Greed was a tricky temptation. He knew that much; it could make a man, just like it could break him.
Right now, he was that man stuck in the middle, trying not to fall into the abyss. He was greedy, for what?
Power.
It was as simple as that. Power was something he craved like a drug; he wasn't powerful by any stretch of the imagination, but he wanted to be, he really did.
Even now, as he ducked and weaved between multiple, shadow-like humanoid monsters, his sword darting out and sliding into the neck of one, only to jerk to the side suddenly and decapitate another, he craved more.
That craving, in return, was forever immortalized on his back, a reflection of his very soul, a soul allowed to shine thanks to the blessing bestowed upon him by a deity, making it obvious how deep his craving went in the form of a single text written in hieroglyphs: Greed.
Slash, sidestep, thrust, backstep, close the distance, slash upwards, take off a limb of one at the shoulder.
Raise the sword, redirect the hook-like ending of the limb to the back, turn, and cut the monster in half.
He breathed out, eyes narrowing as he intercepted a downwards slash from the last remaining one, allowing the claw to slide down the blade to the crossguard, free hand coming up to grab the limb by the wrist, gaining control of the sharp hook as he pivoted on his heel, the motion and the relative same height of the monster allowing his elbow to press to it's own.
A loud pop echoed in the halls made of stone as the limb snapped, finishing the turn, the sword's edge cut through the monster's neck as it burst into a cloud of black smoke.
With a sigh, he bent down and grabbed the four small, purple pebble-sized stones that were dropped by the four monsters.
It was a long way back from here...
With a thoughtful hum, he turned and continued his trek down deeper.
He needed the money, he really did.
___
He really didn't think this through.
Not that he was injured or anything, but he was hungry. Very hungry.
His stomach growled lowly, notifying anyone nearby that it was empty. Thankfully, nobody was around, to his knowledge at least.
Food was brought, but he spent more time on the upper floors; he didn't plan to come down this far today, but it was what it was, nothing he could do about it now but to go back up.
"Hungry?"
His entire body tensed, eyes widening as the unfamiliar voice reached his ears. He turned, sword raised as it flew through the air before coming to a sudden, forceful halt.
A hand, larger than his entire head, was gripping the blade of his sword, and the sword was not cutting through. He looked up, eyes meeting pecks that looked harder than steel, before looking up a little higher, and finally, meeting the eyes of the person who could very well be classified as a walking mountain... and were those animal ears on his head?
He looked down again, staring at the man's other extended hand that was holding a small, wrapped box in his hand.
Blinking, and slowly, very slowly pulling his sword back as the man let go, he sheathed his blade, blinking at the box and back up at him, and raising an eyebrow.
"... Really?"
The question was filled with doubt and distrust. This didn't happen; nobody just shared their food without a reason. The man nodded nevertheless, extending the box further towards him.
With hesitant hands, he reached out and took the box. He was in no position to say no, really. His sword was stopped too easily; there was a canyon of distance between him and this man, power-wise. This food had a low chance of being poisoned, because this man wouldn't need to poison him.
Opening the box, he stared down at the sandwiches, neatly cut and wrapped individually inside. Blinking, he raised a gloved hand and was about to reach inside when he paused; this hand wasn't exactly clean by any means.
"Uh... want to sit?"
He offered carefully, looking back up at the beast man, who was looking at him this whole time. He nodded and motioned to the wall to the side, walking over with slow, measured steps.
Following the hulking man, he sat down next to him, crossing his legs under him and placing the box between them.
Reaching up and taking off his glove, he reached over and picked up one half of a sandwich, nodding slowly.
"Thank you..."
The beast man nodded in return, reaching inside and taking one for himself. Half of it was gone in one bite, which wasn't surprising at all.
Biting into his own slice, he chewed slowly. It didn't taste half bad; it was a sandwich, that's all he could say about it.
"I'm Arthur..."
He introduced himself, casting a glance at the person next to him. The beast man was already on his second slice of the Sandwiches.
"Ottar..."
He nodded back. The conversation teetered off after that as they ate quietly. Arthur didn't have much to say, while Ottar didn't seem to be willing to start a deeper conversation yet.
"How long have you been an adventurer, Arthur?"
Ottar asked after a while of silence, looking over at his newly gained temporary companion.
"About a week and a half..."
Arthur shrugged back as the beast man hummed quietly, seemingly thinking for a moment.
"It took you a week and a half to reach the thirteenth floor alone?"
Arthur nodded in response, offering another shrug.
"I have another member in my Familia, but he can only get to the higher floors for now..."
Ottar tilted his head thoughtfully, staring down at Arthur for a few seconds in silence.
"Do you have any experience outside the city?"
Arthur just shook his head negatively as silence descended on them again.
This one didn't last as long, though, as Ottar broke it again not even a minute later.
"You're using the Guild-sold gear..."
Arthur looked down at his sword. It wasn't anything special, just a normal sword with a decent balance. It was cheap and easily replaceable.
"Yeah, I replace it when I need to..."
Ottar kept looking at him quietly, and Arthur got the impression that this was the first time he was having this kind of conversation.
"You should get one of the better swords from the smiths... more reliable..."
The advice was given with the same tone he'd been using this whole time, completely blank. Arthur didn't take offence to it, mostly because he couldn't.
"I don't really have the money for that, the cheapest option is the best option for me right now..."
Ottar nodded at that, slowly, before turning to look at the wall again.
"But if you had better gear, you'd be able to get more... perhaps even go deeper..."
Arthur nodded at that. He had a point, but that was still far off.
"But Hepheistus Smith's works are expensive, though..."
Ottar blinked, once, then twice, and hummed thoughtfully.
"There are shops higher in the Babel, the ones that are closer to the bottom floor are the most well-known, but those on the higher floors are made by beginner craftsmen..."
Arthur blinked at that. That was a good bit of information from a man who has only spoken a few words at a time this whole conversation.
"They are sold for cheaper than standard prices, some pieces are better than the ones the guild sells..."
Nodding, Arthur looked down at his half-eaten sandwich, the food forgotten in favor of listening to Ottar.
"I'll be sure to check it out then..."
Finishing off the sandwich, Arthur leaned back against the stone wall, looking up at the walls of the dungeon. The rocky, jagged terrain was something he had gotten used to for the past few days.
"Are you heading back?"
Looking over to Ottar again, Arthur nodded his answer as the giant man got to his feet. Following suit, Arthur grabbed the half-empty box and put the lid back on, handing it back to the owner, who took it and stashed it in a small pouch on the back of his waist. Small for him, but it looked like half a backpack to Arthur.
"I'm heading out too; we can go together."
Who would decline a safe passage through thirteen floors with a man as strong as this as their escort? Not Arthur, he wasn't dumb.
___
In all honesty, Arthur should have expected that he would have to fight all the monsters on the way up while Ottar watched, but at least he had a safety net this time.
He did earn a good bit of money from the magic stones he traded at the guild, too, so that was a big plus.
"Arthur! You're back late today!"
Looking over to the side, Arthur raised an eyebrow, seeing a short woman with black hair tied in twin tails, the white dress was as sloppy at hiding her figure as the string holding up her chest looked reliable.
"Hestia..."
He greeted her with a nod, waiting for her as she jogged over, as they continued their way towards their current residence.
"How far down did you go today, Arthur?"
Looking over to her, Arthur shrugged slightly, unbothered.
"I went down to floor thirteen... today, brought a good haul back too..."
Hestia nodded, smirking at me slightly, reaching up and poking my cheek.
"I'm sure, my greedy child~"
Releasing a sigh, Arthur looked down at the Goddess with furrowed brows.
"That stopped being funny after the first three days, Hestia..."
She just giggled in return, getting another, longer, way more exasperated sigh from Arthur as they finally reached the slightly run-down church that was their residence for the foreseeable future.