The Return Trip
Freya was relieved to see the group returning at the end of the day. Looking for Bell, she found Tsubaki princess carrying Bell, with a naughty sparkle in her eyes. Ais, also noticing the same, gladly took over for Tsubaki and proceeded to use her lap as a pillow for her unconscious Bell. As she petted his hair, his purity really cleansed her battlefield stress while Freya cried a little inside.
Finn "Goddess Freya, we were successful thanks much to Ottar and Bell."
Freya "That is good to hear"
Ottar "Thanks to the Loki familia, the battle was the most glorious I have ever experienced."
Freya "What happened to Bell?"
Riveria "He is mind down. He gave us everything we had"
Gareth "The lad was the star and his bravery inspired us all"
Tiona and Tione "We would not have survived without little argonaut and his big cannon!", earning a smirk from Freya.
Finn "As we were near defeat, Bell led the counterattack with his cannon."
Riveria "The cannon was fired twice. The second time was different than what we have witnessed. It was more powerful, and the battlefield rang with a loud grand bell as he gathered strength, inspiring our fallen bodies to get up and fight"
Finn "Yes, his second use of the argonaut power was far more powerful than we have seen. While it did not completely destroyed a monster that was clearly above level 7, it changed the tide of our battle, twice"
Freya "That is impressive. I wished I would have witnessed that. Of course, Hermes, you enjoyed that entertainment to yourself"
Hermes took off his Hades Hat "Yes, it was the most grand battle that I, Hermes, has ever witnessed."
Asfi in an embarrassed pout "He forced me to take him", earning a head pat from Hermes.
Deciding to stop Ais from planting her flag, Freya "Kenki, I am going to update Bell's status in the tent. Could you please carry him there for me?"
Defeated, Ais did as instructed and followed Freya to her tent. Following protocol, Ais voluntarily left the tent to give the goddess her privacy with her child. Even as his unofficial girlfriend, she did not have the right to see his status stats without permission.
Freya was very pleased with the update, as strange as the stats were:
level 2
strength: 43
endurance: 157
agility: 50
dexterity: 51
magic: 548
skill: argonaut
magic: firebolt
development ability: luck
Indeed, Bell could have leveled with his incredible magic stats and his deeds which inspired the gods. Of course, Freya would advise that he wait on leveling. Especially with liaris freese, he should wait until his stats reach their level 1 levels. She was going to make sure her new star reach his fullest potential. She quickly gave Bell a tender kiss on both cheeks before rejoining the others.
Freya announced to the group "That must have been quite some battle. Bell already qualifies for level 3"
Finn "Bell deserves level 3 after that battle.", and everyone agreed with that assessment.
Even Lefiya agreed with Bell's accomplishments, even though it would already and painfully match her lifetime accomplishment.
Freya "Well he can level, but we will wait for his other stats to catch up to his magic first"
Riveria "That is a wise decision, as he is far more than a mage like myself", as Lefiya found herself also agreeing that statement.
Finn "Alright, let rest here tonight and start our return trip tomorrow", as everyone cheered in agreement.
- The Next Morning -
Bell woke up really refreshed but he is famished from all the fighting. But suddenly remembering the battle, he immediately jumped up but found himself in the tent on the 50th floor. He got up and ran outside the tent.
Gareth "You decided to finally wake up, lad. Come join us for breakfast"
Tiona teased "Little argonaut, come sit with us, Ais has been waiting for the one she loves deeply", making Ais blush tomato red.
Bell looked at Ottar and Freya, but they gave him the ok. Thus he sat with the girls who immediately started to molest him. The comedy act had reignited again, with the two amazons and Ais all over Bell the little argonaut. Lefiya had not quite joined the act, as she was on the side trying to drag her sisters off of the argonaut.
Finn interrupted the mess of humanity in the monkey pile "Don't you girls think you should tell Bell what happened on the battlefield? I am sure Bell wants to know..."
Remembering that Bell went mind zero, Ais and Tiona retold the events of the battle, impressing Bell about how heroic everyone was, just like in the story books.
Ottar "Bell, you did well"
Finn "Bell, we would likely have lost without you. Thank you for joining our party"
Bell "Thank you, I hope to have the opportunity join you on future expeditions"
Freya "Little one, when you are done playing with the silly girls, please come to me to discuss your level 3 plans"
Bell "Level 3?"
Freya "Yes", and that did the trick as Bell's curiosity took him away from the arms of the 3 competing girls. After Freya's explanation, Bell agreed to follow his goddess' suggestion to wait for his status to climb.
After breakfast, it was time to return. However, on the way back, the rear of their formation was attacked by a large number of Poison Vermis. Unfortunately most of the lower level members were affected. Tione suggested heading to the safe areas on the lower floors, and thus Finn gave the order to head for the 18th floor. Those who were unaffected had to carry the sick members on their march.
Fortunately, the major fighters were healthy, and they were able to clear the way back up. While the colosseums were more difficult with the sick members, they were able to make it through with more intense use of magic spells from Lefiya and Riveria.
When they reached the 18th floor, they set up camp to take care of the sick. Finn immediately sent Bete and Allen back to the surface to bring back medicine. Thus, while waiting for the medicine to arrive, the healthy members had sometime for relaxation when they were not tending to the sick. Towards that end, the girls were planning to take a bath...