Danmachi: Scavenger

"...M...us..." A distant voice called, faint and muffled, as if coming through a thick fog.

"R..x..." It grew closer, more distinct.

"Arise."

"GHASP!" Rex gasped, his body jerking as he sucked in a lungful of air. His eyes snapped open, wide and disoriented, as he looked around in confusion.

"And he lives!" a familiar voice called out, cheerful and brimming with amusement. Rex turned his head to see the messenger god Hermes squatting beside him, a mad grin plastered across his face. "I knew one of the new-age heroes wouldn't die so easily."

"I lived?" Rex mumbled, his voice hoarse. He touched his chest, his legs, his face, as if to confirm he was still in one piece. "Oh, shit. I'm alive."

"I am proof that you're alive," Hermes said enthusiastically, his grin widening. His expression was both reassuring and slightly terrifying. "The day you die is coming, but not now—"

"That's not something you say to someone who just escaped death," a calm, slightly exasperated voice interjected. Rex glanced past Hermes to see the cyan-haired Asfi standing there, her glasses reflecting the dim blue light from the ceiling, making them appear pure white.

"I'm sure you've heard about her," Hermes said, gesturing to the woman with a smile. "This is Asfi, the captain of my Familia."

"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you," Rex nodded to her, still feeling lightheaded. He turned back to Hermes, his mind slowly catching up. "I guess you used elixirs on me. How many was it? I'll pay you back the money, plus extra."

"Your injuries were not severe, so we only needed two," Hermes replied, waving a hand dismissively, his eyes closed in a serene smile.

'Not severe?' Rex blinked in confusion. 'I almost died.'

"All your limbs were attached," Asfi explained, noticing his puzzled expression. Her tone was matter-of-fact, as if that alone explained everything.

"Right..." Rex nodded, looking down at his legs and then at his arms.

'Are elixirs that overpowered?' He hadn't really gotten to experience the effects of the elixir he drank earlier because, a few seconds later, he'd been blasted. 'I guess that's the only reason I'm alive.' If he had taken that blast with his body still injured from his fire breath, he doubted he'd be breathing right now.

"Well, it seems like you have a lot of things to think about," Hermes said, reaching forward and placing his right palm on Rex's head. "Take some time to get yourself together, Hero Rex~" He patted the 23-year-old man's head like he was a child, his grin never wavering.

'???' Rex slowly moved his head away while giving Hermes a wired look. He also noticed Asfi glaring at him through her glasses, her expression unreadable but clearly angry(?). 'What is this situation?'

"Rest well," Hermes said, standing up with a cheerful 'hup.' He turned to his captain. "Well, Asfi! Let's get going~" With that, he walked away, Asfi following silently behind him.

Rex watched them go, his gaze lingering until they disappeared into the trees. He leaned back against the tree he sat in front of, letting out a long, heavy sigh as he looked up at the 'night sky' of the Dungeon's ceiling.

"Damn..." he mumbled. "I almost just died."

And the fact was... that thought didn't affect him as much as he thought it would. 'Well, I guess I died once already...' That didn't explain it all, but he wasn't really thinking of that right now.

What hurt him the most was the fact that he couldn't absorb the Goliath's magic stone. It felt wasteful. It felt like all the time he'd spent working toward this moment had been for nothing. The days he'd spent having someone watch Bell, setting up the Takemikazuchi Familia's monster party, saving Bell and the others, even the two days he'd spent on the 18th floor doing practically nothing;

It all felt like a waste.

He sighed deeply, burying his face in his palms. "But I guess that's how life is, right...?" he mumbled into his hands.

There were many out there who would work hard for something but never get it. Life didn't always reward effort, no matter how much you put in. Rex knew that. Not like studying hard in high school got him anywhere in life back on Earth.

'It's ironic, really,' Rex thought with a bitter chuckle.

He remembered not even an hour ago when he had brushed off the people his indirectly killed by forcing the Goliath's spawn as fate, since they were going to die in the show anyway. It looked like karma had come around and slapped him in the face.

"They were fated to die? Well, Bell was fated to kill the Goliath, so how about that, bitch!" He could almost hear it shouting in his head. He sighed again, deflating against the tree. "Fuck..." he muttered, his eyes fixed on the sun crystal the Goliath had spawned from.

He was angry. Furious, even. Who wouldn't be? He had the chance to acquire so many overpowered abilities—the Goliath's regeneration being one of them—and he'd messed it all up because he hadn't planned it out well with Scavenger.

If he had known the Goliath would fucking revive, he would've pumped up his internal temperature, thrown himself at the beast, and unleashed all the heat in his body to roast the bastard before quickly absorbing its stones.

'No use crying over spilled milk, I guess,' he thought. Sometimes, in situations like this, you just had to say it is what it is and move on.

The more you did it, the easier it became. Besides, in the future, when he was strong enough to one-tap the Goliath, he'd definitely have Soma spawn it again and absorb its stone. It wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He could get it back... but the time he'd wasted setting up this event?

'It is what it is!' he screamed in his head, clapping his hands together. 'Don't think about it too much, or you'll fuck yourself over with depression or some shit.'

Just then, a Ligerfang lunged at him, its massive maw open and aimed for his throat.

Rex simply outstretched his left hand, his black claws materializing in an instant. With his fingers pressed together like a spear, he impaled his arm through the Ligerfang's mouth, his hand bursting through its skull and exiting out the back of its head.

Blood, bone, flesh, and fur clung to his fingers as the beast let out a final, gurgling snarl before puffing into black smoke. Its purple magic stone fell to the ground, shattered. He then swiped his hand to the side, the speed of the motion sending blood and gore splattering across the ground, his hands clean again.

'I should have gotten something from this fight, right?' He thought as he moved his hair away from his face. 'Ain't no way I came out of this battle with nothing, right?' He immediately called up his stats.

— — — — — — — — — —

Rex Magnus

Level 2 (Can Level Up)

[Strength] SS1359 | [Endurance] SSS1499 | [Dexterity] SS1333 | [Agility] SS1352 | [Magic] SSS1499

[Predator] I

— — — — — — — — — —

"Seesh!" he muttered, half in disbelief. He had expected to gain a lot of excelia from the fight against the Goliath, plus Indomitable Will, but not like this. His Endurance and Magic stats had instantly maxed out from sub-1100.

'Makes you wonder what my stats would've been if I'd gotten my hands on its magic stone,' he thought, but quickly pushed the idea away. 'With my lowest stat at one thousand three hundred thirty-three, I should be able to max everything out in about two weeks.'

That wasn't too long, so he didn't mind. He had nothing else to do anyway. This was good enough. 'And I guess I can't do the challenge of only getting high-rank excelia from dragon-type monsters now,' He shook his head.

The fight with the Goliath had given him enough to level up, and now all he had to do was max out his stats. As for skills or magic, well, he got nothing new. He didn't expect to gain a new skill or magic every time he went through hardships, so it didn't surprise him. Besides, he already had more abilities than 99% of people in the world.

'And,' Rex looked ahead, 'I guess there should still be some bodies to scavenge.' From what he could hear, it seemed like the battle had just ended, and Hermes had probably approached him seconds after he blacked. If it was any later, he would have probably died.

'Welp.' Rex stood with the support of the tree, stretching his arms above his head until his bones popped. He touched his toes and twisted his waist, feeling the tension release. Then he looked down at his body. He was completely healed, though some scars remained. They didn't look permanent yet, so he quickly began using his Blue Papilio Powder to finish the job.

His clothes were still somewhat intact—a bit burnt and damaged from his ragdoll flight, but nothing more. At least he didn't end up in only his belt like the other time. As for his armor, his chestplate was completely destroyed on the back, crushed by the force of the Goliath's last attack.

'This is probably the reason I wasn't split in half or my heart wasn't crushed by the force,' he thought, touching the Infant dragon plate with the front still rather. 'This is a sign to always wear a chestplate.'

He will also need to get himself a helm, one that wouldn't interfere with his fire breath. After all, the head was the most important part of the body.

With that, he walked toward where he'd left his bag and soon, he reached the hill he had been standing on when he used his ultimate attack. Ignoring the celebration going on not too far away, he climbed it to retrieve his bag, which still sat there, his halberd beside it.

'At least all of these survived.' He thought as he opened the bag to grab a mind potion. Pulling out the potion, he noticed the celebration had stopped. He glanced at the group gathered not too far away before looking back at his bag.

'Eh?' He looked again to see all eyes on him. 'Okay...'

Every single one of them was staring at him with hostility, as if they were ready to jump him at any moment and rip out his throat. 'Do they think I'm stealing from the now dead mage?' He cleared his throat and uttered,

"Raawl." He literally said roar, breathing out a small wisp of orange fire from his mouth. There was a brief pause, and then everyone burst into cheers.

"YEAAAAH!"

"HE'S ALIVE!"

"RED DRAGON!"

They ran toward the bottom of the hill like fans seeing their favorite celebrity, shouting random things and cheering loudly and enthusiastically. Atop the hill, Rex surveyed the sea of faces below. Then he released his bag and stepped forward, spreading his arms wide.

As he did, the cheers crescendoed into an overwhelming chorus that washed over him like warm sunlight. In that moment, amid the clamor and fervor, he savored the adoration:

'Yes,' he thought, a grin tugging at his lips, 'let them marvel—glaze me!'

———

Hermes stood not too far away, his eyes fixed on Rex as he stood on the elevated position, arms spread wide, looking down at the crowd cheering for him. It was almost like a king looking down at his subjects.

"So, Asfi..." he addressed his captain beside him, his tone casual but curious. "What more can you tell me about him?"

"According to public information in the Guild, he became level two during Denatus," Asfi replied, her voice steady and professional. "He also started selling drops from the middle floors a day after, so it's suspected he entered the middle floors immediately after leveling, Hermes-sama."

Dian Cecht and Panacea Familia had requested information on all the Soma Familia members a few days ago, so she had to do extensive investigation on them. Rex, especially, had caught their attention since he had leveled up just before they began selling the purified Blue Papilio Powder. Of course, in the end, nothing connected the Chienthrope to the powder.

"Oh, really?" Hermes' smile remained natural. "Entering the middle floors just after leveling up, while also making it down here with no problem. As expected of someone with such a powerful magic."

Asfi noded. "He's also being heavily invested in by the Soma Familia captain, Zanis Lustra," She continued, her gaze shifting to Rex as he descended from the hill and began greeting the other adventurers like they were fans. "In the days since he became a high class adventurer, there are reports that he has spent about four million valis on equipment alone."

She paused, then added, "And it seems he's been going solo since he became a level two, as he hasn't been seen with any party members after his old ones died. Zanis reported that they were killed by an infant dragon two weeks ago, and Rex also reported to his advisor that he killed an infant dragon to level up."

"Ha-ha-ha, an Infant Dragon~!" Hermes laughed, his voice light but his eyes sharp. "He slayed the dragon that killed his party and then obtained the dragon's magic. Very exciting." He watched Rex for a moment longer before asking, "What do you think about him?"

"He seems to have some narcissistic tendencies and antisocial personality disorder," Asfi replied without hesitation.

"I'm not asking about his personality," Hermes chuckled. "His level. Do you believe he just became a level two?"

"No," Asfi shook her head. "His magic is too potent for that. Even if it was boosted by the unknown self-heating skill he used, it shouldn't reach that level, especially since he doesn't have the Mage development ability."

She adjusted her glasses. "And his physical capability isn't that of a level two either. Any level two would have instantly died in the situation he was put in with the Goliath's breath. A level 3 at least. Maybe a mid-level 3." he glanced at her god. "I believe he and his captain hid his level."

Hermes fell silent, his mind replaying the memory of Rex running with him on his back and then the sight of him sprinting away after they separated. 'As I thought,' he mused, his expression darkening slightly. "Ah-ha. He would make a good hero, along with the others~."

Hermes glanced behind him to see Bell sleeping soundly, his head resting on Hestia's lap, while his party members, the Takemikazuchi Familia, and Ryuu surrounded them.

"Have someone keep an eye on Rex," Hermes said, his grin wild. "I'm sure he's no less interesting than Little Rookie."

"As you wish, Hermes-sama," Asfi nodded.

———

Bors had decided to at least give the dead adventurers some kind of burial since they couldn't carry all the bodies up. Those with friends or familia members who had died could choose to take the bodies back for a proper burial in the adventurer cemetery if they wished.

He had gathered some relatively uninjured adventurers to collect the bodies they could find, which came out to be 11 men and 4 women. And, of course, Rex was among them.

They had told him to rest, with Bors saying he'd earned it, but Rex countered by saying everyone had fought equally, so why should he be treated differently just because he had stronger magic? In the end, he was allowed to join the group to help retrieve the bodies.

And it was... disturbing. Adventurers split in half by fallen stones, their faces twisted in agony. Some had their heads crushed, others hung lifelessly from trees after being thrown by the Goliath's punch.

It was a sight Rex didn't want to see, especially since it was technically his fault. But in the end, he decided to help, partly because he wanted to use the chance to touch the bodies that still had their aura and use Scavenger.

'I am sick in the head,' he realized as he picked up the body of a man who looked like he'd been killed by the swarm of monsters the Goliath had summoned. 'Even in this situation, I'm still thinking about taking what they have.' It felt almost like desecrating graves. No, it was worse. He doubted he'd be seeing the pearly white gates when he finally died.

In the end, he still scavenged the man's body. He was only level 2, so Rex barely got any stats like the other level 2s he scavenged, but he finally gained a new skill. After a quick glance, he accepted it and continued helping.

All the bodies they retrieved were placed in the center of the crater where the Goliath had died. Bors and the others decided it was best to burn them there. By the time an hour had passed, more than eighty adventurer bodies had been piled up in the crater, and the last batch was being carried in. Out of them, Rex was only lucky enough to get one skill.

As he climbed out of the basin, he noticed a level 2 man carrying ten bodies, all of which still had their auras. 'It's like he did a ten-pull and got all SSRs,' Rex thought as he approached the man.

"I'll help you take them down," he said, holding out his arms.

"Thanks." The man said with a small smile before dropping the ten bodies onto Rex's arms like he was passing a pile of clothes.

A shiver ran down Rex's spine.

Without a word, he began discreetly touching the bodies one by one as he carefully made his way down into the basin, adding one additional magic to his arsenal. A lucky draw, especially how much harder it is to get magic and the fact he didn't have to reach pity.

As he placed the bodies on the pile, he thought, 'How many bodies is this, Scavenger?' He turned to climb back up the basin. 'One hundred...' He kept going until he reached the number Scavenger judged as the highest quality.

One hundred and seventeen.

Rex stood at the edge of the crater, staring down at the pile as one of the adventurers poured a combustible liquid over the bodies. Bors then threw a torch onto the pile, and the flames quickly engulfed them. Some other adventurers stood and watched the bodies burn in silence, their faces solemn and reflecting the dancing shadows of the fire. After a while, they started leaving one by one, but Rex remained for a time, just staring into the flames.

'...I wonder what would've happened if I were part of that pile,' a random thought crossed his mind. 'Would my body even burn? Or do you lose your Falna the moment you die?' Seeing as he had time to absorb their abilities, he guessed it takes time before your Falna leaves.

With a heavy sigh, he offered a silent prayer on their journey in the afterlife before noticing someone. It was the rogue who had stolen from him earlier that morning standing alone, injured. The other two from his group weren't with him, so they were probably part of the pile or somewhere else on the floor.

'...' Rex turned and walked away.

He spent a few minutes chatting it up with a few of the adventurers, then he went to help himself with some weapons and armor from the makeshift base that had been made for the fight against the Goliath. He wasn't the only one doing it, and no one seemed to care. Rex took all the high quality weapons and armor, filling his bag, then wore his cloak over his bloodstained clothes and left.

While their group had been gathering the bodies to burn, other adventurers including Ryuu, Asfi, the Takemikazuchi Familia members, and Bell's group had worked together to clear the landslide blocking the entrance to the 17th floor. Now, after an hour, the path was open, so Rex left and started a sprint up from the 18th floor, and it still took him an hour to climb up.

Stepping out of babel into the late afternoon sunlight, Rex took a deep breath, the fresh air filling his lungs with vigor.

"Three days," he mumbled with a smile, staring up at the sun. He had missed the real sky and the fresh air after only three days. 'When I level up, I will have to start spending days in the Dungeon farming on the lower floors.' He thought as he looked away from the sun. 'I will need to get used to living in the dungeon.'

With another stretch, he started his walk back to his Familia Home, Cupidinem. 'I need some good sleep, and no reverie.' He rubbed his eyes. 'Real sleep.'

[Author's Note: Surprise!

Decided to post a chapter today because I had nothing to do but none tomorrow.

I hope this cleared up the fate thing everyone seemed to be mad about. I wrote it to mock Rex saying that the people dying as a consequence of him summoning the Goliath was fate, not to say fate can't be changed. As for the skill and magic he got, will reveal them in the next chapter.

Thanks for reading. Be safe.]