Chapter 14.
After the night of Bell's rank up, his mother and a few members of their Familia congratulated him during their dinner. Thus surprising everyone present.
"Are you for real!?" Lefiya, the young elf with orange hair and blue eyes exclaimed.
"What did you do to level up in just two days!? Aiz-san took a whole year! A WHOLE YEAR!! TELL ME YOUR SECRET-" She was about to approach him and grab on his collar but was stopped by Alfia's death glare. Which turned her into a stone.
"I'm sorry... I'm just surprised, that's all..." She immediately sat down again, fearing the might of a mother that's a lot stronger than Riveria's.
"Well, I can't blame her for reacting like that. The way you leveled up is just absurd after all, but considering that you are already as stronger than Raul at fresh level 1. I don't think it's that impossible." Aki commented before having another bite of the dinner they made.
As Bell ate with his mother and the other level 4 adventurers, he failed to notice Alicia stealing glances from him. But not his mother who's aware of it the whole time but chose to ignore it since she saw no problem with it.
But
"Forestlight." The Silence called out to the forest fairy.
"Y-Yes?"
"How old are you?" Alfia's gaze sharpened when those words left her mouth, for some reason her question stopped everyone at their circle from eating.
"I'm 25 years old, why do you ask Alfia-san?" Alicia's question also made the girls curious why she asked for her age all of a sudden, but all they got was-
"Curse elves." She frowned before shoving a spoon full of her food to her mouth.
"That again Mom, why do you dislike elven blood so much?"
Those who knew what happened earlier just laughed lightly at her words, but since Alicia chose to ignore the commotion earlier because she thought it was just Loki. She frowned at her but chose not to speak.
"Don't mind her Alicia-san, she's just jealous of your race's eternal youth." Bell just gave her a troubled smile before he got silenced by his mother's spoon getting shoved in his mouth.
"Stop talking when you are eating Bell."
Alicia decided to let it go and smiled at the mother and son's antics, which reminded her of her own mother back at their home forest.
"Everyone, can I have your attentions please?" Finn stood at his own chair as he spoke.
Everyone gathered went silent as they already knew that Finn was about to make an announcement.
"We all know that we only have 4 days before our war game against Freya Familia, we've all prepared for this, ranked up our members that needs to rank up and ordered the best equipments. We've also developed the best strategy to take down every single executive members of their Familia, and finally the final gift that lady Hera and lord Zeus gave us before leaving the lower world."
Bell's eyes widened when he heard Finn's last words, how come no one told him about this.
"Bell." Surprisingly, his uncle appeared behind him and placed a hand on his right shoulder.
"I'll accompany you later and explain everything to you, if you're still not satisfied we can go to dungeon and I'll let you vent all your frustration to Goliath." The Predator smiled before he left and went to his sit with Gareth and Bete.
"With both Predator and Silence with us, all of you might be thinking why we still made those arrangements and spend money on equipments, and I'll tell you all why. Because we've decided to settle this by ourselves, and when I mean by ourselves I mean all of you including Bell Cranel. It's not that I don't see them as members of our own Familia but I feel like I'm relying too much on their strength if we include them in our fight, Loki already agreed with this even though she said how much winning potential we lost. But still, I want to settle this with the strength I've honed my entire life." His eyes burned with pure determination that made all the members nod in agreement and made his fellow top executives smile.
"I would also like to announce the rank up of Bsll Cranel, this might not be news to everyone considering the huge uproar Loki made earlier but to every living being in the lower world, this is the most ground breaking news we've heard since the age of the gods. An adventurer leveled up and broke all records in just two days, so we've decided that he will be the core of our attack." Finn applaud the rabbit boy for his accomplishment and soon everyone followed his actions.
The dinner ended and everyone already made their way towards their respective rooms to take a rest and get ready for tomorrow aside from Alfia, Bell and Zard.
"Now, ask everything you want to know." Zard crossed his arms while glancing towards Alfia who chose to remain silent earlier finally spoke.
" I want to apologize first, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you about Zeu-"
Before the silver haired woman could finish her sentence, she was enveloped in a slow and gentle hug by her own son. His head rested on her shoulders and his arms circled around her figure.
"It's okay mom, it's not your fault. I might not know their reason for leaving the lower world but I'm sure they did it for your sake. I just wished he said something before I left the village." A single tear ran down from his face as he pulled his mother to him gently.
"I'll explain everything from you."
After hearing everything from Alfia and Zard, Bell decided to go to the dungeon by himself. Zard suggested that he could accompany him but he said that he'll be fine by himself.
But in truth, his mind is a huge mess.
He was never told about his mother's illness and the poison inside his uncle's body and the fact that when he left their village a month ago, they were already at their weakest state.
He ran towards the babel and with his sword in hand, he slashed every monster he could see and arrived at the 17th floor where the Goliath was waiting for its next challenger.
"Is this the floor boss?" Bell gripped his sword before running towards the giant at his maximum speed.
"Haaah!" Bell launched a barrage of attacks towards its legs. The Goliath tried to catch him but failed miserably due to his blinding speed as he was already gone before it was half way towards reaching him.
"Kgh! AA!!" Bell tried to occupy his mind with the battle and kept cutting the floor boss' limbs until it was kneeling down and ready to be taken down.
But as a last resort, it screamed and summoned a party of Minotaurs completely blocking Bell's path and surrounding him in every direction.
But it proved to be futile as he broke through and stabbed the Goliath through its chest before it burst into ashes.
Bell eliminated the remaining Minotaurs before finally calming down, he was so surprised at what he did that all he could do was laugh awkwardly to himself.
"Guess I'll go to the next floor."
Bell descended to the 18th floor and was surprised by the sight.
Just like outside, he found a green scenery and even though it's dark he could see the path ways as well as the monsters roaming around freely in the forest like normal animals. He could also see a small village at the top of the hill that was surrounded by light from lanterns.
And finally, when he looked upwards. He saw the dungeon crystals giving a glow that made the ceiling look like a night sky full of stars.
"It looks beautiful." He said in awe, unaware of the presence beside him.
"It really is. Is this your first time here?" The dark purple haired girl asked.
"Yes-EH!? MEI-SAN!?"
"Could you please tell me why you are here this late at night mister Bell Cranel?" She gave him a smile that told him everything he has to know.
"I'm j-just here to clear my head... That's all..." He looked down and opened his left hand before closing it again.
"I see, you alarmed me when I saw you running towards the Babel earlier that's why I followed you but it looks like I didn't have to worry, you are much stronger than my initial thought." She smiled calmly as she redirected her gaze towards the crystals above.
"Are you fine Mei-san? It's dangerous down here."
"Oh, I'm fine. It's just the middle floors, nothing threatening here. I could handle it with much more ease than you."
She opened her left hand and a purple and red lightning started to come out of it, Bell was surprised by this and gazed unto it with curiosity.
"Come, Key of Castigation."
When those words came out of her mouth, a sudden burst of lightning came out of her palm and after that, a sword with a jet black blade appeared with a red guard and handle with a dragon-like pattern.
"See? Just like you, my looks are quite deceiving. I might look like the type of girl who can't even hurt a fly but I'm confident that I can send the "King" flying towards his goddess' chamber." She smiled confidently towards Bell which made the boy blush.
Her beautiful and confident demeanor was so attractive it almost made his heart jump out of his chest.
Just like when he first encountered the girl named Yamato Mikoto a few days ago.
"Bell, do you plan to stay here in the safe zone or do you want to head back?" He was removed from his trance when she spoke again.
"I think I'll take a quick rest here then go back. I don't want my mom to worry about me too much." He tried to hide it but it was as clear as a sunny day to the guild employee beside him that something is bothering him, but she chose to remain silent to respect his privavacy.
They sat down in silence just gazing around the under resort after deciding that it's time to head back.
Their journey on their way back is surprising for Bell to say the least.
The gentle looking lady before him displayed unimaginable power when a monster party suddenly appeared on the 16th floor, she used a very unorthodox lightning magic and made it move on her command. A thing that he never knew possible.
Mei threw a ball of lightning in the middle before closing the hand she used, and as if on cue. The ball of red lightning suddenly sucked all the monsters towards the center allowing her to slash them all at once.
"H-How?" Bell asked.
"I don't know, ever since I was born I already have these powers. My mom said it was a blessing from our ancestors that was passed down to me, when I asked her if she also has this power, she said no but her father did."
"But it's so amazing how you can bend lightning at will! It's like you are blessed by the spirits from the heroic tales!" Bell's eyes lit up.
"Ahahaha... I don't know, anyway let's hurry. Tomorrow might be my day off but I still have a lot of things to do and I also want to explore deep floors."
"Alone? Isn't it dangerous? Mom and uncle warned me that even though I'm more than strong enough, they still won't let me try to explore it alone because of how overwhelming they can be. Are you really sure?" Bell asked in concern, even though he's aware of the difference in their strength.
"If you're really that worried, why don't you accompany me? I can also teach you a lot of stuff while we are exploring."
That night, Bell went back to their home after escorting Mei to her own apartment.
When Bell entered the manor and was greeted by Loki and Alfia, he had a huge green on his face that made them wonder what happened.
"Oy what's with that face? You're creeping me out. I told you the sad news earlier, how can you grin like there's no tomorrow after spending some time in the dungeon?" Alfia raised an eyebrow while crossing her arms.
"Ah... I just encountered an acquaintance of mine and we talked about a lot of things, I'll tell you later. Goddess Loki, could you please update my status again? Ehehehe..."
"Again? Why do you want another update? What did you even do down there?"
The three of them went upstairs to Loki's room where they saw a giant box with the emblem of Soma Familia on it. Alfia sighed before closing the door behind her.
"Another mass order of that ridiculous booze? You'll bankrupt our Familia because of that."
"Not really, I've been doing this for ten years and they never complained about not having enough funds. But let's talk about that later, c'mere kid let's update your status."
Bell Cranel
Human
Level 2 - 3
Str: SSS1306 - I0
End: A 801- I0
Dex: S992 - I0
Agi: SSS 1298 - I0
Mag: A873 -I0
Skills
Liaris Freese - Strong desire results in rapid growth. Grants immunity to any Charm.
Elementalist: Automatically masters all types of elements, could also allow the user to enchant their weapon with the element of choice.
Uncrowned Arms Mastery: Makes the user master any weapon he/she touches and teaches him/her the basic fighting style.
Mystic Eyes Of Immitation: Allows the user to copy a move he saw once perfectly (Includes Magic, Fighting Style),(Excludes Curse and Active Skills).
Magic
Kyrie Eleison (Lord, Have Mercy) - A light element magic that can only be used while having a direct contact with the enemy. The enemy won't be able to move anymore the moment the user starts chanting this magic, it is a magic that works in all beings but the effect varies.
"What the actual fuck...? You leveled up again!? What's with you!?" Loki whined after finishing his status update and rank up.
"Hehehe... I actually killed Goliath and went to the 18th floor before going back here. And while I was taking a quick rest there, I encountered my advisor who tailed me because she saw me running towards the dungeon in the middle of the night... She also asked me to accompany her to the deep floors tomorrow and offered to teach me what are the things to do every time I explore those in the future alone." Bell scratched the back of his head while Alfia just sighed.
Sighed at the fact that the reason he is happy is because he's going to have a dungeon date with his beautiful dungeon tomorrow.
"Even though he's already back to where he came from, his influence on you still hasn't vanished yet. I swear I'll tear that old man apart if ever I get another opportunity to meet him." Alfia cracked her fists before she and Bell went back to their room.
The next morning came and the news made every single living being in Orario scratch their heads. With the announcement of the rank up of the Loki Familia's newest member, Bell Cranel.
Not only that but he also ranked up twice on the same day.
His first feat was described as killing every single monster he sees until floor 16th.
The second one was wiping out the whole upper and half of the middle floors as well as killing the Goliath single handedly, and someone testified.
And that someone was none other than his guild advisor Mei.
To say that Freya and Ottarl were surprised was an understatement, they didn't know how this happened but they guessed that it was all possible because of an ultra rare skill. Because if Loki somewhat modified him, other gods would also notice it because of the strong divinity that would leak out of him.
"My lady. I'm very sorry but I think Bell Cranel still hasn't displayed all of his abilities, I'm afraid that we've only scratched the surface of his true strength." The Boaz frowned, frowned at the fact that he could imagine himself fighting on equal footing against the boy who only had a month of experience.
"Are you afraid? Ottarl? I can't blame you, after all despite your level advantage against their three top executives, just the two of them or Braver alone with his magic could give you a run for your money. Imagine a child that even without a Falna managed to reach the strength of the best Level 4 adventurers and went toe to toe with Yamato Rindo in his fresh Level 1 state, who knows he might be as strong as you now." Freya placed down her glass of wine before gazing at the clear blue skies.
"This might be the end for us after all. Maybe I should withdraw, or something like that..." Freya sighed.
Meanwhile, the Hostess of Fertility were having a very hard time especially the waitresses because of the huge amount of people trying to enter the establishment because of the man eating in front of Mia who has a visible scowl on her face.
"I appreciate you bringing more customers but you're causing more bad things than good things, thanks to you I had to reduce the waitress inside here to two and increase the guard outside to prevent those guys who're trying to recruit you." Mia crossed her arms.
"I'm sorry, I'll finish this immediately and head out. I also have to buy some decent looking equipment before heading to the dungeon anyway."
Bell immediately devoured everything in his plate before quickly paying and running out of the establishment using the back door to avoid ruckus.
He headed towards the middle floors of Babel and tried to find an equipment that would look good on him.
"Hello, are you also headed to Hephaestus Familia's shop?" The girl asked before taking the lift with him.
Bell tensed up for a bit but when he turned around, he saw a very familiar looking girl.
"We met again Bell-san, this time allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Yamato Mikoto, Executive of the Takemikazuchi Familia."
A/N: Hello, I'm back!
I've been planning on uploading this a few days ago but got distracted because of our family vacation. I just got back and decided to upload this since my eyes are all better now.
I also just finished watching the first two episodes of DAL and Nia immediately won my heart. I like Kurumi but that goes for everyone. I didn't have any DAL best girl until she appeared.
I also just finished rewatching Bleach and found Invading Army/Reigai Arc very interesting. Well that goes for all the filler episodes of bleach except the Bount Arc. That one is shit as f.
Anyway, I'll upload now every two weeks or every week depending on my schedule since I don't have that much work to do now.
See you guys next chapter and thanks for reading.