Armed Monsters

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/A few minutes later/

'The air twisted and with a small explosion of steam, Silver appeared from thin air inside a dark alley in the middle of Orario...'

'This time, there was no unfortunate soul to scare, he was completely alone.'

'With his hands on his pockets, he left the alley before taking a sharp turn and walking a few blocks down the street.'

"Finally, I'm here."

'Raising his head with a smile on his face, Silver stared at the gates of the Guild's headquarters.'

Some things happened along the way, but now there's no one to stop me.

'This was the place he was supposed to receive his package and also more details on his quest, he looked left and right, but he saw no one.'

'Adventurers walking in and out of the Guild, plus a few tall wooden boards with several messages, most of them about things like monsters in the Dungeon, or recruitments notices of other Familias...'

'But that wasn't what he was curious about, so he walked past them.'

'This was indeed his first ever mission from the Guild, something that can be extended to the Hestia Familia, thus becoming its first Familia mission...'

'So without further ado, he got inside.'

…

/Chattering… Chattering…/

'As always, there was no need to explain how busy the Guild was.'

'In a sense, Silver liked this environment… It showed how full of life Orario was.'

'He looked towards the balcony, seeing Eina working as per usual, he even saw some guys around her, probably trying to hit on her...'

'She seemed tired, she probably deals with those people every day...'

'Thankfully, Misha appeared and kicked them out together with Rose.'

"..."

Things are as hectic as always...

Should I go annoy her as well?

'Just as he thought about that, Eina looked at him from afar.'

'Silver waved, and she replied with a tired expression, she truly wasn't in the mood to talk.'

'In the middle of all of this, he took a step forward to get in line…'

"Excuse me, are you perhaps, Adventurer Silver?" Someone asked behind him

"Hum?"

'Silver turned around to see a middle-aged man clad in the Guild's clothes.'

'His eyes had large dark circles around them, showing that he probably worked overtime, and quite frequently at that...'

'Or he simply lacked sleep, many men would often spend their night in the Entertainment district or drinking and eating at night.'

'He was holding a small piece of wood with a paper clipped to it, the moment he saw Silver, he started to write some things on the paper...'

"Yes, it's me."

Do I know him? It doesn't ring any bells...

'The man smiled, he looked at Silver and said:'

"Ohoho, the moment I saw your eyes I knew it was you."

"Just a moment..."

'He took out a small box from his pocket and gave it to Silver.'

"It was sudden, but here is your Commission, can you sign over here?"

'Silver was surprised, so he said, "What? So soon?...", as he grabbed the small box after signing the paper.'

'He quickly read through the paper, but it wasn't anything alarming, just normal Guild stuff, he signed several of these every day each time he had to collect a Commission.'

'Speaking of that, it seemed that today he wasn't going to grab any... Would Eina help him with that?'

"..."

'Silver fondled with the box, trying to make some sense of it.'

The box is just a bit bigger than one for a ring finger…

Don't tell me I'm delivering a marriage ring for some guy?

"What's this commission about though?" He asked as he inspected the box

'The man expected this question, so he replied hastily as he looked around:'

"It's a delivery quest towards the 18th floor, it was rather sudden so we couldn't add a lot of information to the letter, my sincere apologies on that, everyone has their hands full and it doesn't seem the situation will stabilize anytime soon..."

"Inside that box, you'll find an extensive explanation of the Commission, including the rewards you'll receive..."

"Please, as soon as you're available, head to the Guild Branch at Babel so you can take the package."

'The man bowed slightly, was this all he had to say?'

'Silver felt slightly awkward… No further explanation? Was this a compulsory quest?'

'He didn't ask those questions since the worker in front of him didn't seem to know much more than what he already said...'

'He is after all just a middle worker, seeing how things are all around him, he probably treats this event as simply one in the many he'll have to deal with during the remainder of the day, so the faster he deals with it the better.'

'Perhaps, he shouldn't be thinking of asking the man, and instead, what he needed was within that box…'

"Thank you." Silver said as he placed the box in his pocket, this wasn't the place to open it

"No worries, now, if you excuse me..." The man said with a slight bow as he turned around and left

/Phew.../

'The man took a look at the paper on his hands and exhaled some air, he was tired, but he pressed on.'

'With a pen, he crossed a line, it was at the very top of his list...'

"..."

How weird…

'All of this was very unusual to Silver…'

'Still, no one paid attention to them at all, as if they were air."

"Why? Because all around him, many were actively collecting boxes just like him, so his actions were in no way out of the norm.'

'The most glances he would receive would be from the few people that actually managed to recognize him amidst the crowd.'

'In Orario, fame can be really ephemeral, lasting very little... Many would remember him, especially those he saved, but some would soon forget and go on with their days.'

'Of course, his name, or should I say, his Alias was already known by many adventurers...'

'Likely, with one more Level up, people would start to talk about him frantically.'

…

/A few moments later.../

'Silver left the Guild and made his way to Babel, but on the way, he stopped by a dark alley to open the box.'

'Inside he found no Marriage ring, but another small note… He expected this to be honest.'

'But contrary to his expectations, it wasn't a formal Guild notice, instead, it was a written paper.'

'And this seems to have been written by Royman, the Guild head himself as his stamp was on the paper…'

'Not only that, there were even mentions of things no one else apart from the upper bracket of the Guild should know... The so-called Dungeon dwellers.'

"As expected, it seemed that guy didn't know what was truly inside this box..."

There is indeed information, but no talk about the rewards or the commission's contents...

Whoever gave me this commission, probably wants to keep its existence a secret.

"So this isn't a formal request per se… But an informal one disguised as formal?…"

It may sound redundant, after all, why would the Guild try to hide information from itself? Especially when the ones giving me this quest are the ones on top…

Despite how it sounds, there is an explanation for this situation.

Pretty much, someone within the Guild wants me to deliver something to someone in the Dungeon, and I'm going to meet said person on the 18th floor.

So far so good, no need to hide that…

The problem is who this person is… There is no doubt after reading through this, that it's the Xenos.

Why all the secrecy? Well…

"It's not because of the Guild per se, but because of the forces outside of it…"

It's almost impossible for the Guild to leak something, especially within Orario, since it's right under the gaze of Ouranos…

What they're trying to do is to cover what I'm doing with a veil, so people from outside the Guild don't suspect much...

This extends within the Guild as well, the things Ouranos asks to be kept a secret will never reach the ears of even Rehmer, the Guild's Section leader, despite his high rank.

Unless Ouranos allows it since, in the end, there is no need to fill the heads of the normal workers with things they can't properly understand or would make them worry.

Still, I'm pretty excited to see what they'll have me deliver…

'With that in mind, Silver made his way to Babel.'

…

/20 or so minutes later.../

/THUD!/

"This should be it." Said a buffed man as he dropped a large bag on the ground

'He wasn't alone, next to him were 3 more buff men, all of them had to work together to carry this bag, this was how heavy it was…'

"Is this… My package?" Silver questioned with a dark expression

It's almost my size...

'He looked at the oversized bag; it was almost his height and at least 2M wide… Perhaps even a bit bigger.'

'As for its weight, there is no need to comment…'

"There's no mistaking, this is everything, you and your party are surely going to have quite the trouble." He said as he looked at Silver

"Yeah…"

So my commission is to carry this all the way to the 18th floor? This looks like something Loiju would pull off to make fun of me...

If they knew I had the ability to store things, then this would be explained, but they don't know that…

Do they have so much trust in me to carry this all down there on my own?... Sigh.

'Silver went next to the backpack and lifted it up without a speck of trouble.'

'The 4 buff dudes looked at him impressed…'

'Guild workers aren't allowed to make a pact with a God, not even with Ouranos, all of this in order to maintain the Guild's neutrality.'

'Because of this, they often time see themselves in pretty awkward situations... Especially when they have to carry heavy things with them...'

'Although normally that isn't a problem, as they can employ Low-Level adventurers to help them with such things, and this was exactly what those 4 men were.'

"Well then… I'm off." He said with a small nod towards the 4 dudes

"Wait!"

"Hm? What is it?"

Is there something else?

"Please sign here, it's for the identification process…"

"Oh…"

…

/A few minutes later.../

/KII!/

/Thud.../

'A goblin holding a sharp rock jumped from the ground, trying to slash his leg.'

'But the moment the rock touched his leg, it recoiled as if it was striking metal.'

"..."

"..."

'Silver and the Goblin looked at each other for a moment before he pulled his leg back and...'

/SPLAT!/

'The caverns of the Dungeon became a bit redder...'

...

'Without trouble, Silver descended the stairs of the Dungeon and arrived at the first floor before finding a hidden alley and teleporting all the way to the 18th floor.'

"Okay, I'm here... Back at the beautiful 18th floor..."

Now... I need to find the place mentioned in the paper...

'He checked the map he had bought long ago, and the information within the paper, eventually deciding to go East of his current location.'

'As for what's in the package you ask?'

'Silver did stop to check...'

'Inside, he saw dozens of Swords, knives, axes… And other supplies such as potions, all neatly packed within this oversized backpack.'

'And it wasn't your ordinary swords and axes, but High-class equipment, the likes Level 3 and 4 adventures would use consistently.'

'A quick calculation by measuring the materials he recognized... The total price of this collection would shoot up beyond 200 Million Valis!'

'And this was only for what he knew… A conservative estimation would be 300 Million Valis.'

'This is because a part of these weapons were actually Magic swords, although only a very small part…'

"It seems the Guild wants to arm the Xenos…"

The Xenos act as Ouranos' private army within the Dungeon, taking care of many problems and scouting the floors, and cleaning them of any potential trouble.

After all, most Irregular and Strengthened species are normally dealt with by them before they become troublesome.

And even if they only operate within the deeper sections of the Middle floors, and the Lower floors, that is already enough.

All troublesome creatures on the Upper floors can be easily dealt with, and those on the Deep floors and beyond are hardly troublesome, being cleared up by the big Familias whenever they go on an expedition.

So it is in his best interest that they are well armed and have the capability to defend themselves.

"Still..."

Last time I visited them... They were in danger, or so it seemed at least... That was why some of them were reluctant about me at first, and some still are.

Most likely, this commission is due to that danger...

I wonder though… Who is causing them trouble?

It must be quite the enemy considering that the Xenos are filled with Level 4 and 3 monsters, and several Level 5's… Perhaps more if we add the old Xenos, although their strength has deteriorated.

"The question is… How to help them in a natural way?..."

'Thinking deeply, Silver continued on his way…'

…

'He made his way past Rivira, the City on the 18th floor, and into a rocky region next to it.'

'This region was filled with massive crystals, similar to the ones on the ceiling, although these don't glow in the night, nor were they pretty... It depends on the perspective.'

'They were extremely sharp, and most of them were several meters tall, they were so packed together that it was almost impossible to pass through them…'

'They were just as dangerous as they were beautiful... One false step and you could lose your toe... Or your whole foot... Or worse, your life.'

'Unless you were very agile, being able to jump on top of them…'

'Or if you could fly above them, the best was to just go around them.'

'Silver chose the latter, sticking to the path written on the paper as he continued marching onward because, for him, it didn't really matter...'

'If his objective was to pass through these crystals... He had 10 ways of doing so, and half of them involved blasting everything to pieces.'

'But as he carried the massive bag, trying his best to not have it tear, he finally realized how it felt to be a Supporter…'

/Crack!/

'Silver grabbed a massive cristal, throwing it to the side.'

"They surely choose one hell of a place..."

This can't go on.

'Feeling slightly defeated, he stored the bag inside his pocket space, putting an end to his troubles.'

…

'He looked around, trying to find the exact place until his eyes fell upon a large crystal that looked like a… A large bear.'

"Hum…"

'He approached the gigantic crystal, looking around it until he saw a cross marking, it was very small, but it was enough for him.'

"This is the place."

'He looked around, and upon confirming that there was no one around him, he took out his backpack from his storage and pushed the giant crystal aside…'

/Krackle…/

'The crystal cracked as it was moved aside, but soon enough, a hole appeared underneath it…'

"Hum?..."

Ah...

"Sorry for the intrusion." Silver replied with a smile as he looked at the darkness within the hole

'A pair of red eyes stared at him from within, and like a flash, they disappeared…

"..."

'And now, a fluffy white bunny hugged Silver's face.'

/KIU!/

'The white rabbit made cute noises as it hugged his face, but Silver couldn't stay here in the open for long, so he pulled the rabbit aside and asked:'

"Is it just you?"

"Ki-kiu." The rabbit replied

"... I'll take that as a yes."

"Kiu!"

'The rabbit jumped into the dark hole, prompting him to follow.'

"Sigh…"

Time to figure out what they need these for.

'Silver stepped into the darkness, following the rabbit…'

/Crack!/

'The giant crystal soon moved back on its own, as if it had never moved to begin with…'

'Inside the hole, Silver thought:'

That was fucking heavy…

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