Bell's vision was blurry, his left eye swollen shut while blood flowed from above over his right eye making his vision obscured with red. Facing the Minotaur had been a mistake. He had only just survived by his luck when facing off against the Silverback. If it hadn't been for Naaza, he wouldn't have survived that encounter at all. Now Naaza wasn't here to save him. The Minotaur was a ruthless monster, compared to his previous encounters in the Dungeon this was the first monster that made him doubt becoming an Adventurer.

"Is this what Naaza feels like?" Bell thought to himself, a deep feeling of guilt welling up inside. He watched as the Minotaur stamped it's foot on the ground, kicking up dust as it readied itself once more. Bell didn't want to be on the other end of those horns again. He felt nauseous, how could he ask Naaza to keep accompanying him down into the Dungeon if she felt any manner of what he was feeling right now.

"Uwhooh!" Bell Barely had the time to raise his shield bracing himself with both arms, but it didn't matter regardless. The bull headed monsters strength was far beyond what Bell could withstand at his current level. The Minotaur's horns slammed into Bell's shield, it didn't stop there. It pushed Bell back until he slammed up against the dungeon wall making the boy cry out in pain, pinned between his shield and the wall as the Minotaur punched either side of him, trying to claw at him.

He had dropped his axe earlier in favor of his defence and had no way to attack. His shield was his only lifeline at the moment. He hated to think what Brok and Sindri would think to find that he had dropped their axe. Bell's train of thought was broken as one of the Minotaur's hands gripped the edge of the shield, the boy's face paling as he was pulled off his feet and spun around until his head slammed back up against the wall. A mouthful of blood splattered out of his lips before his head was encased in the vice grip by one of the Minotaurs hands and was slammed into the wall, for a moment he blacked out due to the pain however was rendered conscious as his head was dragged along the wall leaving both a blood trail and a deep crack in the wall.

All he could taste was blood as the Minotaur swung him from the wall, feeling motion sick as he was lifted up before being slammed into the ground. The Minotaur loomed over the broken adventurer, his shield having retreated back into its mechanism. All he could do was look up at the frightening beast looming over him.

"Sorry Grandpa… Goddess." His hand felt a familiar pull and as if by instinct he called the axe back by the magical pull of the axe, gaining a howl of pain from the Minotaur as the returning axe dug into its bicep before continuing through lopping of it's arm the handle of the axe coming to rest in Bell's grip as the Minotaur toppled over Bell, raising his left hand up he twitched his wrist forcing the shield from it's mechanism crashing into the side of it's head breaking off one of the monsters horns. He did his best to roll out from underneath the Minotaur but it grabbed his leg and swung him back against the wall.

Everything that followed was a blur, he had his axe back in hand but given his state he was barely holding onto it, by some miracle he was still on his feet arms limp by his side weighed down by his axe and shield. The Minotaur had only one arm and one horn but still the sight of it scared Bell, he wanted nothing more to run away from it but his body wouldn't respond to his will. He couldn't move in the slightest.

Before the Minotaur could attack it burst into black ash as it's Magic Stone was destroyed and Bell was standing there wide eyed, drenched in his own blood staring at the golden haired girl with the sword who had dealt the final blow to the monster. She was stunning as she flicked her sword to the side, remnants of blood splattering along the Dungeon floor. Bell had only heard stories of who she was.

The Senki, The Sword Princess, Ais Wallenstein, Level Five Adventurer from the Loki Familia.

The older teen tilted her head to the side, her mouth opening slightly.

"Are you ok-" Bell's vision went black as he collapsed, only the scent of lavender filling his senses as Ais caught him before he hit the ground.

The moment Bell opened his eyes he felt the lingering effects of the potions at work. They weren't all magical and healed everything, but he would recover. They drained a lot of stamina by increasing one's own recovery speed. He recalled being saved by Ais, but that was all. He was obviously no longer in the Dungeon, the comfort of the bed he was in was evidence enough, but he didn't know where he was. This wasn't the Guild's infirmary nor was it the bedroom he had come to occupy in the house Loki said he could stay in.

"You're awake." The comforting voice of Miach reached Bell and he turned his head to find the God smiling softly as he entered the room. "I'm glad you're safe Bell."

"Lord Miach? Does that mean I'm at the Blue Pharmacy?" Bell asked, still slightly groggy. Miach nodded and came to the bedside, pulling a chair out, he sat down.

"Yes, Naaza had you brought here. She wanted to treat you personally, stating that the Guild would charge you." Bell gave an awkward smile. "You were brought up from the Dungeon by the returning Loki Famila expedition. They said that when they were on the Seventeenth Floor, a horde of Minotaur's escaped and that you were an unfortunate casualty of their error." Bell frowned slightly, lowering his gaze as Miach continued.

"Naaza happened to be at the Guild upon your arrival making a sale, she insisted on you being brought back here for treatment. Your Advisor, the half-elf was very agreeable for some reason." Miach smiled, Bell figuring it would have been awkward for Eina trying not to blurt out that Bell was a member of the Loki Familia to those of the returning expedition. "She's been by your side since you arrived." A slight shift on the bed brought Bell's attention to the Chienthrope that was currently asleep, half seated in a chair and half laying on the bed. Bell's eyes were wide. "Bell, can you promise me something?" Miach asked, making the white haired boy turn back to her. "Protect her for me."

"Of course." Bell nodded. "I'd never let anything happen to her." Miach smiled and nodded as he rose to his feet.

"I'll leave her too you then." Miach stated causing Bell to tilt his head, the man simply chuckling lightly as he left the room, closing the door behind him. Bell looked down at Naaza as she slept, reaching out he brushed a few locks of hair from her face before his eyes fell on her ears. Gulping nervously he reached up and gently touched one, it was soft. He gently rubbed his fingers over the ear before noticing Naaza was looking up at him.

"Pervert."

"Eh! No! I didn't mean too! I was just curious!" Bell recoiled back, waving his hands in front of his face. However he was soon stopped as he was in Naaza's embrace. The light sniffles that were muffled as she buried her face into his shoulder caused him to pause. She must have been so worried, having suddenly seen him come back in the state that he was in.

"I'm sorry." Bell said softly, returning the gesture his arms circling around her. "I shouldn't have gone down to the fifth floor. It was stupid, I wasn't ready." Naaza pulled back from the embrace and sat herself on the bed.

"It was stupid, you should have just stayed on the fourth floor until you got accustomed to it, especially on your own." She lectured, wiping her eyes. "You haven't even got your armour repaired yet and you're in worse shape than when we got back from facing the Silverback." Bell lowered his gaze slightly, his hands cupped in his lap. He was surprised when Naaza's hand gently rested on his.

"I was going to tell you today, that I've reached a decision on my position in the Party." Bell tensed at her words, he already knew what was coming and he honestly couldn't blame her. At the moment he was still considering if it was even worth going down into the Dungeon anymore, his encounter with the Silverback and the Minotaur was more than enough to know that the Dungeon was full of the unexpected. With everything she had been through before she met him, he couldn't keep asking her to come along.

"I don't want to be your supporter anymore Bell." Naaza told him, just hearing the words made tears well up in his eyes. Sure he had Welf joining him, but Naaza had always been there, it was tough to think she wouldn't be beside him anymore. "So from today onward, we're officially adventurers together, partners." Bell's head shot up, staring into her purple eyes as she smiled at him. Raising her hands she cupped his cheeks wiping away the tears with her thumbs. "Just look at how helpless you are without me, I'd feel bad." She grinned making Bell smile. "You make me want to be an adventurer again Bell, I'll hope you'll have me."

"Always." Bell smiled.

Loki was grinning widely only causing the green haired elf to sigh as the blonde prume chuckled lightly. The red haired goddess had pulled the two away from the festivities that was currently consuming the Twilight Manor.

"What have you done this time?" Riveria asked, her tone none to happy. Whenever Loki got all excited like this, it was no end of trouble for those of the Loki Familia.

"Hey! I haven't done anything. I've been a good little Goddess, go on you can praise me. I'll even allow you to pat my head." She grinned puffing up her chest.

"The reports saying you left Orario without escort tell me you haven't been good." The elf argued back causing Loki to turn her head away and whistle an innocent tune.

"Come now Riveria, I'm sure Loki has a good reason why she left the safety of the city." Finn tried to defend. "I'm sure she wasn't just taking a casual stroll, again."

"Right, I had a purpose! I went to see the dwarfs Sindri and Brok. Plus I wasn't alone." Finn felt a pulse in his thumb and rose it up to his mouth. Loki's grin grew devious as she faced the two. "I have a little secret~." She sang happily causing Riveria to glance over at Finn, the prum trying his best to remain smiling but it was faltering.

"Well then Loki, what's this secret?"

"You'll find out tomorrow! Me you and Finn have a date, we'll be heading over to the old Loki Familia residence." She announced. "Oh Riveria, bring a Magic Book too, one of those old Grimoire we got lying around."

"The old building?" Finn asked slightly surprised. "What could we possible need to go there for?"

"It's a secret!" She laughed dancing backwards towards the door. "Now I'm going to go spend some much needed time with my darling Ais."

"Oh, speaking of Ais." Finn began. "A situation occurred in the upper floors." Loki was halfway out the door before she glanced over her shoulder, a curious look coming to her face.

"You mean with the Minotaurs?" Loki asked, having heard that there had been several Minotaurs that needed to be pursued into the upper floors.

"Indeed, one managed to get all the way up to the fifth floor." Loki began to have a slight incline of what might have transpired, seriously how bad was this kids luck? "Ais needed to save a young white haired Adventure, he managed to survive the encounter and from what Ais said he stood his ground despite only being a level one." Loki almost clicked her teeth, she had told Bell not to do anything reckless and now just days after a Silverback attack he was facing off against Minotaurs?

"Ais rushed him up to the guild for medical treatment, however one of Miach's Familia members insisted he be brought to the Blue Pharmacy."

Bell knew she wouldn't be here, but it was still lonely to come home to find his Goddess not here. There was a note saying that the expedition was back and she wouldn't see him for a few days meaning his status wouldn't be updated until she returned, but still the fact that she was off seeing the other Adventurers made him feel lonely. But he wouldn't let that hold him back. He'd take a day off to recover from today, per Naaza's orders. He'd go see Welf, see if his armour was ready and maybe he could go and see Sindri and Brok, make sure he was looking after the Leviathan Axe up to their standards.

Placing his now ruined equipment in his room he sat on the edge of the bed. It was a relief to know that Naaza was still willing to accompany him down into the Dungeon but he still felt as though she shouldn't, the fear that he had felt against the Minotaur must only be magnified in her case. She was affected heavily by it and he could see that she wanted to conquer that but would it be possible?

That night Bell fell into a deep sleep, both from the exhaustion he had suffered through and the lingering effects of the potions he had been given. He could swear that someone knocked on his door late at night but he was too out of it to register let alone answer.

When morning came he felt better but the lingering effects of the previous day were still with him. Heading out from the bedroom he stopped as he came face to face with Loki who had her arms crossed as she held him under an intense stare. Her foot began to tap on the floorboards.

"G-Goddess, good morning." Bell smiled awkwardly, the tapping of her foot increasing in speed. "I thought your letter said that you wouldn't be back for a few days."

"Dumbass!" Loki launched, Bell tried to scramble away from her but in his current state he ended up with his head between her thighs on the floor, his hand trying to tap out but Loki was having none of that, only increasing the pressure. "I told you not to be reckless now I hear you're off trying to fight damn minotaurs!" Bell tried his best to get away but she was like a monkey, holding him to the ground with her weight. He could have probably easily have shaken her off but didn't want to hurt her.

"U-Um Goddess, did you happen to knock on the door last night?" Bell asked causing Loki to halt her assault on the boy.

"No, why was someone poking around?"

"I'm not sure, I just recall someone knocking but I didn't have the energy to get up and answer it."

"Well we are in the pleasure quarter, maybe someone was doing house calls?" Loki smirked as Bell's face went bright red.

"So this is your little secret Loki?" An unknown voice caused Bell to stop and look up at the green haired elf standing next to the blonde prum who seemed like he was enjoying the situation he and the elf had walked in on.

"I figured it would have taken you two a bit longer to track me down." Loki grinned releasing Bell and jumping to her feet, Bell rose to his feet awkwardly, unsure what to make of this situation, he knew that he would be introduced to them eventually but he thought he'd have more time to prepare. "This is Bell!" She introduced. "Bell this is Braver Finn the Captain of the Loki Familia and Nine Hell's Riveria, you can just call Riveria, Mama." The sigh that escaped the elf clearly made it that Loki had just made that up, maybe some teasing between them? Either way Bell wasn't going to be calling Riveria Mama anytime soon.

"I-It's nice to meet you." Bell bowed to them.

"He's polite." Finn smiled approaching, offering his hand. "I'm sure Loki's put you through a lot." Bell awkwardly glanced at Loki who grinned back at him.

"It's fine really." Bell replied taking the offered hand. "I've heard stories of you, of both of you." Bell said glancing between Riveria and Finn.

"I'm sure they're full of banter and useless information." Riveria sighed as she pulled forth a Grimoire. "I understand now why you asked me to bring this along, but I'm not sure what you're going for here Loki." She said tossing the Grimoire to the Goddess.

"At the time, it was just to have some fun." Riveria and Finn both gave Bell consoling looks. "But now, it's passed that. Bell's really interesting." She grinned. "Afterall, you even said it yourselves. At Level One, he stood against a Minotaur." Riveria's and Finn's eyes widened, as did Bell's.

"You mean you were the one Ais was talking about?" Riveria questioned in surprise.

"He does match the description Ais gave, white hair, short, red eyes." Finn added as Bell fidgeted awkwardly.

"Um, I didn't get to properly thank her." Bell tried to say.

"That will have to wait." Loki told him wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Naaza and Miach took good care of you I see." Bell nodded happily. "Now, the other members of the Familia are not to know about Bell, he's my secret project."

"For what?" Riveria couldn't help but ask, Loki instead ignored her question and continued on.

"Basically you two would have figured it out eventually, so I opted to inform you of Bell. No one so far knows that Bell's my little secret, and I'd like to keep it that way. Once the secrets revealed he'll be welcomed into Twilight Manor."

"This is certainly unusual, Loki." Finn told her. "A new Familia member learns from their elders, how's Bell suppose to learn about adventuring in the Dungeon if he has no one to learn from?" He asked.

"That's where you two come into play, when you have some free time come and teach Bell what you think he should learn, Mama Riveria over there can teach him about magic and you can teach him about strategy and leadership. Maybe I should have let Gareth know too, considering Bell uses an axe, he could come in handy." Loki tapped her chin in thought. "He's dealt with everything so far, probably with Naaza's help right?" Bell nodded. "And you guys did take down the Silverback."

"How long have you been an adventurer Bell?" Finn asked.

"About two weeks now." Bell told them, Riveria's eyes widening.

"And your Status?"

"Might as well update it now that I'm here." Loki stated already gesturing for Bell to take his shirt off. Bell awkwardly glanced at the other two. "It's fine, it's fine." Loki assured him, despite Bell feeling embarrassed he removed his shirt and sat on a stool as Loki began to access his Falna. Riveria watched as Loki worked, her eyes doing her best to follow along with Loki's movements having studied the language of the Gods but didn't understand it all yet. Finn meanwhile glanced around the room, a fond smile on his face.

"You're freaking kidding me." Loki's voice brought their attention to her.

"What is it?" Riveria asked, looking at the boy's back trying to read what had Loki acting strange.

"It's a new skill." Loki said in astonishment her fingers trailing over the markings. "Another skill I've never heard of before, first Valkyrie's Gift and now this?"

"Eh? Really!?" Bell was just as surprised as the others.

"Trying to make a record or what Bell!?" Loki laughed as she began to trace the status onto a sheet of parchment. However she was certainly worried about this skill, new skills didn't happen everyday, these days new skills were such a rarity that some Gods would fight Wars for and now Bell had two. Now done with the parchment she handed it to Riveria, or she would have liked to had the elf not taken it from her the moment she was done. Riveria looked over the stats and her eyes widened.

Name: Bell Cranel

Age: 14

Alias: none

Familia: Loki Familia

Race: Human

Level - 1

Strength - I - 72 - I - 112 [Valkyrie's Gift +75 - H - 187]

Endurance - I - 98 - H - 125 [ Valkyrie's Gift +75 - G- 200]

Dexterity - I - 85 H - 105 [Valkyrie's Gift +75 - H - 180]

Agility - H - 101 - H - 168 [Valkyrie's Gift +75 - G - 243]

Magic - I - 0 [Valkyrie's Gift +75 - I - 75]

Skills:

[Valkyrie's Gift]

[While worthy of Valhalla, a boost to all stats is applied, the more worthy of Valhalla the greater the boost]

[Einherjar Heart]

[Fast Growth Skill matching the fighters spirit. The strength of the effects corresponds with the level of the user's determination to win. ?er?k ?at? - Not Achieved.]

"This isn't the status of a two week rookie." Riveria thought to herself as she looked at the parchment, glancing down at Loki she saw that the deity was in deep thought over something possibly this new skill Einherjar Heart, Riveria had never heard of anything like it, or this Valkyrie's Gift. Seeing the boy looking up at her, doing his best to hide his curiosity she passed him the parchment.

Immediately his eyes widened to the new information.

"Now Bell, do I need to remind you of how much you need to keep this all a secret? Nobody needs to know your skill set and if they do, they're probably a scam." Loki told him causing Riveria and Finn to sweatdrop slightly.

"I remember Goddess." Loki nodded and rose up.

"Now you're going to take a few days off and not go into the Dungeon again, am I clear?" She insisted sternly.

"Y-Yes Goddess." Bell nodded. "I was going to go see Brok and Sindri, also I've got new armour being made for me." Loki nodded, that would at least keep him busy for a few days.

"Well alright then, and here." Loki passed him the Grimoire Riveria had brought. "Study up, you said you wanted to learn magic. This is a Grimoire, it'll turn blank after the magic is learnt." Bell's eyes lid up and none of the three could hide their smiles at his excited expression.

"So you're Bell's Supporter." Welf grinned as he offered his hand to Naaza, the chientrope wary of the smith however took his hand, his eyes widening at the artificial feeling beneath the glove.

"My name is Naaza Erisuis, I'm no longer the party's supporter and just a member of the party." Naaza greeted. "Bell tells me that you'll be joining our party while you make his armor, I'm guessing you're looking to achieve better results with your smithing ability, hence why you're joining the party."

"You're pretty in the know huh?" Welf chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.

"How's it fitting in there?" Tsubaki called out to Bell who was in the dressing room. "Need a hand, I'm quite capable of coming in and helping." Welf shook his head while Naaza frowned, keeping an eye on the female blacksmith.

"I-I'm fine!" Bell called out making Tsubaki smirk slightly. "I'll be out in a minute."

"We won't be heading down to the middle floors until Bell has some more experience in the Dungeon, so your smithing skill might not increase quickly." Naaza told Welf.

"That's fine, we'll get there eventually right." Welf grinned. "Plus, it gets me out of the forge and I can get some really good drop items for making gear." Naaza simply remained silent as they waited for Bell. After only a few moments of silence the curtain was pulled back revealing Bell and Naaza couldn't help but smile.

He wore the light armor that Welf and Tsubaki had created, similar in design to his previous version however Naaza could instantly tell the improvement in the gear, more likely Tsubaki's handie work then Welfs. The chest piece was strapped around his back then the shoulder pauldrons were larger than the previous set but no heavier it would seem on Bell's small frame.

Instead of matching gauntlet's, only Bell's right arm had a gauntlet to make way for the shield mechanism on Bell's left. Underneath this was a plain white shirt, with a red glove that reached above his elbow under the gauntlet on his right arm. There was also a red muffler around his neck and a large red waistcoat. Black pants with black boots that had white cuffs finished the apparel and it was clear that the pants and boots were made with strong material.

"H-How do I look?" Bell asked noticing everyone's gaze.

"Like a real adventurer." Naaza smiled happily.

"You scrub up good kid." Tsubaki grinned.

"Heading to the dungeon today?" Welf asked however was surprised when Bell shook his head.

"No, sorry we're heading to Melen now. We've already been to the guild to ask for authorisation to leave Orario it's how we knew the armor was ready." Bell explained as he pulled his axe from his back, something both smiths eyed with extreme curiosity. Since he had walked into the shop with the axe on his back, both had wanted to get their hands on it but both knew that he had made a deal with the dwarves to not let anyone else touch it. "Brok and Sindri are there, I'll have them look over the axe."

"I'd like to meet them, but it'd be a pain to get authorisation to leave the city." Welf frowned, knowing how difficult it was to leave. Easy as anything to enter but the laws regarding were strict.

"We should go before it gets too late." Naaza told bell making him nod, placing his axe on his back he turned to Tsubaki.

"How much do I owe you?" Tsubaki simply smirked and Bell felt like he had been hit by the minotaur again by how much Valis she took from him.