Reborn in Danmachi as a Dragon-Kin (Rewrite)

A few days had passed since Draco had begun contemplating plans for his level up. 

Within that period, Draco had made up his mind and decided to wait until Denatus was already ongoing before attempting to level up.

According to Bahamut, the Denatus gathering was planned to be held within the week, so some special preparations needed to be made.

Draco planned to enter the middle floors of the dungeon alone in search of an opponent strong enough to produce the high-quality Excelia that he needed to level up. 

This couldn't be helped, as Draco was simply growing far faster than the other members of the familia, so they couldn’t accompany him this time. 

High-quality Excelia was a term used to describe the Excelia gained from performing an almost impossible or incredible feat, usually entailing the defeat of an opponent that would be normally impossible for the current level.

With that in mind, the past days had been spent grinding his stats to the absolute limit, which sadly meant pushing the other familia members at his own pace until the desired result were achieved. 

Draco was well aware that this approach might have put some strain on his Familia members, but he felt it was a necessary sacrifice for his own growth and the betterment of the group as a whole.

Grinding wasn’t the only thing Draco did within the past few days, he had also made a commission to a Hephaestus familia blacksmith for a spiked club weapon.

Wielding this weapon was only a means to expand his melee combat options, not a replacement for his much more reliable claws.

………………………………………………………….

Within the week, an interesting piece of news began circulating around the city. 

Word had been spreading about the exploits of a child from the Loki familia, named Ai Wallenstein.

She was an 8-year-old girl who had defeated a black wyvern, a monster the guild estimated to be between levels 2 and 3 while she was a level 1.

"Do you think it's true, Draco nii?" Dimitra asked as they were seated on the floor. 

The Bahamut familia was currently having a short break on the 9th floor after annihilating the surrounding monsters.

This sudden question made the other familia members perk up their ears, eager to hear Draco's response.

"Well, I think it's very possible," Draco replied neutrally. 

"I mean, Falna isn't really affected by age. You all are proof of that." he added.

He was very much aware of Ai's story and abilities, so he had to be careful with his wording, ensuring that nothing incriminating accidentally slipped out of his lips.

"Woah, an 8-year-old already fighting monsters that strong. Makes me wonder what we're all doing," Michalis muttered out loud, sparking something within the rest of the group. 

Draco could see the change in their eyes, and he knew that he had to say something quickly to prevent any form of self-doubt from creeping in.

"You all should relax and take it easy. There's no need to rush. The person you're all comparing yourselves to has been an adventurer for almost an entire year, whereas we've only been adventurers for a little over a month," Draco explained, his tone calming and rational.

It wasn't hard for everyone to grasp what he meant, and their expressions became a lot more relaxed.

"That's true. What were we all worried about? We can catch up to her by working harder and spending some extra time in the dungeon," Vasileios attempted to motivate the group, and his efforts were met with positive expressions.

"True. I say we blame Michalis for bringing down the mood," Vasiliki interjected, a playful edge to her voice.

"What do you mean by that? Dimitra was the one who started everything," Michalis countered, his brow furrowed.

"Hey, keep my name out of your mouth," Dimitra threatened, her eyes narrowed.

'Looks like they're back to normal,' Draco thought, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Draco then clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back to him. 

"Alright, that's enough. Break time is over. We will now be heading to the 10th floor," he announced, his voice taking on a more authoritative tone.

Spurred by the confident tone, the Familia members quickly gathered their equipment and prepared to continue their descent into the dungeon. 

……………………………………………………………

Due to the significant volume of magic stone the Bahamut familia brought in daily, Rose had been forced to reluctantly acknowledge their exceptional abilities. 

As a result, she had granted them permission to descend all the way down to the tenth floor of the dungeon. 

The Bahamut familia respected the opinions and guidance provided by their guild advisor, Rose. 

They carefully implemented the strategies and insights she shared, finding them quite useful in their expeditions. 

The fact that the group returned safely and unharmed every day, in turn, bolstered Rose's confidence in her own advisory role and, to some extent, in herself.

Gradually, she began to open up a little more to the members of the Bahamut familia, though she still maintained a degree of distance.

Rose didn't want her expectations to continue rising, as she was apprehensive about the potential consequences should the group one day fail to return from the dungeon. 

Upon descending to the 10th floor, the Bahamut familia members were immediately on edge, as they noticed significant changes from the 8th and 9th floors. 

The structures and layout were quite similar, but the presence of a mist-like substance in the air gave the entire floor an eerie, unsettling atmosphere.

"Are you sure that no war shadows spawn here?" Eleni asked, her eyes darting around warily.

"None spawn on this floor, but I have to admit that they would be a real scary threat in the 10th to 12th floors if they did," Draco replied, his brow furrowed with in contemplation.

"That's a relief, I hate those things," Eleni muttered, lightly rubbing her neck. 

She had a near-death experience with a war shadow just last week on the 6th floor, only surviving thanks to Vasileios' timely intervention.

Sensing the group's heightened tension, Draco decided to shift the focus to a more constructive exercise. 

"There may be no war shadows, but there are quite a few strong monsters on this floor," Draco continued. 

"Here's a quiz: What monster on the 10th floor uses sound waves to disrupt the concentration of mages?" he began.

Rose had provided the Bahamut familia with detailed information about the threats they might encounter, and they had also done their own additional research. 

Draco was now testing their knowledge.

"Oh, I know this one! It's a Bad Bat, right?" Vasiliki replied confidently. As a mage, she had made sure to study the various monster types and their abilities in depth.

"That is correct, 2 points for Vasiliki," Draco announced.

"Wait, are we being graded? Is there some sort of reward for participating?" Nikolaos asked, suddenly more interested in the quiz.

"Yes, an extra 2,000 Valis in pocket money for the winner," Draco replied, which quickly piqued the interest of the entire group.

"Hurry, the next question!" Michalis urged, eager to earn the reward for himself.

"Hang on," Nikolaos interrupted, "what are the rules first?" he asked.

Draco pondered for a moment before responding.

"Hmm, let's go in order from Clair down. If she gets the answer wrong, we'll move down the line to Michalis, Eleni, Nikolaos, Dimitra, Vasileios, and then Vasiliki until the right answer is provided." he replied.

Vasiliki frowned, "Hey, that doesn't seem very fair. What if no questions even reach me?" she protested.

"Don't worry, I'll ask each person a question, and we'll go around the circle until someone gets it right," Draco assured her.

"Alright, here's the next one," he continued. 

"What is small, demon-like, and uses clever group tactics to attack?" he asked.

Clair furrowed her brow, "Uh, a goblin right?" she replied.

"Wrong," Draco replied.

“Pfff, a goblin seriously” Vasiliki muttered, while tying to stop herself from laughing out-loud.

She wasn’t the only one feeling the same way about  Clair’s answer.

Clair was a bit upset that she got it wrong, but still remained optimistic about winning. 

“Michalis your answer” Draco asked.

"An imp," Michalis confidently replied.

"That's correct, Michalis. Two points for you," Draco announced.

Suddenly, Draco's senses detected a disturbance in the mist, his attention quickly drawn to it.

He could sense 4 humanoid creatures approaching in their general direction.

‘Hmm, are those orcs’ he pondered, trying to get a clearer picture of the threat.

He quickly cut the quiz short, alerting the party to the incoming threat.

"We're going to have to cut the quiz short, folks. We've got some orcs coming our way." he said, after identifying the monsters.

Without hesitation, the Bahamut Familia sprung into action, everyone immediately went into their battle positions awaiting instructions from Draco on how they would engage the approaching orcs.