After finishing his little shopping trip and leaving his weapons behind for repair, Orion finally made his way toward the Dungeon.
Instead of entering through the main gate like a normal adventurer, he found a quiet alley far from prying eyes.
He looked left. He looked right.
No one was there—and that was exactly why he was here. Teleporting, after all, wasn't something he could show to others.
"Alright," he muttered.
In a flash of light, he teleported.
The scenery shifted instantly. Cold stone walls. Damp air. The distant echo of monsters moving.
He was inside the Dungeon in the blink of an eye. And not even on the first floor. He was exactly where he had last left—around Level 10 or so. This kind of advantage… people in Orario, especially those big Familias, would kill for it.
Every time an adventurer wished to dive into the Dungeon, they had to go through all the floors to reach their destined level.
This was especially a struggle for the big Familias who intended to clear more floors of the Dungeon, going on expeditions like Loki Familia.
These kinds of expeditions were expensive ventures—and risky to boot. The deeper they went, the more dangerous the Dungeon grew, and coming back up required retracing the same path.
More importantly, their expeditions were limited by the resources they could carry with them. Potions, spare weapons, even something as basic as food. All of this had to be taken into account. Any mistake, and the entire expedition would have to be called off.
If, during such an expedition, they had someone like Orion who could go back to the surface and bring more resources—or perhaps carry a large supply to begin with in his inventory—just imagine what kind of price those big Familias would pay to have someone like him on their side. Especially when he could actually heal others as well.
Orion knew he couldn't keep going this way for long. Sooner or later, people would learn about his secrets. There was no hiding his powers forever. Instead, he put his hopes on getting stronger faster.
Because only when he was strong could he resist any trouble coming his way.
A second later, golden light shimmered beside him.
Marika appeared—tall and radiant as ever, her long golden hair flowing gently as if moved by an unseen wind.
[Ah.]
She said softly, glancing around. [Back within this wretched cavern of beasts and folly.]
'She's back to her normal old English, I see… so it's not like she can't speak normally. She just won't do it without me.' Orion noted.
As for why, Orion had no idea. But in reality, Marika didn't wish to pretend in front of him. She wanted Orion to accept her as she was. Speaking in another way didn't feel right to her—that wasn't who she was. And after all this time, the boy was fairly capable of understanding what she meant to say.
"Nice to see you too, goddess," Orion replied, not even rolling his eyes at this point. He was way too used to her antics by now.
As for why Marika was only recently coming here and wasn't with him like always—well, leveling up had changed that as well. There had been a restriction on how far Marika could move away from Orion before. Leveling up had increased that distance. She could now travel further away from him at will, so after months of being confined to follow the boy almost everywhere, she desired a bit of personal time.
So Orion left her to her own devices and did all the errands he had to run before coming to the Dungeon. Marika, sensing that Orion was here, came herself.
That was another thing—both could sense each other's location. This connection between them was indeed strange.
Marika ignored his greeting and looked at him instead.
[Well then. Speak. What chaos hast thou wrought since last we conversed?]
Orion gave her a quick summary—Naaza's arm, the healing flask, the blacksmith, the expensive shop.
Marika looked a bit surprised at him using his flask to heal others but didn't comment on that. Ultimately, what he did with the grace's gift given to him was up to him.
She listened quietly, though her expression shifted slightly at the mention of money.
[Hmm. Gold ever followeth power,] she said calmly. [Take heed it doth not also summon envy.]
"Yeah, yeah. I'll keep a low profile." Orion waved it off.
[So, dost thou intend to delve again into the Dungeon?]
"Of course I do."
When he finished explaining everything, Orion reached into his inventory.
Marika expected him to draw a sword.
Instead—
He pulled out a staff.
A long, elegant glintstone staff.
Marika blinked.
[…What is that?]
"A staff."
[I possess eyes, Tarnished. I mean—why take it out?]
"I'm going to try sorcery today."
Silence.
The temperature around them seemed to drop.
Marika slowly turned her head toward him.
[You wish to learn sorcery,] she repeated.
"Yeah."
Her golden eyes narrowed slightly.
[And why, may I ask, wouldst thou do such a thing? Dost thou not have my Golden Order Incantations?] she asked, her voice calm but carrying heat beneath it. [Wouldst thou choose the pale imitation of power… when thou hast access to the Golden Order's sacred incantations?]
Orion scratched his cheek. The shift between her old English and standard speech made him dizzy.
"I just want to try something new."
Marika stepped closer, robes flowing.
[Something new?] she echoed. [The Golden Order is eternal. Perfected. Refined. Why chase after glittering stones and moon-touched parlor tricks?]
"I had a feeling you really don't like Carian sorcery for some reason."
[Like?] she said sharply. [What is there to like about it? It is undisciplined. Arrogant. It worshippeth cold intellect whilst ignoring divine truth.]
"Okay, okay. That's a lot of hate. I get it."
[It is not hate,] she corrected. "I simply choose the better alternative."
Orion sighed.
"I learned something in another world," he explained. "A spell called Explosion."
Marika paused.
[…Explosion. The very same that the chūnibyō mage used.]
'I'm even surprised you remember that term,' Orion grumbled to himself.
"Yeah. Big boom. Huge blast. That one."
She stared at him.
[Thou wouldst cast an uncontrolled detonation… inside a Dungeon?]
"Not uncontrolled," he defended. "Megumin did it. I'm certain I can do it as well."
Marika closed her eyes briefly.
[O Greater Will,] she muttered softly, [grant me patience.]
"I thought you hated that Will…" Orion raised his brows.
[I still do, but it hath made me inured to such misdeeds.]
Orion ignored that bit. He was used to her sarcasm by now. He continued quickly, "After I leveled up, I got more spells too. Weapons, armor, everything. I need to test them."
[And pray tell how thou didst acquire them?] Marika asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Dunno. They just appeared in my inventory." Orion shrugged. This wasn't a lie—he genuinely didn't know why, after leveling up, he had gotten all those things. Level-up rewards, perhaps, but there was no notification.
Marika stared at him a little longer before sighing.
[And thus thou turnest to glintstone trickery?]
"Two spells," he said, raising two fingers. "Carian Slicer and Glintstone Pebble."
Marika looked deeply offended.
[Pebbles?] she said slowly. [Thou abandonest holy incantations… for pebbles?]
"They're magic pebbles."
She placed a hand on her forehead. Then she straightened herself.
[Very well,] she said with dignity. [If thou must dabble in lesser arts, I shall observe. And when it fails, thou shalt return to the Golden Order.]
"Confident, aren't we?"
[I am rarely wrong.]
'Of course you're never wrong. It's the world that's wrong…' Orion almost rolled his eyes. 'Honestly, I'm certain I'll like sorcery better. In the game too, I was mostly a Dex and Int player.' He grinned to himself.
He took a deep breath and focused. The system interface appeared faintly before him.
Two scrolls for Carian Slicer and Glintstone Pebble appeared. Now came the hard part—learning.
It took him a bit of time to understand the flow of sorcery. Unlike incantations, which felt warm and radiant, sorcery felt… cold. Precise. Like solving a math equation in his head.
If spells were like mathematical calculations used for precise measurements to draw power and execute a command,
then incantations—especially the Golden Order incantations—were like asking an AI for an answer and hoping it wasn't something entirely irrelevant to what you asked.
Blue energy gathered at the tip of his staff.
"Concentrate," he muttered.
A small shard of blue light formed.
Then—
It shot forward and struck a nearby wall with a sharp crack.
Stone chipped.
Orion blinked.
"…Hey. That's not bad."
Marika folded her arms.
[Hmph. A child could throw a stone.]
"Last I remember, you were calling me one." Orion shrugged.
Marika just huffed at that.
He focused again, this time activating Carian Slicer.
Blue light extended from the staff, forming a curved magical blade.
Orion swung it.
The air sliced cleanly.
His eyes widened. "Oh, that's cool."
Marika just watched silently.
It took him around half an hour to completely master the spells before finally feeling confident enough to proceed further.
[…It is efficient,] she admitted carefully. [Yet it lacketh grace.]
"It cuts things. That's graceful enough."
A growl echoed from down the corridor.
Several Goblins crawled out from the shadows, snarling.
Orion grinned. "Perfect timing."
He raised the staff. "Let's test it."
He fired three Glintstone Pebbles in quick succession. Each one pierced a Goblin's head cleanly.
The remaining two rushed him.
Carian Slicer flashed.
One clean swing.
Both monsters fell.
Orion looked at his staff thoughtfully. "…Okay. Mage build actually feels kinda nice."
Marika stood beside him, golden aura faintly glowing.
Glaring at the blue ethereal blade in his hand with all the grace of a fish trying to climb a tree.
xXx
A/N : Alright, another chapter done and hope you guys like it. Please tell me if you find any mistakes, I'll fix them Asap.
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