He nodded and she released him, allowing the swordsman to steadily sit up and look around. As he did, Airmid turned around and busied herself with some nearby paperwork, continuing, “The poison is out of your system, and your wounds should have been mostly taken care of, but you’ve been through a lot. I recommend three days bed rest, and-“
Airmid was interrupted by Adama flying out of bed, shooting out of the room and down the hallway. The swordsman was in the medical facility run by Dian Cecht Familia, its well-lit corridors bustling with life and activity. He weaved through startled medical personnel with effortless grace, ears perked up and searching for a few key voices. He eventually heard his quarry, and dashed right toward them, arriving outside a certain room. Adama was surprised to find himself rather emotional as he opened that door and strode in, eyes locking onto his target.
Hestia was in thoughtful conversation with Miach, who was in a bed next to her. There were other people in the room as well. Naaza, some nurses, and some Take Familia guards, but Adama only had eyes for the saffron-eyed divinity. She turned to look at him, face a little pale yet much healthier than Adama had seen it in a long time. The smile that split her face was as radiant as ever: “Hello, Tim! It's been a while, hasn’t it?”
He straightened up, giving her a wry smile of his own: “I suppose it has. I’d bet my soul against a rat’s tail you didn’t enjoy your forced nap.”
“Oh, I don’t know, it was certainly a unique experience. But I am happy to be awake now.”
Adama nodded and folded his arms stoically: “Good to have you back. I’ve been needing a Status update.”
The swordsman wavered a bit as he stood there, thinking about the Familia’s current situation. He’d spent a considerable amount of money financing his expedition, all of which was made possible thanks to Fels’s ‘generous’ donation. But thanks to the duration of their quest, his debt payment loomed on the horizon, and it was a cool 30 million vals this time. If he sold his excess Thousand Year Tree Sap, he could get close to that number, but his Familia still needed to resupply everything else they’d lost. Their finances were in very questionable straits, no two ways about it, and a part of Adama wanted to say goodbye and rush off to fix that problem immediately. This part of him had a lot in common with the portion of him that didn’t enjoy fuzzy, interpersonal moments.
He squashed it quickly.
Walking over, Adama sat down by Hestia’s bedside, noting that Lilli and Emi weren’t there. They were probably out taking care of a lot of those practical questions that Adama had just been thinking about. Good for them.
Hestia’s smile grew a touch wider, and she asked: “So, Tim, tell me about your adventures while I was asleep.”
She had already heard a good bit from the others, but that didn’t matter. Adama launched into a retelling of his whole quest, deliberately ignoring the desire to abridge the story. In an unusually verbose moment, Adama laid out all the interesting details. He knew that Hestia would appreciate the full story. Others listened intently, but Adama didn’t care. He only had eyes for the one person.
It was good to be back.
…
Adama and Hestia left the hospital together later that day. Airmid had recommended that they both rest, but she’d agreed that they were both completely cured of all injuries and able to leave. The surprises weren’t over, however. The moment Adama walked through the door, he heard a voice he hadn’t expected: “Welcome home!”
A blonde-haired, green-eyed elf peeked out at the duo from the doorway to the kitchen. She was dressed in a pink apron over a white blouse, and the many splotches on her apron told the tale of an uncertain hand in the kitchen. Adama gaped back at Theresa, blinking twice before saying, “I must be seeing things, because I’m stone certain I was told that the elves had gone back to their homeland.”
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Hestia had been the one to inform him that the troupe of elves that had brought Adama back to Orario had left soon after returning. Theresa wilted a bit under the statement, but she remained firm as she responded, “Valar and the others left. I stayed behind because…because I wanted to join your Familia! I want to have more adventures outside the forest. I was even making a dinner to bring to you in the hospital!”
As she finished the sentence, Emi’s voice called out behind her: “Theresa! Be a dear and take the potatoes out of the oven.”
The elf turned around to scurry back into the kitchen, and Adama could only shake his head. This elf’s turnaround truly was too extreme. She went from hating his guts to wanting to join his squad. He turned to Hestia, who simply shrugged: “She seems like a nice girl to me. Can she fight?”
She could. Surprisingly, Adama didn’t find himself totally averse to the notion. Theresa was a great archer, and she could become a serious fighter once she got some Falna and accrued a few levels. While she was still raw and immature, he found he didn’t mind the prospect of adding her to the Familia. With that decided, Adama and Hestia went upstairs, and the swordsman got his status update:
Timaias Adama
Level 3,
Swordsman: G, Spirit Healing: G, Strong Body: G, Hunter: H, Abnormal Resistance: H, Mixing: I, Mage: I
Strength: H199 -> S961
Defense: H126 -> A884
Dexterity: H139 -> A887
Agility: H114 -> A811
Magic: G217 -> SS1037
Spells:
Rippling Sword
- Swift Strike Magic
Endless Sword
- Mid-Grade Magic
- Chant: “Endless Sword”
Hidden Sword
- Low-Grade Magic
- Chant: ”Look for a Weapon”
Skills:
Predator
- Increased Growth
- Killing Monsters provides increased Growth.
- Killing more Monsters in a short period of time results in an even greater bonus
Mind of a Swordsman
- Automatic Reception of the Swordsman and Spirit Healing Abilities. These Abilities are automatically raised to grade H upon reception.
- All Grade I Abilities the user possesses at the time this skill is obtained are also promoted to grade H.
- Swordsman and Spirit Healing increase in potency as danger increases, so long as the user can maintain composure.
Once again, Adama had enough high-grade excellia to Level up, but he declined. He wanted to sharpen his stats and skills before making the leap. Even holding himself back like that, these gains were absolutely titanic. It truly had been a long and difficult quest.
With that handled, Adama and Hestia went back downstairs, just in time for dinner.
…
Far away, deep within the Dungeon’s 37th floor, there was a gargantuan ivory chamber. Its walls were stark and barren, its floors rocky and pitted, and its lighting was next to non-existent. The atmosphere here pressed down on any living creature with a ten-ton weight, the sheer darkness and lifelessness a palpable threat. An occasional, unearthly shriek echoed down one of the hallways connected to the room, but none of this floor’s monsters dared venture into the chamber itself. The reason was evident for anyone who managed to gaze within.
For at the center of the room was a large throne, and upon that throne sat a king. It was a giant, a humanoid skeleton of ebony bone that loomed over the space with a tyrannical aura. Long spines jutted from the sides of its arms, running up to the backs of its shoulders and curling back behind it. Crimson eyes gleamed from within its human skull, glaring down with hate and rage at any who might trespass within its domain. Like the adventurer in front of it right now.
She was a mighty Amazon warrior, cutting a heroic figure with broad, muscular shoulders and handsome facial features. She wore little besides a tight purple top and baggy shorts that ended halfway above her thighs, exposing powerful calves and well-toned abs. Her eyes and hair were both a deep midnight, similar to the body of her skeletal opponent. Behind her was a small party of other Amazons, though they all paled compared to this central leader, especially because the dark-haired woman was more than two meters tall. She towered over all her companions and called out in a booming voice: “Be prepared to assist me, though do not intervene without my signal.”
She did not wait for any of them to confirm before leaping forward, raising a massive two-handed cleaver as she charged her giant opponent. The subsequent battle was legendary, with the two parties going toe-to-toe in an earthshaking face-off. Though the Amazoness was impressive, it eventually became clear that she was just a little outmatched. Her gargantuan opponent wielded a huge black longsword, swinging it around with ruthless efficiency while shooting out black spikes from its massive, lizard-like tail. When she finally began to feel herself being overwhelmed, she signaled back to her group, where one of the girls started chanting. When she finished he magic, the Amazoness was covered in a soft yellow light, allowing the warrior to evade the monster’s next strike easily. Now that she was under the influence of the buff, the fight flipped in the opposite direction, and the Amazon warrior soon destroyed the monster’s core.
Breathing heavily and bleeding from several wounds, the Amazoness drank from a health potion and began to walk back to her party. There, an innocent-looking blonde girl with two fox ears and a long bushy tail looked onward with both awe and terror. No one acknowledged her as the party looted the monster’s corpse, and the next words she heard were an order from the leader: “Haruhime! Quit spacing out. It’s time to go back to the surface.”
The young lady squeaked in shock before acknowledging the order, relief causing her legs to go numb. She had never been happy about going on these expeditions in the first place, though it wasn’t like she had a choice in the matter.
She was just grateful it was time to go home. Whatever home she had, at least.
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