ENJOY!

…

…

Scent of blood and sweat was heavy in the air with sound of fighting coming from a faar corner of this grand hall. The hall itself was more like an open field filled to the brim with fog.

This was the 11th floor of dungeon also known as the land of mist. Fog was heavy here all the time so much so that U wouldn't necessarily be able to tell one hand from the other. This was also known as the 'newbie graveyard' since many lvl 1s and in certain cases even lvl 2s perished here. The only thing one could rely on here to fight were senses other than sight. That said, it was relatively popular place for beginners and veterans alike. This was the place where many adventurers, even high-class ones came from time to time to train. Fighting in this sort of environment was the best sort of exercise to sharpen one's sense.

The 11th floor as a whole was only one grand hall with passageways on two sides, one connecting to 10th floor while the other one connecting to the 13th floor with centre being the monster spawn. The monsters that spawned here ranged from kobolds, Orcs, Ogres, killer insects and more so it was a relatively good place to gather large amount of experience and performing enough feet to level up for lvl 1 adventurers. This was also the reason the party of Hestia Familia had stopped here.

This place by itself had been chosen by Zoro since for him, this place was better than any other to gain some valuable experience in all fields of fighting for low levels. Right now, Bell was protecting Welf and Lily who served as the vanguard fighting monsters. Both Welf and Lily had been adventurers for a very long time, Lily for about 8 years and Welf for about 5 years but due to what they focused on, they were stuck on lvl 1.

Lily was a supporter who only helped from time to time and mostly for trimming and collecting purposes, so her stats were still low, not enough to level up.

Welf on the other hand was in a completely opposite situation. Welf could level up anytime he wished since he had already achieved the stats requirement, in fact he surpassed it. For a blacksmith or literally anyone who had falna BUT had main job something other than fighting, there were two paths to lvl up.

One was to fight and gain 'great achievement'

Second was to make something which could be considered 'great achievement'

For either, minimum stat requirement was absolutely necessary. Welf had one stat in 'S', the dexterity. He was a blacksmith of the highest calibre among lvl 1s, someone who could make armours and weapons for lvl 2 adventurers, and he had achieved such by continually practicing and making more and more and more until eventually he managed to max out his dexterity. He could lvl up anytime he wished simply due to achievement of 'making lvl 2' equipment while being at lvl 1.

His dexterity played very central part in this case since the greater the dexterity, the greater the quality of equipment so be it blacksmiths or medicine makers, all of them focused mostly on dexterity stat. There could be two blacksmiths with same lvl and same ability and technique along with same materials BUT the quality of their equipment could be miles apart simply due to the difference in dexterity. Welf had long since reached the lvl of creating lvl 2 equipment, but it was considered to be the very 'bottom' among lvl 2's. Recently he had managed to create mid-tier lvl 2 equipment and only then did he introduce it to the market. That said, his dream had always been to make an equipment standing at the top of lvl 2 since only with that could he hope to eventually reach his patron and his love interests lvl. Now of course, even with that his chances weren't even 1% but there would at least be said chance, so he was working hard.

Now the question was HOW?

He had already maxed out his dexterity so how could he make something even better. He recently got an answer after he managed to make mid-tier lvl 2 equipment. The answer was strength. Yes, a blacksmith relied on two things to make any sort of equipment, their ability/technique and strength. He had enough ability and great technique which he inherited from his family along with maxed out dexterity but lacked enough strength. Right now, he could work with normal metal and steel, but he couldn't bend it completely to his will since he lacked the strength to do so. Thus, he offered Bell the contract so that he could come down beyond 10th floor since only there could he raise his strength. His goal was to achieve A or higher in strength since that was the only possibility thus, he took the vanguard spot.

….

'Maan it's hard'

Welf had been fighting here for quite some time and nearly died several times if not for immediate assistance from Bell. He was quite astonished by Bells speed since it was unrealistic for a newly promoted lvl 2 to possess such. Bell looked more like a veteran fighter despite not giving such impression on the first glance.

'Still…. that guy's the real monster'

He glanced at Zoro who was rather easily not only cutting down any unfortunate monster but also constantly giving Bell directions along with words of advice if they could be called that. It was incomprehensible for Welf to believe of him as just lvl 1 but since he was already registered with guild and Hestia Familia didn't look the sort of hide such stuff, so he had no choice but to believe.

'Was he an instructor somewhere?'

That's the kind of vibe he got from Zoro. Regardless, he was definitely a first-rate fighter if such thick fog couldn't obstruct him in any way. Bell was also getting constant reminders and advice if not he would have been injured by now.

While Welf was lost in such thoughts an arrow lodged itself in a monster about to attack him

Welf immediately swung his great sword at the monster's head, killing it

"Sorry, I was a bit careless"

"Humph"

This little girl named Lily didn't like him, he could tell that from their very first conversation. Though he had no idea why or maybe he did. Perhaps for her he was a parasite who only joined to make use of them

"Get down!?"

Welf shouted and immediately went and killed a bat type monster about to attack Lily. These bats were really annoying due to their sonic attacks so it was better to get rid of them before they could use their ability.

"We are equal"

"Sure sure"

Lily was obviously not going to thank him or anything since she too saved him once. As for Welf, he clearly didn't care.

"I don't sense anymore so rest for a while. Good food and rest are necessary to keep fighting"

Zoro looked around not sensing any monster in their immediate surroundings. They weren't the only team here. There were other adventurer teams around though everyone simply went on with their own business since why they would help others in this environment when they couldn't even guarantee their own safety.

The team went ahead and sat right there, partaking in food they brought along.

"Zoro san, could I see your swords? I take my words back if it's offending"

Welf spoke out clearly very interested in Zoro's katanas. This style of swords wasn't mainstream, but it wasn't that rare either. Those from faar east usually used these kinds of one sided slightly curved blade for battles.

"Sure, but why now?"

There was no point in seeing these swords right now since even if a smith wanted to replicate something they would take a lot of time and effort to find the right way and method and now was obviously not the time nor place

"No just needed to confirm something"

Zoro handed his swords to Welf who unsheathed them. After looking over them for some time from every angle he let out a sigh in exasperation

"They truly are master pieces, must be the works of great blacksmiths"

Each of these swords were of highest calibre and the most important part, they didn't rely upon their own cutting power no, rather their power could only be equal to the wielder itself. They would cut as deep as the wielder himself was capable of and such weapons were true rarity these days. Even now he wasn't certain if anyone other than Hephaistos herself would be capable of making swords like these. Swords that possessed their own souls and aura and would only accept truly capable wielders to wield them.

Welf himself wanted to be able to make equipment like this and the main reason being, they had no upper limit. Every equipment even the mythical tier 9 would have a limit of how much they could do but swords with wills weren't like that. Yes, they would be weak in the beginning waiting for someone capable but once that capable one appeared, they would be able to grow alongside their wielder. The stronger the wielder, the better their performance and thus why Welf envied the skills of those who managed to make such grand pieces. But that said, he was also motivated since these swords did not exude the aura of celestials meaning they weren't made by one.

They exuded the aura of humans so were most likely made by mortal craftsmen and if so, then that means it was possible for him to be able to do the same. His fighting spirit was ignited and now that he had seen the hope, he would go all out.

"Hahahaha… I like those eyes. Brat you will go faar"

From appearance both Welf and Zoro looked to be about same age, but Zoro's mentality was of a middle-aged man so for him, Welf was only someone young with great dreams and determination. His determination was no less than Bell, so Zoro liked him.

"Get ready. More are on the way"

Zoro could sense more monsters coming their way, so he got ready along with other three. And with that the team once again threw themselves in the band of monsters.

….

….

Today was 'Denatus' and Hestia had promised Bell to secure a good title for him though she herself wasn't sure how. This meeting was going to be her first and yeah, she wasn't completely sure of what to do or how to present herself but one thing she was certain about was that she would definitely get a lot of attention due to Bell being the record holder and all.

'Yosh let's go!'

She gave a last glance at her clothes and then the gate right in front. It was big, at least from common standard as if highlighting the majesty of this meeting. Denatus was held in Babel on the top floor every time. No one was allowed to live here ever since Babel was first made. Beyond the large door was a massive hallway with walls decorated with statues and pictures of the old heroes along with elegant paintings. In fact, the entire hallway itself was painted in ancient style.

Right at the centre was a big round table with over 300 seats surrounding it. Many were already seated, and Hestia too looked around and once she found Take and Hephaistos waving at her, she simply went ahead and sat adjacent to them. There was no proper arrangement of who would sit where, it was free style. One big seat was reserved for the host, and no one could sit there except for the presenter. Every time, a different person did the presenting depending upon who had what information they wished to share and discuss. Everyone was chatting and laughing with no care in the world.

"Yeah Yeah, I heard after getting warning from guild, Souma-kun was rid of his only interest"

"He's really down in dumps seeing how the captain and some strong members of his familia just upped and died"

"I heard too. who killed them?"

"No clue, they disappeared in the dungeon"

"So, he's lost qualification"

"Ah I'm reminded. It seems Rakia is preparing for another war"

"That blockhead would never get tired of this useless endeavour"

"Oh hey, quite a long time no see. Where have U been Hermes"

"Oh well"

"Oh, hey hey look, Freya is coming over"

"Why? She doesn't show up often. Perhaps something is going to be discussed in this meeting"

"Heard Hestia is coming too. Been quite famous it seems"

"Both of her children are. That record holder and have U heard about that three-sword guy?"

"I am getting Bored. Let's get this over with"

"Hey look…..."

Everyone was discussing random things, jumping from topic to topic

"It's… lively here"

"Don't look at what is on the surface. Each one here is just waiting to cause chaos"

Hephaistos had attended Denatus multiple times by now thus no one other than her understood how things would become later on.

"You at least should be careful; thought I doubt I need to remind you given your situation"

Hephaistos warned Hestia. Other than her having the record holder, another one of her children was getting a lot of fame among adventurers. A three styled swordsman, the only one she ever heard ever since ancient times. So far as she heard, he was extremely skilled and powerful and had no equal on the same level. Others had only seen him fighting on upper floors few times and described him as someone with exceptional skill despite being only lvl1. There were even rumours of him having been seen on middle floors fighting packs of Minotaur's, but most discarded them as mere rumours. Who would believe that?

Now of course she didn't know of their exploits of going down and coming back from 18th floor and Hestia wasn't going to tell that to anyone. She was already getting too much attention.

"Clap Clap okay okay Let's get started"

Loki was the host of today's meeting since she had some serious matters to talk about and discuss.

Loki: "Let's start with overflow"

Overflow was a phenomenon when dungeon gave birth to more monsters then usual. It was occurring quite a lot recently, definitely a bad omen. Usually there would be reasons, but they weren't sure the one this time.

1st: "I don't think we can do much about it other than just taking them down as they come"

2nd: "That's not the only thing. There are mutants running wild these days. First there was that Minotaur then a whole bunch of low lvl monsters getting stronger and evolving"

3rd: "Some fool must have left tons of energy stones behind causing in several mutations"

4th: "Well, if it was done due to mistake then nothing can do BUT if someone is deliberately doing this, the situation could become critical"

5th: "Yeah. There was also a case of those strange flower monsters running wild on streets few months back. Hey Loki, heard your familia took em out. Any idea what they were"

Loki: "None. Perhaps a new kind of monster"

6th: "How did they leave dungeon"

Loki: "Still investigating"

"Hmm, hey Hestia. What's wrong?"

Take looked over at her who was sweating bullets

"Nothing. Just nervous"

Of course, she was. The matter of appearance of mutants and even overflow should be related to Zoro and Bell. They had told her about how they were forced to leave energy stones behind due to lack of space

'This must not be known'

Some other issues were discussed as the meeting progressed. Hestia was relatively new, so she didn't participate much in that. She just sat there calmly observing everything, waiting.

"You're calmer now than before. Why the sudden change"

Hephaistos found it strange seeing how calm she had gotten over the time.

"Nothing. I mean if I'm flustered or anything, wouldn't they just take advantage of that and make fun of me?"

That was her conclusion since she knew everyone's nature here. On top of that many here such as Apollo disliked here due to her ability to command the sacred flame. She just didn't want to give them any chance.

"You're not wrong. Anyway, like I said before, don't expect any help from me here"

"Yeah yeah yea…"

Hestia was clearly not in good mood despite how calm she seemed on the surface

"All right. That'll be enough! Let's move on to the main dish, the naming ceremony"

With that the atmosphere took full 180. Most suddenly had evil grins while some were despairing of what was about to happen next.

"The documents should have been passed on to you all. Let's begin"

These documents didn't mention stats or skills, just the picture along level of the person as well as their recognizable feats. Celestials used these feats to bestow a title on those worthy, or at least that's how outsiders thought. This wasn't completely true, but it held some value.

"Let's start with the house of Set, the Seti adventurers"

Set was greatly shaken and raised his voice a little

"P…Please be gentle…!?"

"DENIED"

And he was denied

"Noooo…"

Despairing wail could be heard from the middle-aged man named Set

Loki: "It's decided. The name would be Burning Fighting Fighter"

"Hey. Now that I think about it, doesn't this sound like 'BFF'. Why don't we call him that?"

"AGREED!"

Set had fainted

"This is madness"

Hestia was now starting to lose her cool. Was this Hell?

"I understand your feelings. I was the same in the past"

Hephaistos had a lost look on her face, staring into emptiness.

Loki: "Okay, next is from the house of Takemikazuchi… Ohhh this is a cutie!?"

"Hm… since she's from east, her name is red in reverse order so…"

"Yamato Mikoto-chan, it seems"

Everyone looked at the picture on the top right corner.

"Ohhh"

"Black hair is the best after all"

"Let's not play around here shall we but still…"

"TAKEMIKAZUCHI!"

"He's no good"

Take: "Waah!"

"You natural gigolo"

"Oh, come now. He's charming"

Take and Miach were two such characters who were despised by all the males. Why?

Because they were adored by all females. Due to their natural air headedness and actions, Females fell after them in droves though neither had any idea. They were so dense that even if someone came over to them proposing, they would just think of that as good will and nothing else.

This had happened multiple times both in the upper and lower realm

"Let's give her the name, 'Fortune Galaxy'"

"No since she's under someone like him let's call her 'Forlorn hope'"

"I think 'last princesses' would be more fitting"

Each one was giving one absurd suggestion after another until Take just couldn't take it

"DAMN YOU! Enough already. Stoooooppp!?"

Take was really enraged. Hestia wanted to give some hand but she herself wasn't certain of her own prospective and even when she tried to speak, her voice was simply buried in all the talks.

Loki: "It's decided. She will be known as AbsoluteShadow. Reminds of those ninjas"

Others: "NO OBJECTION"

"Hm… well that's not too bad"

Take gave it a serious thought and in the end, couldn't think of a better title for Mikoto which would be accepted.

"You're fine with that?"

"Yeah. It's fine Hestia. It could have been much worse"

"If you say so…"

Loki: "Okay, heheheh…"

"Now presenting my favourite. Aiz"

"A word of warning, shut your trap. I'm gonna give her a name and that will be the same as before. Sword Princess"

"No objections. RIGHT!?"

Her words were forceful as if she wouldn't accept any sort of objection.

"AGREED"

So what if they didn't want to. The law of forest applied here. He who has bigger fist wins and get to decide

"That is not fair"

Hestia was grumbling

"What can do. She's one of the current four strongest so"

…..

Orario right now had four forces which could be considered to be 'A' grade, the current strongest.

One was 'Hephaistos Familia' which boasted not just the best equipment but also some of the strongest individuals out there. She had one lvl 6 and three lvl 5's and then a lot of lower levels. In terms of pure power, she was weaker than the other three BUT in terms of influence and finance, she boasted the most out there.

Then there was 'Ganesha Familia'. They possessed only three lvl 6's BUT boasted twelve lvl 5's, a number surpassing any other. And eight among these twelve could lvl up to 6 so long as they accomplished some great deed. In this matter, they had the potential to be the strongest in Orario. On top of that they also served as local 'police force', keeping everything in check inside the city.

Then there was 'Loki Familia' boasting one lvl 7 in their captain and six lvl 6's among whom, two could lvl up to lvl 7 anytime so long as they 'survived' in accomplishing some great deed. This familia was universally recognized as heroes who accomplished great deeds.

And then, last but not least was 'Freya Familia'. They too boasted one lvl 7 in their captain BUT he was considered to be the strongest individual in the whole world right now. He stood at the very peak of lvl 7 and only needed to accomplish some great deed in order to reach lvl 8. On top of that, this familia possessed three lvl 6's (if removing someone who left) each of whom could reach lvl 7 by accomplishing some great deed.

If we look at only power, neither Hephaistos nor Ganesha Familia meets the minimum requirement to be considered 'A' grade. For one to be considered 'A' grade, the familia would need either one lvl 7 or five lvl 6's something neither of these two familias had BUT their influence was too great.

Hephaistos Familia's lvl 6 Captain could produce lvl 7 equipment and Hephaistos herself even without her arcane power could make up to lvl 10 equipment. Of course, the amount of time and finance consumption would be too great but due to this, they were ranked as 'A' grade.

Ganesha Familia worked as the guards of the city on top of possessing the highest number of lvl 5s many of which could reach lvl 6 so they were also given an exception and were ranked as 'A' grade.

The reason why all of these people were stuck like this was simple, the accomplishment they had to make was too great. Many had perished just trying to while others failed so they were stuck.

….

"Muh… I too will become strong enough"

"Great ambition. Just keep it up"

Loki: "Well then. Let's discuss the highlight of today's meeting"

"Bell Cranel"

And now it was Hestia's turn to burn. She had prepared herself but yeah. This wasn't going to be easy by any means

Loki: "Before we decide on his title, let me ask you something"

"HOW?"

"So far as I know he's just a farm boy from countryside with no special abilities. He had once applied for my Loki familia but was too weak to even be considered and yet after only six months, this?"

"I don't care about others, but I find it hard to accept."

"More than 1000 killer ants, 300 wall shadows along with many other monsters. To top it all, a minotaur. Since guild has issued such record, I have no doubt about its validity BUT care to explain how he grew so much alone in a single Familia?"

This was the question eating away at her ever since she saw his records. Back then when he had applied, she was present. It was Raul who tested him, and she had seen him losing to literally every other applicant without being able to put up any sort of fight. She had even personally advised him to go back to farming. That he wouldn't survive and yet now he had grown wings and flew so high in such a short period of time?

Now of course she didn't know of Aiz training him or anything but even if she did know, she would find it hard to believe for a talentless boy like that to grow to such extent in such short period of time. It was simply inconceivable.

Was she really that bad at judging someone's potential?

No that couldn't be since she personally chose the executives since she saw raw potential in them and now, they stood at great heights. She had never been wrong about someone's ability to grow and Bell at that time just looked like a kid with sparkles in his eyes without any actual ability or talent thus she was confused.

"People change you know. Yes, MY Bell wasn't all that talented but that's only because he never realized his own potential buried inside him. Once he hardened up his resolve to grow stronger, his natural talent showed itself. What is there to be confused about"

"Oh yeah one more thing, if you think I cheated or anything then you're just plain wrong. I don't have that ability and even if I did, I wouldn't use such despicable methods since they have limits and would harm my child"

After hearing that, Loki couldn't say anything else to rebuke Hestia. The only reason she asked was because she was worried about her being involved in some shady business with those half breeds who weren't one of the races neither monster who consumed Spirit stones to power themselves up.

'Now that I think about it, nope. She has the ability no doubt but she's not the type to do something like that'

Although Loki already knew, she was just confirming stuff.

"Fine. But how do you explain that other abnormality"

Loki wasn't just going to let go. She naturally too had heard the fame of three swordsman

"Who? Zoro? Well, he's a veteran fighter from far east. He's gone through innumerable battles ever since young so has developed strong abilities so it shouldn't be surprising"

Loki: "Why would someone like that join your dirt poor familia?"

"He didn't want to be part of a strong familia"

"Then why….", "Oh come now"

And Loki was interrupted by none other than Freya

"You shouldn't interfere in the internal workings of another Familia. Why not set this matter to rest and decide on a title? I'm getting bored"

"You make it sound as if you're only here to know his nickname"

Loki left a remark which unknown to her hit the target. Freya on the other hand just stayed silent

'Wait…'

Loki suddenly had a premonition. She remembered her meeting with Freya who was apparently going after some child of another familia. She found it strange since if it was Freya, why didn't she directly snatch the child?

But if the child belonged to Hestia, then everything made sense. Freya couldn't charm the children of Virgin Celestials and that was especially true when it came to Hestia. Since she represented home, family, purity and sacred flame, things like charm couldn't affect her and this further applied to those she had given her falna to. That meant that anyone under Hestia or any other similar celestial would be immune from charms and the like.

'Let's not think too much of it for now. I doubt she would do something stupid like forcefully taking the child of another familia especially when it comes to Hestia. Well, if she's forgotten how Hestia was like before then she would only invite her own doom by doing so once in the upper realm'

"YOSH! Let's put all that back. Although I don't like it, but I have to admit the fact of my precious Aizu's record getting broken. Well then let us decide a nickname"

Loki was not going to go easy here and neither would others.

"He looks like a rabbit so… 'Pyonkichi?"

"Nah that's already taken. Apparently, some smith named Welf, or something used it for his equipment"

"He beat us to it. How terrifying"

"His record is quite outrageous for lvl 1 so let's call him 'dazzling star'"

"Heard he's focused on speed fighting and looks like rabbit so 'running rabbit'"

"Nah too boring. How about…"

They were going at it one after another. Hestia tried to intervene but to no avail until

"IT'S DECIDED!?"

….

….

The dungeon party had come back to the surface. They had fought off tons of monsters and had gained valuable experience. At least now they could fight without relying too much on sight, but it would take long time to perfect it, so they needed to work hard.

It was already evening, and sun was about to go down anytime now

"It was fun"

Welf was in a very good mood. Although not sure he had the feeling that he would be able to get 'A' in strength stat and then he would try his best to make is dream into a reality

"Yeah, it was really worthwhile"

Bell on the other hand had tried out many new things he learned from Zoro in the dungeon. Just training wasn't enough, one needed to fight in order to truly see the results. Zoro didn't really teach him any new techniques rather he taught Bell the very basics or more like through training, he strengthened Bells basics. In this way everything Bell had already learned could now be applied with higher efficiency. Although he still made many wasted movements BUT he was definitely improving so that was a plus.

"Lily too learned a lot. Though Lily might not be able to lvl up, but she has gained more experience than she ever did"

"Lily is thankful for Zoro-sama for your time and training"

Zoro had not just trained Bell, he also paid sufficient attention to both Lily and Welf. Since these two would be with them for long (according to his intuition) he needed to make sure whatever talent, they had wouldn't be wasted. For that he corrected Welf's and Lily's postures and also taught them some fundamentals.

"Both of you have talent so it's natural for me to bring that out"

Zoro always stayed cool headed. Yes, Lily and Welf had potential but in two completely different fields of fighting. Regardless he would do all he could for them, to help them grow BUT only if they didn't lose this determination to keep improving.

"So, I needed to tell you something. Originally, I should have told you before, but it slipped my mind"

"Yes?"

Lily looked towards Zoro who took out an emblem from his Yukata showing it to her

"Do you recognize this?"

"Yes, Lily does. Where did Zoro-sama get this?"

Lily was clearly shaken since this emblem belonged to her familia, the Soma Familia. And not just that, this emblem could only be carried by their captain so could it be

"Lily heard the captain of Soma Familia and some other strong members disappeared in dungeon. Did you…."

"Yeah. I killed them"

Zoro said so as if it was nothing big. The one who was shaken the most by this was none other than Bell. The main reason Zoro talked about this in front of Bell was for Bell to know the kind of person he himself was. He didn't want Bell to have some great virtuous opinion of him

"Can Lily ask why?"

"Y…Yeah. Why?"

Bell got out of his stupor. He wanted to know the reason. He personally always saw Zoro as a mentor figure. It hadn't been long since they met but Bell already treated Zoro as a Hero since he had personally seen how Zoro saved many others with his sword even though there was no need to.

Bell was raised and bred in a peaceful village surrounded by love and care. He was a fan of Hero stories and was infatuated with them. It would be hard to find someone as pure as him anywhere else but that was also his greatest weakness.

Virtuous heart was good but virtue which didn't differentiate between 'good' and 'evil' and treated everything equally was poison which could easily destroy everything. Many great men died, and many evils roamed free due to this 'overwhelming virtue'.

"Bell, remember this. For me it doesn't matter if someone is good or bad, so long as they pick up their weapon not to fight or spar BUT to kill me or those close to me, to hell with them. I won't hesitate to carve out their flesh and blood with my swords"

That was the philosophy Zoro lived by. Naturally he helped those in need but for those wanting to kill, they should also be ready to be killed themselves. That's how Zoro saw it

"I'm not asking to you live like me but remember, the true monster lives in the heart of those intelligent. For those who have awareness, who can differentiate between good and evil and yet break laws of morality for their own gain and greed, such people are the true monsters who cause chaos and destruction. One day you too will come across such evil, do not hesitate to act. Even if they grovel for you to spare them, just remember their past deeds, their evils and serve justice"

Zoro wasn't a talkative man by any means, but he knew that Bell needed to be ready since in a world like this, coming across those kinds wouldn't be rare. If at that time Bell hesitated, he would no doubt die a gruesome death and even if he survived, the regret would linger on with him no matter how small.

So, with that he threw the last ball

"To punish the evil regardless of who it is and bringing true justice to those oppressed, is that not the hero you so desire to be"

Bell was in deep thought hearing all that. Welf and Lily stayed silent. Both had seen their share of such people, so they had nothing to say on the matter. Bell should make his own decision

Bell: "What if I came across someone who committed some kind of evil but could be saved from that life and be brought back to the right path, what to do then?"

Bell glanced towards Lily. Lily was a thief and stole from many adventurers but the adventurers she stole from truly deserved it so did she do the right thing or wrong thing?

Zoro: "Well that depends upon their circumstances and the kind of evil they committed. Remember this, if someone stayed within limit and didn't cross that final line should be stopped from ever crossing it. Of course, that is only if you think they can be stopped, and you have the ability to stop them"

"BUT if they crossed that final line then regardless of their circumstances or motives, they have to be punished. Even if you think they can come back to the right path, they still will have to pay for what they did"

Bell: "What is that final line?"

Zoro: "That is up to you to decide"

Bell was once again in deep thought.

"Just remember this for now, if someone tries to kill you then they are ready to be killed themselves. So, if you come across such situation, do not hesitate since that hesitation would be fatal"

Bell was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts from Zoro's words

"I will remember"

Weather he would act on it or not was another matter. He himself wasn't certain if he would or not.

"Haha anyway I'm getting hungry. Hestia should have come back from that 'Detanuous'? It's getting late. Let's go"

"It's 'Denatus'. Lily, would you come along?"

"If Lily isn't causing a problem, then"

"Come"

Bell had a lot to think tonight. Perhaps he might not even be able to sleep properly

"So, are we going tomorrow?"

Welf asked after everything had calmed down.

"Yeah, we will. Let's meet again on our appointed time if you're not busy"

"I'm not sure if I would be able to make it since I'm going to start working on improving my work if I succeed in getting 'A' in strength"

"Goodluck"

And they parted ways.

While on the way home Lily suddenly remembered something,

"Yes, today was Denatus. Bell-sama should have gotten a nickname"

"Hm. Yes! you're right!?"

Bell fisted his own palm as if suddenly remembering something.

"Let's go back. I can't wait to hear my nickname"

Officially nicknames would be announced tomorrow morning, but Hestia should know his, so he was very excited to find out.

"Is it really such a big deal?"

Zoro too had been given many nicknames throughout his life such as 'Pirate Hunter', 'King of underworld', 'the dark king', 'best swordsman' etc. That said he never found any use for them. The only use he could think of was intimidation and nothing else.

No perhaps since these titles were given by celestials, perhaps they would hold special meaning and powers, OR so he thought.

Bell was excited like a child and literally sprinted towards the old church they called home.

….

…..

AND END

This is the longest I've written so far and this chapter in general was about… well you know.

Anyway, what nickname should Bell be given, I honestly can't decide so help me out please.

Also, U should have noticed the change in writing style, yeah, I did so deliberately. I wanted to try something new since I just didn't find my previous style appealing enough.

Anyway, I'm the kind of writer who writes on Whims. You could call me free writer or brain storming writer. I write what comes to my mind when it comes to my mind without any prior preparation. You should have noticed how I've literally copied about 5 lines from manga. I just didn't know how to add characters to name them on the whim, so I took em from manga.

Anyway, due to the way I write, even myself have no idea of what I would do or write in the next second. It's also due to this that there's inconsistency in my writing length of chapters. Some are small like the first and previous one while others are large like this one.

The ideas that I've introduced in here especially by the end just came on a whim. I wanted to end it with something short, but it became philosophical and what I've written is my own point of view. Of how I truly view the world. I just kept on writing and by the time I stopped, it had already gone past my initial word count.

Anyway, do tell me if I should keep on with this style of writing OR should I go back to my previous style.

Till next week

REGARDS