Mad Bird Catcher

.

.

.

-----------

'The sun rose after the moon, and so it did again and again...'

'Time passed, the days rolled by, the weeks pilled up, and the months washed away…'

'Silver took his first steps into the Lower floors, taking a glance at the Water City for the first time.'

'He soon started his journey of killing monster after monster, and due to their increased strength, his rate of growth and wealth acquisition increased immensely…'

'But he wasn't the only one trying his hardest.'

'The Loki Familia continued with their monthly Expeditions, deeper and deeper, or simply as far as they could, towards unknown territory.'

'Ais and the others continued to grow stronger, each with their own goals…'

'Be it for revenge… And something else...'

'To never let anyone die again…'

'For their beloved…'

'For love…? And for fun?'

'To not be left behind, and to keep up with everyone's expectations.'

'Growing beyond all expectation, at speeds never seen before, breaking their limit as said by someone close…'

'Further down, against monsters only seen in history books… They fought to prove that they were one of the Top Familias of the world for a reason.'

'But their drive for strength wasn't something only they had…'

'Small but solid, a Familia consisting of 5 adventurers trained daily, and like iron under the hammer, slowly turned into something beautiful…'

'Sharing their sentiment, prevenient from far away, a Familia of martial artists honed their arts under the skillful God, and capable Friend.'

'Their Captain felt pressured, the newcomer's presence was a beacon for him, one he had to catch up to, unbeatable strength he himself desired so he could never fail at his task…'

'In the dark where the light of the Golden sun could not reach, women clad in thin clothes like dancers… Amazons fought for their life on a daily basis, all for the fickle desires of their Beautifull Goddess and her delusional quest for supremacy.'

'Day by day, blood for blood, knifes crossing, one up, one down…'

'One buried beneath the earth, the other rises a bit above it, such was their sad fate… But in a sense, they were used to it.'

'This was a life they weren't that much alien towards…'

'Below the city, in a place where shadows lurked, within the maze of houses and alleys, people moved in and out, coming from nowhere, going nowhere…'

'A man with red eyes sharpened his arm, vengeance coursing rapidly through his veins.'

'A man without an ear laughed eerily as his research got closer and closer to completion… Visions of a massive beast started to form...'

'A woman with the Soul of a Demon pulled their strings, setting up a stage for a grand performance… But who would be the puppets on display?'

'And for whose audience was she performing?'

'Mixing away… Smithing continually. Orario's craftsman worked towards their next Masterpiece…'

'Some Mortal, others Divine…'

'Some abandoned their heritage, traveling far away for a new life and purpose, fleeing from their heritage… And towards a new beginning, hearing tales and the promises of an adventure like none other.'

'Others wish to reach perfection, at the expense of those around them and themselves, a dream that signifies their existence and gives them meaning...'

'Even though they came here to seek something new, they're still stuck with their old ways...'

'A man with a pair of winged boots flew around, putting his nose in all sorts of places he definitely did not belong… Being followed by a blue-haired fairy with tired eyes.'

'A Goddess that never grew tired of playing around continued to trick her kin…'

'A man with bulging muscles gazed at the moon, reminiscing about his regrets.'

'A woman with flowing blue hair gazed at her kin, the moon, a longing wish within her heart.'

'Purple eyes atop the clouds, gazing at a Soul most Unique, desire suppressed by curiosity, a feeling like none other… A Goddess waited.'

'A prophecy in the midst of completion? But when?'

'Lustful mind in a body most sacred, a holy intervention in the making… How long will her patience last?'

'All Gods, working towards their desires, to find something they never had, or wish they had… But at whose expenses?'

"What a good day..." Someone said as he cleaned the dust on the ground

"Speaking of that... Where is Gane..."

"DID SOMEONE ASK FOR ME?! HERE I AM! I AM GANEEEEEEEESHA!"

'All the while… Ganesha screamed his name loudly… Echoing cheers in a colosseum of hard stone.'

'And at the center of all of this was naught but a small and frail Familia… Whose members had yet to even start their own adventurers.'

'How would they perform in this strange stage Fate was setting up for them?'

'They themselves did not know.'

…

/2 and half months later…/

'The months passed, leaving behind many stories to be told…'

'In April, Hermes hosted his famed and rather 'infamous' Hermaea, a funny event that always manages to make Orario's residents laugh… A certain girl pissed off due to the workload.'

'What happened that day would have to be left for another time though… But overall, it consists of nothing more than a race around Orario by the younger generation....'

'Only young boys may participate. This means no one over 20... There is a reason why this event always attracts the attention of some... People with a Unique taste.'

'There is also a special event at the end where the top 10 will be given an interesting task to accomplish by Hermes himself… Like finding the roundest object within all of Orario!'

'This year's tasks were rather memorable...'

'But eventually, time passes, and April ended, giving space to a new month, new events to unfold.'

'This time, unbeknownst to most, an incredible event happened behind closed doors… The Eleusinian Mysteries, held by the Goddess of Harvest and Fertility Persophone and only for those of the Highest "Class".'

'Such 'Class' is up for Persophone herself to judge though…'

'Finally, June came, and with it, the heat of Summer.'

'What could very well be the most waited event of the year was here! Ganesha's Monsterphilia.'

'According to some rumors, this Monsterphilia was also rather… Unique, albeit that story would have to be left for another day to be told as well.'

'That week, while Orario rejoiced in a festive mood, Melen, their neighbors, mourned the dead with their Adonian festival, reminiscing about their lost close ones…'

'May their souls find respite in this ritual… As in the end, is up to the Gods to deal with the Souls of the dead.'

'It was also the time for the Gods to meet once more in their over-glorified gossip meeting, also know by the masses as Denatus!'

'And this time, a certain small Goddess had quite a few things to accomplish there…'

/Cocko-DOOOOOOOOOOOO-DLEEEEE…/

"Urg…"

'With the warm air of Summer, a man opened his eyes to this beautiful day that was also marked the last day of July.'

"Damn chicken, the most abhorrent Hellion… Louder than any Dungeon Monster." Silver said as he got up from bed

/Yawn…/

'Like he did many times before, he turned his head and checked a small clock on the side and a small calendar he had set up on top of the side desk…'

"Is it today?" He mumbled as he scratched his ass

She was really excited for today, and now that someone else leveled up as well, she's getting botherline euphoric.

Perhaps I should've taken things slower…

I tried to help the girls that were stuck on Level 1, and some ended up Leveling up.

It isn't unexpected, nor is it incredible, 90% of all adventurers in Orario end up going over Level 1 if they last long enough.

Besides, those girls were like gunpowder barrels ready to blow up as their status had already reached the minimum long ago, they just needed a little push.

And I gave them the opportunity.

"Soon enough anyway, we'll likely have a few more Level 2s."

As the Stats of the Veteran Level 1's increase, their time will come.

Either naturally, or by my hands...

'Smiling, Silver took a bath and changed clothes before leaving his room.'

'And after talking and greeting everyone, he escorted Hestia all the way to Babel…'

…

'They finally arrived at Babel, and it was clear to all, several Gods could be seen around, making their way to the topmost floor…'

"Here it is, take it slow, it isn't going anywhere, besides, we still have a few minutes, we aren't that late..." Silver said with a small smile as Hestia pulled his hands

"I know!"

"Then why the rush?" Silver asked as he started walking faster to keep up with her

"I need to show them that I am a strong, independent Goddess, otherwise, they'll try to take advantage of our condition to give them… Terrible Aliases!" She said with a dramatic expression

"..."

You want to show your independence by walking around pulling the hand of your Familia Captain?

"Also! It's about to start, I told you that we wouldn't have time if you stopped by the Guild!"

"..."

'Silver remained silent.'

You were the one that decided to grab an ice cream on the way because you were feeling hot…

"Say something!"

"Ugh… Good luck?"

"Luck isn't going to help me with their terrible naming sense!"

"Then what can I do? Make sure to hit them just as heavily so next time, they think twice before doing that…"

Albeit that could end up making things worse…

"Hum… That's a good idea… But I'm not that good with names… So I'll just try to stick with the plan and suggest a good name for them."

"Do you have any ideas?" Silver asked as he walked inside Babel with her

"Yes! I choose 3 names for each just to be sure, one of them is bound to be chosen, right?"

"..."

"Right?!"

'Silver's expression darkened while Hestia's dropped…'

'He patted her head and put her inside the elevator, from here on out it was a God-exclusive trip unless he wished to bring her into the center of attention by causing trouble.'

'There wouldn't be that many repercussions, but this is an event made by Gods, for the Gods, mortals aren't allowed, no matter who it is!'

'Unless you're Freya or Loki, then perhaps you can do something about it…'

'Meaning, only in special circumstances will mortals be allowed on the last floor, like during a War game.'

"I'll see you later, as I said before, I won't be meeting you when you're done as I'll be in the Dungeon…"

"But I'll come back earlier this time to commemorate their new Aliases." He said as he turned around

I even ordered a cake... I'll grab it on my way back.

"Alright… I'll try my best!" She said with a smile

/Ding!/

'With a clear chime, the elevator's doors closed.'

"Well then…"

'Silver turned around and got into the Dungeon, and not long after entering it, he vanished as he teleported directly to the 25th floor.'

…

/SHUAAAA…/

'As soon as he appeared there, the sound of running water could be faintly heard in his surroundings, the air had become considerably more humid, and the stone walls had acquired a blue sheen due to the faint light coming from the glowing crystals and moss that can be seen everywhere.'

'The lush forest of the 24th floor had been replaced by a blue cave full of running streams of water, the stone glimmered with hidden crystals and metals, full of resources... And dangers.'

"Time to work." Silver said as he looked around, making sure no one was around

'He followed the sound of the water, and eventually arrived at a massive open area, a hole that led deeper into the Dungeon...'

/SHUAAA!/

'The sound of water was extremely loud now, if someone were to talk in a low tone, they wouldn't be heard at all even if someone was near them.'

'The 25th floor was built around a massive waterfall called the Great Falls.'

'It started on the 25th floor and it ended on the 27th floor, meaning, those 3 floors were interconnected and were actually treated as a single entity by the Dungeon.'

'The waterfall is around 400 meters wide, and over double that in length.'

'If Silver were to stand at the edge of the rocks around him, he would be able to see the waterfall basin and where the 27th floor Monster Rex, the Amphisbaena resides.'

'There were many paths built into the walls of the Great falls, materials of many kinds grew on those blue stones, even some people could be faintly seen from time to time amidst the water vapor...'

'If he looked up, he would see yet another hole leading somewhere unknown, but large amounts of water seemingly fell from there, he tried to research and see where they came from while he was on the surface, but no one had actually been able to find that out…'

'No one was bored enough to do that in the first place... But someone did research where they ended up...'

'In the past, all of this water led to Melen's Lolog Lake, but ever since the passageway was sealed, it became a mystery where the water goes…'

'All floors were full of water, and some sections were completely underwater, rivers and lakes are everywhere, and a group of monsters could appear at any moment from within, as they move around hidden beneath the waves…'

'If one is unlucky, they may even find the Amphisbaena on the 25th floor as it was the only Monster Rex capable of moving in between floors…'

'Hence, it is recommended to never drop your guard on these floors, not that it was ever allowed in the first place.'

"Still... I never met it before, not even a glimpse of its silhouette." Silver said as he looked at the lake below

Once it's killed, it takes an entire month to appear, double the time it takes for the Goliath to respawn.

And ever since I came down to the Lower floors, the two times it respawned and killed happened in the time frames when I was outside of the Dungeon...

Even though I spend over half of the day in this place, I guess that was my bad luck.

Not like I would do anything to it... But seeing it once would've been pretty cool, especially seeing how the adventures deal with it.

'Following the usual, there is a massive increase in difficulty as Monsters become more unpredictable due to being stronger, smarter, more numerous, and having the territorial advantage.'

"Oh? I can see them here." Silver said as he looked at the waterfall

'There, he saw dozens of red birds hiding behind the water like bats on a tree, resting with their eyes closed.'

"Most would tremble and turn around at their sight…" He said with a smile

But I came here for them.

The Iguazu, the most feared Monster aside from the big baddie on the 27th floor.

They are pretty harmless and are very fragile like normal birds.

However, there is a reason why they're so feared...

'Always living in colonies of several hundred and being extremely territorial, at the first sight of an intruder, all of them will move in unison to eliminate their target, attacking however is on their sight like suicide bombers, regardless of any losses they incur in the process.'

'But how could a fragile bird kill an Adventurer?...'

'Well, the Iguazu can move faster than most Level 3 adventurers, and even some Level 4 Agility-Type adventurers would find taxing to evade them.'

'Not only that, the Iguazu's main form of attack comes from their extremely sharp beaks, that coupled with their extreme speed,  turns them into living bullets.'

'Even a single Iguazu is enough to kill a Level 3 adventurer if they're hit in a bad place.'

'And to add salt to injure, once they die, they explode with enough force to crack the Dungeon's walls...'

'In summary, if someone goes near their nest… They'll be faced with the machine gun fire of explosive super birds that aren't afraid of death.'

'Even Level 5 adventurers will flee if they're alone or lack a way to deal with them…'

'Don't try to be a smartass and act like a certain stupid Level 5 adventurer…'

'One day, the poor sod thought that as long as he had a tough shield, he could easily rake in Millions of Valis without work simply by standing still and letting the birds kill themselves on his shield.'

'He died when he couldn't stand the impact of several dozen birds flying faster than sound colliding against his shield…'

'Losing his grip and letting the birds hit his body... He didn't last very long.'

'Ironically, his Adamantite Shield remained unscathed…'

'Yet, despite all of this, Silver came to meet these guys?!'

…

"Alright, I'm ready." Silver said as he cracked his neck with his left hand, holding his Halberd with his right one

'He was currently on top of a stone at the edge of the Great Falls.'

'In front of him was the Great Fall, and on his back was a dangerously strong river, obviously the one that fed the Waterfall…'

'One of them, there were many rivers all around.'

'If he looked closely, Silver could see a few adventurers walking around below him, it was normal, after all, the Great Fall was a central Landmark for these floors.'

'But he had to make sure whatever he was doing wouldn't interfere with their activities.'

"No one would dare to get this close to the Great Falls, and given the distance, they wouldn't even be able to tell who I am."

My clothes and weapon aren't even that noticeable... Unless someone was a fan of mine, no one would associate a black Halberd being held by an unknown man with me.

So without further ado...

/Gulp!/

'Silver drank a greenish potion, and almost immediately, his complexion became paler as he started to sweat.'

"Phew… This is making me dizzy."

There is a reason why they say that the Poison Vermis has one of the strongest Poisons in the Dungeon.

Albeit, it is pretty slow acting, and that's pretty good for me.

Next...

'He grabbed a large cylindrical object and hit it with an air bullet!'

/THUMMM!/

'The deep sound of his drum echoed in the cavern for a few seconds before it was overtaken by the constant sound of water splashing all around…'

/Flap flap flap…/

'But it was enough to wake thousands of red birds!'

"There they come." Silver said with a sick smile as he raised his head

My training commences.

'In the sky, a red cloud rose from the Waterfall, it made a turn in the Sky before setting Silver as its target!'

'It wasn't a cloud though, but thousands of birds with shining red eyes.'

'In the blink of an eye, the cloud parted into smaller segments, and several dozen birds started diving at high speeds as they broke the sound barrier!'

/BAM!/

'Silver swung his Halberd at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, cutting the first bird in two before it could hit him.'

'But behind it, 5 more appeared… And behind those, 50 more waited...'

/BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!/

'He cut, blocked, bent his legs, and even kicked, fending off against the onslaught of these little monsters!'

'Some of the birds missed, hitting the stony ground beneath him, leaving hand-sized dents on the cold stone.'

/BAM!/

'As the sounds of explosions echoed, Silver continued to fight as Magic stones pilled on the ground.'

'A beautiful scene of a lone man clashing against doom, a vision that would haunt the spectators' eyes for days...'

"Look!... Is that... What I think it is?" One of the adventurers pointed out

"Hm?... Oh! It's the Mad bird catcher!" Someone else from the party replied

"The what?"

Who came up with that awful name?

"Didn't you hear? 2 months ago, people would often say they were hearing the sounds of explosions coming from the top of the Great Falls..."

"And it wasn't until recently that someone had the courage to actually go up there and check what was happening..."

"And up there, they saw a madman fighting the Iguazu alone!"

"WHAT? Tell me more..."

'They weren't the only ones that noticed Silver...'

"... Found you."

'In the midst of the chaos, a woman gazed at the lone sight of Silver fighting against the red cloud of birds atop the waterfall.'

'With a smile on her face, she made her way to him…'

…

.

.

.

Notes