HELLO EVERYONE! I'm really sorry about the long time absence. It was quite frustrating for me because I had initially planned to get this chapter out at the end of october, but what the hell we're in december. School has been more taxing than I thought. I had an exam week so the week before I had to study, but then I got sick for two weeks during, making me skip the exam week and the following week, that being this week. Before the exam preparation week and the release of the dragonoid chapter I slowly wrote this but found it really difficult. I kept re-writing it cause I didn't like it. Now I finally completed it, I really hope you like it. I titled it Wargame, but really the Wargame is at the end and is a short part. Really sorry, but since it's a duel I didn't really know how to drag it to be long, particularly because I'm not good at fights.
In regards as to plans now, I am writing the chapter of a new story that is actually a request. I agreed to write the story after he gave a full plan what he wants in the story, so after this I'll be writing the first chapter for that one. After this I'll probably go for the dragonoid and alternate between dragonoid and request, since they are the ones that are easiest to write for now.
I read the reviews on the dragonoid and am happy that you liked it.
xD1V1n3 - You're right, at the end I started to rush it a bit, but it was a long piece and didn't re-read it.
I will bring Skyla back.
Demeristra - True that it would defeat the point of Bell being the Last dragonoid but titles don't necessarily make the story stick to it the whole way through. Sometimes yes, but in this case, he will, for a good amount of the story, stay the last and only one. Until I bring Skyla back, but it won't happen for a long while anyways.
Talking about the dragonoid I also read that people were worried that I diverge too much from the story but worry not, the next chapter will be leading if not including the meeting between Ais and Revis as well as their fight and follow the canon danmachi story from there.
It will be a harem like usual, as for Ais. I'll make people vote when it comes to it.
Let's move onto the prince story, I'm actually surprised how well it was received. I'll make it a harem and I'll tone a little bit down the beauty factor on Bell.
Other than that I think I addressed all matters. Of course, like usual if you're curious about something or missed anything that you wanted me to reply to do DM me.
Now enjoy the new chapter.
Chapter 7 – Wargame
Zeus and Hera stared at the piece of paper with unwavering gazes. Bell had brought around yet a new skill, unheard of and powerful as much as it was intriguing by the name. Zeus and Hera could only wonder what it meant for Bell to now have the spirit of a God. The possibilities were innumerable.
However, the effects of being able to use summon nature and manifest an elemental attack through it sounded like a very powerful skill indeed. Turning their eyes back to Bell they found him being pampered by Astraea, as she pat his head, praising him on his efforts.
"Mou, Astraea stop it."
Try as he might, Bell couldn't get Astraea to stop patting his hair as she found his attempts to stop her adorable. Though it quickly came to an end as Alise and Kaguya put all their falna enhanced strength to peel the Goddess off of Bell.
"Well Bell, is this going to be your trump card for the battle?"
Bell nodded excitedly.
"Yes! Atraxia, you just need to hold back the level five. I'm sure that you'll manage. Meanwhile I will deal with the level fours and once I'm done I'll help you take down the last baddie!"
The girls giggled at Bell's apparent enthusiasm.
"Well Bell, you still have a week to improve your use of the skill, much like you expected."
Bell nodded,
"I will do my best to increase my status and my control over the skill."
This time it was Alfia speaking.
"Bell, whilst you need to get stronger, do be careful and don't overdo it. I know that with this new skill it will mean extra dungeon hours."
Alfia spoke with the hidden intention of keeping Bell on the surface not wishing to be separated from the little bunny she loved.
"I'll be careful. Now, Alise-san, Kaguya-san, let's go. We have monsters to meet in the dungeon."
Alise and Kaguya were surprised by the sudden invite but knew that they had little chance to discuss it with Bell as he was practically already outside the room. The two groaned before grabbing their weapons and running after the elite little bunny.
"Let's hope he doesn't kill them."
Astraea turned to Zald after hearing him speak, she gave a quick glance to Alfia but she simply shrugged, not revealing the horrible truth that Bell's training was.
.
They were barely two hours in and Alise and Kaguya felt like dying and it was just the fifth floor. They really loved Bell, secretly, but sometimes they just hated him for his spartan, or not so spartan for Bell, training that they received. Bell was a kind soul and a strong boy, but he was hopelessly clueless about common sense and facing a massive horde of monsters non-stop was certainly not a standard way of training. Well, for anyone other than Bell that is.
As many had said Bell was superhuman and the energy contained by the bunny was endless. He was always jumping around with a smile. Training in the courtyard or running around in the dungeon skewering the poor monsters that were unfortunate enough to come across his path of destruction.
Now Alise and Kaguya were experiencing the brute lifestyle that Bell lived, which now explained to them why Bell was so strong. The answer was simple … he was crazy. Gone beyond help. Though at the same it also showed that he was lucky and had an unshakable will. Any other ordinary adventurer would have perished if they were to follow Bell's path.
Alise and Kaguya exchanged a look and steeled their will with a resolute nod. The two wanted to show Bell that they were grateful, that saving them was worth his efforts. They wanted to grow stronger and stand by his side, to be able to fight alongside him, protecting him like he did for them. However, it was also about their feelings for Bell.
The process of falling in love with Bell was quick. They had first met him outside the Guild, a cute little bunny greeted them and led them through. The cute little bunny soon turned out to be a heroic knight that had saved them. Falling for the bunny was but an inevitable thing. Not that they could ever admit that they loved him, at least, not until they were able to stand at his side … and until he was older.
The path, however, was rocky and gruesome and their hope of reaching Bell was bleak as he grew stronger by the day. Though that didn't mean that it was impossible and they decided to hold onto that tiny possibility. If one day they were to reach his level they would profess their love for him, even if they had to wait a decade for that day to come.
So the two pushed forward, through the gruelling experience that Bell's training was. Though as harsh and evil as it might seem, the two would later come to see the benefit of the training and would be lying if they said that it wasn't beneficial.
As they cut down the monsters that kept coming a sudden roar shook the dungeon. The monsters stopped coming all of a sudden and the walls shook. That caused a shiver to go down the two girl's back. They turned around to see that even Bell had been alarmed by it and quickly exposed the blade to the dim light of the dungeon.
"Get behind me!"
The two quickly retreated from their position and found cover behind the small rabbit. Little by little the group of three started to hear the sound of heavy footsteps approaching them. A monster, clearly large and heavy, way outclassing the monsters that they had been fighting up until now, was making its way up.
It rose up the stairs from the floor below, emerging from the shadows of the dungeon walls that were enveloping him, hiding him from the eyes of the adventurers. Light reflected off the large structure that was its body.
Shiny black scales, large hind legs, enormous wings and an armoured tail. Irregular monsters weren't too rare on the upper floors, but this was different. Irregular monsters were usually upper floor monsters that ate a weak magic stone that was left behind in excess by a group of adventurers, causing them to mutate a little and become slightly stronger. Even with the large number of adventurers still increasing, there still are far more monsters than there are adventurers and many tend to overkill. Killing more than they can carry.
It is a rule stated by the Guild that a monster's magic stone is to be destroyed if left in the dungeon as it can cause a monster to evolve, but there are many occasions in which people forget to or miss one, which is why it was a rather common occurrence for Bell or anyone as a matter of fact, to see an irregular monster. However, this mistake was something that was done mostly by rookies and never occurred below the sixth floor as the adventurers by then are experienced and cautious to not let that happen.
The only reason that might happen in the floors below the sixth one, is if the adventurers who killed monsters or were carrying magic stones are killed in which case there is nothing to stop that from happening and which leads to the death of other not prepared adventurers.
This, however, was a wyvern, a level two monster found in the middle floors. Creatures superior to even the infant dragons who were considered the upper floor bosses. Normally they were pink, this on the other hand was jet black, twice as big and clearly twice as strong as average. Looking it over, it made no sense to Bell what this was or how it came to be.
Though it left little time to think and reflect as the monster grew sick of waiting. It let out a deafening screech as it extended its wings to their maximum wingspan. It flapped its wings and took flight, flying straight towards Bell and the two girls hiding behind him, but stopped as the bunny before him started moving.
Bell raised the sword as the edge pointed at the monster, his rubellite eyes staring right back at the blood red ones. It was time to start making practical tests of his new skill. Alise and Kaguya stood behind with weapons ready, but their eyes and concentration focused on Bell as his sword emitted little embers, the little sound of sparks being born could be heard by the girls and the monster. Then it all died down, into complete silence, even the wyvern watched carefully, expecting something. And something did happen as the blade erupted into a mass of rubellite red fire, enveloping the blade.
The wyvern saw the fire and felt the threat it presented. A certain and swift death awaited if he were to be hit directly. Bell charged at the monster, closing the distance rapidly before swinging down onto the monster. As the blade made contact, flames burst forwards, travelling the surface of the monster and enveloping it with fire. The zone the sword struck then exploded and Bell jumped back.
Bell's eyes widened with a little surprise, excitement hidden behind all the surprise as the monster screamed in pain and moved backwards. Normally a monster would have tried to dodge backwards, but with the length of Bell's sword it would have struck regardless. Instead the monster sacrificed his tail so that it wouldn't land on his head. Bell made a note of this, black monsters grew not only in strength but in intelligence as well.
Bell then charged again not wishing to drag this any longer. The wyvern became desperate and swung his claws, which were both deflected before going in with his head in an attempt to bite the rabbit but proving to be a mistake as it only presented a chance to the little bunny. Bell moved to the side before bringing the sword down and cleanly severing the head, putting an end to the monster.
Bell looked over the monster and noted that it didn't seem like an enhanced monster. Normally enhanced monsters appear when they eat the magic stone of another monster, which would cause their appearance to change and their strength to grow. However, as Bell had observed, the monster showed no signs of any mutation, it completely changed colour to black, grew bigger, stronger and more intelligent. It was the first time it happened and Bell had never heard of this before. He'd have to urgently report it to the Guild, Zeus and the executives. The dungeon was reacting to something and was changing.
"What was that?"
Bell removed the magic stone and the monster disappeared. He turned to the two Astraea Familia members and shook his head.
"I don't know, the magic stone looks bigger than usual for a wyvern but other than that it's normal. Let's go back home for today. We need to report it to the Guild and to Grandpa Zeus."
The two nodded noting the seriousness in his voice. It was alarming to them since they had never seen Bell be serious which testified to the dire situation they found themselves into. They also noted that they were lucky that Bell was with them before following the bunny to collect the magic stones before heading back to the surface.
.
Guild officials, Astraea, Ganesha, Zeus, Hera, Freya, Loki and their respective captains and executives stood in the room of Prayers. Before them was Ouranos sat at the top of his throne. At the base of said throne stood, the captain and vice-captain of the Astraea Familia alongside Bell. Upon hearing that it was an urgent request from Bell, Ouranos had allowed him to enter the room of Prayers and had quickly dispatched emergency summons to the previously mentioned Familias upon his request.
Though he didn't show it, Ouranos very fond of the little bunny and secretly showed favouritism towards him. Not that anyone noticed, and if they did they certainly were wiser than to complain about it. As everyone was gathered together Bell started recounting the appearance of the black monster. He described its unusually intelligent behaviour of observing and making quick decisions as well as the unnatural strength.
This caused shock amongst the Gods and adventurers listening, never having heard of something like that occurring before. They were even more shocked to hear that Ouranos hadn't felt any disturbance. The primordial God was responsible for overseeing the dungeon but he didn't feel anything of wrong with the dungeon, which meant that something of worrying was happening. If the dungeon was changing and reacting to something Ouranos didn't know. This caused the situation to escalate and things were becoming tense.
Not coming up with any feasible theories it was decided that Zeus, Hera, Freya and Loki Familia would put up an impromptu expedition down to the thirty fifth floor and search for any signs of the black monsters. With that decision set in stone the expedition was planned to go in tonight and come back a day before the Wargame, with that they were dismissed, leaving only Bell, Ouranos and Fels who had just appeared. His existence was only known to the primordial God, Zeus, Hera and Bell.
"What is to be done about this?"
Fels spoke with his unique voice, face turned to Ouranos.
"For now you are to monitor the deep floors. The expedition is going to take care of the lower floors and Bell's daily routine should be enough to cover both upper and middle floors. Anything unusual is to be reported to me and the Zeus and Hera Familias."
The two people in the room nodded at the God.
"However, focus on the Wargame ahead Bell."
Bell made his usual smile and put his thumbs up.
"I'll use the black monsters as a way to put my skills to the test."
Fels and Ouranos looked at Bell and didn't know whether or not they should feel sorry for the black monsters to be born as training dummies for Bell. Fels gave his goodbyes and vanished into the shadows typical of the mysterious being.
.
Bell was now back into Zeus' office, alongside several executives from both Zeus and Hera Familia and the respective Gods. Ganesha, Loki, Freya, Shakti, Mia, Ottar, Riveria, Finn and Gareth had also joined them. Meanwhile, Bell sat on Astraea's laps with Alise and Kaguya sat on each side of the Goddess of Justice. Alfia and Riveria pouted at the scene but kept quiet while Zald, Finn, Gareth, Loki and Hera snickered. Bell then recounted how his fight with the wyvern went, telling how powerful the new skill was.
"A shame that your lightning enhancement skill is now useless since it's something included in your new one."
Hera pointed out the overlap of skills, to which everyone nodded.
"Not really."
As Bell denied it everyone turned at him curiously.
"The new skill allows me to manipulate the elements only for attacks as stated on the sheet. It is purely an offensive skill. I can use it on my feet, hands, body and weapon but only for offensive purposes, though if I take some time I might be able to use it to defend myself, however that is not its purpose. If I were to put wind on my feet, it will cause a wind based attack but it doesn't allow me to fly, become faster or anything like that.
I can only use it when attacking and not for other enhancement purposes, which is its main drawback. Fulgur on the other hand isn't quite like that. I can summon it to be my shield, my weapon, to enhance my strength, my endurance, agility or even to use it as a way to sense and detect people and monsters. On the other hand like all skills it has a drawback and that is that I can only do one thing at the time."
Alfia tilted her head in confusion.
"Only one? What do you mean?"
"I can only manifest the lightning to maintain one characteristic at the time. If I'm enhancing my speed, I cannot coat my blade with lightning. If I'm using it as a manifestation of a weapon, like the whip that I showed last time, I cannot summon a shield. There can only be one use applied at the time. And this is a drawback that can't be fixed. Normally a skill becomes stronger as one levels up but I think this is a permanent drawback. Levelling up will only increase the strength of the skill not the ability to use multiple types of the enhancement."
This time it was Shakti's turn to tilt her head in confusion.
"But back against the Goliath you were doing multiple uses at the same time, were you not?"
Bell nodded and explained.
"That was because of the effects of Argonaut. Argonaut has the natural ability to enhance not only my status or power, like magic or a single strike but also other skills. It has the ability to temporarily make a skill transcend any limit and turn into an unimaginable, as you call it: a heaven defying skill."
Everyone nodded at that, perhaps Bell was starting to get it.
"To the exception of Liaris Freeze. That skill was unnatural from the start."
Everyone chuckled at the very true statement.
"Argonaut temporarily allowed me the usage of multiple types of the lightning enhancement at the same time, however that was only temporary and obviously I cannot rely on Argonaut every time I need it. One because it is my trump card and second because it's got a huge drawback. I can only use it twice before I pass out from either exhaustion or a mind down.
"If you use magic once and physical attacks once?"
"The collective stress on my body would knock me out regardless. Argonaut is also an unknown skill. We don't know what levelling my status up will do to the skill. Will it allow me to use it more times? To charge for longer, allowing more powerful effects? But I think that the usage doesn't depend on the level like Fulgur, it won't allow me more versatility even if I level up. Not that I will know until I level up."
Everyone nodded hearing Bell explain to them his skills.
"Well … don't worry about it for now Bell. You have a Wargame to win, meanwhile our Familia will check the lower floors while you keep an eye on the upper and middle floors."
Zeus then turned to Alise and Kaguya.
"However, it'd be better if you two stick around some of the higher level adventurers. You're free to ask for Bell or someone from one of our Familias in case you wish to go down into the dungeon."
The two girls nodded before Zeus returned his attention to Bell, but his seriousness turned to a soft smile, filled with pride.
"Good job on reporting it Bell. You are truly becoming the hero you so desired. Keep on and saving people and make sure the city is safe."
Bell simply nodded with a bright smile that made the girls melt.
.
Day and day passed, the Wargame drew closer and closer. Bell busied himself with exploring the dungeon and training with Atraxia, occasionally accompanying Alise and Kaguya into the dungeon. The expedition had long departed and Fels was busy exploring. In the past days during which Bell explored the dungeon he didn't encounter any new black monsters. Each day he'd report to Ouranos but no news was delivered about the black beasts, their presence gone completely as if they never existed, not trace of their presence or origin.
As Bell woke up, the sun yet to rise over the tall walls of the city, the sixth day since the black monster first appeared started. This marked the day before the start of the Wargame. Knowing that Bell didn't waste time, tomorrow he'd face the Osiris, Set and Sobek Familia. One final day was all he had to prepare.
Bell had received daily updates to the falna since the Wargame was first announced and his stats had raised dramatically like usual. Three weeks after last levelling up Bell was already on the verge of maxing out his status. Normally he'd take longer and usually levelled up in five to six months' time.
However, with the Wargame looming closer his training was more laborious and was pushed to his limits, though not necessarily a good thing, they rushed his status to max it out and the results were as expected. With his status nearly brought to the maximum his combat power could be placed on the same degree of a starting level five. Today he'd train with Atraxia, Ottar, Riveria, Gareth and Finn. Sparring without a single break, pushing his status to get to the peak of its limits. Ottar and the top three of the Freya and Loki Familia had stayed behind in order to train Bell whilst the rest of their Familias had went down to carry out the mission that they were assigned.
The sheets of the bed flew off as Bell flung himself off and rushed to the bathroom with clothes in hand. His pyjama was discarded just as quick as he entered the bathroom. A quick shower and the clothes in his hand were put on. As he left the room his hand reached for his sword and his armour quickly equipping and adjusting the straps. His feet moved towards the door, out of the room and towards the dining hall.
He grabbed streaks of bacons and fried eggs and sat down, quickly wolfing down on the food. Before placing the plate to be cleaned. The few members who were still present looked with smiles and awe as Bell gave his all and wasted no time to get back to training.
Finn, Ottar and Atraxia waited in the vast backyard that was the training ground of the mansion. Their weapons at the ready as Bell approached them. The three of them turned to Bell, smiling at his resolute look.
"Ready Bell?"
"Yes!"
Training started, they sparred, changing the combination every hour. At some times Bell sparred with all three of them at once, sometimes he fought alongside Atraxia against Ottar and Finn. Sometimes it was a one on one, rotating partners.
It went on for hours to come, all the way until noon, when Hera came down to call them over for lunch. Except none of them hear Hera as she called them, too absorbed in their training. The Goddess stood there, ticked off by the lack of attention. She waited and waited, arms crossed, finger tapping her arm and foot tapping the ground. She waited until she had enough. A surge of arcanum shook the manor.
"Listen here when I am calling you!"
That certainly did the trick in catching their attention. The adventurers stopped and flinched hearing the voice of Hera shouting at them as they trembled in fear before the divine being. They nodded and quietly complied with her, sheathing their weapons and heading back inside.
"So Bell, are you confident you can win?"
The bunny turned to the Loki Familia captain and nodded.
"Of course we can. We'll live up to the name of undefeated and prove to everyone the strength of the Zeus and Hera Familia."
Finn and Riveria nodded with a hum.
"Tomorrow's battle will be very hard for you two. Hold nothing back and make sure to crush them."
As usual Ottar's method was straight to the point and merciless, though it held a hidden softness, a worry aimed to Bell. Though he trusted the bunny and Atraxia to win and knew they had the ability to do so, he couldn't help but be worried that they might lose.
Time flew by as dinner and training time came to an end. Ottar, Finn, Riveria and Gareth returned to their respective home. Atraxia also retired for the day as the expedition came back from the dungeon. Bell listened to the report of the expedition, who having went down for the week had encountered a fair share of problems.
They had found a group of the Necro Phantoms lurking around. Upon spotting them, Alfia didn't hesitate to unleash a massive Satana Version upon the unfortunate souls. Having defeated the group they tailed them until they found their hideout, which was swiftly taken out, though they encountered a problem as the group that had captured a large amount of monster, had released them in a last desperate attempt to defeat the expedition.
Needless to say, the desperate assault failed as the expedition of adventurers crushed right through the front line composed of monsters and members of the Necro Phantom. However, the most important note to be made from that was the appearance of a black version of an amphisbaena on their way back. The expedition composed of the Loki, Freya, Hera and Zeus Familia took it on like they would do with a normal one.
Whilst Bell had explained the difference in power between the normal and black version they weren't prepared for the Amphisbaena to be even more powerful than Udaeus. Having the advantage of surprise the Amphisbaena managed to inflict some damage on the expedition and quite a few of the adventurers were injured severely, two of which were even critically wounded, healed only thanks to the many magic spells of the support mages and the elixirs.
Though that also meant that the Necro Phantoms were not involved with the Black monsters and had no ties to them. This, however, was more worrying particularly to Ouranos as it meant that they were a product of the dungeon. Did it mean that something is wrong with the dungeon? Was it reacting to something? Or was the dungeon mutating? There were no answers nor clues, which left much investigation to be done and many questions unanswered.
"As such, I am announcing that after the Wargame is over, we will wait until Bell reaches level five after which we will take a few months of preparation in order to set up a massive expedition to the deeper floors. The goal will be to investigate the dungeon and reach the uncharted territory of the sixty fifth floor. The whole Familia will go, including you Bell."
Everyone was hyped at the news delivered by Zeus. It wasn't surprising for anyone to hear that Bell would be going on the expedition with them and knowing Bell they didn't expect Bell to take any longer than a year to reach level five.
"Really?!"
"Yes, Bell. But before that you must win the Wargame, to do that you need to be in top shape. Hurry to bed and prepare for tomorrow. It will yours and Atraxia's day to shine."
The bunny nodded and headed off to bed. From their places Alfia, Zald and the rest of the executives watched along the Gods as Bell scurried off to bed, not before doing some more secret training.
"Tomorrow will be quite a match."
.
The city came to life as the sun rose over the tall walls that surrounded the city. The news of the Wargame had been posted two weeks prior to the present day and it quickly spread across Gekai. The city was livelier than ever before as everyone was going to watch the tournament. The colosseum was filled with people, the streets packed with market stalls and street vendors like at a festival. The bars and pubs were also filled as they were places that would host a divine mirror to watch the match from afar, courtesy of Ouranos.
The whole population of Orario crowded the streets, adventurers either went into the dungeon or took a break to look at the match and thousands more overflowed into the city from other nations and villages. The Wargame was an opportunity that no one would pass on.
The actual match wouldn't start until five in the afternoon, so until then the people were out and about, partying with their friends and placing bets in advance, looking to earn a fortune. In the meantime Bell and Atraxia kept on training, with the help of their Familia. Loki, Ganesha, Freya and Astraea along their children prepared themselves, they would later gather together with the Zeus and Hera Familia and sit together at the colosseum to watch the match.
There was no period of time other than the Holy Winter festival, Grand Day and the Goddess/Harvest festival in which Orario was more alive and populated. After all, Wargames were rather rare, so the occasion to witness one was an entertainment others wouldn't miss, causing it to be amongst the most popular events to happen along valentine day.
.
Around eleven Bell concluded his training with Atraxia and headed in for a light lunch, before departing for the dungeon, much to the protest of the others, who lost him before they could act and stop him. As the battle junkie he was he dove down the dungeon, rushing past the upper floors and only stopped as he arrived on the seventeenth floor.
Bell entered the floor and immediately put his guard up. There it was again, a dreadful feeling that screamed danger. Being aware of the existence of the black monsters and the presence of the Necro Phantoms within the dungeon, Bell prepared for anything to happen.
Bell gave his surroundings subtle glances analysing the area he found himself in. The long blade of his heavenly sky pointed to the opening in front of him. Nothing moved, no sounds were made and no presences were felt, it was eerie, very eerie. The longer it went on the stronger the dreadful feeling got. Bell scanned around again but yet again he smelt, sensed, felt, heard and saw nothing.
Though the thing that worried him the most was the fact that he felt nothing. Usually there would be a noticeable breeze or even a strong gale due to the single small entrance to the room he found himself in right now. The zone he found himself in was a large open room, only two openings, an entrance connected to a passageway that led to the stairs that went up to the sixteenth floor and an opening on the other side that had a rock slide that went downwards.
The room was pure flat bedrock, circular in shape it had no large boulders to hide anything. From his position, Bell could see anything and everything within the room, smooth stone walls without any cracks or signs of damage and the room was devoid of any monsters. Minotaurus', hellhounds, silverbacks, no monsters had spawned. Quite unusual for the middle floors.
Bell stopped in his tracks and listened for sounds, but there was none of them, indicating nothing of alive within a range of a dozen metres. The middle floors popular for the population density of monsters was never quiet. Despite the negative feeling he sensed no danger, nor the presence of anyone looking at him or being anywhere near.
Yet, despite all the missing monsters and elements that would suggest a fight there was a stinging smell of blood present in the room. Moreover, the middle floors have usually moist air, which Bell noticed that the air felt weirdly dry. Bell kept scanning around, particularly keeping an eye on the two openings to the room, everything in the room was completely out of place. It all hinted that something of suspicious was going on, but there was no hint to what that was.
'Why is there no airflow? Where are the monsters? And where is the smell of blood coming from.'
Bell stood still in the middle of the room. As he sharpened his senses and sorted out his thoughts he could tell deduce two things. Firstly, there was something from the way he came in and it was blocking the air from coming in. Secondly, the smell of blood came from in front of him. This suggested that he could potentially be surrounded on both sides.
The tension was then broken by the sound of the steps of a large beast approaching. Loud thuds resounded in the room as the heavy steps moved towards Bell, causing him to turn around. Out of the shadows emerged the beast. Except. It wasn't a monster, just Ottar.
"Bell?"
Seeing this Bell stood straight and his arms fell to his sides.
"Oh Ottar! Hey!"
The boaz approached the waving boy.
"Bell why are you here? You have a wargame and right now the Guild was informed of some disturbing information in regards to the dungeon."
"Like the unusual smell of blood coming from there?"
Bell pointed to the door leading to the next room. The boaz's ears straightened as his nose sniffed the air.
"Hmm, it seems that this is it. Well, since you're here, will you help me Bell?"
"Of course."
"Some of the things you will see might be a bit extreme for you."
"I understand, but it's better to face it now instead of later. If I were to get distracted by gruesome scenes later when we are on an expedition, or during a fight, it could be dangerous."
The boaz nodded.
"That is true, to you and the ones around you. Let's go then."
Bell caught up to Ottar and walked by his side towards the next room. The closer they got the stronger the stench of blood became. Bell not used to the smell of rotten blood covered his nose with his little hand. His face couldn't help but scrunch up in disgust, Ottar though was used to this having been an adventurer for a long time, he was indifferent to the smell and didn't react to it at all.
The two entered the room that was anything but inviting. Greeting the two adventurers was a graveyard of both monsters and people alike. Claws, limbs and heads were all over the place, blood and organs smeared the walls, ceiling and floor. Some bodies were torn in apart, some cut open from waist to neck. Others were burnt or melted, others had their bodies twisted in a horrifying manner.
It was a truly a gruesome sight, even Ottar's face scrunched a little at the sight. The scene of the slaughter was a bit too much for Bell as he looked down. He fell on his knees covering his mouth. The smell of rotten bodies, burnt flesh and of the crushed organs was pungent and easily invaded Bell's sense of smell.
He was debating whether or not to empty the contents of his stomach. Ottar looked at Bell and waited a while to see if he would calm down. As Bell was sitting there with his eyes closed Ottar started to make his way to him, Bell was still five after all.
"Bell, are you alri-"
The wall in between Bell and Ottar cracked. The cracks expanded until the rock burst as shards and splinters were sent flying in all directions. Ottar snapped his sight to the wall while Bell was still too dazed by the sight of the massacre. Whatever had made the whole in the wall then came charging out of the smoke cloud.
Ottar prepared itself but what came at him wasn't a monster, but a hand. A large black hand lunged at him and grabbed the sturdy body of the boaz. The monster clearly didn't belong to this floor as Ottar felt the strength of the monster gripping him. It was starting to crush him and that was absured considering that he was a level five.
Before the monster could pull him out of the room and towards itself, Ottar took one last look at Bell. The bunny was still fighting against his fear. Seeing that he was mostly alright, he decided to deal with that later and put all his focus on the monster that grabbed him.
Soon Ottar was pulled out of the room and into a much larger room that the boaz recognized as the Big Wall of Grief. He suddenly felt himself accelerating as he was launched by the hand across the room. Luckily thanks to his falna and his strong body ability, ha landed mostly unscathed from the flight.
He looked around and saw that the room was mostly like the one he was in before. Filled with dead adventurers and monsters. A large battle had ensued, whatever monster or adventurer had passed was targeted by the monster that had brought him here. As he thought that he turned his attention to the creature that threw him.
Whether Ottar was surprised or not he didn't show it on his face. The usually towering boaz was now standing before a much bigger beast that dwarfed his size. A nine meter tall Goliath glared down at the adventurer. It's body was black from feet to head, it had silver hair and a much sturdier looking body. It's clearly a level above the regular Goliath.
Ottar took a step towards the monster rex with his now unsheathed greatswords only to be interrupted as the room shook. Ottar turned to look at the source of the shaking. The Great Wall of Grief started to crack, it's crystal surface broke apart spawning a regular Goliath.
'Crap.'
Ottar looked to his slight right then to his slight left. Normally he would have taken a challenge head on with great excitement, but this might be a little too imposing of a challenge for him. As Ottar stood before the two towering Goliaths he analysed the two monster rexes.
The two monster roared and charged at Ottar, giving him little time to think as he was forced to leap back. Two large fists smashed into the place he was standing in a few seconds ago. The regular Goliath then moved to the right while the black one moved to the left, both launching a punch towards the boaz.
Ottar had no time to move so he bent his knees and brought up his arms, he reverse gripped the swords, placing the flat of the blades against his arms. He put all his strengths in his arms and braced for impact. The two fists arrived at blinding speed and made contact with the blade on each side. Ottar grunted as he held on strong even after taking a fully powered punch from the Goliath.
Ottar looked around but his situation looked pretty grim. The only chance was for the Goliaths to relent and go for a second attack, which would allow him to slip past them and recover. However, they didn't seem to be going for that. If they were to go for a contest of endurance instead, Ottar feared he wouldn't win. He looked at the regular Goliath thinking if there was something he could do, until something smacked into the side of the regular Goliath's head, too focused on Ottar it lost it's balance and toppled over. This attracted the attention of both Ottar and the black Goliath.
.
"haa-aa."
Bell was panting with a staggered breath as he gripped his heart. He looked down at the ground, crouched down on his knees. The scene of the mutilated bodies had wrecked his mind and was in a state of extreme fear.
Bell barely registered the words of Ottar and the loud sound of the rocky wall bursting open. His body was locked in position, he neither saw nor understood what was going on around him. They were all just a cacophony of sounds.
Then it all went quiet. Bell closed his eyes as he tried to calm down. His mind seemed to work against him, showing images of the carnage from his memory. His frantic breath didn't seem to calm down, but his mental fortitude kept him from completely lose control and pass out.
Bell thought about his wish to become a hero, of the friends and family who supported him. How could he become a hero and be someone they could rely on if he couldn't overcome this barrier. Slowly but steadily, Bell started to get used to the bloody area around him. But one thing snapped him out of his trance. It was faint, distant but familiar. A grunt of someone in danger.
Bell shook his head to shake his fear out, he knew that Ottar was fighting something and he could help. Bell gently stood up and followed the hole made by the monster before. He walked to the edge looking down into the room where two Goliaths were attacking Ottar.
Bell slapped his cheeks to completely snap himself out of his trance before he focusing on the regular Goliath. He readied his blade as he made use of his new skill and imagined a bright red flame. His blade was instantly enveloped in a blazing fire and as Bell swung the sword in mid-air, an arc of fire shot towards the Goliath, blowing up as it met its neck.
Ottar saw Bell and smiled knowing he was back up and ready to fight. He nodded to the rabbit thanking for the opportunity given to him and switched to the lack Goliath. As Ottar charged at the black Goliath Bell leapt down and landed before the regular monster rex. Bell watched as the Goliath stood back up. He analysed the injury on the neck and noticed that it had scorched it badly as well as making a deep cut, but not as much as he had initially expected.
'Hmm, my mental image isn't strong enough.'
The Goliath locked onto the white bunny and discharged its rage in the form of a barrage of its howl ability, an ability that launches a ball of compressed sound. The monster rex started launching the balls of sound, as they cascaded on whole room, explosions caused by the sound ripped apart the room.
(A/N: I never understood what the howl thingy that the Black Goliath used in the anime was. This is my interpretation.)
Some of the stray balls hit the Black Goliath, but the damage caused by the friendly fire was minimal. However that was enough of a distraction for Ottar to close in and slash with all of his might at the Goliath's legs. Unfortunately his strength wasn't enough and his eyes widened in surprise as his sword got stuck in the thick bone of the monster rex.
As the hand of the black Goliath came down to crush him, Ottar opted to let go of the sword and jumped back before it could crush him. Luckily as Ottar carried two swords he wasn't disarmed completely and still had the sword in his left hand. He turned to Bell as he unleashed another arc of fire, knocking the Goliath to the ground again.
"Bell, fire!"
The meaning behind those words could have been countless, but Bell hadn't spent a lot of time around the level five adventurer for no reason and immediately understood what the boaz needed. Bell launched a dart of fire towards Ottar.
The dart hit the blade of the greatsword in ottar's left hand. The sword being made out of the sword drop item of Udaeus made it both durable and light but the special thing about the sword was its mithril core, allowing it to conduct magic. As the fire dart of Bell made contact, the fire spread and covered the whole blade.
With the now blazing blade, Ottar charged once again at the monster. As he did before he slashed at its leg, parallel to the previous injury he inflicted. As the blade met the hide of the Goliath just above where his other sword was stuck, the flames that enveloped the blade roared with an intense heat, allowing Ottar to slice through the leg of the monster rex, freeing the stuck blade at the same time.
Ottar jumped back as he grabbed the hilt of his greatsword and retrieved it. With both swords in hand, the boaz crossed the two blades causing the fire to extend to the other blade. The black Goliath however, had an ace up its sleeve. It glowed a bright red and it regenerated. Bone, muscle and hide, it all regrew perfectly, making Ottar lose the advantage he had gained.
Bell on his side was starting to push the Goliath back, slowly charging Argonaut as he unleashed his attacks on the Goliath. His hand started to glow as the sound of a bell started to fill the room. The glow extended to his blade, making it shine brightly.
Unlike the black Goliath who possesses great regenerative abilities, the regular Goliath's injuries were still there and started to weigh it down, its movements were getting slower and sluggish. It roared with unhidden rage and defiance but Bell didn't seem like he'd be losing his momentum any time soon.
The moment that Bell unleashed the charged attack, the Goliath would fall and Bell didn't need a full charged attack to kill it. After only one minute of charging, Bell slashed with his tachi. An arc of blue flames engulfed the monster rex burning it away until only the magic stone was left and fell down on the ground with a large crashing sound.
As Bell finished off the Goliath, the little bunny turned to watch the battle between the black Goliath and Ottar, knowing that this was their battle. Meanwhile, as Bell stood by the side lines, Ottar and the black Goliath started fighting again, having momentarily stopped to watch Bell charge his attack and discharge the blue fames onto the regular Goliath, completely consuming it down to it's bones.
Ottar dashed forward with swords aimed at the chest of the monster rex, jumping left and right, the boaz dodged the howl attacks of the black Goliath. Seeing the quickly closing in opponent, the black Goliath raised both his hands and slammed them into the ground. The ground cracked and broke, the instability being enough to throw Ottar off course and to miss the magic stone.
Ottar made a large gash into the side of the Goliath but as long as he didn't die in one hit it wouldn't matter, as any and all damage or injuries would regenerate and make all efforts worthless. Even burning the hide and flesh, essentially cauterizing the wound and the area around it wouldn't stop the Goliath from regenerating. Ottar couldn't just charge in blindly as the Goliath wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice its limbs in order to protect the magic stone and counterattack.
"Silver moon's mercy, the golden wilderness. This body is destined for the wild boar of the war. Run through and carry the Goddess' will. Hildis Vini."
Ottar dashed in a beeline towards the Goliath launching his magic spell against the Goliath. His magic manifested in the form of a silver and golden glow that enveloped his fiery blades. He slashed the swords causing the silver and golden glow to shoot out along the fire towards the Goliath. The monster rex raised its arms to protect itself. As the magic collided with its arms, the pair of limbs got disintegrated, leaving the monster armless.
Bell looked on amazed at the power of Ottar's magic spell as the Goliath immediately started regenerating but that wasn't fast enough as Ottar exploited the gap in the monster rex's defence. Ottar grabbed his swords upside down and thrusted down into the chest of the monster rex causing the tips of his blades to pierce the magic stone, killing it instantly.
The Goliath disappeared with a puff of white dust, the magic stone fell to the ground and silence took over the room. Both Bell and Ottar looked around and waited for a few moments to pass, patiently observing if something else was going to appear.
As the silence persisted, the two lowered their guard and sighed in relief. They each grabbed their magic stone and decided they had enough excitement for one day. Particularly Bell since he had to prepare for the Wargame that was going to take place in a couple of hours.
"Let's hurry back Bell. You need to rest."
Bell nodded and followed the boaz out of the dungeon.
To say that Bell got scolded once he got back was an understatement, but he was spared from any more of it as he had saved Ottar. For now, he was confined to his room as safety measure to make sure that he wouldn't run into any trouble before the Wargame started. Two guards were placed at the door and both Alyssa and Alfia were in the room. Partly because they wanted to spend time with him, partly because they didn't trust him to stay in his room alone.
.
As the Wargame started, the colosseum was filled with people, bars and pubs were full and the main streets crowded as divine mirrors were opened in order to host the match. Hera and the allied Familias all gathered together, sitting in the same area. Zeus joined them soon after as he finished talking to Bell and Atraxia.
"So, it's happening."
Hephaestus and Goibniu both appeared and sat down next to Zeus and Hera.
"It is."
Just as Zeus answered everyone started cheering and shouting. On one side came out Bell and Atraxia, Atraxia wore a silver and black armour while Bell wore a mini white and rubellite red armour. On the other side of the arena were the three adventurers of the Sobek, Set and Osiris Familia. They all wore matching golden, white and black armour. The only difference being the black symbol of the Familia imprinted over the golden parts of the armour.
"Here we have Bell Cranel, the snow hare of the Zeus Familia and Atraxia Valefor, the dark flame of the Hera Familia. Facing them is Azriel, the executioner of the Osiris Familia, Ammon, the chaotic of the Set Familia and Sadiki, the guardian of the Sobek Familia."
(A/N: The armour that the Osiris, Sobek and Set adventurers are using are the Osiris armour from destiny. They just look cool and can't be bothered to make it up. Osiris – level 5 – titan armour, Sobek – level 4 – warlock armour, Set – level 4 – hunter armour.)
They walked to the centre, facing each other, leaving only a few meders of distance between one another. Hephaestus and Goibniu were surprised to see Bell, as they weren't aware that the bunny was going to participate in the battle.
"Bell is fighting for the Zeus Familia?"
"Yep phae-phae. Little Bell is going to kick their asses. Finn, Gareth and Ottar helped him with his training for this."
Allen who wasn't present during the previous two weeks looked at the stage with a grin.
"They're fighting Bell? Man, my condolences to the Osiris, Sobek and Set Familia."
Alfrigg nodded.
"Poor bastards, they're going to be the bunny's test subjects."
Dvalinn chuckled.
"This isn't going to last long. I'll give them my praise if they're still standing after fifteen minutes."
Astrea who was sat next to Alise and Kaguya turned to the God of the sky.
"That's really cruel of you Zeus, to make them face Bell. Was it necessary?"
"They asked for a fight, they're getting a fight. Just with an extra surprise hidden. Call it a … gift, if you will."
Mia looked at the God with a raised eyebrow.
"Didn't they ask for the weakest member?"
"They did, so our weakest member we are giving them."
Everyone turned to Zeus and Hera with deadpan looks until Finn spoke up.
"I'm pretty sure that when they made that request they were meaning it combat capability wise, Zeus-sama."
"Well it ain't my fault that they didn't specify it. Level wise he is the lowest in our Familia. As for combat capability wise, well, they expect a level three, they'll meet one of the, if not the strongest amongst the level fours of Orario. They asked for a war, a war we'll give them and there are no rules in war. No one said anything about a fight, so what's the problem if it's just a completely one sided beat down?"
Finn sighed,
"all's fair in love and war, right? Hahaha, wait, what did you tell to Bell?"
An evil glint appeared in the blue eyes of the God, accompanied by a mischievous smile that terrified even Loki.
"Hehehe, crush them, destroy them without any hesitation or mercy."
The others just stared at Zeus then turned back to the arena, Gareth and Zald being the only to laugh along Zeus.
"Ah well, they're fucked."
"I shall pray for them not to be beaten up too badly."
"What a terrible fate that awaits them."
.
Bell and Atraxia looked at each other and nodded. The preparations were done and the introductions done, all that was left was to fight. The referee raised his hand as the adventurers got into their fighting stance, the hand came down, signalling the start of the match.
Atraxia immediately dashed forward towards the level five, while Bell launched himself to the right. The two level fours followed him in order to intercept him, splitting off from the level five adventurer of the Osiris Familia.
Back on the stands everyone noticed Bell charging his Argonaut skill, though the only one being confused by this was Hephaestus. She had heard of how incredibly powerful that skill was, but she also heard how taxing the skill's effects were.
"Isn't it too early for that?"
Answering her question was Finn, who was sat to her left.
"No, not in this case. Atraxia and Bell-kun are fighting with a large disadvantage at hand. There is one more of them and level wise they are stronger. If they were to allow this to become a battle of attrition, then they would most probably lose. Bell and Atraxia never planned to drag this for long. They'll go all out from the start and hope to finish it as soon as possible. Bell is betting everything on the two charges that he has with the Argonaut skill to end them all. The match probably won't last more then twenty minutes. I have faith in Bell's ability and am sure they'll pull through."
Hephaestus then turned back to the match and hoped that Finn was right.
.
Bell's Argonaut skill was charging slower than usual, but that much was expected. Bell had to maintain his concentration whilst fighting off two level four adventurers. As Bell exchanged blows with the two adventurers, his right hand slowly started to glow more and more brightly.
That along with the sound of the bells wasn't missed by the two adventurers. They increased the intensity of the attacks, in an attempt to disrupt him but it didn't seem to be working. Luckily for Bell, he didn't intend to charge it to its full power. Seeing the damage he had made back when he fought against the Goliath two weeks ago, he estimated that he'd need only half the charge in order to knock them out.
On the other side of the arena, Atraxia was fighting against the level five adventurer head on. Both weren't losing ground but none were gaining any either. The two clashed relentlessly, displaying great skill as they wielded their swords.
"Just give up, you know you can't beat me."
"Ha, don't think that just because you're level five and have the advantage due to your cheating Gods imposing unfair terms will get you to win."
"Do not insult my Gods for the blunders of your Familia. Your God accepted the terms."
"Just face it, your baldy of a God is simply a sore loser."
Azriel grit his teeth.
"But don't worry, it was never Bell's plan to have me defeat you alone. I'm just stalling for time until Bell comes here and helps me."
The level five adventurer glanced at Bell, having been warned by Osiris that he might be dangerous, he did not dare underestimate him.
"It will be meaningless if I defeat you before he arrives, besides how is he going to defeat two level fours."
Atraxia smirked at that cause as if Bell had heard that, the answer arrived in the form of a large wave of lightning.
"?!"
Just a few moments before that conversation, Bell, who was done charging his skill, slashed with all his strength at the two adventurers. The surprise of his strength was enough to make them fly back and put some distance between himself and the two members of the Sobek and Set Familia.
In that period of time in which the two were bunched up together, Bell spread his Argonaut to the blade and coated with both lightning before unleashing a lightning wave crashed that crashed into Ammon and Sadiki, electrocuting them. The two of them fell to the ground paralyzed by the lightning wave. Bell approached them and smacked them across the face with the hilt, removing the helmet before hitting them again to knock them out.
"See, now it's just you."
"You okay, Atraxia?"
"Ehehe, yes Bell. Now let's finish him off and end the Wargame."
The bunny nodded and turned to the last standing opponent.
"Tch, I'll just eliminate you both myself."
Bell immediately started charging his skill again, knowing that firing this one will probably exhaust him, though since he didn't use a full charge one, it shouldn't knock him out. Atraxia from her side though, noticed that Bell was slower than from the start. She guessed that using his skill even if not at full power, must have spent a lot of his mind and stamina.
That, however, didn't stop Bell from taking the lead and charging the level five adventurer, followed closely behind by Atraxia. Azriel clashed against Bell head on, locking himself sword to sword with Bell. What he hadn't expected was Bell's strength, causing him to skid back a few celches. A five years old level three child had the strength to push a level five back, realising this, he only now truly understood why Osiris had warned him about the bunny.
Seeing that Bell was no less of a threat than Atraxia, he started to put his all, but thinking about Atraxia, he had completely forgotten about her in that moment. Atraxia had completed her chant as she charged and as Bell clashed and locked Azriel in place, she jumped high over them before releasing the black flame in her hand. Bell dashed to the side, but Osiris' adventurer, who wasn't expecting that, had no time to even prepare himself and was hit directly.
The flame exploded on impact and sent Azriel flying back, right into Bell who, with a charged Argonaut at the ready and clad around his hand, punched him right in the back, probably breaking one of the spinal cord bones. The punch sent him flying back towards the centre where Atraxia launched another one of her black fire ball. As it came straight down from the sky, it flattened the level five adventurer against the ground with a large and loud explosion, destroying the area around.
Everyone including Bell and Atraxia waited with bated breaths as the smoke slowly cleared, not knowing whether to expect him to be out or still ready to fight. Once the smoke cleared, Bell prepared for a counterattack only to be met with nothing but the crater made by Atraxia. The two adventurers cautiously approached the hole, but were relieved to find the level five to be out cold.
The pubs, the streets and the colosseum, the whole city erupted into cheers and claps as the match came to an end. Osiris, Sobek and Set all despaired while the allies of the Zeus and Hera Familia all jumped and started shouting and cheering at the victory Bell and Atraxia had brought home. It only got louder as the announcers, referees and the Guild made the result known officially.
"AND THE WINNERS OF THE WARGAME ARE THE ZEUS AND HERA FAMILIA!"
~To Be Continued
Well people that's that. I hope you liked it. For now there are no questions, see you on the next chapter and have a safe week!