Gacha Leveling

Chapter 204 - 65 – The Sword of Orpheu

"You have 3 stones." Cid, Vanessa’s doctor brother, said while looking at Matthew’s image exams. "That’s actually less than I expected, by what you and Ness told me." He added."And his other kidney functions?" Vanessa asked, standing behind Matthew and leaning against the wall.

"Surprisingly, they’re normal. The stones are also small, there’s no need to remove them." Cid said, looking at the computer screen with all of Matthew’s bloodwork displayed to him.

"Are you sure? There’s no trouble at all for performing a surgery." Faralynn said, sitting beside Matthew.

"We’d not actually do surgery. In this case we use ultrasound waves to break down the stones into smaller pieces and let the body expel them on its own. But Matthew’s stones are already small enough for him to expel with no pain." Cid explained while showing the images of Matthew’s kidneys on the computer for the women to see.

"Thank God." Matthew’s mother said, also sitting on a chair.

Matthew saw himself surrounded by his mother, his friend, who was like a big sister to him, and his fiancee. All of them were too worried about his health. And with reason, given how reckless he was.

"You should really stop using Unholy Mana like that." Cid said while writing down his prognostics on the computer. "Purifying yourself is not enough to avoid the harmful side effects of it."

"Like he’ll listen to it." Vanessa scoffed, making the other two women giggle.

"But other than the stones, you’re healthy as a bull." Cid added. "I really expected you’d be in worse shape, given you spent two years in hell. But other than some scarring tissue in your muscles, there’s really no damage at all."

"That’s good to hear." Matthew smiled.

After that, they all said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Martha went to school, she had classes that afternoon. Vanessa went to Katia’s school where Eric was waiting for her. The girl was going to appear in a play and Vanessa was eager to watch.

Matthew and Faralynn, however, had no immediate business and decided to stroll at the mall before lunching.

"Sebastian was looking for us earlier this week." Faralynn commented while window shopping.

"Marcus brother? Why?" Matthew asked just watching as his fiancee memorized the prices of clothes.

"He wanted to thank us, Kazan said, about his brother. It seems Father Oluwafemi was right. Talking to you helped the kid." The elf explained.

"I’m glad I could help, but I didn’t do much. And you were there too." Matthew protested. "Speaking of Kazan..." Matthew quickly changed subjects. "How is he and Karynn doing?"

"Well, Kazan took over Firynn’s classes as dad wanted him back in Nuilynn. He’s not as good of a trainer as Firynn, but he’s twice as deadly." Faralynn praised the elf while stretching her back. "He has a hard time adapting to Earth’s technology. He’s such an old man." She giggled while mimicking Kazan’s inability to use a phone.

"I’m more worried about Karynn." Matthew noted. "She was the one who was supporting your uncle after all."

"You don’t need to worry." Faralynn caressed Matthew’s face. "She might’ve been looking to improve her social position with Farynn, but now she’s defeated." Faralynn took Matthew’s hand and pulled him to another store. "I’m actually kind of afraid for her. She’s been really down after it all. She barely leaves her room. I tried giving her a teaching position in the school, but she refuses to do anything."

"She’s depressed she lost?" Matthew asked.

"I think she’s ashamed of choosing the losing side. I might have to be rough with her." Faralynn’s voice dropped a tone making Matthew a bit scared of what she had in mind.

That’s when they were passing in front of an electronic store. The image on one of the displayed TVs drew Matthew’s attention. It was broadcasting the local news and he saw the glimpse of a sword he’d seen closely before.

"Isn’t that professor Orpheu’s sword?" Matthew pointed, asking Faralynn.

Faralynn looked at the screen. A katana was embedded in a red stone. It had a flawless silver blade with a gold round handguard and black cloth wrapping the handle. It looked ordinary, like any other cheap katana one could buy in the market.

"I don’t know." Faralynn pondered while examining the image.

Matthew had held that blade before. Despite looking ordinary, it was extremely powerful. It left a lingering impression on his mind.

"The hand guard and the pommel. A tower, an axe and a cross. I remember it."

"What is it doing inside a dungeon stuck to a stone like it was Excalibur?" Faralynn asked out loud not really expecting an answer.

The news cast were explaining how a new dungeon was found deep into the countryside, hiding behind a waterfall. The first adventurers that went inside were met by powerful creatures that were later measured to be between level 30 and 50. The dungeon was a vast expanse of rough dry terrain with thorny vegetation, low hills and scorching heat. At the center, the sword was found, but no one could defeat the creature guarding it and only a picture was taken.

Matthew immediately contacted Tina. She had contact with the saintess Monica and the sage Bianca. Both were Orpheu’s old party members and, the last he remembered, they were searching for him.

"I saw it too." Tina replied to his message. "But Bianca and the Saintess have been missing since a year ago. The Northern Star also disappeared with them. All three were looking for Orpheu." She added.

"Really? I didn’t know that." Matthew said. "But we need to get the sword then before someone else does it."

"I’ll talk with the tower to send someone. The dungeon is too high level for me." She noted.

Level 30 to 50 monsters. That was a very high level dungeon. He could go easily, but could he go alone? He needed to make a powerful party.

Faralynn looked at him, understanding what he was thinking.

"I’m going." She said. "I just got to level 30. I can handle it."

"I know. I’m thinking of calling Ness and Eric too. Paula and Lumi could help as well." Matthew pondered.

"Mia too. She’s at level 31 now. The bitch passed me." Faralynn said with a smile, clearly cursing with affection.

"Really?" Matthew was surprised.

"She has been really pushing herself lately." Faralynn said with a bittersweet tone that Matthew didn’t understand.

"Paula said she won’t go." Matthew gave Faralynn a sad smile, lifting his eyes form his phone. "Said she’s tired." He chuckled. Now that he was back, Paula went back to her old lazy self.

"Mia said she’ll go." Faralynn said, while sitting at the restaurant and texting on her phone.

"Ness and Eric haven’t responded yet." Matthew said, sitting across from her.

"Should we take Faynn, or Kazan, or another professor?" Matthew asked.

"No. Faynn is on vacation in the Bahamas." Faralynn smiled. "And I don’t want to make the professors work outside their school duties." The elf rubbed her chin.

"Ok. I think we’re enough." Matthew noted.

They ate while reading upon the dungeon they were about to enter and commenting between themselves on what they should bring.

The climate inside the dungeon was like a desert, not as dry, but just as hot. As a dungeon, there were no sources of food or water. There weren’t high mountains, just small hills. The monsters were mostly from Brazilian folklore. Werewolves, witches, headless mules... A mix of European, Native American and African tales mixed in alien forms.

What was really troubling was the level range of them, level 30 being the lowest meant it was one of the most dangerous dungeons in the world.

They all decided to go on the next day. It would be a two day drive to the dungeon and only god knew how long they would be inside.

Katia was eager to stay those days with Matthew’s family. Martha pampered her like she was her own daughter. Actually, she pampered her even more than she ever did Sarah.

Sarah was now like a big sister to Katia, a beautiful and classy woman who she admired deeply.

It hurt Eric a bit when she didn’t even say goodbye to him and just ran inside Matthew’s house to play with Sarah.

Ffyr also stayed behind, watching TV lazily spread on the couch.

"Just summon me if you need my help." She dismissed Matthew waving her hand. Lately she’s been a bit distant, but Matthew didn’t think much of it.

Outside the house, Mia and Faralynn talked about nothing important. Mia had arranged a small bus to take them comfortably to the dungeon. Enough space for everybody to sleep while a pair of drivers took them without stopping.

"This will be fun!" Eric said while getting out of Matthew’s house with his arm around Matthew’s shoulder. "We haven’t really done a dungeon together since the Labyrinth!" He exclaimed.

Matthew smiled as he boarded the bus. Despite the danger, he agreed. It was going to be fun.