*Narration*

It has been two days since August and Bete had their "friendly spar" and right now the two of them had fully recovered from their injuries. 

August was cooped up in his bed and was thinking of stretching his body, so he did some light exercise on the river on the 18th floor to work up some sweat.

The wind rages at every move August did with his spear. He was image training as he imagined his fight with Bete. He made some mistakes and with this he looked to improve his self more.

As his fast blows made a whistling sound that cuts through air, his body drenched in sweat as his mind recalled every detail of the fight.

'I was to slow on the counter, I could've dodge and still connected with a decent blow. The old man is right. I relied too much on Beowulf instead of my own skill. If it wasn't for it I couldn't have kept up with him.' his thoughts took over as his movement became even sharper making the rivers move with his every slash as powerful winds blew with him.

With a final grunt he did his sharpest blow of the day as the air cut a tree in the distance. He breathes heavily as he holds the pose, holding his spear above his shoulder and bringing his center of gravity near the ground.

"Well no use in thinking about the pass." he talked to himself and took a deep breath. He then took a dip as the cool water of the river rinsed the dirt and sweat off his body.

After his refreshing dip in the river, August made his way back to the camp. The adventurers of Loki's familia had already left for the surface earlier which he was thankful for. He found that talking to them would be awkward after what had happened. 

"Guess I'll climb up now. The old man must be worried by now. Knowing him he'll be fuming, I guess I should buy him a pint of ale from the hostess to ease his anger." He sighs and makes his way out of the dungeon.

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-Adventurers guild.

"YOU'VE BEEN GONE FOR THREE DAYS!!!" That was the first thing that August heard when he stepped inside the adventurers guild. Sophie was tearing him a new one as she sermons him about how he should warn her if he's going to stay in the dungeon for a long period of time.

"Well things got complicated..." August said softly as he had his head hung low. He really didn't intend to stay inside for three days but circumstances dictated otherwise.

"Complicated my ass. What exactly happened?" Sophie asked as she stared daggers towards August.

"Well I might have been too injured inside the dungeon to move as my body entered mind zero..." the more he spoke the sharper Sophie looked at him which made him stop.

"Look August... I know that you're strong, it's just that the dungeon is a very dangerous place, especially if you're alone. Hell even the most experienced team of adventurers loses a member inside, some of them even get wiped out so you can understand why I worry about these things."

"Yeah yeah... Sorry about that. I'll be careful, promise." August smiled at Sophie which in turn made her blush. She hurriedly arranged some papers as an excuse to hide her face from August. 

"You better..." she said softly.

They talked more and August cashed his loots from the dungeon, after that August said his goodbyes and exited the guild. He made his way towards the hostess of fertility to get something to eat as well as buy booze to bribe his god so that he won't get mad. He firmly believes that bribery is the way to avoid conflict and stood by that belief with all his heart.

As he reached the pub he was greeted by the workers with a bunch of questions on why he didn't show up this past couple of days. He was a regular here so his absence was noticed by the workers. 

He answered their questions but hid the truth, spouting some lie about being so immersed with his dive that he failed to notice the time in which the waitresses bought. But not Mia and Chloe, they could smell the bullshit a mile away and was not buying anything he was saying. Still the two of them respect his privacy so they didn't push for it. 

As August was enjoying a hearty meal, Chloe made her way towards his table. 

"So finally back huh. Guess you didn't hear that your familia acquired a new member while you were gone." she started. 

August was about to have another big bite of his turkey leg when he stopped mid way mouth and eyes opened wide from what he heard. 

"Close your mouth August, that's disgusting!" Mia voiced boomed from the bar and August hurriedly did so. 

His eyes creek towards Chloe. "A new member?" he asked

"Yeah... Lord Heracles accepted a new member, he said that yesterday when he came here looking for you." 

August wiped his mouth as he stood up from his stool. He wanted to return home right away so he asked Chloe to have his food packed. He paid for his meal, and gave a quick goodbye as he rushed home excited about the prospect of a new member.

He knew his god, and he knew that the old man had a high standard, so whoever he accepted in his familia has to be strong. With this his descent to the lower floors are just a matter of time now. 

Mia watched as August moved at such a quick pace that he forgot his change. "That kid really needs to slow down." she sighed and shrugs. 

Mia is the type of person who has eyes and ears everywhere. She knew about the so-called "Friendly spar." but decided to not ask August about it. Still she wished that the kid would not rush on things, she worries that he might get hurt because of his attitude towards strength. He reminded her so much of his father Siegfried.

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A few moments later August arrived at the entrance of his familia's house. He barged in with a smile only for a mace to come flying straight at him. 

His instincts kicked in high gear as he moved his spear to block the incoming projectile, he felt his muscle strain at the weight of his god's weapon. His hair stood on his neck as he felt danger on his left shoulder. He caught the silhouette of his god delivering a punch directly at him.

"Fucking hell!!!" he cursed as he moved his mana into his legs, with a grunt he willed his body to move to the right as he quickly used his spear to block the incoming fist making sure to channel mana into it.

*BOOM!!!* 

August was sent flying as his body hit the wall of the house cracking it. 'That's gonna leave a mark.' he thought to himself as he gasp for air. 

"Oho... You've seem to have gotten stronger August." Heracles was standing at the entrance,  he hand folded onto his chest with a smug smile on his face. "Welcome back."

"FUCK YOU OLD MAN!!! I JUST RETURNED AND YOU'RE ALREADY TRYING TO KILL ME?!!!" August couldn't help but scream as his whole body ached from the blow he received.

"Kill you? That was nothing more than a welcoming gift." Heracles smiled mockingly. "Don't tell me you don't appreciate the gift that I, your god is giving you."

"WELCOMING GIFT MY ASS!!!" August twirled his spear and took his stance, he then rushed towards Heracles as his movement turned into a blur. 

Heracles smiled, 'He has gotten much faster than before.' he thought to himself as he picked his mace up and dodged the spear heading his way. "But not fast enough!" he said letting the spear and August pass him, he then kneed August making him spit saliva then with the pummel of his spear he slammed the back of August's head which sent him crashing in the ground.

"Arghhh!!!" he groans from the pain as his vision turned dark for a moment. With shaky limbs he slowly got up. He was reminded of how strong his god is.

"Well you really have gotten stronger, you didn't faint this time. Good for you." Heracles helped him up to his feet as he grabbed the back collar of his shirt and placed him up. "Now then care to explain why you're late?" 

"Uhmmm..." the two of them snapped their heads at the voice. There stood a man with black hair tied in a loose bun, wearing a loose dark blue long sleeve shirt, a white scarf hanging in his neck. "What the hell was that?" his face was full of questions about what he had just witnessed. 

Heracles remembered that they were not alone here. He was so caught up in August's progression that he forgot that the newest member of his familia was in the room with them. "Oh I almost forgot. This is Denki Makoto, he just joined two days ago. Denki this idiot right here is August Kaiser, he will be your captain in this familia." He made a quick introduction for the two of them. 

August on the other hand was perplexed, he didn't even sense him. 'Was he in here the whole time.' as he looked at the guy standing there like a statue he suddenly recognized his face. "Ahh... The guy who got scammed!" he said loudly making the guy scratch his head and smile wryly.

"Ehehehe..." Denki laughed awkwardly at first but then remembered that aside from the waitress of the pub only one customer was there that day. He put two and two together and realized that August was the one who paid for his meal. "Thank you!" he bowed quickly which shocked August and Heracles. 

"Huh?" there's a visible confusion on the god's face. 

"Thank you for paying for my meal the other day! I promise I'll pay you back as soon as I can." Denki spoke loudly as he bowed. 

"Well it's ok, consider it a gift, I am your captain after all." August spoke smugly, liking the word captain a little too much which made Heracles pissed. "Uhgg." he groaned as he was slapped at the back of the head by his god.

"The two of you should familiarize yourself with each other. This should be easy enough since you two seemed to have already met. I'll be in my office if you two need anything." Heracles said and made his way up the stairs into his office, but before that August stopped him.

"Hey old man." he called as he tossed his leather pouch towards his god. "There's meat and Ale in there. Sorry for going back home late." 

"Hmmm..." Heracles caught the bag and gave August a nod, he then continued his way into his office. "Come to my office when you're done. I'll update your status and have a chat."

August smiled as he watched the back of his god. He then turned his attention towards Denki's. "So Denki was it. Why did you join this familia?" he suddenly became serious.

Denki tensed up, he suddenly felt pressure coming from August. 'Holy shit.' he thought to himself. "I-It was a recommendation." he stutters from pressure.

"A recommendation? Who was from?" 

"From the pub... The cat person recommended this familia to me before I left." 

'So it was from Chloe.' August eased the pressure he was emitting which made Denki take a deep breath, he didn't even know he was holding it. 

"So Chloe recommended this familia, but why join us? As you know there is only me in this familia, from what I can see you are quite strong, I'm sure more powerful familia would accept you in a heartbeat."

"Well I was drawn to lord Heracles. The moment I saw him I could see strength radiating from him, and from what I heard his familia had you who is one of the strongest in the city. There are many rumors about you, August Kaiser the Gáe Bulg, the adventurer who single handedly fought a monster rex on his first dungeon dive and won. My master said that if I wanted to be strong I should put myself in an environment that has strong people so joining this familia was a no brainer." Denki answered honestly, he looked at August dead in the eye as he did. This impressed August.

"Rumors eh." August strained a smile, those rumors seemed to put him as an amazing individual when in truth he almost died in that fight, if it wasn't for Beowulf he would have been killed. He hated that rumor but seeing that he has no power to stop it he just ignored it. "Still I'm impressed, the old man has such high standards when choosing those who he accepts in this familia, many had already tried to join us but you are the only one he accepted." August smiled at him which made Denki a bit nervous. "care to have a little spar. I want to see the full extent of your skills."

Denki smiled, this was his chance to fight someone so much stronger than him, from what he heard August was a level 5, two whole level above him who is a level 3. But he has confidence in his fighting style. He trust his Far eastern martial arts which he believes is the most superior form of combat. He couldn't help but grin at the prospect of fighting August. "ABSOLUTELY!!!" He answered with so much excitement that August couldn't help but smile.

"Woah slow down bud. Let's walk to the back, there's an open space there for us to move around." 

Denki laughed awkwardly and scratched his head, he was like this when he was excited, he couldn't help but raise his voice up. "Sorry..." he said.

"Nah it's good. Come on we don't have all day." August led the way and Denki followed not far behind him. There is a smile in August's face, he was curious to see how good Denki is, he knows from the pub that Denki has some skill, he did sense his bloodlust and reacted quickly towards it. But fighting is a whole different thing entirely.

They arrived at the open space and August signaled for Denki to take a few steps away from him, when Denki stopped August made him go farther away, he wanted Denki to have a chance so he placed him outside his range of attack. 

Denki was shocked, 15 steps, that was how far August's attack range is. In that moment he realized that he was very much outclassed.

Denki took a deep breath, he lowered his center of gravity as his hand moved to the pummel of his blade. He entered his stance as he made his mana move inside his body. 

"*Whistle* what a beautiful display of control." August appreciated the beautiful mana movement of Denki, it was polished and calm, like a candle light. "A level 3 eh. I'll be sure to adjust my strength to your level."

Denki's eyes went wide, he never stated his level when he talked to August yet he was able to accurately gauge it by just looking at him. 

He looked at August only to find him standing there nonchalant with his spear at his side. But he couldn't find one single opening in it, no matter what and how he rushed he could see himself being cut by the spear of mortal death. Standing in front of August was like standing in front of death himself. 

But that didn't make him scared, it excites him, this is what he wants, this is what his master said, in order to gain strength he must find someone to overcome. And right now, that someone is standing right in front of him. He smiled as he let his mana go, forming a sphere around him for about 5 steps wide. "Bring it."

"Good, let's see what you're made of."

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Chapter 32 is out, how do you guys like the story so far? 

Please leave a comment, a review and feedback so I can improve on writing this fanfic. every little thing helps as it allows me to see your preference on things and would help me write a better fanfic for you all to enjoy.

thanks for picking up this fanfic. hope you guys like it.

good day, love y'all. 

P.S 

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