Adama closed the gap between them swiftly, his superior speed still prevalent even if he wasn’t using the full extent of his physical abilities. His sword flickered out in a horizontal slash that transitioned into a full overhead blow, a feint that took place in the space of a heartbeat. His opponent, however, had already positioned his sword to block that overhead blow. Almost lazily, Take redirected the attack and struck back with a thrust of his own.

The thrust didn’t have a huge amount of force or speed behind it, but Adama could feel the conceptual weight behind the attack. It was delivered perfectly, at the exact moment when he was most vulnerable, and he needed to use every ounce of his speed to avoid it. Spinning, he allowed the attack to graze him as he pivoted into a full force horizontal slash. But this attack only his empty air as his opponent deftly stepped back and avoided it easily. Adama then found himself on the defensive, as Takemikazuchi took the initiative with a set of jabs and sweeps that he found almost impossible to block.

The war god flowed through simple combat forms, but Adama found him an impossible walnut to crack. It was like trying to catch the river in his hands. The simply dressed divinity moved through every trap, every defense, every plan that Adama set up to contain him. When Adama tried to seize the initiative again, Take would fall back a little and allow him a few slashes, before capitalizing on the tiniest of openings and then Tim would be on the defensive again. Infuriatingly, the war god still held an easygoing smile the entire time, never seeming to tire.

The fury of their sword stokes sent sparks onto the unrelenting stones of the ramparts. Tim recognized a feint and blocked a leftward slash, striking back with a kick to his opponents’ midriff. Take sucked in his stomach, but he couldn’t avoid a small portion of the strike’s force. Seizing on the opportunity, Tim showered his opponent with a barrage of diagonal and overhead blows, seeking to crash through those defenses. But the war god remained unphased, recovering instantly, and maintaining a cool domain of tranquility around himself as he fended off the storm of blades. Adama’s mind worked furiously on how to shatter that edifice of calm as his attacks were rendered impotent. And finally, he saw his chance.

He drew the fight further away from the spectators and toward the opposite edge of the ramparts. The upright stone structures of its crenelated edges still had accumulated snow, and Adama pushed their fight such that both swordsmen were standing parallel to them. He allowed himself to be pushed once again on the defensive, but after a bit he jumped back and delivered a roundhouse kick. This kick was targeted not at his opponent, but at the white crusted tops of the stone rectangles to his left. His boot swept the snow and ice right off its perch, sending a wave of white right at his opponent. Adama followed this projectile with a simple thrusting attack delivered at maximum speed, eyes narrowed in total focus. His blade glinted in the early morning gray. The world hung suspended in that pivotal moment.

And then it was over.

With the scream of breaking iron, Takemikazuchi’s blade clashed with Tim’s and cleaved right through it. The war god’s sword had cut right through the icy projectile coming at him and hit Tim’s sword exactly where it was the weakest. It passed through the blade with little resistance and Tim’s thrust was knocked off target, sending the man staggering in the wrong direction. When he recovered and whirled around, he saw Take in a ready position, sword held erect and at ease. He knew the implication of that stance, though. Take could have seriously wounded or killed him in his moment off balance. But the man hadn’t even held the sword to his neck, instead having decided to return to the steady point where he had begun the fight. It was a sign of respect that Tim reciprocated, mirroring the stance with his broken sword. Both men sheathed their blades and bowed, though Tim bowed lower. The Sage respected such a skilled and gracious opponent.

They turned and looked at their spectators, most of whom had their jaws slack in amazement. Hestia alone smirked knowingly at the display of skill and grit from both fighters, while Takemikazuchi Familia was looking at Tim in total awe. The four of them hustled over quickly to the man, each indicating their admiration for the man vociferously:

“That’s the hardest I’ve ever seen the Lord fight!”

“You’re amazing, Mr. Adama! I can’t believe an adventurer can fight like that!”

“An admirable performance. I see the rumors about your skills are true.”

Each of them fawned over the man with interest, as Tim tried to protest that he had lost and didn’t deserve their respect. It was Ouka who responded in contradiction:

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“The Lord is the living embodiment of “War” or “Battle” itself. To lose to such an opponent, even with an edge in physical abilities, is wholly expected. What has earned our admiration was the transcendent skill that you yourself demonstrated in the match. I have never seen the Lord pushed to such a degree in all my years of knowing him.”

Stymied, Adama attempted to deflect the conversation. Looking over at Takemikazuchi, he quipped:

“If you’re so skilled, Mr. Lord of War, then why ask me to take these young chicks into the Dungeon? Surely you could guide them better than I could, considering the performance you just put on.”

It was Lilli who answered in Take’s stead, piping up for the first time since they had come to fight here:

“Gods or goddesses don’t go into the Dungeon. Not because they can’t, but because brutal and terrible tragedies occur when they do. The Dungeon is known to despise them and will spawn all sorts of abominations to attack them when they dare to venture within. If the war god were to go into the Dungeon, he would create more threats than he could solve. Guild policy strongly discourages any divinities from entering the Dungeon.”

Nodding, Takemikazuchi commented:

“Yes, that’s about the size of it. But I’m sure with your skills, Tim, you could ensure that my children grow even faster and with greater safety. I will pay whatever price you consider fair for your aid. Money may be a bit difficult, but…”

“I don’t need money.” Tim interrupted, scratching his head in frustration, “If you want me to take them under my wing so badly, then I’ll do that. Under one condition…”

…

Later that morning, a team of six descended the long spiraling hallway in the basement of Babel leading towards the Dungeon. They made their way steadily through the Upper floors, the four fighters in lavender robes doing most of the work in clearing out any opposition, while the swordman in a dark green robe mostly just watched closely. They had no real difficulty descending through the 1st-11th floors, though some of the Level 1 fighters muttered nervously when they stepped foot on the 12th floor. The mist was thicker here than it was on the 11th, making visibility even more awkward than it normally was.

“This is the first time we’ve ever been on the 12th floor.”

The brown-haired girl named Asuka murmured cautiously, squinting to peer through the thick fog. Ouka quickly rumbled out a response:

“There’s a first time for everything. We have the abilities necessary to survive here. And with a Level 2 companion, especially one as skilled as Mr. Adama, we should be safe. We can fight without inhibition with him watching our backs.”

He said all this with the unchanging and solid expression of a statue carved from granite, clearly attempting to reassure his comrades that they would be fine. Mikoto, a black-haired girl who favored a katana, also provided a steady and unwavering presence.

“Indeed. We can trust our Lord’s judgement in leaving us in this man’s care. Just be prepared for anything.”

The two remaining girls, Chigusa and Asuka, looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and nodded. Up ahead, Tim forced himself to stymie a quiet smile. He had gotten the measure of this party as they moved through the Dungeon and seen that Ouka and Mikoto were both in the higher ranks of Level 1. The other two were more in the middle ranks of the Level, but he intended to change all of that very quickly. They also seemed quite skilled, showing signs that their Lord had given them some vigorous combat training. All of this meant that they would be able to adventure on the 12th even without his guidance or help, normally speaking. He wasn’t planning on taking them on a normal adventure, however.

“Prepared for anything is right.” He thought to himself, as he called a halt for their party in a suitably large room. They looked at him strangely as he eyed the last member of their merry band and gave her a nod.

Lilli stared back at him; apprehension written all over her face. The unspoken message was clear: “Are you sure about this?”

When he nodded again, she sighed, and carefully placed some monster bait on the ground. Lilli had already been made familiar with Tim’s fishing tactics in the past, and she had learned not to panic when an army of monsters was closing in on her position. The others, however, had followed Tim’s gaze and they let out cries of alarm when they noticed what she had done. Even stoic Ouka’s expression had broken out in a visage of poorly concealed fear:

“Miss Arde, what have you done? Isn’t that monster bait?”

She nodded wordlessly and pointed at Tim. When they had all turned around to look at him, he barked out a quick explanation:

“This is special training that should help you with your money problems and make you grow faster. Lilli and I will support you from the rear, but I want you to bear the brunt of the fighting. Ouka’s in charge.”

With no further questions, he walked past them and stood by Lilli, interposing the Take Familia adventurers and the incoming gang of monsters. In the mist, red eyes gleamed and roughly a dozen orcs came shambling towards their position, their heavy footsteps a steady drumbeat of doom that grew increasingly louder. The two more easily frightened women fumbled with their weapons, clearly trying to choke down cries of fear. Ouka was already calling out orders and attempting to coordinate their response, having reacted quickly to their plight. He and Mikoto would act as vanguard while Asuka would protect Chigusa from the mudguard and Chigusa would do what damage she could with her bow. Tim nodded in approval at how swiftly they had adapted to their circumstances, thinking quietly that they might be worth training after all. As the orcs bore down on their vanguard, he spared them a few more words:

“Good luck.”