Leaving the dungeon through the portal and stepping back into the cavern was underwhelming, disappointing Helo a little. He expected to feel something like relief, or accomplishment. But all he felt was ‘Meh’. He spent the last seven days walking through portals into tunnels.
Following everyone as they walked through the cavern Helo can feel a constant and powerful buzzing around him. Looking around he realizes that these are the enchantments he felt when he was entering seven days ago. But thanks to his sharper perception he can feel their strength more. “Wow, I wonder what Bernards walls would feel like if I tried to sense them now.”
Thanks to Helos far more nuanced aura the only people that can tell Helo has his aura spread are the four adults leading the group. Micah looks over to Graham with an eyebrow raised. That one look holds an entire lecture from an older brother to a younger. ‘See, impressive right.’
With a snort Graham looks away and says, “Yes, he has grown surprisingly quickly. Once he hits tier two even, I will have a hard time sensing his aura. It’s impressive due to my stealth skills.”
With a hand over her mouth and letting out a cute laugh Cheyenne grabs Graham’s arm and smiles. The elder is silent this whole time but he is also impressed by the nuances he feels from how the child controls his aura. He thinks to himself, It is powerful and is using the energies of the natural world to subtly mask itself. Yes, we must groom this child well.
Calain seeing all the adults giving one another looks is starting to get frustrated. His plan failed because that stupid child has some good luck. He probably just snuck past every monster. Pushing ahead he storms out of the carven and head back to his house on the left side of the river it is directly across the river from the main house.
A happy Alli grabs Helo’s arm and pulls him to a walking path that follows the tree line on the right side of the valley. Following that path for about three miles ahead Helo can see Alli’s cabin on a bare plot of land next to the trees in the south east corner of the valley. “Come on! You’re going to love the house. We built it last year when Hina and I started creating our party. My father and brother kept trying to fill up your role but Hina and I didn’t give in. We even made a third bedroom on the third floor. It is next to the stairs and faces the tree line to the east of the valley. You’re going to love it.”
Feeling incredibly flustered Helo follows along in a daze. He is used to being alone but now he has a cute girl grabbing his arm and pulling him along. Looking around for help Helo sees both Hinata and Cheyeene covering laughs all proper like. Micah just winked at him and the elder looked like he was smirking. Looking at his final bastion of support Graham’s eyebrow was twitching and he would have yelled at the boy seducing his daughter if his wife wasn’t pinching his side.
All alone with his anguish Helo looks at Lelai. “At least I have you right.” As soon as he said that she jumped out of his arms and ran into the woods. Slumping his shoulders Helo follows Alli.
Hinata falls into step with Alli and they lead him off the path and into the woods. About ten feet in is a pimped out pink golf cart. It has an entire surround sound system, it’s lifted at least three inches and its tires do not look stock. Looking at it in surprise Allia smiles.
“Like my ride! My mother told me that it was a waste of our support money. But this bad boy has a mana engine and can go up to 100mph!” Alli says with a hand on her hip while fist pumping. Staring at Helo it’s like she’s telling him to agree that it was a vital expense.
Adding to the conversation, “It carries eight people and six comfortably. We have two of them. But the other one doesn’t have the speakers and isn’t painted. They have expanded storage under the seats. Plus, they have their own mana transceivers/receivers for communication in emergency. This one looks like a waste of resources. But… Well, we are rich and it has its uses. Once the integration starts the ability to travel quickly and store items will be vital while we deal with beast waves and incursions.” She said while shrugging. “Alli just went overboard when she was customizing it.”
Doing the smart thing Helo nods with a smile. “Yeah, it looks great Alli.”
With a final fist pump she jumps in, “See Hina, I told you he would like it!”
As everyone gets in, he can see Lelai is sitting in between Alli and Hinata in the front. She is sitting on a padded car seat and looking over the dash. “Ah. I see why you ditched me. You didn’t want anyone to steal your seat.” Helo says with a laugh. Sitting in the middle of the second row Helo watches as they drive out. It is surprisingly smooth and quick for a golf cart. But he supposes that for a magic golf cart this might be expected.
“Where we just left is one of the watch towers. This entire valley is protected and everyone here trains in the dungeon or in some kind of craft. Most parking spots are hidden in the tree lines or directly in the mountain. There are three guard houses on each side and one near the entrance. The water fall is on the north end. To the right is the dungeon cavern. It is the most protected space. It is the dungeon core and server room for all the systems they have plus all the systems that will open up to the public when the integration starts. That cavern is also a bunker stocked with food, and armory, and has defenses.” Hinata says while pointing things out to Helo.
“To the left of the lake is a training room. South of that is Calain’s house that is by the road. The river flows next to the road splitting the property in half. He doesn’t like you by the way. He wanted his buddy’s little brother to have your position, but he isn’t a nice person. His name is Kenneth he is the tank of the team. Further south of that is another complex. Except this one is for events and visitors. That is why it is right next to the entrance. Anyone coming to visit won’t have access to the entire property. Now on the left side of the property is the dungeon cave then another house. This houses some elders and their families. Then there is the lake and directly on the south side of the lake is Alli’s parents’ house. Then further down in the south eastern corner is Alli’s place.”
“Oh oh oh!” Alli shouts wanting to speak as well. “The forests that surrounds the entire valley is pretty deep as well and butts up directly to the edge of the valley. If you look up you can see guard stations. There are three on each side and one on each end near the entrance and the waterfall. Each station also has a nice barracks and garage for vehicles. They each house about fifty people. All of these people are tier 2 and train at our facilities and have some access to the house’s library. If our parties are the peak of the world’s strength. Then our guards are the elite. Any towns we control usually have people who are above average to elite strength! Then once the integration starts the awakened masses usually make up the average people. Obviously with their own outliers.” Alli says this while sounding smug and looking like she wants to be praised.
With a soft smile and a shake of her head Hinata says, “Well, we are here. Usually Kenneth, Cody, and Gabi are training at this time, the south side of the house has a decent space for that.” As she says this they pull into the underground garage. Going up the steps they arrive in an entry way in the south east corner of the house. In the house the first floor is open concept. On the east side there is a large living room with a plethora of seating and a massive kitchen. On the Western wall between the kitchen and the living room is the entry way leading to a porch. On the right is a dinning room and what looks like a bar with some games tables set up and the staircase that they came up from. Next to him is another stair case leading up.
Alli skips in and yells for no reason. “Well here we have Luna, you already know her. You both will be working together to manage everything. Then in the kitchen cooking what smells amazing is Hina’s Luna. Her name is Aiko! She won’t be helping with management but she came to America with Hina.” Seeing the blond, short and curvy Luna Helo waves with a small smile. Something he does notice with some surprise is that she has a tail and cat ears on her head.
Looking into the kitchen Helo gives his normal greeting with a small wave saying “Ah. Hi.” Aiko has a pretty face with dark eyes and black hair. She is taller than the other girls standing around 5’5” and wearing a maid outfit.
With a bow she says in a smooth voice, “Good evening, Helo-Sama. I am Yamada Aiko. I came with Hinata-Sama to serve her while in America. I am also the Healer of the party.” Turning back around she goes back to cooking.
“Oh yeah that’s another thing to know, generally to have an elite classification you need to have a tier 2 class at tier 1. Plus, a strong bloodline or race will help. But we will talk about all of this tomorrow when you get your first class. Just remember that even within a tier not everything is the same. Someone’s race might augment their stats. Like giant might have (+10%) to the strength stat. But if someone has a bloodline coming from a powerful giant ancestor, they might get plus 1 to strength each level. Either is great but both are best. Race and bloodline, strength/purity can make thing pretty confusing.” Alli says
“Just keep in mind that if someone is classified as an elite, it is for a reason.” Hinata says. “Let’s get you set up in your room.” Leading him up the stairs Helo is lost in thought thinking about everything he just learned. This brings to mind his necklace and what it means about his own parents. He will have to find out why his race has a question mark.
Getting to the second floor the stairs stop in the middle of the wall on the east of the building. Behind him is a door leading to a balcony on the eastern side of the building facing the forest and mountain side. A hallway splits the floor leading to another balcony on the western side facing the entrance and the valley. “There are six rooms on each side. Each room is large with its own bathroom and walk in closet.”
Following Hinata and Alli up to the third floor this staircase ends in the north eastern corner turning around and looking down he can see all the way to the first floor. The third floor is oddly shaped. The floor is split in half and there is an upside down ‘L’ shaped floor plan. As soon as you enter there is a large open space about the size of the kitchen. This has comfy chairs, a coffee table and a door to a large balcony that from the windows Helo could tell circle the building. Looking down the ‘L’ there is what looks like a movie theater/game room. “So!” Alli says all excited. “This is our floor!” Helo looks at her a little stumped.
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Hinata speaks up here. “We were 12 when we designed it. You had just saved us and we already discussed finding you again.” Hinata says this with a hint of a blush on her face. Turing away she continues. “When we were 14 and our party was starting to become real, we had already fallen in love with the idea. So, even though our parents thought it was dumb and that the third floor shouldn’t have an extra room for you we… well Alli threw a fit.”
Looking at Alli, she is blushing and runs over to the rooms on the western wall. “So, this floor is split in half. The western half takes up as much room as six of the rooms downstairs. Keep in mind that each of those rooms are the size of normal master bedroom. Then in the south east corner.” She says while heading to a door that is near the stair case.
“This is your room. Lelai already made herself and home there last week.” Alli smiles and opens the door. Looking in side it has a massive bed on the southern wall. The bed is off center to the east and is next to some massive windows. The huge windows cover the entire south east corner and the southern wall. It overlooks the forest on both walls. “These windows even slide up with a screen so you can have them open.” She says with a huge smile. “And the blinds are really great if you want it dark and covered. On the western side is a large bathroom. Next to that is a large closet.”
Looking over Helo can see two doors one leading into a really nice bathroom with a huge shower that connects to a massive tub. In another doorway is a large closet. Then back into the main room with the bed that is on the southern wall and offset to the east there is an office space to the west. It is bear right now but with a smile Helo can see himself reading there trying to find answers to all the questions he has had. He also really enjoyed learning the language of his family’s people that Ms. Accleas taught him. English isn’t even his first language. So, he hopes to find out more about that as well.
Turning back to the girls Helo lets out a soft smile. On his handsome face with his red eyes and little fangs poking out he looks very cute. Both girls blush and look at one another. “This is great. Thanks.”
“O.. Okay, well we will give you space to get cleaned up and stuff. I mean. You have a cloak covering you but you need to get some real clothes on.” A blushing Alli says.
Hinata points to the closet. “We helped Bernard-Sama pick out the clothes he gave you. And we really liked them so your closet has a few outfits that are similar.” She said this while leaving the room and dragging Alli with her. Watching the girls leave he sees them both head to the staircase and walk back down.
Looking around Helo can’t help but sigh. “Huhhhh. This is a lot to take in. Seven days ago, I was sleeping in a cave and very content.” He says while opening up all the windows in the room. This turns the southern wall and half of the eastern one into screens. Smiling at the breeze that comes through Helo looks up and sees part of the room extends further to block and rain. “Dang, that is awesome. Anyway, then for seven days I struggled in a dungeon killing thousands of creatures and now I am in the nicest room I have ever seen in my life.” Taking of his clothes he brings everything into the bathroom. “Damn where did that backpack even go. I must have left it.” Feeling a little upset about the cores he left behind Helo gets in the shower and cleans off. Moving over to the bath he lays back and falls asleep.
A few hours later Hinata sends Aiko to check on Helo. They are about to eat and nobody has seen him. Shaking her head as she walks up at the absurdity of her mistresses’ decisions. First off, the doors in the house are absurdly large. Second, there are still seven free rooms on the second floor but they brought a man to live with them. Well… I guess not with them. But I am sure that some marriage prospect in the future will make a big deal out of it. It isn’t a big problem for Alli. Their clan is known for being pretty easy going and allowing their kids to choose within reason. But Hinata’s family is far more strict. Even in the wider multiverse they hold a higher position. Oh, what am I going to do.
Getting to the third floor she sees that the massive door to Helo’s room is open. Entering the room after lightly knocking she doesn’t hear anything. Stepping into the doorway she looks around. First there is the wall. Then a door to the balcony. Then the wall turns into a massive window all the way to the corner. Then there is a massive bed. That back wall continues on and is a massive window. This leads to a nice office area. It has a massive ‘L’ shaped desk in the corner. Then further along there is the closet space and then the massive open door to the bathroom that overlooks the room and the outside.
“Open?” she thinks stepping into the bathroom only to see a very naked and very muscular Helo. He is asleep in the bath, his long dark hair is curling around him in the water and his muscular arms are to the side in the arm rests. Taking another step forward she keeps looking. Resting on his very defined chest is a beautiful necklace. Another step. Further down are his abs with a defined ‘V’ and then… “Oh. Oh my.” She exclaims in surprise.
Stumbling lightly her exclamation causes Helo to wake up in a flurry of water. He spent the last seven days fighting for his life and barely sleeping. The experience affected him more than he realized.
Leaping from the bath in a wave of water toward the noise. As he moves a dark smoke emanates from his body. Claws open he wraps his left hand around her neck and plants his right beside her head. With his fangs bared the naked Helo stops himself before latching onto her neck. Taking a deep breath, he can smell the vitality flowing in her. Huh, I’m getting hungry. Helo thinks to himself as he draws his power back in.
Eyes wide in shock and fear Aiko isn’t sure how to feel. She can feel herself pressed against his incredibly defined 5’ 7” frame with his hand around her neck. Looking up into his captivating glowing red slitted orbs she can see a swirl of gold before it is sucked back into the depths of his eyes.
Hearing his growl rumbling in her chest it makes her feel things. Flicking her eyes down she can see two incredibly sharp fangs in his mouth. As he draws back from her neck her terror slowly turns into something else. “Ahhhh.” She moans on accident as his hand is pulled from her neck. With flushed cheeks, a feeling of shame, and arousal she looks away only to keep looking back. “I. I. Ah. Dinner is ready.” She yells before fleeing the room.
“Ah. Sorry about that.” The naked Helo says to her fleeing back. Scratching the back of his head he says. “But good timing I’m getting hungry.”
At those words Aiko remembers the image of his slitted eyes and the fangs in his mouth. Hungry! Hungry for what!?! She yells in her head. Getting to the bottom of the stairs the still flushed Aiko brushes off her maid uniform and feels how wet it is. Going to her room she feels even more embarrassed as it is sticking to her frame. Changing she goes back down stairs and heads into the first-floor kitchen.
Noticing her flush Hinata raises an eyebrow at her. “Are you okay Aiko-Chan?” She is a little worried about her friend. They have been together for their entire lives.
“Nothing! I mean. Ahem.” Taking a breath, she continues. “It’s nothing Hinata-Sama. Just a little winded I think I need to do more conditioning.
Alli who was watching tilts her head at this. But she only went up the stairs.
Kenneth who is sitting splayed out over one of the couches calls out. “Don’t worry Aiko your body looks great this way. I’ll make sure you stay just fine.”
All of the girls in the room glare at Kenneth before ignoring him. “So, where is Helo?” Gabriela says.
Her cheeks slightly flushing again she says, “He will be down shortly.”
All the girls notice but nobody says anything. Each one expresses themselves with either a light laugh, a smirk, or a head tilt. Luna who is sitting on the couch going over paper work on the coffee table only nods; as someone who understand what Aiko is going through.
Getting dressed and heading down stairs Helo stops at the bottom and looks out. Turing right he sees the kitchen with everyone sitting. As he walks up Hinata stands and introduces everyone.
“First is Gabriella Santos, she is 16 and she is from Mexico. She is our Barbarian. Which means she is an attacker and sometimes tanks. The more she is injured the stronger she gets, within reason.” Looking at her she is a short girl with tan skin. She has dark hair that curls over her shoulders and dark eyes. With sharp eye brows and defined cheek bones she is very pretty. She stands about 5’1” and is the shortest of all the girls. She has a modest chest but thick thighs and ass.
“Next is Cody Mikaelson. This big guy tends to be quiet. He is 18 and from Iceland. Believe it or not he is our archer.” Alli says with a smile. Reaching up and only patting his shoulder. “He is quarter frost giant and unlike the usually sneak archer he wields a massive bow. Plus, a hammer.” Cody is massive. Standing 6’9” and he looks like he weighs 350lbs. With brown hair, pale skin and a thick beard he looks like he could be a giant. His body is rippling with muscle and he has the belly of a power lifter. With a nod and a grunt, the big sits down.
Hinata speaks again. “This is Aiko. You met her earlier but she is a white mage and grew up with me, she is a year older at 16.” Looking at her again. She is very pretty. Standing 5’5” with dark straight hair and dark eyes. Angular cheeks and dainty eyebrows. She is also wearing a classic maid outfit.
“Next is Kenneth he is the party’s tank. He is 17.” Stopping there she didn’t say anything else. With a smirk like a cocky ass, he looks at the comparatively short Helo. Kenneth is 6’4” and muscular. Not as massive as Cody but he is incredibly fit. Blonde hair and blue eyes he is an attractive man. He likes like what you would expect a douchey Thor to look like.
“Finally, there is Luna. You both already met. But like Aiko she is a support caster. She is a bard with buffing and some debuff skills.” Luna is a cute girl; she isn’t as fit as the others. She looks a little bookish and doesn’t have as defined of a musculature. With her height of 5’3” she is incredible busty with her proportions. She has blond cat ears and a tail that sways behind her.
“Oh, and Hina and I.” Alli says while gesturing between the two of them. Hinata is wearing a classic kimono that is wrapped around her thin waist. Standing at 5’4” she has tanned skin and straight black hair. With dark eyes and delicate features, she almost looks to precious. She has a crown of flowers around her head and slightly pointed ears with the tips sticking out of her hair. Her bust is full and adds to her gorgeous and otherworldly beauty. “Yeah, she is beautiful right! She is a dryad, it basically means she is going to be sexy no matter what.” Alli said while accenting Hinata’s figure with her hands.
Pushing her away with her hands Helo looks over at Alli. If anyone was comparing otherworldly appearance she would be there as well. Alli stands 5’2” with a full figure. But her body looks lithe. She moves with a grace and playfulness of a hunter. Her hair is silver and her non-human eyes are a deep blue and hints at mischief. In their depths there are flecks of gold.
“Everyone this is Helo. He is a getting his class tomorrow so we will see where he fits. But he beat the 20th floor of the dungeon by himself.” Alli says with some pride in her face. She looks like she was the one who made it.”
“Well. Thank you Aiko-kun for cooking.” Hinata says while clasping her hands. Lightly grabbing Helo’s sweatshirt and having him sit next to her she sits down. “Let’s eat.”
Looking at the food Helo who is starting to feel ravenous, digs in. Never having lived with a need for manners everyone looks at him in shock. Smacking his hands Alli shoos him away. “I will serve you Helo-Kun. You are like a beast; you need to slow down.” While serving him food she is leaving over him and Helo’s eyes flash as she gets close. Lightly blushing because of how captivating she smells Helo looks away. Getting himself under control he turns back. He is having trouble because her Dryad bloodline makes her blood smell like a treat, it is filled with vitality.
“Helo is everything okay.” Alli says noticing Helo looking at Hinata’s neck.
With a smile he says. “Yeah Alli. I’m just used to eating in the dungeon. Ill get used to it again.” Eyes flicking over to Aiko she blushes furiously and ducks her head. Nobody else knows what his race is, but Aiko has a guess.
