Hephaestus Familia Premise Chapter 4 (Patreon)

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter! Bell has decided to focus on building up a solid and unbreakable foundation for his skills and abilities to grow from. That means putting himself through more focused and rigorous training. Build up the body to promote strength and stamina, sharpen the mind to increase focus and precision, and practice, practice, practice with your techniques and Magic! There are no shortcuts to becoming a True Hero!

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 4 – Forging a Foundation, Monsterphilia

Early in the morning, within the back training area of the Takemikazuchi Familia Home, Bell Cranel was going through a set of exercises given to him by Takemikazuchi. After explaining that he wanted to build a rock solid foundation for his skill and abilities to grow from, he’d asked the War God for training advice to better his body, his martial arts, and even his budding swordsmanship.

Takemikazuchi hadn’t let Bell down. Giving the young man a set of tasks to perform each morning; everything from horse stance punching drills, to swinging his sword in various strikes in sets of one-hundred swings each, to practicing each of his techniques one-hundred times as well to refine them and make them second nature.

“Do not fear the man that has practiced a thousand techniques once; fear the man that had practiced one technique a thousand times.” Takemikazuchi had said before setting Bell to his training for the early morning.

“Hah!” Bell threw a punch with his right fist, shifting his left arm to his side in the same motion, chambered and ready to throw his next punch. “Hah!” He punched with his left fist, chambering his right at his side along with the motion, making sure to keep his body mechanics in sync with each other. Sweat was running down Bell’s face and body as he continued. One-hundred punches per arm, all without leaving his horse stance, his feet set wide and his knees bent, was more taxing than he’d initially thought upon hearing it.

After this would be kicks, then a short break, and then he’d continue with techniques, Ikkotsu, Sōkotsu, and Kazaguruma; one-hundred repetitions each with both right arm, left arm, right leg, and left leg, and of course both arms for Sōkotsu. That would be followed by sword drills, and then he’d take another short break before sparring with Mikoto using wooden swords.

‘It’s all for my dream.’ Bell thought to himself as he threw another punch. ‘I need to forge my body into that of a warrior’s! I need to master my body and my techniques!’ He wouldn’t give up, no matter how hard the training. He’d incorporate it into his routine and make it another part of his life on the path to being a True Hero.

Bell continued his training under the watchful eyes of Takemikazuchi and Mikoto. The War God would correct Bell any time his form started to get sloppy, renewing Bell’s focus whenever he had to call out to the young man. Mikoto was watching and waiting for her time to spar with Bell. Her purple eyes followed each of Bell’s punches, though they occasionally strayed to watch a droplet of sweat run down his toned body. Inevitably she’d end up blushing before shaking her head a little and refocusing on Bell’s technique. It was a cycle that Asuka would surely tease her about if she saw it.

-Later-

“Ikkotsu!” Bell punched the target, a thickly bound straw dummy that’s lack of hard substance made it perfect for surviving the power of such blows. The dummy’s torso was dented by Bell’s fist again, but no real damage was done to it. Bell reset himself and cocked back his opposite fist this time. “Ikkotsu!” He slammed another punch into the dummy’s torso.

“A bit higher, Bell; you’re starting to let your arms drop.” Takemikazuchi called out and Bell exhaled before tightening his form again.

Mikoto marveled at Bell’s sheer tenacity and drive to improve and get stronger. “He’s impressive.” She praised Bell with a small smile.

Takemikazuchi nodded to his daughter in all but blood. “He is.” The War God said with a nod. “Reminds me of you all when you were just starting out.”

“Ikkotsu!” Bell’s fist slammed into the dummy again.

“Have I been lax in my training lately, Takemikazuchi-sama?” Mikoto looked at her God with visible concern.

Takemikazuchi shook his head once. “Not lacking or anything, Mikoto. But you’ve reached a level of strength where you benefit more from the life and death battles in the Dungeon than you do from training.” He said as he looked over at her. “We can always give you more training though. It never hurts to keep your skills sharp and your body honed.”

Mikoto nodded to her God sharply. “Yes, Takemikazuchi-sama! I’ll strive to be better!”

“Ikkotsu!” Bell punched again in the background, completely unaware of the conversation going on between Mikoto and Takemikazuchi, his complete focus was solely on his training.

-Later-

Clack

Clack

The sound of wood hitting wood rang out through the training area as Mikoto and Bell sparred with their wooden swords. Bell came from the side, looking to hit Mikoto near her hip.

Clack

Mikoto blocked and then pivoted on the ball of her foot to bring her wooden sword towards Bell’s neck.

Clack

Bell blocked the swing, and locked their wooden swords together as he put more pressure on Mikoto’s weapon. Mikoto proved her greater experience though, letting his sword angle off of hers while she moved a half-step into Bell’s guard and tried to strike his face with the pommel of the wooden sword.

“Whoa!” Bell backstepped to dodge and barely managed to get his sword above his head to block Mikoto’s follow up strike that had been aiming for his skull.

Clack

“That’s time.” Takemikazuchi said as he approached the pair with a chuckle. “It’s almost time for everyone to head to the Dungeon, Mikoto.” He informed his ‘child’ of the current time.

Mikoto blinked at the time passing without her noticing it. “Ah, my apologies, Takemikazuchi-sama! I will wash up quickly and get ready!” She turned to Bell with a smile. “Thank you for sparring with me, Bell-sama.”

“Thank you for sparring with me, Miss Mikoto.” Bell gave her a short bow of thanks. He wiped his face with a towel that Takemikazuchi provided. “If I keep this up every day, then I’m sure to develop the foundation that I want.”

“I’m happy to be of help, Bell-sama.” Mikoto bowed a little, giving Bell a lovely smile. She headed into the Familia Home to wash up quickly and then head for the Dungeon with her Familia’s only Party.

Takemikazuchi smiled after Mikoto like a proud parent. “So proud of her.” He turned to Bell. “You did quite well today, Bell. If you keep up with this training, you will create the foundation that you seek, and have a solid, reliable base for the rest of your Skills to grow from.”

Bell gave the War God a polite bow. “Thank you very much for helping me, Lord Takemikazuchi.”

“You’re welcome, Bell.” Takemikazuchi smiled at the young man. “As you continue to improve, your swordsmanship will naturally take form and we’ll begin incorporating some techniques over time.”

“Whatever you think is best, sir.” Bell would listen to Takemikazuchi since the God hadn’t steered him wrong yet.

-Hephaestus Familia Home ~ Later-

“Are you sure that you don’t want a Low Potion?” Lili asked Bell as the two prepared to head for the Dungeon.

“I’m alright, Lili.” Bell said as he secured his sword on his hip and gave her a smile. “Just a little sore from early morning training. It’ll get better once I start moving again.”

Lili looked at Bell unconvinced. “If Lili sees you faltering in the Dungeon, she will make you drink a potion.”

Bell leaned away from the sharp look in Lili’s eyes. “Yes, Lili.”

Lili nodded once and picked up her large green backpack before heading out the door. Bell was thankful for her concern, knowing that she cared about his wellbeing was nice; but if he relied on potions to get back to perfect health after every training session, it felt like he might miss out on something…though he had no idea what that ‘something’ was or why he even felt this way.

With a shake of his head, Bell followed after Lili as they headed for Babel Tower and the Dungeon.

-Dungeon ~ Sixth Floor-

“Hyah!” Bell’s blade decapitated a War Shadow before the Monster could lash out with its knife-like claws. The head of the golem-like Monster hit the ground and the body collapsed a half-second later.

Lili tilted her head at the sight. “No Magic today, Bell?” She pulled out her knife to harvest the War Shadow’s Magic Stone.

“I’ll use it; but for only a single Monster, it’s not really necessary.” Bell said with a single shake of his head. Left unsaid was that Bell wanted to work on his swordsmanship as much as possible too. Everything that he could incorporate into his foundation, he wanted to do his absolute best to improve in.

Lili quickly retrieved the Magic Stone from the dead War Shadow and placed it into her pack. The two continued on their way through the Sixth Floor after making sure no Drop Item was left behind after the War Shadow turned to white ashes.

It wasn’t too much later that they encountered another Monster…or Monsters, in this case.

“Skreee!”

“Kree!”

“Skrreee!”

A group of Killer Ants swarmed towards the two Adventurers the instant that they saw them enter the cavern.

Wsh

Wsh

Wsh

Three quick shots from Lili’s bowgun dropped the first three ant Monsters, and briefly slowed the small horde down as they either went around their dead kin or crawled over them.

Bell unsheathed his katana and moved forward quickly to intercept the Killer Ants. “Hah!” He cut off the first Monster’s head quickly. The second met the same fate as the first, but Bell had to backstep to avoid the claws of the third and fourth Monsters. He cut the top half of the third Killer Ant from the rest of its body and parried the claws of the fourth with his blade an instant later. A powerful stomp of his foot crushed the dying Killer Ant’s head, while Bell slammed a punch with his free hand into the thorax of the fourth Killer Ant. “Ikkotsu!” The exoskeleton of the Killer Ant cracked from the force of the punch, the insect Monster staggered from the blow, its legs skittering along the stone floor looking for traction. Bell cut it down before it could recover and moved on to the next Monster.

Wsh

Wsh

Wsh

Wsh

Four more shots from Lili’s bowgun killed three more of the ant Monsters, and injured the fourth. Bell sliced off the fourth Killer Ant’s head before it could release the pheromones that the Monsters were known for which would summon a massive horde of backup.

“Just a few more!” Bell dodged the claws of another Killer Ant and cut it down. He pivoted out of the way of the mandibles of the next ant Monster and decapitated it as it overreached.

“Skreee!” The final Killer Ant lunged at Bell, claws and mandibles ready to tear the Adventurer to pieces.

“Hyah!” Bell split the Killer Ant in half, vertically, and the two halves hit the ground with a splat as green-ish blood covered the stone floor.

Lili listened for any sounds after the last Killer Ant fell. Not hearing the telltale cracking of the Dungeon walls, nor any sounds made by other Monsters, she pulled out her knife and got to work. “This was a good sized group for the Sixth Floor. You did really well, Bell.”

“Thanks, Lili.” Bell thanked her for the compliment as he stood guard. “I’m trying to train up my swordsmanship as much as I can.”

-Late Afternoon-

“Kerooo!”

“Kero!”

“Kerrro!”

 A large number of Frog Shooters croaked aggressively as Bell and Lili entered a cavern a good distance away from the main route through the Sixth Floor. The frog Monsters had clearly built up here without anyone coming by to slay them.

“The Adventurers on this Floor seem to be slacking off.” Lili said with a grimace as she readied her bowgun.

Bell drew his sword and held it at the ready. “Ignite!” Flames snapped to life and covered the blade in an intense, but contained inferno. An aura of flames seemed to be cloaking Bell’s body as well, slightly ruffling his hair from the waves of air produced by the intense heat. “Hoh!” Bell swung his sword at the same moment that the mass of Frog Shooters all shot their long tongues at him.

FWOOOOSSSHHHH

The loud roar of flames filled the cavern just like the heat they released. The Frog Shooters vanished into the blaze instantly as Bell focused on directing his fire, rather than letting it spread out in all directions.

“Kerooo!!!”

“Croooaaak!!!”

“Keeerro!!!”

The cries of the dying Monsters didn’t last long before being silenced and overtaken by the crackling flames. Bell checked around the cavern, making sure that he didn’t miss any of the Frog Shooters. All he saw were charred corpses, some with flames still burning on them, and the blackened floor and walls.

“I didn’t burn the ceiling this time.” Bell looked up at the roof of the cavern with a smile, seeing it undamaged. That was progress on his control over his Magic. Having a Party member meant that he needed more careful and precise control over his flames, lest they get caught up in his Magic and get hurt…or worse.

“It’s hot in here…” Lili deadpanned at Bell, a small grin on her lips to show that she was joking.

Bell smiled back, taking the joke, as he stood guard while Lili got to work on harvesting the large number of Frog Shooters.

-Guild Exchange ~ Late Afternoon-

“Your Magic Stones equal out to 61,386 Valis in total.” The Chienthrope woman behind the exchange window said while giving Bell and Lili a short bow. The tray with money was pushed back onto their side of the glass and Bell picked up all of the coins.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Bell gave her a nod as he and Lili moved over to one of the free tables to split the money.

Lili watched as Bell started counting out their shares before speaking. “So, you want to stop by the material storage at home and sell our Drop Items there?”

Bell thought about it as he stopped counting the Valis for a second. “Yeah, that sounds like it’ll be the easiest. We’ll get a good price, the Smiths in the Familia will get more materials, and we don’t have to make a detour on our way home.”

Whenever they didn’t get Drop Items that were good for potion making or medicine making, like Purple Moth Wings, it was easier on Lili and Bell to just sell their Drop Items directly to their own Familia. The material storage was a secured warehouse within the Hephaestus Familia’s land that took in materials purchased or collected by the Familia and stored them. If a Smith (or Adventurer and Supporter in Bell and Lili’s case) had Drop Items or Dungeon Materials that they had collected while dungeon crawling, but didn’t want, they could sell them to the material storage for a fair price above what the Guild would give them. It assured that all materials collected by Hephaestus Familia members, stayed within the Hephaestus Familia. It was just good business sense for one of the largest mercantile Familias in Orario.

“Alright, that’s 30,693 Valis for Lili.” Bell pushed the coins over to the Supporter. “And 30,693Valis for me.” He put the money into his money pouch with a smile.

Lili pocketed her share of the Valis with a bright grin. “Let’s head home and sell the rest. Tomorrow we can probably drop down to the Seventh Floor, if you want.”

Bell thought about it and nodded after a moment. “If you think I’m ready, Lili.” He headed over to meet with Misha and give his report for the day, knowing that Lili would wait for him so that they could head home and sell their Drop Items together.

-Hephaestus Familia Home (Valka’s Crimson Chamber) ~ Evening-

Hephaestus watched Bell’s day through his gathered Excelia. Everything from his early morning training at the Takemikazuchi Familia, all the way through his dungeon crawling with Lili. “I see you’re giving your all to building your foundation now.” Hephaestus was pleased to see Bell following through on his decision and working diligently at it. ‘It’s a far better plan than throwing himself headfirst into danger all of the time.’ She kept her thoughts to herself on the matter, having already told Bell as much before.

“It’s tough,” Bell admitted of the training that Takemikazuchi had him doing. “But I won’t give up! I know I need to be better if I want to reach my dream.”

“Dedication and hard work will get you there, Bell.” Hephaestus assured him with a smile, even if he couldn’t see it. She moved the Excelia into the Basic Abilities and watched the numbers rise as the Falna grew stronger. Once the numbers stopped, Hephaestus didn’t see anything new manifest in Bell’s Falna, so she placed a blank paper on his back and copied the Status Update over with a twirl of her fingertip. “Here, Bell, all done.” She handed the paper over to her ‘child’ as she locked up his Falna securely.

“Thank you, Goddess.” Bell gave her a smile as he accepted the paper and looked over his growth for the day.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – D 502 > D 594

Endurance – E 476 > D 573

Dexterity – D 511 > C 602

Agility – E 493 > D 580

Magic – D 589 > C 677

-Magic-

Kindle – Incantation: “Ignite.” Fire Enchantment Magic

-Skills-

Megáli Flóga – Provides protection from heat-based Magics and makes all Fire Magics the user casts use less Mind while significantly increasing their power.

Íroas Forge – Fast growth. The greater the effort towards the user’s goal, the greater the effect. Removes ‘impurities’ from the user, such as Charms or Curses.

-Status-

“I’m still not used to seeing such a large jump in my stats.” Bell said as he saw the growth that his training and dungeon crawling had added up to. He knew it was because of his Skill, but that still didn’t change the fact that it was incredible growth. ‘If I train diligently like this every morning, then surely I’ll grow just a bit faster too.’

“It will take some time to get used to.” Hephaestus agreed with a light laugh. “But remember, it’s your effort and hard work that’s making you grow. Your Skill can’t make you stronger unless you put in the work.” She gave him a soft hug from behind, wanting to make sure that Bell didn’t doubt his own efforts because of Íroas Forge’s effect. The Skill wouldn’t do anything for Bell (beyond protecting him from Curses and Charms) if he didn’t give it anything to work with.

Bell took his Goddess’s words to heart as he just relaxed in her gentle embrace for a while. Hephaestus seemed to enjoy holding him, and Bell couldn’t deny that the warmth and care was nice. He would take the mothering because it was love that was freely offered by his Goddess.

-Later-

“Hah…” Bell exhaled slowly and the flames around him dimmed noticeably. He was maintaining his Magic at the lowest level he could without letting it go out as a way to further train his control. The flames grew higher again, going from candle-sized to torch-sized, as he inhaled again.

“Still hard at work this late, Bell?” Tsubaki asked as she sat down across from him with a jug of booze and two small cups.

Bell opened his eyes and let his flames die out with one last exhale. “I could say the same about you, Tsubaki.” He could tell that the Captain had only just come from finishing up some of her own work.

“I’m not the one that has to be up early in the morning to go train at the Takemikazuchi Familia’s place.” Tsubaki laughed as she poured them both a drink. “Have a drink, little bunny.”

“Not a bunny…” Bell said with a sigh as he accepted the small cup. The two raised their cups in a silent toast and then downed them. “Hmm…not sure I’m a fan of this stuff.” Bell grimaced a little at the taste. It was rather strong alcohol.

Tsubaki grinned at him. “Aww, what’s a matter, fire bunny? Not a fan of a strong drink?” She poured them both another one. “C’mon, I know you’re tougher than that!”

Bell could only jokingly roll his eyes at Tsubaki and accept the small cup. “Not everyone can be a fan of hard liquor, Tsubaki.” He still drank the booze regardless.

“I’ll make sure to get you something with a sweeter taste next time, fire bunny.” Tsubaki chuckled as Bell still winced slightly from the taste of the drink.

“Not really a fan of overly sweet things either.” Bell said with a grin.

Tsubaki laughed. “Well you’re just impossible to please, aren’t ya?” She moved to sit next to him and poured herself another drink. “Your sword and armor still in good condition?”

“Yeah, they’re holding up well. I’ll bring them in for maintenance on my day off, if that’s okay?” Bell looked at Tsubaki for confirmation.

“Hmm, what day is that again?” Tsubaki asked as she set her cup down.

Bell grinned at how Tsubaki could lose track of time when she kept herself busy. “The day after tomorrow.”

“Might need to make it the day after. I’m finishing up an order from my contracted Adventurer.” Tsubaki said with a small apologetic smile at not being available to maintain Bell’s equipment on the specified day.

“No problem, I was planning to take two days off just in case.” Bell waved off the issue. It would also give him more time to let his body rest before he went right back to training and dungeon crawling.

Tsubaki threw her arm around Bell’s shoulders with a smile. “That’s why you’re my favorite, fire bunny! You don’t sweat the small stuff!”

Bell put an arm around Tsubaki’s waist as he accepted another cup of the liquor. Maybe it was liquid courage, or perhaps he’d just finally started to get used to her physically affectionate nature, but Bell didn’t get flustered this time around. The two of them just held each other and shared a drink together in the quiet of the night.

-Takemikazuchi Familia Home ~ Early Morning-

Whap

Bell pulled back his leg and reset his stance from his kick. “Kazaguruma!” He launched another one with his opposite leg.

Whap

The straw dummy moved a bit from the force of the kick, but didn’t suffer much of any damage.

“Hmm… I don’t think I’m doing the technique as well as I could.” Bell looked at the straw dummy with a grimace. When Takemikazuchi had shown him the technique, it had shattered one of the tiles that had been set up. But Bell couldn’t quite get it down like that.

“Are you having trouble, Bell-sama?” Mikoto asked politely from where she was watching over his training.

Bell looked at Mikoto with a small smile. “Just not sure how to improve my technique, really.”

Mikoto smiled, knowing that she could help with this. “May I demonstrate for you, Bell-sama?”

“Please, Miss Mikoto, I’d appreciate it.” Bell moved aside to watch Mikoto use the Kazaguruma technique.

“The technique is usually accompanied by a short leap into the air.” Mikoto explained how the Kazaguruma was normally performed. “While you’re in the air, you twist your body, using the torque provided by the full range of motion to build up power, and then kick the target.” Mikoto leapt a short height into the air from her regular standing position and Bell watched as her body twisted once and then her right foot slammed into the dummy’s head. The straw dummy went flying off to the side, the rope attaching it to the post in the ground snapping like cheap string from the force.

Bell’s eyes followed Mikoto’s motions critically, even watching as she landed, only to stall instantly when her short lilac yukata rose up as she landed and he briefly saw her panties. ‘Miss Mikoto wears black panties…’ He was fairly certain his face was getting red, but he shook his head to try and remove the color and refocus. “I’ll go get the dummy.” He offered and jogged over to where the straw dummy had landed to buy himself some time.

Mikoto breathed a sigh of relief when Bell was a safe distance away. “I think Bell-sama didn’t see anything.” She placed her hand over her heart and felt it starting to slow down. Her cheeks were pink as she thought about her lack of forethought before demonstrating the Kazaguruma technique. “How could I forget what I was wearing right now?” She mumbled to herself, a little embarrassed…but a small part of her wondered if Bell would like to see. ‘I shouldn’t think like that about Bell-sama!’ Mikoto shook her head rapidly to try and clear her mind of such thoughts.

The two would end up going through the rest of the early morning training with their own thoughts about each other in the back of their minds. Bell did make progress on his Kazaguruma technique, earning him praise from Mikoto. Their sword sparring was as intense as ever too. By the end of the early morning training, they could both look at each other without their minds going off on ‘less than pure’ lines of thought.

Neither of them knew that they were both thinking similar thoughts.

-Dungeon ~ Seventh Floor-

Wsh

Wsh

Wsh

Three bolts struck the heads of three Needle Rabbits, killing the speedy and opportunistic Monsters instantly.

“More are coming, Bell!” Lili warned as she took aim with her bowgun again.

“I’ve got them!” Bell cut down the first Needle Rabbit that leapt towards him, looking to bury it long horn into his torso. His blade flashed out a second time to bisect the next rabbit Monster. He pivoted to dodge the third and snatched it out of the air with his left hand. With a hard slam, Bell killed the Needle Rabbit by bludgeoning it against the ground.

Wsh

Wsh

Two Purple Moths fell out of the air with bolts stuck through their bodies.

“Lili has an antidote after we’re done!” Lili said to Bell as both of them were lightly dusted with the poisonous purple powder that the moth Monsters released.

“Right!” Bell called back as he leapt up slightly and twisted his body like Mikoto had shown him.

Crack

The Needle Rabbit that had leapt at Bell nearly warped around his foot as the powerful kick connected. All of its forward momentum was converted into sideways momentum and it smacked against the wall in a boneless heap. A second later and it burst apart into black ashes, its Magic Stone not having survived the two impacts.

Crack

Crack

The Dungeon walls cracked open as two new Monsters were spawned.

“Kreee!”

“Skreee!”

The two Killer Ants chittered loudly.

Bell was on them the instant they tried to pull themselves free from the wall. “Hyah!” He decapitated the Killer Ant closest to where he’d been a second ago. The second ant Monster managed to pull itself free from the wall, only for Bell to split it in half with his blade, leaving the two halves to stain the floor with blood.

“I think we’re done.” Lili said after taking a moment to listen for any more Monsters. “Lili doesn’t hear anything.” She pulled out her knife and got to work quickly. “The spawn times of Monsters will only continue to increase as we go deeper into the Dungeon. So, you’ll need to adapt to that, Bell.” Lili gave advice as the more senior and experienced Familia member.

“I’ll do my best, Lili.” Bell replied as he stood guard, keeping his senses sharp for any sounds or any movement that would give away a Monster approaching.

-In Front of the Guild Building ~ Late Afternoon-

“Bell!” A bright and cheery voice called out as Bell and Lili were about to head home.

Bell turned to the familiar voice and barely managed to catch Tiona as she wrapped him in a hug. “Miss Tiona?!”

“Idiot Tiona! Don’t just launch yourself at people!” Tione admonished her sister with a sharp tone.

Lili blinked, seeing the Hyrute Sisters up close for the first time. But seeing the away that Tiona was still hugging Bell, the Prum grinned. “I can see that you’re going to be busy, Bell. Lili will head home first.” She teased and started to walk in the direction of Valka’s Crimson Chamber.

“Lili…” Bell gave her a flat stare, but the Supporter couldn’t see it as she walked away with a laugh.

Tiona giggled as she held onto Bell’s arm. “Did you just get back from the Dungeon?”

Bell nodded with a small smile. Tiona was such a ray of sunshine that he couldn’t help but smile in return. “Yeah, we just finished for the day.” He gave Tione a warm smile. “Did you two enter the Dungeon today?”

Tione shook her head once. “No, but we were looking around, hoping to find Ais. She went off into the Dungeon by herself again.” The Amazon let out a little sigh.

“Does Miss Ais go into the Dungeon by herself often?” Bell asked, curious about the sigh.

“All the time, actually.” Tiona said with a small pout. “She’s obsessed with getting stronger. Sometimes it seems like she’s in the Dungeon more than she’s up here on the surface.”

Bell almost winced at the idea of being in the Dungeon so much. “That sounds a bit extreme. Didn’t you three say you were returning from an expedition when we met?”

“Yeah, we did just get back from an expedition.” Tione said as she sidled up to Bell and took his opposite arm for herself.  “Most of us use the time after coming back to relax and unwind. Enjoy the city and stuff. But Ais almost always goes right back into the Dungeon unless someone stops her.”

“Well, I don’t mind helping you look for Miss Ais, if you want?” Bell offered with a smile to the two Amazons. “Though I’m not sure that I’ll be much help.”

Tiona cheered at Bell’s offer. “Sure! We were planning to wait around Babel for Ais to come out of the Dungeon since we haven’t been able to find her yet!”

Tione grinned at Bell as the three headed towards the massive tower that rose above all of Orario in the center of the massive city. “We can talk some more while we wait too.” She pressed herself a little closer to Bell, her large breasts felt soft against his arm.

“Alright.” Bell agreed instantly, making both sisters smile at him.

The three of them talked on the way to Babel and found a seat near the entrance of the tower to wait for Ais to come out. Bell got to learn a bit more about the two Amazons as they waited for Ais. Tione liked to try new things that caught her attention, like music and cooking. Tiona was a fan of Heroic Tales, just like Bell was and the two compared the stories they knew.

Before the three knew it, almost an hour had passed and Tione spotted Ais’s familiar golden blonde hair coming out of the Dungeon.

“Ais!” Tiona flew at Ais and pulled her into a hug.

“Tiona?” Ais seemed surprised that Tiona was here. Tione and Bell walked over at a more normal pace and Ais felt her cheeks turn pink and she began to fidget a little. “Was I gone for…that long?”

“You were.” Tione confirmed with a nod. “We couldn’t find you anywhere, so we figured that we’d wait for you here. We happened to run into Bell near the Guild while looking for you and he decided to come and wait for you with us.” She leaned into Bell with a cute smile.

Bell smiled at Ais (who was still being hugged by Tiona). “I’m glad that you’re alright, Miss Ais.”

Ais smiled at his concern and gave Bell a small bow. “Thank you…Bell.” She wasn’t sure why his concern made her heart beat a little faster, but the feeling of butterflies in her tummy was new and kind of exciting.

“Would you like me to walk you three home?” Bell offered the three young women politely. He knew they didn’t need his protection or anything. They outclassed him so much that it would be laughable to say otherwise. But he still offered, both because it was the polite thing to do, and because he’d like to spend more time with them.

“Such a gentleman.” Tiona giggled as she wrapped her arms around Bell’s left arm.

Tione tightened her hold on his right arm with a smile. “Are you worried about us, Bell?”

“I know you can take care of yourselves.” Bell said with a soft laugh. “But I also wouldn’t mind spending more time with you.”

Ais’s golden eyes widened at his words and a beautiful smile graced Bell, Tiona, and Tione. “Thank you, Bell.”

Tiona beamed at Ais. “That was gorgeous, Ais!” It was rare to see Ais smile so genuinely like that.

“You should show that smile more often, Ais.” Tione smiled warmly at her sister in all but blood.

Bell agreed as he smiled reflexively to the beautiful smile that Ais had given them. “You’re very cute, Miss Ais.”

“Cute…” Ais felt her heart thump in her chest and looked off to the side. She’d been called cute before (many times by Loki) but when Bell said it, for some reason, it felt like it meant more. She didn’t understand why, but she did want to find out. ‘Maybe I should ask Riveria?’

The four of them headed for the Loki Familia Home, Twilight Manor, with a happy air about them. Bell would take a bit to get back to his Familia’s home, but when he arrived, there would be a small smile on his face that wouldn’t go away.

-Hephaestus’s Office ~ Evening-

“Needle Rabbits today, I see.” Hephaestus said as she watched Bell’s day through his Excelia.

“Yeah, they’re faster than I thought they’d be.” Bell said with a thoughtful hum. “Luckily they’re not as fast as Tsubaki or Miss Mikoto.” Having experience sparring with both women almost made the Needle Rabbits seem slow.

Hephaestus moved the Excelia over and watched Bell’s stats increase for a moment. Not seeing anything else, she copied over the numbers to a blank piece of paper and then locked up Bell’s Falna. “At this rate, you’ll hit the Level Cap before you even reach the Middle Floors.”

Bell took the Status Update and looked it over.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – D 594 > C 682

Endurance – D 573 > C 664

Dexterity – C 602 > C 693

Agility – D 580 > C 659

Magic – C 677 > B 765

-Magic-

Kindle – Incantation: “Ignite.” Fire Enchantment Magic

-Skills-

Megáli Flóga – Provides protection from heat-based Magics and makes all Fire Magics the user casts use less Mind while significantly increasing their power.

Íroas Forge – Fast growth. The greater the effort towards the user’s goal, the greater the effect. Removes ‘impurities’ from the user, such as Charms or Curses.

-Status-

“What should I do if that happens?” Bell asked Hephaestus curiously.

Hephaestus gently ruffled his white hair. “Then you’ll need to gather enough quality Excelia to eventually Level Up. But you’ll probably need a bigger Party for that.”

Bell looked thoughtfully at his Status Update for a bit before he eventually tossed it into the fireplace. He’d worry about things like that when the time came. For now, he’d keep doing what he was doing as he worked on building up his own foundation.

-The Next Day-

“I can’t believe I forgot that today was Monsterphilia.” Bell said to himself as he moved along with the crowd on West Main Street. He’d been wanting to see the festival and the Xenos Monsters since Lili had told him about them; yet he still forgot what day it was because of how busy he was with his training and dungeon crawling.

“Nya! Wait up white-hair!” A female voice called out and Bell stopped instinctively. He knew his hair color was pretty rare outside of older people normally. Looking towards the source of the voice he spotted one of the waitresses standing outside of the Hostess of Fertility.

“Miss Anya?” Bell blinked at the brunette Cat Girl, having learned her name from Syr. “Good morning, did you need something?”

“Good morning, sorry for calling out to you like that, nya!” Anya smiled at him brightly. “Here.” She placed a fairly heavy coin purse in Bell’s hands. “Give this to that scatterbrain, okay?”

“Um…?” Bell looked at her confused, wondering what she was talking about.

“Anya, that’s not enough information, Mr. Cranel is confused.” Ryu walked up to the pair.

“You’re so silly, Ryu!” Anya held up both hands with a shrug. “Syr went to Monsterphilia and forgot her wallet. So, I want Bell to take it to her, nya. He knows that much without me saying it.”

“That’s how it is. Sorry for the insufficient explanation the first time.” Ryu gave a slight bow to Bell. “Would you please accept our request? We are busy with preparations and unable to go ourselves.”

“Sure, I don’t mind. I was actually headed there myself.” Bell smiled at the waitresses. “Would Miss Syr be around the Amphitheatron or somewhere else?”

Anya tilted her head. “Not sure, nya! Syr said that she was going to buy souvenirs!”

Ryu deadpanned at the Cat Girl. “Wasn’t that at your request?”

“Then I’ll look for her as I make my way towards the colosseum!” Bell smiled at them both. “I’ll make sure to stop by for dinner again soon!” He waved to them as he took off.

“We’ll look forward to serving you then, Mr. Cranel.” Ryu gave a short bow to Bell as he left.

“Nya, come by whenever, white-hair!” Anya waved back without a care.

-Amphitheatron ~ Monster Holding Area-

“Hey! What’s the hold up?! Why isn’t the next Monster up there yet?” A female Adventurer of the Ganesha Familia demanded as she opened the large wooden doors. She gasped when she saw the other members of her Familia all struggling with the crate that held a Sword Stag in it. The large deer Monster from the Middle Floors was rocking the entire steel crate as it tried to escape. “Why is it so agitated?”

“We don’t know! It just started being aggressive when we moved its crate!” One of the armored members of the Ganesha Familia told the young woman. “We need a minute to get it under control!”

BAM

The crate rocked again and the steel bars that made up the door bent outwards from the force of the Sword Stag’s strength. It’s blade-like antlers actually left shallow grooves in the metal. The loud metallic clang of metal hitting metal almost made the Ganesha Familia members’ ears ring.

BAM

Another charge bowed out the steel bars even further the sound seemed to echo in the holding area, almost like there were two metal impacts.

“I’m here! I’m here!” One of Ganesha Familia’s Tamers arrived after getting the message about the Sword Stag’s aggressive behavior. The man was tall and very muscular, with a thick black beard. Seeing the situation, his face became stern as he walked up to the shaking crate. “Sit down!” He threw a punch straight between the bent bars and socked the Sword Stag right in the face.

The deer Monster staggered and hit the side of the crate. “REEEEAAAAUUHHH!!!” It bellowed at the Tamer, but the man didn’t even flinch, staring the Sword Stag down in a clash of wills.

“Calm down.” The Tamer said again and the Sword Stag backed up a step, giving in to the greater strength of the Tamer. “That’s better.” The man nodded to the Monster. It wouldn’t hold for long, since Taming was a Skill that had to be liberally used and reinforced against Monsters. But this would at least keep the Sword Stag calm until they got it into the colosseum for the show.

As the group moved the damaged crate out of the holding area and towards the doors leading to the colosseum floor, they didn’t pay any attention to the rest of the Monsters that were currently behaving.

In one of the large crates was an irregular that had been captured to prevent a potential problem for the Upper Floors. The beast was roughly three meters tall, even though its species was normally only about two meters tall, it had an ape-like body covered in silver-white fur, and gleaming red-eyes. On each of its wrists were shackles and attached to each shackle was a length of thick, steel chain. This was a Monster that spawned on the Eleventh and Twelfth Floors of the Dungeon, a Silverback.

This irregular had started down the path of becoming a strengthened species. It had developed a taste for the Magic Stones of its brethren and ate them to grow stronger, which explained its greater height. However, it was also mildly more intelligent than the average Silverback. It knew that it was in danger here and while the Sword Stag had been rampaging, it had hidden its own escape attempt under the loud noise that the deer Monster had made. Using its greater strength, it had managed to snap the thick steel chain holding it to the floor of its crate. With the Ganesha Familia members gone for the moment, the irregular Silverback made its escape.

RRRRNNNNUUUGGGHHH

The steel bars bent under the Silverback’s enhanced strength as it pulled the middle bars away from each other. When there was just enough space, the irregular Monster squeezed through the opening and managed to get out of its crate. Not wanting to stay in a place where stronger beings than it existed and could threaten it, the Silverback quickly charged through the thick wooden doors and smashed them open, taking off down the corridors and outside before anybody had realized what had happened.

-East Main Street-

“The festival is so busy, I’m not sure that I’ll be able to find Miss Syr.” Bell was starting to realize just how hard it was to find a single person in a crowd this massive. He hadn’t seen a single person that looked like Syr at all, so far.

“Hey, did you hear something?” A Hume Bunny woman asked the man she was with.

“No,” The human man looked confused. “Did you?”

The sound from a distance caught Bell’s attention this time. “Was that a scream?”

“It’s a Monster!” A much louder scream tore through the air and the crowd around the area all went wide-eyed in fear.

A stack of crates off to one side of the street were smashed to pieces sending broken wood flying everywhere. Citizens ran screaming in any direction away from the Monster. Bell instantly moved in front of the Monster, putting himself between it and the fleeing people. He felt his heart pound in his chest and his eyes widened when he actually saw what the beast was.

“A Silverback…” Bell said as he gazed up at the larger than normal Monster. The Silverback had clearly escaped, judging by the shackles and chains still attached to its wrists. Bell knew about Silverbacks from his lessons that Misha had given him about the Upper Floors of the Dungeon. This was a Monster of the Eleventh and Twelfth Floors. Silverbacks were one of the Large Category Monsters, and were often described as one of the ‘highlight’ Monsters of the Upper Floors.

“Groaaaah!” The Silverback roared as people fled from it in terror. Its bright red-eyes locked onto Bell as he stood before the ape Monster.

Bell drew his katana and held it at the ready. “Ignite!” He activated his Magic and flames roared to life around his body. With a snap, fire surrounded the blade of his sword and Bell did what he’d done when he’d fought the Minotaur on the Fifth Floor. A blazing ring of fire surrounded the himself and the Silverback, keeping the Monster contained and protecting the civilians.

“ROOAAAHHH!!!” The Silverback swung the thick steel chain attached to the shackle on its left wrist at Bell.

Bell’s flaming sword cut through it with little issue, the length of chain clattering noisily onto the cobblestones, the link that had been cut in two was glowing red-orange from the heat still. Tsubaki’s craftsmanship paired with Bell’s Magic allowed the blade of the sword to easily overcome the steel chain.

The Silverback leapt into the air and swung the right chain at Bell this time. “RAAAAGGGH!!!”

Bell dodged to the side, the fast-moving chain tearing up part of the cobblestone street. The Silverback whipped the chain around wildly as it landed, forcing Bell to constantly move to avoided being lashed by the impromptu weapon. Eventually the wild swinging became a pattern that Bell could follow with his eyes. With a quick stab downwards, Bell managed to capture the chain, his blade (now free of flames) stabbed through two of the links, pinning it to the ground.

The Silverback’s arm jerked to a stop and it roared in rage. “ROAAUURRRHH!!!” It pulled on the chain strongly and managed to free it as Bell’s sword came out of the ground. But in doing so, the Silverback had taken its eyes off of Bell.

“Sōkotsu!” Bell was in the Silverback’s guard, right in front of its torso. The ape Monster’s hunched over position from pulling the chain from the ground had brought its torso down into Bell’s striking range. The powerful double punch slammed into the abdomen of the Silverback with resounding force.

“Ruuaaakkkhhh!!!” The Silverback hacked up blood and fell backwards with a crash.

Bell stepped back, skipping backwards twice to reach his sword and pick it up, wreathing it in flames once more with a sharp snap. It proved to be the correct decision as the injured Silverback swung the chain at him again. Bell shot forward and swung his blade upwards at the exact moment the chain was passing overhead. The steel gave way to the intense heat of Bell’s flames and the majority of the black chain flew off and clattered to the cobblestones outside of the ring of flames.

The Silverback struggled to get back to its feet. It’s slightly higher than normal intelligence meant that it understood the danger of staying here. However, there was little that it could do to escape with the wall of fire that surrounded it and the little creature that had caused it so much pain and injury with a single blow. “Raauuuhhh!!!” It tried to back away, but the blazing flames behind it wouldn’t let it go very far.

“Despite your size, you’re not as fast nor as strong as I expected you to be.” Bell said to the large Silverback.

With no other options left to it, the Silverback lunged forward, both arms fully extended as it tried to crush Bell between its large hands. “RAAAHHHH!!!”

“Hyah!” Bell’s flames roared as he swung his blade down on the Silverback.

FWOOOOOSSSSHHHH

A wave of yellow-orange fire engulfed the irregular Silverback and twisted into a towering inferno focused solely around the Monster. The heat was so intense that many of the watching people backed up a few extra steps to stop their skin from stinging. Those who could see through the flames watched as the silver fur burned to nothing, followed by the flesh becoming ashes that flew away with the rapidly rising air currents caused by the heat of the conflagration. The Silverback’s body took so much damage that it exploded into black ash a second later.

Bell cut the Mind to his spell and the flames vanished in an instant. Only the still hot air and the black scorched cobblestones gave any hint to what had just happened. In the middle of the scorch mark lay a fist-sized Magic Stone, the dark purple crystal filled with multiple spiraling lights of Magic Energy within.

“Yeah!” Someone cried out in excitement.

That unleashed the floodgates as people that had been hiding and those that had been watching from a distance, all started applauding and cheering for Bell’s defeat of the Silverback. Bell sheathed his katana and gave the cheering crowd a smile to assure them that they were safe.

‘Really glad that I listened to Tsubaki about always carrying my sword with me, just in case.’ Bell thought to himself as he knew it would’ve been a much harder fight without his weapon. It was still a bit surreal that a Monster from the Eleventh and Twelfth Floors hadn’t been much of a challenge. But with how powerful his Magic was and his current stats, he could probably get permission from Misha to go to the Tenth Floor at the very least if he really wanted to push it.

“That was awesome!” Tiona cheered, having arrived with Tione, Ais and Loki a short time ago.

The four of them had just come from dealing with some weird Flower Monsters that had appeared on the opposite side of the colosseum. The news of the Silverback’s escape had only just made it to them when they saw the heat haze and smoke rising into the air above the buildings. Tione, Tiona, and Ais had raced through the streets to get to the scene as fast as they could, leaving Loki struggling to try and keep up. What they’d seen when they got there had been a familiar sight to the three Adventurer women. An intensely hot ring of fire surrounding a large Monster (a Silverback this time) and Bell Cranel. They’d watched as Bell had pinned the chain to the ground with his sword, and then the powerful double punch that had knocked the much larger Monster to the ground and made it hack up blood. Seeing Bell easily cut through the thick steel chain and then finish off the Silverback had left all three of their hearts beating powerfully. Tione and Tiona both felt like their Amazonian blood was as hot as Bell’s flames.

“Miss Tione, Miss Tiona, Miss Ais.” Bell greeted the three as they approached him. He wasn’t expecting to be sandwiched between the Hyrute Sisters as both Tione and Tiona pressed themselves against him with eyes that burned with desire. Their hands ran over her chest and stomach, almost as if they were planning to pull it up and off of him. “Eh?”

“Down girls!” Loki clapped her hands twice. When that didn’t get any reaction from the two Amazons, Loki spoke up louder. “I will get a hose!”

Tione and Tiona both grumbled at Loki, shooting their Goddess a glare as they took a step back from Bell and tried to cool their blood.

“Ya can’t just go doing things like that in the streets!” Loki said to the two, nearly pouting, Amazons. Distracted by Tiona and Tione, Loki didn’t notice how Ais was looking at Bell.

‘Stronger and stronger every time that I see you… I want to be stronger too…’ Ais thought with her cheeks flushed pink. Seeing his pure rubellite eyes, burning with a pure and beautiful flame, Ais couldn’t help but compare it to the ugly black flame of revenge that she always felt burning within her. ‘But somehow…when you’re around…the black flame goes out.’ Ais realized that while looking at Bell and the lightness that she felt from the loss of the black flame made her smile beautifully. “Congratulations…Bell.”

“Thank you, Miss Ais.” Bell smiled back at her just as warmly.

“No fair, Ais!” Tiona wrapped her arms around Bell in a hug.

Tione put her arm around Bell’s shoulders, pressing herself flush against him. “No hogging Bell.” She teased the blonde and giggled when Ais’s pink cheeks turned red.

Loki looked between Bell and Ais before pointing at Bell. “Stop trying to seduce my girls, fire rabbit!” She then turned to Ais. “Ais-tan! Don’t fall for that bunny!”

The shenanigans of the Trickster Goddess were brought to an end as the Ganesha Familia and members of the Guild arrived to ascertain the situation and what had happened. Bell was practically surrounded and questions were asked quickly and efficiently, one after another. Loki managed to get Tione, Tiona, and Ais moving towards the Guild to go check on Lefiya since the Elf girl had been hurt fighting the strange, unknown Flower Monsters.

Several minutes later and Bell was freed, only to find himself looking straight at Syr. “Miss Syr?”

“That was incredible, Bell!” Syr beamed at him with a cute smile. “I saw your fight against that Monster!”

“You did?” Bell rubbed the back of his head before remembering what he was doing before the Silverback had shown up. “Ah! Miss Anya and Miss Ryu wanted me to bring this to you!” He handed her the heavy coin purse with a smile.

“Oh! Thank you!” Syr accepted her coin purse with a bashful little smile. “I realized that I’d forgotten it a bit ago and was heading back to the Hostess to pick it up… But then I saw your fight and I was mesmerized.”

Bell couldn’t help but look at the ground, a little overwhelmed by Syr’s praise. “I don’t think it was that impressive…”

Syr giggled behind her hand at Bell being so cute after what he’d just done. Her silvery eyes glowed faintly as she looked at him again. Her heart fluttered a little in her chest and she made a decision. “Would you like to go see some of Monsterphilia with me, Bell?”

“Together?” Bell looked up at Syr. When she nodded with a soft smile, Bell couldn’t help but agree. “I’d like that, Miss Syr.”

“Wonderful!” Syr happily took his hand and began to lead him along with a beautiful smile on her face.

Bell couldn’t argue against Syr when she looked so happy and let her lead him around the large festival. ‘Is this considered a date?’ He wondered to himself as they were approaching the colosseum.

“The next Xenos exhibition is starting soon.” Syr pointed out a large poster on the wall of the colosseum that listed off the day’s events.

“I did want to see the Xenos.” Bell said as he looked at the pictures of various Monsters on the large posters.

Syr showed him to the ticket booths and the two bought seats for the next show. “Ah, it’s Ray the Siren. Her singing is beautiful!”

Bell vaguely knew what a Siren was, but knew that he wouldn’t have to fight any of them until he reached much deeper Floors of the Dungeon. “I’ve only heard that Siren song is almost hypnotic.”

“Then you’re in for a treat, Bell!” Syr promised as they found their seats and sat down next to each other.

It was quite the treat to hear Ray the Siren’s singing. A melody and tone that was soft and beautiful, nearly hypnotic in its wonderful sound. Bell nearly felt himself lost to the music a couple of times before shaking it off.

When Ray finished her song the entire Amphitheatron roared with applause and cheers, making the cute Siren blush and bow to the crowd in thanks.

Syr giggled at Bell’s amazement and happily moved a little closer to him on the bench. “There should be an exhibition battle next.”

Bell looked down at the colosseum floor with excitement. “Xenos versus Xenos…I wonder what that’s like?” He turned to smile at Syr. “Have you ever seen it before, Miss Syr?”

“A few times.” Syr confirmed with a grin. “I think you’ll like it, Bell.”

“Now! For the moment you’ve all been waiting for!” The announcement came over the speakers. “The second Xenos Mock Battle of the day!” The crowd roared in excitement. “From the east gate, the Lizardman warrior himself, Lyd!”

“Yeah!” Lyd was a red-scaled Lizardman with light armor strapped to his body, a shield in one hand, and a sword in the other. He raised his sword high to the cheers of the crowd.

“And from the west gate, the Foimore powerhouse, Four!” The announcer pointed to the opposite gate where a large goat-headed humanoid Monster walked out, carrying a large metal club and wearing armor similar to Lyd’s.

“Baauuhhh!” Four bellowed out loudly, before pointing his large club at Lyd challengingly.

“Are you two ready?” The announcer looked at both of the Xenos with an excited grin.

“Let’s go!” Lyd raised his shield and readied his sword.

“Bah!” Four nodded, taking his large club in two hands, ready to fight.

“BEGIN!!!” The announcer declared, and was quickly drowned out by the roar of the crowd as the two Xenos rushed towards each other as the fight began.

Bell marveled at the speed of the two Xenos as they exchanged blows. “They’re fast!”

“About Level 5, roughly?” Syr estimated the strength of the two Xenos for Bell.

“Really?” Bell briefly looked away from the battle and at Syr. ‘Is this the speed of a fight between First-Class Adventurers too?’ He could only barely keep up when the two Xenos seemed to get more serious with their moves.

Syr’s silvery eyes followed the fight, a faint purple glow could be seen for a brief moment if one were looking closely. “Hm, the Lizardman is a bit stronger.”

Bell blinked, taking his eyes off the match to look at Syr again. “It is? How can you tell?”

“I’m pretty good at figuring things out.” Syr replied with a cute smile.

Sure enough, after a clash of weapons, Lyd’s tail swiped one of Four’s legs out from under the Fomoire. The goat-like humanoid staggered a step, only to take a shield bash from Lyd and be knocked to the ground. The next instant, Lyd’s sword was pointed at Four’s neck.

“Shuah…” Four snorted out and yielded to Lyd.

“Good match.” Lyd chuckled to his friend.

“And we have our winner!” The announcer called out into his mic. “Give it up for Lyd!” The crowd burst into applause and cheers for the Lizardman.

Lyd helped Four up and the two walked off to the south gate together, both waving to the people as they left the field to make room for the next event.

“You were right, Miss Syr!” Bell smiled at her while applauding for the match that he’d watched. “I need to get better at estimating strength too.”

Syr giggled at Bell’s exuberance, but her thoughts were different. ‘In time, Bell, I’ll tell you everything. Who I am, the Familia I’m from, my past, my Level, all of it. I promise.’ She maintained her cute smile, even as her mind was briefly filled with painful memories of things that she wished she could forget. Things that had pushed her out of her old life and into being a waitress at the Hostess of Fertility with Anya and Mia.

But today, she’d enjoy her little impromptu date with Bell. The smile on her face became more genuine as she moved a little closer to Bell again. The two were nearly touching now and if Syr had her way, she’d be leaning against him before they left.

-End Chapter-

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

Bell ends up having quite the roller coaster of experiences at Monsterphilia! Looking for Syr, fighting an enhanced species Silverback, meeting Tione, Tiona, and Ais, the Amazon Twins practically getting ready to snu-snu him right then and there! Kek!

Then he actually found Syr and the two started a sudden little date! Adorable!

But what’s this about Syr’s past? Her Familia? Her Level?!

Have I completely changed up Syr’s backstory?!

The answer is yes. Heh!

Bell will find out in time as will all of the readers!

The Xenos are already on the surface in this story too! I LIKE my version of events for them! It makes WAY more sense that literal Gods would know how to spin a tale of half-truths to promote the slow integration of the Xenos into living on the surface, rather than trying to keep it all hush-hush and expect things to just work out eventually.

Since Bell’s stats are already around the rank necessary to be on the Eleventh and Twelfth Floors, did slaying the Silverback give him much of a boost? It wasn’t THAT hard of a fight.

But the butterfly effect of such a public takedown of the irregular Silverback might just have Bell getting more attention, both positive and negative, in the future!

What will come of Bell’s continued hard training to build up his foundation? His actions at Monsterphilia? His natural charisma that seems to be attracting quite a few lovely ladies?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!