Baihu Familia Premise Chapter 1 (Patreon)

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you a brand-new story! It’s Danmachi again! Once more we dive into a world where Bell grows up a little differently. A world in which Hestia never descends to Gekai. A world where a different Deity from a different Pantheon takes Bell in. A Bell that learns, uses, and masters a different skillset than Canon and chases his dreams with it, to one day become the Hero that he knows that he can be!

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THIS IS ALL SECRETARY OF DEFENSE KYROS VASERA’S FAULT!!! BLAME HIM FOR USING HIS TIER REWARDS TO GET OUT FIRST CHAPTERS OF DANMACHI IDEAS!!!

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 1 – Heroic Dreams meet the Tiger of the West

In a small farming village in the mountains, there lived a grandfather and his grandson.

But while the boy was a normal child, aside from his snow-white hair and deep rubellite eyes, the grandfather was anything but ordinary. In fact, the old man was a Deity. Zeus, the sky father and King of the Gods of the Olympian Pantheon. After losing everything to the last of the Three Great Quests, the One-Eyed Black Dragon, and then being banished from Orario, Zeus had only this little infant, left to him by the boy’s mother in her final moments. The boy’s name, given to him by his mother, was Bell Cranel.

After leaving Orario, Zeus had made a home for himself and Bell in the remote and rural village, having introduced himself as the infant Bell’s grandfather. From then on, the Deity in disguise as a mere mortal man settled into a life of simplicity and manual labor.

Bell grew up normally enough, but already Zeus noticed some innate talent in his grandson in the early years of his young life. Bell had learned to walk rather quickly once his body had grown enough to handle the activity. He spent very little time toddling around after his grandfather and was walking steadily far faster than any other child in the village that was even close to his age. Zeus taught Bell to speak, and the toddler picked it up quickly. Teaching him to read was the same way. The young child became fascinated with Heroic Tales, reading through every book that his grandfather had and then the ones his grandpa wrote and drew himself.

When Bell was old enough, Zeus put him to work around the village, just like the other children. Bell gathered firewood, hauled water, tended the fields, helped with the smaller livestock, and whatever else needed to be done around the little village. Everything was slow and idyllic, a quiet life filled with simple joys and daily labors. It was that way until Bell, at six-years-old, had been attacked by a Goblin.

The small, green Monster had been scrounging around the forest at the edge of the village while Bell had been gathering firewood. The Goblin had screeched and charged at Bell, but the boy struggled against the small Monster. Kicking at it, guarding against its little claws, and occasionally landing a flailing punch to it. The attack ended when Zeus had charged the Goblin with a farming hoe and nearly took the Monster’s head off with it. The dead Goblin lay in the dirt as the young Bell held onto his grandfather with tears in his rubellite eyes.

“You looked good out there, Bell.” Zeus smiled down at the boy, gently patting Bell’s back. “You got hurt a bit…could hardly believe it. But you held your ground. You didn’t lose to that Monster. Be proud.”

“I…I want to be someone like you, someone strong like you.” Bell sniffled into his grandpa’s shirt. “I want to become my own hero.”

“That’s all?” The old man chuckled, kneeling down to be at eye-level with Bell. “Too low, too low! If an old geezer like me is your goal, aim for something even bigger!” Zeus encouraged the young boy.

“Would you be happy if I became a Hero like them?” Bell looked at his grandpa, the tears in his rubellite eyes had stopped for now.

“But of course!” His grandpa smiled brightly. “You’re my pride and joy and always will be.” Zeus gently ruffled the boy’s white hair. “So, don’t worry about making these old bones happy.” That same wide grin, filled with both cheer and a bit of mischief, made Bell smile in return. “Real men chase after ladies’ butts! Rescue the damsels in distress! Show off! Always face forward!” He chuckled at the bright smile that appeared on Bell’s face. “If it’s for the women that you fall in love with, whether it’s becoming a Hero or whatever else…you can do anything. After all, you’re my grandson that I’m so proud of.”

“Yes!” Bell cheered, hugging his grandpa. The old man hugged him back, giving full support to the boy’s dream. “But…how do I become a Hero? The ones in the stories are strong and smart, they’re warriors and stuff.”

“Then we’ll have to train you up so that you can be strong, right?” Zeus chuckled, only to burst into laughter at Bell’s excited nodding.

Bell’s ‘training’ consisted of helping more around the farming village they lived in. Tending the fields, helping with the animals, carrying water, gathering firewood, and helping with the harvest in the autumn. The only thing different from what the other children were doing was the sheer amount of what Bell was carrying, hauling, chopping, and tending to. When the daily labor was done, Bell would learn the basics of fighting from his grandpa. Well…it started more as play-fighting with the two wrestling around, but Bell learned from the roughhousing, rather than formal instruction. As he got older though, his grandpa made sure that the basics were properly drilled into him.

“Oh ho?!” Zeus chuckled as Bell nearly swept his foot. “So, you’ve already memorized that move too, eh?”

Truly, Bell was like a sponge when it came to learning. Especially anything physical that related to the body and how to move it. Anything the white-haired boy was taught, he picked up quickly and worked hard to master. He was already memorizing all of the footwork, strikes, blocks, and kicks that Zeus was showing him. Then it only took a bit of sparring for the young Bell to figure out how best to apply them.

‘Truly an interesting talent, if a bit more limited than your aunt’s was.’ Zeus thought to himself as he blocked a punch, sidestepped a kick, and then broke a grapple before Bell could establish his hold. ‘You’ll become a true Hero one day, Bell… I know you can do it.’

As Bell grew up, his physical talent only continued to grow along with everything he learned and practiced. It got to the point that by the time of Bell turning ten-years-old, the boy could even best his grandpa in their spars. Seeing that Bell had learned all that he could teach him when it came to hand-to-hand combat, Zeus introduced the boy to weapons next.

That…hadn’t been as successful.

Bell could use tools, quite well, in fact. But beyond the basics of fighting with weapons, he seemed to hit a wall. Despite being limber and flexible, practicing as much as possible, and being more than strong enough to wield whatever weapon Zeus was showing him, Bell never improved much beyond the basics when it came to weapons. It eventually came to a head where Bell felt like he’d failed his dream already. But Zeus knew how to snap his grandson out of that funk before it became a depression.

“Punch the rock.” Zeus motioned towards a large boulder that sat near the edge of the village. It was part of the mountain that had fallen long ago and came to rest here against some trees on the flat land that the village was built on.

Bell blinked once before looking between the boulder and his grandpa. “What?”

“Punch the rock as hard as you can.” Zeus said again, his expression unchanging.

“Okay…” Bell agreed, wondering why his grandpa was asking him to do this. ‘I’m not good with weapons, so it’s not like I can be a Hero.’ So many of the Heroic Tales he enjoyed had great Heroes that held their greatswords aloft in victory after triumphing over a terrible evil. With his lack of skill with weapons, that was just a dream far out of reach.

‘You’ll see, Bell. Weapons aren’t the be all and end all for a Hero.’ Zeus watched as his grandson set his stance and chambered his fist.

“HYAH!!!” Bell slammed his fist into the boulder as hard as he could, long past the point where things like potential pain or injury would make him hesitate.

Crack

Bell’s eyes widened as he felt the stone give way to his fist. Small pebbles fell from the boulder beneath his fist and cracks a few centimeters long had spread out from the point of impact. Pulling back his fist, Bell looked at the damage that he’d done to the boulder. A small dent, one vaguely in the shape of his fist, now marred the face of the large rock that had been sitting in this place longer than anyone knew.

“Do you understand now, Bell?” Zeus asked his grandson with a proud smile.

Bell looked between his fist and the damaged boulder. “I think so…”

Zeus patted Bell’s back and guided him back towards their cabin home with a chuckle.

‘Maybe I don’t need a weapon to be a Hero after all?’ Bell thought to himself as the light and fire of his determination was rekindled in his rubellite eyes. He clenched his fist tightly in front of him. ‘All I need are my fists and all the hard work that I can put in!’

By the time Bell was in his early teens, he had a defined body, built up from the rigorous years of farmwork and sparring. He wasn’t some bodybuilder with hyper-defined musculature and bulk though. No, Bell possessed a martial artist’s body, fit, strong, and with a healthy amount of body fat over his muscles. When he wasn’t working around the village, he could often be found practicing his fighting or just reading his books of Heroic Tales. When Monsters came around (almost always Goblins) Bell had started dealing with them himself nowadays, using them to test his progress.

“Grahkh!” A Goblin cried out as its arm was broken. The green Monster had tried to claw Bell, only for its arm to be caught, twisted, and then snapped. Its cry was silenced as Bell’s fist slammed into its face with enough force to nearly cave it in.

Surface Monsters were, on average, said to be about three times weaker than their counterparts in the world’s only Dungeon. But they were still Monsters, and most people used weapons to make it easier to deal with them. The oldest ones, ones that were still alive after escaping from the Dungeon in the Ancient Times, were the biggest threats to the daily lives of the people. Thankfully, such Monsters had been mostly wiped out after the Deities had descended and started giving their Blessings to Mortals to fight back against the Monsters. The Goblins that Bell dealt with were merely offshoots, the descendants of the Monsters that hadn’t been wiped out initially and had instead started splitting their finite Magic Stones to produce their own ‘offspring’ on the surface.

“Grrrr!”

“Gah!

“Rrrraaagghh!”

Three more Goblins rushed at Bell and the young teen only watched their movements closely. A front kick sent the fastest Goblin flying backwards with a cry of pain. Pivoting let Bell dodge the claws of the second one and slam his elbow down on its skull. The crack that followed was audible and the Goblin went still as it fell to the ground, dead. The final Goblin’s hands were caught by Bell’s and the teen slammed his knee into the short green Monster’s chest, caving it in and killing the Goblin. The first Goblin proved to still be alive as it struggled to get up with its injuries. Bell stomped on its head and finished it off before it could get back to its feet.

“Even four isn’t really a challenge anymore.” Bell hummed to himself as he pulled out his knife and set about cutting out the tiny fragments of Magic Stones these surface Monsters had in their chests. It was actually rather rare that multiple Goblins would show up at all. This was the first time since last year, in fact. More often than not, it was a single Goblin that was scrounging around the mountain forest for whatever food it could find.

By doing this fighting against the occasional Monster, Bell was slowly filling up a small pouch with the tiny slivers of Magic Stones that the Goblins possessed. They probably weren’t worth much, given the size, but Bell did dream of one day heading for Orario to become a Hero, and having even these small Stones to cash in would be better than not having them.

-Years Later-

A devastated Bell nearly collapsed into the chair near the fireplace in the cabin he and his grandpa called home.

The Village Headman had come to deliver terrible news to him. His grandfather, the only family he had in the world, was gone. Their hunting party had been caught up in a small landslide and his grandfather had pushed the other men to safety, only to then be caught up in the moving earth and carried over a cliff. The deep ravine below had a fast-flowing river too, which prevented the men from being able to find the older man’s body.

Bell had felt hollow for hours after receiving the news. In his mind, he kept running through different scenarios. He should’ve gone with them. If he was there, then he could’ve saved his grandpa…he could’ve…he could’ve done something…. In this state of grief and cyclical thinking, running through ‘what ifs’ and ‘I should haves’, interspersed with bouts of tears and deep sadness that made it hard to get out of bed in the mornings; Bell slowly mourned for the loss of his grandfather, the only person he had in the world. His family was gone.

Coming to terms with this new reality sparked a new desire in Bell Cranel. If he was the last of his family, then he’d have to find a new one, and make his own one day.

‘Follow your dream, Bell! Women love Heroes!’ His grandfather’s voice rang out in his mind, bringing the first small smile back to Bell’s face since he’d received the horrible news. For all of his grandpa’s noble qualities, the man was an unrepentant pervert and appreciator of the female form. Life slowly returned to Bell’s rubellite eyes as he remembered his grandfather. Slowly, but surely, Bell stopped focusing solely on the loss of his grandpa and started to celebrate the man’s life. He’d been with Bell for as long as the young man could remember and had made his life fun and taught him so much. There was far more to smile about than the loss of the kind, old man could overshadow.

“I’m going to do it, grandpa.” Bell decided, looking at the few books that his grandfather had left him, all of them Heroic Tales. “I’m going to be a Hero!”

Over the next few days, Bell had made arrangements with the other villagers, selling off the various tools and things that he wouldn’t need and even selling the cabin that he had called home his entire life. The money should be enough to buy him a ride to Orario at the nearest town, which was on a well-traveled trade route.

The morning that Bell left, he took only a good-sized rucksack with him, filled with mementos that he considered precious.

Bam

The villagers were startled awake by a loud crash that morning.

Several of the men got dressed quickly and took up weapons, thinking that a Monster might be about. But as the men scoured the village in the direction the sound had come from, they found nothing. There was no Monster. The source of the sound was found though.

“By the Gods…” The Village Headman uttered out in shock at what he saw. Several of the other men echoed his surprise in various way.

The large boulder that had stood at the very edge of the village, more in the forest really, was pock marked with indentations and cracks from young Bell’s fists over the years. Everyone in their small village knew that. But what they saw now was far different.

The boulder had split in two!

A larger indentation than any of the others rested square in the middle of the huge stone. A crack had split the boulder vertically and the two sides had fallen to the ground, which explained the loud sound earlier.

Meanwhile, Bell was walking away from the mountain he’d lived on all his life, his rucksack tossed over his shoulder and a small smile on his face as he headed for the town across the woodland and the flatlands beyond.

-Weeks Later ~ Dungeon City, Orario-

Bell had been traveling with a merchant caravan for the last couple of weeks from his remote farming village. He’d bought passage on a merchant convoy headed for the Dungeon City easily enough, thankfully. Along the way, Bell had demonstrated his worth by dealing with almost every Monster that the traveling merchants came across, often times even faster than their hired guards. He kept those tiny Magic Stones as well, adding them to the small pouch he’d saved up many slivers of Stones in already.

“Finally here.” Bell grinned up at Babel Tower, standing imposingly in the center of the sprawling, walled city.

Orario was everything that Bell had imagined and more! So many people of all different Races and cultures! Humans, Prums, Beastmen of more types than Bell knew existed, Dwarves, Elves, Amazons, and so many beautiful women too!

His grandpa may have rubbed off on him over the years.

“All right…now, I just have to find a Familia and then register as an Adventurer, according to the guards at the gate.” Bell mumbled to himself as he started walking down the large street. The various Deities that called Orario home were spread out, having homes wherever they pleased, apparently. Now it was just a matter of finding them.

Several minutes later and Bell realized that finding Deities in Orario wasn’t that hard at all.

“You should join my Familia.” A God said with a grin. The Deity looked rather slovenly, his clothes wrinkled and messed up, as if he’d slept in them.

Another God pushed the first one aside. “No, no, join my Familia. I’ll treat you better.” He didn’t look any better than the first Deity, unkempt and looked as if he barely took care of himself.

“Forget these two, I’ll use the money you make to treat us to good food and drink!” A third God, still looking disheveled and wearing threadbare clothes, offered with a grin while the other two immediately retorted that they’d do the same.

Bell held his hands in front of him as the three Deities argued with each other. They’d practically stumbled out of the alley that Bell had been passing by, seen him, and immediately made offers. Normally, Bell would’ve been thrilled at receiving so many offers before he’d even made it to the Guild’s main building to register as an Adventurer. ‘But these guys smell like alcohol and don’t look like they have a Familia at all. How do you reject offers from Deities?’

A sudden shift in the air quickly brought the solution to Bell’s problems. A golden light shone from an old man of average height that was walking towards Bell and the three slovenly Gods. He had grey-white hair that reached his shoulders, a well-trimmed mustache and a matching beard that flowed freely to around his collarbone. His slightly wrinkled face was set in a stern look that was directed entirely at the three arguing Deities. His clothing, simple black pants with a white robe over top that was held closed by a black cloth belt and a long-sleeved, yellow long jacket with black cloth along the hems and edges that reached down to just past his knees was blowing about slightly from the light the new Deity was releasing.

“Tsk! How unsightly.” The elder God said to the previously arguing three Deities. “Are you fighting amongst yourselves in order to take in this one person?” He looked at Bell briefly before turning his sharp gaze back on the three lay about Gods. “Instead of letting the young man choose for himself, you three squabble and argue without a care for what the child wants.”

The three other Deities looked properly chastised as they backed away from Bell and either looked off to the side or at the ground. The slightest release of the elder God’s Divinity made them realize that the old man was more than willing to smack them upside the head like unruly children if they argued with him or tried to deny what they’d just been doing.

The old man stopped between Bell and the three Gods. He looked Bell in the eye for a long moment, as if examining his very existence with just his eyes alone. The Divinity that he’d been releasing died down and Bell felt himself relax. The two held each other’s gaze for a long moment before the old man gave Bell a small smile and a little nod. “Ah, and this child that caused you three to be in such an uproar.” The elder God turned to look at the three slovenly Deities over his shoulder. All three looked at him confused at what he might say about the strong-looking young man. “If I take up one side, the divide between you will only worsen, so I shall take him myself. Ahem.” The old man stated with a slightly smug look on his face.

The next second and he’d guided Bell away and they’d disappeared into the crowd.

“We’ve been had!” The first of the three lay about Gods cried out a second later.

“That sly old geezer!” The second held his head in his hands in frustration.

The third just stared at where Bell and the elder God had been in shock at being tricked so easily.

Bell and the old man walked down the street side by side. The old man had his hand behind his back as he strolled along, seemingly without a care. Bell looked over at the God twice before he spoke. “Thank you for helping me back there.”

“Think nothing of it, young man.” The elder God said with a small smile. “Orario has plenty of Deities living here, someone new to the city like you doesn’t need to get involved with lay about Gods like those three.”

“I’m Bell Cranel.” Bell introduced himself politely to the God. “May I have the honor of knowing your name, Lord?”

The old man nodded to himself once. “You have good manners, I like that.” He complimented Bell with a smile. “I’m Baihu, the Celestial White Tiger of the West, one of the Four Symbols, a Sacred Beast God.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Lord Baihu.” Bell gave Baihu a polite bow.

“The pleasure is mine, Bell.” Baihu said as they continued walking. “I’ll escort you to wherever it is that you’re heading. No other Deities like those three should bother you that way.”

Bell smiled at that. “Thank you for taking the trouble, Lord Baihu.”

“Not a problem, Bell.” Baihu assured him as they continued walking. “So, what brings a young man like yourself to Orario?”

“Well…” Bell began what would be a rather lengthy conversation as they continued on their way towards the Guild.

-Later-

“Heroism and Family, eh?” Baihu had an approving smile on his face. “Very good goals for a young man to have.” It was a far cry better than a good number of the Adventurers he’d seen in his years living in Orario. For every good intentioned person like Bell, there were far more that had bad intentions or just purely selfish intentions in mind when becoming an Adventurer. “Would you like to join my Familia, Bell? It’s been a while since I’ve had any ‘children’, but you’re definitely the type of young man that I’d like to help grow and achieve great things.”

Bell blinked at the sudden offer before he smiled and bowed to Baihu respectfully. “Yes, Lord Baihu, I would be honored.”

“Excellent!” Baihu laughed warmly at Bell’s acceptance. “You have an immense amount of potential, Bell. I’ll do my absolute best to bring it out.” He changed the direction of their walk by taking a turn down a side street. “Let’s head home before you go to the Guild. I’ll give you my Falna first so that you can register as an Adventurer while you’re there.”

“Yes, sir.” Bell agreed as he followed after Baihu.

The place that Baihu stopped at was a mid-sized, though still spacious, compound surrounded by a high stone wall. The gate was strong, thick wood with a tiled roof and a sign hung from it naming the compound as the ‘White Tiger Pavilion’. Baihu opened the right side gate with one hand, surprising Bell that the slight frame of his soon-to-be God was capable of such strength.

As they entered, Baihu closed the gate behind Bell, and then took him on a brief tour of the compound. “That’s the main house, of course.” He pointed out the largest building, a wood and mortar construction with a tiled roof and the wood frame and pillars painted a dark red color. “The training hall is over there.” He pointed to the second largest building in a similar style to the first. “The storeroom is that building.” Baihu pointed at a large building with thick stone walls and a heavy door that looked to be locked tight. “The training field is what we’re walking through right now.” The God pointed out the wide open space they were in. “The garden in in the back and has a pagoda to relax in whenever you’d like.”

Bell took in all of his new home with wondrous eyes. But as he got closer, he noticed that several of the walls could use a little replastering to fix small cracks. The red paint on the wood was peeling or missing in small spots on some of the pillars as well. ‘I haven’t seen anyone else since we got here. Lord Baihu also said that it’s been a while since he’s had anyone in his Familia. I guess it’s to be expected that some deterioration would happen over time.’

The two entered the home and Bell smiled at the well-kept and clean interior. Baihu showed him the kitchen, the living area, the bathrooms, the back deck that lead out into the garden, a small pond and garden surrounded a three-level pagoda and looked to be mostly maintained, a small bit of overgrowth noticeable here and there. Baihu then showed Bell the various bedrooms. Bell picked out one near the end of the hall and put his ruck sack in it, and then Baihu led him towards his office.

“Sit, sit, I’ll just need to see your bare back so that I can give you my Blessing.” Baihu motioned towards a table with four chairs around it on one side of his office.

Bell sat in reverse on one of the chairs, resting his arms on top of the backrest after pulling off his brown jacket and black shirt. “I’m ready, Lord Baihu.”

“Just hold still, Bell. This won’t take long.” Baihu said as he drew a drop of blood from his index finger with a golden needle. As soon as the blood touched Bell’s back, a blue-white light glowed from his skin. Baihu had plenty of experience giving his Blessing, so he quickly got to work writing in the hieroglyphs. A place for Bell’s name, his Level, Basic Abilities, Magic, Skills, and a place for Developmental Abilities in the future. Once everything was in place, Baihu drew the symbol of his Falna upon Bell’s back: a tiger in profile with its head turned to face the viewer. With the Blessing complete, Baihu let the tiniest fragment of his Divinity enter the Falna and watched it turn into sharp black lines, now looking like a masterful tattoo upon Bell’s back. “One more moment, Bell…” Baihu placed a blank paper onto Bell’s back and with a tap of his finger, the Status copied over. “Here you are, Bell.” He handed the paper over while locking up Bell’s Falna securely, making the tattoo-like mark seemingly sink into Bell’s skin, leaving his back bare once more.

“Thank you very much, Lord Baihu.” Bell accepted the paper and looked at his Status for the first time.

 -Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 0

Endurance – I 0

Dexterity – I 0

Agility – I 0

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“So this is what a Status looks like.” Bell marveled at the paper, even though it was brand new with nothing on it, this was his Falna.

“Indeed, it is.” Baihu nodded with a chuckle as Bell turned around in the chair to face him. “It will grow and become more impressive as you work hard in the Dungeon.”

Bell bowed to Baihu as best as he could while sitting in the chair across from his new God. “Thank you very much, Lord Baihu.”

Baihu chuckled at the politeness, much like a grandfather might at their grandson being formal. “Well, there’s plenty of time left in the day. Head to the Guild to get your registration complete and then come back. I’d like to test your skills in the dojo to get an idea of where you stand and what I can teach you. After that, we’ll look at some gear that I still have from before, and find what suits you best.”

Bell knew the basics of what had happened to Baihu’s Familia in the past from their long conversation on the way to the White Tiger Pavilion. Baihu had once had a mid-sized Familia with almost three dozen members or so. But Orario, like any city in the world, had it’s ups and down in terms of peace and stability. Many years ago, the Baihu Familia had gotten caught up in one such prolonged conflict and their numbers had dwindled away after countless skirmishes and battles. Eventually there had been no one left, Baihu Familia had no one left to fight against, and no one to do any fighting. Just another one of the many Familias that had been brought low and left with no one in the long history of Orario.

“I’ll return shortly, Lord Baihu.” Bell said as he stood up and left the room. He was out of the house and then outside the gate in short order. He was excited to get registered and become an Adventurer. It was the next step on his path to becoming a Hero!

-Guild-

“Hello, how may I help you today?” The Cat Girl behind the counter asked politely.

“Hello, I’m new to Orario and I wanted to become an Adventurer.” Bell informed her with a polite tone. He tried not to stare at her cute ears, even when they flicked adorably.

“Ah, I see, well we’ll need to get the paperwork done to register you.” The Cat Girl reached under the desk and pulled out a set of forms. “Do you have a Familia yet?”

Bell nodded to the woman with a smile. “Lord Baihu accepted me and made me the Captain of his Familia.”

“All right then, please fill out these forms.” The Cat Girl gave him a polite smile before placing an odd item on the counter. “If you could, please place your hand on this so that we may confirm your Falna.” She placed a flat wooden tablet with what looked like a crystal set into it on the counter.

“What’s that?” Bell looked at the device curiously.

“A Divinity Sensor.” The woman explained patiently. “If you place your hand on it without having a Falna, nothing happens. If you do have a Falna, the crystal lights up for a few moments. We can’t let unblessed people enter the Dungeon, because it’s basically suicide. I’m sure you understand?” That particular rule had been put in place after several hundred deaths over the years from unblessed people filling the role of Supporter.

“That makes sense.” Bell nodded and placed his hand on the device. A second later and the crystal lit up with a light blue glow for several seconds.

“Falna, confirmed.” The Cat Girl nodded and began helping Bell finish the paperwork for his registration. When he got to the line for Familia, Bell happily wrote ‘Baihu Familia’ onto the blank line of the form.

Once the paperwork was done, Bell asked where he could sell Magic Stones that he’d collected from surface Monsters.

“That would be at the Exchange over there.” The Cat Girl pointed out an area of the Guild lined with windows where Adventurers could turn in their loot for Valis. “You can do that now while I get an Advisor set up for you. Do you have any preference on who you’d like to advise you?”

“Um…” Bell thought about it and looked slightly off to the side. “Maybe a woman?”

The Cat Girl grinned at him and wrote his preference down before heading to the back.

While he waited, Bell headed over to the Exchange and found an empty window. He emptied his pouch of tiny Magic Stones into the tray at the instruction of the man behind the glass and then pushed it onto the man’s side.

The man quickly collected the tiny Stones and weighed them. After making a few marks in his ledger, he placed some coins into the tray and pushed it back to Bell’s side. “Your Magic Stones were worth 1,964 Valis; please, have a nice day.”

With some money in his pocket, Bell bought a map of the Upper Floors to look at while he waited for his new Advisor to be decided on.

-Advisor Offices-

“Rose, I’ve got a new Adventurer for you.” The Cat Woman peaked her head into the Senior Advisor’s cubicle.

Rose Fannet was a beautiful Werewolf woman with long, dark red hair that went down to the small of her back with matching red wolf ears atop her head and an equally red-furred wolf tail behind her. She had golden eyes that were sharp, but guarded. Her soft-looking skin was free of any blemish on her light complexion. She wore the standard Guild uniform, a pair of black dress pants, a tucked in white button-up shirt with long sleeves with a grey bowtie, a black vest over that, and black leather shoes on her feet. Her very curvy figure filled out the uniform in amazing ways too. She also wore black gloves on her hands like a lot of the Guild’s employees did, as it kept their hands from getting stained by ink from all the writing they had to do to keep records and fulfill the day-to-day functions of Orario.

“Hah…” Rose exhaled, not wanting to take on a new Adventurer. “Can’t you give them to Misha, or Sophie, or Anna?” Any of the other female advisors would be preferable in her opinion.

“Rose, it’s just one new Adventurer, and you have empty spaces on your roster.” Rehmer, a Chienthrope man with light brown hair and a pair of small glasses, said as he had overheard the conversation. “You passed on every other Adventurer for a while now, all the regular Advisors’ rosters are full.” He looked at Rose pointedly.

“Yes, sir.” Rose had no choice but to accept. Rehmer was the Guild Section Leader, he outranked all of the Advisors and Senior Advisors. With a sigh under her breath, Rose accepted the paperwork that Bell had filled out and looked it over. After familiarizing herself with the basic information, she pulled out an empty folder and wrote ‘Bell Cranel’ at the top before putting the paperwork into it. “Let’s get this over with.” She grabbed the teaching materials for the Upper Floors on her way out of her cubicle and went to find Bell in the lobby.

-Lobby-

“Are you Bell Cranel?” Rose asked as she spotted the white-haired young man sitting on one of the many couches on one side of the Guild and looking over a map of the Upper Floors.

Bell perked up and smiled at the pretty Werewolf woman. “Yes ma’am, that’s me.”

“I’m Rose Fannet, I’ll be your Advisor here at the Guild.” Rose introduced herself with a professional tone. “Please come with me, there’s a mandatory course that all new Adventurers have to take before they head into the Dungeon.”

Bell followed Rose to a private consultation room and sat in the seat that she pointed out. Books and a binder were set on the table by Rose before she began the lesson on the Dungeon. Bell followed along, asking for paper and a pen to take notes, and did his best to learn everything that Rose was saying. It was a longer lesson than Bell expected, but Rose taught him about the first twelve floors of the Dungeon. She taught him about all of the Monsters that spawned in them, what a Pantry was and why it was best to avoid it, the known Dungeon Gimmicks of the Upper Floors, Drop Items, Materials, and even gave a few recommendations for armor, weapons, and other gear that Bell should look into picking up to increase his odds of survival.

The thing that Bell noticed, even through all of the new information filling his brain, was the professional, almost detached, way that Rose spoke the entire time. It was as if she wasn’t invested in her job as his Advisor at all, despite the fact that she was teaching him so thoroughly.

“That’s the end of the lesson.” Rose said once she’d gone over everything required. “Come to me at the end of each day that you go into the Dungeon so that I can take down your report for the day.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Bell nodded to her. “Thank you for teaching me so much.”

Rose waved off his thanks and picked up the books and binder before leaving the room.

Bell followed after her a second later, carrying his notes that he’d made, until they parted ways at the lobby. With everything taken care of, Bell left the Guild and made his way home to the White Tiger Pavilion to tell Baihu that he’d successfully registered as an Adventurer.

-White Tiger Pavilion ~ Dojo-

Baihu would admit to being impressed by Bell. The young man that he’d helped out and then offered a place in his Familia, also had some incredible talent in the Martial Arts it seemed. Bell moved well, he watched, predicted, and countered, all with a fluidity that spoke of real experience. Already, Bell was picking up on the basics of the style that Baihu was using against him after having only been sparring for a while. That he could already apply what he’d seen in their spar was nothing short of impressive.

“Not like that, Bell.” Baihu knocked Bell to the ground with a well-placed strike. “You’re not trying to throw your opponent in this style. You’re striking them with force and looking to break bone, injure muscles, and damage organs.”

“Yes, sir.” Bell hopped up from the floor quickly and took up his stance again. The style that Baihu was showing him was already looking like a great addition to his fighting and he couldn’t wait to learn even more!

Baihu got his first look at the talent that Bell possessed for the next few hours. Everything he showed Bell was quickly copied. Anything he explained was absorbed, even if Bell needed to ask some questions about it. Only the elder God’s VASTLY greater experience allowed him to continuously keep the upper hand against the young man that had never even heard of these styles or techniques before today.

Baihu chuckled as Bell laid on the mats, sweating and taking in long, slow breaths. “I believe that’s enough for today, Bell.” The old man had his hands behind his back as he looked down at the young man.

“Yes…sir.” Bell agreed between breaths. “Thank you…very much…for the lessons.”

“Of course, you’ll go through this many times a week until I think you’ve learned enough.” Baihu promised the young man. “I’ll be teaching you Hǔ Zhǎo Pài (Tiger Claw Style), Hēihǔquán (Black Tiger Fist), and Bajiquan (Eight Extremities Fist) to expand your Marital Arts.”

“Right.” Bell sat up, feeling the aches in his body from being beaten around over and over again for the past few hours.

“After we have dinner, I’ll tell you some Heroic Tales from the East, if you’d like.” Baihu offered, knowing that Bell enjoyed them from their previous chat.

“Really?!” Bell’s rubellite eyes nearly sparkled at getting to hear new Heroic Tales from such distant lands.

“Really.” Baihu laughed at Bell’s excitement. “Go on.” He playfully shooed the young man away and watched as Bell left the dojo to go wash up.

-Next Morning-

“It looks good on you, Bell.” Baihu nodded at the clothing that Bell was wearing. Black pants that were loose enough for Bell to use his full flexibility and range of motion with his legs, but durable enough to qualify as light armor on their own. A matching black traditional long-sleeve martial arts shirt made from the same material as the pants providing Bell protection without cumbersome weight or metal that might limit his movements. His boots had also been replaced with durable shoes, the material similar to the clothing, that Baihu assured him would protect his feet better than the simple leather boots he’d been wearing.

Bell looked himself over in the full body mirror and patted the new cloth armor down once. “I like it.” He smiled at his reflection. Even without any experience, Bell could tell this cloth wasn’t normal. It was comfortable, and didn’t restrict his movement, but it felt far stronger than any cloth that Bell had ever touched before. Both the material and the way that it was woven together was unlike anything Bell had ever seen in his life, and he felt reassured that it would help keep him safe in the Dungeon.

The last piece of gear that Bell was given was a pouch that he could wear on the small of his back to hold his knife that he’d brought from the village as well the Magic Stones that he’d collect. In time, it would also hold potions and the like as Bell ventured deeper into the Dungeon.

“I’ll do my best in the Dungeon, Lord Baihu.” Bell promised his God with a polite bow.

“I know you will, Bell.” Baihu laughed brightly at Bell’s enthusiasm. “Just make sure you come back in one piece, alright? That’s far more important than any amount of money.”

Bell nodded in agreement. “Yes, sir.”

-Dungeon-

“It’s massive.” Bell murmured to himself, looking at the huge hole in the floor that led down into the Dungeon. He followed the large crowd of other Adventurers down the staircase that spiraled around the edges of the large hole in Babel Tower’s basement. Soon enough, Bell was inside the Dungeon, on the First Floor, for the first time ever. “Let’s see…” He took out the map from his pouch and looked it over, plotting out the route he wanted to take that would circle through the well-mapped First Floor and then bring him back to the main path again.

With his path decided on, Bell put the map away and headed down one of the side corridors, ready to take on the Dungeon.

It didn’t take him long to find his first Monster of the day.

“Grrrr!” A Goblin growled at Bell the instant the two spotted each other. Without a second of hesitation the Goblin rushed at Bell with its arms raised, ready to tear into him with its little claws.

“Hup!” Bell closed the distance with a charging step and then his trailing foot snapped forward to slam straight into the Goblin’s face, crushing it beneath Bell’s foot with an audible crunch, before the Monster’s body was launched meters away and bounced off the stone floor once before coming to a stop.

The Goblin had never been a threat at all.

Bell blinked at how easy that had been as he walked over to the dead Goblin. “Huh, I thought Dungeon Monsters were supposed to be three times stronger than surface Monsters?” He pulled out his knife and opened up the Goblin’s chest, right where Rose had taught him to yesterday, and there, next to the heart, was the small purple Magic Stone. “First Magic Stone in the Dungeon!” Bell smiled at the little stone happily before adding it to his pouch. He cleaned off the knife and sheathed it before continuing on his way, leaving only the white ash of the slain Goblin behind. “Maybe next time I’ll get a Drop Item?”

-Later-

“Hmm.” Bell lunged forward with an elbow strike, shattering the snarling jaws of a Kobold, the way its neck twisted at an odd angle from the blow showed the power behind the strike. He lashed out with a snap kick into a second Kobold, the blood flying from its mouth a clear indication that Bell’s foot in its stomach had crushed its organs. A third Kobold attempted to claw at Bell, but found itself reeling as Bell’s tiger claw slammed into the side of its head and knocked it to the ground. A powerful stomp straight onto the downed Kobold’s head finished it off. In only a few seconds, three Kobolds had died to Bell’s Martial Arts. “Three was a little more challenging.” But as he began to cut them open with his knife he considered that he was still only on the First Floor of the Dungeon. “Twenty-six…twenty-seven…twenty-eight so far today.” Bell counted the number of Magic Stones that he’d collected so far as he placed the three new ones into his pouch.

Bell didn’t have much in the way of a challenge so far. Goblins were usually alone on the First Floor. Multiple spawns being rather uncommon here. He’d killed a couple other Kobolds too, they were still easy though, their increase in size only made them more similar to humans, which gave Bell an opportunity to practice some of the new techniques that he’d seen from Baihu.

“Grrrr!” A Kobold growled at Bell as it came around the corner of the corridor that he was in.

“Speaking of…” Bell nearly chuckled that the Monster he was thinking about had appeared again. The Kobold charged forward, but Bell was ready. From his crouched position, he shot upwards with a powerful skyward punch than smashed into the Kobold’s jaws from below and took the dog-headed Monster off its feet. The Kobold didn’t move again and Bell saw why when he approached it. “Oh… I broke its neck…” He pulled out his knife again to harvest the next Magic Stone. “Maybe I should hunt even further away from the main route?”

With his plan decided on, Bell headed deeper into the First Floor, where most Adventurers didn’t bother to hunt.

-Later-

“Hyah!” Bell shot forward with a lunging punch that crushed the Kobold’s chest. He’d found a somewhat large group Kobolds and Goblins milling about well off the beaten path. Seeing it as a challenge, Bell had engaged them and was now in the middle of a brawl.

A backfist knocked a Kobold clean off its feet with an audible snapping sound. A double snap kick launched two Goblins into the air, the way their bodies rag dolled before hitting the ground a good indication that they were both dead. A second Kobold’s throat was crushed by Bell’s fist, while a third Kobold’s snapping jaws missed Bell entirely as he ducked low and then slammed his shoulder and back into the torso and sent it flying into a wall. A third Goblin was crushed by a powerful stomp, while Goblin four took a knee to the head that shattered its face and snapped its neck. The next Kobold had lunged at Bell, but he put his new Bajiquan techniques to use, and stepped forward with a strong stomp while slamming his palm into the Kobold’s chest. The sharp crack of the sternum and ribcage breaking, along with the burst of blood that flew from the dog-headed Monster’s jaws was a sure sign of its death even before it hit the ground unmoving. The last two Goblins tried a pincer attack but Bell backstepped, nearly making the attacking Goblins hit each other, and slammed a powerful kick into the Goblin on the right, smashing it into the Goblin on the left, and sending both slamming into the stone wall. They didn’t move again. The last Monster, a Kobold, lunged at him with its jaws wide open. Bell pivoted out of its line of attack and then drilled it straight in the side of the head with a punch that knocked it clear off its feet before it slammed into the stone floor.

“Haaah…” Bell exhaled slowly to steady his heart and breathing. Once he was good to go, he pulled out his knife and started harvesting the group of Monsters. All of the Magic Stones from the Dungeon Monsters were a good bit larger than the surface Monsters he’d killed over the years. Still not very impressive though as none of the Magic Stones were much more than tiny, purple pebbles with no visible magic power within them.

-Guild Exchange ~ Late Afternoon-

“Holy…” The man behind the glass blinked as Bell took out handful after handful of small Magic Stones out of his pouch and quickly filled the tray. “Slow down, slow down, let me pull the tray over and empty it.” He instructed and Bell stopped what he was doing.

“That’s all I have for today, sir.” Bell informed the man politely.

The man looked at Bell closely for a second. “Aren’t you Rose’s newbie? You gathered this many Magic Stones on your first day?”

“Yes, sir.” Bell nodded and pretended not to notice the small amount of attention that he was being given by some of the other Adventurers and Guild staff. Surely this many Magic Stones wasn’t a lot when they were so small, right?

The man behind the glass quickly weighed the Magic Stones and made a mark in his ledger before taking out the money that Bell was owed and putting it in the tray. “Okay, your Magic Stones are worth 9,120 Valis.” The man informed Bell, seeming a little surprised by the number he just spoke to a day one newbie Adventurer. “Have a nice day, sir.” He pushed the tray over to Bell’s side.

“Thank you, sir.” Bell nodded to the man as he collected his coins and put them in his money pouch. “Now, I have to give my report.” He moved over to the regular counter to ask how to do that.

A short time later, Rose was sitting across from Bell at one of the many meeting areas in the Guild lobby. “How many?” She looked at Bell after hearing about his total number of Monsters killed on his first day.

“I killed one-hundred-eight Monsters today, Miss Rose.” Bell repeated what he’d just said.

Rose wrote it down, but made a mental note to check with the Exchange before submitting the report and adding it to Bell’s file. “Alright, so how did your day go?”

Bell started to tell her about his day, Rose noting down parts of it here and there when it was necessary. Once Bell had finished his report, Rose bid him goodnight and they separated. She stopped by the Exchange after going behind the counter and got confirmation on the number of Magic Stones that Bell had turned in.

-Guild Advisor Offices-

“Look at this guy!” Misha Flott, a pink-haired human woman that worked for the Guild, cried out in shock. She’d glanced at the papers that Rose had been looking at closely and saw the large number of Monsters killed on the new Adventurer’s first day.

“Over a hundred?” Sophie, a silver-haired Elf girl blinked in surprise at the number, now looking at the paper from Rose’s other side. “On his first day?”

“He didn’t even leave the First Floor.” Rose said, knowing that she wasn’t getting back to her cubicle with all the other Advisors gathering around her. “Bell just hunted a lot of the out of the way areas near the edge of the First Floor. The number of Monsters can increase if they’re left alone for too long.”

“That’s gotta be a record, right?” One of the other Advisors asked the office as a whole.

“He didn’t look like he had a scratch on him though.” A Raccoon Man Advisor recalled that aside from some blood on his black clothes, and being a little sweaty, Bell had looked unharmed.

“He must’ve had some really good training before he became an Adventurer.”

“That’s the only way this makes any sense.”

“Maybe we’ll see another meteoric rise of a newbie? It’s been years since the Kenki did it.”

“The Kenki is an incredibly rare exception. We’re not likely to see another like her for a few more years yet.”

The offices of the Guild Advisors were abuzz with theories and ideas about the newbie Bell Cranel, but the new Adventurer made his way home without knowing a thing about it.

-White Tiger Pavilion ~ Evening-

“I see you worked hard on your first day.” Baihu mentioned as he watched Bell’s time in the Dungeon through his Excelia.

“I did my best.” Bell agreed with his God. He was eager to see how much he’d grown after his first day in the Dungeon.

‘Hmm, this growth is rather substantial… Then again, he did work hard today.’ Baihu kept his thoughts private as he moved Bell’s Excelia into the Basic Abilities and watched the numbers climb as the Falna grew stronger. “Here you are, Bell.” He copied the Status Update onto a blank paper and handed it over to the young man.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 0 > I 14

Endurance – I 0 > I 9

Dexterity – I 0 > I 5

Agility – I 0 > I 8

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“Thirty-six points in one day…is that good?” Bell looked over his shoulder at Baihu.

“It’s very good for a first day, Bell.” Baihu assured Bell with a smile. “As you grow, it’ll take more and more Excelia to increase those numbers, but this much growth is rather impressive, even for this early period where growth is most rapid.”

“Thank you, Lord Baihu.” Bell thanked his God as he burned the Status Update with a nearby candle.

“I take it that you’re ready for another Heroic Tale from the East?” Baihu laughed as Bell quickly turned to face him, ready to listen to whatever story elder God wanted to tell.

“Yes, sir!” Bell might’ve been an adult now…but he still acted like a child when it came to Heroic Tales.

-Dungeon ~ Second Floor-

“Gah!”

“Eraah!”

“Yipe!”

“Barh-ipe!”

“And five.” Bell punched the last Monster of the small group, a Goblin, and crushed its skull like a melon. His second day, he’d decided to drop down to the Second Floor, hoping for more Monsters to hunt.

Miss Rose said that newbie Adventurers with Stats in the I and H range hunted exclusively on the first four floors. The Fifth Floor was the first cut-off point where newbies started to die in larger numbers as the layout of the Dungeon got more complex and stronger Monsters appeared. Heeding her advice, Bell decided to drop one floor per day until the fourth if he didn’t find a challenge.

“Still…today isn’t much more challenging.” Bell sighed, having already memorized the attack patterns of the Goblins and Kobolds. He cut open the first Kobold and extracted its Magic Stone. He moved on to the next Monster after watching the dog-headed beast turn to white ash without leaving behind a Drop Item. “I guess I’ll keep hunting the outer edges of the floor, like yesterday.” He moved on after collecting the fourth and final Magic Stone of the group. Bell got more of a challenge from his daily sparring with Lord Baihu.

His God even left the bruises to prove it!

-Guild Exchange ~ Late Afternoon-

“Here, ma’am.” Bell recalled what had happened yesterday and scooped out the small Magic Stones slower today. Handful by handful he emptied his pouch and this time overfilled the tray a bit, the second tray only had a single handful in it though.

“Thank you, sir, one moment please.” The Hume Bunny woman smiled at Bell as she began weighing the pile of small Magic Stones. She quickly had the weight recorded and made a mark in her ledger before gathering Bell’s money. “Your total today is 10,316 Valis. Have a nice day.” She pushed the tray back onto Bell’s side.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Bell collected his earnings and made his way over to the counter to see Rose for his report.

Rose took down Bell’s report with her normal professionalism. She didn’t miss any details and still made a note to confirm with the Exchange before just accepting the number of Monsters that Bell said he killed. “You’re doing well, so far, Bell.”

Bell smiled at Rose for the praise. “Thank you, Miss Rose, but I’m just following your advice.”

“Make sure you continue to do so.” Rose said as she gathered up her papers and pen. She stood up, gave Bell a small bow, and then walked away behind the counter again. In her mind, she knew that Bell would eventually hit a stumbling point, or have an accident, and die; just like so many of her other Adventurers had in the past.

-Guild Advisor Offices-

“Even more this time…” Rose set the report on the counter in the room and let some of the other curious Advisors look at it.

“One-hundred-seventeen?!” Misha exclaimed in shock. “How is any newbie that good?! He doesn’t even have a weapon, does he?”

“I’m telling you, he had to be a mercenary or a soldier or something before he came to Orario!”

“Maybe he’s just really talented?”

“No one is THAT talented!”

-White Tiger Pavilion-

“Pushing yourself even more today.” Baihu noted with a chuckle as he watched the Excelia and then guided it into the Basic Abilities so that they would grow.

“I think I’m going to head down to the Third Floor tomorrow.” Bell informed his God, his voice normal in volume, but the elder God could hear the desire for a challenge in Bell’s tone.

“As long as you listen to your Advisor and what she recommends, I think you’ll be fine, Bell. And we can always spar more to make sure that you’re learning properly.” Baihu said with a chuckle, knowing that Bell hadn’t yet landed a solid blow on him. “All done.” He handed the new Status Update over to Bell while locking up his Falna.

Bell took the paper and looked it over. “Let’s see…”

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 14 > I 29

Endurance – I 9 > I 24

Dexterity – I 5 > I 10

Agility – I 8 > I 22

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“Forty-nine points… I guess the Second Floor Monsters are a little stronger.” Bell noticed the difference in his growth. The extra Monsters that he’d killed seemed to have paid off a bit.

-Dungeon Third Floor ~ Next Day-

“Ssshhhrrraaa!” A Dungeon Lizard dropped down from the ceiling at Bell. “Shawk!” It was promptly kicked across the cavern and slammed into the wall, leaving a blood splatter behind on the rock.

“Eighty-four…” Bell counted off as he dodged a Kobold’s claw swipe and slammed his palm into its chest, shattering its ribcage and crushing its organs. “Eighty-five…” He spun into a roundhouse kick; his foot slammed into the side of another Kobold’s head, snapping the neck instantly from the force. The Kobold fell to the side like a sack of rocks, dead. “Eighty-six…” His footwork was impressive as he sidestepped a Goblin and dropped his elbow on its head, smashing it like the Goblin had just been bludgeoned over the head with a club. “Eighty-seven…” His next punch hit a Goblin so hard in the face that the Monster’s feet left the ground and it made a full flip before it hit the floor meters away and didn’t move again. “Eighty-eight…”

“Grrrraaahhh!” A Kobold rushed towards him, claws at the ready. Its body folded in half as Bell’s foot crashed into its stomach.

“Eighty-nine…” Bell sighed as the group was finished off. “I’m definitely going to the Fourth Floor tomorrow.” He pulled out his knife to start harvesting the Magic Stones. “My Endurance stat is only growing so well because of how much I’m hunting and how brutal Lord Baihu is during sparring. He opened up the first Goblin with a sigh at the memories of being knocked around by his God.

-Guild Exchange-

“Your total today is 11,180 Valis.” The Elf man behind the glass placed the coins into the tray and pushed them back towards Bell.

“Thank you, sir.” Bell collected the Valis, adding them to his money pouch. “I’m sure Lord Baihu is happy about the money I’m bringing in at least.” Given that his God had been living off of savings since he’d lost his last Familia members years ago, it did make Bell feel like he was helping by providing new income to his Familia.

As the Familia’s only breadwinner currently, almost every Valis that Bell made went to Baihu for the Familia’s finances. Of course, the elder God made Bell keep at least thirty percent of his earnings, even though Bell didn’t have much to spend it on. His days consisted of spars with Baihu at the White Tiger Pavilion, and going into the Dungeon. Occasionally he explored the city between their home and the Guild, but that was about it.

“Maybe I should branch out a bit and see some more of the city on a day off or something?” Bell mused about the idea of a day off as he headed over to give his report to Rose.

The report taking was the same as it had been all the other times. Professional, simple, and with no extra conversation. Bell wondered if Rose just didn’t like her job, or perhaps she was like this with all of her Adventurers. He certainly couldn’t think of anything he’d done to offend her. ‘Unless she hates people looking at her ears and tail?’ Bell was guilty of that…but they looked so fluffy, how was he supposed to resist?

-White Tiger Pavilion-

“You think I’ll get a Skill or maybe Magic sometime soon, Lord Baihu?” Bell asked his God while he got his Status updated again. He knew he’d only been at it for three days, but he’d really like a new skill or ability to learn and master.

“Such things will come in time, Bell.” Baihu assured his newest ‘child’. “You just have to be patient and work hard.” He could understand Bell’s desire though. Watching his Excelia, the Monsters of the Upper Floors didn’t seem to be much of a challenge to his Captain during his time in the Dungeon. Wanting to get stronger and learn more so that he could explore deeper was only natural for such a talented Adventurer. “Nothing today, I’m afraid.” Baihu finished the update and copied it over to a blank paper.

“I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up so early.” Bell accepted the paper and looked at his growth for the day.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 29 > I 47

Endurance – I 24 > I 42

Dexterity – I 10 > I 16

Agility – I 22 > I 40

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“Sixty points today…I guess dropping down to the Third Floor worked out.” Bell was happy that he was growing so well at the very least.

“The amount of Monsters you killed certainly played a part as well.” Baihu chuckled while reassuring Bell that his hard work was paying off. “I’ll make sure to train you as hard as possible each day to keep sharpening your skills and teach you more technique.”

“Yes, sir!” Bell smiled at his God while putting his shirt back on. It might be painful, but the sparring was certainly effective.

-Dungeon ~ Fourth Floor ~ Next Day-

“This is…” Bell smacked a Dungeon Lizard that had launched itself from above out of the air. It hit the stone floor with a harsh thud and didn’t move again. “A bit…” He slammed his knee into a Kobold’s chest and watched it practically crumple inwards. “Closer to what I expected from the Dungeon!” He stomped on a Goblin that tired to sneak up on him, crushing its small body under the force of his foot. A palm strike followed by a punch to the throat killed another Kobold as Bell lunged forward. Bell used the new opening to step powerfully forward and punch a lunging Goblin, then used his footwork to get around one Kobold, crush the throat of the Kobold behind it with a punch, and then slammed a powerful knee strike into the back of the first Kobold, breaking its spine, before grabbing the limp Monster’s head from behind and giving a sharp twist to its neck that let out an audible crack. He let the dead Kobold drop and looked around the cavern to make sure that he didn’t miss any Monsters. “Woo…” Bell exhaled with a smile, having a good rush from that fight. “That was a good sized group! I’m up to one-hundred-twenty-two from that!” He still had the last part of his day to go too!

-Guild Exchange-

“Your total today is 13,472 Valis.” The woman behind the glass placed the coins into the tray and pushed them back towards Bell. “Please have a nice evening.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Bell smiled at her as he put his money into his pouch. He headed over to meet with Rose to give his report.

Rose sat down and put down a blank report form. She took up her pen and then looked at Bell. “So, how many today?” It was best to get that part out of the way first.

Bell chuckled a little, but seeing Rose’s flat expression he stopped and gave her his number of kills promptly.

-Guild Advisors’ Offices-

“This is almost ridiculous…” Rose commented under her breath as she looked over Bell’s newest report. “One-hundred-fifty-seven…in one day…on the Upper Floors. He’s not even on the Fifth Floor yet.” The Werewolf woman was at least mildly happy that Bell listened to her and hadn’t tried to do something insane like go to the Fifth Floor or lower already. A few of her dead Adventurers had disregarded her words and paid for it with their lives. Even still…Bell was alone in the Dungeon, yet was bringing back results equivalent to half of what a five-man Party of Level 1’s usually earned in a day. Rose, even as a Senior Advisor, had never had an Adventurer like this before. “He’s already past five-hundred kills, in four days… At this rate he’ll break the 1,000 Kills mark in eight days, or maybe a week if his numbers keep increasing.” Most newbies took close to a month, if not a little longer, to hit the 1,000 Kills mark in the Dungeon.

“Isn’t it a good thing that he’s doing so well?” Misha asked the lovely Werewolf woman.

“Yes, it is…and I’m glad that he’s actually listening to me.” Rose still looked at the newest report with sharp, golden eyes. “But these kinds of numbers aren’t normal, especially not for a solo newbie Adventurer.”

“Aren’t some people just naturally talented for stuff like this?” Misha asked with a tilt of her head.

Rose gave Misha a small nod. She had been in Orario back when the Zeus and Hera Familias were the top two Familias. She’d seen and heard about the Level 7’s, Level 8, and Level 9 that had existed back then. ‘But Bell just started out, so there’s no reason to believe he’d be able to reach such heights.’ She still expected Bell to die soon enough. Her heart was jaded and scarred from losing so many Adventurers over her years as an Advisor. Rose wouldn’t allow any Adventurer to get close, knowing that they were just going to die sooner rather than later.

-White Tiger Pavilion-

“I see you had a bit of a struggle today, Bell.” Baihu chuckled lightly as he watched Bell’s Excelia. “Even on the Fourth Floor, you still went towards the edges to hunt more.”

“I want to get stronger, Lord Baihu.” Bell smiled to himself. “If I work hard enough, then surely I’ll get a Skill or something soon, right?” He looked over his shoulder at his God.

“It’s possible, but focus on coming back in one piece more than anything else.” The elder God laughed as he finished the update and copied it over to the paper pressed against Bell’s back. “You’re still growing quickly for now, but that’s to be expected with how much hard work you’re putting in.”

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 47 – I 68

Endurance – I 42 – I 64

Dexterity – I 16 – I 23

Agility – I 40 – I 61

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“Hmm…my Dexterity is really falling behind.” Bell noticed the only Basic Ability that wasn’t growing as fast as the others.

“You use your fists and feet to kill Monsters, rather than a weapon.” Baihu said as he locked up Bell’s Falna securely. “When it comes to Basic Abilities, Dexterity relates to weapons and how one handles them the most. Since the only time you wield a weapon is to use your knife to harvest Magic Stones, it makes sense that your Dexterity wouldn’t grow at the same rate as the others that you use far more.”

Bell hummed thoughtfully at the information. ‘Too bad I’m not good with weapons.’ He shook the thought away. He’d just work even harder at what he was good at. ‘I’m going to become a Hero! No matter how long it takes, or how hard I have to work to do it!’ Left unsaid was that he’d like to meet some girls soon too. He wouldn’t make a family of his own if he didn’t eventually talk to some girls after all. It was definitely something to think about for his first day off.

-Dungeon ~ Fourth Floor-

Bell kicked a Goblin into a Kobold and then crushed both of them against the wall with a powerful palm strike. A Dungeon Lizard attempted to drop down on him from above, but Bell snatched its tail and swung it like a flail into a Kobold, smashing both of them onto the stone floor, he stomped powerfully on the two entangled Monsters and blood flew from both of their jaws as they died. One Goblin tried to claw him, but had its arm grabbed and its face crushed by Bell’s fist. He then whipped the dead Goblin around and slammed it into another one. The second Goblin died to another powerful stomp. He lashed out with a double snap kick, knocking a Kobold into the air with the first kick, and then folded it over his second kick as it hacked up a thick mouthful of blood. The dog-headed Monster hit the stone floor, dead, a few seconds later. He caught the next Kobold’s arms at the wrist, preventing it from sinking its claws into him. A knee strike slammed into its stomach and crushed everything inside. The Kobold fell to the ground as Bell let go of its wrists.

“The groups of Monsters are definitely more common down here.” Bell said to himself as he pulled out his knife to start harvesting the Magic Stones. “So that’s…” He counted the bodies lying around. “One-hundred-seventy-six…not too bad for almost being done for the day.” But he did still have another two or so hours, if his sense of time was accurate. “Let’s harvest these quickly before another Monster shows up.” Bell quickly got to work.

It was the fourth Goblin that left something behind.

“A Drop Item!” Bell happily picked up the Goblin Fang. “My first one!” He quickly stashed it in his pouch with a smile. “Any chance for two?” Bell went back to work.

-Guild Advisors’ Offices-

“Two-hundred-one…” Rose told the gathered Advisors after getting back from her meeting with Bell. It had practically become a spectacle among the other Advisors to see how many Monsters Bell had killed each day. ‘I know it’s not every day that we have such an abnormally competent newbie, but this is getting a little ridiculous.’ Rose thought to herself with a small roll of her eyes.

“Woo! Willis, you owe me 1,000 Valis!” One Advisor cheered as another Advisor handed him some coins with a grumble. The bet having been over whether or not Bell would break two-hundred Monsters a day, by today.

-White Tiger Pavilion-

“Are you sure you don’t want to take a day off, Bell?” Baihu asked as he updated Bell’s Falna. “You’ve been going into the Dungeon for five days straight now.”

Bell shook his head once. “I’m still fine, Lord Baihu. I want to get a bit stronger first, then I’ll take a day off.” His first goal was to see how strong he could get in his first week by going into the Dungeon every day. Since he didn’t have any weapons or armor that needed to be maintained by a blacksmith, he hadn’t been forced to take a day off just yet.

“Rest is an important part of growing stronger, Bell.” Baihu said as he finished the update and handed the paper over to Bell. “Don’t forget that.”

“Yes, sir.” Bell accepted the paper and the advice.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 68 > I 93

Endurance – I 64 > I 89

Dexterity – I 23 > I 32

Agility – I 61 > I 86

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“My Strength, Endurance, and Agility might all hit ‘H’ rank soon.” Bell said as he smiled at his progress.

“Maybe we can do something to celebrate when that happens?” Baihu suggested with a smile at Bell’s drive and tenacity.

Bell agreed with a nod as he burned the paper with the nearby candle.

-Dungeon ~ Fourth Floor ~ Next Day-

Bell lunged forward with a punch, closing distance and attacking simultaneously. The Kobold had no chance to dodge as Bell’s fist slammed into its chest, ribs snapped under the force and the sternum was in pieces. The dog-headed Monster was dead before it hit the ground.

“Graah!” A Goblin leapt at Bell’s back, ready to tear into him.

Bell spun and kicked the Goblin out of the air with a sickening crunch sound. The short Monster careened through the air before hitting the stone floor and bouncing once before going completely still. He moved into an attacking Kobold’s guard, dodging its claws at the same time he drove his elbow into the Monster’s face. The jaws fractured from the blow, and Bell slammed a punch into the falling Kobold’s chest to finish it off.

“Sssshhhrrraaa!” A Dungeon Lizard dropped down from the ceiling at Bell.

It was snatched out of the air by its throat, Bell’s tiger claw crushing the neck until blood nearly exploded out of the Lizard Monster’s jaws. He slammed it headlong into an approaching Goblin, killing it with the weight and force of the dead Dungeon Lizard.

“Hup!” Bell stomped powerfully on the ground and slammed a devastating palm strike into a lunging Kobold’s face. The head turned almost one-hundred-eighty degrees with a snap as the palm strike pushed the snout to the side with such force.

A lunging knee strike killed a Goblin by caving in its face, and Bell slammed a tiger claw down on the second Goblin that had been beside the first. The strike crushed the Goblin’s head like a melon. Bell, before being blessed, could break rock with his fist. A Goblin’s skull wasn’t as hard as the boulder he’d broken as his last personal test before leaving his village.

“Is that all of them?” Bell looked around as he slowed his breathing. Not seeing any more Monsters, nor hearing the telltale cracking of the Dungeon walls, Bell pulled out his knife and got to work harvesting Magic Stones.

-Guild Exchange ~ Late Afternoon-

“Your Magic Stones, two Kobolds Nails, and three Goblin Fangs are worth 17,265 Valis.” The Chienthrope man behind the glass said to Bell as he pushed the tray back onto Bell’s side.

“Thank you, sir.” Bell collected his money for the day and stashed it in his pouch. He made his way over to Rose and sat down across from her. “Two-hundred-fourteen today, Miss Rose.” He got the first part out of the way with a small smile.

“Thank you.” Rose nodded as she wrote the number down, she’d still confirm it with the Exchange, as always, but it was nice to know that Bell was honest, so far. “You stayed on the Fourth Floor today again?”

Bell nodded but spoke up. “I started on the Third Floor today and went around to clean out the other areas on the edge of the Floor. Once I ran out, I dropped down to the Fourth Floor and repeated it.”

Rose kept her expression stoic from years of experience, but what Bell had just said was something that she’d expect from a full Party, not from a solo Adventurer with less than a week of experience under their belt.

-White Tiger Pavilion ~ Evening-

“I beat my personal record again today, Lord Baihu.” Bell told his God as he was getting a Status Update.

“I see that.” Baihu laughed warmly as he watched Bell’s day in the Dungeon through his Excelia. “Your technique is improving as well. Could be a little sharper on the double snap kick.”

Bell nodded, always glad to know that he was still improving and that he could still improve. “I’ll keep working on it.”

Baihu finished the update as he moved the Excelia into the Basic Abilities an watched the numbers rise as the Falna grew. “Here you go, Bell.” He handed him the paper after copying the numbers over.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 93 > H 121

Endurance – I 89 > H 118

Dexterity – I 32 > I 41

Agility – I 86 > H 115

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“I hit my first goal, Lord Baihu!” Bell exclaimed brightly at seeing his three stats hit the ‘H’ rank.

Baihu laughed and praised Bell for his accomplishment. “Yes, you did very well, Bell. Would you like to go celebrate?”

“Where would we go?” Bell asked curiously.

“A place that a young man like yourself will definitely enjoy.” Baihu said with a grin as he stood up.

Bell followed after his God and the two soon left the compound entirely and headed down the street before turning onto West Main Street.

It was a bit of a walk, not too far though, before Baihu stopped in front of a specific building.

“Here we are, Bell.” Baihu said with a laugh.

Bell looked at the building, having been briefly distracted by the various bars, shops, and restaurants that lined this part of West Main Street. “The Hostess of Fertility?”

Baihu only chuckled as he led Bell inside.

“Seems lively.” Bell grinned as he listened to the noises coming from the tavern for a moment. He stepped into the building and instantly noticed something specific. ‘It’s all waitresses.’ He didn’t see a single man wearing the uniform of the other workers. The white-haired Adventurer saw a woman behind the bar, serving food to two customers. Just based on her build; she was either a Dwarf woman that was very tall for her Race, or she was a Half-Dwarf, possibly.

Bell felt his heart rate pick up just a little as he saw two cute Cat Girls, a beautiful Elf with dark-green hair, and he thought he saw a brunette Human girl enter the back a second ago. ‘Is this real? They even have an Elf working here! Elves are known for their pride. She’s really pretty too. Who knew that the flower garden of beautiful women from my dreams actually existed?’

“Sir…?” A voice tried to get the young man’s attention.

‘This place wouldn’t be too expensive, right?’ Bell took in the interior, seeing it looked fairly standard for a bar or tavern. He’d been making good money in the Dungeon, so surely he and Baihu could afford to eat here.

“Um, Sir?” The voice attempted to get Bell’s attention again.

“Eh?” Bell blinked and looked at who had been speaking to him.

The speaker was a human girl, probably a year or two older than he was. She had bluish-gray hair that was tied with a small knot in a ponytail style. Her eyes matched the color of her hair and her skin was light, smooth, and without blemish. She wore a white blouse and a green, knee-length skirt. Over the skirt she wore a slightly long half apron tied around her waist. Black stockings covered her legs and a pair of brown boots covered her feet. “Are you here to eat, sir?” The young woman asked with a smile.

“Oh, yes, thank you.” Bell tried his best not to be awkward for being too caught up in his thoughts.

“Of course, welcome.” The waitress gave a short bow. “Two customers, now seating!” She turned and called out to the bar. Both Baihu and Bell followed after her as she led them to a table near the end of the bar. “My name is Syr Flova, and I’ll be your waitress tonight.”

“Baihu, my dear.” Baihu introduced himself with a kind smile. “I’d like some rice wine, if you have it.”

Syr nodded and wrote it down. “Mama Mia keeps some in stock because it’s popular with the people of the East that come to Orario.”

“Bell Cranel.” Bell introduced himself to Syr with a polite smile. “Could I get an ale while I look at the menu?”

“Of course, one ale, coming up!” Syr smiled at him, writing down his drink order, and then headed off to the back to get both of their drinks.

Bell perused the menu, looking over the various dishes offered at the Hostess of Fertility. He was completely unaware that he was being talked about by the five waitresses.

-Kitchen Doorway-

“Nya, who’s the white hair?” The shorter of the two Cat Girls asked curiously. She had brunette hair, soft brown eyes, and her cat ears and tail matched her hair color. She wore the same waitress uniform as Syr and her tail was currently swaying about as she looked at the young man. This was Anya Fromel, waitress at the Hostess of Fertility.

The other Cat Girl shook her head. “Never seen him, nya.” She had raven black hair and matching cat ears and tail, she was taller than Anya, but a little smaller in the hips and bust than her friend, giving her lovely, lithe form without detracting from her curves. Her green eyes watched Bell with curiosity, and like Anya, her tail was swaying back and forth. Her name was Chloe Rollo and she was another waitress at the Hostess.

The brunette human girl, her hair reaching to her shoulders, was looking at Bell too, her head peeking out from behind the doorway just above Anya’s. She was just over ten centimeters taller than Anya, so it wasn’t difficult. Her dark brown eyes looked Bell up and down. “He’s easy on the eyes, isn’t he?” She giggled softly behind her hand. Lunoire Faust, also a waitress, was able to tell at a glance that Bell was a skilled fist fighter just like her. That only made her interest in him increase even more.

“You three are starting to block the door.” The Elf with the green hair said from behind the other three waitresses. She was quite the beauty, blue eyes, the soft, almost snow pure skin that Elves were known for, a nice set of curves, though she hid them rather well with her uniform, and a soft speaking voice that had an almost musical quality to it. This was Ryu Lion, a member of a fallen Familia, but now she worked at the Hostess of Fertility trying to live a good and decent life after everything that had happened in her past. Right now, however, she’d very much like her three colleagues and friends to move out of the way.

“But Ryu, nya, lookit that white hair right there!” Anya pointed out Bell at the table. “Doesn’t he seem interesting, nya?”

Ryu looked at Bell, taking in his hair, his rubellite eyes, his build, and estimating his height since he was sitting down. “I suppose so.” It was easier to agree so that the other three would move. With her experience, she could also tell that Bell was a good fighter, which meant that he was probably an Adventurer to the God that he sat with.

“He’s a good one.” Syr said as she stopped behind the three blocking the door, a drink in each hand. The other four women turned their heads to look at Syr and saw the faint silvery-purple glow in her eyes as she looked at Bell. “A pure and strong soul.” The glow faded from Syr’s eyes and she smiled at her friends. “Mr. Cranel is quite interesting, but I can’t bring him and Lord Baihu their drinks if you keep blocking the door.”

Lunoire, Chloe, and Anya moved aside, letting Syr and Ryu head back out onto the floor. The three waitresses were quick to go pick up trays with orders and hurry them out too, lest Mama Mia get upset with them.

“Here you are, sirs.” Syr smiled as she put a bottle and cup of rice wine before Baihu and then the flagon of ale in front of Bell. “Did you decide on what you’d like to order?”

Baihu nodded to Syr. “I’d like the steak, cooked medium, with the potatoes and steamed vegetables.” It had been a while since he’d last had a good steak.

“Of course, Lord Baihu.” Syr wrote down the God’s order. “And for you, Mr. Cranel?”

Bell pointed at the menu. “I’ll have the grilled fish, with rice and broccoli, please.”

Syr wrote down the order with a smile. “Excellent choices, I’ll have them out to you as soon as they’re ready.” She smiled at both of them brightly, her eyes meeting Bell’s for a moment before she turned and headed back to the kitchen.

‘That was…different.’ Bell thought to himself as he wondered why Syr had met his eyes for so long with a soft smile like that. ‘Miss Syr does have pretty eyes though.’

As Bell and Baihu talked while waiting for their food, Bell couldn’t help but notice that he was catching eyes with five of the waitresses in the Hostess in particular. The brunette Cat Girl and the ravenette Cat Girl both had held his gaze for a prolonged moment, their ears twitching and their tails cutely swaying behind them. The brunette human girl met his eyes as she was passing by with a tray, and without breaking eye contact, she’d made her way to the correct table and only turned away from Bell’s eyes when she started setting the food out for the customers. The Elf woman and Bell had met eyes in a similar way, though Bell didn’t know why it seemed like the lovely Elf was appraising him. Every time Syr came to check on them, she would also linger on his eyes, making Bell look into hers. She always had a little smile on her lips when she left their table too.

Baihu said nothing about all the interest that Bell was receiving from the five waitresses. He merely enjoyed the little show in silence as he continued to eat and enjoy his rice wine with a little smirk on his face.

When Baihu and Bell were leaving the Hostess after dinner, Syr bowed to them at the door.

“We hope to see you again soon, Lord Baihu, Mr. Cranel.” Syr said with a kind smile.

“Well definitely be back.” Bell said with a smile of his own. He waved to Syr, and was surprised to see the two Cat Girls and the human girl waving back to him as well from inside the restaurant. The Elf waitress gave him a bow like Syr’s instead of waving, but Bell thought that was nice of her to do, so he waved back to the other waitresses as well before he headed off with Baihu back to the White Tiger Pavilion.

-Dungeon ~ Fourth Floor ~ Next Day-

Bell launched a skyward punch straight into a Kobold’s jaw, lifting the dog-headed Monster off its feet form the force. It rose up into the air, its jaw hanging open brokenly. While it briefly hung in the air, Bell used a punch to a second Kobold’s chest to kill it, spun to knee a Goblin in the face, shattering its skull, and then formed a tiger claw to tear out the throat of another Kobold. He threw the dying Kobold into the falling one and both smashed into the nearby stone wall with an unsettling crunch. Neither of the Monsters moved again.

“Hup!” Bell used a charging step and transferred straight into a dashing elbow strike to immediately close distance and land a powerful blow on a Kobold that was rushing at him. The Kobold went flying backwards and slammed into the floor. Bell made a tiger claw with each hand and smashed in one Goblin’s head from the side, like a tiger swiping at its prey, while the second claw caught the Goblin on the opposite side under the chin and threw it headfirst into the ceiling, killing it and dislodging the Dungeon Lizard that had just spawned.

“Ssshhhaaa!” The Dungeon Lizard hissed out as it flailed form the unexpected fall.

“Yah!” Bell slammed a powerful palm strike straight into the lizard’s long body, folding the Monster over his arm, before it was launched away and bounced off the ground twice before going still.

Bell took a charging step and switched over to a powerful stomp as the injured Kobold tried to get up. The dog-headed Monster hacked up a ton of blood as Bell’s foot crushed its stomach.

Looking around, Bell didn’t see any other Monsters. He listened closely, trying to hear any signs of more Monsters approaching or being born. When he didn’t, he slowed his breathing for a few seconds before pulling out his knife and getting to work on harvesting the Magic Stones.

-Guild Exchange ~ Late Afternoon-

“Your Magic Stones, Kobold Nail, and two Goblin Fangs are worth 18,274 Valis.” The Raccoon Man behind the glass said to Bell as he pushed the tray over to Bell’s side.

“I will, Sir, thank you.” Bell gave the man a quick smile as he collected his money and stashed it in his pouch. He headed over to Rose, who was waiting for him at one of the meeting areas already. “Good afternoon, Miss Rose.” He greeted her politely.

Rose nodded to Bell as he sat down. “Good afternoon, Bell.” She picked up her pen and looked at him.

“Two-hundred-twenty-nine Monster today, Miss Rose.” Bell answered the unasked question.

Rose wrote it down and knew she’d be collecting some winnings soon. “And how was your day in the Dungeon?”

“Well, I started on the Third Floor again, before moving to the Fourth Floor…” Bell began to tell Rose about his day of dungeon crawling and how he’d managed to once again beat out his own personal record for number of Monsters killed in a day.

-Guild Advisors’ Offices-

“Yeeeaaahhh!!!” A cheer rose up from about half the Advisors.

The reason?

A bet had gone around that the newbie, Bell Cranel would exceed the 1,000 Kills mark within seven days of becoming an Adventurer. Normally that would be a sucker’s bet, but Bell had proven insanely talented as an Adventurer. Both sides had some takers (those betting against Bell were sure that after six days of work, he’d take the seventh day off) and now, with Rose’s latest report, the winners were declared. Those that had bet Bell would break the mark had been proven right.

“Over 1,000 Kills in a week…” Rose sighed to herself, even as her golden eyes looked at the little money pouch that held her winnings. “I didn’t think that was possible for a newbie.” But, then, Bell was obviously not just any newbie. The only problem was that now some of the other Advisors were asking her if she’d given Bell any special tips or information. A single flat look from Rose was enough of an answer for all of them to not ask again. There was no trick, no secret, Bell was just talented and working his ass off, as crazy as that sounded. “And killing 1,164 Monsters in a week without Magic, Skills, or even a weapon sounds pretty damn crazy.” Rose said under her breath as she had totaled up all of Bell’s kills in the Dungeon, so far. Just his bare fists and body had gotten this unofficial record for Bell: the fastest Adventurer to hit the 1,000 Kills Mark.

-White Tiger Pavilion-

“Your skills continue to grow.” Baihu praised Bell with a laugh as he updated his Status. Seeing how much Bell was improving after just one week was truly showing just how talented Bell was in the Martial Arts, even if he might not be so skilled in other areas. When it came to moving his body, Bell was simply a cut above most people.

Bell would accept that he had talent, his grandpa had told him as much over the years. But he honestly believed that his grandpa, and now Baihu, were both just good teachers. Bell just did his best because he wanted to make the time that they spent teaching him worth their while, and worth his own time as well.

‘Already?’ Baihu’s eyes narrowed as he saw something new manifest within Bell’s Falna. ‘No… It’s two.’ The elder God nearly blinked in shock at seeing two new developments at the same time. Bell’s martial talent was an almost scary thing with how fast the young man was able to grow and improve in that area specifically. Even his Falna was reflecting that now, bringing forth new potential from within him. ‘It’s almost as if he’s being rewarded for achieving his goals.’ Baihu smiled slightly as he wrote the two new additions into Bell’s Falna. “All done, I think you might be surprised, Bell.” He pressed the blank paper to Bell’s back and copied the update over.

“Surprised?” Bell took the paper with some confusion and looked at his new Status.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – H 121 > H 152

Endurance – H 118 > H 150

Dexterity – I 41 > I 52

Agility – H 115 > H 147

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

Tiger Aura – Incantation: “Roar.” Enchantment Magic that envelops the user in a golden aura that vastly increases all Basic Abilities. It also protects them from harmful Magic to a degree.

-Skills-

Tiger Step – Increases the user’s Agility by a large amount. Raises user’s attack power the faster they’re moving.

-Status-

“M-Magic…” Bell stared dumbly at his new Status paper for a long moment. “I HAVE MAGIC?!” He shot to his feet and turned to look at his God. “Lord Baihu, is this real?!” Bell had to ask to make sure this wasn’t some daydream or joke.

“Overreacting a bit there, Bell.” Baihu said with a laugh at how excited Bell was. “The Status Update doesn’t lie; you have Magic and a new Skill.”

Bell’s eyes shot back down to the paper. “I DO have a new Skill!” He quickly read over the Skill, the Magic again, and then the Skill again. “They synergize… Really well.”

Baihu burst into raucous laughter, a tiny sliver of his Divinity escaped him and swirled about as a wave of golden light for a second before the elder God got himself back under control. “Hahahaha… Leave it to you, Bell, to figure out how best to use your new abilities quickly.”

Bell took the praise, even as Baihu chuckled still. He was happy that he’d manifested Magic and a Skill. There wasn’t much that could take away his smile right now.

“I notice that both of your new abilities are named after the tiger.” Baihu smiled at Bell in a way similar to, but still different from how his grandfather used to. It was a smile filled with pride and happiness. The same emotions he always saw when his grandpa watched him practice or after they sparred. “It makes me quite happy that my first child in many years has such respect and reverence for me already.”

Bell gave a proper bow to Baihu at the God’s words. “Of course, Lord Baihu. You took me in, gave me a new home, and gave me your Blessing. How could I not respect you?”

Baihu smiled proudly and thankfully at Bell as he stood up. “Think nothing of it, Bell.” He put his hand on Bell’s shoulder and made him stand up to his full height. “Now… You have a new Skill and Magic to figure out.” He saw the sparkles form in Bell’s eyes and urged him ought of the room, following after the excited Bell with a grandfatherly chuckle.

Once they were outside, Bell got a feel for his Skill, the new information was there, he knew what it did, he just had to put it into practice. Baihu watched on closely, his sharp eyes wouldn’t miss anything.

Bell took a step forward, starting with a charging step, then into a second one to build speed quickly, he almost blurred as he approached one of the wooden training posts. Bell threw a dashing elbow and when his elbow made contact with the post, the wood gave way.

Crack

The top of the post went flying and bounced off the ground twice almost five meters away.

Bell blinked, having felt the contact with the post, but it almost felt like it had given way too easily. As if someone had precut the wood ahead of time, even though he new that wasn’t true. “That’s already amazing.” He marveled at what a simple application of his Skill could accomplish. “What would happen if I was sprinting at full speed?” Tiger Step said that it increased power the faster he was moving…if he reached top speed with the boost to his Agility from the Skill and then threw his strongest attack as soon as he got in range. “That should be very powerful.” Bell was already working out how best to use the Skill in the Dungeon.

“Quite impressive for only using charging steps to build up speed.” Baihu commented on the power increase granted by Tiger Step. “Try your Magic now.”

“Yes, sir.” Bell let his arms rest by his sides as he focused for a moment. “Roar.” He spoke the one word incantation. A brilliant golden light flared around Bell and rose into the air above him for a few meters. For a moment it took on the image of a roaring tiger, before the aura shrank back down to wrap around Bell like a second skin. The golden aura flickered slightly here and there, almost like flames, but not. “Whoa…” Bell felt SO much stronger. He walked over to the next training post and took up a simple stance. “Hyah!” He hit the post with a jab and the top shattered into splinters. “My fist touched it…” Bell realized that the golden aura hadn’t been what hit the post, but his own fist.

Baihu had watched the usage of Tiger Aura and nodded once. “It’s just as it says in your Falna, Bell. The aura protects your from harmful Magic, it says nothing about physical damage.”

“It boosts all of Basic Abilities, but I still have to hit my target myself.” Bell nodded in understanding. “This spell only enhances what I’ve already got.” He could work with that just fine. “Let’s see what I can do when I combined the two.” Bell said as he took up his stance and prepared to strike a solid stone target. It was a large square set up off to one side of the training area. It had small marks on it from what were most probably weapons, but Bell was about to hit it with his full force. “Yah!”

Bam

Baihu’s eyes widened at what he’d just witnessed. Bell had been more like a golden blur when he’d used the charging steps to rapidly build up speed. Then that blur had hit the stone target. Then the sound had rung out loudly across the White Tiger Pavilion, and probably beyond. The stone target was pebbles and gravel scattered all over the ground behind where the target had been. There was grey dust in the air from how fast the stone had shattered too.

“Whoa…” Bell looked at his right fist that had hit the target. The golden aura of his Magic still covered it and his hand didn’t even hurt. “I guess that’s because of the boost to my Endurance from Tiger Aura?” That seemed most likely to him.

“We’ll have to buy a new target, but I believe you’ve found quite the powerful combination to use in the Dungeon, Bell.” Baihu remarked as he walked over to Bell with his hands behind his back.

Bell released Tiger Aura and the golden glow disappeared room around his body. “I think so too, Lord Baihu.” He chuckled along with the elder God. “But I said that I’d take a day off after working for a week straight, so that’s what I’m going to do tomorrow.”

Baihu nodded, glad that Bell heeded advice and kept to his word. “Very good, Bell. Let’s head to bed. I believe tomorrow will be a lovely day.”

Bell followed Baihu into the main house with a little spring in his step at what he’d gained today and how bright the future was looking. ‘I will be a Hero. No matter how long the path or how hard I have to work, I will achieve my dream!’ The thought of his other dream, to one day have a family of his own, also filled his mind and he chuckled softly to himself. ‘I’m sure it’s possible to meet girls in the Dungeon. But is it okay to pick up girls in a Dungeon?’ That was something to figure out later.

-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-

BAM!!!

Another first chapter out!

This Bell is a bare-fisted monk with a white tiger motif! Weapons? His hands are the weapons! And they’re rated E for Everyone! Kek!

Making Bell talented specifically in one thing (martial arts in this case) while basically sucking in another (weapons) is a fun concept because it’s so different from everything else I’ve written so far. How far will this Bell go? How high will he climb? How powerful will he become?

He’s getting some interest already too!

Is this a Hostess of Fertility Waitress Harem?!

Well partially…and partially something else too. Who are the lovely ladies that will capture Bell’s heart like he captures theirs?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!