And So, Bell Cranel Became a Hero
Description: Bell's Grandfather had a more impactful role in the boy's early life until his disappearance. Bell, with his newfound morals and dreams, and the help of an unexpected Goddess, starts his own journey to become a Hero like the one in the stories of his gramps.
Tags: Mature, Action, Romance[Harem]. Adventure.
Setting: Bell's 15 years old instead of 14, Zeus had a more impactful live in the boy's early life and did more than just teach Bell his lecherous ways.
Mature Story/Harem: There are GRAPHIC scenes in this story which include gore'ish scenes and smut/lemons/limes. Both of this are important parts of the story. The Harem will be large due to influences you'll read about later.
Authors Note: Heya! Jas here, if you'd like to support me, please consider joining the dis cord server (42SQENPj54) or supporting my patrn (IreJasmine)
Chapter 6: And so, Bell Potential is Unleashed
Part 10
After a long discussion between Hestia and Rose it was decided that Bell's reward, with his approval, would go directly to the newly made Familia funds. He was given 20k to buy new equipment since his dagger and shoulder plate were broken beyond repair. The other 80k would be handled by Rose as the Familia accountant due to her impressive knowledge as a Guild member.
The two women had gone together to the rundown church to collect Hestia belongings and buy a week's worth of food for the Familia, meanwhile Bell had taken his bags filled with monster crystals to exchange it at the Guild, netting himself a whooping 25k.
Bell thought hard as he went to the equipment stores on the middle floors of Babel Tower remembering Miss Eina words, the newly made Familia would be given 5 adventurers pack by the Guild which included a weapon, from there he would select the standard Guild dagger as his secondary weapon leaving him in search for his main weapon and an extra dagger to carve monster crystals when he didn't manage to pierce the monsters' cores.
He would also need armor and it couldn't be cumbersome since he relied on his agility and dexterity to be swift on the battlefield, at least until his strength stat was much higher. Viewing some of the prices on the windows Bell eyes nearly popped out of his head.
100k for a dagger! 200k for a helmet! 500k FOR A POUCH!?
Bell winced, just thinking of wasting that much when his Familia was already having monetary problems was giving him a headache. Sighing, he went a couple floors lower to the cheaper stores where thankfully prices dropped a ton.
It was in one such store that a couple, Bell couldn't help but to call them that as the mocha-skinned woman was manhandling the red-haired man, found Bell at the back aisles testing the balance of different equipment.
Unknown to Bell, the two had been watching him test different weapons in secret since he arrived.
Axes, bows, claymores, daggers, lances, swords, and more. For every weapon that the boy took, he would instinctively change his stance and practice his swings, pierces, slashes, tension, posture for a minute before moving onto the next weapon.
As blacksmiths they knew the difference between novices and experts when handling their weapon of choice but for every piece of equipment that the boy used, he demonstrated an advanced skill that if polished by a master, would turn him into a one-man army.
And such a skill was displayed with every. Single. Weapon.
"Boy have you decided what you want?" The store clerk popped form the aisle, passing the two astonished blacksmiths, and grunted when he saw the mess of weapons haphazardly laying around the floor.
Bell stopped the short dagger he had been testing mid swing "Could you give me a couple minutes more?"
The clerk grunted again "Sure but you're cleaning this mess, ring me by the desk when you've got your choice" and left.
Bell was about to resume his testing when the woman coughed to gain his attention.
"Ah, sorry for the mess" Bell replied sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
"Having trouble choosing a weapon?" She asked as she pulled the still stunned red-haired man with her.
"A bit, I can't afford to spend too much " Bell replied as he started to place the weapons back in their proper stands.
"Someone of your skill doesn't have a blacksmith to craft his weapons?" She asked while helping the boy with the weapons.
"I'm only level one" Bell replied gloomily.
"Bullsh-" Coughed the man.
The woman side-glared at the man shutting him up "That'so, would you be interested in getting a blacksmith from the Hephaestus then?"
Bell perked up at that, turning to look at the two properly for the first time.
"The name's Tsubaki" Tsubaki presented herself, she was dressed in a red hakama, and a customized short sleeveless kimono top that left her waist and bellybutton visible. The most curious thing he noted was the eyepatch she wore.
"And this is Welf" Tsubaki pointed at the grumbling red-haired man behind her, he wore brown boots with light brown pants, an open dark gray kimono held by a red belt with a long-sleeved blue shirt beneath it. A light blue scarf was wrapped around his neck.
"Bell Cranel, will it be cheaper than the weapons I find in this store?" Bell asked curiously while shaking the woman's hand.
Tsubaki shook her head "It ain't cheaper but you're gonna get something worth the price spent and we can work out a deal"
Bell thought hard again, the armor he had chosen was already 10k and he didn't want to waste all 45k in his equipment. Anything he could give to Rose and his Familia to alleviate their living expenses would be welcomed and there was another issue that needed to be brought up
"I'm from a newly made Familia and I have been an adventurer for a little over two weeks, will that be a problem we can work out too?"
"Bulls-" Welf feet was stomped, hard, shutting him up for a second time.
"That may be a problem with me since my prices can go pretty high and we require the Familia to have some prestige before accepting long-term payments BUT this bad boy right here is also fresh food just like you"
"Who are you ca-" An elbow to the stomach that even Bell winced at.
"Aite' I'll be honest with ya', we both were impressed with the way you were trying to choose your weapon and as blacksmiths we pride ourselves in crafting everything under the sun, so this is the deal I propose for ya'" Tsubaki forcefully grabbed Welf shoulders and set him straighter.
"This fresh boy crafts different weapons and you test them out for him, you're to tell both of us every little thing you can think of the weapons he makes from how it feels, weighs, everything" Tsubaki's glint was powerful "So that this bad boy gains experience and crafts better weapons, AND I'll give you a discount of 75% from weapons crafted by me but it'll be only available to you. Not your friends, not your Familia and not even your God, understood?"
"It sounds a bit too... good to be true, what's the catch?" Bell asked, crossing his arms and trying to look menacing?
Tsubaki smiled softly, the same kind of smile Rose had given him the previous night before he fell asleep, but instead the mocha woman's smile was directed at Welf.
"I really just want him to become better and good enough that he can chase after his own dream freely instead of being cooped up with nobody to appreciate his hard work"
Welf looked away, grumbling under his breath about not needing to be looked after and for the first time Bell met the "Too dense type of person that fails to realize the people's feelings around him" his Gramps used to talk about and forbid from becoming.
Bell couldn't help but laugh, flashes of what kind of person he could've been had his Gramps not cared enough flashed through his mind.
"If you're really okay with me Miss Tsubaki I will be glad to accept your deal but for today I will still purchase only the basics I need in this store. When I need the new weapon, I will go to you two, is that okay?"
Tsubaki nodded happily, even shaking hands with Bell once more to seal the deal much to the annoyance of Welf who couldn't speak a single word in without being hit. As the three finished placing the weapons back together Bell had picked another dagger in similar length and shape to his original one and a short spear.
The spear was made of steel from tip to tip, 40cm of shaft and 10cm of the double-edged blade.
As the three waited for the Clerk to appear in the counter, Welf blinked at the box of armor already sitting there.
"Did... did you choose this armor?" Welf asked, speaking without being hit for the first time.
"Yes, I tried it out earlier and it's perfect for my type. Why, is it bad?" Bell asked curiously and a bit worried that choosing such cheap armor would bite him in the ass.
"No, no, no, it's, uh, well, I'm the one who crafted it" Welf tried, and failed, to hide his joy. Tsubaki, beside him, smiled even further if that was possible.
"Really? That's great! If something happens, I'll bring it directly to you for maintenance then" Bell exclaimed as the Clerk appeared.
"10k for the armor another 10k for the spear and 5k for the dagger" The clerk spoke and stared at Bell.
"10,5,3" Bell stared back.
The Clerk shook his head "10,9,4"
Bell frowned but smiled mischievously "10,7,3 and I'll sign a deal to purchase here all my maintenance supplies".
The Clerk grinned "Deal, I can tell you're the serious type of kid so no need to sign anything, but I will be waiting for you!"
"Hai!" Bell grinned back, paying the 20k for his equipment which he instantly equipped and leaving the shop with two laughing blacksmiths.
"You really know how to strike a deal eh" Tsubaki poked Bell's head amused.
"I learned from my Gramps, he always said that as long as money was on the table, everything was negotiable" Bell explained "It was nice meeting you two, I promise to fulfill my end next time we meet!"
Tsubaki and Welf agreed, giving Bell their Smithies locations and watched him go.
"That boy is going to be a first-rate adventurer in no time, the blacksmith in me can feel it" Tsubaki grinned, hands sneaking around Welf's arm.
Welf thought of the gesture as Tsubaki not letting him escape to torment him further instead of the actual romantic gesture "Yeah I can feel it too"
And so, Bell Cranel made his first impression not by his looks but by his potential.
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Part 11
Spending time together alone with one of the two head goddess of their Familia was equally parts stressful as beneficial for Rose Fannett.
Beneficial because she learned a bit more about what drove the Goddess Hestia to descend, what she wished to have in her Familia and, most importantly, her own place in the Familia.
Lady Hekate was the one who called the shots, as she was the one who dragged Hestia into making a collaborative Familia, and the one who would stay in the shadows until they started to make a name for themselves.
Lady Hestia was the one that would manage everything a Goddess did for the Familia, the one to welcome and take care of any new members and lay down the rules for the future members.
Rose herself would stay out of the dungeon unless absolutely needed regardless of her growth skill and would take care of the Familia assets and with her experience as an Advisor she would also teach the future new members.
As for Bell? He had no role, yet he was the pivotal pillar of the Familia. He would become the Familia's captain when more members joined but for now, he was free to do whatever he wished.
The stressful part of spending time alone with her goddess was... that she learned of Lady's Hestia debts.
Yes, debts.
Plural.
Not only was she paying Lady Hephaestus her debt for the days she spent under her care after descending Heavens, but she also had a debt with two other Familia, smaller but still important ones that had to be taken care of. One with the Takemikazuchi Familia and another with the Miach Familia.
Lady Hestia tried to reassure Rose that she would pay all three debts on her own but got a scolding from the werewolf and told that if Bell ever learnt of those debts, he would work himself ragged to pay for them.
So, it would be their little secret and the two of them would pay at least half of each debt before telling the boy so he would not go on a rampage in the dungeon.
/0/
Which was exactly what Bell was doing now.
When he descended from Babel weapon stores, he met the half-elf at the reception looking like she had been chewed by a dog. The half-elf had grabbed him by the ear and pulled him inside one of the Guild private booths.
There she had told him the good news that Ouranos had replaced the rule of Advisors and Guild members not being able to join a Familia and instead made it so that no Guild member could handle the paperwork related to their own Familia and they would still be required to work a certain number of hours weekly regardless of the Familia type.
How Lady Kat had managed to get it done, Bell didn't know, but was glad one problem was solved.
The notice was met with enthusiasm in the Guild by everyone except one and that was the most senior member and current director of the Guild, Roy Mardeel, who coincidentally was Eina's direct supervisor.
The Guild's Pig (as they affectionally called him) had been stressed beyond relief just thinking of the amount of paperwork that would flood the Guild in the coming months and how much of it he would have to sign, he already expected a couple pounds added to his weight from the stress.
The same stress that would sooner than later arrive at Eina's hands since she would be forced to verify every paper her superior signed, at least she was promised a salary raise.
As for the reason she had pulled Bell to the private booth, it was Lady's Hekate fault. Hekate had chosen the half-elf as the Hestia Familia advisor because "I like you". Eina had been happy to be liked by the Goddess until said goddess handed Bell status paper to finish his paperwork.
Three weeks, three weeks as adventurer and he was eligible for a level up already.
His paperwork couldn't be forged, as it was her senior Rose Fannett who had personally created the file and spoke so much about the boy in the past weeks that even Eina herself had gotten a soft spot for the teen.
Most adventurers took years to level up, the fastest and most impressive one was Ais Wallenstein who took a year for her first level up, yet Bell was not a month old and was on the verge of breaking the record.
Then there was the issue of his Familia.
A Familia with two Goddess as the leaders, funnily enough, there was no rule banning a Familia from having more than one God, but none had done so before as far as the Guild Archives went and Eina knew because she had been the one ordered to look it up.
Thankfully enough, the paperwork was the same, just that it could be signed by either of the Goddesses.
Still salty at the stress they made her go through.
"Bell Cranel"
"Hai!?
"You will be the death of me"
"Uhm... sorry?"
"Forget it, I wanted to let you know that I will be your new Advisor, so please, every time you go into the dungeon promise me that you will return and report to me. If you think you won't return before the reception closes, please tell me ahead of time"
"Yes, miss Eina, I promise"
"Good! Now then, how far into the dungeon have you gone?"
"I stayed around the first four floors except for the time I rescued Ro- Miss Rose, which was the only time I stepped to the fifth floor"
'Three weeks my ass' Eina thought, nursing her forehead.
"Then I'm giving you clearance for the first five floors of the dungeon until I feel you're ready to go deeper, understood!?"
"Hai! Uhm, Miss Eina, I was wondering if there's no problem going into the dungeon today, I want to test my new equipment..."
Eina looked him up and down, noticing the armor and weapons for the first time since she had been so focused on drilling a hole through his forehead with her glare.
The equipment certainly looked new, and the adorably eager gaze Bell was giving her destroyed any notion of rejection.
"How long will you be in there?" Eina asked exasperatedly.
Bell scratched his head "Maybe four hours?"
"Two" Eina said.
"Three?"
"Two" Eina repeated, her glare becoming more potent "And we'll have our first report session right after"
"Hai" Bell deflated as he accepted.
Eina's gaze softened as she patted Bell's hair "I know how much you would like to go into the dungeon and have fun but one small mistake and the people waiting for you will never see you again, so please for all of us that are left behind, don't go on an adventure when we aren't ready okay?"
Bell looked up at Eina and noticed the sadness hidden behind her eyes, those words were spoken from experience. Something in his soul moved and his eyes gained a fierce glint.
"No matter what happens I swear I will return to those waiting for me and that includes you miss Eina"
Eina smiled with a light blush which she tried to hide by tilting her head slightly "Good, then I will be waiting for you, go"
With Bell's new Advisor approval, the boy had descended into the dungeon, eager to test not only his new equipment but also his skills. He was extremely curious about how they worked and what better way than to test them on the field.
As soon as he took the first step inside the first floor something in the back of his head clicked.
Everything around him became clear, almost as if he had an adrenaline rush and his body became hyper aware of his surroundings. Everything was visible and at the same time wasn't for he was quite sure he had no eyes behind his head, yet he could still see everything behind him so clearly that he knew taking three steps backwards he would find a small indent on the dungeon floor.
Looking back, the indent was indeed there.
'So that's how Insight works' Bell thought, guessing that since he now had a Falna the ability was working as intended. Previously it must've been this very same ability that had been giving him the 'buzzing' as he had called it.
Whereas before 'the buzzing' would alert him to every shift in his surroundings, Insight gave him a 360° view if he could call it that of his surroundings.
Tiny footsteps echoed through the empty dungeon corridor, the figure hidden by the darkness, Bell turned to look at it and waited. Closer and closer, a single small plump grotesque humanoid waddled forward, in its hands was a crude landform knife made of stone.
A goblin, Bell recognized easily as it was one of the monsters he had slain previously in here with ease.
The goblin kept waddling towards Bell, and it wasn't until it was about 10 meters ahead that his ability picked up the Goblin and gave him a complete mental image of the monster.
Bell could see the stains in the monster's knife, hear the faint gurgling of its throat, the way i's left foot dragged longer than its right as it approached.
The goblin shouted and lunged.
If he had been hyper aware of his surroundings, the moment the goblin made to attack his ability went into overdrive, just like the buzzing did when something made to attack him, and made it feel as if time slowed down.
Bell moved.
The short spear he bought slipped into his left hand, his right foot slid forward, left ankle propelling his body with his right shoulder tilting forward as his left moved backwards.
Bell lunged.
To the goblin, the adventurer had seemingly moved in the blink of an eye. One blink it had tried to jump, and it hadn't been airborne for a second, when the short spear of the adventurer had already impaled it through the chest, directly through his core.
It didn't even feel pain as it exploded into dust.
Bell breathed out, picking up the monster core and throwing it into his pouch before pulling out his new dagger and slid it into his right hand. He moved deeper into the dungeon and there he would repeat the same process nine more times.
One on one, his ability 'activated' whenever a monster would attack and slowed his perception of time to react while increasing the information supplied from the surroundings, otherwise it was in "passive" mode which gave knowledge of his surroundings for about ten meters in a circle around him.
Satisfied that all ten times the ability reacted the same way, Bell moved deeper where more than one monster spawned at the same time.
Three goblins and two kobolds side by side, Bell walked right in front of them, and all five monsters attacked.
Again, his ability went into overdrive and worked the same way except that with multiple monsters it gave him a mental priority over which attack would land first.
Five more cores and Bell went to the second floor.
Then the third.
And fourth.
Before he knew, he was down on the fifth floor killing groups of ten to twenty monsters. His ability had maxed out at giving priority to the closest ten monsters but that was more than enough information.
All that was needed was one small mistake and the course of the battlefield could be changed, so instead of relying on his ability when it came to monsters, he relied on the mental view it gave him of his surroundings and used his own focus to deal with the monsters. There were a few close calls when he didn't manage to wipe all the monster group and more had spawned but the new armor had kept him unharmed and relatively unscathed.
The more Bell fought, the easier it became to shift his focus between the information his ability provided and his own trained instincts. Picking up another monster core Bell sat down to take a breather and was surprised to see the stairs leading to the sixth floor of the dungeon.
So far none of the monsters had provided any challenge, even when there was too many spawning at once it only made the fight longer and slightly more difficult so it was safe to say the sixth floor shouldn't be that much of a jump in difficulty.
Yet he didn't go down.
Bell knew he could hold his own on the sixth floor but miss Eina had only cleared him for the first five floors, she may not have made him promise to not go deeper but he still made a vow to not risk it and return to those waiting for him.
Hence Bell stood up, dusted his pants, and started his trek back towards the dungeon entrance.
During his walk on the fourth floor Bell realized that only his Ability had been active, there had been no signs of any of his skills activating. Maybe he hadn't made enough decisions to increase his luck, or the increases were only added after his Goddesses updated his stats?
Shrugging as he pierced another Kobold and retrieved the core, Bell heard frantic yelling somewhere ahead of him.
There was no hesitation in Bell as he ran towards the source.
There came into view three entrances, one to his left and two to his right, and he could hear the shouts from both sides.
Two voices to the left, one to the right. Right is closer, left has two! Bell thought and dashed into the right tunnel, pushing his body as fast as he could go.
Seconds passed before Bell reached the person yelling, purple made most of their outfit, and that was all he saw before focusing on the monsters instead.
Eight goblins standing around in a circle with two injured in the head and stunned, seven kobolds, three missing limbs and currently engaged with the person, while the other four were farther behind, further back he could see Feral Wolves too far away to count.
The person had a long sword, and their back was to the wall as they swiped in a large horizontal arc to get breathing space and that's when Bell acted.
Bell threw himself on his side and let his momentum carry him forward, sliding below the injured kobolds that had jumped back to avoid the slice. His dagger was gripped in a reverse handle, and he held the weapon upside as he passed below the airborne monsters cutting through their legs before he came to a halt below three of the eight goblins at the far end.
He heard the person shout a thanks and a monster cry behind him, so Bell focused on the three in front, the spear in his left hand impaled the centermost goblin, killing it instantly, as the two others jumped down at him.
Bell let the spear weight throw him forward enough that his feet touched the ground and managed to half-sit, he swiped the spear left, slashing the goblin there in the chest and blocked the one on his right with his protected forearm.
The goblin on his forearm screeched, the forearm keeping it back by the neck, as its claws scrapped Bell's chest piece. With a push, the goblin fell on its ass and Bell finished the one on the left with a quick downward slash of his dagger that cut it in half and then swung back in another arc that impaled the sitting goblin on the head.
Just then his ability picked up three Ferals leap at him, Bell rolled beneath them ending with a swipe of the spear to push them further away enough to get a recollection of his surroundings.
Bell noted the person had killed all the kobolds on their end and was working on the remaining non-injured goblins, the two head wound ones were still stunned. The three Ferals growled as they tried to circle Bell, but he didn't give them the chance as his higher speed allowed him to act faster and cut one on the muzzle.
The two others jumped at his back and Bell smashed the first one with the shaft of his spear, sending it flying towards the second one and stunning them both as they fell to the floor. Bell's right arm slashed again, cutting the initially injured Feral throat.
Blood spurt onto his hands, the dagger becoming slippery, yet he didn't let go and pushed forward, crashing his body against the wolf and throwing it back where it fell whining in pain, he left it alone since he knew the injury was fatal.
He spun, throwing the spear at the two other wolves that had yet to untangle and both were pierced by the weapon. Stuck together howling they posed no threat and Bell made quick work of them.
Bell scanned the battlefield, all the monsters were either dead or soon to die to their wounds, yet the person he helped was nowhere to be found, all Bell heard was a fading "Thank you" as hurried footsteps echoed from the entrance he had come from.
'Oh, the other two are probably their friend' Bell thought and followed, he found the path with the three entrances and went into the one he had heard the other two voices coming from. There he found the other two people with the one he had helped earlier.
The three were all dressed in purple clothing like that worn in the Far East, the taller of the three being a male with short lavender hair, lightly tanned skin and a tough build. He wore a lavender kamishimo top with brown pants tucked into black boots. He was fussing over the next person.
That being a short woman with black medium length hair that covered most of her face. Bandages wrapped around her neck and left leg; she also wore a lavender kimono.
The last of the three was also fussing over the short one, and the one he had helped earlier, she was a woman of long black hair tied in a ponytail, also wore a somewhat loose kimono that reached her thighs and showed the sarashi she worn underneath, a dark red sash tied the kimono and thigh-length red boots.
"Did you get hurt anywhere?" The male asked, his voice deep yet soft, as he spun the smaller girl in place.
"No, I don't think so" She replied meekly, a little of red peeked beneath her hair.
"I'm so sorry, if it wasn't for my carelessness, we wouldn't have gotten separated" The long-haired girl replied.
"No! If I wasn't so slow then you wouldn't have needed to attract the monsters away" The meek one tried to shout yet it was barely heard.
"No, it's my fault. As the leader I should've paid more attention to our surroundings instead of trying to push us forward" The male placed both of his hands on the meek one's shoulders.
Bell smiled at the scene, knowing that together they would be safe, so instead of intruding he tried to leave.
"Wait, who's there!?" The woman shouted, a hand resting on the handle of her sword. The man reacted just as fast, pulling the meek girl behind him.
"um" Bell walked forward, hands raised "Sorry, I followed in case you needed more help"
"O-oh you're the sir from earlier, my apologies for leaving without properly thanking you b-"
Bell waved his hand "It's fine, I'm glad you're all safe. So, uh, bye?"
Again, he tried to leave but the woman had grabbed his sleeve.
"Wait, please, at least let me thank you properly!"
Bell blinked, surprised that his ability hadn't been triggered by the woman grabbing him.
"My name is Mikoto, these are Sir Ouka and Lady Chigusa, thank you for assisting me earlier" Mikoto bowed, and Bell had to look away as the bindings on her chest had become rather loose and he didn't want to appear like a pervert.
"Tch, at least look at us properly when you're thanked. Chigusa, Mikoto we're leaving" Ouka spat out, confusing Bell's actions as a sign of arrogance, the taller male walked forward and purposely tried to hit Bell aside with his shoulder.
Bell's ability activated and he moved aside accordingly, both eyebrows raised at the rudeness.
"Ouka you can't treat people that way!" The shorter girl, Chigusa, ran behind the man and tried to chastise him to no avail. She passed by him, bowed with a soft thanks and kept running.
Mikoto had a slightly troubled expression as she also thought Bell hadn't accepted her heartfelt thanks.
Bell seeing this scratched his cheek "I didn't mean to look away it's just your bindings are… loose…"
Mikoto mouth opened in a little triangle, and she looked down at her chest, noting a lot more skin than usual was in display. With blinding speed, she pulled her kimono top close, her face taking a slightly red hue as she realized she had given Bell a close-up view.
" see, my apologies again, I mistook your actions, and my friend probably did too, I will speak with Sir Ouka to fix this mistake, again thank you!" She bowed, her top opening again and the bindings were undone, probably from her pulling her top too hard earlier.
Bell tried to look away but since his ability had been activated by the rude man earlier, Bell still saw everything down to the last detail. Bountiful was the first thing his brain registered, then the erotic sight of creamy skin with slightly red markings from the tight bindings, two large soft-pink circles with inversed tips
"Ah" Mikoto looked at her dangling, naked breast. Her face turned fully red as she stood up too quick, the motion causing them to jiggle and tried to hide them, but her embarrassment made her fumble and fail several times.
Bell tried to be a gentleman and turned around to give her privacy, but his skill had yet to deactivate, and he saw everything, safe to say he was as red in the face as Mikoto was.
"I think you should, um, bind them again" Bell supplied awkwardly.
Mikoto stopped fumbling in vain, sighed and said "Yes, could you, um, guard me while I bind them, it won't take long"
Bell hummed positively, not trusting his voice as Mikoto pulled down her top and started to untie her bindings.
The next three minutes of Bell's life were easily the longest ones by far, somehow, someway, his ability hadn't deactivated and even with his eyes closed, the sounds, motions and most importantly, view were ingrained in his mind. He silently apologized and vowed to make it up to the flustered swordswoman one day.
Just as Mikoto had successfully tied the knot and pulled her top on, the man and meek girl returned to find the two flustered teens looking away from one another.
Ouka was about to add another nasty remark when Mikoto moved and pushed both of her Familia back from where they came from. Surely, Bell would forgive her for not paying her goodbyes properly.
Left alone, flustered, Bell could only scratch his head before his back burned slightly.
He felt it then.
One of his skills activating.
Not ability, skill.
'No way… I must ask my goddesses if something changed!' Spurred by curiosity, and panic, Bell returned to the Guild faster than his trip down.
He passed by the teller to exchange his cores first, gaining another 7k before heading to Eina's counter line. The half-elf saw Bell in line and put a 'closed' sign on her counter as she finished with the last client.
Once done and the adventurer being sent away, she motioned for Bell to follow her into the same private booth from earlier that day.
"I'm back miss Eina!" Bell smiled as he dusted his pants and sat on the comfortable chair.
Eina glanced at a clock on the wall, noting that only two hours gone by since Bell went to the dungeon and then smiled as she sat down "Welcome back Bell, ready for your first report?"
Bell nodded.
Eina asked basic questions first, mostly to ease Bell, then asked about basic information about the monsters such as their strengths, weaknesses and their behavior. Bell had an easy time replying those as his ability had made it easy to remember such information. Then she asked about the monster's possible drops, to which Bell smiled sheepishly and said he hadn't gotten any and didn't even know they could drop loot.
Eina smiled happily as she found something the young adventurer wasn't good at and explained that most monsters from the first to the eighteenth floor have mostly one common drop and two rare drops, after the eighteenth floor it was two common drops and three rare drops. Adding that the chances of obtaining a common drop was a one in hundred chances while a rare drop around the one in one thousand.
Eina got even happier when Bell shyly asked if he could write it down since it was a bit too much of an info dump and he didn't want to forget anything she said. She handed him empty papers and waited as Bell wrote down what she spoke, every so often she would correct something he had written wrong.
And for the first time in many months, Eina had finally found an adventurer that did not push her concerns and valued her knowledge.
As an hour passed by, the advisor decided to cut the session short as she had strayed off from Bell's journey into dungeon and towards more common talk.
"Thank you so much for your help miss Eina" Bell said as he gathered the papers for himself, storing them in his pouch.
"It's my job, I'm glad you're making it easier" Eina replied fixing her glasses and moving a strand of hair behind her ear, it had been a while since she had such a complying adventurer in her hands, and it was such a nice change of pace.
"How often will we do this miss Eina?" Bell asked as the two were starting to stand up
"It will depend on you Bell but, if possible, I would like to do it every time you go into the dungeon" Eina replied, passing by Bell's side when her feet caught the edge of the rug.
"Hya!" She tripped.
Bell hadn't finished standing up from his chair when he caught her and the sudden addition of her weight on his destabilized form made him sit back down.
Down to her knees Eina fell with Bell's face being smushed between her breasts, her arms had locked around his head in attempt to stop her fall. Bell's own hands had cupped her backside to keep her knees from hitting the ground with his fingers burying deep into the toned flesh.
"Are you okay miss Eina!?" Bell panicked voice was muffled and his warm breath tickled the half-elf.
"Ye-yes, thank you, Bell" Eina shuddered as a light jolt of heat coursed through her body when Bell fingers sunk deeper as Bell helped lift her back on her feet, only after she was steady did Bell release his tight hold on her.
Again, Bell felt his back burn for a split second.
The two left the private booth, Bell a little distracted and Eina with a bright shade of red dusting her cheeks. This did not go unnoticed by various adventurers that gave Bell the stink eye.
Not that he noticed, for he was wondering why his skill triggered again. He had a faint idea but until he talked to his goddesses there would be no definite answers.
Bell absent-mindedly thanked Eina and promised to continue their study session tomorrow before he left the Guild in a hurry. Once outside he noticed the sun had already set and the moon was peeking on the horizon. He hadn't expected his day to be so long regardless he had made good progress and had a better understanding of his own capabilities.
His stomach grumbled as he jogged towards the northern district, his Familia had agreed that they would all stay the night at Rose's apartment for at least one day before deciding how they would split up their living conditions.
Bell was thankful for that since he wouldn't need to spend valis on an inn or buying dinner.
Not soon enough Bell arrived at the apartment noticing the lights were on, climbing the entrance stairs he knocked and after a minute of waiting he was welcomed inside by the werewolf.
Rose was wearing another one of her long-sleeved white shirts, a cream apron over it, and short black shorts.
"Welcome back Bell" Rose hugged him, trapping his head between her breast and nuzzling her nose on his hair since she was a head taller than him.
Bell blushed as he hugged Rose back, he could smell the scent of vegetables coating her apron which made his stomach grumble again. He felt the mature werewolf giggle since his face was pushed further into her cleavage.
"I'm back" Bell mumbled after he was released.
"Dinner is almost ready; I would offer you a bath, but Lady Hestia and Lady Hekate are taking one right now" Rose said as the two made their way to the kitchen.
Bell sat on one of the wooden stools by the dinner countertop where he watched mesmerized the mature woman stir the stew she had been cooking before his arrival.
"I see you got new armor" Rose said as she sat opposite him over the counter.
"Yes, it was a really lucky find since it was in the far back aisles of the store, it was somewhat cheap too!" Bell grinned.
Rose hummed "I'm sorry you had to choose a cheaper option, if on-"
Bell hands fell over hers "It's fine, we all agreed to do our best and spend as little as possible until I can earn enough for the Familia"
Rose held his hands tighter "Just don't do anything stupid like living in the dungeon again, I don't think my heart could take it now if you did that"
Bell laughed weakly "I promise"
Rose wanted to keep holding his hands but had to let go lest she burn their meal, ten stirs clockwise and she turned off the fire to let the stew simmer on its own. She walked all the way around the counter until she was behind Bell where she once again hugged him, this time from the back.
Bell felt warmth spread all over his body, words his gramps once told him came to mind.
'There's no race more physically affectionate than the beastfolk, more so the werewolves and cat people!' A large gulp of his ale he continued 'The ladies love to leave their scent all over you. Bell if you ever get yourself a beastfolk woman make sure to treat her well and you'll have the most loyal woman in the world! Ahahahahaha'
"Lady Hestia and Lady Hekate should be done soon; would you like to bathe together or eat dinner first?" Rose asked with her head resting above his shoulder snapping him out of his memories.
Bell's stomach replied for him with a deep grumble, making both laugh.
"Let's take this off and I'll serve you dinner then" Rose fumbled with his equipment. She worked on his shoulder plates and chest piece while Bell took out his dagger, setting it on the counter and removed his vambraces.
Next was his short spear which hung from his belt, the weapon laid next to the dagger. Bell worked on his hip guards as Rose took off his knee guards. All pieces of equipment were moved to a box in the corner of the living room.
No sooner had Bell moved the equipment that Rose embraced him again.
"Definitely better without the armor" Rose giggled, kissed his cheek and released him. She went to the kitchen and started serving four portions of stew.
Bell scratched his cheek, somewhat disappointed in himself since he had yet to return Rose's affection the same way she did. He made a silent promise to follow his gramps teachings and become a better partner for her as he sat down again.
Laughter caught his attention as the two goddesses walked down the stairs, Lady Kat wearing a loose black shirt that went down to her thighs while Lady Hestia wore a similar one but in white and reached below her knees.
Bell waved at them, Lady Hestia welcomed him back with a pat on the back while miss Kat pounced on him, rubbing cheeks together.
The four ate sharing light conversation about their day.
Lady Kat boasted about her persuading Ouranos until he gave up and removed the Guild vs Familia law, she also mentioned choosing the half-elf as their free Guild advisor since she was friends with Rose and 'I like her, she's fun to mess with'.
Both Bell and Hestia paid their silent condolences to miss Eina as they both knew what it was like to be liked by the red-haired goddess.
Hestia explained Bell where he could find the ruined church and how to enter the basement. She warned him of the lack of water in the evening and the rodents that would sneak in twice a week.
Rose was visibly sad as she was reminded that Bell wouldn't be around her for the following weeks, so she refrained from joining the conversation and merely listened.
Bell spoke of his encounter with the blacksmiths during his equipment purchase, the deal he had been roped into and reassured all three women that they were trustworthy as the two were from the Hephaestus Familia.
He added his short trip to the dungeon and his encounter with the three Far East adventurers, obviously skipping the little wardrobe accident, and his meeting with their new advisor. Placing both the valis he obtained from exchanging all his previous cores and the ones of today along with the papers with the information he wrote down from his first session with Eina.
All three women were surprised as Rose counted the valis which contained 32k valis.
"Bell how much did you spend on your equipment?" Rose asked, concerned since she didn't ask earlier.
"The armor was 10k and I managed to get a discount for the dagger and spear which was another 10k" Bell answered "That's everything I got from today in the dungeon and the cores I hadn't sold from before"
Rose breathed in relief, for a moment she had thought Bell had bought the cheapest of the cheapest equipment to minimize his burden on the Familia's budget.
Hekate hummed already making plans "How much did you earn from before and how much was today?"
"25k from before and today was 7k" Bell replied.
Both Hestia and Rose were stunned, during the time they spent together they had touched the topic of how much they expected Bell to earn in the dungeon as a solo adventurer.
The highest they expected was 3k since that was how much a solo level 1 adventurer earned per day.
Hekate hummed again, taking 28k from the pouch and setting it aside "Bell, I want you to keep 5k in your pocket at all times from now on"
"Isn't that too much miss Kat?" Bell asked curiously.
"Nope, with this much you can afford a good meal when you can't join us for lunch, buy your daily equipment maintenance tool kit and high-end healing potions aaaaaand have left-over for anything you fancy" Hekate explained, and Bell agreed to her reasoning.
He had yet to get the adventurer pack from the Guild, so he was currently potionless, he made a mental reminder to buy potions the next morning before entering the dungeon.
"Besides I have a feeling that after today status update you will be able to go even lower and earn more, so we'll soon be able to all live together without being a burden to miss Werewolf hard earned valis!" Hekate slapped Bell's back playfully as all of them smiled at her optimism.
"About my status miss Kat, I think I know how one my skills works but I want to make sure I'm correct by updating it, is that okay?" Bell asked.
Thus, Hekate unceremoniously took Bell's shirt off, surprising Hestia who sputtered, and bit her own finger, she placed the bleeding digit on his back and updated his stats.
Bell Cranel
Race: Human
Level: 1
Familia: Hestia Familia
Goddess: Hekate. Hestia. ?
Strength: B780 - S999
Endurance: D525 - C630
Agility: A890 - SS1023
Dexterity: SS1001 - SS1390
Magic: I0
LUCK: ? + 2
Development Abilities
Insight: Increases user DEX and spatial awareness massively.
Magic
None
Skills
Paragon of Crossroads [Upgraded]: Boost user overall growth. Increases LUCK. Every successful decision made by the user permanently increases user STATS.
DETERMINATION: User has access to Skills/Abilities naturally locked by a lack of Falna, UNKNOWNx6.
Special Skills
Unknown: [Active only when DETERMINATION(Unknown) is active] Doubles the user stats.
"Bell" Hekate voice was devoid of emotion.
"Does it work as I think it does?" Bell asked hiding his face with his hands.
Hekate exhaled loudly, renewing her vow to tear Zeus a new one if she found him "Yes Bell, it's exactly as you think. You even have a new stat with a +2 counter from you know what"
Hestia and Rose were curious but kept quiet.
Bell gulped "It wasn't my intention Lady Hekate"
The goddess palm rested on his back "I know, I saw"
Since Hekate's arcanum was unsealed, her ability to see her champion's memories through her blessing were her powers alone. She could share the visions as she did when Hestia first blessed him however, she didn't want either of her Familia to think poorly of the boy.
Not that Hekate thought they would with how strong Rose devotion was or Hestia trust in herself, but she wouldn't take chances.
"What changed?" Hestia asked, walking behind Bell to see his update. She almost fainted after seeing both SS stats.
"Bell's skill granted him a new stat called Luck and it's affected by his choices during certain situations. It increased twice today due to earning the blacksmiths trust on their first meeting and helping the Far East adventurers" Hekate lied, mentally apologizing to Hestia and Rose.
Bell looked back at Hekate, surprise evident in his face, she winked at him. Hekate knew that if he explained, Hestia would notice him lying but since a God can't tell if another God lies, she covered for him.
"That, coupled with your own unique skill, is probably the reason why you broke through the known status limit"
Rose curiosity piqued at that "What do you mean?"
Hekate grabbed an empty paper from the counter, wrote Bell's new stats and gave it to the curious werewolf.
"O-oh…" Rose fanned herself, if she hadn't been in the know of Bell's growth skills and he had handed this status paper in the Guild, partner or not, she would have called it fake.
Bell gently pried the paper from the stunned werewolf and read his stats, he smiled "Maybe you were right Lady Hekate, with stats like these I can go lower and earn more!"
Hekate nodded, ruffling Bell's hair "Just be careful"
"Hai!"
The meal over, Bell excused himself and went to bath. Rose bowed and bid both Goddesses a good night before joining Bell. The two Goddesses laughed at their Children antics before turning in for the night. The two would share the bed in the guest room.
Bell once more had been so lost in thought under the shower that only after Rose embraced him from behind had he noticed her presence. There the two pampered one another just as the previous night only difference was the two being quieter since they didn't want to bother the Goddesses sleeping in the next room.
Rose had teased him again when they reached her bedroom, purposefully choosing one of her thinnest panties and kept her dress shirt unbuttoned except for the middle most button.
Bell only had two sets of clothing to choose from, his dungeon gear and his day to day which consisted of long gray pants and a dark T-shirt and after much inner debate, he decided to wear only the pants to bed.
As he laid on his back and Rose clung to his chest, nuzzling into his neck, he kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer.
And so, Bell spent another peaceful night in the embrace of his partner.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Chapter End
Author Note: From this chapter onwards the story rating will take a turn towards the Mature audience since limes/lemons and more graphic scenes will appear more often. I'd be grateful if any reader supports me by joining the dis cord or helping w' patron (IreJasmine).
Reviews: Everyone, thank you! I'm glad you're liking how the story is turning out and I'm certain you'll enjoy the new spins that will come out since many things are being changed in domino effect.
I want to point out Hunternight review that reminded me of the werewolf race skill, looking back at the previous chapter where Rose and Bell stats are shown I actually copy/pasted the wrong box (I keep this info on an excel). In this chapter Bell's Status is the proper structure (Ability/Magic/Skill/Special Skill) and when Rose's Status is updated the Werewolf 'Beastification' skill will be shown in her Special Skill section.
The other review is Heheheheh one, while it is true that everyone stats start at I0, Bell had a previous blessing given by Zeus (we do not know the extents/what kind of blessing it was) and how this Blessing interacts with those around him, as for Rose case, one of Bell's Unknown skills along with her Growth Skill (Hekate's Blessing) interacted together to boost her status before she joined the Familia.
Character Information
Bell Cranel
Race: Human
Level: 1
Familia: Hestia Familia
Goddess: Hekate. Hestia. ?
Strength: B780 - S999
Endurance: D525 - C630
Agility: A890 - SS1023
Dexterity: SS1001 - SS1390
Magic: I0
LUCK: ? + 2
Development Abilities
Insight: Increases user DEX and spatial awareness massively.
Magic - None
Skills
Paragon of Crossroads [Upgraded]: Boost user overall growth. Increases LUCK. Every successful decision made by the user permanently increases user STATS.
DETERMINATION: User has access to Skills/Abilities naturally locked by a lack of Falna, UNKNOWNx6.
Special Skills
Unknown: [Active only when DETERMINATION(Unknown) is active] Doubles the user stats.
Rose Fannett
Race: Werewolf
Level 1
Familia: Hestia Familia
Goddess: Hekate, Hestia, ?
Strength: H130
Endurance: G210
Agility: H120
Dexterity: H190
Magic: I0
Abilities – None
Magic – None
Skills
Bloodhound [Upgraded]: Boost user growth when near Mate(Bell Cranel). Slightly increases user STATS according to Mate STATS during a fight.
Special Skills
Beastification[Werewolf]: Unleashes user wild instincts, increasing the user prowess in exchange for their rationality. Actively triggered under moonlight and passively affecting the user without it.