Is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon? At this point I didn't care; I was going to die. Things didn't go quite the way I had planned.
This was all my grandfather's fault. He insisted that I become a hero and amass a huge harem. Somehow he convinced me that this was possible and I came to Orario to try to achieve his dream. Instead I found myself in a dungeon, being chased by a minotaur.
My grandfather didn't properly instill the dangers of the dungeon to me, and I had been pushing forward like a reckless idiot. Why didn't I listen to my advisor? She knew her stuff and only wanted me to be safe, plus she was a cute half-elf. Even without the minotaur chasing me, I would be lucky to pick up any girl with how weak I was. Eina cared for me, even if it was her job to do so. Maybe I should have pursued her instead of risking my life in the dungeon.
It was too late for me to do anything but wallow and scream. The only reason I was still alive is I'm more mobile, and I can turn corners faster than the minotaur that was chasing me. I rounded one last corner and my heart stopped. It was a dead end. The beast must have noticed my lack of movement, as it too slowed down.
The minotaur walked around the corner slowly until it was directly in front of me. It kicked the ground, snorted and charged at me with his horns. People often ask if dying is painful. I couldn't answer that in all circumstances, but getting impaled by a 2,500 pound bull is. 'At least I can meet my parents now...'
Ais was running up the floors as quickly as possible, ignoring or mowing down monsters in her way. She heard the minotaur clearly for the first time as well as the frantic scrambling of me, the fleeing adventurer. "Awaken tempest!" she yelled, hoping desperately she would not be too late.
She heard a horrific scream and the sound of bones breaking. She sprinted to the minotaur and cut it down in one strike. Behind the monster, Bell collapsed into a bloody heap on the ground. Desperately she tried every healing potion she had with her, to no avail. Tears started flowing down her face. 'It was her fault, she was too slow, useless.' she berated herself. Bell turned his head to look at her and smiled. "Don't cry, " he said as he started to fade away. His words had the opposite effect as she cradled his body. "Don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead, " she repeated as a mantra.
The rest of the first class Loki familia members found her like this, completely covered in blood with tears cascading down her cheeks, with Bell's still form in her arms.
Ais was inconsolable, but Riveria got her standing and moving towards the exit. They lifted Bell's body together. The rest of the familia looked with compassion at the usually emotionless princess, distraught over a corpse in her arms.
As they arrived at the guild area for deceased adventurers, Eina Tulle rushed in and collapsed in tears and wailed "I quit. I couldn't help getting close. He was so pure."
"What happened?" she choked out between sobs. Finn took the lead. "We as good as killed the boy. A minotaur escaped us and found its way to the 5th floor. We take full responsibility for his death. "A lot of good that does," Eina said furiously. "Damn you all to hell, get out!" They bowed their heads. Ais looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't get the words out. Eina curled up into the fetal position as soon as they left and wept quietly, until she was gently picked up by her colleagues and taken to the lounge.
A messenger brought the news to Royman, the head of the guild. He sighed and reflected "Day after day, the dungeon is a harsh and unforgiving place where adventurers put their lives on the line. People get exhausted, overwhelmed, trapped, and killed by unscrupulous fellow adventurers. It was common to sacrifice another for even a slightly increased chance of survival. The harsh reality was that it was a rarity for an adventurer to even receive a proper burial. Those that did care risked their own lives, burdened by the weight of the corpse as they did their best to fight their way back up to the surface."
He said to the messenger "If the Loki Familia is incapable of clearing out minotaurs, then they have no business on the deep floors. All of the profits from the expedition would have gone to the Hestia Familia, but she has already ascended to Tenkai. The money will go to restoring run-down parts of the city, starting with Hestia's church. It will be turned into a monument for the two."
The mood was sombre at the guild court, and Ais couldn't stop crying. She had shown more emotion than she ever had since the boy's death, but nobody was celebrating. She was inconsolable. There was nothing that could make things right. She wasn't fast enough. She needed to get stronger so that nobody ever got hurt again.
The first class adventurers returned to their familia home in despair. The chronically insensitive Bete suggested that it was Bell's fault for being such a weakling. "He shouldn't have gone so deep.'' Bete was beaten mostly to death by his fellow adventurers, healed by Riveria and beaten again. Only then did Finn put a stop to things. He looked down at the barely conscious Bete. "How well would you have fared against a minotaur at level one? That thing was ten floors too high. Lay here and reflect upon your behaviour."
Finn said "Another inexperienced adventurer was lost today. Not an uncommon occurrence even for the veteran, but today we were at fault. There is nothing we can do except get stronger and make sure nothing like this happens again."
Up in Tenkai, Hestia looked for Bell's soul to no avail. She despaired, but hope was not lost. Bell's journey was just beginning.