[DanMachi/Percy Jackson] Prytaneum

Chapter 21: Diffusion part 1

I yawned, covering my mouth with one hand before rubbing my eyes.

"Are you tired, Percy?" Welf asked, pausing in his work at the forge. The fire was blazing, stoked to some incredible heat by the Inferno Stone he possessed, but with my Undine shirt on, I didn't even feel it. Even standing next to a roaring fire on an already hot day, there wasn't a drop of sweat on me.

"A little," I said, blinking several times in an attempt to make my eyes focus. "Didn't sleep last night."

As a demigod, I could brush off a lot of stuff that would floor most people, but I still got tired, especially if I used a lot of energy fighting, like I had the day before. If I'd taken a shower last night or this morning, I might have been able to brush off the worst of it, but I hadn't wanted to wake up or bother Hestia and once I was up and moving, there'd been things to do. After Hestia and I got something to eat on West Main, I escorted her to her workplace on North Main and then left to handle various tasks I'd been wanting to do, now that I had a day free. I stopped by Miach's place to ask him about Magic Potions and the ingredients required to make one; they were more expensive than normal potions and, correspondingly, required things from deeper floors. Still, he'd told me that many of the ingredients could be found on the tenth through twelfth floor and that we'd be able to work something out. Afterwards, I'd taken a walk through the city, collecting some items I thought might come in handy before returning to Welf's workshop to waste some time.

"If you want, you can come back later," Welf suggested, waving his hammer at me. "I won't be done for a few hours yet."

"I'll rest in a little bit," I said, already planning to make a quick stop home to shower up before my date with whatever was waiting for me tonight, just in case. "And I'll go to bed early tonight. But I've still got some stuff I have to do today. Speaking of which, how's that shirt holding up?"

"Like a charm," Welf said, clapping a hand on his chest and the blue shirt he wore beneath his blacksmithing gear. After I'd come back in, the first thing I'd done was weave one of his old shirts into Undine Silk. "This stuff is amazing. I grew so used to the heat that I never realized how much it took out of me, but now forging stuff seems like a breeze. If it's just this, I could forge armor all day."

"Do you mind backing me up tonight instead?" I asked.

He frowned at me slightly, tilting his head.

"What do you mean?"

"I've been getting weird feelings on West Main for a while now," I said. "Like I've been catching something's attention."

"Good attention or bad attention?" He asked.

"Bad attention," I replied. "Maybe monster attention."

Welf nodded slowly, frown still on his lips.

"It's extremely rare for monsters to escape the Dungeon nowadays," He said. "That's why we built a giant tower over it and all. But it's not unheard of. You think it's serious?"

"I don't know," I said. "But I'd rather treat it seriously and be wrong then make a mistake."

"I guess there are worse places to have a fight than West Main," He mused. "Come nightfall, half the adventurers in the city will be there. If there is a monster, odds are it won't last long if a fight breaks out."

"I don't know if it'll come to that," I admitted. "The feeling I got came from inside a bar, both times."

"Inside a bar," Welf asked, sounding surprised. "That's...odd. I mean, in that case, you'd definitely think someone would notice if something was wrong. You sure something was there?"

"I'm sure," I said. "But it's weird. I don't know. But either way, let's play it safe."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Just hang around," I told him. "We're going in kind of blind, so we'll have to make things up as we go. If something happens, I'll move to engage and you get help, okay? Otherwise...I guess we'll just think of it as a celebration. I'll pay, this time."

"A celebration, huh?" Welf repeated, seeming to consider that. "What are we celebrating?"

I paused to consider that before shrugging.

"Our contract?" I suggested. "Or our party? We never did do anything to commemorate either of those, did we?"

"Sounds like a good reason to celebrate to me," Welf said, smiling a bit belatedly. "Ah, now I kind of hope nothing happens."

"Same."

"What's the bar's name, by the way?" He asked. "Maybe I've heard of it?"

I hesitated for just a moment before shaking my head.

"I don't know," I said honestly. "I can't read the signs."

Welf blinked at that, furrowing his eyebrows.

"You can't read Koine?" He asked. Was that what the language was called? I abruptly realized that I didn't know. Either way, I shook my head.

"I can read the Sacred Text, but nothing else," I said, though, feeling a need to defend myself.

"You can read the Sacred Text?" He asked, sounding surprised again. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"I didn't," I stated.

Welf paused awkwardly for a moment.

"Oh," He said. "Right."

After a moment, he shook his head, sighing.

"No offense, Percy," He began. "But it's kind of amazing how much you don't know sometimes."

"I know, right?" I replied, nodding. "Story of my life."

"It's not your fault our anything; I'm not trying to say anything like that," He assured quickly, continuing. "But looking at you, I sort of realize how much I take for granted—there's a whole bunch of stuff that I just figure everyone knows. And it's just sort of weird having to reevaluate some of it. Where did I learn all this stuff? There was a time I didn't know how to be an adventurer or how to read, though it's been longer for the latter than the former. But it's been such a long time...did my mom teach me how to read? Did Hephaestus tell me to basics? I don't remember."

He looked at me for a moment before pursing his lips.

"Do you..." He began before hesitating for a moment. "You want me to read signs for you and stuff? Until you get the hang of it?"

I smiled at him.

"Please," I said, nodding slightly. "And thanks."

"No problem, Percy," He replied, looking down at his work. "Better finish this up, then; we've got plans tonight it seems."

"Yeah," I replied, looking down at the bag in my own hands with a slight frown.

"Still working on Mystery?" Welf guessed after glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Saying I'm working might be an exaggeration," I murmured. "Failing to work might be more accurate."

Given what I'd managed to do with just a needle and thread, I'd wandered for about an hour and a half around the markets, looking for things that caught my eye. Seeing as my adventuring expenses were way, way down of late, but Hestia insisted on still giving me at least half of what I made, I had a fair bit of money to play around with and I'd bought some odds and ends that I thought might come in handy. More thread, a pair of adventuring clothes, some shells, some more water, and sand, and a few more expensive odds and ends. It was a bit skewed towards the whole sea theme, but then, so was I. Given what I'd done with the Undine Silk, water stuff seemed like a good place to start.

But so far, I was utterly failing to think of anything.

"I know what that's like," Welf said. "Have all the materials, have all the tools, have a hot forge and a hammer in my hands—and can't think of anything."

"Any idea how to fix it?" I asked.

"If I did, I'd sell it to every smith, writer, and artist in the world," He told me. "Make myself unbelievably rich. All I can really tell you is to keep working on it; something will come to you eventually. Me, I usually just start working on something else, because if there's any way to start getting ideas, it's to be busy working on something completely different."

I pursed my lips, nodding slowly.

"It's just...I don't even know where to start, because I don't know what I'm supposed to do," I admitted. "I don't even know what I can do. The Undine Silk thing was an accident, really, but now..."

"Hm," Welf mused. "Yeah, that's a problem and I don't really know how to solve it. If it's blacksmithing, I get stumped now and then, but I never really unsure of what I can make, just how to make it. With Mystery...well, it's correctly labeled. I don't know what type of things a new user is supposed to start with. I can ask around the next time I get a chance, though? I don't know what it'll turn up, but it might give you some inspiration."

"Please," I said.

"But if you want any advice...I guess working with what you know is a good place to start?" He said lamely before sighing. "Not very helpful, but I mean that literally. Not all smiths are equal, right? It's all a matter of skill and experience; what you know, what you've spent years honing, what you've learned. That's why prices vary in the shops, after all. And that's true even with things like Blacksmith. Developmental Abilities are the proof of one's hard work—but also something to develop in turn. Even if it gives everyone the same potential, it's up to the person to master it and explore possibilities. What if I combine these things, what if I make it like this, what if I incorporate something new? Questions like that are what make a smith and set him apart. So if all you know how to make is Undine Silk, make it again and again and do it in different ways. Try shirts and pants and socks and shoes, try different materials, try different types of clothes, add stuff in here and there, and see what happens. That's how you learn and improve, right?"

I nodded slowly, considering that as I looked in my bag with a frown.

"What's it mean to improve a Developmental Ability?" I asked. "You can improve them just like you can the others, right?"

"That's not quite what I'm saying, but it's related," Welf replied. "Like Basic Abilities, they have a letter, right? I through S, but it's harder to improve—a lot harder. As they do, though, so do whatever benefits they offer. Blacksmiths can create greater weapons and imbue them with more impressive powers, Mixers can make stronger potions, and so on. What that means for Mystery, I'm not certain since I don't even know what you can make now, but...if you want to improve, the only way to do it is still by working hard. Like Basic Abilities, Developmental Abilities won't improve without use and experience, they just take vastly more. And it's not just fighting, you know? Even for the Basic Abilities, I mean."

"It's not?" I asked, suddenly a bit confused.

"Well, fighting is still probably the best way," Welf admitted. "But it's all about gathering excilia in whatever way you choose. For the Basic Abilities, that can mean fighting or it can mean training; it all depends on how much the Falna considers it worth. If you learn swordsmanship from a master or go through enormous training to perfect your abilities, it should reflect on you Status. It's not just a matter of doing the same thing over and over again, though—it's a matter of learning, improving, and doing new things. Of living up to your potential, discovering new strength, and improving yourself as much as possible."

"Is that how you level up?" I wondered suddenly. "By raising your stats until they reach the limit?"

"Ah," Welf drew out, frowning and putting down his tools. "Thinking about it, I guess you probably wouldn't know after just a week and a half—most people probably wouldn't consider it the type of thing you need to worry about. But you..."

He shook his head.

"If it's you, I think you should know," He said. "Leveling up is a bit different—it has nothing to do with your stats. Or, well, that's not quite true; it's like your stats are to prepare you for leveling up and they all need to reach at least D for it to happen, with the exception of Magic, which is a bit special. But I've already reached that and then some and I haven't leveled up, because that's not what leveling up is about. It's about accomplishments even the gods must acknowledge, about acquiring a huge amount of high-quality excilia."

"High quality?" I asked. "How do you get stuff like that?"

"By defeating things that are clearly stronger than you," He said. "By triumphing over enemies you shouldn't be able to beat."

I frowned, thinking about that. Looking back, I wondered who would count as that for me.

...Actually, there was a surprising number. My life was kind of sucky, sometimes.

"Sounds tough," I said.

"Yeah," Welf replied. "You can make up for the gap in a number of ways—intelligence, skill, or experience—but the fact remains that for it to qualify to the Falna, it has to be something that pushed you to your limits; you have to do something that belongs in myth and legend. And some people do. On the other hand, when you get into a fight you shouldn't be able to win, usually you don't."

"Makes sense," I said.

"That's why most people form parties," He said with a nod. "You still get excilia for defeating enemies as a group, after all; it's just divided amongst everyone involved, depending on the role they played. Take you and me, for example; odds are that you get most of the excilia from any of the fights we get into, because you do most of the work. Even so, I still gain experience and eventually I'll have enough to level up. It takes longer that way, of course—both because of the split experience and the added safety—but what it lacks in time, it makes up for in survival."

"Not dying is always fun," I agreed, even though I was thinking about the possibilities now. I'd already noticed that the harder the fights I got into, the more my stats improved, but how far into the Dungeon would I need to go before I finally hit my limit. Each floor gave my more difficulty than the last, pressed me harder, trapped me more ruthlessly, but...

Right now, my stats were still just in the H to G range. No, after I get my Status updated, my highest stat might edge over to F. But still, I was quite a ways away from meeting even the bare minimum for leveling up, to say nothing of going further. I knew I shouldn't complain, seeing as I knew I was progressing quickly by the standards of...just about anyone, really, but...I still wanted to go further, faster. In quiet moments like this, I couldn't help but feel anxious and wonder how long it would take.

But it wasn't just me anymore and I hadn't been lying when I told Hestia that I was glad Welf was around. It's just that now I had to hesitate and consider the risks to him, as well as myself. I could explore the rest of the tenth floor given a chance, but could I risk going down to the eleventh with Welf? To say nothing of whoever we might find to be a supporter?

I took a slow breath and looked down into my backpack, slowly removing things from it and telling myself to be patient. Welf still had things to do today and so did I—no point in rushing things too much.

"I spoke to the Guild, by the way," Welf said, picking up his hammer again. "Just give me a day or two to look through the applicants and we should have a supporter."

"Yeah," I said, nodding firmly. It was just a day or two and we'd be on our way. Nothing to worry about.