ENJOY
…
Bell was finally awake and the first thing he saw was a smiling Hestia and a young man. No perhaps calling him young wouldn't suit Bell since the man still looked to be about 4 to 5 years older than himself
"Who is he?", he asked
"Oh Bell, You're awake. How is your body now, any pain anywhere", Hestia immediately jumped on him, patting him all over. Perhaps this wasn't dignified but Hestia truly was worried. Despite what everyone said, Bell had still fought a very powerful adversary. Sure, he won but she was worried the child would be left with some sort of trauma due to that fight
"I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about", He said trying to free himself from her grasp. Although it was a bit uncomfortable, but he liked this feeling. Afterall this was one of the reasons he came to Orario in the first place. To find a place to call home and to find people to call family. Someone he cared for and someone who cared for him. Hestia sometimes reminded him of his deceased grandfather, though their characters couldn't be any more different sometimes even contrasting but still.
Now that he thought about it, Eina was probably about to give him a lecture of a lifetime since he did what she STRONGLY advised him not to. That said, he had his own convictions, and he couldn't do anything but fight in that sort of situation anyway so there's that.
'Perhaps I should prepare myself to have my ears eaten by both of them', he bitterly smiled but he couldn't blame either Hestia or Eina for the scolding so better be prepared.
He looked all over his own body trying to sense any pain or discomfort.
'Did someone heal me?' he assumed since even the best of medicines couldn't heal him this fast without any side effects. The stronger the medicine, the greater the accompanying headache but he was feeling none of it
"It doesn't look like you're left with any trauma so that's good"
"Hm!? Ah. Yes", He was forced out of trance
"Haaah, what am I going to do about you? You just dive headfirst in such troubling situations. You could have died out there, can't you understand that"
Hestia said but in more of a depressing tone than angry one which surprised him since he thought for sure that he would be scolded.
He didn't say anything.
"…."
There was silence for a while.
"I…"
"No need for excuses. I've heard everything that's happened and that you simply had no choice. After all, not helping Lili would be against your morals. I guess what I want to say is that, try to be rational next time. If possible, try to escape or at least DO NOT reject others help when needed", Hestia said in stern tone although one could feel sorrow as well
"I'm sorry for making you worried. I'll be careful next time", Bell simply lowered his head but not in shame or because he felt like he shouldn't have rejected the helping hand but rather because Hestia was right as much as he himself was. There was no wrong here, just two perspectives but neither could be called wrong so there was no point in trying to explain anything.
"Well now then, that's over with, let me introduce him", Hestia pointed towards Zoro who kept silence during the whole sequence without disturbing them
"No need. Let me do so myself", He would rather do these things himself. There was no need to trouble anyone else
Step by step, Zoro approached Bell...
"My name is Roronoa Zoro, and I come from a faar away land",
Stretching his right hand for a shake,
"We're going to be together from now, it's going to be fun", Zoro said smiling
Bell looked towards Hestia who confirmed it with a nod
"Oh, nice to meet you Mr Zoro. I am Bell Cranel and…"
Bell was at a loss of words. He was never really all that good at this, especially with someone he just met but he finished his greetings by shaking hands.
"So, uh before anything, how did I get here?", He remembered the last time losing consciousness inside dungeon and then waking up here so who brought him here.
"Let Lili explain that"
"How is your wound Lily?"
"You finally remembered the poor old me Mister Bell"
"No. I was just….", Bell tried to talk, flustered
"Forget it", waving her hands "Here's what happened after you lost consciousness"
…..
"I am truly thankful for all your help", Bell said kneeling on the ground in front of Zoro
"Do you fellows have a habit of kneeling down to everyone. Just forget it kid and stand straight like a man should", Zoro forcefully jerked Bell to stand up
"Anyway, if you're truly thankful, why not prepare some food. I've been starving since earlier"
"I'm not goo…."
"Not asking you either"
"Why not eat outside an celebrate it? We did get ourselves a new family member and I can see miss supporter carrying a lot of monster stones. They should make up a lot of money", Hestia suggested while looking towards Lily's Backpack. It truly was full
"Good idea so where is it. Oh, and it should also have some good booz"
Hestia: "You do know there's a miner here"
Zoro: "He doesn't have to drink"
Bell: "I know of a good place"
Hestia: "The hostess of fertility"
"Yea…."
"let's go Lily to exchange the stones and…."
"Not so fast. Since you've gone through such a tough battle, why not update the status first?", Hestia took out the same pin. She knew and understood Bell quite a bit by now and just as expected, hearing the status update, the boy literally jumped up in excitement
"Oooooh I almost forgot about that. Yes, please do it fast. I want to see what I got"
"Keep it down a bit. Come lay down here"
Once he did, Hestia used the pin to draw out a drop of her blood and have it fall upon Bells back. Once it did, the falna lit up. Falna is the grace, often referred to as blessing, given by the celestials to their familia members. Those given this falna can then go out and do stuff. Everything they do turns into what is known as 'excelia' and this excelia can raise their 'status' making them stronger in the process. The amount of excelia obtained depends upon the difficulty of the task completed. Those tasks could be anything, from fighting to smithing to potion creating and everything else imaginable.
Hestia looked at his back, blanked out for a moment
"Wha- What happened?", Bell asked feeling her suddenly collapsing
"No. Nothing. Do not worry about it, I'm just overwhelmed a bit. That's all", Hestia once again looked at his falna.
'Sigh… so it happened. This is what I was afraid of', She took out a paper and printed it upon his back word by word, of course in translated language which could be understood by them
"Before handing it out, let me congratulate you. You have worked hard, and this is the result"
"What do you…. Ah!? I levelled up!", Bell said not believing what he was seeing
Yes, Bell Cranel had levelled up and this is exactly what Hestia afraid of. Ofcource him levelling up was a happy occasion but it was too fast. It had barely been about 5 months and yet here he was, levelling up. So far as she knew, he was the fastest and had left the previous one faar behind in pure speed, half a year behind to be exact.
Perhaps this half a year won't matter at higher levels but for a level 1 to reach level 2 was a completely different story. She even knew that there were many who had taken less time to reach level 3 then it took for them to reach level 2. The reason being, no experience. Usually whenever one was starting on this journey, they would lack experience to deal with monsters and it would take time for them to adjust. More than half aren't even able to adjust thus stay as lvl 1 for their whole lives while others take years to finally adjust. Reaching lvl 2 from lvl 1 in just 5 months was too fast but stuff had happened and nothing could be done.
"But wait! Why are all of my stats 0?", Bell was bewildered. What had happened to all those stats of him
"Don't worry they're there. You just can't see them. Whenever you level up, your previous stats become hidden and make way for you to gain new stats thus you start from zero every single level", said Hestia explaining
"I think I get it…."
"Good. That's enough. Oh yes, I almost forgot. Here Zoro this is your stats sheet. Have a look"
"Let's see"
….
….
BELL CRANEL
Stats: (end level 1)
Strength: SS1091
Endurance: SS1019
Dexterity: SS1098
Agility: SSS1337
Magic: SS1001
Skill(s):
Liaris Freese (Hidden)
Fast growth as long as a desire lasts. At minimum, 1.5 times increase in excelia gain, at maximum 3 times excelia gain. Extremely Intense desire could help break past certain limits but only during 1st four levels.
Magic:
Fire Bolt
Stats: (level 2)
Strength: I0
Endurance: I0
Dexterity: I0
Agility: I0
Magic: I0
Luck: I
Skill(s):
Liaris Freese (Hidden)
Fast growth as long as a desire lasts. At minimum, 1.5 times increase in excelia gain, at maximum 3 times excelia gain. Extremely Intense desire could help break past certain limits but only during 1st four levels.
Argonaut
A chance at victory
Magic:
Firebolt
…
RORONOA ZORO (Lvl 1)
Stats:
Strength: I0
Endurance: I0
Dexterity: I0
Agility: I0
Magic: I0
Skill(s):
The Conquerors Will
Those with weak wills are not permitted. Those with weak strengths are not permitted. The limits matter not, nothing can limit a conqueror, nothing can supress a conqueror.
The will eternal
Voice of All Things
Ability to sense and trace the breathing and the rhythm of everything. Ability to understand all languages. Nothing is hidden neither can it be hidden.
Full Counter:
Resistance to all sorts of magics and phenomenon. Ability to survive in any environment. Full immunity to all sorts of harmful substances and poisons
….
….
Being promoted to level 2, Bell had a choice to make, the choice between choosing a skill. He had three skills to choose from.
Abnormal Resistance, a skill which would provide him with resistance to many diseases and poisons, very useful when exploring a dungeon
Hunter, increase in ability and power when hunting the same type of monster again, good when fighting monsters
Luck, No idea. Luck was an abstract subject to begin with. He himself felt that Hunter would be cool, but Hestia intended for him to choose Luck.
Seeing him in a condrum, Zoro gave him some advice
"Listen to your heart and your ambitions", that was enough. Bell calmed himself down and focused upon his ambitions and in the end chose Luck since that's what his heart told him. It was more of an intuition than anything, but he felt like he had just passed some hurdle, as if he made the right choice.
That said, his skill made him awkward. Yes, he loved hero stories but never expected for those inspirations to take a form of a skill and such a vague one at that.
'A chance at victory', what did that even mean. He didn't know but there was no point in pondering over this matter for now. He could test it out in dungeon later on.
Other than that, Zoro's status was strange. It had everything except for magic. He didn't even have that option of magic as in heading, but Hestia could explain that problem with only single sentence,
"Your skills are too strong"
Yes. Disregarding everything else, those skills of his were broken. Only Zoro understood of as to what the importance of Voice of all things was and Hestia too had some guesses.
Other that that, his other two skills were understandable for everyone. The will of the conqueror basically removed that upper limit for him. Other than that, it seemed as if he didn't even need to fight hordes if they were weak. Many powerful adventurers died not due to one stronger monster but rather due to hordes of weaker monsters and yet here he could waste all of them.
And third, the one considered by both Bell and Lili to be the most broken was full counter. Although this skill did not have any great attack, it gave him a superb natural defence. This was a skill which not only provided him resistance towards ALL forms of magic, but also gave him the ability to survive in any environment. It also made him immune to harmful substances thus toxins and diseases etc had no effect on him whatsoever.
And the most absurd of all, this was him only at lvl 1.
Hestia could understand the reason since she knew of his true self, but he had stopped her from revealing anything. So, he was just a humble swordsman from faar away land and nothing else.
When Lili questioned him about "How was he able to do all that in dungeon without any Falna", his answer was very simple and straight "You'll know eventually but keep it to yourself". Naturally Lili was not convinced but what else could she do in this situation.
Thus, with all that sorted out, Bell and Lili went to the guild to exchange the monster stones and drops as well as updating their familia information while Zoro simply lay on couch, taking an afternoon nap without a care in the world.
…
Eina as usual was busy with her work but she also looked worried. She had gotten the information of a 'white haired' boy being attacks by a minotaur on 9th floor and later she found out that 'someone' was seen bringing a white-haired boy up to the surface. Till now, no other news came.
The guild had gotten busy but the dungeon which seemed to have suddenly erupted calmed down almost instantly, so those busy few instances were gone as well. Though they had sent a team down to investigate the cause but had yet to receive any worthwhile report.
"Sigh Bell. Where are you? I hope it wasn't you", as if her wishes were fulfilled, she saw Bell coming over with his supporter. He looked fine and not all that exhausted either.
"Miss Eina", Bell shouted while coming over.
'Thank goodness He's alright. It shouldn't have been him being attacked' she said to herself
"You look happy and excited. Did something good happen?", she questioned
"Yes. Very much so. First, we have gotten another familia member"
"Ohhh, that's good. Where? Did they not come with you?", Eina looked around not finding anyone who seemed to be related to Bell or coming over
"Oh no. He's taking a nap. He should be quite exhausted so…..."
"Is that so. Well then give me the paper"
Guild was the central power of Orario. This city, which was filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers, there needed to be a force to keep them all under check lest they go out of line and guild was that force. Though guild didn't possess strong military power, but they did possess potent authority. Although they couldn't force strong powers to move but they could minimize their movements. One of the best ways to keep the order was to know who is how much strong. This was accomplished by 'level declaration system', according to this, everyone was required to declare their true levels and to make sure of as to what was being declared true, a proof was needed. This proof was simply the top of the page of status. At the top, one's true name as well as true level would be present, and guild had a way to make sure these weren't forged fake but rather true ones, and they could also tell of as to when it was recorded. In this way, it didn't exactly stop people from not declaring at all BUT those declared could now be proven which was a big improvement from the past. They likely learned lessons from past incidents.
"Here it is. Oh, and there's mine as well. Hehe guess what", Bell put on the brightest smile he ever could
"I've levelled up"
"Yesyes…. Wait! What!?"
"What did you say?" Eina almost screamed but then immediately lowered her voice and checked both the papers.
It was true. Bell truly had reached level 2 but HOW?
"Care to explain?"
"Uh... yes?"
"Follow me"
Eina took him to one of the private discussion rooms. The room was completely shut, and nothing could leak outside.
"Look Bell. You managed to level up which is good but it's too fast. I don't want to press for details but it's my duty so tell me truthfully, what did you do?"
"I… fought a minotaur and won"
"Wha…?", Quickly composing herself "Explain"
After some time….
"So that's what happened" Eina took a deep breath, "It seems nothing I say has any effect on you"
"Listen Bell, I've said it again and again so let me say it again, adventurers shouldn't go on an adventure. This might seem contradictory since that is their job but by adventure, I don't mean they shouldn't explore, I meant they shouldn't try to do the impossible. I've seen countless adventurers die due to trying something beyond their limits. Trust me when I say so you might not return next time"
"I won't be angry with you BUT that said, I am going to put as much knowledge into your brain as possible regarding several types of monsters and dungeon terrain. You should prepare yourself"
Eina no longer held anything back. This young fellow was too much. Forget about fighting Minotaur, him just fighting hundreds of killer ants and wall shadows alone is enough to make him dangerous, but for others but for himself. If he wasn't going to stop no matter what then she could only try to teach him everything so that he would be prepared for future challenges.
And thus started the classes known far and wide as "The course of Hell"
….
"We're back", Bell said exhaustion written all over his face. He wasn't physically exhausted as much as he was , she wanted to help him, but this was pure torture. No, it was worse than torture but what else could he do. Sure, she was strict, but her lessons were top notch and helped him a lot for which he was thankful but also fearful.
"Welcome back. What took you so long", Hestia had been waiting for quite some time. By all means it shouldn't have taken so long but perhaps it was too crowded.
"Nothing. Just forget it", Hearing this answer, she wanted to ask more but felt like she shouldn't, so she turned to Lili.
"So Lili, how much?"
"It's enough to eat there for weeks on ends"
"Perfect. Night is about to come soon so go and freshen yourselves up. I'll wake that sleepy head"
Both Bell and Lili took turns freshening up. Zoro too was awake by that time. Normally he could sleep through disasters and tsunamis with no problem, but he truly was too hungry so woke up rather easily
"Alright Let's go"
After some time….
Zoro: "So, this is hostess of fertility. Nothing out of ordinary"
Hestia: "Or else what did you think"
Zoro: "Nothing much"
Bell: "The food here is great"
Lili: "Let's go inside. Hope it's not already filled"
Hostess of Fertility is a pub very famous in all over Orario for their first-class cuisine and drinks. Hestia Familia went inside, found a spot and took their seats there around a round table.
"What would you like to order?"
It was Ryuu Lion to take their order. She was as frosty as ever.
"Let me take the order over here. Hey Bell, how are you?" syr came over running bumping into Ryuu almost causing an incident but she didn't care. With a smile plastered over her face
"Get to your work you moron" came a loud shout along with a woman, taking Syr away for other tables
"I'll prepare your breakfast so come tomorrow morning for sure, kay?"
"S... Sure"
Ryuu watched all that without any change in expression. This had become common by now so
"Your order?"
….
It was early in the morning. The first rays of sunlight lit up the worn-down church and its surroundings. The dawn chorus of melodic birdsong drifted through with the rising sun casting a rosy hue across the morning sky. Today would be the first day for Zoro to make a trip to the dungeon as part of a familia and as someone with Falna. He was accompanied by Bell, apparently Lili had something else to do so she was on leave.
"I thought she was part of Hestia Familia, but I guess not"
"Hahaha… there are some troubles between her and her familia so"
"Did you really need this tiffin?", Zoro was looking at the tiffin given to Bell Cranel by one of the waitresses from that Bar.
"She did prepare some food for me so it would be rude to reject or ignore"
They had reached the dungeon while talking and discussing
"Here we are. Let's go"
Both woke up early to go into dungeon and both had goals to accomplish. Zoro wanted to know the full extent of his current abilities while Bell wanted to test out his new skill.
They started from 1st floor and went all the way up to 8th.
"Still haven't figured it out?", Zoro asked looking at Bell. Bell had been trying to use that skill of his but to no avail. He just couldn't find the trigger
"I should be able to eventually", Bell said with face full of determination. Zoro looked at him silently,
"Alright let's stop here", The atmosphere suddenly became tense
"Now then, we've reached a rather spacious place" They had arrived in a room or more like a cave with big area inside
"Attack me kid. Show me everything you've got", this was his second objective today. To test out the limits of the boy known as Bell Cranel. Sure, he once saw Bell fighting but that was only the ending scenes. He wanted to personally know of the current skill level of Bell
"Wha- What do you mean?", Bell was bewildered
"We're in the dungeon and why would I attack you. We're in the same familia"
"Forget it. Forget where you are, what your circumstances are. Come at me with your full power because I won't hold back", Zoro took out Shushi
"Wait… wait a minute"
"Would your enemies wait for you? Don't be naïve. It's either you don't know or you're pretending to not know of as to where you are. Of what kind of life, you have chosen to live. You are strong but just being physically strong is faar from enough. Yes, you have determination BUT I've seen many with as much determination who ended up getting destroyed since they refused to acknowledge the hard facts of life, who were indecisive, who were not ready just like you"
"Life could throw anything at you thus you need to be ready for anything and everything. This in turn is absolutely nothing. If you can't even pass this, then forget about your dreams since you'll never fulfil them in current shape"
And with that Zoro said everything needed to be said. The boy needed a fire to wake him up. He once woke up during that battle against Minotaur, but he went to sleep right after. No. That simply won't do. You won't get anywhere by simply reacting, you need to step forward and act to achieve anything.
Bell as of now was someone who only reacted and never took the initiative. The reasons could be many, but this couldn't be allowed to continue.
Bell wasn't a fool. He naturally understood the true meaning behind those words and thus he too got ready. Took out the Hestia knife and took a step forward.
'Yes, that's it. Right now, you're following my instructions, but you've taken your first step even though it was forced but you did. Later on, you'll do so without anyone's instructions. Now come show me everything you have', The smile on his face grew deeper and thus he took the stance.
Bell was fast. Although this speed was nothing for the peak him but right now, he no longer had his previous power so it might be somewhat difficult.
The first attack Bell made was straight slash which was intercepted by Zoro who counterattacked using the hilt sending Bell flying. Yes, Bell was fast but dodging from such a close distance was impossible for him. Zoro didn't attack just waited. Like this Bell came over and over again but was countered each time.
Horizontal + vertical slash combination
Using unpredictable movements
Using kicks along with knife to attack and defend
And yet. Utter defeat. He wasn't able to land a single attack. He even used firebolt, but the thing was cut in half making it useless.
Overwhelming
This was the second time Bell got this feeling. First time he got this feeling from Aiz but that was mostly due to her pure power, level and stats. And now the second time he got the similar feeling from an opponent who in terms of stats was even weaker than he was and yet completely overpowered him.
'Hah…. Hah…. Hah…... I'm losing consciousness. Did I go too overboard? Is it mind down?'
"Is that all you have? You really disappoint me kid. Look despite having such any overwhelming advantage over me, you haven't been able to make me take a single step from here. And here I thought you had potential"
"I'm not down yet…", Bell could barely focus but he still kept at it
"That's the spirit, then come and show me", Zoro was smiling. Despite what he said, it was becoming increasingly difficult for himself to hold the ground, but he couldn't give in. He needed to show Bell that there was no such thing as limit in the world and today he would prove it
'Focus…. Focus…. Focus…. One chance. One attack and I have to grab it'
'Yes that's it, just like the heroes of the old. The brave warriors who fought just for that one chance and then overturned the tide by taking it'
Tin…...tin…...tin…
Zoro heard a noise or more like ringing. It was like several small Bells were ringing continuously and then he saw on Bells right hand. There was a white glow there, continually spreading and lighting up the area.
He didn't interfere and just let it continue
Time went by until about 3 minutes later, huge number of white lights growed there but Zoro could still feel that it could go a step further and so he said,
"Come now. You've already come this far, do not stop here. Go till the end and go beyond the end. Show me your full brilliance. Show me that you can truly take that chance"
His words were having an effect. Bell was completely in a trance like state by now and the ringing grew louder and louder until a sound of a grand Bell echoed through the caverns.
"Yes, that's it", Bell had finally gone beyond the limit and had truly gathered a massive amount in power and in the next instance, he released it through that Hestia knife.
The attack was powerful. The entire cave was shrouded in white light and thus Zoro too made his decision. He decided to dodge it.
Yes, Zoro did have the ability to cut through any form of energy attack or defence but what if his swords couldn't handle it. His swords were master pieces but after all they were still made up of steel and thus even though they were powerful, they longer possessed the same kind of endurance they once held and similarly Zoro no longer possessed the strength to cut such huge energy blast. Yes, no doubt Zoro could 'cut' it but the question here is 'how deep'. This deepness depends upon strength and right now, at least without armament and advanced conquerors Haki, Zoro didn't posses' strength to make his cut as deep as before. Zoro could cut diamonds but again not too deep now.
Anyway, that attack was singular and powerful enough to blow up an entire section of the cave. Once the blinding light dissipated, Bell remained there unconscious due to overdrawing BUT Zoro found something interesting. He found a tunnel and this tunnel was very different when compared to dungeon walls. It resembled dungeon but if dungeon was natural then this tunnel was artificial.
'This is interesting but whatever. The kid needs immediate attention, so I suppose I'll be going back to the surface. She's really going to chew me down now alright but at least I got some worthwhile results.'
Bell was talented, perhaps not in swordsman ship but in other aspects.
'Talent is talent regardless of where it's concentrated on. If this is his talent, then I'll simply bring out the best of that'
'Well then let's leave and come back on a later date'
Zoro travelled the dungeon for quite a long time, even meeting and fighting many monsters along the way. Eventually he reached a strange place. He reached this place after moving through a massive hallway and crystal walls. He walked further and further until he reached a city whose sign board said,
'Welcome to Rivira'
Without even knowing or wanting, Zoro had managed to reach the under resort on 18th floor.
He was VERY clearly lost.
What to do now?
…..
AND END
So here is the fourth chapter. I apologize for being late but was just quite busy so couldn't do it on time but here we are
Last time I had asked a question:" Should the Captain of Hestia Familia Remain Bell or should I make Zoro the captain and have Bell learn from his leadership", Because honestly even with a giant flaw, Zoro is faar better of a leader the Bell. In fact, Bell doesn't even fit the role and without heavy luck, the entirety of Hestia Familia would have been wiped out over a dozen of times by now.
I could make this story as the rising of the greatest hero (Bell Cranel) and the greatest Leader (Zoro)
What are your takes. Please do comment in case for any suggestion
Also, as U fellows have already seen, I suck at writing fights. I might get better with time but till then I'll write fights in a rather simpler term.
Also, Hostess of Fertility scene was short but that's because I want to expand those characters in much more depth later on so bear with me
Also, some of U might be confused of as to why his fast level up didn't cause a stir, well it will in coming chapter
As for those who didn't like how easily Bell lost, Well I have a perfect reason. Bell too is confused about the same fact, and I'll elaborate it in next chapter
Till then have a wonderful week