Danmachi- Hell’s Forge

Second expedition

Once I was done with my meal I paid and headed back to the manor to turn in for the night. I knew the next few days in particular were going to be a slog for me as I needed to prepare for another several days long expedition to the Great tree labyrinth. I needed to stock up on materials to remake my armor set that I had lost previously. I had already replaced my helm/mask and my weapon so it was time to move on to the other pieces of equipment.-

For example I planned to make a full set of armor from materials I gathered and that meant a bit of an expedition. One particular material I was wanting to use was Goliath bones and hide. Finding out the status of the monster rex of the seventeenth floor was easy given the amount of people passing through that area. Thanks to this I knew the beast should respawn within the next three days. I planned to hunt it once again though this time strictly for materials and not a challenge for leveling up. This of course meant I had no intention of playing fair with the beast.-

Now that I could straight up erase stuff with my RCT I planned to do so to it's fucking head. I had already proven that not even a level four could withstand the technique when I killed those green dragons with it and the Goliath was not likely to be much different. Even if taking off the head wasn't lethal for the beast it would still give me plenty of time to refine it's skin and bones enough to get them to drop. Ripping the magic stone from it's chest after that would end the monster without a doubt though and with no head I don't see it stopping me.-

Anyways I planned to use all of tomorrow to craft another two loot bags that while much larger in size would be mostly for deception more than actual storage. That was the nifty thing about cursed tools, I could put the exact same "enchantment" on two different sized things but still get the same result. This means while the biggest bag was a mere decoy the medium sized bag was truly for loot just like the small one. I needed this deception because spatially expanded bags are the sort of thing even the Loki and Hephaestus familias would gladly go to war to obtain.-

If I went into the dungeon with only the small bag it would only take a single slip up with my bags to draw suspicion. Perhaps that alone wouldn't be enough to get them to act against me but it was more than enough for them to start digging for proof even through less than legal means. Not murder since killing the creator of such a thing would be the height of stupidity but theft or spying were all on the table.-

Make no mistake you don't get where those ultra familias are without getting a bit dirty at some point. Even if they don't personally act the black market has the services for those with the coin. Rather than dealing with the constant war games and all around fuckery that comes with exposing my bag I will just carry two others that are larger even if it's more inconvenient to do so. With that plan in mind I stopped by the blue pharmacy in the morning and stocked up on mana potions that were getting ever so closer to normal potions and not the diluted ones I use now.-

"Ah Alex how good to see you!" Miach said with a wide smile as I walked up.

"The same to you Miach, still taking the time to clean the glass even after expanding your familia I see. Business has been good I take it?" I said with a smile of my own.

He nodded happily "Oh most definitely, why I can't remember the last time we had so many customers everyday. The newest children of my family are likely the only reason we can keep up with demand to be honest." The god said like he was complaining but the smile on his face told me he was perfectly content with the situation.

"It should slow down again once the rush dies down for the new discovery." I said reassuringly.

He nodded "Yes I am sure you are right. Enough about me though, you are clearly here for some other reason no?" He asked and I nodded.

"I need to get some potions to prepare for an expedition I have planned. Nothing too extreme, just a longer than normal stay in the dungeon. Two or three weeks in fact." I explained honestly.

He frowned at this "After your previous incident you want to go back?" he asked concerned.

"I'm an adventurer, risk comes with the territory. If anything it's an extremely important part of it as well. It's how we level up as you know. We have to overcome great challenges and that means life or death more often than not. I knew this when I chose this life and my will isn't so weak as to falter at the first sign of trouble. So yes I want to go back." I said seriously.

"I see, I'm sorry if my words offended as I didn't mean to. I just worry you see. I see you as a friend and it would pain me greatly to hear that your life was cut short." He said sincerely.

I shook my head "No need to apologize, I can understand that your question came from a place of genuine concern. In a way I suppose I'm at fault for not clarifying this sooner and giving you such thoughts." I said with a sigh.

I meant it too until now I had left things fairly ambiguous and confusing. A habit I developed on Earth that's followed me here unfortunately. -

It was a defense mechanism really. A way to say "well technically I never said that" and slip out of anything at any time as a result. In this case it was not something directly stated most of the time but understood all the same that adventuring was not for the cowardly. That to really reach for the top you had to accept that death was a very real possibility. When faced with it however most suffer doubts about if it's really what they wanted, if they should stop. This is the dividing line between the okay and the great and I refused to merely accept okay as my standard.

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