8 What do they mean????
Author here, I couldn't find any errors but might be wrong, if you find any then pls tell me. I am using a mixture of Grammarly and Chatgpt for grammar fixing and grammar only so hope it helps.
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As fewer orders were placed, the dance slowed down until the Hostess came to a close. Alvar smiled as he stared at May lying on the floor, dead tired.
'...I think I found out one of the key factors of why this pub is as popular as people made it out to be,' Alvar said, his gaze softening as he handed her a glass of water.
"You're incredible," Alvar said, his voice as genuine as could be. "I've seen many chefs in my time, but none quite like you. Your resilience and precision—it's quite remarkable."
May chuckled, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand and taking the glass of water. "Nya~ Thanks for the water, and well, I've had plenty of practice."
He shook his head. "Practice and hard work are only part of the process, but it's passion and stupidity that separate the best from the rest."
She took a sip, confusion evident on her face.
Alvar sat down beside May and chuckled at her expression. "How much time did you have to study my recipes?"
She thought for a bit and answered, "I think a few hours?"
"Most chefs wouldn't start making new dishes without fully knowing the process; some wouldn't even put new dishes on the menu out of fear of failing."
"That's why stupidity is one of the key factors, simply because it's quite stupid to make such a leap and leave one's comfort zone to try something new. The reason you succeeded is because of your love for cooking, hard work, and the trust you have in your own capabilities."
Alvar patted May on her shoulder and stood up with a smile. "I'll be helping out again tomorrow night; I'll see you again then."
May stayed on the floor drinking her water, but there were a few tears on her cheeks. She was glad that someone recognized and understood her passion.
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(¬‿¬)
"Seriously?" Alvar rolled his eyes as he sat down at his desk, taking out all 12 cubes. Stardust turned back into its usual form but stayed wrapped around Alvar's neck like a scarf.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"You sure are one odd dragon," Alvar muttered as he looked at the first cube while injecting it with his own mana.
The lines slowly glowed in a whitish color, making them much more visible to the naked eye than before.
"It still reacts to my mana, turning white rather than blue... The structure still looks similar to what it looked like on the first floor... It also has those 'ports' that I saw on the 12th floor but a weaker structure."
Alvar carefully unfurled multiple pages of A3 Vellum "Paper" and arranged them neatly on the table. He began by retracing the sides of the first cube, unfolding them to reveal the intricate circuitry sketched across their surfaces. As he worked, he added notes about the various ports and connecting lines. This meticulous process repeated for each of the other cubes, each design meticulously transcribed onto separate sheets. The only distinction lay in the ink color—each cube's blueprint was written with a different shade.
Layer by layer, Alvar stacked these pages, with the twelfth layer's vellum resting at the bottom and the initial one placed on top. And then, with a touch of magic, Alvar allowed the writing to subtly shine through, revealing the intricate structures of all the circuits.
With them being of a different shade, Alvar was able to see how different their structures were and how they slowly changed for those twelfth floors.
1st-4th Floor:
The structure was minimal; there were fewer nodes (ports), but the main factor that was noticed was the symbols that they were designed in. Some of these nodes had small symbols written on them. The symbols would appear more commonly on these nodes from the first to the fourth floor. Although the symbols were still rare.
5th-7th Floor:
The circuit's structure takes on a smoother and more natural look, but it doesn't stray too far from the previous floors. The nodes appear more often, but the symbols appear less frequently than on the fourth floor, while their design also changes slightly.
8th-9th Floor:
The 8th floor is when the circuits have the biggest change in structure; they are more spaced out and have a more complicated structure when looked into in detail. The number of nodes is greater, while the symbols undergo another change in design, with more being used on different nodes.
10th-12th Floor:
The circuits, even when spread out, start to weave through each other in a strange, snake-like pattern. With the nodes becoming increasingly common, the symbols show up most frequently on the 12th floor, with the symbol-to-node ratio being 1:5. The symbols look different with each floor from 10 to 12, seemingly trying to refine their own form until they are finally completed at floor 12.
Alvar nodded to himself as he finished writing in his book. But a confused expression stayed on his face.
"Those symbols are bugging me; I wonder what they mean? My current theories are that they are either responsible for the monster spawns or related to the floor's effects like floor 10 to 12's mist. It can't be related to the structure since that is what the circuit structure is for. At least that is what I think with floors 8th- 9th being so open and the circuits being spread out... Stardust, what are your thoughts?" Alvar looked down at the lazy dragon.
(╥_╥)
"...Does your head hurt?" Alvar asked the moping dragon.
ಠ╭╮ಠ
He sighed and started patting the poor dragon's head in a rhythmic pattern.
(◠‿◠)
Alvar smiled as he saw that Stardust enjoyed it and continued.
(ᴗ_ᴗ)
(ᴗ˳ᴗ)z
"...How cute." Alvar chuckled as those words left his mouth, but his face slowly turned into a sad one.
'Cute... huh, I am adapting to my surroundings faster than I thought I would.' Alvar leaned back in his chair as he continued to pat Stardust's head.
'I'm not sure how I should be feeling about this... but it shouldn't be that bad, right? Ciel?' Alvar closed his eyes and smiled while petting Stardust. As time went on his petting got slower and slower until he too fell asleep.
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As Alvar slept, he woke up as the door to his room was opened by someone. Stardust already turned back into his scarf form. Alvar stood up and stretched as he looked at the person who opened the door.
"Good morning, Syr," Alvar said as he finished his stretches, all the papers already gone from sight and replaced with sketches of the dungeon monsters.
Syr's face showed signs of shock as she regained her composure.
"Oh, sorry to disturb you, Alvar. The other said you would usually be gone by this time so I thought I would clean your room." She looked embarrassed as she scratched the back of her head.
"You don't need to do that at all; none of you girls are maids, so no need to do any of that. Besides, I am capable of cleaning up after myself just fine."
"But I am thankful for the thought." Alvar smiled, but deep down he knew the real reason she wanted to search his room. She wants to find the reason why her charm didn't work.
"It's no problem at all and sorry to disturb your sleep." She nodded and walked outside the room before Alvar could talk.
'I can't tell if she is acting embarrassed or if she really is...' Alvar thought as he walked downstairs.
'Now then... My current plans are to figure out how those symbols work and what they mean. In order to do that, I need to find more references to work with. But I don't think the dungeon would give me any of that simply because they would only get more common and slightly change with each floor. This doesn't give me any data at all...'
'Next up is experimentation with them by copying the circuits and changing them slightly to see their effects.' Alvar looked around at the waitresses as they started getting ready to open the store. The butterflies are flying around the place much to the waitresses' delight.
'I can't do that here simply because any accident could result in a massive explosion. So, a workshop is necessary. Preferably one that isn't too far away from the Hostess and not too close either so that these girls can't put 2 and 2 together... especially that Syr girl.' Alvar nodded to himself and decided to first find out how much a workshop would cost.
'Worst case scenario, I'll just sell some materials from my world to Hephaestus for the amount needed. Although if I were to start selling weapons then she'll most likely be able to figure that the seller of the materials might be the same as the workshop owner.' Alvar took in a deep breath and sighed.
'Forget it, if something happens then it happens, and if someone realizes that I am stronger than I look than they do now. I can't be bothered to delay my research so much just to slow down the inevitable.'
"Good morning, everyone," Alvar said with a smile. Everyone else smiled in return and returned the greeting.
'So, step one is to get the pricing. Step 2 is to sell some materials to Hephaestus. Step 3 buy the workshop and then step 4 start experimenting.' Alvar nodded to himself and made his way to exit the Hostess.
"I'll be off and return sometime tonight." Alvar waved goodbye as he left.
"I wonder what he is doing every morning?" Syr asked as she saw Alvar walk outside.
"I am curious myself Nya~," Chloe said with a mischievous smile.
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'Hmmm, Hephaestus is a goddess of smithing… and from what I saw of her with my insects… I think I can skip the guild and have her sell a workshop to me if I provide her with materials as well as a weapon that she could study... In this way, I can also pretend to be a deity for future plans; this would also lessen the annoyance that they would be in the future…' Alvar smiled as he walked outside, ensuring that no one was paying attention to him and that Babel's eyes weren't looking in his direction. He walked inside an alleyway, making sure no one was there.
Alvar adjusted his outfit slightly and donned a mask. He also altered the appearance of his soul to give off the feeling of a skilled smithy and a forge. While Stardust transformed into a golden bracelet on his left arm.
'I wonder if I would be able to gain access to those meetings with this?' He chuckled.
The mask Alvar wore is the same one from the dungeon, but this time he used dye to make it look more intricate and complex than it actually is. With this, the mask has golden lines woven in an intricate pattern. His clothes are changed to a long-sleeved shirt and pants that are black with the same golden pattern. His gloves have the same design and his hair is now dyed black.
'Now then, to her office, I go.' Alvar smiled under his mask and walked out of the alleyway. The moment people noticed him, they were shocked and couldn't help but stare. The feeling that he gave off now was something they were all aware of.
The presence of the divine.
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In the Hephaestus Familia, Hephaestus herself was sitting in her office looking through all the documents and commission requests on her desk. She has a crimson eye and red hair reaching to the neck. Her right eye is covered by an eyepatch.
*Nock Nock*
She heard someone knocking on the door as someone opened the door after knocking. This person is Tsubaki, who has brown skin, long black hair, red eyes, and wears an eyepatch.
"Hephy~ There's someone that wishes to have a meeting with ya!" Tsubaki said as she walked over to Hephaestus.
"Hm? Who might that be? No one has booked a meeting with me today," Hephaestus wondered.
"He didn't. He says his name is Cyrus and says he made a weapon that you might find interest in, he is also a god as far as I could tell from being near him."
"Hm? A god of smithing then? But I don't know anyone with that name... You can bring him in," Hephaestus got curious.
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Alvar followed Tsubaki as she took him to Hephaestus' office.
"Why do you wear a mask?" Tsubaki asked with curiosity.
"To hide my face,"
"Do you have a scar that bad?" She asked with sympathy.
"I do have a scar, but not to the level of needing to hide my face. I simply prefer wearing a mask," Alvar smiled; her sympathy was simply because she thought of her goddess's eye.
They made it to the office where Tsubaki knocked on the door.
"You can enter," Hephaestus said from the inside. As they walked inside, Hephaestus' smile froze when she looked at Alvar. Or more importantly, the outlines around him.
Alvar knew what she was looking at.
She could see the outlines of his armor.
