Chapter 22

"Ah, sorry!"

Bell's smile vanished as he was faced with what were piercing red eyes. The bandaged man growled, his arms raising his cloak as he formed fists. He took a step forward only to be stopped by the spear in his face. The man with the moustache gave him a pointed look before running his hand through his messy black hair, a smirk on his face.

"It's alright."

With those words, the group of four moved on, followed by a dark skinned elf clicking her tongue in annoyance and a massive weretiger grunting as his short orange hair shook from the wind, as they walked past. Bell shuddered as he rubbed his shoulders. Did people in Orario always react so aggressively by accident? He may have pushed the man but that was an extreme response.

"Avoid those guys."

He turned to Solaris who frowned at the retreating quartet. With a spear on her back and a shield wrapped around her left forearm, she made a rather imposing figure. Bell turned his head at her as she took the front.

"Eh? Why?"

Solaris shrugged as they entered the guild building.

"Dunno, but Astreaea reaaaaally doesn't get along with them. The Eris Familia I mean. It's that weird symbol that looks like it's trying to mimic an explosion, lots of line going zig zag and what not." She gave Bell and Kojiro a wry smile. "And if they don't like someone, that means something."

Well, what could he say about that? He engraved that warning in his heart. He was a bit worried how many other Familia he should look out for. First Freya, now Eris. Was this city so dangerous after all? Anyway, they were approaching the counter where the guild workers did their jobs. As they approached, Bell could pick up the bickering between the young man and the elf from the day before.

"...ny times do I have to tell you, you can't just be so rude!"

"I'm doing my job, aren't I?" The man drawled before shrugging apathetically. "They don't respect us anyway."

The woman groaned, adjusting her glasses before pointing at him accusingly.

"This! This is why only Solaris puts up with you!"

"Somebody sayin' my name?" Solaris smirked and waved her hand at the male. "Sup, H-Man."

He in return lazily raised his hand back, not even bothering putting up a smile.

"Hi."

Rolling her eyes, the elf on the other hand proceeded to show off a professional smile, looking at the two men accompanying Solaris.

"Are they new members?"

"Enlisted yesterday!" Solaris shouted, showing off the peace sign with a giggle. The male guild advisor, who seemed to be Far Eastern now that Bell was up close, raised an eyebrow while the elf clapped her hands together in cheer.

"Ah, that's wonderful!" She bowed her head formally as she put a hand on her chest. "I'm Eina Tulle. I'm an advisor of the guild."

She sent the man next to her a glance. He didn't react. Her eye twitched and she elbowed his side. He grunted before sighing and lowering his head as well.

"Hikigaya Hachiman." A dry smirk appeared on his face as he pointed at himself and then at Solaris. "Suffering in the same job as a slave, dealing with dumbasses like this one."

The smack against her own forehead sounded in the hal.l Another guild worker, a young woman with pink hair, laughed awkwardly as she signed papers next to them. Eina ran her hand through her hair before throwing her arms up in indignation.

"What did I just say?!"

"Eh, it's cool," Solaris said with a noncaring shrug. Letting out a long suffering sigh, Eina shook her head before adjusting her glasses. She glared at Hikigaya.

"I'll take care of these two, since you are... used to each other."

The man named after a god, for some reason, clicked his tongue in irritation, leaning back with his hands in his pockets.

"Thanks. I hate it."

"You know you love me," Solaris responded in a smug tone. The man shuddered dramatically.

"Excuse me, I gotta barf."

With that they left them alone to their own devices. Bell wondered if all guild workers were like that or if Hikigaya was just special. Anyway, following the half elf as she would reveal later, they found a private booth. Sitting down, Eina professionally presented two stacks of papers, pens already ready.

"Now then, this is rather simple. I need you to sign some papers here and there. Then I go through the basics of adventuring for you!"

That was exactly what she did. She explained how the city thrived and lived by the magic stones inside the monsters in the dungeon, thus the importance to pay attention to their location not only from a combat standpoint. She went on to elaborate on quests one could take for extra rewards, traits of the monsters in the first floors, even good beginner shops if they were low on valis. Suffice to say, Bell's head was steaming by the end of the lecture, as he tried to absorb all the condensed information. Yet he tried his best as it was clear that Eina cared.

"And most importantly... " She frowned deeply as she raised her finger at them. "Do not go on adventurers."

The two new adventurers blinked. They shared a glance, turned back to Eina, looked at each other again, until they decided to both tilt their heads in utter confusion.

"That sounds rather counterproductive to being an adventurer," Kojiro commented with a frown. Their advisor bit her lip before shoving the fliers away she prepared for newcomers.

"To me, going on adventurers means taking incredible risks." Eina sighed, taking off her glasses with a pained expression. "I have seen many young newcomers lose their lives because they pushed just a bit too much. A bit too much is all that it takes." She shook her head with a sad smile. "Maybe I don't understand, as an advisor and all, but I don't care. No matter what, survive. Even if it means running away in shame." Clearing her throat, she put her glasses back on and raised her finger one more time. "Again, don't go on adventures! Stick to the floors appropriate to your status! You may only go down further if you are with Solaris, and she's a level 2! Never go deeper alone!"

Against her passionate outburst as she breathed heavily, Bell could only nod numbly. A part of him felt bad now as he considered the dungeon as just a method to pick up girls in a sense at first. To see someone care so much certainly put some perspective on those thoughts. As he was at a loss of words, Kojiro stood up and bowed politely with a smile.

"Understood."

"Y-yeah, we keep it in mind!"

"Good!" Eina blushed a bit as she cleared her throat. "Excuse me for the rant, but I needed to get it off my chest. I wish you good luck!"

With those words echoing in his head, Bell and Kojiro left towards the exit. Pressing his lips together, the young man laughed awkwardly.

"She seemed nice."

"She means well, but she is quite ignorant," Kojiro said with a sigh. Bell narrowed his eyes as they made their way towards the tower, having not seen Solaris outside the guild building.

"You can't just say that," he chided his teacher. Kojiro however shook his head as he crossed his arms.

"Young master, if one wishes to become a hero, one will walk alongside death." He nodded to himself. "That isn't something one can avoid whatsoever."

Alongside death. His memories of Yggdrasil and Sekigahara resurfaced. He winced but realizing that it could've been him as well. A simple mistake. A millimeter of a difference. And grandfather did always say that heroes needed two things the most: The will and the luck. The will to take action... and the luck to survive the consequences of those actions. Still, it also made clear why Eina was worried. How many people couldn't hit that one millimeter? How many people made that one, simple but fatal mistake?

"However, she is correct that survival comes first usually," Kojiro explained and shook Bell out of his musings as he raised two fingers. "One must find a healthy balance between being an idiot and being a smart person."

"Are you saying heroes are idiots?" Bell asked with a frown. Then again, Argonaut was probably an idiot the way he was written in his story and grandfather liked his story as a 'hero' the most. Kojiro chuckled, as if recalling many many things from his past.

"They are the greatest of idiots and that is why they are heroes."

The young man hummed in thought, quietly walking next to his teacher in silence. Soon enough, they reached the tower of Babel. Yet before they could enter, Bell realized one thing that made him frown.

"...Wait, are you calling us idiots?"

/

Kojiro never responded to his question, but the smirk was speaking a thousand words by itself. He was still pouting even when they met up with Solaris. Stepping down the staircase with their captain twirling her spear with a whistle, they soon found themselves in the narrow cave-like halls that were the First floor of the dungeon. Bell gulped as he felt the air. It wasn't like it was too hot or too cold. It was certainly fresh too. YEt he could sense the hostility in it. As if the dungeon was telling every adventurer to turn back if they didn't want to die. He took a deep breath. Here he was. In what made Orario Orario. The city of adventurers and where heroes and warriors were forged in the fire of danger that were the monsters.

This was... the dungeon. He took a moment to engrave this event in his mind. Of course then Kojiro let out a grunt, his long katana tapping his shoulder as he raised an eyebrow.

"I thought this place would be bigger."

With the mood ruined, Bell sighed before shaking his head and keeping a tighter grip on his Daisho set. Solaris giggled, a cheeky grin on her face as she tapped the ground with her spear.

"It gets bigger the deeper you go, but yeah, first floors are... stuffy." She grimaced at the 'traffic' on the floor, many adventures passing by, whether to leave or to enter the dungeon around this time. Then she took a deep inhale through her nose before letting out a satisfied breath. "Ah. First floor. I remember when I first came down here." Cracking her neck, she glanced at them as she showed her teeth. "Let's see what you got." Without hesitation she rammed her spear down a few times, whistling at the same time. "Hey, you, get a move on, Hestia Familia havin' some fun here! Shoo, shoo!"

The people around them glared daggers, causing Bell to shrink a bit as Kojiro coughed awkwardly. Yet Solaris didn't care, as she kept slamming her spear down until the area was relatively cleared. Rolling her shoulders, her ears twitched before she let out an amused snort.

"Ah, perfect timing!"

Around the corner it appeared. The small green creature, salivating with its hate filled yellow eyes, its horn and claws sharp and aiming at Bell. The young man stiffened up. A goblin. The same kind that almost killed him in the past, back when he was a defenseless little boy. The kind of monster that could've killed him with ease if it weren't for his grandfather. He remembered the tears he cried, the weakness he felt as the monster approached closer and close-

A hand patted him on the back, causing his hyperventilating breathing to cease. He turned his head, noticing how much he sweated, to see Kojiro casually smile at him.

"You go first, young master."

Bell blinked before shaking his head and nodding in determination. He wasn't a child anymore. This wasn't the surface. Tightening his grip on his swords, he slowly approached the goblin who snarled at him. Yet Bell didn't move, carefully observing the monsters movements. Then the enemy leaped at him. Bell moved to the side at the same time. It was then as if a switch was flipped in his body.

The movements of the goblin became slow. Awfully slow compared to literally anything he had faced on the surface. But it was not just only that. The dungeon, rather dark at first, became visible as if it was day. His body felt lighter. stronger. His ears easily picked up its breathing, his skin feeling the shifts in the wind. He couldn't help but smile as he dashed forward, causing the goblin to gape in shock. He moved his arm, focusing on the burning light in his chest and raised his voice.

"Dragon Fang!"

It was as if his magic perfectly mirrored his katana as it swung upwards, becoming the other half of the jaw from above. The goblin squealed in pain as it was chomped down on, before swiftly turning into dust, leaving behind a small magic stone. Numbly, Bell stared at his own hands with a happy smile. This... this was... !

"Hm. So this is a Falna... " Kojiro muttered from behind him before a sharp cut through the air sounded. Bell turned around to see Kojiro having beheaded another goblin with a strike that seemed to make him at least twice as fast. With an approving smirk, he flicked off the disappearing blood before nodding at Bell in approval. Solaris whistled, tapping her neck a few times with her spear.

"Yeah, that's some quality alright." She pointed at the two of them. "Just don't forget, high grade equipment or other advantages like that do lower Excella you can gain." She paused before shrugging. "On the other hand, can't gain Excella if you are dead, so who am I to judge?" Staring off to the side, she frowned a bit. "But damn, Welf wasn't kidding around when he wrote that you two are good... "

Bell blinked as the girl sighed. She didn't seem as happy as she thought she'd be. Actually the way she bit her lip... was she jealous? The moment he began to notice, her eyes suddenly widened, before she slapped her cheeks a few times. A grin appeared on her face and she pointed forward with a small laugh.

"Let's go down further!"

The excitement returned to Bell and the trio descended down the floors. The variety and amount of monsters was staggering to him. Goblins, Kobolds, Dungeon Lizards, Frog Shooters, War Shadows and Killer Ants. Each with their own characteristics and weaknesses, they reached floor 7 by now. With Solaris covering their rear and killing most of these monsters with one hit of her spear, Kojiro and Bell could focus solely on figuring out those monsters and killing them most efficiently. However, as Solaris packed up the stones they left behind...

"Is it just me or is this rather boring?" Kojiro said, putting his blade inbetween the joints of the Killer Ant with a leap and separating its head from the rest of the body. Bell chuckled awkwardly, stepping back as he baited another ant to leap at him so that he could duck underneath it and stab into its joints before twisting them off.

"They don't seem very smart..." He muttered before killing his prey. Solaris let out a loud snort as she held up a War Shadow and smashed it into the ground.

"Again, first floors. You aren't going to face minotaurs or dragons up here." She shrugged nonchalantly."'sides, of course they aren't smart. They're just monsters."

"I suppose we all have to start somewhere," Kojiro sighed before proceeding to kick a Killer Ant at Bell's direction. He reacted immediately, narrowing his eyes before inhaling air.

"Dragon Fang!"

The jaws didn't hit what he expected to hit. Still, it did the job, as the lower, real katana held the monster in place in order for the magic fang from above to pierce through its main body. Solaris' eyes widened at the sight before clapping a few times.

"Daaaaaamn. Went right through that carapace."

"I wonder how your magic will change with growth. Stronger piercing? More fangs?" Kojiro hummed in thought, rubbing his chin. Bell laughed, scratching his chin awkwardly. It still felt weird to be complimented like that. He noticed the stares of nearby adventurers, eyeing him with what could only be jealousy mostly. Bell blinked when he noticed Solaris pace around, her cheeks puffing up.

"Hmmmm... !" She rolled her arms with a wild grin. "Screw it, I gotta show off as well!"

At her announcement, the people around them went quiet. Just in time for the walls to break and more monsters to emerge. Then one of the men paled as he pointed at Solaris.

"Wait, isn't that-"

Realization hit all of them when Solaris reared her spear back as she widened her stance. They all gasped in shock before leaping away, desperately covering their bags with their bodies.

"Oh crap!"

"Flamma is here!"

"Guard the loot!"

"Incoming!"

Before Bell could ask what was up with them, nor wonder when Solaris had that cool alias, said girl licked her lips, eyeing the Killer Ants in front of her.

"Awaken."

The air was filled with magical power as it radiated from Solaris. Bell could feel the heat even from the distance they were standing. The young man blinked before touching his forehead. Wait, he was sweating and that was not only from exhaustion. Was the temperature rising?

"Inferno!"

Flames burst forth around her before focusing around her spear. Used as a medium, she channeled the flames into a straight line before they short forth like the spear itself. The Ants had no chance when the fire hit them and promptly exploded, turning them into pure ashes. SIlence reigned as the flames flickered down, with only Solaris proudly puffing out her flat chest with a grin.

"Boom! The prodigious child of the spirits, Solaris Crozzo, showing how it's done!"

Instead of praises at her impressive show of power however, all she received were deadly glares.

"Get your ass to the Middle Floors, you damn brat!"

"Yeah, some of us actually need the money up here!"

Grumbling and complaining, they had no good words for her as they either went back up or went deeper. Solaris deflated before scoffing as she waved her hand dismissively.

"Pah. Killjoys." She blinked when she looked down on her right hand. Or rather what was in its grasp. Whatever was left anyway. "Whoops."

The two men could only stare silently at the pitiful, scorched remains of her spear which turned into dust as Solaris applied even the slightest bit of pressure on it. Kojiro raised an eyebrow as he sheathed his blade back on his back.

"Do you burn your equipment often?"

"Usually the spear," Solaris replied in a cheeky tone before wiping her forehead with a grunt. "Ugh, I'm all sweaty. Let's take a break"

Bell tilted his head at that as she sat down and downed the water she brought with her. She seemed just fine before, why was she sweating so much? Then again, her flames were kinda hot. As they rested, with the dungeon around them being silent for now, Kojiro crossed his legs before tapping his cheek as he stared at Solaris.

"I see you are...infamous."

"Leveled up around a year ago, that usually gets attention." She shrugged as she closed the bottle. "Not even close to being a record holder, but what can ya do?"

"What is the record anyway?" Bell asked with curiosity. Solaris hummed in thought before raising her hand.

"First place is Starfall in three months. Second place is at a year with the Sword Princess." She pointed at herself with pride. "I took two years in Orario if you wondered."

The two newcomers nodded thoughtfully. That certainly sounded fast. But then Bell frowned. He did the math in his head and looked at Solaris. Or rather her relatively young face.

"Wait, how old were you when you arrived?" Bell asked. Fortunately Solaris didn't seem bothered by the social disaster Bell caused, as he remembered when grandfather repeatedly told him to never ask a lady's age.

"Cute thirteen years old!" She flashed two fingers with a grin. "I'm sixteen now."

"They just let thirteen year olds join?"

"They just let thirteen year olds leave Rakia?"

At the disbelieving questions, their captain frowned before waving her hand dismissively.

"The Sword Princess was like seven when she joined. For the other question... Took some convincing to my family, but they realized I would fit in the dungeon more than in stuffy Rakia."

She let out a wistful sigh. Bell bit his lip. He couldn't really fathom to decide leaving home so early, even with a great family like Welf still being around. How could someone so young already know what to do with their lives? It made him feel inadequate, as he still struggled with what he wanted to do in his life. Kojiro glanced at him, seeing his lowered head and frown, before turning back to Solaris.

"Is three months fast?"

Solaris in return let out a scoff.

"It's stupidly fast. Half the adventurers in this place haven't reached level 2." With a grunt of exertion she pushed herself up, raising her left arm and her shield into the air with a smirk. "Enough talk, we gotta earn some pay check here! Let's go deeper!"

"But Miss Eina said to-"

"Pff, she's overprotective! H-Man is way more chill!" She paused before wiggling her hand. "Well, apathetic, but you get the drift! 'sides, I just said I'm level two, didn't I? You'll be fine!"

"If we want to beat the record, we should make haste," Kojiro agreed with a nod. Solaris froze before laughing nervously, scratching the back of her head.

"Ahahahaha, goals are nice and all but better stick to something more realistic!"

"We shall see," Kojiro responded nonchalantly. Solaris let out a sigh of relief before leading the charge. Yet unlike her, Bell saw the glint in his teacher's eyes and couldn't help but shiver.

The swordsman fully believed and intended to beat that record.