Power Corrupts: New Beginnings (ch.29) (Patreon)

I found myself in a familiar white void, only this time things were a bit different. Instead of wearing a party outfit and carrying arms full of food that I looted from a house party to feed me for the foreseeable future, I was covered in burnt bloodstained clothing, reeking of smoke and peaches. I wasn’t here because I died a random death, but because I was victorious despite all the odds stacked against me. 

Congratulations! You have greatly exceeded expectations. You have been awarded 10,000 player points!

How would you rate your experience with the Gamer System?

Given that there wasn’t an option to skip the survey, I was forced to answer. “The experience of going to another world...eight out of ten- no, nine out of ten. I think a lot of the issues I ran into were caused by me more than anything,” I admitted. I was calmer now that everything was done, but I felt too calm. I hadn’t noticed it last time since everything was so new and impossible, but now I was certain of it. 

Something was suppressing my emotions to keep me calm and rational. I’m guessing to prevent mental breakdowns or raging. 

“But the actual system? Three out of ten,” I answered, making the words in front of me shift. 

That is an unusually low score. Would you please explain your reasoning so we might improve your experience?

We. That suggested more than one person was behind this. And, if I didn’t know any better, I think I might have offended them. The theory Hestia had that it was a god in heaven that took my soul from my world to entertain themselves came to mind. I spent enough time on forums to know that the term for such a being was ROB, and it was a little unnerving how well that shoe fit. And gods like Hestia, when they weren’t suppressing their arcanum, were a lot scarier than I thought they’d be. 

“The sense of progression was bad. Maybe it was because of how the falna works in Danmachi, but outside of stat gains, there was no sense of progression. The exp cap felt too high and the exp gains felt arbitrary. Monsters giving me a flat amount of exp is fine, but then killing people gave me thousands, which makes sense, but then quests give me stupid amounts of exp,” I began to explain, which brought me to another issue. 

“But my real problem with it was the lack of information available,” I told the white void and whoever happened to be listening. “Just...everywhere. From how my skills work, to it taking me weeks to find out that there were quests, to how certain mechanics work, to me having to figure out if I had certain mechanics or not. I avoided leveling up because I had no clue what it would do, and that’s a problem, you know?” It felt like I could go into more detail, but that was my biggest gripe with the system. 

Just not knowing how things worked. 

Your complaints have been noted. Due to prior knowledge of the Gamer Ability, all tutorials were turned off. Changes have been made for your next experience. 

“Thanks,” I told the words, glad for it. Even if it was a minor improvement, it would make things easier by leaps and bounds. 

Would you like to continue your game?

I smiled lightly, feeling excited. I hadn’t spent that long in Danmachi, and towards the end, it felt like I had stayed there for ages, but there were plenty of other worlds I could visit. And since I could take Hestia and Lili with me, I would be able to show them those worlds. We intended to flee the city, but I couldn’t wait to see their faces when they realized we had fled the planet. 

And...I think it would be good for all of us to get a fresh start. To get away from Danmachi for a time. We would go back eventually, I knew that much simply because I was going to pay everyone back who had helped me, but that could wait for now. 

“Yeah, I would,” I said and a familiar list appeared before me. 

Please select your next world!

RWBY Tier 5

Fallout Tier 2

Halo Tier 4

Mass Effect Tier 4

One Piece Tier 5

Tokyo Ghoul Tier 2

Evangelion Tier 4

Attack on Titan Tier 2

Skyrim Tier 5

My Hero Academia Tier 3

Marvel Comics Tier 9

DC Comics Tier 9

Worm Tier 6

(additional worlds will be unlocked as you progress)

What the hell are tiers? Those were new-

Now that you have previous experience, new features have been made available. The Tier system ranks worlds by difficulty and existing threats. Each tier has a spend limit, they are the following:

Tier 1 - 300

Tier 2 - 600

Tier 3 - 1000

Tier 4 - 1500

Tier 5 - 2500

Tier 6 - 4000

Tier 7 - 8000

Tier 8 - 12000

Tier 9 - No Limit

Tier 10 - No Limit

I eyed the explanation, frowning. “Last time I was here, there were all things I could buy and they all cost way more than a couple of thousand points,” I pointed out. This entire thing reeked of being a game balance check. Right now, I don’t think it would affect me that much, but down the road I could see it getting pretty annoying. 

Purchases for equipment, perks, and companions are still available. Would you like to skip ahead to those sections to make your purchases then pick your world afterward?

“Sounds good,” I decided with a nod to see another familiar screen face me. The character creator that allowed me to turn myself into a seven-foot-tall behemoth. I looked back at the 3D model that represented me -- making myself so massive had been done on a poorly thought out whim…

But I kinda liked it. I like how everyone had to look up at me. I liked how intimidating I looked. Sure, finding a bed that could fit me was a struggle and clothes were expensive, but I found that the pros outweighed the cons in this case. Not only that, I doubt Hestia would recognize me if I made myself smaller. 

So, I left it as it was. 

Previous game data has been analyzed -- Notable achievements: 

Deflowering a goddess - You took the virginity of a god. (15,000)

Under Leveled - You have a knack for defeating enemies that you shouldn’t be able to. (10,000)

Ladies Man - Had sexual encounters with more than three waifus. (5,000)

Limit Breaker - There can only be so many Ss in your status updates before they make a new rank entirely. (10,000)

You earned: 55,000 points during your last game!

Please purchase your perks.

Weak: (+125) All strength exp is decreased by 5%

Reek: (+50) A bath and soap won’t wash that smell away

Songbird: (100) Angels wish they sounded as good as you

Annoying voice: (+50) Your voice has a habit of getting on people’s nerves

Stiff as a board: (+125) All Dexterity exp is decreased by 5%

Perfect memory: (500) Every moment of every day is perfectly recalled at any time

Forgetful: (+150) Where are my car keys?

Wimp: (+125) All endurance exp decreased by 5%

Super immune: (200) Your immune system it the equivalent to Fort Nox

Sickly: (+100) If anyone around you gets sick then you get sick

Frail: (+300) Physical damage increased by 10%

Bloodhound: (200) Your nose is sharp enough to be used for tracking. 

Mana sensitive: (500) (Awakens mana)

Dexterous: (250) Bonus 5% exp awarded to all dexterity related actions.

Dexterous II: (500) Bonus 10% exp awarded to all dexterity related actions.

Second wind: (750) Stamina returned once exhausted.

Cleave: (750) It takes more than a flimsy shield to block your attacks.

Featherweight weapon: (750) Weapons below 25 pounds feel as if they have no weight.

I let out a low whistle in appreciation when I saw my total number of points I had gathered. I guess there were the rewards that I thought weren’t coming. I guess they were being saved until now. That was a whole lot more points that I could work with than the last time I was here. Apparently, I accomplished more in a month than I had in nineteen years in my old life. That was...something. Something vaguely insulting, but I wasn’t sure it was entirely unfair. 

It was easy to decide which ones I wanted this go around -- all of the good ones. Featherweight Weapon, Cleave, Dexterous I and II, Mana Sensitive, Bloodhound, Super Immune, Perfect Memory, and Songbird were all selected in rapid succession. If I saw something that I liked, then I could just come back and unselect one or two options. It wasn’t like I couldn’t spare the points. 

Altogether, the cost 4,000 points. Which was a drop in the bucket, leaving me 51,000 leftover. This was a lot easier this go around, I noticed as I continued to the next screen. Almost instantly, I noticed something was different. At the forefront was a list of names that I recognized. 

Companions available.

Hestia (100)

Lili (850)

Tiona (25,000)

Syr (100)

Eina (50)

Ryuu (18,000)

Ais (25,000)

Bell (1,000)

I guess these were the people I was close enough to that I could take them with me to new worlds. Looking over the list, it was easy enough to guess how they were calculated. The more powerful they were, the more they cost. Simple enough. My gaze lingered on a few names but in the end, I only selected two names. 

It felt too much like kidnapping someone like Ryuu or Tiona without giving them any kind of warning. With Hestia and Lili, we were already planning on leaving the city. Only the destination had changed. Taking someone out of their life, away from most of their friends and family...no, that wasn’t for me. 

After I picked Hestia and Lili, my total was brought down to 50,050. Now it was time to start picking other items. But...actually...no...not yet. I needed to figure out what kind of world I was going to. There was no point in going through it now, finding some armor that I liked, only for me to pick Fallout or something. 

So, with that in mind, I looked back at my list of choices and gave them each a serious moment of thought. Before, I had picked Danmachi mostly because of Hestia, and while that had certainly worked out for me, it nearly hadn’t. I needed to plan. What was my current goal?

To unwind while getting stronger. Preferably a place with magic so I could learn it. That was the criteria I was looking for. Waifus would be great, but they aren’t the priority, nor the second, third or fifth. 

“Mass Effect, Halo,...Evangelion are out,” I told myself, looking them over. With my current build, I was very much an in-your-face fighter. Mass Effect and Halo focused on guns, which wouldn’t do me a lot of good and we could hardly destress when humanity is fighting against extinction. The same for Evangelion -- I would be piloting an EVA, and I highly doubted that would translate into physical stat gains. 

“Fallout, RWBY, Attack on Titan, and Tokyo Ghoul are also out,” I decided. One was post-apocalyptic, the second and third were on the verge of the same fate, and Tokyo Ghoul was a bad fit. I would either become a ghoul, which meant I had to eat people to grow stronger, which was gross or become an investigator, who indiscriminately killed ghouls. Hardly relaxing. And there was no magic. 

The next few were superhero settings. Marvel and DC were out by virtue they were actual death worlds with universe ending threats happening on the monthly and world endings events were weekly. If not daily. Which left My Hero Academia and Worm, which couldn’t be more different in theme and tone. Worm was out because it was a grimderp hellhole...and so was My Hero Academia for the exact opposite reason -- heroing was so regulated it would be a year at least before I saw another fight, and from what I learned with Ryuu and the others, I didn’t get exp for sparing. Going there would stunt my growth, and it didn’t have magic.

My last choices were One Piece, Skyrim and Dragon Age. My gaze lingered between the last two -- both of them had magic and let me stay an in your face fighter. Meaning, as much as I liked One Piece, it was out of the race. Too many high-level threats with too much power variety. It only takes one bad match-up, after all. 

Then an idea formed as I looked between Skyrim and Dragon Age. It might be a bad one, but...it was an idea that could change the game for me down the road. So, with only a moment of thought, I pressed down on Skyrim. 

You have selected Skyrim. Changes have been made to the setup system. Due to Skyrim being a tier 5 world you have 2500 points to spend. 

Please select your race: 

Altemer (500)

Argonian (250)

Bosmer (200)

Breton (250)

Dunmer (400)

Imperial (300)

Khajiit (300)

Nord (500)

Orsimer (150)

Redguard (200)

Human (already purchased) (no racial bonuses)

I started to click through them to see what it meant by racial bonuses -- some had traits like Highborn which would regenerate my Magicka faster, or Waterbreathing to breathe underwater. It was a tough pick -- some of the ones with the best traits were either animal-based, which I didn’t want because I liked being human, or elven and Skyrim had a special hatred for elves. 

So, I picked Nord. I was intending to stay in Skyrim for a bit, and I’ve learned the hard way that I couldn’t trust metaknowledge completely. Just because there wasn’t any real racism in the game if you picked a Bretton or a Redguard, didn’t mean that there would be none. No point in putting up barriers in my way when there didn’t need to be any. 

That brought my total down to 2000 and I flipped past the character creation screen. Now it was time to pick my start. 

Pick your start: 

Wealthy Merchant (1000)

You come to Skyrim with a wagon full of valuable goods. The starting location is at Solitude’s gates.

The Dragonborn (2500)

You awaken on a wagon headed to your execution, only to be saved by an ironic twist of fate.

(…)

My gaze lingered on becoming the Dragonborn, but there were other options so I should check them out before I did anything. They went on like that until my gaze landed on the last one. 

Custom Start (to be determined)

That one sounded interesting. Clicking it and a bunch of different options unfurled. A lot of options. Apparently, if I felt like it, I could be reborn into the world as an infant. Or write in my own back story. Or go way back into the previous titles like Oblivion or Morrowind. I could pick my date and starting location. I could grant myself titles, property -- hell, I could take the place of an established character like Ulfric.

It would be a lie to say that I didn’t consider that last option, or becoming the Dragonborn. But I wanted to keep my head down for the moment, or I would have to spend every point that I had.

It took me a thousand points, but I picked my start -- inside an inn in Helgen a couple of months before the start of the game. An unknown wanderer with no past to speak of, just how I started in Danmachi. 

The last thousand points would be spent on another tab that I found. A special perk tab. 

Lucky Loot: (100)

Lady Luck smiles upon you more often than not. Higher chances of finding rare loot.

Expanded Magic: (250)

Game limitations are for games.

Soul Defense: (250)

Your soul is immune to all corrupting effects and cannot be stolen or altered without your consent.

Mind Defense: (250) 

Immune to mental attacks and corrosive effects. 

Destiny Defense: (250)

Prophecy is for those too weak to forge their own path. 

Import Inventory: (150)

Imports all items owned by the player into the new world.

I clicked on Lucky Loot because of course I had to, Expanded Magic, Soul and Mind Defense. With the last few points that I had, I clicked import Inventory. No need in starting completely fresh, after all.

Finally, after what felt like a much longer setup than my last game, I arrived at the final selection screen for my fifty thousand points. I thought about what I wanted, what we needed, and started to pick stuff. Apparently, my money converted over to Skyrim money -- there was a significant loss because the valis was worth less than a septim, but I still had millions, so I didn’t have to worry about that. 

I made some surprising choices, but good ones, I think. I wanted this to be a different experience from Danmachi -- free of the nail-biting stress, the constant worries and pinching every penny until they bruised. I wanted us to be secure, and never have to fear about some group of assholes about to kick our door down. 

Are you satisfied with your choices?

“Yeah, I am,” I confirmed with a nod. I braced myself for what came next. 

Game system reformatting to sync with world...enjoy your game!

…

Hestia felt the change before she noticed her surroundings were different. It was impossible to describe, but the closet thing that came to it was being dunked into a pool without any warning. For the briefest of moments, Hestia thought she was taken back to heaven for some imagined wrongdoing, but that wasn’t the case. 

She was somewhere else. An unexpected guest in someone’s home, but not unwelcome. So long as she minded herself, that was. 

Hestia opened her eyes to see that she wasn’t in the Hostess room. The cloth covers beneath her were replaced with fur and straw, the walls of unpainted wood lit by a candle on a bedside drawer, years of wax building upon the candlestick. Lili was still in her arms, unaware of the change. With some panic, Hestia looked over at Jericho to see that he was blinking as if he had just woken up. 

His eyes met hers, and the fact that he wasn’t surprised was telling. “Jericho, what happened?” She asked in a low whisper, Lili’s sobs catching in her throat as she pushed her face away from her bosom. The younger girl wiped tears from her eyes, looking between them. 

“So, you know my power?” He started, his voice oddly melodic. She only noticed the difference because of how much time she spent with him, but there was a musical quality to his heavy as brass voice that hadn’t been there before. He waited for her to nod, leaning forward in his too-small wooden chair. “Well, apparently I can take us to different worlds. Welcome to Skyrim,” he said, a small cheeky grin on his face. 

Her first thought was how glad she was that he could still smile like that. When Hestia first saw him, Jericho looked like he had walked out of a nightmare. Piece by piece, they took off his armor, revealing the man beneath and the first thing she had noticed was how exhausted Jericho looked. As if that the only thing that kept him going was finally over and he looked like he needed to sleep for a thousand years. 

The second thought was about what he just said. “A different world?” She breathed, holding Lili that much tighter on reflex. Lili continued to wipe away her tears, gather her emotions with some difficulty. Her mind raced with possibilities -- the gods in heaven knew of other worlds, but only in passing. Kinda like looking from a vantage point to see the neighbor’s neighbor’s backyard. 

Going there wasn’t in the realm of possibility. If it were, then gods would have gone there rather than the lower world that they observed for thousands of years. That’s what she believed until now -- Jericho spoke the truth and she could feel the difference in this world. 

“I closed my eyes to take a nap after everything, and I found myself in the same place that I did when I first came to your world. It let me pick which one that I wanted, and I picked this one,” Jericho said, pushing himself out of his too-small chair. The serious moment was only slightly ruined when the arms of the chair tried to keep hold of his bottom for a moment before he pushed it off, kneeling at the side of the bed. “There’s some other stuff I should tell you about, but the important part is that we’re away from Orario.”

Hestia had more questions than she knew what to do with, Lili too for that matter because she was looking between them in confusion. 

“Is it safe?” Hestia was compelled to ask first, accepting the hand that Jericho put on her and Lili. 

“If it’s not, then I’ll make it safe,” he said, and she could hear the promise in his word. She held his hand, savoring the sense of safety that the gesture brought her. “We’re in a place called Helgen. We’re going to stay here for a bit while I put some things in motion,” Jericho told her. Hestia nodded, taking in a deep breath -- she was lost, but Jericho seemed driven. As driven as he had when he wanted to get Lili out of the Soma familia. That was more reassuring than words could say. 

“Lili will help,” Lili decided, looking determined. Lili must be more lost than she was, Hestia figured. Lili didn’t know about Jericho’s origins, his abilities or anything like that. To her, one moment she was waking up from a coma and the next she was waking into a new world. That must be a jarring change, to say the least. “Lord Soma took care of Lili’s body, so she’s in perfect condition! Please...let Lili help Mr. Jericho,” she pleaded when Jericho went to refuse. 

Even still, he hesitated before he nodded. "Alright," he allowed, "it'd probably do you good to get out of bed anyway." Then he turned to her, "you too if you're up for it. I want to explore the place a bit...but, first, I think there's something that you need to do," he said, inclining his head to Lili. It was obvious what he meant -- the very thing they've waited weeks to do. 

Lili looked lost right up until Hestia began to speak. "Now that Soma is gone, you're free of his familia," Heatia began, wiping away a tear that started to form in Lili's eyes. Her newest and smallest child certainly was proving to be a crier. But, after everything…

After years of abuse from a rotten familia that ended with her being beaten within an inch of her life, stabbed in an attempt of murder by the familia captain, then falling into a coma because she failed a cruel test from an apathetic god...Lili had more than her fair share of reasons to cry. But, thankfully, these were tears of joy. 

"Would you join my familia, Lili?" Hestia asked, smiling serenely as Jericho watched from above. 

"...Yes," Lili started, fighting back another wave of tears. "That would make Lili the happiest she's ever felt in her life," Lili said, sniffling. To the world's shame, that was the truth for no mortal could lie to a god. 

"I'll step outside while you give her a falna," Jericho said, raising to his full height of 7'6. He turned to Lili, "welcome to the Hestia familia, Lili." He said with a gentle smile that for those that didn't know him would say looked out of place on such an intimidating person. Lili tried to respond but she was too choked up with emotion. Even still, Jericho seemed to hear what she wanted to say because he placed an oversized hand on her head, rustling her hair with a gentle gesture before he left the room. 

Lili sniffled again before she turned around, pulling up her shirt so her bare back was facing her. "Lili knows she can never repay-" Lili started, pausing when Hestia placed a hand on her back as she pulled out a pin to prick her finger. 

"You don't have to repay us. You're our friend, Lili and, with this, you're a member of our familia." As she spoke the words, a drop of Hestia's blood splashed against Lili's pale skin. Light rippled out as her divine blood shaped into a falna. Unlike Jericho, Lili already had one so it was as simple as bringing up an old sheet of paper and writing her name on it over Soma's. 

Liliruca Arde

Level 1

•Strength: H159

•Endurance: F322

•Dexterity: G298

•Agility: E468

•Magic: D530

Skills:

Artel Assist: When the user is carrying a certain amount of weight, the skill will help compensate in abilities. The amount compensated depends on the weight

Magic: 

Cinder Ella: Transformation magic that enables the user to transform into anything around their size

Sleeping Beauty: Those that sleep next to the user have health restored at increased rates. Singing attracts small animals that obey the user’s will. 

Lili had said that she didn’t have a status update in months, but Hestia was surprised at how little exilia there was. She knew that Jericho advanced at ridiculous rates, but this put it into perspective. Still, Lili had some significant growth built up, and she gained a new magic spell, Sleeping Beauty. Hestia’s lips curled into a smile when she read it. 

“You have a new magic spell that makes you a cuddle bug,” Hestia informed, feeling a little too much enjoyment. “And the ability to control small animals by singing. It’s a really multifaceted spell,” she teased, feeling a connection between her and Lili form. She was now marked with her falna, making her the second member of her familia, and her newest child. 

“E-ehh?” Lili muttered, casting a disbelieving look over her shoulder. Hestia wished she had a piece of paper to press it to her back so she could show her. Instead, she was stuck telling her status. “But Lili can’t sing!” Lili exclaimed with more than a little embarrassment, but her expression turned thoughtful. Likely trying to figure out how to leverage her new magical ability. 

To help her out, Hestia began to tell Lili her status. The younger girl nodded, a tad disappointed by the lack of explosive gains that Jericho saw, but she was satisfied since she jumped several hundred points in total. 

“Mr. Jericho is from another world?” Lili asked when she was done updating her status. Her light brown eyes turned towards her. Which prompted Hestia to explain from the beginning. How Jericho was killed to amuse a god, sent to their world blessed with a unique soul. Lili nodded, following along as her gaze found the fur blankets beneath them very interesting, choosing to speak only when Hestia was finished. 

“Lili is lucky that Mr. Jericho decided to save her,” Lili spoke after a long moment of silence. “Lili doesn’t think anyone else could have done what he did…” That much was probably true. “Did...Mr. Jericho really kill all members of the Soma familia?” 

An image of Zanis on his knees, dying, before Jericho ripped him apart with his bare hands to finish the job came to mind. Hestia hated the man -- he was vile, cruel, and downright evil. Even still, it had been shocking to see Jericho unleash his hate on him in such a brutal manner. Then, after the Soma familia had broken, fleeing for their lives...how Jericho had hunted them down to the very last one. 

“He did,” Hestia confirmed with a nod, carefully watching Lili. 

Lili seemed to digest that for a moment before the tension that she had carried since Hestia had known her melted from her. “Good,” was all Lili said on the matter. And that was all that needed to be said. Then she turned to Hestia, her expression could best be described as peaceful, “we should go find Mr. Jericho,” she pointed out. 

“We should, but one thing first,” Hestia said, grabbing Lili’s hands. “Jericho needs someone that can watch his back. He’s powerful now, but that doesn’t make him invincible,” Hestia began, but she didn’t need to continue. Lili nodded seriously, her expression determined. 

“Lili won’t let anything happen to Mr. Jericho. Lili promises,” she swore. Hestia smiled, hearing the truth in her words. This new world might not be like her last one, but she could feel the simmering danger that lurked beneath the surface. Of planes of existence that brushed against her arcanum, and those that dwelled within curiously looking her way. 

…

Helgen looked a lot different now that it was real, and not on fire. Throughout my life, I’ve played somewhere around a thousand hours in Skyrim. Pretty sure most of that was spent setting up various mods, and once I succeed I lose any interest in playing them, but I still had a lot of experience in this world. If anything, I knew it a lot better than Danmachi. What’s more, I remembered it. 

From sidequests to main missions, to betrayals to just about everything I had learned playing through the game a half dozen times to varying degrees of completion. The only real issue was that things didn’t move on the Dragonborn’s clock, so I had no idea when some things would kick-off. Which is why I brought us six months before things kicked off because what I did know was that everything in Skyrim took place in a single year. Allegedly. Not sure how that was going to work out in real-time. 

Helgen itself was a bustling village on the verge of becoming a town, though it was nothing compared to the sprawling metropolis of Orario. The differences, though, couldn’t entirely be explained by things being on fire. For example, there was no tower in the middle of the village. Instead, there was a communal well. The tower in question was moved to the top of a hill, serving as a barracks with stone walls separating it from the rest of the village. 

The village itself was denser than I recall but still fairly sparse. Maybe fifty or so houses clustered up with no planning whatsoever, woven fences marking borders and protecting family gardens. Larger houses held animals, judging by the smell. The inn I stepped out of was apart of a small set of buildings -- a general goods store, a blacksmith, and what looked like a trade house with a wagon parked in front of it with a merchant waving goodbye before going on his way. 

All in all, it was a bustling village with the hopes of becoming a city. That day was a long way away since I doubted there were more than a hundred or so people in total, not counting whatever garrison was here. Comparing it to Orario was just cruel since it had a population of a million, if not more. 

“We’re ready!” Hestia announced, stepping outside of the inn. Lili trailed behind her, wearing her beige cloak, both of them looking around curiously. And the three of us got more than a few curious looks, which was fair. Between my size, Lili’s and Hestia’s godly aura, I doubt they’ve seen a crew like us before. “What are we doing?” 

My eyes found the barracks, “this world doesn’t have the Dungeon, so I’m going to find a different line of work. I’m going to see what they have available, and…” I trailed off, glancing at Hestia, smiling lightly. “I’m going to see what I can do about getting us a house.” The only way to buy property in the games was to earn it by killing bandits, or something equally impressive. 

Hestia gasped before she lit up, giving me a wide smile as she rushed over, practically dragging Lili along for a group hug. “A house…” she muttered, making me glad that I changed my clothes when I had the chance. I bought clothes for us all, and since Skyrim was cold by default, I made sure it was winter clothing. 

“We’ll probably have to build it from scratch, but we have the money for it...and it’s probably best if we build it outside of the city, for now,” I added, an edge to my voice that Hestia didn’t miss. Because, one day, this city was going to be bathed in dragon fire. I would do what I could, but I doubt I could save everyone and everything.

“Let’s go!” Hestia said with a nod, dragging the three of us up towards the barracks…

“Actually,” I started, “why don’t the two of you go check the place out first?” I asked, turning my attention back to the guard tower. One of the downsides of this start was the fact that I was ahead of some quests starts, and Helgen didn’t have any quests to begin with. Though, I’m guessing that wasn’t entirely true. 

I reached into my pocket and handed over a sack filled with septems, pulling them from my inventory. Hestia took them, casting me a suspicious glance. “This place is run by meatheads,” I explained. I don’t think they were sexist, but one look at Hestia and Lili didn’t exactly scream hardened warrior.

Hestia and Lili shared a glance, not quite believing me but I wasn’t lying. Just not telling the whole truth. “I want both of you to have fun after everything that’s happened. We could have a picnic and explore the area, or something. I’ll come and join you when I’m done picking up some work. Promise.” That, at least, seemed to mollify them. 

“Lili should learn the prices of this...world to make sure Mr. Jericho doesn’t get ripped off,” Lili allowed with a nod, inspecting a coin as she looked around, half expecting someone to take it from her. Which was a good idea. As much as I played Skyrim, Danmachi had taught me to not trust in metaknowledge too much. Things in anime, or video games, didn’t always translate into reality. 

So, prices could be a lot more or a lot less than I recalled. 

“Sure thing, and don’t worry about how much you spend. We have...about half of what Zanis asked,” I said, not wanting to give out numbers like that in public. Lili’s eyes went wide while Hestia was confused, but chose not to comment on it. Which saved me from having to explain conversions, so that was a win in my book. 

“We’ll meet in the village square when I’m done, and have fun,” I said with a small wave as they started to walk away. Hestia was drawing glances everywhere she went, the peasantry unused to the presence of a god. We might have to look into figuring out a way to suppress it completely to avoid too much attention. 

“Lili will protect Lady Hestia,” Lili swore, giving me a firm nod that I returned. With that worry set aside, I turned my attention to the barracks. I started walking towards it, idly looking around as I did so. I got a fair few looks from the people that lived here as well. 

The people of Helgen were a rough-looking sort. Just about everyone was the kind of pasty pale those that hadn't seen the sun in years had. Their clothing was better than I expected. I thought everyone would be rocking furs and cloaks, but there was decentish looking clothing not entirely dissimilar to what I wore, though my clothing was much finer. And, even better, they looked like they bathed on the regular. Much better than the unwashed peasants that I expected. 

"Are you a giant?" A small voice asked, stumbling in front of me. A kid, a young one, craned his head back so far that I thought he was going to lose his balance. "Can I pet your mammoth? Or have some cheese? Papa used to say that Giants have the best cheese in the whole world." The kid informed, perfectly willing to have a conversation all by himself. 

"Not quite tall enough to be a giant," I said, looking for whoever this kid belonged to. I...didn't care for kids, honestly. I didn’t know how to handle them, never wanted any of my own or anything like that. "Are your parents nearby?" I asked, prompting the kid to point at the tower I was already heading. 

"My Papa's in there. I'll take you, Giant," the kid decided, offering a hand for me to hold. Though, considering he was about four years old, he would only manage to wrap his hand around my finger. 

"Er, would you like to...ride on my shoulder instead?" Anything so I don't have to hunch over at the waist as I walk through the village? "Or I could just follow behind you." 

"I don't like heights," the kid informed. "And you're so big, you could step on me," he refused both offers. And, fair enough I guess. He clearly didn't get the stranger danger talk yet, but he had some self-preservation instincts. 

With a sigh and no other choice, I bent over low enough that the kid could grab my finger. He wasted no time tugging me in the direction of the tower, chattering with himself. Now, the dozen or so people that watched me looked far more amused than awed. An elderly couple chuckled and waved at me, smiling at my expense. A self-deprecating grin tugged at my lips as I waved back, making them laugh.

So went my plan of strolling into town and proving myself to be the ultimate badass. Though, at the very least, I saw Hestia and Lili looking amused in the distance before they vanished from sight as we entered a courtyard for the garrison. The keep was small, on one side there were training dummies, archery targets, and a soaring ring. A few guards standing at their post saw me, undoubtedly cracking up at the sight. Even still, I took a moment to admire the place. 

The stone walls looked absolutely ancient -- maintained, but old. The rocks stacked on top of each other to form the keep looked weathered, mortar sealing off the gaps. I wondered if I would be able to bust through them now. The gate was behind us, a simple iron one as a second line of defense. From what I saw, there were at least a dozen guards in the courtyard alone. It would be the case that the keep itself was empty, but this small town had a better defense force than I figured.

The kid struggled for a moment to push open the door. Right up until I helped him along with my free hand. Pushing it open, I was greeted with the smell of smoke from a burning fireplace. The room was round, a staircase leading up took up a portion of it, but the rest...almost looked like a lobby, in a way. A desk in front of the fireplace, bags and barreled gathered in corners, a few weapon racks, and dummies to hold armor. 

"Papa! I found a giant! He was walking in the village," the kid announced, drawing the attention of a middle-aged man talking to a guard with his helmet on. Now that I was closer, I took a moment to admire the armor. It was steel plate, a tabard over it that announced allegiance to Jarl Balgruuf the Greater, Jarl of Whiterun. His arms were covered with more plate, with leather filling the gaps for mobility. 

The man's face that I could see had dark brown hair, a nose that looked like it had been broken too many times, wrinkles gathering around his eyes with a bit of salt sprinkled about in his hair and a short beard that clung to his face. His gaze darted to me, prompting me to raise to my full height, only for his eyebrows to quirk upward. "It seems like you have wrangled a giant Rolf," he said with more than a little amusement. "Sorry about my lad, stranger. Is there something that I can help you with?”

“Can I have some of your cheese now?” Rolf asked before I could respond. Looking at him, I gave a small shrug. 

“Still not a giant. Only if you obey your parents and do your chores, then the next time I get my hands on some giant cheese then you’ll be the first to know,” I offered, hoping that was enough. And it was, apparently. The kid’s face lit up and he all but clacked his feet together in joy. 

“Yippie! Thank you, Giant,” the kid said, scampering off now that he had his promise of cheese. Leaving me alone with his father, who chuckled warmly. 

“Sorry about him,” he said, looking me over. “The names Urlvar the Stout,” he introduced himself, “and who might you be?”

“Jericho,” I returned, considering giving myself a nickname, but that felt cringy. A nickname was something other people gave you. “I’ve brought my family to Skyrim, and we’re looking for a place to settle. And I’m looking for work,” I explained, my tone going all business. 

Urlvar scratched at his cheek, looking me over once again. “I can help you with that, Jericho. I’m the commander of this garrison, and I suppose it depends on what you can do,” he said. 

“For the work or settling down?” I asked, making the older man shrug in response. 

“Both,” he said, frowning when he saw my confusion. “You’ve never lived in Skyrim, have you?” He asked, and I guess that must have been obvious. For reasons beyond I knew what the sun looked like. I nodded, and with a small sigh, he started to explain. 

“If you want to own property in Skyrim, you have to earn the right. There are a bunch of ways to do it -- being helpful around the town for a bit until the community decides you deserve the right or performing a deed that benefits the community,” he explained, making me nod as I digested the information. 

“Because you’re more likely to protect this place if you have a stake in it,” I added, earning an approving nod from him. 

“Glad you have something between your ears. That’s the reason. However, that’s just for Helgen. If you want to own property outside of this town or in Whiterun itself, you’ll have to get permission from Jarl Balgruuf directly. And the deed or price becomes a lot steeper,” he informed. And I could do that simple enough, even if I had to pay my way.

“Okay, sounds fair,” I admitted. Now that I had leveled up, outside of a handful of threats, I shouldn’t have much trouble. Outside of a handful of cases, everyone was baseline mortal in abilities, and I was actually superhuman. 

“Good. Now, the easiest way to earn the right to have property is to be a guard,” Urlvar explained, and I think I discovered the secret why Skyrim had an endless supply of guards. “After a few years, if you prove you can be trusted to protect this place, it can become your home. But, I’ll admit, I don’t think we have uniforms in your size.” 

“What are my other options?” I asked. 

“You seem to be cut from a different cloth than regular folk,” Urlvar commented. “Have you been bloodied, lad?”

It was easy to tell that he wasn’t asking if I got my butt kicked. “I am,” I answered simply, earning an approving nod. 

“Good. And you aren’t a braggart. We have enough of those here. I have a few jobs, but I would recommend doing them with a few people that you trust,” Urlvar said. “We have frostbite spiders in the caverns below us that we’ve left alone for too long, and now some of them have gotten quite big. Big enough that they broke a hole in our prison and nearly ate a few prisoners. If you don’t fancy killing spiders, then bandits have set up shop nearby in Fort Neugrad. A whole host of them -- if you’re going with that one, then I’ll go with you myself and with some others. Dozens of them terrorizing the roads,” he muttered darkly. 

Both of those sounded familiar, “You know where they are?” I asked, and my surprise must have betrayed my next question of why the Jarl didn’t do anything about them. 

“Aye. With the Stormcloaks running about and the Imperials marching up, things have been a right mess. Good men are flocking to the Stormcloaks cause, leaving Jarl Balgruuf with too few men to spare and with Imperials defecting and turning to banditry. Which makes more people turn to the Stormcloaks because of the bandits and anger at the Imperial army stationed here, which makes the Empire send more men and so on and so on. It isn’t war yet, not really, but it’s going to be soon enough,” Urlvar grumbled before he shook his head. 

Huh. I never really thought about it, but when did the Stormcloak rebellion actually start? I think I needed to read up on the Great War and everything that happened in it to piece together the timeline. I figured that the Stormcloaks would already be at war with the Empire. 

“Bah, but that’s a problem for another day,” Urlvar dismissed. “There’s also a pack of snow bears in Greywater Grotto. More bandits it Embershard Mine -- you should talk to the owner, Torbgar because he’s promising a reward for whoever roots them out. He’s at the Crevice Inn. There’s also-” Urlvar started, cutting himself off when I spoke. 

“I’ll go ahead and take them all,” I decided with a nod, making the older man blink at me slowly. He looked like he was about to argue, but caught himself as he looked at me. I was still young, barely nineteen, but my time in Danmachi had changed me. I wasn’t a bitter kid with his lot in life. I was a man that had killed and took care of my problems. 

“You only have to do one, lad,” Urlvar pointed out. 

I cracked a smile, “I want my family to be safe here.” 

And I would kill anything...and anyone that threatened that safety.