Chapter 36: fallen
I'm very bored so here is a chapter, do you guys have any good games I should check out?
Chatgpt is down, unfortunately, so if you see any errors inform me
~~
"Hah!" I swung my dagger at the infant dragon, delivering the final blow after a relentless battle. The creature turned black and disappeared, leaving behind a large magic stone. we are currently on floor 12, and all of us wearing a coat made out of salamander leather
"Phew, I didn't think the 12th floor would be this easy," I said, catching my breath. Lili began collecting the scattered magic stones.
"Don't get too confident, Bell. We need to conserve our strength for the middle floors," Lili cautioned, her voice stern.
"Yeah, yeah. You're starting to sound like Xian-san, always so serious," I grumbled. Welf, who had been supporting us, looked at us in amusement.
"This is the 12th floor, huh? Never thought I'd see it in person," Welf remarked, sitting beside me to catch his breath.
After a brief rest, I gazed towards the descending stairs leading to the 13th floor. My party seemed ready, so we descended, plunging into the depths of the dungeon.
- On the surface -
Takemikazuchi, the god of war, watched a group of adventurers dressed in traditional Japanese attire depart for the dungeon.
"May you all have a safe journey," he silently blessed them, then decided to explore the town. However, he sensed something amiss while looking around and noticed a lady with a blindfold carrying a bag of vegetables. It wasn't just her looks that caught his attention.
"We share the same divinity," Takemikazuchi sensed an ethereal connection between them. He frowned and decided to approach her.
-
"Bell, can you calm your little friends down?" Welf yelled as a horde of tiny white rabbits armed with weapons attacked us.
"Welf, send out your fire to the center of the group! Bell, cover Welf's back!" Lili commanded. Welf summoned three will-o'-wisps, and Lili hurled unlit bombs that detonated upon touching Welf's wisps. The explosion cleared most of the rabbits, leaving only a few injured survivors.
"Nice job, Lili," I complimented her, finishing off the last stranded rabbit. We caught our breath after being constantly attacked from all sides for minutes on end.
"We need to move. If we stay here, we'll be trapped like last time, and it won't go as well as this time," Lili said. We complied and moved to find a better vantage point to rest. Discovering a hidden cave, we took the opportunity to recover our stamina. Lili distributed water and fresh sandwiches to us.
"Wow, I thought we'd be eating dry jerky for this journey," Welf commented as he enjoyed his sandwich and washed it down with water.
"Though I used to think dry jerky was the best for long exploration was the best, but keeping morale high is also important, so I bought both sandwiches and dry jerky," Lili said and ate the sandwich
We enjoyed our sandwiches and replenished our energy with some rest. The experience in the dungeon had been intense, but with our teamwork and strategies, we were making good progress. After our short break, we continued our descent, ready to face whatever challenges the dungeon had in store for us on the 13th floor.
-
fighting some rabbits on a long bridge, we heard footsteps behind us and saw a party carrying an injured person run past us, diverting the monsters that were behind them to us
"Damn it, Bell, Welf, get into position! They just led those monsters straight to us!" Lili urgently commanded, seeing a horde of Hellhounds rushing toward us. Lili acted swiftly, launching a bolt that struck one of the hounds, instantly killing it.
"O flame, enchant my blade to aid me in my fight, engulf my enemy with your flame, and leave nothing but ashes" I chanted and empowered Hestia's dagger and drew another knife, the red knife resonated with my magic and combusted into flames without my help and went into the fray, swinging both my hand, every hell hound that touched my knife instantly disintegrated, but they were endless
Killing one Hell hound but two replaced their fallen comrade, after half an hour of fighting their numbers didn't seem to decrease as our stamina was running low
"Bell, Welf back off! we are blowing the bridge" Lili resorted to her last card
"But that's the only way we can get back!" I protested, worried about being stranded in the dungeon.
"Their numbers are endless, Bell. We have to find another way back," Lili insisted, determined to ensure our survival. I hesitantly retreated as Welf threw his will-o'-wisp, and Lili followed by tossing several bombs into the middle.
Explosions resonated in the air as the stone bridge crumbled, with many Hellhounds plummeting into the abyss. Our exhausted bodies collapsed on the floor, and Lili was the first to rise.
"We need to keep moving. If other monsters hear the explosion, they'll come running, and we'll be cornered here on this ledge," Lili urged, but before we could react, a menacing howl echoed.
Lili swore under her breath as a horde of Hellhounds appeared behind us, effectively trapping us on the precipice. Exhausted and cornered, our chances of winning this fight were almost non-existent.
"We can't win this, Lili," I admitted, facing the dire situation.
"I know! I'm out of bombs, and fighting is not an option," Lili acknowledged, scanning the surroundings, particularly the pit behind us. "Guys, I have an idea."
Welf was the first to express concern, declaring, "Are you crazy?" But the hounds surrounding us only tightened their encirclement.
"Do we have a choice?" Lili responded as we all gazed at the relentless horde of Hellhounds.
"Fine, but if we die, I'd rather die trying to survive than give up," Welf reluctantly agreed. He approached the edge of the pit, while I followed suit.
"Do we look like we have a choice? I trust your judgment, Lili," I said, joining Welf on the edge. The Hellhounds watched our backs, waiting for us to make a move. As they advanced, Lili tossed her backpack and her ice greatsword down the pit, and Welf followed by throwing his greatsword.
"Hope we survive this, guys," Welf commented as Lili, Welf, and I jumped into the pit.
After a long descent, we landed on a mountain of Hellhound corpses that softened our fall. We quickly assessed our conditions.
"Hah!? Is everyone alright?" I inquired, looking over to Welf and Lili, who were recovering from the fall.
"Ugh, let's not do that again," Welf groaned, rubbing his head as he got to his feet.
"I'm fine. Judging from the duration of our fall, we should be on the 14th or 15th floor of the dungeon," Lili observed as she retrieved her backpack and sheathed her greatsword. Welf did the same, searching for his gear.
"Considering our options, our safest option will be to go down to floor 18," Lili said as she wore her backpack and sheathed her greatsword
"Why? Going down seems riskier than going up," I questioned. Welf chimed in, "Lili, the fall must have done something to your head."
"Listen, the 18th floor is a safe zone, so that means there won't be any monsters spawning on that floor, with our supplies not meant for this deep of an expedition, going up will take several days, and by then our supply will be long gone" Lili explained and pulled out a potion handing each of us one
"Drink one of these," she said, pulling out a potion and handing one to each of us. "Even if you don't feel hurt, concealed injuries can be dangerous. Given our condition, it's best to recover now than later." Welf and I complied with her instructions.
"Let's move now; the scent of the corpses will undoubtedly attract monsters," Lili declared. Her quick thinking and leadership kept us safe on our perilous journey.
- at the surface -
A new day has arrived as Bell's party had not yet been heard of, in a certain Japanese-style home two individuals sat on the ground across from each other, green tea was in front of them as they quietly stared at each other
"So? You are saying your party lured a horde of monsters into my disciple's party even knowing what consequences they would do to my disciple?" Xian was the first to break the silence, Both takemikazuchi and Xian had talked yesterday, they seemed to have talked so takemikazuchi seemed to know who Xian's disciplines are
Takemikazuchi bowed his head, his voice laden with contrition. "Yes, I humbly apologize. I couldn't have foreseen this incident, but I will ensure that every member of my familia faces appropriate consequences for their actions."
Xian considered his words for a moment before responding. "It's true that one must sometimes employ unconventional tactics to survive in the face of insurmountable challenges. However, we must inform Bell's goddess about this." Xian took a sip of her tea.
"Don't worry. I've already sent some of my familia members to fetch her," Takemikazuchi assured. Just then, the sliding door beside them was thrown open, revealing Hestia. She appeared exhausted, with Takemikazuchi's familia member standing solemnly behind her.
Hestia took a seat beside Bell and turned her stern gaze to Takemikazuchi. "Is it true what your Familia member has said?" Her voice held a serious tone. The members of Takemikazuchi's familia entered the room, lining up at the door.
Takemikazuchi nodded and repeated his apology. "Yes, it's true. I deeply apologize for the actions of my familia members."
Hestia sighed in response. "I had hoped this was some sick prank," she lamented, looking at Takemikazuchi's familia members. "While I can't forgive what you've done, I won't hate you."
Her words surprised everyone in the room. "I still feel Bell's connection with me," Hestia continued, her voice filled with warmth. "I know he's alive down there. So please," she extended her hand, "help bring my Bell back home."
Xian interjected, "Indeed, we need to find a way to bring their bodies back to the surface for a proper burial somehow." Her words helped break the somber atmosphere, and Hestia attempted to smack Xian's head but missed hilariously.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone