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One Step At A Time (DanMachi)

Argus Hale is a dreamy 22 years old. Living the life of luxury which most would consider fantasy, he never encountered obstacles, other than just one time. During the last of his high school days, something happened, leaving him with an emotional scar. It ran so deep that he still struggles with it. As time went on, he made peace with the fact- that’s just the way he will spend his seemingly meaningless life. Having no real friends, he created an imaginary friend in his mind which helped keeping him all the pieces of sanity he could gather. Anime and Video Games helped too. In midst of living in his own fantasy, he ignored one thing which ended it all for him, just as it had for many others. While it did snatch it all, ‘it’ also gave something in return and his life began anew. But this time he will ignore nothing...he’ll ignore no one. This time around, he has chosen to fight with whatever he’s got. Even with a face stained in tears and snot. Even with a body screaming ‘GIVE UP’. Or with a mind filled with demons. He will still fight. Regardless of how ugly his struggles may look. Because he somewhat understood what his father once told him, “The only way I know to beat it... is to fight as though you’re immortal. Fight like a Knight... that never dies!” This is the story of a dreamer facing off against Reality. . . That ends the synopsis. Before you tap ‘Read’, I would suggest you read what I have to say first. 1. Read my work with an open and accepting mind. 2. Argus, the protagonist is born out of me getting bored with those perfect-looking MCs. Shocking people to oblivion just by breathing. Almost every female they come across gets crazy for them. They’re so-called ‘Alpha Swag’ has lost its charm to me. Those who are not ‘perfect’ are downright insane. That’s when a question came to my mind - What happens to the souls of the ones whose bodies our Reincarnated MC’s inhabit. My overthinking mind went on about it for days. That’s where Argus came along. So here we are. Idea was to create an MC that is at heart and soul, a human, just like any other. 3. Initial chapters may feel rather heavy. but, I wanted to establish Argus as clearly as I Can. 4. I’m open to constructive criticism but not biased. 5. Rather than blowing everyone’s breath away. This novel focuses more on the emotional aspect and growth of characters. 6. Characters in my novel will have the ability of independent thought and action. I’ve done my best to portray all characters as alive as I Can. 7. I had once dropped this novel because of the exams. now that I’m done with them, I’ve picked it up again...as promised. 8. I’ll be releasing a chapter a day. 9. I don't own the cover. If the owner wants it down... it will be done. TAGS: Action, Adventure, Drama, Comedy, Family. The ride may be bumpy but, I assure you- you’ll come to love it. That’s all!

An_Imperfectionist · Anime & Comics
Not enough ratings
48 Chs

A little time skip~

It's been 3 days since Lili's lesson on 'How to respect money' began.

Every day we'd dive into the Dungeon and won't leave unless I've killed 45 Goblins.

Each day was a war on its own. All for the sake of a mere 1500 Valis.

But what made it all worth it was the things I learned from her, The Dungeon, and basically everything.

The very first thing was- How hard it is to earn honest money.

But it is as they say… Lazy people tend to find the most efficient methods to tackle problems.

So, rather than engaging the Goblins in open combat, I began assassinating them.

Sometimes I would stare at a pack for as long as 15-20 minutes, waiting for the perfect moment.

And it always worked.

Lili even praised my talent for assassination and combat strategies.

Not to mention, I was pretty untouchable courtesy to the 'Guardian Angel' Lili and my trusty Blink.

So many battles also cured my panic attacks, I'm now able to think of doable strategies mid-battle with a calm and collected mind.

Lili, too, held nothing back when she taught me how to swing my blade properly along with a few tricks of her trade.

I now know how to use a Cross-Bow but it takes every iota of my strength to pull the string back of her Cross-Bow since her's is a Grade-1 Weapon.

Seeing my efforts into learning Cross-Bow, my sweet little Loli even bought me a small Ungraded Cross-Bow of my own. Although it's not strong enough to penetrate a Goblin's skull, so I had to aim for the eyes in order to juice out any efficiency out of it.

And the best thing she taught me was…

"Watch where'ya goin, you Lil'shit!" barked a blurry man, as he pushed me off of him with enough force to send me rolling a few meters.

"Please forgive me, Oh Honorable Adventurers! This little one didn't know where he was looking! Please show mercy!" I pled with my hands together as my body 'shivered' under the wrathful gaze.

A feminine 'Humph' came along, "Touching an insect such as you is far beneath the likes of us… Under our foot is where you belong! Drill that into your brain if you have one... Now, let's be on our way, Floyd. We are getting late as it is…" said the Elf with unhidden contempt in her eyes before walking past me along with the guy I 'bumped into,'.

I stayed on the ground, watching them walk past me before getting up and making my way towards the nonchalant Lili.

Looking at me with an eyebrow raised, she asked, "So, how much this time?"

A sly grin broke on my face as I took out a pouch from my storage.

Weighing the pouch in my hands to get a feel for it, I said,

"Feels like four-to-500… He had even more pouches but, I'd be pushing my luck if I went for more."

Swaying her head with a smile, she replied before we began walking towards the Dungeon,

"You just keep getting better and better at pick-pocketing…"

That's right, Lili taught me how to pick-pocket but only on the one condition- I only go for adventurers. And I learned it astonishingly fast.

I'm like a sponge, she said when I successfully pick-pocketed a full-fledged adventurer on my third try.

As for the first two tries… I got beat up pretty bad. So much so that Lili had to use a Grade-1 Healing Potion on me. And since I was a Non-Leveled, half a Vail worked like the water straight from The Fountain of Life.

And why am I still a Non-Leveled, one might ask?

It's because Loki Familia's next recruitment program is 4 days from now.

.

.

.

*Dungeon's First Floor*

-CKLICH!

I pulled my sword from the half split head of the last Goblin in the room before turning to my Loli.

"How about we try something different for a change?"

With even turning to look back at me, she replied while picking up the cores,

"No… We're not taking a day off."

"Of course not!" I said, double-taking before I added…

"I was just suggesting that we try and touch the 2nd floor's entrance before heading back… I think I've played here enough."

Lili's hand rubbed her chin as a thoughtful expression appeared on her face, then with a nod she replied,

"Not exactly a bad idea… But, are you sure you can handle it? Their number increases the deeper you go…"

"Yeah… I think I can handle'em just fine and besides… aren't you with me, my little Guardian Angel~"

*Humph* "Flowery words will not get you anywhere…"

"But in a bedroom~" cutting off her sentence I said with a wink.

Lili before me blushed crimson, "Moouu! Pervert! I'm so not talking to you anymore!" *Humph*

And with that, I walked on chuckling along with a cherry-faced Loli beside me, Humph'ing at uneven intervals.

.

.

The further we went in, the darker became, and it soon reached a point where it felt like I was walking under the moonlight.

"It's getting harder to see…" I said before peeking into a room.

"Ahh! I'm sorry I forgot to mention. You don't have a Falna… and hence you have nothing for Utility…" Lili said as she face-palmed before continuing;

"Utility basically makes up for whatever Strength, Agility, Endurance and Magic do not… For example, EyeSight, Sense of Smell, Reaction Speed… so on and so forth... It's bright as the day for me." She sighed while peeking into the room.

[Damn… Falna really is necessary.] I wondered as I counted 17 Goblins.

/ Well, the whole thing revolves around it. So, I'd say it's pretty darn important. /

[Alright, it's showtime!]

/ So it is… /