Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Those are pretty high stats for a first update, and in just one day, if I remembered correctly, the protagonist's first stat jumps had been about 100 at a time, and only in his best stats.
But on the other hand… I had massacred 17 floors with more than 2000 monsters, and I was sure that Bell Cranel had not killed even a tenth of that amount.
I looked at the stats again. I suppose it made sense the way the stats were raised, too. I mean, I understood most of them, even Endurance, my worst stat. It wasn't because I was bad at defending; I was pretty durable naturally, thanks to the templates, especially when I used Haki.
But as someone with regenerative immortality and impossible to kill… I didn't even bother defending myself. Besides, the monsters presented no difficulty at all; none of them managed to land a hit before I killed them.
On the other hand, all my actions used magic at some level, so it was no surprise to me that it was the most developed.
"That's all you have to say? That wasn't progress! It was a complete leap!" Naaza exclaimed incredulously. I hummed.
"I mean, yeah? Mad Devotion and Ultimate Undead are doing all the work, but once again, it's still more than I expected, like I said, I got down to floor 17, I know I killed over 2000 monsters in a few hours, for someone else, I should be at level 2 by now with my Skills."
"I understand that Excelia is achieved through actions that require a certain amount of effort and severity. The monsters were terribly weak, not even a challenge for me; I didn't expect to get even 50 stat points."
"I guess Mad Devotion and all the blood I ingested through Ultimate Undead pushed my stats higher than I thought." I said honestly while shrugging.
"2000 monsters… you're the monster." Naaza muttered, completely shocked by the words. Miach just hummed.
"I guess that makes sense. If what you say is true, I certainly believe you. You're basically an upper-level adventurer. With a level 1 Falna, weaker enemies won't help you gather Excelia. If you had killed the same amount on floors, say, 40 or higher, you would have earned over 500 points in everything." Miach said with a frown.
"And that's not scary at all." Naaza murmured once more.
"This will draw a lot of attention," Miach said thoughtfully before grimacing. "I feel bad as a god asking this of my child, but I guess I can't ask you to stunt your growth, can I? " Miach asked with a wince. I shrugged as I began to dress once more.
"I have no problem. Besides, I have no idea what I need to get high-ranking Excelia to be able to level up in the short term, as long as I don't go announcing my status and my stats all over Orario, nothing should happen." I said simply, and Miach sighed almost in relief, giving an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry to ask you that, but until we pay off the debt to Dian Cecht, I don't want to risk anything," Miach said apologetically, and I nodded in agreement.
"And how much is this?" I asked as I lifted up my small storage bag, Miach hummed.
"You said around 2000 monsters, right? " Miach asked while humming.
"Yes, all the magic stones are in there, monsters from the 1st to the 17th floor." I said easily, that seemed to stagger Miach, and he gulped audibly.
" T -then, if we quickly divide that among each floor, I think… around 5 million valis shouldn't be a problem." Miach muttered incredulously as he stared at the bag in disbelief, as if he couldn't understand how there could be that much money in there. Naaza stumbled slightly, though her gaze seemed hopeful.
"And how much do you owe Dian Cecht?" I asked curiously. I hadn't even bothered to ask how much the debt was. They both grimaced.
"About… 90 million valis." Miach muttered as he looked away. I hummed.
Less than I expected for a magical prosthesis. From what I recall, weapons in this world cost over 100 million for high-level adventurers; the prosthesis shouldn't be any less expensive to create.
Also, if I calculated the value of the currency of this world correctly, it was equivalent to 450,000 pounds sterling, and there was a 5 to 1 exchange with the galleon, so that would be around 90,000 galleons… it wasn't even expensive.
Sera had taken a lot more money with her on her cyberworld excursion with GLaDOS to spend frivolously, so there was no worry; she could pay that money back right now without making any dent in our finances.
"Less than I expected. Just as we promised, half of everything I get is yours to pay off the debt." I said honestly. Naaza snorted dryly while muttering curses.
"I… really thank you." Miach said with a grateful smile. I shook my head while nodding.
"No problem, just… don't trade my half, my wife would probably like to play with the magic stones and monster items herself." I said simply. Miach nodded.
"Right, the drops! I want priority choice! " Naaza said as she suddenly jumped, almost madly, and I raised an eyebrow in her direction.
"Half and half," I said directly. "My wife will also need half to study the properties of the resources," I said directly. Naaza grunted slightly.
"But there must be very few things for your wife to study. She'll need specific things if she wants to learn how to make potions. It's better to buy those things." Naaza tried to negotiate.
"There are like 400 drops in there. Do I really need to buy anything?" I asked curiously. Naaza and Miach's expressions froze once again.
"What?!" I laughed lightly at both of their surprise.
"Yeah, I have no idea how much it's worth, but I grabbed everything the monsters left behind, even that rare golden egg from the chicken on the first floor." I said nonchalantly, which made them stumble once more.
"You found a damn Jack Bird on your first time in the dungeon?!" Naaza asked, sounding almost insulted and indignant at the same time. I laughed lightly and smiled mockingly at her.
"Fortune smiled upon me," I said simply.
"It's okay, I'm sure Fortuna has a very different connotation than saying you just got lucky," Miach said incredulously, and I just smiled broadly at him. Miach sighed.
"Can we sell all of this?" Naaza asked incredulously as she looked at the bag. "It's already weird selling large quantities of magic stones, but if we add hundreds of drops to that, it'll attract a lot of attention!" Naaza exclaimed worriedly. Miach grimaced.
"It's not like we have a choice; we need the money," Miach pointed out with a grimace. Naaza sighed.
"Will it really be a problem? Even if they're just low-level monsters? " I asked curiously. Naaza snorted.
"Especially since they're low-level. I'm only a level 2; you just got your Falna. At first glance, it's impossible for us to gather this amount of items in such a short time. The guild will have serious doubts about where the items came from, and there will surely be no shortage of idiots who will point out that we stole them from other families," Naaza said almost bitterly.
"So, I guess in the end, there's no reason to hide my strength," I said with a shrug. Miach sighed.
"I suppose it can't be helped. If it comes to that, I'll try to keep the gods at bay," Miach said with a tired sigh. Naaza grimaced.
"I guess we're running out of options. We could sell them anonymously," Naaza said simply. "We need a mask and a cape, or something to hide our identities," Naaza said in thought. I hummed softly.
"Or… I could do this." I called out to both of them before my body became enveloped in a reddish mist as I shapeshifted. Once I was done, I stood before them with a different appearance.
"What the hell!" Naaza exclaimed incredulously.
"You can shapeshift?" Miach asked, surprised. "Now... you're a man?" Miach asked, staring at me. I shifted slightly to stretch my new form; it wasn't something I did very often outside of a fight, and there, I only shifted my body into amorphous shapes, not in appearance.
"My body is male, yes, but I am and remain a woman. This is just a temporary shapeshifting. I can do it in… various circumstances. This appearance… is that of my ancestor." I said it in a male voice, which made me grimace. It was weird.
The appearance I had taken was that of Alucard, a grown man with jet-black hair, almost 2 meters tall, wearing a completely black suit and, on top of that, a completely red suit that was quite familiar. I didn't bother summoning the glasses and cowboy hat; they weren't really my thing.
"That's... incredible... how many damn secrets do you have?" Naaza asked incredulously.
"So, will it work?" I asked simply as I ignored her and adjusted the gloves on my hands.
"Yes... A man wouldn't raise any suspicions about us, especially one as... distinguished as you look now. That red suit will draw a lot of attention. Despite being similar to your normal suit, it's completely different from the white one; it can work." Naaza quickly muttered.
"Although doing it this way means we won't be able to openly use the money," Miach noted while thinking.
"You don't have to pay Dian Cecht's debt suddenly, just continue the payment method until now so as not to raise any suspicions, then I can buy everything you need and bring it here in my bag, no one will find out." I said simply while shrugging my shoulders and changing forms again.
"That sounds perfect," Miach said with a sigh. "You should set aside a few dozen or a few hundred magic stones from the first few floors to start selling in your normal form and slowly increase them to get the guild used to it. This way, we'll have an excuse to say where the money came from if anyone asks questions."
"I will." I said simply.
"You'll also have to sell the drops with your other form. While most of them are low-level, the amount is really abnormal. Most of them can't be used to make potions, so it's better to sell them. Even if it raises suspicions, as long as you don't mention that you belong to a god, they won't be able to do anything, especially since they won't see that form entering and exiting the dungeon." Naaza pointed out, and I nodded.
"All right, I guess that's settled." I said simply, Miach clapped.
"Excellent! Now, why don't we go to dinner to celebrate our new member of the familia? " Miach asked happily and excitedly.
"I could eat, I've only drunk blood all day, even though it takes away my hunger, I want something more substantial." I said simply, both of them looked slightly sick once again, and I rolled my eyes.
"Okay! Naaza! Go change! Let's go to the Hostess of Fertility! " Miach said happily. Naaza blinked and looked down, seeming to just remember that she was still in a towel. Naaza blushed deeply.
"Idiot!" Naaza shouted and quickly escaped from the place. Miach burst out laughing before looking at me.
"So, do you have a place to sleep? We can make room in the back of the pharmacy," Miach said with a wide smile.
"Don't worry, I have a place to sleep." I said simply.
"Don't tell me, you'll do it inside your bag," Naaza said dryly as she went back inside, this time fully clothed.
"No, in a tent." I said as if it was obvious, and both of them looked at me in conflict before looking at themselves. Naaza finally sighed.
"I won't let my daughter sleep in a tent! You can stay here! " Miach said cheerfully. I snorted.
"Really, there's no need, I have everything I need in my tent," I said again.
"I insist!" Miach insisted with the same smile. I sighed, pulled out another bag, put my hand inside, and pulled out the small tent. I used a little magic to magically assemble it inside the tent. Luckily, the tent was spacious enough and the tent was small enough for me to fit perfectly.
I looked at the tent with satisfaction and looked at the pair, who were looking at me almost with pity. I rolled my eyes and pointed to the door.
"Come in." I said simply, walking around the tent and entering it with ease. Miach was the first to enter carefully, followed by Naaza, both of whom froze immediately as they looked inside.
I must say, Sera cared too much; the interior was too big for just me. There was a huge living room with several regal sofas and a small tea table in the center, and nearby, there was a fireplace.
Around me, I could see the entrance to several rooms. There was a dining room, a kitchen, a full bathroom, a huge bathtub, several fully furnished rooms, and a storage room full of potions and other supplies.
"What the hell?! Did your wife make this, too?! " Naaza asked incredulously as she looked around. She walked over to a couch and slowly ran her hand over it. "Oh gods, this feels so expensive... when will all this be worth it?" She muttered to herself, completely stunned.
"This… wow, this is amazing!" Miach said excitedly as he began to look around in excitement.
"It is what it is," I said with a shrug. "It uses the same enchantments as the bag, but more... organized," I said simply as I looked around. My gaze quickly fell on a group of photographs on a small table. In the photo, Sera and I were hugging while laughing lightly. The image of Sera winked at me before kissing my photographed copy.
"The images are moving?!" Naaza asked as she looked over my shoulder at the image.
"Is that your wife?" Miach asked excitedly, as if learning about my personal life was a wonderful thing to happen. I simply nodded.
"Yes, this is Serena Eileen Prince, my wife." I said simply. "And yes, the photos move, all of them." I said simply as I looked at the rest of the pictures. There were several images of all of us together and apart, but before the pair could look at the photos closely, I used magic to turn them upside down.
"She's beautiful." Miach said happily, I just nodded.
"She is." I stated the obvious. "Now, didn't you mention food?" I asked simply.
"Ah! Yes! Let's go to the Hostess!" Miach said before running out of the tent. Naaza sighed.
"You should let us stay in here, you'll sleep like a queen while we sleep like commoners." Naaza complained in my direction, and I smiled amusedly.
"You're a commoner." I mocked her, Naaza rolled her eyes, but smiled slightly.
"Naaza! Bellatrix! Come on! " Miach called out to us once again, anxiously.
"Let's go, our god is calling us," Naaza said simply, glancing around before leaving the tent. I did the same. With a flick of my hand, the tent folded up and was stuffed back into my bag.
"Let's eat!" Miach said happily as he walked out the door. "Right! I have to tell you about Hestia's son! I heard around here that yesterday, he did exactly the same thing as you, Bellatrix; he ran out of the dungeon covered in blood! And also that the Loki Familia returned from their last expedition!" Miach began to ramble once more.
I sighed, and to my surprise, Naaza did exactly the same. We both looked at each other before starting to walk to keep up with Miach. The blood-soaked Bell Cranel… I think that sounded familiar.
I shrugged as I started walking.
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