The Dungeon was a dangerous place. A nest of monsters. Every single thing inside this underground world harbored nothing but murderous intent for the gods' children—Gin included.
Previously, he had thought about exploring it, mostly for the dungeon-exclusive food like those fruits found in the Under Resort.
But it had never been more than an errant thought he'd entertain while waiting for the blood from wild game to drain.
He never thought the day would actually come for him to enter this place for real.
As Gin stepped off the last staircase leading into the dungeon, he surveyed his surroundings.
This was the first floor of Orario's famed dungeon.
"The Beginning Road," some people called it.
Some said that arriving here was one of the few unforgettable moments of their adventuring lives.
Gin just thought the place needed an interior makeover. It was an underground cave with blue-colored walls, big deal.
So much for a mystical, horrific dungeon.
'Now then, how should I do this?'
...
Unfortunately, his next action was clear.
A sigh escaped his mouth.
He was a rare case, as it turned out. Somehow, he had received a Skill and even a magic spell the very first time Hel gave him a Falna.
Niflheim and Ginnungagap.
A painful skill that made him question his own sanity, and a debuff spell that made him cringe just thinking about chanting it.
No wonder Hel was so happy with him.
He was the ideal captain for her familia!
'Couldn't I get a skill that makes it easier to find enemies? Or a spell that creates magic arrows or something?'
He was a hunter with a healthy appetite. Couldn't the universe give him a skill that reflected that fact, at least? Now, anyone who saw him fight using that skill would think he was an unsalvageable edgelord.
…Well, no matter.
He was alone right now, so it was the perfect chance to test his skill. Since this was the first floor, there should be plenty of goblins and kobolds around.
Should he try to activate his skill?
'Trying to increase my power seems like the right thing to do… All right, let's do this. Before anyone comes.'
Gin took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
"By the trapped dark power in me, guide my arrow to strike with true death!"
He'd done it.
He'd sold his honor for power!
This was a certified dark hero moment. He could feel his soul cringing with all its might!
But power was truly what he got. He could feel himself growing stronger.
It was almost intoxicating.
"…So this is the allure of darkn—"
'No! Gods no!'
Gin stopped himself from going too far. He knew there was no going back from that path. He wasn't going to fall any further just for some power.
This was just a test.
He would seal this skill forever! He swore it! On his honor and dignity!
Gin rushed into the dungeon, eager to slay a dozen goblins and kobolds at minimum. His sacrifice deserved some monetary return, at the very least.
His first prey appeared in sight.
Goblins, two of them.
He could take them on.
The dark power coursing through his body made it easy.
The goblins noticed his presence and ran at him, but they were still too far. And he had no obligation to fight them at their range.
Gin nocked two arrows at once into his bow. This was something he would never do normally. More arrows nocked meant less power for both. It was a move only a street-performer archer wanting to show off for valis would pull.
That kind of trick shot wouldn't be enough to kill a dungeon monster. Normally, that is.
With the reinforcement from Niflheim, even a stupid, showy move like this was lethal.
As he let go of the string, the arrows flew and pierced both goblins dead center at the exact same time.
"Bullseye."
Gin dismantled them with his knife, picked up the magic stones, and pocketed them.
The effect from Niflheim was still going strong. It demanded he use it more. And so he would. It didn't seem to be going away anytime soon, so he decided to hunt down every single monster on this floor until his skill's effect faded.
...
When Gin finally exited the dungeon, he could feel the weight of the magic stones in his waist bag.
Twenty monsters, slaughtered from a distance.
None of them had even managed to reach him before he shot them dead.
Some of the kills were too showy, to be frank. He threw his knife at one kobold and somehow slit its throat from a distance.
One died from him just slinging a rock at it.
The only kill he regretted was the goblin he allowed to get close, only to shoot it point-blank. The brain matter that fell into his mouth tasted disgusting.
Something did piss him off, though…
A jack bird.
He spied a fucking jack bird and it got away because he'd wasted all of his arrows, and Niflheim had just expired.
'No… it doesn't matter now.' He'd come back again and hunt it down. He'd hunt two of them, even. One for the golden egg, and one for its meat.
He'd always wanted to try eating a monster, so why not start with the most fulfilling of all?
Gin could feel himself drooling at the thought.
...
"This is the result of your first adventure, my champion. Be proud of it." Hel handed Gin his status sheet as he got dressed.
'Now let's see.'
Gin Hvergel
Level 1
Str I0 → I 22
End I0
Dex I0 → I 27
Agi I0 → I 11
Mag I0
Magic: Ginnungagap
Skill: Niflheim
"I see… My endurance and magic aren't growing at all."
He knew the reason, of course.
Endurance would only rise by sustaining damage, and he needed to use magic if he wanted his magic stat to grow.
'Should I have done things differently back there?'
"Are you not satisfied by it, my champion? To want more is human nature, you do not need to be ashamed of it. But keep in mind that power demands sacrifice, be it your flesh or your mind. You must take care not to be devoured by your own impatience, lest the end visit you before the fated time."
Complicated choice of words aside, Hel's advice was accurate.
If he wanted balanced growth, he needed to pay the price.
In this case, that meant letting himself get hit and using Ginnungagap even when he didn't need to.
It sounded easy to do, but that kind of method possessed its own extra risks.
Using Ginnungagap consumed Mind, his magic power. Use it too much and he'd faint from Mind Down.
Sure, it wouldn't be much of a risk once he knew his casting limit, but the possibility of messing up at the wrong time and getting injured from Ignis Fatuus was still there.
'Imagine dying from your own magic because your tongue slipped or getting a brain fart while chanting… that has to be one of the lamest ways to go.'
And about taking hits on purpose… aside from being unlucky and taking one too many hits, the biggest risk Gin could think of was some weird masochism fetish awakening inside him.
Anyway, he needed to think more about his approach for exploring the dungeon next time.
Right now, he still needed to get some dinner for Hel and himself.
Eating at a restaurant might be nice once in a while.
It might cost him some valis, but celebrating an occasion like this should be fine.
'Like, how much would a meal cost? I'll earn more with dungeon diving anyway.'
"My goddess, I heard there's a nice restaurant in the west district. You don't mind going out to eat, right?"
He could see Hel's face brighten at that.
She must have hated dining with Loki all this time.
"Great decision, my champion. This accursed place shall hold us inside no longer. Let us depart into the night."
With that, they exited the Twilight Manor and walked toward the rumored restaurant, the Hostess of Fertility.
...
The Hostess of Fertility was packed full of customers. A rowdy old man over there, drunk adventurers over there, a hulking woman throwing a guy out the door, and a delicious smell all around.
Yeah, this place seemed good.
A waitress wearing a uniform similar to a maid costume approached him. Looking at her ears and tail, she was obviously a cat person.
"Oh, a meow customer! The tables are all full, so you have to sit by the counter. Is that okay, meow?"
"Sure, that sounds good. Any menu you recommend?" Gin asked.
"How about the seafood platter? It's a little expensive but good. I want to eat it too, meow."
"Get us five platters then, some water, and beer as well."
"Oh, you've got a big appetite. Meowma Mia likes customers like you! Five seafood platters coming right up!"
Gin watched as the cat girl darted around the place, taking orders from other customers. A moment later, the hulking woman from before set up some of his order on the counter in front of him.
"Wait, boy, it's just you and this goddess here? Did Anya make a mistake again? I swear that girl keeps making unnecessary trouble."
"Uhh, no. She got the order right. All of that is for us."
The woman looked surprised for a second before laughing heartily. "Hahaha! That's nice! Real nice! Finally, some brat with a good appetite. Kids like you need to eat a lot and grow big!"
The food was good.
It was at least two levels ahead of his own cooking.
The seasoning was a little strong compared to what he was used to, but he accepted it as a chef's quirk rather than a mistake.
"I want to try the pasta next, Mama Mia!" Hel was poking at his side.
Gin looked at her, trying to figure out what she wanted. "Oh, and some milk for my goddess as well! Make it a cold one!"
As he kept ordering food, Gin noticed that the other patrons were starting to pay attention to him.
Mama Mia's smile seemed to get wider each second as he inhaled dish after dish, licking them clean before sending them back.
The waitresses stood flabbergasted as a mountain of dirty dishes started to pile up in the kitchen sink.
"Someone stop him, meow! Put more spice into his food! Please just stall him somehow, meow!"
Gin could hear some poor soul suffering nearby, but for once it wasn't him, so he didn't give a damn.
"You really can eat, huh, boy. What's your name?" Mama Mia asked.
"I am the first Child of the Goddess of Calamity and Darkness, future Unparalleled Master of the Bow and Arrow."
Gin was drunk.
He was clearly drunk.
He wouldn't have introduced himself like that otherwise!
"Gin Hvergel. With food this good, you can feel free to also note me down as your future husband, Mama Mia." He winked. Or at least he tried to.
"He's flirting with Mama Mia!"
"He's dead, meow!"
"Wait, Mama, don't kill him before he clears his tab!"
'Did someone say something about killing someone? They're not talking about me, right?'
He could see Mama Mia's shoulders tremble as she stared at him.
'Wait, am I in danger right now!?'
He looked at the staff, who were looking back at him with expressions no different from funeral attendees.
She approached him and… let out a deafening laugh.
"Gahahaha! You've got guts, kid! I'll give you that." She patted him on the back with the force of a charging boar.
Gin was pretty sure his Endurance stat went up from that alone.
"Tell you what. Become strong enough, come back alive, and we'll see if you can handle a one-on-one with me. Survive that and I'll consider it."
'My flirting was successful... kind of?'
"My champion, the sweet intoxicating nature of the brew seems to have captivated you. To court someone you only just met is an unwise decision. Marriage is no holy matrimony. It is a grave devoid of freedom and happiness."
Was Hel giving him sound advice? Maybe? He was too drunk to know.
It was quite unusual for his goddess to speak up like this, giving him solid advice no less. That deadpan stare… That almost pouting look…
'Is Hel jealous?'
Gin felt a weird sense of delight at that thought, but a moment later, another, more powerful emotion surfaced.
Suspicion.
'No, let's not get hasty.' He remembered the night of the tragedy. The single most embarrassing incident in the history of the lower world that could never be forgotten.
The resulting cringe of recalling that dark day drove him sober in an instant. That regrettable moment happened because he got too hasty, too happy, overestimated himself, and was a stinking virgin.
'Could this be the same? Am I about to create another dark memory because of drunkenness this time?'
No. Hell no. But then again… what if Hel really was jealous?
'...Let's just test the waters for now.'
"Uhm, my goddess? Milady Scourge of Ruin?"
She perked up at the nickname and nodded for him to continue.
'Are you jealous?… No, that's too direct.' Just like hunting game, rushing directly would mostly elicit a negative response from the prey. He needed to be subtle.
"Do you… forbid marriage?"
"No."
'Okay, so it's not some weird belief she has against marriage. That's good to know. Then…'
"Do you hate the thought of me getting married to some girl?"
"No."
'Okay, there goes my worry of being too attractive. I am still as ugly as ever.'
So what actually was the problem? Common sense would dictate the "only just met" part, but this was Hel he was talking about.
She had looked at him naked and was totally fine with it. Common sense didn't seem to have a grip on her, bluntly speaking.
Like, who in their right mind would give a Falna to some dude they just met? He had saved her, yes, but it was for self-preservation more than anything. The whole Falna thing started because of his misunderstanding… but she did say she was planning to ask him to become her Familia before he even posed the question.
Why was that? He was a fairly good archer, but he wasn't that good. It might have been her way of rewarding him for saving her, but she had already said something about taking care of his soul, so that wasn't it.
'Wait… could it be that it didn't have to be me, and she would offer her blessing to anyone half-decent?'
Yep, that sounded just about right. Hahaha. There went his already meager self-confidence.
Thinking about it like that, even Hel was quite a sad one, huh? Her personality was unique, for lack of better words. In truth, she had actually lucked out by finding someone like him to play along with her antics. If it was some normal person, they would have left by—
'...Ah, is that it?'
Was she worried that he would leave her?
'That's… actually pretty cute, not gonna lie.'
"Hel-sama, you do know that I won't leave you even if I'm married, right? I mean, I am your champion. My priorities might change when I get a wife and a kid, but you are also my family."
That surprisingly wasn't just lip service. He just couldn't leave this goddess, this lonely girl, alone.
"And I don't turn my back on my family." He gave her a pat on the head. Her expression was as blank as ever, but he felt it had softened somehow.
"Is that an oath, my champion?" She placed her hands on his patting one, signaling her acceptance of his affectionate gesture.
"No, it's not just an oath. It's a blood oath."
'Adding 'blood' to it makes it sound cooler even when no blood is involved.' Hel seemed to approve.
Gin felt his mouth form into a mischievous grin. "Besides, if my marriage does turn out to be a grave mistake, I might need your assistance to… take care of the wife."
He could see a faint smile on her lips.
"Umu, you are talking about assigning her curtain call. Dwell on it no longer, my champion. Death is my domain. If I decree so, her slumber will be the last entry in her memoir. The curse of all whose wings were torn shall descend upon her without mercy and my divine hand shall serve as the wedge."
'Wow, my goddess is okay with smothering my future wife with a pillow if she turns out to be a bitch. That's very sweet of her.'
"Astrea Familia will arrest you both if they hear you right now, you brats," Mama Mia interjected.
"Welp, then we better retreat before they come sniffing for us." Gin laughed. "Please lead the way, my goddess."
"Umu, stay close to me, my champion. The night is not a kind mistress towards the defenseless. Only dark denizens such as I have free reign over her, and are thus excused from her ire. Follow my footsteps and you shall soon receive the same authority as I."
"Of course, just a second. Mama Mia, could I get the check, please?"
"Here you go."
Gin received the check and took a glance at it. 7,000 Valis. He rubbed his eyes, trying to make the number turn right, instead of this impossible amount.
Nope, still 7,000 Valis.
"…Mama Mia, you sure this number is correct?"
"Yeah."
"Can I get a discount?"
"No." She smiled, and Gin swore he heard her knuckles cracking.
He wisely handed over the money.
He could feel significant weight vanish from his wallet, but it was a fairly cheap price compared to the alternative of paying with his life.