(Thursday, 5/11/1058, mid-morning)
(Expedition: D-Day)
(Start of original timeline: D-15)
(3rd person PoV)
The Loki Familia has gathered in the plaza around the Tower of Babel. Leaving only a few level 4s and non-supporter level 1s and 2s, everyone else was included in the force.
Among the members was Carillon. He was both convinced and forced to go.
(Flashback, just after dawn)
Henryk and Carillon were sitting under the shade of a tree. They were both resting from a spar.
"How did I withstand you when I was weaker than you again?" Carillon said between tired breathes. He massaged his sore throat. He was held in a lethal chokehold and had to concede or pass out.
"Your body was forced to adapt and have more stamina than mine" Henryk said between bated breaths of his own. Dealing with a shorter, and thus more nimble Norman was just too much. The name changing did not mean the habits were gone. And for Carillon, he adapted his habits to his current body as he grew up. He proved to be a headache to fight, though different to the past.
"Heh!" Henryk huffed at him, mocking his unfounded anxiety about Bell's safety. "Just go, Norman. Your twin isn't as defenseless as your worries make him out to be"
"But..." Carillon wanted to protest, to say that he wanted to be sure without a shred of doubt that Bell survives the minotaur horde. He could not say a word in opposition.
"He's the older one. Have some faith in him, will you?" Henryk said, finally catching his breath. He then stood up and walked out of the tree's shade.
"You're right" Carillon said. He pushed himself up with some effort. The last punch that reached his sides still stung.
"I should let him build some trust in himself instead of babying him in the dungeon" Carillon said as he picked a spear. "Now, should we have some nostalgia?"
Henryk silently picked a spear of his own. The following spar left them both bruised, Henryk's blindness meaning nothing when he knew where Carillon stood and knew the spear techniques he would use very well.
Higher ups berated them, especially Riveria. Carillon needed urgent healing since he was to go on the expedition and be on the frontlines.
(Flashback End)
(AN: Sorry, no grand speech here. I don't have the skill to write a motivational speech for a leader of Finn's standing 🫠. Here's an attempt at one instead)
"On our last expedition, we advanced more than what was required of us! We exceeded expectations! We should be proud of ourselves for that!" Finn said with a smile brimming with his pride in his familia. It was one of the few genuine expressions he makes. The cheers and energetic war cries the members made only served to reinforce that feeling, and also bring along some much needed confidence for the crowd. 'Your efforts will not be wasted, Noir, Dain, Bara. How I hope you get to see how much our familia grew' He kept his lamentation to himself. He refused to dampen the mood with the memory of parting, not when they were going to brave the depths of a place known to carve the fear of death into the hearts of the bravest of people.
"For this expedition! We are tasked with reaching and exploring the 58th!" The crowd fell into a silence fueled by anticipation. "Instead, let us aim for the 60th!" Their anticipation was answered in good faith. It was hard enough to exceed the guild's expectations by a single floor. Finn's words gave them a morale boost since they meant that he believes they could go two extra floors.
The expedition shortly started departing, the advance team departing with a head start to clear the way for the supporters and the carts of supplies. Those were meant for the deeper floors and the trip back. Making them not involved at the start was more efficient, as random events could damage the cargo and the supplies if the road was not cleared for them.
"Henryk" Henryk heard the soft voice of Ais. "Train hard" She said before leaving, not waiting for his reply.
"Hey" He elbowed Carillon, his blindness meaning he abused the case to elbow Carillon in the head. Carillon sighed as he blocked it. He had his stats locked by Henryk's magic during their spar, but not now. Henryk soldiered on, brushing off the questioning look he could feel coming with Carillon's head turning. "Do you think that was her trying to motivate me?"
"Yeah" Carillon said. He was assigned a post with the supply team, a guard post. He did not understand what Loki was inebriated on to decide a level 4 like him remained in the back. 'Then again, we carry some of the strongest weapons yet with us this time' The excitement washed over him. This was the first deep dive in years for him. Before he left, he begged them and got to experience going to the 37th as a level 2 supporter. Now that he was level 4, what monsters could he fight actively? The prospect of fighting stronger deep floor monsters on his own filled him with energy.
"I'll be going then" Carillon said as he hugged Bell. "Take care, Bell"
"You take care as well, Carillon" Bell returned the hug. He took his role as the older brother comically seriously, thinking his hug gave Carillon a sense of calm and comfort. He was right about that, something Carillon was, for once, not afraid to show Henryk.
'I just know it. That bear bastard'll make fun of me for being this soft with Bell!' Carillon thought angerly as he picked up his main weapon, a winged spear, and sidearms, a shortsword and a short bow. 'Live with Bell for a as long as I did! See what happens to your temperament!'
"Human!" An elf, a particularly jealous one, called out to Henryk in a way that turned as many heads as there were humans in the crowd. Henryk, being the clown bastard that he wanted to be at the worst of times, decidedly pretended not to hear him.
"Human!" The elf called again, voice clearly strained. He was blinded by rage at how Henryk appeared one day and became close enough with Riveria to talk on first name basis, even if with a "lady" added to Riveria's name. He absolutely refused to call Henryk by name.
"Oh, sorry" Henryk said, turning to him with the most annoying, shit-eating grin while pointing a finger at his unfocused, hazy eyes. "As you can see, I'm currently blind. What with you calling "Human!" so vaguely, I didn't realise it was me you were talking to"
"Yes, I can see that very clearly" With the situation so urgent, the elven man kept his grudges down for the greater good, for now at least. He bottled his bubbling frustration in favor of relaying Riveria's words to Henryk. That was another reason why he had beef to pick with Henryk. "Regardless, I come with the princess's words for you, "Henryk, do not plunge yourself into danger until your eyes are recovered. Even with that new sense of spacial awareness you are developing, it may fail you, seeing as you are new to it". She also added after that, "Ais would be sad, and the rest of us would end losing your well of knowledge. At least consider that, if you did not consider your own safety a good enough reason already." With that, I did my part. May we meet again" The elven man said with refinement. It was beneath him to disrespect Henryk further than calling him by his race instead of his name. That was as far as he was welling to stoop.
"Truly wonderful, how some people would hate someone but still show the basic modicum of civility when slighted or angered" Henryk said with newfound respect for the man. 'I should remember his face and name as soon as I regain the use of my eyes'
They waited for the entire expedition to depart, bidding them goodbyes and wishing them a safe return. Henryk noticed that Bell's presence by his side never left or showed any sign of moving away.
"You need something, lad?" He asked while scratching the side of his head, puzzled on what Bell could ask for. 'With Carillon's influence, the young man is practically an entirely new person compared to his original counterpart'
"Can I spend some time with the wolves?" Bell said with great enthusiasm. He wanted to play with them. He was fangirling over them with bright, shining eyes.
"You'd need to ask them directly. They've their own free will to choose to either play with you or not" Henryk said, beckoning them over with a gesture of his hand. They were sitting some distance away, being admired not-so-secretly by young boys and the occasional unashamed adult who found them fluffy-looking.
'Ouros, I think you're a good fit to accompany him if he wanted to venture down the dungeon. Listen well to his orders if he gave any' Henryk instructed as he saw them playing chase with him, holding back just enough for it to become an enjoyable challenge for Bell. If he was caught, he was in for a good lick from Ouros.
"Shira, is Welf watching from a distance?" Henryk threw a dart in the dark.
"Yeah. His read head of hair and scarf are an easy tell" Her feline caught him between the crowd, hesitating between coming over and waiting for them to approach him themselves. This was an expedition of their familia after all. He could not approach their gathering point recklessly when there were still some people from the expedition waiting for their turn to head to the dungeon's entrance. It could only take so many people at once when they brought with them so much.
"Point in his direction" Henryk's muscles were starting to get primed.
"He is standing at around 1.75 clockwise from you, a slight offset to anticlockwise" She said, a hand shading her eyes from the sun for better view. She did so while moving away and letting go of his tail. She felt it, that he was ready to chase Welf down if he deemed it necessary. Henryk's standards on a few things still eluded her sometimes.
Henryk sprung to action. He was sprinting towards Welf with the full power of a limit-breaking level 1 adventurer. That translated to him having to run around people and navigate the crowd to reach Welf, having to maintain focus on the forms of the people he ran around. If he detected Welf's distinct shape, which he committed to memory for the two days he visited him blind, he would lock in and ignore pretty much everything else.
Welf, noticing the hulking figure of Henryk rushing in his direction went into a fight or flight response, choosing the flight response. He ran like the wind, not that it mattered. He did not have the body or the parameters necessary to outmaneuver Henryk. He was caught shortly after.
"Man!" Henryk said, letting go of Welf immediately. "That was fun!"
"That wasn't!" Welf protested. "My heart almost leaped out of my chest, man!"
"But didn't it give you a feeling of heart-pumping excitement? Be honest" Henryk said knowingly. His voice dripped and oozed of sarcasm.
"I...-" Welf went through many arguments on why it did not, yet he found them all falling through when he reflected on it and found out he for one enjoyed an occasional game of chase, abrupt as it is. "-hate to admit that it did..." His shoulders drooped in defeat.
Shira was on their heals, appearing around the corner with her legs, visibly in feline form, going back to their human form. Her enhanced hearing picked up on their conversation as she approached them.
They went to Welf's forge, Shira asking away her curiosities about Henryk's request to Welf's forge. She wondered if Welf could make her a pair of gauntlets that let only her claws out for her to use. Henryk did not argue against her trying out melee combat.
"Henry, I'll go back to the mansion now" She said. She wanted to go bath in the sun a little in what became her favorite spots around the manor. 'I've truly become a cat, haven't I?' She came to try to accept that about her situation. While it unnerves her still, she could not deny how comfortable she feels in the moment.
"I believe we are done here, Welf" Henryk said as got up and took a step back closer to the door. Welf kind of understood the message.
"For now, yes" Welf sighed with a defeated smile. "Come again tomorrow, bro" They have gotten closer through these few days. Little chats here and there helped.
Henryk walked with Shira.
"You didn't have to come" Shira said, betrayed by her tail. It still had a free will of its own sometimes. It found its way closer to Henryk.
"I wanted to spend some time with you, even if it's simply walking by your side in silence" Henryk said, his own tail finding its way closer to Shira.
When the tails came closer, both flinched a bit before laughing as they intentionally wrapped their tails around each other's own. They enjoyed each other's company with little said between them. There was some comfort they found in the act.
Once he bid her farewell at the gates, Henryk departed for the dungeon with the wolves. Fey puffed her plumage out as she basked in the sun with Shira. Shortly, she dosed off to the warmth with her Mama.
Henryk went to the dungeon with a shield and mace in hand.
'Should I re-enact the Goblin Slayer's legend in this world?' He said with an unnecessarily serious expression. 'I should focus on goblins, and only goblins for now'
"You all take on the kobolds and dungeon lizards. I'll take on all the goblins" He said out loud for everyone to hear. "No goblin should walk the first four floors intact today" Some people looked at him with judging eyes.
For the coming two weeks, Henryk spent some time with Fey and Shira in the morning, trained with Artemis while avoiding personal chats as much as he could without being rude, visited Welf's forge to take notes on the armor, went to the dungeon with him and sent him down with two of the wolves while another went down with Bell, then slaughtered goblins mercilessly for the entire two weeks. He snuck down to the eighth floor "secretly" a few times. He also went to the fog floors (10th-12th) to challenge himself a little with his blindness. His parameters being higher that the recommended grade helped cover in terms of his reaction speed covering for his lack of sight.
(Henryk's Diary)
Friday, 6/11/1058:
I restricted my parameters again, gaining the crazy growth rate of x20 back. I had done it to "train harder" as Ais suggested. She'll return with me either an abnormally strong Lv.2 or an abnormally strong Lv.1.
Tuesday, 10/11/1058:
I had to write this in Latin to hide it from Shira's eyes. As far as I can tell, I'm writing the letters and words correctly.
Today, I went to the 8th floor without telling her, and I plan to never tell her. Going there while blind is a risk I wanted to take. It is both a test and an invaluable opportunity for growth.
Also, having
Thursday, 12/11/1058:
Today, I got curious. It piqued my interest to understand why I gained this sudden ability to purr like a small cat, an ability I didn't ask for might I add.
The short of it is that my Hyoid structure transitioned into a segmented bone instead of being the more flexible cartilage a human usually has. As it still maintained some amount of flexibility with it being segmented, I still spoke normally. It was when I purred that the change was more apparent. The segments pressed together rigidly, much more like in a cat's Hyoid structure. That helped amplify the sound of it reverberating, producing a purr.
That is the short of it.
Monday, 16/11/1058:
Today, I went to the fog floors with Welf.
Unfortunately, we came to face some hellhounds that escaped the 13th.
Welf cast his magic to implode one of them, while I was focused on blocking everything and stabbing them in the head, anywhere on the head really. That generally tended to tell your opponent that you didn't appreciate their head invading your personal space. I struggled a bit with the hounds and was helped by Kob. He interfered when he wasn't asked to risk himself. Futura praised him for the first time today, though she was a little unwilling to praise an upright lupine monster.
Tuesday, 17/11/1058:
I don't know if I was feeling under the weather or what, but I felt an unsettling gaze fall upon me from high up near the skies, at the top of Babel. If memory serves right, that's where Freya watches the city from occasionally.
Welp, whoever's reading this, I may have done a big fucky wucky and glared at her with unreserved contempt.
It would've been fortunate if things stopped there. Slowly, I came to realise that the uneasy feeling I felt ever since a while ago was her watching me, and that she maintained her gaze throughout the time I was outside.
Instead of stopping, I felt her gaze linger longer after the glare I gave.
I hope beyond hope that Freya didn't catch wind of me or that she at least saw nothing of interest in my soul.
(AN: Heh)
Wednesday, 18/11/1058:
Tonight's the last peaceful night I have before the official start of the original timeline, the first episode.
I'm tempted to just leave Bell alone for today, going as far as to tell him to go without Lili. I'm really tempted to do so.
Carillon did tell me that Bell got enchanted by Ais's appearance when he came over to visit Carillon in the manor before, it happened during my spar with Ais I was told, but that may not be sufficient. The moment where it really kicked his passion for her was when she rescued him in the dungeon.
I don't know, but I came to the conclusion to leave them to go to the dungeon as normal, accompanied by a silver wolf.
You know what? I'm sending two wolves with them with orders to never interfere before the last moment, especially not if Ais got to him.
That's the closest thing I could do without being outright manipulative.
My conscience hurts, but this world needs its hero. This world needs Bell to be the hero he wants to be, to be strong before whatever the end of the novel entails, and before anything major happens in the meantime.
(End of Henryk's Diary for now)
(Thursday, 19/11/1058, late afternoon, after exiting the dungeon)
(Start of original timeline: D-2)
(Henryk's PoV)
'While my whiskers aren't perfectly adapted yet, I should restore my eyes now. I need to avoid training my brain to use either sense without the other completely. I'll train in using both simultaneously starting tomorrow'
I started testing what might have been done to take my sight away. With my sense of touch, it was simply nerve endings not reporting back as they should. Was it the optic nerve in this case?
After testing that out, it turned out not to be the case. Neither ends nor stretch of the optic nerves proved the reason I don't see.
'What could it be, then?' I started recalling every possible reason I knew. 'The light path interruptions of structural and optical blockages like Corneal Opacification, Cataracts and Vitreous Hemorrhage, the sensor damage of retinal and photoreceptor failures like Retinal Detachment, Muscular Degeneration (Yes, there are muscles all around inside the eye socket. How do you think your eyes move around?), Retinitis Pigmentosa & Cone-Rod Dystrophies and Ischemia & Vascular Occlusion, the nerve damage of Glaucoma, Optic Neuritis & Dystrophy and Compressive Tumors, central & brain-level processing failures like Cortical Visual Impairment and Visual Agnosia, and congenital & anatomical deformities like Anophthalmia & Microphthalmia, Coloboma and Aniridia'
After testing all of them one by one, I discovered that it was compound. I spent the rest of the day drinking a sickening amount of mind potion to compensate for all the mind I needed to spend. Magic stones weren't accessible in large enough numbers to cover the costs for these.
The compound reason was a mix of the following:
- Severe Cataracts
- Retinal Detachment, which resulted in a total cell death of the retina
- Total Cone-Rod Dystrophy
- Bilateral Glaucoma (This affects both eyes, with one eye being worse in most cases)
- Cortical Visual Impairment
- Visual Agnosia, which I only detected after treating everything else
Seeing me walking around while obviously looking at things, Shira latched onto me in a hug, stuffing my face where I didn't want it to be seen publicly. She didn't notice it in her relieved excitement, and nobody wanted to ruin the moment for her by mentioning it by the looks of it.
I spent the night relaxing and planning for the day after the next. I gave the silver wolves instructions to follow Bell and only interfere when he is about to die. I also made sure to tell him that the wolves might disappear and leave him to fend for himself for a bit, stating that he should be able to act without their protection. He, while looking unsure, welcomed the idea of dungeoneering with the wolves. If not for the safety, Ouros and the wolves' fur was a tempting enough combination to take two of them with him.
For me, I wanted to go deeper. I planned to finally visit the 13th today, even go past it.
If the minotaurs didn't come to find me, I was the one coming to find them first.
I also couldn't lie to myself. I wanted a minotaur.
One last thing for the night, since I needed to sacrifice my high quality excellia to accomplish what I wanted, I need to achieve another great feat of some sort to rank-up to Lv.2.
(End of Chapter and Henryk's Current Status)
Name: Henryk Williams
Familia: Loki Familia
Level: 1
STR: SS1087 → SSS1487
STA: SS1054 → SSS1503
DEF: SS1058 → SSS1612
AGI: SS1099 → SSS1407
MAG: SS1157 → SSS1784 (He kept exhausting his mind all day till near mind down repeatedly, multiple times a day)
Magic:
Incrementum Imperium
Skills:
Kefalés Tou Tyfóna
Yfirgangr
(Line Break)
Name: Shira Williams
Familia: Loki Familia
Level: 1
STR: I0 → H102
END: I0 → H114
DEX: I0 → I98
AGI: I0 → H174
MAG: I0
Magic:
None
Skills:
Klófreki