Is It Wrong To Devour Monsters In The Dungeon - Chapter 13.2

Still though…

"Rude." Ais pointed out simply. She didn't know what he meant by not comparing to the goddess Hestia, and had no idea who he was talking about and why smoking was involved, but she could still tell, he was rude, "…Also…I am not crazy."

Why did people always say that?

The boy stared at her for a moment, before sighing and nodding, "Yeah, it was, wasn't? Sorry, my bad." he apologised.

"Okay…" Ais nodded, accepting his apology, "Why did you make an enhanced species?" she asked again.

He quirked an eyebrow at her, before shrugging, "I was looking for a good fight to be honest and testing something out," he replied honestly, "It doesn't look like there's a single monster that will be able to challenge me properly right up to the Goliath, except it goes in reverse there and I can't take it right now, though I have few ideas if I need to."

He was…surprisingly straightforward and upfront with his answers. Odd…maybe?

'Mmm.' she nodded at his words. The strongest he would encounter until the Goliath, would be a minotaur, but from what she saw, he would have no problem dealing with one or even a few of them.

"How are you so strong…while only a level one?" she asked, his answer letting her latch onto the topic.

"I work out." he gave her a smirk and held up one arm, flexing his muscular bicep.

Ais tilted her head to the side, and blinked, "…A lie?" she wondered. If a level one could get so strong from just exercising their body, level two's and above would not be so rare.

"No, just not the whole truth," he snorted and then looked her up and down, examining her. For some reason, she felt his gaze was stripping her bare and felt her spine straighten up in response, "You might be pretty sword princess, with some incredible thighs, but that won't have me giving up familia secrets and all."

…Ah?

Ais looked down at her legs clad up to the thigh in long blue boots and gazed at the flesh of her thighs for a moment.

What did her thighs have to do with anything?

Well, he at least did confirm he was level one.

"Does it have to do…with you eating those magic stones?" Ais asked next. If not, did he really just have a taste for them?

That would be weird.

The boy said nothing for a moment and crossed his arms as he stared into her eyes. she stared back blankly.

"…Should I, or shouldn't I?" he mused aloud, debating with himself out loud, apparently uncaring if she heard or not, "It would probably be best to clear it up in advance with you just in case, y'know?"

…No, Ais did not know at all what he meant.

She nodded anyway though.

"Alright, simply put, it's a skill of mine," the boy revealed with a shrug, "The strongest skill in existence actually. I get stronger by eating the magic stones of monsters and even gain their abilities like breathing fire and the like."

Oh.

…That was a really strong skill. But, was not something that would help her at all.

Ah, too bad.

Disappointed welled in her stomach.

"Even…that enchantment?" she asked, curious despite herself. It was so very similar to her Ariel, and she'd never seen a monster with such an ability before. The thought of a monster having a similar ability made her lower stomach roil with the beginnings of a black flame.

Perhaps…an enhanced species like that Killer Ant? Maybe an Infant Dragon?

"Nah, that's from another skill I have, the best skill actually, I just got it earlier and it was the reason I came down to test it out down here." the boy shrugged.

He had a very high opinion of his skills it seemed.

Very…odd though. He was only level one, and he had two skills? That was weird. Especially two that were so…potent. A

…And there was the possibility he had more.

She was level five and had been an adventurer since she was seven years old and only had one skill.

"How long…have you been an adventurer?" Ais asked, head tilting to the opposite side.

"A few weeks." he answered without hesitation.

A few…weeks? A few weeks and he was this strong, with such potent skills?

"How…I don't…understand." Ais blinked, confused.

"How I got so strong or how I got my skills?" he asked in return.

"Yes." she nodded.

Had she been…doing everything wrong all this time? If she hadn't, it didn't make sense how he'd be able to do as he did and she couldn't. The falna wasn't supposed to pick favourites like that.

"As far as my first skill goes, it's apparently an innate trait to my soul, so no luck there for anybody else," he replied, "The second one though, that was born from the love between me and my goddess, Hestia, the best goddess by the way."

…As he'd said before, yes.

"Born from love with your goddess?" she repeated slowly, "So…I'd get a skill if I loved Loki?"

That made some sense, she guessed. Since she did have Loki's blessing on her back. Maybe loving Loki…would increase their compatibility, maybe?

"It's possible But, you're thinking about it wrong. Honestly, you're a bit of an airhead aren't you?" the boy snorted, "Like, that's never been a secret, but I didn't think it was that bad."

She wasn't that bad…was she?

Honestly…it didn't really matter in the end.

"I'm thinking about it wrong…meaning, you know the correct way?" she asked, her ears perking.

"Well yeah, it's not that complicated a system," the boy snorted, "Any power gamer from back home worth their salt could break the Falna over their knee and absolutely bust it and make even the first rate adventurers in your own familia look completely untalented."

What an…arrogant statement.

And what was a 'power gamer'? Some form of talented warrior from his home? It would have to be a place full of utter monsters to make the likes of Finn, Riveria and Gareth look untalented though.

But…if he was telling the truth, then-

"Do…you know how I can get stronger, faster?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Most likely," he shrugged, "It depends on how you want to get stronger though. Do you want to gain new skills? Do you want to increase the speed the stats on your falna go up? Do you want immediate combat effectiveness, or hell, do you just plain old want to level up?"

"Yes." she replied instantly.

…The way he spoke of it all so casually, it resonated with her. He really did sound like he knew exactly what to do and what she needed to do to get stronger.

When she thought about like that, then, perhaps, it was no wonder this boy had such an innately powerful skill unique to him and had already gained that powerful enchantment skill as well in only a few weeks of being an adventurer.

"…Yes to what?" he gave her a weird look.

"Yes to all of it," Ais reinforced, giving the boy a determined look, "Can you teach me how to…break the falna over my knee and become a 'power gamer'?" she quoted his words back at him.

Any typical level five would never take advice or ask for training from a mere level one. Especially from one from another Familia. But, Ais didn't care. She would do anything to get stronger and stronger and stronger.

So she could take back what she lost.

His gaze turned dry, "Are you kidding, do you know how much effort that would take?" he retorted, "Especially with you? You'll be the hardest of all to train in getting good this way."

He rolled his eyes, "And that's not even taking into account you're from a completely different familia, one that belongs to a goddess that hates mine because she's jealous she isn't Bestia."

Yes…she supposed Loki would be a problem if she found out, but-, "What do you mean…that I'd be the hardest to train?"

"You're about as mentally flexible as a rock," he huffed, "The best I could do with you is raising your stats, level ups and some immediate combat ability increases. You're a lost cause when it comes to skills though, which means you'll never have an optimal build and will just be a failure in the end. I don't wanna waste my time with that. Not to mention, what's in it for me? I've got my own stuff to do you know, I'm the captain of my own familia after all. I can't just waste my time for you."

Were skills truly that important…that he believed her apparent inability to teach her how to get more, made it useless to help her?

"Are…skills that important?" she asked. While it was true they were helpful, her most potent combat abilities came from her stats, level ups and her enchantment magic.

Could she not just focus on them? She'd had the urge to ask as such, but she felt, if she did, she'd lose…something with this boy she wanted to teach her.

So she swallowed her instinctive first response and asked what she did.

"….The fact you even have to ask that, tells me how lacking you are mentally," he sighed and Ais resisted the urge to pout at the boy, "Look, as far as the falna goes, in reality, not a single part of it is more important than another, they all synergise, but other parts of it show their worth more at different points. Early on magic and higher stats and level ups especially show their worth, but later on, down the line, the skills really show their worth. You might be strong for a level five. But I guarantee you right now, that if you were level seven, with the exact same stats as Ottar, he'd still absolutely demolish you in a fight."

So, it was something like that, huh? She could not deny, that if something like that did occur, she could not see herself defeating Ottar. And apparently, if this boy was right, her strength would seem lacking in comparison the higher levels she got, because of her lack of skills.

"How…do I get more skills?" she asked.

The boy sighed, running hand almost tiredly through his short spiky hair, "Emotional experiences and raw desire," he replied, "Love, idolization, lust, rage, despair, hatred. All these emotions that effect you during pivotal moments, profound emotion in these times, is a trigger for skills."

'…Oh…' Ais' eyes widened ever so minutely.

Avenger. Her skill.

Her utter hatred of monsters made manifest on her falna. Which was born because of…her past. What happened to her parents.

"Then there's the raw desire. If you pursue something with an intense enough emotion, even the desire for a skill itself, if the emotion is pure and strong enough it should manifest in a skill." he continued.

Wait…that didn't seem right/

She blinked, "I…don't think you're right on that point." Ais pointed out. If it worked like that…shouldn't she have gotten a skill by now in regards to her desire to take back what she'd lost, "…I've been wanting something for as long as I've been an adventurer, working towards it every day…but I've not got a skill revolving around…it."

It had been all she was working towards after all.

"And?" the boy snorted, "Just because you wanted it and worked towards it doesn't mean squat. It's how it effects you as a person. This is why I said you'd be the hardest of all to help this way. It's no secret after all, that you're like a doll with no emotion. I'm betting whenever you think of what you want and are working towards, you squash the thought and the emotion revolving around it because it hurts to much to think about."

He pointed a finger at her, "You refuse to allow yourself to feel, as such, you're empty inside," he declared, "You've got nothing in you to fuel a skill and that's why you've never gained one regarding that. Not that I really blame you, whatever happened to you, must have been horrible for you to end up blank, but the falna doesn't care about it being unfair, the falna only cares for what you fuel it with. Experiences, effort and emotion. You only give two out of the three, and that's why you'll forever only be two thirds as strong as you could be."

…Ah.

Ais, did not know what to say in response that. But, she understood what he meant now.

"So…I'm a lost cause?" she asked. Because…just because she'd learned exactly why she'd never gained another skill since the day she'd become an adventurer, didn't mean she could just fix it easily.

She didn't even know how to feel properly anymore. She'd long since cast her emotions aside for strength. The only strong feeling she could remember the feeling of now, was the black flame that enveloped her core.

Everything else…was simply going through the motions.

"…Ugh, don't give me that pitiful look," the boy looked away, rubbing at his neck, "Damn it, I'm such a sap. Fine, fuck it, I'll help you out and help you get stronger. But not for free, this is a transaction alright?"

She blinked, a small fluttering sensation briefly twinkling in her lower belly, before it disappeared, "Okay…I'll give you anything you want."

"Ugh…first lesson, watch what you promise," he pinched the bridge of his nose and gave her a dry look, "Don't go promising stuff like that willy nilly. What if I abused that and demanded you become my woman in return or something?"

"…Ah…" her mouth hung low a bit, "Yes…I understand." she would have complied if that was what he wanted in return for letting her gain the strength she thought she could from him, there were very few things she would not do to get strong enough to achieve her goal, but, she understood at least.

"I've really got my work cut out for me here," the boy took his fingers from his nose and pointed at her, "Alright, I've already gave you a lesson straight up when it comes to skills, so I'll have you repay me for that now."

"…Okay," Ais nodded, "What do you want me to…do?" she tilted her head to the side.

He grinned widely, "I just want you to watch my back, you're at least strong enough to keep me from dying in this regard," he replied and held his hand out for her to shake, "The name is Caelan Odhar, captain of the Hestia Familia, and we're heading back down deeper. I want to pick a fight with the Goliath and see if I can beat it, I'm feeling pretty confident with you as a safety net."

She blinked, taking his hand and shaking it, "…Are you…trying to level up?" she asked. A level one, beating the Goliath, or even just managing some decent damage on it before she finished it off, would surely be enough.

The now named Caelan just snorted, "Nah, I can already level up, I just want a good fight toots."

…Toots?