Slight Spoilers for those who haven't watched the Infinity Train movie. Man, that intern-kun mess was so fucked up. I hope that guy isn't fired for his mess.
Bell found himself watching the boy in the green and black-checkered garb walking along a mountain path in the winter. He wondered how he got there. The last time he dreamed, the boy was on a mission and was inside a contraption called a train.
The mountain felt familiar... Bell thought to himself.
He saw the boy gasp, and soon, Bell himself gasp, as he was seeing the two little siblings of the boy, alive and cheerful, greeting the boy. Was this some sort of flashback? No, he did not think so.
If it were a flashback, the boy wouldn't tear up and tightly hugged both of his siblings. Then, a dream? What prompted the dream?
They brought him back to the house. The boy's mother prepared dinner while he caught up with his other siblings. Bell watched them all with a smile on his face. The boy... had undergone so much... Seeing them all again, even just inside a harmless dream... Bell felt like the boy deserved some happiness.
His mind soon went towards his own Familia. With Goddess Hestia... and the new addition of Lili...
Was it wrong for him to want more family members? Seeing the boy with his siblings made him want more family members. He hoped Goddess Hestia could find someone to join them.
The next day arrived, and the boy just came back from chopping woods. He assessed everyone and found one missing. So he asked them where his oldest little sister was, only to find that she went out to find vegetables in the mountain, even though it was already afternoon.
They asked him why that was bad, but the boy couldn't answer. Bell wondered why. He knew that Demons roamed in the night ti-.
Oh no!
Was this some kind of trap from the demons? Bell approached the standing boy.
Wake up! Wake up! You're in a dream! Wake up!
But no matter how much Bell tried to shout, no matter how much Bell tried to get the boy's attention, he couldn't interfere with the scenery in his mind.
Ah...
Bell realized something.
He was reliving the memory. Even if this was a dream, he was not the one dreaming it; therefore, he couldn't interfere. He could only watch.
Soon, the boy's mother called him, asking to prepare a bath. The boy nodded and went out. On the way, he saw a mysterious box laid down near a tree.
That's... the demonic little sister's box! What was it doing there?!
But in a blink of an eye, it disappeared. The boy wondered what it was, as if not remembering it at all. This trap was too cruel... Bell punched the ground in frustration.
He couldn't interfere at all, even though he realized this dream was just a sweet dream, nothing else. This demon... was too cruel!
Bell gasped. That was right. There were the pig-headed Demon Slayer and the boy with the lightning-patterned garb. Were they dreaming too? What kind of dream were they having? And the Flame Pillar too, he wondered if their dream was similar to the boy's; a false happy-ending to the tragedies that were rampant in their lives.
The boy arrived at the riverside, took one bucket, and dipped it into the water. It was then that he saw something so mind-boggling. He was looking at his reflection, but it did not reflect him at all. The reflection on the river was shouting at him!
Startled, the boy did not realize that he fell to the river. Bell reflexively pinched his nose to stop any water from entering it. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was not drowning but floating on the water, looking at the boy and his reflection shouting at each other.
That was right! Go, boy in green and black-checkered garb! Realize that you were just in a dream!
When the boy opened his eyes, he was back in the house, eating dinner with his family. Now that he realized he was inside a dream, his mind was running at full speed, trying to pick a way to wake up.
And then Bell gasped as the boy in the green and black-checkered garb was suddenly enveloped in crimson flame. The sudden fire caught everyone off-guard, but strangely, the boy did not feel any burn. Instead of being burned, the boy's clothes changed after the fire subsided. Now he was back in his Demon Slaying Corps uniform, complete with his sword.
Their bond transcended different realms... Bell thought as his eyes let out tears. That crimson fire was the demonized little sister's; he was sure of it. He remembered seeing the same-colored fire before the fight against the Lower Moon in the mountain.
The boy made up his mind. Despite his longings towards the warmth of his family, he had to go back.
He had to go back, even if it meant losing the warmth he felt now.
And so he ran. In the cold and snowy winter afternoon, the boy ran away in a hurry. He had to hurry; there was a demon that trapped him and possibly the others with him.
It was then that he heard something familiar. Something he knew all his life.
It was also something he longed to hear again.
Bell gasped; his own eyes went teary at the scene he was witnessing.
The boy heard the voice of his sister calling out to him.
He stopped running. His sister asked what was wrong, but the boy did not look back. Bell knew why.
If he looked back, there was a big chance that he would be tempted to stay.
The peaceful past that he longed for, or the bleak future full of blood and tears. Any lesser man would choose the obvious.
Soon, the boy's family also came. Every one of them.
Indeed. It would be as if the tragedy was just a bad dream. Everyone was there. Every single one of the boy's family that he cherished so much... they were all there, waiting for him.
But...
The boy took a step forward.
Even with a face full of tears... even with a heavy heart...
The boy in the green and black-checkered garb never looked back and instead kept moving forward.
Bell couldn't hold back the tears that flowed out. This was just too painful to watch. Bell himself wouldn't know what kind of choice would he make if he were faced with such situations.
Because of that, his admiration for the boy grew even stronger.
The boy ran until he was in the middle of the forest. He chose to move forward, but the problem remained. How would he go back to the real world?
Bell, too, was stumped. Now that the boy realized he was in a dream, the only thing left was to leave it and wake up. But how?
Suddenly, in just an instant, the boy's father appeared and left some parting words.
Then...
He took his sword out of the sheathe and put it on his own neck.
It couldn't be... the boy had to kill himself to get out of the dream?
Bell instinctively closed his eyes, not wanting to see the boy killing himself. When he opened his eyes, though, Bell saw the boy already woke up back in the self-moving long carriage called a train. He immediately assessed the situation and deduced that the tickets were the medium for the dream.
What Bell didn't expect was for the boy to be attacked by some civilians.
They were... promised sweet dreams by the Demon, and to be granted that, they had to kill the Demon Slayers when they were trapped within the dream realm. That was... horribly cruel for the demon to do so. Exploiting the weakness of human hearts just for him to eat them all up in the end.
Because wasn't that the end goal of the demon? Sweet dreams or no, all demons preyed on humans.
The boy quickly incapacitated most of the civilians, leaving one of them because the sick one did not try to attack him. He asked him if he was alright and got a nod and thank you from him.
The boy then left the carriage he was on to hunt the demon. Smelling the demon in the far front, he jumped to the rooftop to gain faster access. Soon, he came face to face with the demon.
And then Bell woke up.
"Aaaahhh..." Bell groaned loudly. His dream was getting to the good part... Why did he wake up?
"Bell?"
"Master Bell?"
His Goddess, who once again snuck her way to the sofa, rubbed her eyes and asked him if he was okay. The same went for Lili, who woke up because of his groan. Both looked at him, still sleepy.
"Nightmare?" His Goddess asked him. Bell shook his head.
"The opposite. The dream was so interesting I regret waking up." Bell sighed. If only he could continue the dream...
Wait. That was it!
"I'm going back to sleep."
Bell laid his head back down on the sofa and closed his eyes.
.
..
...
He couldn't fall back to sleep.
Opening his eyes, Bell saw the concerned gaze of Lili and Hestia.
"Are you okay?" Hestia cupped his cheeks.
Bell nodded. "I dreamed again. And this time, it was intense, and I want to see what's next. But..."
"Why don't you continue writing it down?"
Four days ago, his Goddess finally convinced him to write the dream he had. They wouldn't publish it, as it contained things he wanted his Familia to keep secret. However, they would lend it to new Familia members to read so they would understand why Bell would have them training their breathing.
(Also, it was a good distraction from the fact that Bell was banned from going further than the ninth floor. Not that he realized what Hestia was trying to do.)
He himself actually wanted the wider world to see the greatness of the boy in the green and black-checkered garb. But there was no way to change the story's content to censor what they wanted to keep secret as it was fundamental to the boy's progress. So Bell could only gush about his idol to his Goddess and Lili.
"Okay, I'll continue to write what I saw in my dream. It was really amazing, Goddess! You'd be surprised, and I think you'll cry! I did cry at a particular scene..."
(Bell continued to gush about the dream to Hestia and Lili. Both of them paid attention to his story. Lili because he wanted to know someone so great that Bell, her idol, was emulating. Hestia was because she wanted to limit Bell from emulating all of the dreams and instead just take the good.
So far, the boy in his dream was just too good to be true, that Bell could not emulate the bad things because there had been none. Maybe she'd ask Take-Mikazuchi if the Far East were once plagued with man-eating Demons.)
It had been a week since he defeated the Infant Dragon. A whole week since Eina forbade him from going further than the ninth floor. Welf had finished Lili's sword, so Bell included training to swing a sword to the menu since two days ago. His wooden sword was still in progress, according to Welf, and would finish around tomorrow or the day after.
Currently, he was facing Ryuu in a spar, and Ryuu had the upper hand.
Taking a breath, Bell went for Shining Ray of Grace, twisting his body in a spiral with the intent to overwhelm Ryuu from the front. The trails of Fire followed his body and made a fiery twister who went for his opponent. It would not miss its mark.
Suddenly Ryuu disappeared from his view, and the move hit nothing. He was pretty familiar with Ryuu's pattern now, so he knew she was there in the air even without looking upwards. Bell dodged by running away, and indeed, the place where he was before was struck by Ryuu from above.
Before Bell could jump towards her, Ryuu made a gesture for him to stop. "Mr. Cranel. I think we should stop for today."
(That was quite attention-grabbing that it broke Lili's concentration, who was swinging her sword in basic stance on the side.)
"...why?"
"You are not in your head. For the past several days, actually." Ryuu wiped out the sweat from her head, taking a water bottle from Syr on the side. Bell had nothing else to reply to, so he just nodded glumly.
"Ryuu is right, Bell. You seemed down for the past several days. I thought you would cheer up when Miss Lili got her sword, but you're still..." Syr looked at him in concern. Now he felt terrible. To think that these people were having concern for him when the situation wasn't dire enough...
"I'm sorry for worrying you, Syr, Miss Lion."
"To be clear, I'm not worried about you, Mr. Cranel. I'm worried about Syr."
"Ahaha, is that so?"
"That is so."
"I see..."
"So, Bell. If you wouldn't mind telling us, maybe we can help?"
"No way, I couldn't possibly burden you two with such trivial matters!" Bell shook his head.
Syr frowned. "Bell, you will never burden m-us, isn't that right, Ryuu?"
"That's right," Ryuu stiffly nodded.
"Then... I guess," Bell scratched the back of his head. "My Advisor banned me from going further than the ninth until I hit Level Two. I know, I know, it's a trivial matter."
"That's not a trivial matter, Mr. Cranel." Ryuu suddenly interjected. "While I don't know the reason for it, I think you should challenge your Advisor. Banned from going further until you hit Level Two is just too limiting. The fastest record for getting into Level Two is one year. You who only had been an Adventurer for around a month... it's too limiting. You won't be able to grow as an Adventurer."
"I agree with Ryuu! I don't understand Adventurers, but if she said so, it must be true!" Syr supported Ryuu. "Why did your Advisor banned you, anyway?"
Bell laughed sheepishly. "Umm, almost dead on the eleventh?"
Syr gasped while Ryuu narrowed her eyes.
"Oh, Bell! It must be scary!"
"...Understandable. You should be more careful, Mr. Cranel. There are people that will miss you," Ryuu advised him.
Bell nodded. "I know. It's why I don't fight her decision. Putting myself in her place, you have this one kid who just turned Adventurer last month, and suddenly he almost died on the eleventh floor, even though you confirmed yourself that his status is enough according to the guideline. It is understandable why she decided to do that."
Ryuu's eyes widened. "...your stat is enough to enter the eleventh? That's..."
"Impossible? I don't know. But I don't lie. I saw what Goddess printed, and it is enough according to the guidelines."
"Hmm, what's wrong, Ryuu?" Syr looked between them.
"Nothing, Syr. Talking about Adventurer's status is not a good thing when you're not in the same Familia. You too, Mr. Cranel. Don't tell other people what you just told us." Ryuu shook her head. After a few seconds, she spoke up. "That said, Mr. Cranel, my advice to Level Up is... challenge yourself. One of these days, try to enter the eleventh or twelfth and challenge an Infant Dragon. I think it will be enough for you to Level Up."
Lili, who had finished her swings, spoke up from the side.
"He had already killed one. Apparently, it is not enough for him to Level Up. That's what got him banned in the first place."
To answer the surprised expression of Ryuu and Syr, Bell could only laugh. "Miss Arde is correct."
"Actually, Lili thinks this is just a problem that is pointed out faster than it is," Lili continued. "The Middle Floor is not something that a single high Level One like Master Bell could traverse. Lili hates to say it, but Lili would just be a burden if you decided for us to go there. Master Welf is strong, but just two Level One fighters... Lili is not confident. So Lili thinks that sooner or later, Master Bell would hit the ceilings of never entering the Middle Floors before you Level Up. Miss Advisor just take several floors off it and limit you to the ninth."
Now that he thought about it again, Lili could be right. Sooner or later, he would hit this ceiling. Eina just lowered the ceiling a little. Still, the problem remained. How could he Level Up when he was limited to face the monsters on the ninth floor?
"Well, thanks, everyone. Looking at the positive, maybe if I kill a thousand goblins or something, it will be enough," Bell finished with a smile.
"With the amount you've killed in the past week, Master Bell, try ten thousand." Indeed. While he was limited to the ninth floor, he decided to kill everything they encountered on the ninth and above. The result was Hestia Familia (plus Lili) got thrice the number of valis they spent on Welf back in just one week. And they didn't spend a small amount either on their equipment. Suffice to say, they weren't strapped for cash anymore for the time being. Hestia even stopped selling Jagamarukun and only worked on Hephaestus shop to pay her own debt (which she did not want anyone else but her to pay even when Bell insisted).
"Don't give up, Bell! I'm sure you will find a way! I don't like it when you're sad like that, so I hope today's lunch will make you happy!" Syr presented the boxed lunch she had prepared. Bell took it with a smile.
"Stay safe, Mr. Cranel. I will see you tomorrow," Ryuu then took her wooden sword and entered the Hostess of Fertility.
Bell smiled. That was her way of saying that he needed to be on his best tomorrow and let go of his trouble.
"Thank you!" Bell bowed towards the two of them.
After that, he took Lili to the outer walls, where he usually trained with Ais.
"What is it, Master Bell?"
"I've trained you to breath and swing your sword. Now combine them. I don't expect any result from the first try, but you need to familiarize yourself. Try swinging your sword while controlling your breathing."
Lili followed and entered a normal stance. Both of her hands gripping the sword, positioned above her head, and as she swung down, her right foot moved forward. She was used to swinging the sword, but she found her concentration wavering between controlling her breath and maintaining the stance. Either she lost control of her breathing rhythm, or she forwent her stance.
After ten tries, Lili spoke up. "It's hard. How do you keep your concentration, Master Bell?"
"I don't. Breathing that way is easy for me, so I don't need to maintain my concentration to breathe." At least, not if nobody slammed his body or choked him. "The next step after you successfully do this is to make breathing a second nature. I'm also still in the progress of doing that. I always stopped my breathing when I sleep."
Lili's mouth opened.
"You can sleep and breathe that way at the same time!?"
"Yes, but that's for later. For now, do your best, Miss Arde."
Lili nodded, full of determination. She wanted to be able to stand with him. She had no delusion of ever being good enough to become a first-rate Adventurer, but she did not want to ever feel helpless again.
So she swung.
Harder!
She swung the newly-smithed sword given by her idol.
Faster!
She swung it to prove to herself.
Concentrate
She swung it to prove to everybody.
Breathe in.
That she, Liliruca Arde...
Breathe out.
...was not a helpless little girl anymore.
She looked at the transparent and bright soul again. It hadn't lost its luster even after a brush with death. That was such a moment of glory; if she were the sole judge of the boy's adventure, she'd grant him another step closer to divinity. But alas, she was not. And for the longest time, she couldn't comprehend why such a feat did not pass as a requirement, but maybe she was biased. After all, his soul was really captivating!
She wondered if being limited to venture to the ninth would diminish the light, but when she laid her eyes on him, it didn't. Even when he felt insecure, it did not tarnish his soul at all. Amazing. Truly amazing.
But it still didn't compare to the brightness when he faced the impossibles. Yes. Waiting until he leveled up just to see him shining brightly again would be too long for her taste. His heart... his soul... the purity of them... she craved it.
"Ottarl. I have a request for you."
The trio of Bell, Lili, and Welf were killing monsters on the ninth floor. It was, after all, the limit that Eina had imposed on Bell, and nobody dared to break it first. Bell was sure, though, if he asked, they would follow him deeper. They were good friends. He didn't break it because he did not want to lie to Eina or disappoint her with the truth.
As usual, Bell still continued praying when he had sufficient time, leaving Welf awkwardly standing around. At the same time, Lili collected the magic stones from the corpse.
"Bell, do you really not want to go down?"
Bell shook his head. "I don't want to disappoint Miss Eina."
"She means well, but you won't be able to Level Up either if you're stuck on the ninth floor," Welf looked at him in concern. "Arde tattled to me that you were distracted in your morning spar."
"Lili did not tattle! Lili was telling Master Welf out of concern!" was Lili's reply. Then she continued her task.
"I'm okay, Welf. I won't let my guard down now that we're in the Dungeon."
Welf took one last look at him before he sighed. "If you're sure."
As Lili finished collecting all the magic stones, Bell grasped the sword on his waist. "Something's not right..."
That made Lili and Welf tensed. "Is it like last week?"
"No," Bell replied curtly, answering Lili's question. "I had no feelings telling me to stop. By all means, everything should be okay."
"Then..."
"This is not a feeling, but my instinct telling me there's something."
Just as Bell finished saying that, a pack of Hellhound came growling at them from the shadows.
"That's..." Lili gasped in shock.
"What are middle-floors monsters doing here!?" Welf shouted in panic.
Bell took out his sword. Hellhounds. Eina hadn't covered the middle-floors monsters, so he had zero knowledge on how to take them. One, two, three, four, five... Bell eyed the growling Hellhounds. Five of them somehow appeared on the ninth floor.
"Doesn't matter. Me not puking my guts means this isn't dangerous. Maintain close formation. Protect Miss Arde."
They followed Bell's instruction, and the three of them were back to back in the center of the Hellhound circling them.
Wordlessly, three of the Hellhound opened their mouth.
"Master Bell, use your water!"
Breathe of Water, Sixth Style: Twisting Whirlpool!
Bell circled Welf and Lili and twisted his body in the air, and swung his sword. The blade formed a whirlpool dome around them, protecting them from the fire breath. Immediately after that, Bell moved and struck one of the attacking Hellhounds with a well-placed slash, severing its neck.
The other Hellhounds used the opportunity to attack Lili and Welf. Fortunately, Welf was quick to swat it aside with his sword. But his work wasn't done because another Hellhound leaped at them, and he could also sense another one moving from behind.
On the corner of his eyes, Welf saw Bell moved, and he made his decision. Abandoning the leaping Hellhound, Welf focused his attention on the one behind him. Seeing that it was preparing itself to let out its fire breath, Welf quickly extended his arm.
"Burn, blasphemous deed! Will-o-wisp!"
He chanted his very own magic and targeted it to the Hellhound. A magic that can disrupt other magic, including monsters. It caused Ignis Faatus on the target, causing it to self-destruct.
The Hellhound exploded, leaving Welf ready to face the last one.
Meanwhile, the leaping Hellhound was about to attack Lili when Bell quickly appeared and stood his ground.
Breath of Water, Seventh Style: Piercing Rain Drop!
Exhaling his breath, Bell thrust his sword to the leaping Hellhound, killing it. The corpse stuck on his sword with how much power went behind it.
"Welf!" Shouting for his trusty party member to cover for him, Bell kneeled down, pointing his sword to the ground. He then used his feet to slide the corpse away from the sword and assessed the situation.
Two to go. Welf could face one of them alone if he used his magic again, but the Hellhound should've seen what happened, and there was a chance it wouldn't fire its breath again. "Lili! Back Welf up! Don't worry, let him lead you!"
Bell then went to the one Hellhound left unattended. He changed his run with movements from the Dance of the Flowing Current as he approached it, circling the Hellhound with his footwork. The Hellhound was left confused why so much water was appearing around it. Bell finished the dance with a slash, cutting its neck.
At the same time, Welf faced another Hellhound and went on a defensive posture. He could use Will-o-Wisp again, but only if it was using its fire breath. If it were to leap and bite him, he couldn't use it.
The Hellhound did not open its mouth to use its fire breath at all. Instead, it leaped towards Welf, jaw open. Damn, Welf raised his sword to defend. But as it arced down towards him, something struck it from the side, knocking it down. When he looked, there was Lili, who was gasping for air.
"Arde!"
"Two on one on it, Master Welf! Lead the way!" Truthfully, she did not want to attack. She was terrified. But Bell placed his faith in her to help Welf; she wouldn't dare to disappoint him. So with a heavy heart, she decided to be the bait; her big backpack was already released from her back before she threw her dagger. This was all she could do for now.
The Hellhound turned its attention to Lili now, leaving Welf enough time to get into position and attack it.
The two then took turns harassing it to split its focus, although he had to dodge or parry the Hellhound's attack because Lili was slow. It was tedious, but slowly, its guard lowered, and Welf could see some openings he could exploit.
Let's go! He slashed at its legs, leaving the monster howling in pain.
Lili then took a deep breath and concentrate.
Breathe in... Breathe out!
She slashed at its neck. It was not a clean slash, as her sword stuck halfway on its neck. With all her powers, Lili pushed it down, forcing it to cut the neck. Welf took it as a cue to help; his own sword followed Lili's and helped to cut the Hellhound's neck, killing it.
Both looked around to Bell, wondering if he still needed help. But all they saw was his smiling face.
"Good job, Miss Arde, Welf."
Bell then sheathed his sword and went to pray.
Welf and Lili just sighed. She then went to collect the magic stones from the corpses. After a minute, Bell finished his prayer for the Hellhounds and approached Lili and Welf.
"I only got to see your last slash, Miss Arde. Keep up the good work... you will be able to cut its neck cleanly in the future."
Lili nodded amidst her task. Although...
"Master Bell? In the heat of the moment, you called Lili by Lili's first name... could you call Lili by it again?"
"Sure, Lili."
"Again!"
"Lili."
"More!"
"Lili."
"You sound like a child, Arde."
"Shut up, Master Welf! Don't spoil Lili's happiness!"
Bell blinked. "You're happy just because I called you by your first name?"
It made Lili's cheek redden in embarrassment.
"Then is it alright if I call you Lili? You already called me Bell, anyway."
"Yes!" There was a big grin on her face.
"Still, I have to wonder how the hell did Hellhounds appear on the ninth floor," Welf remarked, seeing the corpse of the Hellhound turned into ashes. "Is there possibly an incursion?"
"I'm not knowledgeable enough, but I don't think the number warrants any serious warning on an incursion. There might be some more anomalies, however, so keep your guard up," Bell told the others, who nodded at him.
In the end, no other irregular monster sighting graced them, to which they sighed in relief. After killing more goblins and kobolds, they finally decided to end the day. Still wary of the Dungeon's acting up, they told Eina about it to warn the higher-ups in the Guild. She almost did not believe him until Welf showed her the fangs dropped by the Hellhound. Her tone changed into a more serious one after that. She asked them where they found it, what else, and many more questions to ascertain the threat level of the anomalous activity.
After the matter with Eina was finished, they exchanged the magic stones and went for the day.
Welf promised Bell that his wooden sword would be finished tomorrow. Bell couldn't wait for it! He held no illusion any wooden sword would match Ryuu's own wooden sword. Still, at least he finally could face Ryuu and Ais without Peaceseeker!
(Ever since he named his sword, he subconsciously held back whenever he fought non-monsters. Whenever he swung his sword, his mind always went back to the purpose of the sword; to bring peace to those he faced.
There was no way he could bring Ryuu and Ais to peace with Peaceseeker, right? So his body always held back even when he knew that they were unreachable at his current level. He guessed it was partially why Ryuu felt hesitation in his swings, together with Eina banning him from going further.)
Three days had passed since their encounter with the Hellhounds. The Guild put up a request to investigate the appearance of monsters not in the place they should, which Eina told them was picked up by Ganesha Familia.
While the result of the three days investigation hadn't come, Bell's party faced a pack of Almiraj (which they dispatched with some struggle. Mainly because Welf and Lili always compared them with him, for some reason. (No, he would not acknowledge that his color scheme was similar to an Almiraj. They were cute! He was not!)), and Dungeon Worms. Of course, they also reported it to Eina. But apparently, nobody else had met any irregular monster sightings on the ninth floor (not even some Adventurers who overheard the rumors and tried to hunt them to gain quick valis). Only their party met them.
Today the trio was a little late going to the Dungeon. Bell felt that Lili progressed enough, so he moved on to the next phase of her training. Now that Lili knew how to keep her breathing rhythm as she swung her sword, it was time for her to step it up and learn the Full Focus Breathing. That, however, meant that Bell wanted her to get to a certain point before they entered the Dungeon.
They stomp their way through the floors, though Bell still did not let Lili fight. She only learned the basic of the basics of how to swing a sword. Granted, Bell only taught her that and was more focused on the breathing part. But because Bell knew that, he did not allow Lili to fight.
Lili herself did not feel like Bell was coddling her. She knew her limit. She was still weaker than monsters on the ninth floor. Maybe if it was the first or the second floor, she could try defeating one or two for training. But Bell hadn't told her to do so, so she did not. Maybe she should bring it up to Bell one of these days.
They killed some monsters on their way to the ninth floor. However, the moment they entered the ninth floor, they knew something was different than usual. No, Bell's battle-proven feeling did not trigger anything because even Welf and Lili could feel the air.
Warily, the party walked towards their destination, noting that the Adventurers who investigated the sighting of the irregular monsters were nowhere to be seen. Did they move away to the lower floors? Because the only alternative was that they were investigating the upper floors. However, Bell did not see them when they previously went through the upper floors.
There was also the fact that no monster swarmed them as they walked on the ninth floor. Not even one. Welf paid attention to the wall the whole time because monsters were born from it, but no, there were no tell-tale of monsters born from it.
It was as if...
It was as if there were nothing that can disturb the atmosphere. The eerie silence that permeated the room suffocated Lili. She forgot her breath and choked.
"Lili, you okay?"
"Lili's okay," she replied, panting. "The tension is killing Lili. This never happened before. Even when Lili was faced with dangerous situations, Lili never felt like this."
She took out a bottle of water and drink it. All the while, Bell smiled at her.
"Is there something, Master Bell?" Lili asked after she finished drinking and concentrated on her breathing again.
"Nothing, Lili," Bell turned his attention away from her. It wouldn't do to stroke Lili's ego by saying that her battle awareness and instinct were starting to awaken. She still had a long way to go. Seeing his first student progressing this much, though, Bell felt so proud of her. It also solidified the fact that he should be able to teach any new members, provided they don't give up early.
However, all the amusement Bell felt quickly lost after they heard a crackling roar.
Wordlessly, the three nodded and picked up their pace. Just from the roar... it sounded like this time the monsters were dangerous. They ran, no monsters hindering their way. Lili gasped when she saw some blood on the Dungeon walls. Whatever they are, there was a chance that they already killed some Adventurers. Bell did not personally know the Adventurers investigating the floor, but he could imagine that this was the reason why they did not see any of them on their way.
"Victims..." Welf muttered under his breath.
Bell resolved himself to pay respect for them all above ground. They died doing their best on duty. It was something deserving of everyone's respect.
They heard another roar. This time, it was much louder than before. They were close!
After a few seconds of running, they arrived at the scene of devastation.
A single minotaur was slamming an Adventurer down and then smashed its weapon, a big cleaver, to him.
Dead silence.
Bell, Lili, and Welf could not say anything, seeing the carnage in front of them. Aside from the fresh corpse, there were bloodstains and chunky remains of humans around it.
The sight should fill Bell's mind with fury.
But.
"Look at the Minotaur."
It roared again, same as the last two times Bell and the rest heard it. However, now that nothing separated him and the Minotaur, the roar... wasn't the roar of supremacy they assumed before.
In fact, it was like...
"Pain..." Bell muttered, coming to a realization. His eyes trailed the Minotaur's humongous body, seeing so many wounds.
It was in pain, so it lashed out in fear.
To someone like Bell, who always faced enmity and fury whenever he looked at a monster in the eye, the situation felt wrong.
Bell gripped the handle of his sword.
"Master Bell? Don't tell Lili you gonna face it." Lili looked at him with a pleading eye. "Let's get out of here, Master Bell. This is above our level!"
"She's right, Bell. This is not something we can handle. Even the Level Two Adventurers investigating this case were wiped out."
That was the correct choice. There was no need to get involved. The Guild was investigating this irregular activity of middle floors monsters being found on the higher floor.
But...
Even so...
Bell gritted his teeth.
"It's wrong," he began. "As someone who vowed to bring peace to the monster I slay, I couldn't run away. The Minotaur is hurting. It was afraid. I'm sorry, Lili, Welf. But I have to bring it to peace."
Bell unsheathed Peaceseeker.
"Or else I would go back on my words."
"Honor is meaningless in front of death!"
"I won't die!" Bell shouted. He did not mean to. (Seeing Lili flinched made him widened his eyes in realization. How many times had Lili been shouted to by her previous parties?)
Bell took a breath and concentrate, feeling the power rising inside of him.
"I'm grateful to have such a caring student like you, Lili. But I promise you, I won't die." Bell looked at her, conveying all his emotion to the Pallum he took up as a disciple. "My senses do not tell me this is dangerous."
That calmed Lili a little. It was a baseless statement that he wouldn't die just because he did not sense any danger. But somehow, it was the one that brought her comfort.
"Just... be careful, Master Bell."
Bell nodded; his attention went to Welf.
"If Arde is sure..." Welf sighed. "But please don't try using my sword on it, alright. I know my limit as a blacksmith, and this is clearly something that I know my weapon couldn't handle."
Bell nodded; the wooden replica of his sword that Welf made for him was still with Lili. Besides, this was a fight with a monster. No need to hold back by using a safe wooden sword.
"We'll watch in a safe place. Come on, Master Welf."
After confirming that they left the vicinity to a safer area to watch him, Bell turned to the rampaging Minotaur.
He approached it carefully before pointing his sword to the Minotaur. Sensing him, the Minotaur turned and roared. It swung its cleaver to Bell, its red eyes looking at him with fear. Bell parried the attack without looking away, searching for something in the Minotaur's eyes.
To the Minotaur, Bell was another creature who sought its harm. Bell gritted his teeth. That was wrong. And besides, most of the Minotaur's victims were weaker than it. Only the investigating Adventurers were stronger or on par than the Minotaur.
But he guessed rational thought out of the consideration when you were in pain. The root of the problem was the fact that the Adventurers who got killed were not strong enough to completely kill it, only dealing some damage to the Minotaur, resulting in the monster in pain.
So then, what should he do?
The Minotaur swung once more, and Bell, for the first time, broke eye contact with the monster. He looked at the incoming weapon, his own hand ready to parry it and then counterattack.
But...
Instead of parrying the incoming swing, Bell just put his sword top down in front of him as it came, using his right hand to grab the tip on the bottom. As the clash of weapons came, the result was obvious. Bell's body was thrown as the momentum behind the swing penetrated his block.
His body hit the Dungeon wall with no cushion behind him.
"Master Bell!" He heard Lili shouted in concern but ignored it.
His block was a success. It minimized the damage taken by him. The momentum, however, was another thing entirely. He had to adjust his body in the air, or else the same thing could happen again.
That was right.
Even though he could parry and counter, he chose to block and defend.
Attacking it would just give it more pain, which would result in a wilder rampage. If he could contain its fear by not attacking, he knew he could kill it without it feeling any more pain.
That was the path he took.
After all, he wanted to bring it to peace.
Lili gripped the hem of her cloak, concern all over her face. She did not understand. Bell could easily dodge or parry that strike. Why didn't he do so?
"Master Bell..."
"...I got a feeling Bell is doing Bell," Welf voiced out his mind, to which her ears picked it.
"What do you mean, Master Welf? No, hold on." Lili's mind went overdrive. When he had decided to face the Minotaur, Bell never once told them that he would kill it. All he said was that he had to bring it to peace. And sure, the quickest way that Bell had done over and over again was killing them quickly.
However, there must be something, another thing to consider, that Bell decided to not do so.
She vaguely remembered Bell saying something about pain... Her eyes quickly went towards the fight.
Despite clearly having the advantage of the situation, the Minotaur did not pursue Bell. It stayed in its position, heads looking towards Bell, who only got up from the failed block.
"Why didn't it follow up the attack?" She wondered out loud, hoping that Welf would have any inclination.
"Yeah... something's not right about the situation..." Welf agreed with her assessment. "Look, Arde. The big wound on its leg!"
"It can't move!" She concluded after seeing the injured leg of the Minotaur pointed out by Welf. So that was why it did not attack Bell. "Master Bell should have the advantage. But..."
Instead of rushing towards the Minotaur or even putting on a stance for a Breathing Style, Bell only walked, approaching the Minotaur.
Why? She couldn't understand. The past weeks under his tutelage, she got to know his persona as a teacher. In the Dungeon, she got to know his persona as an Adventurer. Then in the Abandoned church, she got to know his persona as a family. There must be something she could gather from it to understand what Bell was trying to do.
As expected, when Bell approached it, the Minotaur launched another strike. Bell blocked it again with his sword, but as he flew, he adjusted his body position to land his feet on the Dungeon wall, negating any damage.
"That's good," Lili breathed in relief. Seconds later, she scolded herself as she dropped the Full Focus Breathing. Bell would be disappointed in her.
Their attention was taken when they heard several footsteps. Lili raised her eyebrow when the visage of Ais Wallenstein entered the scene. "Supporter... Arde?"
Lili nodded. While the sight of the Sword Princess herself did not faze her anymore, her knowing her name was a little surprising.
"You know her, Ais?" Behind Ais, Vanargand, Bete Loga appeared, questioning her.
Ais ignored him to ask Lili a question instead. "Where's Bell?"
At the question, Lili did not answer. She only turned her head to see the fight. Bell had not given up trying to approach the Minotaur. And the Minotaur still did not change its stance; it kept swinging its cleaver to repel Bell.
...
"That's it!"
Welf, Ais, and Bete looked at her; she couldn't help but blush upon being the center of the attention.
"Bell needs help," Ais muttered.
But before she could dash to Bell's side, her arms were caught by Lili.
"Oi, Pallum. What the hell are you doing?" Bete raised his eyebrow. "You have some kind of grudge against that weakling?"
Bell was thrown away to the wall again, and he once again landed feet first on the wall. He did not change his approach. There was no aggressive movement from him. All he did was approaching the Minotaur casually.
"No, Miss Sword Princess. Master Bell does not need our help," Lili declared firmly.
"Ah, you understand what he's trying to do, Arde?" Welf excitedly asked her, to which she nodded in response.
"Lili thinks Lili understands. Lili doesn't know what Master Bell has in his mind, but Lili feels like Lili can understand him. Please, Miss Sword Princess. Let Master Bell handle this one."
Reluctantly, Ais nodded. She did not, however, sheathed her sword. It was still ready in case the worst happened. Bete also lost all tension in his muscle and slouched in relaxation.
"If that weakling's trying to die, I'm not gonna save him."
Lili glared at that statement. "Master Bell is not."
"Weak?" Bete baited her.
"Trying to die!"
"Then what the hell is that?"
Lili ignored him to see Bell still not doing anything but approaching it, blocking its attack, and then landing safely on the ground or on the wall. Rinse and repeat.
Soon, more members of Loki Familia appeared. There was the captain, Braver, Finn Deimne. The Nine Hell, Riveria Ljos Alf. Amazon, Tiona Hiryute. And lastly, Jormungand, Tione Hiryute.
"What is the situation here? I had a bad feeling, so I sent someone over first. Ais?" Finn assessed the situation.
"Minotaur," Ais pointed to the fight.
"So the rumors about higher-level monsters appearing above their usual floors are true..." Riveria made a remark. "It was deemed as an unproven rumor because the Guild did not find anything else aside from the report."
"Um," Welf raised his hand, catching everyone's attention. He looked like he did not want to, though. "All those reports are from us. Since a few days ago, we always found monsters not belonging to the ninth floor. We fought Hellhounds, A bunch of Almiraj, Dungeon Worms, and finally today, we stumbled upon that Minotaur killing Adventurers."
Riveria looked at him critically, which made him even more nervous.
"Hey, Ais, why didn't you help the boy? He's clearly struggling," Tiona moved closer, to Ais's side, to watch the fight. "Also, isn't he a Level One?"
"Miss Arde here stopped me."
Finn looked at her. "Miss Arde, was it? Why did you stop Ais?"
Lili's eyes turned back to the fight when she heard the clash of weapons. The situation hadn't changed.
"He's not struggling, Tiona. He did not put up a fight at all," Tione remarked as she also came to Ais's side.
"Well?" Finn smiled at her.
"To begin with, Master Bell... is weird. As Master Welf said to Lili earlier, Master Bell is currently doing a Master Bell thing. Those not familiar with him might not understand why. Hell, Lili is still not sure Lili fully understands, even though Lili is the closest to him."
Bell once again walked towards the Minotaur, only for it to swing its cleaver, probably taken from one of the victims.
"And what is, a 'Master Bell thing' he's doing now?" Finn asked her again.
"Master Bell is trying to pacify it."
That answer stunned everyone.
"That's..."
"Ah! You're right!" Welf came to a realization. "It's so Bell to do something like that to an injured Minotaur."
"Injured?" Riveria turned her attention to the Minotaur, only to agree with Welf's assessment. "I see..."
"And what will he do if he succeeded?" Bete asked her, skeptical.
"...Lili is uncertain, but Lili believes he'll kill it at that point."
"...How needlessly cruel. To present a friendly front only to backstab it." Riveria frowned at her answer.
"Ah, not like that!" She quickly corrected her answer. "Master Bell... has one style to kill someon-something, painlessly. Lili believes he'll use it to kill the Minotaur, to bring it to peace." Granted, she made that guess because she once read Bell's written book that contained the story in his dream.
But, she believed it was the course of action Bell would take, considering all the facts about Bell. His kindness. His propensity to pray for the monsters. His dream. His idol. Everything pointed out to her that it was what Bell would do.
Finn focused on her words. "'Bring it to peace,' huh? Interesting. But we'll interfere if it looked like he'd fail."
Lili looked at her fellow Pallum. "Master Bell wouldn't fail."
"Such a faith..." Finn smiled. He then turned his attention back to the fight. "I hope that faith is rewarded."
She did not answer. She knew Bell wouldn't fail.
The intensity of the swing has lessened, Bell noted inside his mind as he landed after being thrown by the momentum after blocking the Minotaur attack. Five or more times, and it would relent!
Five more times Bell approached it, and five more times the Minotaur swung its cleaver to repel him even though he projected no hostile intention.
Bell took a deep breath, feeling the power inside him as he breathed. Looking at the Minotaur in the eye, Bell smiled.
"It's fine."
The Minotaur replied with a roar. It wasn't the painful wail. Nor was it the one shouting its superiority. Instead, it was a warning roar. The Minotaur feared another threat.
"It's fine," he once again said to the Minotaur, never once holding any hope for it to understand. "I know you're in pain. I won't give you any more of the pain."
The Minotaur began to swing again.
"But!" Bell continued, dodging the swing for the first time instead of blocking the attack. "I'll bring you to peace! I swear it!"
The Minotaur roared.
"That's why!" Bell shouted, not wanting to lose his momentum. "Stop attacking me!"
Bell held no illusion. He knew the Minotaur wouldn't understand him. If humans and monsters could understand one another, there wouldn't be any conflict between them. The fact that for thousands of years, humans and monsters fight meant that this time was no exception.
However, once in a blue moon, a miracle might occur.
This was one of them.
The Minotaur looked at his eyes and stopped his swing. Its body went slack.
Bell smiled.
He did not understand how it could understand him. Maybe it did not understand him at all. Maybe it was the accumulation of all his passive approaches making him appeared harmless. Or perhaps, it had no energy left to move. He did not care. All he knew was that the Minotaur stopped its attack.
"Thank you for trusting me."
Bell went on a stance.
"In response, I shall end your suffering."
He breathed and moved.
His feet kicked the ground, and he dashed towards the still Minotaur. His grip on his sword tightened, and then he jumped high.
Breath of Water, Fifth Style: Merciful Rain of a Dry Day.
Falling down towards the Minotaur, he took out his sword and slashed its neck.
As his feet reached the ground, so did rain fell down on the dark cavern, gently washing all the Minotaur's pain. And when its severed head touched the ground, it was no more.
Bell looked towards the headless corpse of the Minotaur, proudly sitting, but offered its neck for him. As he promised, he used the sword strike of kindness to painlessly bring the Minotaur to peace. He closed his eyes and put his hand together.
May it be freed of any fear. May it be released from any pain.
When he finished, he looked back towards the place Lili and Welf used to observe him. However, he was a little surprised to see some high-level Adventurers from Loki Familia together with them, looking at him weirdly. His eyes, however, stopped wandering when he saw Ais.
"Ah... Miss Ais. Hello."
"...You're amazing, Bell."
"Ahaha, thank you for the compliment, Miss Ais. But it wasn't that amazing."
One of the amazons jumped towards him. "Hey, hey, what was that!? That was cool! You're a Level One, right!?"
Bell felt a little overwhelmed by her.
"Idiot, you're bothering him. Captain, now that the matter has been resolved, shouldn't we continue?" The other amazon (her sister?) dragged her off him and went back to the blonde Pallum.
"Yes. Congratulations, that was a... moving sight. But we have an expedition to do. So we shall bid you farewell. Good Luck on your future endeavor, Bell Cranel."
Bell blinked. He knew his name?
"...see you later, Bell." Ais raised her hand reluctantly. So cute! Too cute! Aaargh, it damaged him more than the Minotaur!
The Loki Familia returned to the higher floor as Bell waved his hand to reply to Ais's goodbye.
"Master Bell, Help Lili cut off parts of the corpse, please. You too, Master Welf!"
Lili called him. Her knife wasn't enough to get the magic stone inside its muscular body.
"What about your sword, Lili?" Bell went back to the corpse. He did not expect Lili to hug him tightly. He just laughed sheepishly at that.
"Master Bell idiot!"
Bell just looked at Welf with a smile.
"Arde was the first one to understand your action," Welf said. "Even so, her logical mind held back her emotion, huh?"
Bell stroked her head.
After Lili released him. They cut down the Minotaur's body until the big magic stones were revealed. Lili gaped at the size. It wasn't humongous, but it was still several times bigger than the normal magic stones she collected from the monsters on the upper floors.
The three then looked around the area to find some mementos from the dead victim. It was the least they could do, as the corpse... couldn't even be called a corpse. The most polite term Bell could use was... remains. The dead Adventurers' remains were too messy to be buried.
"Everyone, would you mind if I cremate them? I... I want their Familia to give a burial, to honor them who fell on duty."
Lili sighed, "We'll make sure you're uninterrupted, then."
As it turned out, no monsters bothered them when Bell gathered the remains to several groups and danced to summon fire. Welf was dumbfounded, while Lili just sighed, knowing that no monster would strike them. In fact, she had a feeling that when they went back to the surface, the situation would be the same.
Bell had once brought a dead body to the surface, and no monster attacked them back then. She did not know if Bell's prayer was heard by the Dungeon or not, but the fact was that it happened.
Lili's prediction came true. No monsters attacked them on their way to the surface. Welf kept muttering things like 'impossible,' 'no way,' and more denial words. If she were sentimental, it was like the Dungeon honored Bell's decision. But that was impossible, right? The Dungeon hated Adventurers. It hated the pest that dared to venture to it. The fact they were not attacked by any monsters was just a coincidence... right?
She thought so. The alternative was that Bell just proved several crazy theories correct. She did not dare to think more about it.
They entered the Guild, and Bell immediately went to Eina.
"Good Afternoon, Bell," she greeted them with a smile. It quickly turned into a frown once she saw the grim expression on Bell's face. "What's the matter?"
"Minotaur," Bell simply replied, showing the Minotaur Horn that they got as a drop item. "Several people died. I think some of them are the Adventurers investigating..."
Eina gasped. Despite Bell and his party reporting the monsters beyond their level, no one else had died before today.
"We brought their ashes. It's... They can't even be called corpses anymore... So I decided to cremate them. I want their Familias to be able to honor their remains. Lili?"
Lili nodded and put several small bags containing the ashes.
"What about the Minotaur? You killed it?" Eina asked, to which Bell nodded. She sighed in relief. "Thank you, Bell, for not getting killed. Do you have some tokens to identify them?"
She pointed to the bags of ashes.
"We did. But I'm still not sure what Familias they were from. The investigation was done by Ganesha Familia, right? This sword belongs to this person..." Bell continued naming the items they took and put them together with the corresponding ashes.
Eina nodded. "Thank you, Bell. The Guild will contact each involved Familias. You truly do us a service today, bringing their ashes. While it is unusual as Far Eastern burial culture isn't practiced widely here in Orario, I believe some Deities would like to bury the remains of their children... Thank you, Bell."
Bell shook his head. "It's the least I could do to honor them. By the way, Miss Eina. Can you notify me if their Familias decided to hold a burial? I'd ask them if I can join the procession."
Eina nodded.
"...Take care, Bell."
"Thank you, Miss Eina."
"Miss Advisor," Lili called Eina when she was about to leave to report to her superior. "Loki Familia also witness it. If any of them blame Master Bell, please tell them that Loki Familia witness that Master Bell is the one fighting the Minotaur!"
"Lili..."
When someone was grieving, most likely, their mind would latch to anything easily accessible to blame. She wouldn't be surprised if some of the Gods or Goddesses would blame Bell simply because he was the one that brought them their children remains. She did not want Bell to face such situations. Bell was truly kind and compassionate. But because of that, Bell always expected kindness and compassion from other people... kindness and compassion that he wouldn't always receive.
"Understood. Any name, Miss Supporter?"
"Braver, Finn Deimne. Nine Hell, Riveria Ljos Alf. ...actually, most of their executives were there."
"...That's some big names."
"Sadly, they couldn't testify soon, Lili thinks. They said something about an expedition."
"Noted, Miss Supporter. Thank you for looking out for Bell," Eina smiled at her.
"...someone have to do it, you know?" She shyly smiled. Both gained an understanding of one another.
After that, they exchanged the magic stones, netting them many valis (mainly from the intact Minotaur's magic stone). They parted ways with Welf, who told Bell and Lili that he would forge something great with the Minotaur Horn they got. He also mentioned that seeing Bell gently cutting the monster's neck inspired him to make something.
Lili just looked at him with a 'Lili told you so' expression that made Welf tried to grab her in embarrassment. Bell just smiled seeing their antics. It seemed that he was missing some context. But that was fine.
When they arrived at the Abandoned Church, Hestia immediately greeted them.
"So, what is it today?"
"A Minotaur," Bell glumly replied as he opened his shirt.
"B-Bell, you're so forward!" Hestia playfully covered her eyes with her hand.
"...come on, Goddess. At least act better. You've seen my upper body too many times."
"But Miss Supporter here hasn't," Hestia grinned as she pointed out the red-faced Lili.
"A-Ah..." Bell's face also reddened in embarrassment. For the past few days, Bell had asked for a status update in a hurry after they got home. But this was the first time he immediately opened his shirt without saying anything. "A-Anyway, Goddess. Please update my status. I can feel I got a big jump today!"
"You will," Hestia sighed as she took her position on the bed, sitting upon Bell's back. "You've been facing monsters above your level. You will definitely get a big jump. You're still aiming for a Level Up, huh?"
"Miss Lion said that I need to challenge myself. I've been facing monsters above my level and won each time, but I still haven't Leveled Up. Of course, I'm eager!"
"Yes, yes." Hestia pricked her finger with a pocket knife and let the blood dropped to Bell's back.
...
What she saw astounded her.
"What!"
"What? What happened, Goddess?"
Bell Cranel
Level 1 - Level 2
Strength: SS1055 - SS1066
Endurance: S902 - S988
Dexterity: SS1076 - SSS1109
Agility: SSS1123 - SSS1193
Magic: I0
Magic:
Skill:
Liaris Freese: Rapid growth. Continued desire results in continued growth. Stronger desire results in stronger growth.
Elemental Respiration: Materialize elements when striking an enemy under certain conditions.
Soothe Bell: Presence will not agitate those born in the Dungeon.
Development Ability:
Luck
Hunter
Swordsman
She quickly copied the status to a sheet (of course, she did not forget to erase Liaris Freese) and presented it to Bell.
She saw Lili took a sneak peek at the sheet, and then both of them gasped.
"Level Up!"
"Impossible!"
"...Bell," she called her only child after a few seconds to let them register what they read. "What did you do differently? You also gained a new skill."
Bell and Lili looked at each other. There was something between them, she knew. But as close as she was to Bell, there was a big cliff separating her and Bell, and that was the Dungeon.
"I guess... today, my aim is not killing the Minotaur. I did kill it, but it was at the end. Today, the only thing in my mind was how to bring the monster to peace."
"There was no struggle," Lili continued. "The Minotaur's leg was injured, so it couldn't move. It stayed in one spot. Master Bell kept trying to approach it peacefully, and every time he did, the Minotaur swing its big sword to him."
"I blocked it, of course, so I got no damage. But... that Minotaur is suffering. I want to stop its suffering. So I keep trying to approach it," Bell took off from Lili's explanation.
"The strangest thing is, for some reason, the monster, in the end, did stop its attack. It was like it tried to let Master Bell finish him."
"So I used the Fifth Style to kill it painlessly. All I had in my mind was a relief. I was so happy I could bring it to peace without unnecessarily adding more pain."
"...I see..." Hestia nodded. Bell's path was indeed different from an ordinary Adventurer. Any typical Adventurer would struggle and overcome the challenge presented before them. The excillia would tell their deities the glorious triumph and deemed them ready to get one step closer to divinity.
Bell was different.
He rarely struggled, even when facing monsters beyond him. One time he did, he overcame them quite easily. There was no glorious triumph, and as much as Hestia wanted to, she couldn't get him to take the step closer to divinity. She supposed it was because he was technically a reincarnation of a super swordsman.
Today, he was different. There was no struggle, so there was no glorious triumph. Nor was there an underdog victory that impressed the divine. Today, all Bell did was simply reaching out to someone else and offered his kindness.
Normally, it wouldn't impress anyone. An act of kindness was cheap. Anybody could do it.
But...
Not anybody could offer it to a monster like Bell just did.
If that did not awe the gods, Hestia would knock on their doors and get into a fistfight with them. No wonder Bell got that skill. Still... Hestia grinned.
"How does it feel to have a skill named after yourself, Bell?"
Bell spluttered, "G-Goddess! That's..."
"Soothe Bell, huh? 'Presence will not agitate those born in the Dungeon'... congrats, Master Bell. You're so kind even to monsters that your Falna acknowledges it."
"Lili!"
Bell could only shout Lili's name as he was teased.
"Still, Lili wonders how the skill works."
"Let's try it out the first time tomorrow."
"About the Development Ability," Hestia tried to get their attention. "I think you should ask your Advisor about it tomorrow. Then we can officially level you up. I want you to choose Luck. But you're a swordsman, and Hunter might make it easier for you to get magic stones. In the end, it's up to you, but please consider Luck, Bell."
Both of them looked at the bottom of the status sheet, noting the three Development Abilities Bell could choose.
"Lili agrees. Lili never heard of Luck. Hunter is rare, but people have it. Swordsman is the same, although more people have it, Lili thinks," Lili offered her own opinion.
"...Right. Thank you, Lili, Goddess."
(They ate dinner after that. Bell, though, couldn't stop smiling all the while until he slept. Finally, he was one step closer to reach the boy's back!)
A/N: So there I was, proud of myself for setting up the inevitable fated fight with the Minotaur by Eina's act last chapter. With this, Bell should feel frustrated and then Freya would take actions. But jumping straight to Minotaur would not make sense, so I made it so Bell faced more middle-floors monsters first. What Freya did not expect was that Bell would report it to the Guild. Poor Ottarl had to be more discrete to fulfill his whimsical Goddess because of the investigations. I love fucking with Freya's plan! Who else love fucking with Freya's plan? Raise your hand!
And then came the crossroad for the Minotaur battle. I can make Bell have a cool fight, similar to canon progression. But when I thought about it again, I felt unsatisfied. Bell had faced Infant Dragon, Hellhounds, Almirajs, and Dungeon Worms. What makes the Minotaur different? This Bell, after all, did not have doubts about his abilities that dimmed his soul in Freya's eyes, so a Minotaur shouldn't be something special to Bell. And then I realized Bell had never used the Fifth Style. Slowly, scenes of the fight (which is definitely better than how it is written, curse my average writing skills) build up in my mind. Bell is not facing it in a hot-blooded fight to the death. Bell... is offering kindness to it. And that is what impresses the gods that makes Bell could Level Up after the fight.
Now for Bell's new skill. It couldn't be Argonaut, as it was his desire to be a hero that allowed him to gain it. There is the option of Bell not getting any skill, as Elemental Respiration has already make him quite overpowered for the upper floors. But where's the fun in that? So I cheat and reinterpret Tanjirou's future skill but only for those born in the Dungeon. As for the name, I was playing Pokemon Unite and saw Shell Bell there and I thought, 'Hey, isn't there a Soothe Bell in Pokemon?' It feels appropriate for the name, and I can make a Bell joke! For the explanation, I wanted to write 'monsters' but 'those born in the Dungeon' feels more appropriate. Who knows how this will affect the future instead of just 'monsters'. Another tidbits for the future is the first meeting between Finn and Lili, I guess. But I don't know, that's still far in the future. I just want to sow the seeds.
I haven't written the next chapter yet, but I've been thinking hard about it. If I can, I want to make it free of Bell's perspective. Freya and Ottarl is a must, to explain more about Ottarl's quest to fulfill Freya's impossible demands of bringing monsters to Bell. Maybe Hermes, he hasn't appeared again, after all. Ais, Lili, and Welf is also a possibility. I just want to make a breather chapter that focuses on what Bell just achieved and how it affects some characters. Don't count on it being finished fast, though. I'm a lazy guy at heart.
By the way, what do you think should be the Alias for Bell? I had something in mind, and I feel it fits so there is almost no chance I'll change it from what I plan. I just want to see your thought on it, and who knows, my mind will be changed.