And So, Bell Cranel Became a Hero
Mature Story Warning: There are GRAPHIC scenes in this story which include gore'ish scenes and smut/lemons/limes.
Authors Note: Heya! Jas here, if you'd like to support me, please consider joining the dis cord server (42SQENPj54) or supporting my hobby by joining my patron (IreJasmine)
DISCLAIMER: Danmachi belongs to its respective owners. Everything that occurs in this story is of my own creation and the characters abide by the fictional laws in the setting.
Chapter 14: And So, The Stage is Set
Part 19
There were many times in the short life of Bell Cranel that he dearly wished the earth would split apart and swallow him whole then spit him out when trouble was over, and he was currently feeling exactly like that.
With a hand firmly clutching the absurdly soft bottom of the Captain of the Ganesha Familia and the other keeping her waist steady to keep her from falling down the stairs after she missed a step, the young adventurer knew he was in deep trouble.
The astonished gazes from the frozen adventurers around them that were coming and going from the dungeon weren't helping either, neither was the wide-eyed look with red cheeks the level 5 was currently giving him, and his traitorous hand.
Bell only wanted to stop her from falling down, and he did by catching her in the most unorthodox of ways, with his luck acting up against him and creating another situation where his wits would be tested.
He was certain that if he explained the situation miss Varma would understand, or at least hoped she would.
The pressing issue were the numerous eyes watching them stare at one another in complete silence with the stupid sound of his slap on her ass still reverberating in the massive chamber, how long was it going to continue reverberating for!?
The level 5 captain lips started to move incredibly slow, and Bell realized it was not just her but everything around him that had slowed down. Most likely Insight had gone into overdrive once more with his brain trying to come up with a solution to his current dilemma.
Perhaps he could still salvage the situation if he acted before the adrenaline wore of-
"Thanks for catching me, Cranel"
Bell's brain had a whiplash from how everything went from standing still to moving back to normal, he barely registered the words of the level 5 as his brain tried to catch up.
Through his dizziness he felt the level 5 grab his hands with her own, hiding the limbs from the gaze of the onlookers with her steel gauntlets.
"Come on, I'm sure you're tired"
Bell couldn't put any resistance when the level 5 started walking without removing his hands from either position on her person, he was literally dragged along the rest of the steps with the adventurers around him scratching their heads in confusion wondering where the sound had come from.
While Bell could still see and feel the supple flesh beneath his fingers, the onlookers could only see the Ganesha Familia's captain dragging another unwilling poor soul along the stairs of the dungeon.
All thanks to the bulky gauntlets that were covering his hands exact position.
Their footsteps echoed in Bell's brain like the toll ringing his pending doom, and when the sun peeked through the massive entrance for the dungeon's lid and blinded him for a second, Bell knew his time had come.
He was dragged to his final resting place, a nondescript streetlight of Orario a couple of feet away from Babel entrance and away from the curious gaze of onlookers. There, Shakti released her hold on his hands which fell to his sides lifelessly.
"What's that face for Cranel?"
Bell blinked several times before giving a disbelieving stare to the blue-haired woman, while he had been busy conjuring ways of his demise the woman had crossed her arms under her bust and was giving him an amused gaze.
"I- what?" Bell stumbled over his words.
"I'm not angry in case you're wondering" Shakti hummed, her cool voice soothing the frazzled nerves of the boy.
"But-"
"Or do you want me to be angry?" Shakti raised an eyebrow, and Bell shut up.
"Still, I apologiz-"
"For catching me?" Shakti interrupted him and Bell nodded, the captain made a deep sigh and shook her head in exasperation "Cranel, I'm not a young girl that will misunderstand your actions. You caught and stopped me from falling down the stairs, maybe in an embarrassing way but your actions were made on the spur of the moment with my safety in mind, am I wrong?"
Bell mouth parted open slightly in awe and he furiously nodded in the affirmative.
"Then there's nothing to apologize for" Shakti gave him the same small smile that enraptured him when they first met at the gates of Orario a month ago, the smile that made her look so incredibly breathtakingly beautiful.
'So beautiful…'
"Why, thank you" Shakti continued smiling as Bell's face paled.
-0-
After calming his embarrassment down from voicing his thoughts out loud to the amused Shakti, Bell still insisted on making it up to the captain for making her live through an embarrassing situation.
The captain had initially declined, teasing the boy for trying to take her out on a date disguised as an apology and tormenting him until both of their stomachs grumbled exactly one after the other.
Bell insisted on at least paying for their meals after that and Shakti agreed, deciding to spend the rest of the evening with Bell to learn what other kind of troubles the white-haired adventurer had gotten himself into after coming into the city and hopefully pitch him the idea that had caused the embarrassing situation in the first place.
Their evening walk on the northern side of Orario was filled with disbelief for the Ankusha when the boy recounted some of his experiences since the last time they met, and she almost couldn't believe that the young adventurer was rejected by all the Familias he tried and took the stupid decision of going into the dungeon without a Falna.
How he survived down there for an entire month she would never know, but she had to admit that not even some of the better first-rate adventurers could've accomplished his absurd feat under the same conditions.
Their walk was not without interruptions, for many times the passerby's that recognized the Ankusha stopped the duo to thank the blue-haired woman for her services to the city.
Bell was awed by the poise in which the level 5 responded to all who crossed their path, her regal and somewhat cold demeanor contrasting with the kindness she replied with.
Though he could do without the curious stares he was given or the inquisitive questions as to the nature of the two's relationship, couldn't a man and a woman walk down the streets without being in some sort of relationship!?
Bell's grumpy thoughts were interrupted by a twin-tailed white missile that impacted into his midsection, knocking the wind out of his lungs and surprising the boy for the lack of activation from Insight.
"Bell!"
The boy coughed as he looked down at the tiny form of his goddess clutching his stomach, tears and snot instantly drenching his dirty black shirt as the goddess bowled incoherent words. He gave a perplexed look to his companion who returned it with one of her own.
"You're -sniff- safe!"
Bell hugged back his goddess Hestia's and calmed her down enough for her words to be coherent for him, and the Ankusha, to understand.
"What happened goddess, why are you crying?" Bell asked worriedly.
"You were gone!"
Bell tilted his head in confusion "I was at the dungeon?"
"For two days!"
Oh.
Ooooooh.
That's why his notion of time felt so screwed down there!
Shit.
He was dead, he was soooo dead.
"You, young man, are in a lot of trouble!" Hestia angrily scolded him, feebly punching his chest before huffing.
"Was I really gone for two days, Goddess?" Bell asked for confirmation.
"Yes!" Hestia punched him again "Do you have any idea how worried we've been?"
Bell looked down "I'm sorry"
Hestia eyes softened and she cupped her Child's cheek "We could feel your Falna burning bright for a long time, did something happen?"
Bell hesitated for a second, glancing at the quiet and curious Ankusha with her arms crossed beside him then at his worried goddess with dried tear-stained cheeks.
"I… triggered a monster's ability by mistake and had to fight a horde of monsters on my way out…" Bell awkwardly explained, ignoring the 'should've known' voiced by the exasperated Ankusha and the incredulous stare of his goddess.
"You… were fighting… for two…days…"
"It… seems?" Bell awkwardly replied for his goddess, who joined the Ankusha in nursing her hurting forehead.
"Oi loli-goddess! Return to your post at once!"
The trio saw an old woman in her fifties waving a rolled newspaper at them, specifically to the twin-tailed goddess, from the jagamurkan stall by the side of the busy road.
"One minute!" Hestia shouted back, giving Bell another withering glare that promised punishment "I hope you're ready for the consequences of your actions, my Child!"
Bell awkwardly laughed as the goddess punched him one last time on the chest and ran back to her post.
"Two days inside the dungeon, Cranel?" Shakti's voice was filled with mirth and disbelief, the young adventurer awkwardly scratching the back of his head and laughing.
"In my defense, I was fighting for my life…" Bell mumbled afflicted, not that he would use said defense as an excuse for worrying his Familia.
"Hello"
Bell heard the whispery voice much to close for comfort, the adventurer turning on his feet and coming face to face with a long golden-haired adventurer munching on a jagamurkan treat, crumbs of the treat dusting her cheeks and lips.
"Hello?" Bell pointed at himself for confirmation.
A small smile formed on the girl's lips, slightly hidden behind the treat but visible to him, nonetheless.
"Have you gotten stronger?"
Bell frowned, his brain trying and failing to remember where he had seen the golden-haired girl before.
"I hope so?"
Another small smile with a munch of her treat.
Uhh…?
"Ais where di- Ah there you are!" Another voice exclaimed; one Bell recognized since it wasn't that long ago that he'd been entranced by the speaker's eyes "Why did you leave so suddenly?"
The adventurers didn't have to wait long for the speaker to reach the golden-haired girl, the high elf was dressed in her usual elven robe that hid most of her figure. There was no staff on her person this time, Bell noted.
It took Riveria a second after reaching Ais before noticing her protégé had been in the middle of a conversation, Riveria eyebrows rose in surprise when her gaze met the crimson eyes of Rose's savior.
'Bell' The voice of Rose's corrected in her head.
"Bell?"
"Ah, the br-" Bell stopped before uttering whatever his brain first conjured, he did a quick mental review of their last meeting and found her name somewhere between the memories of the blond elf shouting at him and trying to hurt him "Riveria?"
There were two flinches, one from the blue-haired Varma and another from the golden-haired Wallenstein.
Nobody called the Nine Hells by her name without any honorifics, at least none outside of her personal circle or upper echelons of the Loki Familia without paying the consequences.
"What happened to you?"
Much to the disbelief of both female first-rate adventurers, Riveria cupped one of Bell's cheeks and brought out a handkerchief from who knows where and started cleaning the dried blood from the boy's face.
"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror at all? You're a walking mess" Riveria continued until she cleaned all the dried blood from his face.
"Riveria I just came out of the dungeon and haven't had the chance to clean myself, please stop you're embarrassing me!" Bell feebly attempted to extricate himself from the high elf's grip.
"An adventurer duty does not end even after they leave the dungeon, Bell!" Riveria scolded and would've continued cleaning the boy if not for someone coughing next to them.
"Ehem" Riveria paused and finally noticed the Ankusha standing next to the white-haired adventurer with her arms crossed with a somewhat irritated expression "Good evening, Nine Hells, Sword Princess"
Ais responded with a nod before glaring at Riveria behind her jagamurkan.
"Oh, good evening, Miss Ankusha" Riveria stepped back from Bell to give a proper greeting "Did we interrupt your evening?"
"Not any more than his goddess did" Shakti sent a knowing glance to the quiet Bell who didn't know where to hide "I take it you know Cranel then?"
"To a personal extent, yes" Riveria decided against disclosing their involvement in saving Rose and Bell from the minotaur.
"Heh, is that so?"
Bell wasn't sure why the tone Shakti used prickled his survival instincts, and he didn't want to find out.
"Yes, our goddess has also been on the lookout for him" Riveria admitted, giving the surprised Bell a furtive glance "Would you mind sharing some of your time with us?"
Bell scratched his cheek and looked between the three women standing around him.
Shakti's cool gaze was mixed with something dangerous, the golden-haired girl with a hopeful one and Riveria's was full of questions.
'Balance my boy, do not give one more than the others or you'll face the wrath of an upset partner!'
Not now gramps!
'BALANCE!'
"Uhhh, I would love to, but I just found out I have been missing for two days" Bell threw a curve ball at the three, and it worked in surprising both members of the Loki Familia and turned to the annoyed Ankusha "I'm sorry but we'll have to continue another time!"
Bell made a tactful retreat, turning tail and running away from the three surprised women.
"There he goes again…" Riveria sighed, once more staring at the retreating back of the white-haired adventurer.
"What did he mean by missing for two days?" Ais asked, the jagamurkan treat finally gone with only the crumbs staining her cheeks.
Shakti gave a side-glance to the two Loki adventurers "It seems Cranel triggered a trap in the dungeon and took two days fighting his way out of there"
"He joined another Familia…" Ais muttered sadly, not surprised in the least that the boy had somehow managed to do the impossible again. She expected no less of him.
"It was to be expected Ais, it's been almost a week since the incident and we couldn't find him" Riveria spared a knowing glance to her protégé, she knew Ais wanted her object of interest to join their Familia.
"Incident?" Shakti's curiosity was piqued, and the Nine Hells gave her a smug smile that infuriated the captain.
"Yes, we were involved in an incident" Riveria wasn't quite sure why her feelings had acted up, but it felt good getting under the normally regal Ankusha's skin.
"Hooo, guess I'll have to ask Bell when we meet again" It was Shakti's turn to give the Nine Hells a smug smile that wiped the Nine Hell's own.
There was a moment of tension traded between the two before they both huffed.
"If you'll excuse me, I have some important matters to attend" Shakti excused herself first, giving one last glare to the Nine Hells before walking away in the same direction the white-haired adventurer had disappeared off to.
Riveria frowned to herself, replaying the last words of the Ganesha Familia's captain and noted the woman's specific use of words. She had spoken as if it was certain that she would meet up with Bell in the near future and the thought created a turbulent pit to form on the Nine Hell's belly that she did not enjoy at all.
"Riveria, why is there a bloody handprint on her dress?" Ais pointed out.
Riveria's head whipped towards the retreating captain's form in the distance, her brilliant jade eyes locking onto the woman's backside and the ground instantly froze beneath Riveria's feet.
Why?
Because firmly imprinted on Shakti's dress, exactly on the left side of her backside was one bloody handprint that could belong to none other than the white-haired adventurer they'd met earlier.
The only way that handprint could've gotten there was if the young adventurer had purposefully grabbed the woman's bottom with enough strength to leave the mark, and Riveria did not want to entertain the thought as to why had Bell done so or why the captain was parading said mark around Orario.
The parting words of the Ankusha replayed once more, the certainty that the blue-haired woman would meet again with Bell…
"Ais, how about some evening training to blow off steam?"
-0-
Bell ran until he was finally on the street that housed Rose's apartment, the last of his stamina dwindling away as he walked up the final steps of the apartment's porch.
"Cranel wait!"
Just as his hand was about to knock on the door, the adventurer stopped and looked behind him. He was surprised to see the Ankusha had followed, and found, him. Her labored breathing did wonders to her chest and the boy scolded himself for letting his eyes roam there.
"Miss Varma?"
"There's something I wanted to-"
For the Nth time that day, their conversation was interrupted by the door to Rose's apartment opening. It took exactly two blinks in less than half a second for Rose to recognize the back of her mate before she threw herself at him.
Bell's back burned at that exact moment.
Bell was not prepared for the sudden embrace from behind, the force with which Rose tackled him was enough to make his feet slip at the edge of the steps and send him tumbling down the steps, directly onto the recovering Shakti.
He was the first to realize what was going to happen, and also the first to know there was no way out of it without hurting either of the two.
That did not mean Bell wasn't tired of letting his luck get the best of him, so for once he tried to change the outcome of his fate.
'BAAALAAAANCEEEE!'
Bell used every fiber of his being to put his foot down, halting his lower body from continuing forward once they touched the streets however the momentum gathered on his upper body continued and the boy was forced to throw his hands forward to balance himself out.
For the second time that day, the young adventurer clutched something absurdly soft, and the momentum carried his face forward until it was mushed between the surprised Ankusha's breast who had tried to catch him too.
The people in the streets at that moment stared in jealousy as the white-haired boy was effectively sandwiched between the Ankusha's excessively soft bosom, his hands firmly grasping each breast while also being sandwiched between Rose's embrace and Shakti's attempt at catching him.
"Ah…"
"…"
"sniff"
"Oho, quite the magnificent return my prodigal Child!" Hekate's voice boomed from the door, her laughter causing the two adventurer's face to lit up and scramble to untangle themselves.
"Miss Kat! Don't tease me as soon as I get back!" Bell shouted back at his laughing goddess.
"That should be the least of your worries Bell" Hekate smiled, the very same smile that always sent shivers down his spine and promised a swift punishment during his time at the village "Well, what are you waiting for? Come on inside so I can see what you've been up to"
Bell glanced at the level 5 beside him.
"Your friend's invited too, I'm sure she's here for a reason"
Shakti did not trust her voice and gave an affirmative nod, the red-haired goddess guided Shakti inside while Bell had his sweet reunion with his first partner.
"Rose?"
"Mmm?"
"I'm back"
"Mmm!"
"Sorry for making you worry"
"Mmm~"
Bell scratched his cheek and wondered how she managed to make the same three words sound different each time. He was released from her embrace; his mate quickly taking his face into her hands and brought their lips together for a long kiss that made the boy see stars after they separated.
"That is for coming back" Rose whispered into his lips, then instantly bit down on his lower lip hard enough to make Bell flinch "And that's for making me worry"
"Sowwy"
"Why must you be such a handful?" Rose huffed before kissing him again, her taller height making it seem comical from the distance.
"Ahaha…"
"You even brought another woman back with you"
"Ah"
"And smell like others too"
"Urk…"
How did all the women in his life manage to smile so lovingly but also trigger his survival instincts at the same time so easily!?
"I can explain?"
"I know you will" Rose rolled her eyes, kissing him one last time before stepping away from him "But that can wait until Eina's here too, she's been worried sick after not seeing you here or at the guild"
Bell winced and Rose took his hand, swiftly intertwining her fingers with his and took him inside the apartment and away from the nosy onlookers.
Once inside Bell found his crimson-haired Goddess laughing her ass off at the red-faced Shakti who was standing on her tiptoes looking back at her backside, specifically at the red handprint proudly imprinted on her left butt cheek over her dress.
'Oh, that's why we were getting so many personal questions…'
"Something I should worry about, my mate?" Rose breathed directly into his ear, causing Bell to shiver and meet her curious gaze.
Bell instantly denied with his head receiving a raised eyebrow in return, alarms started ringing in his head when Rose's eyes glinted with hunger for a second before the look was gone and she moved towards the troubled Shakti.
'Maybe I should be the one worrying…' Bell thought to himself as Rose expertly convinced the Ankusha to follow her upstairs for a change of clothes while the Guild member cleaned her clothes to avoid further embarrassment.
With them gone, his crimson-haired Goddess instantly stopped laughing and patted the spot beside her on the L-shaped couch.
Bell sat beside her, awkwardly avoiding her gaze before his dirty and stained shirt was lifted from his person, a bloody finger jabbing into his back before he could shout any protest and his back burnt as the goddess started her update.
"Bell"
"I'm sorry"
"I don't mind but you certainly have to apologize to the other girls" Hekate ruffled his hair, unlike the other members in their Familia, Hekate had cheated and used her Arkanum to watch over her champion and let the other girls know he was safe.
The fact that Hestia somehow managed to feel his Falna and corroborate her words needed further investigation on Hekate's end but helped in assuaging the boy's partners fears.
"There's good news and bad news, my Champion" Hekate took a paper from the coffee table, writing Bell's update over his back as she continued "Which one would you like to hear first?"
"The bad news first…" Bell replied, hoping that the good news would balance the string of bad luck he's had for the last couple of days.
"You have more skills but they're all undeciphered"
"Oh, that's not so bad. What is the good news, miss Kat?"
"You leveled up"
…
"What?"
"You leveled up"
Bell spun, his nose tickling his goddess's nose from how close she had been, and he scooted backwards with a quick apology.
"Congratulations" Hekate whispered with a smile.
"How…?"
"From what your Falna told me, you absorbed enough Excelia to max out three stats and stockpiled enough for a breakthrough which something deemed your survival a worthy feat enough for your first level up" Hekate's eyes narrowed for a second before softening once more.
"What do you mean by something miss Kat?"
"That's for me to find out" Hekate waved his concerns away "There's two development abilities available to you for leveling up and both don't say anything about their effects, I can barely gleam the first letter of each"
Bell frowned as he was once more reminded of how different he was from the common adventurer. From what Rose and Eina had explained in the past, Development abilities were somewhat rare and most below level 3 were among the same for all adventurers of the same race.
For him to have two to choose from, with both hidden in equal mystery as the rest of his skills, was concerning.
"What letters are they Goddess?"
"C and E"
C and E… That… really didn't give him anything to work with.
"Goddess is there really nothing else you can gleam from them?"
Hekate hummed, hair shining for a second before dying down "Nope"
Bell sighed and went with C since it was higher on the vocabulary than E and hoped it was for the best. Once more he was turned around with a finger burning something into his back, his body feeling a rush of something before it was gone and Hekate handed him his update.
Bell Cranel
Race: Human
Level: 1 – 2
Familia: Hestia Familia
Goddess: Hekate, Hestia, ?
Strength: SS1498 – SS2000 – I0
Endurance: S987 – SSS1630 – I0
Agility: SSS1634 – SSS2000 – I0
Dexterity: SSS1891 – SSS2000 – I0
Magic: I0 – I0 – I0
Luck: ? + 10 - ? + 12 - ? + 13
Development Abilities
Insight: Increases user DEX and Spatial Awareness Massively.
C(?): ?
Magic – None
Skills
Paragon of Crossroads
DETERMINATION (Determination, Perseverance, Willpower, Unknown x4)
Aegis: ?
Special Skills
A*****, The Broken King: [Active only when Determination(Unknown) is active] Doubles the user STATS.
Bell mutely stared at the paper in his hand while Hekate stood up and left for who knows what, as she always did, leaving the boy to his own thoughts.
Minutes passed in silence as the boy kept staring at the paper. One month, it had been one month and a week since he came to Orario, and he had managed to accomplish something his Gramps mentioned was the epitome of an adventurer's adventures.
Proving to the Gods that Bell Cranel was worthy of a level up.
Even if he was different from the norm, even if his Familia situation was different, even if his Goddesses were different, he was still the same young boy that dreamed about becoming an adventurer like the heroes in the tales of his grandfather.
And he had finally managed to make the first major step in his journey.
But why… did it feel so…
"Bell, where did Lady Hekate go?" Rose's voice stopped Bell from continuing that train of thought, the boy turning his head to look at the stairs from which his mate and miss Varma were coming down from.
"I don't kn-" Bell stared, Rose smiled, and Shakti looked away.
How did Rose manage to do what she did, Bell would never know but he was certain that his grandfather would've loved her as if she was his own grandchild too.
Rose walked down the stairs with a regular home outfit, brown short shorts and a low-neck white tee however what had truly stopped Bell's words was the woman walking one step behind Rose.
Dressed in a single white dress shirt that Bell was sure did not belong to Rose, as it was three sizes much too small for the Ankusha and with most of the buttons gone from said shirt, it was barely held together by the last button below her chest, displaying an ample view of her bosom and her bellybutton.
Shakti was tightly gripping the hem of the shirt, trying in vain to pull it down and hide the fact that the only thing she wore underneath were her black cotton panties, the alluring sight of her extremely long and soft looking legs sparked something in Bell he was not sure he should be feeling for the level 5.
"Both you and Lady Hekate can be such a handful" Rose's giggled, knowing very well the effects she managed to create with the Ankusha's choice of dress on her mate "It seems there was something miss Ankusha wanted to speak with you about"
When Bell's eyes landed on Shakti again, she gave a tiny nod and hid behind Rose until the two women finally sat in the adjacent section of the sofa. Even then, it was a losing battle for Shakti to hide the skin displayed.
Bell tried to look away, but his traitorous eyes always went back to her, and he blamed his adolescent hormones and upbringing for it.
It took a full minute before Shakti gave up, closing her eyes and steeling her resolve. She was a grown woman for God's sakes, why did Cranel gaze make her squirm so much!?
"Cranel" Shakti started, eyes still closed "As part of the Ganesha Familia, I would like to extend an invitation to you for participation in the Monsterphillia"
"The what?"
Rose snorted at the dumbfounded face of the Ankusha "Bell, you have noticed there's more people roaming Orario lately, right?"
"Yeah, I was told there was a festival about to start at the Guild…"
Rose nodded "Miss Ankusha, if you wouldn't mind explaining what the Monsterphillia is about?"
Shakti crossed her arms, almost pushing out her breast from the shirt, and started "Every year, the Ganesha Familia hosts a festival in Orario to boost the city's popularity, increase the traveler's and merchant's flow and also prepares a special event in which the Ganesha Familia uses tamed monsters from the dungeon to create a fight show at the Coliseum as the closing act for the festival"
Bell absorbed the information as greedily as he did the sight of her skin.
"My invitation is for the closing act; I've seen your skills and I believe participating in it would increase your Familia's reputation and avoid creating another situation like that one you faced at the Pantheon"
"What happened?" Rose's tone set both adventurers on edge, Shakti giving Bell a 'will-you' glance that he quickly accepted.
"How to put… I think I handed in too many loots at once, my Luck made the monsters drop many rare drops and the teller found it strange there were so many, so… I got… umm... questioned about their origins"
Rose narrowed her eyes making Bell squirm, she knew he was not telling everything and before she could press for details Shakti scoffed to the side.
"Hans made another public inquisition" Shakti explained for Bell, and Rose's mood soured as Shakti continued "Cranel wasn't even taken to the backroom and was questioned in the lobby of the Pantheon were everyone present heard Han's accusations"
"That stupid bespectacled man" Rose muttered under her breath.
"Cranel was lucky I was reporting the latest batch of tamed monsters at the Pantheon when I saw him surrounded by the public" Shakti gave Bell a kind smile "Couldn't let this troublemaker's adventure be cut short"
"Thank you, Shakti" Rose gave a light squeeze to Shakti's exposed thigh "If you need help with something at the Guild, let me know"
Shakti rolled her eyes at the subtle hint "Let's keep that between us otherwise who knows what my God would do if he found out"
Bell couldn't help staring once more as the two mature women laughed between themselves, whatever joke was told he wasn't in the know but didn't really care as long as they were happy.
"So, what do you say Bell! Would you like to participate?"
And so, Bell's gaze would once again land on Shakti who had stood up with her exclamation, the button that had fought to keep her shirt close giving up and shooting past his cheek, giving the young adventurer a full view of the Ankusha's gorgeous naked body.
-0- Chapter End -0-
Author's Note: I think I was careful enough mentioning that Bell had brought the loots a 'previous' time and not 'yesterday'. As for the level up, blame the dungeon for that ^^ And yes, we're going to have a rivalry between a certain elf and tamer ufufu~.
This chapter makes the opening act, staging most of the characters involved and finally starting the different Monsterphillia I'll write. There're only three more events from the original work that I will use but like the one above, it'll be different because of the characters involved and how we get to those turning points.
I sincerely hope you all continue liking and enjoying my story! – Jas/Shiiva
Character Information
Bell Cranel
Race: Human
Level: 1 – 2
Familia: Hestia Familia
Goddess: Hekate, Hestia, ?
Strength: SS1498 – SS2000 – I0
Endurance: S987 – SSS1630 – I0
Agility: SSS1634 – SSS2000 – I0
Dexterity: SSS1891 – SSS2000 – I0
Magic: I0 – I0 – I0
Luck: ? + 10 - ? + 12 - ? + 13
Development Abilities
Insight: Increases user DEX and Spatial Awareness Massively.
C(?): ?
Magic – None
Skills
Paragon of Crossroads: 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.
[Perseverance Effect: Under certain conditions the user's Mind will be drained to bolster the user's vigor, if no Mind is available then the effect will drain the user's Stamina at a reduced rate until the user faints and cripple their overall recovery for the following 24hours]
[Willpower Effect: User can impose his will on weaker willed living beings, rendering them more vulnerable to attacks and suggestions, or weakening their resolve and mentality]
[Unknown x4]
Aegis: ?
Special Skills
A*****, The Broken King: [Active only when DETERMINATION(Unknown) is active] Doubles the user STATS.