86 The second week (1/2)
Leading Hestia to the pub, Alex grinned when he catches a patch of brown hair with two twitching triangular ears atop. He was about to call for Anya when shivers run down his spine. Looking on the side he could see the second cat people waitress looking hungrily at him.
Taking into count his more youthful appearance, he knows that he enters Chloe's strike zone. Thankfully, as it was a rather full day, Ryuu was also here, already accosted by Hestia. She leads them to the bar, in Alex corner, to the great deception of the black hair cat.
”You became shorter?” Said Mia while raising a brow to Alex's appearance.
” Wasn't a natural growth, my Flana bring me back to normal.”
”Wait! Your so young?” Respond to the woman who primarily thinking that he was a young man rather than a teenager
”I'm only 14 you know.” Deadpan Alex. ”Anyways, today I came to celebrate, I finally found a Familia, and came with my goddess.”
”Oh!” A greedy glint shine in her eyes.
”Ask what you want Hestia, meal on me.”
”Your sure?”
”Don't worry, I have enough.”
”Alright then, hmm, today special and a beer!”
” As for me, a plate of roasted meat, a bowl of soup, three today main dish, and a large salad please.”
”Right ho!”
She vanishes to the other side to transmit the order while Alex starts to take out money. Luck would have, today special main dish was fried fish and fried vegetables as a side dish. Due to their sheer size, that dish alone was 4,000 a helping, so he rapidly takes out 17,200 valis. The one on Alex side chokes on their beverage when they see the cost of the boy meal enough to feed a family of three for a week.
Mia sweeps the money away while bringing Alex salad and soup and Hestia beer' mug. Since it was only lunch, it was full of civilians and not adventurers, so they were able to pass a calm meal.
”Do you have any belonging you need to fetch?” Ask Alex, once outside the pub
”Hmm. I do have a few things left in Hephaistos.”
”Do you need help?”
”Nah, I'm good, plus I need to tell her that I would live elsewhere too.”
”Ok, I will go to the Dungeon and start to gather the money for the plot of land. Once I'm done, I would make a little money on the side to pay for the contract.”
With a debt of 1,075,000 valis, he would need to either hunt countless goblins, or he could simply go for the lower floors. If before he would need to stop to the 6th floor because of his limitation, he would now be able to slaughter his way to the 12th floor, just before crossing the 'first line'. What he would need to do for now was to obtain crystal from the different monsters in order to create his pouches.
With around twelve new types of monsters, he would have to start to swap between them as he could only carry six of them at the same time.
Leaving Hestia to return to Hephaistos, after giving her a key and tell her that he wouldn't be home before 7 P.M. They separate at the junction between the mains streets in front of the tower.
With his now somewhat large backpack, he didn't gather attention, as a supporter was looked down by all the lesser adventurers. Once off the beginner road, he equips his gears and tore toward the 2nd-floor stairs. With his new speed and knowledge of the floor, it didn't take him long to pass the shortest way to them.
The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors were passed rapidly as he didn't engage in any fight, evading monsters before they could attack. Killing off the frog shooters and war shadows while looking for the stairs, and completing his map further, was ridiculously easy, farming nicely in higher rate crystals. Stairs founds, it was time form him to update a little his defensive side.
Taking out a bunch of iron gathered in the building, and rods of carbon, he quickly transmutes steel ingots before they morph again in chainmail made of thin steel scale rather than a ring, for better protection. With his previous strength, the weight would have been nothing, now? He could barely feel it.
Making it form-fitting, he makes a shirt and pants. Those rapidly came and fuse with his actual clothes, exchanging a little of the paddling for it, completely hiding it under two layers of fabric, and muffling it sound at the same time. His boots didn't need an upgrade, so he coats the exterior of his gloves, leaving the inside of the hand free for a better grip on his weapons. Using the same logic, a scale-like skin of steel appears on the back of his gloved hands.
The only thing left was a mask to cover his face of the poisonous spores. Taking the few crystals of the firsts floors, he melts them in the steel, shaping a magic steel mask with 'purification' and a 'timer' schemes, the first for filtrates poisonous substance, the second to know how much time the imbedded crystals could feed magic in the runes before running out. This way he wouldn't be taken off guard during a fight and became poisoned due is carelessness.
Taking advantage of his now upgraded skill, he transmutes a faint black paint layer on the mask, his entire clothes set also turn black. With a mask covering nearly all his face, all that could be seen was the crimson of his hair, the emerald green of his eyes, the rest completely black.
Once done, he made his way to the 7th floor.
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While Alex was slaughtering his merry ways through deeper floors, Hestia was able to easily meet with her friend. Raising her head from her document when she hears the door open without anyone announcing themselves, Hephaistos smile at Hestia smug smile.