Chapter 10: True Convictions

"Lily does't think that going on the expedition is a good idea."

It was evening and both Bell and Lily had returned from the dungeon safely and without any notable injuries.

"So you've been saying all dinner," Archer said as he held out his hand to her and she handed him her empty plate for seconds.

"Lily is serious," Lily said as she took back her now full soup bowl. "Lily has heard horror stories about the Lower Levels. Lily has heard that there are dragons that breathes fire so powerful that they attack Adventurers from an entire floor below."

"You mean like if they're on the fourteenth floor they can shoot up and through to the thirteenth floor?" Bell asked as he swallowed some bread.

"Yes…but Lily thinks they're on the lower fifties. Fifty-eight, Lily recalls."

"Mu…muuu…let's cancel it after all!" Hestia said, shaking with worry.

"It's far too late for that," Caster said as he sipped his drink. "Did I not tell you already? A goddess's duty is to wait and trust her children to come home."

"I know, but I can't help but worry about my children…" Hestia said as she slumped down on the table. "Especially one going with that Loki of all people. Don't let them steal you away form me, okay! Fight your way out if need be!"

"You don't have to worry about me, Lady Hestia," Archer replied. "I won't leave this Familia willingly."

"If anyone has to be worried of being snatched away it would have to be that fool next to you."

Caster spoke up and glanced toward Bell who simply looked confused.

"Umm…how do you mean?" He asked.

"Ah, Lily understands," Lily nods. "Master Bell's growth is abnormal so any god would be interested if they know about it."

"Ah…" Bell nodded, finally getting it. "Don't worry Goddess. I won't go to any other Familia so long as you're here. After all, you're the only one who would accept me into their Familia in the first place."

"Bell…" Hestia looked at Bell with tear welling up in her eyes. She then starts bawling, "You're such a good kid, Bell!"

"Goddess-wah!"

Hestia then jumped over and started hugging Bell tightly.

"Lady Hestia is really clingy today," Lily pointed out.

"She's always clingy when it comes to Bell though," Archer pointed out and Lily agreed with a nod.

"That is not necessarily a good thing," Caster noted. "Those who are loved by the gods…always meet with a cruel fate sooner or later."

"If you're jealous of Bell, you only need to say so," Archer said with a smirk.

"As if," Caster growled before taking a sip of wine.

The next morning, Archer sparred with Bell again and let the boy struggle a bit more before beating him down. Lily was sitting on the doorstep watching without comment as if worried that if she made fun of him she would be the one getting beat down next. She did offer Bell a drink after the session though before the two of them headed off into the dungeon together.

"It's like they're siblings," Archer noted.

"They better stay only siblings…" Hestia mumbled from the behind Archer and he turned to see her resting her head on the windowsill. "I'm the only one for Bell!"

"Yes yes, as you say," Archer said with disinterest as he ran a wet towel across his face.

"Do you think Bell is really going to get better like that?" Hestia asked.

"He is getting better," Archer pointed out. "He's reading my openings better, he's lasting longer each round, he's also incorporating punches and kicks into his attacks, and it's much safer than fighting a monster since I won't kill him even by mistake."

"Hmm…I guess I don't like it because it looks like one of my older children is bullying my youngest…" Hestia said as she let out a long sigh.

"I'm not bullying him," Archer said irritatedly. "He wants to train like this just as much as Caster wants him to-wait…youngest? Bell is younger than Lily?"

"You shouldn't judge a Pallum's age just from their size, Shirou," Hestia teased with a smirk. "It's only by a few months but Lily is indeed older than Bell. She's 15 and he's 14."

"Huh…that's surprising…" Archer said honestly as he folded his arms and cocked his head to the side. "By the way…changing topics for a moment, is there anything you want for lunch? I'll make it before I leave for Loki Familia."

"Ahhh…don't remind me about that," Hestia said as she waved her hand back and forth lazily. "Something that can be heated up easily will be fine. How about that instant rice soup that you guys had in the dungeon? Since I don't want Caster to work through lunch without something to eat as well. Even if you guys don't need food to survive I can at least make sure you eat on time since it's about all I can do to help you."

Archer looked at Hestia's warm and bright smile before letting out a sigh.

"Really, you're the one Lily should be calling 'Mama' not me," he said with a laugh. "All right, I'll prepare some fried rice balls. Just pour hot water over them and they'll be ready…just don't burn down the house."

"Oh come on!" Hestia shouted, all trace of her previous dignity vanishing in an instant. "It was one time!"

X-x-X-x-X

After finishing cooking, Archer left the house with a bag of the fried rice balls hanging from his waist and the Loki Familia pass in his pocket.

The Loki Familia Home wasn't hard to find. Everyone knew where it was, being one of the top three Familias in Orario after all. It was more or less a giant castle situated in the city, making Archer wonder just how much tax they had to pay to the guild every month. Although it wasn't as though the Familia couldn't afford it due to their massive amount of members.

He showed the token to a guard at the front gate and was led to a large yard where various members of the Familia were running around preparing supplies.

"Oh, you're the one, huh?"

Archer saw a man that could basically be described as a short and stout wall of muscle. A dwarf with a rather scraggy looking beard that radiated strength from his very being.

"Gareth Landrock, I presume?" Archer asked.

"That's right," Gareth nodded, extending a strong hand toward Archer who shook it. "And you must be Tiona's sword copier."

"I can do axes too," Archer said, noticing one resting against the wall from the direction Gareth had walked over from.

"Hah! Is that right?" Gareth asked. "You're one with a lot of talents then."

"Not at all. Just one single talent that I can do very, very well."

"Good to hear. I'll be honest, if you can help us out, you'd be saving us a lot of money and be keeping a lot of our youngsters safe. Anyway, since our Captain's off fooling around in the dungeon for a bit, I'll be working with you for today."

Gareth led Archer into a large tent as several people were glancing over, curious as to why Gareth was leading an outsider around.

"What do you make of these?" Gareth asked, showing Archer a table of rather colorful looking daggers.

"These are…" Archer muttered as he glanced over the daggers. "Magic Swords. Swords that have magic spells built inside them, right?"

"Oh, you've seen one before?" Gareth asked, impressed. "I thought you were from a new Familia?"

"We are…but our Supporter saved a lot of money before joining us and has one on her person."

"Must have saved up a lot of blood and tears for that," Gareth muttered. "Not too many people treat Supporters very well. You take good care of her, you hear me?"

"Of course," Archer said with a smile. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Think you can copy them?" Gareth asked, stroking his beard. "If not there's no problem, we can just purchase more, but having spares of these can mean life or death….and a fuller wallet."

Archer nodded as he picked one of them up after getting the okay from Gareth and flipped them over in his hands.

Magic Swords.

As he said, Magic Swords have a limit in how many times the spell embed inside them can be used. Once that limit was reached, the sword would shatter, making them last resort weapons at best. After all, taking a weapon that was guarantee to break into the dungeon where everything was trying to kill you was a terrible idea. Not to mention that the spell contained in the blade was also much weaker than the actual spell that could be cast through a mage and a chant.

But if you could make them on the fly…

"Trace on…" Archer muttered as Gareth looked at him curiously.

"Hmm? What was that?" Gareth asked only for Archer's body to start glowing and he took a step back. "Oh!"

Judging the concept of creation…

A disposable sword for use of the Loki Familia as they ventured into the Lower Floors.

Hypothesizing the basic structure.

It was shaped like a simple dagger with a colored blade to symbolize the fire magic held within. It wasn't very strong compared to the spell it was based on but it was useful for what the Loki Familia had planned for them.

Duplicating the composition material.

A list of metals found on this world and the Dungeon filled his mind.

Imitating the skill of its making.

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth.

Reproducing the accumulated years.

Excelling every manufacturing process…

Lightning arc'd around Archer's arms and when they died down…a pair of magical swords looking identical to the ones on the table were in his hands.

"…Seriously?" Gareth asked as Archer shrugged with a wry smile on his face.

"This is the first time I tried it on these things," Archer said holding them out to Gareth. "So I don't know how useful they are. The firepower should be the same but the durability's probably halved."

"No, that's more than enough," Gareth said as he took one and examined it. "Let's see here…oi! Some set up a target!"

Gareth shouted to the gaping audience and several people quickly moved and brought over a wooden dummy that had several broken arrows embedded in it.

Gareth swung the projected Magic Sword in his hand at the dummy and a ball of fire came out of it properly and ignited the dummy without any problems.

"Well, I'm impressed," Gareth nodded. "Strength's more or less the same so that's perfect. Oh…I better mark them so we don't mix them up with the real ones. You know…you could make a lot of money selling these."

"If I did, they would be a scam," Archer said as he snapped his fingers theatrically and the slightly used Magic Sword in Gareth's hand shattered into a million particles of light. "Seeing as I can just destroy them just as easily as I can make them."

"Hah, yes I suppose you would be scamming people if you sold them like that," Gareth nodded.

"I can do a few more though. How many do you think you'll need."

"To be perfectly honest, I'd like one for each member of my Familia but that's probably way too hard on you. So try making ten for now."

Archer did so without any problems, allowing Loki Familia to have four regular Magic Swords and ten Fake Magic Swords.

"Well I'll be…didn't think it'd be that simple," Gareth nodded as he marked the fake ones with colored tape.

"They should last for a while," Archer said as he rolled his shoulders to get out a kink that had formed while he was working. "If they vanish I can make them again before the expedition proper."

"Sounds good, but you aren't pushing yourself right?" Gareth asked worriedly. "Don't want you getting a case of Mind Down. The old elf would yank my ear off."

"Speaking of Lady Riveria…" Archer began. "Is she fine with this? I heard that Elves hated Magic Swords."

"She ain't the type to not use something just because she hates it if it could help the Familia," Gareth answered, storing the Magic Swords away. "She may have her pride, but she's also decided what's more important to her."

"I see…"

"By the way, you think you can look at the Durandal weapons when the smith we ordered them from bring them over?"

"I don't think I should be near someone who can replicate their days long effort in a matter of seconds. They might want to kill me…or make me join their Familia" Archer replied as Gareth let out a bark of laughter.

"I think Tsubaki would try to do both," Gareth said with a smile. "But still…having you around will definitely make this expedition easier."

"I'm just worried about leaving my younger two Familia members alone for that long…" Archer admitted and Gareth let out a laugh as he pounded Archer's back.

"That's just how it is," the dwarf said. "Though you can't be babysitting youngsters forever. They'll never grow if you do. Besides, still got about two weeks before we actually set off. Get them to a level you're comfortable with so that you aren't as worried."

"I do not know if I will ever be comfortable not watching over them," Archer admitted. "My first day in the dungeon with Bell ended with him nearly getting killed by a Minotaur."

"Ah…"

Gareth let out a small noise and suddenly looked uncomfortable as Archer looked at him.

"Ahh…you know…sorry about that…" Gareth said with a chuckle. "That may have been our fault."

Gareth told Archer about how some of his more overeager Familia members scared off a herd of Minotaurs on the way back from their previous expedition and sent them running to the upper floors and they were forced to chase after them before any accidents happened.

"I see…" Archer nodded. "Well, no harm done aside from scaring the daylights out of Bell."

"I'll bet," Gareth sighed, still looking apologetic. "But since you can beat a Minotaur all by yourself at Level 1, that means I don't have to worry as much about you during the expedition."

"I'll stay out of everyone's way as much as possible," Archer said. "Is there anything else?"

"Well…since you're here and done much earlier than expected…how about giving these a go?"

A few dozen spare blades, spears and axes and a frying pan as a joke later, Archer left the Loki Familia home without any problems, even if he didn't actually get to see inside the building itself.

"Well, it was only natural that they wanted to protect their secrets," Archer muttered as he walked down the streets back home.

X-x-X-x-X

"So everything went all right?" Archer asked at dinner time when Bell and Lily returned.

"Yes…for the most part," Lily admitted.

"Lily got jumped by an imp on the tenth floor but the cut was shallow," Bell said. "I'm sorry…we got split when the bats started screeching."

"Injuries are to be expected in the Dungeon," Caster said simply. "The two of you will only disappoint me should you fail to return home from the Dungeon."

Although he said that, both Bell and Lily's shoulders were slumped.

"He's right," Hestia said. "The important thing is that both of you came home safely. So don't worry about it and eat up! I got a lot of leftover jagamaru-kuns today so eat your fill!"

The potato puffs were Hestia's favorite so she always strived to take home any unsold products at her stall. Bell was never really picky so he didn't mind eating them and Lily also liked them because they were extremely cheap and filling at only thirty valis each.

Even so, both of them remained rather depressed as they ate silently.

"What of Loki Familia?" Caster asked Archer, changing the subject.

"The prep work is ongoing," Archer replied. "But they're expected to head out in two weeks. I will be going back and forth during this time to help them prepare their equipment."

"Is this really worth it though?" Hestia grumbled, still not happy that one of her children was helping out a goddess she didn't particularly liked.

"I'm acquiring blueprints for more weapons…" Archer said as he held out his hand and a spear appeared in his hand before being replaced by a pair of daggers and a massive axe. "The Loki Familia Executives' weapons."

Bell finally looked up when the spear appeared and his eyes went from sad to shining in an instant as he gazed upon the weapons of Orario's top Adventurers.

"I see…so your mental library increases each time you gaze upon a new weapon," Caster said, his face twisting into a scowl. "Humph…well, I shall ignore it as it increases the Familia's power. Arde."

"Y-yes!" Lily replied, sitting up straight.

"If you are feeling useless then join Cranel and Archer in the morning. I do not have time for your moping. Instead, make yourself useful and find ways to increase your growth."

"Yes…Lily apologizes…" Lily said as she lowered her head before turning to Archer. "Can Lily join Master Bell and Master Archer in the morning?"

"I think we can squeeze you in," Archer nodded. "We'll make it so that you can shoot Caster's hat right off his head without him realizing it."

"Lily would rather not but Lily wouldn't mind the skill anyway," Lily said as Caster glared at Archer who simply smirked at the king's direction.

X-x-X-x-X

The next day went more or less the same as the first one as Archer created more weapons for the Loki Familia while Gareth watched with a rather complex expression.

"You know…" Gareth began as he examined a near identical copy of his beloved axe. "I'm starting to think we might be underpaying you, whatever it is."

"Well, the effort I'm putting into making these things is more or less non-existent so the cost of labor shouldn't be all that much," Archer pointed out.

"You're going to make a lot of smiths cry with that attitude…" Gareth pointed out as he gave the axe a few practice swings. "Mmm…weight and handling's the same…put them side by side and you probably can't tell the difference unless you're a High Level Smith…I could probably just use your copies if I don't want to ruin my original axe again."

"That thing did look as though it's been through a lot," Archer noted as he looked back at the original sitting in the corner. "…Not as much as Tiona's Urga but…"

"That idiot doesn't control her strength properly so it makes those poor lads in Goibniu Familia cry all the time."

"Hey! Who you calling an idiot!?"

The two of them turned around to see Tiona, holding her hands on her waist, glaring at them with a small pout.

"The dumb Amazon that keeps breaking her hundred plus million custom made weapon," Gareth replied as Tiona stuck her tongue out at him.

"By the way Archer," Tiona said walking up to the man. "Can you add custom things to the weapons you make?"

"It's theoretically possible," Archer began. "But it would also depend on what you had in mind?"

"How about making an unbreakable Urga?"

"That I can't do. The things I make can be broken by me after all. I can't make something unbreakable because I ca always break the things that I create…do you understand?"

"Uhh…maybe?"

"I see…" Gareth nodded. "So you already tried it on a Durandal weapon? Well, I suppose there are limits to everything. Or rather if you didn't have limits on that thing I'm sure a either Hephaistos Familia or Goibiu Familia would have some choice words with ya."

"I'm doing my best to not step on anyone's toes," Archer said honestly. "My Goddess probably won't be able to handle the fallout. Besides, you'd probably get more out of your original than a hastily made copy."

As he said it, he made another copy of Urga and tossed it over to the Amazon who caught it with a twirl of her hand as if the massive blade was nothing more than a gymnast's baton.

"Yeah but no one would get made if I broke a copy and I don't have to keep raking up my debt," she replied, sticking her tongue out as if she was trying to play cute.

"Well…you got a point there I suppose."

"Oh right," Tiona suddenly said as she pounded her palm. "You're only Level 1, right? I know you were fast enough to avoid those New Species but can you hold yourself okay in a fight? Even we aren't bringing anyone below Level 2 on the Expedition."

"From the sound of things he beat one of those Minotaurs you idiots chased up to the Upper Floors a few weeks back," Gareth said as Tiona let out a sound to show that she remembered. "Seems like Ais saw it happen too but didn't really remember it until I asked."

"Ahh…so she was the one I felt nearby back then…" Archer muttered. "Well, I was more concerned about getting Bell out safely so I didn't bother looking."

"Uu…sorry about that…" Tiona muttered, looking actually apologetic. "Well, if you can fight Minotaurs one-on-one then you'll probably be as fine as Lefiya."

"A Level 1 that can fight on the level of at least Level 3…" Gareth muttered. "You live long enough you see the damndest things."

"I can show you the Falna if you think we're lying," Archer offered but Gareth shook his head.

"Don't go showin' off things like that so easily," he replied. "I don't think you're lying…you wouldn't survive in this city long if you were…but the Falna's as important as your life."

Archer nodded as the fake Urga vanished, almost causing Tiona to fall over as she was leaning on it.

"Hey!" The Amazon shouted indignantly as she caught her balance.

"Come to think of it, since you can make whatever you want to fight with, is there anything you consider your favorite?" Gareth asked.

"Duh, it's in his name," Tiona said with a smile. "He's 'Archer' so he probably uses a bow right?"

"Labeling someone like that is rude," Archer said, crossing his arms. "In my case it happens to be true, but still. I also prefer using two short swords in close range as well."

"A bowman, huh?" Gareth muttered as he looked around and saw a target someone hadn't cleaned up after using on the other side of the yard. "Think you can hit that from here?"

Archer glanced at the target and brought up his left hand, allowing a black bow to appear as he took aim at the target. Luckily there wasn't anyone else out in the yard at this time so there was no worry about someone randomly walking in the way.

Well, even if someone did, there was no way Archer wouldn't see them first.

After pulling back on the empty string for a moment, a simple arrow appeared in his hand and he nocked it on the string.

Then in a smooth motion, the arrow whistled through the air and struck the target.

"Ohhhhh…" Tiona said as she clapped her hands. "Bullseye."

"I see…" Gareth nodded. "Around Riviera's level when she decides to pick up her bow. I always considered bows to be useless as a main weapon in the dungeon for several reasons. First off being arrows don't do squat to the higher level monsters unless they're made of stronger material and no one wants to use rare material in potentially one shot projectiles. And the second is that once you're out of arrows, you better be able to pick up sword to keep helping out otherwise you're dead weight. Not that bows don't have their place as distraction weapons of course."

He then glanced at Archer's bow.

"Though if you can just make up your arrows on the fly then there won't be any problems with you using a bow at least."

"Hey Gareth," Tiona began. "If we have Archer with us, do we even need the Hephaistos High Smiths anymore? I mean, if something breaks he can just magic up a new one, right?"

"And if Archer bites it we lose all our weapons," Gareth pointed out. "Not having a single point of failure is important in the Dungeon, especially when we're going that deep."

"Ah…good point."

"Archer is also standing right here and doesn't appreciate his death being speculated about," Archer said with a wry smile as Gareth chuckled and thumped his back with a powerful hand.

"Don't worry," Gareth said. "Stick close to one of us and you'll be fine."

"I guess…by the way…"

Archer turned to the stack of various weapons on the table.

"…Do you plan to keep the unbroken fakes for as long as possible even after the expedition?"

"If you don't mind," Gareth said with another laugh. "Like you said, the cost of labor isn't much, right?"

"Well…I suppose I don't lose anything either way," Archer said with a shrug. "But do remember…that those fakes could disappear when you least expect it once the expedition is over."

Not because they would degrade over time or anything but because Archer could break them whenever he wished. They weren't true permanent items after all.

"Hey Archer," Tiona began. "Wanna try sparring?"

Tiona's suggestion was so out of the blue that even Gareth looked surprise.

"Sparring with a Level 5?" Archer asked. "I'm not so suicidal as to attempt that."

"Come on, I know how to hold back. If you can take on a Minotaur on your own while protecting your Familia member then you should at least be around Level 4 in skill. It won't be that big of a difference."

And that could particularly be a bad thing.

"And if I end up fighting near your level, won't end with you holding back less and then end up breaking a few of my bones?"

"He's got you there," Gareth nodded as Tiona puffed up her cheeks in a pout.

"Stop being so mean!" Tiona said as she went to the back of the tent and started rummaging around a barrel. "Let's see…I know there are a few wooden swords around here somewhere."

Archer simply sighed as he rubbed his forehead with his right hand. Holding his left hand out, he conjured up the image of Urga while altering its base material.

"Tiona."

Tiona turned around just as the altered Urga soared toward her.

"Oh! It's a wooden Urga!" Tiona said happily as she caught it and spun it a few times in her hand. "The weight's about the same too!"

"…Really now…" Gareth said as he rubbed his eye. "Your magic is really something. You aren't overdoing it right? There's no need to humor this idiot Amazon's whims."

"Well, I'll consider it a plus for me too," Archer answered the dwarf as two wooden short swords appeared in his hands. "If I can last against Tiona for a while, then I can survive against the monsters on the Deep Floors long enough for one of you to rescue me."

"…Fair enough…" Gareth admitted. "But we're setting some ground rules."

"Not first to lose weapons, I hope?" Archer said as he dropped one of the blades and formed another one in his hand before the blade hit the ground. "Cuz that's part of strategy."

"…The more and more I talk with you, the more I realize just how versatile that magic of yours is…" Gareth said with a chuckle. "Fine. Go until I say stop or one of you falls flat on the ground."

"Okay!" Tiona nodded as she walked out onto the open yard with Archer waiting across from her. "Ready?"

"Whenever you are…" Archer said, feeling as though he was going to regret this. While he didn't think he was going to lose out right, he had no idea what a Level 5 was capable of after all. Well, they should have plenty of healing potions either way.

"Then go!" Tiona shouted as she immediately closed the distance between them with a single step, causing Archer's eyes to open wide. He quickly brought up his blades to catch the fake Urga mid-swing. The power behind the blow caused his knees to buckle and it was all he could do to keep it from crushing him. "Oooh! Not bad!"

"Are you trying to kill me you crazy Amazon!?" Archer shouted as he reinforced his arms and pushed her off of him.

"Ehh? Come on, that was just a greeting!"

Level 5…it definitely wasn't something to take lightly. They could probably match lower level Servants at the very least…or at least through Tiona's brute strength was a match.

"You sure you're only Level 5?" Archer asked.

"'Only' he says…" Gareth muttered as he shook his head while Tiona simply laughed.

"I feel like I'm only a few days away from Level 6!" Tiona admitted. "That's why you should try going all out, Archer!"

"Well…I won't be able to do that…" Archer said before he disappeared from where he stood.

"Oh!" Tiona let out a small gasp before raising her fake Urga above her head, catching Archer as he slashed downward from the sky above her. "You're pretty fast!"

Then with a swing of her arms, she flung Archer off of her, allowing him to land back down on the grass.

It looks as though there wasn't a way for him to overcome her brute strength if he struck head on and her speed wasn't anything to scoff at either. Frankly the optimal thing for him to do was to retreat and use his bow but this was a spar so there was no need to go that far.

In the second he used to try and plan his next attack, Tiona charged him again and he had no choice but to meet her whirlwind of steel head on.

Honestly, Tiona was one of his worst type of opponents. An opponent who knew his tricks and gimmicks while he was in a situation where he couldn't back off and snipe from range and in a one-to-one contest of strength she trumped him. Not to mention that even though their weapons were made of the same material, her powerful swings were close to shattering the swords in his hand.

But still, Archer was keeping up.

Each blow was being parried even if he couldn't find an opening in her cheerful strikes. If he couldn't find one then he'd have to make one.

Seeing a swing coming from below, Archer jumped back and blocked it, allowing the force to send him flying up into the air. He then threw his blades at Tiona, allowing them to sin and curve like boomerangs toward her.

"Oh!"

With a powerful swing, the two blades break and splinter against the might fake Urga. With that, Archer's body landed on the ground and shot forward toward Tiona like a bullet with two new wooden blades.

"Okay, stop!"

Both Archer and Tiona froze in mid motion at Gareth's call.

"Let's stop here before Tiona smashes the yard," Gareth said as Tiona had been halfway through the motion of slamming her blade into the dirt to kick up rocks to shield her from Archer's attack.

"Ehhh…but it was just getting fun!" Tiona said as her weapon vanished along with Archer's.

"Well at the very least we probably don't have to worry about Archer in the Deep Floors," Gareth muttered as he stroked his beard. "I think I got an idea why you're only a Level 1 despite your magic."

"Really?" Archer asked.

"Your usual weapons are probably some expensive and high quality blades, right?" Gareth asked. "If a Level 1 uses a weapon like that their stats won't go up at all. And since you make them as easily as breathing, it's only natural your stats won't go up except for Magic."

"Ahhh…I get it!" Tiona nodded. "Level 1s usually only start off with basic iron weapons and armor after all. If Archer can make adamantite weapons like Urga and use them then his Status won't go up at all."

"I see…that makes sense…" Archer nodded.

"Let me guess…you got your magic after contracting with your Goddess and the first thing you did was go to one of Hephaistos Familia's High Rank shops and looked through the windows, didn't you?" Gareth asked with a smirk and Archer decided to play along.

"You got me," Archer said with a wry smile and shrug. "I mean…wouldn't you? I didn't even need to get the overpriced Guild Dagger."

"Guild issued equipment huh…" Gareth muttered with a rather faraway look. "That was a very long time ago…"

"Don't get nostalgic on us now, Old Man," Tiona said with a laugh.

"I can't imagine a Level 6 as a beginner Adventurer…" Archer admitted honestly.

"I didn't sprout up from the ground a full grown Level 6 Dwarf!" Gareth said with huff. "I was a snot nosed brat just like the both of ya before. You should have seen how poorly Finn, Riveria and I got along back when Loki was just starting out. That snobby princess could barely work with us."

"Ehh…I can't imagine Lady Rivieria being snobby…" Tiona said as she glanced to the side.

"Well that was almost thirty years ago," Gareth said as he waved his hand. "Way before your time. Great now you got me acting even more like an old man."

"I'm sure you got plenty of decades left in you, Gareth," Archer said with a smile. "By the way…I wanted to ask earlier but…it's rather quiet today, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Gareth nodded. "Finn went to renegotiate the terms with Hephaistos Familia since with you around we don't need as many of their High Smiths now. The others are running around doing Quests or just diving into the Dungeon for Magic Stones."

"I see…" Archer nodded.

Right, aside from weapons, they still need things like food and potions for their expedition. And that would cost a lot of money.

"I stayed behind because being alone with Gareth wouldn't be fun for anyone, right?" Tiona asked as Gareth glared at her.

"Not at all, he's great company," Archer said with a smile.

"Ah! Stop trying to suck up!" Tiona accused to which Archer simply held his hands up in surrender.

"Wonder if those two are doing okay…" Archer muttered as he looked in the direction of Babel Tower.

X-x-X-x-X

"LILY HAS BARELY LEFT SOMA FAMILIA FOR ONE WEEK AND SHE STILL GETS CAUGHT IN TROUBLE BECAUSE OF THEM!"

""WE'RE SORRY!""

"STOP SCREAMING AND RUN!"

Bell was running in the back of the pack of four as he was being chased by a mass spawn of Killer Ants. He and Lily had been making their way through the Dungeon as normal when the two of them heard two screams followed by a stampede of monsters chasing after a white haired Hume Bunny and a black haired Renard dressed in Far Eastern clothing with Soma Familia's emblem.

"AND TO TOP IT OFF IT'S A PASS PARADE!" Lily screamed at the other two.

"It wasn't our fault!" The Hume Bunny countered. "We're the ones that got pass paraded first!"

"S-some idiot Adventurer must have have failed to kill them properly and they called for the stampede!" The Renard added.

"Lily, we're just going to drag other people into this if we keep running this way!" Bell called out. "We have to stop them here!"

"How!?" Lily shrieked. "Master Bell only has a single dagger and Lily's crossbow and dagger can't do anything against this many monsters! Annnhhh! Master Archer where are you!?"

"I-if we can find a spot where you all can protect me, then I can probably use a spell to wipe them out!" The Renard claimed.

"Spell?" Lily repeated. "Lily doesn't remember any mages! If you're newbies you shouldn't be down this far in only a week!"

"We came from outside of Orario!" the hume bunny explained. "We're not newbies who only got their Falna yesterday!"

"Gaaaah! Let's just try it!" Bell said impatiently as Lily seemed too wrapped up in her dislike for Soma Familia to plan properly. "Turn left there!"

They made a turn into a narrower corridor allowing less space for the monsters to swarm them.

"FIREBOLT!"

The red sparks shot out from his hand and burned the closest ants to ashes.

With that breathing room, Lily took up position in front of the Renard who began chanting as a magic circle appeared below her feet. This left Bell and the Hume Bunny as the vanguard who drew out a katana as they faced the incoming horde.

"Master Bell!" Lily called out as she tossed Bell the combat dagger that Archer gave her to which he caught without turning his eyes away from the Killer Ants.

"We just need to buy a few minutes!" The Hume Bunny said as she and Bell charged into the fray.

In a whirlwind of steel the two carved their way into the mass of ants. Even though they could only run for their lives earlier, with the "hope of victory" behind them, they managed to find some courage to face the oncoming swarm.

Bell didn't know when he decided to do so…but simply holding the second dagger in his off hand gave him no small amount of comfort. Was he simply imitating his hero? Pehaps. But even so…he felt it drove him one step closer to that back standing in front of him.

Decapitating the Killer Ants was not enough. Their heads needed to be crushed completely in order for them to not spread out their pheromones…or destroy their Magic Stone to destroy their body completely.

Finally…after around five minutes of non-stop cutting, stabbing and firebolting…

"It's done!" Lily called out as both the Hume Bunny and Bell backed off from the entrance at the same time.

No sooner did Bell get out of the way did a a surge of arcane energy rush past him. A beam of white light enveloped the corridor, vaporizing the rest of Killer Ants…as well as a good portion of their Magic Stones.

"Hah…Lily is alive…" Lily sighed as she sat down on the floor.

"We're sorry for getting you involved…" the Hume Bunny apologized again. "I'm Tsukinokami Kaede and my friend is Shinonome Momiji. As you might have guessed…we came to Orario from the Far East and joined the Soma Familia ."

Kaede the Hume Bunny and Momiji the Renard. Hume Bunnies were a demi-human race with long rabbit ears. Kaede's were white like her hair but a shade darker than Bell's own white hair and had yellow eyes. She was wearing a short and that hung loosely over her uncovered right side and had her chest wrapped up in bandages to which Bell believed was called a "sarashi" in the Far East.

"Nice to meet you both," Bell said as Lily huffed and turned her head away. "I'm Bell Cranel and that's Liliruca Arde. We're from the Hestia Familia."

"Oh, you're 'that' Arde?" Momiji asked as she looked at Lily. "The one who didn't lose to the Soma Wine?"

"Lord Soma has a lot of praise for you," Kaede added with a smile.

"Lily is thankful for Lord Soma's words but Lily doesn't care," Lily said softly. "Lily has nothing to do with the Soma Familia anymore."

Momiji and Kaede shared a glance as if unsure what to say.

"Umm…so why did you join Soma Familia in the first place?" Bell asked. "The two of you didn't seem like the type to go after the wine."

"There's no real reason," Kaede shrugged. "We went to a recruitment drive and after getting into the city and joined up. It seems like they kicked out a bunch of their previous members that didn't like the changes Lord Soma was implementing and needed new members so we joined up."

"Changes?"

"Like the real Soma Wine isn't to be drunk wily nilly anymore. It's only broken out or celebrations and parties like birthdays or a Level Up. Outside of that, Level 2s and up will get a small bottle a month."

The Hume Bunny held her hands out vertically about fifteen centimeters apart. It definitely wasn't an amount that one could drink their fill and was probably meant as a way for the God to limit the consumption and prevent any more mishaps like what happened to Lily.

Bell turned toward Lily who was staring at them in shock.

"…They're not letting whoever gets the most money get a drink anymore?" Lily asked.

"Was that what it was like?" Momiji asked looking rather surprised as her black ear shot up. "That sounds like it must have been awful…"

"Oh but the failed Soma is still free for anyone to drink whenever," Kaede added. "It's really good~ I always love drinking a cup of that after a bath."

Soma seemed to have turned things around tremendously since Lily left. No doubt the god finally decided to take running his Familia seriously after he got an idea of how much someone like Lily had suffered yet still triumphed over his wine.

Lily remained silent fr a while before she stood back up and looked at the mass of Magic Stones.

"Let's…just divide up the stones…" Lily said, pointing to them.

"Ahh…right…" Momiji nodded. "Is 50/50 okay?"

"I'm pretty sure you took out most of them," Bell pointed out.

"Yeah but we dragged you into this…" Kaede said with a wry smile. "So let's just call it even with this."

"Lily and Master Bell will take your generosity then," Lily said quickly to cut off anything else Bell might say.

With that out of the way, the four of them picked up their share of the loot and went their separate ways.

"They seemed nice," Bell said as the two of them decided to return to the surface while the Soma girls wanted to go spend a bit more time on the floor first before heading back up.

"They didn't seem to be lying about Lord Soma…" Lily admitted as they climbed up the steps to the Sixth Floor while passing another party headed down to the Seventh. "But all of that has nothing to do with Lily anymore. Lily is part of Hestia Familia just like Master Bell, Master Archer and Lord Caster."

Lily gave Bell a bright toothy smile as she hurried down the corridor before Bell let out a smile of his own and ran after her.