The large man lumbered over to Adama as he sat there, his companions finishing the necessary work of extracting the spoils of war. Tim opened his eyes and scrutinized his young charge, waiting for the big man to be the first to speak. After some hesitation, Ouka finally did just that:

“Sir, with all due respect, we can’t go through that again. We were nearly just wiped out by those monsters. I’m not sure we could handle that many again, all at once.”

Adama examined him thoughtfully, before responding:

“Were you wiped out, Ouka?”

The large man fidgeted a bit:

“…No.”

“Why?”

“Because you were here to save us when we were in trouble.”

“Exactly. I was here to back you up when you were in mortal danger. Now, I won’t pretend to you that I’m omnipotent. Not even close. No guarantee I’ll be able to save you every time. But I will guarantee you this: Training like this is the fastest way I know to get stronger. It just makes sense. Push yourself, defeat more enemies, grow faster. I do this type of thing by myself, with no safety net. I wouldn’t tell you to do something I wouldn’t do myself. But I won’t force you. I’ll babysit you fighting normally if you want. But ask yourselves; are you adventurers or not? Do you really want to get stronger? You won’t be able to do that without risk. Every time you come down here, you take some risk. Are you willing to take a little more to reach beyond your wildest dreams? Decide quickly.”

When he had finished speaking, he closed his eyes. Tim had favored them with an explanation, something he normally preferred to avoid, out of respect for the warrior who had asked him to take these chicks under his wing. If they still refused his help after this, then there would be nothing to be done. Ouka just looked thoughtful, though, and when they had finished extracting the intact monster cores, Takemikazuchi Familia went into a huddle. Mikoto was the first to speak:

“I say we continue. The Lord has chosen this man to be our trainer for a reason. While his methods are harsh, they seem to make sense. We should at least wait and see if they work well.”

The other two girls looked uncertain and concerned, but they looked to Ouka to hear his opinion first. They trusted him as their leader to choose the best path forward. The big man sighed a little at the weight of that trust, and allowed a long pause before he spoke:

“I think we should do this. I reacted badly at first, because of the fear of nearly dying. But thinking about it now, I believe that Mr. Adama was watching over us this entire time. How many have the ability to train like this with someone of his caliber as a safety net? This opportunity is something that our Lord wanted for us, and for good reason. I agree with Mikoto.”

With that, the others reluctantly agreed, and they all proceeded to move to the next location. Adama was secretly pleased at this decision, as he genuinely had high hopes for these kids, especially Mikoto. If they followed his directions, they would reach their full potential and likely become powerful allies. Plus, he truly did respect their master, which made him want to demonstrate his capabilities as a teacher to the gregarious war god.

The next several hours followed the same pattern of the first encounter. Lilli would direct their party from the rear as Adama looked on, only intervening when absolutely necessary. That meant that the Level 1 adventurers were regularly pushed to the point of exhaustion and death as they desperately tried to fend off the horde. Minor wounds, and even severe injuries were tolerated, so long as the fighters were able to keep going. It was difficult and painful work, often pushing the young fighters until they were seeing red, the blood vessels in the backs of their eyes having broken from the stress of dealing with so many threats at once. The results, however, were worth it.

Stolen novel; please report.

By the end, Lilli’s commands were sharper and delivered with more confidence. Her ability to judge the battlefield and coordinate a small group improved significantly over the course of just a day. The others had also learned to obey more quickly and hone their own instincts to anticipate what was needed. Their movements were swifter and more well executed, any hesitation or weakness thoroughly beaten out of them. They also learned to conserve their energy better, parrying or dodging, when possible, rather than blocking outright. Ouka had transformed into a more dependable and consistent vanguard while Mikoto had embraced her role as a more agile guerilla fighter. Even Chigusa had learned how to better pick her targets, and both her and Asuka had gotten better at keeping level heads in times of stress.

Their party had graduated from Orcs and moved on to Silverbacks in the final challenge of the day. These were fewer in number, but far more deadly and canny relative to their blundering green compatriots. The party stumbled a bit at this change, but they quickly got their heads together and presented a capable front to the silver-furred apes. They managed to bring down six of the creatures before Adama was forced to step in, with Ouka holding off three at once for a respectable period. As the final monster collapsed headless into the white grasses of the most dangerous Upper floor, Adama turned and surveyed his young protegees, who had also collapsed, though in their case it was of exhaustion. Ouka had been the first to go down this time, from a nasty punch from a massive ape-like fist, and Tim was pleased to see that Lilli had nursed him back to life.

He was pleased with all of them, truth be told, though he wasn’t planning on showing it. They had improved more than he had expected over the course of the day, and he looked forward to watching them grow. He would need to put in overtime in his moonlighting to shore up his own continued growth, but that was just fine. That said, it was time to call it a day.

His charges stared at him with glazed eyes when he told them that it was time to leave before they broke out into cheers muted by exhaustion and more than one sigh of relief. Adama decided to show a little mercy and let them rest as they made their way back, electing to clear out any trouble they met on their ascension by himself. Funnily enough, they ran into an Infant Dragon as they approached the exit of the 12th floor. Adama took his time defeating and dismembering this random and somewhat nostalgic threat. It was much weaker than the enhanced version that he had fought earlier, and he had been reborn since then, so this little lizard was quickly dispatched after he had finished humbling it. He received a few shocked and awe-filled glances from his new students after he did, stopping as they did in their tracks to gaze at their chaperone’s display of skill. That only earned them a chastisement from their harsh teacher, however, and orders to quit gaping and keep walking.

They arrived at the exit of the Dungeon without further incident and said goodbye in the shadow of the tower of Babel. It was late afternoon, and Tim and Lilli elected to have dinner with Hestia before going back into the Dungeon. Lilli had learned about Adama’s moonlighting and had asked to accompany him. He had initially turned her down, citing the danger, but she was persistent and had nagged him into taking her along with him on occasion. This was one such occasion, so she hummed happily by his side as they made their way towards the Dungeon for the third time that day.

As they ambled towards their goal, Tim stared up at the sky, breath misting in the early evening cold. The first stars were beginning to make their appearance, their light competing with the final dregs of an early sunset. As he considered this calming winter atmosphere, Adama found himself at peace. He truly had found his place in this world. In some ways, he would always be a stranger in a strange land. His many years of bloodshed and toil, of life and love, all in his past life, loomed a consistent presence in the back of his mind. Even now, he fought the urge to reach out with his Jade senses or open his Copper sight. He still breathed according to his cycling technique, the habit so visceral and ingrained he doubted he would ever stop. But a good woman had worked hard to make a home for him here, and in many ways she had succeeded. He had friends, more than one promising student, and a clear purpose in life. The shadow of loneliness, of self-doubt, had well and truly passed away from him now.

What more could a man ask for?

…

He had been forced to abridge his evening training as well, as Lilli reached her limit faster than he did just trying to keep up, but that was fine. He was getting a little tired as well, and he wanted to be in perfect shape for the next morning’s training. After grabbing a few hours of shuteye, he made his way out of the Familia’s new home and into the snowy streets in the early morning hush. His feet crunched in the newly fallen blanket of white as he made his way through back alleys and towards the northern ramparts.

Aiz, eager as ever, had gotten there before him. Her golden hair swayed gently in the pre-dawn light as she stood upright and gazed at him from the other end of the rampart. She remained as silent as the town around him as she gave him a small smile and bowed in greeting, clearly eager to get down to business. Adama held up his hand in denial, however, and she cocked her head in confusion as him, hand still on the hilt of her sword. They didn’t have to wait like that for very long, before a voice echoed out from the tower behind Adama:

“Hello there! Sorry I’m late!”

Stepping to the top of the spiral staircase and out into the light of day was a plainly dressed man with dark hair and eyes. He possessed astoundingly good looks, as well as a simple iron sword strapped at his side. He flashed a smile at both Tim and Aiz as he stepped out into the light, clearly earnestly apologetic. Adama was the first to speak, cutting through Aiz’s astonishment:

“You’re basically on time. We were early. Aiz, this it Takemikazuchi, god of war. I believe that both of us can learn a lot sparring from him, so I invited him along. Take, this is Aiz Wallenstein. A sparring buddy and student of mine.”

“Ah, when you said that Sword Princess would be here, I confess I had my doubts. I am glad to see that it was true, and I can finally meet such a prestigious young adventurer. A pleasure to meet you young lady.”

Takemikazuchi gave her a bow, which Aiz reciprocated somewhat shakily. When they were upright again, Take called out enthusiastically:

“Now with the pleasantries taken care of, let us begin!”