Orario.
- "Hey, look, who's that?" A girl dressed in light armor, with a spear in her hand, asked.
- "The New Familia. The one with the horns is the goddess and the man is the captain." answered the man, but with a sword.
- "They are so beautiful... Are you sure they are not all gods?"
- "I'm sure, now let's go. You're the one who wanted new armor."
- "Yes, I did."
I sighed tiredly and rubbed my temples, walking toward the Tower of Babel while Tia caressed my shoulder, as did Morgan. And the afternoon sun shone brightly in the sky without a single cloud.
It had been like this for three days now, ever since we'd arrived here. This world wasn't much different from the last, with a couple of exceptions. The same swords, gods, and other such fantastical tinsel. The city we were in was called 'Orario, City of Labyrinths', and the 'Tower of Babel' was a very tall tower located in its center.
This is where the gods interact more with mortals. As it was explained to me, at one point they descended from their world here to the lower world because they got bored. They can't use their powers, what is called here 'Arcanum', lest they harm mortals, and if this rule is broken, the gods will simply return back to the upper world.
Intriguingly, they can give mortals 'Falna', a blessing that increases powers and abilities. 'Familia', however, is essentially a group under the command of that particular god who gave that very 'Falna'.
What is the purpose of all this? Obviously to fight monsters. And where are the monsters? In the Dungeon, a complex of labyrinths located beneath the Tower of Babel. And that's where the fun begins.
Imagine a typical RPG video game with adventurers, a proper guild, loot from monsters and then selling it. And that's exactly what is at the core here. You go to the Dungeon, kill monsters, collect crystals or whatever, take them out, sell them to someone, get 'Valis', the local currency, and live off it. And then you do it all over again. That's the basis of this world.
In short, it's about as dumb as it can get. There's even a freaking level and 'Status' tie-in. I mean, the damn video game mechanics are woven into the NOT video game world. It's like throwing a certain blue-eyed blond ninja into a world of talking magical ponies. Can we do that? Yeah. What's the point? I just wanted to, and no one asked for your opinion. It's completely unbearable. I'm done talking.
Although no, I'm constantly being watched by someone from the top floors of the Tower of Babel, and it strongly resembled the look Rizevim was sending me.
- "Oh? You look annoyed, husband. Still can't get over the ridiculousness of this world? Somehow the 'protagonist' situation didn't bother you." Morgan said snidely.
- "It made sense, because up to a certain point the world just stood still and did nothing. I'd even say that the world itself inscribed Issei to make itself move. That would explain Alaya's presence in this particular form," I replied, "Besides, doesn't it piss you off? Doesn't stupidity annoy everyone in general, no matter what race they are?"
- "Uh-huh. We're here, away from the distractions of our relationship. And I'm perfectly fine with that, aren't you, Beast II?" Morgan asked, to which I rolled my eyes and Tia nodded her head.
This time Zelretch had said that the Beast's presence wouldn't affect the world in any way, nor would it force it to start dealing with a possible threat. So, it was no problem to just take her along without wasting energy on preparation. Morgan had tagged along simply because she wanted to, and it was impossible to refuse her voluntary request, of course.
The mana issue for the Servants was solved thanks to Goetia. Since we are essentially one being with two different souls, he doesn't need mana to sustain himself. His own mana is more than enough to be able to sustain the Servants. Plus, Goetia can draw it from the Underworld itself.
Am I afraid that he'll suddenly want to destroy humanity? Nope. He's outgrown that teenage perfectionist phase, and Rea-chan and Runeas can calm him down. After all, they're closer to him than everyone else. At the very least, Alaya, as suspicious and secretive as she is, can give Grandpa time to deal with the Beast.
- "Oh?! Romani! Tiamat! Morgan!" at some point we heard a cheerful girl's voice.
- "Hmm? Lady Hestia?" I was surprised to recognize the voice, and turned to look at its source.
It was Hestia, the goddess of the home from Greek mythology. True, in this world there was no division into pantheons and no family connection among the gods. They simply were and that was all.
Her appearance was that of a short girl with long black hair tied in two tails on the sides of her head, blue eyes and snow-white skin. And large breasts, too. Her outfit consisted of a short white dress with blue ribbons and ordinary slippers.
- "Hi! Would you like to buy some fries? I cooked them myself, and I can promise for the flavor!" she said as we approached the counter she was standing at.
- "Give us four servings. Tia and Morgan won't mind," I said, to which she nodded cheerfully and began to pick up the order, "How are you doing?"
- "Not as well as I'd like," she grimaced instantly, to which I sent her a questioning look, "Can you believe my Bell went down to the fourth floor! I understand that he wants to help me, but why risk his life!"
Bell Cranel. Typical boy with enormous ambition. He's also weak. He's level one, and the relatively safe descent into the Dungeon is limited to the third floor. Anything below that is just an unnecessary risk.
- "Aaaaaa~" Tia sang out worriedly.
- "That's right, I told him the same thing and scolded him since he's the only member of my Familia!" Hestia nodded, "How I envy you, Tiamat. You've only recently come down, and you already have two members."
Oh, yes. I sealed my divinity to hell, for I didn't want to attract attention. Familia was created in Tia's name, which didn't raise much of a question. To those around her, she was a recently born and then descended goddess and nothing more.
- "Aaaa~" Tia sang in a comforting tone, to which Hestia anime-style jumped over the counter and hugged her.
- "You're so good! Not like that flat-bottomed Loki!" Hestia rubbed her belly against Tia's, and Beast II stroked her head affectionately, "By the way, what are you a goddess of? I somehow forgot to ask that."
- "Life and Beginnings, Lady Hestia."
- "Oh? That's so beautiful!" she smiled, and then went back behind the counter and quickly handed us our portions, "Here! Eat your fill! That'll be four hundred Valis!"
- "Here," handing over the money I had just created, I said, "Have a good trade, Lady Hestia."
- "Thank you!"
We said our goodbyes and walked a little farther and took a bench so that Morgan and Tia could eat in peace. I, on the other hand, couldn't help myself and created a cup of coffee, as my body couldn't live without the smell of coffee beans and their bitter taste.
- "So," Morgan began, crunching the potatoes that looked like regular chips while Tia devoured her portions, "What are we going to do?"
- "Honestly, I have no idea. Zelretch hasn't said anything about it at all," I shrugged, looking at the passing adventurers, "So far, the plan is the same. I'll go down to the Dungeon and see what's up, and you can do what you want. Just please don't create conflict just because you feel like it."
- "I'm not making any promises." she grinned.
- "Okay, suit yourself," I shook my head and stood up from the bench, "If anything happens, just let me know. That's it, I'm off."
This would be my first time going down into the Dungeon. Remembering the brochure, I picked up from the Adventurer's Guild, the last floor explored was somewhere around the fifty-ninth floor. And up to that floor, I'm basically safe. Although, I don't think any floor in principle would be able to inconvenience me like the spirit in the previous world.
He was a world disaster, a phenomenon of nature itself, and the closest analog to him in this world would be the One-Eyed Black Dragon. He is the target of one of the Three Great Quest that escaped from the Dungeon, and is now harassing some settlement.
Anyway, I should go down and at least get a sense of what the Dungeon is all about. As-is, there are a few questions that I find the answers to... interesting, I suppose.
I mean, why does the Dungeon create monsters? Why do the gods supposedly motivate mortals to go down? The Tower of Babel keeps monsters from leaving the Dungeon, but does it have another purpose? One that is hidden from the ears and eyes of the public, because it all sounds a bit too simple, doesn't it?
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