Power Corrupts: Divine Endurance (Patreon)

Have you ever had a scene that just...keeps going? That’s what happened in this chapter. I intended a scene to be around two thousand words and it ended up being around six. And I have no idea how it happened. 

...

Days that I woke up on the right side of the bed were rare. I mean, there's waking up feeling normal, as in you didn't wake up on the wrong side, but that's not what I meant. As sleep lost its grip on me, I woke up feeling good. Great, even. I felt like the world was my oyster. The past couple of days, despite minor setbacks, have all been pretty great. Amazing, really. 

For a moment each morning, right before I opened my eyes, I worried that I would wake up to find myself back in my old room, in my old body, and in my old life. I worried that all of this was just a dream. Then I opened my eyes each morning to see that this dream was reality. That moment was the moment I woke up on the right side of the bed. With Hestia on top of me, lightly snoring as she drooled on me, a wet spot forming on my chest -- drool was somehow cute when a smol goddess did it. 

What time was it? 4:00. In the morning. That was early for me and I was an early bird by every definition. Ah...well...early bird gets the worm and all that. 

I shifted, intending to pull that maneuver Bell had in the anime so Hestia would be flipped onto the bed without being any the wiser. However, as soon as I started, Hestia's eyes opened. She looked at me, her eyes blinking a few times to clear them of sleep, then a lazy smile appeared on her face while a deep blush graced her cheeks. "H-hey," she greeted, her blush intensifying. 

"Hey," I returned, feeling I should have said something a little more romantic. "Sorry for waking you up so early, didn't mean to." 

Hestia unsuccessfully stifled a yawn, "s'fine," she dismissed. She shifted - ah. So that's what woke her up. To be honest, there was absolutely no way I wasn't going to be sporting some morning wood with Hestia on top of me. Especially when I blue-balled myself last night in the name of the greater good. 

Her eyes dipped lower to my mouth, it was barely noticeable, but when she looked back to my eyes, only to look down again, it was kinda obvious. I smirked, Hestia blushed, realizing that she had been caught, but when her lips parted to say something, I reached down to grab her where her thighs and butt met to pull her towards me. 

I pressed my lips against hers, Hestia melts in response as she kissed back. My hands gripped her waist, I could nearly grab both sides with one since she was so small, with my fingers spread wide. The kiss was chaste her lips moving against mine in a similar fashion that we did last night. Deciding to mix things up a bit, I licked her bottom lip, earning a small ‘eep’ than got a chuckle out of me. 

Tilting my head, I gently pried open her mouth, Hestia hesitantly allowing me before she moaned into my mouth as my tongue brushed up against hers. I squeezed her butt, playing with the soft globes of flesh. Het tongue probed mine, unsure -- I should take it easy on her since this was quite literally her second kiss in her life,...but I wanted to see those expressions that she made last night again. 

Instead, I dominated the kiss, ravaging her mouth with my tongue as one hand slowly crept upwards. My fingers ghosted over her side, slipping underneath the silk nightdress lined with soft blue fur. Hestia went tense when my hand groped her breast, zeroing in on her pebbled nipple. I rolled in between a finger and thumb, making her relax as she moaned again, her breath tickling my cheeks. 

Slowly, Hestia pulled back -- had I pushed too far? The expression that Hestia wore told me that I hadn’t gone far enough, “your thing is really hard.” She pointed out breathlessly, swallowing thickly. I opened my mouth to say something, but Hestia was quick to cut me off. “Can I take care of it?” 

I kissed her again, just because I could. Hestia leaned into the kiss, both of my hands going up to grope both her breasts. Her breathing grew harsh, her hands hesitantly going up to my face and hair. We kissed for a long minute before Hestia pulled away again, panting. “T-that didn’t answer my question,” she pointed out, getting a chuckle from me. 

“Do you want to?” I asked, dragging a thumb over her nipples. Her hands went to mine, caressing them as I caressed her breasts. The smooth flesh was surprisingly firm as I squeezed ever so slightly. It took Hestia a moment to answer as she panted for breath, a heavy blush that stretched all the way down to her chest on her face. 

“You said last night was all about my pleasure...so, I want this morning to be about yours,” Hestia said, growing more and more embarrassed with each word she spoke. I smiled, pushing myself up so I was resting against the wall. 

“I think I’d enjoy that a lot,” I told her, one hand going up to her face, my thumb tracing her lips. I was painfully hard at this point -- after not finishing last night, and seeing Hestia’s needy expression, I doubt I’d last long, unfortunately. “But,” I started, tracing her bottom lip, logic telling me not to ask but my penis overruled it. “Do you want to try something a little...different?”

Hestia looked dangerously excited at my question, “something different?” She questioned, leaning into my touch. 

“A blowjob?” I tried, picturing her soft lips wrapped around my cock. I doubt she would be able to take me very deep but it would be enough. My cock throbbed with anticipation, bumping into her lower back. Hestia, this time, didn’t freeze up at the contact, though she did advert her eyes. 

“Um,” she started shyly, “what’s a blowjob?”

Wow. “It's where you…” How did I explain blowjobs in a way that actually sounded arousing? “You kiss my dick, kinda like how we were kissing earlier. But, we should start slow, if you want to. How about...licking it?” I tried, feeling like I through botched making sticking my penis in her mouth sound exciting. Luckily, Hestia was too aroused to care -- her switch flipped as she nodded mutely, blushing all the way down to her toes now. 

“I can do that,” Hestia said, lifting herself off me to put herself in between my legs. She looked at my cock standing proudly so intensely she almost went cross-eyed. Words of dismissing the idea weighed heavily on my tongue, only held back by the fact that Hestia looked more uncertain than uncomfortable. Eventually, she nodded as she licked her lips, her head bobbing down as her eyes darted up to mine. Then, she planted a small kiss to the head.

It felt good, but that wasn’t what made my cock throb to the point that I nearly erupted then and there. A god, a bonafide deity, just kissed my dick. 

I smiled at the thought, Hestia mistaking it as approval, though she was hardly wrong there, and prompted her to kiss it again. She planted butterfly kisses down the length of my cock, starting at the head and slowly making her way all the way down to my balls. Her breath tickled the underside of my penis before she pulled back ever so slightly. I saw her lick her lips again, our eyes making contact a moment before she leaned back in to give the underside a small lick. 

I let a breath out, making a show that what felt good. A lesson I learned a long time ago was that girls tended to prefer vocalizations over dead silence. As expected, Hestia was encouraged by the noise, giving me a second lick, bolder this time. She dragged her tongue along my length, going from the base back up to the head. 

“Like that?” Hestia asked, getting a nod from me as I let the tension bleed out of me. 

“Exactly like that,” I praised, encouraging her to dive back into the task. She licked the underside again, tracing the thick vein with her tongue before her hands joined in on the fun. Her hands went down to the base as she coated the top half of my dick with saliva. Hestia focused on the head, her lips scraping against it as she lapped at my dick, seemingly absorbed in the task.

I closed my eyes, taking a bracing breath and felt the orgasm brewing. I wasn’t going to last much longer, much to my disappointment. My eyes shot open when Hestia licked around the head before popping as much as she could of it into her mouth. I expected to feel teeth, but when my eyes snapped open, I saw that she had opened her mouth as wide as it would go while still keeping her lips around my dick. 

Like I expected, she couldn’t take me very deep though she managed to take in the head and a little more. Her tongue swirled around the head-

“I’m about to cum,” I warned, my cock throbbing, telling her that. Hestia pulled her head back just in time to catch the first blast of cum. It splattered over her lips, making her flinch back but for some reason, she didn’t back off entirely. A second blast came out with more force, this one landing on her forehead, a strand connecting it to her cheekbone over her eye. Another blast landed on her cheek. 

Another blast came from the apparently endless supply of cum stored in my balls, landed lower, painting her collar bone and cleavage white. Then another blast came, weaker this time that landed on her breasts and nightie. A sixth rope came out, the weakest by far that limply landed on her cleavage. The last didn’t have any force behind it at all, it spilled out of my dick, running down its length and over her hands. 

“Whoa,” I muttered, torn between awe and concern. That was...a lot of cum. Like, a lot of cum. Seriously, where did all of that come from?

Hestia finally pulled back, looking at me with panic in the one eye that wasn’t glued shut with cum. Her gaze dipped down back to my dick and, to my greater surprise, it didn’t show any signs of going down at all. That...was new. I mean, the spirit was willing, but the body was weak and had a refractory period -- an insurmountable obstacle to overcome. 

Wait, did my body start following hentai logic now that I was in an anime world? Cumming literal gallons of cum, the refractory period only applying to beta males that couldn’t cum fifteen times in a row and so on? Because...well...I’m not exactly going to complain about that. 

“You’re still hard,” Hestia noted as she gave me an experimental squeeze to find that I hadn’t gone limp at all. My eyes dipped lower to where my cum splattered over her breasts, thick white drops slowly dripped downwards into her cleavage. Well…

“It probably because of my Endurance stat,” I hazarded a guess, shifting forward. It was over 25 now, so perhaps that was some kind of milestone. But, wasn’t there usually some kind of update that came with stuff like that? Actually, outside of my menus, there hadn’t been any kind of interaction with the game system at all.

“Oh,” Hestia muttered, her hands stroking my cock at a snail’s pace. “Can I keep going?” She asked, straightening up, her arms pushing her cum covered cleavage to view -- she probably caught me looking. Her hips shifted, grinding her thighs together, bringing my attention to her groin. A drop of arousal dripped down her inner thigh, telling me she was enjoying this as much as I was. 

“I’d love it if you did,” I told her honestly, a hand going up to her nightie. Hestia let me take it off her, careful not to get more cum on it, before I tossed it to the side, revealing her chest to me. She started to move to cover her breasts, only for my hands to grab her wrists, stopping her. “Would you like to try something else?” I asked, my gaze darting back down to her marvelous breasts. 

Her sizable breasts fought against gravity, perfectly perky despite their weight with a small pink nipple serving as their peek. 

“Something new?” Hestia asked as I let go of her wrists so my hands could go to her chest. A breathless moan escaped her, tilting her head back, my cum still coating her face. I assaulted her nipples again, rolling them between my fingers as I leaned in close. The size difference made it awkward, but I planted a kiss at the base of her neck, leaving behind a lovebite. 

“Do you know what a titjob is, my goddess?” I asked, whispering in her ear. I heard her swallow thickly, her hands continuing to stroke my cock. 

“I think I can guess,” Hestia muttered back, “but how…” She trailed off, one hand going up to touch my abs. Her fingers were a little wet with something, but I paid it no mind. 

“There are a couple of ways. I could lay on my back with you on top, or if I sit on the edge of the bed you can do it like that. And, I guess you could be on the bottom and I thrust,” I explained, trying to picture the last one. I’d probably crush her underneath me on accident, so maybe I shouldn’t have brought that one up. 

Hestia’s hand retreated from my abs to push on my chest, “lay down,” she ordered, her voice husky. “T-this is all about you this morning, so I don’t want you doing anything but relaxing, okay?” She said, trying to copy my tone. She hadn’t succeeded there, but the results were the same. Hearing her speak like that was arousing as all hell. 

“Yes ma’am,” I agreed, a smile in my voice as I shifted back down, using a pillow to make myself a little more comfortable. Hestia glanced down at my still hard cock, uncertainly. Right when I was about to instruct her how to start, Hestia leaned forward, cupping her breasts and planting my penis between them. Squeezing down, she glanced up at me to see if she was doing it right and when she got an approving nod, Hestia slowly began to rise up and down, the cum and spit providing lube. 

It felt surprisingly good. Her breasts were firm enough to offer some resistance but were just as soft. Her movements were awkward, unsure of herself, but that didn’t detract from the experience. “Does it feel good?” She asked, forced to move her entire upper body to cover the length of my cock, a significant portion of it poking up between. Her open eye looked down at it, memorized by the sight, an expression of shock appearing each time the tip of my penis neared her face each time she moved. 

“It feels great,” I told her, a hand going down to rest on top of her head, savoring the feeling of her breasts wrapped around my cock. My words encouraged her, prompting her to increase her pace. Her gaze flicked up to me for a moment before she stuck her tongue out to lick the head, getting a soft sigh from me. “Keep doing that,” I instructed, my other hand going down to play with her nipples. 

Minutes passed and I felt another orgasm brewing in my balls. Hestia’s eye was glazed over, lost in pleasure even as she pleasured me. She took the head into her mouth, her tongue lapping at it, drool dripping from the seal around it down my dick, into her breasts that offered more lubrication. A sheen of it marked her chin, the sounds of a sloppy blowjob echoing in the small room. 

A small gag escaped her when she took me down a little too far, forcing her to back off. Before I could say anything, she went right back to it, licking at my dick free of its coat of cum and saliva and popped it back into her mouth as her breasts continued to massage me. 

“I’m about to cum again,” I warned her, feeling my climax inch closer the longer she continued. At the very least, I lasted a lot longer this time. Instead of backing off like last time, Hestia latched down around my cock, probably wanting to avoid another blast of cum to the face. My balls clenched as my dick throbbed as I felt the cum erupt from me, telling me it was a massive load before Hestia’s eyes shot open in shock. 

Her cheeks bulged out comically as a groan escaped me, she pulled back after taking a few blasts. When she did, another rope of cum hit her in the face, coating her cheek while another two did the same to her bare breasts. Hestia looked down at herself in some panic, my dick finally beginning to wilt -- it seems two shots was all I could do for now. 

“Are you supposed to cum this much?” Hestia asked, cupping her hands around her breasts to catch drops of cum that dripped down her body. Her upper body wasn’t completely coated in a glaze of white, but there was a lot of cum. A lot of cum. I watched one droplet drip down between her cleavage, going down her flat stomach where it would have hit her thong but Hestia killed its ambitions by wiping it away, spearing it over her stomach. 

“I have no idea,” I admitted, searing the sight to memory. She looked good like that, I decided as she searched for something to clean herself with. Still, my attention dipped to her groin, she was completely drenched. Had she cum again from me playing with her nipples? I don’t think so, I hadn’t seen the signs of her having an orgasm. I guess she really did enjoy that as much as I did. “But that felt amazing,” I told her as I pushed myself up, towering over her. 

Hestia smiled up at me, the fact that her face had more than a little cum on it didn’t detract at all from the sight. “I’m glad,” she told me honestly, “did...you feel as good as you made me feel?” She questioned, unsubtly looking down at my flaccid dick. 

I cracked a grin, “I dunno...last night was so long ago…” I started, a hand going down to her thigh as I started to lean over her. Hestia leaned back, surprised until her back hit the bed. She looked up at me wide-eyed, her mouth open to ask what I was doing, but a moan came out instead when my fingers went to her covered vagina, zeroing in on the pleasure button. 

Hestia’s hips jerked, her breath hitching, clearly enjoying it but when she shook her head, I paused. “T-today was supposed to be about you,” she protested weakly, her hips going up, searching for my touch of their own will. 

“But I like watching you cum, my goddess,” I told her, my fingertips going back down to her aching clit. She had already soaked through the fabric I realized when I traced her slit. “And how could I leave my goddess alone when she needs me so desperately?” I asked, making small circles on her vagina, something she seemed to love as she quivered underneath me. 

“You- fuuu,” Hestia breathed, her hands latching onto an arm as she stared up at me, her jack slack so her mouth was wide open. Her moans were music to the ear, slowly getting higher in pitch as she rapidly neared her own orgasm. I saw the exact moment it hit her like a sack of bricks, her hips bucked underneath my touch, her juices gushing out of her, the thin fabric offering up as a flimsy barrier. I kept making those small circles, drawing out her orgasm. 

It was minutes later when Hestia finally began to calm down, though she still trembled. I knew she finally came to when she closed her mouth, her breathing evening out. “J-Jericho…” Hestia moaned, a hand going down to mine, bringing it closer to her groin- at least she was before she pushed my hands away. 

“I’m sorry, was that too much?” I asked, not sure if I had overstepped or not. Hestia quickly shook her head, soothing my fears. 

“No, I-” Hestia cut herself off, closing her legs as I moved to get off her, her hand still gripping mine. “I just...I want your...thing...to be the first thing that enters me...down there,” Hestia said, and impossibly, she blushed even brighter than she had before. I half expected steam to come bursting out of her ears like a teapot left on the stove too long. 

It was a very good thing that I didn’t have a third shot in me because I probably would have buried myself into her right then. Luckily, my brain had the lion share of blood now, and immediately I zeroed in on the issue there. “Hestia, have you ever masturbated before?” I asked, catching her off guard with the question. 

Hesitantly, still blushing but at ease as I rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb. “I haven’t,” she admitted shyly. 

Wow. So, a virgin in every sense of the word, huh? “Then that might be a bad idea,” I told her, my voice low, “I could really hurt you when we make love for the first time. I mean, like physically hurt you.” Vaginal tearing was no joke. I had a bitch breaker and Hestia would be beyond virgin tight -- I watched enough hentai to know anime women’s vaginas were probably one of the most durable things in existence, but I didn’t want Hestia associating sex with excruciating pain.  

“It’s fine,” Hestia tried to dismiss the issue, but I pressed on. 

“Hestia, the very last thing I ever want to do is hurt you,” I told her, getting a giddy smile since I was telling the truth. “But if we don’t stretch you out before we have sex, then you’re going to be in incredible pain. I’m talking about the kind of pain that we’ll need to keep a health potion nearby, to-”

“Then we’ll do that,” Hestia decided, squeezing my hand, giving me a firm look. “Jericho, I know you mean well, but I’ve been saving my virginity for thousands of years. This is how I want to lose it,” Hestia told me firmly, cutting me off when I opened my mouth to argue. I really didn’t think she understood just how much that was going to hurt. 

But, if we’re going by hentai biology, then, theoretically, if I got her aroused enough then somehow that would mean it wouldn’t hurt going it. Not entirely sure how that worked, but it was a pretty prevalent thing in hentai. Hell, if I did enough foreplay, then me thrusting into her could give her a mind-blowing orgasm, or something. 

However, Hestia took my hesitation as something else. “I know I’m acting all...slutty,” she told me, unable to look up at me all of a sudden as I blinked in surprise. “I know we’ve only known each other a few days, and I’ve been tempting you, but I-I, Jericho, I…!”

“What?” I blurted before I could stop myself, probably cutting off an emotional outburst. If I could have stopped myself, I would have, but that caught me completely off guard. Tempting me? I mean, I guess, but that was me being a horndog more than her putting any effort into tempting me. 

“I’ve been tempting you,” Hestia explained as if what she said made any sense. “When you give me massages, I always turn it into...something else. And I touched your p-penis and stuff,” she kinda explained, but not really. 

“Hestia,” I interrupted, “I’ve been seducing you,” I told her bluntly, wanting to nip that miscommunication in the bud. 

“What?” Hestia blurted, looking at me with no small amount of bewilderment. “You’ve been seducing me?”

“...yeah?” I admitted with some sheepishness. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything? 

Hestia still looked completely bewildered, like I was trying to tell her that the sky was green and it was raining jagamarukuns. “But...really?” She questioned, trying to wrap her head around the fact but she was visibly struggling with the concept that I was seducing her. 

“Yeah,” I confirmed, feeling more than a little awkward about it now. I shouldn’t have said anything. I should have reassured her, or something, then we could have ended on a cute, high note. “I...kinda thought you knew?”

“Oh…” Hestia trailed off, not looking...displeased by that, which was a lot better than her getting angry. “Is that why you’ve been so…?” She questioned, drawing into herself.

I shook my head, buying me a second to gather my thoughts, “I can’t say that it doesn’t have something to do with it.” I admitted honestly, seeing Hestia tense up at that, “but, it’s not like that was the whole reason, you know?” I quickly continued, feeling like there was a lot better way to tell her this. “I mean, I, well, I do care about you, Hestia. A lot. And it’s pretty clear you’re exhausted after work, so I would have done a lot of that stuff anyway.”

She hadn’t let go of my hand, so that was a good sign. “And since you were so receptive to it, I guess I kept pushing the envelope. I…” I trailed off lamely, having no idea what I was trying to say. “I guess, I wanted you to like me as much as I liked you? So, I went out of my way to get massage oils and stuff?” Which was pretty much the textbook definition of seductions. God, when I wasn’t ripping off one-liners, I actually sucked at this whole conversation thing. 

“So...you aren’t just doing this because you want to sleep with me?” Hestia asked, her voice carefully kept even as she looked up at me. The serene expression she was going for was ruined by the sheer amount of cum on her face, but I took her seriously all the same. 

“No, I’m not doing all of this just because I want to sleep with you,” I answered, squeezing her hand. Again, I couldn’t help but note it was comically small in mine. “If you want to stop all this, then we can,” I offered, “just say the word.”

Hestia fiddled where she sat, “I don’t want to stop,” she told me and I couldn’t hide the relief that flowed through me. Hestia looked up at me for a moment before she leaned in for a hug- ah, that was gross. The cum on her chest and face smeared over me, Hestia completely oblivious to it as she hugged me as tightly as she could. 

Clenching my eyes, ignoring the gross factor, I hugged her back. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding. This was...nice. Clearing the air, making sure that we were on the same page. When I opened my eyes, I looked over the room, spotting the oils and mat still on the coffee table, next to a pile of books that I hadn’t touched yet. I really needed to take a moment and start reading them, but it felt like there was never enough time in the day. 

Then my gaze landed on my breastplate leaning up near the door. I had to be seen taking it off so no one would know about my Inventory at the Guild...but...call it post nut clarity, but why was I keeping it a secret from Hestia? She was my goddess. I always preferred it when I was reading fanfiction that the gamer abilities remained a secret and exclusive, but just because that’s how I preferred it in fiction didn’t mean it was a bright idea to do it in reality. 

It was a pretty big thing to keep secret for no real reason. At all. 

”Hestia, there’s one more thing I need to tell you,” I said, ruining the tender moment before I could talk myself out of it. This was something she needed to know. Not just about my Inventory, but about my Skill Gamer Body. 

Hestia pulled back from me, her expression more curious than cautious underneath smeared cum. I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn’t come. How did I explain this? It would be similar to show her, I figured. 

I reached into my inventory, sticking my hand into empty air, and pulled out one of the leftover magic stones. I held it out to her, seeing growing confusion on her face. You know what? I probably should have saved this conversation when Hestia wasn’t covered in cum. When I didn’t more than a little of it smear over me from the hug. She took it from my hand, looking back up at me, “a magic trick?” She tried to rationalize but I shook my head. 

“I figured out what my Skill Gamer Body does,” I started slowly. Actually, to further prove my point, I pulled another towel that I stole from the guildhall out to pass over to her. Now, Hestia looked far more concerned than confused, there was no mistaking that for a sleight of hand. She took it, looking it over for a moment, then her gaze silently demanding an explanation. 

“Tell me everything,” Hestia asked, wiping cum from her face. 

So, I did. I started right from the beginning. I started with my death at the front bumper of Truck-kun, which lead me to explain what a truck was. Then that lead me to explain that I was from a different world. And, oddly enough, Hestia hadn’t been totally blown away by that fact like I expected. 

Despite it only happening for a couple of days, there was a lot to talk about. Some parts got glossed over as we moved on from topic to topic. My character creator wasn’t mentioned beyond that I could choose my start and what perks I could get. Which lead to Hestia asking if that was why I always smelled good. My Inventory raised more questions than my stats, though I did explain what an exp bar was. 

Hestia listened, nodding every once and a while to show that she was still following along. When I finished, she gave one final serene nod. “It sounds like one of the gods in heaven is making their own fun,” she said, handing me the cum stained towel to watch me put it back into my inventory. 

“Er,” I started, not exactly sure how to respond to that. Of all the responses I expected, that...hadn’t been on the list. I expected yelling, or an existential crisis, or something like that. Hestia saw my confusion and continued. 

“Jericho, the gods in heaven can still use their arcanum, so they can do some very...incredible, if questionable things,” Hestia began, leaning against me as she spoke, one hand tracing my bicep. “It sounds like one of them looked into the far future and took your soul when...when you died and instead of reincarnating you like normal, they altered your soul in some way before sending you down back into the past.”

What? There was a whole lot to unpack there. I don’t even know where to start.

“I’m...not sure about that,” I argued, frowning in thought. I knew about the Danmachi universe, and I had my choice to pick which world I went to. “Wait...do the gods know about other worlds?” I questioned, making Hestia’s hand stop. 

A sigh seemed to deflate her, “yes?” Hestia said, the confirmation sounding like a question. “Heaven is timeless, Jericho and it’s everywhere. This world, the lower world, was the only one that we can interact with at all, but the gods do know of a couple of other worlds. Some have a talent for finding them -- they, ah, served as entertainment back in Heaven before we came down.”

Huh. This...brought up a lot of theological questions that I wasn’t prepared to think about. “So, what, do all souls go to heaven?” I asked, thinking back to my strict catholic upbringing. Was that true for the entire multiverse? 

Hestia shook her head, “no, not all of them. If the world is close enough, then a god can take a soul from that world. I think that’s what happened to you,” Hestia elaborated, “but this is the only world where all souls go to heaven. From there, they’re usually reincarnated since the gods back in heaven are really overworked. Like, really, really, really overworked. If all the souls from all the worlds went to Heaven...” Hestia trailed off, giving an exaggerated shiver, a haunted look on her face since it wasn’t that long ago she was one of those overworked gods. 

“So, did they...arrange my death?” I asked, trying to wrap my head around the idea. Was it possible? I don’t know. It made as much sense as a game system deciding to give me a second lease on life after death, not to mention I had a literal god confirming that it was possible, but I couldn’t help but feel like there was more going on then a bored god up in Heaven deciding to entertain itself. I could have gone to an entirely different world, so...I don’t know. 

It was pretty much the basis of most Self Insert stories, but getting it confirmed like that...I don’t know. It made me feel...small. And weak. And completely at the mercy of a being that I wasn’t aware of that could be watching me right now for its own amusement. 

“That’s impossible,” Hestia denied with a shake of her head, “when we’re in heaven, a god can’t interact with the lower world at all. Well, there’s the occasional oracle that can communicate with a god every once and a while, but we can’t do anything like...what happened to you.”

“Huh,” I muttered, mulling that over for a moment before Hestia continued. She squeezed my hand, bring my attention back to her. 

“Did...it hurt?” Hestia asked, her eyes filled with concern. It...helped more than one would think, knowing that was her priority out of everything I had just told her. She didn’t ask why I wanted to keep it a secret or try to metagame my ability or anything like that. What she took out of it was that I remembered my own death and she was worried about how that affected me. I really didn’t deserve her at all, did I?

My mind went back to those few moments -- all of it had happened so fast. I was walking back from a house party, minding my own business, then I looked up just in time to see a truck cross three lanes to slam into me. “No, not really. As soon as it hit me, everything just went black. So, there’s that, at least.”

Then I shoved those thoughts to the side, wrapping an arm around Hestia to bring her in close, “but, in the end, whoever did this to me did me a favor. Without it, I never would have met you,” I pointed out, looking down to give her a grin. 

Hestia let out a small huff as she made herself comfortable, content to be cuddled. “Jericho, I’m not worth you…” she couldn’t even say it, her voice so small, barely above a whisper. 

“I think it was,” I told her honestly. “Back home, ah, well, let’s just say that I didn’t leave much behind. So, as odd as it is to say, I think dying might have been the best thing that has ever happened to me.” I said with a small laugh. Hestia tried really hard not to smile back at me, but I knew that she was when she snuggled into my chest. 

“Just don’t do it again,” Hestia muttered, squeezing me with surprising strength, her breast pressed against my stomach. 

“One death was more than enough for me. I promise I’m here to stay.”

…

In the end, I had an appointment to keep, so I was eventually forced to depart. Hestia had crawled back into bed after making a shocked sound when she saw the hourglass. Her side of the bed was still damp from our activities -- I needed to get some sheets, and that new bed I was wanting because I was tired of having my legs dangle off the side. Actually, while I was at it, I should start looking into getting a new place as well.

Still, after everything, I felt good as I approached the Guildhall. Coming clean felt good. Even better, Hestia reacted better than I could have imagined. 

I didn’t see Lili in the central plaza, so I walked up the steps to the Guildhall to see that it was practically deserted. A skeleton crew working the Guild, while not a single adventurer to be seen, nor Lili. I was a little early, so I guess she hadn’t arrived yet. 

I looked around the Guildhall, wondering what I should do to kill some time before my eyes lingered on a board that covered the far wall. I noticed it before, recognizing it for what it was, but I dismissed it since I couldn’t do anything on it. Even still, with nothing else to do, I walked over to inspect a board covered in dozens of sheets of paper. 

Quests. Requests for items, to investigate something on the deeper floors, recruitment posters and so on. Anyone could put up a quest for just about everything it seemed. As I expected, most of them revolved going down into the deep floors -- requests for ten minotaur horns, thirty orc hides and so on. Nothing for the upper floors, either because they were quickly taken or whoever wanted them got them themselves. 

Idly, I reached out to lift one to see another quest underneath it, only for a screen to fill my vision. 

Quest: Retrieve Blue Papilio Wings

Objective: Go to the seventh floor to find a Blue Papilio, kill it and bring pack the drop item. 

Reward: 5,000 exp. 15,000 valis.

Hold up. You wait one fucking second. Was this why I wasn’t getting random generic quests every three seconds for mundane tasks? Because they were locked behind this crap? And what was with those rewards? 5,000 exp? I killed a man for that much exp, and all I had to do to get the same amount was kill whatever the fuck a blue papilio was?!

I...I don’t even…Well...at the very least, I found another source of exp. With new interest, I poured over the quests, trying to find one that was on the sixth floor or above. No such luck. I found another for the seventh floor, to get 100 killer ant mandibles for 20,000 exp and 50,000 valis as a reward. But nothing for the sixth floor.

“Good morning Mr. Jericho!” Lili returned, sounding extremely chipper for this early hour. I got up at this time most days, but that didn’t mean I liked to do it. I needed at least three cups of coffee before I became anything recognizable as a human being. That God- er, gods for Gamer Body. “Are you looking for a quest to take?”

“Er, good morning. And yeah, ” I confirmed, looking down at her. “But, it looks like there’s nothing above the seventh floor. 

Lili nodded, adjusting the straps to her backpack. I was never going to get over how odd it looked seeing a small girl like Lili lifting a bag like that with utter ease, especially when I struggled with it so much yesterday. “There won’t be, but if Mr. Jericho is fine with taking quests that don’t involve the Dungeon, then he can always visit a tavern and most tend to have a quest board.”

I guess that was another reason to check out the Hostess of Fertility. 

“Well, it’s something to keep in mind, I guess,” I said, taking one last look at the quest board before turning away. I needed to start taking quests, the sooner the better. If it was possible to catch up to the amount of exp I needed every day, then that was it. 

“Lili is all set! Lili will admit that she isn't used to waking up this early -- does Mr. Jericho always come this early?” Lili asked as we walked towards the Dungeon. 

I shrugged my shoulders, “I haven’t been an adventurer long enough to call it a habit, but I’ll probably usually come around this time. If that’s okay?” 

Lili nodded, “Lili is really impressed,” she said, sounding impressed but I got the feeling that she wasn’t beneath the facade. “Did Mr. Jericho start this early yesterday?” When I nodded, she continued to gush, “Mr. Jericho really is an incredible adventurer! Lili wishes she big and strong like Mr. Jericho instead of being a weak pallum!” 

And it was never going to stop catching me off guard when she said really depressions stuff like that in such a happy voice. 

“Lili tried to be an adventurer, but she didn’t have any talent for it, that's how Lili became a supporter instead,” Lili said, giving me a smile as she craned her head to look up at me. I knew what she was doing too -- she was trying to drum up pity, to tug at my heartstrings. And it was working. 

“Well,” how did I navigate this minefield? “If you’d like, maybe I can try to help you with that?” I offered, though it sounded a lot like a question. “I mean, I can act as your backup-” I would have continued but Lili was already shaking her head no. 

“Mr. Jericho is very kind, but it's okay. Lili just doesn’t have the talent to be a strong adventurer. Maybe in the next life, the gods will bless Lili with the strength to be one,” Lili dismissed with a shake of her head. 

“I…” I trailed off, not knowing what to say to that. I could hardly grab her by the shoulders and tell her to stop being depressed and believe in herself. For starters, we met each other once. Bonds were quick to form in combat, but not that quick. 

“Jericho!” A woman's voice interrupted me before I could say anything, I looked over to see Eina waving me down as she walked up to me. 

“Oh, hey,” I greeted, giving her a smile that hid my nervousness. I knew exactly what she was about to say before she said it. 

“Good morning,” Eina greeted before turning to Lili, a pleasant expression on her face that couldn’t hide her suspicious eyes. “Are you his supporter, miss…?”

“Lili’s name is Lili, and she is Mr. Jericho’s supporter,” Lili confirmed with a nod of her head, looking at me with some confusion. That pleasant smile on Eina’s face turned downright deadly. 

“I see. And, what would a rookie that's only been an adventurer for three days, who should still be on the first floor, need the help of a supporter?” Eina asked, her tone sharp as a blade. It must have been because each word was a different cut into my soul with how she was looking at me. 

“Ummm,” I started, looking absolutely everywhere but at her, “a rookie adventurer that's going down to the sixth floor?” I answered, bracing myself. It seemed that I was going to get yelled at this morning, and Eina didn’t disappoint in that regard. Unfortunately. 

“The sixth floor?!” Eina shouted, bringing the few people that were in the Guildhall to turn their attention to us. “You’ve been going down to the sixth floor? Since when?” She demanded, but something in her tone told me that she knew exactly when I went down. “Since. When?” She repeated when I failed to answer. 

“Uh,” I started, my gaze drifting over to the Dungeon, wondering if it was worth it to just make a break for it. “You know. The other day…” Did I really have to take this? Wait, I don’t think I did. I didn’t have to stand here and get yelled at-

“You mean the day you went down there in nothing but a blanket?!” Eina shouted, the growing fury on her face cutting off any thought of telling her off for yelling at me. 

“Mr. Jericho went into the Dungeon wearing a blanket?” Lili questioned, making me look at her with no small amount of exasperation. 

“It’s a long story,” I avoided the question before turning to Eina. “And...yeah- But!” I hastily continued when she took in another breath to continue yelling at me, “but I can handle it. Yesterday, I pulled in about thirty thousand valis, and I barely suffered a scratch -- see,” I pointed out, gesturing to my pants that were still stitched together, revealing no skin. 

“Lili can vouch for Mr. Jericho,” Lili offered, giving Eina a nod, “Actually, Lili thinks that Mr. Jericho could go down to the seventh floor with his abilities.” 

Eina turned on the smaller girl, her glare so sharp it probably would have taken off some health points if she aimed it at me. Lili just smiled back sweetly, which took the edge off Eina focused fury. “Are you saying that a rookie adventurer should go down to the seventh floor, where killer ants spawn? The rookie killers of the upper floors?” 

That might have been a rhetorical question, but Lili nodded all the same as my mind raced. Did she actually think I could make it on the seventh floor? But...hm...I had wondered about my stat points since they lacked the letter grade that Danmachi went by, but hadn’t the game system before I arrived here said something about syncing?

I figured I was able to advance so fast was mostly because of my height, natural strength, and the monsters I was up against being so weak I could step on them to kill them. But that didn’t explain the jumps in power I was experiencing. Did my stats not match up with the typical falna system?

Or...was I overthinking it, and it was the quality of my enemies that made it so easy for me to advance and Lili was lowkey trying to get me killed?

“Lili might not look very reliable, but she’s been as deep as the eleventh floor,” Lili said, earning a shocked look from Eina. “Lili believes that Mr. Jericho can go to the seventh floor, but if he does get overwhelmed, then Lili promises that she’ll make sure that he returns,” Lili stated and what I wouldn’t give to have Hestia standing next to me to see if she was telling the truth. 

I had no idea where I stood with Lili other than I made a really, really awful first impression then kinda made up for it by slitting the loot evenly. What I did know was that she hated adventurers and I was an adventurer. 

Though, thankfully, that seemed to take the wind from Eina’s sails. She searched Lili’s face for any hint that she was lying before she let out a sigh, turning her attention back to me. “I...can’t stop you from going down there, but have you at least done the reading that I gave you to prepare for it.”

“I-” I started, a lie on my tongue, but I hesitated to say it. That hesitation cost me. Eina frowned at me, pushing up her glasses and giving me a disappointed look. 

“I see. Misha said you were serious about this,” she commented, earning a small wince from me. That was...fair, I guess. 

“I meant to read them, but there hasn’t been much time,” I protested, “I’ve been in the Dungeon for about twelve hours every day, and when I get back home I’m spending time with Hestia.”

Eina’s lips pressed together into a small frown, then she nodded slowly, apparently accepting my excuse which made me warier rather than reassured. “I understand,” she said, “you’re the first member of a new familia, so it’s understandable that you’re feeling overwhelmed…” She trailed off and I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a but coming. 

“But,” she continued, “these are things that you have to learn, Jericho. Especially when you don’t have a senior to teach you. If there's not enough time, then you have to make time!”

“Well,” I started, frowning at her. She wasn’t wrong, not really. I just had higher priorities -- gaining exp, Hestia, earning Lili’s trust and providing for my familia. There just weren’t enough hours in the day. 

“I’ll do whatever I can to meet you halfway,” Eina offered, her expression serious. “I can tutor you, offer lessons, explanations, whatever you need to survive down there. But I can’t help you if you don’t try to help yourself.”

She really wanted to help me. My excuses for not accepting it felt hollow -- how much exp could I gather in two hours? A couple hundred? Maybe a little more? I was already so far behind the amount of exp I needed to gain to level up in sync with the canon timeline that a couple of hundred exp was just a drop in the bucket. 

If they were that important, then I just had to make up for the lost time. 

“Okay,” I agreed with a nod, seeing a smile tug at the edges of Eina’s face. “I’ll cut my day short by a few hours. Around...threeish?” I offered, getting a firm nod from Eina. She visibly relaxed, the tension easing out of her posture. 

“Threeish it is,” Eina agreed, her smile becoming a lot friendlier in nature. “I know I’m being pushy about this, but I’m doing this for your own good. I hope that you know that,” Eina said, getting a lopsided grin out of me. 

“Don’t worry about that,” I dismissed with a shake of my head. “To be honest, it’s probably a good thing that you are pushing the issue. It’s not like I’m avoiding reading about the Dungeon, but I have so many other priorities it got bumped down the list.”

“I understand,” Eina said, offering me another smile and a nod, stepping out of our way. “I’ll see you at three. Just...please, be careful.”

With that, we made our way into the Dungeon, passing through familiar halls. As soon as we hit the second floor, I looked down at Lili to catch her looking up at me. “Does Mr. Jericho want to carry Lili again?” 

“If it wouldn’t be a bother,” I said, dropping to a knee so Lili could climb on. Rising to my feet, I felt the difference between today and yesterday. It still felt like Lili’s pack was filled with bricks, and I still had to hunch over to avoid her strangling me, but I could lift her with more ease. Walking was still a struggle, though. 

Picking up the pace, I started to jog through the tunnels, the Dungeon offering up minimal resistance to let me delve deeper into it. A goblin jumped out of a shadow, only to be skewered as I passed it by. We didn’t bother picking up the monster stones from the first couple of floors anymore. With my map open, it didn’t take us long to pass through the third, fourth or fifth floors. 

Arriving on the sixth, I already felt my legs burning with exertion, my breaths were deep but under control even as a sheen of sweat formed on my forehead. “Does Mr. Jericho need to take a break?” Lili asked, hanging off my neck. 

“I’m good,” I told her, picking up the pace as I began to head towards the unexplored parts of the floor, still searching for the entrance to the seventh floor. I heard the sharp sound of the Dungeon walls cracking to give birth to monsters. “Lili-” I started, only for Lili to let go of me so I could fight unimpeded. 

A war shadow emerged from the shadows, a lone eye turning towards me as three others appeared behind it. I raised my sword, rushing towards the first and it lunged to meet me. Its three claws slashed at me, only to feel the bite of my new sword as I swung at its arm. My blade felt like it was moving through cement or tar, I was able to cut through it but it was hardly a clean cut. The offending arm fell to the ground, but before it hit, I switched my grip to hit the monster with the backswing. 

I slashed at its hip, intent on bisecting the monster, but again it felt like I was cutting through tar. I was forced to grip my sword with both hands to force my sword through. As the two halves hit the ground, I moved on to the other three. 

Head strikes seemed to be the most effective against these monsters, I thought as I thrust my sword at the oversized eye of one of the war shadows. It bobbed out of the way, the edge of my sword cutting its face. But that was fine. I lashed out with a fist at another when it lunged at me, trying to seize an opportunity. My fist slammed into the side of its head, my reach far greater than its, and as it lost its balance, I skewered it with my sword. 

By that time the other two were on top of me. I backed off, dodging a swipe at my chest before backing off another few steps. My chest was protected, by my legs weren’t. They were what I had to worry about. Sucking in a low breath, I attacked the closet war shadow. I swiped at its head, only for it to duck underneath. That was fine, I figured as I threw a knee at its head. 

It smacked into its giant eyeball, crushing it. At the same time, the other war shadow swiped at my thigh. My sword was in position to absorb the worst of the attack, but I felt pain flare in my thigh as its claws bit into them. Snarling, I stabbed the monster through the chest, grabbing it by the head to slam it against the Dungeon wall, hitting the last war shadow, knocking it off its feet. When the war shadows head cracked open like an egg, I finished off the last one. 

20 exp right there. 

“Is Mr. Jericho alright?” Lili asked, appearing from behind me, sparing a glance at my leg. I inspected the cut, seeing that it was little more than a flesh wound that took off a single point of health, I gave her a nod. 

“All good,” I told her, looking out at the tunnels in front of us. Lili grabbed the monster stones with practiced ease, spending less than two minutes to do all of them. It was a small break, but I appreciate it before Lili retook her place on my back as I continued to jog through the tunnels, my sword at the ready. 

“Did Mr. Jericho get a lot of stat points for carrying Lili?” Lili asked as I ran, surprising me. Yesterday, I was the one that had to make idle conversation. 

“What makes you say that?” I asked, keeping my breathing even. Who would have guessed those years in cross-country would have paid off? I spotted another monster crawling out of the walls. A goblin. “Hold on,” I said, jumping up to come down on the monster, crushing it underfoot. 

“Ah, Lili shouldn’t have asked that. Falna is supposed to be super secretive,” she informed, probably thinking that I didn’t know. “Please forgive Lili’s rudeness!”

“Eh, it’s all good,” I dismissed the issue, turning a corner, “but, yeah, I made a bit of progress.” How much progress, I wasn’t certain anymore. I thought I was still a scrub level newb adventurer, but if my stats had more weight than normal, then I wasn’t sure where exactly I stood. 

“...Mr. Jericho, when Lili said statuses are secretive, she meant that Mr. Jericho shouldn’t say anything about his.” She commented lightly, earning a huff from me. 

“It’s not like I’m listing out how much I gained, or anything. The reason you asked was that you noticed I was able to run with you longer, right?” I shot back, keeping my pace and breathing even. Four steps breathing in and four steps breathing out. “But...Lili, did you mean what you said you thought I could make it on the seventh floor?” 

Lili didn’t answer for a beat of silence, “Lili thinks that Mr. Jericho could, but it would be a bad idea.” She answered slowly, her tone carefully even to give nothing away. “Mr. Jericho’s swordsmanship is very...erm…”

“Bad? Awful? Sucks?” I offered, thinking that much was true. Unless the times me and my brother beat the ever-loving shit out of each other with lightsabers counted, I never held a sword before coming here. 

“So, she would be worried about Mr. Jericho not being able to kill the killer ants fast enough since if they have a chance to release pheromones as they’re dying, they’ll attract a swarm. But, Mr. Jericho is also super strong, so he might be able to cut through the ants exoskeletons.” Lili said, ignoring my suggestions, but confirming them with her lack of a comment. 

I nodded at her words, turning another corner before being forced to take a hit in the chest from a frog shooter. My hand darted out, grabbing the tongue, and yanking it towards me. I stomped on its head, the eye breaking apart like jello before I moved on. All the while, I pondered what she said. 

Images of a cavern filled with ants came to mind from a scene in the anime. Dozens of ants, like what you see when you poke an anthill, only the ants were the size of people. I wouldn’t be able to do anything against numbers like that. But, if it was a few at a time...if hacking at the exoskeleton didn’t do the trick, then I could always just start stomping on them since that always seemed to do the trick. 

“...Could you tell me their weak points?” I asked, mulling an idea over. I was so far behind where I needed to be, it went so far beyond not being funny that it looped back around to be hilarious. I needed exp and, unless I want to start murdering people, then I needed better sources of it. Quests would give me a ton, but the floors I had to get to to do them were out of reach. I could fight on the sixth floor practically naked if I could go into the seventh, then I should. 

What if a killer ant gave 10 exp? Killing the same number of war shadows earlier would net me 40 exp. The spawn times increased, so I would spend more time fighting them -- if I increased my stats enough, I could fight with Lili on my back and grind them even further. Stats were the priority, but if I could avoid falling further behind the daily exp need, then I would. 

"Their necks, legs, and eyes are weak points. The legs more so to disable a killer ant to make finishing it off easier," Lili answered. 

"And how long does it take for a swarm to gather?" I questioned, thinking I could do that easily enough. Chop off heads, stomp on them if I couldn't, or take out the legs before doing either above. 

"It depends," Lili hedged, "the pheromones attract killer ants that are nearby after a few minutes. Swarms don't really happen until you reach the lower floors or you're near a pantry." Lili explained, eliminating my biggest worry. If I wasn't going to face down a hundred of the buggers, then I was feeling pretty confident about my odds. 

"...Are we near the entrance?" I asked after a moment of thought. 

"...we are. Just up ahead, and turn left then right. Is Mr. Jericho sure about this?" Lili questioned as I picked up the pace. I nodded in response, taking a left and spotting the right. 

"I won't explore too far. I'll hang around the entrance for a quick escape," I told her, thinking over the plan again. There could be some resistance when we try to retreat, but, for the most part, I could run through whatever the Dungeon threw at me. The ants weren’t likely to follow me up, but even if they did, I was certain I could outrun them.

“If Mr. Jericho is sure,” Lili agreed as I finally laid eyes on the entrance to the seventh floor. I looked down at it, an innocent-looking hole in the wall with steps carved downward. I lowered myself, letting Lili hop off my back while a hand went to the satchel to pull out a stamina potion. I downed it in a single gulp before I found myself walking down the steps, Lili a step behind me. 

Then, I set foot on the seventh floor for the first time. 

I took in the new floor. It looked nearly identical to the sixth, except for that the color had changed. The floors lost the bluish hue to them from the glowing crystals in the wall, revealing everything to be a dull yellowish-brown. The stones overhead were yellow in color, acting as a fluorescent light almost. 

“Mr. Jericho seems very happy,” Lili noted, adjusting her strap. 

“I am,” I agreed, smiling faintly, my eyes peeled for trouble. I was on a new floor, fighting new monsters, and hopefully making leaps forward instead of baby steps. 

“Most adventurers spend at least a year getting to this floor,” Lili reminded lightly. And I did it in less than a week. 

Before I could make a comment back, the wall cracked in front of us, a killer ant pushing itself through. It looked like the ant in the Ant-man movie, I noticed as I rushed towards it. Except its exoskeleton had an almost glossy sheen to it underneath the light and its black eyes were the same color as the deepest, darkest pit in the depths of hell. It was a lot larger than the other monsters I fought so far, standing tall it would be around 5 feet, though it was the same size as Lili when it stood on all its legs. 

No sooner than it freed itself from the Dungeon wall, I fell upon it. Lili’s words were fresh in mind. I swung at its head, where its thorax and head met and felt my blade sink into it. It caught halfway, almost like the war shadows before, but this time it was something hard that stopped me from decapitating it in one go. Even with my sword buried in it, the ant lunged at me, intent on biting down on my thigh, and it would have managed it if I hadn’t jerked my leg back. 

Clenching my teeth, I forced my blade through, cutting through what looked like a bone to do it. Its head fell to the floor, its body still half into the Dungeon wall. I summoned my status with a thought, eager to learn how much exp they were worth. 

Jericho

Level: 1

Progress to level 2: 6,735/1,000,000

Strength: 11 (+4) 

Endurance: 30 (+1) 

Dexterity: 24 (+1) 

Intelligence: 4 (+2)

Sense: 19 (+3)

Development Abilities:

Physical Resistance: The user receives 3% less damage. Effectiveness is determined by the Endurance stat. 

Skills:

Gamer Body: The user’s body is that of a video game.

Massage: Skilled hands make targets tension and exhaustion melt away. Effectiveness is determined by Dexterity and Strength stat.

Kissing: An intimate act between lovers that, if done well, can bring pleasure to the target. Effectiveness is determined by the Dexterity and Sense stat.

12 exp. They were worth 12 exp. Dear lord, that felt good. Oh, man...12 exp. More than double any monster offered up until now. 12 exp...whew. That...that was almost as good as the orgasms I had this morning. I mean, I would still have to kill several thousand of them to meet my daily quota, but, at the moment, that 12 exp felt so, so good. 

More killer ants began to spawn ahead of us. Tilting my head back, I saw that the same for behind us. Since next to no one was on this floor, the Dungeon could afford to throw everything that it had at us. By the time the crowds came, the respawn time limit would have ticked by. 

“Lili, stay close,” I ordered, rushing forward to dispatch the monsters ahead of us. 

“Lili will hold the rear,” Lili informed, the twang of her crossbow echoing in the tunnels that slowly grew noisier. I don’t know how it managed it, but it was pretty much a machine gun that fired deceptively powerful bolts. I heard the pained cries of the killer ants behind me, Lili would know better than anyone to quickly finish them off. 

I neared the first killer ant as it rushed to meet me, its giant mandibles widening to take a bite out of my leg. I raised a foot to crush its head instead, throwing all my weight behind it. I felt a lot more resistance than I normally did, but the killer ant’s head still cracked open like an egg. I paid the gunk coating my shoe no mind in favor of turning my attention to the other three killer ants that crawled out of the walls. 

All three of them converged on me as they made weird clicking noises that managed to creep me out. My reach was so great that I could bring my blade down on the nearest one long before it came anywhere close to me. I brought it down on its head, my sword managing to cut through some of the exoskeleton, by not enough to kill it. Moving forward, I angled the blade down, with my weight behind it, it pierced the monster instead, stabbing it in the head.

Switching my grip, I yanked my blade free before I thrust it into one of the eyes of the second one. There was a lot less resistance there. The third lunged at me, forcing me to dart back a half step, pulling my sword free in the process. I slashed at it, my sword digging into the monster’s face, lodging halfway through its eye, but that wasn’t enough to kill it. 

With a snarl, I lifted the monster up, grabbing the other end of my sword, before I slammed the monsters head into the Dungeon wall, my sword parallel to it. The sword dug in further, the ant lashing out with its legs, the blows that it landed were powerful, easily stronger than the frog shooters by half, but I didn’t let it stop me from finishing the ant off. With another slam, I shaved the ants head in half, killing it. 

The fight wasn’t over, though. I turned around to see Lili still fighting off a single remaining ant. Its eyes had a lot in common with pincushions, an arrow wherever there was a chink in the exoskeleton. The ant wasn’t even making its way to her, just thrashing wildly right up until I walked over to stomp on its head. 

Looking around, I saw the fight was over, and only then did I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.“Whew,” I let out a breath, flinging gunk off my hand. “That was kinda intense,” I said, glancing at the corpses to make sure they were all dead. They were. Perfect. 

“Lili thinks Mr. Jericho is more suited to this floor,” Lili commented as she began to retrieve the magic stones. “The larger monsters are normal-sized monsters for Mr. Jericho.”

“Yeah, they’re easier to hit than goblins, at least,” I agreed with a nod of my head. Once I get used to fighting them, I don’t think killer ants would be any problem at all-

“But, please don’t get too overconfident! This floor is very dangerous, Mr. Jericho,” Lili commented, looking concerned but unworried. “It’s very easy to get overwhelmed down here, so please do not stray too far from Lili. She’d really weak. Lili would die if Mr. Jericho doesn’t protect her.” 

...It was like she could read my thoughts or something.  

“I won’t let you die,” I told her. It was only now that I started to realize what I was trying to do. Lili hated adventurers. Not like how I hated people who didn’t use their turn signals or people who crank up the bass in their cars until the entire apartment complex can feel the vibrations at 1 in the morning. She harbored a deep personal hate for adventurers and I had absolutely no idea if I was included in that. I think she was warming up to me, but...I just didn’t know. “And, even if you aren’t strong, you’re a hell of a lot braver than me. If I wasn’t built like I am, then I’d be too terrified to ever enter the Dungeon the first place.”

“Mr. Jericho is very kind,” Lili said, giving me a smile that I hoped was a little more genuine. I just had absolutely no idea if she meant it. 

“I’m honest,” I lied, turning my attention back to the tunnels. It didn’t take Lili very long to finish retrieving the monster stone, and she found a mandible too. So, I just needed another ninety-nine and I would get that sweet, sweet exp. 

Lili silently fell in step behind me as we walked through the tunnels. I expected it to be a constant fight down here, but there was only the occasional monster spawning. That was...kinda disappointing.

Before long, I heard the sounds of footsteps and labored breathing echo through the tunnels, getting closer with every second. I held a hand up for Lili to stop, as I got ready for a fight. I heard her cock her crossbow and take aim, the footsteps getting closer until-

To my surprise, I recognized him. A middle-aged guy, his shaggy brown hair flowing into mutton chops with two little round ears on top of his head. A thin goatee sprung up around his mouth, whispy and thin. He stood just over five feet tall, a red scarf around his neck. He looked almost identical to how he did in the anime. Everything about him reminded me of a middle-aged man that was only happy with a beer in his hand and a football game on the tv.

He came to a skidding halt when he saw us, sweat dripping down his forehead. His gaze darted to me, clenching the sword in his hand before they shot over to Lili. His eyes widened a fraction when I heard Lili suck in a low breath. 

This was the guy that tormented Lili. Who beat, betrayed and left her to die in a swarm of killer ants. 

“Is there a swarm?” I asked, making a show of lowering my guard ever so slightly. I stole a glance at Lili, her hood made it impossible to tell what expression she wore, but she trembled ever so slightly. Her crossbow was pointed to the ground, so I didn’t think she was going to shoot him. 

“There, ah, there’s no swarm,” Asshole the Second said, wiping his brow with his forearm. He swallowed thickly, looking nervous as all hell as he glanced at Lili again. “Just in a hurry to get back up top,” He wasn’t anywhere near as good of an actor as Lili was as he gave a shrug of his shoulders. Then he paused, his eyes looking away from my face down to my sword. 

“Nice sword,” he suddenly changed the subject- oh, fucking shit. That guy. That guy that I killed yesterday, wasn’t one of the guys that laid a trap for Lili carry an Asian sword? Did Asshole the First and Second know each other? I couldn’t remember, the former was such a nonentity I completely forgot about him. 

“Thanks. Bought it at a pawn shop,” I answered, trying to throw him off the trail. “They sell decent stuff for cheap. Can give you the name, if you want,” I offered, hoping that he wouldn’t call my bluff. 

Except it didn’t matter, did it? Lili was standing right behind me. She didn’t know me. She didn’t trust me. I was willing to bet all the money in the world that if Asshole the Second asked where I got the sword, she would answer. Except he wouldn’t have to because, judging from that smirk on his face, he didn’t buy my bullshit at all. 

“Eh, I prefer quality work myself,” he said with a shrug. I...what should I do in this situation? This guy definitely suspected that I murdered whatshisface. Would he do anything about it? I don’t think so? Maybe? I had absolutely no clue, and that was the scary part. I didn’t know what he would do with the information. Would he blackmail me? Sell me out to the familia that guy belonged to? 

What were my options? I...convincing him to tell no one...or...making sure that he couldn’t tell anyone?

Should I kill him?

“But, as much as I love chit-chatting in the Dungeon, I have a delivery to make. Nice meeting ‘ya,” he said, walking towards me with a carefree expression on his face that didn’t match up at all with his hand gripping a sword at his belt. 

Killing him would make sure that he couldn’t tell anyone. Lili would be a separate matter, but this guy tormented her so I doubt she’d be the loose lips that sunk the ship. Not to mention the nice pile of exp I would get for it. And whatever was in that bag of his. And…but…

Last time, I was acting in self-defense. He would have killed me if I hadn’t killed him first. This...would be straight-up murder, wouldn’t it? Killing was one thing, but murder? In cold blood? For something that he might do? That...I wasn’t so sure about. 

I knew he was an asshole from the anime… It wasn’t like I would be murdering a saint or anything. But, still, it was murder. Like, actual murder. Last time, I killed that guy because he was trying to kill me. Maybe I didn’t have to kill him, but he had forced my hand. I didn’t have a choice.

There was a difference between reacting to a guy trying to kill you and premeditating murder to kill a guy over what he might do. And I had a deep feeling in my gut that no matter what I picked, it was going to regret my choice.

I was hesitating, I realized. And that probably answered my question. 

Asshole the Second didn’t give me time to think it through. He kept walking, the confident expression on his face a silent challenge for me to try to stop him. And, in the end, I stepped out of the way. His smile grew when he walked by me, sending Lili a look that she refused to meet before he continued on his way. 

I clenched my sword so tightly that my knuckles were white. I knew I was going to regret whatever choice I made, but I think out of the two bad choices I found myself with, I think I picked the wrong one.