Somebody Up There Likes Me

by The Kyuubi Overload

This, is the story of an adventurer named Bell Cranel. Bell isn't your normal day adventurer either, no, he is in fact, an unblessed one. No one would accept him into their familia, due to his weak looking self. Leaving Bell with one last option to secure his dreams. Watch as Bell becomes the first unblessed adventurer to enter the dungeon. Tread carefully young hero...

10. Chapter 10

Summary: This, is the story of an adventurer named Bell Cranel. Bell isn't your normal day adventurer either, no, he is in fact, an unblessed one. No one would accept him into their familia, due his weak looking self. Leaving Bell with one last option to secure his dreams. Watch as Bell becomes the first unblessed adventurer to enter the dungeon. Tread carefully young hero...The gods are not with you here...Yet.

Disclaimer: I do not own DanMachi or any characters from the light novel. Please support the original release by buying the manga, the Light Novel, and the anime when it's available. Look on google play if you wish to buy the light novel, like I did. I do however, own this story idea, and any new original characters or monsters I use.

Author's Notes: Hit 300 reviews when I was busting my ass at work! How fun. Well thank you all! I decided that I'm probably going to finish this story first before I work anything else. Oh and lastly, I called it! Riveria is 99 years old! Hahaha! I love it when I'm right. I also love the fact people are saying that Freya and Syr are manhandling Bell! That's a laugh and a half. I say they are deceiving him but they mean well. Oh and Bell's Alias in Danmachi has been changed from Little Rookie to Rabbit Foot! Hahaha! I'm on a roll baby! I can't keep calling this madness! Too good!

Character quote of the day: "I don't need alcohol to have fun and make shitty decisions. I do that already. Why would I want to make things even worse." ~ Bell Cranel

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Story: Somebody Up There Likes Me

Chapter Ten: Bad Moon Rising

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I awoke to a throbbing headache in a bed and room that I had never seen before. I knew I was in over my head in that fight but there was no way that I should have been knocked out by that alone. There must have been a goofy looking lopsided grin on my face as I recalled how I was knocked out. That tall Amazon had fallen on me. Petty sure she used my face as a chair for a moment. Yep, Zeus had ruined me. These perverted thoughts were becoming frequently more common nowadays.

Thinking more about that dark sinked Amazon was getting my blood pumping. She must have felt awkward about what had happened. Most women don't like those kind of accidental things occuring. I can only imagine her reaction to that. She probably looked like a cat jumping high in the air when startled.

'I just hope she doesn't get pissed off by what had happened.' It was a reasonable thought though. Some women tend to be completely unreasonable when something unexpected happens. Especially if it ends up with something sexual happening. 'Oh, I'm sorry that I had no control of the portal and where I fell. I'm so~ very sorry that my face cushioned your decent. I should have used that point zero, zero, zero, zero three seconds to move out of your ass way.' I swear to Zeus if that happens. I had enough of that crap to last me a lifetime. In fact I'm just gonna call it out now. It was bullshit that I happened to be at the right place at the right time. I know what I said! I meant it that way!

'Oh Bell your such a pervert!'

'Oh well, whose idea was it to run full speed into me trying to surprise me! Than you trip, I turn around and catch you, yet you going at the same speed a Bull charges with, take me off my feet, and we land in an awkward position. Then you want call me a pervert and try to hit me because your undeveloped breasts were in my face?!' Oh hell no! Damnit bad memories! I don't want remember anymore of those 'events'. Ugh, women. They can be so damn annoying doing that bullshit. My fault.

Yeah just like that one time Erika climbed a tree and her skirt got caught on a- Who's dumb idea was it to climb a tree in a skirt anyway?! Who even does that?! Oh, you didn't know that could have happened. Anyway the skirt rips you use your HANDS to cover the hole, forgetting that you were using them to climb a tree mind you, I save you, I get slapped. WHAT?! OKAY! 'Take responsibility!' For you being an airhead?

FORGET IT, FORGET IT, FORGET IT! I will get myself worked up over something that might not even happen. Chill out Bell Cranel. Shaking my head at the thoughts.

Then, at that moment, I realized how embarrassing it must have been for her! Her have to drag me incapacitated behind her with my face all red from her impact- Wait a damn minute! She shouldn't feel embarrassed! I should be feeling embarrassed! Oh no.

My reputation will be destroyed! My hands went to my face trying to cover its redness. Dear God! It would have looked like I had been dominated. Why did my life have to be so complicated? "Ugh my headache is growing." I moaned to myself. 'Ugh I need to get stronger. I can't just count on my Jackalope power when things get bad. Hmm, maybe I can have someone train me for a time being?' I hit my fist in my palm. Yes that was it. I need to get trained by an adventurer.

'The question is who?' I thought to myself. Sure I had been trained by Zeus, but I think he left out all the real fighting techniques so I could grow on my own. 'Yeah that sounds like him. He might want me to think that he was a lazy old fart, but in reality, he was a cunning fox. This also means that Zeus had to have gone into the dungeon at some point and found all those secret areas.' The puzzle pieces were coming together. A grin formed on my lips, 'Well, I now know this dungeon is far more magical now. Yet this also brings up how Zeus knows of all these secrets? Especially all these secrets that require you to say and do something. How does he Know about?'

"Awke you." My heart leaped out of my chest! My head spun around so fast I think I got whiplash for a second. There leaning against the wall was said Amazon with her arms crossed and eyes pointed right at me. She had scared the living Hell out of me. How long had she been there, and why didn't she say something earlier? I nodded regardless a little scared of the taller woman. She had held off that large army of Goblins by herself. To be honest, I owed her my life.

She pushed herself off the wall and let her arms fall to her sides. 'Just keep looking at her face and everything will be fine.' I told myself. If I looked anywhere else on her body I would be distracted the entire time. Strings, that's how I would describe her outfit. About eighty-eight percent of her was uncovered. My mind didn't have to image what she looked like under the strings. Chances were I already knew. Not just going off where my face had been. 'It's totally fine! Just look at her face Bell.'

Boy was it getting hot in here or was it just me? I was blushing and I couldn't help but feel a little happy the room was dark to cover it up. Being a horny fourteen year old was difficult. I was going to have a hard time talking to her. She didn't seem to have that problem. She pointed at me, oh I can only image just what she might want from me. None of it could be good either. "Dunnegeon expain Bache."

I tilted my head at the taller woman, "What?" Nope that is definitely not what I had guessed to come out of her mouth. Oh no! Could she not speak Common!? Oh good Gods! Not only that but she turn away from me! That lead me to believe I was right and she was embarrassed because she just butchered what she wanted to say. What was going on right now? Here I thought I would be the one to having trouble speaking. Her Common was so bad. Okay this makes things harder. Uhh, how to solve this problem? Maybe she could understand me?

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Embarrassment is what she felt! For shame! She should have realized that this wouldn't turn out well. How could she ask questions if she didn't know how to speak Common well enough to be understandable? She couldn't. Even if she dragged the boy back to base she would be the only one there. Same problem. That and she couldn't tell him to write something down on paper because her reading of Common was even worse. She could understand it when spoken, but she couldn't speak it that well. What should she do now?

Before the raging storm in her head got any bigger the boy has spoken to Her. "You don't speak Common very well, but do you understand me?" The boy had asked. Oh good, he seemed to get the idea. She gave a single nod in acknowledgement. The kid rubbed his chin in thought. He was most likely trying to find a way to communicate with her. Good! This boy was smart and seemed to get the situation. His red eyes then turned to her. She had noticed the boy gave a quick once over before meeting her eyes.

She didn't really care about him ogling her, she knew by his standards that she was wearing nothing. The culture gap didn't really affect her at all. He probably had no idea how men were treated where she was from. Where she was from men stayed at home as salves, cooks, and babymakers. Simple. For him it was the other way around. He most likely wouldn't last a day next to the border before an Amazon captured him, he had a cute face going for him. The younger girls would have been all over him. That and he knew how to fight by the sound of things.

He had fought high level Goblins that no one in his position could have. He was strong for someone just starting out. Of course, she had done her research on him at the guild. Luckily the Guild had also posted information in other languages. She had seen for herself what this no level could do. Of course, he was no match for anyone at or above a level two. Well at least that is what she thought. The boy knew things that he shouldn't. It was clear to see that due to the fact he had discovered a Monster Rex by himself, add a second one under his belt now.

'How does he know these things? What is this boy hiding? Who is Bell Cranel?' These questions are what she wanted answered. "Okay that makes things better for me. Where are we?"

She frowned. The kid had a point, this only helped him out she would be stuck answering his questions. She rubbed her forehead an irritation. She might as well answer Bell's question or this was going to be a very short conversation. A thought popped into her head. She might be able to get the conversion to turn into her favor if she answered his questions. "Rivira."

The boy blinked for a second. Trying to figure that out but he might not have a clue that there was town down here on the eighteenth floor. "Where is that?" He asked more to himself as he tried to recall where he had heard it.

"Dunn-egeon," She replied. She could speak one word at a time somewhat. Anything else world be hard for her to form a regular sentence.

The eyes on the boy widened, "Wait you don't mean…," He cut himself as she nodded at him. "Oh Hell. How are you going to get out of this one Cranel?" He must have put it together by now. The portal had literally dumped them in a safe zone. However, that meant Bell was going to have a Hell of a time getting out of the Dungeon. Chances where he would be killed before he got close to the lower floors. He must have come to that realization. He wasn't wrong. He looked back up at her. "Hmm, I wasn't expecting the portal to do that. It would seem that this Dungeon is far more complex. The opening is on the fifth floor, but the exit is on the eighteenth? Ugh why?" He asked groaning in discomfort.

She merely shrugged at him. How would she know? He had the answers not her.

He narrowed his eyes in thought, "You followed me." He stated. It wasn't hard to tell. In fact she had been following since the first time she had laid eyes on him. He was odd. He waved and smiled at her. It was funny to see someone actually welcome one of her kind. Amazons from Telskyura weren't really welcome in Orario. For longest time they had been sanctioned by the city nation. It had only been because of their intervention in the Argonnes that had let them to be accepted into the city.

Argonnes was a massive forest to the south west of Orario. A massive trading post that was controlled by Orario had been attacked by a smaller nation to the west. That nation was called Coveta. Orario had called out for war. Her Goddess had joined in this little war was not only to claim the small nation but also due to the fact that the trading post was also were they did business with the city. In reality Kali had seen this as an opportunity to get into Orario's good graces. Well, Coveta now was under the Amazon banner. They had taken most of the land while Orario took some of Coveta to the west.

This was how the two very different nations had become friends of sort. Distrust was high but in time, all things would work out fine. He had been the first not to actually look at her in some form of hatred or distrust. Sure he was looking at her now like that but he had a point. She had been caught on her little spying mission. That had almost made her grin. Well, he wouldn't see it due the fact of her veil over mouth. Then again this was a self imposed capture mission. Or should she call this an escort mission now? Yep, that was it. In all honesty, she should have thought this out better.

She had to get the boy out of a dangerous part of the dungeon. Well, for him anyway. This means a lot of monsters would be targeting him. Meaning heavy fighting. No, Bache was grinning happily now! This would work out just fine for her, oh yes it would. Excitement was overflowing from her. It seemed to affect the boy as well as he seemed put off by her display.

"I have no idea what's got you so excited but I just figured out that I wouldn't be getting out anytime soon." He explained his concern. She pointed at him then to herself. Bell blinked, "You and me?" He questioned uncertainty. She took out her wrip and gave a light swing. It cracked causing the boy to flinch. "Woah there! Fight? You want me to fight you?" The expression she gave caused the boy to blush and he looked away. That had been a stupid assumption. She would kill him. "Okay not us fight but…!" He snapped his fingers "Fight our way out?!" She gave a so-so gesture.

He was trying to figure out something but couldn't for the life of him. "Gr-uad," she pointed at herself then to Bell.

"I got that much." He told her lazily, "And its guard. The r is after the a."

Bache blinked before a wave of frustration washed over her, 'Then what is the problem?' Thinking to herself.

He eyed her carefully, "What would you want out of this though?"

'Yes this what I wanted.' She grinned behind her veil again. Things were going her way. "Teach Bache."

The boy blinked at her request, "Teach you?" His red eyes narrowed at her, "Teach you what exactly?"

"Dungeon." She said with her thick accent. He seemed to understand what she was talking. He took it better to be expected. He just simple sighed and put a hand to his face.

"I really should have seen this coming to be honest." He said shrugging his shoulder, "I guess I could say this was going to happen, I just figured it would happen later, not sooner." There was a long pause after he said. "Well, you seem to have me at a disadvantage here Bache. I guess I could tell you a few things."

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I watched the woman get really excited at me telling her that. It was clear to see that she had just gotten what she wanted. That had been her reason to follow me. She wanted to know what I knew about the Dungeon. It was kind of unsettling that this could have happen at the point where I first found and fought Doluk. Someone not as nice as Bache could have confronted me about this. I would have been fucked. Hell, I might still be! I had no idea what this tall Amazon was capable of.

"The problem I have with that," She instantly stopped whatever it was she had been doing, I almost wanted to laugh seeing that kind of reaction. "Is it will be hard to communicate with each other. I'm gonna have to teach you Common as well."

"Eh," The woman now sounded unsure about the whole thing now. I gave an amused smirk at her. 'She must be insecure about not knowing Common language.' I just kept on looking at her. She was fidgeting in her spot, yep that had to be the case.

"I have no idea how you can walk around not knowing Common, it's kind of important to know. I mean how did you even find this place?" I looked at her seriously. "How could you read the sign outside if you don't know Common?" She didn't answer but she looked away from me. I got up from my bed not really caring what I was wearing and looked out the window. I laughed. Hard. The sign had said Inn on it but there was a picture of a bed on the sign! That's how she knew what the Hell it was!

It really shouldn't be all that funny, but for me, it was. Dear God, how lucky did she have to be? I don't even wanna picture what may have happened if she couldn't find a Inn. How would she communicate with anyone? Well, I can tell you one thing, I really don't wanna be in the Dungeon anymore. I had enough of this place for a while. It was time to get the Hell out of here. "Okay I figured that out." I muttered to myself still highly amused by sign and the woman behind me. I turned to her to see still looking away from me. She looked far more deject than I have ever seen her. Hmm, now I feel like an ass.

"Okay, so I believe I have a solution to our problem." She sent a glance my way. I smiled at her, "I'll help you learn Common, but your going to have to teach me how to fight better." She turned fully to me. "You will need to know Common if you are staying in the Labyrinth City Orario by yourself. Someone will take advantage of that. Just like someone will take advantage of me not being strong enough to keep my secrets." She crossed her arms. She got what I was Implying.

It was clear she wanted to disagree with what I implied, I waved her off. "I'm actually kind of glad it was you to be honest." She tilted her head at me, "I mean someone else might have done something else right? That was what I was getting at. You are acturally trying to get me out of here so I guess I feel better knowing that."

She didn't say anything and chose to be quiet. Not that I could really blame her. Why would I? She couldn't speak Common and it was clearly embarrassing her that she couldn't. She was proud of herself as warrior. You could see it in the way she carried herself. She looked wild and powerful if her display against the Goblins had been anything to go by. "Okay I'm going to look around this place first to get to know it better, get something to eat, and then we'll go from there."

She simply nodded at what I said, "Okay, now let's seal the deal." I walked up to the tower of a person that Beche was and put my hand out for her to shake, "My name is Bell Cranel," He paused to think of something else to say. Then it hit him and he grinned. He had just came up with a nickname for himself, "The Jackalope."

She eyed him curiously, either not knowing what a Jackalope was or not knowing what to say to that. I decided to tell what to do, "When two people come to an agreement you shake hands and you make sure their other hand is visible. Grab my hand with your right," She slowly did so, "Good! Now shake it up and down." She did. "Yes, just like that! The deal has been made!" I cheered. She actually looked somewhat entertained! This might all just work out! I got dressed in my extra pair of clothes I bought just to be safe. Oh God, Eina was going to kill me!

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I bounced on the ground like a ball before rolling to a stop on my back. I coughed a few times before I could finally breathe again. I could feel a real nasty cut on my back. Ugh, that was going to be a bitch to clean by myself. There I laid in some clearing in the Dungeon sounded by light and green. It was still hard to believe there was a place like this underground. It was amazing to say the least. This place was just too magical for words. This is what people didn't realize, they were too forced on leveling up, they didn't force on the small things. They never really experienced what it truly meant to be an adventurer. To discover, not to fight for glory. That is what I want! To uncover the secrets of this place. That is what I wanted.

For now though, I had to focus on getting stronger. I had to escape this place. I was in too deep. I had no idea what to expect outside the eighteenth floor. I did know that the second Dungeon boss laid right outside. He would be out there waiting. How was I going to beat a monster like that being a no level? I couldn't allow myself to fail this time. I had to get stronger, I had to find that dragon, I had to find Zeus, I had to find out the secrets of the dungeon! I will not die here!

This was all going through me head as I laid on the ground panting. I felt uttered defeated giving my all into this 'training'. Holy shit, was this fucking woman a demon. She was strong, fast, and my God was she flexible! She had bent around all my attack while at the same time destroying me throughly. I mean she was taking it easy on me, of course, but at the same time it felt like she wasn't. Maybe this is what I get for embarrassing her?

"Yeah I'm not doing that again." I groaned from my spot on the ground. A shadow loomed over me, I opened my eyes and there she was. Just staring down at me. She tilted her head me, "I think that would be enough for one day." She nodded in agreement. We had been training for what, five hours or so? I was beat and covered in dirt and sweat, I need a bath. Luckily for me there was a nice stream that looked like a good place to do just that.

We had decided to get me ready to leave this place would be the best idea for getting out of the Dungeon. Well, get me out alive I'm pretty sure Bache Karifu would be fine on her own. The quiet woman was a high class warrior I found out. In fact she was one of the strongest Amazons from Telskyura. She was the Captain of the Orario's branch which was recently made. I found all this out with a high level of difficulty. She wouldn't dare speak more than flew words at a time.

I sat up and dusted myself off. There was something I noticed about her with my brief time with the tall woman, she got real talkative when you got her excited. There was two ways to get her talkative that I had discovered, one was through battle, the other was through learning something new about anything. Oh, and by talkative I mean through the amazon language! I had no idea what she was saying half the time. I was also surprised on how light of an eater she was. I was expecting her to absolutely bankrupt me. She had gotten a heavy soup and was fine with that. She wanted a light one, I had told her no outright. I had tried to make her change her mind but that didn't work at all. She wanted a soup and got one.

I pretty much knew the entire town of Rivira now. Bache was envious of my ability to learn and remember quickly. Then again, there was plenty of people that thought the same thing. It was pretty much obvious that I was going to have to sprint out of the eighteenth floor right through seventeenth Floor all the way out of the thirteenth floor. I could probably start fighting monsters at the twelfth floor. It would be hard but I had to. Sure, I had Bache to help protect me, but the last thing I wanted to be was be dead weight.

I had made sure to ask around about the monster on all the floors that I hadn't covered before which was a lot. The Monster Rex Goliath was on the seventeenth floor with Lygerfangs, while the Minotaurs were on the fifteenth floor. Dungeon worms, Hellhounds, Battle Boars, Wyverns, and Almiraj on the thirteenth floor. These were the monsters that I was going to have to run past. The ones I was going to have to fight were these: Possibly a Black Wyvern, Silverbacks, Infant Dragons, Hard Armored, Bad Bats, Imps, Orcs, Blue Papilios, Needle Rabbits, Purple Moths, Killer Ants, War Shadows, and Frog Shooters. These monster I at least had a chance with.

It was going to be a hard couple of weeks for me. I was going to have push myself to the limit time and time again. I had to make sure I was ready for our escape. In the meantime I also had to teach Bache Common and somethings about the Dungeon. It was only fair. "I saw a stream over that way," I point in the direction to stream. Bache turned her head to the spot I had pointed to, "I'm going to clean myself off before I begin teaching you."

Once again she nodded but she looked deep in thought as well. I had no clue on to what she was thinking so I decided not to say anything at all. I picked up my backpack from the ground and made my way to the stream. As soon as I got there I made sure to look around and make sure no one else was there. Good, no girls. I'm pretty sure Zeus would have smacked me for thinking something like that. The last thing I wanted to deal with was hearing them scream because I just popped out of the bushies or something. I smirked at myself, 'Not that Zeus has any kind of problems with that. The man could litterilay come down from Heaven as a duck and still get 'it' in.' There was this whole book he made for me. A book that actually worked. The advice had been working well for some unknown reason.

Shaking my head at the thoughts that had just popped into my mind. I was ready. I touched the water to see how cold it was. Oh, it was cold alright. This calls for jumping right in! I grinned and took my clothes off in a hurry. Once all my clothes had been discarded I ran straight in. The water was so cold but I was quick to get to the deeper part to submerge myself under the slow moving water. I ran a hand through my wet white hair making sure to scrub it clean of any dirt. I did the same for any wounds that covered me. The last thing I wanted was Tetanus. That would be painful, and I might die. What a shitty way to die.

I forgot how much fun I use to have when Zeus would take me to a stream not to far away from our house. That was when he showed me what women's bodies looked under their clothes. It was truly a beautiful sight. I could feel my cheeks heating up a bit at the memory. Ahh, those were the good old days. When you were young and didn't care what other people thought of you. You did things for fun because it was fun. Why stop doing what's fun when you hit a new number. Oh I'm too old for that now, a number is going to stop you? Oh, playing tag is for kids! Bitch your it!

I guarantee you when I'm twenty-five I will still be playing tag for shits and giggles. I will still be swinging on the swingset. I will slide down the slide! Why quit doing what's fun because your older! I turned toward the sound of a bush moving towards the little waterfall that was right behind me. There, not too far away from me was the Amazon that had saved my life. She was wearing nothing and I could see everything about her. 'HOLY FUCKING SHIT! SHE FUCKING JOINED ME!' If Zeus had seen this there would be a shiteating grin on his face. He would say something like this, 'Attaboy Bell! Now go claim her!' There would have been a laugh with that too!

Sure, I have seen women naked thanks to Zeus making sure I knew what they looked like. Sure, I new the pleasure points women had. Once again thank you Zeus. Sure, I knew how to flirt. Taught by Zeus. Sure, Zeus had made sure I wouldn't become a fucking mess of a womanizer. Sure, Zeus had prepared me for shit like this! But my God man!

Holy Hell, was this woman fucking gorgeous! Her stomach was flat and hard, she had perfect V, her muscles were defined to the point they were attractive and not overly manly. Her long legs made her seem even more attractive especially since I knew just how flexible they were. Don't even get me started about her hips or her lower body. It was very lovely and smooth. I had felt that part of her after all. Her chest was just enough to be a handful, which Zeus had said, time and time again, was the perfect size. Her nipples stuck out like lone trees on two large mounds. Her sandy blonde hair was shoulder length and framed her beautiful face. Her piecing amber eyes were far from what I had normally seen. They seemed to glow and were softer now that she was relaxing.

This was the type of event Zeus had said would happen if you meet a Amazon. This meeting was what was called a culture shock. Zeus had said the Amazons didn't really care for the whole covering themselves for men or anyone really. They wear clothes that would unhinder their combat which means they wore less and cared less if the opposite sex saw them in this state. Hell, men were treated harshly where she came from. Saves and baby makers. It must have been pretty normal to take baths with opposite sex. It must have been a common thing. She seemed so casual about the whole thing. That had eased me up a bit but I knew I was still a blushing mess.

I took notice to how close she was to me. She wasn't even seven feet away from me. Suddenly realizing this I lower myself into the water as she went to wash up under the waterfall. She stood under it and let the rushing waters pour over her. I had not blinked for a long time. I had to be setting a record somewhere. She was setting my soul on fire. I just couldn't stop looking at her. Seeing the water run off her body was making me have a hard time controlling it. The worst part was she had to know how I was reacting to seeing her. I had see her eyes glance at me as she entered the waters briefly.

What a fox! Trying to clear my mind was I finally being able to say something to break this tension that only I was feeling. I gulped down some air that been caught in my throat. I tried to look as natural as possible as if seeing a woman of top tier quality naked was normal.

"Y-you jo-joined me?"

I guess I couldn't get that off my mind without sounding like a fucking idiot. 'Stay calm Bell- Who fuck I'm I kidding! There is a extremely hot naked woman bathing with me! HOW I'M I SUPPOSED TO STAY CALM!' I screamed at myself. I could literally see a little demon me lifting an angel me up off his feet with a crazed look in his eyes. I wasn't Zeus, this shit was completely new for me. Her amber eyes opened to look at me. Now I really felt insecure as they wash over me like a wave. I didn't dare look anywhere else but her face. I didn't want to seem creepy or something. That was my culture talking to me. Her face, I had finally got to see it since I meet her. It was a face you could look at and find yourself lost only seconds later. Maybe that is why she wore that veil over face?

"Yes." She went back to bathing and making sure her hair was clean. She had said it so bluntly that it was painful. In fact it left me with no room to say anything. The problem that may have caused that was because she didn't speak Common well. I really needed to change that if I was going to be interacting with her more. I couldn't stand these little talks that got us nowhere fast. Hell, I couldn't even really get much of a reaction out of her.

I shrugged and went back to washing myself. That nasty cut she had given me on my back was just out of reach, It was still painful but I really needed to clean it. It wasn't too deep but it was deep enough to be raw and painful.

"Hold." She whispered in my right ear. My eyes widened considerably as I felt her hands latch onto my shoulders. I didn't dare move as she lowered me down a bit more so my cut was under the water as she helped clean the wound carefully. I grimaced more than a few times but once she was done I knew the woman was skilled in this. Experience. I turned to thank her and I almost had my eyes poked out. I forgot how tall she was and the fact that she hadn't moved an inch away from me.

Feeling a little childish I poked her in her hard stomach. She raised an eyebrow at me. "What?" She had said. Oh, that came out clear! I did it again. She frowned at me. I did it again. I used to do this when I was kid. I did it to upset people or get their attention. Zeus had said I only done when I had gotten nervous and didn't know how to respond. Bache looked far less amused than Zeus had. By the seventh time. I had poked her in her shoulder blade.

Then she had done something I wasn't expecting her to do. She turned to me as I was circling her. She then picked me up, "Eh," and throw me. "Oh shit-" She threw me into the water like I was toy of some kind. I splashed against the water causing a small wave of water. I had quickly surfaced and shook the water from my hair. I started to laugh. A grin was on my lips as I did a backstroke away from her. She had crossed her arms and settle with giving me a disapproving stare.

I still hadn't stopped laughing, "You should have seen your face." I reenacted her expression before laughing again still acting childish. Much to my surprise, she smiled lightly as she watched me. "Is that a smile I see! Come on, let's hear a laugh next!"

Still smiling she shook her head in denial of that motion, "Oh come on! I can laugh after be treated like a ragdoll! Didn't you find that funny!" I said standing up, throwing my arms in the air. I did this while I was in the shallow waters. I realized this far too late. My eyes widened and I was quick to dive back to the deeper middle part of the waters. My face was steaming red hot. I had pretty much flashed her without even realizing it. When my ears popped out the water I heard a giggle. I looked at Bache to see her laughing at my reaction. Or was she laughing about something else!? I Sunk downwards into the water. That was a death blow to my pride as a man. Before I went down I saw her explode into a fit of laughter. She was quick I would give her that.

When I had pulled myself up I had saw her making her way over to me. She had done considerable damage to my pride! This could not go unchallenged! As a man I must show her that she hadn't gotten the best of Bell Cranel! 'Revenge!' I roared in my head. My hand skimmed the water and sent a splash out towards her.

She blinked as the water hit her, she reacted far too slow and let a second wave hit before she raised her arms to protect her from the third. She looked confused for a moment. "You have damaged my pride!" I pointed at her, "I shall show you my wrath in this water fight." I had declared. I watched as something seemed to shoot through her eyes when I said fight. Her eyes were sparkling and she said something in Amazonian. I had realized my mistake right away. This battle excited woman got way too eager when fighting was mentioned. 'Why do things keep coming back to haunt me?' I asked myself in amazement at my lack of logic.

Well I dug my grave, might as well keep digging. "TACTICAL RETREAT!" I yelled sending a spinning splash to cover my escape. It work as well as I thought it would… It didn't. I found my ankle trapped in her hand and pulled me back to her slowly. I tried to kick out of her hold, but that was like a mouse ramming his head against the closed jaws of lioness. 'Well I'm fucked now.' I told myself.

She pulled me right to her and took the top of my head into her hand. I looked up with pleading eyes, "M-m-mercy?" I whimpered out. Her amber eyes and her smile told me she had ran out of mercy. "It was the spinning splash wasn't it?" She chuckled before plunging me into the water. She held me their as I tried to struggle my way out.

She pulled me up, "OI, I wasn-" I was plunged back into the water with my mouth wide open.

She pulled me out again, I was breathing heavily, "Okay that sh-" In I went again! She released me after the seventh time being dunked. "Okay I give, I give!" I coughed, "You win!" She had finally seemed to understand that. I wiped my face of the water and rubbed my eyes. I felt water logged. I grumbled my way out of water after being beaten again. I dried off and threw Bache a spare towel. I got over that loss quick. I had fun. Who would have thought that this bath would have turned out like that! I sure didn't. It was always a good idea to make the best of things.

Because you never knew how much time you have left.

---

Two weeks had gone by pretty slowly for me as I trained, and taught Bache Common. She was slow but still determined to learn. I still had seen some progress with her in this regard, but what I did see a lot more of was that she was becoming far more warmer to me. She was use to my silliness. She was a far more interesting of a character than I would have ever guessed. She was a quiet guardian type. She only ever got excited when there was a battle to be fought to test her abilities or when she was learning. She was far too mature and well composed for someone who wore little to no clothes. An Amazon scholar at heart that could twist your neck in under a second.

I was having a hard time not being tempted to address her as a student especially ones that I had only just met, I had to explain activities in your politest language. After all, no one likes to be rude. However, a student who has only a few words of Common, if any at all, won't appreciate the courtesy of or even understand. That was not Bache's problem. She seemed to understand most words that were spoken to her. She couldn't read or write which meant that she couldn't speak it. How she understood the words I said I would never understand.

Instead, I made instructions crystal clear by using as few words as necessary and by gesturing whenever possible, and I broke down a series of instructions into smaller units. I also made sure to show her what I said and how it looked in Common. This way she would have an understand of how to speak words, what they looked like, and how they were use. The whole, keep it simple stupid was a big factor that played a part of my teachings. Why would you want to confuse a beginner and have them be dejected for a long time? You don't. That's not how you teach anyone. You also don't tell people to read something and expect them to know what the Hell is going on. 'I hope you all read the chapter last night cause I won't explain it to you.' Thanks, fuck head.

Next on my list; I wanted to have her start practising speaking Common. However, it takes a while for one's ear to acclimatise to the sounds of a new language, and not everyone will be so keen; I didn't want to pressure Bache into speaking before she's had lots of opportunity to listen to me using it. 'Which doesn't mean I should just be up here rambling on at the front of the hotel bedroom with Bache wondering what the Hell I'm even talking about. I really have to consider what I say and grade my language accordingly.' Oh, my God… I'm starting to sound like an actual instructor teaching people how to teach others people different languages!

I had to keep in mind that beginners to any language needed lots of repetition and drilling, especially as she gets to grips with the sounds of her new language. It might seem boring to go over the same sentences again and again, but it is very necessary. In fact, it might just be one of the most important. When practising a new sentence, I tried back-drilling, breaking the sentence down into manageable units and then building it back up, working backwards from the end of the sentence to the beginning; this helps to ensure that my intonation is natural and that I get elements of connected speech right. For example, break down "Would you like a plate of pasta and veal?" as follows:Veal pasta and plate of pasta and veal like a like a plate of pasta and veal Would you Would you like a plate of pasta and veal?

She nearly hugged me to death because she was finally able to write and speak her first sentence in common. I liked receiving those hugs because the woman seemed to forget or she did it purpose, it might have even been both, but I felt like a small bunny being held to a woman's chest. Warm and comforting. It was also nice knowing that someone found me helpful enough to hug me to death. Yes, I need to keep making her happy. I need more hugs in my life!

The next thing I did was established classroom language. 'Can you speak more slowly? What do we have to do? I don't understand. What does… mean? How do you say… in Common?' Learning a new language can still be daunting, especially when she could feel she's not completely following what's going on, or that she might be called on to say something that she didn't feel ready to say. I wanted to avoid that by not putting her on the spot. It's was a good idea to have Bache learn early on with a classroom language that will help her navigate the lesson smoothly. She was learning far more quicker because of that.

There's no point in having Bache know the terms past simple, irregular verb or adverb of frequency if she can't use the actual structures or words she refers to. I Didn't tell her how to say something: I showed her. I gave her as much context as I could. Visual prompts seemed to work well for her. Furthermore, I made sure that I checked that she had understood by asking questions that tested her comprehension. I stopped asking, "Do you understand?" as a) she had been reluctant to let on that she hadn't understood and pretended instead that she did; and b) there was a point when Bache thought she understood when in fact she didn't. That was a headache in a half.

This may seem a trivial point, but it's all too easy when listening to somebody speaking broken Common to forget that behind the errors and the mispronunciation is a person with cogent thoughts, no doubt articulate in their first language, attempting to communicate his or her opinions or ideas. Bache was no different. I had even asked her to say a sentence in her tongue to hear her.

As a teacher, I not only have to be patient and be a proactive listener, alert to the reasons why certain errors are being made while filling in the gaps in less-than-perfect communication, I also have to steer clear of adopting the Me-Bell-You-Bache approach to teaching, bastardizing the very language we are aiming to teach. Rather than degrading my language I have to grade it carefully so as to keep it comprehensible while maintaining its naturalness, rhythm and spirit, ensuring all the while that, as far as possible, I actually converse with my student and listen to what she has to say. After all, even from the very first lessons, from the 'A' in the alphabet and the 'am' of 'to be', communication is the goal.

Even though teaching beginners entails progressing slowly and recycling and repeating language many times, that doesn't mean recycling the same activities, especially not during one lesson. Ensure you have a range of activities to use, and don't go into class without having first carefully thought through how you are going to introduce new language, how you will check that the students have understood it, how you will practise it, and how you will deal with potential misunderstandings. The possibility for confusion at this level is much greater than at higher levels, and sometimes even harder to disentangle.

I also had to bear in mind that, unlike with higher levels, I couldn't rely on conversations developing simply because Bache didn't have the linguistic resources to engage in anything other than simple exchanges, 'Though in time she will. I will make sure of that.' This means that the onus will largely be on me to keep her talking.

I had managed to enjoy this level. Although in many ways the hardest level to teach, it can also be one of the most satisfying. Seeing Bache go from knowing nothing to knowing a few words to knowing a few sentences and structures to being able to hold rudimentary conversations can be incredibly rewarding, and if she enjoys her initial exposure to the language, and feels confident and inspired to continue, then I will have helped pave the way to her further success. Which of course meant one thing, more hugs. No, you don't even realize how good those things were!

My training on the other hand was a living Hell. I might have been the kind teacher that you loved because no matter what questions you asked I would always answer you and never directed you to a page in the book. I had made sure you knew what the lesson was and made it was easy for you and stayed kind throughout. She on the other hand was the kind of teacher that would make you pay if you weren't paying attention. She would without a doubt flaten you under the workload but still managed to be hands on and tough. She's the kind of teacher that would kick you and tell you to block it next time. Then you go to block the kick but she throws a punch the next time and says she never said she was going to kick him again.

A crafty woman for sure. At the end of the day, she was the teacher you dreaded but respected highly. You would hate her at the beginning, call her names, but when it was all over, you would be hugging her crying, "Thank you for teaching me!" That was my conclusion on Bache's training. When she had said let's step it up. I wanted to die. Hell, at least I wouldn't feel the pain I do now.

---

It was coming close to a mouth of time down here here in the cave town. The escape from the dungeon was happening tomorrow. This was it. This wasn't going to be some simple, "Oh, I think I went too far! I better turn back!" Once we started there was no going back. If we get past Goliath without me dying there was a good chance that we would not be able to get by him a second time. That meant no going back unless we fought our way through him. Good luck with that. Well, I'm sure Bache could have beaten Goliath by herself, but she had to protect me at the same time. That and monsters in the Dungeon are notorious for going after the weaker prey. It was kind of disturbing to see monsters just know who was the weakest among your peers.

I looked across the table from me to help Bache with a question she asked about sentence structure. She was learning past tense, present tense, and future tense. In one months time I was happy to say I did better than a school would have at teaching a foreign language. "Public schools eat your heart out." I laughed out getting Bache to look at me questioningly. Joking and all a side, she was like sponge. If you sat down long enough with her, you could teacher just about anything. Maybe that was why she was such a good warrior.

I could actually say I was having a blast down here and once I got out of here I was going to continue to teach Bache Common. Some people might have gone their separate ways but I wasn't most people. I don't leave a job half finished. If you did, you are a pretty big scumbag in my opinion. I came from a mining town. You worked hard everyday to make money for that bread. You worked hard because the harder workers got the most money. When there was a skilled job opening, you worked your ass off for that promotion. There was no halfassing unless you wanted to one of those people that got bitched at everyday by everyone.

"Bell," Bache got my attention again, "We leave next day?"

I nodded at her, "Yes, we leave tomorrow." I confirmed her question instantly knowing what she was talking about.

She gave a small 'hmm' in thought before looking back at me again, "You are ready." She had said that firmly. That had surprised me. "You fight like beginning level two Amazon." A double surprise.

I blinked at her, "Wait, wait, wait, You mean to tell me that I fight like an Amazon that just hit level 2? Is that with my ability or without?"

The woman looked off to the right in thought, "Without, your ability make you low level two." That put me in awe. To think that a mouth of training with a level six warrior Amazon, she would have whipped me into shape. "It impressive." I smiled at her.

"Not as impressive as how far you have come with Common." I compliment her the same, "You have really excelled my expectations. Who would have thought it would have only taken you a month to start being able to hold conversations pretty well?" I had ended my praise of her grasping of the Common language.

She beamed at the praise, "Thank you." That was another thing I had noticed about the warrior. She seemed to do very well around kids and such. I had gotten her to talk a little bit about her past, and she had talked about how she use to try and read hero stories to the little Amazons before they went to bed. She had to have Kali which was her Goddess, help her because of the Common. He could only image those poor children. Though that also brought up the question on why she was even reading a book in Common to little Amazons that had no idea how to speak Common either?

Bache had seemed use to the childishness I had shown on multiple occasions. I think that's why we had gotten along so well. She was use to raising children and might have been like a teacher over in her home country. "And I'm not just saying that either." She looked back at me from the paper she had been writing on making eye contact. She was intrigued with what I was going to say, "With my time training with you I could see that you use to do the same as me. Were you a teacher back at your home?" I asked.

She looked surprised at my sudden question, "I-" She cut herself off before sighing, "Yes. I was trainer for growing Amazons. It is reason Bache was moved here."

I grinned at her, "I can tell. You are a very dedicated Captain." Her amber eyes widened at that. I could read her eyes as they were pleading for me to continue. "I mean look at you, you are learning Common so you can teach the other Amazons that will be coming here, while at the same time trying to learn more of the dungeon to keep them safe," I had stunned the woman completely with that because she dropped the quill she had been writing with. "Am I wrong?"

It was quite clear that I had hit the nail on the head. She looked away from me, clearly embarrassed with being found out so easily. It was humbling to see a Captain care about those under them to the point that they would learn as much as they could in order to keep their people safe. Bache was one of those few people that actually deserved their position because she was strong, and cared for what her title meant. I had seen some captains not even care about the others before. I had seen it a lot. I was glad to see she wasn't one of them. I looked out the window and saw how dark it was getting outside.

Rivira was such a weird place. The Eighteenth Floor is a safety point where no monsters are born, however monsters can come up from the floor below. The floor is filled with crystals and nature. It is also called the Under Resort.

Large forests and lakes cover the floor. Within the forest are blue crystals of different sizes that reflect the light from above, causing the forest to be filled with a pale blue glow.

The exceptionally high ceiling is filled with brilliant shining crystals of two colors, white crystals in the center that resemble the sun, and blue crystals surrounding it that resemble the sky. The amount of light from the crystals depends on the time and cycles through the day.

On an eastern side of the island facing the lake stands the city of Rivira. It is located 200 meters above the lake on a cliff. Rivira is, quite frankly pretty large in scale. It is set up around this massive tree that has high wooden walls surrounding it. There were building that were built, in, on, and around the tree. It was a wonderful sight to see. There was also a stone pathway that was raised up over the ground that lead up to the opening of the wooden gate. It was like that so monsters could not breach the town.

When I got stronger with a possible blessing, I would love to come back here. Sure, I could keep going solo, but it was high time I started rolling with a party. This last little escapade proved that. Sure I might have made a new acquaintance, Hell I would call her a friend now. We had both done a lot for each other over this past month. From learning, training, bathing, and eating together. She was good company once she actually learned how to talk. She had been opening up a lot this past week and I learn a lot about her.

"I'm going to turn in," I told her. "I need the rest for this great escape plan to work to its fullest tomorrow. Make sure you get some sleep as well. Goodnight Bache." I said throwing my boots off, removing my socks and shirt before slipping into the covers of the bed. I closed my eyes as I tried to get some sleep.

"Goodnight Bell." I managed a smile at her before turning away from her and the little glowstone lamp next to her. It took me about twenty minutes to fall asleep. The last thing I remember hearing was the sound of a quill writing on paper.

---

It was morning outside. I could tell thanks to the light pouring in through the window. Today was the day! Today was the day I got the Hell out of this Dungeon for a long time. I knew what I had to do after this as well. I had to finally find a Familia to join. I also had to make sure everyone knew I was still alive. Oh my God. Everyone must have thought I died or something! The last thing they remember was me going into the Dungeon and never coming back! How had I not realized this fucking sooner!

Eina will kill me this time! Then there was Syr! Maybe it might actually be safer here in Rivira! Okay, that was a lie. I just didn't want to have to deal with that kind of headache that my return will bring. Zeus you better have my back on this one! I didn't need to be hit with this shit first thing in the morning. I could feel the pressure on my back right now. It also felt… Warm… Wait, I could literally feel it. I blinked. Wait a moment… That couldn't possible be…

I looked down and there was two arms around my stomach. 'Hm,' I could also feel something smooth against my legs. It all clicked in my head a little something like this, 'I'm being spooned.' I nodded to myself a little bit. I had no idea why Bache had decided to sleep in my bed but I didn't really care! In fact, 'YESSSSS!' Only a little bitch would feel like this is a bad thing! I was getting spoon by a tall woman! Ha take that Zeus! I'll make you eat those words! 'If you don't end up being tall you shouldn't go after tall girls.'

'Fuck you Zeus! I got this!' I didn't need to get up, I could wait a bit longer. I simply closed my eyes and went back to sleep. I'm not going to wake her if she hasn't woken up yet. I just hope her arm is fine with me laying on it. It might feel sore later on. Then again how did she get into my bed without me feeling it? Oh who am I kidding, I didn't care! I'm just happy it happened! I slowly drifted back asleep. Feeling a bit more comfortable.

I opened my eyes again when I felt all that pressure leaving me. I slowly opened my eye and sat up. I looked over to see the taller woman stretching her arms over her head in the form of a yawn. I blinked the sleep from my eyes as I got up and went over to my clothes. I put on my armor that I had gotten fixed down here. It would still provide at least a little bit of protection against the monsters here. It wouldn't be much but it will have to do.

I looked over to see Bache now standing up on the other side of the bed. I smiled at her, "Good morning!" I said a little too cheerfully. I guess I was still feeling the effect of her body being pressed against mine. God, did that feel good.

She didn't seemed to get why I was so excited but still gave me a Good morning anyway, "Are you ready?"

"Oh yeah, I'm ready. Let's get the Hell out of here." I said motioning to the door. "Just give me a moment to get my stuff together." She nodded and left the room. I started gathering my stuff together from around the room. I went to pick up the quill and paper that Bache had been writing on. I took a look at her handy work. Boy she was really getting a hang of Common! Maybe it was time to step it up a notch or two! Sure a I spotted an occasional mistake here and there, but the last sense threw me for a loop.

Bell Cranel is a charming young man.

Thinking about that last sentence, she must have wrote that after I figured out why she wanted my help with Common and the Dungeon. Hell, that was one of her best sentences using the present tense! I folded the paper and put it into my book written by the great smut God himself.

I walked out to see Bache leaning against the wall looking a little bored as if she was completely ready to leave hours ago. I motioned with my head down the hall as I stepped out of the room. I payed the man for the rooms again, and we left the cool tree town. I was lost in thought about all of this. This dungeon… There was something go on that no one knew about. Hell, he doubt Zeus even knew what exactly was going on in the Dungeon. Where did this place come from? Who made it? Why do only certain monsters spawn on each floor? Why was there portals that lead to different areas of the Dungeon? Why could some monsters talk and other can't?

These questions were what was tearing my mind apart because there was no clear answer to them. It was like someone had made this place to see who could make it all the way and find all the secrets. The problem was that not no one had ever been successful in doing that. Hell, I bet with my life that there is a stronger monster down there in the Dungeon than the Black Dragon that everyone talks so much about. Shaking my head, I realized I should think about this stuff later, what I need to be thinking about was getting past the seventeenth through thirteenth floors. This could turn out to be really bad from the start. I need to be prepared for anything.

Yes I trusted Bache about her saying that I was at a level two starting skill level, but was that enough? Was that really enough to get me out of this place? The last thing I wanted to do was work so damn hard that I die only five minutes of leaving the safe zone. I had to stay confident in my abilities and know when they won't be enough.

After a while of walking I could see the opening that led to the seventeenth floor. Not knowing what to expect I pull my knives out just be safe. It was more of an act to reassure myself. I stepped through the opening that was a giant crack in the chambers wall. As we started moving up the the white stone path I couldn't help put pick up the sounds of a fight further up the way. Did that mean someone was fighting the Monster Rex? There was a loud pained below that tore through the passageway.

"Double time it." I said and started running to the sound I could hear Bache right behind me. It wouldn't be hard for her to keep up with or even pass me. I could tell we were getting close because the cave started shaking as the battle above seemed to be heating up. We made up to the top of the shaft and there he was in the middle of a fight with someone he really didn't want see. The seventeenth floors walls, ground, and ceiling were rocky. The lighting was dim and the rocky hallways were hard to walk was standing right next to the huge wall called the Big Wall of Grief. The wall spawns the Monster Rex Goliath.

There he was, the Monster Rex himself. It has a large body that reaches seven meters and has gray skin and long brown hair, complete black eyes that held a strange red glow to them. He was big and muscly. He was injured to a large extent due to the person who had been fight it. There she was, Ais Wallenstein. "And it all becomes so much worse…" I mumbled putting a hand to my face. Why did it have to be her? She scared me more than the damn giant fighting her! "I think we should head back and-"

Bache grabbed me by my shoulder as I started walking back from where we came. She looked at me with the look that said, "What are you fucking nuts?!"

I sighed again and looked back to she the blonde had dealt the death blow to the giant. It toppled over and a large crystal was what was left when the body faded. Oh! Riveria Ljos Alf had been with her! Okay this might just go far better than I had hoped! Seeing me starting to walk forward Bache followed after me. I did notice that she seemed to be glaring at the to women in front of her. 'She must know them somehow.' I made a mental note to ask Bache how.

I waved over at the High Elf, "Hey Miss. Alf!" The High turned to me quickly. She seemed surprised for a moment. I had also seen the emotionless girl seemed a little surprise in the fact that I was standing before her. Why wouldn't she be though? Chances were that they thought I was dead! Okay think happy thoughts.

"Cranel?!" The High Elf questioned showing concern and relief. I had no idea why but hey I would take it.

"Yep that me!" I cheered.

"What are you doing here?" She asked closing the distance between us. I also saw both women tense when they saw the Amazon standing next to him. "And why is she with you?"

I shook my head, "It a long story and I'm really looking to get out of here. I've been trapped in Rivira for the past month. I happen to bring Bache on the long ride. We were just about to try and get out of here and look who we run into!" I had told the Elf happily at the out come.

I notice that the Blonde had been creeping closer to me. Was she treating me like a small animal? Like if she made any sudden moments I would run away from her? Smart because I would. I took a small step back still looking at the Elf as she began explain what people were saying about me. She took a large step closer and I bolted behind the Amazon. Bache didn't even looked phased by this. She just crossed her arms. "Really?"

I slowly popped my head to see Ais look like she had been slapped. Her arm was reached out like she had tried to stop me from running away. Now that was some freaky shit right there. She looked totally dejected by my sudden running away from her. Riveria looked absolutely engrossed by the whole thing. "Well it is good to see you are doing well." There was some mirth in that voice of hers.

I smiled at her, "Thanks! I take it you guys are on your way out now? Please say yes." I plead with the Elf.

She gave me a simple nod, "Yes we are making are leave now, I assume you would like for us to escort you out as well?"

I rubbed my chin in thought, "Yes that would be great." I clapped my hands together stepping from behind the Amazon. "So I guess you want me to do some explaining or something?"

"It would be nice." Riveria commented. We started to walk towards the exit of the boss room.

"Right, so I had just discovered that my grandfather was an adventurer before me. I mean I knew he had known about the Dungeon but now I can say he knew more about the dungeon than most adventurers. In fact I think most of his hero stories are of him and his experience in the Dungeon. I had happen to use his descriptions of places in the Dungeon and just did what he did. That was how I found Doluk, and that is how I found the latest Monster Rex."

"You found another?" I had almost jumped eight feet in the air when I heard the voice of Ais. It was soft and calming, but there was surprise laced in that voice of hers. Her golden eyes were locked with mine. This was the first time I had ever really talked to the girl. She had seemed to be a very quiet person. I sighed. I really didn't need to be sacred of her, though that image of her covered in blood was pretty gruesome.

"Yes, in fact this one was far more powerful. He could use fire magic, talk to rats, and had a horde of Goblins with him. Those Goblins knew how to fight as well and formed tactics. He could teleport from one fire source to another." That seemed to give the other two women pause. A monster using magic? That should have been impossible but yet it had happened. "He was smart, but the part that got to me that made me realize that this Dungeon is far more different than we could ever imagine. He had talked to me. The Rat King could talk Common like a regular person."

"He could talk in Common? That is…"

"Hard to believe?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, "You are right, but he did. The worst part of that Monster Rex was the fact that he was located on the fifth floor. He was not someone a level two or even a level three should fight. I'm not even sure if a level four could solo him? Bache your thoughts? You fought him longer than did."

The Amazon looked at me as she followed behind the group but still stayed close to me. "I think a level four could beat him by self, his Goblins make fight impossible. A group need to fight."

"Hmm, not what I was thinking but you make a good point. Yeah I would agree, oh and Bache is just now learning how to speak Common as well."

Elf looked at her, "You fought the this, Rat King?" The amazon nodded.

"Yes, what Bell says is truth."

"To be honest I don't think I should report this to the guild. The last thing I want is a bunch of level one adventurers thinking they can just run in and win against the extremely powerful creature. The worst part is the fact that portal that takes you to him doesn't take you back."

"Wait does that mean the portal dropped you off to Rivira?" Ais had asked once again. Oh ho! Look at this! I got her talking!

"You got it!" I beamed at the blonde girl. She looked at the ground for some reason.

"Have you never seen the other monsters on the other floors?" Riveria inquiries.

I scratched the back of my head, "I have no idea what to expect after floor five so no, but don't think I have been slacking off on this little trip! Bache has been training me for the past month. She wasn't gentle."

I heard the woman chuckle a bit, "Should I have been?"

I granced her way with a grin, "Oh no, the monsters won't."

"Wise answer."

I shrugged, "If you are not working hard than what are you really doing?"

"No lasting injuries?" the beautiful elf asked still eyeing the taller woman.

"No nothing really that bad, the worst thing she did to me was almost drown me that one time when we were bathing." I answered her truthfully.

She cocked her head at me, "What did this training entail?" She had asked like she found out something scandalous.

"Definitely not what you are thinking right now." I laughed at the High Elf.

"But how did you run into her?"

"Well, that would be because I ran into her when I was being chased down by that Monster Rex I had been talking about. She had pretty much saved my life. She had followed me, but I'm not going to say why because it really isn't my business to say." I answered her question with tone that said I wasn't going to budge on that matter. If they really wanted to know they could ask Bache. It was up to her to answer.

The two Loki Familia did not ask Bache why she had followed me. In fact Bache was too busy looking everywhere around her to make sure no monster were going to pop out and attack. We reached the end of the seventeenth floor. That had confused me, where in the Hell was the monsters?

"Hey Riveria, why are there no monsters around? You and Ais cleared them out?"

"We did." The green haired High Elf confirmed my suspicions, "There is a good chance it will take awhile before they spawn again."

I nodded keeping my real thought locked away, 'Oh my God, this is so anticlimactic! I thought I was going to be fighting for my life, now it feels like I'm being babied through this. All that training for a month to get me ready for nothing!' I really shouldn't be complaining but I mean… The action! Do it for the action! "So we shouldn't be expecting too many monsters then?"

"Actually, there is a good chance that we might run into the monsters on the fourteenth floor." Riveria had explained. "They responded the quickest and multiply even faster."

"Okay so that means we can basically stroll our way through the sixteenth and fifteenth floors. I don't have a problem with that at all. I took a piece of paper out and started making a map over the seventh floor. A part of it anyway. I could feel the eyes of all the members of my party on me.

"What are you doing?" That came from Ais.

I spared her a glance, she was peering over my shoulder. I had no idea when she had gotten there. She was just so quiet! A ghost! I was right! Shaking my head at the stupid thoughts I motioned to the cave, "I'm making a map. I do this for all the floors and make notes on the side that explain my findings. You know, what adventurers are suppose to. Explore and calculate data."

Ais looked at me like she didn't understand me, Bache looked deep in thought while Riveria was looking at me in a new light. It seems I had impressed her with my words. I guess people nowadays thought that being an adventurer meant to be the strongest fighter, they forgot what the word adventure means. To explore, to discover, to find out! I had been saying that for awhile now.

I went back to making my map. Looking around at the sixteenth floor. The middle floors are called the first line. It was where the real monsters came to play. It looked less rocky then the seventeenth floor. There was vertical holes leading to the deeper floors that appear randomly. The light was dark and the air was moist.

It took us a little bit to get off of this confusing floor. I would be spending a lot of time here later. Some of these holes that lead to lower floors might just have some secrets hiding there as well. This whole Dungeon was a giant secret awaiting to be found out.

Then there was the fifthteenth floor. This where the Minotaurs appeared. Oh I still remember my first run in with one of those. The question was could I handle one of them now? Probably not if had to be honest. I didn't feel ready and I really wanted to avoid coming back from the Dungeon looking like I almost died. It just makes people that shit.

The fifteenth floor was far more space than the previous floor. It was also lighter than the last floor too. It was also wet. There was puddles on the ground for some unknown reason. It didn't really matter. This floor had taken us ten minutes to cross completely. Still no sign of monster lurking around. This was the time to as the question as the fourteenth floor opening came to view.

"So what monster are on the fourteenth floor?" I had asked up still looking down at my partly made map.

"This next floor is known to have Hellhounds and Almirajs. There is also the chance of Battle Boars and Wyverns." My green haired companion had informed me of the monsters to expect.

I hummed in thought. This is where the real fight begins. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." I mumbled to myself. I wasn't going to let this be the end for me. There was always a chance something could go wrong and that one of the adventurers that was with me couldn't protect me. I had to be on guard, I couldn't let myself feel at ease even through the odds were tipped in my favor. I had first class adventurers and a warrior with me.

I put my writing supplies away and took my out my knives. I pushed forward through the opening. The tunnel was dark and damp much like the others. The light on the other side of the tunnel was the brightest I had seen so far. It was probably dark the deeper you go down. The surfaces were starting to smoothen out a lot more as well. You could also hear the sounds of monsters on the other side. I peeked from around the corner to see my first high level monster.

It was a black furred dog like creature. It had sharp white teeth, long white claws, glowing red eyes, and a tail made of black fire! Its actual description was: A dog monster that can fire flames from its mouth. It looked far worse than it sounded. I stepped out from cover and the thing heard me. It spun around real quick like and gave a loud howl. That howl was followed by even more calls. "Here we go."

I saw flames burning forth from its mouth. I rolled to the side to dodge the fall ball that was launched at me. I moved fast as I could still feel its heat as it barely missed me. The fire was faster than I had expected it to be. The Hellhound seeing that it fire ball had missed me, charge right in. It was fast and closed the distance between us, it leaped at me. I was still in a crouching position and I was about to slash it but I found Ais standing in front of me. She cut the monster in two like it was nothing. If I moved even an inch in front of me I would find my face somewhere it shouldn't be in the middle of a fight. I took a step back from the girl.

'Okay, I totally just got hijacked out of that kill.' I groaned to myself, 'This is going to happen a lot, isn't it? I also just don't understand why women are so interested in put their butts in my face!' Okay, so I might not even get to fight all that much- 'HOLY SHIT!' There standing all around us on the rocks above us, to the side of us, Hell they were everywhere. The Hellhound had call every single Hellhound on the damn floor to us! There was at least fifty of them surrounding us, not to mention the ones still piling in from the other corridors.

I found the other to high levels standing next to us, "Unexpected number of them seemed to have spawned."

"I think they smell blood in the water." I suggested to Riveria. It was obvious they smelt a possible easy target. The dungeon seemed to fuck with them the most. Underlevels were alway killed off in the dungeon. You never progressed further than could or you will die. The monster seemed to know this.

No one said anything after what I said. They knew it to be true. "They die the same." That was Amazon, "This should be an entertaining fight!" There was the bloodthirstiness I had seen many times before in our training! Great the amazon was excited!

Riveria was canting some type of magical spell of somesort. I just adjusted myself stanance to be ready. I had to be on guard, they would be going after me the most. Sure enough, they all seemed to be looking at me as if I were a piece of meat. The first three that charged in had been cut down smoothly before the Amazon just started attacking the first thing that close to her. She broke formation first and was cutting the numbers down pretty fast.

Looking at the elf I heard, "Assemble, breath of the land - my name is Alf" and much to my surprise I felt myself get stronger. I don't know how are why, but I just felt stronger for some reason. A Hellhound broke through Ais's guard and went right after me, it went with a bite aimed for my neck. I side stepped the beast and dug my knife into the top of its head while stabbing the second knife into the side of its neck. It was dead as it hit the ground.

A second one shot right past Alf, as she slammed her staf into one that had attacked her from the front. I sent a kick under its jaw stunning it. I lunged forward and dropped to a knee. I lunged both my knives into it neck and ripped them ot and stabbed at it again. Three fireballs were shot right at our group. I managed to get away from the blast and found myself surround by four of the Hellhounds. I glared at them. Crafty little devils. Maybe that was another reason they called them Hellhounds?

During my training with Bache I had found the key to drawing forth that power of the Jackalope. It was anger like I thought. It had to do with the feeling that everything was hopeless and that death was near. It was a last resort kind of thing. It would only work after taking a bunch of damage and becoming in rage because death was right around the corner. The pain was intensified to high levels to make the rage boil over. It was an insane ability that put the user through Hell. I really did not want to use that power unless I was going to die.

I did not want use that power here, I did not want to look like I always barely survive my battles! I did not want to use up all my luck this early on! I had a whole life to live! I fireball was shot behind me. I hit the ground and watched as it hit one of the Hellhound in front of me. Much to my surprise it had set the other Hellhound on fire before it took of winning as ran off the cliff edge not too far away. Three left. I saw the second one to my front bite for me. I shot my arm forward as it bit down. It bit down on my green armored arm. The green piece of armor held strong thanks to Elvish craftsmanship. 'You're a lifesaver Eina!' I grinded as I stood up with the dogs teeth still dug into my armor. I lifted the beast off the floor and turned it to were the one behind me was.

It was in mid air and unable to dodge its buddy. The dog got slammed into by the other one around my arm. It crash to the floor in a heap. I put my knife in my right hand right though where its heart would be located. I watched on as it stabbed the crystal and the dog died. I pulled its mouth off my arm only to be jumped on from behind. I couldn't get it. I smashed my back against the wall of the Dungeon. It whimpered as its back hit the rocky surface. It let go and I could feel multiple cuts in my unarmored sections of my body. They stung quite badly.

"Damn it," I grimaced. I kicked the hound over on it belly and plunged both my knives into its chest killing it. I turned around to see the one I hit with the other Hellhound on its feet with two others flanking it. "Brought some friends, huh?" It growled, "Fine with me."

They charge forward, I charged as well! I got low as the first one jumped. I slammed forward into it and kept going without pause. I got to the edge and threw the beast off the side of the cliff. It had broken through my back armor and had gotten my back pretty good. I spun around and engaged the other two Hellhounds only to find four of them. This was getting ridiculous! Luckily though, Bache jumped right in the middle of them and cut them down as fast as I saw them.

Good, I was taking too much damage as it was. To my immediate horror, there only seemed to be more of them coming now. "Okay, new plan! Where is the exit?!"

"You do realize they will only follow us right? Which could lead to-"

"Switching, right." I cut the Elf off. Damn it. That is not something I wanted to happen. I had felt the effects of just that. "So we hold then." I turned to the nearest Hellhound and started going after it. Ten minutes of bloody fight and I was getting tired and there was still no end to them. "This is insane, does this usually happen?" I raged panting. I was surrounded again. This time though I felt someone press their back against mine. It was Ais. There was a thoughtful frown on her face. She shook her head for no. I grit my teeth. This Dungeon was fucking with me. It's like it wanted me to use that damn power! I was getting to that point. I could feel it more than I ever have before. It was getting stronger for some reason.

My armor was once again destroyed by all the fighting. My back armor was gone, gone! One of these damn things was running around in a circle with it further away like it had some kind of toy. The fucker! I was tired, I was bleeding, and I was upset! The other looked annoyed somewhat. I mean we had only progressed about twenty meters from the floor opening! We had been swarmed. The dungeon wanted something. It had to. The monster numbers we crazy high, but to make matters worse, there was a Battle Boar fighting Bache. It was a giant boar of two meters of bullshit. That damn thing and flung me off my feet when it entered.

It was odd that these were the only monsters that had seemed to spawn forward. No, wait! That was wrong. There was a third monster that had spawned, it just had left the safety of the caves. They just sat there in the darkness watching. Small red eyes could be seen watching us from the darkness. I had no idea what they were doing, Hell no one else had an idea. Riveria had said that they were Almiraj. It was a rabbit monster with white fur and horns. Contrary to its looks, it likes to battle. Yet here they are staring at them. It was unnerving to say the least.

Once again I had to split up the from the Blonde that was trying her hardest to keep that from happening. In fact I could see her start showing more emotions throughout the fight. It had went from being worried to pissed. I had seen it in her eyes. Every time I took a bloody hit or got a new wound she would show some type of emotion. It seemed she made it some kind of mission with herself to make sure she protected me for some reason. Everytime I took another blow she started losing it. She looked utterly frustrated at this fact.

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Ais Wallenstein was growing more and more angry by the second. She was failing again. She hated failure, she hated water, she hated loss, and she hated weakness in herself. She wanted to be strong to prevent these things from happening. She wanted to be strong to get revenge. She had to kill it in order to get her back. She had to. It was her one object in life. She wanted her mother back. That dragon her father had fought and died to. That Dragon had killed so many people. It had also taken her mother.

She fought to get strong enough to fight it. Now this was happening. Now this… a bunch of beast come out of nowhere and encircle them. It was never this bad. They just kept coming and coming. What was going on. The worst part of this was the fact they all seemed to by going after Bell Cranel.

She didn't understand the white haired teen at all. Unlike most boys she had meet in her life he had always done opposite of what they would normally do around her. He ran from her. SHE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THAT AT ALL! What had she done that made him fear her that bad? His fear for her was like her fear of water. She could see how unformattable he was when she was around him. Now, when he seemed to be getting over that fear so fast, something she envied of him, he was getting targeted by every monster that had come after them.

How could she, a person that killed Glothith by herself, not be able to stop him from being beaten so badly? How could she beat that dragon if she couldn't even save him from this kind of fate. Speaking of fate, it seemed it wanted to keep her as far away from him as possible. This was the seventh time a couple of fireballs had made them separated from each other. She need to stay calm. Things never went right when she got angry. She would just cut these monster down and rejoin with-

The Hellhounds surround her. She blinked at the sheer number around her. There was twenty-eight of them. Then she heard a cry of pain. Her head snapped over to where Bell had been. He had been hit by a fireball which melted the front part of his armor. He fell forward and ripped the ruined piece off of his chest. It had burned him extensively. She wanted to pull her hair out. This was not going how she wanted it to! She rushed the pack of dogs and sliced through them. She had to get there.

More Hellhounds surround Bell. She would not make that window! She just wasn't that fast yet. It looked that was going to make her and him pay. One of the Hellhounds snatched Bell's arm in his jaw. That seemed to be the final straw for the both of them.

Then something remarkable had happened. Bell had been covered in this white aura that surrounded him. She had seen a glimpse of this before. Now she got to see what it really did. He stood up and threw the dog over his head back into the pack that had surround him. The aura around him had taken the shape of some kind of animal she had never seen before. It looked like a bunny with antlers. She had also noticed that Bell's knives were glowing. His red eyes seemed shine over as well. He then took off in speeds that were slow for her, but to someone like him, a no level, it was impossible to believe. She still couldn't believe how well he had been fighting by himself against this horde.

What made him so strong? What kind of power did he hold? Who was Bell Cranel? She simply couldn't take it anymore. She needed to get stronger. She had to. To see some no level come out of nowhere and just start taking on everything the Dungeon throws at him like its nothing while she had to struggle, resist, and bite. She had been fighting in the Dungeon since she was seven years old. Now that she was sixteen years old and a level six adventurer, here was a boy that was younger than her and doing so much better than she ever did. She had to know what made him strong. Then maybe she might be able to get stronger faster too.

"I didn't want to have to use this!" The boy declared loudly, "I'm sick of almost dying every time I come down here!" Ais had watched as this enrage expression set on his face as he exterminated Hellhounds around him. Ais made sure to listen to the boy's words as she made her way through the mutts.

"I'm getting out of here. I'm going to get stronger. Then I will kill that one eyed God forsaken Dragon! You hear me! GET OUT OF MY WAY!" He lashed out with a kick that sent a Hellhound flying into the cave wall. However, for Ais, everything had stopped. Her eyes had widened at that. He had gone and said that. He knew about the dragon. How? Why? She didn't understand, how could he have the same goal as her?

She knows what she had to do. He had to live. She had to know. She couldn't allow him to fall now. These were the thoughts of Ais Wallenstein. She had to keep him alive so she could uncover the mystery that was Bell Cranel. There was a loud roar as another Battle Boar rushed in at him. Bell had turned to face him. He ran at it. He leaped onto the boar's back; he slashed, hacked, and stabbed. The boar screeched in pain as it tried to buck the glowing boy from its back. "You will not stop me! I will live until I kill him!"

Then the pitter-patter of hundreds of feet could be heard as the largest colony of Almiraj she had ever seen rush into the battle. There was hundreds of them. They rushed in from out of the caves they had been watching from with weapons in their little mouths. They were ready to fight too! Why was this happening? It just didn't make sense. Then the Almiraj did something that cause her mentor to gasp in shock from. They were fighting back the other monsters. This came seemed to stun the monster as well. The only person fighting at the moment was Bell and the Almiraj. The Hellhounds had reacted the quickest and started to retreat back to the safety of the caves. The others were unlucky and were cut down by the horde of Almiraj. There was a loud crash as the Battle Boar that Bell has slane fell to the floor. He was standing on top of it. He was covered in blood, some his, most of it was from the boar.

A black Almiraj had run up to Bell. A black Almiraj had never been seen before. He seemed to lead the colony of Almiraj that had surround the group of adventurers. Ais didn't know what to believe was going on anymore. There was to many questions. Once again something happened that caused a great alarm in the three high level adventurers. The black one uttered something in Common. It had said this: "You have returned Jackalope-sama."

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Author's Notes: I have returned as well! I hope you all like the chapter. Also go read my newest story call a Fighter Pilot's Fleet. A Kancolle fic. Have a wonderful day people!