(Tuesday, 27/10/1058, late morning)
(7th floor)
(3rd person PoV)
Here we encounter a wild Henryk exploring a new habitat.
Accompanying him, we can observe an entourage of a clingy, giant variant of the harpy eagle, four of what could be assumed to be dire wolf ancestors, and two women, one of whom isn't exactly human.
There he goes. The specimen is being stubborn about advancing, stating how well he is. That is while he ignores the clear signs of mutilation around his right ankle.
"Ignore whatever order he gave to you and listen to me instead!" In response to his disregard for his own safety, one of the two women shouted at the wolves. "Grab him and drag him out of here!" She said with a clear intent to murder him if he protested. The wild Henryk had to stay silent and quiet to save his life, even if it meant missing out on taming the blue papilio he just saw.
"..." One could see the fate-opposing gears turning inside his head. Finally, something s-
"Hey! I wanna at least tame that blue papilio!" He said excitedly, childishly, even.
"Only this!" The woman who shouted before snarled aggressively at him, which he had to pretend to flinch from. "You're doing nothing more today!"
(AN: 🥲 I can't, man. It's hard to write it like that. I will continue writing normally for the rest of this chapter. I hope some enjoyed this previous part at least. Also, I failed to find any pictures or scale size of the blue papilio, so imagine it to be a Papilio Ulysses butterfly 50 cm/19.7 inches from compound eyes to the tip of abdomen)
Henryk's inner child smiled. 'Finally! Bug collecting when it isn't a biological/health hazard!'
"Fey! Catch!" Henryk pointed at the unfortunate (fortunate?) bug monster.
"Ey!!" Fey dove at it like a missile, snatching it out of the air before the butterfly could feel her coming.
"Um..." Henryk was scratching the back of his head awkwardly. An unexpected problem, if obvious, reared its ugly head. The butterfly monster obviously had a proboscis. "Me don't thinks a magic stone fits there..."
Meanwhile, the blue papilio was trying to struggle free of Fey's iron grip. It was a futile effort.
"Ground the magic stone" Ais said with a flat voice, stating what she thought was the natural thought process.
Henryk blinked. He... he never thought about grinding it up.
'If I put the entirety of the ground-up magic stone into a basin, it might just work' Henryk's expression brightened up as his eyes gained a glint. The blue papilio started to struggle more desperately.
"Give it here" Henryk slowly got his grip secured around the blue butterfly. He got a hold of it in a hug, holding its proboscis tightly between his fingers.
"Eww" Shira shrunk away from it. No matter how cute small, non-monster butterflies were, one this big has a disturbingly strange face. Its eyes and the small hairs all around the hundreds of them compound eyes, all the fuzz around its body, and the disparity between the vibrant blue topside of its wings and the pattern of different shades of brown all around the rest of its body, it nearly creeped Shira out of her skin. "Can we just, like, kill it and be done?"
Henryk gave her a prolonged look while wrestling against the butterfly's six legs to stop the metallic screeching noise of them rubbing against each other. The jarring sound was what snapped his attention away from Shira and back to the barely restrained monster. After a few minutes of struggling, Henryk had to let go of the monster so that Ais would hold it still instead.
The vibration of it merely attempting to move its wings, and still failing, and grinding its chitinous body sections against each other travelled through Henryk's body, numbing his nerves and making him feel like his bones were in danger of breaking if this continued. The insect was of higher stats than a fresh level 1 adventurer, it seems.
"I believe we need to tame this here, and now" Henryk nursed his aching arms, slowly massaging them as he sat on the ground. "The sounds its legs make may drive some people to suicide-!" His breath hitched, groaning as the sudden return of some sense in his arms made him feel the pain all at once. He bottled it in before it became a loud scream of pain.
"How?" Ais said while looking at his arms in silent concern.
"Waterskins with magic stone dust would do" Henryk thought before looking at the struggling insectoid monster with a sinister smile. "If it fails, beat it up until it submits to force! A monster's gotta understand that at least!" He will get revenge for numbing his arms like that.
After a few cycles of beating the monster into a pulp and letting it drink some magic stone dust-infused water, it finally collapsed just as it surrendered.
'Damn you... This was painful...' Its mental fortitude impressed Henryk, as the thought he heard as it passed out was it insulting him.
"We got a tough one here, huh?" Henryk commented with a flat expression. 'I got enough revenge for my arms, I guess'
Shortly after, Henryk suffered some dizziness before passing out himself. Shira freaked out as she rushed to get a hold of him before he hit the ground.
(Back at the manor, early afternoon)
"How has it been until now?" Henryk said as he walked alongside a fellow low-rank familia member, Blanchette. "I felt it waking up" He did, yet he chose not to talk to it through their link, not yet.
"... It befuddles me why we entertain the uncertainty of your taming skills" Blanchette glared at him with clear distrust but not outright hostility. "but I hope you don't disappoint Loki. For all her flaws, she is a loved goddess by everyone in the familia, and her mood alone carries weight" She stopped for a moment to say the most important part while facing him. "Should you do something that disappoints her in you personally, you will face the consequences"
"Well, lead the way. We'll never know if I'd disappoint her or not without trying" He gestured for her to lead the way.
The last storage room, the armory, was not sufficient, since this one was not something they could restrain conventionally, and the thing's wings were far too delicate to rub or slam against the equipment in the armory. As a result, Loki agreed to lock it somewhere more padded. An empty bedroom with bedsheets hung everywhere to act as a net to catch it if it moved did the trick.
Futura was listening in, trailing behind them. She was here as a safety net in case the butterfly attacked.
'Kob was really a lucky case. Thank Loki he is agreeable as he is, just like a dog one would raise at home' He thought to himself.
They reached the room, edging dangerously close to the women's quarters. Loki specifically chose this room to mess with him. He could imagine her cackling at the mental image of the women of the familia cautiously glaring at him.
All the fear washed away when the few women that passed by saw him being led in and ignored him after giving him a raised eyebrow.
'Alight. I got it now. That bastard trickster goddess banked on me being wary of the women's reactions instead of thinking about it more realistically' Henryk huffed, accepting defeat.
As they entered the room, Henryk had to swing the stick he brought in to deflect the butterfly's body slam away from him.
"Feisty, aren't we?" Henryk gave it a predatory smile. He knew that while he is weaker than it right now, Futura's compliance adds her strength to his total, making him far stronger and giving him the advantage of numbers.
'Release me! Captor!' It sent through the link while making hollow, trumpet-like noises with a bass quality to them using its fully erect proboscis. The jarring noise of its wings rubbing against each other while it flew around the room made Henryk want to finish this quickly and either leave with one more ally or one more magic stone.
"Calm down. I'm here to talk, to make a deal with you" Henryk sat down with his back against a wall. Of course, he was sending his thoughts to the panicked monster, as that would help it hear him out even through the noise being generated by it.
'No!' The monster insisted. 'Let me out!'
After some more back and forth between them with no result in sight, Henryk got fed up with it, no matter how justifiable its panic and distrust of him was.
He sighed and foregone any thought of making peace with it, not without any threats first. He still hoped to make it listen to him by its own convection, its loyalty not through fear, but through common benefit or, better yet, friendship.
'The only thing awaiting you outside is death' That stilled the thing, forcing it to stop moving from sheer shock. 'The people outside only kept you alive because I wanted to make use of your abilities. Should you give me your services, I shall guarantee you a life bereft of struggle if you wish for it'
Henryk fully intended to deliver on that promise. If the butterfly refused to heal them during combat, he could make use of its healing powder to acquire a small supply of potions at a hefty discount.
The blue papilio slowly walked towards him, carefully making its way to him with its legs skittering on the wooden floorboards very loudly. Its wings were neatly folded against its back, showing their brown undersides.
'What do I need to do to live?' It started to listen, its mind choosing calm over panic as Henryk presented it with certain death should it refuse him outright.
'The least I require of you is to be harmless and provide us with some of your powder as it sprinkles down' Henryk said. He then presented it with what he really wanted. 'Alternatively, you could aid us by healing us on the field while we fight other monsters. Of course, I'll make sure to give you enough magic stones so that you would survive the floors we go to'
'Can I remain out of the dungeon for now?' It asked skittishly.
'Yeah' Henryk started to get up. 'As long as we get something in return, we'll keep you alive and even protect you if you proved valuable enough'
"Is that all it took to tame it?" Blanchette asked after she witnessed Henryk speak no more than the same thing before blankly staring at the monster in front of her as it slowly walked up to him in what she thought was total calmness. It shattered her expectations.
"For me, yes" Henryk said as he stretched his right arm towards the butterfly. 'Climb my arm and hang on my shoulder. The sight of me walking around with you like that will set them at ease'
"Arrogance won't do you any good in this city" Blanchette 'looked down' at him.
"It wasn't arrogance, it was oblivion. I simply don't know if it's easier or harder for other tamers" Henryk said with an understanding smile. 'I need to be more mindful of how the other side of the conversation might understand my words'
The blue papilio complied and quietly found their way to Henryk's back, where they started looking around over Henryk's shoulder.
"Should we give you a name, now?" Henryk raised both hands in front of him. "Would you prefer a masculine name? Or a feminine name?"
'Feminine' She chose as she extended her proboscis towards the hand with that choice.
"Alright, a girl it is" Henryk said with all the cheer of a father who got a second daughter. "What about Celine?"
'Celine... Celine...' She repeated the name as if she was tasting it. 'It sounds good' Finally, Henryk could feel some of Celine's tenseness slightly and gradually vanishing as her mental voice took on a softer tone.
'Would I... be able to see the sun outside?' Celine asked Henryk with genuine need. It was an intense urge she needed to fulfill. An urge that she wanted to fulfill herself, not of simple desires or memories, but because of curiousity as well. The vague memories of the sun she had invaded her mind as soon as she woke up in this room. If those memories are anything to go by, then basking in the sun's warmth was delightful. She wanted to try that.
"Let's go to the garden, then" Henryk entertained her desire to see the sun. He also wanted to feel it on his skin. It was an energizing feeling that he liked.
(Later)
"So, you think it is worth updating your status now? Has it been that long since the last update?" Loki tried to remember when was the last time she saw his status.
"That was two days ago, on Sunday" Henryk said as he sat down facing Loki.
"I also have a limited amount of blood, my ichor" Loki said through slightly opened eyes. "It is among the many restrictions we have put upon ourselves, to live a mortal's life. The amount of blood I have needs to be conserved to when I truly need to update a status, instead of updating everyone's status willy-nilly every day or the other"
"I assure you, this time's gonna be more than worth it" Henryk said with a smug grin, one that was intended to agitate Loki. It was very effective, seeing as Loki went to the table where she kept her needles. Loki sensing the truth in his words helped his case.
"Lift your shirt" The heat in her voice promised him some amount of pain if he wasted her ichor.
What Loki saw next shut her up quickly.
(Line Break)
Name: Henryk Williams
Familia: Loki
Level: 1
STR: C679 → B784
STA: C646 → A812
DEF: C646 → B767
AGI: C636 → B724
MAG: A815 → A897
Magic:
Incrementum Imperium
Skills:
Kefalés Tou Tyfóna
Yfirgangr
(Line Break)
Loki hit Henryk as hard as she could on his back.
"You reckless child!" Her voice was fraught with emotion. She hit him again. "Never disadvantage yourself like this again. I don't wish for you to grow at the risk of your life" She rested her forehead on his back, continuing to hit him. Although, one could tell the following hits were hollow and only meant to convey her unwillingness for him to put himself in needless danger.
"I need to grow even quicker, Loki" Henryk said with a firm voice, a voice filled with determination. "I need to throw myself in the dungeon even more than little Ais did at the time"
Henryk could feel her freeze on his back.
"Carillon told me" He said, diffusing her immediate suspicion. "If Ais achieved a rank-up that quickly without my growth boost, what could I achieve with even more intense dungeon diving?"
"Don't" Loki said as she started pushing herself off his back. "Like I said, I don't wish for you to endanger yourself just for the sake of quicker growth. I won't speak of it, and I would much prefer for you to restore your falna to what it should have been. I won't urge you to rank-up quickly if your parameters are that important to you"
"Have you wondered what would happen if I attempted breaking the S999 barrier?" Henryk said, a smirk starting to form on his face. That earned him another slap on the shoulder, though this one lacked the strength.
"Just make sure that you don't push yourself into the deep end, child. Challenging yourself is the essence of a falna. Taking away from yourself is not" Loki said with all the warmth she could give to one of her children. She silently finished updating his status and copied it on a piece of parchment before leaving him alone in the room. She left without talking to him or gesturing for him to do anything. However, he could barely hear her say something.
"It seems I will lose sleep worrying about another child for a while coming" Loki mumbled as she walked away. "To think I would get another child who needs to be taught to be moderate after being done with Ais"
It was as if she was silently telling him to do nothing, to rest, and to recover before doing anything else. Maybe, just maybe, he will think it over and return his status to its original state.
'I didn't think I would feel this way again, the thought of having to see one of my children throw himself in the dungeon with reckless abandon, knowing the dangers this time. That just made it worse' Loki thought as she went to the wine cellar. She wanted to drown out the grim thoughts surrounding what she saw in his excellia with some Soma wine that she stored there, locked so that only she could drink from it. It wouldn't do for a mortal child to drink of Soma's finest crafts.
(That night)
As Henryk and Shira were in bed, ready to sleep, Shira wanted to talk a little.
"Henry, could you tell me more about your life before Preblica?" She said as she nuzzled closer. "Maybe what your name means is a good start?"
"That's an easy one to explain" Henryk softly muttered to her. "My name is derived from another name from a language other than my own, Heinrich. It means the ruler of the house"
"'Ruler of the house' how?" Shira wondered. As she said that, she yawned. She was starting to fall asleep.
"Mom told me that she intended for me to be such a person so that I protect my house like a ruler does, subsequently caring for and protecting anyone who is part of my house" Henryk said. He kissed her forehead. "That includes you now"
Shira kissed him on the lips before stuffing her face in his chest and falling asleep.
(Henryk's Diary, Tuesday, 27/10/1058)
Today, I wanted to push myself for the whole day. Inconveniently, I had to stop so that Shira's heart could rest at ease. Her seeing my broken leg yesterday was enough of a fright that she even considered dragging me all the way back to Preblica and staying there for life.
I just about convinced her out of it.
Oh, a positive thing that happened today is that Fey is back to sleeping in our room.
Fey said that she missed sleeping beside me on the bed in Preblica and in the carriage on the way here.
I would always welcome the reassuring feeling of having my daughter close by as I fell asleep.
Moving on, I need to increase my mind capacity far beyond what is normal for my level, or even a few levels above that. A thought I had during the day consisted of forming my own refined magic stone. I could make it form close enough to the heart where it getting destroyed would kill me whether it was because of the stone or the heart.
I need to wait for Lady Riveria to have some free time. If my body isn't compatible with the magic stone, I may need to form it first and cast my magic a few more times to calm my immune response or other effects it may have on me.
Another thing I need to keep in mind is that I want to increase my mind capacity to keep more of my stats' effects the more maximum mind I have.
I need to do much more to increase my growth rate as much as possible. Though, Carillon, no, I'll call him Norman here. Norman told me that I may need to reset the growth speed enchantment so that my body doesn't forget the feeling of my own strength. He said that the dissociation between my body and mind would take well over a month if I forgot to do that as often as once every week.
I need to be mindful of that as well.