Calming Down

Bane cooled down during the walk up the stairs to the top of the dungeon.

"Sly woman…" Bane muttered as he recalled Luna's face from earlier. She had looked genuinely concerned to him, but Bane spat at the thought, deeming it impossible for her to show any sort of compassion or empathy.

Bane passed by the Guild Hall. Tomorrow, he would exchange all the energy crystals with Winter. For now, he pushed past and walked back to the faction building as the sun set behind the mountains just outside Gren. Bane watched his long shadow as he walked, soon turning his attention to the notifications he had put off.

He first claimed the floor completion rewards:

Floor 5 Completion:

Slay all enemy types on the first floor of the dungeon:

Mimic – Complete

Doppelganger – Complete

Rewards: 20,000 Shill, two Skill Points

Bane closed out of the quest box, noting the large amount of money he'd been acquiring. 'Almost sixty thousand,' Bane thought. Seeing that made him happy, though it also made him yearn for more. He remembered the achievement he had yet to complete as well.

Just before arriving home, he allocated the skill points he received from the quest:

[Bane of the Slums]: LV 32 (5,730/6,200)

[Title]: Slimey Slayer LV 1 (72/100), Goblin Dispatcher LV 2 (56/1000), Arachnid Assassin LV 2 (155/1000), Angel Assassin LV 1 (5/100), Mimic Murderer LV 1 (12/100)

[Strength]: LV 13

[Dexterity]: LV 3

[Mind]: LV 2

[Agility]: LV 13

[Fortitude]: LV 5

[Magic]: LV 1

[Skills]: Appraisal LV 1, Threat Analysis LV 1, Danger Sense LV 2, Passive Healing LV 1, Magnetize LV 1, Night Vision, Feared Hunt, Proficient Reader LV 1

He chose to invest the points into Strength and Agility, feeling like he got the biggest return from those two. 'Level thirty-two…' he thought as he gazed happily at his status. 'So much more to go…' Bane often got lost in thought about becoming the strongest adventurer—or even transcending.

Transcending was a common rumor known by many in Gren. The story went like this: Once an adventurer reaches the maximum level, if they are chosen by the gods, they can transcend and be reset to level one while retaining the abilities of a max-level adventurer.

However, this idea wasn't widely accepted. After all, if it were true, a person could become infinitely powerful. Knowing infinity is impossible to achieve in a finite world, many adventurers, civilians, and historians dismissed it as a child's tale. But Bane, practically a child himself at just eighteen, had been thrust into a world of death and fear. He chose to believe whatever he wanted.

Bane arrived at the front of the faction building not long after.

Eir sat patiently in her usual chair in the back room of the faction building.

"Oh, hey Bane," she greeted him with a small smile, marking her place in the book and setting it down in her lap.

"Hi, Eir," he returned, more glum than usual. She'd only ever seen him like this twice before: during the lunar event and when they talked about it one night. She sensed something was off and carefully approached the subject.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, tilting her head. She kept her voice calm and cheerful, not letting him know she sensed anything was wrong.

"Yeah, what about you?" Bane replied monotonously.

Eir pursed her lips, hoping to get a little more from the angsty teen standing before her. "I'm good. What's wrong?" She completely disregarded her plan of approaching the topic calmly and came right out with the question.

Bane was taken aback by her directness and responded slowly. "Well, the dungeon today was pretty traumatic."

"Like what?" Eir inquired.

"There were these enemies called mimics. They can copy objects, which wasn't too bad. But then the boss…" Bane started but trailed off.

"Yes?" Eir prompted, motioning for him to continue.

"The boss was this thing called a doppelganger. It can copy people's appearances. It took the shape of me, and when I was about to beat it, it changed its appearance to Winter…" Bane said, recalling the trauma of slowly killing and slicing up Winter's likeness.

"I'm sorry," was the best thing Eir could think to say, unsure of anything else that could soothe him.

"It's okay. It was fake, so it doesn't really matter. Just, in the moment, it was a lot to go through," Bane rationalized, minimizing his trauma and making it seem insignificant. Eir noticed this and quickly gripped the book in her lap, standing up.

"I told you, what you go through in the dungeon—you can tell me about it. It is traumatic. I could never imagine such a thing," Eir said, placing her book on the vacant seat before moving closer to Bane.

"Come here," she said, holding her arms out, her face slightly flushed.

"Wha—" Bane started but caught himself. It wasn't every day that Eir was this nice to him. He moved forward and accepted her embrace.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that…" she said, letting them stand together for a moment longer. Eventually, Eir pulled away and nervously moved on from the topic.

"So, do you want to go eat? Or would you like me to grab something?" Eir asked, clasping her hands together and smiling.

"We can go somewhere together," Bane returned, a small smile creeping onto his face as he gazed at his goddess.

And so, the two of them left the faction building in search of a nice meal.

As they walked, silence lingered until Bane spoke up. "Thank you, by the way, for being so nice and caring for me like that," he said with a hint of embarrassment.

"Yeah, sure. Not like I wanted to do that or anything. I just knew you were sad. I don't care," Eir spoke quickly, her face flushed.

Seeing this display, Bane's mood improved as he giggled quietly to himself.

"Stop laughing!" Eir whisper-shouted as they walked through the streets looking for a nice hot meal.

Eventually, the two found themselves sitting at the counter of a new noodle place. As they watched the cooks in the back, Bane spoke once more.

"Can we get a kitchen?" Bane asked Eir, his eyes locked onto the chefs flipping pans and kneading dough with rolling pins.

"Of course we can," Eir replied, her eyes also fixed on the cooks. "It's impressive. Watching them is so cool," she continued.

"Yeah…" Bane said, in awe at the chefs' skills.

After a while, the two were served two deep bowls full of noodles, sauce, broth, and other ingredients. Eir inquired about something Bane had mentioned earlier.

"Is there a reason why you want a kitchen?" Eir asked, her mouth full of noodles.

Bane nodded. "Yeah, I cooked recently. Winter was sick today, and I cooked for her," Bane started, causing Eir's eyes to widen at this unmentioned event.

"She enjoyed it, and seeing something I did bring a smile to her face and make her feel better felt really good," Bane said, clutching his chest.

"So, you cooked for Winter today?" Eir asked, her eyes wide as she spoke monotonously.

"Yeah, she was really sick, and I want to keep cooking. If I could cook for us some nights, I think it would be really fun," Bane said, embarrassed at sharing his interest.

Eir sat deep in thought next to him. 'Winter… you may have gotten the first meal from Bane, but I will get many more,' she thought, a dumb grin on her face as she imagined Bane cooking for her.

"I'll get on it tomorrow. I'll ask around and get a price on the renovations," Eir shared as she dug back into her noodles with a big smile on her face.

Bane nodded and thanked her before he, too, dug into the delicious noodles before him.

"Man, I am stuuuuffed…" Eir said, leaning back in her chair, her mouth wide open. Bane had quickly picked up on her lack of manners when they first met. She was an unusual character and often acted oddly in many situations.

"Yeah, that was really good," Bane reciprocated, staring from her down to the empty bowl of noodles before him.

Bane paid and tipped the chef generously for the delicious meal. The two sat, letting their food settle in silence before heading back to the faction building. The sun had long set, and Bane struggled to insert the key in the darkness. Eventually, it clicked, and the two walked inside, falling face-first onto the bed.

"Ugh! Bane, my stomach hurts," Eir groaned as she curled up into a ball on the bed. Bane stood and giggled as he looked down at the display.

"Stop laughing! It's not funny! What if I laughed at you when you were in pain!" Eir countered before clutching her stomach and moving under the covers.

Bane took a minute before joining her under the covers. Soon enough, he fell asleep next to his goddess. By now, it was a sign of comfort—falling asleep next to her was calming. With a smile on his face, Bane drifted off, ready for whatever tomorrow would bring.