Sarutahiko Familia Premise Chapter 1 (Patreon)

Hopefully this gets Danmachi to let go of my Muse's throat for a bit!

Maybe now I'll be able to focus on Logia, Collector, and Magma Dragon!

I hope that all of the Danmachi fans like this nearly 18,000-word beast of a chapter!

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you a brand-new story! It’s Danmachi again! Since the Series has once more tightened the stranglehold that it has on my Muse’s throat. Once more, we’re REALLY changing things up! Breaking Canon over my knee! The same change as before applies, Hestia never descended to Gekai! This Bell has one rather powerful advantage though. The ‘Calamitous Talent’ that his aunt Alfia was known for, skipped his mother Meteria and manifested in Bell! This Bell has is partially based on another Series-breaking character from a well-known Manga. But will NOT be a one-to-one copy of them.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 1 – Calamitous Talent and a Great God

Two people walked away from an old man and back towards the Dungeon City of Orario. One was a larger man in black armor, the other a silver-haired beauty of a woman in a black dress. The old man left in the opposite direction, a precious bundle in his arms. This little one was the last child of his Familia…the nephew of the silver-haired woman, and the one that the old man, Zeus, would put his faith in for the future.

“The monstrous talent that I was born with seems to have passed over my sister, and instead manifested in her child.” The woman spoke softly to the man. It had only taken a single look for her to see the same talent in the baby boy that she saw in her own reflection every day.

“You can tell?” The armored man with red hair and a scar on his face questioned, glancing at the woman.

“Yes.” Alfia, the ‘Genius of Calamitous Talent’ also known as ‘Monstrous Talent’ within Orario looked at her current companion.

The armored man, Zald, also known as ‘Gluttony’ in the Dungeon City, shrugged his shoulders and returned his sharp gaze forward. “I’ll take your word for it. He looked like a regular baby to me.”

“Talent can start small; it is when one puts in the effort to nurture said talent that it will burst into growth and tower over all others.” Alfia spoke, her words coming from her own past of growing up seemingly without equal. The state of her sister being the one thing she wished that she could change during those years.

“I’m sure getting a Falna doesn’t hurt either.” Zald mentioned as their conversation began to wind down. He knew that Alfia would soon return to her favored silence.

“The Blessing of a Deity brings out the ‘potential’ within the Mortal that has been blessed. It is only natural that incredible talent would become extraordinary talent after a blessing.” Alfia stated the simple truth before going silent. There were no more words needed. The two of them had a task that they’d set for themselves now that the Zeus and Hera Familias were destroyed and the world left without any that could attempt to oppose the One-Eyed Black Dragon.

-Small Farming Village-

In a small farming village in the mountains, Zeus would make a home for himself and Bell, introducing himself as the infant Bell’s grandfather, the Deity in disguise as a mere mortal man settled into a life of simplicity and manual labor.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Truly, Bell was like a sponge when it came to learning. Anything the white-haired boy set his mind to, he seemingly picked up after only seeing it once. He was already memorizing all of the footwork, strikes, blocks, and kicks that Zeus was showing him. Then it only took a bit of sparring for the young Bell to figure out how best to apply them.

‘Truly a Monstrous Talent, just like your aunt.’ Zeus thought to himself as he blocked a punch, sidestepped a kick, and then broke a grapple before Bell could establish his hold. ‘You’ll become a true Hero one day, Bell…I know you can do it.’

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

Even the Olympian God was astounded by how fast Bell continued to grow and learn after showing Bell the first weapon, a simple staff. His grandson took to it quickly, and in only a matter of days made using it as a weapon look easy. It was the same no matter what weapon that Zeus procured for his grandson. Knives were quickly mastered to a dangerous degree, as was the wooden sword that Zeus got the village carpenter to make for Bell. Clubs, short staffs, projectile weapons, all of it was quickly mastered after Bell was shown how to use them and then had a little time to practice with them.

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

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

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

“Grrrr!”

“Gah!

“Rrrraaagghh!”

Three more Goblins rushed at Bell and the young teen only watched their movements closely. A front kicked sent the fastest Goblin flying backwards with a cry of pain. Pivoting let Bell dodge the claws of the second one and slam his elbow down on its skull. The crack that followed was audible and the Goblin went still as it fell to the ground, dead. The final Goblin’s hands were caught by Bell’s and the teen swung it around with great force before throwing it headlong into the barely recovered first Goblin. The two Monsters crashed into each other and hit the ground. Bell saw the odd angle of the third Goblin’s neck and knew it was dead. The first Goblin proved to still be alive as it struggled to get up with its injuries. Bell stomped on its head and finished it off before it could get out from under its brethren.

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

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

-Years Later-

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Weeks Later ~ Dungeon City, Orario-

Bell had been traveling with a merchant caravan for the last couple of weeks from his remote farming village. He’d made money by selling all of the goods that he and his grandfather had, along with their cabin. He’d only kept a few very meaningful mementos from his grandfather’s things, and a few supplies for the journey. The young man had hiked down the forested mountain and crossed a large expanse of sparsely wooded grasslands before reaching the next town along an often used trade route. There he’d bought passage on a merchant convoy headed for the Dungeon City. Along the way, Bell had demonstrated his worth by dealing with almost every Monster that the traveling merchants came across, often times even faster than their hired guards. He kept those tiny Magic Stones as well, adding them to the small pouch he’d saved up many slivers of Stones in already.

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

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

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

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

Not too far from Bell’s position (actually in the path the young man was taking down the street) sat a towering older man with a large beard, a ruddy face, and slightly long nose. He was dressed in a comfortable kariginu of earth tones, mostly a dark green and gray. This was Sarutahiko Ōkami, the Shinto Great God of Misogi, strength and guidance, and patron Deity of Martial Arts.

One might wonder why one of the Ōkami (of which there were only seven) of the Shinto Pantheon was sitting at a streetside tea shop and seemingly just enjoying the good weather. The truth of the matter was, the elder God was in Orario with a task requested of him by Amaterasu Ōmikami. The task was to provide more representation for their Pantheon within the ‘Center of the World’ Orario. Aside from Sarutahiko himself, only one other Kami from their Pantheon resided within Orario currently, that being Takemikazuchi.

Granting the request of Amaterasu, Sarutahiko had set out for Orario with his small Familia of retainers. None of them were warriors, but they were good ‘children’ that helped him with things and attended to his holdings. He’d had to separate from his wife, Ame-no-Uzume the Shinto Goddess of Dance, the Arts, and Revelry, which did cause him some sadness, but she had already agreed to be the next Kami to move her Familia to Orario, once Sarutahiko’s Familia strengthened the Shinto Pantheon’s influence within the Dungeon city.

That was why the elder God was sitting at the tea shop and watching the people walk by. He was a great judge of character, not fooled by the airs that Mortals nor Gods put on to try and mask their true nature or intentions. Sarutahiko was hoping to spot a promising newcomer to Orario and recruit them to his Familia. Sitting here enjoying some tea on one of the four main streets gave him the most opportunities to spot any such person. It was what he’d been doing for the last few days and as soon as his wise eyes spotted Bell walking down the street, he broke into a smile.

“Should I go to the Guild first?” Bell pondered to himself as he walked. I could cash in my Magic Stones and they might have a map of the city at least.” With any luck, said map would have at least a few Familia’s marked on it as well.

“Young man.” An older man called out to Bell as he passed by a tea shop.

“Hmm?” Bell looked to the tall, bearded man before giving him a polite smile. “Yes, sir?”

“Are you new to Orario?” Sarutahiko asked the white-haired and red-eyed man. He was almost sure he was, but it was better to ask.

“Oh, yes sir, I guess I stand out a little, huh?” Bell replied with a chuckle, knowing that he had been looking around often, unlike the residents of the city.

“Are you here to join a Familia?” Sarutahiko questioned, a friendly smile on his face.

“Ah, yes, I want to become an Adventurer.” Bell confirmed with a nod.

“I see,” Sarutahiko chuckled and stopped restraining his Divine Aura, letting out the presence that all Deities naturally exuded. “Perhaps you’d like to join my Familia then?”

“Y-You’re a…” Bell stopped himself from stumbling over his words and gave a respectful bow to the God he’d been talking to. “I’m sorry, Lord…” He realized that he didn’t know which Deity he was addressing.

“Sarutahiko Ōkami, young man.” Sarutahiko introduced himself. “Come, sit with me, and let’s get to know each other a little.” He offered Bell a seat at his small table with a smile.

“Thank you, Lord Sarutahiko.” Bell accepted the seat, not wanting to be rude to a Deity. Plus he had been offered a place in the God’s Familia. He should at least see what this God was like and decide if he wanted to accept the offer. ‘How lucky am I to get scouted almost as soon as I entered the gates?!’ Bell marveled at apparently catching a God’s eyes so quickly.

Over tea and some snacks, Bell and Sarutahiko talked and got to know each other a bit. Bell learned of Sarutahiko’s Domains: Misogi (a type of ritual purification), Strength, Guidance, and Martial Arts. He learned what the elder God had come to Orario for, and that he’d been forced to leave his wife behind in the Far East until he increased the representation of the Shinto Pantheon within the city. In return, Bell had told the God of his own reasons for coming to Orario, and why he wanted to become an Adventurer.

“Heroism and Family, eh?” Sarutahiko nodded with a warm grin. “Very good goals for a young man to have.” It was a far cry better than a good number of the Adventurers he’d seen. Some looking for power, some fame, and others just doing it because they could get away with almost anything in the Dungeon. “The offer is still open, Bell. Would you like to join my Familia?”

“Yes, Lord Sarutahiko, I would.” Bell agreed with a smile and a short bow.

“Very good.” Sarutahiko laughed brightly. “Let’s be on our way home then.” He stood up from the table, left the appropriate amount of Valis on the table to cover their bill, and then guided Bell back to the compound that he’d bought and had renovated to suit his tastes.

Needless to say, Bell was walking with a bit of a spring in his step. Seeing the wall surrounding the Sarutahiko Familia’s home (named the Floating Bridge Mansion) and the large wooden gate banded with iron that allowed entry, the boy from a rural village was already impressed. The buildings within were equally impressive, made in the Far Eastern style, they were large and comfortable, with outbuildings for storage and other tasks. There was even plenty of space outside to practice or spar, and if Bell wasn’t mistaken, one of the large buildings off to the left was a dojo for practicing Martial Arts.

“You’ll become familiar with the dojo, Bell.” Sarutahiko confirmed the young man’s thoughts. “I plan to teach you a few styles that originate from the Far East.”

“I’d be honored, Lord Sarutahiko.” Bell thanked his soon-to-be God. He would love to learn more Martial Arts and incorporate them into his repertoire.

“We’ll start with Aikido, I’m rather fond of that one.” Sarutahiko chuckled at the young man’s excitement. “But first, I’ll show you Misogi, so that you may purify yourself as a symbolic sign of your new path in life.”

Bell wasn’t fully aware of what Misogi was, Sarutahiko only briefly explaining it during their earlier conversation, but he’d happily learn whatever his God wanted to teach him.

That was how Bell found himself standing under a waterfall in nothing but his boxers. The cool water poured down over him as he went through the rite as Sarutahiko led him through it. The elder God revealing a powerful body as he joined Bell in nothing but a fundoshi and performed the Misogi with him.

Once dry, Bell was given a simple yukata by one of the Familia members. The man was polite, referring to Bell as ‘Bell-sama’ already. Sarutahiko had said that his current Familia members were retainers and servants. They took care of the compound, cooked, cleaned, bought supplies, carried messages and whatever else Sarutahiko required. While they were all Level 1, trained up a bit in the Martial Arts in order to protect their Kami, none of them were likely to ever try to Level Up, as that was not the purpose they sought in life.

Bell sat on a cushion in the sitting room of the main house within the compound; the top of his yukata shrugged off and resting around his waist so that his bare back faced Sarutahiko. The tatami mats of the floor were interesting to Bell as well, having never seen them before, but he was sure that he’d get used to the Far Eastern style of his new home soon enough. Anything he didn’t recognize or understand, he could ask the other Familia members about.

“Hold still now, Bell, I’m going to give you my Falna.” Sarutahiko told him while carefully pricking his finger with a needle and letting a single drop of his blood fall onto Bell’s back. A blue-white light glowed from Bell’s back as the elder God got to work. “This won’t take too long. I have some experience with the process.”

Sarutahiko easily began inscribing the required hieroglyphs upon Bell’s back. A place for his name, his level, his Basic Abilities, a place for Skills to manifest, another for Developmental Abilities, and three slots for Magic were able to be added, which hinted that Bell had quite the aptitude for Magic in the future. With the Falna complete, Sarutahiko pushed a tiny scrap of his Divinity into it and watched his Falna appear on Bell’s back like a tattoo. The image of the elder God’s Falna was of a warrior standing under a waterfall performing Misogi.

“Here you are, Bell.” Sarutahiko copied the brand new Falna over to a piece of paper that he pressed to Bell’s back and handed it to his new ‘child’ and the Captain of his Familia. While Bell looked it over, Sarutahiko locked the Falna securely, making it fade from Bell’s skin as if it was sinking into the young man, leaving only his bare back visible.

“Thank you, Lord Sarutahiko.” Bell smiled as he looked at his Blessing for the first time.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 0

Defense – I 0

Dexterity – I 0

Agility – I 0

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“Everyone starts at zero, Bell.” Sarutahiko chuckled as he saw Bell looking over the mostly empty Status. “Your effort and drive will make your Falna grow. In time Skills and perhaps Magic will appear as well.”

“I’ll give it my absolute best, Lord Sarutahiko.” Bell turned to face the God and bowed as best as he could in his seated position.

“I’m glad to hear that, Bell.” Sarutahiko smiled at the young man. “There is still a good amount of time in the day. Let us begin sparring in the dojo, so that I may assess your current skills and begin your instruction.”

-Dojo-

Sarutahiko would admit to being impressed by Bell. The man that he’d chose based on his good character, also had some incredible talent it seemed. The boy moved well, he watched, predicted, countered, all with a fluidity that spoke of real experience. Already, Bell was picking up on the basics of Aikido after having only been instructed and shown once. That he could already apply the lessons in a spar was nothing short of impressive.

“Not like that, Bell.” Sarutahiko tossed Bell aside with barely any effort. “You’re not trying to overpower your opponent. You’re turning their force against them to put them in a position where you can lock one of their limbs and control it, or to throw them.”

“Yes, sir.” Bell hopped up from the floor without hesitation. This was already looking like a great addition to his fighting and he couldn’t wait to learn even more!

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

Sarutahiko chuckled as Bell laid on the mats, sweating and taking in long, slow breaths. “I believe that’s enough for today, Bell.”

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

“Of course, you’ll go through this many times a week until I think you’ve learned enough.” Sarutahiko promised the young man. “Now, while we wait for lunch to be ready, why don’t you wash yourself off a bit, and then go register with the Guild?”

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

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

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

“Really.” Sarutahiko laughed at Bell’s excitement. “Go on.” He playfully shooed the young man away and watched as Bell left the dojo to go wash up. “Ah, my Uzume-chan…I might be able to see you sooner than I thought.” If Bell’s incredible talent was any indication, then Sarutahiko was certain his Familia would gain quite the reputation and influence in Orario in due time.

-Guild-

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

“Hello, I’m new to Orario and I wanted to become an Adventurer.” Bell informed him with a polite tone.

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

Bell nodded to the man, hiding a slight wince as pain echoed across his body from the hours of sparring that he’d just gone through at the hands of his new God. “Lord Sarutahiko accepted me and made me the Captain of his Familia.”

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

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

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

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

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

Once the paperwork was done, Bell asked where he could sell Magic Stones that he’d collected from surface Monsters. He was directed to the Exchange, which was an area of the Guild lined with windows where Adventurers could turn in their loot for Valis. Bell had emptied the pouch into the tray at the instruction of the lady behind the glass.

The woman quickly collected the tiny Stones and weighed them. After making a few marks in her ledger, she placed some coins into the tray and pushed it back to Bell’s side. “Your Magic Stones were worth 2,147 Valis; please, have a nice day.”

With some money in his pocket, Bell bought a map of the Upper Floors before he returned to his new home to inform Sarutahiko of his successful registration.

-Next Morning-

“Bell, does it fit properly?” Sarutahiko asked as he watched Bell don the armor that he had brought with him from the Far East.

“Thanks to the others’ help, it fits perfectly, Lord Sarutahiko.” Bell confirmed, while thanking his fellow Familia members for helping to fit the armor to him. He now wore dark gray armor with numerous metal plates, forming protective guards along his chest, back, waist, shoulders and thighs. Beneath the armor he wore black pants and a long-sleeved black shirt.

“Many a warrior has worn similar armor like that in the history of the Far East.” Sarutahiko nodded approvingly at Bell wearing the armor. “It was favored by some of the various Clans that fought for control of the country centuries ago. Some even called it ‘shinobi battle armor’ because Magic was thought to be the power of Onmyoji and Shinobi in the Far East in those times; but Onmyoji only wore robes and never armor.”

“Hmm? Shinobi battle armor, huh?” Bell patted the chest plate. “If you weren’t as worried about stealth, then this armor makes a lot more sense.”

“In the Warring Clans Era, even Shinobi were pulled onto the frontlines of the battlefield, forgoing their usual stealth and espionage tactics.” Sarutahiko confirmed that the armor was indeed made for fighting on the frontlines by the old shinobi. “It’s not overly flashy, but good armor is meant to protect the one that wears it, not draw attention to them.”

“I like it.” Bell smiled at the armor he was wearing. “Thank you very much, Lord Sarutahiko.” He bowed to his God respectfully.

“You have the sword as well?” Sarutahiko questioned the new Captain of his Familia.

“Yes, sir.” Bell placed his hand on the hilt of the simple sword. It was called a chokut­o, a straight sword with a simple square tsuba guard. Nothing overly fancy, but it was a good-quality weapon near the top of the Average Grade.

“We shall await your return from the Dungeon, Bell.” Sarutahiko gave him an encouraging smile. “Don’t do anything crazy, prioritize your wellbeing above all else.”

“Yes, Lord Sarutahiko, I’ll be on my way.” Bell bowed respectfully before heading out of the room and then out of the compound, only his armor, weapons, and a sleek backpack on his back that he’d been given. Currently within the backpack were two Low Potions and a small bento lunch that one of the cooks of the Familia had made for him.

-Dungeon ~ First Floor-

“Hmm.” Bell kicked one Goblin into another, grabbed the reaching arm of a third, broke it, and then kneed a fourth Goblin in the face so hard there was an audible crack as the Monster’s feet left the ground. The Goblin with the broke arm attempted to claw at Bell, but found its head facing behind it with a sharp turn and a quick snap heard. In mere seconds, four Goblins had died without Bell having to even draw his weapon. “I’d thought they would be stronger.” But as he cut them open with his knife that he’d brought from the village he did consider that they were still Goblins; the weakest of the weak in the Dungeon. “Twenty-six…twenty-seven…twenty-eight…that makes twenty-nine so far today.” Bell counted the number of Magic Stones that he collected and placed into the mostly empty backpack.

Bell didn’t have much in the way of a challenge so far. Goblins were usually alone on the First Floor. Multiple spawns being rather uncommon here. He’d killed a couple of Kobolds too, they were still easy though, the increase in their size only made them more similar to humans, which Bell had plenty of experience sparring against.

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

“Speaking of…” Bell nearly chuckled that the Monster he was thinking about had appeared again. The Kobold charged forward, but Bell actually drew his sword and decapitated the dog-headed Monster faster than the creature could react. The head sailed through the air and hit the stone floor a few meters away. “Well…that made it even easier…” He swung the sword, cleaning the blood from the blade, and sheathed it. “Maybe I should hunt even further away from the main route?”

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

-Later-

“This is more like it!” Bell was actually having to put in a good amount of effort now. A group of ten Monsters had been mulling about a cavern a good distance from the main route. Upon seeing Bell, they all rushed him at the same time and Bell had reacted accordingly.

A slash of his sword bisected a Kobold. A snap kick launched a Goblin into the wall, the blood left on the rocky surface a good indication of its demise. A second Goblin was run through with the chokut­o, while a Kobold’s snapping jaws were broken by a strong punch. Goblin three was cut in half by his sword, while Goblin four took a roundhouse kick to the head that snapped its neck. Kobold two had still been alive, so Bell finished it off with a slash from his sword. The third Kobold had lunged at Bell, but he put his new Aikido techniques to use, grabbing its outstretched arm and leading it headfirst into the stone wall. The sharp crack and the blood pooling beneath the dog-headed Monster showed its fate. The last two Goblins tried to pincer him but Bell backstepped, nearly making the attacking Goblins hit each other, and decapitated both with a single swing of his blade. The last Monster, a third Kobold, lunged at him. Bell just held up his sword and let the charging beast impale itself through the throat. When it died without even reaching him, he kicked it off his sword and flicked the blade to remove the blood.

“Maybe I’ll get a Drop Item this time?” Bell hummed as he sheathed his chokut­o and pulled out his knife to harvest the Magic Stones. The Stones of the Dungeon Monsters were a good bit larger than the surface Monsters he’d killed over the years. Still not impressive though, none of the Magic Stones were much more than tiny, purple pebbles with no visible magic power within them.

-Guild Exchange ~ Late Afternoon-

“Holy…” The man behind the glass blinked as Bell upended his sleek backpack and a deluge of small Magic Stones poured out, quickly overflowing the tray. “Easy, easy! Take a few of those out so that I can pull the tray to my side!” He instructed and Bell did so. It took three rounds of this to get all of the small Magic Stones onto the other side with the Guild employee.

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

“Okay, your Magic Stones are worth 18,238 Valis.” The man informed Bell, seeming a little surprised by the number he just spoke. “Have a nice day, sir.” He placed the Valis coins in the tray and pushed them back over to Bell’s side.

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

-Guild Advisor Offices-

“Look at this guy!” Sophie, an Elf hat worked for the Guild, cried out, breaking her normal decorum. She’d barely been able to believe it when Rhemer, the Guild Section Leader, had dumped another new Adventurer on her. But she did her job and familiarized herself with his basic information before meeting him in her new role as his Advisor. Only to nearly balk at what he’d reported to her. Two-hundred-sixteen Monsters killed on his first day! On the First Floor! Naturally, she’d gone to confirm with the Exchange after bidding Bell farewell for the day. Her shock had grown beyond her control after the Exchange confirmed his reported number as valid.

“Over two-hundred?!” Misha Flott, a pink-haired human woman gaped at the number. “On his first day?!”

“He didn’t even leave the First Floor…” Sophie sat at her desk with a look of disbelief on her face. “He just hunted all of the out of the way areas near the edge of the First Floor. No one does that!”

“That’s gotta be a record, right?” Another Advisor asked the office as a whole.

“He didn’t look like he had a scratch on him though.” A Raccoon Man Advisor recalled that aside from some blood on his dark gray armor, Bell had looked unharmed.

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

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

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

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

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

-Evening-

“I see you worked hard today.” Sarutahiko mentioned as he watched Bell’s time in the Dungeon through his Excelia.

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

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

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 0 > I 20

Defense – I 0 > I 10

Dexterity – I 0 > I 19

Agility – I 0 > I 16

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“Sixty-five points in one day…is that good?” Bell looked over his shoulder at Sarutahiko.

“It’s incredible for a first day.” Sarutahiko praised Bell with a smile. “As you grow, it’ll take more and more Excelia to increase those numbers, but this much growth is impressive, even for this early period were growth is most rapid.”

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

“I take it that you’re ready for a tale of legend from the Far East?” Sarutahiko laughed as Bell quickly pulled his yukata top back on and turned to face him.

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

-Dungeon ~ Second Floor-

“Gah!”

“Eraah!”

“Yipe!”

“Barh-ipe!”

“And five.” Bell stabbed the last Monster of the small group, a Goblin, through the stomach. His second day, he’d decided to drop down to the Second Floor, hoping for more Monsters to hunt.

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

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

And he had the bruises to prove it!

-Guild Exchange ~ Late Afternoon-

“Here, ma’am.” Bell recalled what had happened yesterday and scooped out the small Magic Stone today. Handful by handful he emptied his sleek backpack and filled the tray three times over, the fourth tray only having a small handful in it.

“Thank you, sir, one moment please.” The Hume Bunny woman smiled at Bell as she began weighing the pile of small Magic Stones. She quickly had the weight recorded and made a mark in her ledger before gathering Bell’s money. “Your total today is 20,632 Valis. Have a nice day.” She pushed the tray back onto Bell’s side.

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

-Guild Advisor Offices-

“Even more this time…” Sophie set the report on her desk and let some of the other curious Advisors look at it.

“Two-hundred-thirty-four?!” Misha exclaimed in shock. “How is any newbie that good?!”

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

“Maybe he’s just exceptionally talented?”

“No one is THAT talented!”

-Floating Bridge Mansion-

“Another day of hard work, I see.” Sarutahiko chuckled as he watched the Excelia and guided it into the Basic Abilities so that they would grow.

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

“As long as you listen to your Advisor and what she recommends, I think you’ll be alright, Bell.” Sarutahiko gave his full support to his ‘child’ for the sake of his continued growth. “All done.” He handed the paper over to Bell.

“Let’s see…”

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 20 > I 41

Defense – I 10 > I 19

Dexterity – I 19 > I 40

Agility – I 16 > I 31

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“Sixty-six points…one more than yesterday.” Bell noticed the difference. For the extra Monsters that he’d killed, he had sort of expected a little more. But Sarutahiko did say that the more he grew the harder it would be to grow further, so perhaps his growth from yesterday made his work in the Dungeon today count for slightly less?

-Dungeon Third Floor-

“Ssshhhrrraaa!” A Dungeon Lizard dropped down from the ceiling at Bell. “Shak!” It was promptly cut in half by Bell’s sword and hit the ground with a wet splat.

“Eighty-four…” Bell counted off as he dodged a Kobold’s claw swipe. It didn’t get to make another as Bell’s chokuto cut into it from right shoulder to left hip, nearly splitting it in two. “Eighty-five…” He spun into a roundhouse kick; his foot slammed into the side of another Kobold’s head, spinning the head around roughly one-hundred-thirty degrees with a snap. The Kobold fell to the side like a sack of rocks, dead. “Eighty-six…” His footwork was impressive as he sidestepped a Goblin and slashed its back wide open with his blade. “Eighty-seven…” His punch hit a Goblin so hard in the face the Monster’s feet left the ground and it made a full flip before it hit the floor and didn’t move again. “Eighty-eight…”

“Grrrraaahhh!” A Kobold rushed towards him, claws at the ready. Its head was split in two by Bell’s sword for its trouble.

“Eighty-nine…” Bell sighed as the group was finished off. “I’m definitely going to the Fourth Floor tomorrow.” He cleaned the blood form his chokuto and sheathed it before pulling out his knife. “My Defense stat only grows because Lord Sarutahiko is such a task master during sparring.” He opened up the first Goblin with a sigh.

-Guild Exchange-

“Your total today is 22,359 Valis.” The Elf man behind the glass placed the coins into the tray and pushed them back towards Bell.

“Thank you, sir.” Bell collected them, adding them to his money pouch. “I’m sure Lord Sarutahiko is happy about the money I’m bringing in at least.”

As the Familia’s only breadwinner currently, anything that didn’t go to the maintenance of Bell’s weapons and armor was given to Sarutahiko for the Familia’s finances. Of course, his God made Bell keep at least thirty percent of his earnings, even though bell didn’t have much to spend it on. He sparred and trained with Sarutahiko at the compound, and went into the Dungeon. Occasionally he explored the city between their home and the Guild, but that was about it.

“Maybe I should branch out a bit and see some more of the city on a day off or something?” Bell mused about the idea of a day off.

-Floating Bridge Mansion-

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

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

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

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 41 > I 62

Defense – I 19 > I 33

Dexterity – I 40 > I 60

Agility – I 31 > I 47

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

-

-Status-

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

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

“Yes, sir!” Bell smiled at his God while putting the top of his yukata back on properly.

-Dungeon ~ Fourth Floor-

“This is…” Bell ducked under a Dungeon Lizard that had launched itself from above. “A bit…” He bisected a Kobold at the waist with his sword. “Closer to what I expected from the Dungeon!” He stabbed the Dungeon Lizard as it turned to attack him from its failed ambush. A harsh jerk and his sword split the reptile open in a splash of blood. Bell used the now freed sword to lop off the head of a lunging Goblin, used his footwork to get around one Kobold, stab the Kobold behind it through the chest, and then grabbed the head of the first Kobold and twisted it in a sharp motion that let out an audible crack. He let the dead Kobold drop and pulled his chokut­o out of the dead Kobold behind him. “Woo…” Bell exhaled with a smile. “That was a good sized group! I’m up to one-hundred-sixty-two from that!”

-Guild Advisors’ Offices-

“This is just ridiculous…” Sophie almost laughed at the absurdity of her new Adventurer. “Two-hundred-seventy…in one day…on the Upper Floors…not even the Fifth Floor yet.” The Elf woman was happy that Bell at least listened to her and hadn’t tried to do something insane like go to the Fifth Floor or lower at the very least. But still…he was alone in the Dungeon, yet was bringing back better results than some of the experienced Level 1 Parties! It boggled the Advisor’s mind. “He’s almost at the 1,000 Kills mark and it hasn’t even been a week since he started.” Most newbies took close to a month, if not a little longer, to get that far.

“Isn’t it a good thing that he’s doing so well?” Rose Fannet, a redheaded Werewolf, and a Senior Advisor, asked the cute Elf woman. Rose had seen plenty of Adventurers die in her time with the Guild, far more than she cared to remember. It had hardened her heart and made her a bit jaded, she knew. It was why she rejected every romantic advance from any Adventurer. They were more than likely going to die anyway.

“Yes, it is…and I’m glad that he’s listening to me; but still…how is he doing this?” Sophie asked the million Valis question.

“Some people are just naturally talented for stuff like this.” Rose shrugged, having been around back when the Zeus and Hera Familias had practically been royalty in Orario. Having seen a Level 8 Adventurer from Zeus Familia and even the one Level 9 Adventurer from Hera Familia had left an impression on her.

-Floating Bridge Mansion-

“I see you had to work for it a bit today, Bell.” Sarutahiko let out a light chuckle as he watched Bell’s Excelia. “Even on the Fourth Floor, you still went towards the edges to hunt more.”

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

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

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 62 – I 84

Defense – I 33 – I 55

Dexterity – I 60 – I 82

Agility – I 47 – I 70

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“Hmm…my Strength and Dexterity might hit H Rank next time.” Bell smiled at his progress. He’d work even harder to make that happen. ‘I’m going to become a Hero! No matter how long it takes, or how hard I have to work to do it!’ Left unsaid was that he’d like to meet some girls soon too. He wouldn’t make a family of his own if he didn’t eventually talk to some girls after all. Definitely something to think about for his first day off.

-Dungeon ~ Fourth Floor-

Bell kicked a Goblin into a Kobold and sliced through both of them with his sword. A Dungeon Lizard attempted to drop down on him from above, but Bell snatched its tail and swung it like a flail into a Kobold, smashing both of them onto the stone floor. One Goblin had its arm grabbed and was guided along until it was tossed into another Goblin, making them hit the floor in a tangle of limbs. They died as Bell impaled them both with a downward stab. He lashed out with a kick, shattering a Kobold’s knee and forcing it to collapse to the floor where he stomped on the back of its head, killing it. He caught the next Kobold’s arms at the wrist, preventing it from sinking its claws into him. With and pivot of his feet, he threw the Kobold into the recovering Dungeon Lizard and Kobold, sending all three sprawling.

“Something to finish them off would be nice.” Bell muttered under his breath while grabbing his sword and leaping toward the three fallen Monsters, slashing all three and watching one of the Kobold heads roll across the ground. “So that’s…” He counted the bodies lying around. “Two-hundred-six…not too bad for almost being done for the day.” But he did still have another two or so hours, if his sense of time was accurate. “Let’s harvest these quickly before another Monster shows up.” Bell cleaned his sword and sheathed it before taking out his knife and getting to work.

-Guild Advisors’ Offices-

“Woo! Burlton, you owe me 1,000 Valis!” One Advisor cheered as another Advisor handed him some coins with a grumble.

The reason?

A bet had gone around that the newbie, Bell Cranel would exceed the 1,000 Kills mark within seven days of becoming an Adventurer. Normally that would be a sucker’s bet, but Bell had proven insanely talented as an Adventurer. Both sides had some takers and now, with Sophie’s latest report, the winners were declared. Those that had bet Bell would break mark had been proven right.

“Over 1,000 Kills in five days…” Sophie shook her head and sipped some tea. “I didn’t think that was possible for a newbie. The only problem was that some other Advisors were asking her if she’d given Bell any special tips or information, and Sophie had to explain (often multiple times) that Bell was simply following the standard advice she’d given him. There was no trick, no secret, the young man was just talented and working his ass off.

-Floating Bridge Mansion-

“Your talent never ceases to amaze, Bell.” Sarutahiko laughed as he updated Bell’s Falna.

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

‘Already?’ Sarutahiko saw something new appear within Bell’s Falna. ‘No…it’s two.’ The elder God nearly blinked in shock at seeing the new developments. Bell’s talent was an almost scary thing with how fast the young man was able to grow and improve. Even his Falna was reflecting that now, bringing forth new potential from within him. ‘Well, he’s wanted it, and he’s more than earned it.’ Sarutahiko smiled slightly as he wrote the two new additions into Bell’s Falna. “All done, I think you might be surprised, Bell.”

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

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 84 > H 103

Defense – I 55 > I 78

Dexterity – I 82 > H 101

Agility – I 70 > I 94

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

Gogyō (Five Elements) – Incantation: “Earthly God’s mastery.” This Magic allows the user to use five different elemental Magics by using the appropriate word modifier: Sui for Water Magic, Do for Earth Magic, Fū for Wind Magic, Rai for Lightning Magic, and Ka for Fire Magic.

-Skills-

Fugō (Sign) – Allows the user to change the form of a spell by making different signs with their hands.

-Status-

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

“A bit of an overreaction…but yes, it’s real, congratulations, Bell.” Sarutahiko chuckled lightly at Bell’s reaction.

“Wait…” Bell looked over his Status update again. “I have a Skill too!” He quickly read over both of them…and then read both again…and then once more.

“Five Element Magic?” Bell looked at Sarutahiko confused, but also excited. “What’s Fugō though?”

“You remember the Ku-ji I told you about from the Far East?” Sarutahiko questioned and got a nod from Bell. “It may be related to that. I can show you the formations and positions of the hands and fingers so that you can give it a try.”

“Thank you very much, Lord Sarutahiko.” Bell smiled brightly as he followed his God outside into the evening air, the last rays of sunlight just barely touching Orario.

“First let’s see what your Magic does by itself before we start trying to change its form.” Sarutahiko instructed and motioned for Bell to head out into the cleared area used for training and sparring.

Bell made his way to the middle of the area and took a breath to steady himself. Recalling the incantation and the modifier words, Bell went with what he believed would be the least destructive element if something went wrong. “Earthly God’s mastery, Gogyō…Sui!” Bell incanted and willed water to form in front of him.

A few droplets formed form the air and Bell’s Mind. The drops increased in number until a sphere of water was formed about the size of a melon. Bell stared at the water with a bright smile before the orb fell from the air and splashed on the ground.

“Well…you can make a ball of water.” Sarutahiko mentioned from the edge of the training area. “I’d bet that if you had given it the direction to ‘shoot forward’ it would’ve done so.”

“Can I try out the others, Lord Sarutahiko?” Bell asked, his rubellite eyes practically begging his God for a positive answer.

“That’s why we’re out here, isn’t it?” The elder God chortled at the man acting like an excited child with his new Magic.

“All right…” Bell steadied himself and prepared to cast again. “Earthly God’s mastery, Gogyō…Ka!” Flames burst into existence in front of Bell for a brief moment before dispersing. They hadn’t been very large, a bit large than the ball of water, but Bell was still ecstatic! “Ok, okay…” He settled himself down again, he’d probably mess up if he didn’t focus. “Earthly God’s mastery, Gogyō…F­ū!” A breeze emanated from directly in front of Bell and spread outwards in a wave for a couple of meters. It wouldn’t do any damage, but the basis alone hinted at plenty of possibilities! “Earthly God’s mastery, Gogyō…Do!” Bell cast and felt like his Mind dropped from his body and into the ground beneath his feet. Bell rose up a few centimeters on a small platform of earth. “Huh…this one doesn’t go away?” He noticed that the platform stayed around even after the spell was cast.

“It’s earth, Bell.” Sarutahiko pointed out. “Unless it’s moved by some other external force, it tends to stay where it is.”

“Right…that makes sense.” Bell nodded at the obvious logic. “Earthly God’s mastery, Gogyō…Do!” The platform sank back into the ground util the area was smooth again. That had some potentially amazing applications if Bell could master his Magic! “Okay…last one.” Bell was an interesting mix of excited and cautious as he prepared to use Lightning Magic for the first time. It wouldn’t be good if he ended up hurting himself or damaging their home with a bolt of lightning or something. “Earthly God’s mastery, Gogyō…Rai!” A spark of electricity crackled to life before Bell, but only for a short instant before it vanished. “Wow…” He blinked, having spots in his vision from having looked directly at the bright spark in the dim light of the evening.

“Well…we know it works now.” Sarutahiko smiled at Bell, sort of reminiscent of his grandfather. “A little Mind got you small or brief effects, so it stands to reason that the more Mind you use, the greater the amount you’ll produce or manipulate.”

“I still almost can’t believe I have Magic.” Bell nearly laughed at not believing what he’d just done. “I’m not feeling any ill-effects…should I keep casting?”

“Save it for tomorrow.” Sarutahiko waved the idea off. “It’s dark out, and you can take tomorrow off from the Dungeon. You’ve dungeon crawled the last five days, you’ve definitely earned a break. Take the free time to learn and understand your new Magic and your new Skill as well as how they interact with one another.” His words were wise, once more reminding Bell of his grandfather.

“Right.” Bell agreed as they headed back inside together. “There are nine forms of the Ku-ji, right?”

“Yes, it’s in the name.” Sarutahiko chuckled as he slid open the shoji door. “Sit down and I’ll show you them all, one by one.”

-The Next Day-

Bell’s monstrous talent showed itself once more as he quickly got the hang of the Ku-ji. While the signs he made were close in some cases, making his conjured elements move oddly or take a half-formed shape for an instant, they weren’t quite what he needed. The young man began to experiment, understanding what the position of each hand and each finger meant for the sign that he was making. By lunch time, Bell had figured out his Fug­ō Skill quite well.

“It’s twelve signs.” Bell informed Sarutahiko as they ate lunch along with the other Familia members. “Each one is like an instruction given to my spells, and if I chain them together, the spell can take on a different form and even move differently when I cast it!” His excitement was nearly shining off of him.

“Interesting,” Sarutahiko nodded, interested in Bell’s Magic. “When is the best time to make the signs?”

“In the interval between the incantation and the modifier word.” Bell had found that out after trial and error. “If I use the incantation, perform the seals during the interval, and then chant the modifier word, I get a spell that’s almost completely different than the base spell.”

“That is interesting.” Sarutahiko laughed at Bell’s discovery. “Most Adventurers are limited to three spells total. But your circumstances practically give you dozens of spells if you take the time to figure out the proper combinations of hand signs.”

“My Magic isn’t very strong right now, but I’ll work on it until it is.” Bell declared, wanting to one day use powerful spells like he’d read about in his Heroic Tales.

“And I’ll work you into the ground physically too.” Sarutahiko promised with an amused smile. “Can’t have you focusing solely on Magic after all.”

“Yes!” Bell agreed without hesitation. He’d be a great Hero if he just put in enough effort! All of the pieces were coming together, he just had to learn how to make them work and how to use them to achieve his dream!

After a full morning devoted to Magic, Bell spent the afternoon getting tossed around by Sarutahiko in the dojo. The bruised and tired young man pulled himself into the large bath and let the soothing water relax his pain away.

After dinner, Bell got his Status updated to see how a full day of training had helped him grow.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – H 103 > H 119

Defense – I 78 > H 100

Dexterity – H 101 > H 118

Agility – I 94 > H 107

Magic – I 0 > I 38

-Magic-

Gogyō (Five Elements) – Incantation: “Earthly God’s mastery.” This Magic allows the user to use five different elemental Magics by using the appropriate word modifier: Sui for Water Magic, Do for Earth Magic, Fū for Wind Magic, Rai for Lightning Magic, and Ka for Fire Magic.

-Skills-

Fugō (Sign) – Allows the user to change the form of a spell by making different signs with their hands.

-Status-

“You really put me through the ringer…” Bell looked up from his Status and deadpanned directly at Sarutahiko. “My Defense is keeping pace with my other stats.”

“It’s good for you, helps you grow!” Sarutahiko laughed it off, the jovial sound making Bell sigh but agree with the elder God.

“I’ll head back into the Dungeon to test my Magic in combat tomorrow.” Bell informed his God of his plans.

“Be careful, no need to do anything crazy.” Sarutahiko cautioned Bell. “Keep it simple at first and build up to more complex uses.” The God was clearly showing why one of his Domains was Guidance. He gave sound advice and reasoning.

-Dungeon ~ First Floor-

“Alright, let’s try this out.” Bell told himself as he saw a Goblin further down the corridor. The Monster had only just noticed him and was starting to charge towards him. But Bell still had plenty of time. “Earthly God’s mastery, Gogyō…Ka!” He weaved his hands through six signs, ending on one with his hands clasped together, both index fingers pointing upwards along with both thumbs. The rushing Goblin was soon facing a large fireball that filled both the width and height of the corridor.

“Graaaahhhh!” The Goblin’s cry of pain died out after a second as it burned. The fireball carried on for roughly five meters, maybe a little more, before dispersing.

“Hah…it worked!” Bell beamed at his success, seeing the charred Goblin corpse. He’d decided that his first test would be something simple, and what was simpler than a fireball? “I could’ve probably used a smaller one though.” Bell critiqued himself and his spell. “A giant fireball like that isn’t necessary to kill a single Goblin. I’d save Mind by using a smaller spell too.” With his analysis of his performance over, Bell moved over to harvest the Goblin’s Magic Stone. Once he had the Stone and the Monster turned to white ash, Bell headed further along the main route, hoping to find more Monsters to test out his new Magic on. “Right, can’t forget to buy a Mind Potion soon too.” He made a quick mental note to check out the shop not too far away from the Floating Bridge Mansion. It was owned by the Dian Cecht Familia, if he recalled correctly.

-Guild Advisors’ Offices-

“He gained Magic already?” Sophie looked at Bell’s report and could hardly believe it. She was tempted to ask if he’d read a Grimoire, but she doubted the newly arrived Sarutahiko Familia had enough Valis to afford one. The things easily went for over 100,000,000 Valis. “What kind of impossible talent does he have that the Falna can bring out Magic so quickly? Did he study Magic before coming to Orario too?” Bell’s progression and his sheer skill were going to drive the normally calm Elf to drinking one day…she was sure of it.

-One Week Later ~ Dungeon ~ Fifth Floor-

“All right… Let’s try out this new Floor.” Bell readied himself mentally and started walking away from the stairs leading back up to the Fourth Floor. He had his map and he was in good condition. It was a perfect time to try his luck at the first cut off point. Sure, Sophie hadn’t believed him when he’d told her his stats had hit G Rank, but when he’d shown her his latest Status Update (with his Skills and Magic blacked out for confidentiality) the Elf Advisor couldn’t really argue with Bell going to the Fifth Floor.

“Grrr!” A Kobold appeared before Bell as he rounded his first corner.

“You’re definitely bigger than the others.” Bell easily saw the size difference between the Kobolds he’s killed on the first four floors and this one.

“GRRROOOWWRRR!!!” The Kobold lunged forward, lashing out with its claws, but Bell avoided them and the follow up bite that tried to go for his throat.

“Your attack is faster, but the pattern is about that same.” Bell noticed the Kobold’s similarities to the others. He let the Kobold attack again, caught its arm and threw it to the ground with barely any force of his own. Bell locked the Monster’s arm and then broke it.

“Yipe!” The Kobold yelped in pain from its broken limb. It didn’t suffer long as Bell’s foot crushed its skull with a powerful stomp.

“I’d better be quick.” Bell quickly flipped the Kobold over and pulled out his knife. “Monster spawn times are supposed to be faster starting on the Fifth Floor.” When the Magic Stone had been extracted, Bell smiled that it was a little bigger than he was used to. That smile became even bigger when he saw something left behind. “A Kobold Nail! My first Drop Item!” Bell cheered as he picked up the black nail and added it to his sleek backpack.

Bell’s next Monster was a War Shadow. The black, shadowy, golem-like Monster slunk from a shadowy corner, the circular ‘face’ glowing with an ominous light. As the known ‘newbie killer’ rushed towards him, knife-like claws ready to hack Bell to pieces, Bell decided to try a smaller spell this time.

“Gugugu!” The War Shadow made a strange, almost artificial, sound as it got closer.

“Earth God’s mastery, Gogyō­…Rai!” Bell incanted and weaved three hands signs. His right hand sparked with electricity and he threw it forward. The lightning arced, striking the War Shadow head on and sending it to the ground. The Monster didn’t twitch, as it didn’t have muscles like bestial Monsters did. But the flashing light on its ‘face’ was a good indication that it was taking damage. When it went still and the light from it’s ‘face’ faded, Bell let out a small relieved breath. “Woo…glad that was enough.” He was still experimenting with his Magic and figuring out how much was too much or too little when it came to certain Monsters was something that he could only test in the Dungeon.

As Bell opened up the War Shadow’s chest to retrieve its Magic Stone, he wondered if he shouldn’t keep a record of the spells he made. He remembered each of them and the hand signs they needed to be made easily enough; but it wouldn’t hurt to write them down at some point, since that could only help him memorize them faster. Collecting the War Shadow’s Magic Stone, the Monster crumbled into white ash.

“Grrr!”

“Raar!”

“Rarh!”

“Three Kobolds this time?” Bell looked at the dog-headed Monsters. “Let’s try it.” He wanted to test this anyway. “Earthly God’s mastery, Gogy­ō…Do!” He stomped his foot on the stone floor and channeled his Mind into it while weaving four signs with his hands. The Kobolds rushing at him were blocked off as a wall of rock rose up in front of them. “Earthly God’s mastery, Gogy­ō…Do!” Bell made three hands signs and the wall cracked apart into a multitude of stone spears that launched forward.

“Yipe!”

“Aiieeppe!”

Two of the Kobolds had apparently survived long enough to cry out in pain. Bell let the stone and rocks fall apart and saw black ash falling to the ground. Black ash was a sure sign that a Monster’s Magic Stone had been shattered.

“Aw damn…I destroyed a Magic Stone.” Bell grimaced but accepted that it was bound to happen every once in a while. He took out his knife and began to extract the Magic Stones from the two dead Kobolds. “Hey! A Drop Item!” Bell perked up as the second Kobold left behind a Kobold Nail.

-Later-

“Five Goblins, huh?” Bell had been using his Magic throughout the day, but not for every Monster. Sophie had told him that resting between casts would naturally let his Mind reserves recover a little. So, Bell would use his Magic, then not use it for a while, then use it again, rinse and repeat and he hadn’t had to worry about hitting Mind Down yet. It wasn’t a foolproof solution, but it did extend the time that he could use Magic at least a little.

“Grah!”

“Grra!”

“Gahk!”

“Geehk!”

“Gaarh!”

The Goblins, like all of the others that Bell had faced before, charged him as one. Bell had long since memorized this blind charge style of attack though. “Earthly God’s mastery, Gogy­ō…F­ū!” Bell weaved three signs and inhaled deeply before exhaling a blast of wind. The sheer wind speed and pressure knocked the Goblins off their feet and slammed them harshly into the far wall some ten meters away. Four of the five fell to the floor and didn’t move. One Goblin tried to move, its body clearly battered, but it wasn’t making much progress.

“Not a bad result for the first try.” Bell stabbed the near-dead Goblin with his chokut­o to finish it off. “Maybe if I used a single hand sign, I could compress the Wind Magic down into a sphere and launch it faster?” He mused as he cut open the Goblins for their Magic Stones. Having versatile Magic like his meant that Bell had a lot to consider about how he used it.

-Later-

“I’m trying to leave…” Bell glared at the Kobolds blocking his way out of the Dungeon. It had been hours since Bell had started his day in the Dungeon and he wanted to get back to the surface.

“Grrr!”

“Grawr!”

“Rrrr!”

The three Kobolds were standing between him and the main route through the Fifth Floor which was the fastest path back to the stairs. The dog-headed Monsters came at bell, splitting up to come at him from the front and both sides all at once.

“Huh…so you do get a bit more strategic the deeper into the Dungeon you spawn?” Bell skipped back, leaving the three Kobolds grouped up in front of him. “Earthly God’s mastery, Gogy­­ō…Sui!” Bell made a single hand sign as a large sphere of water formed in front of him. It was a simple spell, and wouldn’t take too much Mind. The water ball was a blur as it was fired forward and swept up the three Kobolds, crushing them against the nearby wall and making small cracks in the stone from the pressure.

Most people never thought about it, but water was heavy. Those that hauled water knew, of course, but the vast majority of people never considered the gentle flowing water to be a particularly heavy thing. When a sphere of water crashes into a body at high-speed, the resulting pressure from the fast-moving weight can easily be lethal.

Three dead and soaked Kobolds hit the Dungeon Floor as a wave of water covered a large area. Bell walked over the now wet stone and pulled out his knife. As he cut open the Kobolds, he was already thinking of what other spells he might be able to create or perhaps if he could use two in conjunction with each other.

“Hmm…but I’d have to cast the second spell at the same time, or before the first one faded.” Bell added the first Magic Stone to his bulging backpack. “Only my Earth Magic lasts after using it…fire can last for a bit after casting, but not long…Lightning and Wind are gone almost instantly though. Water lasts…” He looked at the wet floor he was standing on. “Maybe Earth and Water as the first spells then followed by one of the other three elements?” He continued to think about it as he retrieved the second Magic Stone.

-Guild Exchange-

“Your Magic Stones were worth 26,820 Valis, and the Kobold Nail was worth 900 Valis.” The man at the Exchange rattled off the value of Bell’s loot. “Your total exchange today is 27,720 Valis; have a nice day.” He pushed the tray back over to Bell’s side.

“Thank you, sir.” Bell took the money, once more filling up his money pouch before placing it in his backpack for safekeeping. Now he just needed to give his report to Miss Sophie and he could head home.

-Floating Bridge Mansion-

‘He’s growing well, but it’s clear that he’s starting to run up against a wall.’ Sarutahiko noted the slight slowing of Bell’s growth. ‘The Monsters aren’t giving him much of a challenge, so he’s getting less Excelia from them. He’s offsetting that by hunting more of them, but that will only work for so long.’ The elder God didn’t want Bell to dive deeper and deeper into the Dungeon before he was truly ready, as that could get Bell killed. But Bell’s incredible talent made his growth almost faster than what the Guild’s recommendations for Floors could keep up with. ‘Again? What is it this time?’ Sarutahiko blinked at seeing another spell so soon. Bell loved his Magic, having been a fan of it since he was a small child from what he'd told his God, but for his Falna to manifest a second spell in less than a month was insane. “You’re talent borders on the frightful, Bell.”

“Hmm?” Bell looked over his shoulder at Sarutahiko. “Why do you say that?”

“You’ll see in a moment.” Sarutahiko finished writing the second spell into Bell’s Falna and finished the update. He pressed a blank paper to the young man’s back to copy over the numbers and then handed it to Bell.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – G 212 > G 231

Defense – G 201 > G 217

Dexterity – G 210 > G 229

Agility – G 205 > G 221

Magic – G 206 > G 223

-Magic-

Gogyō (Five Elements) – Incantation: “Earthly God’s mastery.” This Magic allows the user to use five different elemental Magics by using the appropriate word modifier: Sui for Water Magic, Do for Earth Magic, Fū for Wind Magic, Rai for Lightning Magic, and Ka for Fire Magic.

Kokushin (Black Needle) – Incantation: “Disrupt.” This Magic allows the user to create a black material in the shape of needles, batons, or rods at the cost of Mind.

-Skills-

Fugō (Sign) – Allows the user to change the form of a spell by making different signs with their hands.

-Status-

“I HAVE ANOTHER SPELL?!” Bell couldn’t hold back the outburst. He quickly read over it. “What kind of Magic is this?” He looked at his God for an answer.

“I believe it’s a type of Creation Magic…quite rare.” Sarutahiko gave his best answer as he understood the spell by its description.

“Hmm…” Bell held his right hand up, palm facing the ceiling. “Disrupt.” He incanted and a black material rapidly formed into a short baton in standing straight up in his palm. “That’s cool…” Bell’s rubellite eyes were nearly sparkling as he looked over the material. “It’s not metal…hmm, what is this stuff?” He wondered as he looked over the baton.

“May I see?” Sarutahiko requested, holding out his hand. Bell placed the baton in the God’s hand and wondered what the Deity would make of it. “Hmm…tough, but not metallic, nor is it stone…how odd.” He tried to bend it but the baton wouldn’t give. “Hmm, not flexible, but it doesn’t break either.” The material was truly a mystery.

“I think I can…” Bell accepted the black baton back and managed to snap it with just a bit of extra force. “I can break it…but others can’t?” He didn’t understand how that made sense.

“It may be that it breaks easier for you, since it’s your Magic.” Sarutahiko hypothesized on the new discovery. “Others can probably break it with enough force, just like any other material. I highly doubt it would stand up to Mithril, Adamantite, or Orichalcum.”

“I wonder if I can use my Magic on this?” Bell considered using his elemental Magic in conjunction with this black material and tried to pass some Mind into it. To Bell’s perception, the black baton vibrated slightly and he ‘felt’ it in his head. “What the?”

“Did you do something?” Sarutahiko looked slightly confused by Bell’s sudden words.

“I tried to pass some Mind into it, and now it feels like I can sense it?” Bell tried to put the new experience into words. “It’s like…” Bell tossed the baton behind him while closing his eyes, confusing Sarutahiko more. “It’s behind me, just under three meters away and slightly off to the left.”

“It…it is…yes.” Sarutahiko looked at the baton and Bell who still had his eyes closed. “You can sense its location?”

“Only when my Mind is in it.” Bell confirmed as he felt the ‘sense’ fade. “I think I’m going to have to experiment with this spell too…just to figure out what it can do.”

“I’m starting to wonder if your talent is going to end up biting you at some point.” Sarutahiko shook his head with a small smile. “It seems like everything you gain makes you work harder to figure it out.”

“That’s not a problem.” Bell shook his head and retrieved the black baton. “I’ll do whatever it takes to improve. If that means I have to work harder to understand my Magic!” Another new piece had appeared for Bell on his path to become a Hero. ‘I knew it wouldn’t be easy. But Heroes protect, lead, and inspire others! I can’t do that if I slack off.’

-Dungeon ~ Sixth Floor-

“Disrupt!” Bell formed a long rod with a sharp tip with his new spell. He stabbed it into the Frog Shooter that had tried to grab him with its tongue.

“Gerrrooo!” The Frog Monster flailed at the injury as the impromptu weapon pierced its body.

“Now…” Bell passed his Mind into the rod and felt the ‘sense’ of it form in his perception. “I’ll just let it run off and se how far I can track…it…” He trailed off as he saw the Frog Shooter twitching on the floor, seemingly unable to move its limbs properly. “What’s wrong with you?” Bell questioned the struggling Monster. “I didn’t stab you that deeply…you should be able to run away.” But the Monster just continued to twitch. “Am I doing something?” He tried to figure out what was causing the Frog Shooter’s current lack of mobility.

It didn’t take Bell too long to form a hypothesis. He stopped adding Mind to the rod and the Frog Shooter stopped twitching. The Monster leapt away from Bell, clearly panicked, and Bell could still sense the rod’s location, even as the Frog Shooter disappeared around a corner and kept going.

“Is that why the incantation is ‘Disrupt’?!” Bell realized that he’d effectively disabled the Frog Shooter by stabbing the Kokushin into it and putting a constant stream of Mind into the rod. “That has possibilities.” His immense talent made him think quickly as he followed after the wounded Frog Shooter. The sense from the Kokushin was still in his perception and he had an estimate as to how far away the injured Monster was. If he was correct, then his new spell would not only allow him to form weapons (or backup weapons should he lose his chokut­o), but he could use it for tracking, or for disabling an enemy too. “I wonder how long they last before falling apart?”

Sarutahiko had mentioned that the things made by Creation Magic often had a finite time limit before they broke down into nothing again. Bell would have to find out what the limits where on his Kokushin if he wanted to master his new Magic. A challenge that he would overcome, just like any other, on his path to reach his dream.

-One Week Later ~ Dungeon ~ Seventh Floor-

“Where did this thing come from?!” Bell skipped back and ducked around a corner.

“MOOOAAARRRGGGHH!!!” A Minotaur’s fist smashed through the rock. The rampaging bull-headed Monster came around the corner with powerful stomps, its cloven hooves cracking the stone floor beneath it.

Minotaurs were classed as Level 2 Monsters by the Guild, and they should’ve only been on the Middle Levels starting around the Fifteenth Floor. It was no surprise that Bell was beyond confused at the appearance of one on the Seventh Floor. And what he did next was even less of a surprise to anyone that would get to know him.

“Run!” Bell yelled at a Party of four Adventurers that had been coming down the corridor that he’d ducked into. The four didn’t need to be told twice, seeing he Minotaur heading their way. All four booked it as fast as they could run while Bell put himself between the Minotaur and the fleeing Level 1’s.

“MOOAARRGGHH!!!” The Minotaur roared loudly before rushing at Bell.

“Disrupt!” Bell used his footwork to doge the wild swing of the Minotaur’s fist and slip behind it. In his hand he formed a short black spike. He knew his chokuto wouldn’t even scratch the Minotaur’s hide. But his Magic might have a chance to work if he aimed properly.

“MOOOAAAHHH!!!” The Minotaur spun with a backfist, looking to kill Bell in a single blow, but it was too slow to hit the nimble and fleet-footed Adventurer. It was classed by the Guild as a Level 2 Monster, but that was purely because of its insane strength. Minotaur’s were only fast when in a full charge. Their wild swings were actually fairly easy to dodge if one was skilled in hand-to-hand combat. The Monsters telegraphed every punch and the only thing an Adventurer fighting them in close quarters had to be careful of was the bull-headed Monster trying to stomp on their legs to cripple them.

“Yah!” Bell took his shot the second he saw it. The Minotaur’s fist had just missed him, it was overextended and slightly off balance. The short, sharp spike was thrown straight into the Minotaur’s eye.

“MOOOAAAUUUGGGHHH!!!” The Minotaur staggered backwards, one hand covering the ruined eye while its other swung wildly, trying to strike the Adventurer that had injured it. Bell was not in its range though, having made distance as he channeled his Mind into the Kokushin lodged inside the Minotaur’s ruined eye socket. “MOOUUAAGGH?!” The Minotaur’s bellow sounded confused as its entire body jerked and spasmed, making it drop to its knees as its muscles received scrambled orders from its brain.

“Earthly God’s mastery, Gogy­ō…Sui!” Bell weaved through seven hand signs and held his palms out at the disabled Minotaur. A mass of water was formed that quickly swirled around the injured Monster and trapped it in a large sphere of water. The Minotaur flailed and tried to bellow, but it couldn’t fight the resistance that Bell’s Mind was able to add to the water. It thrashed and flailed in confusion and rage, but any time that it got close to the edge of the sphere, Bell channeled a bit more Mind into the Kokushin still lodged in the Minotaur’s eye socket, sending it into spasms and tremors.

Eventually the Minotaur went still…a group of bubbles escaped the dead Monster’s mouth as it floated in the water sphere unmoving. Bell let out a heavy exhale as he saw that the Minotaur had drowned. He may not be able to beat it through force, but he could easily outthink it. He released the spell and as the water covered the floor in a small wave, the dead Monster hit the ground with a harsh thump from its weight.

“Oh thank the Gods…” A woman’s voice spoke up from behind Bell.

“That was the last one, right?” A second female voice questioned.

“Mm…Bete went after the other one that got to this Floor.” A third woman answered the second.

“Hmm?” Bell turned around and was immediately starstruck. With as much of a fan of Heroes as he was, he also knew all of the top Adventurers in Orario after three weeks of living in the city. These three women were definitely part of the Top Tier.

One was very beautiful with long golden-blonde hair, gold eyes, and a slender body, her breasts and hips giving her curves that had caught many a man’s eyes. She was wearing a white and black battle cloth, black arm covers, and long blue boots up to her thighs. Her armor over this consisted of a head guard, breastplate, arm guards, hip guards, and knee guards. At her hip was a straight sword of high quality. This was Ais Wallenstein, the Kenki of Loki Familia, a Level 5 Adventurer.

To Ais’s right was a girl that, like all Amazons, had a darker skin tone than most other Races. Short, black hair, with two long bangs framing her face. Each of the longer bangs was held together with simple, bronze hair ornaments near the ends. Around her neck were golden-colored neckbands, the largest of which sported three blue gems. Her chest was covered by a white breast wrap that left just enough to the imagination. She wasn't very busty, but it certainly didn’t detract from her beauty at all. Her smooth and toned stomach was left fully on display. She wore a golden armband on each forearm and had golden anklets similar to her neckbands adorning her ankles. The pareo around her waist was a dark-yellow color with a thick band of green along the hem. The garment partially covered her legs and the brown loincloth that hung down to her shins. A thick, brown and white belt with a golden buckle sat around her hips, over the tied-off pareo.

This was Tiona Hyrute, ‘The Slasher’ of Loki Familia, another Level 5 Adventurer, though she was missing her signature weapon, Urga.

On Ais’s left was another Amazon, but this one had long, black hair going down to just past her butt. Much like Tiona, her sister, she had two long bangs that framed her face, hers were braided however, and held together with silver-colored hair ornaments near the ends. Her ears were pierced, each one sporting a round, blue gem. Silver-colored neckbands adorned her neck and a deep-red bikini top covered her very large breasts, wrapped around her back, and was tied off behind her neck. A circular, silver moon ornament kept the top pulled tight to prevent any slipping. She also left her toned and smooth stomach fully displayed. She had a folded pareo tied around her waist, the color and design a match of her twin sisters. Red leggings attached to a garter belt around her waist drew many eyes. She also had silver-colored armbands and anklets to contrast her sisters’ golden ones.

This woman was Tione Hyrute, ‘Jörmungandr’ of the Loki Familia, and also Level 5. Sheathed at her sides were her Kukri knives, just waiting to be drawn if needed.

While Bell was temporarily starstruck, the girls were checking him out just like he was doing to them. Bell stood at roughly 178cm, his white hair and rubellite eyes caught attention, and his dark gray Far Eastern armor wasn’t something seen often in Orario. The three experienced Adventurers could tell just at a glance that Bell was skilled, just the way he held himself and his position (ready to react should anything suddenly happen) gave that away.

Tiona and Tione both eyed Bell up and down, their Amazon instincts were hardwired to scope out potentially powerful men. Neither sister was attached in anyway, not having a boyfriend or lover, and neither were chasing after anyone currently. That left their instincts without a filter of any kind that a relationship would bring.

While the Amazon Twins’ interest would be expected. They weren’t the only ones.

Ais felt her heart thump in her chest. She didn’t know why. But when she saw this man…when his red eyes met her own…warmth bloomed in her chest and she couldn’t look away. There was something about this man…something almost familiar, and yet not. ‘…Is my face getting warm?’ Ais questioned herself, feeling like her face was doing something beyond her control.

“Thank you, for killing this Minotaur.” Tione spoke up first, breaking the stare down that the two sides were having without realizing it. “We were chasing down a large group that bolted from the Seventeenth Floor. This should be the last one.”

“We were lucky that a Level 2 ran into it before it killed some new Adventurers! Thanks a bunch!” Tiona’s smile was like sunshine and Bell felt himself smile back at her without a thought.

“…Thank you very much.” Ais gave a short bow to Bell. “We’re sorry for the trouble.”

“No, no…it’s fine.” Bell wasn’t used to people apologizing to him. Especially not three Level 5 Adventurers! “I just didn’t want it to hurt anyone.” Bell explained why he’d fought the Monster.

“You have Water Magic? Or was it a Magic Sword?” Tione looked at the dead and soaked Minotaur. “I’ve never seen someone drown a Minotaur before.”

“What Familia are you from?” Tiona asked with a smile, getting closer to Bell.

“Bell Cranel, Captain of the Sarutahiko Familia.” Bell introduced himself with a short bow.

“Sarutahiko?” Ais looked thoughtful, as if she was trying to remember if she’d heard of such a Familia.

“I don’t know that one.” Tione looked at Ais curiously.

“No clue, sorry!” Tiona apologized to Bell, rubbing the back of her head with a sheepish laugh.

“Lord Sarutahiko has only been in Orario for a short time.” Bell waved off the apology. “I’ve only been an Adventurer and the Captain for three weeks.” He knew that it would take a while before anyone would learn the name of such a new Familia in Orario.

“...Three…weeks?” Ais’s brain screeched to a halt at that information.

“Huh?” Tiona blinked at Bell’s words.

“You’ve only been an Adventurer for three weeks?” Tione looked at Bell curiously. “Were you part of the School District first?” Lefiya had come from the School District and had been Level 2 when she joined Loki Familia because of it.

“School District?” Bell had never heard of it before. A consequence of not really exploring Orario much since he’d been here. But, to be fair, he’d spent most of that time figuring out his Magic and dungeon crawling to make money for the Familia.

The complete lack of understanding in Bell’s eyes couldn’t be faked. He had no idea what the School District was. But if he had only been an Adventurer for three weeks…and had been able to slay a Minotaur singlehandedly.

“What Familia did you convert from?” Ais asked Bell, that was the only way Bell could have killed a Minotaur after only three weeks as an Adventurer. He had to have been part of a Familia outside of Orario and leveled up before coming to the city. That had to be it…because the alternative was simply impossible.

“I didn’t convert.” Bell shook his head. “I came to Orario to become an Adventurer, and Lord Sarutahiko accepted me on my first day in the city.” He was kind of confused as to where this conversation was going at this point.

“No way…did you Level Up in only three weeks?!” Tiona was suddenly very close to Bell’s face.

‘She smells nice.’ Bell thought even as he leaned back a bit from the Amazon. “No…I’m not even close yet.” He shook his head, knowing that you had to have at least one Basic Ability stat at D Rank to be able to Level Up.

“You’re saying that you’re Level 1?” Tione was close now, looking deeply into Bell’s rubellite eyes for any hint of deceit.

“Yes ma’am…” Bell dared not blink with the intensity that Tione was staring into his soul with.

“…Impossible.” Ais shook her head slowly at Bell’s words. Level 1’s, especially new Level 1’s, couldn’t defeat a Minotaur. It wasn’t possible alone. The gap in power between them meant that the Minotaur wouldn’t get so much as a scratch, but a single hit from it would kill the new Level 1. “How?” She asked, really wanting to know how he could’ve overcome the level gap so soon into his time as an Adventurer.

“I drowned it with my Magic.” Bell answered Ais, looking between her and the two Amazon women. Was it wrong that he thought that both Tiona and Tione smelled nice?

“A Minotaur should’ve been able to tear through the Magic of a new Level 1.” Tiona mentioned as a grin spread on her face. “You must be pretty strong, huh?”

“I…guess?” Bell replied, feeling like that grin hid a predatory smile. “My Advisor says I keep breaking records or something, and she gets frustrated with me about it.”

“Breaking records?” Tione cocked an eyebrow at that. “Like what?”

“Something about breaking the 1,000 Kills mark in less than a week?” Bell didn’t even know that was a thing until Sophie had told him about it.

“You killed a thousand Monsters in under a week?!” Tione felt like her blood had just heated up in her veins as her heart thumped in her chest.

“Did you kill them all with your Magic?” Tiona questioned him curiously.

“No, I didn’t have my Magic yet.” Bell answered her, starting to get used to the closeness now.

“You killed them all with your bare hands?!” Tiona, for the first time in her life, felt her heart beat strongly without her doing any thing to cause it. A heat seemed to run through her blood from her heart and she felt her skin tingle from goosebumps.

“Martial Arts and my sword…” Bell corrected the misconception, not wanting to lie.

“That’s awesome!” Tiona beamed at Bell, wrapping her arms around his right arm.

“Why don’t we get to know each other better?” Tione suggested, wrapping her arms around Bell’s left arm, squeezing it between her large breasts.

“Mm…” Ais looked on, not knowing what to do with these new feelings inside. She wanted to get closer too…but the thought seemed a little embarrassing. She wasn’t as physically affectionate as Tiona…and she’d never seen Tione like this with a man either.

“Sure.” Bell felt like he’d be some kind of idiot to turn the Amazon Sisters down. He placed his right hand on Tiona’s waist, and his left hand on Tione’s waist, fully prepared to remove them if either young woman told him to.

Instead, what he got were eyes filled with approval and smiles that he thought were incredibly sexy.

“Magic Stone…” Ais finally spoke up, not knowing what else to do.

“Huh?” Bell blinked and realized that no one had harvested the dead Minotaur’s Magic Stone. “Right, I should…find a way to get that…” He realized that none of his weapons would pierce the Minotaur’s hide.

“Let me.” Tione gave Bell a wink as she let his arm go and pulled out one of her Kukri knives. A quick slash and the Minotaur’s chest was split open. “Oh, it’s one of those…” Tione mumbled using her Kukri to cut lower on the Minotaur and opening it up closer to the middle of the torso. “Always either the chest or a bit lower with Minotaurs.” She pulled out the Magic Stone, slightly bigger than her fist, and nearly sauntered back to Bell’s side. “Here you go, Bell.” She placed the stone into his backpack and then took his left arm for herself again. Behind them, the Minotaur’s body crumbled away into white ash.

“We…should head for the surface.” Ais suggested, seeing Bell’s hands on Tiona and Tione’s waists. “We can…talk.” She really wanted to know more about Bell Cranel. How did he accomplish want he claimed? His Status shouldn’t be strong enough yet. She wanted to get stronger too! It was her most fervent wish ever since she’d been a little girl. ‘Can you…help me?’ She wondered, looking at Bell as the four of them headed up the stairs to the Sixth Floor. The words of her father, almost forgotten, passed through her mind again for the first time in years.

‘Someday, you’ll find a Hero of your own.’

‘…Hero.’ Ais felt her heart thump in her chest again and felt her face heating up again.

-Floating Bridge Mansion-

“I see you’ve done something incredible, Bell.” Sarutahiko chuckled as he watched Bell’s Excelia. “Seems you’ve gotten yourself some attention as well.” He lightly teased the young man.

“Lord Sarutahiko…” Bell sighed, once more reminded of his grandpa by his God.

Tione, Tiona, and Ais had been forced to separate from Bell to meet up with their Familia, since the entire group was coming back from an expedition. Both Amazons had left with promises of seeing him again soon. Ais had been a bit more formal about it, but had bid him farewell with a light dusting of pink on her cheeks and a request to meet soon to talk. Bell had agreed to all of it without a thought.

“It’s a good thing!” Sarutahiko laughed jovially as he finished watching the Excelia. “You want to be a Hero and you want a family. There’s nothing wrong with that.” He noticed something within Bell’s Falna and just rolled his eyes at this point. His ‘child’ was a fount of absurd talent and the Falna kept bringing out more of it. He wrote the new Skill in and finished the Status update after watching the numbers of Bell’s Basic Abilities shoot upwards as the Excelia was added. “You’re your hard work and effort has paid off, and I’m sure your new inspiration has helped too.” He copied the Status onto a blank paper before handing it to Bell.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – F 307 > E 403

Defense – G 294 > F 312

Dexterity – F 305 > E 402

Agility – F 300 > E 400

Magic – F 310 > E 415

-Magic-

Gogyō (Five Elements) – Incantation: “Earthly God’s mastery.” This Magic allows the user to use five different elemental Magics by using the appropriate word modifier: Sui for Water Magic, Do for Earth Magic, Fū for Wind Magic, Rai for Lightning Magic, and Ka for Fire Magic.

Kokushin (Black Needle) – Incantation: “Disrupt.” This Magic allows the user to create a black material in the shape of needles, batons, or rods at the cost of Mind.

-Skills-

Fugō (Sign) – Allows the user to change the form of a spell by making different signs with their hands.

Shihyō (Paragon/Teacher/Model/Leader) – Removes limits of growth. Rate of growth increases in proportion to the user’s efforts to improve. Growth of others increases when instructing them.

-Status-

“D-Did all of my Basic Abilities, aside from Defense, just go up one-hundred points?” Bell stared in shock at the massive leap. Even for defeating a Minotaur, that seemed like a lot. But maybe he was underselling what he’d accomplished?

“A little lower and you’ll understand.” Sarutahiko had a mirthful grin on his bearded face.

“ANOTHER SKILL?!” Bell exclaimed and Sarutahiko cracked up laughing. One would think that Bell would be used to his own insane growth and talent. “Removes limits of growth…rate of growth increases based on my effort to improve?! Growth of others increases when instructing them?”

“That monstrous talent of yours has manifested itself in a rather absurd Skill, Bell.” Sarutahiko finally got his laughter under control. “I’ve never heard of one like it before. But it truly fits your goal.”

“I guess it does?” Bell read over it again.

“What are Heroes if not Paragons, Teachers, Leaders, and Models for others to follow the example of?” Sarutahiko questioned the young man with a chuckle. “Only someone that wanted to be a True Hero more than anything else, could develop a Skill like that.” The elder God assured Bell with a proud smile. His child’s newest Skill was much like his own Domain of Guidance, and he was very happy that Bell had such a connection to him already.

“Th-Thank you, Lord Sarutahiko.” Bell smiled as well, looking down at the Skill again. “I’ll give it my very best.” He looked up into his God’s eyes with determination burning in his rubellite gaze.

“I know you will, Bell.” Sarutahiko nodded to him with warm eyes. He’d express his concerns about Bell’s unheard of Skill after dinner. It would probably be best that no one else learned about it for the foreseeable future. At least not until their Familia could deal with any that might want to try and take Bell by force.

-End Chapter-

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BOOM!

Another Pilot Chapter for Danmachi!

This Bell is blessed with talent like his aunt and it fucking shows!

Hopefully some other people in Orario don’t start wondering if there’s any connection between the two any time soon. That might cause some issues.

Breaking records left and right! Growing quickly even without a Growth Hack Skill! Gaining Magic and Skills faster than most any other Adventurer! And now he’s killed a Minotaur at Level 1!

Orario is going to lose its shit!

But! On the bright side, Bell has gotten some attention from a few lovely ladies already too!

Yes! Instead of Bell’s heart going ‘Doki Doki’ when he and Ais first meet; it’s AIS’S heart that has the ‘Doki Doki’ this time! Oooooh~!

How will this Bell (that’s roughly based on Uchiha Madara) progress as he delves further into the Dungeon?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!