Afterwards, Loki led Bell to a room with a bed and a stool next to it.
"This is where I update statuses. I expect you to come once or twice a week" Loki explained. Bell then sat down on the stool and removed his shirt. Loki sat on the bed and took out a needle. She poked her finger and wiped the blood on his back. When she finished the ritual, she checked out his stats. She was surprised by what she saw. His stats were higher than it should be with it being all S's. What shocked her the most was one of his skills, Liaris Freese. His growth is increased by his emotions and by how strong they are.
"So that's how he was able to rank up so quickly" Loki thought to herself. She also realized why Hestia kept it a secret. If word got out, other deities would try to steal him. Especially the one who she knows has her eyes on a certain someone.
"So, how are my stats?" Bell asked.
"Oh, they are quite high for a level two. As a custom, I will put a status lock so no one can see your abilities" Loki explained while applying the status lock. After that, she called the entire familia to the great hall.
"It's time for your welcoming ceremony" Loki said with a smirk.
Aiz, Lefiya, Tiona, and Tione were walking to the great hall. They were curious to why Loki called a familia meeting.
"What do you think is going on?" Tiona asked.
"Well, it can't be an expedition since we just had a meeting about one today" Tione replied. Aiz was just silent as usual. When they got seated, Loki came out to the front.
"Glad you all could make it. Just now, we got ourselves a new member" Loki shouted.
"What?! All of this for one person?" Bete yelled. Others murmured in agreement.
"This person is a special case as he has gained some popularity in Orario. I would like to introduce our new member, Bell Cranel!" Loki said as Bell walked on stage. The reaction that followed was loud.
"WHAT?!" Everyone yelled. Bete and Tione were shocked, Tiona was excited, Lefiya looked absolutely disgusted, and Aiz was surprised. They never expected for him to be apart of their familia
"Hello, my name is Bell and I look forward to working with all of you" Bell said quickly. No one heard him since the great hall became a combination of moods. Some were happy, some were mad, some didn't care, and a lot were confused.
"I wonder what's going on?" Aiz said to herself.
After the announcement, Loki quickly showed Bell all the places he needed to know, including his room.
"If you have anymore questions, ask one of the others" she said and then left. Bell was in a daze by all that has happened. He didn't see the person coming up to him. Before he knew it, someone grabbed his collar and held him against the wall. When he looked, he saw it was the werewolf that made fun of him at the bar.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Bete yelled, " No weakling should be allowed here!"
"Bete, cut it out!" Tione yelled as she came down the hallway with Tiona, Lefiya, and Aiz. She pulled him back and made him drop Bell.
"You shouldn't bully someone like that, especially a new member!" Tione scolded.
"Hey Mr. Argonaut, are you okay?" Tiona asked.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine" Bell replied, breathing heavily. She then helped him up.
"Sorry about Bete. He can be a real nuisance" Tione explained. Bete just scoffed and walked away. Aiz then approached Bell to ask him something.
"Bell, why did you join? I thought you were apart of the Hestia familia?" Aiz asked. Bell tensed up since one of his conditions was to never speak of it.
"I...can't really tell you" Bell said quietly.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Tiona asked, trying to get an answer.
"Goddess Loki forbids me from telling anyone" Bell explained. This only got them more curious. Why would Loki not want Bell telling anyone what happened? They wanted to ask him more about it, but Rivera showed up.
"What are you guys doing? You shouldn't pester him about something he can't talk about" Rivera said in a motherly tone.
"Okay, Mom" Tione and Tiona said.
"And don't call me that!" She yelled. With that everyone went to there room to sleep. When Bell got into bed, he reflected all that has happened today.
"Well, it's hard to believe my life just took another turn" he whispered and then drifted to sleep.
The next morning, Bell got up and went down to the Great Hall to eat. After he got his food and sat down, he was quickly surrounded by familiar faces.
"Hi Mr. Argonaut!" Tiona said while sitting next to him.
"Hey there kid" Tione said while sitting next to her sister.
"Hello…..Human" Lefiya said disgusted while sitting across from Tiona.
"Hi Bell" Aiz said while sitting down next to him. Bell began to feel flustered with all the girls sitting very close to him.
"H-hi everyone" he replied. Tiona and Tione laughed, Lefiya made a "gag me now" gesture, and Aiz smiled.
"So Mr. Argonaut, what made you decide to join us?" Tiona asked.
"Well, I just felt this familia would welcome me with open arms after the help you gave me on the 18th floor" Bell explained.
"We were happy to help" a voice replied. Bell turned to see a small man with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a purple and yellow outfit sit right in front of him. This was none other than Finn, captain of the Loki familia. Bell immediately grew nervous by the sight of the powerful adventurer.
"I really appreciate the fact how you joined us when there were other options" Finn continued.
"Oh no, I really appreciate being accepted even though I am only level two" Bell said while raising his hands. Finn chuckled by Bell's reaction.
"It doesn't matter what level you are since everyone here is family" Finn explained. Bell ran that phrase through his mind. A family that supports each other.
"Speaking of which, how do you plan to tackle the dungeon with a new familia?" Aiz asked, the thought popping up.
"Oh, I'll need to work hard to be able to go down as deep as you guys. My only party member is my blacksmith" Bell explained while scratching the back of his head. When he said that, something seemed off about it.
"Only one? Didn't you have another member, the girl with the brown hair?" Aiz asked since she remembered two people with him when she found him at the entrance of floor 18. Bell became silent and had a sad look in his eyes. The group assumed that said person had died.
"I'm sorry for bringing it up" Aiz apologized for being inconsiderate.
"No, it's not your fault. You didn't know" Bell said to try and calm her. The others felt bad and awkward since they were about to ask the same thing. Tiona gave him a hug to try and make him feel better. Unfortunately, Bell immediately tensed up and began blushing.
"M-m-miss T-Tiona?! W-what are y-you doing?!" Bell asked, with his voice cracking. Tiona just laughed by how adorable he his when embarrassed.
"What's wrong? It's just a hug" Tiona said mischievously. She then squeezed harder, making Bell think his ribcage would shatter.
"That's enough. Leave him alone" a stern voice said. They looked and saw it was Riveria. She, again, gave off a motherly aura. Tiona then let go of Bell, which he then gasped for air.
"Sorry about her. She tends to be quite childish" Riveria said, making Tiona shout in protest. She sat down next to Finn and began to question Bell.
"I am quite fascinated in your magic. So, how is it that you can perform magic without a chant?" She asked intrigued.
"I'm not sure. It just showed up and It didn't have any chant" Bell tried to explain. He was starting to get more nervous as everyone around him were hanging on to every word. He needed someway to get away.
"I just remembered. I need to meet up with someone. Sorry, have to go" Bell said quickly and then ran out. They all just looked in confusion by his sudden exit.
Once outside, he then ran towards Welf's forge. When he got there, he told him of all that has happened.
"Nice going! I knew you would join!" Welf said while slapping Bell's back.
"Yeah, thank you for helping me make that decision" Bell replied.
"No problem, so you want me to repair your gear?" Welf asked. Bell nodded and handed him his armor. After they were finished, Bell ran towards the dungeon. When he got there, he was spotted by Aiz and the others who were also going there.
"Hey there, Mr Argonaut!" Tiona yelled. Bell was surprised to run into to them.
"We were about to enter. Want to join us?" Aiz asked.
"S-sure" Bell replied. They then entered and made their through the middle floors. Bell didn't have that much trouble this time through since he was stronger and had a the others have his back. Soon, they reached floor 17. When they got to the boss room, the wall of lamentation began to shatter. Bell flinched as the last time he heard that, he almost died afterwards.
"Here it comes" Tione said while drawing her blades. Each of them got ready as Goliath stepped out.
"You should probably sit out since you are to weak" Lefiya said to Bell with a smirk. Bell looked annoyed by how Lefiya talked down to him. He then dashed forward and began his own attack.
"Bell, Wait!" Aiz shouted in shock. Bell then jumped up and slashed at one of its caused quite a lot of damage, so it caught the giant's attention. Bell began to run away with the Goliath at tow.
"Guys! Now!" Bell shouted. The group then took the opportunity to attack. Tiona sliced at the chest, Tione slashed at the other leg, Aiz slashed at the head, and Lefiya fired an Arcs ray at the chest. The Goliath was too distracted to guard itself in time. It went down and disappeared in a cloud of ash.
"Nice job Little Rookie" Tione said while slapping Bell on the back.
"That was a good plan" Aiz said coming to his side. Bell just blushed and said it was nothing. Lefiya was mad by how Aiz was complimenting him. The group then decided to head down even further.