Sarutahiko Familia Premise Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you a second chapter! A Patron used their Tier Reward to get this a second chapter so fast! Nice to know that it’s so liked! Now that Bell has his signature ‘fast growth’ ability, we’ll see what Monstrous Talent multiplied looks like! Kek! But Bell has already started to attract some attention within Orario! How will that affect the young man that wants to be a Hero and have a family?

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 2 – Monstrous Talent and Attention

Bell felt like people were looking at him a lot today. Far more than usual at any rate. After the Minotaur incident he’d made his report to Sophie as usual, and with Tiona, Tione, and Ais confirming his words, his defeat of a Minotaur at Level 1 was logged as official by the Guild. Naturally, Bell had decided to take the next day off and relax before heading back into the Dungeon. He had some things he needed to do anyway, like restock on potions and get both his sword and armor maintained by a professional.

The whispers followed him around the city though. A Level 1 defeating a Minotaur was unheard of, and naturally the story had rapidly spread through the city of Adventurers. Bell’s easily recognizable looks also made identifying him simple for all of the Adventurers in Orario. Even the Hephaestus Familia blacksmith had stared at him a bit when he’d dropped off his gear for maintenance earlier in the morning. Bell had decided to ignore the stares and whispers for the most part. Surely it would die down in a few days…right?

-Traveler’s Inn ~ Hermes Familia Home-

“Truly?” A blonde man with orange eyes and a noticeable charm about him looked at his ‘child’ with an interested grin. He adjusted the feathered hat on his head a bit with a smile. “A Level 1 took down a Minotaur, and he hasn’t even been an Adventurer for a month yet?”

“That’s what the Guild has recorded, Lord Hermes.” The Chienthrope woman replied with a nod. She had black hair, brown eyes, and light brown Chienthrope ears on the sides of her head and a tail with matching fur. Her skin was a darker tone, similar to an Amazons. She wore burgundy shorts with a matching jacket and boots, along with a crimson scarf. On her hands were black gloves, a black belt secured her knife to her left hip and a white pouch to her right hip, and she wore a black shirt beneath her jacket.

“How interesting…” Hermes grinned to himself. “Good work, Lulune.” The Chienthrope woman smiled slightly at her God. “What was his name again?”

“Bell Cranel.” Lulune replied easily.

“I see.” Hermes knew that name. A small smile was all that changed about his expression though. “I still have that trip to go on soon though.” He looked at Lulune with a grin. “Lulune, keep an ear out for any new information on Mr. Cranel, alright?”

“Yes, sir.” Lulune understood her God’s interest. A Level 1 should’ve been fodder for a Minotaur unless they were pushing the S 999 limit of the Falna in most of their stats. There was no way to raise one’s Basic Abilities that high in only three weeks though. “Should I do it secretly or just introduce myself?” One would be much easier than the other, but neither option was impossible for her.

“Introduce yourself, if he seems a good person, and be as friendly as you like with him.” Hermes nodded to Lulune with a small chuckle. “I believe that he might just shake up Orario quite a bit.”

“Will do!” Lulune gave a modified salute with a bright grin. The thief and Adventurer at least had an easy task this time around, and one not likely to potentially put her life in danger. The members of Hermes Familia didn’t always get so lucky, what with their background work with the Guild and all.

-Dian Cecht Familia Pharmacy-

The bell over the front door rang, singling a customer had entered. Behind the counter, a beautiful young woman turned to look at the person.

She wore a blue, white, and yellow outfit. The dress came down to mid-thigh, the front covered in vertical white and light blue stripes. The hem was lined with two stripes of gold, and the white collar of her shirt was also trimmed in the same color. A red tie was properly done up and hanging down from her collar. Her arms were covered with white gloves that went up to her mid-bicep with golden lines connecting a circle shape on the back of her hand with a diamond shape at the hem of the glove. She had thigh-high boots on her feet that matched her gloves, and sitting atop her long, straight silver hair was a white hat with tow horizontal gold lines across it. Her lovely purple eyes lit up just a little upon seeing who had come to the shop again.

“Hello again, Mr. Cranel.” Airmid Teasanare smiled gently at the white-haired young man.

“Good morning, Miss Airmid.” Bell returned her greeting with his own smile as he walked up to the counter.

Airmid looked him over with keen eyes, the eyes of a healer and physician. Seeing that there were no visible injuries on Bell, the young woman could easily guess why he was there. “Another Mind Potion?”

“Yes, please.” Bell nodded in confirmation, already pulling out his money pouch.

“One moment.” Airmid requested and pulled a small stepstool from beneath the counter. She placed it in front of a particular set of shelves and then stood on top to reach one of the higher ones. Being only 149cm tall, Airmid was a bit short, but that only added cuteness to her beauty. Reaching the shelf that she needed, Airmid easily pulled down the base Mind Potion that Bell bought when he came to the shop. The Adventurer used his Magic regularly and the Dian Cecht Familia’s Pharmacy had been recommended by the Guild for his potion needs. A fact that Airmid took a little pride in. “Here you are, Mr. Cranel.” Airmid handed Bell the Mind Potion and accepted his money.

A Mind Potion at the Dian Cecht Pharmacy cost 10,000 Valis. But their efficacy was guaranteed. They were a vital part of an Adventurer’s kit if they used Magic or Skills that used Mind to activate. Bell, having two spells already, regularly used his Magic to test out new ideas, so he couldn’t risk potentially running out of Mind in the Dungeon if he ever went overboard. Not to mention that the potion made restoring Mind easy so that he could hunt for longer without ill-effects.

“Thank you, Miss Airmid.” Bell smiled as he placed the potion into the sleek black backpack on his back. “I hope you’ve been well.”

“I cannot complain.” Airmid shook her head slightly, a small smile gracing her soft features. “Your dungeon crawling is far more dangerous than my shopkeeping, after all.” Bell was pleasant to talk to, in Airmid’s opinion. He was polite, kind, and had a charm about him that the healer enjoyed, not that she’d say such a thing aloud. She still recalled their first meeting in the shop, Bell had nearly gone star-eyed at seeing the ‘Dea Saint’ herself. It made her giggle just remembering it sometimes.

“I’m not getting hurt in the Dungeon much at all.” Bell chuckled at the healer’s underlying concern. “Lord Sarutahiko is the main cause of my Endurance stat continuing to grow as well as it does.” His rubellite eyes looked off into the distance, unseeing, as he recalled the daily sparring sessions.

“I hope it stays that way for you, Mr. Cranel.” Airmid lightly giggled at the look on his face. Being roughed up on the surface was preferable to being injured down in the Dungeon.

The bell ringing above the door again got Airmid’s attention and she smiled politely at the new guests. Bell turned to look and felt his eyes widened in surprise at who had entered the pharmacy.

“Welcome, Loki Familia.” Airmid greeted the four young women.

“Hey, Airmid, long time no see!” Tiona waved to the healer with a smile.

That’s when Tiona, Tione, and Ais realized who was standing at the counter with Airmid. Bright grins formed on the faces of the Amazon sisters, while Ais’s cheeks took on a light dusting of pink.

“Bell!” Tiona closed the distance quickly, nearly leaping at him. Her arms wrapped around his left arm, pressing it against her body without Bell’s armor in the way at all. “Hehehe… Are you shopping?”

“Tiona, don’t be greedy.” Tione shot a look at her sister while wrapping her arms around Bell’s right arm, the softness of her large breasts enveloping the young man’s bicep and making him smile reflexively. “Didn’t expect that we’d meet again so soon, Bell.” She greeted him with a warm smile

“Hello again…Bell.” Ais greeted him, her face back to normal as she controlled herself. Not that her stomach wasn’t filled with butterflies, or her heart wasn’t beating a bit faster than normal. ‘Every time that I see him…’ Ais thought to herself, not knowing anything about these new feelings she’d been experiencing since meeting Bell.

“Who is this, Miss Ais?” The Elf girl next to Ais questioned, not used to seeing Tione and Tiona both being so affectionate with a man.

“His name is Bell Cranel, Lefiya.” Ais answered her friend with a small smile.

Lefiya had long, light orange hair that she kept in a high ponytail, even still, it flowed down her back until it reached just past her bottom. She had clear, dark blue eyes, and pointy ears like all Elves did. Lefiya wore a rosette pink cape on top of a white shirt and pink corset dress, with a purple bow hanging at the collar and matching pink shoes on her feet. Her legs were covered up to her thighs with white stockings attached to garters that disappeared beneath her dark pink skirt. Within Orario, Lefiya was a Level 3 Adventurer that was known by her Title of ‘Thousand Elf’.

“The Level 1 that killed a Minotaur singlehandedly?!” Lefiya blinked and looked between Bell and Ais a few times.

“Mm.” Ais nodded to Lefiya, not surprised that the news had already spread throughout the city.

“Am I correct in assuming that your visit today concerns the quest you accepted?” Airmid asked to refocus the members of Loki Familia. It wasn’t because seeing Bell with the Hyrute Sisters on his arms bothered her. That would be absurd, since she and Bell had only really known each other for just under two weeks. Or so she rationalized to herself.

“It does.” Tione confirmed, reluctantly letting go of Bell’s arm, and standing before Airmid. “Is now a good time?”

“I must apologize. All of the consultation rooms are full.” Airmid bowed slightly to the four from Loki Familia. “Is here at the counter okay for you?”

“That’s fine.” Tione nodded while Tiona let go of Bell’s arm to stand at the counter along with her sister, Lefiya, and Ais. This was Familia business, after all.

Bell watched on as Tione pulled a large glass container out of the satchel that Lefiya was carrying. The lid was tied on securely with twine, and what appeared to be crystal clear water was lightly moving around inside of the vessel as it was placed on the counter for Airmid to inspect.

“This is the Cadmus Spring Water…enough to fill the order.” Tione offered the requested material.

Airmid inspected the water for a quiet moment before being satisfied that this was, indeed, Cadmus Spring Water. “Thank you for completing the quest. As the Familia’s representative, allow me to express our gratitude by presenting you with this reward.” She bent down and got something from beneath the counter. She set two small crates on the countertop, each one containing ten Elixirs, one of the greatest healing potions in existence. “Please accept them.”

“Ooh~” Ais, Tiona, and Lefiya stared at the reward in amazement.

“All…all of these Elixirs…” Lefiya picked up one of the crates while Tiona picked up the other. “Elixirs made by the Dian Cecht Familia sell for 500,000 Valis each!” The glass bottles rattled lightly as Lefiya trembled just holding the valuable medicine. It was ten per crate, meaning she was holding the equivalent of 5,000,000 Valis!

“Woah! We could build a small palace with these!” Tiona stared at the twenty Elixirs that she and Lefiya were holding.

Cadmus Spring Water was a rare material produced only on Floor Fifty-One of the Dungeon. It was also guarded by the Monster known as Cadmus; a giant dragon with armor-like scales that was considered one of the most powerful Monsters in the Dungeon. That was excluding Monster Rexes of a similar Floor, like Balor on the Forty-Ninth Floor. The Cadmus was known to be stronger than Udaeus, the Monster Rex from the Thirty-Seventh Floor though.

“They’re pretty…” Ais commented on the bottles that the Elixirs were stored in. The craftsmanship to make them durable enough for travel in the Dungeon made the glass sparkle brilliantly.

Bell could only stare at the reward for the quest that Loki Familia had taken. He couldn’t afford a single Elixir himself, not that he’d ever needed one so far, but he supposed that when you were one of the Top Two Familias in Orario, such things were more common.

“Airmid, we also happened to get a rare Drop Item.” Tione tapped a roll of an almost sparkling material on the countertop. She looked at Bell out of the corner of her eye. “Give us a good price, and we’ll sell it to you right now.”

“This is…!” Airmid inspected the roll of material by unrolling a portion of it.

“Cadmus Hide.” Tione confirmed it as the Drop Item of the Cadmus dragon. “We were lucky enough to pick it up while fulfilling your request.”

Airmid gently ran her fingers over the material, testing its tensile strength and looking it over for any damage. “It appears authentic and in pristine condition. This would serve as an exceptional component, whether for armor or healing items.” She looked up at Tione. “I offer 7,000,000 Valis for…”

“15,000,000 Valis.” Tione cut Airmid off with more than double the offered price. A sly smile on her face as she took the roll of Cadmus Hide back and rolled it back up. Behind her Ais, Tiona, Lefiya, and Bell all flinched at the number. Lefiya actually let the crate in her hands slip, sending it towards the ground.

Airmid flinched at Tione’s requested price before speaking. “…you jest. I shall raise it to 8,000,000 Valis.”

Ais caught the falling crate of Elixirs before they hit the ground, her arms shaking at what had almost happened. Lefiya let out a massive exhale that her shock hadn’t just cost the Loki Familia 5,000,000 Valis-worth of Elixirs.

“Airmid? You said yourself that it’s in pristine condition.” Tione placed her elbow on the counter, holding the Cadmus Hide up for the healer to see. A knowing smile on her face, confident in her position as the seller of such a rare item. “I’m positive that it’s in better shape than anything that’s been brought back before. 14,000,000.”

“What’re you doing, Tione?!” Tiona whisper-yelled at her sister.

“We’re under orders to get as much money as we can! I won’t accept some half-assed price!” Tione declared, staring Airmid down as the haggling was about to get more serious.

“I don’t think Captain Finn said to go this far!” Lefiya reminded the Amazon futilely.

“She’s on fire…” Ais blinked, having sworn that she saw a blaze of flames surround Tione for a second.

“She wants Bell to compliment her haggling skills.” Tiona quickly figured out her sister’s motivation. Bell was watching the haggling in abject shock at the prices being thrown back and forth. “Her Amazon blood is burning.”

“8,500,000, I can go no higher.” Airmid closed her eyes, firm in her offer.

“This Cadmus gave us a pretty hard time, you see? We nearly died taking it down.” Tione’s expression was similar to a high-pressure salesmen’s as she looked at Airmid across the counter, shadow beginning to cover her face. “We’d really like you to show more appreciation for our brush with death, you hear? 13,500,000.”

‘Shameless liar…!’ Lefiya, Ais, and Tiona thought at the same time. They’d only picked up the Cadmus Hide since the dragon had been a freshly killed pile of white ash when they’d arrived at the spring. Most probably by those strange, new species, caterpillar-like Monsters that spewed acid.

Airmid was silent for a long moment before she turned away from Tione. “This is beyond my power. I ask for your patience while I consult with Lord Dian Cecht.”

“Really?” Tione leaned against the counter nonchalantly. “Should we just call it off? It’s too bad, but we’re a bit short on time. We’ll shop around for a deal with another Familia.”

“Hah…” A nearly silent sigh escaped Airmid’s lips before she turned back to face Tione. “12,000,000…that is my final offer.”

“Thanks, Airmid!” Tione smiled at the healer. “Where would we be without friends?”

“With friends like you…” Airmid trailed off instead of finishing the well-known saying. But the two women smiled at each other good-naturedly. This was simply how business went between Exploration and Mercantile Familias.

“Twelve…” Bell could only slowly shake his head in shock at how much Tione had been able to sell a single rare Drop Item for. “Amazing, Miss Tione…”

“Hehe… Thank you, Bell.” Tione’s eyes lit up at the compliment, even as her smile became one of smug happiness.

Thump

A large pack filled with multiple tied-off pouches of Valis coins was placed on the countertop by Airmid. “I hope this was informative for you, Mr. Cranel.” She smiled at Bell while zipping up the large pack to secure the pouches inside.

“Very...” Bell was still wrapping his head around making so much in a single transaction. Or just being able to afford to pay that much for a single item.

“Sorry, Airmid.” Ais apologized for the high-price that her friend had to pay for the Cadmus Hide.

“Think nothing of it.” Airmid waved off the apology. “It was we who took advantage of the situation to issue your Familia a quest in the first place.” She raised her right hand, index finger extended, and looked at Ais with a cute expression. “After this, let’s call it even.” Calling it even was quickly agreed upon and the Loki Familia bid goodbye to Airmid before heading out the doors.

“I’ll see you soon, Miss Airmid.” Bell nodded to the healer with a smile, his shopping having been done before the Loki Familia girls had even arrived.

Airmid gave him a gentle smile. “I’ll look forward to seeing you again, Mr. Cranel.” Knowing that he’d be back soon enough made her heart flutter just a little, though she chose to try and ignore it.

-Outside-

As soon as Bell stepped outside of the Dian Cecht Familia Pharmacy, he was met by Tiona, Ais, and Tione. He didn’t see the Elf girl, the two crates of Elixirs, nor the large pack that had contained the 12,000,000 Valis.

“We sent Lefiya back home to deliver the reward and the payments from selling the Cadmus Hide.” Tiona explained with a grin.

“We thought the four of us could spend some time together today, if you wanted to?” Tione offered with a smile.

“…It would be nice to talk some more.” Ais gave him a small smile and Bell smiled back at the cute expression on her face.

“I don’t mind.” Bell agreed to go with them. “I’ve finished my errands and I was thinking about exploring more of the city anyway.”

“Great!” Tiona beamed brightly at him, her right arm wrapping around his left. “Let’s head to Goibniu Familia’s Shop! I need to put in an order since I broke Urga.”

“I need to get my sword repaired too.” Ais agreed to that plan, her sword had lost a bit of its edge after hacking through all of those acid-spewing caterpillars.

“You didn’t break it…it melted. That’s way worse.” Tione commented on the loss of her sister’s weapon.

“How was I supposed to know they were filled with acid?!” Tiona pouted at Tione.

Bell could only chuckle at the byplay as the four of them walked through the city together. The Three Hammers Forge was the Goibniu Familia’s home and professional smithy. The Familia was known for custom-order weapons and armor, as well as their architectural projects in Orario.

“For the love of the Gods! What’s wrong with ya, girl?!” One of the Smiths demanded loudly of Tiona as soon as he saw her. “You want me to forge you ANOTHER weapon?! What happened to your Urga?!”

“It kinda melted.” Tiona rubbed the back of her head and made a cute face.

“NOOOOO!!!” The Smith hit his knees, tears of frustration pouring from his eyes. “I spent days pounding Adamantite without rest or breaks to finish that! It was my greatest work to date!”

Bell felt sort of bad for the Blacksmith…this had clearly happened many, many times.

Ais had gone to see Goibniu himself while Tiona haggled with the Blacksmiths to forge her a new Urga made of pure Adamantite. Bell goggled at how easily Tiona talked about purchasing such a weapon. It would have to cost a fortune!

“You can’t take out a loan like that!” Tione nearly throttled her sister for not thinking ahead. “Do you know how long it’ll take you to repay 120,000,000 Valis?!”

“I could do it in like two or three weeks if I really tear it up in the Middle and Lower Floors!” Tiona argued back. No other weapon felt as right in her hands as Urga did.

When all was said and done Bell could only marvel further at the three women. Ais had returned with a rapier on her hip as a temporary weapon while her sword ‘Desperate’ was being given maintenance. When she looked at Bell, her cheeks took on a bright pink color before she looked to the side. The words of Goibniu ringing in her head.

“Something’s different today… I haven’t the slightest clue why…but your movements are sharper than usual.” Goibniu commented as Ais tested out the rapier that he was loaning to her.

‘Different?’ Ais felt her heart thump in her chest as she glanced at Bell again. Ever since she’d met Bell yesterday, many things had seemed a little different. She’d slept incredibly well, even dreaming of her parents for the first time in years. The day had looked a bit brighter and even Orario seemed a little more beautiful than she’d noticed before. ‘…Bell. What’re you doing to me?’ She couldn’t help but wonder, resolving to maybe ask Riveria about these feelings that she was having.

“You said that you wanted to explore the city, right?” Tione looked at Bell with a grin.

“Yeah, I’ve actually been keeping myself so busy that I haven’t taken much time to explore.” Bell chuckled at how much dungeon crawling that he’d been doing, on top of all the practicing that he’d been doing with his Magic.

“Then we’ll take you on a tour of the city!” Tiona declared with a bright smile.

“Hmm…the Market Area?” Ais offered a suggestion to check out together.

“Good idea, Ais.” Tione agreed with the swordswoman. “Bell will need to know where it is.”

“What about the free market?” Tiona perked up at the idea. “You can buy and sell pretty much anything there if you’re an Adventurer!”

“Really?” Bell hadn’t thought about where Adventurers would sell things other than going from one Mercantile Familia to the next or maybe trying to sell stuff to regular merchants. “Selling between Adventurers, huh?” That sounded interesting.

“…Maybe the Amphitheatron?” Ais spoke up, having seen a certain flier posted up in one of the windows they’d just passed by.

“Yeah, they should be preparing for Monsterphilia right about now. That could be interesting to see.” Tione mentally added it to the list of stops to make for the day.

“What’s Monsterphilia?” Bell questioned as they made their way towards the Market Area together.

The day was spent with Bell being shown all sorts of places in Orario. Any questions he had were answered, and he better learned the layout of the city too. Monsterphilia sounded interesting as well, and he wouldn’t mind seeing tamed Monsters. The thought of it was just so odd to him, but apparently Ganesha Familia had done it successfully!

Around lunch time, the four of them had gotten Jagamarukun from a stall close to the Loki Familia Home. It was apparently Ais’s favorite stall, and her favorite flavor was Azuki Cream. Bell couldn’t help but watch her as she ate. The enjoyment on her face and in her eyes was too cute!

When it had become close to dinnertime, and the sun was setting in the western sky, the four had to split up. The Loki Familia was having a celebration for their safe return from their expedition. Bell had been recommended to give the Hostess of Fertility a try though. The tavern was apparently very popular and known for its food and booze. Bell made a mental note to check the place out soon, perhaps for dinner one night?

“This has been a great day.” Bell smiled at the three women he’d spent the day with. “Thank you for showing me around and answering my questions.”

“No biggie, it was fun!” Tiona’s smile was as warm as sunshine. “Let’s do it again soon!” She surprised Bell by hugging him, but he wrapped his arms around her waist and returned it. Tiona giggled as she pressed herself against him, feeling Bell squeeze her closer in return. The two separated with smiles.

“Maybe we can all have time with you, eh, Bell?” Tione suggested, a playful grin on her lips. “Just one of us with you, spending some time alone around the city?” Bell felt his face heat up a little at Tione’s words, and even more so when she also pulled him into a warm embrace. His hands moved to her waist, feeling her soft skin against his palms, before he returned her hug. Tione made sure he got to feel all of her body pressed up against him, especially her tits as she pushed them against his chest with a pleased hum. “Keep getting stronger, Bell.” She whispered into his ear. “Tiona and I might just reward you, if you do.” She pulled away with that little promise, only to break out into laughter at seeing Bell’s red face and wide eyes. The fact that his rubellite gaze was focused solely on her did make Tione happy though.

“I…had fun.” Ais smiled at Bell warmly. Her chest felt like it was filled with a pleasant warmth from the day they’d spent together. Tiona and Tione were probably her closest friends in the world, and their presence had kept things comfortable instead of awkward. “Could…could we do this again?” She felt the butterflies burst into flight as she asked Bell that question.

“Of course, Ais…whenever we’re both free, I’d love to.” Bell agreed with a smile that was quickly becoming one of Ais’s favorite things to see.

Ais surprised herself when she initiated a gentle hug. Bell seemed to pick up on her feelings though, as he didn’t pull her flush against his body like he had with Tiona and Tione (though both sisters had loved that he’d done so). Instead, their hug was gentle and warm. The only thing that made Ais nearly fidget was that her bosom was large enough to press against Bell’s chest as they hugged, even when they weren’t trying to be flush against each other.

“See you soon, Tiona, Tione, Ais!” Bell waved to the three women as they headed off towards the party that their Familia was throwing. The three waved back before turning the next corner and losing sight of Bell. “This has been good day.” Bell was all smiles as he headed back towards the Floating Bridge Mansion.

-Next Day-

“So you’re not going to the Banquet of the Gods, Lord Sarutahiko?” Bell blinked as his God set the invitation aside.

“Parties just don’t feel the same without Uzume-chan at them.” Sarutahiko shook his head. “Maybe next time there’s a Banquet; but not this time.” It was clear the elder God missed his wife, who was still back in the Far East.

“Then I’ll have to keep doing my best to raise our Familia’s status in Orario.” Bell stated firmly, getting a grin out of Sarutahiko.

“Don’t you worry about making these old bones happy, Bell.” Sarutahiko chuckled brightly. “It’ll come in time. You focus on staying alive in the Dungeon above all else.”

“Yes, sir.” Bell acquiesced to his God, bowing to him from his sitting position. “I’ll head out shortly.” He stood up and left to his room to get into his armor and secure his gear.

-Dungeon ~ Seventh Floor-

“Hup!” Bell sliced a War Shadow in half at the waist with his chokuto, leaned to the side to avoid the claws of the one behind him and shattered its ‘face’ with a backfist. A Frog Shooter launched its tongue at him, but he sliced it off and leapt at the flailing frog Monster to cleave its head in two with his blade. Three Purple Moth Monsters flew overhead, scattering their toxic purple dust. “Disrupt.” Bell incanted and formed a Kokushin in his free hand. He threw it hard, nailing one of the Purple Moths, killing it. He created a second Kokushin and threw it, followed by a third which was buried in the head of the third and final Purple Moth. Before the first Purple Moth had even hit the ground, all three were dead.

Bell ignored the purple dust in the air, even knowing that it was toxic. He had an antidote in his backpack ready to go once he finished the current pack of Monsters that he was dealing with. The skittering of insectoid legs on stone was heard as a group of Killer Ants entered the cavern that Bell was fighting within. He didn’t waste any time, rushing the first ant Monster and decapitating it with a swing of his sword. He pivoted around the claws of the next ant, cutting it down while spinning a full three-hundred-sixty degrees to cut off the top half of the third Killer Ant’s head. The fourth ant’s head was split in half vertically before it could attack, and Bell caught the attack of the fifth ant (regardless of how much it stung his palm) and then drove his chokuto straight through its compound eye and out the other side. Yanking the sword out, he flicked the blood off of it and roundhouse kicked the sixth Killer Ant’s had off its thorax. The head smacked into the seventh ant, distracting it, and Bell cut it down before it could refocus.

“At least it’s a bit more of a challenge down here…not much though.” Bell cleaned his sword of blood and sheathed it. Pulling out his knife he set about collecting the Magic Stones as quickly as he could. “The spawn times are getting fast enough that I’m occasionally getting interrupted while I’m doing this.” He collected the first Magic Stone easily enough. “One-hundred-ninety-nine…” Bell moved onto the next Monster corpse as the first turned to white ash. “Two-hundred…” He collected the Magic Stone of a War Shadow and smiled when the body crumbled away but left something behind. “A War Shadow’s Finger Blade? Nice!” That would fetch a nice price at the Exchange. He added the Drop Item to his backpack. When the rest of the bodies turned to white ash, Bell had increased his kill count to two-hundred-fourteen for the day, so far. “I really should look into getting a Supporter soon.”

Crack

Crack

Crack

Three more War Shadows were born before Bell could even exit the cavern.

“I’d like to explore further today.” Bell told the three new Monsters as they began to rush him. “Earthly God’s mastery, Gogy­ō…Ka!” Bell weaved through six hand signs and inhaled deeply. He exhaled a massive fireball that torched the charging War Shadows, killing them before they’d cleared the distance. The golem-like Monsters’ corpses were smoking as Bell approached them and pulled out his knife again. “Two-hundred-seventeen.” He added them to the total for the day. With a grimace Bell removed an antidote from his bag and downed it quickly so that he didn’t forget. “Egh…still bitter.” With his potential poisoning dealt with, he set about harvesting the three dead War Shadows.

-Later-

“Think I can call it a day.” Bell’s sleek backpack was bulging and he didn’t have room to carry any more Magic Stones or Drop Items. “Hopefully, I can get back to the main route and just follow behind other returning Parties.”

A faint voice was heard, a shout echoing from further down one of the tunnels.

“Hm?” Bell tried to listen for the sound again. Someone could be in trouble!

“Stop!” This time he was able to hear the word, even from far away.

Bell took off down the path to his right as fast as he could. The voice had definitely come from there. As he got closer, he heard the words more clearly and realized that there were two different voices.

“Worthless Supporter! You think you can steal from me?!” A male voice demanded loudly.

“Stop! They’re coming!” A female voice yelled back in panic. Bell sped up further, pushing himself harder.

“There’s too many of them! Give me everything you stole and then be a decoy! It’s all you’re good for!” The male voice roared.

“Noooo!” The female voice cried out, fear and pain clear.

SMACK

Bell heard the sound of flesh meeting flesh just as he reached the end of the tunnel and emerged into a cavern with a sloped floor that was broken up into multiple levels, as if it was a staircase for mythical giants. What he saw put all the pieces he’d heard together quickly.

The smacking sound was obviously from the man that was standing over what looked to be a short girl. The man also had a large green pack and a torn beige cloak beside him. The cloak was far too small to be his, and Bell highly doubted the huge green backpack was his either. The ‘they’ that the girl had yelled about was a large horde of Killer Ants climbing their way up the terraced slope. Bell had never seen so many in one place like this.

Then Bell saw something that made his heart go cold.

The man kicked the short girl off the terrace they were on and down to the one below. Putting her directly in the path of the swarming Killer Ants. It was also at this moment that Bell realized that the girl was topless. The man had probably ripped her shirt off along with the cloak, but that didn’t matter to Bell at this point.

“Thanks for nothing! Useless Supporter!” The man spat at the panicking girl that was holding her bruised face and trying with all of her might to scramble up the wall and away from the approaching Killer Ants. But her height wasn’t enough, and the terraced slope was too high for her to reach.

“Please!” The girl screamed out, tears pouring down her bruised face. “Please, Master Ged, don’t leave Lili here!”

“Fuck off, you damn thief!” The now named Ged picked up the green backpack and turned to flee. He only briefly saw Bell in his dark gray armor before the fist struck his chin. His head rattled, his brain moving inside his skull setting off signals at random. Ged dropped the torn cloak and the huge backpack involuntarily, his vision going blurry. The punch from Bell had given him symptoms similar to a concussion. Bell’s foot slamming into the side of Ged’s head with a powerful roundhouse kick gave the man an actual concussion on top of the previous strike. He was crashing to the stone floor almost a meter and a half away unconscious before he realized what had happened.

“NOOOO!!!” Lili screamed as the Killer Ants reached the terrace that she was on. She was going to die here! Torn apart and eaten by Killer Ants! She didn’t want to die! Not like this! She just wanted to escape Soma Familia!

“Stand back!” Bell landed between Lili and the first couple of Killer Ants that had climbed up the terraced slope to her level. “Earthly God’s mastery, Gogy­­ō…Ka!” Lili watched Bell move his hands into seven specific forms in rapid succession between finishing his incantation and then using a modifier word. Bell straightened up to his full height and exhaled long, almost like he was whistling.

FAWAAASSSHH

A massive wave of fire exploded from Bell’s breath, it blasted the Killer Ants off the terrace and then crashed down on the horde swarming up towards them. Lili winced as the heat alone stung her bare skin.

“Kreee!”

“Skreee!”

“Kreesh!”

The Killer Ants that weren’t killed instantly by the tidal wave of intense flames screeched in pain and agony for a short instant before going silent.

Bell kept the spell up for as long as his breath held out, even as he felt his mind start to get low. He ended the spell before he would start getting woozy or disoriented. Bell couldn’t afford not to be fully cognitive in this situation, not when someone needed his help.

“Eh…?” Lili opened her eyes when the heat dropped sharply and she no longer heard the roar of flames. What met her eyes was blackened stone floor and a mountain of torched Killer Ants.

“Are you okay?” Bell asked, making sure to not look directly at the girl.

Lili took a second to realize why he wasn’t looking at her and quickly covered her breasts with her arms. Her face still hurt from the bruise on her cheek too. But at the very least, she wasn’t in danger of dying anymore. At least she hoped not. Lili wasn’t very trusting of any Adventurer, having been proven right about them over and over again throughout her life. “Lili is fine now, thank you.” She answered him.

“Let’s get you out of here, Miss.” Bell, in a show of compassion that Lili hadn’t been expecting, got down on his hands and knees next to the wall and made himself a step for her so that she could climb up.

Lili had never seen and Adventurer do such a thing, especially not for her. But she took the offered assistance and climbed up to the topmost terrace. She rushed towards her torn cloak and threw it on quickly. Her shirt was already old and worn, and now it was a lost cause. But her cloak was still big enough to cover her up, even while torn like it was, and now only reaching to her bellybutton.

“Are you covered up, Miss?” Bell questioned from down on the lower terrace, not wanting to accidentally peek at the short girl.

“Yes. It’s okay now.” Lili spoke, before cradling her swollen cheek gently. It still really hurt from where Ged had backhanded her.

“Good, I was about to offer you my shirt if you didn’t have anything.” Bell chuckled as he cleared the wall easily and walked towards Lili. “You’re hurt.” His rubellite eyes zeroed in on Lili’s swollen, bruised cheek. Before Lili could reply, Bell was next to her and uncorking a Low Potion. “Drink this.” He offered it to her, putting it close to her lips.

Lili drank the potion without really thinking about it. What was going on with this Adventurer? He was so…different…from all the ones she’d known before. Never in her life had she been treated like this by an Adventurer. “Aah…” Lili let out a relieved sigh as the pain in her cheek faded away and she felt the swelling disappear after a moment. “Th-Thank you…” She said the only thing that came to mind.

“No problem.” Bell smiled at Lili. Now that she was covered up and the threat was gone, he took in her appearance in full.

Lili was short, but had rather well-defined curves in the bust and hips, with chestnut-colored hair and eyes. She was wearing the torn beige cloak, of course, but had on a red skirt that was unbuttoned. On her hands were long gloves that went up to her elbows, she had torn black tights on her legs and wore light brown boots.

“Mister… Can you not stare at Lili like that?” Lili requested, not used to men looking at her for so long. Well, aside from the occasional male Prum or a Human male that wanted to give a Prum woman a ‘try’.

“Sorry!” Bell bowed his head immediately. He didn’t want to come off as a creep when this girl had just gone through something horrible.

“Who are you anyway?” Lili was curious about this young man. He either hid his true intentions well, or he was genuinely not like other Adventurers. The latter was very hard for Lili to believe though.

“I’m Bell Cranel, Captain of the Sarutahiko Familia.” Bell introduced himself to Lili with a polite smile. “May I ask your name, Miss?” He already knew it, but it was polite to allow Lili to introduce herself.

“Liliruca Arde.” Lili gave her name, but not her Familia. She wasn’t even happy to be part of Soma Familia, much less proud of that fact.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Arde.” Bell greeted her politely.

“Lili is fine…you don’t have to be polite.” Lili shook her head. “Lili is just a Supporter.” Might as well get this part out of the way. He’d change his tune and then leave. After that Lili would make her way back to the Surface with her large backpack and look for another Adventurer to work for while taking what she could for herself. It had been her life for years now.

“Lili then.” Bell agreed, not wanting to fight her on such a simple thing. “Can I escort you back to the surface, Lili?”

“Eh?” Lili nearly gaped at Bell when he offered to escort her. “Why?”

“Well, you went through something pretty horrible, and I’d like to make sure that you get back to the surface safely.” Bell explained his reasoning. It was just simple kindness in his eyes. This was simply what Bell believed anyone should do after what he had witnessed.

“D-Don’t you want to collect all of those Killer Ants’ Magic Stones?” Lili pointed at the small hill of charred Monster corpses.

“Making sure that you’re safe is more important than that.” Bell replied, the Magic Stones were a non-issue in his mind.

Lili looked between Bell’s face and all of the dead Killer Ants twice before focusing on Bell’s rubellite eyes. She’d had well over a decade to learn to spot a liar. But all she saw in this guy’s eyes was simple honesty. ‘Is he stupid or something?’ Lili wondered in her mind for a long moment. Instead of voicing that thought, she asked something different instead. “Would you mind if Lili took them?”

“No problem.” Bell shrugged; it wasn’t like he could carry anymore. “I’ll stand guard if you want.” He looked over at the unconscious form of Ged. “I don’t think you should work with that guy anymore.”

“Lili would appreciate that, Master Bell.” Lili would take this naïve guy and all of his help. If he was this strong, he was probably Level 2. She had no chance of taking him down, and any trap she could set up he’d probably escape. But if he wanted to play the ‘good guy’ then Lili would let him and reap the rewards. “This will only take a short time, Master Bell.” She promised with a smile, one that she’d mastered faking a long time ago.

“Just a second, Lili.” Bell smiled as he pulled out his Mind Potion. He drank half and then recorked the vial to save the rest for later. After a moment he felt his Mind reserves fill back up a bit, more than enough for what he wanted to do. “Earthly God’s mastery, Gogy­ō…Do!” Bell only needed to make two hand signs for what he wanted his spell to do. The stone rumbled beneath their feet for a second before slabs of it rose up one after another on each terrace. In a few moments a staircase that anyone could use had been made all the way down the terraced slope. “That should make it easier.”

“You have two spells, you’re lucky, Master Bell.” Lili congratulated him, smiling once more as she headed down the newly made stairs towards all of the dead Killer Ants. She wasn’t planning on telling him about her own Magic. This whole situation had been caused by Ged finding out about her Magic after all.

Bell watched over Lili as she worked, and he had to admit that Lili was vastly superior to him at the extraction process. In the time it took Lili to harvest three Magic Stones from the Killer Ants, Bell would’ve only just finished removing the first one. “You’re really good at that, Lili.”

“Not really, Master Bell, this is just the only way that Lili can be useful.” Lili shook her head, not letting his praise get to her. It wouldn’t last anyway.

Lili had been counting each Magic Stone as she added it to her large backpack. When the final Killer Ant turned to white ash, she’d collected exactly fifty-three Magic Stones. Not a bad sum when turned in at the Guild Exchange.

“Ready to go, Lili?” Bell asked the Supporter with a smile.

“Yes, thank you for looking out for Lili while she worked, Master Bell.” Lili did appreciate that much at least as she followed him back up the stone stairs that he’d made with his spell.

Neither of them said anything as they walked passed the unconscious Ged. Bell and Lili just kept walking, not looking back once. Ged had brought whatever fate befell him on himself. Bell would normally not leave a person to potentially die, but even the Heroes in his favorite Tales would fight against wicked people like that, killing them, if necessary, for the good of others.

-Surface-

“Thank you very much for the escort, Master Bell.” Lili bowed a little to him.

“It was the right thing to do, Lili.” Bell waved off her thanks with a smile. “I did have a question, though.”

“A question?” Lili looked up at him curiously.

“I’ve actually been thinking about hiring a Supporter recently.” Bell began, looking into Lili’s chestnut brown eyes. “You’re really fast at harvesting Magic Stones, and I believe that you’re probably a great Supporter. So, if you wanted to work with me, I’d like to hire you.”

“Really?” Lili blinked at Bell in actual shock. She hadn’t seen this request coming at all. She’d been contemplating which sob story to tell Bell to get him to hire her on the walk back to the surface. She’d never expected him to ask to hire her himself.

“I mean, only if you want to, of course.” Bell held up his hands in a placating gesture. “You don’t have to...especially not after what happened today; but if you’re looking for work still, the offers open.”

“Well, Master Bell does seem nice.” Lili had already decided to use Bell as much as possible before parting ways with him, but he didn’t need to know that. ‘He’s probably a new Level 2 that’s still acclimating to his increased power. He’ll most likely want to go to the Middle Floors in the next week or two. If he’s as naïve as Lili suspects, then a sob story or two could probably keep him around for an extra week or so.’ She thought to herself, while pretending to consider his offer. “Lili doesn’t mind, but she’d like to know how much you’ll pay her.”

“Oh, well, what’s the going rate for Supporters?” Bell asked curiously, not knowing that he’d just revealed his ignorance of pricing for such services.

‘Jackpot!’ Lili exclaimed in her mind, barely keeping her expression neutral at his words.

“Sorry, I don’t have any experience with hiring a Supporter.” Bell apologized, hoping that he wasn’t wasting Lili’s time.

“Well, we could just make it a trial run and not worry about a contract if you’d like to keep things simple, Master Bell.” Lili offered him with her best innocent voice. “In that case we’d just split the Dungeon Loot at the end of each trip. Thirty percent would make Lili jump for joy!” Left unsaid was that most Supporters got twenty percent or less.

“Alright then, I look forward to working with you, Lili!” Bell smiled at his soon-to-be Supporter.

“Lili is looking forward to it too, Master Bell!” Lili replied back with equal enthusiasm. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was after almost dying today! She’d been saved by a naïve Adventurer that wanted to play at being the ‘good guy’ and now she had a lucrative work arrangement on top of what she’d be taking for herself. She’d milk this for as long as possible to escape Soma Familia.

The two agreed to meet in the morning at Babel and head into the Dungeon right after. Bell preferred a full workday of dungeon crawling, so getting started in the early morning hours was best.

-Floating bridge Mansion-

“I see you had your first Heroic Moment today, Bell.” Sarutahiko praised Bell as he saw the situation with Lili and Ged play out through the Excelia.

“It’s kind of what I dreamed about doing while growing up.” Bell admitted with a light chuckle at actually getting to live out one of those childish dreams. It was a great feeling though and it only intensified the desire to become a Hero that blazed within Bell’s heart like a star.

“There we go.” Sarutahiko finished the Status update for Bell as the blue-white light faded away. “That new Skill of yours is just as crazy as I suspected.” He handed Bell the paper with a chuckle.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – E 403 > E 490

Endurance – F 312 > F 364

Dexterity – E 402 > E 491

Agility – E 400 > E 488

Magic – E 415 > E 499

-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-

“Almost all of my Basic Abilities are about to become D Rank…” Bell blinked at the jump in growth. “I only did what I normally do though.” This growth was absurdly fast! Even his talent hadn’t let him grow this quickly before! “I’m kinda curious how much this Skill would help someone else grow now.” He admitted as he looked over his update.

“We can test that out with some of the retainers, if you’d like.” Sarutahiko offered, knowing that the retainer members of his Familia wouldn’t mind assisting.

“Maybe we should…” Bell mused on testing out Shihy­­ō’s effects on others after seeing what it had done for him after a single day in the Dungeon.

-Next Morning ~ In Front of Babel Tower-

“Good morning, Lili.” Bell greeted his new Supporter with a smile.

“Good morning, Master Bell.” Lili smiled at him, her eyes even managing to sparkle a little as she faked it.

“Do you think you could carry our lunches in your pack, Lili?” Bell held up the two bento that he was carrying with him. He’d had the cooks make two today so that he could give one to Lili.

“Our lunches?” Lili looked at the two sealed boxes. “You brought Lili lunch?” That had never happened before.

“Well, yeah, I figure the least I can do is feed you since you’re helping me out.” Bell’s face showed that he believed that it was just common sense to bring her lunch.

“Thank you, Master Bell.” Lili accepted the two boxes and securely stowed them away in her large backpack. ‘It’s not real. He’s just acting. No Adventurer is like this.’ She repeated in her mind as she hefted the large pack onto her shoulders with the straps. “Ready to go, Master Bell?”

“Ready!” Bell nodded with a smile as they headed into Babel and towards the stairs that led into the Dungeon.

-Dungeon ~ Seventh Floor-

Lili just stared in a stunned silence as she watched Bell fight Monster after Monster. Most solo Adventurers would’ve run from seeing such a large group of Monsters. Bell had done the exact opposite and drawn his sword while charging in.

A Needle Rabbit was bisected, the two halves flying off in different directions. A Frog Shooter was split open in a fountain of blood via Bell’s sword. His fist punched through a War Shadow’s ‘face’ and came out the back of the head. Bell kicked the next Needle Rabbit away with such force an audible crack was heard from the Monster’s body. Using the dead War Shadow as a bludgeon, a Killer Ant’s head was crushed into the rocky floor. As Bell fought with both body and sword, Lili could only watch with the occasional severed Monster limb landing near her from the brutal melee.

“Lili thought that Master Bell was more Magic oriented.” Lili mumbled to herself before finally shaking her head. She needed to get to work so that Bell would keep her around.

Bell did indeed notice when Lili started her Supporter work. The floor was quickly cleared up of Monster corpses. So, he could focus more on fighting rather than making sure his footing was secure. Not to mention that any moment that Bell wasn’t killing a Monster, Lili would cut one of the dead ones open to harvest its Magic Stone. It was a much more efficient process than when Bell had been doing everything himself.

“Looks like that’s all of them, for now.” Bell let out a slow exhale to steady his breathing. He cleaned the blade of his chokuto and then sheathed it. Walking over to see Lili working and watch her back, Bell marveled that most of the pile that Lili had made from all of the Monsters he’d killed was already white ash on the floor. “You’re really fast, Lili.”

“You’re the impressive one here, Master Bell.” Lili turned the compliment back on him. “Lili has never seen someone kill so many Monsters singlehandedly.” She’d counted…Bell had already killed forty-four Monsters and they’d only been in the Dungeon for a bit over an hour.

“I feel like I’m able to slay a lot more Monsters with your help, Lili.” Bell smiled at the Supporter.

“Lili is happy to help, Master Bell.” Lili didn’t mention the few Magic Stones she’d hidden away in her large backpack. Bell wouldn’t miss them, and if he did, she’d just recall that she’d stashed them separately while trying to keep up with his speed. Any Drop Items that she could easily hide while she worked, well, Bell didn’t need to know about those.

Lunchtime came and Lili ate her bento. It was good. Filled with warmth and obvious care from the one that made it. She refused to cry. Even as tears wanted to form in the corners of her eyes. The meal that had been freely offered tasted so much better than anything Lili could remember eating before.

-Guild Exchange ~ Late Afternoon-

“Hmm…I counted three-hundred fifty Monsters today.” Bell noticed a discrepancy between the number he’d counted and the number of Magic Stones that had been turned into the man behind the glass.

“Ah! Sorry about that, Master Bell!” Lili fell back on her contingency plan. “Lili was struggling to keep up with your speed and shoved some of them into other pockets of her pack.” She quickly retrieved the Magic Stones she’d hidden away and handed them over. The Exchange went smoothly, as always, and Bell took the Valis when the money was pushed back over to his side of the glass.

“Okay…” Bell sat down with Lili at one of the tables and started counting out the money.

Lili watched on, expecting to see her share slowly grow, but stop well before the thirty percent that Bell had agreed to yesterday. Thankfully, she had a few Drop Items from today to make up the difference that she was about to be shorted.

“19,268 Valis for me, and 19,268 Valis for Lili.” Bell handed pushed the pile of coins over to Lili with a smile.

“Eh?!” Lili gaped at having half of the total loot given to her. “B-But Lili said thirty percent…”

“Well, you’re helping me out a lot, Lili.” Bell answered the unasked question. “I killed more Monsters today than I ever would’ve on my own and the payout from the loot was bigger than normal too, so it doesn’t really hurt my Familia’s income or anything to give you half.” He gave her a grin.

“Thank you…Master Bell.” Lili quickly gathered the money into a pouch and stashed it away so that she could add it to her hidden savings as soon as she left the Guild. “This might not be Lili’s place to say after getting paid…but Master Bell is too generous.” She wasn’t feeling guilty…she wasn’t! “You can’t just give away so much…it’ll make others think you’re easy to exploit.”

“I’m only paying you what I believe you’re owed, Lili.” Bell waved it off. “You do great work and your Supporting makes my time in the Dungeon much more productive. Don’t sell yourself short.”

“Master Bell’s words are too kind.” Lili shook her head slightly, but having someone actually appreciate her work and compliment her for it was such a new experience for her. She felt a tiny smile form on her lips, a genuine one for the first time in so very long.

Lili blinked when she felt something rest gently on her head. When it started to move, she realized that Bell was giving her a head pat. This made color and heat rush to Lili’s cheeks so quickly that there was no way that she could’ve possibly stopped it.

“Sorry,” Bell removed his hand a second later. “You’re very cute when you smile, Lili… I couldn’t resist the urge to head pat.” He gave her a short bow as best as she could while sitting in a chair.

“Master Bell’s words are like honey.” Lili mumbled out, her face still a bit red. “Lili doesn’t offer that kind of ‘Support’, Master Bell.” The Prum narrowed her eyes at him, not sure if this was a ploy of some kind or more of Bell just being completely open with his words and feelings.

“Eh?” Bell blinked at what Lili had said. His eyes widened when it clicked and he shook his head side to side quickly. “No, no, no! I didn’t mean it like that, Lili! I swear! I’m sorry! I just couldn’t help it when you looked so cute! Ah! I making it worse!” He went silent and just waited for Lili to say something.

“To think that Master Bell was like this…” Lili looked at him while holding her hood onto her head. “That he would head pat Lili just because he wanted to. You better take responsibility.”

“Huh?” Bell blinked at her last sentence.

“You’re too easy, Master Bell.” Lili picked up her huge pack and headed out of the Guild building with wistful look on her face that Bell couldn’t see. “We’ll meet up tomorrow at the same time and place!” She called back before disappearing through the doors.

“O-Okay?” Bell was confused again, but decided to just get on with the rest of his day and head home. “At least Lili isn’t mad at me…I think?”

-Floating Bridge Mansion-

Sarutahiko chuckled as Bell told him about his day and what had happened at the Guild with Lili. “It sounds like your kindness is something that she’s not used to.” The elder God hummed thoughtfully as he updated Bell’s Falna. “It is possible that she may not have the best relationship with her Familia.”

“She didn’t mention which Familia she belonged to, now that I think about it.” Bell realized as he thought back to their meeting. “I don’t know if it would be right to ask about it though. I don’t want Lili to think I’m prying into her life.”

“You just keep being yourself, Bell.” Sarutahiko offered his advice. “If she wishes to confide in you, then she will. You merely have to let her realize that you are willing to listen, and offer help if she asks for it.”

“That makes sense…” Bell mulled it over in his head. His God truly was one of Guidance. He gave great wisdom and advice. Bell took the paper when it was offered to him, having been so deep in his thoughts that he hadn’t realized that his update had finished.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – E 490 > D 575

Endurance – F 364 > E 413

Dexterity – E 491 > D 576

Agility – E 488 > D 571

Magic – E 499 > D 580

-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-

“They did all hit D Rank.” Bell marveled at his explosive growth.

“Except for Endurance… We’ll have to work on that one.” Sarutahiko chuckled and Bell felt a chill run up his spine. His God could be such a taskmaster sometimes!

-Lili’s Rented Room-

‘Stop thinking about it!’ Lili yelled in the privacy of her own mind, trying to clear the memory of Bell’s words along with the gentleness and care that he showed her. “He’s just sweet talking Lili…” The Prum rolled over in the small bed, burying her face into the pillow. “He’s probably a playboy that charms all sorts of girls like that.” Lili mumbled into the pillow, unable to shake the naïve honestly of Bell Cranel. ‘Would it be so bad? Lili is so lonely. No one needs Lili, and Lili has no one.’ But she couldn’t have anything as long as she was trapped in the Soma Familia. No friends…no happiness…just the constant abuse while being robbed of her money over and over again. “Lili wants someone to be with too.” A single tear escaped her eye and disappeared into the pillow.

It would still be a while before her scarred heart would take one last chance at reaching out to someone.

Unbeknownst to Lili, a certain Deity in Orario suddenly felt his Divine Intuition briefly flare before going silent again. Not sure of why it had happened, the God returned to what he’d been doing, just as he always did.

-End Chapter-

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

Da Bean is suffering…

TO ARMS!!! *Demonic Screeching*

Bell has a successful ‘date’ with Ais, Tiona, and Tione! He even gets Amazon cuddles at the end and a hug from Ais!

Woohoo! Lucky Bell!

We see Bell’s new Skill working to accelerate his growth! He’s already into the D Rank! Just how strong will he be by the time he accomplished his Grand Feat in Canon?!

What God just had their Divine Intuition flare up all of a sudden?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!