The Cure
DISCLAIMER: Danmachi belongs to its respective owners. Everything that occurs in this story is of my own creation and the characters abide by the fictional laws in the setting.
Author Note: If you'd like to support me, please consider joining the dis cord server (42SQENPj54) or supporting my Patron (IreJasmine)
Chapter 12: Cold?
"My apologies, Mister Cranel, I didn't mean to… hit you." Ryuu monotonously apologized, hands folded together over her waist as if nothing had happened.
As if his cheek wasn't matching their giggling friend's, Alise, crimson hair.
"It's fine, Miss Ryuu, I'll blame Alise for this one… Again." Bell gave the stinky eye to the amused red-haired woman who still couldn't get her laugh under control.
"Aww, don't be like that, Bell." Alise coughed into her fist, some chuckles still escaping her as she approached him, but he moved around Ryuu and kept her in between him and Alise. "Tsk."
Bell glanced over Ryuu's shoulders, careful as to not touch the short-tempered elf, at the still non-apologetic looking Alise. "Did you just click your tongue?"
"Hm? Nah, you must be hearing things." Alise dismissively waved her hand before placing them both on her hips. "Now what was that about us accompanying you to the dungeon?"
Ryuu took a step forward, out of his range, and turned around to regard him with her usual blank stare, though the little snow fairy pumping her fist in anxiety revealed she was also eager to hear his answer.
"Ah hai, I planned on exploring the first floor of the dungeon today to get a feel about what it's like adventuring." Bell repeated his thoughts before awkwardly scratching his cheek. "If it's not too much trouble, would you mind accompanying me?"
Bell barely took a breath before his anxiety kicked in and he felt like needing to add more to his petition, "Miss Alise said we could explore together before, but as I am still a level one, and you're far above, I wasn't-"
"We will go with you, Bell, you don't need to explain." Alise's face softened which immediately did wonders to Bell's anxiety, and her coming closer to place a comforting hand on his shoulder only calmed him further. "We'll go at your pace this time and help you out if you need it, we've got your back, alright?"
"Let us not waste any more daylight for your first adventure, Mister Cranel." Ryuu folded her hands again, what seemed to be like the faintest of smiles dancing on her lips, however by the time he could take it in, Ryuu's cold, blank face was back in place.
- 0 - T.C - 0 -
"I thought I needed to pass by the Guild first before entering the dungeon?" Bell asked to his two friends as the three made their way towards the center of Orario where the giant tower known as Babel, the lid of the dungeon, resided.
"That's only if you have an advisor," Alise replied, of the three, she was the one walking forward and with only her presence made the regular townsfolk move out of her way. "And you didn't get one when you registered as an adventurer, right?"
Bell denied with his head, "The dungeon wasn't my priority at the time."
"Hmm, and now it is?" Alise inquired.
"I've learned that I need to become stronger to be of further help to my teacher, and the only fast way is to explore the dungeon and raise my level." Bell gave a vague but still truthful summary of what he'd come to realize in the last few days.
"In that case, I believe it would be prudent of you to acquire an advisor, Mister Cranel." Ryuu suddenly advised; she turned her head lightly to attain his attention. "There're various benefits for acquiring one, even more so in your case as you do not know much of the Dungeon besides the stories you've read about it."
"I second Ryuu's notion, Bell." Alise added, his attention turned towards her to see her walking backwards, facing them, with arms crossed and nodding. "We may be getting your first time, but for your second run, you'll likely do it on your own, so it'd be better if you get that experience with someone else."
…
Couldn't she have said that in a less misleading way?
Come on! Even Ryuu's blushing at her wording, oh wait, Ryuu's blushing?
…
Cute.
Never mind.
"Not the words I would use… But it's exactly as Alise says," Ryuu pursed her lips. "There's no telling if the next time you wish to enter the dungeon, we'll be able to accompany you, and there's only so much we can teach you."
"I understand, I'll ask my Goddess if our Guild has a set advisor, or I have to get myself a private one." Bell replied after a minute of pondering silence. "Thank you, both, I'd be very lost if it wasn't for the two of you."
They helped him mature, despite the explosive first meeting.
They were his first friends, the first people he could trust other than his Goddess and his aunt.
And they continued helping him despite the times he'd lost his temper… even if one of the two was to blame… scratch that, both of them were to blame…
…
He was to blame too, but he wasn't ready to admit that to himself just yet.
"Ryuu, are you sure we can't keep him?" Alise asked again while wiggling her fingers as if preparing to assault him again.
"No."
Bell wisely shortened his steps to fall and hide behind Ryuu who was all too happy to shield him from their friend predator; He was not going to fall pray to Alise's shenanigans again! At least not when she still had that damned, cold, breastplate on her.
That thing hurt him more than Ryuu's slap did.
And he wasn't talking about his body, but his emotions!
"Spoilsport." Alise deflated before studying Bell from head to toe. "Okay, first lesson!"
That made Bell perk up and pay Alise attention.
"You need five things every time you enter the dungeon, and you must always check you have all five before going in every single time." Alise raised one hand and started counting with her fingers.
"One, your weapon, in good condition!"
Bell tapped his longsword's grip, and he needn't inspect its conditions as that was something Hephaestus always nagged him every morning before they started their training sessions.
"Two, your loot pouch, make sure there's no holes in it!"
Again, Bell tapped the pouch hidden inside his kimono, firmly secured within a hidden pocket, one Alfia personally knit for him a while back.
"Three, potions, at least one minor health potion and one minor stamina potion, you never know when they'll be useful."
That gave Bell pause, at that, Ryuu tapped her own side, possibly where she had her pouch and mouthed, "It's on us this time."
He gave her a grateful nod before giving Alise his attention again.
"Four, the respect the dungeon deserves. You're not going in there to play games, your life is at risk at every step of the way, and you must never grow overconfident, otherwise… Well, I don't need to finish that, right?" Alise winked and he quietly nodded in understanding.
"Five, the last and most important one!" Alise turned around but slowed her steps to match Ryuu and Bell, which left him in between the two women again, before Alise hooked her arm over his shoulder and pulled his cheek against her damned, cold, breastplate again. "Two beautiful maidens to watch over your back!"
Ryuu sighed exasperatedly at that and tried to extricate Bell from her friend's clutches yet again, and she hurried it up because Bell's face was turning bluer faster than the last time.
Really, it wasn't so much as the breastplate hurting his cheek, but the cold article blocking him from feeling her softness… That was pure emotional torture Alise was doing to him!
As if the emotional damage he suffered from neither his aunt or Goddess caring about him being a man and showing him more skin than was respectable at every turn!
Thus, the bickering trio continued making their way, one of them laughing, one of them wondering if someone would ever consider him a grown up, and the last one doing her best to not show favoritism between her two friends.
- 0 - T.C - 0
The carefree nature of their moment ended the moment the three started descending the massive spiral staircases that lead to the dungeon first floor, it seemed that both Ryuu and Alise silently agreed to give Bell the lead where he could take in everything at his own pace while they watched over his back, which worked wonders for his overly studious mind.
From the first steps he took on the dungeon staircases, down to the last one, it felt like the world was truly changing around him.
No longer did the Sun's warmth bathe his skin with its presence, nor did the joyful wind caressing Orario breeze his clothes, in their stead was an unnatural, grim, light which had no warmth at all, lighting up the dark corridors of the first floor of the dungeon, and a suffocating breeze which reeked of death, rusted iron, and dust.
The eeriness increased once he'd taken his first step inside what truly was considered the first floor, and the growling of monsters echoed from the many corridors, some which were cast in full darkness.
It was unnatural, but it didn't deter him from taking his next step inside the dungeon.
He noticed the shift didn't only affect his surroundings, but also his companions, while Alise still kept her carefree smile, no longer were her arms crossed, but one rested over her sword, ready to act if it was needed, while the other twitched every few seconds in his directions.
That spoke volumes of what she was willing to do if he found himself in trouble.
The same could be said for Ryuu, even though the blank face she liked to keep, he could see a dangerous glint inside her sky-blue eyes that never ceased scanning their surroundings, her hands were very much the same restlessly twitching in preparation for anything.
Such sight made him feel warm and fuzzy inside, he didn't even entertain the thought of them underestimating him as he knew that was far from the case, as Alise said, she respected the dungeon, and neither of his friends was willing to let the dungeon take their new friend away from them.
Truly, he couldn't have asked for anyone else better to watch over his back for his first run in the dungeon.
On the third step, Bell made up his mind, cast aside any other needless thought, and focused solely on what was in front of him. The time for thinking was over, it was time for action. He peered into the many corridors and chose one at random, he needn't even point at where he wanted to go for the two women behind him to fall in step, such was the experience they held in reading a person's body and reaffirmed his belief of nobody better than them to have his back.
First thing he did was take out his longsword from the scabbard and test whether its length would become a problem in the enclosed spaces of the corridors, luckily, such was not the case, so he let it rest on his right hand, pointing forward and ready. For a moment he recalled the Old Man from the mountains trash-talking to him about using a buckler with a sword and entertained the thought until he heard the noise of the two women behind him shift slightly.
Before he could ponder what the shift meant, a third noise, one that had no coherence made itself known to him, and it was slowly approaching him from the front.
The corridor was lit enough with its strange, cold, light that he had a clear view of the monster that stepped forward, small, grotesque even, with eyes far too big for its small skull, a deranged grin on its lips and a jagged pointy rock in its thin fingers.
A goblin.
The monster gave Bell no warning, nor did its noise, as it never shifted, before it ran wildly in his direction, the jagged rock coming over its shoulder to either throw or stab him with it.
Thankfully, Bell had been trained not only by the Old Man of the mountains, but also by Alfia, and neither of the two cared if they broke a few bones while teaching him.
So, it was not surprise to him that his body reacted before his mind could, and the second the goblin was in his reach, he stabbed forward, right through where it's heart would be with ease, and watched in fascination as the goblin gurgled something, its noise dispersed, and it blew up in a hazy cloud of dark-colored dust.
The only remains of the goblin clinked to the ground, a tiny gem, red in color, not even the size of his fingernails.
Again, he was given no time to ponder what just happened before three more incoherent noises echoed around him, and three more goblins screeched while running at him, no weapons on them, yet he took a step back at the ferocity such mindless beings displayed.
The step back wasn't because of fear, but because he was given an opportunity to test what he truly was capable of.
The reason he never bothered following the Old Man preaches about using a buckler was because he needed his left hand to always be free.
Free to cast his magic.
Bell raised his left arm, hand facing towards the three goblins running at him.
"Serenitas Eden!"
He expected something colorful like Riveria's magic, or something loud like his aunt's magic.
What he hadn't expected was for the noise within the three goblins to vibrate until it exploded within the three monsters, and much like their inner noise, the outside shape of the goblins grotesquely inflated before exploding into the same hazy cloud of dark-colored dust as the one he killed earlier.
…
"What the fu-"
Bell heard more than saw the sound of Alise's head getting smacked and cutting her off, he turned around to see both women giving him critical looks, but somehow… it was just that.
There was no judgmental stare.
No fear, no apprehension, no distaste.
Just pure curiosity over what he'd just done.
But sadly, for them…
"I just found out what else I can do with my magic."
Bell didn't know what the fuck did he just do either.
- 0 - T.C - 0 -
Thankfully, Ryuu was the voice of reason, "Explanations and ideas can wait until we leave the dungeon, for now, focus on what you came here to do, Mister Cranel."
Much to Alise's grumbling, at least watching Bell repeat the same feat with more monsters as he explored the first floor with them following him was enough entertainment to keep her quiet… most of the time.
There were several encounters more after that, where Bell took the monsters on his own, testing his sword techniques that overwhelmed the simple-minded beings, however…
It became clear to all three that Bell's expertise in swordsmanship centered around fighting foes of his height or bigger, and humanoid in shape, more so when he committed small mistakes in gauging the distance between him and some pesky goblins on their path, nothing that his absurd magic hadn't taken care of, but Ryuu reminded him that he couldn't allow his magic to become a crutch.
Less so when after only twenty casts, he could no longer instantly kill the monsters with it, and by the thirtieth, he looked incredibly pale and seemed to be reaching another Mind Down.
He still strived forward to kill more and test his limits, but he was quickly realizing that adventuring was not just swinging a weapon, casting some spells, and killing monsters, no. Far from it, had Alise not carved arrows with the directions of where they came from, he would've been lost on his own, had Ryuu not pointedly drank water every time his gaze fell on her, he wouldn't have remembered to satiate his thirst after every fight, and more things he hadn't considered.
Which only made it easier for him to wholeheartedly agree with Ryuu's advise because of not depending entirely on his magic as it wasn't just that his Mind was spent with every cast, but with so little Mind left in him, his movements became sloppier to the point that the last goblin managed to sink its teeth on his left arm when he hesitated to cast his magic, a quick pierce to the chest killed it but not without the monster leaving its mark on Bell's clothes and skin.
"Okay, that's enough for today, Bell." Alise grabbed his shoulder before he could even think about continuing, the back of his head hit her breastplate again, but he felt too weak to even try to fight back. "Yep, definitely enough, you're not even putting up a fight."
That made him try to move away and fail.
"Mister Cranel, don't." Ryuu grabbed his wounded arm and inspected his injury. "I understand that you wish to push yourself forward for your teacher's sake, but it won't do any of us any good if you injure yourself in the process."
That took the sails out of him, and he relaxed as best as he could against Alise's breastplate.
Did he mention how cold was the goddamn thing?
"Sorry," Bell apologized and gave no further fight to either Alise who helped him sit against the dungeon's wall or Ryuu who searched in her pouch for a health potion to pour on his arm "Thank you, Miss Ryuu."
"What, no thanks for me? I'm hurt~" Alise chanted while keeping guard, one palm rubbing rocks together, he didn't even notice when she'd gathered those rocks, nor could he manage to follow their trajectory whenever she threw one towards the dark corridors.
He did guess correctly why she was doing it, mostly because he'd learn how a monster from the first floor sounded when it got killed.
'Note to self, don't let Alise throw things at you.'
"Once you're feeling better, we'll turn around and make our way back up to the surface, Mister Cranel, so rest as much as you need for now." Ryuu asked, or more like ordered if he was to correctly interpret the admonishing motions her snow fairy was making at him.
"Hai."
Another thrown rock, another dead monster.
Yeah, these two were definitely the best people he could've ever hoped for to help him with his first experience…
…
…
Alise was influencing him already, wasn't she?
At least the coldness of Alise's breastplate did not match the incredible warmth radiating from her noise, nor did Ryuu's cold, blank face match the cozy noise her soul produced every time she glanced at him, and he could see the slight worry dancing in her sky-blue eyes.
- 0 - Chapter End - 0 -
Author's Note: **reads schedule** uuuhh, next update, uuuhh... thursday, I think? or Saturday, hehe.
- Jas / Shiiva