The Protagonist System

293 Dungeon Exploring

Despite Lili being the only one showing excitement as they shopped, I knew that both Aiz and Ryuu enjoyed themselves as well. The occasional smile they gave me was all I needed to gauge their happiness. The brief touches they shared with me after I complimented them on the things they tried on were just a bonus.

I paid for everything out of my share of the money Lili had split between us after cashing in what she gathered from the dungeon. Ryuu had tried to refuse, claiming she hadn't helped to earn it, and Lili laughed. She told the elf that if she hadn't taught me healing, I couldn't have come back as soon as I did. It also let me heal Hephaestus of her cursed eye as well.

Ryuu didn't complain once Aiz said she was a part of their Familia and she was taking a share anyway. She was their dedicated healer and that was that. Aiz also promised to teach her Dash as soon as we were in the dungeon, which made the elf blush. Sharing skill knowledge like that was something she really appreciated.

We picked up an under-armor bodysuit as well that I modified to Ryuu's specifications. She wanted it to be green and the reinforcements and extra padding to look like grains of wood. I did her one better and made it look like tree branches were growing over the bodysuit and the rest were covered in a leaf pattern.

Ryuu tried it on and looked fantastic. She tried to not blush as I, Aiz, and Lili complimented her on how good she looked. She almost looked like a dryad with how well the bodysuit came out and she was very happy with it.

Of course, that had Lili take out her bodysuit and she handed over to me to change it as well. She wanted hers to stand out as well instead of being a basic black. I chuckled as I worked on it and Lili debated with Aiz about the various colors and looks she could have and what would make her look the best.

I went with the same light blue as her backpack and added metal-like lines that connected to the reinforced padding. When Lili finally made her decision, which was nothing like what I did, I handed the bodysuit back to her. She looked stunned at how nice it was and it matched her backpack, which was something she never considered.

Lili put it on right away and both Ryuu and Aiz complimented her on it, which pleased her. She asked Aiz what she wanted hers to look like and Aiz looked right at me and said she liked the basics more than any designs anyone else could come up with.

Even her old adventuring outfit had been designed by Loki and wasn't practical in the least, so Aiz said whatever I made for her was fine because it actually protected her. I gave her a quick peck on the lips for that and her cheeks had a light dusting of red.

We went back to shopping after that and I did pretend to hide my eyes when they shopped for nightwear, which made Lili laugh and she threw a pair of panties at me. I caught them and added them to the pile of things to buy and she smirked at me, knowing I wanted to see her wearing them.

The rest of the morning passed by and Lili put everything they bought into her backpack. We walked back to the dungeon and entered the first floor and went over to the hidden teleportation circle. A flash of light later, we were back at the church and brought everything downstairs and they sorted through it all and added it to their rooms.

I made lunch for us while they were busy with enough left over to bring into the dungeon to eat during the breaks we would take. We all sat down at the enlarged table to enjoy the food and discussed which floor we should start at.

“I think we should scour each of the middle floors and search for anything valuable, like ores, monster parts, gems if we're lucky, and try to map them out with an rooms or passages that might make things easier to find.” Lili suggested.

“Making maps?” I asked and sat back on my chair. “The available maps are expensive and kind of spotty after the eighth floor and almost unreliable after the twelfth.”

“That's why getting to the eighteenth floor is so dangerous without a huge support structure in place. Coming back from there without enough resources is twice as dangerous.” Aiz said.

“And expensive.” Lili added. “The people on the eighteenth are greedy and inflate the prices for the things we can get cheaply here.”

“In comparison.” I interjected. “Starting adventurers are practically robbed and forced to go into debt, even if they are a member of a good Familia.”

“Tione is still paying off her weapon after she broke the last one fighting the floor boss on seventeen.” Aiz told us.

“That's another thing. The prices for the better weapons are ridiculous. If they're enchanted at all, it drives the prices up to outrageous levels.” I complained. “Who can afford to spend millions of valis for something that's not guaranteed to last past your next dive in the dungeon?”

“Us!” Lili said with a laugh.

Aiz patted the weapon Hephaestus made for her to guard us going into the dungeon. “Sometimes the price is appropriate for the job.”

I had to smile at that. “You definitely earned that, and the armor, many times over the last time we went into the dungeon.”

Aiz nodded. “We did good to go as far as we did.”

“It was amazing, is what it was.” Lili said. “I was there and I still have a hard time believing it.”

I reached over and patted her hand. “We'll have a lot more work for you to do this time.”

Lili beamed a smile at me. “I'm looking forward to it.”

“We should find a small oasis of trees for my magic to work the best, too.” Ryuu commented.

I smiled and shook my head. “You don't have to worry about that, Miss Lyon. Your under-armor bodysuit will count as a forest when you're wearing the full armor set.”

Ryuu gave me an incredulous look. “You're joking!”

“He's not.” Lili said. “When we remade my backpack, he included my skill's requirements in the metal frame. I can have nothing at all inside my backpack and my skill will remain active as if I was carrying something heavy.”

Ryuu lost the look and gave me a blank face instead. “How are you going to do that for me?”

“With magic, of course.” I said and she huffed. “I have to teach you a couple of spells when we're in the dungeon, too.”

“The change clothing spell?” Ryuu asked, a little excitedly.

“It's a transfiguration spell and depending on the magic you add to it, it can last anywhere from a short time to becoming permanent.” I said and she perked up in interest. “There's also a switching spell to let you do a quick change with any other clothing you have nearby or even the air.”

“The air? Why would you need...” Ryuu stopped talking and blushed when she understood.

“He uses that one a lot.” Lili whispered and finished off her meal. “The repair spell, too.”

“A repair spell?” Ryuu asked and looked very interested.

I chuckled and cleared up everyone's dishes. “Don't get too far ahead or try to rush things, Miss Lyon.” I said and stood up. “Just know that I have a lot to teach you and we have lots of time to do it.”

Ryuu stood as well and looked a little embarrassed. “I think... since we are going to be spending so much time together... you can start calling me by my first name.”

I smiled warmly at her. “Thank you for giving me permission.” I said and lightly touched her arm. “Ryuu.”

Ryuu nodded and the four of us went up the stairs to the teleportation circle. A flash of light later, we were back in the Hephaestus Familia compound.

“Tsubaki should have the armor pieces done by now. I'll fix them up and enchant them, and will be back in a few minutes.” I said and walked off towards her forge.

“You don't have to feel nervous.” Lili said to Ryuu. “Stay beside me as the others work to clear out an area and then we move in to collect the loot.”

“I'll be helping with that, too?” Ryuu asked.

“If you want to.” Lili said with a shrug. “Bell usually does double duty with attacking and collecting. It makes the job go by faster with more hands working.”

“We are very efficient.” Aiz praised us and herself. “Going slow again will be odd at first.”

“I knew you were being spoiled with how fast we blew through the last few levels.” Lili said with a soft chuckle. “It played right into your skills.”

Aiz nodded. “It was quite exhilarating to move so quickly, dispatch very dangerous and powerful enemies, and move on to the next without trouble.”

“The armor and your new weapon combined nicely, didn't they?” Lili asked.

“Yes, I have become a much stronger fighter in a very short time.” Aiz agreed.

“You have?” Ryuu asked.

“I was stagnant at my previous level for several years and nothing I did could make me level.” Aiz admitted. “Then Bell added me to his party, we did our exciting dungeon dive, and now I am on the cusp of becoming Level 8.”

“You were at Level 7 for only several years? That's amazing.” Ryuu said, impressed.

Aiz gave her a blank look. “No, I was Level 5 for several years.”

Ryuu's mouth dropped open and she stared at the beautiful blonde girl. It shouldn't be possible to gain two entire levels after a single trip into the dungeon, even if you only did your best to get to the next level.

I finished enchanting the armor and Tsubaki and I walked out of her forge and over to the teleportation circle. “We're starting at Floor 20, since the adventurers stuck on 18 have fully mapped the floors above and below them.”

“The better ores and resources are on the lower floors, too.” Tsubaki said and changed back to her normal self and her large breasts bounced as she walked. “I have some new swords and armor pieces I want to test against the much stronger monsters that spawn.” She said and patted her small backpack.

“Hephaestus won't accept normal amounts of ore, either.” I said and saw Ryuu's shocked face over Aiz jumping almost three levels from the achievement of reaching Floor 40 with such a small party. I reached over and closed her mouth by lifting her chin with my finger. “We'll have some extra work to do when we find some good veins to exploit.”

“We're a lot stronger and faster now, so that won't be a problem.” Lili said and patted her backpack. “The extra large compartments you made will hold a lot of ore before we have to come back here to drop them off.”

I nodded and made a change screen to set it up for the girls. “Go ahead and change into your bodysuits and we'll armor you up.”

“What about you?” Ryuu asked.

I smiled and equipped my full armor from my inventory in an instant.

“That is so unfair.” Lili grumped and went inside the fully enclosed screen. Aiz and Ryuu went inside with her and the three of them came back out after a couple of minutes. Tsubaki and I helped the three of them put on their armor and Ryuu sucked in a sharp breath when the last piece of her full set was attached and the bonus enchantments activated.

“I really count as a forest.” Ryuu whispered with awe in her voice. “My magic recognizes it.”

“I told you.” Lili said, a bit proudly.

“We're all set, so let's go smash some monsters and have some fun!” Tsubaki cheered.

“Before we do.” I said and held out a necklace with a pendant on it that looked like a small hammer. “It's some extra protection and it's a portkey. I'll bring you back to your forge when you say the activation phrase, 'there's no place like home'.”

Tsubaki accepted it and slipped it over her head and she felt its magic. “Thank you, Bell.”

“You're welcome.” I said and held up another one that was a little bigger and looked like it was made of a brighter gold. “I have one for Hephaestus that I'll give to her when I see her next.”

“When we come back with more ore than we've seen all year?” Tsubaki asked and I nodded. “Then she'll love both it and the apology for not delivering it right away.”

I almost laughed at the blatant hint. “The last time I saw her, she was unconscious after seeing my triumphant return and I didn't want to force her to wake up and say hello.”

“Make sure you tell her that.” Tsubaki said and I put the necklace away. “Let's go.”

Lili activated the teleportation circle and we disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared on Floor 20. As soon as Aiz and Tsubaki stepped out of the protective wards around the teleportation circle, the walls started spawning strong monsters for them to fight.

“Yeah, baby!” Tsubaki said and drew a sword for testing. “Come and get it!”

Aiz smiled briefly and drew her own sword.

“I'll start searching for where we need to dig.” I said and started casting generic detection spells. “I don't think we'll have much to do here on the floors near the giant waterfall.”

Lili chuckled. “You think everything from Floor 25 down through 27 have been washed away to the lower floors?”

“And the few floors above it, since water wears away both rock and stone over the years.” I informed her. “The veins of ore should be thicker and we should find a lot of spare ores inside the various waterways and sediments in or near any still waters.”

Lili gave me an odd look. “Why would you think that?”

“Because everything gets bigger and stronger as you go down each level of the dungeon. It only makes sense that the more expensive ores and monster crystals are on levels that people rarely get to without a lot of effort.” I said. “Plus, when was the last time you heard about a concerted mining effort was made on any of the floors below 30?”

“Never.” Lili said right away and caught her breath. “Oh, goddess! We're going to hit the motherload!”

I laughed at the unintended pun, because Lili didn't know about the more intelligent monsters calling the dungeon 'mother'. “Tsubaki was right about us making Hephaestus proud with what we haul back for her tonight.”

Lili nodded and turned back to see Aiz and Tsubaki had cleared out the immediate area of threats. “Bell, they're done.”

“Good, I can spread out my detection spells as we work.” I said and went with her to gather the monster crystals and loot drops.

“Nothing yet?” Lili asked me.

“Only some air pockets along the walls.” I said and didn't tell her they were actually rooms. The monsters living in them would be reformed and would eventually learn from their mistakes and become better fighters. Well, against other opponents. There was no way they were touching Aiz and Tsubaki.

I kept casting detection spells and finding all the individual rooms that the stronger monsters used as their homes. It gave me a better understanding about how the dungeon produced so many monsters so quickly. It didn't. They didn't magically spawn every time someone appeared. They were already there and come out through the walls when needed to attack the adventurers.

That made a lot more sense than the dungeon being powerful enough to create them instantly, especially when a god or goddess appears within the dungeon. It needs time to create or modify an existing monster to become what it needs to fight.

On the above floors, the pockets might only be just large enough to have the monster inside the wall and larger spaces were needed for bigger and more powerful monsters. None of them seemed to go back inside the wall if they survive or manage to drive off an adventurer. Then again, these monsters were smarter and knew they could.

When we approached the large central chamber for the level, I called for a break. Aiz and Tsubaki cleared out the surrounding monsters and marked out a campsite. I dropped a set of chairs and a couple of ward stones, which made the girls sigh with relief when the protection magic snapped into place.

“Have you found anything?” Tsubaki asked and sat down on the chair I made appear for her.

“Nothing that could be dug up.” I said and told her what I mentioned to Lili earlier about there being little chance to find anything too good in the floors above the three major water levels.

“That's a good point.” Tsubaki said and held a hand out to me.

I chuckled and handed her a sandwich and a bottle of water.

“Thank you.” Tsubaki said and took a drink of water and started eating.

I gave the same to Aiz and Lili before I sat and started eating as well. I could also feel dozens of monsters surrounding us and staying hidden, even though they were many different kinds and breeds. They didn't attack, as if they were afraid to approach us. I hid my chuckle at them learning about the danger the teleportation circles caused to their fellows and I wondered if they would attack if the wards dropped.