Shoutout to my beta reader for helping me write the chapter! He wrote Bell's perspective near the end of the chapter.
"Thank you for your purchase! Please come again and have a nice day!"
"I hope you have a nice day as well," Ryuu replied with a slight nod.
'That should be everything we need.' The elf thought as she compared the items in her bag with the items on her shopping list. She let out a quiet hum of approval and walked out of the store.
Once Ryuu exited the store, she spotted Bell who had his back turned toward her and appeared to be inspecting something he was holding in his hands. She started to walk towards him and his head shot up and turned to meet her eyes. He subtly lifted his leather coat and placed whatever he was holding into his coat and turned to face her.
"Do we have everything?" He asked.
"Yes, let's head back now."
The two began to walk back and unlike their errand run, this walk was quiet. Ryuu turned her head to look at her companion and he had a neutral expression on his face. This usually wasn't out of the ordinary but he looked as if he was contemplating something. The elven waitress decided that if he wanted a quiet walk back to the pub, then that was fair and she kept her mouth shut. However…
"There is something that I would like to ask you," the boy said after a couple moments of silence.
"What is it?" Ryuu replied, interested in what Mister Cranel wanted to ask her.
"About a day ago I had an… altercation with an adventurer. He was chasing after a member of the prum race and was yelling about her being a 'shitty supporter.' May I ask what a supporter is?"
"A supporter is someone who accompanies an adventure into the dungeon. Their job is usually to carry an adventurer's gear and extract the magic stones from the corpses of monsters the adventurer killed. This allows adventurers to stay in the dungeon for longer periods of time and focus more on killing monsters."
Bell let out a hum as he listened to Ryuu's explanation. It certainly made sense to have a supporter if you wanted to spend a long time in the Dungeon. Even he would need one, considering he couldn't store objects from the Waking World in the Hunter's Dream. Though there was still one thing that stood out to him.
"Are supporters treated with contempt by adventurers?" The white haired boy asked and Ryuu nodded.
"Unfortunately, yes. A majority of supporters are people who are not strong enough to become proper adventurers and because of that, they are belittled for it. It sounded like that adventurer had bad intentions with that supporter, is she alright?" Ryuu inquired.
"I don't know," Bell responded with uncertainty. "By the time I dealt with the adventurer she was long gone." There was a hint of disappointment in his voice. He most likely traumatized her, depending on when she left their altercation. She could have seen him cut off that man's hand or even when he threatened to kill him. The last thing he wanted to do was terrify a little girl. He could only hope she took her chance to run the moment he used himself as a barrier against her and the adventurer.
"Well, at least you saved her from that adventurer." The elven waitress noticed that Bell twitched when she said 'saved' but didn't comment on it. This topic made her remember something about the Dungeon that she hasn't talked to Bell about yet.
"Mister Cranel, there is one more thing that I need to talk to you about when it comes to the Dungeon."
"What is it," Bell replied, slightly caught off guard by Ryuu's raised voice.
"Dungeon Etiquette. The dungeon is a dangerous place because not only are monsters your enemies in the dungeon, but your fellow adventurers can be too."
"What do you mean?"
"On the surface, the guild and Ganesha familia are the forces that uphold the law in Orario, but their authority does not apply in the Dungeon. There is a saying: "What happens in the Dungeon, stays in the Dungeon."
"Which means whenever adventurers have a personal vendetta, they settle it in the Dungeon?"
"Yes," Ryuu confirmed with a nod. "It is not an uncommon thing for adventurers to settle their differences in the Dungeon so be prepared for retaliation."
"I appreciate the warning, Miss Lion," Bell responded with gratitude, satisfying Ryuu.
"However, if that scum is smart, then he won't try anything else." There was a hint of smugness in the boy's tone that caught Ryuu completely off guard. The elf didn't really know how to respond to that so the rest of their journey back was spent in silence.
The waitress and hunter soon arrived back at the Hostess of Fertility. The pair entered the backdoor leading to the kitchen, the smell of delicious food invading their nostrils the moment they opened the door.
"Thank you for helping me carry all the groceries back," the elven waitress said as she set her bags of groceries onto the kitchen table.
"No need to thank me. I should be the one thanking you for answering all of my questions," Bell replied as he did the same.
"Of course. If you have any other questions feel free to ask me."
"I'll keep that in mind." Ryuu expected Bell to walk out the backdoor to head to the Dungeon but instead, he began to walk to the open doorway leading to the main area of the pub.
"I thought you wanted to go to the Dungeon." Bell stopped mid step and turned his head to look at Ryuu.
"That was the plan, but there are some things that I need to think about. I'll be down in time for dinner." Bell tipped his tricorn hat to the waitress before walking out of the kitchen. Ryuu heard thumps coming from the staircase as he walked up the stairs leading to the second floor.
'Did what I say affect him that much?'
"Ryuuuuuu you're back!"
Syr rounded the corner and threw her arms around her elven friend, giving her a big hug.
"I missed you so much!"
"Syr, we were only gone for half an hour," Ryuu pointed out with a small smile. A smile that she reserved for her best friend.
"I know I know," Syr exclaimed as she backed up from her friend.
"So…"
Oh no…
Ryuu swallowed when she noticed Syr gave her the smile she uses whenever she is in a teasing mood.
"How was your date with Bell-kun?"
"It was-" Ryuu twitched when she processed what her dear friend said to her. Heat began to rise in her cheeks at Syr's question. The elf coughed into her hand in an attempt to regain her composure. "It wasn't a date Syr. He helped me bring back some groceries and we talked. That's all that happened."
"Oh, so you guys talked. What did you talk about?"
"Just some questions…"
"Oh…" Syr's teasing smile widened as she leaned closer to her blushing friend.
"Did he ask to hold your hand like he did that one night?"
Poof! Ryuu's face became redder and redder as she began to reply that night in her head.
"S-Syr!"
"I'm joking Ryuu. You're too easy to tease," Syr said with a giggle. The gray haired waitress decided she teased her friend enough and gave her a means of escape.
"Let's get back to work, unless we want Mama Mia yelling at us again."
The satisfied human and flustered elf walked out of the kitchen, back into the fray of taking orders and delivering food to hungry customers.
(Month 1 Day 8)
Today was the day Bell went into the Dungeon with a clear head, ready to make some valis.
However, there was a problem. In order to exchange monster crystals, one had to be registered as an adventurer. And in order to be officially recognized as an adventurer, one had to be in a familia.
Therein lies the problem. He was not recognized as an official adventurer which meant he was not capable of exchanging monster crystals for valis at the guild.
Fortunately, there was a loophole that Bell discovered. While he wasn't allowed to exchange monster crystals in the Guild, there wasn't anything they could do to prevent him from venturing into the Dungeon. That meant all he needed to do was kill beasts and find someone that could exchange the crystals for him.
And the best person to use for this was a supporter.
But there was another problem. As Bell scanned the courtyard outside of the Dungeon, it seemed like all of the supporters were paired up with other adventurers. Bell let out a sigh and decided he would just go hunt beasts and deal with finding a supporter later. It would be fine if he just held onto them and waited another day.
However, just before he started to head towards the entrance, he felt a presence behind him. He turned around to face a… massive backpack.
"Hello mister!"
Bell directed his sight downward and he had to suppress his urge to back up in surprise. It was the same girl he "saved" two days ago. The girl was wearing a slightly torn red and white hooded top, a red skirt, black tights and light brown boots. All of this was covered by the massive coat she wore that reached all the way down to her ankles. She wore a massive backpack that was way bigger than her. Bell would have asked how she was able to carry such a massive backpack if he wasn't hyper focused on her face.
The girl's face temporarily momentarily morphed into Caroline's and Bell became drenched in guilt.
"Mister, did you hear what I said?"
Bell stomped his sadness into the ground and regained his composure.
"Forgive me, I spaced out. What were you saying?" Bell asked with a false calm tone.
"I was saying, although this is sudden, are you in need of a supporter?"
'What a coincidence. Here I was looking for a supporter, and the girl that I protected two days ago is asking me if I need a supporter.' Bell thought with amusement, though he was focused on something else.
"Are you okay? That adventurer didn't try anything else with you right?" The white haired boy asked with a concerned voice.
To his surprise, the girl had a confused countenance, as if she had no idea what he was talking about.
"Huh? What are you talking about? Lili has never seen you before."
Bell shook his head in denial.
"You look exactly like that prum supporter that was running from an adventurer two days ago, do you really not recognize me?"
"I think you have Lili confused for someone else." Lili said as she reached for her hood and pulled it back, revealing a pair of dog ears. "Lili isn't a prum, Lili is a Chienthrope." She even lifted her coat to show off her tail, providing more proof that she was a Chienthrope.
'Impossible,' Bell exclaimed mentally in disbelief. He knew he hadn't mistaken her for someone else. Her height and appearance were nearly identical to the sweet girl he met in Yharnam. She was a splitting image of Caroline. There was no way he was wrong.
Without thinking, Bell reached out and grabbed one of her dog ears, surprising the girl as he gently rubbed his fingers on her ear. Although the gloves took away much of his sense of touch, he could feel genuine fur on the dog ears.
'They… they're actually real. Did I somehow not notice them when I first encountered her?'
"Um, M-Mister…"
"Hmm?" Bell turned his attention back to the girl, who was blushing furiously. Finally realizing what he was doing, he quickly retracted his hand.
"I-I am very sorry." Bell quickly apologized, knowing how insensitive that was for him to do. Based on what he read, touching an animal person's ears or tail was an intimate act saved for very close friends or loved ones, and he carelessly threw that cultural aspect to the ground.
"I-It's fine… but you'll have to take responsibility for that and hire Lili as a supporter!" Lili exclaimed in a loud tone.
Bell's eyes widened at Lili's earnest and desperate tone.
"That is possible."
"You'll hire Lili!?" The girl exclaimed with stars in her eyes.
"Don't get ahead of yourself because first, I must ask you something."
"What is it?"
"Why are you trying so hard to have me hire you as a supporter? We haven't even introduced ourselves."
"Oh! Please forgive Lili! Lili's name is Liliruca Arde, a member of the Soma Familia."
"My name is Bell Cranel, pleased to meet you," Bell replied while bowing his head, giving her a Hunter's Salutations. He was curious as to why Lili referred to herself in third person but he had something more important to deal with.
"Now you still haven't answered my question. Why are you trying so hard to get me to hire you? Don't you have some familia members that you could accompany?" He said with suspicion. There was something off about this. If she was in a familia, why didn't she just party up with them? Why was she alone?
The outgoing girl suddenly became withdrawn. She broke eye contact with Bell and found the ground more favorable to look at. Her expression became downtrodden and her hands were fidgeting with each other.
"Lili can answer Mister Bell's question, but can we talk somewhere else? Lili would prefer it if we talked somewhere else," Lili said with a subdued voice.
"Of course."
The two walked to the fountain that was in the front of the Dungeon entrance and sat down at a nearby bench.
"Lili can't accompany her fellow familia members because they want nothing to do with her. All they see is a small weak little girl," Lili said, gesturing to her tiny frame to emphasize her point.
"I don't understand, have you tried talking to your deity about this? Surely they can do something." It was definitely a long shot, there was a possibility that her deity was one of the "kind" deities that supposedly exists in Orario.
Lili shook her head to the side, denying his statement.
'Of course her deity wouldn't help her. What was I thinking?' Anger started to swell up inside Bell but he remembered his conversation with Ryu and his encounter with the god Miach. 'Focus' he thought, mentaly shaking his head. One of Queen Annalise's teachings was to prioritize problems, he'd deal with the situation at hand first before thinking about his unresolved questions about deities.
"Because of that, Lili is struggling to find a party that will accept her. If Lili doesn't make more money, she won't have enough money to buy food and she will have to live on the streets. P-Please!" She suddenly latched onto Bell like he was her lifeline and stared into his wide eyes with tearful eyes. "Please hire Lili! Lili doesn't want to end up on the streets!"
"Please calm yourself," Bell said as he quickly pried the girl off of him, uncomfortable at the sudden physical contact.
"Lili is sorry about that, but will you hire Lili as a supporter?" The girl asked, slight hope in her voice.
Bell started to think. Although he needed a supporter to exchange the monster crystals for valis, he was finding himself reluctant to hire her. His gut was telling him there was something more to her than "meets the eye," as Ryuu would say. There was no way this girl was different from the prum he encountered two days ago. Their physical appearance and height were exactly the same with the exception of the dog ears. Did she have some form of magic that allowed her to change her appearance? Or did he actually miss them when he first encountered her? He knew he wasn't in the best mental state when he first saw her, but his time during his eternal hunt trained him to take note of every physical characteristic of anyone he came across. It just didn't seem possible for him to miss something as noticeable as dog ears.
Still, as he gazed at her hopeful expression, her hands clasped together as if she was praying for him to say yes, her appearance again slowly morphed into that of Caroline. The girl's long coat and backpack disappeared, replaced with a crimson dress that belonged in the Victorian era. The blood soaked red ribbon that Bell found in the sewers of Yharnam slowly materialized onto the girl's hair.
"Yes okay, thank you very much mister hunter! I love you almost as much as mum, dad, and grandad!"
Bell's guilt reached a crescendo when he recalled those endearing words the girl blessed upon his undeserving self before being devoured by that pig. The pain Bell felt from the guilt was equivalent to swallowing hundreds of sharp needles. Oh how he wished he could go back in time to correct his worst mistake.
'But perhaps…is this my road to forgiveness?' The thought surfaced in Bell's mind but he already knew the answer to this question. Nothing he could do would make up for letting that pig devour Caroline, but this could be his opportunity to prevent this girl from suffering a similar fate. He could tell this girl wasn't strong and would most likely perish in the Dungeon. Bell's morbid mind flashed a picture of the girl's corpse with lifeless eyes and he immediately felt like vomiting. If something were to happen to her because he denied her the chance to be his supporter just because he was a little suspicious of her, he would never forgive himself. It would be like him being the reason Caroline died all over again. He would rather die than let that happen.
Bell made his decision and spoke.
"Alright, I'll hire you."
"You will?!"
The white haired boy nodded his head and Lili lept in joy.
"Yes! Thank you so much master Bell!"
Bell felt his lips quirk upward as he watched Lili jump around in joy. This girl was kind of adorable. She was like a cheerful Caroline, but with dog ears of course.
"How does a partnership between an… adventurer and supporter work? Do I need to pay you some compensation or something like that?" The white haired boy asked.
Lili shook her head. "No. Because this is our first time working together, we'll treat this as some sort of trial run so we can just share the profits."
Bell nodded his head. "Sounds reasonable. I look forward to working with you."
"Lili could say the same thing!"
And so, the hunter and supporter began to make their way to the Dungeon, the latter not expecting what was about to happen.
The world is a cruel place, and this was a fact that Lili was constantly reminded of.
When she was a toddler, her parents were taken from her when they never returned from their trip into the Dungeon.
When she tried to become an adventurer, multiple close brushes with death quickly made her realize she didn't have the talent nor the skill to be one.
When she became a full-time supporter, she was discriminated against and abused just because she wasn't strong enough to be an adventurer.
She didn't even have the luxury of friends or family members she could trust. She quickly learned that the members of her familia, the Soma familia, were not to be trusted. Their minds, corrupted by the heavenly drink that Soma frequently made, caused them to view Lili as nothing but a tool to be used to get them more money. Money was at the forefront of all of the Soma familia member's minds because if they made enough, they had a chance of drinking Soma's heavenly drink.
She understood that need to drink his beverage. She had drank it once, and no words could properly describe how delicious that drink truly was. The moment the drink went down her throat, everything changed. Nothing else mattered to her, her only goal in her mind was consuming that heavenly drink.
This lasted for months until she willed herself against the drink. Although the drink was truly the most delicious thing she has ever tasted, its divine taste enslaved you, corrupted you. It was capable of warping the kindest people into slaves that would do anything to just have a sip of the beverage.
She needed to leave her familia as soon as possible. However, in order to do that, she needed money, and a lot of it.
This need for money to escape the chains that bound her to the Soma familia, combined with the constant cruelty she faced as a supporter, forced her to develop a mindset that the ends justify the means.
As long as she got enough money to escape the Soma familia, anything she did to achieve that goal was justified.
And that is why she sought out her mysterious rescuer. She had been worried that he would have blown her off or mistreated her but those thoughts quickly dissolved.
Their encounter was brief and strange, but it gave her a vital piece of information she could work with.
She reminded Bell of someone he deeply cared for. This was made obvious during their encounter. He called her by a name she did not have and hugged her with a strong grip, as if he was afraid she would disappear. He even defended her from that adventurer she stole from without any hesitation.
She had used this to her advantage when she approached him, acting helpless and saying she would be on the streets if he didn't let her accompany him into the dungeon and for the most part it worked.
Now all she had to do was wait for the right moment to steal that weapon of his. Although she couldn't see the blade itself, it must be expensive based on how detailed the shaft was. It was probably as expensive as a first-tier weapon. A first-tier weapon is usually worth millions of valis so if she can just steal it from this adventurer and sell it, she would be finally free.
Lili nearly trembled in anticipation of being freed from the chains that bound her to the Soma familia. Based on his voice and the way he looked around the Dungeon with wonder, he had to be young and new to Orario, this was going to be an easy job.
Or so she thought.
Lili was taken aback when Bell's eyes suddenly narrowed. His feet stopped walking and he remained rooted in place as he held out his arm to prevent Lili from walking forward.
"Eh? Is something wrong master Bell?"
"Something is coming."
Right after Bell said that, a goblin appeared around the corner. The pitiful creature smiled widely once it spotted the two adventurers and started to wobble towards them. Lili was about to raise her wrist crossbow to kill the goblin but her view of the creature was obstructed by the white haired boy, who began to walk towards the goblin in a calm manner.
It was only a matter of time until the two beings clashed together but Lili immediately noticed one peculiar thing: he wasn't pulling his weapon out. Lili was perplexed by this, was this boy actually going to try to fight this goblin without a weapon?
Her suspicions were confirmed when Bell stopped walking and stayed in the center of the room without making any motion to grab his weapon, content on waiting for the Goblin to approach him. The goblin appeared to be delighted by this as it sped up its wobbling to attack the unarmed adventurer.
Lili couldn't help but look at the scene playing before her with a sense of disbelief and irritation. Was Bell really going to try to kill a goblin without his weapon?
Once the goblin reached its target, it finally attacked. The green creature raised its club high and swung down with all of its might, when a hand suddenly flew upward and blocked the blow with said hand.
'Huh?'
The hand didn't shake as it held the goblin's blow back, as if it took no physical effort to do so. It was like a human adult blocking a punch from a child. Like Lili, the goblin was in disbelief as its head slowly raised to look at the adventurer. Yellow eyes met crimson, and the monster's expression turned horrid.
THRACK!
Bell's right hand rocketed toward the goblin and slammed into its left cheek. A sick crunching sound echoed throughout the Dungeon as the bones in the goblin's neck couldn't withstand the sudden force, causing them to break. With its neck broken, the goblin's head yielded and spun 180 degrees before collapsing to the ground.
'Holy shit…' Lili thought as she gawked with an open mouth at what just happened. Her eye's couldn't keep up with Bell's strike! In the span of an eyeblink, he dislocated the jaw and snapped the neck of the goblin.
Lili then heard a wet squelching sound. She gasped as she watched Bell's hand pierce through the goblins chest as if it were paper and ripped out the monster crystal, causing the corpse to disintegrate.
"It's best if we keep moving, lest we run out of beasts to hunt." His tone was calm but authoritative, knocking Lili out of her shocked state.
"Y-Yes! Lili is coming!" Lili started to run over to Bell, her enormous backpack shaking back and forth in a comedic manner, emphasizing how small the girl really was. Bell watched with a smile hidden underneath his bandana.
"Let's move out."
And so they did. And to Lili's astonishment, Bell continued to fight and kill the monsters with nothing but his bare hands. It didn't matter which monster. Goblin, Kobold, Dungeon Lizards, even the Frog shooters, were all pummeled to death.
'They… they pose no threat to him…' Lili thought as she watched Bell dispatch each monster that crossed their path. Each strike from Bell was swift and powerful, creating minor shockwaves whenever his fists made contact with the monsters which resulted in them being almost blown to smithereens. The amount of power Bell put into those punches contrasted with his demeanor, which appeared to be completely calm, as if he was taking a pleasant walk.
'Did I partner up with a high level adventurer?' This was the only logical conclusion Lili could think of. His punches were powerful enough to one shot upper level monsters and when he demolished that goblin, his punch was so quick she couldn't even perceive the attack! He had to at the very least be a level 3 but Lili felt like she was lowballing with that prediction.
'This is bad… really bad.' The higher your level was, the more enhanced your senses were. Even though Lili considered herself an excellent thief, she wasn't confident she could swipe a weapon from a high leveled adventurer without alerting them.
The sound of rumbling rang in her ears. She then began to hear cracking sounds coming from the wall and when she turned her head to see the source, her eyes widened.
Coming out of the walls were figures around 160cm tall, they had a vaguely humanoid shape but were devoid of skin or hair. Every part of their body looked like a pitch-black shadow, except the single "eye" that sat in the middle of their head.
War Shadows were spawning in front of them from the walls, and there were a lot of them. They all detached from the wall and ,like a hivemind, all turned their head simultaneously to the two adventurers. The impassive stare from the War Shadows' purple gazes caused Lili to tense up and back up instinctively. War Shadows were considered "newbie killers" and it made sense. All it would take for a War Shadow to kill her was one swipe, maybe two if she was lucky enough to survive the first, from one of their claws. Her backpack soon slammed against her partner, reminding her she wasn't alone.
"M-Master Bell, I think now would be best for you to-"
BANG!
Lili was cut off when an extremely loud noise pierced her ears. The sound was so loud that it caused her ears to ring intensely, making her instinctively cover them in a frantic manner.
'What was that?!'
Lili, with hands still covering her ears, directed her attention to Bell, whose left arm was extended outward and holding a weird slender object that had smoking coming out of the tip.
"That's surprising. Even Evelyn takes them down in one shot."
The prum supporter was confused by his statement so she directed her attention to the closest War Shadow and she gasped. Right in the center of the War Shadow's face was a hole with smoke sizzling out of it. The hole was small but distinct, considering the fact that whatever that… weird object Bell was holding shot went clean through the War Shadow's head.
The War Shadow soon fell backwards and collapsed to the ground. Before Lili could even comment on how the white haired boy killed the War Shadow so quickly, she felt herself gently shoved to the side as Bell put himself between her and the rest of the monsters in a protective manner.
"Please stand back Miss Arde. I don't want you caught in the fight."
Despite being about to be swarmed by War Shadows, Bell still made no move to unsheathe his sword.
"Master Bell are you really not going to-"
The rest of the supporter's sentence halted. Her thought processes collapsed as she witnessed something that shouldn't be possible.
A weapon materialized within the palm of Bell's hand out of thin air! It was a massive weapon, easily as long and tall as the boy himself. The handle was made of old wood and in the center of the haft was a rusty metal hinge. And finally, attached at the end of the long staff was a curved blade that was sharp, crude, and easily at least four feet long.
It was a scythe. A weapon the grim reaper would use to claim the lives of people knocking on death's door.
Lili's unbelieving eyes drifted down and also realized the other weird object vanished from his left hand!
'How… how is that possible?!' The only explanation she could think of was magic but it still seemed far fetched! Using magic to change your physical appearance or healing wounds is one thing, but summoning actual physical objects out of thin air was completely different!
Lili could not focus on the reality-shattering ability because she suddenly felt a gust of wind blow onto her, causing her clothes to flutter wildly. Bell, with his weapon raised high in the air, closed the distance between him and his prey within a second.
WOOSH!
With precision that only an expert in combat possessed, Bell swung his Burial Blade in a wide circular strike, cleanly decapitating three War Shadows. Thuds resounded the floor as the three heads hit the ground, but before their corpses could follow suit, Bell already had his next target.
A War Shadow swiped its claws at its opponent, but the hunter evaded the swipe by tilting his head a couple of degrees before responding with another circular strike. Arteries were torn and the Dungeon walls were painted with crimson as the hunter's burial blade sliced effortlessly through the War Shadows torso like a hot knife through butter.
An audible click rang out as the scythe appeared to snap and fold into itself, sparks lighting up the dark Dungeon floor as the weathered hinge let out a loud creak. What was left behind was a massive blade that Bell proceeded to use to slice another War Shadow to pieces.
Lili watched Bell slaughter the rest of the War Shadows with mixed feelings. She was fascinated because watching a high level adventurer fight was a rare sight few people were able to witness.
Even though Orario is a city full of deities and contains the only Dungeon in the world, there is a great disparity between normal citizens and adventurers, and this disparity is made even more transparent when you compare the amount of adventurers at each level.
About half of the adventurers in Orario are level 1 and the rest are either level 2 or above. The number of adventurers at each level above level 2 dwindles until there is only one level 7 adventurer.
His movements were so fast she sometimes couldn't even track him, just catching afterimages of his figure as moved from one target to the next. Gusts of wind always accompanied his strikes, sending sound waves that would echo throughout the battleground. These factors reinforced Lili's earlier prediction that Bell had to be a high leveled adventurer, maybe even first-class. But if he was a first-class adventurer, how come she has never heard of him before? With his speed and strength, he should be famous, but she has never even heard the name 'Bell Cranel' before.
'Stop! I can think about this later!' Lili slapped her hands onto her cheeks in an effort to rid those distracting thoughts from her head. She still had to play the role of a helpless supporter.
Sounds from the battlefield slowly ceased, which must have meant her master killed all of the monsters. Lili removed her hands from her face and began to speak in a childlike manner.
"Wow! Master Bell is amazing and-"
Lili stopped mid sentence when she realized the battle was not over. In fact, there was still one War Shadow left. But instead of exterminating it, Bell was just dodging and evading its futile attacks.
'What is he doing?'
Bell was going through the Dungeon at a considerably slower pace now that he was being accompanied by Lili, but he didn't particularly mind, she was very weak, probably still a Level 1, and rushing to fight a more powerful monster would leave her in too much danger, which is why they still were in the 6th Floor.
Despite knowing that, Bell couldn't help but feel a little disappointed at the monsters he'd fought so far, having monsters he didn't have to worry about meant he could do a bit of experimentation with his newly re-acquired abilities, but it would be meaningless if they died too quickly for him to get any meaningful information.
A light rumbling came to his ears followed by a cracking sound coming from the walls.
'A Monster Party of War Shadows.'
The monster species was nicknamed "rookie killers" due to their speed and incredibly sharp claws, quite a bit stronger than the monster that usually appeared in Floor 6.
Bell frowned when he felt Lili's backpack against him as she retreated, the girl was clearly scared of the monsters, he wouldn't let them touch her though.
He pictured the image of a gun in his head, a beautifully crafted pistol with intricate carvings in both its metalwork and maroon wood, and pulled it from the mist. Not a moment later he felt the familiar weight of Evelyn in his left hand.
He took quick aim and fired.
BANG!
He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the result.
"That's surprising. Even Evelyn takes them down in one shot."
Back in Yharnam, firearms were used simply as a way for him to stun his enemies, as they simply either didn't do enough damage or the ones that did were too cumbersome, like the cannon, meaning they weren't reliable weapons.
He'd honestly expected more of the War Shadows he'd heard so many complaints about from passing adventurers, but it seemed that even if they were a stronger monster species, they were still merely 6th Floor monsters.
'Maybe they have weak defenses because of their elevated speed and strength? No matter, I still have more to test.'
The loud sound had a clear effect on the remaining monsters, as they stared at the two adventurers with sharper gazes than before.
Bell gently pushed Lili to the side and put himself between her and the monsters, he'd need a bit more space for the next weapon.
"Please stand back Miss Arde. I don't want you caught in the fight."
Dismissing Evelyn back into the mist, he now pictured the image of his mentor's weapon and pulled on it as he walked towards the War Shadows.
"Master Bell are you really not going to-"
Bell felt his heart ache as the Burial Blade materialized within his waiting hands. It was clear that the weapon had to seem better days, the handle had wrappings to cover cracks on the wood, which was warped due to age and lack of maintenance, the wheel mechanism was rusted and the blade itself was jagged with a few chips, and yet, he couldn't help but find it beautiful nonetheless.
Pushing one foot to the ground, Bell shot forward toward the monsters like a human-sized bullet and engaged them in battle.
He could understand why they were called "rookie killers", indeed for a monster on Floor 6 they were quite fast and their claws would tear through your average Level 1 adventurer, but even then, their movements were not at all refined, their instinct was simply "to kill" and so their attacks were easy to predict.
'The monsters are not a problem, but it's difficult to wield a scythe in a place like this.'
The Monster Party had spawned while they were in one of the corridors in the Dungeon, as opposed to one of its rooms, as such, maneuvering a polearm like the Burial Blade was hard to do without having it hit the walls. Had he been on a lower Floor, where the sizes of corridors and rooms were larger, this wouldn't pose a problem.
After tearing through the latest War Shadow, Bell pulled the scythe's blade out, disengaging the mechanism in the handle and making it fold unto itself. After quickly securing it to his back he went back to fighting the remaining monsters until there was only one left.
Instead of simply killing it, there was something Bell was especially curious about as to whether it would work or not. As the monster lunged at him, Bell reached to the wooden whistle hung around his neck, pulled his bandana down, and blew on it.
PHWEEEEEE
Bell backstepped as the ground where he previously stood, now occupied by the War Shadow, began to ripple and bubble like a thick liquid. And from within it came the head of a beast.
Its open mouth rose from the ground and encircled the War Shadow, easily covering the monster, and with a loud sound, shut itself around it.
It was a serpent. The black scales were discolored and rough signifying its old age, with some parts of it possessing unnatural growths, giving the beast a sickly appearance. The pupils of its small eyes were sharp like blades and so thin they were almost lost to the crimson of the iris surrounding it, the gaze of the beast was vacant, lacking in intelligence, uncaring for where it was or what it had consumed, it probably couldn't even tell if it had consumed anything at all. Within its mouth, the two fangs associated with the species were absent, and in its place were instead multiple needle-like teeth lining the fleshy insides.
The beast, having fulfilled its task, sank back into the ground and disappeared as quickly as it came.
Bell stared at the ground, now back to its proper solid state. He was pleasantly surprised by this development, when he had retrieved Madara's Whistle from the Dream he was not expecting it to work at all, truth be told he didn't even know how the whistle worked to begin with, the ground rippled like when the Messengers appeared, but he'd never seen the serpent within the Dream so he didn't know where it came from. Well, he could figure that out later, the important thing is that he had a new tool to his arsenal.
He looked at the monster corpses he'd made, 11 in total, and seeing no more monsters around he dismissed the Burial Blade back into the mist. Now it was Lili's part of the job.
"Alright," he turned around to face the girl "Lili, would you plea-"
"WHAT THE FUCK!?"
Word count: 7,022
And thats a wrap. Might seem like a weird part to end at but I didn't want to type out another 12k word chapter. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
There were a fuckton of reviews (which I love!) but I wanted to post this chapter already so once I am done replying to them all, I'm gonna update this chapter with them so if you're interested in that, check this chapter again in a couple of hours.
Edit November 4th:
So I read through all of the reviews and I forgot how many of them had comments about pairs and a harem. Heck, there was even one review for this chapter talking about it too and that person did bring up some good points. Some people said they want a harem, don't want a harem, don't want a massive harem and ect.
I got a question. When you say you don't want a story to have a harem, do you mean you dislike when a lot of girls like the MC or when the MC gets together with a lot of girls or love interests?
When I first wanted this story to be a harem, I never planned for a massive harem like 5+ girls. The max was going to be 3. If you're curious on who the three girls are, look up this fic on archiveofourown. There may be some people reading this that want to be left in the dark.
Once again I wanna mention this whole idea of whether this story should have a harem or not is in the air but I still got a lot of time to think about since Bell isn't going to be in any romantic relationship for a while since he gotta heal mentally first.
Just felt like saying all of this since a lot of people commented on pairings/harems and ect.
RebornLikeablackPhoenix: I think you should stick with the parings from the description in Archive of our own, they should be fine. I really look forward to see a gun in Danmachi, in actual use. Alos, btw. Someone posted ur story with a link towards ur account on wattpad, just so u know
Author: I assume you are talking about DIMENSIONADOR who is posting the story 'Cazador de cabello lunar.' He reached out a couple of months ago asking if he could post my story in Spanish on Wattpad and I gave him permission to. I appreciate that you reached out to let me know! If that actually isn't who you were talking about, can you send me a pm or just make another review telling me who it was?
Rubixjr: im very happy that u updated. i just had a bad day, but your story made me feel better. Im glad that bell finally opened up, well just a little but its a good start, he is starting to form some good bonds. Question, when do we actually get to know what freya thinks of bell's soul right now? Im excited for the next chapter, keep up the good work
Author: I'm glad I was able to brighten your day! Yeah Bell is a private person and isn't sure if sharing what he experienced in Yharnam is a good idea but it is still progress! As for your question, when I read the end of the first "arc," I will be releasing an interlude that features the POV of other characters such as Ryuu, and of course, Freya.
Zaneninjacat: i love this chapter and you did great with ryuu and bell conversation. i just hope the next chapter wont take as long as tis one to be updated. btw if your not making this a harem (btw i hope its a harem cause its danmachi...) can you atleast pleade make it a bell/ryuu/eve cause if you dont include eve in the pairing your absolutely evil...I NEED MORE PLAIN DOLL IN MY LIFE AAAAAAAAH.
Author: I wish I was able to upload faster too. I envy those authors that are able to type like 20k word chapters like nothing. Writing original dialogue and original stuff is kinda hard. Plus my beta reader and I are constantly discussing ideas and we are both busy people so we can't reply to each other instantly. Once we approach canon events, chapters should be faster since I have canon stuff to work with while adding my own twists and stuff since Bell in this fic is different from canon Bell. As for Bell/Ryuu/Eve… I'm super glad you like Eve a lot but as of right now I don't plan on making Eve a love interest since she is Bell's mother figure. Maybe that will change but I am confident it won't. Sorry if that disappoints you. Hopefully Eve being best mom will make up for that! We will also get another chapter with Eve soon! BTW, how were you able to post two reviews for chapter 12?
Moose3333: The last scene seemed a bit on the nose right after the talk with Ryuu. Slowly seeing small things over a chapter or two that some of the gods did that helped people would've been a lot better than the blatant sledgehammer of a scene we ended with. Still a good chapter though, thank you.
Gadf1y: Wonderful story so far! Please keep it up). Also I think its a great idea of character development to change Bell's feelings to gods, but first god encaunter and its Miach? Right after the talk that not all gods are bad? Really? I personally think you are trying to move this character development thing too fast). IMHO first god that Bell was supposed to meet should be neutral or even bad, so there were no illusions at all that HIS world gods differs completly from Yharnam ones.
Author: I decided to reply to both of these reviews at the same time since they were similar. After thinking about it I kinda agree Miach talking to Bell RIGHT AFTER Ryuu's conversation did seem too convenient. Though having one pleasant interaction with a kind god isn't enough to make Bell suddenly think all gods are good. It just planted the seed of doubt. Glad you guys still liked the chapter!
Ninjafang1331: Awesome chapter thank you for the great talking scene between Bell and Ryuu. Also bell meeting Miach and I don't think I ever read a story for Bell joining his familia and I like how Bell won't need to join a familia to enter the dungeon. I like what I am reading. Thank you.
The Disquiting One: ...you know, why dont Bell join Miach's familia, for a change of pace? I havent read a fanfic that has done it. this Bell has the "indebted to the first person to show them kindness" kind of vibe, and i think Hestia, in my opinion, is too naive for this version of Bell.
Author: Gonna do the same thing and reply to both of these reviews at the same time. One story I can recommend that has Bell joining the Miach familia is 'Change of Fates by Ventanus. It's really good. Bell joining the Miach familia would be interesting but we'll have to see what happens.
ZdaTTy: I really enjoyed the chapter. If you go with two people as a pair for the protagonist, I recommend Tiona and Ryuu themselves who are in the tags. I don't think I've ever seen a story with just the two of them, it would be quite interesting. On the one hand, we have Ryuu who understands a bit of suffering and can talk to the protagonist about it in the future. On the other hand we have Tiona who is quite cheerful, so it would be very interesting to see the interactions and maybe be able to see Tiona changing Bell's way of thinking a little bit.
Author: You brought up some good points about Tiona and Ryuu. Tiona's bubbly personality could bring Bell some happiness and Ryuu could certainly relate to Bell's suffering. Tiona x Bell is an underrated ship that I wish there were more stories of. BTW love your stories. Also pretty cool that you started your own bloodborne x danmachi fic. Looking forward to that!
Pahlok: The thing about harem pairing is that they often have shallow buildup. More than that, it's like everyone in the harem is simply okay with it just because they love the MC. That doesn't make any damn sense. Worse, writers often ignores characters' principles. Riveria, an elf AND a princess, willingly be a part of a harem is just one of many nonsensical examples I've seen. If you change course from harem to one or two pairing, go for it. Don't stick with harem pairing just because some readers demand for it. That's a recipe for disaster. Anyway nice chapter man. Thanks.
Author: Yeah that's a common problem with most harem fics, especially ones with Riveria. No offense to any harem fanfic writers I still enjoy those types of fics. Whenever I read a harem fic, especially some with Riveria, I alter my expectations, suspend my sense of disbelief and just roll with whatever the harem fanfic writer writes.
Kratos 57 Naruto: Thanks for the update. About the slot thing, could it apply to drip(eyes emoji)? I liked the logical approach Bell took to dissecting others' characteristics. Syr acting playfully even when Mia capable of wrecking multiple buildings with w finger along with a nasty temper, elves and their dodging of make up etc. bruh, I legit thought I was thr only one who guessed this lmaoo. in my opinion, with this alone, you've given canon a thorough thrashing. Oomori seems to have their problem of randomly introducing bullshit. With how you write, I personally don't dread the harem tag. You explored PTSD n trauma super well and how peeps can be guarded with their secrets and how we hypocrisy n stuff. I dont doubt you will explore this trippy romance path with jealousy and all that…For fighting style inspiration(I know you didnt ask but...), I suggest you look into sekiro's combat arts. chasing arts, living flame and the like. I think it would combo well with the bloodborne style. Mist raven could replace by that magic bone I'm forgetting that let's you use quickening, was it? I'm still waitin to play bloodborne. If you havent played sekiro for some reason then play it if you cant then watch YouTubers like OngBal (I recommend Ultimate Isshin and Ultimate Genichiro).the way those modded bosses fight could really help you, I think. anyway, that's enough blather from me, toodles.
Author: It unfortunately doesn't apply to drip. I'm glad you liked the logical approach, especially the aspect about elves. It was always canon to me that elves would be like the way I described them in the previous chapter so I decided to put my interpretation into the story. I am playing Sekiro right now and man that game is hard. I'll look into what you recommended. Also thanks for giving harem advice in a comedic manner. It was actually helpful and made me laugh a lot lol. One more thing, long reviews are never bad I love them so don't feel like writing a long review would bother me :)
Salamandra314: So... Canon of this world is completely out of rails. I had the suspicion... But still i have a question on that regard. Would Bell join Hestia Familia like he did in canon or he will not join any God?
Author: With Bell's mindset right now, he wouldn't.
Enumeaelish666: He believed that you should not be so impartial about the good gods of Danmachi since they can also be selfish even if in a way they do something out of good will, for example Miach who, going behind the backs of the other members of his family, spent all your family's savings for the sake of your favorite putting the other members in a difficult situation, that's selfish. Another thing I wanted you to clarify is if Bell's lucidity, which currently must be at its maximum, will affect him in any way, at least he should not see the world, reality in the same way as mortals, perhaps that the gods cannot Notice when he lies. Lastly, he asked me if Freya will make a move to try to get Bell to join her family since she must have noticed that he is strong enough to survive in it.
Author: That's an interesting way to think about the Miach familia situation. It would be viewed as selfish, but he did allow the familia members who didn't want to deal with the debt leave the familia. If Miach didn't allow the adventurers who didn't want to deal with the massive debt that was caused by him leave, then that would truly be selfish. As for Bell's 'lucidity' and Freya, its kinda hard to answer without spoiling it.
SteelWingAngel: A 12k long chapter! What a treat! I'm curious though, is Bell still in the process of ascending into a Great One? Cause that would be insane to see how Gods would react to seeing a Great One. Also crossing my fingers for Ryuu/Bell paring because finding stories with with only them as a couple are few and far between.
Author: Glad you enjoyed the treat! His process of ascending into a Great One was stalled because he died shortly after killing the Moon Presence.
Haloman6494: think you did the dialogue pretty well and the deity interaction was fine maybe a little too soon after hearing that god's can be good but doesn't hurt it in my eyes that much,bigger question about the dream will the waking world start bleeding in or vise versa so the workshop is effected and altered or the workshop starts to manifest somewhere in the waking world
Author: Workshop is an interesting idea though I don't think it would make sense as of right now in the story since Bell's connection to the Hunter's Dream isn't as strong as it once was. I like the idea though. This could possibly happen if Bell's connection to the Dream was stronger.