Armed Monsters

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"Finally, I'm here." Silver mumbled to himself as he stared at the Guild's main branch

Some things happened along the way, but I can finally see what they want me to do.

'This was the place he was supposed to receive his package and also more details on his quest…'

'He was curious, after all, 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…''

'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...

'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...'

'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? Doesn't ring any bells...

"Ohoho, the moment I saw your eyes I knew it was you." He said with a small smile

"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?"

"What? So soon?..." He said as he grabbed the small box after signing the paper

'He quickly read through the paper, but it wasn't anything alarming.'

"..."

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

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

'The man expected this question, so he replied:'

"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."

'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 he did...'

'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 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." The man said with a slight bow as he left

/Phew.../

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

"..."

How weird…

'All of this was very unusual to him…'

'Still, no one paid attention to him at all. 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.'

'Only with strength would people truly remember him.'

…

/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 a small note as he expected… 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...'

"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 anything...

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.

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 it was 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 fuck me over...

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 the down there on my own?... Sigh.

'Silver went next to the backpack and lifted it up without a single 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...'

"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...

'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 do act as Ouranos' private army within the Dungeon, taking care of many problems and scouting the floors for 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 Lower 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 3 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.'

'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…'

'So feeling slightly defeated, he stored the bag. and put 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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