This fic focuses on the period when Bell was the Crimson Conqueror; the prequel so to speak.
I might rewrite Bell Cranel: Crimson Conqueror, the dialogues were horrible and short. When I read it they weren't long enough to allow me to focus on what was going on and all that. I might also change the relationships a bit. So that fic I mentioned might become irrelevant, same context but relationships will be entirely different.
As you may know, if you have read my other Danmachi fic, that the God's Grace, in this fic, doesn't entirely serve exactly the same as in canon. For one everyone has stats, it's just that God's Grace acts like a cheat and helps raise stat boosts by a lot. I'll explain it further along the story.
Classification rankings for skills go like this from weakest to strongest, descending order:
-Novice
-Apprentice
-Senior
-Advanced
-Seasoned
-Expert
-Champion
-Sage
-King/Master
-Emperor/Grandmaster
-God/Demon
Types of skills/talents categories including sub-categories:
-Magic: Mage
-Close Combat/Martial Arts: Fighter
-Sword Combat: Swordsman/swords-woman
-Lance Combat: Knight
-Alchemy: Alchemist
-Medicine: Apothecary, Potions Master
-Music: Bard
-Smithing: Blacksmith, Miner
-Archery: Archer
-Holy Arts/Healing Arts: Cleric, Medic, Priest, Bishop
-Cooking: Chef
-Mercantile: Merchant
-Adventuring: Adventurer
-Tailoring: Tailor
-Farming: Farmer
-Carpentry: Carpenter
Note there are more skills but these are typically the most important.
Classes like Carpenter can only be obtained if you have the prerequisite talents.
Preface: The Crimson Goddess and her Champion
4 years before the present...
The dungeon...a seemingly infinite dungeon that spans further and further down with floors that continually increase in difficulty. The prospects of so many heinous and powerful made her shiver with excitement...
...along with the one beside me.
She, together with my companion, would venture into unexplored regions containing untold spoils of many different forms.
"So this is the famous dungeon?" She smiled at him, despite the short question. his eagerness was evident from his tone. They had just went through the portal, and had landed in a random stony corridor.
He looked about ten to eleven, and like most children, he looked absolutely adorable. But the aura that the boy exuded, the look in his eye and the way he held himself...it jus reeked of manliness, confidence and pride.
She could always rely on him, nothing could change that. Not even this dungeon could tear them apart.
"Mhmm..." She nodded in confirmation.
"I can sense several magic sources coming our way, that was certainly a quick response time!" He looked around their surroundings and certainly she could hear the sound of several stampedes surrounding them from every direction.
"Well, we are their first visitors. It's only proper that every resident in the vicinity is too greet us with the utmost courtesy." She said sarcastically.
2 years ago, when they had met she would've never joked around, especially not in this setting.
God, what has this child done to her!
"Stand beside me, I'll take care of all of them before they can even set foot within five metres from you!"
She lifted the corners of my mouth, happy at his declaration...indeed, he was not one to let her down. Not now, not ever!
"Then face me, my beloved Champion!"
He turned around yet blushing slightly at the fond yet teasing nickname. What happened next would set his face aflame with embarrassment, without the aid of magic to her amazement and amusement.
She had kissed him...on the lips! Tongue very much included in the exchange of saliva, passion, love and lust.
Even after they had separated, a single strand of saliva remaining, he was still blushing...unable to form all but one thought.
Was it worth it to explore a dungeon of unparalleled danger for one girl?
Correction, was it worth it to endure future battles of untold glory and epicness for the love of the most beautiful, sexy, dazzling and amazing woman ever?
HELL YEAH!
He was burning with energy now...this was definitely HIS SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH!
While he fist pumped, the woman beside him was smiling in amusement.
The bond they shared was unlike any other, two beings of so much contrast in the world's currently hierarchy yet so similar in emotion, personally and thoughts. But it would be this bond that would overcome the future challenges they would face.
She read his mind, particularly his latest thought, it was a peculiar wish of his, but most welcoming in so many ways.
"Go, my Champion, show them the might of the one who shall be coined [The Strongest]! Show them the might...of he, who, shall be called [The Conqueror] of the Dungeon!"
Brandishing his intricately patterned green and golden sword, special glyphs placed on the bottom of the blade, from his black sheath. He readied himself into the sprinting position...
"Yes, Kami-sama!"
...and dashed off at humanly impossible speeds towards the nearest mob of monsters, sword in tow.
Yes, she had no doubt!
Together, they would become legends amongst the humans and gods themselves!
Together, they would show the strength of a bond between the divine and the mortals...
...and several years later, when legends were born from their adventures, they would be renowned as the [First and Strongest Familia]!
Chapter 1: The Conqueror saves the Princess
XXXXX-A Week Later-XXXXX
Left! Right! My god there was no end to these creatures.
Jumping overhead, I spun around as I repeatedly cut the heads of three surrounding goblins to pieces.
Brandishing my lime-green sword [Dark Repulser] once more, I blocked an attack from a goblin's wooden club.
"Kami-sama!"
"Fire Blast!"
A huge fireball about two times the size of the goblin came from behind it.
I ducked down and rolled to the side in order to avoid it. Kami-sama really had no idea how to hold back. She was trying, certainly, but the power of her spells was insane.
"Sorry, Bell-kun!"
"Don't worry, Kami-sama, I'm alright." It was my fault entirely, I was holding her back.
That's why I have to get stronger quickly!
So that I can become her strength! The one she can always rely on! The one she could always lean on for support!
With newfound motivation...
"Rahhhh!" I charged into battle once more.
"Kami-sama support me!"
"On it!" Five balls of fire appeared around her as they spun around her.
She sent them forward.
"Fire Arrows!" The five balls of fire sharpened in length as they spun past me. Even if Kami-sama wasn't good at limiting the power of her spells, her control over them was superb.
Coating my sword with wind magic, a small tornado formed around it. Thrusting my sword forward in order to be parallel with the spiralling arrows of fire, the combination of wind and fire formed into a magnificent tornado of fire around the sword.
Coating my entire body in mana. I yelled out.
"High-speed Movement: Blitz Charge!"
Surrounded in mana, my body felt no drag as I dashed forward at insane speeds.
This particular combo that Kami-sama and I developed over the years in the village made me look like a huge and fierce spiralling arrow of fire.
"Combo Skill: Blaze Blitz Piercer!"
True to the name, I quickly pierced and went past the now-dead bodies of around a dozen monsters composed of goblins and kobolds.
"Wooh." I sighed out. That was probably the end of this mob. Looking around, there were no monsters...for now. Turning around, I saw my crimson-haired Kami-sama coming to check up on me.
"Good work, Bell-kun. That was splendid."
"Thank you, Kami-sama. But there was no way it could've been done without your excellent control."
"Oh you, flatterer. You give yourself too little credit. It was your quick instincts that made the attack successful even though this is our first real test run." She really was a lucky goddess, Bell was a kind and gentle boy. But underneath that gentle personality was a true warrior's instinct just waiting to be called out.
His swordsmanship was superb. His instincts were lightning quick and his footwork was nimble and flawless. That together with his white hair, with those two spiky locks of hair vertically sticking out, she would've mistaken him for a rabbit playing dress-up as a human.
A/N: Bell's hairstyle will be a tad bit different in this story. For one all his hair will be spiked backwards with two locks sticking out a bit vertically like a rabbit. It's similar to how Naruto has those two locks sticking out of his hair more than the rest in his latest Six Paths Cloak Form.
"We've reached the fourth floor. Should we take a break?" The truth is they could go on for a lot longer. But Bell was always worried about her health so he held back needlessly. It was a sweet gesture but a tad bit annoying sometimes.
Though it wouldn't hurt to take a breather. She had something to do.
"Sure, do you want to update your [Status] now?"
"Yes, please."
I lifted my shirt as I laid one knee to the ground. On back were strange glyphs. That was what was called [God's Grace].
In this day, where everyone had stats, God's Grace acted like a cheat code and helped stats raise tremendously.
"Hang on a second. Hopefully no monsters will interfere." In the dungeon, monsters will spawn randomly and would sometimes interfere with Kami-sama Status Update. So this is the first proper chance they had for Kami-sama to update.
Back in the village, she had all the time in the world to update my status. But there were hardly any monsters to fight and so little to do other than practise and create techniques, so little experience was earned.
Right now she gently pricked her fingers with a pin and started updating my Status.
XXX
A/N:
I changed Level to Rank
I changed Endurance to Defence.
You'll see why soon.
Bell Cranel
Level Rank: 1
Strength: I 18 - F 72
Defence: I 8 - G 53
Dexterity: I 14 - D 111
Agility: I 7 - E 97
Mana: I 2 - G 55
Magic: (this means ones learned by magical tomes, naturally learnt spells are not listed)
...
Skills: (naturally learnt skills are not listed)
[Single-Minded Pursuit]
?
Strange.
That couldn't be right.
The Sacred Text didn't look right.
Certainly, there was no one else who had it so she couldn't make comparisons. But her father had told her that under a normal person, status ranks usually change every 100 digits until it reached S Rank at 999.
If the person was special and had higher potential than the average flock, then the intervals in which the ranks increase would decrease. Father had never written a Sacred Text on a person before, but he would definitely know, he was the one who created it after all!
A/N: for more information read the sequel to this, I explained it there.
Bell's Text implied that his rank changed every 20 digits! That couldn't be true. Her luck wasn't that good.
"Kami-sama?"
"...Bell-kun, can I look at your Stats?"
"Um...Okay." He took out a stone tablet and gave it to her.
Filling that tablet with her energy, the tablet scanned the human in front of her.
A/N: it's like a PokeDex, except that it scans stats as well.
She started reading the inscriptions that magically appeared on the tablet that had Bell's blood stored inside. This tablet, containing Bell's blood, would only read Bell's stats and no one else's.
XXX
A/N:
The Sacred Text increases stat boosts that's it.
Stats like Wisdom, Willpower and Charisma are not affected by the Sacred Text they are naturally raised through leading people, inner spirit or reading books.
I changed Endurance to Defence.
These Stats do not take equipment into account.
Attack and Magic Damage does not take into account bonus stats from skills.
Spells get stronger with higher magic damage.
Bell Cranel
Level: 33
Class: None
Health: 1925
-Usually starts off at 100, then raises by 10~30 per level up(depends on person)
Mana: 2750 (+135)
Not everyone has mana, and if they do it's usually like this: starts off at 50, raises by 5~10 per level up
Strength: 626 (+165)
-2 STR= 1 min~3 max damage
Defense: 368 (+45)
Agility: 729 (+30)
Wisdom: 700
-5 WIS= 1 magic damage
Dexterity: 2603 (+440)
Charisma: 30
Willpower: 70
-10 Will= 1HP regen/sec
Attack Damage: 313~939
Attacks usually average around 50%, so 313~939 means the usual damage would be around 625 damage per attack.
Magic Damage: 140
Health Regeneration: 7 HP/sec
Skills:
Cooking: Expert Lv.4
+145 DEX
Smithing: Senior Lv.3
+65 DEX
Farming: Advanced Lv.1
+80 DEX
Close Combat: Seasoned Lv.4
+120 STR
Sword Combat: Senior Lv.5
+45 STR
+30 AGI
+45 DEF
Magic: Expert Lv.2
+135 MP
Carpentry: Expert Lv. 1
+130 DEX
?
Her breathing stopped temporarily. These stats were incredible.
The skills, she already knew he had them; obtained after years of childhood training in his home village combined with his naturally high dexterity made him a prodigy in the production arts. But his STR and AGI were way too high for a Level 33.
Normally, average stats started off at 50 at Level 1 then it would normally raise by around 10 for each level up. Gaining any higher than 10 in one stat meant you specialised in that area.
If you gain more than 10 stats after a lvl up for STR you were gifted for combat classes like warrior.
Specialising in magic classes meant high AGI.
Specialising in production classes meant high DEX.
Level 33 meant that the average stats would be around 370~380 with one or two specialised stats that had higher digits.
In father's classification of what was average, the digits on Bell's Sacred Text were still way too low for a significant boost to the point where his stats reached beyond 45.
With these stats, Bell rivalled any Lvl 60~70 Adventurer and that wasn't counting these insane dexterity, health and mana points.
They were over 1000!
This went way beyond specialised!
Was Bell's potential that high? Bell was practically a mana monster.
"Kami-sama! Kami-sama!"
Bell started shaking her shoulders.
"W-what?"
"You've been staring at the tablet for a long time. Is there something wrong?"
"Uh-no, it's nothing." She needed time to think.
Monster hunting would be good right about now to ease the tension.
"Here's your tablet back." As soon as the tablet left her hands, the mana inside it was gone and so the inscriptions vanished.
"Are you sure you're alright? You look confused about something."
"Ah no, just thinking, we should resume hunting we're still on the fourth floor. I want to reach the 7th floor by the end of the week. Hopefully we'll get to the end of the 12th floor by the end of the month. That's where we start getting into the lower levels."
"Okay...just tell me if there's anything wrong okay?" He offered his hand.
"...okay...thank you Bell-kun." She took it gladly and he helped her stand.
"Let's resume then."
Normally it would take a year at least to get to the lower levels past floor 12, but at this rate Bell would surpass the standards in less than a month.
XXXXXXXXXX
We reached the 6th floor after 3 days. Progress was way faster after Kami-sama had updated my status.
I felt faster, stronger, better than ever actually.
God's Grace was a great thing indeed!
I looked at my sword and scanned it with my stone tablet.
Dark Repulsor
Durability: 67/130
Attack: 50~70
Blessed with holy water, slow decay
One-handed Sword. Luminescent sword; highly attuned to Light and Wind Magic.
Materials: Light Crystal, Wind Crystal, Silver ingot and Gold ingot. Green dye added.
Strength +120
Agility +30
Fill with mana +60% damage
Good it'll last.
"..." Kami-sama just tensed up.
"What's wrong Kami-sama?"
"There's something happening nearby. I can sense several life forces wavering." I don't know how she came upon it, then again she is a goddess so it might be innate, but ever since they had met she had an uncanny ability to sense humans, more specifically their life forces, from a certain range. She couldn't sense monsters as well because apparently their life forces were different from humans.
"Adventurer?" Despite trying to confirm my suspicions, I was already on the run with Kami-sama just behind me, a wavering life force meant someone was dying.
"No, I don't think so, it seems a bit too...young...it's similar to...yours?" Mine? There were people of similar age that also went into the dungeon? Wow. I was not expecting that.
"...it's here. But there's a door blocking our way." They recognised a trap door when they saw one. They had fallen for it 4 times before they caught on. Well actually they caught on the first time, they just went in for kicks.
"Are they straight behind it."
"Yes, but all three of them have dwindled, they're on the edge of death."
"Grrrr, I'll break through it." Before the update, I couldn't even put a dent on the walls. But now with my heightened strength and higher mana capacity, I could infuse my fists with mana and punch through walls without worrying too much about running out of mana.
Cocking my fist back, I readied myself to attack but a gentle hand grasped my elbows and stopped me.
"Don't. Conserve your energy Bell-kun. Out of the two of us I'm the one with higher energy levels so I'll do it, you just worry about saving the three behind this door."
"...okay." I had to admit to her words, even with 80% of her energy sealed away after coming down from heaven, Kami-sama could still beat me any day. After all, she was a goddess. Though she's the same age as me, the difference in power would always be tremendous.
"...God Art: Power of Destruction."
A small crimson-black orb formed over her hand.
70% Arcana, 25% Dark and 5% Fire.
These three affinities joined together to form a super-condensed ball of destructive energy.
"God Skill: Destructive Sphere."
Clutching it in her hands, she slammed it into the wall. The orb exploded magnificently as a shock wave of dark arcana spread out.
I had to cover my upper body in order to be not swept away. The destructive force was amazing!
This was the power of a goddess.
This was the power of the Goddess of Destruction, Macha.
XXXXX-on the other side, a few seconds earlier-XXXXX
"Dammit, I knew it was too good to be true."
They were just coming back from visiting the blacksmiths.
On the way back to their [Party], they found a treasure chest, tunnel vision however prevented them from seeing the obvious trap. Their group was relatively new to the dungeon so they weren't expecting a trap at all. The only one who suspected anything was their third member, but they didn't listen to her.
...don't go.
They should've listened.
When she and her sister entered, the last member reluctantly followed, just in time for the trap door to abruptly close.
When it did, the walls of the room cracked.
Several monsters appeared from the random cracks!
There were several War Shadows within the minute.
They were jet black humanoid figures with a cross-shaped head, a plain mirror in the centre of the face.
"Tione, behind you!" Another War Shadow came from behind. But her big sister didn't respond fast enough.
"AHHHHH!"
"Sister!" She ran to her sisters aid.
There was just way too many monsters.
They tried desperately to hang on, hoping for some divine miracle.
Little did they know that was exactly what was happening behind the doors.
The War Shadows backed their group into a corner, they were literally backed against the wall.
Please...someone, save us! Tiona begged desperately.
As the closest War Shadow lunged at them, she closed their eyes.
The only one that didn't was their third member, who went forward and spreader her arms, a defiant gesture that signified her strong desire to protect her friends.
In the face of possible death, her only thought wasn't of regret.
I want to protect my friends!
*BOOOM*
The trap door exploded brilliantly as a sudden wave of dark energy blew them all away, excluding them since they were already backed against the wall and so could not be pushed back any further.
"What?..."
A brief glimpse of crimson hair, then a white blur.
"Kuuuu...?"
The war shadow that had attempted to kill them before, it had whimpered pitifully before having its head detached from the rest of its body.
But that's what not they were focused on.
The white blur from earlier had slowed to form a boy, looking close to her age, slowly walking from behind the war shadows.
Before unsheathing his sword and slicing off the heads of five war shadows simultaneously with one swift swing.
Their saviour looked at them before smiling gently.
"Are you alright?"
They could only nod dumbly. Still in disbelief that they were still alive.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Kuuuuu!"
The surviving war shadows had cried out in rage, angered that an intruder had stopped them from killing their prey.
Not on my watch!
There was no way he was going to let three cute girls die, not if he could help it.
It was my dream, one passed from grandparent to child, to encounter cute girls in the dungeon, save them so that they would fall in love with me so that I could get a harem of super cute girls.
My grandfather would be so proud of me right now.
It was my first day in the dungeon and already I had saved three girls on my first attempt. A spectacular debut performance if I do say so myself.
"Focus, you pervert!"
A small fireball had exploded upon hitting the side of my head.
How did she know?
Macha's apparent ability to read my mind would have to be shelved for future pondering. Right now, it was time to impress the girls in front of me.
"Wait here, I'll be right back." Turning around I leapt at the approaching war shadows.
"Come at me, you stupid beasts."
"Kuuuuu!"
As if replying to my challenge, their fighting spirit clashed against mine.
Swinging my sword horizontally, it met their claws, only for it to tear through their jet black limbs.
Ducking beneath the attack from behind, I saw Macha running towards the girls and comforted them, good I didn't have to worry about them whilst attacking these monsters.
Flipping my body backwards, I head-butted the monster behind me before using the shift in momentum to flip over them as I bounced off the wall and directed my sword towards the body of a nearby war shadow.
Piercing through one, as it fell I rolled over its body and jumped and span to cut down three surrounding war shadows.
"Fire Bolt!"
Fiery lightning shot out of my hands as it exploded against a monster's face.
"Fire Bolt!"
"Fire Bolt!"
"Fire Bolt! x 15!"
I spammed fire bolt in order to easily reduce the numbers.
Seriously they were popping out like ants coming out of the ground.
"High-speed Movement: Blitz Charge!" Infusing my legs with mana I dashed at speeds faster than the eye could see.
1 MP is used for every second this skill is active.
That meant 2000 seconds of pure high speed combat if I don't use any other skills.
Plenty of time!
"Gale Slash!" Wind magic circled around my sword as I repeatedly cut down the monsters, bits and pieces of their carcasses flying all over the place due to the mini tornado.
Too many to count. Let's bring them all down with one single move.
"Shockwave!"
I slammed my palm against the floor, causing sparks to fly out which intensified in brightness and energy. It soon formed into a wave which electrified most of the monsters within the room, causing most of them to be paralysed, shy of causing them death.
Spells were just that overpowered...
200 MP reduced.
There was no way I was going to lose. These war shadows were my prey! Not the other way around.
Left! Right! Diagonal!
No matter from which direction, I could see it all. All their attacks. I could hear all their footsteps echoing against the walls.
These monsters were pretty simple in their attack patterns. No tricks, pauses, or change of pace. Just simple, slow swings of their claws.
I was now outnumbered four to one. Four of them attacked me all at once, four simultaneous jabs.
I jumped up and tilted my body backwards.
One claw just missed my waist.
The second went under my right elbow.
The third made a small slash across my light armour.
No hits so far but the last one...
The last claw nicked the side of my face.
Suspended in mid-air one moment, in the next, I span all over the place and cut the four war shadows to pieces.
Somersaulting back several times, I gently landed away from the remaining few war shadows.
*Plop* something soft dropped onto the floor under me.
I looked down and saw a red stain.
Something warm was slowly dripping down my left cheek. Feeling it up, I felt a line across my cheek, a slash mark to be precise.
Guess I wasn't agile enough to dodge completely.
That was pretty impressive, there were close calls here and there but none of the monsters on the earlier floors drew any of my blood. This was a first.
Hmmm? I suddenly felt weak.
My knees suddenly buckled a bit. Seriously, already?
I was running out of stamina, less than 12 hours of hunting dozens of monsters, without long intervals of rest, at a continuously fast pace was tiring for someone who had only come to the dungeon for the first time. The sudden change between working in low gear all these years into high gear fighting, the body was not used to such a shift.
It was seriously time to end this quickly.
"Fwuuuu~"
Taking a deep breath, I bent my knees and drew my sword arm back, sword still very much pointed towards the monsters.
"...Gentle Sword Style: Flowing Tempest."
Dashing forward, I met their claws head on.
The moment the first monster struck, I ducked to the right and spun to the left cleaving it in half. A total of three hits.
Rotating on both my toes I went back to a sheathing position, but that wasn't for long as in the next split second, I parried the second monster's attack and used its arm to spin around to the back of the monster.
One! Two! Three!
I struck three times, one hit before spinning, then repeat the process.
The second fell.
2 down, 57 to go.
In a room full of war shadows, one boy smiled maniacally.
"Let's go you stupid beasts!"
"KUUUUU!"
XXXXXXXXXX
Watching the boy probably no older than she was, defeating war shadows left and right all by himself, her entire beliefs were shattered.
She admired strength; craved it. When she watched adventurers fight their way through dozens of monsters at the back of the front lines, she would always imagine herself among them as she slew hundreds upon hundreds of monsters.
She aspired to be the best there was. Whether it be here in the dungeon or out in the super continents, she wanted to prove to everyone that she was the strongest.
But her young age and inexperience prevented her from joining her fellow party members in battle. So she was limited to a supporter's role.
Finn, her party leader, would always give her tips in order to be better. But that wasn't enough. She wanted to slay monsters, collect treasure and beat the strongest opponents in the world.
A few nights ago, all the way from the 10th floor, she woke up in the middle of the night; stole a rapier and snuck up to the upper floors in order to get stronger through physical experience.
Eventually two of her close friends, Tione and Tiona, in the party, who were also in similar situations, found out and also wanted in.
So they started hunting monsters together in the upper floors.
She convinced herself that she was getting stronger. That eventually, she would be able to join her party members in the front lines.
Only now, staring at the young warrior in front of her, did she realise that her goals were too low.
Only now did she realise that there so much more to aspire towards.
On this day, one legend would start the beginnings of another.
The [Crimson Conqueror] and the [Sword Princess].
This...would only be the first of many chapters of the Legendary Adventurer in which the world records.
I was reading Legendary Moonlight Sculptor and I was greatly inspired. Volume 33+ onwards is bloody freaking epic.
I've already decided on a class for Bell but don't worry it is not Moonlight Sculptor.
And yes, the Aizu flag is kind of semi-ish-raised.
I won't be focusing too much on romance in the initial part of the fic.