Shopping

English is not my first language so you might find some mistakes in the translation of the chapter.

This chapter has been translated by various means in order to obtain the best result, so you may find some simple or normal wordings.

Enjoy the chapter.

xxxxx

"Ghaaa!"

"Die!"

"Wragh!"

The scream of a monster was heard through the corridors of the dungeon causing it to die and its body to disappear in motes of dust leaving a magic stone on the floor.

In the middle of the corridor a white-haired girl was beating several Goblins with her fists. She was wearing gloves with some extra protection which prevented her knuckles from being affected by the force used continuously.

Riku wore light armor on her, some avambraces, a light breastplate and some greaves. This was what she got at thrift stores; it was cheap but very useful in the first few floors.

This time she was accompanied by a dwarf of the Loki Familia, Elgarm.

Gareth was all the way back from the hustle and bustle of the fight and was carefully watching the girl's movements.

Loki told Gareth to accompany Riku and after that to take her to rest and then to buy useful equipment for her.

Now Riku was surrounded by some Goblins. She just looked at them with disdain, clenched her fists to raise them up and place them in front of her in combat position.

To the Goblins this seemed like a mockery, they growled in irritation and started running towards Riku. There were only four monsters, but for someone like Riku who had little experience it was a challenge in its entirety.

The Goblins' scream would stun and might end up scaring adventurers who were just starting out, but for Riku they were just in the way because she just wanted to finish quickly and find a new type of monster to fight.

"Wragh!"

"Haa!"

Before the attack of the first Goblin Riku moved her right arm backwards and when the Goblin jumped towards her Riku hit him hard in the face pushing him backwards and disconcerting him.

"Ugh"

Without letting him recover Riku grabbed one of the Goblin's arms with her left hand and held it tightly to pull him towards her and hit him again in the face with her right fist making the Goblin fall on the ground with a disfigured face.

"Wroagh!"

Before it was over Riku stomped hard on one of the Goblin's knees several times to break it and get away from the Goblins and avoid a surprise attack. The Goblin just lay on the ground grunting in pain without being able to get up.

The other three Goblins looking at their fallen comrade ran towards Riku growling in anger to which she looked at them carefully and prepared for a battle to the death with blows.

"Remember not to hesitate with your strikes and always make sure the monsters are already dead"

"I'm always aware of my strength! Come on you fools!"

*Sigh* "This girl definitely has no restraint like everyone else"

Gareth sighed with resignation and watched the girl fight hand-to-hand with the monsters in the dungeon. It was his job to observe, but this observation was definitely not something he liked very much.

Though ultimately this was to relate to Riku and thus find a way for Gareth to understand the girl's personality.

Back with the battle it was all planned by Riku in her mind, to create anger in the monsters and cause them to pile up so she could use their movements against them.

When the first Goblin jumped at Riku he was met with a kick to the chest. Riku quickly ducked, dodging the claws of the other two Goblins on her left and right.

With that Riku placed strength in her feet, grabbed a Goblin's leg and she lifted herself off the ground knocking the Goblin off the ground in the process.

With speed Riku thrust her forearm and palm into the other Goblin's chest and began to deliver multiple blows to his torso, head, arms, and waist. Before the Goblin could react he was kicked in the feet knocking him to the ground grunting in pain.

Riku jumped backwards dodging the attacks of the two Goblins that had fallen to the ground and gritted her teeth in anger as she saw that her blows only stunned them for a few seconds.

"Wraghh!"

"..."

Squinting Riku waited for the first one to approach and when the Goblin reached out to claw her she ducked slightly to avoid the claws, held her feet firmly on the ground and used the Goblin's own strength of speed against him with an elbow strike to the chin.

The Goblin gasped in pain, but Riku quickly grabbed his arm and punched him in the neck.

*Crack*

A cracking sound echoed across the battlefield. Riku's eyes widened as she saw that she had broken the Goblin's neck, but she didn't have time to enjoy her handiwork before she kicked the other Goblin that was still standing.

'There goes one'

Riku bent down and picked up a very large stone from the ground with a lot of effort. She placed it above her head as she staggered a bit and walked over to the fallen Goblin that had been pushed and threw the stone at his head.

*Kacha*

'Two'

The Goblin's head was destroyed in its entirety. Riku looked at it for a few moments before focusing on the third Goblin who rose from the ground with anger on his face.

"Raghh!"

Riku looked at him with annoyance and waited for the Goblin to enter her space to fight safely.

When the Goblin jumped at her Riku dodged by moving to the side and quickly kneed him in his chest knocking all the air out of the Goblin. Not stopping there Riku grabbed him by the head and swung hard at her knee hitting him several times.

With a final knee the Goblin fell to the ground and Riku leapt to his chest and the monster having taken damage to his stone vanished into motes of dust.

'Three and one to go'

"Phew"

Sighing Riku clenched her fists and walked over to the last Goblin who had a broken knee and we were crawling away from the battlefield.

"So, the dungeon monsters feel fear... Good to know that"

*Pow*

Riku kicked the Goblin and flipped him over putting his back against the ground. She dropped onto the Goblin's torso and began to mercilessly punch him in the face many times disfiguring him in the process.

"Hey brat, you're done with the monster there's no need to keep hitting him" Gareth spoke walking towards Riku who was beating the monster mercilessly.

Riku blinked a little as she took several breaths of air and looked at her work with the Goblin "... I'm sorry" she looked at her bloody hand and the Goblin's face.

Riku got up from the ground and wiped the traces of blood on her face with her arm, her armor was still there, but there were several scratches on the armor.

"Riku, remember to be aware of your body and take care of it" Gareth reprimanded the girl causing her to look at him in confusion.

"Did I do something wrong?" Riku asked.

"Look in your stomach" the dwarf pointed with his finger "By just concentrating on your fight you didn't realize you had been hurt"

Riku looked down at her stomach and placed her hand to feel the sensation of blood staining her clothes and a cut on her skin "Well... I think it was after I got upset about that"

"You broke your knife" Gareth reminded Riku causing her to blush in embarrassment "After that you got mad and started hitting all the monsters"

The dwarf held out his hand to Riku who saw it and what had been salvaged from the knife. The handle and a small part of the blade attached to the handle was all that was left. She took it and looked at it sadly.

"Gajaja" Gareth laughed patting Riku's shoulder "Who would have thought you'd be able to break your weapon like that, I haven't seen that in a while"

"Keep quiet" Riku muttered with a pout as she lovingly put away her destroyed weapon.

That was the first weapon Riku bought so she had a small attachment to it as a souvenir of her beginnings. Now she could only keep the handle as a souvenir.

"Take this" Riku looked at Gareth's hand and took the recovery potion and then took it and healed herself from the wounds "Learn from your mistakes you made today"

Riku nodded vehemently at Gareth's words. The best way for someone to understand their actions is to let them see their mistakes and hope they'll do better next time, but there will always be people who can't do that.

Gareth looked at the girl with amusement and only laughed in an affable manner at her actions.

When they entered the dungeon things were like all the other times, normal. Until the unexpected event happened that led to Riku fighting one on one against the monsters.

Gareth's indications were to take care of Riku and understand if she had any kind of change when she fought, according to Riveria Riku showed that her concentration in combat is too much to the point of forgetting everything else.

Every once in a while Riku would hear a call, but she would just answer it and keep on fighting which sometimes wasn't very good.

At that time Riku was fighting the Goblins with her knife. The moves she was making were concise, but there was a lack of technique in them to make the attacks good.

And in the middle of a fight Riku used a lot of force and ended up breaking the knife on a stone, because when she stabbed the Goblin and this disappeared so the attack did not stop and also hit a stone.

When Riku looked at the handle in her hand and saw the remains of the blade on the ground she exclaimed in surprise and then, for some reason, shouted angrily to start ranting at the monsters for breaking her weapon.

In short she took the monsters as a scapegoat and after that the path was simply battle after battle with only melee fighting.

Gareth was going to tell her that he had another spare weapon, but he wasn't quick enough before Riku ran over and started fighting. If he spoke to her there was a chance of distracting her and getting hit by an enemy.

So, Gareth looked at her and started laughing as he understood Riveria's words.

Riku doesn't have an anger problem or anything like that, she just focuses too much on situations to the point of disconnecting from everything else and acting in the best way to overcome the adversity that was in front of her.

"Finn needs to teach her to control that talent"

Gareth understood. That girl's qualities were talent and hard work.

The talent she possessed was very high to the point that she could learn the techniques in a very short time and also copy some moves and use them against the enemy. The problem with this was Riku's body's ability to replicate it, which was still limited by her size, age, strength, agility, etc.

But that was changed by hard work. Gareth noticed that Riku used the same moves a lot, but in different ways looking for the one that best suited her in combat.

Those two qualities were very perfect for different professions, but if used incorrectly it would affect a person's mental state by overwhelming him/her with constant thoughts based on his/her actions.

For Riku that thought was perfecting her fighting moves to the point of forgetting her surroundings even ignoring some small injuries.

"She need to train with Finn that detail" Gareth muttered with his hand on his chin watching Riku pick up the stones from the monsters.

Riku stood up and turned around to look at Gareth with a cheerful smile as she lifted the bag full of monster cores in her hands. The bag clinked from the cores and Riku only smiled wider at the sound.

Today was a good day in the dungeon as far as collecting goes. This is the second floor, but still perfect for a beginner.

Riku barely knew Gareth, but this short time was perfect to know that he was a person she could get along with very well.

Gareth didn't talk much, Riku remembered Bete, but that thought disappeared because Bete constantly insults her and Gareth doesn't do that.

Riku received some advice before fighting which focused more on the body and not on the thought as Riveria did, it was a difference between a warrior and a mage.

The dwarf felt that the experience through combat was a lesson that Riku had to learn early on so that in the future she wouldn't be complaining about the pain of dungeon fighting.

"Should I go on or should we call it a day?"

"We are withdrawing" Gareth replied sincerely "If you keep fighting like that you will destroy your body" Riku patted her forearms "We will also buy a weapon for you"

"A weapon?" Riku asked in surprise "I was thinking of buying one on my own"

"Look, I had it with me for you" Gareth patted his waist where a short sword hung with it "I guess you'd rather fight than listen"

Riku blushed and scratched the back of her head in embarrassment, it wasn't her fault she didn't listen, but at that moment she was annoyed and let her impulses win out.

"Don't be discouraged" Gareth placed his hand on Riku's head causing her to gain a blush again "You're still starting out in the dungeon so it's common to have a lot of mistakes. The best thing is that you learn from them"

"...Thank you" Riku muttered while earning a smile.

"Come on don't lag behind" Gareth started walking followed by Riku "For your show of strength today I'll buy you a weapon with someone I know"

"Huh?" Riku's eyes widened and she gasped at the words she heard "Really?!"

"Of course, so hurry up if you don't want to miss this opportunity"

Riku looked at him in disbelief but put that aside and ran to Gareth giving him a hug and with speed ran to the surface leaving the dwarf behind after receiving a hug.

"Heh, what a lively girl" Gareth snorted with amusement.

xxxxx

"So?" I looked at him excitedly "Which way is that special place you talked about?"

"Hm" the dwarf looked at me with amusement "I didn't think girls like you would be excited to go weapon shopping"

"I'm not like the others" I replied with a mischievous grin "I want to be as well prepared for the dungeon as possible"

"Heh, that thing you call a knife was only good for cutting butter for you" Gareth mocked me with a few slaps on the back.

I pouted, but quickly a smile of joy grew on my face and I continued walking through the city at Gareth's side.

After we got out of the dungeon we returned to Twilight Manor and I quickly had to run from Riveria and her scolding for acting my recklessness in the dungeon, again.

When I was far away I heard the laughter of Loki and Gareth who were making fun of Riveria's failed attempt to scold me. What I know is that she will give me extra work for disobeying her, but it's better the bathroom than listening to her for now.

My knife is destroyed and I have already put it in a special box to remember it in the future. I could send it in for repair, but if I do that I will want to use it and then it will continually break again, something I want to avoid.

I still carry it with me just in case.

A sword would suit me fine, but I need a fighting style that suits my magic use, a weapon and melee fighting styles. It will be difficult, but in the end it will be worth every second of training for my fighting style.

My magic is very dangerous. Riveria is slowly teaching me how to use it. The 'energy' that allows us to use magic is called mind and this is combined a bit with our mental stamina because when it runs out we faint.

It seems to me the mind is a different way of calling it mana like those shows I saw in the past, but I can't believe that everything I saw in the past is the same around here so I have to keep up with my findings.

My walk through the city with Gareth had already been planned in advance. It seems Gareth got a little ahead of me in the dungeon, since Loki was the one who gave me the warning by taking me by surprise.

Loki came into my room after I returned telling me that Gareth would take me to buy weapons for the dungeon from a trusted blacksmith. They had long since heard me complaining about my knife not being good enough for me.

The tip of the warning was that I was changing when I was told and Loki looked at my half naked body, I was only wearing my pants and I was about to put on my top clothes, but I froze when I saw Loki enter my room.

It's worth remembering that Loki is a pervert with the female members of the Familia, I'm included in that. She spoke to me quickly with excitement and then looked at my naked torso with wide eyes.

I instinctively covered my non-existent breasts with my arms and just looked at Loki who was laughing lewdly. Loki is... Loki so I feel normal if it's her looking at me like this, it's strange to explain.

It's not because I like her or anything like that, it's because of the trust I have with her and the help she offered me. When I came out of my stupor I asked her what she saw in a girl like me and her answer made me blink in confusion.

She simply said that my body is very beautiful and delicate, when she put on me the falna Loki said that my skin was smooth and my white hair with red eyes gave it a special touch to the sight of a person like Loki, someone who appreciates beauty in women.

Gods are different from humans so there is a possibility that some may have strange tastes. When I realized that I yelled to Loki if she liked little kids and she quickly denied it with clear shock.

Loki told me that she wasn't looking at me, she was imagining what I would look like in a few years in the future and whenever she thinks that apparently she imagines a stunning woman. I liked that she said I would look beautiful, but I knew there would be problems with a pretty appearance.

I thanked her and chased her out of my room to change and now I'm walking around the city with Gareth as my guide and getting a new weapon for my days in the dungeon.

I will buy several weapons of different types, I don't want that one day my sword is broken and I only have a spear which I don't know how to use so I will train in different types of weapons.

First though, I need the money to do everything I'm thinking about. I've been saving up, but even then I don't think it's enough to buy many weapons and I barely remember the value of a second-hand short sword.

I avoid the Guild for many reasons and I don't want to go alone, sometimes I feel like a rabbit in a den of wolves waiting to be eaten.

"Which way is the place where we're going?"

"It won't be long now" Gareth answered me kindly "The tower of Babel sells weapons for adventurers, but where we are headed is to the personal workshop of an acquaintance"

"What's the difference?" tilt my head in confusion, if the Tower is where the weapons are then there should be a blacksmith there, right?

"The Hephaestus Familia has from the 4th to the 8th floor for selling equipment to adventurers" Gareth told me seriously "The weapons and armor that are there are already defined equipment, they have a base idea and with that the smiths create their works"

I thought for a few moments before continuing to listen to Gareth speak.

"Where we are going it is possible to get special equipment which will be forged as we wish" Gareth looked at me with a smile "In other words you can order a weapon as you wish"

"Awesome!" I let my childish side come out and exclaimed in surprise.

I'm not someone who knows much about forging and blacksmithing. All I know is that the best things are the ones that are put to the point of 'imbuing' the will of the creator into the object.

Or so I saw in some fantasy series.

"Oh, isn't that your companion from the Hostess of Fertility?" Gareth pointed at me as I looked at some vegetable stores down the streets.

And indeed, there you could see two girls wearing the same green dress. Syr was talking to the store owner who looked angry for some reason and Ryuu was looking at the ground a bit away from the store.

"Yes, that's them" I replied "May I say hello?"

"Go ahead girl, I can't stop you from seeing your acquaintances. We're going to pass by anyway so you can say hello to them if you wish"

I smiled at Gareth and started walking at a brisk pace to where my companions were.

Syr is probably teaching Ryuu the ropes because she barely knew how to cut a potato and now she's buying vegetables.

I think it went badly.

"Syr!" I exclaimed happily as I looked at Syr who looked at me and smiled as well. As I approached I passed by Ryuu who nodded at me a bit tensely and waved my hand at her as well.

"Bah, don't let that elf come around here if she's going to have that attitude" the local man's voice sounded irritated "I appreciate your intervention Syr-san"

"No problem. Your vegetables are some of the bests around here" Syr replied with a chuckle making the man likewise chuckle and take his leave.

She is someone with whom it is impossible to get angry, even strangers are kind or don't treat her badly at first sight.

"Riku" Syr smiled happily "How's it going in the dungeon?"

"You know" I laughed with some pride "Monsters are no match for me"

"Of course they aren't" Gareth spoke behind me making me blush with embarrassment, my enemies were only Goblins, but those enemies were dangerous to me.

"On the other side, did something happen?" I looked at her questioningly "I think Ryuu is depressed or something"

"It's not like that" Syr waved her hand nonchalantly "Come closer so I can tell you"

I blinked a little and nodded. I moved my head towards Syr and she leaned close to my ear to whisper a few things to me.

*Muttering*

*Muttering*

*Muttering*

"Pfff" I stifled a laugh by covering my mouth. I noticed Ryuu gave me a narrow-eyed look, but I still tried not to laugh out of politeness.

"Well... Ryuu is still in process"

"Sure. It was good that I was with her"

It seemed Ryuu tried to follow Syr's advice to try to get some ingredients at a good price by wearing a cute smile. That way the shopkeepers were more friendly and approachable.

The problem was that Ryuu instead of asking nicely it seemed more like a threat and ended up with a frightened lord and an elf being scolded by Syr.

The process for Ryuu to smile was definitely going to take a long time compared to me coming out naturally.

Ryuu doesn't have a reason to smile anymore because of the words she said so the only thing we can do is to give her a new reason.

"Come on Riku, don't bully your coworker" Gareth lectured me a bit coming to my position "Hm, if I remember correctly you're the lady from the tavern"

"Oh, I see you come with someone from your Familia" Syr spoke in a cordial way "Nice to meet you my name is Syr Flova, I think we have met before"

"Mah, the drink Mia has is something I can't avoid" Gareth said as he scratched his beard "Gareth Landrock"

"Well, Gareth-san was taking me to buy a new weapon for the dungeon"

"Did something happen to your knife?" Syr asked me surprised "When you bought it I remember you were kind of fond of it because of how you were mating it"

"She broke it in the dungeon with her strength" Gareth placed his hand on my head making me blush for giving myself away "She needs a weapon made to fit her"

"Fufufufu" Syr laughed at me mischievously "Then I guess I won't take any more of your time and let you two get on with it. I hope to see you at our pub in the evening"

"Sure. In case Riku has any money left then she'll buy the food"

"Wonderful!" Syr exclaimed making me blink a little "See you later" she walked away with Ryuu who bowed goodbye.

"You know Gareth-san" I spoke in a thoughtful manner so that the dwarf looked at me "I don't know how you discovered my plan to treat you to something to eat, but even so I will still follow it because you have helped me quite a bit in the dungeon and I like your company"

"Hm, don't worry about it. It was just a joke on my part" Gareth smiled at me amused "Come on we'll be there soon"

"Yes"

It' s fun to spend time with him.

xxxxx

"Here we are"

The building was like all the others. It was made of stone and wood to highlight some areas. The windows were covered from the inside and there was a sign with the words 'Tsubaki Workshop'.

I guess this is the place.

Gareth opened the door and I walked in behind him only to have to cover my ears at Gareth's words "Tsubaki, we're here!"

I blinked several times and then looked at the dwarf who gave me a cheeky smile, I think even adults know how to have fun in their own way.

"It's good to see you again Gareth"

"You know me Tsubaki. I wouldn't come to your personal workshop without having something to tell you or ask you"

My mouth dropped open at the appearance of the woman named Tsubaki.

She was tall, much taller than Gareth, but she had the features of a dwarf from her physical appearance that looked strong. Her skin is brown and she was wearing a bleached cloth tightly wrapped around her broad chest.

I swear I saw it bounce when she got up.

She was wearing some kind of bright red skirt and had on sandals. Her right eye was red and the other was covered by a black patch. Her hair was black and was tied back with a few loose strands.

The smell around this place is very thick, very different from what I was used to. I think I also smelled the charcoal and the cast iron, I couldn't tell exactly because I've never been in a workshop.

"Oh, what have we got here?"

At Tsubaki's question I straightened up in my place trying to look good, but that was quite noticeable because I heard Gareth's laughter in the background.

"I'm in charge of her for the rest of the day so treat her well"

"Heh, for you to have Gareth's affection so quickly you are very interesting" the woman spoke in surprise and looked at me for a few moments "White hair, red eyes, your body is... slim, but trained and I see some traces of tiredness on you, what have you been doing with her?"

"Don't look at me like that" Gareth evaded that questioning look from Tsubaki "That girl reminded me of my days when I used to fight monsters by blows"

Tsubaki looked at me and I couldn't avoid reaching into my bag to pull out my broken knife and extend my arm towards Tsubaki who looked at me dumbfounded by my actions.

"A knife?" Tsubaki muttered to take my knife and inspect it very carefully for a few seconds "What do you want to do with it?"

"I need a weapon" I answered as serene as possible, but with some tension "That was the first weapon I bought, but it broke in the dungeon"

"Don't lie child. Having directly hit a rock with the edge of your weapon is not the dungeon's fault" I looked at Gareth treacherously, but he just laughed at my suffering.

"Hahaha" Tsubaki started laughing confusing me by her action "If Gareth wants me to make you a weapon then I can't pass up this opportunity"

I narrowed my eyes at the woman thinking about her words "Am I an opportunity?"

"Don't think that way" Tsubaki ruffled my hair before walking over to the shelves on the wall and looking at the weapons "We blacksmiths look at the art of forging in different ways"

Tsubaki took a sword and approached my position "Forging a weapon is a challenge that a blacksmith is willing to overcome" she extended the handle of the sword towards me.

I hesitantly took it and when Tsubaki let go of the sword it almost fell out of my hands because of the weight of it. Well, this isn't like my knife.

"You're right Gareth. She's no weakling and the look on her face definitely shows she's willing to take the risks and overcome them when they cross her path"

"So?" Gareth asked "A custom weapon for a beginner adventurer that won't hinder her growth?"

"Of course!" Tsubaki smiled with clear amusement and dragged Gareth with her to talk some things which I couldn't hear because I was concentrating on the sword.

If I remember correctly there are quite a few sword designs which each have their own defining characteristics as well as a name.

In case I put this sword standing on the ground then it would reach the height of my chest which already proves that it is quite long for me.

I never had a sword in my old life and here I can fulfill some dreams I used to have in my childhood, but I am aware of the dangers that come with some of them.

Once I dreamed of owning a Claymore. That sword is used with both hands, its grip is long, as well as its blade and it is also very heavy.

I don't think I can handle one yet with my current strength, I want to at least use a spear sometime.

Seeing that I can't resist any more I put the tip of the sword against the ground to take it by the handle and place it gently on my chest avoiding it to fall and cause a lot of noise in the place.

Looks good.

"Alright girl, it's done!"

Tsubaki's voice brought me out of my thoughts and I watched as she approached me with a box full of various types of weapons which I didn't know what they were, but I wanted to try all the weapons I saw.

"Gareth told me about your fist fight" I blushed remembering that event. I didn't like it very much, but it was sensational that battle "Excellent! Meeting girls like you are not that common"

"Are there girls like me who like fighting?"

"Too many" Tsubaki spoke to me as if I was dumb "Amazoness are combat oriented women and not all women who come to Orario are delicate as they say. Case in point: Look at me!"

Tsubaki moved her hands presenting her body which I just gave her a blank stare, but I stopped at the muscles she had, I'm not going to lie that strong women don't attract attention.

"This box has many types of weapons" Tsubaki placed it in front of me "Let's see which one best fits with your style"

"I use magic" I quickly replied paralyzing myself in the process having said a secret to which I covered my mouth and looked at Gareth for help.

"Gajajaja" the dwarf just laughed at me, I blushed and annoyed at that "You would have gotten a lecture from Riveria if she was here, but I for one can say that Tsubaki is someone you can trust"

"Gareth is right" Tsubaki replied truthfully "I am a blacksmith and I keep the deals I make quiet to others. For you to think that your magic can interfere with the use of a weapon then I can believe that it is very special"

I looked at her for a few moments and nodded with a little more freedom from the tension I had from meeting a new person.

"Alright. If I may ask, what is the strength statistic you have?"

I tilted my head in confusion at her question "The status is secret, but I guess telling the rank isn't so much" I paused for a moment "I wouldn't know anyway"

"Don't you know your strength?" Gareth asked me as he frowned at something.

"I mean I don't know" I looked at the two of them blankly "Loki just gave me my falna and from there I've been going to the dungeon these few days"

"You haven't updated your status?" Tsubaki looked at me in disbelief.

"Does it update?" innocently I asked making them both look at me with very high surprise.

"Let me get this straight" Gareth sighed and closed his eyes then opened them again "It's been over a week in the dungeon and you haven't updated your status" I nodded "That means you've faced the monsters with the same strength"

"The falna won't let me grow?" I frowned at those words. If I still have the same strength then what good is the falna if it keeps me from growing in my strength.

"Don't be silly. The falna allows you to grow in another way breaking that limit that all races possess. You are still growing, but it is not in the same way, until you upgrade your status you will receive the change in strength for your effort"

I blinked for a few moments and then thought about it and opened my eyes to understand the whole process of this problem.

Gareth patted his face and let out a chuckle and Tsubaki didn't hide her clear amusement at my lack of attention to the most important thing for an adventurer.

The falna is something I don't understand. I think I have a contract with Loki, but I don't know how that serves me and her, I just think that as a Goddess Loki is aware of the connection she has with all the members of her Familia.

Did she tell me about updating the falna or was I stupid enough to forget it?

"Don't worry about it, we have things to do and then you update your status"

"What?" I asked him trying to put aside my problem and the multiple things I was going to do now that I knew that about the falna.

"Punch it"

"Huh?"

Tsubaki extended her open palm towards me and stood still with a relaxed posture waiting for me to do something.

"Make it quick brat!" I snapped out of my stupor at the call of Tsubaki who looked energetic "The quickest way to know your strength is to test it so hit with all your strength my hand!"

I stood still for a few moments and looked at Gareth who smiled at me and nodded. I frowned and looked at my hand as I opened and closed my hand into a fist several times.

I nodded and got into position. I moved my hand back and struck with all my might.

*Pow*

It looked better in my head.

It only sounded as if someone had clapped their hands together, but it was one of those light claps. Not a very good attack to say the least.

"That's good enough for me"

"..."

I gave an expressionless look to Tsubaki who was writing down various things in a notebook and approached me with a friendly smile.

"We have a lot to do so show me how you use the weapons in this box"

"Everything?" I asked with some uncertainty, I mean I wanted to try the weapons, but for some reason it didn't look exciting anymore.

"Don't be like that!" Tsubaki put her arm around me putting my head under her shoulder and in the process pressing it to her ample bosom.

Of course, I blushed at the feeling of Tsubaki's breasts next to my face. I think Tsubaki noticed that because she squeezed a little tighter increasing the sensation of feeling her breasts.

They were very soft even with the fabric over them.

"Then let's get started girl. We have plenty of weapons and after this Gareth told me you'd treat him to lunch so I'll join you when we're done"

I looked at her surprised, but she just laughed "Don't worry about the money I'll bring some to have a good time too"

I started laughing along with Tsubaki and Gareth smiled happily as well.

Orario never ceases to amaze me.