The elderly witch looked at my Grimoire's closely, studying them thoroughly under a large magnifying glass.

I waited patiently, sitting in a chair across from her, and leaning back, crossing my ankles.

Almost two hours later, she was done with all the empty ones, and then picked up Dreamer. "This one... you did not learn it?" She croaked in a dusty, disused voice.

I shook my head. "To look into someone's dreams is a gift I do not want."

She nodded slowly, chuckling. "Yes, so many are afraid of this magic. For good reason, I suspect. Whoever gave this to you did so with ill intentions..."

She went back to examining it, and then nodded, about five minutes later. "Mm... I will give you 500K for every grimoire, and 2Mil for ."

"Hmm... and to get them re-enchanted?"

She leaned back, thinking. "Mm... 5Mil for each of them. I can give you shielding spells, war-magic, healing-"

"Do you have anything that helps smithing? Engineering and stuff like that?" I asked.

She hummed, and looked at the wall of books. "I don't think so... such things are usually Skills, not Spells. You can get the Skill when you Level Up, if you tell your Goddess you want it."

I nodded. "Had to try... alright, thank you for-"

"That is wise." Riviera closed the door heavily, glaring at the old woman.

The woman tsk'ed, hissing under her breath, and I glanced at her, before looking at Riviera. "She's underselling?"

" Lady Veshky, you should know better than to trick a member of the Trickster God's Guild. You don't want Loki to you again, do you?" She glared at the woman.

The woman blanched. "Oh but of course not! I-i was just testing the poor boy, don't tell Loki, please!" She begged, shrinking into her seat.

Riviera huffed. "I'll think about it! Now, Give me the proper estimates and prices for those Grimoire's!"

"And I need new spells put in them, whatever spells we need in the Familia." I added.

Riviera nodded. "You're giving them up?"

"Yeah, just these, though. I saved a few of the repeated copies for Johnny, so he could read them. And the Magic journals are mine as well... anyway, just these. Whatever spells our people need, I'm sure you already know them, right?" I asked.

She smiled and nodded again. "Indeed. Alright, Lady Veshky, I need six copies of Aegis, six copies of Fire-Bolt, and 14 copies of Ice Elemental Magics, all sizes and lengths, and I want full price for , I know how rare it is." She barked out orders, and the old woman grumbled, obeying, and stared enchanting the books, then and there.

"She's quite good, isn't she, despite how shady she is, huh?" I asked.

"The best in Orario. Gets to her head sometimes." Riviera answered, smiling.

Nearly thirty minutes later, she was done, and she leaned back, wiping sweat off her spotted brow. "Finally... alright, I'm giving you a discount, so when you sell me Dreamer, it'll only come out to 2Mil." She grumbled.

I reached for my purse, but Riviera simply dropped a heavy bag of 20 (100,000§) coins on the table, then began collecting the books.

I assisted, and then grinned, walking out. "You really helped me there. Thanks."

"You would've made a simple mistake. Plenty do." She shrugged.

"That, and the money. I only have 50K on me." I grinned, and kept walking while she froze.

"You... walked into a shop... with only 50K Val?" She caught up, staring at me.

"I wasn't planning on buying anything, you know." I chuckled.

"You planned on bluffing your way out, didn't you? Saying your money was in a safe place, that scenario?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I'd never be so cliche." I shrugged, moving the bag of books onto my shoulder better. We entered the Alley, and I halted. "Is this alley Cursed? Do I have to take a different route?" I grumbled.

"What-" Riviera started, then frowned. "I am 'Nine Hells' Riviera Ljos Alfs, and if you wish to live, I would abandon pursuit of my Familia Member and myself." She said in perfectly calm voice, her power radiating into the alley.

I grinned and set aside bag of books. "It's okay. I think I can handle this. Feels like the same people from last time..." I lowered my voice, turning to her, and mouthing words. "Ice the floors of the alley, and the walls. They're too fast for me."

She sniffed. "Fine. Make it quick, I want to get back to Loki in time for Tea." She said in her best aristocrat voice, which I couldn't decide if it was fake or not.

I smirked and stepped forward, digging my feet into the stones, just as they turned to ice.

Two people skidded across it on their backsides and stomachs, and I leapt onto them, pounding away at their throats and stomachs, the only spots soft enough for me to do damage, with their skin being like steel.

One quickly succumbed, but the second one managed to evade me, adapting to the new environment, and then slamming me into the wall across the alley with a well-placed kick to my chest.

I grunted, then peeled myself out of the wall, glaring at Riviera when she went to chant something, and silencing her.

The man disappeared, and a kick landed on my skull. He'd slowed down, to give himself power, but that only made it easier for me to grab him.

I rolled with the kick, as if I'd been hit, and then turned, capturing his leg, and twisting it, falling with the full force of his kick.

His leg, even though it was as tough as steel, snapped like a twig in several places, disjointing, then ripping tendons, ligaments, and muscles alike.

He screamed, and punched me once, squarely in the jaw, sending me hurtling into the alley, where I couldn't see.

His allies surrounded me as I skidded to a stop, and I leapt into action, acting on my senses of smell, touch, and hearing.

Seven separate entities were in the alley with me, and they were just as blind as I was, most of them. I put ten between me and the light, so I was a shadow against more shadows, versus their clear silhouette, and gave myself a dirty, cheap advantage, that saved my life at least ten times in the first minutes.

I took them down one by one, systematically. I was cruel, breaking bones where I could, dislocating when I couldn't. The enemies were stronger than me, and faster, but, as always, they seemed to only know enough about fighting to 'get by'.

In short, Skill trumped strength, as always, because I wasn't anything like them, what with their learning of even the most basic concepts of Martial Arts, such as punching and kicking.

I stood on the last of them, and walked back over to the man whose leg I had ruined. "I wanted a rematch... and I got one. Maybe next time you'll bring more cannon fodder." I shrugged carelessly.

Then I focused, whispering the Flash Cast of Cinder Ella, and used it quickly. I created thicker bones in my knuckles, like natural brass knuckles, and punched him squarely in the jaw with all I had, as payback for his punches and kicks, breaking it cleanly.

He slumped, unconscious, and I let my knuckles go back to normal, cracking my neck. "Well... that was stressful." I stepped over him, and then picked up the bag of books.

Riviera looked at me critically. "You are surprisingly merciless."

"When it's 9 on 1, and they're stronger, faster, and harder to hurt, mercy is a weakness you can't afford if you wanna live. I wanna live." I shrugged, and walked passed them, stepping over bodies.

She primly picked her way over them as well, and we continued on our way to the Castle.

---

"And these are from whom?" The librarian at the castle Eyed the giant stack of book I had in the cart.

"Well, they're mine, I'm just, uh... well, this is the safest place for books, after all, and uh... I was hoping to commandeer a shelf, is all." I grinned, chuckling awkwardly.

She smiled. "I see... well, I'm sure I can find an empty shelf, if I try. You're welcome to browse while I find your books' new home... but no books leave the library once coming in, I'm sure you understand?"

"Oh, of course, makes total sense. Did Riviera give you the Grimoire's I had made yet, or...?" I asked.

She nodded slowly. "Yes, those were a great addition to our library. I'm currently tracking down the mages she wanted me to give them to, but it won't be long... she didn't tell me you're the one who got them, though! Must've been expensive..."

"Actually, the originals were a reward for my Quest from Riviera, to clear the Guild Contract Board in a week. I read the Grimoire's, and these are the non-Grimoire's, but I took the empty ones to be given new spells... and here we are!" I chuckled.

She blinked. "Oh! Well thank you, then! They will be put to good use, I swear!" She laughed gently.

I nodded. "Well, I have to be going now, I've got some things to do. Good day." I walked out, and wandered around the Castle, until I found Loki.

She grinned when she saw me. "Ah! Just the man I wanted to see!!! Riviera tells me you found a group of Nine opponents this time, and 2 were Lvl 2?"

"Yes, Loki." I nodded.

"And you hurt them, yes? Did you mess up their faces like the others?"

"It wasn't a battle in which I was able to prioritize that, so no. I was close to losing the entire time, because they were stronger, faster, and I had almost no vision." I shook my head.

She hummed, chewing her thumbnail. "I see... well, I can't have you losing! Come on." She led me towards her office, and pointed at a couch. "Lay on your stomach, take off your shirt." She commanded.

"Mm...Kay?" I said hesitantly, and pulled off my shirt, laying down.

She mounted my back swiftly. "Lay still. I'm going to Update your status."

"Is there another way for us to do this? I'm sure Ares doesn't sit on his Familia's asses..." I grumbled.

"Actually we all do it this way." She said, and pricked her finger, then pressed it to my back.

A burning sensation spread throughout my body, burrowing deep, just like the awakening, just minimized, and much less painful.

"Hmm... interesting development... you'll need a bit more experience, to make it to Level Two, and Beat that Rabbit's Record..." she grumbled, and handed me a sheet of paper.

I read it, humming. "So I've improved, hmm? Is this... good?" I raised the sheet in her direction.

'Xavier Leopold Dorian: LVL 1

STR: B760 DEX: B790

DEF: B720 MAG: A930

WPN: C690 SKL: N/A

STR+295 DEX+340

DEF+190 MAG+800

WPN+189 SKL-N/A'

Loki smiled. "Yes. It's very good... but not as much as that Rabbit... you need a lot of experience, in a short amount of time... hmm... ah! The Expedition!!!"

"I thought Level One's didn't go on expeditions?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Only Sometimes."

"And Who's this Rabbit you keep mentioning?" I asked, moving on.

Her eyes sparkled. "A boy in Hestie's Familia... he's got white hair and red eyes, and he holds the record for getting to Level Two in just a month and a half, then Level Three in a Month... the original record holder was my Ais... with Six Months..." she gnawed on her thumbnail angrily.

"So you want the title back... okay, I can get behind that. But if I go on the Expedition, which is Three Months long, that ruins the point. Instead, I need to fight a lot more thugs, right? And get experience up top, where you can update my Status every day, right?" I asked.

She blinked. "You're right... fine. I'll find more of Freya's thugs, and you go hunt the Dungeon with Bete. Hunt for as long as you can, eh?"

I nodded. "Oh! And the lady at the shop said that if I wanted to have the Blacksmith Skill, I had to ask you? What's a Skill?"

She stared at me, mouth slightly open, for long enough that I thought she'd fallen asleep like that, before suddenly exploding.