Damn it! I really need to get my grammar check. Grammarly doesn't always work well. The problem is, I don't know jack about the Beta stuff that Fanfiction utilize.

Not exactly a smooth chapter. I'm a terrible author anyway.

NOTICE: Ranni and Bell's relationship got upgraded in the previous chapter after I edited it because the direction I went was stupid. NO HAREM!

EDIT: Fixed a few sentence.

Chapter 3:

Bell found himself drawn to a bookstore instead of a library, mainly because he spotted posters plastered about a new series of literature in stock. The store itself was sparse and lined with bookshelves. Neatly organized books are tucked in with price tags and genre labels adorning the books or the shelves. A good number of patrons were browsing and making purchases. It's a small crowd and Bell could easily discern the Adventurers that mingled or guarded the bookstore.

Still, he was hesitant to head in. Too many people, too many accidents. After a brief consideration and thinking about how Ranni would likely enjoy a place to obtain books, Bell went to the entrance and explored what the store had to offer.

He noted how he was able to read the book titles and numeric values, though he doesn't really understand the true value that each book costs – Whether they're expensive, cheap, or just right.

Ah, we don't have any money… What is it called again? Valis?

Bell figured they will need to find a way to make money. Perhaps he should sell some of his unwanted items on him. Something he should bring up to Ranni since they'll be staying in this world for a long time.

As he turned a corner, he almost bumped into a Goddess with pale skin and blue eyes. She had black hair tied into pigtails and was dressed in rather tight-fitting white clothes that hugged her body well. Especially her chest… He forced himself to meet her eyes instead of her chest. Besides her body figure, Bell could sense her divine aura. A welcoming and comforting warmth permeates the air around her.

"Ah, sorry!" Bell and the Goddess apologized simultaneously.

"I wasn't watching where I was going. Sorry, Goddess." Bell doubled down on his apology and did a slight bow.

"It's alright, it's alright. It happens. More often than not." The Goddess waved away his apology. She paused and quizzically stared him in the eye.

"Um… Something wrong?" Bell slowly became nervous as she intensified her stare.

"Oh, nothing. I was hoping I could find a child to join my familia…" The Goddess closed her eyes and let out a sigh. She opened her eyes and put out her hand. "My name is Hestia. Nice to meet you."

Hestia. The Goddess of Hearth. While lazy, she's good at sensing a person's true character. As such, she was able to detect some divinity in Bell and figured he was a God masking his divinity. A real pity since she would love to invite Bell into her familia. He has a sense of purity to him and she could easily tell that he has a kind personality rivaling even her good friend Miach.

"Bell. It's nice to meet you as well." They shook hands. "Are you looking for someone, Lady Hestia?"

"Not specifically. It's hard to build up a familia when you're the new Goddess in the city, you know… And please call me Hestia. I'm not that good with formalities."

"Do you need any help?" Bell was never one to ignore a lady in need of assistance.

"Well… If you can somehow put the word out about a poor upstart familia that's located at a rundown abandoned church with a comfy basement given to me by Hephaestus, that would be great!"

"Uh, sure! I can look to see if anyone is interested?"

Bell wasn't entirely sure what he was getting himself into, but if Ranni's short lecture about familia, it's essentially a 'family unit' headed by a God/Goddess and comprised of mortals blessed with very faint divine powers called Falna. The Gods/Goddesses themselves have their power restricted and are essentially mortals while their 'children' are the main acting force. Dictating the many familia is the Guild which imposes regulations on them despite not possessing any blessed individuals in their ranks.

A strange system. Nonetheless, it seemed to work for years now and curbed any devastation a divine entity can cause. Not like the Lands Between.

"Thanks! I really need all the help I can get. Whoa! I gotta get going to my part-time job before my manager gets mad at me. If you need me, I'll be at a Jagamarukun stall in the center of the northern square during the day." She points to her north. "Just over there. A big area with a small garden and a water fountain. Can't miss it! My church is further down, a slight left. It's… Very easy to spot. Don't judge. Welp! Gotta go!"

"Have a good day then." Bell waved the Goddess goodbye as she quickly took off. After a moment, a question popped into his head. "Wait, what's a Jagamarukun?"

And somewhere in the city, Ais could feel a great disturbance in the world. A disturbance regarding her favorite food, Jagamarukun.

/-/

Back at the Blue Pharmacy, Naaza had fallen asleep at the counter. A set of clothes was placed beneath her slumbering form – a gesture of kindness from Ranni. It was indeed a very slow day. Not a single customer had entered the store. Indeed, it was easy to see why the young lady becomes irritated with her God whenever he dispenses his charities on a whim.

While Naaza slept, Ranni kept watch over the store; writing down a series of notes in her notebook. From their conversation, Ranni was able to learn some valuable, albeit fundamental norms regarding magic.

Typically, a mortal does not possess magic. Only a few races, such as the elves and spirits, are capable of utilizing magic without Falna. However, their magic is typically inferior compared to those who both wield magic, and Falna as the blessing of the Gods provides a magic boost that can be further amplified by Skills.

Furthermore, Falna can provide only three Magic Slots for an individual. However, there are rare instances where an individual has a particular magic or skill that allows them to bypass those restrictions. Two notable individuals are the Nine Hells and Thousand Elf of the Loki Familia. Elves that she suspects her consort had already encountered in the Dungeon. Then there's the aspect of casting their spells.

To cast a spell, one must perform a chant perfectly to successfully cast a magic spell. If one failed to do so, one will suffer a backlash. A rather tedious and inferior procedure compared to their Sorceries and Incantations. There are also chantless magic spells that do not require a chant but do need to be invoked through verbal means.

There is a very stark difference between the magic Ranni is familiar with and this world. She doesn't know if their magic is even compatible with the residents of this realm. Seeing how Bell has some connections to this realm, however, she suspects that it is possible.

As for these magic stones… Ranni inspects the crystalized object in her hand.

This one was about twice the size of her palm and barely wide enough for her to grasp it. It was shining with power, a dark purple outlining with a deep crimson core. According to Naaza, these magic stones are used for all sorts of applications. Heating appliances, lighting lampposts… An endless possibility that Ranni would certainly love to explore.

Perhaps a golem can be built using these. Ranni postulates, remembering the towering golems that stood guard against unwanted guests. A smaller frame. More compact. More efficiency and sustainability…

A new venture to explore. One where she would make use of her expertise in magic that is foreign to the inhabitants of this realm. An exciting prospect of discovery and innovation that can yield results and profits.

And a major source of it all is the entity known as the Dungeon. A seemingly alive and complex labyrinth that continuously spawns hostile monsters and repairs itself. The deeper one traverses, the more dangerous the environment is. She doesn't know if the Dungeon is some sort of sealed Outer God much like the Scarlet Rot, but it is hostile to the divine. That much is made very clear to her and her eternal consort.

She would like to know more about the Dungeon and obtain more of these magic stones. Killing two birds with one stone. Knowing her dear consort eternal, he's more than happy to partake in another perilous adventure. Despite his appearance and personality, he is a true warrior within and holds an adventurous streak.

It's time for another quest.

/-/

Ranni's quest came at a good time.

Bell was starting to feel restless before Ranni asked him to enter the Dungeon and collect a few magic stones for an experiment she was planning. He was more than happy to take up her quest and go on another adventure, short as it may be. His only limitations were to conceal his true strength and presence least the Dungeon reacted the way it had before.

It wasn't a problem. The monsters on the Dungeon's upper floor were pathetically weak.

GIII!

GRRROWL!

With a casual kick, Bell splattered the Dungeon cavern with blood and ashes as another group of monsters was reduced into a fine paste. He didn't slow down his stride as he collected the magic stones that were roughly the size of an adult's fingernail. Occasionally, he would even find a monster part that didn't turn to ash.

The monsters came in all shapes and sizes. Some of which are unpleasantly familiar, like the hellhounds. The faint trauma of getting rushed down and eaten alive by giant dogs during his journey…

These creatures barely pose a threat and can't even put up a proper fight without crumpling to a solid hit from him. Nonetheless, it would be unwise to lower his guard. He could feel the entity, the Dungeon, keeping track of him like a patient predator and there was nothing much he can do about it aside from hiding. Much like the Outer Gods that are 'out of reached' or can't exactly be directly harmed, there are ways to cull their influence. In this case, he needs to kill the monsters that continuously spawned from the walls and ceilings.

"Hm?"

Up ahead of the cavern was a column of adventurers hauling large metal cages containing monsters inside. A symbol of an elephant was sculpted at the base of the wagons wheeling their hauls. Bell thought back about the time he encountered a carriage hauled by two trolls and a group of soldiers. Several, in fact. None of his encounters ended well for one or the other.

"Make way! Make way!" Shouted a heavily armored figure.

Bell quickly moved to the side and watched the procession pass by. Perhaps it was his bad experience when encountering an armed group, or he was paranoid. Either way, he had his guard up in case they decided to attack him. Fortunately, the only thing he got was a few curious looks.

I wonder what they're doing with these monsters. It's likely they're using them or something like menial labor or shock troops. Does the city even have a standing army?

Bell wondered to himself as he continued deeper into the Dungeon. Upon coming into a more spacious cavern, the walls began to crack and shake.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

It was a Monster Party – monsters spewing out from the walls in great numbers. They wasted no time and threw themselves at the boy, eager to rip him apart.

A gentle ringing could be heard amidst the snarls and roars as a giant ethereal hawk was summoned forth. Fully materialized, the giant warhawk spread out its wings and let out a sky-piercing screech that rattled the entire cavern.

SCREEEEEEE!

"I'll leave it to you, Stormhawk Deenh."

/-/

After having honed her swordplay on the 20th floor, Ais was in the process of returning to the surface. The cost of repairing her weapon weighed deeply on her shoulders compared to the measly bag of magic stones in her left hand. While the monsters of the 20th floor and above do not provide much Excelia for her to improve her basic abilities, much less contribute to a level up, they do provide a considerable income.

SCREEEE!

A sharp screech revibrated throughout the 15th floor that nearly made Ais drop her rental sword and loot.

What was that?! Another abnormality?!

Ais sprinted toward the origin of the screeching. Her sharp hearing began to pick up the sound of bones breaking and flesh ripping, accompanied by roars of pain. The sound grew even louder as she was near the sound of the carnage.

When she arrived, the cavern was littered with the corpses of monsters. A trail of blood was trickling down the tunnels, some of which had colored the soles of her footwear crimson. It was a remnant of a Monster Party.

MRRRROOO!

A lone minotaur was frantically swatting at a giant ethereal hawk. Its right bulky arm was torn to shreds and hung uselessly on its side and its entire body was bleeding all over with numerous cuts.

The ethereal hawk swoops down and viciously pecks at the minotaur's head, cracking its skull and even breaking off a horn. With a flap of its wings, the ethereal hawk took off. Its talons dug into the dying minotaur's face and gruesomely ripped its entire upper jaws.

But what really drew Ais' attention was the white-haired boy with bright red eyes who stood at the center of it all. He was dressed finely in fancy white garb, his crimson hooded cloak billowing from the flapping of the giant hawk's wings. Yet again, she swore she saw a faint image of her father standing before her – his red scarf fluttering in the wind.

SCREEE!

Ais snapped her attention to the giant ethereal hawk circling above and readied her weapon. She could feel that winged fiend's sharp eyes on her.

"That's enough!" The boy shouted and the hawk obeyed. It glid down before the boy and kept its flight elevation to the boy's height. He then reached out and petted the bird. "Thank you for your help."

Scree!

The hawk let out a small screech and began to dematerialize. Its body turns into blue and white particles, fading out of existence.

What kind of magic does he have? Ais asked herself. She lowered her sword and willed herself to walk forward. "It's you…"

"Oh, you're… The girl from yesterday."

The boy looked hesitant for some reason, then she remembered how Bete scared him off by yelling at him. How should she approach him? She doesn't want to scare off the rabbit and make him run away again. She should start by thanking him.

"Yes… I wanted to say… Thank you. For helping me."

That seemed to ease the boy a bit.

"Of course. Always happy to help, miss…?"

"Ais. My name is Ais."

"I'm Bell. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you as well." Now, how can she further the conversation without falling into awkward silence? "What are you doing down here?"

The mini and childish Ais within her head facepalmed at that. Of course, an adventurer would be down here killing monsters and collecting magic stones, and drop items. If not that, they're likely to be taking up a quest for a client. It's their main source of income.

"Collecting magic stones for my Goddess." Bell unsheathed a beautiful wavy dagger with a gemstone embedded into the handle. He begins removing the magic stone from a nearby monster corpse with ease. "And exploring the Dungeon."

At least he doesn't seem to mind answering such a straightforward and obvious question. Now that she'd established communication… What now? Ais isn't exactly a social individual like Tiona.

"I see…"

"What about you?" He asked as he worked from one corpse to another.

"Earning money to repair my weapon."

"Repairs, huh?" He said with a distant look in his eyes. It quickly disappeared. "Do you have any blacksmiths you can recommend?"

"I… I am not sure. The one who is doing my repair is Lord Goibniu. He and his familia may be small, but they make good armor and weapons."

And expensive. One can't really forget how expensive good quality gears are.

"Is he a God?"

"Yes."

"Are there any other Gods or Goddesses that can do blacksmithing?"

"Hmmm… There's Hephaestus. I heard she's also good. Some of our familia also send order requests to her." Curiosity got the best of her. "Do you need something made or repaired?"

"Not for me. My Goddess is planning on making something. We were wondering if there's anyone knowledgeable about metalworking and constructing, um… Machinery and… What was the other one? Automatons! Machineries and automatons."

Ais didn't exactly know what machinery or automatons, though she had heard that the elevators inside Babel had been referred to as such. If that's the case, then Goibniu would likely be a better choice of the two since his familia also partake in construction.

"Maybe Lord Goibniu would know more… Or knows someone else that can help what your familia is looking for."

"Then, can you introduce me to him?"

The white-haired boy had worked amazingly fast, harvesting all the magic stones and drop items. The puzzling thing is, she couldn't see where he had stored him. They seemed to disappear the moment he wrapped his hand around them.

"Yes. I believe I can."

She can use this moment to get to know the boy. She couldn't tell when she was disorientated when they first met, but she could now literally feel that there's more to Bell than he lets on. There's a certain aura he is emitting that told her he's strong. Stronger than her. A power that's out of her reach. Like the stars and moon that float in the night sky.

How did you become strong?

/-/

The condition is not met.

The Dungeon cannot proceed with its plans. The Godling is leaving its domain soon. However, the Dungeon is patient. When the time is right and the Godling uses just a sliver of its true power, it will act in kind. Until then, it shall wait.

Time and power are on its side, for the promise that was made before the Promised Time had already been broken when the wretched Goddess and her Godling arrived.

/-/

"Ugh. Why did it have to be you? Why not the captain?" Tione bemoans. Her form slumped forward in dejection.

To her left, Bete was sneering while pinching his forehead. Both in irritation and due to the faint linger of his hangover from last night. On her right, Tiona was happily bouncing on the soles of her feet. Trailing behind them is a nervous Lefiya, holding her staff near her chest. A rather odd group if one were to glance at them from afar.

"No one asked you to follow me!"

"Sis is just upset that Finn is too busy to hang out with us~!" Tiona said cheerfully. "Ais should be down in the Dungeon somewhere. We can meet up with her and go further down! Stronger monsters, better magic stones and drop items, more money!"

"Um… It's been a while now. She would be heading up by now to exchange her items at the Guild." Lefiya pointed out. The sun is starting to set. It'll be dusk in a few hours.

"Aw, what? Really?"

"No duh." Tione rapped her younger sister on the head. "It's well into the afternoon. All of us are going down more to lose some stress."

"If ya'll want, we can make it a contest to see who kills the most monsters," Bete smirked menacingly. He then spotted a familiar face emerging from the crowd. A blond-haired girl with golden eyes. "Yo! Ais! Over here…" The werewolf's face turned into a scowl when he saw who was next to her. "It's that damn rabbit again!"

"M-miss Ais…!" Lefiya whimpered. Saddened by the fact that her role model seemed to have taken a liking to a boy. One outside of their familia to the boot!

"Oh, hey! It's the Almiraj boy!" Tiona had gone with dubbing the white-haired boy after the rabbit-like monster.

"You!" Bete stomped towards Ais and the boy.

"Oi! Bete! Wait!" Tione went to stop the werewolf from doing anything rash in public.

The white-haired boy seemed to have noticed them, particularly Bete, and hastily said something to Ais. The girl blinked and opened her mouth to respond, hands reaching out to him, but the boy flickered out of sight, kicking up a sudden windstorm that surprised everyone within the vicinity.

"Gah! How the fuck is he this fast?!" Bete swatted away the dust scattering the air. He scanned the area, unable to pick out the boy's fleeing form. "Damn it! I refuse to believe some nobody is faster than me!"

The only person he'll begrudgingly admit is faster than him is Allen, the Vana Freya from the Freya Familia, but he's Level 6. Who is this damn rabbit?!

"Wowie! He's gone already! Quick like a rabbit!" Tiona jumped onto Bete's shoulder and scanned the area with him. "Do you think he's faster than the Vana Freya?"

"Get off of me you damn Amazoness!" Bete angrily shook the girl off. "Ais! What did he say to… You…?"

Bete and the Amazonesses stepped out of Ais' path as she walked past them with a dejected expression on her face.

"M-miss Ais?" Lefiya called out.

Ais stopped and gave them a small pout before trudging her way to the Guild.

"Whoa… What happened to her?" Asked a shocked Tiona.

"Did… Did she just get rejected?!" Tione said aloud her unfounded assumption. Within the vicinity of the public that is crowded with adventurers. Most of whom have very good hearing.

"Rejected?! The Sword Princess?!"

"Was that the cause of the windstorm earlier?!"

"Wait! Who rejected the Sword Princess?!"

Tione realized her mistake and covered her mouth. Curse her romantic tinted lens! The rumor mill will be spinning at an unbelievable rate because of her.

"H-h-hey! Wh-what are you saying Tione?!"

"The hell are you saying?! You stupid Amazoness!"

"Ah. Whoopsie. Captain and Riveria won't be happy about this."

"Loki too." Her sister added unhelpfully.

"Be quiet, all of you!" Tione punched both Bete and her sister and dragged them after the dejected girl. "Ais! Wait for us, Ais!"

/-/

"I'm back."

"Welcome back, my dear consort eternal." Ranni greeted him from behind the counter alongside a groggy Naaza. "How fare thou journey in this city?"

"It was great! I did get a little bit bored before you send me down." Bell produced a handful of magic stones. "Here's the magic stones you wanted. I have more on me."

Naaza's eyes widen a bit when she recognized that some of these magic stones belong to monsters that are estimated to be the strength of a Level 2 adventurer. At the same time, she did learn from Ranni that Bell is a powerful warrior though to what extent, she's not sure.

"Did you kill all these monsters by yourself?"

"I had a little bit of help, but yes. That reminds me. What do we do with these?"

Bell casually dumped a bunch of drop items onto the counter, making Naaza's jaw drop. Hard Armored shell, ligerfang claws, ligerfang fangs, minotaur horns. The list could had go on if he were to take out everything he harvested from the Dungeon.

"T-there's so many!"

"There's still more I have on me."

"M-more?!"

"I take it from thy reaction – tis not a common sight?"

"Drop items are rare. Most of the time, a monster would turn to ash the moment its magic stone is removed. On rare occasions, they leave behind a part of themselves after death."

"And such rarity also possess monetary and practical value?" Ranni inquired the young woman, inspecting one of the drop items.

"Yes… You can get a lot of money by selling these to a familia. It's riskier and there's no oversight, but you can sell it more than with the Guild."

"Such is the concept of commerce." Ranni handed her the drop item she was inspecting. "Then let us repay our debt to thee. My dear consort eternal."

"Yes?"

"Please provide her all these drop items thou acquired."

"H-huh?!"

"Hai." Bell ignored a baffled and stuttering Naaza as he began laying out more drop items. At this rate, the pharmacy counter would be cluttered with rare drop items. Naaza could hear the sound of Valis ringing in her head. Normally she would be ecstatic about this, but the lack of sleep is giving her a headache and the imaginary sound of money ringing isn't helping.

"W-wait! Let's go o-over this during closing hours!"

/-/

At the Twilight Familia, the Loki Familia's top three executives were in Finn's office with Tione standing at the center of it all, looking apprehensive about the situation she had caused this late afternoon. She supposed it could be worst. At least Bete and her little sister aren't here to make things more complicated for her, the unhelpful lout they are outside of combat.

Oddly enough, Loki isn't here. She figured the Goddess would be hanging around to complain and whine.

"Hah… What a mess." Riveria had a look of acceptance. What's done is done.

"Rumors come and go rather quickly. But hearing ya, the lassie been feeling down, and that only feeds more into the fire. Wonder what the lad said to her."

"I'll talk with Ais after this."

"Thank you, Riveria. Now then, Tione." Finn addressed Tione with a smile.

"Y-yes, captain?"

"Please don't make such an outburst again."

"Yes, captain…"

"I also wanted to confirm something with you. Is it true that Bete wasn't able to track our… Elusive rabbit?"

"Yeah. He was kinda upset about it. I think his pride took an even bigger blow. We should hold a racing contest one day and see how he would go about it."

"Interesting."

"Hoh. If Bete couldn't keep track of him, much less keep up, then Ais was probably right." Garth closed his eyes and stroke his beard. "The lad is likely above Level 3."

"Someone with a low profile, maybe."

Riveria closed one of her eyes. "Not everyone enjoys the spotlight."

The elven princess herself can attest to that. Way too many elves flock to her side and act fanatical at times. She can see why someone would keep a low profile as it would attract unwanted attention either from the public or other familia.

"Well, let's leave it like that for now. There's no real reason to occupy our time with this elusive rabbit." Finn leaned back in his chair and sort through his paperwork. "We can leave the social interaction and info gathering to Ais since it looked like she got to know him a bit."

"I can't help but worry. Ais isn't exactly good at socializing."

"The lass can handle it herself. I'm sure of it."

"What do you need me to do captain?" Tione asked, spreading herself out onto Finn's table. "Need me to stay and keep you warm while you're alone if your office?"

"Uh, you can… Keep an eye out for our elusive friend. Talk with Ais, ask around."

"Sure thing, captain!"

"Good. You're dismissed."

"See you tonight~!"

"Hahaha…" Finn scratched his cheek and hope he can get someone to fix his door's lock soon. He may have to sleep in his office tonight to protect himself.

"So… What's this letter that got Loki up and about?" Garth voiced their lingering question.

Not long ago, they received a letter from the Guild. Loki was the one who got to it first and told them she needed to make a visit to the Guild. She even took the letter with her.

"She didn't say, which is worrying me." Finn bit his thumb lightly. "Apparently, it came from Ouranos himself."

"Could it be the abnormal occurrence that happened yesterday?"

"It could be. Maybe even it's something related to our report about the monsters we've encountered on the Lower Floors below…"

/-/

"Hey, hey! Loki's here!"

The trickster Goddess skipped into Ouranos Prayer Room without a care in the world.

"Loki." A deep voice greeted her. Sitting on a giant throne was Ouranos. His stony expression was the same as ever. "You came to discuss my letter?"

"Yeah! I didn't take you to be the one to pull my legs here!" Loki raised the letter in the air. "This has got to be a joke, right?"

"I do not joke. What is written is what I've felt happened in the Dungeon. I believe your children encountered some of the outcomes."

"… Let me get this straight. To put it simply. Some God or Goddess unleashed their Arcanum in the Dungeon and now it's very, very pissed."

When the Gods and Goddesses descended into the lower world, they had their powers sealed to make things more interesting and won't destroy the entirety of the lower world. If they were to use their divine powers, their Arcanum, they will be forcefully returned to their world immediately.

"It is as you say."

"Then whoever unleashed their Arcanum, did they get sent back or absorbed by the Dungeon?"

"If they did, then I did not sense it. Regardless, the promise made before the Promised Time has been broken because of their action."

Loki's eyes widen. "Shit."

"However, the Dungeon had been silent. I fear it is planning something. Gathering strength." Ourano's grave tone sent a shiver down Loki's spine. "We may have to resort to drastic measures to contain it."

"Haaaah! What a mess, damn it! Does anyone else know about this?"

"Only a few familia. For the divine's eyes only."

"It's for the best. So, what now?"

"We prepare for the worst."

Someone end my suffering. Job searching in the tech industry at a time like this...