Familia Myth - Journey to Hero Chapter 34 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Familia Myth: Journey to Hero! Bell’s Party continue to progress in the Dungeon! Three Level 2’s shouldn’t have too much trouble in the first couple of Middle Levels, especially not when equipped with Welf’s gear made from the Black Goliath! Meanwhile, stirrings begin and trouble seems like it’s about to find the Hestia Familia once more.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 34 – Progression and Obsession

“Raaawwrrrr!” A Hellhound leapt at Welf with its fangs gleaming as it sought to bury them in the blacksmith’s flesh.

“Hyah!” Welf’s greatsword cut the Hellhound almost in two while slamming it into the rocky floor. “You’ll have to do better than that!”

Wsh

Wsh

Wsh

Three bolts from Lili’s bowgun flew through the air and struck an Almiraj each. The three rabbit Monsters fell to the ground with a bolt sticking out of each of their heads, an instant kill shot.

“Master Bell! Hard Armoreds are coming from the rear!” Lili called out, using heightened Chienthrope senses to keep track of the battlefield. Using her Transformation Magic, Cinder Ella, like this every day kept her Magic stat constantly growing on top of just being a great help with keeping an eye (or ear) on the entirety of their small Party.

Bell was nearly a blur as he rushed the three Hard Armoreds. “Yah!” His spear stabbed through the head of the first armadillo-like Monster. With a quick pull back, the blade was freed and with a swing the second Hard Armored’s head went flying as Bell decapitated it with the sharp blade of his black spear. The third Hard Armored tried to roll into a ball to defend itself, but Bell proved he already had the stats of an upper Level 2 Adventurer by piercing clean through the rolled up Monster. Pulling out the rapier-like blade of his spear, the rolled up Hard Armored unrolled as blood flowed out of the lethal stab wound.

“Grrrrr!” Three Hellhounds snarled at the Party before spewing flames from their jaws straight at the group. The flames washed over the three Adventurers and the Hellhounds instinctively believed that they’d slain the Party.

“Hah!” Bell and Welf rushed through the flames, the orange and yellow fire almost seeming to slide around the Black Goliath material that was now part of their gear. Bells spear pierced straight through one Hellhound. Welf’s greatsword split the other one in two. The third Hellhound’s head had a bolt sticking out of it, courtesy of Lili’s bowgun.

Bell looked around and didn’t see any more Monsters. “Was that the last of them, Lili?”

“Yes, Master Bell, Lili doesn’t hear any others around.” Lili said as she quickly started gathering up the Monster corpses into a pile. “Lili will harvest these fast so that we can move on.”

“Well watch your back, Little Lili.” Welf assured her with a grin. “I’d say we’re doing pretty good for our first day back in the Middle Levels.”

Bell agreed with a smile. “Yeah. We’ve made it a good distance into Floor Thirteen already.” It was quite a bit easier when they didn’t have to worry about a Pass Parade or falling into a Dungeon Gimmick.

Once Lili was finished, the Party would push on, exploring more of the Thirteenth Floor before returning to the surface for the day. With their current pace and some luck, they’d make it down to the Fourteenth Floor in the next day or two.

-Hearth District ~ Hestia Familia Home-

Hestia smiled at the family of four sitting across from her in the large living room/common area of her Familia’s home. A father, mother, daughter, and son that had applied to live in one of the nice apartments that had been completed by Goibniu Familia already. They had already proven that they could afford the monthly rent with the father’s income alone, so money wasn’t an issue. A quick check with Ganesha Familia’s publicly available records through the Guild hadn’t turned up any criminal record for either parent. So, it was with a warm heart that Hestia stamped the application wit her new personal seal. “Approved. Welcome home!” She beamed at the family softly.

The family all smiled back happily at the Goddess. “Thank you very much, Lady Hestia!” Both the father and mother thanked her and bowed as best as they could from their sitting positions. The two young children, seeing what their parents were doing, also bowed to Hestia.

Hestia handed over a pair of keys to the parents. The two keys were to the new apartment and the father accepted them with a warm smile as he looked at his family. With one last bow, the family of four left the Familia Home to start moving into their new apartment in the steadily growing Hearth District. The door to the Familia Home wasn’t closed for long as the next group of hopeful new residents entered and gave a polite bow to Hestia.

“You’re the Lonette Family, correct?” Hestia greeted them with a smile.

“Yes, Goddess.” The five Werewolves all nodded before they sat down on the couch across from Hestia when she motioned for them to do so.

Hestia looked over their application for residence again to make sure she understood where they were requesting to live. “You’re wanting to rent out the restaurant on the first corner with the living space on the second floor.”

“That’s right.” The mother of the family nodded. “We plan to move our grilled meat restaurant here along with our family.” Her black wolf ears flicked slightly as she spoke.

“I see. We do want a lively district filled with families and businesses.” Hestia laughed softly, the air filled with a sense of warmth and comfort from her natural Divine Aura. Just like the rest of the applications that were sitting in front of her, the Lonette Family had already been verified to not have any criminal record. “Can you tell me why you want to move your home and business to the Hearth District?”

The father nodded as his tail thumped lightly on the couch once. “We’ve always been fairly successful with our restaurant, but the area where it’s located isn’t the best when it comes to crime. We’ve had three different robbery attempts in the last year alone. The Ganesha Familia has increased their patrols of the area, but we’d much prefer to come to a safer location with a Familia Home nearby for the additional security.” He gently ruffled the hair of his youngest child; the boy couldn’t have been more than ten or eleven.

“That makes sense.’ Hestia nodded as she checked over their information on the papers once more. “Approved.” She stamped the application with her seal and handed the papers over to the parents along with a set of keys. “Welcome home!”

“Thank you very much, Goddess Hestia!” The Lonette family bowed their heads in gratitude for her acceptance, all five tails wagging in happiness.

Hestia giggled and waved off their thanks. “I look forward to seeing your family and your business thrive here in the Hearth District.”

“We’ll do our best, Lady Hestia!” The mother smiled warmly at the Goddess. “A free dish will be available to you every single day if you want it.” She offered and her husband nodded in agreement with a laugh.

“I might take you up on that occasionally.” Hestia laughed softly; a melodious sound that made all five Werewolves smile reflexively just hearing it.

The Lonette family excused themselves with one last polite bow before exiting the Hestia Familia Home with bright smiles. The line of people waiting to enter and get their acceptance or possible rejection from the Hearth District was still long as the family of Werewolves headed down the street so that they could get back home and start packing up while telling their regulars where they were moving to. The Hearth District had no shortage of applicants and would assuredly be filled with people in short order.

-Dungeon ~ Floor Thirteen-

“ROOOAAARRR!!!” A Wyvern, a pink-scaled Dragon Monster that’s forelimbs were a pair of strong wings, roared at Bell’s Party almost the second they entered a large cavern. They hadn’t expected to encounter the uncommon Monster as they were exploring the Thirteenth Floor thoroughly, but the Dungeon never cared about anyone’s plans. The five meter long Dragon-type Monster was quickly airborne with a strong flap of its wings. “RAAWWHH!!!” A glow within the Wyvern’s jaws was the only warning the three-man Party got before a ball of flames was rocketing towards them.

“Scatter!” Lili called out as they all moved in different directions as fast as they could. Their speed being boosted slightly by the minor enchantment on their greaves certainly helped them escape the blast range of the attack.

BOOM

Fiery explosion spread slightly from the point of impact, but none of the Adventurers were within range anymore.

“Firebolt!” Bell cast his first spell and the flames shot upwards towards the Wyvern.

The Wyvern easily flew around the spell and targeted Bell for his attack. “ROOOAAARRR!!!”

Wsh

Wsh

Wsh

Wsh

Four bolts from Lili’s bowgun hit the Wyvern’s left wing, tearing small holes through the membrane and making the Wyvern bellow at the pain.

“Over here!” Lili got the Wyvern’s attention.

“RAAAHHH!!!” The Wyvern’s jaws filled with flames again as it now targeted Lili.

“Ignite, heretic spell! Will o’ Wisp!” Welf chanted and cast his spell. The nearly transparent Magic shot towards the Wyvern just as it opened it jaws to unleash its flames. The flames were wrapped up by Welf’s Magic and then violently exploded before fully leaving the Wyvern’s jaws.

BOOM

The explosion shook the air in the cavern as the Wyvern fell from near the ceiling all the way down to the ground.

Thud

The impact was loud too, but the three Adventurers ignored that as they took the opportunity to attack.

“Hyah!” Welf brought his greatsword down in the strongest swing he could manage, nearly cutting off the Wyvern’s right wing. The natural toughness of dragon scales and dragon hide prevented the blacksmith from completely removing the limb, but it was enough to cripple the Wyvern’s ability to fly.

Bell thrust forward with his black spear, stabbing the Wyvern deeply in the side.

“Raauugh!” The Wyvern hacked out a mixture of blood and smoke from the previous damage of the Ignis Fatuus that Welf’s spell had caused. It flailed and forced the two men backwards as the sharp talons on its feet clawed at them.

Wsh

Wsh

Two quick shots from Lili’s bowgun blinded the Wyvern on the left side as the bolts lodged into its eye. The poison on the tips, refined Purple Moth Poison, seeped into the Wyvern’s blood quickly and being so close to its brain, started to take effect more rapidly than normal.

“Raaauuuhhh…” The Wyvern shook its head side to side, tryin g to dislodge the bolts from its eye as it started to stagger around.

Welf saw the opening that Lili had created and bolted forward with his greatsword ready. A heavy stomp on the ground right at the Wyvern’s side gave Welf a firm stance so that he could put his full body weight and all the torque he could muster into his biggest swing. “RAH!!!” The blade of the greatsword cut deeply into the Wyvern, splitting scale and hide and knocking the Wyvern to the stone ground again. Blood splattered across the stone floor as the Wyvern screeched in pain.

“Hyah!” Bell leapt forward as the Wyvern tried to rear up and escape from Welf. The rapier-like tip of his spear stabbed into the chest of the Wyvern and into its heart, almost coming out the back of the Dragon-type Monster in the process. The thrust was so strong that the Wyvern’s feet briefly left the ground and Bell ended up knocking it onto its back while he stood atop it.

Lili and Welf both blinked at the power behind the single thrust.

“I think that Dragon Slayer Skill that you got the other day activated, Master Bell.” Lili said as she approached the dead Wyvern.

Welf nodded in agreement. “I’ll say. You took this Wyvern off its feet so easily!” The blacksmith grinned at his buddy brightly.

“It’s definitely a helpful Skill when it comes to Dragon Monsters.” Bell rubbed the back of his head with a chuckle before pulling his spear out of the Wyvern’s chest. He hopped down from the slain Monster and saw that both Lili and Welf were eyeing the Wyvern appreciatively…or the parts that they wanted from it at any rate.

Lili set her large backpack down and got out her tools. “Lili will do her best to harvest as mush as she can from this Wyvern.” The slight sparkle in her eyes made it clear that she only saw the Wyvern as valuable loot now.

Guild Exchange ~ Late Afternoon-

The Sheep woman behind the glass had been VERY surprised to see the haul of Drop Items that Bell’s Party had brought back today. “Th-That’s a lot of fangs…” It was true though…with how many Hellhounds the Party had killed today, there was a small pile of them put into the large drawer on the side of the exchange. “Are those W-Wyvern materials?” The woman had to ask as nine fangs, twenty pink scales, three talons, and a large roll of hide were pulled out of Lili’s large backpack.

“Yes, ma’am.” Bell nodded to the Sheep woman with a polite smile.

“One moment…” The woman unlocked the largest drawer on the opposite side of the others and pushed it over to Bell’s side. “Please place large Drop Items here.”

Bell, Welf, and Lili almost filled the large drawer with the Wyvern materials just because the roll of hide was so large. Lili had a proud little smile on her lips at managing to skin that much hide off the Wyvern successfully. Sure, it wasn’t even half of the total hide of the Monster, but it was way more than a normal Drop Item would be!

The Sheep woman was quick to count, weigh, and write down the number of Magic Stones that Bell’s Party had collected today. Once she was done with the Magic Stones, she moved on to the Drop Items that the three-man Party had agreed to sell to the Guild instead of selling directly to either Goibniu Familia or Hephaestus Familia. “Your Magic Stones were worth 138,682 Valis. The Hellhound Fangs come out to 16,000 Valis, the Almiraj Furs are 7,700 Valis, the Almiraj Horns are worth 5,850 Valis, the large Wyvern Hide is worth 34,000 Valis, the Wyvern Fangs are 10,600 Valis, Wyvern Talons are worth 9,300 Valis, and the Wyvern Scales are 12,900 Valis.” The woman took a breath after the long list. “Your total exchange today is 235,032 Valis. Please, have a nice evening.” She gave the three Adventurers a short bow.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Bell hefted up the heavy sack of Valis coins and the trio headed over to a free table to divvy up the loot.

Welf had already picked out the Drop Items he wanted from what they’d collected today, so Lili handed him two Wyvern Fangs, ten Wyvern Scales, and one Wyvern Talon. “Nice.” Welf grinned as he eyed the materials appreciatively. “Definitely gonna try an idea I had the other day with these!” The desire to craft and explore his new Developmental Ability even further was what made Welf such a great blacksmith.

“Lili and Master Bell will be stopping by the Hephaestus Familia shop on the way back home to sell the rest of the Drop Items.” Lili smiled as she looked into her massive backpack and saw good amount of Hard Armored Scales, some Almiraj Horns, and the last Wyvern Talon she’d managed to get from the Dragon-type Monster. “Should be a fairly good amount of Valis tonight!”

With everyone happy and the Valis divvied up, Welf headed home while Lili and Bell went to give their reports for the day to Eina.

Eina sat down across from them both a short time after they sat down. “Your Party caused a bit of a stir today.” She said with a slight giggle. “It’s not every day that such a large amount of Wyvern materials are turned in.”

“We got lucky…sort of.” Bell grinned at Eina, knowing that an encounter with a Wyvern was uncommon, but it had proven to be very beneficial for them.

“As long as you’re both safe, we’ll call it good luck.” Eina agreed with a smile as she prepared her quill pen to take down their reports of their day in the Dungeon.

After giving their reports, Eina had collected everything together and accepted a warm hug from Lili. The Half-Elf cooed softly as Bell pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly. She waved as Bell and Lili left the Guild and walked towards the back with a little spring in her step.

-Hestia Familia Home ~ Evening-

“Haaaah…” Hestia leaned back on the couch with a long sigh. “So many today…”

Bell smiled and held Hestia to his side, letting his Goddess lover relax after her long day. “You didn’t have to go through all of the applications in one day, Hestia.”

“That was a bit much, Hestia.” Lili agreed with Bell.

Hestia snuggled into Bell more, just enjoying the warmth and comfort. “But I managed to finish.” Sure, it had been only just a bit before Lili and Bell had come home, but she’d managed it!

“You did great.” Bell kissed the top of Hestia’s head. “We saw a few people already starting to move in on our way back.”

The three just relaxed for a while longer before Hestia, even if she was comfortable, sat up and looked at both of them. “Let’s update your Status. I’m sure you’ve both grown again!”

“You can go first, Lili.” Bell offered, polite and kind as always.

“Thank you, Bell.” Lili smiled at him, giving him a soft kiss before grinning and taking off her shirt right in front of him. She giggled as she moved away before his free hand could reach her and sat down with her back facing Hestia.

“Ready, Lili?” Hestia laughed and kissed the Prum’s bare shoulder once.

“Lili is ready.” Lili said with a bright smile and felt a drop of Hestia’s blood touch her back. The familiar white-blue glow appeared as Hestia began to watch Lili’s Excelia for the day.

Hestia smiled proudly as she saw how well Lili was doing and how many Monsters she’d killed today. It was clear the Supporter didn’t want to be dead weight on Bell and Welf and was doing her best to make sure that she grew stronger. “You’re doing amazing, Lili.”

“Thank you, Hestia. Lili will keep supporting Bell to the best of her ability!” Lili said with a determined smile as she felt Hestia’s finger trace along her back.

Hestia moved the Excelia into Lili’s stats and watched the numbers increase as the Falna grew stronger. A blank paper was placed on Lili’s bare back and with a twirl of her finger the new Status was copied over. Hestia locked up Lili’s Falna and handed her the paper before lightly kissing the top of Lili’s head.

-Status-

Liliruca Arde

Level 2

Strength – I 14 > I 22

Defense – I 12 > I 19

Dexterity – I 20 > I 33

Agility – I 21 > I 32

Magic – I 10 > I 26

-Magic-

Cinder Ella

Transformation Magic – Incantation: ‘Your wound is mine. My wound is mine. Echoing message of midnight.’

(Enables the user to transform into anything around their own size.)

-Skills-

Artel Assist – When the user is carrying a certain amount of weight, this skill will help compensate in abilities. The amount compensated depends on the weight.

Harvester - When breaking down monsters the user is more likely to acquire a Drop Item and higher quality ones too. Also enables the harvesting of other monster parts for material.

Merídio Range – User’s attacks with projectiles increase in both power and accuracy. The increase is proportional to how many of their Familia are with them.

-Developmental Ability-

Abnormal Resistance – I

-Status-

Lili smiled at seeing her growth still being so good after her Level Up. “Lili is still growing well.”

“You’re working incredibly hard in the Dungeon with Bell, it’s no surprise that you’d be growing so well.” Hestia hugged Lili from behind. “Growth will get harder as you continue to climb, but just keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll get stronger in time.”

“Yes, Hestia.” Lili turned in Hestia’s arms and gave her a soft kiss. The two held each other close for a long moment before Lili stood up and switched places with Bell. Seeing Bell’s eyes on her bare tits, Lili playfully stuck her tongue out at him before slipping her shirt back on.

Hestia let a drop of her blood fall on Bell’s bare back and watched as his Falna appeared as if a tattoo was emerging from his skin while surrounded by the blue-white glow that had become so familiar. Watching Bell’s Excelia, Hestia couldn’t be prouder of how strong Bell was becoming. “Working as hard as always, Bell.” Hestia cooed to him and leaned forward to kiss his cheek. ‘Soon… Once you get just a bit stronger… I’ll tell you everything, Bell.’ She briefly looked at the Skill that she’d hidden from Bell to protect him. Hestia could only hope that he’d understand why she hadn’t told him about Liaris Freese when he’d first gotten it.

“I still have a long way to go, but I’m glad that I’m getting stronger.” Bell smiled at Hestia softly as he felt her finger move gently along his skin as she moved his Excelia and let his Falna grow. A moment later and Hestia handed him the new Update after locking up his Falna securely.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 2

Strength – A 896 > S 991

Defense – B 795 > A 893

Dexterity – S 909 > SS 1,010

Agility – S 957 > SS 1,068

Magic – S 935 > SS 1,047

-Magic-

Firebolt

Vesta Enhance

Enchant Magic – Incantation: ‘Rise’

(Increases all Basic Abilities for five minutes. Then can’t be cast for five minutes after the increase wears off. Effect rises based on the Magic Stat.)

Thunderbolt

-Skills-

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Dual Wield – Significantly increases Strength and Dexterity when wielding a weapon in each hand.

Argonaut – Executes automatically after charging from active actions.

Heroic Will – Raises Stats when the user refuses to give up in the face of adversity. Those with lower Stats see the user as near unassailable.

Dragon Slayer – Heavily increases all abilities when fighting Reptilian Monsters, massively increases all abilities when fighting Dragon Type Monsters, potentially making the user stronger than their actual Level when fighting them. Passive.

-Developmental Abilities-

Luck – I

Hunter – I

-Status-

“It’s still so weird to see ‘SS’ on my stats.” Bell murmured to himself as he saw the ‘over the limit’ numbers on his Dexterity, Agility, and Magic.

“It’s a good thing.” Hestia said softly as she held him from behind.

The three were quick to cuddle up together on the couch again. Dinner was a bit late that night, but not one of them cared as they just enjoyed being together.

-Hephaestus Familia Home-

“If you keep this up, you’ll end up blowing past the other Level 2’s in the Familia soon enough.” Hephaestus said as she watched Welf’s Excelia. She moved the Excelia into his Basic Abilities and watched the numbers rise in proportion to the experience that Welf had gained from the day.

Welf grinned at his Goddess over his shoulder. “If I want to reach my dreams, I can’t slack off. Just like with my smithing, I’ve got to put my blood, sweat, and tears into getting stronger!”

“That’s just like you.” Hephaestus’s laughter filled the air, making Welf feel warm inside. “Strength comes in time though, don’t forget to take care of yourself when you’re in the Dungeon.” She placed a blank paper on his back and copied the new Status over. After Welf’s Falna was locked up, Hephaestus handed the new update to him.

-Status-

Welf Crozzo

Level 2

Strength – I 12 > I 26

Defense – I 8 > I 19

Dexterity – I 10 > I 23

Agility – I 6 > I 13

Magic – I 0 > I 3

-Magic-

Will o’ Wisp

Anti-Magic Fire – Incantation: ‘Ignite, heretic spell.’

(Can cause an Ignis Fatuus to enemies if timed correctly.)

-Skills-

Crozzo Blood – The user can create Magic Swords. Can raise the power of Magic Swords during creation.

-Developmental Ability-

Blacksmith – I

-Status-

Welf was happy to see that his growth was still good. “I think I’m still a bit off from being able to overtake any of the other Level 2’s in the Familia.” A smirk crossed his face. “But I’ll make that my next goal!”

Hephaestus smiled at Welf’s resolve to improve. “A good goal. The current highest stat of any Level 2 in the Familia is ‘B 752’ though.”

Welf blinked at the stat but shook his head. “Then I’ll surpass it!” He declared as he raised his fist in front of him.

-Two Days Later ~ Hibachitei-

At a popular bar for Adventurers, Bell’s Party celebrated their descent to the Fourteenth Floor today. The late afternoon was the beginning of peak hours for the bar and so every table and almost every seat at the bar itself were filled. The sound of cheer was in the air for many, and that included Bell, Welf, and Lili.

“Hah!” Welf exclaimed after a long pull from his flagon of ale. “Feels good to be making progress!”

Lili agreed as she set her flagon back on the table. “It is. Thankfully we haven’t had any problems, so far.” Sure, the number of Monsters that spawned could be difficult sometimes, but they managed well enough, usually with only a few minor injuries here and there.

“Four more Floors and we’ll be able to get to Rivira by ourselves too.” Bell said with a smile. Sure, there were a few bad memories attached to Floor Eighteen, but Bell had quite a few good memories there too. The image of Tione and Tiona and the ecstasy on their faces as they made love passed through his mind.

Welf hummed thoughtfully. “That’s true… Almost hard to believe it.”

Half of all Adventurers in Orario never made it past Level 1. The Upper Floors were filled with veteran Level 1 Parties that couldn’t safely explore the Middle Floors at all. Of those that made it to Level 2, most hunted the Middle Levels while using Floor Eighteen as a base to go as far down as Floor Twenty-Four. Level 3 and higher Parties pushed further, making it down to the Lower Floors starting at Floor Twenty-Five as they attempted to reach the Deep Floors which started at Floor Thirty-Seven.

“We still have a ways to go, but Lili believes that we can do it.” Lili smiled at Welf and Bell. “Master Bell, your stats are already high enough that you can Level Up again.”

“Really?” Welf looked at Bell in surprise. “Little Lili and I finally get to Level 2 like you are and you’re already at the point where you just need a Grand Feat to get to Level 3?!” He pointed at Bell with his fork, a piece of meat on it from the meal they were having. “How’re we supposed to keep up, Mr. Record Holder?” Welf teased his buddy with a smirk.

Bell chuckled at the playful questioning. “Train harder? Kill more Monsters? I grew a lot while training with Ais, Tione, and Tiona.” He saw Welf and Lili both look at him like he was crazy. “What?”

“The fact that you can say something that crazy and not realize it is almost scary, Bell.” Welf shook his head at his friend.

“Lili agrees with Mister Welf. Most Level 1’s wouldn’t even dream of sparring with Level 5’s like you did, Master Bell. A brief slip up and you could die from a single solid blow.” Lili said while looking at him with unamused eyes.

As the Party of three chatted with each other, they didn’t notice that they were being watched.

“That’s them.” One of the group in matching black outfits said quietly.

“You know what to do, Luan.” Another spoke up.

Luan, a Prum with large, green round eyes and short brown hair, stood up from his chair. He almost looked like a child, most young adult Prum men did, but his attitude and words would quickly give away his true age. “I know.” He started walking over to the table where Bell, Lili, and Welf sat. Taking a deep breath Luan spoke loud enough for everyone in the bar to hear. “What’s that?! I hear some ‘rabbit’ is supposed to be a proper Adventurer after getting lucky and becoming famous overnight!” He spread his arms wide as the bar went quiet. “That rookie’s got some guts! All that ‘Record Holder’ crap must be going to his head! The shame would kill me if I strutted around like that after only surviving by luck!”

“You said it!” One of the other men at Luan’s table laughed loudly. The two other men cracking up a second later.

“It’s better to avoid conflicts with other Familia when possible. Nothing good comes from making enemies of everyone.”

Hestia’s voice rang through Bell’s mind as he exhaled and ignored the loudmouth’s words.

Luan, seeing Bell not rising to the bait, changed tactics. “I hear he’s also working with the riffraff of other Familias! A smith that fails to sell anything and a pitiful Supporter that needed to be rescued! A real ragtag group of misfits!”

Bell’s fists clenched on the table.

“Cool it.” Welf said while ignoring the loud Prum. “Let him get it outta his system.” Envy was a common thing among Adventurers, especially towards those that had managed to Level Up from those that hadn’t.

“Just ignore him, Master Bell.” Lili brushed off the other Prum’s words easily.

“Tch!” Luan scoffed that none of them were reacting. Deciding to go further and louder, he raised his voice even more. “It’s nothing more than a second in the limelight for a pathetic little Familia led by a useless Goddess that’s only known for her fat tits!”

Bell shot to his feet so fast that his chair clattered to the ground behind him. “Take that back!” His Skill Heroic Will activated in the face of the adversity being thrown at him. Luan nearly jumped back a full meter in panic as the secondary effect washed over him.

“S-See! You’re only acting like that because you know it’s true!” Luan stuttered over the first word before managing to get his bravado back.

Smack

The slap was loud in the quiet bar.

Luan hit the floor hard and held the cheek that had been slapped. Looking up he saw Lili standing over him, looking down at her fellow Prum with disgust. “Don’t talk about what you don’t know.” As a Level 2 to Luan’s Level 1, it was no surprise that Lili’s slap had knocked the male Prum to the ground.

“Bitch!”

“You asked for it!”

The men sitting at Luan’s table leapt to their feet and rushed towards Lili.

“Guah!” One of the men staggered backwards as a flagon smashed into his face and bloodied his nose.

Welf’s extended hand made it easy to figure out who’d thrown the flagon. “Whoops. I dropped my ale.”

“Son of a bitch!” The other guys were quickly back on the attack, fists raised to hit Welf and Lili.

The bar broke out into cheers at the fight.

“Whoop his ass!”

“Get in there!”

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”

The patrons got rowdy as they watched the brawl.

Bell caught the first punch thrown and slammed his knee into the gut of the man that had thrown it sending him crashing into the floor in pain.

“Come on then!” Another man came at Bell with his arm cocked back, only to jerk to a stop as Welf grabbed his arm and then decked him across the face. “Urk!”

Bell swiped the leg out from under the next man that came at him, sending him to the floor. A kick to the stomach send him sliding across the wood and into the wall.

“Give me somebody!” Welf challenged before grabbing the sloppy punch of one of the men and then tossing him over his shoulder into a firemen’s carry. A second later and the blacksmith threw the man into the stone wall with a grunt.

Luan tried to crawl away, not having the courage to fight face-to-face. “Gah!”

Lili kicked him in the side and sent him sprawling across the floor.

Bell kicked the first man that had tried to throw a punch into the wall. Why the man had gotten back up at all was a mystery given the difference in strength.

“Anybody else?!” Welf asked, both of his fists raised as he looked around.

“I’ll play along.” The last man from Luan’s table stood up. He was a tall young man who had an almost Elf-like beauty to him, if not for his human ears there might’ve been some confusion. His skin was smooth and white, almost feminine in appearance, and he had a somewhat lanky body. He had well-groomed long brown hair and bluish gray eyes. A second after he stood up he was in Welf’s face. Welf threw a punch, but the man caught it and slammed Welf to the floor with one hand.

“Welf!” Bell shot towards the man that had just put his friend on the ground and threw a punch.

The man threw his own punch and managed to sock Bell in the cheek.

“Hm?” The man blinked when instead of staggering backwards, Bell instead grabbed his still outstretched arm and then slammed his knee into his gut. “Grn!” He managed to take the blow and freed his arm from Bell’s grip. Three swift punches landed on Bell, but only one hit his face, the other two were blocked by Bell’s arms.

“Rah!” Bell struck back with a flurry of blows, like Tiona had taught him. The other man blocked the first two, redirected the third, but took the punch to the liver that he hadn’t seen coming.

“Mmgh.” The man slammed an uppercut into Bell’s chin and then a right cross broke through Bell’s guard to bloody his nose.

One of the patrons watching the fight spoke up in surprise. “I-Isn’t that ‘Phoebus Apollo’ Hyakinthos?”

“He’s Level 3, right?!” Another patron questioned.

‘Apollo?’ Lili thought to herself before looking down at the orange sigil on Luan’s black outfit. A bow and arrow with a stylized sun behind it. It was a mark that most of Orario knew by sight. “Apollo Familia?!”

“Seems the ‘Record Holder’ can at least fight a bit.” Hyakinthos mocked, able to shrug off most of the pain from Bell’s blows and hide his surprise at being almost matched by a Level 2. “I guess I’ll have to take you a little more seriously. Reflect on your poor choice of actions when your lying on the floor.”

Thunk

A single bar stool falling to the floor shattered the tension in the air like a rock smashing through a window.

All eyes turned to the bar stool, only to widened at the man that had pushed it over with his boot. That wasn’t surprising, given that the man in question was ‘Vanargand’ Bete Loga of Loki Familia, newly Leveled Up to Level 6. Even Hyakinthos Clio, Captain of the Apollo Familia, went completely still upon seeing the look in Bete’s eyes.

“You weaklings are killing my buzz.” Bete spoke at a normal volume, but everyone in the now silent bar heard him clearly. “Now, you can either shut up, or get the hell out.” He gave them all an ultimatum.

Hyakinthos lowered his fists and turned away from Bell as if he didn’t care about their interrupted fight. “I’m afraid I’ve lost interest.” He looked over at the other members of Apollo Familia that were staggering to their feet. “We’re leaving.” The Apollo Familia walked out (two of them having to be helped along by the others) and the doors closed behind them.

With the mood thoroughly killed, Bell wiped the blood from his nose with a paper towel and walked over to the bar. “Sorry for the trouble.” He said to the barkeep and placed a stack of Valis coins on the bar top. “Get him a drink on me.” He put down two more coins while motioning with his head towards Bete.

“Aye.” The barkeep nodded to Bell and collected the coins.

Bell, Lili, and Welf left the bar behind and headed back home.

“Stupid rabbit.” Bete scoffed even as his free drink was placed in front of him. He took a long pull and set the flagon back down as the chatter in the bar started up again. Only now it was filled with talk about what had just happened, including the fact that a fairly new Level 2 had stood up to the blows of a well-known Level 3 and even managed to fight back.

-Hestia Familia Home-

“What a naughty boy you’ve become, Bell.” Hestia teased as she gently looked him over for any lingering injuries from the bar fight. “Getting into fights at bars now… I thought you three were just going out to celebrate making it to Floor Fourteen?”

“Yes… But those guys were jerks. They said awful things about Welf and Lili, and even you, Hestia.” Bell looked at her, his rubellite eyes almost fiery with emotion.

“It makes me happy that you’re so willing to rush to my defense… But, I’d rather you not put yourself in needless danger.” Hestia gently cupped his face with her hands. “Next time, try to ignore them or laugh it off. Just remember, I wouldn’t want you to stoop to their level.” Her sapphire blue eyes overflowed with her love and concern for him.

Bell took a deep breath, held it, then then exhaled slowly. “Alright. I’ll remember that the next time something like this happens.” He promised her softly.

“That being said, those guys were from the Apollo Familia. Lili thinks it’s kind of odd that they’d go out of their way to provoke Bell like that.” Lili said as she thought about why not just Apollo Familia members, but the Captain of the Familia himself, would start a bar fight.

“Did you say, Apollo Familia?” Hestia looked at Lili with wide eyes.

Lili nodded to Hestia. “Lili saw their sigil and everything. The Captain, Hyakinthos, was even there. He’s the one that hurt Bell.”

Hestia grimaced, wondering what her brat nephew was playing at this time. “He better not be trying to pull something.”

“You mean Lord Apollo?” Bell asked curiously. “Is he not a respectable Deity?”

“He’s easily obsessed with anything that catches his attention.” Hestia sighed and rolled her eyes. “Once he locks his ‘passion’ onto something, he pursues it to the ends of the earth or until it becomes unobtainable to him.”

Lili looked a little concerned now. “Are we in trouble?”

Hestia slipped off her gloves and put them aside. “I can’t say for certain yet. But let’s update your Statuses, just to be safe.”

Bell pulled off his shirt and turned his back to face Hestia.

Hestia pricked her finger with a needle and let a single drop of her blood touch Bell’s back. The Falna appeared with a blue-white glow as always. Hestia was able to watch Bell’s fay in the Dungeon as well as the bar fight (since it counted as Excelia gain) and wondered just what Apollo might be up to after seeing everything. “Your hard work is really paying off, Bell.” She put a blank paper onto his back and copied the new update over before handing it to Bell.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 2

Strength – SS 1,090 > SS 1,188

Defense – S 985 > SS 1,079

Dexterity – SS 1,125 > SSS 1,240

Agility – SS 1,183 > SSS 1,297

Magic – SS 1,154 > SSS 1,264

-Magic-

Firebolt

Vesta Enhance

Enchant Magic – Incantation: ‘Rise’

(Increases all Basic Abilities for five minutes. Then can’t be cast for five minutes after the increase wears off. Effect rises based on the Magic Stat.)

Thunderbolt

-Skills-

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Dual Wield – Significantly increases Strength and Dexterity when wielding a weapon in each hand.

Argonaut – Executes automatically after charging from active actions.

Heroic Will – Raises Stats when the user refuses to give up in the face of adversity. Those with lower Stats see the user as near unassailable.

Dragon Slayer – Heavily increases all abilities when fighting Reptilian Monsters, massively increases all abilities when fighting Dragon Type Monsters, potentially making the user stronger than their actual Level when fighting them. Passive.

-Developmental Abilities-

Luck – I

Hunter – I

-Status-

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that there’s an ‘SSS’ too.” Bell chuckled quietly at his Status. “Thank you, Hestia.” He turned and kissed her lips softly.

“Mmm…” Hestia hummed lowly in approval before their lips separated. “You’re the one putting in all of the hard work, Bell.” With a happy smile, Hestia turned and faced Lili.

“Lili is ready.” Lili already had her shirt off and her back turned to Hestia.

Hestia touched Lili’s back with her lightly bloodied finger and the Falna rose up in blue-white light. Watching Lili’s Excelia, and her involvement in the bar fight made Hestia kiss the top of Lili’s head. “You told him.” The Goddess giggled at seeing Lili defend her honor.

Lili enjoyed the affection from her Goddess lover. “I wasn’t going to let that asshole talk about you like that.”

“Here you go, Lili.” Hestia handed the new Status Update to Lili while locking up her Falna.

-Status-

Liliruca Arde

Level 2

Strength – I 30 > I 36

Defense – I 26 > I 32

Dexterity – I 47 > I 59

Agility – I 32 > I 44

Magic – I 26 > I 40

-Magic-

Cinder Ella

Transformation Magic – Incantation: ‘Your wound is mine. My wound is mine. Echoing message of midnight.’

(Enables the user to transform into anything around their own size.)

-Skills-

Artel Assist – When the user is carrying a certain amount of weight, this skill will help compensate in abilities. The amount compensated depends on the weight.

Harvester - When breaking down monsters the user is more likely to acquire a Drop Item and higher quality ones too. Also enables the harvesting of other monster parts for material.

Merídio Range – User’s attacks with projectiles increase in both power and accuracy. The increase is proportional to how many of their Familia are with them.

-Developmental Ability-

Abnormal Resistance – I

-Status-

Lili looked over her growth and noticed that her three most used stats were now pulling away from the two she used least. “Same as when I was Level 1.” She knew it would happen, Prum’s weren’t normally know for overwhelming strength or endurance, but for being quick on their feet and good with weapons that they put in the time to learn.

The two Status Update papers were quickly burned and Hestia pulled Bell into a loving kiss. “Bedroom…” She wrapped her right leg over Bell’s hip. “You deserve a reward for defending me after all~”

“Always.” Bell promised as he kissed her again while his hands drifted down her back and took hold of her ass. With a light pull, he had Hestia off the floor and both of her legs wrapped around his hips.

“Lili too!” Hestia giggled as she made a ‘come hither’ motion with her finger and saw the other woman quickly follow after Bell as he carried her upstairs.

Once the three got to the master bedroom, Bell set Hestia on the bed. Hestia grinned sultrily at her lovers and undid the blue bow around her neck. With a giggle she stood up and pulled her minidress up and off her body, leaving her in nothing but her white panties. Her large tits bounced into view and she pushed them up a bit with her arms, making them look even bigger than they already were.

“Let me take care of you two~” Hestia purred as she slid her panties down her legs and kicked them off. Her hands quickly had Bell’s pants undone and pulled down before she gently pushed him back to sit on the edge of the bed. “Just as big and hot as always.” Hestia breathed out hotly against Bell’s cock. “Mmph!” She took him into her mouth eagerly and swirled her tongue around his length.

“Hestia…” Bell rumbled out his pleasure as his hand began to comb through her long, silky raven hair.

Lili grinned as she carefully took out Hestia’s favorite hair ties, letting their lover’s long locks free to cascade down her back. “You’re so beautiful, Hestia.” Lili kissed her Goddess’s shoulder and pressed her bare tits against Hestia’s back, the heat of their skin making Lili coo.

Hestia lathered Bell’s cock with her eager tongue, trailing up and down his length before taking him back into her mouth and bobbing her head, taking him deeper with every motion. “Gagk!” She gagged slightly as he entered her throat but only moaned at the sensation. Just as Bell thought that she’d start deepthroating him, Hestia pulled back and smiled up at him sexily. “I know you love my tits, Bell~” She trapped his hot length between her large, soft tits and moved them up and down, the tip of Bell’s dick poking out of the valley of Hestia cleavage.

“Yes~” Bell groaned in bliss of the heavenly bosom that was massaging his cock.

Lili mewled as she breathed in the tantalizing scent of sex that was slowly building in the room. “You like Hestia’s tits on your cock, Master Bell~?” She teased with a sinfully sexy voice.

Bell’s free hand began to softly run through her hair. “Yes, Lili…” He groaned lowly again. “They’re so soft.”

“Mhmm~” Hestia moaned as she worked her girls all over Bell’s cock. “Cum for me, Bell… All over me~” She moved her head to kiss the tip of his cock between her tits.

Bell’s hips bucked and his first load of the night covered Hestia’s face with the first shot. The second covered her lips and tongue as she opened wide to catch the hot seed. The third and fourth shots absolutely glazed Hestia’s tits in the thick cum before Bell’s half-hard cock slipped free of Hestia’s divine bosom.

Lili and Hestia kissed each other, their tongues visible as they shared Bell’s cum between them. With a sexy purr, Lili began to lick Hestia’s tits clean of Bell’s seed, only to kiss Hestia again and share more.

Bell watched this with lidded eyes, his cock twitching as it quickly came back to full mast.

“Mmm, Lili~” Hestia moaned as Lili’s sucked on her nipples, cleaning her of more cum which the Prum eagerly swallowed. “I’m supposed to be rewarding you…”

Lili pulled back, French kissing Hestia one more time before pulling back. “Lili knows what she wants for her reward.” The devilish smile on her lips made Hestia shiver in phantom pleasure. “Master Bell will make love to Lili while she’s on top of Hestia, and after he fills Lili up…” She locked her eyes with Bell’s. “Then Hestia can lick Lili clean~”

“Yes…” Hestia breathed out, her entire body getting hotter, if that was even possible.

Lili barely had time to slip her skirt and panties off before Bell had picked her up and kissed her deeply. Hestia crawled onto the bed, making sure to sway her sexy ass side to side for Lili and Bell’s viewing pleasure. She lay on her back and Bell laid Lili on top of their Goddess. The two women kissed again, slowly, languidly as Bell played with Lili’s ass, making the Prum mewl and moan.

“Ready, Lili?” Bell asked, already rubbing the head of his cock against her drenched pussy.

“Yes… Master Bell~” Lili pressed herself back against him eagerly. “Inside~ Lili wants it so bad.” Bell didn’t waste any time and eased himself into her tight heat in one long, continuous thrust. “OOOOHHHH~” Lili moaned and had a minigasm just from being joined with Bell again. The fact that her soft body was pressing and molding against Hestia’s equally soft and supple body just made it even better.

It was only the beginning of a long, long night of pleasure for the three of them.

A good thing that the Party had agreed to take a day off tomorrow, for sure.

-End Chapter-

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Bell’s Party has returned to the Middle Levels! Yeah!

They’re doing pretty damn good too! A lucky encounter with a Wyvern, combined with Lili’s Harvester Skill and Bell’s Luck Developmental Ability nets them a large amount of Drop Items and a nice payday!

When they don’t get Pass Paraded or fall into a Dungeon Gimmick, things work out pretty nicely, huh? Kek!

Landlord Hestia has approved a bunch of new residents for the Hearth District! Woohoo! The influence of the Hestia Familia continues to grow within Orario!

But, while Lili, Welf, and Bell celebrate making it to Floor Fourteen, a certain group makes asses of themselves! Oh, joy…

This time, however, it wasn’t a one-sided beating! Bell’s much stronger than he was at this point in Canon! Hyakinthos takes a few blows of his own and is surprised by Bell’s ability to almost stay even with him!

Bete tells them all to fuck off for killing his buzz! But Bell makes another good impression by paying the barkeep for the disturbance and even buying Bete a drink.

Then he goes home to Hestia with Lili and his Goddess wonders what her brat of a nephew is trying to pull!

But…for defending her honor, Bell and Lili get a ‘reward’~! Hehehe!

What comes next for Hestia Familia?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!