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Is It Wrong to Skitter in a Dungeon? Chapter 6
🕑 Added 2024-07-04 17:00:06 +0000 UTCChapter 6: First Day in the Dungeon
“…and that’s the bathhouse! Well, one of them. Sometimes you get really dirty after a day in the Dungeon, and it nice to wash up before going home,” Bell said, pointing to a building that looked like an odd fusion of Roman and Japanese bathhouses.
“I see,” Taylor said, nodding along absent-mindedly as Bell led her through the streets of Orario. The city was abuzz (heh!) with people coming, going, buying, selling, and just living life in general. She hadn’t realized how much she had missed while her mind was busy fixing itself. It felt like she’d been wearing beer goggles and everything had been fuzzy and indistinct, seeing it without taking any of it in.
Now, though, Taylor couldn’t help but noticed everything that was different here compared to Earth Bet. The odd mix of time periods and technology was only second to the fact there were actually other races here, like a fantasy game or novel! Elves, dwarves, scantily clad and buff dark-skinned women who put Alexandria to shame, and a whole litany of different types of beastfolk, to name a few. It was so strange, but was treated as normal by everyone!
The streets were cleaner than she’d expected, which made gathering insects for her swarm tricky, but there were also bugs here and there.
As they approached the Guild, the main office for adventurers who ventured into the Dungeon, she found herself unable to tear her gaze away from the skyline.
“What is that?” Taylor abruptly asked, staring up at the towering edifice that rose higher than some skyscrapers back home, and put every other building in the city to shame.
‘And how did I miss it?’ she wondered. Something that big should have been visible from anywhere within the city, but somehow it’d only come into view in the last few blocks!
“That’s the Tower of Babel!” Bell said, and Taylor blinked in surprise at the name of it.
“Babel… like the Biblical structure?” she asked.
“I don’t know what a ‘bibble’ is, but Babel is the most important place in the city!” Bell replied. “It stands at the exact center of the city, and the upper floors are dedicated to the high-end shops that cater to adventurers as well as homes for the various gods and high-ranking Familias. The Guildhall stand across from it a little ways away, because beneath the tower lies the entrance to the Dungeon itself!”
He then leaned in, excited. “They say the gods created the tower as a way to stop the monsters of the Dungeon from escaping, saving the world from being overrun!”
“So it’s like a nail or stake pinning this ‘Dungeon’ in place,” Taylor mused aloud. “Or maybe a cork in a bottle?”
Bell blinked at that comparison. “I’ve never thought of it that way,” he murmured, but shaking his head. “Anyways! Let’s go! The Guild is just up ahead! I can’t wait to introduce you to Eina!”
Taylor nodded, and kept walking. The streets weren’t very crowded just yet, as Bell had gotten up at the crack of dawn, and Taylor, conditioned to wake up early from years of public school and then life as a cape, followed suite. They’d left a groggy Hestia behind and made their way to the Guild, and then, they’d enter the Dungeon.
Though Taylor could admit that part of the reason she and Bell weren’t having any trouble walking through the streets was due to her companion, the Crystal Mantis. It followed behind her obediently, but the sight of a monster still made the people of Orario skittish.
‘I think it needs a new name,’ she thought to herself. Like the late Atlas, something as big and powerful as the deadly monster needed a proper name.
That was put to the side for the moment as they came upon the third largest building Taylor had seen so far in the city, behind the tower and the coliseum, of course. The Guildhall was massive, and was already quite busy.
The interior was nothing like Taylor expected, either. It seemed a mix of a hotel lobby and bank, complete with teller booths where, according to Bell, adventurers could turn in the Magic Stones and Drop Items from the Dungeon in exchange for Valis, the local currency. But the real purpose was to serve the adventurers and run the bureaucracy of the city.
“Miss Eina!” Bell called out, waving excitedly at a familiar elf with short brown hair and spectacles. She looked tired, though brightened up when she saw Bell approaching. Beside her, a pink-haired woman stared with her jaw slack at the monster that was following the two adventurers.
“Good morning, Bell,” she said, a tiny smile on her face. Taylor could understand why. Bell had a way of brightening up the room wherever he went with his endless optimism.
“Miss Eina, meet Miss Taylor! She’s the newest member of the Hestia Familia!” he said. “Miss Taylor, this is Miss Eina! She’s my Guild assistant! And I guess she can be yours, too.”
“Hello,” Taylor said politely. “I see you and your friend survived that mess yesterday.”
“A-ah, yes, thank you for your help,” Eina said, bowing stiffly, her eyes flitting nervously over to the Crystal Mantis. “U-um, is it still… under control?”
“Yes,” she replied simply.
“I see,” Eina muttered. “Miss Taylor, are you here to register as an adventurer and member of Lady Hestia’s Familia?”
“I am,” Taylor replied. “What does that process entail?”
“Please fill these forms out,” Eina requested, taking
Taylor took the pen that was offered along with the paperwork – another item that stood out in this mish-mash of technologies – and began to look it over. She was once more relieved that Hestia had somehow given her the power to understand the local language, and filled it out.
“Also, we will need a copy of your Falna,” Eina stated as she worked.
“Do I have to give a copy everyone time I update?” Taylor inquired.
“Only when you Level Up,” Eina replied. “Familias are taxed based on the number and strength of its members, and falsifying any information or hiding Level Ups will result in fines.”
Taylor nodded and fished out the piece of paper Hestia had given her last night, which had the information from her Falna recorded on it. She passed it over, and watched with a hint of interest as the Guild worker’s eyes widened as she saw the Skill that was recorded on it.
“Now, this relates to your… monster,” Eina said, putting some more paperwork onto the counter. “Normally, only people with the Taming Developmental Ability can control monsters with any kind of reliability.”
Taylor looked over the forms, reading some of the legalese with a frown. “There are a lot of restrictions and penalties,” she noted. It also cost a lot to register a monster as being ‘tamed’ by a Familia. A hundred thousand Valis was not cheap. That was around a thousand in U.S. dollars! It was like buying a computer or top of the line phone!
“Even with the Tamer Ability, there is always a risk of a monster going out of control, and very few people can Tame monsters that are stronger than the equivalent of a Level 1 adventurer,” Eina said, sounding slightly apologetic. “And a Crystal Mantis is classified as a Level 2 monster due to its near immunity to low-ranked magic and general strength.”
“We’ll have to sell the Magic Stones we picked up yesterday to afford this,” Bell said with a wince, and Taylor nodded.
The Magic Stones from the monsters they’d killed the day earlier were given to the pink-haired woman who introduced herself as ‘Misha,’ and she calculated the prices for them. The monster Bell slew on his own was called a Silverback, and was apparently in the upper percentile for monsters classified as ‘Level 1.’ The other two, however, the ones Taylor had slain with the aide of her mantis and swarm, had been considered Level 2 monsters. A Troll and Ligerfang, specifically.
With all three of them sold, as well as a bit of dipping into the Familia’s savings, the Crystal Mantis was registered to Taylor and the Hestia Familia, and an iron tag was presented to them with the information on it. Taylor took it and immediately hung it around the monster’s neck.
“Is that all?” Taylor asked. She wanted to get over to the Dungeon and find out what the deal with it was.
“There’s one more thing,” Eina said. “The Captain of the Ganesha Familia wishes to meet with you.”
“And they are?” Taylor asked, raising an eyebrow.
“A-ah, the Ganesha Familia are one of the most important Familias in Orario,” Eina replied, sounding surprised that she didn’t know this. “Their members perform guard duty within the city itself, protecting the civilians, and they also have the highest number of Tamers in their ranks.”
‘So, it’s some sort of police force? Like the PRT to monitor the actions of adventurers?’ Taylor wondered. Getting on the bad side of the local law enforcement seemed like a bad idea, her own experiences as both a villain and hero telling her that.
So, despite her reluctance, she nodded. “Are they here now?”
“No, but they asked that we send them a message if we saw you, to arrange a meeting.”
“In that case, I will meet with them after Bell and I have gone through the Dungeon,” Taylor replied. “How about… four in the afternoon?”
“I will relay that information. But, erm, is that…” Eina asked, trailing off as she glanced at Taylor’s missing arm and unusual outfit, before glancing at the monster.
“These armor plates are stronger than they appear,” Taylor assured her. “And this is not the first time I’ve fought with monsters. Or with a handicap.”
“I see,” Eina murmured. “Very well. I cannot stop you from entering the Dungeon. Just… please do not go past the 5th floor. For Bell’s sake.”
“I won’t let him get hurt,” Taylor vowed. “…although an extra weapon might not be a bad idea.”
And so, after spending a bit more of their savings to buy a Guild issued dagger, the Hestia Familia ventured towards the Tower of Babel and the Dungeon below.
As they approached and entered the lobby of the enormous tower, Taylor couldn’t help but wonder about what sort of place could the Dungeon be that required people with Trump-like abilities to pass out powers to others, creating pseudo-capes in the form of ‘adventurers?’
‘The monsters that had been at the event yesterday weren’t that powerful. Brute 1, Mover 1, at best. Though that ‘Ligerfang’ was quite fast. Mover 2, or there abouts. And the Troll might have been a Brute 2,’ Taylor mused to herself.
As they approached the large, circular staircase that descended into the bowels of the earth, Taylor felt unsettled as she looked down into the darkness. Nervous, and also a bit curious, she sent some of her swarm down into the bottom of the pit, only to recoil a bit as her connection to the insects suddenly vanished.
It had only been a couple of flies, but their lose was so abrupt and sudden, and nothing had been close to cause their death, that Taylor was immediately on guard, tensing up while resting
The Crystal Mantis chirped menacingly, rubbing his bladed limbs together, creating an ominous sound of metal scraping together.
“Err, Miss Taylor, um, is everything alright?” Bell asked, and Taylor winced as she realized that the adventurers around her were now looking at her and her monster warily. Some had hands on their weapons as well, and so Taylor reached up to the monster and made a show of patting it on the flank, while mentally calming it down.
‘Note to self, keep my emotions out of the monsters,’ she thought to herself as the Crystal Mantis went silent, the scraping stopping.
“I’m fine, Bell,” Taylor lied, and he seemed to notice that, but he politely said nothing.
After a moment, Taylor tried again, sending a few more scouting bugs into the Dungeon, and noticed that the connection she had with them completely vanished. She tried a third time, putting them discreetly onto a couple of adventurers.
Once more the connection disappeared, but this time Taylor was able to notice that this occurred when the adventurers passed over a threshold of sorts at the very bottom of the pit.
‘So, the entrance of the Dungeon is some sort of separate reality? Like a pocket dimension,’ Taylor guessed, intrigued. It prevented her powers from crossing over. What would happen if the Crystal Mantis went through? Would it immediately go wild and attack everyone nearby as her control over it was lost?
She hoped that wasn’t the case, because that would mean they’d just wasted a whole lot of money with nothing to show for it. Taylor kept her hand firmly on the monster’s carapace, hoping that proximity to it would prevent the connection from being severed when they passed through.
To that end, she pulled as much of her swarm as possible to her side, hiding flies, cockroaches, and spiders in her clothes and hair. The gloom kept anybody from noticing, and she made sure to keep it on the down low as well.
Then, holding her breath, Taylor stepped down into the bottom of the pit, and felt something oily wash over her. The mantis twitched but remained under her control as it joined her, and she let out a deep sigh of relief as it did not go berserk.
“Miss Taylor?” Bell asked again, and she looked over at his worried expression with a tiny wince. What made her heart ache was that it was clear from his earnest eyes that he was worried about her, not himself.
“Come on, Bell, I’m fine. Let’s go,” she said softly. He nodded slowly, and led the way into the Dungeon.
It was a cave. Very unimpressive, with dull brown walls and winding corridors. These passages were tall enough for the Crystal Mantis to pass through without issue, and wide enough five people could walk side by side easily enough.
“Let me show you around!” Bell said, some of his earlier enthusiasm coming back.
The First Floor of the Dungeon was massive, with different paths and tunnels branching off and forming a labyrinthine interior. According to Bell, you could take any path and eventually find a staircase leading down. There were several ways down to the Second Floor, and each Floor had multiple access points, save the way out back to Orario, of which there was only a single exit.
The sheer size of the floor meant that Taylor and Bell were soon left alone as the other adventurers broke apart and spread out, venturing forth for different areas in the Dungeon.
And then Taylor saw her first ‘monster’ and couldn’t help but stare.
“A goblin?” she uttered in disbelief. It was a squat, green, ugly and naked humanoid with long ears and nose and filthy teeth and talons. It looked exactly like the ones from fantasy literature back home.
The goblin shrieked and charged at them as soon as it spotted the trio, and Bell moved with a burst of speed, plunging his fancy new blade into its skull without hesitation.
It popped into smoke and dust like the other monsters Taylor had encountered, and a tiny, fingernail sized purple-blue crystal fell to the ground which Bell collected.
“This is what it means to enter the Dungeon?” Taylor asked incredulously. Was it really that simple?
“Yes,” Bell confirmed, and she blinked in surprise as Bell’s easy-going demeanor had shifted, turning serious as he scanned the surroundings, knife held in a reverse grip.
“Monsters are spawned from the Dungeon, fully grown and with an utter hate for all things that aren’t them,” Bell informed her. “They can come from anywhere, and even a goblin can ambush veteran Level 1s and kill them. Usually because they aren’t paying attention or are tired from venturing deeper. It is our duty to suppress the Dungeon, to ensure the monsters it spawns do not reach the surface.”
“I see,” Taylor said softly, nodding a bit.
She heard a crackling sound, like breaking glass, ring out, and her bugs buzzed in agitation as the wall next to her suddenly broke apart, revealing a goblin within it. It fell to the ground, but before it could act, several flies flew into its eyes, distracting it, and Taylor lunged, driving the dagger she was holding into its throat. Blood spurted from the wound before the goblin crumbled into dust.
Taylor was more distracted by her movements than the monster’s death, and marveled at how fast she was, as well as how much stronger she’d become after receiving the Falna.
‘Level 1… according to Bell and Hestia, I’m now at least twice as strong as before,’ she mused as she grabbed the tiny stone.
“Bell, how much is one of these worth?” she asked her companion.
“A goblin’s Magic Stone is worth about ten to twenty valis,” he replied.
“Why the variance in price?” Taylor inquired.
“Uh, Miss Eina said it was something to do with a stone’s purity, and also supply and demand? I didn’t really understand what she was talking about,” Bell admitted sheepishly. "Prices for Drop Items are usually more stable."
“Hmm. And Drop Items? What are those?” she asked next.
“Sometimes when killed, parts of a monster’s body are left behind,” Bell explained. “Nobody is sure why, but they have all kinds of uses! Goblin Ears, which is what a goblin drops, are worth a hundred valis and can be used in potions or fertilizers for crops.”
“Interesting,” Taylor muttered. This world seemed more and more like an RPG with everything she learned about it.
She soon found that the drop rate of Goblin Ears was five percent, or a one in twenty chance. That meant, if she wanted to recoup the costs of registering her monster companion, she’d need to kill at least ten-thousand goblins for their Magic Stones, or collect five hundred Goblin Ears.
‘How does Bell make two thousand valis a day doing this?’ she wondered as they wandered the First Floor, cutting apart goblins relentlessly.
At ten valis a stone, that meant Bell had to kill a minimum of three hundred goblins in a single day to make that much! And while Drop Items would help, she wasn’t sure it was enough.
“Bell, where else do you do down here?” she asked him after their sixty-third dead goblin. They were remarkable easy to deal with, even with a single arm to fight with. She hadn’t even needed to use the Crystal Mantis, yet! And Bell was incredibly fast, easily a Mover 1.
“Uh, what do you mean?” he asked nervously.
“Bell, unless you’re killing several hundred goblins each time you enter the Dungeon, you’d never make a thousand valis a day, let alone two thousand,” Taylor informed him.
“Uh, well, sometimes I go down to hunt Kobolds and Dungeon Lizards on the Second and Third Floors,” he eventually admitted. “Their stones and drops are worth more.”
“Then why aren’t we going down there?” she asked. The pouches on her belt she was using to hold the loot were getting full, but she didn’t want to turn back with such a paltry haul.
“I thought it would be best if we stayed up here for your first day,” Bell replied.
“That’s sweet of you, Bell, but I have Chris with me,” she replied. “And this isn’t the first time I’ve fought hordes of monsters. If anything, these goblins are a cakewalk compared to some of the other things I’ve faced.”
“Chris?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.
“I couldn’t keep calling it ‘Crystal Mantis’ all the time, could I?” she asked with a shrug.
“I suppose not,” Bell said. He then frowned, before nodding. “Alright. We can go down to the Second Floor. But no lower!”
Taylor bobbed her head in agreement, and Bell led them to the nearest staircase. Descending it, it seemed identical to the First Floor, but with slightly darker walls.
Chris proved his worth down on this floor almost immediately, cutting a brown lizard that looked like a mutant gecko that leapt at them from the ceiling. This ‘Dungeon Lizard’ dropped a much larger stone, which was worth at least a hundred valis, according to Bell.
“They like to cling to the ceiling and ambush adventurers,” he explained. They’ll often wait until parties are busy with goblins or kobolds and strike from above.”
Taylor nodded, in understanding. “What other monsters are down here?”
“That would be Kobolds. They have a strong sense of smell,” Bell continued, explaining the next monsters they came across. “They hunt in packs, with lone ones retreating from adventurers if they smell them until they can find a group to join.”
These ‘Kobolds’ looked like bipedal dogs and Taylor felt a pang of regret at how Bitch would have reacted to having to fight the canine monsters.
‘Though if my powers can affect insectoid monsters, would hers be able to influence these Kobolds?’ she wondered as Bell cut one apart and collected its fifty valis Magic Stone.
Two adventurers, a swarm, and a Crystal Mantis made short work of anything on the Second Floor, and after a few hours down there, their pouches and pockets were filled to bursting with loot.
They decided to call it quits despite it only being a little bit past noon, and they headed back up to Orario. Taylor kept her hand on Chris’s carapace, making sure it didn’t go wild as they crossed over the threshold of the Dungeon. Once more the physical contact seemed to work, and they left the Dungeon without any issues.
“We’ll need bigger bags next time we go down,” Taylor mentioned as they ascended the stairs.
“Maybe we should see about hiring a Supporter?” Bell suggested.
“A Supporter?” she inquired.
“Somebody who works as a porter for adventurers,” he explained. “They have Falna of their own, but for one reason or another don’t do much fighting. Some Familias hire out their members as Supporters for a cut of the money made in exchange for carrying more than a party usually can alone.”
“Let’s put a pin in that for now,” Taylor replied after a moment. She wasn’t comfortable with hiring somebody from another group. She was mature enough to admit it was a trust issue.
They approached one of the tellers and emptied their pockets and pouches into the bin provided. The stones and Drop Items were checked and graded, and a minute later dozens of golden coins were placed in a slot for them to grab.
“Thirty thousand valis!” Bell said excitedly as he counted out the money they’d made. “This is the most I’ve ever gotten in one go before!”
“Not a bad first day,” Taylor commented, pleased by the haul. They hadn’t made back all of the money they’d had to spend in order to register Chris as her companion, but it was close. Not to mention three hundred dollars for a single morning’s work was pretty good. “How should we split it?”
“Huh?” Bell asked her.
“We should keep some for ourselves, but also put a cut of the day’s haul aside for a rainy day or the Familia’s own funds. Does Orario have a bank?” she said.
“I think the Guild might know,” Bell murmured, scratching his head. He hadn’t thought of any of that! ‘Good thing Miss Taylor is here!’
The Guild did, in fact, act as a bank of sorts for the Familias. They didn’t provide any interest on money that was put into accounts, merely acting as a place to store money and credit. There were some banks in Orario, but they weren’t generally used by adventurers and only accepted clients who owned and ran businesses, meaning it was used by merchants or Familias who had side-gigs beyond the Dungeon.
In the end, the money earned that day was split three ways. Ten thousand was put into the Hestia Familia’s account with the Guild, another ten thousand was set aside for household expenses, and the remaining ten thousand was kept by Bell and Taylor and split 50-50 between the two of them.
This meant Taylor only had five thousand valis, or fifty dollars, to her name, but it was still hers. And that made her happy. She’d earned it with her own efforts, and not through crime or as blood money from working with the PRT and Protectorate.
“So… what now?” Bell asked. He wasn’t used to ending his day so early, and felt a bit antsy.
“Can you show me around Orario until it’s time to meet with the Ganesha Familia?” she requested, and he nodded.
“Sure! Come on!” he said eagerly. “Let’s look at the weapon and armor stores!”
“I also need to visit an optometrist,” Taylor said. She’d seen people wearing glasses here and there, so they had to have something like that somewhere within the city.
“Opto-metric?” Bell asked, butchering the foreign word.
“Somebody who makes glasses to help people see better,” Taylor explained.
“Oh, okay,” he nodded, before frowning. “Wait… Miss Taylor, do you need glasses in order to see?”
“I am near-sighted,” Taylor said.
“Are you telling me you went into the Dungeon practically blind?!” Bell exclaimed, looking angry.
“I can see through my swarm,” Taylor said dismissively. “And Chris’ eyesight is better than mine, even with glasses.”
“That is not the point, Miss Taylor!” Bell scolded. “You need to be at the top of your game whenever you venture into the Dungeon, or else bad things can happen!”
“Bell, it’s fine,” Taylor tried to assure him. “I’ll get a new pair for myself today.”
“I’m telling Lady Hestia,” Bell threatened, and the parahuman flinched back.
“Dirty move,” she grumbled. Making the tiny girl sad would be like kicking a puppy. Taylor couldn’t even blame the Falna for that. Hestia was just so kind that making her upset made the parahuman feel like a terrible person.
Bell immediately took Taylor to the marketplace, and after looking around a bit, found a store that sold glasses. They were expensive, as expected, but the lens crafter was willing to allow Taylor to pay in installments, using the Guild as an intermediary. A portion of the money she’d make in the Dungeon would be subtracted until the bill was fully paid.
There didn’t seem to be any hidden fees included within the contract, either, nor interest, so Taylor agreed, and was told to come back in a couple days to pick up her new glasses.
By the time that task was over, it was almost time for their meeting with the Ganesha Familia.
“You don’t have to come with me,” Taylor told the white-haired adventurer as they walked back towards the Guild Hall.
“We’re a Familia, so we’re gonna do this together!” Bell assured her, and Taylor felt touched by the show of comradery.
“Suit yourself,” she replied simply, before walking into the Guild for the second time that day. Taylor immediately spotted Eina, and the pointy-eared office lady bowed politely to them.
“This way, please,” Eina said, leading them into the back of the Guild. Stopping in front of a door, she opened it with a quiet, “Excuse me,” and then stepped back, allowing Taylor and Bell to enter. The room had two couches separated by a coffee table, and had white-washed walls and brass light fixtures.
Taylor had known the room was occupied the moment she had entered the building, the hum of power radiating off of the two individuals impossible to miss. Now, however, she could see who they were as she stepped inside the well-furnished meeting space.
Sitting on a couch that was facing the doorway was an odd pair of people. One was a man, tall and broad shouldered with dark skin akin to that of an Indian. At least six feet tall with sleek ash-brown hair, and, oddly enough, a red elephant mask covering only his eyes. He wore an orange sash across his chest that was secured in place with a gold-rimmed leather plate around his stomach. He also wore white harem pants and gold jewelry on every finger.
Looking at him through her swarm, the man’s ‘hum’ sounded like the trumpeting of elephants and the cheers of a crowd.
The other person was a woman who at first glance looked to be in her mid-twenties, with curious, dark blue hair and eyes. Despite that, she had the physical features and skin tone of an Indian woman. All she was missing was the red bindi. She was rather tall, too. Not as tall as Taylor herself, but taller than Eina or Hestia.
Her ‘hum’ was loud, almost as loud as Mama Mia's, and it was filled with the sounds of elephants as well, but softer, almost comforting.
‘The man must be Ganesha,’ Taylor mused, noticing a theme with the Trumps in Orario. They all seemed to give themselves the names of gods, which, to be fair, capes back on Earth Bet had occasionally done as well. Since this was a parallel world, the fact that some of Earth Bet’s religions could also be found here wasn’t all that surprising, though the lack of Christianity and associated Abrahamic faiths like Judaism and Islam was a bit odd.
Still, that was something to ponder later. For now, Taylor sat down on the couch facing the two other people, Bell awkwardly bowing to the two guests before sitting beside her. She left Chris outside the room. He was a bit too big to fit through the door.
“Hello, my name is Shakti Varma, Captain of the Ganesha Familia,” the azure-haired woman said as Eina closed the door, giving them some privacy. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me.”
“And I am Ganesha!” the tall man boisterously declared.
“Quite,” Taylor said slowly, glancing at the odd masked man before turning back to Shakti. “My name is Taylor Hebert.”
“And I’m Bell Cranel! We’re both of the Hestia Familia! Pleased to meet you!” Bell said, bowing his head once more to the two. Shakti’s lips quirked up in a tiny smile while Ganesha loudly laughed.
“It is good to see the little one has such polite Familia members! I, Ganesha, am happy for her!” Ganesha declared. Again, loudly.
“I understand you wished to speak with me about Chris,” Taylor began, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.
“The Crystal Mantis? Yes, that’s correct,” Shakti said with a nod. “Normally, only somebody with the Tamer Developmental Ability can control a monster, as I’m sure you already know. However, Developmental Abilities can only be obtained at Level 2 or higher. As such, we wish to know how, exactly, this is possible. As a Familia of Tamers, this could very useful for us in the future.”
“And what makes you think I’m not a Level 2?” Taylor asked with a raised eyebrow.
“The Guild publicly posts all Level Ups and they are a matter of record as well. Anyone may ask to know the level of an adventurer as well, though the stats themselves are kept private,” Shakti replied. “As your name is not one I recognize, nor is it included in Guild records, that means you’re either hiding your level, which is a crime, or you are a new adventurer.”
“It’s a Skill,” Taylor replied shortly, deciding to admit that much. “Is that all?”
“That… we were hoping for a bit more than that, honestly,” Shakti admitted, gaining a pinched look on her face at how curt Taylor was acting.
“I am Ganesha!” Ganesha piped up, and his captain shot him an exasperated look.
“I can control bugs. Any bug,” Taylor stated. “If you want more than that, then you’ll have to agree to a trade.”
“Ah, of course,” Shakti said with a nod, looking away from her loud-mouthed boss. “Can I ask you what you would want in exchange for a look at the Guild’s copy of your Falna?”
“I want to see your stats,” Taylor replied immediately. “Tit for tat.”
Shakti blinked, clearly not having expected that as a request, and the ‘god’ tilted his head to the side as well.
“That…” Shakti muttered, trailing off before glancing at Ganesha.
“I am Ganesha! God of the People!” he declared, and Taylor resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Shakti seemed to share Taylor’s exasperation, but still nodded at the request.
“Very well. I suppose it is only fair,” she replied. “Let me go fetch someone from the Guild…”
“No need,” Taylor said. “I’ve already let somebody know about our deal.”
“What? How?” Shakti asked, surprised. “When did you do that?”
From behind the couch, a fragment of Taylor’s swarm rose up, and Shakti tensed up at the sight of a humanoid mass of insects ‘staring’ at her.
“I have very good control,” Taylor said, but through her swarm, the wings and chitin clicking and buzzing to from an approximation of human words.
Bell paled, eyes wide, and Shakti flinched. Ganesha, however, seemed fascinated if the way he leaned in to get a better look at her swarm was any indicator. Taylor dismissed it with a wave, and she leaned back to wait.
“Um, so, you’re a captain, right?” Bell spoke up after a moment of awkward silence. “What’s that like?”
“Busy,” Shakti said, looking glad to have something to talk about to distract herself.
A few minutes later after Shakti informing Bell about what being a Familia captain was all about, Eina returned, looking frazzled. She shot Taylor a glare as she entered, adjusting her glasses a bit.
“Next time, Miss Taylor, please do not do… whatever it was you did earlier in the middle of the Guild,” she requested snappishly.
“Sorry,” Taylor apologized. Yes, thinking back on it, summoning a cloud of bugs to relay her instructions in the middle of a busy lobby was probably not the best idea.
Eina let out a tiny “humph!” before turning to Shakti. “Lady Ankusha, just to be sure, but you have agreed to let Miss Taylor look at your Falna, in exchange for looking at her own?”
“That is correct,” Shakti confirmed with a nod.
“‘Lady Ankusha?’” Bell asked, confused, and Taylor was glad he’d said it before she could inquire about it.
“Adventurers receive a nickname from the gods when they Level Up,” Shakti explained, looking a little bit embarrassed. “Mine is ‘Ankusha,’ though I had a different one before I became the captain.”
“Ah, I suppose being known as a tool that’s used to train elephants would make sense as a cape name for somebody who leads a taming Familia,” Taylor mused.
“Cape name?” Bell asked, while everyone else in the room looked surprised that Taylor had known what the nickname referred to.
“Ah, in my homeland, instead of calling people with powers ‘adventurers,’ they’re known as capes,” Taylor explained.
“Ganesha likes it!” the elephant masked god exclaimed. “Ganesha also likes the idea of wearing a cape! Ganesha must buy one!”
Eina cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention, and then placed two sheets of paper face down onto the table in between the couches. Shakti nodded in thanks, picking up her own sheet of paper. She gave it a look over then passed it over to Taylor, who took it.
“Level 5,” Taylor muttered as she looked at the stats.
SHAKTI VARMA
LEVEL 5
POWER – C 644
ENDURANCE – D 587
DEXTERITY – G 229
AGILITY – F 303
MAGIC – I 65
DEVELOPMENTAL ABILITY
Tamer – D
Spearwoman – E
Abnormal Resistance – E
Strong Body – F
SKILL
Wild Sensory – Boosts the five senses beyond that of the norm for the wielder. Increases even further every Level Up.
Intimidate – Unleash a burst of killing intent towards a target. More effective the weaker the target is compared to the user. Monsters that are weaker than the user will try to escape.
SPELLS
Janjeer Ultima – Magical chains bind a single target. Incantation: Bind! Constrict! Contain!
“Limit Break?” Shakti whispered in disbelief as she read Taylor’s stat sheet, specifically the Skill information, and Taylor glanced up at that. The black-haired teen didn’t have much a way to compare the stats here to her own, but from what she recalled Hestia saying about stats resetting every level up, this woman was likely incredibly strong.
“Have you satisfied your curiosity?” she asked, and Shakti nodded slowly, putting the paper back down.
“Yes. It was… enlightening,” she replied slowly. “Thank you for this. While it seems we won’t be able to take advantage of this ability for ourselves anytime soon, knowing there is an adventurer out there who can control monsters as effectively as you can is a bit of a relief. Perhaps we will be able to work together someday,” Shakti said. “And, if you need any advice about how to care for a monster, our doors are open.”
“We’ll see. By the way, Mr. Ganesha, but you mentioned something about wanting a cape,” Taylor said, glancing over at the eccentric leader of the Familia.
“I am Ganesha, and Ganesha did say that!” he confirmed.
“If you are interested, I can weave you one,” Taylor offered. “Reasonably cheap.”
Shakti and Eina blinked while Ganesha let out an excited laugh at that.
“Wonderful! Wonderful! Ganesha would love to commission a spider silk cape! I am Ganesha!”
“I will bring it over when I am finished,” Taylor replied, before standing up. “Now, if you don’t mind, I think it’s time for Bell and I to go back and get ready for dinner.”
“Thank you again for being so open with us,” Shakti said, giving a polite bob of her head in Taylor’s direction. She nodded back, and left the meeting room with Bell scrambling out after her.
“So, uh, that was… interesting,” Bell said as they walked away, Chris trailing behind them.
“It was informative. Now, what do you think about lasagna?” Taylor asked.
“What’s lasagna?” Bell asked, head tilted to the side, and Taylor froze, only to stare at him in disbelief.
“It seems I’ll have to introduce you to this dish from my homeland,” Taylor replied, steering him towards the marketplace. She wasn’t sure how easy it would be to recreate her mother’s recipe here, but she would do her best. The lasagna demanded no less!
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Memory Dump
Jon, where is my lasagna?
