7 Going deeper.
Someone mentioned that the juggernaut wasn't public knowledge and was kept hidden so I fixed it accordingly, thanks to GreatKing for telling me this btw, I appreciate the help :D Although it took me a while to edit the chappy mainly cuz I was busy;-;
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The giant skeletal figure finally emerged from the wall, staring directly at Stardust, the hate burning in its red, glowing eyes.
It went on all fours, and when it was just about to charge at Stardust, it suddenly fell on its right side.
Stardust lopped off its right arm.
*(ง︡'-'︠)ง*
"ROOOOAAAR!" The juggernaut was pissed and tried to charge at Stardust again, standing on its two legs, hunching forward, and rushing Stardust. But all was rendered futile as Stardust disappeared in a blue and yellow flash that cleaved through all its limbs and ended at its head.
The Juggernaut perished.
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"Finally using your speed?" Alvar asked at the side, still studying the walls.
*>:(* Stardust bumbed him on the back while looking away, clearly mad.
"Haha, no need to worry, I was joking." Alvar chuckled and petted the poor dragon for a bit.
"How about we go a bit deeper? You can continue your fun as we descend."
*:D*
"Haha, then let's go!" Alvar walked forward with Stardust at his side, while caressing Stardust's back.
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Alvar went down with Stardust to the 9th floor, but everything was exactly the same as the 8th floor, so they directly went to the 10th instead... although it did take a while since Stardust made sure that all the horned rabbits that it saw were dead.
The 10th-12th floor keeps the same structure as the 8th and 9th floors, but the only difference is that mist covers the floors now, which only gets thicker on the 12th floor.
"Now then... What can you tell me, oh magical lines~" Alvar stole a cube again while looking at all the lines from the wall.
"The structure is the same, but some lines have a different ending, more like ports... I think I understand no-" Alvar's thoughts were cut short as a roar was heard in the distance, as an orc gained a new hole.
"...So the mana gets transferred into a 'port' to give the mana instructions by changing their type... This dungeon seems to be more complex than I thought it would be." Alvar completely ignored the noises made by all the monsters as Stardust had the time of its life.
"Let's continue down, Stardust." Alvar continued walking while looking for the next set of stairs downwards. With a golden and blue light flashing behind the mist as orcs, imps, and bats keep getting killed in the surroundings... and the few horned rabbits that still spawn.
Alvar has been gathering all the monster drops with his magic and storing it the entire time, well, the drops that aren't broken at least.
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"The 11th floor's mana lines seemed to be the same as the 10th one, but it also has a bit more of a solid structure while the 12th floor has a stronger and more stable structure from what I can see..." Alvar is currently on the 12th floor with Stardust having even more fun than before.
"It might be because there or more monsters and stronger ones here, with the infant dragon being one of the spawns too... the mist on the 12th floor is a lot more dense too..." Alvar is having fun in his own way trying to figure out how this dungeon works.
"Stardust!, we will be staying on this floor for a bit, then we will go back up!"
*ಥ_ಥ*
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Alvar made his way back up, to the 1st floor, Stardust turned back into his scarf form, and Alvar's soul was changed back with his usual outfit on too.
As he walked up to the ground floor of Babel, the previous guards all let out a breath of relief as they saw that the freelancer made it out alive.
"You have been down in the dungeon for quite a while, did anything happen to you?" One of them asked out of concern, although his concern was mostly alleviated as Alvar had no signs of injury nor did his clothing have any signs of tear on them.
"Not at all, I have been taking my time and getting used to the feeling of being an adventurer. I'm unsure if it's for me or not, but for now, I'll be testing out the first floor until I'm sure and join a familia after I'm sure." Alvar smiled kindly to reassure the kind guard.
"Haha! You are the first person that has everything planned out like that! The name is Bart and be sure to be careful out in the dungeon." Bart held out his hand and Alvar did the same as they shook hands.
"I'm Alvar, and I'll be sure to be careful. Thank you for the care." Alvar waved them farewell as he walked away from Babel and headed towards the guild.
Alvar walked inside the guild and headed to the exchange area. He exchanges a few of the goblin and kobold magic stones and some of their drops too. He gained about 115 valis.
As Alvar walked away, he saw Misha wave towards him, so he walked towards her. They went to one of the meeting boxes.
"Didn't expect you to call me over, finally having the will to work?" Alvar asked causing Misha to laugh at the joke.
"Not at all, I just got curious is all. I noticed that you went to exchange some items, so I wanted to ask how the dungeon was and all." She waved her hand.
"Plus, talking to you still counts as me doing my job."
"Thought as much, I was only on the first floor, I am only planning on seeing my own capabilities on that floor to see if I am cut out for the adventuring job. Mainly to see what type of familia I should be joining in the future. I can't join an expedition type if I don't have the drive after all." Alvar said with a smile as Misha looked a bit shocked.
"The first time I have heard someone thinking so deeply about their future."
"How so? Shouldn't that be what everyone is doing?" Misha let out a sigh at Alvar's words.
"Not at all, most just join a familia simply because they think that to be an adventurer is easy and would make a lot of money." Alvar simply shook his head at the thought.
"A lot of reckless people."
"I can agree, a lot of my friends had a few heartbreaks because of that." Misha sighed again, she was currently lazily lying in her chair.
"Is that about the Advisor system?"
"Yup, some made promises they couldn't keep and bit off more than they could chew. Speaking of which, have you seen that new monster? A floating serpent-like monster?" Misha groaned lightly, the appearance of a new monster gave her a lot of work to do.
Alvar shook his head while also helping Misha change the subject.
"I haven't seen such a monster, I am guessing it appeared on the first floor." Alvar rubbed his chin lightly, thinking about this new monster.
While on the inside he was laughing.
'My condolences, but I can't have Stardust die of boredom since that would lead it to fly around and do its own thing outside the dungeon.' Alvar sweated slightly at the thought of having Stardust flying around the city and burning anything bothering it.
"As far as the sightings and reports went, although people on lower floors also sighted a similar creature. So either it is the same one moving between floors freely or it can spawn on other floors too."
"Has anyone been able to kill the creature?"
"No one has reported it yet or brought back proof of it, besides, no one has died yet from this monster. Instead, we keep getting reports of people being saved by it which is odd." Misha let out a tired groan.
"The amount of reports we had to go through is unbearable, I have to say."
"At least no one died from it, in fact, it even be a good monster of some kind." Alvar smiled as Misha waved her hands.
"That's nearly impossible."
"How so?"
"Every monster in the dungeon is bloodthirsty."
"Not this one apparently,"
"It is slaughtering other monsters, but who knows when it decides to change targets?" Misha asked skeptically.
"That's true, I can't argue with that." Alvar shrugged and stood up.
"Well, it has been a nice chat, but I have to get going." Alvar smiled and walked to the door.
"Alright, do drop by again next time, I don't mind the work breaks." Misha lazily waved goodbye.
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'The hostess seems busier than usual.' Alvar waved to each of the waitresses who noticed that he entered the bar.
'Oh? A new waitress?' Alvar noticed a girl with light grey hair and light grey eyes. But his eyes squinted slightly as he turned away from her.
'Either a demi goddess or a goddess hiding as a mortal.' Alvar walked towards the counter and sat down.
"I can see that you're finally back, brat." Mamma Mia laughed as she smashed down a bear in front of him.
"A beer for you, on the house!" She laughed. Her words caused everyone to go quiet.
"I can see that all the recipes are working." Alvar took a swig of the bear.
"HAHA, they worked better than I expected, kid! If there is anything else you got for sale then don't hesitate to come to me!" Mamma Mia laughed further as she walked away to continue making everyone's drinks. She seems to be me in a fantastic mood.
"You must be the new guy, Alvar!" Syr skipped over to him.
"Yes I am, and you are?" Alvar smiled at the hidden goddess.
"I'm Syr!" She smiled, her cheerfulness radiating around her.
"Nice to meet you Syr. I can see you are one of the fan favorites." Alvar said, as his eyes briefly scanned at all the people giving him hateful glares.
"hehe, sorry about that..." She blushed a bit and scratched her cheek.
Alvar waved her worries away and chuckled, "Don't worry about it, I'm not bothered at all,"
"Don't laugh at me, hpmth" She pouted.
"Anyway! I have an important question for you! Where did you get all those ingredients and recipes from?" She pointed at Alvar. Although she had a hint of wariness.
"That's a secret~" Alvar played along.
"Are you from a secret royal lineage?? A prince from a faraway kingdom? A part of a rich familia but ran away? A chef wandering the world for more rare ingredients?"
"None of the above," Alvar said but noticed a little change in her expression.
Lie
'Deities can sense lies... I wonder how it works.'
"You sure?" She asked again, a mechivious grin on her face.
"Of course." Her face scrunched slightly, looking a bit confused.
Truth
'So it was also soul-based, I see.' Alvar smiled, tilting his head slightly to the side.
"Are you alright?" Alvar asked, confused.
"Um, yeah of course! So, anyway, where do you live?" She changed the conversation.
"At the hostess."
Truth
"I mean, before you came to the city." She pouts.
"Where do you live?" Alvar asked back.
"...Touche," She frowns.
"Syr! Stop dilly-dallying and get back to work!" Mamma Mia yelled from the side.
"Tch! I'll get my answers one day, Alvar!" Syr said as she was dragged away from Alvar by the other waitresses. Everyone laughed at her antics, but Alvar had different thoughts.
'She tried to charm me during the conversation,' Alvar narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Mamma Mia, who are all the chefs? There should be a couple back there with this amount of orders." Alvar asked as he started drinking his beer.
"Hmm? Oh, that would be May."
"And?"
"Hm? May is our only cook."
"Seriously? You are going to work that girl to death." Alvar got worried.
"She can handle it, but you can help her out if you want to." Alvar nodded drank the last bit of his beer and walked behind the counter to the kitchen, witnessing May multi-tasking multiple magic-powered stoves and utensils as she swiftly made all the dishes.
'She really is good.' Alvar nodded, impressed with her skills as he started working too. He started slowly integrating himself into the process while May swiftly adapted to his presence and gave him a nod as thanks.
They easily swapped places whenever necessary while seamlessly 'dancing' in the kitchen by handling the seasoning and creating the new dishes with Alvar mainly handling his own recipe orders because he isn't fully sure how the rest are made, but he was able to help out here and there with them.
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I did proofread the chapter, but I might have missed some mistakes so please tell me if there are any.
