Is it Wrong to Put Skyrim in Danmachi

The Dungeon, Eleventh Floor

Arianne Kiddle

"Maylene…" She uttered, watching as Lye tried to coax their friend into drinking another antidote. Maylene's eyes were wide and darting around in panic as her body just… sat there, motionless.

The words of that- that psycho echoed in her mind and she couldn't help the sliver of doubt that wormed its way into her heart.

'...that little girl will be like that forever…'

What inspired a man to do this?

…What had they done to deserve this?

A flash of anger came back at the thought and she grit her teeth, doing her level best not to glare at the bodies left behind by her and Lye's desperate fury.

"We need to meow her." Lye's accent came out thicker than normal, probably from fear. "Let's get out of here nya!"

"I-I don't think we can Lye…" Arianne responded softly. Around them the sounds of battle continued to echo through the mist, a trail of smells and sounds that continued to encircle them.

The man who smelt of steel and monsters was leading a fighting retreat, but he was being cut off by the poison man; forced to circle them over and over as their clashes became increasingly violent. She resisted the urge to flinch as yet another landform fell in their battle.

They could barely see the fight for the dense mists that covered the floor, but what they had made her ears dip in quiet dread. Poison man was fast, maybe half again as fast as steel man and he just kept going. With that vile poison on his knives, it almost beggared belief that the fight had taken this long, but the last time they'd seen steel man his cloak was almost completely shredded.

It was only a matter of time before one of those strikes would land and then…

They didn't stand a chance.

They should run.

They should definitely run, but…

The very thought of going out there terrified her.

The sound of another boulder exploding stabbed at her sensitive ears and she couldn't hold back a flinch this time. She was an adventurer, one that had made it to the twelfth floor, but the very landscape was being changed by those two fighting.

What kind of a sword could split stone like it was butter? What kind of strength did it take to kick someone through a boulder? And what kind of man could just stand up from something like that?

None of it made any sense and-

"-Oi!" Lye was suddenly yelling in her face, palms squishing Arianne's cheeks. "Nyianne! We need to go right meow! You can be a scaredy cat later!"

That's right… she was a-

Lye's palms crashed into her cheeks. "Not nyow!"

The sharp sting brought her back and her eyes widened. Before she could say anything Lye was pushing Maylene's other side towards her and almost on reflex she grabbed her friend and made it to her feet.

"Alright meow, we're getting nyout of here!" Lye whispered with determination that seemed to come so naturally to her.

But… they made it all of three steps before everything she feared came true. Poison man exploded out the mist, eyes mad with anger and those terrible daggers screaming towards them.

"You should have just sat there an-!" A choked scream cut off his furious rant, as a dagger -steel man's dagger- flew out of nowhere and buried itself in his back.

She and Lye collapsed back, her from relief, as they were forced to accept just how close they'd come to death.

For a single moment though her heart soared, the dagger in her mind maybe, just maybe being a turning point. Right up until poison man ripped the blade out contemptuously and brought out a potion. She wanted to stop him but her legs wouldn't move, leaving her forced to watch as-

As steel man jumped out of the mist, his sword cutting down with a vengeance.

"USELESS!" The pair clashed again and despite the scream of steel in her ears, she could immediately tell something was off.

Steel man's rotated in the air, his foot snapping up and his greave plowing through poison man's guard from underneath, shattering the potion. Guard opened, their savior slammed his other foot into the villain's face with a heavy crunch. Poison man disappeared in a boom of displaced air, his form bouncing off the ground a handful of times before flipping to recover.

Landing, Steel man didn't even hesitate before pulling another dagger from his tattered cloak and throwing it at his downed opponent. It was deflected, but not with the same ease as before.

Swallowing thickly, neither her nor Lye attempted to move this time, and if either of them was shivering from how close they'd come to death? Well neither of them would comment on such a thing.

-

The fight roared to life again with a distant scream, he went high while I stayed grounded. His knife was fast, but the reach of my sword had its own advantages; I couldn't hold against his strength, but I could dissipate it somewhat, dragging his strike down the edge of my blade.

His second knife came in and once again my bracer caught it, the impact reverberating through my very being.

It was said that strife was the mother of invention and damn if I wasn't feeling that right now. I'd learned more about using my armour in combat in this one fight than I had in all my dungeon dives up until this point.

Pivoting my leg slightly and bracing it against the ground, I let my foe's kick slam painfully into my greave. Turning I forced his second dagger back as I tried to twist my own into his inner arm. He pulled back, his guard opening, I countered, he retreated but he didn't recover properly. Chasing, my sword met his rushed guard and he staggered, my foot lashed out and I met his shin with the edge of my reinforced boot.

He staggered again.

Screaming something I didn't bother to understand, he stabbed forward furiously, his knives grinding against my guard with all his insane strength before I let myself be thrown back from the force. Skidding to a stop, I readjusted my grip and readied myself for the next onslaught.

The law of moments said that the further away you are from your point of pivot, the greater the force required to counter. I couldn't hold this man's strikes back with the tip of my sword, I could barely do so even at the base. But on my armour?

Well that's another story.

It hurt like a bitch and my arms had long since lost feeling, but I was more than getting the hang of it. It was like dancing on the edge of a knife, letting a dagger coated in enough poison to one shot me through my guard just so I'd have a chance to maybe add another scrape to the bastard before he retreated again. A fight where a single slip up meant death.

…I don't think I've ever felt quite so alive.

He feinted before our next clash, pivoting right and blurring into the underside of my guard. I caught him, but the angle was awkward, his blades skidding up my sword and- I jerked my grip back, before throwing my entire body back as his daggers cleaved through the top of my crossguard and the space my fingers previously inhabited.

Despite how close that came to ending the fight, he was so open it wasn't even funny. As I folded backwards, my boot lashed up striking something between his legs before he retreated like a bat out of hell.

As I pulled out of my impromptu backflip, I realised he was screaming something again, so I threw another dagger at him and raced it back into the fight. Throwing daggers were good at shutting up idiots who should know better than to talk in the middle of a proper life or death fight.

We clashed again, and this time his shoulder opened up under a devious feint from my sword. I took a kick for my efforts but… armour bitch.

I don't know how long we spent like that, throwing everything we had at each other in a desperate attempt to put the other in the ground. But with every clash he got just a bit more desperate, his moves just a bit sloppier, his prodigal strength waning.

Until he finally broke.

I took the initiative this time and as we clashed I saw it. His form was completely off. His lock on my sword was messy and the dagger he was swinging at my armpit was too close. It was almost easy to step into it, brush it aside with my breastplate and throw my sword forward; the idiot was holding back the blade but the hilt? My fist slammed into his already busted up face, sheared crossguard and all.

As he flailed back to his feet he just kept shouting, lips flapping desperately. Idiot.

We locked again but his once great strength just wasn't there; so I booted him in the chest and watched him bounce.

He didn't get to his feet this time, still yapping on.

And finally it dawned on me, he was giving up.

This idiotic monkey who'd been so ass sure of himself the entire fight was suddenly giving up just as we were getting to the finale.

Why?

I'd drawn out everything for this fight, focused more on this than anything I ever had in my life, pulled a whole new damn style of fighting out of my ass just to counter this dipshit, and he what? Couldn't even bring himself to go down fighting?

To bring out a tiny bit of strength to fight for his life when he had all the advantages in the first place? What did he think a fight to the death was?

Walking up, a single swipe was all it took to throw his daggers to the side, his grip was that weak, and just like that I realised the fight was actually over.

Around me the world slowed and I blinked; the yammering man in front of me was no longer just the opponent, but a criminal who looked like he was on the verge of death. His face was nearly caved in, his body was laced with hundreds of cuts, and more of his skin looked bruised than not.

I remembered dealing those strikes but… somehow the full picture didn't click until this moment.

How long had we been fighting?

"P-Puhlease… please, just…" His words regained clarity as my focus waned, and suddenly every ache and bruise I'd suffered came back with a vengeance. "Let me go…! I-I'll cure the girl, I'll never-"

His head snapped to the side under my boot as a fit of annoyance ran through me; he fell to the ground unconscious.

Scrubbing at my forehead I couldn't help but groan. I'd wanted to fight longer, to stay in that state forever or barring that, at least finish things off with a bang or some kind of mutual respect. 

And all I got was a snivelling coward who'd kicked my ass seven ways to sunday.

It felt… cheap wasn't the right word, despite my grievances, it had been a good fight. It just… didn't end the way I wanted it to. I guess I was expecting something more anime from a world like Danmachi? For us to beat each other half to death until one of us collapsed or something.

I hummed, casting the blood from my blades before returning them to their sheathes.

Fuck it.

I'd get that fight eventually. Someday. Maybe even soon if I could track down this guy's familia and find out what their deal was; what with the whole kidnapping thing.

For now though… I felt properly tenderised and I really should do something about that.

Draining a stamina potion and a health potion, I made sure Glasses was knocked out before handcuffing him with some restraints he was carrying. I pocketed our discarded weapons and then began dragging him towards where I recalled the cat girls were. 

The potions went to work quickly, addressing most of the damage, but not all surprisingly. There was a certain lethargy hanging over me, twinges of pain that seemed to have nothing to do with my physical state and a surprising amount of damage done to my armour. 

The nosteel itself was fine, but I'd backed it up with normal steel for rigidity and that was cracked and dented in places. That'd be a pain to fix. Plus the actual leathers I used as padding were fucked. 

My blades were fine, my cloak a total write off but that was fine, I only got it because I didn't feel like I could pull off a cape yet and cloaks were a lot more acceptable.

One day, one day I'd get there.

"Y-You won…?" The stunned utterance was the first thing I heard as I walked into the clearing.

"Of course, you guys alright?" I asked, pushing the last dregs of my Dex-boost aside so I didn't end up speaking too quickly. An annoyingly common occurrence given my disposition.

"W-We're A-okay, nya! " Catgirl number two -Lye I think I heard her called?- said quickly, her wide eyes unshifting as she stared at me, a blush rising on her cheeks. Whatever moment she was having I wasn't sharing unfortunately; while she was certainly attractive, my engine was currently running for fighting not fucking. That could probably change when I got out of here though.

I shared a brief glance with catgirl number three -Nyianne I think- as she slowly lowered her guard, the blonde having the presence of mind to look embarrassed for her friend.

Lye opened her mouth to speak when scratching reached our ears. The tank, Maylene, her fingers were twitching against the dirt, which was either a sign that Glasses was lying and his shit was wearing off, or this was some kind of reaction and we should be worried.

"Nyalene!" Lye turned in a panic, her surprise apparently wearing off.

With the pair of them distracted, I let a small glass vial fall out of my inventory into my palm. Cure poison, a Skyrim potion which instantly countered all poisons in the game, if it worked, then it would be pure and utter concentrated bullshit. If it worked.

I haven't exactly had a chance to test it yet, having discovered the recipe while I was building up a stock for trading with Loki. It should work, but if not then I just needed to slap Glasses awake and force him to cure her.

"I pulled this from his bag, it seems to be the antidote." I offered, kneeling down besides the catgirls.

Nyianne took it wordlessly, hands shaking as she lifted it to her friend's lips.

"Oh thank Skadi-nyama…" The blonde whispered, sagging in relief as Maylene's colour swiftly returned and she began coughing, the paralysis fading almost immediately.

And just like that, Glasses has run out of usefulness.

The first exclamation out of Maylene's mouth is gibberish, but the second is rather clear as she throws herself at me unsteadily. "Thank nyou-! Thank you, THANK YOU!" I catch her before she falls over, and just let her hug herself out as thanks continue to spill from her lips.

It took a couple awkward saving encounters to realise that there is no standard procedure when helping people. Sometimes taking the initiative helped when dealing with shell shocked people. Sometimes people clung to you like a lifeline. And sometimes people just wanted to get away from you as soon as possible; adventurers could be a hardy, wary bunch by nature.

Which honestly feels like a reputation issue; one day I'd be able to show up, murder things and then just leave as everyone cheers. One day.

Of course then there were the other reactions.

Nyianne smiled at the sight perhaps a little cautiously, but her relief was clear. At least until her gaze fell on her other friend Lye who currently giving me the fuck me eyes, something that made her sigh.

Apparently Zeus was right, saving girls in the dungeon is actually an excellent way to get laid.

"Thank you." Nyianne offered gratefully. "For, you know…"

"You're welcome."

Extracting myself from Maylene took more effort than I thought it would, but eventually I was following familiar beats as I got the girls back on their feet. They took me up on my offer to escort them off the floor, where I parted with them at the entrance to the tenth floor and thus -somewhat- safer territory.

It was during that time that Lye managed to shake herself out of her starry-eyed funk and show off a rather charming personality, something she used to extract a promise from me to let them buy me drinks later.

As I headed back to the eleventh floor, I couldn't help but pat myself on the back a little, truly, I had this saving people thing down to a science.

Given time, my name would resound throughout Orario -not just for being a hated levelling gremlin like Bell- but instead as a true blue hero. Brick by brick, catgirl by catgirl, I would build my legend and gain all those sweet, sweet narrative buffs.

But first, I had some corpses to loot and a dead man to interrogate.

-

The next morning I got dressed with a smile, putting on my pretty fucked armour because I didn't have anything else to wear, before quietly making my way out of my bed partners' room.

As my shadow passed over her, Lye rolled over into the sunny spot of the bed, her ass and tail poking out of the covers as she let out a, "nyaa~" and snuggled into her friend's side.

Once again, Danmachi catgirls are a psyop and you cannot tell me otherwise.

…They are really hot though.

Making my way out of their familia base I thought I was being quite sneaky, so I wasn't quite prepared for the voice that cut me off as I made my way through the central atrium of the building.

"Leaving so soon?" The cool voice practically radiated ice as it echoed across the hall around me.

Turning I found its source, a white-haired goddess lounging atop a balcony overlooking the atrium, her icy blue eyes boring into me, expression unreadable.

Ah, exactly who I wanted to avoid. The girls had told me to avoid their Goddess if I could, even telling me to leave early if I woke up before them. Apparently she'd made some comments about men that weren't exactly charitable and they weren't quite sure how she'd take my presence.

"I didn't want to intrude, Lady Skadi." I smiled back up at her.

"Not a lie, but not quite the truth either… Bah." She waved her hand and her ice demeanor thawed a little, a rueful smile crossing her features. "You saved my little girls, so I can forgive a touch of rudeness."

That was a lot more reasonable than I expected. Huh.

"Please, it was my pleasure." I said and she blinked.

"Say that again."

"That it was my pleasure?" It was my turn to blink in surprise.

"Yes…" Skadi leaned forward, studying me. "I have heard countless mortals use those words and other pleasantries, sometimes they even mean some of it. You are the first I've heard that truly meant it."

She blinked again, head tilting. "My little Arianne told me you fought a great battle and suffered for their sake, your armour says the same... I see." I wasn't sure what she thought she saw, but I had a feeling she wasn't quite on the mark. Still I was willing to go with it given the smile spreading across her formerly glacial features. "Well then young man, what reward would you ask of me?"

I didn't have any in mind given that I was planning on just getting out of here without an audience, but I could make do.

"I… intend to hunt down the group behind those who attacked your girls, if I find them and they're too much for me to handle, would you mind lending me some aid?" I heard from Maylene that the Skadi familia -while relatively new to Orario proper- had been a hunting familia for quite some time. And as such, had a fair few level twos at their disposal.

I didn't really want to give up my shot at a good fight, but when I interrogated glasses, he kept on shouting about how his leader would absolutely destroy me if I dared to dirty his locale with my presence. So approaching this with some measure of caution was probably for the best.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by a tinkling laugh, leaving me blinking up at the goddess as she actually began chuckling at my request.

"You want your reward for saving my girls to be to further help keep them safe?" She asked with mirth in her voice. "What a charming young man."

Well now, that's definitely a misunderstanding I'm happy to course correct into.

I laughed back, scratching the back of my head at the same time, feigning embarrassment. I call this one the Bell special.

"It goes without saying that my familia will answer your call in this fight; my girls were attacked and I would see those who sent the blades vanquished." Ice and steel coated her tone as gave that proclamation. "But this and that are two different things, your reward stands."

A thought occurred, a terrible, evil thought that I should have banished immediately, but couldn't quite bring myself to do so. The one thing that a hunting familia could provide that I couldn't just buy. The one thing that I've been avoiding since I first got my skill.

To give myself the maximum possible options in a do or die scenario, it was only logical that I dirtied my hands with that foulness.

"Then…" I resolved myself and spoke words that tasted like ash with a smile. "Would you happen to have a good bow that would suit me?"

Skadi smiled.

-

"Hestia, I'm home!"

"ELRIC!? WELCOME BAAAack-!" A choked sound like a dying tea kettle escaped her as she caught sight of me, or more specifically, my armour. "...what happened?"

"Got into a fight, it went well." I beamed.

"Nooo~ooo…" She whined pitifully, as she seemed to deflate in on herself.

"It's okay, I won." I reassured her, taking her into my arms as she started making sounds like a dying toad. It didn't help.

"Whyyy…" I patted her on the back. "Why can't you just be normal…"

"I am normal."

"NO YOU'RE NOT!" She yelled, struggling out of my arms so could point a finger at my face. "I-I demand a date! As tax! As service for your sins against your wonderful Goddess!"

"Sure." I agreed easily, watching as her mood immediately one-eighty'd. "You mind if we check my Falna first though?" Only for it to flip right back as her beaming smile turned flat.

"Is that all I am to you?" She started poking my cheek. "A falna dispenser?"

Oh god she's in one of those moods again.

"Hestia, I took you shopping yesterday." I tried.

"Not enough umu!" She gave me her angriest pout. "And where were you last night huh? Did you fight the entire night again!?"

"Oh that, no, I just saved some catgirls and wound up spending the night with them." I could try talking around that, but she'd know I was lying and only wind up more curious. Plus Hestia already knew about the dancer that the Loki familia had introduced me to -yet another reason why she currently hates Loki- and she seemed to take that… kind of well, so-

"YOU DID WHAT!?" She screamed, right in my face.

Ah, apparently not.

It took almost half an hour, and her trying to force me into so many promises that it made my head spin, before she finally calmed down enough to update my Falna.

Though even now she was pouting.

"You know we could talk about this like adults." I offered.

"Hmph!" She turned her head to the side, but at least she continued her work on my back. That was nice of her. There were however occasional twitches in her hands as she stumbled across something or other in the murky experiences written across my back.

"There! Are you happy-" She choked on something and I instantly turned to look at her, only to find her just staring at my back with wide eyes.

"What did you do…?" She asked in an almost horrified voice.

"I don't know? What's…" I trailed off myself as she thrust a sheet in my face, a grin lighting up my face shortly after.

•​ ⋅☾ ☽⋅ •​

Elric Carne

Lvl 1

Str - E 401

Vit - G 243

Dex - E 479

Agl - F 367

Mag - I 000

Magic:

Skills:

[Qahnaarin] The bearer's existence in this world is a miracle, their steps an impossibility; they face this new world with the stars' guidance written into their soul. (1)

Alchemy – 41

Alchemist 3, Physician

Block – 34

Shield Wall 1, Quick Reflexes

Light Armour – 51

Agile Defender 3, Custom Fit

One-Handed – 59

Armsman 3, Dual Flurry 2

Smithing – 46

Steel Smithing, Elven Smithing

Sneak – 41

-

Speech – 36

-

[Noblesse Oblige] While the user is fighting in defense of others, agility increases significantly. Furthermore, the user can sense when others are in danger.

• ⋅☾ ☽⋅ •​

A new skill? A new perk? And that many levels from a single fight?

Christmas must have come early.

I laughed as Hestia slumped against my back and started hitting me with her little fists, a keening whine escaping her.