Hello everyone! I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I was stuck with my classes and homework for a while and have been working on this chapter when I could. I couldn't find a good place to end it so lets see how much work I've done! Happy reading!
Bell finally woke up the next day to find himself on what seemed to be a hospital bed. After taking a minute to fully wake up Airmid walked in and did one last check up on Bell before sending him on his way.
Bell made it back to the manor and stopped by the cafeteria to get some food. His body may be healed but he was running on fumes. After eating he walked up to Loki's room for a status update.
"Goddess? Are you there?" Bell asked as he opened the door.
"Hey, you're awake!" Loki said putting her bottle down.
"Yeah, I'm doing great. Isn't it a little early to be drinking?" He asked her.
"It's never too early! It's almost noon anyways." Loki shouted as she opened up a new bottle.
"Right." Bell said as he laughed a bit. "Anyways, can you update my status?" He asked.
"Yeah, sure. Now, strip!" Loki said motioning for him to sit down so she can update his status.
"Oh, by the way. Hold this for me." She said as she handed him his sword that was still sheathed.
"A sword? Okay." Bell said as he took it from her. As she updated his status, he felt something with the sword.
"Jeez, just what are you?" She asked him when she finished.
Bell Cranel
Human
Strength: F 310 - D 520
Defense: G 230 - E 465
Dexterity: G 270 - E 470
Agility: F 380 - D 550
Magic: G 200 - E 485
Skills: Realis Phrase
Rapid Growth
Continued desire results in continued growth
Stronger desire results in stronger growth
Magic: Elements
Fire: Burn. Burn everything and leave nothing but ash. Fireflash!
Ice: Freeze. Ice and snow from a winter's storm. Flash freeze!
Lightning: Holy lightning, rain down and smite my enemies. Lightning Storm!
Water: Tranquil rivers flow through and heal and purify those in need. Water cleanse!
Earth: May the land I stand on become my domain and obey my command. Gaia's divine will!
"WHAAAT?!" Bell shouted as he saw his status.
"Yup. You jumped up a lot more this time Bell." Loki told him. "Hand me that sword would ya?" She asked.
"Oh yeah, forgot I had this. Here you go." He said while handing the sword back to her. "Whose sword is that?" He asked.
"Yours, idiot." Loki said as she made some final adjustments with his falna and the sword.
"Wait, what?!" He asked in surprise.
"Yup! Congratulations, you have a brand-new sword!" Loki said happily with a smile. "Don't lose it." She threatened, smile gone.
"Yes ma'am!" Bell replied scared of Loki's glare.
"This is a special sword, there's only one in the world so don't even think about losing it or dropping it." She threatened.
"I won't! I won't! I promise." Bell shouted.
"Good. Also, what makes it so unique is that it is a growth weapon. Meaning, it will grow and get stronger as you do. It is also made out of adamantite and mithril so it won't break and you can use magic with it." Loki told him.
"Wait, really? That's going to be so useful in the dungeon. Are you sure I can just have this? How much did it even cost?" He asked her.
"Well, it was specially made for you so it'd be rude if you didn't accept it. But if you really don't want iiiiiit." Loki said as she reached for the sword.
"No, wait! I'll take it!" Bell shouted as he pulled the sword back.
"Good. And as for how much it cost, well, let's just say that you single handedly set our next expedition back for a while." Loki said casually.
"Wait, what?" Bell asked not believing his ears.
"Don't worry about it. Now, I have some plans with my precious Aiz today so shoo." Loki said kicking him out of her office.
"Okay?" Bell said as door closed behing him. 'What should I do now?' He thought to himself. 'Guess I'll just walk around the city to pass time. Guess I can go see Welf or Lili and see how they're doing.' He thought as he walked away.
After hearing Bell walk away and after waiting a few minutes Loki exited her room and headed for Finn's office. They definitely needed to see this. She heard Finn talking with someone but still barged in.
"Raul, Aki. Out! Find Riveria and Gareth and send them over." She ordered as she sat down in a chair.
"Uhhh. okay?" Raul asked confused. A nod from Finn meant that everything would be fine. They quickly found the two in question and sent them over to Finn's office.
"What's this about?" Riveria asked as she entered the room annoyed that her reading time had been interrupted.
"This." Loki stated as she slapped Bell's status sheet on the desk. After taking a minute to look at the sheet and a little quick math they were beyond shocked.
"Over 1000 total points?! Is this for real?" Gareth asked.
"What the hell? He's been adventuring for about a month and he has 2 stats at D rank? All he needs is a great feat now and he can level up!" Finn stated. He was excited to see how fast Bell was growing and couldn't wait for him to join them in their expeditions soon.
"What should we do now? Do we take him to go fight something for a level up?" Riveria asked them.
"I don't know. I think we should wait." Loki said. Her godly intuition was telling her to wait and see just how strong Bell can get. "Oh well. Anyways, I have a date to get to with my precious Aiz today! I'm off!" Loki said looking for Aiz.
"I almost forgot about that." Finn said with a slight laugh.
"Ughh!" Riveria sighed outloud, trying to stop a migraine. Loki had forced Aiz to do this both for Aiz's own good and for her own enjoyment. She had forced Aiz to join her to stop her from throwing herself into the dungeon, at least for the meantime. She saw how hurt Aiz was and being who she was she'd do the only thing she always does when dealing with her feelings; slay monsters for hours on end. The latter part we all understand.
"Ah, well. What's the worst that can happen?" Gareth asked.
"Anything and everything." Riveria stated as she left. Gareth just laughed and went on his way. Finn was the only one left in his office still thinking about Bell's progress and where he would put him in future expeditions.
….
"Why do I have to be here again?" Aiz asked her goddess. She'd much rather be in the dungeon or seeing Bell.
"Cuz I said so." Loki replied happily. Aiz just quietly nodded as she was used to goddess's whims.
"Plus, I gotta make sure she doesn't kill me." She added.
"Who?" She asked.
"You'll see. We'll meet them soon." She said as she opened the door to a café and entered.
As they made their way through the café Aiz found it a bit odd that everyone was so quiet. Normally when her or her familia are somewhere people tend to look at them in awe and while it was nice not being looked at with less than admirable intentions, the silence was worse.
"Upstairs, Aiz." Loki told her as she started walking up the stairs. Aiz followed behind her and saw a person wrapped up in a cloak sitting down in a table besides an open window.
"Sorry I'm late, had things to take care of." Loki said as she sat down.
"It's quite alright." The woman said turning to look at her. Aiz froze for a moment when she saw who it was; it was the goddess Freya. She was almost pulled in by her beauty before pulling away.
"Ho? The sword princess? What's the occasion Loki?" Freya asked.
"Nunya. Anyways, mind if I order? Haven't eaten yet." Loki said while picking up a menu.
"Of course." Freya said with a smile.
Aiz was just standing around unsure of what to do. She couldn't look at Freya or she too would fall under her charm.
"So, let's get down to business. You're after a man, aren't you?" Loki asked getting serious.
"Whatever do you mean Loki?" Freya asked feigning ignorance.
"You only come outside when you're after someone. Spill. What is it?" She pressed.
"Hmm." Freya hummed in thought with a beautiful smile.
"He's not strong, at least compared to my familia and the rest of yours. He cares for all his friends and familia dearly, so much so that his beautiful soul shines even more when around them. His soul is so beautiful and clear, a first I've seen down here. I love watching him grow, you may even call me his number one fan. It really was a coincidence finding him; one day just like this I was looking around the city when he suddenly appeared before me." Freya said while looking out the window when at the perfect time she saw Bell making his way through the crowd.
At the same time Aiz happened to look out the window too. 'Bell?' She thought. 'He's up already?'
"I apologize but something has happened and I need to go." Freya said excusing herself.
"Wha?" Loki asked confused.
"Let's continue this another time." Freya told them as she made their way out.
"That's odd." Loki said. "Huh? She left me the bill!" She yelled.
Aiz on the other hand was a bit confused.
"Something on your mind Aiz?" Loki asked her child.
"'Rest of'?" She asked.
"Huh?" Loki asked not understanding.
"She said 'the rest of yours' meaning the rest of our familia. Does she mean someone in our familia?" She asked her goddess.
"Crap." Loki said finally understanding what she meant. Freya had her eye on one of her children. Who could it be?
"Is that all?" Loki asked Aiz. She still looked a bit troubled.
"I thought I saw Bell just now. Does that mean he's awake now?" Aiz asked.
"Huh? Oh yeah, he's awake now. Saw him earlier today." Loki told her. 'Wait, don't tell me! She's after him, isn't she? Dammit. No way is that happening.' She thought to herself.
Aiz wasn't thinking about that anymore; instead, she was wondering if she'd see Bell later at the festival.
…..
"Now where could Syr have gone?" Bell asked himself. He was tasked with giving Syr her wallet back since she forgot it. It had taken him a few minutes to understand what was going on since he couldn't understand the cat girl waitress. He thought to bring Aki along next time to translate for him since he barely understood a word she said.
'Hmmm. They said she'd be here at the festival, but this place is so huge? How am I supposed to find her?' Bell thought to himself.
"Eh? Bell?" A voice asked.
Bell turned around to find the amazon twins and Lefiya.
"Oh, hey guys. What's up?" He asked them.
"Tione's sad that Finn's busy and can't take her to the festival." Tiona said.
"Whhyyyy captain?" She cried out.
"And her?" Bell asked pointing to a sad Lefiya.
"She's sad because she hasn't seen Aiz around and can't stalk her." She said with a laugh.
"WHAT?! Stop that Tiona!" Lefiya screamed.
"Ehehe." He laughed a bit. "I think Aiz is with Loki. When I went to go see her this morning, she mentioned she had plans with her today."
"Oh, that explains it." Lefiya said.
"So, when'd you wake up?" Tione asked him after regaining her composure.
"Sometime this morning? I don't really remember. I just woke up and Airmid said I could go and I made my way home to eat something. Then updated my status with Loki and now I'm here to deliver this." He said while holing up a wallet.
"Who's is that?" Tiona asked.
"It's from one of the waitresses at the Hostess of Fertility, Syr. You know, the con artist with the gray hair?" He asked describing her.
"Oh yeah. She tricked me a few times." Tiona said remembering her.
"That's because you're stupid." Tione said.
"Shut up!" She yelled at her.
"Anyways, mind helping me look for her?" He asked them hoping to stop another argument from happening.
"Sure. If we see her we'll send her your way." Tiona said as they took off to see the taming event.
"All right. Wait, they don't even know where I'll be, do they?" Bell said. "Ah well, I'll cross that bridge when I get there."
…
Elsewere, our resident goddess of beauty was executing a plan. She was charming a couple of monsters to chase after our little rabbit.
"Now, make sure you all give him a wonderful challenge." Freya said as she sent them on their way.
"That should be it. All these other monsters are a bit too strong for him now. Wouldn't you agree? Ottar?" She asked her favorite member.
"Yes. Lady Freya." He replied.
"How do you think he'll do Ottar? I'm so excited to see what happens." Freya said felling her godly blood racing.
"We shall see." He replied. He hadn't yet figured out himself if he liked this kid taking his goddess's attention. But her wish is his command; and her wish right now was to see the boy in action. He would figure the rest out later.
"Let's go Ottar! The show's about to start!" Freya said hoping to get a good view of what was about to happen.
"As you wish, Lady Freya." He replied as he picked her up and carried her away.
….
"Huh? Aiz?" Bell asked as he saw the sword princess.
"Oh? Bell?" She asked back in surprise.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were with Loki." He asked.
"Jagamarukun." Was all she said as she pointed at the stall.
"Where's Loki?" He asked as he looked around.
"Jagamaruku." Aiz repeated.
'She really likes those, doesn't she? Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm kinda hungry.' He thought to himself. He went to the stand and purchased two snacks from a certain loli goddess.
"Here you go!" She said handing him the two snacks.
"Thank you so much!" He said paying her. After getting the change he walked over to where Aiz was.
"Here!" Bell said handing her one.
"Thank you." She said and then started eating in small bites.
'I forgot how cute she is when she eats one.' He thought to himself happily. 'Worth every valis.' He added then took a bite.
"I forgot how good these were." He said after taking another bite. "I haven't had these in a while." He told her.
"We should stop by here again sometime so you don't forget it." Aiz said while taking another bite.
"W-wait, really?" He asked in disbelief.
"Mhmm." She replied.
'Wait, wait, did Aiz just technically ask me on a date? I don't think so, but I'll take it! Wait, where is Loki?'
"Hey Aiz, weren't you with Loki?" He asked.
"I, was?" She asked as she looked around.
"Aiz, did you lose our goddess because of jagamarukuns?" He asked her.
"Nooo." She said looking away embarrassed.
"You did!" He shouted.
"Did not!" She shouted back in embarrassment with a blush. How could she lose her goddess because of a snack? Granted, it was a delicious snack, but she had told Loki to wait nearby! Why didn't she listen? It's not her fault if Loki wandered off! How dare Bell accuse her of losing Loki when she totally did! She'd get him back somehow. (Lap pillow maybe? Definitely.)
"Look over that way I'll check over this way!" He said pointing near the coliseum. They split up to cover more ground in hopes of finding their goddess. After a few minutes he found Loki trying to feel up a woman.
"Stop that Loki! She isn't even in our familia! Wait that doesn't make it any better." He said as he pried her off.
"Bellll how could you? She's getting away!" She whined.
"Now's not the time goddess!" He yelled at her trying to calm her down. After a minute she finally did.
"Alright, alright, I'll behave. Now where's my precious Aiz? I haven't groped her yet!" She said while looking around for Aiz. 'Still a pervert, as usual. She kind of reminds me of grandpa in that sense.' He thought to himself.
"Aiz has been looking for you. She lost you around a jagamarukun stall." He told her.
"Oh. Well, let's go find her then." She said as she happily took off. Bell just sighed at his goddess's antics and followed behind
All of a sudden, a monster's roar was heard and they turned around to see a silverback gorilla staring at the two.
"Uh, Bell? I think this is the part where we run." Loki stated calmly.
"YUP!" Bell screamed as he picked up his goddess and ran.
….
Aiz was unable to find her goddess but she did see a few monsters out and about. She quickly killed them as to ensure the civilian's safety.
"Sword princess?" A certain half-elf asked outloud.
"What's happening?" Aiz asked her.
"It's awful. Someone let out a few monsters from the festival and they are out and about. There are 9 monsters that escaped; 6 now that you took care of those 3. Will you please help us?" Eina asked her.
"Hm." Aiz responded with a nod and took off to the roof to get a good vantage point.
'She said there were 6 monsters left.' Aiz began to think to herself as she surveyed the area. 'There's only 5 that I can see. Where's the last one? Did someone kill it already?'
"Aiiiiz!" A voice called out from below. It was the Tiona. "What's going on?" She asked.
"Monsters." She replied. "There's three over that way and two by the fountain. Let's go." She said as she activated her wind magic to get there fast. Something was odd about the monsters. They weren't attacking anyone, which was a plus, but it looked like they were searching for something. Or someone.
…
"Alright. Hide Loki. This should be a good spot." Bell told her. He had lured the gorilla to an open area away from people. This is where they'd fight.
"RAAAAAAAAA!" The gorilla yelled at him.
"Don't have to tell me twice." Loki said as she leaped to safety.
Bell unsheathed his brand-new sword and started attacking the gorilla. He noted that he probably couldn't cut through the armor it had on and he also had to be wary of the chains that were still on it. That would hurt a lot if it used them correctly.
He dodged under its swing and cut the monster's leg. He jumped over the monster and slashed through the strap holding the armor together on one side. He played it smart and had to remove its armor, at least the chest piece, so that he could kill it. Destroying the crystal would be the fastest way to do it.
He dodged another swing and stabbed the monster in the leg to prevent it from moving any further. He used the opportunity to cut the other straps which dropped the armor part letting Bell stab the gorilla's crystal exploding it into dust.
"Whew. That went well." Bell said wiping some sweat away. "Good thing I had Loki update my status today."
(With Bell's stats, a normal silverback gorilla would be easy for him right now. Well, easier than when he fought one in the story.)
"Good job, Bell." Aiz said jumping down from a building. "And it seems you found Loki as well." She added as she saw Loki poke her head around a corner.
"Aiiiiz! I was so scaaared!" She cried as she ran to hug Aiz. Although, she wasn't going for a hug and Aiz knew that so she just turned a bit and let Loki hit the floor. "OW! What was that for?!" She asked, hurt.
"You know what." Aiz said as she turned away from Loki.
"Heeey, not bad Bell!" Tiona said also jumping down from the same building, the other two behind.
"No kidding. You took that thing out with ease. I would've just punched through it tho." Tione said making a fist.
"Well, he's not you Tione." Lefiya said.
"That takes care of all the monsters. I'm hungry!" Tiona said.
"There were more monsters?" Bell asked them.
"Yeah, but nothing we couldn't take care of." Tione said.
"Looks like Ganesha owes me a favor, hehe. Can't wait to cash that in. Let's go home; I've had enough excitement for one day." Loki said.
Just like it was waiting for someone to say that, the same vines from the 18th floor showed up. It tore through the ground and was ready to attack.
"Not these things again!" Lefiya shouted. She hadn't been able to do much against them on the 18th floor. Tione and Tiona were both a little nervous as they didn't have their weapons on them but that wasn't going to stop them.
"Back for more, eh?" Tiona asked nervously.
"Scared, Tiona?" Her sister asked as she got ready for battle.
"Of course not!" She responded getting ready as well. The amazon blood in her wouldn't let her run away.
"Lefiya, watch them." Aiz instructed getting her weapon ready. There were multiple vines and this would take a while.
"Of course!" Lefiya responded. Off they went.
"They're going to be alright, won't they?" Bell asked nervously. Even with his status update, he was still too weak to do anything.
"Of course they will! How dare you doubt Aiz!" Lefiya shouted.
Despite what Lefiya said, it seemed like everytime Aiz cut one down another rose to take its place. The twins were having a hard time as well since apparently it's skin was as hard as adamantite and they couldn't kill it with brute force alone.
"Lefiya chant something!" Loki said hiding behind said mage.
"I will alright! Stop groping me!" She shouted as she threw Loki away. A small 'ow' was heard when she landed.
As soon as Lefiya started chanting her spell the vines stopped what they were doing and went after her. This was new. Her and Riveria had not gotten the chance to use their magic on the 18th floor as the others were easily taking care of the vines while they were on evacuation duty.
Bell had jumped in front of her and used his sword to stop one of the vines from piercing through Lefiya.
"That worked?! Finish your chant! I don't think this'll work again!" Bell ordered her.
However, just as Bell prepared for the vine to continue their attack, something weird happened. The vine, sprouted? It transformed into a gigantic flower. A flower that roared?
"What the hell is that?" Bell asked outloud. Wasn't he just fighting a vine? Now it's a flower? This was confusing.
"Uhhh. If I find out I'll tell you." Tiona said equally confused.
"What's going on?" Lefiya asked as she stopped chanting.
The flowers, armed with their equally gigantic teeth, rushed to attack the group. Tione and Tiona did their best to quite literally beat the flowers back.
Bell was thinking of something while the others fought. 'The vines, did it react to magic? Is that why it transformed?' He thought as he decided to test a theory. 'Alright, this is really stupid but here goes nothing.'
"Burn." He said as he started his fire magic chant. All of a sudden, the flowers stopped fighting the others and went after him. 'YUP! THEY'RE ATTRACTED TO MAGIC!' He thought.
"Burn everything and leave nothing but ash!" He continued as he ran from the flowers. 'Might as well finish the chant.' He reasoned.
"Fire Flash!" He yelled as he aimed and unleashed the flames at the nearest flower. It was a direct hit and caused a cloud of smoke to appear.
"Did I get it?" He asked.
After a few seconds the flower jumped through the smoke and smacked Bell to a wall. That hurt quite a bit.
"Note to self; train my magic more." He said to himself.
Aiz was following the flower and cut it down for hurting Bell.
"Aiz! These things are attracted to magic! Use your wind!" He instructed her. Aiz replied with a nod and activated her wind magic and pulled them away.
"Lefiya chant something!" Loki yelled as she carried a few children out of harms way. Despite the situation it was quite funny seeing Loki carry a few kids in her arms and running away in a full sprint.
As Lefiya started chanting her elf ring the other three kept the flowers at bay. It was tricky as they didn't even acknowledge the three and kept blindly going after Lefiya's magic.
"Alright, let's see what I can add." Bell thought to himself getting up. Aiz and the twins were holding their own but would be overwhelmed soon so Bell had to help out quick. The thing is, his magic was too weak to damage it. His fire magic was no use and figured that lightning wouldn't have much effect either. If he trapped it with his earth magic it would just go around it. That leaves…
"Freeze! Ice and snow from a winters storm. Flash freeze!" He chanted as ice appeared on the flowers and spread to cover the rest of it. The flowers slowed down quite a bit before breaking out of it. However, that was more than enough time to let the fighters take a quick breather and get right back into it. This also helped calm Lefiya's nerves letting her finish her chant and destroyed the rest of the plants.
"Nice! Ouch." Bell said falling on the ground. Cut him some slack, he was thrown around a lot today. He didn't think anything was broken and only got a couple of nasty scratches at the very least. Okay, and maybe a lot of bruises from all those smacks. All in all, he was very lucky and he hasn't even gotten the Luck ability yet!
"Well, that went well." He said while looking at his injuries.
"Are you alright?" Aiz asked him as she checked him over. How dare he get hurt when she was fighting! When they trained she would make sure he'd be able to at the very least defend himself from anything. How was she going to do that when she didn't know the first thing about teaching? That's a problem for future Aiz.
"Yeah, nothing a potion won't fix. Hopefully." Bell said as he looked for a potion on him. However, he didn't have any on him. 'Wait, I have healing magic.' He thought to himself feeling stupid.
"Tranquil rivers flow through and purify those in need. Water cleanse!" He chanted as his wounds closed up. 'I need to use this one more.' He thought.
"Could've used that on us too ya know." Tione said while massaging her hands. They beat the flowers to a pulp, sure, but it hurt like hell doing so.
"So mean." Tiona pouted.
"I'm sorry!" Bell apologized thinking he was guilty of something. The twins just laughed at him.
"It's fine Bell! We were just messing around. You were hurt worse than us and the most we'll feel is sore later." Tione assured him. It was true though; thank Loki for their level 5 status.
"Oh." Bell said.
"Hey good job Bell! Lefiya! You should be thanking him! Otherwise you would've been a skewered elf." Loki said.
"Alright! Thank you very much Bell!" She said thanking him.
"It's no problem." He told her. "Although I'm going home. I'm tired." He said now feeling how much mind he used to heal himself.
"Yeah, we should probably tell Finn what happened here." Tiona said while putting her arms behind her head.
"I'll take care of that!" Tione said taking off to see her beloved.
"You guys go home. I have something to take care off." Loki said as she eyed the top of Babel tower where Freya resided. She figured out what she had planned after seeing the gorilla solely focus on Bell. She also noticed its eyes glowing a slight shade of purple meaning it was charmed.
"Are you sure Loki? Do you want one of us to come along with you?" Bell asked her.
"Nah, I got this. Now go home! Shoo." Loki said sending them on their way.
'Seriously, good job Bell, everyone.' She thought to herself happily. 'Now.' She continued putting on a serious expression. 'Let's have a chat, Freya!' She added making her way to their usual meeting spot.
…
"Did you see that?! Ottar!" Freya asked her favorite child as happy as a kid in a candy store. Even though Bell easily took care of the gorilla she sent, which made her a bit upset that her plan to challenge him failed, seeing him use everything he had to protect his familia member washed all that sadness away.
"Yes, my lady. He did adequate." Was all he said. While it took a lot to impress him, he felt that Bell's performance was just enough to deserve Freya's interest. But was he really a new adventurer though? He wasn't strong by any means but his moves were well above what a rookie should be. "Forgive me, my lady, but are you sure he's a rookie? Taking down a silverback as a rookie would be impressive but he took it down with little effort." He said voicing his doubts.
"You doubt me?" Freya asked with a pout.
'Beautiful!' He thought. Wait! Did he just doubt his beloved goddess? How dare he! Blasphemer!
"Anyway," Freya started, completely dismissing her internally panicking child, "from what I know, yes he is new but he grows at a tremendous pace. He will grow into something truly wonderful and I can't wait to see what!" Freya said getting excited again.
'She's really interested in him huh?' Ottar thought to himself
"Ara? Looks like Loki's figured me out. I'll be back later Ottar." She told him. Just as she was about to leave, she looked to her bookshelf and thought about that grimoire.
"I suppose its time I helped him out a bit." She said as she walked over to the bookshelf and grabbed the grimoire.
"Ottar, when I'm back I have something I wish for you to do for me." She told him.
"As you wish." He said bowing to her as she left.
…
Back with Bell and the others, they had finally made it back to their home to inform Finn of what happened that day. Tione had told them most of it when the others arrived and added their input. Finn was glad to hear how Bell took care of the silverback. Normally in a fight people don't tend to be wary of others and will just fight about anywhere whereas Bell led it away from civilians so that no one would get hurt and took care of it well for fighting one for the first time. He had learned where the crystal by observing Aiz and the others fight one their way down to floor 18. Speaking of the 18th floor, he was surprised to hear that the vines, now known as flowers, from down there showed up and was a bit nervous to hear that even the twin's raw strength wouldn't be enough to take them down. It was also scary to hear that they were attracted to magic and it would take some strong magic to take them down. He wished everyone could level up in the future so they wouldn't have much trouble fighting them.
"This is troubling indeed. All right. Thank you everyone. I'm glad you're all safe and go rest for the night. You've earned it." He told his members.
"Thank you captain!" Tione happily said.
"Well, see ya tomorrow everyone." Tiona said as she made her way to her room.
Bell was making his way to his room when someone grabbed his arm stopping him. He turned around to see that it was none other than Aiz.
"Bell. Tomorrow morning training starts. Wake up early." She told him as she made her way to her room.
'Training? Right! With everything happening I almost forgot! I get to train with none other than Aiz Wallenstine?!' He thought to himself getting excited for what tomorrow would bring.
…..
"So that's that." Loki said as she slumped to the table.
"So Freya was the one behind the attacks?" Finn asked alarmed.
"Yeah. But she swears she had nothing to do with the vines. In fact, she didn't even know what they were before I told her." She said.
"I see. Should we be concerned with her fixation on Bell though?" He asked.
"Hmmm. I don't know. From what I've gathered she's taking this approach different from others. She said she doesn't want to take Bell as he'd be torn to shreds by her members, which I don't doubt." Loki explained. "She said all she wants is to see him grow and 'help him whenever she can', whatever that entails." She added.
"Either way, we should tell the guild what happened today." Finn told her.
"Nope. She called in a favor from tenkai. Let's just forget today happened." She told him. "She also gave me this." She said as she pulled out a grimoire.
"A grimoire? Really?" Finn asked. "What's the catch?" He asked.
"No catch. Well, other than letting her continue to watch Bell grow." Loki told him.
"Should I go get him?" He asked.
"Yeah. Bring him over." Loki said as she opened up another bottle to pass the time.
"Excuse me, Loki? You called for me?" Bell asked as he entered the room.
"Yeah. Congratulations Bell. You have a secret admirer." Loki said as she handed him the grimoire.
"What is this?" He asked as he examined the book.
"I dunno. Read it and find out." Loki said and he followed. He opened the book, annnd passed out.
"Well damn." Loki said as she put down her bottle. She quickly got to work and updated his status.
Bell Cranel
Human
Strength: D 520
Defense: E 465
Dexterity: E 470
Agility: D 550
Magic: E 485
Skills: Realis Phrase
Rapid Growth
Continued desire results in continued growth
Stronger desire results in stronger growth
Magic: Elements
Fire: Burn. Burn everything and leave nothing but ash. Fireflash!
Ice: Freeze. Ice and snow from a winter's storm. Flash freeze!
Lightning: Holy lightning, rain down and smite my enemies. Lightning Storm!
Water: Tranquil rivers flow through and heal and purify those in need. Water cleanse!
Earth: May the land I stand on become my domain and obey my command. Gaia's divine will!
Scorching Tempest
Coats the user in fire and lightning magic that greatly improves speed and strength.
Can be funneled into weapons to enhance damage greatly.
Can boost fire and lightning magic when in use at the cost of more mind usage.
(This one goes out to you, The One.)
"You really had to go and impress Freya, didn't you?" Loki asked him. "Well you can't go dying now or I'm screwed." She joked. She wrote down his new status and called for Finn to lug him back to his room.
"Are you sure this was wise Loki?" Finn asked her before he left.
"I don't know. Let's just wait and see." She answered.
….
Bell woke up the next morning confused as he thought he was with Loki. On his table he saw a sheet of paper and went to take a look as he was interested to see what was on it. On it was Loki's explanation, saying that his admirer sent him a grimoire and to use it to its full potential otherwise it'd be a waste. Hey, maybe he could ask Aiz for help with this! Speaking of Aiz, he should get ready to train with her!
He quickly got changed and brushed his teeth to get ready for the day then put his armor on and headed off. He made it to the front door before realizing that Aiz never mentioned where they were training. 'Uh. Nice Aiz. What do I do now? Can't exactly walk to the women's side and look for her otherwise Lefiya will beat me to death.' He thought to himself. He decided to go to the kitchen and get a small snack so he wouldn't be too hungry. As he entered the kitchen, he found Aiz taking a jagamarukun from her secret stash.
"Uhm, hi?" He said to her.
"Oh? Bell?" She said after quickly putting her stash away.
"Why do you have a stash of jagamarukuns?" He asked that.
"No reason." She replied looking away.
"Right." He said with a deadpan look.
"What are you doing up early?" She asked him.
"Uhm, training with you? You told me to wake up early so we could begin training. Also, you never said where we were training." He told her.
"Oh." She said embarrassed. How could she forget to mention where they'd train?! Mini Aiz was embarrassed as well.
"And I was here to get a light snack while I waited for you." He added.
To show she was sorry, Aiz gave him a jagamarukun from her secret stash. He accepted it and ate it. Surprisingly, it was still warm.
"How is this still warm?" He asked in surprise.
"I just got it?" She asked.
"Aiz, it's barely dawn. Where did you get these?" He asked her.
"I know some people." She said proudly. The 'people' she mentioned was a certain loli goddess that sets up shop early and charges Aiz a little extra in the morning. While this meant waking up early, Hestia was able to make enough money so that Hephaistos wouldn't complain. And Aiz would come back during lunch. Just what was Aiz? Well as far as Hestia knew, Aiz was her #1 customer.
"Right." He said as he finished his snack. Aiz gave him another one while she ate the last one. She was hoping that Bell was grateful as she never shared her precious snacks with anyone. 'Be thankful, Bell.' Aiz thought. Mini Aiz was just happy that they were spending more time with him.
"You ready?" Aiz asked him.
"Yes!" Bell responded enthusiastically.
The two of them made it to the courtyard to train. They found a spot they liked and set up there.
"Uhm Aiz? What are we going to do?" Bell asked wondering what they would be doing.
"That's a good question." She said.
"Huh?" He asked.
"I've been thinking about it since Riveria mentioned it, but what should we do?" She asked him.
"Wha?" He asked in confusion.
"You seem to already know how to fight with that sword. Have you tried adding punches or kicks?" She asked him.
"Uh, well I'd like to, I just haven't practiced them." He answered truthfully.
"Hm." Aiz nodded while in thought. "Can I see your sword?" She asked.
"Uh sure." He said as he handed her his sword. Aiz took a second to look at the sword as it was heavier than hers and she needed to adjust to the weight. Odd, it has hieroglyphs. And they glow? Whatever. She got ready to demonstrate a few things with Bell watching closely.
Aiz swung the sword while lifting her knee? "Like so?" She said with a tilt of her head.
She swung it another way while doing another pose. "And so?" She asked.
She brought it up while striking yet another pose. "So?" she asked.
'What?' Bell thought. 'Aiz, are you an airhead?' He thought with a sweat drop.
"Uhm, Aiz, not to be mean but I don't think that's how yo-" He started to say before getting brutally kicked in the side of his face and being launched a few feet away.
"Oh." Aiz said while seeing what she just did.
'Yup. She's an airhead.' Bell thought trying to get up and ultimately failing.
Aiz, now feeling bad for what she did, walked over to him and knelt down to apologize.
"I'm sorry." She apologized.
"It's alrigh-" He said but then let out a cough or two.
"Well, we'll just spar for now." She said as she pulled out Desperate.
Bell quickly jumped back fearing that she'd cut him. He was pleasantly surprised to see her lay her sword on the wall and come back with the sheath.
'Alright! Now I won't die! Hopefully.' He thought to himself.
She readied her sheath and Bell drew his sword in response.
"Good." She said. "Just like that. Remember that feeling. You'll be ready to fight anytime with those reflexes." She told him as she approached him slowly. Bell walked back a bit trying to come up with a plan.
"Are you scared of something?" She asked him. Okay he wasn't expecting that. "You look like you fear something." She pointed out. "That's good. It's good to have a little fear, it's what keeps you alive." Truth be told, he was afraid of a few things. 1. That stupid minotaur on floor 5. He never wanted to feel as hopeless as he did there. 2. Revis. Ever since she kicked the crap out of him he was nervous and wanted to get stronger to pay her back a little, especially for when she made Aiz freak out. 3. Aiz if he ever took the last Jagamarukun. He only heard stories of what had happened last time and did not want to see what that would look like. Focus! He's here to train with Aiz, the woman he admired, so that he wouldn't be weak anymore.
"Haaaaa!" He yelled pushing his fears down and charged Aiz. Aiz simply dodged and hit his armor piece with her sheath.
"Don't get angry. That makes you predictable." She told him as they fought.
"Don't leave any blind spots." She continued as she ran around him to attack from behind. He heard her and turned around to try to block only for her to maneuver around his sword and stike him in the leg.
"Stay focused. Use all your senses." She added as they kept exchanging blows.
'So strong! And so fast!' Bell thought to himself. Even with her holding back he could barely follow her movements and as a result got hit a couple of times.
"Don't try following my movements." Aiz said reading his mind. "Predict them." She added as she hit him again.
"Okay!" Bell said as he tried predicting her movements, and failing.
"OOF!" Bell yelled after receiving another kick to his head. And then knocking out.
"Uh, oh no." Aiz said after seeing what she did. 'Was that too much?' She thought to herself. One look at Bell said it all. 'Definitely too much.'
"What should I do?" She asked to no one in particular.
'Wait! This is just like in the dungeon!' She thought to herself as she recalled the first time he was knocked out. She rememberd how she gave him a lap pillow, and how he rudely got away! 'This is payback!' She thought while making a fist from determination.
…..
It had been half an hour and Bell was still knocked out. Aiz didn't mind that one bit as she got to play with his hair the whole time. She discovered she liked giving Bell a lap pillow as his head on her lap felt heavenly and his hair was so soft. Who could blame her for liking it?! She wouldn't mind if they stayed like this forever. Mini Aiz was drawing a picture of this to keep it in her memory. However, all good things must come to an end.
"Ngh. That hurt." Bell said as he slowly woke up.
"Are you alright?" Aiz asked him.
"Yeah I think I'm good." Bell said as he got up. Aiz pouted as now her lap was cold from missing his warmth. Mini Aiz started tearing up as she wasn't done drawing yet.
"How did I do?" He asked.
'Huh? Oh right, we were sparring.' Aiz thought totally not forgetting that they were training in favor of lap pillows.
"You did good. You know how to fight against weaker monsters, but you aren't so great when it comes to stronger opponents. You were used to fighting surface monsters, right?" She asked. After he nodded, she continued. "You don't know how to fight well when the opponent is faster or stronger than you. You're used to fighting those weak and predictable opponents as they were everywhere. Not anymore. Let's continue." She said as she readied her sheath.
"Yes!" Bell said determined. "Just one thing, why was I on your lap again?" He asked.
'He knows!' She internally freaked out. "Because you'd recover faster?" She asked.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"I'm sorry. It's because I wanted too." She finally admitted it.
"Aiz you're such an airhead!" Bell said panicking.
"Did you, not like it?" She asked fearing the worse.
"Uh, well, no? Wait, yes? Wait. I'm not sure. I'm always knocked out when you do that. So I guess its fine when I'm knocked out. Though I wouldn't mind seeing what its like when I'm awake." He told her while saying the last part a bit quieter than the rest.
"So you're fine with it when you're knocked out?" Aiz said gaining a glint in her eyes.
"Aiz, what's that glint in your eye?!" Bell said panicking.
"You're imagining it." Aiz said calmly.
"Huh? Wait! Aiz!" Bell pleaded before getting kicked in the head again.
Once Bell awoke again, he jumped back to his feet before Aiz could knock him out again, much to her sadness.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Aiz, do you think you can help me with my new magic?" He asked her.
"New magic?" She asked confused.
"Yeah. Apparently, someone sent me a grimoire and Loki had me read it as to not waste it and it seems pretty cool." He told her.
"Okay. What does it do?" She asked. As he explained what it did, she went wide eyed as it sounded very familiar.
"Bell. That's almost like my magic." She told him.
"Wait, really?!" He asked surprised. If his magic was similar to hers, could he get closer to her by using it?
"Mhmm. The main difference is that whereas my magic is wind based, yours is fire and lightning based. Also, you can apply it to your sword which can be extremely useful and it lets you use your element magic." Aiz told him with a hint of jealousy. Why was his magic so cool?! She could sure use it. But now's not the time for that.
"Can I try it?" He asked.
"Mhmm." She replied as she got into a fighting stance with her sheath.
"Okay. Scorching Tempest!" He shouted as he was instantly covered with flames and bolts of lightning. It surrounded him similar to how her tempest surrounded her.
"Woah." Aiz said as she got a tad bit serious.
Bell was excited and charged at Aiz faster than before but all Aiz had to do was hold back less and she blocked his attacks. His attacks also did more damage but then all of a sudden, his magic died down and he slowed. She was confused as to why he stopped it only to see him pass out. Oh, he wasn't used to this massive mind drain and got a mind down.
"Are you alright?" She asked. Oh right, mind down. 'Wait, more lap pillows!' She thought to herself happily.
…
After 2 hours of Aiz knocking Bell out (or him knocking himself out trying to get used to the mind drain Scorching Tempest has) and giving him lap pillows, with a bit of training in between lap pillows, Bell finally got a break when the rest of the familia woke up for breakfast. He liked being with Aiz but he'd need to stock up on potions so he wouldn't get any brain damage from all the lap pillows, not that he'd mind.
"So Bell, any plans for today?" Finn asked him.
"I'm not sure. I was planning on going to the dungeon but Welf and Lili are going to be busy for a while. Lili has to take care of the gnome she's staying with as he's sick and Welf has a backload of orders he needs to take care of." Bell told him.
"So, in other words, you're free?" He asked for clarification. He had a plan and wasn't so secretive about it.
"Depends on what you're about to say next." Bell said ready to bolt for the door.
"Why don't you keep training with Aiz for the rest of the week? We have a ton of free time before the next expedition." He said with a mischievous smile. He definitely saw them training.
"You saw us training, didn't you?" Bell asked him.
"No comment." Finn said as he finished his food.
"More training?" Aiz asked getting that glint in her eye back.
"Oh no." Bell said.
"Oh yes!" Finn said laughing.
And that's how Bell spent the next week; training with Aiz and getting tons of lap pillows. Sometimes Aiz was nice and let him be awake for a few of them while they rested and just talked to each other. They told each other stories of their past, or what stories Aiz was willing to talk about; which wasn't much. Bell was more open with his past though.
"Don't laugh!" Bell whined as he looked up at her from her lap.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Aiz said while trying to contain her laughter. "So, the mighty Bell Cranel's first encounter with a monster was to run for the hills?" She asked amused.
"I was 4!" He tried to reason. She just kept laughing. Normally he wouldn't like someone laughing at his pain but hearing her laugh was worth it.
"Okay! I'll stop." Aiz said as she calmed down.
"I hope so. Anyway, are we all heading to the dungeon today?" He asked her. Welf and Lili had come by yesterday telling him that starting today they were free to go into the dungeon. Finn and some the others had overheard and asked if they would accompany them into the lower floors. They wanted to make more money but most of the familia were dungeon diving with their friends and Finn loved to see them like that, but now they had no one to carry their supplies and while Lefiya was a level 3 she'd surely buckle under all the weight.
"Yeah. It'll be us, Finn, Riveria, Gareth, the twins, Lefiya, and sadly Bete. We'll be going down to floor 30 for some drop items." She told him reminding him of the plan.
"Okay. And are you sure we won't be holding you guys back?" He asked nervously.
"Of course not. And while we're down there, you and Welf might be able to level up with the higher excelia down there." She assured him. "Finn will make sure you guys are safe, trust him." She told him.
"Okay." Bell said as he got up. "Let's keep going." He asked. Aiz simply nodded and grabbed her sheath and smiled at him as they got ready. Despite the fact that there was still a significant power difference between them, even when he used Scorching Tempest, he felt that he had gotten closer to her and his back shined brighter when they trained or when on a lap pillow. His skill was responding to his feelings and he grew accordingly.
…
"This is so amazing!" Freya yelled at the top of babel tower. Deciding not to take Bell was the best thing ever as seeing him and Aiz interact actually made both of their souls shine brighter. While Bell's was a pure one and kept getting brighter by the day, Aiz's soul was a beautiful golden that was plagued by a black darkness. Or it used to be; being with Bell calmed down the black part of her soul. Yes, it was still there, and would be for a while, Freya had no doubt in her mind that one day Bell would be the one to set her free from the darkness.
"It was definitely a good idea giving him that grimoire." She said feeling proud of herself.
"And today's the daaay!" She continued boiling with excitement.
"Yes, my lady." Ottar said. Freya had trusted Ottar with coming up with a way for Bell to break through one of his fears, a minotaur, and Ottar had trained one to fight him. All he had to do was wait for his goddess's order to lead it to him. Ottar was troubled when he was looking for the perfect minotaur as on the one hand, it was his goddess's wish, on the other, did he really deserve her attention? He reasoned that the outcome of this battle would decide it. He needed to prove that he was worthy of his goddess's adoration.
"Please, make sure he doesn't die Ottar." She pleaded as he made his way to leave.
"Your wish is my command my lady." He said as he respectfully bowed to her and left.
…
"Loki! Please update my status! It's been a while since I last updated!" Bell said as he entered Loki's room.
"Huh? Oh. It's been a while huh?" Loki said as she put down a bottle. "You know the drill." She said.
Loki unlocked his falna and updated his status for the first time in what was it? Over a week maybe.
"Holy shit." She said seriously.
"Something wrong?" Bell asked.
"Yeah. I'm out of alcohol." She said.
Bell Cranel
Human
Strength: D 520 - SSS 1170
Defense: E 465 - SS 1080
Dexterity: E 470 - SS 1020
Agility: D 550 - SSS 1120
Magic: E 485 - SS 1090
Skills: Realis Phrase
Rapid Growth
Continued desire results in continued growth
Stronger desire results in stronger growth
Magic: Elements
Fire: Burn. Burn everything and leave nothing but ash. Fireflash!
Ice: Freeze. Ice and snow from a winter's storm. Flash freeze!
Lightning: Holy lightning, rain down and smite my enemies. Lightning Storm!
Water: Tranquil rivers flow through and heal and purify those in need. Water cleanse!
Earth: May the land I stand on become my domain and obey my command. Gaia's divine will!
Scorching Tempest
Coats the user in fire and lightning magic that greatly improves speed and strength.
Can be funneled into weapons to enhance damage greatly.
Can boost fire and lightning magic when in use at the cost of more mind usage.
(Alright, maybe I will make Bell just slightly overpowered.)
"Jeez. The hell happened to you?" Loki asked.
"Oh crap, I'm going to be late!" Bell said as he put on his shirt and made for the door.
"Wait Bell! Your status!" Loki yelled as she held his paper in the air.
"I'm sorry goddess, tell me when we come back! I've got to go!" Bell shouted to her as he left the room. He ran to his own room and grabbed a couple of things to carry himself like a few potions and Aiz's knife. Once he finished, he ran to gate to see the others waiting for him.
"Hi everyone! Sorry if I kept you all waiting." He said apologizing.
"Don't worry about it we just got here as well." Welf told him.
"Alright, lets head out!" Finn said leading the way while the others followed close behind. Sadly, Lefiya and Welf joined Lili on supporter duty as they carried their supplies. Well, maybe not sadly for Lili as she didn't have to carry everything.
They had made their way to the dungeon where Bell and Aiz were at the front. Everyone knew that Aiz was training Bell and it showed as Bell was following Aiz's moves perfectly. Man what a quick study he was! Soon Aiz decided to stop and let Bell fight alone as he seemed to be adjusting to his stauts update.
'Was I always this fast? Its weird. Just how much did I jump in status?' Bell thought as he sliced through any monsters dumb enough to face him.
"Nice job Bell!" Finn complimented him. "Don't overexert yourself before we even make it to the middle floors though." He joked.
Soon they came across a path on the 9th floor when they saw a couple of adventurers down. They immediately rushed to their aide to find out what had happened.
"It's terrible!" One of them spoke. "There's a minotaur on this floor!" He told them.
"What?!" Finn said surprised.
"A minotaur?" Tione said equally surprised.
"Could it be from last time?" Tiona asked.
"Not likely. It's been almost a month and there have been no reports of one."
"Where is it?" Finn asked the adventurers.
"Beats me. We're level 2 adventurers and look at us! We just ran and ran while it followed other adventurers. We did come from over there." One of them said pointing further into the dungeon. "Who knows where it is right now. Be careful. There's something different about this one." He warned them.
"Alright. Bell. Take your party and lead them out of here. We'll follow shortly after we take care of it. If you run into other adventurers, warn them! The rest of you, split up to look for it. It couldn't have gone that far. Meet back at the entrance in 10 minutes." Finn commanded as the executives split up to look for it. While 10 minutes may not seem like a lot of time, at least to a normal person, for the
"Come on, we'll take you back to the surface." Bell told the wounded adventurers. "Can you stand?" He asked.
"Yep. Just winded is all." He said.
"Alright, lets go!" Bell said as he led the way back to the surface.
'A minotaur? Again?' Bell thought to himself remembering what happened on the 5th floor. He did not want to deal with that again. He'd avoid it if at all possible. No way he wants to see another oversized cow anytime soon.
"Rooooaaaar!" An oversized bull roared.
'Me and my big mouth!' Bell thought to himself angrily.
Bell and the others slowly turned around to see a red minotaur covered in light armor. Well, it looked like light armor when compared to its size. It was wielding a black great sword in its right hand and was dragging it behind him menacingly.
"Uhhm. Is that the minotaur you guys were talking about?" Welf asked them scared.
"YUP!" The adventurers responded.
"Let's get out of here!" Lili yelled forcing them to regain their composure and run, except for Bell.
"Bell?" Lili asked as she looked back at him.
"Huh?" Welf asked as he stopped running. The others were too scared for their safety and kept running.
"Bell! We have to get out of here!" Lili yelled at him.
Bell was stuck in place in fear as he watched the minotaur inch closer and closer to him.
"Rooooaaaaaaarr!" It roared as it started charging its way towards Bell.
Bell took a step back in fear as he knew he was done for. He was so scared that he couldn't even move. The minotaur raised its sword to put Bell out of his misery when his friends intervened.
"Look out!" Welf yelled as he used his great sword to stop the other one.
"Get ahold of yourself!" Lili yelled as she pushed Bell out of the way. Unfortunately, Welf only slowed the minotaur down as it destroyed Welf's sword and hit him with the blunt side of its sword sending him crashing into Lili and Bell. Poor Lili was injured when they fell as her status was lower than the two.
'Welf! Lili!' Bell thought coming back to his senses. He saw that Lili had hit her head when they were sent flying and passed out while Welf was in terrible shape from where he was hit.
"Aggh!" Welf said as he clutched his side trying to get back up.
"Welf! Take Lili and get out of here! I'll buy you some time!" Bell told him as he readied his sword.
"Like Hell! No way I'm leaving you with that thing!" He yelled. Despite his injuries, he wouldn't leave his friend behind.
"There's no time! Get her out of here! Now!" He yelled as he got the minotaurs attention and maneuvered away from the two.
"Shit. Don't you dare die on me Bell!" Welf said trusting his friend would survive long enough for Welf to send help. It would be hopeless but there was a chance that one of the Loki familia members would be at the entrance right about now. He downed a potion to help with the pain and picked up Lili and ran.
'Alright. What do I do now?' Bell thought to himself. 'I can't run away or this thing will kill Welf and Lili!' He continued as he weighed his options.
"Dammit!" He yelled as he charged in to attack.
…
'Hmmm. I wonder if anyone else found the minotaur?' Aiz thought to herself as she ran back towards the entrance keeping her eyes open.
"Yo! Aiz!" Tiona called out to her.
Aiz turned to see the rest of the group back at the entrance.
"Any luck?" She asked them.
"Nope. Maybe it went down?" Tione asked.
"Hmm. Not likely." Finn said as his thumb started tingling. Something was up.
"So what should we do?" Tiona asked him.
"I think we should make our way down and search every floor. Gareth, Tiona, Tione, search the upper floors while we do." Finn told them. Just as they were about to head off the heard a minotaurs roar.
"Did we miss it?!" Tiona asked surprised.
"I don't know. Head out!" Finn commanded as they took off.
They did their best to locate the minotaur but its roar echoed across the floor which made it hard to pinpoint its exact location even for them.
"Damn." Finn said. "It's got to be around here somewhere." He said to himself.
Just then they heard approaching footsteps around a corner to see Welf carried a bleeding Lili.
"What the? What happened to you? I thought you were out!" Finn asked them.
"Loki familia? Perfect! It's Bell! That damn minotaur showed up and took care of us. Bell stayed behind to buy some time. Hurry!" Welf yelled.
"Where?!" Aiz asked.
"Back there! He's around room E-19!" He told her.
"Tempest!" Aiz quickly called her magic and sped her way there leaving the others behind. 'He's fighting a minotaur? He'll be killed!' She thought to herself as she stared funning even faster.
"Wait up Aiz!" Tiona yelled as she followed Aiz's dust.
Gareth carried the two while Riveria casted her healing magic on them as they ran.
'I've never seen Aiz go this fast before.' They all thought.
Back with Aiz she was trying to find that room as she heard the fighting pick up. 'Where is it? Where is it? There! Just down this hallway!' She thought to herself as she finally figured out her bearings. She was almost there when her survival instincts kicked in and she stopped running. 'Wait, is that?' She thought to herself as she saw the figure emerge from the shadows.
"Sword princess." A gruff voice called out.
"Ottar?" She said confused. What was he doing here?
"Sword princess." He repeated as he got closer and brought out his sword. "I challenge you to a duel" He added pointing his sword at her.
"Why? Why now?!" She yelled.
"I met a rival familia member in the dungeon. Doesn't this warrant a fight to the death?" He told her as he got ready to fight.
'Uggh! I don't have time for this!' Aiz thought as she grabbed her desparate.
"Out of my way!" She yelled as she ran up to him and started swinging her sword at him, only for him to block each and every attack.
"Weak." He said as she pulled back. "My turn." He calmly stated as he swung his sword down. Aiz was able to just barely block the attack when before she could even blink the sword was right at her neck. She ducked underneath it and retreated back. She was thinking of her next attack when something frightened her.
'The fighting! I can't hear it anymore!' She freaked out.
…
Back with the minotaur, Bell was dodging its attacks as best as he could while trying to get a couple hits in. Sadly all he got were small cuts. Even though Bell had a tremendous status jump, that didn't change the fact that a minotaurs hide was still tough to cut.
"Dammit!" Bell yelled jumping away from its sword. 'You're scared of something? Aren't you?' Aiz's words resounded inside his head as he started to panic. 'Dammit! Don't panic now!'
"Burn. Burn everything and leave nothing but ash. Fireflash!" He chanted, unleashing his flames at the beast. It roared when it hit and a cloud of smoke emerged from it.
"How was that?" Bell asked.
He knew that wouldn't be enough to defeat it, and that fact was certainly proved true when the great sword cut through the smoke leaving Bell with just enough time to brace himself before getting sent flying into a wall.
"AAGGGH!" He yelled when he hit the wall. He was lucky to be alive as his armor took the brunt of the damage and was destroyed on impact. What was left were little shambles of armor that fell off when he got back up.
'That hurt. Like hell. This is hell.' He thought to himself.
The minotaur, as if impressed by his work, roared at Bell getting ready for round 2.
'Okay. Got to get that armor off somehow.' He thought trying to figure out how the hell he'd do that.
"RAAAAAAAAA!" It roared again as it charged its way back to Bell.
"I got it!" Bell said as he dodged the minotaur's attacks and jumped back a bit. "Freeze. Ice and snow from a winters storm. Flash freeze!" He chanted as ice coated over the minotaur. He had to act fast as it wouldn't hold.
"Scorching tempest!" He chanted. "Burn! Burn everything and leave nothing but ash! Fireflash!" He quickly chanted as his flames were powered up by scorching tempest. The minotaur had just broken through the ice only to get enveloped by the hot flames. It howled in pain as the fire started to burn through its flesh.
"Hah… hah…" Bell was gasping for air and turned off his magic to conserve mind. He was about to follow up with another attack when the damn minotaur emerged from the smoke to destroy Bell. He had barely put up a defense when the minotaurs horn pierced through his forearm and lifted him off the ground making him cry out in pain. The minotaur finished by slamming Bell back to the ground. He couldn't get up as his arm and now his back were crying in pain.
"Agghh!" He yelled trying to get back up and failing.
The minotaur just smiled at his prey and moved to finish the job. Just then, footsteps were heard and he looked up to see the woman he was chasing.
"Aiz?" He asked in disbelief.
….
"I said! Out of my way!" Aiz yelled back as her winds turned a shade darker and rushed him. Bell might be dying around now and the king was blocking her way. She was angered and used that anger to strengthen her magic.
"HAAAA!" Ottar roared as he got back into a fighting stance. Suddenly, he was forced to block two incoming attacks from the hiryute twins.
"Just what the hell are you doing?!" Tione yelled.
"You heard Aiz! Get the hell out of our way!" Tiona added.
"Jormungand? Amazon?" Ottar asked. Their attack gave Aiz the chance to slip by Ottar and head towards Bell. Ottar turned around to try to attack her again only for Bete to block his attack.
"Watch where you're pointing that blade you stupid boar!" Bete yelled.
"Tch." Ottar tsked in response.
"Hey, wait up Aiz!" Tiona yelled as he followed her.
"Don't go running off!" Bete yelled and took off as well.
"Don't forget me!" Tione yelled at them.
"Yo, Ottar. Long time no see." Finn said to him.
"Finn?" He asked.
"I wonder why you're picking a fight with us. Is this the will of your goddess? To go to war?" He said.
"…"
"I'll ask again." He said putting on a serious expression with Gareth and Riveria doing the same. "Does your goddess wish to go to war with us?" He asked.
"…"
"I act of my own accord." He said putting his weapon away. "I can't win if you all team up against me." He said to assure them he wouldn't fight.
"I'm glad we're on the same page." Finn said as Ottar walked away. "Let's go!" He told the rest.
A few yards away Ottar had stopped walking.
"Curses. Allow me to ignore my failure and leave you with a piece of advice." He said looking back at where Bell was.
"Break out of your shell. Don't accept their help. Show her you're worthy of her love. Go on an adventure. Win." He said offering his advice before heading off.
…
'Where is he? There!' Aiz thought as she jumped in between Bell and the minotaur.
"Aiz?" He asked in disbelief.
"Are you alright?" She asked him.
"How? When did you?" He asked, words leaving him.
"It's alright. You did your best. I'll save you now." She said to him. She turned to face the minotaur and saw the progress Bell had made. 'You really did your best.' She thought with a smile as she made to grab desperate.
Bell on the other hand, was not having so happy thoughts.
'She'll save me now? Again?' He thought. 'I'm being saved by her, again? Really? Is this all I can do? Struggle while I wait to be saved, again?' He continued. He was reliving memories from when he was first saved and how she said those same words.
He remembered how he had wanted to blindly chaseafter her, before Bete had opened his eyes. Those memories were painful to relive as he remembered running down into the dungeon to vent his frustrations. He hated how much he let Bete's words get to him. He hated how he was so right.
"Weaklings aren't suited for Aiz Wallenstein!"
'I hate this! I hate this! It's frustrating! After all that, after all that training, all those days spent improving, yet, I never changed. I hate my uncool self!' He yelled internally as he steeled his nerves.
'Get up! Get up! Get up! I hate my uncool and pathetic self! She's right here! The woman I long for is right here! If I don't get up, if I don't reach for new heights, when will I? He reasoned as he got back to his feet.
'No!' Aiz thought to herself. 'This isn't an opponent you can win against! The only way you can stand up, is because of the same black flame as me! You'll be tainted! Don't do this! Please!' She pleaded.
"I can't!"
'Don't do this!
"I won't!"
'Don't become like me!'
"I can't let Aiz Wallenstien save me anymore!" He yelled as he walked past her.
'How?' She thought to herself. 'His eyes, were ever so white! What dwelt in them, was a blindingly straight resolve! He hasn't lost to the dark flame!' She continued before realizing something.
"Wait!" She yelled out to him. She was about to plead with him to stand down, when suddenly, his back had reminded her of someone. On his back was the same look as her father. "Stand back Aiz." Her father had instructed her. And she obeyed.
'I don't get it. What's driving you? What pushes you to get so strong?'
'It's because of you. Because you're here makes me want to push myself to even greater heights.'
'Why are you pushing yourself so much right now?'
'If I don't go on an adventure, how am I supposed to catch up to you? To tell you why I keep pushing.'
'I guess it doesn't matter right now. You're still white inside. You're still pure. Please. Stay away from this black flame.'
'I won't stop. I'll keep pushing past my limits. Here! And! Now!'
"Oh, there you guys are." Tione called out to them.
"Woah! It's red!" Tiona said. "That's not normal, right?" She asked.
"Of course not! You idiot!" Her sister yelled.
"Bell!" Welf and Lili called out to him. Lili had woken up on their way.
'This is it! This is my adventure!' Bell thought to himself as he grabbed his sword. The minotaur was delighted to see its prey still have some life left in it and roared at him, almost challenging him.
"Raaaaaa!" Bell yelled as he took off in a sprint.
"Rooooaaaaarrr!" The minotaur roared as it charged back at him eager to continue their fight.
"Wait what?!" Welf and Lili yelled in confusion.
"Bell! Your familia is here! You don't need to fight anymore!" Welf yelled.
"Bell! Come back!" Lili pleaded.
"That's not going to work." Finn told them.
"What? But, you guys are here. Why isn't he?" Lili began to ask him.
"Because." Gareth spoke up. "The lad is on an adventure." He said smiling. He had rarely seen that look Bell had on his eyes and couldn't wait to see how this would turn out.
"Hyaaaa! Scorching Tempest!" Bell yelled as the familiar flames and lightning bolts surrounded him. He would use the full extent of his magic.
"Haaa!" He continued his assault on the minotaur. With the added speed, he was able to strike at its armor. And it worked. Not only did his magic increase his speed and strength, he used the flames to heat up his blade which melted through the armor it had on and let him get a few strikes in.
"Raaaaaaaaaa!" The minotaur roared as it swung its great sword even faster than he thought possible.
"Wooaah. When did he get that magic?" Tiona asked the others.
"Not too long ago!" Finn said excited. Loki had let him see his status sheet and he was excited to see it in action and now Bell's hard work was there for all to see. His thumb kept tingling in anticipation of what would happen next.
'He's good.' Finn thought to himself. 'Real good!'
"But, he, what!" Bete said angrily. He was so weak over a month ago! What the hell happened to him since then?!
"Amazing." Lefiya said in awe of Bell's efforts.
"But, will he be able to pull it off? He's still a level 1." Tione asked them.
"If anything happens we'll intervene." Riveria told her.
'Wow.' Aiz thought. 'That look. He can do it.' She thought to herself happily.
"Hyaa!" Bell shouted as he landed another hit on the minotaur. He was making some progress, but his sword wasn't strong enough to land a decisive hit and the great sword's reach kept him at bay.
"Raaaaaaaa!" The minotaur roared again now pissed off that its prey was fighting back. It used all the techniques that Ottar had taught him and was able to land a nasty hit on Bell which drew a bit of blood.
"Gaagh!" Bell yelled in pain.
The minotaur followed up with its attacks only for Bell to chant his magic again.
"Fireflash!" He yelled as the minotaur was covered in flames again.
'Ngh! This gash will be troublesome if I lose too much blood. The hell do I do now? Huh. Fire seems to be effective on the minotaur. Wait. Fire. Wounds. Airmid, you're going to regret teaching me this! Bell thought to himself as he aimed a bit of scorching tempest's flames on his hand and closed up the wound from bleeding anymore.
"Ngh?" The minotaur grunted in confusion. Why did he do that? Oh well. More fighting.
"There we go." Bell said now feeling the pain from the heat. "Haaaa!" He shouted as he got closer to the minotaur. He needed to end things soon before he passed out from scorching tempest. He quickly came up with a plan.
He started by concentrating his magic onto his sword. Soon, his sword lit up with the heat caused by the flames on his sword.
'This will work. It has to work. This is it. I want to win. I will win. I want to be a hero. I will be a hero. This is my first step toward my dreams!'
"What's he doing?" Lili asked.
"I don't know." Tiona said. "You know, this reminds me of that hero story. You know, the one where the boy fights a minotaur?"
"Argonaut, right? It's a story of a young boy who goes on an adventure to defeat a minotaur and save a princess." Finn explained.
"I always liked that story." Tiona said happily.
Aiz went wide eyed. 'A hero?' She remembered her mothers' words when she'd read her a hero story. "Do you like this story? Aiz?" She felt her ask. 'I don't know. I don't know anything, still. I can't avert my gaze.' She thought as she kept looking at Bell.
"Looks like he's ready." Gareth said.
'Here goes nothing!' Bell thought to himself. "Hyaaa!" He yelled as he threw his sword at the minotaur. It was not expecting that and couldn't block in time as the sword lodged itself straight into the minotaur, just narrowly missing its crystal.
"He missed!" Tiona yelled.
"No." Aiz said. "He's planning something."
Bell knew that if he charged in the minotaur would somehow block the attack with that behemoth of a sword. As long as it had that sword, Bell wouldn't win. He decided to fix that. He reached for something behind him and got ready.
"Hyaaa!" Bell yelled as he charged in.
"What the?! But he doesn't have a weapon?" Tione yelled in surprise.
"He does have a weapon!" Aiz said with pride.
The minotaur just swung down hoping to catch Bell in that attack, but Bell dodged it expertly and drew the red knife Aiz had gifted him so long ago and returned the favor from earlier and stabbed the minotaurs wrist.
"REAAAAAAAA!" The minotaur howled in pain. Bell put the knife away and pulled his sword out from where he threw it earlier and jumped back.
The minotaur, now free from Bell's sword, got up to continue fighting. Just one small problem, it couldn't grip the sword. Bell threw his sword to his left hand and dashed forward and the minotaur swung its fist down to hit Bell, but he once again dodged its attack and picked up the great sword and retreated while chanting.
"Freeze! Ice and snow from a winters storm. Flash freeze!" He yelled as ice formed on the minotaur and covered its legs in ice. Bell had only focused the ice on its legs instead of his whole body which made the ice stronger. This took a lot of concentration and mind and the only thing keeping Bell going was adrenaline and sheer fucking willpower.
"Haaaa!" He yelled as he powered up scorching tempest into the two blades and landed multiple consecutive sword swings on the monsters' torso. And this time, it dealt damage.
"RAAAAAA!" It yelled in pain. It broke through the ice and swung at Bell only for him to maneuver around to its back and landed some more hits as the heat cut through the armor like butter. It kicked Bell away, but the damage had already been done.
The others were just stunned by what just happened. Finn had never felt so excited and impressed by someone's bravery and courage before! Tiona felt like she was living in a hero's story! Tione was just blown away by what was happening. Bete had his hair standing on end, which he hated. Riveria was just impressed by how far Bell had come since joining the familia. Lefiya was also amazed by what she was witnessing. Welf was proud to know such a cool person! He knew Bell was going to win. Lili did too and couldn't wait to support him again. Aiz was both scared to see if something bad were to happen and happy that she was able to teach Bell well and couldn't wait to see what else he would do. And Freya was, well, we all know what happened with her.
Back with the fight, both fighters knew that the end was near. The minotaur dropped down and got ready for its final attack. Bell unleashed all of Scorching Tempest's power into his weapons and got ready. They both stared the other down and as soon as a drop of water hit the ground they both charged at each other.
"RAAAAAAAAAA!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Bell was ready first and planted his feet while he swung the great sword down and hit the minotaurs horn. Unfortunately, even with scorching tempest, the sword broke. The minotaur proceeded with its attack in an attempt to gore through Bell.
"No way!" Tiona yelled.
"Is he done for?" Lefiya asked.
"NO!" Welf yelled at them.
"Everything's all right." Aiz said calmly.
Bell had ducked under its horn. 'I'm not done yet!' He yelled internally. He grabbed his sword with both hands and poured every ounce of strength he had left in his reserves and stabbed through the minotaurs armor and the minotaur itself.
"This. Is over. Scorching Tempest!" He yelled as he unleashed the flames and lightning into the minotaur which caused it to howl in pain before exploding into excelia and leaving behind a minotaur horn. When the dust cleared, all the others could see was Bell's back towards them while looking up to the heavens.
"Woaaaah." Tiona said.
"He did it." Lefiya said in awe.
"He did." Riveria said with a smile on her face.
"Hell yeah Bell!" Welf cheered.
"Yeaaah!" Lili yelled too. "Wait, is he alright?" She asked.
"Looks like it." Gareth said.
"Mind zero." Aiz told them.
"You're telling me he passed out standing up? So cool!" Tiona cheered.
They all walked up to him to make sure he was alright.
"Riveria. Check his status." Bete told her.
"You want me to invade his privacy?" She asked. She already had, but that's besides the point.
"Just do it! We're all in the same familia? No?!" He yelled. Welf and lili decided to act like they didn't exist.
"Fine." She said as she walked up to him.
"What is it?!" Bete demanded. He was waiting for an answer, what he didn't expect was for the high elf to start laughing.
"What the?" He asked. "Aiz you can read hieroglyphs, no? What's his status?!" He asked.
"Okay." She said as she walked past the laughing elf. She went wide eyed as she saw what was on there. "Riveria? This is?" She asked.
"Yes." She said while wiping a tear away.
"Stop dancing around the question! What is it!" Bete demanded getting irritated.
"Abilities are all S." She stated proudly.
They all went wide eyed at her response. Just what the hell was Bell? Well whatever the case, this was only the start of his story.
ANNND FIN! Damn this was a really long chapter. What did you guys think about the chapter? Would you guys prefer me shorter 5-6k word chapter or this 10k+ chapter? I was originally going to try to make it a 10k word chapter but that obviously didn't happen. Also, I know what you guys are thinking. Bell and Aiz shouldn't have as much progress as I made them normally. And my reasoning? Just because! Hey, I love this ship and so what if I wanted to progress it faster in my own story? And now for actual reasoning. Answer me this: if Bell would stop getting cock-blocked by the 30+ females in this story every time he was with Aiz, would they have this much progress? Yes right? So. Add Bell not getting interrupted when spending time with Aiz plus having them in the same familia getting to spend even more time together, wouldn't that progress them about as much a I made them? Who knows? Anyways, that's all for now. Also, can we please get to 100 favorites? That's all that I'll ask of you. You don't have to, I just would like to see that favorite number also hit 100 to make it look nice. Also noon12345, is that enough lap pillows? XD Thank you! And have a great day!