A Few Hours Later,
Lucian Pov:
It's A Lively Place, Not That Far From Where We Live,
It's In The West District As Well, The Infamous Hostess Of Fertility....
You Really Can't Deny The Fact Most Things Started From Here....
The Story Of Danmachi Was Deeply Entwined With This Place,
The Pub Was Roaring Furnace Of Noise, Laughter, And The Smell Of Roasted Meat,
It Really Smells Good....
I Walked Into The Pub, And The Bell Above The Door Chimed,
???: Welcome, Nya !
The Cat Person Waitress, Bounded Forward. She Stopped Mid-Step, Her Ears Twitching,
She Was None Other Than A Former Level 4 Adventurer, Anya Fromel, And Also Another Person That Freya Had Emotional Connection With....
Not To Mention, My Enhanced Instinct Is Screaming A Bit....
She Really Is A Dangerous Girl, Despite Looking And Acting Cute,
Anya: Oho ! A New Face !
Lucian: A Seat For One,
Anya: Sure ! Come Here !
Quite A Loudmouth, But Manageable,
I Followed Her As She Took Me To The Left Side Of The Pub, Where A Empty Table Was Open For Me,
Anya: Here's The Menu, What Would You Like ?
I Sat Down And Looked At The Menu,
Wow, Quite Some Interesting Food And Drink Options.....
Lucian: 1 Portion Of Fried Catfish, Salad, Pasta, Blah Blah Blah, As Well As Today's Special,
(A/N: I Was Lazy Here, Let's Think He Actually Ordered Some Actual Food...)
Hearing The Amount Of Food I Had Ordered, Her Ears Perked Up,
Anya: Hm, Alright, I'll Be Right Back!
With Writing Down On Her Note, She Left For The Kitchen,
I Looked Through The Crowd, It's Lively....
Hm !
Lucian: Really.... He's Right There.....
About A Few Tables Off My Back, There Sat A White Haired Boy With Ruby Red Eyes,
Thinking About That, Is White Hair Common ?
Nah, I Don't Remember Many People Having It,
But Looking At His Astonished Face With Counting His Fingers.....
As Well As That Maid.... Yeah, That's Syr,
Besides, That Fish Looks Quite Well Cooked, That Should Be Today's Special,
Yeah, I'm Waiting For That,....
But My Face Returned To That Boy, The Counting, Poking At The Plate Of Pasta, He Looked Dejected, His Shoulders Slumped,
Was He That Poor ?
At Best, The Stuff He Has Ordered Is Around A Total Of 1,500 At Best,
But My Focus Was On Another Thing...
Sage, Scan Him, Focus On His Mental Resistance,
I Want That Charm Immunity, Even If I Can't Get The Actual Skill, It Should Be Registered As A Unique Skill For Him....
And The Rules Of Cardinal World Still Applies Here....
(Great Sage: Acknowledged, Scanning Target, Bell Cranel.....)
By The Time I Waited For Great Sage To Analyse The Skill, Someone Came To My Table, With My Ordered Food Of Course,
A Dwarf Who Was Over 6 Ft Tall....
A Former Level 6 Adventurer, And The Former Captain Of Freya Familia,
Mia Grande Or Now Called Mama Mia,
Mia: Oh, So Your The Big Eater, Despite Having Quite A Small Body,
She Laid Down The Food, As I Took A Smell,
Lucian: Smells Great,
Mia: And It Tastes Good As Well, Eat Up Kid,
But As She Said That, Her Eyes Didn't Leave Me, She Was Inspecting Me....
Mia: A High Dark Elf, I Never Thought I Would Live To See One Myself,
I Hesitated A Bit, Fortunately She Kept Her Voice Down,
Lucian: Hehe, Can We Keep That A Secret ? I Don't Want To Be Turned Into A Exhibition ....
Surprisingly, She Smiled, And She Thrashed My Hair,
Mia: Quite Different Then Other Elf's Too, Don't Worry About That Kid, Eat Up,
With That She Left My Table,
But I Could Already See A Few People Glancing At Me.....
I Should Have Wore A Hood,
Anyway, I Started Eating,
Lucian: The Seasoning Is Quite Good,
Great Sage, Analyse What Ingredients Were Used,
(Great Sage: Understood, Starting Analysis....)
But Suddenly, I Felt A Chill On My Spine..
Oh Right, She Noticed Me Didn't She ?
3rd Person Pov:
It Was Lively In The Hostess Of Fertility, Adventurers Coming In And Out, The Amount Of Valis Spent Was No Less Small,
Yet, Under The Eyes Of A Certain Goddess, She Found Another Gem, A Weird One At That.....
Freya: " His Soul..... How Is It Possible ?"
Syr, Or Currently Possessed By Freya, Was Looking At A Dark Elf, He Had Silver-White Hair And Emerald Green Eyes,
And His Soul....
Was Unlike Any She Has Seen,
His Soul Had Two Colour, Half Complete Pure, Other Half Complete Dark....
A Contradictory, A Soul Shouldn't Exist Like This....
Yet, The Soul Was So Brilliant, It Had Drawn Her ....
But She Returned To Her Sense's,
The Dark Elf's Soul Was Unique, Just Like Bell Cranel Close To Her,
Freya: "But... His Soul Seems Well Developed..... But How High Would His Status Be ? His Container Is Still Within The Class Of A Level 1.... Yet, It's Far Above The Capacity Of A Normal Level 1...."
Her Gaze Turned Towards Bell, He Was Still Eating His Pasta, But His Soul....
His Growth Was Also Fast, And Capacity Of His Status Was Far Higher Then Someone Would Expect From A Boy Who Has Been A Adventurer For Less Then 3 Weeks,
Her Gaze Flicked Between Them,
Freya: "Could It Be... He Also Possess High Growth Rate Like Bell ?"
If So, Then Why Did He Went Unnoticed Till Now ?
Clearly, He Is A New Adventurer Judging By His Falna, But His Soul Is Surprisingly Far Stronger Then It Should Be,
If He Had The Same Growth Rate, How Did His Soul Get Stronger Then Bell ?
Freya: " He's Getting More Intriguing... Fortunately Now, Let's Observe Who You Are Little Elf....."
With That, She Returned To Her Maid Persona, She Still Needed To Do Her Job...
Meanwhile Lucian Ate With Proper Ethics, His Childhood Was Drilled With His Dining Manner,
But No Matter How He Ate, He Seemingly Looked Like A Glutton....
Why ? Because Of The Large Cluster Of Towering Plates In His Table,
There's No Way Someone With A Small Body Like His Was Stuffing So Much,
As For Mia Grande.... As Long As The Kid Could Pay, It Didn't Matter....
But Suddenly His Eyes Gleamed,
(Great Sage: Analysis Complete, Skill Detected, [Realise Phase], Effect: Rapid Growth Based On Strength Of Desire, Secondary Effect: Absolute Immunity To Mental Interference (Charm)....)
Lucian: "Can You Copy The Immunity Effect ?
(Great Sage: Affirmative, Create New Skill, Mental Interference Immunity ? Yes/No ?)
Lucian: "Yes, Do It"
(Great Sage: Understood, Creating Skill, Mental Interference Immunity..... Success...)
With That, Lucian Was Finally Relaxed, At Least He Won't Get Brainwashed.....
But Suddenly,
Anya: Nya ! The Customer With Reservations Have Arrived !
The Double Doors Banged Open, Well Someone Just Held The Door Frame So The Customer Would Enter....
It Was None Other Then Loki Familia,
At The Head Was Loki Herself, Following Up With Finn Deimne, Riveria Ljos Alf, The Twins, Tiona And Tione, Bete, Gareth, Leyifa, And The Infamous Sword Princess, Ais Wallenstein....
They Took The Large Central Table, The Volume In The Pub Was Already Tight, Especially Everyone 'Admiring'..... The Loki Familia,
It Didn't Take Long For The Alcohol To Flow, Especially Loki Starting The Storm Herself,
Loki: Drink Up !
But It Didn't Take Long Enough To Loki Start Acting Like A Old Pervert, And Ais Smacking Her Head,
Fortunately, For Some Time, The Pub Was Enjoying Thier Own Food, Drinks And All,
Especially Lucian, Who Finally Had His Fill,
Another Fact Why He Ate So Much, Was Actually Because Of Predetor's Side Effects, It Was A Degraded Version Of Gluttony, But The Effects Were Still There,
And He's Not A Slime Like Rimuru, So His Hunger And Eating Limits Far Surpassed Others....
No Wonder He Called Astrea's Cooked Food, Which Should Be Enough For A Person To Get Full When Eating For Dinner, Be Only Called A Light Meal For Him, Similar To Snack Maybe.....
And As For Loki Familia, After Drinking Many Shots Of Alcohol, It Didn't Take Long Enough For Bete's Mouth To Start Running,
Bete: Hey, Ais! You Gotta Tell Them About That Thing !
Bete Slammed His Mug Down, Sloshing Ale Everywhere
Ais: That Thing ?
Bete: You Know ! We Let A Bunch Of Minotaurs Escape On Our Way Back, You Took Out The Last One On The Fifth Floor, Right ? And You Remember That tomato Dork Who Was There Right ?
Hearing This, Bell Froze From His Spot, And Lucian Perked Up, Lowering His Mug, He Was Drinking Some Water....
Bete: A Wimpy Kid Who Obviously Just Started Adventuring, Got Cornered By One Of The Minotaurs Who Ran From Us, When Ais Cleaved The Minotaur Apart, The Stinky Blood Got All Over Him, And He Looked Like A Red Tomato !
Hearing This, Tione And Tiona Laughed, Already Drunk,
While Others Didn't React Much,
Bete: And Get This, The Tomato Dork Ran Off Screaming, Our Princess Saved Him And He Ran Away From Her !
He Slammed His Hand Into His Lap, Clearly Drunk And Mocking Him,
Bete: How Pathetic Is That !
Ais: I Think In That Situation, He Can Hardly Be Blamed,
Bete Froze A Bit After Hearing That, Not To Mention Riveria Also Joined,
Riveria: Enough Bete, It Was Our Fault For Letting The Minotaur Escape From The Seventeenth Floor, You Should Be Ashamed,
Bete: Huh ?! What's Wrong With Saying A Trash Is A Trash !?
Lucian: "..... Alright, That Guy Is Really Foul Mouthed, But Bell Needs To Hear This, Or Else His Growth Won't Be Fast Enough...."
Bete Turned Towards Ais, Now Asking Her,
Bete: What Do You Think Ais, Just Hypothetically, Who Would You Choose ? Me Or That Tomato Dork ?
Hearing This, Finn Gave A 'Friendly' Smile And Spoke,
Finn: Bete, Your Drunk Aren't You ?
But He Ignored Him, And Spoke To Ais,
Bete: I'm Talking To You Ais ! If That Kid Asked You Out, Would You Say Yes ?! No Way Right ?
The Pub Fell Silent, All Glancing At Them, And Thier Own Food,
Bete: A Wimp Weaker Then You Has No Right To Stand Besides You, You Yourself Would Never Allow That ! A Wimp Isn't Good Enough For You, Not For Ais Wallenstein ...
'Thump !'
With Bell Unable To Bear Any More Humiliation, He Bolted Out Of The Pub,
Syr: Bell San !
Watching The Sudden Boy Run Out, Syr Rushed Towards Him But He Was Already Gone,
Tione: What ? A Dine And Dash ?
Suddenly, Even Ais Stood Up,
Loki: He Got Guts, Trying To Pull That At Mama Mia's House !
Ais And Syr Were Out, But Started To Walk Back,
Having Seen Enough, Lucian Stood Up And Went To Pay For His Food,
Mia: Oh, It's You, Your Bill.... It's 8,780 Valis, For Dining Here For The First Time, Just Pay 8,700 Valis, Consider It A Discount.....
Lucian Raised A Eyebrow At That, But He Paid For His Food,
And When He Was Paying, He Spoke,
Lucian: Don't You Think That Was A Bit Too Much ?
A Hush Fell Down Over The Tarven, Everyone Looked Around, Looking At The Source Of The Voice,
Bete: And Who The Hell Are You To Butt In On Someone's Conversation ?!
Lucian: Me ? Just A Adventurer Who Happened To Know Him Quite Well, But Hearing What Happened As You Said, I Can't Help But Ask, Are Executive Of Loki Familia That Incompetent ?
Murmur Murmur....
Whispers Rippled Through The Crowd, It Didn't Take Long Enough For People To Understand The Guy Who Ran Was The Same One The Loki Familia Was Mocking,
Even More, He Dared To Call A Executive, A Level 5 Adventure Incompetent In Front Of Him ?
That's Either Reckless Bravery Or Asking For Death,
Suddenly, Loki Flashed Through The Crowd, Appearing Besides Bete,
Loki: Bete, You Little Bastard.... What The Hell Am I Supposed To Do With You ?!
Loki's Outburst Caught Bete Off Guard,
After All, He Couldn't Get It Why Loki Was Scolding Him,
Seeing Bete's Confused Expression, Lucian Explained,
Lucian: Though I Don't Exactly Know From Which Floor Expedition You Guys Came From, Even If Exhausted After Fighting Your Way Up, There Should Be A Chance To Rest In Floor 18, And Despite That, Your Group, Which Had A Level 5 At Least, Somehow Made A Mistake Which Allowed A Minotaur From Floor 17 Run All The Way To Floor 5, That's A 12 Floor Gap, Ans Your Saying, A Minotaur, Which's Maximum Speed Is 950 Agility, Had Outran A Level 5's Speed ? How In The World Does That Happen ?
To This Point, Everyone In The Pub Nodded Along, It Really Doesn't Make Sense How A Mere Level 2 Monster Escaped 12 Floors From A Level 5, Even If There Are Multiple, Shouldn't A Level 5 Fighter Be Far Stronger And Faster Then A Minotaur ?
Finn Deimne, Sitting Calmly, Suddenly Frowned, He Rubbed His Right Thumb, It Was Throbbing, A Sharp, Stinging Pain...
It Wasn't Because This Boy Had Reasoned Out A Incompetence Made By Loki Familia, He Has Been Feeling His Thumb Throbbing For Some Time....
Finn: "Dangerous... This Boy... He Looks Like A Nobody, But My Thumb Is Screaming..."
He Mentally Noted Down To Investigate This Fellow,
Finn: Bete, Sit Down, As For His Earlier Behaviour, I Deeply Apologise For His Actions,
Finn Had Already Seen Where This Would Go If He Didn't Do This, Thier Familia's Reputation Would Hit Rock Bottom,
But Bete, The Drunken Bete Was Never Gonna Swallow His Pride, Especially Now, Especially In Front Of Ais....
Bete: Shut Up, Finn !
Bete Waved Him Off, He Squinted At Lucian, Swaying Slightly, The Alcohol Was Making His Vision Swim Slightly, His Abnormal Condition Resistance Was Strong, Yet The Amount He Drank Was Far More Then He Could Handle Lightly
He Looked At Lucian's Face, The Sharp Features, The Long, Pointed Ears, The Noble Bone Structure,
Bete Blinked, He Looked At Lucian, Then He Turned His Head And Looked At Riveria, Then Back At Lucian,
A Stupid, Drunken Grin Spread Across His Face,
Bete: Oi... Riveria,
Bete Slurred, Pointing A Shaking Finger At Lucian,
Riveria: What Is It, You Drunkard ?
Riveria Scowled, She Was Also Angry Because Of His Actions,
Bete: When... -Hic-..... When Did You Get A Tan ? And Chop Your Hair Off ? And Turn Into A Dude ?
Silence,
Absolute, Dead Silence.
Riveria's Face Went Blank,
Ais Started Shivering Upon Seeing Her....
Lucian, Usually Composed, Actually Looked Baffled,
Lucian: Excuse Me ?
Bete: You Look Just Like Her !
Bete Laughed, Slamming His Hand On The Table,
Bete: Look At Those Stuck-Up Ears ! That Look Like You're Smelling Something Bad ! It's Riveria In Blackface ! HAHAHAHA !
Crack.
The Stem Of The Wine Glass In Riveria's Hand Snapped,
Riveria: Bete...
Riveria's Voice Dropped An Octave, Radiating A Chilling Aura Of Magical Death,
After A Few Moments, Bete Was Strapped In Rope, Hung Into The Roof, His Feet, His Tail, His Arm, His Body Was Tightly Roped,
Riveria Sighed, She Was Almost Going To Incinerate Him, But She Looked At Lucian, Really Looked At Him,
She Saw The Ears, High Elf Ears, Not The Slightly Shorter Ears Of A Regular Elf Or The Distinct Shape Of A Half-Elf,
They Were Royal Shape, And His Face... The Structure Of The Jaw, The Shape And Colour Of The Eyes...
It Was Disturbingly Similar To Her Own Father, The Elf King Larfal Ljos Alf...
Riveria: "A Dark Elf... And His Ears..... That's Not A Normal Dark Elf, He's A High Dark Elf.... That's.... Shouldn't He Be Considered Royalty Among Dark Elf ? Then Why... Does It Seem He Lives Like A Normal Adventurer ?"
Riveria Thought, Her Pausing For A Moment Of Confusion,
As A Runaway Herself, She Knows What Length Her Father Had Gone Just To Bring Her Back, Until Loki Took Her In,
In Same, A High Dark Elf Like This Boy, Especially The Almost Extinct Dark Elf, Shouldn't He Have Inherited The Dark Elf's Inheritance ?
There's No Way They Would Be All Dirt Poor, Especially That Before The War In Which Dark Elf Almost Met Extinction, They Had Numbers Comparable To Other Regular Elf,
There's No Way They Didn't Leave Any Valis Or Important Things For Thier Younger Generation.....
Unfortunately, Lucian Himself Didn't Knew A Single Thing About Inheritance, He Believed, Over The Course Of Thousand Years, They Were Either Take Over By Other Race, Or Has Been Sold To Other Races, Even Land Property....
Lucian: I'm Not The One You Should Apologise, You Should Say That To That Boy, Bell Cranel....
With That, Lucian Having Nothing Else To Do, Walked Out Of The Tavern And Left For Stardust Garden,
As Well The Loki Familia Went Back To Their (Slightly Quieter) Drinking, Riveria Kept Thinking About Lucian.....
She Turned Towards Ais,
Riveria: Does He Really Look Like Me ?
She Whispered To Ais, She Just Couldn't Shake Off This Instinct....
Ais Looked At Riveria, Then Remembering Lucian, She Tilted Her Head,
Ais: A Little....
Ais Said Simply, Then Went Back To Eating,
Riveria Frowned, Staring Into Her Wine. 'Curious'
Meanwhile Lucian Was Walking Back To Stardust Garden....
Lucian: Close Call, I Truly Don't Want Anyone To Learn About This.....
For Some Reason, He Couldn't Help But Feel That Even If He Used That Letter And Got Riveria's Help, He Didn't Want To Rely On Her.....
Lucian: Guess Next Course Should Be The Monsterphilia...
Next, Banquet And Upcoming Anxiety