There is another version of this chapter ready, I'll post it after this one. I just did it because I had the time, and because I ended up with a potential idea, I liked just as much as this one.
It may very well be the solution to all our problems... mostly mine.
In any case, thank you for reading! I'll see you all on the other part. I'll explain everything once we're there.
3.5 words.
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—
Silver walked through the streets with his arms behind his back, not really thinking about anything else…
"… MARRY ME!"
/Gasp!/
"YES!"
/Applauds/
"... Congratulations."
'Now that I think about it, I've only ever seen a few marriages in the village. I do not know the norms and the culture around such social structures.'
'What is right, what is wrong, what is accepted and what's not… With so many gods enforcing so many rules, I suppose there's just no defined rules, right?'
'But there has to be… otherwise there wouldn't be limitations on things like the entertainment district.'
"I heard even elves have their own norms… they are very selective with whom they form close bonds, especially regarding physical contact."
'I spent most of my time focusing on my own things, but I should've paid this more heed… what if I end up doing something that's considered harassment or even something like a romantic confession? I need to be careful…'
"That man looks like an adventurer."
'I hope their romance lasts long… that was how I came to be after all. Adventurers have every right to love too.'
He looked at the distant clouds, "I wonder if one day I will marry… pfft… I can't even imagine…"
'Just what kind of woman would tolerate me?…'
…
"Holy shi… man…"
'The price on this armor… Twelve million Vallis for this? It looks just like any chest piece… Hm?… I see, it's made of dragon scales.' He thought as he looked at the armor
"For the blacksmith to have hidden the scales so well when forging…"
'He is quite good, I almost didn't notice it. He must have coated the scales with something else to make them seem like a seamless plate.'
"There are lots of shops around here. Each one more expensive than the next."
Silver looked around, seeing a shop with a unique crest he recognized, "Looks like one of Hephaestus' smiths works around here."
"I wonder how long it'll take for me to be able to afford such a thing."
'I heard higher level adventurers make millions per dive, even if it takes weeks from time to time…'
…
Silver went down the street looking around the shops, but eventually, he reached his destination.
Squinting his eyes faintly, he looked at the mighty castle before him, home of the Loki Familia!
"I'm here… but what do I do now?"
'This place seems different… is it the decorations? It seems they're also preparing to commemorate the Winter Festival.'
He looked around, but he couldn't see anyone aside from a single guard standing near the gate. He thought about approaching him, but just asking directly wouldn't work, would it?
'They probably receive dozens of people wanting to join them every day. Wouldn't they just kick me out if I go like this?… Sigh, whatever.'
"If this doesn't work, then I might as well just keep trying until it does…"
He approached the gates, "Excuse me. Are you guys recruiting?"
"Eh?"
The man standing guard was startled, half-asleep due to his boredom, "W-We… We're always recruiting!" The guard replied with a laugh, "You just have to pass the 'exam'."
"Exam?"
He scratched his nose as he held in a sneeze, "That's just how I call it really… some call it the rite of passage. You see, every member may recommend others, but most of the time, we just conduct a few tests to see if they're fitting."
"So, a combat test?"
The man laughed faintly, "Combat? Heh… if only it were that easy."
"…"
'Am I missing something here?'
/Knock knock knock!/
The guard knocked on the wall three times before waiting for someone to reply.
"What is it, Morel? Want a break again?" Someone replied from beyond the gates
"Not this time… we have a newcomer. You know what to do."
"A newcomer? At this time?"
/Creak…/
The gates opened and a demi-human peaked a glance at Silver. But after looking at him up and down, he shook his head.
"It's hopeless, Morel, this one's no good."
"Come on, man…"
"Morel, when was the last time we got a male newcomer? We've gotten like… seven girls since then. It's hopeless. She'll never let another dude inside."
"Can you notify her at least? I can't just leave my post…"
"Fine… give me a moment. As for you… you can come inside."
As the gate opened a little further, Morel turned to Silver, "You heard him, you can wait inside… or you can wait out here with me. It's fine either way…"
"Thanks, I'll get inside." Silver added as he walked right past him
"…"
'I hate guard duty.'
…
Silver stepped through the gates, closing them behind him. On the other side, he came face to face with a large garden, 'The atmosphere around here is quite nice. Must be quite a relaxing place during spring.'
'That said, what he said before... will I have to go through an interview with a deity? I expected this much but I'm a little nervous.'
"A bit too quiet though… where's everyone?"
'I thought they were supposed to have hundreds of members? That's more than enough to patrol the entire manor though… rather, isn't a single guard too little?'
Silver walked to a nearby field and crouched near the plants.
"Hum… I don't recognize any of them."
/Step!/
Distracted by the plants, time passed rather quickly. Soon enough, his thoughts were disrupted by footsteps echoing behind him.
"Oia… I knew it. Finn that guy... he wasn't trying at all."
Silver turned around, knowing who the owner of the voice was.
"… Hello."
'I saw her before, but... this time its a bitt different.'
Loki raised an eyebrow, "Not much of a talker, are ya?"
The goddess of the Familia in the flesh. Wearing a large winter coat covering 90% of her body.
"I think it's quite the contrary." Silver joked as he relaxed a little, "If I get to know someone, I tend to speak too much…"
Loki raised an eyebrow, "You don't sound very confident, though."
"Haha… sometimes I just talk too much regardless."
Loki smiled. She looked at him up and down before scratching her chin, "Humm… I don't know… say, you look like someone with experience."
"Have you ever fought a monster before?" She asked with a smirk despite already knowing the answer
"The first monster I faced was a goblin many years ago… I don't quite remember when… the last monster I took down… was a goblin in the Upper Floors."
'When I returned from my clash with Goliath.'
"I guess you could say I've been facing monsters for around a decade."
"You entered the Dungeon without a blessing? Can't say you're reckless or just stupid... it wouldn't be the first time..."
Silver smiled, "My family would say both."
Loki circled around him, "What is it that you want?"
"In what context?"
"Of my question, of course. What is that you want?"
"That makes things difficult, there's a lot of things I want."
"A greedy one."
"Very greedy." Silver added as he reinforced her statement
She crossed her arms, finding the situation amusing, "Why would I want such a greedy person around?"
"Hm… Now you've got me." He replied with a dry laugh
"You aren't even going to try? Just when things were getting interesting…"
"Well, if you need a reason… because it would be fun?"
"Fun?…"
Her smile deepened, "You're saying you're going to make things around here fun?"
"That's hard to say, I just arrived... but II can say for certain that I'm not making things any more boring."
"Hum… show me. If you can show me one interesting thing, I'll allow you to stay."
"Interesting?… That's pretty easy."
/Clap!/
With a small smile, Silver clapped his hands together, and under Loki's inquisitive gaze, he slowly floated before her.
"D-Damn."
'I was just kidding, but this guy… what the hell did he just do?'
Silver floated a meter off the ground before landing swiftly, "So? Do I pass?"
She paused for a moment, taking it all in... but her curiosity got the best of her, "… One more thing!"
'I can't just let him off the hook.'
Silver tilted his head as he thought about what to do next. He put his hands side by side before causing a dozen lightning bolts to fly from one hand to the other.
In the air, the sparks of lightning slowly twisted, forming uneven runes that spelled out her name:
-Loki-
"How about that? I can make some fireworks too." He added as he caused some small sparks of light to fly around him
"…"
Loki was speechless. But she suddenly had a great idea, "If you can make a bottle of wine appear right in front of me, I'll accept you on the spot." she said half-jokingly as she looked at the sparks of light
/Snap!/
Silver snapped his fingers, and a bottle of wine actually appeared in his right hand… but it was empty.
"Ta-da~…"
Loki froze... but then frowned, "… Why is it empty?"
"You asked for a bottle of wine, not one you could drink… I drank this one already." Silver replied helplessly as he scratched his chin
"So, uh… am I hired?"
"This isn't a food stall! Welcome to the Loki Familia! Erm… what was your name again?"
"Mellios Silver… it's fine to call me Silver though."
"Welcome to the party, Silver!… Your name's quite corny though."
"Say that to my mother…"
…
Once her decision was made, she wasted no time. Loki led Silver across the manor towards an office high above the ground.
The Twilight Manor was a massive European-style castle taken straight out of fantasy. Multiple floors, towers, houses, gardens, all interconnected in a mix of hallways that came together nicely around one major structure.
Because the manor was located on a rather small plot of land, it was built multiple floors high to support Loki's large Familia. The multiple tall towers surrounding it overlapped and supported each other, with the middle tower being the tallest.
/Chattering.../
As they moved, Silver came face to face with some members of the Familia. Most of them seemed to be relaxing or working on smaller things, which wasn't surprising, 'The Loki Familia only recently returned from the Dungeon, and with the Winter Festival and the New Year right around the corner, I imagine they won't be going through any expeditions until that.'
'That's about a month or more for them to think of what to do. It's only the 8th of December right now. Maybe I joined just at the right time.'
...
As they crossed a large hallway, they entered a large hall with multiple tables set up side by side. Silver took notice of the craftsmanship and quality of everything around them, nodding with respect.
"This is a nice place."
"Thanks, took a damn long time to make it look like this... We'll take a look around the place later and all that, but let's get this done first though."
"Sure…"
'Hm?... Those people, what are they doing?'
Silver saw a group of people setting up some decorations on its ceiling. Plants, flowers, and such. One below holding the chair, one on the stair doing all the work.
"Hey, Narvi… put that a bit more to the right."
"I'm trying! We have to move the stairs again."
Silver looked at them, one red-haired girl and a demi-human with dog ears, who wanted to get things done quickly, so much so his companion ended up slipping from the staircase.
"Come on, you can do it, just tie it up there and…. Hey, be careful!"
"AHH!"
"!"
'That's not good!'
At the moment when everyone looked as the girl fell from the ceiling, Silver vanished from his position, teleporting beneath her.
Using his powers, he controlled her fall, letting her fall gently directly into his arms.
"Ahh!… Huh?…"
"Are you alright, miss?" Silver asked as he looked at her
"…"
But she only looked at him with a blank expression.
"Narvi!… And… a random dude?"
"Greme, step over here for a sec." Loki said with a wide smile as she called the boy
"L-Loki-Sama!"
"Drop your heard a little..."
/BONK!
"ARG!"
"I saw everything! We're having a talk later… as for you… how about you put her on the ground already?" Loki asked as she grit her teeth, and her eyelids twitched
"I'm sorry, she just seemed a bit dazed from the fall so I let her be." Silver replied as he helped her stand
"It's not the fall that was the problem…" Loki muttered as she held onto his arm, "Just follow me!"
Silver let her pull him away, only waving at the girl as he left the dinning hall, "Take care, miss."
/Swoosh!/
The two of them vanished into the corridors, leaving Narvi, Greme, and the others behind.
…
"... I'm keeping an eye on you." Loki said with a heavy gaze as she pulled him along the manor
"For what? Did I do something wrong?"
"Not at all. Narvi was pretty strong, so a fall like that wouldn't do much to her delicate skin, but you helped her and I'm thankful… but you're dangerous."
"How so?"
Loki stopped, looking at him deeply, "There is only space for one tiger here, boyo! And that's ME!" She said as she pointed at her chest
"..."
Silver looked at her with a helpless smile. What the hell was she talking about?
Loki kept dragging him through the floors, and they eventually reached a large office.
/CLACK!/
Closing the door behind her, Loki smiled evilly, "Alright, boyo! Take it off!"
Silver took a step back, "Woah… can we like go get dinner first?"
"You know what I'm talking about!" She replied as she scoffed, "You're a hundred years too young to joke about that."
"..."
'I'd say I'm just at the right age then...'
Silver took off his shirt, going after Loki as she prepared some things on the side.
She went around a few drawers getting a few items, "The paper... the needle..."
When she turned to look at him, she whistled, "Not bad. Nice abbs."
"You think so? A shame they don't really do much."
She tapped his chest with the back of her hand, "A trained body does more than most think… now sit down. From here on out, it's my space." She said as she waited for him to sit on a small seat in the middle of the room
Silver did just that and waited as she sat down behind him.
"Now then… let's see what you really are about…"
/Drip…/
She picked a nail and pricked her finger, letting a single drop of blood, her ichor, drop onto Silver's skin.
/Kuinnn/
A slight echo reverberated in the room as the divine blood fell on his back. Waves of magical light appeared, shook on his back like a rock falling into a still lake.
A symbol slowly appeared on his back — the image of a trickster, the clown.
(Image)
After the symbol appeared, Loki… froze.
"WHAT THE HELL??!!" She exclaimed loudly
"!!!"
Silver's ears were assaulted by Loki's scream of surprise, almost causing him to jump.
"D-D-Damn! This is incomprehensible!!"
"Please… don't scream in my ears…"
"That doesn't matter now! Just… just what is this?!"
"Did I do something wrong?"
"No, I…"
'And I thought Ais' status was ridiculous…'
She picked up a piece of paper and transferred the information about Silver's status onto it.
"Here! We are done."
"Let's see what got you so surprised."
—
Mellios Silver
Level 1
Strength H 100
Vitality H 100
Dexterity H 100
Agility H 100
Magic H 100
Magic:
>Magnum Opus Ambrosia
Skill:
>Vit Alhjin
>Oculus Davidis
—
"Two Skills and one Magic…"
'I think I can understand why she was so shaken now… there's a lot to digest here, but first…'
"Is something wrong?" Silver asked as he looked at Loki
Her eyes were half-open as she stood there in deep thought. When she noticed his gaze, she smiled, "I've calmed down now. It's nothing serious, I was just surprised."
She tapped his shoulders, "Looks like a big fish just walked straight through my doors… that said, I suppose now's the time for some words."
"We'll have a lot of time to digest things later, so let's go over each section of your Status. Do you need an explanation of its basics?"
Silver shook his head; he already knew everything there was to know about the process.
"Good, you painted me as a knowledgeable guy. That saves some time."
She took the paper from his hand and pointed at his stats, "As you can see, your stats are all above average. That's not normal."
"Others start at I-0, yet here you are far beyond them. That's the effect of your first skill, Vit Alhjin."
"It's an unusually complex strengthening-type skill… The way it works is quite simple. Your Skill raises the starting ceiling of your abilities. This means that you will always start at H-100 instead of I-0 like everyone else."
"There's also another boon which is just a reflection of that previous point. Your Skill also reduces the difficulty in raising your basic abilities."
"For example, raising your skills from H to G for you is the same as another adventurer raising them from I to H. One level higher, but the same difficulty."
Silver nodded with some surprise, "That's… incredible."
'Basic Abilities start at I-0 and go all the way to S-999. But to get it that high one must go through hell, and even for those that can, if they do not possess the physical aptitude, they won't be able to progress further.'
'To do so, one must surpass their limits.'
'It's an immense time-saver, and it also provides me with a considerable boost immediately after a Level Up. Its secondary effect is already immensely powerful… or rather, I should consider it the core of the Skill.'
Loki scratched the back of her head, "Let's tone it down a little before you rejoice… First things first, it seems like you won't be able to use magic even if you awaken it, and most positive magic effects will be weakened when applied to you. Which might include crucial effects like healing magic."
She continued, her arms crossed, "I can't say if that's exactly it, but it seems the Skill provides you a passive "resistance" towards magic in general, even your own. I can't quantify it, but I'm certain that it'll grow stronger over time."
Silver nodded, "I see, so my theory was correct. The source of my troubles stemmed from this Skill. Ever since I was a child, I have never been capable of using magic. I tried multiple times but failed each time."
"You know how yo cast traditional magic?" Loki asked as she raised an eyebrow
"Only a little. I know the theory but was never able to cast it properly."
Loki scoffed with a thin smile, "But of course…" before regaining her composure.
"The next topic… your exclusive magic. It's connected to your Skill… it might be the only magic you'll ever be able to cast. I can't quite put my finger on what it does though, but you seem able enough with it already."
Silver smiled, "I have a good enough idea. Although I wanted to see how a god views it."
"If you say so. To me… it reminds me of monsters." She said deeply as her eyes opened slightly
"Your magic is similar to what monsters do. How about that?"
"… It's about what I thought before."
"So why ask?"
"Curiosity. I wanted to see what a deity had to say about it."
"Hum... in any case… let's finish this. I might need a drink after this too…"
"…"
'It's not that serious though?'
"First, let me say this… if you try to push things too far, I'm putting a leash on you. Is that fine?" She asked as she gaze Silver a dead-serious look
"I take myself to be a pretty reasonable guy…"
"We'll see, Oculus Davidis, that's your second Skill. It massively increases Excelia gain when fighting stronger monsters in challenging ways… The more despairing the situation seems, the stronger the effects get. Winning impossible battles increases the chances of rewards."
"I see…"
'So if I never wear armor, wouldn't that just be…'
"I thought I just told you to tone it down!" Loki exclaimed as she jumped onto his shoulders!
'I don't need another child with suicidal tendencies!'
"ARG! I didn't! I swear on my pure soul!"
"Did you really try to lie to the god of lies?!"
"ARG! Don't pull my hair! I'm innocent… I swear I won't cause trouble!"
"You're lying again… alright… I have a solution."
She smiled deeply, and Silver shook as he saw it.
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Notes
We finish Volume 1 here. As I said, I'll first post the other version I made and from there we ball.
Thank you for reading. Peace!