Hachiman practically stumbled out of the Hephaestus Familia shop, clutching the wooden box containing his new armor as if it might flee at any moment. His heart still pounded from the strange mix of embarrassment, surprise, and gratitude. He found a relatively clean alley a few blocks away, needing a moment to compose himself and process what had just happened.
'Armor made by Hephaestus herself... Access to her forges... What the hell was that?' he thought, taking deep breaths to calm his nerves. Tsubaki's teasing still echoed in his ears, making his face heat up slightly again. 'Okay, forget the weird part. The important thing is: I have decent equipment now.'
He looked up at the sky. The sun was high, indicating it was around noon. 'There's still plenty of time before nightfall. It would be a waste not to use this immediately.' The idea of going back to the hovel and facing Aqua now seemed less appealing than facing monsters. With the new armor, perhaps the Dungeon would be a little less... hellish.
Decisively, he opened the box right there in the alley. The light armor was even more impressive under the sunlight. A breastplate of dark metal, perhaps steel with some special alloy, covered his torso, accompanied by bracers and greaves of the same material and style. The design was minimalist, without unnecessary adornments, focusing on functionality, but the quality of the work was undeniable – the joints were perfect, the surface smooth, and it seemed incredibly light for metal.
Quickly, he stripped off the upper part of his worn clothes and put on the breastplate over a thin shirt he wore underneath. He adjusted the leather straps, feeling the cold, solid metal mold comfortably to his body. Next, he fastened the bracers and greaves. The process was surprisingly easy; the pieces seemed custom-made. When finished, he felt... different. Safer. The vulnerability he had constantly felt since arriving in this world diminished noticeably, replaced by a sense of real protection.
'This... is good,' thought Hachiman, flexing his arms and legs, testing the mobility. The armor was light enough not to restrict his movements much, a testament to Hephaestus's skill. 'With this, maybe I can actually fight.' A wave of confidence, something he rarely felt, began to rise. He picked up his projected sword – still his only offensive weapon – and the feeling in his hand seemed firmer, more purposeful. He was ready.
With renewed safety and confidence, Hachiman headed straight for Babel. This time, upon entering the Dungeon, there wasn't as much hesitation. He quickly passed through floors 1 and 2, where the Goblins and Kobolds seemed almost trivial now, dispatched with newfound efficiency. He didn't even bother collecting their magic stones, focused on going deeper. Floors 3 and 4, with their occasional Dungeon Lizards, were also traversed with relative ease; the armor absorbed or deflected several blows that could have seriously injured him the day before.
He continued descending. Passing the fifth floor, he noticed the change in environment the guides mentioned. The bluish walls gave way to a light-green stone, and the very structure of the Dungeon seemed to change, with corridors perhaps wider in some places, or with more forks and side chambers. The atmosphere also seemed to become a bit denser, more dangerous. He had reached the sixth floor.
It was here he encountered the new inhabitants. Emerging from the shadows with disturbing speed came a slender humanoid creature, dark-skinned with long, sharp claws on its hands and feet. Its eyes glowed with a malicious red light. 'War Shadow,' Hachiman identified from the description. 'Agile, sharp claws. The main threat on this floor, along with Frog Shooters. And on the next floor, the seventh, Killer Ants start appearing.'
The War Shadow lunged, claws ready to tear. Instinctively, Hachiman raised his arm protected by Hephaestus's bracer to block. The claws struck the metal with a sharp scratching sound, sparks flying, but did not penetrate. Hachiman felt the impact, but no pain. The creature seemed surprised that its attack had been ineffective.
'It works!' a triumphant thought flashed through Hachiman's mind. 'I don't need to worry so much about these attacks!' This realization freed his mind to focus on offense. Taking advantage of the War Shadow's brief hesitation, he lunged forward with his projected sword, reinforcing the blade with mana at the last second. The strike was more precise than he could have managed before, perhaps due to the absorbed knowledge or simply the added confidence. The sword pierced the dark creature's chest, which let out a sharp hiss before dissolving into black dust, leaving behind a magic stone slightly larger and brighter than those from Goblins.
The (relative) ease of that victory filled Hachiman with courage. He was no longer the easy prey who needed to hide and ambush. With the protection of Hephaestus's armor, he could face the monsters of the sixth floor more directly. He spent the next few hours actively hunting. He faced other War Shadows, learning to predict their swift movements and using the armor to block or deflect their attacks before counter-attacking. He also encountered the Frog Shooters, large, grotesque amphibians that spat acidic projectiles but were slow and vulnerable in close combat once he got near. The hunt was intense and required effort, but it was undeniably more efficient and profitable than anything he had experienced the previous week.
When he finally decided it was time to leave – the green light of the corridors seemed to be fading, and his own energy was starting to wane – he had collected a respectable amount of magic stones from War Shadows and Frog Shooters. Upon emerging from the Dungeon, he saw the sun was almost setting, painting the Orario sky in shades of orange and purple.
Straight to the Guild. The hall was busy with adventurers returning from their own expeditions. Hachiman found Misha at the counter, who greeted him with a familiar nod.
"Back, Hachiman-sama? How was it today?" she asked as he placed the pouch of magic stones on the counter. The quantity and quality were visibly superior to previous days.
"It was... productive," Hachiman replied, a faint touch of satisfaction in his voice.
Misha smiled minimally as she counted and assessed the stones. "War Shadows and Frog Shooters... Sixth floor, then? Rapid progress. And I see you acquired new armor of excellent quality." Her professional gaze didn't miss the subtle gleam of his equipment. "That certainly makes a difference."
"It made all the difference," Hachiman agreed sincerely.
After a few moments of calculation, Misha announced the total. "Based on today's stones... that's 30,000 Valis."
Hachiman blinked. 'Thirty thousand... in one day?' The amount hit him hard. 'That's more than I earned in the entire previous week, fighting and risking myself on floors 1 through 4.' The difference was stark, and the cause was obvious. 'This armor... Hephaestus-sama...' A feeling of genuine gratitude warmed his chest, something rare for him. 'She had no idea how much this would help me.'
"An excellent result, Hachiman-sama," Misha said, handing over the coins. "Continue progressing safely."
"Thank you, Misha-san," he replied, pocketing the money. The conversation was brief, but he felt a hint of genuine camaraderie there, perhaps from the respect that came with visible progress.
He left the Guild feeling significantly better than the previous day. The first step was to go to one of the city's cheap public baths to wash off the Dungeon grime – a luxury he could now afford. Then, clean and with a full pouch, he returned home.
He found Aqua drawing random figures in the floor dust, clearly bored.
"I'm back," he announced.
Aqua looked up. "Finally! Did you bring pudding?"
Hachiman rolled his eyes, but a small smile appeared. "No pudding. But how about we take a walk? The day was... good."
Surprised by the unexpected offer and his relatively positive tone, Aqua readily agreed. They went out again, not for an expensive meal, but just for a stroll through the streets of Orario as night fell. They bought some cheap sweets from a stall, and Aqua was genuinely happy. They talked trivialities, with Aqua dominating the conversation with her complaints and dreams, and Hachiman listening more than speaking, but feeling a strange sense of peace in that simple moment.
They returned home later, the tension of daily survival momentarily eased. As he prepared to sleep on the mattress (still the only one in the house), Hachiman reflected on the day. The armor had changed everything. It opened new possibilities, brought tangible success. The gratitude towards Hephaestus was real. And for the first time, perhaps, he felt he wasn't just surviving in this world, but starting to build something. The path was still long, but the next step seemed much clearer.