21 Chapter 21

The morning arrived sooner than I would have liked. The screech of birdsong echoed through the apartment as a result of a family of birds perched on the small ledge outside the windows. Shards of light refracted off the glass windows, shattering into multicolored prisms as they laid out across the entirety of my bed. Feeling as though my bed had been occupied by this outside force, I had no choice but to rise and leave my comfortable resting place.

My morning routine passed by quickly as I considered the information I had been given yesterday. 'I will need to adjust to my new reality somehow.' I thought as the magic appliance stove spat magical smokeless flames from its top. Despite the simplicity of my mental statement, the reality of the situation would be a great deal more complicated. 

It was something that I decided to leave on the back burner as I dealt with other issues. The first and foremost of which was maxing out my stats. I wasn't in a massive rush to level up, but I felt that it would be more convenient to have my stats ready for a level-up before encountering a situation that could raise my level. That required more trips to the dungeon, where agility, dexterity, and strength would be my priority. I wasn't so eager to spend the next few hours trying to dodge blows by a hair while not fighting back, but I sighed and did what had to be done.

Once more, I found myself trudging down the never-ending steps of Babel in a thoughtful state. I had noticed myself becoming more and more reflective and contemplative since arriving in this world. One could say that I was enjoying the old-fashioned living that living in a fantasy world provides, but they would be wrong. With the lack of headphones and music, I was forced to find my own ways to amuse myself. I was sure that once I could read minds, that would be my new form of entertainment.

Some would consider that a breach of privacy, but I would call it fair game. Luckily, I was saved from the contents of my mind by a welcome surprise. Tsubaki was making her own way down the stairs along with a half dozen or so supporters. They each shouldered large backpacks that seemed to weigh them down greatly despite their heavily reinforced muscles from having a falna. 

"What do you have in there, captain? Anvils?" I asked jokingly, catching her attention.

She turned with a smile and gestured to all her helpers, "Actually, yes. We are carrying anvils. It's time for us to head out on an expedition to the deep floors with the Loki familia. You would know this if you came to the familia meeting last week." she said with mock disappointment.

"You know me, Cap," I said with a loud yawn, "I like to make my own way and get news off the beaten path," 

She recoiled at the nonsensical statement I had just made as I laughed, even getting a chuckle from some of her helpers, "Is my information 'off the beaten path' in this situation?" she said, raising her good eyebrow comically.

"Touché."

"So what brings you out of your cave Augustus?"

"Unfortunately, it seems that I have to leave my room and train to get stronger." I said incredulously, gathering everyone's attention squarely on me before continuing, "A novel idea, isn't it." I said as seriously as I could manage until a wide grin split my face.

That time, everybody laughed. The idea of somebody being able to power themselves up just in their room, while was not strictly impossible, was so ridiculous that all the seasoned adventurers around me couldn't help but roar with laughter. I had no doubt that each of them had spent thousands of hours in the dungeon putting their lives on the line to increase their stats by any means possible. Tsubaki even wiped a tear from her one good eye.

"You have good delivery, kid," an older dwarf with a few streaks of grey in his beard said after he was done laughing and adjusting the heavy load on his back.

"Thanks," I said, a bit of red in my cheeks that I covered with a cough.

I had always been proud of my wit, and I preened slightly under the compliment. Even with Gamer's Mind, I was still capable of small emotional acts like this. It was only major stuff that got dampened, and while I was more apathetic in general, that didn't make me emotionless. I still had feelings, they were just...different now.

"So, what floor are you heading for?" Tsubaki asked, snapping me out of my thoughts, "You're free to tag along with us until we reach that floor."

Considering the question for a moment before responding, I replied, "Probably the tenth floor," getting some surprised looks from the supporters around me.

"Without a group?" that same old dwarf asked, surprised because it was usually only people in very small familias that dared venture through the Upper Floors by themselves. As a part of a large familia it would be child's play to connect me with a group and get me going.

Tsubaki responded on my behalf, keeping me from having to formulate a reply, "Augustus is somewhat of a special case, trade secret though." she said before any more questions could be asked.

"What floor are you guys going to push for?" I asked curiously. 

"The Loki familia are aiming for getting deep into the 40s by the end of this expedition. Maybe even the 50th floor if we get really lucky." Tsubaki said. 

"Where do you think you will have to call it?" I asked, wondering about her opinion.

"I think 44 is very doable, but we probably won't get much further." she said with a sigh, "But we'll see if I'm wrong."

I nodded, knowing that it would still be a while before the Loki familia got to the 50th floor due to the events with the Demi-spirit just before the start of the main story. The conversation meandered on through the group as we reached the base of BAbel and moved out to the mustering point assigned by the Loki familia. With Tsubaki's group being the last to arrive, things got underway pretty quickly. Before we left, Finn and a few other executives came to speak to Tsubaki.

"It's good to see you again, Tsubaki," Finn said, walking forward and grasping hands with the much taller woman.

Despite his very small stature, you would have to be a fool to believe that Finn was harmless. Looking into the Warp, his soul was blazing like wildfire, casting a massive radiance around him that made it almost hard to look. His muscles and just the way he stood clearly conveyed that he was a seasoned warrior, and the way his eyes scanned everything and everyone around him made it clear he was a natural-born commander. 

"I see that you have more than expected," Finn said, casually eyeing me but not in a rude way.

"Ahh, this is Augustus. He's a newbie, so I was just planning to drop him off on the tenth floor when we pass by. We're all going the same way, so I hope you don't mind." she said, gesturing to me.

Not quite sure what was the most polite thing to do, I nodded seriously, causing Finn to chuckle lightly. Now that his attention was on me, he looked me up and down closely. He showed no sign of his thoughts on his face, though his next comment said everything for him.

"If you ever in need of training or just a spar for swordsmanship, the Loki Familia has some courses," he said casually, but that made it clear what he thought of my swordsmanship just from the way I was standing.

If I was an arrogant or prideful person, then I might have taken offense, but he wasn't wrong, and I just let out a laugh that caught him off guard, "I am more of a magic specialist, but if I am ever in need of guidance then I will gladly come to the Loki familia first."

Finn seemed to be taken aback by my response. Clearly, he wasn't expecting a non-elven level 1 adventurer to have magic. However, swordsmanship wasn't my priority right now since I was fairly certain that with my Warrior's Instinct and soon-to-be unlocked Divination, I would learn extremely quickly once I really put my mind to the task. My skills were still crude but acceptable for now. 

"Well, I can see clearly that you have potential with the blade, so I have no doubt you will make it far as an adventurer. I'm Finn, by the way, Captain of the Loki Familia." He said with a friendly smile, extending his hand.

"No need for the introduction," I said, shaking his hand that felt more like steel than flesh, "Your reputation proceeds you. You and all the elites of the Loki familia."

"Well, it never harms to be sure. Anyway, I think it's about time we head out," he said, moving back down the line of adventurers to the front. 

A few minutes later, we began to move out.