping between her legs to either play with her clit or to give Ryuu a better view. The elf was frozen like a statue, her lips parted in shock as she simply watched what was happening. It took me a moment to realize that the question was directed at me. "I bet you want to march me up those steps so everyone can see you ruin my pussy!"
  
  Well, they could probably hear you already, I thought. Still, I knew when to play along. But, seriously, you have to warn a guy about stuff like this.
  
  "Might press you up against a window so everyone can see what I"m doing to you," I told her, my gaze glued on Ryuu, who still seemed stuck. It was hard to tell, but her gaze was glued on Syr"s stuffed pussy. A blush warmed her cheeks at the dirty talk while Syr clenched down on me. She liked the idea more than she should. "Might get some customers if we promise dinner and a show. Would you like that Syr? Everyone watching you, dick in hand, wishing that it was their dick messing you up?"
  
  Syr moaned in response, her walls clamping down on me. Before Tiona, who was at the very least a little responsible for my jump in Endurance, I would say it hurt. Only that was before a level 6 clamped down so hard that I had to worry that my dick was going to be crushed.
  
  "Do you hear that Ryuu?" Syr asked, her hips moving in a desperate frenzy. "He"s going to parade me through the streets if you don"t save me!" Pretty sure that"s not what I said, but whatever. "I"m going to cum on his dick, Ryuu. I"m going to cum so hard that my mind is going to break and this dick is the only thing I"m going to be able to think about. Will you save me Ryuu?"
  
  Ryuu didn"t move, watching us with intensity. Even still, Syr smiled as I felt her walls beginning to massage my length, trying to coax an orgasm out of me. I didn"t bother trying to hold myself back, letting it brew in my balls until the pressure became too much, my cock throbbing in anticipation. "Did you see that, Ryuu? He"s going to cum in me. He"s going to fill up my womb and get me pregnant. He"s going to breed me!"
  
  Shit, Syr...though, even as she said the words, she pinched my thigh. It seems that she was saying it more for Ryuu, who watched like she was hypnotized. My cock throbbed again, and maybe I had a voyeur thing as well because Ryuu standing there, like she couldn"t do anything but stare at me, kinda did something for me.
  
  Syr came hard, and despite some difficulty, I pulled out as well, cum shooting upwards to cover her stomach, some landing on her breasts. All the while, she ground her lower lips against the pillar of flesh, drawing out her orgasm. My gaze was on Ryuu, watching her flinch when I came, her face burning red.
  
  "Do you see that, Ryuu? He"s still so hard! I need your help...!" Syr moaned, shivering as one of my hands went up to toy with one of her nipples. Ryuu swallowed thickly, the sound impossibly loud and I wasn"t sure if it was because of my improved hearing or not. Then she did the surprising thing.
  
  She turned on her heel and ran out of the room so fast it was like the devil himself was nipping at her heels. Syr sputtered while a laugh was startled out of me -- funnily enough, that wasn"t what I was expecting. With the mood we had going, I was next to certain that Ryuu was going to join in.
  
  "Wait, Ryuu-!" Syr said, pushing herself off me, looking slightly frantic. I guess it was a surprise for her as well. "Jericho, stay here, I"ll go get Ryuu. She was supposed to join us!" Syr shouted as she grabbed a towel and ran up the stairs. I watched her go, still chuckling to myself as I finished washing myself off with a bucket.
  
  A grin was still on my lips, hearing the commotion upstairs as it sounded like Syr was chasing Ryuu around, but she could never hope to trap the level 4. I walked over to the tub, stepping in to feel scalding hot water. A welcomed change from the cold river I bathed in for the past week. It was surprisingly deep, going about midway up to my stomach, but it was large enough that when I laid back I could sink up to my chin.
  
  "Seven hours left."
  
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
  Versed in the lewd.
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  "It"s time," Hestia said, slamming the lid down on a case hard enough that the sound echoed in the room. Behind the lid stood Hephaestus, exhausted, but she had an afterglow that Hestia had learned to recognize. Though it was usually after she and Jericho made love but to each their own. Her friend looked satisfied despite her exhaustion, her arms crossed as her lone visible eye was closed while she nodded.
  
  The moment was ruined by Hermes going to open the lid again, "I wasn"t done looking at it yet-!" He started, only for Hestia to swat his hands away. She still hadn't forgiven him for ruining the surprise. And he cost her a passionate embrace with Jericho and Syr, which would really settle how she felt about Jericho being with other women. "You've gotten so mean Hestia," Hermes whined for the sake of whining. "I could make you carry it yourself, you know!"
  
  Hestia scoffed, grabbing the polished red oak case. It was big, almost as tall as her, actually, and wide. Scooping it up, she immediately realized her mistake, but she pressed her lips together and hefted the unreasonably heavy box up. "I don't need your help anyway!" She shot at him, sending Hermes a triumphant grin as he just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head in exasperation.
  
  More importantly, Hestia turned to her friend. "Thank you for this. We'll pay you back for it. For everything," Hestia swore. Hephaestus simply nodded in response and, surprisingly, Asfi had something to say.
  
  "You don't have to worry about payment for the Hermes familia," she informed, pushing her glasses up with a finger. The words were directed at Hestia, but Asfi stared Hermes down while she spoke them, daring him to argue. "Working with the god of smiths is more than enough payment," she continued with the quiet elation of someone that was in the same room as one of their heroes.
  
  "But Asfi...! I wanted my favor! That Jericho guy looked like he was all work and no play! I'm sure he'd appreciate being my wingman-" Hermes howled in pain when Hestia accidentally stepped on his foot. After jumping and landing with all of her weight on her heel. "Ah! Right... bad idea... Hestia sure is a jealous one... and can't take a good joke..." he muttered to himself, hopping on one foot as he massaged the pain out of the other.
  
  "I have to get this to him now," Hestia stated, the byplay put on for her benefit not managing to distract her from the task at hand. Because, after what felt like ages, the War Game was finally here. She could feel the pressure on her, weighing her down like it was going to crush her. She could only imagine how Jericho was feeling. "Thank you again," she said, inclining her head in place of a bow because she would topple over if she tried.
  
  "Good luck. And tell Jericho I said as much as well. Maybe I can finally meet him after you win," Hephaestus said, giving her a small wave as Hestia rushed to the door. She almost stumbled when she realized that her best friend and Jericho hadn"t met. How could she let that happen?
  
  "I"d like that," Hestia said, nearing the door. Hermes let out a sigh as he followed her, Asfi bowing to Hephaestus as she followed Hermes. "I"ll see you at the viewing room," Hestia said, running out of the door, forcing the others to chase her.
  
  Taking the elevator down to the Guildhall, she was greeted with an empty room. Even still, she saw Eina behind the desk, surrounded by an aura of worry. Hestia threw on a big smile as she approached, willing to take at least a moment to greet one of Jericho"s biggest supporters. "Eina," she greeted, startling the half-elf so badly that a handful of papers slipped out of her hands.
  
  "Lady Hestia?" Eina blurted, snapping out her thoughts. A moment later her eyebrows drew together in concern, "should you be out right now? What if the Soma familia tries something?" Like taking her hostage to make Jericho throw the War Game.
  
  "It"s okay, I have Asfi to protect me. She"s pretty reliable," Hestia said, gesturing to the blue-haired adventurer behind her. Hestia"s smile grew a fraction when Eina looked relieved, and Asfi pretended that she didn"t stand a bit taller even as Hermes muttered a whiny "what about me?" She would stop being mean to him when he repented for costing her cuddle time with Jericho. "And you don"t need to worry about Jericho either."
  
  Eina let out a small sigh. "Is it that obvious?" She asked, and it was only then that Hestia realized that she had been trying to keep it hidden.
  
  Hestia nodded, "kinda. But, you don"t have to. Jericho has gotten super strong the past week, and he"s going to blow those Soma losers out of the water." Maybe if she kept repeating that, she could will it into reality without having to use her arcanum. Eina looked doubtful at that, but she made a token effort to believe her.
  
  "I wouldn"t know, I haven"t seen Jericho since he fought the infant dragon," she pointed out with a hint of bitterness in her tone. Or, rather, it was regret. Jericho had mentioned that Eina made a point that what happened between them was a one time deal before he explained why he was at the Guild at the time. Even still, Hestia still rather liked Eina. Anyone willing to go as far as she did was in her good books, even if what she spent so much time and effort to compose was a nonfactor in the decision process.
  
  "He"s been in the Dungeon on the eighteenth floor for the past week," she informed Eina, making the half-elf go still as she let out a strangled noise. Then she forced herself to relax.
  
  "He really is a reckless one," Eina commented more to herself than to Hestia, but she found herself agreeing all the same.
  
  "He is, but I wouldn"t have any other way," Hestia admitted. The only change she would make was that he always wore armor anytime he did something dangerous, and soon enough he would be covered from head to toe in the stuff. Eina smiled lightly at that, sharing a knowing grin that only women would be able to decipher.
  
  "I'll be rooting for him," Eina informed, knowing that she didn't have much time left. Hestia beamed in response before she left the half-elf behind. It felt good knowing that Jericho-- that they had people in their corner. For a time, it felt like they were facing down the entire city.
  
  Running out of the doors, Hermes hot on her tail, she stepped out into the city and saw that it was in full swing. Everyone loved a War Game. On the green, Ganesha constructed a platform in the greenery in front of the tower while crowds were already gathering. It would be broadcasted there, amongst several other places throughout the city. The Hostess was one of them, as were every gambling hall in the city, but Hestia had to watch it in the Tower of Babel with the rest of the gods. If only because it granted her more options to watch Jericho.
  
  The city of Orario held a nervous energy, waiting for the spectacle to begin. Food stalls lined the streets, parents walked the streets with their children, lovers had picnics on the grass, others got rowdy...it was like this throughout the city. Buildings were packed, bars were full, and everyone was counting down the seconds for the War Game to begin.
  
  With that thought in mind, Heatia ran down the steps and towards the gate of the city. She pushed through a crowd, keenly aware of how far behind Hermes, and more importantly Asfi, were. Gripping the box like a lifeline, Hestia pushed through with a stubborn determination. Nothing was going to get in her way.
  
  "Move out of the way!" She shouted, pushing through crowds. She was tempted unleash her arcanum just to clear everyone out. At the very least, those that she pushed quickly realized that she was a god and got out of the way rather quickly-
  
  Her thoughts were interrupted when she bumped into someone. She stumbled a step back, blinking in surprise. For perhaps the first time in her life, it wasn"t Hestia that bounced off of someone. It was a pale-skinned boy, with a mop of white hair and startling red eyes. His expression displayed pure panic as he struggled not to drop a box in his hands. He might have if his back hadn"t bumped into another member of the crowd.
  
  "Ah! I-I"m sorry," the boy bowed to who he bumped into, who looked like they hadn"t noticed in the first place. Then he quickly pivoted to bow to her. "I"m very sorry! I- oh, you"re Lady Hestia!" He said, his red eyes widening. After everything, her mind jumped to the worst-case scenario -- that he worked for the Soma familia.
  
  "I"m Bell Cranel, I just joined the Miach familia?" He continued, making her blink in surprise. Oh, this was Miach"s new child? Hestia smiled at him, her suspicions fading because he looked exactly how she pictured one of Miach"s children looking.
  
  "Nice to meet you Bell," Hestia said, making the boy smile. Then he seemed to recall that he was holding something before he started to push it out to her, only to then notice that her arms were already full.
  
  "Oh, um, I have something for you- well, for Jericho!" He corrected himself, making Hestia smile lightly. He seemed to be a bundle of nerves, heat rushing to his face as he looked absolutely everywhere but at her. "I made them- they"re potions. That I made. I wanted to pay him back for the advice he gave me." Bell half-shouted, realizing that he was making a mess of his explanation and tried to force the rest of it out at once.
  
  Hestia giggled at the sight. He was cute, in a fumbly kind of way. "I"m on my way to go see him myself, so you can stick with me!" She decided because any child of Miach was a friend of hers. They didn"t have a chance to catch up with everything going on, but she knew that he was in her corner. He was a reliable guy.
  
  Bell nodded as he threw on a megawatt smile her way. With that, they began pushing through the crowd together underneath the watchful eye of Asfi. And Hermes, she guessed. The outer gates slowly drew closer with every step, but the crowd grew denser as well. It was rapidly becoming an issue that there just wasn"t enough room for the people to move out of her way.
  
  Forcing her to find a crate and standing on it. Once she was overlooking the crowd, it was easy to spot her child standing at the gate. "Jericho!!!" Hestia shouted, waving her hand. Somehow, he managed to hear her over the chaos of the crowd shouting and hollering at the top of their lungs, ready to see them off.
  
  He was dressed in a white long sleeve shirt, a short lace drawing the deep V around his neckline. It was one of the shirts he had made for him weeks ago, but it barely fit him now. Before, Jericho had looked impossibly powerful, but as he walked towards her, the crowd parting to let him by, he looked dangerous.
  
  It was something about how he moved, his size and the clear signs of powerful muscles pushing against the fabric of his shirt. Not to mention the blackened blade that he carried in his hand, a warhammer tucked into his belt as well.
  
  "Hey, did everything go okay?" Jericho asked, his voice nearly lost in a sea of noise. Hestia nodded happily. A relieved expression appeared on his face as his gaze drifted from her to those behind her. He did that weird guy nod to Hermes behind her before he looked down at Bell.
  
  "Hello, I don"t know if you remember me-" Bell started, going to hand over his small box, only to glance at her, realizing that she should hand over hers first. Only for Jericho to throw on a charming smile that disarmed the dangerous air that seemed to surround him.
  
  "Yeah, I remember you. Bell, right?" Jericho said, looking down at the boy. Bell seemed absolutely ecstatic that he remembered him, forcing Hestia to swallow a laugh. They couldn"t be more different in size, build or appearance.
  
  "Yes, I"m Bell!" Bell confirmed before deciding to hand over his package as he bowed, "I wanted to thank you for the advice you gave me. It"s really helped me a lot! And I want to wish you good luck!" He exclaimed loudly, getting some odd looks from the crowd.
  
  "I"m glad that it helped," Jericho said, taking the box. Inside were high potions judging from the dark yellow and red. "Thanks for these. I"m going to need them," he said, tucking the potions away. Bell beamed happiness out of every pore, his smile so bright that Hestia found herself smiling back.
  
  "And I have this for you," Hestia said, shoving the box into his hands. His gaze lingered on the fine wood box, flickering up to her. She nodded and began to explain while he undid the latch. "There wasn"t enough time to make a full suit of heavy armor. Hephaestus said that a month would have been enough time. So, with Asfi"s help, she found a middle ground."
  
  Inside was heavy armor that would cover his left arm. Thick midnight black plates that layered over each other from the shoulder down. The area around his elbow was left bare except for black chainmail made with links so small they almost appeared solid. The armor went all the way down to his hand, that chainmail flowing down to a gauntlet that would protect his hands. Jutting out of the knuckles were spikes about an inch long.
  
  Etched onto the black surface of the thick plates that covered his shoulder, bicep, and forearm, was a falna. A piece of armor that would grow alongside him, the stronger he became, the stronger it would become to defend its wearer. Theoretically, it could be worn by any member of her familia, but she doubted that anyone else would be able to fit in it.
  
  "Wow..." Jericho breathed, putting it on with minimal fumbling. It meshed well with his leg armor. "It has some weight to it. Is this the adamantine?" He asked, but it was Asfi who spoke.
  
  "It is, all the way down to the chainmail. However, its main ability is the ability to consume metal," she explained, earning a bewildered glance from Jericho. "The armor knows what shape it should be, so you must simply press metal against it and it will absorb to expand into armor. Though, the armor will be whatever metal you press against it. Within a few minutes, you will have a full suit of heavy armor."
  
  Hephaestus couldn"t make a whole suit, so she called in Asfi for her Mystery ability. With it, and her falna, it was one of the finest pieces of armor in the world.
  
  "It"s perfect. Thank you," Jericho said, the black armor standing out that much more with his white shirt. It fit him like a glove as he tested the range, flexing and rolling his shoulder. Asfi tried to hide it, but she preened at the compliment. After spending so much time with Ryuu, Hestia knew to look for the little things that gave it away.
  
  "My Asfi really is an angel, isn"t she?" Hermes announced, throwing an arm over her shoulders and drew her in. "So I"ll be calling in that favor once you win this," he said, and, oddly enough, his gaze lingered on Bell as he said that. Jericho"s eyes narrowed a fraction, ignoring Asfi"s dismissal that she didn"t need anything for the armor before he nodded curtly.
  
  "Fair enough," Jericho agreed, making Hermes smile.
  
  "I!" A boisterous voice echoed throughout the city so loudly that the air seemed to vibrate with a single letter. "AM! GANESHA!" Ganesha introduced himself, the god of the masses apparently intent on making them all deaf. Still, she knew what that signified. Her gaze darted to Jericho as Ganesha paused dramatically, letting his voice echo throughout the city.
  
  Words of encouragement bubbled from up in her chest, but they never made it past her lips. Simply because Jericho didn't look like he needed to hear them. Instead, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his -- hardly their most passionate kiss, but that was the point. They would be seeing each other soon enough and they could save the passion for after they've won.
  
  "Kick their butts," Hestia ordered, pulling away. Jericho flashed a grin that did dangerous things to her heart.
  
  "I intend to," he answered, taking a step back. Their gaze still lingered-
  
  "The War Game is about to begin! Place your bets now! In one corner we have the Soma familia!" Cheering and booing could be heard in equal measure as Jericho slowly walked backward until he was forced to turn around. What was it with gods ruining her moments with her child.
  
  Even still, Jericho cut an impressive figure, one arm clad in heavy armor and it would only grow after...after he had killed Soma members. It would protect him.
  
  "He"s going to be fine," Hermes reassured her as Bell began to shout his good wishes. It didn"t sound like he believed it, and there was a good reason why the odds were so against her familia when it came to bets. She was the one that placed the bet at a high-end gambling house that Hephustues hooked her up with and the sheer number of zeroes that they stood to win was gut clenching.
  
  "A familia three hundred strong -- led by Zanis Lustra the Gandharva and Chandra Ihit the Immortal Drunken Fist! Both seasoned level 2 adventurers!" Ganesha continued, his boisterous voice echoing out as Hestia jumped down from the crate. "Defending against the Hestia familia!"
  
  She kept her head up high as she made her way back to the tower of Babel, not even checking to see if Hermes was following her. "A single member named Jericho! A true underdog! We will see if he"s bitten off more than he can chew!"
  
  Ganesha, in the end, was a great hypeman. She could feel the crowd getting excited, shouting and screaming their support or disappointment. It was easier to push her way out of the crowd than it was through it, some of them recognizing her and getting out of her way. Her heart pounded in her chest like a drum, thundering in her ears -- she could only imagine how Jericho felt.
  
  "Some of you might be asking what could drive a man to such lengths to challenge an entire familia alone -- the answer is FRIENDSHIP!" Ganesha bellowed so loudly that he seemed to shake the city itself. The crowd got denser again when they neared the Tower of Babel, packed around a stage with a projection of him high above so everyone could see. The well-built god struck poses, his dark hair flowing back until it brushed his shoulders, and his handsome face hidden behind an elephant mask that seemed to be a part of him with how often he wore it.
  
  "The Soma familia are jerks!" Ganesha shouted at the top of his lungs, and Hestia was pretty sure he just broke a rule about being unbiased when doing commentary. "They beat up a member of their own familia and Jericho the Underdog is rescuing her from her tormentors after they put her into a coma! Boo the Soma familia! Boo them!" As commanded, the crowd booed loudly as Hestia began to walk up the steps back to the Guildhall.
  
  "Good! Now chant Zanis sucks eggs!" Ganesha shouted the order, and despite it all, Hestia found that she was smiling as she entered the elevator. Because even as it rose up to the viewing room, she could still hear the crowd chanting whatever Ganesha ordered them to. She should send him a gift basket, or something, for that.
  
  Closing her eyes, Hestia took in a bracing breath as the elevator came to a stop. When the doors slid open, they revealed a decedent room built up like an auditorium. Rows of seats filled the room, forming a half-circle, with the viewing mirrors set up below. From the look of it, every god in the city was here.
  
  Well...except for Soma.
  
  Hestia ignored the looks she received as she entered, striding into the room as Hermes followed behind. Some tried to speak to her, but she didn"t care to talk at the moment. Picking a seat, Hestia stared at the mirrors that showed her Jericho, her hands curling into fists as a rare use of arcanum was allowed to teleport Jericho and the Soma familia to the battleground.
  
  From the viewing area, every angle imaginable was available to her. She saw that the fort was built on a large hill -- an old castle with crumbling walls and towers, with a forest slowly reclaiming the ground that had been cleared when the castle was occupied. Both Jericho and the Soma familia were placed at the base of the hill, on the edge of the forest.
  
  It looked completely lopsided.
  
  "Oh my, do you really think your child has a chance?" Apollo"s smarmy voice questioned as he went to take a seat next to her, only for the seat that wasn"t occupied by Hermes to be filled by a pair of feet from someone on the row up. Hestia recognized them as Loki"s, but Hestia wasn"t sure if she wanted to thank Loki for anything, even for helping her out with a creep like Apollo.
  
  Hestia pointedly didn"t answer him, staring at the mirrors that displayed her child. Right up until Apollo stepped into her field of vision. "Though, I don"t know what you see in a guy like him. He looks like a brute -- I...I heard that he...stole your virginity, did that brute-"
  
  She didn"t have it in her to deal with this, Hestia realized, standing up. A warrior she was not, but the knee that she planted in Apollo"s groin was picture perfect. Hestia saw as much as all the mirrors changed to display her kneeing Apollo, the god of the sun letting out a strangled noise before he fell over in a heap. With the obstacles removed, Hestia sat back down to stare at her child.
  
  "Be safe Jericho..." Hestia whispered to him as the War Game began.
  
  It shouldn"t have surprised her when Jericho chose to sprint towards the Soma familia instead.
  
  ...
  
  Despite appearances, charging at a small army by myself was actually a smart move. Simply because I knew Zanis. He was an arrogant schmuck used to getting his way and I was an arrogant level 1 that bit off more than I could possibly chew. He wasn"t going to take me seriously and he was going to try to end this quickly.
  
  And, true enough, he didn"t. Instead of sending the entire force of the Soma familia after me, a small detachment rushed to meet me halfway while the rest rushed up the hill. Leading that "small" detachment of twenty people was a dwarf that outpaced everyone despite his stumpy legs. The other level 2 of the Soma familia.
  
  I ran that much faster, slowly veering right, taking us towards the forest while the Soma familia ran in the opposite direction. None of them even bothered to take potshots at me as the distance between us rapidly closed. Because of course they wouldn"t. Because Zanis expected this fight to wrap up the moment I clashed with that group, and he was going to take the hill just in case.
  
  "Come on," I spoke to myself just as much as I spoke to Chandra, who was leading the detachment to put an end to the War Game before it could begin. I guess I should be thankful that he sent so many parties to kill me in the Dungeon. He considered me threatening enough he sent a level 2 at me, but not threatening enough that he felt the need to throw everything he had at me.
  
  Chandra"s face was expressionless as he ran towards me, and it didn"t change when I suddenly pivoted and ran directly into the forest. He barked an order to give chase. Using my broader vision, I angled my head just enough to look behind me as I weaved between trees, taking us further away from the main group.
  
  If they smelled a trap, then they were convinced that they could handle it. I had no way of knowing how strong everyone else was, but if they were following him, I could only hope that they were amongst the strongest of the Soma familia.
  
  Taking in a deep breath, trees blurring past me as Chandra began to close the distance despite the length in our legs, the other slowly fell behind, weighed down by their armor. An image appeared in my mind that was attached to a feeling. Of Lili"s battered face as she bled out on the bed, staining the sheets red while Hestia frantically tried to save her life.
  
  A week wasn"t enough time to fade those feelings. The fear and confusion were still fresh. Then those feelings became white-hot rage that coursed through my veins. That moment when I realized that someone was walking down those steps that led into my home after nearly murdering a friend wasn"t going to fade any time soon.
  
  Running forward, I sprinted directly at a tree and put my foot out. Using my momentum, I ran up it for a few steps, a trick I learned from Ryuu when we fought in the forest before I flipped backward. Chandra skidded to a halt as I landed behind him, pivoting to face me, only to realize that I wasn"t trying to fight him at all.
  
  The group of twenty looked faintly surprised, and it killed one of them when I threw my sword at them. His shield was up, but it just didn"t matter. Wood splintered as the sword punched right through it, hitting him in the face. He went down -- if he wasn"t dead, then he was wishing that he was.
  
  Seizing the small window, I closed the distance before they could recover their formation. Gripping my sword with both hands, I slammed it down on a shield hard enough that the guy was knocked off his feet, screaming as his arms were broken, crushed underneath the force of my weapon. A sword scraped against my leg, trying to cut into the arteries in my thigh, but it was a glancing blow that I returned with a devastating backswing that vaporized the guy's head.
  
  It became a mess of violence as I forced my way through the group. I blocked a blow to my head with my armored forearm, feeling my bones rattle, but they remained strong. At the same time, I felt a flash of pain in my uncovered shoulder as a sword managed to bite into it. Blood flew free, a paltry amount of what should be spewing out of me, and it wasn"t enough to stop me from swinging down hard enough that I flattened a woman"s head with a single swing, her helmet doing nothing to slow me down.
  
  I couldn"t slow down. I didn"t need to kill them all right now either. A sword scraped my wrist as I pushed my way through the group, opening up a way by slamming my hammer into a leg hard enough that metal warped and the bone caved, the guy collapsing where he stood. All the while I lashed out with a gauntlet covered fist, the spikes on my knuckles doing good damage as I punched someone in the face and he went down screaming.
  
  Breaking free of the group, I ran forward before Chandra could close the distance between us. I couldn"t fight him and twenty others at the same time. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that I had taken a fourth of them down. Five bodies laid in the dirt, either dead or screaming. Even better, some stayed behind to preserve their lives -- for now -- effectively cutting the number that chased me in half.
  
  While I ran, I checked the damage to my body and my health bar. The wounds looked worse than they were, I barely lost any health from the few cuts and scrapes that dyed my white shirt red. Maybe I should have worn black? Eh, it didn"t matter.
  
  "Five down," I breathed, slowly making a wide arc. I wish I could see what was going on with the rest of them. I wished my map displayed enemy locations. I could only hope that Zanis wasn"t feeling overly cautious and sent another group to help out.
  
  Chandra figured out what I was doing. The brown-haired dwarf slowed down to stay with the group as I led them further away from those that stayed behind. They slowly fell behind, only continuing on thanks to a clear trail that I was leaving them -- broken branches, tearing through the shrubbery, and so on.
  
  Jumping up, I used a tree as a springboard to break up my trail. I was too big and too heavy to jump through the trees like a ninja from Naruto, or anything, but I could manage that much. Distantly, I heard Chandra bark out an order, making me grin as I broke out into a direct sprint as he said the words "fall back." It seemed like he figured out what I was doing.
  
  "He"s coming this way!" One of the Soma familia members yelled when he spotted me running at him, his bow notched and firing an arrow. Time didn"t slow down, but my gaze followed it the whole way as it raced toward my right eye. I didn"t break my stride, simply shifted my body to the side and let the arrow bounce off my heavy armored left side. The forest itself wasn"t that dense, so it gave them enough warning to fall into a formation.
  
  It just didn"t matter when I came barreling through it. A man wearing light armor was ripped in half as my warhammer tore through his body like it was a sword. When I swung upwards, catching another man in the chin, his head gave way like his bones were made of glass. Lashing out with a fist, I punched another in the head, the metal warping under the blow before the adamantine spikes poked through.
  
  By the time Chandra arrived, the rest were dead.
  
  "Are you going to quit running?" He asked, his voice gravelly, rough from disuse. It was only now that I realized that he didn"t have a weapon in hand. He wore medium armor, his gauntlets similar to mine. If I had to guess, that was the reason they called him the Immortal Drunken Fist.
  
  I let out a slow breath, reaching down to pick up a corpse with one hand. The Soma familia fell into position, Chandra leading the front as he fell into a stance. "I gotta ask...how many of you hit Lili when she was trying to leave your familia?" I asked, knowing the answer, but I needed to be pissed enough that Berserk kicked in. I could feel the pot of rage over the fire, simmering, but not boiling.
  
  Chandra, to my surprise, grimaced. The others grinned, feeling confident. I doubt they even gave a shit that I just killed ten of them.
  
  "Does it matter?" He asked as I strode forward, dragging a corpse behind me, leaving a trail of red. "I know that look in your eye. You"re not going to stop until we"re all dead."
  
  "I"m not," I agreed, breaking into a sprint, flinging the corpse forward at Chandra with the might of Power Attack as he rushed to meet me. He ducked underneath it and only realized that I wasn"t throwing it at him. The body flew towards the remaining ten adventurers, slamming into them hard enough that bones broke and metal let out an awful screeching sound that was almost drowned out entirely by the screams.
  
  All the while, I leapt over Chandra"s head, sailing over before I landed behind him and in front of the still-standing seven adventurers that survived my attack. The corpse I threw had mangled three others to the point that it was tough to look at. They must have felt the same way because one of them didn"t even try to defend himself as I brained him with a swing, and it was after the backswing that they realized that they shouldn"t just stand there while I killed them.
  
  Only then it was too late. I was strong. So very strong that my weapon moved in a blur and it carved right through everyone. I heard a snarl behind me as I struck down the last member, pivoting just in time to catch Chandra launching himself at me, his fist raised. I angled my weapon to block the blow, anticipating where it was going to land.
  
  Chandra was a level 2. I might have been leading him by the nose, but there wasn"t a shadow of a doubt in my mind that he was going to be the most dangerous person I"ve fought so far and the punch he delivered only confirmed that. The shaft of my weapon blasted back, slamming into my chest as it bent underneath the force. I felt the spiked knuckles digging into my stomach, but I"ve had worse.
  
  Grunting as I accepted the blow, I lashed out with my armor-clad left arm, diverting another attack as I twisted out of the way before backing off. Chandra didn"t give me the chance, throwing another jab that I was forced to block. I was lucky that I picked Iron Bones and my armor was made of adamantine because both would have broken otherwise. The force from the jab slammed my arm back, sending my entire body stumbling backward. He was putting me on the defensive.
  
  I took in a deep breath as I took a swing at his head with my bent warhammer. He dodged underneath it, exactly as I had hoped he would. I threw a knee to his face, preparing myself for pain and it came as he slammed a fist into my knee to punish me for the attack. Iron bones or not, spikes punched through my kneecap as he knocked the offending leg back so hard that it swung the other way.
  
  Gritting my teeth, I threw myself back, pretending like I couldn"t use my leg as I launched my warhammer at him to buy me some time to make a wild dive to my sword. It was still sticking out of the guy I threw it at. Making a show, I hopped over, brandishing it wildly to drive him off.
  
  Chandra attacked from the right, where my injured leg was. I let out a breath that I had been holding as I gripped my sword with white knuckles. Ryuu was a poor teacher, but she taught invaluable lessons. When you are fighting someone stronger and faster than you, give them a target to exploit.
  
  And when they attacked, you countered.
  
  My sword rushed towards Chandra as he came in low, aiming to bury a fist in my gut. His face morphed into one of surprise as I put weight on my broken leg, pivoting in a way that really should be anatomically impossible. My blade inched towards his neck, giving him enough time to look up at me to see an absolutely vicious smile on my face.
  
  A single mistake cost him his life. The blackened edge of my sword bit into his neck, slicing down, tearing through his bones and armor until my sword exited underneath his shoulder. His body moved with enough momentum that the two parts flew by me, separating and bouncing away from each other when his corpse fell.
  
  I did it. I had killed a level 2.
  
  "Just one more and another three hundred," I commented to myself as I stood up. Turning my attention to the corpses, and sparing a glance at my destroyed warhammer, I walked over and picked it up. It was busted, but what did Hestia say about my armor? Curiously, I pressed the warhammer to the edge of my armor.
  
  It was hard to describe what my armor did to it, but it was like it was pulling the metal into itself. An iron plate stood out against the black adamantine, it grew in a controlled manner, detail work visible on the surface. Once the first plate was finished, it began to spread out to another plate. By the time that my warhammer was gone, the iron armor covered about half of my chest. It dangled from the chainmail that it was connected to, but other than that, it was solid metal.
  
  This was so much better than the Hestia knife, I decided as I began to gather up metal, stripping the dead to grow my armor. It was going to look like a mess until I got enough ore to make it all black adamantine, but for now, it would more than do.
  
  Despite the incredible odds...I think I like my chances.
  
  ...
  
  "YEAHHHHHHH!!!!" Tiona shouted at the top of her lungs, standing on the table and knocking over a pitcher of wine while her twin sister tried to pull her down. She wasn"t having any of it though, her man just took down a level 2! And it looked so easy! Tiona knew that Jericho was something special the first time she saw him wearing nothing but a blanket in the Dungeon, but he easily eclipsed every expectation she could put on him.
  
  "Would you pipe down?!" Bete shouted, kicking her off the table so she wouldn"t block the magic mirror set up in the manor. With a huff, the werewolf settled back in his seat while Tiona landed on her feet. Normally, she"d make Bete pay with blood, but she was too happy to care what that fleabrain thought!
  
  "Jericho...got stronger," Ais muttered, watching the screen with interest. Tiona glanced at her friend, feeling a pang of worry. Ais was obsessed with gaining strength and she hadn"t exactly been subtle about trying to learn Jericho"s secrets.
  
  "His armor is rather interesting," Riveria commented, taking a sip of tea as they watch Jericho feed metal into his armor. With how big he was, it was taking some time, but clashing armor of different metals looked intimidating. Tiona didn"t care for armor, which is why she never bothered to wear any, but she knew good armor when she saw it.
  
  "It was made with Mystery," Finn stated, watching the magic mirror with interest as Jericho stood at his full height. His armor was impressive. Thick metal plates that interlocked and layered over themselves, granting him perfect mobility and protection. Not so bulky as to look ridiculous, either. The armor seemed to cling to him like a second skin, moving with an almost unnatural grace as he grabbed his weapon of choice and started making his way back to the rundown castle that the Soma familia had occupied. "So, the Hestia familia has a connection to the Hermes, most likely."
  
  "You don"t have to look at him like he"s a bad guy, you know," Tiona felt the need to point out. Finn just offered her an apologetic smile but didn"t say the words that she wanted to hear. All the while they spoke, Jericho began to gather up leaves and poured some kind of oil on them before moving on to repeat the process dozens of times.
  
  "You"re just saying that because you"re sleeping with him," Tione rebuked, sitting on the opposite end of the couch, as far away from Finn as she could. After what happened between them, Tiona was surprised that they could be in the same room without any tears. She was glaring at the magic mirror like Jericho had committed an unforgivable sin or something.
  
  "Yup!" Tiona puffed her chest out with pride. Any amazon would do the same when they landed a catch like Jericho. She wasn"t ready to be a mother yet, but their children were going to be gigantic powerhouses that could take over the entire world if they felt like it!
  
  Tione sucked in a sharp breath while Leifya gasped dramatically, muttering a low, "how scandalous!"
  
  Riveria glanced at her as they all watched Jericho...start gathering rocks? Knowing him, it was all a part of some brilliant plan to destroy the Soma familia in one decisive blow. The princess opened her mouth to say something, likely to make another comment about her relationship with Jericho but chose not to. Tiona was thankful for it, she got enough of that as it was.
  
  Who cared that Jericho was in another familia? Who cared about which familia that their children would belong to? They were all jealous because she found love and they didn"t.
  
  Thankfully, before anyone could say anything, their attention was drawn back to Jericho. Her man gathered up a nice pile of rocks that he piled up at the base of the hill. He cut an impressive figure without the armor, and with it he looked larger than life. The Soma familia had prepared archers on the walls, but that Zanis guy didn"t bother to show his face.
  
  From what Jericho had said, he wouldn"t until he felt threatened.
  
  Jericho picked up a rock and threw it at incredible speeds...for a level 1. The rock sailed through the air, slamming into the face of an archer and killing them. Lefiya shifted at the display as Jericho grabbed another rock while archers returned fire, only for Jericho to step out of the way with an ease that shouldn"t belong to a level 1.
  
  "He"s not offering any mercy," Finn noted, making Tiona frown. It was like her captain was doing whatever he could to look at her man in the worst possible light.
  
  "He"s not in a position to," Bete shot back before Tiona could. She wasn"t sure how she felt about Bete liking Jericho.
  
  "Death isn't uncommon in a War Game, but Jericho has already killed more than the average. He"s going for blood," Finn continued, his tone not changing but Tiona felt irritation swell in her chest. Bete tsked and he rolled his eyes, making a show of putting his feet up on the counter, but didn"t argue the point.
  
  "This could cause problems for him later," Riveria continued the conversation while Jericho continued to throw rocks at the Soma familia. They were wising up now, hiding and taking potshots. The few hits that they managed to score bounced off his heavy armor and nearly every rock that Jericho threw was a killing blow.
  
  The conversation died away when the gates of the castle opened and adventurers began marching out in a disorganized mess. Like water, about a hundred of them flooded out of the castle, pouring down the hill. Jericho abandoned his position, fleeing back into the forest. As he ran, he triggered the traps that he set up earlier.
  
  Fire began to spread and with so many sources, it didn"t take more than a minute for the forest to start burning. It was the middle of summer, and rain was sparse. The forest might as well be kindling for how easy it burned and how fast it spread. Thick pillars of smoke billowed upwards, embers blowing in the breeze and they spread the fire further.
  
  The Soma familia followed him into the forest. They spread out, having lost Jericho in the smoke and fire, and they were pushed even further away when the flames became large enough that they served as a barrier.
  
  "He"s controlling the battlefield," Finn muttered to himself with interest as all of them watched her man ambush the Soma familia, tearing through the flames with a ferocity that matched. Tiona rubbed her thighs together -- she wasn"t wearing underwear, so she could tell that she was getting wet.
  
  Ignoring how her body ached for his touch, Tiona threw on a wide smile and cheered for his success.
  
  ...
  
  It was hot. That thought ran through my head like a bell as I sprinted through the flames, my lungs felt like they were filled with smoke and it was sweltering in my armor. I could feel my body sweating out every drop of moisture in me in a vain attempt to cool down. Even still, I kept running forward, keeping my breathing even and hoping that the helmet that obscured a fair bit of my vision would be enough to stop me from breathing in too much smoke.
  
  My armor itself was surprisingly light. It had some weight to it that I noticed. I'm betting that most of it was because my armor was a mismatch of metals -- from more adamantine, to mythril, to rusted iron and steel. My other gauntlet was the worst offender, almost completely made of mythril, which was significantly lighter than adamantine.
  
  And with it, I felt as unstoppable.
  
  As if to confirm it, I erupted from the flames, my sword brandished to strike. The bored expression of a Soma adventurer rapidly transformed into terror as I landed on his head, crushing it. His short-lived scream drew the attention of the others, over a dozen of them. This time, I didn't plan to run circles around them. I couldn't.
  
  This gambit relied on hitting them fast and hard before they could bring the entire force down onto me. The fire spread them out, but not so much that I didn't have to worry about reinforcements. But that didn't mean I was left without advantages.
  
  I closed the distance between a warrior, hacking at him hard enough that if he wasn't dead then he wished he was before he could even think about putting his shield up. I launched his shield at an archer as I took out a spearman. Both died, one from beheading and the other from having her throat crushed. The next minute was a orgy of violence as I butchered everything in my way, and when it was done, I continued to move.
  
  A hundred people were a lot. Especially when all hundred of them were fighting a single person.
  
  They expected this to be a cakewalk. I wasn't sure if Zanis realized that Chandler was dead, but he should at least suspect it. Especially when I was causing so much chaos, but at the very least, his familia didn't seem to suspect a thing. Their guards weren't completely lax, but it was clear they weren't expecting a fight. Either they assumed that someone else would take care of me, or they didn't think I was strong enough to pose a challenge.
  
  Either way, that advantage had an expiration date on it and it wouldn't be long before the others realized that I had already killed a third of their total number.
  
  Sprinting through the burning forest, I used them as cover to seek out the other groups. My helmet muffled my hearing, as did the cackle of the flames, but I heard their shouting easily enough as they tried to communicate over the fire. They just gave their positioning away.
  
  I leapt from the raging fire and launched another attack. With my armor, I could afford to fight recklessly. Between it, and my perks, I was a tank. The only damage I took was from Chandra, and my health bar had already recovered. The Soma familia rushed me, their weapons clashing into my armor, stabbing into my chainmail, scraping against my skin as they struggled to find a place to dig in. Most of them failed to do any damage to my health, and the few that did were minuscule. A handful of points out of a thousand.
  
  The worst they could do was blunt damage, but my bones couldn't be broken so easily and by now, I was used to ignoring bruises.
  
  Using what Ais and Ryuu taught me, I dispatched each enemy as quickly as I could. My swordsmanship could hardly be called graceful, but I was getting good at spotting gaps in defenses and plugging up my own. I hacked and slashed, butchering my way through the group. Reinforcements showed up, only to be killed in droves.
  
  I heard a horn blow. What it meant exactly, I didn't know, but I could guess. Breaking out into a sprint, I rushed towards the edge of the forest. The fire had spread completely out of control by this point, so everything appeared like a hellscape, but I still saw what I expected to. The Soma familia was withdrawing.
  
  Eager to cut them off, I cleared the treeline just in time to fall upon another group of Soma familia. Ten adventurers glanced over their shoulders as I tore into them, and none slowed to help those that I caught. If anything, they sped up, abandoning their familia members to be slaughtered. They escaped behind the safety of the stone walls, the gate slamming shut behind them.
  
  Two more groups tried to escape from the forest, and I killed them in plain view of those behind the walls.
  
  Breathing deeply, I turned to face them, my heart hammering in my chest.
  
  The Soma familia had about three hundred and fifty members. Counting the ones I killed before...I would say I had killed about forty altogether. With this ninety or so, I was at a hundred and thirty people.
  
  Which meant that I had a two hundred or so to go.
  
  ...
  
  "He's more fearsome than I thought he would be," Ryuu stated, answering a question asked by Syr. For the first time in a week, the Hostess of Fertility was packed, every table full with dozens left standing. A magic mirror offered a singular view of the War Game, and it was proving to be a brutal affair. Jericho knew no mercy -- those that he didn't kill died by fire while Jericho was massacring their comrades.
  
  "The rules are going to be changed after this," Mama Mia stated, watching the War Game with a burning intensity. Death was not uncommon in a War Game, but never before had it seemed to be one side's main goal. Over a hundred had died already. The Soma familia was already down a level 2. And Jericho barely seemed winded. "I bet the gods are already panicking upstairs."
  
  Ryuu offered a small nod as she watched Jericho return to the forest. He went to the bodies, stripping them of armor and potions. He peeled off some pieces of armor, revealing a sweat-soaked long sleeve before he began to feed higher quality metal into the armor to replace the pieces he"d shed.
  
  "He's winning, isn't he?" Syr questioned, pointedly ignoring a table trying to get her attention for more beer. Mama Mia took pity on Syr because she didn"t wave her off to work. If the patrons weren"t so distracted, then they would undoubtedly be furious at the lack of customer service.
  
  Ryuu and Mama Mia shared a glance before the latter shrugged, letting Ryuu answer. "Jericho"s success so far has been reliant on dividing the Soma familia and them underestimating him. With a third of their numbers destroyed, it is highly unlikely that the Soma familia will choose to sortie again. It would be foolish when they control the hill and can hide behind the castle walls, which makes their numbers even more effective."
  
  Syr was not an adventurer but she understood what Ryuu was hinting at. Though, Ryuu was unable to look at her friend and savior. Every time she looked, the image of her supple body enduring a vicious violation from a penis that looked too large to be real, yet Syr seemed to love every thrust. Ryuu wasn"t sure if she would ever be able to look her friend in the eyes again.
  
  Her approach changed with whoever she was attempting to seduce, but never before had she been so...
  
  "So, Jericho has to go to them," Syr nodded, breaking Ryuu from her thoughts of Jericho"s powerful body and Syr"s greedy vagina that eagerly welcomed his penis.
  
  "His options are limited, which works in the Soma familia"s favor. Unless Jericho can break through their defenses, then he's going to lose," Ryuu explained with a small frown. From what she knew of Zanis" character, he was unlikely to show his face unless it was absolutely necessary. But, Jericho wouldn"t be able to win against hundreds and a level 2 at the same time. His astounding progress or not, that wasn"t a fight that he could win.
  
  However, he seemed to be aware of that. His armor was more mythrial than not, the black and sea green contrasting harshly, but it was better armor. Jericho returned to his pile of rocks that he built up earlier, and without prompting, he began throwing them at the few members of the Soma familia that dared to poke their heads out.
  
  They were weary now. Jericho"s strength, and aim, was beyond impressive for a level 1. It only took a few deaths before the Soma familia seemed content to hide behind the walls. After that, Jericho seemed to abandon the idea of picking them off to retreat back into the forest. Ryuu"s eyes narrowed as he picked up an axe from one of the fallen, picked a tree that wasn"t on fire, and started chopping.
  
  With his considerable strength, it didn"t take him long to topple the tree, and from there he began to hack it into log-like pieces.
  
  Syr shifted, watching her beloved on the magic mirror, an expression of open worry on her face. "Can he win?" Syr asked directly, and at that, Ryuu had no answer.
  
  Jericho was proving to be far more ruthless than she anticipated. He learned their lessons well -- his swordsmanship was still poor, but he adapted to the basics rather well. He was exploiting every advantage that he had, but would it be enough?
  
  "If he can defeat enough of the Soma familia before Zanis chooses to join the fight...or defeat Zanis quickly, I believe that Jericho can win," Ryuu answered after a moment of thought. Mama Mia, on the other hand, thumped Syr on the head lightly, letting out a scoff.
  
  "What kind of question is that? Of course he"s going to win. Does he strike you as the kind of guy that can forgive what was done to Lili?" Mama Mia pointed out, making Ryuu"s lips thin. Guilt surged in her chest -- she had reassured Jericho and Hestia that Lili would wake up, but she still hasn"t. She might never wake up. Ryuu proved herself to be a liar by feeding the Hestia familia false hope.
  
  And there was nothing in this world crueler than hope.
  
  "Ability matters, but motivation is just as important. Zanis is a pissant with a big head because he leveled up. You saw the rest of his familia -- they"re all waiting for someone else to take care of the problem," Mama Mia stated, making several others pay attention to her words. It was an open secret that Mama Mia was a level 6, so her words were treated with the respect they were due. "Jericho"s out for blood. He might be slow on the uptake, but he has a decent head on his shoulders, he"s stronger than he has any right to be and he"s motivated."
  
  Mama Mia"s words made her think back to her time before she was a waitress. Back when the Astraea familia hadn"t been murdered by Evilus. Back then, her motivation had been so pure. She wanted to be a hero. Her god, Astraea, was the one that gave her that dream and she pursued it recklessly for years, hitting level 4 in record time.
  
  And it was for being heroes her friends and comrades were slaughtered, leaving only her alive.
  
  Motivation...might be more important than ability, Ryuu reflected. She had scars from battles that she had no right to win. After the death of her familia, Ryuu dedicated herself to vengeance -- she butchered and massacred across the city, tearing out the organization called Evilus root and stem. Anyone that she thought had a connection was murdered, and she would kill their allies, just in case they were involved too.
  
  In her pursuit of vengeance, she became something much worse that Evilus could ever hope to be.
  
  The battles blurred together, but one stood out. A battle that she couldn"t win but she did anyway because she wanted it more. She wanted to win more. And, somehow, she did. That was when Syr found her bleeding out in an alley, content with her fate, only to be saved by chance and an act of kindness.
  
  "He"ll win," Syr spoke her thoughts with certainty, a serene smile on her face as she watched Jericho heft a large log over his shoulder before he began to walk back to the treeline. The touching moment was ruined when Syr turned that smile in her direction, "and we should make sure he has an appropriate party to celebrate, hm?"
  
  Ryuu chose not to answer.
  
  ...
  
  This was going to get messy, I thought as I marched towards the treeline, a log slung over my shoulder. It was pretty heavy, but I could manage it with only a little difficulty. I looked up at the hill that led up to a decently tall wall. A few heads peeked out, quickly darting back just in case I threw a rock. I would have preferred it if they hid the entire time, but you couldn"t win them all.
  
  I shifted my log as I double-checked the shield strapped to my hand to offer up some protection. My armor had some vulnerabilities, like my eye slots, so I wasn"t eager to have an arrow in the eye. And I really didn"t want to find out if I would regrow it or not. With my free hand, I pulled out a stamina potion and emptied it in my mouth. The taste was heavy on my tongue as I kept some in my mouth, reserved for an extra boost of energy. Or something else.
  
  My goal was either to kill Zanis now or grant myself easy access to the castle for a later assault...and to make their stay uncomfortable. I took in a deep breath through my nose, my sword clutched into my shielded hand. My armor got a nice upgrade, and the chainmail wasn"t made of steel anymore, so I was as ready as I could be in this situation.
  
  So, with nothing else left to do, I raised my shield and began to sprint forward. The hill was steep -- whoever built the castle here picked a good spot because it was downright awful to sprint up while carrying the log. It only took a few seconds before I felt an arrow slam into my shield, punching through it by a solid inch. I didn"t slow down as I rapidly closed the distance between me and the wall. My gaze was fixated on one spot-
  
  I felt a sharp pain in my leg, an arrow sticking out of the iron greeves I wore. I sucked in a sharp breath, but I couldn"t stop. The pain was temporary, it would fade as soon as I took the arrow out, but if I stopped then I was going to be riddled with arrows. Gritting my teeth, I persevered and continued to sprint towards the wall. Another arrow punched through my armor, this one deeper, but I kept going forward.
  
  Once I was close enough, I launched the log forward, angling the shield to protect my face. The log landed perfectly, serving as a wedge to let me run up it, making the distance between the top of the wall much more manageable. An arrow bounced off my neck guard as I ran up the log, reaching the end of it with a few short steps, then I jumped up.
  
  The log gave out from underneath me, but that was okay. I cleared the distance, landing on top of the wall, making eye contact with an adventurer that shouted before I fell on him. It only lasted a split second, but I took a moment into view the interior of the castle. The courtyard was serving as a mustering ground, hundreds of Soma familia members pouring out of the stronghold.
  
  A large set of double doors marked the entrance of the castle, buildings clinging to the walls. Some of them looked like housing, but one was big enough to be a mess hall. There wasn"t a whole lot to work with, but my goal was to kill Zanis. I needed to find the path of least resistance, so a place where they couldn"t bring their numbers down on me at once.
  
  I picked out a path and when that moment ended, I sprung into action. Pivoting on my heel, I turned to my right and ran forward. The walls, for the moment, were manned by archers. Lightly armored archers. I started swinging, cutting through them like butter as I made my way to a tower that served as a choke point and a way to continue to the east wall.
  
  One of the archers behind me managed to get off a shot that hit me in the back of the knee as I left carnage in my wake. Pain flashed up my leg every time I took a step, but they had armored warriors running up the steps and time was of the essence. Pushing through the pain, I barreled through the door, knocking someone back hard enough that they practically flew across the room. Turning around, I blocked the door, which would buy seconds, but that"s all I needed.
  
  The guy that I knocked down was a waif of a man and he looked up at me with pure terror.
  
  "Where is-"
  
  "He"s in the castle on the top in an office! Where the big window is!" The guy shouted, not even letting me finish my question. Well...that was easy. A warrior sprinted through the other door as others began hacking through the wood behind me. I barreled through the one that ran through the door, slamming my pommel into his face as I left the guy that gave me the information behind.
  
  My gaze drifted to the window that the guy spoke about -- an old stained glass window that was broken in some places. It was impossible to tell, but I was certain that Zanis was watching me on the other side of it. And, with the mere thought of him looking down at me, rage began to boil in my chest. I angled my shield that was peppered with over a dozen arrows and used it as a battering ram to knock over the small group of people that managed to clear the staircase and were hoping to tie me up on the walls.
  
  I was just too big and too strong, they gave way, not dead but some fell off the walls, landing heavily on the other side. The archers had backed off, still peppering me with arrows, but now I barely felt the pain as the pot of rage began to boil in my chest. I was so close to him, wasn"t I? And this time he wouldn"t walk away.
  
  With that thought driving me forward, I jumped off the walls when the resistance grew too thick, landing on a wooden roof, and unsurprisingly, it gave way underneath me. I landed heavily below, taking a moment to pull the arrows out of my legs before I sprinted forward, intent on getting into the castle before they could block me off. A wood door was reduced to splinters as I barreled through it, running for the castle doors.
  
  My destination must have been obvious because a group of adventurers was making a defensive position. I guess this was as of a good time as any, I thought, readying myself for an impact. Arrows peppered me on my way to the gate, others rushing to swarm me when I slammed against the wall of flesh.
  
  As an axe raced towards my shield, I lashed out. Activating perks like Power Attack didn"t have some switch to be triggered or anything. And, luckily, I didn"t have to shout out the attack name. They were triggered by wanting them to trigger. This time, I used my new Perk, Explosive Strike.
  
  My shield slammed into the holder of the axe and it was like a hand grenade went off, only without the shrapnel. People were blown backward, the guy that I hit looked like someone had taken a giant hammer to him, but I didn"t have time to admire my handy work. I blasted through them, seizing the opportunity, and pushed through the doors. I turned around, closed the door behind me and slid a massive barricade plank into the slot just in time for the wave of adventurers to slam into it.
  
  Already, I could hear them taking axes to the door, but I paid that no mind. Shrugging off the broken remnants of my shield, I turned my attention to a staircase shaped like a Y that would take me upstairs. Castles, especially ones like these, weren"t elaborate in terms of architecture.
  
  My heart started hammering in my chest as I rushed up those stairs, encountering minimal resistance. Looping around once I reached the top, my gaze landed on the door that hid Zanis. It matched perfectly where that window was on the outside.
  
  I took in a slow breath, letting my rage build until it was coursing through my veins like magma. With large lumbering steps, I closed the distance and kicked the door open. Zanis didn"t even see fit to lay a trap for me, though his sword was bared.
  
  This is him, I realized. His lips were moving but my heart was thundering in my ears. Just like it had with Canoe, I couldn"t hear a single word of what he was saying. But, judging from the arrogant fuck's look, he was bragging. Mocking me. He didn"t think I could win. I couldn"t wait to prove him wrong.
  
  With my free hand, I tore off my helmet, throwing it to the side as I strode into the room, readying a Power Attack. Zanis simply smirked as he calmly strode to meet me halfway. The moment he entered striking distance, I lunged at him and his blade rushed to meet mine in a blur. Sparks flew where metal clashed against metal, but there was a serious difference in quality in our weapons.
  
  Mine was made by a level 1 blacksmith and it had seen serious abuse. I did what I could to repair the damage, but the steel had suffered too much. Zanis, on the other hand, wielded a slender blade that was likely made by a level 2 smith, at least. It was simply no contest between them.
  
  My blackened blade broke, unable to keep up with the stress. Zanis smirked, angling his blade towards my face. An opening that I gave him. I jerked forward and spat stamina potion in his eyes. Zanis jerked back, not expecting that in the slightest, and that was the opening that I needed.
  
  The broken stump of my blade raced towards his neck, burying the four inches of steel into it. It tore flesh rather than cut, the hilt slamming into his jaw. Instantly, Zanis dropped his sword, both hands going to his neck in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding.
  
  "W-wait, please, d-don"t-!" Zanis rasped, fear shining in his eyes.
  
  "Shut up," I snarled at him, yanking my blade to the side and slashing his throat. Zanis fell to a knee, not dead yet, but he would be soon enough. Only that wasn"t enough for me. Not any more. This wasn"t a drawn-out fight with taunts and pushing our skills to their utmost limits, a constant back and forth between us until one finally emerged as the victor. This was an execution.
  
  But Zanis -- after everything -- he didn"t get to die so easily.
  
  As Zanis clutched at his throat, I grabbed the back of his neck, my fingers digging into the flesh around his spine as one hand grabbed his shoulder.
  
  Then I pulled.
  
  The god awful sound of flesh ripping, bones breaking and a short-lived scream were drowned out by a high pitched ping.
  
  Congratulations! You have leveled up!
  ...
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
  Completed Stories: Going Native (DBZ/DC Comics), Power Corrupts (Gamer SI), See No Evil (Young Justice SI)
  My Quests: Everlasting Dynasty (Crusader Kings 3/FSN)
  TV Tropes: Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Going Native/Gone Native (DBZ/DC comics)
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
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  I dropped the mangled corpse of Zanis and took in a deep breath of air, the smell of blood so thick in the small room that I could practically taste it. Whoever said that vengeance was unfulfilling was an idiot. Satisfaction filled me as I leaned over, picking up the sword that Zanis dropped before I tore his spine out, and approached the door. The castle was filled with the sounds of chaos -- Soma members left outside hacked at the doors downstairs to get back in, some were gathering up and running up the stairs. With a roar, I heard more run into the castle when the door was opened for them.
  
  They didn"t realize he was dead yet. And that was fine. My grudge wasn"t just against Zanis and Soma -- it was the entire familia. All of them partook in Lili"s beating, and even if they hadn"t thrown a punch or a kick, then they didn"t do anything to stop it either. For that, they were going to die.
  
  It wasn"t fair. It wasn"t rational. It wasn"t justice. But I didn"t want justice. I wanted vengeance. I didn"t even want an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth and an evil for an evil. I couldn"t. If I stopped at that, then at best I could do was beat them mostly to death. That wasn"t enough. That wasn"t anywhere near enough. I wanted them dead. Every single last one of them.
  
  The main obstacles were removed. Now it was just mopping up.
  
  Not to mention...I could use the jump start to my new exp bar.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 2
  Title: Under Leveled
  Progress to level 3: 0/5,000,000
  Strength: 123 (+151= 274)
  Endurance: 150 (+225= 375)
  Dexterity: 130 (+169= 199)
  Intelligence: 88 (+77=165)
  Sense: 155 (+240= 390)
  
  Development Abilities:
  Physical Resistance: The user receives 15% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Abnormal Resistance: Poisons, Toxins, and Drugs are 15% less effective. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Fire Resistance: The user receives 15% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat.
  Swordsman: Increased parameters when wielding swords. Effectiveness is determined by Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and Sense.
  Bludgeon Expert: Increased parameters when using blunt weapons. Effectiveness is determined by Strength and Endurance.
  Berserker: Increased parameters proportional to the user"s rage.
  
  Skills:
  Gamer Body: The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.
  Kissing: An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target. Effectiveness is determined by the Dexterity and Sense stat.
  Sex: Greatly enhances parameters when engaging in sexual intercourse. Effectiveness is determined by Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, and Sense stats.
  Dishwashing: Stains and dried on food are easier to remove. Effectiveness is determined by Strength stat.
  Footwork: The basis for all martial talents. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity.
  Vengeance: Increases attack damage against enemies. Heavily increases attack damage dealt to those that the user bears a personal grudge against.​
  
  That was both more and less than what I expected. I thought that it would be a flat increase, perhaps double or more my current stats, but that didn"t match up. If I had to guess, it was a percentage increase...huh. It looked like it was a ten percent increase for every ten stat points that I had. So, while Intelligence received 88% of 88, bringing the increase to 77 point increase, Sense had received a 155% increase, which explained the 240 boost.
  
  However...that boost seemed to be an invisible base judging by the lack of windows popping in front of my vision. With a jump like that, I should be getting a dozen of them for every increment of fifty or so, and perks for reaching milestones. And, as I feared, the invisible base wasn"t applying to my development abilities, which is why my damage resistance didn"t shoot up to thirty-seven percent.
  
  Even still...I was more than twice as strong as I was before.
  
  A warrior rushed into the room, screaming with his weapon raised high. He didn"t even get the chance to lower it before my new slender blade darted forward and punched right through his chest piece, the steel giving way like paper. Testing my strength, I ripped the blade free rather than pulling the blade out as more Soma familia members rushed towards me.
  
  I stood at the doorway, cracking my neck as I casually put on my helmet that I had tossed to the side. Here, their numbers were limited, I had a way out through the back window, and they would have trouble hitting me with arrows.
  
  They said that a single level 2 was worth twenty level 1s.
  
  I wonder how true that is.
  
  ...
  
  "Oi...chibi, your child is a real piece of work," Loki commented as all the gods fell silent as they watched the massacre that was befalling the Soma familia. The first wall of bodies crashed into Jericho, but he cut them apart, limbs flying free and blood splashing on the walls. Out of the hundreds left, only a handful had been killed, but already the Soma familia was starting to break. "Ganesha had to cut off the broadcast to the general public," she informed, kicking her feet up.
  
  Hestia didn"t respond as Jericho did the surprising thing. He stepped forward, pushing the Soma familia back. More surprisingly, the Soma familia took a step back. Which prompted Jericho to take another step forward, then another, and another, until he was in the thick of it and he massacred everyone in his way.
  
  "When did he level up? Back with the minotaurs? I heard he fought an infant dragon solo, so maybe that was it," Loki asked, but Hestia knew better than to think that she was talking to her. Loki was talking to the other gods, though most of them didn"t react. There was something transfixing about the carnage that Jericho unleashed upon the Soma familia, using his strength to tear through them and his armor to protect himself from blows.
  
  He did level up, Hestia realized. Only he didn"t need her to update his falna to do it. Hestia was glad for it -- she had questioned the wisdom of not leveling up before facing level 2s, but she trusted Jericho"s judgment on the matter. If he thought he could do it, then she believed him, and he had proved her faith correct.
  
  "Hmmm...but hasn"t Jericho only been an adventure for a month?" Hermes spoke up next to her, sending Hestia a sideways glance. "I guess some people are simply born to be adventurers," he commented after a few seconds when she chose not to respond.
  
  Hestia didn"t know what she was feeling as she watched what Jericho unleashed upon the Soma familia. It wasn"t horror or joy, but something in between. She was...glad, for a lack of a better word. Glad that her child was winning. Glad that those that made Lili suffer were paying the price. Glad that this entire nightmare was finally coming to an end.
  
  And it did come to an end. There was no grand climax or explosive finish. Time ticked by, minutes turned into an hour, but the Soma familia began to break. Some ran, but those that didn"t died, which spurred more to run.
  
  There were no secondary leaders that took control of the Soma familia. They fought as individuals, and they died as individuals. The last hour of the War Game was spent on the hunt after Jericho broke them at the castle. Hundreds became dozens, then that number was chipped away until there were only a few left.
  
  Then there were none.
  
  With two and a half days left on the clock, the War Game ended. Unlike every time before, it wasn"t answered with explosive applause and cheering, or vicious boos and cursing. Instead, it was answered by a silence that spoke volumes.
  
  That silence continued as Jericho stood, panting over the corpse of the last member of the Soma familia. Slowly, Hestia stood up, and without speaking a word to anyone, she walked towards the elevator.
  
  Of all people, her gaze landed on Freya and saw that her silver eyes were following her as she left. Just as the door slid shut, Hestia saw the goddess of fertility smile at her. Hestia didn"t give that any thought for the moment, in favor of turning her attention to the next step at hand.
  
  ...
  
  I was absolutely drenched in blood, enough so that the god that teleported us from Orario refused to touch me before he teleported me back to the city gates. There was a crowd awaiting my return, but for every person cheering, there were ten others that looked at me with fear or disgust. The Soma familia didn"t have many friends, but it seemed that killing them all hadn"t won me any. If anything, I alienated myself.
  
  But that was okay. Because I was done with this city and pretty much everyone in it.
  
  I continued forward, the crowd parting for me like the red sea, one destination on my mind. This, no matter what anyone said, wasn"t over just yet. I broke off from main street, heading towards the Soma familia home. It might just be me projecting, but it was like I could feel his presence like a beacon. Like he was announcing where I could find him.
  
  At the very least, it seemed that he wasn"t running away.
  
  Outside of the gates was Hestia to my surprise. She looked up at me, and, for the briefest moments, I was afraid. I talked to her about it, but talking and doing were two very different things. Hestia was about as pure as pure got, and...I could only imagine what they were going to say about me when the dust settled. Only I didn"t care what they thought. If Hestia...
  
  I didn"t need to worry, in the end, because Hestia smiled brightly. Almost as if nothing was wrong.
  
  "You"re safe," Hestia said, relief coloring her tone as a weight seemed to be lifted from her shoulders. I reached up and took off my helmet, revealing sweat-soaked skin and a bird"s nest for hair, but I managed to give her a grin that conveyed that I was fine.
  
  "I"m in one piece, as promised," I said, approaching her. My boots squelched, soaked through with blood and I knew I was leaving a trail of footprints behind. I wanted to reach out and give her a crushing hug, but I couldn"t. My armor was drenched in blood and gore -- the movies never touched on just how messy death was.
  
  Even still, Hestia walked up to me, holding out her hand expectantly. I hesitated for the briefest of seconds before I reached out and gave her hand a small squeeze. Despite the blood staining her hands, Hestia smiled at me as she took in a deep breath.
  
  "Let"s go deal with Soma...and leave this place with Lili," Hestia spoke with a sense of finality as she gently led the way. The gate was left open as if welcoming us. Walking through them, I pushed the door open once we reached it. It was unlocked, swinging open with a low groan from hinges that desperately needed some oil. The Soma familia home, once so full, seemed to be completely empty. And it almost was, with only one person inside. The sound of scraping seemed to echo throughout the manor, but I realized that it was simply because my hearing was so sharp.
  
  I took a step inside first, still holding Hestia's hand. My feet were as light as a feather, but the rest of my armor sure wasn't. Chainmail and plates of armor clanked together noisily, and I must be wearing about a hundred pounds of armor, putting me around a quarter of a ton in weight. Meaning, our approach was loud as we walked up the stairs.
  
  The door to Soma's room was left open, letting the sound escape from it. Walking in unison, Heatia and I approached to see Soma using a mortar and pestle.
  
  Unlike before, he looked up when we entered. I felt his gaze on me as we walked into the room, his hands pausing their grinding motions.
  
  "Is there anyone left alive in my familia?" Soma asked and...he...hadn"t even watched the War Game. It wasn"t surprising. Not really. Even still, I felt myself grow just...exausted with him. I hated him already, but the sheer amount of apathy to not even watch the War Game that your familia is participating in...
  
  "Just Lili," I answered, my other hand tightening on the weapon I looted from Zanis. "Barely. She"s in a coma and we don"t know if she"s going to wake up," I told him and, of all things, that seemed to get a reaction from the deadbeat god. The edges of his lips tugged downward, frowning at me as he set the pestle to the side.
  
  "I see..." And that was all he had to say as he leaned into his chair. Two words. I hated him more than Zanis in that moment, and I ripped Zanis apart with my hands.
  
  "Jericho," Hestia spoke my name sharply, and it was only then that I realized that I had let go of hers and I was a single step away from hacking the god into pieces. Soma simply looked up at me, nothing about his posture hinted that he even cared that he was one swing away from death.
  
  "Soma...Lili doesn"t want to wake up," Hestia spoke, and I realized that she was just as furious as I was. She didn"t express it with murderous rage, but her eyes burned with an anger that was just as intense. "She"s given up. She gave into your wine, and she"s given up on her life because she failed your test."
  
  Soma didn"t say anything as Hestia approached, her tone even. The only outward sign of her anger was her hands clenched into fists. She came to a stop in front of Soma after I moved out of her way.
  
  "I want you to use your arcanum to wake her up. I want you to clean up the...mess that you created," Hestia said, making my heart clench. I didn"t think of that. My thoughts were full of rage and death, so dead set on tearing Soma apart that I didn"t even consider that we could use him.
  
  But...if he used his arcanum, then I wouldn"t get to kill him.
  
  And, for a moment, I wondered if it was worth it. We could find another way to wake Lili up -- it could take time, but we had other possible options. I would only get this one chance to kill Soma, though.
  
  That thought was was enough to bring me back to my senses. I shoved those thoughts to the side as I lowered my sword, willing to accept the decision even if I did want to kill him. Lili was worth it. She was more than worth it.
  
  Soma looked at me for a moment, as if waiting for me to lop his head off. When I didn"t, he turned back to Hestia. "I will do as you ask," he said with a nod before he reached into a drawer and passed Hestia a slip of paper. "This is my will," he informed as Hestia took it.
  
  Then he turned to me, his mouth opening but I shook my head.
  
  "Save it. I don"t want to hear a word you have to say," I cut him off before he could begin. "I"m never going to forgive you for what you did, so don"t waste your breath." Hestia glanced at me, I could practically feel her disapproval, but she let out a small sigh and didn"t argue with me.
  
  Soma nodded, accepting my rebuke with grace. He said nothing after that, and I didn"t expect him to either. I was hit with an air of power -- the only thing that I could compare it to was a wave the size of a mountain crashing directly on top of me before sweeping me from the shore to drag me into the depths of the ocean. My lungs refused to accept any air as the room was filled with every color that the human eye could see.
  
  Soma drifted upwards, his body glowing, and once his head was in danger of hitting the ceiling, a blinding flash of light emitted from him. I blinked, covering my eyes but even then I was seeing second images for a few seconds. I noticed Soma"s absence by the lack of overwhelming power that seemed to crush me with its mere presence. Only when he was gone did I remember that I needed to breathe.
  
  "Jericho...you won"t be needing that," Hestia spoke. She was talking about my sword...and my armor. "You"ll scare Lili when you see her," she tacked on. My vision rapidly cleared as I looked down at myself. I knew I was covered in blood, but now that it started to dry, it was a horror show. My armor was already a mess of black adamantine, green mythril, silver steel, and brown bronze. The sword that I carried in my hand was covered in blood, most of it dried by now.
  
  Then my gaze landed on the hand that I held. Her pale skin was covered in a bright red that had soaked into my gloved hands. I had noticed, worried about it earlier, but now... that...that was a slap to the face. The fight was done. The Soma familia was destroyed, all the way down to their god. We had won. And the blood of our enemies was staining my goddess red. Like water on a flame, the rage that had simmered in my chest vanished into nothing, only steam to mark that it was there at all.
  
  Part of me wanted to put the weapon into my inventory, but that wasn"t enough for me. Numbly, the blade fell from my hand, clattering to the floor. My gauntlet followed after it, then the forearm guard. Fingers covered in adamantine armor tore at the armor locks, only for Hestia"s hands to place themselves on mine.
  
  Slowly, she began to remove my armor in silence. Each piece clattered to the floor in a growing pile, but before long, I was free of my armor. The Hestia Armor went into my inventory, leaving me bare. My white long sleeve was stained with blood, soot, and sweat. My pants were black, covering up the worst of the stains, but the fringes were singed by fire and there were holes where I was shot. Blood had soaked through my armor in countless places, staining my body with it.
  
  However, Hestia held my hands and forced me to look her in the eyes. There was a gentle smile on her face before she leaned in, pressing her lips into mine. The fact that I was sitting down allowed the action and I was grateful for it. Out of everything that happened today, her lips made me melt -- tension that I had carried...since I let Canoe live that day in the Dungeon eased out of me.
  
  As soon as she pulled back, I missed the feeling. She rested her forehead against mine, practically supporting me to stop me from falling flat on my face because without my rage exhaustion hit me like a brick. It wasn"t physical exhaustion, and it wasn"t because I needed to sleep -- it was emotional exhaustion. My brain was begging to be shut off for a bit, but there wasn"t any time for it.
  
  "Let"s go see Lili," Hestia spoke, pulling back softly and tugging on my arms. Standing was a herculean feat, but I managed it. I peeled off my boots, revealing blood-soaked socks, so I took them off as well.
  
  "Let"s go see Lili," I agreed.
  
  ...
  
  It was hard to call what was going on in the city a celebration. Mostly because a lot of people had bet against me. Which, on a high note, I had millions of valis leftover even after I paid off what we owed the Hermes familia. So, that was nice.
  
  If it wasn"t for the looks I was getting as Hestia led me down the street, I"d even be happy. They ranged from horrified, to angry, to challenging. They knew me by my height, because who else stood over seven feet tall? More unwelcome were those that were cheering, those that threw me cocky smirks, and the gods that were poorly hiding behind barrels and lampposts as we made our way to the Hostess of Fertility.
  
  I ignored them, and that was made a thousand times easier when I saw Syr standing outside of the Hostess. Her face lit up when she saw us, throwing on a wide smile as she waved dramatically as if we couldn"t see her. She ran up to us, starting to lunge for a hug, but quickly decided against it.
  
  "You won!" Syr cheered, shooting pure, undiluted joy out of every pore. "I knew you could do it! I never doubted you for a second!" I heard Hestia huff next to me, so that was most likely a bald-faced lie. But I didn"t mind. "The others have come by! Come on," Syr gestured for us to follow. Hestia followed first, tugging me along like a lost child.
  
  Syr pushed open the door, revealing a party in full swing. The Hostess was back as it should be -- the tables were bursting with people shouting and cheering, a lot of them gathering around a man handing out banknotes. Almost instantly, my eyes landed on Mama Mia.
  
  She raised a tankard towards me before she took a long sip. I nodded at her in return, my gaze drifting over the others. Ryuu darted between tables, delivering food with practiced ease. She smiled at me as she delivered a round of beer to a table. I smiled back as my gaze continued to drift over the Hostess.
  
  Tiona and Ais sat at a table, the former talking animatedly while the latter nodded, drinking with a grimace. Sitting at the bar was Eina, who looked like she was tearing into an adventurer, likely another client of hers.
  
  Off to the side, tucked into a corner, was Hermes and Asfi. The god of messages offered me a small wave and a smile. I nodded in return, wondering if he still assumed I owed him a favor. And given how great the Hestia Armor was, I think I might. It was a real game changer.
  
  I owed a thank you to Hephusteus as well, who was sharing a drink with a brown-skinned Amazonian with one eye. Bell was sitting with Miach, his face twisted as he took a sip of beer. I owed Bell a thank you too.
  
  My gaze washed over them all. I...had a lot more people in my corner than I had realized. From those that helped me directly, to those that chose to place their money on me. Everyone in the room was drunk on good fortune, and I saw why when a bank slip for over a hundred million was slipped into my hands by the same man that had taken my bet of going all in on myself. They were so drunk on their good fortune that none even noticed me.
  
  "Syr," I said, getting the silver-haired girl"s attention before she could bring any attention to my presence. "We're going to check on Lili." My hope must have shown on my face because Syr smiled brightly as if she was as certain that Lili had woken up as I was. She nodded, glancing around as if she could make sure that no one saw me as she pushed me and Hestia up the stairs. "And Syr?"
  
  "Hmm?" Syr hummed, her eyes twinkling with triumph and desire.
  
  "Thank you. For everything," I told her, those four words couldn't even hope to convey a fraction of my gratitude. But it was a start.
  
  Syr smiled brightly at me, a hand going up to twirl a lock of hair that curled into her cheekbone, "I know you'll make it up to me." She teased, her smile widening for a moment before she turned on her heel, still looking up at me, "and tell Lili that I said hello!" And with that, she skipped off into the dining hall. Part of me wanted to go down there now, to shake hands and thank everyone that helped me out during this chaotic time, but I realized that was because I was worried that when I walked up those steps, pushed open the door and what I would see would be the same thing I"ve seen for a week.
  
  Hestia pulled at my sleeve, and if she felt the same worries, then she didn"t show them. "We can thank everyone later. We have to check on Lili first," she said, and by now it didn"t really surprise me that she could read my mind like a book. I nodded, swallowing my nervousness -- it was funny, in a way.
  
  I faced down an entire familia, but I never really felt scared. I had a plan, and I was as prepared as I could be. With this...this was an entirely different ball game because you couldn"t prepare yourself for this. The only thing that could be done is emotionally distancing, but a handful of steps isn"t enough time to do that.
  
  Hestia grabbed my hand, giving it a squeeze. I squeezed back, reaching out to the handle. Before I could think to hesitate, I turned the handle and pushed.
  
  Lili moved as if the sound had disturbed her. Slowly, for the first time in days, Lili pushed back the covers and sat up. Her light brown eyes landed on me, her gaze just as wide as mine. Then, Lili looked down at Hestia, who clasped her hands over her mouth. Ever so slowly, Lili's eyes began to fill with tears that flooded down her cheeks in an unending river.
  
  "Lili is so sorry," Lili sobbed, the sound ripping from her throat as she clenched her eyes shut. Her shoulders bunched together, trembling underneath the force of her sobs. Hestia moved in a blur, crossing the distance between us in the blink of an eye. My goddess threw herself at Lili, wrapping her in such a tight hug that Lili was being crushed in her arms.
  
  Though, I'm guessing that wasn't why her sobs doubled as Hestia started to cry as well. Unlike them, I simply smiled at the sight of Hestia trying to console Lili, only for her words to be so thick with emotion that she might as well be speaking gibberish. Lili responded in kind, both of them not making an ounce of sense and each sentence was broken up even more by sobs and hiccups.
  
  But... I wouldn't have it any other way. As the only pair of dry eyes in the room, I closed the door behind me before grabbing the chair and bringing it up to the bed. Lili looked at me with eyes filled with so much sorrow that I could drown in them.
  
  I all but collapsed into the chair, smiling at Lili -- as much as I hated to see her cry, I infinitely preferred it over her lifeless sleep. "I'm glad to see you're finally up, sleepyhead," I spoke, breaking the ice. Hestia giggled at my bad joke even as she sobbed into Lili's hair, burying the smaller girl into her chest. Lili looked like she was going to cry that much harder, tears free-flowing from her eyes. "You really gave us a scare there, you know?"
  
  Lili nodded, trying to get herself under control. It took her more than a few tries to begin, but she managed after a few minutes. "Lord Soma told me when he woke me up,"
  
  I guess that meant I didn't have to explain anything. I simply nodded, accepting the answer and listening as Lili forced herself to continue through a new wave of tears. "He...told Lili everything. Lili...Lili is so sorry. Lili shouldn"t have doubted you! Lili...Lili was so scared that Mr. Jericho was going to die."
  
  I nodded, "then he gave you Soma wine," I continued forward. Lili let out a strangled sob, making Hestia hold her that much tighter.
  
  "Lili is-" Lili started, despair and self-loathing in her eyes, only to be interrupted by Hestia.
  
  "You"re not anything you"re about to say," Hestia said, her voice muffled by Lili"s hair. "I won"t let anyone say those things about you, and I won"t let you say them either. You"re the second member of my familia, and I love you." Hestia continued, making Lili cling to her as another wave of tears rushed out of her. She shook, sobs heaving out of her body as she wailed into Hestia"s chest.
  
  "She"s right," I pitched in. "We don"t blame you for what happened. Soma...is gone and so is his familia. That chapter of our life is over, and now we just have to move forward." Unlike so many times before, it was actually easy to put my thoughts into words. "So, I want you to move forward too."
  
  Lili made a choking noise but she nodded, her breathing hitching as she clung to Hestia.
  
  "I"m glad," I told her honestly as Hestia rubbed soothing circles into Lili"s back. "This...could wait, but Hestia and I were planning to leave the city. The War Game...well, I doubt I made many friends with what I did," I admitted.
  
  "And the city itself is just awful. Us gods...we"re not exactly cut out for ruling over a city like this. It"s just too scary to think about. So, we"re going to leave this place behind," Hestia continued, allowing Lili to pull back ever so slightly.
  
  "Can...I come with you-" She didn"t get to finish because Hestia glomped her. I let out a huff of laughter as I settled into my chair, a knot of tension vanishing. After weeks of carrying so many different worries, and they only seemed to multiply as time went by, having them vanish one by one...I didn"t have words to describe the sheer relief I felt.
  
  "Of course you can come with us!" Hestia answered her, "but it"s not your only option, Lili. Before Soma returned to Heaven, he wrote a will. He left everything to you -- the mansion, the treasury, everything...and it contains a message addressed to you."
  
  Lili shook her head, "I don"t want it. Any of it. I...I just want to stay with you and Mr. Jericho forever." It was such an earnest wish that Hestia started crying again, knowing that it was true.
  
  For the first time in what felt like ages, I relaxed into my chair. I felt it creeping up on me, but my heavy eyelids were a foe too great for me to defeat. As the tension melted from my body, all my worries vanishing like smoke in the end, I closed my eyes and slept.
  
  You have reached a checkpoint! Would you like to choose another world to play in?
  
  ...Would I be able to bring other people with me? What happens here?
  
  You may select traveling companions during the setup phase. Time will stop in this world, and should you choose to come back to it, you will pick up right where you left off.
  
  I hadn"t thanked everyone yet...but that was okay.
  
  Because this wasn"t a goodbye.
  
  It was a see you later.
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Last edited: Apr 26, 2020
  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
  Completed Stories: Going Native (DBZ/DC Comics), Power Corrupts (Gamer SI), See No Evil (Young Justice SI)
  My Quests: Everlasting Dynasty (Crusader Kings 3/FSN)
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
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  I found myself in a familiar white void, only this time things were a bit different. Instead of wearing a party outfit and carrying arms full of food that I had looted from a house party to feed me for the foreseeable future, I was covered in burnt, bloodstained clothing, reeking of smoke and blood. I wasn"t here because I died a random death, but because I was victorious despite all the odds stacked against me.
  
  Congratulations! You have greatly exceeded expectations. You have been awarded 10,000 player points!
  
  How would you rate your experience with the Gamer System?​
  
  Given that there wasn"t an option to skip the survey, I was forced to answer. "The experience of going to another world...eight out of ten- no, nine out of ten. I think a lot of the issues I ran into were caused by me more than anything," I admitted. I was calmer now that everything was done, but I felt too calm. I hadn"t noticed it last time since everything was so new and impossible, but now I was certain of it.
  
  Something was suppressing my emotions to keep me calm and rational. I"m guessing to prevent mental breakdowns or raging.
  
  "But the actual system? Three out of ten," I answered, making the words in front of me shift.
  
  That is an unusually low score. Would you please explain your reasoning so we might improve your experience?​
  
  We. That suggested more than one person was behind this. And, if I didn"t know any better, I think I might have offended them. The theory Hestia had that it was a god in heaven that took my soul from my world to entertain themselves came to mind. I spent enough time on forums to know that the term for such a being was ROB, and it was a little unnerving how well that shoe fit. And gods like Hestia, when they weren"t suppressing their arcanum, were a lot scarier than I thought they"d be.
  
  The only issue was that I had picked Danmachi myself...but if they were able to suppress my emotions, would it really be such a stretch to assume that they had nudged me in the direction that they wanted me to go? It made me feel paranoid just thinking about it. The only way I could convince myself that wasn"t the case was because of letting the fallout playout where they could easily see, I was being whisked away to another world.
  
  Though, that meant I still had no idea what happened to my soul or who was pulling the strings.
  
  "The sense of progression was bad. Maybe it was because of how the falna works in Danmachi, but outside of stat gains, there was no sense of progression. The exp cap felt too high and the exp gains felt arbitrary. Monsters giving me a flat amount of exp is fine, but then killing people gave me thousands, which makes sense, but then quests give me stupid amounts of exp," I began to explain, which brought me to another issue.
  
  "But my real problem with it was the lack of information available," I told the white void and whoever happened to be listening. "Just...everywhere. From how my skills work, to it taking me weeks to find out that there were quests, to how certain mechanics work, to me having to figure out if I even had certain mechanics or not. I avoided leveling up because I had no clue what it would do, and that"s a problem, you know?" It felt like I could go into more detail, but that was my biggest gripe with the system.
  
  Just not knowing how things worked.
  
  Your complaints have been noted. Due to prior knowledge of the Gamer Ability, all tutorials were turned off. Changes have been made for your next experience. ​
  
  "Thanks," I told the words, glad for it. Even if it was a minor improvement, it would make things easier by leaps and bounds.
  
  Would you like to continue your game?​
  
  I smiled lightly, feeling excited. I hadn"t spent that long in Danmachi, and towards the end, it felt like I had stayed there for ages, but there were plenty of other worlds I could visit. And since I could take Hestia and Lili with me, I would be able to show them those worlds. We intended to flee the city, but I couldn"t wait to see their faces when they realized we had fled the planet.
  
  And...I think it would be good for all of us to get a fresh start. To get away from Danmachi for a time. We would go back eventually, I knew that much simply because I was going to pay everyone back who had helped me, but that could wait for now.
  
  "Yeah, I would," I said and a familiar list appeared before me.
  
  Please select your next world!
  RWBY Tier 5
  Fallout Tier 2
  Halo Tier 4
  Mass Effect Tier 4
  One Piece Tier 5
  Tokyo Ghoul Tier 2
  Evangelion Tier 4
  Attack on Titan Tier 2
  Skyrim Tier 5
  Dragon Age Tier 4
  My Hero Academia Tier 3
  Marvel Comics Tier 9
  DC Comics Tier 9
  Worm Tier 6
  (additional worlds will be unlocked as you progress)​
  
  What the hell are tiers? Those were new-
  
  Now that you have previous experience, new features have been made available. The Tier system ranks worlds by difficulty and existing threats. Each tier has a spending limit, they are the following:
  
  Tier 1 - 300
  Tier 2 - 600
  Tier 3 - 1000
  Tier 4 - 1500
  Tier 5 - 2500
  Tier 6 - 4000
  Tier 7 - 8000
  Tier 8 - 12000
  Tier 9 - No Limit
  Tier 10 - No Limit​
  
  I eyed the explanation, frowning. "Last time I was here, there were all things I could buy and they all cost way more than a couple of thousand points," I pointed out. This entire thing reeked of being a game balance check. Right now, I don"t think it would affect me that much, but down the road, I could see it getting pretty annoying.
  
  Purchases for equipment, perks, and companions are still available. Would you like to skip ahead to those sections to make your purchases then pick your world afterward?
  
  "Sounds good," I decided with a nod to see another familiar screen face me. The character creator that allowed me to turn myself into a seven-foot-tall behemoth. I looked back at the 3D model that represented me -- making myself so massive had been done on a poorly thought out whim...
  
  But I kinda liked it. I like how everyone had to look up at me. I liked how intimidating I looked. Sure, finding a bed that could fit me was a struggle, and clothes were expensive, but I found that the pros outweighed the cons in this case. Not only that, I doubt Hestia would recognize me if I made myself smaller.
  
  So, I left it as it was.
  
  Previous game data has been analyzed -- Notable achievements:
  
  Deflowering a goddess - You took the virginity of a god. (15,000)
  Under Leveled - You have a knack for defeating enemies that you shouldn"t be able to. (10,000)
  Ladies Man - Had sexual encounters with more than three waifus. (5,000)
  Limit Breaker - There can only be so many Ss in your status updates before they make a new rank entirely. (10,000)
  
  You earned: 55,000 points during your last game!
  
  Please purchase your perks.
  
  Weak: (+125) All strength exp is decreased by 5%
  Reek: (+50) A bath and soap won"t wash that smell away
  Songbird: (100) Angels wish they sounded as good as you
  Annoying voice: (+50) Your voice has a habit of getting on people"s nerves
  Stiff as a board: (+125) All Dexterity exp is decreased by 5%
  Perfect memory: (500) Every moment of every day is perfectly recalled at any time
  Forgetful: (+150) Where are my car keys?
  Wimp: (+125) All endurance exp decreased by 5%
  Super immune: (200) Your immune system it the equivalent to Fort Knox
  Sickly: (+100) If anyone around you gets sick then you get sick
  Frail: (+300) Physical damage increased by 10%
  Bloodhound: (200) Your nose is sharp enough to be used for tracking.
  Mana sensitive: (500) (Awakens mana)
  Dexterous: (250) Bonus 5% exp awarded to all dexterity related actions.
  Dexterous II: (500) Bonus 10% exp awarded to all dexterity related actions.
  Second wind: (750) Stamina returned once exhausted.
  Cleave: (750) It takes more than a flimsy shield to block your attacks.
  Featherweight weapon: (750) Weapons below 25 pounds feel as if they have no weight.​
  
  I let out a low whistle in appreciation when I saw the total number of points I had gathered. I guess these were the rewards that I thought weren"t coming. I guess they were being saved until now. That was a whole lot more points that I could work with than the last time I was here. Apparently, I accomplished more in a month than I had in nineteen years in my old life. That was...something. Something vaguely insulting, but I wasn"t sure it was entirely unfair.
  
  It was easy to decide which ones I wanted this go around -- all of the good ones. Featherweight Weapon, Cleave, Dexterous I and II, Mana Sensitive, Bloodhound, Super Immune, Perfect Memory, and Songbird were all selected in rapid succession. If I saw something that I liked, then I could just come back and unselect one or two options. It wasn"t like I couldn"t spare the points.
  
  Altogether, the cost was 4,000 points. Which was a drop in the bucket, leaving me 51,000 left over. This was a lot easier this go around, I noticed as I continued to the next screen. Almost instantly, I noticed something was different. At the forefront was a list of names that I recognized.
  
  Companions available.
  
  Hestia (100)
  Lili (850)
  Tiona (25,000)
  Syr (100)
  Eina (50)
  Ryuu (18,000)
  Ais (25,000)
  Bell (1,000)​
  
  I guess these were the people I was close enough to that I could take them with me to new worlds. Looking over the list, it was easy enough to guess how they were calculated. The more powerful they were, the more they cost. Simple enough. My gaze lingered on a few names but in the end, I only selected two.
  
  It felt too much like kidnapping to pick someone like Ryuu or Tiona without giving them any kind of warning. With Hestia and Lili, we were already planning on leaving the city with me. Only the destination had changed. Taking someone out of their life, away from most of their friends and family...no, that wasn"t for me.
  
  After I picked Hestia and Lili, my total was brought down to 50,050. Now it was time to start picking other items. But...actually...no...not yet. I needed to figure out what kind of world I was going to. There was no point in going through it now, finding some armor that I liked, only for me to pick Fallout or something.
  
  So, with that in mind, I looked back at my list of choices and gave them each a serious moment of thought. Before, I had picked Danmachi mostly because of Hestia, and while that had certainly worked out for me, it nearly hadn"t. I needed to plan. What was my current goal?
  
  To unwind while getting stronger. Preferably a place with magic so I could learn it. That was the criteria I was looking for. Waifus would be great, but they aren"t the priority, nor the second, third, or fifth.
  
  "Mass Effect, Halo,...Evangelion are out," I told myself, looking them over. With my current build, I was very much an in-your-face fighter. Mass Effect and Halo focused on guns, which wouldn"t do me a lot of good and we could hardly destress when humanity is fighting against extinction. The same for Evangelion -- I would be piloting an EVA, and I highly doubted that would translate into physical stat gains.
  
  "Fallout, RWBY, Attack on Titan, and Tokyo Ghoul are also out," I decided. One was post-apocalyptic, the second and third were on the verge of the same fate, and Tokyo Ghoul was a bad fit. I would either become a ghoul, which meant I had to eat people to grow stronger, which was gross or become an investigator, who indiscriminately killed ghouls. Hardly relaxing. And there was no magic.
  
  The next few were superhero settings. Marvel and DC were out by the virtue that they were actual death worlds with universe ending threats happening on the monthly, and world endings events were weekly. If not daily. Which left My Hero Academia and Worm, which couldn"t be more different in theme and tone. Worm was out because it was a grimderp hellhole...and so was My Hero Academia for the exact opposite reason -- heroing was so regulated it would be a year at least before I saw another fight, and from what I learned with Ryuu and the others, I didn"t get exp for sparing. Going there would stunt my growth, and it didn"t have magic.
  
  My last choices were One Piece, Skyrim, and Dragon Age. My gaze lingered between the last two -- both of them had magic and let me stay an in your face fighter. Meaning, as much as I liked One Piece, it was out of the race for now. Luffy won by the skin of his teeth too often for comfort, and I needed a place that I could grow stronger. It was just a bad fit for now.
  
  Then an idea formed as I looked between Skyrim and Dragon Age. It might be a bad one, but...it was an idea that could change the game for me down the road. So, with only a moment of thought, I pressed down on Skyrim.
  
  You have selected Skyrim. Changes have been made to the setup system. Due to Skyrim being a tier 5 world you have 2500 World Points to spend.
  
  Please select your race:
  
  Altemer (500)
  Argonian (250)
  Bosmer (200)
  Breton (250)
  Dunmer (400)
  Imperial (300)
  Khajiit (300)
  Nord (500)
  Orsimer (150)
  Redguard (200)
  Human (already purchased) (no racial bonuses)​
  
  I started to click through them to see what it meant by racial bonuses -- some had traits like Highborn which would regenerate my Magicka faster, or Waterbreathing to breathe underwater. It was a tough pick -- some of the ones with the best traits were either animal-based, which I didn"t want because I liked being human, or elven and Skyrim had a special hatred for elves.
  
  So, I picked Nord. I was intending to stay in Skyrim for a bit, and I"ve learned the hard way that I couldn"t trust metaknowledge completely. Just because there wasn"t any real racism in the game if you picked a Bretton or a Redguard, didn"t mean that there would be none. No point in putting up barriers in my way when there didn"t need to be any. Not to mention being a Nord would help me out along the way.
  
  That brought my total down to 2000 and I flipped past the character creation screen. Now it was time to pick my start.
  
  Pick your start: 2000 World Points remaining
  
  The Dragonborn (2500)
  You awaken on a wagon headed to your execution, only to be saved by an ironic twist of fate
  Wealthy Merchant (1000)
  You come to Skyrim with a wagon full of valuable goods. The starting location is at Solitude"s gates.
  .
  (...)​
  
  My gaze lingered on becoming the Dragonborn, but there were other options so I should check them out before I did anything. Especially considering that it would take all of my points.
  
  Custom Start (to be determined)
  
  That one sounded interesting. Clicking it and a bunch of different options unfurled. A lot of options. Apparently, if I felt like it, I could be reborn into the world as an infant. Or write in my own back story. Or go way back into the previous titles like Oblivion or Morrowind. I could pick my date and starting location. I could grant myself titles, property -- hell, I could take the place of an established character like Ulfric.
  
  It would be a lie to say that I didn"t consider that last option, or becoming the Dragonborn. But there were some situations that you didn"t jump headfirst into, and being the head leading a civil war wasn"t one. Or I would have to spend every point that I had to become the Dragonborn, which would also throw me into the situation headfirst.
  
  It took me a thousand points, but I picked my start -- inside an inn in Helgen about six months before the start of the game. An unknown wanderer with no past to speak of, just how I started in Danmachi.
  
  The last thousand points would be spent on another tab that I found. A special perk tab.
  
  World related perks: 1000​
  
  Lucky Loot: (100)
  Lady Luck smiles upon you more often than not. Higher chances of finding rare loot.
  Expanded Magic: (250)
  Game limitations are for games.
  Soul Defense: (250)
  Your soul is immune to all corrupting effects and cannot be stolen or altered without your consent.
  Mind Defense: (250)
  Immune to mental attacks and corrosive effects.
  Import Inventory: (150)
  Imports all items owned by the player into the new world.​
  
  Well then. I guess becoming the Dragonborn was never on the table because there was no way I was leaving my money or Hestia"s Armor behind. Import Inventory was my first choice. I clicked on Lucky Loot because of course I had to, Expanded Magic, Soul, and Mind Defense. No need in starting completely fresh, after all.
  
  Finally, after what felt like a much longer setup than my last game, I arrived at the final selection screen for my fifty thousand points. I thought about what I wanted, what we needed, and started to pick stuff. Apparently, my money converted over to Skyrim money -- there was a significant loss because a valis was worth less than a septem, but I still had millions, so I didn"t have to worry about that.
  
  I made some surprising choices, but good ones, I think. I wanted this to be a different experience from Danmachi -- free of the nail-biting stress, the constant worries and pinching every penny until they bruised. I wanted us to be secure, and never have to fear about some group of assholes about to kick our door down.
  
  Are you satisfied with your choices?​
  
  "Yeah, I am," I confirmed with a nod. I braced myself for what came next.
  
  Game system reformatting to sync with world...enjoy your game!​
  
  ...
  
  Hestia felt the change before she noticed her surroundings were different. It was impossible to describe, but the closet thing that came to it was being dunked into a pool without any warning. For the briefest of moments, Hestia thought she was taken back to heaven for some imagined wrongdoing, but that wasn"t the case.
  
  She was somewhere else. An unexpected guest in someone"s home, but not unwelcome. So long as she minded herself, that was.
  
  Hestia opened her eyes to see that she wasn"t in the Hostess room. The cloth covers beneath her were replaced with fur and straw, the walls of unpainted wood lit by a candle on a bedside drawer, years of wax building upon the candlestick. Lili was still in her arms, unaware of the change. With some panic, Hestia looked over at Jericho to see that he was blinking as if he had just woken up.
  
  His eyes met hers, and the fact that he wasn"t surprised was telling. Not only that, but he was also wearing different clothes. The same style that he always wore -- a white long sleeve with black pants, but they were thicker as if to ward off the cold. "Jericho, what happened?" She asked in a low whisper, Lili"s sobs catching in her throat as she pushed her face away from her bosom. The younger girl wiped tears from her eyes, looking between them.
  
  Which brought her attention to the fact that she was wearing different clothes too. So was Lili. Hestia found herself wearing a white parka trimmed with brown fur that was so soft she wanted to rub her face against it. Lili was dressed similarly, only it was a burgundy color. And off to the side were their regular clothes. What happened?!
  
  "So, you know my power?" He started, his voice was oddly melodic. She only noticed the difference because of how much time she spent with him, but there was a musical quality to his heavy as brass voice that hadn"t been there before. He waited for her to nod, leaning forward in his too-small wooden chair. "Well, apparently I can take us to different worlds. Welcome to Skyrim," he said, a small cheeky grin on his face.
  
  Her first thought was how glad she was that he could still smile like that. When Hestia first saw him, Jericho looked like he had walked out of a nightmare. Piece by piece, they took off his armor, revealing the man beneath and the first thing she had noticed was how exhausted Jericho looked. As if the only thing that kept him going was finally over and he looked like he needed to sleep for a thousand years.
  
  The second thought was about what he just said. "A different world?" She breathed, holding Lili that much tighter on reflex. Lili continued to wipe away her tears, gathering her emotions with some difficulty. Her mind raced with possibilities -- the gods in heaven knew of other worlds, but only in passing. Kinda like looking from a vantage point to see the neighbor"s neighbor"s backyard.
  
  Going there wasn"t in the realm of possibility. If it were, then gods would have gone there rather than the lower world that they observed for thousands of years. That"s what she believed until now -- Jericho spoke the truth and she could feel the difference in this world.
  
  "I closed my eyes to take a nap after everything, and I found myself in the same place that I did when I first came to your world. It let me pick which one that I wanted, and I picked this one," Jericho said, pushing himself out of his too-small chair. The serious moment was only slightly ruined when the arms of the chair tried to keep hold of his bottom for a moment before he pushed it off, kneeling at the side of the bed. "There"s some other stuff I should tell you about, but the important part is that we"re away from Orario."
  
  Hestia had more questions than she knew what to do with, Lili too for that matter because she was looking between them in confusion.
  
  "Is it safe?" Hestia was compelled to ask first, accepting the hand that Jericho put on her and Lili.
  
  "If it"s not, then I"ll make it safe," he said, and she could hear the promise in his words. She held his hand, savoring the sense of safety that the gesture brought her. "We"re in a place called Helgen. We"re going to stay here for a bit while I put some things in motion," Jericho told her. Hestia nodded, taking in a deep breath -- she was lost, but Jericho seemed driven. As driven as he had when he wanted to get Lili out of the Soma familia. That was more reassuring than words could say.
  
  "Lili will help," Lili decided, looking determined. Lili must be more lost than she was, Hestia figured. Lili didn"t know about Jericho"s origins, his abilities, or anything like that. To her, one moment she was waking up from a coma and the next she was waking into a new world. That must be a jarring change, to say the least. "Lord Soma took care of Lili"s body, so she"s in perfect condition! Please...let Lili help Mr. Jericho," she pleaded when Jericho went to refuse.
  
  Even still, he hesitated before he nodded. "Alright," he allowed, "it'd probably do you good to get out of bed anyway." Then he turned to her, "you too if you're up for it. I want to explore the place a bit...but, first, I think there's something that you need to do," he said, inclining his head to Lili. It was obvious what he meant -- the very thing they've waited weeks to do.
  
  Lili looked lost right up until Hestia began to speak. "Now that Soma is gone, you're free of his familia," Heatia began, wiping away a tear that started to form in Lili's eyes. Her newest and smallest child certainly was proving to be a crier. But, after everything...
  
  After years of abuse from a rotten familia that ended with her being beaten within an inch of her life, stabbed in an attempt of murder by the familia captain, then falling into a coma because she failed a cruel test from an apathetic god...Lili had more than her fair share of reasons to cry. But, thankfully, these were tears of joy.
  
  "Would you join my familia, Lili?" Hestia asked, smiling serenely as Jericho watched from above.
  
  "...Yes," Lili started, fighting back another wave of tears. "That would make Lili the happiest she's ever felt in her life," Lili said, sniffling. To the world's shame, that was the truth for no mortal could lie to a god.
  
  "I'll step outside while you give her a falna," Jericho said, raising to his full height of 7'6. He turned to Lili, "welcome to the Hestia familia, Lili." He said with a gentle smile that for those that didn't know him would say looked out of place on such an intimidating person. Lili tried to respond but she was too choked up with emotion. Even still, Jericho seemed to hear what she wanted to say because he placed an oversized hand on her head, rustling her hair with a gentle gesture before he left the room.
  
  Lili sniffled again before she turned around, pulling up her shirt so her bare back was facing her. "Lili knows she can never repay-" Lili started, pausing when Hestia placed a hand on her back as she pulled out a pin to prick her finger.
  
  "You don't have to repay us. You're our friend, Lili, and with this, you're a member of our familia." As she spoke the words, a drop of Hestia's blood splashed against Lili's pale skin. Light rippled out as her divine blood shaped into a falna. Unlike Jericho, Lili already had one so it was as simple as bringing up an old sheet of paper and writing her name on it over Soma's.
  
  Liliruca Arde
  Level 1
  Strength: H159
  Endurance: F322
  Dexterity: G298
  Agility: E468
  Magic: D530
  
  Skills:
  Artel Assist: When the user is carrying a certain amount of weight, the skill will help compensate in abilities. The amount compensated depends on the weight
  Sleeping Beauty: Those that sleep next to the user have health restored at increased rates. Singing attracts small animals that obey the user"s will.
  
  Magic:
  Cinder Ella: Transformation magic that enables the user to transform into anything around their size​
  
  
  Lili had said that she didn"t have a status update in months, but Hestia was surprised at how little exilia there was. She knew that Jericho advanced at ridiculous rates, but this put it into perspective. Still, Lili had some significant growth built up, and she gained a new ill, Sleeping Beauty. Hestia"s lips curled into a smile when she read it.
  
  "You have a skill that makes you a cuddle bug," Hestia informed, feeling a little too much enjoyment. "And the ability to control small animals by singing. It"s a really multifaceted skill," she teased, feeling a connection between her and Lili form. She was now marked with her falna, making her the second member of her familia, and her newest child.
  
  "E-ehh?" Lili muttered, casting a disbelieving look over her shoulder. Hestia wished she had a piece of paper to press it to her back so she could show her. Instead, she was stuck telling her status. "But Lili can"t sing!" Lili exclaimed with more than a little embarrassment, but her expression turned thoughtful. Likely trying to figure out how to leverage her new magical ability.
  
  To help her out, Hestia began to tell Lili her status. The younger girl nodded, a tad disappointed by the lack of explosive gains that Jericho saw, but she was satisfied since she jumped several hundred points in total.
  
  "Mr. Jericho is from another world?" Lili asked when she was done updating her status. Her light brown eyes turned towards her. Which prompted Hestia to explain from the beginning. How Jericho was killed to amuse a god, sent to their world blessed with a unique soul. Lili nodded, following along as her gaze found the fur blankets beneath them very interesting, choosing to speak only when Hestia was finished.
  
  "Lili is lucky that Mr. Jericho decided to save her," Lili spoke after a long moment of silence. "Lili doesn"t think anyone else could have done what he did..." That much was probably true. "Did...Mr. Jericho really kill all members of the Soma familia?"
  
  An image of Zanis on his knees, dying, before Jericho ripped him apart with his bare hands to finish the job came to mind. Hestia hated the man -- he was vile, cruel, and downright evil. Even still, it had been shocking to see Jericho unleash his hate on him in such a brutal manner. Then, after the Soma familia had broken, fleeing for their lives...how Jericho had hunted them down to the very last one.
  
  "He did," Hestia confirmed with a nod, carefully watching Lili.
  
  Lili seemed to digest that for a moment before the tension that she had carried since Hestia had known her melted from her. "Good," was all Lili said on the matter. And that was all that needed to be said. Then she turned to Hestia, her expression could best be described as peaceful, "we should go find Mr. Jericho," she pointed out.
  
  "We should, but one thing first," Hestia said, grabbing Lili"s hands. "Jericho needs someone that can watch his back. He"s powerful now, but that doesn"t make him invincible," Hestia began, but she didn"t need to continue. Lili nodded seriously, her expression determined.
  
  "Lili won"t let anything happen to Mr. Jericho. Lili promises," she swore. Hestia smiled, hearing the truth in her words. This new world might not be like her last one, but she could feel the simmering danger that lurked beneath the surface. Of planes of existence that brushed against her arcanum, and those that dwelled within curiously looking her way.
  
  ...
  
  Helgen looked a lot different now that it was real, and not on fire. Throughout my life, I"ve played somewhere around a thousand hours in Skyrim. Pretty sure most of that was spent setting up various mods, and once I succeeded I lost any interest in playing them, but I still had a lot of experience in this world. If anything, I knew it a lot better than Danmachi. What"s more, I remembered it.
  
  From sidequests to main missions, to betrayals to just about everything I had learned playing through the game a half dozen times to varying degrees of completion. The only real issue was that things didn"t move on the Dragonborn"s clock, so I had no idea when some things would kick-off. Which is why I brought us six months before things kicked off because what I did know was that everything in Skyrim took place in a single year. Allegedly. Not sure how that was going to work out in real-time.
  
  Helgen itself was a bustling town on the verge of becoming a city, though it was nothing compared to the sprawling metropolis of Orario. The differences, though, couldn"t entirely be explained by things being on fire. For example, there was no tower in the middle of the village. Instead, there was a communal well. The tower in question was moved to the top of a hill, serving as a barracks with stone walls separating it from the rest of the village.
  
  The village itself was denser than I recall but still fairly sparse. Maybe fifty or so houses clustered up with no planning whatsoever, woven fences marking borders and protecting family gardens. Larger houses held animals, judging by the smell. The inn I stepped out of was a part of a small set of buildings -- a general goods store, a blacksmith, and what looked like a trade house with a wagon parked in front of it with a merchant waving goodbye before going on his way.
  
  All in all, it was a bustling village with the hopes of becoming a city. That day was a long way away since I doubted there were more than a hundred or so people in total, not counting whatever garrison was here. Comparing it to Orario was just cruel since it had a population of a million, if not more.
  
  "We"re ready!" Hestia announced, stepping outside of the inn. Lili trailed behind her, wearing her beige cloak, both of them looking around curiously. And the three of us got more than a few curious looks, which was fair. Between my size and Lili"s, and Hestia"s godly aura, I doubt they"ve seen a crew like us before. "What are we doing?"
  
  My eyes found the barracks, "this world doesn"t have the Dungeon, so I"m going to find a different line of work. I"m going to see what they have available, and..." I trailed off, glancing at Hestia, smiling lightly. "I"m going to see what I can do about getting us a house." The only way to buy property in the games was to earn it by killing bandits, or something equally impressive.
  
  Hestia gasped before she lit up, giving me a wide smile as she rushed over, practically dragging Lili along for a group hug. "A house..." she whispered, making me glad that I changed my clothes when I had the chance. I bought clothes for us all, and since Skyrim was cold by default, I made sure it was winter clothing.
  
  "We"ll probably have to build it from scratch, but we have the money for it...but...maybe we could look into building another place down the line," I added, an edge to my voice that Hestia didn"t miss. Because, one day, this city was going to be bathed in dragon fire. I would do what I could, but I doubt I could save everyone and everything.
  
  "Let"s go!" Hestia said with a nod, dragging the three of us up towards the barracks...
  
  "Actually," I started, "why don"t the two of you go check the place out first?" I asked, turning my attention back to the guard tower. One of the downsides of this start was the fact that I was ahead of some quests starts, and Helgen didn"t have any quests to begin with. Though, I"m guessing that wasn"t entirely true.
  
  I reached into my pocket and handed over a sack filled with septems, pulling them from my inventory. Hestia took them, casting me a suspicious glance. "This place is run by meatheads," I explained. I don"t think they were sexist, but one look at Hestia and Lili didn"t exactly scream hardened warrior.
  
  Hestia and Lili shared a glance, not quite believing me but I wasn"t lying. Just not telling the whole truth. "I want both of you to have fun after everything that"s happened. We could have a picnic and explore the area, or something. I"ll come and join you when I"m done picking up some work. Promise." That, at least, seemed to mollify them.
  
  "Lili should learn the prices of this...world to make sure Mr. Jericho doesn"t get ripped off," Lili allowed with a nod, inspecting a coin as she looked around, half expecting someone to take it from her. Which was a good idea. As much as I played Skyrim, Danmachi had taught me to not trust in metaknowledge too much. Things in anime, or video games, didn"t always translate into reality.
  
  So, prices could be a lot more or a lot less than I recalled.
  
  "Sure thing, and don"t worry about how much you spend. We have...about half of what Zanis asked," I said, not wanting to give out numbers like that in public. Lili"s eyes went wide while Hestia was confused, but chose not to comment on it. Which saved me from having to explain conversions, so that was a win in my book.
  
  "We"ll meet in the village square when I"m done, and have fun," I said with a small wave as they started to walk away. Hestia was drawing glances everywhere she went, the peasantry unused to the presence of a god. We might have to look into figuring out a way to suppress it completely to avoid too much attention.
  
  "Lili will protect Lady Hestia," Lili swore, giving me a firm nod that I returned. With that worry set aside, I turned my attention to the barracks. I started walking towards it, idly looking around as I did so. I got a fair few looks from the people that lived here as well.
  
  The people of Helgen were a rough-looking sort. Just about everyone was the kind of pasty pale those that hadn't seen the sun in years had. Their clothing was better than I expected. I thought everyone would be rocking furs and cloaks, but there was decentish looking clothing not entirely dissimilar to what I wore, though my clothing was much finer. And, even better, they looked like they bathed on the regular. Much better than the unwashed peasants that I expected.
  
  "Are you a giant?" A small voice asked, stumbling in front of me. A kid, a young one, craned his head back so far that I thought he was going to lose his balance. "Can I pet your mammoth? Or have some cheese? Papa used to say that Giants have the best cheese in the whole world." The kid informed, perfectly willing to have a conversation all by himself.
  
  "Not quite tall enough to be a giant but I want to be one when I grow up," I said, looking for whoever this kid belonged to. I...didn't care for kids, honestly. I didn"t know how to handle them, never wanted any of my own or anything like that. "Are your parents nearby?" I asked, prompting the kid to point at the tower I was already heading.
  
  "My Papa's in there. I'll take you, Giant," the kid decided, offering a hand for me to hold. Though, considering he was about four years old, he would only manage to wrap his hand around my finger.
  
  "Er, would you like to...ride on my shoulder instead?" Anything so I don't have to hunch over at the waist as I walk through the village? "Or I could just follow behind you."
  
  "I don't like heights," the kid informed. "And you're so big, you could step on me," he refused both offers. And, fair enough I guess. He clearly didn't get the stranger danger talk yet, but he had some self-preservation instincts.
  
  With a sigh and no other choice, I bent over low enough that the kid could grab my finger. He wasted no time tugging me in the direction of the tower, chattering with himself. Now, the dozen or so people that watched me looked far more amused than awed. An elderly couple chuckled and waved at me, smiling at my expense. A self-deprecating grin tugged at my lips as I waved back, making them laugh.
  
  So went my plan of strolling into town and proving myself to be the ultimate badass. Though, at the very least, I saw Hestia and Lili looking amused in the distance before they vanished from sight as we entered a courtyard for the garrison. The keep was small, on one side there were training dummies, archery targets, and a soaring ring. A few guards standing at their post saw me, undoubtedly cracking up at the sight. Even still, I took a moment to admire the place.
  
  The stone walls looked absolutely ancient -- maintained, but old. The rocks stacked on top of each other to form the keep looked weathered, mortar sealing off the gaps. I wondered if I would be able to bust through them now. The gate was behind us, a simple iron one as a second line of defense. From what I saw, there were at least a dozen guards in the courtyard alone. It would be the case that the keep itself was empty, but this small town had a better defense force than I figured.
  
  The kid struggled for a moment to push open the door. Right up until I helped him along with my free hand. Pushing it open, I was met with the smell of smoke from a burning fireplace. The room was round, a staircase leading up took up a portion of it, but the rest...almost looked like a lobby, in a way. A desk in front of the fireplace, bags, and barrels gathered in corners, a few weapon racks, and dummies to hold armor.
  
  "Papa! I found a giant! He was walking in the village," the kid announced, drawing the attention of a middle-aged man talking to a guard with his helmet on. Now that I was closer, I took a moment to admire the armor. It was steel plate, a tabard over it that announced allegiance to Jarl Balgruuf the Greater, Jarl of Whiterun. His arms were covered with more plate, with leather filling the gaps for mobility.
  
  The man that wasn"t wearing a helmet had dark brown hair, a nose that looked like it had been broken too many times, wrinkles gathering around his eyes with a bit of salt sprinkled about in his hair and a short beard that clung to his face. His gaze darted to me, prompting me to raise to my full height, only for his eyebrows to quirk upward. "It seems like you have wrangled a giant Rolf," he said with more than a little amusement. "Sorry about my lad, stranger. Is there something that I can help you with?"
  
  "Can I have some of your cheese now?" Rolf asked before I could respond. Looking at him, I gave a small shrug.
  
  "Still not a giant. But...if you obey your parents and do your chores, then the next time I get my hands on some giant cheese then you"ll be the first to know," I offered, hoping that was enough. And it was, apparently. The kid"s face lit up and he all but clacked his feet together in joy.
  
  "Yippie! Thank you, Giant," the kid said, scampering off now that he had his promise of cheese. Leaving me alone with his father, who chuckled warmly.
  
  "Sorry about him," he said, looking me over. "The names Urlvar the Stout," he introduced himself, "and who might you be?"
  
  "Jericho," I returned, considering giving myself a nickname, but that felt cringy. A nickname was something other people gave you. "I"ve brought my family to Skyrim, and we"re looking for a place to settle. And I"m looking for work," I explained, my tone going all business.
  
  Urlvar scratched at his cheek, looking me over once again. "I can help you with that, Jericho. I"m the commander of this garrison, and I suppose it depends on what you can do," he said.
  
  "For the work or settling down?" I asked, making the older man shrug in response.
  
  "Both," he said, frowning when he saw my confusion. "You"ve never lived in Skyrim, have you?" He asked, and I guess that must have been obvious. For reasons beyond I knew what the sun looked like. I nodded, and with a small sigh, he started to explain.
  
  "If you want to own property in Skyrim, you have to earn the right. There are a bunch of ways to do it -- being helpful around the town for a bit until the community decides you deserve the right or performing a deed that benefits the community," he explained, making me nod as I digested the information.
  
  "Because you"re more likely to protect this place if you have a stake in it," I added, earning an approving nod from him.
  
  "Glad you have something between your ears. That"s the reason. However, that"s just for Helgen. If you want to own property outside of this town or in Whiterun itself, you"ll have to get permission from Jarl Balgruuf directly. And the deed or price becomes a lot steeper," he informed. And I could do that simple enough, even if I had to pay my way.
  
  "Okay, sounds fair," I admitted. Now that I had leveled up, outside of a handful of threats, I shouldn"t have much trouble. Outside of a handful of cases, everyone was baseline mortal in abilities, and I was actually superhuman.
  
  "Good. Now, the easiest way to earn the right to have property is to be a guard," Urlvar explained, and I think I discovered the secret why Skyrim had an endless supply of guards. "After a few years, if you prove you can be trusted to protect this place, it can become your home. But, I"ll admit, I don"t think we have uniforms in your size."
  
  "What are my other options?" I asked.
  
  "You seem to be cut from a different cloth than regular folk," Urlvar commented. "Have you been bloodied, lad?"
  
  It was easy to tell that he wasn"t asking if I got my butt kicked. "I have," I answered simply, earning an approving nod.
  
  "Good. And you aren"t a braggart. We have enough of those here. I have a few jobs, but I would recommend doing them with a few people that you trust," Urlvar said. "We have frostbite spiders in the caverns below us that we"ve left alone for too long, and now some of them have gotten quite big. Big enough that they broke a hole in our prison and nearly ate a few prisoners. If you don"t fancy killing spiders, then bandits have set up shop nearby in Fort Neugrad. A whole host of them -- if you"re going with that one, then I"ll go with you myself and with some others. Dozens of them terrorizing the roads," he muttered darkly.
  
  Both of those sounded familiar, "You know where they are?" I asked, and my surprise must have betrayed my next question of why the Jarl didn"t do anything about them.
  
  "Aye. With the Stormcloaks running about and the Imperials marching up, things have been a right mess. Good men are flocking to the Stormcloaks" cause, leaving Jarl Balgruuf with too few men to spare and with Imperials defecting and turning to banditry. Which makes more people turn to the Stormcloaks because of the bandits and anger at the Imperial army stationed here, which makes the Empire send more men and so on and so on. It isn"t war yet, not really, but it"s going to be soon enough," Urlvar grumbled before he shook his head.
  
  Huh. I never really thought about it, but when did the Stormcloak rebellion actually start? I think I needed to read up on the Great War and everything that happened in it to piece together the timeline. I figured that the Stormcloaks would already be at war with the Empire.
  
  "Bah, but that"s a problem for another day," Urlvar dismissed. "There"s also a pack of snow bears in Greywater Grotto. More bandits in Embershard Mine -- you should talk to the owner, Torbgar because he"s promising a reward for whoever roots them out. He"s at the Crevice Inn. There"s also-" Urlvar started, cutting himself off when I spoke.
  
  "I"ll go ahead and take them all," I decided with a nod, making the older man blink at me slowly. He looked like he was about to argue, but caught himself as he looked at me. I was still young, barely nineteen, but my time in Danmachi had changed me. I wasn"t a bitter kid with his lot in life. I was a man that had killed and took care of my problems.
  
  "You only have to do one, lad," Urlvar pointed out.
  
  I cracked a smile, "I want my family to be safe here."
  
  And I would kill anything...and anyone that threatened that safety.
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
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  Jericho
  Level: 28
  Title: Under Leveled
  Health: 2860
  Magika: 125
  Progress to next level: 0/150,000
  Strength: 123 (+151= 274)
  Endurance: 150 (+225= 375)
  Dexterity: 130 (+169= 299)
  Intelligence: 88 (+77=165)
  Sense: 155 (+240= 395)
  
  Resistances:
  Physical Resistance: 30% (10% due to Durable, Toughness and Oakskin perks)(15% due to Endurance)
  Abnormal Resistance: 65% (50% due to Super Immune perk) (15% due to Endurance)
  Fire Resistance: 15% (15% due to Endurance)
  Cold Resistance: 65% (base 50%)(15% due to Endurance)
  
  Skills:
  (General)
  Gamer Body (100/100): The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage (55/100): Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. (perks available)
  Kissing (65/100): An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target. (perks available)
  Sex (45/100): Greatly enhances parameters when engaging in sexual intercourse. (perks available)
  Dishwashing (1/100): Stains and dried on food are easier to remove.
  
  (Combat)
  Footwork (15/100): The basis for all martial talents. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity.
  One-handed (25/100): Governs your effectiveness when using one-handed weapons, including daggers, swords, maces, and war axes. (perks available)
  Two-handed (10/100): Governs your effectiveness when using two-handed weapons, including greatswords, battleaxes, and warhammers.
  
  (Armor)
  Heavy Armor (8/100): Governs your ability to move and fight in heavy armor.
  
  (Stealth)
  (None)
  
  (Magic)
  (None)
  
  (Crafting)
  (None)​
  
  My gamer system changed. Rather drastically, from the look of it. For starters, I was level 28 rather than level 2. The exp requirement had shot way down, my skills had progress bars and were organized. Some of my development abilities and skills took different forms, and I could pick perks for more than stat milestones.
  
  A conversion has taken place and request for more information has been fulfilled. Due to your falna based system, each milestone of 25 levels equates to 1 Danmachi level. Example: at level 50 with your current system, you will have reached level 3 in Danmachi and shall receive due rewards.
  
  Skills and resistances -- The system has decided that the current layout and breakdown are more efficient. ​
  
  I dismissed the windows with my mind, mulling that over. There were popups now. Not sure if I was a fan of that, but, all things considered, I think the changes were good ones. My skill section looked a bit empty, but I had months to fill it out.
  
  With that thought in mind, I headed towards the Crevice Inn that Urlvar told me about. I pushed the door open, looking over the interior. A long bed of embers warmed the building, a iron grate placed on top of it to let a man cook a slab of meat to his liking. Iron chandeliers hung from a beam on the ceiling, horns filled with wax served as candle holders, which were sprinkled throughout the building to give it a warm glow to it.
  
  They were probably a fire hazard but magic was a thing, so I"m not sure if that was as big of a worry as it should be. There was a bard playing a lute in a corner, a half dozen people scattered about, all of them stopping to look at me before they went about what they were doing. I started walking towards the barkeep, a young woman with dark red hair, freckles sprinkle about her pale skin and deep green eyes.
  
  "I"m looking for someone called Torbgar-" As soon as I said that name, the guy that was roasting a slab of meat on the iron grate jumped over it and took off through the door. I looked at the door, then at the redhead, who looked mildly impressed with his speed, before I hastily tossed a few coins on the counter. "Found him," I said before I pivoted, and gave chase. Anyone that was that ready to run must have a reason, but I wanted that extra reward for clearing the Embershard Mines.
  
  I was a level 2, or 28 now, which put me firmly in the realm of superhuman. The difference in speed and strength was significant from when I was a level 1. Some of my stats had more than doubled, and it showed. I moved in a blur, easily closing the distance between him and me -- he barely had time to reach the end of the building before I was on top of him.
  
  "Hold up," I said, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and yanking him back. "I-"
  
  "Don"t kill me!" Torbgar shouted, earning the attention of a few passing by in the village square. "I-I-I I can"t pay my debts! I"m sorry! I put everything in that fucking mine and bandits moved into it a day later! I don"t have anything!" He shouted, frozen in the spot as he looked up at me. The man looked like he was losing dirty blonde hair in clumps because of stress, his pale skin making the dark bags stand out that much more. He was the oddest mixture of pudgy and skinny -- like he was naturally a hefty guy, but he lost pounds by the day, leaving him looking haggard.
  
  "But-" But what about the extra reward? I didn"t get a chance to finish my question before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a crinkled scroll tied off with a ribbon.
  
  "Here! This is all that I have left! Please...please, just don"t kill me," Torbgar begged, looking like he was about to drop to his knees. He pushed the scroll into my chest. I let go of his shirt, unfurling the scroll to see in ink that it was the deed to the Embershard Mine. Huh. Huhhhh.
  
  "I...yeah...sure, just go do whatever," I said lamely. That was all Torbgar needed to hear before he turned on his heel and started fleeing for the hills. That really wasn"t how I expected that entire thing to go down. I was expecting to get a quest to clear out the mines and maybe get a sword or something as a bonus. Instead, I have a mine now. A mine filled with bandits, but I could take care of that easily enough.
  
  A quest has been created: Clear Embershard Mine
  Rewards: Embershard Mines can continue production. Unlocks features. 1500 exp. ​
  
  Oh, quests were popups now...not sure how I feel about that. Popups just felt jarring after not having them for a month. So, with a flick of my finger, I turned them off. Now I would be informed of the rewards once I completed a quest.
  
  "Well, that was a thing," I muttered, watching Torbgar vanish through the gates before I turned around. People"s eyes still lingered on me, not exactly approving, but they didn"t look like they were going to challenge me on my accidental extortion. All I could do was give them a helpless shrug before I continued on my way, putting the deed into my inventory. Better not mention how I got a mine to Hestia, but it was a convenient stroke of luck.
  
  In a town this small, it was rather easy to find Hestia and Lili. They waited in the square, Lili looking around suspiciously at everyone, while Hestia was looking around with wonderment and excitement. They carried baskets covered with a cloth and a blanket, while Lili was sporting a backpack, though not as large as she was used to.
  
  "Did you have fun?" I asked with a smile, Hestia practically vibrated on the spot, her eyes filled with joy. Hestia glomped me, beaming joy out of every pore as a scent I couldn"t quite place.
  
  "Lady Hestia bought frivolous things," Lili tattled instantly, making Hestia sputter. "And Lili figured out how much these pieces of gold are worth," she reported as if I had given her a mission. I wrapped one hand around Hestia"s shoulder and nodded at Lili.
  
  "But did you have fun?" I repeated, making Lili look a tad sheepish before she nodded.
  
  "Lili knows Mr. Jericho said not to worry about money, but it"s harder than Lili thought," Lili admitted. Given that she spent most of her life pinching every coin she found, I"m guessing that habit wasn"t going anywhere any time soon. "Did Mr. Jericho find work?"
  
  "I did," I said. I looked at Hestia, some of my work coming to mind. Back in Danmachi, I was an adventurer, but that word carried a different meaning here. In Danmachi, it meant I went down into a sprawling Dungeon beneath the city of Orario and fought monsters to harvest their monster stones and drop items. In a way, I was a miner. Here...things were a fair bit different.
  
  Especially in who and what I would be fighting.
  
  "If we want to buy a house here, then the first job will be free while the rest will be paid. Stuff like killing giant spiders, packs of bears and so on. Nothing that I can"t handle," I answered. I would tell her about the other jobs of clearing out bandits, but she was happy and excited and I didn"t want to ruin that with a heavy conversation of what had to be done about the bandits. Hestia understood what I did to the Soma familia because they were a direct threat to us, but random bandits...I wasn"t sure.
  
  "A house," Hestia muttered happily before she started pulling me towards the gates. "We"re going to live in an actual house! Do we get to build it?" She asked, sounding excited at the prospect. I would have replaced the "get" with "have", but I"m happy that she was looking forward to it. Even if I was the one that would be doing all of the work.
  
  I nodded, "we will. On the way back, I can show you the plot of land that we"ll get. It"s nothing huge, or anything, but-"
  
  "It doesn"t matter," Hestia decided as she led me and Lili out of the gates. It was like she was a newborn and realized that the world around her wasn"t just a mess of blurs and colors for the first time. "I"m just happy that we"ll have a home," she admitted, smiling at us. I didn"t need to look down at Lili to know that both of us smiled back.
  
  There were guards standing at the gates, a handful that nodded at us as we left. Skyrim itself was a beautiful place, I noticed. Untamed and wild, only an old stone road marked a path of civilization, but it looked like nature was doing its best to reclaim it as well. Helgen was located at the base between two mountains, one of which was the largest in the world.
  
  A chill was in the air, but there was a lot less snow than I remember. Most of it was stuck on top of the mountain ranges, far up, leaving the ground where we walked lush and green. Flowers grew, butterflies hovered in the air...it was a sight to be certain. Eventually, Hestia picked out a hill that was mostly made of rock to set up our lunch at. They unfurled the blanket, opened up the basket, and Hestia began making sandwiches while I savored the moment.
  
  "What happened to our old world?" Hestia asked, looking at me as she passed me a sandwich. "Can we ever go back? Are they going to be looking for us?" She questioned, not sounding urgent, but worried.
  
  "From what I know, the time has been paused back home. Not exactly sure how that works, but it could be something like a millisecond back there is a century here or something. And we can go back eventually -- there seems to be some kind of progress bar that I can"t see. Leveling up and dealing with the Soma familia filled it," I explained, making Hestia nod. I took a bite of the sandwich, it was simple but it was better than it had any right to be.
  
  "If Mr. Jericho decides to retire, would that mean we would be stuck here?" Lili asked, and I offered a small shrug.
  
  "Maybe? But...there"s some crazy things that are about to go down," I started, making Hestia and Lili stiffen. "I was able to put us about half a year ahead of it, dragons are about to return to fulfill a prophecy to destroy the world. They"re led by a dragon called Alduin, and he"s going to hit Helgen first."
  
  Hestia listened, took in a deep breath, then nodded slowly to herself. "You want to stop it," she said, her tone proud.
  
  "I"m not entirely certain that I can," I admitted. "Alduin has to be killed twice by someone called the Dragonborn, and when they show up, it"s at Helgen for their execution for getting mixed up in a rebellion that is about to happen. I"m hoping that I can help them kill it, which would send it to the afterlife, and that would buy us time to kill him for good," I explained, making Lili blink slowly as she shared a glance with Hestia.
  
  "And, failing that, there are some items in this world that could be useful for dealing with him...but there"s a whole host of problems incoming. From a civil war, to ancient wizards and monsters, to...well...there"s a lot," I said, deciding that this wasn"t the time to serve as a complete info dump for Elder Scrolls lore.
  
  Lili giggled at that, "Lili thinks Mr. Jericho wants to be a hero and save the world." To anyone else, those words might have sounded teasing, but I knew better.
  
  "We can talk about everything later, but, no matter what, I trust you," Hestia seconded as she cuddled into my side. Lili hesitated to do the same right up until I brought her into my other side with a hand. She seemed to melt at the contact while I did the same. That was a better reaction than I could have hoped for.
  
  ...
  
  "Do you have to kill them?" Hestia asked once we got back to our room in the inn. I paid for two of them with my points in the world selector, and they were decent enough. A bed, a chair, a chest, and a small table -- covering the necessities. "Does it have to be you?"
  
  My hands pressed a steel bar to the edge of my armor. It was specially created with the ability Mystery by a friendly familia to eat metal to transform it into a suit of armor. The stuff I was going with now was simple steel with a high carbon content to make it strong as it could be, but other than that, it was nothing special. There wasn"t a point since there were other metals that were far better to be found, so I simply saved myself some points.
  
  "I won"t do this if you don"t want me to," I told Hestia, turning to her. "But...I think I should. This place is a lot different from your world. Even if I bring them back, then they"re going to be executed...and they"re bandits. No different than the Soma familia-"
  
  "Jericho," Hestia interrupted gently, "I don"t judge you for killing," she said, sweeping any argument that I was trying to make from underneath me. "This realm might be different from mine, but...I care about what killing is going to do to you. My heart broke when we were taking your armor off after the Soma familia was dead. You looked so lost, so tired...I don"t want you to look like that again."
  
  I...
  
  "And killing...I don"t like it," she admitted. "But because of how it affects those still living. They might be bandits, but they could have families, siblings, lovers and friends that rely on them. It doesn"t excuse what they"ve done. I...just don"t want anyone to suffer," Hestia explained, trying to find the words. She crossed the distance between us, placing a hand on top of mine as I fed metal into my nearing complete set of armor. "More than that, I don"t want you to suffer."
  
  "I..." I started, trying to find the words. I killed three hundred people. I ripped Zanis apart with my bare hands. I hunted down the remnants down to the last member and killed them. It didn"t matter if they begged or not. And...I could accept that. I didn"t like it, but...in the end, it was worth it. Lili was freed of the Soma familia. We were safe here, and I was going to make us safer.
  
  "I want us to be safe. I want to become stronger, so we never end up in a situation like that ever again," I told Hestia after a moment of silence. "With the Soma familia...I was so damn angry. And tired and stressed, and when it was over, I felt exhausted. Hestia, you don"t have to worry about me," I said with a smile.
  
  Hestia searched my eyes for a long second before she nodded, "okay. I believe you," she decided, leaning in to kiss me. I savored the feeling of her lips on mine before she pulled back.
  
  "I thought I was going to be in the doghouse when the Soma familia was gone?" I asked, making Hestia giggle.
  
  "I"m pushing your sentence back until we have a house. Then, you"ll be sleeping on a really big couch for a few days," she decided, leaning back in for a quick kiss.
  
  "Then I'll make sure that it's comfy then," I returned before I stood up. Hestia took a step back as I reached into my inventory to pull out a broadsword. It would be a bit impractical for small spaces, but I picked Guts' raider sword as my main weapon. As I hefted it onto my shoulder, it weighed as much as a feather. If anything, that was going to be the more difficult issue to get used to.
  
  Between my size, and my enhanced body, it was a perfect fit. And, for when it wasn't practical, I had Stormbreaker. Not the real one, forged in a dying star to be wielded by Thor. Too expensive. Instead, I got a steel knockoff that was a mighty weapon in its own right. It weighed more than twenty-five pounds, so it had some weight to it, but that was fine with me. With a warhammer like Stormbreaker, it might even be for the best..
  
  "How do I look? I asked, grabbing my helmet and sliding it over my face. Hestia looked at me, tilting her head side to side before she smiled.
  
  "You could use a little color, and the black left arm stands out a bit much but pretty good! Hephaestus really knows how to make armor look good," she commented, reaching out to grab my hand to give it a squeeze. I looked down to see that she was probably right. The dragonhide from the dragon I killed hung around my legs and between them offered some color, but the vast majority of my armor was gleaming steel.
  
  "I'll look into it," I said, slinging my sword into a hook onto my back. It seemed the god of smiths predicted my love for big swords. "Do you know if I can ever change the armor"s look or anything? Or would Hephusteus have to do that?"
  
  "It can," Heatia informed as she reached up, dragging a finger down the midnight black adamantine that covered my left arm -- the Hestia Armor. Engravings upon its surface glowed bright blue for a moment before fading. "The armor learns how it's being used when I update the falna on it. So it could make plates thicker to cover-up weak spots and it changes based on the metal it's made of...stuff like that," she explained.
  
  "She really outdid herself," I admitted. This armor played a considerable role in my victory over the Soma familia. Even better, it could change the design on its own until it became the perfect suit of armor. "I'll have to thank her a hundred times over when we go back to your world," I told Heatia, making a promise to her and to myself that we would return one-day.
  
  Hestia smiled as she squeezed my hand one last time, "we both do. Be safe, alright?" She asked, earning another promise from me before I stepped outside of the room. Lili was waiting for us, her expression serious before her gaze landed on me. Then her eyes went wide as she took me in.
  
  "Mr. Jericho looks scary in armor," she commented, sounding reassured. The few others in the inn looked at me for a long moment, assessing me as a threat, before they went about their conversations and meals. Most of them were attempting to do the same thing that I was -- earn the right to buy property.
  
  "Are you ready?" I asked, making Lili"s face shift back to a determined expression as she nodded. Good. "We"ll be back in a bit. Will you be okay?" I asked Hestia, earning a nod and a thumbs up.
  
  "I"m going to do some reading while I have the chance," Hestia said. "Be safe, both of you," she requested.
  
  And, with that, we were off. Lili had her crossbow, and at this point, it was odd seeing her without her backpack. She didn"t bother to bring it since she learned about my inventory. We left through the northern gate, walked a bit and once we were out of sight, I picked Lili up and placed her on my shoulder. By now, Lili was used to it and simply held on.
  
  Skyrim was surprisingly big, I learned. From west to east, it was about nine hundred miles long. Normally, it would be a half day's walk to Embershard Mine, but with me running, it took hours. Even better, with the passive perk of Perfect Practice makes Perfect, I could sprint for what felt like ages without getting tired. I couldn"t run the entire distance, not yet, but after downing a stamina potion, I took right back off.
  
  I only slowed to a stop when I reached a familiar looking stones set in a triangle pointed upwards, located at the bend of the road. "Let"s stop for a bit," I said, heading towards them.
  
  "These stones could help us out in the long run," I informed, looking at them. One had a warrior, the other had a thief, and the other had a mage. They looked absolutely ancient like they were here before time was invented, but the engravings were clear to see.
  
  "These stones are...well, I don"t know what they are," I admitted to Lili, setting her down. "But they"re magic stones that make it easier to learn skills related to being a mage, warrior, or thief," I told her, making Lili inspect the stones closely. My attention was drawn to the warrior stone. It was where my greatest strength was at the moment, but I was unlikely to get a training session like I had with Ryuu, Tiona, and Ais, all top tier adventurers which pushed me so far. So, my gains were going to be a lot harder to come by.
  
  So, it was a choice between Warrior, continuing my existing path, or Mage, a field I hadn"t touched yet. The thief was out by default because of the whole, you know, 7"6 behemoth that weighed a quarter ton.
  
  I made my choice. Placing my hand on the Warrior stone, I felt something wash over me as the warrior engraving on the stone flashed blue.
  
  The Warrior Stone: Those under the sign of The Warrior will learn all combat skills 20% faster.​
  
  I had months, possibly years, to become a mage and I could always select again later. With my build, I was a front line fighter and magic would help me deal some more damage. Meaning, my physical abilities came first and magic was second.
  
  "Mr. Jericho?" Lili started, looking at me rather than picking a stone. I looked down at her, she opened her mouth to say something, but she hesitated. Looking away sharply, only then did she turn towards the stones. "What does Mr. Jericho think that Lili should pick?" She asked, and it was fairly obvious that wasn"t what she wanted to ask. I didn"t comment on it. Lili would bring it up when she felt ready.
  
  "Because of my inventory, you can step out of the role of supporter, if you want," I offered, making Lili shift. "Magic works a bit differently in this world -- you can learn more than three spells, and you learn magic by studying it. There"re a bunch of schools of magic, like Destruction, Restoration, which is healing and stuff, Conjuration, Illusion and a few others. They have a lot of utility. Or, if you want to move up to the front lines with me, you could pick the Warrior."
  
  Lili seemed to think about it for a moment before she reached out and touched the Mage stone. "Lili thinks she"s more suited for a support role in a party since that"s what Lili is used to...and Lili doesn"t want to be a thief anymore." I nodded in acceptance -- I would have to look into getting her some books and stuff to help the both of us learn. Depending on what she learned, we could cover most of the fields of magic -- Lili could be support with healing, and other schools of magic while I could focus on destruction.
  
  "Sounds good to me," I said, turning towards the road. However, Lili didn"t follow for a moment.
  
  "Why did Mr. Jericho decide to help Lili?" She asked finally, her hands curling into fists. "Mr. Jericho has an inventory, he never needed Lili in the first place! Helping Lili brought Mr. Jericho and Lady Hestia nothing but trouble!" She shouted, forcing the words out of her mouth.
  
  "I answered that question already," I told her. Lili looked at me, likely recalling my answer before tears began to well in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away with her sleeve to stop them from falling. I smiled lightly at her, "come on. We"re almost there."
  
  Lili sniffled before she nodded, looking determined. "Mr. Jericho?" She said after we walked for a bit as I searched for the dirt road that would take us to the mine. I saw it on my map before I saw it in person.
  
  "Hm?" I hummed, looking at her.
  
  "Thank you," Lili said in a soft voice that was almost lost in the wind. "And...Lili has an idea for the bandits. If they see Mr. Jericho, they"re going to go on full alert, but Lili can get in close to make sure that they"re really bandits," Lili offered. I...honestly, I was just going to walk up to the front door and throw a rock at whoever was standing guard, but Lili"s idea worked better. Especially when there was the slight chance that the guard wasn"t a bandit.
  
  I didn"t question if she was sure or not. I simply nodded in agreement, trusting her abilities and her will to follow through. Lili had insisted that she back me up when I went to do this, and had relented. She knew what I came here to do, and she prepared herself for it. I wouldn"t insult her by treating her with kid gloves. If Lili thought she could handle it, and she had a plan, then I would believe her.
  
  And, it was for that reason when we neared the entrance of the mine, I hid behind some rocks some distance away with my sword in hand while Lili continued forward. After a quick explanation that this world didn"t have pallums, which was an odd conversation, Lili decided how she was going to make her approach.
  
  "WAAAHHHHHHHH!!" Lili faked cried, rubbing her eyes as she stumbled forward up the path, towards a solitary guard. He was dressed in a mix of armor -- some iron armor mixed with leather with a sword in hand. "WAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
  
  "Oh, for the love of the...," the guard cursed, hearing Lili before he saw her. He drew his sword, stepping forward. "Brat, get out away from here and go home!" He snapped, waving his sword at Lili when she stumbled into view.
  
  "But I"m lost!" Lili whined, her voice high pitched...she really had some serious acting chops. "I can"t find Helgen anywhere!" She sobbed, making the man stiffen. And, the expression he made when he heard that sealed his fate. When you see a kid that"s lost about a day away from home, you don"t look at them like they"re a money bag that walked their way into your pocket.
  
  "Oh...in that case, come inside. Me and the lad"s will-" Whatever he was going to say came to an abrupt end when I launched a rock at his head. A small one, but without a helmet and with my aim, that"s all it took. A sickening crack rang out before the man dropped to the ground in a heap, part of his skull caved in. Lili stiffened, looking at the body before she forced herself to relax.
  
  I pushed my way through some shrubbery, approaching her. Lili looked a bit pale, but she was fine. Fine enough that she went through the man"s pockets in search of items. I still didn"t know if Lili had led an adventurer to their death back in Danmachi or not. I guess it didn"t matter anymore. She saw death enough in the Dungeon to not be affected by it. She fished out some coins, but other than that, the only thing he had was pocket lint.
  
  "Are you ready?" I asked as Lili pulled out a key that she passed to me. She answered by pulling out her handheld crossbow and double checking it. Satisfied, she nodded, bracing herself for what came next.
  
  I pushed the door open, revealing a mineshaft. It was smaller than I expected, almost to the point I would have to lean down a bit to avoid hitting my head. My broadsword wasn"t going to work down here, so I grabbed my hammer as I took in the sights. There was a sharp incline down, a wagon full of wood perched on a runway carved out of wood.
  
  We approached cautiously, Lili bringing my attention to a tripwire. So far, everything matched up with what I remembered. Meaning, when we stepped over the tripwire to avoid alerting anyone, there were two people standing guard. I went to go take them out, only for Lili to shake her head. Swallowing thickly, Lili took aim with her crossbow and fired.
  
  Her crossbow was made for monsters with thick hides and shells. Leather armor didn't stand a chance. With a rapid-fire design, Lili put three arrows in each of them -- they were dead before they realized it.
  
  I patted her shoulder, looking at an overlook that held a lever that controlled a drawbridge. Not sure why there was a drawbridge in a mine, but what did I know? "Pull that lever while I handle anyone that comes through," I ordered. Lili nodded, heading up there while I took my place at the base of the bridge. Nodding at Lili to give the signal, she pulled the lever and the bridge fell, revealing three bandits standing at the entrance. They blinked, dumbfounded.
  
  "Intruders!" One of them shouted as I raced across the bridge. I tsked to myself, closing the distance between us in a split second. Two of them started to form a wall, their expressions hesitant. They wore hide armor with studs, and it wouldn"t have helped them anyway. I lashed out with my hammer and it tore through a shield, reducing it to splinters, and did the same to the man standing behind it.
  
  I was already strong before I leveled up, but now it felt like they were made of wet tissue paper. I only felt half of my weapon"s weight, but it still weighed nearly fifty pounds. Bones snapped, flesh tore and blood spilled onto the stone ground. The other one was already lunging towards me, her sword aimed at the back of my knees, one of the few spots that she could possibly do any damage.
  
  What she didn"t expect, nor me for that matter, was for my Stormbreaker to rip through the first guy and the hammer continued to slam into her exposed ribs hard enough that it looked like she had been shot with a cannonball. The bandit that shouted a warning froze in place, his mouth ajar. However, the damage was done. I heard footsteps coming from down the hall. Lili was coming down from where she pulled the lever, so I met them halfway.
  
  Flipping the hammer around so the axe half was showing, I beheaded the man as I ran past him down a tunnel. Less messy. The other looked like the aftermath of a hammer hitting a watermelon. Pivoting around a corner where two others -- and, to be fair, they were brave.
  
  Still, also to be fair, if your reaction to seeing a nearly eight-foot-tall man clad in heavy armor was to shout at the top of your lungs and charge...well, didn"t exactly speak highly of their intelligence. I was no stranger to doing stupid shit but I wasn"t suicidal. I punched one in the face, the inch-long spikes on my knuckles paving the way to cave in his skull. Choking up a bit higher on my axe, I brought it down on the other on his shoulder, hacking through bone.
  
  I heard others moving ahead, more than I expected to hear, forcing me to wait. I glanced behind me to see Lili catching up, her crossbow at the ready. She nodded to me, showing that she was okay, even though she looked a little pale.
  
  Turning my attention back to those ahead, I saw five others arrange themselves at the entrance to a cavern. Two held bows, while it was easy to mark which one was the leader. He wore iron armor, his helmet was the one in the videos with the horns attached, while he carried a battleaxe.
  
  "Stay behind me," I told Lili before I advanced, rushing towards their line. What I didn"t expect was for the bandit leader to turn tail and run. He didn"t look the type. Apparently, neither did his underlings because they whipped around to look at him. The archers fired, their arrows bouncing off my armor before Lili shot them right back. She had dead aim because an arrow appeared in each eye.
  
  They died, and they were distracted with the loss of their leader. One cupped his hands together while the other seemed torn between fighting or fleeing before he launched an ice icicle at me. I could have dodged it, even at such close range, but I chose not to. Raising up my arm, I blocked the blow, feeling like I was just hit with a sledgehammer. Ice broke on my armor, raining shards of it and mist over me as I blasted forward.
  
  That was good to know. I was worried that magic spells like that would just ignore armor and turn me into a pincushion. Luckily, that didn"t seem to be the case. However, when I saw the first hint of a crackle of lightning, I made him my first target.
  
  I brought Stormbreaker down on him, carving through him like a cake before I turned my attention to fell onto the others. Magic was a concern until I developed some magic resistance or individual resistances to types of magic. I barely paid any attention to the other two as I went right through them, my eyes landing on the fleeing leader. Only he wasn"t fleeing.
  
  He raced across a bridge suspended over a small underground lake that was fed by a small waterfall. Well, he did until Lili fired an arrow to his knee, making him fall, but even then he still hobbled to a back room. I scanned the area for more threats -- instead, I found a forge area, iron veins, and walkways leading up to the room. Looking back at Lili to see she was still okay, I made haste running up the walkway to chase after the leader.
  
  "Of all the rotten luck," I heard him curse, sounding like he was ripping a room up. I kicked open the door, reducing it to splinters, revealing the man and the loot room, apparently. The leader whipped around, aiming a piece of paper at me before a dark purple bolt of energy launched itself towards my chest. My heart just about leaped out of my mouth before I dodged out of the way, unsure what the spell was but not wanting to risk it.
  
  "Fuck!" The leader shouted, throwing himself at me. Only something was wrong. I noticed it instantly -- around his neck he wore two necklaces that he hadn"t moments ago, but the biggest tell was how fast he moved. Not as fast as me, but he was lightning quick compared to the others.
  
  I blocked a blow from his war axe, my arms jerking back from the blow. My gut clenched -- before I picked my Iron Bones perk, that would have broken my arms. Now, I simply recoiled, the impact running through me.
  
  Yet, the sound of bones breaking filled the treasure room. The bandit leader"s arms snapped from the speed and force of delivering the blow, his axe clattering to the ground with him falling to his knees not a moment later. To his credit, he didn"t scream, only groaned in pain, trembling as he looked up at me.
  
  Enchantments. Reached down, I tore off the necklaces, looking at them. I didn"t get a notification on what they were, so I likely needed someone to inspect it, but they were enchanted. They had to be.
  
  "That changes things," I admitted, looking down at the leader, who looked like he was trying to face death with dignity. This wasn"t game mechanics where two people just wailed on each other until one"s health bar went down. Enchantments had the capacity to be beyond useful, and very dangerous from the look of things. He was trying to brute force it, but with the right combination...
  
  Skyrim was absolutely rife with glitches, and few were as famous and exploited as the enchantment and alchemy bonus stacking glitches. You drink a potion to improve your enchanting, making a better potion to improve your enchanting, which allows you to make an even better potion. And so on until you have a fork that has the same damage output as a hydrogen bomb.
  
  I put a pin in the thought as I heard Lili approaching. "Mr. Jericho? Are we taking him prisoner?" Lili asked, making me look down at the man. Then around at the room. I saw treasure chests, bags of gold, a few gemstones and sacks full of food.
  
  Part of me didn"t want to. Taking him back would be a pain in the ass, and it would slow us down considerably...but...this wasn"t a Soma familia situation. He lost. I didn"t have to kill him. "Yeah, his arms are broken," I informed, picking up his axe as Lili stepped into the room.
  
  "You"ve defeated me -- let me die a warrior's death," the bandit leader requested, gazing up at me firmly. "I"d rather die by your hand than some headsman," he continued, a barely suppressed scream in every word. He bowed his head as Lili looked up at me. And...
  
  And I thought about it. Only for a second. Only because I knew for certain that he was going to get beheaded or hung or whatever way Riverwood would execute him. So it was extremely pointless to bother taking him there because the result would be the same. But that would also mean I would be executing a man because he would be an inconvenience.
  
  "No," I said with a shake of my head. "We"re taking you to Riverwood. They can decide what"s done with you," I decided as Lili bent down to splint his arms. The man sighed in defeat, slumping as he accepted his fate.
  
  All the while, I turned my attention to the contents of the room, a thought nagging at me as I picked up a book with the inscription of Candlelight.
  
  What would I have done if Lili wasn"t here?
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
  Riverwood was bigger than it was in the game and, more noticeably, it had a wall around it. A wood palisade that marked the border of the village. Smoke drifted upward from chimneys to ward off the chill in the air. The village itself was located directly on a stream that ran by it. Little details that weren"t in the game were there -- like the forest that was being pushed back, the territory lost marked by tree stumps. Or how they were replanting three for every one they cut down.
  
  I took off my helmet, taking a look down at my weapon and armor to see that there was blood splatter over the front while my weapon was covered in it. Putting my Stormbringer in my inventory, I accepted a rag from Lili and gave myself a quick wipe down as we walked towards the village.
  
  "Riverwood...good to be home, I guess," the bandit muttered, his arms in splints as he led the way. He hadn"t tried to escape during the trek back, likely realizing that there wasn"t a point. The few hour-long walk here was uneventful.
  
  "Lili has never been outside of Orario before," Lili commented as we approached Riverwood. There were a few sentries standing guard at a wooden gate that was left open. They said something to each other before one of them left. Probably to alert whoever was in charge that we had a prisoner.
  
  I glanced down at Lili, her crossbow pointed at the bandits back and it hadn"t wavered once during the past hours. Even still, her eyes wandered the untamed nature of Skyrim.
  
  "A city girl, are you lass? I wouldn"t have thought it with how deadly you are with that bow of yours. It seems children get more and more dangerous these days," the bandit commented as more guards appeared at the gate. Three of them were waiting for us to approach.
  
  Lili chose not to respond, but she did shoot me a look for smiling at the child misunderstanding. Lili was a pallum, which didn"t exist in this world, so while she was around my age she looked like she was twelve. Or younger.
  
  "Halt there stranger," one of the guards said, holding up a hand. I couldn"t see his face because of the masked helm he wore, but there was an edge of nervousness in his voice. Then his gaze settled on the bandit guy once he shook his greasy blonde hair out of his face. "Rolf? Ah, so that"s how it is."
  
  The guard looked back at me, "you"ve done Skyrim a favor, stranger. This lot has been plaguing the roads for weeks," the guard said as the other stepped forward. I handed them over the leash that kept him from running off. "Do you have a name?"
  
  "Jericho, and that"s Lili," I introduced us. The guard looked at me, craning his head back to look at my exposed face, then looked all the way down at Lili. I guess in a place unlike Orario, the sight was a lot odder than normal.
  
  "Well met both of you. Though, I should ask, are the others taken care of?" The guard asked, earning a nod from me.
  
  "They"re dead. We left the loot behind at Embershard Mine. Most of it was food and that one tried to use some kind of scroll against me," I explained, earning another nod from the garrison commander before he gestured to us to follow him.
  
  "I"ll go send some lads to pick it up. You have Riverwoods thanks for this and we"ll see to it that you receive an appropriate reward," he said as he led us into the village. Riverwood was bigger than it was in the game. In the game, barely more than thirty people lived in the village, while now it was closer to a hundred or so.
  
  It was still small, a single road that traveled through the village, but I saw extra houses, the blacksmith was set up next to a lumber mill. People worked on them, turning logs into planks and...hmm...
  
  "I was doing this to build a home over in Helgen. Would they be able to take an order for some wood?" I asked, jabbing a thumb at the lumber mill. All the while, the few people out and about in the village stopped to look at me. The guard glanced at me before he nodded.
  
  "Aye, they will be. You look like a young lad -- are you sure you"re ready to put down roots?" He asked as we neared the guardhouse. A couple of kids waved at me, which I returned. I was glad that I cleaned up my armor a bit. All the while, a soft smile tugged at my cheeks.
  
  "I am," I said with surprising conviction, both to him and to myself. "Can"t say that I"m going to give it up completely, but having a home to come back to sounds nice." At that, Lili gave me a warm smile as she nodded in agreement.
  
  "Huh. I would have pegged you as a young buck ready to take on the world. Judging by the size of you, I"d even be willing to bet money on you," the guard continued. And that got a bark of laughter out of me -- I made my fortune because everyone had bet against me. I could tell the guard was giving me an odd look behind his helmet but he didn"t ask what I found so funny. I was glad because I wouldn"t be able to give an answer.
  
  With that, he took us to the garrison house and handed me a large sack of coins -- the bounty for the bandits. As I passed it to Lili, if only out of habit, I asked, "are there any other problems in the area that need to be taken care of?"
  
  The guard let out a scoff, "there"s always something that needs doing around here. Do you have a map?" He asked, and when I said no, he fetched me one. "Here, take this. You"ll be needing it if you want to travel across Skyrim. But, to answer your question -- we have an issue with a sabercat with a taste for blood, so there"s a small bounty on it. Not to mention the packs of wolves -- you"ll get five septums for every fresh pelt you bring in added onto whatever you sell them for. And, if you don"t mind the undead, some draugr have been wandering the countryside after some ambitious treasure hunters broke down a door to a crypt."
  
  Skyrim was more dangerous than I remembered. Even still, I accepted the quests before we left the garrison house. I glanced down at Lili to see her taking in the small village. "Do you like it? It"s pretty different from a city like Orario," I commented, earning a small nod from her.
  
  "Lili...back when Lili was with the Soma familia, she thought that when she ran away from the city then she would come to a place like this. Lili isn"t very strong, but she would be strong enough to take on odd jobs like this..." Lili trailed off in thought. She glanced upwards at me, giving me a warm smile. She didn"t say it, but I could see the thankfulness in her eyes.
  
  "Well, it sounds like we"re going to be busy for a bit. Let"s go order the wood for our home and then we"ll walk back to Helgen." I said, before my gaze landed on a sign that displayed a set of scales. The Riverwood trader. "Actually let's go check out that store real quick to see what they have," I switched tracks and started walking towards it. Lili didn't question it, following as I crossed the road and pushed the door open.
  
  "Welcome- oh," Lucan Valerius started, blinking as the friendly smile on his face slipped as I was forced to duck to enter the shop. "How can I help you, stranger?" He asked, acting like he wasn't subtly going for a weapon behind the counter. The action brought my attention to the golden claw resting on said counter.
  
  It was bigger than I thought it would be. It was about the size of my hand, made of solid gold and shaped like a dragon's claw. Like all true Skyrim players, I knew what emblems were inscribed on the bottom by heart; bear, butterfly, owl.
  
  "I was hoping that you could inspect something for me," I said, fishing out the necklaces from my inventory. Lucan looked faintly puzzled as he accepted the necklaces, prompting me to explain. "They're enchanted, but I have no idea with what."
  
  And I couldn't find out myself. I tried them on earlier, only to find that I was gaining the benefit of ??? by ?? percent. I needed an appraisal skill, but to gain that skill I would need a deep understanding of the subject that I was trying to appraise. No Observe skill for me, it seemed.
  
  Lucan made a face at that, "Sorry, but I won't be much help there," he told me. "You need a mage to figure out what the enchantments are. I can buy them, but considering that the enchantments are unknown, it'll be at a discount. How about a hundred-fifty for both of them?"
  
  Lili made a noise of disgust, which announced her presence. Lucan looked surprised to see her too. I guess he was too focused on me. "Don't do it Mr. Jericho. Lili doesn't know how much enchanted items are worth but he's clearly planning to get them apprised and sell them for a massive profit!"
  
  Lucan narrowed his eyes, "It's a fair price," he argued. "The enchantments could be incredible, but given the necklaces are made of iron, then they're probably worthless. I"m taking a serious risk offering to buy them in the first place! Considering that I'll have to pay a mage to appraise them, I'll barely turn a profit." He explained and that earned my full attention.
  
  "What do you mean? What does it being made of iron have to do with anything?" I questioned, and Lucas shot me a look that screamed exasperation. At the very least my ignorance of magic didn't stand out.
  
  "I only know what you need to know to be a trader but it goes something like this -- stronger enchantments require a higher quality metal to absorb the effect. I don't know what happens if you put a powerful enchantment on a scrap of tin. Maybe it fades, or something. I just know that if it's on iron, which is one of the least useful metals for enchanting, then odds are it's probably a piece used for practice by an amateur enchanter that was sold to recoup the losses." Lucas explained to me, making me frown. I didn't recall that in the games.
  
  Could he be lying? He was a trader so he could just be trying to rip me off by taking advantage of my ignorance. But...I had my doubts about that.
  
  "I think I'll hold onto them. Just in case," I said, holding out a hand expectantly. Lucas dropped them into my hand with some reluctance.
  
  "Is there anything else I could do for you? I have a fine selection of cheese? But you seem to be the adventuring sort, so how about a few health and stamina potions?" He pitched, holding up a bottle filled with a red liquid. I had plenty of health potions in my inventory, but it could be useful to compare and contrast.
  
  "I'll take three health and stamina potions...and you wouldn't happen to have any spellbooks, would you?" I asked, my gaze drifting over his visible stock, only to see no books that screamed magic. Worse, Lucas winced as he fetched my order.
  
  "No...I don't, unfortunately," he said, sounding sad about it. "Spellbooks...well, they just don't sell in Skyrim. Nords...ah well, you're a superstitious lot. Don't trust anything but your axe. So, I never bothered to get more. If you're eager to learn magic, you'll have better luck at an actual city. Or the College at Winterhold," he explained, rubbing the back of his neck. And, apparently, he figured he wouldn't make enough coin trying to chase any down for me.
  
  As disappointed as I was, I guess it was just another reason to go to Whiterun. And we had Candlelight already, which Lili was better off learning.
  
  "That's fine. Thanks for the advice. What do I owe you?" I questioned, acting like I was getting coins from a satchel
  
  "Seventy-five-"
  
  "Fifty-five," Lili interjected, haggling with him.
  
  Lucas wore a practiced smile even as his eyes screamed bloody murder. "I'm afraid that seventy is the absolute lowest that I can go," he haggled right back.
  
  Lili made a noise of disbelief, somehow looking down on him as she looked up at the imperial. "Is that so? Mr. Jericho, Lili thinks we should wait until we get back to Helgen-" she started, making Lucas clench his eyes shut for a moment before he let out an annoyed huff.
  
  "Fine. Fine! Fifty-five septums it is...you little oblivionite," he muttered to himself, accepting the coins I put into his hands. Lili looked a little too pleased with herself, but I wasn't complaining. She saved me money. I gave him a half-hearted smile as I grabbed the potions and turned around to leave.
  
  Once our backs were facing him, I flashed a smile at Lili.
  
  ...
  
  The scrawling text before her eyes was barely illuminated by a flickering candle. It was late at night, and Hestia knew that she should go to bed, but she was keeping her eyes open by sheer force of will. Laying around her were piles of books. Jericho had left her plenty of money to cover whatever she would need while he was gone. He probably meant food and more clothes, but she ended up spending the bulk of it on books.
  
  Histories, biographies, legends, myth, and, most importantly, the gods of this realm. In a way, they were both more powerful and weaker than herself and the gods of her realm. The Adera, or the Eight Divines, had created this world using their own power but it had weakened them greatly -- the gods of her world hadn"t done that with the lower realm. Both it and them were simply things that were. A Ninth Divine was later added -- a mortal that ascended to godhood.
  
  Which was... amazing, honestly. There was a saying amongst adventurers that the higher you leveled up, the closer to godhood you became. Hestia thought it was just a piece of gossip to help motivate adventurers, but there might be more truth to it than she thought. Still, it was incredible that a mortal became a god, even if it wasn"t clear if he should be worshiped or not.
  
  The Daedra, on the other hand, did not help create this world and as a result, they were significantly stronger than the Adrea. Which was pretty bad because some of these gods sounded far worse than the ones back in Heaven. Like that Mehrunes fellow -- standing in the same plane of existence as him was enough to make her skin crawl. Though, not all of them were that bad. Nocturnal, Azura, Malacath, and Meridia sounded like decent gods.
  
  Then there were others like Hircine or Sanguine, who weren"t good or bad but just kinda did their own thing. No matter what anyone else had to say about it.
  
  The books that she read were to prepare her for when she met them. She was a flame and they were the moths -- Hestia understood their nature far better than she would admit. She was a new diety, something unknown... which made her interesting and unique. And the gods loved interesting and unique. Interesting and unique were synonyms for entertaining.
  
  Hestia let out a sigh as she settled into her new bed. It was fine, but nowhere near as nice as her last one. She smiled happily to herself, the plot of land that would be theirs appearing in her mind. Dozens of designs filtered through her mind, intent on making the most of the modest spot. She couldn"t wait to start building it and regain her featherbed mattress.
  
  She put her books to the side, knowing that it was time. After slipping underneath the covers, Hestia reached over to snuff out the candle before she closed her eyes. As she drifted to sleep, Hestia felt the gods poking at her, curious as to what she was. Unfortunately, some of the creepy ones were poking at her as well, some harder than others.
  
  Wary of making enemies, Hestia didn"t push back and instead tried to sort out who the gods were. They had no distinction other than how urgently they were poking and prodding at her, trying to make the new god on the block do tricks for their entertainment. It was enough that she chose to pick the one that was trying to be stealthy about her prodding.
  
  Hestia poked back, and she felt her presence be welcomed into a different realm. So very much like Heaven back home, yet so very different. When Hestia opened her eyes, she stood before an imposing castle that served as a home, the sky pitch black, a crescent moon offering up a paltry amount of light and the light it did give made the shadows appear that much darker.
  
  She stood on a winding path that led to the structure, flanked with trees with ravens perched on the branches. Hestia could feel countless eyes on her, and also she felt the gaze of the one who saw through their eyes.
  
  "Uhhh...this is the realm of Nocturnal?" Hestia asked, staying where she was. It had been months since she felt the unrestrained use of arcanum, but she didn"t dare challenge it with her own. Not because she feared Nocturnal"s might, but because she feared the stupidity of her kind back home.
  
  If they found a way here, to this world, or to any others, then the lower world that they oversaw for thousands of years would be forgotten in search of better entertainment. Without the gods, there would be no adventurers, and without them, the Dungeon would go unchecked. It would take time, hundreds of years even, but a century or three were a blink of an eye for gods.
  
  The lower world would be overrun and the tragedy that they had prevented by descending would happen because the gods had abandoned them.
  
  The silence that answered her was deafening. Hestia shifted from foot to foot, eyeing the castle before her. With a small shrug of her shoulders, Hestia walked the winding path that led her to cold iron gates that swung open on rusted hinges when she neared. Taking that as permission, she continued up towards the castle and pushed on the door.
  
  "Pardon the intrusion," Hestia had whispered the words but they still seemed to echo throughout the castle. The castle itself was richly decorated -- she could feel the history pouring off books and pieces of armor or weapons displayed on showcases, but they were coated in a fine layer of dust and cobwebs. Eventually, Hestia"s gaze landed on a set of doors that would take her to the ballroom. Feeling a tug in that direction, Hestia pushed open the doors.
  
  The ballroom was being used as a storage room. It was filled to the absolute brim with treasure -- gold, jewels, weapons, armor, paintings and everything that could be considered valuable, then it was here. All of it was neglected. The paintings faded, the treasure heaped upon treasure was covered in dust and spiderwebs, forgotten about for ages. The only clear path was a red carpet that led to a throne made of shadows. A nightingale perched on one armrest before it hopped onto the offered finger of Nocturnal herself.
  
  She appeared older than Hestia -- short black hair, dark brown eyes, and unusually pale skin, but not in an unattractive way. She was somehow beautiful and utterly ordinary. Nocturnal wore a single piece dress that exposed a dangerous amount of cleavage, both form-fitting around the stomach, but loose enough that if she stood from her throne and rolled her shoulders the dark dress would pool at her feet.
  
  "Hello!" Hestia greeted with a wave and a nervous smile as she approached, stepping around a pile of gold as she did so. "Nice to meet you! My name is Hestia. I"m the goddess of Hearth and Architecture." It was hardly the most grandiose introduction, but it was a genuine one.
  
  Nocturnal remained silent, her dark orbs judging her until Hestia came to a stop at the start of the steps that would take her to the throne. Nocturnal"s gaze lingered on the first step, waiting for Hestia to walk up it, but she refused. She had enough encounters with prickly gods to spot a power play when she saw one.
  
  "I am Nocturnal, Night Mistress, Master of Secrets, and all things enigmatic," her voice was soft but it carried a commanding tone. Her dark eyes tried to peer through her, but Hestia had nothing to hide. "What brings you to Mundus, Outlander? Have you been banished from your realm and cursed to walk the mortal world?"
  
  Hestia shook her head. This is where she had to be cautious. She had learned with Loki what happened when you put too much trust in scheming gods. What"s more, Hestia had known Loki for millennia. What she knew of Nocturnal came from books. Biased ones at that.
  
  "Well... I guess you could call it a vacation? I wanted to get away from a big city called Orario, so I packed up, Jericho and Lili. Jericho is my lover and Lili is the newest member of my familia," Hestia explained, deciding to leave the specifics of how she found herself here to Nocturnal"s imagination. With any luck, Nocturnal would assume that it was through use of her arcanum that brought them here rather than Jericho"s altered soul.
  
  "I see," Nocturnal stated, her tone measured and even. However, Hestia could hear the interest in her tone. At the very least, she was having a better reaction than the gods in her homeworld. Back there, every god would have gotten into a fight to pester the new god and they wouldn"t stop until they got bored. "An interesting matter. Regardless of how you found yourself here, the question is what you intend."
  
  "I want to start a home with my familia," Hestia answered honestly. The other god"s eyes narrowed, trying to perceive a lie, but there was none. "I don"t have any ulterior motives. I just was to live a simple life with Jericho and Lili. And expand our familia -- our family. Anyone that seeks a home is welcomed at my hearth." Hestia answered, a gentle smile tugging at her lips at the thought of it.
  
  Her familia didn"t have to be filled with legends whose deeds would go down in history, or the very best of the best. Hestia wanted her familia to be a family, and she wanted to look after them for eternity.
  
  It might be a trick of the light, but Nocturnal"s expression appeared to soften. "Though, that does beg the question of why you walk among the mortals in the first place," she questioned lightly.
  
  Hestia scratched at the back of her head, her smile becoming a little more strained. "Ehehe...for fun?" Hestia tried to explain, causing Nocturnal to raise an eyebrow, the single-action speaking volumes. "Well...don"t you think it"s boring, sitting back and watching from afar? Unable to interact except in a few ways?"
  
  Nocturnal hid it well, but it was impossible to mask the look of understanding that seemed to fill her eyes. Gods, in the end, were immortal and unchanging creatures. They watched from afar at the mortals below, watching their stories unfold, not only out of interest but to avoid boredom.
  
  "The gods of my realm decided to descend to the lower world for... well... to be entertained. The world itself was threatening to be overrun with monsters that spilled out from a massive labyrinth beneath the ground that spawned them endlessly. All mortal kind was in danger of being wiped out... but we descended because we realized that we would lose our one source of entertainment if they all died." It was a bit shameful to say out loud, now that she thought about it.
  
  "But, we made a game out of it. We restricted our powers, limiting ourselves to normal mortals to live as one of them. To experience things as they do because it"s so much different than being a god. The only exceptions that can be made are the falna -- a blessing that we bestow upon a mortal that allows us to grant the experience in life they"ve felt into benefits that aid them in battle and life..." Hestia realized that she was rambling, but Nocturnal looked intrigued.
  
  "It sounds similar to my nightingales," Nocturnal admitted, leaning back into her throne as she adopted a thoughtful expression. "However, I never entertained the notion of... lowering myself to their level..." There was a hint of distaste there that Hestia understood. There was a lot of arguing about the rules before the descent, but it was resolved with a simple argument.
  
  "It"s more fun without access to your arcanum," Hestia stated. "Everything feels more... real when you can"t just use your powers to make the problems go away. It can be scary. Really scary sometimes. But if you surround yourself with a caring familia then even when things are scary, you won"t be afraid because they"re there to protect you," Hestia explained, thinking of Jericho.
  
  There were times when he appeared absolutely terrifying -- his large size, his powerful build, and the terrible anger he could display and unleash on his enemies. But Hestia was never afraid of him because she knew he would never hurt her, no matter what. Instead, she was afraid for him. During the War Game, it was clear that the stress was getting at him and the War Game itself...
  
  She would see Jericho ripping Zanis" spine out in her nightmares for many years.
  
  "These familias...and this game...tell me more about them, Hestia," Nocturnal"s words sounded like a command but the tone she spoke them with was that of a request. Hestia smiled in response and began to explain the rules.
  
  ...
  
  "Where the fuck is the fucking- oh, there it is," I muttered, picking up a hammer that I had placed to the side a few seconds ago to line up a nail, and somehow lost it. I heard Hestia giggle behind me, clearly amused by my suffering. As a true foreman, she delegated the work between me and Lili, with Lili doing the finesse work because I was too big.
  
  It had only been a couple of days since Lili and I arrived back at Helgen a little bit richer, but our real gain was in reputation. Riverwood had sent a letter of recommendation, or whatever, so we got an even better plot of land to work with and more rights. Stuff like the right to set up a store or inn, and I was awarded livestock as well. It seemed that Skyrim acted under the mentality of the more you do for the community, the more the community does for you.
  
  And I was pretty okay with that. I still had to clear out the bandits at that fort, but my to-do list was a lot shorter after a handful of days. Even better, most of that stuff was easy so the rewards just kept piling in for what amounted to busy work. It was a little more time consuming with travel time, but it was vastly better than spending sixteen to eighteen hours in the Dungeon a day.
  
  "Watch your language, Jericho. There are children present," Hestia pointed at the group of small children that were beating the absolute shit out of each other with pieces of lumber for my house. The little shits hadn"t even asked. They just walked up, grabbed some wood, called them swords, and started wailing on each other.
  
  "I"m sure they"ve heard worse," I shot back, keeping an eye on them. I didn"t care for kids, but the very last thing I needed was one of them braining themselves and the blame getting dropped into my lap.
  
  Grabbing another nail, I hammered it in before I took a step back and looked at what I was creating. It was hard to picture it now, but the general form was taking shape. It was larger than the rest of the houses by necessity rather than to show off since I needed tall rooms. The base was already set with some stairs leading to a doorway big enough that I wouldn"t have to duck my head to enter.
  
  Hestia had a knack for building stuff. I could already tell it was going to be an impressive building.
  
  Looking back at her, I saw her checking the blueprints against what I had made so far. She tilted her head from side to side before she nodded, satisfied. I smiled as I turned my attention to Lili, who was hammering in the roofing that I had set up, an expression of intense concentration on her face. I'd been spared a few busted thumbs, but she hadn't.
  
  Woodwork (7/100): Craftsmanship involving wood.
  Stonework (10/100): Craftsmanship involving stone.
  
  Because of those two new skills that I picked up, combined with my Comprehension perk, I understood what I was doing rather than just following through with the motions. It helped me understand why I had to do certain things a certain way without any explanation needed. Of all my perks, I think that one might be my most overpowered when it came down to it.
  
  "At this rate, we"ll be done by the end of the week," Hestia muttered with some sadness. And that was only because I needed to pretend to sleep, and waiting for more materials from Riverwood.
  
  "I won"t head out as soon as we"re done," I promised, setting my hammer to the side as I took a seat on the edge of the foundation, watching the kids continue to beat the ever-loving shit out of each other. "And I won"t leave you alone here for weeks on end," I told Hestia, "but I"m going to have to head out sooner rather than later because winter is coming."
  
  The College of Winterhold was around a week and a half"s travel away, less for me, but winter was right around the corner. And winter in Skyrim was damn near unlivable for anyone not a Nord, from what I understood. So, travel was going to become difficult in a month or so. Meaning, it would be easier if Lili and I stayed at the college for the winter, then by the time we left it then we would have a decent enough grasp on magic.
  
  The issue with that was that Hestia would be alone here unless we took her with us. Which we couldn"t do since someone needed to oversee the mine, and winter in Winterhold was damn near unlivable for Nords.
  
  "What are you thinking?" Hestia asked, taking a seat next to me and offered a cup of water. I didn"t really need it, but I took it and knocked it back easily enough.
  
  "I"m thinking that once we"re done with the house that I become the thane for Whiterun," I spoke. Upon seeing Hestia"s confusion, I clarified. "It"s a title that gives me some special privileges like ignoring some laws, but the biggest bonus is that a housecarl is assigned to me. A special warrior that I can trust to leave with you during the winter. To protect you and so you won"t feel so lonely."
  
  I didn"t trust random mercenaries or guards. Not with Hestia. Lydia was a housecarl, someone trained and lived for the sole purpose of serving whoever their master was. At least that"s how it was on paper. I had already learned my lesson on trusting meta-knowledge when it comes to people, so I had another plan in the works to make sure Hestia was safe while I was gone.
  
  Hestia leaned into my side, letting out a soft breath. "Sounds pretty important. How would you do it?" She asked, and that was the question that had me stumped. In the game, you got it by killing the dragon, but that seemed to be an outlier. The other holds were either by being especially helpful until other people said you should be the thane or one big deed that proved you deserved it.
  
  "I dunno," I admitted easily enough, earning a snort from Hestia. "But, whatever it is, I"ll be able to handle it. Especially if I have Lili watching my back," I added. "I"ll head there after we"re done with the house and once the mine gets set up, and I"ll just ask for the biggest problem that needs to be fixed and do that."
  
  "And you won"t be in too much danger? Lili told me about that close call with that strange scroll. And those enchanted necklaces," Hestia remarked, bringing my attention to another reason to head to Whiterun. Because of the mage there with an enchanting table, and since I wasn"t limited by game mechanics, he could become an enchanting teacher. Not sure if he would be willing to do it, but he would be my first lead in learning how to enchant and to find out if it was as broken as it was in the game.
  
  I pulled out the two necklaces from my inventory. They were simple iron, completely ordinary. The trader in Riverwood hadn"t been able to identify them, so I didn"t know exactly what they did. What I did know was that the bandit had broken his arms taking a swing at me. So, whatever they did, they could enhance the body to the point that it wasn"t able to keep up with the output.
  
  "Yeah, that could have been a close call. Everyone else here is so..." I trailed off, not wanting to bring up the fact that I had killed people. Even still, the image of my hammer tearing through people appeared in my mind. I went right through them like a knife through butter.
  
  "You"re a level 2," Hestia commented. "You were superhuman once you reached D"s in your stats, and now as a level 2. You"re miles above that...but that"s no excuse for letting your guard down, okay? I expect you to come back home healthy and whole every single time, alright? No ifs, ands, or buts!" Hestia insisted, earning a playful smile from me.
  
  "I promise... but don"t you think I would look a bit better with some scars? They seem to be all about them in this place," I teased, making Hestia smack me in the arm in disagreement. "Fine. No scars. Not even sure I could get one if I wanted one," I admitted.
  
  "And I"m going to have Lili tell me everything that you"re getting into, so don"t think you can hide something crazy from me," Hestia warned. I let out a huff of laughter as I wrapped my arm around her, accepting that.
  
  "I"ll be careful. I promise," I agreed, causing Hestia to cuddle up to me that much more. Eventually, the kids realized that they were going to smack out what few brain cells that they had and dropped the pieces of wood where they stood before wandering off. Seriously never understood the appeal of kids.
  
  However, as we enjoyed the moment, I spied a small group of men walking towards us. They weren"t armed, their clothing stained with soot but they looked as well kept as everyone else. Hestia noticed them a moment later, letting me go so I could stand up. I saw some surprise on their faces as I did, but they continued anyway.
  
  Something that I"ve noticed after a few days was that I was beyond unusually tall. In Danmachi, there was a bit of give and take -- there were more than a few people that were closer to seven feet than not, but me being taller than them was notable, but hardly impossible. Here, in Skyrim, everyone was either six foot or shorter, so I had a foot and a half on everyone.
  
  In a place like Skyrim, that would be a useful trait to have.
  
  "Greetings there -- you"re the owner of Embershard Mine, right?" One of them stepped forward, the spokesperson for the group, I guess. When I nodded, he continued, "We used to work there before the bandits moved in. And we were wondering when you intended to get it running again."
  
  I glanced down at Hestia, who shrugged helplessly before I turned my attention back to them. "I don"t know a damn thing about mining, but I"d be willing to open it up right now. Everything looked fine while I was there, but you would know better than me," I said. I...huh...I owned a business now. Neat.
  
  Especially considering that the 'new feature' I had unlocked for completing the quest was a new map mode. A prospecting map mode. It seemed fairly useless right up until I got the idea to expand the mines. There were other deposits of iron ore that were waiting to be dug up that I had marked on my map, so now it was just a matter of digging them up. Or, rather, getting other people to do that for me.
  
  The group perked up at that, more than a few of them looking relieved. I"m guessing that they were eager to get back to work. Good.
  
  "It"s much appreciated, Jericho. We can check out the mines to make sure everything is as it should be, but even if they did mess anything up it won"t be long before we"re back into production," the spokesman said.
  
  "Sounds good to me..." I trailed off, fishing for a name, as I held out a hand to shake. Instead, he grabbed me by the forearm -- or tried to, at least, while my hand engulfed his.
  
  "Rulf," Rulf introduced himself.
  
  "Rulf," I echoed, giving him a nod. "And I"ll hire some guards to stop what happened from happening again. Actually, the Riverwood garrison said that they owed me some favors, so I"ll ask them to patrol around the mine to discourage any more bandits." At that, Rulf smiled broadly, flashing surprisingly white teeth.
  
  "I"m glad to hear it. We lost good Nords when they came in. We"re no cowards, but... mages," Rulf explained with obvious distaste. I decided to not mention that I intended to learn magic. "But, we should let you get back to building your home. We"ll head to the mines in the morning tomorrow and get them sorted out. Until then."
  
  I watched them walk away, something stirring in my chest. In Danmachi, I was always forced to tiptoe around everyone else because stepping on a toe could mean death for me and my familia. And it nearly had. If it wasn"t for the Hestia armor, then my chances would have been a lot shakier.
  
  And now...I was becoming someone important. I owned a mine, I was going to become Thane of Whiterun and my influence in Helgen was growing already.
  
  Despite everything, I let myself hope that the trend would continue.
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  The house turned out better than I expected. Probably better than it had any right to be since it was my first time working in construction, but between Hestia"s guidance and my growing skills in craftsmanship, it turned out great. The house was larger than the others, but nothing so blatant as to be called a mansion and it used the plot of land within the village walls well.
  
  More surprisingly, it looked like it belonged in the city. At my insistence, most of the house was made of stone with wood roofing that came together in high points to prevent too much snow from building up. Three stacked half-circles served as steps to a large front door. Beside the steps, running along the house were planted flowers that would hopefully take root and liven up the exterior.
  
  Leading to the front door was a short winding path that led to the door, connecting the house to the main roads of Helgen. We were a bit separated from the others, but I counted that as a good thing.
  
  "It"s perfect," Lili muttered more to herself than to us, but Hestia glomped her anyway.
  
  "I"m surprised we managed in a week," I admitted, taking the sight in. I had seen it before, but before there was always something else that needed to be done. Now the house was finished. The outside was impressive enough, but once Hestia grabbed me and Lili and started pushing us inside, I saw that the interior was that much more impressive.
  
  "Everything still needs a coat of paint, but we can worry about that later," Hestia decided. I built just about everything in here but seeing it arranged really hammered it home. From the simple tables marked with an oversized chair just for me, to the huge couch before a fireplace...it was a little bare colorwise, but the word cozy best summarized it.
  
  Hestia pulled out in front of us, "welcome to the Hestia familia manor! It"s small right now, but it"ll grow soon enough!" Hestia declared, giving us a wide smile. "But, for now, it"s home. Thank you, both of you, for..." she trailed off, getting a little choked up. But, before either of us could do anything about it, she smiled again with full force.
  
  "Well, you know. So, Jericho, when are you planning to head out on your trip?" Hestia asked, changing the subject before we could comment on it. Even still, Lili and I shared a knowing glance before I answered. With her directing us, it only took a fraction of the time to build the place, but as we neared completion, Hestia was growing more and more anxious. I almost thought she would start slowing the construction down, but that fear was unfounded.
  
  "In the morning," I decided, taking a step forward to get another view of the home that I had built. Hestia had taken it upon herself to furnish it. It wasn"t anything like I was used to -- fur rugs, tusk candles, hardwood, and stone, but it was certainly a step up from the hovel underneath an abandoned church.
  
  I ran my hand over the shelf above the fireplace, knowing that Hestia was going to fill it with pictures. Or portraits, since that would be the equivalent. I tried to picture how it would look in the coming weeks -- the bookshelves would fill, undoubtedly, but everything else...
  
  I felt proud, I realized. I turned piles of stone, wood, and metal into a house. A home.
  
  "Is Mr. Jericho sure he doesn"t want Lili to come with him?" Lili asked, looking comically small once she took a seat in a couch large enough to hold me.
  
  "I"d rather you stay here to take care of Hestia," I answered, leaning against the fireplace. Hestia"s face twisted at my logic before she shot a stern look at me.
  
  "And I"d rather you have a backup. You"re the one going into danger, you know," Hestia pointed out while Lili nodded.
  
  "But I"m also a level 2," I shot back. "And leaving you here alone is way more dangerous than anything I"m going to be dealing with. This place is filled with people that want what we just built, and I"m the biggest deterrent from them trying anything. With me gone..." I trailed off, my hands curling into fists before I forced myself to uncurl them.
  
  My mind went back to that moment when I heard the Soma familia coming down the stairs after they had almost killed Lili. The only thing that had been going through my head after was the thought that I had made it by the skin of my teeth. If I had arrived any later, even a handful of seconds, then I could have walked into...
  
  Judging by the look of it, Hestia realized what I was thinking about anyway. "Do you really think someone would try something?" Hestia questioned, her voice small but resigned. "Everyone I"ve met so far seems really nice...maybe a bit rough, but not in a bad way," she added.
  
  I let out a small sigh, starting only for Lili to answer for me. "Because of Mr. Jericho, we"ve earned in a day what some people have been trying to earn for years. Lili thinks it"s only natural that there would be some bitterness directed towards the Hestia familia. But, bitterness can quickly turn to anger when fueled by alcohol and opportunity."
  
  "And anger can make you do things you never thought you"d do," I added quietly. I could feel the moment I ripped Zanis apart with my bare hands. I had already won the fight, he was already dying, but I was too... angry. I wanted him to suffer. I wanted him to die screaming. I wanted to tear him apart and so I did.
  
  Hestia"s gaze lingered on me for a long moment before she sighed and nodded in acceptance. "Okay, fine...but...can you please try not to do anything too dangerous without anyone there to support you? I know you"re a level 2 now, but...I"m just worried," Hestia admitted.
  
  I nodded in acceptance, "I"ll do my best. And if the task is too much, then there are the Companions in Whiterun that I can turn to." I said, thinking it might be best to consult them anyway since this world wasn"t limited by game mechanics. The fact that the bandit leader had broken his arms because of enchanted necklaces was proof enough of that. Who knows what else had changed?
  
  "Good...then, I guess we should celebrate our new home!" Hestia decided, moving the topic away from the fact that I would be leaving for a few days. I felt a bit bad about it -- I had hoped there would be more relaxing, but there was just so much to do. "I"ll start on dinner! You two just relax," Hestia ordered as she skipped to an open kitchen that was stocked with both ingredients and cooking utensils. And given that she could work miracles in the kitchen in a hovel, I was really looking forward to what she could make with actual cooking utensils.
  
  I walked over and sank in heavily into the couch. It was weird to sit in furniture that actually fit my large frame. My gaze drifted over to an armor rack set up in a corner away from the front door, my armor on display, shining after being cleaned with my raider sword on display.
  
  "Lili has been listening in on the villagers," Lili informed, scooting closer to me to prevent Hestia from overhearing. "And Lili...if Mr. Jericho is interested in..." Lili trailed off, slightly uncertain but I offered a half-smile, showing that I wanted to hear her out to see where she was going with this. "Helgen is the gateway to Skyrim since it"s the closest to the imperial highways. Trade by sea is preferred since Skyrim is so mountainous and dangerous, but Helgen sees a surprising amount of trade coming through it."
  
  That was news to me as I pictured the small town"s size and population. "Really? Huh. I guess that explains why there are so many bandits nearby," I mused to myself. After a week, I had more or less cleared out the surrounding area of notable threats. Including that old fort filled with bandits. There might have been about a dozen people that went with me, but me and Lili did the heavy lifting.
  
  I didn"t even have to point that out since those that went with us were all too happy to spread the news themselves.
  
  "Since Mr.Jericho has become an ironmonger, it"s important that we establish trade relations with other cities. The mine used to supply both Helgen and Riverwood, but since Mr. Jericho has cleared so many issues himself, more people are turning towards other methods of work to earn their right to own land," Lili explained. "Meaning that we have a larger force to work with, which means more iron exports, which means we can afford to look elsewhere for other buyers for the surplus."
  
  I blinked, looking down at Lili because pretty much all of that was news to me. Scratching at my cheek, I mulled that over while Lili gave me a moment, knowing well enough that I hadn"t given much thought to it. Honestly, I was content to let the iron mines become a passive revenue stream. An excuse for why we had money. But there wasn"t a reason why we couldn"t really expand things, was there?
  
  "So, I should look for buyers in Whiterun?" I hazarded a guess, earning a nod from Lili.
  
  "The best person would be the leader of Whiterun. When he asks you why you want to become Thane, Mr. Jericho shouldn"t tell him it's because he wants to avoid laws and to gain a housecarl," Lili said, giving me a pointed look. I cocked an eyebrow right back at her, wondering why she thought I would admit to that.
  
  The Nords preferred honesty, but there was such a thing as too much honesty.
  
  "What"s the story I"m running with, then?" I questioned, knowing that Lili had one prepared. She smiled slightly before she answered.
  
  "That you"re trying to earn favorable trade deals, and the rights to expand our businesses. Because of Mr. Jericho"s ability, we know there are other veins of metals available nearby, so it"s technically the truth. This will enrich his own holdings, and by making you Thane, it will bind you closer to him -- meaning, rather than you asking to be made Thane, he"s asking you to become his Thane to prevent you from going to one of his rivals," Lili explained, her voice low.
  
  I nodded, accepting that logic easily enough. It made sense. And, given my natural abilities and my growing reputation as a problem solver, I would be the natural choice for the position.
  
  "Good idea," I complimented, offering Lili a smile. "We"re lucky to have you because I know I wouldn"t have thought of any of that."
  
  Lili flushed at the compliment even as she shook her head in disagreement. "No, Lili"s the lucky one. Lili...Lili is just happy that she can repay what Lady Hestia and Mr. Jericho have done for her," she said, looking away. "And Lili is glad to use Lili"s experiences for something good."
  
  She stole a glance at me a moment later as I started to recall spots where we could find other minerals and metals. I had ideas, but it was clear that the game and the actual world weren"t one to one ratios in terms of size. The prospector map mode would help things out a bit, though.
  
  "Mr. Jericho knows a great deal about this world, correct?" Lili asked, looking up at me. I nodded in confirmation.
  
  "In theory. What I know for certain is a bit in the air, though, so I can"t trust it too much. Things are already different from what I remembered. The walk to Riverwood was supposed to be something like five minutes or less. For normal people," I added.
  
  "Does Mr. Jericho know anyone that could help us? Or...join the familia?" Lili questioned, bringing my thoughts to an issue I had thought about.
  
  I gave a slow nod, "I can think of a few, but I"m not sure how it would work out and some of them are attached to some things...well, I"d be kicking a hornet"s nest if I approached them without a plan," I explained. The most glaring was Serana. If I woke her up early, that could draw the attention of her father, and given how overpowered being a vampire lord in the game was, I"m guessing it was going to be more so without cooldowns.
  
  Lili nodded in acceptance. "Now that things have settled, we should look into expanding our numbers," Lili said more to herself than to me. Her brow was furrowed in thought about the next challenges that our familia would face. I agreed with her about that, which was why I wanted a housecarl like Lydia. I would have to make sure that their personality matched up, but given that they were willing to follow the Dragonborn into every dark crevice in Skyrim, then I was hoping that they would protect Hestia while I couldn"t.
  
  "Hm..." I hummed, an idea starting to form in the back of my mind. I had picked several months ahead of the start of canon because I wanted to give us a break before any craziness happened, but that didn"t mean I couldn"t prepare as well. A civil war was coming on top of dragons returning, on top of the insanity of the main quests and several of the side ones.
  
  What was that quote? Chaos was a ladder?
  
  Well, that didn"t mean I couldn"t build my own ahead of time.
  
  ...
  
  I fell into my bed, savoring the feeling of not having my legs dangle over the edge. The fur covers tickled my face as I heard Hestia sigh in relief before she did the same right next to me. The bed was so large, it was more like two queens put together than anything else. Stuffed with feathers -- it was no Tempurpedic mattress, but it was miles better than a lumpy couch that was too small.
  
  I shifted my face so I was looking down at Hestia, to find her grinning back at me. "A week ago, and I would have said that this was impossible."
  
  "That we have a house in a new world or a bed big enough for me?" I asked, turning onto my side. Hestia"s grin turned into a full-blown smile as she let out a huff of laughter.
  
  "I meant the first, but the second was pretty unlikely too, now that I think about it," Hestia commented as her hands reached out towards me. Her eyes became half-lidded as her hands roamed over my arms, just touching me. My lips tugged into a grin as I realized where this was leading.
  
  After all, beds were far more comfortable once you broke them in.
  
  I reached out as well, placing one hand on her hip as my fingers began to pull up the hem of her dress. Hestia flushed eagerly as her hands stopped caressing my arms in favor of going to unbutton my pants. "We"ll have to be quiet because of Lili," Hestia said, getting up enough so I could pull her dress off of her.
  
  Familiar full breasts were freed from the white dress. The pale orbs capped with a light pink nipples that hardened into points. Unlike the first time we were together, she felt no shame in displaying her breasts to me, just as she felt no embarrassment when her hand wrapped around my hardened cock once it was free of the cloth pants that trapped it.
  
  "Shouldn"t I be saying that to you?" I asked, rolling over so I hovered above Hestia before my lips descended onto her collarbone, my fingers hooking around her panties before I took them off. Hestia breathed in contentment as my lips began to worship her body, her hands curling into my hair as the other ran along my shoulders.
  
  "Hush, you," Hestia admonished, earning a smile out of me as my lips descended until they latched onto a nipple. Hestia"s breathing hitched, then again as my hands went on the move. They hooked around her waist, eagerly squeezing the soft flesh of her firm ass before one finger slipped into her pussy, finding it slick already.
  
  "Oh!" Hestia breathed, my finger curling inside of her and attacked the places that I had learned that she loved.
  
  "See?" I asked, my thumb grinding down on her clit. Hestia moaned even as she reached out to give me a slap on the shoulder for being a smartass, but I effortlessly caught her hand. Then grabbed her other before pinning her hands to the bed. Hestia bit her lip to keep in a moan, her hips grinding against the palm of my hand to seek out more of my touch. "Oh? Don"t care for a bit of backtalk? I guess I should put my mouth to better use then."
  
  With that being said, still keeping her hands pinned, I lifted her bottom half up with a hand, curling her slightly so her waist was off the bed. "W-what- Oh!" Hestia gasped as I dragged my tongue over her slit, my free hand going to play with her nipples as my tongue slipped inside of her wet tunnel. Her thighs clamped down on the side of my head, her moans leaking out despite her best efforts to keep them contained.
  
  Hestia was easy to please in the first place, but after two weeks, she was about as backed up as I was. In no time, her arousal flooded from her pussy, dripping down from my chin as droplets traveled down on her front and back. I dragged out her pleasure by tugging at her nipples and tormenting her clit. She released a blissful cry of pleasure as she came, and I forced her to cum again in quick succession, never letting up.
  
  Her sweet moans were music to my ears and I wanted to hear it throughout the night. I was gone for a week to train for the War Game, and I had to leave for a few days, so I owed her plenty of orgasms already. And I had better make up for lost time.
  
  "Jericho, I need you," Hestia breathed, her chest rising and falling as she struggled to get control over her breathing. Her deep blue eyes were half-lidded, filled with lust. My cock ached at the sight. I raised myself up while my free hand went to my dick so I could line myself up with her entrance.
  
  "And I want you," I told her with so much honesty that it hurt. I pushed my hips forward, both of us sharing a low groan as I entered her. Hestia eagerly accepted me, grinding her hips to take me even deeper. Her legs wrapped around my waist, but I knew her hands and toes had curled in pleasure since I could feel the familiar sensations of her walls cumming, trying to milk my cock of its seed.
  
  "Jericho...! It"s been too long," Hestia murmured. That I was in perfect agreement with. It had been far too long since I felt Hestia"s naked body pressed against mine. I really did have to make up for lost time, and then some.
  
  With that thought in mind, I lifted Hestia with ease, finding an angle that I knew she loved and I began to fuck her. She pressed her head against my chest, breathing harshly with each thrust as her hands held onto me for support. The room was filled with noises of her pleasure and arousal. She was so easy to please, so it wasn"t long before a wetspot had formed on the bed, my lap similarly soaked with her cum.
  
  I slowly worked to my first orgasm, all the while a worry started to gnaw at me in the back of my mind. The entire reason why Hestia gave the okay for me to sleep with other girls was because of my endurance problems -- as in the higher my stats became, the longer I could last in bed. And my stats had increased several times since we made that decision.
  
  Now that I had leveled up...there was a very real possibility that I wouldn"t be able to cum. And that scared the hell out of me.
  
  "Jericho, I-I-I want to take the l-lead," Hestia forced the words out. For a moment, I worried that I was too rough with her. After all, for the past week, I had slept with a level 5, who could handle everything I could dish out and a great deal more. But that wasn"t the case.
  
  I shifted our positions so that my back was leaning against the backboard with Hestia straddling my lap. She took a moment to gather herself before her hips began to move. I kept my hands on her hips to help her along, but she found a practiced rhythm as her walls squeezed down on me, trying to milk me of my cum.
  
  I abandoned any thoughts of self-restraint in favor of savoring the sensations Hestia was bringing me. And, to my utter relief, I felt an orgasm brewing in my balls, tightening as they prepared a load. Hestia seemed to sense it, her hips shaking as fast as she could manage while her hands braced against my shoulders.
  
  A sheen of sweat covered her, drops of it traveling down her body, circling around her sizable breasts. Her gaze met mine, willing me to cum and the needful expression on her face made my cock throb -- the vacant look of her mind overwhelmed with ecstasy, but the silent demand in her breathless moans that demanded for more.
  
  I gave it to her. Releasing a low groan, I released myself within her. Hestia lost control of herself, throwing back her head and releasing a deeply satisfied moan as I painted her insides white. Her head smacked into my chest while her breasts pressed into my stomach, so she could probably hear my heart pounding at my ribs.
  
  "Jericho...?" Hestia questioned, breathing heavily as she cuddled against me, my cock still inside of her but I willed it to soften. I didn"t want to ruin the moment by making Hestia feel as if she hadn"t satisfied me. "When you"re traveling...and you meet someone...-"
  
  "I"m not going to cheat or-" I interrupted, wanting to feel a bit insulted, but it was hardly fair if I did. With Eina, it was a bit of a gray area but that didn"t excuse the fact that I had fucked up since I was horny.
  
  "Not that," Hestia quickly interrupted me, "but...if something does happen...I mean..." She trailed off, taking a moment to sort her thoughts out and I didn"t press her. "If you find someone out there in the world...and they"re the kind of person that you think should join our familia...then it"s okay if something happens," Hestia decided.
  
  "Our old deal won"t really work since you"re...going to be gone for so long," Hestia muttered, doing her absolute best to crush me in a hug. "But they have to be people that"ll join our familia. Someone you can introduce me to with pride and they"ll be a good fit, not just because they have big boobies or butts, okay?"
  
  "I promise," I agreed easily enough. "Honestly, I"m more concerned with making sure that we"re okay and prepared for what comes next than sex." That, and I wasn"t too sure who would fit those criteria. Serena came to mind, but I was hesitant to go for her because of the reasons listed earlier. Who else was there? Delphine? Except I haven"t forgiven her for pulling that bullshit with Paarthurnax-- I"d pick dragon bro over the Blades any day of the week.
  
  So, outside of Serana, there weren"t exactly a lot of go-to choices like Danmachi had. And that was fine with me. I was here to grow stronger, get some serious upgrades in regards of equipment, and establish our home here. Sex...honestly, it was so far down the priority list it wasn"t even on it.
  
  "Good," Hestia muttered, letting out a content breath as her eyes drifted shut, hearing the truth in my words.
  
  "I thought I was sentenced to the couch once I was done building the place?" I asked, settling in. I didn"t need to sleep, but it would be a lie to say that I didn"t enjoy doing it on occasion. Hestia hummed like she was considering it for a moment, but it conflicted with how tightly she was holding onto me as I shifted so I could bring up the covers.
  
  "I"ve decided to change your sentence to endless cuddling instead. You"d better do a good job of it, or I"ll change my mind again," Hestia warned as she wrapped an arm around her, settling into the broken in bed. Hestia adjusted herself so she was comfortable, and in no time, she was fast asleep.
  
  I stayed up for some time after, mulling everything over. From the first step I would be taking once I reached Whiterun, to the many I would be taking after it. Comparing what I knew from the game compared to what I knew about the lore. There were so many things that had contrasted with the game mechanics, I couldn"t help but feel some apprehension.
  
  In the end, I ended up staying awake well into the night before I eventually decided to close my eyes and sleep.
  
  ...
  
  It was meant to be a day and a half walk between Helgen and Whiterun, but I managed to sprint the distance in about half a day instead. It was still twelve hours of nonstop running, which was boring as all hell. Even still, it would have been worse to actually walk the distance. I chose to wear my armor rather than anything more casual -- I didn"t run into anything on the way, but I had too many memories of random bears wandering in to kill me back when Skyrim was just a game.
  
  Whiterun itself was far bigger than memory suggested, and it was becoming increasingly clear that I shouldn"t trust my meta-knowledge. I googled it once a while ago, and there are something like five thousand NPCs in total in all of Skyrim. Including bandits and the like. Only about a thousand of them had unique dialogue or actual names.
  
  As I neared, just looking at the skyline of the city, it was clear that the population of Whiterun was over ten thousand. Couldn"t tell how many people lived there just by eyeballing the place, but it was a proper city. It still had nothing on Orario, but it was easily ten times larger than Helgen.
  
  The high walls looked ancient but strong. Like an army of a million would just bounce off of them. Outside of the city was a winding road made of cut stone, with dozens of farmsteads surrounding it. Off to the right, near where the river ran, was another small grouping of buildings that belonged to a local brewery.
  
  Whiterun was raised on a bluff that could be called a small mountain, flowing upwards until the keep could be seen far above the walls, imposing. Almost challenging anyone to take a shot at it. The walls remained high enough to protect the interior, but I could see some rooftops and the Skyforge that belonged to the companions. In all, it was an impressive sight. Whiterun looked like what I expected when I pictured a castle.
  
  However, there was one significant problem I noticed as I slowed down. My gaze lingered on something that shouldn"t be there at all. Standing above the rooftops outside of Whiterun was a giant. It almost looked like a middle-aged man, in a way, only blown up to ridiculous proportions. Standing around twenty-five feet tall, its face was covered in an ill-kept brown beard, its greasy brown hair was slicked back, revealing too pale skin covered in furs that belonged to animals.
  
  In its hand was a massive club that looked like it had once been a tree trunk, but it looked like it had been smashed into shape after years of use, without breaking somehow.
  
  Below, from what I could see between the houses, were warriors dressed in armor. One hung back, carrying a bow that she fired. The arrow slammed into the giant"s eye, making it stumble back, but it was far from dead. The giant unleashed a deep roar, bellowing in pain as it brought down its club. It smashed through a building, reducing wood and stone to splinters and rubble, yet the club remained whole.
  
  I couldn"t tell if it killed any of the warriors. Others were joining the fray, I noticed as I began to run towards the giant, my mind racing just as fast as my feet. This event happened with the Dragonborn when they approached Whiterun for the first time. That was meant to be months away, and unless there was another giant attacking the city then my worries about the timeline grew.
  
  Even still, I pushed my thoughts to the side as I rapidly neared the giant. I leaped over a small fence meant to house animals, landing in the middle of a street, behind the giant. Three warriors stood before it -- two of them in carved nordic armor, while the third hung back, perched on top of a building with a bow in hand.
  
  Aela, Farkas, and Ria. The first two I knew in theory, while the third was about as non-descript as they came.
  
  Farkas glanced at me, nodding to show that he noticed my arrival. At that moment, I sprinted forward, my sword at the ready. I crossed the distance between me and the giant in the blink of an eye. Aela fired off a shot at the giant, distracting it, so it was unaware of my presence right up until my blade punched through the back of its knee. The giant roared in pain as it dropped to a knee involuntarily.
  
  As it did so, I ripped my blade to the side, practically severing the limb with a splash of blood upon the cobblestone road. There were gallons of the stuff pouring out. Ordinarily, that wouldn"t have bothered me in the slightest, but my mind was filled with a moment back during the War Game. Back on the steps, before the Soma familia had broken. When they had just thrown themselves at me, stabbing into gaps of my armor and trying to kill me.
  
  Only to be utterly slaughtered in return. I had ripped Zanis apart with my bare hands, but with my new level 2 strength and a new sword, I had hacked the Soma familia to pieces.
  
  That moment of hesitation nearly cost me. The giant swung back at me with the back of its hand, taking a wild swing with its club that carved a line through house supports and it was that sound that brought me back.
  
  I reacted on instinct, lashing out with my sword and slicing through its arm, sending the free half flying. I seized the opening that the giant gave me, and darted forward to bury my sword into its chest. The giant groaned in pain, then it shrieked when I yanked my blade to the side after Aela fired another arrow into the giant"s remaining eye. Even still, the giant lashed out at me with a hand, but it was a mile off, attacking where I had been, not where I was.
  
  My grip tightened on my blade. Gritting my teeth, my eyes landed on the creature"s neck. My bloodied sword flashed forward in a Power Strike, biting into it. My arms jolted when my sword hit its spine, but the blade pushed through it in a flash. The giant's head was severed, its stump of a neck was pumping out blood like a broken fire hydrant before its heart got the memo that it was dead.
  
  "Fuck," I cursed to myself, blinking away more memories with a shake of my head. Perfect Memory was...biting me in the ass at the moment. I could recall all too clearly what I did to the Soma familia, only this time there wasn"t a red mist smothering my mind to gloss over the details. Some of those people...
  
  It wasn"t PTSD or anything like that. At least I didn"t think it was. It was more of... for my entire life, I never thought I was capable of doing something like that. That sheer... butchery of people. It was a revelation that I wasn"t sure how I felt about.
  
  "Well fought stranger. Can"t say I"ve seen a giant beheaded before," Farkas greeted, making a show of lowering his two-handed axe. He glanced over at the growing pool of blood and the head that had rolled away. "Messier than I thought it"d be," he commented with an uncaring shrug of his shoulders.
  
  "Thanks. Sorry for stealing the kill, but I had the opening and I didn"t want any more damage done to the place," I offered. Kill stealing was a big no-no back in Danmachi. Less so here, apparently, because Farkas simply shrugged in acceptance.
  
  "You didn"t just kill one of your kin, did you?" Ria asked, cracking a smirk as she took off her helmet, revealing tanned skin and dark hair. She was pretty in a nontraditional way -- her features more striking than beautiful, but she had her own appeal.
  
  I let out a huff as I took off my helmet, "not that I"m aware, no." I agreed, wondering just how many times I would end up hearing that joke here. At least it was better than asking me how the weather was up here.
  
  Aela approached from the back. She looked similar to how she did in the game -- the facepaint and the fur armor along with a strikingly beautiful face that gave off an amazonian vibe. She was also tall. Not as tall as me, but she was in the ballpark of 6"0 or taller. She nodded as she approached. "Impressive. We"re members of the Companions -- Aela, that"s Farkas and this one is Ria. What do they call you?"
  
  "Jericho," I introduced myself simply. "I have to say, this wasn"t what I expected to find when I arrived at Whiterun for the first time," I admitted, fishing for information. This wasn"t supposed to happen for months. I had picked Skyrim because of certain assumptions I had made -- in the game, everything took place in a single year according to the official timeline. From Alduin to the College to the assassination of the emperor, to every sidequest. The DLC took place after that year.
  
  Instead, things were happening out of order and the only thing I could be certain about was that Aludin wouldn"t be burning down Helgen for a couple of months. Otherwise, I paid good credits for nothing.
  
  "It was a giant exile from its tribe that caught a taste for blood," Farkas explained. "Then grew bold enough it started to hunt around the edges of Whiterun." He glanced over at the corpse, taking a step back when the blood threatened to touch his boots. "Bold, but stupid, apparently."
  
  "We were hired to take it out by the Jarl," Aela informed, catching my attention. "As the one that struck it down, you"re entitled to part of the reward," she decided, earning a firm nod from Farkas and a much more reluctant one from Ria.
  
  Well then. That worked out perfectly, didn"t it?
  
  "Lead the way."
  ...
  
  So ends the setup phase and begins Jericho's path of becoming a professional murderhobo.
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
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  Whiterun was more impressive on the inside than it was on the outside, yet it almost resembles what it looked like in the game. There was a clear main road that led to a central plaza, which in turn led to the keep. From where I stood at the gate, I could see the Skyforge that peeked over the tops of houses. Not to mention that the home of the Companions wasn't a Viking inspired longhouse -- it would classify as its own keep if the hints of walls were anything to go by.
  
  However, that was where the similarities ended. Flanking the main road was densely packed buildings crammed together to make use of every inch of space. Several side roads branched off, which were also flanked by more wood buildings. Each building was clearly Viking inspired, but they looked squished to make more room. The roads were surprisingly full, with stalls set up wherever they could fit.
  
  Looking at it... all I could think was fire hazard.
  
  "You said it was your first time in Whiterun?" Farkas asked as he noticed me taking everything in. More than a few people looked at me right back. 7'6 really was too big, wasn't it? Looking at the buildings, I was going to have to bend over to enter most of them. Maybe I should tone it down in the next world I visit?
  
  "It is. It's more packed than I thought it'd be," I admitted, following as Aela and Ria led us through the streets. The streets were busy, but nothing compared to Orario during a rush hour. What's more, the thin crowd parted for us, recognizing Aela and Farkas.
  
  "Hm. That's because it's the easiest city to get to, so most milk drinkers end up staying here. But Koldak says that it didn't used to be this bad. Bunch of Nords started coming home to Skyrim after the empire lost the war with the elves," Farkas said with a shake of his head. "But honest work is getting hard to come by, so most end up as bandits."
  
  "Which means more work for us -- the Companions!" Ria enthusiastically added.
  
  That, I nodded to. "I've noticed. I live at Helgen, and I cleared out two major gangs-" I started, only for Aela to glance over her shoulder to give me a sharp look.
  
  "The ones in some mine and another band that had taken over an old fort?" She questioned, earning a blink from me before I nodded. I guess those were official quests or something?
  
  "Yeah? Sorry, did I take someone's job? The garrison didn't mention anything about a quest being put up, and I did it to earn the right to own land," I explained.
  
  "You did, but that's the nature of the job. Skjor and I should have been quicker to claim it." Aela dismissed the issue with a shrug of her shoulders while Farkas let out an amused huff.
  
  "Better finding out now than after you've made the trip," he commented, earning an agreeing huff from Aela.
  
  "Very true," she admitted, looking at me again. Her eyes, now that I was paying attention, were an unusual color: a golden yellow with a hint of green. A hint at her werewolf nature? And now that I thought about it, I didn"t notice the tells that the NPCs commented about in the game. Neither Farkas or Aela smelled like a wet dog or anything like that. "Did you clear it alone?"
  
  "No. Some of the garrison at Helgen helped out. There were only about fifty of them though, and they were pretty spread out throughout the fort," I explained. I hadn"t meant to humblebrag, but I didn"t miss the look Aela sent Farkas. It was more...I had a different standard to be considered a challenge now. I was a level 2, or 28. I was firmly in superhuman territory and fifty baseline humans weren"t an issue anymore. It was hardly an issue before I leveled up in Danmachi.
  
  "I suppose I should ask if you took any other jobs near Helgen?" Farkas asked, sounding faintly amused. I feel like there was a joke I wasn"t getting.
  
  I nodded before I listed off the jobs I took care of. Which was all of them, except for the giant spiders. Mostly because they were giant spiders, it was comparatively a low priority, and they were giant spiders. I hated normal spiders as they were.
  
  "Well, if you"re going to live in Helgen, it sounds like we might as well leave any jobs in that area to you," Farkas stated with a laugh as we continued through the streets. I flashed a grin at the man as my gaze swept across the crowd again. It was kinda difficult to tell what race people were with a glance, but the Nords were obviously Nords when you knew what to look for.
  
  Pale skin, fair hair, and judging by how common it was, a strong jawline was a racial feature. There were a lot of them, unsurprisingly, and it was enough to convince me that it was the right choice to go with the Nord race.
  
  "I don"t want to step on any toes," I admitted. I was too new and even if I was stronger than most, that didn"t mean I was stronger than everyone. Not yet, at any rate.
  
  "Eh, don"t worry about stuff like that. Sure, some might kick up a fuss, but it"s not like there"s a shortage of work. And if they"re complaining about having to walk to a job then they don"t belong in the Companions," Farkas dismissed the issue with a careless shrug of his shoulders.
  
  With that, the conversation lapsed as we entered the market square. It couldn"t look more different than it did in the game. There were at least a dozen shops facing the sizable square and even more stalls advertising their wares. My gaze lingered on the shop I did recognize -- Arcadia's Cauldron, an alchemy shop. As good of a place as any to start dabbling in alchemy.
  
  I knew very little about it, all things considered. Mostly because alchemy became completely irrelevant very early on because anything it could do, magic and enchantments could do better. I recalled some potion ingredients, but I"m guessing that there would be more to it. Still, it would be a good start.
  
  I made a mental note to stop by before we turned, heading up a set of stairs that led to the next district. A pair of guards nodded to us, and I got the impression that it wouldn"t have been so easy to walk by them if I didn"t have some Companions with me. And given that the Wind district was considerably nicer than the one below, I"m guessing that guess was right on the mark.
  
  Whereas down below, the houses and shops were so tightly packed together practically every building was touching, the Wind district had an actual layout and spaces between each house. I would be hard-pressed to call all of them nice, especially compared to the one I built under Hestia"s directions, but it was certainly a step up.
  
  Looking to my right, I saw Jorrvaskr, the home of the Companions. Most of it was blocked from view by a large stone wall that was manned by several warriors that weren"t basic guards from the look of it. The only thing I could clearly see was the Skyforge, which seemed to look over the entirety of the city. Which was fitting.
  
  "That's the home of the Companions," Aela informed me, drawing my attention back to her. "Are you planning on trying to join?" she asked. That was a good question, now that I think about it.
  
  I didn"t plan to originally, but... at the same time, I had plenty to gain just by joining them. The Skyforge was more than just a fancy forge like it was in the game. That forge was here since before there were people. There was something special about it, and Skyforge steel would certainly be an upgrade from what I"m using right now.
  
  The only issue was that I didn"t really see any benefit from becoming a werewolf. Anything that form could do, I could do better. If anything, if things went as I planned, then I would be significantly weaker in that form. But... I could always just not use it. Or get rid of it when I get the chance. Or... hmm...
  
  "Yeah, I think so," I told them as we continued our way towards the Cloud district. My gaze glossed over a small prayer area with a guy shouting in front of a Talos statue. Honestly, that was impressive. I was about six months before the start of canon, meaning that he stood there every day, shouting about the glory of Talos, for at least that long before the Dragonborn came.
  
  "Figured. It"s not as easy as you think it"s going to be but...eh, if what we saw is anything to go by, you"ll fit in well enough." Farkas said with a nod to himself, a gesture that Aela copied. Ria rolled her eyes so hard that they nearly fell out of her head.
  
  "What"s with that reaction? I nearly died twice to get in and he gets welcomed with open arms?" She questioned, but her tone was more joking than actually bitter. She flashed me a grin to show that she was just teasing, which was a relief.
  
  "He"s taller," Aela teased, shooting the newest recruit a smirk. Ria sent Aela the Skyrim equivalent of the bird, but I stopped paying attention once we stepped into the Cloud district and...
  
  You know what?
  
  Nazem had a reason to be a total douchebag. The Cloud district was smaller, set up on a small bluff with more guards marking the entrance. It looked like a painting out of a fantasy novel -- there were three mansions, each set up some distance away from each other, with the keep dominating them all. The stone path leading up was well maintained, the grass trimmed, bushes of flowers, and a gently flowing stream that flowed downward.
  
  In a word? It was picturesque.
  
  I numbly followed as they led me to the keep. My gaze lingered on a mansion, some kind of emblem marking the flags that marked who it belonged to. At that moment, I came to a decision. Helgen was nice, but that didn"t mean we had to stay there forever, even without the possibility it was going to be reduced to a ruin. It could be a summer home, or whatever.
  
  The Hestia familia had fuck off levels of money. I wanted everyone to know that we had fuck off levels of money and when our familia grew, those with sticky fingers would know to fuck off.
  
  On that note, I made yet another mental note to deal with the Thieves Guild in Riften.
  
  Marching up the steps, the doors were pushed open to reveal an impressive keep. The open area was massive, the ceiling was extremely high, almost pointlessly so, with another set of steps blocking my vision. Walking up them revealed a feasting room with richly decorated tables flanking a long fire pit that led up to the throne.
  
  A man lazily sat in his throne, speaking to a robed man and a woman with dark skin. My gaze met the man sitting down, his blonde eyebrows climbing high towards the golden circlet infused with diamonds and rubies he wore. He was a handsome man, I noticed. Most of his face was covered by a blonde beard, but his high cheekbones hinted at a handsome face without it. They matched well with his blue eyes, his fine clothes, and the fact that he looked like he bathed regularly.
  
  "I take it that the giant has been taken care of?" Jarl Balgruuf the Greater asked, suddenly looking far more attentive as he straightened in his chair. The shift in his attention brought the attention of the other two to us.
  
  Irileth turned around first, a hand nearing her weapon in a way that appeared casual. She wore leather armor, revealing a fair bit of her dark skin. She was the first elf that I had seen so far -- charcoal black skin made her red hair and blood-red eyes stand out that much more. Standing next to her was a cloaked man, his hood up so that I could only see a bit of his face.
  
  Farengar Secret-Fire. The man that could help me along my personal quest for power.
  
  "It is done, Jarl Balgruuf," Aela announced, coming to a stop. "There was some damage to the housing, and there's a mess to clean up, but it was contained to a small area with the help of him," she continued, gesturing at me. I took that as a sign to step forward.
  
  "I had wondered who you were," Jarl Balgruuf admitted. "I recognize most of the Companions at a glance, but I would think I would recognize you even if you were fresh blood."
  
  "He helped take down the giant-" Aela started only for Farkas to pitch in.
  
  "He took it down in three swings and each one took something off," Farkas supplied. "Leg, arm, then head."
  
  "Yes," Aela confirmed with a nod. "As such, honor demands that he be compensated. He is welcome to my share of the promised reward."
  
  "And mine. Barely swung at the thing. Getting paid for a walk outside the gates doesn't sit well with me," Farkas echoed. Both of them looked at Ria, who I stole a glance at. She gave me a careless shrug.
  
  "I'm saving up for some better armor," she told me in a tone that said I was shit out of luck.
  
  "An unusual request, but if you feel that he is deserving, then I won"t question your judgment," Jarl Balgruuf remarked before he nodded to me. "If you aren"t fresh blood for the Companions, then what brings you to my realm, stranger?"
  
  "My name is Jericho," I introduced myself first. "I came for a few reasons but the most important one is that I"ve found myself the owner of the Embershard Mine just outside of Helgen, after clearing it of bandits. I...well, I cleared out the rooster of work most people do to earn the right to own property, so there"s a surplus of people needing work, most of which are working at the mine. We"ll have more iron to sell, and I was hoping to find buyers for it here."
  
  "And," I quickly continued as the Jarl cocked an eyebrow at me, looking faintly surprised at my reason. "We"ve found evidence of other veins around Helgen. I"m hoping to earn the right to mine up whatever ore is there."
  
  Jarl Balgruuf nodded, looking thoughtful. "An interesting prospect...but you haven"t been in Skyrim long, have you lad?" He asked, a small smile tugging at his lips. I got the distinct feeling I just made an ass out of myself, but I had no idea how.
  
  Well, there"s no shame in admitting it now. "I am. My family arrived in Skyrim about a week ago," I explained. That seemed to catch his attention, judging by his nod.
  
  "The most common practice is to ask for a loan from me to set up the enterprise and until you"ve paid off the loan, I would be given favorable trade deals in addition to regular payments," then his smile grew a fraction. "Or, should you be unable to pay, the ownership of the mine would default to me." And then it clicked.
  
  "Oh." I just confessed to accidentally stealing ownership of Embershard Mine from the Jarl to the Jarl. I...really hope I didn"t have to fight my way out of here. That would make things plenty awkward down the line.
  
  "Heh. How did you get the deed?" Jarl Balgruuf asked, sounding more amused than anything. I heard Ria failing to hide a chuckle and I could only imagine that Aela and Farkas were exchanging amused looks behind me.
  
  "I heard about how the bandits took over the mine and approached Torbgar about clearing them out for a price. I...now that I think about it, I guess he thought I worked for you. He shoved the deed into my face in exchange for letting him go, and...well, I had no reason to refuse. I had already planned to clear out the bandits anyway and gaining a stable source of income was just icing on the cake," I explained somewhat awkwardly.
  
  Irileth narrowed her eyes at me, telling me that she found the entire situation far less amusing than the Jarl. Farengar looked like he couldn"t wait for the conversation to end.
  
  "Hm. I suppose you were right Irileth. Some gambles don"t pay off," he commented to his housecarl before he refocused on me. His gaze was heavy and judging, mulling over some question that only he knew before he nodded to himself. "On the condition that you take over Torbgar debts for the mine, Embarshard Mine will be yours," he offered, and that was a lot better than trying to put me in jail for accidentally stealing from him.
  
  "How large is the debt?" I asked cautiously, hating that word. I had plenty of money, so I could pay it off easily enough, but the idea of being in debt didn"t sit well with me. Too many bad memories related to it and, worse, it hadn"t been my choice to be in that situation.
  
  "Provided you would want to put the reward for the giant towards it, I"ll round it out at ten thousand septems," he answered. Though he didn"t mention if he was rounding up or down, I thought that didn"t sound so bad. A drop in the bucket, really.
  
  "Thank you, I would like to do just that," I said with a nod of my head. The Jarl nodded firmly in response.
  
  "I"ll have my steward draw up the appropriate documents to make it binding. In the meantime, you said you have other reasons to come to Whiterun?" Jarl Balgruuf asked, prompting me to fish out the necklaces that I had looted off of the bandit. For the first time, Farengar looked interested.
  
  "Enchantments?" He asked, his voice...maybe it was a little early to judge since he only spoke one word, but his voice could best be described as condescending. "Where did you get those?"
  
  "From the bandits in Embershard Mine. I tried to get them checked out by a local trader to see what they did, but-" I started, only to be cut off by Farengar as if I had said the stupidest thing he had heard this week.
  
  "Of course they couldn"t," he said, making a quick trip down the stairs and all but snatched the necklaces out of my hands. I let him, mostly because I was still harboring hope I could learn a thing or three about enchanting from him, but that hope was starting to dwindle. "Nords wouldn"t know magic even when it hits them in the face," he muttered scornfully, paying no mind to the irritated grunt from Farkas.
  
  I was more interested in him looking over the necklaces. "The guy that wore them broke his arms when he took a swing at me with an axe," I added, just in case it would help. Farengar nodded to himself.
  
  "Hardly surprising. Both of these carry a minor fortify strength enchantment. Unless you"re used to fighting with enchantments, breaking bones is the most common outcome," he mused to himself before he looked up at me with narrowed eyes. I barely paid attention because now that I knew what they were, I was far more interested in them.
  
  "Huh. I guess I"ll keep one to use and break the other one down-" I started, trying to drop a hint that I was interested in learning enchanting. To my surprise, I got a bite.
  
  "Hmph. You think it's that easy to learn enchanting?" He questioned with a huff and a shake of his head. "Just wave your hands at an enchanting table, throw a soul gem at it and imbue an artifact with metaphysical properties?" Well...
  
  "If there"s more to it, then I"d be happy to learn," I remarked. That got his attention. I could practically see him swallow a remark when he saw that I was serious. He frowned at me for a moment, then he nodded to himself.
  
  "Do you really think it would be that simple for me to teach you anything about magic?" He questioned but the fact that he was considering it spoke volumes. Especially considering that all I had to do was show a hint of interest.
  
  Luckily, that brought me to the last reason why I was here. "I"m willing to do what it takes to learn. Another reason why I came to Whiterun was for work. I"m sure a court mage could find a use for a warrior willing to go where others won"t in exchange for lessons," I offered with a slight grin. I could practically see the interest in his eyes.
  
  "A court mage would," he agreed with a sharp nod. "Come find me whenever you"re done with the Companions," Farengar ordered easily, expecting me to obey. And with that, he spun on his heel and walked away from me.
  
  My gaze flickered to Jarl Balgruuf, who simply nodded. That served as a dismissal, prompting the three of us to bow sharply before walking away.
  
  ...
  
  There were more Companions than I recall there being, I noted as I was led inside the large building. The longhouse was massive, a staged floor to serve several levels of feasting with the top floor being the ground floor. The floors were made of stone, the wood walls and ceiling looked weathered, ancient, but strong. More noticeably, there were dozens of people eating and more filtering in from outside.
  
  But...I wasn"t surprised. Not really. Skyrim was a heavily martial culture, so an ancient group like the Companions were probably the Skyrim equivalent of rockstars. If anything, it made no sense that their numbers were so small in the game.
  
  "Let"s go find Kodlak," Aela decided, her gaze sweeping over the high table to see it empty. Her eyes lingered on a man with a shaved head who looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He wore blackface paint underneath his eyes, one of which was blind. And I didn"t fail to notice how his one eye lingered on Aela in return.
  
  "Are you sure you don"t want to catch up with Skjor? It"s been a whole hour since-" Farkas was cut off by Aela punching him in the arm hard enough that he stumbled a step. He didn"t seem to mind as he chuckled to himself. "Kodlak is probably watching the new blood spar outside. You know how it is with him."
  
  Aela muttered a few choice words at him before she nodded. She glanced at me, "follow me and don"t touch anything," she warned. I nodded and she led me to the otherside of the building. I looked around the place, to the high ceilings, to the iron chandeliers, but most importantly, to the trophies.
  
  They were slapped all over the walls. Stuffed heads of all kinds of animals from bears, to sea creatures, to falmer. And as I gazed over the hall, more people took notice of me. The people that ate at the table, nearly all of them Nords with the few exceptions being either Redguards, Imperials and one singular orc, made no secret that they were sizing me up.
  
  I met their gazes evenly, having done this song and dance before. Show no fear, don"t back down, but don"t escalate.
  
  More often than not, they looked away. They turned back to their food and drink, chatting back and forth amongst themselves about my appearance. Thankfully, before long, Aela was pushing open the back door to reveal a training area.
  
  A dozen people sparred with one another with swords and shields, axes, maces and everything else. Some were clearly doing better than others, others were sporting minor injuries, but in all... it looked very different than Ryuu"s sparring sessions with me. And very, very different than my sessions with Tiona.
  
  Overlooking them were two men. It was obvious who Kodlak was. Much like Balgruuf, he carried himself with a certain air of gravitas. His grayed out mane of hair was pulled back out of his face, a well trimmed beard dipped towards his chest. Other than his hair and a few wrinkles gathering at his eyes, he carried himself like a younger man. Especially considering that he wore full plate armor as naturally as most people wore clothes.
  
  Standing next to him was a younger man with dark hair and a five o"clock shadow. A large two handed sword was strapped to his back, similar to my own. He wore armor like Kodlak. Both men were fairly tall -- Kodlak was around six foot while the man standing next to him was 6"2, but both of them were eye level with my chest.
  
  Both of them seemed to pick up on our approach. I hadn"t thought about it earlier, but did being a werewolf enhance the base form"s sense of smell? Something to look into.
  
  "You"re back already, and you"ve brought a guest," Kodlak remarked, looking up at me. Judging by the faintly amused expression on his face, it wasn"t something he had to do often. Especially considering how people in Skyrim were proving to be shorter than the average back in Danmachi.
  
  "A potential recruit," Aela informed, standing to the side. "He helped with the giant, and killed it with ease."
  
  "My name's Jericho," I introduced myself, watching them size me up much like I had done to them a moment ago.
  
  "Well met, Jericho," Kodlak stated. "You look the part of a warrior. That"s fine armor that you wear," he continued, his eyes lingering on the Hestia Armor that covered my arm. Though, I couldn"t tell if it was because of how much it stood out or if he suspected it was better than an ordinary piece of armor. "What brings you to the Companions?"
  
  So far, honesty hasn't screwed me yet. Well, not countinge with the Jarl, but I didn"t count that because it worked in my favor. "Work and to learn," I told him. The other man made a faintly surprised face at that before he schooled his expression. "I"m stronger and faster then anyone you"ll ever meet without any enchantments or potions, but my skills are lacking. I"m inexperienced in that regard. I"m confident that I can kill just about anything, but it"ll be sloppy."
  
  "Heh." The other man let out a chuckle, and now that I think about it, by process of elimination, he was probably Vilkas.
  
  Kodlak let out a chuckle as well, "lad, this is where you tell us your great deeds and why we"d be fools to not take you."
  
  I shrugged, "I"d rather be honest." I had learned my lessons in Danmachi. I wasn"t going to go out pouring my every secret to everyone on the streets, but I was going to avoid hiding things if I could.
  
  "How old are you, lad?" Kodlak asked suddenly.
  
  "I turned nineteen a couple months ago," I answered. Farkas sputtered, muttering a curse underneath his breath. I"m guessing that he was assuming that I had some growth spurts left.
  
  "Hm. Well, I suppose there hasn"t been much time for you to build your legend," he commented, his gaze sliding over to Aela and Farkas. "Would you be proud to call him a Companion?" Kodlak asked, making their attention shift to me.
  
  "I can"t speak of his character, but I would trust his sword arm. And any man willing to admit a fault and seeks to improve it should be rewarded. I believe he deserves a chance," Aela stated and I tried not to shift at the praise. All I did was kill a giant and made some small talk with them. I know giants were meant to be tough, but...
  
  "Same here. Seems like a decent enough sort. I say give him a chance," Farkas stated with a small shrug of his shoulders.
  
  Kodlak glanced at Vilkas, who shrugged. "I haven"t seen him fight or know his character, but I trust their word. If he"s lying then we"ll find out soon enough." Huh. I guess being 7"6, decked out in heavy armor and built like a brickshit house had its advantages when dealing with warriors. He was supposed to kick up a fuss if it was the Dragonborn joining.
  
  "But, first, let me see what you can do. You claim to wear no enchantments?" Vilkas asked, earning a nod from me. Even still, his eyes slid over to the Hestia Armor. Which was fair, I guess.
  
  "It has magical properties, but nothing to do with combat. I can take off my armor, if that"ll help?" I offered, feeling oddly excited at the prospect of actually learning how to fight. With Ryuu and Ais, there was no time to actually teach me anything. What they did was show me how to exploit openings and got me used to fighting against faster people. So, for the most part, I just got the crap kicked out of me until I could sorta fight back for a limited amount of time against level 2s.
  
  It seemed my willingness to prove I wasn't lying prevented them from calling me out. Vilkas nodded, heading to the ring while I began to take off my armor with practiced ease. Hephusteus really was the best. Heavy plate armor was meant to take somewhere around an hour to put on or take off, but with a few straps and then minutes later, I was standing in my normal clothes.
  
  But, given that they could be enchanted too, I shrugged off my shirt as well, and it was only after it was off did Aela stop me from taking off my pants. "Any enchantment that could be placed on cloth won't help you in a fight. We'll take your word that you have none on your clothes," she commented. I didn't fail to notice how her eyes roamed my exposed torso.
  
  "No scars," Vilkas noted as I grabbed my sword and stood across from him. The clearing grew quieter as most paused their bouts to watch ours.
  
  "No one's managed to give me one," I shot back, raising my sword.
  
  "We'll have to work on that then," he returned before he lunged. His two-handed sword darted forward, a testing strike towards my chest. And, with that single movement, I knew he was a better fighter than me. It was in the small tells that I was learning to recognize.
  
  His footing was better, his lunge was smooth, his balance was perfect. I could see it and I barely knew what I was doing. I just hacked and slashed or gave my enemies openings, accepted the damage to deliver a fatal counter in return. He was better than me in skill in every single way.
  
  But it didn't matter. With the Hand-Eye Coordination perk, I could easily follow the destination of the blade. With my experience fighting Ryuu, who was a level 3, or a 4 when she wasn't kicking my ass, Vilkas might as well have been moving in slow motion. And with my skills being so high...his skill with the blade simply didn't matter.
  
  I batted the blade to the side effortlessly, mine moving in a blur that knocked it to the side hard enough that it nearly flung out of his hands. Vilkas' eyes widened as he retreated a half step, recovering swiftly. In that moment it took him to settle back into his stance, I could have taken his head off.
  
  "Hm," he grunted before he dove back in. His greatsword flashed towards me, aiming for the holes in my simple defense. Again, I was struck by just how much better he was than me when I effortlessly deflected one blow, but now that he was expecting it, he pressed on with a swipe at my legs. Only to find that my blade materialized in its path with a flick of my wrist.
  
  It was actually annoying, in a way. He was a master trainer in two-handers, and before I had leveled up, he would have been a challenge. Even after the training trip. I could see it so clearly in my mind, but...I was far beyond the realms of normal humans. It wasn't even a contest.
  
  "Hmph," Vilkas grunted, attacking my weaknesses, his sword moving in a blur to a normal eye. I shifted my sword, blocking and deflecting the blows, stopping them in their tracks with ease. His sword skirted along the edge, angling inward to stab me with the tip, but I flicked my wrist to send the sword wildly off course. My feet didn't move, only my arms did, and that was all it took to prevent him from coming even close.
  
  After a short minute of trying to break through my defense, Vilkas lowered his weapon. "You're right. You are awful with a sword," he remarked but he followed it with a sharp nod to me. "But that doesn't mean a thing when I can't touch you. I would need to drink a Draught of Warrior to have a chance."
  
  "He didn't drink any potions," Aela offered. "If he had, then they would have worn off during his talk with the Jarl."
  
  I glanced at her in time to see Kodlak nodding, "Aye, I think I've seen enough. Vilkas, can you teach him?"
  
  "I can. It'll be different than most, but so long as his head isn't on his shoulders for decoration, I can teach him." Vilkas confirmed, and a knot of tension released from between my shoulder blades that I didn't know was there until it was gone. I didn't want to stay at my current skill level but it would be a lie to say that I hadn't been afraid that I would be stuck at it.
  
  "Good. Jericho, you have proven your strength at arms, but there is more to being a Companion than skill or strength. To join our numbers in truth, I give you three tasks. To learn what it is to be a Companion, to learn how to obey, and to complete a quest to prove that you can lead. Aela, Farkas -- you brought him here so it will be your responsibility." Koldak spoke, his voice was level but it carried.
  
  "As you say, Harbinger," Aela and Farkas agreed as one.
  
  "It will be done," I told him with a nod.
  
  Now began the true Skyrim experience.
  
  Fetch quests.
  
  ...
  
  "Jericho is probably at Whiterun by now," Hestia murmured to herself as her fingers ghosted along the edge of several books that were rapidly filling up a bookcase. Despite Lili's insistence that they spend money frugally, books continued to appear one by one on the shelves. Her newest child really was adorable. And she was developing a rather fierce reputation as a haggler.
  
  Hestia let out a quiet sigh, missing him already. The house felt so big and lonely without him. She had enjoyed the week he was here, building the home that they now lived in, even when he was cursing up a storm. Because he was here.
  
  "Lili is home," Lili announced her presence, drawing Hestia's attention to her. Lili carried a small sculpture in her hands. A serpentine dragon with wings on his back that swallowed the tip of a sword pointed upwards. The shrine of Akatosh. "Lili found the shrine you asked for. What does Lady Hestia need with it?"
  
  Hestia gave Lili a wide smile, "I just need to have a chat with Akatosh where he can easily hear me." The books underplayed how weakened the Nine Divines were. In the past week, she had been trying to get in contact with the Aedra, wanting to speak with them before she spoke to any other Daedra. Only there was silence from them as the Dedra became increasingly annoying. At least some of them were. Others decided to back off, which made Hestia like them that much more.
  
  Lili nodded, accepting the answer with ease, unaware of the implications of their situation. Just as Jericho was unaware. Hestia decided against telling either of them -- for starters, as the god of this familia, this task fell to her and her alone. Secondly, as much as she loved both Jericho and Lili, and she loved them to the point that her heart felt like it could burst at times...
  
  They were mortals and she was a god. This was a godly matter that would be settled by gods.
  
  "Thank you for bringing it to me," Hestia said, jumping up to take the shrine but Lili stubbornly refused to let her carry it. "Did it cost a lot?"
  
  "No. The merchant said that every household should have a shrine to at least one of the Divine gods, so he gave it to us," Lili answered. And while she didn"t lie, Hestia sensed that she wasn"t telling the whole truth. Still, Hestia didn"t press the issue, knowing that Lili was simply trying to underplay how she had savagely chewed into a merchant until he gave the shrine away for free. "Where would you want Lili to put it?" She asked before Hestia pointed to a shelf that Jericho had built.
  
  After the shrine was in place, she felt a presence press against her arcanum. They would finally be able to talk. Hestia placed a nice blue vase next to the shrine that was filled with a lovely bouquet of flowers that Jericho had left her before he went off adventuring. Honestly, knowing Jericho, he was going to be neck deep in trouble in no time.
  
  But he was a level 2. Or 28, going by his weird system. Hestia was confident that even if he did find himself in trouble, he would be able to get out of it just as easily. Even still, Hestia would be a liar if she said she wasn"t worried. Just a little. Or a whole lot.
  
  Hestia shook her head, dismissing the thoughts. Right now wasn"t the time for worries.
  
  Hestia turned to Lili, "I"m going to go take a quick nap." She informed and earned a dutiful nod from Lili. Lili was small, but she was still a seasoned adventurer. With her here, Hestia didn"t have to worry about anyone breaking into the house. Which was a fear that she never thought she"d have until the Soma familia had walked down the steps to her and Jericho"s room after they had nearly murdered Lili.
  
  With that taken care of Hestia went into her room and jumped into the too large bed that was far too empty for her, and closed her eyes.
  
  When she opened them, she stood before a dragon in a white void that seemed to stretch on for eternity in every direction. Hestia felt unrestrained power wash over her, but when she compared it to her own arcanum or Nocturnal's, it was clear that the head of the pantheon and the most powerful deity in this realm was greatly weakened by the creation of Nirn.
  
  Akatosh stood before her, a golden dragon with scales that looked like they were made of molten gold, the dragonflesh that could be seen between the scales looked to be fire. Yet, there was no heat. Akatosh was large and imposing, his wings could probably cover Helgen and his mouth could swallow three of Jericho in a single bite.
  
  Yet as imposing as he was, his body language spoke a different story. His massive head rested on his claw, his snout pointed in her direction so she could gaze into his large golden eyes with a slit pupil at eye level. Well, as much as he could manage. His large body rested on his hunches, his large serpentine tail curled around himself, much like a cat.
  
  "Your presence is most unexpected, Hestia, Goddess of Hearth and Architecture." Akatosh spoke, his voice was deep and powerful, yet surprisingly gentle.
  
  "Thank you for seeing me, Akatosh, God of Time," Hestia returned with a small smile.
  
  "You wish to speak of the Aedra"s... plight," he spoke with certainty. And, Hestia guessed that he would know that. He was a god of time, after all. Hestia wasn"t sure how much he had been weakened, but the fact that neither he, nor any of the other Aedra, hadn"t contacted her in the same manner as the Daedra had worried her.
  
  "I do," she confirmed with a small nod. "I might have given Nocturnal the idea to copy what the gods in my realm did. It might be some time until she does it, but... I suspect she"s going to try it eventually." Hestia stated with a small sigh.
  
  "She already has," Akatosh informed. Hestia blinked her eyes as the scene around them changed. Now they stood in some kind of dungeon that looked lived in by a single person. A short woman, though still taller than Hestia, her skin was a dark gray and her eyes were a vibrant violet. Yet, in the low light of a small flame that she stared into, those violet orbs were filled with a profound sadness.
  
  "Is this how you wish to spend out the rest of your years?" A sharp voice remarked in the darkness, making the woman spring to her feet, daggers appearing in her hands. In the corner that she looked into, Nocturnal stepped out of the shadow, dressed in some kind of form fitting leather armor, but it...looked like it was made of shadows, almost. Hestia didn"t know how else to describe it.
  
  "Who..." The woman started before her eyes widened. Apparently she recognized Nocturnal because she dropped to her knee. "I- My lady, I-"
  
  "Are living in squalor, in the middle of nowhere, no closer to vengeance nor reclaiming my key after twenty-five years," Nocturnal rebuked, making the other woman flinch. But, tellingly, she offered no argument. She simply lowered her head in defeat.
  
  "No, my lady. I am no closer," she agreed with quiet grief.
  
  Nocturnal looked down at her for a moment, and despite her cold expression, there was compassion in her eyes. "Strip yourself bare, Karliah, and lay on your stomach. Things... are going to be a bit different from now on. I believe a task like this deserves a personal touch."
  
  With that, the scene faded so that they were standing back in the white void.
  
  "You have changed things greatly during a time of great upheaval," Akatosh spoke, but Hestia couldn"t tell if he was admonishing her or not. "More so than the mortal known as Jericho. He was but a pebble dropped in a lake. Your actions are a boulder."
  
  That was...fair. "But, you allowed it," Hestia returned. "You maintain the barrier that prevents the Daedra from entering this plane. Nocturnal couldn"t have done it so quickly unless you allowed it."
  
  "I did," Akatosh admitted without hesitation. "Nocturnal has suppressed her arcanum, turning herself into but a mortal. Her realm, the Everglow, has been left empty for the first time in history. Something...that was unforeseen," he paused, his voice not giving her any hint on what he thought about that.
  
  His actions were more telling, though. The fact that Nocturnal was here, in the mortal world, told Hestia that Akatosh allowed it because he thought it was a good thing.
  
  "The others will follow," Hestia warned. "Once they see the appeal. I"d rather spend a single year living as a mortal than a million as a god in Heaven."
  
  Akatosh was silent for a moment. "Nocturnal is a test. Since the creation of Nirn, the Daedra have been more powerful than us. We hold the most influence in Nirn, only because the Daedra have a passing interest in mortal affairs. For their own amusement, more often than not. Nocturnal is one of the few that cares for those that offer her their prayers."
  
  "I wish to see if her influence grows or suffers now that she is a mortal," Akatosh continued. "Is it better to leave the Daedra unchecked and let the people of Nirn suffer their occasional interest, or to allow them to restrain their arcanum and interact with them directly?"
  
  Unfortunately, Hestia knew the answer. Akatosh was the god of time, so he likely knew it as well, but...in the past few months, Hestia understood mortals better than she ever had spending thousands of years watching over them. Akatosh thought like a god and she thought as a mortal.
  
  "Their influence will grow until it overtakes yours," Hestia told him. "Mortals will always follow someone that they can see and interact with over a guiding hand." There was a moment of silence at her declaration, which told Hestia that he already knew that. And that probably meant that he knew what she was about to offer.
  
  Because, in the end, she had set this in motion. Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing remained to be seen, but it fell to her to take responsibility for her actions. Even if it was only a single conversation.
  
  "I"m a guest in this realm, but if I was here for the creation for Nirn, I would have helped in its creation," Hestia spoke gently. "For the foreseeable future, this place will be my home and I want to help make things better. Jericho wants to make this place safe for me and Lili, and I want to make it safe for them."
  
  Hestia had prepared herself for what she spoke next, so there was no hesitation. "I was not here to offer my arcanum to create Mundus, but I am here to offer it to make it a better place. So all of the Aedra stand on equal footing with me, I will divide my arcanum between all of you. With it, you can be more than spirits haunting the world you crafted. You can walk among the mortals, just as the Daedra and I do, and lead them to a better tomorrow."
  
  Her words seemed to echo in the great nothing that surrounded them. Akatosh looked at her, his gaze weighty, yet gentle.
  
  "Your arcanum is not something to offer lightly. As you said, you are a guest in this realm. Do you truly wish to give such a gift to strangers?" Akatosh questioned her, earning a firm nod in response. This wasn"t something that she offered lightly. It was a decision she spent a great deal of thought on.
  
  "My arcanum... it"s useless," Hestia explained. "I can"t use it out of fear that the gods of my realm will find their way here. Should they, then the mortal world will be abandoned by the gods entirely as they flood here in search of entertainment." It really was shameful to admit that and know it was the truth. "Instead, I wish to do something useful with it. I want to help you and the mortals. I want to make a place where Jericho... doesn't feel like he has to be invincible to protect me and Lili."
  
  Akatosh was silent for another moment. "Before we accept such a gift... I must inform you that your timing is poor."
  
  "Alduin," Hestia guessed with a nod. "He"s coming... but... why..." Hestia trailed off, not sure how to ask the question. Or if she wanted the answer.
  
  Akatosh let out a breath that sounded suspiciously like a sigh. A long, exhausted sigh of a god carrying the weight of the future on his shoulders.
  
  "Alduin...is a question that I asked myself long ago. Mundus is a place of immense suffering. Not all of it is because of Daedra meddling, but it's inherent to how it was created. Many ages ago, I asked myself if such a place... was deserving of existence. If we should not start over anew and create a better world." Akatosh spoke, his voice very quiet for such a large dragon.
  
  "The mortals delayed, but the question will soon be answered."
  
  Hestia smiled, "It will." She agreed before the white world around them shifted so they stood at the top of a bluff with a really big forge at the top. It offered them a lovely view of a sprawling city beneath. Jericho stood, wearing normal clothes except for Hestia"s Armor on his left arm. He accepted a shield from an old man, a grin on his face before he walked away.
  
  "Did they seriously send Aela away so I would have to walk further to deliver her shield?" Jericho muttered to himself as he shook his head, amused while he walked down the many steps.
  
  Hestia"s heart soared to see her lover healthy and whole. She turned to Akatosh, a confident smile at her lips. "He will answer your question," Hestia told him with certainty.
  
  Akatosh watched Jericho for a moment, "perhaps." He allowed, offering no other thought on her lover"s success or failure.
  
  "Knowing the risks, do you still wish to offer your gift?" Akatosh questioned, and, again, she gave him a firm nod.
  
  "I do."
  
  As soon as she spoke the words, the world around them shifted yet again. This time, people materialized around them. Eight others. A woman with hair so blonde it looked like gold, wearing nothing but a slip of silk. An elderly man carrying a scale. Another man wearing armor with a naked sword in one hand that saw heavy use...
  
  These were the Nine Divines, the pantheon of this world.
  
  Hestia cupped her hands and summoned her arcanum, her godly aura washing over them as light gathered in her palms. For a moment, Hestia stared at the essence of her godhood. Then she divided it into nine parts, the large orb of light becoming nine smaller orbs before they drifted over to the Aedra.
  
  A gift that she gave freely, but also one that she could take back just as easily. Hestia had learned the price for placing too much faith in her kin. She offered a hand in trust first, and now it was up to them to prove that they were worthy of it.
  
  One by one, her arcanum entered them and each time Hestia felt her power diminish. Her smile never wavered because her power that she had never needed empowered the weakened Aedra. Their power swelled, their presence growing until all those that stood around her were her equals. They basked in their renewed strength as Hestia lowered her hands, feeling nothing by joy and satisfaction.
  
  Akatosh gazed into her eyes. Hestia could feel the gratitude he felt without him having to say a word.
  
  "We are forever in your debt, Hestia, Goddess of Hearth and Architecture. With this selfless gift, we welcome you to this world." Akatosh spoke before something surprising happened. The dragon faded away, shifting to an elderly man with salt and pepper hair, a handsome face and kind golden eyes.
  
  "As the head of this pantheon...I wish to welcome you to our number as the Tenth Divine," he spoke, his voice soothing but powerful.
  
  There was only one thing she could say to that.
  
  "Thanks for having me!"
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  "Gods be good," Aela muttered to herself, forced to find a new target as Jericho closed what should be an impossible distance in the blink of an eye to kill a bandit that she was aiming at. She watched as his blade flashed forward, cutting through a bandit's leather armor so quickly that blood erupted from both halves as the bandit"s heart continued to pump.
  
  Before either half had hit the ground, Jericho had already moved on. He deftly deflected an arrow with his sword before he crossed the distance to kill his attacker. Aela managed to fire off an arrow that hit a bandit that stood at the top of a watchtower. One of the few remaining. Yet, as she readied another arrow, a large rock slammed into the one she didn't kill hard enough that gore erupted where the rock slammed into his unprotected chest.
  
  And, just like that, the battle for Fort Graymore was over. Thirty dead, their lifeblood soaking into the stone and dirt. The fort doors were left open from where those within had rushed out to their deaths. There could be some still inside, but Aela had her doubts. If they hadn"t come out by now, then they had likely fled through some secret passageway.
  
  "He's direct," Farkas remarked. There was blood on his axe, so he had scored a kill. Assuming he matched her, then out of the thirty corpses, twenty-six had fallen to Jericho's hands. Watching the massive man fight... honestly, Aela wasn't sure why she had bothered to draw her bow.
  
  "He can afford to be," Aela agreed. As part of his trial, Jericho had been ordered to take a quest under their watchful gaze to determine his worthiness. Only he had insisted on taking a half dozen of the most dangerous bounties and requests in the hold. His reasoning? He wanted to knock them out all at once while he was in the area to avoid backtracking.
  
  This fort was directly on the highway, filled with bandits of renown. There was a good reason why neither Jarl Balguuf nor the Imperials had cleared them out. As tensions continued to worsen between the Loyalists and the Stormcloaks, no one could spare the men to clear them out.
  
  Aela expected Jericho to at least scope out the place before walking up to the front gates, but as soon as they arrived, he had walked right up to the fort gates and asked if they were bandits. When he was answered with a demand for his armor under the threat of several archers, he simply began killing them all.
  
  "He's trying to impress us," Aela commented, earning a huff of laughter from her friend.
  
  "Of course he is. And he has," Farkas remarked. It was natural that Jericho was trying so hard. He wanted into the Companions, an ancient order of warriors. Every true-blooded Nord dreamed of joining their number as children, and anytime someone had a chance to join they pushed themselves to display their greatest feats. Aela had been no different.
  
  The only issue was that Jericho's feats were starting to become... excessive.
  
  Because how does one top clearing out a fort manned by bandits practically single-handedly? Aela was starting to suspect that he would find a way to do just that. Which was a rather frightening thought.
  
  "Could we win?" Aela asked Farkas, despite knowing the answer. Aela had seen twenty-five years, and ten of them were spent with the Companions. Joining the Companions was her destiny, just as it had been her mother's and her mother before her going all the way back for countless generations. Her father had trained her well on the prey she could hunt and what was beyond her, and her time with the Companions had only hammered that lesson home.
  
  Jericho was beyond her in a fight. The only chance she had was to down a Draught of the Bowman, ambush him, and put as many arrows in his eyes as she could manage. But, her honor demanded that Jericho earned a better death than that should they ever come to blows.
  
  "The two of us as Nords? Not a chance. As werewolves? Then I like our chances. We"d still probably die though," Farkas commented, taking out a rag and cleaning off his blade as Jericho gave the all-clear. He didn"t sound that bothered at the prospect of death. And he wouldn"t. Farkas was a warrior through and through, so he knew better than anyone that a Companion lived with one foot in the grave.
  
  Their conversation came to an end as Jericho approached. He was apparently used to fighting like this because only a few spots of his armor had a significant amount of gore on it, with droplets sprinkled about. However, more noticeably, he walked with a massive chest carried on one shoulder. "All the bandits are dead. Found the loot room, and this was in there," he informed, dropping the chest before lifting the lid.
  
  Inside was a small fortune. Fine jewelry, rolls of velvet, gemstones, and gold. The bandits hadn't been here long, but they had gotten rather rich in the time they were. Rich enough that they should have moved on, but it seemed that their greed had killed them in the end.
  
  "There's a lot of food down there too. Looks like they were planning on staying here during the winter." Jericho guessed and Aela could only shake her head at the foolishness of greed. "What should we do with it?"
  
  Before she could answer, Farkas spoke. "Don't even try to split the loot with me. I don't accept pay that I didn't do anything to earn. It's yours. If you find the right merchant back in Whiterun, you could probably pay off your debt already."
  
  An expression passed over Jericho's features. The exact opposite of the one that had passed over his face back when he accepted the debt. Aela didn't even think he was aware of it. Back before the Jarl, when he accepted the debt... if she had to put a word to it, then his expression was utter contempt. And now that he could pay off the debt, his eyes were filled with a quiet, but pure joy. There was a story there.
  
  "We could head back to Whiterun if you wish," she offered, wondering what he would do. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he shook his head.
  
  "I found a wagon that I could use to transport it all. If it's all the same to you, I'd rather knock out the jobs as fast as I can." He stated, gesturing to a wagon. However, that did raise a problem.
  
  "We lack a horse," Aela pointed out and earned a careless shrug.
  
  "I'll just push it," he dismissed the issue with ease.
  
  "Do you have a woman waiting for you back in Helgen?" Farkas hazarded a guess, catching Jericho flat-footed if his embarrassed expression was anything to go by. It was surprisingly cute, Aela noted as a bashful smile tugged at his lips, realizing his true motives had been discovered. "Your wife?"
  
  "That's...complicated?" Jericho trailed off, looking as if he was considering it for the first time. Aela rolled her eyes, and in doing so, she saw Farkas give a sage nod.
  
  "Women always are," he commented, giving her a pointed look. Which she returned with a thoroughly unimpressed one.
  
  "Go load up the wagon before this complicated woman blackens your eyes," she warned. Farkas and Jericho looked too amused for their own good but they obeyed all the same. "I'll burn the dead in the meantime. The last thing we need is an opportunistic necromancer making a problem using one we just fixed."
  
  With that, they went to work. Aela burned the bodies, and some of them were so thoroughly destroyed that she probably didn't need to bother. The fire wouldn't completely burn them to ash, but the remains that were left would be useless if raised. All the while, Jericho and Farkas loaded a sturdy wagon that was likely all that remained of a merchant.
  
  Once they were done and the wagon was filled to bursting, Aela watched with interest as Jericho slid a bar through a gap where horses were meant to be and pushed. And against all odds, the wagon moved.
  
  "It's like he has a giant's strength in a smaller body," Farkas remarked. Aela silently agreed as the wagon moved forward.
  
  Now it was a question of how long he could maintain the pace.
  
  ...
  
  The answer was well into the night. The one break that he had was when he was forced to fix a wheel after going over a hole in the ground. Even still, Jericho didn't so much as look winded. She and Farkas were more tired than he was.
  
  His armor wasn't enchanted, Aela was forced to remind herself. And unless he was sneaking them, he didn't have a single stamina potion to keep him going. In a way, that was more daunting than watching him fight. The sheer endurance he had was almost too much to believe and the fact he didn't have a Fortify Endurance enchantment was a hard pill to swallow.
  
  "We should set up camp for the night," Farkas voiced her thoughts. Jericho had the audacity to look surprised at the idea.
  
  "How far away are we from Silent Moon camp?" He questioned, sounding like he was perfectly content to travel through the night. Like he hadn't spent the past six hours pushing a cart filled with treasure and enough food to feed a village through the winter.
  
  Aela looked up to the stars above, her werewolf nature allowing her to see in the dark. A skill that only those that had truly embraced their true nature held. Among the Circle, only one other could see in the dark. Finding Azure's Star, comparing its location to the throat of the world and the mountains in the distance...
  
  "About half a day's travel," Aela deduced. Then she eyed the wagon that Jericho was pushing. "The wagon will slow us down a great deal when we have to travel off-road, so it could take longer." Predictably, Jericho didn't seem to care for that idea much. Aela wondered who was the woman that could handle such a man, and, better yet, what about her made Jericho so eager to return to her.
  
  "What about if we stash the cart?" He asked, making Aela pause. No one liked the idea of leaving hard-earned loot behind. "There's an occupied tomb nearby, right? We could stay the night there, stash the cart, and when we're done we can follow the road back to Whiterun. I'll cash in the quests I've done, you can give me the verdict on if I'm a Companion or not, then I'll finish up the quests that I have before returning home for a bit." He planned, sounding as if there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he wouldn't be accepted as a Companion.
  
  And there shouldn't. His character still needed to be tested, but his skills alone made him worthy of membership. And in time, Aela had little doubt he would climb high in their ranks if he proved he could be trusted.
  
  "We're still some time away. We'd have to travel through the night to reach it," Aela said, eyeing the old tomb in the distance. It was at the end of the road, a tomb for a great ancient warrior whose legends had been forgotten. And there was no greater tragedy in this world than that.
  
  "I can push through the night if you two want to hop on," Jericho offered. Aela and Farkas shared a look before they nodded.
  
  "Sounds good to me," Farkas decided, slowing down their pace so he could jump into the wagon and Aela joined him a moment later. Farkas wasted no time making himself comfortable at the back of the wagon before he shut his eyes with his great axe in hand. Aela took up a position at the front, settled between the chest and a pile of cheese wheels.
  
  Yet, she didn't close her eyes.As the moons began to take their path through the night sky as hours passed, Aela did not sleep. Not even when Farkas' breathing evened out after a few hours of pretending to sleep turned into genuine slumber. Aela waited.
  
  A test of character.
  
  Aela knew she was a beautiful woman, she didn't see the point of pretending otherwise. She didn't particularly care if she was beautiful or ugly. Now that they were alone in the middle of nowhere, she wanted to see what Jericho would do with a beautiful woman when she was defenseless. The only obstacle would be Farkas, but a sleeping man wouldn't be much of an obstacle for a man like Jericho.
  
  If the wagon stopped at any point during the night, Aela decided she would kill him. Companions needed to be able to trust each other with their lives. If Jericho couldn't be trusted to keep his dick to himself like some kind of dog in heat, then he had no place in the Companions.
  
  But, as the sun began to rise and the hours went by in tense silence, the attempt of rape never came. Jericho just continued to push the wagon at a steady pace, the bumpy road the only source of noise, and nothing happened. Aela was glad for it. The people that the Companions attracted, the lifestyle that they lived... well, there were more than a few that had failed that test. People changed when they thought they were in a position of power.
  
  They said that power corrupted, but Aela thought it simply revealed character.
  
  And since she wouldn"t be killing him this night, it was worth trying to learn a bit more about what would soon be her newest shield-brother.
  
  "What is your story, Jericho?" Aela asked directly, knowing that she wouldn"t get an answer otherwise. He thought nothing of what he was doing. From butchering a fort of bandits, to pushing a full wagon through the night. He wasn"t even trying to hide his blatant abnormalities.
  
  "Hm? My story?" Jericho asked, caught off guard by the sudden question after hours of silence. "Don"t really have one."
  
  At that, Aela scoffed. It was more annoying than charming when men tried to be mysterious. "You carved through those bandits like they weren"t there. You have experience with combat at least. I don"t suppose you feel like sharing the secret to your strength."
  
  Jericho chuckled, apparently finding her words funny. "Then it wouldn"t be a secret," he pointed out. Like she said, more annoying than charming
  
  "You said you were new to Skyrim? Where do you hail from? What brought you here in the first place?" She pressed, searching for a trail. Nirn was a place of oddities, but Jericho was unusual enough that she could likely find out his tale by chasing down sightings of him. Then she considered the question of why a warrior like Jericho would wish to come to Skyrim now of all times. "Do you wish to join the Stormcloaks?"
  
  Jericho failed to smother a noise of disgust at the idea, telling her that she missed the mark, but that was an interesting reaction. "A fan of the Empire, I take it?"
  
  "No, not that. The Empire is on its last legs and the Thalmor have all the time in the world to kick them out for the final time," Jericho said, sounding certain of it. Aela leaned back, considering that. The Empire was a part of life. What would Nirn look like without it? Honestly, Aela couldn"t picture it. Either because nothing would change or everything would. "But I wouldn"t join the Stormcloaks even if they gave me Skyrim along with everything in it."
  
  "Oh?" A rather strong opinion. "When tales spread of your deeds, they"ll be begging you to join them when the time comes. We"ve already had a few leave our ranks to join either the Empire or the Stormcloaks." Aela knew she would be tempted to do the same if only to earn glory during the civil war that seemed increasingly inevitable. Whose side she would fight for, not even Aela knew. But that would never come to pass because her place was with the Companions.
  
  "Well, pardon my language, but they can get fucked," Jericho stated, earning an amused huff from her. "I understand that people are pissed, but what good is a civil war going to do? The only ones that are going to win in that fight are the Thalmor." At that, Aela"s eyes narrowed.
  
  "And what do you mean by that?" She questioned -- as any true Nord, Aela hated the Thalmor. High elves, despite their complicated history, were fine in her book so long as they proved themselves worthy. The Thalmor was a different beast altogether.
  
  "The civil war happens and dead Nords pile up on both sides. The Stormcloaks win? The Empire is even further weakened. Skyrim is isolated and weakened from the war. As soon as the war ends and Skyrim is licking its wounds, if I were the Thalmor, that"s when I would attack. Skyrim would fall to them." That...made an alarming amount of sense, Aela thought, disquieted.
  
  "And if the Empire wins? They"re still weakened, so is Skyrim, and worse, there"s going to be bad blood and grudges. Skyrim joined Talos willingly when he proved himself to be Dragonborn. If Skyrim loses then it remains a part of the Empire, but only this time through force. And no one likes being forced to do anything," Jericho explained, his words settling heavily on her.
  
  Still, that didn"t answer her question. "Knowing all of this, what made you decide Skyrim was the place to call home?"
  
  Jericho didn"t answer for a long moment. Long enough that she thought that he wouldn"t. Her attention was drawn to the half-collapsed ruin that marked the ancient tomb to a warrior forgotten by time. A perfect place to stash a wagon full of loot.
  
  "Because I figure I can do something about it." He spoke at last, coming to a stop.
  
  Aela eyed his back, the incredibly broad shoulders clad in thick heavy armor. She thought of how he fought back at the fort. Despite herself, Aela began to wonder if he could do something about it.
  
  ...
  
  It was a bitch and a half to bring the wagon into the hole in the ground, and it was going to be absolutely awful to get it back out. Honestly, I"m hoping that Aela and Farkas go off to do something so I can just inventory all of it. I should have done it originally, but that would have raised questions of "where did the loot go?" I didn"t want to risk them thinking that I had stolen it.
  
  But, all in all, so far this was proving to be a pretty profitable trip. I had my prospector map mode pulled up and I found a spot that had a decent iron deposit, roughly the same as Embershard Mine. So, I had another place to set up shop. And, given that I was already making a nice profit so far, I might be able to avoid taking in another debt to the jarl without having to use my savings.
  
  That was for later. For now, I had more immediate problems.
  
  "Someone"s been here recently," I pointed out, gesturing to the disturbed dust on the door. It looked weathered and ancient, the black iron door still standing after being exposed to the elements for thousands of years. I could only assume magic was involved. Farkas and Aela looked over at the evidence, the former frowning. "Should we check it out? I"ve heard that there have been draugr roaming around."
  
  "It"s probably a treasure hunter or something. Your call if you want to check it," Farkas said. I know they were testing me to see how I would fit it. The question was did entering a random tomb count as brave or reckless to them? Eh, it probably wouldn"t matter at all. They would be too happy with what they get what was at the bottom of this dungeon.
  
  The last piece of Wuuthrad was down here. The legendary axe wielded by Ysgramor, the first human ruler of Skyrim and leader of the Companions.
  
  Which is why I wanted to come here in the first place. Why wait to get the quest when I could do it now?
  
  "Might as well," I said with a shrug of my shoulders as I readied my sword. Aela did the same with her bow and Farkas readied his axe. Pulling open the ancient doors that screeched in protest, I stepped inside and found the first issue with my plan. There was an open room, some ceremonial table in the center of it while on the other side there was a tunnel that led deeper into the tomb.
  
  At least there was supposed to be. The entire way was blocked off because of a collapsed tunnel.
  
  "Shit," I cursed, unhappy as I scanned the room for any threats. There were none, but there were three corpses laying on the ground. Draugr. I looked them over -- their skin was dried out, preserved, and gaunt. Their hair was wispy and thin. They looked like a well preserved ancient corpse. Except for where Their heads were bashed in so they fell where they had stood.
  
  "Someone was definitely here," Farkas commented, picking up a book that rested on the table in the middle of the room. That brought my attention to the pickaxes laying on it and against the blocked off the tunnel. "But it looks like this was as far as they could go."
  
  This was annoying as all hell. Why were there a bunch of rocks in the way? I walked over to inspect the collapsed tunnel, eyeing the pieces of rock.
  
  "Whoever was trying to get in did the bulk of the work for us," I pointed out as I inspected the rocks. There were plenty of small ones covering the ground where bigger ones were broken up. But I also noticed something else. "The rocks were put here," I realized, clearing one away to find an intact ceiling. Not only that, if there was a collapse, then we would have seen it on top.
  
  Aela walked over to find the same thing. "He's right," she confirmed to Farkas.
  
  "Draugr are dumb. The puzzles in these tombs are more than enough to keep them stuck down here. So, there's either something down there someone didn't want anyone to get to or there's something they didn't want to get out." Farkas said, looking at the closed-off tunnel. He glanced at me, "and even if it's the latter, usually there's a prize to be won. I say we check it out."
  
  I nodded, wanting the same. We turned to Aela, who eyed the tunnel filled with rock for a long second before she nodded as well. "We'll find out soon enough if it's worth the risk," she commented, clearing the way to let me grab hold of the stones blocking the way.
  
  Now that I didn't have to worry about collapsing a tunnel or anything, I used my strength to tear the stone out of place. Some had to be broken up, but I made quick work of the obstacle. Even still, it became increasingly obvious that someone went through a lot of trouble to block this place off because rocks filled the entire tunnel. And once I pushed one large one out of the way, the rest crumbled to the ground and I was hit with the stench of stale air.
  
  The opening looked like it was half complete, but I saw the designated way we were supposed to go. Thankfully, whoever built this place was trying to show off how great the dude who died here was, it had tall ceilings and wide tunnels, so I could swing my sword easily enough.
  
  Rolling my shoulders, I strode forward cautiously, wary of any traps that weren"t there in the game. Turning the corner, we found ourselves in the catacombs. The walls were smoothed with pockets for draugr to sleep in. A center pillar stood, containing one draugr warrior for each side of it. They wore dark iron armor, a shield clasped before them, and a sword in hand.
  
  I was surprised when I heard an arrow whistle by my ear to slam into the eyesocket of the draugr standing guard. Glancing back at Aela, I saw her notch another arrow in her bow. There wasn"t time to ask what she was thinking because, almost as one, the draugr groaned as they awoke from their slumber.
  
  "I"ll take the left, you get right," Farkas told me as he strode forward. I nodded, accepting his lead as I parked myself on the right side of where the room opened up. Like everything, it was proving to be larger than it was in the game. Just by looking at it, I saw over a dozen crawling their way out of their holes. Aela took up a position behind both me and Farkas, firing off arrows as the undead horde stumbled towards us.
  
  Once they neared, I swung once and my blade crashed right through them. It was shockingly easy. Pieces of them flew up, practically falling apart. There was no blood, only dust as the skeletal undead pushed forward, reaching out with their bare hands because they had no weapons. With the backswing, I took out another group of five, the fact that they wore no armor made things a thousand times easier.
  
  I know draugr were meant to be easy enemies to beat, but this was a cakewalk. Almost to the point that it was kinda worrying. I was planning to spend the bulk of the six months establishing myself and learning magic, but I didn"t like the idea of my physical progress completely stalling out because I was so over-leveled for threats like these. There was a real possibility that I would have to hunt down threats that could prove a challenge.
  
  Still, I"d rather be too strong over being too weak.
  
  With a handful of swings, they rejoined the dead for good this time. And that"s all there was too it. Rather lackluster, all things considered.
  
  "Hm," I grunted, stepping over the pile of corpses, taking in the rest of the catacomb now that it was currently cleared of the undead. My gaze found a torch, which was why I was able to see. I figured lit torches in ancient catacombs were a game mechanic, but...
  
  "The draugr make them," Aela explained as we moved on from the initial room through a wooden door that was mostly rotted through. "They have tasks, like cleaning, and they can even strip fallen adventurers of their equipment for materials." I didn"t like the sound of that, but that did explain how there were torches lighting the way. I grabbed one and continued deeper into the tomb.
  
  After crossing through a disturbingly thick wall of cobwebs, we stood above a large room. There was a raised platform with two seats on it with a wide area filled with nothing. An arena? Either way, I recognized this place. This was where Farkas was meant to reveal that he was a werewolf. I guess that wouldn"t be happening.
  
  In the wide-open room, the few torches that were lit made the shadows seem that much darker as the pitiful amount of light they offered made them dance. I was the first down, the stone steps holding strong as I walked down into the center of the room. There were two divots in the wall -- one that went nowhere and another that would take us down further.
  
  "Don"t touch the lever," I felt compelled to say, eyeing it as I entered the room in search of loot. I had thought that either Farkas or Aela would have an issue with looting an ancient tomb, if only because it disrespected the dead.
  
  And, as if to prove the opposite, Farkas kicked over an urn to check its contents while Aela broke open a pot for valuables. And found some, apparently.
  
  "Doesn"t look like a trap. It"s probably for keeping unworthy draugr from continuing forward," Aela remarked, holding up her own torch as she carried a slender sword in her other hand.
  
  "Unworthy?"
  
  "This is the outer sanctum where the servants would be buried to serve their unlife. Once we reach the inner sanctum, we"ll start to fight warriors who fought with whoever is buried here," she explained. And that would explain why everyone was so weak.
  
  Still, not wanting to get caught in the trap, I grabbed the bottom of the gate and lifted. It had some weight to it, but nothing that I couldn"t handle. Pushing up, Aela and Farkas slipped underneath and I let go of the gate. The mechanism was so ancient that the gate got stuck where I left it, but I was hardly going to complain about that.
  
  And with that, we pushed deeper into the tomb. Just like Aela hinted, beyond that room the draugr started to wear armor and carried weapons. Yet, even still, it was simple to kill them. They were slow and their armor couldn"t withstand any heavy blow, much less a light one from me. There were several rooms and I tried to picture what this place would look like thousands of years ago.
  
  I always enjoyed history. There was just something fun about learning about why the world is what it is. Especially when so much of it came down to one idiot being in the wrong place at the right time.
  
  This tomb was like an undead metropolis. There were areas for the undead to fight, eat, sleep, and have fun. I don"t think that they did any of those things, but there were places for it. Not only that, but it was shockingly huge. My map said we were way below the surface and each room kept taking us down. Whats more, between each room were draugr and, more importantly, loot.
  
  I stumbled across a collapsed room with a very precarious heavy chest laying on top of the rubble. I looked at it for a long moment, blinking, then wondered how that was remotely possible. "That"s a trap," I deduced easily enough before I looked behind the door to pick up a coin purse that was rather heavy.
  
  But, as time went by and as we went deeper and deeper, we eventually found ourselves at the bottom of the tomb, standing before a wooden door that looked religiously well maintained. Without further ado, I pushed it open, revealing a massive room.
  
  It comprised of three platforms, each with about ten stairs. The ceiling stretched upward for about four stories, making even me feel a bit small as I stepped into the tomb. On the highest platform was a sarcophagus, likely the guy that was buried here. And, more noticeably, I saw a familiar wall behind the sarcophagus-- a wall of power. At that moment, I almost kinda regretted not choosing to be the Dragonborn.
  
  My sense of awe and excitement was quickly cut off when I noticed that the walls were covered with sarcophaguses. Perfectly spaced apart, they lined the walls, the simple black iron seal waiting to be broken by the ancient warriors within. That part wasn"t surprising, but how many there were was alarming. There were four levels that could be reached by a staircase, and each was covered by fifty sarcophaguses each.
  
  "Whoever this warrior was... he must have been incredible to deserve a burial like this," Farkas spoke with admiration. "These are his personal honor guard. I don"t think I"ve ever seen one so large." He said as we cautiously walked up the steps. I eyed the sarcophaguses warily -- draugr were weak, but two hundred of them could be a problem.
  
  Still, I wasn"t worried. I was a level 28, and Farkas and Aela were werewolves. We would be fine. But, better safe than sorry.
  
  Once we reached the final platform, my eyes landed on the prize of this trip. Jutting out of the top of the sarcophagus of who this tomb was built for was a few chunks of metal. Pieces. Parts of a shaft, a piece of the blade. It was as if it was proclaiming that these pieces of metal were the greatest treasure in this place and, to some, I guess that would be the case.
  
  Aela sucked in a sharp breath when her eyes landed on it. "Wuuthrad," she uttered almost reverently. "The final pieces... and so close to Whiterun," she remarked, shaking her head in disbelief.
  
  "Of all the places to find the last piece. Huh. That"s going to make the Old Man"s day when we bring that back," Farkas observed, eyeing the pieces of metal. They didn"t bother to explain what they were, assuming that I would already know. Luckily enough, I did. These were pieces of Ysgramor"s weapon. It was never explained how they were broken, or why, but given that it happened thousands of years ago, the most likely answer was elves.
  
  And since it was destroyed, the Companions have been searching for the pieces.
  
  Farkas thumped me in the shoulder, "if we bring this back, Kodlak will be begging to have you join. Talk about luck." Or spotty meta-knowledge.
  
  "If we can bring it back," Aela corrected, eyeing the sarcophaguses with grim determination. She sheathed her sword and took out her bow. "I"m guessing that the inhabitants won"t be happy once we take the shards," she pointed out.
  
  "Hm. Jericho?" Farkas started, glancing over at me.
  
  "Yeah?" I asked, looking down at him.
  
  "Aela and me are werewolves," he informed so casually that I blinked in surprise despite already knowing that. Aela let out a sigh of exhaustion mixed with frustration. "So you don"t have to worry about us. If things start to look bad, we"ll just transform and we"ll be fine. Just do your thing and we"ll do ours."
  
  "Kodlak is going to be furious," Aela told Farkas, looking at me to judge my reaction. My helmet made it impossible to see my expression, so I gave a careless shrug to show that I didn"t care.
  
  "Yeah... we should tell him that we got the last pieces of Wuuthrad before we tell him that. Try to put the Old Wolf in a good mood," Farkas agreed with easy acceptance. He readied his weapon and Aela readied her bow. I mulled over the byplay for a moment, feeling relieved. I knew that they could handle themselves, but... I wasn"t used to fighting with people. The fact that I had their permission to throw myself into the fight was a weight off my shoulders.
  
  "Should we prep the battlefield first?" I asked, though I knew the answer as I walked down to the second platform and stopped at the top of the first set. Down below was the staircase that led all the way up. Only now did I realize that it was designed like this. One direction they could come at us. A challenge to see if we were worthy to take the prize.
  
  "No. They have waited thousands of years for a fight. We will meet them in battle with the honor they deserve," Aela said before she stepped forward. Farkas stood to my left, ready. I didn"t see it, but I heard the exact moment that they picked up the pieces of Wuuthrad. In the massive, yet silent room, a single noise seemed to echo throughout it.
  
  The sound of sarcophagus covers shifting, then falling over with a loud clatter. A dozen of them, all at the same time. My eyes went up to the very top floor to see the draugr that crawled out. Just with a passing glance, it was obvious that they were different than the ones we've fought up until this point. Their armor was individualistic, and I'm guessing that a couple of thousand years ago, their armor would have been a sight to behold. Not only that, but their weapons were also better than the ancient iron-based weapons, replaced by surprisingly well-preserved steel.
  
  As they walked down towards us, their movements far smoother compared to the others, sarcophaguses fell open as they walked by. Their numbers swelled as they walked down, the top floor now empty, which prompted the second floor to begin to do the same. Those from the first floor reached the bottom, forming up into a shield wall and waiting to be reinforced. I was tempted to run down there and smash them before they could muster up their full strength. After all, four groups of fifty were far easier to manage than one group of two hundred.
  
  But the fact that Aela hadn't fired off a single arrow nor did Farkas move to attack spoke volumes. So, we waited for them to form up with surprising precision as if they had waited all this time for this exact moment. My heart rate picked up in my chest, eyeing the solid wall of bodies standing between us and the exit.
  
  Then, as one, they took a step forward. In that same moment, an arrow appeared in one of their eyes, making the corpse slump over to be trampled by those behind it. That was the signal for the fight to begin.
  
  I strode forward, brandishing my weapon. They were weak, but there were a lot of them. And I was in the perfect position to turn their numbers against them.
  
  Crouching down, I leaped into the air and sailed overhead the first line of draugr. My heavy armor weighed me down more than I thought it would, so I didn't land in the middle of their formation as I wanted, but I still landed inside of it. An animated corpse was crushed underneath me as I landed on it -- at 7'6, I weighed something like three hundred and fifty to four hundred pounds. Wearing thick heavy armor? That was closer to five hundred rounding down.
  
  Gritting my teeth, I grabbed the hilt of my sword and swung with all of my strength. There wasn't a lot of room to maneuver, but I made room when the edge of my sword slammed into draugr, knocking the corpses flying if I didn't cut through them.
  
  Before the corpses had even hit the ground, I sent more up as I carved out some breathing room for me. "This...!" I started, feeling blows rain down on me, but my armor protected me from the damage. And for those that dared to strike me, my broadsword slammed through them, reducing the corpses of once-proud warriors to dried out husks of broken bones and armor.
  
  "Isn"t...!" I heard a wolf howling, telling me that either Farkas or Aela had transformed. There wasn't time to admire, but because I dwarfed the draugr around me, I could see a werewolf tearing into the corpses with the same ferocity as I did. Judging by the scrapes of steel armor, it was Farkas. His werewolf form was tall, taller than me, covered in black fur around his head and chest while his skin was a dark gray hide.
  
  His deadly claws slashed at the undead, tearing through them and batting them aside. An axe slammed into his ribs, sending blood flying, but after Farkas repaid the draugr for the wound, he continued to throw himself into the fight. The wound was forgotten about because it was no longer there. It had healed in seconds.
  
  That made becoming a werewolf an interesting prospect.
  
  "Much...!" I continued to carve a line through the draugr. They were focusing on me. I felt Aela"s presence because draugr around me dropped with arrows sticking out of them. It made me wonder how these things died. With normal zombies, you had to destroy the brain because it was in control over the body. With these things, if you hit them enough, then they would just drop dead. Now really wasn"t the time to experiment, but I put a pin in the question to look into later.
  
  "Different... than...!" The draugr were rushing me, trying to bury me in numbers. I felt swords poke into the gaps in my armor, but Oakflesh and chainmail protected me from damage. Despite being completely surrounded, I felt damn near safe in my armor. I really needed to get something for Hestia to repay her for it. Something for the house, maybe? But I didn"t want her getting too attached to it since there was a real possibility of it getting burnt down.
  
  Maybe I should have just started in Whiterun? Eh, kinda late to do anything about it now.
  
  "The... Soma familia!" I declared, swinging my sword back and forth. No grace, no syle, no nothing -- just hacking and slashing at the problem until it went away. It was the same way back during the War Game when the Soma familia had tried to overwhelm me with numbers. I had just pushed myself into the thick of it, accepted the hits, and punished them with fatal blows.
  
  I was used to fighting like this. Completely surrounded on all sides with some support to keep me from getting overwhelmed. Only there wasn't a risk of me becoming overwhelmed with enemies like this and it showed.
  
  The ancient corpses began to pile up, but the dwindling numbers pressed onward with determination. I didn't bother keeping count of how many I had killed. There wasn't a point. It would have been simpler to count the number of swings I took, but the combat wasn't so boring that I was reduced to that.
  
  Instead, I simply followed the signs in the combat. Noticing where there were few, and where there were many, then attacking the many until there were none. It was impossible to tell how long the battle lasted, but it didn't feel long. My breathing was even, my heart rate was steady... I'm not sure if I actually worked up a sweat. My perk Perfect Practice meant there was a diminished stamina cost for repeated actions, so I would need more than this to train endurance.
  
  "Hm," I grunted as my sword crashed through a draugr, my eyes searching for another, but there were precious few left. Most of the bodies on the ground, piled up where we stood our ground, were down for their final rest. Ignoring how one grabbed at my foot, I crushed it's head as I rested my sword on my shoulder, looking for more.
  
  That was... easy. Easy enough that it was disappointing. Was this really it? Two hundred draugr and they barely counted as a warm-up? No, not even a warm-up.
  
  My gaze landed on Farkas, who ripped the last draugr in half. His bestial face twisted in a ferocious snarl that revealed a long snout filled with jagged teeth. He sniffed deeply, looking around for more prey, but once he saw that there was none, he began to revert back to his base form. His body shrunk, his dark gray hide replaced with pale white flesh, his black mane of hair returned to its previous black mop. As he changed back, I realized that his armor was in pieces, but not destroyed. I'm guessing it was designed to break apart in a certain way during a transformation.
  
  "Phew. That was a fight," Farkas stated, sounding thoroughly pleased with the battle. He made little effort to cover his modesty, prompting Aela to throw something at him to cover himself with. Apparently she hadn't felt the need to transform. Looking at the platforms, I realized none had reached the third. None had come close to her.
  
  "You fought well," Aela praised, giving me a firm nod. "But I see what you meant about your skills." She continued, giving me a half-smile. I guess now that I was in the loop, she was opening up a bit to me. Or maybe it was regurgitating the most basic argument for picking the Empire over the Stormcloaks that did the trick. Was she a Loyalist?
  
  "And you're a deadshot with that bow of yours," I returned the compliment, however backhanded it might have been. Aela looked pleased with it.
  
  "Good thing we brought the wagon. Hauling all of this loot would be a pain otherwise," Farkas said, looking kinda ridiculous with his armor hanging off of him in pieces.
  
  "You don't have any questions?" Aela asked, looking at me. "About what you've just learned?"
  
  Oh. Right. I was supposed to pretend like I hadn't known they were werewolves for the better part of a decade. To that end, I offered up a shrug as I took off my helmet. "I have a few, but nothing that can't wait until we're out of here.
  
  Aela searched my face for a moment, searching for a hint that I was secretly a member of the Silver Hand or something. It was only because I was looking at her that I saw what was happening behind her. Even still, I almost missed it.
  
  The lid on the central sarcophagus slid to the side, pushed open by the creature within. It fell to the side with a thud before the draugr rose, lifting its torso first. Its eyes glowed with an ominous pale blue light, marking it different than the others. It wore no helmet but it's armor looked brand new. The same color as copper. It took a different shape, made to resemble Nord armor, but as soon as my eyes landed on it I knew what metal that armor was.
  
  Dwemer metal. Metal that was time-locked to never age.
  
  "Deathlord!" Farkas shouted in alarm, making Aela flinch back as she pulled out her blade, the good cheer gone in the face of our newest enemy. And, the fact that he sounded alarmed was enough to make me spring into action.
  
  Running up the steps as fast as I could, I hoped to close the distance before the Deathlord managed to get out entirely. It managed to get out before I reached it, but it was out of position to defend itself. Its eyes flared as I neared, raising my sword to bring it down on its head before I brought it down to do just that. Only for a black blur to dart between my blade and its head.
  
  A greatsword. Smaller and narrower than mine, but that fact was forgotten in favor of two things. The Deathlord's arms buckled when our blades clashed, but they did not break. It could withstand my blows. Secondly, what the greatsword was made of was far more alarming. Black as night with silver trimming and wreathed in fire, just looking at it was enough to send a chill down my spine.
  
  Ebony. The crystalized blood of a god.
  
  I wanted that sword and armor. Pushing down, I proved myself to be stronger than it. It put up a struggle, but my sword inched towards its head as it fought to push my sword back up. Its glowing eyes glared up at me with what I could only describe as annoyance before its cracked and dry lips moved.
  
  "FUS!"
  
  My eyes went wide as an invisible force hit me in the chest and my world became pain.
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  I felt every rib shatter in my chest. Blood erupted from my mouth as my organs were pulverized under the unrelenting force that slammed into my chest. I doubt I ever would have come to a stop if I hadn't slammed into a wall hard enough that stone buckled under the force, just as my armor did. For the first time in what felt like ages, I checked my health to see if the attack felt worse than it was.
  
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  More than three-fourths of my health with a single word. Without my damage resistance and armor, I would have been one-shotted.
  
  A ragged gasp escaped me as I fell forward, falling to a knee as my sword clattered from my hands. The Deathlord stood some distance away, holding its greatsword at the ready before an arrow slammed into its shoulder. I didn't waste time to look at who shot it, knowing it must have been Aela. Instead, I used the precious seconds that she gave me to gather myself. My ribs were already reformed, but air refused to enter my lungs.
  
  Looking down at myself, I saw that my armor was a complete loss. It was bent inwards, driving itself into my diaphragm, and it looked like it was only the quality of the metal that stopped that unrelenting force from tearing a hole right through me. But, now was not the time to admire. I grabbed at the ruined edges of my thick armor and pulled it off of my chest. The leather straps holding it together ripped, the scrap metal clattered to the ground as I eagerly filled my lungs with air.
  
  The taste of blood was heavy on my tongue as I reached into my inventory, rising to my feet with my sword back in hand. The Deathlord paid little attention to me in favor of approaching Aela and Farkas with taunting slowness. Aela fired another arrow, only for this one to be batted away with the Ebony greatsword wreathed in magical fire. Gulping down the potion, I strode forward, clenching my jaw.
  
  That wasn't even because of me getting cocky. The Thu'um was simply beyond anything that I had expected. In the game, it was used to get followers out of awkward positions because of poor pathfinding. That... that had damn near killed me.
  
  And if it could do that to me then Aela and Farkas didn't stand a chance. A word and they would be reduced to paste, werewolves or not.
  
  My approach was as silent as I could make it, but the jangling of loose chainmail must have given me away as I neared. The Deathlord spun around, his Ebony blade darting forward to block an overhanded slash. I was angry. Pissed. And Berserker turned that anger into strength. It was impossible for me to break through the Ebony blade, but the Deathlord was driven to a knee, its arms managing to remain firm. Only this time the edge of my sword clashed against it.
  
  The edge of the Ebony blade bit into mine deep enough that it nearly reached the halfway point in the blade. More than that, where my blade met it's, my sword began to glow red as the smell of burning metal reached my nose. I couldn"t risk pushing down any harder or his blade would cut right through mine.
  
  "Get the hell out of here," I shouted, lashing out with a foot that caught the Deathlord in the chest. That would have killed any previous draugr, but even as bones broke as it suffered a hard landing, it got back up almost instantly, stuck on a lower platform and dangerously close to Aela. "I'll deal with him," I spoke, striding down the steps as the Deathlord paid no mind to Aela as it walked to meet me halfway.
  
  We moved as one, our blades clashing again as his sword bit into mine. I diverted the worst of it, retreating up a step, and for it the Deathlord's deadly blade raced towards me in a glowing black blur. But Ryuu's attacks were faster. I had no trouble at all jerking my stomach to the side to dodge the thrust, placing my sword between us when it tried to turn the thrust into a slash. If it's blade lingered on mine for more than a second, the metal began to glow. I already had one sword break due to heat damage and I doubt this one would do so at such a convenient time.
  
  But, as I shouted, Aela made to fire off another arrow. It slammed into the Deathlord's neck, but it paid no mind as it drove me to retreat up another step as my counter-attack was harmlessly diverted. That was... annoying. A thousand year old corpse was better at fighting than me. "This is my fight. Don't get involved," I shouted at the both of them, making Farkas pause. They were warriors and I didn't know how else to make sure that they weren't killed with a word.
  
  Retreating a final step so we stood at the top platform, I jerked my leg out of the way of a swipe that would have taken it off. I was cautious of attacking, forced to dodge, and divert. I was faster and stronger, but it had better gear and skill. One swipe of that sword and I would lose whatever it hit.
  
  A drawn-out fight wouldn't work to my advantage. As if to agree with me, the Deathlord's blade bit into mine again. Gritting my teeth, I twisted the blade, scraping off the flat as I went in, trying to take it's advantage away from it. My shoulder slammed into its head, my hand reaching out for the gauntlet that held its sword, only for my hand to falter before I could grab its wrist. The opportunity passed me by, but...
  
  The only way I could explain it was that I had a deep certainty that I would regret it if I tried to touch those gauntlets. Was this my perk Instinct? I didn't have a better explanation.
  
  Right. That made things difficult. I had to target the gaps in his armor, but there was a pretty big issue with that. They were the obvious places to attack, and the Deathlord would expect it. Then it would use those attacks to kill me. I knew it. Not because of Instinct. I knew it simply because that"s exactly how I had killed Zanis.
  
  My eyes flickered to Aela and Farkas, who watched the fight. This was going to be a pain to explain, but I"d rather explain than die here.
  
  With that thought in mind, I darted forward, only to cut myself off when the Deathlord"s lips moved once again.
  
  "FUS!"
  
  I threw myself to the side, knowing that if I got hit by that then I was dead. This time, I saw the word of power shimmer through the air as it raced by me. It only lasted a split second before the word ripped through the sarcophagus that the Deathlord was buried in before it slammed into the Word Wall. It reduced both to rubble, dust flying up as it filled the large cavern as the word echoed like a clap of thunder.
  
  I rolled to my feet, putting thoughts of what that would have done to me if it hit out of my mind in favor of focusing on the fight. I reached into my inventory to pull out my Stormbreaker, so I carried a weapon in each hand. My previous attempts at dual-wielding hadn't been pretty, but I wasn't going to fight with both weapons.
  
  With my warhammer, I would be able to attack anywhere to deal with some damage because bone would shatter wherever I struck. My Raider Sword was a sacrifice to protect my Warhammer and me.
  
  I felt my face twist into a snarl as I strode towards the Deathlord, my warhammer grip choked up until my hand was just underneath the sizable head. My eyes widened when the Deathlord's lips moved again, only this time it wasn't to release an Unrelenting Force.
  
  "Su!" The Deathlord shouted and in response, the wind began to circle around its weapon. It took me a moment to place the shout, but my stomach sank like a stone when I realized what it was. Even still, I strode forward and as I neared, I lashed out at the Deathlord. And the Deathlord responded in kind.
  
  It's greatsword slammed against mine and in the same second it diverted my blade, the blade twisted as it lunged forward. I only realized I had been cut when I felt a searing hot pain on the inside of my arm as I batted the greatsword away with the tip of my Warhammer. In a blur that eerily reminded me of how Ryuu moved, the Deathlord slashed at my exposed stomach and if I hadn't taken a step back, I would have been gutted.
  
  Elemental Fury. I only ever used that shout to speed up mining in the game.
  
  But, in the end, it changed nothing. Clenching my jaw, my right arm lashed out with my hammer as I raised the sword in my left hand. Its blade slammed into mine hard enough that it shaved off the tip of my sword. It was because of that reason that it nearly took my arm off. It would have if I hadn"t jerked my arm back and lunged with my sword, so instead, I was only sporting a deep cut on my forearm that didn"t bleed because it was cauterized.
  
  I deflected another blow, diverting it away from my body, and again I tried to lash out at the Deathlord while aiming for its head, following what a lifetime of zombie movies had taught me. In a blur, it"s blade smacked my blade to the side, which only drove me to lash out with my hammer while its sword was preoccupied. Its head tilted out of the way of the strike that would have taken its head off its shoulders. And so began the current game of cat and mouse.
  
  After a few short clashes, the tomb filled with the harsh sounds of metal hitting metal, my sword glowing in multiple spots, the Deathlord suddenly switched to the offensive. Its blade lunged to my chest, and the moment I tried to counter, it flicked its wrist to force me back right onto the defensive. I guess it realized what I was going for -- it was fast enough to keep up with me, but there had to be a time limit.
  
  And I"m guessing we were nearing it.
  
  A fierce smile found its way onto my face as I dove right back into the fight. The Ebony blade flashed forward, racing towards my neck, only to flick down towards my heart, and then nowhere near me as I smacked the blade to the side. Like a snake, the blade recoiled before it lunged for me again at speeds I struggled to keep up with. But I could keep up with them. Ryuu was faster than this when she was kicking my ass.
  
  I sucked in a deep breath, ignoring a sharp pain as its blade cut through the flesh on my forearm in favor of lashing out. The Deathlord moved to intercept, except this time it didn"t make it in time. The white wind that circled the blade vanished. It was still fast, faster than any normal human could manage, but compared to before, it moved at a snail"s pace. The blue light that served as its eyes looked up at me, it"s lips starting to move.
  
  Only for it to be eternally silenced as my Stormbreaker slammed into the side of its head hard enough that it was ripped from its shoulders. The dwarven metal remained strong, absorbing the blow, but the head itself was pulverized. My eyes followed it, waiting for the exact moment that the blue light faded, leaving behind empty eye sockets. As the head clattered to the ground, the Deathlord"s body slumping over, dead, and the Ebony greatsword clattered to the ground... only then did I let myself let out a breath I hadn"t realized I was holding.
  
  "I did it," I marveled, looking down at the corpse. I did it without having to get myself stabbed to make an opening, or relying on a cheap shot. We fought toe-to-toe, and I won. Admittedly, I probably should have died when it hit me with a Fus, but that was neither here nor there. "I won."
  
  "Aye, you did," Farkas remarked, walking up the steps, looking as stunned as I felt. "I was damn near certain that I would be feasting in Sovngarde tonight when I saw it was a Deathlord. I never expected you to be able to handle it. Alone."
  
  "How are you alive?" Aela questioned, eyeing me with a far more cynical eye. Which was fair enough. I glanced down at myself to see broken chainmail and pieces of armor hanging off of straps, then I glanced at the wall I hit. There wasn"t a cartoonish outline of my body, but it had too much in common with one for comfort. "And where did you get that Warhammer?"
  
  Right. Here came the awkward questions. "I"m a fast healer. It"s a big part of why I don"t have any scars," I explained, my gaze landing on the few cuts that the Deathlord gave me. They were a dark black all the way down. They burned, but it was manageable. "The warhammer came from a magical pocket dimension that I picked up about a month ago to store my stuff."
  
  Aela blinked while Farkas shrugged, accepting that with uncaring ease. "Huh. Wait, so why did you bother with the wagon then?" He questioned, ignoring a look from Aela, who seemed to be struggling with the truth with much greater difficulty than Farkas.
  
  I shrugged, making a show of putting my weapons away into my inventory in front of them. "It"s something I figured I"d better keep a secret. I don"t have an issue with magic, but I know most of the inhabitants of Skyrim don"t care for it."
  
  Farkas cracked a smile as he nodded at that, "Heh. Well, you aren"t wrong there. I don"t care for any kind of enchantments, but I can see that something like that would be pretty useful." Then he turned his attention to the corpse of the Deathlord. "Not that I would complain anyway. That was a fight." He commended, sounding like that was the highest praise he was capable of giving.
  
  Aela looked like she had more to say, her eyes lingering on where I was hit with the shout, but she nodded in agreement. I let out a soft breath, relieved that they weren"t making a big deal about this. I had hoped the fact that Skyrim was such a weird place that a personal pocket dimension wouldn"t be anything out of the ordinary, and it seemed that hope paid off.
  
  "He"s right. It was your kill, so its belongings are yours by right," Aela stated, glancing down at the corpse. That"s what I wanted to hear. My hands tore at the scraps of armor that clung to my frame, the hunks of metal now useless. I could reforge my armor with enough time by feeding it back to the Hestia Armor but why would I when there was such an obvious upgrade?
  
  I took a step forward, stepping away from the scrap steel armor, leaving most of my upper torso bare. Taking a seat at the top step, I grabbed a hold of the gauntlet, anticipating something, but instead, I felt nothing. Was my feeling wrong, or did they only do whatever gave me that bad feeling in combat?
  
  Keenly aware of their gazes on me, I pressed the dwarven metal to the edge of the Hestia Armor, and as I hoped the gauntlets began to melt away to become chainmail and plate. I noticed the difference immediately -- the plate armor was thicker, noticeably so. I eyed the suit of armor and realized I wasn"t going to be able to replace all of my armor with dwarven metal. Which was a shame because now I would have to pick which parts would be dwarven metal and what would remain boring steel.
  
  "So," I started, looking up to see them watching me feed the metal into my regrowing suit of armor. I really hoped that whatever enchantments were in the armor would transfer over. "Werewolves?" I asked, deciding now was probably the best time to clear the air. Farkas looked like he couldn"t care less about any of my unusualness, but Aela was a different story. I doubt she suspected I was from a different world or anything like that, just that I was noticeably different.
  
  Aela grunted as she nodded, "We are. Normally you wouldn"t learn of this until much later, but the Circle, the highest-ranked members of the Companions, are werewolves. And we expect you to keep this a secret," she said, a threat unspoken in her voice. All things considered, that was more than fair.
  
  "So, what I"m hearing is that I"m in the Companions?" I asked with a cheeky grin, earning an amused huff from Aela as I moved on to the next piece of armor. The top chest piece was different then it was before, I noticed as the shape of my armor started to form. Was it in response to that devastating blow I took?
  
  "As if there was any doubt. You had my vote when you were tearing through bandits. Killing a Deathlord in single combat? I would have said it was impossible," Farkas said and that caught my attention. I knew of Deathlords in a rather abstract sense -- they were a foe that appeared when your level hit a certain number to avoid dungeons becoming cakewalks. I"m guessing that wasn"t the case here.
  
  "Thanks... but what was with that one? The draugr at the start were nothing. The honor guard wasn"t much better, but that one was in a league of its own," I asked, looking between them, then down at myself. I had a hard choice before me -- I didn"t want to look like a slapdash mix of dwarven metal and steel, so I had to figure out a way to make my armor look somewhat nice. Which was a problem because the design had changed and I had no clue how much.
  
  "Deathlords were legendary warriors before they died. So, you usually find them with stuff like that," Farkas explained, kicking the corpse lightly.
  
  "Which is part of it, but the mages that preserved their corpses perform a ritual to strengthen the body as well. It wouldn"t be wrong to say that they are stronger in death than they were in life," Aela said, giving me an odd look. But it didn"t take more than a second to figure out why. I had just killed a legendary figure that was stronger than they had been when they made their legend.
  
  "Usually, when one"s found, it requires a prepared team to deal with them. If you didn"t deal with it, then we would have rounded up the Circle to fight it," Farkas added.
  
  "Are there a lot of these things?" I asked, mulling that over. A Deathlord was a challenge. The first real one that I've fought so far. That was reassuring that my physical abilities wouldn't plateau here. Though, that did mean that the high-end variations of enemies existed.
  
  Aela shrugged, "No one knows. Most who stumble upon one don't make it back to tell the tale. There are a few that are kept in record. I have no idea if they're still there, but only fools or the well-prepared attempt to fight Deathlords and their ilk." Then she gave me a look before she inclined her head at me. "I'll find out where they are when we get back to Whiterun."
  
  "Thanks," I said, tearing off the armor from the corpse. The Hestia Armor really was something else. Even the pieces of leather were cannibalized and reset in my newer armor. And that didn't go unnoticed.
  
  "That armor is impressive. Where did you get it?" Aela asked and, after the questions she asked last night, I recognized that she was fishing for information. And I couldn't exactly tell her the truth.
  
  "In a place called Orario. A master smith named Hephaestus crafted it for me at the request of Hestia. My lover," I explained, giving her the bare bones of a story. Whatever she came up with, I would just have to run with.
  
  "A master smith? Eorlund Gray-Mane would like to take a look at it in that case," Aela commented. "There's no finer smith in all of Skyrim, so he would like to compare notes against a southern smith." I couldn't tell if she was taking a shot in the dark about where I came from or if she was making an assumption since Skyrim was as north as you could go. Either way, I didn't correct her.
  
  And, as the conversation lapsed, I stood up with my now reforged armor. It held a different look. My left arm was covered in black adamantine, but the bulk of my torso was made of dwarven metal. I noticed that while the plates were thicker, around my stomach they were segmented. Wanting to best protect my internal organs, that's where the bulk of my Dwemer metal was spent. Covering my heart with the copper-colored metal, everything else was left steel since there wasn"t enough to make a full breastplate.
  
  I checked my inventory and saw no bonuses for the armor. Meaning that the enchantments hadn't carried over. That was annoying as all hell, but I guess it wasn't too shocking.
  
  Lastly, I turned my attention to the real prize. The Ebony greatsword that was left still curled in the corpse's hand. I pried it out of it, the fingers refusing to budge for a moment. As if the corpse didn't want to part with the weapon in its final death. Even still, prying off the too stiff to be normal fingers, I gripped the sword.
  
  Featherweight applied to it so the greatsword felt like it weighed nothing. It was warm to the touch, the long blade covered in a dim magical fire that gave off no smoke. I gripped it with both hands and realized that the grip was perfect for me.
  
  "Heh. I'm guessing that we're going to go find something to test your new sword on?" Farkas chuckled and it was only when I went to respond that I realized I was smiling.
  
  "Yeah... yeah, we are."
  
  ...
  
  In my joy at receiving new weapons and armor, I hadn't realized that I forgot to check my gains after the fight. I forgot all the while we stripped the dead, taking everything that wasn't nailed down and stuffed it in my inventory. Two hundred sets of armor in various stages of repair, jewels, to ancient golden coins. I continued to forget after we cleared out the Silent Moon, Halted Stream, and White River Watch bandit camps.
  
  It was mostly because I kept finding new prizes. Like lunar metal that was more powerful underneath a full moon. Or enchanted gauntlets that likely increased two-handed skill. Or, the true prize, the book for the Transfiguration spell.
  
  I forgot all about it because once I cracked that baby open, I had a startling realization about magic in Skyrim. It was wild as fuck. It was more than a blue bar that fills up at the bottom of your screen, some type of internal energy that is used to perform acts of magic. I"m not even sure I understood what it was, but how it functioned was basically...
  
  Well, it was basically you bribing the fabric of reality to ignore the rules for a bit and let you do some really shady shit to the laws of physics and science. The bigger the bribe, the longer it looked away.
  
  Naturally, transforming iron into silver, then silver into gold required a rather large bribe. More than I was capable of giving with my comparatively low Intelligence stat. And, all things considered, I figured that I should wait until I got an actual teacher before I started fiddling with the fabric of reality.
  
  "You know that spell is banned, right?" Aela pointed out as I pushed the wagon loaded up with loot while reading. Whiterun neared after we crossed the bridge and it wouldn"t be long before we reached the city once again. This time significantly richer. Altogether, I would have enough money to set up another four mines without having to take out a loan. And that was just from the loot.
  
  "What?" I questioned, looking at Aela, who nodded at my book. "Like, don't show it in public banned or off with my head for having it banned?"
  
  "The latter," Aela answered with a teasing smile. "Transmutation is a crime punishable by death. Otherwise gold becomes worthless."
  
  I looked down at my book on how to turn iron into silver for a long moment before I dog-eared my page and shoved it into my inventory. Aela laughed, likely thinking that was the end of that, but it wasn't. It just meant that I needed to have an excuse for why I was producing so much gold.
  
  I found several deposits as we traveled the Hold. Mostly iron, but that wasn't all. There was silver, gold, moonstone, corundum, quicksilver, and orichalcum. Some deposits were too small to bother with a large production, but others were sizable. Sizable enough that the only way they hadn't been tapped was because there was no visible ore on the surface like there was in the game. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a massive silver deposit located pretty much adjacent to Whiterun without anyone claiming it.
  
  Now that I didn't have anything to read, my gaze lingered on the nearing gates of Whiterun. "Hey, Farkas, you said that people were looking for honest work? Do you think that they'd be interested in mining?" I asked, glancing over at the shorter Nord.
  
  I was warming up to the guy. He was a bit simple but direct and honest. And given how my last attempt at Bromance ended with Welf, I was hoping to at least make one guy friend.
  
  Farkas seemed to give it a moment of thought before he shrugged his shoulders. "Probably, but unless you establish a mining town around the mine, you aren't going to get much luck. It's too dangerous for most people."
  
  I nodded at that, mulling it over and the action didn't go unnoticed by Aela. "Do you intend to start mining all over the Hold?"
  
  "Maybe," I admitted. "I might go to Riverwood to order some wood, start building some mine towns around the place where I found some ore... might make it worth the Jarl's while sending out more patrols to keep the roads clear. Especially now that we cleared out the worst of the bandits."
  
  "I've heard worse plans," Aela stated with an uncaring shrug of her shoulders. With that, I let the topic drop as I mulled over future possibilities. We neared the gate of Whiterun before a guard held up a hand as we approached.
  
  "Hold there. We'll need to inspect your cart," the guard said, slowly leaning his head back as I neared. "Would... that be a problem?" He asked, taking in the look of me.
  
  "Go ahead," I agreed, moving away from the cart loaded up with stuff. I wanted my inventory to be a well-kept secret. Walking into a city empty-handed then continuously pulling out things to sell -- maybe no one would notice, but maybe someone would. It seemed like a pointless risk when all I had to do was pull a wagon for a bit.
  
  The guards began sifting through the mountains of stuff on the wagon. The found mammoth tusks, jewels, fine furs, and clothing -- pretty much the choice stuff we found in bandit"s loot rooms along with their weapons and armor. However, I felt the need to speak out when they neared a basket.
  
  "There are a couple of heads in there. Bounties," I explained, making the guard pause before he pulled off the top. He looked at the three heads inside, then at me, then at Aela.
  
  "It's true. The roads will be a lot safer for now," Aela confirmed with a nod of her head.
  
  "Then you have the thanks of every merchant in Skyrim my exceedingly tall friend," spoke an accented voice from behind me. I turned around to find a Khajiit standing behind me. I blinked in surprise, looking at the first member of the species I had ever seen.
  
  A catlike face looked back at me, and almost lion's mane of gray fur served as hair and a beard, matching the short fur that covered his face. Instead of wearing Nord fancy clothing, the Khajiit wore thin robes that were tied together at the waist with a deep red sash. His face was twisted, revealing hints of long teeth that ended in a wicked point. But I didn't think he was snarling at me, but smiling instead.
  
  "I am Ri'saad, one such merchant," he introduced himself before his golden eyes drifted over the wagon filled with loot. "And I see it that the bandits you felled were unfortunately very successful."
  
  "Jericho," I introduced myself. "The roads west of here have been cleared out, and we took out the ones in White River Watch, so the way east to Riverwood should have cleared up," I explained, guessing that the information would be useful to him. Ri'saad's eyes lit up for a second, clearly pleased.
  
  "Most wonderful news! We have been stuck outside of this city for too long," he said, not so subtly glancing at the guard that continued to search my cart. "It seems I must thank you twice over for this. I worried that we would be stuck in Skyrim for the winter," he explained, theatrically shivering at the mere thought of it.
  
  And before I could get a word in, he continued. "Ah! I know it is a pitiful offering, but perhaps I could make an offer on your recently acquired goods at a good price for you, my friend?" Ri'saad offered, giving me another smile that was filled with too many sharp teeth.
  
  I blinked, glancing at the wagon before I gave him a half-hearted shrug as I stepped out of his way. "Sure," I agreed without much care. The items I knew were worth real money were kept in my inventory, and I wanted to see if he would try to cheat me. Khajiits got a bad rap as thieves and skooma dealers, to the point that they were discriminated against. I had an idea of what the contents of the wagon were worth and I wanted to see if he would follow through with what he said.
  
  After all, Lili had mentioned I should make connections with merchants.
  
  It was kinda hard to tell with the animalistic facial expressions, but Ri'saad lit up like a kid on Christmas before he practically skipped over to the wagon. The guard that was searching my wagon made it a point to look over the Khajiit as he went through the pile of stuff, making sure nothing was stolen. All the while, another guard walked up to me.
  
  "Your wagon is clear, but the Jarl gave us orders to tell you that he wishes to see you if you returned." The guard informed, sounding certain that I was the Jericho that the Jarl wanted to see. And fair enough, I guess.
  
  "Thanks," I told them before I settled in to wait for Ri'saad to pick out the items that he wished to purchase. But, it was clear that it was going to take awhile when the Khajiit began inspecting the jewels one by one.
  
  Farkas got my attention, "You shouldn't keep the Jarl waiting. I'll stay here until you're done, then we can head to Kodlak and give him the good news." At that, Aela nodded in agreement.
  
  "I want all of us to see his face when he hears that tale. We'll need your proof if he's ever going to believe it." Aela commented with a slight smile. And I'm guessing that when I got there, we would have a much more serious talk about the secrets that had been revealed to me. I'm guessing they were only giving me this much rope either because they trusted me, or because they were trying to give me enough so I could end up hanging myself with it.
  
  "I appreciate it. I'll be back as soon as I can," I said, flashing them a smile before I continued into the city. I walked through the busy streets, towering over everyone. There was an air of tangible excitement in the air that hadn't been here the last time. And nervousness. I could see it on everyone"s faces, a sense of uncertainty.
  
  Something had changed.
  
  I made my way through the marketplace, noticing how the crowd got thicker as I made my way to the next district. There were more guards posted at the gate. A lot more. Easily a couple dozen standing like a solid wall to prevent entry. There was a loose crowd that gathered up at the base of the steps, but only a couple dozen. Others lingered nearby, but... if I had to describe it, the crowd was the aftermath of a crowd.
  
  Meaning that I missed whatever had changed.
  
  To my surprise, I didn"t have to introduce myself. As I walked up the steps, they seemed to realize that it was me and parted to let me pass. I glanced behind me to see that a few had rushed to follow me up, shouting curses until their words jumbled together. My view of them was blocked as the formation closed, but two things were clear amongst the curses. Talos and Empire.
  
  Frowning, I walked deeper into the next district and my gaze landed on something that wasn"t there but should have been. In the small garden-like area where there should have been a statue of Talos standing with his foot on the neck of a dragon, there was nothing. The entire statue was gone. And, alarmingly, the guy that stood in front of the statue shouting how great Talos was also wasn"t there.
  
  "Did someone steal the statue?" I asked, my frown deepening as my feet carried me to the Cloud District. That hadn"t happened in the game, but I already knew I couldn"t trust meta-knowledge. Even still, that begged the question of who would steal a massive statue of Talos in the middle of the city? The Thalmor?
  
  Given that the statue was gone rather than reduced to rubble, that seemed like a safe bet. And given that they were trying to inflame tensions, it seemed likely even.
  
  "I hope that guy isn't dead," I muttered to myself with a small shrug of my shoulders, wondering if the Jarl wanted me to find out who stole the statue and to get it back. There was only one way to find out, so with that thought in mind, I approached the keep. There was a sizable detachment of guards standing in front of the gates like the place was ready for an invasion.
  
  "My name is Jericho. The Jarl wanted to see me?" I introduced myself as I approached. The guard didn"t move for a moment, staring downward at my stomach for a few seconds. Then a guard standing next to him thumped him on the shoulder, breaking him out of whatever trance he was in.
  
  "Hm? Oh, judging by the look of you, you"re certainly that Jericho fellow... the Jarl is waiting for you inside." The guard informed me, sounding distracted and I didn"t think he heard a single word that I said. That was raising some red flags. I stepped into the keep, trying not to show that I was expecting something to go horribly wrong.
  
  It was as massive as ever, I thought as I walked up the stairs as while the doors behind me slammed shut. My mind began to conjure up explanations for the weirdness I was seeing -- from something horrible happening to Daedric influence or some basic lore that I never learned about in the game biting me in the butt.
  
  Instead, as I reached the top of the stairs, I was hit with a presence like a sack full of bricks. A presence that I had grown used to over the past month, but one that I hadn"t expected to feel outside of Helgen.
  
  "Hestia?" I asked, searching for my goddess, only to find no sight of her. Just empty tables, and the room illuminated by a burning fire in the hearth. Even the throne was empty. Cautiously, I walked forward, an ill feeling settling in my gut as I abandoned subtly and grabbed hold of the warhammer that was hooked onto my back.
  
  I heard the footsteps above me before I heard a voice speak, causing me to whip around in time to see the source. And, the moment that I saw him, I knew exactly who it was. Even if I couldn"t believe my eyes.
  
  A man in his later years judging by the wrinkles that gathered around his eyes and the amount of salt in his closely groomed beard. What gave away who he was were two things -- the long but old scar that slashed across his neck and the winged helmet that he wore on his head. He wore simple chainmail that went down to mid-thigh underneath a blood-red cloak and decorated leather wrist guards.
  
  He looked down at me, placing his hands on the railing of the second floor. His dark blue eyes seemed to burn a hole right through me with their intensity.
  
  "There"s no need for that," he spoke in a low raspy voice only an octave above a whisper, but it carried like he was screaming at the top of his lungs. I felt the power in his words. I didn"t know how to explain it, but I was damn near certain that if he told Skyrim to jump, the kingdom itself would ask how high. What"s more, he carried himself as if he expected that response.
  
  "Talos," I spoke, barely believing it. This sure as hell hadn"t happened in the game.
  
  "That is one of my names, yes," Talos agreed with a nod that more or less took my game plan behind the barn and gave it a dog's death. "And you are Jericho. Lover of Hestia, the Tenth Divine."
  
  Wait. Hold the fuck up.
  
  "The Tenth Divine?" I echoed, the words hitting me about as hard as the Unrelenting Force. What in the hell happened when I was gone?! I left Helgen like yesterday! What the actual hell was going on here? "Hestia is the Tenth Divine? How- what-" I started, only to realize that I would get nowhere unless I composed myself. And rambling like an idiot in front of an actual god was probably a bad idea.
  
  "Why has Hestia been made the Tenth Divine?" I asked, earning an approving nod from Talos. Which, unlike the gods back in Danmachi, carried more than a little weight.
  
  "Your goddess has given a substantial gift to the Aedra... but, first, come up here. As I am now, you deserve more than to have me talk down to you," Talos whispered. My gaze flickered to the stairway to the side, but I ignored it in favor of crouching down and gathering my strength.
  
  Then I jumped, sailing upwards despite my incredible weight, and easily cleared the railing of the second floor. As I landed, I saw that Talos wasn"t the only one up here. Jarl Barguulf sat in a chair, looking faintly stunned, but all things considered, I couldn"t be sure if that was even because of me. Sitting next to him was Kodlak, who"s eyebrows rose high at my entrance.
  
  Right. "Jarl Balguuf. Harbinger," I greeted them both. And I don"t think either minded much when I quickly turned my attention back to the actual god before me, who looked mildly amused with my entrance.
  
  "I see what Hestia meant. Will all warriors in my... "familia" display such physical abilities?" He asked and it took me a solid few seconds to swallow that tidbit of information. Talos said the word familia. Meaning that he intended to start a familia. Meaning that familia"s are going to be a thing.
  
  Holy shit, what happened while I was away?!
  
  "Eventually," I spoke, still struggling to accept how radically different this had turned out. "Once they break through their personal limits, they"ll level up. Depending on how high they raised their stats, the higher the boost they"ll receive when they reach level 2," I explained, earning a swift nod from the god.
  
  "Interesting," Talos remarked, his eyes raking over me for a moment, sizing me up. "But, to answer your question, the Goddess Hestia decided to share her arcanum with the Aedra, empowering them. Us, I suppose. The Eight aren"t as powerful as they were before the creation of Nirn, but they"re stronger than they ever have been since."
  
  There was only one question on my mind, but I already knew the answer. Why would she do such a thing?
  
  Because she would want to help the Aedra. Because she wanted to help people in general. Because Hestia was a far better person than I could ever hope to be and wouldn"t think twice about making that sacrifice. It was like the old story about her -- how the Hestia of my world sacrificed her seat at Olympus to prevent any infighting about Dionysus" ascension.
  
  "What does it mean that she"s the Tenth Divine?" I asked, forcing myself to stop thinking about what happened, and instead focused on what would happen now.
  
  Talos gave a very helpful shrug, "It depends. She will be worshiped as the Goddess of Hearth and Architecture, and her blessing can be bestowed on any who wish it. Beyond that, it is unknown to me. What I do know is that the falna she brought to our realm will spread across the world as the Aedra intend to form these familias," Talos explained and that opened a whole new can of worms.
  
  "All of them?" Jarl Balguuf spoke, sounding torn between awe and confusion.
  
  "Not all," Talos answered. "Akatosh must remain behind to maintain the barrier that separates Nirn from those Daedra that don"t wish to walk amongst mortals as one of us-" Talos seemed to catch himself before he shook his head slightly, "walk amongst mortals as one of you. Julianos has chosen to remain behind as well." And with that, even more cans of worms were opened. Holy fuck. I thought Alduin would be the biggest issue that I had to deal with.
  
  I wasn"t the only one that noticed that bit of information either. "The Daedra walk Nirn as well?" Kodlak asked, his voice quiet and thoughtful. I figured that sentence should have been spoken with a great deal more of panic given how well the few times that Daedra had attempted to walk Nirn in the past went.
  
  Talos nodded, "As mortals, no different than I do. So far, Azura, Clavicus Vile, Malacath, Namira, Nocturnal, Sanguine, and Sheogorath have chosen to leave behind their divine power. But, I suspect that the others will join them eventually." I ran through the list that he gave and found that it could be far worse. Far, far worse.
  
  The worst on the list was Sheogorath. If Talos said Molag Bal had descended then I would have started to panic.
  
  And now I had those pieces of information, I tried to picture what would happen next. I had a better idea than most, so it was easier for me. The Aedra and Daedra would begin to build their familias, establishing themselves in this world. The Aedra and some of the Daedra would be forces for good, but some certainly wouldn"t.
  
  When Mehrunes Dagon descended, I was certain that it was going to be with the end goal of the destruction of the world. The same with Molag Bal. Their cults would serve as a starting point for their familias and in time they would grow into powerful threats. Especially if the path to power that I intended to take was available.
  
  "How many of them are in Skyrim?" I asked, wondering if there was something that I could do to undercut the worst of them. I was a step above most already and I was an experienced adventurer. And without their divine powers, the gods were vulnerable. I couldn"t kill them, but tying them up and locking them in a closet was a possibility.
  
  "Most of them. Malacath has gone to Orsinium. No one knows where Sheogorath will end up. Namira has gone to Morrowind. The rest, both Aedra and Daedra are in Skyrim," Talos answered, looking at me with a piercing gaze. "For here is where the question shall be answered."
  
  Alduin. In six months, the can that was kicked down the road would land here. I didn"t just have to be ready for him, but for dealing with the gods as well.
  
  As if to sense my thoughts, Talos reached up and grasped me by the shoulder. I hadn"t noticed earlier, but he was rather tall, close to 6"6 or thereabouts. "Hestia has a great deal of faith in you, and we"ll see if it"s misplaced or not." He spoke, not giving me any kind reassurance, but to affirm what I had resolved myself to do.
  
  I was going to kill Alduin the World Eater. And I had six months to get ready for his first appearance, or I would be stuck fighting off minor dragons until the deed was done.
  
  Talos nodded at me, but now it was time for the elephant in the room. "What are you going to do?" I asked, and was quickly echoed by Jarl Balgruuf.
  
  "The Empire needs you more than it ever has. With Ulfric threatening open rebellion, it"s only a matter of time before Skyrim plunges into war. The Empire itself is falling apart at the seams. It needs strong leadership -- it needs you," Jarl Balgruuf spoke passionately, standing up from his chair, his tone almost pleading.
  
  Talos looked at him, withdrawing his hand to face the Jarl before he shook his head. "No," he answered the unspoken question. "I won"t be Emperor again. My time has passed. I forged the Empire with blood and corpses and shit. Even when it was new, I knew the Empire wouldn"t be eternal and I"ve resolved myself to see it fall apart if it comes to it."
  
  He shook his head, "No. If the Empire is to be saved, then it will be saved by those that live within it. It will be someone else that must step up to take up the reins. If no one does, then it will crumble and be forgotten." Talos decided, making Jarl Balguuf slump into his chair. I felt much the same. If there was ever a clear leader on who should be the Emperor, then it was the man who was raised to godhood for forging it.
  
  It was the easiest way to pull the Empire together... but I guess that was his point. If he became emperor again, then he would be the Emperor forever. Simply because Talos was immortal, like all gods, and who could fill the shoes if he felt like stepping down?
  
  "Oh, and before I forget -- Hestia gave me a message to give to you," Talos informed, changing the subject. "She said not to worry, and that she has everything under control. Do what you came here to do, then come home." He gave me the message, a knowing grin tugging at the edge of his lips.
  
  I failed to muster up a response, all of this catching me thoroughly off guard. I didn"t even know where to begin. The gods walked Nirn.
  
  "But, for now, I will leave you. I"m sure you have a great deal to discuss," Talos said, giving the three of us a firm nod. With that, he turned around and made a far less dramatic exit as he headed to the stairs. The three of us watched him go until he disappeared from sight. Despite his words, none of us spoke as we stared at the spot we last saw him.
  
  I mulled over everything that I had just learned, trying to think of how this could change things. In the end, I came to a simple conclusion.
  
  "There"s no way this ends well."
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  ...
  "So... there are Ten Divines now? Heh. The Thalmor aren't going to be happy about that," Kodlak said after a lengthy silence. He seemed to be the one that was handling this the best out of the three of us. Jarl Balgruuf sat in his chair, his hands clasped before him as a deep furrow marred his forehead as he thought about the next move. All the while I was worried sick about Hestia. I was gone for three days and she gave away her arcanum and joined the Aedra pantheon?
  
  "And the newest Divine is your lover," Koldak continued, turning his attention to me. "And you said you didn't have a story worth telling."
  
  "It's complicated," I deflected with a shake of my head, tempted to run straight back to Helgen. I think I might have if it wasn't for Hestia's message to finish whatever I had to do before I went back.
  
  "I would imagine," Koldak mused, sounding amused.
  
  "What did he mean that Skyrim is where the question would be answered?" Jarl Balgruuf suddenly spoke, looking at me. "What question will be answered?"
  
  It would be a lie to say that I wasn't somehow tempted to shrug my shoulders, shuffle my feet, and keep the knowledge of Alduin's return underneath my hat. If only because I would somehow be special if I was the only one to know, thus the only one to prepare, and so when I defeated Alduin, the victory would be mine alone. And, in part, because my experience with the whimsical help of the Guild left me leery of trusting others to help me.
  
  But that was a really, really, really stupid fucking idea. Absolutely awful. I would have to be an absolute mouth breathing moron to keep something like this under my hat. Much less after I've learned that things portrayed in the game didn't match how they were in reality. Keeping this a secret was beyond idiotic. Not to mention selfish because I would be risking the entire world due to my desire to feel speshul.
  
  "Way back in the Mythic Era, Alduin the World-Eater was not defeated. He was banished," I started and I watched as blood drained from both men's faces, Koldak"s amusement fading away to nothing. "He was cast into the timeline, sent forward in time to an unknown era. This era. In about six months, Alduin will return. He will raise the dragon corpses scattered across Tamriel and he will destroy the world if he's not stopped."
  
  "That... is much worse than I feared," Jarl Balgruuf stated, his lips thinning in grim determination. "But how do you know of such things? Did the gods tell you?"
  
  The easiest way to go forward was to say yes... but I didn't want this leading to Hestia. I didn't want to force her into a position that she would have to lie for me to cover my ass.
  
  "No. I saw it in an Elder Scroll," I lied. The Elder Scrolls were such bullshit hax that something like seeing the future where Alduin returned would be downright normal for them. Their eyes widened and I quickly continued before they could ask too many questions about my excuse. "It's why I came to Skyrim in the first place."
  
  "And you intended to take him down yourself?" Jarl Balgruuf asked, sounding torn between admiration and exasperation. To that, I could only give a shrug.
  
  "It's not like anyone would have believed me. If Talos himself hadn't just walked out the room, would you have thought me anything other than a mad man if I came here claiming that Alduin was going to return?" I questioned and judging by the chided expression the Jarl wore, I knew my point found its mark.
  
  Jarl Balgruuf nodded, "aye, you make a fine point."
  
  Kodlak picked up the point, "what can you tell us about Alduin's return? Any detail could be important. We have six months -- I want to know how to best use them." The Harbinger of the Companions was well composed despite the topic. His eyes were sharp and alert, enough so that they seemed to take a decade off of him.
  
  "Do you have a map?" I asked and with the request, Jarl Balgruuf took us to a different room. A large room located up the stairs behind the throne room. A large detailed map of Skyrim was displayed on the table with piles of a small pile of pieces of carved wood rested in a messy pile on the outskirts. A glance at Irileth, who stood in the corner of the room, a hand on her sword as her blood-red eyes sized me up, told me that she had cleared the map.
  
  "First, I know that the first place that Alduin attacks is Helgen," I started, earning an odd look from Kodlak. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Irileth looked alarmed at the topic.
  
  "You built your home where you knew Alduin would attack?" He said, his tone questioning the wisdom of the decision.
  
  "When Alduin comes back, it"ll be just after he had his ass kicked by Hakon One-Eye, Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, Felldir the Old. He won"t be at full strength. And with six months or so, I"m hoping that I"ll find something that could tip the odds in our favor. Like joining the Companions," I said, even though I had absolutely no intention of joining the Companions at the start. "Or getting the Collge on board. Or the Greybeards."
  
  Kodlak seemed faintly impressed with the reasoning as he nodded. "I prefer a straight-up fight, but there"s more at stake than honor in this fight. Six months is plenty of time to lay a trap for the World-Eater."
  
  "Knowing the Greybeards, they"ll let the world end before they lift a finger," Jarl Bagruuf pointed out. It didn"t sound like he was judging them for it, but he did seem annoyed by it since they were undoubtedly the best people to deal with Alduin.
  
  "Maybe not," I agreed. "But like you said, we have six months to convince them or find someone else." Like Ulfric Stormcloak if I couldn"t find the Dragonborn. The plan was to find them During Ulfric"s execution, speak up for them to avoid them getting their head cut off, and make a comment or six that Ulfirc should go first. If they learned the Dragonrend shout by looking at it, then that was all the better.
  
  I moved the topic on, "Around... here is something called Alduin"s Wall," I said, pointing at a general area of islands near Falkreath . I couldn"t point it out exactly because the map wasn"t a one to one ratio of what I saw in the game. All I could do was give them a general direction at most and some details to help them find their way. "It"s inside an ancient abandoned Blades temple or something."
  
  Which meant that I needed to find the Blades. Jerks or not, their order was based around killing dragons. The dragon that I had killed might as well be a gecko compared to the ones of Skyrim. I would be able to find Einar in Riften.
  
  "It has details about the prophecy. I don"t know it all. Another thing we need is the Dragonstone, located around here," I pointed at a mountain near Riverwood. "It shows dragon burial sites. We need to find those bodies and get rid of them somehow. Just in case we can"t stop him at Helgen," I added, earning grim nods from both men. I was surprised that they were letting me dictate what we should do. I figured that they would give more resistance to obeying orders, good reason to or not.
  
  Though, it could just be because I was sleeping with a god and knew the details of what was to come. I didn"t have any promises that they would follow through.
  
  "Aye, that would be prudent. The lowest district... a dragon would just have to look at it for it to go up in flames," Jarl Balgruuf said. Then I recalled what Falkas had said.
  
  "While I was out hunting down bandits, I found places that had good ore for mining-" I started but Jarl Balgruuf realized what I was going for.
  
  "Mining towns! That would disperse the population. The issue is with dangers, but... if we can make it enticing enough... very well. I will back you on that venture," he agreed with a nod. And it struck me just how simple that was. I don"t know if it was a Nord thing or what, but he just attacked the problem decisively. I rather liked that. "We can discuss that matter later. For now, is there anything else?"
  
  I looked down at the map for a moment, trying to think of something. "If there"s anything left of the Blades, they would be a help," I said with the hopes that this conversation would somehow get back to Delphine. "But, beyond that... in the Elder Scroll, there is meant to be a Dragonborn-" I quickly continued when both men started, "I don"t know what they look like or where they are. I just know that there"s one somewhere in the world."
  
  "That"s heartening news, but we can"t pin our hopes on an unknown Dragonborn," Jarl Balgruuf spoke. Despite his words, he seemed rather heartened by the news.
  
  "So... we have our goals. What"s the first step to achieving them?" Kodlak asked, looking down at the map. "What will we do with the time that we have?"
  
  "We"ll have to move slowly," Jarl Balgruuf said, planting his hands on the table as he looked over at the map. "If we move too quickly then it"ll look like preparations for war with either the Stormcloaks or the Empire. As the only neutral party left in this realm, that will tip the balance for someone and we"ll be at war when Alduin returns." I saw what he meant.
  
  Mining towns could be a cover for forwarding bases filled with soldiers instead of miners. Seeking out alliances under the guise of "to prevent the apocalypse" would sound pretty fishy and most would assume he was finding alliances for when the Stormcloaks rebelled.
  
  "Hm. Could you speak with the king about this?" Kodlak asked and that actually caught me off guard. I was used to the king being dead in Skyrim. Actually, that was a really good question. This would be a whole lot easier if we had the undisputed king backing us.
  
  Jarl Balgruuf frowned for a moment before he nodded. "Aye, I can. This matter... I don"t trust to send a letter about it so the Thalmor can read it. And a messenger is too risky. Once winter ends, there will be a moot where we can discuss the realm. That will be where I will speak to him."
  
  I started to argue, but I caught myself when Kodlak simply nodded. Waiting for winter to end would cost us months. Then I realized that this wasn't going to be the kind of winter I've been through. Skyrim as a whole was going to be snowed in. Any progress that could be made would be minimal.
  
  Instead of arguing, I nodded. "I was planning on wintering in the College of Winterhold," I informed, and got some surprised looks, which prompted me to shrug. "We're going to need magic to take down Alduin, like it or not." However, Jarl Balgruuf's gaze lingered on me.
  
  "You said you intended to turn Helgen into a trap?" He questioned, waiting for me to nod before he continued. "Then Helgen needs to change. You won't have the authority to make those changes now and I can't give it to you," he informed.
  
  That didn't make any-
  
  "Helgen is a gateway for southern Skyrim, it's located by the least dangerous pass through the mountains. The only faster way would be by sea, or traveling the Imperial road that runs through Hammerfell and ends by Falkreath. Only that road is more dangerous by half due to the forsworn," Jarl Balgruuf explained, sensing my confusion. "Because of this, the tariffs it brings were coveted enough that blood was nearly drawn between the Holds of Falkreath, Riften, and Whiterun many centuries ago. To prevent it, despite the territory belonging to Whiterun, a compromise was struck. Tariffs on the city are split between the three Holds -- fifty percent for Whiterun and twenty-five between Falkreath and Riften."
  
  Realization dawned on me. "And they're going to want a say in any changes," I realized. While it was hardly an insurmountable obstacle, it was one that was going to eat up time."
  
  "Aye, exactly so. Not only that... but the kind of changes to the layout, defenses, and to make the people listen to you..." Jarl Balgruuf gave me an intense gaze as if he was trying to see my soul. Apparently he found what he was looking for because he nodded to himself. "The only person who would have that kind of authority would be a Jarl."
  
  Oh. Oh. Oh shit.
  
  Kodlak's eyebrows shot up as my jaw dropped. "Not to question your wisdom, but there are only nine Holds in Skyrim."
  
  "And a few days ago, there were only nine Divines," Jarl Balgruuf rebuked before he turned his attention back to me. "I haven't known you long, but it must be Fate that you're standing here before me. The contracts you took -- have they been completed?" He asked, earning a hesitant nod from me.
  
  "They have been," I confirmed.
  
  "In three days, you've made my Hold safer by half. Both Riverwood and Helgen have sent me letters singing your praises. I don't know you well, but you're building a fine reputation for yourself. More than that -- when you learned of Alduin, you didn't turn tail and run. You didn't leave the fate of the world to prophesy. You came here to challenge the World-Eater yourself. That speaks of so much courage you're likely a mad man," Jarl Balrguuf continued, making me shift in place. I really wasn't used to people dumping praise on me like this. "The gods themselves have chosen you. And for this, I hold faith that you can be trusted to lead a Hold."
  
  Holy shit, I didn't see this coming but... maybe I should have. I wasn't looking at this from their perspective at all. To them... I was an utterly massive Nord that went around solving problems wherever I found them. I was a great warrior by their standards in a marital society. I was the lover of a god. And now I brought them news of the incoming apocalypse while planning to stop it to save the day.
  
  It was weird to think, but I might as well have stepped out of a storybook to them.
  
  "It can't be that easy to make me Jarl," I pointed out, coming to grips with the sudden elevation. This place was so different than Danmachi. In Danmachi, I was darting between the feet of giant's hoping not to be crushed. Here, they just dumped praise on me for doing less fighting than I did in a day in the Dungeon. To the point, they wanted to give me a noble position. It was just utterly wild how differently I was being treated because I was strong.
  
  "It won't be," Jarl Balgruuf said before he turned to Irileth and gave her a nod. Irileth stepped forward, carrying an axe on a slip of velvet that she had gotten somewhere. She gave a theatrical bow as she presented the axe to Jarl Balgruuf, only for the Nord to grab the axe and love it at me. I caught it easily enough and inspected the axe.
  
  It looked decent enough, nothing special but the detail work was-
  
  "That is to be your badge of office. You are now the Thane of Whiterun," he informed almost casually. Kodlak let out a huff of laughter while Irileth looked like if she rolled her eyes any harder then they would fall right out of her skull. I looked at the axe with new eyes while Jarl Balgruuf continued. "It comes from my personal armory. As the Thane of Whiterun, you"re entitled to some privileges, but the most important part is that it gives your name weight."
  
  He must have prepared this already, I realized. I already became Thane without even trying too.
  
  "Go to Falkreath and Riften to gain favor with the Jarls. Do whatever they want you to do without question. If you become the Thane of their Holds, all the better. But ensure that you have their support before the Moot at Solitude. If they support you becoming Jarl of Helgen, then it carries more weight than any other of the Jarl"s possible complaints because we"re the ones directly affected by the decision."
  
  My grip tightened on the axe as I nodded, "consider it done." I told him with a firm nod. I already had some plans for Riften, but I would take care of Falkreath as well. The only issue was that I only had a month to do so. Riften was the obvious first choice since I knew a relevant questline that would put me in the Jarl"s eye. With Falkreath, that was a different story.
  
  "Hm. A Loyalist and a Stormcloak. If you can get both of them to agree to support you, then none of the others would so much as say a word," Kodlak remarked. Jarl Balgruuf let out a huff as he nodded.
  
  "True words," he said as he looked back down at the map for a moment. He let out a small breath, he shook his head in disbelief. "And I thought the worst I would see was Nords shedding each other"s blood for a pointless war. Now the gods and Daedra walk the world and Alduin the World-Eater will return."
  
  "I don"t suppose you have any other news worth sharing?" Kodlak remarked, apparently exhausted. I looked at him for a moment, and my expression must have betrayed me because his expression grew grim.
  
  "Spit it out lad," he ordered with some gruffness, expecting the worst. And I know I should wait for Aela and Farkas to be here, but the opportunity was too good to pass up.
  
  "While we were hunting bandits, we entered a tomb not far from here. We found the last pieces of Wuuthrad located inside," I said, making Kodlak sputter. It was actually kind of refreshing considering he had been so reserved throughout the meeting. "It was guarded by a Deathlord. I killed it in single combat."
  
  "You what?" Irileth blurted as if that was the most impossible thing that she had heard so far.
  
  Glad that the tension had been broken, I explained. And, in the end, there was a great amount that needed to be discussed and it was hours before I left.
  
  ...
  
  It was nearing night when I finally left the keep. It was a productive day for me. I was now Thane of Whiterun, over a dozen mines were going to opened up in my name -- it would take some time to get everything set up, of course, but money was going to be pouring into my pockets. I went ahead and promised to hand over the bounties and whatever sales from the items I brought in to expedite the process.
  
  Even still, the day wasn't over yet. Kodlak sent me to find Farkas and Aela to bring them back to Jorrvaskr. However, as I was leaving the keep, someone stood at the doorway. A woman wearing steel plate armor with a sword at her belt and a helmet tucked underneath her arm. I expected her to be there, but seeing was believing.
  
  Skyrim looked dated when it came out ten years ago, so everyone suffered from potato face. Naturally, that made beautification mods a go to. Most people I"ve seen so far looked normal-- no potato face, but not pretty with the exception of Aela. I could barely recognize that the person that stood at the door waiting for me was Lydia, my new Housecarl.
  
  Long raven black hair, dark blue eyes, high cheekbones -- Lydia was a nine out of ten any day of the week. And she looked damn good in her armor. Her dark blue eyes drank me in, sizing me up just like I did her. Her lips curled into a slight smile as she turned to face me completely, apparently liking what she saw.
  
  "My Thane, I am Lydia, your housecarl and sworn-shield. In whatever battle you face, I shall stand by your side," Lydia introduced herself, her voice stern as if trying to will me to believe that she was more than just a pretty face. I'm guessing that there was a story there.
  
  I came to a stop in front of her -- Lydia was taller than most, almost as tall as Aela, but I still towered over her.
  
  "I'm Jericho. Good to have you on board," I introduced myself in a more casual way. I wasn't quite used to speaking how Nords spoke in a more formal manner. I felt like I was faking it too much and it was really obvious. "We have some time before we hit the road. Is there anything you would need for a long journey?" I asked, still trying to plot out how I was going to hit everything that I needed to do in such a short amount of time.
  
  "No my Thane. I am ready to leave whenever you wish," she denied with a shake of her head-
  
  "You, wait there a moment!" A voice shouted from across the hall. Looking over my shoulder, I saw it was Farengar. He moved with a sense of urgency, B-lining straight to me. "You're going to Bleak Falls Barrows, yes? Excellent," he continued before I could say anything. He reached into a pouch and handed me a stack of papers.
  
  I took them as well as a piece of charcoal. "If you come across a Wall of Power, please run down a copy. Or generally, anything else you would think would be of interest. Though, I must warn you -- Barrows as grand as the ones in Bleak Falls are reserved for high standing warriors or dragon priests. It's a very real possibility that you will find a Dragon Priest within." Farengar continued, making Lydia take in a sharp breath.
  
  "I figured as much. I was going to go down to the Alchemist and buy out their stock of magic resist potions," I said, earning an approving nod from the elderly man dressed in a dark robe.
  
  "That would be prudent," he commended before he held out a hand and dropped a ring into my palm. I blinked down at it -- it was mostly gold with a silver line that twisted around a deep green emerald. More shockingly, it looked like it would actually fit a finger of my size. "That is a little something I worked on in my free time. It a ring of Resist Magic. Don't think you can go on taking a powerful spell directly, but this will deflect the worst of the damage from weaker spells."
  
  I was oddly touched by the gift, weirdly enough. "Thank you," I told him, shrugging off my gauntlet and sliding the ring on. It was a near-perfect fit. And, even better, because I knew what it was, I could see the effects.
  
  Ring of Lesser Resist Magic: Grants the wearer 15% magic resistance.
  
  Given how my last encounter with magic went, that 15% could end up saving my life. Especially considering that magic was the one thing I had no resistances to.
  
  "And since you're going to be stuck wandering around this kingdom, take this as well," Farengar said before he handed me a book. Emblazoned on the front was... Enchanting on the road for beginners. Not exactly the grandure type of name I was expecting from a magic book. "Enchanting requires years of dedicated study, but for you adventurous types there is a shortcut. Once you understand the basics, you can break down enchanted items that you find in your travels."
  
  I blinked at that, surprised. I figured that was just a game mechanic, honestly. But... I saw the logic in it. It was like breaking down a machine to learn what each part did, then applying that knowledge to something else.
  
  "However, I would recommend against using this method on powerful enchantments, whatever they might be. If you fail to understand anything of the intricate nature of powerful enchantments, you"ll do nothing but destroy it, costing yourself a valuable learning opportunity and a great deal of money should you want to sell it," Farengar advised.
  
  "Thank you for this," I told him, holding onto the book. It was hard to put into words but... I wasn"t used to people helping me. That"s why the few that did back in Danmachi were going to be repaid in full for their help, and then some. "I"m surprised you remembered I wanted to learn enchanting," I remarked with a small smile, adding Farengar to that list of people.
  
  "Hmph. Do you know how few Nords care to learn anything about the mysteries of this world? As far as I know, I"m the only one in all of Whiterun. As in the entire Hold," he clarified. "That book will give you a start, but if you want to learn, and then master the art, you"ll have to put in the work yourself. I"m no teacher."
  
  "Still, thank you. I"ll put these gifts to use. I promise," I told him and a sense of tension eased out of the old Nord. I"m also guessing that there was a story there beyond I was a Nord willing to learn. But this wasn"t the time to ask about his life story.
  
  "See that you do. Until the next time we meet. Do try to bring back the Dragonstone before you get yourself killed at least," he said in an attempt to sound dismissive as he walked away, but his tone betrayed him.
  
  "Until then," I returned, walking out of the keep. Once the massive door to the keep shut behind us, I looked over the city. The sky was darkening, telling me that I only had a couple of hours left of sunlight. And I didn"t want to spend the night in the city unnecessarily when I could start making my way home.
  
  "My Thane, should you wish it, I can fetch the potions from Arcadia's Cauldron for you," she offered. And it felt a bit weird to immediately send her on a fetch quest after just meeting her, but I couldn"t say that wouldn"t be convenient. I also knew that she was trying to put her best foot forward.
  
  "Yeah, that would actually be great," I said, pulling out a pouch of gold and handed it over to her. However, Lydia didn"t take it for a moment.
  
  "As the Thane, it"s within your right to take what you believe is needed to ensure the protection of the Hold. Potions would fall under that right," she informed me. That was surprising but less so than everything else I"ve dealt with today. Though, it did explain why the guards would be so okay with you looting everything in a city down to the pocket lint and let you get away with it once you become Thane.
  
  Even still, I passed her the money. "It"s fine. I can afford it, and I"d rather the potion maker not think of me as an asshole that takes his merchandise just because I can. Though, if you could grab some basic books about the trade, I would appreciate it. And if you find anything else you think would be useful, go ahead and snag it as well," I added as Lydia tucked the money away as she nodded seriously.
  
  "It will be done, my Thane," Lydia swore before she walked towards her given task. I watched her go and wondered if she knew that this was a test if I could trust her or not. The amount I gave her was enough to buy everything that I wanted ten times over. Naturally, I wasn"t going to trust her if she stole from me, but if she bought stupid shit then... well, I wasn"t going to trust her with Hestia"s life.
  
  Especially now things were so... I don"t even know. How badly had Hestia weakened herself to restore the Aedra? Her Arcanum was a major safety net that was gone now. It needed to be replaced. I wasn"t going to be able to go out for weeks or months at a time without knowing that Hestia was safe. If it came right down to it... either me or Lili would have to stay in Helgen during the winter. And considering that I was going to end up the Jarl of the place, it would probably be better if it was me.
  
  Shaking my head of the thoughts, and hoping that this Lydia proved to be as stalwart loyal as the games portrayed her to be, I wandered back to the front gates. And, to my surprise, hours later, Farkas and Aela were still standing near the wagon. I honestly figured they would have wandered off at some point. Maybe they would have if Ri"saad wasn"t still going through the contents of the wagon, only now he was inspecting individual fruits
  
  Farkas noticed me first. "I was wondering if you managed to get yourself imprisoned somehow. What took you so long?" He questioned, looking bored out of his mind as he sat down on a large stone that was half-buried in the ground. Then he noticed that the axe in the band of the tabard that hung around my waist. "I know that axe..."
  
  Aela blinked at it, and I guess it was more distinctive than I thought it was. "That"s the Axe of Whiterun," she observed, looking at me as if she was seeing me for the first time. I really shouldn"t mention to anyone that I thought it was a generic-looking axe. "Why do you have the Axe of Whiterun?"
  
  "Do you want the short version or long version?"
  
  ""Short,"" Aela and Farkas agreed at the same time.
  
  "In the few days we were gone, the Aedra and Daedra descended to the world in mortal form. Talos is in the keep. I had a conversation with him. Oh, also, there"s a Tenth Divine. Her name is Hestia. She"s waiting for me back in Helgen. Also, Alduin is going to try to destroy the world in about half a year, so Jarl Balgruuf made me Thane of Whiterun to cut through legal bullshit that would get in my way to prepare to kill the bastard for good." I tldr"d the entire situation, earning dumbfounded looks.
  
  Even Ri"saad slowly lowered an apple he was inspecting for bruising as all of them processed what they just heard.
  
  "Heh. The Thalmor kicked up a stink about there only being eight Divines and now there"s ten," Farkas was the first to speak. And I think it said a lot that all he got out of that was that the Thalmor got some egg on their face
  
  "Talos... is here? You spoke to him?" Aela questioned, her eyebrows drawing together. "What... what did he say?" And I knew Talos was a big deal and all, but it was a little concerning how both of them kinda just skipped over the upcoming apocalypse.
  
  "Mostly how he won't become Emporer again. Then he kinda wandered off to go do something else," I admitted, earning a dismayed expression from Aela.
  
  "This isn"t good," Aela spoke, and it was Ri'saad that backed her up.
  
  "Alduin the World-Eater..." he muttered, latching onto the most important thing of note.
  
  "This will embolden Ulfric Stormcloak," Aela continued grimly. That caught my attention, which prompted her to explain. "Talos proving that he is Divine doesn't just mean that the Thalmor were wrong. It also means that he was right." She stressed the final word and just like that, I understood what she was getting at. After all, there was nothing as irritation as someone that was proven right and was in the position to rub people's faces in it.
  
  "People are going to flock to the Stormcloaks," Farkas said with certainty.
  
  That could be a real problem. No, it already was a real problem. The entire civil war kicked off when Ulfric killed the king at the Moot that took place at the end of winter -- so about four months from now. If the Stormcloaks drummed up more support this go around then it might not even be a civil war if most of Skyrim revolts with them. It'll be a full-on rebellion for the Empire.
  
  Fuck. Was Ulfric even going to be in Helgen to be executed? If he wasn't then the easiest way to find the Dragonborn was lost. And that was assuming that they still decided to come to Skyrim at all because of the Aedra and Daedra.
  
  Fuck. Unless I happened to kill a dragon in front of them... then I had no way of finding the Dragonborn. Fuck!
  
  "Well, there's nothing we can do about it now," Farkas dismissed the issue with a shrug of his shoulders. He stood up, stretching and letting out a yawn that infected Aela, who yawned as well despite her efforts not to. "We should get back to Kodlak and give him the news. And to officially make you a member of the Companions," he said, nodding at me.
  
  "It seems that you have climbed very high in the short time I've known you, my friend," Ri'saad interjected himself back into the conversation as he stepped forward. "My congratulations! I have inspected the wares I would like to purchase from you if you would like to settle on a price," he said, gesturing to the wagon.
  
  I nodded, stepping forward and seeing that he had neatly separated what he wanted and didn't want. Naturally, he wanted most of the jewelry, some of the nicer armor and weapons, along with most of the dried foods. For winter, I'm guessing. "It would shame Ri'saad to haggle for a better price on such a joyous day! Five thousand septems seems a fair price."
  
  By nature, I wasn't a haggler, but I saw what he just did there. Now if I haggler for a better price, I would come across as an asshole. I looked at the goods, feeling no real sense of attachment to them. And it wasn't like I was short on money. However, as I looked to Ri'saad to agree, my eyes landed on his wagon in the distance.
  
  Now, I knew exactly nothing about wagons, but his looked much better than mine. The wood was smoothed and polished, there was an outline for a canvas, and it was roughly the same size as my current one. What's more, between the giant wheels, I saw springs. Meaning that the next time I drove over a bump in the road, I wouldn't break an axel.
  
  "That wagon," I said, pointing at it. Ri'saad's eyes lit up, experienced enough to know where this was going.
  
  "Ah, yes! Crafted in my homeland, Elsweyr, by the finest carpenters. The metal springs make the ride incredibly smooth -- as if you're floating on a cloud. Even on... roads such as these," Ri'saad said, sounding like he was using the words loosely. And, to be fair, he wasn't wrong to. Disrepair was the kindest thing I could say about Skyrim's ancient roads.
  
  "Hm. I'll trade you my wagon for yours, and take a thousand off the total price. For the inconvenience," I said, and judging by the gleam of greed that entered his eyes, it was clear that I was a bit too generous. But that was fine with me.
  
  "I would gladly accept! The bargain is struck!" Ri"saad declared with a happy tone in his voice. I had no doubt that I was cheated some, but in the end, this was a major net gain for me. Simply because now whoever my travel companion was at the time, they wouldn"t slow me down because I could just pull them through the night. Only this time I wouldn"t be stuck walking.
  
  After that, it was remarkably simple to make the exchange. I loaded up what was left of the goods onto my new wagon and tucked away an additional four thousand coins. And it seemed after that exchange, Ri"saad decided it was time to hit the road because his trade caravan, which was much larger than just three Khajiits, started to pack up.
  
  "You said you hail from Helgen, yes?" Ri"saad said before he departed while I loaded up the wagon. I nodded, making him give me another toothy smile. "Most excellent! May our paths cross again, Jericho, Thane of Whiterun."
  
  "Same to you, Ri"saad," I returned, and wasn"t there a Khajiit farewell...? "May your road lead you to warm sands?" His eyes widened, clearly not expecting that kind of farewell, but it wasn"t unwelcomed judging by the warm laugh that escaped him.
  
  "Not likely given this place, but I thank you for the thought! And may your roads lead you to warm sands," he said. With that, his caravan packed up and left. Instead of watching them go, I turned my attention back to the city and the perks of being Thane quickly made themselves known. There was a guarded warehouse where I could park my new wagon.
  
  By that time, Lydia was making her way back, her arms full of supplies. Enough so that both me and Aela rushed over before she dropped anything.
  
  "Thank you," Lydia said, sounding faintly embarrassed as she handed over a box of magic resist potions. They looked similar to how they did in the games -- small teardrop-like blue glass with a thin spout with a cork in it. The crate contained twelve bottles, so there would be a few doses for everyone. And if the effects stacked for me, then I could really boost my magic resistance. She also got several books and what looked like tools for an alchemy set. That was useful.
  
  "Lydia," Aela greeted with a nod as we shared the load to dump off what Lydia brought.
  
  "Aela," Lydia returned the greeting and I got the impression that they knew each other. I didn't have enough estrogen to tell at a glance if they liked each other or not. Then she turned her attention to me. "My Thane. Here is the remaining money and a list of the items I bought as well as their cost," Lydia said, handing over both. She really was trying to put her best foot forward. I was glad for it.
  
  "Thanks. We're heading to Jorrvaskr," I told her after we dumped off the stuff into my wagon. I glanced at Aela, "she can come, right?"
  
  Aela nodded, "aye, she can. She's your sworn-shield. The Companions value privacy but not enough so to disrespect such a bond." Lydia looked relieved to hear it, even if she tried to hide it. Which was fair. I couldn't imagine that she wanted her time as my housecarl to be spent waiting outside of rooms and running errands.
  
  "Then let's go," Farkas said, B-lining towards Jorrvaskr, likely eager to be home. I nodded, following him while Aela and Lydia brought up the rear. The air of excitement and disbelief was still in the air, but the crowds parted for us, making it a short trip through the district. Farkas pushed open the large door, revealing the interior.
  
  Unlike the last time I stepped inside, everyone turned to look at me. The feasting tables were packed, well over a hundred warriors sitting at the tables. More were standing up, clumped together in groups that were sprinkled about the hall. At the high table was the Circle -- Kodlak, Skjor, and Vilkas with seats for Farkas and Aela.
  
  This was a lot different than it was in the game. In the game, the Dragonborn joining the Companions was an improtue thing. This was more of an actual event. Whatsmore, this entire set up told me that I was already in the Companions, and this was just to make it official. At our entrance, Kodlak stood up, raising his goblet high before he brought it down on the table. Somehow, despite all of the odds, the rowdy bunch of hundreds of warriors went silent.
  
  "Jericho, Thane of Whiterun, step forward," he ordered, his voice carrying a sharp authoritative edge to it. I walked forward, and it was as if my armor was the only source of noise in the entire room. I came to a stop in front of the high table, and despite his authoritative voice, I saw a spark of amusement in his eyes.
  
  Despite the moment, my lips twitched upwards as my gaze swept over the others. Vilkas nodded at me while Skjor looked at me like he was sizing me up for a fight.
  
  Kodlak continued a moment later, "you have proven your valor, honor and your ability. Aela, Farkas? Do you vouch for this man?" He asked, his voice echoing throughout the oppressively silent hall.
  
  "I do, Harbinger," Aela spoke up first. "He has proven himself worthy of being a Companion in deed and word. I would be proud to call him my Shield-Brother."
  
  "Same here," Farkas echoed, though far less formally. "The only reason I wouldn"t want to fight at his side is that he"d make the fights too easy." At that, there was a good chuckle that echoed throughout the room.
  
  Kodlak nodded, "Then I name you a Companion. Let the celebration begin!" He called out, and the previously quiet room exploded into loud cheering as they welcomed me into the Companions. Or for the food that was brought out on cue and began being placed on the table. I don"t suppose it really mattered because Kodlak leaned forward. "Follow us. There"s something you need to learn about the Companions."
  
  Oh. Right.
  
  I nodded and the Circle got up from the high table and Kodlak led me outside. Lydia looked like she wanted to follow, but I shook my head as I walked out of the room. I knew what they wanted to tell me and it wasn"t something that they would want to get out. Aela and Farkas followed me out of the building -- our sudden departure was noticed by others, but any grumbling or confusion was lost in the rowdy feast and good cheer of others.
  
  Kodlak walked through the training field and towards the massive straight drop cliff that was the Skyforge. While he walked, he talked. "I"ve informed the others of what we spoke about," he said, meaning that I didn"t have to have the same conversation again. "And I have an offer that may make your task easier."
  
  "We have news as well," Farkas spoke up, clearly excited to tell Kodlak. Vilkas and Skjor looked at him questioningly, but Farkas waited until Kodlak had walked up to the cliffside. He pressed his hand on the stone and it sunk in after a moment. It was actually weird to see since the button to make the large slab of stone push outward before sliding to the side.
  
  I ducked my head to walk down the ancient stone steps until they reached the bottom of a round room with a large stand with a bowl standing on top of it. I could see well enough despite there was no light, which was really weird. It was like the shadows weren"t as dark as they should be, or something.
  
  Aela stepped forward, presenting the pieces of Wuuthrad, "we found these in a ruin not far from here. The last pieces of Wuuthrad. The weapon of Ysgramor and the Companion"s honor is now restored," Aela said as she gave the pieces to Kodlak.
  
  Kodlak took them, his face blank while Vilkas" eyebrows went high and Skjor looked like someone smacked him. "The final pieces... we found them at quite a time. The gods walk the world, Alduin is coming, the Empire is falling apart and Skyrim will plunge into war sooner than later..."
  
  "An omen, if there ever was one. For thousands of years, Wuuthrad has been lost to us and now the final pieces have been found? Under our noses, no less?" Vilkas voiced, crossing his arms as he shook his head.
  
  "There"s something else you should know," Farkas spoke up before he gestured to me. "He knows that we"re werewolves. Had to tell him. The fight to get the shards was a hard one -- two hundred draugr against the three of us with a Deathlord on top of that," he said, carefully watching Kodlak"s reaction.
  
  Skjor"s face twisted into a scowl while Vikas looked pensive, prompting me to speak up. "I won"t tell a soul. Farkas revealed the secret because there wasn"t much of a choice. I"ll take this secret to my grave," I told them. Vikas looked reassured. Skjor less so, but he waited for Kodlak to give the verdict.
  
  Kodlak stroked his beard for a moment before he gave me a curt nod, "it"s unfortunate that you learned of such a secret, but if Aela and Farkas say that it was unavoidable, then I trust it was unavoidable. And I will trust you when you say that you will tell no one. This secret is of great importance to the Companions. I suspect you would have learned of it one day, but not this quickly."
  
  "Though, now I suppose this raises a question -- do you wish to become a werewolf?" Kodlak asked, but before I could answer, Skjor shook his head and spoke up.
  
  "I cannot accept this," he spoke, turning to me. "I have no doubt about your worthiness as a warrior, and I believe that you will keep this secret, but I cannot accept you joining the Circle the same day that you"ve joined the Companions. Thane or not," he said. And I guess I understood where he was coming from. I wouldn"t be happy back when I worked in retail if someone got promoted to my level the same day that they started working.
  
  "Skjor is right. I have only met Jericho twice -- it seems premature to welcome into the Circle already," Vilkas seconded, giving me a firm nod to convey that it wasn"t anything personal.
  
  Kodlak nodded before he turned to Aela and Farkas, waiting to hear their thoughts. Aela spoke first. "I believe he should be welcomed as a member of the Circle. It is early, this is true, but there is little doubt in my mind that Jericho will prove himself worthy of the honor."
  
  Farkas agreed, "I already said my piece back in the hall." Meaning that the vote for and against was two to two.
  
  However, I had one major concern about becoming a werewolf. While it could be great for the stats and the health regeneration, there was one issue that could be a deal-breaker.
  
  "I don"t think I can become a werewolf," I spoke up. "Hestia, the Tenth Divine, is my lover. I"m the first member of what is called a familia. I don"t know how that translates into what happens when I die, but I know if I became a werewolf, then I would be bound for Hircine"s realm." Which would Hircine and Hestia into conflict. Given that Hestia was weaker, and I don"t know if Hestia would win that match in the first place, that wasn"t a risk that I can accept.
  
  There was various reactions to that. Aela and Farkas shared a look -- I guess that tidbit of information was lost in the infodump I gave them earlier. I guess it wasn"t that impressive when compared to the world ending. Or the Thalmor being wrong.
  
  "I see your reasoning. Very well, I will respect your wish on the matter," Kodlak said. Though, I think that argument carried a bit of extra weight with him considering he was trying to avoid the same issue. He wanted to go to the Nordic afterlife, Sovengard, rather than the Hunting Grounds. "Still, there is another matter to be discussed -- in six months" time, Alduin will return."
  
  He turned his attention to the members of the Circle. "Jericho is on a quest to defeat him, and we would be poor Shield-Brothers and Sisters if we let him undertake this quest alone. There are several tasks that must be completed to prepare for his return. So, I ask you this -- who among you will travel with Jericho on this quest?"
  
  "I will," Farkas spoke up first. "I"ve been meaning to stretch my legs a bit. And I like this world. I don"t want it to end."
  
  "As will I," Aela agreed, taking a step forward.
  
  "I will as well," Vilkas spoke up, surprising me. "You might be able to kill a Deathlord, but you"re still shite with a sword. I can"t have you shaming the Companions with such skills."
  
  "In that case, I will stay," Skjor said, looking faintly disappointed. "Someone needs to stay behind to watch over the rest of the Companions. And to prepare them for what"s to come."
  
  "As Harbinger, I will stay as well. I"m too old to be running around Skyrim and I would only slow you down. I will do as I have and help guide the Companions," Kodlak spoke, giving a final nod.
  
  I looked at Aela, Farkas, and Vilkas, a slow grin making its way onto my face.
  
  "In that case... enjoy the feast while you can. We"ll be traveling through the night to reach Helgen," I told them, taking a moment to soak it in.
  
  I was the Thane of Whiterun. I was a Companion. I was going on a grand quest to save the world.
  
  Honestly? This is where my generic isekai adventure began.
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  "FUS!" Lydia heard someone whisper underneath their breath, just loud enough that it tugged at her consciousness and pulled her from her slumber. Instead of waking up in a soft bed, Lydia found herself in the back of a wagon stuffed with three others. She was propped up against one of the walls in her armor. It took her a moment to remember why she was here rather than back in Whiterun.
  
  She served the Thane of Whiterun. A warrior so large he surely had giant's blood in him, whose abilities surpassed that of a Deathlord. A legend in the making that would be told by Skyrim's descendants for thousands of years. And she was his housecarl.
  
  "FUS! RO! DAH!" Lydia heard someone whisper again. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes, checking to her left to see that the other three were asleep. Including Aela. Calling them friends would be a strong word, but they had fought together before, when they were both younger and a younger version of herself thought her destiny lay with the Companions. But, knowing the fierce woman, the fact that she was asleep spoke volumes.
  
  As she looked outside, the full moons offering plenty of light once her eyes had adjusted, Lydia saw the road was moving by at impossible speeds. Unless her Thane had somehow found some horses to pull the wagon? Shifting over, Lydia looked out the front, expecting to see horses, but instead, she saw her Thane's broad shoulders as he pulled the wagon at speeds that should be beyond the natural limit of mortal men.
  
  Lydia blinked once, then again, then a third time to be certain that her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. The trees that flanked the road that they traveled moved by with alarming speed, the stone path vanishing behind them as her Thane"s feet moved with the speed of the wind. Some kind of enchantment, perhaps? Enchantments that fortified the body were rare, and notoriously expensive since they could only be made by masters, but if he had a few then that would explain a great deal.
  
  "FUS! FUS! RO! DAH!" The whispers continued and it was only then that Lydia realized that they were coming from her Thane. Her lips twitched upwards. He was attempting to use the Thu'um? Many'a children had done the same, uttering gibberish in the hopes that they would use the Voice and prove themselves Dragonborn. Though considering the tale that was being spread at the feast, her Thane had slain a Deathlord in single combat, and legend said that they could use the Thu'um.
  
  Perhaps he wasn't uttering gibberish?
  
  "Stupid fuckin' shout... ah, forget it," her Thane muttered unhappily, continuing to push the wagon at speeds that should be impossible. Lydia recognized the wagon of Kahjiit make, if only because of how smooth the ride was. With normal wagons, they"d all be bouncing around nonstop, much less sleeping.
  
  Still, Lydia felt like she should say something. "The Thu"um is more than just a word, my Thane," Lydia spoke up, causing her Thane to glance over his shoulder at her. He didn"t wear his helmet, so his shoulder-length mane of black hair was swept back, revealing his fine features.
  
  "Oh, did I wake you up? My bad," he offered an apology, and it caught Lydia off guard. She was his housecarl, he should never feel the need to apologize to her. "And... yeah, you"re right. I was hoping that since I heard it being used that I could figure it out, or something, but no such luck." He sounded very disappointed by that. Which was fair. Everyone was disappointed when they couldn"t use the Thu"um.
  
  "And you don"t need to keep calling me Thane. Just call me Jericho," her Thane offered but she shook her head firmly, even though her Thane looked back at the road ahead of them.
  
  "I cannot. You are the Thane of Whiterun and I-" Lydia started, only to fall silent when her Thane interrupted her.
  
  "How about I order you to call me Jericho? I"m not one for titles or anything like that. Just call me by my name," her-... Jericho insisted, and when he put it like that, she was forced to concede.
  
  "Very well... Jericho," Lydia agreed. It felt improper, she had been training for most of her life to be a worthy housecarl to whoever she would serve. To call someone of Jericho"s position -- the Thane of Whiterun, the largest and greatest Hold in all of Skyrim, given to him by Jarl Balgruuf, a true son of Skyrim, no matter what Ulfric Stormcloak may say about it... it told her that Jericho did not understand how high he had been elevated. It wasn"t proper to call someone of high nobility by their first name. To say nothing of his membership of the Companions.
  
  Three of the Circle rode in the wagon. Lydia was in the presence of high company.
  
  Though, that did lead her to thoughts of why three members of the Circle were traveling with Jericho.
  
  "May I ask what our destination is?" Lydia asked, wanting to prepare herself for the battle that would come soon. For what else could be the cause for such notable warriors traveling together? Her sword was sharp and her shield was ready. All she needed to know is what they would be fighting.
  
  "Bleak Falls Barrow," Jericho answered. And with it, Lydia realized that they would be fighting draugr and worse. Either more Deathlords or Dragon Priests. A fight worthy of entrance to Sovengard. "But I got a bit excited. I forgot that we would need a dragon claw to open up the passageway to get the Dragonstone, and it was night time when we passed through Riverwood. So, we"re going to make a slight detour to Helgen."
  
  Lydia blinked, digesting that, the chill of the wind that washed over her face reminded her that she wasn"t dreaming. "We have already passed Riverwood?" She questioned a note of disbelief in her words. "How long have we been asleep?"
  
  "I"d say around six hours or so. I"ve been pushing myself to make good time," Jericho explained as if that made any sense. From Whiterun to Riverwood was a near two-day walk at least. And apparently Jericho had not only closed that distance in six hours, but he had gone further? Was he using magic? As his housecarl, Lydia vowed to herself that she would not judge him harshly if that was the case.
  
  However, Jericho continued, diswaying that notion. "It"s kinda getting difficult for me to find good workouts, so I"ve also been pushing myself a bit. Trying to see how long I can run. Might try to find a way to make the wagon heavier when I get a chance," Jericho said, mostly to himself, but the wind carried his words to her.
  
  That was daunting. Sprinting an incredible distance while pushing a wagon with supplies, and four fully armored Nords -- that"s what he considered a workout. Whats more, it was found lacking because he wanted a heavier wagon.
  
  "I..." how could she even respond to that? "I see."
  
  "We still have a bit until we reach Helgen, so if you want to get some more sleep, then you should while you have the chance. We're probably not going to stay the night," Jericho continued. Lydia sensed that there was more that he wasn't saying, but it wasn't her place to pry.
  
  "As you say, my- Jericho," Lydia agreed, praying that he did not look deeper into that slipup before she settled in and closed her eyes. But despite her attempts to return to sleep, Lydia found herself unable to. The slight tremble in the wagon, the wind that brushed against her skin kept her awake.
  
  And after what felt like hours later, Lydia heard Jericho begin to mutter 'FUS' underneath his breath again.
  
  ...
  
  Helgen was a grand town, Lydia realized as she stepped out of the wagon some hours later. Stretching as her companions did the same. The sun had yet to fully rise over the mountains than flanked Helgen, but the town itself was already up. While not as densely populated as Whiterun, it was a true town with high stone walls, cobblestone roads, and neatly organized districts. She saw inns for travelers, warehouses for storage, stores to find any type of good that would both flow into and out of Skyrim, and plenty of houses for those that lived here.
  
  Helgen was not a city, much less one similar to the crown jewel of Skyrim that was Whiterun, but it was incomparable to the small villages that were sprinkled throughout the North.
  
  "Jericho! Well meet," one of the guards waved to the Thane of Whiterun, ignorant of his elevated status. Jericho seemed a little caught off guard by the warm greetings but he returned it all the same. As well as the waves and bows. It was impossible for news of his deeds to have already spread, so it could only be that her Lord had built a fine reputation for himself before he left for Whiterun.
  
  Though, Jericho looked more apprehensive as they made their way through Helgen. Especially as they reached the site of what looked like a grand construction site -- Lydia saw wood, stone, and a basic foundation being set. They didn't have the materials for it yet, but judging by the large plot of land that was being used, Lydia couldn't imagine what was being built here.
  
  However, she was distracted when a gaggle of children walked up to Jericho, pointing at him with a stick that had seen some use considering the children were spotted with fresh bruises. "Your armor looks funny," the youngest pointed out before he attempted to bury his entire finger up his nose.
  
  Lydia's eyes drifted over said armor. Jericho"s left arm was covered in black armor made up of thick plates. His torso was mostly covered with copper-colored Dwemer metal. The area around his stomach was made up of segmented plates, an interesting design that allowed him a great deal of free movement, while his chest was a solid plate that was only partially made of Dwemer metal. It was certainly an interesting look.
  
  "Yeah, well, so does your face," Jericho returned with some exasperation, looking down at himself, then back at the child. Farkas failed to completely stifle a laugh while Aela simply shook her head. The child himself looked affronted, but Jericho continued before he could throw a tantrum."What"s being built here?"
  
  "A new house. The one you built wasn"t big enough for the new Goddess," one of the children answered accusingly. Lydia stiffened, as did Jericho. Whiterun was exploding with rumors of the gods walking the world -- she hadn"t seen it herself, but enough people had confirmed the story that the statue of Talos had shrunk down to the size of a man before Talos himself had stepped off the platform.
  
  Even then, Lydia might not have believed it if Heimskr hadn"t vanished along with the statue. The only one that could have stopped that man from preaching was Talos himself.
  
  "Was that her idea or was it something that other people decided?" Jericho asked while she and Aela shared a look. Aela didn"t look shocked by the news, so she already knew, but Lydia recognized the tension in the woman. Lydia swore that she wouldn"t jump to conclusions yet, but it seemed that the Thane of Whiterun was far more important than any of them had suspected.
  
  "Uh-" The one that had spoken hesitated, prompting another to pick up where he left off. A young girl who looked far more interested in Aela and her than she did Jericho. Lydia offered the young girl a smile, making her beam before she continued.
  
  "It was a bunch of grownups. Lady Hestia said she was happy in the house that she was in, but everyone else said that she deserved better, so now they"re building her a new one," she explained. Jericho let out a quiet sigh as he nodded.
  
  "Thanks, kids," Jericho said before he parked the wagon and reached back. Lydia watched with interest as he dug around the back for a few short seconds before he grabbed a handful of ancient Nordic helmets from a chest that must have concealed them. "Here -- wear these the next time you're going to... play fight," he offered the helmets, much to the children"s joy.
  
  They wasted no time putting them on and started practicing fighting with their sticks. As they wandered off, Vilkas commented, "You do realize that now they"re just going to aim for the head?"
  
  "I tried," Jericho stated with a shake of his head, putting the issue out of mind as he resumed pushing the wagon. That got a chuckle out of the twin brothers as they all followed Jericho up a small hill. After turning a corner, it was easy to tell which house belonged to Jericho... and the Goddess of Hearth.
  
  It was larger than the rest by half, made out of stone. It looked masterfully crafted, standing out that much more due to the quality of the houses that were nearby to it. It wasn"t as grand as the manors of the Battle-born, or the keep at Whiterun, but it was worthy of being the home of a Thane.
  
  Jericho parked the wagon in front of the house before he turned to them. He looked like he was about to say something, but seemed to think better of it. Instead, he simply shrugged to himself before he walked up the steps towards a door made to fit him. He slipped a key into the lock, unlocking it, and stepped inside.
  
  "WHO DARES- Oh!" Lydia heard someone shout as Jericho stepped inside, and she saw it was a small child. Jericho"s child? A young girl dressed in a simple beige cloak, her light brown hair was short with a slight curl to the locks while her eyes were an almost golden-brown. "Mr. Jericho! You"re finally back!"
  
  At her words, Lydia heard a loud crash echo somewhere followed by the sound of someone running through the house. A door swung open, revealing a beautiful young woman with raven black hair, bright blue eyes and a smile that could light up a dark room. And that smile only grew when her gaze landed on Jericho.
  
  "I"m home," he greeted her, prompting the woman to sprint across the room and throw herself at Jericho hard enough that Lydia heard the impact. Even still, Lydia rocked back as if she had been the one struck, and she wasn"t the only one. A presence that she didn"t know how to describe assaulted her every sense. Words failed her.
  
  It was an aura of... power. Of a being that was beyond mortal comprehension.
  
  In that moment, it clicked into place. She had heard rumors and hearsay, but Lydia hadn"t believed. Not really. Not until this moment.
  
  Lydia stood in the presence of a god. Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth, and the Tenth Divine. And she was worryingly patting Jericho, love shining in her eyes as she looked up at him.
  
  It was hard to describe the realization that she felt in her gut. But, if she had to try, it was the moment Lydia realized that she was certain that a new Era had already begun and Jericho would be the one paving the way.
  
  ...
  
  "No scars?" Hestia questioned me as I peeled off my armor, the others awkwardly standing behind me as they shuffled their feet, unsure what to do. Even Farkas was left speechless. They probably needed some kind of explanation but I didn"t have one in me at the moment. I was just glad to see that Hestia was okay. It was a unreasonable worry that dividing up her arcanum had done something horrible to her, like make her physically ill or weak, or...
  
  "No scars," I confirmed, pushing my worries to the side. They didn"t matter. Hestia was fine. She was safe. I still had some major questions, but the important part was that she was safe and healthy. Everything else could wait. I offered her a small smile as she looked relieved, knowing that I was telling the truth. "Seems like a lot"s happened on both of our ends," I remarked.
  
  At the very least, Hestia looked abashed. "It wasn"t like I set out to join their Pantheon, you know? I just figured I should help them and, well..." Hestia trailed off, pointedly looking away from me as she realized that wasn"t exactly a defense. "But you should introduce me to your friends!" Hestia changed the subject, stepping forward to the group of warriors that eyed Hestia with wide eyes.
  
  "Hello! Welcome to my home," she welcomed them -- Lydia and the Companions -- with a small bow. "My name is Hestia," she introduced herself before gesturing to Lili. "And this is Lili. Are you Jericho's friends?"
  
  I almost laughed as I looked at them, all of these hardened warriors looking dumbstruck as they looked down at Hestia. Lili let out an unimpressed noise and it seemed that she wasn't completely over her distaste for the adventurer type. If she ever would. But I think in time she would learn that there is a very big difference in what that word meant here.
  
  In the end, I took pity on them as the silence and their staring grew awkward. "Starting from the left is Farkas, Vilkas is his twin brother, then there's Aela. They're members of the Companions. Lastly is Lydia, who is my housecarl," I introduced them. And in the end, it was Farkas that spoke first.
  
  "You're a god," he stated, seeming to be the first to wrap his head around that fact.
  
  Hestia nodded, "I am. Hearth and Architecture are my domain. So, please, take off your armor and relax while you're here. Any friend of Jericho is welcomed here."
  
  "There really are ten Divines. The Thalmor are going to be furious," Vilkas muttered as he distractedly started to grasp at his armor. All of them looked like they were walking in a daze, unable to take their eyes off Hestia.
  
  Hestia let out an amused huff. "Everyone keeps saying that. You Nords really don't care for the Thalmor, do you?"
  
  "That would be an understatement, Goddess Hestia," Aela spoke up. "Skyrim has always had a troubled history with elves, but with the Golden-Accords and the ban on Talos worship, that dislike has become hatred."
  
  Hestia nodded, "Yeah, Talos said as much before he descended."
  
  "You have spoken to Talos? What- please forgive my impertinence, but what is he like?" Lydia asked. Lili sent me a look that I caught out of the corner of my eye. Judging by her expression, Hestia had been receiving that question a lot.
  
  "He didn't really consider himself a god, I don't think. How he acted and spoke, he seemed to still consider himself a mortal. I didn't really have a chance to talk to him, but he seemed nice. And polite. He might look and sound a little rough, but he was definitely a politician back when he was mortal," Hestia explained.
  
  I nodded, "Yeah. He made a slip up when I was talking to him back in Whiterun. When he was talking about mortals, he kept saying 'we' and the gods were 'they.'" Then that reminded me that there was a Wild Talos unleashed in Skyrim and I still had no clue what that meant. "Did he say what he planned? He pulled a disappearing act in the keep."
  
  Hestia shook her head, "He didn't say. I know he's planning to form a familia, but that's it. He did say something about a priest worthy of his attention."
  
  "Heimskr? Huh. I'm happy for him. He's been standing in front of the statue of Talos and screaming his praises every day without fail for years now," Aela remarked. By now, most of them had stripped off their armor. They wore rough-looking underclothes that had seen some heavy use, but I'm sure the same could be said for me.
  
  Still, that meant Talos was still unaccounted for, and at a time like this, he was easily the most important god to Skyrim. And given who he was in his previous life, I couldn't imagine that he didn't have something planned.
  
  "But that's enough serious talk for now. I was about to get dinner ready-" Hestia started before Lili interjected.
  
  "Lili will get groceries to feed more people," Lili offered before she looked up at Farkas and the others, "but Lili will need help carrying all the groceries." Which was a bold-faced lie to get them out of the house for some reason. And it seemed what Lili was trying to do wasn't lost on them either.
  
  "We will help you, child," Aela decided, realizing that Lili was trying to give me and Hestia a moment to talk freely. "It's the least we can do for welcoming us into your home."
  
  Lydia caught my eye, prompting me to nod before Lili produced a bag of gold from somewhere. "Lili will be back soon Lady Hestia," Lili said before she left the others outside. As the door closed, I glanced down at Hestia, who looked faintly annoyed, but she offered a weak smile up at me.
  
  "So... I heard that the people of Helgen are building us a new house," I said to break the ice as I went to sit down and peel off my armor.
  
  Hestia let out a sigh, "I didn't ask for one! I kept telling them that I liked this one, but they"re being really pushy... and... well... I kinda liked designing this house, so I thought it would be fun to design another?" She admitted after a moment, earning an amused huff from me.
  
  "So, how did all of that happen? You becoming a Divine? I was out of Whiterun so if there was some big announcement then I missed it," I said, shrugging off my top half of armor before putting it on the armor rack. My undershirt was fine, so I kept it on.
  
  "The Daedra found out about familias and Akatosh decided to experiment to see if it would be better for them interact with the world without their powers, rather than indirectly like they always have. I met with the Aedra to see what I could do to help them," Hestia explained.
  
  "But giving up your arcanum?" I interjected before I caught myself. "Hestia, you know way more about this kind of stuff, so if you"re saying that was the best course of action then I"ll believe you, but... you scared the hell out of me when I heard that you divided your arcanum," I told her.
  
  Hestia"s shoulders slumped, "I"m sorry. I should have said something to you before you left, but I wasn't sure what I would do until after you were gone. I just knew that I had to take responsibility for my actions," she said walking over to the couch and taking a seat, patting a seat next to her for me to sit down. "But I do think it's for the best. The Aedra seem to be good gods that seem to care for their followers. With their help, I think we"re going to be able to make Skyrim a much safer place."
  
  And that was that. The gods descending was a massive wrench thrown into my plans, but in the end, I could make new ones and the goal hadn"t changed.
  
  "How have things been since I left? People were looking at me like the sun shone out of my butt when I was walking here," I commented, and an annoyed expression passed over Hestia"s features.
  
  "Before the gods descended, they announced my joining the Aedra and what I did to their major and favorite worshipers to spread the word across Tamriel. But apparently they told everyone in Helgen that I was the Tenth Divine. Everyone has been... well, they"ve been sucking up and bringing me offerings and stuff. But I haven"t seen anyone that I would want to join my familia," Hestia explained. Then she sent a beaming smile at me.
  
  "How was your trip? Did everything go okay? Are you going to get to stay for a while?" She asked, earning a small wince from me.
  
  "The trip went great. I became the Thane of Whiterun and I"m a member of the Companions now. I"m also on pretty good terms with Jarl Balgruuf and we"re opening a bunch of mines in his Hold to disperse the population a bit," then I sent a cocky smirk her way. "And he"s working to make me the Jarl of Helgen."
  
  Hestia lit up, throwing her arms around my neck, "Congratulations!" she shouted, holding me tight, "What does that mean?" Hestia followed her exclamation up, making my cocky grin grow into a smile.
  
  "Honestly? I"m not too sure myself. I know I"ll be the highest authority in the Hold and I"d answer directly to the King, but beyond that I"m not sure exactly what a Jarl does other than managing the Hold. But, the point is, if I become Jarl then we can build up Helgen to take on Alduin," I told her, making Hestia"s face shift as she nodded seriously.
  
  Now here came the hard part. "But I"ll have to gain the approval of the Jarls in Falkreath and Riften before a Moot coming up in a couple of months. It"ll be best if I do it before winter-"
  
  "Meaning you have to go away again," Hestia realized. I let out a small sigh as I nodded -- I had a month to impress both Jarls, then I was going to spend two months in the College of Winterhold. So, at best, I was going to be gone for about three months.
  
  "So I have to travel again," I confirmed with a nod. "I"ll get done with it as fast as I can... and I"ll stop by as often as I can, but... yeah. I"m sorry," I said, reaching out to hold her close. "I realized that Alduin is a much bigger challenge than I prepared myself for. I"m confident that I can win, but it"s going to take a lot of work."
  
  "You don"t have to apologize for anything. I"ll be a little lonely since you won"t be here, but I can put up with it. You"ll just have to make it up to me after you beat Alduin," Hestia said, sounding like she understood, but that made me feel more like an ass. I regret not giving myself more time. Another six months at least.
  
  "I will. I promise. On the plus side, I"m not sure how necessary it is that I go to the College of Winterhold for all of two months," I said. "I"m going there to learn Enchanting and some other school of magic, but that might not be the best use of those months. I"m thinking of trying to learn the Thu"um," I told her, earning an understanding nod, so I guess she knew what that was.
  
  Lydia was right. There was more to the thu"um than just saying the words. I wasn"t the Dragonborn, but I was the Gamer and I had perks that would help me learn faster such as Comprehension. And I didn"t need to learn a dozen words. Just three.
  
  Joor. Zah. Frul.
  
  Dragonrend.
  
  My plans for finding the Dragonborn and shoving a piece of paper in their face so that they would learn the words was shot. That left me either learning how to use Dragonrend, or finding someone that could. The first choice were the Greybeards, but given that Arngeir was willing to let the world end without lifting a finger -- that didn"t exactly fill me with hope that he would be willing to help. My last choice would be Ulfric Stormcloak but that was the nuclear option.
  
  If Ulfric was the one that learned Dragonrend and he fought against Alduin, then Skyrim"s withdrawal from the Empire would be guaranteed. He already had plenty of momentum in that direction with an unknown amount more since he was proven right about Talos. If he became known as the hero that helped defeat Alduin to save the world then his rebellion would become a coup. One welcomed by most of Skyrim.
  
  So, I had to learn how to use three words in a couple of months.
  
  "Oh?" Hestia said, sounding interested. "So you would be at the top of the mountain then? Then maybe I could visit you while you"re training," Hestia mused. And I didn"t think the Greybeard would be enthused with the idea, but it was hard to say no to a god.
  
  "It'd probably be easier for me to come down to you with the seven thousand steps and all. And I'm not sure if it would work in the first place. Not to mention I should probably stay here in Helgen for the winter if I'm going to be Jarl," I said, leaning back into the couch.
  
  "Do whatever you think is best. I'll be here no matter what," Hestia told me before she delivered a peck to my cheek. "But, for now, I'm just glad you're here. You should sleep here more than once if you built the place," Hestia said and I didn't have the heart to correct her that I had only meant to visit. "Where are you going tomorrow?"
  
  "A large tomb to find a map that'll tell us where the dragon corpses are. After that I'll head to Falkreath first to see what I can do there," I answered before I glanced down at her. "Do you think I could get my status updated? I have a big fight upcoming at the tomb and I want to make sure I'm ready for it." I had wanted to avoid getting too many updates because I had feared it was going to grow increasingly difficult to grind stats now that I didn't have readily available challenges from the Dungeon in Danmachi.
  
  Hestia nodded seriously and a second later I was on my stomach, shirtless, while Hestia straddled my back.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 28
  Title: Under Leveled
  Health: 2860
  Magika: 125
  Progress to next level: 55,000/150,000
  Strength: 123 (+151= 274)
  Endurance: 160 (+225= 385)
  Dexterity: 135 (+169= 304)
  Intelligence: 90 (+77=167)
  Sense: 155 (+240= 395)
  
  Resistances:
  Physical Resistance: 30% (10% due to Durable, Toughness and Oakskin perks)(15% due to Endurance)
  Abnormal Resistance: 65% (50% due to Super Immune perk) (15% due to Endurance)
  Fire Resistance: 15% (15% due to Endurance)
  Cold Resistance: 65% (base 50%)(15% due to Endurance)
  
  Skills:
  (General)
  Gamer Body (100/100): The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage (55/100): Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. (perks available)
  Kissing (65/100): An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target. (perks available)
  Sex (49/100): Greatly enhances parameters when engaging in sexual intercourse. (perks available)
  Dishwashing (1/100): Stains and dried on food are easier to remove.
  
  (Combat)
  Footwork (18/100): The basis for all martial talents. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity.
  One-handed (25/100): Governs your effectiveness when using one-handed weapons, including daggers, swords, maces, and war axes. (perks available)
  Two-handed (13/100): Governs your effectiveness when using two-handed weapons, including greatswords, battleaxes, and warhammers.
  
  (Armor)
  Heavy Armor (10/100): Governs your ability to move and fight in heavy armor.
  
  (Stealth)
  (None)
  
  (Magic)
  (None)
  
  (Thu"um)
  Unrelenting Force (0/100): Your Voice is raw power, pushing aside anything - or anyone - who stands in your path.
  
  (Crafting)
  Woodwork (7/100): Craftsmanship involving wood.
  Stonework (10/100): Craftsmanship involving stone. ​
  
  In the end, my stats hadn't climbed much. The one with the biggest jump was Endurance, and it was a measly ten points. Which is what I was afraid of. I needed to find a good way to grind my stats in Skyrim. Pulling the wagon helped some, but it wasn"t enough. My best bet was magic. The same could be said for my skills since they only saw a small bump.
  
  However, that was forgotten as my attention was focused on the new addition to my status. Thu"um. Unrelenting Force was 0/100 but it was there. Meaning that I could learn it. And that... possibly changed everything. As much as I wanted to learn magic, learning the thu"um was arguably the better choice. It was only a question of how long it would take me to learn with the aid of Comprehension and the Title Astute Student.
  
  So it came down to a choice between spending winter with the Greybeards or the College of Winterhold. Still, I had time to make that choice.
  
  For now, I turned my attention to the other windows that had popped up.
  
  You have achieved a feat worthy of a Title!
  
  Apprentice Undead Slayer: 10% increase in damage dealt to undead enemies.
  
  Bandit Slayer: 15% increase in damage dealt to bandit class enemies.​
  
  Bandit Slayer seemed kinda useless for the most part considering that I had little trouble with bandits. And given how there was no equipment level scaling, it was unlikely that I would have any trouble with them. Apprentice Undead Slayer was easy to dismiss as the same, but the term undead didn"t just apply to draugr.
  
  Vampires fell under that umbrella as well. Same with ghosts and skeletons and other specters. And considering that this wasn"t just Skyrim, normal zombies were likely a thing as well. Given the Apprentice tag attached to it, I"m guessing it was title that could be improved. Provided that the bonus damage kept increasing then that was a title worth improving.
  
  Lastly, there were more than a few perks than I needed to sort through.
  
  (General Available Perks)
  Massage:
  Soothing Touch: Any aches and pains of a target"s body are eased away, leaving them feeling refreshed.
  Sensitive Touch: Some places are more sensitive than others and with the user"s experience, most places are sensitive.
  Healing Touch: Cuts and bruises are massaged away, drastically cutting down how long the wound would take to heal.
  Enhanced Touch: The user can simulate a target"s body, allowing them to temporarily push past their limits in Endurance, Strength, and Dexterity.
  
  Kissing:
  Smooth: Target of smooth feels heightened emotions of Happiness and Love.
  Building Intensity: The longer a kiss lasts, the more pleasure the target feels.
  Talented Tongue: The user"s tongue is rather adept at bringing targets pleasure.
  Enhanced Saliva: The user"s saliva has mild aphoristic properties that enhance sensitivity.
  
  Sex:
  Tasty Cream: The user"s semen takes the flavor of what he wishes.
  Nutritional Value: The user"s semen has the nutritional value of a healthy meal.
  
  (Combat)
  One-handed:
  Talented: One-handed skill exp gain is increased by 15%
  Sure-Grip: When using one-handed weapons, the user cannot be disarmed. ​
  
  I think it said a lot about my time in Danmachi that most of my perks revolved around sex. And I had some good choices too. Given that most of them didn"t have a practical use outside of sex, i went ahead and chose what was best for sex.
  
  Sensitive and Enhanced Touch were the first that I picked. Sensitive touch would be useful for setting the mood, and Enhanced Touch actually had combat applications. I might be able to pull some Gamer Manwha shit and massage myself before a big fight to boost my stats or something. Or I could do it to others.
  
  Next were Building Intensity and Enhanced Saliva. The first was mostly for Hestia since she enjoyed long kisses. The second for reasons that didn"t need to be explained. After that, between the two choices, I went with Tasty Cream. Nutritional Value sounded good until I realized that in any situation that someone would need to drink my cum for sustenance, I could just as easily feed them an actual healthy meal from my inventory.
  
  Then, with my only Combat Perk, I picked Talented. My two titles would allow me to pick two additional perks, but I was saving them until I saw what else the system had to offer me after I progressed enough. Talented would help me explore the One-handed tree faster.
  
  In the end, it wasn"t a bad first update in Skyrim, but at the rate I was progressing I should spread the updates out a bit.
  
  "Hey, Hestia?" I said, turning to look at her over my shoulder, a slow grin tugging at my lips. "How long do you think Lili is going to be gone for?"
  
  Hestia looked surprised by the question, but it didn"t take her long to figure out what I was angling for. An impish grin found its way onto her face as her hands began to roam my back. "Knowing Lili, it"ll be a little while. She"s gotten really fond of bartering every chance that she gets. Even though she"s already getting discounts."
  
  "Good. I got some perks that I want to try out."
  
  ...
  
  In general, would you prefer to see Jericho go to the College or to the Greybeards? Magic or the Thu"um?
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Ideas-Guy
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  While Mr. Jericho was getting reacquainted with Lady Hestia, it was up to Lili to judge Mr. Jericho's traveling companions. Two men, twins from the look of it, and two women. All four of them reminded Lili too much of Adventurers for comfort -- the rough sort that enjoyed fighting and dangerous situations. Back in Orario, that type had been the worst of those that she supported because more often than not, not only would they rob her but they would beat her as well.
  
  But Mr. Jericho saw fit to introduce them to Lady Hestia, so Lili decided that she would give them the benefit of the doubt. Or, rather, she would try to.
  
  "That was the Tenth Divine. We just spoke to a god," Farkas murmured to himself, looking somewhat lost as they walked through the streets towards the markets. His reaction echoed most people's reactions once they learned of Lady Hestia's true nature. It was rather odd, in a way.
  
  Back in Orario, the gods had walked the lower world for a thousand years. It was normal. For Lili, she couldn't imagine what Orario would look like without the gods. They were a centerpiece for everyday life, and the world moved according to their whims. But, here, everyone looked like they were dazed upon meeting Lady Hestia. The gods were known, but only a chosen few had ever interacted with them before.
  
  Lili wondered if it had been like this when the gods first descended from Heaven. The numb disbelief of realizing you were standing in the presence of a god, something beyond mortal comprehension despite them lowering themself to a mortal's level. After sharing a few words with Lady Hestia, everyone looked like they had just woken up from a bad hit to the head -- dazed and confused.
  
  "Lili, right?" Vilkas spoke to her, prompting Lili to pretend that she hadn't been carefully watching their every move. "You live with the Tenth Divine?"
  
  Lili nodded, "Lili is a member of Lady Hestia's familia," she explained. Lili still didn't fully understand the ramifications of what Lady Hestia did, but it was clear that familias wouldn't work like they had in Orario. Lady Hestia was a god, but she was being treated with intense religious significance. People were worshiping her, praying to her, asking for her blessing, and bothering her until Lady Hestia remained inside most of the day.
  
  "She's the second member of Lady Hestia's familia. Mr. Jericho was the first," she explained as she turned her attention to the ships that surrounded them. There were only a couple -- a singular trade good store, a tailor, a blacksmith, and that was about it. It was a far cry from the hundreds of stores to choose from in Orario. However, she paid more attention to the people walking by those stores. The ones that looked at her with reverence.
  
  "A member of her familia? Does... that make you and Jericho Godkin?" Lydia questioned, her face turning white. Lili was learning to recognize that expression as someone questioning if they had been particularly insolent to someone far more important than they previously believed.
  
  However, Lili shook her head. "No, Lili and Mr. Jericho are mortals that have received a Divine blessing from Lady Hestia called a falna. It's a tool that allows the user to push past mortal limitations with experience, and gives them skills and abilities related to what they practice. Like how a Blacksmith would receive the ability called Blacksmith once he leveled up." Lili glanced at them over her shoulder, "Mr. Jericho is a level 2. Meaning that he has performed a feat that the gods themselves are forced to acknowledge."
  
  Aela nodded, looking far more thoughtful. "That doesn't surprise me," she said, making Lili sigh.
  
  "Did Mr. Jericho do something incredibly dangerous?" Lili questioned, though she knew the answer. Aela looked pensive for a moment, unwilling to sell out Mr. Jericho, which earned her points in Lili's book. Farkas, however, seemed too dense to realize that she asked because she was worried and wasted no time bragging about the adventures they had gone on.
  
  Lili's lips thinned when she heard that Mr. Jericho had been injured fighting something called a Deathlord. She knew he wasn't like normal adventurers, even further beyond the fact he had chosen to help her when Lili had caused nothing but trouble for him, but even still... Lili knew it was important that she stayed here to protect Lady Hestia, but she also wanted to be there to protect Mr. Jericho as well. Hearing that he had fought a dangerous monster while she had been stuck here chasing off the rabble.
  
  "He's fine," Aela reassured her. "Better than fine."
  
  "But you're planning on leaving to go on another dangerous quest," Lili interjected as her feet carried her towards a store. The clerk blanched the moment he saw her, then grew very nervous when he saw the rough type that stood behind her.
  
  At the very least, none of them tried to lie to her. They exchanged looks, unsure how to answer before Lydia gave her a firm nod.
  
  "We are, but I swear to you on my honor that Jericho shall return home to you, even if its the last thing that I do," Lydia swore. She was earnest, but that kind of promise betrayed her inexperience. Mr. Jericho might not be entering the Dungeon, but he was going to be in danger.
  
  Lili turned her attention to the others for a moment, noticing their grim expressions but they offered no such reassurance. As Lili's hands filled up a sack she came to a decision.
  
  She couldn't trust Mr. Jericho's life with strangers, however well-meaning.
  
  The clerk, by now, knew better than to try to barter with her. He offered a low price for the food -- freshly caught salmon, herbs, fruits and vegetables, everything Lady Hestia would need. It was low enough that Lili didn"t feel the need to push her luck and ask for a lower price. Admittedly, Lili might have gone too far already and the only reason he agreed to sell to her at all was because of Lady Hestia.
  
  The others went to take the large segmented sack from her, only to pause halfway when they noticed that Lili could lift it with ease. "Lili has a skill that makes it easier to carry things," Lili explained. And the main skill of a supporter was rendered useless because of Mr. Jericho"s inventory. Not only that, it would be pointless to train with her on his shoulder because he was now a level 2.
  
  Lili led them back to the house, taking a winding road to give them time to prepare themselves. And give herself some time to prepare an argument on why she should go with Mr. Jericho. On her way, she saw a bunch of rough-looking green people. Orcs. They all wore armor and they had sharp tusks sticking out of their mouths, but Lili noticed how everyone seemed to give them lingering looks.
  
  From what she understood, they were from things called Holds, or settlements that was populated only by orcs. That, and for some reason, they were all leaving their Holds for a really big settlement of orcs at the border of Skyrim. The people seemed happy to see them go, muttering curses as they walked by. But, in the end, Lili paid them little mind.
  
  Eventually, their path led them to the Hestia familia home and Lili walked up the steps and opened the door.
  
  Revealing a very naked Mr. Jericho and an equally naked Lady Hestia-
  
  "GAHHHH!" Lili shouted before she slammed the door shut hard enough that the entire town probably heard it. As well as her panicked shouting. She looked up at the others with wide eyes, her chest heaving as the split-second of what she saw was forever seared into her brain. From Mr. Jericho"s powerful muscles, to how easily he made love to Lady Hestia while carrying her, to how his hips moved-
  
  Lili covered her face with her hands, "AHHHHHHHHH!" She screeched into them, her face burning bright red.
  
  "Well... I guess he really is the lover of a Divine," Aela remarked, making Farkas start laughing.
  
  ...
  
  This was horribly awkward, I thought as all of us sat down at the dinner table. Fully clothed. Lili was staring ahead with a thousand-yard stare, Aela and Lydia looked everywhere but at me. Farkas and Vilkas were the only ones that broke the oppressive silence that seemed to have fallen over the Hestia manner.
  
  I knew I shouldn"t have pressed my luck. I knew it. But, well... A naked Hestia wanting another dose of chocolate-flavored cum was one hell of an argument to take that risk. Poor Lili. She looked like she just came back from The War, rather than saw us have sex for a few seconds.
  
  "It"s ready!" Hestia announced cheerfully, prompting me to get up to help her carry it. I slid a plate over to Lili, who continued to stare blankly ahead, only a step above catatonic. "I hope you all enjoy," Hestia said, trying to move past the horrible awkwardness. At the very least none of them could have seen her naked since her back was facing them and my hands had been on her ass.
  
  Hestia took a seat next to me, with Lili sitting on the other side. Lydia was sitting on the other side of Hestia and looked honored to be there. I hadn"t seen her fight yet, but at the very least, she appeared that she would take the duty of protecting Hestia seriously. The Bleak Fall Barrow would be a test to see what she could do, but if everything went well...
  
  Lydia could end up joining the familia. I would like it if Aela and the others could join as well, but their pact with Hircine made that complicated.
  
  "Has anything changed while I was gone? Any jobs posted?" I asked, deciding to carry on the conversation. Lili still looked shellshocked, forcing me to look to Hestia for an answer. If we could just pretend what happened earlier, that would just be great.
  
  She seemed to think about it before she nodded, "A few did. There"s something called a Hagraven that moved in near Orphan"s Rock a little ways away from here, the guards were going to ask you to deal with it," she informed. I frowned at that -- Hagraven"s were magic users and fairly powerful ones at that. Though, I"m not sure how tanky they would be considering that they were skin and bones.
  
  "Oh, and the dungeon still needs to be cleared of frost spiders," Hestia added, making Farkas shudder.
  
  "Yeah, i"m not helping with that job. I"ll take the Hagraven over spiders any day of the week," he said with a shake of his head. Oh, yeah, he had a thing about spiders, didn"t he?
  
  Vilkas shook his head, "How can you call yourself a warrior and still be afraid of spiders?" He questioned, earning a huff from his brother.
  
  "By killing everything other than spiders the size of a horse," Farkas shot right back, giving me the impression that this wasn"t the first time that had argued.
  
  "Lili," Lili spoke up suddenly, apparently snapping out of her trauma, "thinks it would be best if Lili travels with Mr. Jericho to help him complete his quest." She suddenly informed, earning a sharp look from me.
  
  "Lili, Hestia needs someone here to protect her," I pointed out, wondering where this was coming from. Hadn"t she agreed that Hestia needed to be protected? She was the one that helped me convince Hestia of that. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hestia pout, clearly unhappy with that, but it was the truth.
  
  Lili made a face, "That was before Lady Hestia became one of the Divines," she pointed out. "Now everyone in Helgen will protect her." She had a point there, I had to admit. From them building a new house, to what Hestia told me... honestly, they were catering to her to the point that it might not even be necessary for me to become a Jarl. I still wanted to, if only because of the doors it would open for me.
  
  I glanced at Hestia, trying to judge how she would feel about being left alone. I didn"t like the idea of it, but... Lili would also need experience as well. She was a level 1, and a rather weak one at that. This place was proving more dangerous than I anticipated and as much as I wanted Hestia to be safe all hours of the day, I also wanted Lili to be strong enough that she could protect herself.
  
  "Or," Hestia spoke up, her voice a tad to cheerful, "I can go with you."
  
  "No."
  
  "Not happening," Lili and I spoke at the same time, shutting that idea down. Hestia looked rebellious, prompting me to continue. "Where we"re going is very dangerous with a bunch of undead and undead mages. You could get hurt-" I started, cutting myself off as Hestia raised a hand.
  
  "Then you had better do a good job of staying healthy and whole so you can protect me," Hestia decided with a nod to herself. My lips thinned, not liking the idea at all. We were going to be facing a powerful draugr. Another Deathlord at the very least. But that might not be the case and there could be something worse. I didn"t like the idea of Hestia being in that kind of danger. I liked it less than she liked the idea of me being in that kind of danger.
  
  I looked at Lili, searching for help to convince her to stay, and she looked a little sheepish, realizing what she had started. However, it was Lydia that spoke up.
  
  "We will protect her with our lives, my Thane," Lydia said, sounding like she was making a promise to herself. I would be grateful if she wasn"t taking Hestia"s side, but I guess a god outranks a Thane. "No matter what, we will ensure that she survives."
  
  No. I felt like I was being a controlling asshole, but Hestia was as strong as a normal human woman with no combat experience. I was level 28. Lili was a veteran adventurer with a deadly crossbow. Aela, Farkas, and Vilkas were werewolves. Lydia was the weakest of the group and she was a warrior that had trained for her entire life. The difference was that we were supposed to be taking these risks, not Hestia.
  
  "Jericho," Hestia spoke up, resting a hand on my forearm as she looked up at me. She offered me a serene smile, "I"m going with you." She told me as she squeezed down reassuringly. "I know all of you will protect me."
  
  And, just like that, I felt the argument leave me, knowing that her mind was made up. Now, anything short of chaining her to the house wouldn"t keep her here. So, instead, I would have to make sure that I killed everything that could think of threatening her safety.
  
  I glanced at the others and saw agreement.
  
  My shoulders slumped in defeat, knowing that I had lost this one.
  
  ...
  
  We set out the first thing in the morning, and Hestia seemed to be in a good mood judging by her humming. Helgen was safer than it had been with the Hagraven taken care of. I would say it had been a good fight, but it hadn"t been since Lili had put two bolts in its eyes before it had realized we were there. Though, on the upside, I did find a piece of interesting loot.
  
  Nettlebane. A small dagger roughly half a foot long made of something. I had figured since it took an ebony ingot to upgrade it in the game, it would be made of ebony, but that wasn"t the case. It was made of... something. Not sure what. What I did know was that the thing was apparently older than metal itself which was why it could harm the Evergleam Tree.
  
  "Here," I started, passing the several thousand years old dagger to Hestia. She blinked, wearing her white and blue parka, before she hesitantly took it from my hands. She leaned back, settling on the wagon that I was getting ready to pull. I had loaded it up with as much as I could, trying to get some serious weight in it. "It"s for your protection. Just in case," I told her as Hestia inspected it.
  
  "This is..." Hestia trailed off, her eyes narrowing at the blade. In the game, it didn"t have an enchantment, and it couldn"t be enchanted, but I wasn"t certain that was the case here. If it was enchanted then it didn"t have any kind of visible effect, like my great sword did. It also didn"t carry any passive bonuses like the necklaces did because there were no question marks when I held it.
  
  Hestia gave me a light smile before she gestured for me to come closer. Obeying, Hestia gave me a kiss on the cheek. "I know you"re really worried about me," Hestia told me before giving me another kiss, but this time on the lips. "But I"ll be just fine so long as you"re here to protect me."
  
  Ah... shit. Hestia finally figured out that she had me wrapped around her finger.
  
  Despite the future headaches that was going to cause me, I found myself smiling back as I straightened up to my full height. "In that case, you have nothing to worry about, because I"m not going anywhere," I told her as I took hold of the bar of the wagon. The others took that as a sign to hop inside and make themselves as comfortable as they could in full armor.
  
  "Everyone ready?" I asked, getting confirmations, and with that, I pulled the wagon out of Helgen. The wagon had some decent weight in it, enough to offer up some resistance as I pushed. Though, not enough that I would make any serious gains in strength or endurance. I would need a heavier wagon, maybe one made of metal so it could handle the additional weight I would put on it.
  
  That became increasingly clear as I slowly made my way towards the Bleak Falls Barrow. I could see hints of it in the distance, but only large arches that marked something manmade. Like everything so far, the mountain was a lot bigger so it could end up taking us a full day to actually get there. But, as the hours passed and we slowly neared the Barrow, I failed to feel that burn that told me I was increasing my stats.
  
  Eventually that train of thought led me to the necklaces in my inventory. I hadn't equipped them yet, but now their presence raised a question of if I should at all. It was already hard enough to raise my stats, artificially inflating them with enchantments was going to hurt my progress in the long run.
  
  I was broken from my thoughts when I felt Hestia reach out to pat me on the back, making me slow from my dead sprint. Once I did, Hestia climbed forward, "Help me climb up there with you." Feeling faintly exasperated, I did exactly that, helping Hestia sit down on the bar that I used to push the wagon while her back leaned against my chest. I couldn't imagine it was particularly comfortable, but Hestia didn't seem to mind much.
  
  "What are you thinking about?" She questioned and I nearly defaulted to the answer of 'nothing.' Instead, as I resumed my pace, and earned a delighted laugh as we raced towards Riverwood, I answered honestly.
  
  "I'm worried about my stat growth," I admitted to her, trusting the wind to keep my words between us. "I'm barely increasing my endurance and strength with this, and there aren't enough enemies that I can easily grind away at to increase them. It's not like the Dungeon."
  
  Hestia nodded, holding onto my hands for support. "I've heard that's a pretty common problem to have that only gets worse as you level up," she echoed my worries. As I am right now, I didn't feel like I could take on Alduin. Not even in a few months, when he was at his weakest.
  
  "And adding enchantments to my gear is only going to make the problem worse," I continued. Enchantments were meant to make things easier for the user. If I wanted to increase my stats, I needed things to be harder. Much harder. "I don't want to be completely reliant on my gear for my strength. It doesn't matter if I'm as strong as a level 100 in my armor. The moment I take it off, I'm vastly weaker."
  
  "You're right. You can't wear your armor all the time," Hestia agreed. "I wouldn't let you. But it sounds like you already have an idea of what you want to do for it?" And she wasn't wrong there. I did have an idea. It just wasn't one I would call a good idea.
  
  "I'm thinking of enchanting a set of armor to make me weaker or increase its weight, or something. Something that would make it to where I would have to push myself," I spoke, mulling the idea over. There were enchantments to make an enemy weak to something, and I wasn't limited to game mechanics of being forced to only apply those enchantments to weapons. Not only that, if there was a Fortify Endurance enchantment, then that should mean there was a Weaken Endurance enchantment as well.
  
  "Your armor takes a while to take off," Hestia pointed out. "That would make it too dangerous. If someone snuck up on you..." She trailed off, her tone worried. I wasn't in the position to reassure her, so instead, I considered her point. "What about a ring like the one you're wearing? Or a necklace that you could tear off in a pinch?"
  
  "Maybe," I said. The fact of the matter was that I didn't know enough about enchanting to say if that was possible. All of my stats were in the triple digits now, and some of them were closer to five hundred than not. I wasn't sure if a ring would be able to weaken me enough. Though, the necklaces did prove that enchantments stacked... so I could go full pimpdaddy with a ring in every finger. Several to a finger if necessary. "And I could keep my good enchantments on another set. The same for my armor -- I could keep one set for everyday use, and another for special occasions."
  
  Occasions like the War Game and I needed to come out the gate swinging.
  
  "Hm, that would work. And people would underestimate you too," Hestia said, warming up to the idea. With that decision made, the conversation lapsed before Hestia began to hum a familiar tune as we approached Riverwood. I couldn't stop myself from humming along, a song I knew by heart by now without the aid of Perfect Memory.
  
  Hestia ended up going through her repertoire of songs to hum and nearly fell asleep in the few hours it took to reach Riverwood, shattering my previous time. I couldn"t even bring myself to check my status because I knew the results were going to be either nonexistent or outright pathetic.
  
  Honestly, Ais" frustration with her progress made a great deal more sense now. If I had a convenient army of high leveled monsters that would push me to my limits, I"d happily throw myself at it.
  
  Riverwood looked about the same as it ever did. The palisade was still there, but the gates were open for us. The guards waved their greeting and unlike last time I wasn"t stopped at the gates, letting me continue inside.
  
  "Wah-?" Hestia jerked up, making me realize that she had dozed off, before she started looking around. Once she took in the small village, Hestia started urgently patting my arm, "Oh, this village is so cute," she gushed. It kind of caught me off guard before I recalled that Hestia had only ever seen Orario, a major city with a population in the millions, and Helgen, which was more of a town. Time was of the essence but I'm sure that I could afford to slow down a bit so she could see the sites. It was probably her first time seeing nature.
  
  "If you say so," I hedged as Hestia jumped off the wagon before stretching. A few people stopped and stared at Hestia, feeling her godly presence wash over them. One woman, in particular, seemed to realize exactly who Hestia was, and dropped to her knees, uncaring of the dirt and cried out.
  
  "Divine Hestia!" The older woman called out loudly, so suddenly that Heatia flinched, and drew the attention of the others in the area. I guess Riverwood was close enough that they would be able to recognize her by description. The announcement traveled with the speed of a lightning bolt and it hit with about as much impact. People stopped what they were doing to stop and stare, others quickly went inside to fetch their relatives.
  
  In the end, nearly all of Riverwood had stopped by to stare at Hestia. It shouldn"t have been a surprise in hindsight. Gods weren"t an everyday fact of life here. They looked at Hestia like... like how I imagine people would look at Jesus. They looked at her like she was their god.
  
  Lydia moved in, standing next to Hestia as I took a step forward so I was standing behind her, ready to push back if they turned out to be fanatics. I didn"t like the idea of taking a swing at villagers, but if they got pushy with Hestia they would learn that I could push back much harder
  
  "It"s fine," Hestia reassured me and Lydia as one of her hands snaked up to mine. "It was like this at first at Helgen. They'll stop soon enough. Let's just get what we came here for," Hestia told me. My gaze lingered on the thin crowd for a moment, thinking that it was incredibly unlikely that they would stop staring any time soon. But, she did have a point. None of them were approaching us and standing here was an invitation that one of them would eventually take us up on.
  
  Holding her hand, I led Hestia to the Riverwood Trader. I had thought about snagging the claw while I was passing through the other night but I decided against it. Mostly because turning up in the middle of the night and offering to buy it wasn't a good look. Because I'm certain Lucas would mishear 'buy' as 'steal', especially when I wouldn't be able to take no for an answer.
  
  "Hello-" Lucas started, blinking once as we stepped inside. Lili took up a position outside the door, standing next to Lydia while the others lingered nearby to deter the crowd outside. He blinked a few times, not even looking at me, and I could practically see the cogs moving in his head. Then they locked into place as he gave a deep bow, "Divine Hestia... you honor me and my store with your presence."
  
  Hestia looked a bit uncertain for a moment and I'm guessing that she wasn't used to being treated like this. Back in Danmachi, others treated her as a nuisance or unimportant. Now she was the most important person in every room she walked into.
  
  "Oh, thank you for having me. We're looking for... Jericho, what are we looking for?" She started confidently, only to trail off when she realized I never gave the reason for our stop.
  
  I gestured to the golden claw on the counter, "We need to borrow that for a bit," I explained as I took a step forward. Lucas followed my gaze to the golden claw and his lips thinned a fraction.
  
  "The Golden Claw?" He questioned, putting a hand on it protectively. "I'm sorry, but the Golden Claw has been in my family for generations!" And the game really undersold just how attached he was to the thing.
  
  "We just need to borrow it for a bit," I repeated. "It's a key that opens up a door up in Bleak Falls Barrows, and the Jarl has ordered me to get something that's on the other side of the door," I pointed out before I held up my axe in a non threatening way. Lucas' eyes widened when he saw the axe, but he held onto the golden claw all the same.
  
  "Please? We promise we'll bring it right back when we're done," Hestia spoke up. And I saw a chink in his armor as he seemed to consider a reguest from his new god. Seriously, the game really undersold how attached he was to it.
  
  "I'll pay to borrow it," I said, reaching into my pocket and dropping a decent amount of gold into the counter. If I had known it was going to be this big of an annoyance, I would have just taken the thing last night.
  
  And it seemed that greed won out over godly requests because that made him withdraw his hand from the golden claw. Before he could think better of it, I snatched it up. Even then his gaze lingered on it, "Do you know when you'll be back?" He asked, sounding like he missed the claw already as he scooped up the gold.
  
  "Tomorrow, hopefully," I said, eager to get back on the move. Then my gaze lingered on the rest of his stock for a moment. "Do you have any kind of resistance potions?" I asked, making him perk up. It seemed the temporary pain of losing the claw could be soothed with more money.
  
  "I do, actually. Minor resistance to frost and fire. Not everyone is born with a Nords constitution against the cold. We usually stock up before winter sets in," Lucas explained. That sounded like they could come in handy so I bought a few of each, however, the purchase came with a warning. "Oh, you probably already know this, but don"t drink more than one kind of resistance potion, or double up on one. It could kill you."
  
  That actually wasn"t surprising to me. If potions were like medicine then drinking different kinds would be like taking conflicting medicines, or taking too much could lead to overdosing. Either way, it would end badly. Meaning that my group had a choice between magic, frost and fire resistances.
  
  "I also have these potions -- the air is a lot thinner at the top of a mountain, so you'll need to drink these to skip that pesky adjustment period. Knock back one of these and you're golden," Lucas said, sliding me a few bottles of a murky white liquid. "Free of charge. So long as you bring back my Golden Claw."
  
  "Thanks," I said, grabbing them before leading Hestia out of the building. "See you tomorrow," I said, stepping outside to see that a crowd had gathered just outside the building. None dared to get too close, several heavily armed warriors as Lili were one hell of a deterrent. Except for one. The woman that had called out Hestia"s name.
  
  "Divine Hestia... how can we give thanks to you? How can we thank you for your sacrifice?" The woman asked, dropping to a knee, and that was some kind of signal for the others to do the same. It wasn"t all at once, but within a few seconds, all of them were kneeling to Hestia.
  
  Hestia let go of my hand and took a step forward, overlooking them as they kneeled in the dirt. I shifted, unsure if I should do something or not, but Hestia surprised me with her answer to the question. She seemed to gather herself for a moment before she spoke.
  
  "I want... you all to be happy," Hestia said, her voice carrying through the small village. The villagers themselves looked uncertain, daring to look up questingly, making Hestia smile so brightly I could see it even though I was standing behind her. "I want you to treat your family with love and consideration, and your neighbors with respect. I want you to live your lives in a way that you can carry yourself with pride. That is the thanks I wish."
  
  The villagers found themselves relaxing in her presence, some bowing their heads to her while others found themselves smiling back.
  
  And... so did I.
  
  ...
  
  Perfect Memory was torturing me and it was awful. I could recall everything that I had learned in Skyrim through hundreds of hours of playing the game and doing the occasional wikicrawl, but Perfect Memory didn't mean Omnicompetent. There were plenty of things that I had never learned about the world and one of those things was nagging at the edge of my consciousness.
  
  There was a treasure chest nearby. Near Riverwood, across the river that was a hundred times deeper and wider than it was in the game. The only issue was that I had never found it in the game, and I certainly wouldn't now that the world was so much larger. And I didn't plan on wandering around the woods until I found the chest filled with unknown loot.
  
  The completionist in me died a little bit at the idea of knowingly leaving loot behind, but there was nothing that could be done about it. So, I pushed the thought away as I came to a stop at the base of the mountain that jetted out of the ground. I had no idea how tall it was, but it wasn't anywhere near as big as the mountains that surrounded it. Still, it was a mountain.
  
  My eyes landed on an ancient grayish, grayish-black stone staircase that would take us to the top of the Barrow. The stone looked weathered and chipped, but given that it was thousands of years old and left to the elements, they were well preserved. The staircase itself was unnecessarily grand -- the stone steps were wide enough that I could lay down and not touch the edges -- then there was a break, before there was another equally large staircase. It hadn't been here in the games, but I've learned not to be suprised by these things anymore.
  
  "Hestia," I started, my gaze landing on the large flat break that was large enough to fit a wagon on. Hestia looked up at me from her special seat, "You should get in the wagon now. There's going to be bandits up ahead at the top," I told her.
  
  Hestia looked to the top of the Barrow, her lips thinning for a moment. "We... will there be prisoners?" She asked me directly, the question she wanted to ask hidden within that one. She was asking if I planned on taking prisoners. And that answer was no, I wasn't.
  
  "Divine Hestia," Aela spoke up, saving me from having to answer. "If there are bandits at the top then there is little point in taking them alive. Skyrim is a harsh place and the punishment for banditry is death. There is little honor in killing a surrendering opponent, but those that make their fortune by preying on others deserve nothing else."
  
  A frown tugged at her lips as Hestia looked like she wanted to argue, but Aela's argument was fairly similar to my own. And in the end, Hestia was more worried about what killing did to me, to us, than she was about those that were killed. A difference in perspective, I suppose.
  
  "All of you would know better than me. I've never been in a fight before... so I'll accept your expertise," Hestia decided, making everyone relax a fraction. Even still, I decided I would try to be clean about it. Maybe have Lydia guard Hestia while we clear them out. With that settled, Hestia climbed into the wagon.
  
  "Is Mr. Jericho going to do what Lili thinks he's going to?" Lili asked from within the wagon. A grin tugged at the edges of my lips before I put on my helmet and lined the wheels up.
  
  "Of course I am," I answered. "Everyone drink that potion. We're heading up fast." I gave them a quick minute to obey the order before I pushed the wagon forward, lifting the front wheels so that they rested on the divide. Then with a push and pull, I put the entire thing on the divide. It's probably not what it was there for, but it was a perfect fit and I'd be a fool to not take advantage of it.
  
  And, it turned out, pushing a heavy wagon filled with crap and people up a near vertical mountain was a pretty good workout. I felt a familiar and sorely missed burn in my muscles as I pushed them to their limits and kept demanding more from them. Not just in my legs, but my arms and chest as well from keeping the wagon from falling down a mountain. The hours ticked by, the air growing colder and thinner as the forest gave way to unyielding rock, and that was in turn covered by patches of snow that grew thicker the higher we climbed. As we neared the top everything was covered in a layer of snow, and my breath became visible as I sprinted up.
  
  Choosing Nord as my race pick was a good decision because I didn't feel the cold at all. There was a chill, but that was about it. Not even enough to make me want a jacket.
  
  Eventually, we reached the tip of the mountain and Bleak Falls Barrow. It was even more grand than it had been in the game. The arches lined up perfectly and were solid enough that a dragon could land on them, the wide open platforms hinted at the ceremonies performed here. The temple itself, on the opposite end from where we were standing, stood proudly against the elements and the sands of time. Snow gathered on the countless statues of dragons that lined the building, the largest and most detailed of them all was the one above the door. Alduin, if I had to guess.
  
  The sight of the Barrow was unnerving. Or, rather, unsettling.
  
  The last tomb I raided had been a hole in the ground and I found a Deathlord in it. This place looked like a fantasy palace fit for a king. Whatever was guarding the Dragonstone wasn't going to be a generic draugr warlord. I felt it in my bones.
  
  "I'll take point," I decided, reaching into my inventory and taking out my Ebony Greatsword that was wreathed in fire. I heard Lydia gasp when she saw it, but that probably equally because of what it was and the fact I had just pulled it from nothing. "Vilkas, Farkas, you're midguard. Aela, Lydia and Lili, protect Hestia."
  
  "Lili has an idea," Lili spoke up. "Lili won't be able to get any good shots with everyone in the way in such narrow tunnels, so Lili thinks Mr. Jericho should carry Lili on his shoulder like he usually does."
  
  ...I... had a shoulder loli.
  
  Actually, now that I think about it, Lili would classify as a Stealth Archer, wouldn't she?
  
  Alduin wouldn't know what hit him.
  
  "Sounds like a plan," I said, reaching down and helping Lili up so she sat on my shoulder. It was a little awkward when compared to having her slung around my neck, but I got used to the weight. So, that probably meant I needed another shoulder loli. I heard the others chuckling at the sight. That was fine. They were about to witness the efficiency of how much ass we could kick.
  
  I turned to the Barrow, not seeing any guards. It was entirely possible that the bandits weren't here yet, but I knew better than to assume that. Striding forward with the others at my back, we approached the heavy metal door. And it seemed that they were here judging by the footprints in the snow and the ice broken so one half of the massive double doors could swing open. Like the previous tomb, they were so big that Lili wasn't in danger of hitting her head, much less me.
  
  Grabbing the handle I pulled it open, the hinges groaning to announce our entrance. In a dimly lit ballroom supported by a massive pillar in the center of the room. Judging by how ornately it was once decorated before it was clearly stripped of valuables over the centuries, it was more for decoration. On the far side was an equally decorated wall that led to another set of double doors, both covered with carvings of dragons.
  
  More notably, however, were the tents set up on the other side of the room. The sound of shouting and people hasily gathering their weapons echoed throughout the vast greeting room, alerting us to their presence.
  
  "Twelve of them. I'll take the far ones," Lili informed before she took aim with her crossbow. It felt good to be fighting with her again. Lili was a supporter and a good one that knew her job inside and out -- what's more, it showed in a fight.
  
  "Gotcha," I replied, running over towards the group of bandits. A lime green orc ran between the tents, carrying an iron warhammer in his hands and wearing nothing but a pair of pants. A few scars were scattered about his chest I noticed as the orc unleashed a deep rumbling roar and he hefted the warhammer. Before he could think to bring it down on me, I swung at him first. A black blur sliced right through him, cutting through his thick muscled arms, his ribs and spine before cutting through his other arm on the other side.
  
  The stench of burnt flesh filled my nose as the two halves fell to the ground behind me. I paid little mind to it in favor of spotting four others die with bolts sticking out of them. Lili was a deadshot, even when both she and the enemy were moving. Not to mention her bow which was made for punching through monsters made short work of the bandits.
  
  By the time I reached the camp in a few seconds, more than half of the bandits were already dead by Lili"s hands. The three others rushed me, screaming wordless roars at me to pretend like they weren"t afraid. But they were. I darted forward, shifting my grip before I swung once again.
  
  This time I paid more attention to my sword"s effects as I sliced through the bandits like they were barely there. As they fell apart, I saw the cauterized stumps on both ends as the smell of more burnt flesh filled my nose. Once they all fell dead, I turned my attention to my Ebony Greatsword, looking at it in a new light.
  
  It was like a lightsaber.
  
  I had a lightsaber. Except cooler because it was made out of the blood of a god.
  
  Whoever was buried in this Barrow was so fucked.
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  "That weapon, what is it?" Aela spoke up first after we cleared the opening room. She double-checked a few bodies, to find that they were thoroughly dead but her eyes lingered on Lili's crossbow. Which was a very valid response because Lili had killed the bulk of them in a handful of seconds. It was hardly the first time I had seen her use it, but it was the first time on targets that weren't monsters.
  
  Looking at the damage she inflicted, the only thing I could compare it to was a gun.
  
  "It's Lili's crossbow," Lili answered from on top of my shoulder. der. She loaded in a few more arrows into it as she spoke, likely aware of how Aela was eyeing it with interest.
  
  "I"ve never seen anything like it before," Aela admitted. And that was actually a little surprising. The Dawnguard had crossbows that were looted from the Dewmer, but I thought that it was a bit odd that they were the only ones. That in all of the city-states that the Dwemer had, and in the thousands of years since they vanished, no one found a single crossbow and replicated it.
  
  It might be for the best. Either way, it gave us an explanation where Lili got her unique weapon.
  
  "It is based on a Dwemer weapon," I spoke for Lili. Lili hummed as she nodded, going with my story. Aela looked at the carnage that Lili had unleashed before she nodded as well.
  
  "I can believe it," Aela remarked. "The Dwemer were rather creative with their weapons before they vanished." I nodded, thinking of the surprises awaiting in the depths of Dwemer ruins and wondered what I could find down there. The Dwemer were on a completely different level when it came to tech -- they went from playing with steam power to playing with the fabric of the universe in a heartbeat.
  
  Bethesda was content to let their disappearance remain a mystery forever, but that didn"t mean I couldn"t find a secret or two.
  
  "There"s going to be more inside," Vilkas spoke up, earning our attention. He pointed to a few tents, "There are more tents than bodies. So either they're inside, or they're on patrol."
  
  I turned to Hestia, wondering what should be done with her. Would it be safer to leave her here or take her with us? I was tempted to try to leave her here, but... at the end of the day, until we got to whoever this tomb was dedicated to, Hestia was safest with me. But, as I glanced at her, I noticed how she eyed the corpses. One of them died clutching at an arrow through his throat, blood pouring down his wrists and chest while it dripped from his mouth into a pool of it he laid in.
  
  Hestia didn't seem too disturbed by the sight, but when she closed her eyes and let out a small sigh, I felt... disappointed in myself. Because it felt like I had disappointed her in some way.
  
  "Then we should get moving. If they're inside then we know we've gotten them all, and if they're not well know to expect an ambush on our way out," I decided, making Vilkas nod in agreement. "Is everyone ready to head in?" I asked, trying to not look at Hestia specifically. Even still, she seemed to sense my gaze because she looked right at me and gave me a gentle nod.
  
  "Right behind you, my Thane," Lydia stated as we formed up at the richly decorated door. There was certainly some level of magic involved because the carvings in the grayish-black stone seemed untouched by time, not counting the dust and cobwebs. The door was inside the massive jaws of Alduin, the metal covered in more carvings.
  
  Reaching out, I opened up the door, which groaned theatrically as it swung to the side. This time I wasn't blasted in the face with stale air, and I saw clear signs of activity on the other side. Puddles of water from melted snow, scuff marks, footprints as drops of blood. With the latter, I'm guessing that draugr were an issue to the bandits.
  
  Stepping forward, we walked down a short tunnel that was lined with more carvings of dragons and people bowing to them. And, as soon as we stepped into the first room, I decided I couldn't use my memories of the Barrow since they were already dead wrong. Instead of a straight shot towards that puzzle room, there was a place of prayer by the look of it. Only it was filled with ancient corpses.
  
  "Servants," I observed. Most of them were naked, the clothing they wore rotting over time until nothing remained. There were dozens of draugr piled up. "Looks like they might have been here a while," I said as we continued into another room to find more corpses. Given the low light of a few flickering torches, it made for a chilling sight. And because my sword doubled as a torch because of the fire enchantment, I found the others pressing in close around me.
  
  "Did our work for us," Farkas remarked, kicking a severed hand out of the way as we continued into the next room. The next one was larger, also filled with bodies with indentions in the walls for the draugr to sleep in. Farkas and Vilkas spread out, going into a backroom and coming back out a moment later. "Looks like a production area back there, but nothing worth taking."
  
  "Production area?" Hestia questioned, sounding like she was directly behind me. I tried to focus my hearing, trying to pick up any sounds that would hint that there were others in the area, but it wasn't that easy with how much noise our party was making.
  
  "The draugr servants use the areas to create things like oils, candles, and torches. To maintain the Barrow," Lydia explained as we continued deeper into the Barrow. While I wasn't able to completely tune out the others, I noticed we were slowly making our way downward. And, if I knew my tropes, the actual tomb would be in the direct center of the mountain. Meaning that we had a long way to go before we reached our destination.
  
  "They've been at this a while," I remarked as we entered another room to find more corpses. If I did my math right, then there were at least three metric fuckton of dead draugr piled up so far. Rivaling the amount that had been in the last tomb put together. And these were meant to be the unworthy draugr. All naked without a single weapon besides their hands. How many warriors would there be?
  
  "Whoever was buried here must be very important," Lili remarked as she kept her crossbow at the ready, still waiting for enemies to show up. She seemed oddly comfortable with the situation, but that probably had something to do with the fact she had been exploring the Dungeon for years. One poorly lit crypt could hardly compare.
  
  She was right about that. If the last tomb had contained a Deathlord, then a Barrow this grand... in the game it had been a leveled Overlord. The deeper we went, the more bodies that we found, the clearer it became that whoever was buried here was on a completely different level. Each room was grander than the previous rooms, dedicated to various things but mostly to worship dragons and proclaim how great they were.
  
  Outside of the noise we made as we walked, the tomb was oppressively silent. At least until I heard the sound of draugr moaning, cursing in their own undead language. Echoes of it reached us, slowly growing louder as we approached. I felt Hestia reach out and grab my free hand to give it a squeeze, one that I returned. However, as we neared the next room, I was forced to let go since from the sounds of it that was where the party was.
  
  Walking into it, I heard Farkas take in a sharp breath. "Fuck that," he muttered as we walked into a battle between draugr and frost spiders.
  
  "Yeah, fuck that," I agreed with him, watching dozens of draugr get ripped apart by the spiders the size of a small horse with their fuck off massive barbed fangs. Their eight legs and body were covered in a brownish-orange exoskeleton while their joints had fine wispy hair. There were only a couple of them, ten originally, but three of them had died, taking ten times that number down with them.
  
  "Milk drinkers, both of you," Aela accused with an amused grin in her voice. Our presence went unnoticed by both parties as they tore into each other. Judging by the spiderwebs, knowing what I know now, I"m guessing that the spiders were trying to move into the room and the draugr took exception to that.
  
  "No, they"re right. Spiders are the worst thing ever... and Kayne made them bigger... why would she make them bigger?" Hestia questioned, grabbing hold of the tabard that went around my waist for reassurance. Vilkas chuckled at that before he let out a sigh.
  
  "There"s a nesting ground deeper inside. Judging by the size, those are adolescents. Scouts, basically," Vilkas explained. That was a very unwelcomed change. I"d rather fight an army of draugr than giant spiders.
  
  "Maybe there"s a way around? Some kind of back entrance? Spiders are a deal-breaker for me," Farkas spoke up, earning an annoyed look from Aela while I glanced behind me to see Hestia enthusiastically nodding her head in agreement.
  
  "What would be the point of putting a back entrance in a place like this? It"s a tomb, not a palace. There"s no need for an escape tunnel," Vilkas stated, making any hope for a Skyrim Door die a dog"s death. After, he thumped Farkas on the shoulder. "Man up, Farkas. They"re just spiders."
  
  "If being a boy means I don"t have to fight spiders, then I"m okay with that," Farkas stated firmly, unwilling to bend on the issue.
  
  "It's fine," I decided, watching the battle turn in the favor of the spiders. Unfortunately. I was really hoping that the draugr would win. And that they would keep pushing until all the spiders were dead. "Farkas, you stay here with Hestia," I said, taking a step forward. Farkas nodded, looking thoroughly unphased by some of the dirty looks he was getting as he stayed behind to protect Hestia with Lydia. "And keep an eye out. If we didn"t run into the other bandits, then that means they must be behind us."
  
  With that, I readied my sword as I strode forward. The spiders clicked and hissed, possibly communicating with each other for all I knew. They shifted when they heard our approach, their oversized fangs baring as they hissed threateningly before they rushed towards us. And it was moments like these that made me incredibly happy that I didn"t need to sleep because I would have been seeing that in my nightmares -- watching spiders move was creepy as it was. When they were the size of a small horse was a whole different level.
  
  Lili fired off her shots as we closed in. I aimed to take on the biggest one as it lunged at me, its front legs going up to stop me from going anywhere. A little faster than normal, I swung my sword, hoping to both kill it and get it away from me, and my sword cut right through its exoskeleton like it wasn"t even there. The spider jerked to the side, the only damage that it managed to do was hitting me with one of its legs as it fell over dead. Which was pretty awful. Almost as bad as the smell of burnt spider guts.
  
  Once that one was dead, I turned to see that Lili had reduced another two to pincushions, one slumping over dead while the other tried to limp towards Aela. Who finished it off with a few arrows in its beady black eyes. Vilkas de-legged one spider, buying himself time to kill another before he finished the wounded one-off. All the while, I rushed towards the remaining few and cut right through them.
  
  It was a short fight, but a memorable one. Mostly because it solidified my hatred for spiders.
  
  "They"re just spiders, Farkas," Vilkas called out to his twin brother, who sent a rude gesture right back at him. Vilkas let out a small huff of laughter as he turned to me, "They should be safe if they trail behind us."
  
  I nodded, my lips thin as I turned my attention towards a door that was marked with spider webs at the entrance. Since the draugr couldn"t get inside, there weren"t any torches lit within so the room was a pitch black. And I"m guessing that all of the rooms would be pitch black until we reached a point that the spiders didn"t eat the draugr.
  
  "Lili can help with the darkness," Lili spoke up before she held out a hand in front of her and clenched her eyes shut for a moment. Then a small ball of light flickered to life above her palm, illuminating the intense shadow in the room. Lili smiled down at me, unable to see my face because of the helmet but it must have been clear that I was surprised.
  
  "Already got the hang of it, huh?" I questioned as Lili formed several other candlelights. Each one hovered above a member of the party, and with all of them, the entire room was illuminated. I was a little jealous, Lili was using magic.
  
  "Of course," Lili said, proud of herself. "Lili is Mr. Jericho's supporter, after all."
  
  That got a grin out of me, "Remind me to give you a spellbook once we're out of here." I told her, earning a puzzled if excited look from Lili while Aela let out a small laugh, having guessed what the spellbook was. "You'll like it a lot."
  
  And with that, we continued deeper into the crypt. With Lili's candlelights lighting the way, we saw the growing signs of disrepair. Dust gathering on the floor, the thick curtains of spiderwebs covering the walls. A few spiders attempted to sneak down from their hiding spots to ambush us, but Lili and Aela made swift work of them before they got the drop on us. It was increasingly obvious that the spider problem was anything but a new development.
  
  Draugr corpses were bound in webbing embedded in the walls. Hundreds of them. Right next to them were those web balls that I recognized as a spider egg -- and given the number of ancient corpses turned into an easily available meal, I felt increasingly uneasy. Which was only made worse as the deeper we went the more spiders there were. And the thicker the spiderwebs until it felt like we had found ourselves standing in a giant web.
  
  The ancient carvings and stone were gone, completely covered by a thick web that was naked with bodies and spider eggs. Then corpses of spiders as they fell upon us, screeching and attacking at us with mindless fury. I didn't know anything about spiders, but they seemed territorial.
  
  And, once we reached a wide-open room that"s purpose was lost to time, it became clear why.
  
  There was meant to be a puzzle room, the first where some bandit gets himself killed by a puzzle that was meant to keep out draugr. As we went deeper, I expected for it to serve as a roadblock for the spiders, but I failed to consider that the place was so webbed up that I ended up walking right by it without noticing.
  
  I heard a loud hiss, prompting me to look up just in time to see a large glob of green poison being spat at me by the largest spider we had come across so far. It was utterly massive, large enough that it wouldn"t fit down the hallway I had walked through with Lili on my shoulder with plenty of clearance. Its legs were as thick as two of mine, and it's barbed fangs that dripped with poison were the size of longswords.
  
  Reacting instantly, I shoved Lili off of me as I dove to the side, feeling poison splash over my armored legs. Lili landed a safe distance away, landing with a grunt, but was otherwise unharmed as the massive spider landed not far from me. I looked at it, forced to look up at its beady black eyes that didn"t reflect light.
  
  Old instincts kicked in as I dodged out of the way when it lunged at me, moving much like the previous spiders. My sword slashed out, catching one of its legs at the joint and cutting right through it. The massive spider screeched in pain, throwing back its head and lashing out. Blindly, apparently, because I noticed that Aela and Lili both had the same idea and put arrows in its eyes.
  
  Even still, it was large enough that it lashing out blindly carried a good chance of hitting me. Its front legs swung out at me, racing towards my face, but a quick swing cut through them both. The only issue was that they were moving too fast, so the severed limbs winged me, slamming into my shoulder hard enough that I stumbled back.
  
  The spider hissed, spitting more poison in my general direction and forcing me to back off. Meanwhile, Vilkas darted forward, his weapon in hand before he buried it in the spider"s face. He yanked the sword out before the spider could rear back, aiming to crush Vilkas in a final act of spite. At least until I rushed over and hacked through another two of its legs, making it collapse to the side. The spider spasmed, its legs lashing out in jerking motions that freaked me the hell out, and it wasn"t solely for the exp that I cleaved its head in half.
  
  Only then did it go still.
  
  "Yeah... yeah," I nodded to myself, "Next time there are spiders, someone else can deal with it." I decided, hearing a few laughs because they thought I was kidding. I wasn"t. Turning to Lili, I saw her offer a small smile, showing that she was fine. Holding out a hand, I helped her back onto my shoulder. Once Lili retook her rightful place, I turned to the others. "Everyone good to continue?"
  
  And once I got confirmation, we continued deeper into the tomb.
  
  ...
  
  The spider infestation stretched far and we eventually found where they got in. A tunnel had collapsed at some point so the draugr began to remake a new walkway to the final destination of the crypt. Except before they could finish the tunnel and new rooms, the spiders came and more or less took over the place, leaving the construction half-finished at best. The battle for the crypt was waged over centuries and as time passed, it grew harder for the draugr to drive off the spiders as their numbers were whittled away.
  
  In the end, it was only a thick metal puzzle door that kept the spiders from going any further. Pulling out the golden claw, I checked the bottom to make sure that the code I recalled was correct. It was. Shifting the rings inside of the door, each one displaying an animal or insect, into the correct order I pressed the golden claw into the key slot and turned. The ancient rings shifted, grinding haltingly as they worked through several thousand years worth of dust and grime, but a few seconds later the door began to lower.
  
  This time I was hit by the stench of stale air. White fog spread out over the floor, coming from the pitch black room that light seemed to refuse to enter. The fog washed over our feet, and I heard Hestia gulp audibly.
  
  My grip on my weapon tightened before I took a slow step forward into the darkness. As soon as my foot crossed the threshold, two braziers flared to life, washing the room in some light before the fire spread down an oil flow that slowly illuminated more and more of the utterly massive room. In the flickering flames, I saw the Word Wall that seemed to dominate the far wall.
  
  Before it was four coffins. One on the highest platform that served as the stairs, the Word Wall almost wrapped around the coffin. The other three were on the platform below that one, serving as a guard. I only felt it then, an unnatural chill in the air. I hadn"t felt cold running up a mountain, but looking at the top coffin made a shiver race through me. Beneath both coffins was treasure. Literal mountains of treasure -- bars and coins of gold, precious gems the size of my fist, jewelry and other items made of precious metals.
  
  There were millions in the hoard of treasure. Maybe more. If I had to compare it to the hoard of money in my inventory, there wasn"t a shadow of a doubt in my mind that the pile before me was bigger. It was covered in a layer of dust, obscured with fog, but there was no mistaking the wealth that was around us.
  
  "Hestia, Lydia, stay by the door," I spoke quietly, reaching up and helping Lili off of my shoulder. Despite the incredible wealth that surrounded us, no one commented on it. Simply because, despite the wealth, the four sacrofugus seemed to loom over it all. All of us felt a tension that I hadn"t felt since the War Game -- the deep-seated certainty that danger was close and one mistake could mean certain death.
  
  "As you wish, my Thane," Lydia confirmed, and I didn"t comment on the slip-up. Not in this situation.
  
  "Lili, try to find a perch and don"t draw attention to yourself," I said, eying the top coffin like a snake that was coiled and ready to strike. Lili nodded, spotting a dragon statue that would give her a good vantage over the entire room. Then I managed to tear my eyes away from the coffins to look at Aela, Farkas, and Vilkas. "You might want to go ahead and transform."
  
  "Yeah... that sounds like it might be a good idea," Farkas muttered. Before either Aela or Vilkas could argue the point, Farkas began to shift. This time, now that I was much closer, I watched the transformation take place -- his skin darkened and grew coarse black fur around his neck and head. His face elongated into a snout, his eyes became a golden yellow while his hands became claws. The armor he wore popped off in place, falling to the ground with a clatter that echoed throughout the room.
  
  I heard Lydia gasp at the sight, but she realized that this wasn"t the time for questions. When I glanced at her to make sure she didn"t do something stupid like rushing Farkas, I saw Hestia was looking at me with a worried expression. However, as soon as she caught me looking, she schooled herself. She threw on a brave face and offered me a reassuring smile before she mouthed the words, "Be careful."
  
  Nodding to show that I got the message, I turned to face the coffins once again as I heard Aela and Vilkas transform. I reached into my inventory, hesitating on what kind of potion of resistance I should get before I settled on a potion of resist magic.
  
  This place was too grand. A Deathlord had been buried in a hole in the ground. In a place like this?
  
  I was willing to bet every penny that I had that it was going to be a Dragon Priest. It was only a question of which one?
  
  There was only one way to find out.
  
  Draining the potion, I tossed the empty bottle into my inventory and braced myself for the fight that was coming. I walked forward, three werewolves behind me to meet against the four residing in the coffins, with Lili serving as a sniper. Hopefully, Stealth Archer was just as OP as it was in the game.
  
  The moment I stepped on the first platform, the closest three sarcophagi began to open. The lids cracked open before they began to roll to the side with a low grinding sound and a thump that echoed throughout the room. The draugr began to pull themselves out of the sarcophagi -- I'm sure that the scene was going to be daunting, but it was lost on me as I sprinted up the stairs, my sword in hand. I had learned my lesson last time.
  
  Reversing the grip, I slammed my sword down into the first sarcophagus, the black blade wreathed in fire punching through the draugr's chest. The Glass armor wasn't enough to stop my sword, the edges where my blade touched glowed red as the draugr Deathlord let out a hiss that I cut off by slamming a fist down to crush its skull. It was a cheap shot, but I couldn't bring myself to care.
  
  "FUS!" I heard, giving me a split second to throw myself out of the way before a shimmering unrelenting force tore through the sarcophagus like a wrecking ball. Rubble and bits of the Deathlord rained down onto the pile of treasure below as I rolled to my feet. To confirm my fears, the remaining two draugr were Deathlords. One carried a sword and shield made of ebony, while it was wearing a heavy suit of Dwemer metal armor. The other carried an ebony bow, while it also wore a set of Glass armor.
  
  "GAAR! YAH!" The Bowman shouted, its voice making the cavern tremble before it took aim at me with an arrow. The other rushed the Deathlords, Lili taking a shot that slammed into the Bowman"s eye, but the arrow still leaped from the bow. I dodged to the side, my gaze settling on the sword and shield Deathlord, who looked right back at me as it descended the steps with alarming speed.
  
  The same moment that the Deathlord reached me, lunging with its sword, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my leg. I grit my teeth and resisted the urge to look behind me to see what had hit me. Instead, I clashed blades with the Deathlord, using the pain to fuel a rage-filled Power Strike to drive it back. It retreated up a step, shifting its body so my next attack landed on its shield. Unlike everything else, my greatsword didn"t cut right through it like butter.
  
  Instead, I felt some kind of kickback in my arm as my sword seemed to bounce off the surface of the shield. In that same moment, its sword lunged for my chest and only my quick reflexes let me smack the blade away with mine before the Deathlord could stab me in the heart. Shifting my grip, I slashed at the Deathlord, using Cleave in the hopes that I could break down the body behind the shield.
  
  Again, my sword bounced off the surface of the shield. Harder this time. I stumbled back a step, pain flashing in the back of my knee and my shoulder. The Deathlord seemed to anticipate that reaction, I noticed because as soon as my attack was blown back, it seized the opportunity again with what must have been well-practiced ease. This time it aimed for my arm, intent on taking one off. It might have if it weren't for Lili putting an arrow in its side.
  
  The arrow skidded off its armor, doing no damage, but it offered a distraction that was followed up by a werewolf pouncing on it from behind. Given the scraps of armor the werewolf wore, it was either Farkas or Vilkas. The werewolf clamped down on the small opening at the base of the neck, trying to chew through the chainmail, but Dwemer metal was stronger than that. Regardless, I took the moment to yank out what had hit me in the back of the leg.
  
  An arrow. How in the hell did an arrow that I dodge hit me in the back of the leg?
  
  The Shout. Or an enchanted bow. I guess it didn't matter, I thought, sparing a glance at the other two werewolves attacking Bowman. Only to watch as their attacks passed right through it as it became mist before floating upwards in a cloud and reforming on a perch similar to Lili. Right. That just became a big problem, didn't it?
  
  My grip tightened on my sword as I lunged at the Deathlord in front of me. It shifted its shield to catch the blow, but I wasn't aiming for it. My blade slammed into the ground and a concussive force blew apart the stone as Explosive Strike did its work. Stone rained down as all of us were knocked off our feet, with me recovering first since I expected it. The Deathlord landed heavily, the werewolf that clung to it's back cushioned the blow a fraction.
  
  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bowman take a shot at me, trying to give the other time to get its feet back underneath it. I jerked out of the way, watching the arrow zip by me, only to turn itself around and attempt to bury itself into my back. Smacking the arrow away, it hit the ground and stayed there, so it wasn't something that was impossible to dodge forever.
  
  "FUS!" The fallen Deathlord Shouted at me. I had a split second to brace myself before I felt the Unrelenting Force slam into me hard enough that I was sent flying. I landed some feet away in a pile of gold and jewels that shifted underneath me. I expected to feel the same pain that I felt the last time, but it wasn't there. I felt like I had just got kicked by a horse, my body ached and my lungs were emptied of air, but I was fine. I was alive.
  
  My armor? The magic resistance potion? Or was it because I hadn't been in its face when it hit me with a Shout?
  
  It didn't matter, and I put the topic out of my mind when the Deathlord slammed the shield it wore into the werewolf's face and I saw bone snap and teeth fly free from the blow. The werewolf recoiled, letting the Deathlord get up. I moved to close the distance but the gold underfoot shifted, preventing me from launching myself at the Deathlord as it stood. And while the werewolf had suffered a bad blow, he wasn't out of the fight. The werewolf lunged at the Deathlord and paid for it with his arm.
  
  The Deathlord lashed out, its ebony blade cutting through muscle and flesh like they weren't even there, severing the arm just below the elbow. The werewolf howled in agony, but even then they weren't out of the fight. He rolled out of the way of an attack, clumsily falling down some stairs as he managed to settle onto his feet. Bone restructured, the bleeding slowed and new teeth settled into place as the werewolf snarled at the Deathlord. And by that time, I sprinted at the Deathlord, my sword at the ready.
  
  "FUS!" The Deathlord shouted at me, and this time there was no hope of me dodging it. Instead, I slammed my sword into the ground and used it as an anchor to stop myself from flying off. The steel parts of my armor crumpled like paper, my bones rattled and it felt like someone was using my organs as a punching bag, but I didn't budge an inch as the Unrelenting Force washed over me.
  
  I was wrong. I think it just sucked at using the Thu'um. It... the Thu'um was shouting at reality until it did what you wanted. It was possible to shout louder with more intensity. It could Shout, but it couldn't Shout well.
  
  Snarling behind my dented helmet, I strode forward and hefted my blade. It prepared its shield, and I knew what was coming. Gathering up all of my strength, I slammed my sword into its shield and felt every bone in my sword arm break from the returned impact as a loud bang rang out so loudly my ears were ringing. Gritting my teeth through the flash of pain before my bones were reset, I seized the opportunity I made for myself as the Deathlord slammed backward into the stairs that leading up to the final platform from the resulting Explosive Strike.
  
  The Deathlord was a seasoned fighter, but its strategy revolved around the shield. And I doubt that I would be able to pull off any maneuver that it hadn't seen before it was buried here. Except for powering through, accepting the broken bones to break its in return.
  
  It tried to move its shield to block, but the bones were thoroughly shattered. The shield, whatever enchantment it had on it, wasn't able to blow back a hundred percent of an attack. If it had, then my earlier attacks would have gone a lot worse for me. With its head left open, I buried my sword into its face and the stairs behind it through its helmet. The blue light faded from its eyes, telling me that it was dead.
  
  Looking over, I saw that the other one was being finished off as well. The two werewolves were riddled with arrows, blood pumping out of them, but they were alive. So was Lili.
  
  "Damn it all," I heard Vilkas curse behind me, making my stomach sink as I glanced at him. He was half-naked, holding his arm at the stump to stem the bleeding. Rushing over, I reached into my inventory and pulled out a high potion from Danmachi before I dumped it over the stump. The bleeding stopped, while flesh began to cap over the stump nearly instantly as the red liquid flowed over the injury. Vilkas sighed in relief.
  
  "Shit," I cursed alongside him, looking at the other half of his arm. "Could we reattach it? With your healing factor and enough health potions, it could-"
  
  "Won't work," Vilkas interjected, pushing himself up onto two feet and ignoring my hand to help him up. "We've tried it before. Anything short of a trained Restoration mage means that something gets fucked in the process and the arm ends up rotting off or useless."
  
  "I-" I started, feeling responsible for the loss of his arm, only to be cut off when I heard the sound of a sarcophagus top hitting the ground. I whipped around to see a finely dressed corpse float out of the sarcophagus, and my stomach dropped right next to my heart. In one hand it carried a staff. In the other, mist swirled around the bone-thin fingers. Its face was covered by a mask.
  
  A Dragon Priest"s mask.
  
  And just like that, the moment of triumph was lost.
  
  With an almost lazy gesture, it swiped its hand at me, and the mist that surrounded us condensed into massive ice spikes that surged forward in a wide wall. Tens of thousands of pounds of sharp ice that completely filled my vision. I grabbed Vilkas and threw us both back, landing heavily at the base of the stairs but safe from the wall of spikes. He grunted as both of us scrambled to our feet.
  
  "I"m no use to you like this," Vilkas noted before he began to back off. I wanted to tell him that wasn"t the case, but it very much was. With one arm, no armor, and unable to transform into a werewolf, he was deadweight. I didn"t respond in favor of sparing the others a glance just as fire wash over Farkas and Aela as a fireball slammed near their position. I took off running, sprinting towards the Dragon Priest, and I saw the others emerge from the flames with only some minor burns.
  
  As I made my way up the steps, reaching the second platform in a blink of an eye, I saw the Dragon Priest raise its hand. Above it, the fog began to swirl until it condensed into a ball that rapidly grew until it became the size of two of me. My eyes widened when spikes began to poke out the smooth surface of the ball, each one the size of my arm before they began to fire out of the orb like a machine gun.
  
  Ice spikes rained down on my position, my feet keeping me just ahead of the spikes. I could feel ice and broken stone pinging off my armor, the sound of the spikes breaking as they hit the ground was deafening, but not enough so that I couldn"t hear the stone breaking on impact as well. My gaze found the shield that the Deathlord had used. Making a mad sprint towards it, I scooped it up before I began to flank around the daunting wall of ice spikes.
  
  I drank a potion of resist magic, but somehow I doubted that meant I could tank one of those spikes to the face.
  
  The Dragon Priest looked at me and through the mask I saw an intense blue light. It flicked a fireball at me as I ran up the steps to close the distance between us. I felt fire wash over me, the heat burning away at my skin, but I could survive that. I had my Fire Resistance, and it was nothing compared to the Infant Dragon that gave me that resistance.
  
  As I ran up, I felt an ice spike slam into my shield hard enough that it nearly knocked me on my ass. I stumbled a step, and if I hadn"t pivoted to start running to the side, I"d probably be dead as another ice spike punched through the flames. Accepting the pain, I continued to run, escaping the fire that washed over the steps.
  
  An arrow from Lili bounced off a shimmering shield that surrounded the Dragon Priest. It paid her no mind, focusing solely on me as it nearly skewered Farkas and Aela with another massive wall of spikes. Bigger this time. I... it was getting stronger. I could feel it deep in my gut. It was this strong after waking up from thousands of years napping and this was it rubbing sleep out of its eyes.
  
  With its focus on me, I grit my teeth and placed my new shield between us as I ran forward. It waited for me to take a swing at it. The shimmering golden bubble around it expanded to meet my blade and it stopped it cold. The Dragon Priest seemed to inspect the blade, tilting its head for a moment, before reaching out with a finger. I started to jerk back, but I was too close and too big for it to miss.
  
  A blue ball of wispy magic slammed into my chest and slipped through my armor like it wasn"t there. I felt something... poke my brain, for a lack of a better way to say it. Poking it to make me calm. To make me his. The mother fucker just tried to dominate my mind.
  
  It turned away from me, relaxing in my presence because it assumed that it worked. The shield faltered for just a moment, and that was enough for my blade to slip through the ward it had set up. My ebony blade slashed forward, catching the Dragon Priest at the shoulder, and only then did it realize its mistake. It jerked back, sacrificing an arm to prevent me from cutting it in two. The arm and the staff it carried clattered to the ground.
  
  Mist gathered around its only hand as it retreated and a moment later, it felt like I was standing in the middle of a blizzard back home, without any clothes on. The cold cut right through my armor, down to the bone, and with enough force it felt as if something was pushing me away. The Dragon Priest floated forward, the massive orb shifting to take aim at me, and I knew in that moment I only had one chance.
  
  The muscles in my legs tensed, straining against the armor as veins bulge with blood, before I launched myself forward at the Dragon Priest with every ounce of strength that I could muster. Closing the distance between us in the blink of the eye, and feeling the cold worsen each inch I drew closer, I angled my blade for a thrust and slammed into the ward it set up. The sword jerked in my hands, but it punctured the ward. Then it punched through the Dragon Priests chest.
  
  It hissed at me, uttering a few words that I couldn"t understand, but I knew an insult when I heard one. I answered it by yanking my sword up, slicing through its ribs, spine, and robes so my blade exited at its hip. The Dragon Priest fell to the ground, the cold lessening and the ward vanishing entirely.
  
  My hands shook from the cold as I took a single step forward and stomped on its neck hard enough that I severed its head from its body.
  
  Congratulations! You have leveled up!
  ...
  
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  "Ah... fuck me," I cursed, my heart hammering away at my ribs as I looked down at the Dragon Priest. Just to make sure, I stomped on its ribs, shattering them like glass, and its pelvis. Just to make sure that it was down for the count. The ancient robes tore, possibly ruining whatever enchantments were placed on them, but, honestly? If it meant I had to go another round with the thing then I didn't really care.
  
  Looking down at the sack of shattered bones, I couldn't help but wonder if I had been too cocky. It didn't feel like I was. We went in as prepared as we could, but... this was simply a case of running into a bad matchup. And it made me very glad that I had invested in Mind Defense way back at the start because if it had dominated my mind, between the two of us... only Hestia would have been able to stop us.
  
  My gaze lingered on its mask for a moment before I reached down and grabbed it. Through my armor, I felt a faint vibration of power. The fabric it was connected to tore away, the ancient threads crumbling away to reveal a face that aged as well as any draugr I had encountered so far. The mask itself, it was hard to tell which one of the eight it was -- provided that there were only eight Dragon Priests.
  
  But, judging by the faint golden hue to the mask, then my bet was on Krosis. Meaning that the mask should have a twenty percent increase exp to Archery, Alchemy, and Lockpicking.
  
  And, thinking about it, that was a rather weird combination of enchantments for a Dragon Priest, a practitioner of magic, to have. Alchemy, that one I could see, but the other two didn't fit. So I'm guessing that the tacked-on effects were a dev going down a checklist of the skills to decide. Meaning that there was probably some other enchantments-
  
  "Jericho!" Hestia shouted, running up the stairs, forced to detour over piles of treasure to reach me because of the walls of ice. Her face was torn between panic and relief when she saw that I was more or less fine.
  
  "I'm fine, the Dragon Priest is dead. It let its guard down around me," I explained, putting the mask in my inventory. It was another item that I knew was enchanted, but couldn't use because I didn't know its effects. And given the dangerous nature of enchantments, I wasn't willing to test the mask out when I had no clue what it did. "I'm fine Hestia," I told her in a much softer voice when she reached me, her gaze going to my damaged armor.
  
  But she heard the truth in my words, so she calmed down when she reached me. Trailing behind was Lydia, who looked ashamed with herself -- either because she hadn't been able to stop Hestia or because she wasn't able to participate in the fight. "That was too close, Jericho. I don't like that," she informed, hovering around me like I might fall apart with an odd look.
  
  But she didn't need to. My Health was lower than I wanted it to be, and my armor would need some repairs. Other than that, I was fine.
  
  "I'm fine," I repeated. "What about Vilkas? He lost an arm. Is he doing okay?" I asked, looking over at the wall of ice with faint annoyance. But, now that it wasn't about to slam into my face, I really took in just how utterly massive it was. Nearly fifty yards over ten feet tall summoned up with a lazy swipe of a hand.
  
  From this view, it looked like we won because of a careless mistake and, even then, the win was by the skin of our teeth. It felt like if the fight had gone down differently then our losses would have been greater. And I didn"t care for that one bit.
  
  "Vilkas is fine," Lydia answered while Hesita hovered around me, almost afraid to touch me. "The loss of his arm troubles him, but he has enough pride as a warrior to not let himself be crippled by the loss."
  
  That was good news at least. "Is there anything we could do to get it replaced or reattached?" I questioned before I turned my attention turned back to the wall of ice. "The arm should be in there somewhere, so it should be preserved. If we toss it into my inventory, that can keep it fresh until we reach a healer or something that could reattach it."
  
  As if to answer my question, Vilkas walked around the massive wall, holding his stump. Aela, Farkas, and Lili followed him. The first two were in states of undress with slips of clothing preserving their modesty, but neither looked concerned with it. Or by the cold that the wall of ice plunged the passive room into.
  
  "The arm is a loss," Vilkas decided with a sense of finality. His jaw was set and his gaze even. "A healer that could reattach it is in short supply. The only one I can think of is the College, but it"s halfway across Skyrim. And we can"t afford detours."
  
  He was trying to take one for the team. "We can if it means you don"t lose an arm," I decided, going to continue but he interjected.
  
  "Not as important as saving the world," He argued back, killing my argument with cold logic. "Jarl Balgruuf gave us a month to butter up two Jarls enough that they won"t kick up a fuss when you take away some of their territories to make you Jarl. That"s a tall order without taking a detour that"ll take us halfway across Skyrim. So, the arm is a loss."
  
  "Unless you can give us access to this Inventory?" Aela questioned, sounding hopeful but quickly looked resigned when I shook my head. Trying to access a party function was one of the first things I tried to do with Lili back when we were building the house.
  
  "I could just keep it in my Inventory until I"ve gotten Rifften and Falkreath onto my side. It could take about a month or so, but as soon as I do, we can head up to the College to get your arm reattached," I said, trying to make a middle ground. I really didn"t like the idea of Vilkas losing his arm beyond obvious reasons. He was a decent guy that went toe-to-toe with a Deathlord without thinking twice. "And in the meantime, we"ll chase down leads in the other Holds. It"s too soon to decide you"ll be stuck fighting everyone one-handed."
  
  Vilkas shrugged as if he couldn"t care one way or the other. "If there"s a way we can save the world and my arm, then I"m all for it. And don"t you think me so helpless that I can"t handle my own anymore," he said, sounding like he very much intended to keep traveling with us. I was glad for it. One-handed or not, he was still my two-handed teacher.
  
  I nodded, glad that was settled. While we were talking, Lili walked up and snagged the staff out of the Dragon Priests fingers. She turned it over in her hands before looking up at me, a silent question in her eyes.
  
  "The girl brings up a good point," Farkas said. He looked around us at the hoard of treasure, "How are we going to split up the loot? Can your Inventory even for it all?"
  
  I looked at the mountains of treasure, feeling detached to it in a way because of the metric fuck loads of cash I already had. But an idea formed in the back of my head. An idea that had been cooking since Helgen gave Hestia free reign to design an actual manor for the Hestia Familia.
  
  If things went to plan, then we would have about three months to reshape Helgen into the trap needed to lockdown Alduin. And that was assuming everything went well and I became Jarl. But putting all of my eggs in one basket was just asking for trouble. That was how I lost my chance of finding the Dragonborn easily, if ever.
  
  "Hestia," I started, making her snap her head up, apparently as lost in her thoughts as I was. "Do you think it would be possible for you to design a trap for Alduin in Helgen using the money? This and what we have saved up?"
  
  Hestia blinked at suddenly becoming the center of attention, "Eh?" She hesitated, her brow furrowing as she gave the question some thought before answering. Then she gave a slow nod. "It depends on what you need exactly, but I can design a trap pretty easily."
  
  "Mr. Jericho?" Lili asked, wondering where I was going with this, so I began speaking my scattered thoughts out loud.
  
  "Alduin is going to show up near Helgen in about six months. That much I'm confident in. But he's going to be wounded. Helgen needs to look like a soft target that he can swoop down into, kick around, and fly off without any trouble. Alduin can't realize that it's a trap until he's already caught in it. Something that keeps him there and keeps him from opening his mouth," I started, trying to picture what the trap would look like. Hestia seemed to have a much better idea of what I was trying to describe than me.
  
  "You don't think there should be any obvious defenses for the city against a dragon... but it should be made tough enough that Helgen won't be outright destroyed... and the defenses would have to be kept out of sight until he"s trapped..." Hestia trailed off, mumbling to herself and I could practically see the cogs in her mind turning over the issue.
  
  "For something like Alduin? We"ll need an army," Vilkas spoke up, offering his input. "Build a few tunnels underneath the walls with a connection to a couple of rooms like these, and we could flood Helgen with soldiers while Alduin is stuck." The old bury them with numbers tactic. Honestly speaking, it had its own merits. I doubted that a random guard would be the one taking Alduin down, but they would be a distraction to let someone like me get the killing blow in.
  
  "The College of Winterhold..." Lili started, looking down at the staff in her hands. "Mr. Jericho said we should get mages on board with the plan." Aela scowled at the idea of working with mages, but she quickly wiped it away. I was glad for that because I would rather overkill Alduin than not at all.
  
  "Before we start making plans, we should probably check if the thing we came here for is actually here," Farkas spoke up. Lili looked thoughtful as she nodded, glancing at Vilkas then at the staff in her hands. I nodded as well, setting my ebony shield down for the moment before I walked up the stairs to the sarcophaguses and looked inside.
  
  Even as I picked up a massive stone slab roughly the size of the shield that I had just put down, my mind raced. Lili was right, we needed to get the mages on board sooner rather than later. The more time they had to prepare for kicking the shit out of Alduin, the better. Not to mention, the Eye of Magnus. I had absolutely no clue what it actually did, but something like that, no matter what it was, could only be useful. The same with the Staff of Magnus.
  
  The plan was to endear myself to them over the winter and circumvent the entire college questline by snagging both the staff and the eye ahead of time. But, with the Dragonborn a massive question mark and I wasn"t desperate enough to go to Ulfric Stormcloak, I was going to have to learn Dragonrend.
  
  Not to mention everything else that had to be done -- circumvent the civil war, dealing with the Aedra and Daedra running around... Even with six months, it felt like there just wasn"t enough time to do everything.
  
  A sigh escaped me as I looked over the stone slab, I saw it was a map of Skyrim with dots marked over it. Locations of dragon mounds. Taking out a sheet of paper and a bit of charcoal, I copied the locations onto my map. There was a lot. Over twenty dragon mounds scattered around in Skyrim alone. Two of which were fairly close to Helgen. Which may have something to do with why Alduin was in the area.
  
  Meaning... we might have bait to lure him into the trap.
  
  Possibly. Maybe. Had to give that some more thought.
  
  "We have the dragon mound locations," I informed, holding it up for the others to see. Then I turned my attention over to the Word Wall behind the coffin. Recalling Falgear"s request, I pulled out more paper while everyone else either tended to their wounds or started to inspect the loot. My gaze zeroed in onto the word that represented Force. The first Shout that the Dragonborn was meant to learn.
  
  Sadly, there was no darkening of my vision while dramatic music played in the background. It was just a normal-looking word. Even still, I copied everything down onto the paper with a charcoal shading. The sooner I could learn Dragonrend the better. It took regular people years to master a Shout, but I was banking on my perk Comprehension and my title Astute Student. Between the two of them, that should cut down the amount of time needed to learn a Shout.
  
  Even it was only Dragonrend, I needed to learn it.
  
  "Lili thinks that we should split up," Lili spoke up suddenly, making everyone"s attention turn towards her. "The College isn"t something that should be put off. Lili sees the utility in magic and how it can best be used to support Mr. Jericho, so Lili should go to the College. On Lili"s way, she can deliver the stone to the Jarl in Whiterun." Lilli looked up at me, her jaw set. "A handful of months isn"t enough for Lili to master magic, so Lili needs to spend as much time at the College as possible."
  
  An expression of sorrow passed over Hestia"s face. "And I"ll be stuck in Helgen," she said with resignation twinged with sullenness. Then resolve filled her eyes, understanding that the world quite literally rested on her shoulders. Because if we didn"t stop him at Helgen then I didn"t have a plan B.
  
  Lili was right. We did need to split up. And, even splitting up, we weren"t able to cover every base that I wanted.
  
  "Vilkas," I started, turning towards the man. "You should go with Lili. If we cut the block of ice containing your arm thick enough, it should last until you reach Winterhold. You can get your arm reattached. Unless you want to spend a couple of months without it?" I asked and Vilkas actually looked like he was considering it.
  
  "Aye, that sounds like a plan to me. I"ll keep the little lady out of trouble," he told me and Hestia, ignoring an indignant expression on Lili"s face.
  
  "Lydia," I started, looking at my housecarl, who nodded as she expected what was coming next.
  
  "I will stay with Divine Hestia and protect her in your stead. This battle has shown me that I"m only a liability. I"m not blessed by a god, nor am I a werewolf," Lydia said, sending Aela a not so subtle Look that said they would be having words later.
  
  Hestia smiled, giving Lydia a thoughtful look before she glanced at me. A question in her gaze. I nodded, showing that I had little problem with it. Hestia chose not to announce her decision then, waiting until everything else was settled.
  
  "Me, Aela and Farkas will head to Falkreath first," I decided, hammering out a game plan. There were things in that direction that I wanted to get and things I had to take care of before they became a pain in the ass later. "Sound good?"
  
  "Yeah, fine, but what about the loot?" Farkas said, showing that he had his priorities in order.
  
  Then came the fun part that tested newly forged bonds. Dividing the loot.
  
  ...
  
  Lydia"s head spun, the entire ordeal barely feeling real. From clearing an ancient crypt to watching the following fight and knowing that she was helplessly outclassed. If Jericho, the man she was sworn to protect with her life, had fallen in battle then any thought of avenging his death was outright laughable.
  
  In all of her years, Lydia had never seen magic used with such ease. If Jericho hadn"t been able to kill the Dragon Priest then they would have died there. Lydia could feel it in her bones.
  
  But they won. They divided up the treasure with most of the money going to Hestia for whatever was needed to trap Alduin.
  
  Alduin. The World-Eater. This wasn"t what she expected when she finally became a housecarl and to a worthy master no less. Jericho, Lili, and the others -- they were trying to save the world.
  
  And she could feel her presence weighing them down like a stone.
  
  The pure insanity of the fight, it was something ripped out of a storybook. Yet she was stuck on the sidelines because she was not worthy of that battlefield. She had been unable to so much as offer comfort to Divine Hestia as she watched her familia fight. It had been a very long time since Lydia felt so inadequate.
  
  But, in the blink of an eye, it was over and she saw Helgen in the distance. Not even a full day since they left. People likely hadn't even noticed that they were gone. It was such a jarring change that Lydia half wondered if she had fallen asleep at some point and simply dreamed the entire thing.
  
  Her gaze flickered over to Aela, who had apparently been staring at her for who knew how long. "What?" Lydia questioned, "If you have something to say, then say it. It's not like you to restrain yourself for another's benefit."
  
  Aela nodded, conceding that point. "If you had stayed a Companion then you would have been a member of the Circle by now."
  
  "And a werewolf," Lydia added coolly. That had been a surprise. An unwelcome one. "Through the years when a person or animal ends up ravaged and no one could quite figure out by what, I'm guessing that was you?" Her tone was just as sharp as her words, and Aela met her gaze unflinchingly.
  
  "The first transformation is always the hardest. We do what we can, but-" Aela defended, but Lydia knew Aela. They fought together when they were both low ranking members of the Companions before Lydia decided to walk the path of duty over the path of glory.
  
  "But sometimes people die anyway. The same people that look up to you as heroes," Lydia interjected. There had been a number of incidents over the course of her life. The occasional livestock being ravaged by some beast, or an unlucky farmer. Once or twice, it was confirmed to be the work of a werewolf, but given how sporadic the attacks were, it was assumed that it was one passing through. Only it was really the pack that had been living underneath their noses.
  
  Aela's eyes narrowed dangerously, "The Circle"s true nature is a closely guarded secret. You saw it because there was no other choice. You will keep it secret." As much as Aela tried to make the words sound like a threat, it came out like a request.
  
  "You would kill me to keep this secret?" Lydia questioned, shifting her newest shield just in case.
  
  "No. I am no murder. But we would be forced to name you a liar and your honor would be stained," Aela said, making Lydia's lips thin. In truth, Lydia would rather die than be dishonored like that. Especially when she knew she spoke truth. But she was just a housecarl and the Companions were the Companions. There was no question on who would be believed.
  
  "I expected better from you," Lydia responded frostily. Then she turned her judging gaze to Vilkas and Farkas, both who looked like they were trying to put as much distance between her and Aela as they could while still remaining in the wagon. "To lie and hide the murders committed by your members and to worship a Daedric Prince."
  
  The Companions were the dream of every boy and girl in Skyrim. They represented everything a warrior should be. The fact that they were werewolves mattered little to Lydia -- it was the lying and dishonored that she took issue with. How many of their great deeds were done with tooth and nail rather than sword and shield? The Companions were meant to be warriors, not half rabid beasts.
  
  Vilkas let out a small sigh, "We do not worship Hircine," he corrected. And was damningly silent on her other accusations.
  
  "We worship the Nine- er, well, the Ten now, I guess," Farkas agreed with a nod.
  
  "Will he see it that way?" Lydia questioned, making the three Companions go still, but unsurprised. They likely had considered that same question. "For the power you possess, does he not already own your soul?"
  
  Farkas let out a sigh as he scratched at his head, "Dunno." He admitted with a shrug of his shoulders, dismissing the issue with near infuriating ease. "He didn't say anything to us before he descended. Apparently Malacath spoke to every Orc Stronghold before he did. So, we're in the dark where we stand with Hircine."
  
  "And that doesn't seem like an issue with you?" Lydia pressed with a shake of her head, feeling exasperation rise in her chest to replace the righteous anger. "Things have changed. You won't simply have to deal with the Daedric Prince in the afterlife, but in this life as well."
  
  A cross expression passed over Aela's features, telling Lydia she leaned more towards the Prince of the Hunt then she did with the Aedra. Impressive, in a way, considering that they were traveling with a Divine.
  
  However, before the argument could progress, the wagon came to a stop. Now that the wind and words weren't in her ears, Lydia heard the sounds of civilization around them. They were back in Helgen already. Jericho's speeds were truly something else. Especially when he had Lili with an overstuffed bag hanging off his shoulders with Divine Hestia riding on the bar he pushed with.
  
  Lydia wasted no time exiting the wagon, knowing that both she and the others were too stubborn to change their minds. Most Nords were. Stubbornness was in the blood, otherwise, their ancestors would have fled Skyrim thousands of years ago. She turned her gaze to the large house and the familia standing in front of it as they spoke in low tones. Lydia didn"t have a doubt in her mind that they had their own version of a Talk upfront.
  
  "You"re all staying the night at least, right?" Divine Hestia asked, looking at all of them but it was clear that the question was directed at Jericho.
  
  He didn"t hesitate to give his answer. "Yeah, we will. Just for the night and we"ll head out sometime in the morning. Vilkas should rest, you know, with his arm and all."
  
  Vilkas let out a snort, "If you want to stay the night with your woman, don"t go making me the excuse."
  
  Hestia simply beamed with the pure joy of a woman in love, "Well, if we"re not going to see each other for a bit, then I"ll prepare a real big meal. And to celebrate our victory," Hestia decided before she gestured for them all to come inside. The house was clearly built with someone of Jericho"s size in mind. Tall ceilings, open areas, and almost too large furniture.
  
  Lydia started to undo her armor with practiced ease. First, she carefully put down her shield, leaning it against a wall so that it remained propped up. Her reflection stared back at her on the startling black surface. An Ebony shield. She doubted that she would ever see ebony in her life, much less own a shield made of the near-mythical metal. The enchantment placed on the shield was unknown in specific, but it blew back physical blows.
  
  She had watched the Deathlord fight. It had cowered behind the shield, relying on it. Without the shield, there was little doubt in Lydia"s mind that Jericho could have easily dispatched the enemy far before it had taken Vilkas" arm.
  
  That wouldn"t be her, Lydia swore as she took off her armor. She was given the shield because without it, she wasn"t much better than an ordinary guard. Not compared to people like Aela or Jericho or Lili. But she refused to rely on the shield to the point it became her only strength.
  
  "I have some food from a couple of bandit hideouts," Jericho said, pulling sacks of produce from thin air. It was incredibly odd to see, but Lydia swallowed her questions about such a thing would function.
  
  "I'll start cooking!" Hestia decided, "All of you just relax, okay?" she said before she rushed off into the kitchen. Lydia stood there, feeling listless and awkward as she watched Jericho remove his armor to be placed on a rack that dwarfed both of theirs. The torso was now completely made of Dwemer metal with a fringe of glass to highlight the detail work of the armor. Jericho had seemed surprised by the change but he welcomed it.
  
  "Let me help," Aela said, grabbing hold of Vilkas as he struggled to take his armor off with only one hand. He looked frustrated with the offer of help, but he simply sighed and nodded his head, letting Aela help him with his armor.
  
  "Thanks," he said, looking down at his stump of an arm with almost hateful eyes. "Didn't think I would be losing the bottom half of my arm the first battle we fought together." Then he turned to Lili, who was sitting down on the couch that seemed to swallow her up. Never one to dwell on his failings, Vilkas turned to Lili, "You fought well lass."
  
  Lili seemed caught off guard with the compliment before she gave a hesitant nod. "Lili is a supporter. She was just doing her job," Lili dismissed. Lydia found it odd that she spoke in the third person, but Lili seemed rather young. And her aim with that crossbow of hers more than made up for any odd trait.
  
  "Lili has been doing stuff like this longer than me," Jericho added, making Lili flush at the praise and bewildered looks she received from the others. And herself. Jericho looked like a Nord that was born with a weapon in his hand. Lili was...
  
  "Lili is eighteen," Lili informed with resignation. And that was... that didn"t sound right. At the very oldest, Lydia would put Lili around... twelve. Maybe a year older if she was being generous, but Lili seemed younger than that. "Lili is a pallum. Even when Lili is eighty, she won"t look very different."
  
  "A pallum?" Lydia questioned, having never heard the word before.
  
  Lili nodded, "Lili"s race is... very rare here. You"ve likely walked by more than a few but you didn"t realize it because we look like children our entire lives." Lili explained, and that made her paranoid. Especially after the revelation that the Circle were werewolves. Though, Lydia supposed that it was a reassurance that Lili wasn"t a small child. Lili was capable, without a doubt, but if she was around eight or nine like Lydia suspected then she would be forced to question Jericho"s decision to bring her to the battlefield.
  
  "Either way, you did good," Vilkas stated, now free of his armor. All of them wore rough and thin cloth underneath their armor, half soaked with sweat and fluids from their enemies.
  
  Lili nodded, accepting the praise with a pleased look. "Well... you all did too. Lady Hestia is likely thinking about including you all into the familia right now," Lili informed, delivering the news with a casual ease that caught her completely off guard. Especially when Jericho nodded, finally stripped of his armor to reveal a form-fitting undershirt and a pair of trousers.
  
  "I don"t believe myself worthy-" Lydia started with a shake of her head. She hadn"t fought or done anything to deserve such an honor. What a familia exactly was remained unclear to Lydia, but if the Hestia familia was anything to go by then it was something like a family.
  
  Then, as if summoned, Divine Hestia stepped out of the kitchen, wearing an unnecessarily frilly apron and a spatula. "I was hoping to talk about that during lunch..." She said, leaning into the living room. Hestia"s gaze lingered on her, making Lydia straighten in response. She was actually considering it. That was... just how much had her life changed in a couple of days?
  
  Divine Hestia let out a small sigh before she fully stepped into the living room, "Lydia, Aela, Farkas, and Vilkas... I would like it if all of you were to join my familia," Hestia started, her gaze sweeping over all of them. "You"ve more than proven yourself and, more than that, I know all of you are good people. Jericho, Lili, and I trust you..." Hestia trailed off, and Lydia heard it before she spoke it.
  
  "But," Divine Hestia continued, looking at Aela, Farkas, and Vilkas. "Your pact with Hircine... the rules for the gods haven"t been established yet, so not even I know what it would mean if I gave you my falna. So... I can"t."
  
  Jericho gave a slow nod, "It"s pretty much the same reason why I turned down becoming a werewolf." He added, and she was glad, at the very least, that Jericho fought his battles with proper weapons.
  
  Aela gave a slow nod but it was Farkas that spoke. "Yeah... given that Hircine hasn"t spoken to us, and we have no clue where he would be... I guess the old man was right in trying to find a way to get rid of the gift." At that, Aela scowled, looking torn.
  
  Vilkas nodded, "It would be an honor to join your familia, Divine Hestia. If you"ll still take us once we figure out how to rid ourselves of the gift of Hircine, then we will happily join." Again, Aela shifted, looking at both Farkas and Vilkas with an almost betrayed expression, but she schooled her expression a second later.
  
  "Of course," Divine Hestia said, giving them both a beaming smile, choosing not to comment on Aela"s obvious apprehension. And Lydia couldn"t comment on it either because Divine Hestia turned to look at her, a bright smile on her face.
  
  Words were caught in Lydia"s throat, but she forced herself to speak. She refused to shame herself. "I-it would be an honor, Divine Hestia," Lydia said with a small bow, her mind struggling to come to terms with the turn of events. Each hour, her life seemed to change into something that she never expected, and it was in the best way possible.
  
  "I"m so glad!" Divine Hestia practically bounced in place, looking as overjoyed with her joining as Lydia felt. "Jericho, Lili, take care of the prep for dinner while I give Lydia a falna," Divine Hestia said, skipping across the living room to grab her hands to lead her to a bedroom. Lydia had time to spare a glance at Jericho, who gave her a warm smile and a nod.
  
  Lydia let herself be dragged towards the bedroom, taking in the interior as the door closed behind her. Most noticeably was the utterly massive bed. Large enough that a man Jericho"s size could lay down on it without worrying about anything dangling off. Divine Hestia hummed to herself happily, "Lay down face first onto the bed and take off your shirt. I have to give you your falna on your back," she informed, undercutting any thought that the joining of a familia was... sexual in nature.
  
  Nodding, Lydia took off her thin sleeveless tunic and climbed onto the soft bed. A few seconds later, Hestia climbed on top of her, straddling her back while her hands were placed in the center of her back.
  
  "I know that this was a little sudden for you, but I want you to know that I really am happy that you"re joining my familia. I could tell that you really wanted to go out and fight that Dragon Priest guy or those undead warriors, but you stayed behind to protect me," Divine Hestia said, withdrawing her hands from her back.
  
  "It was my duty," Lydia answered, unuse to praise.
  
  "And I"m always happy to welcome a new child into my familia. For the longest time, I couldn"t find anyone. Then Jericho joined, and Lili joined too not too long ago. Oh- I should tell you a bit about what a falna is," Divine Hestia realized, and Lydia was thankful for it.
  
  "I understand it is the source of Jericho"s strength?" Lydia commented, revealing the extent of her knowledge.
  
  "Sort of. A falna is a blessing from a god that turns experience into physical attributes that can exceed the physical limitations of a mortal. If you lift a lot of weight, you"ll gain points in a stat called strength. The more points you gain, the stronger you become -- but, the stronger you become the harder it is to gain points." Hestia explained before a faint glow emitted from behind Lydia, the source coming from her back.
  
  "Jericho is a level 2. He"s leveled up. To do so, he performed a deed that the gods themselves were forced to acknowledge," Divine Hestia explained, making Lydia nod. That... was something that Lydia had very little trouble believing. Jericho looked like a man crafted by the gods themselves, so him doing something to impress them was very much in character for him as far as Lydia knew him.
  
  "How?" Lydia questioned, resisting the urge to look over her shoulder and remained perfectly still.
  
  "There was another familia called the Soma familia and they had hurt Lili. She was a member of their familia before joining mine and they abused her horribly. Jericho found out and challenged them to a War Game. Hundreds of them with several level 2s, but Jericho won anyway." Divine Hestia explained, a note of sadness in her voice.
  
  Then the glow faded. Lydia felt a piece of parchment being placed against her back and Divine Hestia smoothed it out before tracing a spiraling circle on the surface.
  
  "It may be a little difficult for you to raise your stats guarding me, but I"ll talk to Jericho about it so you won"t be stuck here with me all the time," Divine Hestia said.
  
  "I take no issue with it. Even if it means that I"ll never unsheathe my sword again, I"ll happily guard you until the end of my days," Lydia swore, looking up at Divine Hestia to see the god taken back by the sincerity in her words. And Lydia meant every one of them.
  
  "I"m glad all my children are such wonderful people," Divine Hestia said, giving her a large smile as she pushed the piece of parchment towards her. Lydia flipped around, glancing down at it with eyes filled with wonder.
  
  Lydia
  Level 1
  Strength: I0
  Endurance: I0
  Dexterity: I0
  Agility: I0
  Magic: I0
  
  Skills:
  
  Magic:​
  
  Hestia pulled Lydia in to her chest, "Welcome to my familia!"
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  "Are you ready?" I asked Lili as we stepped outside. The others were still armoring up for the journey ahead, as was Lydia. I didn't have any second thoughts about handing over the shield to her. She would need it to protect Hestia, no matter how useful it might have been.
  
  Lili gave me a serious nod, an oversized pack slung over her shoulders but it was currently empty. I reached into my inventory and pulled out an utterly massive cube of ice that contained Vilkas' arm. It was large and cool enough that she shouldn't have any trouble getting to the College before it melted. On top of the cube, I placed the Dragonstone.
  
  "Take that straight to Jarl Balgruuf. Say it's a delivery from Jericho," I told her, earning a deadly serious nod.
  
  "Lili never thought she would go on an adventure like this," she remarked as she quickly adjusted to the weight. Farkas stepped out of the house first, blinking at Lili and the bag that could easily fit ten of her slung over her shoulders. Then he simply nodded and moved on.
  
  "You never know what life is going to deal you," I agreed. Vilkas was next, also looking at Lili's utterly massive bag stuffed with over a hundred pounds of ice and his arm. He took a cue from his brother and simply accepted what he saw.
  
  "I've given it some thought," Vilkas said as he approached. "I'll stick around at the College and find out what they know about getting rid of lycanthropy. The Old Wolf has been looking for a cure for years now, but none of us have ever checked there." He informed us and I looked at him for a moment.
  
  It was a dick move, but I didn't say anything about the known cure. Simply because I knew Vilkas would look after Lili while he was at the College. She wouldn't be stuck there, surrounded by complete strangers until I got there. If he found a cure while he was there? Great. If he didn't? Then I would 'stumble' across the cure and Ygasamor's tomb. A total dick move, but I wanted Lili as safe as possible. Just like I wanted Hestia as safe as possible.
  
  "If the transformation is magical in nature, then shouldn't that be the first place?" Lili questioned, making Farkas chuckle.
  
  "In a place like that, secrets get around. If Kodlak started sniffing around for a cure to lycanthropy, then everyone in Skyrim would hear about it by the end of the month. It would raise questions, especially considering that Kodlak hasn't been in the field in about a decade due to old age. Me? I can just say that what took my arm gave me lycanthropy, and no one would think twice about it," Vilkas explained. And that explained why Kodlak had been so quiet about his search for a cure.
  
  Aela walked out the door last, her expression set in a scowl. I had overheard their argument back in the wagon yesterday, and I'm guessing that Lydia managed to get the final word in. It felt weird having two friends not like each other, especially when one of them was now a member of the familia. During the game, every member of the Companions except for Aela could be cured of their lycanthropy. She refused to do it. And now that was standing in her way to join.
  
  Hestia stepped outside, flanked by Lydia who wore glass armor that hit her from the Bowlord and the ebony shield rested in hand and another ebony sword rested at her hip. She got the lion's share of good loot in order to protect Hestia. Hestia looked down at us, smiling lightly. We had already said our goodbyes, but Hestia was a worrier. Always would be, even if we were all level hundred.
  
  "I want to try something," Hestia informed us. She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. I stood there for a moment, sharing a glance with Lili before I felt what I could only describe as a sense of safety and contentment wash over me. Like I had woken up for work on a cold winter morning, only to remember that I had the day off, so I got to sleep in.
  
  Hestia opened her eyes, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. "That was my blessing," she told us as we marveled at feeling that washed over us. "It's like the ones that Akatosh and the others have. You're just getting it directly from me instead of a statue," she explained.
  
  "What does Lady Hestia's blessing do?" Lili questioned, looking down at her hands in wonder. I felt like doing the same, wondering if everyone felt how I felt. Oddly enough, Farkas, Vilkas, and Aela were the ones that looked least effected. Because of Hircine or were they just used to receiving blessings like these?
  
  "I just wanted you to be safe and healthy on the road, and wished you luck in your tasks," Hestia answered, sounding like she wasn"t quite sure what her blessing did either. Her eyes lingered on me and I sent her a small smile in return.
  
  "We"ll all be back soon enough," I promised her and to myself. I was going to come back this way after I got Falkreath on my side before I headed over to Riften. Hopefully, it wouldn"t be too long before I stopped by. But, I guess that was just extra motivation to sway the Jarls to my side as quickly as I could.
  
  "Good, because I want you all here when winter ends and if you aren"t here, I"m going to cry," she threatened good-naturedly. Hestia looked like she might start crying then and there as her bright blue eyes swept over us. She seemed to brace herself for a moment before she smiled brightly at all of us. "I"ll see you all then," she decided, accepting that this was where we parted ways for now.
  
  I turned to Lili and Vilkas and gave them a firm nod. Farkas slugged Vilkas in the shoulder, which he returned twice as hard. Lili gave me a smile, a silent promise in her eyes to not let any of us down. I knew that she wouldn"t. We lingered for a moment, knowing that the moment was coming before we all started to walk in different ways.
  
  Our road would take us to Falkreath, Lili"s would take her to Whiterun then the College while Hestia would start turning Helgen into an unassuming deathtrap.
  
  ...
  
  The forest slowly grew thicker the further west we traveled. The rocky mountains and vast planes were replaced with a forest so dense with trees that the sky above was completely blocked by a canopy of leaves. I slowed my approach to the city of Falkreath, my eyes scanning the forest that flanked an old stone road in search of bandits. Sounds of nature echoed in my ears -- birds chirping, rustling of leaves, and the occasional twig snapping.
  
  It reminded me a bit too much of the Dungeon. It felt like I was walking its halls, waiting for monsters to spawn so I could kill them. So, as I jogged down the road towards Falkreath, I kept expecting something to come screaming from the forest to attack us.
  
  But nothing ever did. Though, when Aela suddenly spoke up, I nearly jumped out of my skin.
  
  "If you entered Skyrim through Helgen, I'm guessing that you've never been to Falkreath?" She questioned suddenly while it sounded Farkas was catching up on sleep.
  
  "I haven't," I confirmed with a nod. "Anything I should look out for?" I asked, wanting to know what I was in for. I had several things I wanted to do in the Hold, but Falkreath itself was a hold that didn't really have anything going on for it. To become Thane was just doing generic quests, and even as quests went, Falkreath's were painfully average.
  
  "The Jarl," Aela answered instantly. So, I'm guessing he was a lazy sleaze bag like he was in the game. "He rose to power a short time ago, but he's done a fine job of destroying his family"s reputation. If you want to work or live in Falkreath then you have to bribe him."
  
  That sounded about right. "And he can get away with that kind of corruption?" I questioned with a frown. I didn't expect every Jarl to be a Balgruuf, but having a reputation for being corrupt was a bit much. I figured that Nords would despise that kind of thing.
  
  "From what I've heard, Falkreath has become more productive and prosperous since Jarl Siddgeir rose to power. While I'm no gossipmonger, I have met the man. Rumor is that he delegates all of the actual managing of his Hold to his steward Nenya. An Altmer. And I believe that rumor in full." Aela explained and I was momentarily surprised that the steward was the same as the game.
  
  Given how much the Nords seemed to hate the Thalmor -- enough so that when they heard that the gods walked the planet, their first thought was how wrong the Thalmor were... well, I kinda expected Nenya to be replaced. I recalled her race only because I thought it was odd in the game, and especially in reality. But, now that I think about it, that was fairly racist, wasn't it? Not every High Elf was a Thalmor spy or agent. Expecting her to be removed due to her race made me feel like an asshole.
  
  I mean, I was. I didn"t care for being that kind of asshole.
  
  "So, he made you bribe him to work in the Hold?" I questioned, trying to steer the topic away from Nenya.
  
  "He did. Skjor and I were fulfilling a quest in the Hold when we decided to do some bounty work while we were in the area. Forsworn mostly keep to Markarth, but they can get cheeky and ravage through Falkreath on occasion. We killed them, took their briar hearts, but the Jarl cheated us. Said that we didn"t pay a fee for doing work in his Hold, so he was deducting it from the bounty total," Aela said, sounding irritated at the memory of it. "I don"t care for money. It"s just a way to keep score for me, but I"ve never come so close to throttling a Jarl before. He was smug about it to."
  
  "So, what I"m hearing is that he doesn"t have a lot of friends," I said, looking off to the side to see a small village that branched off the main road. It was surrounded by a wood palisade, so I couldn"t see inside, but it was a sign of life in the forest. One thing that I had noticed the more I explored Skyrim was that each Hold had more than one village.
  
  "Can"t say for certain, but if that were the case then he wouldn"t be a Jarl. I would say that he"s picky about his friends, and since they have his back, he cares little for the opinions of others," Aela clarified. And that made sense, I suppose. Most people probably couldn"t care less that he was corrupt so long as things were getting better for them personally, and those that did care wouldn"t be able to do anything about it.
  
  Before I could ask another question, we reached the top of a hill, and when we looked down I saw Falkreath. Just like Whiterun, it was far more impressive in reality than it was in the game. It had tall walls that surrounded the city, but, interestingly, I saw that the buildings were of a different style than the ones I saw in Helgen, Riverwood or Whiterun. In those villages and cities, they preferred a more Norse style housing.
  
  The city I looked down at wouldn"t look out of place in an Asian country. The roofing had that Asian flair to it, and some buildings were stacked until some of them were several stories tall. But, at the same time, it still kept hold of that Norse feeling with the guards that stood at attention or the smaller houses that filled a sizable city.
  
  It was nestled in a valley, not dissimilar to how Helgen was, but when the city spilled out enough, it was like they decided to start building up. It was a sight to see, to be certain.
  
  "That"s the place," I said, pushing the wagon forward.
  
  "In less than a day too. Your speed really is something else," Aela complimented. I spared a thought wondering how Lili and Vilkas were doing but shoved the thoughts to the side in favor of making my way towards the city. They could handle themselves and I didn"t need to worry myself sick over them.
  
  "Halt there," A guard started, holding up a hand as we neared the gates. "What brings you to Falkreath, stranger?" The guard asked, looking at me before he turned his attention to my wagon.
  
  "Business," I said, showing off the axe that Jarl Balgruuf gave me, a symbol of my Thaneship. And I really needed to find out what was so special about the axe because the guy"s eyes widened behind his helmet. "I was hoping to speak to Jarl Siddgeir about what I can do for his Hold while I"m in the area."
  
  "Forgive my rudeness," The guard said, offering me an apologetic nod, "If you wish, I can take you to him."
  
  "Thanks for the offer," I said, figuring that I should take him up on the offer. "Is there someplace I need to put my wagon?" I asked, strolling into the city. I looked around and saw that the buildings were more spaced out with plenty of people walking about. They moved out of my way, giving me curious looks as they passed.
  
  "We have a warehouse up here, Thane of Whiterun," the guard informed as he led me to a warehouse filled with other wagons and goods. Aela and Farkas got out, giving me a moment to look over the contents of my wagon. This actually reminded me a bit of college. Way back, I was an introvert that could not speak to a person all day and I'd be happy about it. Then I went to College, got roped into joining a fraternity, and there I learned the sacred lesson of making conversation.
  
  Namely, the best way to introduce yourself and make a good impression was to bring something that they wanted and used it to break the ice. From what Aela told me, he wanted a bribe. So I would give him a bribe.
  
  I pulled a heavy metal chest out of my inventory and made a show of placing it on my shoulder. It was heavy. Extremely heavy, even with my enhanced strength. But, I kept it in place on my shoulder and braced it with one hand. Aela and Farkas looked suitably impressed, suspecting what the chest contained.
  
  "Let's go meet the Jarl," I said, tossing my helmet into my inventory to keep my face revealed. According to others, seeing a guy my size dressed in heavy armor was a bit of a daunting experience when you didn"t know me. I wanted a friendly first impression.
  
  The guard led us to the keep, a massive building that was slotted directly in the center of the city. The main roads flowed towards it, as well as the market square surrounded it. The keep was impressive, but looking at it, it was no dragonkeep like Whiterun. The stone steps led up to a set of large double doors.
  
  The guard pushed the door open, then stood out of our way so we could enter. I saw that despite the Asian touches of the building, it had a similar interior as the keep in Whiterun. Wide-open areas, a second story so people could look down, as well as tables meant for feasting. On the far end was a throne.
  
  In it was a man not much older than me. Actually, looking at him, he might even be younger.
  
  He wore fine clothing, a golden circlet with large green emeralds slotted into them. Looking at him, it was clear that he was no Jarl Balgruuf. Jarl Balgruuf was a man -- beard, strong arms, and he looked like a man that had been neck in shit but that didn"t stop him from crawling out. Jarl Siddgeir lounged in his throne, a wispy beard clinging to his cheeks. A beard I recognized -- it was one of a kid who was trying to grow a beard but didn"t understand it looked nasty until it filled out.
  
  "Jericho, Thane of Whiterun. I"ve heard rumors of a giant of a man wandering Skyrim, and I see that they weren"t exaggerating for once," Siddgeir remarked, looking faintly impressed as we strode into the room. "Had I known you were coming, I would have prepared a feast, but, alas, you seem to have caught me a bit... flat-footed."
  
  I knew that tone. That was the tone of someone that wanted their parent out of their room while trying to remain polite.
  
  "My apologies about that, Jarl Siddgeir. I had some business this way, and I figured I should stop by and pay my respects to you. And give you your due," I added, shifting the large chest on my shoulder to the ground, letting it settle with a heavy thump. My lack of a good impression of the guy, I was here to kiss his ass.
  
  A woman stepped from behind the throne. Tall, only about a foot shorter than me, skin with a faint yellow hue to it and the same with her eyes. Even her hair twisted into a braid was the color of gold. "Jarl Siddgeir's due for what, exactly?" She questioned, her tone as sharp as a knife. I'm guessing that she was Nenya.
  
  "Not long ago, Aela, Farkas, Vilkas, two members of my familia and I headed up to Bleak Falls Barrow," I started, meeting her gaze. Siddgeir sat up straighter in his throne, suddenly far more interested in what I had to say. "Which is located in your Hold, if I'm not mistaken."
  
  "You are not," Siddgeir said, leaning forward, greed shining in his emerald-colored eyes. "Many have attempted to brave the Barrow, but I never expected anyone to actually succeed. Tell me, what was inside? I had always wondered what kind of monster would be located within."
  
  "A Dragon Priest and two Deathlords," Aela spoke up with pride. Nenya stiffened, eyeing me sharply while Siddgeir's eyebrows disappeared behind his crown as a frown tugged at his lips.
  
  "I see," Siddgeir said, and that was the only comment he made. Though he did suddenly start eyeing me like a snake he was trapped in the same room with. Which was pretty much the exact opposite of what I wanted.
  
  "It was a battle, but the long and short of it is that we won. We divided up the spoils, but I had a thought that it would be rather... presumptuous of me to not give you your due given that the Barrow was located in your Hold. It felt too much like stealing from you, especially given the amount that we found." I said, doing damage control. I could tell that Nenya had questions, a great many of them, but she remained silent when Siddgeir spoke.
  
  "I commend your honesty and sense of justice, Jericho of Helgen," Siddgeir started. "Given how heavy that chest sounded, I'm guessing it was a considerable amount." The guy couldn't be more blatant if he tried.
  
  In response, I lifted the lid of the chest and revealed that it was filled to that absolute brim with gold bars and coins. I carefully watched their reactions. Siddgeir wore his greed on his face like he was proud of it. Nenya, on the other hand, kept her expression so tightly in what was probably the best poker face I had ever seen, but given how much money I threw at her feet, it was clear that she was shocked.
  
  "We divided up the loot -- our share were various weapons and armor looted from the Dragon Priest and Deathlords, and a portion of the wealth to support my familia. The rest, however, I believe is rightly yours, Jarl Siddgeir," I said, pushing the chest forward. Aela and Farkas knew better than to correct me. The amount in the chest? Barely a drop in the bucket.
  
  Most of the money and wealth were in my inventory simply because we didn't have anywhere else to store it. Honestly? I could probably just buy Helgen.
  
  Yet, the amount of money before them was so great, they didn't doubt it for a second.
  
  "This truly is a substantial gift!" Siddgeir exclaimed, suddenly looking at me as I was his best friend in the entire world. "It's worthy of celebration to welcome you into my Hold. A feast shall be prepared in your honor," Siddgeir decides.
  
  "Jarl Siddgeir, a feast so close to the start of winter-" Nenya started, but she was silenced with a dismissive gesture.
  
  "There will be a feast. We can simply import some food from Hammerfell," Siddgeir dismissed with a wave of his hand. Nenya bowed her head, accepting the decision. So, it looked like Siddgeir wasn't a complete puppet.
  
  "You honor us, Jarl Siddgeir," I said, deciding to defer to his decision. Having a feast before winter did seem like a poor idea, but I was here to suck up. Plus, it wasn't like he didn't have the money to buy food.
  
  "Excellent. Nenya, begin preparations immediately. And have this gift placed in the vaults," Siddgeir said, gesturing for a few guards to grab the chest. Two of them grabbed it and struggled with it, prompting two other guards to walk forward to help carry the chest filled with gold. "Please, join me for a drink. I suspect that we have much to discuss."
  
  "And we should give you some privacy," Aela said, taking the first opportunity to leave the conversation. Siddgeir dismissed them with a wave of his hand. I glanced over my shoulder at Aela and Farkas, the latter looking like he was struggling not to yawn. She nodded at me before she turned to Siddgeir, "I will see you at the feast Jarl Siddgeir."
  
  With that, she took her dismissal and marched out of the keep. Once she and Farkas left, Siddgeir let out a chuckle. "Your companion does not care for me," he remarked, smiling slightly as he got out of his throne. I didn"t know what to say to that, so I said nothing and he continued easily, "No matter. Join me," he said.
  
  I nodded, falling in step behind the Jarl. Guards flanked us as he took us through the keep, walking by glass containers that were filled with jewels, items, and other odds and ends that were worthy of being displayed. Nenya was nowhere to be found, likely coordinating a sudden impromptu feast.
  
  "Familia," Siddgeir started as we walked. "I"ve been hearing that word more and more often lately," he said, looking at me was we walked up a staircase to go somewhere. He was three stairs up and we weren"t eye level. "If rumors are to be believed, the Divines have descended and added another to their number."
  
  I nodded as we walked, "Divine Hestia. The god of my familia," I said as we walked, and I wished I could see his face. Instead, I could practically see a knot of tension form between his shoulders and his hand tightened on the railing for a brief second.
  
  "I see. Well, glad that has been confirmed," he said, keeping his voice even. "I suppose that I"ll have to give the rumors coming out of Markarth and Orsinium a great deal more consideration." He said, deciding to not talk about Hestia. I was glad for it. I wanted the guy on my side, and having him feel threatened by me was the exact opposite of what I wanted.
  
  "Markarth and Orsinium?" I questioned, "I had heard that Malacath had spoken to the orc strongholds to tell them to gather at their kingdom, but Markrath?"
  
  "The orcs have been migrating through my hold to get to their kingdom, which is now being led by a Daedric Prince. Apparently. While I care very little about race -- to me, ability matters far more than race -- but that sentiment is not shared by everyone. There have been conflicts, nothing major, but some orcs are raiding as they march." He informed as we reached a door after about ten stories worth of stairs.
  
  He pushed the door open to reveal a small deck-like area on the roof of the keep. The view was incredible.
  
  "And that is only making tensions worse. Especially with a stronghold encampment right over there," Siddgeir said, pointing out to a trail of smoke that emerged above the treetops. "It is unlikely for it to come to blows before they move on, but it what happens after that worries me. The number of orcs that are flooding through my Hold -- it is impossible for them to support themselves. Especially with winter right around the corner."
  
  I frowned, seeing what he was getting at. Off in the distance was a mountain range, and somewhere in that mountain range was Orsinium. Mountains weren"t good for farmland and in winter, there wouldn"t be enough animals to feed a rapidly growing population.
  
  "So, they"ll either have to buy enough food to support themselves or they take it," I finished the thought for him.
  
  "Exactly so. Markarth and my Holds are on their border, so we"ll suffer the brunt of the raids until this Orsinium is crushed. But, until then, the western entrance to Skyrim is closed in everything but name. No caravan would be foolish enough to take that road when they"ll have to deal with Forsworn and orc berserkers," he explained, dropping hints, but said nothing outright.
  
  "And that"ll take time. You aren"t likely to get any help from the other Holds with the civil war about to kick off," I said, making Siddgeir let out a small laugh as one of the guards poured him a cup of mead. I took mine and gave it a cautionary sip. It wasn"t good, but it was better than beer.
  
  "As you say. Unlikely," Siddgeir said, sounding like it took some effort to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Even still, he didn"t quite manage to keep it out entirely.
  
  "As for Markarth, the rumor is that Divine Dibella has taken residence in the city. It"s caused quite a stir, especially with members of the temple. From what I"ve heard Jarl Igmund is unhappy rather than honored to house such a guest," Siddgeir said, sounding like he was rather happy to hear the man was suffering. Though, I"m not exactly sure how.
  
  But a memory came to mind of Hestia standing before a group of peasants kneeling in the dirt. Markarth was more or less Dibella"s city given the temple that was dedicated to her there.
  
  So, who did the peasants listen to? Their Jarl or their god?
  
  "Huh. Makes me glad that Talos vanished back in Whiterun. He would have been ruling the place within an hour, even if he didn"t want to," I remarked, taking a sip as I mulled over the information. Siddgeir gave me a sharp look and I relayed what I had seen to him -- basically Talos deciding that he wouldn"t be Emperor again then vanishing.
  
  But, Dibella was in Markarth. That was good to know. Out of the nine Divines on Nirn, I knew where two of them were.
  
  "Unfortunate, but hardly unexpected. Nothing can ever be easy, it seems," Siddgeir said with a small sigh.
  
  And there was my in. "I wouldn"t say that," I said, looking down at the young Jarl. "I"m here because I ran out of problems to fix in Whiterun. There isn't a single notable bandit group left in the Hold by the time I was done. I can"t fix every problem for you, but I"ve found that most of them go away after I start swinging."
  
  "I was hoping that you would say that," Siddgeir admitted. "Because ever since I became Jarl, it"s been nothing but one issue after another. Honestly, I wouldn"t have to deal with half of it if Nenya was better at her job," He added with a chuckle as he shook his head. I offered a thin smile at that, swallowing a comment that wasn"t how being a Jarl worked.
  
  "In truth, there have been a great many issues lately. The raids from wandering bands of orcs, to general grievances... most notably, however, is a group of bandits located out at knife ridge. They"ve been there for some time, and recently their numbers have swelled to the point that something must be done. I would send some men to clear them out, naturally, but not only can I not spare any, but the bandits are also formidable. One has been seen wearing-"
  
  "Ebony," I interrupted before I realized what I did. "Sorry, I had heard the rumor," I lied but earned a nod from Siddgeir, who looked unsurprised. There were several things on my checklist to do while I was in Falkreath.
  
  The Ebony Mail and Azura's Star. Two Daedric artifacts that could be of a lot of use to me. I had hoped that I wasn"t too early for the Ebony Mail to be in the area, but it seemed like I was in luck. Azura"s star spoke for itself. The ultimate tool for enchanting, something I was going to need sooner rather than later, and I would have the item that all enchanters from novices to masters coveted.
  
  There was only the question of what it would mean if I took them. In the game, you became the champion or whatever of every single Daedric Prince and Aedra without anyone saying so much as a word about it. I didn"t think that would be the case here. Much less when they walked Nirn. But, likewise, if they had followed through on their promises, then they were normal mortals. They wouldn"t know that I had them.
  
  Either way, they were better off in my hands.
  
  "Then there have been a number of disappearances lately from villages surrounding Lake Ilinalta. Too many to write off as young men running off to join the Imperials or the Stormcloaks," Siddgeir continued, confirming that the Star was here as well. "Not to mention more roaming bandits that I care to think about..." He trailed off before he gave me a hard look.
  
  "But, above all else, I want you to handle the orcs that are encamped outside of my city. Kill them all or become their best friend, I couldn"t care less. I just want them gone so I can prepare for their inevitable return," Siddgeir said. "Do this, and becoming the Thane of Falkreath will be the least of your rewards."
  
  Well, I couldn"t say that I didn"t like the sound of that.
  
  ...
  
  I found myself walking out of the keep for a spell as the feast was being prepared and "other matters" stole the Jarl"s attention. I let out a content sigh as I walked, looking over the shops and stalls. Unlike Whiterun, I was seeing a lot more... well, diversity in people. Mostly Nords but plenty of other races as well from Bretons to Wood Elves. The only races that I didn"t see were Khajiit and Orcs.
  
  It wasn"t as big as Whiterun, but it was more organized at least.
  
  "That went well," I decided as I walked, wondering where Aela and Farkas had gotten off to. Given that I could easily see over everyone's heads, it was clear that they weren"t outside, but I was in no real rush to find them. I would see them at the feast being thrown in my honor. Never thought that would happen, but it would be a lie to say that I wasn"t excited at the idea of it. Just the sheer novelty.
  
  I had my work cut out for me. The bandits and the necromancers, I was confident that I could handle at this point. Handling the Orcs was going to be a different matter, but I was feeling confident. If I punched enough of them in the face, then they would respect me and that would be that.
  
  Siddgeir was left in the dark about Alduin. Jarl Balgruuf hadn"t ordered me to keep my mouth shut, or anything, but he made it clear that the fewer people that knew the better. So, Siddgeir just thought I was a convenient problem solver that dropped into his lap when it sounded like he needed one.
  
  Everything was going well. I would become Thane of Falkreath in a couple of days, then I could head to Riften. Provided that everything went well, I could have about a week or so before I would have to winter somewhere. Which I would likely spend with Hestia, or try my luck at becoming Thane of another Hold-
  
  "You sure are big mister!" A young girl"s voice observed, prompting me to look down at a young girl around the age of ten or so. Pale skin and dark brown curly hair pulled back in a braid with a simple red dress covering her. In her hands was a basket of flowers. "Would you like to buy a flower for one septum?"
  
  Well... still wasn"t a fan of kids, but at least she wasn"t dead set on bashing out every last brain cell she had.
  
  "Sure thing," I said, kneeling down while I fished a few coins out of my inventory. She held out a hand that I dropped them into her waiting hand. She gasped at the amount before she presented me with a simple lilly and a smile.
  
  "Thank you! I saw you coming out of the keep and I thought that you were really important, so you would be able to buy a flower for sure," She said, offering information that she really didn"t need to. "What"s your name, mister?" She asked as I started to rise to my feet.
  
  "Jericho," I answered easily, hoping to put an end to the conversation before I resumed my search for Aela and Farkas. "You?"
  
  "Babette!"
  
  Well then.
  ...
  
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  Ideas-Guy
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  Right. So, I was about face level with a loli vampire who was about three centuries old. That wasn't good. That wasn't good at all.
  
  "Is there something wrong?" Babette questioned sweetly, blinking at me as she gave a bashful smile. My shift into 'oh shit' mode didn't go unnoticed by her. And I knew better than to think that my reaction would be brushed off by a trained assassin with several centuries of experience under her belt, childish appearance or not.
  
  All I could do was put her on the back foot.
  
  "So, is this a sizing me up thing or did someone already perform the black sacrament on me?" I questioned, making Babette blink in surprise, but otherwise there was no hint of her being caught off guard. She twirled a lily between her fingers, still giving me an innocent child-like smile that had been perfected over who knew how many years. All the while, my every muscle tensed, ready to punch her in the face if she lunged for my throat. It was the only gap in my armor, so I knew where she would attack.
  
  Then she giggled, "The former. I had heard rumors about you already, especially how quickly you seem to travel across Skyrim. Given your talents, it was only going to be a matter of time before someone prayed to Sithis to claim your life. Best know what we're getting into." Her smile became a tad too sharp, revealing a hint of the fangs that betrayed her true nature, "I am surprised that you knew who I am. As far as I'm aware, everyone that has seen me work my trade is dead."
  
  "I have my ways," I deflected evenly. "But this is lucky on my part."
  
  Babette giggled again, and this time it sounded absolutely sinister. "I would hardly say that this was lucky for you."
  
  My eyes narrowed. "Vampire or not, I can reduce your head to a fine mist before you can think to move," I warned her. "Might be awkward to explain, but once I head to the sanctuary you have nearby, butcher every member of the Dark Brotherhood inside and bring their heads to the Jarl, I think that'll clear things up." To that, a dangerous gleam entered Babette's eyes.
  
  That was the stick. Time for the carrot.
  
  "But," I continued after a brief pause. "That's only if you force my hand by doing something stupid. Us meeting like this is lucky because I have an offer for your brotherhood. An offer that Astrid will like to hear." Using their names and hinting that I knew exactly where to find them. A subtle threat that put me in a position of power because not only did they know next to nothing about me, but they had no idea how I knew.
  
  "And what would this offer be?" Babette questioned, the cheerful innocence in her voice gone like smoke in the wind. Nothing about her expression or body language changed, but it didn't feel like I was kneeling before a child anymore. It felt like I had just cornered a dangerous animal and I was waiting for it to lunge for my throat. The only thing keeping it back was the threat of the proverbial sword in my hand.
  
  "A contract of sorts," I started. This was another reason I wanted to come to Falkreath, so I knew exactly what I wanted from the Dark Brotherhood. "My familia and companions are off-limits. And whoever attempts to put a hit on them is killed instead, and you will tell me who they were. In exchange, the same gift I just gave Jarl Siddgeir will be given to the Dark Brotherhood every year."
  
  "I'm afraid what contracts we accept aren't up to us," Babette hedged.
  
  "I think we both know that isn"t true," I refuted. They lacked a Listener and the Night Mother, and if I had my way then they always would. Babette's lips thinned as I continued to reveal knowledge that I really shouldn't know. "It's a good deal. A king's ransom every year for next to no work and your lives. Because if you ever do go after anyone that I care about... there are a lot of fates worse than death. And you'll experience all of them before I allow you to kill yourselves."
  
  I meant it. All the way down to the marrow of my bones, I meant it. If the Dark Brotherhood came after anyone I cared about then it would become my life mission to ensure that they died screaming.
  
  "Very well. It's an interesting offer, at the very least. I shall bring it to the Brotherhood. You will learn of our answer shortly," Babette informed as she began to walk off. I watched her go and melt into the crowd with unnatural ease. It didn't take more than a second for me to lose sight of her.
  
  I straightened up, dropping the flowers as I did so, and let out a small breath. It was a gamble, but I liked my odds. With this, I didn't have to worry about a contract being taken out on anyone's head. And it would be a good way to find out who my enemies were. Because, no matter how I looked at it, I was going to make enemies along the way. If they could kill themselves by trying to kill me, then that was all the better.
  
  It all depended on how the Brotherhood responded, but given it was a choice between certain death and getting rich, I had a good feeling about their answer.
  
  Picking the opposite direction that Babette had picked, I resumed my search for Aela and Farkas. Until I had Astrid"s answer, I should keep a close eye on them. Just in case. I wandered my way towards the second gate to the city, and it was then that Aela and Farkas showed up.
  
  "Jericho. How"d the talk with Jarl go?" Aela questioned as she approached, her arms crossed.
  
  "Fine. He gave me a to-do list of things to take care of. I was going to deal with one of them now before the feast," I said, gesturing to the encampment on the other side of the gates. I could see Orc guards patrolling it. I couldn"t tell how large it was or how populated, but given that every population in every settlement was scaled up, I was willing to bet on a lot. "And at the end of it, he promised that being made Thane would be my lowest reward."
  
  Aela let out a huff as Farkas munched on an apple, looking out at the Orc encampment. "And you believed him?"
  
  I shrugged, "I"m sure he"s exaggerating a bit, but I pretty much bought his friendship already. Once I start producing results, he"s going to bend over backward to stay on my good side." Especially when I deal with his most problematic problem between conversations in a single day.
  
  "Well, we should probably get started then," Farkas decided, feeding the rest of his apple to a horse that passed him by. "Orcs are a stubborn lot."
  
  Aela nodded at that, "Truth." She muttered, sounding like she had experienced that first hand. With that, I led the way towards the encampment. However, once we stepped out of the walls, Aela continued the conversation. "He will support you being made Jarl?"
  
  "He doesn"t know about that yet," I explained. "Figured I should break the ice a bit before announcing that I planned on becoming his new neighbor and taking a bite out of his territory." I bribed my way into his good graces, I proved myself as a warrior by pretty much fixing every problem in his Hold, then I drop the bomb that I was going to become the tenth Jarl. Probably hand over another bribe to soothe things over.
  
  "Good thinking. Jarl Siddgeir is a man that"s very protective of what he deems his," Aela remarked, a dark edge in her tone. I glanced over my shoulder at her, wondering where that was coming from. It was starting to sound like her grudge ran deeper than getting cheated on a job. Aela caught my look before she sighed. "He"s not a man that enjoys being told no."
  
  Oh.
  
  "He would be dead if he tied to force himself on me," Aela reassured, reading my expression. "He made advances when we had come to collect the bounties. When I protested his "due", he offered an alternative for how we could earn the amount we were owed. Then he acted like a child when I refused." That wasn"t much better -- he tried to make Aela a whore for money that she was owed.
  
  "Surprised Skjor didn"t kill him," Farkas remarked as we walked down the road. I could feel the eyes of Orcs hidden in the trees watching us move towards their camp, but no one stopped us.
  
  "I"ve been telling you, there is nothing between me and Skjor. We lay together when we feel the need, but it"s hardly like we"re married," Aela scoffed with a shake of her head. I thought back to the look they shared back when I officially joined the Companions. That look hadn't struck me as a fuck-buddy look.
  
  I wasn't the only one to think so. My gaze met Farkas', who shook his head. "Does Skjor know that?" I questioned, making Aela scowl at me.
  
  "The two of you are worse than fish wives," she accused. "My love life is neither of your concern."
  
  I shrugged, "Fair enough. We have more important things to deal with," I remarked, turning to the road. A group of orcs stood in our way. They wore armor with a green hue to it, but they left their torsos bare and their arms were covered with vambraces. White war paint stood out against their green skin, intricate designs covering their bodies and faces.
  
  "You near the camp of Dushnikh Yal. Turn and flee, outsiders," the middle one announced, hefting a large two-handed war axe onto his shoulder. I noticed that carvings were etched into his tusks and they were dyed black and green. That must have hurt.
  
  "I'm Jericho, Thane of Whiterun and here on behalf of Jarl Siddgeir," I informed, trying to sound as official as possible. "I would like to speak to your chief about the raids happening in his Hold."
  
  The Orc with the carved tusks turned and spat on the ground, "We have nothing to say to outsiders." He informed me, making my expression go flat.
  
  "Okay. How about this -- you take us to your chief, or we find him ourselves," I offered, not breaking my stride. I unsheathed my ebony greatsword from my back, letting it rest of my shoulder as I continued to meet his gaze. "But that would make things pretty awkward if we have to fight our way to him when we're just here to talk."
  
  The Orc narrowed his eyes, "You dare challenge me?" He questioned as I finally came to a stop directly in front of him. Orcs were taller than most. Everyone else was around six feet and under, but the Orcs before me hovered around six and a half feet tall. Which meant that I was still a head and shoulders taller than them.
  
  "I believe that's my line," I informed lowly, looking down at the Orc. His eyes were so dark that they seemed black, I noticed as I looked down. His nose was flat and wide, though it looked like it had been broken several times in his life. The sides of his head were shaved, revealing pointed ears, and the top of his head was covered in a strip of black hair that was pulled into a ponytail.
  
  The staring contest lasted for a moment, then two, then it stretched on for a full minute with neither of us backing down. Eventually, the Orc let out a huff, "You're worth meeting, Outsider. Very well, follow us."
  
  With that, the Orc turned around and started walking. The other orcs spread out around us, likely knowing better than to think it would stop us from escaping but it was a deterrent. I made a show of placing my sword back on my back as I followed them in silence. They led us through the woods, moving off the main highway.
  
  The camp itself was large like I expected. Several dozen yurt-like tents were propped up, each large enough to hold a family. Orcs wandered between the tents, only to stop and stare as we walked through a central walkway. Most of them were warriors, weapons in their belts, and they wore hide with orichalcum armor. There were plenty of women too, some also wearing armor to. But, I noticed every single one that wasn't wearing armor was pregnant. Noticeably so, and more interestingly, they all seemed around six months or so along.
  
  At the center of the camp was the largest tent. The Orc came to a stop in front of it while the gaps between the tents filled up with Orcs. Men, women, and children. And it was then that I realized the Orcs that surrounded me, Aela and Farkas were to keep the others away rather than keep us from escaping.
  
  It seemed that word of our approach had gotten ahead of us because the tent flap to the large tent was pushed to the side to reveal a large Orc. He was closer to seven feet tall than not, his chest and arms were bare to reveal powerful muscles wrapped in leathery green skin. Much like the Orc that led us here, the sides of his head were shaved and a long braid was formed out of it. A thick gold ring pierced one tusk while iron clasps pierced the top parts of his ears.
  
  "I am Chief Burguk," He announced himself, his voice booming and carrying over. His black eyes bore into me, giving Aela and Farkas no thought at all. "Speak your piece, lapdog." He said, putting on a show that he was still the toughest person here despite being a half foot shorter than me.
  
  "The raids on villages and farmsteads need to stop," I said, deciding to be direct. At that, Chief Burguk scoffed, shaking his head.
  
  "Then allow my people to buy food," He fired back in a challenging tone. "Your laws mean little to me, Outsider. Certainty not enough to let my people, my children, starve."
  
  All of a sudden, it felt like I was missing a critical piece to this puzzle. I had assumed that they were raiding for supplies and wealth, but more of a stocking up measure rather than avoiding starvation. It sounded like he was saying that he didn"t have a choice in the matter.
  
  "Falkreath won"t let you buy food?" I questioned, making Chief Burguk let out a noise of disgust that was echoed throughout the encampment.
  
  "You come here challenging me on matters you know nothing about, Outsider. No, Falkreath nor Markarth will allow my people entry to buy food. You weak bloods fear us and refuse us entry to your cities as if we"re savages that will burn them to the ground the first chance we get." He spat at me, anger coloring his tone. "So we raid for the supplies we need to make the pilgrimage."
  
  Okay. The picture was getting clearer. People didn"t want the Orcs near them or their possessions so they banned them from entry, which prompted the Orcs to raid them, and the next village down didn"t want to get raided so they did the same thing and that in turn got them raided.
  
  "Nice motive, but still murder. There are alternatives between starving to death and murdering people for their shit," I said. I got it. I did. I knew myself at this point. I really did. If it came to a choice between Hestia going hungry or someone else? I was going to pick someone else every single time. Right or wrong, I knew deep in my gut that"s the choice I would make. Even if she hated me for it. "Merchants exist for pretty much this exact reason. Pay one of them to be your middle man. If what I"ve heard is true, then you can probably afford it."
  
  Chief Barguk clearly didn"t care for that, rounding on me and stood so close we were practically touching. He might have been intimidating if I wasn"t the one looking down at him.
  
  "And trust an Outsider with the lives of my people? What promise do I have that they will keep their word? How do I know they won"t simply run off with our coin or poison the food before delivering it to us?" He challenged, and that was a fair rebuttal.
  
  "Take collateral and shove a bit of everything in their mouth. If they croak, then you know not to eat it," I refuted. "Look, I"m not saying that you aren"t being dealt a shit hand and you aren"t making hard choices. What I am saying is that the raiding will be coming to an end. Innocent people don"t need to die so you can eat."
  
  "Are you trying to give me an order?" Chief Burguk whispered dangerously, murder in his tone.
  
  "I"m making an offer," I corrected. "Send my companions back into the city and they"ll buy the food that you need. I"ll stay here as collateral. When they come back, I"ll taste the food. When I don"t die, you all pack up and continue to Orsinium with a promise that when the time comes, none of you will raid Falkreath Hold." I continued, my voice just as low as his, refusing to back down.
  
  If it came to a fight, then I liked my chances. There were a lot of them, but between my weapons and armor, I could cut through most of them like butter. The only issue would be their numbers, a couple hundred or so, but I didn"t have to kill all of them. Just enough to make a point. Just enough that they broke.
  
  Chief Burguk scoffed, "You want blood oaths that we won't return to this Hold? You'll have to best every warrior here in combat."
  
  "Fine," I agreed easily. "I'll fight all of you to get that oath. Are we doing it with weapons? Individual duels or all at once?"
  
  That seemed to catch the Chief flat-footed. Just how easily I accepted that condition as well as my confidence. His black eyes searched mine for a moment, looking for a sign of deceit, but he found none. Oddly enough, that got a smile out of him.
  
  "Heh. You don't lack confidence Outsider," he remarked. But that good cheer lasted for only a second. "You say you're here on behalf of the Jarl? Then you can get my people their food and your companions can be the collateral. I like the idea of a Thane being my errand boy," he added with a sneer.
  
  That was fine. It should be easier for me to get food.
  
  "And the oaths?" I questioned, keeping my tone even.
  
  "Hand to hand combat. No armor or enchantments. Three hundred duels. And we'll pack up and continue on our way," Chief Burguk decided. It was about as good of an offer as I was going to get. I stuck out a hand and he clasped my forearm, squeezing down on it as a show of dominance. I didn't squeeze back, but I came to a decision as I stared him in the eyes.
  
  "And anything that happens to my friends, I'll do to you," I warned him, letting go of his forearm. I didn't care to listen to his response in favor of sending Aela and Farkas a look, which they met. Farkas gave a careless shrug while Aela gave me a reassuring nod to show that they were okay with this.
  
  The same Orcs led me out of the encampment and passed along a wagon full of treasure and gold looted from villages and farmsteads. I accepted it and reentered the city and found myself in the market place.
  
  Where I then proceeded to buy every scrap of food that I could. From vegetables to fish to venison to fruit to everything else in between. Slowly, the cart full of money was replaced with food. The worst part about it was that the feast had already picked through the best bits, so there were slim pickings in some regards, but I cleared out the market place. And to ensure that there wasn't any bitching on their end, I loaded up my own wagon with food from my inventory that was looted from various bandit camps.
  
  Attaching myself to the one that they gave me, I stripped off and inventoried my armor, leaving me in black pants and a white long-sleeve. Pushing both wagons back to the encampment, the Orcs were waiting for me.
  
  "You're a fool if you think you can challenge us all," he informed as I pushed the wagons back to the encampment.
  
  "And you're a fool for thinking that three hundred of you is enough to challenge me," I returned, pushing two wagons stuffed with food with no trouble. The Orc looked back at me, a hint of unease in his posture. I could tell that he didn't like how confident I was. Because it was either baseless... or deserved.
  
  It didn't take long to find myself surrounded by Orcs once again, "The front wagon is mine but you're welcome to what's in it," I said, eyeing Aela and Farkas. From the looks of it, the worst that they had suffered was an hour of boredom. I was glad for that.
  
  Chief Burguk looked over the wagons as a few warriors unloaded them. There was some excited muttering as the people saw all of the food, with a few kids running forward to jump into a box of apples. However, he brushed them off easily enough before he tossed an apple at me. I caught it and took a large bite out of it with no hesitation. The food wasn't poisoned.
  
  I could tell the Chief wanted to say something about the money he gave me, but he couldn't when I turned up with two wagons full of supplies. Easily enough to send them in their way including whatever they had looted.
  
  "So, let me get those oaths and we'll both be on our ways," I said, making a show of taking off my shirt. I rolled my shoulders, showing off just how built I was. The Chief looked at me for a moment, as if he had just realized I had been serious. He let out a huff before he nodded.
  
  "Good," he said. "The ring will be made here," he decided, and with a wave of his hand, several Orcs ran off and grabbed stones. They formed a large ring in the central area, enough room for us to maneuver, but not enough that we could really get away from each other. That was fine with me.
  
  I could feel that the crowd was against me, but that was hardly unsurprising. This was a home game for them. I stepped inside of the ring, my hands by my sides as Chief Burguk stepped inside as well. He was feeling confident. That would change soon enough.
  
  "Should I win this duel, I claim your wagon, weapon, and armor as spoils," he informed, earning a nod from me. If he had said something stupid like trying to claim Aela, I probably would have just killed him.
  
  "And when I win, I get that oath. You may never raid or steal from Falkreath Hold ever again for the remainder of your life," I returned. It was tempting to try to get more than that, but if I tried to make them swear off raiding entirely then when I proved that they wouldn"t be able to beat me, then none of them would challenge me and I wouldn"t get any oath at all. If I left it open ended enough then they would fight me just to see if they could win.
  
  "It is agreed," Chief Burguk decided with a nod, looking over at an elderly female Orc with stark white hair. She nodded at both of us before she raised a hand slowly.
  
  Then she brought it down. The crowd roared the moment that the match began, and I saw Chief Burguk throw a fist with my expanded vision. Yet, I chose not to move out of the way. I clenched my jaw and felt his large fist slam into it -- I could feel the force behind the blow. It was a punch that Mike Tyson in his prime would dream of throwing. If I was a normal human, that would have laid me out flat at best and killed me outright at worst.
  
  But I wasn't a regular human.
  
  I didn't flinch at the blow, taking it on the chin like it was a love tap. Slowly, I looked back at him, and to his credit, Chief Burguk reacted well. Instead of hesitating, he slammed a fist into my stomach, directly into my diaphragm. Again, I felt the blows, but I didn't react to them. An unyielding wall of flesh and muscle that needed a hell of a lot more than that to make me give way.
  
  I looked Chief Burguk in the eyes, and now I saw that they were filled with uncertainty. I didn't smile or glare. I just uttered a single word that I knew would destroy him.
  
  "Weak."
  
  To prove that point, my fist moved in a blur and caught him in the side of the face. I pulled the punch, but even still, he flipped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. He didn't get up.
  
  The crowd was suddenly very silent as they watched me one-shot their chief, so when I spoke again, the word carried across the encampment.
  
  "Next."
  
  ...
  
  "That was something else," Farkas remarked, three hundred fights and about five hours later. I had thought that I would have scared some off after one-shotting the first dozen or so warriors, but I didn"t. Warriors -- both men, and women -- fought me and I extracted that same oath from all of them. Three hundred duels and three hundred punches.
  
  The camp began packing up as soon as they were done, intent on following through on their end of the bargain and to get away from me. Just like that, the problem was solved.
  
  And people said that violence never solved anything.
  
  "You are lucky that we were there to witness your duels, else no one else would believe it," Aela agreed with a nod. I shrugged my shoulders as I pushed my empty cart back into Falkreath to see the guards staring at the departing Orcs in confusion. Hopefully, Chief Burguk would remain unconscious until his clan departed.
  
  "Eh, wasn't that big of a deal," I dismissed. "I'm more worried about the loopholes that they're going to exploit. Those kids are exempt and so is the next generation. Give it twenty years or so, and nothing will have really changed." All because I wasn't willing to punch children and pregnant women in the face. Having morals was a real pain in the ass.
  
  Aela and Farkas shared a look before deciding not to comment on my easy dismissal of the feat. I understood that it was impressive by normal people's standards, but for me, that was hours of wasted time. None of them came close to being called a challenge and I got paltry amounts of exp since each duel was considered a quest.
  
  "Probably should have gone with something like 'and no child you father can raid the Hold either.'" I noted, my eyes scanning for any signs of the Dark Brotherhood. Just in case. "Would have worked better with how Orc Strongholds work."
  
  Farkas made a noise of acknowledgment, "Maybe, but that kind of commitment would have scared more than a few of them off."
  
  "Would have worked for the current chief, at least," I responded. In the end, it was too late to really do anything about it.
  
  Aela let out a small huff, "Always struck me as odd how they do things. Only the chief has the right to marry and have children -- what do the rest of them do in the meantime?"
  
  "Train so that they can be chief," Farkas answered instantly.
  
  "Sex is one hell of a motivator to work out," I agreed with a nod, returning my wagon back to the storage place. And, just in case, I placed a heavy chest of gold inside of the wagon. For when the Dark Brotherhood accepted my contract.
  
  "Men," Aela responded with more than a little exasperation. Farkas let out a laugh at that before he turned to us when he saw a guard waving us down.
  
  "I'll go deal with the explanation," he decided, walking off as we continued our way to the warehouse.
  
  After a moment, Aela continued. "Jericho, you're the lover of a Divine. Would you still even want a harem?" She questioned and it was very clear that the correct answer to that question was no.
  
  That is not what I said.
  
  "Well..." I trailed off, making Aela look at me with indignant disgust. "Look, me and Hestia have this thing. She was a virgin goddess before she met me-"
  
  "Are you truly bragging about deflowering a goddess?" Aela interjected, making me shake my head.
  
  "No, I'm giving context. I used to have this problem where my stamina far outstripped hers and she felt inadequate. So, she decided that others could join us in bed as long as she approves of them," I explained and, wow, that really did sound like it came right from a smut plotline. Aela blinked as she processed that.
  
  "Really?" She questioned with narrowed eyes.
  
  "Really. Have I lied to you yet?" I asked, turning to face Aela, who gave me a measuring look in response. She seemed to mull that over for a few seconds and when she continued, her voice was perfectly even.
  
  "Did Divine Hestia approve of me?" Aela questioned, her tone even but the fact that she had asked betrayed her interest. It was my turn to give her a measured look. It wasn't like I hadn't thought about it, but I was surprised she was showing interest. But, more than that, I was by far more concerned with dealing with Alduin than getting my dick wet.
  
  There was a small beat of silence before I answered, "She wouldn't have offered for you to join the familia if she didn't."
  
  "I see," Aela responded, not saying anything else.
  
  "Will you join?" I asked, seeing a conflicted expression pass over her face. She looked away from me as her shoulders slumped.
  
  "I am... uncertain," Aela admitted. "Being a werewolf is a part of who I am. I never once considered giving up the gift. And now that I am faced with this choice, I am indecisive. I am sorry," she said, knowing that wasn't what I wanted to hear.
  
  But, before I could say anything, someone pushed the door to the warehouse open. A look over proved it to be Nenya.
  
  "Thane of Whiterun," she greeted me with a polite bow. "I hear that the encampment has been... dealt with?" She questioned, sounding like she didn't quite believe it.
  
  "It has," I answered. "I had to buy some food for them and fight a couple of duels to extract a promise that the current generation of warriors wouldn't raid this Hold. So, there's a grace period for at least a decade."
  
  "A couple hundred duels," Aela corrected. "The first of which was against Chief Burguk." She added, making Nenya's eyes widen a fraction. She turned her gaze to me, giving me an appraising look over. Likely noted my lack of wounds or even bruises.
  
  "I see that you are more capable than rumors would lead me to believe," she noted. "And a fast worker. Your arrival has been a stroke of good luck for the Hold," she said, giving me another polite bow.
  
  "Jarl Siddgeir gave me a job to do, so I did it," I dismissed with a shrug. It felt weird getting praised for what amounted to busy work in the end.
  
  "Just so, the feast being held in your honor will be a lavish one. Anything less would be a slight on your honor," she informed, dropping the hint that I was supposed to be less humble. "Might I ask if you are currently in the possession of fine feasting clothing? Please pardon my presumptiveness, but given that it would not be traditional traveling attire I am compelled to ask."
  
  I glanced at Aela, who shook her head. "No, we don't," I informed, earning a nod.
  
  "Then may I make a recommendation of Final Touch Tailor? The owner is a tailor that I trust implicitly, and she can prepare worthy clothing for you on short notice. I can offer a writ waving off any fees, as well," Nenya offered, and I nodded, knowing that it was simpler to just go with the flow in this case.
  
  "Sounds fine to me."
  
  ...
  
  It wasn't fine. For hours I was stuck standing around in a T-pose as a tailor rushed around me to assemble an outfit for me. My only consolation was that Farkas and Aela were suffering alongside me. The tailor tried various different fabrics and colors, but in the end, she settled on an outfit that didn't look half bad.
  
  My torso was covered in a wine-red coat marked with gold trimming. My pants were black, matching the boots I wore, with a bear pelt shrugged over my shoulders and held together with a gold clasp marked with emeralds and sapphires. I looked good. The outfit really made me blend in with the locals.
  
  And now it was a case of waiting for me to join the feast. I faced a heavy oak door, my foot bouncing impatiently as I heard someone shout on the other side. The side with the actual feast.
  
  "Introducing Jericho, First Child to the Divine Hestia. Thane of Whiterun. Recoverer of Wuuthrad, the legendary weapon wielded by Ysgramor. He who dueled three hundred Orc Berserkers in single combat. Slayer of the Dragon Priest Krosis, and draugr Deathlords. Companion to the legendary Companions. Slayer of bandits and protector of the innocent," Some guy rattled off my titles and I really had racked up quite a few of them in my brief time in Skyrim.
  
  As the guy finished, the doors cracked open and I strode into the hall. Unlike before, the hall was in full swing -- the tables were packed with people, all of which stared at me. All of them were finely dressed, and even the servers were dressed nicely. I knew enough that tables marked who was important and who wasn't, with my destination being the high table, seated next to Jarl Siddgeir.
  
  The Jarl in question raised a mug towards me as I approached. I took my seat next to him and he leaned over while Aela was being introduced. "Nicely done," he remarked, but I wasn"t quite sure what he was talking about in that moment. Aela strode forward, wearing a long flowing wine-red dress that left her arms exposed while it clasped around her neck with a gold necklace. For the first time I saw her without the green face paint and her hair in a coiled braid.
  
  Stunning was the least I could say about her as she strode across the hall. She took a seat next to me, shooting me a sly smirk when she noticed the look I was giving her.
  
  Farkas came next, his list of titles equal to my own to mark a long history of work in the Companions. Once he was seated, Jarl Siddgeir rose to his feet and raised a glass of ale.
  
  "Let the feast begin!" He announced, much to the cheer of everyone. Music started playing as food was being served in droves -- roasted pigs, venison, mud crab, fruits and vegetables. Lavish was a good word for it.
  
  "Winter will be hard for these people," Aela remarked. "Between the feast and giving all of that food to the Orcs?" She elaborated, making my lips thin in thought. That wasn"t something I had really considered. There were dozens of faces down below that ate and cheered, some of them raising their glasses when my gaze met theirs in a toast. I returned the gesture, but all the while my mind wondered how many of those people would end up going hungry in the coming months because of what I did.
  
  But... in the end, that really wasn"t my problem, was it? I solved their Orc problem, I was going to solve their bandit problem, and if they proved incapable, I would solve their food problem too.
  
  Before I could answer, I felt a hand glide over my shoulders as someone leaned in to fill my cup of ale. I felt warm breath tickle my ear, I wouldn"t have thought anything about it if the person didn"t say what they did next.
  
  "The Dark Brotherhood accepts your contract," A woman informed in a voice just above a whisper. I leaned into my chair as she lingered, my heart starting to pound harder than when I had fought those duels.
  
  "Then the chest in my wagon is yours," I returned.
  
  "Our thanks... and a contract was taken out on your head," She informed me, making me stiffen. The lingering touch vanished and I resisted the urge to look around. My gaze scanned the room, wondering who exactly was the one that had put a contract on my head-
  
  I had my answer when my eyes found Nenya. She swayed dangerously where she stood, a glass in hand before it numbly fell from her fingers. The noise drew some attention, then more when she stumbled back a step, a tear of blood escaping and running down her cheek. Her chest heaved once, then she simply went still and collapsed where she was.
  
  Instantly, people rushed to her aid, clueless to what had happened. Everyone one but me and the assassin that had just performed the deed.
  
  I took a sip of my ale, the awful taste washing over my tongue.
  
  I do love it when a plan comes together.
  ...
  
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  "Who would want Nenya dead?" Jarl Siddgeir questioned, his tone colored with grief. He looked at me, eyes bloodshot from a sleepless night, directly at the man who had accidentally gotten her killed, "Do you think it was the Orcs? Or... who...?"
  
  I sure as fuck wasn't going to say that it was me and the Dark Brotherhood. "I doubt it was the Orcs. They wouldn't have had an opportunity to poison anyone, and they wouldn't have had a motive to kill Nenya of all people," I said before I decided to do whatever it took to cover my tracks. "Given her race... my bet is Stormcloaks."
  
  We sat in his personal study, a richly decorated room that was slightly tarnished by the number of wine bottles scattered about. The dude had a liver of pure iron apparently or he knew some restoration magic on the sly. Jarl Siddgeir nodded slowly as he drained another cup of wine like it was water, holding it with hands that trembled with both grief and rage.
  
  "Yes... yes, more than once those... traitors had claimed that I should dismiss Nenya because she was Altmer. Never mind that she had served this Hold for sixty years without fail or incident," he muttered darkly. Then his shoulders slumped, "But poison? The 'True Sons of Skyrim?'"
  
  I shifted in my seat on top of his desk since none of the chairs would fit me. "What... if they hired the Dark Brotherhood?" It would look suspicious if I didn't mention the possibility, right?
  
  Jarl Siddgeir shook his head, "No... no, that couldn't be possible." He said and that was a rather odd way to say it. My brow furrowed as I looked down at the man, a suspicion starting to form in the back of my mind.
  
  "Why not? I don't know of any other assassins that could pull off a poisoning in the middle of a feast," I pressed. A feast that was called off because of me accidentally killing Nenya. But she had it coming for trying to kill me in the first place.
  
  "Because of our deal," Jarl Siddgeir muttered, making me go still. I'm guessing that he really was drunk because there was no way he would drop a bomb like that if he was sober. "Weeee... let them stay in Falkreath on the condition that a portion of each job goes to our coffers and they can't take the lives of the nobility in this Hold." Okay. That explained how the Imperials managed to find where the Dark Brotherhood was located in the game -- Jarl Siddgeir sold them out when they tried to take out the emperor.
  
  It also raised a rather worrying concern. They had broken their deal with Nenya simply because I paid better. So, that left me with two options -- kill them all to cover my tracks, or to sweeten the pot to make sure that they never flip on me.
  
  "Okay," I accepted that with a frown. I would need to buy their silence as well because I couldn't trust them to just keep their mouths shut. "Beyond Stormcloaks, did Nenya have any enemies?" I questioned, wondering if I would be on that list considering that she had tried to kill me.
  
  Jarl Siddgeir shook his head in frustration, having answered that question before. "No! No, everyone loved Nenya. She was like the mother that I never had," he murmured quietly. "I... maybe the poison was meant for me? I... I have enemies. No one likes a young Jarl... my Uncle isn"t happy that I usurped the position from him... and the bandits I made deals with aren't following through on their end..."
  
  Yeah, he was really drunk. "Bandits?"
  
  "Hmmmm... we had a deal that I would look the other way if they split the loot with me. But I did the math! Well, Nenya did the math... Nenya... well... they, uh, they weren't giving us what we were owed for letting them stay. I was going to have you go and kill them all," he informed, earning a nod from me. "I had to do it. The Hold needed the money..."
  
  I didn't argue with him as I sat on an expensive desk in a finely decorated room with bottles of expensive wine littering it. It certainly didn't seem like the Hold needed the money, but that Jarl Siddgeir wanted the money.
  
  "I'm going to go deal with those bandits to see if they had caught wind of you ending the deal. And I'll do whatever I can to find out who is responsible for Nenya's death," I promised, feeling really bad about it. She had tried to kill me, so I was hardly broken up about her death. However, Jarl Siddgeir clearly was and the culprit was standing in the same room as him as he begged for me to find justice for her murder.
  
  "Thank you..." Jarl Siddgeir said, looking up at me briefly before he turned to open another bottle of wine. He had attendants so I doubt he was going to drink himself to death, so I simply nodded and left him alone in his study. I closed the door with a thunk before a small sigh escaped me.
  
  "What a mess," I cursed, pinching the bridge of my nose. Why couldn't anything ever be simple? Two things were clear -- I needed to sweeten the pot with the Brotherhood and I needed to find out why Nenya had tried to kill me. Because that had come out of the left field. I couldn't even start to think of a motive without dipping into conspiracy theories.
  
  But this wasn't the time to sit and dwell on it. I had my next quest and an armor upgrade to get.
  
  I walked towards the entrance of the keep, the decorations from the feast still up. The food was all being burned and destroyed by the plate -- it seemed like a waste but given that no one had any idea if it was poisoned or not, it was judged to be better safe than sorry. Aela and Farkas stood at the door, both dressed in their armor.
  
  "Any leads?" Aela questioned as we left the building.
  
  "The bandits that we're going to take out might have had motive since Nenya was working with them on the down-low. Either that or the Stormcloaks," I answered as we walked towards the warehouse my wagon was stored.
  
  "Just Nenya?" Aela questioned, sounding like she doubted that. "And how would a common bandit act as an assassin?"
  
  "Because the common bandit is the Ex-Champion of Boethiah," I answered, making both Aela and Farkas go still. "Apparently he left the life of serving a Daedric Prince behind to run a group of bandits."
  
  Farkas let out a chuckle, "My fights used to be far less interesting before you came around. It was bandits, Falmer, and the occasional grumpy bear. Now it's Deathlords, Dragon-Priests and Daedric Champions." It sounded like he was overjoyed. "At least I'll get something to test my new sword on."
  
  "And my bow," Aela agreed as we went and got my wagon.
  
  "Glad I could be of service," I said as I pushed it out of the warehouse. The wagon was light, telling me that the chest of gold was gone. So the Dark Brotherhood had accepted their payment. A king"s ransom. And I was going to pay them more because it was easier to pay them off than to kill them all.
  
  As if to prove it, as we walked the main road with Farkas and Aela hopping into the wagon, I saw Babette standing by the city gate. She wore the same simple red dress that she wore last time with a basket full of flowers. Most noticeably, she was looking right at me, a flower pinched between her fingers.
  
  "Wait one second," I said, leaving the wagon behind for a moment to approach her. I kept my pace even, trying to look like I wasn"t nervous -- I was certain that I could kill her, but there was a lot more at stake than a single life.
  
  "A flower for you, Jericho, Thane of Whiterun and Falkreath," She greeted me, presenting me with a flower. A note was slipped around the stem.
  
  "Not quite yet," I said, accepting the flower and pinching the note to unfurl it. A single word was written on it.
  
  Thalmor.
  
  That bitch was a part of the Thalmor. The Thalmor tried to kill me. Was it a stroke of opportunity or did they have reasons to target me already? Either way, that was as bad as it could possibly be. I was hoping that Nenya simply hadn"t liked the look of me or something. If she was taking orders, then this got a lot more complicated.
  
  "Thank you," I said, looking at Babbete. "I have a job if you"re interested." To that, Babette blinked innocently at me, holding out a hand expectantly for a coin.
  
  "The Brotherhood would be happy to help such a well connected and wealthy patron," Babette said, her smile revealing a hint of her fangs. You know, looking at her, I decided that the trope of century-old loli creeped me the hell out.
  
  "In total, it"ll be the same amount I just gave you for the contract," I started, and despite her age, I saw her eyes widen a fraction at that. She was caught off guard by just how much money I had to throw around. Good. Because I had more than I knew what to do with, and if throwing it around got their loyalty then I would make it rain on them. "Half to arrange for me to find evidence of a culprit for Nenya"s assassination... And another half for your silence in all endeavors."
  
  Babette giggled, "Such things are left to the Thieves Guild, but I believe an exception can be arranged. As for our silence, you have it." She reassured, yet given what I had just learned, I still had my doubts. I wasn"t ever going to trust the Dark Brotherhood. Not when they"ve proven they"re willing to bite the hand that fed them for a bigger meal.
  
  "Glad to hear it. I hope that we can work together for quite some time," I said, before adding, "Could I get another flower?" I asked, dropping the appropriate amount of money into her palm.
  
  "I believe that we will," She answered as she passed me a second flower. With our business concluded, she performed a small curtsy before she wandered off down a street and vanished from sight entirely. That had gone as well as it could have. I couldn"t trust it, but it seemed that until I wasn"t the one paying them the most, I didn"t have to worry about them.
  
  "What was that about?" Farkas questioned as I walked back to the wagon, raising an eyebrow at the flowers in my hands. With a smirk, I passed one over to him and the other to Aela, who accepted the flower with a cocked eyebrow. "Why are you giving me a flower?"
  
  "Didn"t want you to feel left out," I answered as I got ready to push the wagon again. Farkas gave me an eat-shit grin but he put his nose to the flower all the same while Aela looked down at hers.
  
  "Charming. Smells pretty," Farkas remarked and with that, we were off.
  
  ...
  
  Dense forest and mountainous terrain were an absolute pain to navigate, I found as we walked vaguely to the west. My map function made sure that we didn"t get lost, but when it came to telling if we were nearing our target, then it was pretty useless. Without a small blip on the map to mark location, which acted as a guide, it would be next to impossible to find Knifepoint Ridge.
  
  "We"re lost, aren"t we?" Farkas asked as we wandered the forest, searching for what should be a large encampment of bandits that needed killing. Then maybe I could look into setting up mining towns around here as well. I"m not exactly sure when it became my priority to mine every single spec of wealth from the planet, but I didn"t exactly have a problem with it. I wanted to be the only source of metal, any kind of metal, in all of Skyrim. Just because.
  
  "I know how to get back to the road, so technically we"re not lost," I corrected, glancing at him. He wore the flower tucked behind his ear to be an ass. "I"m just not sure how to find the ridge. It"s not like the bandits are going to make their hideout obvious, you know?"
  
  Aela let out a sigh, "There should be a tower in this area. I"ve stayed in it before. If we can find it, then we can get a decent view of the area and find our way to the ridge." And that was fair enough, I thought as I looked around for any obvious hints of a tower in the middle of the forest. Unsurprisingly, there were none.
  
  Frowning lightly, I wondered if I had an easy solution to the problem we faced. I eyed the trees, wondering if I should strip off my armor and climb up one to try to find the tower. Then I recalled a perk that I had that hadn"t seen a lot of use, simply because there was never much of a need. I took in a long, slow breath, and for the first time I paid attention to actual scents.
  
  The perk bloodhound was an odd one. It was more of an active perk compared to the rest that was passive. When I was breathing normally, it didn"t really feel much different once I got used to the influx of scents at the start. However, when I focused on my sense of smell, it was like taking a magnifying glass to each scent, letting me examine them in far greater detail. Almost to the point that it was overwhelming.
  
  I smelled dirt, trees, grass -- scents of nature. I could also smell myself -- oil, blood, and cinnamon. Sorting through the scents, I tried to find something that didn"t belong. Something that wasn"t us and wasn"t natural to a forest. I took in a couple of deep breaths, searching for something, and right when I was about to toss in the flag, the wind shifted.
  
  And I smelled smoke and wine.
  
  "This way," I said, gesturing in the direction slightly to the right of what we had been walking.
  
  "That's some confidence for someone that's lost," Farkas commented, earning a cocky smirk from me.
  
  "We're not lost. Bet on it," I shot back as I led the way. Farkas made a dismissive noise as he shook his head, not taking me up on it.
  
  "No, I know better than to challenge anyone when they look that smug," Farkas answered, earning an amused huff from Aela as we walked. I chuckled as well, trying to follow the scent for a few minutes. The smell grew stronger as we neared a small cliff that was about the size of a tree, and once I looked up it, I saw a glimpse of a tower that overlooked the forest.
  
  "Found it," I said, following the ridgeline in search of a way to get up to the tower.
  
  "And that's why I don't take bets when people act smug," Farkas reasoned as we started walking again. "Even if they could be bluffing."
  
  "I thought you stopped gambling when you lost your armor and weapon back when you were a recruit," Aela teased and earned a good nature chuckle from Farkas.
  
  "No. That taught me never to gamble with Khajiits. We were both cheating at cards, but they're a lot better at it," Farkas corrected with a careless shrug. "Vilkas was pissed though. Made me walk all the way back to Whiterun in my underclothes since he wouldn't lend me anything to wear. And I really pissed him off when I wasn't ashamed of it at all." He said, sounding proud.
  
  "I remember that day. You made a big show of throwing the doors open, wearing next to nothing, stood there long enough to make sure everyone had seen you, then walked off like nothing had happened." Aela bantered as we walked. "It was just after I had joined. Weren't you embarrassed?"
  
  "No. I knew I looked good," Farkas stated, eating a laugh from both of us. Unfortunately, the good cheer was forced to come to an abrupt end when Aela reached out to grab me, making me go still. I paused midstep, looking around for what was going on, but she pointed down. And it was then that I noticed that I had nearly walked into a bear trap.
  
  I doubt it would have done anything, but it was the principle of it.
  
  "Looks like we're heading the right way," I noted as I spotted a few other disguised traps. My gaze found a spot where we could get onto the cliff. I gestured towards it and with our feet to the ground, we made our way towards the tower. Though, not before we stumbled across a trap that had snared some unfortunate prey.
  
  A man was slumped against a tree, his hands covered in blood as a trap had flat out cut the bottom half of his leg off. From the look of it, he had been dead for some time. But it was the confirmation that we needed that whoever was parked in the tower were bandits.
  
  Making our way up, I saw the first glimpse of the tower. It blended in rather well -- it was half-collapsed with piles of stone laying around it while filth and vines covered the exterior. I also spotted the source of wine and smoke -- a fire with three men around it.
  
  "They're mine," Aela informed quietly as she took out her bow. The ebony one she had picked up from Bowman the Deathlord and nocked an arrow. Farkas and I hung back, ready to intervene but doubting that we would have to. Aela took in a deep breath as she readied her bow, and with noticeably more effort than her previous one, she drew back the arrow and let it fly.
  
  It raced forward in a blur that I was certain only I could follow the path of. I watched it punch through the fur armor that one bandit was wearing, then through his chest, before escaping at the other side at a greatly reduced speed. It happened so quickly that the guy actually stood up, looking in our general direction before he noticed that he was injured.
  
  Before he could even fall, Aela fired another arrow, this one catching a bandit in the eye. The two of them fell over in near unison, leaving the last one alive. He looked at his friends with wide eyes, his hands grasping for the weapon in his belt, right up until a third arrow slammed through his throat. He gargled for a moment before collapsing to his knees as blood pumped from the wound(,) because the arrow had went straight through him.
  
  Aela got up, another arrow ready, but the three men seemed to be the only ones nearby.
  
  "It has a tough draw, but I like it," Aela decided as we neared the tower. I went to step inside, but Aela stopped me again with a teasing smile. "It would be best if someone who was a little lighter went up first," She commented, making me consider that for a moment. The place looked like it was falling apart, and having someone that weighed a quarter of a ton in armor stomping around wasn"t going to do good things to the structural integrity.
  
  "Fair enough," I agreed, staying put while Aela walked into the building. Farkas waited until Aela had disappeared up the stairs before he turned to me, an eyebrow cocked. And I knew exactly what he was getting at without him having to say a word.
  
  "Nothings happened, and I"m not sure if anything ever will, but... you know," I said with a shrug of my shoulders. "She's flirting. I'm flirting back. And Hestia is okay with it."
  
  Farkas blinked at that before he shrugged, "I see what you mean by your relationship being complicated. You're both friends of mine, so I wish you both happiness. Just try not to make a mess if it doesn't work out," he said, giving me a nod. I was actually kinda caught off guard by his easy acceptance. I was expecting... jealousy, maybe?
  
  However, before I could say anything back, Aela's footsteps broke the brief silence as I gathered my thoughts. Both of us turned to her to find that she was cleaning blood off a knife.
  
  "There were another three sleeping. They had a rotation of shifts," She figured. "This was an outpost to keep an eye on the road.
  
  "Six men is a bit much for an outpost," Farkas said.
  
  "Not if they can spare the men. I saw knife ridge point. It looks like an old mining town that got turned into a fortress. Tall wood walls, and a lot of bandits. Dozens of them from the looks of it with who knows how many in the tunnels," Aela informed grimly. "The terrain favors them -- we won"t be able to get close without them noticing."
  
  Normally I would shrug my shoulders and dismiss stealth as an option altogether, but given that we were up against the Ex-Champion of Boethiah... well, I had concerns. The Ebony Mail was a step above trash in the game, but I had my doubts that it would be the same case here. I really didn"t want to rush in half-cocked.
  
  "We could wait until they send out a patrol, pick them off, then pick off the ones that investigate," Farkas offered a solution. "They"ll wisen up quickly, but it"ll thin them out a bit before we hit them."
  
  "Maybe if their leader wasn"t the Ex-Champion to the Daedric Prince of deceit, secrecy, and conspiracy. I can"t see him not figuring out what"s up quickly then turning the situation around on us," I said with a shake of my head. My gaze drifted over to Aela and her bow for a moment, then I thought of a possible solution. "What could work is if I don"t bother with stealth at all. I try to drag out the Ex-Champion, then you hit him with your bow. With him gone, it"s just mopping up."
  
  Aela and Farkas shared a look before they shrugged. "A Champion of Boethiah hardly deserves an honorable death. An arrow to the back will suffice," Aela agreed to the plan with a nod.
  
  "Sounds good to me. Let's go kill some bandits."
  
  ...
  
  This felt like the War Game, I mused as I approached, walking up in full view towards a beaten out path to the bandit camp. Not the sense of dread or that I was helplessly outmatched, or anything. More in the sense that I was attacking another fortified encampment. But things were different this time. I was a level two, I had backup and there was only one enemy I had to worry about instead of hundreds.
  
  To help capture the feeling, I scooped up a rock as I walked, running a thumb over the surface when I spotted a sentry not paying attention. The walls were made of wood, but they looked strong. Each log was thick and there were no gaps between them. The encampment ran along a ridge -- if the Jarl had sent normal soldiers, then they would get slaughtered on the way to the gate.
  
  It would take hundreds to root out the bandits. Maybe less with a few mages, but a handful of archers would pick the incoming soldiers to pieces.
  
  Or, just one of me.
  
  I held my rock for a second before I lobbed it at the sentry. The rock sailed forward and practically vaporized his head, sending blood and bone flying. I know there was an argument for picking up a proper ranged weapon, but rocks were just so convenient. They took no skill to use, and they were everywhere. And when they were thrown by me, they were far more effective than an arrow could ever hope to be.
  
  I heard shouting come from the inside, prompting me to pick up some more rocks. I was the distraction while Aela and Farkas snuck up by climbing the ridge. The more eyes on me, the fewer on them. More archers stuck their heads out, ready to defend their home, and each one was felled with a rock to the face. The few that wore helmets managed to avoid their head being destroyed, only for it to get caved-in instead.
  
  To make a point, I continued to stroll up to the gate that they had erected, a few more archers daring to take a shot at me and they died for their stupidity. I was decked in heavy armor and I was keenly aware of the few weaknesses that I had left. By the time I reached the door, a dozen of the archers had died. If there were more than they had learned from those that had died and didn't show themselves. I reached over to grab my sword, the ebony greatsword flaring to life as I did(,) before I plunged it into the gap in the gate.
  
  The thick iron reinforced plank melted like butter before my sword, allowing me to dramatically kick open the gate. A dozen bandits were in position to stop me with more coming from the mine, yet when I stepped forward, they flinched back.
  
  And I don't think I've ever felt more powerful before than I did at that moment. I felt utterly unstoppable.
  
  Arrows bounced off my armor as I strode forward towards the waiting bandits, keeping my pace at a relaxed stroll. They surged towards me, screaming a warcry, but I quickly silenced them. They washed over me like a wave, but I cut them down like grass, and the encampment was filled with the stench of death and charred meat. In seconds, I was surrounded by corpses, and the dozen or so remaining hesitated to rush towards me.
  
  So, I closed the distance between us. I surged forward, moving in a blur, and hacked a bandit in half before he realized what was happening. And by the time that the bandits thought to flee, most of them were dead. The few left died with their backs turned to me.
  
  I looked around the encampment to see that it was fairly organized. There were buildings, perches along the wall, tables to eat at, and so on. What's more, judging by the bodies, there were quite a few of them. Over forty in total counting the six at the tower. That wasn't a small number for bandits, I've learned. Most bands had about a dozen or so, maybe around twenty.
  
  These bandits were well established.
  
  My gaze swept over the camp but it settled on the entrance to the mine. The door was left open, letting me see that no one was trying to leave the mine. So I hadn't managed to bait out the Ex-Champion. Okay. How about this then?
  
  I walked towards the entrance and took in a deep breath, before shouting, "Come and face me Champion of Boethiah! Fight under the light of the sun for the first time in your life!" My taunt echoed through the tunnels, and I had no doubt that he heard it. He was touchy about being the Ex-Champion in the game and I was hoping that he was sensitive enough to rise to my provocation.
  
  Stepping back, I kept my eyes on the entrance, and out of the corner of my expanded vision, I saw Aela line up a shot. Hopefully, I wouldn't need her to bail me out, but better safe than sorry.
  
  There was a long beat of silence. Long enough that I nearly walked back to the entrance of the mine and started shouting again, but I felt his presence before I saw him. An uneasy feeling in my stomach warned me that he was coming, except it wasn't anxiety. It was like acid was pooling in my gut and with every second, it grew stronger. My mouth flooded with excess saliva, and swallowing it down seemed to make it worse.
  
  My eyes began to itch like something was drying them out like a sponge before they began to burn. I coughed once, bile nearly jumping up my throat, but I swallowed it down. Despite my growing discomfort, I kept my gaze on the entrance of the mine. A shadow seemed to materialize from the darkness -- I was only sure that I actually saw it when he stepped into the light.
  
  He wore the Ebony Mail, but wisps of black smoke rolled off of it before fading into nothing. Like the armor itself wasn"t solid, but condensed smoke that shifted and changed. It was as black as night, almost as if the armor was devouring the light itself. He looked like a demon.
  
  My skin started to itch in the worst possible way underneath my armor. As if someone was digging a tiny needle into every pore and wiggling them around. Even still, I stood my ground and didn"t tear off my armor like it was cooking me alive.
  
  "I suppose I shouldn"t be surprised. If you"re here to challenge me, then you would find a way to circumvent the poison my armor gives off. Otherwise, you would be dead," The Ex-Champion of Boethiah remarked as I tried to give off the impression that I had found away around his poison aura. I had swallowed down an antidote, just in case it would do something, but I had been pinning my hopes on my Abnormal Resistance.
  
  "I don"t have anything to say to the likes of you," I said, just to put an end to any banter or justifications he might give. I could feel the stomach acid in my gut sloshing around and my skin felt like it was burning.
  
  "No. I suppose you wouldn"t," The Ex-Champion remarked, his voice distorted from behind a black helm. And that was the signal for the fight to begin. I darted forward, my sword moving in a blazing blur while the Ex-champion ducked low, his own ebony sword dipping towards the back of my knee.
  
  My blade sailed overhead and I felt a sharp sting on the back of my knee, and I knew something was wrong. I was moving too slow. My head felt like it was full of cotton and my mouth kept switching from being flooded with saliva to being dry as a desert. I pivoted, catching his blade as it went to my shoulder before I lashed out with a fist, intent on driving him away.
  
  "Ah. You didn"t manage to completely nullify it, I see. Still, you must be as strong as an ox to stay on your feet. I commend you for that," The Ex-champion remarked, sounding like he meant it. I blinked once as I took in a shallow breath, my vision growing fuzzy. The mist seemed to grow thicker even in the sunlight, and it was like I was fighting a cloud of smoke.
  
  The mist moved, its blade darting forward at speeds I could follow but my body struggled to keep up with. I batted the blade to the side, going in for a strike. My blade sailed past his defenses, scraping against his armor, but unlike with others, it didn"t cut through like it wasn"t there. It couldn"t. They were both made of the same metal.
  
  But the strike encouraged me. I swung again, aiming for his head, and the mist dodged out of the way while countering, trying to go for my knee. My sword was made of ebony, but the rest of my armor sure wasn"t. I jerked it out of the way, the previous sense of invulnerability gone like smoke in the wind.
  
  It followed it up with an upwards slash that I barely blocked, my vision felt like it was narrowing and my heartbeat thundered in my ears. My body felt like it was boiling in my armor. Even still, I dodged the attack, stumbling back and nearly falling over. It seized the opportunity and lunged for my chest, intent on punching through my armor like I did to so many others before. I blocked the blow with a wild swing that left me open to a counter across my leg.
  
  I felt a sharp pain drag across my thigh, the steel armor absolutely no match for ebony. But just as I left myself open for a counter, so did it. I lashed out with a fist, catching the mist in the face. It was impossible to judge my strength, but it hit the dirt with a thump, its helmet flying away to reveal dark skin that made the dark red hair stand out that much more.
  
  The mist was a person. I had almost forgotten that.
  
  My head pounded as I strode forward, pain flaring in my leg. I couldn"t feel it, not really. It was filled with pins and needles, like it was asleep where it wasn"t completely numb. The Ex-Champion rolled to his feet, his blood-red eyes staring into mine. I saw there was a slight smirk on his face. I wanted to ask what he was smirking about, but my tongue wouldn"t move and I didn"t want to look like an idiot, so I didn"t bother.
  
  Instead, I simply strode forward, blocking a swipe at my injured leg, then an overhand swing. Each strike he made, he seemed to grow faster, but that wasn"t it. I was just getting weaker. I could feel it. My muscles ached, begging for a respite in a way I hadn"t felt since Hell Week with Ryuu, Tiona and Ais. So, I grit my teeth and pressed forward, forcing my arms to move faster to block his attacks and to deliver my own.
  
  I raised my blade, aiming for his head, while his blade went low. He opened his mouth to say something, but I never heard what it was. An arrow punched through his mouth, coming to a stop about halfway. He stumbled a step, one hand going up to his mouth to touch the arrow in confusion before he looked up at me.
  
  Aela. She was here.
  
  And she was trying to steal my exp.
  
  My sword lashed out with a wild swing that caught him just underneath the cheekbone and it cut right through. With his head cut in half, the Ex-Champion fell and the awful feeling that surrounded him faded with his death. I dropped to my knees, ripping off my helmet, and puked next to his body. I didn"t have much in me, but whatever I had came up in foul-tasting bile.
  
  "I should have just thrown rocks at him," I muttered mournfully, feeling better with every second. I heard Aela and Farkas rush towards me, shouting my name. I waved them off as they neared, trying to show that I was okay, but the truth was I felt weak. The fight barely lasted two minutes, and it felt like it had been hours. My strength was sapped.
  
  "I"m fine," I said, looking at them before I looked down to inspect the damage to my armor. There were burn marks on the armor and my leg. Some kind of enchantment? Despite my reassurance, Aela rushed to my side.
  
  "Are you certain? You fought like you were drunk," She noted, and I guess that was fair enough.
  
  "His armor had a poison aura around it or something. The longer I was around it, the stronger it became. I guess I should count myself lucky about that though. He wasn"t a much better fighter than me because of it," I said, giving her a slight smile to show that I really was okay. Aela looked like she had her doubts, but when I stood up on my own strength, she seemed reassured.
  
  Farkas picked up the Ex-Champions sword. "Lightning enchantment. A powerful one," he observed, giving it a few test swings.
  
  "It"s yours. I already have a sword," I decided as I turned my attention to the Ex-Champion"s body. His armor looked like normal ebony now -- black as pitch with silverish swirls embedded into the metal. But it was undoubtedly a Daedric artifact. So it was a question of what would happen if I tried to break it down for my armor? Should I just Inventory it? Or maybe just bury it?
  
  With my left hand, I reached out to at least start taking off the armor to decide what I should do with it. The moment my hand touched it, the armor... recoiled. It reduced itself into a heavy black mist, the ebony mail melting away from the corpse until it became that black fog before it surged forward. I flinched back as the black fog covered my arm, the arm that bore the Hestia Armor.
  
  As I fell onto my ass, I felt the armor being stripped from my arm, leaving it bare. It fell to the ground with a heavy thump, the black mist of the Ebony Mail covering it as if it were a wild animal attacking prey. I sat there, watching it with wide eyes, unsure of what I should do. Or what I could do. My breath was caught in my throat, worried that I had just lost the Hestia Armor.
  
  But that fear was unfounded. The black mist of the Ebony Mail seemed to sink into the Hestia Armor. Once every trace of it was gone, absorbed into the armor, the falna inscribed onto the surface of the Hestia Armor glowed a bright blue for a moment. Then it faded.
  
  "That happened," Farkas observed as I slowly stood up, eying the armor much like a coiled snake. That had happened. It was just a question of what just happened.
  
  Cautiously I reached out towards the Hestia Armor. My fingers brushed over the cool black surface before they sank into the metal. The Hestia Armor became a black mist, much like the Ebony Mail, and my heart jumped to my throat when it surged over my hand, up my arm, then over my chest. In a split second, my entire body was enveloped by the black mist.
  
  The mist obscured my vision for a split second, enough time for me to assume the worst, but it cleared up almost instantly. Confusingly, I felt the familiar weight of a helmet on my head and neck, but my vision was unobscured -- as if i wasn"t wearing one at all. Looking down at my hands, I saw that instead of one black arm and another bronze, both of them were black. Wisps of black smoke emerged from them, fading from view before they could move more than an inch away.
  
  The same went for the rest of me. My torso was covered in black, the kind of black that could only belong to ebony and so were my legs and feet.
  
  A wide smile graced my face as I marveled at my armor, my ebony armor.
  
  Hestia really was the best.
  ...
  
  It feels good to be back! The trip was pure hell -- I had forgotten how much I hated public speaking until I was stuck doing it for two weeks. But, I got through it. Though I have been doing a lot of thinking over the two weeks about my stories and I wanted to get some feedback.
  
  The plan for Power Corrupts was to finish off Skyrim, then go to Dragon Age, do a brief pit stop in Highschool of the Dead, then a sifi setting. But I was thinking about it and I'm worried that Dragon Age would feel too sameish as Skyrim, if that makes sense? I have a plan for it, but it's nothing that can't be replaced with another world.
  
  So, I was thinking of replacing Dragon Age with a pitstop in Konosuba -- meaning that the Demon King would get bum-rushed, the waifus added to the familia, and the possibility of turning Konosuba into the Hub World becomes a possibility. After that, a sifi setting like Mass Effect or something, then going back to Danmachi. Or something. I'm just spitballing here because I'm worried about the story becoming stale if I go from Skyrim straight into Dragon Age. Let me know what you think because I could just be overthinking things.
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
  Completed Stories: Going Native (DBZ/DC Comics), Power Corrupts (Gamer SI), See No Evil (Young Justice SI)
  My Quests: Everlasting Dynasty (Crusader Kings 3/FSN)
  TV Tropes: Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Going Native/Gone Native (DBZ/DC comics)
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
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  I was lucky I was wearing a helmet, or the great big smile on my face would have been really misunderstood as I hacked through a necromancer. His ward spell shattered like glass underneath the force of my blow and the flimsy black robe went up in flames as I cut right through him. I darted forward, fire washing over me, but I ignored it as I crushed a shambling skeleton's skull before pushing through the flames to skewer the offending mage.
  
  The flames died along with the mage, revealing my form. My armor was so fucking cool. Black mist swirled around the armor, making me blend in almost seamlessly with the dark hallways of a half-collapsed fort. Aela and Farkas had both confirmed that if it wasn't for them already knowing I was there, then they wouldn't be able to see me. Meaning, in dark places -- like half-collapsed forts -- I was practically invisible. Meaning I could be a near eight-foot giant that just appeared out of the shadows.
  
  It was wrong, and probably a little cruel, but the moment of 'oh shit' on people's faces had yet to get old when I just seemed to materialize from the shadows. I shouldn't have been enjoying it as much as I was, but it wasn't like the mages would be able to tell anyone.
  
  My footsteps were soundless because of Feather Step, but I had never been more aware of just how much noise my armor made until it became silent. If it wasn't for all the water in the half-collapsed fort, I would be as quiet as a ghost. It was weird to think that I could ever be considered stealthy, but with the armor and a few perks, I was as silent as the night. And I loved it.
  
  My thoughts were interrupted when the crackling of electricity rang in my ear. I reacted instantly, holding up my sword as a shield and watched as bolts of lightning streamed towards me. The smell of ozone was almost enough to drown out the smell of mold and corpses. Lightning flowed forward like water into my blade, but I barely felt a thing. What I did feel was the force of the lightning hitting me, but there was none of the numbness or pain that followed. I wasn't sure entirely, but my working theory was that ebony wasn't conductive.
  
  Regardless, I wasted no time darting forward across the flooded room to close the distance between us. Just in case he figured out that lightning wasn't effective before moving on to something that was. The mage stumbled back a step, tripping over a stone hidden in the water, and I slashed to the side. Arcs of electricity hit the water and stone before abruptly coming to a stop when I bisected the final necromancer.
  
  The shambling skeletons and corpses collapsed where they stood, robbing Farkas and Aela of their enemies. Both looked more disappointed than relieved. Farkas sheathed his new ebony sword while Aela holstered her ebony bow -- we had the top of the line gear now.
  
  And, as I sheathed my sword, the black ebony armor was reduced to mist before retreating into the Hestia Armor. The mechanics were weird, but when I used the Ebony Mail, it seemed to just replace the armor I was wearing. It didn't convert it or anything because I still had the same armor even if I wore nothing underneath.
  
  "Jericho... what's that?" Farkas questioned. He pointed towards Azura's Star, which laid in the lap of a skeleton, sitting atop a throne on a platform above the water. One of its hands was wrapped over it protectively. The star itself looked damaged -- the crystal was black, designed in the shape of an artistic star with some kind of metal added on to protect the joints. It didn't do a good enough job considering some parts of the Star had chipped off.
  
  "That," I said, walking towards the Star, "Is Azura's Star." I went to go pick it up before thinking better of it. If there was ever something that you booby trapped, it was the most powerful soul gem in existence. So, I took out my sword, pinching it between two fingers, and poked at the skeleton.
  
  "I- as in the Daedric Artifact?" Aela questioned, caught off guard by the revelation.
  
  "Another one?" Farkas asked, standing next to me as I carefully extracted the Star from the skeleton's grip with my sword. "In Falkreath Hold? What are the odds of that?"
  
  Not as small as one would think, I thought to myself. There was a Daedric Artifact in every hold, with some holding two. And with a final flick of my wrist, I freed the Star. Knocking it over and catching it with the flat of my sword, I brought it away from the skeleton to inspect it.
  
  "So that makes three Artifacts in your direct possession," Aela noted as I hesitantly grabbed the Star, careful to grab it by the bits with metal. I recalled that actually touching a soul gem was bad for soul related reasons.
  
  "Three?" I questioned, looking over its surface in the low light. I had it. Now it was just an issue of learning enchanting and finding a way to cleanse Malyn Varen's soul from it to restore it. Which I could do by ruining the Star and taking it to that guy in the College, or I could hunt down Azura to see if she had any options.
  
  "The Hestia Armor, the Ebony Mail, and the Star of Azura," Aela explained, and I guess the Hestia Armor would count as an artifact. Huh.
  
  "Well, the Hestia Armor kinda ate the Ebony Mail, so I'm not sure if it counts," I said, which was why I was taking such care to not touch the Star with my armor-clad hands. I still didn't understand what had happened between the Hestia Armor and the Ebony Mail. What I did know was that I doubt Boethiah would be very happy with me if he ever found out, and that made me leery of corrupting the Azure Star. I didn't want to have two Daedric Princes out for my blood because I wrecked their stuff, even accidentally.
  
  "I'm sure it still counts," Farkas reassured.
  
  "When has such a thing happened before? The Daedric Artifacts, not to mention Wuuthrad... it is like you attract ancient and powerful artifacts," Aela breathed with a small shake of her head as if she could barely believe it.
  
  For the Artifacts, I had metaknowledge, and for everything else? Lucky Loot. It might have been a mistake not picking Dragonborn, but so far it has paid off. I had ebony weapons with powerful enchantments and more money than I knew what to do with.
  
  "The Hero of Kavach," I pointed out before I decided to bite the bullet and shove the Star into my Inventory. Thankfully it wasn't a bag of holding inside a bag of holding scenario and everything was fine.
  
  "The who?" Farkas asked, blinking at me. And earned a bewildered look right back. Then I recalled that the Thalmor had pretty much stolen the credit for ending the Oblivion Crisis from the Hero of Kavach and Martin. Still, I was surprised that they had done such a good job of it that people apparently didn't remember who they were.
  
  "A traveler who shut an Oblivion gate outside of Kvach during the Oblivion Crisis. The first one to be closed. They just walked right in and closed the thing. And they later became the Champion of the Fighter's Guild, Champion of the Arena and Archmage of the Mage Guild." I explained, making both Farkas and Aela share looks. "I'm not making it up," I defended.
  
  "We didn't think you were. It's just odd that such a warrior would not be better renowned," Aela explained with a shrug of her shoulders.
  
  "The Thalmor," I said and understanding flooded their gazes.
  
  "Ah, that makes sense," Aela conceded.
  
  "We can gripe about the Thalmor later. Let's get out of this ruin. All the leaking water is making me nervous," Farkas said before he made his way to the exit. Thinking that was a fair point, we followed and stripped the place of anything that could be described as loot as we walked. Having a limitless inventory really was great -- I would never have to pick between loot. I could just take it all.
  
  Once we were greeted by fresh air, I saw that the sun was drifting towards the horizon and the sky was beginning to darken. It had been a few days since we left Falkreath -- I couldn't just head straight here, so we wandered the Hold in search of answers to the missing peasants. But it wasn't like it was lost time since we cleared out the bandit groups, dangerous animals and so on. The Hold was probably safer than it had ever been before.
  
  "We should get moving-" I started, glancing over at Aela and Farkas, to see them giving me looks. "Or... not?" I ventured, wondering what was up. We were almost at the finish line and we could get back to Falkreath by the morning if we left now.
  
  "Jericho, you might be able to keep smelling like roses after three days of nonstop fighting, but we can"t. I"m not going anywhere until both me and my armor stop smelling like rotting flesh," Farkas pointed out, bringing my attention to the gore that covered his armor. Most of it was new, but there was a fine layer of it caked over his skyforged steel armor. I looked over at Aela to see that she more than supported the idea.
  
  "If you"re going to become Thane of the Hold, then you should be presentable before you arrive. Knowing Jarl Siddgeir, he"ll throw you another feast in your honor," Aela said. I saw what she was doing, and I had half a mind to brush the concern off to the side. What stopped me was that both Farkas and Aela looked tired. They slept in the wagon, but in bursts, and I can"t imagine it was comfortable.
  
  I was running them ragged, I admitted to myself. Because I didn"t need to sleep or eat, and I was pushing them to keep up with my insane pace.
  
  "Alright," I agreed with some reluctance. "There"s a river that feeds into the lake not too far from here that we can use to rest." I decided not to admit that I was hoping to get moving after a quick bath and maybe a bite to eat. I couldn"t when both Aela and Farkas appeared immensely relieved, even though they were trying to hide it.
  
  "Lead the way," Aela gestured, and I brought us to a large river that ran out of the mountain that we had slain the Dragon Priest in. All things considered, the water was probably some kind of endless spring meant for the Dragon Priest but because of the spiders, the water was diverted and turned into a lake over thousands of years. Either way, the river was deep and there was a scenic waterfall for ambiance.
  
  Not a bad place, all things considered.
  
  "I"ll start a fire," I informed as both Aela and Farkas wasted no time stripping off their armor. Farkas jumped into the water with a splash before he vigorously began to clean himself with a bar of soap. Aela chuckled at the sight as she began to clean off her armor with a rag and a brush.
  
  I gathered up the logs and started the fire with little issue. Then I pulled some food from my inventory and started cooking. I was hardly a professional, and it was my first time cooking with a fire, so it wasn"t perfect, but it was a serviceable meal. By the time it was done, Farkas was done with his bath and walked out of the water looking like a new man.
  
  "Is not needing to eat a familia thing?" Farkas asked suddenly as I cleaned my own armor while he and Aela ate.
  
  "More of a me thing," I explained, looking at the surface of the Dwemer metal and seeing my reflection. In the end, Aela was right. I did need a bath. There were soot and dirt smudges that had gathered over the past few days all over my face. "Certain experiences can create certain skills. Like Lili's Artel Assist that lets her carry bags that weigh more than her a hundred times over, or my Berserker skill that increases my strength proportionate to my rage."
  
  "You don't strike me as the berserker type," Aela remarked, sounding surprised by the revelation. My mind went back to that moment where I ripped Zanis's spine out -- not because I needed to, but because I was so enraged that I decided he didn't deserve a clean death.
  
  "I haven't had much reason to get pissed," I answered with a shrug. "And it was before I leveled up. Now most things that would have absolutely kicked my ass, which would have pissed me off, are annoyances at best."
  
  Aela seemed to process that knowledge for a bit. I stood up and shoved my armor into my inventory, "I'll go take a bath. Shout if something happens," I said, wandering towards the waterfall. Farkas grunted in agreement. The sky began to dim as I approached the tall waterfall. It was surprisingly loud, but given that hundreds of pounds of water were falling every second, it probably should be.
  
  My gaze lingered on the waterfall, and a thought striking me as I entered the water. With a mental shrug of my shoulders, I swam through the cold water towards the waterfall. Then, in true monk style, I placed myself underneath the falling water Water pounded down on my head and shoulders, battering down on me with powerful force. Just not enough to make me give up the makeshift shower.
  
  Sitting on a rock that had been carved by the waterfall for thousands of years, I crossed my legs and let the water flow over me. Before I leveled up, the force would probably be enough to bruise or break bone, but now it was kinda refreshing in a way. I wonder if my stats were going up?
  
  One way to find out.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 29
  Title: Under Leveled
  Health: 2860
  Magika: 125
  Progress to next level: 138,500/180,000
  Strength: 133 (+151= 284)
  Endurance: 180 (+225= 405)
  Dexterity: 139 (+169= 308)
  Intelligence: 104 (+77=181)
  Sense: 158 (+240= 398)
  
  Resistances:
  Physical Resistance: 30% (15% due to Durable, Toughness and Oakskin perks)(15% due to Endurance)
  Abnormal Resistance: 65% (50% due to Super Immune perk) (15% due to Endurance)
  Fire Resistance: 15% (15% due to Endurance)
  Cold Resistance: 65% (base 50%)(15% due to Endurance)
  
  Skills:
  (General)
  Gamer Body (100/100): The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage (55/100): Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away.
  Kissing (65/100): An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target.
  Sex (50/100): Greatly enhances parameters when engaging in sexual intercourse. (perks available)
  Dishwashing (1/100): Stains and dried on food are easier to remove.
  Cooking (1/100): Creating delicious meals with ingredients.
  
  (Combat)
  Footwork (18/100): The basis for all martial talents. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity.
  One-handed (25/100): Governs your effectiveness when using one-handed weapons, including daggers, swords, maces, and war axes.
  Two-handed (20/100): Governs your effectiveness when using two-handed weapons, including greatswords, battleaxes, and warhammers.
  
  (Armor)
  Heavy Armor (25/100): Governs your ability to move and fight in heavy armor. (Perks Available)
  
  (Stealth)
  (None)
  
  (Magic)
  (None)
  
  (Thu"um)
  Unrelenting Force (0/100): Your Voice is raw power, pushing aside anything - or anyone - who stands in your path.
  Dragonrend (0/100): Your Voice lashes out at a dragon's very soul, forcing the beast to land.
  
  (Crafting)
  Woodwork (7/100): Craftsmanship involving wood.
  Stonework (10/100): Craftsmanship involving stone.
  
  God, my progress felt slow. But all things considered, given how high my stats were, it was good progress. Strength slowly went up due to the wagon. Endurance as well, most of which came from fighting while poisoned by the Ebony Mail. A whopping ten stat points. And given how Endurance had barely budged with me sprinting all over Skyrim, that was telling about how bad the poison effect was.
  
  Likewise, it also confirmed my next step. I had to find ways to weaken myself. And, even better, I had a good way to do it.
  
  I had two sets of armor -- my Dwemer metal and my Ebony Mail. They could be switched with a thought, making for a perfect set up. could enchant my Dwemer armor with enchantments to make me weaker, and when I ran into something that required a stronger touch, I would break out the Ebony Mail. Best of both worlds.
  
  It was also best to spread out my updates as I thought. The stats I had ground wouldn't go into effect until Hestia updated my falna, so it would be smart to hurry up and get some bad enchantments on my armor.
  
  Beyond that, my skills were going nicely. Two-handed was almost at the point where I could get a perk, Heavy Armor was already there. The success was overshadowed, however, by the lack of any progress with the Thu"um. Not a single point of progress and I had been practicing as much as I could. Yet there was nothing to show for it. So, while it seemed that I could learn the Thu"um, I wasn"t going to see much progress unless I got a tutor.
  
  Meaning that I had to stop by the Greybeards. Or find someone to teach me -- my options were Talos, who was off doing whatever god-emperors did when they weren"t being an emperor, the Greybeards, or Ulfric, which was problematic and the last option.
  
  My magic tab was also depressingly empty. I did have two spellbooks -- Transfiguration, and Soul Trap which I had picked up from the necromancers. However, neither one had a direct benefit at the moment. Soul Trap would when I had soul gems that worked or knew how to enchant, and transfiguration was great except for the fact that I didn"t need more money. I had reached the level of wealth that I was actually refusing more money.
  
  A sigh escaped me as I cracked my neck, letting the waterfall massage my body. There was just so much to do and it felt like there was so little time to do it.
  
  "That can"t be comfortable," I heard Aela shout over the sound of water hitting the ground. I opened up my eyes to find that the sky had darkened completely, telling me that I had drifted off, so Aela must have been checking on me. Then as my eyes adjusted to the darkness after a quick second, I saw that very much wasn"t the case.
  
  Aela sat on the same stone that I was, her body twisted to look at me. Her red hair was pushed back, sticking to her body due to the water, her face was cleared of the war paint she usually wore. That wasn"t the only thing missing. Her clothes were as well, revealing her pale breasts capped with dark pink nipples that were pebbled from the cold water and air. Her stomach was flat with abs etched into the surface, water dripping down her smooth skin.
  
  "Uh," I started intelligently, blinking at the sight that was seared into my mind thanks to Perfect Memory. Aela"s lips curled into a sly smile when she saw she had rendered me speechless. "I know we"ve been flirting a bit, but I didn"t expect this," I admitted.
  
  "You should have," Aela remarked, her eyes roaming me as I left the waterfall. Her eyes drank me in, though they lingered on my crotch where blood swelled. "Skyrim is a harsh place. Other places there is time for drawn out courtships and flowery speech, but here? We say what we mean and what we want."
  
  Fair, I guess. I had figured that the whole marriage thing in Skyrim was because the devs couldn"t be bothered to write dozens of romance plots. "I know you said that there"s nothing between you and Skjor, but-" I started, walking forward and taking a seat next to Aela. When I did, she interrupted.
  
  "If there was something between me and Skjor, then we would be wed. I meant what I said -- when we feel the need, we take comfort with each other," Aela explained, and I could hear the question of why I hadn"t jumped her bones already in her voice. "That"s all."
  
  "I"m just making sure. I saw that look between the two of you, and with how Farkas talks... well, there"s a difference between hunting and poaching. I just want to make sure it"s the former," I explained, and I nearly smiled at the look of annoyance that crossed her features.
  
  "I... don"t believe he harbors feelings for me. Skjor is a Nord. If he wished to wed me, then he would have said so." Now she sounded slightly less certain. Then she narrowed her eyes as she moved to cover her breasts, "If you don"t find me agreeable, then you should simply say so."
  
  "I didn"t say that," I quickly reassured. "Aela, you"re beautiful and you kick ass. I"d have to be blind not to be attracted to you."
  
  That seemed to sooth her a bit, but she still sent a frown in my direction. "Then why are you finding reasons to not lay with me?"
  
  "Because of Hestia. She approves of you -- she wouldn"t have offered for you to join the familia if she didn"t. But... are you going to join?" I asked her, leaning back and using my hands to prop me up. I looked up at the stars for a moment, feeling the opportunity to have sex slip me by, but I couldn"t say that I regretted it.
  
  In contrast, Aela withdrew her legs from the flowing river and curled into herself. There was a beat of silence before she let out a sigh that was nearly lost in the sounds of the waterfall. "To me, the Companions have always been about honor, glory, and the hunt. Ever since I joined the Circle, I"ve believed that being a werewolf was simply a part of that. But since my talk with Lydia, I"ve started to have doubts."
  
  "The Companions have stayed in Whiterun since before its founding, but the first change is always problematic. There are deaths nearly every single time. And some can"t handle the change at all, and are forced to be put down," Aela explained, just getting something that had seemed to weigh heavily on her off her chest. "Lydia was right -- if we were going to be werewolves and preserve our honor, then we should have secured an isolated fortress. It"s not like Skyrim lacks them."
  
  "I figured the Silver Hand had a role to play in that," I offered, making Aela nod.
  
  "In part," Aela agreed. "But if we couldn"t fight them off, then we have no right being called the Companions in the first place..." She trailed off before she let out another deep sigh. "Being a Companion and being a werewolf have been the same thing to me for so long. And being a Companion is what I am. It"s who I am."
  
  There was a small silence at that as Aela seemed to run out of steam. I gathered my thoughts for a moment, knowing what I wanted to say but not sure how to phrase it.
  
  "I can"t really tell you what it means to be a Companion. You"ve been one a lot longer than me. But, a Companion is just a title. You said the Companions represent honor, glory and the hunt to you -- you can have all of those things without being a Companion. You can represent those things without having that title. And you can do it without being a werewolf," I told her.
  
  "You"re right," Aela nodded. "You and Lydia are both right. I know that. It just doesn't make it easier," She said, sounding frustrated that it wasn"t. I guess when you identified yourself as something for so long, it wasn"t so simple to just stop. Then Aela looked over at me, a conflicted expression on her face as she seemed to struggle with the words. I waited patiently for her to continue, knowing that she would get there.
  
  "But I do want to join Divine Hestia"s familia," Aela told me. "And... I want it more than I want to be a werewolf." She decided at last, earning a smile from me.
  
  "Okay," I decided with a nod. Aela was going to join the familia. It was odd to think about, but the familia was really growing. For the longest time, it was just me, and then me and Lili, and now it was me, Lili, Lydia, Aela, Farkas and Vilkas. Who knew who else would be added to that list in the coming months.
  
  "Okay," Aela agreed, let out a small laugh at my easy acceptance. Her lips curled into a smile, seemingly happier now that she came to the decision. Her eyes lingered on my face and it was only because I was paying attention that I noticed when her gaze dropped down to my lips. So, maybe I would get laid after all?
  
  Apparently not when I heard a man"s voice shout out, "Jericho! Aela! Stop doing what you"re doing and get back here!" It was Farkas), making both of us go still. Just like that, the moment was lost as both of us went into fight mode. I jumped to my feet and eyed the light from the fire some distance away. Aela jumped into the water, intent on swimming to shore. I took two quick steps and launched myself across. , just barely crossing the distance and slamming down heavily into the soft dirt.
  
  Pulling my sword free of my inventory, I sprinted towards the camp, expecting trouble. As I neared, rushing through some shrubbery into the camp, I instead saw Farkas sitting on a log. Who then went to cover Babette's eyes with a hand.
  
  Babette. The Dark Brotherhood assassin. Who was here, in the middle of the woods, some distance away from Falkreath and the only explanation for her presence being that she had followed us. Somehow.
  
  "Put some pants on. There's a kid here," Farkas said, still covering Babette"s eyes, the action betraying that he had absolutely no clue who she was.
  
  "I thought there was trouble," I said, pulling some pants from my inventory and tugging them on.
  
  "Depends on how you describe trouble. This is Babette -- she was kidnapped and managed to escape her captors before she wandered into our camp," he said, his tone growing grim, then tense as Aela came rushing up, naked and baring a dagger. He shook his head as he covered his own eyes with his free hand. "Stormcloaks took her."
  
  I looked at Farkas, then at Babette, my mind racing a mile a second. I couldn't see her face because of his hand -- but she was wearing the same red dress that she was before, only this one was covered in dirt and mud with tears in it. If I didn't know who she was then I would have a doubt that she was just a lost little girl.
  
  But she wasn't. She was a century old master assassin that was also a vampire.
  
  "What happened?" I questioned, deciding to roll with the story.
  
  "I was selling flowers in Falkreath -- like the ones you bought, mister! When I went to sell them to some men, they said I had heard something that I shouldn't have and then they took me away," Babette cried, her voice thick with emotion. "But I didn't hear anything! I promise! I just want to go home!"
  
  That... was some top-notch acting.
  
  Once Aela was modest again, Babaett were allowed to see again. I looked at Farkas, then at Babette, who was looking up at me with a stricken expression complete with a quivering lower lip. Very aware of the actual danger she was, I approached and dropped to a knee to put myself in a position to deal with her if this was a case of her getting caught on her way to assassinate me because someone had paid her better.
  
  "It"s going to be okay. We"re going to bring you home," I reassured, making Babette sniffle.
  
  "I didn"t hear anything," Babette repeated, "Nothing important." She said, and to Farkas and Aela, that would sound like she was rambling because she was scared that we would finish what the Stormcloaks started. To me, it sounded like she was telling me to ask what she had heard. So, I did.
  
  "Are you sure? Can you tell me what you heard, just in case?" I questioned, earning a shaky nod from Babette.
  
  "They said something about Nenya, and how they did a good job," Babette offered, making Farkas and Aela stiffen. I simply blinked in surprise, a previous request making itself known to me. I had requested that I find evidence on who had killed Nenya, hadn"t I? Still, that didn"t explain how Babette had known where to find us.
  
  I could only think of three explanations. The Dark Brotherhood had a tracker on us, which was worrying. Babette had somehow managed to travel with us without any of us knowing, which was more worrying. Or they had known to camp out this road and wait for us, which was the least worrying answer but still very worrying.
  
  "Could you tell us where the men that took you are?" I asked, knowing that this was a script I had to act out.
  
  Farkas began to suit up in his armor, as did Aela, while Babette gave me a shaky nod. "There"s a cave not far from here, but there"s a monster in it! They took me there, and then the big monster attacked, and I ran away. But I was only running for a little bit when I saw the light of your fire," she explained.
  
  The others in their armor and Babette clung to my side like glue. Aela seemed to find it cute, but if she knew the truth... Either way, we set off into the night. The forest was dark, the canopy above blotting out any source of light coming from the moons above. If it wasn"t for our natures -- a gamer, a vampire and two werewolves, I doubt any of us would be able to see in the darkness.
  
  Like Babette had said, there was a cave not far off from where we were camped. And the scene that we stumbled upon just screamed stage to me. There were two bodies in the cave, freshly dead and it looked like they had been mauled by a bear. Coincidently, there was a bear slumped over with an axe buried in its head.
  
  "Looks like the bear attacked, killed one, and was in the process of killing the other when he managed to get a lucky strike in. He died from his wounds not that long ago. Give it... thirty minutes, maybe," Aela noted, surveying the scene. Babette hid behind my leg, shaking like a leaf. It was a good act, but I could tell she was lining herself up for a shot at my kidneys.
  
  What she didn"t know was that I didn"t need them.
  
  I looked down at the corpse of a young man, whose torso was covered in claw marks. And all too conveniently, there was an edge of a piece of paper sticking out of his tunic near his neckline, spared by the onslaught, if a bit damp with blood. Reaching down, I picked it up and read the smudged, bloodstained letter.
  
  "The Thalmor traitor is dead, slain by the hands of the True Sons of Skyrim. The payment is in the agreed upon place, signed by Jarl Dengeir of Stuhn, the true Jarl of Falkreath," I read aloud. That was... a very conveniently placed incriminating letter. He even signed his name and everything. Or, you know, the letter was forged.
  
  But the story made sense. Dengeir was known for being paranoid and seeing enemies in everyone, whether they be Empire or Thalmor. Him assassinating Nenya, who was apparently a Thalmor agent, to support the Stormcloaks was perfectly in character for him. As far as people to frame, he was a good pick.
  
  I looked down at the bloodstained letter for a long moment, barely hearing Aela and Farkas speak about the revelation. Something settled on my shoulders, something that I hadn"t really thought about until the wheels were in motion and it was too late to stop them.
  
  I was about to frame someone for murder. An old man. A paranoid but innocent old man for a crime that I had inadvertently caused.
  
  It... was going to be okay. The guy was an ex-Jarl and a Thane of Falkreath -- it wasn"t like it was some peasant. He was related to the Jarl, so... I doubt he would get executed, or anything like that. He"ll probably be... banished or put on house arrest, which might be for the best considering how paranoid he was. And paranoia with power never mixed well.
  
  It"s for the best, I decided.
  
  It was to save the world and who knew how many lives. Surely the quality of life of one old man was worth it?
  
  ...
  
  Falkreath hadn"t changed much in the days that we"ve been gone. The only real change that I could find was as we walked through the city gates. The city seemed subdued. Tense, almost. Though, when people saw me pushing my wagon through the city, a look of pure relief crossed over their faces.
  
  "My lord, is there any food in the wagon that you would like to sell? I"ll buy it at a nice price," A man greeted me, holding up a coin pouch to show that he was good for the money. I was caught kinda flat-footed with the sudden offer. And with how people suddenly looked that much more interested in my wagon when there was the possibility that it contained food.
  
  "Uh, sure," I agreed, my gaze sweeping over the crowd that suddenly lingered around my wagon at the confirmation. And my puzzlement wasn"t missed by others either.
  
  "Lord Siddgeir... he"s decided to throw another feast, and he"s seized the stores of his citizens," the man that made the offer explained, making me blink. "He didn"t take all of it, thank the gods, but he took enough that a great many people are going to go hungry this winter if something isn't done."
  
  "Why is he throwing another feast?" I questioned, wondering if this was somehow my fault. Was he throwing another feast in my honor? Because I could do without.
  
  "A funeral feast for Lady Nenya," the man explained. He shook his head as he sighed, "She was a good woman and a better steward, and I get wanting to honor her, but..."
  
  Aela finished for him, "There"s a time and a place." To that, the man nodded sadly.
  
  "Aye, there is. We"ve already had one feast, a lot of the food went to the orcs to get them to leave, and now another feast? So close to winter without any hope of getting another harvest in?" The man shook his head and sighed as Aela looked at me, though not in an accusingly way.
  
  I could fix this. Each bandit camp was stocked with food. It wouldn"t be enough to last an entire city through winter, but...
  
  "I"ll fix this," I told everyone, my gaze sweeping over them. "Don"t worry about money. You"re all welcome to whats in the wagon, and I"ll find a way to bring in more food for the city. All I ask is that it goes to the people that need it most," I said, my voice echoing over the general chatter of excitement. Some people broke down crying where they stood, looking at me with eyes filled with gratitude.
  
  I turned to Aela and Farkas, who simply nodded as they knew what I was about to ask them to do. Farkas went into the back and grabbed a crate filled with dried meat -- ironically, I had been prepared to sell a crap ton of food to Falkreath. It was just that I had severely underestimated the demand.
  
  "Thank you, my lord. Divine bless you," The man said, offering a bow.
  
  I shook my head. This was... on me. I gave a shit ton of food to the Orcs, then I had inadvertently gotten Nenya murdered. With both events, I picked the best option that I could -- with the Orcs, they had needed food. With Nenya... that had been unavoidable since she tried to kill me first. But, regardless, I was the one that set this in motion.
  
  "Could you tell me where Jarl Siddgeir is?" I asked, and earned a nod from the man as a line formed to receive some food from the wagon. I was going to have to figure something out because even if I cleaned out my inventory, it wouldn"t be enough to feed a hungry city. It was just a start.
  
  "He"s in the keep. The feast has just begun, my lord," The man informed. I thanked him before I moved on, Babette trailing just behind me as she maintained the scared little girl act.
  
  "Well played," Babette remarked as we headed towards the keep.
  
  I pretended that I didn"t know what she meant.
  
  Reaching the large double doors, the guards allowed me to pass with no trouble. Pushing them open revealed a familiar scene, but much like the city itself, the keep was subdued. The smells of cooked meat and bread filled my nose, and the sound of music hit me -- but other than that, for a room filled with people, it was as quiet as a graveyard. Familiar faces glanced up at me, some nervous while others were relieved.
  
  I looked up at the high table to see Jarl Siddgeir-- he looked like absolute hell. His skin was a pasty white, dark bags under his eyes... it looked like he hadn"t slept or bathed since I last saw him, and judging by the cup in his hand that he was guzzling, he also hadn"t been sober. Seated next to him was a man that looked absolutely ancient.
  
  A long white wispy beard drifted down to his chest, covering most of his face. Deep wrinkles gathered at his eyes, which seemed sunken in, and his head was bald, revealing a large liver spot by his right ear. Given that he was the only other person sitting at the high table, he was probably Dengeir.
  
  I approached the high table, and Jarl Siddgeir was finally able to see me over the rim of his gobblet. He gave me a drunken smile, "Ah! Jericho! You"re back! With... a little filthy girl... eh... we all have our preferences..." He added with a drunken giggle. There were dozens of people in the room, but you could hear a pin drop. "Are the bandits dead? Have you single handily saved my entire Hold?"
  
  He didn"t seem to recognize Babette, but I was more concerned with how he seemed to be glaring at me. There was anger in his eyes as he smiled a painfully forced smile. I was here to kiss his ass and become Thane, him being pissed at me was a problem. Especially when I could only think of one reason why he would be pissed at me.
  
  "The bandits at Knifepoint ridge and Cracked Tusk Keep have been slain, dozens of necromancers in Ilinalta's Deep have been dealt with who were kidnapping countless people across Skyrim. And-" I started to continue when Jarl Siddgeir gave no reaction.
  
  "Your deeds are many and great, Jericho, Thane of Whiterun. And now Falkreath! You, serving girl, give Thane Jericho his badge of office!" He said, smacking a serving girl on the ass unnecessarily hard, which chased her off. Jarl Siddgeir smiled up at me, but as drunk as he was, there was no disguising the hate in his eyes.
  
  I shifted where I stood. Did he know about my deal with the Dark Brotherhood? Did he know that Nenya was dead because she tried to kill me?
  
  "You just solve problems. All of the problems! Can you solve my current problem, Jericho?" Jarl Siddgeir asked, leaning forward and carelessly shoving a plate of food onto the floor with a thunderous crash to make room.
  
  I met his gaze evenly. The servant behind him carried a generic looking axe, which I guess was my badge of office as Thane. I considered my words carefully, "I suppose it would depend on what your problem is?" I hedged, making the Jarl give me a cruel smile.
  
  "Just what I wanted to hear!" He exclaimed as if I had given a confirmation. "Someone," He shouted, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the room. Including the servant, who he yanked the axe from her hands when she hesitated to give it to him. "In this room killed Nenya. She... she was like a mother to me, and someone murdered her. So, tell me, Jericho, Thane of Falkreath and Whiterun... who killed my mother?"
  
  Right. I had a real bad feeling about this. But, silver lining -- he didn"t know I was responsible.
  
  My expression must have betrayed me because his eyes widened dramatically, "You actually know? Who! Who did it?!" He blurted, his surprise turning to anger quickly.
  
  "When we were on our way back, this girl was kidnapped but managed to escape from her captors. She was taken because she had overheard them mentioning Nenya and the circumstances of her death. Me, Aela and Farkas investigated to find them dead by a bear, but they had this on them," I said, stepping forward and handing him the blood stained letter. "I-"
  
  I didn"t get to finish because the moment Jarl Siddgeir opened the letter, it looked as if he had been possessed by a demon. His grip tightened on the axe in his hand, and for a moment, I thought he was going to throw it at me. That"s what I was prepared for. Which is why I was just as stupified as everyone else when Jarl Siddgeirbrought the axe down on the old man"s head that sat next to him.
  
  People screamed in horror, jumping out of their seats, but Jarl Siddgeir rounded on them, his eyes blazing with anger as tears gathered in his eyes. They dripped down his cheeks and as angry as he was, he looked more lost than anything. "My uncle. My uncle murdered her." Then his anger intensified, "No one move! Sit down!"
  
  His voice echoed in the room, and everyone hesitated. I stared at the murdered old man, knowing deep down that his death was on me. I... fuck.
  
  "Well... That mystery has been solved and justice has been dealt. A happy ending if there ever was one," Jarl Siddgeir remarked as he sat down in his chair, careless of the man he had just killed. His uncle. "A celebration is in order! Nenya"s murderers have faced justice! A toast- wait, no, servant, go fetch the- ah," he continued, looking at the same servant as before to find her carrying a tray with a bottle of wine and two cups on it. "You"ve already got it. Good. Good."
  
  The servant stepped forward and placed a glass before the Jarl and a glass before me. As she poured the wine, she looked up at me. She was pretty enough -- high cheekbones, brown hair, but what stood out the most was her gaze. While everyone else looked on with horror or apprehension, she looked damn near bored.
  
  Ah...
  
  You have got to be fucking kidding me.
  
  I grabbed the cup when she was done pouring, knowing who she really was. Yet, I turned to Jarl Siddgeir, who toasted me. His smile a little too sharp. Like he was laughing at a joke that only he seemed to know. The utter piece of...
  
  He knocked back his wine and I rose mine to my lips but didn"t drink. Just in case. And not a second later, the Jarl started coughing. A great heaving cough like he couldn"t breathe. But after everything he had just done, no one moved an inch to rush to his side.
  
  A great surge of irritation flooded me as I watched the man whose ass I was supposed to be kissing start to choke on his own blood after an attempt to kill me. Out of jealousy, or... I don"t even know. Or care.
  
  Jarl Siddgeir vomited blood onto the table, looking up at me with eyes filled with fear and confusion. Then he collapsed into the puddle, his eyes seeing nothing. He was dead.
  
  What an absolute pain in my fucking ass.
  ...
  
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  I done goofed. I was man enough to admit it. I made a mistake. I had thoroughly underestimated just how much trouble dealing with the Dark Brotherhood would cause me. I had also underestimated the number of people that wanted to kill me after meeting me. That was a real eye-opener. Going to the Dark Brotherhood was meant to solve problems. It was meant to protect my familia -- Hestia, Lili, Lydia, and everyone else.
  
  Instead... I sorta got the ruling class assassinated and caused a succession crisis. The line of succession had the tip three links removed. If Jarl Snidgarr had any children that were of age, it would go to them, but he didn't. So his heir was Brindgirr. Who he had murdered. The Steward, Nenya, would have stepped in to manage the Hold until a Jarl could be chosen. Except this entire mess was caused by that bitch for trying to kill me.
  
  The line of succession was broken and there was no clear replacement. There were other nobles, but with the Orcs raiding the Hold, all of them were weakened if not outright impoverished. So they were bickering.
  
  Which was really bad because there was a food shortage happening at the moment. The feast, giving so much food to the Orcs, then another feast... food prices were already high because of winter... people were going to starve unless something was done...
  
  But, in my defense, I didn't do it on purpose. It was a total accident.
  
  "What a mess," I muttered, looking down at the nobles that were arguing. Over a dozen of them, each screaming and shouting until they were red in the face.
  
  "Was that not your intention?" A smooth woman's voice questioned as she moved next to me. I didn't flinch or jump. I knew she was there. Nothing quite sharpened your senses like knowing you were in the same room as an assassin. I looked over to see it was the servant that had poisoned the wine. And given that she was supposed to be locked up for poisoning the Jarl, I'm guessing that I was the only one that knew she was out.
  
  "You enter the Hold and accept every problem and fix them within days while sowing chaos with the upper-class... you proved them incompetent. And with all of them dead, the path to becoming the Jarl of Falkreath is open to you. If you walk down those steps and claim it, none of those stuffed pigs would dare to argue." Astrid said a cruel smile in her voice. I met her gaze flatly for a moment, a suspicion working in the back of my mind.
  
  "Did Siddgeir really try to poison me?" I asked, making Astrid pause. And that was a great big fucking red flag.
  
  "He would have," Astrid deflected. "His position as Jarl was not as secure as he would like others to believe. It was only with efforts on behalf of the Brotherhood that he managed to attain and keep his Jarldom. He lacked both the reputation and the experience -- something that he was keenly aware of. As a Thane of Falkreath, you are now a candidate for Jarl. Siddgeir would have ordered your assassination when you proved yourself worthy."
  
  "So... no, he didn't," I summarized, leaning against the railing. He was innocent. Sort of. Because given the way that he looked at me, I had no trouble believing that he was waiting for a chance to stab me in the back. He has also murdered his uncle. And it also meant that this clusterfuck wasn't completely my fault. That was oddly reassuring.
  
  Astrid was silent for a brief moment, judging my tone cautiously. "No, he did not. We acted in your best interest."
  
  "I came here to kiss Sidngger's ass so he would support me becoming the Tenth Jarl of Skyrim," I refuted, making her lips thin. The Dark Brotherhood thought they were helping. They were trying to earn that paycheck. Only they were halping instead.
  
  But maybe they had a point. Would Siddgeir have supported me in becoming his neighbor? It was better than me replacing him but not by much. Not when I would be taking a bite out of his Hold to create mine.
  
  "I see," Astrid said in the tone of a person that realized they had done goofed. At least there were two of us now. Misery and company and all of that jazz.
  
  "I appreciate the effort, but next time, ask me before you kill someone for my benefit," I said, pushing myself off the railing. The time for thinking was over. It was time for action. "The money will be in the cave that the bear had killed those two 'Stormcloaks' in."
  
  Astrid looked at me for a moment, her expression so guarded that I couldn't even begin to guess what was going through her head. Then, slowly, she nodded, "The Dark Brotherhood thanks you for your patience and understanding." She offered a small bow of her head, "We would like to make up for our blunder. Babette is yours to do as you command so long as you remain our patron." Meaning there would be a convenient assassin nearby to take me out if I decided to stop holding up my end of the bargain.
  
  Or the offer was genuine. I was able to throw kings" ransoms amounts of money like it was nothing. Without the Night Mother there or a Listener, the Dark Brotherhood followed their wallets.
  
  I should probably cut the Dark Brotherhood loose at this point. If this whole situation was anything to go by, they were more trouble than they were worth. Except that I was in too deep with them at this point. They had dirt on me and I was on their radar. The only way to separate myself from them now would be to kill them all.
  
  "Alright. She can meet me at the gates to the city," I agreed. Astrid offered a small bow before she walked away, vanishing down the hallway. Better the assassin that I could see than the one that I couldn"t. Not only that, but Babette was also a master alchemy teacher in the game. Given that you could apparently drink a potion to become a better swordsman or bowman, then it seemed like a skill worth investigating.
  
  Not to mention, I would need it if I was going to attempt the stacking effect to achieve ridiculous enchantments eventually.
  
  I lingered for a moment, looking over the nobles who continued to fight and argue before I shook my head. This turned into an absolute mess, didn"t it? Another mess to clean up.
  
  Leaving the building while avoiding the bickering nobles, I walked outside to see Aela and Farkas looking at me. Both of the faces wore dier expressions, telling me that they heard and understood the implications of what happened. I sighed as I greeted them with a wave as I walked down the steps.
  
  "So, there"s been a bit of a development," I started, earning an amused snort from Farkas at the understatement. At least someone found me funny. "And we have a choice. Alduin is the goal. So, we either continue on our way to Riften and wash our hands of this mess. I'm the Thane of Falkreath, and the next Jarl of Falkreath is going to want to kiss my ass when he takes the seat. Our goal here is accomplished."
  
  And it was. The only point of contention was that I could end up becoming the Jarl of Falkreath if I played my cards right. The Dark Brotherhood was right about that. But that didn't change that I needed to go to Riften.
  
  In the end, it wasn't good for me to become the Jarl of Falkreath. It was a bad look when people started dying as soon as I arrived. Me walking away was a much better look. It was me refusing the crown and whoever the next Jarl was would owe me one. And I wanted my neighbors to owe me.
  
  "Or, we make a detour. I've thought about it a bit -- but if the two of you head to Helgen now and arrange for food to make it to Falkreath. While I go to Markarth to arrange the same thing. Between Markarth and Helgen, the food situation should take care of itself. Money isn"t an issue." And it never got old saying that.
  
  A pensive look passed over Aela"s face. "Alduin is the priority," Aela repeated me with a frown. And he was.
  
  "Can you really make it to Markarth and back by the time we reach Helgen?" Farkas asked, and I nodded. If I couldn"t, then I would meet them on the road to Riften. He nodded back at me. "Alright. There"s no point in saving the world if you have to burn it down to save it."
  
  Aela let out a small sigh. "We seem to be doing a lot of splitting up," Aela remarked. Rightly so. First with Lili and Vilkas and now us.
  
  "Skyrim is a big place and there"s a lot of ground to cover," I said. There weren"t enough of us, I reflected. Doing this on my own would probably be impossible. There was just so much that needed to be done and so little time to do it. I really needed to sit down and think about who I would want to join the familia. Or, rather, who I wanted to feel out about joining. Or even just helping save the world.
  
  Aela nodded with a slight smirk on her face. "True. Be careful on your own. And try not to get distracted."
  
  ...
  
  I got distracted.
  
  In my defense, this was Skyrim and I was technically a Skyrim protagonist. Meaning, it"s perfectly acceptable for me to get curious and start wandering down random tunnels or caves. Or spotting some Dwemer ruins and wondering what secrets they might contain. The answer? Some pretty nifty shit.
  
  "Oh, shiny," I noted, eyeing the Aetherium Shard that rested on a stand. It was a light blue with a hint of white that seemed to shift inside the half-circle. It was roughly about the size of my hand, making it fairly big, but it was clear that it was broken into pieces. Four pieces.
  
  "What would that be?" Babette questioned from behind me. She accompanied me through this trip. The Dewmer ruins were fine. I"m sure if I had come here earlier, back with my old weapon and armor, I would be struggling a lot more. The Dwemer automatons, in the end, wasn"t much of a challenge for a level 2 in Ebony Mail.
  
  "It is an Aetherium Shard," A third voice answered. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a ghost. A woman named Katria that died in an earthquake some time ago. She was almost a solid white with a faint blue hue, making it impossible to tell what she looked like beyond a general shape of her height and the armor that she wore. She also carried a bow on her back, a ghostly rendition of the bow that was stuffed in my inventory. "It"s proof that the Aetherium Forge does exist."
  
  Babette turned to the ghostly apparition, her black and red Dark Brotherhood leathers making her stand out that much more given her size. "I see. And what would it do? I can"t say that I"ve ever heard of it, but experience tells me that it"s worth something if we had to go through so much trouble."
  
  "It"s something that managed to plunge the Dwemer into civil war. In truth, I don"t think even they knew what it could do. What I do know is that the greatest minds worked together to smelt this material and it took them years to manage it," Katria explained, a hint of reverence in her tone. She reached out to the shard, only for her fingers to slip through it.
  
  Ghosts, I was coming to learn, were pretty weird and finicky. Apparently she could shoot things that that ghost bow with her ghost arrows, but actually touching something was a no go. Not sure how that worked, but the workings of the afterlife were above my paygrade. I would leave that to Hestia.
  
  Instead, I turned my gaze to the shard. One of four. In the game, you had the choice between three effects, and only one of them was any good. But, the kinds of enchantments it could make were unique. There was something else to consider as well -- the quality of an item determined the quality of an enchantment it could receive. There was nothing quite like Aetherium. The only thing that I could think of that would be more precious and rare would be Daedric.
  
  "We must find the other pieces. My journal has the leads, the last known locations for clues that I found spending weeks digging through old books. With it, we can find the forge!" Katria exclaimed, and I wondered how much of that crazed tone of hers was because she was a ghost and that was her unfinished business, or because she had died searching for the forge.
  
  I reached out and grabbed the shard off the pedestal it rested on. It was shockingly heavy. Like, extremely heavy. The small amount of Aetherium felt like it weighed about as much as a chest full of gold. Then I turned to Katria. "Alright. I'll help you find the forge," I told her and it was difficult to tell, but I thought she was smiling at me.
  
  "Thank you. I will go to the other locations," she informed before she just winked out of existence. I looked around for a moment at the Dwemer ruin we were in. But calling it a ruin felt undeserved. The place looked immaculately cleaned -- the Dwemer metal gates and piping was so clean it had a shine to it while the cold gray stone was spotless. There wasn't so much as a cobweb.
  
  That would change considering that I had just stomped on every mechanical spider between point A to point B. Which was kinda a shame, honestly.
  
  "Is this what you do all day?" Babette questioned, her tone awfully judging for someone who had followed me into a Dwemer ruin. "Do you just wander into caves and ruins to see what they contain?"
  
  "No. The rest is running between the next ruin or cave," I explained. Babette had to crane her head all the way back to look up at me. There was a hint of amusement in her flat gaze -- the kind that belonged on an old woman looking down at a kid that just proved how young he was. It creeped me the hell out.
  
  "I would say that doing such a thing would be inadvisable, but I suppose you have proven yourself. But can you truly afford such distractions?" Babette questioned as I shoved the Shard into my Inventory. It was a calculated risk showing her, thus the Dark Brotherhood that I had a pocket dimension, but it was unavoidable. They had already seen the contents of my wagon, and there was no easy explanation to where I got another heavy chest of gold.
  
  "I can," I confirmed with a nod. "Don't need to eat or sleep, I can run through the night. I run through Markarth and set up some food shipments," and maybe looked into becoming Thane while I was there, "so I'll just sprint to Riften."
  
  "Sprint to Riften, you say. My geography might be spotty, but I do believe that Riften is on the other side of Skyrim, is it not?" Babette remarked.
  
  "So?" I questioned, giving her a pointed look. A hint of unease entered her posture. She was used to being underestimated because she looked like a ten year old girl, regardless of the fact that she could bend a grown man in half. I think it was starting to sink in that she didn't have a physical advantage over me.
  
  "Point taken," Babette conceded as we walked through the timeless ruins. Honestly? I wished I had the time to thoroughly explore the place. The Dwemer were such a mystery and who knew what I could learn if I spent a week in here just exploring the place? It was a research facility after all.
  
  It didn't take long for us to reach the outside. It was clear what had been taken by the Falmer and what remained untouched by them. The entrance was absolutely filthy. The Falmer fought like wild animals and they lived like them too. Which was pretty damn sad considering what the Dwemer had done to them. But it wasn't like I could undo thousands of years of devolution and savagery with happy thoughts and hugs.
  
  I didn't hunt them down if they fled, but I killed the ones that attacked me. And I would kill the ones that attacked as I left.
  
  I was already saving the world. I had enough on my plate.
  
  Minutes later, we were greeted by the sun and nature. It was a nice little scenic view that was tucked out of the way in the growing mountainous region. The exterior of the ruin was covered in vines and grass to the point that it was practically invisible at a passing glance. Several thousand years would do that. I wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been looking for it.
  
  "Skyrim really is a dangerous place," I remarked more to myself than to Babette. There was always something. I had stumbled across another tomb, this one which contained another Dragon Priest in the game, so I avoided it for now. Now the Dwemer ruins. There were fortresses filled with Forsworn...
  
  "Which is why it's inadvisable to go wandering into random caves looking for treasure. For most people," Babette corrected after a brief moment. "You've clearly found more success than others. In part to your abilities and your choice of... companions." I sent her a look at that to find that she was giving me a teasing smirk that was a little too sharp. "I'm afraid after several centuries, some secrets don't stay secret."
  
  Meaning that she knew that Aela and Farkas were werewolves.
  
  "It's quite discomforting to learn that someone knows far more than they should, is it not?" Babette questioned. She had a point there. Not that I would admit it. "Silence, hm? Though I suppose you do have a number of worries on your mind. Farkas and Aela seem quite close."
  
  I stopped walking to the wagon and just sent Babette an odd look. Alright. It was pretty clear she was trying to provoke me. "Where are you going with this?" I asked, wanting to cut to the chase."
  
  "Nowhere. Merely an observation that Aela and Farkas have known each other for many years, and there is a great deal of trust between them," Babette tried to look innocent, but it failed once you got your head around the fact that no matter how old she looked, she was three hundred years old and all three hundred of them were spent committing murder for money.
  
  "No, where are you going with provoking me?" I clarified, "Are you pissed that Astrid sent you with me?"
  
  "Astrid sent me with you because my identity has been compromised with you. Who knows who else's is," Babette corrected. "And how would I learn what I wish to learn if I tell you why I'm insinuating that Farkas is likely fucking Aela right now? You did leave her wanting. Though, it was quite a sight -- I suppose you should be commended on your self-restraint. And admonished for your foolishness."
  
  So, Babette had seen that, huh? Meaning she had made the choice to 'stumble' into the camp with Farkas.
  
  "Thanks for the compliment, I guess. Now get in the wagon," I said, taking hold of the bar. Getting this wagon was one of the best decisions I had made. The roads were steep and busted, and without this wagon then I would be stuck carrying Babette the entire way.
  
  Babette made a humming noise as she pointedly did not get in the wagon. I looked at her to see she was giving me a coy smile that did not belong on the face of a child.
  
  "I suppose you should be rewarded for your restraint? I suppose you could use me to relieve your pent up stress-"
  
  "I'm good." This entire conversation was really weirding me out. I regret asking. And I don't even want to know what was going through her head. If I had to guess, she was feeling me out. And... I guess I did thoroughly prove that I was both faster and stronger than her.
  
  "Are you certain?" Babette questioned as she sent me a smile that I didn"t care for. "We"re in the middle of nowhere. No one would know or to think to judge you for it."
  
  "Just get in the wagon and stop talking," I sighed, sending her a pointed look. "Or I"m going to leave you behind." However, Babette didn"t budge. Yeah, she was tempting me in a couple of ways, but she wouldn"t get any bites. Wasn"t going to smack the shit out of her, and I wasn"t going to have sex with her either. I couldn"t introduce her to Hestia with pride, so I wouldn"t lay a finger on her.
  
  "Are you certain?" Babette pressed in a coy tone. "Because of my true nature, you need not worry about getting too rough. Most men, I"ve found, desire it. Tarnishing something innocent-"
  
  "I"m serious about leaving you behind." This entire conversation seemed skeevy and I didn"t like it. In response to the promise in my tone, Babette let out a heaving sigh. She dropped the coy act and climbed into the wagon without complaint. I didn"t like having her behind me, but I didn"t have much of a choice in the matter.
  
  "For the First Child of a Divine that revolves around home and family, you certainly don"t care for children, do you?" Babette questioned after a lengthy silence. The roads were poor, and they wrapped around mountains and cliffs. I could cross miles of distance in no time at all, but in Markarth, there wasn"t a flat line for miles around.
  
  "Can"t stand them," I agreed. And apparently that applied to century-old vampire lolis. Or, rather, it was how she was trying to sexualize her appearance. Like, with Lili, it was just because she was a pallum. With Babette, it was like she was trying to make a child"s appearance sexy. Especially with that last bit she said. "And I don"t suppose you"ve gotten a call from the god of Rape and Subjugation yet, have you?"
  
  Because I wanted Molag Bal gone. The rules between the Divines and Daedric Princes weren"t set in stone yet. So far, they were walking the planet at the cost of not using their powers, but consequences and rules were established. Back in Danmachi, if a god died or broke a rule, they got bounced back to heaven and were placed at the back of the waiting list. Meaning that another god got to come down.
  
  Unless they decided that a god could come right back, there had to be a consequence for death since there weren"t as many gods as there were in Danmachi.
  
  Hopefully? I could kill Molag Bal as soon as he popped up.
  
  "No. In truth, I was uncertain if the Aedra and Daedra truly had descended. It makes me nervous. The last time the gods tried to walk Nirn, it went poorly." She answered, any trace of her sultry tone gone. So, either Molag Bal either hadn"t descended yet, or he hadn"t bothered to inform the vampires. Or, he hadn"t bothered with anything less than a vampire lord.
  
  One problem at a time.
  
  "So, Sithis hasn"t connected you either?" I asked, wondering if I had a familia of assassins on my payroll. To that, Babette let out a small huff.
  
  "You betray how little you know of the Dread Father. The day that Sithis walks Nirn is the day that Nirn returns to the void. But, I suppose that if he had descended, then he would not speak to us. As you know, our Dark Brotherhood sect is unlike others, does not have a... close relationship with the Dread Father. Not in some time." Babette explained. And that was good news, I decided. The fewer gods that wanted the destruction of Nirn on Nirn, the better. "Astrid is our Matron now. And it is her orders that we obey, not the Night Mothers."
  
  Until Cicero came along. I would need to deal with him. And the Night Mother in a way that doesn't piss off a god.
  
  With that, we traveled in silence as we made our way to Markarth. There were stops along the way. Some were more avoidable than others. Others were because I wanted to search for artifacts. And Babette progressively got more and more annoyed with me when I kept finding treasure or ore veins or whatever.
  
  Regardless, for all of my detours, we still made it to Markarth in record time. Because of the roads and the mountainous terrain, people were forced to go slow. Meaning that it typically took about a week or two to get to Markarth from Falkreath. I managed it in about a day when I wasn't trying to weigh myself down with a heavy load.
  
  Markarth was a city and a half. It appeared to be built into the mountain it leaned up against -- the mountain walls were so steep and daunting that they served as the side and back walls. The front one that was marked with a massive bronze gate. They were no less daunting than the mountain walls. They were about ten of me tall, at least, and they looked like they were ten feet thick of solid unyielding stone.
  
  I could see similar stone buildings inside the place. It looked like a Dwemer city, but other races were squatting in it. But, more noticeably was the fact that the massive doors that marked the entrance to the city were the only traces of the bronze metal.
  
  "Something"s wrong," I said, looking at the city. The city gate was left open, but I didn"t see any guards. That was the only hint that something was wrong, but as I looked at the city, the more I felt that something just wasn"t right. A tug in my gut that I called instinct. I slowed my wagon and came to a stop. Babette got out and I inventoried it.
  
  My gaze darted around, looking for an obvious source for my uneasy feeling. But I found nothing. Even still, I trusted my gut and the black mist of the Ebony Mail flooded over my form, covering me with ebony. Babette made a startled noise, but said nothing about it. She wore her red dress to blend in but I saw her fingering a blade in her sleeve.
  
  With my weapon drawn, I approached the city and saw not a single guard on the walls or defending the gate. My instincts jumped to Forsworn, but I kept myself in check when a sound reached my ears. Not the sound of people screaming as they died or in fear or rage. The exact opposite, really.
  
  It was the sound of laughter. Of cheering.
  
  I looked down at Babette to make sure that I wasn"t hearing things. She offered a small shrug and a nod, confirming that she heard it to. It was confusing, but I guess it was better than everyone dying. Cautiously, I walked forward, the sound of cheering and laughing growing louder with every step. Then I stepped through the massive Dwemer metal doors, and saw the source of the cheering.
  
  The plaza that was placed in front of the doors was utterly packed with people. Men, women, and children all -- young and old -- all stood so closely together it was like they were trying to pack every single person in the city into the plaza. But they couldn"t. On the stone pathways that bridged buildings together, on bridges that stood over water, hanging out of windows and alleys were people that spilled out from the plaza.
  
  It was only because I had a good foot and a half on pretty much everyone that I saw that the wall of people had a gap. A circle around two dancing people.
  
  Because despite the music and atmosphere, I felt a familiar sensation wash over me. The sensation of standing in the presence of a god.
  
  Slowly, I moved forward through the wall of people, walking towards the god that stood at the center. With each step, my view became clearer. And once I was at the edge, having shoved my way there with ease, I had an unblocked view of those that danced.
  
  A man and a woman.
  
  The woman was breathtakingly beautiful. Silver hair that was almost white flowed over her shoulders and back in a thick mane with a hint of curls. She wore a loose fitting golden dress made of silk and with each movement, I expected it to pool around her feet. Her lips were made for smiling, and her face looked almost too perfect to be real. For a moment, I could only stare stupefied, realizing that she was probably the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. It wasn"t even a matter of attraction. It was an observable fact.
  
  She danced with a man who smiled broadly that revealed dimpled cheeks. Short brown hair smoothed back, his jawline so squared that it could be used to measure perfect angles with bright blue eyes that seemed to twinkle with mirth. He was taller than most, broad shoulders and a narrow waist while he was dressed in fine clothing.
  
  They danced to the music, swaying and twirling as they both seemed to bask in the attention.
  
  Dibella, the God of Beauty and Love.
  
  Sanguine, the God of Revelry and Debauchery.
  
  This got a whole lot more interesting.
  
  ...
  
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  Right. Right, right, right. Was this a bad thing? It didn't seem particularly bad, but given that quite literally the entire city was throwing a rager to the point the city was left unguarded... I was going to say that it was a bad thing.
  
  But clearly, I was the only one to think so. Dibella and Sanguine continued to dance, basking in the attention and adoration they received before more couples began to join them. The music was nearly lost in the sound of people cheering, laughing, singing and shouting.
  
  I didn't get any offers on account of my black wispy armor and the fact I looked like I could break everyone here in two. The fact that I could not withstanding. Instead, I fell away from the crowd, pushing my way back to the parts that weren't dancing. I saw Babette sitting on a ledge, swinging her feet back and forth like an impatient child.
  
  As I approached, she leaned down to shout in my ear over all the noise. "There is movement in the shadows," Babette alerted. She tilted her head in the direction of an alleyway that overlooked the rager. Trying to be stealthy about it, I looked around that direction first and my gaze slid over a man in an alley.
  
  Where everyone else was drunk on either ale or joy, if not both, his face was set in a scowl. He watched the crowd carefully and when he noticed I was looking in his general direction, he quickly left. My lips pressed together into a thin frown before I glanced back at the dancing gods. No matter how crowded the plaza became, they always had enough room for dramatic twirls and leaps.
  
  "This isn't good," I noted, shifting my gaze up to the keep. Despite the fact that my words should have been lost to the sea of noise, Babette somehow heard me. She cocked an eyebrow, but this wasn't the place to explain. I simply jerked my head to the keep and gestured to her to follow before pushing my way through the crowd.
  
  I needed to see just how far the party had spread. And the answer was far. I had thought I was exaggerating when I said that it was like everyone in the city was in the plaza. While that wasn't exactly true, it was only because of the number of people passed out drunk in the streets, telling me that the party had migrated through the city. Possibly several times.
  
  "This vomit is at least three days old," Babette informed, inspecting a puddle of it with a frown. While it could just have been a one off, given how every alley reeked of piss and vomit, I didn't think it was. "Quite the celebration to last three days. I'm surprised any of them are still standing."
  
  "Or there's any alcohol left in the city," I muttered. This was a problem beyond making it difficult to get food to Falkreath. For at least three days, the city had done nothing but partied, led by two gods. This was bad. This was really, really, really bad for reasons beyond the most obvious. "We need to find the Jarl," I said, increasing my speed as I jogged to the keep. On the streets were dozens of people, passed out, drunk, or so hungover they wished that they were one of the former.
  
  It didn't take long to make sense of the winding streets and track the keep. It was a large building half-built into the mountain behind it and had one of the few doors made of Dwemer metal. All the others were wood. And as I arrived, I didn't find a single guard.
  
  My lips thinned as I approached the doors and pushed them open. The interior of the keep looked utterly ransacked. The throne was empty and there wasn't a single person in sight. Not a servant, not a guard, and no Jarl.
  
  "No blood" or bodies," Babette noted as we stepped into the empty keep. Fires still blazed, though far lower than they should to keep the keep warm. That was true, I observed as my gaze swept over the hall. The tables were flipped and what had once covered them spilled onto the floor. My gaze landed on a broken barrel that was laying in the middle of a puddle.
  
  "They ransacked the keep for booze," I said, feeling... awed, for a lack of a better way to say it. The citizens of Markarth were partying so hard that they raided the keep for booze. And they got away with it. Had they driven the Jarl out of the city? Looking at this, I could believe it. Still, that was the best-case scenario. The worst-case was far more worrying. "Look around for the Jarl or any evidence where he went. I have a real bad feeling about this."
  
  Why couldn"t anything ever be simple? First Falkreath and now Markarth was a mess? I guess I should expect the Thieves Guild to have taken over Riften, or something at the rate things was going. At least Babette didn"t protest at getting ordered around and helped me search.
  
  It didn"t take long to discover something wrong. I went straight to the bedroom to see if the Jarl"s absence was planned, judging by if his clothes were missing. Instead, on the floor of the sizable bedroom, was a body. A man wearing armor, war paint on one cheek while one eye was a milky white. He was killed by a stab wound to the throat.
  
  "This didn"t happen long ago," Babette said before she stuck a finger into the wound and... ew. Ew, ew, ew, ew. EW. She licked the blood off her finger before letting out a content hum, and I was so glad that I chose to wear my helmet again or she would have seen my thoroughly grossed out expression when she looked up at me. "Within ten hours. I suspect that the assault on the keep for booze was a diversion."
  
  "To kidnap the Jarl and his family," I suspected grimly. I looked over the bedroom to see if it offered any other clues. The fact that everything was orderly meant that whoever killed this guy got the drop on him. It was impossible to tell if they had nabbed the Jarl here... and that no one knew that they were gone, hinted that they probably had a hostage to keep everyone from raising a ruckus. Swallowing a sigh, I stood up. "We need to check the prison. I don"t suppose you know where they are?"
  
  "I never had a reason to visit them," Babette answered. So we would have to find the prison ourselves. That was simple enough. Accepting that answer, we left the keep in a rush and I walked up to the first conscious person that I found outside the keep.
  
  "We"re looking for the prison, can you point us in the right way?" I asked a guy who had just finished puking in an alley. The guy blinked at me with bleary eyes, like he wasn"t quite sure what he was looking at as he processed my question. Then a slow grin tugged at the edges of his cheeks as he began to giggle like I had made a joke.
  
  But, apparently, he wasn"t laughing at a joke I had made. He was giggling at a joke he was about to make. "It"s that way," he informed, pointing to the ground. Because the prison in Markarth was a mine. Clever. Very funny. Expect it wasn"t funny at all.
  
  Slowly, I reached up and grabbed him by his tunic and lifted him off his feet with ease. That did the trick and I saw a hint of panic in his eyes that sobered him up enough. "I"ll show you the way," he hastily corrected. He nearly collapsed into a heap when I dropped him, but he managed to stay on his feet. The guy practically ran away from me, but he seemed to be running in the direction of the prison.
  
  Following him, I saw more traces that the party had raged throughout the city as we walked by the Temple of Dibella. It was a massive tower with a set of stone steps leading up to a set of large doors that were left open. However, I could tell what was going on inside. Simply because it had spilled outside of the temple itself.
  
  A group of men surrounded a young woman just outside of the gates, all of them naked. My first thought was that something wrong was happening and I was about to march up the steps to start stomping on their heads until they cracked open like eggs. Only for the girl to take the cock out of her mouth while she was being railed by two other guys at the same time, so she could shout, "I can handle more of you! Quite touching yourself and start touching me."
  
  That summoned another three guys to step forward as she resumed sucking. She jacked two off with her hands while another two used her hair. It was a real surreal experience because she looked like she was wearing the remnants of a temple robe.
  
  Right. Well, I guess they were enjoying themselves and I had way bigger problems.
  
  The guy brought us to the prison, leading us through a tunnel before he came to an abrupt stop. "Uhhhh... That"s not supposed to be open," I heard him mutter, and I already knew my fears were going to be confirmed. I walked down the steps and I saw it. The front gate to the prison was open. Wide-open. Not a single guard in sight. My lips tugged down into a frown as I pushed the guy to the side and walked into the prison.
  
  It was empty. Which was bad for a prison in general, but it was especially bad for Markarth considering that the Forsworn king was imprisoned here.
  
  "Well... I guess we know who kidnapped the Jarl," I said, trying to find a silver lining in this mess. I just wanted to buy some food. Now I was dealing with... this. How did the Dragonborn do it? A week in and this was already driving me up the wall. I was fine with challenges and the like, but just cleaning up other people"s messes was... annoying as all hell.
  
  "The Jarl has been kidnapped?!" The guy shouted while Babette looked around for a moment.
  
  "Are you certain he"s still alive?" She questioned, sounding like she couldn"t care less. And she probably didn't. It wasn"t like she had a horse in this race. I did(,) though.
  
  I nodded, "Probably. The guy was imprisoned here for decades. Forced to work in a mine. I can"t say for certain if he was specifically mistreated but all things considered, he probably was. If only by the Jarl"s father since they had bad blood between them. So, I"m guessing that Madanach took the Jarl and his family to flip the tables on him. An ironic vengeance and they would be useful hostages."
  
  Madanach, the King in Rags, was described as ruthless and pragmatic. It"s something that I could see him doing.
  
  "And I suppose we"re going to go rescue him?" Babette questioned, sounding thoroughly annoyed. Almost as annoyed as I was. Was it really too much to ask that something be simple in this place? I couldn"t even talk to the gods that had more or less taken over the city or start to deal with that headache. Honestly, I wasn"t sure if I wanted to. Maybe I could slip in and out without them noticing and I could just... not deal with them.
  
  That sounded like a plan.
  
  "We are," I confirmed. Well... I guess that this was a good way to become Thane of Markarth. At the rate I was going, I was going to end up the Thane of all nine holds before winter set in. "I know where they will go. Hey, guy," I said, making the guy snap out of his mini-panic attack as he realized just how bad this was. The Forsworn had plagued Markarth for decades at this point. It would be like learning that you had lost Osama Bin Laden or something. "Where"s Hag Rock Redoubt?"
  
  The guy looked at me with wide eyes, "I... it"s to the mountain range south of here, but that area belongs to the Forsworn. Why?"
  
  "Because that"s where they"ll take the Jarl and his family," I guessed. It was the stronghold of the Forsworn in the games. It might not necessarily be true, but if we were going to find a lead then that's where it would be. "And if he was only taken about ten hours ago... we might just be able to catch them on the road."
  
  ...
  
  There wasn't even anyone that we could tell that the Jarl had been kidnapped. The captain of the guard was somewhere, possibly dead or drunk. Not that it would have mattered because it would have taken time to gather up the guards, more time to sober them up, then more time to get them in a state that could be called fighting fit. So, I didn't bother.
  
  As a Project X level of party raged in the city, we left it behind and hit the road. And there wasn't a doubt in my mind that the party would still be raging by the time that we got back with the Jarl and his family in tow.
  
  We followed the roads, traveling in the general direction of Hag Rock Redoubt by following the mountain range. It was rough terrain, the cart had to be inventoried more than once to make our way to the Forsworn hideout. And that made it so much more alarming considering that it was so close to Markarth. They shared a mountain, almost.
  
  The Redoubt looked like it could be a city itself. A half-collapsed city filled with people judging by the fires and the smoke. Unlike Markarth, however, it wasn"t in a state of utter chaos.
  
  "Oh... great, they"re planning to attack," Babette noted. That made sense. With Markarth in a state of disarray, they were gathering their strength and were going to take the city while it was weak. Except there was one small wrinkle with the plan.
  
  "No, I doubt that," I dismissed, looking at the thousands of people down in the Redoubt. An army. "They know that if they take the city now, then they become the target. Ulfric would stroll over here and take the city again like he did the last time. And he"d do it too because it"ll buy him a lot of popularity. They won"t be able to keep the city. And if they did, then why bother taking the Jarl hostage at all?" It didn"t make sense. They were gathering their strength alright, but not to attack the city.
  
  "I suppose you have a point," Babette admitted as we crouched behind a rock that gave us a great view of the Redoubt. And of the road that led to its wooden gates. We couldn"t find the Jarl on the road, but I"m guessing that was a case of them taking backroads rather than them beating us here. "What shall we do then?"
  
  I glanced over at her, "We wait for the guys sneaking up on us to reveal themselves and kill them, for a start," I answered easily enough. My voice carried just loud enough that I heard someone shift behind us and the sound of a bow being drawn. Several bows. Turning around, I saw a dozen people perched on the ridge above us. They wore furs, teeth, and bones while their faces were painted. They glared hatefully at me as I stood up, unafraid, and placed myself between their bows and Babette. They would think I was just protecting a helpless girl, and they would be proven wrong rather shortly.
  
  Beyond the first dozen or so were dozens more. Most of them looked like they... well, like they had spent decades in prison. You"d think that hard labor would build up muscle, but when you didn"t eat enough it makes you look like a skeleton.
  
  "Hello there," I greeted them, "I was looking for you lot."
  
  A man stepped forward. He was dressed in rags, his beard was down to his waist and his hair was pure white. Despite the stress lines that marred his face, his dark blue eyes were flat and measured. Hard, even.
  
  "I rather doubt that considering you arrived here before us," Madanach, I"m guessing, said in a cold and measured tone. His eyes were on me. All of their eyes were on me. And they should be. I was the guy in the Ebony Mail that was seven and a half feet tall.
  
  "I wouldn"t worry much about specifics," I said with an exaggerated shrug of my shoulders. "Do you have the Jarl with you, King in Rags? I was looking to rescue him," I said, cocking my head up at him in challenge. The King in Rags looked down at me and I could feel his unease. He didn"t give any hint of it, but it was in his eyes. He looked nervous. So close to the finish line, but I was one hell of a roadblock.
  
  Because, even with close to thirty men, he seemed nervous. And he should be.
  
  Slowly, Madanach nodded and a man was dragged forward. His nose was broken badly, his short-cropped beard was soaked with dried blood, one eye was swollen shut. I had never seen the Jarl of Markarth before, but judging by the circlet he wore, he was the Jarl.
  
  "Jarl Igmund," I greeted him calmly. "I'll be bringing you home soon enough."
  
  "They... have my family," Jarl Igmund gritted out through a swollen jaw.
  
  To that, Madanach nodded, "And they will be killed should you not let us by..."
  
  "Jericho, Thane of Whiterun and Falkreath," I introduced. And after dealing with this mess, I had better be the Thane of Markarth. Madanach actually looked a bit concerned about that. Becoming a Thane was a feat, but becoming a Thane in two Holds?
  
  He was silent for a moment as he looked down at me, "I see. I suppose that explains your confidence," he remarked. "But my men can fill every gap in your armor with arrows before you can even think to move."
  
  He was stalling. But so was I.
  
  "And you know that rock and iron won't be enough to punch through ebony. All I have to do is worry about my eyes," I taunted, and it worked better on the ones with the arrows trained on me. "So, let's see if your guys can make that shot. How about it? You'd each get a free shot at me. Then once those free shots are over, I'll march up those steps and kill every single one of you."
  
  Madanach stared hard down at me while the others looked about ready to take him up on his offer. "Do you even know who I am? What I represent-"
  
  "If you have to tell me, then it means you aren't important enough for me to bother learning about," I said, trying to provoke them. To make sure their attention was on me and me alone.
  
  "Another arrogant Nord. These lands belonged to my people."
  
  "I honestly don't think I could care less," I interjected. "They might have been yours at some point but they belong to Skyrim now. Too bad, so sad-" apparently one of the bowmen decided it was my turn to be interrupted because he took a shot at me. The arrow raced towards my face, directly towards one of my eyes, right up until I batted away with a careless swipe. The arrow hit the ground with a plink and I made it a point to continue without missing a beat. "I really don't see how that's any business of mine," I finished.
  
  The action sealed just how outmatched they were. I saw the brief look of panic on Madanach's face, but by then it was too late.
  
  A red-blue blur moved in their formation, hitting the man that had the Jarl. His throat was ripped out by Babette, who had used the attention on me to sneak around them. Before the first body had hit the ground, Babette pounced on another with a frenzied cry that barely sounded human but it was filled with pure joy. Seizing the opportunity, I rushed forward and cut through the dozen archers in the blink of an eye.
  
  However, my gaze never left Madanach's. I thought he would be one of those never gives up types. Like me, in a way. The kind that could look an overwhelming force in the face and still decide to kick its ass. That's what he had been doing for decades at this point. Instead, I saw his eyes fill with the emotion that could only be called defeat. I almost felt bad when I sliced through the others and plunged my sword into his stomach.
  
  The Jarl was secure behind me and Babette falling into a feeding frenzy was one hell of a distraction. The prisoners were taking off running in different directions, most of them at least, leaving only a few others to guard the woman with a wrapped bundle in her arms. She fell to the ground as a Forsworn guard raised an axe to bring down on her.
  
  I launched my sword at him, it punched through his chest before it flew on through him. Another guard rushed me, thinking I was disarmed right up until I crushed his skull with a near casual backhand. I glanced over to see Babette was gnawing at a guy's throat like a chew toy, her face and hair drenched with blood that soaked into her dress.
  
  Everyone else was dead. A very short battle, but against normal humans, that was to be expected, I guess.
  
  "It's going to be okay," I told the woman and her baby. Despite my soothing tone, she curled up into a ball, trying to protect the baby, and her expression was a mask of fear. And... that was fair, I guess. I would be afraid of me too if I had just watched someone that looked like me tear through over a dozen guys, especially if I barely weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet too.
  
  Then she looked over to Jarl Igread before scrambling to her feet and rushing towards his side. The battered Jarl wrapped his arms around her and shook with relief amongst the corpses. The scene was ruined a bit by Babette continuing to use a guy's neck like a capri sun, but it didn't stop me from feeling good. I had rescued a family. Like a hero. And that felt damn good.
  
  "So close," I heard one of the corpses whisper. I zeroed in on the body of Madanach. He held his stomach, keeping the burnt organs inside, but he was done for. Slowly, he turned to look at me and there were tears in his eyes with one snaking down his cheek. "I was so close to seeing my home again."
  
  I looked at him, then over at my sword before I started walking to pick it up. I had thrown it way too hard. The thing was buried in a rock. "You know," I started as I ripped my sword free. "You got too greedy. If you hadn't taken the Jarl or his family, then I would have had no reason to come here. You could have just gone home, gathered your strength... I still probably would have ended up killing you eventually when you became a problem that needed fixing, but you would have gotten to live a bit longer."
  
  Madanach looked up at me, tears flowing down his cheeks that his beard soaked up. He swallowed thickly, realizing the truth in my words. "I suppose I was," he grunted out. "But... would it be too much to ask... for you to let me see it? Just a little... I... I haven't seen my home in so very long."
  
  I looked down at him, meeting his gaze for a long moment before a sigh escaped me. Then I plunged my sword into his heart. He gasped, his mouth falling open but he went into shock and died before he could say another word.
  
  "To deny an old man his final request... I approve," Babette informed as she walked up, looking like she had bathed in blood.
  
  "He would have found a way to warn everyone down there. I'm good, but I'm not sure I could protect you all in that fight," I informed when I saw that the Jarl was paying close attention to the exchange. As odd as it was to think, I could probably take on a thousand normal humans. It would take time, but I would be willing to put money on me for that fight.
  
  But while I would be fighting all of them, they wouldn't all be fighting me. Some could run or they could surge past me. And then they would find the Jarl and his family.
  
  "Thank you," Jarl Igmund said after a moment. "I will see that you are rewarded for this." He turned his attention in the direction of the Forsworn camp(.) "Though the trouble seems like it has only begun for my Hold."
  
  I thought about the raging party going at his city and the army getting ready to invade. The King in Rags might have been willing to play the long game but I'm guessing that cooler heads wouldn't prevail when they stumbled across their king dead at the final stretch.
  
  "And I'll be there when the trouble comes to your front door. But first, we should bring you all home." I reassured them as I turned my attention to the Redoubt. At the hundreds, possibly thousands that dwelled within. I tried to picture what they would look like in a solid wall of people baying for blood outside of the gates. And I pictured the anger of those that lived within the walls that acted as agents for the now-dead king.
  
  This is what I get for taking detours.
  
  I could only hope that Hestia and the others were having a better time of it back home.
  
  ...
  
  Hestia hummed a song to herself as she painted the interior to the Hestia House while the Hestia Manor was being built. And so was the rest of Helgen, for that manner. Shipments of stone and wood were being ordered from across Skyrim and people looking for work found themselves working for their Familia.
  
  It was odd, Hestia reflected as she painted the living room a lovely shade of blue -- for so long, she had been so desperate for a single familia member. Then she found Jericho and Lili and Lydia. Now... now Hestia found that she could be... picky. She could pick and choose who she wanted in her familia. She could add filters of the kind of children she wanted -- before Jericho, that filter was 'anyone that wanted to join.' now, Heatia wanted... people that were brave. And kind. Gentle and fierce in equal measures.
  
  So far, there hadn't been any others that met her new standards.
  
  Hestia let out a content noise as she put the finishing touches onto her living room wall. Taking a step back, she nodded in satisfaction. As she did so, the door opened and when she glanced over, Hestia saw that it was Lydia.
  
  "It looks nice, Divine Hestia," Lydia commented. She was soaked through with sweat despite the cold. Ever since she learned that she could improve her status through training, Lydia gave herself a punishing regime. Running, working out, fighting imaginary enemies, whatever she thought would help her improve.
  
  "Thank you! I'll get started on your room next, okay?" Hestia beamed at her newest child. It was a little lonely without having Jericho here every night, but Lydia was helping more than words could ever say. "And would you like me to update your falna now? I'm sure you've made a lot of progress."
  
  Lydia hesitated a moment before she shook her head. "Thank you for the offer, Divine Hestia, but I believe it would be best to avoid updating my falna for a time. Until Jericho deems fit to allow me to travel with him," she explained, sounding like she was worried that might upset her. It was a little disappointing, to be honest, but Hestia was coming to expect that.
  
  This world was so very different from Orario. The Dungeon offered a constant and consistent challenge that an adventure could use to improve themselves. Here, the challenges were spread out. You had to go searching for them and hope that what you faced would be enough to improve your skill without overwhelming you, or offering enough of a challenge in the first place.
  
  Which was why Lydia wished to spread out her updates, much like Jericho was, to improve as much as she could before hitting a small plateau.
  
  "It'll be different when we have a few more members. They'll be able to spar with you and you'll be able to help each other improve," Hestia offered reassurance as Lydia closed the door behind her. Her youngest child smiled in response, looking forward to it.
  
  However, before she could say another word, there was a knock at the door. Lydia's eyes went flat, shifting into bodyguard mode before she turned around. She put up her reflective shield and gripped her sword in a tight grip. Lydia went to open the door, but Hestia skipped across the room towards it first. As much as Hestia adored Lydia, it couldn"t be denied that she was a little... growly.
  
  Swinging open the door with a wide smile on her face, Hestia saw a tall man with faint golden skin, eyes, and hair. He wore a long black leather cloak and clothes. Intricate designs were stitched into it, marking him as someone important. If the cold look on his face hadn"t already -- it was the expression of someone that thought they were too important to be in a place or doing something.
  
  "Hullo!" Hestia greeted the man as she opened the door fully. Lydia was ready to strike beside her, but the man didn"t seem to notice her. He looked down at her with narrowed eyes hiding barely concealed disdain. "Can I help you?"
  
  "I would hope so... Divine... Hestia," the man greeted, saying the words smoothly but he couldn"t quite hide the hesitance as he spoke her official title of this world. "I am Regis of the Thalmor Embassy. You are being called into questioning-" He started before he gasped, going ramrod straight. For a moment, Hestia feared that Lydia had stabbed him.
  
  Hestia had heard about the Thalmor and it was honestly astonishing how much the Nords hated them. This world actually had evil gods and the Nords would blame the Thalmor for every bad thing or accident before they even considered it was an evil god"s doing.
  
  But that thought was quickly put to rest when Hestia felt herself getting pushed back while Lysida put herself between the two of them, her shield raised high. Because of that, she missed what happened next but from what she saw... the clothes on the man fell to the ground in a pile and a cheese wheel dropped on top of them.
  
  "Hahahaha! That never gets old! You wouldn"t believe what I had to go through to get Forky -- I had to collect every kind of cheese all across the world -- cheddar, mozzarella, feta, brie, and pecorino romano! In slices, wedges, balls, and wheels. Quite the adventure!" The proclamation was followed with a chuckling laugh. Then a cough.
  
  Slowly, Hestia stood up and peeked from behind Lydia"s shield. And there stood a woman dressed in purple and green, her short silver hair was pushed back to reveal matching colored eyes and a wide smile on her face. And it was then that Hestia felt it -- the presence of a god. Except she should have felt it far earlier... had she found a way to hide her godly presence? Better yet, who was she?
  
  As if to answer her question, a small man darted forward. He was well dressed, wearing a dark purple overcoat and green trousers while his golden blonde hair was twisted up like a candle flame. His face was sharp angles, including his ears which were tapered off into a point that marked him as an elf. His eyes though were wide and a startling shade of blue.
  
  He pulled out a small cone and aimed it at them, "Introducing the Divine Crusader, the Hero of Kvach, the Gray Fox, the Listener to the Dark Brotherhood, the Grand Champion of Area, Grandmaster of the Fighter's Guild and the Archmage of the Mage Guild! She is the Prince of Madness herself -- Sheogorath!" The elf shouted, pure joy in his tone as he stood a bit taller while the woman behind him gave a theatrical bow.
  
  "And I," he continued, "am her number one fan!" He introduced himself, giving the title as if it were his name.
  
  ""Ello there! Sorry about turning that freakishly tall candlestick into a bit of cheese -- you can have that wheel if you want, my pockets are already full -- but I just couldn"t help myself," Sheogorath said, stepping into her home as she looked around. "Lovely place, I like the color! Very pretty. Anyway, those Altmer busybody killjoys... I do believe they have taken something from me. Something more important than food, water, shelter or cheese wheels."
  
  "Oh," Hestia said, concerned as she took a step forward. This was the Prince of Madness. Wasn"t he supposed to be a boy, though? "What did they take?" Maybe she could help?
  
  "My clout!" Sheogorath announced, glaring down at the cheese wheel... that... had once been a person. "Since I"ve been frolicking through the woods a bit, the decks are beginning clear up a bit up top," she explained, tapping the side of her head. "And I"m almost completely positive that I stopped the apocalypse! A couple of times even!"
  
  Hestia met Sheogorath"s gaze and saw something that didn"t match the smile on her face. "And I want my clout back! With interest! So, where"s that freakishly tall giant of yours? I want to ride his shoulders into battle and take back what was mine!"
  
  Oh... Hestia really hoped that Jericho was having a better time than her because she just felt things get really complicated.
  
  ...
  
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  "I had hoped that I would never see my home in such a dreadful state," Jarl Igmund muttered as we stepped through the city gates. The crowd had moved from the plaza to somewhere else in the city, but I still heard music and laughing. They left behind the dead drunk, and possibly flat out dead, empty kegs, half eaten food, and clothes. A lot of them. Judging by the amount, I seem to have missed a rather large orgy.
  
  Right.
  
  "Did they even notice my absence?" He muttered while his wife pressed against him for comfort, but it wasn't clear who was comforting who. And I didn't have the heart to tell him that they had no clue he was gone.
  
  "How did this mess even start?" I asked as I turned my attention to the gates. I grabbed one door and started pushing to close them. The Forsworn were on their way. They might not be mobilizing yet, but they would be soon enough. I had inventoried the bodies, but Babette was a messy eater, so they could find the evidence of the battle. Or one of the prisoners that had escaped could tell the Forsworn. Or the King in Rags misses his deadline and they assume the worst.
  
  No matter what, they would find out. It was just a question of how much time we had.
  
  This was so not what I signed up for.
  
  "Dibella took residence in this city some weeks ago," Jarl Igmund started with a tired sigh, my lack of an answer to his question was answer enough. "At first, I thought it was a blessing. A Divine walking the planet, living in my city... I was honored."
  
  I grabbed a massive and thick plank to barricade the doors. "But?"
  
  "But about a week ago, we had a... disagreement. We had an understanding of sorts, or I at least thought we did. She lived in her temple surrounded by her worshipers, while I remained in the keep. But, my citizens began to go to her for leadership. Like children, if I said no they would go to Divine Dibella and ask her to receive a yes."
  
  Ah. I saw that coming. If your god and your leader were in the same room, and each told you to do the opposite thing, who would you listen to? I wasn't religious, despite everything, but I couldn't imagine most people picking to obey the leader. If Hestia and the President gave me a choice of who to follow, then my answer was Hestia. But that probably didn't mean much since I wasn't sleeping with the president.
  
  "But she... is a... short-sighted fool," Jarl Igmund muttered, visibly swallowing the much harsher words he wanted to use. "She knows nothing of governance. Worse, she doesn't care to learn. She just... lives in her temple while committing all kinds of acts of debauchery. And as she continued to give the people what they wanted, the more they chose to follow her. Within a week, my authority was gone. Few followed me out of loyalty, but... not enough. The people, the guards, everyone else..." he trailed off, another sigh escaping him and this one betrayed just how utterly exhausted he was.
  
  I felt bad for the guy. He was the leader of this Hold, and no one even noticed when he got kidnapped. And after this... he was a Jarl in name only. The people had swept the rug from underneath him, he didn't have the strength or force to back up his authority.
  
  We walked through the empty streets and Jarl Igmund looked at his city with mournful eyes. "Then Sanguine came. He came here with dozens of others, entire villages, all drunk and high off skooma. I thought that as a Daedric Prince and a Divine, they would despise each other. Instead, it was like throwing oil on a fire. Divine Dibella's followers joined the party that Sanguine brought to the city, and the people took that as a sign of permission. I tried to maintain order, but... you can see how well that turned out."
  
  "The entire city dropped what it was doing, all preparation for winter, and just... lost themselves. They let go of all inhibitions because they saw the gods do the same. It's been like this for a week now and there are no signs of it slowing down," he continued, hunching over as if an incredible weight was just tossed onto his shoulders.
  
  Yeah, I felt really bad for the guy.
  
  Then he turned to me, "I never asked what brought you to Markarth?"
  
  "Falkreath is suffering a major food shortage. The Orcs raided pretty much every farm in the Hold on their way to join Malacath," I answered, trying to not kick the guy while he was down. Because it was pretty clear that they would need about as much help as Falkreath did.
  
  Jarl Igmund just shook his head, "You would think that the gods walking Nirn would be a good thing. So far, they have only caused disaster, it seems." He muttered bitterly to himself, but I heard him anyway. And I couldn"t exactly begrudge him for that opinion. He definitely drew the short straw, from what I"ve seen.
  
  Though, what I was more worried about was how Hestia was going to try to blame herself for this mess. When she heard how the gods she had empowered had followed her example of walking Nirn without their powers, she was going to think that she was responsible for this. The Orcs burning villages, Markarth being a massive frat party, people dying because of it...
  
  Hestia was going to try to blame herself. And that bothered me.
  
  I didn"t say anything in response as I turned my attention to the sounds of the party growing closer. Which was a really worrying sign considering that we were heading towards the keep. Despite the growing noise, I heard Jarl Igmund let out an incredibly bitter sigh as we rounded a corner to see that a crowd flowed out from the keep.
  
  My lips pressed together in a thin line as I slowed down a step and leaned down to Babette, "Find the Forsworn agents in the city and kill them." I ordered and Babette flashed me a genuine smile as she looked up at me. It felt like I was getting a little too used to ordering people"s deaths, but it was unavoidable.
  
  This situation wasn"t something I could just wash my hands of and call it a day. If I did, then the city would fall. A lot of people would die and Hestia would blame herself for this tragedy caused by human stupidity. Beyond that, it would weaken Skyrim further, it would tip the balances towards the Stormcloaks and someone would have to clean up the mess. Given how things have been going so far, I"m betting that person would be me.
  
  So, the Forsworn agents in the city had to die. Every single one of them. Otherwise, we could be sabotaged more than we already were.
  
  "Allow me to lead the way, Jarl Igmund," I said, speeding back up as we neared the crowd that flowed out of the keep. I offered because I knew they wouldn"t get out of the way for him. He seemed to know it too because he nodded sadly and fell in step behind me with his family while Babette got lost in the crowd.
  
  The crowd itself reeked of booze and sex. More than a couple of them didn"t have any clothes on, some danced while most fucked out in the open. The cheering masked the groans and moans of debauchery. Even still, as lost in pleasure as people were, they were quick to move out of the way when I approached. Some hands glided over my armor, an open invitation, but I just pressed forward through the crowd.
  
  The keep was an absolute fucking wreck. The stench of sex was so strong it was almost enough to make me gag. It was filled to the absolute brim -- the stairs, the main hall, the balconies... and, as I looked up when I noticed a jet of fluid spray down, I saw that people were fucking on the chandeliers. And from the look of it, one of them had gotten a bit too rough because a chandelier was missing.
  
  It was amazing what could change in so little time. Not the keep, but for me. Before I died, before I met Hestia and went through everything that brought me here... I had just been another fratboy. I would have loved this party. An all you can eat and fuck party? A rager that lasted days on end with no signs of slowing down?
  
  Six months ago, this place would have been my personal heaven in all likelihood.
  
  Now, I just felt overwhelming annoyance.
  
  I forced my way up the steps, pushing through a wall of moaning flesh before I reached the top. There sat the two responsible. The throne that had been there previously was gone, nowhere to be found. In its place were two smaller thrones placed next to each other.
  
  Sanguine sat naked on his, a beautiful woman in each arm -- one kissed away at his lips while another trailed kisses down his neck as she grasped at his arms and chest. A third woman was planted between his leg, her head bobbing on his cock like her life depended on it. More women laid on the steps leading up to the thrones, some of them looking like they already had a turn while others got themselves ready for theirs.
  
  Sitting next to him was Dibella. She was as stunning as the first time I saw her, only now she seemed more radiant. A sheen of sweat covered her face, her hair was slightly frazzled, and her gaze was half-lidded. Another woman sat on the throne with her, in Dibella"s lap. A younger woman in her late teens at the oldest, stripped down and wearing an expression of utter bliss as Dibella"s fingers worked at her nipples and clit.
  
  All around me was chaos and debauchery, completely ignorant of what was coming.
  
  I took off my helmet and took in a slow, deep breath, letting the disgusting air fill my lungs, and my thoughts composed my feelings into a simple message.
  
  "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I threw back my head and shouted the words at the top of my lungs, my words washing over the crowd of drunken fornicators. As my message was heard, there was a stunned silence as everyone seemed to flinch as one, going still like a deer in headlights as they turned to look at me.
  
  "Ah, shit, you scared me limp!" Sanguine broke that brief silence with a laugh, the girl between his legs hesitantly removing his cock from her mouth. There was a wave of laughter at that while Dibella leaned forward, studying my face for a moment before she lit up.
  
  "You"re Hestia"s lover!" She realized, a broad smile appearing on her face. It almost looked out of place considering the scenery, but she seemed genuinely excited to see me. "I thought it was you earlier, but I was a bit distracted." The girl in her lap snuggled into her side and Dibella draped an arm over her, bringing her in close. "Is Hestia here? I was hoping to get some one on one girl time with her."
  
  Given the girl on her lap, I didn"t like that implication.
  
  "She"s not," I answered over the general muttering of people, and the few moans of a few that decided that a seven-foot-tall behemoth of a man shouting at them to shut up wasn"t enough to stop them from fucking. I was impressed honestly. Deep down underneath being pissed off as all hell. "I"m here to put an end to the party. It"s gone on long enough-"
  
  Sanguine smiled a deadly smile, idly running his fingers through a woman"s hair as they cuddled into him, "No one likes a killjoy," he warned while Dibella pouted.
  
  "Oh, I"m not the killjoy," I responded, looking around at the people. "The killjoys are the ten thousand Forsworn heading here to kill every single person here because you were all too drunk and horny to notice that there was a jailbreak and your Jarl was kidnapped."
  
  Now there was dead silence in the keep, so quiet it was as if everyone was holding their breath.
  
  "The Jarl was kidnapped?" Dibella questioned, sounding honestly surprised by the revelation. "I thought he just left."
  
  "No," Jarl Igmund said through gritted teeth as he stepped forward, "I would rather die than leave this city by choice. I would rather die than leave its citizens in your hands."
  
  Dibella looked a little put out by that, recoiling at the venom in his tone. Sanguine simply cocked an eyebrow at that, a smile still tugging at his lips. I took in the scene -- the honest surprise in Dibella's expression, the two thrones...
  
  "A shame that you feel that way," Sanguine remarked with a careless shrug. "But we've been managing just fine without you, so..." he trailed off with a smaller, far more pointed shrug.
  
  "Things have gone on long enough," I interjected. "There are people fucking on the ceiling. That's a good sign to toss the towel in. You've had a good run, but enough is enough."
  
  Sanguine looked up at the chandeliers, making everyone else do the same as the couple awkwardly waved at us. The god of debauchery laughed loudly as he clapped his hands, "So they are! Nice going!"
  
  "But," he continued after a moment, "I can't say I care for being ordered around. Not exactly used to it." He admitted freely with a shrug. Now, there were times when I was hardly the best judge of character, but I had him pegged as he radiated smugness and confidence.
  
  Sanguine was a guy used to being in control. He was someone used to having power. And he should, he was a Daedric Prince after all.
  
  "I'm not here to order you around, Lord Sanguine, or you Divine Dibella," I started diplomatically. "I'm here to offer the people here two options." Amusement shone in his eyes as he gestured for me to continue.
  
  "Option number one? You all get dressed, sober up, and you get ready for the invasion of your city willingly," I offered, my gaze sweeping over everyone around me. There was a whole lot of foot shuffling and shameful looks.
  
  "And behind door number two?" Sanguine asked, lounging in his chair while Dibella seemed far more concerned.
  
  "You all decide to continue to party anyway. Then I start executing people until I hit that magical number where people start taking this threat seriously," I growled out, settling my gaze on Sanguine.
  
  "That would be murder, wouldn't it?" He asked, sounding like he actually wasn't entirely certain.
  
  Jarl Igmund stepped in, "It would not because the executions would be sanctioned by me. He acts in my name as the Thane of Markarth." Oh, so at least some good came from this. I was the Thane of three Holds now.
  
  "Jumping to executions seems a bit extreme," Dibella pointed out as she went to get up. The girl slid off her lap while a few of her worshipers rushed to drape a sunshine yellow silk robe over her. And it took absolutely every ounce of will that I had to not check her out.
  
  Instead, I just shook my head, "Is it when everyone here is dead otherwise?" I questioned before I shrugged my shoulders, "Well, maybe not everyone. I did just kill their king, and I'm betting they'll want some payback for the Markarth incident some time ago, so whoever they don't kill will probably end up wishing that they had died." I didn't know if the Elder Scrolls gods had the lie detector ability that the Danmachi ones did, but regardless, Dibella seemed to believe me.
  
  The joyous smiles and flirty looks were gone, replaced by a grim mask. At the same time, Sanguine smacked the ass of one of the women that hung off of him before standing up, revealing himself without a hint of shame.
  
  "Sounds dangerous and life-threatening. I'm not about that life," He informed as he walked down the steps, ignoring how women grasped at him. There was a confident grin on his lips, "I'm just here for fun. The whole 'everyone is going to die' vibe you have going on really isn"t doing anything for me. So, I'm going to jump ship before the storm. Anyone that wants to come with can. I'm thinking of going to Solitude next." He continued, brushing past me without a care.
  
  I could hear Jarl Igmud's teeth grinding next to me, "Yes. I believe that would be for the best. Markarth is not the place for soft men with weak hearts," he said, turning to face Sanguine who didn't even stop to respond to the insult. "Those that wish to join you are free to. If they would abandon Markarth now, then they are unworthy to live here in the first place." There was hate in his voice. Real hate. The kind of hate that made a man commit a grave mistake and not regret it.
  
  Because people started following Sanguine. The women that he had been with wasted absolutely no time following him. And their utter lack of hesitance emboldened others. More people followed the Daedric Prince of Debauchery and Revelry until the keep began to empty out.
  
  Because people were sheep. They saw which way the wind was blowing and they acted like a bag in the wind. And I couldn't blame them for it. Not really. I was pissed as hell, but I couldn't blame them. If it was a choice between an epic party or fighting for your life... well, that was a pretty easy choice for most people.
  
  "Good riddance," Jarl Igmund muttered, thoroughly unmoved by just how empty the keep became. If I had to make a guess, more than half had left. And if I had to guess again, the half that stayed were the old, weak, children, and Forsworn spies.
  
  I just came here for some food. What the fuck was this shit?
  
  "We must prepare," Dibella decided, her face twisted into an angry glare aimed at the crowd's retreating back. Though, I was willing to bet that she was glaring at one man in particular. They seemed to get along pretty well until this divided them.
  
  Jarl Igmund turned to look at Dibella, and I could see the harsh retort that weighed on his tongue. Anger burned in his eyes, glaring at her with the same hate that he directed at Sanguine. But it softened a fraction before he closed his eyes and let out a small sigh. There was a difference between them -- Sanguine left and Dibella stayed.
  
  "We must. The people will take most of the food, and we can't take it back without starting a riot," he said, looking around at those that had stayed. Or, rather, the supplies that were wasted. "So we cannot accept a siege and hope relief comes."
  
  "What about open battle?" I asked, making the Jarl smile ruefully at me.
  
  "We don't have the numbers anymore. You are a fine fighter, but ten thousand men..." he trailed off as he looked at me, slowly growing concerned and cautious... "Do you believe you could take on ten thousand men? At once?" He asked, sounding doubtful of the claim.
  
  And I thought about it. Despite all my progress, I wasn't invincible. All it took was a bad matchup or a silver bullet that ignored my defenses. Like the Ebony Mail.
  
  Ten thousand men were a lot. A whole lot. It had taken me a few hours to kill three hundred back during the War Game. By the end of it, I had been physically and emotionally exhausted. Now I was facing against over thirty times that number.
  
  "Alone... I don't think they would be able to kill me, but I doubt I would be able to kill all of them. Eventually, they'll just run," I said, feeling a bit arrogant to say that ten thousand men would run from me. "Or they'll just wash over me like the tide so it won't matter."
  
  Jarl Igmund was giving me an odd look, so I continued. "Between my equipment, and my abilities, I'm confident I won't lose to the Forsworn. But just because I won't lose doesn't mean that Markarth will win." I explained, frowning in thought.
  
  For the most part, the Forsworn were just normal people. And I could kill them with utter ease. It was the Hagravens and the Briarhearts that had me worried. But, even then, I was confident that I would be able to kill them.
  
  That wasn't the issue.
  
  "Let us rest then reconvene later today to go over our options. By then things will have settled and we'll know what we're working with," Jarl Igmund decided. I nodded, figuring that was a good idea. We both glanced at Dibella, who nodded as well.
  
  "My worshipers will help clean the mess we have made," she decided. At the very least, she was owning up to it.
  
  "Then my wife and I will take our leave," Jarl Igmund decided as he led his grateful wife away. We watched them go, and that seemed to be some kind of signal for everyone else to leave as well. Some walked but most stumbled out of the keep. I hoped they would sober up soon. Though, maybe it was best that they stayed drunk until Sanguine and his followers had a decent head start.
  
  Dibella went to the girl that still sat on the throne, utterly boneless and dead asleep. Her followers gathered up, cleaning the place like they hadn"t just spent the past week fucking nonstop. A sigh escaped me as I walked out of the keep, running a hand through my hair. I took a seat on the edge of the wall, watching the city put itself back together and people gathering up their things to leave.
  
  "When did I become the responsible one?" I couldn"t help but wonder, unsure if I should be happy with my progress or not. A handful of months ago, I would have been pissed as fuck is some asshole wandered in and shut a party down. Now I was pissed as fuck that the party was being thrown in the first place.
  
  I"d like to call it personal growth, but I suspected that a large part of it was the fact that I had to clean up the mess.
  
  Because that"s what this became. An utterly massive mess.
  
  This became a battle. A real battle. This wasn"t raiding a dungeon or even competing in a War Game. Ten thousand Forsworn, maybe more, maybe less, they were coming here to take Markarth. Take it and extract their vengeance on everyone that remained here. The people that were brave or devout enough to stay behind.
  
  And, without meaning to, I was right in the middle of that mess. It didn"t feel real. Not really. But it certainly put things into perspective. I was in Skyrim to save the world. All of it.
  
  I really couldn"t afford to balk at saving one city, could I?
  
  My gaze shifted upward towards the sky. As much as I wanted to bitch about the situation, the fact remained that I was here. And I wasn"t leaving. "Have to do something or Hestia"s going to cry," I muttered to myself, and that was just another responsibility tossed on top of the rest. However, I heard a giggle behind me and I knew who it was as her presence washed over me.
  
  Looking over, I saw it was Dibella, who looked a little more cleaned up, but she still carried the glow of post-orgasmic bliss. "In the stories, the hero"s motivation is usually a little more profound than making sure that their lover doesn"t cry," she said in a teasing tone as she stood next to me.
  
  To that, I could only shrug my shoulders, "It"s a good enough reason for me." And that just made her laugh. It was a pleasant sound with a musical quality to it. And it was little wonder that she had this entire city twisted around her little finger because I couldn"t help but want to make her laugh again.
  
  "Hestia is lucky she has such a doting lover," Dibella said, sounding genuinely happy about it. I looked down at her, comparing her to the Dibella who lounged on a throne as she toyed with a girl on her lap. I couldn"t say I knew her well, but she almost seemed like a different person. I guess Sanguine brought out the worst in her or something. "Lucky as a goddess and as a woman."
  
  "Ah, well..." I trailed off, offering a small shrug of my shoulders, unsure how to respond to that. Mostly because she was flirting with me.
  
  Then she let out a sigh, "But I suppose this is my fault." She admitted, and...
  
  "Yeah, kinda," I agreed. And judging by the look she gave me, that wasn"t what she wanted to hear. "I don"t think you had bad intentions or anything, but you can"t deny that things spiraled out of control." I stuck with my guns, making her sigh again, and this one seemed to deflate her.
  
  "I suppose I can"t," she agreed with some reluctance. Yeah, Dibella was really hoping that I would say that it wasn"t her fault. "I guess I just got too caught up in living like a mortal. It"s so different being here, experiencing it, you know? Ever since the beginning, I"ve been stuck watching. I"ve only been able to interact with a few -- my favorites, like Fjotra."
  
  Ah.
  
  Dibella smiled at me as if she had read my thoughts. "Of course I used my divinity to find the cutest girls in all of Skyrim. Wouldn"t you?"
  
  "Fair enough," I conceded that point. She laughed again at that, and I enjoyed the sound.
  
  "Because of Hestia, I"m here to actually touch them. Hold them. Taste them..." Dibella let out another sigh, but this one was of contentment. "But I got carried away. I"ve known of Sanguine since... forever, but it wasn"t like we could ever actually talk. I"m one of the Divines, he"s a Daedric Prince. We never had any reason to interact."
  
  "Then he came here, and the things he said just made sense?" She stated, though it sounded like a question. "Sanguine made me look at things in a way I never had before. And he was right, in some ways. And everything he suggested was a lot of fun, so..." Dibella trailed off with a laugh as I turned my attention back to the city.
  
  Dibella... was a party girl. The kind that was always up to go with the flow, no matter how crazy, but if you take that party girl out of the party then it was like she was a different person.
  
  "So, things got out of control," I finished for her. It felt like I should scold her because this entire situation, no matter her intentions, was still partly her fault. People were going to die. No matter what way you looked at it. The best-case scenario? Only the Forsworn would die.
  
  But Dibella was also a god.
  
  "Just learn from this mistake, please," I requested, knowing that was the most I could really ask. Scolding her, yelling at her, rubbing her face in this mistake so she wouldn"t repeat it was out of the cards. It would be like a run of the mill retail worker chewing out the CEO of the company -- the fact that they knew better than the CEO was irrelevant. It"s just something that you didn"t do.
  
  Dibella offered a firm nod, and that was reassuring at least. "I will. I think I"ll leave Markarth after this. I think Jarl Igmund would be happier that way," she added. Though, that did just mean she was going to cause trouble for another Jarl. Because this was going to happen again. Men turned to the gods before they looked towards leaders.
  
  Except for one place.
  
  "You could try Helgen," I offered, making Dibella blink. "It"s not as grand as this place, but Hestia is there and I"m sure she would appreciate some friendly faces while most of the Familia is stuck running around Skyrim." Best part of it was that Hestia already established herself, so if Dibella came then it would be a lot harder for her to subvert anyone"s authority.
  
  And Dibella was weirdly into the idea. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree as a wide smile found its way onto her face, "That sounds wonderful! I didn't really get a chance to talk to her when she divided up her Arcanum, and Akatosh is being really strict with what we can do with it now that we're on Nirn, so I haven't been able to talk to her at all. But she seemed really kind and fun," Dibella gushed as she smiled. Then she wilted a bit, "But we should really do something about the army coming first, shouldn't we?"
  
  I nodded, "We should, but leave that bit to me." I reassured, earning another dazzling smile.
  
  "I will!" She agreed with a nod before offering an enthusiastic wave goodbye as she practically skipped away. I watched her go for a moment, really wondering where she was getting that good cheer from. Then I let out a small sigh.
  
  "Hestia's definitely going to cry," I muttered mournfully as I turned my attention to the crowd gathering at the gates. They pushed the doors open with far more difficulty than I had closing them before they began to funnel out. A trickle leaving the city in a steady stream.
  
  I blinked, a memory stirring at the sight. Back at the War Game, just after I tore Zanis apart, how the Soma Familia was forced to confront me in only one direction. Slowly, my gaze wandered over to a crowd of people looking up at me, whispering amongst themselves, and odds are at least one of them was a spy. Then my gaze shifted in the direction of the keep. Or, rather, the Dwemer ruin.
  
  "Huh. I think I have an idea."
  
  ...
  
  "Something happened," Farkas remarked as they walked towards Helgen, making their way around a bend. Not much more than a stone"s throw from the gate to Skyrim. Days after they had left Falkreath. And in that time, Jericho was supposed to rejoin them.
  
  "In all likelihood, he just passed us on the road," Aela figured as they walked. It was hard to imagine anything getting the better of Jericho. They lived dangerous lives, that much was true, but when threats like Deathlords or Dragon Priests are necessary to challenge you... well, Jericho had proven just how easily he could deal with bandits and their like.
  
  Farkas didn't sound so sure based on the grunt he let out. "Maybe," he agreed, sounding like he was doing so just to end the conversation.
  
  "He's probably already back in Helgen. You saw how he looked at Divine Hestia. Nothing makes a man more eager to return home than a waiting woman," Aela pointed out, and that got a huff of laughter from Farkas.
  
  "That's true," he conceded as they walked over the hill to catch their first glimpse of Helgen. It appeared mostly unchanged, except for the men working on the walls. To dismantle them. An odd choice given that they were on the cusp of civil war, but there must be a good reason for it.
  
  "For Divine Hestia!" A man shouted as the group toiled away.
  
  """"For Divine Hestia!"""" The group returned, dismantling the wall with almost frantic speeds. Aela and Farkas watched as brick by brick, the ancient wall was dismantled as the men let out war cries as they worked.
  
  "What's that about?" Farkas muttered as they neared the city, the same man shouting 'for Divine Hestia' at the top of his lungs again. They approached the gate and saw signs of change.
  
  "For the Goddess Hestia!" A woman shouted as a group of women aggressively planted trees and flowers. They returned her battle call. One of many as others were rebricking the roads, or dismantling houses, or any one of a dozen tasks.
  
  Aela blinked as she looked around, noting the piles of building supplies scattered about. More than that, she noticed how the entire town was in a frenzy to build or dismantle everything in Helgen.
  
  "I suppose we should ask Divine Hestia," Aela figured as she led the way through the town. It hadn't changed so much that it was a completely new place, but there were signs of work almost everywhere. It didn't take long for them to spot the Hestia Home, but it carried its own confusion.
  
  Farkas looked down at the cheese wheel laying inside black leather and cloth. He glanced at Aela for a best guess, and she could only shrug her shoulders. A gift, maybe? Regardless, Farkas knocked on the door. Before his knuckles could hit it a second time, it swung open to reveal Divine Hestia.
  
  A short, but shapely woman with the bluest eyes that she had ever seen, that was filled with pure joy as she looked up at them. The joy in her eyes was only matched by the smile on her face. Even without her godly nature, Aela would have little trouble believing that a woman like Hestia was a fine match for a man like Jericho.
  
  "You're back! Is Jericho with you?" She asked, looking behind them to check for him. It would be amusing if it didn't make her heart sink.
  
  "He's not here with you?" Aela asked, frowning as a worried expression was adopted on Hestia's face. "Falkreath... was complicated, so we decided to split up to save time. Jericho went to Markarth while we came here -- but Jericho said he would meet us on the road."
  
  Hestia closed her eyes for a brief moment before she appeared relieved, "The blessing I gave him is still there. Jericho is okay, but he's pretty far away." She informed as she took a step back, allowing them inside. Alea stepped across the threshold to the home and saw that Hestia was not alone.
  
  Lydia was there, predictably, but the two others were less so. One was a young-looking Bosmier that stood in attendance to an elderly looking man with silver hair and a goatee. He smiled at her and waved, taking a sip from a teacup with his pinky sticking out.
  
  "Knowing him, he had to stay to help someone in Markarth. He'll be fine. I believe in him," Hestia decided, offering them a gentle smile as she closed the door. Then her eyes fell on her guests, "I should introduce you! This is Sheogorath and her number one fan... Number One Fan?" She trailed off while Aela blinked in confusion.
  
  Her?
  
  Aela looked at Sheogorath, the Prince of Madness, and saw in his place where there had been an old man with silver hair, now sat a woman. An Imperial, if Aela had to guess. Silver hair pushed back, mismatching eyes, fine features... and a slight smile on her face as if she were laughing at a joke only she could hear.
  
  Right. Prince of Madness. Aela knew better than to ask.
  
  "And this is Aela and Farkas -- they're good people going to join my familia, so don't you go trying to poach them, okay?"
  
  "I would never! Or, maybe I would, but I won't. Bad manners to steal from someone when they served tea and mummy raised me right! Sort of." Sheogorath finished with a giggle.
  
  Hestia accepted that answer, "Sheogorath here was just asking for our help."
  
  To that, Sheogorath nodded enthusiastically, "That I was! I want what was stolen from me. My recognition! My popularity! My clout. I want to experience my popular phase again. And those dastardly Thalmor are to blame. Steal my credit for ending the Oblivion Crisis will you?! Not on my watch."
  
  Aela and Farkas shared a look, the words sounding eerily familiar. Jericho had said something about the Thalmor stealing the credit -- Aela had figured that Jericho was just slinging mud onto the Thalmor, as all true Nords should, but that sounded like a confirmation to her.
  
  "And I was just telling him that we will do what we can, but we aren't in a position to do anything about the Thalmor. Not to mention that we have our hands full with Alduin." Hestia responded, pouring two cups of tea before handing them to her and Farkas. It would never be less odd being served by a god.
  
  "Hmm... dreadful. Back in my day, whenever someone asked me for help, I helped them! Oblivion Gates, picking gooseberries, committing mass assassinations, saving the Empire -- when someone asked me for help, I would immediately help them! No matter what I was doing before," Sheogorath said, still having the face of a woman but his voice was undoubtedly male.
  
  "That just sounds like you couldn't prioritize," Hestia rebuked, sounding like that wasn't the first time she had heard that proclamation.
  
  "Maybe so," Sheogorath conceded in the smooth voice of a woman, "but... but... the Thalmor are trying to destroy all of Mundus so they can reclaim their godhood that they lost when they became Altmer. Or something."
  
  "What?" Hestia questioned while Aela felt like she had just been slapped in the face. The Thalmor were trying to do what?
  
  "Oh, did I forget to mention that?" Sheogorath asked, giving a wide smile before she slurped her tea.
  
  Loudly.
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  A few days passed, but it felt like weeks as we made the preparations for the invasion. A few days of watching the city struggle to pull itself together as an invading army marched. Scouts reported that the Forsworn were finally on the move after a massive celebration and a funeral for their dead king. The tension in the city was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
  
  The few remaining citizens looked haunted and grim. Like they were starting to regret their choice to stay when they could be traveling across Skyrim and having a great time. They walked around the city, making last-minute preparations as if the executioner's axe was going to fall upon them at any moment. And their despair and regret weren"t completely unfounded.
  
  Two-thirds of the city had left. Tens of thousands of people. Putting us worryingly close in terms of numbers. But, more than that, there had been a string of murders via Babette as she killed spies and traitors, which spurned some to desert, and their desertion spurned more to flee for the hills.
  
  Now that the army was coming our way, those that stayed... regretted staying. Dibella did what she could, and the Jarl tried to reclaim his previous authority, but a sense of hopelessness seemed to settle heavily on the city.
  
  "Are you certain that this will work?" Jarl Ingram asked, trying to stand tall but there was exhaustion weighing him down. He hadn't slept since he returned, but unlike me, he actually needed sleep. He directed the question at me, his tired, bloodshot eyes desperate for a sliver of hope.
  
  I had absolutely no clue if this was going to work. If I was wrong, then everyone was dead. Except for me. And maybe Babette. But no matter what I said or what I did, people were going to die. It was just a question of how many. It was just... the number of people that died could be determined by the words that came out of my mouth.
  
  "It'll work," I said, my voice reverberating in the small room. Dibella didn't comment on the possible lie. Nor did any of the guards or attendants. It had to work. If it didn't then thousands of people were going to die.
  
  Jarl Ingram nodded, looking reassured and that twisted my guts into knots. He bought that bullshit answer and was reassured by it. "Splitting our strength now is a risky maneuver," he said, not for the first time.
  
  "It's the best way," I spoke up for my strategy. "The spies have scampered back to the Forsworn with the information that we wanted. And like it or not, the tunnel is there already."
  
  He nodded tiredly, "Aye. The die has been cast. But to think that there would be a tunnel to the city all these years..." he made it sound like that it was his fault. But it wasn't.
  
  Markarth was the tip of the iceberg when it came to the Dwemer ruin. There was a sprawling labyrinth below. A labyrinth that was untouched except for the Dwemer automatons and the Falmer. For thousands of years, they fought and warred below without anyone being the wiser.
  
  Until I found a tunnel that connected the lands beyond the walls to the Dwemer Museum located inside the city. And in my excitement, I rushed to the keep and told the Jarl that I had discovered a tunnel that led outside of the city gate so we could attempt to send a force through then hit the Forsworn in the back. Two of the men that had been nearby when I made that announcement were nowhere to be seen the next day.
  
  "The wall is one hell of a deterrent. On the walls, one man is worth ten of theirs. Pushing through the Dwemer ruins is risky, but it"s less likely to end in a complete bloodbath for the Forsworn. So, they"ll take the bait," I said, really, really, really hoping that I wasn"t lying. Because the Forsworn, by now, they had to know that someone would stroll up to take it. Probably Ulfric again.
  
  "They don"t have the numbers to repel assault after assault, so they"ll want to preserve as many lives as possible," I continued, hoping that someone here would believe the bullshit spewing from my mouth. And they did. The Jarl nodded along, the guards appeared less certain that they were about to die and the servants stopped looking so scared. "So, if it were me, then I would send a sizable force through the tunnel while the main force ties up the wall. Their best of the best. They"ll plan to bust through the tunnel, hit the wall on both sides, and the city will be theirs."
  
  "Except you"ll be in the tunnel," Jarl Ingram said, standing up. A sword was in his hand. A generic looking sword. The Sword of Markarth, my third badge of office. I... had no clue what was so special about it. And I really should just ask, but I already had two weapons of office so it felt like it was way too late to just bite the bullet. Not to mention that I didn"t want to wreck the mood.
  
  I nodded, standing tall. With my Ebony Mail on, I knew I cut an imposing figure. Daunting, powerful, and immovable. Instead of trying to scare the enemy with my size, I was hoping to inspire some hope or something. I wanted the people in Markarth to look at me and think "yeah, we got this" rather than the crushing despair that they carried. "Except I"ll be in the tunnel," I confirmed as the Jarl stepped forward.
  
  Fighting ten thousand people at once just wasn"t in the cards. With enough time, with enough stamina potions and the occasional health potion, I would win. I was certain of it. I would never lose to anyone weaker than me -- that was my build. But that wasn"t enough in a battle like this. The Forsworn weren"t only fighting me, they were fighting all of Markarth. So, I had to put them in a position that they were fighting only me.
  
  "You"ve already earned your title of Thane," Jarl Ingram spoke before he passed the sword to me. "And it is my greatest shame that I have no higher honor to give you."
  
  "I'm not doing this to be honored," I responded. The Jarl hesitated, and I realized I probably threw off a speech he had planned. My bad. But, he smiled lightly, almost as if he had somehow expected that answer.
  
  "Never the less, you will be. So survive," Jarl Ingram ordered with as much authority as he could muster. I swallowed a response that I hadn't exactly intended on dying, but I figured I should give him his moment.
  
  Dibella nodded, "Hestia would be really sad if you died, so you better make sure you win." She pointed out, using the concern she'd learned about against me. That was just cruel. I simply nodded in response as I took in a deep breath.
  
  I could feel everyone's hopes being pinned on me. The plan was simple -- the Forsworn send their elite force into the ruins, I kill them, then I lead a force through the tunnels to hit them in the rear. With a few other anti-siege measures, we would win.
  
  The weight was a heavy one. But if I faltered at a city then I had no hope of saving the world.
  
  "I'm off," I informed shortly, figuring that it would serve as my goodbye. I offered a small bow before I walked out of the keep, feeling everyone's eyes on me as I left. It was a bit lackluster, but it would do since I would be seeing them all again shortly. I turned to take a familiar path, heading towards the entrance to the deeper levels of the ruin that resided underfoot.
  
  As I walked, I saw Babette. There was a thoroughly annoyed expression on her face, and her red dress was covered with a leather apron while her hands were covered in various stains. She glared at me the entire time I walked up, but before she could speak, a confession left me. "I thought you'd be long gone by now," I admitted.
  
  That only increased her obvious displeasure as she sat on a stone railing, her legs idly swinging back and forth. "I was promised to lurk in your shadow, Thane of Whiterun, Falkreath, and Markarth, so I shall lurk by your side. But, I will admit, that using me to craft potions was not what I expected to be doing," she admitted.
  
  I shrugged, "Can you say it's a poor use of your talents?" Like the game, Babette was a master of alchemy. Potions were broken in this setting. While, like all good things, the good potions had rare ingredients requirements, Babette was able to improvise.
  
  Potions of healing and stamina were passed around -- as many as Babette had been able to make. And thanks to the Alchemy shop that we had raided and the Falmer ears I procured, Babette was able to make Philters of True Shot for the archers on the wall. It just took a couple of days of nonstop working.
  
  Babette nodded, "I suppose I cannot. Though, I must ask how much of this was planned." She tilted her head at me, and, with her, it was all too easy to know what she meant.
  
  "I think you're overestimating me if you think I could somehow arrange this entire mess," I pointed out. And she accepted that answer easily.
  
  "I see. Improvisation, then. You do a good job of it -- pretending to be the hero that will save the day," she said, giving me a smile that betrayed her razor-sharp fangs.
  
  "Thanks. If you'll excuse me, I have to go save the day," I ended the conversation curtly before continuing on. I heard Babette giggling as I walked off, my lips twisting into a frown that was thankfully hidden by my helmet. Now I was second-guessing myself. I wasn't heroic. Not in the Superman way of doing good for goodness sake, and that's what I considered a Hero, capital H.
  
  I was helping them for me just as much as I was helping them for their sake. Reputation, exp, and so on. Calling myself a hero when I had clear ulterior motives left a bad taste in my mouth. But it also wasn't like I didn't like it. I was strolling into town and saving the day, and it would be a flat out lie to say that I didn't sort of like the gratitude shown towards me.
  
  Pushing open the Dwemer Museum door, I walked inside. The place was filled with Dwemer artifacts -- from broken automatons to scraps of Dwemer metal, with everything in between accounted for. And protected behind display cases to prevent theft.
  
  Dwemer ruins were dangerous. Increasingly so. There were reasons why people could live in Markarth for thousands of years and never once had they explored the ruins below them -- simply put, Dwemer ruins were a really effective way of committing suicide for most people. Despite the mountains of wealth to be found in the ruins, it wasn't a tantalizing enough prospect to temp most people into entering.
  
  It was like knowing where El Dorado was but no one ever entered the city of gold because death was that certain.
  
  "Ah, you, the large one, yes -- You're entering the ruins of Nchuand-Zel again?" Calcelmo questioned as he looked up. He was an Altmer, but he was noticeably older than Nenya. His short hair was stark white while wrinkles gathered around his golden eyes. Others could be found on his pale gold skin, and given that Altmer lived around a thousand years on average... he had been around the block a couple of times.
  
  He also displayed a single-mindedness to researching the Dwemer that not only had he not been aware that we were going to be attacked by the Forsworn, he hadn't known about the raging party above either.
  
  "I am. I'll bring back what I can, but I'll be a little busy with the whole 'repelling an invasion' thing, Calcelmo," I pointed out as I walked through the museum, making the old man scoff.
  
  He shook his head in distaste, "Barbarians always get in the way of progress. Once you're done with them, I'll buy whatever maps you make along with whatever artifacts you find." That managed to get a sly grin out of me. The sheer certainty that I could repel them.
  
  "I'll be sure to pick up plenty while I'm down there," I said, waving goodbye as I headed towards the back of the Museum. There were signs of work being done -- at some point, over thousands of years, a door had been hidden, sealed over by shifted rock. Once it had been cleared out, it revealed a sizable door made of Dwemer metal.
  
  I pushed it open to reveal Dwemer ruins. It was always odd walking into them -- it felt like I was walking into something truly ancient. A place that was here long before me and it would be here long after me. A place with so much history and so many mysteries, gone and forgotten about. The gray stone was cleaner than it should be, the metal inlaid in the walls was polished to a shine.
  
  The only filth that had accumulated over thousands of years were the dust and smudges that happened in the last few months when the excavation began. But, even those faded as I continued downward, taking me deeper into the mountain. Signs of fighting made themselves known, mostly from the various expeditions to poke at the ruins, but there were a few from me when automatons attempted to reclaim the area.
  
  Walking through a long hallway, I pushed open another door to reveal the ruins of Nchuand-Zel. The game couldn"t do it justice. It was a sprawling metropolis deep within the mountain -- a city equal or greater to any modern city like New York or LA. It was made of bronze-colored metal and grey stone, lampposts illuminating the empty roads and pathways that went above them. Because what the Dwemer did was build down, just as humans built up. It was my second time seeing it, but the sight stole my breath away.
  
  It was a true lost city frozen in time.
  
  I eyed the long pathway that led to the door -- it was fairly big, more of a highway than anything. A dozen men could walk on it shoulder to shoulder without worrying about falling off. The pathway was connected to a central spire that connected various other pathways. The door behind me closed with an echoing thump that rang out across the silent city. I reached over my shoulder and grabbed my sword, a still nameless weapon. I should probably give it one. Before someone else did.
  
  And there I waited. In the suffocatingly quiet city, I could make out every sound. Every creak, every scuff as something moved in the city below and every thump. I gripped my weapon tighter as my thoughts drifted, wondering if the battle had already started above. Wondering if it would have just been better to keep the tunnel a secret...
  
  But the number of spies that the Forsworn had was disturbing. Babette had killed a dozen, and she proved it with evidence that was further supported with metaknowledge. Simply put, keeping the ploy a secret wasn"t a possibility. But crushing the force they sent in, then using the tunnel would be something that they didn"t see coming.
  
  Then I heard it. The quiet sounds echoed in the empty city and they slowly grew louder. The sounds of marching. Then of fighting. Now that I was back underground, much like the Dungeon, one of my Perks called Sonar could be used again. I honed in on the sounds, determining their position and number.
  
  "Ah..." I muttered, realizing that the Forsworn had likely hit a Falmer encampment or a Dwemer automaton. Because of it, I could hear their curses, their weapons being used, their feet hitting the ground... "I might have underestimated how many they would send," I realized as the small elite team was replaced with hundreds. Possibly a thousand.
  
  Now that I thought about it, that probably made sense. If they were expecting us to send a force through, then they would need to combat through it. Shit, I should have thought about that.
  
  I stood my ground, undeterred by their numbers until I saw the first hints of their presence. Through the city below, following the same ridge path that I had found and somewhat made, I saw torchlights revealing marching men. The Forsworn were dressed in furs, leaving most of their bodies bare, and carried weapons of bone, wood, and rock instead of steel.
  
  Each wore a helmet with antlers embedded into it... and each had a fresh wound on their chest.
  
  "Ah, shit," I muttered, looking at the steady stream of Forsworn Briarhearts. Much like the Deathlords, I recognized them. The Forsworn's chosen warriors. The ones that sacrificed their humanity, and their lives, to become spirits of vengeance through some ritual involving Hagravens. They cut out their hearts and replaced them with Briar Hearts, empowering them.
  
  I glanced behind me, then at the stream of Forsworn marching forward. Easily hundreds of them. This was kinda bad.
  
  "Don"t have a choice," I muttered to myself as I walked back as I gripped my weapon. I eyed the elaborate entrance that marked where I came in -- detailed stonework and vivid imagery. And, with a single swipe of my sword accompanied with an explosive strike, I wiped it all away. The sound of falling stone echoed out as the entranceway collapsed, tons of stone falling down. Enough that I had worried for a split second that I had started a chain reaction, but I hadn"t. I just thoroughly buried the back entrance to the city.
  
  Turning around, walking through the cloud of dust, my footsteps were lost in the horde of dozens, hundreds, surging forward to squeeze through the rubble. As I stepped through, I saw them rushing forward -- with their skull helms and the pure fury etched into their faces that were illuminated by fire, I had to admit, that was a daunting sight.
  
  Even still, I launched myself forward, my sword wreathed in fire, and slashed the first of the horde in half. The stench of burnt flesh and flash-evaporated blood filled my nose, my blade shifting in my hand as I sliced through another before the first hit the ground. The wall of bodies hit me then, washing over me like a river. And that was what I was afraid of.
  
  More bodies dropped to the ground, their useless weapons bouncing off my armor, but for every five that I killed, three rushed past me with a single-minded focus to start tearing at the collapsed tunnel.
  
  Gritting my teeth, I pivoted, turning to the side of the walkway. Putting my blade level, I darted forward and crashed into the wall of Forsworn. The walkway was wide, but with the simple action, I knocked off over a dozen Briarhearts, sending them sprawling into the city below. Weapons beat at my back, stone blades breaking, so they used their fists instead.
  
  They clawed at me, desperately trying to tear through my armor, pulling and pushing me in every direction. The fact that I noticed it at all betrayed that they were strong. That they were more than human. Shifting my grip, I pivoted, slashing through a half dozen of them at once before I fell upon the Forsworn. There were no words to be said as I hacked and slashed at them, but it felt like for every one that I killed a dozen more would take their place.
  
  I was winning, but it felt like I was losing.
  
  Gritting my teeth, I raised my blade up as I activated Explosive Strike on the ground underneath me. The stone walkway crumpled like glass, letting me jump towards the relay station. As hundreds of Forsworn fell to their deaths, I sailed forward. In doing so I made a target of myself, I learned as a fireball slammed into my chest. I flew through it, the heat washing over me, cooking me in my armor.
  
  But it wasn"t as bad as running through fire at the War Game.
  
  Landing on a Forsworn, bones crushing underfoot and blood soaking my boots, I lashed out with fist and sword. More fire washed over me, whoever was firing it was uncaring of friendly fire. Bodies came undone -- bone shattered and blood-soaked me and the ground while others were severed. They spilled from the relay station, little more than a tower a couple dozen feet wide all the way around.
  
  The stench of burning flesh and hair along with the heavy scent of iron from blood seemed to clog my nose. My sword still flashed down, butchering through the Forsworn who simply threw themselves at me with mindless resolve. It was never clear if the Forsworn were just undead beasts, or there were still people. But, either way, it didn"t matter.
  
  A memory of the War Game surfaced of a similar scene. Of standing at the doorway and letting the Soma familia crash into me. How the blood had soaked me down to the bone. Despite everything, as I continued to push through the Forsworn, I found myself grateful for one thing. There wasn"t any screaming. There wasn"t the stench of shit and terror as they died.
  
  I was thankful for that. I could just swing my sword and kill them. So, I did. I swung my sword again and again and again until everything before me was dead.
  
  My sword plunged through the chest of a smallish man, and he simply lunged forward to claw at me. I watched him for a moment, countless bodies lying dead around me. It was impossible to tell how long I had been at it, but it felt like ages. And given that I don"t think they had it in them to run, I had got them all.
  
  "We... take... our... home... back!" The Briarheart swore, clawing at me as he beat bloody fists against my chest, impaling himself down to the hilt on my sword, buried in his chest. There was so much hate in his voice that it was chilling, his glare stared through me like he could see through me and the mountain of stone to see the city of Markarth. The sheer amount of venom didn"t suit his face and build at all.
  
  I slashed my sword to the side, cutting through him. He fell to the ground, writhing as if he was demanding that his body obey his command to crawl towards the city. But it couldn"t. Undead or not, his body went still as death claimed him, his hate-filled words echoing in my ears as silence once again filled the Dwemer city.
  
  "It"s way too late for me to feel guilt now," I told myself, looking at the bodies that I had created. What ifs tugged at my attention -- what if I had spared the King in Rags? What if I had tried to talk things out? What if, what if, what if, what if, what if I had done things differently. It was stupid. And pointless. And I didn"t think it would bother me as much as it was until I was looking at hundreds of corpses piled up.
  
  The answer? Things wouldn"t have gone how I wanted them to. No matter what I said, this was always going to happen. You can"t undo centuries of bad blood with a handful of words by some idiot who didn"t know what he was talking about.
  
  So, I had a choice to pick a side.
  
  And I made it.
  
  With blood squelching in my boots, I walked forward, following the path that I had found days prior. The plan was a bust -- I had to seal the tunnel, so we wouldn"t be able to swing out and hit them in the rear. But, with just me, I could offer one hell of a diversion to help divide up their attention. I might have been wrong with my guess that they were all Briarhearts. From what I recalled, they were meant to be powerful undead, but most of these guys weren't much better than draugr.
  
  Given that I now knew that they wouldn"t run, I just had to park myself in the center of their army and kill.
  
  Pulling a potion from my inventory, I tasted the familiar flavors of health and stamina potions as I caught a glimpse of sunlight some minutes later. Stepping back into the light, I looked around for some encampment or anything, but there was nothing. So they just sent them in and went to attack the city. Fair enough.
  
  Walking back in the direction of the city, I heard the sounds of battle before I saw it. There were screams echoing through the mountainous terrain, and given that Forsworn didn"t scream, that meant it could only be coming from the citizens of Markarth. Taking in a deep breath, I sprinted forward, blasting through the mountain trails to loop back towards the city.
  
  Visualizing a large group of people was difficult. Especially when you didn"t have references. But, as I rounded a corner to look down at the chaos below, I realized just how daunting it could be fighting ten thousand people... or more. The Forsworn seemed to fill the space before the stalwart walls of Markarth. There was some semblance of order with the archers in position to fire back at those on the walls. The rest hung back in a massive blob around some sort of platform.
  
  There were so many of them. Maybe ten thousand people just looked bigger than I thought it would, but I had trouble believing that. It looked like there were... fifteen thousand? Maybe twenty? Or, for all I knew, there were a hundred thousand.
  
  "Doesn't matter," I reminded myself as my feet started moving again. As I ran, I looked at the wall -- there were a few grappling hooks tossed onto the walls, but it didn"t look like anyone had managed to make it up yet. Arrows flew between the two forces, and people died on both sides. More than that, there were spells being tossed around. Lightning, spikes of ice and fire. They washed over the walls and the Forsworn.
  
  My gaze shifted to the platform, and there I saw the Hagravens. There were four of them, hunched over and ugly while they wore half-rotted leather and feathers. Magic visibly swirled around them, and the skies themselves seem to darken above. Whatever they were doing, it had to be stopped. So, I guess I knew my destination.
  
  Thanks to Feather Step, the first Forsworn had no clue what hit him before I cut through him. But I maintained my momentum, crouching low as I sprinted and slammed through the Forsworn army.
  
  There weren"t words to describe feeling a body break when you slammed into it. Just shattering like glass, only to be trampled underfoot as I continued to run forward. More blood soaked my armor -- I could only think to describe myself as a car driving through a crowd. It inspired a sickening sense of awe, at what I was capable of.
  
  It was then that the Hagravens took notice of me, shifting their attention from their magic to watch me carve a straight line towards them. They must have done something because all of a sudden the Forsworn near them surged forward to break my momentum, trying to act as a wall of sorts to stop me in my tracks. Sparks flew above the Hagravens as their magics condensed into a pitch-black ball.
  
  Just looking at it was enough to scare the shit out of me, so I dodged. Coming to a skidding stop, I pivoted as I cut my way through a wall of flesh. Forsworn jumped on me, trying to tie me down while others attempted to grab hold of my legs to trip me up. They didn"t manage that, but I slowed a dangerous amount. A sense of dread filled me, warning of danger.
  
  Reacting instantly, I tensed and jumped as high as I could. The Forsworn weighed me down, but the adrenaline in my veins was enough to make up the difference. Looking down, I saw a black blur of cackling lightning race underneath. Everything it touched was obliterated -- it would have been nice if it had deleted everything it touched, but it was like a hammer just tore through the area.
  
  Blood splashed, bodies were torn to pieces -- it was a scene right out of hell. My stomach lurched at the sight as a guy that had been gripping my leg let go since everything below his chest was gone. I landed alongside him, blood splashing up to coat my legs in bloody mud. My gaze shifted towards the Hagravens to see them screeching. But, more importantly, I saw the pathway that they had opened up for me.
  
  I sprinted forward and the Hagravens responded, just as the Forsworn tried to close the gap. A lightning bolt struck me in the chest and it felt like I had just been kicked by a horse while every muscle went tense. But, even still, I kept running. A fireball was next, and it felt like I was being cooked alive. My skin burned, my lungs felt like they were filled with fire and my sweat turned into steam.
  
  I kept running. I accepted the pain and kept moving, forcing my legs to obey. A bitter chill washed over me next as I neared, and it was so cold that it burned worse than being on fire. But, I kept running.
  
  Jumping up to the platform, a snarl was etched into my face as I repaired the pain. A Hagraven summoned a Ward to protect itself, but my blade punctured it as I landed, skewering it. Wrenching my blade to the side, I bisected it before continuing on. One leveled a staff at me, washing me in flames, but in doing so it left itself open. My sword tore through its chest, killing it and that left only two others.
  
  Grabbing the staff as it fell, I turned it onto a Hagraven that turned to flee only to be cooked alive. And they proved far less resistant than me. The other fired back when I turned the staff on it, sending a blast of frost to meet the torrent of flames. Steam filled the air, and I used it to my advantage.
  
  Leaping up, I dodged another blast of frost and lightning. When I landed, I made sure to crush the Hagraven"s skull under my foot. It felt like stepping on an egg.
  
  The Forsworn knew the moment that they were dead. At once, they screamed their hate and wrath into the air. I felt my bones rattle from the force of it, the sound pounding against my eardrums. I swallowed thickly, sparing a glance through the mist towards the sun that hung directly overhead, savoring the brief moment of peace. Because beyond the screams of hate, I heard the sound of thunderous running as thousands of Forsworn seemed to sprint directly towards me.
  
  The first threw themselves over onto the platform, their faces twisted into a mask of hate as they bared their weapons at me. I killed them just as fast as they came, my blade effortlessly cutting through flesh and bone like it was hardly there. Their bodies were pushed forward by the thousands of others attempting to get their pound of flesh from me. I hacked and slashed at them, performing the act almost mindlessly.
  
  Within moments, the platform was buried in corpses, forcing me to fight on top of them. I had my plan -- plant myself in the middle of the army and kill. And kill. And keep killing until every enemy was dead. My blade moved in a blur, slicing through Forsworn, their bodies falling where they stood. Despite my blade cauterizing the wounds, the weight of the army pressing down on them made the stench of blood nearly overwhelming.
  
  The Forsworn hammered at me, crawling over each other to attack me -- they shoved daggers into the joints of my armor but bone and wood was no match against ebony. So they tore at my armor in an attempt to tear it off of me so that their attacks would do more damage. Only for them to be hacked into pieces by me and then trampled by their allies.
  
  My sword arm hacked and slashed and carved lines of gore through the Forsworn, keeping them at bay as the pile of bodies continued to grow underneath us. I used my fists, my feet -- anything to kill them faster. And, slowly, the mist dissipated underneath the harsh midday sun so it didn"t take long for me to see what I was up against.
  
  I stood at the center of the army, and every single one of them was turned in my direction. They had completely forgotten about the wall. Despite the distance, I saw Jarl Ingram on the wall, half covered in blood. I could see his face, and I knew what he was about to do. So, I gave him the universal gesture to stop as I slaughtered the Forsworn.
  
  In the end, people were going to die no matter what. The Forsworn... every one of them was undead. Unless they had some specialized camp or something... they had just committed cultural suicide in the name of revenge.
  
  I had made my choice. I had picked my side. So, it was up to me to follow through. I chose the lives in Markarth over the lives of the Forsworn. And with the death of the Hagravens, something important had changed -- their attention was solely on me. In a fight like this? This I could win.
  
  The sun moved overhead as time passed, relentlessly beating down on me as I hacked, slashed, kicked, and punched the Forsworn. The pile beneath me grew to disgusting proportions, more than once it shifted and collapsed when it grew too narrow with me at the top. Arrows pinged off my armor from those that used a bow, I used the Forsworn as shields for whatever spells were thrown my way, and for those that chose to climb the mountain, I killed without mercy.
  
  It was like standing at the top of an anthill. Bellow was a mass of moving bodies, of Forsworn that cared nothing about their own lives so long as they got their shot at me. Given the sheer amount of hate I was getting, I"m guessing that there was some kind of final order from the Hagravens to kill me for killing them. It made the most sense.
  
  My arm began to ache, then the rest of my body, my throat dried up but I didn"t stop. I threw myself into the mindless task of hacking and slashing. Of just creating more bodies to stand on. Their faces became blurs, all of them wearing the same expression of utter rage, completely undeterred by having to climb up a small hill of their comrades.
  
  Then that small hill became a big hill as the hours ticked by. I heard the alert that I had leveled up a couple of times, and my attention strayed to wonder if I should be so careless about gaining exp while my stats hadn"t improved much. But thinking soon faded away until my head was filled with absolutely nothing as I butchered everyone that came my way. My sword arm ached, the muscles burning so intensely it was the most pain I had suffered so far since coming to Skyrim.
  
  Then a Perk, Second Wind, kicked in and I was fine to continue to turn corpses into ground meat.
  
  Despite my earlier order, the Jarl opened the gates, and people flooded through when they felt that the tide had turned. Some Forsworn put up a token effort against them, but most of them were focused solely on me.
  
  The constant surge of bodies slowly began to dwindle, like a faucet being closed until not even a trickle remained. Just the occasional drip.
  
  I watched as the last three Forsworn crawled up the mountain. The sky was dark, but the sun hadn"t quite made its descent behind the horizon. I was caked in blood and gore, standing at the peak of the mountain as I waited for the final three challengers. The mountain had grown wide enough that they could walk up, and so they ran.
  
  My blade caught one at the arm, cutting through it while it sliced through his neck as well. Reversing my grip, I pivoted and sliced another in half. The third rushed behind me, so I continued the momentum as I clenched my fist. It caught him in the side of his head, and much like I had threatened Babette, his head was reduced to a mist.
  
  His body fell, another body on the mountain. I looked down at it for a moment, a hollow feeling in my chest. The battle was over. I had won.
  
  Slowly, I sat down on the mountain of corpses I created, the stench absolutely horrid. I peeled off my helmet and turned my attention to the setting sun. In the direction of Hestia as for the first time so far, snow began to fall from the sky.
  
  "I want to go home."
  
  ...
  
  I have a Quest now! My first one. You can find it here and in my signature. It's a Crusader Kings 3/Nasuverse blend where you play as a victim of a ritual that flings you thousands of years in the past into the Neolithic Era and the Era of Gods. The future is yours to shape as noble kings, hedonistic despots, warriors without peer, and hermit mages that dedicate entire lifetimes to mastering magic.
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  I felt like I left the Hold of the Reach unfinished as I sprinted through the flat tundra of Whitehold. There were ruins to explore -- there should be another Aetherium shard in the Hold, there were at least two named Dragon Priests, I didn't get a chance to thoroughly explore the Dwemer ruins that littered the Hold either.
  
  But, all the same, I left.
  
  The city of Markarth would be burning bodies for weeks, and after that, the city was going to face a host of problems. Like a food shortage, along with being underpopulated as Sanguine fucked off to somewhere. Not to mention the sheer amount of loot they had taken with them. If I had stayed, then I would have been stuck there for weeks, but I managed to slip out by offering an excuse that I didn't want to infringe on the Jarl's reestablished authority. After that, Jarl Igmund had been all too happy to show me the door himself.
  
  Especially since I was taking Dibella and a number of her most devoted followers with me.
  
  So, while I was leaving Markarth behind, I didn't exactly feel bad about it. I could always swing by that way and do a speed run completion of the Hold when I'm heading to the moot after winter. Jarl Igmund seemed to have the task in hand, and Falkreath would have to make do with the food shipments from Helgen. And hopefully, they would sort their own shit out because I was going home.
  
  "Are we there yet?" Dibella asked, peeking her head up over my shoulder as I made a full sprint towards Helgen. The wagon had a handful of girls in it along with the supplies they brought. At first they had marveled at the speed I traveled, but they quickly lost interest in the terrain that passed in a blur.
  
  "Almost," I answered as I pumped my legs. My armor was free of gore, as was my weapon. It hadn't even been a day since the battle for Markarth, and in a rare night of sleep, I awoke to songs about me being sung in the streets. And as soon as I woke up, only having stayed to make sure that I wasn't needed any further, I set out to Helgen.
  
  As if summoned by my thoughts, I rounded the bend to catch a glimpse of Helgen for the first time in about a week and a half. The wall was being rebuilt from the look of it -- a new wall was being laid down a considerable distance away from where the original stood. The old stone was being used to build roads and houses as the town prepared itself to become a city.
  
  "For Divine Hestia!" I heard someone shout in the distance, and that shout was followed by several more. I sprinted up the road towards the town, seeing dozens of men and women tirelessly toiling away. There were building materials set up to reduce walk times, not only that, but I saw that wagons were pulling into Helgen with more supplies.
  
  Once I crossed the threshold, I took it all in. Houses were being demolished, dirt upturned so pipes could be set. Other houses were being built, hardy stone that wouldn't burn easy. The layout of the city was changing already -- it was still recognizable, but only barely. In all, it was a staggering amount of progress to achieve in such a short amount of time.
  
  "Have I only been gone for about two weeks?" I muttered as Dibella and the others awed over the quaint little town. And giggling at people shouting at the top of their lungs, proclaiming their work for Hestia as a rallying call. Honestly, it was like they were psyching themselves up for battle rather than manual labor.
  
  Though, the reminder of battle made my hands tighten around the bar to push the wagon. The memories of yesterday would never fade thanks to Perfect Memory. Time had passed in a blur as I mindlessly hacked and chopped at the Forsworn, but now the heat of the moment had faded, and I was left with the memory of turning Forsworn into just... meat for hours on end.
  
  Pushing the thoughts to the side, I made my way towards where our home was last located. It could have moved. The roads had definitely shifted a fair bit, but the parts that looked mostly finished looked good. It was a far cry from the modern cities I was used to, but it was a step above the rickety shacks of Whiterun, stone instead of wood like Falkreath, and less ancient looking than Dwemer ruins.
  
  Thankfully Hestia Manor was still there, and the progress on the other one that was being built had slowed as everyone worked on the entire city first. I slowed to a stop and the girls in the back groaned and moaned as they jumped out to stretch.
  
  "Oh, it's so cute!" Dibella decided, looking at my home as she clapped her hands happily. "Don't you think so, Fjor?" Dibella asked, turning to the teenager that Dibella had been playing with on the throne back in Markarth. In the hours of travel, I learned that Fjor was the first and currently the only member of the Dibella familia.
  
  The younger girl, who I learned was seventeen, nodded happily as a smile tugged at her lips. I glanced down at her -- it was weird, I was only two years older than her but it felt like she was ages younger. The others were in their early twenties for the most part with a few nearing thirty.
  
  However, the youngest looking, but one of the oldest, was nowhere to be seen. I told Babette to keep her distance in Helgen and it seemed that she took the advice to heart.
  
  "Welcome to Hestia Manor," I said as I walked up the steps. My feet seemed to grow heavier with each step because it just felt so good to be home and I was nearing the finish line. Reaching out to the door handle, I twisted it and pulled.
  
  Only to find that it was locked. Right, that was probably for the best. Reaching into my inventory, I slid the key into the lock and twisted... only to find that the locks had been changed.
  
  "Did I get kicked out?" I wondered, looking down at the key with a hint of betrayal. The thought was a bit overdramatic, but I wanted to go home only to be blocked by a flimsy door I could tear apart with my bare hands. Swallowing a sigh and ignoring the giggling behind me, I knocked at the door to my own house and waited.
  
  Instantly, I heard stomping coming from the inside. When they reached the door, I heard a sharp shout of, "Jericho!" Before the sounds of a half dozen locks being undone -- I was glad they had increased the security, but that raised a question of why they felt the need to.
  
  "You're home!" I heard as the door was thrown open with unnecessary force so Hestia could throw herself at me. She would have brained herself on my armor if I hadn't taken a step back so she wasn't throwing herself face-first into a metal wall. She wrapped her arms around my waist and squeezed so tightly that her arms trembled from the strain. And I was never more annoyed with my armor as I was at that moment.
  
  A sigh escaped me as I placed a hand on her back to return the hug. "I'm home," I agreed, savoring the moment. It was difficult to put into words, but the easiest way to convey it was that I really needed that hug. And I needed it from Hestia.
  
  "What took you so long? I was really worried, you know? Aela and Farkas said that you were supposed to meet up with them days ago, but you never showed up..." she trailed off, looking up at me as she gave me a pout that did terrible things to my heart.
  
  I hesitated to answer for a brief moment, the entire story weighing heavily on my tongue. And she saw that hesitance, but when I quickly pushed forward, she didn't say anything, "It's a long story, but I got tied up in Markarth for a bit. They were having their own problems and it wasn't a situation that I could leave alone," I offered the abridged version. Hestia looked up at me, worry in her deep blue eyes, but she nodded, accepting that answer for now.
  
  "And Dibella-," I said, turning around. Only for Hestia to refuse to let go of me, so I ended up slinging her around so that her back faced the Goddess of Love and Beauty. I didn't get to say anything more because Dibella lunged at me. Or, rather, Hestia. She threw her arms around me as much as she could as Dibella sandwiched Hestia between us, making my goddess make a strangled noise.
  
  "Hestia! I've been wanting to see you! You left so fast when you gave me some of your Arcanum!" Dibella announced, trying to crush Hestia in her embrace. There was panic in Hestia's eyes while Dibella hummed contently, satisfied with the hug.
  
  I took a moment to process that. It was hardly a secret that Hestia had given her Arcanum away a bit too freely, but I hadn"t known that she hadn"t even known the Aedra before she performed the action. I figured that she was having godly talks behind my back before she arrived at the decision.
  
  I should probably scold her for that. It was too late to do anything about it, but it was the principle of it. That was like... like having a billion dollars and giving away nine hundred million away to nine people you just met. Sure, it was a good deed, and you still had a hundred million dollars, but you could have had a billion. But I guess that was the difference between me and Hestia.
  
  So, I didn"t say anything about it. I couldn"t bring myself to.
  
  "Maybe loosen up, Dibella? I don"t think Hestia can breathe," I pointed out, prompting Dibella to let go. Hestia began heaving for breath, letting go of me to put her hands on her knees to get her breath back. She glanced over at Dibella, and I expected to see a warm friendly greeting.
  
  "What are you doing here?" Hestia questioned, not exactly hostile or anything like that, but I was expecting a more bubbly greeting since they were both Divines. Dibella, if she noticed, didn"t comment on it at all.
  
  She laughed sheepishly, raising a hand up to scratch at her cheek and the action widened the silk robe she wore to display a dangerous amount of cleavage. Hestia bristled, darting over to close her robe while Dibella answered. "Ah, well, me and Sanguine threw a really, really, really big party! Then the Jarl got kidnapped, and some people tired to invade the city -- oh, but Jericho stopped them! It was all heroic too! They were building a statue of him in the city! But the Jarl doesn"t really like me much, so... here I am?"
  
  Hestia blinked at the info dump, glancing at me for verification. I nodded, confirming the story. Though I hadn"t known that they were building me a statue. I really hoped it wasn"t a tacky one of me standing on a mountain of corpses, or anything.
  
  "Oh, well...," Hestia trailed off, tilting her head as she tied off Dibella"s robe. "You"re welcome to stay in Helgen. I don"t have room in the manor for everyone to get their own room, but if you don"t mind doubling up-"
  
  To answer that, Dibella reached out and grabbed Fjor and buried her head in the crook of her neck as her arms wrapped around Fjor"s waist. "I don"t mind~! We can triple up, too!" Hestia stumbled a step back before she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
  
  "I can"t get used to slutty goddesses..." Hestia remarked to herself, but I had to ask a question given that we apparently had enough room to house around twenty people.
  
  "Are Farkas and Aela here?" I asked, prompting Hestia to look up at me before she shook her head.
  
  "No, they left yesterday," she informed. "They said they"re going to Riften and to tell you that they"re expecting you to actually meet up with them this time." A small smile graced her lips, "They were confident that you were okay."
  
  Well, that was reassuring to hear. Not just that they had faith, but that they arrived safely. I would have to go meet up with them in Riften. If that place was a dumpster fire too...
  
  "We should let you two catch up," Dibella decided, "And I want to explore the city! Come on girls," Dibella decided before she led the charge at the under-construction Helgen. We both watched her go, her followers obeying as they all walked away.
  
  "She really goes at her own pace," Hestia remarked before she looked up at me and held out a hand for me to take, "But let"s go inside and get that armor off. I"ve made a bunch of new rules while you were away -- one of them is no armor past the entryway !" She led me into the manor where she helped take off the armor.
  
  As the door closed, I glanced at the number of locks on it -- there were over a dozen of them. "What happened while I was gone?" I couldn"t help but ask. And the painful noise that Hestia made wasn"t exactly a promising start.
  
  "Ah, well," Hestia hedged for a bit. "Sheogorath stopped by for a bit-"
  
  "What do you mean Sheogorath stopped by for a bit?" I quickly interjected, recoiling from that statement. A pained grimace washed over Hestia's face in response. "Is he still here?"
  
  "Maybe?" Hestia offered, sounding like she genuinely didn't know. "It would be easier to show you," she explained and that just made me nervous. I quickly took off my armor and shoved it on my inventory before I followed Hestia through the house -- and when we reached the kitchen, I saw what she meant. On the ceiling was a magical circle of glowing blue lines. I thought it was a rune trap at first, but given the lack of exploding, that couldn't be the case.
  
  "Sheogorath just kinda pops in whenever they want using that thing. They called it a Mark. They also said that the ambient color would go well with the walls, and I kinda agree -- it's really useful at night!" Hestia proclaimed, kinda missing the point that the Prince of Madness could teleport into our house whenever they wanted. They?
  
  "Is there more than one Sheogorath?" I questioned worriedly. Two gods brought Markarth to its knees accidentally. I didn't even want to think about what two Sheogoraths could get up to. Especially considering, judging by how things were going, I would end up being the one cleaning the mess. But, to that question, Hestia shrugged, which wasn't an answer at all.
  
  "Maybe? I don't know how to explain it -- when I first saw them, they looked like a woman. Then after talking to them for a bit, their voice changed to a man's voice. Then I blinked and the girl became an old guy. But when I blinked again, they were a girl with a girl's voice. And when I asked if they were a boy or a girl, Sheogorath just said that they were a Sheogorath." That... sounded complicated. "But, it's not all bad! Did you know that Sheogorath used to be a human? Or, at least they think that they were. They were an Arch Mage and they cast a whole load of protections on our house!"
  
  There were so many things that I wanted to say to that. But most notably was that Sheogorath apparently remembered being the Hero of Kavach. That was... I don't even know what that was.
  
  "Do you know when they'll stop by again?" I asked, wondering if it would be good or bad to meet the Prince of Madness. But I had to if they were going to be popping in and out of my home like they owned the place or something.
  
  Hestia nodded, "If he comes, then it's usually around dinner time. I think he can smell through the Mark." I had no clue what to do with that information. Hestia squeezed my hand as I dragged the other hand over my face, offering a tender look.
  
  I wanted to collapse and hug her, but I needed to know something else, "And what's with the city, Hestia?"
  
  Hestia blinked, "Eh? What about it?" I looked down at her for a moment and came to the only conclusion possible.
  
  "Hestia, Helgen is going to be attacked by Alduin," I reminded her, and Hestia, thankfully, nodded to show that she still remembered that important fact. "Is it still being turned into a trap?"
  
  "Yeah!" Hestia said excitedly, grabbing my hand and leading us to our room. Inside was a desk that was covered in rolls of paper, one of which was pinned into place so it didn't curl up. On the paper were blueprints for Helgen. Calling them elaborate would be a grand understatement. "Designing things is a lot of fun! The location is really great because we can use the mountains around us for natural elevation, oh, and there are underground springs that we can tap into for water. We followed the source that's in Embershard Mine and there's a whole system of underground rivers and stuff."
  
  It felt like we were talking past each other -- Hestia was turning Helgen into a city that also was a trap, but I wanted a trap that looked like a city.
  
  I looked down at the paper as I listened to Hestia excitedly ramble, detailing the purpose of something she pointed at. The city was something else. It was the design of a city that would one day hold millions of people and be able to support that number indefinitely. I hadn't seen Solitude yet, but looking at the slip of paper, I saw that the city would blow it out of the water. It was like she was building a better Orario in Skyrim.
  
  "And the traps?" I asked, glancing at Hestia as she rambled about how nature would intertwine with the city. She looked a bit put out, but Hestia had to understand how important that was. It was the entire point of redesigning the city.
  
  "They're being built. Stuff like ballistas and chain nets and stuff to keep Alduin from flying off. I'm convincing Sheogorath to use his magic to help out -- did you know he has a fork that can turn anything he stabs into a cheese wheel?" Hestia questioned and that sounded like something that would be right up the Prince of Madness' alley. "But... when you're fighting Alduin..."
  
  I offered a smile as she looked down at her designs for a metropolis, "I do my best to make sure that he won't wreck the city too much." I reassured, hoping that I could keep that promise. Hestia beamed as she went in for a happy hug, and this time I could actually feel her hugging me with all of her strength.
  
  She hugged me for a few moments before pulling away, "I also got a letter from Lili -- she says that they reached Whiterun safely awhile ago. They should be on their way to Winterhold by now though, but the Dragonstone was delivered. There's a group of people from Whiterun that are going to the spot that the map marked to dig up the dragon remains."
  
  "Hope she's doing okay," I said as I took the letter from Hestia to read over it. It was in Lili's handwriting and it was emphasizing that they were fine and safe. From the look of it, Hestia had reread the letter more than a few times.
  
  "The blessing that I gave her is still there. Lydia is fine too -- but she's been a bit over-eager with her training," Hestia said as she reached out to grab one of my hands with both of hers. "Everything has been okay," she reiterated as she squeezed down reassuringly while looking up at me. "You don't have anything to worry about."
  
  I looked down at her, the proclamation feeling a bit... off. But that was probably just the exhaustion talking. So, I let out a small sigh as I smiled down at her, "Looks like it. But if you're able to redesign the city like this, then is there even a point in me becoming Jarl?" I couldn't help but wonder.
  
  "You have to!" Hestia decided, her lips twisting into a frown. "I keep getting letters from everyone asking me to support them for something, or to donate some supplies for their causes! I keep telling them to leave me alone and I'm using all of the stone to build aqueducts, so they can't have any!" Hestia turned a trash bin that was filled with parchment, and I'm guessing that those letters were the offenders.
  
  "Well, in that case, I guess there's no choice," I conceded. "As Thane of three Holds already, I have to say, my odds are good."
  
  Hestia beamed at me, "Good!" She said as she pulled me to the bed. She made me sit down on it, and even then I was still taller than her. But she never let go of my hand as she looked up at me on a more even level than before.
  
  "What happened in Markarth?" Hestia asked, the earlier cheer was gone, replaced with concern and seriousness. And, with four words, every trace of moisture in my mouth vanished. I shouldn't be surprised. Hestia knew me better than that.
  
  "I... made the best choices that I could... but I don't know if I made the right choices," I told her. "It was a bad situation, Hestia. Really bad. And... I don't think there was a right answer, but..."
  
  Hestia closed her eyes for a moment before she nodded, "I want you to tell me everything." She said and... I did. I told her everything starting right from where we began our journey to Falkreath. Meeting the Dark Brotherhood, making the deal to prevent any assassinations on our Familia, how that blew up in my face a couple of times, then going to Markarth and detailing how that situation went from bad to worse so fast.
  
  Hestia listened the entire time, nodding along with the occasional grimace passing over her features as I detailed something distasteful. Like being willing to frame a man for something that he didn't do. Or denying a man's last request. Or slaughtering thousands and standing upon a mountain of corpses.
  
  By the time I had finished, I felt utterly exhausted. More exhausted than I did after the battle for Markarth or the War Game. But it felt good to get it off my chest.
  
  "This is my fault," Hestia decided, just like I expected. Her voice was thick with emotion, guilt welling up in her eyes. "If I hadn't divided up my Arcanum, then none of that would have happened-"
  
  I pulled Hestia in, her face smushed against my chest and I felt tears soak through my shirt almost instantly. "It's not your fault," I told her, knowing that she wouldn't believe it. "You did something good. Something selfless. You helped people that needed help for a long time. What they do after isn"t your responsibility."
  
  "But this happened when the gods descended back home! I should have known better! The Pallum race collapsed, entire countries were destroyed... but I was just thinking about the end result. I didn't even think about all the terrible things that happened before that point," Hestia argued. She trembled against me, her voice muffled to the point I could barely hear her.
  
  "That still doesn't make it your fault. You did what you thought was right. And that's all there is to it. And I'm not going to let go until you believe that too."
  
  Hestia let out a sob and I had to swallow a sigh.
  
  I hated being right sometimes.
  
  ...
  
  It took Hestia hours to calm down, and even then she still clung to me. I ended up dragging us both to bed, letting her rest on top of me while I used the pillows to prop my torso up. Her breathing wasn"t deep enough for her to be asleep, so she was likely thinking. Which was a good way to have your thoughts spiral out of control when you felt like crap, so I did what I could to distract her.
  
  Like how she had been trying to distract me earlier.
  
  "With Dibella here, and Sheogorath maybe popping in, I"ll stick around until he does show up. Just to make sure that everyone can get along okay," I offered some comfort, a hand rubbing soothing circles into her back. Hestia let out a noise that sounded approving, but not quite happy. "Not that I think that it would -- I heard everyone in Helgen screaming that everything they did was for you. It was pretty inspiring. I don"t think any of them even noticed me."
  
  Hestia clung to me that much tighter, "It"s embarrassing. They"re making me out to be someone really important... so... it feels like I have to reach their expectations." She explained, and I"m guessing that was part of the reason why Helgen was going to end up being a metropolis by the time Hestia was done with it. "They"re all working so hard..."
  
  Shit. Maybe I shouldn"t have said anything?
  
  "You have already exceeded them," I told her, ignoring the disbelieving noise. "This place is going to become a paradise on earth, and things will level out. I promise that. Soon enough, once the novelty wears off, everyone will think most of the gods are pains in the ass like they did Orario." That got a small giggle out of her, so I was making progress.
  
  "Do... you blame me?" Hestia asked and my answer couldn"t have been quicker.
  
  "Of course not," I told her. "You aren"t responsible for what other people do. I know that"s hard to swallow -- I have trouble with it, but in the end, its true. No one forced the Forsworn to attack the city. No one held a knife to the throats of everyone partying and no one forced them to go with Sanguine. That"s on them." In a way, having metaknowledge was a curse because I did know what would happen if Hestia hadn"t given away her Arcanum.
  
  "I don"t blame you, and no one else does either," I repeated as Hestia pressed herself against me, trying to eliminate any distance between us.
  
  "But..." She couldn"t bring herself to say it. Even still, I knew what she was trying to say -- but I had to do some haunting stuff because of the domino she set in motion, and because of Perfect Memory, those memories wouldn"t ever go away.
  
  "But nothing. You said it yourself -- Akatosh said this was an experiment to see if it was better if the Daedra had direct contact or how things were. He's the one that made it easy for the Daedra to cross the barrier into Nirn. If there's anyone to blame, then it's the Daedra and Akatosh," I interjected, leaving it at that. Silence reigned in the room for a long while before I heard Hestia exhale as she pushed herself up a bit to look at me. Her expression was a mask of determination.
  
  "We should update your Falna," she decided. I blinked at the sudden decision, but I figured that it was better than her moping around being depressed over things that she had no control over. She scooted back, letting me take off my shirt before I laid down on my back. Hestia straddled my back and placed two hands on me after letting a drop of blood fall on my Falna.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 33
  Title: Under Leveled
  Health: 3200
  Magika: 125
  Progress to next level: 165,335/200,000
  Strength: 133 (+151= 284)
  Endurance: 190 (+225= 415)
  Dexterity: 144 (+169= 313)
  Intelligence: 110 (+77=187)
  Sense: 160 (+240= 400)
  
  Resistances:
  Physical Resistance: 30% (10% due to Durable, Toughness and Oakskin perks)(15% due to Endurance)
  Magic Resistance: 15% (due to Endurance)
  Abnormal Resistance: 65% (50% due to Super Immune perk) (15% due to Endurance)
  Fire Resistance: 15% (15% due to Endurance)
  Cold Resistance: 65% (base 50%)(15% due to Endurance)
  
  Skills:
  (General)
  Gamer Body (100/100): The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage (55/100): Skilled hands make a target's tension and exhaustion melt away.
  Kissing (65/100): An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target.
  Sex (50/100): Greatly enhances parameters when engaging in sexual intercourse. (perks available)
  Dishwashing (1/100): Stains and dried on food are easier to remove.
  Cooking (1/100): Creating delicious meals with ingredients.
  
  (Combat)
  Footwork (23/100): The basis for all martial talents. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity.
  One-handed (30/100): Governs your effectiveness when using one-handed weapons, including daggers, swords, maces, and war axes.
  Two-handed (25/100): Governs your effectiveness when using two-handed weapons, including greatswords, battleaxes, and warhammers. (perks available)
  
  (Armor)
  Heavy Armor (33/100): Governs your ability to move and fight in heavy armor. (Perks Available)
  
  (Stealth)
  (None)
  
  (Magic)
  (None)
  
  (Thu"um)
  Unrelenting Force (0/100): Your Voice is raw power, pushing aside anything - or anyone - who stands in your path.
  Dragonrend (0/100): Your Voice lashes out at a dragon's very soul, forcing the beast to land.
  
  (Crafting)
  Woodwork (7/100): Craftsmanship involving wood.
  Stonework (10/100): Craftsmanship involving stone.
  
  (General Perks Available)
  Sex:
  Nutritional Value: The user"s semen has the nutritional value of a healthy protein-heavy meal.
  Snug Fit: Size difference is no longer a concern.
  Fertility control: The user can control the potency of their cum to prevent pregnancy or guarantee it.
  
  (Combat Perks Available)
  Two-Handed:
  Bigger is Better: Maneuverability is not hindered by the size of a two-handed weapon
  Strong-arm: All experience with two-handed weapons is increased by 10%.
  
  Heavy Armor:
  Tank: All experience with Heavy Armor is increased by 10%.
  Here to Stay: Blunt damage effectiveness is reduced by 25%.​
  
  Huh. I had some surprisingly good perks to choose from. Bigger is Better sounded appealing, but I wasn't exactly sure how it would work. If I had something like the Dragonslayer, how could you make something like that as maneuverable as, say, a normal long sword? Or was I just over thinking it? Feather Step didn't make a lick of sense, so I probably was.
  
  Strong-arm had its own appeal as an exp boost. Since my stats were so slow to increase, making up for it with skills was tempting. But Bigger is Better was my choice -- I hadn't begun actually learning how to use a sword yet from a teacher, and I could always pick it up later.
  
  Here to Stay was picked for similar reasons -- because of my perks, when I was wearing the Ebony Mail, it was tough to hurt me. I wouldn't say it was impossible, not yet, but I had reached a point that most things couldn't do any considerable damage to me. And I wanted to continue that trend. So, as nice as exp gains would be, Here to Stay was the obvious choice.
  
  Then there was the sex perks -- the last time I slept with Hestia before leaving for Falkreath had pushed me over the edge. And it was a real tough choice. A real tough one. While I hadn't encountered any real issues with size difference before, that didn't mean I wouldn't. For the most part, all the sex that I had was in Danmachi, an anime world. Now I was in Skyrim, which may not run on the same... kind of logic.
  
  Fertility Control... I hated kids. I just didn't see the appeal. Maybe that would change one day, but for now that opinion was set in stone. A perk that meant I didn't have to worry about knocking anyone up? That sounded perfect.
  
  But... I did have those extra perk points to use because of my titles... but no, I wouldn't waste them on something like this.
  
  Markarth showed me the scale of what I was doing. I couldn't waste a free perk on sex when so much was at stake.
  
  So, Fertility Control it was.
  
  You have performed a feat worthy of a Title!
  
  Journeyman Undead Slayer: 25% increase in the damage done to Undead creatures.
  
  One Man Army: 15% base increase in all experience gains when outnumbered a thousand to one. An additional 1% is added for every additional thousand enemies.
  
  Man of the Hour (3/9): Secret Achievement! A special title will be awarded when requirements are met: Becoming Thane of all nine Holds of Skyrim.
  
  "Huh," I muttered, reading over my titles. I got some pretty good titles too. Not only that, but I had two additional extra perk points, bringing my total up to four. And I would save them -- I was going to have another training montage over the winter, so I would be using those extra points to buy top level perks. Not to mention the special title I could get.
  
  Though, it would mean that I would have to become the Thane of Windhelm, but I could swing that. Probably.
  
  "Jericho?" Hestia said, the light fading as the update finished. Her hands caressed my back for a moment before she laid down on top of me, her head resting between my shoulder blades.
  
  "Hm?" I hummed, my eyelids feeling heavy. Yesterday was utterly exhausting. Now I was back home, laying in my bed with Hestia cuddled against me -- this was what I wanted and now that I had it, I just wanted to turn my brain off and sleep.
  
  "Are you okay?" Hestia questioned, making me slowly open my eyes as I considered the question. And as I arrived at my conclusion, I realized that I couldn't lie to put her at ease.
  
  "I will be," I half answered. It wasn't much different than the War Game. If anything, the War Game had been worse because they had still been living. They had begged and screamed as they died. But back then, I had been too angry to care. Too furious to think clearly. The War Game was a blur, while the butchery at Markarth was etched into my memory down to the smallest detail.
  
  More than that, the old man... I didn't kill him but that blood was on my hands.
  
  And as far as I was concerned, it was innocent blood. It was different than bandits and members of the Soma familia.
  
  "Are you mad?" I asked, knowing it was a loaded question. She had a lot to be mad about.
  
  There was a brief silence before I felt Hestia shake her head, "No. I can't say I would have done what you did, but... I understand why you did it. You were trying to protect me and Lili and everyone else. It didn't... go as planned, but... that's not your fault."
  
  She squeezed me tighter as we fell into silence, the room filled with nothing but the sounds of us breathing softly. My eyes remained open, mulling over that for a long minute. I wasn't sure if I necessarily bought that, but it was something I was going to have to live with.
  
  After some time, the silence was broken by Hestia. "Can you stay for a bit? I know you're busy, and I know that Alduin comes first but... I've missed you," Hestia whispered, shifting a bit so she was more comfortable and I realized we would be sleeping like this.
  
  There was absolutely no way I could say no to that request.
  
  "Of course."
  ...
  
  There will be no updates from the 23rd to 30th. I"ll be back on the 31st with a chapter of Power Corrupts and the schedule will continue as normal.
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
  Completed Stories: Going Native (DBZ/DC Comics), Power Corrupts (Gamer SI), See No Evil (Young Justice SI)
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  TV Tropes: Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Going Native/Gone Native (DBZ/DC comics)
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
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  I didn't have dreams anymore. I noticed it a while ago, back when I had been unable to shake off the habit of sleeping. Ever since I became the Gamer, I lost the ability to dream. It was just like turning a light switch on or off. But, on a plus side, it meant that I couldn't have nightmares.
  
  Opening my eyes, I felt like a weight had been removed from me despite the fact an actual weight was pressing down on me as Hestia snoozed on top of me. Sleeping was unnecessary and a waste of around eight hours or so, but it was fantastic for resetting your mood. There might be some invisible well-rested bonus because I felt better than I had in a while.
  
  It was just a break from having to deal with, what felt like, every problem in the kingdom. Because I knew that Riften was going to be a dumpster fire too. The Thieves Guild was in that city, so Nocturnal probably was too, so there could be some kind of... struggle in the shadows, or something. But I didn't have to worry about that right now. Right now, my biggest concern was how I was going to pop my back with Hestia laying on top of me.
  
  "Hmm..." Hestia hummed in contentment, revealing that she was awake but ignorant of my plight as she snuggled into me. But since she was awake, there was nothing stopping me from pushing one side up so that she slid off of me with a surprised noise. Then she made one of disgust when my spine readjusted itself. "Gross!" She accused, before yawning and stretching.
  
  In response, I popped the other side of my back and let out a small groan of relief. "Can't help it. I'm not used to sleeping on my stomach. Or sleeping anymore," I told her, shifting so I was looking at Hestia. Her hair was a bit devilish, and her white dress was a bit wrinkled, but she seemed well-rested. It seems that sleep reset her mood as well.
  
  "Sorry, but I was too comfy," Hestia informed, offering a smile as she settled into the bed. "What time is it?"
  
  A quick mental check later, I answered, "It's just past noon. So, we slept for about six hours," I informed, getting a low grumble from Hestia in response.
  
  "Lydia is going to get mad. I just fixed my sleep schedule, too," Hestia muttered with a sigh, but it sounded like she wasn't too broken up about it. "But we should get up," she pointed out, looking at me(,) but she made no move to do so. Her blue eyes stared up at me as I also failed to roll out of bed.
  
  "Yeah, probably," I agreed before I reached out with the arm that wasn't pinned underneath me, earning a giggle from Hestia as I drew her in close. Her eyes closed as she tilted her head up, leaving it to me to tilt my head down to place a kiss on her lips. Hestia"s breath tickled my cheek as she inched forward, trying to close whatever distance was between us.
  
  She pulled back after a minute, blinking as a blush covered her face. She licked her lips as she looked up at me, "My lips are all tingly," Hestia informed, her breathing deepening as her eyes grew cloudy with lust.
  
  Enhanced Saliva was working its magic, I figured. A perk that turned my saliva into a mild aphrodisiac that enhanced sensitivity. And now was probably the best time to test out a few other perks I had picked up. Though, controlling my fertility wouldn"t mean much with Hestia considering that gods couldn"t have kids.
  
  "That so?" I murmured, a hand dipping down to her waist. With complete ease, I lifted Hestia up, placing her over me. She flushed at how easily I could handle her, or it was because she knew exactly what I had planned. Now that I was laying on my back, my thumbs hooked around the edges of her panties before I slid them down her smooth creamy legs. Hestia kicked them off, sending them flying across the room before she scooted forward, a small streak of dampness on my chest where she sat for the briefest of moments.
  
  With Hestia sitting on my face, her hands using the headboard to brace herself, I dragged my tongue over her slit and I heard her moan deeply. Her thighs clamped down on the sides of my head as I began to eat her out in earnest, the taste of her heavy on my tongue, and her sweet pants of pleasure were like music however muffled they might be.
  
  "I missed you," Hestia told me, her voice filled with need as her juices began to pour out of her. Her walls clamped down on my tongue as it invaded her pussy, trying to milk it for cum, only to be rewarded in another way. I felt the tell-tale signs of Hestia"s near orgasm already. Either the aphrodisiac part of the perk was an understatement or Hestia was massively sensitive towards it. Or she could just be backed up.
  
  I couldn"t respond with words given that my mouth was preoccupied, so I answered with action. Arching my tongue, I used my enhanced strength to drag the tip over a spot I knew she loved. Almost instantly, her warm wet walls clamped down on my tongue like a vice as Hestia shuddered above me. Even still, I continued my ministrations, lapping up her juices, and dragging out her pleasure by tweaking her clit.
  
  Hestia"s hands went down to my hair, grabbing handfuls of it as she ground her pussy against my mouth as she came. A powerful orgasm and the first one to come. All the while, I explored every inch of her with my tongue, intent on putting the aphrodisiac everywhere I could. I heard her moan my name, already pushing her towards her second orgasm in under a minute. By now, with my experience coaxing orgasms out of Hestia on top of my perks, nothing less was acceptable.
  
  The second orgasm seemed to slam into her with physical force judging by how she moaned deeply, folding over until her head rested against the headboard. Her body trembled above me, and she would have collapsed if it wasn"t for my hands keeping her up. But even still, I kept lapping away at her pussy -- intent to plunder her depths with my tongue.
  
  "Jericho, I"m-!" Hestia shouted, cutting herself off with another moan as a third orgasm slammed into her. This one the most powerful of the three. Juices covered my tongue as she squirted, her nectar dripping from my chin and along my neck. Hestia swayed to the side, falling on the bed in a heap as her chest heaved for breath.
  
  Wiping my chin with the back of my hand, I drank in the sight of Hestia -- her groin was flushed, covered in a wet shine. Beads of sweat formed on her milky skin and trailed down with every breath she took. My cock strained against my pants, wedged to the side, but unlike all the times before, I was an actual superhuman. A thread popped in my jeans and more would have followed if I hadn't hastily pulled them off.
  
  Hestia let out a giggle as I narrowly avoided ruining a pair of pants as she rolled onto her back. A hand-dipped between her legs, two fingers spreading her lower lips -- bright pink with a drop of arousal dripping from her. There was a coy smile tugging at her lips and the sight about drove me wild. Reaching out, I grabbed her by the ankles and dragged her closer to the edge of the bed, causing her dress to scrunch up, and Hestia giggled again. Excitement shone in her eyes and she was drunk on pleasure.
  
  Any tolerance she had built up was outpaced by my perks and growing skill. She didn't stand a chance.
  
  The tip of my cock pressed against her entrance and both of us let out a low groan as I slowly sank inside of her. Her folds gripped my length, both so very warm and so very wet. Hestia"s back arched as her jaw continued to drop as I sank deeper and deeper into her until I bottomed out. She let out a low moan and her walls massaged my unyielding length, an orgasm already sweeping through her.
  
  "T-That perk m-might be a bit t-too strong," Hestia informed, trembling like a leaf as she limply allowed me to undress her. Her breasts sprung free, her nipples were pebbled, so perked up that they defied gravity. A hand enveloped one, a thumb and a forefinger tweaking them and I was rewarded with a breathless moan.
  
  "Oh?" I muttered, my voice low and husky as I drank in the sight of my goddess. I hadn"t moved beyond the initial penetration, but Hestia looked like an absolute mess.
  
  She swallowed thickly, "I can... feel you more?" Hestia tried to explain, "And I feel really sensitivvvveeee!" Hestia screeched as I slowly dragged my length out of her. Her back arched as she threw her head back and moaned senselessly. A smile tugged at my lips, my hand falling from her breast to run over her stomach, my other going to her waist to keep her in place.
  
  Yeah, I could believe it. But I couldn"t say that I didn"t like it.
  
  My hips found a slow rhythm, her walls fighting to keep me inside of her with each thrust. Hestia gripped the covers. Her legs hooked around my waist as her toes curled -- more than the sex, that sight of her absolutely losing her mind pushed me towards the edge. Two weeks of no release, not even a wet dream to take the edge off, my balls were aching.
  
  In record time for me, I blew my lid. Any other time I would have felt ashamed with just how fast I had cum, but I couldn"t bring myself to. Hestia moaned as her womb was filled to the absolute brim. It was less than I thought it would be after saving up for two weeks, but that was more because the pipes needed to be cleared. The next load would be bigger, experience taught me that.
  
  Her walls milked me for every drop, doing whatever they could to put more in an already filled to bursting womb. Hestia trembled, shaking as she came hard once again. Yeah, Hestia was right -- maybe the perk was a bit strong. She had always been quick to please, but compared to the progress she made, it was like she was a virgin in over her head again.
  
  "Hey, hey!" I heard a woman"s voice call out before the door swung open fast enough that it bounced off the door behind it. Despite being caught midway through an orgasm, I was ready for a fight. Every muscle tensed, including the one balls deep in Hestia, as I looked over. Dibella stood in the doorway, a wide smile on her face that was a tad too fierce to be real. Behind her was Lydia, who looked like she was frozen mid-attempt at dragging the Goddess of Love and Beauty away from kicking open the door.
  
  "I knew it! I so knew it! Do you really think you could hide such tender love from me?!" Dibella shouted challengingly, barging in the room. The sound roused Hestia from her stupor, or maybe it was the strangled sound that Lydia made when Dibella unfurled her robe and dropped it to the floor without a care.
  
  I saw her naked before, but I had been annoyed rather than horny. Dibella was absolutely stunning in every definition of the word. She was that girl when she passed by, you couldn't help but glance over your shoulder. And she was coming right at me with the intent to jump on my dick.
  
  "W-W-What are you doing?!" Hestia shouted, aghast as she covered her breasts, shifting so I pulled out of her to spill cum onto the bed covers and floor. That stopped Dibella cold in her steps. She tilted her head as she looked between me and Hestia, clearly caught off guard.
  
  "I can't join?" She pouted, giving the two of us what I could only describe as puppy dog eyes. They were oddly more effective considering that she was completely nude as she shifted from foot to foot in anticipation. Lydia wasn't staring blankly anymore, but waited for an answer as well. She was blushing down all the way to her toes, I was betting.
  
  Hestia sputtered at the request, or rather how casual it was. She shouldn't have because Dibella seized the initiative and skipped over. Hestia looked panicked as Dibella jumped on the bed with a smile on her face as she took one of Hestia's hands into hers. "Love is something beautiful and pure, Hestia. Some think that it can only be shared between two people, but that isn"t so."
  
  Dibella inches forward, resting her head in the nook of Hestia's neck as the both of them looked up at me. "It can only be shared between two people when their hearts aren't large enough to accept more into it. And that's fine. It's beautiful as well, but neither you nor Jericho have small hearts," Dibella said, a slow smile spreading on her face as Hestia was completely and utterly sucked into her pace. "He loves you. Completely and utterly. Ah, don't be embarrassed!" Dibella said when I shifted awkwardly.
  
  Because it was awkward. In the grand scheme of things, Hestia and I hadn't known each other that long. Not even two months. It's just... way back when I had my first girlfriend, who had taken my virginity, I was convinced I was madly in love with her. I wasn't. I was an idiot who had found a girl willing to touch my penis and my hormone-soaked brain had decided that was love. We had dated for about three months before we broke up.
  
  "It's a good thing, Jericho," Dibella reassured. "Your love is young but it is deep and as vast as the ocean." She said, and that did make me feel a bit better. Then Dibella turned her attention to a blushing Hestia, who looked at me with eyes filled with adoration and affection. "On the eve of battle, his only concern was you. He didn't fight for honor or glory, but to return to you. It was soo romantic!"
  
  There was a question in Hestia"s gaze and I nodded, letting out a small breath. "Yeah... more or less," I admitted and Hestia adopted a dopey expression since she could hear the truth in my words. Dibella pounced, placing a hand on Hestia"s stomach as she seemed to cuddle into Hestia"s side.
  
  "Don"t you want to share that love?" Dibella questioned, looking at Hestia. She hesitated, but the fact that Dibella was in the bed in the first place betrayed her answer.
  
  "Well... I suppose... I did miss out with you and Syr," Hestia muttered as she glanced at Dibella, "But... I don"t really know you."
  
  Undeterred, Dibella simply smiled as she rolled over so she was straddling Hestia. I leaned over a bit to make sure that Hestia was on board with this, going as far as to ignore a perfect view of what might actually be the perfect ass. Dibella leaned down once and placed a kiss on Hestia"s cheek, testing the waters while Hestia looked up at me. "Can you think of a better way to learn about someone?"
  
  I could, but I wasn"t going to argue that point.
  
  Hestia nodded, and I looked over to the door, expecting to see Lydia there as I allowed hope for a foursome to bloom in my chest. Except the door was closed and Lydia was nowhere to be seen. I guess something like this was too much for her. Which was fair. Lydia struck me as a straight-laced type and surprise orgies was a step too far.
  
  "I must say, Hestia, you certainly know how to pick them," Dibella noted as she glanced over her shoulder at me. Her smile widened when her gaze landed on my still erect cock. She swayed her ass enticingly, "I prefer women, but your lover really is larger than life... one in desperate need of a reward."
  
  I cocked an eyebrow at Dibella as she rolled off of Hestia, letting my goddess sit up. Dibella was taking the lead as if it were natural and judging what I had seen in Markarth, it was natural to her. And given that she was the actual Goddess of Sex, I decided that she was better off taking the reigns.
  
  "Jarl Ingmund couldn't properly reward Jericho for saving Markarth, so it falls to us," there was a sly smile in Dibella's voice. She stood up, Hestia following her on shaky legs. She pressed a hand against my chest and gently pushed me to a chair tucked into the corner of the room. One big and sturdy enough for me to fall into without it breaking. I sat down, still about eye level with the Goddess Dibella. Right until she dropped to her knees, a hand going to cusp my balls. "To be lavished in the love of two goddesses is a worthy reward, is it not?"
  
  I looked at Hestia, wanting to make sure she was okay with this, but I didn't need to. She looked a bit dazed, but her response was to take a step forward and place the tip of my cock into her mouth and sink down on it. A hand rested on the back of her head as her throat enveloped my cock. It spasmed, adjusting to the girth while Hestia coughed and gagged a bit.
  
  "Oh my!" Dibella looked absolutely delighted as she watched Hestia deepthroat my cock. "Oh my! I thought we were going to have to share, but...!" Dibella let out a giggle as she flashed a smile before leaning in. I felt her tongue drag over my balls and I couldn't swallow the groan that I let out, allowing the sensations to roll over me.
  
  I marvled at the sight -- Hestia and Dibella were worshiping my cock, two actual goddesses. When Hestia went up, Dibella would lavish her tounge over the shaft exposed before going back down to my balls and I could feel the smile on her lips the entire time. This was a reward that outstripped my wildest expectations. All of a sudden, dealing with the mess that Markarth became felt so worth it.
  
  Hestia pulled herself off my cock, gasping for air, and Dibella seized the chance to wrap her lips around it. She moaned as she took me into her throat, though not as deeply as Hestia had. I couldn't help but compare the two -- Hestia was enthusiastic and she learned through experience what I enjoyed the most. Dibella was simply experienced in general, which was why I enjoyed the former more than the latter even if Dibella was technically better at giving head.
  
  Seeing that her spot was taken, Hestia went to copy what Dibella did earlier and worship my balls where another orgasm was starting to brew. The sight of it was just too much -- two breathtakingly beautiful goddesses were worshiping my cock, and Hestia's gaze was filled with lust while the sounds of Dibella masturbating could only barely be heard over the sounds of the blowjob.
  
  Ever since coming to Skyrim, or since I leveled up really, I felt powerful. From defeating most enemies with ease to impressing veteran warriors, to collecting titles and having everyone just be in awe of me when I did my thing. I just felt powerful. Like I was at the top of the mountain. And, at the moment, I don't think I've ever been higher on life.
  
  I let go of any thoughts of restraint and allowed myself to completely focus on the sensations -- warm wet tongues dragging across my cock, the Goddess of Love and Beauty sucking diligently while she hummed a small tune to herself. Hestia threw herself in her task like a woman possessed, her gaze never leaving mine.
  
  Minutes passed and I felt an orgasm edge closer. They felt it too when my balls clenched in preparation judging by how they sped up to receive their reward seconds earlier. My hands gripped the arms of the chair, and I thought of hot chocolate before I came. Dibella pulled back, setting her face next to Hestia's as she let my cum spray across her face with a thoroughly proud smile.
  
  I came hentai protagonist amounts most of the time, but after two weeks of nothing and the pipes being cleaned? I came a dangerous amount -- if I wasn't the gamer, I would take one look at the amount that seemed to be spewing out from the tip of my dick and decide I had to go see a doctor. Thick ropes of cum splashed over the goddess's faces. It covered their faces, some of it getting in their hair, but my balls weren't through. I aimed lower, taking aim at their chests and painted them white.
  
  The girls giggled as they kneeled between my legs and let me paint them with my seed. By the time I began to taper off, Dibella leaned forward and took the sensitive crown into her mouth and sucked out what was left. Since one eye was forced shut, the other widened enough for the both of them as she pulled back. The Goddess of Love savored the taste of my cum, before swallowing and opening her mouth so I could see that she had swallowed.
  
  "What was that?" Dibella questioned as she idly scooped a trail of cum that was dripping down towards her belly button.
  
  "It's a skill that Jericho has -- he can make his seed taste however he wants it to," Hestia explained, shivering a bit as she did the same and sucked the contents off her finger.
  
  Dibella blinked at me, going slightly cross-eyed as she looked at my still unyielding cock. "Oh," she said, sounding like she came to a realization. "You really are wasted as a hero, Jericho. With a body like that... a cock like this... and cum that tasty, you could be the most renowned lover in all of Tamriel."
  
  "I think it's a bit early to decide that," I noted as I moved to get up. There was a glimmer of excitement in Dibella's eyes. She yelped when I picked her up with ease and carried her to the bed. I glanced at Hestia, who nodded as she climbed up as well. "But I'll go ahead and take the compliment," I said as my cocked lined up with Dibella's soaking wet entrance.
  
  Her back was facing me, so I couldn't see her face but Hestia could. With some pressing from Dibella, Hestia opened her legs to allow Dibella to place her head between them. It was a stupid thing to notice, but when Hestia moaned as Dibella began to go down on Hestia, Hestia didn't moan as loud as she did with me. I could eat Hestia out better than the Goddess of Sex.
  
  With that thought driving me forward, I sank into Dibella's depths. Her walls clenched down in a vice grip, impossibly tight, but judging by the moans Dibella unleashed, she wasn't in any pain. So, I pushed forward and sank deeper and deeper into her -- only to find that she could only take me little past the halfway mark.
  
  Was it worth fixing this problem at the cost of a title perk point? The answer was no. Did I want to? Absolutely.
  
  But, those extra perk points were reserved for saving the world.
  
  Sadly.
  
  Dibella had a shallower pussy than Hestia -- which might be because of the jump in genre. Hestia was from an anime while Dibella was from a western video game. Because of that, I found a decent pace to thrust and let the pleasure of sex wash over me. Her pussy squeezed and clenched in practiced motions, with each thurst her walls desperately attempted to keep me inside of her. Her hips rocked back and forth in a steady rhythm -- it was clear that she was experienced, more so than Syr had been.
  
  "Ohhhh~~~!" Dibella moaned when I grabbed one of her legs and rested it on my shoulder, forcing her to rest on her side. The tightness of her pussy was more pronounced, and I couldn't go quite as deep, but the pressure made it worth the trade-off. Hestia held Dibella's hands, watching Dibella's face with a sense of awe. The Goddess of Love's expressions were twisted with pleasure.
  
  She looked at me, her jaw slack but her eyes narrowed dangerously when she saw just how much of my cock was left unattended. With one hand, she grabbed an ass cheek and spread her asshole. "Use that hole instead," she moaned and I hesitated for a moment.
  
  Then I obeyed. Dragging myself out of her pussy, I pressed the tip against her asshole, glad for the lube already covering my cock and pressed forward. It felt different than her pussy -- tighter but less wet. Just different. Dibella moaned deeply as I pushed inch after inch into her until my hips were touching her pleasantly firm ass.
  
  I savored the sensation of being buried in her ass before I slowly started to drag myself out. Once only the head remained inside, I pushed back in -- allowing her time to adjust. But once my hips found a steady but powerful tempo, her palm-sized breasts bouncing with every thrust, I dipped a hand between her legs to her empty pussy and filled it with a few fingers. All the while Hestia played with her breasts, intent on making Dibella lose her mind.
  
  It didn't take long for Dibella's first orgasm to rock her body. Unsurprisingly, Dibella was a squirter. Her fluids dripped down my hand as I pounded at her ass, each shapely cheek a bright red. Her ass itself clenched down, but I continued to thrust to drag out her orgasm. Her chest heaved as she offered a shaky smile.
  
  "T-this wasn't I meant, you know," she informed. This was supposed to be my reward for being a great big hero.
  
  I smiled down at her, "Watching a beautiful woman lose her mind because I'm fucking her? That's all the reward I need. So, hold on tight, because I'm not going to stop until my balls are empty." I told her, picking up the pace. I closed my eyes as I thrust, listening to Hestia and Dibella's sweet moans. All the while a third orgasm began to build, but it was still some time away from being unleashed.
  
  Yeah, dealing with Markarth had been completely worth it.
  
  ...
  
  This turned into a smut chapter on accident. Plot what supposed to happen this chapter. I swear.
  
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  I felt about ready to take on the entire world when I rolled out of bed, thoroughly satisfied. Dibella and Hestia were left laying on the covers, both driven to the point of exhaustion. In Hestia's case, endurance had been an issue for some time now, but in Dibella's case, the spirit was willing but the body had limitations that she wasn't used to. Towards the end, I was stuck relying on old tricks to drag the pleasure out a little longer, but I was thoroughly tapped.
  
  Rolling my shoulders, I eyed the sleeping women, and while I cursed Perfect Memory, now I could call it a blessing. But it did feel a bit creepy standing over two naked and sleeping women, even if one was my goddess and I had just slept with both. Looking away, I stepped out of the bedroom, deciding that I could use a shower.
  
  I looked around the living room, finding it empty, and I guessed that Lydia decided to give us some privacy. I was thankful for that. My gaze slid up to the Mark on the ceiling of the kitchen after I got a glass of water through a functioning faucet -- it was just... kind of nerve-wracking knowing that the actual god of madness had direct access to your home and kitchen whenever they felt like it. Hestia seemed to trust them enough to allow them to do it, so I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, but Hestia's decision-making track record wasn't flawless.
  
  But, at the moment I couldn't do much about it. Swallowing a sigh, I drained my water before stepping into the back to find that some things had changed around the house. When I built the thing, it was a good house. Now, after some upgrades while I was traveling, it got upgraded into a great house. Great enough that I couldn't even be mad at the unexpected upgrades. Before, there was a small washroom with a tub.
  
  Now there was a straight-up open-air onsen, complete with a deep pool of cyan-blue steaming water surrounded by hard stone. Candles were placed to help illuminate the pool during the night. The picture was made perfect with some snow lazily falling to the ground. I glanced around as I stepped outside, eyeing the tall wall meant to keep people out. And given that I saw faintly glowing magical lines, I'm guessing they were trapped. Meaning that someone had tried to peep.
  
  "I'll kill them later," I decided, stepping into the pool after stripping off a pair of boxers that I had used to preserve my modesty while walking around the house. The contrast of the chilly air against the steaming hot water was surprisingly nice. And Hestia made it with my size in mind because I found a spot that I could sit and still sink up to my shoulders. It would practically be a swimming pool to everyone else.
  
  Taking in a slow breath, I let it out in a cloud of fog as I turned my attention to the dull gray clouds above. I would have to leave soon. Honestly, I should probably be on my way, but I promised Hestia that I would stay. So, I would. At least until the morning.
  
  I was working on a dwindling supply of time, after all. The trip to Markarth took longer than I expected by several days. Farkas and Aela were probably already in Riften dealing with whatever mess was there. But, even still, my previous good time made up for it. I still had two weeks to earn the favor of Riften and snag my fourth Thaneship. I could loiter around the house for a day or two.
  
  After that, it was the Graybeards to weather the worst of winter, and then the Moot.
  
  "Hard to imagine that all of this is just set up for the Moot," I muttered, sinking up to my chin as snow fell all around me. It was like Skyrim was trying to fall apart, there were just so many fires to put out. After my training montage, and after the Moot, that's where the true preparations for Alduin's return started. Which would be another three months. It was hard to judge my progress, but I figured I was doing decently. I had real upgrades in terms of equipment at least. My titles were going to be invaluable too.
  
  My eyes drifted close for a moment, knowing that as soon as I left Helgen I would go right back to sprinting across the country as I dealt with every pain in the ass task along the way. At least the loot was good. At the sound of the door opening, I saw Lydia standing at the door frame, clad in nothing. She seemed to freeze like a deer in headlights, covering herself, but she couldn't find any words.
  
  "Hey," I greeted, closing my eyes again. "It's been a while." There wasn't any need to make a big deal out of it. If anything, we were even because she got an eyeful of me earlier.
  
  Lydia hesitated, but I heard her take a step forward. Sonar was surprisingly useful in that regard. "It has my Thane. I trust that the road has been treating you well?" She asked, almost masking the sounds of her stepping into the water and placing herself on the far end from me.
  
  I swallowed my first answer to that question, "It's been exciting, at least." To that, Lydia let out a sound of amusement.
  
  "As I've heard. The Divine Dibella's familia Captain has been telling quite the tale of your deeds in Markarth. If she's to be believed, you slew the entire army by yourself," Lydia remarked, sounding like she thought that was an exaggeration. And I decided not to correct her. Partly it was because I didn't want to be that guy that bragged about how awesome I was, but mostly I wanted to be there when she realized that it wasn't an exaggeration.
  
  I offered a shrug, "Not the whole army," I allowed, figuring that was suitably an answer to say that I hadn't been misleading her, but vague enough to totally mislead her.
  
  "From the rumors that pass through Helgen... it really does sound like Skyrim is falling apart. Though, not just Skyrim, but the entire empire. Despite it nearing winter, so many pilgrims have started to come to find and worship their gods," Lydia informed.
  
  Huh. "Sounds like they're going to be stuck in Helgen for winter," I observed. The passes and stuff were hardly snowed in, but people couldn't travel the country like I could.
  
  "That is why Lady Hestia has pushed the reconstruction of Helgen so hard and fast -- it's for the sake of those that come, so that they will have a warm bed and a roof to sleep under." There was a passionate note of pride in Lydia's voice. If I had to guess, it was the pride of knowing you were on the side of righteousness and the person you followed was more than worthy of loyalty.
  
  Given who she was, and the fact that Lydia hadn't been able to pick the Thane that she would be sworn to, I'm guessing that was a serious concern for her. That the person that she would be task with protecting with her life would be scum that lucked out with an official position.
  
  "I honestly didn't even consider that being an issue," I admitted. "I'm glad Hestia's on top of it. At least I don't have to worry about home while I'm out."
  
  "You do not, my Thane," Lydia insisted. Then she realized her mistake, "Er- Jericho."
  
  I decided not to comment, "Just be careful. Dibella is staying in the city and after the mess Markarth turned into..." I trailed off. She really did remind me of an old friend that just became a completely different person once the ball got rolling. I first met her in class, introduced through a mutual friend. The first couple of times we hung out, she struck me as a fairly normal person. Then we partied together and I watched her get progressively less clothed as the night went on until it ended with her doing a line of coke on a guy's dick in the nude. In front of around fifty people.
  
  Lydia cleared her throat, "You and, ah, Divine Dibella..." I could practically see her blush even with my eyes closed.
  
  "Don't look too deeply into it. She's probably going to try to sleep with you too."
  
  "What?" Lydia questioned, caught off guard.
  
  "She used her Divine power to find cute girls back before she descended. Now... well, to her it's like an all you can eat buffet. So, yeah, she's going to make a move on you. And probably Hestia too. But, as your Thane, I'm ordering you to block that shit. The only one that can seduce Hestia is me." I ordered, my tone adopting a mockingly grave quality.
  
  "I... feel like I just heard something crazy... but I will obey that order, my Thane," Lydia responded with some humor, spotting the half-smirk tugging at my lips. "Does that order also apply to me?"
  
  Oh? I cracked open my eyes to see Lydia giving me a cautious look. The kind that told me she was testing the waters with flirting. But I guess it was a Nord thing to start flirting when we were both already naked rather than an Aela thing. "Yeah, you'll be in real danger of getting hit on," I confirmed.
  
  Lydia seemed pleased with the bit of harmless flirting, even if she tried not to show it. She opened her mouth, only to be cut off by a flash of light coming from the house. I saw what happened perfectly because of my expanded vision, even if I was confused by what I saw. From the looks of it, a flash of light appeared in the kitchen before someone fell from the ceiling.
  
  I looked over, already realizing who it was, but I still felt cautious. But, with shocking quickness, the door to the bath was thrown open with reckless ease to reveal a woman. She was fairly short, hovering around five feet, with silver hair smoothed back, and mismatching colored eyes -- despite the changes compared to what I knew, I could instantly tell who she was even without the aura of a god washing over me.
  
  She was Sheogorath, the Prince of Madness. And I could tell that she was currently a she because she wasted absolutely no time stripping off her clothes. "Oh, it's so pretty!" She decided, tossing off her top. A layer of muscle clung to her frame, her breasts small but quickly perked up in the frigid air. More noticeably, her body had more than a few scars on it. A claw mark running across her shoulder, a bite mark on her forearm, a handful of stab and slash scars scattered about on her stomach and chest.
  
  Though, any attraction was swiftly killed when I saw that she had a dick- wait... I watched in some distress as her dick seemed to just... shrink into herself until no trace of it could be seen. That was... uh... you know what? Perfect Memory was back to being a curse because I was never going to be able to unsee that. What the hell?
  
  Sheogorath didn't seem to notice because she took a few quick steps before she jumped into the water with a huge splash, dousing Lydia and me with water. She stayed submerged for a few seconds before surfacing to spit out a stream of water as she smoothed her hair back. It was fairly short, not even long enough to brush her shoulders.
  
  Which I noticed was suddenly missing a scar that I saw just a second ago. If I had to guess what was going on with her -- the Hero of Kvatch was the template her body was using, but the Prince of Madness' influence wasn't something so easily shaken. So, it was a constant battle between the body that the HoK had in life and what she became. That was... kinda sad now that I thought about it.
  
  "Absolutely positively delightful," Sheogorath announced before letting out a content sigh as she swam to the edge of the pool. Turning around to face us with her arms spread out on the ledge, she completely ignored Lydia's baleful look to look at me. "You're a lot smaller than I thought you'd..." She trailed off as I took a step forward towards what was the shallow end for me as I rose out of the water.
  
  "Ah. Never mind then," Sheogorath let the topic drop with a smile that was a little too wide. She waved her hand, and out of nothing a floating wooden platform appeared with a cheese wheel and a bottle of wine sitting on it. "Cheese and wine? They go perfectly with a bath. And fighting. And a snack!" She cackled at a joke that only she seemed to understand before the platform drifted over to Lydia. She didn"t take anything from it.
  
  Sheogorath didn"t seem to mind though. She turned to me, a spark of madness in her eyes, "I"m glad to finally meet you, you"re just as ridiculously proportioned as I"ve heard." I cocked an eyebrow at that, but she continued without pause. "It"s always nice to meet the big Hero of another age. I thought it was supposed to a Dragonborn this time, be eh, snooze you lose, am I right?" She said with a deranged giggle while Lydia sputtered.
  
  I quickly realized I had absolutely no idea how to handle Sheogorath. Which shouldn"t be surprising really, but I had underestimated how badly I didn"t know how to handle her.
  
  So, I shrugged. "I"ve never been one for prophecy or leaving my fate in someone else"s hands."
  
  Sheogorath"s smile widened a fraction, "The clock moves on the heroes" time but a role can be usurped. A funny thing about time. And Akatosh. Did you know that I met him once? He was all large and dragony. Nearly stepped on me. Ah, anyway, the point is that little tidbit was my key to success. It can"t be anymore because those shoes aren"t mine, but you"ve nicked them, stuffed your humongous feet in them, and broke the seams to make them fit."
  
  I narrowed my eyes. "What?" I asked, trying to shift through that for the point that she was trying to make. Beyond the obvious. But... was she trying to say that if I fucked around home for as long as I wanted, I would arrive just in time to save Riften from whatever mess it was in?
  
  "The Hero arrives precisely when they are meant to. Not a second before, not a second later. Even if the Hero wishes it. No trouble can be adverted if it belongs to that Hero"s tale that was set in stone thousands of years before it happened. From wandering into Oblivion Gates to picking gooseberries for sweet old ladies." Sheogorath"s smile took a mocking edge to it.
  
  She let out a surprisingly bitter chuckle, "From beginning to middle to end, the tale of a Hero has been written by prophecy. The ink dried the moment the cosmos was created. That"s quite the thing to say you don"t believe in, Jericho the Ginormous."
  
  I blinked a few times, taking that in. That was... well, she clearly knew what I was trying to do -- use metaknowledge to solve a problem. And that was kinda scary to know that she knew about that. But was she saying that it wouldn"t work or that it would? The clock moves on the Heroes time, but I had usurped the role of the hero. Yet, prophecy dictated that things would play out exactly as they were meant to.
  
  The Hero would be there to save the day...
  
  "Did... I break the clock?" I asked quietly, thinking that had to be what she was telling me. If the rule was that the Hero would arrive on time because the clock moved on their time, if I broke that rule... then it meant that I wouldn"t arrive on time. I could arrive before events or after them. Which shouldn"t be as frightening as it was, but given that Skyrim really was trying it"s absolute best to kill itself, it became a real concern.
  
  However, Sheogorath shook her head hard enough to send drops of water flying everywhere. "No, I said you broke the shoes, remember?" She pointed out, and I couldn"t tell if that was reassuring or not based on that lopsided smirk of hers. She really was leading me around by my nose. "Clocks and shoes aren"t even close to the same thing. How could you misunderstand that?" She questioned, looking at Lydia with an expression of "can you believe this idiot?""
  
  Lydia looked like she was having a whole lot of trouble following the conversation. The only reason she hadn"t called it crazy talk was probably the fact that I was taking it seriously. She looked between us before she spoke slowly, "Then... what happens to the hero after their role has been filled by another?" She asked, and that was a good question.
  
  Sheogorath giggled madly, "They find a new role, of course! One chosen by the gods can"t be so easily swept under the rug." Then Sheogorath titled her head to look at the door, her smile still affixed to her face. "Usually," She added with a barely suppressed snarl as Dibella and Hestia walked outside. Dibella in the nude while Hestia was wrapped in a towel, the afterglow of sex making her absolutely radiant.
  
  "Hey!" Dibella practically skipped to the pool of water, completely oblivious to Sheogorath"s ire. I looked between them, my muscles tensing to interfere, but I honestly wasn"t sure if I could. Sheogorath was fundamentally different than the rest of the gods that had descended. She wasn"t a god that became a normal human.
  
  The Main Quests were all canon, meaning that Sheogorath was the head of every major institution in Cyrodil. The most powerful mage, the most powerful warrior, the greatest thief, and assassin. Shegorath didn"t lower themselves to a normal person. They resumed a mantle that they had left behind.
  
  In a fight, I wouldn"t be placing any money on me. To put it simply, she was me at the end of doing a completionist run.
  
  "Hello, Dibella. I"m surprised to see you here," Sheogorath remarked as both got into the bath. Hestia swam over to me, clearly pleased with herself as she swam into my lap. I wrapped a hand around her, ready to shield her if it came right down to it.
  
  Dibella let out a sigh before she reached out to nibble on some cheese, "Jericho"s letting me stay after I got kicked out of Markarth," She explained without a trace of shame. She set me a Look and a smile that promised that what had happened earlier wouldn"t be a one-off occurrence. Then she looked at Sheogorath, who just smiled away. "But you look familiar? I mean, I know you"re a god, but you don"t look like a god that I know."
  
  "Ah, I suppose I should be overjoyed that you remember someone like little "ol me, if only barely," Sheogorath bowed her head, "Sheogorath, Prince of Madness, Hero of Kvatch..." She slowly rose her head to look at Dibella"s widening eyes. "Divine Crusader."
  
  There was an impressive amount of anger in those two words, and it caught me off guard. In the game, Sheogorath seemed like he couldn"t give two hoots about the gods, but this wasn"t the game. The memories of the Hero of Kvatch were surfacing. Sheogorath was becoming what he was before she became Sheogorath.
  
  What she said earlier seemed to click into place and her bitterness was explained. The gods knew that the Hero of Kvatch was going to become the Prince of Madness. Right from the start because that was her story -- from the hero that saves the world more than once to an insane god. That"s what her destiny was. And now that she recalled what she was to give context to what she became... I would be bitter too.
  
  "Ohh..." Dibella seemed to realize who she was sitting across from. She looked at Sheogorath with an anxious expression. "Are you mad? You seem mad," She pointed out, earning a giggle from Sheogorath that sent a chill down my spine.
  
  She just smiled away, the tension between them growing so thick that it was hard to breathe. Hestia looked between them, hesitating on interfering because the two clearly had history. "Oh, I assure you, I'm quite mad," Sheogorath punned, letting out another giggle that sounded absolutely deranged, "I'm also quite curious. Has Akatosh descended? I have some things I would like to discuss with him."
  
  Dibella, as much as an airhead she was proving to be, realized that she was in a minefield. However, that anxious expression melted away and she seemed to calm herself. "No, he hasn't. And he won't. He's the most powerful of us all, but the barrier that protects Mundus isn't something that he can leave unattended. If you want to speak to him, I'm sure that praying would work."
  
  "But," Dibella quickly continued, "I think I should apologize to you." She decided, making Sheogorath tilt her head to the side in response. "I didn't have any hand in your..."
  
  "Curse? Affliction?" Sheogorath offered before her eyes darkened and her gaze sharpened, "Betrayal?"
  
  Hestia shifted in my lap, left in the dark. The Hero of Kvatch was the Divine Crusader. Blessed by the gods to defeat a godly enemy. Their greatest pilgrim and their most fervent believer. Or, so the lore said. Regardless, what else could leaving their Champion to suffer from complete and utter madness be other than a betrayal?
  
  "All of those things," Dibella decided. "But, I didn't do anything about it either. For that, I can only say that I'm sorry." From the sound of it, it sounded like she understood that wasn't going to be enough. Nowhere close. I couldn't even imagine what I would do if it were me in Sheogorath's shoes.
  
  I tensed, ready to protect Hestia from whatever hell was about to be released. Lydia was too far away for me to protect them both, so I could only hope that she would be able to throw herself out of harm's way. It sucked, but if I could only save one, then it was the easiest choice I ever made.
  
  Dibella met his gaze evenly for a few moments. Then a minute. Then two. Neither gods moved, not so much as blinking, and I had no idea that Dibella had a spine like that because I would probably be pissing myself. Sheogorath, if she was a fraction of as powerful as I thought she was, then she could absolutely wipe the floor with me.
  
  Then, without any warning, Sheogorath smiled, "That's okay, I forgive you 'Bella." I blinked, and I wasn't the only one caught off guard by that.
  
  "That's it?" Hestia spoke up, "I thought you were really angry Sheo," She observed.
  
  Sheogorath nodded, "I was. But I wanted an apology, and I got one. Why would I still be mad?" She sounded genuinely puzzled by our confusion.
  
  "Thank you for your kindness, Champion," Dibella said, trying to sound official but it was clear to hear she understood just how closely she brushed with death just now.
  
  "No worries, 'Bella," Sheogorath dismissed before she stood up, revealing her nude body for all to see as she got out of the bath. She held her hands out, T posing, and out of absolutely no where, an elf just appeared with a towel in hand. That was... weird. Was that what it looked like when I pulled a wagon out of thin air? But, to my shock, I knew who the elf was.
  
  Adoring Fan? What in the hell was he doing here?
  
  "Hello, Number One Fan," Hestia greeted, offering a small wave. I shifted a bit to make sure the guy couldn't see anything, but he apparently only had eyes for Sheogorath.
  
  "Hello, Goddess Hestia!" Adoring Fan returned as he dried off Sheogorath.
  
  Dibella frowned as she looked at Adoring Fan, "I recognize him as well. He's the one that followed you absolutely everywhere, right?"
  
  Sheogorath nodded happily, "Into the depths of Oblivion, to the Shivering Isles, on every quest and errand, my Number One Fan was there right beside me!" And... huh. I never really thought of it that way. Adoring Fan was such a fanboy that he actually followed you to hell and back.
  
  "It's my honor and my greatest privilege!" Adoring Fan returned, sounding like he meant the words from the bottom of his heart.
  
  "So, when I descended, I reserved the fellow. It felt weird not having him with me telling me how great I am every step of the way," Sheogorath said, kinda taking the wholesome feel away from the exchange.
  
  Hestia tilted her head, "Won't some of the Aedra get mad? There are a couple that deal with the afterlife..."
  
  "Meh," Sheogorath dismissed the issue with a shrug as the Adoring Fan started to dress her. "If they have an issue with it, I'll stab them with Forky. He's my undead Captain of my Familia!"
  
  "I am?!" Adoring Fan looked absolutely ecstatic with the news.
  
  "Of course! You're the only member of my familia," Sheogorath pointed out and not even that brutal logic could put a damper on the guy's mood. Honestly? Good for him. The guy clearly knew what he wanted and he was living his personal dream. The look on his face as he beamed pure joy out of every pore was direct evidence that proved that dreams did come true.
  
  Sheogorath turned her attention to us again, now fully dressed, "But, I should be off. Some business to take care of in Solitude -- a me is kicking his feet up in a painting created with some of your hair, 'Bella, and there can only be one!" She declared, taking out a fork that Hestia and Lydia eyed warily. Then Sheogorath blinked. "I wonder what I'll taste like. It's all a bit fuzzy, but I do recall being rather fond of mozzarella at the time..."
  
  Surprisingly, it was Lydia that spoke up, "But, what you spoke of before..." She trailed off, glancing at me. I blinked, meeting her gaze, and suddenly felt like I was missing a piece of a puzzle. Why was she looking at me?
  
  Sheogorath spared me a glance, "I'm afraid he's not quite tall enough for what I have planned. I'll stop by after you've done some growing, young man!" She cackled before she took a step forward, stepping directly into the water's surface. I watched her go, Adoring Fan walking around, and I had the feeling that she wasn't talking about my height. I half expected Hestia to offer for them to stay for dinner, but she seemed able to read the mood.
  
  With a flash of light, both Sheogorath and Adoring Fan were gone. And only then did I let out a breath that I hadn't realized I was holding.
  
  "That was a thing," I remarked, my bath far more stressful than I had expected it to be.
  
  ...
  
  "Do you have to go?" Hestia asked the next day. She wore a variation of her normal dress, but now it covered far more skin, was thicker, and was lined with fur to keep her warm. I wore similar clothes, though my left arm was covered in the Hestia Armor.
  
  I nodded, feeling similarly reluctant. "I do. Riften is probably on fire knowing my track record, so I better go put it out before anything too bad happens," I told her. She nodded glumly, holding her hands out for a hug and I took a knee to embrace her. She threw her arms around my neck and squeezed with all of her strength.
  
  "I know. I should be glad you were able to stay as long as you did," Hestia admitted, knowing what was at stake. "I'll take care of Helgen so you don't have anything to worry about, okay?"
  
  I smiled a bit, wishing that she was tough enough that I could hug her with all of my strength. "I'll try to stop by after Riften if I can. If it's a quick trip, I'll swing by to head back to Markarth and Falkreath to make sure that they haven't fallen apart."
  
  "I'm looking forward to it!" Hestia said, taking my words as a promise. She pulled back to show me a beaming smile.
  
  "And keep an eye on Dibella. And Sheogorath," I instructed, earning a grave nod from Hestia.
  
  A sigh escaped her, "I've never seen Sheogorath like that before. Even when she was ranting about the Thalmor, about them stealing her clout, she didn't seem really angry about it. It was like it was just an excuse to stir up some trouble. But..."
  
  But both of us doubted that a grudge like that could be forgiven so easily. It was possible given who Sheogorath was, but my guess that she was just directing it at someone else. Like Akatosh, for example.
  
  Pulling back, I stood up to send a look at Lydia. Her face was all business as she was clad in her armor. "And I will take care of Divine Hestia," She swore without having to be asked. I nodded, knowing that she would do everything in her power. But, given that the Hero of Kvatch was hovering around, my hopes were that Sheogorath would help protect Hestia as well.
  
  "I believe you," I said with confidence. Part of me wanted to just take them both with me so I could keep an eye on them, but Hestia had responsibilities in Helgen now. She couldn't afford to leave for a handful of weeks. "But don't forget to take care of yourself too." Lydia nodded as if I had given her an order.
  
  Hestia offered me another smile, sensing that it was time for me to depart. I gave her hand a squeeze, a silent promise that I would see her as soon as I was able before I turned away and started walking. I grabbed my wagon, and with one look over my shoulder to see Hestia waving goodbye, I started running and left Helgen through the East gate.
  
  Snow fell from the ground as I sprinted my way through the winding mountainous path, but it wasn't long before Babette stirred in the back of the wagon. I heard her clamor to the front before speaking, "Your goddess is unusually beloved in Helgen," Babette informed. "I couldn't find a hint of a conspiracy against her."
  
  A knot of tension eased away at the information. "Nothing?" I asked, wanting to make sure as I sprinted towards Riften.
  
  "Nothing," Babette confirmed. "I had thought that there would be some grumbling from those that had their houses destroyed, but they were all too happy. It was honestly disturbing," She muttered with distaste.
  
  "But?" I fished, looking for that other shoe to drop.
  
  "But, there are spies in the town. Quite a few. The Empire, the King of the Nords, the Stormcloaks, and a handful of others whose masters I couldn't identify. As instructed, I forwarded their names to your goddess." Babette informed and that... wasn't good, but better the spies that we knew than the ones we didn't know. "It was quite pathetic. They were so easy to identify because they were all practically tripping over one another. It's as if the longer I live, the less professional enemy agents get."
  
  I didn't respond, content with the information for now. Part of me wanted to turn around and eliminate every single threat or leave Babette behind to protect Hestia in the shadows, but I didn't trust the century-old loli that much.
  
  It was just increasingly clear that we needed more familia members. Lydia was a start, but she was still a level 1. A great big target was being placed on Hestia and the familia was too spread out to properly protect her.
  
  I sprinted in silence, the hours ticking by as we neared Riften as the sun began to drift towards the horizon. By the time it was nearing dusk, I pulled through the city gates to find that it wasn't on fire like I feared. As I pulled my wagon into a warehouse, letting Babette slip out to go unnoticed, I took in the city.
  
  Of the four I've been in, it was probably the worst. The streets were dirty, though made of cobblestone, the buildings were kind of run down and the people seemed a little too gruff. It wasn't bad, persay, but one look at the grimy city and I felt like it was the hood of Skyrim. The central market was bigger than it had been in the game, and in the distance, I could see a dominating keep. The people seemed tense though and they eyed me with suspicion.
  
  "Jericho!" I heard a familiar voice call out, a hand being raised into the air to get my attention. Looking over, a smile found its way onto my face as I saw Farkas. "Took you long enough. What happened to meeting us on the road?"
  
  I shrugged, "Long story. But, let's just say we're two and zero in terms of cities not being utter disasters." I informed and a grimace crossed over Farka's face, making my smile slip. "Farkas. Please tell me that we aren't three and zero."
  
  "Do you want the bad news or the worst news first?" He asked with a sigh.
  
  "The worst news," I answered, dragging a hand down my face. Honestly, what was with this country?
  
  "The Thieves Guild have pretty much taken over the city." I so fucking called it.
  
  "The bad news?" I asked, feeling exhausted already.
  
  "The fact that the Thieves Guild have pretty much taken over the city brought Ulfric Stormcloak here. So, he's here. I know you're pro-empire, so I figured that would be bad news for you," He offered helpfully.
  
  You know what? I think I would have preferred it if the city were on fire instead.
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  "Alright. Fine. Take it from the top -- what in the hell happened?" I sighed, considering whether to turn around and march straight back home. Sheogorath said the clock was moving on my time, right? It should be fine. I could totally go home, relax with Hestia, then deal with this shit later. But, given my source for that information was quite literally the embodiment of insanity, the information was pretty suspect. So, I resisted the urge.
  
  Barely.
  
  Farkas shrugged before he nodded at a bar, gesturing for me to follow. "As far as I've heard? The Thieves Guild stole something from Maven Black-Briar, they kicked up a big fuss about it, and apparently, she wasn't just bragging about having the Jarl and the guards in her pocket-" Wait, she actually went around saying stuff like that? "Because they flooded the underway, or the sewers, looking for them."
  
  Hm. This hadn't happened... so I'm guessing Nocturnal. "And they didn't find them, I'm guessing?" I guessed and earned a nod from Farkas as we walked. Wait, shit, there was that Blades guy in the underway? I swear to fucking God...
  
  I could feel my stress levels rising already.
  
  "No, they did. But the Thieves Guild has deeper pockets because they came back out on their side. The guards stormed the palace and the Black-Briar manor, clamped the Jarl and Maven in chains, and now the Thieves Guild rules the city," Farkas explained the situation. He led us to the Bee and the Barn, a bar at the edge of the market.
  
  Before we entered, I spared a glance over the city. Things did seem tense with guards and soldiers on the streets, but not the kind of tense that came before a slaughter.
  
  "Then Ulfric came," I continued, spotting the blue color that marked soldiers as Stormcloaks. "Doesn't look like there was any fighting, though."
  
  "There wasn't," Farkas confirmed as we entered the bar. It looked like a dive bar -- too disorganized to be called a normal bar, but not run down enough to deserve to be called a hole in the wall. It was filled with a decent number of people though, and my gaze landed on the first Argonian I had seen since coming to Skyrim. A woman with a reptilian face, her snout was long and covered in pale gray scales, her eyes red. She wore a dress that almost seemed out of place on a lizard person, but no one said anything about it so I wasn't going to either.
  
  "When Ulfric showed up with half an army, the Thieves Guild went to ground. With hostages," Farkas added as he took a seat. There wasn't one that looked like it could hold my weight, so I leaned against a wall holding up an uncomfortably low ceiling. I got some glances(,) but no one said anything. "So, now it's a standoff," He continued, flagging the waitress down for two mugs of ale. I wished he hadn't, but whatever.
  
  I nodded, thinking that made sense, "Jarl Laila Law-Giver is one of his supporters. It's a bad look for him if he lets her get executed. Maven is rich, and money talks." Then I glanced at Farkas, "Where's Aela?"
  
  "She's keeping an eye on the Black-Briar family. In case they do something," He answered as the Argonian woman handed each of us a mug. We clunked them before we started drinking(,) and it tasted like absolute shit. Worse than normal alcohol. "So what happened in Markarth?"
  
  I swallowed a sigh, "The Forsworn tried to invade. The Jarl got kidnapped. And no one noticed because the city was in the middle of a party led by Sanguine and Dibella that raged for about a week." Farkas blinked at that, mulling it over with a sip of his drink.
  
  "Tried?" He questioned and I shot him a smirk.
  
  "Tried," I confirmed. He started laughing at that.
  
  "A Thane three times over," He remarked with a shake of his head. Then he paused to shoot me a look, "They did just Thane you, right?"
  
  I nodded, "Just Thane'd me. Falkreath is getting its food, but Markarth is an absolute mess. Half the population left to go party with Sanguine and they were heading to Solitude... and so is Sheogorath, now that I think about it." Shit, did anyone send a letter warning them about that? Because it felt like we should have sent a letter about that.
  
  I guess I knew which city I was going to bail out next.
  
  Farkas looked oddly relieved, "Sounds like a real mess. And not the fun kind. Are you sure you still want to be Jarl? So far, it sounds like a colossal pain in the ass." He pointed out, and he wasn't wrong there.
  
  At this point, I probably didn't need to become a Jarl. I had thoroughly underestimated just how badly the gods descending would upheave the status quo. The point was to become Jarl so I could make the kind of changes to Helgen that Hestia was already making. Hestia just came in like a wrecking ball, said fuck the rules, and just started building. The reason to become Jarl wasn't there anymore.
  
  But, I should still become the Jarl of Helgen. Being Thane was nice, but being Jarl would give me a seat at the big boy table when it came to making decisions. I would get to have a voice in what should be done about Alduin. Because, like it or not, titles had power in this era. That, and I was certain that I would get a Title out of it and that would mean another free perk point.
  
  "Honestly? I think I've sunken so much effort into it I have to see it through at this point," I admitted another reason for wanting to become Jarl. Two weeks of just pure bullshit. With more bullshit on the way. If I didn't become Jarl at the end of all of this, I was going to be fuming.
  
  Farkas chuckled at my honesty, but didn't comment on it. He was right there with me for a lot of it, so he would know better than most. My attention was briefly stolen by the door swinging open and I saw Aela striding in followed by a woman that I didn't recognize. Given that I was a head and shoulders taller than everyone else, it only took her a moment to spot me.
  
  "Jericho," She greeted, striding forward, an expression of relief on her face. "What happened?" She questioned and my eyes slid over to the woman standing next to her. She was tall, solidly built with blonde hair done up in a braid while light blue grease paint marked the left half of her face. "Ah, this is Mjoll the Lioness. She is a worthy warrior."
  
  Ah. So that's who she was. Mjoll nodded at me, "Aela has spoken highly of you. I thought they were exaggerations, but..." She trailed off, earning a lopsided grin from me.
  
  "Nice to meet you, Mjoll. As for why I was late..." I gave them both a quick rundown of the situation in Markarth. Aela blanched while Mjoll shook her head.
  
  "The gods do love their games, but this is unacceptable," Mjoll muttered to herself. And she wasn't wrong there.
  
  "But nothing can really be done about it," I admitted with a shrug. "Imprisoning them is a bad idea. Killing them is a worse one. The only thing we can really do is sweep up the mess that they leave behind." Though, that wasn't exactly a reassurance based on the look that the three were giving me. "They'll settle down. In a couple of centuries. Hopefully."
  
  Aela sighed, "Sanguine is one of the less malevolent Daedra. I shudder to think what Molag Bal is up to."
  
  I couldn't agree more there. "With any luck, he won't be interested in descending. With Akatosh maintaining the barrier around Mundus, and without having to divide his attention between a dozen different Daedra, he can be isolated or... what's with those looks?" I trailed off, noticing the owlish blinks that the three were giving me.
  
  They shared a look before Farkas spoke, "Barrier around Mundus?" He asked for clarification. Was that not common knowledge? I'm pretty sure that it was... so it might just be a Nord ignorance thing.
  
  To cover my tracks, I shrugged, "Sheogorath." I answered simply and they seemed to accept that answer. An explanation of who Sheogorath really was weighed heavily on my tongue, but now wasn't the time. We had more pressing matters to deal with. "So, any ideas on how to put out this fire?"
  
  I was asking because I wasn't sure. Ulfric being here complicated things. For me, at least. If he wasn't here, I could probably handle the Thieves Guild and keep everything on the down-low. But since he was here, the entire situation was under scrutiny by everyone and doing Ulfric a solid would paint me as a sympathizer. And that would make things awkward for me.
  
  Then, as if they were summoned by my thoughts, the doors to the bar opened and two Stormcloaks stepped in. A few went quiet, but Riften was ultimately a Stormcloak city so most raised their mugs and greeted them with a cheer. They looked around and spotted me with the same ease as Aela did.
  
  One of them said something that was lost in the cheer, but it made a man that had been waiting on the other side of the door step in. A tall solidly built man with a wolf pelt serving as a hat. Almost as one, the bar took in a collective breath and the Argonian woman dropped the mug of ale she had been carrying. He took in the room before his gaze settled on me. The sound of his footsteps seemed to echo through the tavern as he approached, Aela and Mjoll stepping back to clear the way.
  
  "Jericho, Thane of Whiterun?" He asked in a rough voice after coming to a stop directly in front of me, looking up. I was still a head taller than him, but there wasn"t an ounce of fear in his eyes. Something that I hadn"t really seen since my time in Danmachi. And there I didn"t have the strength and reputation that I had here.
  
  "And Falkreath and Markarth," I added for him, pushing myself off the wall to look down at him. He blinked at the knowledge, and I was forced to remind myself that I traveled faster than news here. In the two weeks I"ve been traveling... they probably just heard that I was the Thane of Whiterun. "You are?"
  
  "Galmar Stone-Fist," Galmar introduced himself, deciding to hold out a hand to clasp. And despite my misgivings about his politics, I didn"t have it in me to leave him hanging. He was the second in command to Ulfric Stormcloak, the right-hand man and the general to his armies. Snubbing him was just a dumb move. "The Jarl would like an audience with you, Jericho Thrice Thane."
  
  Right. You know, the titles were a little fresh for me so it was easy to forget I was technically someone important. The kind of person that other important people would like to meet. In my defense, I spent the vast majority of my life as a total nobody.
  
  I nodded, letting go of his hand as my mind raced. "Of course. Though, did he say what for?" I asked somewhat hesitantly because he could want to talk to me about a whole lot of things. Hestia had mentioned that people were soliciting her for building materials, and... simply put, Hestia wasn"t a small-time goddess anymore. She was one of the Aedra, the one that set everything in motion by sacrificing her Arcanum.
  
  And I was her lover and Champion.
  
  "You have a reputation of solving problems, and Jarl Ulfirc wishes to make use of you. I"m sure your companions have told you what has happened in Riften," He explained, nodding at Farkas and Aela. Farkas raised his mug while Aela nodded. So, I"m guessing that they knew each other, if only in passing.
  
  Though, I"m guessing that topic was a foot in the door to ease the elephant in the room. And it wasn't something I could brush off.
  
  "Lead the way," I said with a nod, seeing Farkas knock back his drink while I left mine on the table along with a handful of coins. Mjoll fell in line behind Farkas and Aela, so I guess she was a member of the group or something. But given how it felt like we were a bit short-handed with the whole 'save the world' thing, I wasn't going to complain. I felt every eye on us as we walked out of the tavern.
  
  Galmar wasn't one for small talk I learned as we made our way to the palace. I briefly considered putting on my armor with a thought, but that was also a bad look wasn't it -- suiting up to meet the Jarl? But I couldn't help but feel a little anxious. I was meeting pretty much one of the last people I wanted to meet. Ulfric shouted a king to death, started a civil war, and was a racist prick.
  
  The Thu'um was something I had been hit with a couple of times, but each time it was different. The first time, it was like a sledgehammer hit me in the chest and nearly tore right through me. The second time, it felt like I had been hit by a speeding car -- it sent me flying, but the damage was more dispersed, to the point I only got knocked on my ass. Ulfric was picked to become a Graybeard. He was trained by masters of the Voice for years.
  
  So, it shouldn't be much of a shock that I wanted to wear my armor when I met the guy.
  
  The keep was... old. It was obvious with a glance -- the solid stone was covered in vines that gave it a fantasy look, but the parts that weren't were clearly weathered by time. It was almost enough to make it look run down like the city around it, but the keep was large and grand enough that it seemed to age with grace. Though, it was fairly obvious what were newer additions to the keep. And by new, I meant... possibly thousands of years old, just newer than the main building.
  
  Walking up the steps that was flanked by high walls to separate the keep from the rabble. As we climbed up the steps, I looked to the side to see something that I hadn"t seen before at ground level -- half of the city looked like it was built on the docks. Or, rather the docks expanded and grew until it was solid enough to carry half of a city, then they tacked on docks at the end of those docks. There were gaps that made it obvious where the solid ground ended and where the manmade supports began.
  
  It was a nice distraction for a few seconds, but as we neared the keep, my attention was stolen by who I was about to meet. Galmar pushed the door open with little ceremony, leading us inside. The hall was grand -- wide open with some steps leading to a platform, then some more steps where the throne sat. Behind the throne were stained glass windows, and with the sun shining through them, the hall was dyed several colors.
  
  And there was the man himself -- Ulfric Stormcloak. He looked older than I expected. His mane of brown hair was pushed back, but it showed a hint of gray at the roots at his ears. Around his hard blue eyes were some wrinkles... I had to remind myself that the guy was in his fifties. So, in that case, the guy was aging gracefully as hell.
  
  Ulfiric watched us enter like a hawk, sitting on the first set of steps rather than the throne. Given that he hadn"t named himself king, yet, that was probably a status thing. His hands were clasped before him, his lips pressed together in a thin line -- if I had to describe his expression, it would be severe. His gaze never left mine, neither of us blinking as Galmar and I approached. Then I came to a stop with him looking down at me.
  
  "It"s hardly my place, but welcome to Riften, Jericho of Whiterun," Ulfric started. I expected a gruff voice to match his expression, but it was irritatingly smooth. His second in command walked to the base of the steps, turning around to look at us, but he spared a glance at Ulfric.
  
  "Falkreath and Markarth too," Galmar added, and I was thoroughly surprised to see that Ulfric blinked in surprise at the news. I... shit, I think I was doing something dumb -- I was going with what I believed Ulfric to be. The guy stubborn enough to take on the entire empire, no matter how bad of an idea it was. I was expecting him to act how I believed him to act despite the fact this was my first time meeting him.
  
  I made that mistake in Danmachi. I couldn"t afford to make it again, especially when the stakes were so much higher.
  
  "That sounds like a tale," Ulfric remarked, cocking an eyebrow at me.
  
  I could only offer a shrug, "It"s more or less what"s happening here. Gods descending made a mess, and I was in the area to clean it up." Since I traveled faster than the news, they probably wouldn"t know the story. And... to put it simply, telling them I had punched out a couple hundred orcs then killed an army was going to sound like me bullshitting. They could learn how I became Thane in those Holds after I left.
  
  "Hmph. Chance or ambition?" Ulfric questioned directly, and it was then that I noticed that his voice was oddly... powerful. It sounded normal, but it... I don"t even know how to describe it, but it was like the words had some kind of weight to them that hit you physically. Except not really. Was that because of the Thu"um?
  
  And that was a good question. I looked at Ulfric for a moment and considered something -- I was still biased against him, but... should I tell him about Alduin? I still didn't like the idea of him getting the kill or involving him at all. But, wouldn't it be worth it if I could nip the whole rebellion thing in the bud? If Ulfric didn't rebel then that was just one less problem I had to deal with. Rather than standing divided, fighting half of the country, we could fight together against Alduin.
  
  If everyone killed each other after, then...
  
  That would be my problem, wouldn't it? Hestia was invested in Skyrim. The city she was building -- it was a home. And her Arcanum... if we just left, never bothering to return, then Hestia would have given away a significant portion of her Arcanum for nothing. And I wasn't sure how I could fix that.
  
  I couldn't treat this as a problem that wouldn't affect me.
  
  "Hestia, my goddess, was the first to walk Nirn. And while the rest of the gods descending was a big shock to me too, I went to Jarl Balgruuf with the intention of becoming Thane to gain some protection for Hestia," I admitted to him, having paused a moment too long to brush the question off.
  
  I couldn't tell him about Alduin. I didn't know Ulfric and I trusted him less. If I told him then he was just as likely to use it as a rallying point to boost his popularity.
  
  To that, Ulfric nodded understandingly. "I can understand that. Though, it does seem that mortals are in need of protection from the gods these days," He remarked. Before I could say anything, Aela stepped forward.
  
  "Having met Divine Hestia, I will give my word that she is a kind woman and a kinder goddess," Aela spoke up in her defense. "The Daedra and some of the Aedra's actions shouldn't reflect onto her. She holds herself to a high standard and expects herself to surpass it at every turn." I glanced at Aela as Ulfric did.
  
  The man nodded, "At least one is." He said, not hinting at what he thought about Hestia. But before I could say anything, he looked back at me. "Rumors say that Talos was in Whiterun," He started and if I had to guess, I would say that he was jealous.
  
  I nodded, "He was. If he has any plans, then he kept them close to his chest. He spoke to me a bit about the gods descending and Hestia joining their Pantheon, but after that, he just disappeared." Ulfric frowned at that and I could only shrug, more or less knowing his thoughts because I thought the same thing. "I'm sure he's planning something. He seemed pretty mellow, but a guy like that can't stay retired for long."
  
  To that, Ulfric smirked, "I suspect not." Then he shifted, "But, I didn't summon you to speak of the gods and their plans, but rather how to deal with one underneath our feet. Nocturnal and her Thieves Guild have taken several hostages."
  
  "Have they made any demands?" I asked with a frown. I didn't know much about Nocturnal, other than she was apparently motherly but stern in the game. I couldn't even begin to guess her game plan. But taking hostages sounded like a reactionary thing rather than a plan.
  
  Ulfric shook his head, "None."
  
  My frown deepened. "Since it's Nocturnal... it's possible that they're already gone," I said, making Galmar's eyes narrow, so I quickly explained. "I ran into Sheogorath, and she had one of her Daedric artifacts. A fork called Forky that turned whatever she stabbed into a cheese wheel." That was a story and a half to hear -- apparently some random guy rolled up to the house and started making demands before he caught a fork to the throat.
  
  Ulfric massaged temples with a hand, "She?" He questioned after a pause that was filled with the sound of Farkas chuckling. Before I could answer, Galmar spoke up, questioning what I meant when I said that they could already be gone.
  
  "If Nocturnal has the Skeleton Key, then they could be long gone," I explained. The Skeleton Key was more than an unbreakable lockpick. It could be used to teleport. The entire Thieves Guild questline hinged on no one knowing that it was Mercer Frey having the Key and murdered Gallus Desidenius, the former Thieves Guild leader. If Nocturnal spilled the beans and ambushed Mercer, then it would be simple to get the Key back and the entire questline was avoided. So, I had to assume that she had the Key, and considering it was her artifact, I'm guessing that she could use it for more than just teleportation.
  
  Ulfric went quiet, his expression stony. "They haven't all left then. Before we were issued a demand to stop, my men were ambushed in the tunnels below." Huh. Home field advantage had to account for something, but there was only like a dozen named characters in the Thieves Guild. In the game that is, so maybe there were more members.
  
  I considered that for a moment, then I shrugged, "I can try to negotiate with them," I offered. "I'm a lot tougher to kill than a normal person, and they might be more willing to talk to me since I'm the Captain of the Hestia familia." I guessed, making Galmar scowl.
  
  He let out a sigh, "Familias... that's what the rabble down there was calling itself. So, just because they get a blessing from a god, all of a sudden they're a familia instead of just a band of thieves?" He shook his head, "I don't like that at all."
  
  Ulfric nodded, though I couldn't tell if he was giving me the go-ahead or agreeing with his second in command. "Would that work?" He questioned, his tone serious. "Given who you are, it would be a lot of trouble for me if you end up getting yourself killed."
  
  Huh. "I"ll be fine, and I think it"s the best shot. From what Dibbela told me, the gods haven"t hammered out the rules for the great game that they"re playing yet. Of course, it means that there aren"t any rules to say that she can"t try to kill me, but, likewise, there aren"t any rules to say that I can"t slaughter her familia without consequence. So, I"m banking on her not wanting to rock the boat." Ulfric cocked an eyebrow at that, but I didn't elaborate.
  
  In Danmachi, there was the War Game to regulate conflict between familias. While the fact that there were no rules offered no form of defense for us, it also meant that Nocturnal didn"t have one either. Her Skeleton Key would be a real problem, but ideally, it wouldn"t come down to a fight.
  
  "That sounds like the arrogance of youth, but if that were the case, then Jarl Balgruff wouldn"t have named you Thane," Ulfric said before he nodded. "Very well, I will trust your judgment -- save Jarl Laila. I"m sure you will have her thanks... And mine," He added, his tone serious. I met his gaze and offered a firm nod, knowing that was a dismissal.
  
  And I already knew what I wanted for my reward.
  
  "Consider it done," I said before turning to leave. I felt Ulfric's gaze on my back as we left the keep, and no sooner than the doors had closed did I let out a sigh. Next to me, Farkas started chuckling.
  
  "That went better than I thought it would," He stated as we walked down the steps. With my expanded vision, I saw Aela nod while Mjoll simply walked along with us.
  
  I shot Farkas a look, "What's that supposed to mean?" He gave me an unrepentant smile in response, letting Aela answer.
  
  "You haven't made your distaste for the Stormcloaks a secret, Jericho. I thought you would start a fight." Aela said, making Farkas laugh and it only intensified when I scowled.
  
  "I figured you would have walked right up to the guy and told him you thought he was an idiot," Farkas picked up where Aela left off. "Make fun of the entire Stormcloak idea, challenge him on the civil war that's coming... maybe challenge him to a duel or something." My scowl only deepened and I shot him a sharp look... before sighing.
  
  "I'm not that direct," I defended weakly.
  
  "Jericho, the first time I saw you fight, you literally went to a fort full of bandits and asked, 'Are you bandits?'" Aela pointed out, sending me a teasing smirk. I thought back to that fort of bandits -- I had been unsure what to do, really. I didn't want to risk killing an innocent group of people just because they were camped out in an old fort. So, just kicking the door down and starting to swing sounded like a bad idea. So, I asked. And was answered with an arrow shot at my face.
  
  So I could only shrug in response to that point. "Fair, but I wouldn't say it's not going to happen," I remarked. Now they looked concerned that I would start lambasting the guy right to his face. "He's feeling me out right now. Probably to see if I'm an asset or a problem. Once he sees what I can do, he's going to make a pitch for me to join the cause and get Hestia to pledge support."
  
  Something that was true throughout human history -- when people believed the gods were on your side, then you were righteous. And few could hope to match the will of the faithful when they truly believed that they were doing god's work. Except the gods could now be seen, spoken to, and when you asked for direction, they could point the way out to you.
  
  Having Hestia, or any of the gods, declare for Ulfric was pretty much the last push he would need to become king.
  
  So, he would ask.
  
  And I would answer.
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  "Are you heading down there alone?" Mjoll questioned as I was led to one of the many entrances to the underway. It looked like a sewer tunnel with a grate over it, one that had rusted away after years of being exposed to the sea. I glanced at her to find that she was frowning, not liking the idea of it.
  
  I could only shrug in response, "They'll be less likely to fight if they just see one person. And saying that I'm here on familia business would mean less if I'm surrounded by people that aren't in my familia." I explained, and it was for that reason that I wouldn't be wearing my armor either. Well, not all of it. I had on a dark gray sweater thing and some thick trousers and boots, so I wasn't visibly armored or armed except for the Hestia Armor that covered my left arm.
  
  "Yet," Aela corrected. I flashed her a grin and offered a small nod, accepting the correction.
  
  "Yet," I agreed. "But, for now, it's best if I head in alone. Be careful-"
  
  Farkas continued for me, "You don't trust Ulfric. We know. We'll be careful so you do the same, alright?" He said, thumping me on the shoulder. "From the sound of it, you're the one that keeps finding trouble wherever you go." That was also a very fair point that I couldn't really argue. Especially with Sheogorath's voice whispering in my ear about the role of the Hero that I had usurped from the Dragonborn.
  
  I sighed, "Fine. Fine. I'll try to be careful," I said before turning to the entrance to the underway. "But I don't think it's going to do much good. See you all in a bit." I waved bye, hoping that I would be returning with the Jarl and Maven. Their eyes were on my back as I went deeper before I vanished around a corner.
  
  With a thought, I summoned my map to get a feel for the tunnels and started walking. The tunnels were dark, pitch-black really, but with my sense stat, I was almost able to see. I could see shapes, though it was still too dark to see details. So, I was forced to rely on my map as I slowly mapped out the tunnels. Given that I entered from a different entrance than you did in the game, and the fact that there were several loading screens... I was more or less exploring blind.
  
  But, at the same time, the Thieves Guild would end up finding me before I found them.
  
  "What's the point of having this elaborate sewer?" I wondered aloud, hearing my voice echo back to me as I continued to walk. Sewers were important and all of that, but... actually, I don't even think these were sewers. The stench of waste didn't clog my nose, and while they weren't exactly clean, they also weren't set up to carry waste anywhere. It was like someone had just decided to build a labyrinth underneath Riften. Possibly the Thieves Guild, now that I thought about it.
  
  Time passed by slowly as I walked. It felt eerily similar to exploring the Dungeon back in Danmachi, so time passed by much slower because I kept expecting monsters to start crawling out of the walls. And in a near pitch-black labyrinth, my instincts were screaming at me to get ready for a fight.
  
  However, it was also because of them that I heard the barely audible hum of a bowstring followed by an arrow racing towards me. Instantly, I stepped out of the way, thinking it was too dark to attempt to catch it. I wasn't too worried about getting hurt, but if I missed, then I would look like an idiot. And that wasn't the impression I wanted to give. The arrow smacked into a wall behind me, sparking upon impact.
  
  "I'm just here to talk," I said, speaking into the darkness, choosing not to comment on the arrow. "I'm Jericho, Captain of the Hestia familia-" I sidestepped another arrow and my eyes narrowed dangerously. "Shoot at me again and the arrow is going up your ass," I warned. It was becoming increasingly clear that diplomacy wasn't my forte.
  
  There was a pause from down the tunnel that the arrows were coming from. According to my map, there was a room -- possibly a large one, though I couldn"t see enough of it to tell. After a few seconds, a voice spoke up. "Do you think you could do it a third time? Just to make sure that it wasn"t a fluke?" A male voice questioned, completely ignoring my threat but it wasn"t as annoying as it could have been because he sounded genuinely impressed. "I don"t miss shots often," He offered as if that were an explanation.
  
  ... "Fine, take the shot, but can you at least take me to Nocturnal? This whole hostage situation is bit-" That asshole fired a shot at me mid-sentence, the arrow rushing towards me at high speeds. With the hum of the bowstring muted because I was speaking, my warning was delayed. I dodged the arrow, only to find a second one rushing towards my shoulder. I lashed out with a hand and batted it away, a deep frown on my lips. In response to that, I started walking forward. "You missed your shot. Now, take me to Nocturnal so we can sort this whole mess out."
  
  Because I was listening for it, I heard the faint sound of a bow being drawn before I heard my answer. "Sorry, but Goddess Nocturnal isn"t taking any visitors at the moment. I can give her a message for you, but that's about it."
  
  Right. Why did I ever think that this could be solved the easy way?
  
  "Hm. Look, I don't want to kill any of you and I doubt that any of you want to be killed by me. So, just take me to your god and we can talk this out." I tried, knowing that it wouldn't be any use as I confidently strode forward. Why did it have to be this way? Why was everyone so determined to get killed by me? This was going to cause a real problem later on, I could feel it in my bones. "Last chance."
  
  No. No, I'm not making a problem now that I'll just have to deal with later. The pile on my plate was as tall as a mountain and it weighed so much that the plate was about to give out from underneath it. I didn't need to start a feud with Nocturnal by killing her familia members, even if they were asking for it. I had to take them down alive, which was far more difficult compared to throwing a punch and reducing their head to bone shards and mist.
  
  I was answered by two sets of arrows flying towards me. Holding up my left arm, I used Hestia Armor to protect my vitals as I tensed my muscles before launching towards the archer at the end of the tunnel. Two arrows bounced off my armor but one of them pierced my leg, and the flash of pain that I felt thoroughly caught me off guard because the arrow went in deep.
  
  I hadn't reached a level of toughness that arrows just bounced off of me, but normal arrows shouldn't pierce my thigh damn near to the bone. Unless, of course, they weren't normal arrows.
  
  My lips thinned as I surged forward, yanking the arrow out of my leg. I spared a glance at the tip. It looked like normal iron. But it could be enchanted. The archer had enough time to fire off another arrow that bounced off my armor, and my instincts were screaming at me something wasn't right. How deep the arrows pierced was one thing, but the speed was another. The tunnel was about fifty feet long -- he shouldn't have been able to fire off five fully powered shots in the split second that it took me to close the distance.
  
  Unless he wasn't alone.
  
  I cleared the tunnel, lunging for the figure at the end of it, but they seemed to melt into the darkness. Taking in a sharp sniff, I smelled wine and I shot towards the source. They were blind to my eyes, but my hand grabbed something solid. Slamming them against the wall, I was rewarded with a harsh grunt. "Found you," I told them, keeping hold of the cold leather that covered the slight man in my grip.
  
  The sound of footsteps alerted me to the other enemy, and like the first, I couldn't see them. It was like they weren't there. An invisibility potion? I didn't have much time to think about it because I spun to fling the first enemy at the second. Now I smelled the scents of nature, giving me a bead on them.
  
  But, as he flew away at a sedated pace that promised a painful landing, I didn't hear the sound of him hitting her. I caught a flash of movement before I dodged out of the way of a sword swipe... but it was too fast. Not as fast as me, but it was by far the fastest swing I had seen anyone alive do. The only speed I could compare it to was an Adventure"s back in Danmachi. The blade scraped off my armor and I realized I was holding back too much.
  
  My sword appeared in my hand, bathing the intense darkness in light thanks to the fire that covered my sword. Before me, I saw a woman of average height, but I could only tell it was a woman based on the outline of the black leather she was wearing. I recognized it as the nightingale armor. Only her eyes could be seen, which were squinting to compensate for the fact that she was suddenly bathed in light.
  
  I lashed out with my blade, cutting her simple steel one in half, but when I went to place it to her throat, she reacted. She dodged back while an arrow was fired at me from the side and this time I simply batted it aside, glancing at the slight man that I had been sure was out of the fight. The woman rolled to her feet, pulling a fork from her boot and pointing her glowing shorter short sword at me.
  
  Those reflexes were beyond base human. It could be an enchantment, but given the only time I had seen a physical enchantment in action resulted in a guy breaking both of his arms.. But... it had to be an enchantment, right? Because otherwise, in the handful of weeks, the woman before me would have had to raise her Agility stat to D or C to move like that.
  
  "Surprised?" She questioned, and I could hear the cocky grin on her voice. "I was too. Joining a familia really is something else."
  
  Ah... shit. "Huh. So, I'm going to go on a limb here and guess that Nocturnal used the Skeleton Key to unlock your potential or something?" I guessed, making a show of resting my burning sword on my shoulder. It made more sense than someone pushing themselves to that height in three weeks. It wasn't possible without the aid of a skill like Realis Freeze.
  
  The woman tensed, and I knew I was right. "Or, I had just leveled up." She tried to deflect. And that got a slow smile to spread across my lips.
  
  "Anyone else would have believed that. But, unfortunately for you, I'm currently the only level 2 on the planet," I told her, striding forward. The archer fired off a shot, but I effortlessly deflected the arrows thanks to my expanded vision. Without the shadows to aid them, they couldn't vanish into thin air. "I'm trying to take you down alive, but I have to admit -- my fuse is burnt out, so either take me to Nocturnal, or I'm going to decide alive but missing an arm or a leg is good enough for me."
  
  I could see the doubt in the woman's eyes, but she didn't back down. Letting out a sigh, I started walking forward, my expression settling into a blank mask. Why couldn't anything ever be simple?
  
  Raising my sword up, I was stopped by a third voice. "That won't be necessary," A woman's voice said. Looking over as I lowered my sword, I saw it was another person dressed in the same armor as the first two, but as she stepped out of the dancing shadows I felt a familiar presence wash over me. The presence of a god.
  
  She didn't wear a hood or a mask, revealing an oddly beautiful yet plain face -- her appearance was striking, which is probably the easiest way to describe it. Raven black hair, high cheekbones, a strong jawline -- all of it should have added up to a ten out of ten, yet, looking at her, I wouldn't have given her a second glance if it wasn't for the aura of godhood. "Do forgive my familia members. They were asked to hold this tunnel no matter who entered."
  
  "Lady Nocturnal..." The woman groaned, lowering her own weapons. The guy lowered his own, but he still kept an arrow notched. However, I paid them no mind and focused solely on Nocturnal. She was short compared to me, but she was of average height with a slim build -- it was like her appearance was tailor-made to be average and forgettable. Which was probably the case.
  
  "Sapphire, Niruin, are you injured?" Nocturnal questioned, her gaze never leaving mine. I didn't see a weapon on her, but that didn't mean anything.
  
  The two shook their heads before Niruin offered a small shrug. "Nothing a health potion can't fix," He offered. Given that I had thrown him, he was probably sporting some bruising. Or not. I had passed the first stages of being a level 1 rather quickly. Not to mention when I was training, it was against a level 4 and 5, so I probably wasn't the best judge of what they were capable of.
  
  Nocturnal nodded, "I see. Thank you for your restraint, Jericho. Hestia hadn't exaggerated about you in the slightest," She said, but with her blank tone, I couldn't tell if that was a compliment or an insult. One edge of her lips curled upwards into a slight smile, telling me that had been intentional.
  
  But if Hestia was talking about me, then it was probably good things being said. "Thanks," I responded my tone even. "And I'm guessing you know exactly why I'm here."
  
  Nocturnal tilted her head, "The motivation of humans has always been a mystery. Perhaps you are here for my Skeleton Key?" She wondered, and it materialized in her hand. If she had it, then Mercer Frey was dead and gone. She would be in complete control over the Thieves Guild, their luck restored, and then some based on the fact that they all wore nightingale armor, the special armor reserved for her chosen few.
  
  "I'm here for the kidnapped Jarl," I said with a twinge of annoyance. It would be a lie to say that I wasn't interested in the Skeleton Key, but something like that would come with strings attached and I had enough on me already.
  
  Nocturnal offered a smile, "But I have no kidnapped Jarl," She responded with a hint of amusement. My eyes narrowed into slits, and I really began to wonder if everything I did was going to end in violence. So far, that seemed like the case.
  
  "Okay... do you mean that in the sense you lost her, you killed her, or she wasn't kidnapped?" I questioned, my grip tightening on my sword. It would be my first time fighting a teleporter. But, in this relatively enclosed space, with my reaction speeds and enhanced senses, I had a decent enough chance. But that was assuming that Nocturnal wasn't more proficient with it than Mercer was.
  
  To that, her smile grew. "Oh, we very much kidnapped her. And Maven as well." She corrected, her gaze burning a hole right through me. Her presence seemed to grow heavier, the shadows darker, and the light from my sword grew a bit dimmer. Magic? It couldn't be a use of her Divine power, otherwise, Akatosh would have bounced her out of here.
  
  "For your sakes, I'm really hoping there's a but coming," I warned. Because the other two options were that they lost her, or that they killed her.
  
  There was an impossibly long second that passed, time-stretching because of the tension. Then Nocturnal nodded.
  
  "But," She started, "Jarl Laila is now here of her own free will. Maven less so, but once you take her money from her, how important is she really?" Nocturnal questioned, earning a deep frown from me. What was with the bait and switch? Why would the Jarl want to stay?
  
  "I'm going to need you to explain that one to me. A couple of days isn't long enough to explain Stockholm Syndrome," I told her, idly bouncing my sword on my shoulder as I waited for an explanation.
  
  The response came from Sapphire behind me, "You're speaking to a god. Are you really trying to make demands?" She questioned, her tone scathing.
  
  "Oh, I'll do more than just make demands," I said, my eyes never leaving Nocturnal. "The thing is, I'm getting really sick of you gods setting shit on fire so you can laugh at the flames. Orcs are burning through Skyrim, Falkreath just about collapsed, Markarth was almost wiped off the face of Mundus and now the Thieves Guild has taken over a city, taken the Jarl, and being cagey as shit with answers. I'm sick of it. Every step of the way, you gods have been an absolute fucking pain in my ass, and I'm done with all of you." I told Nocturnal, and it felt good to get that off my chest.
  
  And, all of a sudden, it made a lot of sense why everything ended in violence around me, even when I was trying to avoid a fight. I wasn't much of a diplomat. I was just too honest for my own good.
  
  "So, I'm demanding a straight answer -- what the fuck happened to the Jarl? Don't give me any convoluted bullshit or half-answers, or I swear to every god I meet, whenever one of you starts trying to set the world on fire, I'm just going to start swinging." I threatened and Sapphire made a choking sound behind me. I would follow through on that threat too. Aedra or Daedra alike -- the moment they gave me a reason to by pulling some shit like this, I was just going to start swinging and let Akatosh sort them out.
  
  Maybe they would learn a little humility after getting cut in half.
  
  Nocturnal blinked at my little tirade, and I think I actually caught her off guard. "I see my kind has quickly worn out our welcome for some," She remarked, "But I can't say that your anger is misplaced. Very well -- follow me and I shall take you to the Jarl. It will be simpler if she's here to explain." With that, she turned to start walking down the tunnel. I watched her back vanish into the darkness before I started to follow her.
  
  All things considered, I was wary of a trap, but I was getting what I wanted. I just had to hope that it wasn"t bait. Nearly soundlessly, I heard the other two follow behind me, ready to strike. I was led down a winding path that was probably meant to get me lost, but thanks to my map function I knew the exact way out. We passed through open rooms perfect for ambushes, narrow chokepoints -- this place wasn"t a sewer at all. It was a battleground designed for ambushes.
  
  Regardless of the reason why, after some time we arrived at a red door in the tunnels. There was a guard that snapped to attention, unaware that we all saw him slacking long before he saw us. With his face covered, I couldn"t tell who it was, but I guess it really didn"t matter. He watched me like a hawk as Nocturnal opened the door, greeting him with a small nod. Following her in, almost as soon as the door opened, I heard the sound of crying. Real crying. The kind of ugly sobbing that you only did when you were at the very end of your rope.
  
  My heart plummeted and my mind jumped to the worst. I zeroed in on it, ignoring the cavern that had been turned into a bar underneath the city. There were a handful of people sprinkled about, but the source of it was a lone woman sitting at the bar, sobbing her heart out. Which was better than being locked up in a cage or something like I had expected. I hesitated to step forward, caught off guard, and Nocturnal let out a small sigh as she gestured to the sobbing woman, who could clearly be heard despite being about a hundred yards away.
  
  The cavern would help, but the woman was sobbing like the entire world had just started ending. I mean, it kinda was, but that was neither here nor there.
  
  "She won"t leave," Nocturnal explained as we walked, and I realized that the sobbing woman was the Jarl. "To give our side of the story -- I decided to end the Thieves Guild association with the Black-Briar family, something that Maven did not take well. She went to the Jarl to sell us out, so we kidnapped her. I attempted to gain the Jarl"s favor by exposing just who Maven was..." Nocturnal trailed off as we approached the bar, and the pained gaze of the bartender watched us approach.
  
  Huh. This was... both worse and better than I expected. I wasn"t going to have to fight an entire familia again, but... I looked at the sobbing woman, a drink in one hand while her other propped up her head as she leaned on the counter. She looked like a real mess. Like she spent however long she had been here in a drunken stupor.
  
  This was a problem I was less confident on handling.
  
  "Is... she okay?" I questioned, feeling like an idiot for asking that because she clearly wasn"t okay. And judging by the look that Nocturnal gave me, she also thought I was an idiot.
  
  But she simply shook her head as we hung back. In the cavern there was a lake of water, though I couldn"t tell how deep. The bar remained on the far wall with a door that would lead us to the Thieves Guild HQ. The bar was without walls, just a handful of tables with a counter set up.
  
  "She"s taking the betrayal of her friend rather harshly, as it would seem." Nocturnal offered an explanation. Then, as if she sensed us, Jarl Laila Law-Giver looked up. She was a woman in her mid-forties with red hair that was starting to go gray and wrinkles gathering at the edge of her mouth and eyes. But, most noticeably, were her bloodshot eyes and splotchy skin from her crying.
  
  Tear tracks lined her cheeks and her eyes were filled to the brim with defeat. "Nocturnal?" She questioned, blinking a few times. Based on the mugs in front of her, I"m guessing that she was also very drunk. Trying to drink herself to death? "Who... is that a giant behind you?" She muttered, blinking a couple of more times before squinting at me.
  
  I stepped forward, suddenly feeling a lot more uncertain. If it came down to stabbing something then I wouldn"t have any trouble. Convincing her to put herself back together was a whole different beast. "My name is Jericho. I"m... here to rescue you, Jarl Laila...?" I tried, it was meant to be a statement but it came off as a question.
  
  The Jarl scoffed, a wretched pathetic sound. "I"m no Jarl. Not anymore. How can I be?! My entire life... right under my nose was the worst scum. They called me Law Giver but I let criminals run my city. Maven... I thought she was the best that Riften had to offer... but she was no more than a murderous criminal... fiend! We grew up together! How can I have any right to call myself Jarl when..." She trailed off, more tears threatening to fall.
  
  I looked at her and came to a very startling conclusion. Her mental breakdown wasn"t any of my business. She was upset, rightfully so, but... that wasn"t my problem. I was just here to bring her back to the surface. If she wanted to step down after, then that was fine. What came after in Riften just wasn"t my problem. It was a Stormcloak city, no matter who was in charge, so whoever became Jarl next would support the rebellion.
  
  It would probably be one of her sons if she stepped down. And I would have just brought his mother home, so I probably didn"t have to worry about him kicking up a fuss at the moot. Not to mention that when rumors spread... honestly, I probably already cinched the Jarldom of Helgen. So, if she wanted to cry and wallow in self-pity then she was free to. I had better things to do with my time. Like saving the world.
  
  "My city is better off in the hands of the Thieves Guild. Actual criminals. I... how can I compare to that of a god...?" Jarl Laila muttered, looking down in depression at her drink. I looked away from her to Nocturnal, who inclined her head to a table while she made a dismissive gesture to the two following me around like a second and third shadow.
  
  Nocturnal took a seat at a table, but I was forced to stand. "Before you say anything, I have no interest in taking over Riften. Simply put, it"s not worth the trouble. It"s not in my nature to stand in the spotlight," She informed, leaning back in her chair far enough that I spared a worry that she was about to tip over, but with the action she put herself in a position that she wasn"t forced to crane her head back to look up at me.
  
  Okay. So, the Thieves Guild taking over the city was more something people were saying and thinking rather than hard fact. Though, one thing wasn"t adding up.
  
  "Then why attack the Stormcloaks? This mess could have been avoided if you just handed them over," I pointed out, earning a slow nod.
  
  Nocturnal offered a small shrug, "As much of a mess that she is, Laila isn"t eager to die. If Ulfric thinks that she"s no use to him anymore, then she"s dead. And the Stormcloaks aren't ones for conversation." Right. I could see that. It was still annoying, but it wasn't like I didn't understand where they were coming from. I glanced over at the washed-up Jarl, feeling pity, but not much else.
  
  "Ulfric isn't going to accept you in the city. God or not," I told her bluntly. "I can't say that I know him particularly well, but he doesn't strike me as the kind of person that would let himself be undermined." To that, Nocturnal cocked an eyebrow. I guess my distaste for the man must have shown. I hope it hadn't when I had actually met him.
  
  "I would be a poor god if I let a mortal run me out of anywhere," Nocturnal pointed out. And the more I saw of the situation, the more I saw it was a clash of egos -- Ulfric on one side and Nocturnal on the other. She was refusing to leave because it would mean doing what Ulfric wanted. That was... so annoyingly petty, even if she was doing it to tweak the nose of a guy I didn't like. Mostly because I was dealing with the fallout.
  
  This wasn't something I could brute force like I could with Markarth and Falkreath. I had to mediate. Me. There was absolutely no way that was going to end well.
  
  "So, you won't leave because of Ulfric. And I doubt he would just let you go. In the end, if he shows he can push justice on a god then his ratings are going to go way up and he knows it," I thought aloud, trying to piece the puzzle together. As I saw it, there were three moving parts that I had to balance. In the end, Jarl Laila was just an excuse for a confrontation.
  
  Nocturnal was digging her heels in because she was a god. She wanted nothing to do with seizing control of the city, or at the very least, she wanted to rule it from the shadows. A fact that made me leery of recommending that she go to Helgen. Hestia could handle Dibella, but Nocturnal with a full familia of superhuman thieves?
  
  Then there was Ulfric, the one that was pushing for a conflict with a god. He wouldn't compromise and he wouldn't bend. It wasn't in his nature. He was after Nocturnal to slap her in chains. It was why he was here in person rather than just sending a diplomat or something.
  
  Lastly, there was me. Or, rather, Hestia and Helgen. Helgen was expanding, Hestia was the god that set everything in motion and she was the Tenth Divine. Officially, Hestia was neutral but she was also the god building the most momentum out of all of them by virtue of not trying to set the world on fire. Whichever way she leaned would mean victory or defeat. At least, that was how people saw her. I was here in her name even if I was the one that ultimately made the decisions.
  
  "Okay. How about this -- you and Ulfric meet to discuss terms. I'll make sure that the peace is kept between you. There, the two of you can either talk it out or decide to kill each other," I said, turning to look back at Nocturnal to find her frowning in thought. That way I could learn what they really wanted and I could utilize my talents best.
  
  In the end... I wasn't a mediator. I wasn't a diplomat. I couldn't juggle big personalities like Nocturnal and Ulfric -- two factions dead set on colliding, each powerful in their own way. The problems I was best suited to solving were the kind I could take a swing at. It made me sound like a complete meathead but it was where my talents resided. And putting myself in a position as the force that kept the peace through the threat of violence was how to best leverage those talents.
  
  It would also establish that I was neutral. On paper, at least.
  
  "Hm. I might be more inclined to believe that if you hadn't just threatened to 'just start swinging' minutes earlier," Nocturnal pointed out. And that was very fair. So, I could only offer a shrug.
  
  "I'm trying to save the world here, you know? So long as you don't make that difficult for me, then I don't have a problem with you. It's just been the case that pretty much every god I've come across has been giving it their best go of destroying the world before Alduin gets a shot at it," I said, and I heard a mug drop at that. Out of the corner of my eye, a man who had been not so subtly listening to our conversation had dropped his mug out of shock. "It's bad enough that Sheogorath has been the most helpful out of all of you."
  
  Nocturnal blinked at that, "Really?" She questioned, frowning deeply at my nod. "Sheogorath?" She questioned just to be clear and when I nodded again, she shook her head softly. "That's shameful."
  
  Her gaze roamed over me for a moment before her eyes settled on mine. She held it for a moment before she let out a tremendous sigh as she leaned forward. "Very well. We'll try it your way," She decided begrudgingly as she stood, sounding like she didn't put much stock in the idea. To be fair, it probably wouldn't work. But, at least then the cards would be on the table and from there, I could attempt to find a compromise.
  
  If I couldn't then I would have to pick a side between them and there was an obvious choice in that regard.
  
  Right when I was letting myself feel a bit optimistic about the whole situation, Laila started crying again.
  
  So, this whole venture was doomed to failure.
  
  ...
  
  This chapter fought me every step of the way. I don"t even know what the problem was -- I"ve been excited for these chapters for a while, but I just couldn"t put any words to paper. Usually, I can knock out a thousand words in an hour when motivated, but I could barely manage a few sentences before I found myself hitting a wall.
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  "I'm going to need either the Jarl or Maven-" I started, fishing for a hostage to bring back. The plan was to use them to convince Ulfric that Nocturnal was taking the offer to break bread seriously, and maybe have the hostage speak in favor of the idea. But, that was probably going to backfire on me. The Jarl was an absolute mess and I can't imagine Maven would be impartial.
  
  "Take Maven. Please," Nocturnal interjected. Almost as if she had asked me to take the woman off of her hands. And that was a red flag if I had ever seen one. All of a sudden, I wasn't sure if I wanted her if she seemed like such a headache. I had enough of those already.
  
  My eyes narrowed, prompting her to explain, "I have no more use for her and I can only hear so many death threats before they all jumble together. It was an interesting experience at first -- a mortal cursing a god to their face, but it's overstayed its welcome," Nocturnal said. So she was pawning off a bundle of rage and anger onto me. Great. Fantastic.
  
  Swallowing a sigh, I nodded in acceptance. Maven was clearly the less valuable... 'hostage,' so it made sense that Nocturnal would offer her up first even if she wasn't hurling death threats. At my acceptance, Nocturnal stood and gestured for me to follow. Doing so, she led me to a door next to the open bar. I sent a glance at the Jarl sitting at the counter, and I think she might have passed out.
  
  Ducking my head to enter the cavern, I saw a second open area. There was a pool of water with a stone bridge going over it, and the surrounding area was covered in odds and ends. I saw an archery range set up, and training dummies, but my attention was stolen by the two people fighting on small stone platforms set up in the water. One fought with a longsword while the other fought with two short swords.
  
  They clashed in a flurry of blows. The one with the longsword was quickly put on the defensive as the dual wielder utilized feints and quick thrusts to drive them back. Their footwork was sure, even as the swordsman was forced to retreat his feet seemed to instinctively know where the footholds were. It looked impressive, but what really got my attention as I walked by was the fact that they were moving with an unnatural grace.
  
  I only really started to notice it after fighting normal humans for a while, but those blessed with a falna and who had decent stats moved with a grace that normal people lacked. The motions they made were a little too smooth, a little too fast. It stood out.
  
  If I had to guess, their stats were around E or D. Which was... I know it probably meant a lot less coming from someone like me, but grinding up stats was meant to be slow. Ais Wallenstine, the previous record holder in Danmachi, reached level 2 in a year and that was practically unheard of. I beat that record because of my own special brand of bullshit but Ais was her own brand of bullshit too.
  
  Most people never leveled up. Grinding, for most, took years. In less than a month, with the flick of a wrist and a Divine artifact, their stats either jumped or they got a lesser bullshit version of Bell's Liaris Freese.
  
  I watched them fight and I wondered what they would look like in another month. Or two. Their stats would have reached A rank. Maybe S. I never would have thought that Nocturnal would end up with the most dangerous familia. It was just a question of how dangerous they were.
  
  The dual wielder seemed to notice my gaze on them, and they spared me a glance. A foolish move because the swordsman lashed out with a foot, catching them in the gut with it and sending them splashing into the water. The victor laughed while the loser groaned, and Nocturnal chuckled to herself as she led me to a door. If memory serves, it was a training room filled with chests.
  
  Nocturnal sighed before she opened the door. Almost as soon as it cracked open, I heard shouting. "You fucking whore thief!" A woman raged, apparently waiting for the door to open so she could resume screaming. From the harshness in her voice, I'm guessing she had been doing a lot of screaming since she was locked up. As the door swung open fully, I saw a woman bound in ropes, a plate of food scattered about in front of her that was soaked in water.
  
  A middle-aged woman, dark hair with pale blue eyes. She might have been pretty in a MILF kind of way if it wasn't for the fact that her face was twisted into a snarl of rage and hate. "You will suffer for this! Rivers of cum are going to flow from your holes after all my men get a turn! That traitorous trash you call a guild will die screaming!"
  
  Sheesh. Maven was chomping at the bit to get at Nocturnal, the ropes that attached her to the far wall bucked as she tried to lunge at her. She was so honed in on Nocturnal, I don't think she noticed my presence at all.
  
  "Oh? With what men will you rape me with?" Nocturnal questioned, her tone aloof as we approached, crossing the room. It was lined with various types of chests, some of which looked like they were being used for storage. "As I recall, your fortune and legacy are mine. Every last piece of gold, every inch of land, all the way down to the last chicken egg -- it's all mine."
  
  I shifted at that, looking between the two. There was obviously some serious bad blood between the two, but it seemed that it wasn't just one-sided. Nocturnal had some too. And, from the sound of it, she's the one that struck first. Stealing the Black-Briar fortune, which would have sent Maven in a craze, which would lead her to send the Jarl after her, and that ended with both women being kidnapped. As a result Maven's secrets were exposed, the Jarl was reduced to a sobbing drunk, and Ulfric Stormcloak had to step in.
  
  Maven didn't respond with words. She spat at Nocturnal and unleashed a wordless howl of rage.
  
  "Can you not rile her up? I'm the one that has to escort her back to the surface, you know." I spoke up, a sigh in my voice. Nocturnal offered a thoroughly unapologetic shrug in response and Maven seemed to take notice of me for the first time.
  
  "You! Kill her!" She screamed at me, veins bulging in her neck, shouting the order with so much force that spit flew free of her face. "I'll pay you your weight in gold and jewels. You can marry my daughter! Just rape and murder that thieving whore!"
  
  Jesus. I sent a look at Nocturnal, who met my gaze evenly, probably wondering if I would take Maven up on that. I shook my head in bewilderment, "Mav-"
  
  "Lady Black-Briar!" Maven screamed, cutting me off.
  
  "Lady Black-Briar," I corrected with the patience of a saint. "Have you been... mistreated?" I asked a loaded question, but I had to ask. She didn't look like anything unsavory had been done to her. But the sheer amount of vitriol was catching me off guard. Maybe it was because I had never seen anyone this mad before, but Maven looked like she was a few BPM from an aneurysm.
  
  Unsurprisingly, Maven looked at me like I was the stupidest person she had ever seen. "Yes! They've stolen everything from me! They tied me up in this room like some sort of common prisoner and-" Maven caught herself, realizing that I wasn't exactly a bleeding heart. "Her men forced themselves on me," She added, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nocturnal's expression turn stony.
  
  "That is a lie," Nocturnal said, her voice like cold iron. "The height of hubris even now Maven -- to lie in the presence of a god."
  
  "You are no god!" Maven shot back, thrashing in place to free herself, but to no avail. "You're a thieving cunt that's taken everything from me! I'm going to kill you! Even if it's the last thing to do, I will make you beg me to put you out of your misery!" She howled with such hate that I shifted from foot to foot at how visceral it was.
  
  This... was hitting a little close to home. Her thoughts weren't that much different than mine about the Soma familia. Just the sheer amount of hate that blocked out everything else to the point you didn't care how impossible getting revenge was. All that mattered was making them hurt.
  
  I still remembered it. I couldn't ever forget. Zanis falling to his knees, blood pumping out of his throat, seeping through his fingers as he tried in vain to save his own life. I had beaten him then. I was victorious. Yet, that hadn't been enough for me and I ripped his spine out with my bare hands. I tore him apart because dying a clean death was too good for him. Because I had been too angry to be satisfied with anything less.
  
  "Alright, enough. I'm here to bring you back to the surface," I said, stepping forward. I immediately tossed out the idea of undoing her restraints. She would fight me every step of the way to get a shot at Nocturnal. She wouldn't be able to escape, but I didn't need any more annoyances in my life. Maven went still as I reached out, but as soon as I ripped the iron ring out of the stone wall and tossed her over my shoulder, that didn"t last.
  
  She started shouting and screaming more threats, not just against Nocturnal, but me as well. So much for gratitude. I turned to Nocturnal, "Where and when are you willing to meet?" I questioned, ignoring Maven. It was surprisingly hard to do.
  
  Nocturnal had an answer ready, "At the end of the docks at dusk." She told me, earning a nod. That left a handful of hours to prepare for both her and Ulfric. And me, since I knew I was going to have to play peacemaker. "My thanks for taking her out of our hands." She said, the slight smirk on her face told me that she was grateful, just not enough to not set Maven off on another bout of cursing.
  
  I swallowed another sigh, "Don"t mention it. I"ll let Ulfric know," I told her before turning around. As I reentered the main area, I saw several figures paying attention. A dozen of them, lingering in the shadows with their weapons unsheathed. All of them dressed in the shadowy leather that marked them as members of Nocturnal"s Nightingales. A handful of others openly started laughing as I carried Maven out of the area.
  
  I paid them no thought, my mind preoccupied with another matter. The two I had fought before were waiting at the entrance of the place to escort me back. Thankfully, the Jarl had cried herself to sleep so she didn"t notice Maven"s profanities ridden farewell. They said nothing to me as they began leading me back to the surface, unaware that I had a map. I let them keep thinking that I needed the help.
  
  "Kill them. Anything that you desire will be yours," Maven whispered to me as I walked through the tunnels. I don"t even think she cared that the two could clearly hear her. "You"ll live like a king for the rest of your days."
  
  This was going to be a problem, I thought as I didn"t bother to answer her. The guards seemed to relax a fraction when they realized that I wasn"t going to do as ordered, though Maven started cursing at me again. But, at the very least, it did get easier to tune her out as we walked through the tunnels. Now that I wasn"t walking blindly down them, it took a fraction of the time to reach the exit.
  
  The escorts said nothing to me as I stepped outside, simply remaining in the shadows. On the other side, I saw friendly faces. Aela and Mjoll guarded the door, making sure that no one tried to follow me in. Their eyes widened when they saw I had a screeching woman over my shoulder, "Is that Nocturnal?!" Aela questioned, treating the furious woman much like a bomb that could go off.
  
  "No, it"s Maven Black-Briar. She"s... a little... upset at the moment about the lack of indiscriminate slaughter of the thieves guild, but she should be... look, can you take her off my hands? I have to go talk to Ulfric about breaking bread with Nocturnal." I sighed, unwilling to lie to Aela about the woman. She cocked an eyebrow at me in response but she nodded all the same.
  
  I set Maven down and she remained still long enough for Aela to cut off the ropes. No sooner that they were off, the woman sprung to her feet and went to slap me in the face(,) but I simply leaned out of the way.
  
  "You"ll suffer for this," She spat a threat instead before turning around and marching away, probably to her mansion since she wasn"t walking towards the palace. I watched her walk away for a moment, my lips pressing together into a thin line.
  
  "A pleasant woman," Aela remarked, earning a huff from Mjoll. "Did the meeting go well?" She questioned, and to that I could only shrug.
  
  "About as well as it could have. Where"s Farkas?" I asked, earning a sigh from Aela.
  
  "Back at the tavern. He said you wouldn"t want us standing around worrying," Aela told me and Farkas wasn"t wrong, even if I did appreciate the thought.
  
  I let out a small huff, "Sounds like him. I have to go meet Ulfric, but I"ll meet you all at the tavern." I said, making Aela"s eyes narrow. I probably could have been more subtle, but Aela trusted me, so she didn"t protest. She simply nodded, thinking I had a good reason for it. And I did. Just not the kind of reason that she thought I had.
  
  "Very well, we"ll meet there," Aela agreed easily enough. She and Mjoll walked off, casting a look over their shoulders at me, but I started walking towards the keep. Walking up a set of stairs, I saw a little girl sitting on the stone railing of a bridge, her legs swinging back and forth.
  
  "Maven Black-Briar," I told Babette, making her tilt her head sweetly at me. "In a way that can"t be traced to us, or cause any problems." That was probably too vague, but it felt like a stone settled heavily in my gut. I had killed people before. Assassinating people... the first two times were by accident, really. And reactionary because they tried to kill me first. This one wasn"t.
  
  I knew that hate in Maven. Nocturnal had mocked her for being powerless, but how powerless was she? Ulfric could give her back everything taken -- he had the motivation to, even if it was just to stick it to a god. So, Maven would have power and hate. I had absolutely no idea how the deal between Nocturnal and Ulfric would turn out, but I knew it wouldn"t go well if Maven was involved.
  
  So, she wouldn"t be involved.
  
  "Very well then. A woman who flew too close to the sun and was unable to handle the pain of her burns, so she took her own life to ease her suffering. A tale as old as time," Babette remarked as I walked by her before hopping off the railing to do the task given to her. She walked off in the opposite direction, and the opportunity to take back the order grew more distant by the second.
  
  I let it go. It had to be done.
  
  Instead, I focused on the task at hand. Walking up the steps to the keep, I saw a half dozen Stormcloaks flanking the door. They straightened up at my approach and let me in with little trouble. The door swung open to reveal Ulfric and his second in command, the former still sitting on the steps, while they talked quietly. Both fell silent at the sound of the door opening, leaving me unable to eavesdrop.
  
  "Thane Jericho," Ulfric greeted, his eyes narrowing.
  
  I nodded my own greeting before launching into the explanation, "Nocturnal has agreed to meet with you at the farthest dock at dusk. She released Maven Black-Briar as a show of good faith," I started, making Galmar frown.
  
  "I don't see her with you," He pointed out.
  
  "She went home to her mansion, I'm guessing it's been a...," Disaster, "trying experience for her. It doesn't look like she was mistreated in any way, but she is very... upset and she's lashing out. I got her out of there and the kindest thing she told me was that she was going to feed me my own testicles." I offered as an explanation, making both men blink.
  
  Ulfric nodded in acceptance, "Then I will give her time to gather herself. As for the meeting..." He trailed off, a frown tugging at his lips. He didn't speak but Galmar seemed to understand his thoughts. When he didn"t continue, Galmar spoke up.
  
  "I don"t like the idea of her setting the place and the time. Nocturnal is a Daedra. It would be different if she were one of the Nine, but she"s not. She sacrificed nothing for this land, for our kind -- she does not get to flaunt our laws." He said, and I suppressed the urge to correct him about the number of divines. Hestia was new, and the doctrine was thousands of years old. I could forgive a slip up born of habit.
  
  Ulfric nodded, and I was right on the money with his motivations. "I am of the same mind. Everywhere the Daedra have walked, they have sown chaos. Order must be restored."
  
  I agreed on that point. There was just one major issue. "Easier said than done. Nocturnal has the Skeleton Key, and her guild is strong. I only saw about a dozen down there, but that's all she would need to kill the lot of you." I pointed out, earning a deep frown from Galmar. "Nocturnal seemed reasonable for the most part -- she said that Jarl Lilia stayed of her own volition and from what I saw, that's true. She was drinking by the barrel when she wasn't drunk crying. Using force is just going to get you killed."
  
  Now Ulfric was frowning too. "A falna makes that much of a difference?" He seemed to wonder with a shake of his head. "No. In that case, we can't allow her to pick the location of our meeting. Return to her and tell her this -- we will meet here, in the palace with Jarl Lilia, or we will not meet at all-" Ulfric was going to continue, but he cut himself off when I shook my head.
  
  There was something that I had to make clear. "I'm helping because I value stability, but I'm not your errand boy," I told Ulfric flatly, and met his gaze evenly. "I went down there to negotiate a meeting between the two of you, and I did. You want to renegotiate, then send someone else."
  
  Simply put, Ulfric wasn't the boss of me and I wouldn't let him pretend that he was. It wasn't just because I didn't care for his politics or meta knowledge, but Hestia was officially neutral. If the captain of her familia was seen jumping at the orders of Ulfric, the leader of the Stormcloaks, then that might tip the balance against us.
  
  Galmar took a slow step forward, his eyes narrowing into slits as his grip on a sword at his belt tightened. "You will show Jarl Ulfric more respect, boy." He warned in a dangerous tone. And it was in that moment, I realized I didn't particularly react well to threats, implied or otherwise.
  
  I took a large step forward and stood in front of him until his chin was practically touching my chest so he was forced to crane his head back to look up at me. "That's my line," I told him in a low tone. "I am not your ally. I'm not your friend. And I'm not your errand boy."
  
  "By the Nine," Galmar started, going a bit red in the face.
  
  "Ten," I corrected him, an edge in my tone. "By the Ten. Hestia joined the Aedra pantheon, sacrificed her power to restore the Nine because she thought it was the right thing to do. She's your god now. And the woman that I love. So, if you disrespect her one more time, I'm going to step on your head and crush it like an egg faster than you Jarl can say Fus." Galmar glared in response, the tension growing thicker by the second.
  
  Only to be undercut by the sound of chuckling. Chuckling that came from Ulfric who was behind Galmar. Galmar backed off a bit, turning around so we could both look at the man sitting on the steps. He looked at me with sharp eyes that didn't quite match the small smile tugging at the edges of his lips. "You speak as if you have experienced the Thu'um."
  
  "Twice. A couple of Deathlords hit me with it," I told him, wondering if I should have kept that information a secret. Ulfric looked at me for a moment, his eyes roaming to find any obvious evidence that I told the truth.
  
  Then he grunted, "Forgive my friend and I," He offered the apology like he was demanding it be accepted. "These have been stressful times. If you are willing to give your word that no harm will come to us at the docks, then I will accept it as the meeting location."
  
  I met his gaze for a long second before I nodded, "I'll deal with whoever breaks the peace," I warned, not making the promise he was trying to extract from me. "I'll see you at the docks." I told him, knowing that I had overstayed my welcome. Turning around, I started walking away and I couldn't help but wonder if I just put an enemy at my back.
  
  The silence was heavy as I reached the door, but before I could open it, Ulfric spoke up. "The Thu'um," He started, making me pause with a hand on the door, "is not just dangerous because of the power the words hold. To shout reality into submission, you have to understand the word of power. Completely and utterly. And in doing so, the word changes you. It is why the Graybeards live at the throat of the world. There, they can meditate, removed from worldly concerns, where they can learn how to not let the word control them."
  
  Ulfric let out a quieter sigh, yet the sound reached me in the silent hall. "The Unrelenting Force is perhaps one of the easiest words to learn, but also the most dangerous. A man, his will, is not unbreakable. Eventually, he will hit a wall that destroys him."
  
  Ah. He was overestimating me. He thought I had already learned to Shout.
  
  "Thanks for the advice," I told him without looking behind me. "And take care not to hit your own wall. The Thalmor managed to break the empire, and they can break Skyrim just as easily."
  
  I didn't wait to hear his answer.
  
  ...
  
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  I don't think that had been a mistake, I thought to myself as I walked back to the tavern. There was a bit of time until the fated meeting between Ulfric Stormcloak and Nocturnal. And that was going to be a shit show, no matter how I looked at it. It was important to establish boundaries. Lines in the sand that couldn't be crossed.
  
  I wasn't a Stormcloak. Letting Ulfric treat me like one would have been the mistake. Still, I couldn't imagine he was happy with me right now. If it came down to a fight, I was certain that I would win, but it's what came after that was the issue. I would be the guy that killed Ulfric Stormcloak. That might open some doors for me, but it would also close others. And if I couldn't find the Dragonborn, or teach one of the Greybeards Dragonrend if I couldn't learn it myself... then Ulfric was the last resort.
  
  It was difficult to remember at times, as I waded through an ocean of issues. That the end goal was saving the world. It seemed like such a far off destination, but all of this was building towards it. The Stormcloaks had a lot of soft power. Enough that I couldn't do something drastic to simplify the problems by just killing Ulfric, even without the need to keep him around as a backup. That neutrality that Hestia enjoyed would be jeopardized and it was possible that the Civil War would kick-off because of Ulfric's death. He could become a martyr.
  
  A sigh escaped me, "What a pain in the ass," I said, not for the first time. Why couldn't anything be simple? I should have just stayed at Helgen. In bed with Hestia... actually, I'm kinda regretting picking Skyrim as the world I went to. Sure, I got great equipment out of it, but I still had no magic, the enchantments hadn't appeared... which were my main motivations for picking this world.
  
  I shook my head to dismiss the thoughts. Now was not the time for bitching. I just had to oversee the meeting, ensure that Ulfric didn't get the win that he wanted while making sure that the message that the gods couldn't do whatever they wanted got across. A balancing act. No big issue.
  
  Pushing open the tavern door, I saw every eye dart to me and the conversation died down as soon as I ducked my head to enter. I didn't mind. It made finding the table with Farkas, Aela, and Mjoll easier. Farkas raised a hand to get my attention, and I ignored the looks I got as I crossed the bar.
  
  "Oh, you don't look happy," Farkas remarked, pushing a mug of ale towards me. "Political differences with Jarl Ulfric?" He guessed while I took a sip. I still didn't care for the taste of alcohol, but maybe it would help with the stress headache that this city seemed intent on giving me.
  
  "If I say yes, then I want a cut of the bet," I told Farkas, who grinned as he held out a hand to Mjoll, who looked at me with abject horror as she numbly handed over the coins, some of which were handed to me. "Nothing so grand as what you're thinking, though. Ulfric wanted me to be his errand boy. I refused." I explained, earning a huff from Aela.
  
  "Did you threaten him?" Aela questioned, and I took a moment to recall the conversation. Then she held out a hand to Mjoll when I nodded.
  
  That was kinda insulting, but the fact she had won that bet said it all.
  
  "I cannot believe that someone would talk to Jarl Ulfric that way. And live," Mjoll admitted as she handed over more coins to Aela, some of which also went to me.
  
  To that, I shrugged. "He can't kill me for the same reason that I can't kill him -- I'm the Captain of the Hestia familia. Ulfric wants to make an enemy of the Daedra, but making an enemy of a Divine is completely against his interests. It'll probably stop his rebellion dead in its tracks if he gets denounced by the rest of the Ten." Dibella would denounce Ulfric because Hestia would, and I would imagine that others would follow suit. If only because denouncing someone seemed fun.
  
  I took a sip of my ale, "That being said, if it did come down to a fight, then I like my chances. His Shouts are the biggest worry, but I can move faster than he can speak." And he would have a great deal of trouble speaking if I tore off his bottom jaw.
  
  Mjoll just blinked, looking between the two for confirmation, and saw them mull it over for a moment before nodding in agreement. "I'm surprised, but I suppose I shouldn't be. You are a Divine's chosen."
  
  "And the situation?" Aela questioned, wanting to know what we were about to walk into. There was no sugar-coating it.
  
  "Bad. Ulfric won't be satisfied until Nocturnal is in chains. Nocturnal has the Skeleton Key, and she's unlocked the potential of her guild. Saw what some of them could do -- they're superhuman, if only barely. They'll slaughter the Stormcloaks if it comes to a fight." I answered grimly.
  
  Part of me wanted to just let the slaughter happen. Nocturnal would make the enemies instead of me, and if I had the Dragonborn or had made any progress with learning shouts... I might give into the temptation. But until I had someone that could use Dragonrend on hand, I couldn't afford to get rid of backups. No matter how tempting.
  
  Mjoll scoffed, "Those honorless rats don't have the stomach to fight." Farkas nodded, showing that he felt the same. I could see why they thought that -- thieves weren't warriors by nature.
  
  "A cornered rat will fight to the death if it means survival," I rebutted evenly. "Ulfric isn't likely to give them many options in that regard."
  
  Aela nodded, agreeing with that point. Mjoll's lips thinned, but she nodded all the same.
  
  "And there's likely going to be a new Jarl," I added, crossing my arms after emptying what was left in the tankard with a long swallow. "The current one lost her taste for the position -- between the Thieves Guild and Maven being caught out on all of her lies, Laila has fallen apart. Even if she pulls herself together, I doubt she'll lead."
  
  Mjoll scowled, "I can't say I'm happy about that, even if that vile witch will get her overdue justice." In all likelihood, she was dead or dying as we spoke.
  
  "Do we plan to install a friendly Jarl in her place?" Aela questioned in a low tone. That... sounded like a good idea. There was just one major issue.
  
  "I wouldn't even know where to start," I told them. "There's no candidate that springs to mind that we could back. I figured it would just be one of her kids." This whole situation was a bit much for me. By... a whole lot. I wasn't in my element. I wasn't even close.
  
  Rigging elections was honestly just beyond me. And I wasn't sure if it was worth the trouble.
  
  "Not necessarily," Aela stated with a shake of her head. "Anyone could present their case for why they should be made Jarl -- connections, wealth, or deed. The nobles cast their votes and a Jarl is chosen. If the candidate that is picked is deemed unworthy, then another candidate can challenge them to a duel."
  
  "A candidate backed by a Divine would go far," Farkas pointed out. So, I had the power to point at some random idiot and give them a claim to a throne or to take it myself. Or, if I didn't have the votes, I could just take it anyway? That seemed... a lot like shotgun democracy, honestly.
  
  I shook my head, "I like my problems better when I can just swing at them," I admitted. It felt like a dumb thing to say, but if given a choice between a simple problem and a complicated problem, then I knew my choice.
  
  The trio chuckled at that. Still, it was worth keeping in mind, though it wasn't a likely possibility. Backing a non-Stormcloak candidate would pretty much seal the deal and make Ulfric an enemy. Right now, he was probably a little pissed and annoyed with me. But the relationship wasn't unsalvageable. Backing a Loyalist would make it unsalvageable.
  
  I opened my mouth to tell them exactly that, only to be cut off by the sound of a clatter. Glancing over, I saw the Argonian woman glaring at a Nord, a tankard of ale laying on the ground with its contents spilled out.
  
  "I said, SKYRIM IS FOR THE NORDS, you lizard cunt," the Nord shouted in her face, turning an ugly shard of red. I blinked at the sight, wondering what I was seeing. Was this actually happening? I... this was my first time seeing such blatant racism that it caught me off guard. The same was true for most of the other people in the tavern, because rather than the standing ovation of applause the drunk Nord was expecting, people just stopped talking and watched.
  
  "I heard you the first time. And this is my tavern. If you have a problem, then drink elsewhere," Keerava returned, her tone even while another Argonian stepped out of the backroom to the tavern floor.
  
  Mjoll shot out of her seat like it was on fire before she marched towards the Nord. And this was why it was pointless to try to challenge Ulfric by installing a Loyalist. This city belonged to the Stormcloaks from the top down. If a Loyalist was elected then the only thing that would happen would be that the Loyalist would die young.
  
  "Mjoll, you bug plucked from a troll's armpit-" the drunk started, seeing Mjoll approach.
  
  "Enough. Out," Mjoll bit out, grabbing a fistful of his shirt, prompting the few men he was with to get up. And that in turn prompted Aela and Farkas to stand. And that prompted one of the men to sit right back down, but the others were willing to back up their friend.
  
  Then I pushed off the wall I was leaning against and I saw regret on their faces. I didn't even have to walk over. The drunk's friends grabbed the guy and started forcing him out of the bar. Mjoll glared the entire way, looking like she was about to follow them out, but a hand on her shoulder by Keerava stopped her.
  
  "A couple of drunk words aren't anything to spill blood over," Keerava said. Mjoll looked ready to disagree, before she let out a long breath and nodded. There was a lingering silence, people wondering if the scene was over. Keerava looked to me and offered a nod, which I returned. With that, she picked up the mug, and walked to the back with her head held high. The other Argonian quickly followed her back.
  
  With her gone, the people's eyes drew towards me. Swallowing a sigh, and feeling a little less welcomed in the tavern, I started to leave. The others followed me and I saw that really put some urgency in the Nords. No sooner that we were outside, Mjoll spoke up. "I'm sorry, I-"
  
  "You didn't do anything wrong," I dismissed, looking at the market before I noticed that the market was pulling in one direction. Towards something.
  
  Mjoll seemed to disagree as I started to walk forward. "Those men were Stormcloaks. They'll tell Ulfric that you were going to attack them." Ah, she was probably right about that.
  
  "That guy was a racist, and his friends were too. That's what they nearly got their asses kicked for. If Ulfric has a problem with that, he can get..." I started, standing above the crowd so I could easily see what was drawing so much attention in the distance. A body hanging from a statue in front of a sizable building.
  
  Pushing my way through the crowd, I walked closer to see if my eyes were deceiving me. They weren't.
  
  "By the gods," Mjoll breathed, the others following in my wake to see the body of a woman. A sign declared the building the property of the Black-Briar family. The statue was of one of the Divine, but I couldn't tell which one.
  
  Maven Black-Briar. Dead.
  
  "She killed herself," one person said.
  
  "Her neck broke from the fall," another said while I looked up at the body. I didn't need to sear the memory into my brain. Perfect Recall did exactly that for me. They all talked about how she had killed herself. How it was because she had lost everything or that Nocturnal had a hand in it.
  
  It was me. I had murdered her. Babette was just the knife used to do it.
  
  Murder felt different than killing, I noted. It was heavier. In battle, I've killed plenty. I've executed people in brutal ways with my bare hands. I've gotten people killed on accident -- Nenya, Jarl Siddgeir, and his uncle. The first two, their deaths had either been in response to an attempt of murder or preemptive self-defense. The latter...
  
  I think this was the first time I had intentionally murdered a person before. No justification of self-defense, or that they deserved it completely and utterly. Even the idea that it was for the greater good rang pretty hollow.
  
  Maven was killed because she would have gotten in my way, one way or the other. So, she was removed.
  
  And that's all there was to it.
  
  ...
  
  A handful of hours weren't enough to settle the news of Maven Black-Briar's apparent suicide. Babette did her work well. As far as anyone could tell, she killed herself in an act of spite -- killing herself in front of her brewery, on a statue of Stendarr. A statement that it was hers. I didn't bother bringing the news to Ulfric because he undoubtedly had heard.
  
  But, hours later, time proved that it paused for no man. Except me. Allegedly.
  
  Dusk approached and I found myself leaning against a stack of crates at the end of the docks. The sky was dyed a vibrant orange and red as the sun set. One of the moons was already rising from our view of the open dock, not quite as in sync like Earth's sun and moon had been. The second moon was peeking up over the horizon as well.
  
  To the east was open ocean and rolling waves. The docks themselves made up about half of the city. It was like stores, homes and the like slowly flooded over from the city onto the docks, and in response the actual docks for ships were forced to move further east.
  
  "Do you think the meeting will go well?" Mjoll questioned, looking at me. Farkas started to laugh while Aela frowned deeply.
  
  "Define going well?" I asked, waiting for either Nocturnal or Ulfric to show up. It was Dusk. The anointed time. The hour was here and I just wanted to get it over with at this point. A knot of tension formed in my back, considering every way that this could go wrong. And there were so very many ways that this could go wrong.
  
  "No fights and a compromise is made," Mjoll stated. I glanced at her to see that she was serious.
  
  "About as good as me joining the Thalmor," I said, ruthlessly crushing whatever hope that she had for a not-terrible outcome.
  
  Mjoll nodded, a sigh escaping her. "I understand that Nocturnal is a god, but she's the god of thieves."
  
  At that instant, I saw Nocturnal step out of nothing. I wouldn't have seen it without my expanded vision, but she appeared to just materialize from thin air. Much like Adoring Fan had. "The goddess of mysteries and the enigmatic," Nocturnal corrected, making Mjoll stiffen as they spun around to face her.
  
  Farkas and Aela handled her presence better, having been exposed to Hestia. Mjoll had no such tolerance as Nocturnal's godly presence washed over her -- a reminder that they stood in the presence of someone beyond mortal comprehension. Doubly so for a god like Nocturnal.
  
  She gaped openly at Nocturnal, while the god looked over us, though her gaze lingered on me. "A brave man to keep a god waiting," Nocturnal idly remarked. She was here. Good. And I was just going to assume that we were completely surrounded by her guild. "Or a fool," Nocturnal added.
  
  To that, I could only shrug. "I passed him the message, but it's a power play. He might be trying to make you go to him." I know I was supposed to remain impartial, especially if I was going to make sure it didn't come to blows. It was obvious enough, though.
  
  "You..." Mjoll spoke up, her eyes narrowed into slits. "You have plunged this city into chaos and your guild has plagued this land for centuries." I stiffened at the accusation in her tone, Mjoll's lips thinning while Nocturnal simply raised an eyebrow in response.
  
  "You have a kind heart and a keen sense of justice, Mjoll," Nocturnal spoke lightly, but her gaze was sharp as a knife. "And a habit of poorly choosing enemies."
  
  "My enemies are those that believe that the law doesn't apply to them because they have money and power," Mjoll responded quickly and resolutely.
  
  Nocturnal offered a thin smile, "Then your enemy is every noble, mercenary, and merchant in the world." Which didn't exactly disprove her point.
  
  I swallowed a sigh and I was damn near relieved when I saw two men walking towards us. Ulfric Stormcloak and his companion, Galmar. Both men's expressions were set in grim masks of determination like they could will Nocturnal into chains by glaring hard enough. Nocturnal stood at the end of the dock, her back facing the moons, and I could see why she had chosen this location. Ulfric must be getting quite a sight as he approached.
  
  His gaze flicked to me, "Thane Jericho," he greeted with a curt nod while he paid the others little mind. "Goddess Nocturnal," he greeted, giving the god his full attention. His expression was grave as her presence washed over him as well, but he held himself together better than Mjoll did.
  
  "Ulfric Stormcloak," Nocturnal returned, her tone colored by amusement and the tension between them almost became tangible. I crossed my arms as I leaned against the crates -- I was here to step in if things looked like they were going to shit. They would be the ones deciding if they went to shit or not.
  
  There was a lapse of silence while they stared at each other, neither backing down. I cast a look at Farkas and Mjoll who shifted to stand on the other end of the dock across from me and Aela. Based on their expressions, they already knew that this wasn't going to end well.
  
  "Jarl Laila. Is she still alive?" Ulfric broke the silence, his tone frosty and hard.
  
  "She's someplace safe, likely drinking to her heart's content," Nocturnal responded quickly, her tone aloof. She tilted her head, her gaze running over the length of Ulfric. Her expression didn"t change, but I got the impression that she wasn"t impressed. "Your men in the Ratway won"t do any good. You won"t find her there. Or in the city."
  
  "Forgive me if I don"t take you at your word, Daedra," Ulfric returned just as quickly. He met her look with a glare, his hands clenched at his sides. "I"m here for her release and to return her to her throne-" Ulfirc was cut off when a letter dropped down, nearly hitting him in the face. The letter appeared from thin air, much like how Nocturnal had. Only I didn"t see the Skeleton Key in her hands. Had she let another borrow it?
  
  Ulfric looked at the letter, at the wax seal on it, with a deep frown before he tore it open. Reading it over for a few seconds, he crushed the paper in a hand and tossed it into the ocean. "A letter that you forced her hand to pen. It"s meaningless. I will see proof that she is alive and unharmed, Daedra."
  
  "I didn"t make anyone write anything. I have no reason to lie, Ulfric. Least of all to someone like you," Nocturnal stated, her tone just as sharp as her gaze. Ulfric"s face twisted into a snarl, and a handful of words in, they were already at each other's throats.
  
  I leaned off of the crates, making both of them look at me. "I saw Jarl Laila down there, alive and well. And drunk. She might still be there, though, because of the Skeleton Key."
  
  Nocturnal offered a nod, "She"s in Markarth, at the moment." One edge of her lips twisted upwards in a smile that seemed mocking. "They are quite fond of you, Jericho. They"re still burning bodies, but a statue of you is being placed in the central market.
  
  Ulfric stiffened at that, "Bodies?" There was a harshness in his tone, lacking the context behind Nocturnal"s words.
  
  To that, Nocturnal"s mocking smile grew a fraction. "Jericho slaughtered a Forsworn army single-handedly. Or so they say. There was a mountain of corpses before the city gates, and blood flowed in rivers down the mountains. Not quite what I expected when I brought Jarl Laila to the city."
  
  She was looking for me to verify that she was in the city. "That sounds about right," I agreed, but Galmar shook his head.
  
  "What"s this about a forsworn army?" He demanded, sounding like he didn't believe it.
  
  "Long story short? Sanguine and Dibella threw a party and it got out of hand. The Forsworn kidnapped the Jarl, I took him back and killed their king in the rescue, they attacked the city en mass. Hagravens turned them into Briarhearts and undead, and I killed most of them when they were going to lay siege to the city. It all happened about... three days ago, which is why you haven"t heard." I told them both, and Ulfric wore a deep frown on his face.
  
  Not the reaction I had hoped for, but the one that I expected. Mjoll had a better reaction, muttering a quiet "by the gods" under her breath. I don"t think she believed me when she heard. Or she imagined my role to be smaller.
  
  Though... "What kind of statue are they building?" I asked, a sneaking suspicion worming in.
  
  "You standing on top of a mountain of corpses with a sword pointed to the sky. I"m told it"ll look very heroic," Nocturnal answered and I scowled. Ulfric looked between us for a moment before he offered a slow nod.
  
  "Very well. I will accept that she"s in Markarth, but the issue still remains -- you"ve kidnapped a Jarl, and murdered Maven Black-Briar." He accused, his tone flat. I stiffened a bit at that, looking at Ulfric, wondering if he somehow suspected me. But I had no reason to kill her, as far as he was aware. Nocturnal did. And she had the ability to make the death look like a suicide.
  
  Nocturnal let out a dismissive breath, "I had no hand in Maven"s death."
  
  Gamar glared, "The punishment for murder is hanging," He remarked, looking at Nocturnal like he was picturing a rope around her neck.
  
  "What a significant man you are," Nocturnal dismissed the threat. "Threatening me with death for a murder I did not commit... I do admire your boldness. Since I have left my realm in Oblivion, I"ve experienced a great deal walking among mortals. None would have dared to speak to me like that before, but now we suddenly see at eye level, and the disrespect a mortal will show is shocking."
  
  I shifted where I stood, knowing I was guilty of that as well, though she didn"t seem to be directing the words at me. "You wish to see me hang? Very well then. I"ll hang. Then I"ll return to my realm and my full power will once again be at the tips of my fingers. Luck is such an undervalued thing, Ulfric Stormcloak. It"s something you never think about until its run dry. Your petty rebellion will meet a swift end when you slip down an icy patch on a step. Or a bowstring will snap and send an arrow through an eye. Or perhaps I"ll wait until your rebellion begins, and every messenger and order ends up intercepted by an empire soldier?"
  
  Nocturnal took a step forward, and the darkening shadows seemed longer and darker than they should be. "If you seek to threaten a god, then you had best prepare yourself for the consequences."
  
  And there was the crux of the issue. There was no stopping a god. Not really. In Danmachi, if you defeated a god, then they got sent back to Heaven and were put at the end of a waiting list. They might not be able to return to the lower world for thousands of years, unable to interact in any way with those that had sent them back unless they died and their souls went to Heaven.
  
  That was not the case here.
  
  "Nocturnal," I started, undercutting the tension that was growing. "Ulfric is right. To a degree. There need to be rules. They had them in Hestia"s home. At the rate things are going, the gods will end up destroying the world before anyone else can."
  
  At that, Galmar shot me a look. "Hestia"s world?" He questioned, and the question caught me a bit off guard. Just not enough to not answer.
  
  "Hestia is a god from another world. She came here and offered her Arcanum to the Aedra because... well, she felt like it was useless to her since she lives as a mortal. It"s a system that originated where she"s from-- the gods descended from their realms, sealed off from their power."
  
  Ulfric sent me a look, "So, Divine Hestia is the cause of the gods descending?" He questioned, making me frown. There was an accusation in his voice that I didn"t care for.
  
  "Hestia acted as an example of what could be done. Akatosh agreed to run an experiment and allowed the Daedra to slip through the barrier that surrounds Mundus," Nocturnal offered an explanation.
  
  "And since she"s been here, she"s built a city out of Helgen. She"s an example of what others should be doing," I added, daring either of them to say differently. Neither of them did, though Galmar looked like he was certainly thinking it.
  
  However, Ulfric shook his head, "None of that matters. The point is that you have broken the law, Nocturnal. Thoroughly and utterly. You are not a Divine. You have given nothing to this world and you have sacrificed nothing to create it. You are not above the law -- if you cannot be hanged, then you will be imprisoned."
  
  "And I suppose I"ll just turn myself in?" Nocturnal questioned, her tone just as hard as Ulfrics. "For all your talk of saving Jarl Laila, you seem awfully trusting when I said that she was alive and well. Perhaps that was a lie? Would you still be so eager to act then?" Nocturnal questioned lightly, poking Ulfric"s buttons.
  
  Galmar's hand went to the axe he carried on his back, but mine shot out to grab it, stopping it cold. He glared up at me, and I met his gaze evenly.
  
  "No fighting," I told him, not letting go of his wrist until I was sure that the message got across. It wasn"t until Ulfric shook his head when Galmar looked at him that he relaxed his hand, prompting me to let go. I looked between Ulfric and Nocturnal and I felt the situation slipping between my fingers like grains of sand. There was absolutely no way of making both of them happy. Ulfric wouldn"t be satisfied with anything less than imprisoning Nocturnal, and Nocturnal had no interest in being imprisoned.
  
  I was completely out of my element. Maybe a better diplomat might have found a compromise, but that diplomat wasn"t me.
  
  "In Hestia"s world, when the gods descended, there were some rules. Most of them are similar to the ones that Akatosh laid out -- no using your divine power, and others." In Danmachi, in Orario at least, there had been the Guild that served as an equalizer. It didn"t have any true power beyond what the gods gave it, but they gave it power because they knew something like the Guild was needed.
  
  "At the end of winter, there will be a Moot," I said... and I... I was honestly just pushing this confrontation back, but for good reason. I couldn"t handle this. Not well enough. Not how it needed to be handled. I had absolutely no clue what I was doing, and it showed badly. "There... I think there should be a discussion between the Jarls, the King, and the gods about their stay on Nirn. This won"t be settled here. There, at the Moot, all voices can be heard and there can be a real discussion about what needs to be done."
  
  I looked at Nocturnal, "I know you didn"t intend for this mess to happen. And I know Sanguine was more careless than malicious with his acts in Markarth, and Malacath just wants to make a home for the Orcs. But the same can"t be said for all of the Daedra," I said, and to that point, Nocturnal nodded.
  
  There were at least two Daedra that wanted to destroy Nirn.
  
  There was no Guild in Tamriel. So... my hope was that the Empire or Skyrim would become that check on their power. I couldn"t do it. I didn"t want to either. I doubt there was a perfect solution to this problem, but I knew I wouldn"t find it so I was kicking the can down the road and hoping that someone else would pick it up.
  
  Looking between them, I saw both of them mulling the proposal over. It was Ulfric who nodded first, "I will accept that... on the condition of the return of Jarl Laila," he decided. From what I knew, this would run into his own plans... and I could guess what they were. After all, if he became King at the Moot, then he would become the check on the gods" powers.
  
  Nocturnal met Ulfric"s gaze, considering it. Then, with a gesture, a woman appeared. Jarl Laila. She stumbled, looking green in the face before she bent over and puked over the docks. I took a step back, though I didn"t miss the tight lipped smile on Nocturnal"s face when some landed on Ulfric"s boots. "I"ll see you at the Moot then," she decided, before taking a step back and vanishing into nothing.
  
  Ulfric looked like he was swallowing a sigh. It was a toss-up for which reason. He glanced at me while Galmar helped the Jarl of Riften stand up straight, only to find that she was blackout levels of drunk. Ulfric offered a small nod but said nothing. I saw it for the dismissal that it was and started to walk away, Mjoll, Aela, and Farkas following along.
  
  We walked a distance before Farkas spoke up. "That didn"t go so bad?" He tried, sounding like he was confused about why I wasn"t happy with the outcome.
  
  The answer was simple -- The Stormcloaks and the Empire in one room. The Aedra and the Daedra in one room. Something like this was going to catch the attention of the Emperor as well... and the Thalmor.
  
  The Moot was fucked.
  
  ...
  
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  We ended up spending the night in Riften, despite me wanting to go ahead and hit the road. Now that our mutual problem was postponed until the Moot in a few months, staying in the same city as Ulfric Stormcloak seemed like an unwise idea. Regardless of the fact that we weren"t enemies, even if we weren"t friends either. It was mostly because I wanted to make sure it stayed that way and I didn"t say something that would bring the neutrality that my familia had to an end.
  
  It was that, and the fact that just leaving would reflect poorly on me and Hestia. That, and the reward that I knew was coming my way.
  
  At the crack of dawn, as everyone else was getting up after a night of sleep, a knock came from the door. I was expecting it, so I answered it. Standing on the other side of the door was a Stormcloak dressed in armor. "Jarl Ulfric requests your presence as soon as you are able," he informed, and I nodded before closing the door.
  
  Turning around, I saw the interior of the Bees and Barb, the tavern that Farkas and Aela had been staying at. Each of them were in their rooms, probably still sleeping away. I had tried, but I hadn"t been able to sleep. Too much on my mind, and I broke the habit of needing sleep. Part of me wanted to go ahead and wake them all up, but I didn"t want to appear that I would jump when Ulfric said to jump.
  
  The sound had apparently been heard by another because I heard footsteps behind me. Keerava stood on the stairs, looking like she was caught out since she did expect to see me. I quickly offered an explanation, "Stormcloaks came to tell me that Ulfric wants to see me. Sorry if it woke you up."
  
  Keerava offered a hesitant shake of her head, "It's fine. I usually get up at this time anyway. Can I get anything started for you, Thane Jericho?" She asked, finishing walking down the stairs.
  
  My first instinct was just to say nothing, but then that would mean I would be sitting in silence for a while until the others woke up. Which shouldn't be long, but I was going to be dealing with enough awkwardness soon enough. "Breakfast?" I tried, and she gave a nod. Apparently, she knew what I wanted because she jumped into the back and started cooking while I found a wall to lean on since none of the chairs would hold me.
  
  "What happened yesterday," I started, breaking the silence. "Does that happen often?" I asked with a frown in my voice. Was that just a one-off drunk or was it something that plagued her? While elves were the traditional targets for Stormcloak policies, they considered every race that wasn't a Nord to be an outsider. And as far as I could tell, she and her husband were the only two Argonians in the city or anyone that wasn't a Nord.
  
  Or they were just making themselves scarce since Ulfric himself was here, but that was a problem in itself.
  
  "Oh, you don't have to worry about that, Thane Jericho," Keerava dismissed as she cooked what smelled like eggs and ham. "It's nothing that I can't handle. A bit of drink gets in them, they'll shout and bluster, but they know better than to try anything. My ale is the only thing that lot can afford. Though, that may change with Black-Briar dead."
  
  "But does it happen often?" I repeated. "Things are changing in the city. It won't be long before Ulfric aims for the throne-"
  
  Keerava looked at me sharply at that, "Are you certain that he will?" She questioned, "Has he said anything?"
  
  "I know he will," I answered her. "I don't think it'll be that long until he does it either. And since this is a Stormcloak city, I'm worried that Ulfric's policies become law. And words become actions." This wasn't how I imagined myself spending my morning, but it was something that had been on my mind.
  
  The Stormcloak policies were simple -- Skyrim is for the Nords, fuck the Empire, and double-fuck the Thalmor. That first one caused me some worry. Trying to solve racism wasn't an issue I could handle, but I was an American, and each year we had a month dedicated to Black history -- what they accomplished despite the shit white people put them through every step of the way. And it was mountains and oceans of shit. So, leaving the situation alone rubbed me the wrong way. Especially when violence was very much in the cards.
  
  Keerava paused as she cooked. "More often than I care for," she admitted as she played everything up. And it was then that I saw that she assumed that my appetite was proportionate to my size. "But don't let it worry you none, my Thane."
  
  I accepted the meal, and the proto-fork to eat it with, wondering how to approach the topic subtly. Then realized there wasn't a casual way to bring it up because this wasn't in any way a casual topic. "If you were able to move -- to take the tavern elsewhere, would you?" I asked and the question seemed to catch her off guard.
  
  "I... I don't know where we would go," Keerava admitted. So she did want to leave.
  
  "Helgen is probably your best bet. Hestia is rebuilding the city, and she'll be the most pissed if something like this happened in her city," I told her. I wasn't very good at reading Argonian facial features, but Keerava seemed pensive.
  
  "Divine Hestia? I... find it hard to believe that a Divine would take notice of someone like me," Keerava hedged, sounding like she found the offer too good to be true.
  
  To that, I could only shrug. "I met Hestia at a food stand selling potato puffs -- if you're thinking of some holier than thou goddess, you need to think the exact opposite extreme. Down to earth, humble, and cares too damn much about everyone." I dug my fork in and met her disbelieving gaze. "If Hestia were here, she'd drag you to Helgen and build you a new tavern there herself."
  
  An exaggeration, but a slight one. Hestia would make me build the tavern.
  
  "I... I could sell the tavern. We've had plenty of offers, but..." Keerava muttered, "Most came from Maven. Didn't like competitors in her city, but she never bothered to burn the place down because we purchased from her."
  
  In response to that, I reached into my inventory and pulled out a small chest filled with gold. "Then I'll buy the place. Just... head to Helgen, and Hestia will take care of you, okay?" It felt a little heavy-handed, but Keerava didn't argue. She simply stared at the trunk of gold. "And the offer is non-negotiable," I added, knowing that I had overpaid but they would need the money.
  
  It's what Hestia would want.
  
  "Thank you," Keerava said, earning a mod from me.
  
  "Just take care of yourselves. Maybe wait until Ulfric is out of the city, or travel in a group," I advised as I stood up, my plate of food clean. She nodded, "Then I'll see you at Helgen."
  
  ...
  
  The palace looked much the same as it had the last times that I saw it. Though, there were more people running about. More guards, servants, and the like. They bowed respectfully when I approached the doors to the palace. Apparently, I had come at the right time. The doors were pushed open for me, revealing the interior of the palace and while the exterior hadn't changed much, the interior certainly had.
  
  It looked like they were in the middle of preparing for a celebration. I didn't see Ulfric anywhere, but Jarl Laila sat on the throne and she looked thoroughly blitzed. Her head rolled to the side, drool dripping from her parted lips as she slept, a tankard in one hand that looked like it had poured its contents over her boots. It seemed like she was still hitting the bottle hard.
  
  "You must be Jericho Thrice Thaned," a voice greeted me as I stepped through the doors. Looking to my left, I saw it was a man wearing fine clothing with an axe at his belt. He held out a hand, "I am Harrald. I wanted to thank you for rescuing my mother from those sewer rats," Harrald said as I engulfed his forearm with my hand.
  
  "Just doing what needed to be done," I dismissed, sparing a glance at the drooling woman. Something that Harrald didn't miss.
  
  "She has taken the death of Maven Black-Briar rather hard. They were good friends since childhood," Harrald explained, trying to cover for her. I guess he didn't know that I knew she's spent the past week in a state of blackout drunk, and Maven's death was just another excuse.
  
  I just nodded, not wanting to correct the guy. He seemed to be in his late twenties to early thirties, but there wasn't an age limit when it came to being a Mama's boy.
  
  "Jarl Ulfric tasked me to bring you to him," Harrald said with obvious pride. A different reaction than mine when getting ordered around by the man. I just nodded again, wondering if I should have brought the others, but the invitation had been for me alone. Following him down a hallway and up some stone stairs, Harrald took me to a room with a thick wooden door. He knocked, and once he got the go-ahead to enter, the door swung open to reveal three men.
  
  Two of which I recognized. Ulfric and Galmar. And based on how the unfamiliar man looked like Harrald, I'm guessing they were brothers.
  
  The two sons of Jarl Laila. Though, I didn't know who supported-
  
  None of the men in the room looked happy, "Ah, my brother and Jarl -- you're just in time, I was just telling Ulfric Stormcloak what a power-hungry pisspot he is and how the world is better off if he was a head shorter." Saerlund greeted, throwing on a wide smile.
  
  Okay. That made things easy enough to guess.
  
  "Brother- you speak treason!" Harrald snapped, striding into the room to grab a fist full of Saerlund"s shirt to snarl into his face.
  
  "There"s no need for that," Ulfric said, and Harrald let go of his brother as if he had been burned. "I am no king and disrespect isn"t worth spilling blood over. Especially between family," he continued, looking between the brothers as he leaned over a table that was covered with a map. His gaze landed on me, and he offered a shallow nod.
  
  "I"ll cut to the chase since we are both busy men -- have you been contacted by Nocturnal since she left?" Ulfric questioned while I leaned against a wall with my arms crossed.
  
  I shook my head, "No, I haven"t. I thought she might pop up in the middle of the night, but she never showed. From what I know of her, she"s the type to avoid the spotlight. She"ll probably go to ground until the Moot." To that, Ulfric nodded, seeming like he already expected that answer.
  
  "And her familia"s combat abilities?" He asked.
  
  "Like I said, that Skeleton Key is a piece of work. Of all the Daedric artifacts, it"s probably the most powerful when it comes to empowering a familia. By the time the Moot rolls around, I would say you would need at least ten for every one of theirs. But since she won"t ever let you get a fair fight, you"re better off bringing a hundred."
  
  Galmar scoffed, shaking his head, but he seemed more angry than dismissive. "So, a thousand men for a band of thieves?"
  
  "A band of thieves led by a goddess with a key to the universe," Ulfric corrected. "Thank you, Jericho. The information isn"t what I wanted to hear, but the truth rarely is." He stopped leaning against the table. "Beyond that, you accomplished the tasks set before you -- Jarl Laila and Maven have both been returned, one way or the other."
  
  To that, Harrald nodded, "As the new Jarl to Riften, it would shame me to leave your actions unrewarded." And that got my attention.
  
  "You're already Jarl?" I questioned, making Saerlund scoff. Harrald sent him a furious look before answering.
  
  He hesitated for a telling moment and Ulfric answered for him. "While his mother is... indisposed, Harrald has agreed to act as Jarl in her stead as her heir," he answered. I didn't have to scoff because Saerlund did that for me.
  
  "And the fact that my brother already considers you a king has nothing to do with it, I'm sure," he remarked.
  
  "Saerlund," Harrald snapped, only to cut himself off from a sharp look at Saerlund.
  
  "I'm a dead man, brother. By your own hand, or this bastard's -- but I will hang with the knowledge that I told you exactly what I think of you," Saerlund spat at both his brother and Ulfric. The latter met his gaze while Galmar was chuckling, clearly amused. Then Ulfric turned his gaze to Harrald and nodded.
  
  Harrald nodded back, "Becoming Thane of Riften shall be the least of your rewards." Harrald continued, his face going red from either embarrassment or anger. The guy couldn't be more of a puppet if Ulfric's hand was literally up his ass and making him say the words.
  
  "And as a reward of service and making yourself an enemy of a Daedra, I name you Thane of Windhelm," Ulfric added.
  
  I blinked at that, two Thaneships dropped into my lap when I only expected one. It was easy enough to guess why though. Ulfric was staking a claim on me and attaching his name to mine. Of my three Thaneships, one was a neutral party and the other two were Loyalist. Now, with this, I was the Thane of two Stormcloak cities as well.
  
  That was actually pretty crafty of him, I had to admit.
  
  "Thank you, both of you," I told them, accepting the titles. Now I wouldn't have to step foot in Windhelm, and I was just four Holds away from getting that secret title. Neat.
  
  "Jericho Fivefold Thane," Galmar commented, sounding like he was actually impressed. "At this rate, you'll be the Thane of Skyrim before winter sets in."
  
  While Galmar appeared impressed, Saerlund was less so. "Another puppet for the would-be-king," he accused. The feeling in the room tensed, Ulfric, and Galmar undoubtedly remembering our last one on one conversation. Their gazes were on me, wondering how I would respond to that while Harrald glared at his brother.
  
  I couldn't exactly agree that I was a puppet. And...
  
  At the start, Aela had said that I would end up calling Ulfric an idiot to his face. I just had to hope that Thaneships had a no take-back clause attached to them.
  
  "I think," I started, speaking directly to Ulfric. "That starting a war with the Empire is a stupid idea." Saerlund's eyes widened to the point that there was an honest risk of them falling out. Ulfric's expression hardened while Galmar outright scowled.
  
  Harrald looked about ready to start swinging, "The Empire has betrayed every Nord and Skyrim. They're filled with milk-drinking cowards who-"
  
  "I can't say that I was there during the war. Not like either of you were. It was before my time," I said, ignoring the acting Jarl in favor of speaking directly to Ulfric. "But it's clear to all that the Empire got fucked during the war. And since it got fucked, it had to sign its name on a peace treaty that anyone with half a brain cell could see that was going to tear the Empire apart."
  
  I could tell him about Alduin, but I didn't trust him. Especially not after he openly showed off his puppet Jarl.
  
  "The Thalmor is going to attack again. It might not be in our lifetimes, but it will be in theirs. The Thalmor get to play that long con of chipping away at the Empire until all that's left is ashes and rubble. And when the Empire falls apart, they get to sweep up the pieces," I told Ulfric, and there was a deep scowl on his face. "A civil war in Skyrim for independence from the Empire? The only side that wins is the Thalmor."
  
  "Skyrim will stand stronger and taller without the rot of the Empire dragging her down," Ulfric responded tersely. Yeah, he was pissed. "Our infantry is unmatched. Without incompetent generals and politics plaguing our every step, the war would have been won. Easily. We had the numbers, our terrain was our own -- yet we lost because brilliant generals were passed over because of shared blood of the powerful. Our magic divisions were little more than apprentices because the masters bribed officials to be relieved of duty!"
  
  He slammed a fist against the table, making a solid thunk ring out in the room before he jabbed a finger in my direction. "If what Nocturnal said about you is true, then you are a peerless warrior. One of the greatest in Tamriel. If you had been born a few decades earlier if you were a soldier in the war? You never would have seen battle. You never would have come close. You would have been assigned to some fat, lazy and stupid noble that couldn't think past the end of his cock! Because that's what the Empire does -- everyone that could have made a difference is sidelined, passed over, or placed where they can't do a single thing."
  
  Ulfric didn't tell or shout, but the anger in his voice carried well. He glared a challenge at me, and I was forced to think about what I knew about the war. Which was very little. All I really knew was that a Thalmor general had a Daedric artifact and used it to whoop the Empire's ass left right and center. But beyond that, I just knew that the Empire had lost.
  
  One look at Ulfric told me that there was a lot more to the Empire's defeat that I didn't know or understand.
  
  "That doesn"t change facts," I responded evenly. "Cutting Skyrim off from the Empire makes us isolated and alone. That's exactly what the Thalmor want. And anything that the Thalmor want, I don't want them to have." In that, we had a common enemy.
  
  "If you have a better way then feel free to try it," Ulfric snapped at me. "The Thalmor is the enemy. They have always been the enemy. And I will see them destroyed. The Empire doesn"t have the strength or the will, and I will not allow them to lead my people into another war that they should win but choose to lose because of corruption and incompetence."
  
  As annoying as it was, he did have a point there. The crux of the issue was that I didn't really know enough about the situation. The idea that Skyrim could fight off the Thalmor alone sounded ridiculous, but could Skyrim manage it? Yes? No? Probably? Maybe not? I had absolutely no clue.
  
  I had opinions and ideas born from playing a game, rather than looking at the entire situation with my own eyes. And, to that, I understood why Ulfric was so angry. Partly because I was talking out of my ass, and because despite the fact that I was, I was also making some points of my own.
  
  "The Moot is going to be a clusterfuck," I announced suddenly, making Ulfric blink while Galmar nodded in agreement. "Too many large personalities in a single room. You have the Jarls, the King, the Aedra, and the Daedra. And something like this can't be glossed over by the Empire, so they're going to send their own representatives. Probably the Emporer himself. Meaning that the Thalmor is also going to show up to remind the Empire that their boot is still on its neck."
  
  "Is there a point to all of this?" Harrald demanded, sounding like he caught the memo I wasn't a Stormcloak.
  
  "The point is that you're assuming that the Empire doesn"t want to crush the Thalmor as much as you do. And that the situation has changed dramatically -- the gods walk the planet. Talos among them. So, you want a better way than causing a war that'll weaken both Skyrim and the Empire? Use the Moot like everyone else will to shove their own agenda forward. Compromises will be made by every party. They have to, otherwise, it's going to turn into a bloodbath. Make your case and try to get the compromises that you want." I told Ulfric, meeting his gaze and I silently wondered what in the hell I just did.
  
  I didn't want to empower him, but I also didn't want to deal with a civil war. If I had to give some advice to get him to use his words instead of starting a war, then I would just have to bite the bullet. Alduin was still the enemy.
  
  Ulfric narrowed his eyes into a glare, but he did seem to be thinking about it. "Thank you for the advice, Thane of Windhelm," he bit out, not sounding very thankful. I simply nodded, taking it as the dismissal that it was and a confirmation that I still had the title.
  
  My gaze slid over the people of the room, lingering on Saerlund. I doubt he could get away with talking to Ulfric like that. Not like I could. I should say something on his behalf...
  
  But I didn't. I already rocked the boat too much with Ulfric and asking anything of him might be enough to tip it over. I couldn't take that risk, especially for someone I didn't know. So, I said nothing as I ducked my head to leave the room and closed the door behind me. Two weapons and two titles richer.
  
  ...
  
  "Why are we in a hurry?" Farkas asked, sounding suspicious when I returned to the tavern. Aela and Mjoll were also up, both bleary-eyed.
  
  "You know how I said that if Ulfric asked my political leanings, I would tell him?" I asked, and just like that, the sleep left their gazes and both Aela and Farkas looked like they were expecting Stormcloaks to start pouring in from the door and windows.
  
  Aela's hand went to a dagger at her belt, "Is Ulfric still alive?" Mjoll's eyes widened when she realized that Ulfric dying was a possibility.
  
  "He is. Just not very happy with me at the moment. But, good news, I'm Thane of Riften and Windhelm. So I have that going for me," I said, looking over the three. They were all packed up, ready to go... all except Mjoll. "So, I figure we should head out while we can. Before he changes his mind."
  
  Aela and Farkas nodded, approaching the door, but Mjoll lingered. "I will stay here," Mjoll decided, looking at me as she announced her decision.
  
  Aela frowned, "Are you certain?" She asked, earning a firm nod from Mjoll.
  
  "For years, I have tried to do good in this city, but I was stopped every step of the way by maven Black-Briar and the Thieves Guild. With them gone, I believe I can finally start making a difference," Mjoll stated. And as far as reasons to stay went, it wasn't a bad one.
  
  "I won't try to stop you if you're certain you want this," I told her. It would be good to have a friendly face in the city, and she was probably right about being able to make a difference. I had considered having her join the Hestia Familia, but... I didn't know Mjoll well enough to make that offer. We just didn't spend enough time together for me to see who she was underneath the meta-knowledge and good intentions. "If you're looking for a place to start -- try the orphanage. One of the kids informed me that Grelod the Kind isn"t as kind as the name implies."
  
  Mjoll nodded firmly, looking relieved I hadn't challenged her on the fact that she was staying. "I will look into it. You have my word," Mjoll agreed. That was a relief. Since the city was a dumpster fire when I arrived, I didn"t have the time to wrap up some loose ends. If someone else could tie them off for me, then that was great.
  
  Aela stepped forward and offered a hand, "It was an honor," she said as Mjoll clasped forearms with her.
  
  "The honor was mine," Mjoll returned, letting go of Aela and taking a step back. With that, I left the tavern with Aela and Farkas at my back. Stormcloak eyes were on us as we headed to the warehouse.
  
  "She"ll be fine," I told Aela as we entered the warehouse to find my wagon. It had only been a day or so, but it felt so much longer since I had arrived. Aela seemed to agree.
  
  "Her place is here," Aela agreed, climbing into the wagon with Farkas. "But that does beg the question of what do we do now? You have the backing of your would-be neighbors. Do we report back to Jarl Balgruuf?"
  
  That was a good question. We accomplished what we set out to do. Sort of. Pulling out the wagon from the storehouse building, I turned my attention skyward to see snow beginning to fall from the sky. And as I pushed the wagon to the gate, looking beyond it, I saw that snow had already gathered on the stone and grass. Snow from yesterday, but it never warmed enough for the snow to melt.
  
  Winter was setting in.
  
  "I think we should. Just to give him a heads up," I agreed, but my gaze found the mountain that separated me from Whiterun. The Throat of the World. At the top were the Greybeards. And Parthamax.
  
  "What are you thinking, Jericho?" Farkas asked from the back of the wagon. I must have sounded distracted by my thoughts.
  
  The top of the mountain was obscured by low hanging clouds, but a whte cap could still be seen. "I"m thinking that it might be a good idea to pay the Greybeards a vist. Before the winter really sets in and climbing the mountain becomes a bigger pain in the ass than it has to be."
  
  Farkas let out a small laugh, "Planning to master the Thu"um?" He questioned, and to that, I could only shrug.
  
  "Either that or convince some of the Greybeards to throw their hat in when it comes to stopping Alduin," I answered thoughtfully. "I could always do it later, but they Greybeards don"t feel like a faction that you include at the last minute, you know?"
  
  Aela made a noise of agreement. "You might not have much luck with them. They"re an ancient order that hasn"t come down from their temple in thousands of years. Or ever." That was also true.
  
  But I needed to start making progress with the skills I came to Skyrim to learn. The task I was given was completed. Now, it was time to learn how to use the Thu"um. Enchanting, magic spells, and so on. I had the winter to prepare. When spring came, I would be on the road again, picking up pieces of the kingdom and preparing for the Moot. After that, Alduin would come. Winter was my best shot.
  
  With that thought in mind, I pushed the wagon towards my next destination.
  ...
  
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  Winter was already proving to be a pain in the ass, I found as the mountain pass to Helgen was already snowed over. In about... a day since I left. We had caught the edge of the snow at Riften, but apparently, it had managed to snow about two feet in the mountains. The higher elevation and the fact the road was located in a narrow valley probably had something to do with it, but that didn't mean it wasn't annoying.
  
  "Go through it or go around?" I asked, eyeing the snow like an enemy. Aela and Farkas got out of the wagon. Farkas spared a glance at the snow drifting down from the sky and the heavy clouds that it dropped from.
  
  "Normally, I would say to just go through it, but, with you, it might actually be faster to go around the mountain," Aela remarked, sinking up to her knees in snow. I saw that she had gooseflesh raising on her arms -- even as a Nord, the cold was getting to her. Probably because she just wore a thin piece of leather that was loosely tied up to cover her breasts, but I wasn"t going to say anything.
  
  I looked around at the snow -- everything was covered in a thick layer of white. I was fine with traveling through the snow. Between my height, and my strength, two feet of snow wasn"t really anything to worry about. The most irritating part was my pants getting wet. It was the wagon that was going to cause the trouble. And the fact that Babette was hanging underneath the wagon to travel with us.
  
  Pushing through the snow would slow me down considerably. I was tempted to just lift the wagon and rung through the snow, but if we went around, then I could drop Aela and Farkas off at Whiterun, then run down to Riverwood, then to the head up the mountain alone. It would be simpler that way without anyone to slow me down.
  
  "Alright, we should head around. Hopefully, the roads won"t be as bad," I muttered the last bit to myself. I spared a glance behind me -- the snow had thickened up a while ago, but the further east you went the thinner it was.
  
  Farkas nodded, "It would be good to see the Companions again. And buy some winter clothing," Farkas remarked, giving Aela a pointed look. She punched him in the shoulder hard enough that I winced at the sound of it, while Farkas just laughed. I was glad that he said it, not me. I was cold just looking at Aela.
  
  "It would best be getting a move on. If it"s a cold snap, then the paths to Winterhold are going to be ten times worse. And in the dead of winter, you won"t find much luck with a ship captain willing to test the waters," Aela said, and that wasn"t a concern that I had really thought about.
  
  I nodded, "You"re right -- let"s go. Get ready for a bumpy ride," I said, speaking just as much to them as I was to Babette. They got into the wagon before I turned around, giving up the progress that I had made towards Helgen. And a second later, I took off sprinting. Snow flurries were kicked up, the wagon suffering the worst of it, but as the snow thinned out a bit I was able to return to my top speed.
  
  Winter was settling in. Snow gathered on the ground -- the further I went around the mountain and the lower elevation, the less snow there was but there were still patches of it gathering up. My game system told me it was about thirty degrees, but just the other day it had been hovering around the low sixties to fifties.
  
  Hours ticked by as I went around the mountain. It was impossible to tell the time based on the sun, but it was nearing noon according to my clock when I first caught a glimpse of Whiterun. I had run past the city a few days ago, on my way to Riften. It looked a bit different with snow over the rooftops and gathering on the walls, and it served as good motivation to pick up the pace. I didn't bother slowing down much as I sprinted to the front gate -- and it was there that I saw that there were plenty of other wagons lined up waiting their turn.
  
  "T-Thane Jericho, this way please," a guard greeted me as I approached. Apparently, people were recognizing me on sight so I didn't have to flash my badges of office. And I still had no clue what was so special about them, but after collecting five of them, it was way too late to ask. Still, being Thane had its perks, I found as I skipped everyone in line to enter the city.
  
  Parking my wagon, I looked to the guard, "Is Jarl Balgruuf available?" I asked, catching a glimpse of Babette crawling from underneath the wagon to disappear into the shadows. The guard offered a hasty nod but didn't speak for a few seconds. What was with him?
  
  "Er, he is, my Thane," the guard stumbled a bit over his words as Farkas and Aela got out of the wagon, groaning as they stretched out their arms and legs. "I will inform him that you are on your way," he said before he turned around and broke off into a sprint. I watched him go, feeling a bit puzzled before Farkas explained.
  
  "Seems like news has finally caught up to you -- they've probably finally heard about Falkreath," Farkas said, making me blink. Falkreath? That felt like ages ago.
  
  "The news from Markarth probably won't make the rounds until winter ends. If the passage to Helgen is already snowing over, then it'll be a hundred times worse there," Aela added. That, I could easily believe. Markarth was nothing but mountains and narrow paths.
  
  I just shrugged my shoulders, "Just surprised, is all." I was used to outrunning news of my deeds, so the reaction caught me off guard. "But let's go meet the Jarl," I said as I started walking.
  
  "Actually, I'm going to head back to the Companions. Catch up with them and see how they're doing," Farkas decided, earning a nod from Aela as well. "And standing around telling what happened really isn"t my thing. I leave that to the Skalds."
  
  Fair enough, I figured as we went our separate ways. They went to the fortress of Jorrvaskr. while I continued on to the keep. It really did look different with some snow gathering on the ledges -- it was a massive and daunting building, but the white snow made it look more picturesque. As I walked up the steps, I saw the guards push open the doors for me.
  
  The keep might look a little different but a month wasn't enough time to make Jarl Balgruuf change in any noticeable way. He sat on his throne, standing as I approached with a slight smile on his lips. "You've returned at last. From the tales I've heard, you set out and accomplished everything that you needed to."
  
  It was a warm welcome, judging by the people milling about, looking at me with awe-filled eyes. And I suddenly felt a little under dressed -- I wore black, snow-covered pants, snow-covered boots, and a gray sweater thing. Everyone else was all dressed up.
  
  "It was a pretty wild trip with plenty to do," I agreed, making the Jarl chuckle.
  
  "Any truth to the tale that you defeated a thousand Orcs with a single punch?" He questioned, and I was pretty sure I knew what he was doing. There were plenty of people moving about -- servants, guards, and maybe a few guests. He was trying to talk up his Thane. Because, as much as I was the Thane to five Holds, he was the first to Thane me.
  
  "It was three hundred Orcs with a punch each. It could have been more, but I wasn't going to start punching children," I answered and there was a shift in those that were listening. The rumor mill made mountains from molehills, so that's what they were assuming that happened. Only the molehill had been just a smaller mountain instead.
  
  Even Jarl Balgruuf seemed impressed, "Sounds like a fine tale," He said before his smile slipped. "My apologies, but I cannot offer a feast to celebrate your return. Winter grows closer every day."
  
  "I wouldn't ask you to. The people must be fed," I returned, knowing my line. Jarl Balgruuf nodded, looking pleased before he gestured to the back area, the war room.
  
  "My thanks for your understanding, but I would be remiss if I did not offer hospitality to a warrior such as yourself. Please, drink with me," he said, and I simply nodded before I followed him into the backroom. In the back stood his friend and housecarl Iirleth and the Court Wizard Farengar. Both stood at a table covered with a map, and this time it hadn't been cleared.
  
  "Pageantry aside, I meant what I said -- you seem to have made a fine reputation for yourself, Jericho." Jarl Balgruuf stated, offering an approving nod. "But tell us, what has happened? From what rumors would say, it seems all of Skyrim is falling apart."
  
  I scratched at my cheek, wondering where to begin. "That's probably not too far from the truth," I said. Then I began right from the beginning -- the trip to Falkreath, then the ordeal at Markarth, then finally what happened in Riften. And, as I spoke, it really sunk in just how much had happened. Some pieces were left out, like hiring the Dark Brotherhood and the like, but the story was a long one.
  
  Jarl Balgruuf nodded on the occasion, and when I began to wrap the story up, he spoke. "That explains some things. We received a letter from Solitude explaining that the city was under siege by "Revelry." I think every Hold received them. It was an invitation to a party by Sanguine. The King sent a letter stating that the city was fine," he added when I appeared nervous.
  
  "The Order of Stendarr held the city. I"m not sure what happened, but it seems that the group ended up dispersing when they ran out of food and ale. Sanguine is currently imprisoned in Solitude's dungeons," Jarl Balgruuf explained, and that was a relief. And it was the first time I had heard of a god besides Hestia being anything other than a pain in the ass, so that was nice.
  
  "What about Falkreath?" I asked, wondering what would happen to the city. "Did they decide on a new Jarl?"
  
  My hopes were dashed when he shook his head, "No, they haven"t. It"s a deadlock. Half of them want to make you Jarl, and the rest is split between voting for themselves." Oh, that did not sound good. "Are you certain you don"t want to become the Jarl of Falkreath? From the sounds of it, Divine Hestia has already taken the matter into her own hands in Helgen." Meaning the reason I was supposed the become the Jarl of Helgen was already taken care of.
  
  I shook my head, "Honestly, I"m not sure I want to be a Jarl at all anymore. From what I"ve seen, it"s a colossal pain in the ass." I admitted, though that wasn"t the whole truth. I wanted to live in the city that Hestia was building, and I didn"t want to have to run back and forth to see her. They were selfish and petty reasons, but I was a selfish and petty person.
  
  Iirleth scowled, "You"re the clear choice in Falkreath," she pointed out. I could guess what she was doing -- she wanted another friendly Jarl. Hestia would follow my lead, so instead of being the lone neutral Hold, there would be three.
  
  "Given the circumstances, I do believe it would be best if Falkreath chose another Jarl. Rumors of murder would taint Jericho"s reputation, true or not," Jarl Balgruuf offered, backing my stances. "By stepping away from Jarlship in Falkreath, he proves that he is innocent." To that, Iirleath scowled but nodded, seeing the logic in it.
  
  "Falkreath is being shipped food by us and Helgen. Markarth, however, seems to be on its own for the winter. Even if the trails haven"t snowed over, they would by the time any grain could be shipped," Jarl Balgruuf didn"t sound happy about it, but there wasn"t much that could be done.
  
  I offered a shrug, "If anything can be sparred, I can try to make a shipment. The snow will bother me a lot less than a normal person," I offered.
  
  Jarl Balgruuf nodded, looking thoughtful. "I will see what can be done... still, Falkreath and Markarth. The gods do enjoy their messes... but your efforts in Riften are an interesting prospect. Your thoughts on Jarl Ulfric now that you"ve met the man?" He asked, his tone taking a cautious edge to it. Which was fair, I guess.
  
  I had plenty of time to think about my opinion of the man on the run over. "How much of what he said about the Empire is true?" I asked instead of answering -- I wanted to separate my opinions that formed from meta-knowledge. Just in case they tainted who Ulfric Stormcloak really was.
  
  "For the most part, yes, much of it is true. He paints the Empire in a poorer light than they deserve, but at the heart of the matter, he"s correct. Had you fought in the war, you wouldn"t be likely to see battle. You would have been deemed too important to risk carelessly, so you would have been set aside for your own protection until it was too late," He explained. "There are good men in the Empire. Great men, even. And it was an honor to serve with them, but... good and great men in the empire don"t tend to live long. Their lives cut short, if not by politics, then by the Thalmor."
  
  Hm. That sounded... like a problem. "Before I left Riften, Ulfric said something to me about the Thu"um -- how learning a word can change a man. He warned me about it, but... I think he"s falling prey to what he warned me about. The Unrelenting Force -- Ulfric sees himself as the only man that can do anything, so it"s up to him to make the hard choices, and nothing is going to get in the way of doing what he thinks is right."
  
  That"s the impression that I got from him. I know there was a dossier from the Thalmor about him, but I never actually bothered to read it. I just knew what it said -- that he had betrayed the Empire under torture by giving up sensitive information, that he was their agent, and so on. I had no idea how much of that was still true, but when I had looked at Ulfric, I saw a man that hated the Thalmor. Real hate. The kind I had felt for the Soma familia.
  
  If he had ever worked for the Thalmor aside, I didn't believe he was still working for them. Willingly, at least. But that didn't mean he didn't serve their interests, and beyond all of that, I didn't care for the racist policies he spouted.
  
  The trio blinked at that, "It fits," Iirleth remarked with a shrug of her shoulders.
  
  "I can believe it as well. Jarl Ulfric learned the lessons of the Greybeards, but it seems that he did not learn their wisdom," Jarl Balgruuf said with a small shake of his head. "But, the man aside, you are Thaned five times. Do you intend to be Thaned in every Hold?"
  
  To that, I offered a small shrug, "I might as well. Already halfway there at this point." Though, based on the look that I got, I'm guessing that I missed something important. "Unless I shouldn't?"
  
  Jarl Balgruuf let out a huff of laughter, "It depends -- you would gain the title Thane of Skyrim. Only those that have been Thaned in every Hold can gain the title, but... actually, I don't think it's ever been given out in anything beyond an honorary measure. Usually postmortem for a great hero." That was probably the secret title the system was talking about. "Provided that you live to use the title, I don't know what it would mean. Thanes are second only to their Jarls or the King -- as the Thane of Skyrim, in theory, you would be second to the King."
  
  I blanched at that, earning another laugh from the Jarl as he continued, "In theory. The title is an old one, but it is too new to know what actually having it would mean. In truth, I believe you should aim for it. It will give your voice more weight than any Jarl at the Moot. And if it is going to be as chaotic as you believe, then having a strong voice that all the Jarls know to call for unity will surely be a boon."
  
  Despite his words, I was suddenly less sure if I wanted the title. Being the Thane of Falkreath apparently put me in the line of succession. Being King... part of me liked the idea. That part of me that used to entertain fantasies of all that I would do if I became king of a nation in the medieval times, this time... but that part of me was silenced by a month of pure bullshit. And all of that bullshit being my problem rather than shit I dealt with.
  
  "If it happens, then it happens, I guess," I hedged. I wasn't aiming for it anymore, but... there were a lot of problems in Skyrim and I knew by now that I would end up solving them. "But, with all of that taken care of, what's next?"
  
  Farengar spoke up for the first time, "Your companion dropped off the dragon stone some time ago -- all of the corpse locations have been marked on the map." he said and when I looked down at the map, I saw that they were. "The one north of Whiterun has already been dealt with. As has the one near Helgen."
  
  "The rest, we are forced to leave to you," Jarl Balgruuf said. "My men can't dig them up without it looking like we're invading. Your mining company, on the other hand, is quite capable of excavating them. Especially considering you're the Thane in most Holds." He had a point there.
  
  "I'll take care of it then," I said, thinking about what this would mean. I would be getting my hands on dragon bone. Probably one of the toughest materials in the game. Most of it would go to Helgen to act as bait, but some could be spared to improve my armor.
  
  I had an idea to improve my good set beyond the Ebony that it was. Dragon bone, Aetherium , and the possibility of upgrading it to Daedric... I would need it to take on Alduin.
  
  "What about you?" Irileth questioned as I memorized the markers, which transferred themselves to my map. My map was filling out nicely, though the top half was pretty sparse. But, comparing it to my memories of the game map... everything seemed roughly in the same place, just spread out a bit more.
  
  Meaning that I could probably triangulate a few odds and ends that were worth picking up.
  
  "I'm going to the Greybeards to recruit them," I said, "Or to learn the Thu'um. Based on a conversation I had with Sheogorath... it might be possible for me to learn the Thu'um a bit easier with Akathosh's blessing."
  
  Jarl Balgruuf seemed to expect that kind of bullshit from me, so he simply nodded in agreement. "Then you had best leave now. A cold snap will be felt far worse at the throat of the world than it will be here. If you don't, then you might have to wait until winter ends."
  
  I think I would probably be fine, but I did agree that the sooner the better. "Then I'll head out now. No point in wasting time," I said, earning a nod from the Jarl. He held out a hand for me to clasp, which I did, and inadvertently engulfed his forearm with my hand. The intent was clear, though.
  
  "It seems there is no rest for a good man -- godspeed to you, Jericho," Jarl Balgruuf said, squeezing down before he let go. I offered a smile in response before I turned around and started walking away. That was good. I had a bead on the next task, though some things were left in the gaps, they could wait.
  
  I knew where to find some dragon bone, and I was likely to spend the next few months with the Greybeards. Not exactly my idea of a good time, but needs must. With that thought in mind, I realized I should probably say my goodbyes. For now at least, because I wasn't sure if I was going to be leaving the mountain before spring.
  
  Rolling my shoulders as I stepped out of the dragon keep, I made my way down to the home of the Companions, Jorrvaskr. It seemed my brief sighting was enough to gather up a small crowd because people stopped and stared when they saw me coming. Some of them looked like they expected me to... I dunno, give a speech or something. They were disappointed because I just ignored them and made my way to Jorrvaskr.
  
  I stepped through the gate, going to head for the door, only to stop when I saw Aela rounding the side of the building. Her expression was set into an unusual scowl and she seemed to be marching somewhere without looking where she was going because she seemed shocked to see me when I spoke up. "Aela? Something wrong?"
  
  She nearly tripped, my voice caught her so off guard. She blinked before looking up at me, her lips parted but she failed to answer for a few seconds. Then her lips thinned, "Do you still wish to lay with me?" Aela asked bluntly, making every instinct scream trouble.
  
  Was... this a trick question...?
  
  "Yeesss...?" I confirmed with some hesitation. Those weren't bedroom eyes. Those were 'I'm about to shoot and kill something' eyes. And since I was the only one here, I'm guessing I would be the target.
  
  "Good," was all Aela said before she closed the distance between us. She stood on her tiptoes while grabbing my shoulders to lower me down the foot and a half distance separating our faces, and slammed her lips against mine. I was a bit taken back by the suddenness, but I guess I did leave her wanting for about a week, so I quickly recovered and kissed back.
  
  Kissing Aela was different than nearly every girl I had kissed before -- some girls were more skilled and experienced, others let me take the lead, and some had dominated my mouth on accident. Aela kissed me hard, hungrily almost, with a savage intensity. Once I was at a proper kissing height, she ran her hands through my hair, her lips demanding and intense -- if I had kissed her before became an adventurer, I'd probably be sporting a split lip.
  
  Then, almost as soon as it began, Aela pulled back and I saw her golden-yellow eyes were narrowed into a glare. "Follow me," she demanded, not giving me a chance to answer before she led me by the wrist to what appeared to be the cliff wall that supported the Skyforge. But, appearances could be deceiving because she pulled a rock that acted as a lever and a passageway opened up.
  
  The stairs that the Companions had made their offer to join their covenant at. Aela closed the door behind us after lighting a torch, which she used to light an oil trench to illuminate the secret area.
  
  "You... seem a little... angry," I noted, wondering if she brought me down here for sex or to murder me. But I couldn't think of a reason why I had pissed her off, and the question was answered by Aela pulling off her top to reveal her bare breasts. My gaze dipped down, ignoring the sound of her metal shoulder pauldrons hitting the ground. She tore off her vambraces and the green sleeves as well.
  
  She didn't answer for a moment, though she paused to take off her leggings and skirt.
  
  "You were right," she snapped at me, making me blink.
  
  Okay. "...What was I right about?" I couldn't help but ask. I probably could have answered the question myself, but I was a little distracted by the sight of boobs, and blood was rushing to the wrong head. The last time I saw Aela's breasts, it had been in the middle of the night, and I hadn't been able to make out much detail. The flames made the shadows darker, but I saw her dark red, pebbled nipples standing upright. Though, I couldn't tell if it was from arousal or the cold based on the goosebumps that seemed to cover her skin.
  
  That was the wrong thing to say because he glared at me like I was supposed to already know. "Skjor," she snapped at me, her anger not quite enough to stop her from pulling off the leather skirt that hung at her waist. I was more distracted when I saw that the carpet did match the drapes -- her groin was covered in a somewhat tamed bush. Given we spent the last month on the road, I'm guessing she didn't have many chances to womanscape, as it were.
  
  Who in the hell was- "Oh. He has feelings for you?" I asked, somewhat dumbly. And based on the look that I got, I could tell that Aela also thought it was a dumb question. "Did you talk? What did you say?" I questioned, starting to wonder what this was. This had all the hallmarks of spite sex to her ex, rather different than how she tried to just hook up with me out in the wild.
  
  Aela tore off her boots, so she stood before me completely in the nude. She didn't have her grease paint on either, since there wasn't much of a point with the snow. She met my gaze, appearing annoyed that I was asking questions instead of dicking her, but... this was an issue of shitting where I eat. If this turned into a drama thing, then at the very least I would be making an enemy of Skjor. I could end up alienating myself and Aela from the entire Companions.
  
  "He wanted to lay with me when I got back, but I told him that I wasn't interested. I thought that would be the end of it, but... he started to act all possessive -- as if I were his wife," Aela's lips thinned, appearing a bit upset. "He said that he does care for me."
  
  Right. Shit.
  
  I took in a deep breath, "Do you care for him?" I asked bluntly.
  
  Aela looked away, "I... no. I don't." There was some hesitation there, but she sounded more ashamed than anything. Like she was ashamed of not returning his feelings. "I told him as much and..." I'm guessing some things were said that pissed her off.
  
  "Aela," I started, stepping forward as I began to undo the Hestia Armor. "If you're looking for me to tell you you should go back to him... then you've come to the wrong guy," I told her, tossing the armor aside.
  
  In the end -- I liked Aela. I spoke to Skjor all of one time, and he got rejected. He might have feelings for her, but those meant pretty much nothing when they weren't returned. I was reminded by a trope in Hentai -- how a guy will like a girl that was getting dicked by a guy with a huge dick and no face. They were always labeled as NTR, but that always struck me as weird. In the end, if there was no relationship to NTR away, then it was just a case of some audience stand-in not confessing soon enough.
  
  I was in the clear. I wasn't a hentai NTR protagonist.
  
  Aela stepped forward, grabbing the edges of my sweater before helping me pull it up. Once it was off, she ran her hands over my chest, caressing the muscles as her hands dipped lower to run over my abs, then down to the buttons of my pants. "Good," Aela responded as she started to undo them. I returned the gesture by allowing my hands to dip low, cupping her ass as I effortlessly lifted her off her feet.
  
  The bowl meant to catch the blood of a werewolf was petty much the perfect height, so I set her down on the edge, while I leaned down to kiss her as she tore at the buttons of my pants to free my erection. She gasped into my mouth as her hands ran over its length -- they reminded me of Tiona"s. They were rough and calloused, but not in a way that didn"t feel good as she ran her fingers over my length.
  
  She spread her legs, guiding my cock into her, but the action caused me to pull my head back. "No foreplay?" I questioned -- Aela was wet, just not the level of wet I preferred girls to be. I couldn"t prove it because I only had the one test case -- girls in Skyrim didn"t seem to operate under hentai physics. By that, Hestia was able to take all of me despite being fairly small, but Dibella had been able to take in half at best.
  
  "I"ve waited for this for too long as it is," Aela told me, giving me a hungry look. So, foreplay was a no go. Still, I wanted to lube up just a little more. Looking down, I gathered up and spat on my cock and spread it out a bit. The spit would help, and the aphrodisiac in the spit would help more. Aela sighed breathlessly when I lifted her a bit, angling myself so that the underside of my dick dragged itself over her lower lips.
  
  Her eyebrows drew together, likely noticing something. When she looked up at me, I offered her a cocky smirk, "A perk of having a falna," I explained. Her lips tugged up into a smile, and I saw that the aphrodisiac was working its magic. Aela was hardly gushing, but she was noticeably wet.
  
  "I can"t wait to join up then," Aela said, taking my cock and guiding the tip of it to her lips. She sucked in a sharp breath when I began to penetrate, and instantly I noticed the tightness. Just the tip was in, but her pussy was trying to force me out with the tightness of it's grip rather than draw me in.
  
  God... fucking... shit god damn motherfucking shit fuck.
  
  "You"re too big," Aela realized the issue. I... I could use a perk point to solve the issue. Snug Fit would take care of the problem, no issue. But...
  
  Saving the world or getting laid? Risk spending an incredibly valuable perk point that could determine the fate of the entire world... or fucking Aela"s brains out?
  
  Choices choices.
  
  ...
  
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
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  Saving the world had better be worth it. Oh, it had better fucking be worth it. This is the second time I've had to turn down sex with a super hot, super badass redhead. The first time -- that was me sticking with my promise, and wanting to let Skjor shoot his shot before I did anything. Even though I really wanted to do something. This time it was the same issue I had with Dibella -- the female form was not meant to accommodate such dimensions in this world.
  
  I hadn't wanted to spend the perk point then because... well, Dibella was... well, she was sexually active enough that she was loose and wet enough to make up the difference. She was a god of love and beauty, after all. Aela had no such luck. I couldn't penetrate her more than just the tip -- she was just too tight. It wasn't an issue of her not being wet enough, but her body was just too small. I couldn't push myself any deeper without hurting her -- sure, I could get my rocks off, but I didn't want my partner to experience crippling pain during sex.
  
  That was kinda the exact opposite of what I wanted. Sure, a vagina could take some punishment, but I preferred the girls that I was with to cum their brains out rather than experience crippling agony.
  
  "I think we should hold off on sex for now," I told her with sincere reluctance as I moved away to prevent myself from being tempted by any argument Aela might make. She frowned, her mouth opening her mouth to argue, but I continued and cut her off. "You could seriously get hurt if we continue."
  
  Her lips pressed together into a thin line as she eyed my dick like she was running calculations in her mind. Her answer must have been the same as mine because she sighed. "I had feared as much. Can Divine Hestia really...?" She trailed off, likely assuming that if I was too big for her, then that should go doubly so for Hestia.
  
  "She can, but there are special circumstances there," I explained. Aela seemed to assume it was because she was a god and that assumption was too convenient to correct her.
  
  Aela sighed, a hand wrapping around my dick as she looked down at it almost longingly, "I always knew I should have bothered learning some magic." That caught my attention. Mostly because it sounded like magic was a solution to this problem.
  
  "Magic?" I echoed, and Aela shot me a look before she let out an amused huff.
  
  "There are a few Lady spells that are worth learning. I think they either fall under Restoration or Alteration trees. A spell to prevent pregnancy, to suppress a woman's monthly bleed," Aela explained before her hands began to run over my length. "Spells to make a man cum with a touch, and a spell to help make a woman more comfortable with larger insertions."
  
  Eromancy. She was pretty much-describing eromancy.
  
  Shit, I knew I should have specced into magic earlier. That would have been really useful to know right now.
  
  "Never bothered to learn that last one. I didn't think there would ever be a need," Aela admitted, and that was a real shame. Then she smirked a bit, "And I'm guessing you don't know it either based on that expression on your face."
  
  My regret must have shown. As much as I wanted to, and I really, really, really wanted to, I couldn't justify spending the perk point. Not when there was a branch of magic that could do the same thing. It would be an actual waste of a perk point, something that I could use on a high-level perk that could actually make a difference in a fight with Alduin. High tier perks were powerful, and their biggest weakness was that I had to make a choice between two good perks.
  
  Now that I knew that there was magic that could do the same...
  
  "I don't, but I can tell you what -- I'm going to learn, even if it's the last thing I do," I told her with a small laugh. Aela chuckled before humming as my hand dipped between her legs to stroke her lower lips. "But just because we can't have sex doesn"t mean we can't do anything," I told her, my voice a low mummer. Aela seemed to shiver with delight, though that could have been the cold. But given how slick her pussy was, I'm guessing it was the former.
  
  One of her hands continued to slowly jack me off while the other pressed against my chest, over my heart that beat powerfully. "That's a very good point," Aela admitted with a coy smirk as I leaned in to kiss her. She laughed through her nostrils at how much I had to dip down to do the action, but I turned that laugh into a moan as my middle finger stroked her slit.
  
  I found her entrance easy enough, and I found that she felt tight around my finger. Virgin tight, almost. If I could barely fit a finger in her, then how was I supposed to fit my dick? Her hand jacking me off became a little more frantic and the motions less smooth as I began to finger her, my middle finger curling to scrape the top of her pussy as I used my thumb to press down on her clit.
  
  Aela broke the kiss, her chest rising and falling as she panted for breath, "Your finger is bigger than Skjor," she told me and I was a little ashamed how my cock twitched at that. All evidence to the contrary, I wasn't trying to cuck the guy. I didn't have any real problem with him. He was probably a decent guy, but... I wasn't going to let his unreturned feelings keep me from making Aela cum her brains out.
  
  I didn't think that made me a bad guy. Just not a good one.
  
  "Is that so?" I muttered into her ear, the ancient room filled with the wet sounds of her pussy. Her arousal began to drip from her entrance, droplets of it hitting the stone basin that Aela was perched on. And that was a turn on. This place, this room, was thousands of years old. The Skyforge was here pretty much since the dawn of time, and for who knows how long, this room was used to create werewolves.
  
  Now it was catching droplets of arousal, and judging from how her walls were trying to milk my finger, she was nearing a second orgasm already. All the while she was comparing me to Skjor and how he fell short. I couldn"t lie -- that felt good. Almost enough to make up for the lack of actual sex.
  
  "It is," Aela breathed, her walls starting to clamp down while her free hand went to mine as I toyed with her body. "He is not a small man, but you are just... very large," she explained, her chest rising and falling, her head leaning forward against my chest while she continues to jack me off. "But, I-~~" She groaned as an orgasm washed over her, her body trembling against me as cum gushed from her.
  
  It dripped from my knuckles, falling into the basin. Aela didn"t moan or shout my name as she came. She clamped up like she was bracing herself against the tides of pleasure. Because of that, she recovered not a moment later.
  
  "He also would have cum by now," Aela muttered breathlessly. I slowed my ministrations, knowing that she was sensitive. Her body was jerky, twitchy almost, flinching away from my touch like it was too stimulating for her. It seemed that Aela also noticed that I liked being compared to others. All things considered, it probably shouldn"t surprise me. The power aspect of sex had appealed to me before -- seducing and deflowering a goddess, having two of them worship my dick, making a level 5 cum her brains out...
  
  Shit, I was totally a NTR protagonist, wasn"t I?
  
  "I"m afraid it"s going to take more than this to make me cum," I told her, and from the look in her eyes, I could tell she was willing to take that challenge. A finger lingered on my cockhead, lightly touching it while Aela seemed to consider her approach on how to best take on that challenge. One corner of her lips quick upwards into a smirk.
  
  "I have some ideas," she remarked, pushing herself off of the basin. She turned around while reaching up, hooking her hands around the back of my neck. I caught the hint and picked her up effortlessly. Once I did, she let go with one hand to guide my dick between her legs, her dripping lower lips touching the top of my dick. She braced one foot on the basin and started to thrust her hips, dragging her pussy over my dick while she jerked off what her pussy couldn"t touch.
  
  I liked this idea, I thought to myself. Aela braced her upper body against me, letting her really drag herself over my length. A clear sheen could be seen as her hips rocked back and forth, but based on her panting, she was getting more out of this than me.
  
  "You make me feel so good," Aela breathed, hammering on that pride button. "So much better than him. You"ve already made me peak three times already," she informed, and I guess I missed an orgasm somewhere. "Skjor was lucky if he could make me peak once."
  
  I felt bad for the guy. I really did. Just not enough to let that stop me.
  
  "Yeah?" I questioned, sinking into my role. I let go of all inhibitions, not bothering to stave off my orgasm, and just let the pressure coil in my balls. A hand went to one of her breasts and Aela moaned when I plucked at her rock hard nipple. I wanted to cum. At least once.
  
  "Yesss," Aela hissed, arousal dripping from her to the floor. The stuffy room filled with the scent of sweat and arousal. In the low light, despite the cold, a sheen of sweat shone on her skin. The obvious pleasure she was in made my cock throb. The sensations she delivered were different than I was used to, but different didn"t mean bad.
  
  The hand on her breast went up, fingers tracing up her chest, over her throat until I tilted her head back to look up at me. Her expression was a mask of pleasure, completely overwhelmed -- I"m guessing she wasn"t used to rapid orgasms. Between my spit, her natural sensitivity, and her back to back orgasms... she was really pushing herself. Overwhelming herself because she wanted me to cum while trash talking her ex-lover.
  
  That did the trick. The coil of tension snapped and my cock throbbed in Aela"s hand. She pointed it away from her, inadvertently aiming it at the basin. I looked at her expression, her eyes widened, feeling the force of my orgasm. And how long it lasted. Dipping my head down, I pressed my lips against hers, letting my orgasm tapper off. It wasn"t my best or most intense, but I could feel the stress bleeding out from me.
  
  Everyone had a coping mechanism. Sex was mine, it would seem.
  
  Pulling back, I smirked down at her, "Damn," I complimented her as I shifted her away from my dick. She stumbled when her feet touched down, and she looked at my dick with utter confusion. Like she couldn"t understand why it was still hard. Enough so that she glanced at the basin to check that I really had came.
  
  I had, but... huh. Most of my cum hand landed in the basin, but I thought it would have filled it up or something. Instead, there was a pretty pathetic amount in there. I did cum hentai protagonist amounts -- I guess it just looked like more when it was spread out. It was still several times what I used to produce before becoming the Gamer. While I was unimpressed with the amount, I couldn"t say the same for Aela.
  
  "By the gods," she remarked, sparing me a glance and my still hard cock. "And... you could do that again?" She questioned, sounding like she didn"t believe it. To that, I just offered a smirk.
  
  "Several times," I answered, pulling up my pants. Once it was tucked back into my pants, it got the memo that it was over and softened up a bit. "And as much as I would like to do this several times, I, unfortunately, have to go to talk to a bunch of old dusty men about shouting reality into submission."
  
  Aela let out a small laugh at that, "That was nice. And you"re right, you are a simple man. A few compliments about your penis, and that"s all it took." She actually sounded pretty proud about that. Not to mention that she had enough of a point that I couldn"t argue. She turned her attention to the basin before she let out another small laugh. "And this... this is where blood would have filled had you agreed to become a werewolf. You seem to have filled it with another fluid."
  
  I didn"t know how to answer that as she looked down at it. Saying sorry seemed appropriate. I did cum in an ancient bowl with some serious historic meaning to the Companions. "My bad?"
  
  She shook her head in response, "Think nothing of it. When the time comes, all of us shall rid ourselves of our lycanthropy to join your familia. So, this will simply be another bowl," Aela remarked. She glanced up at me before she cupped her hands, making me go stiff as she dipped her hands into the bowl. My jaw dropped a fraction when she scooped it up, a smirk on her face before she brought her hands to her lips.
  
  Oh, damn. Words failed me. All I knew was that I really regretted putting my pants back on when Aela swallowed thickly.
  
  "The others do not often come here without reason, but better to get rid of the evidence-" She started, only to cut herself off when I started tugging at my pants again.
  
  Aela ended up having to clean up plenty of evidence before we were done.
  
  ...
  
  I stood at the base of the Throat of the World feeling as light as a feather, but cold as all hell. In the end, it was probably a mistake to go that extra round with Aela. The second shot was more difficult to achieve than the first, so it took longer. So, by the time I arrived at the base of the mountain, it was already nightfall and snow was steadily piling up, while harsh winds cut right through my clothing. The cold didn't really bother me, but it was clear that I was a bit under dressed.
  
  Paying that fact no mind, I started jogging up the steps. I was a lot faster without a wagon to worry about. Though, the uneasy footing did slow me down a fair bit. I had left Whiterun a handful of hours ago, after saying my goodbyes to Farkas. And Aela. Both intended to spend the winter in their home, which unfortunately wasn't in Helgen.
  
  I would see them again when spring came. For now though, it was goodbye. And I had to go deal with the Graybeards. Not exactly what I wanted to be doing, but it was necessary to deal with Alduin. Already, I switched out my Title to Astute Student, which would grant me an exp boost when being taught. Soon, I would be learning the Thu'um. It was kinda exciting.
  
  This was one of the main reasons I came to Skyrim. From a lore standpoint, the Thu'um... well, it allowed a man to forge an empire. It was incredibly powerful, difficult to counter, and I wanted it. How different would things have been in the War Game if I had been able to say three words and destroy that castle that they had hidden behind. And, after nearly getting killed by it a couple of times, I could respect the Thu'um's power that much more.
  
  I was a level 2 in Danmachi terms, and I was a powerful one. I knew that much. Given how high my stats had been when I leveled up, I was probably a mid-tier level 2 right out of the gate. That's not taking into account my perks. As I was now, I could probably take on any level 2 back in Danmachi. Maybe even some level 3s. I wouldn't know until I returned there.
  
  The Thu'um was something that if I mastered, I could hit way out of my weight class. Stuff like controlling time? Summoning a storm? Shattering castles with words? I wanted that. And I would get it, one way or the other. The only thing in my way was a shit ton of steps and some slippery ice.
  
  The higher I climbed, the colder it got. The temperature just seemed to plummet and it hadn't slowed its roll. Gooseflesh rose in my skin, ice crystals formed in my hair as it was assaulted by the chilling wind. My resistance was protecting me from the worst of it, it just wasn't enough to protect me from all of it. As I climbed higher, slowing down a bit, I was forced to take out a cold resistance potion and knock it back. It took the edge off, but I still didn't feel warm. I took out my bear pelt cloak and wrapped it around my shoulders to help with that.
  
  I will say this much -- they picked a good place to avoid people. But I was more stubborn than most, so I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, following the path. There were trolls on the mountain, but it seemed too cold for them to bother coming out. Even without distractions, it took a long time for me to walk up the mountainside. Long enough that the sky began to brighten ever so slightly, telling me I had traveled through the night. Though, it was impossible to tell how far up I was since everything was covered in fog.
  
  So, I just kept putting one foot in front of another, ignoring the chill, and wondering when I would reach the peak.
  
  The Throat of the World was a big fucking mountain. I would give it that because it was another sixteen hours of walking before I rounded a corner and saw High Hrothgar. A solidly built palace located at the highest point of the world -- huge doors marked the entrance, while curved stairs led up to them. A massive chest sat in the middle. A place for offerings to be placed.
  
  "Fucking finally," I muttered to myself as I started walking up the steps. I looked at the impressive doors -- it was large enough that a particularly tall giant could step through without worrying about bumping their head. And if the doors opened together, a mammoth could walk through with no trouble. Clearing my throat, I raised a fist and hesitated for a second, before I gathered my nerve and knocked on the door.
  
  Then I waited. And waited. Then waited some more. Minutes passed, nearly a quarter of an hour before I tried knocking again. Harder this time. And then I waited. And continued to wait. And kept waiting.
  
  Right.
  
  "I need to talk to the dragon that lives here about killing Alduin and saving the fucking world!" I shouted, banging on the doors with a fist. And when it didn't buckle under the force, that just encouraged me to knock harder. "So open up!"
  
  Still nothing.
  
  "Fine. Fuck you then. I'll just go around, assholes," I said, knowing that they could hear me. They were just ignoring me. Dicks. Wasn't like I just climbed a literal fucking mountain in the middle of the winter at night to speak with them. And they wouldn't even open the doors. Pushing my annoyance to the side, I looked up to find that I still had plenty of mountain left.
  
  So, I started climbing. I jumped up and pushed through snow and ice, getting a handhold before using that as leverage to climb up. The ice gave way, falling to the ground, but I was making my way up. I used my strength to help me over, jumping over distances until I started to near the top. I half expected there to be some kind of response, but there wasn't.
  
  Like an hour later, I was standing at the peak of the world.
  
  My feet trudged through the snow -- it was fairly deep, but the peak seemed calm. There was a trickle of snow falling to the ground, and I could see a Word Wall. Since it seemed to be the only thing here, I walked towards it. Much like before, there wasn't any slow dramatization as I approached. My vision didn't dim, there was no swell of music. Just a wall with words etched into it that didn't mean a single thing to me.
  
  And something else.
  
  There was a Mark at the base of the wall. Just like the one placed on my ceiling back home. That hadn't been here in the game. Was it new? Old? I couldn't tell. I was so distracted by the Mark that I nearly missed the sound of flapping wings. I honed in on the source just in time to see the dragon that I wanted to see.
  
  Paarthurnax landed on a stone outcropping behind me, his long neck twisting a bit to bring his oversized head down to my level. He was huge. Bigger than the infant dragon that I had killed before. He was covered with gray scales of various shades -- some on his head almost looking like a beard that jutted out from the bottom of his chin while two horns swooped back from the crown of his head. His wings were attached to his arms, which clutched weather-beaten stone.
  
  Intelligent blue eyes looked at me. "To receive so many unexpected guests after centuries of silence," Paarthurnax rumbled, his mouth moving ever so slightly to speak the words. There was a slight accent, but I'm guessing that was because of a difference in the shapes of our mouths. Keerava had the same kind of accent. "An unexpected surprise."
  
  The big difference was the power in his voice. It... was like a storm in the distance, a distant rumble of a force of nature. Like Talos, only so much stronger.
  
  "Not an unwelcome one, I hope?" I asked, now that I was actually here, I was feeling a lot less certain of myself. Paarthurnax was thousands of years old and a real dragon. One that could shout at reality to make it do what he wanted. Despite everything I had accomplished, I suddenly felt very small as I stood in the shadow of a true dragon.
  
  Paarthurnax tilted his head, "That would depend on your reason for being here. You know of me. You expected me to be here, but so very few know of my existence. Those that do are not the kind that would share that knowledge lightly."
  
  That caught my attention as I looked down at the Mark. "I'm guessing that your previous guest was Sheogorath?" I questioned, thinking that she was the only person that I knew used the Mark and Recall spell. It had been unusable for centuries, so few would be throwing them around nowadays. Mostly because only she would know that they worked again.
  
  "To speak of a god so lightly... you must be the usurper that she had spoken of," Paarthumax remarked, his tone making it impossible to tell what he thought of that.
  
  I offered a hesitant nod, "I am." It felt like I was confessing to murder but I met the oversized dragon's gaze evenly.
  
  "I was told to expect you, but I did not anticipate your arrival so swiftly. She said you were inexperienced in the ways of magic, so I did not anticipate your arrival, thus I did not prepare for it. My apologies, Usurper," Paarthumax stated with a small rumbling chuckle. Given my talk with Sheo, it was pretty obvious why he was calling me that.
  
  "Was there something stopping me from reaching this point?" I questioned, wondering what he was talking about.
  
  "An endless illusion should have stopped you as it has stopped so many other unexpected guests," Paarthurnax answered, shifting from his spot to lay down. His tail snaked out to coil around the base of the rock.
  
  Ah. I'm guessing Mind Defense helped me out there. So illusions were useless on me. Good to know.
  
  "I see..." I muttered before I squared my shoulders. "I'm here to learn the Thu'um. Alduin will be arriving in a few short months. I want to learn how to beat him in the time that we have." It wasn't much of a request but I also wasn't the Dragonborn. I needed to learn if it was possible. Here and now. If it wasn't, then I needed to go with one of my back up options.
  
  To that, Paarthumax shifted. He snaked forward, climbing over the stone outcropping(,) and snow crunched underfoot as he approached. "The return of my brother... after so very long, the day is upon us... the Voice is not something to be mastered in such little time. You are not Kin."
  
  "I'm not. I'm something else," I agreed and to my surprise, Paarthurnax's head bobbed in agreement.
  
  "You are an Outsider. Someone not of this world. For this reason, I must ask -- for what reason have you usurped a role not meant for you?" Paarthurnax questioned, making me go still. So he knew I came from another world? At this point, I just had to assume all of the gods knew as much. So that secret wasn't going to stay secret forever. "Should this world fall, reduced to nothing, you should have no cause for worry. Strings are attached to you. Strings that can bring you home."
  
  And by that, I'm guessing that Hestia would be able to bring us back to Danmachi if worse came to worst. And I had no idea what would happen if I failed to save the world. Would I die? Or would I find myself back into that white void? Would Skyrim be off the table or could I get a second shot at it? I had no clue. And I hoped I wouldn't find out.
  
  "Just because I won't die doesn't mean I'm willing to let others die. I didn't intend to take the role from the Dragonborn. I just don't trust prophecy," I answered honestly, feeling like lying to a dragon wasn't the best of ideas.
  
  "Should the world be consumed, that is a decision made by the gods. By my father, Akatosh," Paarthurnax pointed out.
  
  To that, I could only shrug. "I don't really care if he decides the world should end. I'll fight that ending with everything that I've got."
  
  "Yet, you still request my help," Paarthumax returned, his tone even. "Since my brother was banished here, thousands of years ago, I have awaited for his return. For the Dragonborn to stand before me, so this ages-old fight can finally be settled. Instead, I find the god of madness defacing my Word Wall. And an Outsider, who Usurped a role that was not his and demands I ignore the wishes of my Father to let this world come to an end."
  
  I guess he was a bit put out by that. I probably would be too. "I was more requesting," I responded after a small beat of silence. "I can't make you help me if you don't want to. And I can't make the Greybeards help me either," I said, figuring that they could either Shout me off the mountain or into pieces. "So, I'm asking for your help to defeat Alduin. That's why you're here, isn't it? This is where he was thrown into the time stream, so this is where he will appear, right?"
  
  There was silence at that as Paarthurnax considered me. Then I felt a puff of breath hit me in the face, "You are as she described you -- too small for the role you have taken, but the will to fill the role anyway." The 'her' being Sheogorath, echoing how I 'wasn't tall enough' to do whatever she had wanted me to do. "I shall answer her request for prophecy is not something so easily dismissed. Even should you fail, the Last Dovakin shall resume the role you have taken."
  
  That sounded a little ominous, but I was focusing on the important part. "You'll help me?" I echoed, zeroing in on the fact that it sounded a lot like he was agreeing to teach me the Thu'um.
  
  "I shall. Sheogorath's request was to allow you to grow taller during your stay. To that end, she prepared that Mark," Paarthurnax informed, making me look down at the Mark in a new light. "According to her, it will take you to the College of Winterhold. Considering who made the Mark, I would advise caution, Usurper."
  
  I shook my head, "That"s not Sheogorath"s style of madness. I mean, she had a Mark on the ceiling in my kitchen. If she said it"ll take me to the College, then I"ll believe her," I responded. This was good. Great. I would end up dividing my time between the Thu"um and magic, but that just meant I had to focus on what I really wanted to learn. Winter was going to last months.
  
  Back in Danmachi, a handful of months had been enough time to turn me from a zero to a hero. From a fratboy to a man capable of killing hundreds and tearing a man that was well out of his league apart with his bare hands. I couldn"t become an Archmage or a master of the Thu"um, but...
  
  I could become a specialist in a few areas. Dragonrend and Enchanting were the priority, but secondary, I could look into something else. Maybe an extra word of power or school of magic. Between my Gamer ability, my title Astute Student, and my teachers... I had a good feeling about this training montage. Like I was finally going to take that next big step forward.
  
  I offered a smile, "When can we start?"
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  "You have survived the Thu'um?" Paarthurnax questioned as we began. I had no clue if the Graybeards had any idea I was here. Probably not since Paarthurnax didn't take students regularly and the dragon was rarely seen for centuries at a time. I was seated at the base of the Word Wall, which helped with the chill.
  
  "Twice. The times that I was hit were both Fus, but I've gone toe to toe with a Deathlord that used Su. The first one nearly tore right through me but the second time I was hit with Fus, I just got knocked on my ass," I explained, feeling a thrill of excitement. I was learning the Thu'um from an ancient dragon. This is why I picked Skyrim. This shit was so cool.
  
  Paarthurnax seemed to mull that over, a humming sound rumbling from his chest. From the sheer size of him, I could feel the vibrations travel through the ground like a bass system turned up too high back in my old life. "This must be the power of a Familia, of which I have heard about. Before you, it was a rare mortal that could survive even the weakest of Shouts." He sounded like an old man muttering about how much had changed since his day, but given that the dragon was probably only a few short days younger than the dawn of time...
  
  He made a noise that I couldn"t identify. I wasn"t so familiar with dragon body language and the like. "You have come here. I suspect you have a point of where you wish to start," he said. It wasn"t a question. There were a lot of words that I wanted to learn, but I had to prioritize.
  
  "The Shout Dragonrend. Joor Zah Frul," I said, and Paarthurnax noticeably shifted when I sounded out the Shout. It was easy enough to guess why. It was a Shout made by man, three words crafted to bring down the dragons, fueled by their hate and rage and grief. It never really hit me before. How badly would you have to hate someone that when you shouted a few words that reality itself bent itself to your will?
  
  Paarthurnax let out a breath that sounded suspiciously like a sigh, "That is not a Shout that I can teach you. It was made by mortals, for mortals, to drag down my kind. To land us, to make us vulnerable... to kill us." He seemed a little unnerved by the Shout. I knew that he knew that the Shout existed, but he didn"t know it. I guess in the game, there never was a proper moment to react to the meaning of the Shout.
  
  Still, that got my attention. "It"s more than just a way to stop a dragon from flying off when they realize they"re losing?" I asked with a frown. That"s how it was used in the game, at least.
  
  "It is. Dova, my kind, are immortal. Timeless because we are our father"s children made in his image. That Shout robs that from us. We would become time-bound. It would rob us our flight, take away our imperviousness from sword and bow. Perhaps not for long, yet it would not need to be for long. With that Shout, Alduin, the first and most powerful of my kind, was rendered helpless..." Yeah, it was pretty easy to see that he didn"t care for the Shout. Maybe because it could also be used on him.
  
  I looked out at the view, my back facing the wall of power. I"m sure it would be a fantastic view, but all I could see were a bunch of clouds. "Would it only affect dragons?" I questioned, thinking about the words. Mortal, Finite, Temporary. None of them applied specifically to dragons.
  
  "No. The Thu"um is not something so limited by words," Paarthurnax responded, shifting from his spot across from me. Snow fell in clumps, having gathered up over time. "It is more... art. A desire. The Dragonrend, at its heart, is a Shout to bring down an enemy. To strip them of their power and defenses, so they are laid bare before you, at your mercy. It was crafted to bring down the Dova, but any such enemy would be affected by it."
  
  Huh. That was some pretty useful information.
  
  "Ulfric -- he was a Graybeard recruit for a bit, but he left before he could take his vows -- said that you have to become the word," I paraphrased and saw that Paarthurnax offered a small nod.
  
  He shifted again, more snow falling off of him. "In a sense, he is not wrong. The words of a Shout are not simple words, of the like we are speaking now. They are forces of nature that make reality submit when they are spoken. You can say Fus, or Su, or Joor Zah Frul as many times as you like. You can scream them at the world until your lungs run out, but you would accomplish nothing. For without understanding, the words are simply that -- words."
  
  That also fell in line with what Lydia had said. The skill had been created by saying the words, by trying to Shout, but I hadn"t made any progress yet.
  
  "The Shouts one uses offer much insight into who they are. For you, I believe Unrelenting Force would be a suitable place to start," Paarthurnax remarked, and I fought off a small frown when I remember something else that Ulfric said.
  
  "Because it"s the easiest to learn?" I questioned and I received a rumbling chuckle in response.
  
  "Because it suits mortals best. Fus, Ro, Dah -- Force, Balance, Push," Paarthurnax adopted a lecturing tone. "Despite all that have opposed you, it is mortals that rule over this land. You threw off your oppressors -- whether they be dragons or fellow mortals. You refuse to be led by anyone that you do not choose, even if that means death. You disrupt the balance, you force it to change in your favor. Constantly and eternally. That fact of your kind shall never change."
  
  He continued, looking at me with blue eyes with a cat-like pupil. "You, Jericho, already embody that force of change. Here you sit, in face of a prophecy that was written long before you existed because you willed to be. Against a foe that was destined to devour this world. Who cares not what the gods decree or what they have decided -- you have resolved yourself to do what you see fit, no matter what others have said or done."
  
  I blinked, never really thinking about it like that. To me, it was just... I don"t know... something that I should do? Getting involved with the plot of a story to change it for the better, and so on. That kind of thing. I never really considered how my actions would look like to an outsider.
  
  "It is that you must internalize. To understand. Your will is a force of nature, unbowing and unbreaking and unrelenting. Mountains shall move, the oceans shall yield and the sky shall obey. For nothing can stop you," He continued, and I tried to do what he said. Trying to perceive myself as that unrelenting force. It was a little difficult. Or, rather, very difficult. My time in Skyrim, it felt like I had hit roadblock after roadblock. In Danmachi, I was forced to tiptoe around giants. In my old life, I was a total nobody that only managed to live because of party snacks.
  
  "Sounds like a dangerous way to perceive yourself," I remarked. That really explained some things with Ulfric. I had the theory, but hearing that from Paarthurnax really sealed the deal. That, and how he talked about what shouts you used offered insight into you? In the game, Ulfric knew Unrelenting Force and Disarm.
  
  The will to take over and the ability to strip you of your means to.
  
  To that, Paarthurnax nodded, "Extremely so. That is why the Graybeards exist. To temper the power they wield with meditation and self-control. To understand, but to not be controlled by that knowledge. It is an admirable order, even if some have more success than others." And at the cost of ignorance and apathy to what happens in the world around them.
  
  The more I learned, the more I understood why Arngeir had said what he did. About his willingness to let the world end and be reborn, even if it meant that everyone had to die, including him. When you cut yourself off like that, it can be difficult to get a perspective of just how huge the world really was. I"ve spent the last three weeks running across Skyrim and I hadn"t seen half of everything yet.
  
  "Now, close your eyes," Paarthurnax ordered and I hesitated a second before obeying. "Picture what it means to have absolute power. Where your will is what dictates what is and isn"t."
  
  My first thought strayed to sex. Having Hestia, Tiona, Aela, or any of the other girls do what I wanted in bed -- powerful warriors and gods alike. But that was a little hard to imagine beyond that feeling of power, and it didn"t fit what Paarthurnax was asking for. So, I searched my imagination for a moment before I found a scene from a story.
  
  A king commanding the ocean waves to stop, only for the waves to ignore him. Only this time, when I put myself in the shoes and crown of the king, when I commanded the ocean to stop, the ocean obeyed. The waves went still, waiting for my command to allow them to continue. I nodded, showing that I had a picture, and relayed what it was when Paarthurnax questioned what it was.
  
  I heard him let out a rumbling laugh, clearly amused with my choice. I thought it was a good one. Or maybe he knew that I was lying about my first choice.
  
  "That is what you must embody. An unrelenting force that will reshape reality because you wish to. To destroy whatever stands before you because nothing can withstand you," Paarthurnax continued as I took a deep breath, and it was only then that I became aware that snow had gathered on my shoulders as I sat. "The word Fus means Force. A blow exchanged, pressure applied -- it is something that changes the world around it in some way every time that it is used. That change is not made with gentle means. It is made through force. Through will."
  
  I heard the massive dragon slink closer a half step, "That feeling of absolute power, of that relentless will -- Fus is the embodiment of both... now, stand and say the word." He ordered and I found myself standing before I realized I had moved. I cracked my eyes open and took a deep breath. Bitterly cold air filled my lungs, expanding in my chest as I kept that picture in my mind. As I tried to embody that feeling.
  
  I imagined myself being unstoppable. Unbeatable. Untouchable. Everything that I wanted to do would be done because there was nothing in this universe that could stop me from doing it.
  
  Then, I spoke.
  
  "FUS!" I shouted, my voice echoing across the mountain. But there was no explosive force that tore through the air. Just a loud shout. My disappointment was immense and my day was ruined. It must have shown on my face because the dragon seemed to chuckle at my expense.
  
  "Patience. You are not Dovahkiin. This will take time," he encouraged while I frowned, feeling a little stupid. I brushed snow off of my shoulders, wondering what I had done wrong. Of all my attempts so far, I thought I had that one. I mean, maybe it was a bit arrogant of me to assume that I would get it first try, but I thought I would after all that and the fact I had a teacher now.
  
  Swallowing a sigh, I pulled up my Skill list and looked at the Thu'um section.
  
  Unrelenting Force (1/100): Your Voice is raw power, pushing aside anything - or anyone - who stands in your path.
  
  Okay, so maybe I wasn't just shouting into the wind. I made a point of progress -- less than what I was hoping for, but it was better than weeks of muttering the shout to myself as I ran. It was undeniable proof that I was making progress. And given the nature of the Shout, trying to make it happen would work in my favor.
  
  So, I took in another deep breath and found that feeling again. The feeling of pure power. Then I associated it with something else -- the War Game when I ripped Zanis' spine out. Markarth, when I stood at the top of a mountain of corpses. Both times I overcame incredible odds and emerged victorious.
  
  "FUS!" I shouted again, only to receive the same result as before. And another progress point. Barely any progress was still progress. Paarthurnax watched me in silence, either waiting for me to succeed or to give up. But the latter would kind of defeat the point.
  
  I took in another deep breath, finding that feeling again, and dragging it up. Letting it fill me. I imagined an unseen force that had nearly killed me twice, willing it to appear. That it would slam into the rock outcropping before me and shatter it into a billion pieces. That my success was guaranteed.
  
  "FUS!" Another failure. Another point.
  
  I tried again. This time thinking about my Hell Week back in Danmachi. How I had tirelessly sparred against Ryuu and Tiona. Until my body was too battered to continue, only to get up and do it again a few minutes later. Of constantly pushing myself to my absolute limit, only to go a little further beyond. Of repeating that cycle over and over and over, each time pushing the bar a little higher.
  
  "FUS!" This time I got two points. But the next ten times I got none. Then I reflected on everything that Paarthurnax had said and I got another point. Then I got none for a hundred tries. Only to get another when I thought about what Ulfric said.
  
  The sun began to drift across the sky towards the horizon. Paarthurnax offered no other nugget of wisdom, content to let me go at my own pace. My throat started to hurt, but I ignored it. Snow began to cover my legs from me standing perfectly still. My annoyance grew with every failed attempt, but I harnessed the frustration and let it fuel my desire to make reality my bitch.
  
  I failed about another thousand times to do that. Each time I failed, I increased the intensity of my shout. When I shouted myself hoarse, only then did I get another point.
  
  As the sun dipped towards the horizon, finally setting after a long day of failure, I swallowed thickly and dug deep. I thought about who I am. Who I was going to be. I compacted all of those memories, all of those thoughts, all of those desires into a few words.
  
  Nothing can stop me.
  
  And then I tried again.
  
  "FUS!" I Shouted and everything seemed to click into place. There weren't words to describe the feeling that filled me. If they did exist, then I certainly didn't know them. The closest one I could find was... an epiphany.
  
  Like in those questionnaires, or when you had to describe yourself in a few words -- I had always scrambled because I had no clue what to say. What words could capture who I was? What word could describe me? Kind? Caring? Compassionate? Maybe to some. How about asshole, horny, and confident? It wasn't a simple task.
  
  Now I knew one word that could.
  
  Unstoppable.
  
  In response to my Shout, reality bent to my will. A shimmering invisible force raced from my mouth, a force that expanded outwards until it slammed into the stone outcropping. Then through it. Stone shattered in an explosion of force, sending up dust and snow flurries. It sounded like a clap of thunder, nearly drowning out the word of power, but I still heard it.
  
  My chest heaved and I suddenly felt... tired. My health and stamina bars were still topped up, and it could just be that I stood in place for half a day shouting, but it felt like the Shout had taken a toll on me. So, it wasn't something that I could spam. A little disappointing, but hardly unexpected.
  
  "You are not Dovahkiin, but it would seem you are something else," Paarthurnax remarked as I reached into my inventory to grab health and stamina potions. The first to soothe my throat, and it kinda tasted good in a bubblegum medicine kind of way. The stamina potion didn't help with whatever that Shout had done to me, but I felt better.
  
  Tossing the empty vials back in my inventory, I sighed as I inspected the damage with more than a little eagerness. It was like someone took a sledgehammer to a rock. It wasn't the billions of pieces that I wanted, but it was one hell of a start. "I'm a quick learner," I responded.
  
  Though, this did pose a problem. Force was something easy to imagine. Imagining the power it would take to make reality submit was also fairly easy. Balance came next. That one would be more difficult, but beyond that, there was another issue.
  
  Mortal, Finite, Temporary. I didn't even know where to start with learning that shout. In the end, the dragons weren't my arch enemy. I hadn't suffered their tyranny for millennia. I had no attachment to them at all beyond the desire to kill Alduin, but even that wasn't anything personal. It was just a conflict of interests -- he wanted the world to end. I wanted it to not end.
  
  It was too early to give up. I had a good teacher and I had a willingness to learn. So, tentatively, the plan was for me to learn Dragonrend... and find the Dragonborn. Just in case. Maybe grab that Elder Scroll, drag them here to experience the memory that would teach them the Shout.
  
  "You are," Paarthurnax agreed. "Do you require rest?" He asked as the skies darkened to reveal countless stars.
  
  I shook my head, "I don't need to sleep." I answered, "So I can go as long as you can."
  
  "Doubtful and not what I meant. Mortals often experience a form of exhaustion after Shouting. Do you as well?" Paarthurnax corrected me, and I offered a hesitant nod. "That is temporary. It is like a muscle -- the more you use the Thu'um, the more often you can as your endurance improves." So it was something I could work on? Good to know. "Rest, gather yourself. If you wish to continue, then we shall."
  
  Taking the suggestion, I backed up a few feet and leaned against the Word Wall. The stone was cold, but several layers made up the difference and it felt better since I was out of the wind. To take my mind off of the cold, I looked at Paarthurnax. The dragon seemed to watch me as well with curious eyes.
  
  "So, do you just hang out here all day? For thousands of years?" I asked and it was only when the words left my mouth that I realized I was trying to make small talk with a dragon.
  
  "This is where I wait for the day of Alduin's return, yes," Paarthurnax responded, laying down. His tail circled around his body, reminding me of a cat. "Though I do fly when the sky is filled with clouds to hide my existence. The world does not welcome dragons as it once did." Then he gave me a sideways look, "A fact that does not seem to surprise you."
  
  Probably because I knew what to expect when I arrived, "I don't have any reason to fear you, right?" I questioned. Though, as I spoke, I recalled an old theory about Paarthurnax. "You did some pretty fucked things in the past, but you also gave humanity the power of the Thu'um."
  
  Paarthurnax blinked, "You know much of my history... you speak truth, Outsider. You have nothing to fear from me. Through meditation and self-reflection, I have overcome my true nature."
  
  "Is it better to be born good or to become good by overcoming your own evil nature?" The irony was not lost on me. I was using a quote by the dragon that had said that quote. "I don't think that question has an answer. And I don't think it really matters. Even if you were playing the long, long, long game of bumping Alduin off to replace him at the top(,) then the gods descending sure put a wrench in that plan."
  
  There was no real reaction to my words. Given that Paarthurnax was several thousand years old, he had plenty of time to practice his poker face. "It's the age of the gods. Again. And the age of familias." With the familias that were being formed, even if the dragons returned, they wouldn't be the threat they would have been. The gods wouldn't allow the dragons to ruin their fun.
  
  "Then it is good that I harbor no such ambition," Paarthurnax responded calmly. "I am here to see my brother stopped. Forever, this time." He sounded tired, which led me to believe that he was being honest. It would be a lie to say that I trusted the dragon, but I didn't need to trust him to learn from him. "Alduin turned away from his chosen purpose in favor of becoming a tyrant. This is why I betrayed him."
  
  I considered that. "So do you want the world to end?" I asked, wondering exactly what he wanted if it wasn't to replace Alduin.
  
  "My desires are that of my father's. Alduin is a question of whether this world should be wiped away and started anew. The Last Dovahkiin is a question of whether this world should continue until it's own natural end. Each is a piece of my father Akatosh, a debate with himself. Whoever shall triumph is what he decides." Paarthurnax answered, but that wasn't exactly a satisfying one. I wanted to know what he wanted, not his father.
  
  "Speaking of your father, do you have, like, a direct line of communication with him? Can you talk to him?" I questioned, making Paarthurnax shift to look at me. "I need a favor from him. Could he tell all the other gods to show up at the Moot in a couple of months? We're going to hash out the ground rules there for the gods -- stuff like what happens when they die, who answers to who, and stuff like that. I just don't want any gods complaining about the rules when they didn't show up. It's gotta be something that everyone can... well, asking them all to agree is probably a bit much, but accept."
  
  Paarthurnax offered a shallow nod, "This I can do. I must ask, why do you not simply offer a prayer?"
  
  "I didn't want mine getting lost in the mail?" I shrugged. "I've never really prayed before, so I wasn't sure how to do it. Since this is kinda important, I figured I should try it with a priority message." Then a thought struck me as I looked at the dragon. A frown tugged at my lips, mulling it over.
  
  If the Dragonborn was an extension of Akatosh, then did that mean he could tell me where to find them?
  
  "Could he also point me in the right direction to find the Dragonborn?" I requested, crossing my fingers and my toes. Since the original introduction was screwed, and I was planning on spawn camping Alduin, if I could find the Dragonborn ahead of time then that would be all the better.
  
  "You have usurped a role already, why not ask to become the Dovakin?" Paarthurnax questioned, earning a slow blink from me. That was... what?
  
  "He can do that?" I questioned, wondering if I should ask or not. "He can just make me...?" I don't know why that caught me so off guard. "Would he?"
  
  Paarthurnax did what I'm pretty sure was the dragon equivalent to a shrug, "He has done so before to those that have proven themselves worthy, or to those that were needed to fulfill a certain role." That got me thinking.
  
  I wanted to do it. It would take care of my problems of learning Shouts. But...
  
  I don't think I should. A major perk of being the Dragonborn was the ability to eat dragon souls for power. My plan was to put Alduin down before he had a chance to resurrect any dragons. So, the biggest benefit of being the Dragonborn would be lost to me. I would be able to learn Shouts with ease, which was very tempting...
  
  But I could learn FUS in a day. I could learn the others in time. Meaning, it wasn't a learn it instantly or learn it never. It was learn it instantly or learn it slower. My biggest issue was that I had absolutely no idea what Akatosh tinkering around with my soul would do to my gamer abilities. Would I lose them when Akatosh switched out my soul for a dragon one? I had the option to become the Dragonborn, but I had no clue what topped what. And if I was wrong about the system beating Akatosh, then I could end up stuck in Skyrim forever.
  
  For each pro, there was a con. And there was another con to think about. A lesson that I had learned -- something like saving the world was too big of a task for one person. I needed allies. And having the Dragonborn join my familia would be one hell of an ally.
  
  "No... no, I don't think I should become the Dragonborn," I said and that managed to slip underneath Paarthurnax's poker face. He looked at me sharply, his face twisting into a dragony expression of surprise. "I have my reasons, but I'm also Hestia's. Through and through."
  
  Paarthurnax let out a breath, "I see." He responded, "I will give my father your questions. Though I do not know if he will answer." No surprise there. Still, if I could get a bead on where the Dragonborn was, that would be perfect. Because if I couldn't then it was a real possibility of me being forced to go to Ulfric.
  
  "Thanks," I said as I settled in. That feeling of exhaustion was lessening, but it was still there. And so was that lingering sense of awe. I used the Thu'um. I shouted at reality and made it bend to my will. It was difficult to believe. I had done something I thought to be impossible only a few short months ago.
  
  "Something you should consider, Outsider -- if you do not require rest, then that time should be spent learning. You have made commendable progress today for one that is not Dovahkiin. But it will not be enough for the task before you. Alduin is the most powerful of my kind, even weakened as he will be. I cannot hope to match him, even now." Paarthurnax spoke after a moment, cutting my marveling at my progress to an abrupt end.
  
  When he put it like that, I couldn't argue because he was right. I glanced over at the Mark on the ground. "What do you think I should do? I don't mind burning the candlestick at both ends, but what do you think I need to do to learn as much as I can?"
  
  "The Thu'um is a tool that requires understanding. More so than practice. You have understood the word Force, next comes Balance. Let this task guide you to understanding -- balance between the Thu'um and magic." That sounded like a bunch of vague unhelpful bullshit, but I did see his point. Balance was something that was hard to picture beyond a pencil balancing on the edge of something. Balance, the kind I needed to understand, was deeper than that. "Enlightenment can come from anywhere -- through meditation or action. You must simply understand."
  
  That was something to consider too. Astute Student was playing a role. I could feel that much. So, I needed to plan my gains around the exp bonuses that it would give me. And hopefully, I could get an even better title if I could earn one.
  
  "Classes happen during the day, so I'll go to the College during the day. I'll come here most nights for advice and some privacy," I decided. I saw what they all had been saying about the Thu'um. To use it, you had to have an epiphany or something. Magic, on the other hand, I just needed practice to grind up my Skill. Eventually, I could master it. Of the two, the Thu'um seemed infinitely more difficult to learn.
  
  I had to split my focus. Balance it. It would be difficult but it was so worth doing. And I had Sheogorath to thank for that. When the gods descended, I really wasn"t expecting her to be the most helpful, but she was by a country mile.
  
  "That sounds wise, Outsider," Paarthurnax said, pointedly closing his eyes, and I got the hint that we were done for the day. Or night, rather. I looked at him, then at the Mark, then at the shit ton of snow that was falling to the ground. I wasn't interested in camping out in this weather.
  
  So, I stood up, shaking off the snow. But, before I left, I turned to Paarthurnax and said, "Thank you for the lesson." If the dragon heard me, he gave no sign before I stepped into the Mark.
  
  It wasn't the first time I had teleported before. I did it once to get to and from the War Game, so I had an idea of what I was getting into when I stepped into the Mark. The transition from here to there was still jarring. One moment I was at the top of the tallest point in the world, and the next I was in the middle of a large round room, standing on top of what looked like a magical furnace.
  
  I recognized my surroundings as the opening hall of the College of Winterhold -- the round room was surrounded by pillars, which were in turn surrounded by heavy stone. The brazier thing I stood on, where the Eye of Magnus would go in the final stages of the quest, was in the center of the room. As jarring as it was, it was so much warmer.
  
  But, my attention was stolen by the sound of a tired yawn that echoed through the hallways and room. As I stepped off the brazier, I saw the source, just in time for them to see me out of the corner of their eye.
  
  Lili walked alone, a stack of books on her back using a backpack used for gathering firewood in place of her usual backpack. She still wore her tattered cloak, but it seemed different. Her golden-brown eyes blinked at me as I offered her a smile -- it hadn't been long since we last saw each other, but it felt like so much longer. That was thoroughly proven when tears instantly welled up in Lili's eyes.
  
  "Mr. Jericho!"
  
  ...
  
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  Lili slammed into me like a little bullet, so she was lucky that I wasn't wearing my armor. Books clattered to the ground upon the collision, spilling from her backpack. Her fingers gripped my jacket while she buried her face into my leg. I had almost forgotten how small Lili was. She barely came up to my waist.
  
  "It's good to see you too," I returned, placing a reassuring hand on her back. "It's been a while." Too long really. It had been necessary to split up. Saving the world was too big of a task for just one person. But it felt like I spent more time away from Lili than with her. First was the coma that she had fallen into after nearly being murdered by the Soma familia, then almost as soon as we arrived in Skyrim, she goes to the College to learn magic for when the final battle comes.
  
  She made the best call. It was the smart decision. It just put us on opposite sides of the country.
  
  "Hestia misses you. So did I. And we got your letters," I told her, making Lili look up. She let go of my pants, wiping away the tears that had gathered in her eyes with the back of her sleeve before she sent me a beaming smile. "How has the College been treating you?"
  
  "Lili has learned a lot! Magic here is very different than back home -- it's a lot more uniformed and it can actually be learned," Lili started, sounding excited to share her own experience. That much I knew already -- outside of a few races, magic was just something you had to cross your fingers and hope you got. Even those that innately had magic, there was no telling what kind of spell your falna would create. And each spell that it did make were typically unique to the person with that falna. "Lili also has an abnormally large amount of an inner energy called magicka!"
  
  I nodded, following along, "It might have something to do with the fact you're an adventurer."
  
  "Lili is a supporter!" She corrected, "But Lili can't imagine how much magicka she would have if she had higher stats." Lili seemed to mull it over, looking down away from my face, only to let out a panicked sound when she realized that she had dropped her books. Dropping to her knees, she started picking them up, so I did the same. On the cover of one, I saw a familiar symbol.
  
  "Illusion magic?" I asked, handing the book to Lili to place back into her backpack after a quick damage inspection. Casting an eye on the other books, I saw that same symbol a few more times. Lili's shoulders dropped a bit, telling me I had seen something I shouldn't have.
  
  She nodded, "Lili wanted it to be a surprise, but Lili is learning Illusion and Restoration magic to start with. Both fit well with Lili's role as a supporter and both are extremely versatile."
  
  "Sounds like good choices," I said and I saw Lili flush at the praise. I meant it too. Lili was speccing into becoming a white mage, which was perfect for her role as a supporter. Healing went without saying, but Illusion covered the buffs as well. I wasn't sure how they would play out in reality, but that didn't change that the picks were pretty much perfect for her. Not to mention -- of the World Perks I had chosen, I picked Expanded Magic. So Illusions might not just be limited to buffs. "I mean it Lili."
  
  Lili offered a smile as she straightened up her books. "Lili has liked it here," she confessed. "Lili had heard of a magic school before, but she never thought that she could go. Everyone here has been really nice to Lili too!" She quickly reassured. Then I realized that she probably thought this was a check up on her.
  
  At least one of us enjoyed the past couple of weeks. "Good! How's Vilkas?" I asked, recalling that Farkas's twin had come here to search for a cure for lycanthropy. "Did he ever get anything sorted with his hand?" The one that had been cut off trying to save me. To that, Lili lit up and I knew my answer.
  
  "Lili can show you!" She decided, standing up and adjusting her backpack that had a fresh tower of books on it. "Lili was on her way to see him when you showed up -- actually, Mr. Jericho, how did you get here? Everyone said that the passages to Winterhold were already closed in." That was annoying, but given that this was the furthest point north in Skyrim, I guess that wasn"t much of a surprise. It did mean that I was stuck on using the Mark and Recall spells and exploring in this area was going to have to wait.
  
  "That's... kinda hard to explain," I admitted as I followed Lili through the halls. They were empty, but soft light seemed to come from the walls themselves so it was easy to see. "I don"t suppose Sheogorath showed up at any point?" I asked her and Lili nearly missed a step. She whipped around to look at me, a bewildered expression on her face. Given who I was asking about it could be because she was here or she just hadn"t heard that the gods descended.
  
  "Why does Mr. Jericho know the new Archmage?" Lili questioned, and it was my turn to give her a bewildered look.
  
  "The new what now?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around that change. "When did this happen? What happened to the old one?"
  
  Lili shifted as she resumed walking, "It all happened just before Lili and Mr. Vilkas arrived, so Lili didn"t see what happened... but Lady Sheogorath sentenced the old Archmage to become a mudcrab for cowardice." That... sounded like something that Sheogorath would do. Still, it meant that she knew Savos Aren"s story. How he had left two other mages behind when they had confronted a Dragon Priest. Which was bad enough, but he also sacrificed them to erect a barrier to seal the Dragon Priest away.
  
  And, to be fair, that might have been the right call. I wouldn"t judge him for that. Though, from the sounds of it, Sheogorath most certainly had.
  
  "Then Lady Sheogorath declared herself the new Archmage and no one really felt like arguing with her. Lili doesn"t know if it means anything since Lady Sheogorath hasn"t come back since her appointment. At the moment, Mirabelle Ervine, the Master Wizard, runs the place," Lili explained the situation.
  
  That sounded... fine? It sounded like an issue that I really couldn"t do anything about. A problem that couldn"t be solved. Naturally, that made me suspicious as all hell. There was another shoe that was going to drop. I could feel it. I just had to find it first and, hopefully, I could put out this fire before it became a massive pain in the ass.
  
  "Well, before she left, she put a Mark in the College that let me teleport here. I was at the Throat of the World with the Greybeards a few minutes ago," I told her, and Lili made a noise of awe.
  
  "Magic is incredible," she decided, earning a chuckle from me.
  
  "She also has a Mark back home. She and Hestia are... friends," I figured, and this time I laughed when she made a noise of shock.
  
  "That sounds really dangerous, Mr. Jericho!" She pointed out, but I could only shrug in response to that. So far, Sheogorath seemed to be in my corner. Something like here and at the Throat of the World... I couldn"t begin to say how great this was for me. Even if I didn"t master anything, especially because I would be dividing my focus, I would finally be taking a serious step forward in both areas.
  
  "Maybe, but Shegorath seems to be on the side of the angels at the moment." Moreso than the other gods I"ve encountered. In fact, she was shaping up to be my biggest ally when it came to taking down Alduin.
  
  Lili seemed doubtful, but we arrived at our destination before she could argue the point any further. We reached a door at the end of the hallway, and upon pushing it open, Lili revealed the library. I was hit with the smell of old books, ink, and paper. It was an odd smell, but one I found that I enjoyed. And the source of the smell was impressive.
  
  The library looked like it came out of a fantasy novel. Almost to the point that it didn"t look real. The room appeared to be a circle, maybe set in a tower, with the walls covered in bookshelves. Countless books were stacked up on their shelves, almost to the point of bursting. There were so many that additional shelves were placed to hold the spillover and even they were all but overflowing. A handful of chairs and desks were sprinkled about for research, but I"m guessing that people were encouraged to take their work with them. Like Lili had.
  
  While the halls had been empty, the library had some people milling about. And, by far, I saw the fewest Nords among them. I saw Bretons for the most part, along with a handful of Redguards. The rest were either Khajiits or elves. There was one solitary orc behind a counter, and I recognized him as the librarian. However, someone else caught my attention.
  
  Sitting in a corner with a pile of books gathered around them was Vilkas. He rose a hand as a greeting -- the same one that had been cut off. I walked towards him with Lili right behind me, "It's good to see you whole again," I told him as he rose from his chair.
  
  "It's good to be whole again," Vilkas agreed. "It wouldn't be the case without Lili," he said, offering the arm for me to clasp. I did, proving that it wasn't some illusion. "The ice held out long enough for them to reattach it. I still need some checkups to make sure that it stays that way, but it's good as new." More good news. It made me suspicious. "Are you here alone?"
  
  I nodded, knowing what he meant. "Your brother is fine and back in Whiterun. There was a cold snap, so they decided to winter there." I told him and I saw some tension ease out of him. "I'm here because of magic. The Mark and Recall spell work again."
  
  Vilkas made a face, "I thought I heard as much. These clever folk ran about the place when old spells were able to work again." That was something I hadn't considered. What other spells would suddenly start working again now that the barrier had been restored? Mark and Recall was just one spell, after all. Maybe flight? Did that one get taken out of the games- wait, no, it hadn't been in Oblivion either.
  
  "I've kept my nose out of it for the most part. I've just been researching my curse," Vilkas explained, gesturing to the books around him. I looked at the piles -- some of them looked old.
  
  "Burning the midnight oil?" I questioned, knowing that it was late. I know college operated on its own time and sleep schedule, but I didn't expect to see them both up and in the library. I actually felt kinda bad about it -- Vilkas' appearance told me that I was right based on the dark bags under his eyes. He was looking through old books for an answer I already had. But I didn't regret my choice of leaving him in the dark.
  
  "Have to. For clever folk, they sure are fierce when it comes to the library. At night is the only time there are few enough people here that I can get any research done. Can't check anything out on account that I'm not a student and the Orc says I have muscle for brains, so I can't be trusted to care for the books without adult supervision." Vilkas sounded more amused than anything by the development and a glance at Lili showed that she agreed based on her sage nodding.
  
  I looked around at the students milling about -- some of which sharply looked away when I caught them looking at me.
  
  "How goes your quest?" Vilkas asked, making Lili perk up as well.
  
  "Uh... progress has been made, I think. I've been Thaned in five Holds, and I learned how to Shout. Now I'm here to learn some magic," I gave the cliff notes and highlights. There was a time and a place to give them the full version of how utterly fucked Skyrim was, and it wasn't now. In response to that, Vilkas' eyes widened in shock. "It hasn't been smooth sailing, but no one has died. I mean, no one that I didn't want dead." I corrected, because a shit ton of people have died in the past month.
  
  "Mr. Jericho wants to become a student?" Lili questioned, sounding hopeful, even if she tried to disguise her tone. I nodded.
  
  "I'll be splitting my time between here and the Greybeards, but I'll be spending most of the winter here," I told Lili, smiling lightly at just how happy the news seemed to make her. "So, how exactly do I sign up? Is there a tuition fee or something?" I asked, and it felt weird to think I was becoming a student again. And this time I was learning a far, far more interesting subject than computer science.
  
  Lili nodded, "There's a test to see if you can join. They give you a spell to perform, but there are ways around it. Lili..." Lili's face began to burn, "Lili had to sing to summon a bunch of birds to qualify since I couldn't perform any of the listed spells. That's changed though!" She quickly added, as if I would think she had been doing nothing the past weeks.
  
  There was a small issue. "Hm. I can't do any magic, though," I admitted. In fact, I don't think I've even touched my mana bar so far. "Hell, I've only read a single book on magic." The one about enchanting on the road. Even then, there hasn't been any time to use what I've learned. Every enchantment I've found so far was too powerful for me to break down.
  
  Vilkas let out a small laugh, "Aye, sounds about right. You could use the Thu'um. That might impress them enough."
  
  "Or Lili could teach you some spells!" Lili added, beaming up at me. Given that she was a student herself, I wasn't sure if that was a good idea. And just because I managed to use the Thu'um once didn't mean I could do it on command. My Skill with the Unrelenting Force was at twenty-five, which seemed to be the bare minimum.
  
  "Eh, I'll think of something."
  
  ...
  
  The answer to my problem was shit loads of money. Just like a normal college of the non-magic variety. A small 'donation' got me through the door. Hell, it could probably get me a diploma. And, I had to admit, it felt damn good being able to throw money at problems to make them go away.
  
  "The College will gladly accept this donation. Liliruca Arde has also vouched for you so, despite your... inexperience with the mystic arts, you are welcomed to this ancient hall. You will have to work hard to catch up to your peers, but I believe with a willingness to learn, you can achieve everything you set your mind to." Mirabelle Ervine actually sounded like she meant the words as she accepted what was essentially a bribe to let me in.
  
  She was a Breton in her late fifties to early sixties -- she had brown hair, her skin had a natural tan to it, but because she so rarely saw the sun, her skin was also pale at the same time. She wore wizard robes while she sat at a desk in a richly decorated room. It wasn't the Archmage's quarters, but it was a sizable office that could double as a small library.
  
  "I appreciate it," I said, shoving the heavy chest of gold and jewels forward to seal the deal. Lili was outside, but I knew she could hear everything that was going on.
  
  "It might take a day or two to make an enchanted set of robes to fit a man of your stature. In the meantime, please wear whatever makes you comfortable -- so long as it is appropriate," Mirabelle said, her gaze roaming me. It lingered on the Hestia Armor on my arm. I think I would need to put that in my inventory. Just to be safe. "We encourage our students to focus on their fields of study. You can take as many classes as you wish, but..."
  
  "Jack of all trades, master of none," I quoted. That was fine. I had an idea of exactly what I wanted to learn. "I was hoping to learn enchanting."
  
  I wanted to learn more. Alteration to buff myself. Destruction to cast powerful spells that could kill. Maybe dabble a bit in Restoration to learn how to heal myself if I was ever in a pinch. However, this was a time to focus. I was already dividing my time and ability between the Thu'um and magic. I couldn't afford to divide it up any further.
  
  Mirabelle seemed a bit surprised at my chosen field. I'm guessing she thought that I would have picked Destruction or something by virtue that it would let me kill things faster. Or I looked like the type that would leave the enchanting to others. Which, to be fair, I did consider, but Enchanting was a skill that I would be able to take with me beyond Skyrim. An enchanter, not so much. That, and no one knew what I wanted better than me.
  
  "Very well -- if you wish I can introduce you to your teacher. Sergius Turrianus is an Expert in the field and the greatest registered enchanter in all of Skyrim," Mirabelle stated as she stood. However, her gaze lingered for a second as her lips quirked down with a frown. "To warn you -- he is a brilliant... if very abrasive man. Like many others, he has been exploring the limits of magic that were once forgotten after the Oblivion Crisis."
  
  Shrugging at that, I replied, "Fine with me. So long as I can learn something, then I can put up with a little attitude." I dismissed the issue, wondering how the barrier being restored would effect enchanting.
  
  Mirabelle seemed thankful and hopeful that I would maintain that position after I met the guy. "Then please follow me," she requested and I did exactly that. A perk of a place like this was that they went with grandiose architecture, so that meant doors I didn't have to duck to enter. Every once and a while, as she led me through the College, she would stop and explain what something was -- essentially giving me a tour of the place.
  
  It was useful, but I found myself distracted. Now that I was actually here, I was thinking about the College Questline. So far, all of them had been thrown off the rails -- The Companions were all giving up their Lycanthropy. The Thieves Guild was being run by their patron deity. I became the patron of the Dark Brotherhood, and I just had to kill Cicero when the time came to make sure it stayed that way. That just left the College Questline.
  
  Even that was thrown off the rails by the Archmage being turned into a mudcrab.
  
  While that could be a good thing, I don't think the Eye of Magnus was just going to remain hidden forever. Once it was discovered, that Thalmor agent would fiddle with it, and the only way to stop it would be the Staff of Magnus. Without a few things of the Archmage, it couldn't be retrieved.
  
  Not to mention... I could use both on Alduin. Honestly, I wasn't sure what the Eye of Magnus was, but between it and the staff, they could be some much-needed firepower to take down Alduin. I wasn't even sure how I would use them, but when the world was at stake, I'd rather have them and not need them than need them and not have them.
  
  "I hate to ask this," I started, making Mirabelle pause. "But has there been any progress reversing the Archmage's... condition? There were some things that I needed to ask him."
  
  Mirabelle frowned deeply as she continued to walk, expecting Lili and me to follow. "There has been none. Sheogorath might be mad, but she is what she claims -- an extraordinarily powerful mage. We haven't given up, of course, but... it seems likely that we are stuck with her initial sentencing."
  
  Shit. "Which was?"
  
  "Whenever she stops finding it funny," Mirabelle answered. Double shit. She shot me a look over her shoulder, and I saw she realized that time frame could be just as long as I thought it would be. I got a snapshot of Sheogorath's humor back home. It was possible that she would find that funny forever.
  
  "I see. Well... with Sheogorath, you might have some luck convincing her that another punishment would be funnier," I offered. "Maybe something like... like Lycanthropy, except with mudcrabs. The Archmage could be himself most of the time but one day of the month, he turns into a werecrab." It sounded stupid, but something like that would be right up Sheogorath's alley.
  
  Mirabelle seemed to consider that, "I will take your words under advisement." She said before she approached a room. I shared a glance with Lili, who offered a shrug while the Master Wizard knocked at the door. I hoped she would take the bait. I didn't particularly care about the Archmage, but I did need his things to get the Staff of Magnus. "What is it you need to ask him about if I'm able to ask?"
  
  "It's about the ruins of Saarthal. I'm a member of the Companions, and one of our tasks is to hunt down pieces of Wuuthread. We have most of them, but with the rediscovery of Saarthal, I was hoping to find a way to fuse them back together again." A lie, but a decent one. Only instead of pieces of Wuuthread, I would yoink the Eye of Magnus. While I spoke, I heard someone cursing on the other side of the door.
  
  She seemed to think that over before offering a shallow nod. "Excavation is on hold for the winter, but when spring resumes, I can allow you to join the efforts as a student. Provided that you earn that privilege," she added like she hadn't taken a massive bribe to allow me into the school.
  
  By that time, the door finally swung open to reveal a scowling middle-aged man. Sergius Turrianus had a receding hairline that left the top of his head bare while the sides were covered in gray hair. The sight was completed by his hastily put on robes. "Mirabelle? By the gods, what is it? I'm in the middle of very important-"
  
  "This," Mirabelle interjected sharply as she gestured to me. "Is your new student. Effective immediately." If it were possible, the old man scowled harder as he looked me up and down.
  
  "I'm not taking any students," he responded with a lack of fear. My eyes narrowed, meeting his glare with one of my own. Surprisingly, he didn"t back down. "I don"t care who you-"
  
  "Jericho, Captain of Divine Hestia"s familia and her lover. Thane of Whiterun, Falkreath, Markarth, Riften, and Windhelm. There are some other titles, but those are less important." It was the first time I really threw my metaphorical weight around and dropped names, but I think I might make a habit of it based on how Sergius" expression shifted until it looked like he ate an entire lemon tree.
  
  Even Mirabelle seemed caught off guard. Sergius looked at me, like he was trying to call me out in a lie. I was tempted to pull out my badges of office from my inventory, but I still wanted to keep that on the down low. If I could.
  
  And, as it turned out, dropping some names changed his tune. "I... well," he tried, grasping for a reason to tell me to fuck off. But, luckily for me, he found none. "I guess I have no choice in the matter." He didn"t. I was here to learn how to enchant. "Very well then. Come inside. Are you another student that"s going to suck up my invaluable time with meddlesome questions?" He asked Lili, and for a moment, I thought she would say yes just to spite him.
  
  Instead, Lili looked to me, "Lili will find you after class!" She decided for me, not even bothering to hear my confirmation before she skipped off to her own classes. I watched her go before I turned to Mirabelle, who offered a thin smile.
  
  "Enjoy your stay in the College, Jericho..." she trailed off, a bit caught out by which title that she should be using.
  
  "Just Jericho. And thanks," I said, offering a small nod. With that, she walked away, leaving me and my new teacher. Looking back at him, I saw him give a mild glare at me, clearly displeased that I was interjecting myself into his life. But this is what he gets for being a teacher -- people that wanted to learn from him.
  
  He audibly swallowed a sigh of annoyance before he took a step back, welcoming me into what seemed to be a classroom. I thought it would be his room or something. It was relatively small, at least in comparison to everything else. There were three rows of seating, each row slightly higher to see the teacher at the bottom. A walkway marked down the middle, leading to a desk that clearly marked his own place of study.
  
  The classroom itself was a bit of a wreck. I"m guessing that his policy of no students wasn"t just for me. The lower rows of seating were used as shelving for various items and the medieval equivalent of a blackboard was covered in arcane symbols and... math. Shit.
  
  "Welcome to Enchantment... what placement are you?" He asked, closing the door behind me as I stepped inside. I didn"t even know what that meant.
  
  "I read a book about enchanting once," I answered him, making the man sputter as a look of pure horror dawned on his face. "But I didn"t understand a fair bit of it-"
  
  "A novice! You are an utter novice, and you... Look. No disrespect," he said in a tone that implied a hell of a lot of disrespect, "but what in Oblivion are you even doing here? Why are you trying to learn enchanting? You"re a Nord!" He snapped at me, dragging a hand down his face as he brushed past me towards his desk. I followed him, looking over his head with ease, and saw what looked like an enchanting table.
  
  I considered how to answer. I might have underestimated how much he didn"t want to teach me. The hope was that he would jump at the chance to teach a student with so many titles, and maybe hear a word about the money I dropped to get my studentship. For me to learn anything, he had to want to teach me something.
  
  Considering it for a moment, I pointedly reached into my inventory and pulled out Azura"s Star. He gaped for a moment, then his eyes widened to the point they nearly fell right out of his skull. "I found this in some ruins. It"s a bit of a long story, but the gist of it is that some asshole sealed himself inside of the star to achieve immortality by kidnapping people to devour their souls. Or something."
  
  "Malyn Varen," Sergius muttered, looking down at the Azura Star with awe. It looked the same as it had -- damaged, but still richly decorated. "I knew him. He was my teacher years ago. I earned this position because he killed one of my classmates researching that damn star."
  
  Huh. I didn"t know that. "Sounds about right. I want to kick him out of the star, then I want to use it for my own enchanting. But I don"t know how to do either of those things, so right now the thing is about as useful as a paperweight to me right now."
  
  That actually managed to get a laugh out of Sergius, "Azura's Star... Every enchanter dreams of getting their hands on it. And a novice that doesn"t even know how to enchant has it," he muttered to himself with a chuckle.
  
  "Most enchanters don"t go exploring ancient ruins," I remarked with a shrug. His tune had changed. That was promising. Now he would want to teach me, even if it was only because it meant he got access to the star.
  
  Sergius nodded, "A fair point," he conceded. "Well... if there"s any bright side to you being a novice, it means that you have no bad habits to train out. Enchanting is a delicate process -- of all the mystic arts, it's the closest to art rather than science. Your canvas is an item. Your paint is the soul of a living being. The power of an item is determined by the skill of your art, the durability of your canvas, and the potency of your paint."
  
  He adopted a lecturing tone as he walked to his desk. "I will assign you some reading that will further explain the fundamentals... you said you"ve read a... a book about enchanting. Which was it?" He asked, straightening everything up at his desk. I noticed how he wasn"t even commenting on my inventory. Though, that could just be because of how distracted by the star he was. His eyes darted to it, and I could practically feel his desire for it.
  
  "It was a book about breaking down enchantments to learn them," I explained before a hand dripped into my pocket to retrieve two necklaces. "But I never got a chance to apply what I learned. Not many enchanting tables in Skyrim, and I"ve only found a few enchanted pieces that I would be willing to break down." I passed the necklaces over to him. There were a pair of gauntlets that I picked up from a bandit as well -- in the game, they had fortified two handed, but I wasn"t sure if that was the case here.
  
  Sergius took the necklaces and inspected them, "A hazardous method. Essentially, by tearing apart an enchantment, you learn the strokes and methods to create the piece of art. Useful for some, but very wasteful," he remarked before he handed the necklaces back to me. "Careful with those. They are a minor fortification of Strength -- if you aren"t careful with them, then you could break your arms with a single swing."
  
  I nodded, "I saw as much happen when the guy I took them from took a swing at me." I explained, looking down at the necklaces. I had them for so long that I had nearly forgotten about them. As far as enchantments went, more Strength wasn"t what I needed. Still, it was a start.
  
  Tucking them away, I focused on Sergius.
  
  "I"m ready to learn if you"re ready to teach."
  
  ...
  
  "You want an enchantment... that will make you... weaker?" Sergius questioned, sounding like he thought he misheard me. I guess that was a bit out of the blue after about a week of learning from him.
  
  I nodded, "I know how it sounds, but a god's blessing is a bit of a double-edged sword. I can do things that few others can, push my limits beyond what normal mortals are capable of and so on. But, I need challenges. Things to push me to my limits and then some. And those are in short supply. The best thing I've found is Deathlords, and they're in short supply." I explained, making Sergius blink a few times as I explained myself.
  
  "So, instead of constantly searching for more dangerous and more powerful prey, you wish to limit yourself so every challenge is grander?" He asked for clarification and received it. "It's a novel idea. And a practical one." That almost sounded like a compliment.
  
  I leaned forward a bit on a standing desk that was made just for me. On it was a few notes of my slowly expanding knowledge about Enchanting. "Do you think it's possible?" I questioned -- I had done a little research on the topic myself, so I knew it was possible. I just needed to know if it was possible on the scale that I was looking for.
  
  I essentially needed to cut my stats in half. Ideally including the bonus I received from leveling up as well. I would be severely weakened, but I would still be superhuman compared to everyone else. And that weakness would pay dividends when I took the enchantments off. Not to mention the enchantments that would buff my stats when I put on my good set of armor.
  
  Sergius looked down at my ideas -- basically a wishlist. "I can do it. It would be best to start small then work our way up until we find a point that would satisfy your needs. For the final piece, we could apply it to your armor... but it will be expensive." He added, giving me a pointed look. It sounded like it would, but I'm also guessing that he was going to skim off the top by giving me inflated prices.
  
  The thought of it irritated me a bit, but I'd rather just spend the money, get the gear, and then I could finally make some headway into my stats. Everything had stalled out except for my Intelligence stat, and only because it was the lowest to start with.
  
  "Sounds good. What do we need?" I asked, making Sergius glance down at the piece of paper again.
  
  "I have all the materials I need here. I'll just need an iron band big enough to fit one of your fingers-" in response to that, I pulled out a piece of iron from my inventory, wrapped it around a finger, then pinched it off. "Ah... I see what you mean," Sergius remarked when I took the makeshift ring off and passed it over to him. "Watch closely," he instructed as he gathered the materials.
  
  One thing I had already learned was that there was more to enchanting than leaning over a table and willing the enchantments to appear. The iron band was placed in the center of a pentagram thing, held in place with a vice grip. A petty soul gem that reminded me of a small magic crystal back in Danmachi was placed in a cup over a low blue flame. All the while, a brush was held in one hand while the other held a magnifying glass to his eye.
  
  I watched carefully as he dipped the brush against the soul gem ever so lightly before he began to paint over the iron ring with what seemed to be invisible ink. Then I held the spare magnifying glass to my eye and saw faint blue lines being painted onto the ring. What was being painted was difficult to see, much less understand.
  
  Enchanting was almost like writing in a simplified symbolic language. In a way. Certain lines meant certain things and how you painted them could make them mean different things. It was difficult to tell, but I saw Sergius mark the ring with the inverse of Strength. Meaning the markings became Weakness. A simple enough task.
  
  It was when things became more abstract that Enchanting became more difficult. Take fortifying a skill as an example. For normal people, it wasn't a numbers game that could quantify exactly how good you were at something. It was an abstract idea to make you 'better' at a 'skill.' So, the art became more abstract as well to reflect the nature of the enchantment. And that was where the simplified language came into play.
  
  Abstract art, by its very nature, was abstract. It only had the meaning that was given to it. Which was an issue when it came to communication, so there were what boiled down to a handful of vowels to help convey the meaning. With the right combination of vowels and strokes, a clear picture was made, thus the enchantment was created.
  
  Was that confusing? Yes. Yes, it was.
  
  It was a slow art, but I watched carefully as the lines that meant weakness were painted into the ring again and again and again until the soul gem was gone. That was another thing that stood out. You weren't done when the marks were done. You were done when you ran out of 'paint.' Because how else would you transfer the entirety of a soul inside of a soul gem onto an object without putting it there?
  
  A petty soul took about an hour alone. Greater soul gems could take days.
  
  No wonder enchanters were so rare. The entire art was a huge time sink and tedious as all hell, with a single mistake ruining the piece.
  
  Finally, after an hour of watching in total silence, he passed the ring back to me. "Done. Be careful with it. Tell me how you feel with it on." He said as I looked the ring over. It was impossible to see the markings on it, but if I put the magnifying glass before my eyes, I would be able to see what had changed in it.
  
  Doing as he said, I opened my Status screen while sliding the ring on.
  
  Strength: 133 (-25)(+151= 259)
  
  "Huh," I muttered, looking down at the ring on my finger. I didn't really feel that much weaker, but I did notice a dip. Or, at least I imagined I did. So, a petty ring of weakness took off twenty-five points of strength -- that was better than I had feared, but not as good as I had hoped. To put myself at the stats I wanted, I would need ten of them. And that was just for Strength.
  
  "Do you feel alright?" Sergius questioned with a worried look like he half expected me to just kneel over and die.
  
  I nodded, "I'm fine. I think I need a regular soul gem with a regular soul. Maybe... three of them and another one of these." I answered, making him sputter as I did the math in my head. Assuming each gave me a minus fifty, then all together I would be down two hundred stat points. Which would put me around fifty Strength.
  
  From there, I could work out and earn more stat points again. That was a novel thought after sprinting across the country with a loaded wagon to earn a paltry few stat points.
  
  "I... you... it would just be simpler to use a single greater soul at that point. This was a rush job, so I could make some improvements here and there," Sergius said with a sigh, sounding like he didn't care for my special brand of bullshit. "That one right there will cost you a thousand septims. A greater ring of weakness...? That could cost you... north of a hundred thousand."
  
  And like art dealers, they could assign whatever price they felt their work was worth. The effect was multiplicative if they were a well-known name. Like Sergius was.
  
  "Fine," I muttered distractedly. I had the money. Though at the rate I was spending it, I needed to find another Dragon Priest tomb to loot. "I'll need the same for the others." One for each stat.
  
  Sergius let out a breath, "There goes my free time..." he remarked. "That's quite the order... we do have the greater souls necessary, but if you're willing, we could perhaps look at some outside help. After all, I can hardly teach you if I'm working on your enchantments," he said in a much louder voice. Meaning that I wasn't supposed to hear that first bit.
  
  I considered that -- this was my time to learn and make the most improvements that I could. It was easy to tell that he just didn't want to do the order because that would mean that his own research would be put on hold for weeks. Still, that didn't mean that he didn't have a point. If I wanted my rings any time soon, then I would need him to prioritize them over teaching me.
  
  "Who do you have in mind?" I asked him, making the older man smile.
  
  "An old colleague of mine. He... well, he's been exiled from the College, but I promise you it wasn't on the account of his work!" Sergius explained, and just like that, I was pretty sure I knew exactly who he meant. "His name is Nelacar, an Altmer. And an old one too, so he has a great deal of experience. He's been practicing the art of enchanting for far longer than I have."
  
  I was right. Thinking it over for a moment, I nodded, "Alright. I'll go talk to him about it," I decided, and Sergius proved that time was more valuable than money because he actually looked relieved. "He stays in the inn in town, right?" I asked, and received a nod in response. "Then I'll be right back."
  
  I had other reasons for wanting to meet Nelacar. Right now, the Azura Star was useless to me. And he was one of the two people that could fix it. The plan wasn't to just drop the star into his lap to fix it -- to do that, I would have to kill the guy currently living in the star. Given that he currently resided in his own pocket dimension and he was an extremely old mage... I was a little leery of rushing in half-cocked.
  
  Leaving my teacher behind, I stepped out of the classroom. The halls weren't exactly full, but there were way more than just twelve people living and learning here like there had been in the game. I would put it closer to a few hundred. I'm guessing that number would be higher if the College wasn't located at the edge of the world. With the Mage Guild collapsing, the College was the one place left to study magic as part of an organization.
  
  The students in the hall gave me a wide berth, and I was more than okay with that. I wasn't here to make friends with them. I was here to learn. And that was an interesting change from my last experience in college.
  
  After stepping out of the building, I walked towards the bridge that connected the College to Winterhold. Of all the things to stay true to the game, it was it. The bridge was crumbling -- entire sections had fallen off, leaving behind dangerously narrow ledges to shuffle across. The thing was not safe. Every step I wondered if I would just fall through into the depths below, even if I never did. The last few steps were a sprint and a jump, just in case.
  
  The bridge reflected Winterhold for the most part. Of all the cities I've been to, it was the only one that was perhaps smaller than it had been in the game. Simply because a good half of it was gone. During the collapse, wind and rain had eroded the support for what was once a major city -- when half of it fell, over the half of the population that remained decided to try their luck elsewhere. So it was easy to see which buildings were still occupied, and it made it clear that even centuries after the collapse, most weren't.
  
  Entire buildings had been cleared, used for firewood. There was a core of a handful of buildings that had a gap around it -- the Jarl's house, stores, shops, the inn, and a few houses. That was it. I wasn't even sure this place could be called a city anymore. It was closer to a village. And a small one at that.
  
  The inn was a rundown looking building, and based on how everyone looked up when I entered, it was clear to see that it was one that wasn't used to receiving guests. My eyes scanned the few faces inside before they zeroed in on the one hooded man sitting in a corner. Walking over him, I towered over him as he sat, angling his head up to look at me to reveal a skin tone with a hint of yellow to it. "Are you Nelacar?"
  
  There was a small silence as he considered how to answer, "That entirely depends on what you want." He hedged, as good as confirming that it was him.
  
  "I was hoping to hire you to make some enchantments for me," I said, and he perked up at that.
  
  "In that case, yes, I am indeed Nelacar," he introduced himself with a nod. He glanced around at those that were undoubtedly listening in. "Perhaps we should take this discussion somewhere more private," he decided, before standing. I thought he meant his room, but I was surprised when he headed towards the door. Once again, I was hit in the face with a bitterly cold chill when the door closed behind us.
  
  I followed him into what looked like an abandoned building -- when I stepped through, I found it was still cold, but the walls protected us from the wind. "My apologies -- the locals do not look kindly to mages, much less me earning more in an hour than they do in a lifetime."
  
  This entire event screamed shady to me, but the excuse was good enough that I could buy it. "Fair enough," I agreed before I relayed my order. Nelacar didn't question me about the enchantments, or even why I wanted them. A true no questions asked kind of guy. And in return, I received my estimate and materials needed.
  
  Since I was going with rings to start with, I needed high purity gold, diamonds, and other precious jewels to house the soul of a greater soul. Each ring would take a week to make and that was the assumption of twelve-hour days. And that was for a simple enchantment.
  
  But, once business was concluded and I handed over a deposit of an epic fuckton of money, I brought up my second reason to see him. "Sergius said that you were an expert when it came to soul gems. I was wondering what you could tell me about Azura"s Star?" I started, easing into the subject. Nelacar glanced at me with a cocked eyebrow before he offered a small shrug.
  
  "It"s the ultimate prize for any enchanter -- a limitless soul gem that can be reused endlessly," he started, and that caught my attention. Limitless.
  
  "Limitless how?" I interjected with a frown. Limitless as in it could store human souls? Was that just a game limitation then?
  
  "Limitless as in you can store however many white souls inside of it as you want," he answered with a shrug. That was disappointing, but I guess that was still better than being stuck with one soul per soul gem. "Of any size. A million greater souls, a trillion petty souls, or both. Soul gems themselves are rare enough to come by, and gems that can house larger souls are rarer. Because of the costs of being an enchanter, there"s a saying that an enchanter only gets paid on his hundredth piece of work. All priors were spent digging themselves out of debt."
  
  Then Nelacar"s eyes narrowed at me, "Why the interest in the Star?" He asked, and I could only guess what tipped my hand. A lie was on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it down. In the end, I would likely need his help.
  
  "Because I have it. And it's currently inhabited by an asshole named Malyn Varen." I answered, watching the man blink as he processed that. "I was hoping for a quick and easy solution. Like, since his soul is already in the thing -- could I just enchant something with it to get rid of him?"
  
  That got me a dumbfounded look. "I... if he's conscious inside of it, as you say, then I can't imagine that Mayln would leave himself exposed to such a tactic. It would defeat the purpose of his quest for immortality. He might have gone mad when he left the College, but madness doesn't mean incompetence." Nelacar responded thoughtfully. "And you have the Star? Truly?"
  
  It was kind of annoying that I would actually have to go in and kill the guy, but I didn't really expect anything different. Looking down at the high elf, I shrugged my shoulders before a hand dipped into a pouch that I used to make it look like I was keeping the Star in there. Call it a test of honesty. If he tried to steal the Star, then he would do it after making my rings. And if he did, then I would be taking my money back.
  
  However, the moment that I presented the Star to him, a presence washed over me. One that belonged to a god. My spine stiffened as a hand was placed over my wrist, and when I glanced over, I saw it was a woman. I was taken back by her appearance more than anything -- she was beautiful, but in a striking kind of way. Her hair was long, brushing past her shoulders. It was a silverish white, and that same color almost matched her pale skin.
  
  Yet, her eyes were a glowing gold color. Like I was staring into the sun. The only other color was her painted red lips, which stood out against the paleness of her skin. The sight was a little undercut by the fact that she seemed to be wearing enough furs that I doubt that she could place her hands at her sides.
  
  "Finally. I had wondered when you would attempt to purge my star," the woman spoke. And with that sentence, there was no question in my mind as to who she was. Azura, goddess of the night sky. "Oh, don't look so shocked. It twas I who penned this prophecy after all. Of course I would find you."
  
  I blinked at that, my mind racing a mile a minute. "Azura... where did you come from?" I asked, puzzled -- as far as I was aware, only Sheogorath showed any aptitude for any kind of teleportation ability. Had she teleported here? Was she hiding in the room the entire time, having known that her star would be taken here, so she just had to wait for it to arrive?
  
  "Questions... that is the thing that catches me most by surprise. Before, a mortal would never dare question me. Now it seems to be the only thing that you do," she remarked lightly, her tone making it impossible to tell if she was annoyed by that or not. She also didn't answer the question.
  
  Okay. This changed things pretty drastically. I glanced at Nelacar, who stared at Azura with a gaping expression. There was naked awe on his face that couldn't be hidden behind a stoic mask of indifference. He wouldn't be any help here.
  
  I shifted where I stood, "I'm guessing that you're taking the star back then?" I questioned, my grip tightening on it for a moment... only to present it to her a second later.
  
  The Star was one of my main reasons for coming to Skyrim,but I wasn't sure if I was willing to risk the wrath of a god to keep it. With how the Hestia Armor had consumed the Ebony Mail, I had already put myself on the shit list of the Daedra Lord of Betrayal and Murder. Digging in my heels now could end up costing me a lot more than just the Star.
  
  Pissing off one god was an accident. A second was a coincidence. By the time I stepped on the toes of a third god, then that would be enemy action. With me being the enemy.
  
  Azura ran a finger over the star, looking down at it with an indifferent expression. "It is mine. And by right, it does belong to my familia," she started, before her glowing gold eyes glanced up at me. "But I do find myself curious what you intend to do with my Star. You are here to learn enchanting -- is it because you found the ultimate tool for it, or something else, I wonder?"
  
  Looking down at her, I felt myself grow a little uneasy. Out of all of the gods I've encountered so far, she was the most... uncanny valley. Dibella was a party girl. Nocturnal, for being the literal embodiment of mystery, was pretty down to earth all things considered. Sheogorath was mad as a hatter, but she was once human. The same with Talos. Azura, on the other hand, radiated an aura of... otherworldliness as if she knew every word that was going to come out of my mouth months before I did. Maybe it was just that she really caught me off guard, but if it was bullshit she was selling, she had convinced me it was gold.
  
  So, I told her what I planned with the Star. Her star.
  
  Azura smiled ever so slightly, "I suspected as much." And I believed her. "But, there are some difficulties with that plan of yours. As it is, my Star is not capable of the task that you wish. For it to be even remotely possible, it would need to be blackened. Tainted."
  
  My lips thinned, "Is there any other way?"
  
  "No," Azura answered shortly. "But, the cause is a worthy one. I will allow it on certain terms of agreement," she told me. I had expected to receive a flat no, just before she yanked the star out of my hands.
  
  "Name them," I told her, my grip tightening on the star. It would seem that I might not be losing it today. I only realized that I overplayed my hand when her slight grin grew into a smirk. I had all but told her she had me by the balls, didn't I?
  
  Azura pretended that she was thinking about it for a moment, "First I will need a vow that you will never use it to capture a mortal soul. For as long as it is in your hands -- not by you, or anyone." Her tone was as sharp and harsh as the crack of a whip.
  
  I had been entertaining the idea of using the Star to get easy and powerful souls. Black soul gems had been the best in the game. Admittedly, there were some pretty heavy religious implications in such an act now. So, while it was a loss, I nodded all the same.
  
  "That is the price for you to taint my Star. The price for you to maintain possession of it... I will require a few things from you," Azura decided. She glanced at Nelacar before reaching out and closing his mouth with a finger, making him gulp as he stared at the two of us. At first, it had been at her presence. Now he gaped at me for my plans for the Star. Looking back at me, her gaze roamed me before settling on my face.
  
  "Your goddess, Hestia -- she has built something wonderful in Helgen. Sheogorath had a small part in it, but what Helgen will become is because of her," Azura praised. I stood a bit taller at that, knowing Hestia was doing good work in Helgen, even if it was just a trap for Alduin. "I have watched her as well as the others. As such, I will not repeat their mistakes. The first thing that I require of you, Jericho of Helgen, is supplies."
  
  Hold up. "Huh?" I muttered, not sure if I had heard right. "Supplies? For what?"
  
  "For Winterhold," Azura answered as if it should be obvious. "Your company will supply whatever I need to rebuild Winterhold -- wood, stone, and nails. As well as shipping it here by land or boat, I care not. This will be done free of charge until I have seen fit to free you of this obligation."
  
  Huh... "So... never?" I figured as I mulled it over in my head. This wasn't what I expected at all. I... this came so far out of left field, I didn't even know what to think.
  
  A god... was trying to be... helpful?
  
  Azura smirked dangerously at that, telling me I was right on the mark. "Secondly, I will need you to speak up in favor of me during this Moot that Akatosh has commanded that we attend. There, I shall announce my candidacy for becoming Jarl of Winterhold. Do this, and I will name you Thane of Winterhold to add to your collection."
  
  She was trying to be helpful. By fucking me. In the very unfun way.
  
  "Okay... but, as a heads up -- with the civil war brewing, people are going to demand that you pick a side. Empire or Stormcloak," I warned, trying to understand the implications and ramifications of helping her become Jarl. This was new. I didn't know how to handle this. I was used to the gods making a mess and me cleaning it up.
  
  This was different. Maybe a good kind of different, but it was different all the same.
  
  "I care not for the petty squabbles of mortals. As such, I shall join your political block of neutrality alongside Jarl Balgruuf," Azura decided. And it was starting to sound like she was starting to come up with demands by the seat of her pants. But I wasn't going to refuse that demand. Winterhold was a Stormcloak city. It becoming neutral was a good thing.
  
  It was just the fact that a god was leading them. As a Jarl. It was circumventing the natural conflict of what amounted to Church and State. Which should be a good thing. It was a good thing. Azura planned to rebuild the city. At my expense, admittedly, but these were all good things.
  
  So why in the hell did all of this make me so nervous?
  
  "I'll have to talk to him about that, but I can't imagine that he would say no," I tentatively agreed. "And, not to stop your roll, but can I ask... why? Why are you trying to rebuild Winterhold?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.
  
  Azura seemed faintly annoyed, but she answered all the same. "Practice," she said, as if that's all that she had to say.
  
  "Practice?" I echoed, still confused as all hell.
  
  "Practice," Azura confirmed. "Winterhold is barely more than a village at this point. I am a goddess of Dawn and Dusk, not Civil Engineering and Politics. So, I wish to practice and learn how to best lead mortals here, in this desolate village. Once I have turned it into a prosperous Hold and the events of Alduin are decided, I shall go to Elsweyr." Okay. That was... a little more in line with what I had learned to expect of the gods.
  
  Winterhold was just practice. It was the equivalent of playing civilization to her, I guess. The tutorial phase.
  
  "Huh," I muttered. Well... I guess it was better than her just rolling up to Elsyweyr, declaring herself Queen, and running the place into the ground. There was some actual thought put into this.
  
  Azura let out a small indignant huff, "I'm not like other gods. I am not so drunk on my own freedom that I have forgotten my responsibilities." I'm guessing that was a jab at Dibella. "And you have not heard of all of my demands! Stay silent until I am finished, mortal!" She snapped haughtily at me without any real heat. I shut my mouth all the same, though.
  
  There was a small beat of silence as Azura seemed to find where she left off at. When she found it, her face perked up a bit, "In addition, our familias have a formal alliance. Any attack on me is an attack on you. As such, your familia shall deal with the dangers of this Hold for me." With her getting the credit, I bet. "The formal alliance will be discussed with your goddess. There are smaller concessions as well -- such as I demand favorable trade deals with Helgen, including a Mark to connect our two cities, as well as trade deals with the College."
  
  She... really was trying to get everything that she could from me. "I can't promise anything with the latter, but I'll throw my weight around if I can. It'll be up to Sheogorath, for the most part."
  
  Azura frowned, seemingly unhappy. "Sheogorath?" She questioned, sounding like she had no clue why I was bringing her up.
  
  "She's the Archmage. Turned the old one into a mudcrab," I explained, making Azura blink.
  
  "...She?" Azura questioned, earning a small sigh from me.
  
  "That's a long story," I answered, "is there anything else that you would like?" Like one of my kidneys, for example?
  
  "Of course. I will also require initial funding from you to kickstart the initial restoration efforts," Azura said as if it should be obvious. And... how in the hell was she supposed to learn anything when she was using my wallet as a goddamn cheatcode? "That will be all. For now." And never before have two words inspired such fear. "Do we have an accord?"
  
  I hesitated as I looked down at the Star. I saw what it could become and what I could use it for. No matter how I looked at it, more than anything else, the Star was my ticket to damn near unlimited power. It wouldn't happen overnight. It would be something that I had to build towards, but the Star would be my foundation.
  
  With it, I could go to other worlds and claim the souls of monsters and beasts. The final bosses. Those just like Alduin. Each time I did it, I could enchant a piece of armor with the most powerful enchantment I could possibly make.
  
  A petty soul took away twenty-five stat points. How many points would a soul like... the Archdemon from Dragon Age give me?
  
  I could become utterly unstoppable. I could become a goddamn god. What would it cost me? Money? I could just go into a Dragon Priest tomb and make more. Supplies and materials? A drop in the bucket compared to the amount that I would be able to produce. An alliance and entertaining a goddesses' attempt to not be a complete fuck up? Sure, using me as a cheat code would undermine what she was trying to do, but I didn't really care if she was successful or not in learning something. The bar was not setting everything on fire. Anything above that was acceptable.
  
  So, what did I really lose? Money? Supplies? Time spent clearing out the area, something I was already going to do? In exchange for the key for unlimited power?
  
  "...Yeah. you have yourself a deal."
  
  ...
  
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  Balance was a difficult thing to achieve, I thought as I sat at the peak of the Throat of the World. It was simple to imagine -- someone walking across a tightrope, or a pen balanced on an edge. Or a small bubble being at the center of a leveler. Balance was a very simple thing to find but achieving it was far more difficult. After all, what did it mean to be balanced?
  
  In an internal way, finding balance was more difficult. There were synonyms for it -- being at peace, or being in control. Neither were really being balanced, though. Finding inner peace was finding inner peace, accepting the things that come and go. Having control over yourself was keeping impulses and desires in check with willpower. Balance, going by the definition, would be finding a balance of control and uncontrollable. Only that was a paradox, this couldn't be it.
  
  The word Ro was far more difficult to learn than Fus. Paarthumax had been right on that account -- being a force of nature, embodying the idea of being completely unstoppable... it fits my personality well. More often than not, I handled situations with brute force. In situations I couldn't, I kicked the can down to someone who could deal with them. As seen with the Moot. Balance, in the end, was something that I struggled to understand in the first place, much less internalize.
  
  And, it was with Paarthumax that I learned that meditation was just a fancy word for thinking. I sat at the throat of the world and I thought about a word and how I could make sense of it. Today was Ro. More often than not, I thought about Zuul. Or, the word mortal.
  
  I had more progress with it. In the end, there were few that understood mortality better than I could. How fragile it was. One wrong move and you were gone. Sometimes you lucked out and end up with incredible power and a literal divine blessing. If you weren't, you went somewhere boring like heaven or got reincarnated as a sea slug. The reason the word of power worked on dragons was because they were on the opposite end of the spectrum. Even when they were killed, they didn't die. They were timeless and immortal.
  
  A month and a half in, and I had one word learned with another on its way. Each piece of understanding the nature of reality was represented as a point. Twenty-five seemed to be the bare minimum for success. Fifty, I'm guessing, would let me unlock the second word to the phrase with seventy-five unlocking the final word. I had no clue what a hundred would give me, but at the rate I was going, it would be some time before I learned.
  
  "Perhaps you are thinking of balance wrong," Paarthumax advised after hours of silence. "Achieving it is difficult, this is true. Distrusting balance is far simpler. Too much weight on one side or the other, and balance is lost." I didn't bother opening my eyes in favor of taking in a deep breath and thinking about it.
  
  As he said, losing your balance was a far easier task than maintaining it. I thought to all of the times I walked on the sidewalk ledge, keeping myself from stepping into the street. It was easy enough if I could focus. If I was talking with friends, then it was far more difficult. Losing your balance emotionally would be an outburst of emotion like anger or sadness. So, if I could understand what it was to lose your balance then I could learn what it was like to have it.
  
  I earned a point for the bit of understanding. Or for understanding what I didn't understand. Or for figuring out how to learn what I didn't understand. I wasn't sure, to be honest.
  
  "Thanks," I said after a moment as I settled into my chosen spot in front of the word wall. A month and a half later, and winter had hit this place like a brick to the face. Feet of snow added onto the mountain"s height, and it came down so thick there were times I could barely see Paarthmax despite the fact he was laying down not far away. Though, that could just be because he seemed to like getting buried in snow.
  
  I didn"t. Which was why I wore thick as hell clothing that I enchanted myself with the souls of some petty animals. Clothing was a poor medium for enchanting, but there were shortcuts like enchanting the buttons of a shirt or weaving metal wire into the clothing. It wasn"t comfortable, but neither was freezing to death. It would be a stretch to say that I was nice and toasty because of my clothing, but there was a very noticeable difference between the times I was here without them, and now that I did.
  
  "Thank me by deepening your own understanding," Paarthumax responded. At first, it had been a little grating how he spoke like a fortune cookie no matter what he said. In the past weeks, I either reached a level of enlightenment that I could see the wisdom in the words, or I just got used to it. Given that I didn"t feel particularly enlightened, I"m guessing that it was the latter.
  
  Taking in a deep breath, I brushed off some snow before settling back in and focusing on the word balance and all the varieties it came in. Didn"t really manage anything, so it wasn"t a bother when I felt the ground beneath me begin to quake. My eyes snapped open and I heard Paarthumax let out a breath as he stood up, shaking off at least a ton of snow off of him with the action.
  
  "It would seem that your presence had finally been noticed," Paarthumax noted as I felt the wind stir in an unnatural way. I looked in the same direction that he did, wondering if I was finally going to meet a Greybeard.
  
  I stood up, shaking off snow as well, "It"s about time," I remarked. I had been coming here just about every night for a month and a half now. For a while, I figured that they had known about me and were just letting me do my thing, but when I tried to descend awhile ago to have a conversation with the Graybeards about the incoming apocalypse, I stood at the gate for a few hours, doing everything but shouting the gates down.
  
  Then I realized they had absolutely no clue that I was here.
  
  "I wonder what tipped them off," I wondered, straightening out my appearance. As I did so, I heard a Shout ring out. The air went still, like a snowstorm was a light that could be flicked on and off. The clouds remained overhead, but the snow lessened until it trickled to a complete stop. It was an awe-inspiring display of power, more so than anything I had ever seen before. Imagine saying a few words and making a storm vanish.
  
  With my vision not being whited out, I could see a figure approaching from the castle. He was dressed in a gray robe, snow clinging to the hem of the robe. His head was down, but I did see a long gray beard hang from his face, so the name just wasn't for show. His approach was slow, slow enough that I nearly started walking to meet him in the middle. Right when I was about to, he looked up, facing Paarthumax. "Grandmaster, please forgive the intrusion."
  
  His voice echoed with the same power that Talos had. Where even though he spoke in a low whisper, I heard him as clearly as I would if he had been screaming into a megaphone. "We uttered Aura Whisper and learned of an intruder," he said, casting a look at me.
  
  "Not an intruder. Student," I correct and I was lucky that the Thu'um didn't apply to glared because if it had, then there wouldn't be anything left of me. Paarthumax noted the glare as well and let out a huff before he settled back down on the ground, wedged between a mountain of snow.
  
  "The Outsider speaks the truth. He climbed the Throat of the World to learn," Paarthumax spoke up for me, making the Graybeard break off his glare. Given that he was able to speak normal words, I'm guessing that he was Arngeir, the de facto leader of the Graybeards since Paarthumax rarely interacted with them.
  
  I should let him handle things, but after a month and a half, my patience had dried up. "And to ask for help of the Graybeards," I added, making Arngeir look at me.
  
  "Our order never has, nor will it ever, interfere in political disputes," Arngeir cut me off before I could begin. I'm guessing that he got about as many letters requesting aid in the brewing Civil War as Heatia did.
  
  "I'm not asking you to. I'm asking you to help me save the world," I quickly interjected before he could control the conversation and shut down any request for help. Like he had in the game.
  
  Thankfully, Paarthumax spoke up, "The time of my brother's return draws near. As does the final judgment by my father." Instead of dismissing the issues as he had in canon, a faint look of alarm passed over Arngeir's face. I guess it was because it came from the horse's mouth, so to speak. "The Outsider wishes for this world to continue, regardless of what any of the gods wish."
  
  Arngeir couldn't look more scandalized when he looked at me. It was easy to forget that the Graybeards were technically a religious order. They learned the ways of the Thu'um to appease the gods after their founder got punished for using it for military exploits. "What do the gods say of this?"
  
  "You can go ask them yourself, you know," I pointed out. "Sheogorath seems to all for kicking Alduin's ass, though." The others... I didn't know. Mostly because I was afraid to ask. I didn't know what I would do if half the gods decided to write off the world. Defying the gods was easy. Defying them and winning was more complicated.
  
  "The Prince of Madness backing you does you no credit," Arngeir pointed out. And fair enough.
  
  Paarthumax drew attention to himself by letting out a humm that seemed to shake the mountain underfoot. "The gods are silent for it is not their decision to make. It belongs to my father and he alone." That... was kinda a worrying thought. Arngeir spared me a look, his eyes narrowed into slits.
  
  "You would dare to go against the will of Akatosh, the mightiest of the Aedra?" He questioned, sounding like that answer should be obvious. And that pissed me off.
  
  "Fuck yeah I would. And I am," I added, uncaring of his glare. "Deciding that everyone is better off dead... God or not, I couldn't care less. I'm not going to let something like that happen. Alduin is going down. Akathosh's will or not." I shouldn't have said that. Oh, I should not have said that. I knew it the moment the words left my mouth but I couldn't stop them. It was just...
  
  The gods were assholes. Some more so than others, but I wouldn't trust their decisions running a lemonade stand. And I'm just supposed to trust that Akatosh knew best when it came to wiping the slate clean? Killing every person on the planet and starting over? Hell no. Hell to the fuck no.
  
  "Blasphemy and unparalleled arrogance," Arngeir said and I got the distinct impression that he didn't like me very much.
  
  "Probably," I could admit that much. "But 'because the gods said so' isn't a good enough of a reason for me. I've met most of them. They're idiots. And I mean that. I wouldn't trust them with a goldfish, much less the fate of Nirn. If you met any of them, you'd probably change your tune. Like when Dibella hosted a massive orgy with Sanguine that nearly got the city wiped off the map."
  
  God wills it. Back in my old life, that had just been a justification for people to do whatever the hell they wanted by saying God was on their side. Here, that phrase was a little more literal. Arngeir would let the world end if that's what the gods wanted. Wouldn't lift a finger even if Alduin was dying at his feet.
  
  "The gods make shit decisions all the time. I know that better than most because I've spent months cleaning after them." Like having tribes of orcs raping a burning through the countryside. Or turning an entire city on its head because you didn't want to back down. "You want to know something? Sheogorath had been the best god I've encountered. She's the only one that hasn't managed to get a lot of people killed for her own amusement."
  
  Arngeir looked like he didn't know what to say, but not in a good way. Not the way that I've made an irrefutable point that completely killed his argument and convinced him that I was undeniably correct. It was more that he had so many things he wanted to say but couldn't decide which to start with. A very dangerous thing for a man that could kill with his words.
  
  "Outsider... center yourself," Paarthumax chided, giving me a sideways look. "Temper your will."
  
  Shit. I forced myself to take in a deep breath as I unclenched my hands that I had unknowingly balled into fists. It was... Ulfric had been right, as falling as it was. The Thu'um was dangerous not just because of the power that it offered, but how it changed the one who used it. I understood the word Force on a cosmic level now. I embodied it. And I was running into the same pitfall that Ulfric fell into, only with far less patience and grace.
  
  How was anything I just said supposed to convince him to help me? The guy was a literal hermit that devoted his life to the gods. The gods being assholes was my opinion. He wasn"t going to suddenly revise his because I told him to.
  
  "Sorry," I said after a long moment, opening my eyes to see that Arngeir was staring at me with a curious expression.
  
  "You... have learned to use the Thu"um?" He questioned before he spared a glance at Paarthurnax. "How long has this arrangement been going on?" He wondered, sounding like the question wasn"t aimed at anyone in particular.
  
  "I learned the word Fus in about a day, but I"ve been stuck on Ro for a month and a half, though," I offered, keeping my voice subdued. Arngeir seemed surprised, but I"m guessing it was at how fast I learned rather than the words themselves. It was... when you felt like you were unstoppable, then using brute force seemed like the go-to option. And it felt like if there was ever a chance to convince him that he should help me take down Alduin, then I just blew it.
  
  Arngeir paused for a moment, "You are not Dovahkiin," he muttered more to himself than to me. I guess he figured that because it took me longer than nearly instantly to learn Shouts. But I also learned at a way faster rate than normal.
  
  "I'm not," I confirmed. It might help convince him if I was, but I wasn't and there wasn't anything that I could do about it. I spared a glance at Paarthumax, "But I'll hopefully find them soon?" I questioned the large dragon. Azura confirmed that the message to gather at the Moot had been sent but I hadn't heard anything about the Dragonborn yet.
  
  Paarthumax spared me a look, "You shall meet when my father decides," he informed. That wasn't what I wanted to hear, but I didn't expect anything else at this point. What I was hearing, though, is that I would be meeting the Dragonborn at some point. So, all I could do for now was nod in acceptance.
  
  Arngeir frowned at me before he offered a small nod. "Before you seek anything, you must learn to control yourself. The influence of the Thu'um is not something so easily dismissed. If you continue down this path... you might not recognize yourself by its end." He warned, his tune changing ever so slightly when I wasn't being confrontational. Or it was the fact that Akatosh was willing to do me a favor.
  
  A sigh escaped me as I offered a shrug, "I've always been headstrong. The Thu'um just made it worse... but I don't have any time to shift gears. Alduin is coming. And when he shows up, it's the start of the end. I meant what I said -- that wasn't a lie. I don't care what the gods decide. I'm not going to let the world end even if something better replaces this world. I'd rather make this world better than wiping the slate clean." Arngeir met my gaze for a moment before he shook his head.
  
  "It is not your decision," He rebuked lightly, a far cry from calling me arrogant and a blasphemer.
  
  "It's not. But I don't think that decision should be made by anyone. It's something that everyone should have a voice in," I returned.
  
  Arngeir didn't respond for a moment, "I shall meditate on your request. I would suggest that you do the same," he offered before he bowed deeply to Paarthumax. That was probably the most that I could expect from him now.
  
  I blew my shot at convincing him, but that didn't mean I couldn't warm him up to the idea. Or find ways to convince him. I watched his back retreat for a moment as he headed back to the castle, an idea forming in the back of my mind. A longshot, but it was just crazy enough that it might work.
  
  Turning to Paarthumax, I asked, "Do you have any idea where Kayne happens to be at the moment?"
  
  Paarthumax let out what could only be a snort of amusement, "Wherever the power of nature is at its strongest. The Graybeards wished that it would be here, but even here is too... civilized for her."
  
  Huh. Then I think I know just the place.
  
  After all, if I couldn't convince them, then who better to change their minds than their patron goddess?
  
  ...
  
  "So, it'll be another month before I can travel, huh?" I muttered to myself, consulting the library of the College of Winterhold. A book on the recorded winters of Skyrim. As a rule of thumb, winter lasted longer in Skyrim -- around four months to everywhere else's three. And, as far north as I was, there was a possibility of being snowed in for half a year in a few cases in history. Honestly, I wasn't sure why anyone bothered to live here. This place sucked.
  
  That wouldn't work. Too much to do. Not only did I have to prepare for the Moot, but there were things I needed to get done beforehand. I had to find Kayne and take her to the Graybeards to convince them to help me. I had to enlist mages to help me. I had to master words of power and make better progress with my enchanting. I had a damn laundry list of shit that needed to be done. Some of which I could settle at the Moot when the king gave the order for everyone to get their shit in order, but I needed to get their first and remove any obstacle that could, in theory, get in their way.
  
  It barely felt like it, but I had spent near three months in Skyrim. Three of the six I gave myself before Alduin's return. No matter how I looked at it, I wasn't ready to take him down. Not even close.
  
  "Is Mr. Jericho planning on leaving?" Lili questioned, peering down at the book on the table. I had been too lost in my thoughts to even notice that she entered my... 'room.' calling it a room was a bit much considering I hadn't slept here and the lack of a door. It was simple -- a way too small bed, a dresser, a chest, and a chair and table, both too small for me to work with. Which was why I sat in the bed to read.
  
  I shook my head, "Not yet," I reassured her. "But I'm going to have to leave in a couple of weeks. Around two or three," I gave a goal. I had to be out of here by then and back on the road.
  
  Lili nodded, "Lili thought as much. Lili is going to miss this place, but Lili is prepared to learn on the road!" Lili reassured me, pudding out her chest as she set the book down.
  
  I set mine down to the side as well, "You can stay here if you want-" I started to make the offer. In the end, Lili didn't have a cheat ability to help her cut corners on the learning process. Magic was something that took a lifetime to master. Lili had only a few months -- she was the apple of several teachers" eyes, and she had talent, but a few months wasn't enough to make that talent flourish.
  
  However, Lili had already made up her mind. "No, Lili will leave with Mr. Jericho," Lili insisted, almost daring me to contradict her. Her golden-brown eyes were fierce and her face was set in a determined expression. "Lili has learned a bunch already! And Lili..." Lili trailed off.
  
  "Lili doesn"t want to be dead weight anymore," Lili said, shaking her head when I opened my mouth to reassure her. "Lili is really thankful, Mr. Jericho. Mr. Jericho saves Lili from the Soma familia... then he helped Lili wake up from her coma. But after that, Lili wasn't able to help Mr. Jericho at all. Lili had to stay behind with Lady Hestia, which was fine, but when we fought the Deathlords and Dragon Priest... Lili saw how useless she would be."
  
  I wanted to say something, but I kept my mouth shut. Lili seemed to have some things that she wanted to get off her chest. After she did, then I would tell her she was being an idiot. Lili seemed thankful for it.
  
  "So, Lili came to the College with Mr. Vilkas to find ways to repay Mr. Jericho. Lili learned a lot and Lili found ways to learn on the road. So... please, let Lili look after Mr. Jericho this time?" She requested, going so far as to bow her head, and I... I kinda felt like shit. I had no clue that the entire situation was weighing so heavily on her. I should have though. It was obvious in hindsight.
  
  Almost as soon as Lili had woken up from her coma in Skyrim, I was off on quests. In the end, there was no way around it because the familia just wasn't big enough. But, when I imagined myself in her shoes, that excuse didn't hold up very well.
  
  So, I offered a smile and nodded, "Alright. If that's what you want, Lili." There wasn't anything else that I could say. Even still, Lili seemed to light up, almost as if I would insist that she stay here. "It'll be cold though, so it might help to learn a fire spell or two. I'm Enchanting clothing when I get a chance too." If I was taking Lili, then I would probably take Vilkas as well. Meaning I had to outfit the wagon too.
  
  Lili nodded, "Lili figured as much. She had a spellbook for it," Lili said as she walked to the wall where she had her backpack leaned against with a tower of books on it. However, the moment that she undid the straps, the tower began to collapse. Too many books of various sizes and thickness for anything else to happen.
  
  I let out a small chuckle as I rose to my feet and took a step, practically crossing the room"s length because of it, and reached down to help her pick up books. As before, I saw the books had both the Restoration and the Illusion symbol on them. Histories, studies, and spells. Everything that you needed to know to learn. However, when I handed to book to Lili, I saw a cover that was conspicuously blank.
  
  Lili lunged for it, but I was faster by default without really trying to beat her to it. "Mr. Jericho!" Lili half-shouted when I flipped the book over to see the cover. It was an Alteration school book detailing spells -- some of which I had heard about.
  
  Lili looked up at me with wide eyes and flushed cheeks, and that told me all that I needed to know.
  
  There were plenty of useful spells in there for a woman but Lili had her eyes set in one in particular.
  
  And I couldn't say that I wasn't interested.
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  "It's not what it looks like, Mr. Jericho," Lili hastily said, looking up at me with wide eyes as she practically lunged for the book. I easily kept it out of reach just by raising an arm. "Mr. Jericho is being really mean right now!" She shouted at me, able to make up the difference in height. She had less luck prying it from my grip and ended up dangling from my wrist for a few seconds when she leapt up to the book before I realized that she was probably right.
  
  "Sorry," I told her, trying not to laugh as she dropped to the ground, clutching the book to her chest. I didn't think it was possible for her face to be any redder. Lili appeared absolutely mortified, shrinking into herself.
  
  "... Did Mr. Jericho see?" She asked me, and it was really clear what the correct answer was.
  
  I shook my head, "... no, I didn't," I lied through my teeth. It was a little surprising that she picked the book out. Of all the schools of magic that was the most tempting to learn, eromancy was what I had an eye on. If only I didn't have a world to save so I could waste time dicking around with sex magic.
  
  "Mr. Jericho totally saw," Lili stated, glaring up at me, though it looked more like a pout. "Who does Mr. Jericho think he's going to convince with a lie like that? Not Lili, that's for sure," Lili muttered to herself.
  
  Well, she had me there. "Sorry, Lili. I'm sure there is another explanation," I offered her a way out of the increasingly awkward conversation. And apparently, Lili's face could become even redder, because it just did.
  
  She shifted where she stood, her gaze darting down to the floor. "... And if it is what Mr. Jericho thinks?" She questioned shyly, almost fearful of the answer. Still, Lili had said it. To be honest, I wasn't sure she had it in her. Lili struck me as the type to dance around her attraction without ever really confessing it.
  
  At least, that"s how she was in the anime. Lili had been a hanger-on for Bell -- amongst others that were interested in him, but would never get him.
  
  "If it is what I think, then I'm surprised. And interested," I told her in a low tone. Lili blushed even harder -- half of the blood in her body must have rushed to her face. "Did you just start learning, or have you had some time with the magic? Maybe you could show me a few tips?" I questioned, a flirty smile tugging at my lips.
  
  Lili gave me a look -- beyond her blushing face, I could tell she wasn't impressed with the opener. And fair. "Mr. Jericho is acting weird," she remarked, but she didn't miss the intention in my words. "Lili thought that Mr. Jericho was only like this with other girls and Lady Hestia."
  
  ... Did Lili just insinuate that I was a slut?
  
  A small laugh escaped me, "Like what with other girls?" I questioned, leaning back a bit so Lili wouldn't feel like I was towering over her. Lili shifted in response, offering a wordless shrug. "Lili?"
  
  "All flirty," Lili answered with some hesitation, as if one wrong word from her could set me off. I wasn't sure why she thought I would in the first place, but if I had to guess it was just nerves. "Lili... has been learning the spells for a little while now. Since Mr. Jericho arrived," Lili admitted and it was hard not to see that as a correlation. "But Lili wasn't sure if Mr. Jericho would be like that with Lili."
  
  So it was just nerves. Good. In the grand scheme of things, I hadn't known Lili very long. Counting the time we were separated, either because of a coma, or across a nation, I had spent more time with Aela and Farkas. Given who she was raised by, I didn't want her thinking that I was anything like the Soma familia. Not in any way at all.
  
  I reached out with a hand, hooking a finger under her chin, I rose her head gently to look me in the eyes. "And if I am?" I questioned lightly, wanting to hear her say the words.
  
  Lili's eyes darted to the side for a moment, debating on if she really wanted to answer that question. When she decided that she did, her gaze drifted back to mine. "Then Lili wanted to be ready for when Mr. Jericho... made his move," she answered. And that was one of the sexiest things I had ever heard.
  
  This was the magic equivalent of a girl bringing the condoms to a date.
  
  So, I did the only thing that I could do. I made my move.
  
  My hand glided to the side, my fingertips ghosting over her skin, and Lili seemed to shiver at my touch. Or that could just be the nerves. Deciding to ease her into it, my thumb went to her lips, tracing them, before Lili took it upon herself to open her mouth. Her tongue lapped at my thumb, her face burning with embarrassment even as her eyes shone with desire.
  
  The action forcibly reminded me of the size difference between us. On my knees, I was still a head taller than Lili. She was smaller than Hestia by like a foot. I was taller than two of her. And it showed. My hand was the size of her face. I was really hoping that the magic would do its thing because if it didn't...
  
  My free hand went out to Lili, resting on her thigh as I slowly urged her to come closer. She kept sucking on my thumb, trying to be as erotic as possible. She shivered when my hand went up, tracing the curvature of her ass -- one thing I had noticed was that while her body was small, the proportions were great. If Lili was, say, above five feet then she would be a bombshell.
  
  I Withdrew my other hand, and the moment that my thumb left Lili's lips she lunged at me. Her hands hooked around my neck and she jumped up a bit before slamming her lips against mine. Readjusting my hand, supporting her so she wouldn't have to dangle from my neck. To be completely honest, the kiss was an awkward one. Probably the most awkward that I've experienced. The size difference certainly didn't help things, but what made it so awkward was the sheer desperation that Lili was kissing me with.
  
  It caught me off guard for a moment, before I decided to kiss back. My ability was severely hampered, but I doubted that Lili could tell. Or cared. I heard her sigh through her nose, her fingers curling into my jacket, and I doubt that I could have removed them even if I wanted to. Her lips moved against mine with needy desperation driving them, while I kept mine measured. Lili seemed to catch the hint because, after a minute or two, her lips matched my rhythm.
  
  Minutes later, Lili proved that she had forgotten to breathe, because when the kiss ended, her chest was heaving like she had just run a marathon. A cheeky grin tugged at my lips. Lili offered a genuine smile in return. "Lili... has wanted to do that for a while," she admitted, catching her breath after a moment.
  
  "I could tell," I remarked, but she seemed more pleased than embarrassed this time. She nodded to herself, and I felt compelled to say something. "And this... Lili, go your own pace, alright?" It was becoming increasingly annoying being the good guy all the time, but it was important here. Flirting aside, I couldn"t claim to know the depth of Lili"s feelings -- I just didn"t want her diving headfirst into the deep end when it came to sex.
  
  Lili offered a firm nod, showing that she understood. So, it was a little more hard-hitting when Lili grabbed the loose hem of her cloak and pulled the entire thing off. She wore a red wool parka thing underneath, with similar trousers, and soft leather boots. She swallowed, thickly before she started undoing buttons, her gaze never leaving mine.
  
  "Lili knows," Lili muttered, undoing her parka to reveal her breasts. Her nipples stiffened because of the cold, making her small breasts perk up -- rosy pink on a cream-colored mound. She undid the rest of her buttons, letting her parka fall to the ground. My hands reached out to her, starting at her waist, which I could easily engulf between two hands, before I went up. Lili shivered at my touch, or from the cold, and moaned deeply when my fingers reached her stiff nipples.
  
  Rolling the nubs, I groped her breasts, watching her expression intently to see what she liked more. To my surprise, Lili preferred it a little rougher than Hestia did. She responded most to having her nipples pinched and tugged on, throwing in an occasional roll. She put her hands on top of mine, pushing down on my hands as if telling me to do the same for her entire breasts rather than trying to make me stop.
  
  Her breathing became heavy, little more than pants. Lili stared up at me as I toyed with her body, before her gaze began to drift to my groin where my erection was starting to strain against my pants. She watched, almost mesmerized by the sight of my cock swelling with blood and demanding freedom.
  
  "Before we get to that, we should try out that spell," I spoke up, making Lili's attention snap back up to my face. The size difference... it really was going to come into play here. Lili came from Danmachi, so in theory, she should have an easier time of it, but Lili wasn't even four feet tall. I was seven and a half.
  
  I withdrew my hands. Lili shivered as she nodded, hesitantly covering herself for a moment, before she remembered that she had to use her hands to cast the spell. "Is... Mr. Jericho going to put it in now?" Lili questioned, "Because the spell will only last until Lili runs out of Mana. And the spell book said to make sure you don't... run out midway." She warned, and as far as head-up went, that was a big one.
  
  I really tried not to think about what would have happened if she ran out of mana. "We have potions. Would they help?" I questioned, knowing that I should do some foreplay first -- especially since I was fairly certain that Lili was a virgin -- I just didn't know if we were acting under a time limit or not.
  
  Lili gave a hesitant nod, "Lili thinks so?"
  
  That settled it then, "Best to not risk it in that case." Saying that, I reached out to Lili and swallowed a laugh when she squealed indignantly when I picked her up. I effortlessly carried her to the bed. Though, she did seem momentarily confused when I had her stand up on the bed rather than laying down.
  
  "Turn your butt this way," I told Lili, sitting on the bed next to her. Lili flushed at the order and shyly obeyed, going as far as to put her hands on the headboard when she realized my plan. She made a low whining sound when I grabbed the waistline of her pants and began to pull them down, revealing her to me.
  
  Pallums were an odd race, I decided. Lili was about the size of a child, but her body developed like a normal person. Human, Nord, whatever. Her butt was small, but it complemented her size nicely. More on the plump side, but firm because of her lifestyle. Between her cheeks was a pale pucker, but I paid more attention to the thin slit between her legs.
  
  It reminded me of Hestia, who hadn't even masturbated before. Using my thumbs, I parted her lower lips to reveal her pink inner labia. "Mr. Jericho...! This is embarrassing," Lili whined, even as a drop of arousal eased its way out of her channel.
  
  "There's nothing to be embarrassed about," I told her, before I leaned in and dragged my tongue across her slit. Lili let out a strangled cry of surprise that turned into a moan halfway through. She arched her hips, standing on her tiptoes to give me better access, and I enjoyed it for all it was worth.
  
  My tongue lapped at her pussy, alternating in long strokes and flicks of my tongue, learning what she liked. A hand went between her legs, letting my thumb grind down on her clit while the rest of my hand kept her up when her legs started to give out from underneath her. I probed at her channel. Her taste was heavy on my tongue.
  
  As the tip of my tongue poked at her channel, I found that hentai physics only went so far. Lili was beyond tight. She was incredibly small, and a virgin on top of that. Lili might as well have been vacuum sealed around me. Every part of my body was just too big. I really hoped that spell worked, because as she was right now, I would feel nervous slipping in my pinky.
  
  Regardless, and unaware of my concerns, Lili basked in the pleasure I was bringing her. Her legs gave out from underneath her completely when she came the first time, and she only avoided falling into a heap on the bed because I was propping her up. She hung from the headboard, a low moan of pleasure ripping from her throat. Arousal gushed from her, telling me it was an intense orgasm. That wasn't a reason for me to stop, so I continued going down on Lili.
  
  It was easy to count her orgasms. At the start, Lili tried to swallow every moan and fought to suppress the sounds of her pleasure. Hearing her slowly give in with each consecutive orgasm was arousing as all hell. Enough so that I popped open my pants, and with my free hand I started to warm myself up. Going weeks without an orgasm of my own did wonders for the problem of my unnatural endurance, but I still didn't like the idea of possibly having sex on a time limit.
  
  Lili, on the other hand, had no such trouble. Between my perks and her own inexperience, Lili came fast and hard each time. By the time her sixth rolled around, drops of her arousal were dripping down her thighs and her inner lips were parted, ready for insertion.
  
  "Lili... needs to cast the spell now... or Lili won't be able to," Lili warned, gasping for breath. I smirked at that, withdrawing my tongue and wiping her juices from my chin. I heard Lili take several breathes to gather herself, before she raised a hand and bluish-white light gathered around her it, almost as if it were on fire. Then the light flashed brightly. I didn't see any real changes in her body, but Lili looked over her shoulder and nodded. "Lili... is ready."
  
  Lili made it sound like she was about to go on a one-way mission rather than taking a big dick. Given the size difference, maybe I shouldn't blame her for that.
  
  Curious, I pressed a finger to her vagina, earning a soft mewl from Lili. It was still tight, incredibly so, but her pussy accommodated me with ease. As if no matter how big I was, there would be enough room inside of her. "How's that, Lili?" I questioned, lightly fingering her for a moment before I started to prod with a second finger.
  
  "Lili... feels really good Mr. Jericho... Lili can keep the spell going for... an hour?" Lili voiced, giving me a rough estimate of where we were in terms of time. However, when I slipped in a second finger, making her pussy stretch, Lili stiffened. "That... made the spell take more mana. Not much, but more."
  
  "Oh," I muttered with a frown. That could pose a serious problem. I looked down at my dick in comparison to my fingers. It was significantly bigger. If I had an hour for a finger, then with it I could get... what, thirty minutes at best?
  
  On wobbly legs, Lili turned around. She clung to my shoulders, using me as support. She looked down at my penis a lot like I imagined Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay had eyed Mount Everest before climbing to the top. I helped her along until the tip of my penis was pressed against her opening.
  
  "Lili wants Mr. Jericho to cum," Lili told me.
  
  "If we have time for it," I told her, earning a shallow nod from Lili before she began to sink down on my member. Her vagina gripped me like a vice, forced to accommodate me because of the spell. And for the first time, I saw the evidence that the spell was working, my penis sinking into her body as magic blatantly ignored biology.
  
  Lili"s mouth dropped open, and she nearly went cross-eyed as her head rolled back. A low groan escaped her as I continued to sink myself into her. Her walls were hot and wet, but above all else, so incredibly tight. Almost too tight. Each inch she took was a shock, because I kept expecting to hit a limit. I didn"t, Until I ran out of dick to feed into her.
  
  "L-Lili... twenty minutes?" Lili said, her voice sounding like she was somewhere far away. Twenty minutes. That wasn"t a lot of time for me. Lili mustered up the strength to look me in the eyes, "Lili wants to make Mr. Jericho cum." She voiced the desire again, making me hesitate for a moment.
  
  It wasn"t like I didn"t want to just go all out. I hadn"t been able to since... Tiona. And I only could with her because she was so much stronger than me. I really couldn"t do that with Lili, because she was so much weaker than I was. More than that, this wasn"t exactly what I had in mind when I pictured us having sex for the first time. Maybe it really was worth spending the perk point?
  
  No... no. Saving the world sadly came before getting my dick wet. Unfortunately.
  
  "... If you"re sure," I muttered, before I stood up. I was deep inside Lili. Deep enough that I probably didn"t need to use my hands to support her body and could have just left her hanging off of my dick. As amusing as the sight could be, I didn"t waste time on it because every second mattered. Lili took a bracing breath, settling into my grip that kept her from just folding at the point where my dick ended.
  
  I slowly withdrew from her, wanting to test the waters first. Her walls fought to keep me in place, trying to crush my length inside of her. Lili's head rolled back as a moan of bliss escaped her, her body going limp as I withdrew. Only to go taunt when I pushed back inside of her. Based on the sweet moans that I was hearing, there wasn't any issue with tearing or anything like that. Good. I guess the spell took that into account. Good.
  
  "I'm about to start," I warned Lili. She mustered the strength to lift her head up to look at me with wide eyes.
  
  "... Mr. Jericho hasn't already started?" She muttered, her voice tinged with awe, and fear.
  
  I answered the question by showing her what me starting really looked like. Using my hands to keep her in place, I started off with slow, shallow thrusts, pulling out a litte more and going faster each time, until I found a steady tempo. Lili came once, her juices spilling over my cock and dripping down my balls. Her arms dropped down, hanging limply in my hands as I slowly ramped up my pace.
  
  Her small breasts bounced with each thrust, as did her head as she moaned senselessly, the only evidence that she hadn't blacked out as she went limp. I savored the sensation of her wrapped around me -- her pussy attempted to massage my length, trying to milk an orgasm out of me. Impossibly, she managed to get even tighter as I fucked her through an orgasm.
  
  It was a horrible comparison to make, but I couldn't stop myself from wondering if this was what it was like to use a fleshlight. I had never used one before. It seemed like a waste of money when my hand had served me fine for so many years. Lili hung there limply, letting herself get fucked, and clearly enjoying every second of it.
  
  But that time limit hung over my head like a Sword of Damocles. And with Lili checking out, I really started to worry that she might not be able to warn me in time.
  
  My thrusts became a little more urgent with that thought in mind. The sounds of sex echoed out in the room, as well as the sound of liquid hitting the floor. An orgasm began to brew in my balls, but the undercurrent of anxiety made me more nervous than excited. Each second felt like it lasted a minute, and as it felt like minutes ticked by, I was putting Lili in danger by wanting to get a nut off. That, in turn, made me thrust faster.
  
  My hips moved in a blur and Lili grunted with every thrust. It was impossible to tell how many times she came, just that she continued to do so. As rough as the treatment was, I could molify myself that she was enjoying it.
  
  The tension in my balls came undone Slamming my hips forward, I buried myself into Lili as deep as I could go and came hard. I had just enough time to set my virility down to zero -- I thoughtit might affect the size of my orgasms, but that proved not to be the case. My cock throbbed inside of Lili, earning a weak moan from her as her womb was filled to the brim. Cum seeped out of her, through the nearly airtight seal that her vagina formed around my cock as I slowly withdrew from her, cumming all the while.
  
  A breath of relief escaped me as I pulled out of Lili, sending a few ropes of semen onto her flat stomach. More dripped down from her lower lips as I set her down on the bed. It spilled from her, flooding out as her once virgin pussy now gaped open. Lili's chest rose and fell as if she had run a marathon, her body covered in a sheen of sweat.
  
  "Sex..." Lili began, "Is more intense than Lili thought."
  
  "Yeah... and that's just the tip of the iceberg," I said, sitting down next to her. My cock demanded more, but Lili was tapped out. My gaze drifted over to the book that was on the floor and a single thought ran through my mind.
  
  I really needed to learn that spell.
  
  ...
  
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  "FUS RO!" I shouted and reality bent to my will. An invisible force spread out from my mouth, racing through the snow-filled air. Faster and larger than the previous FUS I had been capable of before. That much was proven by the outcropping I had shouted at the first time. What was leftover was struck by an unrelenting force and it gave way with explosive force. Like using a pressure hammer on a sugar cube.
  
  My voice echoed from the Throat of the World, and I couldn't help but wonder how far the Shout would travel. It wasn't like a normal shout from a high place. I had just shouted at reality to make it do what I wanted. The words had power so they would be more than just an echo.
  
  "You have made considerable progress, Outsider," Paarthurnax remarked from his vantage point, draped over the Word Wall like a cat on on the back of a couch. "What is it that helped you understand Ro?"
  
  I took in a deep breath, feeling so very satisfied at the moment. For two months, I had come to this mountain and tried to understand balance. I tried to imagine it. I tried to feel it. I tried to picture it and know it. For two months I failed spectacularly. My progress had stalled to a maddening degree, even with Paarthurnax, and occasionally Agnier, reassuring me I was making prodigal advancement in my understanding.
  
  Then, one morning, as the deadline I gave myself drew near, I realized... Skyrim was balanced on a knife's edge. Lean too far one way or the other, and it would fall into absolute chaos. In that sense, it had been easy to see myself as a counterweight that maintained its balance. When I looked at myself as a force of balance, something had just clicked inside of me and I understood.
  
  I was unstoppable. I was a check on otherworldly powers to ensure that they didn't fuck it up for everyone.
  
  And because I understood, I could shout.
  
  Taking in a slow breath, I held it in for a few seconds, letting my heart start to calm down. I thought of a word that I had spent a lot of time thinking about. A word that I understood better than most others.
  
  "JOOR!" I shouted, and I heard Paarthurnax shift behind me, a noise of distaste escaping from his long throat. This time, there was no shimmering force that I could follow. The shout was just said, but without a target, it was just a word. The word for mortal. Human.
  
  The ancient Nords had crafted Dragonrend from a place of hate. They wanted to tear down the dragons, to rip them from the skies, to strip them of their defenses... they had wanted the dragons to know fear. To know death. And to know that it was they that brought it to them. Arngeir had said that I would have to take in that rage, to let it become a part of me if I wanted to learn the shout.
  
  But I didn't. I had my own way of understanding the words. I was a human being. I died. I died a pointless death, possibly by the manipulations of a god for their own amusement. Few understood just how fragile life was better than me. So, instead of harnessing the rage, I was applying my own experience at how... temporary and finite mortality is.
  
  The only downside was I really had to think about my death and... that wasn't exactly a fun experience.
  
  "I had known my students had crafted such a shout, yet until now I had never heard it," Paarthurnax remarked, sounding perturbed by what he had heard. "To think that their anger was so great..." He let out a sigh as he settled back down on the Word Wall. "No matter. You have made greater progress than I expected, Outsider. Not only have you learned to use the Thu'um, but you are also learning to temper yourself and its influences over you."
  
  "As much as I can," I agreed. It wasn't a simple thing to do. Most of the time, I only realized I had let the Thu'um influence me after it had been too late. Like with Lili. Part of it had been the fact that she had enjoyed the experience, but another part had been me... not being willing to stop, take a step back, and hold off. That had been the Thu'um in me. The unrelenting force of my nature that couldn't be stopped.
  
  Lili didn't regret it. The opposite, really, but after it was all said and done, I knew it was something I had to keep an eye on.
  
  "But, I think this is a good place to call it quits for now," I told Paarthurnax, making the ancient dragon shift to look at me. "I'll be leaving the College shortly. Maybe next week if there's a lull in the weather. And without a Mark, I won't be able to come here so easily."
  
  Paarthurnax let out a hum of thought, "If you believe what you have learned is enough for Alduin, then you will pay the price for it your arrogance, Outsider. You and the world."
  
  I shook my head, "I know it's not." Learning a few words showed me just how far I had to go. How powerful dragons were. And that Alduin being the most powerful of them all actually meant terrifying things. "But I also can't stay here. I might not be a match for Alduin, but together, Skyrim might be."
  
  "There is wisdom in that, yet you foolishly underestimate the Thu'um," Paarthurnax remarked. "Descend to High Hrothgar, and speak to Arngeir. Tell him of your intentions, and that Phantom Form shall be used. You will be given a runestone -- this you must keep on you at all times."
  
  I frowned, "Alright? What will it do?"
  
  "It shall allow you to continue learning. You are not Dovahkiin, but an exception must be made for you. If you cannot stay here to learn, then you shall be taught as you travel," Paarthurnax informed, and I had never even considered the possibility that I could learn as we traveled. Phantom Form didn't sound familiar, but there were a lot of shouts that weren't included in the game. It must be one of them.
  
  Still, that changed things a lot. With any luck, I wouldn't have to climb a mountain to bring Kayne to the Greybeards to convince them to help me. And I could continue to get that bonus for being taught with Astute Student.
  
  "Thank you for this. All of this," I spoke up after a moment, glancing down at the path that would take me to High Hrothgar. "I know you could have just booted me off the mountain, but you didn"t. So... I appreciate it." I voiced, knowing that my tutelage under the dragon was coming to a close. It had been... rather surreal at times, but for the most part we just chilled atop of a mountain and thought about words.
  
  "Think nothing of it, Outsider. Though, it has not escaped my notice that of all of the Greybeards, you have yet to ask me for aid against my brother," Paarthurnax noted. I glanced at him, but I could only offer a shrug in response.
  
  "I didn"t think I needed to. That"s why you"re here, isn"t it? This is where he"ll pop up when he returns," I figured, looking around the mountain top. I couldn"t quite place where Alduin had been sent through the time stream. The game hadn"t exactly been precise in the first place, and with snow everywhere, it was next to impossible to tell even if it had been. Paarthrunax let out a noise that I couldn"t quite place.
  
  "I suppose I should be honored by the trust placed in me," he remarked, turning his head to look at me. That was raising some red flags there. "How do you know I simply do not wish to be the first to welcome home my brother when he returns?"
  
  The sudden third-degree caught me off guard. It felt like it was coming out of absolutely nowhere at the final hour. For a moment, I failed to answer as I really considered that. Really considered it. Because, in the game, Helgen had been the first place that Alduin had burnt down. But... why? If he spawned here- if Paarthurnax was here, and all of the Greybeards too... why wasn"t Alduin dead before the game could begin?
  
  Paarthurnax had been spawn camping Alduin for thousands of years, only to fumble the ball when he actually shows up? Was he just caught by surprise or was there really something to that theory about him playing the long con and trying to supplant Alduin as leader of the dragons, and everything was him using the Dovakin to bump him off for him? For that moment, I really had to consider that I got played. The fact that Alduin had even made it to Helgen was a red flag.
  
  However, I shook my head, "If that was the case, then you wouldn"t have said anything," I pointed out. To that Paarthurnax"s head bobbed, a content noise rumbling from his chest.
  
  "Good. You will see much in your travels, Outsider. Your beliefs will be challenged with truth and lies alike. Remains suspicious of all that you are told. And all that you believe to know. At the end of your road, you will find yourself a wiser man for it." Paarthurnax offered, a final lesson, before closing his eyes and giving me a silent dismissal.
  
  I thought that over for a moment, before I started heading down to inform Arngeir that he was my new teacher.
  
  Though, I couldn"t help but wonder what he meant by that. I couldn"t even ask him, because in the time I was getting the stone Paarthurnax had pulled a runner and had disappeared by the time I came back to teleport to the College.
  
  ...
  
  "It"s done?" I echoed, not quite believing my eyes as I looked at the rack that was covered in armor. My armor. The only thing that was missing was the left sleeve that belonged to the Hestia Armor. I had almost forgotten about my dwemer armor. More often than not, it was easier to just go without and have the Ebony Mail mist over me. It made getting armored up that much easier.
  
  But this was the training set. The set of armor that would weaken me tremendously. It looked mostly the same as it had when I gave it to the two master enchanters to work on. The same bronze color with a low shine. The same Glass highlights that had been added in because I didn"t have enough dwemer metal to complete the set. I knew better than to expect it by now with the necklaces, but there wasn"t so much as a glimmer to tell that they had been enchanted.
  
  "It is done," Nelacar confirmed with a nod, sitting in the corner of his room in the inn. He munched on a piece of bread, eyeing me warily like I was a coiled snake in the room with him. Wasn"t sure why, though. Wasn"t like I didn"t bring in a chest of gold with me to pay for the enchantments.
  
  Sergius leaned forward and inspected the armor with an enchanted magnifying glass. "An enchantment of Weakness on the arms, and inscribed on the chainmail. You haven"t lost your touch," he complimented, before he looked to me. "It"ll feel like you have boulders strapped to your arms and chest. Looking at it now... if it belonged to anyone else, I"d say it"d kill you the moment you put it on. By Oblivion, it still might."
  
  I shrugged, "One way to find out," I said as I kicked off my boots and headed to the stand. Sliding one boot on, I felt a sharp decrease in... something. As if i was hit with a wave of exhaustion out of nowhere... no, rather, I was just less 'not tired' than I had been a second before. It was a difficult thing to describe.
  
  Slowly, I pieced together the armor, and with each piece, I felt weaker. Like my strength was being peeled away the more I armored up. By the time I put on the helmet, I felt like I was a newborn babe or something. And they were right -- it did feel like I had a boulder strapped to my arms. And my chest. And my legs. And my head. It didn't... bother me, per-say. It was a bit like fighting with Lili hanging off of my neck back in the dungeon.
  
  Curious, I pulled up my stat screen to see the damage done.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 38
  Title: Astute Student
  Health: 3500
  Magika: 633
  Progress to next level: 6,000/225,000
  Strength: 133 (-250)(+151= 34)
  Endurance: 190 (-375)(+225= 40)
  Dexterity: 144 (-250)(+169= 63)
  Intelligence: 110 (45) (+77= 187)
  Sense: 160 (+240= 400)​
  
  Damn. It really hurt to see most of my stats so low. Intelligence and Sense were the only two that were untouched. I could hit them both, but my Intelligence stat hadn't stalled out like my physical stats, and Sense was too useful to cut off. It could be the difference between life and death. It was the warning that would give me time to switch gear. And, at the very least, my health and magika remained unchanged.
  
  "How do you feel?" Nelacar questioned, inspecting me as I inspected myself. "You said to focus on Endurance, so that's what I did... is it too much?" He pressed and it was only then that I noticed that he had a stamina potion at the ready.
  
  Rolling my shoulders, I tried to get used to having my strength stripped away from me. It... was difficult. I felt... vulnerable. Vulnerable in a way I hadn't felt since before the War Game and my level up. I felt weak. Even though my stats were still decent all things considered, but I still felt so very weak.
  
  "It's fine," I answered. I could probably stand to lose more, but I wasn't willing to. Now to test out my theory. With a thought, I summoned the Ebony Mail, the black mist floating over my body. With it, I felt the weakness wash away. I didn't even need to look at my stats to know that the enchantments had been removed once I stood in full Ebony. Even still, I checked them to make sure. I was back in fighting form.
  
  "Remarkable," Nelacar muttered, "I was certain that would kill you before you even managed to put the curtis on, but you really are fine?" He continued, sounding like he was talking to himself just as much as he was me. "Are familias truly so powerful?" He questioned, frowning in my general direction.
  
  I didn't answer his question, "And everything is set with the Star, right?" I asked, earning a distracted nod, before the question caught up with him.
  
  "Oh? Yes, between Sergius and I, that old fossil was no match," Nelacar stated, almost dismissively.
  
  Sergius nodded, "Malyn Varen was talented, just not enough to fend off two masters of the craft. His soul has been purged from the Star." That was good news. I thought I was going to have to follow the Questline and go into the star to gank him, but that wasn't the case. Because the two were working on a shared order for me, they ended up talking about the Star. And ways to get rid of the pest inside. I didn't have to lift a finger.
  
  They just waved their hands, did their thing, and the guy was expelled from the Star. Pulling it out of my inventory, I gave the star a look. The soul gem was still dyed black, but the broken bits were starting to regrow. It wouldn't be long before the Star was back in full form. And once it was...
  
  "I suppose it would be pointless to request that you let us study it? The things we could learn from it..." Sergius muttered, looking at the star mournfully until I put it away. However, it was Nelacar that answered him with a scoff.
  
  "If you know what he had to pay Lady Azura for it, you wouldn't be asking that question," he spoke up. I grimaced at the reminder of the deal I made. It hadn't really hit the bank account yet, but it would when all the parts of the deal were in play.
  
  Swallowing a sigh, I let the Ebony armor fade and I was hit with just... weakness. "Speaking of which, I should get going. Before she robs me of anything else..." I muttered, offering the two a nod, before heading out of the inn while leaving behind a heavy trunk of gold. The enchantments had been obscenely expensive. Enough so that it was rather obvious why I saw so few in my travels.
  
  Still, it was worth it, I thought as I suppressed a shiver as I headed out of the inn. Looking to my left, I saw the Jarl's house -- a building that had once been grand, but much like the city around it, had fallen into ruin and disrepair. Inside would be Azura, doing whatever she did all day.
  
  At the very least, she had been serious about learning leadership skills. And the first she seemed to learn was how to buy goodwill, because she used my money to buy everyone food for the winter. Everyone had their own supplies, but meals at the inn were free for however long the supplies lasted. Though, I knew who she would turn to the moment they ran dry with an added demand. So, I needed to leave the city, before Azura had me trekking through nature, in the dead of winter for every winterberry and squirrel.
  
  Quickly heading to the College after crossing the stupidly dangerous bridge, I saw the courtyard was mostly empty except for Vilkas. He had his greatsword in hand, going through some practice swings, when he noticed me. He flashed a smirk, "You move like a wounded man. How is the armor?"
  
  "Awful. Feels like someone put sand in every joint," I started to gripe. "And I'm as weak as a newborn babe." In response to that, Vilkas tossed a second blade that he had prepared at me. It flew towards me, and I almost managed to catch it without any fumbling. It felt... weird, for the most part.
  
  I expected a lot more fumbling since I was used to having stats three times as high but I didn't. If I was then I probably wouldn't have been able to cross the bridge. I'm guessing Gamer Body was saving me there. The real issue I found was with my Sense stat. It almost felt like there was a moment of lag between me being able to perceive something and being able to react to it.
  
  "Let's test the strength of that newborn babe," Vilkas remarked, sounding like he was really looking forward to this. I tested the weight of the sword and found that it still seemed weightless thanks to my perks. Settling into a stance, I nodded, showing that I was ready. Vilkas looked doubtful, but that didn"t stop him from doing a quick thrust.
  
  To both our surprise, I was able to block the strike. It was a jerky block, my instincts conflicting with what I was used to and seeing. The two pieces of iron clashed, the sound ringing out. However, I couldn"t block the small flip he hit me with when he guided my blade down to thump me on the shoulder.
  
  "Heh," Vilkas let out a small laugh that was a lot like his brother's. "I remember you being faster," he remarked.
  
  "Go on, enjoy it. Won't be long before I'm wiping the floor with you, with and without enchantments," I returned, not really surprised that he was taking a little too much enjoyment out of this. Vilkas flashed me a smirk before the duel began in earnest. My weapon was as light as a feather in my hand, but everything else was all wrong. It wasn't exactly body dysphoria, but... everything just felt awful. I felt too stiff, too heavy, and too weak.
  
  Because of it, Vilkas made up for the effortless defeat I had handed him when we first met with interest. Now that we fought on an even playing field, it was clear to see how he was simply better than me. More skillful. I had noticed it when we first sparred, but now that I wasn't able to effortlessly block, it really drove it home.
  
  His defense and offense flowed naturally, blocking a strike only to counter with the same stroke. For every single attack I could deliver, he could give three, each targeting a hole in my defense. Not to mention the blows he delivered each time I took a swing at him.
  
  "You're lucky that you're wearing that armor," Vilkas said, before the tip of his blade poked into a gap in my armor. It was more annoying than anything because the chainmail protected me. "You'd be battered black and blue without it."
  
  He was right about that, I had to admit. It wasn't a comfortable thought. The lessons that I received from Ryuu were less effective... or, rather, my rudimentary sword skills grew rusty in the past months because they hadn't been used. I was too used to just barreling through and slaughtering everything in my way. Between my sword and my strength, that's all I needed.
  
  I bit back a growl, batting Vilkas' sword away before I tried to take a swing at him. Only for my swing to be diverted. I felt the edge of his blade cut underneath my armpit, biting into the chainmail.
  
  "I fucking suck with a sword," I muttered, trying to accept the strike and make him pay with another. Instead, I felt the flat of his blade rap against the side of my head.
  
  "You do," Vilkas didn't sugar coat it. "Without your speed and strength, you fight like a particularly massive child." Okay. I could have done with a little sugar coating. "But you know this. That's why you're trying to learn, is it not?"
  
  He was right. And, annoyingly, I could tell that my swordsman skill was going up. A few points, probably just as many I had earned in my entire stay in Skyrim, in a short lesson. I knew it was a skill that I was lacking in. I knew that. I just didn't like the fact that I was lacking so badly compared to my previous prowess.
  
  "You can learn. It might slow us down on the road, but you can learn," Vilkas decided, lowering his sword and offering a nod. Sword lessons and the Thu'um. I've probably learned more in the past few months than I had in college and high school put together. Though, admittedly, that wasn't exactly hard.
  
  There was a small cough off to the side and I turned my head to see that it was Lili. One downside to the helmet was the fact that it messed with my expanded vision, so I took it off and offered a smile. "Sorry. Didn't see you there," I told her.
  
  "Lili thought that Mr. Jericho would get distracted before meeting with Mirabelle, so Lili decided to bring Mr. Jericho there," Lili informed and... fair enough.
  
  "Thanks for being the responsible one, Lili," I told her and Lili preened at the praise, puffing out her chest and adopting a smug expression. I turned to Vilkas, who nodded, understanding why the lesson was getting cut short. Handing the sword back to him, I turned to Lili and nodded to tell her I was ready. Her eyes raked over my armor for a moment, but she decided to not comment on it considering that it would be a bitch and a half to take off when we were already running late.
  
  Turning around, Lili decided to lead me to the acting headmaster of the College.
  
  "Are you ready to leave?" I asked her as we headed to the main office that she used.
  
  Lili offered a nod, "Lili is. She has the books that she would need to learn magic on the road. But, according to Mr. Jericho, Lili will get plenty of time to read and practice while we travel."
  
  That, she would. Both of us would be learning on the road. It might even be worth looking into helping others learn the Thu"um. Just in case. "Good. We"ll head out as soon as the weather allows. Probably swing by Dawnstar as we head down," I had planned our route. The idea was to get to Kayne first, but there were a few things I wanted to cross off the list on our way down.
  
  Lili nodded, sending me a look as she walked ahead of me. I sent her a smirk, knowing why she was looking, and that in turn made her flush down to the roots of her hair. Things had been good between us since we slept together. Better than good, even. And I think they would get better when we finally headed home.
  
  I didn"t get to comment on it before we reached the main office. It was left open, a part of her policy and... I saw Mirabelle sitting behind her desk which was piled high with various scrolls and manuscripts. Tucked in the corner of the room was a magical animal pen that housed the mudcrab that was the... previous Archmage. More importantly, I saw the one that had turned the Archmage into said mudcrab kneeling before it, poking at its shell through the apparently one way walls of the pen.
  
  My gaze lingered on Sheogorath. I opened my mouth to speak, when Lili spoke up. "Master Wizard?" She asked, not even acknowledging the Prince of Madness" presence. Her voice made Sheogorath and Mirabelle both perk up -- one from tormenting a mudcrab and the other likely trying to reverse said mudcrabification. Sheogorath offered a wave and a cheeky grin to me while Mirabelle spoke. "Ah, Lili, and Thane Jericho. Are you leaving already? I know several teachers shall miss you."
  
  What... was going on...? I looked between the two -- given the circumstances, I didn"t think they would be willing to be in the same country as one another, much less the same room. Lili answered, "Not yet, Master Wizard... but Mr. Jericho had something that he wanted to speak to you about."
  
  I nodded and stepped forward. Lili was the apple of pretty much every teacher"s eye, and she had been since she arrived. It"s probably the only reason why Mirabelle didn"t toss me out when she heard what I wanted to talk about. "In about three months, the world will be ending when Alduin returns. I"m trying to put a stop to it, but to do that, I need some serious firepower. And the college fits the bill. Even if it"s just healers."
  
  There was no easy way to break it to people that the world was ending. Lili winced at how blunt I was about it, but I figured being direct was best. Unfortunately, Mirabelle was already shaking her head, not considering it for a moment. "No. The college is apolitical. We are a learning institution, not a personal army for anyone. No matter what excuses are given to us to get us involved in a civil war."
  
  "I"m trying to avert the civil war too, you know. But I"m serious about Alduin. If you don"t believe me, then just ask Sheogorath," I told her. To that, Mirabelle scowled deeply.
  
  "If that were possible, I just might," she responded testily at me. I looked at her, a look of confusion settling on my face while I glanced over at Sheogorath, who had gone back to poking at the Archmage mudcrab. "She hasn"t come back. Some Archmage..." Mirabelle muttered, her tone dripping with bitterness.
  
  I looked between them before my eyes settled on Sheogorath. "Can... she not see you?" I questioned, earning looks from the three women in the room. Two were confused and the other was delighted.
  
  "Who is Mr. Jericho talking to?" Lili questioned, looking over at Sheogorath, but apparently, she didn"t see a thing. Mirabelle did the same, a deep frown on her face as she came to the obvious conclusion. Then she flinched back as if she had been slapped in the face or something. I couldn"t tell why. Though, based on the glare she gave Sheogorath as she rose from her chair, I"m guessing the Prince of Madness had made herself visible.
  
  "It is I! Sheogorath! Prince of Madness and deadly delights!" Sheogorath announced herself, springing up while she carried the flailing mudcrab in her hands. "And I must compliment you on your choice of pets! He"s a cutie patooty," Sheogorath said, presenting the mudcrab to Mirabelle.
  
  A myriad of emotions flashed over Mirabelle"s face as she looked down at the mudcrab being shoved in her direction. She seemed to shake with rage rather than fear, but in the end, an ice-cold expression settled on her face. "That mudcrab is the Archmage."
  
  Sheogorath blinked, looking absolutely floored by the information. "Mudcrabs can use magic now? Oh, what a wonderful world we live in!" She decided with a cackle... yeah, she completely forgot about turning the Archmage into a mudcrab. "I"m not even angry that he usurped my position. He needs official attire so no one mistakes him for a simple mudcrab... and a wide brimmed wizard hat..." Sheoorath let go of the crab to stroke her chin, but the mudcrab didn"t fall to the floor.
  
  Then, with a snap of her fingers, the mudcrab was wearing a mudcrab version of the Archmage robes along with a wide brimmed hat. It looked absolutely ridiculous.
  
  "He"s so cute," Sheogorath gushed, and now Mirabelle was trembling with rage. Enough so that it didn"t escape Sheogorath"s notice. "You don"t think so?"
  
  "He"s Savos Aren! You did this to him!" Mirabelle half snarled at the Prince of Madness, her composure faltering. Sheogorath blinked, then she looked to me as if asking for confirmation. I offered a nod -- I wasn"t here for that, but I doubt that Mirabelle was just making it up.
  
  Sheogorath tilted her head, her eyes twinkling with mirth... then, without any warning, that mirth died. Leaving behind a cold, hard look in its place. "I did do that, didn"t I? I suppose I couldn"t stop myself. You see, I have precious few things that truly, truly bother me. Things that anger me," she started, making the mudcrab float towards her with a beckoning finger. "One of those things is sacrifice. Oh, don"t get me wrong. Self-sacrifice is all fine and dandy. Heroic even."
  
  "But," Sheogorath continued and the temperature in the room seemed to drop with that word. A shiver raced down my spine, a harsh reminder that Sheogorath was without a doubt one of the most powerful people that I had ever met. "Sacrificing others? That I cannot abide. The only person that anyone in this realm has a right to sacrifice is themselves. That"s it." She reached out and forced the mudcab to look into her eyes. "What really makes me angry is when someone sacrifices others without their consent. Or their knowledge. Especially when you were too big of a coward to bite that bullet yourself."
  
  ... right. So, Savos is fucked and a mudcrab forever.
  
  Then that cold look on Sheogorath"s face vanished like smoke in the wind, replaced with a dazzling smile and amusement in her mismatched eyes. "But, enough of that! I came here for a very specific purpose... I think. Probably. I might have forgotten when I saw the mudcrab... eh, probably couldn"t have been too important-" Sheogorath paused, "No, wait, it was really important. Baby Giant," Sheogorath turned to me, "Don"t go trying to get your grubby
  huge sausage fingers on things you shouldn"t be touching. Just because you want it doesn"t mean you should have it."
  
  I went still at that, wondering exactly what she meant. Mostly because that applied to several things. "And since you did so good, I"ll give you a super special recipe for the Forge downstairs. A lot of the ingredients are stuff you were already planning on getting, so you"ll just have to stop by the College when you collect them all," Sheogorath continued without pause.
  
  To that, I frowned, "I"m a little short on time and spread thin, you know. I can"t just run across the country at the drop of a hat."
  
  "That"s because you don"t know how to fly. Or teleport. You just... walk everywhere. Like some kind of peasant," Sheogorath responded disdainfully. "But dear ol" Sheo has you covered. Follow me Baby Giant and little girl!" With that, Sheogorath started leaving the room, walking with a confident swagger as she blatantly ignored Mirabelle. The Master Wizard slumped into her chair, not bothering to look up as both Lili and I cast a lingering look before following.
  
  Sheogorath led us to the Archmage room, twirling the wabajack the entire way. It was every bit as grand as it had been in the game -- half a garden, and the walls were basically just library shelves. However, my attention was drawn to a map inscribed onto the ground. A map of Skyrim.
  
  It was fairly large. Large enough to fit a dozen Marks -- one for each major city, one for Helgen, The Throat of the World, and what I"m guessing was the Skytemple. A map that would let me teleport across the country with ease.
  
  "Ta"da~!"
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  "Mr. Jericho sure loves wandering into random caves," Lili remarked as we came to a stop while I cross-referenced my map. "That, and ruins."
  
  "I'll stop wandering into caves and ruins when I stop finding stuff in them," I returned, moving my map to the side while I looked up at the mountain range. In the past month and a half, my map had filled itself out. Between following through with my deal with Azura, and getting things of interest, a fair bit was filled in. With the aid of the Marks Sheogorath had set up, getting around Skyrim wasn't as difficult as I feared it would be.
  
  It started at cities, then branched out towards landmarks I knew would be there. Each one added a marker to my map and, using a grid, I could guesstimate where other locations were. Like a certain cave, or a burrow, or a tomb. The more of my map that was filled in, the better my guesstimations were. Which brought us here, to the base of a mountain range.
  
  "What does Mr. Jericho expect to find inside?" Lili questioned from behind me, sitting in the wagon. After a month and a half, the snow... well, the snow got dealt with because it seemed determined to linger all year. Though, that was just in the mountains. Further south, the snow had thawed. Almost enough that the southern Jarls were going to begin the trek to Solitude.
  
  I rolled my shoulders, "Hopefully an ally," I answered.
  
  "Is Mr. Jericho still upset with Lady Kyne?" Lili hazarded a guess, making me scowl at the thought of the goddess while I pushed the wagon forward. She had been the first stop after we left the College of Winterhold because I wanted to get the Greybeards on board. I found her exactly where I thought I would -- inside the Evergleam Sanctuary, where she had seen fit to bestow a falna on every spriggan inside, and on the Evergleam tree itself.
  
  The long and short of it was that she told us to get fucked. Oh, she phrased it differently, of course. Some bullshit about not abusing her authority over her worshipers and their chosen path. It was beyond annoying. Especially considering that the gods were determined to abuse their authority when it inconvenienced me, but never when it would actually be helpful.
  
  So, the Greybeards were a wash. Arngeir seemed pretty stoked to meet Kyne though, so at least he was happy.
  
  "Yes. Very," I admitted, entertaining spiteful thoughts of chopping that overgrown weed down. "But, who's inside is more of a kind of different ally. Might not be able to bring much to the table, but I'll take what I can get." Even if the help came with a potential reality spanning threat of a string attached to them.
  
  Lili got out of the wagon, and I sealed it away. My enchanted armor did its job well. Dragging the wagon upstairs just for the added difficulty wasn't worth it anymore. She readied her bow, before looking up to the ancient ruins that were only marked by the stone stairs that were half-buried in the snow. "Silver arrows?" She questioned.
  
  "Yup. Should be a fair few undead," I confirmed as we both started walking. In the game, the cave was filled with wild animals before the quest was active, but given it was a ruin... "And giant spiders," I added. Lili offered a nod and readied the quiver of silver arrows. A second quiver was attached at her side, the same place where a knife or sword would be holstered. It was filled with enchanted arrows. My handiwork.
  
  The climb up the mountain was something that was familiar at this point. After a month and a half, it was pretty much all that we did. The snow and ice offered up some difficulties, but nothing that couldn't be managed between the two of us. If anything, it was much easier now rather than climbing up during the dead of winter.
  
  Before long, we stood before the entrance of a seemingly innocent cavern. The only indication that it was important was a braizer that looked like it hadn't been lit in a thousand years or more. "Dimhollow Crypt," I informed as I unsheathed my sword from its place on my back. The Ebony sword wreathed itself in fire as I did so that cast long shadows into the cavern.
  
  "Lili doesn't like the names that Mr. Jericho keeps giving these caves. They all sound like places Lili would never want to go," Lili remarked, a pout in her tone. She didn't believe me when I told her that I wasn't the one giving them their names. Or, she did, and she enjoyed fussing anyway because she knew she could get away with it.
  
  "Eh, they're fitting though," I said, stepping into the cavern. My sword offered some flickering light, enough to cast away the darkness, but the Candlelight that Lili threw up was far more stable and brighter. The little ball of light hung above my head, slightly ahead of me to avoid casting a shadow. The soft white light revealed the age of the place.
  
  The cave was old. Which really didn't mean anything, because all caves were old, but the cave was old enough that a proper tomb had once been carved out of it. Millennia of neglect and exposure had left the interior looking like the stalactites and stalagmites were moving back in to reclaim lost ground. The floor was mostly even, and there were designs on the walls, but all were faded to the point I couldn't make anything out.
  
  The darkness wasn"t enough to defeat my vision, letting me see a large, intricate door that more or less made up the far wall. It was half-covered in stone and ice, telling me that the door hadn't been open in a very long time.
  
  "FUS," I shouted, the Word of Power slamming into the door and reducing it to nothing, revealing a tunnel on the other side that was infinitely more well preserved.
  
  Lili made a chiding noise, "Mr. Greybeard says you shouldn't use the Thu'um so frivolously." She remarked, earning a huff from me.
  
  "Are you going to tell?" I asked her as we walked further inside the cavern, my map drawing up a path. I took the time to inspect the walls. Most tombs like this were covered in depictions of dragons -- either dragons being worshiped, or dragons giving good reason as to why they should be worshiped by depicting the mass slaughters they inflicted on humanity. These, however, depicted nothing but men and women. At least, their shapes.
  
  Lili let out a content hum, "Not if Mr. Jericho gives Lili reasons not to," she answered coyly. I sent her a look to see her smiling up at me. Another thing that had changed -- in the past month, Lili had gotten flirty.
  
  "Then I'll be sure to give you plenty of reasons then," I returned, keeping my sword at the ready. The cave was almost completely silent. I expected to hear draugr or other undead. This place had been sealed up tight, I realized when I didn't see so much as a spiderweb. "Be a shame to lose my teacher," I tacked on, earning an indignant huff.
  
  Though, calling Arngeir my teacher might be a bit of a stretch at this point. For the most part, he coached temperance to keep the influence of the Thu'um in check. He occasionally offered advice, but for the most part, I was on my own when it came to mastering new words of power. He was against the idea almost completely, something about learning too quickly being dangerous... but four out of my six months were gone. Time was the one thing I didn't have.
  
  We continued to delve deeper into the hallways of the ancient tomb -- it was different in construction than the burrows that the Dragon Priests and Lords preferred. Clean the place up a bit, and add some decent lighting, and it wouldn't look out of place in a Keep or something.
  
  "Lili?" I requested, earning a nod from her before I felt a ripple of magic brush over my skin. At the edge of my vision, I saw Lili's eyes gleam with a reddish-pink light, while wisps of the same color faded from around her hand. The detect life spell.
  
  Lili had missed her calling as a mage, and she was making up for lost time. I had no clue how fast advancement in magic typically was, but Lili was proving to be abnormal with how fast she learned. So far, her repertoire had expanded, including Candlelight, Detect Life, Healing Hands, and she was able to cast illusions. I had no clue how good they were because I couldn't see them. But, more than once, I saw a bandit or undead rush towards a rock or tree instead of at Lili.
  
  "Lili doesn't see anything, Mr. Jericho," Lili voiced, earning a frown from me. From my memory of the quest, there should at least be gargoyles or something. Were they so undead that they didn't appear with detect life? Or had the vampires brought them with them? I didn't know. I was a few years ahead of the quest traditionally starting.
  
  "... Don't let your guard down," I decided, tightening my grip on my sword.
  
  Lili nodded, "This place reminds Lili of the Dungeon when it gets too quiet. It either meant that the Dungeon was spent, or that it was planning something." She agreed with her handheld crossbow at the ready.
  
  We traveled in silence, exploring the winding hallways that took us deeper into the tomb, and the mountain that it was built in. There was nothing but darkness and silence in the tomb. The only sounds there came from my armor, the enchanted dwarven metal clicking together or the chainmail jangling.
  
  Then we caught the first glimpse of life. Cobwebs.
  
  "Giant spiders," I muttered unhappily. Of all the creatures it had to be, it had to be spiders. How did they even make it down here? As far as I could tell, there was nothing that a hive of spiders could eat. Besides each other, that was. So, hopefully, the hive would be small?
  
  Reaching out, I cut through the thick and ancient cobwebs, my sword burning them away. The flames spread to the rest of the cobwebs, releasing a foul-smelling smoke, but at this point I could say I've smelled worse. Beyond the crackling flames, I heard a deep hiss as a spider realized I was burning its house down. I gestured for Lili to back up, which she already had, choosing to hug the corner. I took a few steps back, my sword at the ready, as I gazed into the flames.
  
  I saw the spider rear back through the flickering flames. It was a fairly large one. The tunnel was a dozen yards wide, and about half that tall, and the spider took up about half of that space. The spider must have seen me too because it lunged through the fire, intent on making me pay for setting its home aflame.
  
  Suppressing a smirk, I dipped to the side while I brought my sword up in an upward slash. The Ebony edge of my weapon cut through the spider"s legs on the left side, one after another as it sailed harmlessly by me. Taking a quick step toward it, I spun my blade in my hand to plunge it down through its head before I yanked the blade up, nearly cutting the spider in half. The smell of a burning spider smelled like victory.
  
  A month had passed and I wasn't completely awful with a sword anymore. I mean, I was still bad, but no longer awful. It was an improvement. Especially considering that I still wore my enchanted armor. At the start, it felt like I needed to switch to my Ebony every other fight. I wasn't weak, not even close, but compared to the ease that I had killed before, each anthill felt like a mountain.
  
  Now, my Ebony armor was something I reserved for special occasions. A bunch of spiders? They didn't really qualify.
  
  I waited a moment, expecting more to come, but they never did. Given the state of the place, there was a very real possibility that there was only the one. Still, the spider had made itself quite the extensive nest because the fire was still burning strong. Inside the flames I saw an egg sack burst, releasing countless baby spiders, but they all burned up in a few moments.
  
  Eventually, Lili pulled out a staff from her backpack and aimed it at the hallway and wall of flames that blocked our path. Without a word, a spray of icy mist blew into the fire. A lot of it was reduced to steam, but it was enough to kill the fire after a short minute of use.
  
  "Useful," I remarked, looking at the scorched hallway that was burnt and wet in equal measures. I recognized the staff. I had kept my end of the bargain with Azura and cleaned the area of threats. And there were a lot of insidious creatures hiding in the shadows in the upper rim of Skyrim. Perhaps it was the cold and mountainous terrain that prevented some places from being explored... but I had been busy. Very busy. The consolation prize I received was a plethora of good loot.
  
  "Lili likes it," Lili agreed, tucking the staff away into an easy to reach loop on her backpack, joining two others. Lili didn't have a taste for destruction spells, but that's what staffs were for. Each was preloaded with a spell to be used and a set number of charges. However, those charges could be restored with the use of a soul gem. The game had gotten that much right.
  
  With the way cleared once again, Lili and I continued deeper into the cavern. And time proved that had been the only spider in the place. There wasn't anything else. Or, at least, nothing attacked us until we reached the very heart of the tomb. Honestly, it was a little disappointing.
  
  The main room was a large pocket in the heart of the mountain. It, at the very least, looked as the game had depicted it. A large round platform was placed in the middle of a veritable lake of water. Braziers were dotted around the circumference of the platform, as were looping arcs that stood over each brazier. Lili let out a muttered "Wow," while my gaze swept over the room.
  
  This was way too easy. Something bad was going to happen.
  
  "Keep your guard up, Lili," I said, making my way down the steps towards a bridge that connected the platform to the wall and staircase. The cavern was huge. A hundred yards tall and maybe twice that wide in every direction. The sound of my armor echoed in the cavern as I approached the resting place of the one I was here to recruit.
  
  "Lili doesn"t see anyone here," Lili pointed out, keeping her guard up as she looked at the water with eyes filled with suspicion. She grabbed one staff from her bag... and I choose to have the Ebony Mail wash over my dwarven enchanted armor. Instantly, I felt my full strength return and it was a welcomed change from the weakness the armor inflicted on me. "Who are we supposed to meet here, Mr. Jericho?"
  
  I started to solve the puzzle, lighting the braziers in order based on my memory of the game. "You"ll see in a moment," I reassured, hearing Lili make a noise at that.
  
  "Mr. Jericho only gets cagey when he does something that Lili won"t like," Lili pointed out. I would argue that point, but I kinda couldn"t.
  
  "... Her name is Serana," I began, continuing to light the braziers in order. So far so good. "And she"s a Vampire Lord," I added, more or less proving Lili"s point.
  
  I could feel her gaze on me before I looked at her, "Aren"t Vampires evil?" She questioned, sounding like she was starting to regret following me down here.
  
  I shrugged. "In the same way that Werewolves can be, I guess. Her dad is a real piece of work," I admitted. Imagining the scene of Volkihar castle, where you were greeted by a dozen vampire lords who might as well have been having a competition to see who was the messiest eater... It kinda put that whole scene in a much more grizzly context. "But, Serana should be fine. Plus, she has an Elder Scroll."
  
  Lili watched me light another brasier, "Another ingredient?" Lili questioned, earning a nod from me.
  
  Sheogorath had kept the Eye of Magnus and the Staff of Magnus out of my hands, but instead she gave me a shopping list of various materials. The past month was largely spent gathering them up. The ingredients? The Crest of Aetherium, a Daedra heart, the blood of a High Vampire, a pinch of the space-time continuum, the first flower of spring, a blend of fire, void and frost salts, the most expensive jewel in Skyrim, a sliver of the Evergreen tree... the list went on and on. Some items were completely inane, while others were completely insane.
  
  Still, as crazy as it might sound, out of all the gods, Sheogorath was the only one that had earned my trust so I was certain that there was a good reason for it. And whatever I would gain would be worth gathering up the items.
  
  "Two, in theory," I corrected. I"m pretty sure a pinch of the space-time continuum meant a pinch of an Elder Scroll. After all, for the vast majority of the things she told me to get, I at least had a rough idea of where to get them. And, in the end, there were quite a few Elder Scrolls floating around Skyrim at the moment. "Get ready. I"m not sure exactly how she"ll react to us," I gave a heads up before lighting the final brazier.
  
  The others that remained unlit suddenly sparked to life with dark purple fire. That fire then seemed to drip down from the braziers like water, landing on the floor into a crevice engraved into the ground. The flow of purple flames grew stronger as each brazier added more liquid fire to the engraving, letting it take shape as they all went to the center of the platform, revealing an intricate design on the ground as they did.
  
  The fire pooled in the center, covering a manhole sized area. The pool of fire then began to swirl. There was some unseen mechanism below because the pool of fire seemingly caught on another circle of engravings, making it turn with the pool, then that one caught another. When the third had made a full rotation, the fire began to pour downwards as the floor began to rise.
  
  A sarcophagus rose from the ground, covered with a stone door that slid open when it settled into place. Inside was a woman. She had pale skin, with short cut dark hair. She was wearing a wine-red dress underneath a dark cloak, clasped at her neck with a large ruby. Her arms were clutched protectively around a long scroll as she leaned against the side of the coffin. She didn"t move for a moment, but her eyelids began to butterfly open.
  
  "Hmmmm...?" She questioned, sounding like she was waking up from a nap. Which, technically speaking, wasn"t that far off the mark. Her eyes fluttered open, revealing that they were blood red and seemed to glow in the low light. Her eyes narrowed reflexively at the brightness from the Candlelight, but she blinked a few more times, waking up in earnest.
  
  Her grip on the scroll tightened when she looked at me, and I could have kicked myself. I got so used to the helmet, I forgot that I was wearing it. Grabbing it and taking it off, I offered a lopsided smile, not quite sure how to greet her. "Sleep well?" I questioned, deciding to break the ice.
  
  Serana looked back at me questioningly, "As well as I could have, given the circumstances," she answered somewhat hesitantly. "I don't suppose you could tell me how long I've been asleep for?"
  
  "That's a matter of debate. Akatosh had a couple of seizures, so time got a little... weird," I began. I still didn't understand dragonbreaks. "But it's been... a long time. Thousands of years. At least."
  
  She blinked slowly at that, trying to formulate a response. "And have things changed so much that my parents would send a mortal to retrieve me?" Serana asked, moving on from how long she had been asleep. I couldn't tell if it just didn't really matter to her, or if she just had a good poker face. It could be either, really. Or both. She had been asleep for millennia, but she was still centuries-old in the years she had been awake.
  
  Right. Here was the delicate part. "Your parents didn't send me," I began, wishing there was an easier way to ease into the topic. Serana's eyes narrowed, so I continued. "Your father is still at Castle Volkihar. Your mother fled to the Soul Cairn to avoid him... and she sealed you here because your father is planning to use you to find the bow of Aruriel, so he can then shoot some arrows into the sun and cast all of Nirn into eternal darkness so he can rule the world."
  
  Lili made a strangled sound at that, but I ignored her. Serana searched my face for any trace of deceit, her red eyes glowing ominously. "And you are here to put a stop to that plot?" She questioned her tone even.
  
  "Uh... no, not really." My answer must have surprised her because she frowned at me.
  
  "Then you don't understand the threat that my father posses," Serana said with a shake of her head as she finally stepped outside of the sarcophagus. "If... if what you are saying is true... then he must be stopped."
  
  "Oh, I know that he's a threat. He's just not the one I'm dealing with right now," I clarified. "Alduin the World-Eater is about to pop back into reality after getting tossed into the time stream. He should arrive in about two months. I've been preparing for him so he doesn't eat reality and end life as we know it. If everything goes well, then I can stop your dad after."
  
  Serana opened her mouth, a hint of her fangs peeking past her lips. "Oh," she uttered, and I felt a bit bad. I mean, if I woke up after a millennia-long nap by someone I didn't know and the first thing they opened with was how a couple of apocalypses are on their way... I'd go back to sleep.
  
  "Yeah... it's been a whole thing," I agreed.
  
  Serana's head bobbed, "Then why have you awoken me?" She asked, casting a look at Lili before she frowned. "And how did you know the correct combination? I see that none of the traps have been activated." Ah. So, there would have been a lot more fighting if I didn't know the combination. That explained some things, I guess.
  
  In the original quest, the vampires had probably triggered the traps and caused the whole mess.
  
  "Long story short? I had a peek inside an Elder Scroll," I started, gesturing to the one in her hands. "And I'm looking for allies to help me fight Alduin," I figured telling her I wanted some of her blood and a corner piece of the Elder Scroll wouldn't go over well.
  
  Serana didn't look like she bought it, "And your first thought was a High Vampire? It seems a little odd," she remarked.
  
  "Not our first," Lili spoke up. "Lili and Mr. Jericho have been traveling all over Skyrim, looking for allies and cleaning up problems so that when the Moot happens, no one can drag their feet and keep from helping."
  
  "One would think if a threat like Alduin appeared, petty squabbles would be put aside," Serana commented, frowning deeply.
  
  I let out a small laugh. "Yeah, you would think," I muttered a reply. "But, no. It's just a bad case of really bad timing. There's been a civil war in Skyrim brewing for about a decade, and then the gods descended to Nirn... so, Skyrim is pretty much on fire at the moment. The Moot is where we're hoping to put out the fires and pull together."
  
  "The..." Serana shook her head, "I've been asleep for some time. Things seemed to have changed a great deal." She muttered to herself before she looked at me, her lips pressed together into a thin line. "Have... all of the gods descended?" She questioned and it was easy enough to guess her motivation for doing so.
  
  "No," I quickly reassured. "A few of the Daedra and Akatosh haven"t descended. Akatosh is maintaining the barrier around Nirn, while Mehrunes Dagon and Molag Bal haven't agreed to give up their power to live on Nirn as a mortal," I explained.
  
  "Things have changed a lot," Serana muttered. "You've woken me up, and I sincerely doubt I'll be able to go back to sleep after hearing all of this. I would like to help you... but my mother..." She shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment. "You said she is in the Soul Cairn, correct? Is she safe there?"
  
  I nodded, "She is. Your father can't get to her there... and he's spent the past few millennia looking for you." I offered, hoping that would help. Serana scoffed ever so slightly.
  
  "Looking for this, more likely," Serana remarked, clutching at the Elder Scroll she had been charged with protecting. "My father might care little for mortals, but he would not miss my appearance should I be seen aiding you."
  
  She was willing to help. I... honestly thought I might have to go deal with Harkan before she would agree.
  
  "You don't have to worry about that. High Vampires have mostly withdrawn from the world, leaving behind the lesser kind. The last thing he would expect is for you to appear after millennia of being missing," I pointed out. "We can help you hide your identity too, just to be sure. If all else fails... then I can deal with a few vampires."
  
  To that, Serana cocked an eyebrow, clearly feeling like I was underestimating them. However, Lili spoke up in my defense. "Mr. Jericho is really strong," Lili offered. "Lili doesn't know how strong High Vampires are, but the weaker ones are no match for Mr. Jericho, and that's inside the armor that makes him a lot weaker."
  
  There was a beat of silence and I could practically see Serana picking apart that statement, looking to me for context. I shrugged. It was true.
  
  "It's a long story and explaining the context would take as long as the story," I said, "but if you'll come with us to stop Alduin, there will be plenty of time to explain."
  
  A small, charming laugh escaped Serana, her lips curling up into a slight smile. "As if I could refuse to hear a story like that," she agreed, and I felt a knot of tension uncoil from my chest. "I will help you. After all, it would mean little rescuing my mother if Alduin eats reality." That was the practical attitude I was looking for. If only the rest of Skyrim shared it rather than their suicidal determination to die setting themselves on fire.
  
  Lili made a noise and I glanced over at her, seeing her giving me a Look. It was easy enough to guess that she was jealous, and I would have to spare a moment to tell her that she didn't need to be. People did act differently than they had from the game, but with Serana... I doubted that she would welcome a romantic relationship.
  
  I had no idea if there was a sliding scale of how awful rape could be, but I had to imagine being raped by the God ofRape was at the extreme end of that scale. She had rebuffed any advances in the game, and I would imagine that trait would hold true in reality. That was fine. I was more concerned with what she could do, rather than with sleeping with her.
  
  "Great," I said, "Then let's get out of here. We need to head to the College of Winterhold to meet Sheogorath."
  
  "This should prove interesting," Serana remarked. "But we can't go the same way you came in. It's trapped. If the gargoyles sense me walking through the halls, they'll assume I'm being escorted by my father."
  
  "Is there another way out, then?" I asked, earning a small nod from Serana. As if on cue, the sarcophagus began to sink into the ground, and the bridge that connected the platform began to move as the water began to drain from the pool around it. I looked over to see that an entrance had been revealed on the far wall. A staircase located underneath a Word Wall that the bridge would take us to. "Convenient."
  
  "If my family is good for one thing, it's grandstanding," Serana remarked lightly as she began to lead the way. "If you would follow me... I believe I've spent enough time in caves." She decided as she walked, still clutching her Elder Scroll.
  
  I followed her, and Lili fell in step next to me. I could feel her gaze burning a hole in the side of my head, so I looked down. There, I saw her pouting at me. "It was a woman," Lili pointed out.
  
  "A High Vampire that's a master of destruction magic," I corrected.
  
  "A woman High Vampire," Lili pointed out, not moving past that sticking point.
  
  "A woman High Vampire that can hear the both of you," Serana pointed out, casting a look back at us, her tone thoroughly unimpressed, if slightly amused. Probably by the fact that Lili was more upset about the woman part rather than the vampire bit. That might change when Lili saw Serana in action, so I should probably give her a heads-
  
  My train of thought came to an abrupt end when an expression of alarm crossed Serana"s face, making her whip around. My hand curled around my sword, looking for the threat, but nothing stood out to me. I couldn"t see anything in the shadows, I didn"t hear anything. Following her gaze, I found Serana looking at the word wall.
  
  "What... is that sound?" Serana questioned aloud, walking towards the word wall, and my heart started to drop as I watched her move to it. There was no way. There was absolutely no way...
  
  Serana approached the word wall, zeroing in on a word in particular as she slowly reached out to touch it... the moment that her fingers brushed the stone surface, the vampire crumpled like a puppet with her strings cut. Without my armor slowing me down, I was able to catch her before she fell, the Elder Scroll cluttering the ground as it fell from her fingers.
  
  I suppose Paarthurnax had been right.
  
  I would meet the Dragonborn eventually.
  
  ...
  
  Good news -- as of right now, I'm working on what will likely be the final chapter of the Skyrim Jump. After this chapter, we're jumping straight into the Moot and after that, we head straight into the final battle with Alduin. There were meant to be an additional two arcs -- one of which would have taken place during the month and a half time skip, but I got some feedback from my patreons that the story was starting to drag, so I cut them out. And I decided I didn't need the five chapters for a clean up arc.
  
  So, all together, we're looking at another eight chapters in Skyrim and then we're off to Konosuba.
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Gods made things way too complicated, I decided, and not for the first time. Akatosh, in his infinite wisdom, decided to make Serana the Dragonborn while she was napping away. Did that mean the original Dragonborn just wasn't the Dragonborn anymore? Did he take away their Dragonborn-ness? Did they still have it? The Dragonborn was meant to be the Last Dragonborn, so there was only meant to be the one.
  
  Still, it was pretty humbling to realize that Akatosh could just... make someone the Dragonborn with a snap of his claws. Was that something he always could do, or was it because of Hestia? Had the Original Dragonborn been the Dragonborn all of their life, or was it only when they woke up on the wagon with Ulfric Stormcloak?
  
  Then I ran into a whole bunch of questions about what criteria Akatosh used to decide who was the Dragonborn. I mean, I turned down the offer, but Serana being the Dragonborn... didn't that cause some serious problems down the road? Like, with the whole Molag Bal situation?
  
  The entire move just had a whole lot of theological implications that left me scratching my head. So, I decided I just wasn't going to think about it.
  
  "Winterhold has changed for the worst, it would seem," Serana remarked from the wagon that I pushed through the ruins of the city. "What happened?"
  
  "A series of storms eroded the mountain that Winterhold and the College stood on. Large parts of Winterhold collapsed, and over a few centuries, people left," Lili explained. For the most part, that's how the trip went as I ran back to Winterhold. Serana had woken up, not believing that she was the Dovahkiin, but still asked questions about what she had missed. Lili answered as much as she could, backed by whatever information that I could give.
  
  The formation of the Empire. Talos. The fall of the empire. The Thalmor. The Stormcloaks. The gods descending, and so on.
  
  "Hm. This mountain range used to be a lot bigger. Wider. It looks like half of the mountain was wiped away. No normal storm could have managed that," Serana observed, peeking out from under her hood to take in the sights. For once, it wasn't snowing in Winterhold. People were out and about, some looking in my direction, but most were content to shovel snow.
  
  "That's why the College is being blamed," Lili answered.
  
  "Makes sense. If mages are anything like they were in my day, it probably is their fault," Serana remarked, sounding wistful. Had the College been around in her time? I knew it was apparently old, but I didn't think it was that old. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Serana perk up as a familiar presence washed over us as we walked by the town hall. "That... is one of the gods, is it not?"
  
  I looked over to see Azura, standing tall on a pile of lumber and steel. Lumber and steel that came out of my pocket, as part of our bargain. You'd think she chopped the wood down and mined the ore herself based on how proud she looked. And you'd think that the people that gathered around her, basking in her presence, would know that she hadn't because most of them were the ones that actually had, but they still treated her like she had toiled in the mines or felled entire forests.
  
  In the end, all it took was me getting permission to open a few mines. Between the Mark and Recall system, I was able to gather up enough food and materials to convince a desperate few to start digging into the nearby ore veins. Between a decent wage and people that were just desperate for opportunities, I ended up becoming the biggest source of work before winter ended. And the demand for workers still wasn't being met.
  
  "Soon I shall travel to the Moot to discuss important matters with the rest of the gods and the Emperor!" Azura announced loudly, her voice carrying over the crowd. It was fairly small, a few dozen people, but that was a noticeable fraction of Winterhold's population. "But, fear not -- I will return." She vowed and the crowd acted like she had just solved world hunger and established everlasting world peace.
  
  Azura... well, she was... popular. In the same way that a high school girl was popular. There were some reservations and some grumblings, but when she showed up with piles of money and my supplies, people almost instantly forgot that she was a Daedra. Honestly, it was a little impressive how she managed to usurp all that goodwill from me despite the fact that it was no secret that I owned the mines.
  
  The Jarl didn"t like her much, nor did his family. But, at the rate things were going, I didn"t think that would matter for very long. His family had ruled Winterhold for generations, but that was the only thing he had going for him. People knew that he cared for Whiterun and his citizens, and that he did whatever he could to make life easier for them. However, people had short memories. There was a saying about that -- people only remember the last good thing that you did for them.
  
  Azura was changing Whiterun in the same way that Hestia had changed Helgen.
  
  The stage was set for her to become Jarl, and the current one knew which way the wind was blowing. He was willing to step down.
  
  Azura looked at me as I pushed the wagon by, a haughty smirk on her face. I just ignored her and brought us to the new bridge that connected Winterhold and the College. The broken and iced over stone was gone, replaced with a rainbow bridge that played a pleasant tune as I pushed the wagon over it.
  
  "I don't wish to alarm you, but I believe you've angered Azura. She's glaring at us," Serana pointed out, sounding somewhat anxious.
  
  "Meh," I shrugged.
  
  "That's... an interesting reaction to incurring the wrath of a Daedra," Serana remarked.
  
  "She'll glare and stomp her feet a bit, but that's about it. Nothing to really worry about. She needs me more than I need her," I answered, crossing the bridge. The tune changed every time I walked across it -- this time it sounded eerily similar to the pokemon theme song. I needed the star, that much was true, but Azura realized she had put herself in a position where if I suddenly decided that I didn't want the star... then she'd be screwed.
  
  I hadn't even planned that. Just a happy coincidence.
  
  "Mr. Jericho treats the gods like annoyances most of the time. Mrs. Serana will get used to it. Eventually," Lili advised as I slowed to a stop once I reached the central courtyard.
  
  "I will take your word for it," Serana said, sounding like she had doubts as she got out of the wagon. I sealed it away, earning a small shake of her head but she didn't comment. I think at this point she was just rolling with the punches. Given the circumstances, that was probably for the best.
  
  I walked towards the front gates and pushed them open. The halls were mostly empty since it was time for class. I walked through them, Lili and Serana following closely behind. Vilkas had returned to Whiterun when he learned of the portal network to report that he had found a lead on getting rid of their Lycanthropy.
  
  "Might I ask what we are doing here?" Serana questioned as I found a staircase that led down into the under crypt of the College. The stone steps were slick with ice, but I didn't slip. The under crypt was an old abandoned section of the College. A labyrinth of tunnels that seemed to continue all the way down what was left of the mountain that supported the College. In several locations, you could find hallways that had collapsed or were simply worn away, exposing the tunnels to the elements.
  
  "Meeting Sheogorath," I answered, easily finding my way through the tunnels thanks to my map. I heard Serana take in a slow breath at that -- I thought it was odd. She was dead, so she didn't need to breathe, did she? "Also, to warn you, she's going to ask for a little bit of blood and a piece of the Elder Scroll. Like a corner piece, of something. Are you okay with that?" I asked, figuring she should get a heads up rather than springing it on her.
  
  Serana's expression was blank as she considered that for a moment. "She?" Serana hedged an answer, choosing to ask a question instead.
  
  "She," I confirmed as I walked. "Sheogorath used to be a hero named the Hero of Kvatch before she became Sheogorath. And... I know how this might sound, but of all the gods I've met, she's been the most helpful."
  
  "I've been asleep for a very, very long time," Serana muttered, clearly caught off guard by just how much things had changed in the years she was asleep. "What do you need my blood for, exactly? And can you even damage an Elder Scroll? I didn't think it was possible," Serana pointed out.
  
  I smiled as we approached the Atronach Forge, and I felt a presence wash over me. Walking down the steps, I saw Sheogorath sitting on the back of Adoring Fan, who was on his hands and knees. The smile on his face told me he was loving every second of it and the smile only diminished when Sheogorath got up.
  
  "Ah! There you are! I've been waiting for absolutely ages! Or about ten minutes. I'm sure it's one of those two," Sheogorath announced, spinning a cane between her fingers as she got up. Adoring Fan faded into specs of light, but that was normal for him. The guy couldn't care less about the comings and goings of the world, only that Sheogorath needed him.
  
  An expression of surprise passed over Serana's face, but I ignored it. A thrill shot through me now that the moment was here. "I have the stuff," I informed, producing the list from my pocket. Everything was crossed out. No matter how absurd it might have appeared on paper.
  
  "Excellent! Nothing motivates people quite like good loot! A man after my own heart, you are!" Sheogorath let out a cackle of laughter before her mismatched eyes slid over to Lili and Serana. "Ello Lili, as adorable as ever I see. And you..." her eyes slid to Serana, her smile growing a fraction.
  
  "It's good to see old Akatosh playing his old tricks again," Sheogorath announced, stamping her cane to the ground before placing both hands on it as she leaned into Serana's personal space. Serana leaned back, a hint of nervousness in her blood-red eyes. "Knowing Akatosh, the big lizard did it to tweak Molag's nose. Interesting. Very interesting!"
  
  Serana shifted where she stood, her eyes darting to me for a moment. "So it's true then?" She asked, her eyes settling back on Sheogorath's face. "I'm the Dragonborn?"
  
  "That you are, my dear. A special little amalgamation of blessings and curses you seem to be! A Vampire Lord created by Molag Bal himself," Serana flinched, "Blessed with the blood and soul of Akatosh. The Last Dragonborn, a figure of myth and an answer to a question that was asked long before you had even been born... only for your role to be usurped by the man you travel with... oh, us gods do love our little games. That we do."
  
  Serana's lips thinned while Sheogorath chuckled. Then the Prince of Madness dramatically turned around to look to me. "Well, what are you waiting for, you baby giant? Lay everything out! It's time to let the magic happen!"
  
  I turned my attention to the Atronach Forge. It was a fairly simple thing, completely unlike a normal forge simply because it used magic rather than heat. It was a circle, almost like a pentagram, only more complex with intricate designs covering the surface of a platform that rested in the middle of the room. In response, I began undoing my armor and setting it down at the center of the pentagram. Including the Hestia Armor.
  
  Once I was wearing nothing but my clothing, I began unsealing the other ingredients. The Aetherium Seal was heavy. Each piece weighed about four hundred pounds alone, and all together, they weighed closer to a metric ton than not. In the end, I was forced to unseal the shard directly over it's designated spot. I was strong, just not casually carrying two thousand pounds strong.
  
  Next was a Daedra heart. Velehk Sain's. We took care of him awhile ago.
  
  A Dragon Priest Mask, the first that I had slain, which sat on an arrangement of flawless diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.
  
  More ingredients were added, each placed under the careful eye of Sheogorath. The first flower of spring was placed next to the Daedra heart. A jarred butterfly, bee, dragonfly, and so on were set in the corners. Dragon bone liberated from one of the dragon burial sites was also added next to the mask.
  
  Some items made more sense than others. Items like the Aetherium Seal clearly had direct purpose, while others were more symbolic.
  
  Lastly, there were only two ingredients left.
  
  Serana watched the proceedings cautiously, but when Sheogorath held out a bowl filled with various void salts mixed together, she hesitated. "Oh, don't be like that. The lug might not be a saint, or a very good person, but he's on the side of the angels at the moment. As am I!"
  
  That stung a little, but it wasn't like it wasn't true.
  
  Serana thought on it for a second more before she offered a slow nod. She raised her wrist to her lips and used her fangs to slit her wrist- "Ah! Just a few drops!" Sheogorath quickly corrected. Serana instead poked her finger with a fang before letting two drops fall into the bowl.
  
  "The Elder Scroll please!" Sheogorath continued, holding out a hand expectantly. Serana hesitated another moment before she unhooked the Elder Scroll from her back. I was surprised she was willing to part with it... but she probably had a much higher opinion of the gods than I did.
  
  To my surprise, Sheogorath immediately unfurled the Elder Scroll and she took a long look at it. Which I didn't really think much of until her eyes caught on fire and began smoking. Sheogorath didn't make a sound beyond a noise of acknowledgment before she simply dropped the Elder Scroll to the ground, skipped to the forge, and promptly gouged out her eyes with magic. A noise of disgust escaped me, but it was lost in the sound of Sheogorath humming a tune as she slung the mixture over my armor, her eyes becoming particles of light...
  
  Then the forge began to glow. Every hair that I had stood on end as I took a step back, nearly bumping into a wall -- the feeling of magic in the room swelled until I could feel it hovering in the air, covering me and entering my lungs with each breath. The air itself grew heavy with it, almost to the point that it became unbreathable. The light from the forge grew and grew until I was forced to raise a hand to protect my eyes.
  
  A second later, almost like a light switch, the light was gone. Lowering my hand, I looked to the forge and saw...
  
  My armor.
  
  The first thing that I noticed was the spikes on the armor -- my helmet stood out the most. Two thick spikes jutted out the forehead before swooping back, ending about the middle of the helmet and swooping up a bit. They looked like horns. The shoulder pauldrons were layered spikes, and there was a small one that jutted out where my elbow would be. It almost looked like daedric armor, in a way. Only... daedric armor was chaos given form.
  
  My armor was organized chaos. The black armor shone with a blueish sheen, the trimming was white -- the Aetherium Seal and dragon bone respectively. The falna that was on the Hestia Armor grew until it covered the entirety of the armor. The chest piece was solid metal, but the torso was layered for maneuverability.
  
  The biggest thing that I noticed was that there were no gaps in the armor. None. There weren't even eye holes, just pitch black spots where the eye holes would be. The gaps behind the knee, the elbows, and so on, each was covered with layered metal.
  
  "A success, I see!" Sheogorath announced while I marveled at my armor. She turned to look at me and I saw that her eyes had been replaced. Somehow. Magic, probably. "A set of armor for slaying Alduin. Add in that Star of yours... and I do believe the sky is the limit," Sheogorath remarked.
  
  She knew, I realized. About my plan. Was that because it fell under the realm of madness?
  
  "Thanks," I said, reaching forward. The armor lurched forward, becoming mist that covered me, much like the Ebony Mail once had. A moment later, I stood encased in my new armor.
  
  It didn't feel like I was wearing anything, I realized, moving to look down at my hand, which I saw was covered in the claw-like gauntlets. I could breathe easily, I could see too even though there weren't any natural gaps in the armor for me to see or breathe through. Rolling my shoulders, it really didn't feel like I was wearing armor. I felt my clothes shift more than anything. Even better, the armor moved soundlessly.
  
  "It's perfect," I decided, a slow smile spreading over my face. This was my armor. The template that I would build off of. Enchantments needed high tier equipment for high tier enchantments... now, I had the highest tier equipment imaginable. Even in other settings, I'm not sure what else could beat out what I was currently wearing. It was the best armor that was further improved beyond mortal perfection.
  
  "Thank you, thank you!" Sheogorath said, offering a deep bow. "Thanks are always appreciated. How about a reward for all of my hard work? Hestia is cooking glazed mutton with giant cheese and I want your share!" Sheogorath decided.
  
  "Lili likes Mr. Jericho's armor. It makes him look kinda intimidating, though..." Lili pointed out, tilting her head as she looked at me. Serana have me a guarded look as if she half expected me to start cackling as I went mad with power or something. Maybe once I got some heavy-duty enchantments on the armor. My heart was still set on going to Dragon Age after this... but it might be nice to have an actual vacation when this mess was done.
  
  Saving the world was a stressful pain in the ass. Cleaning up every mess in the kingdom was a pain in the ass. The whole "being a hero" thing was a pain in the ass. I couldn"t complain much since I did do it to myself... but I was thinking somewhere nice after Skyrim was done and Alduin was dead. Maybe... Mass Effect. Sure, there were the Reapers to worry about, but that didn"t have to be my problem.
  
  I could just take us to some world or another in the universe, kick our feet up and enjoy the futuristic high life for a bit while Shepard did their thing.
  
  "That's the point," I pointed out, testing my range in the armor. "Scare the shit out of the enemy, and the battle is practically won." Sure, the spikes were a little edgy, but I"ll take edgy if it meant I looked like a total badass. Reaching down, I touched my toes with little difficulty -- my armor seemed to fold on itself like clothing, but when I poked it, I felt solid metal. If I remember right, since daedric armor was solidified chaos, it ignored the laws of physics. That's why the jagged swords just cut like normal instead of getting caught on flesh and bone.
  
  Rising back up, I took in a deep breath. It was time, wasn"t it? My allotted time was at an end. A month and a half passed by in a blink, and I was wearing the results of it.
  
  "Let"s go!" Sheogorath shouted, getting behind me and pushing me forward. The prince of madness had some serious strength to her -- I would have fallen flat on my face if I hadn"t started walking. "I"m hungry!" She added impatiently.
  
  Serana continued to watch me cautiously, and I used my expanded vision to watch her as I passed her by. She looked back at the forge for a moment, the Elder Scroll once again in her hands. I... felt like I should have a talk with her when I got the chance. Hopefully before the Moot. She was rolling with the punches pretty well, way better than I expected, but a whole lot was being thrown at her one after another.
  
  We made our way up the staircase and found ourselves back in the Archmage's Quarters. I would say Sheogorath"s, but that wasn"t true anymore. She had given up the title and bequeathed it to the mudcrab that had once been Savos. Who still wore the hat and robes of the Arch Mage. I could feel Serana radiating confusion, but that was a long story.
  
  "Are the mages ready?" I asked as I spotted the Mark that glowed where Helgen was on the map.
  
  "As they can be. The firebrands are ready for action! Most aren"t going to do a thing until the king tells them to," Sheogorath answered easily, still pushing me to the Mark. The answer was a little annoying, but it was expected. The College was apolitical, but it would be really stupid of them to ignore a direct order from the king. Or the Emperor.
  
  Things were coming together, I decided, stepping onto the Mark. My vision went white for a moment before I found myself falling. Reacting instantly, I twisted in midair, landing on my feet before I stuck my arms out and caught Sheogorath. Setting her down, I caught Lili. Last was Seana, who no one had apparently warned that Sheogorath decided the best place for the Mark was on the ceiling.
  
  She flailed for a moment before I caught her. Through the armor, I could feel her grow still in my hands -- a kind of unnatural stillness that told me her blood had frozen in her veins. I quickly set her down, and she moved away from me quickly, her eyes darting around the kitchen that we were in. "What...?"
  
  "Welcome to the Hestia Familia manor," I welcomed Serana while Shegorath skipped off like she owned the place. "Sorry about that. Sheogorath decided the Mark would bring out the color of the kitchen, so she put it on the ceiling," I explained, earning a stiff nod from Serana, who accepted the answer easily enough. Mostly because it did sound like something Sheogorath would do.
  
  Right. I really did need to have a talk with her to see how she was adjusting. But, for now, I needed to find Hestia. I looked over the kitchen -- it hadn"t changed much in the past few months. A little more cluttered, a little messier, but overall the same. The same could be said for the living room. Now, it just looked lived in. A fire was going in the fireplace, books were stacked up on the couch...
  
  It didn"t seem like she was here. Walking out of the house that I built what felt like a lifetime ago, I pushed the front door open, intent on following Sheogorath since she apparently knew exactly where Hestia was.
  
  Helgen had changed a great deal, I thought as I stepped outside.
  
  A handful of months ago, Helgen had been a town on the verge of becoming a city. Now, of all the cities I"ve seen so far, Helgen had become the grandest of them all. The buildings were made of neatly cut gray stone, each several stories tall, with sloped roofs to help with the snow that built up. The streets were made of stone as well, more perfectly cut granite stone, gently sloped with drainage flanking the walkways.
  
  Most noticeably, they were clean. Snow gently fell from the sky, but it couldn"t gather on the streets. A piece of magic courtesy of Sheogorath. Even the snow that gathered on the buildings and railing was solely for aesthetic purposes. Or so I understood. The place was a sight to see, nestled between the mountains. As far as I was aware, Helgen had more than doubled in size and more than quadrupled in population.
  
  They had worked through the winter, forced to accommodate everyone that came. The city itself was a work of art. It had to be. It was just a damn shame that Alduin was going to end up wrecking the place.
  
  My eyes drifted over to the walls as I walked down the street. The walls were utterly massive. So massive, that I honestly had no clue how Hestia had gotten her hands on it all. Along the ridge was a tower flanked by smaller towers. Most would think they were simply guard towers, and for the most part, that"s all they would be. But, when the moment came...
  
  The city was a trap for Alduin and it was a good one.
  
  Just a damn shame that Helgen was going to end up on fire.
  
  People looked at us as we walked through the streets, most more cautious than not. However, the old guard seemed to recognize me by my size. Or the fact that Lili was traveling with me. As we walked I took in the sights of people going about their day, a stream of traffic coming and going in every direction. At the heart of the city was the market, which had once been a few blocky buildings and stalls -- now it was a thriving plaza, almost too packed with people. Stores lined the buildings around the market, each three stories tall, and each filled with stores while others set up stalls on the ground.
  
  I felt Hestia"s presence before I saw her. And I saw Lydia standing at a stall before I saw her too. However, as the crowd cleared, I spotted Hestia looking between two perfume bottles while a Khajiit trying to convince her to buy both. She wore a white parka with fuzzy blue lining, white gloves, and her bells in her hair. Lydia narrowed her eyes at me for a moment, and... fair.
  
  So, I let the armor dissipate. The Hestia Armor didn"t cling to my arm, but... I still felt my armor there. Like an itch on the back of my neck that I could restore with a thought. With my face revealed, Lydia"s eyes widened dramatically-"
  
  "JERICHO!" Hestia shouted, dropping both perfume bottles as she took off sprinting towards me. She leaped up, intent on wrapping her arms around my neck regardless of the height distance, so I helped her out by dipping down to meet her in the middle. She slammed into me like a bullet, not dissimilar to how Lili had greeted me. "I missed you!" She shouted, thoroughly uncaring of who heard her as she squeezed me tightly.
  
  I was lucky I was an adventurer, because otherwise, she might have choked me out.
  
  "Missed you too," I returned, offering an arm to support her so she wouldn"t be dangling from my neck. I felt her hum contently, letting up just enough so she could aim a megawatt smile in my direction. "Everything is ready to go. Sheogorath is around here somewhere." I said.
  
  "Dibella is too. Everyone"s getting ready for the Moot," Hestia added. I offered a smile and a nod to greet her, while she looked faintly amused by the sight. I guess I couldn"t blame her.
  
  "Speaking of getting ready," I began before I turned to Serana, who took in the scene with the air of someone that had absolutely no idea what was going on anymore, and couldn"t be bothered to find out. "This is Serana," I introduced her. It was tempting to add all the other things like Vampire Lord, or the Dragonborn, but there wasn"t a point in drawing that kind of attention to her. "She"s agreed to help us with our issue."
  
  "Another woman?" Hestia muttered to herself, before she smiled warmly at Serana, "Hello! Welcome to Helgen, I"m Hestia."
  
  Serana shifted, glancing around us at the crowd that pretended like they weren"t paying attention. I could see her swallow a few questions at that, but there was one she failed to. "It"s nice to meet you... You... are a god, are you not?" She asked, and I knew that Lili had told her about Hestia, but I guess seeing was believing.
  
  "I am! I"m technically a Daedra since I came from out of town, but the Aedra let me join their pantheon," Hestia informed. "I"m the Goddess of Home and Hearth."
  
  Serana searched Hestia"s face for a moment, her expression unreadable, before she offered a small smile. "It is nice to meet you, Divine Hestia," Serana offered, with a dignified curtsy.
  
  The crowd began to stir, and for a moment, I thought that they had somehow realized Serana was a vampire. That thought was quickly put to rest when I saw the crowd in the distance begin to shift, drifting towards something. A frown tugged at my lips as I saw more and more people move away from the market.
  
  "I think Sheograth might have done something," I remarked. No one was really saying anything beyond a growing curiosity of what was catching so many people's attention.
  
  Hestia sighed, "She might have run into Dibella. We should go before Sheo turns her into a frog or something," Hestia said, and I started to move. The crowd parted easily around me, if not because of me then because of Hestia.
  
  Hestia managed what Azura was trying to, only on a much grander scale. She turned Helgen into something fantastic and beautiful. A city designed by the Goddess of Architecture. If there was such a thing as perfection, then Helgen had achieved it.
  
  It was when I reached a grand staircase that separates a higher market from the lower market that I saw what all the fuss was about. With Hestia in my arms, I stood at the top of the stairs and looked down at the forced gap in the crowd.
  
  And there, I saw a man in his mid-sixties or so, a closely shaven head surrounded by guards. A few others were with him, but I barely saw them. Not when I recognized those robes.
  
  The Emperor was in Helgen.
  
  ...
  
  Here's a pic of what Jericho's armor looks like, more or less. The horns loot a bit like this, just a bit smaller.
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  This was Sheogorath's fault, I decided, spotting the Mark under the Emperor's feet. I was so not prepared for Emperor Titus to pop into Helgen unannounced.
  
  "I believe," Serana spoke up, "I should make myself scarce. Too many eyes around for my liking." Meaning she was still concerned with her father finding out that she walked the world once again. That... was probably a smart move, all things considered. Things had changed rather dramatically so her father might be more active than he had been in the game. I was hugging enough crises at the moment, I did not need a vampire invasion.
  
  I offered a nod, while the sounds of the people gasping at the fact that the Emperor was really here began to grow louder by the second. I looked to Lydia, "Keep Serana company for me?" I requested, earning a serious nod before I began to descend the steps. The crowd parted for me as Lydia broke off with Serana. Just in case Serana was right to be worried... or if she had second thoughts about helping us.
  
  "I'm not dressed to meet anyone important, Jericho!" Hestia protested as we walked. I could see people below taking notice of us. It was kind of hard not to given the fact I was a head and shoulders taller than most people, to say nothing of Hestia's godly aura.
  
  "You look fantastic," I reassured Hestia. "If anything, they're not dressed to see you." That got a dopey grin out of Hestia as I continued to walk down the steps. I only had eyes on the Emperor, who seemed to be engaged in a conversation with Sheogorath. Given the reactions of those around them, I'm guessing that this detour wasn't exactly planned.
  
  Sheogorath gestured wildly in my direction, bringing Emperor Titus' gaze to me and Hestia. Wrinkles were gathered around his eyes, and his neatly trimmed beard was snow white -- he hadn't looked so old in the game, but, then again, neither had Ulfric or Balgruuf, and both men were over fifty. His expression betrayed nothing, it could have been made of granite for all the emotion he displayed.
  
  It was different seeing him like this rather than a solitary man staring down an assassin and choosing to let them kill him. A man that was greeting the end with open arms... who was theorized to arrange his own assassination. That theory was a little hard to buy at the moment, seeing him standing tall in front of Sheogorath with a blank expression, after possibly being kidnapped with all of his guards... and a man who didn't even blink when I reached the end of the stairs and could meet his gaze because I was taller than his guards.
  
  He had a good poker face, I would give him that.
  
  His hand moved, a signal of some kind, and the guards in front of me stepped to the side, allowing me to pass by. He watched us approach, his eyes flickering between me and Hestia until they settled on Hestia when she hopped out of my arms to stand in front of the Emperor.
  
  "Hello! I'm Hestia, Goddess of Home and Hearth! Sorry that there's no banquet to greet you, your highness, but someone didn't tell us that you were coming," Hestia began, offering a polite wave before glaring daggers at Sheogorath, who grinned unrepentantly. "And this is the Captain of my Familia, Jericho."
  
  I had no clue what to address him as, I realized as Emperor Titus looked up at me with an unreadable expression. "Your Highness?" I offered, copying Hestia's polite bow, figuring I should just follow her lead.
  
  A ghost of a smile tugged at his lips. "A pleasure," he returned, his tone even. "Please forgive my sudden arrival for it too was... unplanned," he offered, not deferring to Hestia or kidding himself over her. With his words, all eyes turned to Sheogorath, the one that arranged this little meeting, to find her sitting on her cane as it hovered in the air.
  
  She offered a careless shrug, "It would have taken you absolutely ages to get to Solitude at the rate you were going, and I want to get this little shindig on the road already." It was a very Sheogorath reason. "So, how about a thank you?"
  
  "I would," Emperor Titus began, "but my ship is now adrift in the ocean with no one to man it." He pointed out, earning an owlish blink from Sheogorath.
  
  "Ah... whoops?" Sheogorath responded, offering a shrug instead of an apology. Then she turned to me. "Where's Dibella at? I want to go already!"
  
  My gaze flickered to the Emperor for a moment, knowing that he was calling the shots in this. When he gave no reaction, I looked up over people"s heads to see a general stirring in the crowd. "Looks like she"s on her way," I pointed out before I glanced down at Hestia. Maybe she was right -- were either of us really dressed for the occasion? I had my feasting clothes from that mess in Falkreath, but the cloak was thoroughly ruined from camping out on the Throat of the World.
  
  Eh... should be fine. Especially considering that Dibella came running down the steps wearing a silk sheet that had dreams of being a dress. She would have fallen flat on her face if it wasn"t for Fjorta catching her at the final step when she stepped down on the loose hem of her dress. There was a flash of one of her nipples, but Dibella just pulled up her dress and aimed a wide smile at me and Hestia instead of acknowledging it.
  
  "Jericho! Hestia! Sheogorath! And... you... look important?" Dibella greeted, with a wave, pushing right through the guards who hesitantly let her by. I don"t think they got a signal to, but they were probably caught off guard by her godly presence. Or seeing godly tiddies. Either would be a fair reason, I guess. Dibella aimed the final words at the Emperor, looking him over with an easy smile. "I like your robe. It brings out your shiny head."
  
  I looked down at Dibella for a moment, thinking that was... blunt. I looked at Fjorta, who offered a deep bow. "Please forgive my goddess, she"s recently discovered ale." The younger woman informed, more modestly dressed, but not enough so to hide the trail of hickeys down her neck.
  
  "Ale is good! I like wine better, but I ran out," Dibella confirmed with a nod, looking very pleased with herself as she latched on to Fjorta. "It"s cold, Fjorta...! Why did we have to get out of bed? We were just getting comfy..." Fjorta"s face flushed while Sheogorath cackled. All the while, Titus watched the interaction silently with a blank expression. I could only imagine what was going through his head at the moment.
  
  However, it was Sheogorath who spoke next. "It"s time for the Moot, dear "Ella!" She informed, earning a puzzled look from Hestia.
  
  "I thought the Moot wasn"t for another few weeks-" Hestia started before my vision went white. I blinked once, letting the light fade -- and, all of a sudden, we weren"t in Helgen anymore. The crowd that was gathered was suddenly gone, the market had changed, there wasn"t any snow drifting down anymore...
  
  The tension in the air became thick enough to cut when the Emperor's immediate guards leveled their spears down, some pointed in Hestia"s direction before I put an end to that by stepping forward. They didn"t press the issue because it was obvious who the real culprit was.
  
  "I"m tired of waiting! The Moot starts now! Sit tight while I gather everyone up," she ordered, before promptly winking out of existence. There was a moment of tense silence, all eyes on where Sheogorath had vanished, and it was only broken by the sound of Hestia facepalming.
  
  "Let me apologize for Sheogorath, she's very..." Hestia trailed off, searching for the right word.
  
  "Insane?" One guard questioned, his armor and cloak marking him different from the others. I couldn't tell for sure, but I'm pretty sure that he was Commander Maro, the guy on the bridge after the failed attempt to assassinate the Emperor.
  
  "Sheogorath is very Sheogorath," Hestia hedged, her tone patient. That was probably the best way to put it.
  
  I scratched at my cheek, "My bet is that she took us to Solitude. And she's playing pretty fast and loose with the Mark and Recall spell." I mused, looking around at the city. We were in a garden area, which was still vibrant and colorful despite the chill in the air. I'm sure it would be very pretty, but with over a hundred guards standing in the flowerbeds and rose bushes, it looked a bit cluttered. "I knew she set up a system in Skyrim, but I didn't know she went beyond it."
  
  Mark could only teleport you between two locations. There was the hub in the Archmage quarters, but the Mark that had been used to teleport us... Sheogorath had set up a second system. Possibly more than one. She had been busy.
  
  "I thought the gods had to give up their power to descend?" Commander Maro questioned, his deep frown echoed in his voice.
  
  "They do. Sheogorath just so happens to be one of the most powerful mages in the world," I offered, and it was clear no one liked the idea of that. They would learn to. Sheogorath did her own thing, but she's only helped me this far.
  
  Emperor Titus offered a nod, "So it would seem," he agreed, before he turned his gaze to Hestia. "It is a bit late, but I do admire what you have done with Helgen. The little that I saw of it was quite remarkable." Hestia beamed pure joy out of every pore while the Emperor turned his attention to Dibella, who stood still while Fjorta began to straighten out her goddesses dress. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Divine Dibella, and Captain Fjorta. Strange circumstances have brought us together, but I do believe that Nirn can be a greater place with your presence."
  
  I kinda felt ignored, but I cared more about Hestia and Dibella's reactions. I wanted to know if he was lying.
  
  He wasn't, as far as I could tell, based on Hestia's smile and nod. "I hope so too. I... know that we've been causing a lot of problems for mortals... but I think the Moot will be where everyone gets their acts together." Hestia offered, her voice firm. I glanced down at her, hearing the unsaid 'or else" in her voice. "Jericho's barely been home because of those jerks! I'm going to make them pay! I wanted to cuddle a whole lot in front of the fireplace like Dibella and Fjorta, but he's been stuck running around the country!" Hestia stomped her foot, her hands curling into fists.
  
  I think... she probably should have left that second part off. "Sorry, Hestia," I offered. I hadn't been home nearly as much as either of us would like.
  
  "I said you could cuddle with me and Fjorta if you were feeling lonely," Dibella offered.
  
  Hestia flushed cutely, realizing that she had overshared, but retained her dignified poise. A hand went up to mine, my hand engulfing hers. "Despite what the gods have done until now, I hope you will consider me an ally when it comes to achieving stability in the realm," Hestia said, pretending that she hadn't just revealed her true motivations for all to hear.
  
  Dibella raised a hand, "Me too! Throwing really big parties is pretty fun... but I don't want bad things to happen to everyone else because I want to have fun." And that was... maturity. I think?
  
  Emperor Titus offered a smile, "With the aid of the gods, anything is possible. A saying that has never been more true than now. You humble me with your favor, and you have the depths of my gratitude for it." He offered, not quite bowing, but offering a dip of his head that had much the same effect.
  
  This was going alright, I thought. Nothing bad was really happening, and Solitude wasn't immediately combusting with the presence of the gods and the Emperor. He wasn't immediately decrying us -- not that I expected him to -- even though he had been technically kidnapped. Twice, even. Sure, he might have been kidnapped to his destination, but I'm not sure that canceled out the original kidnapping charge.
  
  However, it would seem that our presence hadn't gone unnoticed. I saw movement in the corner of my eye, bringing me to the building whose garden we were standing in. Large, ornate doors swung open to reveal two servants that bowed as they kept the doors open, revealing who was really coming through the door.
  
  A man and a woman, both richly dressed and each with a crown on their heads. The woman was Elisif the Fair -- she had dark red hair and blue eyes, with a strong jaw that matched her stubborn chin and high cheekbones. She earned her title, I thought. She appeared regal and proud. Standing next to her, given how her arm was interlocked with his, was her husband. And King.
  
  High King Torygg. He was considered a young man, but he was in his thirties by my guess. Dark brown hair swept back over his head and was held in place with a crown. A neatly trimmed dark beard clung to a reasonably handsome face -- he looked like a king and dressed like one as well. It was weird seeing him. It was weird thinking that Skyrim had a king at all and wasn't yet embroiled in a civil war.
  
  If things went the way of canon... then this Moot, possibly today, Ulfric would kill him.
  
  Behind them was a god, I noticed. Black hair and a face that was half-covered by a bushy beard. He wore simple robes with a few pieces of armor layered on top of them, one pauldron covered one of his shoulders and he had a vambrace on one hand. At his belt was a sizable mace, making it easy to guess who it was.
  
  Stendarr. The god of Righteous Might and Merciful Forbearance.
  
  High King Torygg approached, the guards letting him by without complaint. Both king and queen dropped to a knee, bowing to the Emperor. Should we have bowed earlier? I feel a bit awkward about not bowing. "Your Imperial Majesty, welcome to Solitude. Please forgive the unworthy welcome-"
  
  Emperor Titus let out a small chuckle, "My arrival was not expected for weeks. Not even by myself. You do not have to apologize for being unable to see the future, or incapable of predicting the actions of the Prince of Madness." He offered, gesturing for both to stand up. Both looked relieved. Given the circumstances, they were housing one of the largest events that's happened since the Oblivion Crisis. That would be stressful enough, but having your guests arrive weeks early?
  
  Stendarr stepped forward, and to my surprise, his gaze was focused on me. "You must be Jericho the Tall," he pointed out, and... that wasn't what people were calling me, right? I was hoping for something a little less... lame. "Word of your deeds have spread all across Skyrim! Your actions reflect well on Hestia as a benevolent goddess. It is an honor to make your acquaintance," he offered a hand, and he was kind enough to offer the opposite hand to the one that Hestia was currently holding.
  
  I shook it, engulfing his hand with my own. "I just couldn't do nothing. Especially when I was in a position to do something," I offered. Stendarr offered an approving nod before letting go of my hand.
  
  High King Torygg looked to me, "So it is you that I have to thank for keeping my realm at peace." He noted, his gaze roaming over me before his eyes dipped to Hestia. "I did not know what to expect when I finally met you... but, I will admit, I didn"t expect the rumors to be true. You truly are larger than life."
  
  I"m pretty sure that he was just buttering me up, but it wasn"t like I was going to stop him. He continued with it to, "Word about Markarth has reached us. As well as the other Holds. Undead armies slain single-handedly, a thousand duels with orc berserkers, rescuing one of my Jarls from the hands of a Daedra... pray tell, I must ask, why did you never stop by Solitude?"
  
  "The last that I heard, Stendarr and you had rebuffed Sanguine's... invasion. When I heard that, I figured that Solitude would be the one place I didn"t need to visit." I offered, earning an approving nod from Torygg and a light smile from his queen. Apparently, they liked that answer. "Speaking of Sanguine, is he still here?" I asked, wondering if I was going to have to be in the same room as the god that bailed and took half of the population of Markarth with him.
  
  The High King shook his head, "No, he is not. After being captured, he simply ascended to his realm. I do know he has descended once again, though I do not know where." Shit. That was annoying.
  
  "I believe it is that kind of shirking of responsibility that this Moot is about stopping," Stendarr voiced, earning nods all around. I tried not to shift where I stood, knowing that wasn"t exactly the case. There was that whole Civil War thing that was going on. And Alduin. I should probably mention the vampire invasion too. Maybe I should mention Miraak too?
  
  Eh, it"s probably best to take things one at a time.
  
  "- DO YOU-" I heard a harsh voice suddenly shout off to the left, and looking over, I saw Kyne. She looked the same as she had when I last saw her -- almost identical to Poison Ivy from DC Comics, but less bombshell pretty. Especially now that her face was twisted into a snarl, turning to glare at Sheogorath, who winked out of existence again.
  
  She shifted, her gaze roaming over all of us and realizing that she wasn"t the first to get kidnapped by Sheogorath, and at the rate things were going, she would not be the last. So, she straightened herself up and turned her attention to a guard who was standing in the flower garden. She glared and the guard quickly backed up.
  
  "You do have a lovely garden," Kyne remarked, dropping to her knees before she began repairing the damage done by the guard's boots. The action made the guards standing inside the garden realize who she was, and they quickly removed themselves. More than a few dropped down as well to repair what damage they had done. I knew Kyne was a revered goddess, but given that they were meant to be guarding the Emperor...
  
  "Hello, Kyne!" Dibella waved, earning the Goddess of Nature"s attention. Hestia offered a hesitant wave, to which she smiled warmly at. That smile promptly dropped when her eyes landed on me, though. But, she said nothing and I had nothing to say to her.
  
  Ideological differences. I... I was probably the asshole, but I couldn"t accept it. Pacifism was fine and good, but when everything was at stake? When the entire world was at stake, and you were in a position to do something about it, but you refused because of some vow to not do harm... I couldn"t accept that. Personal values and pride didn"t outweigh the lives of everyone in the world.
  
  "Greetings," Kyne offered, before she let out a small sigh. "I thought we would have more time, but Sheogorath seems to have her own timetable." She said ,before one of the flowers began to rapidly grow. I shifted a bit, putting myself between Kyne and Hestia. The action didn't go unnoticed, but it did go unremarked as the flower grew into a Spriggan. "This is the Captain of my familia," she introduced the humanoid form made out of roots and flowers.
  
  Kyne's eyes slid to me for a moment before she turned her attention to the Spriggan. She gave a nod before the ground beneath our feet began to shift. Instantly, I had Hestia in my arms, ready to fight if it came down to it, only to see the garden shift. Along the edges of the garden, small sprouts began to grow. At first, they started out about as wide as a pencil before thickening until they became as thick as a tree.
  
  Around the edge of the garden, a building began to construct itself. The gaps closed as the tree trunks melded together, their branches becoming support beams, the roots benches to sit on, while the flowers and rose bushes were moved to places more aesthetically pleasing. Looking up, I saw the roof being formed -- in the span of a minute, Kyne's captain had made a hall fit for a meeting between gods and men.
  
  Hestia let out a sound of awe, clearly impressed. I was the same, but for different reasons. Did Kyne's Spriggan have a Skill already? I wasn't sure what else could explain how she just made this instantly from what looked like rose bush seeds.
  
  "Thanks, Kyne! You're the best," Dibella cheered while the mere mortals gawked at the sight.
  
  "You should dress better to avoid a cold, Dibella," Kyne scolded as she placed a hand on her Spriggan.
  
  Dibella opened her mouth, only to be cut off when another person appeared. Nocturnal. She was dressed the same as I last saw her, a Nightingale behind her, who looked around bewildered.
  
  "I could have arrived myself, Sheogorath," Nocturnal pointed out, looking to the god that was looking around the hall.
  
  "More fun my way!" Sheogorath responded before clapping her hands. Then... people started gawking at the building around us. Everyone -- from Hestia to the Emperor. The only problem was that I had absolutely no clue why. The place looked exactly the same as far as I could tell. I looked to Sheogorath, cocking an eyebrow, and she caught my look and offered a shrug.
  
  It was an illusion. Which I was immune to. Kinda lame, but whatever.
  
  Then Sheogorath vanished again, leaving Nocturnal behind as the first Daedra amongst the gods and Divines. She crossed her arms, her expression blank as she seemed content to ignore the looks that she was getting.
  
  "We," I began, knowing that someone had to say it but no one else was stepping up. The Emperor probably didn't want to tell the gods what to do. Hestia didn't want to say it because she didn't want to tell the Emperor what to do. The rest either didn't care or didn't dare to speak up. "Should probably figure out how we're going to do this. Knowing Sheogorath, she'll drag every Aedra and Daedra here along with the Jarl's. So, we have a little time to plan this thing out."
  
  Emperor Titus nodded approvingly, "A wise idea." He looked to King Torygg, "I understand traditionally, a Moot is where you and your subjects discuss the realm."
  
  "Traditionally, aye. But I'm sure my ancestors will forgive me for breaking with tradition on account of the gods walking the world." King Torygg offered, "The gods should discuss their business first."
  
  "Ah..." Hestia started, making eyes all go to her. "Um... in my experience... the gods can be..."
  
  "Stupid," I offered with absolutely zero hesitation. I earned a few sharp looks, but when Hestia nodded, the focus went back to her.
  
  "Yeah," She agreed. "Whenever we had a Dentus, we always had a lead god in charge to control the flow of the conversation. Otherwise, it just devolved into name calling contests and the gods messing with each other. Normally, for the Aedra, Akatosh should be in charge, but since he's stuck maintaining the metaphysical barrier around Nirn..."
  
  "I vote Hestia to be in charge of the Aedra!" Dibella announced, throwing her hand up, earning a bewildered sputtering sound. Dibella threw on a great big smile and aimed it at Hestia. "I don't want to be in charge, but I also think that Hestia would be really good at it." There was such a thing as too much honesty, you know? All you had to do was snip off the first bit, Dibella.
  
  Stendarr offered an agreeing nod, as did Kyne. "Your gift has not been forgotten, Hestia. We walk the world because of you. We are more than ghosts haunting a world made from our bodies and ideals. If there is absolutely anyone that the Aedra could stand behind wholeheartedly, then it is you."
  
  Hestia shifted, and I squeezed down on her hand ever so slightly. I didn't say anything. I didn't have to. So, I just offered a smile. It was good to see that Hestia getting some of the recognition she deserved. First, she sacrificed her Arcanum, then she turned Helgen from a hole in the wall village to a city that rivaled the capital. And now she would have the job of leading the Aedra in place of Akatosh.
  
  She visibly gathered herself, as if she were trying to physically make herself rise to the occasion.
  
  "It would be my honor! So long as the rest agree with the decision," Hestia added as Sheogorath stopped by with another Aedra.
  
  After that decision was made, time moved in a blur as the High King and the Queen rushed to make the preparations needed. Seating was arranged with the help of Kyne. Servants brought in the thrones of the King and Queen, which were placed at the helm of the hall, at the other end from the doorway.
  
  Naturally, that made the gods desire their own thrones, and each pestered Kyne or Sheogorath for them. Hestia had simply suggested a round table, but that meant that a seating arrangement had to be arranged. In the end, I decided to take a step back from the planning and decided to focus on what would be coming.
  
  The moment was finally here, and after so long, now that it was here, I found myself at a loss as to what to do. I was the captain of a Familia, but that was a position that was poorly defined at the moment. And, the longer time went on as Sheogorath continuously popped in and out of existence with gods and Jarls in tow, it became increasingly clear that people didn't know what to make of me.
  
  I thought I would prove more popular, but I caught glances thrown in my direction that were puzzled and cautious. I wasn't entirely sure why, though. In the end, there were four increasingly clear groups that formed each time Sheogorath dropped someone off. The Aedra, the Daedra, the Loyalists, and the Stormcloaks. And each stuck with their own kind, with only a few intermingling at all.
  
  I simply watched Hestia run about, helping her where I could as she took to her new duty with a deadly seriousness that I rarely saw in her. I guess she understood the weight of today's events. Of the meetings that would happen. Of the words that would be spoken.
  
  Today was a day that would forever change the future of Nirn.
  
  Balgruuf was one of the last Jarls to arrive in the hall. He appeared at the center of the room, where the Mark had been placed. Around him were four tables, each gently curved to make a circle with a gap so no one could bitch about sitting next to a Stormcloak or Daedra. Each god and Jarl received a chair fit to be called a throne while the King, Queen, and Emperor each sat above the table. That, I'm certain, was done on purpose.
  
  His gaze swept over the hall, and with some luck, they landed on me first. Balgruuf offered a thin smile as he approached, "Jericho, you look well. Seems like Ulfric and I were the last to arrive," Balgruff pointed out, taking a spot next to me as he finished looking over the crowd. The air was heavy, almost heavy enough that it was hard to breathe. The gods" presences layered on top of each other, filling the hall with the weight of their divinity.
  
  And they filled it with the sounds of their bickering too. Despite being grouped up in two pantheons, it seemed like most of the gods were like Dibella and Sanguine -- who had also yet to arrive -- in the sense that the Aedra and Daedra never had directly interacted before. There were a half dozen debates about a half dozen different things between them, and nearly half of the Daedra had yet to arrive.
  
  "Sheogorath might be a little impatient, but there's a method to her madness. The focus is on the gods to hammer out their rules first, and someone like Ulfric in the same room with the king and Emperor..." At the start of this adventure, I never would have thought that I would have been in Sheogorath"s corner. But, here I was because she had been in mine every step of the way.
  
  "I"ll take your word for it," Balgruuf remarked, not sounding like he believed me. He looked over to the Jarls that talked amongst themselves, while his eyes drifted over to the King, who spoke to the Emperor like half of his realm wasn"t plotting open rebellion. "Jericho, how many titles of Thane have you collected?" He asked me suddenly, looking back to me.
  
  "Seven out of nine," I answered. Dawnstar and Morthal had been taken care of during the month and a half I spent gathering supplies for my armor. "Just missing Solitude and Winterhold," I added. Though, the latter would be mine if Azura kept her end of the bargain. Balgruuf let out a small laugh at that.
  
  He shook his head, "That would explain it. Jericho, it would be best if you explained to the king that you don"t desire the crown. I know you don"t, but he doesn"t know that." He pointed out and... yeah, fair enough.
  
  I had entertained the thought about becoming High King. Mostly because I was pretty sure I could get a title out of it, and the idea sounded neat. However, after months of Skyrim...
  
  Fuck this place, I decided. I didn"t want to be a king here. It felt like the kingdom was trying to shove cyanide pills and tide pods in its mouth every time I took my eyes off of it. Being High King was a nice idea, but in practice...? No. Actually, hell no. After Alduin was dead, I was gone. Hestia would be upset, but Helgen would be wrecked in the fight, so she might not be so attached then. Depending on the next world, she could create another city from scratch. And I could actually be there to help her with it instead of running around the country trying to save the world.
  
  "Yeah, good idea," I agreed, deciding to walk over and be blunt as hell. Simply put, he couldn"t pay me enough to become the king of Skyrim. However, the moment I pushed off the wall, another person appeared in the center of the room. Not a god. You"d think they would be a Daedra for all the sudden glares they received, but the Altmer weathered them well with a faint smile on her lips.
  
  Elenwen, I recognized. Her skin was more gray than yellow, and her hair was a darker shade of gray that was borderline black, but she had the Altmer golden eyes. She wore Thalmor clothing, black, and gold. She was the head of the Thalmor in Skyrim if I recalled. As if their eyes were magnets, Elenwen and the Emperor's eyes met, and it was clear that neither was pleased to see the other, even if neither"s expression so much as twitched.
  
  The impromptu staring contest came to an abrupt end when Sheogorath reached over and covered Elenwen"s eyes with her hands while standing behind her. There was a smile on her face that I hadn"t seen since the onsen months ago. A smile that was a little too wide, a little too sharp, and framed with a look in her eyes that promised death.
  
  "Guess who?"
  
  Oh... this was not going to end well.
  
  ...
  
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  "Sheogorath, I would presume," Elenwen responded, her tone aloof.
  
  "That," Sheogorath leaned in and whispered in her ear, the words carrying because everyone was suddenly deathly silent. "Is not my name."
  
  I shifted where I stood -- everyone else in the room understood, I saw. The hall was filled with gods, kings, and emperors, but Sheogorath was unquestionably the most dangerous person here. Bar none. To top it off, she was the Prince of Madness so maybe not even she knew if she was about to start a war with the Thalmor.
  
  There was a long, tense silence, but it was broken by Sheogorath letting out a chilling giggle. "You'll see soon enough," she said before Sheogorath promptly vanished in a flash of light. Before anyone could do so much as let out a breath of relief, more people began appearing. For only a moment, the Thalmor stood alone, before Daedra began appearing behind her. Sanguine was a familiar face, still cocksure and arrogant. Azura was another.
  
  The rest, less so. However, I'm pretty sure I knew who Boethiah was -- a woman with black hair, pale skin, and dressed in black with a spider embroidered onto her blouse. I knew because of the way she looked in my direction, a cruel small smile playing at her lips.
  
  Yep, she knew about the Ebony Mail.
  
  The rest of the Daedra shuffled about, looking around the place and the people with varying degrees of disinterest. The mortals in the room tensed, realizing that all but two of the Daedra were in the room. And there were a fair few more of them than the Aedra. Some were fine, like Nocturnal, who took a page out of my book and hung back with her arms crossed. Even Azura, and her fumbling but aggressive form of politics, was more alarming than dangerous.
  
  But Daedra like the Goddess of Murder and Betrayal? Or Namira, the god of all things repulsive? Or Vaermina, the Prince of Nightmares and Ill-omens?
  
  The only saving grace was that not all of them were here. Molag Bal, Mephus Dagon, and Hermaeus Mora were absent because they hadn't descended. The former two, by my guess, because they were being blocked by Akatosh. The latter because I'm guessing the god of knowledge didn't want to be limited in such a way.
  
  "All the Daedra are here, not counting Sheogorath," Hestia spoke up, her tone firm, and she stood tall despite all eyes going to her, "and all the Aedra are here except for Talos. We should get ready to begin." She decided, earning a few nods from the Aedra that floated around the hall, drifting between conversations. They began to migrate towards their table -- a gently curved table lined with ten chairs that made up a portion of the circle.
  
  "Should we not wait for Talos?" Elenwen questioned, looking to Hestia with a look that I did not care for. I walked forward, standing behind her, and made the Thalmor agent look up to me for a moment. Her lips curled upwards ever so slightly as if she thought I wouldn"t walk over there and rip her head off her shoulders if she gave me a reason to.
  
  "Talos is going to make a grand entrance," Stendarr spoke up, settling in his chair. Behind him was a man dressed in a robe, similar to Stendarr all the way down to the mace at his belt.
  
  "Hm, that sounds like him," Dibella remarked, sitting in her own, which was marked with hearts and smiling faces. Fjorta stood behind her, trying to look more formidable than she was.
  
  "He does have a taste for being dramatic," Kyne agreed, sitting on a throne of flowers and moss. Her Spriggan stood next to her, a hand reaching out to place a flower in Kyne"s hair.
  
  "So, he"ll show up when everyone"s all shouting at each other by kicking the door down or something," Zenithar said, an elderly man who was richly dressed. His throne was made of precious metals and jewels. A mousey man stood behind him, a ledger in hand and spectacles on the bridge of his nose.
  
  "Likely with a one-liner on his lips," Arkay added, a middle-aged man dressed in black and white, choosing to have a simple wooden chair as his throne. He didn"t have anyone behind him.
  
  The goddess Mara and the god Julianos simply nodded. The former was a homely looking woman, not quite beautiful, but very warm and friendly-looking. The latter was an old man that looked like he had no clue what a comb even was based on the tangled mess his hair and beard were. His robes were a drab gray, as was his throne, while Mara sat on a wooden throne colored red and green.
  
  I took my place behind Hestia"s throne, an unpainted wooden chair that was ornately-shaped. It looked like it could fit me, so Hestia looked incredibly small when she took her seat.
  
  "In that case, we can run over some preliminary stuff while he"s out to start the argument," Hestia said. Two of the ten chairs were left unfilled, and the fact that the Aedra had taken their seats prompted the Jarls, High King, and Emporer to take theirs. From there, the Daedra took theirs with only a little grumbling. With everyone seated, the hall looked a lot emptier. There were still some empty chairs, though... but given the circumstances, I could only assume Sheogorath was holding them back. "Is there anything anyone would like to bring forward first?"
  
  Azura's hand shot up, "I want to be the Jarl of Winterhold!" She announced without a hint of shame.
  
  "Over my corpse, Daedra!" Jarl Korir, the current Jarl of Winterhold, snapped as he slammed a fist into the table of a far more dispursed table of Stormcloaks. "You might draw some support from my hold with honeyed words, but I will die before I let my Hold be tainted by your poison!"
  
  Azura looked thoroughly annoyed, "Then I want a duel for it! Jericho, slay that man!" She demanded, jabbing a finger at Korir as she looked to me expectantly.
  
  "This wasn't what I meant about preliminary stuff!" Hestia shouted while Jarl Korir glared pure murder at me.
  
  "I knew it! Neutral my hairy ass! You're conspiring against me in my own hold!" He snarled in my direction, bringing all eyes to me.
  
  I shrugged, "The Azura and the Hestia Familias have an alliance." I offered and I heard a dramatic gasp next to me. Looking down, I saw Dibella pin me with a look of absolute betrayal.
  
  "I want an alliance too!" She demanded, looking to Hestia.
  
  "Fine, we have an alliance, Dibella," Hestia sighed.
  
  "Yay!"
  
  "I will not stand for this!" Korir snarled, a hand going for the sword at his belt as he proved as much when he stood up. "You have no right!"
  
  He might be right about that, I guessed, turning my gaze to the King. His expression was grim and his hands curled into fists. The meeting... the Moot had already started, and it opened with an important topic. Can the gods hold public office? The answer had the potential to change everything.
  
  Torygg let out a small breath, "The challenge stands," he voiced, his words echoing out the hall. "It is our way, Jarl Korir. As it always has been. In Skyrim, if you do not have the strength to keep your title, then you are unworthy of it." He turned his eyes to me, and there was anger in his gaze. I guess for putting him in this position. "However... Jericho cannot fight this duel for you. It is my verdict as High King of Skyrim, and as Lawgiver, I say this -- Only the Captain of a Familia can act as the champion for their respective gods."
  
  Azura looked absolutely rebellious as King Torygg looked to her. "Do you wish to issue this challenge?" He questioned her, likely because he didn't see anyone behind her.
  
  "I do," she answered sharply. Then she looked to me like it was somehow my fault that the king was shutting our deal down. "For the cause of negligence and incompetence -- Jarl Korir should be removed from office!"
  
  Ah. So that's how it was. I nodded, "I'll be honest, I don't know how many of you have been to Winterhold, but the place is a ruin with the population of a village. A small one at that. Azura has made strides to turn the place around. It's seen more production and population growth in the dead of winter on the upper edge of Skyrim. If that doesn't speak for her capacity as a leader, then I don't know what does." I spoke up, earning more than a few dirty looks.
  
  "You only speak in her favor because you're colluding with her," Jarl Korir snapped at me, seething in anger. And the guy was absolutely correct. I felt a bit bad for the guy, but compared to the Azura Star... I honestly couldn't care less about fucking the guy over. It wasn't my problem. Also, it meant Ulfric had one less ally. That'll be a nice surprise for him when he shows up.
  
  "Step down from office, Korir," Azura demanded.
  
  Jarl Korir snarled so fiercely, I honestly thought he would pull something or blow a gasket. "Pry it from my cold dead hands!" He raged at her, refusing to hand over the title.
  
  Surprisingly, "I accept your challenge of a duel. My Captain shall act as my Champion. Nerevarine!" Azura called out, making a few other Daedra go still and a dark figure step out of the empty air behind her throne. A handsome Dark Elf with snow-white hair that came down in a shaggy mane. He wore dark robes, though high quality. His ruby red eyes looked down to Azura, then to the dumbstruck Jarl.
  
  Anyone who knew a thing about Morrowind would know what that title meant. I only barely knew anything, having never played Morrowind, but even I knew who had just entered the room. If the Nerevarine was anything like Sheogorath...
  
  "I suppose, given the nature of Nords, that magic is prohibited?" He questioned, his voice soft with a musical quality to it.
  
  I could see the frustration on the King's face, but he offered a nod. "It is forbidden," he confirmed.
  
  "Very well. To the death, then?" Nerevarine questioned, stepping into the space between the tables. Jarl Korir stood tall as he strode into the makeshift ring.
  
  "I will not accept anything less," He decided, drawing his sword and tossing away his cloak. The two stood across from each other for a moment, one looking furious and the other serene. There was no one to overlook the match or declare when to begin. There was a brief silence as both warriors stared at each other, before it was Korir that made the first move.
  
  He darted forward, going for an overhead slash, and the Nerevarine simply... moved. The only thing I could compare it to was Ais or Ryuu from when they trained me. The movement was too smooth, too graceful. And, at that moment, I knew I would lose if it came to a fight. Meaning that Korir never stood a chance.
  
  The Nerevarine simply twisted his body, effortlessly dodging the strike, and in that same moment a knife in his hand cut through Korir's neck like it was butter. The former Jarl gasped, a hand going to his throat, but his carotid artery had been severed. He fell to the ground, bleeding out while the Nerevarine simply straightened themselves out. He turned around, offering a small bow to the High King and Emperor before he vanished into thin air. Not even bothering to wait for Korir to die before leaving.
  
  Five minutes, I thought as I dispassionately looked down at the corpse. It took all of five minutes for someone to die.
  
  Hestia sighed deeply, and I reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to me, her eyes filled with disappointment... I shook my head, trying to silently tell her that this wasn't on her. If anything, this was on me. Still, she looked down at the body with a remorseful expression, clearly blaming herself.
  
  "Must I swear any oaths to you, High King?" Azura questioned, looking incredibly pleased with herself as she openly sent the High King a triumphant look.
  
  "As a Jarl of my realm? Yes, you will," King Torygg answered evenly.
  
  "That," Hestia began, "should be our first order of business. As gods, we must be cautious of the influence we have over mortals. As such, I believe we should restrict ourselves from high levels of government. No Kings, No Queens, and no Emperors." She voiced her opinion, and it was easy to see that more than a few weren't happy with it.
  
  It was easy enough to guess why she held that opinion. We both experienced first hand what the gods were capable of back in Orario.
  
  "I reject such an idea," Boethiah announced, her tone uncompromising.
  
  "Of course you would, Goddess of Deceit, Conspiracy, Treachery, and Sedition," Stendarr remarked. "I support Hestia's motion."
  
  "To no one's surprise," Mephala, Goddess of Plots and Murder.
  
  "How will such a decision be made?" Julianos questioned, making the attention shift to him. "Simply put -- I doubt we will reach a consensus on any topic. And any majority vote will sway to the Daedra's favor for they are more numerous."
  
  Hestia nodded, "I believe the mortals should have a say for it is they that will be most affected by our decisions. A quarter vote for the Jarls, a half vote for the King and Queen, and a full vote for the Emperor."
  
  Clavicus Vile tilted his head, "You would give a mortal with a fancy hat the same voting power as a god?" He questioned, sounding like he found the idea laughable.
  
  "Foolishness. The mortals should not get a vote at all." Boethiah offered her opinion.
  
  "The mortals live on Nirn, which was crafted from the bodies of the Aedra. To this, I would suggest that the Daedra receive a half vote for they have given this world nothing except to use it for their own entertainment." Stendarr shot back, earning angry looks from the Daedra while more than a few humans nodded.
  
  And they argued. And kept arguing. And argued some more. I stood behind Hestia, my arms crossed over my chest while the gods bickered and fought over something as simple as a voting system. The actual Moot... nothing important had even been discussed yet and there was already a dead body on the ground. Speaking of which, no one had even bothered to move it.
  
  Hestia did her best to wrangle the argument to keep it from devolving into name-calling. Cases were argued for various kinds of voting systems -- each faction receiving one vote, or the Aedra receiving two votes each to match the Daedra, and so on and so on.
  
  I kept an eye on my clock and I watched hours slowly tick by. The Jarls, High King, and Emperor all watched with stone faces, all apparently used to the nature of these meetings. The other Captains seemed like they were in the same boat as me -- bored out of their minds, but trying to pretend that they weren't.
  
  Nearly four hours later, Hestia slammed a hand on the table, "So, it's agreed then?! A quarter vote for Jarls, a half vote for the King and Queen, and a full vote for the Emperor?!" She shouted, clearly frustrated. I was the same. Four hours of bickering went by and they arrived at the same exact method that Hestia had proposed at the start.
  
  A few Daedra didn't raise their hands in agreement, but it was a landslide victory.
  
  "Good! Finally-" Hestia sighed, only to cut herself off when Sheogorath suddenly appeared.
  
  "Ah... someone died already?" Sheogorath questioned, shoving Ulfric Stormcloak forward as she crouched down to poke at Korir's cheek. "Jericho? How long did it take?"
  
  "Little bit less than five minutes," I answered, watching Ulfric's reaction. His expression was stony as he looked down at the body of one of his supporters, and I could practically see the gears turning in his mind to come to the most obvious conclusion. That he was killed for being his supporter rather than getting bumped off because Azura wanted to be Jarl.
  
  "... So one body in four hours... I'm disappointed! I expected more from all of you." Sheogorath chided, waggling a finger at the Daedra and Aedra. "You've cost me one of my finest cheese wheels of perfectly aged gouda. I was expecting at least one corpse an hour. Well? Chop chop, get to it!" She demanded, making a chopping motion with her hand to drive home the point.
  
  Ulfric's eyes swept over the gods and mortals around him, his expression shifting from stone cold to a stormy expression of growing rage when his gaze settled on Elenwen. "You... have no right to be here," he half snarled at her.
  
  Elenwen offered a slight and mocking smile, "The Thalmor has every right to witness this historic event. I'm sure the delegations from every realm will be most disappointed that they missed it." I figured as much. I thought it was a bit weird that this was primarily just Skyrim Jarls and royalty.
  
  Ulfric scowled fiercely, "You wish to remind us all that your boot is on the neck of the Empire. Is that why Jarl Korir is dead? Another victim in your power plays?"
  
  "The gods' victim," Elenwen corrected.
  
  "How about," Hestia began, "we take a small recess?" She tried keeping the exhaustion out of her tone. And that was a decision that all the gods supported. Ulfric continued to glare pure hate at Elenwen, even as Sheogorath clapped her hands.
  
  In response, the tables before them were covered with food. It wasn't an illusion either because I could see it. What branch of magic was that, I wondered? Most didn't seem to care because they simply dug in, or got up to stretch their legs. I let out a sigh as Hestia drooped into her seat. She watched as a server finally dared to dart forward and drag the body of the former Jarl off.
  
  "This is a mess," Hestia muttered to herself, her words mirroring my own thoughts.
  
  "You're doing well," I reassured her. "It's like Sheogorath said -- there would probably be a lot more bodies piling up if it wasn't for you."
  
  I saw someone approaching us from the edge of my vision. Elenwen. She sauntered over, walking with confidence and...
  
  "No," I told her bluntly. "Don't talk to us. Fuck off, Thalmor." I brushed her off, making a dismissive gesture at her with my hand before she could so much as say a word. I heard Hestia swallow a laugh at that. Others weren't so restrained.
  
  Elenwen's eyes went ice cold and I could feel myself making another enemy. She said nothing, but simply inclined her head before walking off to find someone else to torment. I swallowed another sigh and looked down to Hestia. She gave me a pointed look, but I shrugged thoroughly unrepentant.
  
  "Jericho, we need more allies to make this work," Hestia pointed out as she accepted a glass of wine.
  
  "I'm not so desperate that I'm willing to work with the Thalmor," I decided. "Plus, that probably earned me more points with everyone here than talking to her would have." I pointed out, spotting a few approving looks amongst the Jarls. And the High King.
  
  The Emperor, on the other hand, simply sat in his throne with an expressionless mask of indifference. What I wouldn't give to learn what his take on this whole mess was. My bet was that he was internally screaming the entire time because it was sinking in that these idiots were here to stay.
  
  Just another reason not to become Jarl or High King.
  
  After I chased off Elenwen, Azura approached -- a gold band resting on her brow that was marked with moonstones. She had a crown premade. How tacky. "You performed adequately. I had hoped that my Nerevarine wouldn't be needed for this, but there was nothing to be done about it." Azura started, thoroughly uncaring that she was confirming that we had been colluding to make her Jarl. "As such, my first act as Jarl of Winterhold is to name you Thane of the Hold."
  
  Of all the Thaneships I've earned, this one was probably the most costly, I thought as an alert appeared before my eyes.
  
  You have earned a Special Title: Thane of Skyrim.
  
  Thane of Skyrim: You have been recognized by each Hold in Skyrim and they have named you their first line of defence against Skyrim's enemies.
  
  You are now in line for succession to the Throne of Skyrim.
  
  You now have access to Special Privileges.
  
  As a Special Title, you have been awarded two free perk points.
  
  Huh. It's been a while since I've dealt with a pop up, I thought to myself as I equipped the title and dismissed the window. "Thanks," I told Azura, earning a polite nod in response. Almost as soon as I equipped the title, I felt just about everyone's attention shift to me as if they all realized at once that I was now the Thane for every Hold.
  
  The High King looked at me, a glass of ale in hand before he began walking over to me, a pretty decent poker face on to hide what he was thinking. "Congratulations are in order, Jericho. I don't believe anyone has ever managed to become the Thane of Skyrim in our history," he offered.
  
  And that was a bit weird. If no one had ever managed to obtain the title, then why did he know what it was off the top of his head? More than that, why was he acting like I could just take the title myself? Shouldn't he be the one to give it to me?
  
  It was weird. Really weird. I had to assume it was Gamer nonsense, but I've never really experienced it like this before. Before, the gamer weirdness was just me being me -- not needing to sleep, recovering after thirty minutes of rest, not needing to eat or drink. Stuff like that. This was the first time I saw the Gamer affect other people.
  
  Hell, was there even a Thane of Skyrim title before my ability decided there was one? Because there wasn't one in the original game. Did my ability just make it up? If that was the case...
  
  Where exactly did my ability rank against gods? They knew I was an Outsider and whatever, but if push came to shove, what would win? My gamer abilities, or the gods? It wasn't something that I wanted to test out. I just might not get a choice in the grand scheme of things.
  
  "All things considered, it's more unique circumstances than anything," I said, gesturing around us. High King Torygg offered a nod at that. "And... can I be blunt?"
  
  King Torygg cocked an eyebrow and nodded, "Speak freely."
  
  "I have less than zero interest in becoming king," I told him bluntly. "It looks like an absolute pain in the ass, and I want nothing to do with it. And that was before the headaches these idiots are going to give everyone in charge. Anyone that tries to make me king is on my shit list, your majesty." To that, King Torygg steadily looked more and more dumbfounded with each word that I said before it began to shift into amusement.
  
  He chuckled, "It's been a long time since anyone has been so direct with me." He admitted, not exactly thankful for my honesty, but it was easy to see that a burden was just lifted off of his shoulders.
  
  "He speaks the truth, your majesty," Stendarr offered before sending me an approving nod. At that, the King offered an arm for me to clasp. I did so and he offered a firm nod.
  
  "I know what I'm good at, your highness." I offered, letting go of his arm. "And it's not this." I reassured -- being High King sounded cool in theory, but it just wasn't worth it. Too much of a pain in the ass.
  
  "You've been blunt with me, so allow me to return the favor -- that is a relief," he admitted. "Skyrim is lucky to have a man such as you. Most would simply challenge me and take my crown here and now. Your lack of ambition is to your credit, Jericho." He offered the praise readily.
  
  And, just like that, I gained the favor of a king by bluntly telling him I had no desire to usurp him. Maybe this whole diplomacy thing isn't so bad?
  
  As if to disagree with me, I caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. Looking over, I saw Ulfric and Balgruuf standing across from each other. Their voices slowly growing louder, their tones angrier. In no time at all, the two were shouting at each other, but it took a moment for the other conversations to die off so I could hear what they were shouting about.
  
  "This was an attack on the True Sons of Skyrim," Ulfric snarled at Balgruuf, jabbing a finger in his face. "Your milk drinking ilk can hide behind all the justifications that you wish, but the truth is obvious. Skyrim is for the Nords, and those Daedra have more than proven the chaos they reap across our homeland. They offer nothing and they only take. They should be done away with entirely."
  
  "First Skyrim should succeed from the Empire and now Skyrim should do away with the gods? Do you fancy yourself as the object of worship to replace them?" Balgruuf shot back, his tone harsh, trying to restrain himself, but that grip on his temper was slipping with every second.
  
  "You damn well know that I don't. Your realm hasn't suffered as others have, Balgruuf. Markarth was invaded by Forsworn. Orcs rampaging about burning entire villages to the ground. A party besieged the capital. A Jarl kidnapped in her own city -- I say enough!" Ulfric snapped right back at him. "No more. Enough blood has been spilt for the amusement of malicious gods. Enough blood has been spilt for a dying Empire!"
  
  Ulfric's voice echoed throughout the hall. He stood tall, completely aware of what he just said and who he had said it in front of.
  
  The Aedra had been right, in the end. Because it was that moment that the doors to the hall swung open, revealing a figure striding through it.
  
  Talos. He looked much the same as he had the last time I saw him, only without the helmet, revealing shortly cut gray hair. His expression was flat, giving nothing away as he strode into the hall like he owned the steps he walked on. Lagging behind him was a tall man clad in Ebony armor. Not quite as tall as me, but not far off, meaning he dwarfed nearly everyone in the room.
  
  Talos and his Captain, the Ebony Warrior.
  
  I should have seen that coming.
  
  "That," Talos spoke, likely keenly aware how most of the room was hanging off every word. "Is what we are here to discuss, Ulfric Stormcloak."
  
  Talos slowed, his eyes sliding over the various gods as he continued to walk towards the Aedra table. "The cost of the gods walking Nirn. The cost of the Empire too weak to hold up it's bloated form. And the cost that people are willing to accept. Only instead of coin, we are bartering with lives and the future." He reached his throne at the table and took a seat.
  
  "I suggest you all begin to take this seriously."
  
  The Aedra were right.
  
  Talos did know how to make an entrance.
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
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  A woman walked towards me during the middle of the meeting as the gods bickered back and forth about something. It had been three days since the meeting began, but it felt like it had been closer to three decades. Mostly because pretty much nothing had been accomplished. outside of wasting time, and it was like they were determined to waste it too.
  
  Which is why a woman with pale skin, black hair, and painted black lips slinking her way towards the Aedra table caught my attention. Especially when I didn't see anyone else so much as glance at her as she plucked a grape from the Stormcloak table as she walked by. She chewed on the grape thoughtfully, a small smile on her face as she slipped through the gap between the tables. She practically skipped over towards us, no one even glancing at her.
  
  It became readily apparent why when she stood in front of Hestia and reached out to pour something in her drink.
  
  It was then that I reached out, grabbed a fist full of her hair, and slammed it down into the table with a solid thunk that spilled the wine that the woman just tried to poison. She screamed out in pain, her head trapped between the table and my hand -- she'd have to tear off her own head before I let up.
  
  "Jericho?!" Hestia shouted, cutting herself off mid-sentence to look to me. I neglected to answer, reaching out to pry the poison from the would-be assassin's hands. In doing so, I saw the ring on her finger.
  
  I sighed, trying to pull the ring off, but it wouldn't budge. So, I just took the finger with it. The entire room flinched when the woman suddenly screamed, clutching her hand as I let go of her head. That at least proved that they could see her. Holding the finger up, I looked at the ring... then to Namira.
  
  "What's going on? Is it another assassination attempt?" The High King questioned, turning to me looking alarmed as I casually stepped onto the table rather than around it. "Jericho?"
  
  Reaching back to grab the poison, I walked to the goddess in question, who looked up at me with faint amusement. The others looked on warily, while Sheogorath started laughing, probably knowing exactly what I was about to do. I reached out just slowly enough to see that amused expression wipe itself from her face, before I grabbed her jaw and forced open her mouth. With my other hand, I poured the poison inside. Once it was in, I forced her mouth shut and pinched her nose, waiting for her to swallow.
  
  There was some shouting, but for the most part, people just watched for a few minutes as Namira thrashed in my grip before she started to seize, proving that she had finally swallowed the poison. Foam leaked out of her mouth before her body slumped forward, making gagging noises before going quiet.
  
  A deafening silence filled the hall as I silently returned to my position behind Hestia, not even the would-be assassin making a sound.
  
  "Now would likely be a good time to decide what should happen in the event of a god's death," Talos remarked, making Sheogorath start laughing again, getting out of her chair to poke at Namira's corpse with a stick.
  
  "Why was Hestia the target?" A Daedra asked amongst the general muttering of agreement.
  
  "Ah... he's scary. Could you show a little hesitation before you murder a god?"
  
  "That was a fun distraction. Finally, something happened," another Daedra agreed. Sanguine.
  
  Hestia coughed, "I believe that there should be no consequences for a person murdering a god!" She decided, and her biases couldn't have been more apparent if she were trying. She slapped a hand down on the table for emphasis while I quietly inspected the ring.
  
  The Ring of Namira, capable of making one completely undetectable. That was going to be useful, I thought as I put the ring in my inventory while I quickly checked my stats. It was disappointing but unexpected that I got a paltry few points of exp for killing a god. She was just a normal woman for all intents and purposes. Though, I would hopefully get something like Godslayer as a Title.
  
  "This was clearly a case of self-defense..." Dibella muttered, casting a look in my direction.
  
  "The Daedra sought to murder Divine Hestia," Jarl Balgruuf spoke up. "He was honor-bound to defend her and retaliate."
  
  "Against the gods? He didn't challenge her to a duel. He poisoned her." One of the other Stormcloaks pointed out.
  
  "The same poison that was going to be used to murder Divine Hestia," Balgruuf shot back. "It was a fitting punishment." Always nice to see that someone had my back.
  
  "That is not for mortals to decide," Stendarr spoke up, surprising everyone. "This meeting... This is where we gods decide the restrictions that should be placed on us for the good of all. The mortals have a voice in this, that is true, but you do not decide a fitting punishment for our misdeeds." He rebuked, taking the wind out of Balgruuf's sails. "Jericho, do you have anything to say in your defense?"
  
  "I don't regret it," I announced, knowing it was pointless to lie in a room full of gods. I saw Nocturnal hide a smile behind a wine glass. "She tried to kill Hestia. I don't care about her reasons why. When she comes back, I'm demanding a thank you for sparing her shitty assassin instead of crushing her head like a grape. By the way, Ulfric -- she stole some of your grapes, so you might want to leave them alone." I added, looking at the Stormcloak leader, his hand poised to take one.
  
  Hestia sighed, "Jericho..."
  
  "I'd do it again if I had the chance," I finished, much to the amusement of a number of the Daedra. It might seem like I was shooting myself in the foot, but there was a method to my madness. In general, the Aedra voted together on everything. There were a few stray votes, but for the most part, they were a united front. The mortals tended to follow the Aedra, but it was easy to see a rift forming.
  
  Simply put, Mortals wanted a lot tighter restrictions than the Aedra were comfortable with. Much less the Daedra.
  
  So, when I spoke up, I had the entire room's attention. "I do think that a god should be restricted from retaliating after death with their Divine power, but its open season when they return to Nirn. I also believe that the gods should serve sentences similar to jail time, cut off from Nirn for breaking a few fundamental laws." I voiced, and because it was me speaking, the Daedra were paying more attention.
  
  "Something like a millennia for trying to destroy the world, a few centuries for being defeated in a War Game. In a case like this, it could be remedied with a simple vote to bring her back or not," I continued, crossing my arms over my chest. There was some general muttering at that.
  
  Then the process took over as the gods began bickering over the idea. Picking at what they liked, what they didn't, ramping up the consequences, scaling them down while others tried to interject their own ideas or scrap the idea entirely. The mortals would occasionally speak up, trying to push things their way, but were largely ignored by both sides. All the while, Hestia attempted to guide the meeting in a positive direction despite it constantly trying to nose dive into name-calling and insults.
  
  All the while, I went back to what I've been doing for the past couple of days -- crossing my arms and standing silently behind Hestia, while the would-be assassin simply wilted under my unyielding stare, daring her to try something again. She wasn't removed from the room, neither was Namira's corpse. People were treating the assassination attempt lightly, distracted by the conversation.
  
  For months, when I anticipated the Moot... I expected a mess, but this was somehow worse. Not only was it a mess, but it was also mind-numbingly boring. Hestia was just barely able to herd the cats in the generally right direction. Everyone was fighting about absolutely everything, and instead of anyone so much as thinking of the word compromise, the lines between them all became more pronounced and decisive.
  
  Hestia slammed her hand on the table, "We can't just run around the place popping in and out of existence, Sanguine!"
  
  "Why not? It's easier to travel that way," Sanguine pointed out, taking a long sip of wine straight from the bottle while he pushed away Sheogorath's head as the woman began to drift to sleep. She snored once before leaning the other way. "Just popping in and out of existence is pretty convenient."
  
  "We should also discuss what impact leaving Nirn would have on the Familias. Would they disband?" Dibella spoke up, trying to follow Hestia's lead.
  
  "Namira is still dead. We should probably bring her back to discuss this, shouldn't we?" Peryite spoke up, eyeing the corpse next to him.
  
  "Ehh, that's what she gets for getting killed and losing me money. I bet fifty that it would be Mephala that tried to kill someone... I was right about Hestia being the target though... does that still count?"
  
  "No, it doesn't." A few Daedra answered in unison.
  
  "Stop talking about trying to assassinate me and focus!" Hestia huffed, thoroughly annoyed. "We're discussing what happens if we die-"
  
  I took out my sword, catching some attention before I lobbed it at Clavicus Vile. The Ebony sword punched through his chest, pinning him to his chair. He looked down at it in wonderment for a moment before his eyes looked up to me. His lips pulled back into a smile, blood dripping from his mouth as it covered his teeth... before his head dropped limply in death.
  
  "Jericho, stop killing gods!" Hestia rounded on me, and I just crossed my arms.
  
  "I," I began, "am tired of this going in circles. Come to a consensus, or I'm going to kill a god every ten minutes."
  
  For five months... I had prepared for this meeting. Prepared for the clash against Alduin. All in the vain hope that the Moot would be where everyone would unite against the common foe.
  
  None of that was happening. For three days, absolutely nothing had been accomplished. No rules had been agreed upon. The only thing that was accomplished was the creation of the voting system that had yet to be put into use. And...
  
  I was disappointed. I shouldn't be. I expected exactly this, but it was very disheartening to see it play out before my eyes. The... everything. The lack of direction, the pettiness, the pointless arguments, no one taking it seriously...
  
  So... I would give them a reason to take it seriously.
  
  "You can't do that!" Meridia decided, echoed by some grumbling.
  
  "There are about three people in this room I'm pretty sure I can't kill, and I'm not sure about one of them. The rest of you are fair game," I argued back.
  
  Sanguine laughed, "He has a point!"
  
  "No, he doesn't," Hestia argued. "We aren't using violence to enforce a consensus."
  
  "Yes, we are," I decided. "It's lightning round time. We've wasted three days on nothing. That time might not mean anything to the gods... but it does to me. To mortals. And half of this room knows why, but they're still twisting their thumbs and I'm done waiting for this to be taken seriously." I spoke, looking to Hestia...
  
  And I think this was our first true disagreement. She didn't look angry, just disappointed. Which was a thousand times worse.
  
  Emperor Titus looked to me, "And what does half of the room not know?" He questioned in a heavy tone.
  
  I met his gaze, "Alduin the World-Eater was never slain. Thousands of years ago, he was tossed into the time stream to be the future's problem. Our problem. He's going to reappear at the Throat of the World in about two months." I answered, and you could clearly see who had known and those that hadn't. About half of the room visibly recoiled, including the Thalmor. Balgruuf's expression was stony while the King openly gaped at me.
  
  "For about half a year, I've been gathering allies and preparing to kill him when he reemerges. And, for about half a year, I've been met with obstacle after obstacle, cleaning up messes and being stonewalled by those in a position to do something, but are dragging their feet every step of the fucking way or refusing to help at all." Kyne sighed, knowing I was talking about her and the Graybeards, but it wasn't just her.
  
  "I'm done waiting for everyone to get their shit together to save the world and the lives of everyone in it -- so here's an ultimatum. Come to an agreement or I'm going to die trying to kill everyone in this room." I meant it. I meant every word. I was so sick of waiting for that magical moment you saw in the movies where people put their grievances aside to work towards a common goal. I knew it was just the movies being movies, but that's what we needed.
  
  Everyone was remotely horrified by the blatant threat. Everyone but Sheogorath, "There it is! Finally, something is happening! I'm on Jericho's side! When he starts swinging, I'm going to start blasting!" Sheogorath informed with a demented giggle, offering me a thumbs up.
  
  With Sheogorath in my corner, I liked my odds. She could get the Nerevarine while I could take the Ebony Warrior. Looking to my left, I locked gazes with the Ebony Warrior, seeing his dark eyes in the slit of his visor. He was meant to be one of the end game challenges in Skyrim, but I was also stronger than I had once been. It might not be easy, but I had a chance.
  
  Emperor Titus drew attention to himself by raising a hand ever so slightly. "In light of this new information... I believe it would be best if we act with haste." He voiced, looking undisturbed by the threat of Alduin, or my blatant threat that I was going to start swinging and people were going to die if they didn't get a move on.
  
  "It's not fair that two of the Daedra got killed! Jericho should kill two of each party to make things fair before we continue," a Daedra spoke up.
  
  "Let's just vote before more of us get killed," Nocturnal offered.
  
  And so began the cycle again, only this time things moved more swiftly with a threat looming over people's heads. I caught more than a few looks thrown in my direction, but most seemed more concerned with Sheogorath. After all, just about everyone here had been kidnapped by the Prince of Madness and they knew first hand that she was one of the two people I knew I couldn't beat.
  
  It was a lightning round, the gods unable to debate an idea to death. A few tossed out ideas or changes that were either quickly incorporated into the restriction, or quickly dismissed.
  
  "Raise your hand if you are in favor of a thousand-year plenty for attempting to destroy the world, a five hundred year penalty for being defeated in a War Game, and a decade for an unfortunate death with the possibility of a unanimous vote to resurrect the god?" Hestia questioned, raising her hand while the Aedra and mortals did as well. A few didn't because they wanted stricter positions, one being Ulfric which convinced the Stormcloaks to not vote in favor as well. Something he had in common with the Emperor, who also didn't raise his hand.
  
  However, the motion passed when Nocturnal and Azura raised their hands in favor.
  
  "Motion passed," Hestia sighed, her shoulders drooping, but I knew her well enough to see that it wasn't out of relief. "Next order of business -- the Aedra and Daedra being forbidden to punish their killers from their realm of Oblivion until penalty time is up."
  
  And the voting began again. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority didn't care for the idea, but all of the mortals voting in favor of it managed to sway the vote a bit. Dibella was voting in favor of whatever Hestia was, Stendarr was against the idea, while Talos was also for it. As was Sheogorath.
  
  There were just moderate changes made to the restriction for it to be forced through. The murderer of a god would be held at trial by the gods to determine if the death was justified or not.
  
  "Ahem," Sanguine began, slamming his wine glass into the table as if it were a gavel. "So begins the trial of Jericho, Captain of the Hestia familia and Thane of Skyrim, for the murder of Clavicus Vile and Namira. Do we have any witnesses that wish to step forward?"
  
  I just stared at him balefully for a moment, thoroughly annoyed. I was out of patience and more time was being wasted on this?
  
  "I saw the defendant throw his sword into Clavicus Vile!" Boethiah offered, a laugh in her voice. "I would like to offer the display on my left as evidence," she said, gesturing to the still impaled corpse on her left.
  
  "It was murder in cold blood," Mephala added with a nod.
  
  "Eh, Vile had it coming. Not guilty!" Vaermina decided, despite overwhelming evidence.
  
  "The murder of Namira was justified. Jericho defended his god and lover from unjustified murder. His deeds were justified. The death of Vile, however, was simply murder." Stendarr decided and I decided that I liked him a lot less now.
  
  "My patience for this has reached the end. I'm thankful for Jericho moving things along, so not guilty." Meridia spoke up, offering a nod in my direction.
  
  "Not guilty," Azura offered, sending me a look that told me that I would have to give her something for that.
  
  "Not guilty," Nocturnal added, taking a sip of her wine. "Both murders were necessary. We've made more progress in the past twenty minutes than we have in three days."
  
  "Good point. My butt is really getting sore from all of this sitting. I'm changing my vote to not guilty." Boethiah decided, pleased with herself.
  
  "They both deserved it. Not guilty," Malacath decided, offering me an approving nod.
  
  With the wave of not guilty verdicts, the momentum swung in my direction. There were a few hold outs like Stendarr and Sanguine who insisted that it was murder, each with a very different motive to see me punished, but they were overruled.
  
  "Jericho, Captain of the Hestia familia, Thane of Skyrim -- I pronounce you not guilty of the murders of Vile and Namira even though we all literally watched you do it and threaten us all with the same. Speaking of which, are we going to have a trial every time he kills someone, or can we just backload them all to the end?" Sanguine decreed, turning the question to everyone in the room.
  
  There were a few shrugs all-around before there was a loud bang. We all looked to Ulfric Stormcloak, a thunderous expression on his face as he slammed both fists into the table. "This is a farce," he decided, dark anger in his words as he looked across the room.
  
  Sanguine looked bemused, "Do you disagree with the verdict?" He questioned, and Ulfric stood up.
  
  "I don't," Ulfric decided, looking at the Daedra rather than me. "He does not deserve to be punished for defending his god or attacking any of you. What I speak of is this farce of a trial and meeting," he snarled at all the gods. "You dare call this justice? All evidence ignored in favor of whimsical feelings and petty amusement?"
  
  "I thought you didn't disagree with the verdict?" Nocturnal spoke up, tilting her head at Ulfric, finding a way to look down at him despite being seated.
  
  He glared at her, "You Daedra have given nothing to this world. From what I have seen of you all, none of you are fit to be in charge of anything. Much less a Hold," Ulfric snapped, looking to Azura. "You will destroy the world with your pettiness and stupidity. I won't stomach it any longer."
  
  I was agreeing with Ulfric Stormcloak. That should probably be a warning sign, but I found myself nodding in agreement. I was almost happy to see that I wasn't the only one completely fed up with the entire situation. I revealed that Alduin was here to destroy the world and not ten minutes later, it was back to games and having a mockery of a trial. I almost wish that I had been judged guilty because at least then it meant that this was being taken seriously.
  
  Sanguine shrugged, "Then feel free to make a vote, Killjoy." He said, taunting him. A Jarl only had a fraction vote. Even the High King only had a half vote.
  
  Ulfric looked absolutely murderous and the casual dismissal seemed to outrage the vast majority of the other Jarls. A resentment between the mortals and Daedra wasn't something that was new. It couldn't be when nearly every catastrophe was caused by one Daedra or another. It was a resentment that had been stewing since the beginning of time. It was just starting to boil over now that everyone was in the same room.
  
  It was just like I predicted since the start -- the Moot was utterly fucked. I just had somehow underestimated how fucked it was.
  
  "High King Torygg," Ulfric said, catching everyone but me off guard. I closed my eyes, knowing what was coming next. "I am truly sorry about this, but I cannot let this stand any longer."
  
  High King Torygg realized what Ulfric was getting at. "Not sorry enough not to do it," he pointed out as he stood up from his throne.
  
  "By right of arms, I challenge you for the throne," Ulfric spoke, his words ringing out through the hall before there was excited tittering from the gods. It undercut the dramatic proclamation, but it also proved his point. The vast majority of the gods weren't taking this seriously.
  
  In the end, they didn't have any reason to. If this world ended... then it would simply mean that they would take their Familias with them to the new world that would be crafted afterward. While everyone else would die.
  
  Queen Elisif openly looked worried, but the King offered a firm nod, appearing resolute. "With the gods and Emperor as witnesses, I accept your challenge, Ulfric Stormcloak." He decided, sealing his fate.
  
  I sighed, seeing history repeat itself before my eyes. It was disappointing, I thought to myself. But also unsurprising. I had advised him to keep himself in check, but a single conversation wouldn't be enough to get through to him. Especially when I failed to follow my own advice and lashed out. I didn't really have any right to judge him for this move. Not without being a hypocrite.
  
  But just because I agreed with him on the gods didn't mean I agreed with his entire point of view. The problems I had with the guy were still there. And I didn't want this to end in a civil war on top of the general stupidity and madness.
  
  I opened my mouth, but High King Torygg caught me off with a look as if sensing what I was about to do. He offered a thin smile before he shook his head, making the words die in my throat.
  
  Shit. Did he want Ulfric to become King? Enough that he was willing to die for it?
  
  "I shall fight this duel myself," High King Torygg decided, missing a frown sent at him by the Emperor. I could see why he wasn't happy at all with the turn of events. King Torygg was refusing a champion against a guy that's main political point was secession from the empire. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Elenwen smile ever so slightly, pleased with what was going on.
  
  High King Torygg stepped into the circle that seemed to be the dueling circle. A servant passed him a wide headed battle axe -- a poor weapon in a one on one. He didn't bother with armor, as if sensing the outcome of the battle. Or he was just being a good Nord, because Ulfric wasn't wearing any armor either. Both men shrugged off their heavy cloaks while Ulfric wielded a simple sword. A nordic longsword made of steel -- no decoration or finish, just a rough piece of metal affixed to a simple leather handle.
  
  The two men stared each other down, ignoring the gods that not so silently started making bets. The king and the challenger to the throne seemed content to let them finish before either so much as took another step forward. It was only when the hall was filled with a deafening silence that the duel began.
  
  It was broken with three words.
  
  "FUS RO DAH!" Ulfric shouted, the words rippling in the air before they raced towards the King. I saw his eyes widen ever so slightly before impact and he was hit with the Unrelenting Force. His body was torn apart on impact, some parts reduced to a fine red mist as the force tore through him. The Unrelenting Force continued past him, destroying the King's throne before destroying the wall behind it, only just narrowly avoiding the Emperor.
  
  The words passed by in a clap of thunder, leaving my ears ringing, but I still heard Queen Elisif"s gut-wrenching scream as she looked at the remains of her husband. All that was really left of him were his legs, some bone fragments, a bloodstain, and a crown that Ulfric walked forward to take. His expression could be made of granite for all the emotion he displayed before he reached down to take the throne.
  
  Damn.
  
  I looked down at Hestia, who watched in naked horror of what she had just witnessed. Beyond the sobs of the former Queen, now Jarl of Solitude, I heard some clapping from the Daedra while others laughed. Reaching down, I offered a comforting hand on her shoulder, making Hestia let look up to me. Her blue eyes shone with emotion and frustration -- she was trying her best to avoid this becoming a disaster, but there was only so much that could be done.
  
  "Does anyone dispute my accession as the High King of Skyrim?" Ulfric asked, turning to the Jarls. The Stormcloaks looked a little stunned, but held their tongue. A few Loyalist shook their heads, while Balgruuf looked furious. None of them said anything.
  
  "Yeah," I spoke up, making everyone's attention snap to me. I gave Hestia's shoulder a gentle squeeze before I looked to Ulfric, meeting his gaze. "I do."
  
  He didn't look surprised, I noticed. "For what cause?" He questioned before I started walking around the table, heading towards my sword that was still pinning Clavicus Vile's corpse to his chair.
  
  "Because, one way or the other, Alduin won't be the end," I told him. "There's going to be an afterward. Other threats like the Thalmor being the Thalmor, or the gods being the gods. I've agreed with you today more than I ever thought I would, but I disagree with pretty much everything you've said leading up to today." I entered the circle, headed to the corpse of Vile before tearing my sword free of his corpse. His blood dripping from the blade. "The Empire has its problems. A shit ton of them, and you're probably right about it being led by idiots-- no offense your majesty -- but Skyrim splitting off isn't the way."
  
  I stood across from Ulfric, meeting his eyes as I rested my blade on my shoulder. He smiled ever so slightly at that.
  
  "Aye, I thought as much. For what it's worth, Jericho... I do think you're a good man, but only one of us is right," Ulfric said. The Emperor stood up, likely aware of how closely he came to suffering the same fate as the former High King, and it was him moving that prompted the others to as well.
  
  "Only time can tell who," I agreed. "I just think it's me."
  
  "Everyone does," Ulfric returned, and I doubted that he meant that everyone thought I was right. In the end, I thought that Skyrim was worse off with him as High King. I think he meant well in his own way, but what he could give Skyrim wasn't what it needed. I don't think I could give it what it needed either, but I just couldn't let Ulfric take the crown. Even if it meant that I had to take it from him.
  
  I nodded at Ulfric, showing that I was ready. He returned the gesture before I saw him take in a deep breath, readying to shout. In that same instant, I did the same, and I dug deep.
  
  That image I had told Paarthumax about appeared in my mind -- of a king shouting at the waves to stop, and the ocean obeying his commands. The power of the Thu'um.
  
  ""FUS!"" We both started at the same time, each imagining a different thing. I imagined myself overcoming any obstacle. Being unstoppable, even if I just had to go through whatever was in my way.
  
  ""RO!"" We continued, and I imagined Skyrim on a tightrope without a net underneath. One small misstep was what separated success from failure.
  
  ""DAH!"" We finished as one. Push. It was easier to learn than Ro simply because I was really good at pushing myself into situations that I didn't need to. It was just another version of Force.
  
  The air rippled as the Shouts took shape, forcing reality to submit. They raced toward one another, crossing the distance in a blur before I felt an explosion as the two impacted. Wind battered my face, and, for a brief moment, I wondered if mine had lost. There was no DBZ-esk battle of wills as the attacks collided. Two unstoppable forces had met head-on. It all came down to which one was more unstoppable.
  
  I only had my answer when I saw Ulfric suffer the same fate that he had inflicted on Torygg. My Shout pushed past his own, slamming into the man before his body was torn to pieces, leaving only a red mist behind as my shout continued on, smashing through the thrones behind him before taking out the wall.
  
  Parts of the wall fell from the ground, and wooden splinters from the trees, but in a moment it had all settled down.
  
  Congratulations! You have earned the title: High King of Skyrim!
  
  What a pain in the ass.
  
  ...
  
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  "Mr. Jericho? How was the Moot?" Lili asked when I teleported back home with Hestia. This time I was able to walk through the front door instead of falling from the ceiling. Lili sat on the couch, a book in hand that she had been reading before the fireplace. Serana also looked up from her place in a chair tucked in a corner, a history book in hand as she caught up on what she missed.
  
  "It was a disaster," I began. "I became High King of Skyrim."
  
  Lili blinked, "My sincerest condolences, your majesty." she responded, offering a bow as Hestia and I entered our home. There was a slight smirk on her face when she rose before she saw my dull expression. That small smile fell as her mouth dropped and she openly gaped at me. "Mr. Jericho is serious?! How? How did you become King?"
  
  I saw Serana look deeply amused as she closed her history book, intently listening. I could only sigh, not blaming either of them for their reaction. I could barely believe it myself a week after it happened. "Ulfric challenged the king, beat him, then I challenged and beat him. So, I'm king. There's going to be a coronation and everything." I told them, dragging a hand over my face.
  
  "Beyond your ascension to power, how was the Moot?" Serana asked, her blood-red eyes following Hestia as she walked across the living room to head straight for our bedroom. She said nothing, and simply walked inside and closed the door behind her. I swallowed another sigh.
  
  "It went about as well as it could have. Only a couple dozen people died, though some of them were the same person over and over. The gods eventually got their act together and came to some... reasonable... ish rules to live by while on Nirn. And I'm going to have to execute a few Stormcloaks later today, but beyond that it was..." I trailed off, trying to think of a polite way to say it was utter shit.
  
  The entire Moot had taken over a week, and between me being King and my threats hanging over the god's heads, the discussion more or less stayed on topic with only the occasional bout of name-calling and murder. The gods hammered out a rough guideline to their rules which would further be filled in as time went on. There were the rules on respawning and murder, as well as consequences for breaking the law. The gods agreed to be fined a percentage of their income ,but any attempt to stick prison time on them was rebuffed.
  
  There were also requirements that had to be met with each Familia. There were three classifications for Familias now -- Exploration, Crafting, Peacekeeping. The former explored caves and ruins, the second created goods, and the Peacekeepers kept the peace by acting as guards. From there, a bunch of legal stuff applied to them like taxes that they had to pay, and they were obliged to deal with threats that mortals couldn't easily handle.
  
  Everyone seemed pretty happy with the checks on the gods' powers, but I wasn't. Simply put, in a thousand years from now, it would be a repeat of Danmachi. Take my own kingship for example -- it was decided that Hestia couldn't become Queen, but the inherent issue was still there even if the title was kept out of her hands. Sure, Hestia had no intentions of being Queen, but that didn't apply to all the gods.
  
  Sooner or later, there would be a king or queen that was just a puppet for their god. How long would it be before the same could be said for the Emperor? Their products and crafts would eventually become the go-to brands to use. Their Familias would be seen taking care of cities or nations. And it would be the Exploration Familias that brought back wealth and treasures so every boy and girl would dream of joining them.
  
  I had managed to gain a few checks like a cap of a thousand Familia members. I had started at one hundred, but the gods felt that was too few considering their influence on Nirn. There was another check that every Familia could be conscripted into war, something that Elenwen had been thoroughly displeased with. Especially when I told her to shut the fuck up and no one cared about what the Thalmor wanted.
  
  In the end, it was just delaying the inevitable. In a thousand years, or less, the gods would control Nirn in every way that mattered.
  
  But that wasn't really my problem.
  
  "I look forward to giving up the crown. As soon as Alduin is dead, I'm throwing it to the Jarls." I decided, throwing myself into the couch as I swallowed another sigh. I never wanted the thing in the first place. I only took it to prevent Ulfric from fucking everything up. Now I had to keep hold of the thing until Alduin was dealt with, or the civil war that I narrowly avoided would happen as they all tried to snatch the crown.
  
  As if to prove why I was rapidly loathing the crown, there was a knock at the door.
  
  "No one is home," I called out in response, leaning my head back and closing my eyes. I heard Serana chuckle, clearly amused, while Lili just chided me.
  
  "Your Highness, you can't just dismiss anyone that comes to your door," she teased.
  
  "I've decided to be a ruthless tyrant, so I absolutely can," I refuted but, all the same, Lili got up to answer the door. I heard it swing open, and despite my growing annoyance with everyone and their mother coming up to me about any absurd reason they could think of I inclined my head to see who it was. The idiots even tried to throw a feast to celebrate me becoming king. Wasn't like half the country was experiencing a food shortage or anything.
  
  Because of my expanded vision, I saw who it was through the gap in the doorway.
  
  Some asshole in fine clothing, looking down at Lili with a flash of confusion. "Er, hello little girl. I have a message for High King Jericho at the behest of Emperor Titus. Could you... perhaps pass this along to him?" He requested, ignoring the fact that he could clearly see me.
  
  "Sure thing, Mr. Messenger!" Lili agreed, adopting a childlike tone as she accepted the message. "Bye-bye!" She waved, earning a hesitant wave before she closed the door. She looked at the message before she marched back to me, earning a dull look as she dropped to a knee and presented me the message.
  
  "That joke wasn't funny the first time you made it," I told Lili as I accepted it, feeling both amused and annoyed. Lili offered a cheeky smile, telling me that she was thoroughly unrepentant and that she found poking fun at the fact I became king incredibly amusing. I choose to ignore her in favor of popping open the wax seal and reading the message.
  
  "The Emperor wants to have lunch," I summarized the message.
  
  "You do keep high company," Serana remarked.
  
  "He probably wants to scold me for telling the Thalmor to fuck off and die," I responded, shoving the letter into my inventory. Lili made a strangled sound and I saw her sigh deeply.
  
  "Mr. Jericho, you can't just tell powerful empires to fuck off and die. It's rude." She pointed out, and while I had a few regrets with how that whole mess turned out, that certainly wasn't one of them.
  
  "Can. Did. And I'll do it again," I replied, equally as unrepentant as Lili was about her 'your Majesty' jokes.
  
  Serana made a noise of amusement but returned to her book. From my new angle, I saw it was a history of Skyrim, volume four. I guess she understood just how much she had missed.
  
  "I'll go tell Hestia," I said before standing up, heading to our bedroom door. I hesitated a moment before I knocked, all too aware of Lili's eyes on my back, no doubt questioning why I didn't just walk in. I didn't get a response, so I just bit the bullet and entered, finding a Hestia shaped lump under the covers. She wasn't asleep because I didn't hear the sound of her soft snores.
  
  Closing the door behind me, for a moment, I was unsure what to do. Hestia and I never had a real disagreement before, and I wasn't exactly sure what we were disagreeing about. I just knew that she was upset with me for something. As for what, it could be any one of a dozen things.
  
  In the end, I decided to take a seat at the edge of the bed, the feathers sinking under my weight. "I'm sorry," I decided to start with, thinking it was a good opener.
  
  "For what?" Hestia questioned, her voice muffled from the blankets.
  
  Fuck. "For... everything at the Moot," I answered, seeing Hestia shift to poke her head up from the blankets to give me a mild look.
  
  "Jericho, you shouldn't apologize when you have no clue what you're apologizing for. It'll just make a woman mad," Hestia pointed out, and I could only sigh in response.
  
  "You're already mad, though," I returned, looking down at her, seeing an expression I couldn't quite describe cross her face. I heard her sigh as well before one of her hands snaked out to grab mine.
  
  "Not at you," Heatia told me. That... was a bit of a surprise because I had been convinced that she was mad at me. All the signs had been there. "I'm mad at me. I... shouldn't have given my Arcanum to the Aedra," Hestia decided. "And I should have told Akatosh not to let the Daedra come through the barrier. I thought... I thought things would be different with the Aedra. All of them made so many sacrifices to form Nirn that I thought... I thought they would take it all more seriously."
  
  "It was a mistake," Hestia concluded. "And because of it, you had to clean up after the gods while you were already planning to save the world, and I ruined whatever plan that you had when you brought us here."
  
  Words rose to my tongue, quick to deny it, but I couldn't quite bring myself to say them.
  
  "Do you regret it?" I asked, not wanting to condemn her for it but... if she made me say yes or no, then I would agree that it was a mistake.
  
  Hestia thought about it, "I don't regret the act itself. The Aedra needed something to balance the scales and they deserved more than to just be ghosts haunting a world they created. I just regret everything that came after. Everything that the gods did, everything that you had to do... Jericho... you really scared me during to Moot, you know?" She told me, and that... that was something I never wanted to hear.
  
  "I would never do anything to you, Hestia," I quickly told her, but Hestia shook her head, her hand squeezing mine.
  
  "I know that, but that's not what I meant. Jericho, you were just... so angry at the Moot. Then you just started killing people... sure, they could come back, but the point still stands. You were just so... forceful. And I understand why. We'd still be talking in circles at the Moot. I just... I just wished you didn't have to do any of it." Hestia muttered, mostly to herself, her eyes downcast.
  
  Ah. I see.
  
  "Hestia," I caught her attention. "Nothing I did is your fault. That's all on me," I told her. She thought that she had somehow pushed me on the path I was on by giving ideas to the gods and being unable to manage the gods at the Moot. In the end, the latter really wasn't her fault. Anything short of threats of death wasn't enough for them to stick to the topic. And for some of them, that wasn't enough either. "In the end, what I said before still applies -- you did something good. What everyone else did after isn't your fault."
  
  I received a wan smile that told me she didn't believe me.
  
  "Who was at the door?" Hestia questioned, and I decided not to comment on the blatant attempt to change the subject.
  
  "A message from the Emperor asking about lunch," I answered.
  
  "Politics?" Hestia questioned warily with narrowed eyes.
  
  I gave her a rueful smile. "Politics," I agreed.
  
  In response, Hestia withdrew her hand from mine before grabbing the blanket and bringing it back over her head. I felt the same way. After a week of mind-numbing conversations, I was just... I almost couldn't wait for Alduin to appear. Just to get this over with.
  
  "Is that your final answer?" I questioned and Hestia seemed to think about it for a moment before I heard her sigh.
  
  "Give me five minutes," Hedtia grumbled before she pushed off the blanket to climb out of bed to head to our bathroom. She emerged with a towel, and it was then that it clicked that five minutes meant 'after a bath and getting dressed.' Fair enough, I guess. We did have time for it. Probably.
  
  In the meantime, I laid down on our bed before bringing up my status screen. The title High King stared back at me. Of course, right after I decided that I didn't want to be king, I ended up becoming king. Reaching out, I clicked on the title.
  
  High King of Skyrim
  All reputation gains are dramatically increased in the land of Nirn.
  Gains access to Ruler Functions.
  Additional options are available at world selection menus.
  
  Of the three rewards for becoming king, only the middle one had any immediate benefits. My reputation was already solid enough that even the Stormcloaks were willing to obey me. I had earned that much. And I guess it was clear that I loathed the idea of being King. The latter wouldn't matter until I left Skyrim, but I had an idea of what options would become available to me.
  
  If I could bring people to other world's, could I bring a Kingdom? I'm not sure why I ever would. Or maybe it was something like building connections with other worlds, or something. Either way, it probably didn't really matter much because I was going to toss away the crown as soon as Alduin was dead. Skyrim was a pain in the ass that had plagued me enough. I wasn't interested in being here any longer than necessary. I got what I came here for and it would be time to move on.
  
  The middle option, however, had some use. Bringing up the window, I saw a map of Skyrim. My map. However, details were changed. More information was available to me -- population, population growth, skilled workers, manufacturing specialties, revenue, revenue growth, crime rates... It reminded me of a city builder menu. Everything that I needed to know about a city or village was at my fingertips. Including a little face that represented the feelings of the populace, as seen with a smiley face. Or an angry face with Windhelm.
  
  My previous orders were being carried out -- Markarth and Falkreath were deep in the red when it came to food, so the other holds were ordered to give supplies. With the Mark and Recall system that Sheogorath set up, the orders were carried out near instantly. Which was a little weird, but the information didn't just pop into people's heads or anything. A courier was sent out with the orders, which were then delivered to the Jarl in question.
  
  I could see several mining villages taking shape in Whiterun, dispersing the population. When I clicked on Whiterun, I saw a lot of graphs. There was even a build menu -- I could have the walls be built larger at the cost of stone, time, and labor costs. I could have a barracks built to bolster the number of guards.
  
  It was a micro and macro city builder.
  
  Helgen was a city that was all in the green and its graph projections were just massive spikes that only leveled off for a bit to spike upwards some more. Hestia really did make something special with Helgen, I thought to myself. I was tempted to mess around with it a bit, but given that the cities were all real cities filled with real people, I was less inclined to fiddle around and mess something up. There would be no dick-shaped cities. Unfortunately.
  
  So, for the most part, I just used it as a way to check on my progress with preparing the country for Alduin. I could even see the College -- and, even better, they couldn't ignore a direct order from the king to get their ass in gear. At this stage, it was just resource allocation. Enchanting items, preparing mages and so on.
  
  Time passed by rather quickly and before I knew it, Hestia was poking me in the cheek. "It's time to go, Jericho," she told me, now dressed in a white and fuzzy blue coat. I dismissed the window before standing up. "Are you really wearing that to meet the Emperor?" She asked, looking at my simple pants and long sleeve shirt -- winter still lingered, but the worst had passed so I didn't need to bother with a coat.
  
  "It'll be fine," I dismissed.
  
  "You should wear your crown, at least." Hestia pointed out.
  
  "Don't have one," I pointed out, waving goodbye to Lili and Serana before heading out. "And I don't need a crown." A crown was just a symbol of power -- power that was given to it by other people. They would see it, recognize it as important, then do whatever custom was necessary.
  
  I was seven and a half feet tall, built like a brick shit house, and I walked around holding hands with Hestia -- I didn't need a crown to make people recognize that I was king, however temporarily.
  
  That much was proven when I saw people drop to a knee as soon as they saw us, marveling that the king would just casually walk by them. It was a powerful feeling, I thought to myself. If only that power didn't come with so many strings attached to it, I might consider keeping the title.
  
  The location that the Emperor chose was a quaint little building on the second story. It looked like a proper restaurant -- a brightly colored sign, tables covered in cloth with a candle and glassware. It was completely empty except for the guards and the Emperor himself, who idly read a menu with a bemused expression on his face.
  
  "High King Jericho," The Emperor greeted, setting the menu down before turning to Hestia, "Divine Hestia. Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice."
  
  Hestia threw on a smile, "Of course!" She said, taking a seat, sending me a pitying look as I was forced to stand. Chairs just weren't meant for me, unfortunately.
  
  "What did you want to discuss, your Majesty?" I asked, looking down at the man. He nodded as if expecting me to open with the question.
  
  "Considering the turbulent times we have endured, I wish to learn your aspirations. King Torygg was a man that I respected. He was young, and perhaps an idealist, but I respected him. Ulfric murdered him for the throne, and in turn, you killed him." The Emperor began, eyeing me flatly.
  
  It was almost amusing how people viewed that chain of events. More than a few decried Ulfric using the Thu'um as murder because they said Torygg expected a proper duel. A middle ground called it killing, but found it distasteful because it was clear that Troygg expected a hand to hand fight. Only Ulfric's diehard supporters called it fair and justified.
  
  Yet, as far as they were concerned, I killed him in an honorable duel because both of us used the Thu'um. And that was something that the Jarls were a big fan of. Nords loved the Thu'um almost as much as they loved the Dragonborn.
  
  "Honestly, you're better off asking Balgruuf that question. As soon as Alduin is dead, I'm handing him the crown," I told him, earning a blink of faint surprise. "I never wanted to be king. I told Torygg as much when I became the Thane of Skyrim. The only reason I'm keeping the crown for now is because I don't want to make him king, then instantly start undercutting him."
  
  The Emperor took a moment to mull over that. "I see," he remarked, the edges of his lips quirking up ever so slightly. "You are a rare man to turn away such power."
  
  I shrugged, "I like power plenty enough. Just not when it means dealing with problems I'm not equipped to handle. Diplomacy is not my forte."
  
  Hestia made a noise that made it clear she thought that was an understatement.
  
  "I wouldn't go as far as to say that," Emperor Titus responded. "Threats are just another tool in the hands of a skilled diplomat."
  
  "Don't encourage him! Jericho, you can't always use threats to make people do what you want," Hestia chided us both.
  
  "I beg to differ. It's worked out for me so far," I pointed out and Hestia's face twisted as if she had eaten an entire lemon tree, because she couldn't exactly argue with that. Sure, using force didn't exactly win me any allies, but I didn't need them to like me to get them to do what I wanted.
  
  "Regardless," Emperor Titus gently interjected, "for now, you are king and your reign, however short, will be during a dark hour in Skyrim's history. Just as you said during the duel -- there will be threats after Alduin."
  
  Ah. "The Thalmor," I voiced, earning a shallow nod.
  
  "You have been blunt with me, so allow me to be blunt with you -- the Empire is weak. Weaker than it ever has been before. Of the nine territories, the Empire only controls three -- Cyrodill, Hammerfell, and Skyrim. Morrowind is a wasteland, High Rock already declared independence, and Black Marsh... its place in the empire has always been tenuous. Elsweyr and Valewood openly support the Thalmor... the Empire is dying," there was genuine pain in his voice as he clasped his hands before him. "And my attempts to convince Emperor Tiber Septim to take my place have been foiled with the rules decided by the gods." He let out a small huff, "Not that it would have mattered for he has no interest in saving the Empire."
  
  I wasn't surprised, even if Hestia was. Talos had said as much when he descended. The Empire would save itself or crumble, but either way, he would not interfere.
  
  But I also saw where this was going.
  
  "Tell me what you need to defeat Alduin, and I will do my best to see that you have it. But any losses will further weaken the empire. All of Skyrim was nearly lost to a civil war..." Emporer Titus saw that I knew exactly where this conversation was leading. "As Emporer, I will give you what you need, and I must ask you take no more. War with the Thalmor is on the horizon."
  
  Hestia"s face twisted, clearly displeased with the request. I swallowed my knee jerk reaction and instead let out a sigh.
  
  I should have seen this coming. And what an absolute dick more using my own words against me.
  
  "Enchanters and soul gems are what we need the most at the moment," I decided. "Quality over quantity, but if I can get both I"ll take them. Beyond that..." I trailed off, a frown tugging at my lips. The trap for Alduin was set. More soldiers on the ground wouldn"t change much. Like I said, we needed quality over quantity. "Marksmen. The best of the best that won"t scare when facing down a fuck-off big dragon. Or, at least that don"t scare enough that they can"t shoot him in the eyes when they get a chance."
  
  In the end, I should have seen this coming. While it was a nice thought to have the entire Empire and the Thalmor throw in to handle the problem... I was right. There would be an afterward to this battle and everyone was treating the battle like it had already been won. That"s why they were looking to prepare for the battle that came right after. So, the Empire would toss me a bone, but they wouldn"t go all in. From the Emperor's point of view, he couldn"t afford to.
  
  Annoying. It was so damn annoying.
  
  "You shall have them," Emperor Titus said. "I understand how this must seem... but the Thalmor have been waiting for an opportunity for decades. Like a wolf circling an animal pen, trying to sniff out weakness and fear." I think the reason why I could accept that was because he was a hundred percent correct. The Thalmor had absolutely tried to weaken the Empire in preparation for war. That"s what the whole civil war was about -- Ulfric was their pawn, however unwilling, to make Skyrim secede from the empire.
  
  Skyrim, who hated the Thalmor more than anyone else, whose infantry had utterly wrecked the Thalmor"s shit...
  
  "It"s fine," I dismissed the issue. "Just... keep something in reserve if we do fail. Alduin is going to be weakened when he arrives, but even weakened... he"s still the World-Eater. No plan survives first contact with the enemy and all of that." I didn"t think we would. Not with the resources we had available, but it was always a possibility. "From there, he"ll start reviving dragons. We"ve gathered up the ones in Skyrim and placed them in a Dwemer ruin to make sure he can"t get to them, but that"s just Skyrim."
  
  Emperor Titus offered a nod. "As you say, High King Jericho." He opened his mouth to continue, but I caught a flash of movement out of the corner of my vision. Looking over, I saw Azura climbing the steps, confronting a hesitant guard. In her shadow was the Neveraine, a black cloak covering his body which made his snow-white hair stand out that much more.
  
  "Move, mortal!" Azura demanded, "I have a grievance to take to your king!"
  
  Oh boy.
  
  Azura stepped forward, intent on going through the guard one way or the other. However, before they could make contact, both Azura and the Neveraine simply appeared behind him. Azua pinned a glare on me, "Jericho! Don"t you go getting a big head just because you"re king. You aren"t the boss of me! How dare you order me to relocate my food reserves!" She huffed at me, striding towards the table while she flipped a lock of hair back.
  
  I cocked an eyebrow, "One of the perks of being king -- I get to tell my Jarls what to do," I pointed out, my gaze lingering on the Neveraine more than Azura. Amusement danced in his crimson eyes -- he was handsome, even if in a dire need of a haircut." Falkreath and Markarth are starving. You, Whiterun, and Helgen are the only Holds that have a surplus. And I gave you all that food, you know." I pointed out with some annoyance.
  
  Azura frowned, clearly displeased. "Well, you could have asked before you sent some messenger to order me around." She muttered, and I"m pretty sure her cheat-code driven success at being Jarl had gone right to her head.
  
  Hm. "Actually, it"s a good thing you"re here," I said, and instantly, Azura perked up. "I"m calling in your half of the alliance -- I need your help fighting Alduin," I said, directing the words to the Neveraine. He rose a pale eyebrow in response while Azura preened, clearly pleased that I was asking for help.
  
  "Of course!" Azura agreed easily, "It"s only natural that I would follow through on my obligations as a Jarl and a goddess."
  
  I will admit. That was not the answer that I was expecting. I was expecting... something to come up why she couldn"t help.
  
  Looking to the Nevraine, he offered a small nod. "It would be troublesome if the world were to be eaten," he agreed. And...
  
  Okay. In my corner, I had Sheogorath and the Neveraine -- both were previous bullshit Bethesda protagonists. The world might have forgotten about the Hero of Kvatch, but they hadn"t forgotten about the Neveraine. And he was every bit as bulllshit broken as Sheogorath was.
  
  There was the quality that I was looking for.
  
  "Okay..." I said, unable to hide my relief. We could do this. I had another month and a half to prepare.
  
  Time to make the most of it.
  
  ...
  
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  Time seemed to slow down as the days ticked closer and closer to Alduin's arrival date. The first few weeks passed by in a blur of activity -- the enchanters that the Emperor promised arrived and began their work. Last-minute construction was being done on Helgen as well. Hestia organized drills for the citizens to head into the bunkers beneath their homes while triple-checking to make sure they had enough food to sustain them for some time. Weeks, possibly.
  
  Sheogorath and the Nerevarine, in the meantime, made their own preparations. Talos vanished once again, as he often did, so I couldn't recruit the Ebony Warrior. It was annoying, but it was what it was. I had my own laundry list of things to take care of, but the most pressing was Dragonrend and making sure that someone could hit Alduin with it.
  
  Of the three words, I had managed to use two -- Mortal, Finite, but the last word for Temporary was giving me some trouble. Angier assumed it was because I was heavily influenced by learning Unrelenting Force. Temporary was backtracking in understanding, but I was making decent enough progress. Just not enough to make me willing to put all my eggs in one basket.
  
  For once, I was stuck at the house while the others left on an Adventure. Lili, Serana, Aela, and Farkas all left to retrieve an Elder Scroll, the same one that the Dragonborn had in the game to learn the Shout. I was stuck meditating and thinking about the word Temporary instead of taking action. I was ansty, but all four of them could take care of themselves. Even if they had been gone for a week.
  
  "Jericho?" Hestia questioned, standing behind me, running her hands through my hair. "I think we should update your status now," she voiced the idea. I slowly opened my eyes, mulling it over for a moment. I had avoided getting my status updated for months at this point to maximize my skill gain. But, I think it was finally time that I cashed in on those free perk points.
  
  I nodded before I pulled up my shirt, revealing my sorely neglected falna. Hestia placed her hands on my back after having a single drop of blood fall from her finger into the falna, filling the room with a bright white light. And then I was hit with a barrage of windows worthy of a Windows.exe error. They stacked on top of each other, piling up and I could only sigh as I sorted through them.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 45
  Title: High King of Skyrim
  Health: 5000
  Magika: 1500
  Progress to next level: 81,000/250,000
  Strength: 200 (+151= 351)
  Endurance: 250 (+225= 475)
  Dexterity: 175 (+169= 344)
  Intelligence: 150 (+77= 227)
  Sense: 200 (+240= 440)​
  
  My stats came along nicely, all things considered. I would have to re-enchant my armor to make it weaken me enough again, but my plan worked -- taking away the bonus and my lowered stats made it easier to gain more. It had been a real grind for the first half of the jump, my stats barely budging at all. Now all of them were in the ballpark of two hundred. So, when I finally hit level fifty, I should see a considerable jump in strength as I officially hit level 3 for the Danmachi system. Might be worth holding off on the armor until I level up so I know how powerful the weakening enchantments needed to be.
  
  Separating a few menus, I saw that I had finally hit another milestone for more Stat perks.
  
  You have reached 200 in Strength! Please select the perk you wish to be awarded:
  
  Tactile Telekinesis: What's the point of being able to lift a car if you can't keep it together because flimsy metal bends in your grip? With Tactile Telekinesis, any object that the user touches will maintain its structural integrity despite size or building materials.
  
  A Need for Speed: Strength stat values are converted into MPH at a 2:1 ratio. I.e.; for every two points of strength, the user can sprint up to a speed of 1mph.
  
  Absolute Control: It's tough living in a world of wet cardboard. With Absolute Control, the user never has to worry about squeezing a little too tight.
  ​
  Huh. Those... were some seriously good choices. I see why the choices for perks got moved up to every hundred stat milestones. Still, there was a clear winner amongst the three choices. With little hesitation, I decided on Tactile Telekinesis -- the latter two definitely had my attention, but I wanted to see all my options before I started spending my hard-earned free perk points.
  
  You have reached 200 in Endurance! Please select the perk you wish to be awarded:
  
  You Are What You Eat: The user can now receive bonuses from eating food, such as temporary stat increases. All potion effectiveness has been doubled.
  
  Fast Regeneration: Health recovery rapidly increases. Dismembered limbs will now regrow. Additionally, a severed head can be reattached to the user's body.
  
  Stamina Man: Full stamina recovery has been halved from 30 min to 15.​
  
  The choices were a little less good, but I could see each one being valuable in its own way. I've never been dismembered before, so I hadn't known that I wouldn't just be able to grow a limb back. Each choice was more situational, but they were situations I rarely faced.
  
  In the end, I chose Fast Regeneration. Of the choices, it offered less overt benefit, but just because I hadn't lost a limb yet didn't mean that I wouldn't. Especially when I would soon be butting heads against Alduin. You Are What You Eat was a close second, but only because of the double effectiveness of potions. Stamina Man came in third because I very rarely found myself out of stamina at all, so the diminished timer meant little to me. Not to mention the existence of stamina potions.
  
  You have reached 100 in Intelligence! Please select the perk you wish to be awarded:
  
  Book Eater: Books are now labeled as consumables. Any information or skills contained within can be imparted on the user without needing to read them.
  
  Education Focus: The user can pick one field of specialization to gain a 50% increase in experience gain.
  ​
  ...Huh. That was a tough choice. Book Eater sounded like it would grant me access to Skill Books, which would be welcomed. Though, I was a bit leery considering it sounded like I would have to eat the book in question. Education Focus would have been really nice to have prior to my training montage. Both were perks that would make grinding easier in the future but between the two of them... Book Eater was my first choice to get access to Skill Books. Though, I already decided that I would likely spend a perk point in Education Focus. If not now, then soon.
  
  You have reached 200 in Sense! Please select the perk you wish to be awarded:
  
  Night Vision: The user can now see perfectly at night as if it were a brightly lit room.
  
  Expanded Vision II: The user's vision is expanded an additional 15 degrees for each eye.
  
  Detective View: The user can hyper-focus his senses to pick up details that would ordinarily be missed, allowing for a state of mind that offers an easy-to-see trail of the user's prey.​
  
  Again, all three sounded nice, but there was a clear winner. I picked Expanded Vision II and was sorely disappointed that I didn't see an expanded Vision III appear. The human eyes could see about 180 degrees, with about a third of that being the peripheral vision. With Expanded Vision I, I could see through my peripheral as if it were directly in front of me. The second rank granted me an additional thirty degrees of vision, allowing me to see what was behind me to a degree.
  
  With a few more perk points invested, I could get full 360 vision. As a frontline fighter, that was practically a wet dream. Maybe, at some point, I could get something like the Byakugan so I could see for miles in every direction.
  
  My choices selected, I noticed I didn't get a choice for Dexterity. It was a little confusing because I didn't get to take a perk at the 100 point mark... but I guess it was waiting until I hit 200.
  
  Setting aside the window, I turned my focus onto my skills.
  
  Skills:
  General
  Gamer Body (100/100): The user"s body is that of a video game.
  Massage (55/100): Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away.
  Kissing (70/100): An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target.
  Sex (75/100): Greatly enhances parameters when engaging in sexual intercourse. perks available
  Dishwashing (1/100): Stains and dried on food are easier to remove.
  
  Combat
  Footwork (50/100): The basis for all martial talents. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity.
  One-handed (25/100): Governs your effectiveness when using one-handed weapons, including daggers, swords, maces, and war axes. perks available
  Two-handed (50/100): Governs your effectiveness when using two-handed weapons, including greatswords, battleaxes, and warhammers. Perks are available
  
  Armor
  Heavy Armor (50/100): Governs your ability to move and fight in heavy armor. Perks are available
  
  Stealth
  None
  
  Magic
  Enchanting (100/100): Infusing the soul of the slain into an object to grant it mystical properties. Perks are available Skill is able to be prestiged
  
  Thu"um
  Unrelenting Force (75/100): Your Voice is raw power, pushing aside anything - or anyone - who stands in your path.
  Dragonrend (65/100): Your enemies are stripped of their natural defenses, rendered mortal and vulnerable.
  
  Crafting
  Woodwork (7/100): Craftsmanship involving wood.
  Stonework (10/100): Craftsmanship involving stone.​
  
  My Skill list seemed a little more filled out, which was nice to see. What stood out the most were two things -- my enchanting skill had hit 100, allowing me to do something I hadn't seen before. Also, I had hit milestones with the Thu'um, but I didn't have any perks available, so I'm guessing that I couldn't get any. Unless I reached a 100, possibly.
  
  Curious, I clicked on the prestige notification and saw another window appear.
  
  Gaining prestige in a Skill can only be done once the user has achieved mastery! Doing so sets the skill's progress back to 0, but allows the user to pick one special and powerful perk. In addition, the perks that the user did not choose will be reused in selection while new perks will be generated.​
  
  That was... incredibly useful to know, I thought to myself, going to select a few perks. Between good teachers and my own diligence, I had mastered the art of Enchanting fairly quickly. In truth, I was more of a master novice -- my fundamentals were absolutely solid, but I had yet to try my hand at more advanced and complex works.
  
  General Available Perks
  Kissing:
  Smooth: Target of smooth feels heightened emotions of Happiness and Love.
  Talented Tongue: The user"s tongue is rather adept at bringing targets pleasure.
  
  Sex:
  Nutritional Value: The user"s semen has the nutritional value of a healthy meal.
  Snug Fit: Size difference is no longer a concern.
  Release Valve: The user gains the ability to ejaculate on command.
  
  Combat
  Footwork:
  Foundation: Footwork is the basis for all martial arts. 5% exp gain for all martial skills.
  Light On Your Feet: Reduced response times. Effectiveness determined by Sense and Dexterity stats.
  Roots for Feet: The user plants himself like a tree and absorbs whatever is thrown at him. 10% reduced damage that can be considered impact.
  Flash-Step: The user is able to quickly dodge to the side to avoid a strike.
  Reflection: Due to the user"s stance, some damage may be reflected onto an attacker.
  
  One-handed:
  Sure-Grip: When using one-handed weapons, the user cannot be disarmed.
  
  Two-Handed:
  Strong-arm: All experience with two-handed weapons is increased by 10%.
  Air Strike: From the tip of the user"s sword, an additional six inches of sharpened air emerge for greater cutting length.
  Sure-Grip: The user cannot be disarmed.
  Arc-Strike: The user can launch an arc of wind at an enemy.
  Double Swing: In a single swing, the user can attack twice.
  
  Magic
  Enchanting:
  Alteration Focus: Enchantments that focus on altering a stat, such as fortification of strength, give an additional 10% exp.
  Status Effect Focus: Enchantments that focus on creating a status effect, such as producing fire or lightning, give an additional 10% exp.
  Speed Enchanting: The process of enchanting an item takes less time.
  Perfectionist: Significantly reduces mistakes during the Enchanting process, thus making them more powerful.
  Touching Up: Enchantments can be altered after being finished.
  Double Up: Two enchantments can be placed on a single item.
  
  Prestige
  Enchanting:
  Less for More: The user is able to get more out of souls. Petty souls now have the quality of Normal souls, normal souls have the quality of greater souls, and greater souls have the quality of black souls.
  Soul Stacking: The user gains the ability to stack souls. Quantities are: 100 petty souls for a normal soul, 1000 normal souls for a greater soul, 10,000 greater souls for a black soul.​
  
  That, I thought, taking a moment to look over my long list of choices, was a lot of perks to choose between. Some were easier choices than others, but some were far less so. Worse, in the six months I"ve been in Skyrim, I only gathered up an additional ten perk points by gaining various titles like Undead Slayer, and Bandit Slayer, not to mention King and Thane of Skyrim. And, for a long time, it felt like I had done pretty well in that regard. Ten additional perks? That was awesome.
  
  Except those ten additional perks wouldn"t let me get everything that I wanted.
  
  Still, I had to go through the perks I needed first before deciding anything with my perk points. I did see a few repeats, but that was just because the perks were available rather than me reaching a milestone. Skipping over Kissing, my gaze landed on Sex and I felt my heart split in two. One hand, I had a perk that I desperately wanted and with heroic force of will, I had refrained from spending a perk point to obtain. On the other, I had a perk that I desperately needed -- the ability to control when I cum?
  
  Next round, I told myself. Plus, I could always pick up some traits that I wanted when I jumped worlds. With little hesitation, I selected Snug Fit. It could be considered a waste given that there was a magic spell that accomplished the same thing, but I didn"t know the spell. Not to mention the natural limitations of magic.
  
  The next three were fairly easy picks -- Light on Your Feet, Air Strike, and Sure-Grip. Each would be immediately useful for combat rather than perks to make grinding easier. I was a tank build, but I was an in-your-face tank build. Moving fast was a must, having extra sword length as a trick up my sleeve could never hurt, and never being disarmed? That one spoke for itself.
  
  That brought my attention to Enchanting. In a way, it was the easiest choice -- I had four perks to choose with, so I just went with the top-level stuff first and worked my way down. Double Up, Touching Up, Speed and Perfectionist -- though, I did learn that the latter two had additional ranks that I could further invest in.
  
  Lastly, that brought me to the prestige perk. Both were similar in function, but different in execution. With the Black Star, Soul Stack was the more appealing of the two. Simply put, I did a lot of killing and using the Star as a storage device, I could reach the same level as the Archdemon from Dragon Age by killing enough mob characters on top of snagging the final boss's soul. A two for one.
  
  Less for More, however, was an instant buff to what I could do with souls. And I could only assume that bump would apply to a soul of a boss character as well.
  
  It was profoundly annoying that I couldn"t use a perk point for it, but there wasn"t anything else I could do.
  
  In the end, I went for Soul Stack. It just had too much potential for me to ignore.
  
  Last free perks points burning a hole in my pocket. I had an idea of what I wanted. Ten free perks. So many, yet so few. My first pick was Absolute Control, simply because it was a natural pick. Next was Education Focus, which I left blank to use whenever I needed it. Lastly, of the Stat perks, I decided on Detective View -- it wasn"t directly useful in combat, but with my growing Sense stat, it would be an incredibly valuable perk.
  
  For combat, there were obvious perks to take. Arc-Strike and Double Swing -- one gave me a ranged attack, and the latter increased the power of my swings. The other natural picks were Flash-Step and Reflection. And, just like that, I was already down to three free perks. I looked over my choices for a long minute, mulling over what I should do with them. It was tempting to snag the cheap exp boosts, but those were something that I could buy later.
  
  Out of all the skills that I had... The one that offered me the most future growth was Enchanting.
  
  So, I dumped all three points into it -- I gained Speed Enchanting II and III, drastically cutting down the length of time it would take me to enchant an item while also snagging Perfectionist II. My enchantments wouldn"t just be much faster, but with the reduced mistakes, their base power would be increased.
  
  I almost couldn"t wait until Alduin showed up.
  
  "And... done," I finished, confirming the changes and dismissing the window. I felt my skin crawl for a moment, my body adjusting to the massive influx of stat points I had been sitting on for some time. However, when the flash of discomfort passed, I rolled my neck to find that I felt better than ever.
  
  "Your stats sure went up a lot," Hestia muttered, patting my back in a congratulatory manner before letting my shirt fall back down. "You sure worked hard, Jericho," she said, leaning forward to wrap her arms around my neck, half leaning off the couch that she sat on, so her breasts were pressed into my back.
  
  I reached up and placed my hand on hers, letting out a breath that felt like I had been holding in for near six months. To think that I picked Skyrim to have an easy go of it after Danmachi. I should have just let the Dragonborn, who probably wouldn"t have been Serana in that case, deal with the whole mess and just kept my head down to study magic and get loot. This jump was easily a thousand times more stressful than Danmachi. At least then, the entire ordeal only took place over the course of a week for the most part.
  
  "Everyone has been. Vilkas found a cure for Lycanthropy," I started. I didn't even have to tell him about it, he simply found it all on his own.
  
  Hestia let out a breathy laugh that tickled the back of my neck. "Our familia is going to grow a bit," she said, clearly pleased with the fact. Though, not as much as we had originally assumed. The Emperor and the gods weren't the only ones that had been screwed by the rules set during the Moot. One of the rules set to limit gods and familias from spreading their influence too quickly applied beyond kingship.
  
  For Aela and the others to join the familia, they would have to abandon their Lycanthropy to shake off the hooks Hicine had on them as well as leave the Companions. And that, I knew, was going to make them have second thoughts. For some, they grew up in the Companions, and leaving that behind wouldn't be easy. More than that, though, even if they did want to leave, that would mean gutting the Companions of seasoned warriors and taking most of the Circle over to the Hestia familia.
  
  To be blunt, I didn't have high hopes for a high turnover. Aela was a maybe. Farkas and Vilkas were also maybe but I was leaning towards no.
  
  "There's still Serana," I pointed out. In recent times, before leaving to retrieve another Elder Scroll, she seemed to get along with everyone well enough. Everyone enjoyed dry sarcasm when it came from a pretty face.
  
  I felt Hestia start to mess with my hair after withdrawing her arms from around my neck. "Do you think she'll say yes?" Hestia wondered, naturally insecure, but it was valid concern about the High Vampire. Simply put, her situation was worse than the Circle. Molag Bal and Akatosh had a stake on her soul -- neither had descended, but with rules in play, joining a Familia specially signed you up for spending eternity in their realm of Oblivion.
  
  "I don't think she'll say no," I answered. "She's a shy one, but if she really wanted to be left alone, she would just read in her room instead of hanging out in the living room." I'm pretty sure that Hestia was braiding my hair, much to my amusement. My mane of hair had gotten considerably longer over six months.
  
  "I'll ask her when she gets back. And I should probably talk to Aela as well to make sure that they know they're always welcome, even if they choose not to join." Hestia said as she made a small braid before moving to make another with a few locks of hair.
  
  I made a sound of acknowledgment, looking into the fireplace as a log shifted, sending up a plume of sparks. "You're not upset?" I asked, thinking she would be.
  
  "Before you and Lili joined, I would be crying my eyes out right now," Hestia admitted. "Back then, I just wanted a Familia. I almost didn't care who became my first child, so I'm really lucky it was you and Lili. Now, I want the children who join my Familia to do so because they want to." She finished off another braid before swiftly moving to another. "I think you would look really good with a bun," Hestia voiced before undoing her work to start to tie my hair up in a man bun. I didn't exactly agree, but I decided to let her have her fun. As a way to apologize for being gone so much, and for being so busy even when I was here.
  
  Hestia sighed, "This reminds me of the War Game. The day before it." I had been thinking of something similar.
  
  "We still have some time left," I reassured her. I had the date marked off exactly six months when I arrived before Alduin was scheduled to arrive. "A few more weeks."
  
  Hestia made a noise of acknowledgment, but it was clear to see that she was anxious. "We've prepared everything that we can," I told her. "All that's left is doing it."
  
  That the stage we were in. Everything was in place. All that was left were the final touches.
  
  A knock came from the door, making the two of us sigh. I'm not sure why we bothered to close the thing. "My turn," I said as I stood up, taking a moment to marvel at what it felt like to not have a mane of hair brushing the back of my neck.
  
  "Like it?" Hestia questioned as I caught my reflection in a mirror above the fireplace.
  
  It didn't look bad, I guess, eyeing the bun of hair located at the back of my head. But... "Sure," I tried, hearing a huff from Hestia.
  
  "You can't lie to a god, Jericho," Hestia pointed out while I headed for the door. I knew as much, but I was hoping that a half answer and not hating the hairstyle would trip up her lie detector. Grabbing hold of the door, I pulled it open and looked down at a courier. Small, waifish thin, but he didn't gape up at me like others.
  
  "Your Highness, there's..." he trailed off, while I sighed.
  
  "A dispute with the Orcs," I finished for him. "Where?" I asked, swallowing a sigh. It seemed like the orcs were the cause of all of my most recent headaches.
  
  The courier nodded, "In the market, your majesty."
  
  I nodded, looking over my shoulder to see Hestia giving me a megawatt smile and a thumbs up. I returned it with a thin-lipped smile before heading out the door while the courier scampered off. Diplomacy was not my strong suit, but it didn't have to be when it came to Orcs. They respected strength, and it was generally accepted that I was by far the strongest in the city. If only because Orc and Nords alike didn't count magical power.
  
  Heading down through the streets, I ignored the bows and looks of awe as I passed, idly messing with my hair a bit so it didn't feel so tight against my skull. There was a moderate evacuation going on, urging people to temporarily leave the city. Some did leave. Most were determined to stay, and more arrived as if attracted to the danger.
  
  Like, for example, a few tribes of Orcs that could teleport in and out of the city because Malacath demanded that his city-state of Orsinium be joined into the Mark and Recall network on the condition he couldn't use them to invade. Though that didn't stop people from assuming as much when a dozen or so orcs appeared out of them, each armored up to the gills and armed to the teeth.
  
  It seemed like a reasonable mistake to make. Until it kept happening.
  
  Making my way towards the Market, I reached the steps and, to my surprise, I saw that the situation was already being handled.
  
  Aela stood between a band of Orcs and a few mercenaries and townspeople that thought they were being attacked. "We are all here to face a common foe -- the World-Eater. Let us not spill blood pointlessly, and instead spill the blood of our foe together," Aela said, looking between them. Neither side dared to advance for any one of a dozen reasons -- they knew Aela by reputation and by sight, or they saw the Ebony bow.
  
  I made my way down the steps, "She's right. If you want to fight someone, it'll have to be me,' I backed her up, making the curious crowd's attention turn to me. "And, like I said a dozen times -- stop assuming we're being invaded by Orcs every time you see one. If they were going to invade, there would be more of them." I finished, making dismissive gestures for everyone to go back to what they were doing.
  
  I looked to one of the Orcs, their leader. He seemed to be glaring at me for some reason, but I couldn't care less. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, I reached them and saw Aela eyeing me curiously. "There's a barracks on the Eastern part of the city. You don't have to stay there, but that's where the others are grouping up." I told the Orc leader, who simply narrowed his eyes before stomping off with his band. Weird, but whatever.
  
  Aela smiled lightly as our eyes met, "Should I bow?" She questioned, cocking an eyebrow at me. I hadn't seen her since... well, we last saw each other in the chamber of the Circle.
  
  I smirked at that, and Aela smiled before punching me in the shoulder. I'm guessing that she read my mind -- that I would love to see her get on her knees.
  
  "It's good to see you Aela," I told her honestly. "Are the others okay?" I questioned, suspecting that they were, but I wanted verification.
  
  Aela's head bobbed, "All went well. We found what you said we would find. There was an avalanche in the mountains, so we had to take a detour, which is why we're so late. Farkas and Vilkas went back to Whiterun to double-check preparations there while Serana decided to go to the Throat of the World with Lili. I came here to inform you and Hestia." Okay, that was good to hear. "We also found some other things in the Dwemer Ruins, but that's not something we should discuss here."
  
  I nodded, placing everyone in my head. Lili and Serana were doing what I had told them to do -- Serana was the Dragonborn, so she would be able to learn Dragonrend by watching that flashback. With her, we had someone that could use the Shout in its entirety. Right at the last minute, too. I still had a few weeks to master the final word, and I was feeling confident that I could.
  
  It might be worth testing to see if Serana could learn any other Shouts while she was up there. Just in case. Especially considering the Graybeards decided that they would rather let the world end before lifting a finger.
  
  "Can I get a hint?" I asked as we started to head to the stairs.
  
  Aela just gave me a smirk, "It will be hailed as the greatest adventure of all time." She decided, telling me that whatever she had was something good.
  
  I opened my mouth to respond, but the words died in my throat as my ears picked up on a sound. Something far off in the distance, almost enough to make me think I had imagined it. I might have if I didn't feel a slight tremor race up my legs. My eyes narrowed dangerously, "EVERYONE, SHUT UP!" I shouted, my voice ringing out over the marketplace plaza. Almost instantly, the marketplace went silent as ordered by their king.
  
  Then I heard it again. The distant sound of roaring. And this time... this time it was closer.
  
  My gaze drifted up to the Throat of the World and my heart sank even as my gaze climbed upwards. Through the swirling clouds, I saw a figure beyond them. Little more than a spec considering the distance, but I could see that spec all the same.
  
  A tremor hit me, like a shockwave coming from the peak of the mountain, so weak that by the time it reached me it just barely rustled my hair. Yet, the sky began to stir and the crackle of thunder almost managed to drown out another roar.
  
  Alduin the World-Eater was here.
  
  ...
  
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  For half a year, I had prepared for this. This very moment. I traveled the land, gathering allies and equipment I needed to defeat a single foe. Alduin the World-Eater. A dragon, the most powerful of them all... one that would devour the entire world if left unchecked. The plan was to defeat him at his weakest, right when he emerged from the timestream, but as the skies above began to churn, heavy rain clouds forming, the wind howling as lightning brewed above... I could feel his power despite being miles away, and every hair I had stood on end.
  
  I had prepared for this moment for months and now that it was finally here, my first thought was that we weren't ready.
  
  We were supposed to have a few more weeks left.
  
  "Everyone, get inside! Sound the alarm! This isn't a drill!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, my voice echoing out, but people stood frozen, looking up at the sky in fear and disbelief. "Now!" I screamed louder, and that did the trick for some. The spell was broken and the people made their way to their homes, and upon seeing them move, others did the same.
  
  With a thought, my armor brought itself out, cloaking me in the heavy armor that was made for this day against this enemy. The clouds swirled above, a crack of thunder echoing out, but it couldn't drown out the shockwave of pure power that rippled down from the source. Through my armor, I could feel it on my skin.
  
  Alduin was here. He was early. He was weeks early. How? Why?
  
  "Aela," I started, tearing my eyes from the sight. Aela barely managed to do the same, her skin deathly pale. She looked how I felt -- instantly overwhelmed and scared out of my mind. "Find the archers on the walls. Gather them up and make sure none of them try to run," I ordered her as I took in a deep breath to calm myself down.
  
  Aela offered a shaky nod, swallowing thickly. "And you?" She questioned, trying to keep her voice firm, but I could hear an edge of fear in it.
  
  "I'm heading up," I told her, offering a nod. "Good luck," I told her, before I started to move. I heard her return it, but there was no time to waste sharing a moment. Alduin was here. Now. And we weren't in position to spawn camp him. I sprinted through the streets, distantly hearing the sound of a bell ringing -- the warning bell that Hestia had set up. People were leaving the streams, heading inside. There was organized chaos to it -- people vaguely seemed to remember the drills, but the sense of urgency made them sloppy.
  
  I paid it no mind in favor of sprinting to the manor, moving in a blur to most people. I practically barreled through the door, reducing it to splinters. There I found Lydia and Hestia in the living room, both of them tense. Lydia instantly settled into a fighting stance, only to momentarily relax when she saw it was me.
  
  "Jericho, what happened?!" Hestia shouted, and I wish I had an answer for her. The only thing that I could think of that made sense was...
  
  "Serana wanted to learn Dragonrend ahead of time," I answered, "It may have pulled Alduin out of the timestream early. I don't really know. But he's here," I spoke, my tone grim. Hestia paled as she realized the implications, moving forward, only to be stopped by Lydia, who realized them as well.
  
  "Take care of her, Lydia. And I'll be back soon enough, Hestia. With a guest, so roll out the welcome mat for them, okay?" I told her, trying to interject something other than grim resolve into my voice to put her at ease. As much as I could, at any rate. Lydia nodded, while Hestia adopted a serious expression. I wasn't the only one that had spent the last six months preparing for Alduin.
  
  For six months, Hestia had turned Helgen into something amazing. A perfect medieval metropolis, as much of an oxymoron as that was. Only the entire city was a trap specifically designed for Alduin. A trap that Hestia had labored over, staying behind while the rest of us traveled the country. And I could only hope that it performed how we hoped it would.
  
  "Just bring him here, Jericho. This is where Alduin will die," Hestia swore, her blue eyes burning with a fierce intensity.
  
  I offered a small smile, though she couldn't see it. Her confidence helped stoke my own -- we were caught with our pants down, but we had still spent six months preparing for this. We weren't unprepared. I just wish that I had a moment to spare to stop and say a few words to Hestia, something more than a hopeful reassurance. But, there wasn't any time. I had wasted too much as it was.
  
  Serana and Lili were at the Throat of the World. With Alduin.
  
  I had to leave, now.
  
  "Stay safe," I told them both, heading to the kitchen. The moment before I reached up and touched the Mark on the ceiling, I heard Hestia's response.
  
  "Come back to me, Jericho!" She shouted, her tone betraying how worried she was. I would, I promised myself, even if I didn't say the words. I just had to hope that she knew that I would. Taking in a deep breath, I pressed my hand against the glowing blue Mark, and a familiar flash of light filled my vision.
  
  And a second later, I was doing a one-handed handstand at the top of the world. Wind bombarded me, moving by me in a screeching howl that nearly deafened me. The mountain was being barraged with hail that nearly knocked me off my balance before I planted my feet on the ground -- baseball-sized chunks of ice impacting against my armor, shattering upon impact. The snow flurries were so bad that I could barely see in front of me.
  
  A throaty roar bombarded my ears, and I felt the force behind it. However, despite my lack of vision on Alduin, the sound was a giveaway. Sonar didn't work as well above ground, much less with so much white noise, but a sound like that would take me right to him. My sword appeared in my hand as I took in a deep breath, focusing on the task at hand before I darted forward with explosive force.
  
  I knew the layout to the mountain top like the back of my hand, so I headed for the ridge that Paarthurnax liked to perch on. My feet found the weathered stone, at least confirming that the landscape was still recognizable-
  
  "YOL TOOR SHUL!" I heard a thunderous crack of power before I saw a bright light cut through the snow flurries. I felt an intense heat on my face that seemed to cut right through my armor. The snow in the air evaporated, and for the first time, I saw Alduin in the flesh.
  
  His form almost reminded me of Paarthurnax, but something was just off about it. His wings were stretched out, proving that he had more than a hundred feet wingspan, while the bulk of his body hovered in the air, kept afloat. His scales were jet black that seemed to gleam in the torrent of fire that spewed from his mouth, his red eyes glowing an ominous red that I could see despite the fire. His neck was slender and long, going to a bulky body, with powerful hind legs tipped with razor-sharp claws. He almost looked like a normal dragon, but...
  
  His scales jutted upwards into spikes, especially around the head -- they formed a mockery of a crown... but considering he had once ruled the world, perhaps mockery wasn't the right word. Alduin seemed otherworldly, different... sinister, even. He seemed like he truly was the most powerful creature in all of existence. And this... this was him at his absolute weakest.
  
  I saw a mist fly up, avoiding the fire, before the mist condensed, revealing the body of a High Vampire. Serana. Tall, gray skin with wings jutting out of her back. In each clawed hand, she held orbs of crackling lightning that she unleashed on Alduin. Alduin responded by shifting the aim of his torrent of fire.
  
  The scene filled me with awe, but now wasn't the time to gape.
  
  "FUS RO DAH!" I shouted, the words rippling from my mouth and racing towards Alduin. The Unrelenting Force slammed into him, knocking him back -- those words had the power to move mountains, but against Alduin, it barely dazed him. He clapped his wings once, cutting off the torrent of fire before he shifted his attention to me as I sprinted across the ridgeline. Serana was to my upper right, flying in the air as she conjured lightning. Lili... I didn't see Lili anywhere, but Hestia would have said something if Lili had died. More concerning, I didn't see Paarthurnax anywhere.
  
  This was not how I wanted the opening barrage to go.
  
  "Insolence," Alduin remarked, his words rumbling with power. He spoke the word like a death sentence, and I suppose it might be. "FAAS RU MAAR!" He shouted, and I almost tripped over my own two feet, expecting something to happen, but nothing did.
  
  Serana, however, recoiled as a scream of terror ripped from her throat -- she flew higher as if she were going to flee altogether. The Shout wasn't one I recognized, but I puzzled out its effects. Alduin was hitting us with fear. It just wouldn't work on me.
  
  "FUS RO DAH!" I returned in kind, hitting the dragon in the face with the words of power. Alduin shook his head, recoiling before he unleashed a thunderous roar. The moment I saw him throw his head back, I saw a crossbow bolt impact against his eye -- it merely bounced off of it. I didn't see the point of origin for the arrow, but I knew it meant that Lili was still in this fight.
  
  However, it looked like bows and arrows were worthless until he lost that natural protection from being a piece of time rather than a living creature. Dragonrend rested on my tongue, but I swallowed the words. Not now. I needed to save that to catch him off guard. I didn't know how else we could lure him to Helgen to spring the trap.
  
  "VEN GAAR NOS!" Alduin returned the shout in turn, flapping his wings, and the steam that covered the mountain swirled into a tornado. Serana flew away, heading towards me. At that same moment, a second blur joined the battle. I recognized Paarthurnax on sight, and I knew it was him a moment before he slammed into Alduin, his mouth biting at his neck just under his head, and both of them crashed into the ground with an impact that felt like it shook the entire mountain.
  
  "Jericho -- he appeared out of nowhere," she informed.
  
  That wasn't important anymore. "Did you learn it?" I questioned her, glancing at Serana. It was the first time I've seen her as a Vampire Lord. Her face was more angular, her ears moved back and ending in sharp points, and while her brow was more pronounced her mouth almost seemed too small. It looked absolutely nothing like her. And another thing that I learned was that the form didn't come pre-dressed.
  
  Serana nodded, "I haven't tried it yet," she warned. That was good. I only had two of the three words down so far. We had someone that could fully use Dragonrend.
  
  "Wait until Paarthurnax is clear, then hit him with it," I told her, looking down at the two thrashing dragons just in time to see Alduin's tail slam into the ridge I stood on. It began to crumble, forcing me to leap down to the ground.
  
  "Traitor!" Alduin roared, having broken free of Paarthurmax's bite to return one of his own. His jaw clamped down on Paarthurnax, biting him at the base of the neck before he turned sharply and flung Paarthurnax through the Word Wall. Rubble rained down as Paarthurnax fell and Alduin unleashed a furious snarl, knowing that wasn't the end of it. "Your pathetic rebellion ends now, Paarthurnax."
  
  "JOOR ZAH FRUL!" Serana shouted, the words washing over Alduin, and he recoiled -- the words didn't do any damage to him, but out of everything, it seemed to have the most effect on him.
  
  That same moment, I darted forward, "FUS RO DAH!" I shouted, the Unrelenting Force slamming into him as I closed the distance. Alduin recoiled again, scales breaking off of him as he was knocked back from the attack, proving that Dragonrend worked. Alduin roared, and my eardrums threatened to pop from the shockwave. He only seemed to have eyes for me as I rushed towards him, ignoring the spells from Lili's wands.
  
  "I am Alduin, mortal! How dare one of your ilk stand before me!" Alduin roared, rearing his head back, towering over me. There was no comparing him to the infant dragon I faced in Danmachi. There was no comparing him even to Paarthurnax. Alduin stood taller than all of them, appearing more like a force of nature than a dragon.
  
  I swung my blade and sent an arc of sharp air at him. The arc impacted against his jet black scales, barely scuffing them, but it sure pissed him off. His glowing red eyes narrowed into slits before he opened his mouth, that I only now noticed was filled with incredibly sharp teeth. "RII VAAZ ZOL!" He shouted, a word of power washing over me, but doing nothing else. That seemed to catch him off guard, because not a moment later, I closed the distance between us and leaped towards his chest.
  
  My sword stabbed into his scales over his sternum, but even with the weight and force behind the stab, it barely made it halfway into Alduin. I was so used to my sword just cutting through everything that it almost shocked me when I felt incredible resistance as I yanked the sword out, carving a line down Alduin's chest. It felt like my sword was moving through concrete.
  
  I kicked off of him when he lashed out at me, attempting to strike at me with the clawed hand on his wing. Before he could follow up the strike, Lili stepped out of the mist and unleashed a barrage of arrows at Alduin's flank and a fireball impacted his side and washed over his scales. It had little effect. Serana had better luck -- a powerful lightning bolt flung from her hands that hit Alduin in the side of the head, knocking it off course when he lunged for me. The moment my feet touched the ground, I threw myself back into the fight.
  
  There was something that I realized as I took in a deep breath, slamming the edge of my sword into Alduin's leg with an Explosive Strike that barely did a thing.
  
  I didn't like fighting things bigger than me.
  
  "FUS RO DAH!" I shouted, catching Alduin in the chest with the shout, knocking him back towards the edge of the mountain that he sent Paarthurnax over.
  
  "FUS RO DAH!" Alduin returned, and there was no comparing the two unrelenting forces. Mine was powerful, to be certain, but the moment that Alduin"s made contact with the ground it felt like a nuke had gone off. One second I was rushing towards him and the next my ears were ringing and I'm flying through the air. My heart leaped to my throat as I gained my bearing easy enough thanks to my expanded vision.
  
  I was heading straight for Helgen. Alduin had shouted the top of the mountain off.
  
  I twisted in midair, searching the dust and rubble for Alduin. Instead, I found Serana.
  
  "Lili!" I shouted at her, not spotting the girl or her oversized bag. Serana's hand pulsed as we fell through the air before she darted off, hopefully saving the girl. Though, that did leave me free falling off of a mountain.
  
  A roar caught my attention, reaching me over the sound of rushing wind -- Paarthurnax and Alduin clashed overhead, biting into each other. Alduin was winning handily, tearing into Paarthurnax. I noticed Alduin was flying under his own power -- had Dragonrend worn off already? That was barely any time at all. Was it only good for an opening? Shit. How effective would mine be if I hit him with it-
  
  My thoughts were caught off by a sudden impact. My first thought was that I had hit the ground, but that was proven false when I saw it was... a carpet?
  
  "Well, would ya' look at that! I wonder if you can really call that the Throat of the World anymore?" I heard Sheogorath question, bringing my attention to the mountain that I had just stood at the peak of... it was difficult to tell because so much of the mountain had been falling with me, along with the avalanche of rubble and snow that was racing down...
  
  A solid few hundred feet of the mountain were suddenly gone. High Hrothgar... shit, I think the Graybeards were dead.
  
  "And ain't he a bit early?" She questioned, tapping the jabbawak against her shoulder as she stood on the purple and orange flying carpet. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Serana emerge from the dust carrying Lili. Both looked dirty, but they were alive.
  
  "He is," I confirmed. "Are the others...?" I trailed off, really hoping that those promised reinforcements came through. I had hit Alduin with my best and he barely flinched. And he was at his weakest.
  
  It was mind-boggling. I had slaughtered an army on my own. A single word could tear through solid stone and steel. The bards hadn't stopped singing about me since I arrived.
  
  And I don't think I qualified as an annoyance to Alduin. I knew he was powerful, but... it was something else seeing the best attack I had doing nothing to him. I should have given myself a year to prepare. Maybe more. Alduin... if I wanted to fight him like I wanted to, then I should have picked that option to be born in Skyrim to give myself a solid twenty years to prepare.
  
  "Should be on their way," Sheogorath remarked, making sounds of awe as Parrthrmax and Alduin shouted at each other above. The results were explosive and the effects could be felt for miles in every direction. "By the way, I got you a little present," Sheogorath informed, pulling a pair of boots from empty air as Serana and Lili neared.
  
  I blinked, and she seemed to sense my confusion. "They"re an old pair of boots of mine from my days as a lowly thief," she explained, tossing them at me. I caught them, wondering if this was really the time for gifts. Then it clicked what they were.
  
  The Boots of Springhill Jack. The boots that let the Hero of Kvatch survive falling down the White-Gold Tower.
  
  I slid them on, noticing that the boots confirmed to my feet, and my armor conformed to my new boots. Standing up, I saw Sheogorath wasn't paying attention, but she seemed to know that I put them on. "Lovely pair, but I never had much use for them. I just stacked paint brushes. But, they should keep you alive if you fall." She remarked before the jabbawak in her hand began to glow.
  
  "Thanks," I told her, looking up to the two dragons that were battling it out. They disappeared into the heavy clouds, and only images of them fighting could be seen in brief flashes as lightning brewed in the sky. We had to get up there. I looked to Serana, who still carried Lili, my lips thinned. "Bring Lili down and get ready to use the Thu'um again," I ordered before Sheogorath stepped off of the magic carpet and stood on empty air for a split second before she flew straight up towards Alduin.
  
  "Mr. Jericho!" Lili shouted back at me, wanting to protest, but there wasn't any time. Lili would be more of a help down below when we brought Alduin down. Serana seemed to realize that because she dove down a second later while the magic carpet rose, seemingly obeying my desires. As I flew up, I was hit with a shockwave from a bolt of lightning arcing down in a flash of light. The first of many. As I flew up, more lightning began to arc down, hitting the world below. The carpet must have protected me because I should have gotten hit when I entered the clouds.
  
  Clouds were overhyped -- they weren't fluffy cotton balls in the sky. They were cold as hell, and wet, I found as I flew through it, blinded by the sheer amount of gray and black I saw. Right up until I saw a flash of light-
  
  "YOL TOOR SHUL!" I heard before a torrent of fire cut through the clouds, revealing Alduin. Sheogorath floated before him, unafraid as she stood inside a bubble shield.
  
  "Scary! You know, in a lot of ways... I was never the hero of my story. I was just the companion that happened to lead the real hero to his destiny," I heard Sheogorath say, despite being covered in fire. "My big bad was defeated with divine intervention... the only villain I truly defeated was Jigiliag, and for it, I was cursed to become the Prince of Madness."
  
  As she spoke, I saw the fire bulge as if something was traveling through it. It was only when it reached Alduin's mouth that I realized it was Sheogorath herself, cutting off the torrent of fire by lodging herself and a bubble shield in his jaw, like some giant jawbreaker.
  
  "So, I'm looking forward to this," she informed before a beam of light fired from her staff right down Alduin's throat. I heard her demented giggle as she flew out of his mouth as Alduin roared in pain. I flew forward taking in a deep breath -- I wished I had time to master more shouts, but I only had the one.
  
  "FUS RO DAH!" I shouted, following up the strike while he was distracted, aiming for his wings. They seemed to be a bit weaker because the Unrelenting Force tore through them, sending black blood flying from the wound. However, dragons didn't seem to need their wings to fly, because Alduin barely seemed to notice the hole. He clapped his wings once before he threw his head back and roared.
  
  The entire world could hear it, it radiated that much power. In response, I saw a glow of red above me. I looked up just in time to see a massive hunk of rock racing right towards me.
  
  "FUS!" I shouted, knowing that I couldn't let it sail right by me. Helgen was below me. Worse, there was more than one. My Shout slammed into the meteor the size of a building, fracturing it and reducing it to chucks that I could only hope would do less damage than a singular whole one. I was forced to evade the rubble I created, eying the other meteor that seemed to appear from nowhere above us that rained down to Nirn below, intermingling with the lightning storm.
  
  The sight of it... the only way I could think to describe it was apocalyptic. It looked like the world was ending.
  
  "Brother!" Paarthurnax roared before he emerged from a cloud, slamming into Alduin while his focus was settled on Sheogorath, who darted around and peppered him with blasts that managed to injure him despite his immortality. I had to swallow the urge to do the same -- I was practically useless until Serana arrived. My incomplete Dragonrend... at best, I could use it once to catch him off guard. I doubt it would be worth more than that.
  
  Worse, I was feeling the drain from using the Thu'um. I didn't know how to describe it other than this... ache in my soul. Something that I felt deep in my bones, almost like a sore throat or a pulled muscle, but the physical component wasn't there.
  
  Luckily, Serana arrived a moment later, soaring upwards. I saw her lips move, and I knew exactly what she was planning to do.
  
  "JOOR ZAH FRUL!" Serana shouted, the Shout washing over both Alduin and Paarthurnax. Both dragons dropped like a stone, while I flew in after them, knowing that this was a chance to injure Alduin. I felt a rising deep in my balls, but I jumped off the magic carpet all the same, leaping to the two thrashing dragons that were intent on doing as much damage to each other as they could.
  
  I free fell for a second, my eye on my target. I half expected Alduin to turn at the last second, but he didn't, and because he didn't, my sword slammed into the base of his wing as I activated Double Swing. My Ebony sword managed to bite deep into his scales, but with double swing kicking in a split second later, my sword bit into bone. Not very deep, but it didn't need to be.
  
  Alduin roared in pain, thrashing to throw me off. I lunged for his wing again, lashing at it with an Explosive Strike next, but I failed to see if it did more damage to him or not because the next thing I knew I was flying away from Alduin as he flung me off. My heart leaped to my throat, but the magic carpet flew in to catch me, preventing me from falling to my death.
  
  I watched Alduin and Paarthurmax go at it under a barrage of fire and lightning courtesy of Sheogorath and Serana. The two hit the ground like a meteor strike, slamming right in the center of Helgen. The city quaked, recoiling from the impact, and I saw buildings collapse because of it. People were dead. I just had to hope that it wasn't anyone I knew.
  
  The trap activated a second later -- dark blue lines traced the city walls, each guard tower that survived serving as a focal point, before they launched a beam of energy up to a central point. They impacted something invisible and it was only when every point hit it, that I saw what it was -- the Eye of Magnus. So that's why Sheogorath wouldn't let me have it. Each beam of light interlocked, forming a dome over the city to prevent anything draconian from getting out. A trap made for Alduin, one that had been perfected by Sheogorath and the Neveraine.
  
  Yet, no plan survives contact with the enemy. From my vantage, I saw a problem -- the rubble from the mountain. Helgen was at the base of the mountain. I could see the damage done to the walls from where the stone impacted and then flooded over the mostly intact walls. They were still up and functioning, but I didn't see a beam of light for that guard tower.
  
  So, we had to make sure Alduin didn't notice that it wasn't there either.
  
  I dived down, sailing through the barrier to see Alduin fling Paarthurnax through a stone building, reducing it to rubble. "I have grown weary of your games, Paarthurnax. I have never blamed you for them -- our father made you so, but you have overstepped." Alduin spoke, taking no notice of us. He only seemed to have eyes for Paarthurnax.
  
  "Jericho!" I heard someone shout -- I looked away to see that it was Farkas. He was here, along with the rest of the Companions. Among their number was a man clad all in Ebony. The Ebony Warrior.
  
  I only realized I had looked away when I heard Alduin continue. "Die. ZII LOS DII DU!" My heart went still in my chest when I heard the Shout. I recognized it. It came from Miraak... when he devoured a soul and their power.
  
  I looked over in time to see the Shout rip through Paarthurnax -- his scales splintered, giving way to the shout. It burned his flesh away, blackening his bones. I heard Paarthurnax let out a final roar of pure agony, before the shout ripped through his chest, reducing his flesh and bones to ash. Something was ripped from him and it flowed into Alduin. His soul. Alduin devoured his soul like a Dragonborn did to a dragon... for he was the devourer.
  
  It never really clicked what that name meant until I saw it. Alduin would devour the world and all that it contained.
  
  Alduin's form swelled, whatever damage we managed to deal to him was undone in an instant. He seemed to bask in his power for a moment, savoring it. If I had to guess... he wasn't at his weakest any longer.
  
  Fuck.
  
  "FUS RO DAH!" I heard someone shout, and the moment was broken. The Ebony Warrior. I clenched my sword, looking up to Alduin as he towered above us. He didn't seem to notice me as he glared at the Ebony Warrior.
  
  "Protect Serana," I ordered everyone in earshot. Then we rushed forward to battle the beast -- Farkas and Vilkas behind me. I could only assume that Aela was with the rest of the archers. Fuck, I hoped Hestia was on the other side of the planet.
  
  That thought never felt more prudent than when I heard Alduin take in a deep breath and I knew what was coming next.
  
  "FUS RO DAH!" Alduin seemed to take exception to the shout because he once again returned it. My lips formed the words, intent on battling it out with the Shout, only for the words to fail me as I suddenly found myself somewhere else.
  
  I stood on a building, Sheogorath placing a hand on my shoulder. Had she-
  
  My attention was stolen away when the Shout hit the ground -- it was like the hand of god carved a line through Helgen, wrecking buildings and everything else in its path. I didn't even know what to compare it to. It was simply an unrelenting Force that demolished everything in its way until it slammed into the walls of Helgen, where it was stopped in its tracks. The walls glowed blue, protected by the Eye of Magnus above.
  
  "Shit... we need to hit him with Dragonrend, so stay away from him until then," I spoke, turning around to make sure the others got the point. Serana stood next to me, a hand on her shoulder -- I could see her there because of my expanded vision...
  
  But there was no one in my blind spot. No one was behind me. Not Vilkas or Farkas or any other of the Companions.
  
  My heart plummeted like a stone, a sense of horror filling me. That... no, that...
  
  They were supposed to join the Familia.
  
  "No time for that, lad," Sheogorath spoke, her tone unusually grim. "You can mourn the dead later." She ordered and I swallowed my questions with no small amount of difficulty. Dead. They were dead. Why just me and Serana? Why...
  
  Anger blossomed in my chest. A flame of rage that hadn't been sparked since the War Game half a year ago. A spark of rage that could only be quenched by ripping a man apart with my bare hands and slaughtering his Familia down to the last man. My hand tightened on my sword to the point that it trembled. I felt the exact moment that my Berserker Skill kicked in, making my stats swell.
  
  "There's the right attitude. The beasty is a wee bit stronger than anticipated. Take this," Sheogorath said before she tossed me a chain that wasn't much bigger than a normal necklace. "We need to muzzle him."
  
  I liked that idea.
  
  "Let's start the second act then, shall we?"
  
  I agreed. I leaped off the building that we were on and landed in the street below. They were all covered in dust and rubble, and I saw pieces of gore that had landed after the Unrelenting Force. A thought niggled at my head, wondering which arm or leg was Farkas or Vilkas. The thought fed my rage, turning it into a roaring flame that burned in my chest and boiled my blood.
  
  Sheogorath brought down a stream of lightning from the Eye of Magnus, the stream of pure power impacting directly into Alduin. It drove him to the ground, a roar of pure agony escaping him as I headed right for him. His eyes seemed to make eye contact with mine for a brief moment, his gaze hateful and murderous. Almost as much as mine.
  
  "JOOR ZAH FRUL!" I heard Serana shout, and Alduin's roar of rage and pain doubled under the force of the Eye of Magnus. Heat radiated from the pure magical power driving Alduin into the ground -- stone began to glow red before it began to melt, but still, Alduin managed to endure the attack.
  
  "FUS RO DAH!" I heard another shout -- the source was the Ebony Warrior. His arm was gone, and one of his legs was twisted in the wrong direction, but he still limped towards Alduin with a sword in hand. His shout hit Alduin in the face, busting teeth, but the dragon endured the blow. His mouth opened, and it seemed no matter how fast I made my legs move, I just wasn't fast enough.
  
  "GAAN LAH HAAS!" Alduin shouted, directing the words at us both, but it simply washed over me. The Ebony Warrior staggered a step, then collapsed to his knees before falling over dead. Alduin had stolen his vitality. I would assume it wouldn't be much, but Alduin instead pushed himself up against the torrent of pure power pushing him down. "FIEM," the moment he said the word, the torrent of power went through Alduin.
  
  That same moment, Alduin surged forward, and all I saw were teeth.
  
  Good.
  
  "FUS RO DAH!" I screamed the word with every ounce of strength and will that I had, channeling my rage into the words of power that ripped from my throat. The force slammed into Alduin's gullet, and it seemed that even he felt that. Blood erupted from his softer insides, and it gushed out from his mouth as I effortlessly leaped upwards, avoiding the strike. I saw that his back had been stripped of scales, his flesh burned and blackened. He was wounded. Just not dead.
  
  As he sailed by underneath me, I landed on the back of his neck in a run, stabbing my sword into it with every bit of my strength -- between it, and his own momentum, I carved a bloody line down the back of his neck before he thrashed, throwing me off. I sailed through the air, and Serana and Sheogorath were right there with the distraction. Sheogorath brought down another blinding torrent of power on Alduin, but he was warier of the trick now.
  
  I slammed through a building across the street, but I saw the moment that Alduin lunged for Sheogorath. I tore through a brick wall, and I felt bones in my body snap from the impact before quickly reforming. I rolled to my feet, channeling the pain, and sprinted for the exit I had just made. Then I saw that Sheogorath had baited Alduin into a trap.
  
  She led him by the nose, taking aim with her staff, and sending a blinding flash of light directly into his eye. I expected a roar of pain, but Alduin simply pressed onward -- both to my surprise and Sheogorath's. He... was Dragonrend becoming less effective?!
  
  "ZUN HAL VIIK!" Alduin shouted, ripping Sheogorath's staff from her hand so quickly that it took her fingers with it.
  
  "Whoops!" Sheogorath shouted gleefully, before she dove right into his mouth. I almost smiled at the tactic, knowing exactly what was about to happen next. As predicted, Alduin roared in pure agony as Sheogorath tormented his insides.
  
  That was my chance, I thought as I rushed forward, clenching the chain that Sheogorath gave me in hand. Serana fired lightning from her hands, hitting Alduin with everything that she had. I saw an arrow bounce off his scales, bringing my attention to the source as I crossed the street. Aela stood on a half-collapsed building, bow in hand. And a torrent of arrows from Lili told me that they were both in the fight.
  
  We needed the Neveraine. Only Alduin's Unrelenting Force had managed to destroy the Mark... and the one at our house was now useless.
  
  I shoved the thoughts aside and focused solely on the task at hand -- killing Alduin. The dragon thrashed, slamming into buildings as he clawed at his chest, distracted by Sheogorath. Because of it, he didn't notice my approach until it was far too late. I jumped onto his tail, running up his back before I leaped up towards his head. The chain in my hand whipped out, growing in length and size-
  
  A bright light erupted from Alduin's mouth.
  
  Sheogorath was dead.
  
  The thought caught me so off guard that I hesitated and in that split second, Alduin reacted. He whipped around, lashing out with his winged arm, and smacked me away. It felt like I had been hit with a truck. I slammed through stone walls, punching through a few of them before I impacted into the street. My bones shattered from the force and I tasted blood, but they reformed a second later.
  
  Sheogorath was dead. It didn't feel real.
  
  I didn't have time to even think about the implications of that because I heard Alduin a second later. "FUS-" he started, making me spring to my feet, but something cut him off. Even still, the first word had been uttered, and the building I had flown through was reduced to dust along with a tunnel of destruction slamming into the street, narrowly missing me. I pivoted on a dime, heading through the rubble to get to Alduin once again, my mind reeling.
  
  This wasn't how this was supposed to go.
  
  Alduin slammed his wing through a building, sending debris flying across the street as he turned his attention to Serana. She flew above him, lightning and fire washing over him.
  
  "FUS RO DAH!" I shouted, hitting him in the side with the Unrelenting Force. It knocked him into a building, crushing it under his weight, giving Serana a chance to give herself some breathing room. I looked to my right -- we needed to find the staff. It could use the Eye of Magnus. Right now, it was our best shot-
  
  My gaze landed on the staff. It was clutched in a familiar hand that wore a vambrace.
  
  Aela.
  
  My gaze darted over to her, seeing her prone form laying on the ground. A chunk of rubble was on top of her, pinning her to the ground, but she still reached for the staff with her remaining hand. She couldn't reach it. Not even close. It was on the other side of the street.
  
  God fucking damn it.
  
  Damn it all.
  
  Fuck.
  
  I moved, my mind blank except for a singular thought. A singular desire. A desire that I would make a reality. I couldn't and wouldn't settle for anything less.
  
  I reached into my inventory and launched a high potion toward Aela while I headed for the staff. It landed perfectly in front of her and I hated that's all I could do for her. the potions would buy her time. Time so Lili could get to her. Time... I should have spent more time learning magic. I should have...
  
  My regrets fanned the flames of my rage. My hate. Snatching up the Staff of Magnus, I just about bent it, my hand was so tightly wrapped around it. My sword trembled in my other hand, as did my body -- shaking in rage as Alduin righted himself.
  
  "What are you, creature?!" Alduin snapped at me, while I took aim with the staff.
  
  I should have come up with a witty one-liner. I just didn't have one on hand. I wanted him dead too badly.
  
  My response was bringing down that torrent of power onto Alduin with a thought. A desire. I wanted him reduced to nothing. I didn't even want there to be ash left. I wanted to tear him apart with my bare hands and the screams he unleashed as he was hit with the full force of the Eye of Magnus was a sweet, sweet symphony to my ears. A cruel smile tugged at my lips, bringing forth all of the Eye of Magnus' power down onto him. I could barely look at it, the flashes of light were so bright. I could just barely make out Alduin-
  
  "FUS!" I heard a split second before I felt it. The Unrelenting Force slammed into my chest and I didn't have a comparison to make to it. I had been hit by the word of power twice so far -- both times from Deathlords. The first just about killed me. The second knocked me on my ass. This one... it felt like I had been hit with the entire weight of a mountain hurled at the speed of light. My bones shattered into pieces, my organs ruptured from the force, sending blood spewing out of my mouth and nose. For a second, I couldn't see anything.
  
  Then, as soon as the impact registered, it was gone. I felt myself fall, though I was only barely aware when I hit the ground. My mind was reeling, struggling to comprehend what in the hell that was. I felt something shift underneath my eyelids and it was only then that I realized that they had ruptured in the blow. I opened them, uncaring of the blood in my eyes, as I groaned in pain, my bones putting themselves back together.
  
  Pushing myself up, I was surprised to see that I still had my sword and staff and chain in hand. Hell, I was surprised to see that my hands were still attached.
  
  My armor. My armor had saved me.
  
  Looking up, I saw Alduin had turned his focus back to Serana. I clenched my teeth, forcing myself to stand as I raised the staff once again. And again, I brought the full force of the Eye of Magnus onto Alduin. A torrent of power slammed into him, informing him that I was still alive. I took a shaky step forward, my body feeling numb, but I could still stand. I snarled as I channeled more power into bringing Alduin down. I wish I knew what else the eye could do, but I didn't. So, all I could do was brute force it and make Alduin hurt.
  
  But even it was losing its effectiveness. I saw Alduin fly up, crawling over a house, turning intangible to avoid the pale blue lightning. He spotted me, beginning to shout, but Serana hit him with another Dragonrend, interrupting his intangibility so I could nail him with the Eye.
  
  We had to shut him up. We had to...
  
  "Serana!" I shouted, walking forward. Despite all the noise, Serana seemed to hear me. She flew over, and I held the staff out to her. "Take this, and hit him with everything you have," I told her -- Serana could remain mobile, more so than me. And with her Dragonrend, she could time the blasts to make sure they connected. Though, it seemed that the staff needed focus because the eye lessened significantly the moment I became distracted.
  
  "How?" She asked, taking the staff, cutting off the torrent of power completely.
  
  "By wanting to hurt him," I answered while Alduin roared his defiance for the world to hear.
  
  Serana looked at me, "What are you going to do?" She asked, and I clenched my hand down on the chain that Sheogorath had given me.
  
  "I'm going to shut Alduin up," I answered, striding forward as Alduin stared hatefully at me. Surprised, maybe? It didn't matter. Hate, or confusion, I was going to fucking kill the lizard if it was the last thing I did.
  
  "More than thrice you have survived my Thu'um, mortal. How can this be?" Alduin expected an answer. He expected me to fucking banter. After everything. Farkas was dead. Vilkas was dead. Sheogorath... she was dead for now. And Aela... at the very least, Aela lost an arm if she wasn't also dead.
  
  I wasn't in the mood to talk.
  
  He was going to die. And I would make sure he died screaming.
  
  In response, I rushed towards Alduin, ignoring his question, much to his annoyance. I darted into a house, slamming through the stone walls to get to Alduin faster. They gave way to me, barely slowing me down. A good thing too because Alduin tore through the buildings with an Unrelenting Force, reducing the block of buildings to dust and rubble. I didn't even want to know how many people had died in the attack, cowering in their basements. Too many.
  
  I was a shit king.
  
  I tore through the final stone wall between me and Alduin, catching him by surprise. "FUS RO DAH!" I shouted at him, nailing him with an Unrelenting Force of my own. Alduin recoiled, scales and twisted spikes on his body chipping off. I was doing a little more damage to him, just not enough. "FUS RO DAH!" I shouted again, knocking Alduin into a building.
  
  "LI-!" Alduin started, only to be cut off by the Eye hitting him with its power. It pushed him through the building, and despite the overwhelming nature of it, I sprinted towards Alduin.
  
  Serana cut it off as I neared, worried that I would die from it. Maybe I would. I probably would, but that thought was a distant concern. I would have kept moving even if she hadn"t.
  
  "FUS RO DAH!" I shouted a final time, catching him in the chest and knocking him on his back, however temporarily. It was an opening that I needed. I leaped forward, closing the distance between us, and landed on his tail. I sprinted up as he started to turn over. He looked down, fury etched into his draconic face. I matched his snarl with one of my own. "FUS RO DAH!" It slammed into his face, knocking it back like it was a half-decent punch to the chin.
  
  That strain inside of me grew worse with each shout, but I ignored it. I sprinted up Alduin's body, leaping up as he tried to turn himself over and lash out at me at the same time. "FUS RO DAH!" I shouted, hitting him in the back of the head, buying those precious few seconds that I needed. I reached the back of his head, the chain lashing out to wrap itself around Alduin"s head. It coiled around his maw a half dozen times before the other end raced towards me.
  
  I dropped my sword to catch it, wrapping the chain around my hand and arm while I planted my feet to the back of Alduin"s head. Even still, Aldin"s mouth was parted, and it was gaining more slack as he forced it open wider.
  
  "You dare?!" Alduin shouted as I forced him to look up. He sounded beyond furious and indignant. At that moment, I was certain that he hated me every bit as much as I hated him. I didn"t respond in favor of pulling on the chains with all of my strength, my muscles burning with effort and the chains strained against the surface of my armor, all to close his mouth. I grit my teeth, pulling with all of my might and beyond, but Alduin fought me for every millimeter.
  
  Then he paused and I knew he saw the exact thing I didn"t want him to. The missing arc of energy from the covered guard tower.
  
  I yanked back as hard as I could until I could feel the chains digging into my hands through my armor. Even still, Alduin spread his wings and leaped into the air, nearly knocking me off and I only managed to stay in place because of the chains. "Serana! Do it!" I shouted, my heart falling to my gut. We had to keep him inside of Helgen. The trap was set. If he got out...
  
  The blast didn"t come and I screamed as I yanked my arms back. I heard a rumbling from Alduin.
  
  "FO-" Alduin started, and I screamed my hate and rage at the top of my lungs in a wordless howl.
  
  "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I screamed, yanking back and I heard the sound of Alduin"s mouth snapping shut. He strained against the chain that kept him quiet, and already I could feel him working his way back up to opening his mouth again. I didn"t have much time. "SERANA!" I screamed, looking up at the eye that grew closer by the second. "NOW!"
  
  The Eye began to glow and my world became pain. It felt like I was doused in gasoline and then set on fire, only the pain grew more intense with every second. It was hell. The only reason I wasn"t blasted to pieces was my armor, but I was still dying. I could feel it. Like the hand of death was steadily gripping my heart and squeezing the life out of it. All my efforts... everything I"ve done up to this point, all that I"ve achieved and all I could achieve... meaningless.
  
  Temporary.
  
  "JOOR ZAH FRUL!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, hitting Alduin with the entirety of Dragonrend. And then we began to fall. The torrent of power pushed us down to the ground, Alduin"s flight stolen from him. I couldn"t see the ground. I had no clue how high we were up.
  
  What I did feel was the impact. Alduin slammed into the ground, driven down like a hammer. The boots saved my life, I thought. Otherwise, I would have died on impact. Even still, I was thrown forward, landing flat on Alduin"s back. The Eye cut off a moment later, leaving both of us reeling from the impact, but I forced myself to move. Every inch of my body felt like absolute hell. It felt like I was dying.
  
  Still, I brought the chains together in my hands, moving to make a knot, but the moment they made contact with each other, the two ends melded together. The chain became a circle, and it dug into Alduin"s maw, preventing him from saying another word. But he was still alive. And still dangerous. The fight wasn"t over.
  
  I rolled off of his head, landing in a heap next to him. I heard Alduin breathing heavily, but he didn"t move when I used him as a prop to help push myself up. A groan escaped me as I rose to my full height, my muscles rebelling against my wishes, but they obeyed all the same. Turning to face Alduin, I found that I was at eye level with him. There was rage in the glowing red orb I could see. Rage and rebellion.
  
  "Fus..." I started, but the word wasn"t a shout. I swallowed thickly, tasting blood as I went light-headed. That strain in my body increased to the point that it was painful. I shook my head and gathered myself. Wait... I needed... I...
  
  My hand reached into my inventory to retrieve the Black Star. I clutched it tightly, pressing it against Alduin"s side and I met his gaze once again.
  
  "FUS...!" I began, the shout taking shape. Alduin started to move, and in the distance, I could hear shouting, but I couldn"t make out the words.
  
  "RO!" I continued, feeling the tension deep inside of me began to snap. To tear. I forced the next word out anyway.
  
  "DAH!" I finished the shout, aiming directly for Alduin"s eye. The shout punched through the glowing red orb, heading directly into its brain. I had no clue if the Shout would kill the World-Eater. Not really. But no matter how many times it took, I was going to kill him.
  
  The Black Star grew hot in my hand as if I were holding a red hot piece of charcoal... and that was the moment I knew that Alduin had died.
  
  His scales began to crack, revealing embers underneath that spread with every second. The Star grew hotter in my hand, apparently the source of heat, and I watched in muted awe as Alduin began to be absorbed into the Star. The parts that were touching were first, Alduin"s body reduced to ash and dust that the Star sucked up, and as I held it in place, more and more of his corpse was being absorbed. And the more that was absorbed, the hotter the Star became. I clutched it all the same, even as I fell to a knee and gasped raggedly at the pain.
  
  I couldn"t let go. Not now. Not at the last second. Too much had been lost for me to fuck it up now.
  
  So, I grit my teeth and held what felt like a sun in the palm of my hand. Alduin"s head vanished, then his body and his wings... lastly was the tip of his tail, going up in a puff of ash that was dragged into the Star.
  
  Alduin was no more. He was dead. I killed him.
  
  "Heh," I managed to gasp out a laugh as I fell, landing on my side like a puppet with its strings cut. My body radiated a pure agony that I felt all the way down into my soul. I swallowed thickly, tasting more blood. I... I should drink... what...
  
  A familiar sensation washed over me, one that I had felt once before nearly a year ago. I struggled against it, fought against it, but it wasn"t a foe that could be defeated.
  
  My vision went dark, my hearing was muffled and a sense of coldness spread from my chest...
  
  Then...
  
  I died.
  
  ...
  
  So ends the Skyrim Jump.
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
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  I opened my eyes to a world framed by darkness, contrasting the pure white light of the ground. Directly in front of me was a woman sitting on a lavish white throne. Her light blue hair set in a peculiar style, a half ponytail, but with the two strands pulled back to create it fed through a round dark blue ornament that peeked over the back of her head, forming a loop of hair behind her. Blue seemed to be a theme of hers, I noticed -- blue eyes, blue dress, blue gemstone embedded in the ribbon on the front of her blouse. The color theme was only broken up by the white and gold trimming on her sleeveless shirt and short skirt, and a pink, translucent ribbon-like celestial shawl that wrapped around her upper arms, and white sleeves that left her shoulders bare.
  
  "Oh, welcome Hero," the girl began, giving me a gentle look. I only realized that I was sitting in a chair across from her when I straightened up. "I am the goddess known as Aqua, here to guide you to the afterlife."
  
  I blinked... "Shit, I died?" I questioned, my gaze dipping down to my hand where the Star should be. I didn't see any sign of it, or of the burns that had scorched my hand.
  
  "Heroically," Aqua agreed with a nod. "Alduin the World-Eater was slain by your hand. Nirn shall live in eternal peace forever more. Your actions and deeds will live on in legend until the end of time," Aqua continued, earning a slow blink from me. I clenched and unclenched my hand, mulling that over for a moment.
  
  I died. A second time. I managed to take Alduin with me... but the cost had been high. A lot of people had died. Alduin... I don't think I had ever underestimated him, but I had overestimated myself and the preparations we had made. If the plan had gone off like it should have, then the Graybeards would still be alive. Paarthurnax would be alive. Farkas and Vilkas would be alive. Aela... I could only hope that Aela was still alive. Sheogorath would come back eventually, but it could take some time depending on the vote to bring her back instantly.
  
  Above all else...
  
  "I broke my promise to Hestia," I muttered regretfully. I hadn't voiced it aloud, but I had promised myself that I would come back to her. Shit. I should have said something. To her and to Lili. Something. Anything. Just... something other than ignoring them to chase after Alduin.
  
  I had an alarming amount of regrets in death, I realized. I should have realized that Alduin would have appeared when Serana used the Elder Scroll to learn Dragonrend -- all the hints were there. An Elder Scroll was a piece of the space-time continuum, Alduin was already due to arrive soon as he traveled through the time-stream... I should have realized that Serana learning Dragonrend before he was out would just give him an exit. I regret not spending more time with Hestia and Lili. It wasn't like most of our preparations were worth a damn, so I could have taken more time...
  
  Above all else, I regretted dying.
  
  "That... doesn't make any sense," I told Aqua with a shake of my head. "I know of at least three other world ending threats. There are probably a solid dozen or so that have the potential." I pointed out, opening my eyes to see a look of shock pass over her face.
  
  "A-a dozen?! I knew Nirn was a crazy place, but isn't that a bit much?!" She protested, the composed and dutiful goddess air she carried about herself slipping ever so slightly. She seemed to realize this because she paused, coughed into her hand, then threw on that same kind smile that looked way more fake now. "Ahem -- worry not dear hero, all shall be well for Nirn. The allies that you left behind shall continue your work to bring peace to every corner of the world."
  
  Wait one second here...
  
  "Yet, there are other worlds that suffer, oh Hero-" Aqua began, and I frowned deeply. This made less and less sense the more I thought about it. Processing the whole dying thing distracted me for a minute, but now that I was focusing on her and my surroundings -- this made no sense at all.
  
  "Is this a sales pitch?" I questioned, looking around the place. I knew this place. And I knew this goddess. "I'm a member of the Hestia Familia -- I should be in her afterlife. What the hell is this? Did you kidnap me?" I demanded, making Aqua's face pinch up as the kind smile melted into a frustrated glare and pout.
  
  "She kidnapped you from me first!" She shouted, jabbing her scepter in my direction -- a white metal staff with a pink flower bud to serve as the tip. "Your soul was a part of my domain waaaaayyy before she got her grubby little hands on you! I didn't really think much about it when you got poached from me, but you turned out to be a super high-quality soul!" Aqua shouted before she got angry and threw her scepter on the ground. "I'm tired of getting yelled at for not defeating the Demon King already! Everyone I send there turns out to be a bunch of chumps, even when I give them super overpowered equipment and skills! I must have done hundreds at this point! You saved a world already, so save this one too!"
  
  There was a whole lot to unpackage in that word vomit of complaints. What I picked out first was that my soul had apparently once been a part of her domain. Meaning... huh. So God existed in the real world, and it was Aqua. That... yeah, that explained some things.
  
  "Hestia didn't take my soul. Someone else did. Do you know who?" I questioned, curious despite myself. Every time I world jumped so far, I had been taken to a white void. I had never died before. At least, not since I became a Gamer.
  
  Aqua offered a thoroughly unhelpful shrug, "I dunno." The fact that she didn't care to look went unsaid. "If they're yoinking souls like they did with you, then it's probably one of the way higher-ups. You're better off not asking about them," Aqua added with a dismissive gesture of her hand.
  
  That was worrying. I wasn't aware that gods had rankings -- I kinda just lumped them all in the same 'all powerful' category when they didn't seal off their power. So, I decided to drop the line of questioning. For now, at least. Even if I got the answers I wanted, I didn't really have a plan from there. Was I supposed to be pissed at the god that pulled me from my home and assassinated me to make the Gamer? Why would I when my life only got way better?
  
  No, right now I only had a singular goal.
  
  "I'm done being a hero. Tried it once, and it sucked. So much stress and dealing with idiots, and nothing ever really going your way... yeah, no, count me out," I refused, each word I said making Aqua more and more nervous. There was a look of pure panic in her eyes. "I'd like to go home, please. To Nirn and Hestia."
  
  "H-hey now, we can work something out!" Aqua said, clearly panicking. She really had banked in on me going all hero and jumping in at a chance to save another world, huh? "I'm a pretty powerful goddess, you know? And I haven't sealed away my power at all!" I knew she was trying to get my interest, and as desperate as she sounded, it was working.
  
  I tapped on the arm of the chair, considering that point. "What's your point?" I asked, wanting her to make an offer before I showed that she had have my attention.
  
  "My point is that I can pull some strings for you," Aqua said, throwing on a smug look with the same ease she panicked. "The final battle for you went pretty bad, huh?" She questioned, a damn near sinister glint in her eye. "You won, but you died. Same with some other people. If the Demon Lord gets dealt with, then I'll put you back in your body on Nirn before the final battle."
  
  Damn. "This is extortion, you know," I pointed out. She had me by the balls. That... that was exactly what I wanted. If she could follow through, then I could face Alduin again. And this time it would go down differently. It just really pissed me off that I would be dancing to her tune -- first she brings me here after death, and now the only way she'll help me is if I help her first? What a bitch.
  
  It wasn"t a fair thought. But I just watched a bunch of my friends die. I wasn"t in the mood to be fair.
  
  "It's not like you don't get anything out of it," Aqua protested, seemingly offended. "I'll even let you get the usual Isekai Package deal -- one overpowered item that's yours to keep." She was trying to sweeten the deal to not piss me off, but I was still pissed off.
  
  I had died. Again. Others died. And she was dangling the chance to undo it in front of my nose. All I had to do was jump through her hoops. The deal was...
  
  By now, I understood you had to give to take, but the principle of it rubbed me the wrong way. It grated on me like sandpaper. It"s what I experienced every step of the way in Skyrim, and in the end, none of it meant anything. The Neveraine never showed up. The Empire"s soldiers didn"t arrive in time. The Companions died. The only one that had followed through had been Sheogorath, Serana, and Aela.
  
  I didn't want to do it. I didn"t want to jump through hoops, do the same song and dance all over again when she had the power to send me back now.
  
  "Does Hestia know that I'm here?" I asked, looking Aqua in the eyes. She seemed a bit caught off guard by the question, but she shook her head a second later.
  
  "She doesn't. Sealing away her divinity really hampers her insight, and this is a realm outside of the one she's in. I took you the moment you died, so at best it might have registered that the falna that she gave you disappeared. But, going back in time would fix all of that," Aqua said, nudging me to do what she wanted. Her eyes darted to the side as she casually shrugged, seemingly uncaring and annoyed that I wasn"t signing my name on the dotted line yet.
  
  Except it would all be clear the moment she updated my falna. Hestia had described updating like reading a book of my experiences, which she turned into points. It would be impossible for her not to learn about me battling out a Demon King in another world.
  
  I just didn't like it. At all. For more reasons than just the circumstances. I didn't want to leave her behind. I did too much of that in Skyrim. Death, it would seem, really shook up my priorities.
  
  Not to mention, Alduin...
  
  A thought struck me, "Would it be possible to bring her with me?" I asked -- I used my system to do that last time, but I didn't seem to be able to do that now.
  
  Again, Aqua shook her head. "Whatever was done with you is an exception, not the rule. If it was easy for gods to jump to different universes and worlds, it would happen way more often."
  
  Fuck.
  
  "It"s not that bad -- time moves differently between worlds, so she won"t even notice that you"re gone!" Aqua offered, missing the point entirely.
  
  My eyes narrowed, "You"ve never been in a relationship, have you?" I questioned and you"d think I punched her in the gut with how she folded in on herself the moment I said the words. She hunched over, arms curled around her stomach, and when she looked up at me, I saw there were tears in her eyes.
  
  "I-It"s because I"m a goddess! We can"t have relationships! All that stuff was forbidden ages ago when there were demi-gods everywhere! It"s not my fault! I could get a boyfriend if I wanted one -- which I don"t!" Aqua pressed, leaving me unimpressed. You know, her antics were a lot more amusing in the show. Actually having to deal with her was an absolute pain in the ass. Especially when I didn"t see a way to get what I wanted without having to pay the piper.
  
  I took in a breath and let it out as a sigh. I... I haven"t broken my promise to Hestia yet. It was just taking me a bit longer to keep it than I expected.
  
  Still, I didn"t want to do it. Alduin had fucking sucked. Everything about it. I didn"t want to go through that again, and if I died again... then that would be it, wouldn"t it? Because I had my doubts about the Demon King.
  
  It"s never specified how many poor saps Aqua sent to this world, but it was at least two if I took her mention of hundreds as an exaggeration. One of which received a completely OP weapon putting him on the same level as the top level monsters in the setting. Say we low ball it and she only sent about ten people to the world in total, each with an OP item.
  
  Yet, the Demon King was still alive and Aqua was still sending people to save the world. Maybe Aqua just kept picking idiots -- it would be in her character -- or maybe I was looking at another Alduin situation. The fact that he was still alive made warning bells ring in the back of my mind. Unlike Skyrim, I had no idea who the Demon King was. I never read the light novels.
  
  And since I wasn"t going to pick Aqua as my OP item, and thus access to her resurrection abilities - because even with them, it would still be a net loss over all with her bottomed-out luck stat...
  
  I couldn"t die again. I couldn"t take that risk. I might not be able to make it back to Hestia if I did.
  
  "Hey... before I agree to anything, can you tell me if someone named Satou Kazuma has died?" I questioned, and Aqua tried to not look incredibly excited, but there were stars in her eyes.
  
  She nodded, "He has. I"m very sorry if he was a friend of yours, but technically speaking, the one that died was from a different universe so there"s no reason to feel connected to him. This Kazuma was a total NEET." Aqua tried to reassure me. That was good to know. Not that Kazuma was a NEET, but he was dead.
  
  I had an idea.
  
  "Did he die trying to save a girl?" I questioned, earning a pensive look from Aqua before she held up a hand and tilted it back and forth.
  
  "Technically speaking, I guess..." She trailed off, the edges of her lips curling up into a smile.
  
  "Then could you send him after me?" I questioned, catching her off guard with the request. "Two OP items are better than one, and with a little teamwork we should be able to make quick work of the Demon King." I told her, and she seemed to consider it, tapping a finger against her chin.
  
  Her head swayed back and forth as she made a thinking noise, "It"s not against the rules or anything, I guess.... So, you"ll do it?!" She questioned, and I swallowed another sigh.
  
  I didn"t have much choice.
  
  I nodded, "Alright. I"ll go, but the moment that the Demon King gets defeated, then I want the option to go home. I don"t want any technicalities that it wasn"t "me" who got the final strike in or anything like that. I help in any way towards the Demon King"s demise, and I get to go home before the final battle with Alduin, got it?"
  
  Aqua nodded like an excited puppy, "Got it!" She confirmed, giving me a thumbs up.
  
  "I want it in writing," I added and a piece of paper appeared before my eyes that floated down to my lap. I caught it and saw the agreement. Good. "And this is binding?" I questioned, earning another nod, and a mildly irritated look.
  
  "I don"t know what kind of gods you"ve been hanging around with, but I"m perfectly respectable! You shouldn"t be so mistrustful of deities, you know. That"s how you end up reincarnated as a sea slug," she warned. And considering how I planned to never die again, I didn"t really see that being a problem for me.
  
  I pressed my thumb in a little box that said press there. The piece of paper glowed, then it vanished, which I hoped meant that it was in effect. Perfect. Looking up, I saw the space between us was suddenly filled with papers. Aqua had a bag of chips in hand and a soda resting on the arm of her chair.
  
  "This part usually lasts a little bit," she defended, munching on a chip. "Go ahead and pick your OP item." She said, gesturing to the stacks of paper, before brushing Cheeto dust out of her cleavage. I looked at the stacks of paper, a little overwhelmed, but I leaned forward and grabbed one.
  
  There were a lot of choices. A whole lot of choices. Almost to the point of being too many. Magic wands that granted incredible power, swords that could cut a mountain in half, I saw the Sharingan in one, the ability to turn invisible and intangible. In the right situation, each and every single one of them was completely and utterly broken. They could be broken down into a few categories -- weapons, armor, and skills.
  
  From there, they could be broken down further -- items that were stupidly OP right out the gate... or the ones that started off weaker but had scaling power. One sword could cut through a mountain, but another sword could cut time in the right hands.
  
  The latter category had more appeal to me. The Hestia Armor was blessed with a falna, so it would forever scale up with me. In an ideal world, I could get a weapon to do the same. One that I could further enchant. I was growing stronger. Killing Alduin had proved that, even if it did come at too high of a cost. So, a weapon that would scale with me as I continued to grow stronger... that"s what I wanted.
  
  I shifted through the pages, separating them into the possible and rejects. The latter was far larger than the former.
  
  Eventually, one item caught my eye. "Soul Edge?" I questioned, recognizing it. I never really played the Soul Caliber games, but I still recognized the name. And it seemed to fit what I knew -- an ancient sword that became cursed from thousands of years of spilling blood, absorbing the hate of the slain until it became a cursed sword.
  
  "Ah, that"s a good one!" Aqua remarked, slurping from her soda. "It says that it drives the wielder insane and gives them the urge to kill and destroy, but that"s just flavor text. It"s completely safe for you to wield. Even better, if you have a teammate that can read minds or something, they"ll see it so they"ll be all like "H-How is this possible?! Such rage and anger, yet he remains sane?! His mental fortitude is incredible!" And stuff like that."
  
  I... I feel attacked right now. I know for a fact that I thought of that exact scenario at least... a dozen times way back in my early teens.
  
  "Are you going to pick it?" Aqua questioned, and I inspected the paper. As much as it made me want to die a third time, Soul Edge fit the bill of what I was looking for. It was a sword that would grow in strength the more souls that it consumed and, to be blunt, I killed a lot of people. And animals too. Each soul going toward the sword would make it stronger while I could reserve the powerful souls for the Black Star for enchanting.
  
  My armor... and now with Soul Edge? God, I was going to look so edgy. Wait, at this point, wasn"t I pretty much just Nightmare in appearance? Shit.
  
  I sighed, "Yeah, let"s go with this one." I said, holding up the slip of paper. And, just like that, the others vanished from existence and I suddenly found myself in the center of a beam of light. I was gently raised off my feet, heading to a bright light in the sky. Aqua waved goodbye, a chip in hand. "Just treat Kazuma as you normally would. And don"t tell him that anyone"s expecting him on the other side -- it"ll throw him off."
  
  "Okay!" Aqua agreed and right before I vanished, I"m pretty sure I head, "I"m going to get that promotion for sure!"
  
  ...
  
  The second time I opened my eyes, I was standing up directly beneath a tree. The sun was shining overhead, sunlight streaming through the canopy of leaves. I was somewhere in a city. There was a row of buildings directly before me, with people walking along the cobblestone path. Looking to my left and right, I saw kids playing around, a wagon pulled by a donkey that had a few adventurer types in it...
  
  I was in a new world.
  
  "D-Demon?!" I heard someone shout, and I looked over to see that it was one of those kids that had been playing around. Now it looked like he was pissing himself, along with his friends.
  
  Demon? I looked down at myself -- I was still in my armor, I found. And my hands were full, in my left was the Black Star, which worryingly wasn"t burning my hand off anymore. In my other was the hilt of Soul Edge. A long broadsword nearly as tall as me that was shaped like a wedge. The hilt wasn"t exactly centered, it was more even with one edge of the sword, but protrusions of metal prevented it from truly running along the length. Though, more noticeable was the giant eyeball set around the crossguard of the sword -- so the demon conclusion was fair. I could admit that much.
  
  The shout brought more attention to me, people freezing what they were doing to stop and stare...
  
  Right.
  
  I let my armor fade, revealing myself, forcing a hesitant smile to my lips, but it felt more like a grimace. "Sorry, about that -- I didn"t get a say in my armor's aesthetics, you know?" It was literally chaos made manifest. The kids took off running, but I was still earning some stink eye. I wasn"t in the mood for it at all.
  
  Ignoring them, I planted the sword into the dirt next to me and took a seat at the base of the tree. My clothes were in decent enough condition -- no blood stains or lightning damage, so I guess they got cleaned when I was sent here. More pressingly, I looked at the Black Star.
  
  For a terrible moment, I feared that I had lost Alduin's soul, but that fear was quickly put to rest when I felt how full the Star was. It was one of the most basic skills that an enchanter needed to judge the size and quality of a soul in a soul gem. The Star was near full to bursting with a soul so potent that I didn't have a classification for it. It was a Boss Soul. Alduin's soul.
  
  "At least I have you," I muttered, wondering if I had my inventory or not. Did dying have consequences for the system? I didn't know. It didn't seem like it, because I was able to put the Star inside of my pocket dimension. A quick check proved that I had everything -- money, potions, my wagon, clothes, and so on. So, I was able to take the lot with me. That was good. It would have been a pain to start from scratch completely.
  
  Actually...
  
  Jericho
  Level: 65
  Title: High King of Skyrim
  Health: 15,000
  Magika: 10,000
  Progress to next level: 150,000/300,000
  Strength: 200 +551= 751
  Endurance: 250 +850= 1,100
  Dexterity: 175 +466= 641
  Intelligence: 150 +302= 452
  Sense: 200 +640= 840​
  
  Ahh... I leveled up. I guess I managed to do that before I kicked the bucket. And weren't my stats a little insane right now? Endurance had broken into the thousands. Strength and Sense weren't far behind either. It was almost insane to think about -- I was only a level 3 according to the Danmachi system. I had another three levels to go to reach the most common peak of level 6. And there were those that went beyond it. What in the hell would their stats look like? What would mine be by the time I hit level 6?
  
  "I'm going to have to enchant more armor," I remarked, resting my head against the tree, and felt... the hair bun that Hestia had made. I didn't care for it -- only a chosen few could pull off a man bun, and I don't think I qualified. But it was the last thing she had done before Helgen went to hell. So, I guess I was stuck with it. For now at least. Until I got back to her and she did something else with my hair.
  
  Dismissing the window, I closed my eyes and waited for Kazuma to show up.
  
  I didn't have to wait long.
  
  Kazuma appeared out of thin air dressed in a green and black tracksuit. His hair was a messy brown, and the moment he opened his eyes, I saw that they were an emerald green. He gaped at his surroundings. "Woah... woah, it really is a parallel world!" He exclaimed, taking a step forward, revealing Aqua who stared at the ground behind him, her arms limp at her sides. Her expression could best be described as utter despair.
  
  "Yeah, it is," I confirmed as I stood up, bringing Kazuma's attention to me. With each inch I rose, I could see him growing more and more self-conscious. "Welcome to Axel, the beginner"s town for adventurer"s-"
  
  "Jericho!" Aqua cried, launching herself at me. She fell to her knees as she clutched at my shirt, looking up at me with an expression of anguish. "You gotta defeat the Demon King! He kidnapped me! This has gotta be illegal, right? Jericho? Jericho!" She wailed, hurrying her head against my leg as she cried.
  
  Kazuma sputtered, "W- it wasn't kidnapping! Ok?! Don't listen to her!"
  
  I shook my head, "It's fine." I dismissed the topic easily enough that it gave Kazuma some pause.
  
  He squinted up at me, "You said that this was a starting town? And you know it's a parallel world? Are you some kind exposition character to guide me on my way?!" Kazuma questioned, earning a slow blink from me. Ah, well, I guess I could see how he came to that conclusion. But that really sounded like something you shouldn't say out loud.
  
  "Eh, sorta, I guess," I shrugged, ignoring the looks that we were getting. "I'm in the same boat as you -- but I already saved a world from being annihilated. I ended up dying in the process, though." I admitted. Kazuma's jaw dropped, but before he could say anything, I continued. "It's why I got picked to defeat the Demon King. Except..."
  
  Kazuma leaned forward, and Aqua peeked up at me.
  
  "I'm leaving it to you," I told him, jabbing a finger against his chest.
  
  "Eh?" Kazuma uttered, blinking at me. I saw the exact moment that it clicked into place. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE LEAVING THE DEMON KING TO ME?!" That was an amusing reaction.
  
  Aqua was quick to join in, "You can't do that-"
  
  "Yeah, I can," I cut her off. "The deal was that I helped defeat the Demon King and I'm going to do exactly that. I'll help Kazuma defeat him." There was a tweet from the producer of Konosuba that I was basing the entire plan on. He had said that without Aqua, Darkness, and Megumin, Kazuma would have defeated the Demon King in a couple of months. The show even made a point of it -- Kazuma was proven to be fairly competent when working with other groups, and where competence failed, his luck stat pulled up the slack.
  
  That was the plan, except I would speed it up a fair bit. I would power-level Kazuma and Aqua, give them good skills to invest in, and gear to support them. In theory, it shouldn"t take more than a month at most on top of a few weeks training them up. My worst-case scenario was two months in this world.
  
  Aqua sputtered, but I ignored her. Honestly, I wasn't too interested in her complaining to me about the horrors of being ripped from your home by a person you didn't know, to complete a task you didn't want to get back home. For some strange reason.
  
  "Why me?" Kazuma questioned, "Is there a reason you can't do it? Did you take some kind of crippling injury during the battle to save the world? Is there a reason you're trusting me to save the world?" He questioned, and it seemed that the caution had slipped because now he was openly looking up to me.
  
  I smiled ever so slightly, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder, "Because," I began, giving it a gentle squeeze as a look of amazement and awe. "I don't want to." That wasn"t the whole story. It would take me at least a month to enchant a piece of my armor with Alduin"s soul, and that was assuming sixteen-hour days. Overall, letting Kazuma handle the Demon King gave me time to prepare for round two with Alduin.
  
  Wow -- as fast as his hopes soared, they crashed down even faster. I was lucky that I had leveled up or that stink eye he was giving me could have done some damage.
  
  "Plus, this way you get to have your own kick-ass adventure. Would you really want to be in my shadow?" I questioned, and the stink eye got way worse. I'm guessing because the point had landed. "So, I'll support you from the shadows. Bankroll your adventures, help you out on the occasional quest if you need it. I can't give you my OP item since it'll drive anyone who tries to wield it insane, but I have some skills that can let you skip the starter equipment stage."
  
  And just like that, I was in his good graces again.
  
  He bowed at the waist, "Thank you for your sponsorship, senpai!"
  
  Sponsor, huh? Sounded about right. I had plenty of money -- a glance told me that the coinage had converted to this world's currency, so I was still rich. And I had a few items that would help replace an OP item. I could make more money and replace them easily enough. I wish I had my old Ebony sword, but I had dropped it during the battle with Alduin.
  
  "Er, Senpai," Kazuma began, sparing a glance at Aqua. "What should we do about her?"
  
  I looked down to find Aqua in the fetal position, rocking back and forth as she had a breakdown, and I had exactly zero pity for her.
  
  Still, "She should come with us. There's a Guild nearby, I think, and we can register there." At least that was the plan, but with my expanded vision I saw a group of people coming around the corner, their weapons drawn. I turned to look at them to see that they all had matching clothing and armor. Guards?
  
  I watched them approach, wondering where the fire was, right up until they leveled their spears in our direction.
  
  "There have been reports of a demon appearing? And a kidnapping?! Explain yourselves!" A guard demanded, the good dozen of them making a semi-circle around us. Kazuma instantly surrendered, dropping to his knees and putting his hands in the air. I don't even think Aqua noticed the commotion.
  
  I sighed as I put my hands in the air as well.
  
  I could handle this. Things were already working out in my favor. I gained an OP item from Aqua. I gained time to enchant my armor and improve my skills. All I had to do was power-level Kazuma and Aqua for a bit, set them up and let them loose on the Demon King. Then I would get to go home to Hesita and Lili and I would kill Alduin the right way this time.
  
  I would get back to them. One way or another.
  
  ...
  
  So begins the Konosuba run. I'm intending for a smaller jump this go around, but I've said that about Danmachi and Skyrim, so who knows how long it's going to last for. But, rather than Jericho taking the role of the protagonist, he's the retired mentor character. He"s meant to be the straight man of the group that tries to munchkin things along, but with the Konosuba gang, nothing will ever go to plan. Especially if they have something to gain from it.
  
  Additionally, I wanted to include this because it"s been some concurrent feedback that I"ve gotten about Hestia and her lack of a presence in the story. I thought it was more obvious when writing this chapter, but apparently not, so I"ll call attention to it.
  
  Take a good, long, hard look at who is providing the information dump. Think on that for a bit.
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  "State your business for coming to Axel!" Demanded a stern woman with dark hair and a medium build, wearing a business skirt and dark blue blazer. She adjusted her glasses, pinning me with a look, her dark blue eyes trying their best to stare right through me.
  
  I sat in front of her, my hands in my lap with half of my ass hanging free because the chair wasn't anywhere big enough to accommodate me. I ended up breaking off one of the arms when I sat down -- something the guy behind me scribbled down. I couldn't see what he wrote -- his body was angled in a way that I couldn't see even with my expanded vision. Almost like he was intentionally hiding it, which made sense because this was an interrogation.
  
  "I was pulled here from a different universe because I died killing a dragon made of crystalized time," I answered bluntly, trying to lean back in my chair, but the thing groaned painfully like it was about to crumble under my weight.
  
  The woman's eyes darted to the bell that sat between us. A magical lie detector. It didn't ring.
  
  "One moment," the woman said, grabbing the bell before standing. She dropped it into the trash can next to the guy furiously scribbling something down. She opened up a door, revealing a solid hundred of the magical bells available, each hanging up on a rack. She slid one-off and closed the door, turned sharply on her heel, and walked back to the table. The cold, damp, dungeon room we were in was filled with the sharp clacks of her high heels hitting the stone floor. "My apologies," she said, placing the bell down on the table.
  
  So, she wasn't even going to entertain the thought, huh?
  
  "Please tell me two truths and one lie, in that order," she said, clasping her hands in front of her -- she was the picture of professionally.
  
  "I'm the High King of a nation called Skyrim. I've killed several gods. I like your hat," I spoke, and the bell only dinged for the last one. The woman's eyes narrowed into slits, her hands going up to the blue beret with gold trimming that she wore protectively. I didn't like it. It was too small. What's the point of a hat if it didn't cover your head? It looked like a stupid hair ornament.
  
  The guy behind me continued to furiously scribble, while the woman tried to disguise her attempt to protect her dumb head ornament by fixing her glasses. "Ahem," she coughed lightly into her hand, "My name is Sena. I am eighteen years old. I am in a relationship," she said, and it only dinged for the last one. That guy behind me was still going at it -- it sounded like he was writing an entire novel behind my back rather than recording a transcript.
  
  "I see you've managed to find a way to subvert the bell," Sena said, sounding nonplussed. "Very well then, I shall utilize my significant experience as an interrogator-"
  
  Ding.
  
  Even the guy behind me stopped writing.
  
  Sena fixed her glasses with a finger, looking as cool as a cucumber as she was caught in a lie. "I shall use my moderate-"
  
  Ding.
  
  "I shall use my experience as an interrogator to determine if you are telling the truth or not," Sena said, and I had to give her credit, she had one hell of a poker face.
  
  "Sure," I agreed, faintly amused.
  
  Sena looked up at me, her hands once again clasped before her as they rested on the table. "You were observed to be wearing armor that made you appear as a demon. Can you explain why this is?"
  
  "It was a gift from my patron deity and lover -- Hestia. The armor itself is made of manifested chaos, so I really didn't get a say in the aesthetics," I answered honestly. Sena glanced at the bell for a long moment, clearly baffled at why it wasn't ringing like a church bell, no matter how well she hid it. The guy once again began intensely recording everything that was said.
  
  "I see. And the sword that was noted to have an eyeball in it, that was stated, and I quote: to have a gaze of burning malice that seared through my very soul, that stripped me bare of all of my secrets, making my blood sing as... I..." Sena trailed off as she read from a transcript. Then, without a word, she picked the slip of paper up, crumbled it in her fists, before dropping it on the ground. "How do you respond to these claims?"
  
  "It's just a really old broad sword that got soaked in so much malice and hatred, that it ended up developing a soul that desires the death and destruction of all things living," I answered. The bell did not ding. "It's safe for me to use, but if anyone else tries to wield it, you'll end up being driven insane and will try to kill everyone around you."
  
  "I see... I see... Do you work for the Demon King?" Sena questioned, nodding to herself.
  
  "No. I'm his enemy. My goal is to help Kazuma defeat the Demon King," I stated. Again, the bell didn't ring.
  
  Sena tilted her head, pausing for a moment as if to let the guy catch up with his recording. "Satou Kazuma, correct? What is your relation to him?"
  
  "I met him about five minutes before you arrested me," I answered.
  
  Sena blinked slowly, "And you trust him to defeat the Demon King... why, exactly?"
  
  "Because I don't want to do it myself. I'm pretty sure that I could, but... saving the world is a huge pain in the ass. Honestly, I'm not sure people are worth the effort. All they do is drag their feet, bitch, and moan while you're trying to save them. They have all these stupid reasons about why they can't help -- it's like they don't get that the destruction of the world means the destruction of them too. And their stupid problems. Even when you go through all the effort to solve their problems and they agree to help, they don't show up." I was rambling. And the bell wasn't ringing. "So... I'm passing the duty to Kazuma. He can deal with it."
  
  Sena seemed at a loss for words, so she responded with action. She stood up, grabbed the bell, tossed it in the trash, then grabbed new three bells from the supply closet.
  
  "Satou Kazuma stands accused of kidnapping," Sena pointed out.
  
  "Aqua had it coming," I responded bluntly. None of the bells rang. "She kidnapped me."
  
  "... I find that difficult to believe," Sena remarked, her gaze roaming me.
  
  Mine narrowed in suspicion, "Are you checking me out?" I questioned, and that got a reaction out of her. I suppose I should be flattered, but I just watched a lot of my friends die, and I died myself. Time and place.
  
  Sena sputtered, "N-No!" She denied-
  
  Ding! Ding! Ding!
  
  The bells jostled when Sena slammed her fists on the table. Her face flushed, but that was just as likely to be murderous rage as it was embarrassment. "Do you have any ill intentions towards the city of Axel and its inhabitants?" She pressed on, and I would give her credit for that.
  
  "I don't. I'm just going to kick my feet up and work on some crafting skills for however long it takes Kazuma to kill the Demon King," I reassured her. "And you are cute -- I've just watched a whole lot of my friends die. I died too. Time and place, you know?" I wasn't going to try to seduce my way out of here. And if I wanted to leave, then I would just leave.
  
  Sena took in a deep breath, her cheeks a rosy red, "I'm satisfied-"
  
  Ding.
  
  "... You are free to go," Sena said, and I nodded before I stood up. I'm glad I didn't need to fight my way out of here -- the only other two cities I knew of were the one that worshiped Aqua, which was filled with crazies, and the other was Megumin's, filled with insane OP mages.
  
  Heading to the door, I tried to catch a glimpse at the transcript to see what in the hell that guy was writing, only to find that his arms were at the sides of the paper while his body was hunched over it, blocking any view. Whatever it was, he was trying to hide it... I wanted to know. I just couldn't learn right now without tipping my hand.
  
  After leaving the Dungeon, I headed up to a guard lobby of some kind -- sitting on a bench was Kazuma, rocking back and forth, his head clutched in his hands as he made the kind of sounds that belonged to a dying animal. Aqua stared blankly ahead, looking like she had come back from the front lines of a hellish war. There wasn't anything else that could justify that thousand-yard stare. I'd know.
  
  "Goddess? Who's a goddess? Me? Am I a goddess?" Aqua muttered to herself, seemingly stripped of her will to live.
  
  "I wanna die. I wanna die. I wanna die and reroll!" Kazuma shouted, throwing his head back, completely ignoring the looks that he got from me and the other guards.
  
  I sighed. What in the hell happened to them?
  
  "Let's go to the guild."
  
  ...
  
  The guild was a large building that was half tavern. On the left was the registration booth -- which only seemed to house one employee. On the right was a meal area marked with long tables and benches, and a bar. Upstairs was private seating, I'm guessing.
  
  The moment we stepped inside, all eyes were on us. It was a bit too early to tell, but I still seemed to tower over most people. Just... I wish that was the reason that everyone stopped and stared was because I was taller than them.
  
  "I'm a goddess, you know? I really am! The bell's not broken...! I'm a goddess..."
  
  "I should have just gone to heaven..."
  
  I dragged the two into the guildhall by the back of their collars -- apparently, a brief stint in the dungeon was enough to break their will to live.
  
  So, I needed to motivate them. Otherwise, how in the hell were they going to take out the Demon King for me? With well-practiced ease, I ignored the looks and whispers and headed to the Guild registration. A blonde-haired woman straightened as I approached, her breasts...
  
  What the fuck were the titty physics in this world? Her breasts were obscenely huge, a solid H cup if there ever was one. You'd think that mass would give them some heft, but they jiggled around like they were made of jello. A lack of a bra could only explain so much. Honestly, with that deep neckline, it was like she was trying to get her titties to pop out of her shirt.
  
  "We'd like to register," I said, tossing the two forward.
  
  The blonde woman looked at them for a moment before she nodded slowly. "O-Okay," she agreed. "Do you have the registration fee...?" She trailed off, and I answered her by reaching into my pocket and pulling out a handful of coins.
  
  "Keep the change," I said, stepping over the two to pay the fee. Money... kinda hard to care about money. I had plenty of it, after all. The deals I made with Azura fell through -- especially considering how the Nerevarine never bothered to show up. Some ally she turned out to be.
  
  "Bu-" she started, her eyes widening as I deposited the money on the desk, next to some doohickey that I recognized from the series was used to create the Adventurer cards.
  
  "Keep the change," I insisted, my tone blunt. I looked over at Kazuma, who was lying underneath Aqua, both of them still out of it. "If you don't get up, then you're going to have to pay the registration fee yourself," I warned him. And, just like that, life returned to the teenager.
  
  He shoved Aqua off of him, who landed in a heap with a pained "Ow!" He leaped to his feet and snapped off a crisp salute as he stood at attention, "Of course, Senpai!"
  
  "That hurt! Kazuma! I hit my head!" Aqua shouted in his ear, and it seemed she had replaced her lack of godly pride with indignation.
  
  The receptionist looked between them, her gaze drifting up to me before quickly looking away. She grabbed three blank cards of what seemed to be made of cardboard, "I need a piece of hair, please," she requested. Kazuma took an enthusiastic step forward, invading her personal space while he plucked out a hair.
  
  I didn't miss how he peeked down her shirt. The receptionist didn't either. "For you," he said, throwing on a deeper voice than normal, presenting her the strand of hair. The receptionist took it and gave a practiced retail smile, before she hastily stepped back.
  
  "Thank you..." she said, turning her back to us. Kazuma's gaze drifted down, and mine... yeah. Foul mood or not, I could at least recognize that she wasn't just packing heat upfront. She had legs for days, a bubble butt, and those light blue short shorts did wonderful things for it. I almost failed to notice when she put the hair in the thingamajig, along with the card, before a soft pale blue laser went through a few magnifying glasses that the thing was sporting and began to write on the card. The entire process only took a moment.
  
  Kazuma visibly shone with excitement as the receptionist presented him his card, "Your stats..." she began, a kind smile on her face, "Are exceedingly average, except for your Luck and Intelligence! The latter is fairly high, but your Luck stat is exceptionally high! I'd make a recommendation to become a merchant..." She trailed off when she saw that Kazuma wasn't anywhere near as impressed with his stats.
  
  "A merchant... huh? Where are my latent abilities...?" He trailed off, coming dangerously close to that lifeless state he just exited. "I... no! I will... I will become an adventurer..., please." He trailed off, having a flash of resolve that lasted all of a second. The receptionist offered an incredibly hesitant smile before doing exactly that.
  
  Aqua, however, was pretty much the exact opposite. Exceptionally high stats in every category, except for an Intelligence that was well below average and a Luck stat that couldn't go any lower. The receptionist blurted the information out, catching the attention of those adventures up top. Within a handful of seconds, a small crowd had formed to gawk at Aqua, who preened under their praise.
  
  "I shall become... an Arch Priest!" Aqua decided, her decision being met with uproarious cheering. It would seem all that damage done to her godly pride was undone just as quickly as it happened. A great big smile was on her face as she turned slowly, letting everyone get a good look at her. Then she looked at me and Kazuma.
  
  She smirked.
  
  "You little...!" Kazuma hissed out, glaring at her while he clenched a fist. He looked to me, "Senpai!" He said, a pleading note in his voice. I wasn't sure what he wanted me to do about it. We already got arrested once today, I had no intention of being arrested a second time. So, all I could do was turn to the receptionist -- Luna, based on the information on Aqua's card that she displayed openly.
  
  Reaching up, I plucked a hair and handed it to her. She seemed caught a bit off guard, but she took it all the same, "Sorry... if I had known, I would have taken yours next..." Luna offered. I guess that Aqua would be a tough and disappointing act to follow. She fed the hair into the doohickey and a second later, my card took shape.
  
  Luna recoiled, "W-WHAT ARE THESE STATS?!" She shouted, stumbling back as if the card had struck her. Instantly, the cheering for Aqua paused as all eyes went to the source of the commotion. Luna looked at me, her face bloodless and her eyes wide. "Y-your stats! They... your Endurance is in the thousands! Almost all of them are in the high hundreds! You're level sixty-five?!"
  
  The information stunned the room, and everyone forgot all about Aqua, all of them talking about how great I was, and so on and so on. The devastated look I got from Aqua was totally worth the attention I received. Her dark blue eyes met mine.
  
  I smirked.
  
  Critical damage! Aqua's face dropped while Kazuma started cheering. I took my card.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 65
  Job: --
  
  Magical Power: 10,000
  Strength: 751
  Endurance: 1,100
  Dexterity: 641
  Intelligence: 452
  Sense: 840
  Luck: --
  
  Skill points: 159​
  
  Huh. It was basically a slimmed-down Status. I guess without Hestia, this was how I was stuck upgrading my falna. It seemed that the level boosts were incorporated into the stats... I also had some skill points to spend -- I guess I got something like three per level. That was... actually pretty good, wasn't it? With how the cards worked, in theory, I could learn any skill after a brief explanation and witnessing it.
  
  Konosuba had been on my world list, hadn't it? I probably would have come here for the card alone. I just wish I hadn't come here alone.
  
  "With these stats, you could... you could become anything!" Luna said, and the crowd started roaring in approval.
  
  "Craftsman," I decided. Luna blinked, that expression of shock and awe freezing on her face. The crowd continued to chant, high-fiving each other... some guy jumped off the second story and started crowd surfing in the background.
  
  "... I... I'm sorry?" Luna said, her surprised face slowly shifting into one of pure, unadulterated, panic.
  
  "Craftsman," I repeated. "Or something like it. I'm really not sure how these job things work." Did I get bonus exp for a related job? Could I gain skills specific to that job? I didn't know, but I had time to learn. Because that's what I was going to be -- some kind of craftsman. I've reached a temporary plateau when it came to increasing my stats through combat. Gaining exp from other tasks was the perfect alternative while I just worked out to grind stats.
  
  Luna stared at me, "I... Craftsman...? You... you want to be a Craftsman...? With these stats and this level...?" I nodded. The crowd seemed to sense something was wrong because the fervor began to die down. Which sucked for the second guy that tried to crowd surface after seeing the first guy do it. No one caught him, and he landed hard. "Are... you... sure...?"
  
  For a second time, I nodded, "Yeah. Make my job a craftsman." This time, the crowd had died down enough that they could actually hear my request. I heard sputtering, and their cheering quickly turned into outrage.
  
  "A Crafstman?! You can"t become a Crafstman! Become a warrior! Or a Barbarian! You could defeat the Demon King with stats like that! Just pick a class and-" The well-built and well-armored adventure who was speaking cut himself off when I looked at him. He flinched a step back, letting out an "Eep!" I guess my bad mood must have shown on my face.
  
  "I don"t want to," I spoke to the crowd, daring them to contradict me. "You want the Demon King dead? Go kill him yourself. I"m here to become a craftsman. If you have a problem with that? Then please, step forward and complain." I told the crowd, practically begging for one of them to run their mouths. A room filled with a few dozen men and women, and every single one of them started sweating bullets. Actually...
  
  I reached out and pushed Kazuma forward, "Better yet, help this one out where you can. He"s the one that"s going to kill the Demon King." I told them, stunning the crowd for a second time in about as many minutes. Kazuma glanced back at me uncertainly, then at the crowd.
  
  "He's going to defeat the Demon King!" The crowd roared, throwing their hands up and cheering. The hesitation melted away from Kazuma as the crowd washed over him, picking him up before they tossed him into the air and caught him. All the while they chanted 'Kazuma will kill the Demon King' over and over and over. Kazuma laughed, throwing his hands up as he basked in the attention and adoration.
  
  All the while, Aqua stood next to me, a low whine escaping her. She stamped her foot once, "I'm going to kill the Demon King too!"
  
  "She's going to kill the Demon King too!" The crowd agreed, mobbing Aqua, before they started tossing her up alongside Kazuma. I watched for a moment, and a few adventures eyed me, clearly expecting this to be a three for three scenario. Instead, I turned to Luna, who watched with some exasperation. I more or less had these people pegged -- they were drunk and looking for a reason to party. Any reason would do.
  
  "Is there a quest board here?" I asked her, snapping her out of her thoughts. She nodded, sparing a lingering glance on the two new adventurers that cheered each time they were tossed up, before she led me to the quest board. It was covered in slips of paper, each detailing a quest request. Most of them had a couple dozen red skulls and crossbones on them, marking them as extremely dangerous.
  
  "Umm..." Luna began as I searched the board for a quest. There were a bunch with a wide variety -- fetch quests, escort missions, target elimination, and then general tasks. However, the vast majority of the quests were very high level -- fifties and up. A One-Hit Bear, an ancient Elder Dragon, a giant hamster/scorpion... creatures that the average person couldn't deal with. Then, on the other end of the spectrum, you had a few token quests like the giant frog elimination quests. "About your job..."
  
  "I'm not changing my mind," I told her bluntly, picking out the frog quest. Then a few others like the One-Hit Bear or the giant gerbil. I could use their souls for enchanting gear -- I needed to up my weakening gear twice over, and Kazuma needed an OP item. Maybe I could power level him a bit by letting him get the final hit in, while I just yoinked the soul?
  
  Luna shook her head, "Not that. I... I really can't say I understand, but... Axel might be a town for beginners, but there are quite a few seasoned adventures here. Fighting the Demon King is no easy task, no matter what they say." She thought I came to Axel because I was burnt out on fighting?
  
  She missed the mark, but it struck a little too close for comfort.
  
  "The Craftsman job is a generalist job, much like the Adventure job -- in theory, there are no restrictions on the skills that you can learn, but in practice, gaining Exp to properly invest in skills is the limiting factor. A generalist simply gains less than a specialist." Luna began. So, it sounded like jobs gave Exp boosts to their relevant skillset. A Blacksmith gained more exp for blacksmithing than a Craftsman would performing the same action. "But a generalist job is a good starting point to find what you truly enjoy doing, and from there you can change your job when you find what you excell at. If you would like, I can arrange meetings with some craftsman of various fields so you can learn their skills."
  
  I blinked at the offer, a bit caught off guard by it. "I would appreciate it," I agreed. The plan was to work on my enchanting the most. That, and creating magical items. Most of which I would hand over to Kazuma, before sending him on his way with teammates that weren't dead weight. From there, I just had to sit tight for a couple of months, practice my skills, send him better gear when he needed it. If everything went to plan, with the power of dumb luck Kazuma would kill the Demon King.
  
  I would go back to Skyrim, kill Alduin the proper way this time, and then everything would be as it should be. Hell, I might come back to this world so everyone can get adventure cards before moving on to a new world.
  
  Luna offered a genuine smile, "Is there any other way I can help you?" She asked, and I thought about it. So far, I was streamlining canon. Kazuma wouldn't be working as a laborer for like a week, the toad quest was already picked... what else was there...?
  
  "I'm looking to buy a house. A big one. Do you know someone that might be willing to sell?"
  
  ...
  
  The manor the guild receptionist directed me to was absolutely huge, I thought as I pulled my wagon. The peanut gallery seemed to agree.
  
  "Is this where we're staying?!" Kazuma shouted, peeking through the wagon.
  
  "Does it have a pool?! It should have a pool!" Aqua announced, leaning against me as she poked her upper body out of the wagon to get a better view. They hadn't stopped gushing since the manor came into view. I sorta got why. The place reminded me of the Twilight Manor in Danmachi -- absolutely huge and so richly decorated it was almost hard to look at. The building was about a block long, about six stories tall, and complete with a tall black iron gate to keep the peasantry out.
  
  "He has to agree to sell before we can do anything," I pointed out, pushing the wagon through the open gate. A message had been sent ahead of us and the man who owned the manor had agreed to meet. That being said, I liked our chances. The guy gave away the house after dealing with some ghosts in the series, so he didn't seem awfully attached to it. Right now, I was swimming in cash -- those months of dungeon diving in Skyrim had proved lucrative to say the least.
  
  "Dibs on the master bedroom!" Aqua shouted, much to the irritation of Kazuma.
  
  "You can't call dibs on a bedroom! Plus, the master bedroom should clearly go to Senpai!" Kazuma argued, causing Aqua to retreat back into the wagon so they could argue. And don't think I didn't notice you sucking up, Kazuma.
  
  Aqua shoved Kazuma, "Yes, I can! Dibs applies to everything and I'm a goddess, you know?! I should get the master bedroom!" Her point was undercut when Kazuma shoved her back. "Ow!" she cried.
  
  Kazuma grinned malevolently, "Don't try getting physical with me, you useless goddess! I yearn for a world of true gender equality -- so I'll drop-kick the hell out of you if you get handsy with me!" Then he gestured to me, "The master bedroom belongs to Senpai."
  
  Huh. Kazuma learned quickly, didn't he? It had taken me a full jump to realize that the gods were useless.
  
  Aqua pouted, "Jericho! Kazuma is disrespecting dibs!" She shouted, immediately tattling on him, making him sputter.
  
  "You're telling on me?! Senpai! Aqua is trying to steal your room!" Kazuma shot back, earning a glare from Aqua.
  
  "It's not stealing if you called dibs! That's how dibs works! It's been a thing for a bazillion years!" Aqua argued back ,and from there it just became a petty argument. They didn't even notice that I had stopped listening entirely, or when I brought the wagon to a stop in front of the main doorway. Just outside of it stood an elderly man.
  
  He kinda reminded me of Alfred Pennyworth in appearance. Sharply dressed in a white and black suit, a cane clutched in his hands, with a neatly cut hairstyle of pure white hair. The coloring matched his thin mustache, which clung to his upper lip. He smiled lightly upon seeing me, though I couldn't tell why. Probably because of the payday he was about to get.
  
  "You must be Jericho... I see miss Luna didn't exaggerate your stature," the guy said, his gaze roaming up my body. For some reason his gaze left me feeling unclean.
  
  "You must be the owner," I returned with a nod. "Luna didn't give me a price to prepare, but she said that you were interested in selling?"
  
  The man nodded, turning to look at the door of the manor as if he could see through it. "Yes... I bought it in my early years when I was a young man not much older than you... I got married, and had a couple dozen kids, but they've all gone off to live their own lives. Now, it's just me in the house. So I intend to downsize." He explained, and I heard the fighting stop in the wagon.
  
  "A couple dozen kids?" I heard Kazuma question. "Like... with one wife...?" The old guy seemed to hear him. Though, his slight smile became a little more brittle.
  
  "Yes, only with one wife... she was pregnant about five times, but we managed to have quintuplets... every... every time..." he explained, his gaze adopting a faraway look. That sounded like hell. However, he snapped out of it a second later, "But the point is... with the Demon King's army approaching, property values outside of a walled city are going down. So, I'm looking to sell to powerful adventures, like yourself, who can withstand the Demon King's might."
  
  That... sounded fishy as all hell -- because why would he tell us that when we're buying the place? But whatever. We could buy the manor. That's all I really cared about.
  
  "Sounds fine to me," I said, walking back to the wagon, gesturing to the old man to follow. Reaching in, I flipped up the top of a chest in the back to reveal that it was filled to bursting with gold bars, coins, and precious jewels. Kazuma and Aqua both gasped at the sight, their jaws hitting the ground. Funnily enough, it was Aqua that realized that there were two other chests in the back of the wagon.
  
  The old guy reached in and picked up a coin. He bit it, to test if it was real or something, before he nodded. "Perfect. The house is all yours. Here's the deed. Sign here," he said, handing over a slip of paper and a quill that appeared from nowhere. I did so and handed back the deed-
  
  Property acquired!
  Sunpoint Manor!
  
  Land value: 1,000,000 Eris
  Land purchased for: 5,000,000 Eris.​
  
  So, I overpaid about five times over?
  
  Whatever. I had the manor. Stations of canon have been reached about three months ahead of canon schedule since Kazuma and the group only got the manor during the winter, and it was currently fall. There were options for the development of the land -- stuff like ground fertility, or mineral deposits and the like. I think it was a carry-over from my King days. I guess I was still considered King of Skyrim, even if I had died.
  
  I ignored it. It didn't really do me any good. I was just going to spend some time here, polish off my skills, then go back to Skyrim. There was no point in putting down roots.
  
  "Pleasure doing business with you!" The guy said, giving me a key, before quickly beating feet with my wagon full of gold in tow. He moved with the spryness of a young man. A young man who had just ripped me off to hell and back, and wanted to get the hell out of dodge before I realized it.
  
  Walking to the front door, I slid the key in and opened it. I half expected it to be trashed or something, but the doors revealed a wide-open room with a two staircases that wrapped around a pillar that jutted out to serve as a stage for the second floor. I"m guessing self-important people stood there to look down at everyone else. The wood was dark oak, the floors were white marble, the tapestry was red velvet... the place was a mansion, through and through.
  
  "Dibs! Dibs!" Aqua shouted, running through the house with a pissed-off Kazuma right behind her, the two of them shouting over each other calling dibs for one thing or another.
  
  I sighed.
  
  "Day one complete."
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Versed in the lewd.
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  Apparently, giant frogs were kinda a big deal, I learned as Kazuma, Aqua, and I strode out of the city gates with a quest to kill at least five of them. The frogs ate farm animals primarily, however, more than once, a Little Timmy had been playing outside, only to get gobbled up by a giant frog lurking in the distance. So, the quest had a pretty decent reward considering that, and there wasn't a level limit because the town just wanted them dead.
  
  That being said... in light of that information, it was pretty scary that the frogs hung around so close to the city. And the fact that this quest had no level requirement. Meaning children could in theory take it. But, I"m just going to assume that was an odd series of isolated observations rather than coming to the conclusion that the city of Axel was feeding children to the frogs.
  
  "Erm... Senpai?" Kazuma questioned, fingering the sword that resided at his waist. Aqua was carrying a staff, the one she wielded as a god. Not really sure where she got it, but I really didn't care either.
  
  "Yes, Kazuma?"
  
  "Since you're a Craftsman..." he trailed off, apparently not quite sure how to phrase the question. I still understood what he meant, though.
  
  I offered a shrug, "I don't need the experience," I dismissed. Since I took the job Craftsman, I was unable to level up by fighting. Killing an enemy gave me no experience at all. I had to test it to make sure, but I might not even be able to raise my combat stats. But, I really didn't care. With my stats and the Thu'um, I was confident I could handle anything this world could throw my way. "The goal is to power level you two. We kill the frogs as a proof of concept -- if it works, then we start clearing out the other quests I took out."
  
  Then we used the reward money to get them some decent gear. I would take the souls of the monsters I slayed to enchant that gear, and then I'd kick the both of them out of my backyard and into the wider world like a proud parent.
  
  "Thank you very much, Senpai!" Kazuma snapped off a crisp salute as we headed towards a set of rolling hills just outside of the city gates. Aqua yawned tiredly, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she dragged her feet. She looked like she hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Or maybe she was just lazy. Either way it was probably fine since she wasn't likely to be eaten, but if she was...
  
  Meh.
  
  Reaching the top of a hill, I looked out at the vast stretch of land on the other side and spotted several giant frogs hopping about. They looked like normal frogs, just a couple thousand times larger. The smallest of them was about as tall as a semi-truck, and they only got larger from there. Some of them looked like they could eat even me in a single bite.
  
  "Ew, gross! Frogs aren't cute at all!" Aqua muttered, staring disdainfully at the creatures. It was annoying, but I was inclined to agree with her. They were huge, yet fat creatures covered in scaly and bumpy skin. The fact some were hot pink or bright orange didn't help their case either.
  
  I didn't voice that opinion in favor of holding out my hand and summoning Soul Edge into it in a flash of fire and sparks. The ominous blade glowered at Kazuma and Aqua with the eye embedded into the blade. I heard Kazuma tsk, and I could guess his thoughts -- yeah, you really should have gone with an OP item. But, if he did that, then Aqua wouldn't be suffering in this mortal realm with the rest of us.
  
  "Kazuma, watch closely. In theory, you can learn this skill after watching me do it," I told him, earning a dutiful nod. The skills appeared on the Adventurer Card, so he should be able to learn them. It was a bit annoying to hand over skills I had worked so hard for, but that was life. The more help Kazuma got now, the easier he could defeat the Demon King and the faster I got to go home. "First, you grab the sword like this, then you shape your mana to run along the edge of the blade, then you let it run up the blade so it all gathers at the tip, escaping at the top when you swing like this."
  
  I swung Soul Edge, sending an arc of energy towards one of the frogs. However, there was something a bit different about it. Before, it was just shaped air. Now the attack was made of fire, crossing the distance in the blink of an eye, and cutting through the frog below its waist. There was no blood, the severed legs were charred black, flash burnt, and yet the arc of fire continued on scything into a hill behind it.
  
  Then through the hill behind that hill. And another one. And another one. And another one. It showed no signs of stopping and probably could have kept going on like that for several more hills, but since it was aimed at a downward angle, the arc of fire raced into the earth and disappeared from sight. Which was good. Great, even. It just meant that we only had to deal with five rolling hills covered in lush green and highly flammable grass beginning to burn from the passing intense heat.
  
  "Ah," I uttered, blinking once as the serene picture of nature with massive frogs frolicking about was rapidly turned into a burning hellscape. My gaze shifted to Soul Edge -- so, this was the power of an OP item? That was... sufficiently OP.
  
  Kazuma watched the growing hellfire with an expression that grew in proportion with the spread of the flames. "Er, Senpai... I don't know if I should learn that skill?" Yeah, I could see why he would think that.
  
  "Eh, it'll be fine," I dismissed his worries. "Aqua? Put out the fire."
  
  Aqua looked to me, then to the burning hellfire below that was filled with the screeching of frogs being cooked alive. She cast me a dirty look that was undercut when the breeze changed direction, hitting us in the face with a wall of smoke. Aqua hacked and coughed, using her staff as a fan to get smoke out of her face. Even still, she managed to get out a retort. "Why me? You're the one that set the place on fire!"
  
  "Because I said so. Unless you're saying you want to find somewhere else to live?" I questioned, an edge to my tone as I really started to feel the heat on my face. My ears were filled with the sound of the crackling fire as it spread through the tall grass, more fires starting as flaming giant frogs tried to outrun the fire that covered them. Luckily, they died from shock not long after.
  
  "SACRED CREATE WATER!" Aqua quickly changed her tune, pointing her staff at the blazing inferno before the staff's tip began to glow. A magical circle appeared overhead, just barely visible with all the smoke in the air. It plumed out when thousands of tons of water fell from the sky, slamming into the dirt with earth-shattering force, washing over the hills and valleys. Steam erupted as the flames were extinguished. In a minute, the smoke and steam vanished, revealing...
  
  "See? It's fine," I dismissed. The hills that were once covered in lush green grass and vibrant flowers with nature critters mucking about were replaced with pitch black and charred mounds of dirt. Some of which were half blasted apart at the point of impact where the water had landed. It pooled there unless it managed to flood outwards. It washed away the frog bodies too. Annoying, but not a problem -- the Adventurer Cards recorded kills. Somehow.
  
  A quick look at it showed that the quest was marked complete. Neat.
  
  "Let's go. The frogs didn't work out, but let's see if I can power level you two with something else. What other quests did I take...?" I muttered, walking away from the devastated countryside, absentmindedly tossing Soul Edge into my inventory.
  
  ...
  
  It made sense, in hindsight, that Kazuma could admit. He heard the moral of the story somewhere before -- hard work pays off better than the easy way. A lie, Kazuma suspected, peddled by those that ruled society with an iron fist to trick poor saps into being dutiful drones of society. If you weren"t born a trust fund child or didn"t win the genetic lottery, then you were forever doomed to work the death march of Japanese work culture.
  
  However, that moral carried a bit more weight when it came to physical exercise. Doubly so when it came to fighting. Which was the core of the issue.
  
  Jericho-senpai... he was OP as hell. Probably more so than some of the options Kazuma had eyed before picking the useless goddess as his cheat item. Kazuma didn't really know the full story behind it, but it was clear that Jericho-senpai was the mentor character that had already undergone his own shounen story. So, what happens when you take an already OP character, and then hand them an OP item?
  
  Chaos. Chaos, and destruction.
  
  "S-Senpai..." Kazuma trailed off, dutifully standing guard inside of the wagon that he had been charged with protecting. Aqua clung to him, shaking like a leaf, which is why the sword in his hand was trembling. Outside of the wagon were sounds of combat... no, calling it combat would be a gross exaggeration. It sounded like pure slaughter. More than once, droplets of red blood splashed across the canvas that covered their cart. "D-d-do you you need any help out there?"
  
  Please, say no. Please say no. Pleasesayno!
  
  "I'm good. Sorry, I'm having a little trouble finding a good monster for you two to finish off. Everything out here is too damn weak," Jericho-sama replied, reassuring scaring Kazuma in equal measures. Weak? Weak?!
  
  No! You're just too damn strong, you freak of nature! Having stats in the thousands? Did he not even realize how incredibly overpowered he was?! Mid-tier adventurers had stats around a hundred. What made them high tier was getting more than a hundred in each stat -- the only exception was something called a Crimson Demon. The point being? Jericho-sama was an elite adventurer about a dozen times over! What the fuck?! Go kill the Demon King yourself! Don't pass your work to me, you lazy bum!
  
  Is what Kazuma wanted to say.
  
  "Ah... right... that so...? Well, we'll... we'll just stay inside here then..." Kazuma said, what little blood was left in his face draining when a splash of gore painted the canvas so thickly that it began to seep through.
  
  "I want to go home. I want potato chips. I want soda..." Aqua clung to him, and a pang of guilt echoed in his chest. He honestly did feel a bit bad for picking her, seeing her like this. He couldn't even enjoy her breasts pressed into his side -- she had a pretty rotten personality, but that's what good looks were for, right? It was a rough start, but it would all be okay in the end.
  
  He'd end up with a waifu, and after slaying the Demon King, all the pretty girls in the world would be throwing themselves at him. He could pawn off the Demon King's treasure piece by piece... most places would be honored to serve him for free! It.. it was just a little work now, then nothing but luxury after...
  
  "Huh... One Hit Bear my ass. Kazuma, Aqua? It's okay to come out now," Jericho-sama said, making Kazuma and Aqua look at each other. The same thought must have gone through their heads because they both swallowed thickly, before Kazuma reached out to the tarp, with his sword, ready to... flail uselessly if it came down to it. Pushing it to the side revealed...
  
  Death and destruction. A once peaceful, if untamed path through the wilderness was covered in signs of a fierce battle. Felled trees, and craters in the ground, but most noticeably were the disfigured bodies of a multitude of creatures. All monsters of some kind -- Kazuma didn't know enough about this world, but he could guess that they were all powerful. Probably endgame bosses, and they were all treated like trash mobs by Jericho-sama.
  
  Kazuma offered a small bow and prayer to the deceased monsters. May they find a less overpowered opponent in the next life.
  
  Walking around the wagon, Kazuma froze misstep, an expression of panic etched onto his face the moment that his eyes landed on the One Hit Bear. It was absolutely huge, easily the size of a small building, if that building was made out of pure muscle that was just barely covered by chestnut brown fur. It looked supremely powerful, worthy of a cool-sounding name like One Hit Bear... except for the aura of pure pants-shitting terror that it gave off and Jericho-sama's boot on top of its head. Jericho-sama was unharmed. The only signs of battle were the bloodstains on his hands and pushed-up sleeves.
  
  Barehanded. He defeated the One Hit Bear barehanded.
  
  "Aw, the bear is kinda cute-" Aqua remarked, only to be interrupted by Jericho.
  
  "Kazuma, come finish the thing off," Jericho ordered, who ignored the upset expression of Aqua with what could only be described as practiced ease. Kazuma blanched, looking down at the feeble sword in his hands, then at the bear. One of its eyes was missing, a long but old scar marking the wound, while the last eye stared at him with defeat.
  
  Kazuma swallowed thickly, taking a step forward towards the bear, wary of it lashing out. Except, when Kazuma looked at its arms... he found them shattered to the point his stomach clenched at the sight- "It's fine to be squeamish. You'll get used to it. For now, just take your sword, stab it in the eye all the way to the hilt. You're putting it out of its misery," Jericho-sama reassured, earning a hesitant nod from Kazuma.
  
  It wasn't any different than power leveling in a video game. This would be easy -- even the part he had to work for before living it up after the Demon King dies would be streamlined thanks to Jericho-sama. He... he just had to stab the thing in the eye.
  
  Kazuma took the final step forward, seeing his reflection in the eye of the beast. It stared at him as he rose his sword, silently pleading with Kazuma not to do it... he hesitated a moment before Kazuma steeled his resolve and thrust the sword forward. The tip pierced the monster's eye, the blade sinking in until the hilt hit the eye socket and passed into its brain. The One Hit Bear let out a shuddering breath before it went limp in death.
  
  "There we go. So, how much did that get you?" Jericho-sama questioned, making Kazuma fish out his Adventurer Card. He looked at it...
  
  And his heart sank.
  
  "I'm... level 33 now..." Kazuma informed, having jumped from level 1 to level 33 with a single thrust of a sword. A One Hit Bear really was a powerful monster to give him all that exp. It could have been higher too with a different class. He got normal exp for defeating enemies, but something like a Ranger could get bonus exp for killing a beast-type creature.
  
  This, Kazuma thought to himself, wasn't satisfying at all. He cast a look at the trail of blood that seeped from the wound that killed the One Hit Bear. He was glad that it was easy. He just jumped well past the point of being considered a newbie Adventurer. However, that sense of joy at easy levels was overshadowed by... dissatisfaction.
  
  "Perfect. Save your points for now," Jericho-sama said, jumping off the corpse and yanking out Kazuma's sword for him. The hilt was covered in blood, so it coated his hand when Kazuma took it. "We'll get you a handful of solid skills and then have you invest in them heavily."
  
  So, his path was decided, huh? He couldn't pick his own build?
  
  He should say something. Senpai was just trying to help him. If he spoke up about he wanted, then Senpai would adjust his plans accordingly.
  
  Kazuma looked up at his Senpai, opening his mouth... and... "Okay, but, Senpai, my stats didn't really go up all that much?" Kazuma pointed out, showing him his card while he swallowed his complaints. His stats went up a fair bit, but not what you would expect with his massive jump in levels he just experienced.
  
  Jericho-sama looked it over before shrugging, "Don't worry about it. I can whip something up that'll let you earn stats pretty easily," he said, as if that wasn't completely game-breaking. How unreasonably Overpowered could you get? Just go kill the Demon King already! You could do it blindfolded and drunk, probably!
  
  Aqua stepped forward, "What about me? I want to be power leveled too!" She exclaimed, earning a nod from Jericho-sama.
  
  "You're next. We'll get you two to a decent level, then we'll head back to Axel. It should just take a little while," he said, gesturing to the wagon.
  
  Kazuma nodded, walking towards it, but before he entered, he cast one final glance at the bear. Maybe... maybe next time he could do something other than getting the final blow?
  
  ...
  
  No such luck. It was about two days later when they rolled back into Axel, Kazuma's card feeling like a lead weight in his hands despite his incredible growth. Aqua proved to be the exact opposite, using her card as a fan to not so discreetly show off her gains as she basked in the attention that was being thrown their way.
  
  Two days. Two days is all that it took to reach from level 1 to... level 100. Every single stat had over a hundred points, and his Luck stat simply read as MAX.
  
  Two days of watching Jericho-sama fight monsters and beasts. From deep-sea monsters to Elder Dragons living in volcanoes -- Jericho fought them all, and each time, either he or Aqua struck the final blow and received massive amounts of exp. Any offer to help was rebuffed and waved off because Jericho-sama simply didn't need the help. They were level 100, and they'd just get in his way. The starter sword on Kazuma's hip might as well be brand new.
  
  A sigh escaped him, bringing Aqua's attention to him, "Cheer up, Kazuma! We're level ONE HUNDRED," Aqua shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth to make sure that everyone heard her. Kazuma sank further into his seat. "We're practically Elite Adventurers now! The Demon King will be easy peasy!" she added, throwing back her head and laughing, drunk on the adoration being thrown their way by the people who had come running after hearing her unabashed bragging.
  
  The undeserved adoration.
  
  Elite Adventurer? Who? Who"s an Elite Adventurer? Did you mean Jericho-sama? Because those words didn't apply to either of them. He didn't know how to wield a sword or fight. He just stood back and watched as a bunch of really epic battles occurred, while he was allowed to finish off every other epic monster.
  
  They were newbies. Level 100 newbies!
  
  The wagon came to a stop in front of the Adventurer's Guildhall. Kazuma got out, his feet also feeling like they were filled with lead, forcing him to drag them as he followed Jericho-sama inside. The Guildhall was filled with noise, dozens of Adventurers inside having a meal or a drink. They were a rowdy bunch. He turned away from them to head towards the Guild Registration booth where the girl with the obscenely huge boobs worked.
  
  It was time, huh? Kazuma felt like he was walking to the gallows instead of reporting in on the quests that were completed. Luna looked at him, a hesitant smile on her face. Kazuma sighed as he slid his card to her, "I'd like to turn in some quests, please..." he trailed off in a quiet voice just above a whisper. The card logged who completed the quests-
  
  "YOU'RE ALREADY LEVEL ONE HUNDRED?!" Luna screamed at the top of her lungs, making the Guildhall go utterly silent.
  
  "YOU KILLED THE ELDER DRAGON EVILER DOOMSALOT, THE LEVIATHAN BIGGUS GOLFISH, AND THE WALKING DEVASTATOR?!" Seriously, have you never heard of an indoors voice?!
  
  "THEY'VE PLAGUED THE WORLD FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, AND ALL THREE WERE DEFEATED BY YOU?!" How big were her lungs?!
  
  Her voice seemed to echo out through the deathly silent hall, the Adventurer's taking a moment to process what they heard.
  
  Don't... don't do it.
  
  They did it.
  
  "He killed the three Titans?"
  
  "Isn't he just a rookie?"
  
  "He must be a prodigy that comes once every hundred- no, a thousand years!"
  
  "Incredible! He's the one, isn't he? The one that'll defeat the Demon King?"
  
  "What's his name again?"
  
  "Kazuma! Three cheers for Kazuma the Adventurer!"
  
  The adventurers left their tables, rushing towards them and cutting off any hope for escape. Kazuma found himself grabbed, then hoisted into the air by a crowd cheering his name.
  
  No. This is wrong.
  
  "It"s not just Kazuma! I"m a level one hundred too!" Aqua quickly screamed, catching the attention of the crowd and before Kazuma knew it, they were once again being hoisted up by the crowd. They chanted their names, giving them really awesome nicknames like Kazuma the Great ot Kazuma the Hero.
  
  This...
  
  The first time they cheered his name, it had been intoxicating. The adoration heaped upon him was incredible. It was a memory he would cherish for the rest of his life -- being in the center of attention for all the right reasons. But now... this...
  
  Kazuma looked to the side, finding a rough-looking man with a short mohawk there. The sides of his head were shaved, and he a neatly trimmed beard that hugged his jawline and a thin mustache. Their eyes met for a moment, and somehow, through the roaring crowd, he heard the man speak. "I knew you were something special when I first saw you, but to think you were capable of something like this... this is the birth of a new legend, huh?"
  
  No! This isn't what I wanted!
  
  All the praise was undeserved. All their expectations were misplaced. All the adoration was unearned.
  
  This was a monkey's paw. Kazuma had what he wanted, just not how he wanted it. He wanted to go on really cool adventures. He wanted to form a party of rookies, and through skill and luck, emerge victorious in every battle. He wanted to make friends with his party, growing closer with them all because of their shared hardships until the best-looking girl fell in love with him. There could even be a love triangle between the Main Love Interest and another girl until he managed to finagle a harem ending!
  
  He wanted to have a proper adventure, damn it!
  
  "Let go!" Kazuma shouted, twisting out of the grip of the adventurers throwing him up in the air. They hesitated, giving Kazuma the chance to find an opening and land inside of the crowd with his incredible and unearned agility. The crowd parted, letting him look at Jericho-sama, who looked faintly confused. He didn't get it. He couldn't.
  
  Because Jericho-senpai already went on his own adventure. He couldn't understand what it felt like to just skip to the endgame.
  
  "You don't understand anything about a man's romance, you stupid senpai!" He shouted, jabbing an accusing finger at the big man, unshed tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. Kazuma wiped them away with his sleeve before he pivoted on a heel and fled for the door, shoving through the confused crowd until he was free of the building.
  
  He didn't understand anything!
  
  ...
  
  "Oh my, Kazuma bats for the other team?" Aqua spoke aloud, breaking the beat of heavy silence that fell over the puzzled crowd. As soon as she said it, I could practically see the crowd pick up the idea and run with it.
  
  "Aww~, that's such a shame...!" One woman said, looking disappointed.
  
  "All the good ones do..."
  
  "That guy rejected the legendary hero Kazuma? Who does he think he is?!"
  
  "So that's Kazuma's type..." one man said, eying me, before checking the size of his own bicep.
  
  I have no clue what the fuck just happened. I thought things were going great? Sure, Kazuma seemed a little dower, but I just figured that was because he was squeamish and we had killed a lot of creatures. I had been too at the start -- and that had taken weeks to months to get over. Kazuma had two days and they were filled with blood and gore. So, a perfectly normal reaction. I didn"t say anything about it because I didn"t want to embarrass the guy and since I knew Aqua would make fun of him for it.
  
  That little melt down really felt like it came out of left field. Maybe he was comparing himself to me, or something, and he felt insecure? Did he not get that I had been through this song and dance before? Which is why I was trying to help him?
  
  "Hey, you better apologize to Kazuma, the Legendary Super Hero-" some guy started, puffing out his chest to earn clout by telling me off. In response, I grabbed him by the face and tossed him to the side with a lazy throw. He impacted the wall, splintering it. I reached into my pocket and tossed a bag of coins over my shoulder, directly into the hands of Luna before she could even open her mouth thanks to my expanded vision. The crowd parted for me, letting me walk to the bar.
  
  "Aren"t you going to go after him?" Aqua questioned and I thought about it before I shrugged.
  
  "Nah, it seems like he needs some space. He"ll come back when he"s ready," I dismissed as I took a seat at a table to be served. Kazuma didn"t have any money, so he"d probably come back to the mansion sometime tonight. If he didn"t, it wasn"t like he was helpless. Technically speaking, he was the highest leveled adventurer in the city.
  
  Aqua joined me, straightening out her skirt, and sitting across from me when I took a seat at a table. The crowd of Adventurers quietly returned to whatever they were doing, but they gave my table a wide berth. Good. I wasn"t in the mood for idiots.
  
  "I"ll take a full bottle of your fanciest bubbly and the most expensive dish on the menu!" Aqua said, raising her hand and announcing the order to whatever waitress was nearby.
  
  I didn"t mind. The quest rewards were pretty decent, so an expensive meal wouldn"t even be a drop in the bucket. I was more concerned with what I learned over the past couple of days -- simply put, I had underestimated just how much my stats jumped upon reaching level 3. I don"t think the creatures I"ve fought were weak exactly, but... maybe Alduin had screwed up my views on power, because they couldn"t even begin compare to Alduin.
  
  With Soul Edge? Killing them was almost too easy.
  
  "You know, I think I kinda like the lower world," Aqua decided, looking thoroughly pleased with herself as she fanned herself with her Adventurer Card. She hadn"t stopped looking at it since she reached level 100. That being said, her stats hadn"t budged at all. The first chance I got, I was going to take it from her and invest the points into something useful before she could invest them in something stupid.
  
  My lips thinned, knowing how that would go. So far, gods descending to Earth was 0-2 in terms of being a net positive. A hundred more Aquas? The planet would be on fire. Or completely submerged in water.
  
  Aqua jabbed a finger at me, "At first, I was really mad at you, but you know what? You"re alright, Jericho! I knew picking an experienced jumper was the way to go!" Aqua continued, metaphorically patting herself on the back. Annoyingly enough, she had a point. If I was interested in fighting the Demon King, she would have been proven right. "I get to live in a really nice house, eat fancy foods, and I can drink something other than water!"
  
  I blinked, "Wait, weren"t you drinking soda back when we met?" Didn"t Aqua purify everything she touched?
  
  Aqua nodded, "Yeah? I liked it -- the bubbly water hits differently than normal water. But alcohol is so much better!" She explained, her gaze lighting up when the waitress brought a bottle of fancy alcohol. She bowed before she walked away. "But to think that Kazuma would have a crush on you! It"s so cute!"
  
  I"m pretty sure that"s not what that was, but I really didn"t know what that little mental break was about. "Be sure to tell him that," I remarked dryly, considering the progress we made so far. Aqua was enjoying herself too much for my liking, but it wasn"t like I was dedicated to making her life miserable. Beyond that, the two of them were highly leveled. They just needed the skills and the stats to back it up. So, that meant I would be crafting a few weakening enchantments, putting them on Kazuma, and putting him through the wringer...
  
  Then he could start his adventure to kill the Demon King.
  
  "But, with him gone, we"ll have the house all to ourselves, won"t we? Are you going to try something? Too bad! Goddesses can"t do naughty stuff! And even if you tried anyway, I"m level 100!" Aqua announced, clearly pleased with herself as she struggled to uncork the bottle. She paused, shoving the bottle to me.
  
  What an absolute idiot. I reached out and pulled the cork out. Aqua was plenty attractive, but... she was... dumb. I mean, like actually dumb. The kind of dumb that you couldn"t ignore because you noticed it every other time she spoke. So, overall, I wasn"t interested.
  
  What I was more interested in was a wide-brimmed black hat entering the edge of my vision. It was marked with yellow trimming, and a face stitched into the pointy tip. A black cloak hung off the short and lithe frame of the girl beneath it, hiding most of her from view as she determinedly walked forward clutching a staff in her hands. Aqua"s waitress approached with a platter full of food-
  
  "Oh no! I"ve tripped!" The girl"s voice announced before she threw herself forward, practically tackling the waitress to the ground, and sending the plate of food into the air. In an adept display of agility, I saw hands blur out, catching dinner rolls and an entire lobster before disappearing back under her cloak before grabbing hold of her staff again, all before the two of them hit the ground. "I"m so very sorry!" The girl woodenly said, angling her head low so we could only see the hat instead of her face.
  
  Huh. Neat trick.
  
  "Oh, it"s fine! I"ll just order another one! Feel free to charge me for it!" Aqua laughed off the cost, earning a strangled sound from the girl.
  
  There was no doubt in my mind who she was, but when I heard a tired sigh from the waitress, it confirmed it for me. "Again, Megumin?" She questioned, standing up. "What did you take this time?"
  
  Megumin flinched back, briefly looking up to reveal a panicked expression and gleaming red eyes. "N-Nothing!"
  
  "It"s fine, it"s fine!" Aqua dismissed the issue entirely, not even caring in the slightest. Megumin eyed Aqua for a moment before a gleam in her eyes appeared while a smirk tugged at her lips. It was easy enough to guess why. Aqua couldn"t be more of a Grade A sucker if gullible was written on her forehead. Though, the smirk quickly faded when Megumin"s stomach growled more fiercely than some of the supposed endgame monsters I had fought.
  
  I swallowed a sigh, "You want something to eat?" I asked, making Megumin look up at me with wide eyes and what could only be described as the look of a girl that found salvation.
  
  "I would!" Megumin hastily agreed before stepping back, "But not for free! I am the Crimson Demon"s most powerful Arch-Mage, she who is a practitioner of the most powerful magic, Explosion Magic! I am Megumin! My pride won"t allow me to accept a free meal!" She finished, throwing out her hands and revealing the rolls and lobster she had just tried to steal from us.
  
  Hm. The plan was to steer clear of Kazuma"s original party, but...
  
  I could work with this.
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
  Completed Stories: Going Native (DBZ/DC Comics), Power Corrupts (Gamer SI), See No Evil (Young Justice SI)
  My Quests: Everlasting Dynasty (Crusader Kings 3/FSN)
  TV Tropes: Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Going Native/Gone Native (DBZ/DC comics)
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  Ideas-Guy, May 22, 2021Report#7506Like
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
  Versed in the lewd.
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  "Damn Senpai! He ruined my chance for an adventure! I should have known better. Every game gets boring after you toggle god mode. The journey is more important than the destination, even if that destination is the harem ending," Kazuma muttered darkly to himself, kicking a stone down the cobblestone path. He glanced down at his Adventurer Card-he couldn't get another one. Well, he could, but the card just displayed the changes he had undergone on a genetic level. A fresh card would still display the same stats, the same empty skill list and the hundreds of points to spend.
  
  A sigh escaped him as Kazuma took a seat on a bench, leaning on one of its armrests as his gaze drifted upwards to the sky above. The sun blazed overhead, so he had a few hours to come up with a solution before he was forced to go crawling back to Senpai and his luxurious mansion. Well, he could try sleeping outside... no, no way.
  
  Homelessness was an ever pressing concern for someone in his position before dying-not in education, employment or training. He wasn't a NEET! He was just... a bit down on his luck before he died. So, Kazuma really didn't want to end up on the streets in what was supposed to be a brand new life.
  
  "I want to go back," Kazuma muttered to himself, not sure if he meant the mansion or Japan. He was a level one hundred Adventurer, except he skipped over all the actual adventure bits. The fun parts. Now... another sigh escaped Kazuma, his head dropping down until his chin was practically touching his chest, "I guess it's way too late to complain about this, huh?" It was done. He was a level one hundred rookie.
  
  But... maybe... maybe this was okay? Maybe this was just the start of his OP Isekai power fantasy? Those were fun in the dumb, mindless kinda way. Reading them was pretty dull, but it could be way more fun to live one out, right?
  
  A smile spread on his face as he hyped himself up, "I was looking at this all wrong! My adventure really begins right now," Kazuma decided. He didn't need that useless goddess, or Senpai. He was capable of making it in this world all on his own, and that was before he got power leveled. Any group would be more than thrilled to have him on their team! Instead of a slow burn romance, the girls of the group would be awed and amazed by his incredible power.
  
  He'd outshine all the other guys in the group by easily dispatching monsters and completing quests. After all, ladies loved a reliable man. And who was more reliable than an overpowered Adventurer? He could follow the steps of all the incredibly bland and tasteless power fantasy Light Novel protagonists that came before him. Girls would be falling all over themselves for him. That was the real adventure.
  
  However, as Kazuma rose to his feet, intent on making the most of his new lease on life, a brisk breeze washed over him. His thin tracksuit didn"t do much to keep it out since the material was meant to be breathable. A small shiver racked him as he rubbed his arms to warm up a bit. It wasn't really cold out yet. Just the kind of chilly that told you that winter was right around the corner, and was enough to make being outside annoying.
  
  He might not normally be so susceptible to it, but he also spent the past year of his life in a temperature-controlled room that never went higher or lower than seventy degrees.
  
  "Ah, are you cold?" A woman's voice caught his attention, drawing his eyes to someone that was walking by. She had a heart shaped face, and long brown hair with bangs that dipped down in front of one of her eyes, leaving only one to peer at him with. It was a warm chocolate brown and filled with concern. They were around the same height, with her being only a little taller, but most noticeable of all...
  
  Her boobs were absolutely huge! Gigantic. Big enough to feed a family of four. It's enough to make the local dairy farmer green with envy. She was wearing a dull purple cloak over her shoulders, but the leather clasps that held it closed were enduring a labor worthy of Hercules himself to keep the cloak from busting open around her breasts. The others that came after made the cloak form fitting, revealing an hourglass figure.
  
  Ah! This is it!
  
  Kazuma threw on a smile and put on what he thought was a charming expression, "You don't have to be concerned for me, I can manage a small chill." Lady Luck truly wasn't? on his side because a breeze raced through, making Kazuma shiver once again. "But thank you for your concern," Kazuma continued. This was a flag event! He had played enough gal games to easily recognize one. "Miss...?"
  
  The woman smiled, "My name is Wiz, and you are?" She questioned, her gaze looking over his form. Was she checking him out already? Or did the tracksuit stand out that much?
  
  "I'm Satou Kazuma, just a fresh-faced Adventurer," Kazuma said, looking to the side bashfully. All the while he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. The stage was set for another Event-she would be all like 'oh, he's just a rookie' then, later on, she would realize that he's a super-powerful prodigy of an Adventurer when she overheard someone talking about him. Then she would be all like 'oh, he's so humble and down to earth despite being totally over powered', then something, something, something, and she would fall in love with him.
  
  The plan was immediately thrown off course when her eyes lit up with recognition, "Oh, you're the Satou Kazuma?" The? What's with the The in front of his name? Was he already that famous? Wow, word got around fast. He guessed that without video games or light novels, people only had gossip to entertain themselves. "I heard you got back with your group from quite the adventure," she noted, aiming a pleasant smile at him.
  
  Part of Kazuma rebelled at the idea. He had just stood around and watched! He didn't do anything! That didn't qualify as an adventure!
  
  Kazuma ruthlessly crushed that part of himself.
  
  "Ah, well..." Kazuma trailed off, that part of himself he was trying to ignore putting up a tougher fight than he expected. Though, a ceasefire was immediately called when Wiz reached out and took hold of his hand, clutching it between both of hers while also raising it dangerously close to her breasts.
  
  "I also heard what happened between you and the leader of your party. Is everything alright? What are you doing out here in the cold?" She questioned, looking like she was about to tear up at the thought of him and Senpai fighting.
  
  "Er," Kazuma began, caught more than a little flatfooted.
  
  Wiz looked away, "Is it because you can't go home? Did they throw you out into the cold? Just like that? After what happened to you. Did she know about the power leveling? About his stolen adventure and slow-burn romance with a harem ending?
  
  "Well..." Kazuma trailed off, not quite sure how to respond. It felt a bit wrong to throw Senpai under the bus like that... but then again, all of this happened because he was too lazy to kill the Demon King himself... but, he had still helped him. And it wasn"t like Kazuma had fought against being power leveled. It was just something that he regretted when it was all said and done. "I... don"t want to be too harsh on them, or anything..."
  
  Wiz gave him a dazzling smile as she gave his hand a squeeze. And, just like that, he fell head over heels for her. To hell with Aqua and all the other hussies on the damn planet. He just found the Main Heroine. He"d even sacrifice a harem ending if it meant he could go down the Wiz route. "You"re very kind, Kazuma."
  
  What"s a generic line he could use?
  
  "I try to be. I think the world would be a better place if everyone tried to be a little kinder and more understanding of each other," Kazuma replied, quoting some protagonist that was so bland that he couldn"t even recall their name. But, Kazuma sent a silent thank you to that bland protagonist all the same because he could practically see Wiz"s heart meter skyrocket as he scored major points.
  
  "If you don"t have a place to stay tonight, then you"re welcome to stay at my home, Kazuma. You don"t deserve to sleep on the streets or go back to that awful home for being who you are," Wiz said. And that was really fast. One cheesy line and he already got invited over to her house? Was this an invitation? Was he about to become a man?!
  
  "I..." Kazuma hesitated, mostly to avoid looking over eager. Then he put on a smile, "Thank you for having me, Wiz." Wiz was best girl. No question about it.
  
  With that, he was whisked away to Wiz"s home. It was a small building in the heart of the city, located above a small shop that she owned. It seemed that she primarily sold odds and ends along with knickknacks. Kinda like a souvenir shop.
  
  They talked a bit and Kazuma learned a few very important things about Wiz. She was about twenty years old, putting her four years older than him. Which made her totally his type-she had the 'gentle older sister' feeling down pat. She was also single and ready to mingle. What he was most surprised to learn about Wiz though, was that she used to be an adventurer.
  
  "You were an adventurer?" He questioned, standing in the middle of a room upstairs from the shop. It was a modest room-dark wood floors, a vanity, a single bed, and a dresser. It was all neat and orderly. It smelled like a girl's room- there was a faint scent of perfume lingering in the air.
  
  Wiz nodded, "For a little while... though, I wasn't quite as successful as you, Kazuma." The truth tried to jump off of his tongue, but Kazuma swallowed the words down. "After a few years, I decided to settle down and open this little shop. I think it suits me better than the life of an Adventurer," Wiz said, offering a smile that Kazuma found himself returning.
  
  Ah, she was just too much. Though, that did mean he had to be a little on guard with what he said. If she found out that he was just a bystander who, may or may not have, slept through some of the battles that he was credited for winning...
  
  "I wouldn't go so far as to say that -- I'm sure you were a fantastic Adventurer!" Kazuma said, feeding her more White Knight lines. So far, it seemed to be working so he saw no reason to distrust his arsenal of bland protagonists responses. "But, I suppose I shouldn't complain much, because if you hadn't retired, then we would have never met."
  
  Oh, he scored major points again! Kazuma saw as much when Wiz flushed at his words, idly stepping back from a desk tucked in the corner, revealing two cups of tea. Kazuma wasn't sure how she made it, but his current assumption was magic. She set the cup of tea down before him on the small table in the center of the room before taking a seat across from him.
  
  "Ah, well... it's probably a good thing I found you when I did... next month..." Wiz muttered, a look passing over her face that could only be described as bitter defeat, before she swallowed the expression down along with a sip of tea. Wait, what was happening next month?
  
  "Is there something I can help with, Wiz?" Kazuma questioned, eyeing her. Had he been catfished? Or was this just another flag being raised.
  
  Wiz looked a bit put out, "Oh, it's nothing you have to be concerned about Kazuma." She responded, offering another sweet smile. So, it was an event flag. Awesome!
  
  Kazuma reached out, placing a hand on Wiz's hand. "Wiz, you've helped me already by letting me stay here. The least I can do is help you in turn," he said, and he had to fight off the sharp smirk that tugged at his cheeks when Wiz flushed and looked away. She bit her bottom lip for a moment, her eyes downcast as she struggled to respond, but she eventually found her voice.
  
  "I suppose you wouldn't be the Rookie Legend Kazuma if you were so easily dissuaded," Wiz remarked, looking at him.
  
  ... if this were a shounen story, the amount of damage those words would have done to him would have caused Kazuma to dramatically cough up blood.
  
  "The truth is, my shop... is going bankrupt," Wiz admitted, her voice laced with shame. "Since I've opened it, I haven't had a single month in the black. I can barely afford the interest on the loans I've been forced to take out..." Wiz admitted, a sigh seemingly deflating her.
  
  This wasn't just a flag, it was a Red Flag! It sounded like Wiz was on track for a bad ending straight form a terrible NTR doujin. The loanshark was probably some super buff guy with a nondescript face, or a fat bastard, and he would try to get his grubby little fingers all over Wiz's body by leveraging the loans against her!
  
  Kazuma wouldn't allow it. He would set this world on fire and quench the flames with oceans of blood before he let Wiz get NTR'd.
  
  "I can help with that," Kazuma said, his tone deadly serious. "I can handle a few quests to help pay off the loan sharks immediately, then I could do something like a promotion deal!"
  
  Wiz blinked, "A promotion deal?" She questioned, tilting her head to the side. Kazuma smirked, giving Wiz's dainty hand a reassuring and manly squeeze.
  
  "Of course! I'll use your merchandise, and whenever someone asks, I'll make sure that they know to come here! It'll land you a whole lot of customers," Kazuma decided, radiating confidence out of every pore. Senpai had already dealt with all the super dangerous quests, so he should be over-leveled for all those that remained. Pure power should, in theory, make up for his inexperience.
  
  Wiz's face lit up, "You would really do that for me, Kazuma?" She questioned, surprise and relief dripping from her words.
  
  Time to clinch it. "Of course I would. After all, you helped me in my time of need," Kazuma replied. He was pretty good at this seduction thing, huh? He knew playing those dating sim games would help get him a girlfriend! It's why he played so many of them. Though... it wouldn't help him for what came next.
  
  Kazuma's gaze drifted to the bed behind Wiz. A bed large enough for two. It may not happen tonight, but it would happen eventually. He wasn't so arrogant to believe he had an alpha Chad mega cock that came buckets and wouldn't go down no matter how many times he had came. Watching a lot of porn didn't translate to ability in real life -- especially considering everything was censored. There would be no hiding his experience there, but maybe Wiz would appreciate the fact that he was a virgin?
  
  Maybe. She also didn't strike him as the type that was experienced either.
  
  "Ah, are you already tired?" Wiz questioned, catching him off guard.
  
  "Oh, no, I-" Kazuma began, but the words died in his throat when Wiz stood up, her hands going to her clasps.
  
  "It's alright, Kazuma. You must be exhausted after the past couple of days you've had, both mentally and physically," Wiz remarked, undoing the uppermost clasp. Kazuma's jaw tried to drop, but he kept his mouth shut. As a teenage boy, he had long since mastered the art of looking while looking like he wasn't looking. He glanced down to his teacup, the light green tea offering a reflection of Wiz on its surface.
  
  Though, she did have a point. He did die a couple of days ago. And his dreams had been crushed, even if they had been quickly replaced.
  
  That being said, was she hinting...?
  
  As if to confirm his thoughts, Wiz undid the clasp holding up her cloak and let it pool to the floor at her feet. Kazuma was glad that he was looking down because there was no hiding his stunned expression. This... this was actually happening? Tonight? Now? He... was he really about to become a man?! Wasn't this too fast?! Or... had he been wrong about Wiz? Was she actually some kind of turbo slut hiding underneath the shy and demure exterior?
  
  That was 1000000% okay with him, Kazuma decided. Shy virgin or turbo slut, Wiz was the one that would forever be in his heart so long as she was his turbo slut. Sleeping around was a no go. If he was going to give up his harem ending for her, then the least she could do was give up her nympho cock addiction for him. Or, rather, redirect it so she was addicted to his cock instead.
  
  "It's fine, Kazuma. You don't have to be embarrassed," Wiz said, prompting him to look up and...
  
  Titties.
  
  Wiz stood naked before him, completely shamelessly. Her breasts were huge, large pale orbs that fought off gravity to remain perfectly perky despite their incredible size. Both were capped with a pale pink nipple that seemed comically small compared to the mountain of pale flesh they served as a peek to. Her stomach was flat, her torso revealing that she really did have an hourglass figure, with wide hips. Even her thighs were thick, perfect for thigh-high stockings.
  
  "I hope you don't mind, but I usually sleep naked," Wiz said, her voice a bit tight, but warm as she looked down at him with rosy cheeks.
  
  "So do I," Kazuma lied through his teeth. He was just pretending to be a bland protagonist for this moment. He wouldn't stutter or play at being dense. Even a virgin like him saw where this was going. Her legs were smooth and hairless, her groin similarly bare. So, that's how it was?
  
  He had been seduced. A ploy to get him to pay off her loans.
  
  Kazuma was still completely on board.
  
  To prove it, Kazuma stood, a serene smile on his face. He unzipped his jacket, and pulled off his white undershirt to reveal a fairly muscular body. He wasn't all big like Senpai, but increasing his stats had given him a nice swimmer"s build. Though, Kazuma guessed it really didn't matter because Wiz's eyes were glued to his erection. His erect penis strained against the loose and stretchy material of his tracksuit pants, leaving him pitching an obvious tent in his pants.
  
  Wiz flushed, her eyes widening dramatically before her hands went to her face. Oh, maybe he was wrong about her being a turbo slut with a raging cock addiction? All the better then!
  
  "K-K-Kazuma! W-w-w-why is y-your t-thing hard?!" Wiz exclaimed, flinching back as Kazuma paused taking off his pants and boxers.
  
  Kazuma looked at her, tilting his head to the side as he tried to puzzle out the meaning of the question. "Because... you're... naked?" Kazuma replied slowly, feeling like he had just stepped into a minefield, and only realized he when he was at the center of it. Wiz's face was a bright red, flushing all the way down to her chest as she seemed to suddenly recall that she was, in fact, completely naked.
  
  Her hands didn't know if they wanted to cover her body or her eyes, "But- but!" She stammered out, deciding to crouch down to use her legs to cover her breasts so her hands could cover her eyes. Did she not understand she could just close them?
  
  "But what?" What was going on?!
  
  "But aren't you gay?!" Wiz shouted at the top of her lungs.
  
  Huh?
  
  "That's what everyone in Axel says!"
  
  What?
  
  "Didn't your party leader reject you, and throw you out of the party because you were interested in men?"
  
  Wait...
  
  "I got undressed because I thought it would be fine since you aren't interested in girls at all! Isn't your type big, beefy men?"
  
  Aqua... this... this was Aqua's fault. He didn't know how, but he knew it was the truth. Aqua did this to him. Aqua... Aqua... that useless goddess...
  
  "AAAAQQQQUUUAAAAA!!!!!!!"
  
  ...
  
  "She's sloshed," I remarked, looking down at Aqua, who cradled a third bottle of bubbly to her chest like it was her firstborn child. Or third born, but if she was one of those parents that actually loved all of her kids equally. Looking over to the right just a bit, Megumin was laying down on the bench, sporting an extended gut from stuffing herself to the absolute brim with as much food as she could reach. Though, I'm sure some of it was because of the food she had squirreled away in her clothes for later.
  
  Right, not quite what I planned, but I had been too distracted with my thoughts to notice Aqua chugging down her second bottle, or her third. I thought she was still working on her first.
  
  The plan had been to keep the original party away from Kazuma, but I had to admit that Explosion Magic had its uses. And since both Kazuma and Aqua were both high levels with a lot of points to invest there really wasn't a downside to then learning it. And just because Megumin was their teacher didn't mean she had to be a member of the party.
  
  The quote from the author had specified that if Kazuma hadn't chosen Aqua or met Megumin or Darkness, then he would kill the Demon King in a few months.
  
  "Hey, Megumin, would you mind teaching me Explosion Magic?" I might have added that it would serve as payment for the meal, but Megumin was already up, her eyes glowing bright red with excitement. She pushed herself up with the aid of her staff, stopping only to groan, a hand going to her distended stomach before rising to her feet.
  
  "You"re interested in Explosion Magic? The most powerful and sacred magic of them all?!" Megmuin questioned, practically vibrating with excitement. The idea was to learn it then pass it along to Kazuma and Aqua. I didn"t trust Kazuma not to think with his dick, and he and Megumin had ended up together, so if they met, then she"d probably join the party. It was worth considering power leveling her as well, but I had already speed ran the major quests in the area.
  
  I nodded, "Yeah, I am. Seems useful," I remarked before I cast a look at Aqua. She was completely out of it, and I wasn"t willing to babysit a drunk Aqua. I didn"t even like a sober Aqua. Looking around, I caught Luna"s eye. She looked away, pretending to clean something, but it was too late. Walking over with Megmuin in tow, I pulled a bag of gold out of my pocket and set it on the counter.
  
  As always, money talked.
  
  "Keep an eye on Aqua for me, okay? Don"t let her spend her points either," I told her, earning a sigh from Luna even as she took the bribe. That last part was important. I swear, I would throttle that girl if she spent the points on dumb shit the moment I took my eyes off of her. I"d take the card, but it was bound to her person. It"d just teleport out of my hands. And my inventory.
  
  I knew. I tried.
  
  "Let"s go learn Explosion Magic! You"ll love it!" Megumin said, grabbing my sleeve and practically dragging me out of the Guildhall. "We have to practice kinda far away, though, or the guards will yell at us. They"re especially vigilant since they thought that I used Explosion Magic on the hills outside of town, but I didn"t!" Megumin said, looking up at me, clearly expecting support.
  
  Which... fair enough, I guess. "I believe you," I sighed. I knew she was telling the truth because that had been me. Soul Edge was an OP item, alright. And if anyone wanted to point fingers... well, they'd be pointing them at three overpowered Adventurers. Good luck trying to make those charges stick.
  
  Megumin hummed contently, put in a good mood thanks to the food and my interest in Explosion Magic. She twirled her staff in her hands, and made a face at the guards of the city, before she practically began skipping to the required distance outside of the city. And not a step more. "Today is a good day," Megumin decided. "I thought Aqua was one of those lofty trust fund girls, but she's pretty nice! And you've understood the superiority of Explosion Magic... ah... what a good day!"
  
  I grunted, easily keeping pace with her as we left the city behind... and it was there I saw that the arbitrary distance wasn't so arbitrary. A sign was up, declaring no Explosion Magic could be used. There was even a skull and crossbones, so I wasn't sure if that was a warning of danger or a threat.
  
  "Here should be fine," Megumin decided, taking a single step outside of the threshold. That was petty. I could respect that. "Ahem," Megumin coughed lightly into one of her fingerless glove clad hands. "The most important part of Explosion magic is... flair! It's important to establish the atmosphere first. To set the mood." To prove that point, Megumin leveled her staff at the rolling hills before us, not that much further away from where I had cut a couple in two.
  
  The shadows around us slowly grew darker, Megumin's cloak began to flutter in a nonexistent wind while her tunic quickly began to follow suit. Light began to gather at the tip of her staff as the jewel that floated inside a small crevice began to shine.
  
  "Next is the speech. All good uses of Explosion Magic need to be started with an epic speech! I usually write a few lines to hit, but I let things free flow from there. But if you want to prep a speech in advance, then all the power to you! Just be sure to have some variety!" Megumin continued, her red eyes gleaming as she spoke, her excitement growing... was she really that excited to teach me, or was this some kind of Voyeur fetish?
  
  "Light to darkness, darkness to light -- manifest my madness into this forsaken earthly realm, the harbinger of devastation, the unstoppable force of change, the most sacred of arts - Explosion!" Megumin shouted, thrusting her staff to the sky, causing red magic circles to appear above her target. Each was highly detailed and intricate, but they soon vanished in a flash of light.
  
  It felt like I was standing in the blast radius for a small nuke, or Alduin's Shout. A shockwave slammed into me, traveling through my body as the hill was devastated by a powerful explosion, sending a gust of wind out from the point of impact that struck with the force of a freight truck. My ears rang a bit from the roar of sound, but I was still able to hear the labored breathing of the diminutive Crimson Demon beside me, who fought to keep herself standing.
  
  "Explosion Magic... is the best...!" Megumin remarked before falling down in a heap. I really didn't see the same appeal, but...
  
  You know what? I didn't get it, but I could respect passion. Even if that passion came at the price of being a glass cannon.
  
  "You know, you should be more careful with this stuff. You can't move, right?" I questioned, taking out my Adventurer Card. I had a lot of points to spend. "What if I was a molester or something?"
  
  Megumin laughed off the point, "No fellow student of Explosion Magic could ever do something so heinous," Megumin dismissed. I... felt like she was really missing the point there. But she wasn't technically wrong right now, because I had no plans to become a rapist. Still, it was something she should at least be concerned about.
  
  "Okay, but what if someone lied about being interested in Explosion Magic to get you alone because they knew you'd pass out after using it?" I asked, taking a seat a decent and non-rapey distance from her as I inspected my card. I hadn't used it yet, but the skill section remained unchanged. Maybe it took a moment to kick in? Or did I have to use my status window?
  
  Megumin let out another dismissive chuckle, "There's no way that would ever happen. I might be a little young, but I'm an Arch Mage! If anything like that happened, I'd be able to tell and blow them up beforehand!" Megumin dismissed, and... there was enough confidence in her tone to make me second guess myself. I just couldn't tell if it was because she was right to be so confident or if she was just an idiot.
  
  I think it was the latter. "Megumin?" I said, looking over to her, holding up my Adventurer Card. "Explosion Magic isn't showing up."
  
  Megumin looked to me, blinking owlishly, "Eh?"
  
  Don't 'eh' me, "Explosion Magic isn't showing up. Have... have you ever taught Explosion Magic before?" I asked her, feeling more exasperated by the second because Megumin's panicked expression grew more intense by the second.
  
  "B-but I went through all the most important steps!" Megumin protested, weakly waving her hands around before stopping because she was too tired to do even that.
  
  That didn't answer the question.
  
  "Megumin, have you or have you not taught someone Explosion Magic before?" I questioned again, looking at Megumin, who looked at me with one cheek pressed to the green grass she laid on.
  
  She averted her eyes. Then she pulled her hat down to cover her face.
  
  Okay. To learn a skill, you had to get a serviceable explanation and witness the skill in question in action. Megumin had failed to give one of those. Secondly... god damn it.
  
  I got up and reached into my inventory to pull out a blue vial. A mana potion. They were few in number because I had rarely used magic before, but I had a decent amount. Enough to spare one, at least. "Drink this," I told her, presenting the blue vial to her.
  
  "I can't," Megumin responded, prompting me to swallow a sigh and flip Megumin over. Her face was beet red with embarrassment and she averted her eyes once again, but they were drawn back to the blue vial. "What's that?"
  
  "A mana potion. It should put you back on your feet," I said, making Megumin gape as she reached up for the vial. Though, because she was so out of energy, I ended up having to dump the thing down her throat.
  
  This girl... she didn't even know what a self-preservation instinct was, much less have any. If she went out alone to practice Explosion Magic, then she was stuck helpless for hours in the wilderness. If she went with someone, then she was helpless with a person she didn't know. She didn't even question the idea of drinking something that what amounted to a stranger gave her.
  
  This idiot was going to get herself killed or suffer a Bad Ending at this rate.
  
  Megumin gulped the potion down, her eyes widening dramatically before she shot up, gaping at her body. She marveled at her hands, then at me, her red eyes shining brightly before she grabbed hold of my shirt. "I could totally cast Explosion Magic again with those potions! Twice in one day! Hey! Hey! I'm an Arch Mage, you know?! You should let me join your party!"
  
  I looked down at Megumin, and I swallowed another sigh.
  
  I did this to myself, didn't I?
  
  ...
  
  I got a lot of feedback from the poll. The votes showed that the majority of the audience wants the story to continue, but the minority wasn't as much of a minority as I would like. As of right now, the current plan is to continue on with the Konosuba jump, but I will be trimming off some of the fat to speed things along a little bit. If I had to say, we're looking at 15-20 chapters in Konosuba. Based on where I'm at with my backlog, I'd say it'll be closer to 15 than 20.
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
  Completed Stories: Going Native (DBZ/DC Comics), Power Corrupts (Gamer SI), See No Evil (Young Justice SI)
  My Quests: Everlasting Dynasty (Crusader Kings 3/FSN)
  TV Tropes: Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Going Native/Gone Native (DBZ/DC comics)
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  Ideas-Guy, May 29, 2021Report#7952Like
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
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  "Please! Please! Please! Pleaepleaseplease!" Megumin begged, dragging behind me as she clutched the back of my shirt. I really regretted giving her that mana potion for more reasons than one. Her begging was pretty annoying, but that wasn't the main reason. It was mostly because I realized how this was going to play out.
  
  The plan was to keep away from the canon party. For the most part, they were dead weight. The best worst girls in anime. However, not all worst best girls were created equal. Aqua was dumb, but I didn"t have Kazuma bring her here just to make her suffer. With the right skills and spells, along with an auto-cast, Aqua could be decent. Great even, if she wasn"t herself. Megumin was a one-shot glass cannon, but if I could give her more shots? Then she was also pretty decent.
  
  Knowing her, she'd guzzle the potions I gave her all at once. Rather than saving them for the Demon King. Meaning someone had to control her mana potion intake. Option one was Aqua -- who was dumb enough to be tricked, drink them herself, or purify them on accident and rendering them useless. Option two was Kazuma. He was better, but not by much. He was absolutely the type that would try to leverage sexual favors and Megumin was worryingly addicted to explosion Magic, so she just might go through with it.
  
  That being said, Kazuma did respect the age of consent, so I might be worrying about nothing.
  
  "PLEASE! I'll do anything! Please!" Megumin shouted, dragging her heels in an attempt to slow me down. The only thing she managed was to stretch out my shirt. People looked on at us, "Anything you can imagine! I'll do it!"
  
  Then came the whispers.
  
  "What is that man doing with that child?"
  
  "By anything, does she mean...?"
  
  "That brute!"
  
  "I know him! He's the demonic fellow! He just tosses people around and I heard he kicked out the Super Legendary Rookie Kazuma for being in love with him!" That last guy was just shouting.
  
  It spurred others on, though.
  
  "Despicable."
  
  "He really is a demon!"
  
  "He rejects Kazuma then goes after a child? I should complain to the Guild!"
  
  I sighed, walking on without a care. I knew it was coming. I saw it coming from a mile away, which is why I just sighed louder when I heard Megumin take in a deep breath.
  
  "Just let me join your party and I'll enact whatever depraved fantasies you have! Please just don't throw me away after using me like that!" Megumin shouted at the top of her lungs and I could only imagine what the rumor mill was going to do with that. I hadn't been in the city for more than a week and people already treated me like the Demon King.
  
  But... I didn't care.
  
  Death put things into perspective. So did being King.
  
  I couldn't care less what this city thought of me. I honestly couldn't even if I tried. Their opinions were worthless. Simply because they didn't matter. They played no role in defeating the Demon King. They wouldn't be rushing to the front lines to fight the good fight. They wouldn't contribute anything more than their good wishes for their chosen hero, and calls of good luck were worthless on the battlefield.
  
  The only reason I would care about their opinion was if it was about Kazuma, who was driven by the desire for approval from others. So long as they were cheering his name, I couldn't care less about what they said about me. Hate me, love me -- I was so far past the point of caring.
  
  That being said, Megumin needed to learn a lesson. "Oh?" I came to a stop, raising my voice so absolutely everyone could hear me. "Whatever depraved fantasy I have?" As I spoke, I slowly turned around, looking down at Megumin, who looked at me with an expression similar to that of a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Fitting, I suppose. "What if I want to strip you naked and force you to crawl on all fours through the city for everyone to see?"
  
  The crowd sputtered, but I didn't care. Megumin looked stricken, she couldn't be more shocked if I had cocked slapped her for good measure. Her face turned beet red, her grip on my shirt lessening as she staggered back.
  
  "No? Then be more careful with your words," I said, resuming my walk. I heard Megumin scream silently in frustration, stamping her feet. With my expanded vision, I saw her grab the brim of her hat with white knuckles. There. That should do it. She really needed to be more careful with stuff like that. Leaving herself helpless with total strangers, and now saying stuff like that in public in a vain attempt to shame me-
  
  "FINE!" Megumin roared with the same passion as a warcry before she flung her hat to the ground. I froze midstep, my jaw going slack when her hands went to the hemline of her dress. "IF THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES!"
  
  I pivoted, lunging for her and grabbing her dress before she could rip it off. "Stop it, you idiot! What in the hell do you think you're doing?!" I shouted, keeping her dress in place, then the same with her when she tried to escape through the bottom while fighting my hands.
  
  "I'm getting naked just like you told me to, you shameless bastard!" There was a wild look in her eyes as they gleamed bright red. "I said I'd do whatever it took! I want to join your party! If it's for Explosion Magic, I'll do anything!"
  
  I wasn't someone that got embarrassed easily anymore, but I felt a blush creep up my neck. "Just stop!" I felt like a total asshole now. I mean, I knew I was one, but that didn't mean I enjoyed feeling like one.
  
  "Then let me join your party or I'm going to strip naked in the city and there's nothing you can do about it! I'll wear a collar! I'll bark like a dog!" She raged, pulling back so hard that her dress threatened to tear in my grip. I heard the terrible sound of threads popping, making my heart drop like a stone down to my feet.
  
  "Fine! You can join! Fuck," I cursed and I only realized my mistake when Megumin immediately stopped struggling. Her eyes met mine.
  
  Then she smirked.
  
  The sheer aura of smugness that radiated from her was impressive. It rivaled Aqua. To that... fair enough, I could admit to myself. She caught me in a bluff. I could respect that. Megumin 1, Jericho 0.
  
  "I can't believe you would say something so shameless to drive me away! People are going to talk about you, you know?" Megumin pointed out as she skipped alongside me, taking two steps for every one of mine. To prove her point, I could feel the death glares being thrown my way, but that was it. Which is why I couldn't bring myself to care about their opinions.
  
  They had it all wrong, but from their perspective, I was taking advantage of Megumin. I wasn't sure how old she was exactly, but she was clearly on the young side. Yet, none of them were doing anything other than giving me dirty looks and muttering under their breaths. That was it. No one took any action.
  
  "Talk is all they'll do," I dismissed, uncaring. I was probably being too harsh on them. If they had already heard of me, then they knew I was a high-level Adventurer with insane stats. As far as they knew, stepping up was a death sentence. Still, that felt like a pretty shallow reason to just let me do whatever I wanted. Ever since I left Skyrim, I've thought about my time there. Just thinking about everything I did now that I didn't have a deadline for the apocalypse hanging over my head.
  
  In the end, from a purely objective point of view, I shouldn't have bothered to save the Holds. I should have just let them all burn down to their problems. I should have let Falkreath starve and be razed by orcs. I should have let Markarth be sacked by the Forsworn during the party Sanguine threw, and let a city's worth of people be butchered. I shouldn't have gotten involved in Riften or Winterhold politics, and just let Azura fail at being Jarl and let the civil war start.
  
  Purely objectively, I should have just let it all burn while I focused purely on growing stronger. Grinding stats, making enchantments and potions. That's it. However, I had thought the battle was beyond me, so I had looked for help from Skyrim. I had received some. Just not as much as had been promised.
  
  I really didn't believe in the objective viewpoint. It's easy to think that you could just write off tens, possibly hundreds, of thousands of lives. I don't think I did the wrong thing in Skyrim. But, I could admit, I didn't do the smart thing.
  
  And, looking at the people that just let us walk by when they thought I was sexually exploiting Megumin... honestly, I'm not sure if I would be so eager to make that mistake again. I don"t think I had it in me to just walk away from a bad situation when people"s lives were on the line, but I was done expecting anything from people.
  
  "I can't wait to go on quests~! I can't wait to explode the Demon King! I should start practicing my speech!" Megumin gasped with absolute delight, her wide-brimmed hat blocking my view of her face, but I could hear the smile in her voice. At least one of us was enjoying ourselves.
  
  "You need to work on your explanation for how Explosion Magic works before you start trying to take on the Demon King," I rebuked, my words sounding like that did some critical damage based on the "oof" that escaped Megumin. I gave Megumin three tries to teach me Explosion Magic. Each time, she expanded on the importance of flair and chunni speeches, while details on the actual magic was rather light. According to her, I just had to feel the Explosion Magic deep inside of me and bring it forth.
  
  "I can't reach those that don't want to be taught!" Megumin returned, looking up at me. "I gave you a perfectly good explanation! It's not my fault that you can't understand it! The fault lies with the student!"
  
  I just sighed as we kept walking. "Whatever. I'm pretty sure Wiz knows Explosion Magic, so I'll just ask her." To that, Megumin sputtered, looking like she was about to erupt.
  
  "You'll abandon your teacher so easily?!" She protested.
  
  "Yup. I'd drop you like a rock," I agreed, offering a confirming nod. My gaze drifted as we walked down the street. It seemed that the rumor mill was already making the rounds because we were about a block down, but I was still getting dirty looks. Oh-
  
  Or... not, I thought to myself as my gaze landed on a woman. Her blonde hair was done up in a ponytail, with her bangs secured with a hairpin. Pearl white armor protected her chest and shoulders, with one shoulder pad being a set of angelic wings. Her stomach, arms, and most of her legs were mostly left unprotected but covered by a yellow and white tabard with grieves stitched into the tabard, while her arms were covered by black sleeves from an undersuit. Her baby blue eyes met mine and I could see...
  
  Lust.
  
  There was no mistaking her. Darkness the Crusader.
  
  I looked away sharply and continued onward. Unlike Aqua and Megumin, that girl was absolutely hopeless. Aqua, once she gained the appropriate skills, would turn out halfway decent. Her low stats could be buffed up thanks to her high level and if I speced her hard into being a White Mage. And if things went bad, she still had her ability to res the dead. Megumin's biggest weakness is that she's a one-shot glass cannon. Remove that, and she's great for crowd control and dealing a lot of damage.
  
  Darkness, on the other hand, was just hopeless. Her motivation was to be kidnapped by the Demon King to serve as a brood mother for monsters, or something.
  
  Was she hot? Yeah. Was she an absolute freak? Hell yeah. Did I want her in the party and dragging Kazuma down? Absolutely not.
  
  "Do you have a place to stay?" I asked Megumin, walking past Darkness. I swear, with my enhanced hearing, I could hear her panting in the alleyway. Megumin seemed a bit caught off guard, but she nodded.
  
  "I do, why?" She questioned with a tilt of her head.
  
  I didn't want to let her out of my sight because she would find a way to suffer a bad end, or stir up trouble. "I bought the mansion outside of the city to house the party members. You don't have to live there, but there's a room available if you want one," I answered with a shrug.
  
  "Hm..."
  
  "There's free food-" I started, only to be interrupted by Megumin. She latched onto my arm, looking up at me with the desperation of a woman dying of hunger in front of an all-you-can-eat buffet.
  
  "I'll go! I'll live with you! Please let me live in your mansion!" Megumin begged like I hadn't just made the offer.
  
  I'm seriously starting to worry about this girl.
  
  "Fine. Let's head home then. Kazuma should be back by now and Aqua should be blackout drunk, so she'll be easier to deal with." I said, striding forward.
  
  ...
  
  Predictably, Aqua was blacked out drunk when we arrived at the Guildhall to pick her up. She sat at her own table, three additional bottles lying next to her, bringing her total up to six bottles in total. I didn't care much for alcohol, but I could admit that Aqua had a strong liver. And with her abilities as an Arch Priest, she didn't have to worry about alcohol poisoning or a hangover.
  
  Luna, as we strode through the door, looked incredibly relieved. "Jericho, she nearly caught on to us diluting the alcohol. She ended up drinking another two bottles out of spite," Luna informed, casting a worried look at Aqua's drooling form, slumped over the table with one cheek pressed to the surface. She was clearly worried about retribution.
  
  "Eh, she's probably so drunk she won't remember. And if she does, I'll just tell her that she was imagining it," I dismissed, walking over and easily hefting Aqua up. There was no good way to hold her -- over the shoulder risked vomit down my back, bridal was reserved for Hestia, so I just grabbed her by the waist. Her arms dropped down, as did her legs, but I was tall enough that neither brushed the ground. "If she tries to make a big deal about it, then just tell her I told you to."
  
  Megumin stood off to the side, looking at Aqua with an unreadable expression. If I had to guess, she was not impressed. Speaking of which, "Megumin is a part of the party now, so put her on my tab."
  
  Luna offered a thin smile that almost looked like a wince, "I... if you're sure," Luna said, and I'm guessing that she thought that Megumin was capable of eating me out of money. Fat chance that was.
  
  I turned to Megumin and chose not to acknowledge that she was choking back tears. "Alright, let's go," I said before we left. "Save any good quests for us," I requested, throwing a wave over my shoulder. Power leveling Megumin wouldn't be as effective, but it was still worth doing if it meant she wouldn't be a glass cannon. I just needed a way to phrase the argument that it was in her best interest to invest in more mana so she could cast it more than once per day.
  
  Either that or I made her a lifetime supply of potions. Which would be something like one per hour, every day for the next century or so.
  
  "Wazzz'at?" I heard Aqua drunkenly moan as we walked. "Jericho...? Yer feet... are big! Big feet means... hehehehehe..." I did not like that giggle or the burp that sounded like the prelude to vomit that came after. She seemed to swallow it down like a champ, though I still held her to the side to make sure my boots were out of the splash zone. "We should drink, Jericho! I loooooove fancy bubbly! I'm gonna make it my, erm... Uhhh... the... uhh..."
  
  "Offering," I supplied, the scene struck me as familiar. How many times did I do this back in college? I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.
  
  "Yeah! Offering! I'm going to make it my offering when I get back to heaven! All my followers are going to have to drink loads of fancy bubbly and give me lots!" Aqua decided, condemning her cult to alcoholism. I don't think that's what the bible meant when it said God created us in his image. But, what do I know? Technically speaking, I'm a greek-roman pagan.
  
  "Heaven?" Megumin spoke up, glancing at Aqua from a safe distance away, also keenly aware of the splash zone.
  
  Oh, right. I forgot about this bit. "Just ignore her. She was raised by the Axis cult into believing she was the goddess Aqua because her hair is blue." To that, Aqua sputtered, and that sealed her fate. Vomit erupted from her mouth, hitting the cobblestone road with a surprising amount of force, but both Megumin and I were out of the splash zone, so I just kept walking.
  
  "Ah... that explains it," Megumin said, nodding to herself and accepting the answer with absolute ease. There wasn't so much as a hint of doubt and Aqua was too busy dry heaving to argue the lie.
  
  After a moment, I sighed. "Aqua, just cast heal on yourself," I said and it took her a moment to get the words out thanks to the dry heaving. Then, as soon as she did, she was enveloped in pink light. The dry heaving stopped instantly, and she wiggled out of my grip.
  
  "All better!" Aqua announced, like she hadn't just been puking her guts out. Her class came with buff and healing spells automatically, they just had to be invested in to improve beyond the base standard they had. I didn't get any on account that Craftsman was a generalist and a beginner's class. "Hey, we should go back-"
  
  "No," I interjected. "You've drunk enough for one day," I decided.
  
  Aqua pouted, stamping her foot like a child giving a prelude to a temper tantrum. "You're so mean! What do you have against fun?! Did it kill your family or something?" She demanded to know, and I fought off a frown that tried to tug at my lips.
  
  It was annoying, but she wasn't wholly wrong. I didn't want to have fun. I wanted to be miserable. I watched a lot of my friends die. I died. I was stuck here, in this world, when I didn't want to be. When Hestia updated my falna and realized that I had been gone for a month and what happened in the original timeline, I wanted her to see I had been absolutely miserable without her.
  
  The goal wasn't to have fun. It was to prepare for going back to Skyrim. First, I would make sure Kazuma and Aqua were ready before sending them off. Call it a week to buff up Kazuma's stats, give him some enchanted starter gear, then they would be off. After that, I would enchant my own gear with the soul of Alduin. I would expand my arsenal of Thu'um.
  
  I knew how Alduin fought. I knew what he could do. I was already stronger than the first time I faced him. Next time, Alduin would die alone.
  
  "Fun did kill my family," I answered dismissively, trying to kill the conversation. But I should have known better than to think that Aqua would catch the hint.
  
  "They wouldn't want you to avoid fun for the rest of your life just because they died! They'd want you to have loads of fun if they cared about you!" I don't think I've ever heard such loaded advice before because it couldn't be clearer that she just wanted to go back to day drinking.
  
  She was annoyingly right though. Hestia would want me to have fun rather than just be miserable. But... it felt wrong. Like a betrayal, almost. Like I wasn't trying to get back to her and Lili fast enough.
  
  I was just playing it safe. Kazuma could kill the Demon King. I needed the time to prepare.
  
  I just needed-
  
  As if summoned by my thoughts, I saw a familiar green and black tracksuit that stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the general population. Though, the fact that people stopped giving me dirty looks to cast wide smiles and waves in someone else's direction was clue enough.
  
  Kazuma walked down the street with a noticeable flamboyant flair, a flower in his hair as he waved back at people. Next to him was Wiz, if I had to guess. Mousey brown hair that covered one of her eyes, a heart-shaped face, and a huge chest. "Thank you, thank you! I'll live up to your expectations, I promise! I won't let you down, city of Axel!" Kazuma announced, much to the crowds' adoration.
  
  Something weird was going on here. That much was proven when Kazuma promptly froze in place mid-wave, his smile becoming brittle as glass the moment his green eyes met mine. He nearly fell flat on his face when Wiz continued to move forward. When she noticed that he wasn't moving, she looked in the direction that Kazuma was staring off into, bringing her gaze to me.
  
  Her lone visible eye narrowed into a slit, her lips pressing together as she interlocked her arm with Kazuma's. For a moment, I thought she was going to walk over to slap the shit out of me for some reason. She seemed to consider it too before Kazuma began to woodenly walk forward.
  
  "Come on, Wiz. There is no need to cause a scene," Kazuma said, pointedly not looking at me as he walked by. "Rumors made it out worse than it really was, I promise."
  
  "Kazuma, but the things he did..." Wiz returned. Huh. I guess she was judging me by my reputation, which was firmly in the red. That seemed a bit odd, but Wiz was a kind-hearted person based on what the show portrayed. I guess I should have seen this coming. What I was more surprised by was Kazuma trying to cover for me.
  
  I guess he was over whatever that was back at the Guildhall.
  
  Shrugging my shoulders, I resumed walking, though Aqua lingered. "Shouldn't we bring Kazuma back with us?" She questioned, and I considered it before shaking my head.
  
  "It's fine," I dismissed. Kazuma, when he wasn't thinking with his dick, was portrayed to be fairly competent. He had a bunch of skill points to spend, so Wiz was probably the best person he could have ended up with. She could teach him advanced magic, then after that, he just needed some luck-based skills and he would be set.
  
  I cast a look at Aqua -- who met it by tilting her head to the side. She needed to be watched. Today was a bit of a wash, but tomorrow we would look around for skills for her to get. Her points needed to be invested before she spent them on something stupid.
  
  A sigh escaped me as we left the city gates- "Did you just look at me and sigh?!"- and we continued onward to the mansion. I ignored Aqua, who quickly lost interest in me when she realized that Megumin was with us. While they got to know each other, I let my mind wander as we walked home. It wasn't too far away from the city. Not enough to be a hassle, at least.
  
  With Kazuma under Wiz's tutelage, I just needed to bring Megumin up to snuff, then I could focus on my own development. The Black Star was burning a hole in my pocket. Alduin's soul was massive. It was going to take a solid month to use up his soul in an enchantment. More than that, I needed to pick one to use.
  
  Did I want to increase my stats dramatically? Or did I want to go more exotic and give myself a unique ability? Like being able to read minds, or fly or teleport? It could be done. I had the foundation to learn how, I just needed to puzzle out how to make the pieces fit together. It was something I really needed to think about now.
  
  I was so lost in my thoughts that I only noticed something was wrong when Megumin pointed it out. "Is that another party member?" She asked, pointing forward, bring my attention to the figure that stood in front of the gates to my mansion. A figure that I recognized because I saw her less than an hour ago.
  
  Darkness stood in front of the gate, her sword in hand with a look of determination on her face. "Halt! Don't take another step! You two -- step back." She ordered, her tone authoritative. Megumin and Aqua traded a look, neither of them having any clue what this was about.
  
  "Uhh..." Aqua muttered, taking a step back and prompting Megumin to do the same.
  
  "I've heard about you, Jericho the Beast," Darkness informed as I continued to walk forward, closing the distance between us. "How you demand that your party members perform l-lewd acts for you, or you kick them out! Your casual abuse of your fellow adventurers, and how you just throw money around as if that absolves you of everything-" Darkness continued, pointing her sword at me before she shuffled around a bit when I walked past her.
  
  That second thing she mentioned was kinda true, so she had a point there. That much, I could admit. It was just annoying as all hell when idiots tried to get in my face. As for Darkness... she was doing what I had wanted the citizens to do, but I also knew that her motivations weren't exactly pure.
  
  So, I walked by her and pushed open the gate. "H-hey!" Darkness protested, her air of authority vanishing like smoke in the wind when I ignored her. I looked her dead in the eyes and spoke.
  
  "No solicitors," I dismissed her before turning around and walking away. I saw her flinch back, stunned. Then, because she thought I couldn't see her, Darkness sent an expression of pure desire at the back of my head. She was forced to lean on her sword, tip dug into the ground, while she panted with desire.
  
  Aqua skipped along, heading to the gate before she stopped. "Did you want to come inside?" She asked Darkness, and I swallowed a sigh.
  
  "Y- n-... To protect you two from his twisted desires!" Darkness proclaimed, her face bright red. Megumin shot her a look, then one at me as I continued to the door. Right. So, I guess I was dealing with this now. Aqua and Megumin could explain the situation while I-...
  
  ...
  
  No, I just about did something really stupid just now. Trust Aqua and Megumin to explain? What in the hell was I thinking?
  
  I stopped and turned around, "Look, I get what you're trying to do, but the rumors are way out of control." I told Darkness, who approached with Aqua and Megumin behind her. The latter looked like she had doubts based on how she looked at Darkness, but the former looked at me with wide eyes of absolute horror. Aqua, the idiot, looked like she completely believed I absolutely had been sexually exploiting her. "Nothing's-"
  
  "So, you do not possess demonic armor and a vile malice-soaked sword with an eye embedded in the blade... whose gaze is so intense that I...!" That sounded a little familiar.
  
  This felt like a leading question, "Yeah, but it's just armor and a sword. I didn't get a say in the aesthetics." I defended myself, crossing my arms over my chest as I blocked the door.
  
  Darkness was unconvinced, "I heard you demand that Megumin strip down naked in public and bark like a dog!" She pointed out, her cheeks flushed.
  
  Aqua looked scandalized, "Jericho! How could you?!"
  
  "I didn't say... the last bit," I argued. "Megumin needed to learn that you can't just go around shouting that you'd do whatever people wanted! I was trying to teach her a lesson so she wouldn't get taken advantage of."
  
  "A likely story!" Darkness decried, not believing it. "Once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence! Three times is a pattern! I've been following you for some time now, so there's no point hiding it any longer! I've seen the causal abuse you inflict on others. How you... just throw fully grown men in full armor around like they're toys. How... you think... you can do whatever you want to people because you're powerful!" She was really starting to pant, a wild gleam in her eye that reminded me of a rabid dog.
  
  Only instead of relentlessly attacking things, this version of rabid made you unbearable horny.
  
  Seriously, she looked like she was a few seconds away from humping my leg.
  
  "I bet you think you can get away with anything. Like stripping me of my armor, holding me down as you...! Hnng!" Darkness squirmed, making Megumin back up a step. At least one of the two saw through this. Aqua looked aghast.
  
  "Jericho! Stop whatever you're doing to her!" She demanded, jabbing a finger in my direction. I gave her a flat look in response.
  
  "I"m not doing anything to her," I pointed out.
  
  Unsurprisingly, Aqua didn"t believe me. "Like I believe that! You"re super strong! Who knows what kind of OP abilities you have hidden up your sleeve?!"
  
  "I"m not doing anything to her. She"s just a masochist that"s getting off on her delusions," I refuted, earning what sounded like the lewdest moan I had ever heard in my entire life. And that was saying something. I looked at Darkness and felt the need to take a precautionary step back. She looked at me like an animal eyeing a meal.
  
  "My most well kept secret... so carelessly revealed...~!" She muttered, taking a dangerous step forward.
  
  "Well kept?" I muttered, my voice filled with doubt. Girl, you showed up on my doorstep thirsty as fuck. She was one dirty word away from an orgasm. How was this in any way a well kept secret?
  
  Darkness threw her hands out wide as if she were acting as a shield for the others. "I won"t let you lay another hand on them! Yet, I understand you are far too powerful for me to stop, so I"ll- hey! Wait-"
  
  I stepped through the door and closed it in her face.
  
  I liked Darkness. I really did. She was my type physically, and who didn"t love a freak in the bed?
  
  But, I wasn"t in Konosuba to have fun.
  
  That being said, it wasn"t much of a shock when the three of them kicked down the door determined to make me enjoy myself anyway.
  
  ...
  
  More of a transition chapter, but this begins where Jericho is being extracted from his shell. The crew are going to make him have fun, whether he wants to or not.
  
  A heads up -- I'm taking a week off to celebrate Going Native coming to an end in a few weeks, so there will be no updates for any of my stories between the 18th to 25th.
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
  Completed Stories: Going Native (DBZ/DC Comics), Power Corrupts (Gamer SI), See No Evil (Young Justice SI)
  My Quests: Everlasting Dynasty (Crusader Kings 3/FSN)
  TV Tropes: Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Going Native/Gone Native (DBZ/DC comics)
  Patreon: Ideas-Guy's Patreon Subscribe Star: Ideas-Guy's Subscribe Star
  Ideas-Guy, Jun 5, 2021Report#8048Like
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  The mansion had a library with a pretty decent selection of books. They ranged from myth to simple fiction, to non-fiction, romance, mystery, thrillers, and fanfiction-worthy garbage. I wasn't sure where exactly the world was in tech development, but it would seem that the printing press was a thing since books weren't treated as rare or sacred objects because of their value.
  
  It didn't really matter much to me until I caught a title in the corner of my eye -- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It caught me off guard for a moment before it clicked that one of the people that Aqua had sent over had shamelessly plagiarized the novel series on top of adding their own spin on it in an attempt to make it better.
  
  They failed. And I didn't even care about the Harry Potter series one way or the other. But, it was really stupid to think that all you had to do was plagiarize a popular series to reach the same level of success. It wasn't enough to just be good. There are plenty of good series out there that deserve to blow up into the next big thing. Most of them deserve it more than whatever series did blow up -- Harry Potter is an example of that.
  
  More than being a good story with an interesting premise, you needed to be lucky. You needed the right combination of circumstances -- such as the absence of one dominating piece of fiction at the time, a huge windfall that comes out of nowhere, and a whole lot of luck that out of the countless pieces of fiction out there, what you wrote was the lucky draw.
  
  This is why the plagiarizing idiot ended up becoming a starving artist that actually starved to death, only to have his dozens of plagiarized series see an influx of popularity after his death.
  
  Two hundred years ago.
  
  "Something isn't right," I muttered to myself, flipping through some of the pages of a heavy tome in my hand. The library currently looked like it had been ransacked, with piles of various books piled high on the tables. I had worked through the night in an attempt to avoid Darkness humping my leg. Which was why all the doors were barred. I settled on a page, read a short passage, and mentally added a name to a growing list.
  
  The Demon King had reigned for nearly three hundred years at this point. A figure that was shrouded in so much mystery that no one knew a thing about him. That was worrying in itself, but there was a more pressing concern. In that three hundred-year period, there were five hundred figures that had appeared to defeat the Demon King.
  
  It was impossible to tell who had been sent here by Aqua, and who simply were natives that rose to the challenge. It was easy enough to mark some of them out when they carried super special cursed swords or abilities that I recognized from other series. Things got a little muddled when another hero 'found' the OP item and made their own attempt on the Demon King. At the moment, I had a solid one hundred confirmed isekai's and four hundred maybes. That was after a single night of research.
  
  There was no telling how many had simply washed their hands of the quest early on without ever making a name from themselves.
  
  So, Aqua's initial estimate that she had sent something like a thousand people with OP items might be closer to the truth than not.
  
  It also meant that at least five hundred people had done this song and dance before me and Kazuma. Yet, the Demon King was still here and the figures of legend weren't. All of which shared an ending -- they went to fight the Demon King only to never be seen again.
  
  "I don't like this," I decided, snapping the book closed and tossing it on the table with the others. I had a sneaking suspicion since the start, but I was finding a worrying amount of evidence to support that suspicion. It was mostly circumstantial, and I'm sure history remembered it's heroes with rose-tinted glasses, so all of them were probably idiots, but... even a blind squirrel finds a nut eventually.
  
  After two hundred years and five hundred tries, the Demon King should be dead already. I really didn't like the fact that he wasn't.
  
  Swallowing a sigh, I strode towards the barred door. Grabbing the table, I easily lifted it -- tactile telekinesis was such an underrated power. It made lifting things so much simpler and I didn't have to worry about the thing falling apart in my hands because of awkward positioning. Setting it down, I pushed open the door and was greeted by Darkness taking a swing at me with her sword.
  
  I'm not sure how she missed. I was anything but a small target and I practically took up the entire doorway, but she still managed to whiff the swing.
  
  "You can't escape me!" Darkness declared, completely ignoring how she had completely whiffed the swing as she staggered by me when I stepped forward. "You can't hide any longer either!"
  
  Right. "Oh no, you got me. I really hope you don't find the secret passage to my sex dungeon in there," I said, my tone dripping with sarcasm as I turned and walked away. I heard Darkness gasp in delight, a rosy tint coloring her cheeks before she looked at the library. She was practically- no. There was no practically. She straight-up started drooling.
  
  "I'll let you get away this time while I... I r-rescue those you have trapped! Who knows what fiendish traps you have..." Darkness said, entering the library, and I could hear her tearing through the place in search of a nonexistent sex dungeon.
  
  That was easy. Darkness really did let her vagina do all of her thinking and it showed.
  
  That was the third sex dungeon she was searching for.
  
  I walked through the halls and felt a slight vibration run through me as the mansion trembled ever so slightly. That, I'm guessing, was Megumin firing off her one shot of Explosion Magic. I had bought the surrounding land, so as long as she didn't blow up the house, I really didn't care... but she really was hammering the property line. It was like she was trying to blow up the city while hiding behind the excuse of private property.
  
  So, I should probably grab her before I leave for Axel. Actually, it might be worth grabbing Aqua and taking her with me. Kazuma had spent a couple of days with Wiz, so he should be a solid mage build by now. Aqua still needed to spend her points, and Wiz was one of the best to learn from. With that thought in mind, I-
  
  I caught a flash of movement in the corner of my eye as I rounded a corner. My head jerked to the side, only to see nothing was there. But, something had been. Perfect memory made it next to impossible for my eyes to play tricks on me. Something had been standing at the end of the hall, but I hadn't been able to see what it was.
  
  Weird, but whatever.
  
  "Aqua! I'm heading to town. You're coming with," I informed her as I shouted down the hallway. I heard Aqua groan loudly as I approached her door, so it wasn't a surprise when I opened it that I saw her in a heap under her blankets.
  
  "I don't want to go," she protested, acting as if the blanket was some kind of shield to protect her from me. "I'm tired!"
  
  By that, she meant, "You're hungover. You can fix that, you know?" I corrected her and pointed out. There was a long second of sullen silence.
  
  Then the covers began to glow, "Sacred Heal..." Aqua muttered under her breath as if I couldn't hear her. "I don't want to go," she decided, her hangover cured. She was really lucky that she decided to be an Arch Priest. She'd be dead from alcohol poisoning or liver cirrhosis a dozen times over a week into our stay here.
  
  It was tempting to force the issue, but I chose not to. There wasn't a point. I needed to clear it with Wiz first, then make sure it was clear that Aqua couldn't purify the lich.
  
  That being said, "Aqua -- the people you sent down before, I had a question about their items or abilities. I was reading up, and apparently, two separate people used the cursed sword Masamune about a hundred years apart. Is it the same one?"
  
  "Nooooo..." Aqua groaned, apparently irritated with the question. "It's too much work to collect the items after the losers I sent died since they always died in super-inconvenient places. So, I just left them wherever. No one else can use them, so they're just hunks of junk."
  
  Hm. "And the repeats?"
  
  "I dunno. People kept picking the same things even though I gave a whole bunch of options. It's always the edgy stuff too -- cursed swords that can kill with a single cut, or like your Soul Edge... now go away. I'm sleepy." Aqua waved me off by slipping one hand from underneath her duvet and making a dismissive gesture.
  
  Annoying, but interesting. That meant that there were repeats of items. They were just worthless to me. That being said, it might be worth tracking them down since they might be made of unique materials. It was a side quest worth considering while Kazuma was off doing his thing with the others.
  
  Now, off to find the wayward student so I can make sure he's ready.
  
  ...
  
  Wiz's shop was a quaint little place, I thought as I eyed it. Humble. You'd never think that it belonged to a woman that had kicked down the Demon King's front door and fought him into a truce to prevent harm coming to civilians.
  
  Stepping forward, I pushed open the door, letting a small chime ring out. The place was homey -- shelves that were filled with items, each tagged with a price, and there wasn't a single one that didn't have at least four digits. The stuff behind the counter had at least six or seven. I heard movement coming from the backroom as I checked the place out.
  
  Or, rather, the items. Crystal balls that deepened friendships by sharing the most embarrassing memories of their holders. Potions that increase your stats at the cost of giving crippling diarrhea. A cane that gives you the ability to fly as fast as you could limp. A nightlight that summoned ghosts to your room to hide in the shadows. Each and every single one of them was a monkey paw of an item. A downside that was directly proportional to the benefits that were offered.
  
  Wiz stepped out, looking a bit disheveled with an eager look on her face.
  
  That promptly fell the moment she saw it was me.
  
  "Hello, I'm-" I began, only to be cut off as Wiz took her place behind the counter.
  
  "I know who you are," Wiz answered, her tone curt. It seemed wildly out of place given the sweet demeanor that the show portrayed her with. I blinked, caught a bit flat-footed, but I guess this was what happened when you didn't care about your reputation. Wiz was a sweet girl, but she was also a fierce fighter and very protective. She didn't know me. All she knew of me was what she heard.
  
  So, I'm guessing learning magic from her was out of the cards. Shame, but I couldn't do much about it. Given what I knew about her death -- I'm betting that she taught Explosion Magic to Kazuma already, so I guess I didn't have much of a reason to pursue it anymore. I was better off further mastering the Thu'um.
  
  "Is Kazuma here? I was hoping to talk to him," I said, and I was lucky that glares couldn't do damage because Wiz glared dangerously at me.
  
  "He's not," Wiz answered curtly. It got weirder the more I heard her speak. "He's currently on a quest with his new party that value and support him." She continued, her tone testy. Wow. I could only imagine what rumors she had heard to get this reaction out of her. Seems like asking to be taught how to make magic items was out of the cards too. Sheesh.
  
  "Oh? Who"s he with?" This was... good news, for the most part. It meant that Kazuma had teamed up with unknown quantities, but it also meant he was separated from Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness. The first two were hard maybes in joining his party, while the latter was a hard no.
  
  "Why does it matter?" Wiz responded, her tone frosty.
  
  "Because I want to make sure they aren't idiots that'll get him killed, level 100 or not?" I tried, narrowing my eyes right back at Wiz. I liked her, but if she was going to treat me like an enemy, I wouldn't hesitate to return the favor. "And to make sure that it hasn't gone to his head and he runs off to fight the Demon King half-cocked?"
  
  To that, Wiz's lips thinned. I could tell that she wanted to argue the points just because they had come from me, but she didn't. She took in a breath and ten seconds later, she responded, "He's in a party with some seasoned Adventurer that I introduced him to. They're all very good at what they do and are powerful in their own right. Kazuma is in good hands with them." Now she sounded like a mom that was forcing herself to be polite, only to come off as passive-aggressive.
  
  "Has he picked up any skills yet?" I asked, and Wiz gave me a look.
  
  "He has, but that is no longer your concern," Wiz stated in no uncertain terms. She really didn't like me based on a few rumors, huh? I didn't think she was that shallow, but whatever.
  
  Wiz glared at me for each step I took, but it fell when I produced a ring from my pocket. "Would you mind giving this to him whenever he comes back?"
  
  The ring was the one that had been enchanted for me -- the proof of concept for my armor that weakened me. It would take off twenty-five points of strength. For me, that was pretty much nothing. For Kazuma, that was like a fourth of his total strength. The plan was the same for my own growth -- weaken him to make it easier to improve your base, then stack buffs when you needed to.
  
  Wiz's jaw dropped the moment she saw the ring, taking it with numb fingers. "A ring?" She questioned, her voice suddenly very quiet.
  
  "He'll know what to do with it," I stated, content to leave it at that. No point staying in hostile territory when I didn't need to and Wiz was a character I wasn't completely sure I could beat in a fight. My numbers were bigger than hers, but she was also in a league of her own when it came to being a mage. With that, I turned around.
  
  It was when my fingertips brushed against the door, I heard Wiz speak. "Wait!" She requested, making me turn around. She had the ring clenched in her hand, which was in turn pressed against her chest.
  
  "Yeah...?" I questioned, wondering what was going on.
  
  "I... jumped to conclusions and I didn't once think how painful this must be for you," Wiz said, offering a bow so she missed me blinking slowly in confusion. "I'm very sorry. Please forgive me for my rudeness."
  
  I had no clue what was going on, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Wiz changed her mind about me for some reason. Apparently giving a gift to Kazuma was all that it took?
  
  "Don't worry about it. At this point, I'm used to it. The rumors got way out of control since there's nothing to do in this city but gossip," I dismissed the issue. To that, Wiz winced so badly you'd think I slapped her or something. I guess that was the downside of a guilty conscience.
  
  She shook her head, "That's not an excuse for judging you so harshly. Is there anything I can do for you?" She questioned, and I saw my in.
  
  I scratched at the back of my head, "Actually, you can? My job is Craftsman, but I was hoping to create magic items. I was supposed to be taking a tour of the city to find a specialization that I liked, but since the rumors got around, no one is willing to teach me anything."
  
  Wiz gasped, "How cruel," she stated, a hand going to her mouth in shock. She seemed to think on it for a brief second before she nodded, "I would be delighted to teach you!" She decided, and I guess giving Kazuma a gift really was all it took to put me in her good book after taking me off the shit list. It was a bit weird, but I guess if she thought that the rumors were just bull and combined with her own airhead good nature...
  
  Perfect. "That's great," I admitted, my tone honest as I walked back towards her. "And I can sign a non-compete or something if you want. I'm mostly wanting to learn to create items for personal use, and stuff to help Kazuma kill the Demon King."
  
  Wiz actually got a little teary-eyed as she shook her head. "You don't save to sign anything. I'll even help you open a little shop next to mine if you'd like." Wow. Her lack of business sense wasn't exaggerated at all.
  
  How to say no to that? "I appreciate it, but I don't think I should. With the rumors and all, I doubt anyone would buy anything I have. But, if you're willing, I could sell stuff through your shop instead? Provided that I can reliably produce magic items?" It was a nice compromise, and the truth.
  
  For such an introverted woman, Wiz was fairly expressive. More so than I expected. Was that a change from the anime compared to the light novel? I had never read it, so I had no clue. Unlike Skyrim, I didn't know the story here inside and out. Everyone looked the same, but was I in the LN version of the world or the anime?
  
  It stood out because Wiz looked away sharply, her bottom lip quivering as she nodded her head. She really was an empathetic person, huh? "If you think that would be best, I'll help you however I can," Wiz decided before her gaze dipped down to the ring in her hands. Slowly, almost cautiously, she held the ring out to me. "But... I think you should give this to Kazuma yourself. It will mean more coming from you."
  
  I... guess? "Okay," I agreed easily, taking back the ring. Wiz shifted from foot to foot, seemingly incapable of looking me in the eye.
  
  "He's with the party I mentioned earlier, but he hasn't left on the quest yet. If you leave now, you can still catch him and tell him how you feel!" Wiz stated, sounding like she was cheering me on for something. "He should be at a special bar. I don't know where it is, but I heard it's what makes Axel worth protecting."
  
  "... Okay?" I muttered before internally shrugging to myself. This whole conversation felt a bit off, but it was important that I got to Kazuma before he left. I needed to see if the Adventurer Card system worked like my falna. "Thanks, Wiz. I'll see you later?"
  
  Wiz gave me a pleasant smile and a nod, prompting me to leave the building to find Kazuma. Based on the description, there was only one place that he could be. I haven't been there, but I knew where it was thanks to my mapping function.
  
  Rolling the ring between my fingers, I headed there. The bar was something of an open secret -- it didn't broadcast its location, but it was easy enough to find if you knew where to look.
  
  Which was why a few minutes later, I found myself walking down a set of steps, ducking to enter the basement, and looking out at the succubus club. Dozens of scantily clad women wandered about -- some taking orders from those that were going to have wet dreams. On the other side was a bar counter, and on the sides were a few booths where Adventurers sat down with a succubus in each arm.
  
  It was easy enough to spot Kazuma. The green track suit stood out, as always, but it was mostly because a group of meatheads were chanting his name as they surrounded him. It made it difficult to see Kazuma for a moment... and to recognize him.
  
  Kazuma's head was pressed down, so I could only see the top of his head before it slowly moved to the side. As I approached, I saw that a succubus was laying down on the table and...
  
  Was Kazuma doing a line of coke off a succubus's body?
  
  "YAHHOOO!" Kazuma screamed at the top of his lungs, throwing his hands up in victory. The action was mirrored by his meathead party. The succubus looked thoroughly amused, a finger tracing up her nude body, scooping up some kind of blue powder that looked a lot like glitter before she sucked off what Kazuma had left behind.
  
  I swear to fuck. "Really? I take my eyes off of you for five minutes and it's sex, drugs and rock and roll?" I questioned, announcing my presence to everyone else. People seemed to freeze, but none more so than Kazuma. It looked like the blood froze in his body, turning him into a statue with a blue glitter mustache around his nostrils.
  
  The meatheads recovered first while the succubus simply pushed herself up, not bothering to cover her body. They press forward, throwing on mean mugs.
  
  "You aren"t welcomed here, Jericho," one of them said. He was a solidly built man, fairly tall by most standards but still a head shorter than me. "I, Sam-"
  
  I grabbed him by the face and squeezed. Not enough to crush his skull or anything. Just enough to make it clear that he wasn"t strong enough to throw his dick around when I was in the same room. "Ahhhh!" His tone changed, climbing in pitch, the man screaming out in panic rather than pain. Another tried to do something, so I grabbed him by the face too and squeezed. Lifting both off the ground, I casually tossed them to the side while the other handful of men looked on in absolute terror.
  
  I had to give credit where it was due, though. They still tried something. Just not hard enough that it took more than me squeezing their heads for a few seconds to break their will and send them scampering out of the club.
  
  "S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-Senpai...?" Kazuma stumbled back a step, looking less like a level 100 adventurer and more like a teenager that was caught red-handed partying by their parents. The bronze-skinned succubus stood up before draping her arms over his shoulders, pressing her lips against his neck.
  
  "Oh? Is this him?" She questioned, eying me up. "I must say, you do have... excellent taste."
  
  I'm just going to ignore that. What else would a succubus remark on? "What's going on here, Kazuma?" It was a genuine question. Kazuma was meant to be the one competent member of the party. The one I could trust not to fuck everything up. So, why in the hell did I just catching him snorting up glitter off a succubus's stomach?
  
  Kazuma swallowed thickly, his green eyes darting around to look at everything and everyone but me. "I... I'm preparing for a quest. With my new party?" Kazuma answered, though it came out like a question. I crossed my arms, and he winced.
  
  "Care to explain how snorting that stuff is supposed to help you defeat the Demon King?" I asked, cocking my head at him. Where did I go wrong? This was in some way my fault simply because this hadn't happened in canon. Did I spoil him too much? Give him too much freedom? I should have just toughed it out in the stables for a little while. Then he would understand the value of the mansion.
  
  The same with his strength. Going from level 1 to 100 had clearly gone to his head. I should have slowed his advancement, driven home just how weak he was before power leveling him. This was my fault.
  
  Kazuma shifted, "It's... it's pixie dust! It's not bad for you!" He protested, the edge of the shock wearing off and he started to find his voice again.
  
  "Oh? Is that so?" I pressed, and he winced, caught in the lie.
  
  So, he switched tactics. "It was just a one time thing. I can stop any time I want to," he argued.
  
  "The problem is that you did it at all. What made you think it was a good idea, huh? Did those idiots pressure you into doing this?" I should have just crushed their skulls and been done with it. Kazuma looked away, his face twisting into a scowl. "Look, you're free to do what you like, Kazuma-"
  
  Kazuma scoffed, "Am I? Can I really be free when you come down here, scaring off my friends and making all of my choices for me?"
  
  My eyes narrowed, "What's that supposed to mean?"
  
  "I didn't get a say in anything! You made all of my choices for me!" Kazuma shouted, jabbing a finger in my direction.
  
  The little punk. "So, you're complaining about that now? You certainly never spoke up when we were in the same party, even though you had pleanty of chances. Forgive me for not being able to read your mind, Kazuma. I made those choices because I thought you were okay with them." The plan was always to have Kazuma deal with the Demon King as fast as possible, but there were a bunch of ways that could have worked out. Ways that didn't end with Kazuma snorting pixie dust off a succubus in a club. "But maybe I should have made your choices for you anyway. You clearly don't make good ones on your own."
  
  Kazuma puffed out his chest, "I do too!" He argued, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. "I'm choosing to have fun! I died, you know! I'm entitled to enjoy myself."
  
  "I died too, you idiot. Again, not saying you can't enjoy yourself, but you don't have to ruin your life to have fun," I pressed, and maybe that was a mistake. The more pressure I put on him, the more Kazuma seemed to rebel against me.
  
  "What do you know about fun?!" Kazuma bellowed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're all work, work, work -- kill the Demon King. Kill Alduin. Do this, do that."
  
  "Gee, I fucking wonder why?" I retorted, unimpressed. "It's almost like they're world ending threats or something."
  
  To that, Kazuma's face twisted as if I had shoved poured an entire lemon tree worth of lemon juice down his throat. "I left because you're way too controlling. I'm a level 100 now! You can't tell me what to do anymore!" I noticed that he pointedly did not argue the point about the world ending threats. "I want to have fun. Something you clearly don't understand."
  
  I shook my head, feeling my grasp on the situation slip between my fingers like grains of sand. Kazuma was rebelling against me to snort drugs. He was choosing to ruin his life.
  
  My lips thinned -- maybe I was a little too close to the issue. I hated drugs. Despised them. I wouldn't say I hated those that took them, but I certainly thought less of them. And the fact that I had apparently drove Kazuma to this didn't settle well with me at all.
  
  "Fine. I'm done," I said, holding out the ring and dropping it on the table. "That's the last thing you'll get from me until you've given some serious thought into what your life is becoming." The succubus gasped at the ring, while Kazuma looked down at it. I could see a glimmer of panic in his eyes when they darted up to me. "Don't worry about the Demon King either. I'll handle him-"
  
  Kazuma shook his head, looking very alarmed, "No! Don't do that!" He protested, interrupting me. "I can kill the Demon King!"
  
  That's what he was concerned about? "Then prove it," I said, ending the conversation to walk back upstairs. A succubus stood at the entrance and passed a slip of paper to me, a hesitant smile on her face. A coupon for a session with a succubus giving me a wet dream.
  
  Leaving Kazuma and the club behind, I sighed before I went to run a hand through my hair. To my sorrow, the man bun that Hestia had made was coming loose. I would have to tighten it up when I got to the mansion. With that thought in mind, I let my feet carry me back. I got some dirty looks, but I didn't care.
  
  My plan was falling apart at the seams. It was looking more and more likely that I would have to handle the Demon King myself.
  
  Another sigh escaped me as I neared the mansion some minutes later. Pushing open the door, my feet carried me to the library -- I would comb through what was known about him, then I would talk to Wiz. It would take some time to enchant my armor, but by then, Kazuma would either have his ass in gear, or I would handle things personally.
  
  Reaching the library, I froze misstep when my eyes landed on a gap in the bookcases. A secret passage way... that brought the sound of giggling to my ears. Blinking a few times, I cocked my head and headed for it, mildly surprised. But maybe I shouldn't be. Secret passageways were pretty common.
  
  As were sex dungeons, I learned when I reached the bottom of the stairs to see what could only be described as a BDSM dungeon. Whips, canes, gags and toys lined the walls. More equipment was dotted around, but my gaze landed on Darkness, who laid in the center of the room.
  
  Her armor was on, but her arms and feet were bound with rope, keeping her in place. Glancing back, I saw a trip wire on the stairs.
  
  "Huh," I muttered, looking back at Darkness, whose face was flushed and her breathing was ragged.
  
  "I didn't expect that."
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
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  Ideas-Guy
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  It was amazing how quickly things moved when you were at the top, Kazuma thought to himself, sitting on the wall that surrounded the city of Axel. His feet dangled off the ledge as he leaned back, propping himself up with his hands. He wasn't supposed to be up here, Kazuma didn't think, but the guards that patrolled just kinda awkwardly shuffled away while shooting glances at him. They weren't going to tell him he had to leave.
  
  Kazuma wasn't even entirely sure what had happened. It was all just a blur. The stress, the expectations... so he started snorting pixie dust to take the edge off! He was going to save the entire world from the Demon King! He was entitled to a little fun and relaxation. Especially since Wiz couldn't look him in the eyes anymore. She had practically tossed him out to the nearest available Adventurer party.
  
  Which had already kicked him out on account of his stupid senpai.
  
  "He doesn't understand anything," Kazuma muttered under his breath, his tone bitter. Well, except he kinda did, didn't he? He had already saved a world but he died doing it, according to Aqua. Senpai also seemed pretty bitter about being a hero that saves the day from a threat that could destroy the world. Which made him a total jerk for trying to inflict that on him!
  
  Except he had tried to let Kazuma and Aqua skip the hard parts.
  
  "He's never done anything for me," Kazuma continued, his lips pressing together in a thin line as the words tasted like a lie as they left his mouth. You know, except for the power leveling. And the mansion. And the ring that looked like it took away about a quarter of his strength stat, so it would be easier to increase. And the promise of more gear and money and supplies for his quest to defeat the Demon King.
  
  A sigh escaped Kazuma before he brought his knees closer to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. His nose itched, so he scratched it and his hand came back faintly blue. He frowned at the remainder of the pixie dust.
  
  Things moved fast when you were at the top. Three days. That's all it took for him to hit rock bottom. He had destroyed all of his relationships, he wasted his potential by picking up a drug habit, and the worst part of all was that he was still somehow a virgin. How he had been surrounded by naked succubi and not had sex was a mystery even to himself, though he had admittedly been high out of his mind at the time.
  
  Now, all he had was his promise to kill the Demon King. He clung to it because if he failed that task then... he was every bit the loser he had been in his last life-
  
  "Uh, Sir Kazuma the Glorious?" Someone spoke up, making Kazuma glance over at them. It was one of the guards that had arrested him when he first arrived in this world. That seemed so very long ago. Nearly an entire lifetime, back when his life has been filled with so much hope and the possibilities were limitless. It was shocking that it had been less than a week ago. "I'm... well, I'm no one important, but could I get an autograph? It's for my daughter!"
  
  Kazuma sucked in a sharp breath. He still had fans? Cute little girls still looked up to him? Why? Didn't they see him for what he was? A strung-out addict? A useless virgin? A liar that tricked everyone in this city into thinking he was gay? They praised him for being progressive, but he just wanted to bathe on the women's side of the bathhouse to avoid men feeling 'uncomfortable.' The number of breasts he had seen were countless, but for all of his luck, he remained an untouched flower.
  
  "Sure... I guess..." Kazuma agreed, taking the paper and pencil. With what could only be described as practiced ease, Kazuma wrote down his name with a flourish. He handed the paper back to the guard, who looked like he had stars in his eyes. Kazuma couldn't meet his gaze as he muttered, "Tell your daughter to get better role models."
  
  The guard looked like he had no clue what Kazuma was talking about. He had missed his calling as an actor. But he bowed all the same, "I'll... talk to her about it? Thank you very much!" He said before he started to skip away, seemingly overjoyed.
  
  Kazuma watched him go, a hollow feeling in his chest. When did giving autographs stop giving him that same joy? Yesterday? The day before? It couldn't have been the day before that because that's when he signed his first one. When did the attention become less invigorating and more burdensome? Yesterday? Yeah, it was yesterday. Well, he had been annoyed with it at first, but that was before Kazuma accepted his fate as a generic harem protagonist. Just without the harem.
  
  A listless sigh escaped him as he turned his attention to the city of Axel once again. A city that hoisted its expectations on him. Whose citizens expected him to save them because they named him their hero. Expectations he hadn't been ready to meet. The pressure had been too much and he crumbled underneath it. He went to a party and did a lot of drugs. Well, some drugs. A drug. Once.
  
  The point being was that he hit rock bottom and he hit it hard-
  
  "Hey, Kazuma-"
  
  "I'm trying to self-reflect! Go away!" Kazuma whipped around, making Dust freeze misstep. The dirty blonde-haired man was around his age if a few years older. Bright blue eyes, a dark red jacket with brown pants, and silver shin guards. He even had really cool bandages on his forearms that served no purpose beyond looking cool.
  
  He looked like a proper Adventurer, whereas he was stuck with his old tracksuit because it became attached to his Brand.
  
  Dust hesitated, "Are you sure? Because I have something I think you'll like!" He said, choosing to continue. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a red vial of glitter. No, not glitter- "I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy's cousin who can get his hands on this stuff. You're looking at pure, uncut, pixie dust."
  
  Kazuma blinked, his curiosity piqued. "Why is it red?" He questioned, turning around to look at Dust, who handed over the vial so he could further inspect it. It was red. And very glittery.
  
  "That's how you know it's pure. The blue stuff is the watered down version. It has to be because most people don't have the Endurance stat that can handle pure pixie dust," Dust explained. Kazuma hadn't known that. He just saw one guy doing it and he thought it would be a great way to 'accidentally' brush his cheek against the undertitty of a succubus. "But, since you're a level one hundred Adventurer, it should be no problem for you."
  
  To that, Kazuma froze. His Endurance stat was garbage. Sure, it was over a hundred, but he only earned a single point per level up, which was the bare minimum you could get without locked in stats like Aqua.
  
  "I don't think..." Kazuma began, going to hand the vial back, only to pause when Dust continued.
  
  "There's going to be a huge party since the last one got busted by you-know-who. A lot of people are really pissed at him for wrecking your good time, so the stops are all getting pulled. Succubus strippers, a bunch of girls and hype men," Dust said, and it would be a lie to say that he wasn't interested.
  
  However, his resolve was firm, "I don't know, Dust. I think I should give partying a pause," He admitted. Socializing was shockingly exhausting. Maybe that muscle had atrophied during his years as Not-a-Neet, but being in the center of attention all the time...
  
  Dust adopted a panicking expression, "You have to come!" He looked way too nervous. "You're the life of the party! The star! Everyone wants you to have a good time before you go off to defeat the Demon King!"
  
  Oh, Dust must have promised that he would be there to impress some girls. At least, that was Kazuma's guess. He might have called him out on it if Dust hadn't just landed some critical damage.
  
  The Demon King. The foe that everyone expected him to defeat. The foe that he was completely unprepared to beat. A foe that he wasn't ever going to defeat since he burnt the bridge with Senpai because he felt embarrassed and said some things he didn't exactly mean.
  
  Kazuma's gaze darted to the vial in his hand.
  
  He shouldn't.
  
  Kazuma uncapped it.
  
  He really shouldn't.
  
  His Endurance was probably high enough.
  
  He absolutely should not do this.
  
  He could clean up his act after one last night to remember.
  
  He really, really, really should not do this.
  
  Kazuma did it anyway.
  
  ...
  
  Kazuma opened his eyes to the sound of fighting and he saw a familiar place. Black and white tiled floors, a hazy white mist that marked the horizon of the otherwise pitch-black void he found himself in once again. Across from him was an empty marble white throne that Aqua had once sat in. Was it still empty because she was in the mortal world?
  
  "Ah..." Kazuma blinked, realizing what had just happened. Why he was here.
  
  He died.
  
  His hands went to his head, "Did that idiot lace it with something?!" Kazuma shouted to himself, stunned that he was here once again.
  
  A week. He had lasted all of a week.
  
  "Open the portal!" A voice shouted, a woman's. Kazuma looked over to the source to see two girls on the floor. He didn't recognize either of them, but it was clear that the girl with black hair tied up in pigtails with bell ornaments was winning the fight based on the fact that she had the other girl in a sleeper hold. A poor one given that the other girl looked more frustrated than unconscious.
  
  "I can't! I told you already! I can't! I'm just filling in for Aqua-senpai!" The girl with white hair shouted, trying to wiggle out of the hold. She was pretty cute, even with her face flushed and her hair all over the place. Her dress was ripped up a bit, but nothing too scandalous. She tried rolling over but the black-haired girl prevented that option.
  
  Kazuma sat in his chair, not sure if he was supposed to enjoy the show or not. It was like one of those few times he bothered to go to the temples for the new years -- like the gods might hear him thinking dirty thoughts, and right now, he was in their house.
  
  "I'm a goddess too! I know the rules!" She shouted even as the white-haired girl managed to roll over on her hands and feet. The black-haired girl responded by using her legs to sweep her opponent's feet from underneath her so they both hit the floor, with the white-haired girl pinned underneath. "You have the authority to open the portal for me!"
  
  Uhhh... what was going on?
  
  The white hair girl's eyes clenched shut, "I'll get in a lot of trouble! We can't have foreign gods all over the place! What if you mess something up?"
  
  "I'm not going to mess anything up, Eris," The black-haired goddess swore. "I'm just taking back my Jericho after Aqua soulnapped him!"
  
  Kazuma blinked, "Senpai?" He muttered, looking at the two women. Eris? As in the money? She was a goddess of the world too, huh? But how did the black-haired one know about Senpai?
  
  Both of them seemed to only take notice of him then, both girls looking up from their fight to pin wide eyed stares on him.
  
  "H-help me, Kazuma the Magnificent!" Eris shouted, reaching out a hand to him as she squirmed underneath the weight of the other goddess. "Our dimension is being beset by a foreign god!"
  
  "I'm not invad... okay, I'm invading a little bit, but this wouldn't have happened if you just left Jericho alone! You asked for this! He's mine!" The other goddess shouted, and that made Kazuma hesitate. Senpai hadn't exactly talked much about his past, but he did mention a few names like when he talked about his armor.
  
  "Are you Hestia?" Kazuma questioned, making Hestia freeze. She stopped trying to choke out Eris to aim a megawatt smile in his direction.
  
  "You know me? Do you know Jericho?!" She questioned, her grip not slacking enough that Eris could slip-free. This was Hestia? She was... not what Kazuma expected. Senpai had a wildly different taste in women than Kazuma expected. She seemed nice, excluding the goddess she had in a headlock. She was invading another dimension for him. That was loyalty right there.
  
  He offered a small nod, suddenly very uncertain on if he should interfere at all. Senpai would kill him if he messed with his girl. The fact that Kazuma was already dead wouldn't stop him. To that, Hestia looked ecstatic.
  
  "How is he? Is he okay? Has he been eating enough? I mean, I know he doesn't need to eat, but it's still something he should do to feel normal, you know?" Hestia hit him with a barrage of questions, sounding worried. Enough so that Eris stopped struggling underneath her. Kazuma blinked before he realized he hadn"t seen Senpai eat. Or sleep before.
  
  How to answer that? "He's... okay?" That wasn't exactly true and Hestia seemed to realize that based on how her blue eyes narrowed at him. So, he continued. "He misses you. A lot," Kazuma corrected. That's what he thought at least.
  
  Senpai wouldn't take any risks because it meant he might not get to see her again. It seemed like that was the only thing he genuinely cared about. He didn't care about money. Or what people thought about him. Or even about growing stronger.
  
  In a way, Senpai was everything that Kazuma wanted to be.
  
  "I've missed him too. And I look forward to not missing him after you open the damn portal!" Hestia continued, resuming the brawl.
  
  Now that he understood what was going on, Kazuma was interested. He had died again. Was this his ticket back to the land of the living?
  
  "I said that I can't! I'll get in a whole bunch of trouble!" Eris protested, rolling over so Hestia was the one pinned to the floor. Her hands went to dislodge Hestia and had enough success that Hestia readjusted her grip.
  
  A hand brushed against Eris's chest, making both goddesses go still. Kazuma was puzzled, then shocked when Hestia fully groped one of Eris's boobs.
  
  "Heh. Pads," Hestia, her tone dripped with condemnation. She didn't win the fight physically, but the amount of psychological damage she did gave her the win instantly. She didn't win the fight physically, but the amount of psychological damage Eris received from that jibe decided the battle.
  
  "Okay! Fine! I'll open the portal. I'll open the portal!" Eris shouted, thrashing in Hestia's grip. Now that she had what she wanted, Hestia let go with an absolutely diabolical chuckle. She got up revealing, the mother of all size differences between her and Senpai. "Do you promise not to invade?"
  
  "I'm just going to bring over my familia members. We're not an invasion force!" Hestia promised, holding out a pinky to promise on. Eris looked like she had doubts, but accepted the pinky promise all the same. Kazuma tensed, readying himself for action.
  
  Eris reached out and summoned a staff that she slammed into the ground. The black void began to ripple until it gave way to a portal that revealed the same tree that Kazuma had arrived under.
  
  "Thanks-" Hestia began, before Kazuma took off running, heading straight for the portal. The black-haired goddess paused to look at him, her eyes widening ever so slightly before Kazuma tackled them both through it.
  
  "Kazuma, wa-"
  
  ...
  
  Kazuma wasn't sure why he blacked out, but he must have since he wasn't underneath the tree with Hestia. A smirk found itself on his face after having cheated death itself. That was an adrenaline rush and a half... but his body sure did feel stiff, though. He went to stretch, only for his hands to hit something on his sides. Raising them up, he hit something above him.
  
  His heart leaped to his throat, a pitch-black hole opening up in his stomach.
  
  No... no...
  
  "NOO- Oh," Kazuma began to scream, fearing that he had been buried alive, only for the top to push open with absolute ease. He tossed the top to the side as he sat up-
  
  "AHHHHHHHHH!" A high-pitched scream deafened him in one ear. The suddenness of it caught him completely off guard and he found himself screaming right back as he looked to the source.
  
  Aqua scrambled back, waiving her stupid-looking staff back and forth threateningly to ward him off. She kept scrambling back until she hit the shins of Senpai, who held a torch that revealed a faintly surprised expression.
  
  "Aqua... you're... the white mage... aren't undead your specialty?" Jericho questioned, sounding absolutely exasperated, snapping Aqua out of it. She blinked once, then twice, then her eyes narrowed into a glare.
  
  "Oh yeah... you better get ready to get exorcized, you undead jerk! Turn Undead!" Aqua shouted at the top of her lungs, Kazuma's body being enveloped by light. Senpai adopted a panicked look.
  
  "Wait, Aq-"
  
  "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kazuma screamed, the white light becoming pain that dominated every sense-
  
  ...
  
  Kazuma opened his eyes for a third time, and once again found himself in that inky black void. This time, Eris was sitting across from him, her arms crossed over her chest as she pouted at him and pinned him with a mild glare.
  
  "If you escape the afterlife without being resurrected, then you become an undead lich, Kazuma," Eris explained to him what just happened. So, that meant... Aqua killed him?! Oh, he could not let that stand!
  
  "Oh. I'm sorry," Kazuma offered a deep bow to convey his sincerity. He heard Eris sigh deeply in response.
  
  "I really shouldn't let Aqua-senpai resurrect you, you know. You shouldn't get special treatment for being a legendary warrior and a hero," Eris remarked, making Kazuma bow lower.
  
  Legendary warrior? Hero? Who? Who were those things? Surely she didn't mean him? How could she? He died once to drugs and a second time being one-shotted by an idiot.
  
  "I am very sorry," Kazuma responded, his tone devoid of any excuses. This wasn't what he had in mind when he sought to self-reflect while gazing at the city like a super cool brooding protagonist character, but maybe this was the wake-up call that he needed.
  
  There was a beat of silence before Eris sighed. "Aqua-senpai has resurrected you. Are you ready?"
  
  Kazuma raised his head, adopting an expression of resolve. He took in a deep breath, letting the air fill his lungs before he let it out.
  
  "I'm ready."
  
  Then, another time, his vision was filled with light.
  
  ...
  
  "Senpai! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!" I recoiled as Kazuma latched onto my leg the moment he was brought back to life. Aqua was poking him with her staff to make sure that he really was alive again, as if she hadn"t just revived him. Or she was annoyed by the scare that she got... well, we both got. The last thing I expected was for Kazuma to push open his own tomb when we were here to bring him back to life.
  
  I honestly had no clue what he was talking about. "It's fine. Just let go of me," I sighed, then again when Kazuma continued to latch on to my leg, forcing me to hobble out of the crypt that he had been buried in, with full honors. It had taken three days for the number of mourners to die down enough that we could sneak in. I did have the ring of Namira, but letting Aqua borrow it was just asking for trouble.
  
  "I don't know what came over me! I should have just listened to you, Senpai!" Kazuma continued to wail as I continued to make my way out of the cemetery. It was in the dead of night, so no one should hear him... but if someone saw him, then I had no clue how I would explain this. "I"ll never make that mistake again! I"ll just do everything that you tell me to do!"
  
  Though, knowing this town, everyone would assume that Kazuma had just risen from the dead just like Jesus.
  
  "I'm never doing drugs ever again," Kazuma continued, making me pause before I let out another sigh. So, he had OD'd? The story was that the Demon King poisoned him. I hadn't exactly believed it, but I didn't think it had been drugs that killed him the first time.
  
  "It's fine. Just stop crying," I said, making my way out of the cemetery. I looked left and right, and saw that there was no one around. The graveyard was outside of the city grounds, so it didn"t get much traffic to begin with, but if I"ve learned absolutely anything in recent times its that none of my plans work. Not a single one of them. Absolutely zero.
  
  Messing around with the Dark Brotherhood? I cause a succession crisis. Becoming the Thane of Skyrim to gather support to defeat Alduin? Not only did I become king, but most of the people that I recruited weren"t there for the final battle. Now this mess. My plans to power level Aqua and Kazuma? Aqua was insufferable, and Kazuma killed himself with drugs of all things.
  
  "No! Not until you forgive me, Senpai!" Kazuma continued to sob, clutching my leg like he was some kind of small child. This was the Super Supreme Hero, Kazuma the Legend? The entire city was still mourning him. And if it was bad now, I could only imagine their reaction when they saw him alive again. The word insufferable came to mind.
  
  "Kazuma, I gave you so much slack because I thought I could trust you to not hang yourself with it," I remarked, making my way home.
  
  Aqua jabbed him in the kidneys, "You still have to kill the Demon King so I can go back to my old job..." She started, only to pause and I could see the wheels working in her head. That... I"m not going to touch that at all. Mostly because I"m pretty sure that Aqua could do less damage to the world here than as the god the presided over it.
  
  "I"m sorry, Senpai! I"m sorry, Aqua!" Kazuma continued, and I don"t think he was going to stop until he felt like he was forgiven. I guess I could understand that. Nothing made you reevaluate your life quite like death. I knew that better than anyone.
  
  I guess I could meet him halfway on this, "You"re forgiven, Kazuma. And I"m sorry too," I told him, continuing to walk and ignoring how he looked up at me while clinging to my leg. "I should have made sure that you were on board with everything rather than just taking your silence as a confirmation. That was my fault."
  
  "Senapi..." Kazuma muttered, sounding like he was choking back tears. There might have been a moment there if Aqua wasn"t here. She jabbed Kazuma in his other kidney, earring a pained, "Ouch," for her efforts.
  
  "Where"s my apology? And my thank you?!" Aqua demanded, adopting a regal look as she waited for her groveling and praise. Which was a little undercut by the fact that she was demanding it.
  
  Kazuma looked at her, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "Tsk," He tsked to himself, making that regal look drop from Aqua's face like she had discovered she was holding a hot potato when Aqua realized that she wasn"t going to get an apology or a thank you. "Too bad! You killed me first! That really hurt you know?!" He shouted, letting go of my leg to stand on his own two feet. I"m sure there was symbolic meaning in that.
  
  "I wouldn"t have killed you if you hadn"t died!" Aqua gibed, before the two started going at it. It was a familiar scene to hear them arguing. Before, it had been grating because I hadn"t been in the mood for it. I just wanted to stick to the plan, no deviations, and that be that. I wanted to be in and out with no intervention necessary on my part beyond making gear.
  
  I had just been bitter. Angry, even. I still was, a little, just not as much as I had been.
  
  I went into Skyrim thinking I would come out of it on top of the world, because I was the hero. A role that I had forced myself into because I wanted to be the hero of the story. I wasn"t sure if I regretted that or not, but watching Kazuma"s funeral drove something home for me. Or, rather, it unleashed something in me. A knot of tension, of anger, was undone.
  
  "I did it for the wrong reasons," I muttered to myself, eyeing the front gates to the manor. I guess Aqua forgot to close them since they were left wide open. I went to Skyrim to be the hero. The Protagonist of the story. I knowingly threw myself into that situation because I thought I could handle it, and I grew bitter when it came increasingly clear that it was beyond me. That bitterness only increased when I swallowed my pride and began to search for help, only to meet roadblock after roadblock and received false promises in exchange for my aid.
  
  It hadn't been what I thought it would be and I became pissed off because my expectations hadn't been met.
  
  I wasn't hero material. I just didn't care enough about people in general to make sacrifices on their behalf. What I did care about was my familia. Hestia, Lili, and even Serana. I cared about my friends. And I cared about what they cared about.
  
  "Ohohoho! Jericho! Jerichooo! We have burglars! Will you get mad if I explode them?!" Megumin shouted, hanging out of a window as she waved me down. Looking to her, I saw her wince, "Ow! Ouch! Stop pinching me!" Then she adopted a panicked expression when it looked like she was getting pushed aside, "I'm gonna fall! I'm gonna fall! Stop pushing me, you-" Megumin said, withdrawing from the window to do battle with the apparent burglar.
  
  I narrowed my eyes ever so slightly as Aqua and Kazuma rushed to the door. Kazuma kicked it down with a, "I'll save you, little girl!" Before rushing inside.
  
  I wasn't far behind them, but I paused when I entered the mansion. I felt it instantly. The sensation that rolled over you when you stood in the presence of a god, of something that was far beyond mortal comprehension, but had lowered itself down to our level to interact. However, that wasn't why I paused.
  
  That was mostly because I was watching Aqua get suplexed into the marble floor by our burglar. The blue haired goddess was out for the count, Kazuma eyeing her with fear and a slacked jaw.
  
  I knew who it was even before she looked up at me.
  
  "Hestia?" I muttered, not believing the sight before my eyes. It was a gut punch, and I could barely breathe. I didn't believe it even as Hestia turned around, looking immensely proud of herself for defeating Aqua. However, that look of pride quickly melted away, replaced by one of shock, then an expression that told me she was fighting back tears.
  
  She looked just like I remembered -- her long black hair, with the bells tying it into two pigtails, her white dress that hugged her petite frame, and the silk blue ribbon that was tied into a bow at her neck to hold her dress up.
  
  The moment was broken when fat tears started dripping from her eyes, and she sprinted at me, flying into me, and I was so dumbfounded that I landed on my ass. "Jericho! Jericho!" Hestia shouted, squeezing me with surprising strength. I looked down at her, my jaw slack before a clatter caught my attention.
  
  A devilish-looking Megumin on the stairs, frozen for a moment as she looked between me and Hestia so quickly that she was at risk of whiplash.
  
  It was only then that it started to sink in that they were here.
  
  "How?" I muttered, hesitantly hugging them back, my mind struggling to accept that they were here. In front of me. That I could see them, feel them, and smell them. It should be impossible. I had to fight my way back to them. That was the deal, wasn't it?
  
  Hestia looked up at me, smiling brightly, "Akatosh noticed that you had been kidnapped when you... you died. He told me what had happened, and I followed you here thanks to the falna on your back," Hestia explained, earning a disbelieving laugh from me.
  
  So, she crossed the multiverse to get back to me?
  
  Damn.
  
  "You are way too good for me," I told her, holding her tight. I couldn't be more thankful that I had taken that control perk, because I didn't have it in me to hug Hestia with anything less than all my strength.
  
  "No, I just beat you before you could find me," Hestia informed, hugging me back just as hard.
  
  This... for the first time since I died, I felt at peace.
  
  I felt ready to take on the world.
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
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  Ideas-Guy
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  Life was absolutely fantastic, I decided, opening my eyes from a night of sleep and finding a familiar weight on top of me. I"m pretty sure that Hestia had started cuddled up next to me, so she must have moved at some point during the night. Not that I was complaining. Despite the woman/goddess on top of me, it felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. For the first time in I didn"t know in how long, I felt like I was waking up on the right side of the bed.
  
  It would seem that Hestia had beaten me to waking up this morning, because her eyelids opened, revealing her bright blue eyes. She offered me a lazy smile, her breath tickling my skin. "You kept your hair," she noted, sounding sleepy. I shifted, getting myself a little more comfortable in a bed that I"ve only slept in only once, and that was last night.
  
  "I figured you would want to do something else with it when I got back to you," I told her. I didn't think I could pull off a man bun, but I had been determined to keep it until I got back to Hestia. It happened sooner than I could have imagined. I never thought that Hestia would be the one to find me.
  
  Hestia's smile gained a dopey quality to it before she laid her head down on my chest, making herself comfortable at my expense. Her soft skin pressed against mine, both of us sticky thanks to our reunion. "I'll clean it up later. I think it looks good on you," she decided, and I guess I was stuck with a man bun for the foreseeable future.
  
  "You'd know better than me," I conceded. I wasn't going to argue. She could shave my head for all I cared. Right now, anything she wanted, I would go to the ends of the earth to make sure she received.
  
  Hestia let out a content breath, "What happened, Jericho?" She asked a question that we had avoided last night.
  
  "Opening the Elder Scroll let Alduin out early. We weren't ready. I managed to get him, but..." I trailed off and Hestia gave me a squeeze. "That's when I woke up with Aqua, that goddess you suplexed. She made me a deal that if I helped kill the Demon King, then she would send me back to before the battle. Kazuma came after me, so I decided to have him defeat the Demon King while I prepared for round two with Alduin." I explained, a note of an apology in my voice.
  
  Hestia cuddled into me, "Kazuma said that you were doing fine... but when I was asking for directions to get here, a lot of people warned me away. It took me forever to find where you lived."
  
  To that, I chuckled, "Yeah, the city doesn't like me much."
  
  Hestia shifted to give me a dull look, "They really don't like you, Jericho. Everyone thinks that you're a secret Demon King general or something. What did you do?" She questioned, earning a shrug from me.
  
  "I don't really know. I decided to be a craftsman instead of a warrior, and that pissed a lot of people off. And... well... I was already pissed off, so I didn't exactly do myself any favors. The rest is just the rumor mill doing what it does." I still didn't care about what they were saying. The people of Axel were useless -- at this point, the dislike was mutual and I wasn't motivated to undo my poor reputation with them.
  
  Hestia cocked an eyebrow, "So, you aren't a homophobic pedophile that's working for the Demon King to destroy Axel?" She questioned, earning a slow blink from me. Where did that first bit come from? When had I ever given the impression that I was homophobic?
  
  "Nope. I'm planning the destruction of Axel all on my own," I corrected, earning a laugh from Hestia as she detected the lie.
  
  Then she sighed, "I wish the others were here." She said, a pang of sadness in her voice. I felt the same. The plan was to bring Lili, Lydia, and Serana here, but Kazuma's blitz to come back to life screwed up that plan. They were still in Skyrim -- temporarily living out a timeline where I had died killing Alduin and Hestia followed me, after leaving a note to explain the situation. When the Demon King was dead, Akatosh would have a seizure and that timeline would be overwritten when I killed Alduin for the second time.
  
  So, a Dragonbreak.
  
  "We'll get back to them soon," I reassured her. The situation wasn't ideal, but it was vastly better than the reality I had been dealing with. Hestia was here. I would make it up to Serana and Lili after we got back. But, for right now, Hestia was here-
  
  My train of thought was cut off by the sound of a door slamming.
  
  I rolled my eyes, guessing that it was Aqua and Kazuma again. Those two really went at it like cats and dogs.
  
  "I guess we should get up," Hestia noted, making no effort to do so.
  
  "Probably," I agreed. "We could take you to the Guildhall and get you an Adventurer Card today. Aqua has one. Her stats are locked in, but being a god gives you access to the best classes-" I began, only to have Hestia push off of me with no warning, pushing our blanket back as she displayed her body without a hint of modesty.
  
  I've seen her naked countless times, but it never got any less incredible. Her sizable breasts stood at attention, perked up with rosy pink nipples serving as their peaks. Her nipples were almost comically small compared to how large her pale breasts were. Or her breasts were almost comically huge compared to the size of her short and petite frame. Her stomach was flat, her hips wide -- she gave me an eye full when she bent over to snag her dress that I had all but ripped off of her.
  
  "Let's go!" She decided, intent on heading there now. Her patience bottomed out whenever she got excited. "I want to go right now!"
  
  I guess I should have seen this coming. In Skyrim, Hestia had been... saying that she had been sidelined felt wrong. The trap that she had built for Alduin was the only reason we had managed to kill him, but I know it wasn't the role that she had wanted. Hestia wanted to travel with us, not for the sake of adventure and loot, but to be with her familia. She couldn't grant a falna to herself, but anyone could have an Adventurer Card.
  
  Knowing the fleeting moment was at an end, I pushed the covers back and swung my legs out of bed. Cracking my neck, I stood up -- I didn't need to sleep, but it was nice every once and a while.
  
  Hestia paused before leaving the room, and and her nose wrinkled as she smelled herself, "I'm going to take a bath first, but we're leaving right after, okay?!" She decided, grabbing a towel I didn't know I had before running out of the bedroom to the bath. It would be fine for her, but it would barely come up to my waist if I sat down in it.
  
  "Okay," I agreed even though she was long out of earshot. Might as well have breakfast. I hadn't been in the mood to eat in the past week, but I was feeling it again. Plus, it would be nice to have a meal with Hestia again. It might have only been a little over a week, but how we parted made it feel so much longer. In Skyrim, I was always just a sprint home away. In Konosuba, I was across the multiverse. The fact that I couldn't see her whenever I wanted made the time that much more unbearable.
  
  Putting on some pants and a shirt, I stepped out of the bedroom. I took a moment to consult my map to figure out where the kitchen was before I began making my way down there. As I strode through the halls, I heard another door slamming shut -- I was going to chew out both Aqua and Kazuma. Didn't they know better than to slam doors for the sake of it?
  
  Turning the corner, I saw a door left open. I swallowed an annoyed sigh, walking towards it and closing it, ignoring a small chill I felt as I walked by. Did those idiots leave a window open too? I swear to fuck. I didn't care about the mansion, but that didn't excuse them not taking care of it. It was a matter of principle.
  
  Heading down a winding staircase, I reached the kitchen. And it would seem that someone had beaten me to it, I noted based on the sounds of someone inhaling good at an inhuman pace. Pushing the door open, I was unsurprised to see that it was Megumin rather than the rabid animal it had sounded like.
  
  She whipped around, a loaf of bread shoved in her mouth as she instinctively held out her arms to protectively shield the pantry she was emptying out. Our eyes met for a moment, and she didn't back down. I think that she was forever stuck in 'survival mode when it came to food.
  
  "I need some eggs, flour, yeast, sugar, salt, butter, and the syrup," I told her, choosing not to comment on the crumbs that covered her red dress while I prepared the wood stove. That would be an experience working with, but I'm sure I could handle it. I made yeast pancakes from scratch before. It shouldn't be any trouble.
  
  Megumin's eyes lit up, "Are you making breakfast? I want some!" She informed like she hadn't just been stuffing her face. Or eaten half of the pantry as a midnight snack. The girl was a glutton.
  
  But I was in a good mood. "Sure. Ever had pancakes before?" I asked, grabbing a pan and setting it on the stove. Megumin confirmed that she hadn't as she brought over the supplies, hovering nearby to watch me cook. I grabbed a bowl and started dumping in the ingredients, tripling the amount that I used last time to feed three people.
  
  "And when you see Kazuma or Aqua, tell them to stop slamming doors," I said, grabbing a bottle of milk. I could never tell if it smelled spoiled or not, but it passed the taste test.
  
  "I thought that was you or Darkness? Aqua was complaining that you were doing it to punish her for being hungover," Megumin questioned, earning a look from me.
  
  That was weird. "She's hungover? How?" I muttered -- how many times would I have to remind her that she could heal hangovers? And where did she get the booze?
  
  Megumin shrugged, "She was pretty upset that you replaced her so easily as your goddess."
  
  I swear... "She was never my goddess," I muttered, ignoring Megumin's intense stare as her eyes bored into the side of my head. "You should ask those questions you have. If you keep them bottled up, you'll explode."
  
  "Ah-HA! My love is for explosion magic, and explosion magic alone! Ordinary and mundane explosions don't do anything for me!" Megumin delightfully informed. "You and Hestia seem pretty close~!" She teased, giggling to herself.
  
  "Yeah? We're lovers," I told her, and somehow she seemed to have missed that memo.
  
  "Wha? But what about Darkness?" She questioned, looking scandalized.
  
  I blinked, "What about Darkness?" Despite the extreme lengths that she had gone to, I hadn't had sex with her. Or anyone since I arrived in Konosuba.
  
  Megumin's scandalized expression grew tenfold. "What do you mean, what do I mean?! You can't toy with a lady"s heart like that! What if Hestia finds out! I'll... I'll tell her! I don't care if you take away my food!" She protested and I could only imagine what was going through her mind.
  
  I spared her a look at Megumin, who looked like she was trying very hard to treat whatever she was talking about with utmost focus, but her eyes constantly strayed to the pancakes cooking in the pan. "Feel free. I haven't slept with anyone. But Hestia doesn"t care so long as she approves of the girl."
  
  "Huh?" Megumin uttered, looking surprised..
  
  "If Hestia approves of the girl, then we can have sex," I repeated, flipping the pancake over. It looked like it was turning out alright.
  
  "You...what... so, if a girl wants to join this familia thing, they have to have s-sex with you?!" Megumin blurted, her shock undercut by the fact that she was eying the pancake like a dog would a bone.
  
  I had no idea where she got that from, but... I'm betting Aqua. She was just the safe bet for saying something stupid. "No, that..." I began to argue before I thought about it. Technically speaking, I've slept with half of the female potential familia members. "It's not a requirement or anything. It just kind of happens." Lydia showed interest, but Serana was a no-go on account of her past with the god of rape and torture.
  
  "So, this familia thing is just a front for you to have a harem!" She accused me, jabbing a finger in my face. "No wonder you were so brazen."
  
  What was with this conversation? "Sure, let's go with that. How many pancakes do you want?"
  
  "Can I have three? No, four!"
  
  "Sure," I agreed, flipping the first of the bunch onto the plate and... fuck. They were a little burnt on one side. That one was going to Aqua. "And the familia is not my harem, it's..." I trailed off, pursing my lips to think about it for a moment.
  
  Was the familia basically just a harem? I mean, I hadn't set out for that to happen, but it was shaping up to be more or less that. It wasn't like I was intending to exclude guys or anything -- Farkas and Vilkas were both potential members, but... wouldn't it be a little awkward to have guys in the familia when I was sleeping with a number of women and our goddess?
  
  It wasn't exactly a fair thought. If I could sleep with multiple women, then it was only fair that they could sleep around too, but in my heart of hearts, I could admit to being a hypocrite. I didn't like the idea of Lili with someone else. Or Aela. Or Lydia. Especially not Hestia.
  
  Even if they were members of the familia. It was a complete double standard that wasn't okay, but it was the truth. I didn't want to share.
  
  "You trailed off. You trailed off, you know? What does that thoughtful silence mean, Jericho? Huh? What does it mean?" Megumin questioned, her tone flat like she already knew the answer. And, well...
  
  I shrugged, "It means I'm going to talk to Hestia about the recruitment policy." I wanted to get her thoughts on it before I said anything too incriminating. I flipped a pancake, "Why, were you wanting to join the familia?"
  
  I cracked a smile when Megumin flushed bright red, "I thought I already was?" She questioned, adopting a hesitant tone as she gave me some serious stink eye.
  
  "You're in the party, but being in the familia is different. You'll receive a divine blessing from Hestia, like this one, " I said, pulling up my shirt and showing her my back. Willing the falna to appear, the black ink revealed itself. It was written in the language of the gods, but it displayed my stats and skills.
  
  Megumin made a noise of absolute delight and amazement. "A back tattoo?! I want to join! I want to join the familia!" Megumin decided, grabbing me as if I could give her mine. I ignored her easily enough -- I should have guessed she would want to join for no greater reason than that tattoos were cool. She was chunni down to her core.
  
  "Go talk to Hestia then. She should be in the bath," I told her and the Crimson Demon hopped off of the counter she had perched herself on, heading to the door, only to double back to grab Aqua"s shitty plate of pancakes before running off.
  
  I shook my head -- that was going to be interesting. And just like that the familia had probably gained another member. Today was off to a pretty great start for the Hestia Familia.. Even the second batch of pancakes turned out pretty well when I finally got the hang of the wood stove. I made a giant plate stacked high with them that I brought to the dining room, before setting them on the table and grabbing the plates. One for me, Hestia, Aqua, Kazuma, Megumin... and Darkness...
  
  "Oh, shit," I cursed to myself, realizing I had just made a horrible mistake. I pushed through a set of doors and started heading to the library. Heading down the hall, I went to a set of stairs, only to pause midstep when I could have sworn that I saw a reflection in the windows that lined the hallway. I glanced through them, going back into my perfect memory to see what it was, but all I recalled was a vague shape.
  
  It must have come from outside, or something. I didn't have time to figure it out because of more pressing concerns.
  
  Reaching the library, I quickly made my way down into the sex dungeon, where I was hit with what felt like a wall of sweat and arousal. My lips thinned, preparing myself for the worst as I descended the stairs. I saw that I might be dealing with the worst-case scenario -- Darkness had taken off her armor, wearing nothing but the skin-tight undersuit beneath it, as she rode a horse.
  
  Not a living one, but a wedge that came up between her legs, forcing her to press her entire body weight on a dull point that drive up into her currently very prominent cameltoe. Lines of arousal dripped down the horse"s surface. Her undersuit should have soaked it up, but it had it was soaked through. Her arms were bound behind her back -- something I didn't do and based on the lack of a knot in the rope that I could see, something she did to herself -- her face flushed and covered in a blindfold.
  
  "Jericho~? Is that you~? This... this denial play... is on a whole new level~." She panted, sounding absolutely delighted. Ah, shit, this was not good. With Hestia's arrival, I had completely forgotten about what I did to Darkness.
  
  Since she found the sex dungeon, she had badgered me incessantly about it. So, I found ways to make her leave me alone for a couple of hours. I put on a blindfold, put her in the dungeon, then called it a denial play when I walked off. Normally, when I came back, she was fiddling around with one of the contraptions. But... honestly, what level of kink did you have to have to willingly put yourself on a horse and spend all night on top of it?
  
  "Yeah... yeah," I said, rubbing my eyes. Darkness was a freak like no other. That much I could give her credit for. "Let's get you down from there. Are you thirsty?" I questioned, going ahead and grabbing a glass and filling it with water.
  
  Darkness scoffed, "It'll take more than this to make me break and give in. You've probably... done all matters of things to that water~!" She said, her resolute tone quickly giving in to horny panting.
  
  I looked down at the glass of water. Then at her. I swallowed a sigh before I spat on the floor. Darkness let out a moan that sounded like she was dangerously close to an orgasm. "Drink up," I told her, resignation in my tone before I brought the glass to her lips.
  
  "Well, I-I suppose I have no choice in the matter! Hydration is important..." she muttered before she greedily began to gulp down the water she thought I spat in.
  
  She really was in a class of her own. Once she was done, I put the glass aside and got her down from the horse, only to find that her legs couldn't support her. Darkness collapsed on the floor, still not taking off the blindfold. "It would seem you have me completely car your mercy, but I won't give in-!"
  
  I looked down at Darkness. The situation had changed a great deal in the past twelve hours. Hestia was here. Darkness and everyone else had been hands-off because it would break Hestia's rule, and now I no longer was determined to be miserable for the sake of being miserable.
  
  Hestia still had to give approval, but I'm confident that she would.
  
  "Darkness, I want to make something clear," I told her before I pulled down my pants to reveal my cock at half-mast. I gave it a few strokes to harden it up and continued speaking. "I'm not who you keep claiming I am. I'm not forcing myself on anyone and I will never do anything unless I have express consent."
  
  Darkness looked a bit troubled, right up until I smacked my cock directly into her face. She sucked in a sharp, disbelieving breath before letting it out in the form of a shuddering moan. "So, if you want this? Then you have to do two things. There's a woman named Hestia in the mansion -- convince her you are worthy to join her familia. And secondly..."
  
  I pulled my cock back the moment I saw that Darkness was going to try to lick it, "You have to stop hiding behind excuses. If you want me to fuck you, Darkness? Then admit it. Until you do both of those things, I'm not going to lay a finger on you." I told her, stuffing my dick back in my pants with some difficulty. How's that for denial play?
  
  Darkness swallowed thickly, licking her lips, but she said nothing. Yet. Shrugging my shoulders, I started heading up the stairs and back to the dining room. Darkness would come around. I was certain of it.
  
  "Today is a great day," I decided. I was reunited with Hestia. Megumin was likely joining the familia. Darkness might as well. And to top it all off, I was about to have pancakes. Honestly speaking, I wasn't sure how much better this day could get. I headed back up to the dining hall, feeling light as a feather with a smile on my face.
  
  Only to have it abruptly fall when I reached the dining room to find an empty plate. The same plate that once had a solid foot of pancakes on it.
  
  What the fuck, Megumin? Did she not understand moderation? She could have at least saved some for everyone else.
  
  "Jericho! Jericho!" I heard the culprit in question shout out before she blasted through the doors, a wide smile on her face. She turned around and pulled her red tunic that served as a dress, completely uncaring that she flashed her black panty-clad butt at me to show off her falna. It looked much like my own -- a brazier that carried a fire, lines of text along with stats. It looked like it was based on the Adventurer Card, much like mine had been based on my gamer ability.
  
  I opened my mouth, only to catch myself. Megumin had been receiving her falna. So, there's no way it could have been her. Couldn't be Hestia for the same reason. Darkness had been with me. So... Aqua or Kazuma. So Aqua then.
  
  "Looks good, welcome to the Hestia familia," I welcomed her. Megumin dropped her dress to turn around to beam at me, Hestia entering the dining room a second later, appearing every bit as happy.
  
  She looked at me and gave me a fond look, "Megumin said you made breakfast?" She said, earning a shake of my head.
  
  "No, either Aqua or Kazuma ate it all," I said, earning a puzzled look from Megumin.
  
  "Aqua and Kazuma aren't here," she informed me, earning a slow blink in response. "They left early this morning, I think. Aqua challenged Kazuma to a duel to see who was the better Adventurer by seeing who could complete the most quests."
  
  Okay. That was... weird, but we had a pressing issue.
  
  "Does Kazuma not remember that he was brought back from the dead last night?" I asked, more to myself than either of them, while I dragged a hand down my face. Did he really think that no one would have questions about that? The entire city, for days, had mourned him. Women were crying in the streets, and some men too. Babies were being named after him. I'm pretty sure they were building a monument of him.
  
  And he was just going to roll up like he hadn't been dead for three days?
  
  "We'll get breakfast in the city. Let's go grab them before something terrible happens," I sighed. So much for my good day. But, it was salvageable. Nothing could have happened yet. I shouldn't just assume that they would screw things up somehow.
  
  Hestia nodded while Megumin practically skipped out of the door. Darkness... honestly, Darkness was probably tearing through the house looking for Hestia, but she didn't find her in time. I loaded Hestia and Megumin into the carriage and began to push it to Axel. Making sure to close the gates behind me, I dug my feet in and sped forward.
  
  I was a level 3 now. It was a little difficult to properly gauge how strong I was, but there was no comparison to my strength now compared to when I was a level 2. Just like there was no comparing being a level 2 to being level 1. I'm sure if I tried, I could outrun a car. Something like 150 mph? Maybe 200? I couldn't tell.
  
  I made quick work of the distance between the mansion and Axel. We worryingly hadn't passed by neither Aqua nor Kazuma on the road. Meaning that they had beat us to Axel. So, despite knowing I should have a little faith in them, I began to prepare myself for the worst-case scenario.
  
  The situation with Axel was worse than anything I could have possibly imagined.
  
  The wagon rolled into town and I was greeted by the sound of laughter, shouts of joy, cheering... a man sprinting up to me with a wild look in his eyes that scared the absolute shit out of me. "It's a miracle! A true miracle! Kazuma the Terrific has risen from the dead through the power of our goddess Aqua! Have you accepted her into your heart? If you join the Axis church now, you get a commemorative basket of hand sanitizer and dish soap!"
  
  I looked at the guy before my gaze slid outward, sweeping over the people in the city. Every single one of them was wearing blue. People were decorating their homes and shops with blue. I saw a guy getting a tattoo of Aqua on his face -- not like a small Aqua on his cheek or anything, but full-on tattooing Aqua's face over his own.
  
  "I... already... accepted her into my heart..." I trailed off, pushing the wagon forward as I looked on in growing horror. The guy waved me off with a great big smile on his face.
  
  "Excellent, my brother! Remember -- Eris pads her chest!" He shouted before wandering off.
  
  Hestia peeked out from the wagon, "She does." She confirmed, eyeing the city with degrees of unease. "Jericho? I don't like this place. It scares me."
  
  "The Axis cult has spread? This... I'd rather the Demon King invade..." Megumin muttered, sounding similarly frightened.
  
  I blew out a slow breath. This city just became a complete write-off as far as I was concerned. And I was getting eerie reminders of Markarth, based on the passed-out drunks in the street as we neared the Guildhall. It seemed Aqua had followed through on her plan to make alcohol an offering.
  
  "I don't think this world can be saved," I muttered to myself, spotting a statue of Kazuma and Aqua holding hands. The Demon King wasn't the real threat, it would seem. It was the idiots who lived here.
  
  Looking away, I came to a stop in front of the Guildhall, which sounded like there was an absolute rager going on inside. Above all else, I heard Aqua's name being chanted. I had no clue if she was inside, and frankly, I didn't want to know. Hestia and Megumin got out, joining me inside.
  
  The first thing I noticed was a very stressed-out-looking Luna trying to get things under control. She wasn't doing a very good job based on the chair that crashed through the window. Stepping inside, she looked at me with despair that blossomed into hope.
  
  "Jericho? I... what... the Aqua you traveled with was the real goddess Aqua?" She questioned, her eyes flickering to Hestia.
  
  I guess that cat is out the bag, "Yeah, she's a bit of an idiot." I offered, much to the chagrin of some random no-name Adventurer that thought he'd act tough. I grabbed him by the face and squeezed, not breaking eye contact with Luna, "This is Hestia, my goddess. She's here for an Adventurer Card."
  
  Luna looked a bit taken back, her eyes flickering to the party that was tearing up the Guildhall.
  
  I shrugged, "I couldn't care less about this city." I told her, making her lips thin, but her expression was more sad than condemning.
  
  "I suppose I can't blame you. And... would you please let go of him?" She questioned, prompting me to fling the Adventurer back into the crowd. They thought he was a crowd surfer so they started pushing him around as they cheered. Luna looked to Hestia, clearly having questions, but choosing to swallow them down.
  
  This was a disaster, I thought to myself. Gods really do dick everything up. It's honestly incredible.
  
  "I want to be... a Divine Cleric!" Hestia decided, announcing her class. I looked over at her to see her wearing a proud smile on her face as Luna and Megumin gaped at her. I had no clue what that meant beyond that Hestia chose to be a White Mage. I think it suited her perfectly.
  
  Others seemed to disagree.
  
  Aqua strode into the building, her hands on her hips with a pouty expression on her face. "You can't have a Divine Class! That's not fair! I couldn't pick any Divine classes!" She pouted, looking to Luna, who looked like she would rather be anywhere else on the planet than where she was.
  
  Luna looked away, "Your... Intelligence Stat... too low..." she mumbled in response, her words nearly lost in the commotion.
  
  Aqua looked to Hestia, looking on the verge of an absolute meltdown.
  
  Hestia smirked.
  
  "You aren't the better goodness! Can you do... this?!" She demanded, pulling out two fans from her sleeves with a look of absolute smugness on her face. My jaw dropped, an expression of pure horror finding its way on my face.
  
  No. She couldn't have. She wouldn't...
  
  She did.
  
  "Aqua, you-!" I started to yell, knowing it was too late, but I was immediately cut off when jets of water began to spurt up from her hand fans when she unfolded them. The water cast a small rainbow for a few seconds, the water spread out into a fine mist.
  
  Ah... pretty.
  
  Wait, what? Did that just overcome my Mind Defense? Something that Sheogorath failed to do? Did Aqua... did she... did that absolute moron dump all of her skill points into a party trick?!
  
  Aqua did an amazing toss, a fan landing on her nose while she balanced on one leg.
  
  Amazing-
  
  No. No. I was supposed to be pissed-.
  
  Aqua twirled, her skirt lifting up to reveal that she had no panties on, as she struck a pose with her two fans balancing on the tip of a finger.
  
  Absolutely phenomenal-
  
  I sighed, giving up as Hestia rose to the challenge. A smile tugged at my lips as I began to cheer for Hestia... and beat the absolute shit out of anyone that was talking trash about her.
  
  I couldn't beat them, so might as well join them.
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  "This city is absolutely insane," I muttered to myself, tanking a punch to the stomach before I grabbed the offending moron and flung him into a cluster of other morons. They caught their brother in arms, all of them sporting bruises in the form of a handprint around their face. Beyond them were even more morons, a good... hundredish, or so. Maybe more. Maybe less. I really didn't care.
  
  "For AQQQQUUUAAAAA!" The remaining idiots shouted at the top of their lungs before they rushed me, going as far as to trample more of their ilk to get to me. I didn't mind. Compared to fighting a literal army of undead, this was nothing. One reached me first, his face a mask of terror when he realized what a terrible mistake he just made.
  
  I grabbed him by the face and squeezed.
  
  "AaaHhhh! Uhhh! AaAAAAHHHH!" He screamed, thrashing in my grip, "You grabbed me in the same place! It hurts! It hurts!" He shouted, hardly even noticing when I used him as a battering ram to knock through the whole group of morons. All evidence to the contrary, I'm pretty sure that the guy was a pretty decently leveled Adventurer. His level might even be higher than mine, but his stats sure weren't.
  
  I sent the group flying, using my weapon of choice to kick one of them in the face before headbutting another. They all went down one after another, each gasping for breath, their chests heaving.
  
  "Are you going to admit it, now?" I questioned, tossing my weapon to the ground, who moaned pitifully as he grabbed his head, torn between whether he should cradle his face or the back of his head. I looked around me at the trashed Guildhall -- the tables were upturned, windows were smashed, and there were bodies laid about everywhere, collapsing where they had fallen. Or where I threw them.
  
  I received a low groan from a toothpick of an Adventurer as he began to slowly push himself to his feet. Funny how the weakest Adventurers were the bravest. It was also very sad because the bravest Adventurers tended to die young.
  
  Like this one was about to.
  
  "Your goddess... is trash! Aqua is life!" He said, taking a wide stance so he wouldn't fall over. He raised his hands, panting for breath as he glared at me with eyes full of defiance. They were the eyes of a man that was ready to die for something that they believed in... who understood that they would be dying for it very soon.
  
  I smiled, "And who else shares that opinion?" I asked the crowd, earning low groans in response. However, a few brave souls were inspired to stand. They struggled to their feet, raising their hands and clenching them into fists. "Good. I guess I get to keep beating some sense into you lot then. Let me know when you change your mind. Or don't. Either way, I'm having buckets of fun."
  
  With that being said, I purposely stepped on the previously defeated morons who dared to besmirch Hestia's good name and went on to break the last few holdouts. The first one, looked more and more nervous as I approached him as he realized that I had about two and a half feet on him and about two hundred pounds of muscle.
  
  "H-hold on a second, maybe we could- ack!" He cut himself when I grabbed him by the face and squeezed. He thrashed in my grip, his screaming muffled by my hand.
  
  "Oh, no -- we are well past the point of talking," I told the others that looked like they really wished they had stayed on the ground. "You see, I can accept you worshiping Aqua. I don't really get it, but that's your right as a person. What I cannot abide is you talking shit about Hestia." And oh, had they talked shit about Hestia.
  
  "So," I continued, refusing to touch the floor as I stepped on defeated Adventurer's backs. "You will repent for your sins and I'm here to make sure you do. I will be cruel. I will be unreasonable. I will make it my life mission to make sure that you suffer in ways that were previously unthinkable to your meger and underdeveloped minds. And, by the end of it, you will accept Hestia as your lord and savior, because there is no greater insult than having that blue-haired idiot have more worshipers than Hestia."
  
  I lost the plot. I could admit that, but this was an important side quest. Sorta.
  
  Hestia was now a Divine Cleric, except not a normal one. A cleric performed miracles by channeling divine power granted to them by a god. Hestia skipped that step by being the god, but by dividing up her Arcanum, she had weakened herself significantly. That had been fine before because she didn't have a way to use her Arcanum at all without the other gods in Danmachi finding out, but things had changed.
  
  She was unwilling to recall the pieces of her Arcanum that she had given away because it would mean the Aedra would be forced to abandon Nirn to the Daedra that now walked the planet.
  
  I was looking for alternate means. One of those means was faith -- the more people that worshiped a god, the more fervently they believed, the more divine power Hestia would receive.
  
  So, I was proselytizing.
  
  "Never!" A heathen cried, charging me, only to run face-first into my other hand. His muffled screaming was joined by the first heathen. I held them both up, their feet kicking at my sides, but I barely felt the blows. And the fact that they were completely ineffective made others lose their nerve.
  
  "Never, huh? Well, I guess I could always just send you straight to hell then. Hestia won't gain a follower, but Aqua sure would lose one," I said, my grip tightening as a warning.
  
  I was proselytizing... I was just taking an Inquisition approach to it.
  
  That got them to break. "We're sorry! Hestia is the greatest goddess! Aqua is dumb!" They cried in unison, and I let them go. They fell to the ground, landing on their butts. I crouched down to their level, meeting their eyes with a well-mannered smile on my face.
  
  "I'm glad to hear it. And I do hope for your sake you aren't just saying that to save your skins because I would be very... upset if I found out that you were lying to me," I told them, earning wild-eyed looks in response. They shook their heads, huddling together as if that granted them any measure of safety. I looked at them a moment longer before I stood up, content with Hestia's new worshipers.
  
  Without another word, I turned my back and walked away. Standing at the door was Luna, who had a vacant expression on her face and a hand outstretched, as if to stop me. I pulled a bag of coins and deposited then in her hand, "I'll be back tomorrow," I told her, earning a quiet sigh in response.
  
  This arrangement had been going on for about three weeks so far. Every day, I would stop by the city -- between my reputation and the fact that I was a heathen in the eyes of this new outpost of the Axis Order, it meant fights were common. Which means so were chances at conversation because I got to plead self-defense. For now, at least. I'm pretty sure that the city is going to write in a law specifically to fuck me over. Which was discrimination.
  
  Rolling my shoulders, I stepped outside and turned left, heading deeper inside the city. I got dirty looks as I walked, but I still didn't care. When people tried to cut me off, I went through them or over them. A guy 'accidentally' tried to hit me with his wagon? I just flipped it over and kept walking. Someone tried to trip me? I kicked their legs out from underneath me.
  
  I didn't care about their opinions, but I was also done ignoring them. If they wanted to hate me, I would give them some reasons to hate me.
  
  I reached my destination in a handful of minutes. Pushing the door open, I was greeted by the sight of Wiz behind the counter of her shop. She looked up and greeted me with a small smile, "Good morning, Jericho."
  
  "Morning, Wiz," I greeted her in return. "Things going well?" I asked as I stepped inside. Wiz smiled pleasantly before she walked out from behind the counter, revealing a tray with two teacups on it. It was becoming a thing for her in the past couple of weeks -- I think she felt bad for believing the rumors, so she started making tea every time I came over. And since I usually came in the mornings, she started preparing it ahead of time.
  
  Wiz chuckled in response, but it sounded a bit forced. I took it as a sign that she was going to have another month in the financial red. And the end of the month was coming up soon.
  
  But, I chose not to push the topic. "I think I'm ready to start dumping points into the magic item creation skill," I told her, deciding to change the subject. To that, her eyes lit up.
  
  "Are you sure?" Wiz questioned, sounding like she thought it was a bit soon to decide that. For the past three weeks, Wiz had been teaching me how to create magic items -- in a way, it was almost like Enchanting, but the effects were vastly more varied. However, it was similar enough that I could use my enchanting skill to support my item creation skill.
  
  I nodded, "I'm sure." And I was. I had around a hundred and fifty skill points to dump into a skill. I hadn't touched them yet, but they were burning a hole in my pocket. For most Adventurers, they spread the skill points around to pick up various advanced skills that they then dumped more points into to make them better. And before, I might have done exactly that.
  
  However, Aqua showed me the power of overspecialization. That stupid, stupid, stupid fucking party trick overcame my mental defense. Until she did it, I honestly thought that just wasn't possible. Sheogorath had failed. The illusion around the Throat of the World wasn't even noticed, and it had been turning around wayward climbers for thousands of years. And Aqua of all people overcame it. With a party trick.
  
  So, I made my choice. I was going to dump a hundred skill points into the skill. The other fifty were in reserve in case I found something special I wanted to spend them on, if I felt like I didn't need to spend more on Item Creation.
  
  "The deal is still on, right?" I asked her, earning a nod, but there was a glimmer of eagerness in her eye. The deal was that I would sell my items through her shop with my name nowhere near the items on sale. In theory, she could finally be in the black for once.
  
  Taking out my Adventurer Card, I pressed down on the skill I wanted to dump points into and confirmed how many. I didn't really feel anything chane, but what I did get was a pop-up screen.
  
  Item Creation
  Lvl: 5
  The ability to create magical items with various effects. Boots that let you fly, a jewel that makes you handsome, a shield that can repel any blow. All can be made.
  
  Perk Lvl1
  No Warranty: All created items have increased durability.
  Perk Lvl 2
  A Little Extra: All created items are more powerful as a default.
  Perk Lvl 3
  Expanded List: List of available creations has been updated to include more exotic options.
  Perk Lvl 4
  Autonomous Worker: When creating items below Rank Expert, the user"s hands move of their own will, requiring no thought on the crafter"s part.
  Perk Lvl 5
  Master Crafter: Masterwork level items can now be created.
  
  Huh, so this is what changed with the addition of the Adventurer Card. I had wondered what exactly combining the Falna and the Card would do -- in Skyrim, I gained a more refined system. But, when I got a Card, my system adapted to the card.
  
  It all looked the same, but when I pulled up my skills, the page looked a bit different. Each skill had a level now instead of a proficiency. The only one that wasn't level 1, was Enchanting, which I had Prestiged before. So, doing some quick math, those hundred points were about five hundred pips of progress. Damn. That was... a lot. And I had another fifty points.
  
  Maybe I should look into getting some levels while I am in this world. Those skill points were useful.
  
  "There, done," I said, dismissing the window with a thought. "Is there anything that you want me to make? Something that has some demand?" I questioned and I really wished I could swallow the words. Wiz let out a sigh that seemed to deflate her before she took a small sip of tea.
  
  "No... no demand... for anything," she admitted weakly. I glanced around at the fully stocked shelves filled with various items -- the gag from the anime was every item was endgame tier equipment that had a monkey paw drawback to it. So, those that could afford the extreme prices didn't want to buy anything.
  
  Well, it wasn't like I wasn't flushed with cash. "I wouldn't say that," I said, standing up before I picked a random object from the shelf. A wand of some kind. It was expensive -- about as much as what I paid for the mansion, but that wasn't even a dent in the money in my inventory. I held it up to Wiz, who looked like she was on the verge of tears.
  
  "You don't need to do that, Jericho..." she trailed off, sounding uncertain.
  
  I didn't, but that wasn't the point. "Call it a thank you for teaching me how to create magic items," I said before I reached into my inventory and started pulling out trunks of gold. That, and I was trying to buy a little goodwill. Wiz was the type of person I would like to have in the familia. I wanted to butter her up first.
  
  Wiz sniffled, "I'm so sorry I was so cruel to you, Jericho. You're so kind... I'm sure those rumors about you forcing people to convert are just the town bad-mouthing you again. I'll set the record straight the next time..." she trailed off when she saw my guilty expression.
  
  "Oh, those are true," I said, and based on the dumbfounded look I got, I continued. "My goddess Hestia is a Divine Cleric. The more followers she has, the stronger her abilities are." I explained, earning a slow blink from Wiz.
  
  "Ah. That's... very kind of you, Jericho?" She tried, sounding very uncertain as a hand went to an Eris Order necklace around her neck.
  
  Yeah, I'm just going to move the topic along. "I'm going to head out. I'll be back in a couple of days with something that might sell. See you later, Wiz." I said, offering a wave before I stepped outside. I spared a glance at the wand in my hand -- sleek ivory-colored metal with silver highlights. I had absolutely no clue what it was or what it did, so I just tossed it in my inventory. I could mess around with it later.
  
  For now, I was heading back to the mansion. Making my way through the city, I got back with no incident. Well, no notable incident. All the while I walked, I ran through my ideas for what I could create. Before, for the most part, I was stuck with various types of fortification or weak types of enchantments. Now, I had a lot more options.
  
  I could use Alduin's soul to grant me the ability to fly. I could make a shield that could block anything. Or...
  
  I had time to think it over. I didn't have to decide yet. First I should work on the first batch of product for Wiz -- I could find out how much exp creating a magic item would give me. Based on that, I could plot out how much I should make of whatever I made. After all, I was only ten levels away from hitting Level 4, which would grant me my next big stat boost. I needed to increase my stats by a lot before then.
  
  I blew out a sigh, "I shouldn't make plans," I muttered, chiding myself as I entered the mansion to be greeted by the sound of slamming doors and Aqua and Kazuma screaming in the distance. It went quiet after I stepped inside, though, so whatever they were doing, they were at least being mindful about it. Cracking my neck, I made my way to what I had converted into my workshop -- it wasn't much. Just a few things that I couldn't keep in my inventory without it being a pain.
  
  A long desk, a rolling stool that could support me, a magnifying glass, and a clamp -- the latter two were built into the desk while the clamp had a ring pinched in between its teeth. An ebony one. The Evergreen Dagger I had given Hestia was melted down into rings. In the past few weeks, they were my current project.
  
  Taking a seat, I began putting on the final touches to what would be the final ring in a set. The other ebony rings were left unenchanted for now. They would either replace the set I was currently working on or be a set of enhancing enchantments. Grabbing my brush, I took out the Black Star -- it was packed with not only Alduin's soul, but the souls of various creatures I killed in this world so far.
  
  The speed and perfection perks really helped me out, drastically cutting down the time I spent working. And I kinda liked it. Just turning my brain off and letting my hands work. It was relaxing. But, more importantly, it was productive, because a few hours later, I finished the ring and freed it from where it was locked in place by the clamp. Smiling to myself, I pulled out the other rings -- five in total.
  
  Sliding them on, I felt my stats plummeting like a stone. I was almost afraid of what they would be when I looked.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 65
  Job: --
  
  Magical Power: 10,000
  Strength: 751 -700= 51
  Endurance: 1,100 -1000= 100
  Dexterity: 641 -600= 41
  Intelligence: 452 -400= 52
  Sense: 840 -800= 40
  Luck: --
  
  Damn, that did hurt to look at. Each ring was double enchanted, so each stat got two debuffs per ring. The rings could be removed easily enough, but there was a built-in flaw that made them easy to break in a pinch. It hurt to do this to my stats -- they hadn't been this low since I first started out, so I knew it was going to make it easier to grind my stats back up.
  
  But, my work wasn't done here. Leaning back and adjusting to my new stats, I pulled out some odds and ends that I had gathered over my time in Skyrim. Dragonbone, various ores, plants, and the alchemy set that I bought so very long ago, but never actually used. The door opened behind me, and I glanced over to see it was Hestia.
  
  "What are you working on?" She questioned, entering the room with a pleasant smile and a skip in her step. I'm guessing she emerged victorious over Aqua in their latest bout. The two goddesses becoming rivals wasn't something I expected to happen, but it seemed to be good for them.
  
  I shrugged, "Don't really know yet," I admitted. "I'm going to try to sell something through Wiz, but I have no idea what would sell well." Well, that wasn't exactly true. If I sold some Aqua-related product, it'd sell very well, but I'd much rather sell Hestia-related merchandise, which would likely get Wiz's shop burnt down.
  
  Hestia made a sound of acknowledgment as she approached, poking at the various items. "Are you trying to sell one big thing or a bunch of small things?" She asked, wanting to help. I considered the question -- it needed to be affordable for the average person, but I didn't want to spend a whole lot of time on it, so something that was also fast and easy to make.
  
  "I think a batch of small things would probably work," I muttered in response, mulling it over. There were mundane items I could probably make, but they didn't fit the bill. They either weren't magic items, the materials to make them would make them too expensive, or someone else had previously made a version of the same thing. Kazuma wasn't the first, second, or third person that tried to import stuff from the modern world for a quick buck.
  
  Magic was a technology killer, in the end. The steam engine was a thing, and there were designs for trains and the like. However, no country bothered with them, because why would they? Trains needed massive amounts of resources to be created, then more resources in terms of time and manpower to get any use out of them. Why bother with that when you could just pay an upper-tier mage a truckload of money to set up a teleportation circle? It was faster, cheaper, and more effective.
  
  Things of the past of the modern world either had counterparts already or they failed to take off because of magic. However, when I first got taken from my world, a gimmick had been taking off.
  
  Virtual Reality Goggles. They were expensive, but affordable with a bit of dedicated saving. They were primarily used for video games, but there were others like cinema... and pornography.
  
  "Huh," I muttered, grabbing a thing of iron with my hands -- it was heavy-? Oh, right. The rings. Taking them off, I was able to shape the iron with my hands easily enough. "I think I got it. Do you know where Kazuma is?" I asked Hestia, who seemed content to watch me work.
  
  She shook her head, "I know he's in the city, but he got really cagey when I asked where." Hestia answered. Meaning that he was probably at the Succubus Club. He recently learned about Hestia's ability to detect lies, so he got pretty good at not giving straight answers.
  
  I held up the general shape of the headset -- they were a bit like Cyclop's glasses from the X-Men. I would put a bit of glass or crystal over where the eyes would be. Make it a bit thinner to shave off some weight too. Might be worth adding a featherweight enchantment to the goggles, which would be simple with my perks and it would only require a few strokes with a petty soul to make it practically weightless.
  
  A plan was forming in the back of my mind. One that was just stupid enough that I might work in this universe.
  
  The Succubi gave men and women wet dreams with their abilities. So, in theory, I could use their ability to create specifics dreams, record them in some way, then have those dreams play out on the goggles.
  
  I was about to create the porn industry.
  
  "I'll go chase him down later," I muttered, setting the goggles to the side. "Was there something you wanted?" I asked her, turning in my chair to look at her. Nothing seemed wrong, so I didn't know if this was a visit for the sake of it or not.
  
  Hestia shook her head, "No, not really. Darkness is thinking about joining the familia," she told me. Huh. Honestly, I thought that would have happened sooner. "Would you be okay with that?"
  
  I shook my head, "I don't have a problem with it, but it's your decision. It is your Familia, after all."
  
  Hestia nodded before she leaned her head against my shoulder, "I think I want her to join, but... I'm worried that she's joining just because she wants to have sex with you." She pointed out, and... yeah, that was a very valid concern to have. Because she probably was only joining because she wanted to have sex with me.
  
  I think I saw where this conversation was going. "Hestia, what do you want the familia to be?" I asked her, cutting to the heart of the matter. "Because you can tell Darkness no. And you can tell me that I can't have sex with her if you don't approve. You make the rules, Hestia. I'm not going to care about you any less if you decide to tell me no."
  
  Hestia sighed, "I know," she said, sounding faintly relieved when she saw that the words were the truth. "I just wish the others were here. It feels like we're replacing them."
  
  Ah. "No one can replace Lili, Lydia, or Serana. The family is just expanding. I'm sure Megumin is going to drive Lili up the wall. Darkness and Lydia will get along for the most part. Serana isn't the type to take issue with anyone. We aren't replacing anyone. When all of this is said and done, everyone will be introduced and we'll be whole again," I reassured.
  
  Hestia nodded into my shoulder, choosing to believe me. "So far, we only have girl familia members, not including you." She noted, earning an agreeing nod from me. "Is that on purpose?"
  
  That sounded like a loaded question. "Not... really?" I said, wrapping an arm around her and bringing her in close. "In Skyrim, there were Farkas and Vilkas, but they died before they could join. Here, well, from what I know of the place, there aren't many guys worth recruiting. Or... any, actually." There was Megumin, Darkness, Wiz, YunYun... and that was about it. There were other characters that I knew, but those were the four that I would want to join the familia. There just weren't any guys that got enough screen time. Which made sense because Konosuba was a harem comedy.
  
  "Do you want other guy familia members? There's Kazuma," I pointed out. Ever since his resurrection, he had been on his best behavior. Not that his best was particularly good, but he was doing a lot better than the sex, drugs, and rock and roll that had killed him.
  
  "I think Kazuma is looking to go his own way," Hestia remarked. "He's been looking around for a party of his own so he can go defeat the Demon King."
  
  Yeah, I knew that, but Hestia continued. "I've just been thinking that I want the familia to be like a family. And, with the way things are with us, I think there would be a lot of fights if we recruited a bunch of guys. People would get jealous -- I mean, girls get jealous too, but it would be a different kind of jealousy." I see that I wasn't the only one thinking about the direction the familia was going.
  
  "So, new rule?" I asked her, my hand tracing up and down her side.
  
  "Not really, but more of a recommendation," Hestia said. "The bigger the familia gets, the more problems are going to crop up, so we need to find people that get along well together." From the sound of it, she was making a silent point that just because I wanted to have sex with a girl wasn't reason enough to recruit her to the familia.
  
  "Recommendation taken," I agreed before I turned to face Heatia, who wore a smile. She leaned in, only for us both to freeze when the door was thrown open. Looking over, I saw Megumin, her chest heaving, and her eyes glowing red. In fear was my guess.
  
  "The Demon King General Beldia is attacking Axel!" She shouted, taking in deep breaths.
  
  Huh. That was wonderful news. I hope he reduced the city to ashes.
  
  I shrugged before I turned around. Axel being attacked wasn't my problem, and Axel would be fine. If not because of the deal Wiz made to protect civilians, then because Wiz herself was there. And if she couldn't help... well... Axel already had a savior.
  
  "It'll be fine. Kazuma will deal with him."
  
  Probably.
  
  ...
  
  I've been thinking on where to put this AN for a while now, and I decided that this chapter would do because the rough waters I anticipated are over. I didn't want people thinking that this was in response to the criticism -- and to prove that point, I have a confession to make.
  
  I haven"t read anything from the Power Corrupts thread in over a month. Basically, I stopped and went 'do I want to do this to myself?" And the answer was no, I didn"t. So, I tossed the thread on ignore. And, I gotta say, upon skimming over the various pages, that was a big brain move on my part. People can dress it up as "forums aren"t hug boxes" but that"s not really a justification for being toxic assholes.
  
  But that"s not what this AN is about.
  
  Going Native ending had me thinking about endings, and it made me take a step back and look at all of my stories -- basically, where they are, where they're going, am I happy with the direction, and so on. And, as a lot of you know, Power Corrupts has always been the problem child of all of my stories.
  
  Some of that is the Jumpchain formula. Changing settings always comes with some hiccups, and that's to be expected. However, upon inspection, I think that Power Corrupts has some fundamental problems that are only going to get worse as the story progresses.
  
  The cliff notes version is -- Jericho's character arc, the lack of character arcs from the side characters, Jericho became too powerful too quickly, game mechanics that I stacked don't work together as well as I thought they would, the lack of a credible antagonist, and some concepts were left undercooked.
  
  So, I decided that it would be best to plan out how I'm going to end the story rather than letting it petter out with a whimper.
  
  Which is why Power Corrupts will be ending after the Skyrim return arc. For how long that would be -- with the Biggest Tipper chapter, the Konosuba arc has 2-3 chapters left, and the Skyrim return arc will be between 10-15 chapters in total. So, about 3-5 months until Power Corrupts comes to an end and earns a (Complete) tag. So, there"s still a fair bit of Power Corrupts to go.
  
  I know that this will disappoint some of you, but I do think that this is for the best. I just think that I made too many fundamental mistakes with Power Corrupts because it was one of my first stories, and I wrote it at the same time as Gone Native, my first real story. Believe it or not, writing two stories was a huge challenge for me back in the day. Then those mistakes became further exacerbated with each jump while other problems stacked on top of them.
  
  However, it's not all bad news.
  
  I do have another Jumpchain story in the works that will replace Power Corrupts when it ends. The working title is Fool's World. With it, I've, hopefully, fixed the mistakes that I made with Power Corrupts. What I've got written up so far seems pretty solid, and my beta, who is my biggest critic after myself, also agrees that it's probably some of the best work I've done.
  
  So, while Power Corrupts will be ending in the coming months, I do hope that everyone enjoys Fool's World. I'm aiming to take what I got right about Power Corrupts and make them better while buffing out the parts that were less than good for an overall much stronger story with a solid cast of characters to support the MC throughout his journeys across the multiverse.
  
  Thank you for your understanding, and again, I am sorry for those that this will disappoint. It wasn"t an easy decision, but I do think it"s for the best.
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
  Completed Stories: Going Native (DBZ/DC Comics), Power Corrupts (Gamer SI), See No Evil (Young Justice SI)
  My Quests: Everlasting Dynasty (Crusader Kings 3/FSN)
  TV Tropes: Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Going Native/Gone Native (DBZ/DC comics)
  Patreon: Ideas-Guy's Patreon Subscribe Star: Ideas-Guy's Subscribe Star
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  "Ehh?" Kazuma uttered, a sinking feeling opening up in his gut as the news reached his ears. The words traveled in one ear and out the other, the implications not really settling in for a good, long minute. "Ehh...? What do you mean that a general of the Demon King is here to face me?" What did that even mean?!
  
  Luna had a wild look in her eyes, "I mean that the Demon General Verdia is here at the head of his army and demanding that you face him in single combat!" She repeated herself, leaning over him. The news really sunk in at that point, and he couldn't even bring himself to enjoy the view of her cleavage even though he was on the verge of seeing a hint of nipple.
  
  A Demon King General was here. To fight him. Him.
  
  Kazuma set down his drink, his gaze drifting to the sword next to him. A sword that he had only taken out of its sheath to finish off monsters that Senpai had defeated for him. Then he turned to the crowd in the Guildhall -- it was a bit of a wreck considering it hadn't been that long since Senpai performed his daily proselytizing, but the bodies of Aqua's followers were up and ready to keep partying thanks to Aqua healing them.
  
  A room full of people looked to him, their expectations piling high on his shoulders until their weight was crushing.
  
  Kazuma took in a slow breath and stood up, grabbing his mostly unused sword. "Don't worry people of Axel," Kazuma said, turning towards the door as he lifted his sheathed sword. "My partner and I will handle this."
  
  Thankfully, the people of Axel were so busy cheering and chanting his name that they didn't hear him sweating bullets as he strode out the door. His legs felt weak and despite his strength stat being over a hundred, his two-pound sword felt like it weighed about a million pounds.
  
  But he had to maintain the facade because the moment he stepped outside the Guildhall, he was beset on all sides by citizens calling out his name. They wished him luck. They wished him well. They wished for him to bring back a trophy. Despite the situation they were all in, there wasn't anything so much as resembling doubt that he would do anything less than absolutely crush the Demon General Verdia.
  
  Kazuma soon reached a level of panic that it looped all the way around and he felt completely calm, "Don't worry, don't worry! Go about your day! This is nothing to worry about!" Kazuma said, dismissing the whole issue with a wave of his hand. The relief his words inspired went beyond what mere words could properly convey.
  
  It could only be described with an action. With a handful of words, people took his suggestion. Not everyone, but some did. They stopped looking so worried, they wandered away from the crowd, then they went about their business as if there wasn't an army of monsters outside the city gates. That was the sheer mindbogglingly amount of trust that the city of Axel had in him.
  
  Up until this day, he had been completely unworthy of it.
  
  "That changes today," Kazuma said, trying to will himself to not be scared. He wasn't having much luck and he could only hope that no one noticed how wooden his steps felt. Thankfully they didn't, based on the fact that women swooned as he walked by, men cheered him on, and children looked at him with eyes filled with wonder. He gave them all a smile that he had practiced so much it felt like it had been stapled to his face.
  
  His gaze landed on a group of Succubi as he passed them. He tossed them a wink, "Wait for me," he said, his words somehow carrying through a sea of noise. The twin Succubi sisters swooned, appearing about ready to jump him in the middle of the street, uncaring of the crowd that was watching.
  
  Kazuma finally neared the city gates. This would be it. This would be the moment he would be worthy of all those really awesome nicknames that he'd gotten over his stay in this world. And, to top it all off, he would officially come out as 'bisexeual' so he could finally lose his virginity with those twin Succubi. This was the first moment of the rest of his life.
  
  It had been a bumpy road. He made mistakes. But he learned from them. Sorta. He was a better man. Kinda. This was where he earned his keep. Hopefully.
  
  The gates swung open to allow him passage, letting light stream in from the sun shining on the other side. Kazuma squinted, walking forward-
  
  Ah.
  
  What the fuck?
  
  Kazuma tried not to freeze when he saw what awaited him on the other side of the walls. When he heard that General Verdia was here to challenge him to one on one combat, he kinda assumed that... well... he would be here. Alone. He was anything but.
  
  Monsters gathered on the horizon for about as far as the eyes could see. They came in all sorts of shapes and sizes -- dark green goblins and goblin cavalry on the back of dire wolves. Kobolds, gnolls, trolls, skeletons, zombies, and so on. There were thousands of them. Countless. From where Kazuma stood, he couldn't see where they ended -- they just stretched across the horizon.
  
  In front of them all was what could only be the General Verdia. A tall, heavily armored man riding an undead horse. He was a Dullahan, based on the fact that he carried his head in the palm of one hand, while in his other he hefted a light green greatsword the size of a fully grown man. His skeleton horse bayed, rising up to its hind legs as lightning crackled in the distance from the sky above.
  
  What the fuck? Did the city of Axel not know what scouts were? How did they only find out about this army when it was literally parked right outside their gates?
  
  "I am General Verdia, servant of the Demon King! Are you the one known as the Supreme Mega Hero Kazuma the Savior?" Verdia demanded to know, raising his head high and broadcasting his voice as he looked down at him. Kazuma wondered if anyone could even hear him over the sound of his knees knocking together.
  
  He stole forward, unsheathing his sword to hide his fear, "I prefer to go by Satou Kazuma." He responded, leveling his sword at the General in what he hoped was a super cool display of confidence for everyone that was watching. "I've heard you are here for me! My apologies for keeping you waiting... for your death!" He tacked on, his sword arm only trembling a little bit. In eagerness. Because he was finally going to take his chance to earn his accolades.
  
  In response to that, Verdia let out a super intimidating laugh. "My death has already come for me, Satou Kazuma. I am afraid that yours has come for you," he said. Damn, that was such a good line! He totally should have been the one that said that! Banter was such an important part of a fight -- Kazuma imagined so, at least -- and he was already screwing up!
  
  "I suppose that we'll just have to see about that! Before we do battle, I would like a vow from you. Whatever you have become, I know you were once an honorable knight -- do you swear that no matter the outcome, the people of Axel will not be harmed?" If he died here, then Aqua could just resurrect him again. By the time this guy heard about it, Kazuma could pull a Senpai and prepare to defeat him in the time it took him to realize, so round two was a guaranteed victory.
  
  In response, Verdia got off of his horse, and... why was he so tall? He was about as tall as Senpai, and that was without his head being attached to his shoulders. "You do your reputation credit, Kazuma. I swear upon my honor that the city of Axel shall not be harmed, no matter the outcome. Only one of us must die this fine evening." As he spoke, he strode forward. His absolutely freaking huge broadsword being held out to the side, and despite what it must weigh, there wasn't so much as a tremble in his hand from holding it.
  
  "And what a fine evening it is to die," Kazuma responded, striding forward to meet the General. An overwhelming sense of calmness seemed to fill Kazuma once again. His mind was at peace. His body stopped trembling. It was a moment of utter clarity as a single thought played in his head.
  
  That this was where he died.
  
  His stats were trash for his level, even if they could be classified as good. He had next to no martial experience. And his skill list was filled with nothing but Cantrips because Wiz refused to teach him any super-powerful spells right out the gate. Something about learning to use magic responsibly.
  
  And, as he neared the General, it couldn't be more clear that he was unprepared.
  
  "AhhhHHH!" Kazuma unleashed a war cry, darting forward as he made the sword equivalent to a wild haymaker. Verdia met his fierce cry with one of his own as the edges of their blades scraped against one another. Kazuma felt the impact all the way into his bones, instantly losing in a contest of strength against the Dullahan.
  
  The edge of Verdia's sword raced towards his neck, barely registering the impact of their clash...
  
  Then Kazuma slipped. His leg shot upward, sending a particularly smooth stone flying out at incredible speeds. As he fell and landed on his back, Kazuma heard the horse nay in time with the sound of metal being struck rang out. At the same time, his foot caught the bottom of Verdia' sword as it narrowly avoided taking his head off. On complete accident, Kazuma kicked the sword up, offering up the perfect angle for the ricochet stone to bounce off of it, and smack directly into the helmeted head that was in Verdia's other hand.
  
  "Ack- my eye! Oh, that hurts! That hurts so much! Ahhh!" Verdia shouted as Kazuma ended up following with the momentum and landed on his feet somehow. Kazuma blinked, having absolutely no clue what was going on. He looked to Verdia, who clutched his face, with no small amount of uncertainty.
  
  "Do... you want to call a timeout?" Kazuma questioned, lowering his sword a little.
  
  Verdia sucked in a sharp breath, "Ah- n-no, I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, it's... ah... just something that got in my eye. I- I can continue! Shit, that hurts so much," Verdia responded, sounding anything but fine. Kazuma glanced around, looking for what exactly had hit Verdia before his gaze landed on a burnt black stone. One of the ones that had been charred by Senpai being... Senpai. Verdia cleared his throat, "I am ready to continue."
  
  Kazuma snapped his attention back to Verdia and he readied his sword that had a really bad nick in it. Even still, he struck a pose that he had practiced in the mirror -- his body angled, his feet in a wide stance, his sword and elbow even with his shoulder, while a single finger of his other hand touched the tip of his blade like he was about to do something cool with it. It made him look like some kind of tracksuit wearing Samurai.
  
  Verdia responded by striking a pose of his own. His arm angled across his body, holding his greatsword with a single hand that's tip faced the opposite way he was facing. His stance looked pretty cool, Kazuma had to admit.
  
  There was a long moment of waiting for the other to make a move. Kazuma couldn't because the stance he had taken was kinda terrible for attacking the few times he mimed it out. In the end, it was Verdia that made the first move. He shot forward at speeds that Kazuma couldn't react to -- Verdia was the real deal in that regard. You needed to be more than just a high-level Adventurer to beat him.
  
  However, he made the dangerous mistake of not looking where he was walking. His foot slammed down on the rock that had hit him in the eye, throwing off his aim. By the time Kazuma could think to react, Verdia"s great sword slammed into the ground next to him, sending up a cloud of dust. Kazuma swung blindly, the tip of his sword scraping against Verdia's armor before it managed to dig into something.
  
  Kazuma only realized what it was when the shoulder pauldron on Verdia"s exposed side fell to the ground.
  
  With his free hand, Kazuma followed up on his lucky break, "Acid Splash!" He shouted dramatically, lime green acid shooting over Verdia"s armor and splashing into the exposed interior. Verdia reacted, flinching back to protect his exposed side.
  
  "Heh. Perhaps if I was still alive, I wouldn't have ended up like this. Giving up the advantage by giving me a warning with acid, something my class is immune to? It does this old knight's heart some good," Verdia said as he struck another really cool pose.
  
  Dullahean's are immune to acid? Shit. Kazuma used it because that was his best Cantrip!
  
  "It's not too late to stop this," Kazuma pointed out, desperately hoping that Verdia would take the out he was giving him. Aqua could just bring him back to life, and Kazuma wouldn't have to fight.
  
  "I'm afraid it is, Kazuma the Legendary. I've thrown away my old vows. There is no going back," Verdia stated.
  
  "A shame," Kazuma responded, "Dancing Lights!" He shouted, causing a few twinkling lights to appear between them. Verdia flinched back, clearly expecting something... more.
  
  I'm sorry! Kazuma apologized in his mind, knowing that Verdia thought that he was a Senpai-tier Adventurer. Instead, he was just a fraud. But he was a fraud that was going to fight with everything that he had!
  
  Verdia didn't seem to think that they were just dancing lights because he dodged between them, careful not to come close, and because of that his foot slid into a wet patch from the acid. He used his sword to catch himself, nearly stabbing Kazuma in the process after he started to move. A hand reached out and touched the blade, "Light!"
  
  The massive hunk of what looked like Mythril suddenly began to glow incredibly brightly, like a floodlight almost. Cantrips, sadly, had hard limits on their capabilities. Kazuma had a pretty decent magic stat because of his intelligence, so he could push that limit a thousand times before he hit empty.
  
  "Ah!" Verdia cried, shifting his head away to protect it from the light.
  
  With his hand still on the blade, Kazuma cast Shocking Grip. He thought really cool arcs of electricity or something would flow into Verdia, but... well, it was more like sticking your finger in an electrical socket. Verdia flinched back and muttered a quick curse, but he was otherwise completely fine.
  
  "Are you... mocking me?!" Verdia suddenly demanded, that aura of coolness quickly getting replaced by anger when he seemed to catch on that Kazuma was only using Cantrips.
  
  I'm so sorry! Kazuma answered in his mind, tripping and falling over his own two feet because he was blinded by the glowing sword. He only realized that Verdia had taken a swing when he felt a gust of wind brush over his neck.
  
  "Prestidigitation!" Kazuma quickly utilized the spell, making the illusion of a stink bomb going off. Verdia recoiled, once again slipping into the acid-infused mud, and this time he fell on his butt. Kazuma could hear the sound of him grinding his teeth, looking at his once spotless white cloak to find it covered with mud. "Minor Illusion!"
  
  Kazuma had absolutely no clue what the difference between the two spells was since Prestidigitation could also cast visible illusions, but now wasn't the time to question it. He made the sound of a Lion's roar in Verdia"s ears, making him flinch back at the sound that continued on a loop.
  
  "Dancing Lights!" Kazuma cast the spell again, and with his senses all under assault, Verdia reacted to the first sign of movement, even if he didn't know what it was. He shot to his feet to avoid the dancing orbs of light that were completely and utterly harmless. Kazuma jabbed a finger in his direction, "True Strike!"
  
  Insight on Verdia's defenses... were completely and utterly overwhelming. He was closer to Senpai in strength than anyone else he's seen. That being said, since it was Senpai, he'd probably crush him without noticing, but he was someone that Kazuma should absolutely not be trying to fight using Cantrips.
  
  But... if he won... he would lose his virginity in a threesome.
  
  "RaaaahhhhhHHHHHH!" Kazuma shouted, sprinting forward and closing the distance between them with shocking amounts of speed. As if his blade was drawn to a point of weakness, Kazuma thrust his blade forward with all of his strength.
  
  The tip of the blade slid between the eye guard of Verdia, stabbing him in the eye like it had so many foes before, but this time, Kazuma had earned his victory. Verdia's body went still, caught mid-dodge before the fatal blow was struck. Kazuma pulled his sword free, finding that the tip was bent rather badly. That seemed to be the only thing holding Verdia's body up because his great sword numbly fell from his grasp.
  
  It hit the ground with a dull thump. Then his head fell from his grasp and his body fell to the ground next to his sword.
  
  Kazuma felt like crying tears of joy. He did it! He went on an adventure!
  
  "May you rest in peace," Kazuma said, clapping his hands and bowing to his defeated foe. As powerful as he was, Kazuma didn't gain a single level. Opening his eyes, he looked out at the army of monsters that each looked absolutely terrified.
  
  Turning his back to his defeated foe, he paused mid-step when he heard a low groan coming from directly behind him. Slowly, he looked over his shoulder and his heart sank in direct proportion with Verdia rising to his feet until he was standing tall and Kazuma's heart was in his tennis shoes. This had to be a joke, right? There was no way that this wasn't some sort of twisted joke, right?! He stabbed him in the head-
  
  Oh... right. Undead. Wait, but that kills undead too!
  
  "You are more incredible than the stories say, Kazuma the Glorious." Verdia said as his body picked up his head. "To think you managed to best me with mere Cantrips. Were I still living... my arrogance would have cost me my life." The words of praise did some serious critical damage to Kazuma.
  
  No! That's not it! I just don't know anything else because I keep slacking off! Senpai was under the impression that Wiz was teaching him really awesome spells. He didn't correct that line of thinking because... well... he really didn't want people to realize that for all his supposed feats, he had nothing going for him.
  
  I learned nothing from my death! I'm sorry!
  
  The only thing that changed was that he and senpai were getting along again and he didn't touch drugs anymore.
  
  "It seems that the outcome of our battle is clear -- you are my better, Kazuma. I will take the defeat you allowed me... but, I swear, on my honor, that I shall return!" No, you don't need to do that. "Stronger and greater than ever before! Then we shall clash once again and I will stand as your equal!" Verdia made a solemn oath that Kazuma really, really, really wished that he hadn't.
  
  However, he had to keep up appearance. "I'll be waiting, Verdia. Until then," Kazuma said, turning his back to the demon general and power walking to the city gates. He replayed the fight over in his mind a thousand times as he quickly made a retreat from the field of battle, going over every single detail.
  
  He came to one conclusion.
  
  Is this... the power of a Luck Build? Kazuma couldn't help but marvel at the power that he had at his fingertips. Senpai was right. Again. He should absolutely go with a Luck Build! He totally won that fight against a way too powerful opponent, even if he lacked the ability to actually finish him off. It was awesome!
  
  The doors to the city threw themselves open and the sounds of rejoicing welcomed him. Kazuma wore a wide smile on his face, laughing sheepishly as he was lifted up into the crowd before getting tossed up.
  
  Unlike all the times before, it felt like he sorta earned it this time.
  
  ...
  
  "Jerichoooooooooo! I'm gonna miss my chance to blow up an army...!" Megumin whined, grabbing me by the back of the shirt and pulling with all of her might.
  
  "I said another minute," I responded, touching up the featherweight enchantment on the headset. Lifting it in my hands, I found that the headset was properly weightless. Perfect. It was a good system -- each headset only took about ten minutes to make each.
  
  Once a week or so, I'll dedicate a few hours to it, and make a load that I would give to Wiz to sell. Then when her business turned a profit, she would know who to thank, and consider an offer to join the Familia.
  
  "You said that like five minutes ago! Come onnnn! They're going to get away!" Megumin continued to whine, her feet sliding across the floor as she failed to get me to budge. I held up the headset for Hestia's inspection, but she seemed far too amused by Megumin to notice. Fair enough, I guess.
  
  "Alright, alright. Let's go blow up an army," I said, standing up.
  
  "Yay!" Megumin cheered, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Can I have a mana potion? Can I have five?" She pressed, looking up at me, looking and sounding like a little kid in a candy store. Honestly, it was a little frightening.
  
  "You can have two -- so make the most of your shots. They're the only two you're getting," I told her, reaching into my inventory and handing her two vials. She snatched them out of my hands, clutching them to her chest and squirming around like they were her lover. I looked to Hestia, who just smiled softly at the noises of pleasure Megumin was making before she took off to go blast the army of monsters.
  
  Hestia looked at me, "Can she really blow them up?" She asked as we trailed behind Megumin, who seemed to intend to blast the enemy army from our upstairs patio. I considered it for a moment before I shook my head.
  
  "Nah, probably not," I said. Megumin, right now, was more of... A TNT type explosion. A lot of TNT, but still TNT. She could scale upwards to explosions the size of a Tsar Bomb -- a thermonuclear bomb. Maybe more. But she wasn't there yet.
  
  Now Hestia looked a bit worried, so I dropped a hand onto her shoulder. "Don't worry, I can take care of the rest. It's just an army of monsters," I dismissed. It might be a chance to try out my Title, Army Killer, for the first time. Despite how insane the words might have sounded, Hestia instantly looked relieved and leaned into my touch.
  
  Megumin waited for us to arrive, practically vibrating with excitement that she tried to hide by turning around and pointing her staff towards the army of demons that we could see in the not so far off distance. They were congregated around Axel, but the mansion was just close enough to it that I could probably throw some rocks at the edge of the crowd of demons and monsters.
  
  Megumin took in a deep breath and let it out, "Be still my heart, manifest my madness and wreak havoc upon my foes. Grow, grow, grow -- three chimes does the bell toll. It doth chim for you," Megumin began, launching into one of her chunni speeches, before an array appeared above the monster army. They had enough time to look up, but not enough time to react. "Unleash the most secular art in this world! Break reality into shards of hlass! EXPLOSION!"
  
  No matter how many times I saw it, it never got less impressive. It was like someone was bringing the hammer of god down to earth. A bright light filled my vision as the explosion rang out in the center of the army, sending a cloud of dust and fire up and out. The shockwave hit us a second later, rattling the house.
  
  Megumin held herself up with her staff, her legs wobbling like a newborn deer. "I-I'm not... done yet!" She said, forcing the words out through gritted teeth as she pulled the corks out of the vials I had given her with her teeth. I blinked when she upended both into her mouth, swallowing the contents down before she dramatically tossed the vials aside.
  
  "EXXXX..." Megumin began, thrusting her staff out as another array appeared above the army before the dust could even settle, this one larger. Much larger. With several layers stacked ontop of it.
  
  "Uh..." I began, squinting my eyes at the array. Wasn't that a little close?
  
  "...PLOSION!!!" Megumin brought the explosion down upon the army. There was no comparing it to the first explosion. It was like comparing a firecracker to a hand grenade. I tensed, ready to grab the two girls, only for that to prove unnecessary when Hestia raised a hand.
  
  "Divine shield!" She called out, and the air seemed to solidify before the mansion, wrapping around it like a blanket. Not a second too soon because the shockwave of the blast washed over the mansion a second later. Trees were ripped up and sent flying, the wall and gate were obliterated in an instant, dust and smoke washing over us to the point that we couldn't see a thing. Not counting the ominous red glow through the dust and smoke that came from the center of the explosion.
  
  Megumin fell to her knees, "Ha...ha...ha..." she started and I couldn't tell if she was panting or laughing. "N-nice... explosion!" She decided, completely oblivious to the damage she had caused and only seeing the work of art before her. I thought she was crazy, but... well... you could admire the dedication to her craft at least.
  
  The shockwave luckily blasted away the worst of the dust and smoke, letting us see the devastation that she had wrought.
  
  The forest between the mansion and the city?
  
  It wasn't there anymore.
  
  The city? Well, the city was still standing, but... well, if they had wanted a lake in front of their front gate, Megumin had done them the courtesy of digging one out for them.
  
  I took a moment to bask in the absolute chaos, a faint ringing in my ears. Reaching out, I patted Megumin on the shoulder, causing her to fall against my leg while Hestia dropped the divine shield.
  
  "Nice explosion," I agreed with her.
  
  This was going to be a problem. I knew that much.
  
  But that didn't make it my problem.
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Ideas-Guy
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  "Jericho, why are you trying to buy all the property around Axel?" Hestia asked me, prompting me to look up from my work. Sitting on my workbench was the chest piece of my armor. My good armor. The Black Star sat next to it, held up by a special stand since it was too big for my normal ones. A paintbrush in my hand paused on its way to brush off more of Alduin's soul to enchant my armor.
  
  "No reason in particular," I hedged, resuming my work. My armor was progressing nicely. It had been a very difficult choice on what exactly I wanted to do with Alduin's Soul. In the end, between my Enchanting abilities and now my Magic item creation, I was spoiled when it came to choices. I had a million ideas, and I was almost tempted to shove every single one of them into the armor -- dividing up Alduin's soul and going with synergy.
  
  However, I made my decision upon seeing the devastation brought forth by Megumin.
  
  "Jerichooo..." Hestia dragged out my name warningly, catching me in the white lie.
  
  I pointedly didn't look at her, but I still saw her behind me with my expanded vision, her arms crossed and one of her feet bouncing impatiently. By the looks of her expression, she knew exactly what I planned to do. "I'm going to quarantine the city. Maybe I'll build a really big wall around Axel. Or a super deep moat," I said, currently in-between ideas. "Everyone inside it is a lost cause. They can't be saved."
  
  Hestia gave me the dullest look, "That's a pretty extreme reaction, Jericho. You can't just quarantine an entire city because you don't like the people inside of it," Hestia pointed out, but I sensed that she wasn't entirely unconvinced.
  
  "Technically speaking, I totally can," I argued the point. With the demon king's army finally arriving near Axel, property values plummeted outside of the city. Everyone wanted to move behind the sturdy walls for protection. So, the real estate market crashed. Property values were in the toilet, and I was picking up huge swaths of land for pennies on the dollar.
  
  There were no laws saying I couldn't build a super huge wall around the city. And even if there was, it wasn't like I was going to let that stop me.
  
  "I'll just say something like it's for their protection. Or I'll put the idea in Aqua's head, make her think it was her idea, then those idiots will help build the wall that will protect the world from them until the end of time," I continued. That might sound like a high IQ, 3D chess move worthy of Aizen Sousuke himself, but it wouldn't be difficult at all. All I had to do was mention the idea to Aqua, and she'd jump at the chance to prove her ability to protect her followers.
  
  Hestia walked forward, leaning her head against my shoulder, "Are you intentionally missing my point?"
  
  A little. "I know it's incredibly petty," I admitted, "But they started it." They pissed me off, so now they would be sealed inside that stupid city for the rest of eternity. I would venture in on a rescue mission to grab Wiz, and maybe Luna, but everyone else was getting sealed. For the good of the world.
  
  "Jerichooo..." Hestia said, dragging my name out again, earning a sigh from me.
  
  "Fine. Fine. I won't build a giant wall around Axel. Or dig a super deep moat," I gave up on the ideas. "But can I build another city around Axel?" It'll be my own city-state. Which I would make Hestia the patron deity, and if you wanted to be a citizen of my much better city, then you had to convert from Aquaism to Hestiaism. Names pending.
  
  Spite probably wasn't the best motivator to create a religion, but it's what I was working with.
  
  Hestia opened her mouth to deny the equally petty request but she stopped herself, "Could I design it?" She asked, earning a smile from me.
  
  "Course," I agreed easily. I wouldn't have it any other way. It wasn't like I knew a damn thing about designing cities, and Hestia had already proven her ability in that regard. Helgen had been a fantastic city up until it got destroyed by Alduin.
  
  "Then consider it a maybe. Ask again when Aqua makes me mad," Hestia decided, earning a chortle from me. That wouldn't take long then. Hestia and Aqua were like oil and water, they just didn't mix. "You finally decided on an enchantment for your armor?"
  
  To that, I smiled, "Yeah, I did. I gave it a lot of thought... how much of the fight did you see against Alduin?" I asked her, making her reach up to grab my arm, hugging my bicep as she leaned against my shoulder. It wasn't something that we talked about a lot. The fact that I had died fighting him wasn't something that either of us liked to bring up.
  
  After a moment, Hestia sighed, "Not a whole lot. After you went up to the Throat of the World, Lydia brought me down into the basement. It felt like the entire world was going to shake itself apart," she muttered. There was regret in her voice -- regret that she hadn't been up there making a difference, but I said nothing. At the time, I didn't want Hestia near a battlefield. Honestly, I still kinda didn't because I didn't like the idea that she would be in danger.
  
  But things had changed. Hestia was a Divine Cleric. If she could put up with the idea that I could be in danger and not hover over me, then I owed her that same respect and belief that she could take care of herself.
  
  "Hm. Alduin hit me with the Thu'um a couple of times. He blew up the Throat of the World with a Fus Ro Dah," I said, continuing my work. I brushed off a sliver of Alduin's immense soul and painted it into my armor, the enchantment taking form. I still remembered the sensation of getting hit with his Thu'um. I felt every bone in my body shatter, my organs rupture, and my eyes pop like balloons. My armor protected me some, but it couldn't protect me from the mighty force. A force that probably had a hand in killing me just as much as getting hit by the Eye of Magnus did.
  
  Pulling my brush back, I inspected the rune with satisfaction. "I want to be able to harness that kind of force. Not just be protected from it, but use it. My chest piece is going to become a kinetic battery -- the more force it takes, the more I can use in battle." I said, picturing how it would work. I could use the kinetic energy to increase the power of my blows -- I was plenty strong now, but I wasn't ' hit with the explosive force of a small yield nuke' strong.
  
  The limit of the kinetic energy stored was only limited by the soul I used to create the battery. And Alduin's soul was immense. Even better, it wasn't something that was reliant on outside forces. After all, if I used up all the kinetic energy stored up in my chest piece, I could hit it with a few shouts of Unrelenting Force to charge it back up.
  
  Simply put, it was a perfect addition to my toolkit. It let me hit even harder than I already could. The cherry on top being that the harder the enemy hit me, the harder I could hit them back with what amounted to their own attack. Can"t wait to see the look on Alduin"s face when I hit him with the force of his own Thu"um.
  
  "Ah," Hestia uttered, "I almost forgot! It's almost time," she told me, causing me to set my paintbrush down and grab the Black Star. Shoving it into my inventory, I looked over at Hestia as she let go of my arm. I stood up and took a deep breath.
  
  "Is he here yet?" I asked, earning a shake of Hestia's head.
  
  "He's on the way. Or, he was. I kinda forgot what I came to tell you," Hestia admitted with a sheepish chuckle. I cocked an eyebrow, but I didn't get an answer. "He could be waiting for you to see him off! He'll cry if you aren't there," she pointed out, and she was right about that.
  
  Letting out go of my breath, we left my workshop and started heading down the hallway. I heard high-pitched screaming in the distance, which sounded like Megumin, but that had become a very common occurrence, so I just tuned it out. Reaching the main entrance, I saw the man in question that was here to be sent off.
  
  Kazuma.
  
  "It's finally time, huh?" I asked him, walking down the stairs. He wore his green tracksuit, with the starter sword I gave him at his hip, in addition to a pair of sunglasses. And I guess the girls that he had his arms slung over could be considered accessories since they were eye candy. I recognized them as the girls that occupied that one Adventurer guy that was obsessed with Aqua in the original timeline.
  
  Behind Kazuma and his girls was a succubus, the back of Kazuma's head nestled between her sizable breasts. I'm pretty sure that was the same succubus that he had been snorting some blue dust off of before he died.
  
  "It's time, Senpai," Kazuma said, his voice laced with gratitude. It seems as much as he had backslid into old habits, he hadn't entirely forgotten the lessons he had learned. "It's time for me to begin my quest to bring the Demon King's tyranny to an end!" He declared, raising a fist. Though, the proclamation was a little undercut when he immediately draped the arm back over the arm candy.
  
  I had to admit -- this plan had gone everywhere but according to plan. Kazuma died twice, none of the improved party members made the cut to join him, and we were wildly off schedule. Yet, here we were. Sending Kazuma off to defeat the Demon King.
  
  "Then it's time for me to uphold my end of the bargain," I said, reaching into my inventory where I then pulled out a set of armor and a weapon. The material was Mythril, so it had a greenish tint to the metal -- a shade of green that matched his tracksuit, which the armor was designed to be placed over. That was at the commissioner"s request. "Here's the armor -- it'll boost your stats, give you short-range teleportation, increase the potency of your spells, and if you die you'll be teleported here to be resurrected. If you press the clasp on your chest, a cape will appear," I said, pushing the button and in a swirl of shadows, a cloak appeared behind the armor.
  
  Kazuma jumped away from the girls as if they had burned him, "Senpai~!" Kazuma said, tears in his eyes as he hovered around the armor. "It's so cool!" He said, and it was a genuine enough reaction that I decided to not mention that it was created with the powerful enemies that he was said to have killed.
  
  You know, for flavor text.
  
  "And here is your sword," I presented it to him. A katana in a snow-white sheath to match a blade that was also snow white. "It grants you all of my combat skills." Which was shockingly difficult to enchant.
  
  "Senpai...!" Kazuma sounded like he was fighting back a wave of tears, taking the katana from me. It wasn't one that was made by me or anyone. I ended up heading to the mountains and killing the Winter Bushido a while ago. It was a surprisingly good fight. "It's so cool. It's so cool!" He uttered in awe, unsheathing the blade and sending a winter chill flowing through the lobby.
  
  The moment was a little ruined when a giggle came from above. Aqua leaned over the balcony of the stairs, a smug look on her face. "Cute gifts from a cute goddess," Aqua said, blatantly ignoring that I was the one that gave Kazuma the gifts. But I guess facts would interfere with the speech she had prewritten. "Witness what a true goddess bestows on one of her favored... eh... one of her champions," she amended.
  
  Kazuma gave her a dull stare, his gaze devoid of all life. It was like he had immediately retreated into the deepest layers of his subconscious the moment Aqua spoke. Not really sure what happened between them when Kazuma became some sort of Jesus analog, but they still got along about as well as they ever did.
  
  "Blessing!" Aqua announced, before mystical light surrounded Kazuma that shined with every shade of the rainbow. "There! Now you don't need that dumb armor and sword from a heretic! My divine blessing is all you need to defeat the Demon King, right Kazuma?!"
  
  Kazuma slowly looked to me, "Thank you for the gifts, Senpai," He said, choosing to not acknowledge Aqua at all. Despite everything that had happened, I knew there was a reason I liked Kazuma.
  
  "Hey! Hey! Kazuma?! That's all you need, right?! Kazuma?! I want a thank you too!" Aqua went from dignified, to shocked anger, to whining in the span of about two and a half seconds. Kazuma looked to the side, letting out a long and dramatic sigh.
  
  However, all the same, he offered a polite bow to Aqua. "Oh magnificent goddess, thank you for your gift," he said in a deadpan tone, something that Aqua either didn't notice or pretended not to hear.
  
  "Ahem," Aqua cleared her throat, regaining her dignified air. "Go forth my champion and save the world!" She instructed, pointing towards the door. For a solid few seconds, if I had never met Aqua, I would have been able to understand why so many people were obsessed with her. Then she immediately ruined it. "Just don't save it too quickly. I'm still having fun in the mortal world, and I don't want to go back yet."
  
  That was probably my fault, I could admit. I didn't just skip six months" worth of struggling. I skipped straight to the high life. Mansions, money, power, and respect, and I had dragged Aqua behind me the entire way. She had become incredibly spoiled.
  
  But, at the same time, I didn't care. This world and Aqua deserved each other.
  
  "Right, right," Kazuma said, offering a much deeper bow to me. "Thank you for all you have done for me!" He said, and for a moment, he appeared to be a dignified and respectable adventurer himself. An image that he immediately ruined by him throwing his arms around the arm candy again, which were carrying his equipment like the world's loveliest pack mules, and heading out to join what I saw was a long caravan of attendants parked outside my front door.
  
  I will give the city of Axel this, I thought to myself as I stood on my front porch while Kazuma got onto the lead wagon.
  
  I was wrong about them not doing anything. There had to be thousands of people from the city that were parked in the place where there had once been a forest before Megumin had leveled. All of them following Kazuma to his fight with the Demon King. They had a fervor in them -- it was like the crusades, if the crusades had been led by a Jesus analog. I could only hope that it wouldn't end in the disaster most of the crusades were.
  
  But, that also wasn't my problem.
  
  "We're off!" Kazuma decided, dramatically pointing his sword into the air and pointing in the direction that I'm guessing the Demon King was in. A thunderous cheer went up from the people before, almost as one, they followed Kazuma's lead. I watched them go for a long moment, Hestia by my side.
  
  "What do you think of my Champion, you huge tittied Loli?" Aqua questioned, sounding immensely proud of herself. Like Kazuma was a child she had raised single handily.
  
  And there we go, I thought to myself, knowing better than to get involved in the argument. It quickly devolved into name-calling, but it never got physical. None of it was even particularly mean-spirited. Though, on the plus side, I was totally going to get permission to build a city around Axel. I wouldn't get to see it completed, but I didn't even care. It was a matter of principle.
  
  While they fought, I stepped back inside, letting out a huge sigh. Kazuma was officially off to deal with the Demon King. I had no clue when to expect that he would do the deed, but I was going to call it a month or so. Maybe more, maybe less. No clue.
  
  That left me to my own devices. Heading upstairs, I went to my workshop to resume working on my armor. As I walked, I heard Megumin scream again, followed by doors slamming. I might have investigated, but something else caught my attention.
  
  Standing outside of my workshop was Darkness. She fidgeted where she stood, one hand raised to knock. She wasn't wearing her armor, leaving her in her black skintight undersuit and a yellow skirt. I could hear her swallow thickly, and that wasn't because of my sensitive hearing.
  
  "Looking for me?" I asked her, cocking an eyebrow as she just about leaped out of her skin at the sound of my voice. It was an odd thing to note, but neither she nor Megumin had seen Kazuma off. I guess I had killed their friendship before it could be made.
  
  Darkness looked up at me with a blushing face that only seemed to intensify by the second. She looked around, looking at everything but me. She fidgeted where she stood, unable to meet my eyes.
  
  Then, she took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Darkness forced herself to meet my gaze, her cheeks still rosy red, but she adopted a serene expression. And, for a brief second, if I had never met Darkness before in my life, I could almost see why everyone thought that she was a selfless and pure-hearted crusader.
  
  "Please have s-sex with me," Darkness requested, only stammering a little with the request. Her embarrassment grew at how direct she was being, and to be completely honest, I was caught a bit flat-footed as well. It had been some time since I made the ultimatum -- that if she wanted sex, she had to drop the pretenses. "I, well, I-" she tried to force an explanation for her decision, but if any more blood rushed to her face then there was a genuine risk that there wouldn't be enough left for the rest of her body.
  
  But, even still, she persevered, "I know you aren't who I thought you were -- you won't sit around all day getting drunk and then force me to sell my body for a single eris," and the sheer disappointment in her tone... "Or force me to strip down naked in the city square and let men enact their base desires on my body." Jesus Darkness. "Or keep me in a sex dungeon where I'll never see the light of day again, and I'll be forced to subside only off of your c-cum." Her eyes became vacant, drool leaking from the corner of her mouth.
  
  She shook her head, "But even still, you're the perfect man for me! You're kind, and gentle, but you can also be an absolute brute that doesn't care at all for other people!" I... "You created a legendary figure because you were too lazy to kill the Demon King yourself! You even treat gods like annoying trash that exists only to irritate you! Ah~! And that scowl..." Darkness looked away, a shiver running through her body.
  
  You know what? I was just going to take the compliment in the spirit it was given and ignore the words themselves.
  
  "Darkness...," I trailed off, my gaze sliding from her to my workshop. I really should get to work. Time just became a limited resource. But... I also had the greenlight from Hestia, and now Darkness herself. I had been restraining myself a lot. A whole lot. Since before the War Game, it had been nothing but stress and pressure. So, why not blow off a little steam.
  
  Darkness looked up at me, awaiting my answer. She looked absolutely petrified of what my answer would be.
  
  "Strip," I told Darkness, my voice low and authoritative. Her eyes went so wide that they could have fallen out of her head. Her hands moved before her mind had processed the order.
  
  "Here?" She questioned, sounding equally excited and nervous about stripping down in the hallway.
  
  To that, I just smiled, "You're just getting undressed here. Then, you're going to walk to the library," I told her, earning a stunned look, but there was excitement dancing in her eyes. The library had the closest sex dungeon. That I knew about, at least. Given the situation, I think Darkness would prefer it more than a bed, or even losing her virginity in a hallway. Darkness was the embodiment of that saying; sticks and stones may break my bones but whips and chains excite me.
  
  Her gaze never left mine as she began to undress. Her breathing grew heavier by the second. Her skirt fell into a pile around her ankles, revealing her body in the form-fitting undersuit. It was a one-piece, the thin material doing nothing to hide anything. Her nipples were hard, poking through the material. Darkness swallowed thickly before she tugged at the neckline of the undersuit, the material stretching as she pulled it down.
  
  Her skin was the color of cream, not a flaw in sight. She hesitated a moment before she pushed the material over her breasts, revealing them to me. And, there was just no way to say it -- Darkness's boobs were absolutely huge. Hestia, until now, held the champion belt when it came to the largest breasts I had seen, but Darkness had her beat. They were large enough that I doubt I could fully engulf them with my hands without spillage. The same hands that were able to completely engulf people's heads when I threw them around.
  
  Despite their size, there wasn't a hint of sag. You'd think they were a B-cup for their spry perkiness. A lewd smile appeared on Darkness's face, catching me openly admiring her breasts. She pushed the material over her flat stomach that was etched with her abs. Her thighs were thick, and her hips were wide -- I wasn't one for body types, but I'm pretty sure that it was an undeniable fact that Darkness had the perfect body for being bred. A body that was made for the sole purpose of getting fucked.
  
  Her hands went to protect her modesty, an arm cradling her breasts while the other hand went to hide her bare pussy from view. I cocked an eyebrow and Darkness lowered her arms, keeping them by her sides. She tried not to squirm as I drank in the sight of her body, the scent of her arousal was already growing strong. Something Jericho has become intimately familiar at this point. So much so that it has probably become a permanent part of the library. Ink, musty paper, and Darknesses scent.
  
  "Well? Get going," I said, gesturing for Darkness to start walking. I chose to not make a comment about her body, something that Darkness seemed to enjoy as she turned around and began walking. Her ass was firm, a hint of softness but shapely curvaceous. Each step revealed the glistening sheen trickling down the inside of her thighs. She was leaking so much she looked like she had already experienced hours of foreplay.
  
  Darkness was a bit different from most girls. Well, a whole lot different. I was a fairly dominant guy. I could get a bit rough when the situation called for it. For Hestia, that was more than enough. For everyone I've slept with, that was enough. However, with Darkness, the roughest I've been so far was just the starting line.
  
  Darkness wanted humiliation. She wanted abuse. She wanted to be treated like a sex slave.
  
  So, as we walked, I prepared myself as much as Darkness prepared herself. Because this was going to be different. With Hestia, I knew exactly what she liked. But, with Darkness, what she liked was a couple miles outside of my comfort zone. So I was going to have to take an approach that would scratch the itch for both of us.
  
  By the time we reached the library, drops of arousal were dripping from Darkness with each step she took, leaving a shimmering trail on the floor. Her heavy breathing was on the verge of passing into hyperventilation when her hand reached out to the book that served as the sex dungeon"s door handle and pulled it back. The door slid open, and as we both descended the stairs, I closed the door behind us, plunging the room into temporary darkness. The sex dungeon lit up in a low light as the magic braziers lining the walls ignited, revealing tools of the trade.
  
  "Before we start," I said, placing my hands on Darkness's shoulders. "I need to know some stuff -- what's your Endurance stat?" I asked -- mine was in the thousands, but-
  
  "Eight hundred and fifty," Darkness stated, her tone breathless as I blinked slowly. That was, as I understood, kinda an absurd number.
  
  My hands glided down over her arms, "You really dumped everything into Endurance to be the best cocksleeve you could be, huh? I guess I should admire your dedication." Darkness made a noise of protest, but it came out more like a mewl of approval. "And every once and a while, I'm going to ask you how you're feeling. Greenlight is keep going, yellow light is slow down, and red light is stop. Okay? Be honest -- I know that you like pain, but it would hurt me if I did something that really hurt you in a way that can't be healed, Darkness. Do you understand?"
  
  Darkness nodded, but a few seconds passed before she realized I wanted her to say it. "I understand."
  
  "Good. Now, turn around," I told Darkness, letting go of her. She turned around her expression already on the verge of an ahegao. "On your knees," I told her. Luckily, Darkness was tall enough that when she fell to her knees with a heavy thump, she was at face height with my dick. Darkness knew exactly where this was going. "Take it out, Darkness."
  
  She didn't waste any time doing exactly that. She undid my pants, and my dick sprung free in its own bid for freedom. It smacked onto her face, mirroring the first time she had been on her knees before me. Her breathing tickled the underside of my cock, her eyes going cross-eyed just to look at it. Her expression was one of worship.
  
  "It's..." Darkness breathed, looking up at me with a pleading stare.
  
  "Suck it," I order her, and Darkness did exactly that. There was no hesitation. There was no moment of reflection. There was nothing but action. At that moment, Darkness was lust incarnate -- she grabbed hold of my cock, her hands failing to completely encompass it before she opened her mouth as wide as it would go and immediately shoved as much of my cock into her mouth as she could.
  
  Almost instantly, I hit the back of her throat, earning a harsh cough. It seemed that Darkness actually had a gag reflex, but Darkness was nothing if not dedicated. She sputtered and coughed, but she pushed her head forward, forcing my cock passed her gag reflex and wrapping her throat around my cock. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes, dripping down her cheeks as she struggled, but she still pushed herself forward, driven to take all of me into her throat.
  
  A task that she succeeded at -- I felt her nose brush against my groin as my entire length disappeared into her mouth. I could see the bulge in her throat from where my dick pressed against it from the inside. Her throat was tight, and her tongue moved sporadically as she made an effort to not touch me with her teeth. In all honesty, I was a bit blown away. My first instinct was to offer some praise -- it's what Hestia would want. So... I should do the opposite of that.
  
  "I'm waiting for you to start," I told Darkness and that was probably a mistake, as her eyes rolled back, the sound of her feminine cum splashing against the stone floor echoing in the sex dungeon.
  
  Darkness reached out, her hands grabbing hold of my thighs for leverage. Slowly, she extracted herself from her position impaled on my dick, a wet shine covering my length where she receded as spit dripped down. She took in a deep breath, her tongue swirling around my cockhead. Then, with no warning, Darkness slammed her face forward like she was trying to headbutt my stomach. Not just try, but she did -- I felt her forehead smack into my abs, the length of my cock vanishing down her throat in an instant.
  
  Just as quickly, she pulled her head back, only to slam it forward once again. Darkness proceeded to face fuck herself, drool dripping down her chin in messy strings, splattering on me with each impact of her head. Her eyes were shining with tears, but Darkness relentlessly fucked her mouth with my cock -- there was no finesse, no skill. Nothing but the sheer determination to hate fuck herself until she passed out or I blew my load.
  
  It was working too. Her mouth was wet and hot, the tightness was incredible, and the trembling and clenching of her throat as it tried to eject me taught me the meaning behind the term 'mouth-pussy' as it massaged my length. Above all else, however, was the effect seeing the determination in her eyes had on me as she relentlessly fucked her mouth with my cock.
  
  The room filled with the wet, sloppy sounds of her throat and face slapping into my abdomen, as well as the sound of her fingers messily sliding in and out of her pussy as she fingered herself. At the start, she made a token effort of concealing that fact, but now she openly pleasured herself. She came twice while deep throating me -- two heaving orgasms that had her eyes rolling in the back of her head, but she still diligently choked on my cock as she rode them out. My orgasm inched closer, but I held back my groans and gave no outward sign of it.
  
  Darkness slammed her face forward once more and pulled back, only this time I pulled myself free of her mouth before she could come back down. My cock throbbed, before I came. A thick rope of white cum splattered over Darkness's face, some of it shooting over her entirely. Darkness opened her mouth wide, sticking her tongue out to catch what she could in her mouth. I aimed down her gullet, filling her mouth with cum before I turned my attention to painting her tits.
  
  A sigh heaved out of me as Darkness made a show of savoring the taste of chocolate before she swallowed it all down. A drop of cum dripped from her breasts as she opened her mouth wide to show that it was all now safely secured in her stomach."You were so rough with me," Darkness said, earning a slow blink from me as she used a finger to scoop up more cum from her breasts.
  
  What do you mean, Darkness? I didn't move, Darkness. You did that to yourself, Darkness.
  
  Darkness shivered in delight, not hesitating in the slightest to lean down and lick a drop of cum off of the stone floor. She swallowed it down, and almost as if she were a bloodhound, Darkness zeroed in on the cum that had landed behind her. On her hands and knees, she crawled over to it, leaning down and licking it off the floor while presenting her pussy to me. It was drooling with arousal, and I saw that she had left behind a small puddle of it where she had been on her knees.
  
  My cock throbbed at the sight before I walked forward.
  
  Darkness was going to be a handful, I could see that. But she would be worth it.
  
  That much I knew.
  
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  Ideas-Guy
  Ideas-Guy
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  Darkness squealed as she felt herself being lifted up, the taste of chocolate heavy on her tongue. No one had ever told her that cum tasted like chocolate. Those maids at her father's manor -- they made it out as if the taste of semen was the worst thing in the world when they thought she wasn't listening in to their gossiping sessions.
  
  Darkness wasn't sure if she was disappointed or not-- chocolate was chocolate, but there was something thrilling in the idea of gagging down thick, disgusting cum while fighting off the urge to vomit.
  
  Any more time for thought was stripped from her when Jericho tossed her against the horse she had ridden for hours on end days before . She had been sore in the best of ways for days after. Grabbing hold of the wedge of the horse, Darkness peeked over her shoulder at the man behind her. A smile found its way onto her face as she beheld his savage form , her breathing growing harsher and her body growing so hot it felt like her blood had been replaced with fire.
  
  Jericho had the perfect body. There would always be a special place in her heart for ugly and overweight men, but Jericho's body was objectively perfect. It was too large, too muscly -- it was like it was handcrafted for the sole purpose of being as dominating as possible. His large hands perfectly engulfed her wrists, and he could effortlessly overpower her.
  
  He was her fantasy made flesh. All that power, and the willing was to use it. To take what he wanted, to do what he wanted... and, right now, what he wanted was her.
  
  Her body felt too hot. She could feel her arousal dripping down her legs, her needing and wanting pussy begging to be filled. Darkness flinched when she felt something press against her dripping entrance. Something far larger and thicker than her fingers. Her grip on the horse tightened, her breathing coming in harsh pants. It felt like steam should be escaping her with each breath, her womb warming her body like a bonfire nestled in her gut.
  
  This was it. This was it! The moment that she had dreamed of for so long. The context had changed as the years passed -- being used for stress relief by her party of Adventurers, clashing and losing against the Demon King as he had monsters hold her down, or a simple monster that decided to treat her as a broodmare. Darkness never would have expected that this was how she would lose her virginity, but the blood in her veins sang at the idea.
  
  "Beg," Jericho ordered, his voice low and rumbling . A single word command. As if she were a dog.
  
  "Hnngh~!" Darkness moaned, her body clenching down on empty air, desperate for something to be inside of her. Her legs felt weak, weaker than they ever had before. If she wasn't careful, she just might slide down Jericho's enormous cock. Her throat still felt raw from the brutal pace he had used to he fucked her face. It had been absolutely everything imagined when he had casually slapped his dick onto her face. All this time, and she could still recall the scent of spices and oranges.
  
  "I'm not going to ask again," Jericho said, delivering a sharp slap to her ass. She just about came as the pain hit her. He pressed harder at her entrance, spreading her nether lips, and it was almost enough for the tip to slip inside. He was going to take her from behind. Like a dog. Like she wasn't worth looking up at him as he stole her virginity -- her, the daughter and heir of a powerful noble family. Even better, she knew that he wouldn't care even if he did know of her lineage.
  
  Darkness's mouth was dry, "Please..." it was so embarrassing. Humiliating. And that made it all the better, even if she would prefer a different form of humiliation. It felt completely wrong -- she was a crusader of the Eris faith. She should never bow to such humiliation. Even if she enjoyed it, it was another thing entirely to willingly submit.
  
  And that's what Jericho was demanding of her. To choose his penis over her pride as a Crusader.
  
  He's perfect! [lol!]
  
  "Please! Please use your big fat cock to break in your newest cocksleeve! Use my slutty body to your heart's content! Forever mark me as your whore!" Darkness screamed at the stop of her lungs, and Jericho said nothing. Time had proven he was a man of action over words, and this time proved no different.
  
  His hips slammed forward, slamming into her ass hard enough that she felt her supple flesh rippled. Darkness felt the impact with every fiber of her being. Her face nearly thumped into the horse, and it felt like the breath was beingripped from her lungs. Her legs gave out instantly, but she didn't fall. She couldn't. Because of where she felt the impact most keenly of all.
  
  His massive cock slammed home inside of her, delivering what could only be described as an uppercut straight to her womb. It should hurt. She should bewrithing in pain, but all she felt was pleasure.
  
  Darkness had been on the verge of an orgasm this entire time, and it blindsided her with such intensity in that moment that she only realized that she had come several moments later when the tides of searing pleasure receded. She felt full. Fuller than she ever had before . Her body stretched over his invading member like a vice. Or a sleeve.
  
  Darkness smiled, drool dripping down her chin as her toes curled. The thought of it was almost enough to make her cum again.
  
  "You've ruined me," Darkness gasped, knowing she spoke the truth. No other man would ever be able to compare to this. How would she survive when he inevitably got tired of her loose body and threw her to the side? She would forever be drawn to Jericho, her body refusing all other pleasure that he didn't provide. "You ruined me~!" Darkness moaned, clenching down on his length and finding that she couldn't. Her body had a mind of its own.
  
  Jericho spanked her again, his hand striking the same place he had the first time. "Of course I did," He said, sounding like he expected nothing less. She found that confidence intoxicating. It was even better than those dreams that the succubi used to give her, before she had been barred from the establishment. He expected her to completely break because of his penis. As if it was a foregone conclusion that she could do nothing about.
  
  More than anything in the world, at that moment, Darkness wanted to break.
  
  Jericho shifted behind her before she felt a hand grab her by her ponytail. It hurt a little when he pulled her hair, his grip tugging her head back while the other gripped her at the waist. Darkness went cross-eyed as he slowly extracted himself from her lewd body. Sex was so much better than she could have possibly imagined. The pleasure was so intense, the pain and humiliation so raw, beyond anything could have ever given herself. It was frightening in a way that made Darkness feel drunk on pure ecstasy.
  
  As depraved as it was, Darkness prayed to Eris that this could be the rest of her life -- Jericho fucking her.
  
  "I'm about to start," Jericho said, and she could feel his rumbling voice throughout her body.
  
  "...Eh?" Darkness gasped out, not comprehending the words. What did he mean that he was about to start--
  
  Darkness received her answer a second later when her vision filled with stars -- Jericho thrust into her and pulled out, only to repeat the action. She felt the impact of his hips slapping into her ass rattle her bones, the sounds of her lewd body echoing in her ears, but it was all overshadowed by the white-hot pleasure coursing through her. It was indescribable -- sex wasn't something that you did, it was something that you experienced with all five senses.
  
  He used her ponytail to yank her back as pounded into her wet and needy sex, his other hand digging into her hip -- pulling her body backwards in a near perfect arc, while her legs, of their own accord , hooked around his legs to give him better leverage to use to ravish her. With each powerful thrust, her obscenely large breasts bounced until her own hands came up to gab and twist them. She pawed at herself, her fingers finding her painfully hard nipples and tormenting them -- she pinched, twisted, and pulled at the sensitive nubs.
  
  She couldn't wait until Jericho knocked her up and they began producing milk.
  
  Time meant nothing to Darkness as Jericho pounded her into submission. The mind-numbing pleasure and intensity of their coupling beyond anything she could have ever imagined. She measured time by the rhythmic gouging of her stomach as he violated her in body and spirit. Her orgasms washed over her like the waves of the tide, rolling over her head one after another.
  
  Each one hit her like a tidal wave, crushing her under tons of water before dragging her out into the sea that enveloped her in an ocean of white-hot ecstasy. Her body rose out of it naturally, but before she could so much as take a breath, another tidal wave slammed into her and dragged her back out into the depths of the ocean.
  
  It could have been minutes. It could have been days. It could have been years, even. Jericho fucked her all the same, playing her body like an instrument that he was a master of.
  
  However, regardless of how long it had been, Jericho slammed his hips into her, burying his penis as deep as he could go, before it felt like pure fire was released into her womb. Darkness howled in pleasure, a scream ripping from her throat as she felt her womb be filled with his seed. And to her horror, her body proved too small of a container because it spilled out despite how tightly her body griped Jericho's length. Darkness howled in pleasure, a scream ripping from her throat as she felt her womb fill with his seed. To her horror, her body proved too small of a container. The excess spilled out despite how greedily her body gripped Jericho's length.
  
  Her hands left her breasts, reaching down between her legs where they were connected to scoop up the seed that escaped. It smeared onto her hands,forcing her to lick it up to avoid wasting a single precious drop. It no longer tasted of chocolate, but something else-- something sweet, and familiar, that she couldn't quite place. Darkness managed to lickher hands clean before Jericho unceremoniously dropped her. Darkness fell down, sliding off of his dick and to the floor without his strong arms to hold her up.Darkness reacted instantly, placing a hand between her legs againto catch his cum as itseeped out of her rather than using it to breakher fall.
  
  "You came so much inside of me," Darkness breathed, panting for breath. The palm of her hand felt full so she brought her hand up to lap upthe contents. Some still spilled onto the floor, however -- and in a display that would forever shame her, Darkness pivoted to lick that up too, while her other hand moved to prevent any more of Jericho's precious cum from hitting the ground. She treated it with the same devotion as she would a sacred object of her faith.
  
  "You really are in a class of your own, Darkness," Jericho said. It sounded like praise, but she enjoyed it just as much as she would words of scorn.
  
  Once the floor was clean, Darkness looked up to see that his penis still stood at attention. It was coated in her juices and his own, and Darkness felt herself falling in love. It had impressed her before, but now that she had experienced what it could do to her, Darkness knew that she couldn't live without Jericho's cock. Jericho let out a breath of amusement. The dismissiveness of it was perfect.
  
  Her newfound love lowered itself to her face, and Darkness opened her mouthwide to accept it her abused throat once again filling up with Jericho's cock. Her body tried to reject him, coughing and sputtering so much that it sent drool dripping down her chin, but she fought against her body's rebellious reflex. If Jericho wanted to have her gag on his dick until she blacked out, she'd happily do so.
  
  Though, it seemed that he disappointingly decided to take mercy on her and withdraw his cock. Darkness heaved, looking up at Jericho with blurry eyes as tears had gathered involuntarily in her eyes. To her horror, he took a step back. Had she done something to displease him?
  
  "Never thought I'd need a sex dungeon, but it sure is convenient," Jericho remarked, before he headed to one of the corners of the dungeon. He grabbed a standing mirror he had spotted earlier before unfolding it, revealing that it was actually three mirrors attached together. "What light are you, Darkness?"
  
  For a split second, Darkness had absolutely no clue what he meant. Her mind felt hazy and filled with the aftershocks of countless orgasms. Then it clicked a few seconds later, "Green." She would always be green. No matter what depraved act he wanted to do to her, Darkness would happily submit.
  
  Jericho spared her a glance, trying to see if she was lying or not. He seemed satisfied that she wasn't, because he said nothing in response. Instead, he grabbed a bench and set up the mirror around it. Darkness clenched, and it was only then that she realized just how empty she felt without his thick cock plugging her up. Jericho took a seat, the bench groaning under his weight, before he looked to her. "Come," he ordered, and she nearly did.
  
  He was treating her like a dog. So she crawled forward on all fours like one, her gaze affixed to his cock and her ass wagging in the air behind her. Her legs felt numb from her savage fucking, but she made her way to him all the same. Once she had arrived in front of him, Jericho raised her up, forcing her to look at the three mirrors that displayed her body. The sight was a striking one. There were spots of cum that she had missed on her breasts, tear marks tracking downher cheeks, and her groin was absolutely drenched.
  
  What would her father say if he could see her now? He"d disown her in a heartbeat -- she'd threw away her virginity, ruining her prospects as a nobleman"s wife. It was a humiliation she'd bear for the rest of her life. Darkness couldn"t be happier about it. She"d do it all over again, no matter the cost! This was where she belonged -- in a sex dungeon, and filled to the brim.
  
  Jericho"s cock poked her, but not the entrance that he had previously used. Darkness watched as her expression changed. For so long, she had taken great care to conceal her true nature. No one knew her true desires. Yet, the facade came crashing down. An uncertain but excited smile found its way to her face, her face flushed with depraved anticipation.
  
  She couldn"t wait. She didn"t have it in her. Her pride had been cast away, and her will to resist along with it. Darkness threw herself down, impaling herself on Jericho"s cock and felt herself be ruined twice over. Her head rolled back as his cock pierced her bottom, her vagina clenching on empty air as she came a little from the impact -- she would have fallen over if Jericho wasn"t behind her.
  
  "Greedy girl," Jericho remarked, reaching up and pinching her chin to force her to look at her reflection. From three different angles, she saw exactly what kind of woman she had become -- the shameful expression of pure joy on her face at having his dick inside her butt, the eyes bright with lust... even whores didn"t look so shameful.
  
  Darkness clenched around his length, feeling out how high it went inside her. It felt like his dick was pushing up against her stomach -- she had felt full when he was inside her pussy, but anal made her feel even fuller than before. The pleasure was different from normal sex, but the feeling was equally as intense. Almost like different flavors of the same dessert. Her favorite dessert.
  
  But, as delicious as they were separate, combining them proved almost to be too much for her. Darkness watched in awe as Jericho"s free hand traveled her body -- cupping one of her large breasts and roughly pinching the nipple, earning a low moan from her in response. His hand ran over her stomach,before it settled between her legs. Darkness"s mouth hung open, her breathing reduced to nothing but harsh pants. It felt like pure electricity was flowing through her when his fingers slipped into her slutty pussy. It was less filling than his penis, but combined with the dick in her ass it was too much. Far too much.
  
  "Yes~!" Darkness came, her hips bucking as she gushed with enough force that it splattered over the mirror. However, when Jericho took that as a cue to actually start fucking her, Darkness"s vision started to fade to black.
  
  This... she would never be able to get enough of this.
  
  ...
  
  I lost a day fucking Darkness. A full twenty-four hours of nonstop sex. The only breaks were for food and the time that she blacked out early on. I woke her up trying to extract myself from inside of her, and the session continued. It was actually kinda incredible considering that she was a virgin. Endurance really made all the difference in the world.
  
  It was kind of odd to think about, but Darkness was the sexual equivalent to me -- you know, except that I wasn't a masochist.
  
  "Phew," I said, throwing on my shirt. Darkness was on a table, covered from head to toe with cum like a glazed donut. It leaked out of her various holes. A full day is what it took to tire her out. She would come to eventually, and if the first impression hinted at anything, she'd want round. And I would lose another full day. As enjoyable as that sounded, I did have other things to do.
  
  So, after sparing Darkness one last glance, I ascended the stairs and stepped into the library. I heard footsteps outside, but when I stepped out, I didn't see anyone. Doing a quick check of the time, I saw that it was around noon, so I started walking.
  
  "-peaceful rest," I heard someone say, the voice reaching me from around the corner. Rounding it, I saw that it was Hestia -- her hands were clasped in a prayer to herself, her eyes closed, but she seemed to hear me because she threw a wide smile at me. "Jericho!"
  
  "Hey -- I was about to head to Axel. Wanna come?" I asked, though I suspected I knew what the answer was going to be when I saw the expression on her face.
  
  She looked to the side, "Aqua already went to Axel." she said. Meaning that the city would be heaping praise on her and would generally be incredibly obnoxious. In theory, at least.
  
  "The crazies left with Kazuma," I pointed out. That would probably help things calm down a bit. The ones that had started to guard the city gates to prevent 'heretics' from entering were probably all gone, so I wouldn't need to fight my way into the city from now on. Which was actually a little disappointing. I had taken to wearing my rings into the city, so my stats were a lot lower. Barely a fraction of what they had been.
  
  Fighting my way through blood-thirsty zealots that held an intense and personal hatred for me and who were willing to do everything they could to prevent me from entering... well, it almost reminded me of the Dungeon. I was seeing some rather nice stat growth.
  
  Hestia seemed to think about it for a moment before she glanced over at something next to her. "Maybe next time," she offered with an apologetic smile. I just shrugged my shoulders, accepting the answer.
  
  "Alright. Want me to grab anything?" I asked as I started to walk away, Hestia quickly rattled off a grocery list for me to pick up. Basics. Hestia had taken to cooking for the Familia, and I found that she loved having a full pantry.
  
  After that, I made my way to the city of Axel. I had been right about one thing -- the city felt a lot emptier. I noticed it as soon as I stepped through the unguarded gate, the streets were never full to the brim, but it was pretty common to see people milling about. However, on the main road, there were probably less than thirty people in total.
  
  Striding forward, for possibly the first time since I had arrived here, I didn't receive untold amounts of stink-eye from everyone that I passed by. Oh, I received some alright, but it was a lot less intense than what I typically got from members of the Axis cult. No one so much as spat at me, much less tried to 'trip' or 'accidentally' stab me in the kidney with a rusty, shit-covered knife. Axel almost seemed peaceful once again, if a bit emptier than it had been.
  
  For now at least, I thought to myself as I heard the distant sounds of cheering. Walking by the Guild Hall, I saw Aqua on a table performing that- absolutely incredible- stupid fucking party trick. She was already working on a second wave of conversions. Her worshipers would be absolutely unbearable when they returned from their not-crusade. As much as I hated to admit it -- and I really, really, really, hated to admit it -- Aqua was currently winning the conversion race.
  
  I had to think of something soon. I refuse to let that idiot beat me in anything. Hestia needed more worshipers.
  
  A sigh escaped me as I continued onward to my destination -- a set of stairs in a back alley. A place that was never advertised, but everyone knew was here. The last time I had been here, it had been quite a scene.
  
  "Welcome- oh! Er... welcome?" The greeter said, drawing attention to me, and sounding far less certain about welcoming me into their place of business. I looked around the succubi bar. It looked relatively unchanged, except for the fact it was a lot emptier. Though, last time I was here, it had been a party, so I really didn't know if this was what it typically looked like.
  
  That being said, I doubted it. Succubi milled around, sitting at the bar and at the tables, idly chatting until they saw me enter and their interest perked up a bit.
  
  I reached into my inventory to display the coupon, earning some incredibly dull stares. Wow. "I had a few things I wanted to speak to you all about. Is your boss in?" I asked them, making the succubus behind the counter at the bar perk up. Her curves were every bit as lascivious as Darkness's -- and I wasn't sure who that said more about -- and she only wore a small bathing suit thing. It amounted to a very stretched-out V-shaped sling bikini, covering her nipples and vagina, if only barely, while leaving her mocha-colored skin bare.
  
  "I'm listening," she said, leaning forward as she cupped her breast. "But I'm not sure what use you would have for dreams. I can smell the sex on you," she said, earning a cocked eyebrow from me. I was pretty sure Natural Deodorant would have taken care of that.
  
  I walked forward, uncaring of those listening in. Actually, it was better for me that way.
  
  "That's partly why I'm here. I hooked up with Darkness-" I said, and I instantly got a thousand-yard stare at the mere mention of her name. That was... wow. Darkness, just what wet dreams did you ask for to get a reaction like that. "And I know she's a world-class masochist. So, I was wondering if it was possible to do something like giving me dream training so I can safely learn what she's into."
  
  Sex was fun, but safety did come first. I didn't have much experience with BDSM beyond being a generally dominant person, and pinning someone's hands down as we fucked. There was stuff like choking and other more extreme things that you really shouldn't be learning in the heat of the moment.
  
  The succubus blinked slowly, "I'm not sure you want to learn what she's into." She remarked drily, a feeling that I could tell was shared by the other succubi in the room. "That girl... I'm not sure the word masochist truly encapsulates what she is..."
  
  What the fuck Darkness?
  
  However, after saying that the succubus shook her head, "But you're welcome to give it a shot. We can do so now if you would like. As you can see, demand has been rather low with all of our usual clientele off fighting the Demon King," she said, walking around the counter and walking over to the couch that Kazuma had been snorting something off a naked succubus. She gestured to it.
  
  Huh. That was actually perfect. "That was another thing I wanted to talk to you about," I said, taking a seat. Reaching into my inventory, I pulled out a small crystal. A little something I had whipped up. "I'm working with Wiz to provide items for her shop -- this is a storage medium I made for dreams. Would you be able to imprint a dream onto this? It connects to a headset that can let someone experience what's in the crystal without needing to be asleep." To that, she blinked slowly, taking the chip from my hand.
  
  Her gaze slid to me, then to the chip. "Compensation is nice, but the purpose of this little bar is to sate our need for life force. Unless each of those headsets come with a free succubus, I'm not sure what we have to gain from destroying our current business model."
  
  That was a point I had thought of beforehand, so I had an answer ready. "Not destroy, just change. Which, from the sounds of it, you need right now. I'll leave the specifics to be discussed between you and Wiz since I'm just the supplier." I said, making the Succubus think on it. She pointedly glanced over the empty room and the succubi that were trying very hard to look like they weren't hanging off of my every word.
  
  Then, with a theatrical sigh, she focused on the crystal for a second. "There. It has the last dream that Darkness requested before she was blacklisted, altered to be a training manual," she said as I pulled a headset from my inventory.
  
  Darkness, what the fuck.
  
  "...Right," I said, sliding the crystal in before I put the headset on. Turning it on, I saw... nothing? Huh. So, either it didn't work or the object fell underneath an illusion, meaning that my Mind Defense rejected it. "Could someone else try it? I have a Divine blessing that makes it impossible for illusions to work on me." I said, taking the headset off.
  
  That earned me a few odd looks, but it wasn't like they didn't know about Hestia.
  
  None of the Succubi wanted to, so they played rock, paper, scissors to see who would bite the bullet. The one that was picked was a young-looking girl, the one that had been sent to Kazuma's mansion in canon. However, before she could put it on, the boss Succubus took it out of her hands. "You aren't prepared for this, little one," she said before putting the headset on.
  
  Seriously, what the fuck, Darkness?
  
  The boss Succubus shivered before she quickly took off the headset and passed it back to me. There was a dull, almost lifeless look in her eyes. Like she had stared into the abyss. Like she had witnessed the very worst of humanity"s depravity. And, knowing Darkness, that might be a little too close to the truth. "It works just fine."
  
  "... Right..." I muttered, taking it back as I eyed the headset. I shoved it into my inventory.
  
  The boss Succubus let out a sigh, "Since we couldn't fulfill your first request, perhaps there's something we can do to make up for it?" She questioned, giving me a coy look. "I've heard a great deal about you -- we all have. Perhaps we can show you a skill?" She asked, and I knew that she was playing with me, but she had my attention. "A skill?"
  
  "One that's only known by succubi -- Vitality Transfer. You see, when we consume the seed of adventures, we take a small smidgen of their life force. However, it would be possible to take a great deal more. It could possibly kill them, especially if they're weaker, which is why our target demographic is adventurers, but the more we consume the more powerful we become." She explained, cozying up to me. "However, there is a lesser-known use for it -- you can empower others with your seed. Drinking it is good, anal is better, but a womb full of cum is best."
  
  Okay, now she really had my attention. That sounded powerful. Not for me, but for the other members of the party. I would always have my ways of growing stronger -- but the progress for the others would always be a lot slower. With a skill like that, it meant that I could empower the other members of my familia.
  
  "Are the effects permanent?" I asked, earning a small shrug.
  
  "It's more of a battery -- others can bank up a lot of charge, but the more you use, the less you have until you can get another... refill." She said, dragging a hand up my arm and feeling my bicep. The action felt familiar.
  
  "I'd like to learn the skill," I admitted, "But, if you"re looking for life force as compensation, I'm afraid you won't be able to take it from the tap," I stated in no uncertain terms. That caused her to withdraw her hand, graciously taking the hint. "But... I do think we can come to an arrangement," I tacked on.
  
  The Sucbbbus smiled, reading my mind. After all, there was a great deal of spillage in the sex dungeon.
  
  I'm sure Darkness wouldn't mind.
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  Ideas-Guy
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  "He's actually going through with it," Megumin realized with some awe as construction began around Axel. It was foundational stuff, like digging out level foundations for houses and roads and that kind of thing. It was happening all around Axel, whose citizens were being paid to work to build a city around the city of Axel.
  
  It was the single greatest act of spite that Megumin had ever witnessed. It was stupid. And completely wasteful. Who knew how much money Jericho was just throwing away? But, the incredible thing was that Jericho didn't care.
  
  He hated the city of Axel so much that he was willing to burn mountains of cash to inconvenience the city. Megumin knew that if she were to ask him, then Jericho would say that it was absolutely worth it. And he would actually believe it.
  
  It was honestly incredible.
  
  "Is this how Axel was before the crazies came?" Hestia questioned, walking beside her. They were about the same height, so it was especially unfair it looked like she was smuggling water balloons in her dress. Megumin's gaze lingered on her bouncing chest for a moment before she looked out at the city of Axel.
  
  It was a lot emptier, for starters. Almost half of the city had picked up and left after Kazuma a few weeks ago. So, while Axel was still larger than most cities, the population was really thinned out. Not only that, but Megumin saw a person walking with a headset on, skipping past them with his arms outstretched as if he were running through a field of wheat or a meadow of flowers.
  
  "About the same, more or less," Megumin answered as she walked with her new goddess. That was pretty weird, but getting a divine blessing, even if it was in the form of a back tattoo more than made up for any reservations she would have had about the whole 'goddess' business. Megumin liked to keep it simple -- messy topics like gods and life after death... if the answer didn't involve explosions, then Megumin had decided that she didn't care.
  
  Leave the theology to theologians, and leave explosions to explosion mages.
  
  That opinion had been reinforced after the Axis cult invaded Axel. Though, it wasn't all bad. All she had to do was say that she was friends with Aqua, and they let her practice her explosion magic wherever she wanted. The law really was about who you know rather than what was right or wrong. A part of Megumin rebelled against the knowledge of how corrupt and unjust the legal system really was, but that part of her was drowned out by the knowledge that if she did somehow manage to set things right, she would have to go back to only being able to practice her explosion magic where it was 'safe' and 'legal'. The very idea of restricting where and when she could create explosions made her teeth itch. So the corrupt and unjust system would just have to remain until she stopped benefiting from it.
  
  "Huh, it reminds me of Orario. It was filled with oddballs too," Hestia remarked, watching as another man with a headset on lashed out with an invisible sword. He appeared to be fighting and felling imaginary enemies. "Jericho's invention really caught on," she noted, spotting another person wearing one. A group of children that were playing in the same vicinity, but they all seemed to be playing different games.
  
  Megumin nodded, "I'm seeing them everywhere," she agreed. Her name was on the list to get one, but there was a huge backlog. It would be weeks until she got a headset of her own since Jericho was super stingy and refused to give her special treatment. "Is that how he's affording the second city?" She questioned, earning a chuckle from Hestia.
  
  "Jericho was a pretty prolific adventurer before he became a craftsman," Hestia answered. "He used to travel across the land delving into ancient tombs and finding treasure." Megumin nearly fell flat on her face when she heard that. That sounded...
  
  "Cool!" Megumin gasped, just picturing it now -- it was hardly news that Jericho was an experienced Adventurer, but she hadn't realized just how successful he had been at it. She pictured him wandering into tombs, fighting off of hordes of undead and their commanding lichs , ransacking their burial grounds and claiming their treasure as his own.
  
  Hestia flashed her a sunny smile, "Of course! Jericho is my first child, after all," she proudly proclaimed, as if the fact that he was awesome was a forgone conclusion. Her first, and her favorite, Megumin noted. She didn't really care though. It'd be pretty weird otherwise if Jericho wasn't the favorite, but it did make her a little jealous. Mostly because it seemed that the favorite could get away with absolutely anything they wanted.
  
  "What made Jericho pick Craftsman of all things? He's good at it, but it seems to be a weird choice for someone like him," Megumin questioned. She, like everyone in the city, had heard about the Adventurer with incredibly high stats. All of them in the thousands, according to rumors, which made him the equivalent of a team of elite Adventurers all on his own. That he was twelve feet tall, he wore the armor of a demon, and that he wielded an obviously evil cursed sword.
  
  He had sounded so cool that Megumin had just had to meet him. Which made it a huge shock when she later found out that his class was Craftsman. The most generic of all of the crafting classes.
  
  Hearing her question, Hestia's good mood seemed to bleed out of her, leaving the smaller woman looking deflated. "He died," she answered shortly. "And a lot of his friends did too. So... he gave it up," she explained, and now Megumin regretted asking, because it was obviously a sore subject. Even though Hestia did offer a feeble smile, "But he's going to get back on that horse eventually."
  
  She sounded convinced, so Megumin chose to believe her. For her, being an Adventurer was... fun. Exciting. She got to use explosion magic, she got to show off, and... the only down side of it was that no party would see her brilliance. They all ended up abandoning her when they learned that she collapsed after one use of explosion magic. Which made it hard to feed herself, so she was forced to rely on the food gathering skills that she had perfected in her childhood to get by.
  
  Death seemed... permanent. It wasn't. Especially not with a Divine Cleric around. But the effects of death had a lasting impact.
  
  Jericho felt like someone that had been existing for the sake of existing until Hestia arrived. She hadn't seen it until then, but comparing him now to the Jericho she had met, the contrast was obvious.
  
  So, Megumin smiled, "I can't wait to blow up bad guys with Jericho! It's going to be so much fun!" She said, hugging her staff to her chest at the glorious explosions that awaited them in the future. Hestia smiled in response, before pointing out that they had arrived at their destination. Megumin looked over to see Wiz's shop.
  
  Everyone had known Wiz in the city. She used to be a super powerful adventurer before coming to Axel and setting up a shop. The magical items she sold were super incredible, but they came with a price tag to match. Megumin had never stepped inside before since she didn't even have the money for food, much less super cool magical items with really awesome effects.
  
  Pushing the door open, Megumin saw that Wiz was helping a customer. There was a bright look on her face, a glow of joy, as she passed along a headset to her, one that Megumin recognized as one of the ones that Jericho made. "Here is your order!" Wiz said, as the girl took it.
  
  "It's so light!" She said, "thank you!" Her voice sounded familiar. Megumin realized who it was a split second before she turned around. Megumin"s eyes widened as her gaze connected with Yunyun, a fellow member of the Crimson Demon Clan and an old... acquaintance of hers . Yunyun"s eyes widened, a bunch of expressions crossing over her face as she recognized her in turn .
  
  Yunyun was... weird for a Crimson Demon. That word probably summarized her character best. When she had first declared herself as Megumin's eternal rival, Megumin had thought she was making fun of her. Megumin's family was so poor that her clothes could have been considered family heirlooms, because they had been passed down so many times that it was entirely possible that they could have been worn by her great, great, great grandmother. Yunyun, however, was the daughter of the Crimson Demon chief.
  
  That changed when Yunyun had saved her little sister Komekko. But, after that... it became hard just to speak to her. Simply because she hadn't hesitated to spend her precious class points to save her little sister.
  
  "Ah! Megumin," Yunyun began, going to strike a pose, only for her back foot to catch itself on the back of her leg. Megumin winced as YunYun fell flat on her face, the headset falling from her grasp where it bounced a few times before skidding to a halt on the floor.
  
  "Ah..." Megumin uttered, eying the broken eyepiece to the headset. It had been about a year since they last met, but it seemed some things never changed.
  
  Yunyun quickly righted herself, dusting off her skirt, and struck the pose successfully on the second try, even if she was blushing hard from the embarrassment. "A-At long last, we meet again, Megumin!" She said, her crimson eyes glowing.
  
  Hestia looked at her, "You know her? You two do look alike," Hestia noted, making Megumin's gaze dip down to the obscene tits that were on display. Did Yunyun's breasts get even larger since the last time she had seen her? Her dress pushed them up, making them appear even larger and left the top half of her cleavage on display. If you pulled down the dress even an inch, her boobs would pop out.
  
  "They're both members of the Crimson Demon Clan," Wiz answered, sporting even more powerful breasts, but at least she had the decency not to flaunt them. The buckles holding her coat closed were like the seals on some ancient and unfathomably dangerous monster.
  
  "Ohh!" Hestia said, sounding excited. Megumin's eyes ping-ponged back to her, and she realized that she was surrounded on all sides. This was a battle that she couldn't win. No matter how much milk she drank.
  
  "Hm. She's my self-proclaimed rival, Yunyun," Megumin offered, her tone flat. She didn't dare look down at her own body, knowing the disappointment she would find if she did so. She hadn't grown a millimeter since leaving the village.
  
  Yunyun pouted, "I'm not self-proclaimed! We've had plenty of duels! You challenged me all the time back at school, beat me up, and then took my lunch!" She pointed out, and Megumin pointedly ignored the looks she got from Wiz and Hestia. They didn't understand that those duels had been a matter of life and death!
  
  Yunyun's lunches were the only thing keeping her and her sister alive!
  
  "Oh...? Looking to settle the score, huh...?" Megumin intoned, settling into a stance of her own as she got ready to settle things the Crimson Demon way. Even better -- she could use her Explosion Magic inside the city now. Hestia could bring back anyone that died, and Jerchio would approve of the destruction wholeheartedly.
  
  However, before she could unleash the mighty power of Explosion Magic, Megumin felt someone pinch her cheek. "Friends shouldn't fight!" Hestia scolded her.
  
  ""You think we're friends? /We aren't friends !"" Megumin and Yunyun shouted at the same time, one with far more excitement than the other. Hestia just smirked at Megumin and let go of her cheek, leaving her to rub the rapidly fading red mark until the pain went away
  
  Hestia walked forward and scooped up the headset before presenting it to Yunyun, "A friend of my children is a friend of mine," she said.
  
  "Thank you! Wait- child?" Yunyun recoiled, almost as if she had been struck, "Megumin, you can't just denounce your family like that!" Yunyun said, switching from overwhelmed with elation to scolding her for abandoning her family in a heartbeat.
  
  Hestia chuckled, "Megumin hasn't disowned her family," she said, even though Megumin totally had. She had to. Her destiny was to fight the most powerful creatures in the world to display the power of Explosion Magic! She couldn't afford for her many enemies to discover that she had a family and use them against her as a weakness! "She's a member of my familia."
  
  "Oh...?" Yunyun uttered, sounding like she wasn't sure what that meant. "I see," she said, even though she obviously didn't.
  
  "It means that I"ve been blessed by a fallen god. I even have a cool back tattoo called a 'falna' made with her blood," Megumin explained proudly. Every Crimson Demon would be green with envy when they heard that.
  
  Yunyun made a face like she was grossed out at the idea of using someone's blood to make a tattoo, then she quickly caught herself and there were stars in her eyes.
  
  "An entire back tattoo? W-well... I have... this!" She said, presenting the headset in her hands proudly, and Megumin wasn"t jealous at all. Well, maybe she was a little jealous. "It"s a special edition that I got reserved for-... uh..." Yunyun looked away, blushing in embarrassment. Then that expression became one of abject horror when the broken eyepiece fell out and fell to the floor. The sound of shattering glass echoed out in the store.
  
  "Ah..." Megumin uttered, looking at the shattered pieces of the eyepiece. It had already been cracked, but the fall had completely destroyed it. Yunyun couldn"t even bring herself to look down, choosing to slowly turn around to look at an increasingly distressed-looking Wiz.
  
  "Er...," Wiz began, "I"m so sorry! We... we don"t have any others..." she said, looking like she was on the verge of tears for Yunyun. She looked to Hestia, distressed, who caught the hint. She walked over, patting Yunyun on the back.
  
  "Don"t worry, Jericho can fix it for you," Hestia said, volunteering Jericho for the task. Despite his strict ruling that he only did one batch a week, and that reservations had to be done through Wiz. But, because it was Hestia asking, Megumin knew that he was totally going to cave. Yunyun looked more puzzled than anything, cradling the broken headset to her chest. "He"s the creator of those things." Hestia explained.
  
  Wiz nodded, "He is. He has a bit of a poor reputation, but he"s actually a very kind-hearted individual. He"d be happy to fix your headset for you," And... Megumin didn"t think that was true. It really felt like everyone in the room was ignoring the fact that Jericho was building an entirely new city around Axel with the intention of quarantining the city. Sure, Jericho was nice to people that he liked, but...
  
  Megumin eyed Yunyun, who looked more hopeful and offered her a bashful look -- Yunyun fell under the category of a weird girl back home. When she lost her chance to use advanced magic as kids, everyone else excluded her because she just couldn"t do what everyone else could with Advanced Magic. Megumin had been in the same boat, but only because she didn"t waste her time with lesser magics.
  
  Would Jericho like her? For Yunyun"s sake, and whoever she was getting that headset for, Megumin hoped so.
  
  "Thank you..." Yunyun offered a bow to Hestia, her eyes flitting at her for some reason.
  
  "I actually have business with Jericho as well," Wiz informed as she swept up the broken glass. They looked at her expectantly, and she responded by taking out a single Eris that she displayed proudly. "I've made my first Eris. I wanted to thank Jericho for his help because I couldn't have done it without him. My investors were so surprised when I didn't ask for another loan this month," she said, sounding positively giddy.
  
  They all chose to ignore the worrisome part of what Wiz had just said and focus on the fact that she was making money instead, "That's fantastic!" Hestia offered in congratulations. "I was just going to check up on you, but let's go tell him the good news." Hestia decided, choosing to ignore all of their other errands. Not that Megumin was complaining -- her strength and endurance stats were super low, and Hestia always got massive amounts of food to bring home each week.
  
  Megumin wasn't sure where it was going.
  
  With that, they decided to head back to the manor. Wiz locked up -- it was easy to see that she was a little upset that she could just leave her store after selling the final headset in stock, but that was overshadowed by her joy as she clutched the Eris in her hands. Proof that her store could make a profit.
  
  Megumin swallowed her nervousness as they neared the manor that seemed to loom in the distance. She clutched her staff in her hands until her knuckles turned white beneath her fingerless gloves. Almost as soon as they stepped past the gate, Megumin felt an unnatural chill race down her spine.
  
  "Don't worry. Hestia is here. She'll protect us," She remarked to Yunyun, who eyed the mansion with apprehension. Instead of being reassured, she looked more apprehensive, wondering what they would need protection from.
  
  They didn't have to wait long to receive their answer. The lights flickered as they entered, every door swinging open at the same time, and Megumin saw a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. Hestia offered a hand for her to hold. It galled at her Crimson Demon pride, but she accepted it and gripped Hestia's hand like a life line.
  
  The mansion was haunted. Super haunted. It started had off small, but in recent weeks, it had gotten way worse. She had actually started hearing screaming coming from the library at odd hours of the day and night.
  
  The only safe places were near Hestia and Jericho. The former called the spirits. The latter... well, they were afraid of him so they didn't bother him. Oh, and Aqua. She blasted them with exorcism magic every chance she could.
  
  Yunyun grabbed her hand, while also holding hands with Wiz, forming a human chain. With Hestia leading the way, Megumin was able to closer her eyes-
  
  "AHHHHHH!" Yunyun screamed at the top of her lungs, too brave or too stupid for her own good.
  
  "That's just old Farmer Brown, he's a really sweet ghost," Hestia reassured her as they walked through the haunted mansion. There were jump scares around every corner. And Yunyun screamed at every single one of them.
  
  The worst part of it was that they ended up going to the back yard when they found that Jericho wasn't in his office. So, they endured it all for no reason at all. Megumin quickly let go of Hestia's hand in favor of fixing her hat and calming her racing heart.
  
  Yunyun walked forward on shaking legs that seemed to be made of spaghetti noodles, going as far as to fall in a heap the moment they left the building. Megumin looked up from beneath the brim of her hat to see that Jericho was working out in the yard.
  
  "Jericho!" Hestia greeted, making the humongous man pause what he was doing. He had been doing squats, the leads of a wagon in the palms of his hands as he pushed up, lifting the contents of the wagon. Which seemed to be nothing but metal bars.
  
  Sweat dripped down his body in rivulets, and there was a really cool set of black rings on his fingers. He actually seemed faintly surprised to see them -- rare for him since he always seemed to know where everyone was with pinpoint accuracy.
  
  "Hestia!" Aqua said, poking her head up from inside the wagon to reveal herself. She adopted a stance, showing that she was ready for combat at a moment's notice. Hestia did the same, the two goddesses glaring at one another, waiting for the other to make the first move. Wiz, however, completely ignored the growing tension. Probably because she was used to it at this point, though Yunyun looked between them with bewilderment.
  
  "Jericho, I've made my first Eris," Wiz announced and presented the Eris proudly before she offered a bow. "Thank you for all of your help. I couldn't have done it without you. If there's any way I can repay the favor, then please let me know." She said, sounding like she was absolutely determined to pay Jericho back for helping her save her business.
  
  In response, Jericho shrugged as he stepped away from the wagon, nearly making Aqua fall over with the action.
  
  Speaking of Aqua, she was somehow everything and nothing like Megumin had imagined the patron deity of the Axis Cult would be. But, that was a matter for another time. Her attention shifted back to Jericho as he dismissed the idea with a shake of his head.
  
  "It's fine, you don't have to worry about repaying me for anything," he said, waving her off. Megumin looked up at Jericho -- it was quite a feat given that he was way too tall and the brim of her hat was too wide. Most of the time she couldn't even see his shoulders, let alone his face. He sounded like he meant it, but...
  
  Wiz shook her head, proving to be surprisingly stubborn on the matter of repayment. "I do owe you a great deal. I gave you every reason to wish to see me fail, and instead, you chose to help me," she insisted, not budging an inch.
  
  "It's... alright. If I ever need a favor, I'll come to you," Jericho finally agreed, giving in a bit too easily, but he probably just saw that Wiz wouldn't let him get away without getting him to agree with her. Then his gaze slid over to her and Yunyun, who looked absolutely everywhere but at Jericho's bare and glistening chest. "Care to introduce your friend, Megumin?" He asked her, and this was the moment of truth.
  
  Yunyun, surprisingly, stepped forward, "I'm Yunyun of the Crimson Demon Clan, wielder of Intermediate Magic, and Megumin's arch-rival!" she introduced herself, managing to give a proper Crimson Demon greeting for possibly the first time in her life. "Nice to meet you... I dropped my headset, and it was meant to be a really important gift... I'm sorry to bother you, but... can you..." she lost steam the more she spoke, ending up trailing off as she awkwardly presented the headset to him.
  
  Internally, Megumin shed a silent tear for the brutal rejection she was about to receive-
  
  "Sure, no problem," Jericho said, stepping forward and taking the headset from her. Yunyun's face lit up, while Megumin's morphed into one of absolute disbelief. Eh? Eh?
  
  Ehhhhhhhhhhh?!
  
  "Ohoho-" Megumin laughed hollowly, looking up at Jericho with wide, angry eyes, pinning him with a ferocious glare. "I see, I see. So you have time to redo a headset for someone you just met, but not for a member of the familia I see," Megumin said, earning a dull look of incomprehenshion from Jericho as all the pieces clicked into place. "This is discrimination!" She proclaimed loudly, much to everyone's surprise.
  
  "I'm going to need an explanation. How am I discriminating against you?" Jericho asked. Megumin tsked, the sound unusually harsh and contemptuous as she shook her head.
  
  Talk about being blind to one own's faults.
  
  "I haven't forgotten those burnt pancakes that you gave me!" Megumin began with the most grievous offense, even if it had happened weeks ago.
  
  Jericho cocked an eyebrow, "Those were meant for Aqua." He defended himself, sounding unimpressed.
  
  "Hey! I never got any pancakes!" Aqua exclaimed, looking up as she and Hestia circled one another, still waiting for the other to make the first move. "Why would I get the bad ones?!"
  
  Megumin had the answer, "This Harem of a familia, being so nice to Wiz, and now to Yunyun, but treating me and Aqua so badly-- your intentions have never been clearer!" Megumin jabbed a finger at Jericho as she delivered her accusation, "You're discriminating against small breasts!" She shouted forcefully, and Jericho looked up at the sky, clearly anguished that his secret had been revealed.
  
  It made too much sense for it to be anything else. Everyone that had huge tits was treated better! Well, except for Darkness... but that was her thing, so technically she still counted!
  
  Aqua gasped dramatically, cupping herself before she began shooting dirty looks at every D-cup in the backyard, realizing that they were surrounded by all sides.
  
  "Hm. Yeah, that's probably what's happening," Jericho dismissed, sounding unimpressed with the accusation. "Or, maybe, I'm trying to feel them out to see if they would want to join the familia," he rebuked, making Megumin's jaw drop.
  
  Instinctively, as if her body was moving of its own free will, she grabbed Yunyun and shielded her with her own body. Yunyun, however, latched onto something said earlier, "A Harem?! I'm not, I'm just... you would want me in your harem...? " she asked, her entire body heating up at the thought.
  
  Megumin shot a fierce look at Jericho, her feelings of betrayal worsening tenfold. "You said I had to strip naked and bark like a dog in the middle of town just to join your party! Why does Yunyun get to join right out the gate?!" Megumin protested, earning a gasp from Yunyun.
  
  "I never said that. You said that," Jericho pointed out quickly. "I just wanted to teach you a lesson about latching onto men you just met. I was trying to help you."
  
  Megumin puffed out her cheeks, opening her mouth to respond, however, she caught a flash of light out of the corner of her eye. At first, Megumin thought it was another ghost. And she was almost right.
  
  Aqua let out a scream as something fell out of the flash that had appeared from thin air, landing next to her. Instinctively, Aqua hid behind Hestia for protection as everyone turned their attention to the mysterious object that hit the ground. There was black smoke drifting off of it, carrying the awful scent of burnt hair. A few seconds passed before the smoke thinned out enough that they could see what it was ...
  
  "Shit," Jericho cursed, as they all recognized the figure at once. There was no mistaking it. The body might be charred and blackened, but anyone in Axel would be able to instantly identify the unique clothing of the city's ... used to be living legend.
  
  The charred corpse of Kazuma the Legend stared up at the sky, his armor warped and broken at the chest, a shattered white blade in his grip. His fingers fused to the hilt. Megumin recoiled at the grizzly sight, but Jericho didn't.
  
  "Aqua! Hestia!" He snapped, snapping the two gods out of their shock. Aqua raised her hands and took in a deep breath.
  
  "Sacred Heal!" She said, making the body glow brightly as it was enveloped in healing light. The corpse's burnt skin smoothed out and regained a healthy hue, its brown hair grew back, and when the light faded, Kazuma's green eyes snapped open.
  
  Kazuma lurched up, his gaze wild as he looked around for the threat had killed him, only to pause when his gaze landed on Jericho. The large man dropped to a knee, his expression grave, more serious than Megumin had ever seen it before. Kazuma opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to find the words, but they just wouldn't come.
  
  Then, he just forced them out in a frantic voice, "Senpai...! The Demon King is a nobody. He's just some old guy and we beat him up super easily, but...! Then... then...! Then out of nowhere, we got attacked and they... they all had... super OP weapons!"
  
  Aqua went very still, an expression of encroaching panic on her face. Jericho frowned deeply, and his frown only deepened as Kazuma continued to ramble, the words falling out one after the other, "They were all dead. Like really dead, but there were so many of them and there was this leader guy who gave us this super dumb speech about how he's going to invade the multiverse now that he has enough OP items because of the gods, and how we were all going to join his army of undead, and I was all like 'no way'-" Jericho raised a hand, making the rambling stop short.
  
  "How many undead did you see?" He asked, his voice dangerously calm.
  
  Kazuma fought to calm down while Megumin fought to do the same. "Hundreds. Maybe a thousand? Maybe more? I couldn't tell," he admitted, his tone ashamed.
  
  Jericho nodded slowly, "During this speech of his... did he say what his next move was? Beyond... invading the multiverse?" Megumin didn't even know what that was, but it sounded cool, and frightening.
  
  There was a beat of silence before Kazuma swallowed thickly.
  
  "He... he said he's coming here. To thank the one who made his dreams possible."
  
  "Ah..." Aqua mumbled, cupping her head in her hands and beginning to make sounds of distress.
  
  Megumin clutched her staff. She had missed out on defeating the Demon King with Explosion Magic, but that just meant that she could blow up this other threat instead. She turned to look at Jericho, expecting to see him wearing an expression of easy confidence like always, but instead, she saw one of amusement.
  
  "I really hate always being right sometimes."
  
  ...
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed.
  
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  "So... the Demon King is dead," I remarked, looking at Kazuma, who looked pale and afraid. His gaze was distant, and it took him a moment to realize that I had asked him a question.
  
  However, he still nodded, "Y-yeah! I took care of him," Kazuma said, confirming it. That was good. Great, really. My gaze turned to Aqua, who had her head clutched in her hands while she muttered under her breath. I had seen this coming. Well, not that some guy was planning to invade the multiverse, but this whole general situation.
  
  I saw it right out the gate. Hundreds of years of OP items being dumped into the world? Thousands of Isekai Protagonists that all went to fight the Demon King, yet none of them had managed to reach him? It had seemed sketchy as fuck to me. So, I'm saying it -- I fucking called it. I called it at the starting line.
  
  There was an army of undead adventurers out there, each equipped with weapons that were equal to or greater than my Soul Edge. Hundreds of them at the very least. All led by a guy, whoever the hell he was, that was a complete unknown. Someone that had been able to kill Kazuma. Something that I honestly hadn't expected.
  
  I hadn't skimped out on his enchantments. Each one nearly gave me a level, they were so powerful. I had buffed Kazuma up to the point that he was nearly my equal. Yet, he had died. His followers had died.
  
  And it was clear what I had to do.
  
  "Well, at least you got the Demon King. Aqua? Beam us out," I said, looking at Aqua expectantly. She looked up at me with wide eyes and a slack jaw. I got similar looks from the others. It was clear what every single one of them expected. What they wanted. They expected me to armor up and go kick that guy's ass.
  
  But this wasn't my problem. Honestly, I couldn't care less about this world. I cared less about the multiverse.
  
  "Jericho..." Hestia started, looking more stricken than the others. Like she couldn't possibly believe that I would just tuck tail and run. But, she of all people should understand exactly why I was doing this. In Skyrim, I had bitten off more than I could chew. I managed to chew it up and spit it out anyway, but it hadn't been without cost. The Companions died. Sheogorath had died. I had died.
  
  I tried being the hero that saves the day and it didn't work out. It wasn't worth it.
  
  I wouldn't risk Hestia's life, or Megumin's, or Darkness's, or mine. Not against an enemy I doubted I could defeat for the sake of people that I didn't care about.
  
  This world was a write-off.
  
  "We upheld our end of the bargain. The Demon King is dead," I told Aqua, who stared up at me with hints of betrayal in her eyes. "Aqua, if he beat Kazuma, then I'm not going to fare any better. I've died twice so far. I'm not looking to make it a third time, especially when I don't have to."
  
  Aqua shot up, "What about my followers! What about them? You can't expect me to just abandon them!" She said, sounding angry that I would even suggest that we just leave them all behind.
  
  Yunyun found her voice, "I can't just abandon the Crimson Demon Clan either!" She proclaimed, looking at me the same way that Aqua was. Like she expected me to do something about the guy with an army of OP weapons and abilities. My gaze slid over to Megumin, who looked downcast. It was clear that she was thinking about her own family.
  
  I took in a deep breath and let it out, "I want to make something very clear," I said, meeting their gaze. "I don't think I can win. But... maybe we don't have to." I said, looking at Aqua, Hestia, and Wiz. "Could you three cast a barrier around Axel? And set up a teleportation circle?" I asked, putting the pieces together as I spoke.
  
  The three of them nodded eagerly, "Of course! What's the plan, Jericho?" Hestia asked, relieved that I was willing to do something. However, that expression of relief took a hit when I continued.
  
  "We run," I answered simply, ignoring the looks that I got. "We bring everyone that we can to the city of Axel by teleportation, then we use that deal that I made with Aqua to leave the dimension. My dimension-hopping ability could help people escape with us." I said, choosing not to say that was a guess. But it was a guess that was backed with evidence.
  
  Otherwise, why give me a map function? Why let me find ways to exploit the land of I would just be leaving it all behind? Why give me kingdom management functions if I was just going to leave that kingdom behind with the next jump? What would be the point? It would just be a waste of time.
  
  It was a blind guess, but an explanation would be that I wouldn't be leaving it behind. Aqua took me before I could see any options like I did after Danmachi, but I was betting it all that I could have used the points I earned to take the kingdom with me. It was a decent bet. One that made sense.
  
  But, it also made sense that those functions were with the assumption that I would put down roots in a particular dimension.
  
  It was either or.
  
  "So, we gather everyone up that we can, then we just... leave?" Wiz questioned, sounding uncertain while Megumin mouthed the word dimension-hopping. "What about everyone else on the planet? We can't abandon them," Wiz protested, but it sounded like not even she believed that.
  
  "We save everyone that we can, but the world won't be abandoned. Aqua and the other gods will try to do something about the guy, right?" I asked, looking at Aqua, who nodded distractedly. That was good enough for me. "We're just grabbing who we can to pull them out of the crossfire first. But we have to act fast. Who knows what abilities he has access to? He could be on his way now."
  
  That seemed to snap everyone out of their daze brought upon by the back-to-back revelations. "Wiz, you set up teleportation circles. The priorities are Alcanretia and the Crimson Demons," I said. I really didn't care for the former, but Aqua... for all of her faults, she did care about her followers. This wouldn't work unless she saw that they were being looked after. Yunyun and Megumin's concern would be the Crimson Demons, and Darkness... she would be worried about her family.
  
  "What are you going to do?" Hestia asked, and I looked back at the mansion behind me. At the moment, my level was . At , I would hit level as far as the falna was concerned, which would give me another major boost to my stats in addition to completing my armor.
  
  "I'm going to try to make plan B," I said. If this plan failed, if one of the variables that I was counting on didn't work out, then... then I would have to fight. And if I had to fight, then I needed every edge that I could get.
  
  My gaze dipped down to Kazuma, who still seemed shell-shocked and cradled parts of his armor mournfully. The enchantments should still work, but I wasn't sure how much use Kazuma would actually be as a fighter anymore. Even when he had died the first time and we woke him up from his tomb, he had been fine immediately afterward.
  
  But, he had just learned the same lesson that I did in Skyrim.
  
  It's a lot easier to die alone than it is to die alongside friends.
  
  "Kazuma," I said, dropping down to a knee next to him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "I need you to go to Axel. Round up everyone and prepare them," I told him, trying to push him away from a mistake I had made immediately following my failure in Skyrim. I gave in to my depression. I gave up, in a way. I withdrew from the world. I made Kazuma take my role as the hero because I hadn't been able to muster up the strength to play the role again.
  
  I understood exactly what was going through Kazuma's head right now. And that's why I was going to push him to do what I should have done following my death in Skyrim. "With Aqua in Alcanretia, you're the only one that the rest of the city will listen to. We need you to do this," I said, giving him something that he could do rather than letting him wallow in his failures.
  
  Kazuma looked up at me, and I could see it. The resistance. The desire to do absolutely nothing but dwell on your mistakes. To be miserable because you had failed, and because of it, people had died. He opened his mouth, likely to give an excuse or protest, but he caught himself and chose to give a small nod instead .
  
  And, in that moment, despite all the mistakes that he had made along the way, Kazuma proved that he was a better man than me.
  
  "Good," I said, standing up. "Let's get moving. We don't have long."
  
  ...
  
  Of all the preparations I could be making , it did feel weird to be sitting at my workbench, my armor in a stand in front of me, the Black Star in its stand a bit to my right, and a paintbrush in hand. Before, I had been in the thick of it. Going to cities to recruit them to the cause, settling disputes, and the like. This time, however, things were different.
  
  In Konosuba, I was the outcast. As backward as it was, Aqua and Kazuma were the famous heroes that everyone listened to. And, backward or not, I preferred it this way. Though, the pressure was different.
  
  Right now, there was a clock ticking down. With Alduin, I had an idea of when the timer would hit zero. With this new threat... whoever it was could have arrived already, and I just didn't know it yet. Hestia proved that her Divine Cleric class wasn't for show -- with the help of Wiz, they made a barrier around Axel. People were being teleported in by the cityful. An alarm was set to warn me in case there was an incursion.
  
  Which left me waiting for that inevitable sound while I breezed through the last dregs of Alduin's soul. The once immense soul that had almost seemed to fill the limitless Star had only a few more brush strokes left. All of it had been painted onto my armor in intricate markings to store kinetic energy.
  
  Then, with a final stroke, it was done. I set my paintbrush down as my armor glowed as the full soul of Alduin was painted on, the enchantment now complete. The moment of satisfaction was ruined by a screen popping up in front of my face.
  
  You have leveled up!
  
  Jericho
  Level: 85
  Title: High King of Skyrim
  Health: 25,000
  Magika: 18,000
  Progress to next level: 0/500,000
  Strength: 300 +1451= 1751
  Endurance: 350 +2075= 2425
  Dexterity: 225 +972= 1197
  Intelligence: 200 +702= 902
  Sense: 250 +1265= 1515
  
  "Sheesh," I muttered, looking at my stats. I had finally got to that point where the bonus from my falna became insane. No wonder Ais and the others had been on completely different levels -- it was a domino effect. The higher your numbers were at a low level, the higher your numbers became when you reached a higher level.
  
  I had barely gotten a chance to raise my stats. I only really started when Kazuma had left since I had my rings. A hundred points for Strength, a hundred and fifty for Endurance, while the others saw fifty or fewer points of improvement. Honestly speaking, this was the worst level-up I've had, but even with such small gains, the boost was massive. The only one that wasn't in the thousands was Intelligence.
  
  "My next level up will be the one," I muttered, standing up as I summoned my armor with a thought. The enchanted breastplate was reduced to mist that flowed over me, coating my body before it solidified.
  
  It felt a tad arrogant to think it when I was planning to run away, but the next level up would be where my stats reached a point where I wouldn't find many challenges. There would be a few if I went looking for them, but... why would I? I just gained ten levels from enchanting a piece of equipment -- why bother hunting down challenges?
  
  The only reason would be boss souls, really.
  
  But, reaching level would not happen today. And, regardless, an army of purposely designed overpowered weapons and abilities... I still doubted I could do much about that. If it was a single person or even a dozen -- then I would feel confident. But an army?
  
  No, running was still the best option. I'd be happy to leave now, but the others wouldn't be able to leave the people they cared about behind. And I didn't want to make them leave them behind.
  
  "I'll need to upgrade my rings," I made a note to myself as I summoned Soul Edge to my hand and brought it to my back, where it stayed. I walked through the silent halls, the manor completely empty. It was a nice place. Hopefully, I could take it with us. With a sigh, I headed to the front doors and stepped through them -- the scenery had changed a fair bit since I first moved in.
  
  Megumin had blown away the forest, and everything beyond the point that Hestia had protected was just upturned dirt. All except a road that I had made to connect me to the city that I was building. Because of it, I could see the sky above. To the left, over the city of Axel was nothing but sunny blue skies.
  
  To the right was nothing but storm clouds that approached like a wall. An ominous symbol of who was approaching. Whoever they were.
  
  "At least they're giving us time," I remarked, taking the time to lock the door behind me. Giving it a quick jiggle, I saw that it was secure. It was hard to call their progress slow given those storm clouds had been a spec in the distance less than an hour ago. "Looks like I cut it close," I remarked, feeling a familiar calm wash over me.
  
  There was a battle coming. And unlike every time before, I planned on running before I could see the worst of it. Hopefully, there wouldn't be a battle at all.
  
  I took a step forward, my foot digging into the ground before I rocketed off to Axel in a blur of movement -- my strength, endurance, and dexterity had all nearly tripled. I never really found my limit with my third level, but as a level ... there was just no comparing it. If I had been this strong in Skyrim, I could have defeated Alduin with my bare hands. I wouldn't have needed anyone else.
  
  I sailed through the air, skimming across the horizon, traveling what had been a ten-minute run, for me, in a handful of seconds. My trajectory led down, causing me to smash through one of the half-finished houses that were being constructed along the outside of Axel before my feet dug into the soft earth, carving a deep furrow as I slowed to a stop.
  
  "It's that guy! Get 'em!" I heard someone shout at the gate, a flash of light cutting through the dust I kicked up. Magic washed over my armor like water, and it had about as much effect. My chest piece absorbed the kinetic energy behind the spell.
  
  I strode through the dust to see that the gate was guarded by a lot of adventures that I had been kicking the shit out of for weeks now. They looked absolutely terrified, but they got points for trying. I held up a hand, making them flinch back before the helmet faded from my face. "It's just me," I said, slightly uncertain if that would be enough to make them not take a shot at me.
  
  "Oh, thank Aqua! It's Jericho the Hero!" One of the people that I had converted into Hestiaism proclaimed, so I wasn't sure what annoyed me more -- the heresy or the nickname. All of a sudden I was Jericho the Hero? These guys really had no shame, did they?
  
  "Right. That's me. Heretic," I remarked as I strode by them, intent on finding the others. The heretic in question paled considerably, but I paid him no mind as I stepped into the city. It looked overstuffed. There were crowds of people in the streets, every building packed until there were people standing on the roof. There were at least five cities worth of people here, all of them panicked and fearful.
  
  Despite it, I made room for myself as I headed to a flash of light in the center square. My armor helped in that regard, even if it didn't win me any favors. When I approached, I saw Wiz standing in the central square, her hands outstretched as she delivered yet another load of people, teleporting them across the kingdom.
  
  She seemed weak, but before I had a chance to comment on it, Megumin approached. "You must be that guy! Prepared to be Explod- oh, hey Jericho," Megumin cut herself off when I turned around enough for her to see it was me. It was then that I noticed that she had something in her hands. A backpack that was holding a giant glass jar that had a tube sticking out of it.
  
  "Look at my masterpiece! Now, dump all of that delicious explosion juice in here! I'll drink it while I cast so I won't pass out!" Megumin said, looking so incredibly proud of herself despite the clear tension in the air. She essentially created the beer hat, just without the hat.
  
  It wasn't a bad idea, even. "Let me go see what the others need. Then you can have as much explosion juice as you want," I said -- and that was quite a name for a mana potion. I didn't exactly have a lot, though.
  
  Megumin pointed at the guildhouse, "That's where everyone else is," she informed, walking in my wake as I forced my way to the Guildhall. It was every bit as packed as the outdoors, but I spotted Aqua and Hestia easily enough, who were speaking to... the thief with a scar on her face and white hair. The one that taught Kazuma steal.
  
  Approaching them, I saw Darkness was there too. "E-Eh?! Chris, you're Eris?" Darkness exclaimed, moving to drop to a knee, only to be stopped by her friend and goddess. Honestly, I recalled that had been a plot point, but it had no real relevance to me so I never bothered to do anything with it.
  
  "Darkness, there's no need for that. Especially not now," Eris said, turning her gaze to me. "Jericho. You look as fiercesome as the rumors say," she offered. I noticed that despite the number of people around us, I could hear her pretty easily. A spell?
  
  "And you don't look particularly happy," I noted as I approached, catching a look from Aqua and Hestia, who seemed displeased by something.
  
  To that, Eris offered a small nod while Aqua forcibly explained, "The other gods are going to quarantine the world! They think that it's too dangerous!" She shouted before she looked really frustrated, "And they demoted me!"
  
  "I'm sorry, Senpai," Eris offered, making Aqua round on her as she began to complain. I looked to Hestia for further elaboration.
  
  "It means that we won't be able to leave. Not... easily," Hestia explained, her tone grim. "Between me, Aqua, and Eris, we can force our way through a quarantine, but..."
  
  "But, it'll take time," I finished for her. So, the one time the gods decided to be competent, they still manage to find a way to fuck me over. Impressive. Annoying, but I was impressed by the consistency. "How much time?"
  
  "It depends," Eris answered, soothing a crying Aqua by gently stroking her hair. "If we maintain our defenses, then it would take a day. Should we drop them, however, it'll take far less time to gather the power needed to force the spell to transport us away from this dimension. With everyone's help, it could only take about an hour. Maybe less."
  
  A crack of thunder seemed to shake the entire building. People screamed as they ducked for cover -- civilians and adventurers alike. Looking through the window, I saw a wall of darkness wash over the people outside, the clear and sunny sky above hidden behind an impenetrable wall of black clouds.
  
  This was a crossroads. A sudden one with no time to properly decide the pros and cons of each decision. Slow and safe or fast and risky? Certainty of a full day or a ballpark estimate of around an hour?
  
  "Drop the barrier. I'll see what I can do," I said, turning and walking away. I didn't want to. At all, really. But, with the sheer number of OP weapons and abilities, I couldn't at all count on the idea that they wouldn't be able to get in.
  
  "Jericho!" Hestia said, "Be careful," she requested of me. Her jaw was set, her gaze determined -- I could see how much it bothered her that I was forced to fight. How it frustrated her that she couldn't be there with me this time.
  
  However, it was Megumin that answered by dramatically flaring her cape, "Ha ha ha! There's no need to be careful because together we are unstoppable! With my explosion magic and Jericho's Jerichoness, there's no one we can't defeat!" She exclaimed with complete and utter confidence.
  
  Darkness nodded empathetically, "Of course! So long as there is breath in my body, I won't let them step a foot in Axel!" She proclaimed, and the awe I might have felt at the dependable look on her face sure took a hit considering I had seen Darkness face down and ass up, begging to be fucked.
  
  Hestia's unease lessened somewhat at the reassurance, so I offered a thin smile. "You heard them," I said, which wasn't a lie, but it sure wasn't the truth.
  
  But, Hestia seemed to believe it all the same.
  
  "See you soon," Hestia said in place of a goodbye.
  
  "See you soon," I returned, turning my back to the two goddesses in charge of this world and Hestia as I headed for the door. If felt different this time. It really did. The last time I marched towards this kind of battle...
  
  There were stakes. First, it was Lili's freedom. Then it was an entire world. There were still stakes this time, but...
  
  I wasn't invested in them. I could admit that to myself as I stepped outside, sparing a glance up at the sky above to see shifting black clouds that stretched in every direction. People were ducking for cover wherever they could. Rushing into buildings, standing in alleyways, and failing that some of them hid underneath wagons or whatever else was handy.
  
  The only reason I hadn't left already is because of Megumin, Yunyun, Wiz, and Darkness. They had attachments to this world. And they were my attachments to it. Yunyun, who I only met like an hour ago, was included simply because I didn"t have the heart to not included her. But, for the world itself, I found myself uncaring. That guy, whoever he is, could raze the planet to ash and that was no problem of mine.
  
  I hefted Soul Edge onto my shoulder, striding towards the gate of the city on a now much emptier street. To their credit, the guards remained posted outside of the gate. They were inspired by the bravery of Kazuma, who stood in front of them in ruined armor and clutched half a blade in one hand as he looked off into the distance. With my free hand, I reached into my inventory and pulled out every single mana potion that I had.
  
  It wasn't a lot. I hadn't used mana even once, and the potions I did have were meant for the first Alduin fight in case Serana needed one.
  
  As I strode past the guards I dropped them -- a crate filled with vials for Megumin to start dumping into that backpack of hers. Based on what I was seeing, we would need it.
  
  It wasn't the first time I've faced down an army. Not even an undead army. But, I had to say, between the Forsworn army at Markarth and the one before me... I would take the Forsworn any day of the week.
  
  They stretched across the horizon -- countless bodies of the undead. There were humans, monsters, and even a few undead creatures that I recognized. Like the One Hit bear. They were dotted around, standing a head and shoulders above the rank and file of the regular shambling undead. But, despite the incredible numbers, my gaze was drawn towards those that stood directly in front of the gate.
  
  It was a smaller unit, comparatively. A thousand or so undead. They were mostly skeletons, but rich clothing hung off their bony frames. Some wore fantasy armor that was polished to a shine. However, all of them carried outlandish or distinctive weapons -- katanas, staffs, broad swords... I saw a buster sword from final fantasy, I saw staffs from various magic games... it was clear who these thousand were.
  
  They were arranged like their own miniature army. Archers, warriors, mages. And despite being far smaller, they were the most dangerous threat before me.
  
  Then my gaze shifted to those that led them. There were three people on horseback at the helm of the armies. One looked recently deceased -- a man that seemed to be in his late seventies or eighties, though still prim and proper. Another was a woman that wore a red dress with a wild mane of black hair.
  
  At the center of them was that guy. He rode a skeletal undead horse made of bleached bones , his body covered in rough-looking robes. They might have once been fine clothing, but time had ravaged the fabric, robbing it of its color. He gripped the reins of his horse with fleshless hands, each one of his fingerbones was adorned with a half dozen rings of various shapes and sizes. The hood of his robes was pushed back, revealing a stark white skull with a golden crown that seemed to have been half-melted, the precious metal dripping down ever so slightly, the precious jewels skewed and uneven.
  
  "The demon King that I killed is on that guy's left," Kazuma offered. So, in theory, we were facing off against two demon kings.
  
  "Hm," I uttered as I strode forward. My gaze slid over the thousands of undead heroes welding their OP weapons, bouncing between them all as I tried to identify the threats.
  
  Maybe... we did have a chance. The undead, no matter how powerful they were, had a single point of failure. If I take out the necromancer, then they should crumble. In theory. I was leaning on Hollywood logic, but it made sense to me.
  
  "You are Axel's champion? You look more foreboding than me," I heard a whisper in my ears as I came to a stop. My fingers drummed on my sword as I considered my response.
  
  "I don't suppose you'll just leave us alone?" I questioned and I heard a chuckle in response.
  
  "I'm afraid not. Long have I slumbered, building my forces. The gods brought me low by arming their chosen... now, their champions obey me," That Guy responded, sounding amused, but not actually answering my question. Wasn't looking for an exposition dump before we fought. "Now, I shall conquer not only this world but all of creation! For I am Shartan! The first Demon King!"
  
  Oh... so, there had been more than one? Huh. You learn something every day, I guess.
  
  "So, I'm not hearing a reason why you need to conquer Axel. The entire city is about to get flung across the multiverse. You don't have to worry about it- actually, you know what? We're taking the Axis cult with us, so we're technically doing you a solid." I pointed out without so much as a scrap of shame in my voice.
  
  "...Eh?" Shartan uttered, sounding a bit put out. "You don't want to fight?"
  
  "I'm done cleaning up after the gods. You want to invade the multiverse or whatever, then you do you. If they can't stop you then that's on them," I dismissed the idea with brutal honesty.
  
  I ran out of fucks to give a long time ago.
  
  Seriously. Fuck this entire planet. If I had my way, we'd only be taking friends and family at most.
  
  "Oh. That's... uhh... hm... well, it's an intriguing offer, but... well, I sorta had this entire thing planned out? You know -- crush them at their strongest as a show of force type deal? But... hrm, well, if you guys want to surrender, then that's cool too. I can get my PR guy to spin it. Did you know one of the god"s champions picked that as a power?" Shartan questioned, earning a slow blink from me.
  
  "No, I didn't. Wait, was it-" I began, but Shartan spoke over me.
  
  "Yeah, yeah -- it was that guy. Don't even have to finish the sentence. He just became incredibly famous for doing stuff like tying his shoes. Absolutely wild," Shartan answered. "Not that death cares about fame. But, point being, I'm sure he could spin it."
  
  Huh. "So, what are the conditions of the surrender?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation back to topic.
  
  "Oh, that -- Uhhh... I guess... the strongest warriors and mages join my army. And I'll need magic items from a shop in town. You guys can keep the food, though -- undead don't need to eat! It's pretty convenient. And..." Shartan trailed off as if he were trying to think of something else, but was drawing a blank. Then he snapped, "Right! We need the gods in the city -- there should be four of them. Aqua, Eris, Dust, and a new goddess called Hestia. Hostages." He offered as an explanation.
  
  And there went any chance for peace. We were so close, too.
  
  "Sorry, but looks like I'm going to have to fight after all. Hestia is my goddess, after all." I said, and I heard a sigh of disappointment ring in my ears.
  
  "Well, we tried," Shartan offered a shrug in the distance. "Any final words?"
  
  "Just a few," I confirmed before I took in a deep breath and prepared for what was to come. Then I spoke.
  
  "FUS RO DAH!"
  
  ...
  
  So, I've written the final chapter of Power Corrupts -- the story will be ending on chapter 90. Provided that I did the math correctly, which I hope so since it's simple addition, the final chapter will land on September 25th. After that, I'll probably do what I did for Going Native and take a week off and take another week to post Fool's World.
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
  Completed Stories: Going Native (DBZ/DC Comics), Power Corrupts (Gamer SI), See No Evil (Young Justice SI)
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  TV Tropes: Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Going Native/Gone Native (DBZ/DC comics)
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  Ideas-Guy
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  The Unrelenting Force was a finicky word of power. In Skyrim, I had slowly mastered it as it grew in incriminates. Then, in the final battle against Alduin, the word of power grew in strength as I began to embody the idea of being an unrelenting force of nature. I never managed to reach the point of Alduin, who with the same shout, had practically leveled a mountain.
  
  There was a small part of me that feared that the Thu'um might be weaker. I might have lived on after death, but that wasn't to say that there weren't consequences. My confidence had taken a hit, to be certain. I became more cautious rather than slamming my head against the problem until it went away. In the end, I didn't rely on pure force to do things.
  
  But that small part of me was silenced as the shout left my lips. Hestia was behind me. I couldn't afford to take so much as a single step back. I refused to die again. My confidence had been shaken, broken even, but like a bone, when it mended, it was stronger than it was before.
  
  The space between me and Shartan was devastated as the shout traveled forward with a sonic boom that seemed to shake the planet down to its core while a powerful gust of wind followed in the shout"s wake. The construction efforts were instantly leveled, practically outright vaporized as the unrelenting force rushed forward towards the enemy army.
  
  Of all the times I used the shout, this was without a doubt the strongest. It expanded in scope, washing over the enemy like a tidal wave that blasted them away. This shout had more in common with Alduin's than it did any previous of my previous ones. Dust flew up, blinding me, but as impressive as the shout was, I knew that wouldn't be the end of it.
  
  It was a good opening move, but by no means was it the finale.
  
  I sucked in a slow breath, my foot digging into the soft stone that crumbled underfoot, every muscle in my legs tensing, before I leaped forward. I shot off like a coiled spring, discovering just how fast I was with a new level on my falna. Before, my best speed was in the ballpark of two hundred miles per hour. Very fast, and something far beyond the limits of humanity. However, as I heard a crack like thunder roaring in my ears, I realized just how much faster I was.
  
  From zero to over eight hundred miles per hour instantly. There was no comparing it.
  
  I brought forth Soul Edge, leveling it at Shartan as I sailed through the dust and smoke like a speeding arrow. Gritting my teeth, I clenched down on my blade and thrust forward in preparation. It had been a guess, but one that paid off when the tip of Soul Edge slammed into an invisible wall of shimmering air, cracks of light snaking through it from enduring the full force of my Thu'um.
  
  On the other side of the barrier, the rolling hills and lush grass outside the city of Axel were unharmed, leaving the army of monsters and undead that currently occupied it intact. The only damage I had managed to do would have been to the flanks.
  
  "Impressive," Shartan remarked in my ear as Soul Edge carved a line through the barrier. My gaze darted to the priestess that had her hands out wide, a staff of silver and gold in one hand with a pink crystal shaped in a heart resting at the top. More pressingly than her were the adventurers that raced towards me the instant that I broke through the barrier.
  
  In a blur, I lashed out at the nearest one that was intent on getting in my way on my warpath toward Shartan. My lips thinned when I saw my blade pass right through his like it wasn't even there. Worse, I felt a pinch in my gut as his blade continued forward to cut right through my armor. An intangible blade that ignored defenses.
  
  A magic circle appeared around me as I accepted the blow to continue straight at Shartan. My blade swung free, sending a crescent arc of burning, hellish flames at Shartan. The fire slammed into the skeleton, blackening its bones, before it crumbled to ash, the rags he wore burning away as his corpse fell apart. My eyes narrowed into slits, but my attention was momentarily stolen by gravity deciding to work overtime on me.
  
  I slammed into the ground, the magical circle below me stopping me from sinking into it as it felt like a hundred tons of added weight was being pushed down on me. My armor, which always felt as light as air, might as well have weighed as much as the sky itself. With my expanded vision, I saw the others prepare their attacks. Flashes of light, magic, special blades, and cheat abilities.
  
  If I got hit with all of that, then I was definitely going to die.
  
  "FUS RO DAH!" I shouted at the ground, knowing that it was my only chance. The magic circle at my feet shattered like glass before I was enveloped by a huge cloud of dust. I thought I would be sent flying upward by the force, but my armor absorbed the kinetic energy of the shout. I fell to the ground after falling a hundred feet or so, launching myself back up as I swung Soul Edge. Fire raced through the dust and smoke, carving a long line towards the adventurers, only for the arc of fire to wink out before reaching any of them.
  
  "Ohhh, you're cut from a different cloth, I see! I thought that decoy would be a nice surprise! Haha! I never thought it would have been one-shot at the start of the battle!" Shartan's disembodied voice praised, even as his soldiers responded to his silent command, surrounding me. So, it had just been a decoy? I guess nothing could be that easy.
  
  A flash of movement behind me caught my attention as I continued to sail through the air, forcing me to maneuver myself midair to block a blow. However, in a flash of blue, that figure suddenly appeared in front of me. I was soon folded over a fist that slammed into my gut, and as the light faded, I saw who struck me. I snarled as I lashed out with a backhanded fist strike I had thrown at the same moment I was struck, "Fucking weeb."
  
  He had made himself look like Goku. I had some cringy anime days in my past, but even then I still had more taste than that.
  
  The Goku-look alike was sent flying, so I guess he didn't get the complete power set. That was good. But, my moment of bliss passed when I saw another bright light come from within the dust. I braced with Soul Edge, but I still felt the heat as a big fuck-off laser washed over me, blinding me so the only thing I could see was white in all directions. It pushed me back, but my armor took the bulk of it so I ended up falling out of the laser after a short moment. But, even taking the bulk of it, I was still sent flying dangerously close to the city. It seems like my chest piece was the part of me that absorbed all the kinetic force, leaving my arms and legs to suffer lesser protection.
  
  Steam wafted off of me, my armor smoking from the heat. I leveled my gaze at the source, but I couldn't find it. They were lost in a flash of dozens of new lights, dozens of overpowered spells, and-
  
  An arrow struck me and it felt like I had been hit in the face with a nuke. My armor rang, taking the brunt of the damage and force once again, but I was sent flying into the hardy stone walls of Axel. Gritting my teeth, I took in a deep breath and spoke. "FUS RO DAH!" I shouted, to send the other projectiles and spells away from me as I threw myself back into the fight, sprinting forward in the wake of my shout.
  
  The situation was going about as well as I expected. If it was a couple of them, even as little as ten of them, I could win. I was certain of it. Their weapons and abilities were overpowered, but between my equipment and stats, I could match them. However, the same couldn't be said for a thousand. Individually, I could take them on. But I just couldn't get a foothold with so many spamming their OP abilities.
  
  Bursting through the smoke, I sailed overhead, to looking down at the elite undead that were still in formation. Archers leveled their bows at me, magic casters readied their spells, while warriors prepared themselves to clash blades. Another barrier had sprung up to protect them from my latest shout... but... how about this one?
  
  "JOOR ZAH FRUL!" I shouted, intent on ripping their defenses away from them. The shout snapped the barrier like glass and washed over the enemy battalion. I saw an adventurer collapse, along with a few others, but it was only a handful when compared to a thousand. I swung my blade, an arc of fire rushing from the tip that was met in force by a half dozen spells that blasted right through it.
  
  The ones that were affected seemed to be the ones that had a biological ability of some kind rather than relying on weapons or armor. Useful to know. It would be helpful if I knew the Disarm shout , but that wasn't one I had practiced. It was a difficult shout to internalize. In the end, I wasn't the kind of person that wanted to strip the enemy of their defenses. I'd rather just barge right threw them.
  
  Even if I really wished that I was at the moment.
  
  I hit the ground like a meteorite, carving a deep furrow into the dirt. Almost as soon as I landed, I was greeted by a high kick from a Chun-Li knock-off. I blocked the blow and instantly regretted it as I felt myself being driven to a knee as the ground warped around us, the blow thousands of times more powerful than I expected. My armor sang, a charge accepted, then another as the Chun-Li knock-off spun sharply as she kicked me in the ribs. I accepted the blow and barely felt it while I countered at the same moment.
  
  Soul Edge skewered her, the cursed blade feasting on her soul, and her lifeless corpse hit the ground. More rushed me with swords, spears, axes, and the like. I swung down at my feet and for the first time, I channeled the kinetic energy that I had been storing and delivered an explosive strike directly at my feet. The explosion of pure concussive force that was unleashed rivaled Megumin at her best as the ground underneath me was completely obliterated.
  
  The monster army took a major hit, thousands of them dying in the swing, but more noticeably, I managed to destroy the charging adventurers. Killing them one at a time was possible. The plan didn't change that much.
  
  Instead, I just had to be in the thick of them so they couldn't fully unleash their full power, or easily deploy their defenses. As rubble rained down, I threw myself forward, bashing through the wall of destructive wind with a FUS to lead the way. In the blink of an eye, I saw the army once again bathed by the shimmering light that peeked through the clouds of smoke that seemed to cover the land.
  
  Only this time, that shimmering aura didn't form into a barrier, but covered the undead adventurers. I knew the look of that aura. The adventurers had just been blessed. My gaze searched for the source, but instead, I found Shartan, once again on top of his horse, standing at the head of the army.
  
  "Okay, this is getting to be a bit much," Shartan said, his voice echoing in my ears. "How about we call a quick time out real quick to let the dust settle? This is a battle of the ages! It'd be the worst if no one could actually see it," Shartan said, sounding entirely unconcerned. That did bring me up short -- the fact he was calling for a time out might mean that he felt cautious, or it could mean he was planning something, or that he was going to use that time to bring back those that had died.
  
  It was a red flag. Given the fact that his soldiers had been blessed ... it felt like calling a time out was possibly the worst thing I could do.
  
  If I was trying to win, that is. Defeating them wasn't actually my goal. I was working on a timer. The more time they wasted dicking around, the better it was for me. Especially if it meant I had a chance to regroup.
  
  "Alright," I agreed after a moment of thought, pointedly hefting Soul Edge onto my shoulder as I strode forward. Every muscle was coiled like a spring, ready for action as I approached. The tension as I walked forward, directly at the army instead of around it, was nearly unbearable. I saw the full might of the army then -- it was based on bullshit metagaming. Buffs and debuffs from clerics, all to make the overpoweredness that much more overpowered.
  
  Shartan said nothing as I approached, walking right by him as I forced the army to part for me as I returned to the city of Axel. It was a power play of sorts to give the impression that I was a lot more confident than I was. I didn't bother swinging at him, knowing that it was just another decoy. I couldn't be certain if Shartan was even nearby since I kept hearing him as a whisper in my ear.
  
  "Call it a fifteen-minute T," Shartan decided as I walked by, and the phrasing caught my attention.
  
  "You aren't the first Demon King, are you?" I asked, not bothering to stop. I heard a chuckle in my ears as I walked through the army. I saw knock-offs upon knock-offs. I would like to talk trash, but I also went with familiar weapons and abilities. I couldn't even say that I didn't resemble Nightmare at this point.
  
  "Nah, but I figured it'd make for a cool story. I'm just some asshole that got sent here to kill the first Demon King, but Aqua used to homebrew garbage items back in the day. Never came in any use until after I died," Shartan said, and that sounded pretty par for the course when it came to Aqua. I also noticed that he didn't mention what his ability was.
  
  "Seems like an odd choice to want to attack her when Aqua given that she specializes in killing the undead?" I remarked, and I heard a chuckle in my ear.
  
  "Who said I was undead?" He questioned and left it at that.
  
  Silently, I approached the city of Axel. As I neared, I saw that I wasn't the only one that had been fighting -- monster bodies littered the space between the army and the gates, and many looked like they had been blown away with the powerful winds. A call to open the gates rang out as I approached, and as the doors swung open, I saw Darkness carrying Megumin.
  
  She went through my entire store of mana potions in about five minutes? That was kinda incredible.
  
  "Jericho! How do we know your mind hasn't been dominated-" Darkness began.
  
  "Your favorite position is doggy style," I spoke, making Darkness blush harshly despite the situation. A couple of jaws dropped at the announcement, and I noticed that most people seemed to be no worse for wear. They were sporting some injuries, but based on the blood on their weapons, they gave more than they got. Kazuma looked particularly bloodied, what was left of his snow-white katana drenched in blood.
  
  Darkness covered her face, "It's Jericho. Only he could completely disregard someone else's privacy like that." she said, looking both bashful and a little aroused at the same time.
  
  Megumin have me a shaky thumbs-up, looking exhausted, "Nice Explosions," she offered, talking about the last one created by the use of my stored up kinetic energy. I knew she'd be proud of that one.
  
  "We got a bit of breathing room until the dust settles. Where is Aqua?" I asked, and Megumin answered by pointing towards the Guildhall. I nodded, mulling over something as I approached. There was a chance that the time out would be all the time that we needed, but I didn't let myself get my hopes up. And I wasn't the only one taking advantage of the time out since the town's guards instantly went limp to gather their strength.
  
  I marched straight to the Guildhall, forcing my way through crowds of cowering people. Pushing the door open, I saw a bright light coming from the second story. The guild was filled with people on their knees and praying to be saved -- part of me was annoyed with it, but those same prayers would help us get out of dodge faster. There wasn't anything wrong with praying when it actually did something.
  
  Heading upstairs, I saw Hestia, Aqua, Eris, and Dust sitting in a circle as they funneled power into a ball of pure light that sat in between all of them. I might have thought that such a thing required all of their concentration, but Aqua quickly looked at me and offered a wave.
  
  "Did you already win?" She asked, sounding like she fully expected me to have crushed Shartan underfoot. My helmet faded away, revealing my face as I shook my head.
  
  "Not even close, but I did learn something interesting," I told her, catching not only her attention, but the attention of others. "Shartan said that he was one of yours that you sent to deal with the first Demon King." Eris flinched back while Hestia's gaze snapped to Aqua, who looked incredibly confused.
  
  "There's... been more than one?" She questioned quietly.
  
  Eris facepalmed, "Senpai..." she muttered, her voice dripping with disappointment. Aqua opened her mouth to defend herself, but I held up a hand.
  
  "That's not important. What is, is that he said that his ability is tied into the kind you used to homebrew. Do you remember anything that could work after death?" I asked her, making Aqua's brow furrow in thought. At the moment, that was the only lead I had on how to actually beat the guy. He could always be lying, just like he had been about being the First Demon King, but...
  
  A chance was a chance. It was worth exploring, at least.
  
  "Yeah, I think so? I came up with a whole bunch of stuff back in the day, before it became too much work. There was the ability to polymorph, and become ethereal, and cast super realistic illusions," Aqua began, and that all sounded fine. But it didn't quite line up.
  
  "Did they have to do something?" I questioned, fishing for an explanation on why Shartan viewed Aqua's homebrew abilities as shitty. And what could be seen as useless until after death?
  
  Aqua gave a proud nod, "Of course! I wanted to preserve game balance back in the day, but after such a long time, I just gave up. For the abilities I created, you had to do stuff like have absolute focus on the ability to get it to work." She said, and I'm pretty sure I found it.
  
  Absolute focus on an ability? In the middle of combat? Becoming ethereal? Without the ability to fly? Polymorph? What if you turned yourself into an object?
  
  "Okay, but..." I trailed off, trying to phrase the question in such a way that she would give me the information I needed regardless of her opinion of her homebrew. "You said that adventure items would only work for their adventurer -- do they have to be alive for them to work?" I questioned, casting a net and fishing for clues to narrow it down.
  
  I earned a slow nod in response as Eris spoke up, "They do."
  
  Okay. We were getting somewhere, "So, Aqua, what would be an ability that would let Shartan control corpses as if they were alive? Because their weapons and abilities work."
  
  Aqua, surprisingly, had an instant answer. "Puppetry! I thought it would have been really cool to make monsters you defeat work for you, but I didn't want some stinking undead ability," Aqua supplied the answer, "So, the monsters would be a little alive when you took control over them."
  
  How-
  
  Ah.
  
  "And is there a requirement for this to work?" I asked, thinking it over in my mind. Aqua looked incredibly proud of herself for a moment.
  
  "You can't lose concentration on using the ability," Aqua said, and the pieces clicked into place. The ability became useful after death because you didn't have a body providing constant distractions like restroom breaks or various urges. Using the ability on yourself left you a little alive to avoid getting hit by Turn Undead. And, I would imagine, after hundreds of years, you got good enough to lead an army of semi-alive undead Isekai protagonists.
  
  "Perfect. Thanks, Aqua," I said before stopping, "How much longer until we're out of here?"
  
  It was Hestia that answered, her voice laced with strain, "Fifteen minutes. Maybe a little more than that." Funny how things work out like that. So, did I wait out the clock? Try to take a knee?
  
  Maybe. The dust would take 'about' fifteen minutes to settle. The spell would take 'about' fifteen minutes to charge. And I had had enough of counting on probablys and maybes and guesstimations.
  
  "Alright. I can work with that," I said, once again descending the stairs as I left the goddesses to it. Megumin had apparently changed hands because it was Yunyun that was carrying her when I reached the bottom of the stairs. Yunyun had a pack in her hands, with an empty glass pot that looked like it had been licked clean inside, while she wore a sheepish expression on her face. Megumin seemed far less sheepish.
  
  "Load it up! I'm getting ready for round two!" Megumin exclaimed, and I could only shake my head, finding myself bemused despite the situation.
  
  She really went through my entire reserve of mana potions. "Would if I could, but you drank it all. There's nothing left," I replied, an aghast expression finding its way onto Megumin's features. She really had thought that my inventory was a never-ending fountain of mana potions.
  
  "But how am I supposed to fight in the epic battle?! I can't believe I blew my load on a bunch of cannon fodder!" Megumin bemoaned her lot, but the phrasing of her complaining tickled something in the back of my mind. A conversation that was half-remembered, and a skill gained that I had yet to use simply because there hadn't been a need to use it.
  
  I wouldn't even consider it normally, but these weren't normal circumstances, and... honestly... I ran out of fucks to give a while ago.
  
  "That might not be true, but if we're going to do this, then we need to do it fast. I learned a skill from a succubus on how to transfer some of my mana into another person. But-" I started, being as upfront as possible, but it was surprisingly Yunyun that saw where I was going with this.
  
  "You want to transfer vitality?" She questioned, going beet red in the face as she dropped the backpack to cover her face with her hands, only to wince at the sound of breaking glass that followed.
  
  I tilted my head as Megumin looked puzzled, "You know about that skill?"
  
  Impossibly, Yunyun got even more embarrassed, "I... tried to go to the succubus salon. They taught me the skill as an apology and then black-listed me because my fantasies were too sad..."
  
  This girl... Megumin spoke up as I took a moment to recover from the implications that her fantasies were so sad that they blacklisted her, just like they blacklisted Darkness for being too much of a freak. "What's the skill? If it means I can fight, I'll do it in a heartbeat-"
  
  "It"s a sex skill," I clarified, making Megumin's jaw drop. "My vitality can be transferred through semen. I understand if you have reservations, but I'm not a minute man, Megumin. I need an answer now or there won't be enough time for me to cum." That was a sentence and a half, but it seemed appropriate given the circumstances.
  
  Megumin gaped up at me, at a complete loss for words. Yunyun was blushing so hard that every inch of her skin was a cherry red. However, Megumin closed her mouth a second later. She adopted a resolute expression that held an air of serene acceptance.
  
  "If it's for explosion magic, I will do anything!" She repeated the same words that she spoke to me the first time we had met. I was impressed with her dedication, even if I did think that dedication could better be applied elsewhere.
  
  "Alright. Follow me then."
  
  ...
  
  "A-are you seriously going to do this wearing armor?" Megumin asked, laid out on a table, looking apprehensive despite her proclamation. That was to be expected though. In response, I let the armor fade away from my form, revealing clothing that sported some burn marks because of the intense heat I had endured earlier.
  
  "I"m sorry about this, Megumin," I said, genuinely sorry. I know that she wouldn"t really see it, but sex was something you should treat with respect. Especially when you were taking someone"s virginity. It should be more than a quickie and a tool for a climactic battle. But, at the moment, that"s what we had.
  
  I couldn"t even tell her not to bother participating because... I had an idea lurking in the back of my mind, taking shape rapidly.
  
  "It"s fine," Megumin dismissed, a flush on her cheeks as her hands clutched at the edges of her skirt. "I mean, I totally saw this coming when you pretty much admitted that the familia was a harem. And, it"s not like... well... I don"t dislike you..." Megumin muttered, trailing off as she slowly raised her skirt, revealing the smooth skin of her upper thighs and black lacy panties. Then she turned to the side, "But I"m not sure why you"re here, Yunyun."
  
  Yunyun had her face buried in her hands, blushing so hard she practically radiated warmth. She couldn"t muster up an answer, so I spoke for her, guessing at her train of thought.
  
  "She"s here for support. Megumin, I"m going to have to get a little rough. There just isn"t a lot of time," I continued. I wasn"t a minute man. The whole harem was born because of my endurance. The problem became less of a concern when I unlearned the lessons I had picked up to stave off orgasms to make sex last longer from before I got the falna, but the fact of the matter was that my quickest shot was closer to half an hour than not.
  
  The situation I was in now was strangely similar to when I had had sex with Lili, except the time limit wasn"t because of magic. Worse, I had closer to ten minutes left to do it in, rather than thirty.
  
  "Ha! I can take... it..." Megumin swallowed thickly when I unzipped, my half-erect cock rapidly hardening to stand at attention. "Right..."
  
  I stepped forward, my hands reaching out to her panties, and pulled them down her cream-colored legs, revealing a few strands of sticky wetness that connected them to her body before they snapped. It seems that she really did get off on explosion magic -- she was wet enough that I wouldn"t need any foreplay. If anything, she looked like she was two or three orgasms in. I pressed my tip against her narrowed entrance. "Are you sure?" I asked, looking at her glowing red eyes.
  
  Her body was small, her pussy little more than a narrow slit that shone with arousal in the low light. The fact I had a number of perks geared towards sex made this possible -- my partner couldn"t feel pain unless that"s what they wanted. Off to the side, Yunyun watched through a rather obvious crack in her fingers. Megumin answered with a small nod, seeming to take in a breath to fortify herself, only to let it back out in a squeak as I slammed myself forward, fully sheathing myself inside of her with a single thrust.
  
  I really wish I could have savored the sensations of her body wrapped around me. Megumin's small pussy was warm, and so very wet and tight. Her body clung around my length, the difference in size created a noticeable bump in her belly, marking just how deeply I was buried inside of her. Megumin was small, and I was huge. I was too much for most people to handle, and I was certainly far more than what Megumin should be able to.
  
  However, as I felt her small body cling to me, arousal seeping out of her, I knew full well that I didn"t have to ask if she was okay. Yunyun made a sound so lewd you"d think it was her that I had entered, but she watched on without saying a word, mouth agape at the sight. I really did wish I could treat this with the respect that it deserved, but... time was of the essence.
  
  I pulled back, my cock now coated in her juices, before I slammed back her hard enough that the table scooted backwards a few inches before I grabbed hold of Megumin to keep her steady. My hips moved in a blur, fucking her harshly, but with as much tenderness as I could afford. With her legs in the air, caught between my arms as I held her by her hips,] I saw her toes curl as her expression fell into one of absolute bliss, not minding the rough treatment in the slightest. That, I was thankful for.
  
  The room the three of us had comandeered was filled with her breathless moans as each thrust seemed to force the air from her lungs. Her arousal dripped onto the table, soaking the wood as smell of sex spread through the room. Her breasts may have been small, but they still offered a small bounce behind the cloth of her dress her hardened nipples straining against the fabric.
  
  Pressing my lips into a thin line, I spared a glance at Yunyun, who moved had from being half-mortified on Megumin's behalf to being unable to hide her arousal as a hand dipped between her legs. She froze when our eyes met, but, slowly, she approached when I beckoned her to. Yunyun... also not how I would have preferred this to go down, but I needed to cum as soon as possible.
  
  Part of me questioned just how easily Yunyun was going along with this, but the other parts of me silenced that part by reaching out and groping Yunyun"s butt. Her soft skin was under my hands, tender flesh that easily fit in the palm of my hand, proving that she outmatched her eternal rival in the chest and butt departments. Yunyun looked up at me with wide eyes, her eyes glowing bright red.
  
  With my tactile telekinesis, I effortlessly picked her up and pressed my lips against hers, stealing her first kiss as I stole her friend"s virginity. Yunyun pressed her body against me as I seated her on the table as I relentlessly fucked Megumin, trying to overload myself with pleasure to cum as soon as possible.
  
  Yunyun"s top was made for easy access to her breasts, though I doubt that was her intention -- with a quick tug, I freed them before palming them, my fingers curling around her rock-hard nipples. I rolled them in between my pointer finger and thumb, savoring the reactions that Yunyun gave me. The look she gazed up at me with half-lidded eyes rivaled Darkness' in lewdness -- her eyes were just begging me to fuck her. I wanted to. I did. I really fucking did, but...
  
  "I"m going to ruin both of you after this is over," I decided, and Yunyun"s eyes flashed dangerously even as she blushed. But, for now, I had to focus. I was on a time limit and I was feeling the pressure. I pounded into Megumin, her entire body shaking from the force of the thrusts. Her jaw was slack, and there was a real danger of her biting her tongue if it lolled out. She came constantly, orgasms one after another assaulting her every sense while I pushed myself closer to my own.
  
  My hand pawed at Yunyun"s breasts, her whimpers of pleasure nearly lost in the sounds of our hips slapping together. My cock throbbed, a warning that I was starting to get close, encouraging me to pound into Megumin even harder, until the wood table began to crack and splinter underneath her. I grit my teeth, trying to will the cum to erupt from me.
  
  Then, with one final thrust, it did. Megumin"s stomach rose a bit when my cum flooded her womb, packed in tightly, because there was no room for it to go anywhere else, until some managed to escape the airtight seal her pussy made as it wrapped around me. I heaved a breath, my heart pounding in my chest and... I had to admit, I did feel less stressed.
  
  Megumin twitched as she came at the sensation of being filled to the absolute brim and then some. Yunyun watched with a sense of awe, barely noticing that my hand had left her breast.
  
  Megumin groaned, proving that she was somehow still conscious. I let myself rest inside of her before I took a moment to check out my stats, wondering how much of a loss to my stats I just took.
  
  Jericho
  Level: 85
  Title: High King of Skyrim
  Health: 25,000
  Magika: 18,000
  Progress to next level: 0/500,000
  Strength: 300 +1451+249= 2000
  Endurance: 350 +2075+75= 2500
  Dexterity: 225 +972+53= 2250
  Intelligence: 200 +702+98= 1000
  Sense: 250 +1265+235= 1750
  
  Okay, something wasn"t right. My stats went up? How did I get that-
  
  "Oh, shit," I muttered, recalling the phrasing of my skill Sex. My parameters were increased during sexual intercourse. I never realized that it meant that in a tangible way and the boost would be so significant because, well, my focus was on the girl I was fucking rather than looking at my numbers go up.
  
  This was... I looked at Megumin, "How are you feeling?" I asked her and received a dumbfounded smile as she shifted her attention away from the ceiling to look at me.
  
  "I feel... powerful! And full," she added after a brief moment. There was a dangerous look in her eyes as they gleamed in the low light. I wasn't quite sure how the mechanics were working at the moment, but it seemed my bonus for having sex was bearing out in the transfer of stats to Megumin.
  
  Yunyun made a noise of distress, shockingly eager to continue, but before I could say a word, a fist hammered at the door behind us. "SENPAI! SENPAI! THE DUST SETTLED!" Kazuma shouted as a warning, making me go still. My internal clock told me it had only been fourteen minutes. About fifteen minutes had bit me in the ass.
  
  I took in a deep breath as I looked at Megumin, letting go of Yunyun with some reluctance. "Megumin, do you trust me?" I asked her, earning a slow blink from her before a small nod. "Good. Because, if we do this right... you could get the final blow on Shartan."
  
  "Who?" Megumin questioned, but there was no time to answer.
  
  Because it was time to metagame.
  
  My armor rolled over my body as I twisted Megumin on my cock, that was still acting as a plug to keep my cum inside of her. She let out a moan, but adjusted quickly with her back turned towards me. My armor began to solidify, and as it did the special enchantment that Hephaestus placed on it allowing it to change according to my needs had never been more prevalent. Megumin's legs were wrapped around my waist, at least as much as they could be from behind.
  
  A bar appeared around her, like the kind used in rollercoasters, connected to my ribs to keep her upper half sitting up and stable while she remained impaled on my cock.
  
  This was so fucking stupid. But it would work because it was so fucking stupid. This world ran on stupid.
  
  "Ready Megumin?" I questioned, striding to the door like there wasn't a Loli impaled on me at the moment. Megumin panted with each step, my penis shifting inside of her. Despite that, Megumin nodded as Yunyun gave her her staff.
  
  "Come back to me," Yunyun requested, directing the words to Megumin. They were eerily similar to Hestia's.
  
  "Don't worry Y-Yunyun! With explosion magic, no one is unbeatable! " Megumin proclaimed as I pushed open the door, nearly making Megumin headbutt Kazuma as we left the building located right next to the city gates. Kazuma blinked, his mouth opening and closing, but I moved past him and leapt to the city gates.
  
  This would only work with speed. If I could defeat Shartan then I would. If I couldn't, then I had to last however long it took for the gods to get us out of here.
  
  The dust had settled, giving me a near clear view of the forces arranged across from the gate. I took in a deep breath, "FUS RO DAH!" I shouted, kicking up the cloud of dust once again, hopefully preventing Shartan from getting a good look at me. Megumin made a sound of awe, or it could have just been a moan. But, in a low voice, I spoke, "Ready your magic."
  
  With that, I took off in a bust of speed, my armor temporarily shifting to protect Megumin from the wind shear. I disappeared into the dust and I heard a sigh in my ears.
  
  "Oh, again? Really? " Shartan asked, sounding annoyed as I sailed towards him. I responded with Dragonrend, shattering the barrier that I knew was there, letting me sail overhead like a speeding bullet. For the briefest of moments, I saw a glimpse of our impossible odds.
  
  The soldiers were all blessed. The mages had their spells at the ready. The archers had arrows trained on me. The warriors were leaping up to attack. Despite it all, somehow, my gaze was drawn to Shartan, who looked up at me.
  
  My armor faded, revealing Megumin as she released the loudest moan she could make, her pussy milking my cock for all it was worth. Somehow, she actually managed to use that moan as an abbreviated chant, in place of her usual chuuni spiel.
  
  Shartan didn't have eyes that could widen, or a face that could depict surprise, but I had other ways to tell what he was feeling.
  
  "What the fuck?!" Shartan exclaimed in my ears, and with that exclamation came the collapse of his army. As one, like puppets with their strings cut, the adventurers collapsed. The mages fell, their spells fading and winking out. The archers toppled over, their bows and crossbows falling to the ground. The soldiers crumpled, their arms and armor hitting the ground along with their corpses and bones.
  
  His concentration had been broken. Because who in their right mind would expect this?
  
  Megumin leveled her staff, "Explosion~!" Megumin shouted, and she came hard on my cock as the magical circles stacking on top of another, amplifying the power of her spell and further empowered by the cum inside of her, taking her explosion magic to levels previously unknown.
  
  I didn't feel or hear the explosion, we were too close, but my vision went white. Over the ringing that now filled the silence in my ears, I heard a familiar ping.
  
  And I knew we were victorious.
  
  ...
  
  The final chapter of Power Corrupts has been posted to my Patreon! Three chapters are left.
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
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  I found myself in a familiar white void -- Megumin was gone, and I didn't see anyone else. I had accepted the call to leave the world as soon as I heard that familiar ping that I had only heard once before. But, I recognized it all the same. I had hit my win condition to allow for the next world selection. I still wasn't fully sure what exact criteria I had to fulfill to be able to leave, but so far, it seemed to be something like 'defeat the big bad evil guy.'
  
  "Okay, so what am I working with?" I questioned the void, wanting to jump right into it. I've done this song and dance a few times before, so I knew what I was doing. I didn't feel particularly antsy, the void imposing the effects of Gamer's Mind on me to keep me calm and rational. In response, pitch-black words formed in front of me, the dark coloring standing out in the vast whiteness in every direction.
  
  Previous game data has been analyzed -- Notable achievements:
  
  Hero:
  You became a figure of legend in Skyrim. 25,000 points.
  
  King:
  Who needs democracy when you can hit things good? You became King of Skyrim. 25,000 points.
  
  Lover of Gods:
  You engaged in sexual relations with several gods. 10,000 points.
  
  Doomslayer:
  The end of the world was foretold and staved off with your actions. 20,000 points.
  
  Harem Protagonist:
  Have a harem of more than 3 people. 5,000 points.
  
  Public Enemy:
  Be hated by an entire kingdom. 5,000 points.
  
  Craftsman of Legend:
  Create an item worthy of Legend. 5,000 points.
  
  Unlikely Hero:
  Despite being hated by everyone in Axel, you saved them anyway. 5,000 points.
  
  A low whistle escaped me as I looked at the various achievements I had gained from the past two worlds. A grand total of a hundred thousand points that I could invest into myself and use to pick out various items. I guess that's what happens when you do two worlds back to back. Those points would be useful, but I had more pressing concerns.
  
  The world selector appeared before me, showing the various tiers of worlds. I did note that the point cap had gone up, but other than that, I didn't linger on the choice and quickly picked Skyrim once again. It was then that I saw what I was looking for. I couldn't stop the small breath of relief that escaped me.
  
  Welcome to the Kingdom management feature! From here, you are able to purchase perks and benefits for your kingdom similar to how you purchase them for yourself.
  
  I saw a map of Skyrim, in addition to the land that I had bought in my time at Axel. The city of Axel itself wasn't there though, since I guess I didn't buy it. That was fine though. What I did see was a button called import citizens for a thousand points. And given that I had fought to save them and I became their unlikely Hero, everyone in Axel counted. With little hesitation, I pressed the button.
  
  There. Problem solved. The local gods could quarantine the Konosuba world all they liked. I did my part -- I saved the Axis cult, which I knew I would regret, I saved the Crimson Demons, which I was probably also going to regret at some point, and a bunch of other people. And I could see how the feature would be used later on -- I would go to worlds, be the big damn hero, then I could import people that wanted to come. Those people would then spread across my kingdom, which I could grow in size as I could, in theory, add more landmass to it as needed.
  
  It was a neat mechanic, I decided. With the most pressing issue dealt with, I took some time exploring the various options for Kingdom customization available to me. There was a lot, and it was fairly obvious how each perk could be used.
  
  Like a perk that made citizens more loyal the longer they lived in the Kingdom. Essentially brainwashing them. Add another perk called Absolute Ruler, and I could do whatever I wanted. Along with a few other perks named Beautiful population, and well...
  
  There were other perks. Like the ability to transport the entire kingdom into new settings. For an increased cost, I could even pick where the kingdom was located. There were more options -- magical borders to fuck with invading forces, buffs to my own armies, and I could make my own deposits of minerals.
  
  I never wanted to be king of Skyrim, but I could see the value of the mechanic. Enough so that it seemed like it was worth investing in. I picked out a few perks that seemed useful -- Multidimensional Kingdom, Threat Detection, Abundant Resources, Extensive Hygiene, and lastly, Melting Pot. From top to bottom, I could teleport my kingdom with me at no additional cost. Threat Detection was what the name on the tin implied -- I got warm and cold spot readings on threats in my kingdom.
  
  Abundant Resources made minerals more abundant while increasing the fertility of the soil, while Extensive Hygiene just made my population take good care of their personal hygiene. Technically it was brainwashing, but... eh. Melting Pot would take care of racial tensions because that was an issue I just didn"t want to deal with, and with a press of a button, it went away. Very convenient.
  
  All that was really left was picking out perks for myself. Sadly, I ended up coming up a bit dry on choices in that regard. I didn't get to hit many milestones for my stats, so I didn't earn a variety of choices. For the most part, I ended up getting the choices that I skipped over. With my surplus of points, I was able to buy all of them. Even after my little shopping spree, I still had around fifty thousand points.
  
  There wasn't much to spend it on until I discovered I could turn the points into skill points that I could then invest into myself. With fifty thousand points, I started swiping right on sliders across the board, maxing out what I deemed important, then going back and purchasing the perks that came available afterward.
  
  When I was done, I nodded in satisfaction, "Alright, let's get this show on the road," I decided. The customization was short and sweet, and I had things to do.
  
  My vision went white, and...
  
  ...
  
  I stood at the throat of the world, the highest point on the planet of Nirn. All things considered, it hadn't exactly been that long since I last stood on the peak of this mountain. Little more than a month really, but it almost felt like a lifetime ago. Next to me, I heard the sounds of crunching snow, my expanded vision allowing me to see Paarthurnax, the ancient dragon taking notice of me as well.
  
  The last time I saw him, Alduin was devouring him, his soul flaking off of him and being absorbed into Alduin, granting him strength. Even at his weakest, Alduin was overwhelming. So much so that two falna levels later, I doubted I could defeat him at his best.
  
  "Outsider... your presence is..." Paarthurnax rumbled, shaking off a metric ton of snow to reveal silverish white scales.
  
  I offered a thin smile, "Some time shenanigans happened. So, sorry for giving your dad a seizure," I apologized. This was a dragonbreak, or a break in time. Aqua had been able to follow through with her promise -- I was transported before the final battle. In a manner of speaking. "It's a bit of a story, but the long and short of it is that I'm back to kill Alduin right this time."
  
  Paarthurnax shifted, rising to his full height and towered over me. The ancient dragon paused for a long moment, mulling that over, before his head dipped into a nod. "I see. I take it that my brother's arrival happened sooner than expected?" He asked while I turned my attention to the Marks that Sheogorath had placed.
  
  "Not if I have anything to say about it," I said as the Marks flashed. From thin air, I saw Serana arrive first. It had only been a month, but I really did feel longer. Serana's dark hair was blowing wildly in the wind, revealing her pale skin and blood-red eyes. A trait she shared with the Crimson Demons. Serana seemed momentarily surprised to see me, her eyes widening.
  
  "Mr. Jericho?" I heard Lili question, peeking her head out from behind Serana with a surprised expression on her face. As far as they knew, I was back at the manor and had no reason to be here.
  
  I was already fucking with the timeline, so what was a little more fuckery? It was a simple change, really. Instead of heading down to deal with some orc mercenaries and meeting Aela there, I headed for the throat of the world. That's all it took to circumvent the events that led to Alduin arriving early and unexpectedly.
  
  "Hey, Lili and Serana," I returned, looking at Lili. She looked the same -- same heart-shaped face, golden-brown eyes, and short, light brown curly hair. Her build was slight, even smaller than Megumin, but her curves were more pronounced. I took a moment to drink in the sight -- in the end, they hadn't changed.
  
  I did.
  
  "So, it turns out, opening a portal through space and time to look at Alduin's defeat is a bad idea. It's just going to make him arrive sooner," I said, and Serana blinked at the tone of my voice. She cocked an eyebrow while Lili frowned.
  
  "Mr. Jericho?" She questioned as I approached, sounding uncertain. "Did something bad happen?"
  
  "It would have," I told her, dodging the question as much as I could. In the end, I really didn't want to discuss what had happened. I was far more interested in what would happen. After all, the circumstances had changed wildly. I looked at Serana, who offered the Elder Scroll that they had picked up so she could learn Dragonrend. "I'll explain later, but... lots of things happened. Actually, it might just be easier to show you -- Paarthurnax, could you clear the skies real quick?"
  
  Paarthurnax let out a noise that borderlined on disapproval, "The Thu'um is not something that should be used for mere convenience. But, in this case... LOK VAH KOOR!" Paarthurnax shouted, blasting away the heavy and thick clouds that blocked the view of what was below.
  
  We walked to the edge and I heard Lili gasp at the sight. Serana was the one who spoke, "I think we will need an explanation. What I'm seeing leaves me with more questions than answers." She pointed out, and I suppose that was fair.
  
  The space around Helgen had been contorted. Helgen was nestled in the valley between two mountains, but those mountains had been pushed back by more than fifty miles in every direction. Around the walls of Helgen was the land that I had purchased in Konosuba -- some of which was little more than craters from the battle. It looked very out of place with green grass and trees compared to the snow and hard stone that surrounded it.
  
  From my view, I could see that the influx of people was being dealt with. In Axel, there had been about three cities worth of people as we made our escape. Which was probably a huge chunk of the total population in all likelihood. I hadn't seen Hestia yet, but I imagine she was down there with the others, getting the whole mess sorted.
  
  "I died killing Alduin, and my soul got plucked out of Nirn for being a hero, to save another world. Things got complicated -- the gods there decided to quarantine the universe, so we had to make a break for it. And I ended up taking a few cities worth of people and some land with me," I summarized the events of Konosuba in a few short sentences. Lili looked very unimpressed, clearly desiring more answers, but... "We should head down and get everything sorted. After all, now that we know the scroll lets Alduin out of the space-time continuum, we can choose when he comes out."
  
  Serana and Lili exchanged a look before they looked back at me, "That didn"t help either."
  
  "Ehh, don"t worry about it. The important part is that I"m going to fuck up Alduin, and I ended up picking up some interesting characters. By the way, if anyone from the Axis Cult comes up to you about worshiping Aqua, feel free to kick their ass," I decided, heading to the Mark. Was that religious persecution? Probably, but the Axis cult annoyed the hell out of me, and they owed me their lives. They could deal with it.
  
  "I don"t think it"s right to persecute someone for their religious beliefs," Serana commented lightly -- I suppose after being a part of a Daedric cult, she felt like she shouldn"t be throwing stones.
  
  "Neither do I, but I"ll make an exception for the Axis Cult," I returned. "You"ll see what I mean," I promised before the three of us stood on the Mark. I looked to Paarthurnax, "I"ll be back soon enough. Call it two or three days before we spring Alduin." And this time, no one would die.
  
  Paarthurnax offered an accepting nod in response, his cold blue eyes looking through me. If the dragon had one thing, then it was patience. He could wait a little longer to get the full scope of what transpired. With that, I activated the Mark and found myself falling from my ceiling. I effortlessly caught Lili, and Serana landed lightly on her feet. My gaze swept over the interior of the manor, finding it unchanged from how I remembered it .
  
  Though, that only lasted for a moment.
  
  "Who- oh!" Yunyun exclaimed upon seeing me as she stepped out of a bedroom. Her face instantly turned beet red the moment she did. "You... have a teleportation sigil on your ceiling?" She asked , which seemed like an odd thing to latch onto, but I suppose she was still reeling from what we did in that room during the battle against the 'First' Demon King .
  
  "It was put there by the god of madness. Yunyun, this is Serana and Lili, members of my familia. Serana, Lili -- this is Yunyun, a member of the Crimson Demon Clan and one of those people from another dimension I mentioned." I introduced them, making Yunyun drop into a bow. Lili looked up at me -- she had been through this once, so she was more familiar with this. After all, last time, she and Hestia had been the fish out of water.
  
  "Nice to meet you!" Yunyun greeted forcefully. Lili smiled lightly as she approached, while Serana shot me a look. I shrugged, choosing to ignore the unspoken question in her gaze.
  
  "Nice to meet you, Yunyun," Lili returned.
  
  "Yunyun, do you know where Hestia is?" I asked her, making Yunyun straighten out, though she pointedly looked everywhere but at my face. I had some guesses, but given that so many new people had been dumped here, I had no way of knowing for sure. In response, I got an uncertain nod.
  
  "She's in the city square. She sent me and Megumin back," Yunyun said, her blush deepening. "She's arranging for an evacuation. A dragon is coming, right? My family is really excited to fight it." She said, and it seemed that I had brought some allies with me this go around.
  
  However, I shook my head, "Not yet, but I'll let Alduin out in a few days." Enough time to make sure all of my supposed allies were actually in the city so they couldn't run from the fight. "For now though, I suppose I should introduce you to-" I began, stepping past Yunyun to open my bedroom door, intent on introducing Megumin to the rest of the familia.
  
  However, as soon as I saw her laying on the bed, her legs wide open with my cum oozing from her well-used pussy, her eyes a million miles away to the point that she didn't even register me poking my head into the room I withdrew and closed the door behind me. "She's sleeping, but Megumin is the newest member of the familia."
  
  Serana let out a chuckle, "It seems I wasn't the newest member for long. I look forward to meeting her," she offered. I offered a smile back, but as they headed to the door to find Hestia, I dipped down to Yunyun's height.
  
  "Do you still want to join the familia?" I asked her quietly, and before I could even explain that it wasn't strictly necessary, Yunyun's head bobbed like a bobblehead, eager to join. Enough so that I wasn't sure if I had to explain that sex wasn't a necessity to join. I don't think it mattered in the slightest to her.
  
  And she had been fairly willing back in Konosuba.
  
  "Then expect me to keep my promise," I told her lowly, and Yunyun blushed so hard that she almost radiated warmth. Swallowing the smirk that wanted to spread across my face , I straightened up and headed for the door. "Stay with Megumin for now, if you can. When she wakes up, it'll be good for her to see a friendly face"
  
  To that, I got a heartfelt smile and a firm nod.
  
  Walking out of the manor, I saw that the streets were packed to the absolute brim. There was a sense of urgency in the air while people looked upwards to the sky, expecting Alduin to swoop down at any moment. The population of Helgen had just quadrupled, but Hestia had future-proofed the city so it was just a case of making sure people got organized.
  
  Making my way to the city square was a simple task when people parted for me as I walked. The Skyrim population knew me as a king and as a living legend. The Konosuba population was more of a mixed bag. But, seeing how most of the worst offenders had traveled with Kazuma and got themselves killed, all that was really left were those that knew me as the guy that fought Shartan's army. And as the guy that would just go through them if they got in my way.
  
  As I neared the square, I nearly missed a step when I reached the stairs. While I had been up at the throat of the world, and then in the manor, the timeline had played out normally down here.
  
  I spotted firey red hair, bringing my attention to Aela, who stood next to Hestia, who was on a platform with the other gods as they barked out instructions. The last time I saw her, she had been half-buried in rubble, and all I could do for her was toss a health potion. It really made me think about how the aftermath would have played out. Helgen had been devastated, so many dead...
  
  But that didn't matter. It was a defunct timeline.
  
  I kept walking, even as I recognized others that died in the last timeline. I saw Farkas and Vilkas near Aela, along with so many others that died in the battle. The Companions had been taken out instantly, almost as soon as they arrived from the Mark. Sheogorath had only managed to save two of us. Everyone else was obliterated in the face of the Thu"um.
  
  The crowd clearing for me made it easy to see me and the others. Well, except for Lili. Hestia looked over at me with bright blue eyes, a look of resolve on her face that fell when I raised the Elder Scroll up for her to see. I saw her let out a breath of relief at the sight. The message had been received.
  
  I tried to wipe any emotion from my face as I approached, but when I felt a thump on my shoulder and saw a familiar face pop into existence, I couldn't quite manage it.
  
  "Ya' look like you've seen a ghost!" Sheogorath cackled at me before she threw an arm over my shoulder and pointed over at what looked like a group of Crimson Demons. They were pretty easy to pick out thanks to the spiked collars and the unnecessary amount of leather straps that served no purpose beyond aesthetics. "I like your new friends! They"re a rowdy bunch!"
  
  I just had the mental image of the Crimson Demons becoming Sheogorath"s familia, and honestly, that was a deeply terrifying prospect. But, I"ve decided I"m done with trying to make everyone do what I wanted. Probably what I shouldn"t be doing as King, but... eh.
  
  "Glad you like them. Each and every single one of them is ridiculously powerful, so Alduin won"t know what hit him," I said, continuing to stride forward while Hestia was temporarily lost among the crowd when she jumped from her stand to head towards me. I heard Sheogorath chuckle at that as she gave me a sideways look. Her green eye and purple eye switched coloring and I felt the sensation of magic brush over my skin.
  
  "Suppose so. Looks like someone got a bit bigger in the past thirty minutes," she remarked, revealing the fact that she knew time shenanigans were afoot despite not being told outright. Maybe the Crimson Demons had tipped her off, but with a single look, I knew that Sheogorath had gained a near full picture of what happened.
  
  "A little," I admitted. By that, I meant several times over. When I left Skyrim, I had been a level two. Now, I had reached level four by the falna system and I was closer to a hundred than not with the normal system. "I feel good about our chances," I added, and I did feel confident. I had armor made to counter Alduin"s Thu"um, I was several times stronger than I had been, and now I had allies in the city that would arrive when I needed them.
  
  If I needed them.
  
  Sheogorath slapped me on the back, "I"m looking forward to it! Can you really say you"ve lived until you"ve suplexed a dragon?" She questioned, and before I could answer, Sheogorath popped out of existence. I might have been concerned, but I saw her appear above a small girl that looked like Komekko, Megumin"s little sister. I looked away just in time to see Hestia push through the crowd.
  
  "Alduin"s not coming?" She asked, before her gaze shifted to Lili and Serana. She looked between them, then me, as if she wasn"t sure if she should deal with her familia or the dragon first. With little surprise, she chose her familia, and wrapped her arms around Lili and gave her a powerful hug. Lili seemed faintly confused, but both she and Serana seemed to understand what was going on.
  
  Hestia soon found a way to both smother the long-missed members of our familia and worry about Alduin's potential arrival -- picking Lili up in her hug and looking to me. I met her gaze and nodded, "Alduin won"t be coming until we release him in a few days. So, we have a little time before the storm." I said, and with my expanded vision, I saw Aela approach from behind.
  
  So, we had a little time to enjoy ourselves.
  
  And a little time to settle some accounts.
  
  "Let"s call it a calm before the storm."
  
  ...
  
  The first chapter of Fool's World is up on Patreon for Biggest Tippers.
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  My Stories: Gone Native: Earth Saga (DBZ/DC Comics), Risk It All (Young Justice/Gamer), Fool's World (F/SN), Legends Never Die (Ahistorical/CKIII Gamer), Castoff (Berserk/Witcher 3)
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  Organization didn't take that long, all things considered. Oddly enough, the Skyrim natives took pretty well to the 'Outlanders' for the most part. There was some serious culture clash between some groups -- Konosuba ran off of stupid, and in Skyrim, stupid got you killed, but the gods ended up being figures that unified the unlikely groups. The gods from Konosuba reassured those from Konosuba that all was well. The gods in town that were from Skyrim, and Hestia, reassured the natives that all was well.
  
  Me telling everyone to calm the fuck down also helped.
  
  The only real issue left was that Sheogorath and the Crimson Demon Clan got on like a house on fire. And, more than once, they actually set a house on fire. But that's why we invited the fire department.
  
  "You've changed," Serana noted as I made myself a sandwich. It was an idle remark that didn't have much prompting, which is why I just cocked an eyebrow as I took a bite. "You used to have a lot more tact. Spoke softly, as it were," she clarified.
  
  I chewed thoughtfully before swallowing with a shrug, "Diplomacy is overrated," I decided. "Bending over backward to get people to like me didn't work. Now I'm just going to do my thing. Everyone else can get on board or get out the way," I said, knowing I was quoting someone, but I wasn't sure who. But, it was fitting so I shamelessly stole it.
  
  "Not something most people would like to hear from a king," Serana pointed out, but there was a lack of heat behind her words. It seemed like she felt compelled to point that out for my sake more than anything.
  
  "Probably not, but that's not my problem," I said with a smile, earning a thin one in response. Honestly speaking, I didn't intend to be much of a King. The only reason I bothered to keep the crown was because of the absolutely massive discount on teleporting other people through the multiverse. Hestia seemed to enjoy the day-to-day responsibilities, so I would leave them to her. And whoever else wanted to help her out. Maybe Eris since she was kinda panicking about losing her job after we broke the quarantine.
  
  All in all, I was just wearing the crown. I didn't have any aspirations to be a king to start with, and I had even less now.
  
  Serana let out a sigh, "Just don't be too honest. Most people can't handle the truth," she remarked.
  
  "Can't make any promises," I said, finishing off my sandwich and tossing the dirty plate in my inventory so I could wash it later. "Are you ready?" I asked her, shifting the topic to the elephant in the room.
  
  Serana seemed to think about it, her eyes roaming me before her head dipped into a nod, "I believe so. We have all the cards in our hands, and you appear... confident." She said, her gaze drifting up to meet me. "Before, you walked like the sky was weighing down on your shoulders. Now it's like you're treating Alduin as another dungeon dive." By that, she meant I had complete confidence that I could kill whatever was at the bottom of the dungeon.
  
  And maybe she was right. It wasn't like I was going in overconfident as hell, but I did feel confident. I was several times stronger, Alduin was arriving the exact moment I wanted him to, and my support had already arrived. All that was really left were tying off loose ends and making some final preparations.
  
  "Hmm," I hummed in thought, before offering another small shrug of my shoulders. "I already beat him once," I reassured her lightly. Serana seemed to appreciate my confidence. And, I'm guessing, not being the sole point of failure in the plan that the entire world depended on. That probably also helped.
  
  My attention was stolen when I heard the front door open, "Jericho!" I heard Hestia shout, making me peak out of the kitchen to see that Hestia had arrived with guests. My expression instantly went flat when I saw who they were.
  
  Azura entered the manor that I built with my own two hands, looking around with faint interest. My gaze settled on the one behind her, though. The Nerevarine. Onyx black skin, with stark white hair that fell down to his shoulders in a wild mane of hair. His gaze met mine, and a slight smile appeared on his face. Almost as if he saw exactly what just went through my mind the moment that I saw him.
  
  "We are here to uphold our end of the bargain," Azura said, squaring her shoulders and looking haughty the moment she saw me. Hestia hid a dull expression by looking at me rather than them, betraying her annoyance.
  
  "Would have been nice if you showed up in the original timeline," I remarked, speaking to one of the few people that would understand exactly what I meant. To that, the Nerevarine offered an unapologetic shrug in response.
  
  "The future is open to those that know how to see it. I found this future preferable to others," he defended his absence easily, expecting me to understand. And... it was annoying that I kinda did. I could see why he decided to be a no-show. It made sense from his point of view.
  
  If he had shown up, a lot of bad things wouldn't have happened. People wouldn't have died. I probably wouldn't have died. We would have won, but it would have been at a cost. I could see that too clearly.
  
  By not showing up, he enabled me to grow stronger several times over. I gained more powerful allies. I gained ways to empower those allies. There were good reasons why I was feeling confident about round two with Alduin.
  
  When it came to a choice between timeline A and B, it was clear that this one was more preferable. It had far more advantages. It was a clear choice. Which is why the Nerevarine picked it. It made absolute sense. He'd have to be an idiot for choosing anything different.
  
  But, that was my life he had played games with. I watched people I cared about die. Just because they were alive now didn't mean that I hadn't watched them die. Letting him off the hook for that rubbed me the wrong way, even if I could admit that he had a valid reason to.
  
  "And if I say I"m leaving it to you since I killed him last time?" I questioned, but there was a sigh in my voice. One that the Nerevarine heard because he gave me a pointed look.
  
  "If that is your wish, then it will be done. But we both know that you want to kill him yourself," he pointed out with the certainty of someone who knew they were right. And he was. I did want to kill Alduin with my own two hands. While we spoke, Azura looked between us, trying to hide her confusion, but she didn't do a good job of it. Especially when she looked back and forth, her eyes narrowed into squints, while she frowned.
  
  It was annoying. Honestly, I wanted to punish him for being a dick. Tell him to fuck off or something, but doing that meant that Azura would have fucked me with the trade deal we made. I mean, she already did, but getting the Nerevarine on my side had just as much appeal as the Black Star. So, if I did tell them to fuck off, I pretty much gave Azura a Jarlship, a hell of a trade deal, and pretty much unlimited financial support for nothing. None of which I really cared about. It was a matter of principle.
  
  The Black Star was worth it alone, but...
  
  "Eh, whatever," I dismissed the entire issue with a shrug, disinterested in escalating. Instead of looking at as the Nerevarine fucking me over, I decided to look at it as him giving me a chance to grow stronger, and letting me expand the familia. Hestia seemed a bit surprised at the easy dismissal, as did Serana, who was far more open with her expressions when she was standing behind me, where she thought I couldn't see her.
  
  The Nerevarine, the prick, just nodded like he expected nothing less. "We shall be available whenever you decide to release Alduin," he said, casually revealing something he shouldn't know. Chim was such bullshit. I should have gone for enlightenment instead of gathering allies and stat growth. He offered a small bow before he grabbed a hold of Azura's hand. The haughty goddess blushed at the display of affection, immediately undercutting whatever she had been about to say.
  
  With that, they turned around and left.
  
  "Well... that went well," Hestia decided, looking proud of me. I think she was mistaking my lack of interest for restraint. Not that I was going to correct her. "And we're all ready for an evacuation! The only people that are staying are the ones fighting. The city should be clear by tomorrow."
  
  Serana took that as her cue for she knew what that meant. "I think I'll go introduce myself to the Crimson Demon Clan," she announced, giving both of us a nod before she headed for the door. Hestia waved goodbye, but when the door closed behind her, she looked at me with faint disappointment.
  
  "Trauma isn't something you get over so easily," I reminded her, earning a sad sigh. Her frustration came from the fact that there wasn't really anything we could do but give her time and space. "She'll come to us when she feels comfortable. We just have to wait."
  
  "I know... but I wanted the entire familia involved... I guess we'll just have to wait on that," Hestia said as she approached, making me dip down to effortlessly sweep her off her feet. Hestia leaned in to plant a kiss on my lips, humming happily as she did so. I kissed her back as I headed for the bedroom. Expanded vision prevented me from tripping over anything, and when the door swung open...
  
  It was hard to stay mad about the turn my life had taken when I was seeing such a blatant reminder that my life, at its worst, was still pretty awesome.
  
  There were three nude women on my bed -- Megumin, Darkness, and Yunyun. At least I was assuming the latter was nude since she was currently under the covers. Megumin was pulling on Darkness's nipples with a look of curious awe on her face as Darkness mewled in pleasure. Yunyun watched on from underneath the covers, her masturbation not quite as subtle as she might think it was.
  
  But, they weren't the only ones in the room. Sitting on a chair was Aela, who tried to read a book to no avail, because her gaze kept drifting to Darkness and Megumin. Lydia stood next to her, standing awkwardly off to the side, looked at us as we entered, and seeming excited and nervous in equal measures.
  
  Lydia almost looked odd without her armor, I thought, because this was the first time I had seen her without it. Her black hair was left undone, letting it fall to the center of her back. She wore a linen shirt, but nothing else, revealing long legs the color of cream. Her palm-sized breasts poked through the shirt, revealing hardened nipples.
  
  "Sorry about the wait, even though it looks like you got started without us," I said, bringing everyone's attention to me. Megumin flinched back as if she had been caught with her hands in the cookie jar, while Darkness looked to be on the verge of an orgasm fueled by pure excitement.
  
  Aela looked up at me, "This wasn't what I imagined when we first became one," the redhead pointed out, her tone idle, without any real heat. More of an amused observation rather than an accusation. Then her eyes slid to Lili, who sat in the corner across from her. Her gaze flickered to her, then to the few on the bed, then to Hestia, and finally to me. I could see the question of logistics in her eyes, but she didn't voice it.
  
  She wouldn't believe it until she saw it.
  
  "Me neither," I agreed, "We can do something private later, if you want," I had extended the offer once before to her and Lydia when this was first brought up. In short, I was giving out power-ups. My bonus to my stats would be given to my partners, and by tomorrow, I would recover the drop in stats. On top of that, Hestia could offer increased blessings. So, Alduin was super fucked.
  
  Aela shook her head, "This... is fine with me," she said as she stood up. With casual ease, she reached up to the leather string at the back of her neck that held up her top and undid it with a flick of her wrist. The flaps came undone, revealing her pale breasts, capped with rosy red nipples. "I've waited too long for this as it is."
  
  Lili made a noise, "Lili thinks we should go by seniority amongst the familia," she said, meaning that she would go first.
  
  "Jericho already said that Yunyun was next... and he owes me, so I'm going after her!" Megumin offered as I kicked the door closed behind me. Hestia raised a hand up to quell the arguing before it could really begin.
  
  "As the goddess of this familia, I'll decide who's going first," Hestia decided, looking out at everyone. They waited a moment to hear her decision, accepting that she had the right to decide. "The one who will go first is... me!" Hestia announced, clinging to me jealously at the expressions of everyone else.
  
  "Lady Hestia has spent too much time with Lady Dibella..." Lili muttered under her breath.
  
  "You heard her," I said, ending the conversation with action as well as words. I undid Hestia's blue bow at her neck, letting the blue ribbon fall to the ground as her top came undone, freeing her breasts, which bounced as I laid her down onto the bed. There was an excited, but loving smile on her face as I began to take off my shirt, only to feel hands stop me. I saw it was Lydia and Aela, their hands roaming my body before they began to take off my shirt for me.
  
  Lili climbed onto the bed, her hands going to my pants. Megumin joined in, though she tugged at them with far less grace than Lili. Darkness, and surprisingly Yunyun, helped pull the dress off of Hestia, the latter only joining in when she saw that everyone else was, though she tried to work underneath the covers to the best of her ability. It didn't really work, but with her stomach pressed to the bed, I only saw her back.
  
  Within a few moments and with a little finagling, I was nude. Hestia laid on the bed, her legs spread for me as she lay her hands on my hardened cock. She almost lazily stroked it, her nether lips drooling in anticipation. The other girls weren't idle either -- Megumin poked at my cock with an expression of curiosity and awe while Yunyun hid under the covers. Lili stroked what Hestia couldn't. Aela, surprisingly, chose to massage my balls as she pressed her body against mine. Lydia and Darkness chose to focus on Hestia, the latter pulling the goddess' head into her lap while the former held her hands.
  
  Together, Lili and Hestia guided my cock inside of her, enveloping my length in her familiar grip. Hestia let out a sigh of relief as she clenched around me, eagerly drawing me deeper inside of her until I bottomed out. I heard Aela make a sound of disbelief, "I suppose seeing is believing," she remarked as she looked at Hestia.
  
  I let out a chuckle as a hand that rested on the small of her back began to trail downward. Lili was already in position, on all fours, granting me perfect access to her lower lips. She let out a moan as my pointer finger slipped inside her slick folds. All the while, Lydia stood behind me, running her hands over my body as if it were an object of worship. The others watched on, Yunyun furiously masturbating under the covers by the sounds of it, while Megumin tentatively poked at Hestia like she had never seen another woman before.
  
  This was going to be an experience, I thought to myself. I had had a threesome. Once. This was a full-on orgy, and I was the only dick in sight. I had to spread the love out, so to speak. Get those whose turns were coming up next warmed up, while not neglecting the one that I was currently buried inside. Even with that plan of attack, there were still another four girls that weren"t getting any attention. Yunyun was taking care of herself, and Darkness was getting off at the immorality of it all, but when it was their turn, those that weren"t receiving attention...
  
  I"m overthinking this. It was time to let my dick do the thinking for me, and just do what felt natural.
  
  With that thought in mind, I pulled my hips back, careful to not knock Lydia away, before I slammed them forward. Hestia's large, pale breasts bounced with the impact, her breath hitching as she clenched down reflexively, while I used my hands to finger both Lili and Aela.
  
  That was the moment, for the others, that it sunk in that this was happening. Hestia moaned deeply as I fell into a familiar rhythm, one that I knew that she loved. She grabbed hold of the fur blanket beneath us as I fucked her, her blue eyes wide open as she looked up at me, her head cushioned in Darkness"s lap.
  
  It wasn"t Darkness"s fetish, but she seemed to be enjoying herself as I fucked Hestia and toyed with the bodies of the others, while they in turn explored mine. I felt Lydia's hands run over me, before Megumin also joined in, her eyes gleaming in the low light. Her hands explored my arms, forced to stand up on the bed to run her hands along my shoulders. Yunyun still chose to hide under the covers, yet she still swiveled around to watch.
  
  I paid no mind in trying to restrain myself, instead choosing to focus on the sensations I was being assaulted with. Aela"s hot breath on my neck as I slipped my fingers in and out of her, Lili"s throaty moans that mixed and joined with Hestia"s every time our hips met. I let go of my grip of time, losing myself as I indulged myself in all of them.
  
  I felt Hestia come once, then again, and again. Even when I spread my attention, she was easy to please, and I pulled out all of the stops, using all of the knowledge I had accrued about her weak points good use. My hips continued to move in that steady rhythm as I felt my first orgasm near, my dick hitting her in all the right spots to blow her mind. . In no time at all... or it could have been hours, honestly, I was too focused on the task at hand to care, I came deep inside of her. Her back arched as she accepted my seed, her body covered in a sheen of sweat as she panted for breath. Her eyes met mine, glowing with love and satisfaction, perfect white teeth gleaming in the light as she smiled up at me.
  
  Then the next thing I knew, I was looking into Aela"s eyes as my cock pushed into her folds. Her jaw dropped as my massive girth split her apart, her eyes going wide, scarcely able to believe that I could fit inside of her. She let out a grunt of exertion, her hands clawing at my back before she bit her lip and took in a ragged breath, "Fuck me." she hissed. I didn"t know if she meant that as a compliment or an order, but I was about to make her regret it.
  
  "Yes, ma"am," I told her before doing exactly that. I lifted her up into the air rather than fucking her into the bed like I had with Hestia, allowing Lydia to circle around us to slide her hands over Aela"s hips and towards her clit, drawing an appreciative gasp from the redhaired woman. Aela moaned wantonly when we began in earnest, her smaller breasts bouncing with a spry firmness as I dragged her up and down my length. Growing bold, Megumin took the chance to grab my face and plant a kiss on my lips. With my hands full with Aela, my attention wasn"t anywhere near as divided.
  
  I plundered her mouth, making her moan, her legs nearly giving out from the kiss alone. She hung off of me, forcing me to let go of Aela with one hand for a moment to sweep my arm under Megumin"s legs before returning to Aela's firm buttocks. She sat in the crook of my elbow, rising and falling in rhythm as I fucked Aela. The room was filled the two girls' moans and the sounds of sex, Aela's arousal dripping onto the blanket, and Megumin's down the inside of my arm. I doubt the smell would ever leave the blankets by the time we were done.
  
  My hands squeezed Aela's ass, massaging it in the palms of my hands, earning a deep-throated moan from Aela as her head fell to the nook of my neck. We had barely began, and already I felt her pussy wrenching as she came, trying to milk me dry. She failed to do so, of course, but as we cycled through the positions I savored her body -- yet firmly muscled, yet feminine. Especially her back and upper body from years of using her longbow, I noticed, when I took her from behind before I finally finished inside of her.
  
  No sooner than I came, I felt myself getting pushed onto the bed. Megumin and, surprisingly, Yunyun were the cause. Aela collapsed face-first into the bed next to me as I rolled into my back. For the first time, I saw Yunyun naked as she knelt above me, her gaze affixed to my cock which was drenched in the combined fluids of Hestia and Alea, as well as my own.
  
  She had way too lewd of a body for such a sweet girl, I thought. Her breasts were full, no where near as big as Hestia or Darkness', but by far bigger than the other ladies in the shape of a teardrop with pert, pebbled nipples serving as their peaks. Her stomach was flat, but not toned in the way that the more physical fighters among us were, leading down to wide child-bearing hips and thicc thighs. Yet despite her thighs being deliciously plump, she still had a small thigh gap that revealed a small cleft at her groin. Yunyun's expression promptly fell when Megumin scrabbled on top of me, slender legs straddling my waist as she grabbed a hold of my cock and lined my cockhead with her entrance.
  
  I didn't say anything about her cockblocking of the poor girl on account of how rough I had been with her when she lost her virginity. Megumin rolled her hips back and began to sink down, "You better be gentler this..." she started, before trailing off as Yunyun reached out to help her ease herself down, but ended up pushing Megumin straight down instead. I'm not even sure how she managed to do it, on the account that I was paying a bit too much attention to Yunyun's body to see her do it.
  
  "Actually," Megumin gasped out, her small pussy clenching down on me with an impossible tightness. "I want it like last time," Megumin declared, while Lili, feeling left out, moved to my side before going to straddle my face. With a smirk, she sat down, cutting off my view of the two Crimson Demon girls, and I eagerly ate her out while I fucked Megumin every bit as hard as I had the first time. With my hands on her slender hips, I used her like a fleshlight, and I heard her squeal in delight. She came a half dozen times before I even began to slow down, head lolling back drunkenly, and Lili matched her beat for beat I wasn't just good at sex. With my skills, I was great at sex. The two smallest members of our familia didn't stand a chance.
  
  Finally, I slammed Megumin down before I unleashed myself within her, painting her insides with my semen and earning a strangled groan from the small girl before she began to fall back. I didn't see it, but it sure felt like Megumin got shoved off my dick before I felt someone else grab it.
  
  "It's my turn!?" Yunyun declared, crimson eyes glowing, half daring someone to contradict her, and half asking if that was okay. She didn't wait for an answer before she began lowering herself down onto my cock, "If Megumin can fit it inside her... then I can too...!" She added, forcing my cock passed her outer lips and into her velvety channel, which immediately clamped down on the foreign presence and massaged my sensitive length as she pushed herself down. I was actually impressed when her hips hit mine, fitting every inch of my oversized cock inside of her out of sheer willpower. She let out a downright delicious moan when she bottomed out, the tip of my dick pressing up against the entrance to her womb, and Lili seemed to sense the spark that ignited in me, because she got off of my face.
  
  Yunyun's eyes were glowing brightly when I saw her, the massive blush still on her cheeks, while her hands cradled her stomach, feeling me buried deep inside of her. "How do you want it?" I asked her, making Yunyun gulp, while Darkness moaned at her loss when I withdrew a hand from her sopping wet cunt.
  
  Yunyun gave me a feeble smile twinged with excitement and nervousness. "Like Megumin?" She tried, her smile widening when one of my own found its way onto my face. Her eyes widened when I flipped us around, laying her down on the bed before I grabbed hold of her shapely legs. I felt her smooth skin under my fingers as I forced her to spread wide, proving that she was flexible.
  
  Then I began.
  
  Yunyun, as it turns out, was a screamer.
  
  Almost as soon as I began to pound her into the bed, Yunyun howled with pleasure, her red eyes practically glowing they shone so brightly. Her entire body shook from the impact, rippling through her lewd body, her ass turning a cherry red as my balls slapped against it as I fucked her into the bed, much to the amusement of the other girls. I was almost determined to break the bed, pounding into with so much force that the headboard hit the wall with each thrust. To break the bed, or break her. Her hands curled up into fists as she desperately gripped the blanket. Her pussy was dripping with arousal long before I laid a finger on her, and now that I had done so much more, she leaked like a broken faucet. Droplets of her juices spattered across the bed beneath us, staining the already stained sheets even further.
  
  In the end, it was surprisingly me that ended up giving out first. I grunted as I bottomed out inside of Yunyun , and filled her to the absolute brim. Yunyun let out a strangled gasp as my semen filled her womb, shivering intensely before her head rolled to the side as she blacked out from cumming too hard. I let out a steaming breath as I pulled out of her, allowing a flood of cum to escape her swollen pussy.
  
  No sooner than I had, Darkness was climbing over Aela to shove my cock into her mouth. I grabbed her head and roughly made her deep throat despite the awkward angle. I held her head there for a long few seconds, listening to her pleased gagging, before I ripped my cock out of her mouth and pushed her away. She came from it based, on the small gush of cum that escaped her from between her legs.
  
  Hestia was eying me like she was ready for round two, but neither Lili nor Lydia had had round one. I opened my mouth to tell one of the two to get ready, only for a knock at the door to draw my attention. Whoever was knocking didn't wait for an answer, because a second later the door was kicked in.
  
  A very nude Sheogorath stepped into the bedroom, a crazed grin on her lips. That, for the most part, wasn't that surprising. What was is that Wiz was behind her, her hand still raised to knock. Her jaw went slack when she saw the scene on the other side, her one visible eye growing so wide that it could have fallen out of her head.
  
  "I'm here for power-ups and to get some good dick! And I heard this is where I can get both!" Sheogorath said before she leaped at me, intending to jump straight onto my dick from a dozen feet away, only to get blocked by Darkness as she quickly went to deep throat me again. I caught her, and Sheogorath gave me a wink before she looked back to Wiz.
  
  "Not the time for cold feet! You have a living body again! Now's the time to use it!" Sheogorath said and... Wiz wasn't a Lich anymore? When did that happen? Eh, I wasn't going to question it. Especially not when I saw Wiz step inside the room, before closing the door behind her, only for it to list uselessly in its frame, busted.
  
  Wiz blushed as she met my gaze before her hands went to her robes. "Um, please take care of me..." she trailed off, her clothing falling off of her and piling up at her feet. Almost as if they were designed to be easily removed.
  
  "I intend to," I told her, taking in a deep breath. Wiz was stacked. Possibly one of the few women I'd met that was able to give Hestia a run for her money, and a beautiful woman in her own right.
  
  It was going to be a long night. And if I had it my way, none of us would be sleeping a wink.
  
  ...
  
  A reminder -- I will be taking a break between the 24th to the 1st to celebrate Power Corrupts ending. Fool's World will be posted on the 9th to give myself an extra week to add a little more polish on the story.
  
  The next chapter is currently available on my Patreon and Subscribe Star, so if you want to read it a week early, all it takes is a single dollar in the tip jar. Or, for five dollars, you can read the chapter after that two weeks before its public release! I hope you enjoyed!
  
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  A day later, the evacuation was complete. The city was empty except for those that wanted to fight Alduin, which was a fair few more than I expected. There were the members of the Crimson Demons that lined the walls around Helgen, for starters. The Companions were ready for another round too, but at the moment, they hung back to protect the archers and mages. Then there were the figures of Legend in Helgen -- Sheogorath and the Nerevarine.
  
  My familia was in Helgen as well -- all of them. Hestia and the other gods stood at the ready to cast their healing spells and buffs. Some were already empowered by my Skill. Everyone was prepared. Ready for the showdown of an Era. Compared to last time, we were on the verge of being over-prepared.
  
  "Your presence brings about many surprises, Outlander," Paarthurnax remarked to me as we stood at the Throat of the World. He was behind me, his gaze affixed to the door that Alduin had been banished through. As well as the spot he would reappear. I would have liked to spring him from the space-time continuum in Helgen, where he would be trapped instantly, but, sadly, that's not how messing with the fabric of reality worked.
  
  This spot was his destination. Opening the Elder scroll just meant he had a shortcut to it, regardless of where it was opened.
  
  "Yeah, but the surprises worked out in our favor this time," I said, shouldering Soul Edge as I held the Elder Scroll in the other hand. "By the way -- I'd steer clear of the Crimson Demons. They're a bunch of idiots that happen to be extremely powerful mages. If they don't get the killing blow on Alduin, they'll settle for you since killing dragons is cool." Every single one of them was salivating at the idea of earning the title dragonslayer.
  
  Paarthurnax let out a noise of amusement, "I've noticed," he said, making me look up at him. "A number of them have attempted to climb the mountain to slay me after my location and existence was revealed. They are powerful, but subtly escapes them."
  
  Oh. "My bad," I apologized, since that was my fault for revealing that Paarthurnax existed, and for bringing the Crimson Demons here. "I'll straighten them out. I'll put the fear of me in them," I reassured. Paarthurnax was someone I wanted to stick around. I wanted him to live beyond the battle, and not just because he could teach me more Shouts.
  
  People were kinda freaking out about Paarthurnax, especially the old Blades. But, when I made it clear I would absolutely murder whoever started some shit, people shut up pretty quickly Being King really did have some perks. I'm sure that they were stewing in resentment, but they were free to do that. The moment that resentment became action would be when I would start taking heads. I'd dismantle the Blades myself if I had to.
  
  "You ready?" I asked Paarthurnax, knowing that I was stalling a bit. Perfect memory fucked me in that regard. I could perfectly recall exactly how I had first seen Alduin. And exactly what I had felt. Underneath the grim determination had been the overwhelming feeling that we weren't ready. That I wasn't ready.
  
  Now, here I stood again, knowing that I was, but doubts were still tugging at the stray threads of my attention, wiggling around inside my skull and undermining my confidence. My grip tightened on Soul Edge, and I rolled my shoulders to loosen up, but my gaze never left the spot where Alduin would return.
  
  Paarthurnax let out a drawn-out sigh and I heard him shifting behind me, my expanded vision letting me see him stand to his full height. He towered over me, looking ancient and powerful. Paarthurnax was strong, even among dragons, but but, I knew all too well that Alduin wasn't just another dragon. I had watched him kill Paarthurnax with ease when Alduin was at his weakest. Underestimating Alduin came with a deadly price.
  
  "Let it be done. I have waited long enough," Paarthurnax said, his tone resigned for what was about to happen. Not quite sad, but enough to show that he wasn't looking forward to what came next.
  
  I nodded and unfurled the scroll, "Time for round two." The scroll glowed brightly, brighter than the sun itself, the light guttering off of the snow until it too was almost blinding. The light seemed to concentrate on a single point where Alduin had vanished so many thousands of years before.
  
  Crawling out of that light, Alduin returned to the land of Nirn. He was exactly how I recalled him down to the smallest detail -- jet black scales that seemed to absorb light like a black hole, a huge hulking body that dwarfed Paarthurnax twice over. His scales twisted upward, coming off his body like spikes, his winged arms digging into the stone like it was clay. Steam rolled off of him, his dark eyes honing in on Paarthurnax before they settled on me.
  
  "A mortal that carries my essence? Offer yourself to me and you shall rule this land as a king," Alduin offered and I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he picked up on the fact that I used his soul to enchant my armor. His voice seemed to reverberate through me, even when he wasn't bellowing or shouting, his words just carried... power. Power that demanded the submission of all those that heard it.
  
  It had had an effect on me before, more than I cared to admit, but... I had already killed him once.
  
  "I'll pass -- I'm already King and I didn't even want to be," I dismissed the offer with enough casual ease that Alduin's eyes narrowed. I wondered if I had offended him. He looked at me like I was little more than a piece of trash he had stepped on. "Unless you have something else, let's just get this over with." I said.
  
  "Insolent fool," Alduin remarked in a low hiss, craning his head back before he turned to Paarthurnax. "Prove your worth, Paarthurnax. Kill him."
  
  Paarthurnax let out a rumbling chuckle that shook the ground, "How far have you fallen, my brother, to ask for aid to slay a mortal." Alduin went dangerously still at Paarthurnax's taunt. "Your era has long since ended, Alduin. Accept your ending with grace."
  
  Alduin snarled, his wings fanning out, "Your arrogance is undeserved, Paarthurnax. Your rise to power was the result of my absence. Let me remind you why I am Father's chosen -- FUS RO DAH!" Alduin shouted and I felt the unrelenting force slam into me like a bomb going off in my face. But, there was no comparing it to how it felt the first time I was hit by it. That time, every bone shattered, every organ ruptured, and my eyes exploded.
  
  This? This was a punch in the face at worst. The mountain crumbled underneath us, tons of stone giving way as it was reduced to rubble as if it had been struck by the hammer of an angry god. My armor absorbed the worst of it, making it vibrate ever so slightly, before I dug my feet into one of the bigger fragments of what had once been the tallest mountain in Skyrim . I saw Alduin rise up with a powerful flap of his wings, giving me a perfect target.
  
  I kicked off the stone as it began to fall, just one part in an avalanche that cascaded down the ruined mountainside, sending myself right at Alduin like a speeding bullet. That, I found, he didn't expect as I slammed into him hard enough that the dragon folded around me as I shoulder-checked him in mid-air . Soul Edge glowed in my hand before I brought its edge down on Alduin and unleashed all the kinetic energy he just gave me.
  
  It was every bit as powerful as the blow he had just delivered -- a huge hole opened up in the clouds at the point of impact, pushed away by the sonic boom that echoed out across the nation, and possibly beyond. It was the explosive force of a nuke delivered as a slash, and despite his power and strength, Alduin wasn't invincible and was still subject to laws of inertia.
  
  He flew to the ground in a black blur, quickly lost in an avalanche of snow and mountain rubble. My fall was halted by a golden ring on my finger -- a ring of flying. The spell might be illegal, but I didn't really give a fuck and I had Sheogorath hook me up.
  
  Flying was pretty cool, I decided. Kinda made me feel like a superhero. And I guess I technically was given the circumstances.
  
  Paarthurnax was still good since I saw him circling around -- he wasn't chasing after Alduin. Not like he had the first time around. I think he was leaving the bulk of the fighting to me. I looked for Alduin in the mountain's worth of falling debris, but there was no sight of him as it rushed down what was left of the mountainside into the valleys below. The first rocks reached the walls of Helgen, but we were prepared.
  
  They hit the walls with thunderous force, but the walls didn't budge. Protected by magic and layers of enchantments. We learned that lesson the first time, and even as the stone began to pile up, the barrier created by the Eye of Magnus kept it from spilling over the top. I searched for Alduin, and he was quick to reveal himself after getting ragged dolled, his pride having taken a beating.
  
  He flew upwards from where he had been buried at, his gaze pinned directly on me. There was real hate in his eyes. The kind that said he didn't care about losing, so long as he took me down with him. He hadn't looked at me like that last time. Right up until the end, I had been a pest to him. I won only by the skin of my teeth and I still died in the end.
  
  Right now... our positions were completely reversed.
  
  "YAL TOOR SHUL!" Alduin shouted, before a torrent of fire erupted at me, flames washing over me like water, licking at my armor and cooking me inside. It was hot. Beyond hot. But I could endure it.
  
  "FUS RO DAH!" I shouted in return, blasting the flames away from me. The shout was fueled by my resolve. Because, in this moment, I was unrelenting. We did this song and dance once before and I didn't like the result, so we were doing it again. Time couldn't stop me from getting what I wanted. Gods couldn't either. And, right now, what I wanted was to fuck Alduin's whole day up.
  
  The shout struck Alduin with terrible force. Before, I could barely injure him with my Thu'um. Now, his scales broke, as did the bones beneath it. Blood erupted from where his leathery skin tore as he was brought low once again. He was forced back to the ground, a crater forming around his body as stone disintegrated on impact. Dust flew up, temporarily obscuring him until I flew down through it at breakneck speeds.
  
  I landed on Alduin, sinking Soul Edge into his chest, making the dragon howl in pain before he slashed at me with his claws. I backed off, retreating a half step to dodge the swipe before I slashed out with my blade -- an arc of fire slicing through the webbing of one of his wings, ruining it.
  
  "You were a lot scarier the last time that we did this, Alduin. Shit, I haven't even used Dragonrend yet, and you're already looking fucked up," I remarked lightly to him as I floated up while Alduin recovered. He was hunched over like a feral cat ready to pounce, eying me carefully.
  
  This was how I imagined this boss battle would be when I first picked Skyrim. I had been high off of my victory in Danmachi. I underestimated how dangerous the world would be. I underestimated how dangerous Alduin could be. But now, with stats in the thousands and equipment made specially to wreck him, Alduin wasn't so scary anymore. He was dangerous, of course, especially considering that he was at his weakest, and if he gained strength by devouring any souls, then that could be a problem.
  
  I wasn't underestimating him in the slightest. I just knew that I was more than his match this time.
  
  "Pathetic -- you failed to defeat me before, so you brokered a deal with my Father to defeat me?" He questioned, a sneer in his voice as he watched me carefully. "I am the World-Eater, mortal. I am my father's shadow. You cannot kill me anymore than you can kill him." He was trying to psych me out. Honestly, I didn't see that coming from him. It felt like it was bit of a reach for a normally very powerful dragon.
  
  "Oh, I didn't fail to kill you, Alduin," I said, rapping my chest plate. "I'm just going to do it right this time. It's like Sheogorath says -- you can't say you've lived until you suplex a dragon." I told him, making his eyes narrow before a flicker of flame appeared in the back of his throat. He didn"t like that, evidently, because I felt myself being washed over by fire once again. The heat scorched the rocks and it was only when it was cut off at the source that I saw the stone around me was glowing bright red and was on the verge of melting.
  
  Paarthurnax dove in on Alduin, biting at his neck and turning the stream of fire upwards, causing ash to fall from the sky and the snow evaporate into mist. Alduin, despite getting bodied in the opening start of the rematch proved that he was every bit as strong as I remembered him being. He yanked his head to the side, forcing Paarthurnax into overextending himself, before he lunged and bit down at the base of his neck. Then, with a powerful twist, he flung the other dragon through the air, forcing Paarthurnax to release him as he was sent flying and slammed against the walls of Helgen.
  
  Alduin roared before he leaped up, flapping his wings and lifting himself into the sky -- one was ruined, but he flew anyway. I wasn"t really sure how that worked, but for all I knew, Alduin flew because he wanted to fly and the wings were purely for aesthetics. Even as he flew away, he was talking shit. "I have entertained your delusions that you are my equal for long enough," He snarled, but I noted he fell silent when he realized I was flying after him.
  
  "Never said you were my equal," I returned, and I couldn"t be sure if he heard me or not but I like to think that he did. I could see him forming another Shout, only to be beaten to the punch by me. "JOOR ZAH FRUL!" The shout rippled out from my mouth, warping space between us, and racing ahead of me. I could see that Alduin recognized the shout based on how his eyes widened.
  
  His shout died in his throat, and it was like all his strength was sapped from him. My understanding of this shout had deepened tremendously. It wouldn't be wrong to say that it shaped me more than the Unrelenting Force. My second death really drove home how fragile life was, even when you were far beyond the limits of a normal human. That fundamental understanding of the fragility of mortality strengthened the shout. It shaped it like it shaped me. It was because of that understanding that I didn't throw myself at problems anymore.
  
  Alduin began to fall and he crumpled in on himself when I slammed into him like a missile. His strength and power were robbed from him, leaving him vulnerable and exposed. The trajectory I took us on carried us towards the central market of Helgen, but there was enough hangtime for me to do one more thing.
  
  Soul Edge faded from my grip, letting me grab hold of Alduin with both hands. I felt my strength swell as I entered the city, taking my strength to even greater heights. With his strength gone, Alduin could do nothing as I used the momentum of his fall to flip him over my back slam him into the ground, half burying the dragon into the stone marketplace.
  
  "HAHAHA!" I heard Sheogorath laugh in absolute delight over the sounds of the chaos and stone shattering. "Jericho, you beautiful bastard! You did it! You suplexed the World-Eater!" She yelled, before breaking down into a mad fit of laughter. I leaped away from Alduin, skidding to a halt to see the goddess of madness fall to her hands and knees as she clutched her stomach, howling with laughter.
  
  There was a smile on my face as Alduin began to force himself up, looking far worse for wear. His mouth opened, only to be forced shut when a golden chain whipped out to wrap itself around his mouth. Lili darted away as soon as the deed was done to avoid retaliation
  
  The look in Alduin's eyes changed, even before Hestia picked up the staff that Sheogorath had dropped to activate the Eye of Magnus. The cage activated, trapping Alduin in the city with no hopes of escape. The look told me that he knew that his defeat was near despite all the pride and bluster. But, even still, the hate and indignance was still there and it only grew larger the more he accepted that this was the end of the road. And, based on how he lunged at me, he blamed me for that.
  
  He aimed to crush me under his weight and rend me with his claws, his other methods of attack having been from him. Soul Edge appeared in my hand as I leaped to meet him, the edge of my sword catching his winged arm -- stripped of his immortality, his scales offered no real resistance anymore, and neither did his bones. Alduin let out a muffled howl of pain as I sliced off his arm, the severed limb crushing a stall in the market while Alduin was sent skidding across the ground, carried by his own momentum until he slammed into a few buildings hard enough that they collapsed over him.
  
  There was a cheer that went up from the people that were here to fight Alduin but instead ended up watching his death as I dealt with him personally. I shouldered Soul Edge before I started to walk towards Alduin's fallen form. It was less to look cool, which was just a nice bonus, and more... to give him some time to compose himself. To give him some dignity in death. Because round two was turning out to be a one-sided beatdown. It was no contest. I was beating Alduin badly and I was doing it on my own.
  
  Last time, with the combined efforts of those that were there, we had just barely managed to scrape out a win. To the point that we just needed one more person of note to show up or stop him from killing Paarthurnax, and it would have been a far cleaner victory . But things were very different. The gap between me and Alduin alone was every bit as large as it had been between us the first time. He was a pest, and he was a pest that fought alone so he had my undivided attention.
  
  Alduin laid down, half-buried under a few buildings. His breathing was labored and the muzzle he wore dug into his maw hard enough that his scales had cracked like stone. I thought that he might be trying to lure me into a false sense of security, but instead, he just watched me. His eyes conveying a message that he couldn't speak out loud.
  
  Get it over with.
  
  I didn't say anything in response as I approached, Soul Edge at the ready. No one-liner or anything like that. It felt unnecessary. Almost disrespectful, even. After all, this felt like the closing of a chapter in my life. Alduin had loomed over me for months -- both in Skyrim and in Konosuba. Now, he was defeated. He had lost, and the victory was a costless one.
  
  So, I raised my sword up, ready to behead the dragon and let Soul Edge consume his soul, but I paused when I heard a voice shout out at the last moment, "Wait!"
  
  Looking over, I saw Komekko, Megumin's younger sister, running towards us. Her patchwork cape fluttered in the wind. She tripped over a rock, falling flat on her face. To her credit, she just pushed herself back to her feet and started running again while she waived a slip of paper back and forth like it was important. "I won!"
  
  "Huh?" I muttered, hesitantly lowering my sword, but still ready to kill Alduin if he tried something. What was she doing here? What did she mean, she won? Why was she here in the first place? Noncombatants should have been evacuated already.
  
  Sheogorath was the one that answered me, "You already killed Alduin before! We had a lottery to see who would get to kill him this time! Komekko won!" Sheogorath informed me like that explained anything. Komekko arrived next to me a moment later, proudly presenting me with a ticket that said 'Winner!' on it and a broad smile.
  
  I feel like I should have expected something like this and I was disappointed that I didn't. Konosuba wasn't the kind of place that let anyone die with dignity or respect, and I had brought a slice of it home with me. I glanced at Alduin to see that he had closed his eyes and had just accepted whatever came next. I guess... I guess I could understand that. This whole thing was basically a conversation Akatosh was having with himself on if he should destroy the world or not. And after getting your ass kicked like that, I imagine it was pretty clear what side Akatosh had decided on.
  
  Well, the jump in exp would put me dangerously close to leveling up again... and I learned my lesson about timing my level-ups...
  
  "I... alright, fine," I agreed, making Komekko jump for joy as she shouted "Yay!"'
  
  "Can I use your sword? It looks so cool!" Komekko requested and I nearly handed it over instinctively before I recalled the whole 'driving anyone but me insane with rage thing.'
  
  "Er, it's not safe for you to use that, but I have something else for you to use," I said, hoping that I had something else for her to use. The number of items that could finish off Alduin were rather limited. He might be weakened but he was still a dragon.
  
  It took a few seconds of me scrolling through my inventory to find something that fit the criteria I was looking for. A wand that I had purchased from Wiz's shop to butter her up. I had practically forgotten about it. All I really knew was that it was a high-class item based on the price tag. Komekko lit up when she saw it, "Wow! A command wand?" She said, clutching it in her hands as I blinked slowly.
  
  A what now?
  
  I received my answer when Komekko leveled the wand at Alduin, who cracked an eye open when he heard the exchange and looked at the young girl that would be killing him.
  
  "Die," Komekko commanded, the wand glowing as it enforced the command...
  
  Then, Alduin obeyed.
  
  His black scales began to fade, turning an ashen white, before they settled on a pure white and began crumbling under the weight of the stones that were piled on top of him. It was different this time -- Alduin's soul wasn't trying to escape like a burst of flames. This was more of a fire that was burning out, leaving only ash behind. Alduin's body crumbled, the shape of the once-mighty dragon quickly lost as the stones fell through him and hit the ground. In a second, Alduin was gone and only white ash remained of him.
  
  It was a quiet ending for the dragon. And the somber moment was thoroughly ruined when Komekko cheered loudly, presenting her Adventure's card for me to see. She was so happy that her eyes glowed like jewels, "Mr. Jericho! I'm strong like you now!"
  
  I wasn't sure what level Komekko had originally been, but I'm guessing it wasn't level 250.
  
  I just created a monster.
  
  "Yeah, you sure are," I said, reaching down and lifting Komekko up so she could sit on my shoulder. Soul Edge faded from my hand, as did my armor, letting me face a crowd of people that surged towards us. At the helm of them all, I saw Hestia rushing towards us. As soon as she could, she dove towards me, burying her face in my stomach as she held me tightly.
  
  Others crowded around, congratulating me and Komekko as the celebration for our victory began. It was as if Helgen had been holding its breath until now, and the celebration was a sigh of relief. Hestia squeezed me, bringing my attention to her while Komekko enthusiastically waved her hands and the wand that I really needed to take back before she commanded someone else to die.
  
  Hestia looked up, tears in her eyes as she spoke just loud enough for me to hear her despite the sea of noise around us.
  
  "You won," she said, the statement carrying far more meaning than what two words should be able to convey. Alduin was dead. My enemy was defeated. The unfinished business that had weighed down on me was finally resolved. I felt lighter than I had in months. Since before I came to Skyrim. I felt as light as I had when I first arrived in Danmachi and there was absolutely nothing holding me down.
  
  I felt like there was nothing but an endless sea of possibilities in every direction.
  
  "Yeah... I won."
  
  ...
  
  The celebration was in full swing after people returned from where they were hiding out. Once again, Helgen was filled to the absolute brim with people and every single one of them was rejoicing. It was still in the dead of winter, but that didn't stop people from throwing a lavish celebration. Not just Helgen either -- with the Marks, all of Skyrim was celebrating Alduin's defeat.
  
  Less than a day later, the story was already twisted into knots. Komekko was made out to be a figure of legend, and I beat the shit out of Alduin with my bare hands. Statues were commissioned, paintings were being painted -- it was the whole nine yards.
  
  The apocalypse was pushed back. Nirn's expiration date wasn't coming up any time soon. People were happy. All of Tamriel was happy. I knew as much because representatives from all over the world came to bother me and tell me how great I was. Even the Emperor teleported back to Solitude when he heard that Alduin was already defeated.
  
  Not even the gods walking the planet managed to steal my spotlight. One that I was avoiding as I looked on from above at a room filled to the brim with self-important people. The Emperor, the Thalmor, the diplomats, Jarls, and gods. My familia, for the most part, were sprinkled about as praise was dumped into them by the boatload since they couldn't find me.
  
  There were only a few figures missing. Serana was still laying low. Komekko was all partied out so she was taking a nap. However, the most important one of them all was approaching me from behind.
  
  "You know, I never figured out what your play was," I remarked to Talos as he joined me to watch the party. I heard him chuckle before I glanced at him -- he looked good. He was old, and he still had that nasty scar on his throat, but he seemed more... at ease than the last time I had seen him. I guess Alduin had weighed heavily on him.
  
  "Would you believe me if I said I didn't have one?" He asked and I didn't even have to think about it.
  
  "No," I answered. Talos seemed like a guy that had backup plans for his backup plans. There was no way that I would believe that he didn't have something in the works. Not even a play for power, just something.
  
  He offered me a thin, but honest smile, "You would be right to doubt. My thoughts were of my empire. How it was forged... and why. When I died, it was in its infancy. The foundations had hardly set in... my final thoughts were of the potential of my empire." He said, and there was pride in his voice. It was just overshadowed by the sadness. "My time walking the world has been spent seeing how that potential has been realized and squandered."
  
  "Oh? Going to take back the reins?" I asked him, taking a sip of some kind of juice. Not really sure what it was, but it tasted mango-y.
  
  Talos shook his head, "No. My presence would crush the throne. Rot has set into the very foundation of the empire. It would be better off to tear it away, root and stem, and start fresh," he said before he looked at me.
  
  I shook my head, "Nah, I'm good. Being Emperor sounds like a pain in the ass. I intend to be more of a hedonistic tyrant that leaves all the actual rulership to other people. I'm a bad choice for whatever you have planned. You might want to check Sheogorath, though. She might be interested," I refused the offer without it even being said aloud.
  
  "I would argue that you're the perfect choice," Talos said, really just brushing off my intentions of being a tyrant. He gestured down to the party below, "They fear you. As much as they respect you and your accomplishments, they fear what you will do next. They fear what you could do next."
  
  Talos let out a laugh, "An empire's success is determined by the legend of he who forges it. Which is why I bring this to you -- your legend has already been made. Your deeds carved into the annals of history, never to be forgotten. Now, it is your choice to decide if this is where your legend ends... or if this is merely the beginning."
  
  I looked at Talos evenly, "I'll bite -- what are you offering?"
  
  To that, Talos smiled, "Break from the Empire... and crush it. Take the pieces of it and reform it into your own image. The gods favor you. The masses love you. Your only true enemies are the Thalmor-" Talos said, and almost on cue, Elenwen, the Thalmor diplomat, started choking as blood started to sleep from her eyes. As attention turned to her, I saw a rather young girl making her way to the exit.
  
  Looks like me and the Dark Brotherhood were still cool.
  
  "Who is not as mighty as they would like others to believe," Talos said, not missing a beat as Elenwen died. I took a sip of my drink. "You hold the world in the palm of your hands at this moment. It is up to you to decide if you let it fall from your hands, or strengthen your grip."
  
  I didn't respond as I watched the tittering of the crowd, everyone was somehow shocked that Elenwen had been murdered. It was for that reason that I missed that the others were coming up the stairs, finding me with ease.
  
  "Jericho!" Hestia exclaimed, marching towards me with the rest of the familia at her back, protecting her. Lili, Megumin, Yunyun, Serana, Aela, Lydia, and Wiz. All of them with their eyes peeled for danger. I smiled lightly as I drank in the sight, knowing that Hestia was safe with them. And that they would protect each other.
  
  I set my drink on the railing, coming to a decision as I walked to them all and I clapped Talos on the shoulder. They crowded around and I easily picked Hestia up so that she was seated in the crook of my arm. I looked back to Talos and offered a smile.
  
  There was no quest pop-up or anything so formal. It was a decision made on a whim with no real thought put into it. It was more of an impulse than anything.
  
  I didn't care for being King, but just because I wore the crown didn't mean I had to bear the responsibility that came with it. Talos was angling for something, that much was obvious, but I couldn't care less. Simply because my eyes were drawn to a different prize -- a goal given to me by Shartan.
  
  I had the multiverse at my disposal.
  
  Let's see what it has to offer.
  
  "Sure, why not?"
  ...
  
  Just a few weeks shy of the two-year anniversary, Power Corrupts comes to a close. I figured I should give some final thoughts, give an idea of what would happen next, and lastly reveal the premise of Fool's World.
  
  The premise of Power Corrupts was to deconstruct the normal power fantasy then reconstruct it in a different image. How well I did that is up for debate because I was also including the power fantasy elements as I was deconstructing them, but that was the plan. In Danmachi, Jericho learned that plot armor didn't apply to him. In Skyrim, he learned that being a hero sucked ass. In Konosuba, he learned to unrepentantly be himself and do whatever he wanted to do, regardless of how much it inconvenienced other people.
  
  So, the first two jumps tore down Jericho's preconceived notions of the power fantasy while he was physically becoming more powerful. The Konosuba arc forged a foundation to build on with how he would use that power when Jericho learned that he doesn"t have to play nice. If Power Corrupts continued, then the power fantasy would be built back up -- Jericho would visit worlds for waifus, leverage his kingdoms" power to get what he wanted.
  
  In another three jumps then Jericho would be what he said he would be -- a hedonistic tyrant. So, instead of being the bland protagonist of a normal Isekai adventure -- be the hero, have a harem, praised by everyone for being the greatest thing since sliced bread. Jericho would become the villain that stops by in universes, conquers them, expands his harem, then dips out after he has everything he wants. Still a power fantasy, but a very different one.
  
  As for what would immediately happen next -- Jericho would take his kingdom and dip out of Skyrim for a bit. He'd go to another world, maybe Dragon Age or Witcher, do a bit of conquering by picking the underdog races and supporting them overthrowing their overlords. After they've won, Jericho would go back to Skyrim and declare war against the Thalmor with his extra landmass and armies.
  
  He would have won. After that, he'd be in a position to negotiate with the other tenants of the Empire. Hammerfell would join Jericho, and by that time the Empire would have wizened up and realized what was happening. High Rock would be invaded first, then the Empire wouldn't really be an empire. Taking the capital city would be the death blow, and the Empire would formally disband and be absorbed into Jericho's. At that point, Jericho would dip out again, recover the losses by becoming king of another nation in another world, before coming back to Skyrim and mopping up.
  
  By the end of it, Jericho would rule over all of Tamriel with an iron fist between his personal power and the kingdom management mechanics.
  
  Hestia would learn to accept it because, between her and others" efforts, the quality of life shoots up. So, the invasions were a necessary evil. The others would care less since they're there for Jericho.
  
  At that point, Jericho would just start hopping around the multiverse to stir trouble by doing whatever he wanted. The ultimate power fantasy.
  
  I wish I could have written it out. But, when I decided to write Fool"s World, it got harder to write Power Corrupts. I still enjoy the story -- it was just hard to put words to paper when I wanted to write Fool"s World instead. That problem got worse the closer I got to the ending. As far as endings go, I think it fits Power Corrupt and Jericho"s story.
  
  It's weird to think, but this is the story that changed my life. It's what made the Patreon take off. When I first started it, I intended the Patreon to be a way to help pay for groceries and make a little something on the side so I could get paid for my hobby. It was Power Corrupts that showed me that I could pay for more than just groceries and I started to take it seriously.
  
  This story changed my life, but at the same time... it's always been the problem child for me. I think the story itself is fine -- I don't hate it and the Konosuba arc is probably my favorite arc, but out of all of my stories, this one had the most issues. Some of those were mistakes that I made early on that just compounded as the story progresses. Other mistakes I made in Skyrim and in Konosuba. And some of those came from listening to the audience when I should have stuck to my guns.
  
  After Going Native ended, I looked down the line at all my stories to see where they were going and I saw a lot of trouble in Power Corrupt's future. And I really didn't know what to do about it or how to avoid it without undoing massive amounts of the story. So, I sat down and thought hard about it before I decided that starting from scratch would be better. Then I looked at the mistakes I made with the story -- there were plenty, but my big ones were Sense of Progression, Character Dynamics, and lastly, Over All Plot.
  
  I avoided the magic trap of the gamer system but I fell face-first into another -- Grinding. Jericho's sense of progression isn"t tied to exploring the world or overcoming challenges. It's tied into grinding. Time spent hunting down challenges would be a waste of time because it would be better spent pumping iron at home for bigger gains. I tried to circumvent the issue with his armor -- basically, forcing Jericho to go out and hunt powerful creatures for their souls, but the story ended before I could really push the idea.
  
  Character Dynamics is an issue because I made the mistake of splitting the party. To be completely honest, after Danmachi, I was done with all things related to Danmachi. Hestia and Lili felt like anchors in my enjoyment of writing Skyrim, so kinda wrote them out of it. I gave them each a reason to not be in a party with Jericho and sent them off.
  
  Which was a mistake in hindsight because there's no sense of a dynamic. What does Lydia think about Lili? What does Aela think about Serana? I never developed any sense of dynamic in the familia beyond Jericho's dick. That's fully my fault.
  
  Lastly is Plot -- this one is a bit tricky because a jump chain isn"t a normal story. Each world has a self-contained plot to explore and develop. For this, I intend the world's that are visited in Fool's World to be more character-driven plot picks. Like Character A needs something from Setting B, or Character C needs to get back to setting C. I think I'm doing a bad job of explaining it, but I want the world's picked to be more personalized to the party.
  
  Which brings me to the lessons that I've learned and the mistakes I -- hopefully -- won't repeat in Fool's World.
  
  Fool's World starts off in Fate/Stay Night, following the protagonist Mikoto Majima, who finds himself bereft of all of his memories without explanation in the middle of a fight. Deciding to piece together his missing identity, he explores the city of Mifune and stumbled across an equally displaced Korra from the Legend of Korra. Deciding to help the other out, events conspire to push them towards the Holy Grail as it becomes more and more clear that their chance meeting wasn"t one of chance at all.
  
  They participate in the death game, seeing the wish granted as their only chance to get back what they lost. In a battle against legends and Masters, alliances and betrayal, ideologies and intrigue -- do they have what it takes to take the Grail?
  
  Some quick points and more general information -- I will be using the OP iseaki CYOA as inspiration. Nerfing a CYOA might seem counterproductive, but it's to help the sense of progression. The MC will have three powers but at the start, he'll only have access to one. Improvements to those powers have to be gained over time.
  
  I have a hard rule of one person joining the party per jump. Fate is the exception -- Korra and one other would accompany Majima, but all worlds after that there will be only one addition. Any more than that, then character bloat becomes a real issue.
  
  And... that"s it, I think. I"m sure I"m forgetting to include something, but the AN is long enough.
   So, let me give you guys a thank you for reading Power Corrupts. Especially those that have been here since the beginning. It"s been a wild ride and as this one ends, another begins.
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