Selling drugs in the Dungeon should be a profitable business, no? Chapter 1 (Patreon)

I breathe in, then slowly breathe out.

The plain sword on my lap releases a faint hum, and I slowly pull myself out of the depths of my calming and peaceful meditation session.

I open my eyes, letting my gaze land upon the beautiful scenery before me.

Grassy fields and hills stretched as far as my eyes can see, glistening beneath the gentle rays of the morning Sun.

Being reincarnated really ain’t so bad after all.

Well, other than going through the ‘baby stages’.

Going through those while fully conscious and aware is… Well, horrifying.

I was reborn in a medieval style village, which took quite a bit of getting used to.

And it’s not just that! This world apparently has magic too- or so did the old racist crone at the village used to say. Or dare I say, holler.

I’ve never seen it myself, but I did encounter a few monsters while I was out gathering herbs around the forest near the village.

I never really liked the place, especially since the people around weren’t really the best company, with the majority being some heavily racist folks towards the other races.

So I started doing odd jobs here and there, selling medicinal herbs to those in need and helping out as much as I could, storing up all the Valis – The currency of this world – so to then depart for the city up north.

The city of Orario, which for some reason sounds quite familiar to me.

I heard that people go there to flourish. To explore the Dungeon and become famous. And other stuff I really didn’t bother on listening.

I wanted to go there for two reasons. The first obviously was to get away from my village.

The second is so that I can go about making a living. And find more ingredients for concocting Pills.

Yes. The Pills from Xianxia Cultivation stories.

I really don’t fucking know why and how I gained these memories on rebirth, but oh well, it gave me something else to focus on and achieve.

Like Cultivation. It’s kinda fun, and a way to stave off boredom.

I started cultivating mostly for the sake of self-defense, just in case… Which I also need to Concoct Pills, to be exact.

It needs to be balanced.

Cultivation is different from the settings I know about. It’s a mix of both, the Wuxia and Xianxia genres I mean.

Xianxia cultivation is more concentrated on Spiritual growth, and usually tends to get out of proportions by having it’s characters be capable of soaring through the cosmos and whatnot with a single step.

Wuxia instead is more focused on martial arts, swordsmanship, techniques, controlling swords with Qi, mental state and stuff like that.

The Cultivation I follow is both Spiritual and Physical, as I need constant practice and training to keep my body strong, nourishing it with Qi constantly, so to make it so that it can handle the usage of said Qi.

I know how to cultivate, have blueprints on swords and Pill Furnaces in my head, thousands of different technique manuals and so much more.

It’s a bit overwhelming, but oh well, I got used to it by now.

I just hope that there are no Cultivators around. I’d rather not live in a world where people kill each other just for not kneeling when they walk past you.

Or other horrid shit that happens within those settings.

I sigh softly, then stretch my back before dragging my leather sack closer.

I’m eighteen years old now. I didn’t want to depart for Orario yet, but I had no choice since an enormous black dragon decided to turn my village into a massive molten crater while I was out in the forest to check on my secret garden.

So of course I packed up everything I had left, and I am now hoping that the Valis I managed to save up through the years are enough to keep me fed for at least more than a month, or a week.

Worst case scenario, I can always try the Dungeon and use that to gather money, if it’s actually as profitable as I heard. I wouldn’t mind testing my skills against some monsters either.

I bring the mortar and pestle out of my bag, then hum a happy tune as I fish out the herbs, flowers and plants I found during the past few days of travel.

I expertly remove the bad bits from the good parts, but keep the very bottom with the roots attached, so that I can replant them in the future.

I mostly saved up the roots for the Healing Pills, and the Qi Gathering Pills that I require to Cultivate and better absorb the insanely dense Qi in the surrounding.

It’s very pure, dense and stronger than I think it should be, which is very confusing since I have a feeling that it shouldn’t be like this.

Oh well, I know how ‘to do’ stuff, but I don’t really have the manual explaining how everything exactly works.

Like, I know how to cultivate and what the best training method and techniques for me are, but I also don’t know why and how the hell all of this works.

I know what each plant I look at does and can be good for and what Pills I can make with them, but I don’t know their names or origins and whatnot.

It’s confusing, but I got used to it after nearly two decades.

I pause my grinding of the herb in the mortar and frown slightly. I quickly take stock of a few more herbs I already have, then hum softly.

I actually have enough to make a few Qi Gathering Pills…

I think I ran out of them a few days ago, so having a few more on hand will be nice.

The way my Cultivation works is simple;

I Cultivate and absorb Qi through breathing, then either gather it inside the Qi Palace inside my abdomen, or I nourish my body with it.

I constantly nourish my body with the sparse Qi I absorb with each breath, while I use the waves I breathe in after taking a Qi Gathering Pill to fill my Qi Palace.

The Qi Palace follows the Xianxia way of Spiritual Cultivation, while the body nourishing follows the Wuxia way, and they both work perfectly in tandem.

Kind of like Yin and Yang, with each having a bit of Xianxia and Wuxia inside each other due to me needing a strong body to absorb Qi, and needing strong Qi to nourish my body.

The Qi Palace is the first Realm, compromised of Nine Stages in total.

What the Qi Palace does is simple. I absorb and store Qi inside of it, and once I gather a certain amount, a Qi Strand is created, which I can use to either nourish my body but with far greater and effective results, or to give myself a boost in fighting capabilities for a short period of time.

Though I can’t really fully handle the boost in power yet.

Once I gather one-hundred Qi Strands, I can use them all to upgrade the Qi Palace to the Second Stage.

Then I need two-hundred to upgrade it to the Third. So on and so forth.

Each upgrade makes my Qi Palace stronger, and it also makes absorbing Qi easier. The strands an upgraded Qi Palace absorbs are also far better than the ones it previously did.

And then as I upgrade my Qi Palace, I also constantly upgrade my own body with the improved and better Qi Strands, so to better handle the further upgrades.

A perfect cycle.

I hum away those thoughts and summon my Pill Furnace with a thought, an object bigger than my head and dark green in color.

It can barely be considered a passable Tier One Pill Furnace, even my sword is barely decent, but the reason I had them made when I was around eight – after blackmailing the village Blacksmith – was so to awaken and activate the Item Spirits inside of them.

Item Spirits are basically the Souls of weapons, which only a cultivator can nourish by establishing a contract with them, and keeping them inside their Spiritual Space or close, which strengthens them passively, and through each time they are used.

They basically bring out the full potential of a weapon or artifact, especially in a world where Qi is so dense and fills pretty much everything.

The Item Spirits inside weapons make the Qi usage feel easier, and the greater they are, the less the Qi is wasted during techniques or fights.

While the Item Spirits of objects like Pill Furnaces and other items are mostly there to assist the usage. They record recipes, can act independently as long as they have a sustainable energy source and materials, so on and so forth.

And the older they are, the better they get at doing these things, hence why I had them made so long ago, so to make them mature.

And I ended up with a cheeky little bitch as a sword that wants to cut everything up.

I sigh and pat my Pill Furnace with a fond smile. She truly is obedient…

The lid pops open, powdered ingredients are poured in, the lid is closed, and a strand of Qi is poured inside.

The furnace rumbles and heats up, cooking the ingredients one by one to remove as many impurities inside of them as possible.

Once purified, the ingredients are pushed and fused together, then strengthened and purified even more by the remaining Qi inside the furnace.

And finally, the fused portion are split evenly, forming a total of six Pills that are cooked perfectly.

Steam billows out from the Pill Furnace as the lid pops open, revealing six floating and glistening Azure Pills- No wait, three of them are Sky Blue! Fuck Yeah!

Pills quality is divided into Five Tiers, each one visibly different than the others, and nearly a dozen times better than the lower Tier.

The First Tier is Dark Blue Pills, which have a dark blue hue to them, and the inside is visibly turbid.

Azure Pills are the Fourth Tier, with them having an azure hue to them and their insides being far clearer.

Then the third is Sky Blue, with the insides being see-through. Followed by the Golden Tier, with the insides of the Pill being filled with glowing golden Qi.

And finally, the Platinum or Heaven Tier, which I think is kind of impossible to achieve here, since there are no Heavens, the existence that oversees Cultivation and hurls lightning at the Cultivators during certain breakthroughs.

I dunno why I feel like the Heavens do not exist here, but I trust this gut-feeling.

Heaven Tier Pills are Pills that are accepted by the Heavens themselves, and which get struck by Heavenly Lighting once they come out of the Pill Furnace.

It grants the Pills some spirituality, and makes them perfect. They are so strong that apparently it would take years to fully finish absorbing one.

And now I managed to make three Sky Blue Pills!

It’s quite hard for me to make them due to my Pill Furnace being barely passable, and the fact I can constantly make Azure Tier ones is because everything around me is just full of concentrated Qi.

So much so that all the ingredients I use are of incredible quality, and me refining them unfortunately is me wasting them, as I’m sure I could do something far greater if I had a better furnace.

But alas, I must waste these ingredients so to keep up with my cultivation, and so to train the Item Spirits of my furnace.

The gains will be far greater than what I wasted in the end.

I pop a Sky Blue Pill in my mouth as I put my Pill Furnace away with a thought, then smile at the rather delicious taste.

It instantly melts on my tongue, and my body feels refreshed and light, and each breath is fresh, as if I just had some strong mint.

Waves of Qi poured into me with each breath, and I put everything away and stood, then place the new Pills inside my pouch before sighing softly.

Now, Orario should be a few hours away, so…

I think I should be able to reach it in just one hour, if I push it.

Sky Blue Pills last around half an hour, if not more, and if I alternate each breath between powering my body and creating Qi Strands, then it should be fine.

Maybe less.

I need around five breaths to create a single Qi Strand with a Sky Blue Pill, so perhaps one breath to power my body, then a Qi Strand, then another to power my body. So to not push my body too far.

I hum and stretch my back again, then turn around and walk down the small hill I sat on to take a break during the night.

I tie my sack on my back, and keep a tight grip on my sword with my left hand before jogging up to the beaten road that leads towards Orario.

I can’t see it yet, but I heard from a passing caravan that I can’t miss it since it has a big ass tower in the middle.

So I take a deep breath once on the road, then start running in my designed direction, the wind whistling past my ears as the surroundings turn into a blur.

I’ve been traveling for a while now, and it’s incredibly lonely, so I hope to find some kind of excitement inside the city of Orario.

I just hope there’s no damned Cultivators around…

                                                              XxxX

“New to Orario?” The guard by the gates ask me, a relaxed and almost bored expression on his face.

“Yep.” I reply, popping the ‘P’ as I follow the enormous walls with my eyes, noticing the many scars of past attacks onto them.

Slashes, craters, holes, stabs… Jesus, this place gets attacked frequently, huh?

The guard hums as he fishes out a slip of paper from the folders on the table beside him. “Left home to be a Hero?” He asks, an amused smile now tugging at his lips.

“Nah, too much trouble.” He snorts at that.

“Gotta agree with that.” He muses with a nod. “The Zeus and Hera Familias can hog all the danger and glory for all I care.” Zeus? Hera? Those are Gods from Greek Mythology…

What kind of loopy land did I reincarnate into?!

“Well, here you go.” I blink and take the offered slip of paper, then raise a brow at it. “Take it to the Guild, fill out the form there and register yourself as a resident of Orario. Then you can see about doing what you want.” I nod and walk past him with a soft thanks, then hum softly as I read through the paper contents.

It’s kind of like an ID, asking name, surname, age, where I come from and some useless stuff.

I hum, then lift my head to stare around the street, finally seeing people after quite a long time.

And yet, as I spread my Spiritual Sense around, I became quite confused.

There are no Cultivators.

Everyone around me is but a normal mortal, not even a slight trace of Qi inside their bodies, unlike me.

And there are Beast People too… Is that a Cat Girl?

No, seriously… where the fuck did I reincarnate?

Also, the guard didn’t tell me where this Guild is, so…

I’ll just walk towards the enormous tower I see ahead of me. It’s either there, or I’ll find clues on where it is.

But the closer I get to it, the more I frown.

There’s… Something twisted, dark and heavy beneath the city.

The Qi is heavy and corrupted, and it also feels… sentient?

Is this the Dungeon?

I scrunch up my nose, then take notice of a few people around me.

It seems that the closer I get to the massive tower, the more people with very strong bodies I run into.

Though I can’t really put a level to them. Plus, they still don’t have any Qi. Weird.

The few then became many right at the large square surrounding the tower. Ninety percent of the people around have very strong bodies.

But yet again, no one with Qi.

Fuck yeah, no Cultivators!

Now, to find the Guild…

“Excuse me-” The group of people I waved to walks past me.

I blink.

Did I just get ignored?

I try again, but this time with another group.

I get a side glance, then get ignored again.

I frown at that.

If I was a Young Master, I’d have already started hollering and throwing threats and clumsy attacks around.

Good thing I ain’t…

What’s up with these people anyways?

I sigh deeply and take a seat on a nearby bench. “How annoying…”

“What’s annoying?” A soft asks from right beside me.

And I totally did not scream.

Totally did not.

“Oh, sorry…” The owner of the voice giggles softly, a sound that is just so pleasant to hear, and I take a deep breath to calm my rampaging hearth from the sudden scare.

I turn my head to stare at the speaker, then blink when I see that she is wearing a thick cape and hood to cover her appearance. Though I can still make out a slightly pale face and bright silver hair, close to a bright white.

“It’s alright, I should have paid attention…” I wave off her apology with an amused smile of my own.

Thank God I was careful enough not to sit on her… I’d have died of shame right then and there.

Another soft giggle escapes the girl, who at a glance looks to be around my age, if not a bit older. “Do you need help?” She asks gently, her voice so kind and soft that it gives me pause.

I feel like I’ve been incredibly tense and on constant guard since I’ve entered the city, expecting Cultivators to pop up left and right and just ruin everything, like they always do.

In fact, just the fact that those people merely ignored me instead of hollering at me for even daring to breathe their air was… surprising.

I guess I am safe from Cultivators bullshit then?

“I’m kind of lost?” I reveal, making the girl’s head tilt cutely to the side, revealing long and flowing pearly white hair. “I need to register myself at the Guild, but I don’t know where it is.”

The girl makes a noise of understanding, which admittedly sounds insanely adorable.

One of her hands comes up to pull back at her hood and cloak, and I am left absolutely floored at how insanely beautiful she is.

She’s breathtaking…

...Wait! She a jade beauty?!

Where’s the Young Master that stalks her?!

Pale skin, insanely clear and bright sky-blue eyes, long and flowing silver-white hair… And, well… She sports some rather enormous assets.

Deus mios…

“It’s actually not far from here.” The girl reveals, then slowly stands with a gentle smile on her face. “I can take you there, if you want?” I must refuse, before we are both approached by the lurking Young Master.

“It’s alright, really!” I wave her off with a smile as I stand too. “Just point me down the street, I’d rather not bother you!” Kuh! She’s pouting at me! Fuck!

What power…

“I want to stretch my legs, so it’s no biggie!” The girl insists, so I can only give in.

I swear to any God above and below, the first Young Master that blocks my way is getting a kick in the fucking nuts.

And then his family Elder will receive the same treatment.

I want a peaceful life!

“Oh, right.” The girl jumps, seemingly remembering something as she leads the way at a rather slow pace. “I am Meteria!” She introduces herself with a big smile on her face, which is rather infectious.

“My name’s Riley. Thank you again for your help.” Her smile brightens up at my words.

She’s such a sweet girl, ain’t she?

“Did you come to Orario to become an adventurer?” Meteria asks, glancing at the sword in my hand as she does so, but I swiftly shake my head.

That sounds like an annoyance, to be honest. “I just want to live a peaceful life, but if need to make a living then I won’t mind going down there for a bit.” Her eyes sparkle with interest at my words, a low and cute hum flowing out of her lips.

“Not many are like you.” She muses softly, glancing up ahead, the road being filled with pedestrians and small stalls selling all kinds of things.

Still no Cultivators. Still no Qi in anyone. How… weird, but comforting.

Are my senses just failing me? Is the insanely dense Qi all around me making it hard for me to detect others Cultivators?

Am I just too paranoid?

“Let me guess; The majority come here with dreams of grandeur?” She giggles softly at my words, though I don’t fail to notice a slight pained winch when she does so.

Pale, slow walker, breathing is slow and heavy, heartbeat is… very slow, too.

“That they do. And many don’t get to live long due to being far too prideful and underestimating the Dungeon.” She sighs out softly, yet there’s a faint longing look in her eyes. “My sister is an Adventurer. Among the strongest too…”

No jealousy, just pure longing and desire. She wants to experience excitement, perhaps a change to her life. Something. “Do you want to be an Adventurer?” I couldn’t help but ask softly, and her sweet smile does fall a little bit.

Now I feel bad. “Just a bit.” She giggles faintly, perfectly hiding yet another small wince of pain from that. “But you see, I’m very sickly – Nothing contagious, of course!–“ She swiftly waves her hands in a panic, making me chuckle.

Like I’d be worried about some sicknesses and plagues with the Pills I have on me.

“-So I can’t really do heavy physical activities or… well, I shouldn’t even be out here in the first place!” I deadpan at her as she giggles nervously while rubbing the back of her neck. “If Lady Hera and Bis Sis find out, they’ll scold me~!” Yep, very adorable.

Still, she’s sick, huh? And is connected to Hera? How’s she not healed yet then?

Is her sickness that horrendous, or what?

But maybe if I heal her I can get some sort of boon from Hera, but at the same time, I’d hate myself for using such a sweet girl just to boost the business that hasn’t even started yet.

“Well, I am kind off a doctor too, but I presume you already visited many?” Her nervous smile is all the answer I need-

“Lady Hera even bought me to some Gods, and when even they failed to heal me, well… They kinda disappeared overnight.” Ah, very interesting information right there, sweet little lady.

So yeah, Hera isn’t one to be fucking around and finding out with.

Disappoint her, and I might just find myself ten thousand feet below the ground, or end up like Heracles.

“I do not wish to look down on your abilities!” Meteria squeaks out in worry, probably due to me falling silent to think after her chilling words. “It’s just… No potion ever managed to help me.”

Potions, eh? I couldn’t help but smirk at that. “Good thing that what I make aren’t potions!” Her confused face is also very adorable. This girl is just beyond dangerous.

I swiftly fish out a Healing Pill, a simple Tier One, yet one capable of even healing the worst type of Cancer or tumors in a flash, then give it to Meteria. “This is something of my creation-” Hopefully there are no Alchemists here! “-that I call ‘Pills’. Quick and easy to make, and far more efficient than Potions.”

And I know that for sure, even without knowing how potions work. Because Xianxia Pills are just that busted and powerful.

Meteria’s eyes sparkle as she examines the small round pill pinched between her fingers, then takes a quick sniff at it. “Oh! It smells like mint!” Then, without warning, she just throws it in her mouth and chews happily.

I blink and come to a stop, then watch as she takes a few more steps before stopping herself.

Then, almost like a robot, she slowly turns to stare at me with wide, teary and apologetic eyes. “I didn’t mean to eat it~!” I couldn’t help it.

I burst out laughing at her face, making her teary pout deepen- Only for her to suddenly freeze.

“Eh?” My chuckles slow down as Meteria reaches up to rest a hand above her cleavage, some color returning to her cheeks as she takes a very long and deep breath. “Eh!?”

I tilt my head when she just… starts shadow-boxing, jumping around, then even runs around me like a cute little rabbit for a few seconds before skidding to a stop with wide sparkling eyes.

“Riley!” She shouts right into my face, her excitement being so great that the very air around her is sparkling too. Or I’m just seeing things. “I feel amazing! And so full of energy!”

“I feel like I can throw down with a Minotaur and win!” She giggles, then pauses with a haunted look on her face. “Well, I’ll actually die a horrible death, but…” How do you switch up so damn fast, lady?!

Either be cute or be macabre! Pick only one!

“I’m glad to see you healthier and full of energy, then.” I smile, and Meteria giggles and cups her flushes cheeks while wiggling around.

“You’re like a cool Hero that swooped in to save the poor, unable to be healed princess!” Now you are just fantasizing too much.

With a snort, I couldn’t help but pat her head, earning a very adorable puff of her cheeks and pout from her.

Guess I got lucky that she is the first person I met here. I could have ran into all sorts of weird and horrible people – like the infamous Young Masters – but instead I ran into a very adorable and friendly girl.

So what’s the catch?

No good thing comes without some weird shit happening right after when it comes to me.

“Oh, right!” Jumping high, Meteria turns around and points at the building at the end of the street, a fairly large and different one from those around us. “There’s the Guild, let’s go!”

Huh, it didn’t really meet the expectations I had for it, but that’s alright too.

It’s kinda fancy, and so is the inside, but it’s nothing that grand.

“There, that’s the receptionist you should talk to!” I nod as Meteria points me towards one of the ladies further away from the large lines of people.

So without wasting time, I approach the bored looking woman and drop the slip of paper the guard gave me before her. “I’m here to sign in as a citizen of Orario.” Bored eyes flick up to me, and then she sighs deeply and drags the paper towards me. Very professional welcome, eh?

She hammers a red stamp on the paper, then picks her pen up. “Are you here to be an Adventurer and join a Familia?” The hell is a Familia? Also, is being an adventurer a requirement to go into the Dungeon?

Hn… Something to find out later. “Nope to both. Albeit I don’t know what a Familia even is.” Bored eyes once more flick up to me with a raised brow.

Meteria is the one that steps up to answer my unasked question. “It’s where a God or Goddess gift the Falna, a Blessing that helps people grow stronger, to mortals. It’s a mark on our back that identifies which Familia we are part off.” A Blessing that helps people grow stronger?

Is that how people acquire Qi here? Or is something else?

Ah, whatever. “Yeah, then not at the moment.” I’ll probably just dive into the Dungeon a few times, see how good the profit is, and decide from there how much I want to do it.

I wouldn’t mind going day to day in such a way, wouldn’t really be boring, especially if it’ll help me perfect my techniques and stuff like that.

I’ll just need to find a plot of land to place my ingredients and let them grow, and I’ll be set.

Also find a good blacksmith, but that’s for when I have some money.

“There you go. Welcome to Orario.” Add some excitement to your voice lady, damn. Even if it’s fake, it’ll at least be better that way.

First I get ignored, then the receptionist is just… depressing.

Is this really how my first day in this city is going to be?

It can’t get any worse…

“Riley?” Meteria cutely tilts her head to the side as I pat her shoulder.

“I am thankful I met you today.” Her face lights up with an intense blush, eyes going so wide that they might as well have turned into dinner plates.

“Awawawawawa~!” Huh, now that’s an adorable reaction.

Meteria swiftly recovers from her embarrassment, though faint dusting of red lingers on her cheeks and ears as she grasps my hand and starts dragging me outside the Guild. “I’ll introduce you to my Big Sis! She has the same sickness as me – much weaker, though – so maybe you can fully heal her!” Fully?

Does that mean that the Pill I gave her hasn’t completely purged her sickness?

That’s… worrying. Very much so.

It seems that it just alleviated the effects of it on her, perhaps even fixed some of the damage it has done to her health over the time it has afflicted her.

Pills have an immense healing power, so the mere fact that the Healing Pill I gave her wasn’t enough means that it’s a really horrid disease.

In how much was she in before I gave it to her? It had to be immense, yet she was used to it and was able to hide it, with just a few minor winces getting past her mask.

Will a Tier Two Pill be enough? A Tier Three is far too strong for any normal mortal to take. The medicinal energy will just make their organs collapse on themselves instead of healing any damage there is.

I’ll have to check on her later, see how she feels after the Pills effects have died down, which should take a whole day.

“I’ll have to refuse that invitation, unfortunately.” I speak up once I notice that the sun is setting. I’d rather quickly find a place to stay for the night, and a cheap one at that. “I need to find a place to stay at, so…”

Meteria pouts lightly, but she nods in understanding and lets go of my hand.

Which also makes me notice that she somehow swiftly dragged me back beneath the massive tower in the middle of Orario while I was stuck in my thoughts about her disease.

How fast was she running? Damn…

Pretty sure the Pill I gave her should have only healed her, not given her such an enormous amount of energy, like a rabbit high on caffeine powered by a Nuclear Reactor…

“There are some cheap but nice inns down that way.” Meteria speaks up, turning to point down a street to our right.

The more I look around, the more this feels like the center of a clock with how the city is shaped and the streets are placed.

I go to answer, but then the sight of large carriages being pulled out from the entrance to the tower catches my eye.

Is that a fucking albino gorilla inside one of them? Man, that fucker’s huge! What do they feed him- Wait, that’s supposed to be one of the monsters of the Dungeon?

The hell- And that’s a big and fat Orc. Huh.

Again, what sort of loopy-land did I reincarnate into?

“Oh, I didn’t realize Mosterphilia is close…” Meteria muses softly, and I give her a confused look. “It’s a festival where the Ganesha Familia tames some monsters from the Dungeon and uses them to entertain the people on the surface.” Ah, I see…

Sounds very fucking dangerous, but who am I to say that?

“Either way…” I fish out three Healing Pills from my pouch, then give them to the wide-eyed Meteria. “Take one each time you start feeling bad, preferably once a day.” Pill induced stomach-aches are the worst pain in existence.

And the one to suffer the most will be the bathroom.

“But-But-!” Her big adorable eyes switch between looking at me and at the Pills in her hands, clear hesitation in them together with excitement and hope.

“Give one to your sister too and let me know how effective it was next time we meet, alright?” I give her a gentle smile, and she finally relents with yet another adorable pout and nod.

So she puts away the Pills very carefully and goes to speak-

Crash!

“It got out! Get away!” Hn?

I turn my head towards the ruckus just in time to see a Minotaur – which just burst out of it’s cage – turn a man with a spear to a mangled corpse with a single swing of it’s large muscular arm.

Huh, they shoulda been more careful handling those monsters- And now it’s charging at us.

Seriously, the world really fucking hates me sometimes.

First a big ass dragon, then a goddamn Minotaur.

“R-Riley! We gotta run!” Meteria squeaks in fear, but I sigh and step in front of her as the Minotaur lunges forward.

If we outrun it, it’ll just kill other innocent people, so…

My left arm comes up swiftly as the monster’s hand reaches for my face, and I swat it’s arm out of the way as a Qi Strand is ignited, filling my whole body with immense energy and power.

Which is swiftly moved into my right outstretched right arm, the tips of my fingers resting against the muscular chest of the Minotaur.

All of the energy is then amassed into my hand, which I swiftly clench into a fist so to deliver a one-inch punch, releasing all the energy in the process.

Booom!

The stone bricks below my feet are pulverized while the Minotaur’s chest warps inward before it is promptly sent flying like a missile straight back where it came from.

The left-over wave of force further destroys the surrounding bricks as the Minotaur’s now mangled corpse smashes right through it’s already broken cage, splattering it’s blood every where as it proceeds to skip on the ground a total of three times before coming to a stop.

Holy shit, I murdered the absolute fuck outta that guy!

I didn’t know it was so weak! If I did I wouldn’t have used a Qi Strand!

What a damn waste! I want a damn refund!

“Tch, damn animals…” I click my tongue and wave my sore hand a few times, then pause when I catch the gaping look on Meteria’s face.

Well, actually… On everyone’s face. They are all staring at me.

The hell do they want? Bah, weird people.

I blink again at Meteria, then slowly reach forward to grab her chin, then lift it up to close her gaping mouth. Then pat her cheek gently. “You’ll catch flies like that-”

“That was amazing!” She all but screams in my face, scaring the absolute shit out of me with her sudden outburst. “That was a Level 2 Monster, you know!? And among the strongest Level 2 too!”

Ah, so that’s why it was so weak then… Wasted a Qi Strands just for being overly-cautious, tch…

Still, that’s a monster from the Second Level of the Dungeon? And it’s that physically strong?

People here must be quite powerful to be able to deal with something like that on just the Second Level of the Dungeon.

I turn back to Meteria, whose eyes have now become literal glowing Suns due to how excited she is, which is rather amusing. “That was a bit overkill on my part though, but at least you are safe…” I shrug without a care.

I should have used my sword to take care of it, so that I wouldn’t have wasted a Qi Strand for something that weak.

But oh well, you win and you lose some.

“That was so cool…” Meteria whispers quietly, still glancing between me and the mangled corpse of the Minotaur in the distance.

I kinda feel bad for that guy. I couldn’t have killed him any harder.

With a sniff, I shrug again. “It was nothing that impressive.” She gives me a look as if I am underestimating what I have done, but I truly am not. “But either way, I must go and find an inn now, so…” Leaning down, I grab her hand and kiss her knuckles, making her squeak and flush up quite a bit.

I grin and give her a wink. “Hope to see you again soon!” And with that, I depart with one last wave over my shoulder, and Meteria doesn’t waste time in running away, probably towards her own home.

Hopefully she doesn’t push herself too much, as it’d be a shame for such a sweet girl like her to end up far too sickly.

I toss a Qi Gathering Pill in my mouth so to recover the lost Qi Strand I wasted on that damnable beast before pausing as I check my Qi Palace.

Huh, I have one-hundred Qi Strands. I didn’t even realize I accumulated that many.

Oh well, might as well go ahead and upgrade my Qi Palace. Hopefully the improvement is very good, else I’d be mad.

With a thought, all the Qi Strands inside my Qi Palace ignite, their energy seeping around my abdomen-

Rumble!

Hn?

I stop and lift my gaze to the sky, where pitch-black clouds swiftly gather.

Now, wait a fucking second…

Purple lighting flashes and rumbles across the black clouds, making my stomach drop and my face grow pale.

The Heaven’s don’t exist here my fucking ass!

How would you explain that bullshit then!?

That’s when a purple lightning bolt the size of a truck shoots towards me.

Son of a bitch-

Boom!

…

Ow.

I peek an eye open, finding myself in a rather medium-sized and smoking crater, with the clouds above me swiftly dissipating.

And the inside of my body is filled with a tremendous amount of energy, and I can all but feel my body growing stronger and stronger as the thunderforce purifies every inch of it while strengthening my Qi Palace.

I sigh and drop my head onto the ground.

And that’s when I have a very ‘Eureka!’ moment.

It hits me like a truck, and I suddenly know what to do so to bring further profit into my pockets.

“I should sell Drugs!” Why did I say that shit out loud!? Now everyone’s looking at me like I am a weirdo!

Fuck!

This day really can’t get any worse now.

                                                    XxxXXXxxx

“Nyoooooooommmm~!”

Alfia… didn’t know how to process the sight before her.

Her brain just kept short-circuiting, and the Vice-Captain of her Familia was in a similar state as they both watched Meteria-

“Nyyyooooooooooommmmmmm~!” Run around at full speed, for no reason whatsoever.

Her little sister- Her very sickly little sister, who could barely even get out of bed on her worst days, is running around.

Her usually pale skin is now healthy looking, and the massive grin on Meteria’s flushed face wasn’t faked at all.

Alfia… felt things she didn’t know how to process.

Fear. She feared that this was but a last burst of energy before Meteria’s light fades away.

Hope. She hoped that her sickness was just whisked away overnight, as crazy as that might be.

And finally, Happiness. To see her wonderful little sister grin so brightly and all but glow with excitement warmed Alfia’s stone-cold heart like no other thing ever could.

And then Hera walked through the nearby door and promptly spat out her wine all over the nearby wall.

Her Goddess’s golden eyes track the running Meteria back and forth five times before she slowly looks down at the fancy glass of wine in her hands.

“What the fuck is in this wine…?” Alfia starts pondering if she herself took some weird drug by accident today.

Kirin is the first one to recover her wits, her fuchsia eyes sparkling with wonder at the sight before her. “Meteria dear.” The taller, purple haired woman calls out with a sweet smile on her face.

And Meteria swiftly skids to a halt right before said woman and salutes her with a big adorable grin on her face. “Yes, Miss Kirin?” The Vice Captain uses every last drop of her willpower to not swoon and pinch those adorable cheeks.

Alfia simply closes her eyes, but she too was dealt a devastating blow, proven by her slightly red ears.

Hera meanwhile was busy having a nosebleed at the adorableness before her.

Taking a low breath, Kirin presses forward. “Mind telling me what happened that gave you… such energy?” The sweet younger girl blinks, then her eyes all but light up.

“It was Riley!” She declares with an even bigger grin, thinking that answers everything.

“And who might this Riley be?” Kirin presses forward with a kind smile, racking her brain for anyone she might have heard having such a name in Orario.

Yet she came short.

It did sound female at least- “He’s a nice guy!” And Hera is already sharpening a sword. Fantastic. “He’s new to Orario, and I met him when I snuck out to go-”

“Excuse me?” This time, Kirin cuts her off and all but looms over the now terrified girl with Alfia in tow. “Did you just say you left the Hera Compound? With your condition?”

“Awawawawawawa~!” Meteria’s cute noises prove to be a fatal weapon against Alfia, who reels back with a grunt and slightly flushed cheeks.

Kirin too forces the butterflies in her belly to go down – by swiftly murdering them – and decides to focus on the more important topic instead. “So, what did this… Riley, do?”

Instead of answering, Meteria perks up and fishes out three… round marbles?

They were small, maybe the size of an eyeball, and also a light blue color. Nearly see-through even.

“He gave me these Pills!” Meteria answers, then nervously scratches the back of her head. “He just showed one to me, but I instinctively ate it… Then Bam! I was feeling good and full of energy!”

And now she’s shadow-boxing the air. Why does that look so adorable?

“So he is new to Orario, and he brings these… medicines?” Kirin presses forward, eyes sparkling with interest as she stares at the round Pills she took from Meteria’s hand.

If they were so marvelous to improve Meteria’s condition so much, then how much better than potions and elixirs were these things?

And he handed them away like they were nothing, too…

“Did he know what Familia you are part of?” Kirin questions, drawing Meteria’s attention and unfortunately stopping her from her adorable shadow-boxing session.

If Riley knows of Meteria’s connection, the Kirin has to praise his smarts in using her in such a way to gain this connection to them-

“Nope!” Eh? “He didn’t even know what Familia’s and Falna’s were in the first place! I had to tell him! I only told him about Big Sis being super strong, cool and super beautiful!” Then, these Pills…

They must be truly nothing to him!

Kirin could already see the immense profit these could bring, and the lives they could save if used in the Dungeon.

Potions will be rendered obsolete if these Pills were truly as fantastical as Kirin is starting to hope they are.

The Vice Captain also ignores the way Meteria’s words are a critical hit against Alfia, who is nearly bought to her knees by that vicious sudden attack from her younger twin.

“I think he made them himself, too.” Meteria muses lightly while cupping her chin cutely, ignoring the way her Goddess was now sharpening a giant hammer for some reason. “He did say he was a doctor, of sorts…”

Kirin’s eyes widen. Then this Riley must be an Elder who has spent his whole lifetime – maybe even centuries, if he is of Elven lineage – pursuing and discovering this new wondrous art.

“How old is he?” Kirin’s asks in trepidation and excitement.

And Meteria smiles with a slight flush on her cheeks. “He’s even younger than me!” WHAT?! “I think he is in his late teens now?”

Then… he either has someone behind him… Or this boy is a genius like no other!

“Can you describe me?” They needed to find him as soon as possible!

And then Kirin, Alfia and Hera freeze when Meteria shyly cups her flushed cheeks and wiggles around in place, a dreamy look in her eyes. “He is very beautiful!”

Eh?

Beautiful?

“Eyes like the setting sun, a warm and friendly face, long brown hair with red tips, and around Big Sis’s height…” Meteria sighs out dreamily, not knowing the effect her words were having.

Alfia was about to go on a murder spree, not wishing for anyone to steal her perfect little sister’s heart.

Kirin didn’t even know what to think. Her brain was just short-circuiting over and over.

Hera instead was packing even more weapons in the bag she grabbed from somewhere. Just like the weapons, too.

“Did…” Kirin starts, wetting her lips nervously. “Did something happen between you two?” She asks out of curiosity.

And that makes Meteria’s eyes sparkle with pure excitement. “He was so cool! The Ganesha Familia were bringing the monsters out from the Dungeon for that new Monsterphilia Festival, when a Minotaur broke out of it’s cage!”

“It charged at us, and Riley just went ‘BAM!’!” Meteria punches the air with her little fist to prove her point. “Sending it flying and killing it in one blow to protect me! And he said it was nothing too!”

That’s when Hera straightens herself. “Alright, I heard enough.” The goddess grunts, tossing the heavy bag of weapons over her shoulders, her light brown hair covered by a heavy golden helmet.

“First, we go shove a burning torch up Ganesha’s asshole for putting my precious Meteria in danger-” Kirin sent a short and quick prayer to Ganesha at that.

“Then we hunt down this Riley and lock him in a basement, where he will spend the rest of his life preparing more medicine for Meteria. And Alfia too, I guess…” Alfia just snorts at her Goddess.

“Eh?” While Meteria blinks owlishly once she processes what her Goddess plans to do on her new sudden crush. “Eh!?”

“Wait, Lady Hera! You can’t!” And the little girl instantly lunges forward, trying to stop her Goddess from committing any crimes against Mankind and Godkind alike.

But Kirin doesn’t join in, far too deep in thought.

This Riley… He was new to Orario, didn’t know what a Familia and Falna was – unless he lied, for some reason – and yet… He was able to one-shot a Minotaur like it was nothing?

What the hell is even going on?

“Meteria, lemme go! I ain’t gon’ kill him! He is needed to make the medicines!”

“I won’t let you lock Riley in a basement!”

“Fool! You are too weak to stop me-”

“Big Sis! Attack!”

“Gospel.”

“Pugyaaaah!”

Sighing deeply, Kirin moves to stop Alfia from further butchering her Goddess, then to drag said Goddess out of the hole in the wall she was blasted into.

And Meteria looked far too proud of using her older, stronger sister to attack her own Goddess like that.

No one’s going to believe this…