Danmachi - Inari Familia Premise Chapter 1 (Patreon)

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically.

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you a brand-new story! It’s Danmachi again! Since the Series seems to have a freaking stranglehold on my Muse’s throat. But this time, we’re REALLY changing things up! Breaking Canon over my knee! The first biggest change is that Hestia never descended to Gekai! Oh no! Who will take in Bell now?! Perhaps another Goddess that’s looking to start her own Familia and make a change within the Dungeon City of Orario?

If you’d like to become a patron and get access to these chapters earlier, just head on over to Pat re on and add a /Kairomaru after the com.

Make sure to thank the patrons that make these stories possible by checking out the Patron Plaque on my profile!

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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

Chapter 1 – A Boy with a Dream meets a Fox Deity

When Bell Cranel came to Orario after his grandfather passed away, his head was filled with dreams. Dreams of meeting cute girls, saving them, knowing ladies of all the various races. He blamed his grandpa! He’d been raised on the Dungeon Oratoria, one of the largest collections of Hero stories in the world. Growing up with his grandfather in their quiet mountain village had been a simple life. They had to occasionally deal with Monsters, but nothing too strong ever appeared, mostly weak Goblins.

Unfortunately for the white-haired young man, his grandpa had passed away in an accident while out with the other village men hunting. There wasn’t even a chance to recover his body. Bell had moped about their cabin home for weeks in a stupor. The light of life had only returned to his rubellite eyes after he found the Dungeon Oratoria book that his grandfather had written and illustrated in his spare time. All of his dreams of becoming a Hero had come back to him all at once, as had the happy memories with his grandfather. Happy tears had left his eyes and he’d made the decision then and there to head for the Dungeon City of Orario.

Bell had sold everything he could in the village market, he’d probably gotten a bit more than they were worth from the kind villagers that were just happy to see life in the young man again. The cabin would be taken by another family, but Bell had no real reason to return. He had the few keepsakes that reminded him of the happy times with his grandfather and that’s all that he was taking with him. With the money from selling everything, Bell had bought passage on a merchant convoy headed for Orario. That had been a few weeks ago, his village in the mountains was pretty remote, so the trip had been kinda long.

“But I’m here now.” Bell smiled as he looked down one of the main streets of the huge, walled city. Orario truly lived up to its moniker of ‘The Center of the World’ and for a young man coming from a tiny farming village, it was amazing. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Chienthropes, Cat People, Amazons, Hume Bunnies, Boaz, Werewolves, Weretigers, Raccoon People, Prums, and every Race that could be thought of by the young man was here in Orario! “I need to go to the Guild to become an Adventurer.” Bell grinned as he took off towards Babel Tower. The Guild was in charge of the Dungeon and all related activities connected to it, so he needed to go there first thing. All he had to do was register with them to become an Adventurer and he’d be on his way.

Only that was a little harder than he’d initially thought.

To become an Adventurer, you needed a Falna, a God or Goddess’s Blessing. The Monsters in the Dungeon, the literal source of all Monsters in the world, were far stronger than the Monsters found on the surface. Being that most surface Monsters were mere offshoots -descendants for a different term- of Monsters that had escaped the Dungeon before Orario was built over it, that was understandable. The Guild wouldn’t let just anyone delve into the Dungeon and throw their life away.

So, after filling out the paperwork that he could right away, Bell had set out to join a Familia. He tried all the big names first, of course! Loki Familia, Freya Familia, Ganesha Familia, and a few others had turned him away at the door. They were large Familias and required new members to have something to offer the Familia first. Skills, Magic, Combat Experience, none of which a simple mountain villager like Bell possessed at all.

“I guess I should’ve expected that.” Bell sighed after being rejected again. “Well, I’ll start asking the smaller Familia. It shouldn’t take too long to find one that’ll accept me.” He nodded to himself and went to get something cheap for dinner and find an inn for the night. The sun was beginning to set and he didn’t want to try sleeping outside in the city.

-Takemikazuchi Familia Home-

“Haaaah…” A beautiful woman sighed as she looked up at the moon in the night sky. She had long silver hair that reached her waist, though she usually kept it tied into a low ponytail. Her skin was soft, fair, and without blemish. She often wore what many would know as ‘Miko Robes’ during the day when she was out an about, but for now she was in a simple lilac yukata. Her beauty would be considered ethereal and otherworldly, but that was to be expected of a Goddess.

“There’s no need to sigh, Inari.” A man spoke up as he brought a small wooden tray with a bottle and two cups out of the eastern style house that was his Familia’s home. He had black hair and black eyes. His hair was in a style that was traditional in the Far East. With two long lengths of his hair tied up into hanging loops on either side of his head, framing his face, while the rest was kept secure in a low ponytail.

“Says you, Také.” Inari sighed, two fluffy silver fox ears appearing atop her head and multiple silver foxtails appearing behind her as she relaxed further. Inari Ōkami was the Far East Goddess of foxes, fertility, rice, tea and sake, of agriculture and industry, of general prosperity and worldly success. She was one of the principal Kami of the Shinto Pantheon and held in high regard. So, it was with embarrassment that she recalled how she ended up in Orario with nothing to her name and had become a burden on the only other member of her Pantheon within the Dungeon City.

-Flashback-

“Are you really descending to Gekai, Inari?” A Goddess with long black hair, green eyes, and a gentle air about her asked. “It won’t be the same here in Tenkai once you’re gone.” She gently gripped the sleeves of her immaculate pink kimono.

“Yes, we of the Shinto Pantheon have ten-thousand Kami, yet not even a single percent of us have descended to Gekai.” Inari smiled back at the other Goddess. “What’s more, Takemikazuchi and Tsukuyomi have taken it upon themselves to support all of the common children, the orphans, and the unwanted. A lone War God is the only representation that the Shinto Pantheon has in the Dungeon City. He does everything he can to earn money to send back to Tsukuyomi for the children. It breaks my heart to see them all struggling while Amaterasu lives in the capital of her country and ignores them.”

“Amaterasu did unite that country underneath her banner though.” The other Goddess reminded. “But we cannot use our Arcanum in Gekai, so even her authority can only reach so far. There will be places of suffering, no matter what we do.”

“I know,” Inari sighed as she looked down upon the lower world. “But I want to help. It’s not like I’m trying to convince anyone else to join me.”

“Many of us refuse to descend.” The green-eyed Goddess shrugged slightly. “You know Shinigami and Izanami aren’t going to leave their duties to anyone else.”

“I’m aware.” Inari giggled lightly, making the other Goddess smile.

“I wish you the best of luck, Inari. Not that you need it, right, Kami of worldly success?” The pink-clad Goddess giggled behind the sleeve of her kimono.

“Oh hush,” Inari waved her off. “Maybe one day I’ll see you in Gekai too, eh Sakuya?”

“Perhaps, but not for a long while yet.” Konohanasakuya-hime smiled at her friend. “There are already so many Deities that have descended that it’s becoming a chore to keep the cycle of reincarnation flowing.”

“Everybody gets a chance, but only so many at a time.” Inari nodded at the agreement that had been made throughout Tenkai. “I can only go now because another Deity was returned to Tenkai for some reason.”

“I’m sure they’ll absolutely love how much work there is to maintain now.” Sakuya let out an adorably evil little chuckle.

“I’ll be on my way.” Inari gave a smile to Sakuya.

“You’re planning to descend near Amaterasu, correct?” Sakuya looked at her friend once more before she left.

“Yes, she’ll probably gift me enough to head for Orario and help represent our Pantheon more.” Inari confirmed for the other Goddess. “I’ll stop by Tsukuyomi’s place on my way to the Dungeon City. If I give her a bit of whatever Amaterasu gifts me then I’m sure that she can keep going until I can get my own Familia established and start sending money back as well.”

“You have always been a kind-hearted one, Inari.” Sakuya hugged her friend gently. “Have a safe trip.”

“Thank you, Sakuya.” Inari smiled as they separated and she used her Arcanum to bridge Tenkai and Gekai long enough for her to travel to the lower world. ‘I’m coming to help, Také, just give me some time.’

The sensation of her Arcanum binding itself as soon as her feet touched the ground was odd. She knew it would happen, of course, that had been agreed upon when the various Deities had all gotten together to set some rules for entering and living in Gekai. The rule was empowered by the will of every Deity and enforced by Ouranos’s Domain of Divine Authority, so it was completely impartial and no one could circumvent the rules.

When Inari opened her eyes, she was met with an unexpected sight. The large walls of Orario were visible in the distance along with the immense form of Babel Tower. “Eh?” She blinked a few times, and even rubbed her eyes for good measure. “How? I was going for Amaterasu…but…oh.” She recalled what her last thought was before descending. “No…no, no, no…no…NOOOO!!!” Inari nearly fell to her knees in rage, shame, guilt, and humiliation. Her thoughts had led her to descending close to Takemikazuchi instead of her intended target of Amaterasu. She had nothing to her name in Gekai! No money, no items, no followers! “I screwed up…” She lamented, feeling small tears form in the corners of her eyes.

-End Flashback-

Inari sighed heavily again and sipped the sake that Také offered her. It was completely inferior to her own brew, but that was to be expected. They’d already drank the first bit of what she’d made. She was lucky that Orario had a thriving alcohol brewing economy. Most of the small breweries were more than thrilled to have a Deity of Alcohol use their facilities for a cut of whatever they brewed. The company would sell it as a limited item and make a killing on the market. Being that sake was one of her Domains, she’d put her knowledge to use to make as much money as she could in the fastest way that she knew how.

After getting into Orario as a new Goddess, she’d immediately been escorted to the Guild to let them know that she’d be taking up residency. Once that was done, she’d asked for directions to Takemikazuchi Familia. To say that Také had been surprised to see her was putting it mildly. The War God had given her a full bow of respect and invited her into his home. She’d met his six ‘children’ and then the two Kami had been left alone to chat. She’d had to explain, through a mountain of guilt and shame, what had occurred and why she was in Orario with nothing to her name. Takemikazuchi had been understanding and thanked her for the help she wanted to offer. It was quickly arranged that she’d stay with him and his Familia until she could get her own started.

In what could only be described as some kind of odd twist of Fate, the Goddess Loki had encountered the first batch of her sake to hit the market. She’d fallen in love with it immediately and sought out Inari to ask for some more, saying it was just as good as Soma’s wine. When Inari had revealed that what had been sold by the brewery was merely the ‘immature’ sake that hadn’t aged yet, the Trickster Goddess had been adamant to try the fully aged and ‘perfect’ sake. Inari had explained that what she currently had would need at least six months to achieve proper age. Loki, much to the lament of the Prum, High Elf, and Dwarf that she had with her, had immediately agreed to sign a contract to buy as much of the finished sake as Inari would sell her.

“Soon enough.” Inari sighed, returning her gaze to the moon.

“You’ll have a good amount of Valis after the sale of your sake, and you already have another two batches aging, right?” Takemikazuchi smiled at Inari, trying to lift her mood.

“Three batches now.” Inari looked over with a small smile. “I put the third into storage to age just this morning.”

“That’s a good thing, you should be happier.” Takemikazuchi chuckled as he refilled her cup and then sipped his own sake.

“I’ve had to live off of you for over nine months now, Také.” Inari lamented with her eyes downcast. “Your Familia are doing their best to get by and send money back to Tsukuyomi for the orphans. What did I do? I screwed up trying to help and then ended up piling more work onto you when you’re already spread so thin.” She loathed the burden that she’d put on her friend.

“You’ve also been trying your best to make up for your mistake.” Takemikazuchi reminded the Goddess of so many Domains. “You’ve shared good sake with us, the girls of my Familia especially love you, and we’ve had good times since you arrived.”

“I think I should start looking for Familia members.” Inari looked up at the moon. “The sale will go through soon and I’ll have something to offer the first child that joins my Familia. I can also send a nice amount to Tsukuyomi for the orphans and pay for some really nice food for all of us to celebrate together.” She grinned at Takemikazuchi as her multiple foxtails swayed gently behind her.

“Something to look forward to then.” Takemikazuchi chuckled as he refilled his cup. “To the future of our Familias.” He raised the cup into the air.

“To the future of our Familias.” Inari smiled and gently clinked her cup with his before they both drank.

-One Week Later-

“Not one…” Bell lamented, sitting on a crate in one of the many alleyways of Orario.

He thought it would be easy to find a Familia to take him on. His second day in Orario he’d tried to apply at some smaller Familias, but even the mid-tier Familias hadn’t wanted him. The third day was the same, as was the fourth. On the fifth day, Bell started looking at the smallest Familia’s, the ones that had less than a dozen members. He was met with more rejection. The smaller Familia’s didn’t even give a reason for their refusal. He’d had doors closed in his face, he had been laughed at until he left, and just a bit ago he had been physically shoved out the door and onto the ground outside. A full week of rejections, mockery, and ridicule had started to show their marks as the light in Bell’s eyes began to dull. He was starting to run low on money…maybe another few days at the cheap inn he was renting. Perhaps if he only ate one meal a day then he could make that last another week? He was already down to one average meal and a small meal in the evening, what was a little hunger compared to being out on the streets?

“I guess I’ll try in the northeast…there’s supposed to be a few small Familia there if what the Guild said is right.” Bell sighed heavily and stood up. He walked towards the northeast part of the city with only a faint spark of hope left of finding any Familia to accept him.

-Northeast Orario-

“Seriously?” Inari grumbled lowly to herself. How hard was it to find a first Familia member? She’d approached a few that looked to be good candidates, but all of them had rejected her offer when Inari had admitted that she was waiting on money to come in and didn’t currently have anything to offer them. “Do they think I’m lying to them or something?” The Goddess of many Domains took a moment to rest on a bench. She’d been walking around all morning already and her feet could use a break.

“That’s another rejection…” Bell muttered to himself as he walked down the street. Passing by various people without really paying attention. That last Familia had only had eight members and they all still looked at him like he was a stupid kid playing games.

‘Did he say rejection?’ Inari perked up slightly. ‘Is he looking for a Familia?’ Her silver eyes looked at the young man as he stepped aside to let a taxi wagon pass. The boy’s white hair was a similar shade to her own silvery locks. Those ruby eyes were striking too. ‘He’s like a rabbit! So cute!’ Inari hid a giggle behind the sleeve of her robe. ‘I could just eat him up~’ The Goddess felt her fox ears spring up and her tails appear behind her. A true fox after a rabbit. Seeing the young man start walking away after the wagon had passed, she stood up to follow him.

“Where’s the next Familia supposed to be?” Bell looked at the map of Orario that he’d gotten from the Guild. Navigating the sprawling city was difficult for a new resident like him.

“Excuse me, young man.” Inari spoke up from behind him.

“Yes? Can I help you…” Bell’s words trailed off as he looked at the beautiful woman standing behind him. Her fox ears and tails suggested that she might be a Renard, though he’d never heard of one with multiple tails. But half a second later and he knew that was incorrect. The Divine Aura that surrounded the woman made it absolutely clear what she was. “G-Goddess! Please forgive me for my rudeness.” He gave her a bow of apology.

“It’s alright,” Inari waved off his apology with a gentle smile. “Are you looking for a Familia, by any chance?” She asked softly and saw his body twitch slightly.

“I…y-yes, I am.” Bell answered truthfully. There was no point trying to lie to a Deity. All of the lies of Mortals amounted to nothing in the presence of the Divine. He felt his heart speed up as he looked up at the Fox Goddess. Was, was she asking him what he thought she was? Was all of his searching and rejection finally going to amount to something?

“Would you like to join my Familia?” Inari asked the young man with a beautiful smile. “You’d be the very first.” She held out a hand to him and after a moment, Bell gently grasped it. Her other hand came to clasp over his and he placed his other hand atop hers. Bell felt the instant that warmth bloomed in his chest as they smiled at each other.

‘My Goddess.’

With a spring in her step, Inari happily led Bell back to the Takemikazuchi Familia home. She showed him inside, mentioning that he had to take his shoes off in the entryway. Bell complied, still feeling like he was walking on air at finally being accepted. Inari showed him to her room and closed the sliding shoji door behind them.

“Sit in front of me, Bell.” Inari placed a cushion on the tatami mats for him to sit on.

“Yes, Lady Inari.” Bell replied with the utmost respect and sat down. Inari nearly giggled at how respectful he was being.

“I’ll need you to take off your jacket and shirt, Bell.” Inari informed him with a smile.

“Eh?” Bell blinked, even as he started to remove his brown jacket with the black square over the right shoulder.

“I need to have access to your bare back in order to give you my Falna.” Inari answered the unspoken question.

“Oh, that makes sense.” Bell nodded and placed his jacket aside before pulling his black shirt over his head. Seeing his bare back, Inari couldn’t help but smile. Bell’s skin was slightly pale, but he had some musculature underneath his clothing. Probably from working as he grew up in whatever place he’d lived before coming to Orario.

“Hold still now, Bell.” Inari requested as she took a small needle from a wooden tray next to her. “I’m going to write the hieroglyphs of the Falna onto your back. Try not to move so that nothing goes wrong, okay?”

“Yes, Goddess.” Bell relaxed and went still.

Inari gently pricked her right index finger with the needle. Her blood welled up a bit and she gently placed her fingertip on Bell’s back. A blue glow emanated from his skin as Inari’s finger began to slowly move as she wrote. Little by little the hieroglyphs were written out, a place for Bell’s name, his Level, his five Basic Abilities, a space for Skills to appear, and to Inari’s surprise, two slots for Magic were able to be written in. After that was the part that would only become available once Bell leveled up, a place for Developmental Abilities to manifest. With the Falna set up, all that was left was to draw her own personal Falna symbol. Inari didn’t even hesitate; she knew exactly what symbols described her best. She drew the rough shape of a torii gate, followed by a fox sitting down and facing towards the viewer underneath the torii, around the fox’s feet she made gentle dashes to represent rice stalks. Satisfied that her Falna and image was complete, Inari let her Divinity flow into the hieroglyphs. The rough image quickly became sharp black lines, as if a master tattoo artist had given Bell the image on his back. It was clear and obvious what the image showed now. The rest of the hieroglyphs filled in their respective places around the image and Inari smiled at the complete Falna.

“Alright, just two more things.” Inari took a blank paper from the same wooden tray and placed it on Bell’s newly blessed back. A gentle circle of her finger and the Status was copied over. Pulling the paper away, Inari traced a pattern onto the Falna and locked it up safely. The black lines faded away, like they were sinking into Bell’s skin, until they disappeared entirely. “Welcome to my Familia, Bell.” Inari beamed at her first Familia member as she handed him his first ever Status sheet.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 0

Endurance – I 0

Dexterity – I 0

Agility – I 0

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“My Status…” Bell’s hands shook slightly as he finished reading the paper. “My own Blessing.” He felt the tears of joy well up in the corners of his eyes.

“Bell?” Inari tilted her head at his reaction. She wasn’t expecting Bell to turn around and gently wrap her in a hug.

“Thank you, Goddess Inari! Thank you so much!” Bell hugged his Goddess warmly.

“Thank you, Bell, for becoming my first Familia member.” Inari smiled as she returned the hug, gently running her fingers through his white hair as he got his emotions under control.

The next few hours were filled with activity. Bell hustled over to the inn that he’d been renting a room at to retrieve his things. He blushed lightly as he was told that he’d be sharing Inari’s room with her, since this was the home of a different Familia. The sixteen-year-old then spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with Inari, getting to know his Goddess and telling her about himself too. He learned of Inari’s many Domains during this time and was honestly shocked by how many his Goddess had. Foxes, Rice, Fertility, Agriculture, Sake, Tea, Industry, Prosperity, and Worldly Success, were all Inari’s Domains and Bell felt like he must be the luckiest new Adventurer in Orario. She’d even mentioned a very large sale of her Divine Sake was about to go through and then they’d have plenty of Valis to start making their own way in Orario.

Just as the sun began to set, Inari put their conversation on hold and led Bell to the kitchen. She began to prepare food for the Familia that lived in the home they were sharing. Bell, ever the helpful one, was happy to lend a hand where he could. Preparing vegetables wasn’t that hard for him, given he’d done so since he was a boy back in the mountain village. The front door rattled a bit as it was opened and multiple voices were heard as they were preparing dinner.

“I just want a bath.” A raven-haired young woman sighed as she stepped into the kitchen. She’d wash up and then get started on dinner for everyone.

“Hello, Mikoto-chan.” Inari smiled at the girl, still preparing the meal with Bell.

“Inari-sama.” Mikoto bowed to the Goddess with a smile. Her pretty violet eyes looked at Bell for a second. “Who’s this, Inari-sama?”

“This is Bell Cranel, Mikoto-chan, he’s my first Familia member.” Inari smiled brightly.

“Congratulations, Inari-sama.” Mikoto smiled at the Fox Goddess with a small cheer. “Hello, my name is Yamato Mikoto, please, call me Mikoto, Cranel-sama.”

“So, that’s who’s boots were in the entryway.” Takemikazuchi came into the kitchen with a smile. “Congratulations on starting your Familia, Inari.”

“Thank you, Také.” Inari grinned at her friend. “You all wash up and relax, Bell and I will take care of dinner.” Bell nodded in agreement as he sliced some vegetables.

“Thank you very much, Inari-sama.” All of the Familia members bowed to the Goddess. “You as well, Cranel-sama.”

“Uh…you’re welcome.” Bell wasn’t used to being addressed so formally by others. He’d also only recently been taught the honorifics by Inari. He was more familiar with Sir, Ma’am, Lord, and Lady. But Inari was a good teacher and he had the basic grasp of the Far East honorifics for now.

Dinner at the Takemikazuchi home was a warm affair and filled with an air of celebration that night. Inari introduced Bell to Takemikazuchi and his six ‘children’ with a smile. In turn, Bell was introduced to Mikoto, Hitachi Chigusa, Kashima Ouka, Asuka, Shin, and Koda. Talks turned to getting to know each other and Bell learned about the other teens’ past in the Far East, how they were all orphans taken in by Takemikazuchi and the Goddess Tsukuyomi. Bell in turn told them about growing up in his mountain village with his grandfather and that he’d come to Orario after his grandpa had passed away. He was offered their condolences and accepted them with thanks.

“So, Bell, do you have any combat experience or training with a weapon?” Takemikazuchi asked the teen curiously.

“Oh, not really, sir.” Bell shook his head. “I play fought with some of the other village boys using sticks growing up, but I have no formal training.”

“Inari, would you permit me and my children to help train Bell up a bit?” Takemikazuchi looked at Inari.

“Of course, thank you for your time.” Inari gave a short bow to the Takemikazuchi Familia. “It’s greatly appreciated, since I’m not much for fighting myself.”

“Thank you very much.” Bell also gave the best bow he could from his seated position.

“Be prepared.” Takemikazuchi smiled at the white-haired teen. “I’m a War God, so I’m a master of multiple martial arts and dozens of weapons. The training will be hard, but it is to prepare you for the unforgiving nature of the Dungeon.”

“Yes, sir.” Bell agreed with determination practically burning in his eyes. “I’ll learn whatever you are willing to teach.” He promised the God and all six of the other Adventurers who would help him.

“We’ll find what weapons fit you best, that’ll help us focus you training.” Mikoto smiled at Bell.

“Sparring will also help you grow stronger.” Ouka nodded to the shorter teen. “Both in martial arts and weapon training.”

“Practice makes perfect.” Chigusa smiled softly.

“You’re gonna get roughed up, but it’s all for the best.” Asuka grinned at Bell.

“There’s no one better to learn from than our Kami.” Shin, the brown-haired teen with the red headband, assured Bell.

“Takemikazuchi-sama will have you ready for the Dungeon in short order, don’t you worry.” Koda, the guy with the top knot, gave a friendly smile.

“You’ll do great, Bell, I know it.” Inari beamed at him and Bell couldn’t help but smile back at her.

The talked then turned to more light-hearted topics, like Bell’s interests. When he revealed his enjoyment of Heroic Tales, he received smiles from some of Takemikazuchi’s children. Curious, Bell had asked them what they were smiling about.

“Have you ever heard any of the Heroic Tales from the Far East?” Mikoto asked with a smile.

“No, I know most of the ones in the Dungeon Oratoria pretty well, along with a few more that I was able to read growing up.” Bell explained his knowledge of Heroic Tales.

“Would you like to hear a few?” Chigusa offered with a gentle smile.

“Yes! Very much so!” Bell was all smiles at the chance to hear new tales.

“We’ll tell you some then, the Far East is filled with tales of Heroes and folklore that I’m sure you’ll find interesting.” Takemikazuchi chuckled at the excited look on Bell’s face.

-The Next Day-

“Yah!” Bell yelped as he hit the ground after his foot was swept. “Ow…”

“You must maintain awareness of your opponent’s movements, Bell.” Takemikazuchi helped Bell back to his feet. “Focusing too intently on their face or hands will lead to tunnel vision and you’ll miss how the rest of their body moves. Even worse would be if you had multiple enemies. Tunnel vision will leave you completely unaware of the movements of the others.”

“Yes, sir. Sorry.” Bell shook himself out a bit before retaking the stance that Takemikazuchi had shown him. He moved forward to throw a jab, but the War God pushed it off course and a palm strike found its way into his side. “Ack!” He staggered slightly but kept his feet this time. When Takemikazuchi moved in for a second strike, Bell responded with a front kick.

“Very good, Bell, you’re learning.” Takemikazuchi praised the red-eyed teen, even as he avoided the kick and knocked Bell off balance and to the ground.

“Thank you, sir.” Bell groaned as he was helped off the ground a few seconds later.

The entire morning was spent with Bell being taught basic strikes, blocks, and kicks through demonstration and sparring. Lunch was a welcome reprieve and Inari happily soothed him with a gentle massage of his shoulders that left Bell red in the face.

The afternoon was spent with weapons. Bell was told to pick out anything that caught his interest from the selection of weapons that the Takemikazuchi Familia had available. Bell did indeed see several weapons that caught his eye, but interest didn’t equate to ability as he quickly found out. The kusarigama was interesting, but a bit more skill-based than a beginner like Bell had any ability to use. Asuka showed off her skill with the weapon and Bell could only blink at the fluidity of the girl’s movements with the chain and sickle.

Shin demonstrated shuriken and senbon when Bell asked about them. On a target twenty meters away, every flying blade or needle struck the bulls-eye accurately. When Bell tried…not so much. Most either didn’t make it to the target, or veered wildly off-course by the time they covered the distance.

Koda had demonstrated the yumi, the traditional bow of the Far East. Arrow after arrow flew down range to strike the target. After five shots, all closely grouped together, Koda had explained the basics to Bell and let him try. He wasn’t a disaster with the bow, thankfully. He could at least get his arrows close to the target, and a couple even hit it, but nowhere close to the center.

“Perhaps a wakizashi is more your style?” Chigusa offered as she drew the short sword and went through a fluid series of motions with the blade. “It’s not too different from a knife, if you’ve ever wielded one outside of a kitchen. The wakizashi is just longer to give more reach against an opponent.” The girl smiled as she handed Bell the wakizashi to try.

“Hey, this feels alright.” Bell smiled as he mimicked the motions that Chigusa had done. He was nowhere near as fluid in them, but he could use the wakizashi easily enough.

“Perhaps lighter weapons will be more your forte, Bell-san.” Ouka approached with a large two-handed battle axe. “I’ll demonstrate the war axe for you, and then you can give it a try if you like the feel of it in your hands.”

“Thank you, Ouka-san.” Bell nodded, stepping back until he was clear of the range of the large weapon. He’d almost forgotten to use the honorific that time. But manners from the Far East dictated that they should all be formal until they grew closer as friends to not need them.

“Yah!” Ouka started off with a horizontal swing of the battle axe. He freely wielded the large weapon in both hands, changing its path and speed easily between strikes. The blade came down and stopped just before it hit the dirt as Ouka performed a helm splitter to finish the demonstration.

“Hmm,” Bell accepted the large axe when Ouka offered it to him. He held it the same way as he’d seen Ouka do, but the weight felt off. He readjusted his grip and raised the weapon. Adjusting his footing let him keep his balance as he prepared to swing the large weapon. “Ha!” Bell swung and nearly upset his balance instantly. He countered by following through with the motion, and swung the axe into an upwards diagonal slash. Trying to control it was almost impossible as the weapon seemed to drag him along. He set it down carefully and took a breath.

“You’re a bit shaky on that one, Bell.” Inari gave him a strained smile at seeing that heavy weapons weren’t Bell’s forte.

“Yeah…” Bell rubbed the back of his head. There went any plans to try and use a greatsword any time soon. ‘Greatswords are really heroic-looking though…’ He lamented the, for now, lost cause.

“Let’s try the katana next, Bell-sama.” Mikoto offered as she politely handed one to him. “Just watch what I do, and then try to do it yourself afterwards.”

“Yes, Mikoto-san.” Bell took up the blade and watched as Mikoto moved a few meters away.

“Hup!” Mikoto smoothly unsheathed her katana and made a horizontal slash from the same motion.

Bell could only watch on in amazement as the blade flashed as Mikoto performed slashes in sequence and made a chain of attacks. Even though he wasn’t experienced in swordplay, Bell could tell that Mikoto was moving slow enough for him to see everything on purpose. He had no doubt that she could’ve gone through all of these strikes at a speed that would’ve been nearly impossible for him to keep track of if she wanted to.

“Like that, Bell-sama.” Mikoto smiled brightly at him as she sheathed her sword.

“R-Right…” Bell gave her a half-smile as he took her spot and attempted to copy her. The drawing of the sword went well, but his horizontal slash was a bit slow. He tried to copy all of the moves he’d seen, but Mikoto stopped him after the third swing.

“Bell-sama, if I may, you’re grip is a bit off.” Mikoto gave him some instruction, even showing him how to hold the katana with one hand and two hands to make sure he understood it.

“Ah, I get it, that does feel more comfortable, thank you, Mikoto-san.” Bell smiled at the swordswoman.

“They’re both rather straightforward, aren’t they?” Inari giggled behind the sleeve of her robe.

“Yes, honest and upfront, the both of them.” Takemikazuchi chuckled at seeing the similarities in Mikoto and Bell. “I think they’ll get along very well together.”

“I think so too.” Inari smiled softly at how well Bell was being accepted by her friend’s Familia.

-That Night-

It was after dinner and Bell had just gotten out of the bath. It was nice to have a warm bath after his first day of training with the Takemikazuchi Familia. He’d been given a yukata that was soft and a beige color, to wear while he relaxed. Bell had to admit that it was pretty comfortable as he knocked on Inari’s door. It was bets to be as polite as possible since he was sharing the room with his Goddess. Simple things like knocking would prevent any awkward mishaps from occurring.

“Come in, Bell.” Inari’s gentle voice called out.

Bell slid open the door and then closed it behind him. He smiled at his Goddess, and when he saw her patting the cushion in front of her, he went and sat down.

“Let’s update your Status, Bell.” Inari instructed with a soft smile for her first Familia member. “Anything you do that would exercise one of your Basic Abilities can gain you Excelia for it. But you must do it seriously, like you did today. Fooling around or just going through the motions won’t work.”

“Yes, Inari-sama.” Bell shrugged off the top of the yukata, letting the sleeves slide down his arms and expose his bare back. He was also eager to see how much his day of training had helped him grow.

“One second,” Inari stifled a giggle at how eager Bell was. She drew blood on her index finger with a needle and then touched his back. Her Falna appeared, looking just as she’d designed it, and then a blue light encompassed it as she accessed it. She watched the Excelia that Bell had gained as it made his Falna grow. It wasn’t huge or anything, but it was Bell’s first steps as an Adventurer. “Alright, and done.” Inari copied the update onto a blank paper with a smile before handing it to her excited child.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 0 > I 5

Endurance – I 0 > I 6

Dexterity – I 0 > I 6

Agility – I 0 > I 4

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“Everything went up a little.” Bell noticed with a grin. “That’s twenty-one points just from training today.”

“The first growth is easy.” Inari reminded him softly. “As your Basic Abilities grow, you’ll need more and more Excelia to increase them. For a Level 1 Adventurer, making it through the lower ranks of I, H, and G is usually achieved within the first few months. After that, the attributes that you use the most will be the ones that continue to grow, the others will invariably lag behind as you continue to advance.”

“Yes, Inari-sama, I’ll remember that.” Bell agreed as he looked over his first bit of progress. “Do you think I’ll develop a Skill or acquire any Magic?”

“Skills come in time, usually.” Inari locked up his Falna and watched it fade into his skin again. “Magic is trickier, as it relies on a fair amount of luck and the knowledge of Magic that the Adventurer has. There is an item known as a Grimoire that can force the one that reads it to learn Magic instantly, but they cost around 100,000,000 Valis at least.”

“A…A hun-hundred million…” Bell gaped at the absurd number. He supposed it made sense though. How many Adventurers dreamed of having Magic? It was a somewhat rare thing, though weaker Magics were more uncommon rather than rare. Powerful Magic was something only Mages were known to wield, even if Adventurers that weren’t Mages could use Magic, it would assuredly be less than what a Mage could conjure.

“Mmhmm…” Inari hummed at his shock. “But the good news is that while every Adventurer has at least a single slot for Magic in their Falna, those that are likely to acquire Magic usually have two or three.” She gently wrapped her arms around him, making Bell’s cheeks turn red. “You have two slots for Magic, Bell, so I’m sure that you’ll develop at least one Magic eventually.”

“Thank you, Inari-sama.” Bell was surprised he hadn’t stuttered and stumbled over his words. Inari was still holding him and he could feel her rather generous breasts pressed into his back.

-Six Days Later-

“Tah!” Bell struck with his wooden sword, clashing with Mikoto.

“Hah!” Mikoto easily broke the deadlock and slashed at Bell with her own wooden sword. Bell just managed to block, though his hands shook from the force of the blow.

Bell had taken to the katana and wakizashi fairly well. He was also given a short bow to try out and had some success with it. At the moment though, he was once more sparring with Mikoto. The two had really started to enjoy training with each other, whether it was because they shared similar personalities and drive, or if they just kind of clicked together was up for debate. The two separated after another back and forth of strikes, it was time to call it for morning training.

“You’ve improved quite a bit in only a week, Bell-sama.” Mikoto smiled as she praised him.

“Thank you, Mikoto-san, it’s thanks to everyone in the Takemikazuchi Familia and all of their help that I’ve learned everything I know.” Bell bowed at the waist and Mikoto blushed cutely. She was easily flustered by shows of genuine respect and praise like this.

“No, no, I only taught you a bit of swordsmanship and sparred with you.” Mikoto shook her head. “Anyone could’ve done that.”

“But you’re a great teacher, Mikoto-san.” Bell stood back to his full height as he smiled at her.

“Th-thank you, Bell-sama.” Mikoto accepted his praise with pink cheeks. “We should prepare to leave. We both have a full day of dungeon crawling ahead of us.”

“Right.” Bell nodded as he felt his heart pound in his chest. After a week of training from Takemikazuchi and his children, Bell’s stats had grown quite well and he was confident with three weapons, all of which he’d be taking into the Dungeon. He couldn’t begin to express his gratitude to them all for gifting him good weapons and training him for free. ‘I’ll make it up to them one day, I swear it.’ Bell made that promise to himself then and there.

Bell had allowed Mikoto to use the bathing area first out of both respect and his normal kindness. Once the swordswoman was finished and headed to her room to prepare for the day, Bell had his turn in the bath. Knowing that Inari would want to update his Status before he left, Bell only wore his yukata as he returned to their room.

“It’s going to be your first day in the Dungeon, Bell, are you prepared?” Inari asked, her fox ears twitched atop her head and her many tails flicked a little. She was slightly worried about Bell entering the Dungeon. But he was her first Familia member, of course she’d be worried.

“Yes, Inari-sama, I feel like I’m much more prepared than I would’ve been even just a week ago.” Bell gave her a confident smile as he let the top of the yukata fall around his waist before sitting in front of her.

“That’s good.” Inari sighed softly, letting her nerves ease a little. “Just a quick update and then you’ll be good to go.” His back glowed as her bloodied fingertip touched it and made his Falna appear. Inari went through the process with some experience now. Watching Bell’s Excelia and seeing it grow his Falna. Training with experienced Adventurers, Ouka was Level 2 already, and Takemikazuchi himself was a master of martial arts, had seen Bell’s Basic Abilities increase a good amount in the time he’d been training. “Here you are, Bell.” Inari handed him the paper with his new Status on it right after checking it over herself.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 49 > I 58

Endurance – I 50 > I 61

Dexterity – I 98 > H 107

Agility – I 42 > I 51

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“My Dexterity did reach H-Rank, just like Takemikazuchi said it would.” Bell was happy and somewhat shocked that the War God had been able to predict that.

“You’ve been learning to use three different weapons, Bell, so of course your Dexterity would increase the most.” Inari giggled at him. “Your Endurance is from getting knocked around by Také and Ouka, though the others certainly helped as well. Your Strength has improved through all of your sparring too. I’d say that you’re ready for the Dungeon, especially the First Floor.”

“Right!” Bell beamed at her before grabbing his clothing and moving behind the folding screen in the corner to change. “I’ll be back this afternoon, Inari-sama!” He waved to her excitedly as he left their room and headed for the entryway to put his boots on.

“Be careful, Bell.” Inari followed after him. “Make sure you come back to me safely.” She pulled him into a warm hug and Bell returned it with only a small bit of red on his cheeks.

Once he had his katana on his left hip, the wakizashi on his right hip, and the short bow (along with its quiver of arrows) attached to the backpack that Takemikazuchi had provided him, he was ready to set out for the Dungeon. He bowed to Inari right before he closed the door and rushed towards Babel Tower and the entrance to the Dungeon.

“Hmm, the katana and wakizashi would look better as a proper daisho set.” Inari mused to herself. “But Bell’s clothing doesn’t really work with that. Maybe once this sale with Loki goes through, I’ll splurge and get him some proper Far Eastern clothing that is good for the Dungeon.” The Fox Goddess giggled as she imagined Bell dressed in a haori and hakama. “So cute!”

-Dungeon-

“Wow, it’s massive, and there are so many Adventurers.” Bell walked along with the crowd as he headed for the Dungeon entrance for the first time. Heading down a long spiraling staircase with the huge crowd of Adventurers, the white-haired teen took a deep breath to settle his nerves, his left hand gripping the hilt of his katana tightly while he did so. With his dream of being an Adventurer in mind, along with his desire to become a Hero in his heart, Bell entered the Dungeon for the first time.

He broke off from the majority of the Adventurers that were heading for deeper levels and headed off on his own. The first floor was well-mapped and Bell had bought his own copy a few days ago to study. He had a fairly good idea of where he was going. As he was walking, he took two turns through the corridors and entered into a much larger area. It was there he spotted his first Dungeon Monster.

“A Goblin!” Bell noted the green creature. It was short, maybe half of Bell’s height, had clawed hands, sharp teeth, and deep-red eyes with no pupil. A Goblin being his first Monster almost seemed fitting to Bell. Not only were they the weakest Monsters in the Dungeon, but he’d almost been killed by one when he was just a little boy. His grandpa had saved him back then, but now Bell was an Adventurer and he’d take out this Goblin himself!

“Grrrr…” The Goblin snarled at the human, making an aggressive step forward.

“There’s enough distance.” Bell noted just how far away he was from the Goblin. He reached back and pulled the short bow into his left hand. He drew an arrow with his right and nocked it a second later.

“Grah!” The Goblin rushed towards Bell, snarling the whole time.

Thunk

The Goblin reeled back and hit the stone floor. Bell’s arrow was lodged into its head, an instant kill shot. He actually took a second to blink at the dead Goblin. A small part of him didn’t believe that it could be that easy. After a few moments of not seeing any movement, Bell finally let a smile form on his face. This was his first successful kill in the Dungeon. Sure, it was only a Goblin, the weakest of the weak, but it was the start of his Adventurer career and the beginning of his path to become the Hero he’d always wanted to be! Now all he had to do was retrieve the Magic Stone. It was a shame that Goblin Fangs, the Drop Item of Goblins, didn’t drop too often. Drop Items could be worth more than the Monster’s Magic Stone in some cases after all.

“Hmm, right here.” Bell took out the knife that the Guild had given him for becoming an Adventurer. It, along with the small light armor he was wearing over his chest, were both issued by the Guild and held an Average Grade for equipment. They would both serve him well enough while he was on the first few floors of the Dungeon. He pulled his arrow out of the dead Goblin’s head and was happy that it was still in good condition. He wiped it off and then put it back in his quiver to use again later.

A quick slice with his knife opened up the Goblin’s chest and there, right next to the heart, was the tiny purple Magic Stone. It wasn’t anything impressive at all, you couldn’t even see the swirling magic energy inside like you could with larger Magic Stones, but to Bell, it was the start of something great! He popped the stone out of the corpse with the tip of his knife and placed the fragment into his backpack.

‘The Inari Familia might be new and small right now, but we’re going to be one of the best in Orario one day!’ Bell nodded with a determined gaze as he briefly watched the Goblin’s body disperse into an ash-like dust and fade away now that its Magic Stone had been removed.

A cracking sound broke Bell from his musings and he watched as another Goblin emerged from the Dungeon wall. The new Goblin’s eyes snapped open as it pulled itself free of the wall and faced Bell. The Adventurer and Goblin stared at each other for a moment before the Goblin charged at Bell with a growl. Unfortunately for the Goblin, Bell had already returned to a standing position by the time it had emerged from the wall. The white-haired teen’s hands were already on his katana when the short Monster started its charge.

“Hah!” Bell drew the blade and continued the motion into a horizontal swing that succeeded in decapitating the Goblin. Iaido might not be his forte, but Mikoto had shown him the most basic version of it and made him practice it until he’d gotten it down. She could be just as much of a taskmaster as Takemikazuchi sometimes. He sheathed his sword and then set about extracting the tiny Magic Stone just like before. Once the Magic Stone was safely in his backpack, he continued on his way through the Dungeon.

The next Monster to bar his path was the dog-headed Kobold. The Monster snapped its jaws and growled fiercely before bolting towards Bell. The Kobold was certainly larger than a Goblin, giving it greater reach, but Bell’s reach with his katana was longer still. The Kobold let out a yelp as the sharp blade sliced through its outstretched arm, severing the limb. It wasn’t given time to recover as Bell shifted his feet and brought the blade down in an overhead strike that split the Kobold from collarbone to stomach. There was a wet ‘splat’ as the dead Monster hit the floor of the Dungeon and a large pool of blood formed beneath its corpse.

“Kobolds are much faster than Goblins.” Bell knew that had come up in his brief class at the Guild about the upper floors. But hearing about it and experiencing it were two different things. He hadn’t even had time to grab his short bow to try and kill it from a distance before it was closing in on him. “I’ll need to keep practicing with my weapons. Constant improvement is important for an Adventurer that wants to level up someday.” That was what he’d learned at the Guild anyway.

Getting the Kobold’s Magic Stone was fairly easy, given that it had a large cut through its chest. Bell’s knife easily popped the little purple stone out and he placed it into his backpack as the Monster crumbled away into ash-dust. Only after the dust settled did Bell notice something left behind.

“A Drop Item?” Bell picked up the black claw and simply stared at it for a second. “A Kobold Nail! My first Drop Item!” He cheered while quickly placing the nail into his backpack too. “That was so lucky!” Bell was all smiles at the unexpected bonus. ‘Maybe Inari-sama’s Domains of Prosperity or Worldly Success are helping me out a bit?’ It was a thought to consider.

Inari had mentioned that Deities could use aspects of their Divinity in relation to their Domains if certain things were done. But hers merely required her presence, nothing more. It was much like how the Goddesses of Beauty could Charm anyone they looked into the eyes of, or how Takemikazuchi, as a War God, had a stronger physicality naturally and could full-contact spar with his Adventurer children and come out mostly unscathed. None of their Arcanum was needed for this, it was merely an aspect of their Divine Existence.

“Thoughts for later.” Bell decided as he continued his trek through the First Floor of the Dungeon. He was hoping to make some good money today, even if he was only on the First Floor, if he killed enough Monsters, then surely the tiny Magic Stones would add up, right? “Still…I really want Magic of my own. It would be a great help and Heroes with Magic are really cool.” The newbie Adventurer grinned, wondering what kind of Magic may come to him one day.

Keeping track of his kills for his first day amounted to forty-three Monsters killed. More Goblins than Kobolds, but it had been a mix of the only two Monsters normally found on the First Floor.

-Guild-

“Miss Fannet, I’m back!” Bell smiled at the redheaded Werewolf woman that was his Dungeon Advisor. He’d done his best to wipe off whatever blood from the various Monsters he’d slain at the entrance to the Dungeon. The Guild had a cleaning station set up there for Adventurers to wash off any excess grime or gore they got on them while in the Dungeon.

“You seem to be in one piece, Mr. Cranel.” Rose replied to the white-haired teen after a quick look over.

Rose Fannet was a beautiful Werewolf that had been with the guild for over a decade now. She’d seen more Adventurers die than she cared to recall, several of them had been assigned to her and that just made it hurt all the more. Nowadays, she had a tougher personality and didn’t get close to her assigned Adventurers. She was famous for rejecting the advances of every single Adventurer that had ever asked her out too. To be honest, she’d not wanted to take on Bell, the young man just looked like another person that threw their life away trying to be an Adventurer. But Rhemer (the Guild Section Leader for Advisors) had forced it on her when everyone else had rejected the position. He said it was because she was the only senior member with open spaces on her roster. Rose just sighed and accepted it. After all, what was one more dead Adventurer after a decade of them?

“I’m here to turn in my Magic Stones.” Bell informed his Advisor with a happy grin, unaware of her internal musings about his survival.

“Right over there.” Rose pointed to a long set of windows that had Adventurers in front of them. “But first,” She placed down a blank report form. “I’m required to take down a report about your time in the Dungeon. It’s to start a history for you, so that the Guild can keep track of what you’ve done.” She picked up a pen from the desk and looked at him expectantly.

“Sure,” Bell nodded to the woman with a smile. “I stayed on the First Floor, like you advised me to. My first Monster was a Goblin…” Bell went over his entire day with Rose writing down the types of Monsters he’d encountered and how many he’d slain.

“Alright, that’s all I need for your report.” Rose finished up and then gestured to the many windows off to one side of the Guild. “Go to any of the windows over there and you can cash in your Magic Stones and Drop Items.”

“Thank you.” Bell nodded, getting the feeling that his Advisor wasn’t much for small talk, and then walked over to a free window. Seeing the tray pushed out onto his side, Bell slipped off his backpack and picked out every little Magic Stone from it before placing them in the tray. The last thing that went into the tray was the single Kobold Nail he’d gotten.

“Hmm?” The man on the other side of the exchange noted the amount of small Magic Stones and the Drop Item. “Aren’t you Rose’s newbie? You collected this many Magic Stones, and even a Drop Item, on your first day?”

“Yes sir.” Bell nodded with a slightly confused look on his face. Was this weird for new Adventurers or something?

“Not bad, kid.” The man behind the glass chuckled as he placed the collection of Magic Stones on a scale to weigh. The man noted the weight, checked another piece of paper, and then wrote something down in the ledger in front of him. He then inspected the Kobold Nail for a few moments before nodding and adding a second note into the ledger. “All total the Magic Stones are worth 5,500 Valis and the Kobold Nail is 900 Valis. That brings your total for this exchange to 6,400 Valis. That’s pretty good for your very first day, kid. Keep it up!” The man encouraged the newbie as he placed the various Valis coins into the tray and pushed it back onto Bell’s side.

“Thank you very much, sir.” Bell nodded to the man as he happily took the Valis from the tray and put them into his backpack for safe keeping. He couldn’t wait to tell Inari about his first day in the Dungeon!

-Takemikazuchi Familia Home-

Bell had happily regaled Inari with his first day in the Dungeon, after taking a bath since he’d worked up a sweat and had blood on him from the Monsters. Inari had listened and smiled beautifully at his accomplishment. The Valis were set aside for now, Bell would use that money to buy new equipment once he’d saved up enough. Inari would soon have enough money to provide Bell and herself with everything they’d need to live comfortably. He could focus on growing as an Adventurer and representing their Familia. A successful and strong Adventurer was good to establish a new Familia’s reputation after all. It would make recruiting easier later on, when they were ready.

“How about we update your Status to see how your first day in the Dungeon helped your growth?” Inari offered, placing a cushion in front of her again.

“Thank you, Inari-sama.” Bell accepted with a bright smile.

“Hmm?” Inari raised an eyebrow as she watched his Excelia and then saw his stats rise based on his actions. It was what appeared afterwards that had caught her attention. “Magic? So soon?” She mumbled under her breath. Was this because of her? Her Domains all promoted betterment, so perhaps this was to be expected? But the name of Bell’s Magic made her smile fondly; to think he’d develop such a spell after only a short time with her. She finished up the Status Update and then copied the new numbers and the Magic onto the paper she held against his back.

“That took a little longer than last time, is everything okay, Inari-sama?” Bell looked over his shoulder curiously.

“I think that you’ll be pleasantly surprised, Bell.” Inari giggled and handed him the paper.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 58 > I 70

Endurance – I 61 > I 65

Dexterity – H 107 > H 122

Agility – I 51 > I 63

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

Foxfire – Special Fire Magic – Swift Strike Magic/Enchantment

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“MAGIC?!” Bell exclaimed loudly as he saw the new addition to the Magic section on his Status Update. “Inari-sama! Is this real?! I’ve become a Magic user?!” He was practically vibrating from excitement.

“Yes, it’s real, Bell.” Inari laughed beautifully at his reaction. “Congratulations.”

“Magic…it’s really Magic.” Bell stared at the spell on his Status Update. He wasn’t expecting for Inari to wrap him in a hug, pressing her breasts into his back with a giggle on her lips.

“Foxfire, huh?” Inari cooed into his ear and her grin widened as she saw his cheeks go red. “Just like some of my little helpers that I told you about.” She was having quite a bit of fun teasing him like this. “I’m very happy that you’re so attached to me already, Bell.”

“I-I-Inari-sama!” Bell finally managed to get out as he floundered for words.

“You’re too cute.” Inari snuggled him close as Bell’s face went dark red. He wasn’t putting up any real resistance though. He was a young man, after all, and Inari was a very beautiful Goddess.

Dinner at the Takemikazuchi Familia Home that night was once more a small celebration. This time of Bell’s new Magic acquisition, something that was uncommon at best and never appeared at worst. Bell wanted to go try it out immediately, but Inari put a stop to it until he went to the Dungeon tomorrow. The Fox Goddess even teased that she’d sleep right beside him to make sure he didn’t go anywhere tonight. Needless to say, both Bell and Mikoto had bright red faces of embarrassment at the fact that Inari could speak so brazenly.

-Dungeon ~ The Next Morning-

“Alright, let’s try this out.” Bell grinned as he walked along the corridors of the First Floor. ‘According to Inari-sama, my Magic is Swift Strike Magic, so it has no incantation. But it’s also an Enchantment too, so that means that I can apply it to either my body or my weapons, or perhaps both.’ He looked around for any Monsters, but hadn’t run across one yet. “I guess I’ll learn by doing.”

The first Monster discovered today was a Kobold. The grey-furred, humanoid beast snarled and let out a threatening growl before rushing him. Bell raised his right hand and aimed his palm at the Monster. “Foxfire!”  A blue-white fireball with an ethereal glow formed in his palm. The flame was launched at the Kobold and let off a small bang on impact. The Kobold yelped in pain and crashed to the stone floor as the blue-white flames consumed it for several seconds before dying out. What was left behind was a dead, and severely burned, Kobold.

“That was amazing!” Bell cheered at using his Magic for the first time. “Collect the Magic Stone and then let’s find another Monster!” He was giddy as he rolled the dead Monster over and then sliced into its chest to extract the Magic Stone. The body turned to ash-dust, but there was no Drop Item this time, so Bell was quickly on his way.

“Grah!” A Goblin was in the corridor that Bell entered next.

“Alright, let’s see.” Bell drew his sword and held it with both hands. “Foxfire!” The blue-white flames swirled around the steel blade, coating it with the ethereal-looking fire. “Come on!” He taunted the Goblin.

“Grrr!” The Goblin charged towards him with its right hand reared back for a swipe with its short claws. It never got close enough as Bell cut it down with his flame-covered blade.

“Whoa…” Bell realized that he’d barely felt resistance when cutting through the Goblin. “That’s dangerous…I could throw off my balance if I expect resistance and there is none.” He made a mental note of his new discovery as he stopped his spell and the flames disappeared. “Huh…it didn’t catch on fire much.” Bell noticed that the Goblin hadn’t been consumed by the flames like the Kobold had been. The parts of the green Monster that had touched the blade were burned pretty badly, but that was the extent of it. “Is that because I used it as an enchantment that time?” His Magic was rather odd and Bell knew he’d have to really test it out to find out everything he could do with it.

“Garh!” A new Goblin came around the corner, probably drawn by the sounds of the last fight. It wasted no time in rushing at Bell, looking to tear into him.

“Can I enchant my body too?” Bell switched his katana to just his right hand and clenched his left into a fist. “Foxfire!” He called and the blue-white flames responded again. His fist was surrounded in fire, but to Bell it merely felt warm, not painful or even hot, really.

“Grrraahh!” The Goblin leapt at Bell with its arms extended to latch onto him with its sharp nails. It received a flaming fist to the face for its troubles. The Goblin shrieked as it bounced off the stone ground once and then thrashed as smoke rose from its burned face. Its cries were silenced as Bell stabbed it with his sword to finish it off.

“Okay, I can enchant my body too, good to know.” Bell nodded to himself as he sheathed his sword and pulled out his knife to retrieve the Magic Stones of the two dead Goblins. As they crumbled into the ash-dust, Bell was hoping for another Drop Item. It was not to be, however, as only dust remained. “Well, it can’t happen every time, I guess.” He walked further into the Dungeon to continue his hunting. “Hmm, I wonder if I can enchant my arrows?” Then he realized that he’d be setting wood on fire and thought better of trying that in the Dungeon, where every arrow might be needed if something went wrong.

Another fifty Monsters met their ends at Bell’s hands that day, he’d had to stop using his Magic in the morning though. Mikoto had warned him that the first sign of low Mind was a slight tiredness and a feeling like your head was getting fuzzy. As soon as he felt the beginnings of those symptoms, he’d stopped using his Magic. Switching over to his short bow and sword, he went the rest of the day without using any Magic, focusing on the skills he’d learned from the Takemikazuchi Familia.

-Guild-

“Alright, that’s your report done.” Rose nodded, adding the new form to Bell’s small file. He’d come back uninjured again today. She knew that was a good thing, but she was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. It would probably happen soon enough.

“I’m going to go exchange the Magic Stones that I collected, see you tomorrow, Miss Fannet.” Bell smiled and waved as he headed over to the exchange windows.

“I can help you over here.” A bored-looking Chienthrope woman behind the window closest to Bell called out.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Bell smiled and with a few quick steps he reached the window. He placed all of his Magic Stones into the tray and then slid it over to the Guild Worker’s side.

The woman was efficient as she weighed the Magic Stones, recorded the weight, and then updated her ledger. “These come out to 6,135 Valis, not bad, young man.” The Chienthrope lady gave him a nod. “I didn’t think Rose cared that much about trying to beat some sense into newbies anymore. But you seem to have listened at least a little bit.”

“Uh…thank you?” Bell gave a slightly strained smile to the woman and picked up the Valis from the tray. The coins went into his backpack, and then he headed out of the Guild.

-Takemikazuchi Familia Home-

“You did so well today, Bell.” Inari praised him as she watched his Excelia while updating his Status. “You’re figuring out your Magic quickly, I see.”

“I’m trying.” Bell had a smile on his face at the genuine praise.

“I wish you could party up with Také’s Familia, but they’re down on the Tenth Floor now. It’s way too soon for you to go that far into the Dungeon.” Inari sighed as she finished the update and copied over the numbers.

“I’ll be careful, Inari-sama.” Bell promised as he accepted the Status Update from her. “Miss Fannet said that most new Adventurers get hurt or worse because they rush down too far before they’re ready. So, I’m going to make sure that I’m comfortable first, and look at the Guild’s recommendation on what stats in Basic Abilities are good for which floors.”

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 70 > I 82

Endurance – I 65 > I 70

Dexterity – H 122 > H 134

Agility – I 63 > I 73

Magic – I 0 > I 21

-Magic-

Foxfire – Special Fire Magic – Swift Strike Magic/Enchantment

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“I know you’ll get there in time, Bell.” Inari gave him a warm smile. “I’ll do everything in my power to support you.”

“Thank you, Inari-sama.” Bell smiled back at his Goddess. “I’m going to get stronger. We’ll make our Familia the best in Orario one day!”

“Don’t ever lose that drive, Bell.” Inari’s beautiful laughter filled the air. “It’ll take you as far as you desire, and I’ll provide all of the Worldly Success and Prosperity to you that I can.”

“Yes, Inari-sama!” Bell agreed with a bright grin, his rubellite eyes nearly glowing with joy, determination, and a desire to succeed.

-Saturday ~ Bell’s First Day Off-

“Who did you say was buying all of this?” Bell blinked at the literal cases of bottles stacked up beside him. All of them were filled with the finished version of Inari’s sake.

“A Goddess that likes her drink.” Inari teased without giving an answer. She wanted to surprise him a little. “I’m sure that you’ll recognize her, or at least her name.”

As if summoned by her words, a low rumble was heard as a dust cloud came around the corner and headed straight for them. “Foxy-tan!” A woman’s voice called out and from the dust cloud a redheaded woman leapt with her arms spread wide.

“Bell, please catch her.” Inari requested with a small smile.

“Yes, Inari-sama.” Bell moved between his Goddess and the incoming woman. He caught the woman, nearly falling over in the process, but he managed to keep his feet under him.

“Huh? Who’re you?” The woman, Goddess, questioned Bell. She made no move to hop out of his arms that were supporting her weight.

“That is my first Familia member, Loki.” Inari informed the other Goddess. “Loki, this is Bell Cranel. Bell, this is the Goddess Loki.” She made introductions and giggled behind the sleeve of her robe as Bell stared in shock at the Goddess of one of Orario’s top two Familias.

“Ooh~ So, you got your Familia started, Foxy-tan.” Loki smiled widely at Inari. “Congrats!” Loki, still being held up by Bell, looked at him closely, her red eyes meeting his own ruby gaze. “Figures a fox would go after a bunny!” She laughed at her own joke and finally left Bell’s arms, placing her feet back on the ground.

Loki was a svelte beauty, trim and almost even in height with Bell. She wore a blue and black crop top, black sleeves on her arms, black booty shorts, and blue shoes on her feet. Her red hair was in a ponytail and she was grinning brightly.

“It’s nice to meet you, Goddess Loki.” Bell gave a short bow to the Deity.

“Nice to meet you too, little bunny.” Loki waved, a snicker escaping her.

“Loki! Please don’t run off like that!” A Hume Bunny girl chased after the Trickster Goddess with a large pack on her back.

“Aww, come on Rakta, you’re Level 3, you can keep up with me, right?” Loki grinned at her Familia member.

“Hah…” Rakta sighed as she set the large pack down in front of Inari. “The others are bringing the wagon we rented. They should be here shortly.” The Hume Bunny shook her head. “I can’t believe you spent so much on booze this time.”

“You’ll understand when I share some of it to celebrate the expedition’s return!” Loki laughed with her hands on her hips. “Though I think that’s still a bit away. Going down to the Fiftieth Floor and all.”

Inari opened the large pack and saw all of the Valis inside. She dug through the coins, making sure they were all the highest denomination. Loki usually kept her word when business was involved, according to those that knew her. Doubly so if it was business involving alcohol. This search of the payment seemed to prove those words true.

“It’s all there, Foxy-tan.” Loki assured the Far East Goddess. “If I tried to scam you now, I’d never be able to buy more of this from you later.” She was already leaning gently on the cases of bottles, a silly smile on her face as she giggled softly. “All of this wonderful, wonderful drink. Hehehe~”

“It’s sake, Loki, no need to be so giggly about it.” Inari grinned at the other Goddess as she closed the large pack.

“Says you!” Loki hugged the top case of bottles. The sound of a cart approaching heralded the arrival of two more Loki Familia members with a hand cart being pulled by them. “Let’s load them up, guys!” The redhead cheered with one of her fists raised above her head.

“You could help, Loki.” Rakta mentioned as she picked up the top case.

“Sure thing, can’t have any of these precious babies breaking.” Loki laughed as she picked up one of the cases and carried it to the cart. Once all of the cases were loaded up, Loki sat on the back of the cart as it was being pulled away. “Nice doing business with you, Foxy-tan! Let me know when you have more to sell!” She waved as the group rounded the corner and headed back for their own home.

“H-How much is in there, Inari-sama?” Bell had seen the Valis stuffed into the large pack.

“15,000,000 Valis.” Inari smiled innocently at Bell. “Once the second batch is properly aged, I’m sure I’ll be able to sell it for an even higher price to Loki. She’ll have had a taste by then and from what I hear of her, she’ll be a loyal repeat customer. Not to mention that she’ll talk about it with others. That’s free advertising.”

“Fif…Teen…Million…” Bell hadn’t quite recovered from his shock just yet.

“Could you carry the payment inside for me, Bell?” Inari requested with a cute look on her face.

“Huh, oh, yes.” Bell shook himself and put his arms through the straps on the large pack. “Oof!” He nearly balked at the weight of the pack. Level 3 Adventurers were no joke if that Hume Bunny was lugging this around so easily! “What’re you planning to do with this much money, Inari-sama?”

“I plan for us to prosper, Bell.” Inari giggled as they walked inside the Takemikazuchi Familia Home. “I’ll have to talk to some people over the coming days to get everything set up and started.”

“Who do you have to talk to?” Bell set the large pack down in their room.

“A God by the name of Goibniu.” Inari answered as she nodded at the large pack. “With this much, the first step of building our future begins.”

“Isn’t Goibniu the God of Smithing and Architecture?” Bell recalled the Goibniu Familia being very well respected in Orario for their work. “What are you having built?”

“A new district.” Inari beamed at her only Familia member. “The start of the Shinto District here in Orario.”

“That’s an amazing undertaking, Inari-sama.” Bell smiled at her, he enjoyed seeing her so happy and excited. “But won’t a new District cost way more than 15,000,000 Valis?”

“Not if you know where to buy.” Inari unrolled a map of Orario and tapped her finger gently on a specific spot.

Bell walked over to the low table curiously and looked at what his Goddess was pointing at. “Abandoned District?” He cocked an eyebrow.

“Yep, the ruins of a District that was destroyed several years ago when Orario was apparently much more turbulent. They’re selling the lots cheap. I shouldn’t have a problem buying up the majority and getting the beginnings of a new District going.” She leaned into him with a grin. “But don’t think I’ve forgotten about you or Také’s Familia. The first thing I’m doing is paying them back for all of their help and sending Tsukuyomi a good amount of money. Then we’ll get you properly outfitted for the Dungeon.” It was clear the Goddess of many Domains had been working on this plan for a rather long time.

“I’ll do whatever I can to help, Inari-sama.” Bell promised with a smile for his Goddess.

“You’re such a good young man, Bell!” Inari pulled him into a warm hug and snuggled him close. Bell was near instantly unresponsive as his face was pushed into Inari’s robe, right into her large bosom!

-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-

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this new story so far!

Bell without Hestia is odd, but it also opens so many new paths for storytelling!

If Hestia never descends, then WHO takes in Bell? I have quite a few Premises that explore that idea!

This time around it was Inari Ōkami! Time for Fox Girl love!

Also, just for the memes: “Hon, Hon, Hon! Glorious Nippon!” lol

How will this Bell grow and develop when his Goddess is basically ‘success and prosperity’ incarnate?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!

This Premise cannot have Tier Rewards used on it. It will only be taken up after other stories have been completed.