Chapter 12: Chapter 12 - Riveria
[A/N: I haven't proofread it yet, I will do that tomorrow, the chapter is a bit later than I promised the Extra Chapter to be but it's also longer <3 Thanks for the support <3]
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"Finally done!" Hestia fell onto the new 2-person bed with new sheets in exhaustion, she was the most pumped about getting new furniture.
Laurens sat on the couch and leaned backwards before saying, "I couldn't find a good interior for this place until the rebuilding is done so this will do for a week or two"
"Hehehehe, so soft" Hestia had a dumb smile on her face as she hugged her pink pillow, how long had she dreamt about a really soft bed and a soft cushion!
Hestia suddenly sat up straight and looked at Laurens, "How much did this cost?"
"The furniture inside of here around 150.000 Valis" Laurens said while thinking about the kitchen furniture upstairs, what would be a good interior for the whole church.....
"150.000 Valis?! Did you do something dangerous again?!" Hestia panicked and jumped on the couch, she started feeling Laurens all over, almost including the private area's.
In the beginning, she would first see something but now it was as if hearing about something dangerous was enough to stir her up.
Laurens smiled at her and shook his head, "No, I won't go overboard unless I'm forced too"
"Really? Then what about the stuff that is NOT inside of this room? You told me if I minded having the Church rebuilt.... I thought that was a plan for the future!" Hestia said without wanting to hear the numbers.
"You really want to know?" Laurens said with a teasing grin.
"I don't!" Hestia shook her head and jumped onto the bed and covered her ears with her pillow.
"Really? I thought that our Little Goddess would LOVE to know though.... Sigh.... It seems I was wrong" Laurens shook his shoulders in 'disappointment', Hestia peeked from underneath the pillow and Laurens could see how curious she was.
"Bell, do you remember the number? It was so beautiful, right?" Laurens said with a grin, Bell gulped and nodded his head, "Y..yes, very beautiful. It made me feel really happy!"
"Aii.... and here I thought maybe our Little Goddess would love to hear the number too" Laurens laid down on the couch and put a couch cushion under his head.
"Mooohhh~! Why do you bully me!" Hestia threw the pillow off her and looked at Laurens with a pout which made Laurens and Bell laugh.
"I'm really tired so I'll go to sleep first" Bell said and thanked Laurens again for the new bed before going to sleep.
"Lets go to sleep aswell" Hestia smiled and patted the bed.
"You realize I can just sleep on the couch now, right?" Laurens asked with a questioning look.
"You bought these beds, yet you would sleep on the couch? What do you take me for!" Hestia repeated with a smile.
Laurens shook his shoulders and undressed, Hestia immediately turned her face away while her cheeks got red, did he really have no shame!
Above a Goddess, she was a woman!
Laurens smiled and took off her twin tails as she was pulling off her slippers, he put the embroilments on the cabinet before going under the covers.
Laurens smiled at Hestia who grabbed his arm and put it under her head with a grin as she looked at Laurens.
"This is more comfortable"
"And here I thought you wanted a soft pillow" Laurens smiled who hid her face in his chest.
"Goodnight Hestia" Laurens smiled at the Goddess and decided to call her by her name instead.
Hestia looked up with a red face before quickly pushing her soft lips onto Laurens' cheek,
"T...that was a thank you! Goodnight!" Hestia tried to bury her face in Laurens' chest while Laurens slightly shook, he didn't expect her to kiss his cheek at all.
He smiled and closed his eyes, it seemed their relationship was changing faster than he anticipated.
***
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
"Ugh.... I'm coming! Calm down!" Laurens woke up to a loud knocking sound on the door, Hestia also opened her eyes and clearly didn't know who it was.
"I'll open it, you go back to sleep" Laurens smiled and patted her head, but Hestia sat up on the bed and yawned, "I'll wait, it seems that that person has something urgent. Let them come in"
Bell had already gone off to the Tower of Babel, so it wasn't that early, but they weren't expecting anyone, so Laurens grabbed his sword just in case.
Laurens walked upstairs and slowly opened the door, as he opened it, he couldn't help but be surprised.
"Can I help you?" Laurens opened the door and smiled at the figure.
"Can we talk for a moment?" Riveria asked with an emotionless face.
"Come in" Laurens said and opened the door, Riveria walked inside and couldn't help but sigh that a Goddess lived in a place like this.
Laurens closed the door and led Riveria to the basement, when they came downstairs, Hestia was sitting on the edge of the bed while putting on her slippers.
"Goodmorning, Goddess Hestia" Riveria politely said, Hestia smiled and said "Please sit down"
Riveria elegantly sat down on the couch while Laurens took a seat next to Hestia.
"I'm here for Laurens today, I want you to help me with something" Riveria said with a serious expression.
Hestia looked at Laurens and then back at Riveria with a confused expression, "Is something the matter?"
"It's Ais, she has been recklessly charging into the stuff after you two made the bet" Riveria said with a serious expression when she looked at Laurens,
"I don't know why your words seemed to have such a big impact on her but since that is the case, I would like you to talk to her"
Laurens just looked at Riveria for a moment before sighing, he stood up and stretched his back before walking towards his shoes.
"Where?" Laurens asked with his back towards Riveria.
"The 18th Floor, they are currently resting so I snuck out" Riveria said with a relieved expression.
"This girl tries to get stronger by self-torture, what an idiot" Laurens said with a sigh, 'Not that I was different back then....'
Riveria couldn't refute Laurens and merely stared at him as he put on his shoes.
As Laurens got ready, he noticed that Hestia gave him a worried look which made him smile gently and pat her head.
Hestia closed her eyes and calmed herself down before releasing a bright smile and say, "Be careful out there"
"Don't worry" Laurens smiled and walked out, followed by Riveria who gave Hestia a weird look before following Laurens after thanking Hestia for letting her in.
Laurens and Riveria walked over the early street while it was still early morning so only some occasional adventurers could be seen, the two of them didn't need to get anything since Laurens still had a few High Potions and his sword with him, he didn't wear armor or have a staff for Magic, so it wasn't overly complicated.
"Do you have a short route through the Dungeon? I doubt it would take a few minutes to walk there, right?" Laurens asked as they walked through the 11th floor.
"Another hour or so, there are shortcuts" Riveria stated as she looked around her.
"I see, can you explain what's happening now? You were hiding something earlier" Laurens said with a nonchalant look as he glanced at her.
Riveria paused and sighed, "It's just an old habit of her acting up that stirred up because of your words, that is why I hope you can also calm her down. Everyone already tried talking to her, but she keeps being stubborn and reckless."
"I...see, interesting. To what degree of recklessness?" Laurens asked as they kept moving forward.
"To the point of trying to challenge floors that were previously only cleared alone by Level 7s and higher" Riveria said and squinted her eyes when she noticed Laurens having a grin on his face.
"Interesting. Although the way she does it is definitely wrong but she atleast got my intention" Laurens said with a grin on his face.
Although Riveria didn't know what that grin was for, his words and way of acting was getting more and more overlapped by the things Ais said.
"Lets make a bit of haste, I don't want to waste too much time" Laurens said as he rubbed his neck, although he had gotten his stats checked by Hestia when they moved the new bed in, he had gotten the final two things he needed for a perfect advancement!
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Level 1
Strength – 622 C -> 901 S
Vitality – 603 C -> 997 S
Dexterity – 688 C -> 822 A
Agility – 589 D -> 891 A
Mana – 0 I -> 722 B
Magic:
[Lyngruem Maltaras]
Skills:
[Heaven's Sense]
[Sanguis Gratiam]
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[Balance: 2.041.932 Valis]
[A/N: [Langruem Maltaras] Creates weapons of choice ice around the user which are made of Ice, weapons can be varied in size, weight and sharpness according to the user's desire, once wounded by an Ice weapon, the victim will have a freezing cold spreading from the wound (Needs to have 100 Mana per sword)]
Mana and a Magic Skill!
When he saw his Vitality, he was shocked at how much it grew and went from one of the worst to the best! His body had grown stronger by a large margin and his Agility had also grown a huge amount due to his battles against larger Monsters.
However, the later stages would be way harder than the initial stages despite the huge growth in strength. Only a select few would have an S rating on their Status Board before advancing, let alone only SSS-Ranks!
The only way to get SSS-Ratings was to get higher tier monsters than you're supposed to at your level.
'Wait.... If I want to control my Mana properly then....' Laurens suddenly looked at Riveria who suddenly shuddered.
"Riveria, since I'm doing this, shouldn't you pay me back in some way aswell" Laurens had an evil grin which earned a disgusted look from Riveria.
"What is up with that look?" Laurens asked with a confused expression, "Is asking you to teach me how to handle Mana efficiently too much to ask?"
Riveria's face changed and she silently looked away before saying, "No, I can do that"
"No, seriously.... What was that look for? Did you by any chance think of....." Laurens' words trailed off which earned a cold look from Riveria who had a slight pink tint on her cheeks.
"I remember that I can best show Mana through practical experience" Riveria coldly said.
Laurens just shrugged and grinned and they continued walking.
***
Riveria and Laurens finally arrived at the 18th floor after a whole hour of walking, they finally arrived at the 18th Floor.
"To find such a place inside the Dungeon is truly breathtaking yet weird" Laurens mumbled as he looked at the 'sky'.
Lush trees, beautiful grass, thick bushes, bright daylight..... It was truly a weird yet wonderful resting place.
'Something is weird..... Calling? No? Fate is restless?' Laurens' eyes narrowed as he looked at the surroundings, from the 15th floor forward it had been constantly unstable.
'Is it because of Hestia and Hermes in the Anime?' Laurens asked himself but even he couldn't define the precise reason.
"However, even if this is the 18th floor. You should watch out for the occasional small monsters, even they can get angry sometimes" Riveria said as she watched a white needle rabbit skip past her.
She held up her hand and Laurens could feel a bit of Mana gathering in her hands, Laurens sighed before grabbing her shoulder and asked with an excited smile, "Tell me, how do you do that? Like a current going through your veins?"
"A...ah, uhum.... Yes, you have to stir a current from the mana pool in your body. It happens like as if...." Riveria stuttered and started talking with some excitement.
Laurens looked at the white rabbit with a complicated expression before sighing and waving, the little rabbit looked at Laurens and slightly bowed its head before happily skipping off.
'Intelligence? So this is a Xenos, huh... How interesting' Laurens looked back forward and talked some more about Mana.
"Riveria!" an excited voice sounded from a distance.
A petite figure with medium-length brown hair and dressed in revealing clothing revealed herself, it was clear they had just finished bathing, as she laid her eyes on Laurens, her eyes started sparkling and she skipped over with a wide smile, her height was only 165cm (5'5ft) tall so she barely reached Laurens' chest.
"It's you! What are you doing here? Ah, now I can finally have a proper moment to study you, you really have an amazing body! You're really handsome aswell! Hey, do you have a girlfriend? Are you a virgin? Nehneh!" Tiona said with a teasing and energetic smile.
[A/N: Fun fact, Amazoness aren't actually loose or anything in Danmachi. Tiona loves teasing people so don't take it as if she's a slut when in fact this girl and her twin are virgins, didn't expect that either tbh]
Riveria sighed and wanted to tell Tiona to calm down but before she could, Laurens already responded without any embarrassment and a wide grin,
"You should've taken a bath a bit later then, I would've joined you any time.... sadly, I have something to do now. Feel free to drop by"
Riveria rubbed her forehead and realized she might have made the most annoying duo or trio, although she didn't think of Laurens who would shy away from it, she didn't this cold and serious man to act like this either!
On the other hand, Tiona's eyes shone and she grinned, "Really?! I will hold you on to that! We're bathing again!"
"Fine with me" Laurens shrugged his shoulders and gave her a smile which made Tiona smile even wider.
''Ah, Riveria! Ais is trying to run off again!" A panicked voice sounded from the distance and Laurens could see Lefiya standing there, waving her hands in obvious panic.
"Jeez, can she not just calm down for once!" Riveria sighed and dragged Laurens away from Tiona who skipped after them.
As the three of them approached the camp, Laurens could see Ais standing with a stance that obviously displayed that she wanted to pass them but without violence.
"Ais, even an Elixer barely healed you yesterday! Don't do anything stupid and calm down, okay?" Finn said with an agitated expression.
"Ais, just listen to Finn! First you need to calm your mind!" Gareth, a dwarf with a small build but full of muscles with brown hair and a beard said.
"We can also just go hunting together tomorrow, you have to take the day off to heal properly! The physical wounds might be gone but your injury wasn't that simple!" Finn repeated before he finally saw a ray of hope and yelled,
"Riveria! Please help us convince Ais already!"
Ais looked behind her as she heard Riveria's name and a different light shone in her eyes as she saw the tall man walking next to Riveria.
Laurens smiled lightly and nodded at her, he almost laughed out loud when he saw Bete click his tongue in annoyance, but he had probably gotten a warning from Riveria before she got him.
"Ais, you're this reckless because you want to ask him something, right?" Riveria said seriously, stunning all of the Familia members around her.
"A..Ais wanted to ask HIM something?" Bete asked with clear disbelief on his face.
Ais just looked at Laurens and Laurens just nodded before looking at Riveria, "Do you have an empty tent here? I will talk there with her"
Riveria nodded and pointed towards a tent in the distance, Laurens nodded and stuck his hand out towards Ais.
Ais looked at Laurens in confusion but soon understood Laurens' intention, she grabbed towards her waist and undid her sheath before handing Desperate to Laurens who held it.
"It's a nice weight" Laurens smiled before throwing the weapon to Finn.
"What are you doing?" Finn asked in confusion on his small face.
"Without a weapon, she can't fight... She might be reckless but not stupid" Laurens said seriously before walking towards the tent with Ais.
It was around 6 meters (19ft 8) by 6 meters (19xft 8) so there was enough space for a table, double bed, etc.
At the center of the camp, Riveria looked at her with a clear questioning gaze.
"Riveria, will this man really be able to help Ais overcome that recklessness? She will get killed soon if she doesn't stop!" Finn said seriously.
"Do you think I don't know that, Finn? If anything, I know that more of anyone else!" Riveria said with a worried expression, unbefitting of her character.
Bete obviously wanted to talk but Riveria looked at him with a death glare which made him shrunk in again.
Ais and Laurens had taken place at the table inside the tent and Ais stared at Laurens with a curious gaze.
"It seems that you have some questions for me" Laurens gave a smile as he looked at the little swordswoman.
Ais nodded and a hopeful look appeared in her eyes.
"Then ask them, I will answer them if possible"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone