The dungeon had broken its promise. It had enough of the gods and adventurers who explored it. The world will see another dark age, and no hero can stop it.

May foolish dreams come true.


The city wasn't the best. It had small walls and several buildings. The population is estimated at around 5-8 thousand people compared to Orario's population of around 100 thousand to 1 million. The world was put into a state of crisis and this city was technically the last city capable of fighting off the dungeon's wrath.

"Ah! Loki Familia, nice to see you guys made it." greeted Hermes, standing in the entrance that was made from durandal somehow.

"Hermes, nice to see you as well. Is Ouranos still alive?" greeted back Loki, already asking questions.

"We don't know. The old god hasn't been seen but his secret agent has." answered Hermes. "This city could be the last place on the lower world if the monsters don't reach the other half of the continent."

The monsters only roamed in the western part of the continent. The East was mostly fine, but Hermes expects the monsters to reach there in a couple of years.

"Oh, hello there Bell Cranel. I must say, your growth is very impressive and could prove to save us."

"I know, but isn't it more difficult to level up now?"

"That's true, but finding a high leveled monster shouldn't be difficult. Level 1s don't seem to have a chance of leveling up, but we're still trying to find a way."

In truth, the monsters were simply too powerful. A level 1 could never level up without defeating a level 2. The weakest monsters were level 3 which further put the world in a sense of hopelessness. It seemed that the strong got stronger while the weak stayed weak.

The only way the city kept track of the monsters and their own survivors was through a board. The list would be updated by Hermes every week and showed the levels of the nearby monsters and the adventurers if this city. Ottar was still level 7, but he's expected to level up soon when fighting a level 8 monster. Finn, Riveria, Gareth, and Ais were the only other level 7s. Surprisingly enough, there were around 10-20 level 6s after the Familias fought powerful monsters in order to reach here.


"Poseidon, the dungeon had opened up and supposedly obliterated the west of the continent." informed a member.

"That's something, hopefully Moros won't do anything anymore knowing his love of doom finally arrived." replied Poseidon.

The Familia were currently slaying some monsters that suddenly increased in activity and strength. The Familia had a level 7, but he was somewhere else at the moment. The monsters were said to be at level 4 and 6, but a monster similar to a kraken was estimated to be level 9. The waters were connected to the dungeon so it makes sense that these powerful monsters suddenly appeared.

"The kraken is currently attacking the city! It seems to be eating the island as we speak!" yelled out a familia member, informing the god of the kraken's activities.

"Where the fuck is Zeus? He said he'd be here to repay me!"

"I'm right here brother. I had to convince Atlas to actually bother coming here seeing that he's only level 8." explained Zeus, to the god of the sea.

"Yeah yeah, I was about to get your ass here by force because you didn't repay me for the damage you caused to my city."

Atlas was a level 8 adventurer who joined Zeus soon after the banishment of the Familia within Orario. He was a level 6 adventurer at the time and had fled in secrecy before meeting Zeus after the attack of the Black Dragon. He turned level 7 after defeating a blue dragon within the dragon valley. He turned level 8 soon after when being forced to fight a black Udaeus because Zeus was in the way.

"Zeus, am I really being used to kill a kraken? What level is it anyways, I need to level up after killing all those monsters on the way here." joined in Atlas, jumping from the ship the Zeus Familia used to get here.

"Poseidon said it's probably a high level 8 or even a level 9." answered Zeus.

"Good enough for me."

The city that was being attacked was named Atlantis. Poseidon named it that, but nobody knows the meaning behind it. Anyways, the kraken had covered the city which stood on an island. The exact size of the monster could be said to be comparable to Orario surprisingly enough. It has thousands if tentacles and it's head is said to be under the island as of right now.

"Shit, I need to swim towards it? Fuck it, whatever it takes to please the gods."

Atlas soon entered the sea where the large sea monster was. It was almost impossible to put it to scale, but Atlas was clearly just as strong as it. He had a skill which allowed him to gain a temporary development skill depending on his situation. Dive was formed in order to allow Atlas to last longer and swim better in the waters.

The kraken soon noticed his presence and immediately sent waves of tentacles at the blessed warrior. Atlas cut them up with his rapier and placed a poison within one of the tentacles. The kraken didn't feel it immediately, but it was clearly getting weaker. Atlas used this chance to approach its head and cut it up. Surprisingly, the monster's head was incredibly durable compared to its tentacles. Atlas was soon overwhelmed by the constant waves of tentacles that struck at him. He was slashed by one if them and immediately bled out.

'Fuck, this squid is actually smart.' thought Atlas, now wounded.

Atlas was forced to retreat as he was going to die otherwise. He would request help from the Poseidon Familia to help him out in killing the great beast.


The Empire, a country filled with evil and malice, had been obliterated by the looks of it. The monsters had overtaken most of there territories and all that stood were several small cities. One of those cities held a final stand which had many level 5s and one level 7.

"General, the monsters are approaching at a fast rate!" reported a scout.

"Prepare for a final stand! We must defend this with our lives!" yelled out a man with a red flag.

The city was currently the only thing in between the monsters and the left over Empire. The only level 7 in this city was leading the stand.

"Fuck! A large monster just came through the walls!" reported another commander within the stand.

The monster rex, Balor, had joined the invasion into the city. It was a level 8 now and possibly a level 9. It was a spawn straight from hell as it had a neck and head similar to that of a dragon and arms with large spikes. It had spike everywhere actually, but they mostly were in the waist and the arms. It easily towered over everything and was far more intimidating than every monster there.

"Eligos, we need you to kill it. Your the highest level here and that demon monster seems to be the same level as you!" ordered the general with the red flag in his hand.

"Ugh man, I thought I could get away. I'll go deal with it anyways." whined the level 7 adventurer.

Eligos was level 6 before the dungeon was angered. His god was a god of evil, but he didn't care much. He was usually relaxed and focused on whatever happens. He leveled up after killing another adventurer who was level 7 as well.


Many countries and many cities fell to the might of the dungeon. All that stood were those blessed by a god and those fortunate enough to live. The Far East is yet to be plunged into doom, but so is Altena. They were possibly the last standing countries seeing that they weren't immediately in the vicinity of the dungeon's rampage.

We are brought to Jeeta, where Bell and Ais were currently clearing out an area where a camp was meant to reside.

"Ais, why do you always kill them so damn fast? We're not on a rush you know."

"Sorry, I just couldn't control myself for a bit." she apologized.

The truth is, Ais hasn't been at her best at the current moment. The monsters were far more powerful and aggressive, but she was still weak compared to them. She never knew she would experience a time where monsters aren't trapped within the dungeon.

"Ais, to be completely honest, I don't think we're going to stand that long as a city. We are losing resources pretty quickly and we can't find other cities." Bell suddenly said. "I feel that as a Familia we must find a way to become more powerful rather than standing down and developing a city which will likely fail."

"You're right, but Finn and Loki don't seem to understand." she agreed, knowing this truth.

"So why don't we simply force them to? Freya hadn't said anything since we've arrived, and I believe she too is about to leave because of the cities eventual collapse."

"So you just want to cause chaos basically. Isn't that wrong?" she argued.

"How else will we take back our world if we stay in one area and expect to grow stronger. The world is at sake here Ais, morals and values have gone out the window and we need to become stronger to live."

Jeeta hadn't found any survivors around the region. Cities had been put into ruin and no survivors were seen anywhere. Resources were running out, and the world is just hopeless now. Finn and Loki constantly told themselves that they would somehow take back the dungeon, but every single Familia member knew this wouldn't happen.

"Why are you two not thinking it out! We can still take back the dungeon, and we're going to go back to normal!" yelled out Finn, to his fellow comrades that have practically been together for decades.

"Finn, you need to accept our reality. The city is about to fall and the dungeon constantly sends monsters against the world every second. We need to get out of here and grow stronger before the dungeon kills us in the end." Riviera said, saddened at the sight of her comrade losing his mind.

"Brother, as a comrade to another, we must push onwards and become stronger. This city is only holding us back and the dungeon will only kill us when we're in a state like this. Your the captain of a legendary Familia. Get yourself together, Finn."

As much as the city held power, the city wasn't doing well with resources. They had far too many people and the monsters seemed to be getting stronger as time went by.

In the end, the Loki Familia left the city with countless other Familias. Freya seemed to be headed towards Atlenta while many others head towards the Far East. The Loki Familia went to Orario, where the dungeon was. Loki had told them that there's no point in going back, but the others simply ignored her, saying that risk was their specialty.

"We have a dragon on us! Take formation and protect out goddess!" ordered Finn. "Bell and Tiona, distract it as we clear the other dragons!"

Since they decided to head back, they had to go through the Dragon Valley. It was surprisingly more peaceful than last time, but the monsters were certainly more aggressive.

"Lefiya! Use your magic on the dragon!"

Lefiya had survived the initial invasion of the dungeon. She was level 5 after all, they needed her for the talent she had of magic and the power she brought with it.

"Arcs Ray!"

The homing blast magic soon chased after the dragon which had fallen upon impact. It was the strongest dragon attacking them, but it proved to be weak against magic. The Familia soon killed the rest as the calmness of travel came back.

"Nice Lefiya!" said a cheery Tiona.

"Um, thanks!" she replied, stunned at the sudden compliment.

"Oh thank Loki, we finally reached the Alf Mountains!"


The ruins of Orario were practically replaced with an army of monsters. They all were either ravaging or destroying the former city as they exited the dungeon. The Black Dragon stood on top a piece of the Babel Tower as it seemed to guard the dungeon.

"Isn't that quite the view. Seeing a great city of gods and powerful adventurers fall to the might of the dungeon." commented Moros, viewing the city from afar.

The god had traveled around the world in order to find the Black Dragon, but it stood next to the dungeon where the city once was. The walls were still up, but there were many holes within them.

"Eligos, can you ask Armina to investigate the nearby monsters? We seem to have found the gold mind for taming monsters."

The dungeon was quiet. It was so quiet that even the gods couldn't sense it's overwhelming presence anymore. It was free, and it was only wising for peace. The dungeon spilled out the monsters out of it in order to do so. It sent them off with a gift of darkness so that they never come back. It had achieved freedom, and the only thing that can end it's peace is another meddling god or adventurer attempting to enter it.

"Moros, Armina had reported back and said that the weakest monsters were level 5 while the strongest besides the Black Dragon was level 10 and above." informed Eligos.

"Interesting." the god of doom simply responded.

Ais and Bete went into the ruins of the city to investigate it. They were easily overwhelmed by the constant waves of monsters that attacked them, and could only watch as the Black Dragon stared them down. Ais had seen her very monster that ended her peaceful life. The dragon that created heroes, but ended happpiness and peace.

"The fucking dragon is there!?" yelled out Bell, having heard the intel from Ais.

"Yes. It's only standing there though." she replied, having become more quiet since seeing it.

"So what now, Finn." asked Riveria. "The monsters are undoubtedly stronger here, but where would we settle in order to grow stronger?"

"The dungeon has turned peaceful. We shouldn't enter it unless we want another rampage like this one." suddenly interrupted Loki. "The Black Dragon is simply listening to it's mother. We should only kill the monsters around the dungeon, but not those close to the Black Dragon."

"We'll settle down in the nearby village. It seems to have several fields and other resources we could use in order to create a settlement. Sadly, we need to reestablish most of it." Finn said, already knowing where they could settle down.

It was a village that has never been recorded or even heard of for that matter. It was surprisingly close to Orario, but it was mostly made up of several buildings and farms. There were over 70 people at this point, and the Familia didn't exactly have a choice. They lost 30 of there members when traversing through the Dragon Valley and when accepting missions from Jeeta.

Survival of the fittest.


"Moros, you can't just walk up to them and expect them to be tamed. The monsters are far stronger than us so how do you expect this to work out?" asked Armina, trying to figure out her god's reasoning.

"Just protect me Armina. The sword will do all the work."

The Moros Familia soon entered the ruins of the city that surround the dungeon. The sword's aura put fear into every monster leveled from 5-7. They were tamed relatively easy, but the Black Dragon saw the group traversing through. It's piercing eyes grew stronger as even the level 7 adventurers within the Familia were offput by it. Moros kept taming as many monsters as he could before the dragon suddenly roared. It's roar was so powerful that every monster within it's range was blasted off if they were weak. Moros held on with the sword as his Familia was barely able to hold on. The Black Dragon soon flew up and looked at the god with a terrifying gaze.

"Seems we angered it. Let's leave before it actually kills us." said Moros, immediately terrified at the sight of it.

It was the Black Dragon after all. The only monster that could end heroes and legends. The dragon of the dungeon. The queen of the skies and Dragons. The epitome of evil.

"Moros, the monsters are starting to chase us!"

"Fuck! Just carry me and run as fast as possible!"

Moros ordered the tamed monsters to defend them, but they instead chased them. The Black Dragon either used a roar that somehow put some sense into the monsters, or the Black Dragon had incredible amounts of influence over them.

"Eligos, use your skill to send us to the mountains! I don't care if we'll be left fatigued afterwards, this is the time to use it!"

"As you wish Moros."

"Teleport"

A beam of blue covered them all as they soon were teleported to the mountains they once stood at. Eligos was the most affected and had passed out soon after using it. It's a skill that allows the user to teleport anyone, but the mind usage is insanely high so it would take a bit for the adventurer to recover.


"How do you know so much about farming, Bell?" asked Ais, seeing the young man plow and plant seeds on the fields at the exact same time.

"I've lived with my grandfather in a farmhouse and learned to farm many vegetables and fruits in the process." explained Bell. "I also learned to cook with anything and make it taste good."

"Don't overwork yourself." she said, watching Bell start an entire other field from nothing.

The young hero truly did love farming and cooking. His grandpa showed him after all, it was the best knowledge he could've asked for in a situation like this. His falna allowed him to practically do the work of 1000 farmers in one day. The blessing of a god truly was powerful.

"Captain, we've been able to rebuild and build several houses. The farms are already beyond what we expected, but the resources to replenish our armor couldn't be met." reported Raul, listing off the many goals they had the past couple of weeks.

"We don't even have a blacksmith ironically enough, Raul. It's fine, most of our weapons are created with Durandal, but we definitely need to find some magic crystals for our mages."

When a weapon is created with the Durandal attribute, it is said to be unbreakable. The only sword capable of cutting through it is the Ascalon Sword. Mages have another problem to deal with. The magic crystals within their staves or staffs would slowly die off and Lefiya needed one soon enough. Rivieria didn't because she replaced hers right before the dungeon erupted.

As the day ended, Bell went to a cliff where the dungeon could be seen. It was a sight that the god of doom would love to see. Pure destruction and suffering through the monsters that came out of the dungeon. The city he once knew was obliterated in front of his eyes. He finally experienced death and had questioned his life.

From the very day he wanted to go to the city, and the very day it was gone. He felt, empty. His only goal at the time was to become a hero, a great one. What's the point of that if the world is literally in a state of collapse and hopelessness.

Argonaut. That's the whole point. A fool who became a hero even when the world was despairing over the dangers of the great dungeon. The statue even said it itself, may foolish dreams come true. The foolish dreams being Bell's desire to become a hero. How is it foolish anymore if the world truly needs it.

"Bell, what are you doing here?" asked Finn, approaching him.

"Do you believe in heroes? I sure as hell do, but why are we constantly sad about being weak?"

"I have desired to be a hero, but after joining Loki, I've brought it down to saving my race from discrimination. Why do you ask?"

"So can't a fool like me become a hero as well? Can't a young man from a village destroyed by the Black Dragon ask for that dream?"

"You can dream whatever you want, but a hero is a title only worthy to those with incredible amounts of willpower and determination."

"So why isn't everyone heroes? You, Ais, Riveria, Gareth, and so many more have incredible amounts of will and determination, but all that happens is despair and fear of the unknown."

"We are heroes, but the past haunts us all. You, Bell Cranel, are the closest thing to a hero we've had in ages. As much as you believe your alone and weak, you're foolishness has shown us all that the impossible can be achieved. Your foolish dreams shouldn't stop you from becoming a hero."

"Finn, one last question before you leave. Do you think we can kill the Black Dragon?"

"Yes, even if it seems as hopeless as ever.

Finn left as Bell was left to his thoughts. Why did I always think about death and whatever. Why should I care if a hero is meant to save others and bring peace.

The Black Dragon soon stared at the boy from afar. It's gaze landing on the boy who simply stared back without fear.

"I'll become a hero. You'll be the last thing standing when I bring this world peace." declared Bell, as the Black Dragon's eyes pierced his soul.


The Loki Familia prepared to gain excelia from the powerful monsters that reside next to the dungeon. They had there most weakest members in the middle while the back had the second strongest and the front held the level 7s. The mages stood with the weakest and proceeded to march onwards towards the ruins of Orario.

"Our objective is to find resources and possibly grow stronger. We will do this nearly everyday until we can finally defeat a level 10 monster."

With this goal in place, the former adventurers defended themselves against the hordes of monsters that stood before them. Ais dealt with the level 7 monsters with Gareth, while the rest dealt with the monsters of there own levels.

They would grow stronger, even if it means risking there lives and suffering.


"Zeus, as much as I hate to say it, you've actually done a good job with your Familia." said Poseidon.

"Thanks brother, but I have to get going because I've heard that a monster rex was apparently wrecking havoc in Altena. Athena just seems to be desperate and asked me for help, so hopefully she'll let me get in bed with her afterwards."

"Ah, well than, farewell to you, and good luck trying to control a level 9."

Atlas slayed the kraken with his powerful magic, Sword War, which summoned many swords that he could control with his mind. It proved to be effective against the kraken and the Poseidon Familia helped in allowing Atlas to deal the final blow in its mouth.

"Atlas, it's surprising your still weak compared to the monsters of this world. I can only imagine what the Black Dragon's level is now." said the old god, as the ship sailed towards the continent once again.

"What happened with your "Grandchild". You said he was going to become the hero, but I haven't heard of him since." asked Atlas, remembering Zeus's talks about the boy.

"Oh, that kid is currently at the dungeon from what I've heard. The Black Dragon is also there, which confuses me on why he's there in the first place." answered Zeus.

"If he's still alive, than the Black Dragon is probably not going to cause chaos anytime soon."

"That would be great, but my grandchild will probably kill it before you. I mean, he has the ability to revive himself and level up crazily fast. That's some main character shit."

"What?"

"Nothing."


"Man, muscle memory keeps telling me to pick up these magic stones, but I forgot the guild doesn't exist anymore." Elfy said, watching the magic stones on the ground.

"We might use them, but who knows." shrugged Aki.

"Alright, it seems it's all clear for the time being." Finn said, having been tired of killing monster after monster.

"So do we head back or what?" asked Bete.

"Well yeah, we don't want to kill the Black Dragon already." joked Gareth.

The resources gathered were actually decent. Many magic crystals were found as well as other materials left within the ruins. They finally had a blacksmith after one of there members decided to learn it through memory. Nobody knows how he did it, but some say he has the memory of entire books.

When they returned, they all gained a surprising amount of points. It seems that all the suffering they went through was worth it.


Bell Cranel

Level 5

Strength 1002 SS

Endurance 1001 SS

Dexterity 1000 SS

Agility 1005 SS

Magic 999 S

Magic

Golden Light

Thundering Death

Skills

Foolish Dreams

Deathly Heal

Hero's Charge

Arc of Desire - The user can inspire others to follow there desires. The ally gains a bonus of fast growth for following their desires.

DevelopmentAbilities

Luck F

Abnormal Resistance G

Master H

Chain Attack I


"To tell you the truth, I have no idea how this skill even formed." stated Loki, giving Bell his status.

"Finally my soul agrees with me. Anyways, isn't this skill basically going to make everyone else grow faster?"

"Yup, that's why you need to stay alive, because that skill is going to change the tides when fighting the Black Dragon. I have reason to believe this is the last skill your getting for a while."

Bell's status doesn't break the limit too much, but it can go up to 5-10 points above S. That's the furthest Bell went, and it will stay like that.


Author's Note:

I'm honestly struggling to create a story and decent plot. I'm going to take around 3-5 days in order to figure it out. The overall universe is laid out, I just need to lay out the plot.

I'm not going to give Bell anymore skills or magic for that matter, but I'm not going to make him overpowered as hell at the same time. He can only kill enemies 2 levels stronger than him, but it's with death and a risky situation. The fast growth skill isn't overly strong, but if Bell finally follows his dreams again, it'll probably make him level up in a couple months rather than a couple weeks like in the beginning of the story.

If your wondering, yes, I did make the Black Dragon nearly double the level of a level 7 and probably 8. I don't want the story to end that easily, and I want to make the world feel more alive by writing about the Zeus Familia in the current times. Atlas also has a growth skill if your wondering, that's why he leveled up pretty fast compared to a normal adventurer at his level.

Hopefully the story will become more alive rather than the Loki Familia going around and fighting monsters to become stronger.

Thanks for reading!