Orario was a city, but it wasn't just a city, it was the city. It was a blend of every race, every culture that existed in the world and shoved into a single city where people could live in. The reason? The tower of Babel, or rather, what lies beneath the tower of Babel. The dungeon, a labyrinth of floors that extends infinitely downward with no person ever recorded to have reached the bottom.
"Finally made it." A male figure spoke, his cloak worn out from weeks of travel and his bag worn out. He had the cloaks hood up, obscuring his face as he gazed down on the town from the hill he stood on beneath a tree, taking in the breathtaking view of the capital of the world in all manner possible.
How long had he been traveling? Weeks? Months? It all led to this, this moment of awe and admiration, and it was worth it. Every single cut, bruise, and other related injury he had gotten on travelling here, every single bandit encounter, near death by stray monster had all culminated into this. Very. Moment.
'All those cuts, bruises, and encounters were so worth it.' He deeply breathed in with his nose before he got a determined look on his face. He took his first step with his right leg, ready to begin a new chapter in his life. Just as he raised his left leg, he somehow tangled it with his right leg and began to fall.
'Aw nuts.' Were his last thoughts as he rolled down the hill screaming curses.
(10 Minutes Later)
'Well no one said the first step to being an adventurer was going to be a painless one.' He thought with a shaky smile as he stood in line. His body was littered with blades of grass he picked up from his tumble down the hill. Despite his minor blip in walking, he was still ready to take on the dungeon, his first challenge? Going through the massive gates by passing inspection from the guards.
"This your first time in Orario kid?" a merchant behind him huffed with amusement. He turned behind him to see a dwarven merchant look at him with an amused smile. Elias gave a sheepish smile.
"Ah, is it that obvious?" he asked him, getting a chuckle out of him.
"Kid you've been shuffling about the entire time we've been in the line." The merchant answered. He froze in slight embarrassment at being pointed out about his shuffling habits, something he always did whenever he got really excited or nervous. The merchant laughed at seeing his faced get slightly flushed.
"Relax kid I ain't judging ya. This is the capital of the world we're talking about, anybody would be nervous. Gods know I was." The merchant smiled at him.
"I know, its just. I would hear so many stories about how Orario was where you went to live out your dreams. I can't help but be a little nervous about making it here. It took me ages to get here!" his body filled up with energy as they moved closer to the gate one person at a time.
"Ay, that right? Well let me be the first to say welcome to the city of dreams kid. Just warning you though, it ain't all sunshine's and rainbow's in there, so keep your wits about ya, grit your teeth, and be careful."
"Thanks mister, can I have your name? I'll make sure to remember you when I become a first-class adventurer." He puffed his chest up in pride making the merchant laugh.
"Is that right? Its good to have that kind of confidence kid but words are just that, words. Make sure to back it up with action. Names Thorin, ill hold you to that. How about yours, I'll need the name of a future first-class adventurer."
He took his hood down revealing a youthful face that hadn't even hit his adult years. His hair and eyes were a soft chocolate brown with skin that was tanned from sitting underneath the sun as little freckles adorned his face from his cheeks to the ridge of his nose. "Elias. Elias Seris."
"Well Elias, I guess I'll be drinking tonight at the pub praying for yer success." The merchant laughed one last time. "For now though we're coming up on the gate so I suggest you pay attention.
Elias gave a nod, facing forward towards the gate that was now closer than it was before as he was only a few people away from reaching the gate. He gave a check over on the items he had on him, a bag that contained a few pairs of clothes along with enough money to last him long enough to find a familia, a sword he grabbed from one of the bandits that tried to rob him all by himself, and a map of Orario from his village leader. He used to be part of a familia before deciding to retire. He taught him some moves and gave him some valis he had left over and a map.
Actually it was thanks to those lessons on fighting that he was able to take a sword from one of the bandits that tried to rob him since he was inexperienced, most likely his first time robbing someone. Some advice he also gave him was to avoid buying anything from the merchants that set up shop in front of the gate as they were known to overcharge newbies like him.
"Next." A voice called out, snapping him out of his thoughts as he looked to see him be the next person to be taken care of in the gate. He stepped forward and stood in front of the Guard as he jotted down words from the person before him.
"Name and reason for visiting." The guard spoke with a monotone voice. Most likely from being here all-day checking people.
"Elias Seris, I want to become an adventurer." Elias spoke shortly at seeing the guards demeanor. The guard obviously didn't to be here and Elias wasn't going to give him a reason to be upset so straight to the point it was.
"We're going to have to check your bag sir. If you could just set down in the ground we'll be finished in no time. Please remove your cloak as well." Elias complied, setting down his bag and taking the cloak off of his body revealing a standard villager's outfit with some overalls on top.
"You're a farmer?" The guard asked as he searched the bag after setting his clipboard on the ground. Elias blinked in surprise before coming to the conclusion that he was most likely just trying to pass time while he searched the bag.
"Ah yes sir. I helped out at the village farm since I was a kid. You could say I grew up in one." Elias answered. Seeing nothing in the bag that was suspicious and already noting down the sword on his hip, the guard grabbed his clipboard off the ground and wrote some stuff down.
"Right, well I hope you find the familia you're looking for. You're going to want to go to the guild building so you can begin your registration and see a checklist of familia's who are looking for new adventurers. Do you have a map?" Elias gave a brief nod. Seeing the confirmation the guard stepped aside and let him in.
Elias gave a brief thanks for the direction before walking past the gates. His first view was the bustling market area near the gates with many merchants trying to get the attention of bustling people walking around.
"Scuse me sir you look lost, might I interest you in a map?"
"An adventurer huh, how bout you get yourself some armor, 25% off for first time buyers."
"Can't go in a dungeon without some potions kid, only 5000 valis for a health vial, and I'll throw in a mind potion for only half that price."
Elias ignored their attempts to scam him and walked past them as he looked around him. He saw people of all races walk by, beast kin ranging from Boaz, Chienthrope, and cat people. He even saw the occasional Pallum and Amazon along with so may other different races. He even saw Elves! The mayor told him those guys never leave their homes and are recluse by nature.
Snapping out of his daze he took out the map from his bag and read it to see where the guild building was, noting his current position on the west side of Orario. The guild building, or Pantheon, as its called, was near the northside area to the east of where he was at. Putting away the map he continued his walk towards the building as he took in all the sights it had to offer.
He passed by several other buildings, some being potion shops, other being clothing stores and one of them being a smithing building. An alluring aroma entered his nose, stopping him in tracks as he looked around him to see where it was coming from. His eyes locked on to a building with a sign that read 'Hostess of Fertility' with a grey haired girl wearing a waitress outfit with a tray in her hands standing outside in front of it.
*Growl* his stomach growled in hunger. Well there's no harm in getting a bite to eat, he was already here and he still had plenty of time to go the guild what with it being noon. His mind made up, his feet guided him to the building as the aroma grew stronger. The gray haired girl noticed his approach and gave him a bright smile.
Elias threw on what he hope was a convincing smile to hide his nervousness. His interactions with woman were…lacking to say the least. Growing up and spending a majority of your time in the farm tends to do that to you.
"Hello, would you like a table Guest-sama?" the gray haired girl asked with the same bright smile.
"Ah, yes please." Elias answered. His smile twitched, he had to keep it cool.
"Very well, will there be anyone else joining you for your meal." The gray haired girl questioned. He didn't know what on earth gave it away but she toned down the smile and spoke in a softer tone.
"No, I'm the only one." The grayed hair girl nodded at his answer, gesturing to follow her as she walked inside. When Elias entered the building he took note of all the ordinary people sitting in the tavern, some being adventurers.
'It feels warm in here.' He thought. It wasn't the temperature but rather the feel of the atmosphere, it was calm and welcoming and before he knew he felt himself relaxing entirely has he followed the waitress to a stool along the bar where fish and other meats were hanged. She handed him the menu of the place and stood at his side.
"I'll be your waitress for today. My name is Syr Flova. May I have your name?" Syr bowed at him.
"My name is Elias Seris Ms. Flova. It's a pleasure to meet you." Elias smiled at her, one she reciprocated.
"It's a pleasure to meet you too, and you can just call me Syr Mr. Seris." Elias pouted at her formal addressing of him.
"If I'm going to call you Syr then you call me Elias." He argued. "Besides, something tells me I'm going be coming here often anyway. This place has a nice atmosphere."
The waitress giggled. "Elias it is, then. I'm glad to hear that you like this place enough to visit again. Now then is there anything I can do to get you started, or would you rather I give you time to view the menu?"
"5 minutes to view the menu please, then I'll place my order." Elias looked at the menu and began to sweat at the amount of items he saw. There were so many food choices and his hunger wasn't feeling particularly picky. Prices were a little steep but its his first day and this could be a congratulatory meal for making it to Orario!
"Well, then it that'll be all I'll be back In five minutes to come take your order." Syr gave another smile and began to walk away.
"Actually!" Syr turned around to look at him in surprise. He gave a slightly embarrassed smile. "I can't really decide what to get. Do you guys have a daily special or anything?"
Syr smile twitched before she giggled seeing Elias face slightly flush. "Well in that case today Mia is serving her famous pasta. Its quite delicious in my opinion."
"I'll take that." Elias spoke quickly with a serious face. Unknowingly though there was drool leaking out of the side of his mouth.
"Ptf." Syr covered her mouth to mask her laughter at seeing his expression before she coughed shakily cleared her throat. "W-would you like anything to drink with that?"
"Orange Juice please" His face was still stone cold serious as he answered her. Syr exhaled to hide more laughter.
"I-I'll have your order out in a couple minutes sir." She walked off to the kitchen out of his line of sight. His face going back to normal he scanned the tavern he was in, there were lamps distributed along the walls and tables that were littered with people. Compared to when he first entered however, more adventurers were starting to fill in then civilians.
He kept his eyes on the adventurers, watching them talk and laugh at each other as they joked around. He wondered if that was going to be him, in a party of people the same level as him as they traversed the dungeon and killed monsters. Then they go to the tavern and eat food while they bonded talking about random topics. Heck, maybe they'll become first class adventurers someday.
Emphasis on some though. The village leader told him it can take years for someone to level up to level 2, going above that could take him a whole decade even if he was a prodigy.
'I won't let that stop me though.' He huffed. It didn't matter how long it took him he was becoming a first class adventurer and that was final. As for why he didn't want to become the strongest adventurer? Simple, he likes to set goals in the form of steps. Once he becomes a first class adventurer, then he can strive to be the strongest adventurer.
*Growl*
Food comes first though, like the mayor said, hunger is the enemy.
He jumped when a massive plate of food was slammed right in front of his face along with a mug filled with juice. Looking at the plate of pasta in front of him he realized he should've clarified on how much he wanted cause it was A LOT. It looked like a solid 5 pounds of pure pasta with pieces of meat and vegetables.
"Holy moly." He whispered as he took in the size of the pasta.
"What's wrong? Too much for ya?" a voice asked. He looked up from his plate of pasta and was greeted to a woman taller than any other woman he's ever seen in his entire life. She was wearing a blue button-up-collar shirt with an apron tied around her neck. She had brown hair tied into a pony tail and a jovial smile on her face that almost seemed…motherly? That was the best way he could describe it.
He opened his mouth to ask how much this much pasta was going to cost him but all that came out was. "How did you get so big and how can I reach that height?"
He closed his mouth with a click as his face flushed for asking a personal question but the woman just laughed at the question.
"Sorry kid, that's a secret. But how about you? Your so small I'd be surprised if you managed finish the plate." She gestured towards the massive plate of pasta in front of him. He huffed in mock offense.
"I'll have you know us farm boys have ways to finish our food, starting with this!" Elias tapped on his stomach at a rapid pace for 10 whole second while the Giant Lady watched with an amused raised eyebrow. When he finished his stomach began to growl multiple times, growing in intensity and loudness with each one. When it reached it's last growl it intensity was severe enough to shake even the chair he was sitting on and nearly matched the volume of the tavern.
The Tavern grew silent as they stared at Elias, but he didn't care as his hunger was roused enough to point where he began to dig in the pasta with gusto. The giant lady snickered until it evolved to full on belly laughter as the rest of the tavern whistled and raised their mugs and dug in to their own food.
"Looks like I was wrong about you kid. Consider this your win. Names Mia, Mia Grand. But you can call me Mama Mia. So what brings you to Orario?" Mia crossed her arms as she waited for him to finish his mouthful of pasta.
Elias swallowed what pasta was left in his mouth. "I'm here to become a first class adventurer." He answered promptly, then went back to devouring the pasta on his plate with small sips of the orange juice in his mug to wash it down.
"Figured. Know what familia you're joining?" Elias paused mid chew to think before swallowing again.
"Honestly I never really thought about which familia to join. I was just going go to the guild and ask them for a list of familia's looking for members." He answered. His knowledge on the familia's in Orario was pretty much nothing. He didn't ask the mayor of his village for his input because he wanted to find out himself.
Mia gave a disappointed sigh at that and Elias may have felt a little embarrassed at his short term thinking. "When you go to the guild make sure to sort the familia's by their type. If you do that then you'll know which familia you'll want to join."
Elias brough out a random flip book from somewhere and jotted down the advice before putting it away. He began eating the pasta again, he was feeling full, but he would be damned if he was going to not finish it after what he did.
The best part was that the pasta was really good. The sauce gave it a nice slightly sweet flavor, and the meat and vegetables added that touch of saltiness that perfectly mixed together with the sweetness. The pasta was also not too wet but not too dry. In short, it was perfect.
For the next minute Mia watched in amusement as Elias began to struggle to finish the pasta, his bites getting slower as he began to felt like he was stuffed but through pure will and grit and shoved one last bite of pasta down his throat and guzzled down his orange juice before slamming the mug on the bar with a loud thud.
He looked at Mia with smug accomplishment as he panted in exhaustion. Mia hummed at his expression. Her expression painted in surprise as she took his plate
"Well, I'll be, you actually finished the pasta. I'm surprised." Elias smugness increased at his victory before Mia maliciously smiled at him. "I guess that means you can finish the other five pounds of pasta I have for you."
Any sense of smugness he had on his face was wiped off as he stared at Mia in horror from her words.
"pft." Mia cracked. "HAHAHAHAHA. I'm joking kid, I'm joking. Wipe that look off your face." Elias collapsed in relief as his head rested on the warm wood where his plated used to be. He felt so stuffed that if he ate another bite he was going to explode. Additionally all that food left him sleepy and wanting for those midday naps he used to do with the farm animals. Sadly, he had stuff to do so he'll just have to suck it up.
Although, if he could finish what he had to do early enough maybe he could take a nap just in time before it gets dark. No harm in going dungeon diving at night anyway. That said he should go ahead and pay for his meal.
Mia took the plates to the kitchen to have them washed before returning to see Elias take out a pouch filled with valis from his bag. He looked at her with a silent question in his eyes on how much the food cost him.
Mia rubbed her chin in thought. "Tell ya what kid, in celebration of you finishing all that pasta in one sitting I'll just charge you 400 valis for the whole meal. Sound good?" Elias nodded rapidly, not trusting himself to talk until the food settle for a couple more seconds. He took out the required amount and handed to her.
He almost moved to get up before he remembered that he didn't really know any inns to stay at just in case if it takes a while to find a familia. Patting his stomach to see if the food settled he went to grab Mia's attention before she walked off by waving his hand at her.
"Hmm? What you suddenly in the mood for seconds?" She grinned at him and laughed as he shook his head with his arms in an x position.
"Actually I was wondering if you knew any inns I could stay at for the night in case I don't find a familia immediately." Elias said.
Mia smiled as she crossed her arms in front of her. "Well lucky you, I actually do allow people to rent a room for the night. Which one do you want? You can just have a room with shower included for 1000 valis or I can include a free breakfast meal for an additional 300 valis."
"Hmm" Elias hummed in thought. He currently had on him 11350 valis after paying for lunch. If he comes back for dinner then he could be looking at another 500 valis max after that. Which brings him down to 10850. He could rent for 6 days with breakfast and skip lunch to only have dinner. It shouldn't take him that long to find a familia and worse case scenario he just find a job until a god or goddess accepts him. Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.
"I'd like to rent a room for 6 days then, the one with breakfast included." He took the required amount from his pouch and placed it all on the counter, leaving him with 3550 valis. Mia took the offered money and gave nod before going to the wall on the stair way and grabbing a key. She walked back and handed it to him.
"That key if for the first room on the right of the stairs when you go up, I expect that key back after 6 days. If not I'll just charge you an additional 1000 to replace it, and If you don't have the money…" a malicious aura surrounded Mia as grinned evilly at him. "You'll be working here until its paid off in a waitress outfit. Understand?"
Elias gulped as he looked at one of the waitresses uniform as she walked to a table. He looked back and nodded to show he understood. "Yes mam."
"Good, now go on and get out here. You got shit to do." Mia waved him off. He gave a quick thanks before grabbing his bag and pouch and walked out of the tavern. He got his fill of food, now it was time to go to the guild find him a familia
(At the Guild)
He stood in front of the guild building with a fast-beating heart. This was it-again-, the place where he would take the next step on his path of becoming an adventurer, this being the second step and the hostess of fertility being step one-point-five but it was happening!
He inhaled through his nose, taking his first step into the building and opening the door, the first thing he sees? A line that stretched across the whole building to the door he just opened. Well nobody said being an adventurer was a quick process either. So waiting it is.
So that's what Elias did, he waited. Passing the time by thinking random thoughts such as if cat people purr when you pet them on the ears, are there male amazons, is there beast kin that's part monkey, if pallums are tiny as adults how small are they as babies? These are questions that would have philosophers stumped in Elias (un)professional opinion. More questions were formed in his head until he noticed he was approaching the front of the line.
"Next" the employee called. Elias stepped up standing in front of the glass pane separating him from the employee. The employee was, average. Nothing positive but nothing negative about him either, so like Elias.
"How can I help you sir?" the employee asked with a monotone voice. That's the second one guild worker he's hear with a monotone voice. Does working at the guild stink that badly?
"Ah, yes I'd like to register as an adventurer please." Elias politely answered. The guild worker looked under the desk and grabbed some papers, pressing them on a clip board with a pen attached before handing it to him.
"Please go see miss Rose Fannet in aisle four. She'll be your advisor, in the meantime fill out the clipboard while you wait in line and give her the paperwork when you reach her." The guild ordered in the same monotone voice before calling for the next person.
Elias exited the line he was in as he looked towards the ceiling for aisle four. 'Lets see, one, two, thre-ah! Theres's aisle four annnnnddd there's a long line there too.' He sighed at seeing a line, while not as long as the first one, still stretched to half of the inside of the building. At least he had something to do.
With that being said, he stepped into the next line and began to fill out the paperwork while he waited. First page asked for some pretty basic information, his name, date of birth and the origin, along with his race and age. Again, simple information. The second page asked for information like his physical description such as hair color, height, and any other identifying marks.
Third page asked for a familia if applicable so he circled no and moved to the next one. Fourth page asked for information regarding skills and monster encounters so he put down basic barehanded combat skills (his mentor was a firm believer in ones body being a weapon) and he has encountered some stray monsters here and there.
Fifth page was just a liability and clause that said the guild wasn't responsible for any damages or loss of loved ones that occurred in the dungeon which, is pretty dang obvious but hey you never know.
Sixth page was emergency contact in which there was none (he wasn't going to bother his village about his death) and what the guild should do with the body if recovered. The rest of the pages was just about a bunch of other information like his preferred job category along with a last page asking for his signature and stamp from a guild advisor.
He looked up from the paperwork he was filling out and saw that he was in the front of the line again. Thank goodness because that pile of paperwork was starting to make his head hurt.
"Next." A female voice called. The person in front of him stepped away and he stepped up to the desk where an advisor stood. She was a tall (He was coming across a lot of those lately) red haired woman with wolf ears and yellow piercing eyes. He got slightly nervous as she looked him over. She didn't exactly let out a welcoming vibe but she didn't let out a hostile one either. Her hands, which were holding a clipboard, tightened as she looked at him.
Elias noticed but thought nothing of it as he introduced himself. "Hello I'm here to register as an adventurer."
She let out a sigh at his words. "Good afternoon, my name is Rose Fannet and I'll be your dungeon advisor for the foreseeable future. Do you have your paperwork completed?"
He handed her the paperwork and watched as she scanned her eyes on the pages before stopping on one. "It says you don't have a familia."
"I-i was told that I could find a list of familia's who were looking for more adventurers here." He slightly stuttered. He reiterates once again he doesn't have much female interaction and this one wasn't exactly welcoming so excuse him if stutters every once in a while.
She gave a nod at that. "We do, please wait here while I go fetch you a list." She took the paperwork with her as she entered what looked like her office and after what felt like a solid minute she came out with a booklet and handed it to him.
"This booklet contains every familia who is accepting new members at this time. Their sorted by category and are sorted by which types their looking for. Whenever you find yourself a familia come back here and with a sheet listing your stats and the name of the familia who took you in. Are there any other questions and concerns?"
"A-ah no, no more questions. Have a wonderful day." He stammered again before walking away, missing the slightly sad look in her eyes as she watched him go before she called for the next person.
Seeing an open seat near one of the windows he claimed it for himself and opened the booklet to took a look at the categories. Honestly speaking in terms of job category he doesn't really have a problem with any of them, though he knows there are some he isn't capable of doing like the mage or smith role.
Porter doesn't seem like a bad option, its basically just carrying adventures equipment, but it doesn't fit his goal of being a first class adventurer. Although he did just get here to maybe there was a first class porter, but he'd rather stick to being something along the lines of someone on the frontlines.
There are also different familia's, some are expedition type familia's that focus on dungeon crawling, there's some that focus on smithing like the Hephaestus familia, and others focus on medicine and alchemy like the Miach and Dian Cecht familia. Getting into an expedition familia sounds like the best choice for now, at least until he starts running out of options.
"Lets see, familia's currently recruiting include, Freya, Loki, Erebus, Thoth, Selen, pretty much a bunch. I'll start from the biggest and work my way down." He closed the booklet and got up from the empty seat.
Operation: Familia hunting is a go!
(In front of Folkvangr)
"AAAAAAAHHHH" Elias was thrown into the air before his scream was cut of by groans of pain as he landed on the stone ground in front of the Freya familia entrance gates. He was further cut off as his bag landed on his head followed by the booklet.
"AND STAY THE HELL OUT YOU WEAKLING!" one of the members shouted before closing the gate with a slam, sealing of any illusion of dignity he had left.
Elias just laid there before he took a long inhale followed by a long exhale. He got up from his position on the ground and grabbed his bag and booklet.
"I guess that's the Freya familia out." He muttered as he crossed out their name with a pen he may or may not have taken from their waiting room.
Next up: The Loki Familia
(Twilight Manor)
"AAAAAAAHHHH" He was thrown out again, this time in the front of the Loki familia entrance gates. Pain? Check. Bag and booklet that were going to increase that pain?
*Thump**Flap*
Check.
"AND STAY THE HELL OUT YOU WEAKLING!" One of the members shouted before closing the gate with a slam.
"HOW THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT ME TO NOT STAY A WEAKLING IF YOU WON'T EVEN GIVE ME A FUCKING FALNA?!" Elian exploded, not receiving an answer from the prick that threw him out. He grabbed his things again before opening the booklet and scratching the Loki familia from the list.
Welp you know what they say, third times the charm.
"No."
The door was slammed in his face. Fourth times?
"If it's herbs and materials I can fetch them." He tried to reason.
"That's why we have the quest board kid."
The door was slammed in his face again.
"Sorry kid you don't really look like adventurer material."
"No"
"I just think if you give me a chan-"
"GET OU-"
The orange glow of the setting sun stretched across the plaza, casting long shadows from vendor stalls statues alike. Lanterns flickered to life one by one as the market began to settle for the night. The gentle burble of the nearby fountain echoed in Elias's ears as he sat on its stone rim, crossing out another name from the list of familia's looking for adventurers.
"That makes thirty-six familia's…" he whispered. His voice barely reached above the breeze. "And not a single one."
Each rejection hit him a little bit harder than the last, and it wasn't even the rejection that hurt, it was their reaction. Most laughed at him, some looked at him like he was roach, and only a few of them actually treated him politely.
Where was the empathy? These people were weak too, they also started off at level one so what was wrong with giving him a chance?
He…was feeling pretty hopeless in all honesty. Is there a single familia out there that was willing to accept him? Or was he just going to keep getting rejection after rejection? NO! that doesn't matter. Stressing about what ifs wasn't going to get him anywhere.
'But what if nobody accepts you. What will you do then.' A voice filled with doubt whispered. He shook his head again. No, no that's not going to happen, there has to be one familia out there that'll accept him he just knows it.
He sighed again and look at the sky as he watched the sun set entirely. It didn't matter at this point anyway, it was getting late. It's best to just eat again at the hostess of fertility and turn in for the night even if his stomach wasn't feeling all that up for it.
"Just gotta try again tomorrow." He softly said to himself. "Just like working in a farm, try again and get up, even if the soil's dry."
He grabbed his things and got up from the bench dragging his feet back to the hostess of fertility.
Elias walked with his head down, eyes on the floor with brief occasional glances to make sure he was on the right path. The constant rejections from familia's might have hit him harder than he thought. Doesn't help some of them were a little rough with their rejections.
"Elias?" a soft voice called out. His eyes moved from looking at the ground to now looking at the familiar figure of Syr as she carried a bag of ingredients in her arms. Her smile wavering as she took in the slump in his posture.
"Oh, hey Syr." He tried to smile but couldn't really bring himself to stick the landing on that.
"Rough day?" She asked softly. "You looked like you fought a group of goblins."
His mouth twitched into a small smile as he huffed. "I wish, at least then that would mean I actually got into a familia."
Syr winced at that as she connected the dots. "Not a single one considered accepting?"
"Not a single one. Apparently I didn't 'Look the part' in their eyes." He shook his head in dejection. "I don't get it, how do you expect someone to look the part of an adventurer if you don't even bother taking them in."
Syr gave a consoling smile as shifted her bag into one arm so she could rest a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Elias, I know how hard it can be for new adventurers to join a famila, especially with no connections."
He waved off the apology. "It's fine it's not you fault. I just don't get why they feel like they have to get physical with their rejections. Out of all the ones I've been to, half of them threw me out."
"Wait, how many did you go to?" Syr blinked, startled.
"36. So 18 threw me out. With the first one being the Freya Familia." Elias slightly deflated at the number, not noticing Syr slightly tense up at the mention of the first familia.
"The…Freya familia threw you out? I don't recall Ottar being that physical though?" Syr's voice was more curious then surprised with a bit of a hard edge Elias didn't notice due to his mood.
"Is Ottar a cat person whose slightly taller than me and incredibly rude?" Syr mouth opened as recognition flashed through her eyes too fast for him to see.
"..no."
He gave a chuckle, bitter and self-depreciating "So in the end I never even met the person who was supposed to do my interview? That just makes me feel worse. The guy just took one look at me scrunched up his face like he saw the most disgusting thing ever then grabbed me and threw me out the front gate while telling me to stay out while calling me a weakling"
Syr's smile faded entirely. Her expression shadowed for the briefest moment, her silver eyes glowing violet faintly before they went back to normal. She exhaled through her nose before patting him on the back
Elias's face saddened as he thought about his words. "I mean, maybe he's right. Look at me, I'm dressed like a farm boy, short, don't have any muscles cause apparently farm labor doesn't equal buff, and my combat experience is pretty much null. Then the-ow."
His sentence was cut off by a sharp flick from Syr
"None of that negative talk mister." She pouted at him. "Besides that still doesn't make what he did right. You're still here, and it's not like you've given up right?"
He shook his head at the question. "No, I'll continue my search tomorrow, there's over 100 different familia's in Orario, one of them is bound to accept me."
"Good." Syr nodded with a serious look on her face. "Just know this isn't the end. A lot of Adventurers get turned away before they find the familia they were meant to be in."
Elias eyes slightly lit up before giving her a warm smile. "Yeah, your right. Thanks for the pep talk Syr. Honestly if it wasn't for you carrying groceries I would give you a hug."
She blinked, just for a second, her smile faltering into something softer before it was replaced by a teasing grin. "My, Elias~. Hugging a girl you just met? Are you perhaps a womanizer by any chance~?"
"Hmph, I'll have you know I'm a pretty affectionate guy, my hugs are for everyone and anyone, especially for those I consider my friends." Elias pointed his head up in mock arrogance.
"Oh my, and now were friends? Even though we met just today?"
"Syr, I'll have you know I'm an excellent judge of character. I can tell a person's personality just by looking at them." Elias face hardened like stone as he stared at her.
"You said you were a farm boy. Where could you have gotten the experience to judge someone's character?" Syr teased with a smile.
"Well I feel like you have to be pretty good at reading animals if you're going to work with them. While people can be more complicated, they typically give the same cues. I can't tell you how many times I've been able to avoid getting hurt using those cues." He informed with a knowing smile.
Syr hummed in a doubtful manner. "Well Mr. excellent judge of character, how about you read me right now." She stood still one hand on her hip and the other holding the bag of groceries.
"Challenge accepted." Elias looked at her with a hum, going around her looking up and down before he got closed and looked at her eyes. Once he finished he closes his in thought before nodding in confirmation.
"So? What's the verdict?" Syr asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You have a playful personality, you like to tease people because their reaction amuse you. At the same time though you use that teasing to bring people out of dark."
"I just did that to you, that doesn't count." She pouted.
"Ah ah ah, I'm not finished. You're also a helpful person, willing to lend a hand to strangers." He narrowed her eyes at her. "But, your also the kind of person to trick others. Not a bad thing but I have my eyes on you. Also something tells me your not used to being teased yourself, then again, most teasers aren't."
He threw a slightly teasing smile at Syr causing her to blink with pink tinged cheeks. She gave a small applause. "Wow, pretty impres-"
"Still not finished." Elias raised a finger as he interrupted her with a impish smile as he saw her pout at him with narrowed eyes. "The last thing to mention and possibly one of the more important ones is…your bored."
Syr flinched, caught off guard at the accusation. "Bored?" she repeated in shock.
Elias nodded in confirmation. "That's right bored. Something tells me your constantly looking for entertainment in something, which explains the teasing and tendency to trick people. It also explains why you have a job as a waitress. Seeing new people every day is entertaining to you and a great way to keep you from feeling bored."
He pumped his chest up in smug pride. "So? Am I right or am I right?"
"hmm I should tell you your wrong so you can wipe off that look on your face but.." Syr sighed, then smiled with more warmth than he had seen since he met her. "…your right."
"HA." He laughed. His judgement which was honed from years of working with horses, cows, and other farms animals has won once again. He could still feel the bruises he got from the kicks those horses subjugated him too.
"Well since your happy I guess that means my work is done and I can go deliver these groceries to mama." Syr huffed with a pout before walking away with the groceries.
Elias got off his metaphorical high horse and followed Syr back to the hostess of fertility, his mood no longer down from the day's rejection. They both fell into rhythm walking side by side, talking about small things to consider when going adventuring like getting a supporter and maps for the beginner floors to help in case he gets lost. They continued talking until they smelled food emanating from the hostess of fertility
"Do you want to be seated at the bar again?" Syr questioned as they entered the tavern and he felt that same warm feeling from earlier. The atmosphere was different from the daytime service though, while they were some civilians mixed in during the day, now the whole tavern was filled with nothing but adventurers. The air was filled with more energy and drinks were being passed and served around at a constant pace.
"Yeah, I'll take the bar again." His response was slow and distant as he looked at all the adventurers. He didn't make it past one step beyond the door as his eyes scanned the room. He heard a giggle he didn't pay much attention to before he felt someone grab his hand which snapped him out of his daze.
Looking forward he saw it was Syr who grabbed his hand as she pulled him to the bar and sat him down. She went to the kitchen behind the counter and returned with a menu instead of the bag of groceries she was carrying.
"Do you want the pasta again." She asked as she brought out a notepad. Elias twitched at hearing the suggestion. In all honesty he was still feeling slightly full from the last time he ate so he knew he wasn't going to be able to eat it again. Picking up the menu again he decided to go a little bit on the cheaper side.
"I think I'll just have a steak, medium well with another mug of orange juice." He handed her the menu after she finished writing.
"Ok Give me 10 minutes to be back with the food." She walked away going to other tables that haven't been tended to yet. He just sat there as his mind began to fill up with more random questions. This time asking himself if water was wet, how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood, and a plethora of other questions that would most definitely make him a philosopher if he brought them to the light.
A plate of steak being slammed in front of him snapped him out of his thoughts as he looked up to the familiar body of Mama Mia. Her expression said she already knew how the day went.
"Not a single one huh?" she questioned. He shook his head in a self-depreciating manner. In a move that surprised him she planted a hand and patted him on the head, though her strength left him with his head being shaken, he still appreciated the gesture.
"Don't think too much about it kid. Trust me, you'll find a familia who'll accept you. Besides tell you what, you can't find yourself a familia I'll let you work as my one of cleaners, gods know the girls could do better jobs at it." Faintly he heard someone say 'Hey!' in offense at her words but he ignored it in favor at staring at her.
"Really? W-wait why would you offer me a job I barely even know you, heck I barely even know Syr besides what I was able to gauge off of her from our short talks?" His question only made her laugh but it really was a legitimate question. Sure he was a farm boy and he mostly grew up around animals but he even he knows not to show so much trust on the same day you meet someone.
"You're not the only good judge of character boyo and besides between you and me." She leaned in closer to whisper. "Every single one of these girls could kick your ass if you try anything."
He gulped looking around at all the waitresses, every single one? Even Syr?
"Except for Syr." Oh.
"But she's mostly accompanied by Ryu all the time so no point in trying anything." She leaned back and patted him one more time on the head. Again, despite her intentions to be gentle he felt like his head was about to snap off.
"Now enjoy your food and get some rest, you still have work to do tomorrow." She walked away to the kitchen, his eyes trailing her as he watched her disappear before his eyes lowered to the steak. She was right though, there were over a hundred familia's in Orario, there was no way he was just going to give up now. He stabbed his steak with a fork, grabbing a knife to cut it up and dig in as he his eyes glowed with determination.
(In the rented bedroom)
He sighed in satisfaction as his butt sat on the mattress of the room he was staying in, eating all that meat left him sleepy so he was just about ready to turn in. He'll take a shower in the morning, right now though he was going to look over his belongings again.
Clothes check, map check, A nearly empty pouch of valis that would last him for the 6 days he was staying, his room key, the sword from the bandit, and the booklet on familia's from the guild. With that done he changed into a plain white shirt and underwear that went down to his upper thigh.
He could still feel the doubt in the back of his mind, taunting and telling him that he won't be able to find a familia in time. He promptly pushed into a box and buried said box deep into his subconscious.
"Things will get better." He said to himself. "Even if things get worse, they'll get better." He gazed out the window and saw the full moon gazing down on Orario. He stared at it taking in it's glow as he thought back to the times when he would gaze at the night sky when he couldn't sleep. Luckily for him he felt like sleeping, so he turned off the lamp at his bedside and drifted to sleep.
Perhaps had he stayed up longer he would've seen the moon flash a pale red before shifting back to normal.
(In an realm between Tenkai and Genkai)
He was floating, he could feel it. His body was suspended in midair and surrounded by a heavy fog. He felt at peace, like nothing could touch him. His mind was only half aware of what was happening around him as he tried to sink back into the realm of dreams.
Distantly he felt tiny hands grab at his body before the feeling of motion became apparent as they dragged him somewhere he didn't know. He felt like he should've been sick from the movement, it was disorienting. One minute he was being pulled up, the next he was moving downward, then left, then right, then everywhere at once.
Then he felt them lay him down on a soft material, the tiny hands disappearing one by one as he laid there. Slowly his eyes opened to see a man sitting down on a chair next to him his upper face obstructed by a top had and his lower one buried underneath a scraggly unkempt beard.
"How unfortunate, another one to be added to the Hunter's dream." The man voice was smooth and low with an accent he never heard before. He could also hear a hint of pity In his voice as the man spoke. He should be afraid, panicking, and asking where he was but his head just felt so foggy he only felt like going back to sleep.
"To think, it would choose a child at that too. No matter, if it is answers you seek as to why your are here, all you have to do is sign this contract with your name." The man lifted a peace of paper and brought it close to his face. Elias felt like he should be refusing, begging him to let him go but he could do nothing but lift his hand.
The man grabbed a blade and cut his index finger, Elias expected pain but felt nothing as he signed his name onto the line at the bottom of the page. The man rolled up the paper and placed it on his lap.
"And now to begin the transfusion." The man grabbed something, a see-through pouch that was filled with what looked like blood. "Don't you worry now son, it'll all seem like a bad dream."
Elias felt some of the fog in his head lift up and tried to stop the man from he was trying to do, but he was too late as the sensation of needle being injected into his arm made itself known. Against his will he felt himself slowly drift off to sleep as he heard the man beside him begin to cackle.
He felt himself slowly wake up again, this time his head a little more clear. He looked around him and saw no one, not even the man who made him sign that contract. Looking to his left he saw big puddle of blood on the ground before something began to rise from it.
The first thing he saw was its red bloody fur, followed by its snout with yellow and bluish eyes. It had what looked like torn clothes hanging off of its body with long claws on its hands and feet. He internally panicked, trying to move his body only for it to not respond to his commands as he continued to helplessly lay there.
'Somebody..' he thought, watching as it growled at him. 'Anybody, please…' As if his prayers for help were answered the beast suddenly was consumed by flames. It shook its body, trying to put out the flames to no avail as its movement began to slowdown as the beast succumbed to the fire.
Elias nearly cried in joy as he watched the beast die, thankful to whatever saved him. Then, in his peripheral vision he spotted a tiny pale hand grab on to him. His eyes widened in horror as he took in its appearance, it was a ghostly white with a deformed face like someone had punched it one too many times. He saw it climb up the object he was laying on, before another hand joined him on the other side.
His heart rate picked up again as many of them climbed onto his body. Travelling up to his torso before reaching his head he closed his eyes as he heard their groaning. Their noise picked up in volume before the same fog that filled his head returned, and he drifted off to sleep once again.
Before he knew his eyes snapped open and pushed himself off of what he was laying on. His breaths came in uneven and sporadic as he looked around. What was that? No more importantly…
"Where…am I?" his voice cracked as he looked around him. It was an empty room, not a person in sight around him. He took notice of the various glass jugs around him, also seeing a couple bandages lying around on the floor. He looked down on himself seeing he was still wearing the same clothes he went to sleep in.
He took a step, flinching at the creak of the wood underneath him as he walked around. Walked around the room, taking note of the empty beds and disorganized room he was in. Some items laid on the floor, it was almost as if whoever was here had left in a hurry.
"There's a piece of paper here." He noted. He picked it up from the chair It was laying on and read it's contents. "Seek Paleblood to transcend the hunt. What does that even mean? What Paleblood? What's the hunt? Ugh, I'm not going to get anywhere by thinking about. Step one find someone to talk two, Step two find out where I am, Step three…I'll figure it out when I get there."
He put the note down, walking towards the set of double door that stood between two lamps. With a push he opened it, seeing a long set of stairs to climb down. Absentmindedly he walked down the stairs as he thought about his situation. Last thing he remembers is going to sleep in the room he rented in the tavern, then he can faintly recall an old man making him sign some sketchy contract by cutting his finger and using his blood as ink, he paused lifting his right hand and not seeing the cut on any of his fingers.
Maybe it was a dream? He shook his head, it still didn't explain what happened afterwards, next their was that monster covered in blood that got set on fire, then those scary deformed…
Actually what would he even call them, people? They didn't seem like it. Monsters? No they didn't attack him. He'll just call them things, those scary deformed things crawled onto him before he fell asleep again. He couldn't remember anything else besides that. As he reached the bottom of the stairs he noticed the floorboards were damaged.
His steps were also louder and released a creak every time he put weight on the wood. He saw an open door in front of him and walked through only to pause as he heard a sound in the room. It sounded, weird. Like something wet was being torn apart, then there was that smell, it smelled…coppery? But it had a couple more smells beneath it, like something sweaty and sickeningly sweet.
Wait, he's smelled that scent before. Years ago when a monster snuck into the farm and attacked one of their livestock. Something was dead, and it was recent. He swallowed his saliva as his heart picked up and his body tensed. He crouched, moving slower as his steps grew almost silent.
He hid behind one of the other beds lying around before peaking at the source of the sound. His eyes shrunk to pinpricks as he saw the same monster that died to the fire feast on a corpse. Although this one didn't have any blood covering it or teared clothes.
He saw it dig its mouth into the body in front of it, ripping it into pieces as it consumed the rotting meat. He almost threw up but held it in before looking up and seeing the open stairway past the monster, he wont be able to make past it. It was too close, and trying to sneak by would get him caught and ripped to shreds just like that body.
He looked around and saw a couple of glass jars laying around, he could use that as a distraction but he would have to get in close enough to where he could get up the stairs before the monster notices. Picking up the jar he kept to the side where it was darkest as he approached.
He tested the floor boards each time to make sure they didn't creak as he kept moving. As he drew closer he saw more details on the monster. Its hair was uneven, and it face looked a dogs, he would've guessed it was if not for the body. It didn't have paws, instead it looked closer to that of a persons hands with long claws attached to it.
His observations were cut off by its growls as it stopped eating pointing its snout into the air as it sniffed.
'It can smell me!' he thought in alarm, making the call he threw the jar to the far side of the room where it loudly shattered. The beasts head snapped in the noises direction, and it moved fast towards the sound.
'Now!' Elias moved faster, passing the rotting body and climbing up the stairs. The stairs creaked but he didn't care, moving faster as he heard the monster growl again, most likely noticing the noise he was making. At this point Elias threw caution to the wind and sprinted up the stairs.
He heard it growl again, louder and closer. He pushed himself harder, reaching the door and pushing it open before slamming it closed. He heard the sounds of the beast bang on the door but didn't pay attention as he ran to the gate on the lefthand side of the graveyard. Using both hands he pushed as hard as he could and felt the gate slowly give it as it opened with a metal screech.
He only opened it enough to where he could squeeze through, then shut the gate. he looked through it, seeing the door to the building he was in remain shut as the beast tried open it to no avail. He breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed before turning around and sliding his back down the gate to sit on the ground.
'I'm safe, for now at least.' He thought as he closed his eyes. 'Step one is still in progress, just have to….find….someone.' His thoughts slowed as he opened his eyes to…somewhere that wasn't Orario. He may have only been in Orario for only a day but he was pretty sure it didn't look like this.
The buildings were tall, not as tall as the tower of Babel but taller than any other building he's seen. There was blackened stone walls smeared with grime and soot with carriages overturned and destroyed littering the cobblestone streets. Not only but there were bloodstains, well, everywhere. There wasn't a single brick or stone that didn't have blood.
'This isn't Orario.' His blood turned cold. 'Wherever this is, is nowhere close to Orario.' He looked to the sky and his stomach sank as he took in the setting sun. Oh gods, he was gone for a whole day, did the other notice? More importantly, how did he not notice? He's not even heavy sleeper. Did someone drug him? How can he go back? Actually, can he even go back?
"No!" He shook his head to get rid of the negative thoughts. "I'll find a way back, I swear!"
But first, he has to find someone to talk to. With a steady breath he got up from the ground, wincing as he noticed his feet had a couple of splinters from the wooden boards inside the building. Looking to his left he saw more overturned carriages that blocked the path entirely and honestly considering he doesn't know his way around the place he'd rather stick to the more open areas.
Looking to his right he saw an open gate that continued upward deeper into the city. Obviously he moved to the right, walking past the overturned carriage he saw his path split two way, one route went past the gate and the other went to a dead end. He did notice the lever and ladder however, but more than that he noticed something even better, people.
His face broke out into a relieved smile as he looked at them, two of them had torches and a saw while one carried a pitchfork. Maybe they knew about the monsters and were trying to defend themselves? It made sense in his opinion, but that meant he had to be cautious which, to be fair, he already was after going through what he went through.
He moved in their direction not caring about the slight pain in his feet from the splinters. All three of the men were talking in whispers, most likely trying to come up with a plan to kill the monsters. As he got closer he noticed that the men were…tall. Like extremely tall, taller than Mama Mia. They also wore some strange clothes that he'd never seen before, he actually can't even begin to describe them, maybe they were nobles or royalty?
Reaching them he considered one of them on the back but reconsidered since they were most likely tense and would snap at him.
He cleared his throat. "Excuse me misters, do you think you can tell me where I am? I'm a litt-ok REALLY lost and could use some help finding out where I am." The men grew quiet, their whispers fading as they turned their head slightly in his direction.
He nervously swallowed his saliva as they turned to him, their face was well…hairy, their eyes were red and had this weird foggy look in them and their teeth were yellow and crooked. Maybe he should look for someone else? These guys don't look particularly friendly.
"You know what? You guys look busy I think I'll ask someone else instead if It's ok with you." He turned around to walk up the pa-
*Squelch*
He paused, his brain freezing as the sensation of something impacting his back made itself known. Looking down he notices four spikes sticking out of his abdomen.
"Uh?" he hands move to the spikes touching them as his brain struggles to comprehend what was going through his body. Then like someone snapping their fingers, white hot pain flared through his stomach as he tried to scream, only for blood to pour out of his mouth. With a sudden yank the spikes were pulled out from his stomach and he fell to the ground.
"Trying to run away beast?" one of them mocked with a sneer
"How many people have you killed huh? How many have you tricked with that façade and ripped apart?" The other punctuated the question with a savage kick to his ribs, putting Elias into another coughing fit of blood.
"I think it's time you get what's comin to ya. Hold him down!" the last one commanded. Elias tried to fight back as they pinned his arms and legs down but the men were not only stronger but were also bigger than he was.
"Lets see how you like it." The supposed leader of the group grinned maliciously before holding up a saw. Elias renewed his struggles fighting with everything he had to get loose so he could run.
"P-please, please stop. I'll leave you alone, I'll leave I swe-" he pleaded with tears in his eyes from the pain but one of them smacked him with the back of his hand silencing him. He felt one of them place their knee on his left arm before felt them grab his head and force him to look at the one with the saw as he lined it up with his right forearm.
As he felt the edge of the saw rest on his skin the man yelled as he brought the saw forward and Elias felt white hot pain as the saw began to dig into his arm.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH." Elias screamed as the man moved the saw forward and back, feeling as the blade bit in and snagged against sinew that twitched like snapping cables. He felt tendons snap like old rope as thousands of tiny explosions of pain went up his arm and rattled his brain.
Eventually he felt the saw jerk and get caught onto something, slowing its grinding. He felt vibrations crawl up his arm and rattle his spine and teeth. His screams broke into hoarse gasps as the blade chewed through the marrow with renewed vigor.
As the blade nearly finished being cut off the man instead grabbed it before pulling off with a sickening snap and pop.
His ears filled with white noise, blocking all sounds as he felt the men change positions, now holding down only his torso and legs as the man with the saw line it up again.
'Why is this happening?' He thought as they got started, his screams turning into squeals similar to that of a rabbit caught in a snare. 'What did I do wrong to deserve this?' His left arm was gone now, pulled off like the other one.
His screams were ignored, no rather they enjoyed his screams laughing like they just got told the best joke of the century, only the joke was him. The next thing to go was his left leg, the pain was sharper, deeper, and he felt something in his mind crack.
Weirdly enough he felt himself disassociate, he heard himself scream, beg, cry. The left leg was gone, and they were halfway done with the right one. Soon he was missing all of his limbs, his arms, his legs, everything.
They dragged him across the cobblestone, grabbed a handful of his shirt as he agonized from the bloody, hot searing absence of his arms and legs. His body left a blood trail behind them and distantly he noticed they were moving uphill.
Then came a light, a blazing yellow glow that reflected off of the bloodied bricks. He felt himself be lifted and turned towards it. Seeing a pile of bodies inside the light.
'fire,' he corrected. It wasn't a body of light, it was a body of fire. He couldn't do anything as they threw him in. The flames kissed his raw nerved as agony rushed in like a flood. His skin blistered, bubbled, blackened. He couldn't breath as oxygen was burned before he could suck it in. His eyes burst under the heat, permanently drowning his sight into darkness.
Strangely, as his body was burning he began to feel peace, not because the pain was gone but because it would just all be over.
His last thoughts weren't of his dream, they weren't of the village, they weren't even about the people he met.
It was gratitude
'It's finally over'
And then his eyes opened once more.
OK, so Hello everyone LegendaryNexus here and welcome to My first published fanfiction Danmachi: An Eye for An Eye and Blood for Blood. Long title maybe but it sure as hell is shorter than the original novel! As I've said this is my first story and I would really appreciate it if you guys were to leave any criticisms on what can be improved. Honestly I feel like Bloodborne doesn't have enough fanfiction with the way the story is but hey making a story with vague interpretations and descriptions can be a little difficult I guess.
Anyways thank you all so much for reading the first chapter. I'll be honest I don't know when I'll have the next chapter out but considering I posted this one it is a guarantee another will be posted.
Also small little complaint on my end which is going to be a small rant you can skip over if you don't want to read but do you guys feel like fanfiction on webnovel is getting, I don't know. A little Stale? A majority of them are transmigrators who already know the story (Which takes half the fun out of it in my opinion) and they get this cheat that makes them stupidly op in the Danmachi universe. Then there's others which are universe hopping fanfics (which im generally not a fan of) that don't stay in their long enough to really leave much of an impact. Don't get me wrong maybe I just haven't seen enough but that just my opinion. Anyways thank you much for reading and I'll see you guys in the next chapter (or the comments if you have question I can answer.)
Cya