Chapter 69
"Draco nii, aren't you done yet?" Michalis asked from behind the door, his voice laced with a hint of impatience.
Bahamut, momentarily distracted by the interruption, inadvertently gave Draco an opportunity to escape.
Without wasting any time, Draco quickly flipped Bahamut's petite frame off his back, snatched his status sheet, and grabbed his shirt from the ground, using it to cover the tent that had formed within his pants.
‘Silly brute, just had to ruin our alone time’ Bahamut thought as she sat up on the bed.
Swoosh !!
Hastily, Draco exited the room, swinging the door open with a resounding swish.
"Whoa!" Michalis exclaimed, caught off guard, as he tumbled to the floor.
Looking around, Draco was somewhat startled to find Clair, Michalis, Eleni, Nikolaos, Dimitra, Vasileios, and Vasiliki in a tangled heap to the side just outside the door.
It was evident they had all been eavesdropping on his conversation with Bahamut.
Michalis, being the slowest to react, had been the only one unable to flee in time as Draco emerged from the room.
"Ahem, Draco nii, it was all him," Vasiliki said, pointing an accusatory finger at Michalis.
"Wait, what do you mean 'just me'?" Michalis countered, attempting to push himself up from the floor.
"It's true, he told me that you and Bahamut-sama might be doing something naughty. Sniff, I tried to stop him, but fell prey to curiosity," Vasiliki said, her voice laced with a hint of feigned sorrow.
Draco turned his gaze to Michalis, who was still on the floor, while the others maintained a respectful distance, acting as if they were not involved.
"Wait, Draco nii, surely you can tell that she is lying. You know I am a gentleman and would never voice out such a vulgar assumption, especially to the girls," Michalis pleaded, his brow furrowed in earnest.
Nikolaos and Vasileios nodded in silent support, offering their tacit agreement with Michalis's claim.
"Draco nii, don't listen to that vulgar thing on the ground. You know what he is truly like," Vasiliki countered, her tone dripping with disdain.
"Did she just call me a thing?" Michalis sighed, placing a hand dramatically on his forehead.
"Sigh, what happened to my cute little sister? The days when she would run to me and call out 'nii-chan' are over." he said.
"Huh, that has never happened. You do know that you are older than me by only an hour. Besides, I remember clearly that it was Draco nii that I ran to," Vasiliki replied, her brow furrowed in annoyance.
Draco listened to their bickering, shaking his head in exasperation as his arousal had long since subsided.
'Sigh, what nonsense are they both spouting?' Draco wondered.
"Enough, just go in and get your status updated," he said, seeing no end to their squabbling.
Michalis quickly scrambled to his feet and hurried into Bahamut's room to have his status updated, while the others maintained their distance.
'I should probably finish unpacking my boxes. Everyone should be done updating their status by then,' Draco thought, turning to leave when Clair stopped him.
"Wait, your status sheet," Clair said, stopping Draco as he was about to leave.
Draco didn't mind and handed his status sheet to her, knowing that the others had likely already heard Bahamut's explanation regarding his high status.
With that, Draco made his way to the storage room, intent on finishing the task of unpacking his clothes from the boxes.
Time seemed to swiftly trickle by, and soon, each member of the Bahamut familia had updated their status.
Everyone besides Draco boasted main stats ranging between 100 and 199, their other statistics were equally impressive, hovering between 50 and 100.
This level of progress was truly remarkable, considering they had only commenced their dungeon-diving endeavors a mere week prior.
Draco found this unusually rapid advancement both intriguing and perplexing.
He reasoned that this phenomenon must be attributed to the unique method of their birth or the potential effects of one of his unknown skills.
However, he did not feel the need to delve deeper into the underlying reasons, content in the knowledge that their growth speed would not leave them lagging too far behind him.
Bahamut, possessed a keen understanding of the normal progression patterns of adventurers, thanks to some of her goddess friends.
Consequently, she could not help but notice the highly unnatural nature of her children's development.
Yet, much like Draco, as long as the outcomes were positive, she did not dwell on the specifics.
Instead, she simply attributed their exceptional progress to their inherent giftedness.
The familia’s rapid ascent in power and capabilities was not merely a coincidence or a stroke of luck, but rather the result of a complex interplay of factors, both known and unknown.
…………………………………………………………………………………….
With their status updates resolved, the Bahamut familia exited their residence, heading towards the guild.
They had a scheduled meeting with their guild advisor, Rose, for the evening.
As they arrived at the guild, they quickly located Rose, who guided them to a vacant meeting room.
"Glad you all could make it," Rose began the meeting.
"Of course, your guidance is invaluable to us," Draco replied.
Clair, on the other hand, scoffed, as she and Rose had not seen eye-to-eye since the incident the previous week.
"Anyway, I have called you here today to discuss the 5th to 7th floors," Rose stated, getting straight to the point.
"Does this mean we can now venture beyond the 4th floor?" Michalis interjected, his curiosity piqued.
"Indeed," Rose affirmed. "You all have proven your capabilities this past week. Additionally, there has been a noticeable decline in kobold sightings on the 3rd and 4th floors, likely due to your familia's extensive hunting. As such, I have decided to grant you access up to the 7th floor." she said.
Rose paused, "I cannot in good conscience ask you to reduce your hunting, so the only solution was to have you dive deeper into the dungeon." she added.
Draco nodded thoughtfully. "I see, so our activities have had such an impact on the early floors” he said.
In the later half of the past week, Draco had made them switch to hunting mostly Kobolds.
This was because the kobold magic stones fetched a higher price, and Draco wanted to recoup the funds spent on the advance payment for the house they had rented.
"Normally, only adventurers with at least G-rank stats would be allowed to venture this deep," Rose explained.
"However, your skills and equipment should make up for any deficiencies in your raw stats." she added.
She then proceeded to elaborate on the dangers that awaited them on the 5th floor and beyond.
"Killer ants and war shadows begin to spawn from the 5th floor onward. This is where most newbies start meeting their demise." she said, her expression taking a more serious tone.
Rose then brought out a book containing diagrams of the two monsters, a map of the floors, along with information on their known weaknesses and areas to avoid.
The meeting continued well into the night, as Rose ensured that she had conveyed all the relevant information to the Bahamut familia.
Privately, Rose wished they could have spent a few more weeks on the 1st to 4th floors, but she knew it was only a matter of time before other newbies realized that the Bahamut familia was hoarding most of the kobolds on those levels.
This could easily lead to trouble for them, so she reasoned that increasing the difficulty of their hunting would slow down their pace.
As the meeting drew to a close, Draco expressed his gratitude.
"Thank you, Rose-san. We will be sure to keep all your advice in mind." he said.
Not all dungeon advisor’s were willing to do this much for their assigned adventurers.
Rose watched as the Bahamut familia exited the meeting room, a concerned expression on her face.
"Why am I getting so invested in them?" she wondered aloud, leaning back in her chair.
The Bahamut familia was highly unusual, possessing skills and accomplishments that were beyond the norm for newbies.
The only person she knew who had achieved a similar feat was Ai’s, a young girl from the Loki familia, who was considered an exceptional prodigy.
"Are they like her? Just maybe..." Rose mused, her brow furrowed in contemplation.
She couldn't help but wonder if there was something extraordinary about this familia, something that set them apart from the rest.
Shaking her head, Rose tried to dismiss these thoughts.
"No, I can't let myself care too much, or I might end up jinxing them," she muttered, slapping her cheeks lightly to refocus.
With a deep sigh, Rose stood up and headed for the door, determined to maintain a professional distance, even as a part of her couldn't help but be intrigued by the Bahamut familia's potential.
As she walked through the guild halls, Rose couldn't help but ponder the implications of their rapid progress.
Were they truly a cut above the rest, or was it simply a matter of exceptional preparation and determination? Whatever the case, she knew that the challenges they would face in the deeper levels of the dungeon would test their mettle like never before.