Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Danmachi. Both belong to their respective owners.
Hello my wonderful readers, I come with a new chapter!
Thanks to all of you, I've managed to reach the 500 Review Milestone! I greatly appreciate all of your support and your patience for my update schedule.
Once again, I have come to you with information related to gaming and anime.
Pokémon finally ended Ash and Pikachu's journey. It's certainly a bittersweet feeling. I might make a fanfic on Ash going to the Paldea region and get involved in Pokémon Scarlet/Violet game storyline if I have the time and motivation.
I've started reading the manga known as Blue Lock. Normally, I'm not really into sports anime/manga. But for some reason, Blue Lock made it VERY fun to read. For those who are interested in sports anime/manga, give it a shot.
But other than that, my life has been relatively fine for the most part. School and Genshin Impact is taking up a majority of my schedule. Saving up for Kaveh and Baizhu.
Let's start the chapter.
Chapter 14: Moment's Reprieve
"You have got to be kidding me."
Hestia sat in her chair with disbelief all over her face, as she couldn't believe what she is hearing.
Here she was, sitting in Ganesha's office before the God of Masses himself. She thought she was going to get a normal report from Ganesha about Heartless activity within Orario, and that Ganesha wouldn't be needing Sora's assistance for the time being.
Once again, Sora is proving to be the most irritating, unpredictable, and most headache inducing factor in all of this.
"I, Ganesha, would never joke about such a thing Hestia!" Ganesha loudly declared.
"Keep your voice down! I can hear you just fine!" Hestia snapped with irritation. "And besides, we're supposed to keep things quiet! It defeats the whole purpose if you're loudly declaring it to the rest of the World!"
"I, Ganesha, agree!" Ganesha loudly agreed, making Hestia's eyebrow twitch. The God then cleared his throat for a bit, before he folded his fingers together.
"As I was saying. I, Ganesha, would never joke about things like this. I certainly didn't expect Shakti to achieve a Level Up after giving her some time off." Ganesha admitted.
Silence was made when he made that declaration.
Hestia honestly couldn't believe what she heard. Unless memory serves her correctly, Sora and the Ganesha Familia Captain only interacted by the counter of fingers. That is far less compared to constant time Bell and Sora practically spend with each other.
If a few interactions could bring about a Level Up, Bell should've Leveled Up a long time ago. But instead, he's still stuck as a Level 1. Albeit, his stats practically far surpass any Level 1 at this point.
Could it be that the bond between Shakti and Sora surpass that of Bell's bond with Sora?
'That's not possible with only a few interactions...perhaps it has to do with the fact that Ganesha Familia's Captain's status before Sora came into the picture was at a decent parameter, and his Link to All simply puts the status into the right spot for a Level Up...' Hestia thought with a thoughtful look.
Seems the most plausible.
"I, Ganesha, am still baffled that the Heartless are capable of giving such a large amount of excelia. It would certainly explain why Sora is quite strong, despite being a Level 1. Though it baffles me why he hasn't leveled up like Shakti. Do you know the reason why?" Ganesha curiously asked.
Hestia froze when he asked that question.
He's getting close to Sora's true strength and Link to All!
She needed to find some way to divert this conversation!
"...Even I couldn't understand how he managed to get this much strength without a Level Up. So I'm just as lost as you." Hestia answered.
She wasn't exactly lying on that part. A part of her is still struggling to understand how Sora managed to grow so strong without a Falna.
"I see..." Ganesha muttered. "Still...to Level Up this quickly thanks to the Heartless. This information alone is mind-shattering, to say the least."
"You have no idea. If word of this got out, then Adventurers would practically hunt down the Heartless for some sweet Excelia gain. And we all know that Heartless aren't to be underestimated, and having your Heart stolen by them just makes it worse for everyone..." Hestia groaned while rubbing her forehead.
"Indeed. I'd also imagine that such sensitive information would practically have the Gods come after Sora due to his Skill. I understand quite well why you want to keep Sora hidden from the Gods, including me." Ganesha admitted. "Rest assured, I will continue to treat Sora as an important member to work with. He intends on eliminating the Heartless to protect the masses; a sentiment that I, Ganesha, fully intend on supporting."
Hestia gave a small sigh of relief. While Ganesha is certainly right about the high excelia gain, he's entirely wrong on source. Thankfully, he's not asking too many questions.
"Right...Hey, I just noticed this just now, but where is your Familia Captain? Shouldn't she be present with you in this meeting too, considering how she was involved with the Heartless?" Hestia curiously asked.
"About that..." Ganesha started.
~ Break ~
"That's the 3rd Soma Familia member we caught..." one of the Ganesha Familia members remarked as he watched a detained Soma Familia members being led to one of the cells. "Too bad the other got away during this whole mess. Catching him is going to be a pain in the ass..."
"Eh, he'll show up eventually. It's only a matter of time before that guy returns back to the Soma Familia." another Ganesha Familia member remarked. "But seriously, these guys are truly desperate to get their hands whatever valis they can get to get, just for Soma Familia wine. I thought those guys had special privileges, being a member of that Familia and all that."
"What do you think, Captain?" the Ganesha Familia member asked when he turned to their Familia Captain, who was currently looking through their written reports.
"It's clear that the Soma Familia isn't as stable as they seem..." Shakti simply said while looking through the reports, her eyes narrowed in concentration. "You two are dismissed. Return to your usual duties."
The two Ganesha Familia members saluted and took off. When they took off, Shakti lets out a small exhale.
"...The situation is more troublesome than I initially expected..."
Ever since she returned back to the surface, she kept good to her own promise on keeping a very heavy eye on Soma Familia and their activities.
As it turns out, the three Soma Familia members that attempted to rob Sora and his party are far from first arrests that come from the Soma Familia. Soma of their Familia members were heavily involved in some shady and illegal activities, all in the name of earning a good amount of valis.
The third one they caught was involved in illegal smuggling of questionable materials.
"Even with all of these activities, it's not enough to put the Soma Familia under heavy warranty or even dissolving. Just heavy fines at most..." Shakti muttered.
However, should she continue to catch enough Soma Familia members, it should be enough proof to put the Soma Familia to be put under heavy pressure and have the Guild practically give them the ultimatum of cleaning up their act, or face even heavier fines that could bankrupt the Familia, and bankruptcy can lead to the Soma Familia dissolving.
"It's only a matter of time and diligence, but all of them showed unstable behaviors..." Shakti quietly noted.
It serves as to no surprise that one of their Familia members wants to leave, but the Soma Familia Captain is certainly not making things easy for that Familia member. So much so that Sora decides to step in and help out.
"I hope you know what you're doing Sora. The Soma Familia is very unstable..." Shakti quietly said.
Speaking of Sora, she hasn't heard back from him for the past few days, nor have their been any reports from the Ganesha Familia about the sighting of Sora on the surface.
That means he's still in the Dungeon.
Shakti frowned when she remembered her last interaction with Sora.
~ Break ~
A Few Days Ago
A certain spiky haired teenager and two Captains stood before each other while they were at the exiting outskirts of Rivira.
"Sora, are you sure about this? Surely, you could stick around Large Tree Labyrinth and gather materials from there to gain a decent profit." Shakti told Sora with a concerned frown.
"I'm sure." Sora said with confidence.
"I dunno. Even as a Level 5, trying to solo all the way to the Deep Floors isn't exactly an easy task. Having a magic sword increases your chances of survival. Speaking of which...where the hell did you get that?" Tsubaki asked when pointing to the weapon that Sora held over his shoulders.
When they took their eyes off of Sora for just a moment, they found Sora holding a brand new weapon in his hand.
A giant oversized silver Key.
Sora went silent for a bit while his face went blank for a bit.
"...My pockets...?" Sora answered with an unsure expression.
"Seriously?" Tsubaki said, her expression full of disbelief.
Shakti, however, simply cleared her throat.
"Collbrande, need I remind you of the conditions that you're under?" Shakti reminded.
Tsubaki's eyebrow twitched and gave a small 'tch' and turned her head away.
"In any case, even if your magic sword is special like the previous ones, it will eventually break down over time, leaving you defenseless before the monsters." Shakti told Sora.
Sora, however, didn't exactly look deterred when told this.
"Don't worry, this particular weapon of mine doesn't transform into anything! And this has been with me since the beginning of my journey. There's no way this weapon of mine will break down on me!" Sora confidently said, having faith in his Kingdom Key, the very first Keyblade and consistent Keyblade that's been with him throughout his entire journey.
"So it doesn't transform..." Tsubaki quietly noted.
Shakti could only remain silent, before she gave a small sigh.
"It seems you're dead set on this. I certainly don't have the authority or power to stop you from exploring the depths of the Dungeon, but I'll say this once more: the Deeper Floors are not to be underestimated under any circumstances. Be cautious, especially since you're doing this alone. If you find yourself overwhelmed, then stop and retreat to live another day." Shakti reminded once more.
Sora simply blinked at this information, before he gave a small chuckle.
"I appreciate your concern Shakti. And don't worry, there's a lot of things I need to accomplish outside of the Dungeon. There's no way that I'm going to recklessly throw away my life." Sora told her, before he gave a grin once more.
"If you're worrying this much, then how about this? I promise that I'll be back within a week! And the first thing I'll do as soon as I get back is pay the Ganesha Familia a visit! How's that for reassurance?" Sora told her.
Shakti blinked when she heard this. She certainly hasn't expected this from Sora. But hearing this promise...
"...I find those terms acceptable. Very well then, I expect find you back at the surface within a week. If not..." Shakti said.
"Then feel free to send a search party for me then. But I'll make sure that won't come to pass." Sora told her.
Shakti stared at Sora for a short moment, before she gave a small nod.
"...Alright. If that is the case, then I wish you the best of luck of your time in the Dungeon."
"You bet I will!" Sora optimistically responded.
With that said, Sora immediately turned around and began to run off to the entrance of the 19th floor of the Dungeon.
Shakti could only stand there in silence as she watched Sora's figure get smaller in the distance, until she couldn't see him in sight anymore.
~ Break~
Half of the week has already passed since their departure. They're almost reaching their week agreement, and yet there's no sign of Sora showing up.
She was very tempted to form a search party to investigate the Lower Floors of the Dungeon, but doing so would probably raise some questions and waste resources. Resources that can be used to keep a look out for Heartless.
Shakti could only give a small sigh as she sets down the papers.
"Just a few more days..." Shakti quietly said to herself, before she shook her head to focus.
She should spend less time worrying and focus more on practical matters.
With her newfound status as a Level 6, she should be use this newfound strength to increase the efficiency of her work as Familia Captain.
"Speaking of efficiency...I wonder how my new equipment is coming along..." Shakti quietly said to herself in wonder.
~ Break ~
"...Well isn't this a familiar sight..." Hephastois remarked when she looked around Tsubaki's personal workshop.
The room before her is littered with multiple sketches, both on the floor and on the desks. There was some crumpled up paper and tossed near an already full trash bin.
And Tsubaki was standing near the furnace while hammering away on the anvil, not even taking notice of who entered the room.
"Tsubaki." the Goddess called out to her Familia Captain.
Hearing a new voice caused the half-dwarf to jump up a bit in her seat, before she turned around to see Hephastois standing before her.
"O-Oh, Lady Hephastois. What brings you here?" Tsubaki greeted with surprise.
"Well, you've been practically shutting yourself away inside your workshop. I barely see you outside." Hephastois told her.
The irony of that statement wasn't lost to her, considering how she went through a similar experience.
The Goddess of the Forge, however, soon took notice of the material being forged.
"...Those materials..." Hephastois noted.
"Oh, right. These two." Tsubaki flatly commented when looking towards her creation. "Honestly, I'm willing to fight strong monsters if it meant getting valuable materials to forge with. But with these two...honestly, it's far more troublesome than I could imagine. Not to mention the price I had to pay..." Tsubaki muttered with exasperation.
'I don't remember giving any of those two particular materials to her, and that other one...it's completely new...' Hephastois thought, before she slowly began to realize something.
"...Tsubaki...did you manage to get these from Sora?" Hephastois asked, making her Captain blink upon hearing this question.
"Huh, you've managed to figure it out that fast?" Tsubaki commented.
"Based on observation. Did you manage to convince him to become his Blacksmith?" Hephastois questioned incredulously.
"I wish." Tsubaki huffed with annoyance. "I've managed to get these from him after contributing in this huge fight with this abnormal monster showing up on the 18th floor. You weren't kidding about these dark monsters being dangerous." Tsubaki remarked.
"Wait a moment...dark monsters...!?" Hephastois muttered in alarm, before her lone eye narrowed. "Tsubaki. Tell me everything that occurred within the Dungeon. Do not leave out any single detail." Hephastois told her Captain.
This made Tsubaki blink upon hearing this from her Goddess, but she complied with the order.
By the end of her recounting, Hephastois could only sigh while rubbing her forehead.
'I swear, every run in with Sora is going to attract something outrageous. The fact that the Heartless gave two Level 5 Captains this much trouble is something that's not good to hear. They only managed to survive because Sora was there...' Hephastois grimly thought, before she focused back on Tsubaki.
"You're honestly lucky that the Ganesha Familia Captain decided to let you off the hook. I would've been met with more headaches if I were to discover that my own Familia Captain ended up being arrested for butting into classified activities." Hephastois told her.
"Yeah yeah, I heard you. Still, I'm not gonna complain that I've managed to walk away relatively fine...for the most part. It's annoying that I have to honor the condition of not being able to ask Sora about his absurd weapons, and the fact that these materials are going to Varma." Tsubaki huffed, before her eyebrow heavily twitched.
"Speaking of which...Lady Hephastois, did you know about what Sora's weapons could do?" Tsubaki asked.
This made Hephastois blink upon hearing this question, before she gave an exasperated sigh.
"To some extent. I take it that you've witnessed Sora's weapons firsthand?" Hephastois asked.
"You bet I did! And what I witnessed was the absolute impossible! How could a magic sword be able to deflect magic, cast water magic, and even transform into a spear!? I'd understand if it was one of the first two, but transforming into another weapon in itself is just plain absurd!" Tsubaki listed on with incredulousness.
"Like I told you Tsubaki. Sora's weapons are something that far surpass any weapons that I'm capable of forging of, and I don't admit it that easily." Hephastois told her.
"Even so...I gotta learn how Sora's blacksmith was able to forge such a weapon in the first place! It has to do with a Skill or Developmental Ability that he has, like Welf's bloodline! Even if that was the case, I want to know the forging process behind it all!" Tsubaki declared, really intent on how such a weapon is forged in the first place. As a Blacksmith, she deeply wanted to attain any knowledge to advance her work.
"...Even if that was the case, I doubt that you'll be able to do it. It's just something that Sora's...blacksmith is able to do alone." Hephastois told her while her eyebrow twitched at the mention of Sora's supposed blacksmith (which is Sora).
The Goddess of the Forge just gave a sigh.
"In any case, it's best you stop, other wise you'll find yourself in deeper trouble. And speaking of trouble, what you got yourself involved in should be kept secret. Do not, under any circumstances, share what you encountered with anyone. Even if a God asks you, do not answer. Just leave that to me." Hephastois told her.
"Don't worry, I won't bug Sora that much on the details, considering the conditions I'm under. I'll just have to search for Sora's blacksmith for the time being..." Tsubaki simply said, making Hephastois face palm upon hearing this.
"...Honestly..." Hephastois muttered, all the while feeling a headache at Tsubaki's stubbornness. She decided to focus on something else to get away from said headache. "In any case, the expedition is drawing near. I should update your status since I'm here."
"Oh, right, that." Tsubaki quietly said to herself, remembering that was a thing. "Sure, give me a sec..."
When Tsubaki exposed her back to her Goddess, Hephastois began to update her status. As she did, she watched the numbers change...
"Hm, a rather decent gain all things considered. You gained a good amount of Excelia after that encounter with the dark monster." Hephastois remarked.
"That so?"
"Indeed. You're going to need it, considering that you're going into an expedition into the Deeper Floors of the Dungeon." Hephastois told her.
"Right...expedition. Honestly, with Sora's capabilities, he would've made a perfect member for the Loki Familia's expedition. We could be together in that expedition, which means more opportune moments. Alas, the kid is diving deeper into the Dungeon on his own..."
'...Taking on the Dungeon alone, especially with the Deeper Floors, is a fools task. Though, given that this is Sora we're talking about...I have a feeling that he's somehow going to prove us wrong once more...' Hephastois thought, before she realized something from Tsubaki's earlier comment.
'...Now that Tsubaki is mentioning it, Hestia has been complaining to me how the Loki Familia is on the lookout for Sora for their expedition.' Hephastois thought.
The Goddess of the Forge wondered how Loki is taking Sora's absence.
~ Break ~
"Seriously, where the hell is he!?"
Finn could only sigh in exasperation when he heard this, and looked up from his paperwork to see Loki kicking the air in frustration when sitting on the room's couch.
"Lady Loki, I believe this is the 7th time you said that aloud." Finn pointed out.
"I believe I'm in my rights!" Loki yelled in anger and frustration, and bit her thumb. "Seriously, I practically send my children to look everywhere in Orario, and not once have they spotted him! Seriously, it's not that hard to find spiky hair like that among the crowd!"
Finn could only rub his forehead upon hearing this.
Right.
These past few days have been rather...interesting, to say the least. Especially when they have to indulge in Loki's whims and schemes.
This time around? Trying to recruit a particular Adventurer for their expedition. Loki has been very interested in this one particular Adventurer named Sora.
Finn will admit, he's rather confused and curious about Sora when hearing about him through the accounts of other Familia members.
A Level 1 who's capable of performing beyond their given Level. Being capable of fighting around the same capability as a Level 5, and has a short chant healing spell to boot. Not to mention a Skill that brings out some kind of special attack when working alongside other Familia members. And that's not going into the account of his abnormal magic swords.
'...It's rather weird and coincidental to learn about this, while also encountering the mysterious boy from the 50th floor...' Finn thought as his mind remembered back on what happened, especially during the whole Rivira incident.
The mysterious boy, capable of performing magic far beyond what you'd expect from a mage. One could say that he's the second coming of the Silence. And that's not a title that's given away easily.
'It makes me wonder if they have some sort of connection...' Finn thought to himself, before he sight fell back onto Loki sulking on the couch.
Right. He has to deal with Loki.
Honestly, he couldn't understand why Loki told him to tell the members that he, in particular, is interested in recruiting Sora into their expedition. That he would suggest the lower Familia members to go searching for Sora to increase their success. When in reality, that's all of Loki's desires.
When he shared this idea with the Familia, he got some mixed reactions.
Some of them were intrigued about this mysterious Level 1 Adventurer. Others were downright skeptical about a Level 1 being very capable to fight alongside a Level 5 Adventurer on equal level and wondered if he's lying about his status or they're just exaggerating.
Then there was the higher Level Familia members.
Gareth was fine with the arrangement, alongside showing some curiosity on how a Level 1 is able to perform far beyond his given Level.
Tiona and Tione weren't against it. They were rather curious about this mysterious Level 1, and how he's able to perform on a similar Level to them. Tiona was rather eager to interact with Sora and learn more about him.
Bete seemed really annoyed by the idea of recruiting Sora, but for different reasons entirely. Usually, Bete would go on how recruiting a Level 1 to their expedition is a big fat waste of time, and how weaklings have no such place for this. However, Bete never mentioned any of the sort. If anything, he's rather annoyed in personally interacting with Sora. And as soon as Sora is mentioned, Bete immediately leaves and says that he has things to take care of in the Dungeon.
Then there's Riveria and Ais, who he especially took note of.
When he brought this idea up with Riveria, Riveria's expression didn't change much. She seemed very...neutral towards the idea. She didn't exactly oppose the idea, but she wasn't exactly interested or eager to push forward with recruiting Sora. That type of reaction is rather odd in Finn's opinion. Riveria would've shown some curiosity towards the Sora and his short chant healing spell, just as she was rather intrigued by the mysterious boy's capabilities. But instead, it looked like she just wanted to stay out of this matter.
Then there was Ais.
The Sword Princess in particular stiffened upon the mention of Sora, and simply responded with an "I see..." response. Then there was a bit of conflict that showed up in her expression, before she went into her neutral features and walked off. Like she was debating to herself what was the right thing to do.
'Those two know something about Sora that we don't...' Finn thought.
Well, if those two were hiding something about Sora and didn't wish to bring it up with Loki, then they must have very personal and good reason to do so. So he's going to trust Riveria and Ais's actions, and will eventually ask them theirs reasons about Sora when the time is right.
'...Even if they were to be active in searching and bringing Sora to Loki, getting Sora to accept is another thing entirely...' Finn thought when he looked back at the sulking Goddess on the couch.
Sora is a member of the Hestia Familia, a rather small and low-ranking Familia. And Hestia is a particular Goddess that Loki does not like to get along with.
Perhaps it's that mutual dislike for each other that made Loki go through with such a convoluted plan to recruit Sora.
In Finn's opinion, he felt that Loki was just overcomplicating things. The Goddess could've simply just directly ask Hestia for Sora's recruitment into the Familia Expedition. Then again, Hestia might've refused such an offer.
'I suppose in the end, recruiting Sora into our expedition isn't very likely.' Finn mentally said to himself, before he glanced out the window.
'Still...I wonder what Ais is doing with Sora...'
~ Break ~
The clash of knives and sheath was loudly being made.
Bell was frantically moving to keep track of the sheath coming in to whack him away. However, day by day, he's slowly getting used to Ais's sword patterns and swings.
He kept moving his one arm to keep parrying whatever strikes that comes his way, his arm screaming in strain upon each deflection and movement. He immediately jumped to the side when Ais raised her leg and attempted to kick him, narrowly missing him in the process.
He immediately raised up his second knife when Ais was able to return to original position quickly and swing her sheathe once more. Once again, the force of Ais's swing made Bell use up all of his strength to not tumble over.
Bell then spun himself to realign his position and strike at Ais, only for Ais to simply raise her sheath to block his strike. Once he performed that strike, he immediately kicked off the ground to perform an acrobatic jump into the air. Once he was upside down in the air, he grabbed hold of his Trancheuse and threw a set of them towards Ais.
Ais immediately began to deflect them all with her sheathe. Once she did, Bell immediately went for a stab. This made the Sword Princess jump to the side, and moved faster than Bell could anticipate. In his periphery, he saw Ais raising her leg.
Bell immediately raised his arm when Ais's leg hit him. The force of Ais's kick made Bell go off to the side, which cleared up an open path towards Lefiya, who immediately started backing away as soon as she saw Bell knocked to the side.
Ais closed the distance between the two immediately swung her sheathe at Lefiya, only for Lefiya to immediately swing her staff to deflect the incoming strike. Lefiya kept on chanting as she kept backing away to get a distance from Ais.
Before Ais could make another step, her instincts told her to block an incoming strike, and raised her sheathe to block an incoming strike from Bell, who managed to recover from her kick.
From there, Bell immediately jumped into the air and went above Ais. Immediately, Bell threw another set of his Trancheuse knives. This made Ais sidestep from her spot, letting the knives hit the ground. As she did, she immediately jumped into the air as well, and proceeded to kick Bell out of the air and onto the ground.
When she landed on the ground, she immediately turned around to go to Lefiya, only for Lefiya to point the staff towards her.
"Luna Aldis!"
A green light shot forth from Lefiya and it rained towards Bell, was on kneeling on the ground. The injuries that made their mark on Bell's body slowly began to fade away as a result.
The moment she did her spell, everyone in that moment fell silent. Both Bell and Ais stared at Lefiya in surprise, while Lefiya blinked a few times, not realizing what she just pulled off.
"...You did it Lefiya!" Bell said with amazement.
"...You pulled it off." Ais said with surprise in her voice.
"I did it...?" Lefiya muttered in a stupor, before her eyes widened in surprise. "I-I did it...!"
"You did it!" Bell congratulated with a smile.
"...You succeeded." Ais said with a small smile.
"I did...after all the time and effort...I did it...!" Lefiya muttered, still can't believing what happened. But she soon felt elation that she managed to finally pull it off.
Pulling off Concurrent Chanting while Ais attacking her seemed like a far distant goal. The fact fact that she managed to pull it off in just a few days is just shocking to the elf mage.
Still, she can't count this as a huge achievement of her own, considering...
"...You have my thanks, Bell." Lefiya thanked with a small thankful smile, which made the white haired boy blink in confusion upon hearing this.
"W-Wait, why are you thanking me?" Bell asked in confusion.
"I can't take all of the credit. I only managed to pull this off because you managed to keep Ais occupied." Lefiya sincerely told him.
Bell was a crucial factor in all of this. In all honestly, trying to train with Ais alone while being Lower Level is asking for a serious beating. She couldn't imagine herself taking on this type of hellish training alone. Instead, Bell is taking a majority of the blows from Ais's attacks, unintentionally acting as her meat shield.
That fact alone made her appreciate what he has done.
"I-I wouldn't go giving me too much credit. I'm still struggling in just trying to prevent myself from being knocked out too quickly. I still got a long way to go..." Bell gave a weak smile while scratching his cheek.
Lefiya frowned when she heard this. This self-deprecation didn't sit well with her. It started to remind her of her own past experiences.
"You shouldn't sell yourself too short Bell." Lefiya said with a small frown. "You've actually managed to hold yourself against Ais for a good period of time. As a Level 1. I'm not exaggerating when I say that all of our Level 1s in our Familia couldn't even hold a candle to what you're performing." Lefiya told him.
"R-Really?" Bell responded with surprise.
"...She's right." Ais agreed. "...You've grown quite fast. To the point where I'm confident that you can beat any Level 1 in our Familia."
Bell's jaw dropped a bit when he heard all of this.
He...He's grown enough to the point where Ais and Lefiya admit that he can beat Level 1s from the Loki Familia, one of the top Familias in Orario. This...This is just shocking for Bell to learn.
But even with all of this...this still isn't enough.
He hasn't properly caught up with Sora yet.
"...Thank you." Bell thanked with a small grateful smile, but soon gave a thoughtful look. "Still, I've got a lot ahead of me. I don't intend on slowing down any time soon." Bell told them. "...So...please, let's spar once more Ais!"
"M-Me too! Even if I managed to pull this off, there are still much to improve!" Lefiya spoke up. She can't stop now if Bell is still showing the resolve to grown even further. She won't be slowing down from this milestone that she achieved today.
Ais lets out a small smile.
"Of course."
As they prepared themselves once more, Bell gave a small glance towards the Tower of Babel.
'Sora...I hope you're alright in what you're doing in the Dungeon. And once we meet, I'll be better than before!' Bell thought with determination, as he turned to face Ais once more.
Time to make the most out of this last training session together.
~ Break ~
The 37th Floor.
Also known as the White Palace.
Amongst the 37th, there are 5 "rooms" that floor holds: the Throne Room, the Knight's Room, the Warrior's Room, the Soldier's Room, and the Beast's Room.
In the eastern area of the Warrior's Room is a location known as the Colosseum. It is the largest room on the floor in which monsters constantly fight each other to the death. The room spawns monsters non-stop until a certain amount is reached. Even when the limit is reached and the numbers start to go down, the room will always quickly replenish the number of monsters.
It's an area that no adventurer wishes to visit, even the first rate adventurers dread upon going to that room, as there's nothing but endless monsters. There's nothing to gain from this area, so no one will enter the area voluntarily.
"This is not a good way to make valis..."
Save for one person.
Sora stood in the center of the Colosseum, and around him was littered with endless corpses of monsters. Even amongst the corpses, the monsters still kept coming.
Sora has honestly thought that with this large amount of monsters, he can kill a lot of them and gather their magic stones and parts.
The only problem is actually getting the magic stones.
See, it takes some time to extract the magic stones out of the monster, and hopefully get drops out of them when they fade into dark ashes. And it's that time when monsters begin to respawn, giving Sora little time to get as much as he hoped.
"And here I thought I found a good method to make a good amount of valis. Maybe I need to dive in more deeper into the dungeon..." Sora said to himself, before he noticed that he was being surrounded by monsters once more, and they were all making their way towards him.
Seeing how he had enough of this room, Sora nodded to himself.
"Well, time to finish things off!" Sora declared, before he proceeded to jump up high into the air.
As Sora jumped up high into the air, it caused all the monsters in the arena to look up towards Sora, all of them waiting for him to come down to them so they can get him in their grasps.
Little did they know, however, was that Sora was going to twist that idea onto them.
When Sora reached the air, five large pillars of Light erupted around Sora, before they began to collapse and condense into large orbs. These large orbs of light then closed in on Sora and were absorbed into Sora, before a dark energy orb erupted from Sora.
Once that dark energy field appeared around Sora, the monsters soon began to notice that their bodies were being lifted off the ground, and were soon sucked into the dark energy field that surrounded Sora, like he was a black hole.
No monster in the Colosseum was spared from this Ancient Light.
When all of them were absorbed into the dark energy field, a burst of light erupted out of Sora and multiple light constructs of Keyblades began to cut down whatever was in the field.
After a short period of time, the light began to die down. If any Adventurer was present at this very scene, they couldn't believe their eyes on what they would see before them.
The Colosseum was completely empty.
Only small traces of magic stones and monster parts littered the entire arena.
Sora landed on the ground, and looked around his surroundings. All he could see were a few remains of monster drops that fell onto the floor. The magic crystals were either broken and completely destroyed. He then noticed that the room was already spawning in new monsters. Seeing how they're making their way out of the wall, Sora quickly moved to gather all of the monster parts he could salvage before making his way out of the Colosseum.
"Well, better than nothing I suppose..." Sora remarked when looking through the spoils of the battle, before he placed it into his pocket. He then gave a small sigh.
"Right, so much for that plan. If that's the case...then I gotta go deeper then." Sora said to himself, and then he materialized his Starlight Keyblade.
"Alright, better get going! I only got a few days left before I return back to the surface! Let's hope the monsters in this Dungeon drop some pretty good material to sell!" Sora declared.
He then ran towards the wall and jumped off of it, using his Flowmotion to travel faster through the Dungeon's terrain.
If an Adventurer were to see Sora leave the scene, they would see a blue glow flowing deeper into the depths of the Dungeon.
~ Break ~
In a Floor that is much higher than Sora was a figure who was currently hobbling through the mist of the 12th Floor of the Dungeon.
"Damn it...! Why the hell is the Ganesha Familia on our asses all of a sudden...!?" a Soma Familia members yelled in confusion and outrage.
The Soma Familia member in particular is a runaway criminal who was caught in the act of smuggling illegal items. The Soma Familia member had no choice but to flee the scene in order to escape the Ganesha Familia's clutches.
In his delirious state, the Soma Familia member decided the best way to get the Ganesha Famililia off his trail is to do some hiding within the Dungeon. With his decent Status, he should be able to hold out for a while.
"I'll just wait a few hours in here...should be enough time before I can return back home with the money...and I'll finally get a sip of it once more...!" the Soma Familia muttered with a hungry look.
Before he could think on that wine further, his ears picked up heavy footsteps behind him. He gave a small annoyed scowl, and turned his head to take out the monster that is approaching him.
Only to freeze in shock and horror upon what he saw before him.
"Ah..." the Soma Familia gasped in horror as he took a few steps back.
"What...What is a minotaur doing here on the 12th-!?" the Soma Familia member yelled in horror and shock.
He couldn't finish his words when the shadowy figure quickly closed the distance between them and plunged its fist deep into the man's chest.
The man could only choke out in pain as the monster plunged the fist into his insides. And slowly, the monster pulled out a particular glowing object outside of the man's body.
It brought out a pink crystal heart shaped object out of the man's body.
The monster gazed at the heart shaped object in its hand, before it proceeded to crush the Heart in its hand. As it did, the Soma Familia member could only give out a noiseless scream as his whole body began to break apart and fade away into the Darkness.
When left alone, the shadowy figure proceeded to give out a loud bloodcurdling roar. One that could be heard throughout the entire floor itself.
It hungered for more Hearts.
And that's a wrap to this chapter!
Short chapter, I know. But after last chapter, I figured that we needed a bit of a breather (especially with me). This chapter serves as the 'calm before the storm'.
Because next chapter is the one that you've all been waiting for. One that involves a certain white haired Adventurer and a Minotaur. Especially when they've been touched and influenced by Kingdom Hearts.
(Link to All's Effect)
To quote a reader I found from a Kingdom Hearts x Campione Fanfic (called Another Night Sky):
"Sora is a kind of metaphorical self-combustion. He is always on fire, metaphorically, thus those who need warmth seek him out, and those who seek power burn their hands trying to grab him."
This very quote applies to Shakti and Tsubaki.
For Shakti's case, she managed to Level Up thanks to Sora, due to her seeking help from Sora while also offering whatever help she can in return. She wasn't particularly exploiting Sora, but getting stronger so she could be of better help in his quest against the Heartless.
That motive has given her a large reward in return in the form of a Level Up.
Honestly, I wanted to hide Shakti's Level Up until the Denatus chapter. But that honestly felt a long way from there, and I wouldn't want you guys to be in the dark for too long. That, and Ganesha agreed that he must report to Hestia about his activities with Sora.
Now for Tsubaki.
And I figured might as well show Sora's Link to All Effects on Tsubaki...it led to a decent jump in Danmachi standards. Sora and Tsubaki aren't exactly buddy buddy with one another, considering how Tsubaki mainly sees Sora as a valuable source of synthesis materials and information on his Keyblade. Sora, on the other hand, is mainly exasperated by her actions and generally prefers to avoid her. He's thankful for her help, yes, but the connection isn't exactly there.
And because of her motives, she ended up paying a rather hefty price and little return.
It's a lot better than Bete, but not exactly impressive compared to the likes of Shakti.
Fun Fact of the Day
As the Thirteen Seekers of Darkness were selected for the data battles of the DLC, Nomura grew conflicted over keeping Xion as one of them and considered cutting her, but hesitated too late as she was already in development.
In all honesty, if it weren't for his hesitation, we wouldn't have gotten such a killer boss theme for Xion's data battle. Even if Xion's data battle is frustratingly hard.