Bell Cranel took a deep breath, sighing with relief. Behind him laid four brilliant purple gems—the magical remnants of a pack of particularly ferocious Kobolds.

It had only been three weeks since Bell had arrived at the Capital of the World: Orario. The sole place where monsters spawned from an impossibly deep cavern, known as the Dungeon.

Bell collected each magic stone one by one, a smile on his face, as he plopped them in the pouch sitting at his waist. He'd come to Orario with the clothes on his back and barely enough money to survive for a week. Turns out the renowned Labyrinth City wasn't cheap when it came to food and lodgings. Bell needed Valis, which was part of the reason he'd forced himself to explore the fifth floor, where monsters dropped larger, more valuable magic stones than on the earlier floors. The other reason was his ambition in becoming an adventurer—no, a hero—and the fourteen-year-old boy was as impatient as anyone his age would be.

Bell tried to ignore the guilt he felt knowing his advisor, a half Elf named Eina Tulle, had only cleared him for the third floor of the Dungeon, and even that was done reluctantly. Eina was amazed at Bell's progress; the pace he navigated the upper floors was unheard of. What made Bell's achievement more astonishing was his lack of Falna. Try as he might, Bell spent his first week in Orario running across the city, desperate to receive the grace of the Gods from any Familia that would take him. He applied to every Familia he could, from Freya and Loki to Hephaestus and Dian Cecht. He had no desire to be an alchemist or a blacksmith, he was just that desperate. He applied to lesser known Familias too, including the Soma Familia. He was only allowed into that one on the condition of drinking some strange wine, which really didn't seem like a good idea. Alas, no Familia wanted to take in the skinny, country child, so Bell, against Eina's advice, set off alone in the Dungeon.

Back in the Guild, Eina smiled thinking about the white-haired boy—his ambition and focus was truly admirable, although she knew he was a bit naive. She had a soft spot for Bell, which made the nerve-wracking wait for him to come back from the Dungeon every day even worse. Had Eina known Bell was currently on the fifth floor, her concern would've changed to anger.

Bell placed the last magic stone in his pouch, before he straightened up and deeply, noisily stretched his body. Fatigue from a long day working had kicked in. 'The sun must be setting soon,' he thought. 'I really need to get back, otherwise Eina-san is going to worry!'

Bell began to make his way to the stairs that would help him leave the fifth floor, when he suddenly heard a guttural cry. Bell jumped, swearing he felt the cavern walls beside him shake. Eina-san had taught him that anything unexpected or unknown to him in the Dungeon directed only one course of action: to run. Bell would've been happy to, had he not heard a far fainter sound, that sounded suspiciously like a person screaming.

Bell doubled back, ignoring his instinctual fear, as he made way towards the earth-shaking screech he had heard.

'Someone is in danger!' he knew instinctively.

He quickened his run into a full-on sprint. The narrow passage he ran down opened up into a small circular room. His vision erupted into a blue light. Bell shielded his eyes with his left hand, adjusting to the glowing stalactites that littered the ceiling.

He didn't remain distracted for long. A hulking mass of dark brown fur towered twenty meters in front of him. Enormous ivory-colored horns jutted out of the beast's skull. This monster radiated strength and power. And terror.

'A minotaur,' Bell recognized. 'But Eina-san said they only spawn on the seventeenth floor or lower!'

Bell had little time to dwell on the minotaur's presence on the fifth floor. His hands were shaking. His breath was ragged. His fear was palpable. Then, what would've been a comfort for anyone who wasn't a fool, Bell realized something: the minotaur had its back towards him. It wasn't facing him… the quiet cry from earlier…

"Ahhh! G-Get back! You foul pest, back the hell off!" screamed a feminine voice. Then Bell saw her, a beautiful woman with striking red hair, fastened into a ponytail. She was slowly crawling away on her back, eyes wide, mouth agape.

"Someone please! Help me!" she shouted, as the minotaur loomed over her, a massive battle axe in its hand, preparing to swing.

"Get away from her!" Bell yelled, leaping into action, forgetting his earlier reservations. He lurched forward, unsheathing the Guild-issued dagger that paled in comparison to the beast's weapon. Luckily, he succeeded in drawing the minotaur's attention away from the defenseless woman. Unfortunately, that marked the end of Bell's plan. He'd just thrown himself headfirst towards a monster that can kill a third-class adventurer. He didn't even have a Falna.

The minotaur roared, smoke billowing from his nose. It assumed a defensive posture, clutching its battleaxe in both hands as Bell hurried forward. When the white-haired boy closed in, the minotaur shifted its momentum. It swung its great axe downwards. Had the blow struck its intended target, Bell would've been cleaved in two. Instead, he managed to jump to the right into a sloppy roll, coming out with a slash at the minotaur's ankle.

Bell was proud of himself. He thought he'd managed to cripple the monster. That was, until he felt his blade merely slide over the minotaur's skin. He may as well have tickled it. Just as he thought, he was nowhere near the strength of the beast. But he had to keep trying.

Bell jumped upwards, prepared for another onslaught. In the corner of his eye, he noticed the woman managed to sit up pressed against the wall. She was holding her ankle, clearly in pain. Bell could've sworn he saw golden blood pooling by her leg, but before he could look more closely, he dodged yet another powerful strike from the beast.

'My dagger… it did nothing! How am I supposed to beat this thing?' Bell kept on narrowingly dodging the minotaur's attacks, each one coming closer to hitting him. Sweat was dripping off his hair. The exhaustion from his previous hours in the Dungeon were creeping in.

The minotaur spun its axe horizontally. Bell yelped, ducking below the circular strike. He was sure the top of his head was a half-inch shorter. 'Worst barber ever.' he laughed, sidestepping another slash.

The minotaur howled, enraged by this game of cat-and-mouse. It slashed its axe upwards, though Bell jumped backwards. Bell knew he'd made a mistake when he saw the almost human look of glee in the beast's eye. It had been a feint. Before Bell's feet could touch the ground, the minotaur gave chase, unleashing a devastating front kick that smashed into the red-eyed boy's stomach.

Bell winced, hearing several cracks that didn't sound good, before he rocketed from the momentum of the blow, airborne, until he slammed his back into the wall of the cavern. He'd been launched more than ten meters. Bell fell face first to the floor, coughing up blood as he laid on his elbows and knees. Bell's head slowly tilted up, anticipating the minotaur ready to finish him off.

He was dismayed to see the minotaur had returned its attention to the immobile woman.

"No…" he let out, weakly. He looked around wildly, for anything that could help him. Miraculously, he saw his knife had landed by him, a meter ahead. Bell glanced back at the minotaur, who was preparing to execute the red-haired girl. Bell felt rage course through him. He couldn't be a hero if he watched a minotaur slaughter someone as he does nothing.

"No!" he shouted more forcefully, getting up, picking up his blade. The minotaur paused, looked over his shoulders at the pathetic boy who was slowly limping towards him, one hand loosely holding his dagger, the other clutching his ribs. The minotaur seemed to smirk, as it continued to wind up its battleaxe.

"Don't mock me… you bastard!" Bell shouted, turning his limp into a run, before closing the distance and jumping on the back of the beast. The minotaur had underestimated the human, as it was clearly surprised by the move. Wasting no time, Bell drove his dagger with both arms into the minotaur's shoulder blade. This time, the blade pierced flesh, driven by the hatred and indignant rage of Bell. A ten-inch standard-issue dagger, however, was not enough to stop the monster. Had he known where the core of the beast was, it might've been different. However, in reality it did little but annoy it, as it reached behind and grabbed the boy's arm with its massive hand, crushing his forearm, then tossing him forward.

This time, Bell felt his fall cushioned by something that most definitely wasn't the hard wall of the cavern.

"Oof!" the red-haired woman let out, as Bell bounced off her and landed to her side. Bell was crumbled up in a heap.

Bell let out a whimper. His body was convulsing.

"Please… stay down. Don't put yourself through more pain before your end. You fought bravely. I will await you in Tenkai… in Valhalla" the woman whispered. Bell didn't know, but she was being uncharacteristically somber, more so than she had ever been her entire existence. She had given up hope.

Bell didn't listen to her words. He couldn't. He couldn't give up. His journey can't end here. He would've left his village for nothing. His dream of being an adventurer, a hero. Hell, even his grandfather's expectations for him to have a harem. He needed to do so much more. He couldn't die,

Most importantly, however, the woman who sat against the Dungeon wall next to him needed him. He had to save her. Bell had always been a defender of the innocent back in his village, like the time he stopped some village bullies from beating a small child, or the time he killed a stray goblin who tried to steal his neighbor's sheep. But this woman. She was different. He had to save her. He felt if he didn't, something of tremendous importance would forever be lost from the world.

Bell stood up. Slowly. Achingly. Trembling from head to toe. But he stood up. His destroyed arm hung limply. His intact arm was used to apply pressure to the piercing pain he felt on his torso. His dagger was still stuck in the minotaur's back.

There Bell stood, between the woman and the minotaur, no weapon to defend himself. The monster stood, smiling. Its smile was cruel and evil. It was the smile of a beast about to play with its food.

III

It had been several minutes since the white-haired boy stood up. Loki could not believe it. This minotaur was irregular in all ways, being on the fifth floor, but more strikingly, with its sadistic nature. The minotaur had knocked the boy over dozens of times, watching him painstakingly get up. It had landed multiple blows on the boy's severely wounded abdomen and limbs. It had chopped off the boy's broken arm. A Dungeon monster was torturing an adventurer that couldn't have been adventuring for more than a year.

Loki had pleaded with the beast to end the boy's misery to no avail. It would not heed reason. Loki also pleaded to the boy to stay down, yet he kept standing up, in a hopeless attempt to defend her. Time after he time, he planted himself between her and the minotaur.

Loki had entered the Dungeon illegally to see her Familia who she missed after being on an expedition for a week. She thought it would be hilarious to surprise them. The look on Finn and Riveria's faces were supposed to be priceless. This prank was supposed to be harmless. This was not what she had in mind. She had caused this to happen to the brave child. She looked away from the torture ongoing, the boy had been mute for a while, likely in deep shock from pain. The horror and shame she felt was unbearable. She was going back to Tenkai, which she could accept. The pain she caused this boy from her foolishness, however, she could not.

All was hopeless. She wanted the boy's misery to end. She wanted to see Finn, Riviera, Gareth, Tiona, Tione, and Ais. She wanted to see Ais. She peered back at the minotaur. At the other end of the cavern, from the opposite path the boy took, she saw blonde hair and felt a gust of wind. The minotaur exploded into pieces of flesh and blood.

'Ha. I'm imagining Ais slaying that wretched beast. Ha. I didn't know a goddess could hallucinate… wait we can't!'

"Ais!" she screamed, tears blinding her as they flowed readily. She was saved. And she was going to do everything to save the boy who saved her, before it was too late.

III

Bell looked up hesitantly, expecting more pain, as if he could even feel more. His entire body became numb a minute ago. Instead of dark fur and viscous blood-red eyes, he saw golden eyes and golden hair. His savior was the most beautiful, angelic person he has ever seen. Light began to fade, the world dimmed, and Bell entered a deep coma.