[DanMachi/Percy Jackson] Prytaneum

Chapter 11: Lighting Candles​ part 2

Though I arrived at the Pantheon early in the morning, it was late in the afternoon by the time I staggered out. The sight of natural light came as a relief after the long hours Eina had spent drilling knowledge into my head. Or else punishing me for my wrong-doings; I honestly wasn't sure. Either way, it hurt. A lot.

Truthfully, I was gratefully to Eina—even more so now than when she had gone out of her way to give me extra items. It was rare, at least in my experiences, to find teachers that were truly help. Besides Chiron and Paul, I'd never had anyone honestly willing to give me a chance and account for the areas where I was...lacking, but Eina had. Upset as she had seemed at me, she'd gone so far as to read things to me, stopping and explaining any time I expressed confusion or asked for more information. I knew she had to be busy and I knew I wasn't a great student, but I appreciated her help and what she had told me, both about the Dungeon and the city, was both interesting and helpful.

But gods was I not meant for the classroom. Just sitting still for hours, going over books I couldn't read myself...and especially in a room without a clock or a window or even any way to tell when it would be over...

It was hard for me. The things I well and truly sucked at were things I really liked to dwell on, especially since they tended to be things that were embarrassingly simple for anyone else. I'd had to ask Eina how to count money, how to recognize and understand signs, and what various things were, on top of having to ask her to read things for me. Mentally, I was aware that not being able to do that stuff wasn't really my fault, but it had still been kind of humiliating, which is why I hadn't brought it up with Hestia. After spending most of a day with her, I was pretty sure Eina wasn't the type to talk about things behind someone's back or make fun of them—she really did seem too kind for any of that—but...I guess it just hadn't felt like as big an issue telling a friendly strange, or maybe now just a friend, than it had been telling a goddess.

Except now I had more work to do. Regular meetings with Eina where she'd continue to explain things to me and try—because while I had faith in her, this was me we were talking about—to teach me how to read and write. I wasn't going to lie and say I wasn't dreading that a bit, but I'd show up.

For now, though, I had to head to the Dungeon. I'm pretty sure a big part of the reason Eina had kept me so late was to subtly convince me not to go, but again, this was me we were talking about. I had friends to search for, a goddess to support, and after a long day cooped up in a room, I needed to move.

So I did. I made a few quick stops to pick up some basic supplies and then retraced yesterday's steps. By now, I knew the first five floors like the back of my hand and I quickly made my way through them before stopping at the entrance to the sixth.

"If it's only the first five, that might be alright—but the sixth and seventh floors are different," Eina had told me. "Monsters spawn there with far greater frequency and they're home to monsters like the War Shadow and the Killer Ant. It's dangerous. As a new adventurer, you shouldn't go beyond the fifth—no, beyond the fourth floor."

"Got it," I'd said. "I'll remember what you said."

And I did. Point of fact, I was remembering it right now. That's not what she meant and I damn well knew.

Sorry, Eina. But I can't just wait around here.

Apologizing to her in my heart, I entered the sixth floor and took a look around. The green-colored walls of the fifth floor continued, making the place feel noticeably different from the first four floors. Beyond that, the structure itself had changed subtly, making the walls seem more rugged. I didn't see any other adventurers around, but this late in the day they would all either be well on their way or simply done. Either way, I did my best to avoid other adventurers, not wanting to accidentally get them wrapped up in something they weren't prepared for.

I took a total of five steps, each seeming to echo softly in the cavernous halls, before I heard the first walls begin to break. I traced the sounds back to their source and spotted four off the bat before shifting my gaze up to the ceiling. Five...two more behind me makes seven...seven and counting, given the other walls that were starting to break.

Glancing behind me at the entrance to the fifth floor, I took a slow breath and kept walking. For much the same reason I avoided other adventurers, I tried to stay away from the entrances of the floors except when I needed to use them myself. While it would have been nice to be close to an escape route, anyone coming down or going up had to pass through them and I didn't want to get them wrapped up in my mess. Best to lead them away from here.

As I did, however, I took a good, long look at the monsters beginning to emerge, actually identifying them thanks to Eina's lessons. The creatures emerging from the Dungeon were tall, long-limbed, and colored black but for their single, silver eye. Both of their hands had three dagger-like fingers. That was enough for me to know these were the War Shadows Eina had warned me about—the strongest monsters on the sixth floor. According to here, these things could easily kill new adventurers, which was why I shouldn't come here.

But this wasn't my first rodeo.

I held Riptide in an easy grip in my right hand, lifting it to rest the blade lightly against my shoulder. Annabeth's Dagger was still an odd weight in my left hand, something I hadn't yet grown used to using, but handy enough in its own way. Besides, practice makes perfect.

"And you're practice," I murmured as I walked passed one of the shadows, keeping my pace slow and steady. Even so, I was waiting, listening to the sound of moving air as I kept walking. Not too far from entrance, the path split into three and I chose the left-most one as a matter of course.

And that's when I got my first customer. There was the slight click of footsteps, the whistling of air, and—

I ducked, slipping under the War Shadow's arms as I turned, already swinging Riptide in a knee-high arc that literally took its legs out from under it. As it fell, its silver eye gleaming in the light, I pushed off the ground and leapt towards the monster. Despite just losing its legs, it clawed at me in midair, both arms swinging towards my face. I moved my own to match, forearms connecting with its wrists as I pushed them aside and just as quickly coming back in. When we hit the ground, I was on top of the monster, Riptide's edge half-way through its throat and Annabeth's dagger up to the hilt in its eye.

Without saying a word, I stood, drawing Riptide along its neck to finish removing its head from its shoulders. Because of the angle at which I'd driven in Annabeth's dagger, it didn't come free quite so easily, and the head remained stuck on the blade until I shook it free. Then, I looked at the rest of the crowd and whistled once.

All six of the shadows rushed me at once, dagger-like fingers flexing as they ran. I stepped back into the room I'd scanned prior, allowing me a moment to pick and choose as they followed me through the doorway, having no choice but to file through it two by two. As the first two entered, I swung Riptide in a wide arc, removing the heads of the front two, but the other four kept coming, ducking low and simply pushing their fallen comrades aside. The next two went to either side, getting away from the doorway as quickly as possible, while the finally pair came at me low, claws bared.

I stepped back as a trio of black daggers swept at my face and danced out of the way as it's fellow struck low, aiming for my knees. I glanced down, left, and then right, taking three more paces back and then holding my ground.

The War Shadows that had gone to the sides were already closing in, intent on surrounding me and leaving me nowhere to run—failing, apparently, to realize I wasn't running. I lifted Riptide as if to defend against the advance of the one in front of me and then struck to my left, stabbing it straight through the head of one of the War Shadow's. Not missing a beat, I leaned back, halting the charge aimed towards me with a boot to the chest that sent the monster staggering back. I pushed the War Shadow I'd impaled through the head away with a shove, releasing Riptide to avoid its death throes, and then tossed Annabeth's dagger from my left hand to my right before driving it into the eye of the War Shadow coming from that direction.

Then I went low, letting the War Shadow's first attack pass above me and dragging the dying creature on my right down with me. The second, a lower strike, I defended against by pulling its comrade's body into the path, bracing my arm against its chest to stop the attack. With both attacks out of the way, I rose quickly, driving a punch towards the creature's silver eye and breaking it like glass.

Straightening, I jerked my hands back, tearing fist and blade from the War Shadow's corpses. I shook both lightly, but otherwise ignored the black blood clinging to them as I turned my sights on the final War Shadow. Reversing my grip on the dagger, I lowered it as I brought my free hand up, waiting to see how it'd move.

The creature flexed its hands once, shifting its arms wider, and even those simple actions were made alien by its strange form. Even so, I understood it perfectly when it charged at me, but I didn't back down. I leaned back to avoid the first swipe, met the second with a flick of my dagger that cut the hand free entirely, and then caught the second with my free hand.

Then I stabbed it in the face and walked away, drawing Riptide from my pocket as I did.

Eina wasn't kidding—you couldn't compare these things to the Goblins and Kobolds on the upper floors. But you couldn't compare them to a demigod, either. If these were the strongest monsters on the sixth floor, I could still go deeper.

And yet, I didn't move. By now, I just knew better than to think that this was it.

Sure enough, the walls of the room started breaking around me, steadily releasing more and more monsters. A dozen this time and there'd be more to follow in each and every room of this entire floor. Even if they were no match for me alone or in small groups, I could already tell that fully exploring the sixth floor was going to be a pain.

Good thing I'd brought all those supplies, I suppose. It was going to be another long night.