Hey guys,

I wanted to get a new chapter out as soon as possible. I'mgoing away on a business trip for the next week so Ineed to get somethingout to stay somewhat on schedule. Sorry for spelling and capitalizationmistakes, Ijust don'thave the time to read them at the moment and Ineed to get this out. Please let me know what you think Ishould do later on I want to improve as much as Ican.(Please leave out spelling and grammarIknow.) Arighthave a great day and enjoy.

Chapter 4: The Test

Bell woke up at 4:30 when he usually would get up and start his dragon hunts in the valley. He was at a loss of what to do with his time, he didn't know much about the manor he now called home, so he didn't really know where anything was, so he just walked around. No one else was really awake so he just kept walking and exploring. Breakfast started to be served at 6 so he had some time to kill before he could eat. He walked and walked, memorizing it as he went. That was until he came up to a large door slightly cracked with a light on, so he walked up to it and saw a library with books of all kinds. magic, cooking, history, science and even story books.

He was elated to say the least he went around the room excited. He grew love of books other than hero stories during the time in Athens learning magic.

He was reading for about 30 minutes when someone else walks in. he doesn't look up from his book to see who it was. Riveria walked in expectation it to be empty like always this early in the morning, but she was surprised to see someone else in the library this early in the morning.

She walked in and got up to the table that he as sitting reading a complicated magic book that she herself hadn't even started on the table and he was taking notes on a pad next too it so fast it made her dizzy.

She finally said "Bell?"

Bell jumped slightly and said "Riviera, what are you doing up so early?"

Riviera was surprised to see him up so early and reading but she said "I always get up around now so I can come in here and read before the craziness of the day starts" she said.

She continued saying "I'm surprised that you are up and reading a book on the theory of magic and a complicated one at that."

Bell looked down at the book and chuckled a little sheepishly "I've always gotten up this early since I started hunting dragons. They start moving just before morning so it's the best time to go hunting for the stronger ones. As for reading I picked up this habit when I spent some time in Athens learning magic from morgana. She had me reading all the time like this, I also found the magic theory collection she had me reading so picked up where I left off."

This astounded riviera. Morgana was said to be the second best mage in the world apart from herself and she rarely ever took apprentices. So, she was surprised that bell here not even being a mage primarily was allowed to learn from her.

This little exchange got them on the subject of magic theory, so they talked long into the morning when Lefyia actually came in just after breakfast started to fetch riviera. She was also surprised to see bell

"Lady riviera, it's time for breakfast. Bell? I didn't even see you there." lefiya was polite which surprised riviera because she wasn't really polite to most humans, but I guess she has to respect him after his story yesterday.

Oh, hello lefyia, me and bell were having a great conversation about magic theory and somethings he's picked up over the years. If it's breakfast already alright. Bell, are you going to come to breakfast as well?"

"Yep, I was planning on killing some time in here anyway so I could go eat, even though I don't really need to eat anymore." bell Replied not really understanding what he just said.

Riviera catching the odd thin he said questions him "what do you mean you don't really need to eat any more?"

Bell being his naïve and kind of airheaded self-replied saying

Oh, my skill Regenerate. It allows me to regenerate energy, heal light wounds sleep for small amounts of time and regenerate mind power extremely quickly. Ever since it got to Rank A I don't really have to eat much, maybe once or twice a month or I could eat every day it just kind of depends"

This confused riviera who didn't understand what he meant but just said "

That sounds useful I wouldn't recommend not eating though" bell accepts this but lefiya speaks up still confused by how bell the newest member to the famillia and a human is talking to riviera about magic.

"Lady riviera did you say you were talking to bell about magic theory" confused she asked riviera about this which she replied

"Oh yes, me and bell were talking about the mechanics of his spells specifically he has about 4 magics that he can use and believes he can gain more because of the way his skills are worded. We were just discussing this.

Leyfia was just floored by this because a person can only have 4 magics at max but this human has just said that he has four and believes that he could get more. She heard Rivera saying this, so she believed it she was just very surprised.

Before Lefyia could say the next science Finn opened to door to the library. He opened the door and stood in the doorway and spoke

"Bell, Riviera, I need you both to come to breakfast we need to discuss how far we are going into the dungeon for bell's test and who to bring."

Riviera nodded and said "I believe that I will have to go to see his magic and I believe that Leifya here should go so as to see his spells so she can coordinate with him in the future."

I agree. We should also bring most of the executives so we can see who he works best with so we can place him the best in our formations. So, with that being said be ready in an hour so we can down there and hopefully get a chance at Udaeus and Balor. That's alright with you bell Right?"

Bell looks excited at this revelation "yeah of course that sounds awesome. Even if none of yall wanted to go I was going to go down and see if I could kill Balor. I'm pretty certain I could solo it with my dragon slayer development ability."

The only one surprised by this statement was lefyia never having seen bells skill sheet, but she accepted it as Finn and Rivera just nodded.

1 Hour later.

All of the Loki Familia Executives are standing out front of babble, talking and preparing for a deep dungeon dive. They have 5 supporters, Bell, Finn, Reverie, Gareth, Aiz, Bete, Leyfia, Tiona and Tione. They are all going down so they can see what bell is capable of and where he needs to be in the group when exploring the dungeon.

The group is talking happily when Finn finally speaks up and calls for everyone's attention.

"Everyone already to go down?" Most nod to show that they heard him and get ready to go down

The party is set up with Bell, Finn, Riveria and Gareth in the front of the group so they can assess Bell and see who he would work best with. They have Bell start taking out the monsters they come across and is it a sight to behold. Bell moves at such blinding speeds not even Finn or riviera could fallow him, the only one who could even come close to matching his speed is ais with the tempest running full blast.

Finn finally says to no one in particular" Damn I thought aiz was fast." Most of the group agrees with this by either nodding or saying something similar. Aiz is the most obvious in the amazement. She sees him running through the mass hordes of monsters and she sees someone nearly as skilled as her. She is also the closest to perceiving his movements due to her spirit roots. This leaves the girl excited to talk to him for once. She may not understand this feeling being the airhead she is, but she understands she wants to talk to him.

The murmurs through the group all come to one conclusion: Bell has Broken levels of speed. He clears out the floors from one to 18 in a matter of hours. He's so efficient with his two swords that it looks like a dance from the tad bits that they were actually able to fully perceive.

Finn watched as Bell completely demolished the Behemoth with nothing but swordplay. This made him think about the possibilities of what he could use bell for. He was brought out of his musings when bell walked over to him

"Are we stopping on the 18th floor or going straight for the 35th?" Bell questioned.

Finn was again amazed as bell wasn't even breaking a sweat running through these hordes of monsters.

"Yeah, bell I think that will be a good idea we'll stop here for a few hours and depending on how the lower levels feel we may even campout."

"Alright. Oh, and I have the drop items from the monsters I've been killing."

This surprised Finn as he hadn't seen a single drop item which wasn't odd considering the low drop rate of items.

"Oh? What items di you find?

Bell opens his portal and looks in side and starts counting as they walk down the path.

"I have 26 minotaur horns, only 4 silverback teeth and some miscellaneous items from the lower level things like goblins or ants."

This surprised Finn and Riviera who were the only two listening to bell.

"I also got eh goliath skin a few moments ago."

This shocked the two again. Finn always planning the next expedition and how this could benefit the Familia is thinking how to maximize the amount of drops they get by using bells developed ability. Riviera is a different story she's just wondering what this ability actually does she's confused by how overpowered this skill is with few to no downsides.

The party makes it to the 18th floor where bell is marveling at the beauty of the massive crystals and the insane size of the chamber. The rest of the group is setting up camp, making fire or cooking some kind of food. Finn after they actually got to the 18th floor, they decided to stay the night there, letting the supporters rest a little from the mass amounts of stones and the few drops bell missed.

Bell was wandering around the 18th floor after he set up his own tent. He was walking over to a ledge in the middle of the room when he hears someone coming behind him.

"Hey, Aiz Right?" Bell could tell who it was somehow, not that he normally would he could just sense that it was aiz for some reason unknown to him.

Aiz was surprised he knew she was there, a little saddened as well that he didn't even know her name, but she replied anyway.

"Yeah. I saw you walk off on your own and wanted to see where you were going."

Bell nodded

"Yeah, I was just taking a look around at some of the scenery here. I've read about Riveria in the Zeus Familia records but have never seen them myself and we'll just say the descriptions are nothing compared to the real thing" he said this with a relaxed chuckle. All that was happening didn't seem to faze him.

Aiz walked over to the ledge that bell was sitting on asking "do you mind if I sit here?"

Bell simply shakes his head in reply. Aiz sits down knees pulled into her chest. They sit in silence for the next few minutes. A comfortable silence that neither of them really felt they needed to break. Aiz had a few questions she wanted to ask bell when she wanted to go find him, the only problem is now that she found him, she has no idea how to go about asking these questions.

Little did Aiz know that bell was doing the same thing. He had a billion different questions for her. The only difference is that bell is a little better with sorting his thoughts, not much but just enough to make a decision on what he wants to say.

"Aiz" bell says getting her attention after few more moments of silence he says "... When I was telling my story last night I noticed when I got to the part about the Black Dragon, you seemed to react differently from the others." This line of thought to aiz off guard a little, she didn't really think he was pay attention to her. This excited her a little not that she knew why

Bell continued "I was just wondering, why?"

Aiz thought for a few moments, she was a little confused with how to answer. She didn't want to give too much away but she didn't know how to answer the question without telling him too much. She thought for a moment more when bell said

I understand if I'm paying too much, I mean I'm pretty new and we don't know each other very well, but I was just wondering. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"It's not that I don't want to tell you it's just I'm not sure how to tell you."

This confused bell for a moment. He let her think in silence then she spoke

"The dragon is my goal… I mean I have to kill it." Aiz said softly. "it's the only reason I get stronger so I can kill that monster"

Bell not expecting that to be the answer that she was going to give. Let's that hang in the air a moment while thinking. He decides it's probably okay to tell her the truth about that encounter.

"Aiz… I think that you probably should know this … I have the same goal in the end." bell said this slowly and methodically making sure he chose his words carefully so as not to reveal to much but not too little. He really didn't want to push her away, she was interesting to him for reason's he doesn't completely understand.

Aiz on the other hand feels a myriad of things when he says this. It gives her relief, happiness for a shared goal with someone and even some sadness which is the emotion that confused her. She didn't understand the weird mix of emotions that this claim brought.

Bell finally spoke after a few moments of silence

"Just don't, let that goal consume you. That's all I have to say on it… I'm talking from experience."

This confused aiz and her relatively shallow understanding of bell so far. She couldn't believe that this normally joyful and normal kid was actually saying something like this. She was staring down the cliff edge, thinking about what he just said for a moment. She finally looked up to say something else to him, but it died on the tip of her tongue when she didn't even see him sitting there.

This left aiz alone and confused.

Back at camp Bell joined back with the main group who were getting ready to start a stew over the camp fire. Bell noticed a mixture of dried fruits and vegetables all over the little cooking area one of the supporters had set up.

Thinking back to one of his meals in the past he was reminded of some of the atrocious things he was forced to eat in the dragon valley, some of which made him shudder at the awful memories.

Finally, Finn saw his look of dread saying.

"You alright the bell. You look like you've just saw a ghost?"

Bell shaking his head and walking over to the other fire that was 10 yards or so away from the cook spot. Saying

"Oh, sorry didn't mean to zone out. The sight of the cook fire reminded me of some meals that I had during my time in the dragon valley." again at the mention at the awful meals turning slightly pale. All to the slight surprise and amusement to Finn who had thought that bell was the type to be completely fearless of anything.

"Well, it must be something awful if it's enough to make you blanche.:"

Bell sitting down at the fire next in between bete and Finn bell looks around noticing some people are missing

"Where are the girls?"

Finn just looks over to him and says "they all went to take a bath in one of the springs down here."

Bell nodded opening his portal spell rummaging around finding a small sharpener for his one non divine blade.

Finn lets this be for a moment thinking that Bell was man of completely mysteries. He was immensely powerful, maybe even in the second most powerful person on the planet and even then, not far behind Ottar. when he finally says "Hey Bell. Me and Bete don't know much about you. You hardly talk about yourself apart from what you did in the past with training and getting stronger."

Bell glancing up from his sword changing his position to \face Bete and Finn, he say's

"Guess, I have been a little guarded since I've been here. What wawa it that you wanted to know?"

Finn had been getting a few questions as they had made their way down the dungeon and bete had a few himself to be honest.

Finn Finally said 'I don't know just some things about yourself, where you grew up, friends, hobbies, Stories from the past. Really whatever you're willing to share.

Bell thought for a moment be for answering "Well before I started adventuring, I was as normal as you could get, In all honesty. I lived in a small town a few days walk outside of Orario, with Zeus who at the time was just grandpa to me. I just loved hero stories that old pervert would tell me and would fill my mind with the fantastical, life living in Orario." Bell had a stare full of happiness and a little regret. Bete and Finn were very interested in how in just 8 years he went from that to the beast of a man he was today.

Bell continues with saying "I didn't know anything about what I was or my parents until I was about to 6 and a half. My grandpa took me aside and told me that if I wanted to avenge my parents and make become a hero as he put it. I would have to start on the journey I told you all about a few days ago. Shortly after I met uncle Zald and step mother Afia."

This caught bete by surprise say stepmother Alfia instead of aunt, he said

"Step mother, wasn't she you aunt"

Bell just got a look of pure horror "never ever say that again the memory of calling her aunt to this day scares me."

Bete was still confused and a little surprised bell of all p-people who is one of the few people who He wouldn't call a weakling was so terrified of this person. Fin was another story, he completely understood, having known Alfia he just looked on with an understanding gaze remembering her aversion to anything that made her sound old.

Bell picking up after that
" well there isn't much after that about my life. I've never really had any meaningful friends or relationships apart from the few I had back in the village when I was young. Once I was on this path Zeus gave me a falna and kind of just left showing up every couple of months to where I was at with maybe a few supplies and to update my status. He said he was tending to something that was important never elaborating."

Bell had a kind of confused almost naive look while saying this, in contrast to his normal collected and thoughtful look he had. This story did surprise both Finn and Bete who both had the same reaction for different reasons.

Finn was thinking that the actions Zeus took with bell, leaving him alone for months on end to fight gods know what monsters was really out of character. He was completely wondering what would make Zeus do something like this to someone who he obviously sees as a grandson.

Bete on the other hand was confused and a little saddened by this. Even though Bell was new he still liked him well enough even if he didn't know much about him until now. This was a life that someone like Bell shouldn't live in his opinion.

Bell seeing the faces of the two He says "MY life hasn't been that bad I enjoyed most of the fighting and solitude. I didn't spend all of the 8 years like that I spent some time in Telskyura and Athens. Both of which Zeus was with me most of the time. I did have a few rough spots in Telskyura"

This started them on another tangent of Bell's life.

Elsewhere in the spring that was maybe a quarter mile from the main camp the girls were having a leisurely bath.

"What do you all think of the argonaut?" Tiona who so aptly named him after hearing of his skill.

Tione was the first to say "he seems kind and happy, which I have no clue how he can be after hearing about his life a few days ago." Tione didn't really have an opinion one way or the other about him. He was kind and fun to be around, but he was still fairly guarded to the rest of them about certain things in his past.

Lefiya spoke up "Something I'm really confused with is, how much he knows about magic."

The others looked a bit surprised. Most of them thought he was a pure frontline fighter with little skill in magic.

"Well apparently, he spent a year or so in Athens with morgana, the best mage outside of orario. He also was supposedly trained by the incarnation of talent, someone who knew even more about magic then even I. It's not odd that he's adept in the field."

This kind of compliment from Riveria is completely surprises the rest of the group in the spring. The girls are all surprised that the small and innocent kid that they know is such a monster when it comes to these combat techniques.

Aiz who brings up the next point about bell to the surprise to the rest of the group. "There's something else that he's hiding."

"What do you mean?" tiona asks confused both by the person raising this concern and the possible answers to the questions.

"I spoke to him a little while ago about his motivation's to kill the dragon" This surprising most of the group who had never heard his actual motivations, this revelation made sense to a few of them though. It clicked for both Tione and Lefiya but for Tiona she was just confused.

"When we were talking, he spoke like he was holding back on something about His goal or about his encounter with OBED. He also seemed like he was holding something back about himself."

Riveria was getting a little uncomfortable with aiz of all people finding the information about bell being part spirit, but she was kind of confused by the not being truthful about the OBED fight he had.

Riveria finally asked Aiz "How do you know something was off Aiz"

She was silent for a moment before speaking "I don't really know… I just kind of got this feeling from him… almost an aura I could sense."

This just made Riveria more nervous than she had already been, she never believed that Aiz would be perceptive enough to find something like this out or that she would have some kind of reaction to the spirit portion of bell…If it wasn't a misunderstanding.

Riviera finally spoke again "well no sense in speculating about him now. He is in our Familia, and we do need to give him some privacy." Riveria hoped that this would calm their suspicion a bit "... Remember he is kind of new to having people he can talk to and trust, he's grown up largely alone."

This seemed to satisfy most of the girls, although it didn't seem to change Aiz's mind much from what Riviera could see.

Just so you know the this dungeon run and test will go on for a few more chapters but not to long. I will write some good fights in there too just bear with me, I'm getting there. See you next time.