Notes:
-there is a difference between a dungeon and the dungeon.
-there are multiple cities that have portals that lead to the dungeon. It's like how players from all around the world can login to one MMORPG even though there are hundreds of different other MMORPGs because that particular MMORPG is more famous.
-Bell won't be levelling up insanely fast, like a hundred levels in three chapters he only got to level 33 quickly because of the accumulated exp from his childhood training.
-there are adventurers who are way stronger, like in the level 400's.
-Orario doesn't exist...yet.
-Bell won't curb stomp everything. It's just that the top 10 floors are insanely easy to clear in comparison to the lower levels.
-10 Varisu=1AU Dollar
Levels in comparison to floors:
-Floor 1~12: Level 10~100, recommend party of 8
-Floor 13~20: Level 120~180, recommend party of 50.
-Floor 21~30: Level 220~300, recommend party of 300.
-Floor 31~40: Level 320~450, recommend party of 500.
So on and so on...
Monster levels in the dungeon:
-Floor 1~12: Level 1~50
-Floor 13~20: Level 70~160
-Floor 21~30: Level 200~300
-Floor 31~40: 360~500
And so and so on...
Now as for Aizu, she'll have a more, more important role in this story. She'll be like a rival of sorts for Bell. She won't make an appearance for a while, maybe, because they'll be growing stronger differently but...ah you'll see in the future.
Aizu would be the equivalent to Seoyoon, doesn't make an appearance a lot in the first half but is more important in the second.
Chapter 2: Let's form a Party!
"Wow! That was so awesome!"
No sooner than when I finished off the last of the Monster Party did the three girls come up to me, quite quickly too. The two Amazons being more enthusiastic than the blonde-haired, blonde-eyed girl.
"Errr, no problem?" Needless to say, I was ill-equipped to handle their energetic reaction.
"The way you handled those monsters, you took care of them even faster than when Finn was fighting the war shadows three months ago." The older, more endowed Amazon asked.
"Well, errr, thanks I guess." They were pretty easy to deal with. Numbers, sure they had it in spades, but their individual strengths were far too weak.
"You must be one of those front-liners! Only the front-liners on the 27th floor are that awesome." The younger girl guessed.
"Aizu, check this sword out, it's so shiny and sharp. He's got to be a front liner."
"...strong."
"Hmmm?" I don't why, but that soft voice coupled with that shy one-liner...MOEEE!
I just wanted to hug that adorable girl.
Must...not...Must...resist!
"You're really strong..."
The gleam in her eyes sharpened.
Looking directly at her eyes...those were strong eyes.
"Ooh, ooh, is that, OMG it is! That's a magic sword!"
Of course, the two girls currently on their knees inspecting my sword (no innuendo intended) were dazzled by it.
"Wooaah! Aren't those extremely rare? There's not many blacksmiths who can forge it."
"Heh, hey hey, can I get your names first? We can continue on from there."
They sprang up, blushing a bit from embarrassment.
"Oh, sorry...my name is Tione." The big-bust long haired Amazon introduced herself first.
"My name's Tiona." The younger Amazon with shorter everything continued.
...
Awkward silence and then...
"Aizu Wallenstein."
I don't why...but something in my gut told me to remember that name.
I don't know how, seeing as I've never met her before, but there was a familiarity (?) about her.
"And can we get the name of our saviours?"
I looked over to Kami-sama.
She nodded in response, giving me permission to continue.
"Bell...Bell Cranel."
"My name is Macha."
She took down her hood and as expected, the three girls gawked at her...though Aizu only opened her mouth a bit, nonetheless...MOEEE!
If Kami-sama wasn't here, I'd revert back to usual habits and hug the living day lights out of her.
But if Kami-sama wasn't here, I wouldn't get the chance to see such a cute expression...
Damn, internal dilemmas suck.
"Hmmm, cat got your tongue?" Macha asked playfully.
The girls were still gawking.
"So...so beautiful."
"She's like a goddess." They were that close to the truth.
"...beautiful."
And so the three girls decided to tag along with us...for the time being.
XXXXX-some time later-XXXXX
"So, so, tell us more about you guys? Are you guys really from the front lines."
"No, not exactly."
"We just started..." My mouth was covered before I could finish.
"On the 16th floor." Huh? Kami-sama interrupted.
"Really? How many people are in your party?"
"It's just the 2-" "250" Kami-sama interrupted me again, and why was she lying?
"Wow, that's so big! Our party isn't nearly as big. We only have like..."
Tiona looked back to her friends, Aizu mouthed something.
"Oh, that's right, 52 members, and 13 of them are elven guards."
"Elven guards? Wait, you guys actually have elves in your party!? OMG that's so cool! Like actual elven guards from an elf kingdom?"
"Tiona! You're not meant to say that out loud."
"Haha, what's wrong? It's not like you guys have some VIE (Very important elf) in your party."
My question was met by uncomfortable silence...
Wait.
"Wait, you guys actually have elf nobility in your party?"
The awkward silence remained.
"Oh, my, god. That's so cool." I looked back towards Kami-sama.
"Can we go them? Can we go with them? Can we go please!?"
I begged desperately.
"No."
"But Macha! This is an elf we're talking about here. An elf!" I didn't say Kami-sama because well, you know. Incognito and all that crap.
Besides it was one of my wet dreams to encounter an elf girl, especially an elf princess with long blonde hair and big boobs, make them fall in love with me and then...fondle every crevice of her body until she moans out my name.
Those supposedly perfectly soft breasts and milky white skin, it's every man's white dream to encounter an elf girl. Especially in these parts, where the elf encounters were nearly zero!
Stupid racial discrimination.
"Hmmm? You're not coming with us to meet our party? Finn would love to meet you. He would really like to meet an adventurer who's more experienced."
"Of course-" A subtle glare from Kami-sama stopped me in my tracks.
"-we're not." I was crying inwardly after saying those words.
A rare chance to meet elf nobility...gone.
Sighing, Macha explained.
She loved (on a family level for now) her adorable little rabbit. But he could be so perverted sometimes. He was really bad back in his childhood, but several of her personal punishments lessened his...eccentric habits.
Out of all things, the only thing she couldn't get rid of was his perversity. Perversity built up by hundreds of stories about heroes, with their bloody harems, from his mystery father and grandfather whom she had yet to meet.
"We can't, remember? We have to resupply on equipment back in Avaria." The city in which she and Bell used to teleport to the first dungeon floor. "The party is counting on us."
They weren't in a party yet, but it was a lot more plausible story than saying that they got to the 6th floor in less than a month. Apparently it look several to get this far.
Besides it wasn't far from the truth, they spent way too much time in the dungeon and she wanted a shower. Their gear was also on the verge of breaking, blessings weren't indefinite and their potions stockpile was running out. The loot they had gathered up was also getting heavy, it was definitely time to exchange it for Varisu.
She also didn't want to attract too much attention. Humans were petty, they got jealous really easy and some of them might target Bell intentionally due to his growth rate.
"Awwww, that's too bad. We would've really liked to get some tips on hunting."
But these kids weren't too bad.
"...we can party together sometime."
"Really!?" Bell and the Amazon girl, Tiona, asked simultaneously.
"Maybe."
"Yay! Do you hear that? We can go adventuring together with front-liners."
"...friend."
"Aizu?"
The girl named Aizu held out her stone tablet.
Ah, so she wanted to enlist each other as friends.
"Bell. I'll permit it."
"Yes!" Bell hissed out excitedly.
Bell fist pumped then took out his own stone tablet.
They took each other's stone tablet and laid their hand upon it. The tablets memorised their fingerprints and thus remembered each other's identity,
"Let's work hard to become great adventurers in the future, yeah?"
"...yes."
"So, is Macha your party leader or something? The way she talks, it's similar to how Riveria talks."
"Yeah, I noticed you always look at her for permission before you can talk. Is she like royalty? She's even more beautiful than Riveria and she's elf nobility."
The two Amazons also brought out their stone tablets and gave it to Bell.
"Ah, no, Macha is just shy when meeting new faces-OWWW!" She slapped the back of his head.
There are some things you are allowed to say and other things you don't.
"Be quiet."
"Oh my god, could it be?"
"This is my first time meeting one."
"The fabled tsundere."
"I'm not a tsundere." Of course the two Amazons ignored her in favour of their gossiping.
"Yep, she's a tsundere all right." Bell encouraged their gossiping.
*BAM*
Bell's face soon made contact with the wall.
"You're not helping my case."
"But it's true, every time I confess my love you always turn it down and yet you still stick with me most of the time."
"...do you want to get punished?" I eye smiled at him. A crimson aura gathering around me.
"...I'll be good."
"Good."
"...BDSM?" Aizu asked.
"No, that was the legendary Tsundere Punch, instinctually activated when the tsundere's target of affection embarrasses them. The strength of the punch is proportional to the embarrassment factor. Though this is my first time seeing it in action, it's as powerful as I've heard."
"...I see. Interesting." Aizu watched the crimson haired girl easily punch Bell into a wall. This tsundere punch was indeed a powerful move. Surely it could be used for her endeavours in being a strong adventurer so she wanted to know how to learn it.
Whilst Aizu was contemplating the 'tsundere class', there was a tick mark on Macha's head.
Do these kids want to die?
She was not a tsundere. End of discussion.
"Oh, yeah here we are."
The stairs. They had reached it.
"Safe zone at last, we can finally teleport to the the 12th floor."
Teleport?
She was curious about what they were talking about, Bell was to but he refrained from asking seeing as he finally understood her intentions.
Guess I'll look it up back in Avaria.
They didn't really look around the city, they were so excited that they went straight to the city portal and teleported to the start of the dungeon. They were planning to look around the city straight afterwards but they eventually forgot about the city in favour of fighting the monsters and stayed in there for weeks on end.
"I guess this is where we part ways."
"Aww too bad, I wanted to chat a bit more. Our party is way too serious sometimes."
"I feel bad that we can't repay you though."
"Ah, there's no need. Seeing you girls alive and happy is reward enough."
"Wah~ so noble. Just like a hero."
"Ehehe." Bell blushed at the compliment whilst rubbing the back of his head.
"Wait, I know! Why don't we hang out sometime for lunch. We're vouching."
"...we can't."
"Yeah, Tiona, aren't you forgetting something? We teleported in through Dunbarton's portal. They might have teleported into the dungeon from another city portal."
They looked at her to confirm whether or not they had come from the same city. She shook her head.
"Oh yeah...too bad." Tiona looked down for a second.
"Cheer up, I already said there was no need to pay me back, besides we might meet again sometime." Bell reassured her.
"Yeah, I'll be eagerly awaiting that day."
"Yeah, me too."
"...same."
"Oh yeah, you never did tell us, is Macha your party leader?"
Bell looked towards her with a fond glance.
He smiled.
"Yeah, she's the strongest, most beautiful woman I've ever had the pleasure of partying up with."
"Wah~" "OMG love confession. That's so sweet."
Macha blushed a bit and turned away so that the four kids wouldn't see it intensifying.
"...cute."
"So cute! Cute and beautiful, I'm so jealous."
"It must be nice to be in love."
"Bell, let's go, our party is waiting for us." She dragged him by the arm.
"Yeah, yeah."
In truth she just wanted to get out of there so that she wouldn't listen to any more of this embarrassing talk.
"Hopefully we'll see you again in the future, yeah?"
"Yeah, let's!"
"See you in the future! Hopefully."
"...bye."
"Thanks again for saving us."
"No problem! OWWW!" She slapped him on the forehead as they went up the stairs.
"Oh crud."
"What is it, Tione?"
"We forgot to tell each other's party name. We might have spotted someone from each other's party in that case."
"Ah damn."
"..." Aizu didn't know why, but she had a good feeling they would meet again in the near future.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Those were nice girls. I still don't see why we couldn't have gone with them. It's not like they were going to figure out anything important." I cried out indignantly. "Besides it would've been a good learning experience, I've never seen a large party before."
"One, you're still too low level. Two, you underestimate human intelligence. Three, you have a big mouth."
"Was that third reason really necessary?"
"...yes."
"Sniff sniff, so mean."
"Besides we really do need to go back to resupply. Your sword is running out."
"What?" I looked down at my sword.
Durability: 33/130
Holy Blessing has run out.
"Dammit. I did not see that."
It must have run out when I was fighting those war shadows. Bloody monster parties, why do there have to be so many monsters.
Now I have to go to a blacksmith, hopefully there's one skilled enough to repair it or better yet someone who would allow me to use their forge.
"Besides, you need to obtain a class. You're level 47 now and it's only going to get tougher from this point."
"Really, I'm going to get a class now? Awesome."
"First, you're going to have to decide."
...
"But don't worry, you'll have time to figure it out. But before that, let's focus on getting back."
"Yeah."
XXXXXXXXXX
They made their way to the start of the dungeon and stood on top of the teleportation alter.
"Teleport."
The alter apparently remembered the signature of every human being that has used it so it would automatically teleport the user back and forth between the city in which the user originally came from.
Do you wish to go back to Avaria?
"Yes."
XXXXXXXXXX
In Avaria, there are hundreds of buildings that are structured together in a circular fashion, split by four roads, into four quarter-circle sections.
Within an instant, they had teleported into the Central Square.
The Central Square was brimming with merchants who had laid out items for adventurers to buy. Avaria was one of the easiest starting places for a newbie adventurer because of the weak local monsters and easy quests.
So it was an ideal place for merchants to make a living from the usually naive newbies.
"Let's make our way to the Varisu Exchange. I grow tired of carrying all these magic stones."
"After that?"
"We'll probably head over to either the Instructor's Hall or go shopping. After that we'll get a place to stay."
"You mean...you mean like a h-h-hotel?"
"Fufufuu, already thinking up dirty thoughts, you naughty boy."
"M-m-m-ma-ma-MACHA!" Formalities temporarily forgotten due to sheer embarrassment.
Laughing, she turned around and headed towards the Exchange first whilst running away from an angry me. Still, I was glad I was the only one who could see this side of her.
XXXXXXXXXX
"To save time, Bell, I'll go to the Varisu Exchange while you go buy the items we need, I've already listed them down."
"Alright, groceries?" She nodded. "Can I go buy equipment too? Even Aizu-chan had a breastplate." She nodded again.
"How much Varisu do you have?"
"23,000 Varisu." That was probably enough to buy good light armour and two iron swords with just enough money to spare for groceries.
"Mmmm, that would probably be enough. After exchanging this amount, we'll probably..." Though I couldn't see it, I knew complex calculations were already running through her head in seconds. "...get around...194,000 Varisu? Yeah, that sounds about right."
"194,000 Varisu!?" Kami-sama made a point to collect everything that the monsters dropped, including the loot. But seriously? That much money?
"Yep, we were hunting for over two weeks straight after all."
A/N: I know Bell got like 26000 Varisu from like one day. But that was hardcore hunting for him. While in this story, Bell and Macha were more focused on exploring rather than fighting.
"Wow." Only now could I truly appreciate adventuring in dungeons. It was extremely risky, but the rewards were high.
There was a ton of difference in avenue between dungeon hunting and farming. I only got about 1800 Varisu altogether from a day of farming, part-time smithing and cooking in the local restaurant.
We were gone for about two weeks, kind of lost count, so that would be...just wow.
That was an amazing difference.
"Do you want to wait until after I exchange the loot and magic stones? We'll have plenty of money then."
"Mmmmm, nah I'll be alright. This amount will be plenty."
"Then we'll meet again." She looked around for a couple of moments. "The Central's Square fountain at 6 pm?"
"Yep."
"Then I'll see you later. I'll book a hotel room for the both of us before then." I blushed at the possibilities. Me and Kami-sama, alone in a hotel room...the fabled place of romance and adultery that has hosted hundreds, if not thousands, of lovers as they made passionate love.
Macha was blushing a bit as well as she saw the far-off look on Bell's face. Completely aware of what Bell was thinking about.
"Then, then anything else?"
"A-ah yeah. T-that's right can you give this letter to the Avaria's High Priest?" I took out a letter.
"What's, what's this?" Kami-sama eyed it curiously. The Church in this city was one of the most important buildings in the entire continent simply because they worshipped a very, very important god. She would know, she spent half of her life under that god.
"My grandfather said I should give this letter to a High Priest, said it would really kick start my career, he specifically said I should give it to a High Priest of the Creator's Church. Said that the priest would definitely understand."
Her eyes widened, Bell's grandfather must be an extremely important person if he had connections with a high priest of the Creator's religion.
She wanted to read that letter so bad now, but she feared she might anger Bell a bit.
It was extremely hard to anger him, she knew that, but when it came to his family. Well, it was a mix between personal and sour. She couldn't tell; Bell never really did talk about his family, nor did she, for that matter, so she had no justification to pry into his.
When she took hold of it, she was looking at the back of the letter. When she turned it around she had the biggest shock of her life.
That...that insignia...
There was a small badge that held the letter shut. It was a familiar insignia, one she knew all too well. A symbol that has only ever represented one being.
Two strange, pure-white, metallic vines encircling each other in a small twist. Two wings were spread out on top as the metallic representation of a dove's head lay flat on the point where the vines finally intersected.
Sure there have been rip-offs, some royal families tried to copy this insignia and made doves a sacred creature simply because 'that' person favoured it. But there was one key feature that separated this insignia from the other knock-offs.
She could see the Arcana flowing out. Pure, white Arcana.
Only one being had that energy signature.
If the colour of her Arcana was crimson-black. That being's was a rainbow of colours put together.
...Father.
She looked up and wanted to say something to Bell but, unknowingly to her, he had already run off the moment he handed her the letter.
Just who is your grandfather?
XXXXXXXXXX
"Iron swords for 4000 Varisu! Buy them while they're 20% off!" More like 20% on. That was more expensive than normal.
"Moondrop Earrings, limited amount only! They'll boost your regeneration rate as well as increasing your mana capacity. Buy them for only 5300 Varisu." Amateur, you never sell magical items for that cheap; if it was real, in the first place, that is.
"Me, me, sell them to me." "No, I'll buy them for 5500 Varisu." Still the temptation of magical items was high and it captivated the hearts of naive adventurers who wanted a head start in the game.
In the shopping district, way more merchants were trying to sell their items despite official shops already having been established.
I tuned out the rest of the chatter. I didn't want to buy from merchants right now. Sure, sometimes they might have cheaper prices but that was only sometimes. Unlike shop keepers they can subtly change (increase) their prices whilst reeling adventurers in with some heated bantering.
Ah, I'll get weapons later. I need to repair Dark Repulser. Then buy groceries.
We're...running out of meat, I think.
We usually either ate rabbit or fox meat. Now that I thought about it, the local hunting ground were full of foxes with the occasional wolves.
Fox meat was good, better than rabbit meat, but neither of the animals had much meat in comparison to wolves.
The thing is...was he ready to face down wolves.
Around level 50 I think.
If I remember correctly, that was what the monster encyclopaedia wrote. Equivalent to a low-class Floor 11 monster.
"Let's just go to a blacksmith first. It'll be easier that way."
I walked down the shopping district and ignored most of the merchants and shops. The outer areas of a city were apparently more empty according to Macha and I didn't want to attract too much attention when I brought out my sword.
Shifting from the inner areas to the outer areas of the shopping district, there was only one forge, near the river bank.
"Welcome, son, what can I do for you?" The resident blacksmith asked the moment I came up to him.
"Can I get you to repair this sword for me? Full custom repairs?"
"Sure. It'll take a while though, a couple of hours, finished by tonight at most."
"That'll be fine, I'd like to buy a steel sword..." After several minutes of contemplating I decided to get some new equipment anyway, I eyed a particular piece of armour while I was at it. "...this crux armour as well, adventurer's edition?"
"Ah, you have a good eye and yes, I had it tailor made for adventurers. It's lighter at the cost of less armour plating of course. Though there are fishnets underneath the armour and additional leather pants. Will you take the full set along with the iron sword?"
"Mmmm, how much?"
"The sword comes to 3300 Varisu, while the Crux Armour comes to 12000 Varisu, however, I can throw in a Vito Enchantment as well as change the metal plating to suit your needs. What do you say?"
Truthfully I could put seal enchantments on my own. Vito Enchants were Level 2 Enchantments. I could draw Level 7 Enchantments. There were 10 officially recorded levels of rune enchantments by the way, beyond that and you're sailing into unknown territory.
It was a relatively new subject in the magical arts, but boy was it fun to study. Not many picked it up, regarding it as useless almost immediately, but when I came across it...oh I salivated at the possibilities. I had created so many prototypes, I wanted to try them out so bad.
What people didn't know is, is that unlike sword stances or magic spells; runes didn't have limits. You could create limitless numbers of runes all with different effects with just the slightest smidgen of ink. The tiniest mistake could change the rune array completely.
There are works in progress. But just a little more time and I'll show the world how badass runes can be.
The entire process was difficult since the drawing of the runes was hard and dangerous. The tiniest mistake in drawing the seal could literally blow up in your face.
As for the metal plating, yeah that was hard to decide. On one hand I wanted to change the metal from steel to silver, but on the other hand I wanted to save enough money to buy a lot of food.
Choices...and eventually I made one.
"Mmmm, no thanks, I'm fine with the normal armour." The bearded blacksmith seemed a little down at losing that extra amount of profit he could've made. But he cheered up quickly.
"Very well, let me get that...here you are, son." He handed me the sword first, then the armour.
I inspected it, of course.
"Mmmm, nice quality. No chips in it, the blade's sharp."
"Haha thanks, not my finest work but it's of higher standards than the ones the weapons sellers in the shopping district sell. Though the blade does have hilt enhancements fi..."
"Five and seven, both making the hilt heavier in order to swing the steel blade easier. Seven focuses more on weight balance though rather than just making the hilt heavier."
"Haha, I see you know your stuff boy. You recognised the custom ends of the hilt didn't you?" I nodded.
"Though I would've gone with enhancement 3, enhancement five makes it too specialised for the stronger class of people, and the hilt design for 3 is more comfortable if you're doing a two-handed sword stance."
"Can you tell me the reason why I didn't go for it, then?"
"Well...from a businessman's perspective, it's more profitable to use the copper add-ons of the hilt 5 enhancement. Why not go with blade enhancement 6 then? It's a bit more expensive, but the power it generates when it cuts through the air is way better."
The man didn't seem offended at all that a 11 year old boy was lecturing a professional blacksmith, in fact, the man seemed really cheerful if the wide smile was any indication.
"Haha, a fellow smithing expert...and in one so young too. Where did you learn the craft?"
"...home village near Lemento, there was an old man named Cole who taught me."
"Cole you say?"
"Do you recognise him?" The man looked contemplative for a second, then he burst out laughing.
"Hahahahaha! That old geezer is still alive huh? You're his apprentice?"
"Uh, yes sir." I was not expecting to meet an acquaintance of Cole. The man was still howling cheerfully.
"No need to be formal, son, you're Cole's apprentice. That practically makes us equals in the smithing arts."
"Let me guess, Cole used to be a really, really famous blacksmith in his youth?"
"Got it in one, son, I'm surprised he didn't tell you. But man, too think I would see the day when I met the boy who was taught by Cole Blanando himself. He's one of only four blacksmiths to ever attain Master Rank."
I can see why that's such a big deal. Wait, I was studying under a master an entire time and I didn't even know it?
"You should come over and visit the Smithing Association sometime. Cole used to be one of the higher-up members of the organisation. Everyone would be excited to meet Cole's apprentice."
"Ah, right. Some time later."
"I'll tell them you're coming."
Though I ignored it, the stone tablet underneath my belt shook as it updated my personal stats.
Fame: +120
-News will spread amongst many blacksmiths that Cole, one of the four famous blacksmith Masters, took you as an apprentice. Those of the Smithing Association will have high hopes for your career as a blacksmith and will view you in a positive light due to your association with Cole.
Total Fame: 785
Relationship with Smithing Association: 360; Highly Friendly, chance to become Honorary Member. 500 Max for non-members.
Smithing Association Public Value: 500
-5% Discount from any Smithing Association owned shops.
"So what did you get to learn from him? He must have been a great teacher."
"Yeah, he was, well...first he..."
So I talked and talked about smithing while the man, who I found out was named Ferghus, worked on my sword, until I eventually forgot that I was also meant to get supplies.
XXXXXXXXXX
Macha was currently nervous right now.
Entering a church might attract too much attention. Especially if there was an actual blessed statue of 'him' inside the building. 'He' would notice straight away.
She had already exchanged the loot for Varisu and stored it into a bank account which her stone tablet could access via her magic signature.
*Fwuuuu~"
Taking a deep breath, she entered the church.
"Ah, another child of god has come to offer prayers? How fortunate."
"Ah no father, I am here for more personal matters."
"Oh? Speak child. What concerns you?"
"I have a letter here for you. A friend of mine said it was important."
She handed the letter to the priest.
"Hmmm? Yes...interesting..."
... Good he doesn't seem to recognise the crest.
...
!?
"Uh, can you wait here for a few moments?"
"Sure." She still had plenty of time till the arranged meet-up. Still his reaction to the contents of letter, interesting.
Could it really be? There's no way 'he' would involve himself in mortal affairs or is it someone working under him. Tchh I should've just read the letter.
While she was scolding herself, the priest went off somewhere, presumably to show the letter to the high priest. It would take a while though, the high priest was located in the Central Continent.
She was certainly not going to wait here for that long.
"Guard."
"Yes, madam."
"If the priest comes back, tell him I'll be coming back at 7 pm."
"Yes, madam."
She wasn't too worried about coming late or anything. Churches were open all day.
Besides, she had the distinct feeling Bell would forget to buy groceries in order to test out his new equipment. Hopefully he would at least get meat from his hunts, they were running out.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Level 113 Warrior, looking for a dungeon party!"
"Level 49 Archer, signing up people for the Sharpwind Mine Raid. 7 spots still open."
"Level 74 Mage, looking for any raids still available."
"Level 13 Thief, looking for a dungeon party."
The Central Square was always the best place to recruit in cities, whether it be for hunts, raids or dungeon parties.
There were only 4 dungeons to raid near Avaria that, on average, have Lv. 60 difficulty. I was barely qualified to go.
But since the difficulty was so low and the rewards were too little, adventurers favoured the dungeon over a normal dungeon near Avaria.
I was passively looking for a party. If someone invited me, yippee, if they didn't well I was perfectly fine with hunting by myself.
If there anything to worry about in the Avaria hunting grounds, it would be the rumours of a [Wild Boss] appearing.
Wild Bosses were basically giant versions of a local monster. Avaria were full of foxes and wolves.
Avaria's [Wild Boss] was apparently either a Giant Black Wolf or a Giant Silver Wolf.
I was way too weak right now to deal with a boss. They were guaranteed to be 3 times more difficult than normal wolves.
They could be at least around level 120.
A Rank 2 Standard Monster.
A frightening thought indeed. It was a good thing they rarely appeared.
Well...looks like no one wants to party up with me.
Guess I would just have to go hunting alone then.
Kami-sama had updated my status right after we had split up from Ai-chan, Tione and Tiona.
XXX
No longer including the skill bonuses.
Too tedious.
Bell Cranel
Level Rank: 1
Strength: F 72 - E 93
Defence: G 53 - E 81
Dexterity: D 111 - B 147
Agility: E 97 - D 119
Mana: G 55 - F 73
Skills:
[Single-Minded Pursuit]
[?]
Bell Cranel
Lv 47
Class: None
Health: 4545
Mana: 4620
Strength: 1024
Defence: 766
Wisdom: 770
Dexterity: 3661
Charisma: 60
Willpower: 83
Agility: 1113
Attack Damage: 512~1536
Magic: 154
Health Regeneration: 8.3 HP/Sec
A/N: He doesn't exactly know that his stats are way too high for a Level 40, he knows his HP, mana and DEX are high, but he'll still be intimidated by fighting Lv 50+ monsters. Right now, his stats combined with bonus effects are Lv 90~100 standards.
Oh yes, when you're imagining sword fights. When he's fighting monsters imagine Kirito, when he's fighting other adventurers, imagine a mix between Star Wars the Clone Wars Lightsaber fights and Samurai anime fights. Don't ever imagine Bell fighting where multiple arms seem to sprout and they go so fast that it looks like how Asuna does her attacks, EVER, unless it's a combat skill being activated of course. I hate those kind of combat animations.
Well, I guess I'll do fine by myself.
I took my iron sword out and swung it around for good measure. Due to my high DEX stats it looked like a blur despite the heaviness of the sword.
The moment I stepped out and spotted the first fox not too far away, I was prepared to dash before-
"Excuse me." I kind of stumbled a bit, my motion into sprinting obviously interrupted.
"Huh..." I was looking around for that voice.
"Over here." Hmmm?
Turning to my right, I saw a girl with radiant long golden hair. Her attire was a mix between a cleric and a priest. She wore black and blue robes, the top half of it, however, was hidden by tight leather gear which accentuated her really, really bigs breast which could even be just a bit bigger than Kami-sama's.
The staff she was holding was made from wood that was obviously from one of these trees behind him. A golden magic stone was atop of it.
What a beauty.
Certainly despite her perfect figure, the beauty of her face was much, much more...I just couldn't describe it. It was the same feeling I had when I first met Kami-sama. Was this girl, calling out to me, another goddess?
"Are you going to hunt alone?" Still stunned by this unfamiliar beauty, one that nearly rivalled even Kami-sama's, which I previously thought was an impossible feat despite knowing there were other goddesses in existence, I could not respond. I seriously thought that there was no one as beautiful as Kami-sama until today.
I recovered quickly though, but I replied in a much lower tone than I would've liked.
"Yeah."
"Then why don't you join us? Well, there's only another person in my party, but still, it's more fun to hunt together in a group right?"
I looked behind her. There was a boy of a similar age to me that was standing there, looking straight at us. Probably an acquaintance.
I pondered her offer for a second, but it was a pretty easy decision.
"Sure, I'll join. Thank you for the invite..."
"Yay, come over, my friend over there is waiting."
Friend?
"Now introduction time. Brad, you go first."
"Nice to meet you, my name's Brad. I'm a Level 64 Mage, I'll be helping you take the down from a distance. I specialise in Fire and Thunder based magic so watch out, you might get burned if you're not too careful."
"And I'm Gabriel, a Level 73 Cleric. I'll be supporting the party with healing spells, defensive buffs and I'm also great with light-offensive magic."
... I was feeling so inadequate,
"You can call me Bell Cranel, level 47...I...don't have a class yet." It's widely established that getting a class makes you that much more powerful. A level 32 warrior could probably beat a level 50 with no class.
...
Brad looked at Gabriel as if he was scolding her.
Gabriel looked a bit embarrassed.
"I can hunt alone, I don't want to be too big a burden."
I already knew what my role was supposed to be, a mix between DPS and Tanker. They only had a long-range attacker and supporter in their party so they needed someone who could protect them from melee attacks.
The crux armour I was wearing probably told them I was perfect for the job.
"Just as long as you can keep them away from us, I can handle things with my magic. Gabriel is a really good healer so she can heal a lot of health quickly if you lose too much health."
"Hehe, sorry, Bell-kun, I should've told you what we were doing first before I asked."
"That's fine, what are you planning to do?"
"Well, we were going to train for two days, get better equipment then go to Sharpwind Mine. But..."
"Don't worry, Bell-kun, raids are usually for 8 people so there's plenty of room."
Gabriel was trying to comfort me, but I was just getting more depressed.
I really want to get stronger quickly so I can go on raids and get better loot.
"Well, we'll see how this hunt goes. The wolves are a bit difficult since they hunt in packs but we'll be okay I think."
"Leave it up to me then. I'll keep all of us alive with my healing magic."
"I'm counting on you then. Let's go."
Brad was kind of ignoring me while Gabriel was bowing apologetically to me.
I was kind of pissed.
But first, I had to tell Kami-sama what had just happened.
I might come back late and she would worry a lot.
We hadn't signed the party contract with our tablets, but I was excited at the prospect of being able to go on a dungeon raid. They were fundamentally different from going to the dungeon; a lot more exciting, fast-paced apparently.
XXXXXXXXXX
Macha had just come back from buying a whole month's worth of food and drinks.
A lot of adventurers were shocked by how many bags she was carrying. Her face was covered, so they couldn't see her beauty, but they were amazed nonetheless that she could navigate through the bustling streets so easily.
She took it back to their hotel room and stored it there. There was still 2 hours left before the meet up so she went for a walk in her cloak.
The runes that Bell had written on it, filled with her arcana was strong enough to completely disguise her presence.
As she walked across a park, her stone tablet shook.
Kami-sama, I'm joining up with two other adventurers so I might come back later than expected.
She wrote back. She knew Bell would forget about the groceries, but she wouldn't remark on that. She was more concerned about these two other adventurers.
Did you join a party?
No, we haven't signed a contract or anything yet.
A raid then?
No. It's just a hunting party, for now.
I didn't like that last part.
So how did the priest respond to my letter,
Oh, yes the letter. She had totally forgotten about that.
Oh, hang on then, he said it'll take a while for the high priest to receive it. I'll go back to the church and see if they have read it.
Thank you, Kami-sama.
Bell, just be safe.
I will.
Tell me when you're done, then we'll meet up at the fountain.
Okay.
What do you want for dinner tonight?
Kami-sama, I'll cook.
We'll cook together then. But what do you want for dinner?
Mmm, maybe beef stew, chicken chow mien and...
Ice cream for dessert. Her favourite. That was probably one of the top 2 things on her favourite list when she came to the human world. Right below Bell, who loved noodles just as much as she loved ice cream.
Yes, ice cream for dessert. Homemade?
Of course, it's more delicious that way.
Okay, then. I'm looking forward to tonight.
Me too.
I'll see you soon.
Now, it was time to get some Bell Peppers, she forgot to buy those. After that, she would go back to church.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Recover me, Gabriel!"
"Mana Recovery!"
Like we had instinctively planned earlier, I was out in front taking care of the wolves while Brad would weaken them from the back.
Well, I say weaken. But Brad wasn't doing anything at all. He just fired out fireballs randomly and made it look as if he was actually doing something, it was only until the wolves looked on the verge of death did his accuracy magically go up.
Kill stealing jerk. Not that he was kill stealing.
After he activated a spell, under the cover of his fireballs and lightning bolts, I would kill off the wolves then ran back so to make it look like I was more focused on avoiding his magic rather than finishing off the monsters. But to Brad, he was probably thinking he was the one that killed them off since he couldn't really see past his magic attacks.
Though I did leave a few monsters alive so that Brad could actually kill them.
We were all on the same quests.
Daily quests to be specific.
Kill 70 Wolves.
Kill 100 Foxes.
So far we had killed 42 Foxes and 29 Wolves in an hour.
We weren't officially partying together, Gabriel and Brad were but I wasn't, so we had to hunt a grand total of 200 foxes and 140 wolves.
The foxes were pretty easy. They basically circled you in a pack, one would attack while another still circled you, if your guard was down after the first attack the second fox would attack and so on and so on.
The wolves, well, they were another case entirely.
"Light arrows! Safety shield!"
Five light arrows shot down two wolves and three foxes whilst a barrier erected itself around me. When a wolf tried to attack it just recoiled off the barrier.
When it was in midair, after recoiling, I stabbed it from underneath.
However the spells alerted the monsters more to Gabriel's presence.
When three wolves attacked me simultaneously. The rest of the monsters charged at Gabriel and Brad, as well.
Cutting straight through the first wolf from a horizontal slash, I tried to cut down the second wolf as well. But as soon as my sword came close, the wolf grabbed it with its teeth.
My blade was stuck.
Shit.
Iron swords don't conduct magic.
Double shit.
No choice.
While Brad's magic spells took down several monsters, he absolutely sucked under pressure and thus his accuracy was lowered tremendously. The look on his face was priceless.
"Fire Bolt! Fire Bolt! Fire Bolt!"
Three fire spells shaped as a lightning bolt shot across the field and exploded on the patches of grass close to the attacking wolves.
Rather than wasting time shooting down the wolves one by one, this grassy terrain would amplify the affects of fire magic and would help increase its effectiveness as a distraction.
The wolves were now busy avoiding the spreading fire.
But, unfortunately, with my back turned to the two still-alive wolves, they saw the opportunity and attacked.
Turning around swiftly to counterattack, I elbowed the closest wolf's chin and broke its skull with pure strength alone. But the other wolf, the one that bit my sword, was still alive, jumping up it tried to sink its teeth into my skull as vengeance.
I wouldn't make it in time.
So I leaned to my right and chose to endure it.
In the next moment, I yelled after experiencing intense pain. The wolf had sunk its teeth onto my right shoulder.
Stats didn't mean everything in this world. Even with heightened STR, DEF etc...in the end we were still only human. Even if a lvl 20 goblin was fighting a lvl 200 adventurer, the goblin could still win if it got a lucky shot in. All it took was one fatal blow to the head and even the mightiest of adventurers would fall.
Endure it. Just endure!
The pain was unbearable. But using that pain as strength, I grabbed the top of its head and fell.
Throwing it over me, I slammed the wolf to the floor with me still falling on top of it. Reading my elbows, it made contact with the wolf's neck and crushed it.
"Bell-kun! Watch out!"
The other monsters, smelling the scent of blood and flesh, turned towards me and ran in a frenzy.
Picking up the fallen iron sword with my right arm, I readied myself for the oncoming attack.
"Heal!"
Gabriel had cast healing on me. But that only recovered some of the health I lost. It didn't do much to close the gaping wound on my shoulder, so I was still losing health from blood loss. The Band-aid skill was much better for healing wounds.
Three wolves were the first to pounce.
Dodging to the side, I slashed at its spine. But the iron sword was not up to the task of killing it in one fell swoop.
Releasing the sword from the cut-but not yet dead-body of the wolf, I dodged to the side once more to avoid the second wolf that lunged at me from behind, flipped the sword until I held it in a reverse grip and pierced its side.
I allowed the forward momentum of the beast to do the cutting for me, as the iron sword split one wolf into two halves.
The third wolf was on the other side of the flying carcass; directly facing me. Roaring fiercely, it jumped at me.
The wolf right below me, gravely injured by the cut from before; I planted my foot on its spine, crushing it, as I used its body to jump into the air.
Quickly, I executed a spin kick and sent both halves of the flying carcass towards the third and final wolf of the first wave. The impact distracted it long enough for me to fall down, crushing the head of the wolf below me in the process, as I sprinted towards it and stabbed through the carcass and straight into the heart of the wolf on the other side.
First wave dead.
Now there were five foxes and two wolves.
...and the second wave approaches.
I wasn't particularly worried about the foxes or the wolves; they had really, really simple attack patterns.
Brad, who realised the danger of this situation, was now firing spells with his full efforts. He was an asshole, who wanted to take exp and loot for himself, but he wasn't so cynical as to abandon a fellow comrade in order to save his own skin. There was a difference between being an efficient asshole and a cold-blooded asshole.
The wolves lunged at me-they really liked to do that-I backed away and head butted its jaw, at the same time ducking under the second wolf. Sheathing my sword, I continued to sidestep the wolves every time they tried to take a bite out of me.
The foxes were trying to find a opening, as they circled me. But they didn't so they waited and waited. There were signs of it trying to attack but those were mainly trolls in an attempt to fake me out as one of its brethren took me from behind.
Taking a roll out of my bag, still side-step dodging, I rolled it around my shoulder whilst jumping all around the place. The custom materials I made myself, and the grounded herbs on the surface of the rubber aid soothed the stinging pain on my shoulder.
Still dodging the seven animals, without a weapon, it looked almost like a dance to Gabriel.
She was admiring his nimble footwork.
When they asked, he said he was a Level 47 with no class at all.
The sight before her was telling her otherwise. There was no way someone who was three levels lower than an average wolf could dispatch them so quickly, so effortlessly.
The fearlessness of the situation was not lost to her. She could see it in his eyes, despite the danger of such proximity to beasts who want to rip you to shreds, he was having fun as if it was all a big game. Despite having being bitten by a wolf just beforehand, he was having fun toying with them.
She found herself...admiring such fearlessness.
Though his strength and speed were way too high for someone who was around level 50. There were way more signs that proved that he was a rookie.
She had been adventuring for four years now, ever since she was 10. Over that time period, she had travelled with many adventurers, she was surprisingly popular with them, especially the males for some reason.
No experienced adventurer would ever stay close to a monster after attacking, unless it was a combo attack. Most did hits and runs, people don't like to admit it, but most just do different variants of it when they're fighting.
Bell's swordsmanship was wild, it had no form, if she were to compare it to martial arts, he would be brawling. Yet, he knew exactly where to cut, his instincts alerted him to movements before they even happened and it allowed him to strike beautifully in just the right places. His body was a bit tense, but his footwork made up for such complacency. His breathing was ill-paced, unsynchronised with the rest of his body, but he didn't look remotely closed to tiring even after an hour.
She didn't think she would ever see one.
Fighting right across her, was a diamond in the rough. One, she just knew, would go far in the world as the rough edges are chipped away. She decided she wanted to see that.
Level 47 or not, he was more than ready for the upcoming raid.
...
Right now, I was having the time of my life.
These wolves were way harder to beat than the war shadows.
The monsters inside the dungeon had numbers, sure; but the monsters I had come across so far were weak in comparison. It was during this fight that I found the saying: "quality over quantity" to be 100% accurate.
The thrill of the hunt.
The adrenaline.
The excitement.
The prospect of death.
The blood.
All of these concepts were lingering over my head, as I danced with them, in close proximity, like a suicidal maniac.
It made me feel so...so alive.
The feel of their claws, every scratch pumped up my blood, quickening my reflexes.
"Feather Blessing!" Gabriel shouted out.
Buffed once more, I felt lighter, much lighter than before.
The monsters were cowering in fear now.
I had already dealt with all the foxes. We had all completed the fox hunting mission.
Whilst fighting, we had moved towards a more wolf-infested area.
Only 33 wolves more to go.
"Alright, thanks for your good work. Just completed the quest."
I turned around, shocked for a moment. But that was just for a moment.
They could've started before me, so it was natural that they would complete the quest. Not to mention, Brad was killing monsters on the sidelines while he waited for me to weaken the monsters.
Well, that okay I guess. I could handle the rest by myself.
"Alright then, I guess this is where the party ends huh?"
"Yeah, let's go Gabriel. We should turn in our quests. I know a great place for lunch, why don't we go together?"
"Uh, sorry, but uh..." She looked between me and him repeatedly. "But I...uh,,,have to go back and report to my superiors. You know how it is."
"I see, then, then I'll wait for you then. We'll have lunch later then?" Gabriel mentally cursed.
Get the damn point already, she didn't want to go out with him. All the boys who asked her out to eat just couldn't understand that for some reason.
"Mmm...maybe. It depends."
"Then it's a date. I'll see you later." Of course he mistook a 'maybe' for a 'yes'. Boys were such blockheads.
...despite waving goodbye, he was still there.
Great, it was obvious that he was waiting for me to leave first.
Turning to Bell, I clasped my hands and thanked him.
"Thank you for helping, you made things much easier." Brad snickered, it was obvious he was thinking otherwise despite him not being much help in comparison.
"Will you be okay here by yourself?"
"Yeah, it's no problem."
Sorry Bell-kun, I'll come back as soon as Brad is gone and clear.
"Well, goodbye." She would invite him to raid here and now.
But judging by Brad's sore expression, clearly he would object...loudly. An unexpected invite would be better...and less troublesome.
"Then, I'll see you later. Good luck, Bell-kun."
"Thank you. Have a good night."
She went off cheerfully.
"See ya pipsqueak. Hopefully you won't get too roughed up by the wolves."
What was I, chopped liver? Was he ignoring the fact that I was the one that did most of the work?
Just like that, the annoying bastard had left without another word.
Wait...they were just talking about lunch...
Oh right, lunchtime!
Good thing I had just restocked on my food supplies with wolf and fox meat.
The others didn't bother picking them up, what a waste!
i also had too much leather...sell them it was.
After cooking lunch that is.
XXXXXXXXXX
Frying the five pieces of wolf meat, I added olive oil, salt and pepper.
It would take a while before they coloured up so I moved on to the second component of lunch.
I had prepared three small campfires, next to each other, one for frying the meat, the other to cook the rice and the last especially for the eggs.
Going to the wooden board, I placed the scallions, onion, fox meat and eggs on it.
Chop the scallions, slice the onions, cut the meat, crack the eggs and release the yolk onto the bowl.
Whisking the yolk, I added some of it to the wok, that had already been poured with oil, and swirled it bit with my left hand whilst my other continued whisking the yolk.
Taking a can of cream out of my bag, I sprayed some onto the yolk along with the remaining pepper and watched it soften in texture. It looked very gooey...perfect.
Wolf and fox meat was a bit more tough, seeing that when the wolves and foxes were actually alive they were really active runners. So instead of scrambled, I wanted to go with something more soft in order to counteract the tough meat.
Judging by the smell, the bottom side of the wolf meat should be...now! Quickly I flipped all the pieces of meat onto the other side with one hand. Now back to the wok.
Pouring the rice, a lot of rice, in, that was cooled beforehand on a tray with weak ice magic, along with the chopped vegetables, I used the ladles to mix it up in order to separate the grains whilst the egg yolk added before coated it. The rice had a nice golden hue from then on.
Focusing on the third pan, I poured the remaining yolk that was mixed with cream and pepper onto it. From there, the yolk started to solidify, whilst I did, I separated it with the ladle and after some time I reduced the fire, I didn't want it to solidify that much, so it still looked like thick melted cheese except that it tasted better. Now, while it continued to heat up, I poured a tiny amount onto the wolf meat along with some cheese and watched it come along nicely.
Some wine would have been great right now, sigh.
Returning the pan back to the third fire, I focused on the wok and moved it around wildly; watching the rice and vegetables spin in the air like crazy.
They're coming along nicely.
Now it was time for the finishing touches.
"Wahh, something smells nice. It's this way."
I let out a gasp and turned around. I was so engrossed in my cooking that I didn't notice someone nearby.
Wait, that voice sounded familiar.
Squinting my eyes, I looked within the shadows and saw...Gabriel?
Gabriel had just come out of the trees and was making her way towards me.
"Wow, the smell just keeps getting stronger. I wonder who's coo-Bell-kun?"
"Oh, hey Gabriel what are you doing here? I thought you had to go back and report something to your instructor." Wait, did she say it was an instructor? I forgot.
Though she made no attempt to correct it so I guess it was fine.
"Ah...uh...How should I put this?"
"I...uh...kind of lied about what I said to Brad."
"Huh?"
"You know what I said about how I was going to be busy reporting back...well I, uh, well this is awkward...but I uh...kind of lied."
Ah, I see how it is.
"So you lied to Brad so that you could avoid the lunch date, thus getting him off your back for the time being?"
"Ah, yeah."
Nodding understandingly, I pointed towards the campfire.
"So, I know you just refused to go to lunch with someone not a few minutes ago..." She blushed at that remark. "...but do you want to join me for lunch. I've cooked a lot."
"Ah...no...I'm okay, I've already prepared my own." She was unusually shy now that we were alone. Weird.
A/N: Gabriel's flag has not been raised if that's what you got from that sentence.
"Well, if you ever have a change of mind, there's plenty of food to go around." She looked really hesitant, if the embarrassed blush on her face was any indication, she fidgeted a lot as if deciding whether or nor to accept my offer.
...
After some time, she finally decided to approach whilst looking away a lot.
"...thank you." I eye smiled.
"No problem. It's always fun to eat together. Just let me finish this in a few moments."
While Gabriel was looking at me finishing up, I poured the heated egg, mixed with cream and pepper, onto the fried rice, that had been put onto seven plates, in random places of the dish.
Blowing out the fires, I took the tender wolf steaks and placed them on each plate.
Finished.
As soon as I thought that, my stone tablet shook again...probably just to tell me that my cooking level increased.
Cooking Level increased: Expert Lv. 5
-increased DEX +5
-Health +200
-you can now learn new and harder cooking recipes.
-go to a Four Star Head Chef in order to learn recipes from now on.
-it is now easier to gain respect and familiarity from Four Star Restaurants and below from now on.
"Here you go."
"Ah,,,thank you very much, Bell-kun." One plate was given to Gabriel, whilst six were reserved for me.
What...I liked to eat.
She sat on the log on the opposite side of the one campfire that hadn't been blown out.
"Itadakimasu."
"Itadakimasu."
Taking a reserved bite, Gabriel's expression brightened magnificently, I was watching of course, I wanted to see how high she regarded my cooking.
"Delicious!" Taking another bite. She clutched her cheek with the hand that wasn't holding the plate. "This is absolutely delicious!"
She even moaned a bit. I blushed when I heard it and so did she, realising that her reaction was extreme...to her anyway, to me it was pretty normal.
"Ah...ah...ummm..." I eye smiled again.
"It's alright keep eating, there's nothing wrong or embarrassing about openly enjoying a meal."
"Ah...thank you."
I gestured for her to keep eating, I had already finished two plates.
Two bites for her equaled two plates for me. Yep, that was perfectly normal.
Taking another bite, she moaned again much to my delight.
"How did you get this to be so soft? The eggs, too, it's so bubbly and it just melts the entire thing in my mouth."
Taking another spoon of the fried rice she dipped it in the egg yolk as of it was a sauce and ate it gleefully.
"How did you get it to be so good? It's so sticky at first too then it just melts."
Holding a small jar with a black sauce in it, I flashed teeth. "That's...a trade secret."
She wasn't too focused on that. She was more focused on enjoying the meal.
I might save a plate, in case she wanted seconds.
Eating all five plates reserved for me quickly, I waited for her to finish her first one. Though. I noticed she hadn't touched the steak yet.
"Try the steak too. I coated it in the same sauce and..."
"Don't worry, I've saved you seconds."
"Ah, thank you. Mmmm, it's so delicious. Way better than the normal food." She finished the rice and went on to the steak.
Taking a plastic bottle out of my bag, I poured some black tea into a plastic cup.
"Here, some tea to help you gulp it down."
She took it gracefully.
"Thank you, you've been very accommodating. It was a very refreshing meal."
"Better than the places you usually go to eat." I smiled at her while I rested a cheek on a hand.
She blushed.
"Ah...um...yes, it was far more delicious." I smiled widely.
"Hmmm, thank you very much."
She was already on her second plate. Naturally, I poured her some more tea.
"So...sorry, if this is a bit personal...but can I ask you a question?"
Hmmm, where did this come from?
"Sure. Go ahead." Nodding, she continued.
"Why did you become an adventurer?" Hmmm?
The expression on her face changed completely. It was calm, cool and calculated. Her eyes pierced me completely.
That was a really sudden question.
"Is it too personal for you?" She took my silence as hesitation.
I shook my head,
"No. It's actually only a means to an end for me. My dream...I'm aiming for something much higher."
"Oh?"
"My dream...is to become a hero, just like Lugh Lamfada." Her eyes widened.
"Lugh Lamfada, you mean the [Paladin of Legends]? The True Champion of Light?"
She knew his name, of course she would, out of all the heroic names recorded in history, fairy tales and legend, Lugh Lamfada was known to be the greatest of heroic figures; one that surpassed even Gilgamesh himself in the deeds of strength, skill and heroism.
He was said to be the Creator's Chosen, sent down from the heavens in order to bring peace and prosperity to the human world.
Within years of his appearance, he made himself true to those claims; in a time where demons were out and about, wrecking havoc amongst the human population, Lugh Lamfada came down like a bolt of lightning as he slaughtered the demons in the name of justice.
With his famous sword [Fragarach], he slew every demon that roamed the continents, united the many kingdoms of the land and brought peace to it...eventually becoming [Emperor].
Like so many others, I wanted to become just like that.
I wanted to be a hero and there was only one way to do that...
"The Royal Academy." Gabriel whispered out.
"Yeah, that's right, in order to become just like him, I aspire to become a [Royal Knight] and the only way to do that...is to enlist in the Academy." Built in honour of Lugh Lamfada, so that future generations could aspire to be something great just like him.
As expected of such a prestigious building, the pre-requisites were extremely high...for commoners.
For nobility, entering was a simple matter. For people like me, I had to prove my strength.
"That's why I became an adventurer." So that my name could be spread wide and far.
With a famous name of an adventurer, enrolling would be a simple matter.
"...that's a nice dream." She smiled fondly. "I wish you the best in your endeavours."
"...thank you."
"So, why do you aspire to be a hero? Is it for the personal recognition and glory? Or is it for something...more?" The look in her eyes seemed more expectant of what my next answer would be.
This was the part was where it got more personal. Sure, at first, my desire to become a hero was due to my foster father and grandfather. But when I met her...
"I...I have many dreams, too many to fulfil in one lifetime, but what they all have in common...is that they exist for one person...for that one woman, I would face anything, I would become...anything." I breathed out. At this point, I was looking at the sky imagining her face.
Macha, I would do anything for you.
That was the hidden message in what I said.
Nothing else mattered, just as long as I could stay by her side.
The setting sun looked beautiful from here, a beautiful shade of red, yet it looked so lacklustre compared to her bright crimson.
Gabriel was looking at Bell with wide eyes, unknown to him, when she heard that last part she was entranced by his voice.
It sounded so...honest yet so...husky.
Though she did not know it, and would not for quite some time, that was her first real, honest display of lust, love and desire.
She decided that now would be a good time to ask.
"Bell-kun, will you join me for the upcoming raid?"
XXXXXXXXXX
Bell.
Macha was currently sitting in the bathtub of her hotel room.
One moment, she was happily eating her ice cream and yet in the next, she was hit by a flood of emotions...beautiful, bliss-inducing emotions.
She hadn't told her Bell many things when it came to their...contract, their bond etched on his back.
But one aspect that would always remain true, not matter how far apart they were, and brought comfort to her being was that they would always be connected.
What he felt, she felt a small fragment of it, what he thought, she felt a small fragment of it.
It was a weak, fragile bond, one that could break so easily...and yet it was growing, she could feel it. His thoughts were becoming more clear to her, his feelings becoming more easily revealed.
And now...both she and him yearned for each other. It was as clear as day, yet so transparent, so frustrating.
She wanted him now!
Her hands roamed around her body, aching for release.
Latching on to his feelings, her memories of him, she used them.
Taking a scoop of ice cream, she moaned into it as her other hand touched a very, very good spot.
Fingering her intimate area, she thought of their accident meetings in the bathroom (those typical, ah sorry I didn't you were in the bathroom meetings).
Bell.
She moaned.
More.
She moaned louder.
Leaving her ice cream bowl on the windowsill, she continued with more vigour.
If only Bell could feel it on the other end.
If he did, he would know how she was feeling, how utterly horny she was.
These feelings of desire coming from him, in her it was multiplied tenfold.
She wanted nothing more then to grab her Bell and ravage him.
More.
She grabbed her breast and squeezed it.
More.
She fondled them as she moaned louder.
More.
She imagined Bell's body on top of hers, as he kissed her nape and fondled her hips, thighs, everything.
Using her magic, the water started to spin around her entire body, that was submerged in water, and massaged it. For now, this would do as a substitute.
More.
She imagined his length as it ravaged her insides.
Water started to seep inside her womanhood and massaged it. For now, this would do as a substitute.
Morrrreee~
She imagined them climaxing, bringing an end to one of many wet(literally) fantasies she had of them together.
Bell...
She wanted to commit adultery with her precious Bell, but he was too young, too innocent for such commitments. She wanted that innocence to be hers for as long as she could have it.
For now, she would wait. She would wait until he was ready. Only then, would all restraints be removed.
For now, she was fine with relieving herself with her own fantasies.
Gasping for breath, she licked her lips sensually.
Bell...you must be punished.
He deserved it for making her feel like this without taking responsibility.
But for now...
...she needed a cold shower.
XXXXXXXXXX
Outside, standing ominously on a tall building, a female figure was looking down at the translucent mirror that hid Macha's beautiful figure.
The figure, despite being concealed by a hood, was wearing a smile as beautiful as the moon rising behind her.
Taking her slender arms out, she removed her hood to reveal a beautiful face with glossy lips, silver hair and silver eyes.
Despite the window protecting outsiders from spotting her, her eyes could easily see through the window in order to reveal her beloved sister moaning at the thought of a human.
Her smile only widened at the thought of that.
Sorry beloved sister, but I plan to take him for myself.
And with that, she vanished with a silver glitter.
She wanted to play with her favourite rabbit herself.
XXXXX-Central Church of the. Creator-XXXXX
"I did not think I would see the day when this insignia would come to me again. Our beloved lord, thank you for honouring me with this letter."
A man in grand, shiny robes had stood up gleefully, with so much energy despite his age.
Behind him, on his desk, was an opened letter that revealed a small portion of paper with glowing gold writing on it.
When the proper time comes, admit one Bell Cranel into the Academy.
I will personally notify you when the time is right.
Next to the letter, was a young boy with white hair smiling brightly as an elderly man stood behind him, both hands clutching the boy's shoulders.
Such a glorious message, such a magnificent honour, to meet the Creator God himself.
This Bell Cranel, for the Creator God himself to take an interest in this child specifically. He, the Pope of the Creator's Church, would watch his career with great interest for the little remaining time he had left.
Already, Bell Cranel's legend was spreading amongst the upper echelon of the world.
Hope you enjoyed that, and this is it, from here on no more big spoilers just nice, slow and mysterious from here on. I purposefully revealed too much, too soon so that the readers could get a better understanding of the plot by the way.
Next chapter, yes, it will be focused on the Raid. The next chapter, I'm trying to aim for the level of epicness that the Minotaur fight in Volume 3 inspired except that it'll be longer because it's not a single fight, but a entire raid. I might split the raid into two chapters though maybe, maybe not, we'll see.
Expect 'accidents' and a certain goddess of beauty to be the mastermind behind it.
Oh and Gabriel made an appearance, woohoo.
Lugh Lamfada...will be very important in this story by the way.