Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Danmachi. Both belong to their respective owners.

Hello my dear readers, I come with a new chapter to read!

Let's start off with something I've noticed in my reviews.

I've noticed a good majority of my Reviews explaining Sora's power levels and him beating Hercules practically means he's more powerful than practically everyone and all that jazz. Look, I'm well aware of that. And I'm pretty sure Sora defeated Ottar last chapter, with just a simple Formchange and no magic at all, which pretty much cements Sora's position above Ottar.

Now that we got that out of the way, please chill with Sora's power level and his relativity to others. I don't want this to escalate to the level of the Dragon Ball fandom's constant argument of Goku's power levels.

CHAPTER UPDATE: So a lot of people have pointed out how the Zeus, Hera, AND the Freya Familia managed to go beyond the 50th floor and reach the 59th floor. My mistake, I've made an oopsie right there. I've fixed it. My knowledge in Danmachi has a few gaps.

Let's start the chapter.

Arc 2: Amongst the Shadows

Start

Chapter 16: Level Up

Freya sighed in absolute bliss as she sat on a rather comfortable chair while observing Orario from her window.

This feeling hasn't left her ever since she witnessed a spectacular sight before her. The sight of a clash between Bell and the abnormal Minotaur is something she won't ever forget.

It caught her off guard how the Minotaur became some darkened variant. Even Ottar told her that he had no knowledge of this whatsoever, meaning the Minotaur became an irregular variant after training it. Learning about this only confused the love goddess.

But aside from that, her vision of the darkened Minotaur made her skin absolutely crawl. While monsters don't have souls, there's something about the minotaur that made her only see black. There was no light nor color to be seen. It felt like she was staring into the deepest and darkest of abyss. One that could swallow up everything.

On the other hand, Bell's soul was shining so brightly despite it being transparent. Even if Sora wasn't around to brighten the soul through their link, Bell's soul managed to shine as brilliantly as ever in the clash.

Light and Darkness, clashing so intensely against one another. It was a sight that made Freya go into absolute bliss at the sight.

"Such a beautiful sight..." Freya whispered to herself as she twirled around her wine glass. "Honestly, I have Sora to thank for allowing such things to occur..."

Speaking of Sora, the boy of mystery kept on surprising her.

It was surprising for Sora to defeat Allen.

It was downright mind-blowing when Ottar, Orario's only Level 7 and strongest warrior, lost in combat against Sora. It's been a long time since Ottar faced a loss. Not since those dark days in Orario, where Ottar was defeated by Zald, a member of the Zeus Familia.

"...And Sora managed to make Ottar's soul shine as well..." Freya muttered.

But the strange thing is, there was no connection between Sora and Ottar, not like before. Ottar was shining a bit brighter, which is a stark contrast to Allen's soul, which was darkened with outrage.

And much to her shock, Ottar displayed an emotion that came from beyond his stoic demeanor: excitement. Well, it was rather hard to tell with his usual stoic demeanor. But when you look deeply into his eyes, you'll find something of a fire lit up within him. A fire that was diminished for a a good while, but lit up again with renewed vigor. It was something a warrior like him has been deprived of for a long period of time.

Ottar was excited for a challenge to overcome.

"...It's amazing how Sora can just influence others greatly..." Freya muttered.

And Sora's influence can even change the power dynamic of Orario completely.

Freya knew that her Familia is Orario's strongest Familia, with only Loki's Familia having a possible chance in beating her if they played their cards right.

But Sora's arrival has completely changed everything.

Hestia now possesses the most powerful piece in all of Orario. With such a powerful piece by her side, Hestia now has the power to have a large influence in Orario, and have it go in her favor.

"...Things are about to change in Orario." Freya quietly said to herself, and a small smile grew on her lips. "I look forward to what the future has in store."

~ Break ~

Bell felt something wet brushing against his face.

Bell could only groan a bit in discomfort, feeling this weird feeling constantly put against his face. He tried to move his arms, but he felt this heavy weight on top of his body.

Bell groaned further as he groggily opened his eyes, his vision rather hazy. As he slowly opened his eyes, he could only blink a few times before he slowly regained clarity in his vision.

And when his vision was cleared up before him...

He was greeted with the sight of a tongue closing in on his face.

"Wha-?" Bell could only make out, and then proceeded to gasp for air and yelp in surprise when the tongue proceeded to brush across his face once more, smothering him.

Bell gave a cry of shock and surprise when he suddenly sat up and used his arms to push away whatever was licking him. And when he managed to get a hold of the perpetrator and push them away, Bell got a good look at who's licking him, and it was...!

"...Meow Wow!?" Bell yelped in recognition, seeing the Dream Eater before him.

"Nyah!" Meow Wow happily meowed, clearly happy to see Bell awake.

"What are you doing here-?" Bell was about to ask, but he heard a cry of surprise when he felt someone pounce to his side.

"Bell! You're finally awake!" a familiar voice cried out in relief.

Bell turned his head, and found Hestia hugging him out of relief.

"G-Goddess!?" Bell yelped in surprise.

"Master Bell! Thank goodness!" another feminine voice cried out in relief, and proceeded to pounce on his other side.

Bell turned his head, and found Lili hugging him on the other side.

"L-Lili?"

"Oh, are we doing a group hug?" another familiar voice asked.

Bell turned his head ahead of him, looking past Meow Wow. He saw Sora standing in front of the bed.

The Keyblade wielder gave a grin.

"If we're all giving hugs, then..." Sora started, as he bent his legs a bit. "Dog Pile!"

"Wait wait wait, Sora-!" Bell yelped in panic, but it was too late as Sora proceeded to jump from his spot and leaped towards the group with his arms spread out.

Bell and the others couldn't do anything about it, as a new weight was added to the group.

This new weight only proceeded to crush Bell underneath all of the people on top of him.

What a way to start the day.

~ Break ~

After this morning's rather hectic event, things finally began to settle down. Everyone was relieved to see Bell awake once more from his Mind Down, and was merely knocked out the whole night. And the reason why Meow Wow is here was because Sora felt that maybe Meow Wow, a resident of the Sleeping Worlds, may know a trick to wake up Bell from his slumber.

Thus proceed to Meow Wow simply hopping up on the bed and began licking Bell's face, leading to the recent events that occurred.

Just as Bell thought things were finally start to calm down...

"I can Level Up!?"

A loud yell reverberated throughout the room, and Meow Wow jumped a bit from the yell.

Bell sat on the bed while gaping at the sheet of paper before him in shock.

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength: SSS1355

Endurance: SSS1245

Dexterity: SSS1268

Agility: SSS1389

Magic: SSS1274

Skills:

Magic:

Firebolt: Swift Strike Magic Spell. Consecutive casting leads to Raid.

Developmental Ability:

Abnormal Resistance

Hunter

Luck

"...Lili still can't believe the numbers that Lili is seeing..." Lili muttered while rubbing her eyes in astonishment when looking at the numbers before her.

It's one thing to reach the rank of S, and you normally stop from there once you reach 999. However, Bell has proven to break through those limits, and reach a realm of SSS, something that's practically unheard of.

"Way to go Bell! Looks like all the hard work payed off!" Sora congratulated.

"Arf!" Meow Wow mirrored Sora's cheer.

"T-Thanks..." Bell muttered in a daze, as he still can't believe what he's seeing before him.

"Well, I suppose it was a matter of time, but I didn't expect it to be this soon..." Hestia quietly muttered.

This Level Up will definitely makes some waves amongst Orario. Bell managed to Level Up in a month and a half, a feat no one could hope to achieve. The best was Ais Wallenstein with her first Level Up being within a year.

'...This is going to attract a lot of attention towards us...' Hestia inwardly groaned, before she gave Sora a flat look. 'While I'm thankful for Sora boosting Bell status this much, this is just plain overkill.'

Now that she thought about it, she hasn't updated Sora's Falna as of late.

"Now that I think about it, Sora, I haven't updated your Falna in weeks. Do you want an update?" Hestia asked, which made the Keyblade wielder blink upon hearing this.

"Oh right, my Falna. I almost forgot I had that..." Sora remarked with recognition, before he gave a small grin. "Well, might as well. I'm kind of curious how many points I got."

"Well, don't be surprised if you didn't get any, considering your level of strength..." Hestia quietly remarked as she proceeded to update Sora's Falna.

After a brief moment of update, Hestia finished writing down the numbers on the sheet. She looked at the sheet with a raised eyebrow, before she handed it back to Sora.

Sora

Level 1

Strength: I0-I3

Endurance: I0

Dexterity: I1-I5

Agility: I0-I6

Magic: I2-I10

Skills:

Keyblade: The user has access to the power of the Keyblade.

Guardian of Light: Increase parameters against darkness-based opponents. Increase user's affinity in light-based magic. Increase resistance to Curses & Darkness-based Magic.

Link to All: Create temporary Skills and Magic for user and ally when fighting together.

Magic

Key to Mystic: Access Swift Strike Magic Spells.

"...It only went up by that much?" Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The fact that you managed to get some points in the first place is a surprise in itself." Hestia tiredly remarked, before she turned to Bell.

"Now that you're able to Level Up, you first need to decide your Developmental Ability. Each one is definitely helpful, but it's ultimately up to you. I suggest consulting with your advisor on what's best to choose, but I personally believe you should choose Luck. You're going to need it, considering who you're constantly going with." Hestia said while shooting Sora a flat look.

Sora could only give a small chuckle while scratching the back of his head.

~ Break ~

The Hestia Familia, plus Lili, arrived at the Guild. As they entered the building, they all saw Eina currently working at the front desk. As soon as they saw her, they all approached the half-elf.

"Ah, Miss Eina, good morning!" Bell greeted his advisor.

"Oh, Bell, welcome. You're an awfully good mood today. What bring you in this morning?" Eina greeted and asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I-" Bell happily said, before Lili cleared her throat a bit to get Bell's attention. He paused a bit, before he gave a sheepish smile. "W-Well, can we talk about it privately?"

"Of course. Do you want it between us, or...?" Eina suggested while glancing at Sora and Lili.

"They can come along as well." Bell answered, to which Eina nodded as she led the trio into a private room of the Guild.

Once Eina closed the door, she sat in front of Bell and the others.

"Now then, what is it that you wish to discuss with me?"

"Well, I'm happy to say that I'm able to Level Up, and I wish to know which Developmental Ability to choose!" Bell cheerfully answered.

"Ah, I see..." Eina nodded with understanding, before she suddenly paused mid nod. She stayed quiet for a moment, before her eyes shot wide open and looked at Bell with surprise. "...I'm sorry. Could you repeat that once more?"

Bell blinked at the question. "I'm...able to Level Up?"

Eina stared at Bell, and then glanced towards Sora and Lili to see if Bell is possibly pulling a joke on her. Lili just gave an exasperated and tired nod while Sora simply grinned in confirmation.

Eina sharply inhaled, and then slowly exhaled.

"I'm...going to need some context." Eina simply asked.

Bell simply nodded, and proceeded to explain his story.

Once he finished, Eina felt her head hurting as she was massaging the bridge of her temples.

"You fought an abnormal Minotaur...honestly Bell, this is just absurd. It hasn't even been a month and you've already encountered another Minotaur, and an irregular one at that." Eina tiredly sighed. "At this rate, you're just going to constantly encounter abnormal Monsters."

Both Bell and Sora gave a shakey laugh when Eina said that. They do that on a daily basis.

"...In any case, I should scold you for recklessly throwing yourself into danger, but it's too late at this point..." Eina tiredly said, before she looked at Bell with a raised eyebrow. "...You also wanted to ask me on Developmental Abilities?"

"Oh, um, yes! My Goddess told me to consult with you on what Developmental Abilities I should choose before I Level Up." Bell said as he handed her a small sheet of his listed Developmental Abilities.

"Ah, you did the right thing in coming to me for help." Eina said as she took the sheet of paper from Bell and looked at the list.

"Well, for starters, I'll explain what each of them mean to you just to make sure you know what you're going to decide. Abnormal resistance is where you gain the ability to resist negative status effects such as poison. Hunter is where it improves your abilities against Monsters that you fought before. I'm surprised you have this among the list, considering that you can only get this at Level 2 and need to kill a lot of monsters in a short amount of time..." Eina remarked.

Sora hummed when he heard this explanation.

Abnormal resistance sounds pretty useful. He fought plenty of Heartless that inflict all types of status effects on him. Though, he's able to take care of that with Panacea or Esuna. And his equipment pretty much protects him from a lot of elemental damage.

Hunter honestly sounds similar to his Guardian of Light skill, but it works more broadly.

"And Luck...to be honest, we never encountered such an ability before. Thus, I don't know how to explain that one..." Eina answered with a small complexed frown.

"I see..." Bell muttered. So even Eina doesn't know what Luck even is.

"Lili personally thinks that Abnormal resistance is a good and safe ability to go with." Lili inputted.

"Well, Hunter sounds pretty neat, considering what we face on a daily basis." Sora said while nodding.

"And Goddess said I should choose Luck..." Bell quietly recalled.

"It would seem that it's rather hard to choose from if everyone has a different opinion. But personally, I would suggest for you to choose what ultimately suits your goals." Eina suggested.

"My goals?"

"Indeed. If you want less risks in a Dungeon, then Abnormal Resistance is would suit you. If you prefer to have better performance against monsters, then Hunter. But for Luck...I think it works best for a path that you're unsure of ahead. It can help you in a pinch if needed." Eina explained.

"A path that I'm unsure on what is ahead..." Bell quietly muttered.

The path before him is filled with a lot of uncertainties. He's not sure what he'll encounter in the Dungeon and the types of Heartless that he'll face alongside Sora. And honestly, Bell feels he needs all the luck he can get if he truly wants to prevail against the Heartless.

"...I think I've decided on what I should choose." Bell said, after making his decision.

"I see. Well then, I'm sure you won't regret on the choice that you'll make. And congratulations on your Level Up." Eina congratulated with a smile.

"Thank you miss Eina."

And with that, their discussion came to a close as the group left their private booth. As they exited their private booth, Sora soon spotted someone familiar walking through the entrance.

And something big being dragged behind her.

"Ah, welcome! How can I...help..." Misha greeted, only to slow down her speaking when she spotted what was behind a certain azure haired Captain of the Ganesha Familia.

"Hello. I wish to exchange my magic stones and materials." Shakti requested the Guild employee.

Misha could only stare at the large bags that Shakti brought with her in befuddlement. Meanwhile, many of the Adventurers in the Guild hall were staring at the large bags in shock, and a lot of whispers were made at the sight of it.

"Isn't that Ankusha...?"

"Check out those large bags...don't tell me she managed to bring in such a large amount of magic stones and...!"

"No way...could it...?"

Misha could only gape a bit at the sight before him, before she snapped out of her stupor as she gave a shaky smile.

"O-Of course!" Misha simply answered, before she turned to the other Guild employees, who were also looking at Shakti and the large bags before them. "All of you, give me a hand...!" Misha frantically whispered to all of them.

And just like that, all of the Guild employees frantically moved as they accepted the large bags and proceeded to inspect them. All of them could only look at the sheet amount of high quality magic stones and monster materials in shock.

"Just what did she do...? Eina whispered to herself in shock as she moved in to help her fellow Guild employees.

As Eina moved on from the group, Bell and Lili could only look at the sight in surprise.

"S-So much magic stones..." Bell muttered in shock.

"And that amount...Lili could only guess that it would be in the millions...!" Lili whispered as she watched the conversion being done before her.

Sora, on the other hand, simply gave a knowing smile towards the sight.

As the conversion was happening, Shakti soon spotted Sora and his group a good distance away from them. As soon as she saw saw Sora, she only a subtle nod towards them.

Bell could only blink at that gesture.

"Why did she nod at us...?" Bell whispered in confusion, before she turned to Sora, and blinked when Sora was giving a small grin while he swiped his index finger across the top of his nose. "Sora...?"

"C'mon Bell, Lili. We need to be somewhere else." Sora simply told the group as he walked ahead of the group.

"S-Sora?" Bell stuttered in confusion and surprise, before he broke out of his short trance as he and Lili had to catch up with Sora.

~ Break ~

Bell and Lili didn't expect Sora to lead them straight to the Ganesha Familia's manor.

"Here are your valis." Shakti simply stated as she placed larges bags of valis before them.

He definitely didn't expect this!

Both Bell and Lili could only gape in shock at what they were seeing.

"W-Wait, why we are getting so much valis!?" Lili yelped in surprise.

"And why us!?" Bell asked in confusion.

When the Ganesha Familia Captain heard this, she simply gave a single blink, before she turned to Sora with a raised eyebrow.

"...You didn't tell them of what's going on?" Shakti asked with a raised eyebrow.

When Sora was asked this, his eyes widened in realization.

"Oh right...I totally forgot! Honestly, I was just too excited about Bell's Level Up!" Sora told her with a grin.

Shakti and the two Ganesha Familia members behind her blinked when they heard this, and turned their head towards Bell. The two Ganesha Familia members could only gape in surprise upon learning this.

"...Right, you're helping Sora fight the Heartless. I suppose it's only natural that you would grow fast as well..." Shakti muttered, before she shook her head.

"I believe a proper explanation is in order..."

~ Break ~

Yesterday

"Ha ha ha, it's great to see you in good health Sora!" Ganesha cheerfully greeted the boy while heartily patting him on the back.

"It's good to be back on the surface." Sora returned with a smile. "I hope nothing troublesome happened while I was gone."

"None at all!" Ganesha loudly declared. "It is fortunate that we haven't found any Heartless activities as of yet! Still, we can't be too lax in all of this!"

"The fact that Heartless aren't running rampant on the surface is a good thing. Still, it's a bit unnerving that things have been quiet on the surface. I can't help but feel we're missing something..." Shakti pointed out.

"Well, I'm sure you'll find it. In the meantime, a majority of Heartless are in the Dungeon, which means they're all in one place for me to find." Sora said with a grin.

"I, Ganesha, suppose we're fortunate in that regard!" Ganesha happily declared, before he cleared his throat a bit. "But before we get to that discussion, I, Ganesha, am rather curious about your trip into the Dungeon. Shakti has told me that you goal was to go to the Deeper Floors in order to get magic stones and materials for valis. Have you managed to reach the Deeper Floors?"

"Oh, yeah, I definitely did!" Sora answered with a smile.

Shakti could only blink when she heard this, and glanced at Ganesha. Ganesha didn't seem to react to what Sora said, meaning that Sora was telling the truth.

So Sora truly did managed to reach the Deeper Floors and managed to return back unscathed.

It should sound rather unbelievable. No Adventurer should be able to solo the Dungeon. Yes, it's doable to do the Upper, Middle, and possibly the Lower Floors if you're a Level 6. But it's common knowledge that your chances of survival is better if you do it with a party at the very least.

And Sora pulled it off and came back looking relatively unscathed.

'...A Level 1, with the strength of a Level 6. It's baffling that he didn't Level Up through all of this.' Shakti thought, and thought to confirm something with Sora.

"Sora...how deep did you go into the Dungeon?" Shakti asked.

Sora blinked when he was asked that question, before he hummed a bit, as if he was trying to remember the details.

"How deep did I go...? What was the last floor did I stop on...?" Sora muttered, before his eyes widened in remembrance. "Oh, that's right! I stopped at the 50th Floor!"

Silence was made as soon as Sora said that.

Shakti and Ganesha could only stand there in silence, absolutely shocked at what they just heard.

"You...You've managed to reach the 50th Floor!?" Ganesha yelled in shock. "The only Adventurers to ever reach that floor are the Freya and Loki Familia, and Freya has only gone beyond that by 9 floors if I recall correctly!

"Wait, is reaching the 50th Floor that amazing...?" Sora asked with confusion.

Shakti felt a headache forming when met with that question, as she began rubbing her forehead.

"Sora...the Zeus, Hera, and Freya Familia had to use all of their strength to reach the 59th Floor. The fact that you've reached the 50th Floor within just a week while all on your own is just unheard of." Shakti pointed out, causing Sora to blink upon hearing this.

"Oh...I guess that does sound impressive..." Sora muttered while scratching the back of his head.

Shakti gave a rather exasperated sigh. "That is an understatement."

"...Sora." Ganesha simply said, not going into his loud tone as usual. Something that gained Sora's attention. "When it's possible, may I, Ganesha, see the materials that you've collected from you trip into the Dungeon?"

"My materials? Oh, sure, hold on just a moment..." Sora said as he begun digging into his pockets.

Both Shakti and Ganesha blinked at what Sora is doing, before their jaws dropped a bit when they saw Sora beginning to take out ridiculous amounts of items from his pockets.

Pretty soon, Ganesha's office floor was covered with a huge pile of magic stones and monster materials.

"...To collect this much...!" Shakti muttered in shock.

"I, Ganesha, am astounded to see the quality and quantity of these materials...!" Ganesha yelled in shock when he was looking through the magic stones and monster materials before him.

"Well I certainly hope so. Hopefully, this will be enough to cover up Lili's exit fee from her Familia." Sora said while folding his arms.

With this amount alone, Shakti had no doubt that Sora covered up the necessary valis to pay off Lili's fee for leaving her Familia, and still have plenty of leftover to leave the Familia well off.

'...To think he did this all under a week. If it weren't for that promise, how much more would he have made...?' Shakti thought with small frown.

Ganesha was silent for a moment, as if he was contemplating something.

"...Sora." Ganesha, outside of his bombastic tone, addressed Sora, something that caught the Keyblade wielder's attention.

"Yes?"

"Will you give me your materials?" Ganesha asked.

Hearing this made Sora and Shakti blink upon hearing this. Sora tilted his head in confusion, while Shakti broke out of her surprise and looked at Ganesha with an incredulous look.

"Lord Ganesha, what is the meaning of this!? Why are you demanding Sora to give away his materials to you!?" Shakti questioned, as this wasn't like Ganesha to just demand materials from another Adventurer.

"I, Ganesha, have a good reason to do so!" Ganesha loudly and confidently answered, something that made Sora and Shakti blink upon hearing this.

With their attention on him, the God of Masses cleared his throat a bit.

"As you all know, Hestia is rather insistent on trying to keep Sora inconspicuous for numerous reasons! And the most important one being Sora's strength and abilities! Sora, you are well aware that your strength doesn't befit your status. You're not a mere Level 1, but a Level 6 or 7 if I, Ganesha, am pushing it." Ganesha told Sora.

That was a statement that Shakti understood well. Sora is well beyond a Level 1, and to pull off this impressive feat means he had to be around a Level 6. A Level 7? That's rather debatable, but considering that Sora managed to solo up to the 50th Floor, it seems plausible.

Still...a Level 1 possibly possessing the status of a Level 7. It's just way too absurd, and yet the proof is right before her.

"Because of Sora's abnormal strength, it will soon gain attention. Imagine what Adventurers would say when they see an unknown Level 1 just walk into the Guild, and claim that he got the materials from the Deeper Floors of the Dungeon! The people, especially the Gods, will begin to ask questions! They'll question Sora on how he attained such strength to pull off such a feat, which will eventually lead to the knowledge of the Heartless, something we need to keep hidden from the masses!" Ganesha explained.

Shakti's eyes widened upon realization when hearing that.

Even though she was starting to accept Sora's abnormal strength as a Level 1, that doesn't mean the rest of Orario will accept it. They'll begin questioning things, and accuse Sora of lying about his status or demand an explanation as to why he managed to pull it off.

And considering that Sora's Skill attracts the Heartless, which in turn give large amounts of Excelia when defeated, it would just lead to Adventurers hunting down the Heartless, not knowing that going after such dark creatures would make it disastrous for everyone.

"As such, I, Ganesha, have a plan to prevent attention from falling onto Sora!" Ganesha declared.

"And that has to do with giving his materials?" Shakti asked.

"Indeed! It also helps create a cover story for your Level Up as well!" Ganesha told her.

"A cover up story...you mean...!" Shakti said in realization.

"Of course! Since Denatus is coming up soon, we will have to give an explanation as to why you managed to Level Up! And Sora's arrival with these materials are the perfect solution!" Ganesha told the two.

"Really? How?" Sora asked with a confused look.

"It's simple! You will give Shakti the spoils you got from the Dungeon, and she'll exchange the materials at the Guild! By doing so, many will believe that Shakti got these materials from the Dungeon on her own! And considering the quality of these materials, going to the Deeper Floors on your own and getting these is an achievement in itself! Though we may have to remove a few materials to make it a bit more believable, but I, Ganesha, will properly compensate for that! It'll be much more believable for the populace to see, and it prevents attention from falling onto Sora!" Ganesha explained.

"Oh, so that's why you asked me to give you what I got from the Dungeon...!" Sora said in recognition.

Shakti gave a small frown when she heard this.

While Ganesha's plan is rather valid and logical to follow, a part of Shakti feel a bit uncomfortable. Mainly with the fact that she's going to be taking credit from someone else's work. It's especially more troubling since it means taking credit from Sora's work.

"...Sora, are you alright with this?" Shakti asked Sora, making the brown haired spiky teenager blink at this.

"What do you mean?"

"You've worked hard to collect these materials, and I'm taking the credit in order to prevent complications from occurring." Shakti pointed out.

Sora owlishly blinked when he heard this, before he gave a chuckle and crossed his arms behind his head.

"Eh, it's no big deal! Honestly, I just went into the Dungeon not to gain recognition, but to help out a friend of mine! I already got what I wanted!" Sora reassured the Ganesha Familia Captain.

Shakti blinked when she heard this, before she grew a small exasperated smile on her face.

"...Of course..." Shakti muttered.

"Well said Sora! Well said!" Ganesha heartily praised. "Rest assured, we will give you all the valis from the exchange!"

And just like that, their plan for tomorrow was created.

~ Break ~

"...Which leads to this very moment." Shakti finished her explanation.

Bell and Lili stood there in surprise upon learning all of this.

"So that's why..." Lili muttered in shock.

"All of this, in order to keep Sora's strength a secret from the public..." Bell muttered.

Bell understood the reasons why this had to happened. But there's a part of him that felt that Sora deserved some form of recognition for all the work that he has done. However, considering the fact that Sora really isn't bothered by this and more content with helping out Lili, Bell decided that it was best to drop the matter.

"Now then, now that you have the valis, I believe there's something else that needs to be addressed." Shakti started, before she turned her view onto the pallum before her.

"...You are Liliruca Arde, correct?" Shakti asked.

This made Lili jolt in surprise when she was addressed by the Captain of the Ganesha Familia.

"Y-Yes." Lili stuttered, a bit nervous as to why she has the attention of the person before her. "I-Is there something you need from L-Lili?"

Shakti gave a small stare at Lili, before she narrowed her eyes a bit.

"Even though you might be aware of your Familia's behavior, a warning is still needed. The Soma Familia has been rather...erratic as of late." Shakti warned, which made Lili blink upon hearing this.

"Erratic?" Lili repeated, to which the azure haired woman nodded to confirm this.

"During these past few days, we've caught a good number of Soma Familia members partaking in various illegal activities, all for the sake of gaining valis. We've kept sending penalties to the Soma Familia, hoping it get them to behave. However, they somehow manage to find a way to cover up those fees easily. I can only assume they can do so because of their wine business." Shakti explained.

Lili gave a frown upon hearing this.

"That doesn't really surprise Lili. Lili believes that Zanis, the Familia Captain, is using the Familia to gain lots of valis, alongside the wine production that Lord Soma produces. You'll need to find a lot more if you truly want to put a dent into his budget." Lili explained.

"...Hearing this from you confirms it." Shakti sighed.

"At the very least, we have the valis to pay off for Lili's leave." Sora said with a reassured grin.

"Even so, don't let you guard down. I don't have much solid evidence, but I have a hunch that Zanis would pull of an underhanded trick to extort more valis out of you." Shakti warned.

"Can't you just come with us and make sure he doesn't pull off anything shady?" Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.

"As much as I want to be of assistance, it's not that simple." Shakti said with a frown. "If I, the Ganesha Familia Captain, were to suddenly show up at the doorstep while supporting your actions of leaving, there's no doubt Zanis or some other witness would spread this to the public. They would question why the Ganesha Familia Captain is in support of one Familia while in favor of another. That would unfortunately lead to unnecessary controversies that would stain the Ganesha Familia's image as the upholder of the laws. We need that image in order to prevent crime from uprising."

Bell frowned when he heard this. They are this close to helping Lili achieve her goals, but they need to be especially careful when they have on final obstacle to overcome: Lili's Familia Captain.

They need to be careful on how to overcome this.

"Still, when you go confront the Soma Familia, we will be stationed nearby to make sure that there are no illegal actions taken against you. And should that happen, we will use this chance to have full investigation of the Soma Familia with proper warrant." Shakti reassured the group.

"I suppose that's better than nothing..." Lili quietly muttered to herself. Though, it's nice knowing that she has the Ganesha Familia backing them up.

"Don't worry, we'll show that Zanis guy that we're not one to be messed with!" Sora confidently answered while slamming his fist onto his palm.

"Somehow, that fills me with both relief and worry..." Shakti muttered with a complex look.

~ Break ~

"S-S-So much valis...! You could buy a million jagamaru with this amount!" Hestia stuttered when she was presented with the large bags of valis before her.

"Lili thinks you should focus on bigger things rather than jagamaru..." Lili responded with a flat look.

"...I feel rather uncomfortable having this much valis in the room..." Bell muttered, since the beginning of his Adventurer career, he and Hestia only got small amounts of valis to scrape by for a living. Even after Sora joined, Bell hasn't expected to get this large amount.

"Definitely more than a ten million valis, that's for sure..." Sora hummed at the amount before him, before he gave a grin. "Well, I guess that solves Lili's problem with getting out of her Familia then! Now all we gotta do is just show Lili's God our valis, and she'll be able to join our Familia!"

"That's easier said than done..." Lili muttered with a frown, thinking about that slimy Captain of hers.

"Now that we have everything prepared, the only thing we have to do is confront Lili's Familia tomorrow. We need to come up with a proper plan and have the necessary preparations." Hestia told everyone, before she turned to Bell. "That being said, we can use this time to finally Level Up Bell's status. You're just dying for a Level Up, aren't you?"

Bell's cheeks went a bit red while he gave a sheepish chuckle. "I-I can't deny that. And after some time thinking about it, I've decided to choose Luck as my Developmental Ability."

"I knew you would make the right choice!" Hestia preened at Bell's answer. "Alright, let's get started then-!"

"Oh wait, before we get to that!" Sora suddenly spoke up, which caught everyone off guard upon Sora's outburst.

"S-Sora? Something wrong?" Hestia asked with a startled and confused look.

"There's nothing wrong, but I think it's important to bring up, especially since it might benefit Bell." Sora told everyone, which made Bell's eyes widened in surprise.

"Benefit me? What do you mean Sora?" Bell asked with a confused look.

"Well, that Heartless Minotaur incident has gotten me thinking about a few things." Sora started, and he begun digging around in his pockets. "I wasn't around during that time, so I couldn't exactly be around to help Bell in his fights. And who knows what might happen if Bell were to run into a similar situation when I'm not around."

Bell gave a small frown. Even though he gained the courage to fight against the Heartless Minotaur, he was still cutting it rather close in his fight against it. He may run into another Heartless Monster Hybrid, and they may be even stronger than the Heartless Minotaur.

"I mean, I agree. But what exactly does that have to do with helping out Bell and benefitting him?" Hestia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's simple." Sora said with a grin, as he finally took out his Heartbinder and presented it to everyone. "I plan on having Bell summon a Dream Eater of his own."

Bell and Hestia's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this.

"Wait, so Bell can summon his own Spirit with that item!?" Lili questioned in shock. "I thought that item was a contract between Sora and that Spirit that fought with us in the Dungeon!"

The Hestia Familia blinked when they heard this from Lili, and soon realized that Lili doesn't exactly have the context behind Sora's Heartbinder.

"Oh, right, we forgot to explain about that..." Sora said.

"We were so caught up with a lot of things that we forgot about the whole Dream Eater thing..." Hestia muttered.

"S-Sorry Lili, we forgot to explain about that..." Bell sheepishly apologized. "See, um...this particular item is able to reach out to certain Spirits, and you can actually call them here to your side." Bell tried to explain, without going into any more detail about the Dream Eater's origins.

"I-It can do that...?" Lili muttered in confusion and shock. "Is that how you managed to form a contract with a Spirit in the first place?"

"Kind of...?" Sora answered with an unsure look, unsure how to properly explain it.

He made his bonds with the Dream Eaters in the Sleeping Worlds. The item simply calls them outside of the Sleeping Worlds and to his side.

"Trust me, you don't want to get into the context behind Sora and his relationship with the Spirits. You'll be asking for a headache..." Hestia groaned.

Lili blinked at Hestia's expression towards Sora and his Spirit. What is so complicated that it causes a Goddess to get a headache from?

It was then Hestia realized something, and turned to Sora.

"Hold on, wait a moment." Hestia spoke up. "You say that, but only you're able to pull of such a thing. From what you've told us about your Heartbinder, it only works with you, since you have this so called gift." Hestia pointed out.

"That is true..." Bell muttered, before he looked at Sora with surprise. "W-Wait, are you telling me that I have the same gift as you!?"

"To be honest, I have no clue." Sora answered with a straight face, causing everyone to falter a bit.

"Then why suggest it in the first place?!" Hestia asked with a comically indignant expression.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to try. And besides, I've met a few other people who aren't Keyblade wielders, and they've managed to have Dream Eaters of their own. I figured, may as well give it a shot for Bell to use the Heartbinder to see if it works." Sora explained.

Bell blinked upon hearing this. Now that he thought about, he was starting to remember thinking a similar thought, back when they went into the Dungeon with Meow Wow for the first time. But recent events took his mind off of such things.

"W-Well, there's nothing to lose with this attempt. And if we succeed, then I have another companion to help me in my fights against the Heartless." Bell said, having an eager expression on his face.

Hestia started at Bell for a short moment, before she gave a small sigh.

"Honestly, when did your Level Up escalate into this?" Hestia said, showing that she's not opposed to this.

Hearing the Goddess's approval, Bell turned to Sora with an excited expression.

"W-Well, is there anything I should do with the Heartbinder?" Bell asked with an excited expression.

"Well, what I normally do I think of the bond between me and my Dream Eaters, and have my Heart call for them to my side. Not exactly sure how to pull it off for others, especially for their first time..." Sora hummed in thought, trying to think of a proper method for Bell. "Honestly, just have your Heart reach out to a Dream Eater."

Bell sweat dropped at Sora's explanation.

'That doesn't help that much...' Bell thought, before he looked at the Heartbinder before him. 'I guess I should just reach and hope a Dream Eater would come to my call...'

With his mind made up, Bell reached out to the Heartbinder and grabbed onto it. Deciding to mirror the gesture that Sora does with his Heartbinder, Bell held the Heartbinder close to his chest and closed his eyes.

"A-Alright..." Bell whispered.

With his mind cleared of other thoughts, Bell began to wish deeply within his Heart. He's hoping to reach out to a Dream Eater that would come from the Sleeping Worlds, and come to his aid.

Silence went on as he focused all his thoughts into summoning a Dream Eater.

But as moments passed on, Bell heard nothing, nor did he feel anything strange about him.

Bell slowly opened his eyes, and he was greeted with no Dream Eater standing before him.

"...Ah..." Bell lets out a noise of disappointment.

"I guess getting a Dream Eater isn't possible. You really need Sora's gift in order to make it work." Hestia said with a frown.

"So that item only works with Sora...? Just what can of requirements do you need just to get it to work...?" Lili muttered with confusion.

Sora frowned when he saw this, and folded his arms in thought.

'I guess it wasn't possible. It only works because of my gift...' Sora thought with a frown. 'Honestly, it would be nice if I could share my gift with others...wait...!' Sora thought in realization.

"That's it!" Sora yelled in recognition, something that caught others off guard.

"Huh!? Sora, what came over you!?" Hestia asked in shock.

"Bell, let's try it one more time! This time, let's do it together!" Sora told Bell, something that caught Bell off guard.

"W-Wait, what do you mean by together!?" Bell asked in confusion.

"Lili is lost..." Lili muttered in confusion, not getting where this conversation is going.

"An explanation would be nice, please!?" Hestia demanded.

Hearing Hestia shout this only caused Sora to blink, before he gave a sheepish chuckle.

"Oh, right." Sora sheepishly said while scratching the back of his head. "Well, you know how I can use my gift to summon a Dream Eater to my side, right? Well, why don't I use my Link to All Skill and give Bell the necessary Skill to summon forth a Dream Eater?"

Everyone's eyes widened in shock, but for different reasons.

"Wait, you have a Skill that can create other Skills!?" Lili asked in shock.

Everyone paused, and turned to Lili, realizing that she doesn't have the full context behind Sora and his abilities.

"I'll explain about that later." Hestia told Lili, as she wanted to get onto more important matters. Ignoring Lili's indignant expression, Hestia turned to Sora.

"So you want to use your Link to all Skill, just to give Bell the chance to summon a Dream Eater? That...that sounds plausible enough for it to actually work..." Hestia said with an astounded look, before she gave a frown. "But wait...even if that could work, you still need to be around in order for it to properly work, which defeats the purpose of Bell getting help, even if you're not around."

It's true. Link to All only works when Sora is around other people. There's also the fact that it's a temporary Skill, so even if Bell wanted to, he won't have the necessary requirements in order to pull it off.

"You have a point...but I'm rather curious to see what kind of Dream Eater Bell is able to bring by his side." Sora admitted.

"I-I do too! Please Goddess, I want to see what kind of Dream Eater I would be able to bring to my side!" Bell asked with a very eager look on his face.

"Well, it's not like I'm opposed to this, so we may as well see it to the end..." Hestia sighed with exasperation.

"...Seriously, Lili deserves an explanation when all is said and done..." Lili flatly pointed out, not amused that she was the only one who doesn't understand the context behind the conversation here.

"W-We promise that we'll properly explain everything to you Lili at the appropriate time." Bell told her with a shaky smile, before he turned to Sora. "So how do we do this?"

"Well, I'll hold onto this." Sora said as he grabbed hold of the Heartbinder, and held it on top of his palms. Holding the Heartbinder upwards, he held it out to Bell. "Now placed your hand on top of mine."

Bell did as Sora instructed, and placed his palm on top of the Heartbinder.

"Alright, it's time for me to do a little magic. Just focus on your Dream Eater, I'll do the rest..." Sora told Bell.

"Right!" Bell responded, as he closed his eyes once more in focus.

Seeing Bell's actions, Sora closed his eyes as well, and began to focus on having his Heart connect with Bell's Heart. He didn't exactly know how to actively trigger his Link to All Skill, but he felt that as long as he trusted his Heart, then the rest would work itself out.

Hestia and Lili's eyes soon widened in surprise and shock when they saw a glow starting to manifest from Sora's body. That glow then extended from Sora's arms, and onto Bell's arm. And soon enough, the glow from Sora was engulfing Bell as well, showing that a connection between them was being established.

When the connection was established, the Heartbinder held between the two began to shine. It soon began to shine brighter, so bright that it begun to blind Hestia and Lili, who were forced to raise their arms to shield themselves from the bright light.

During the whole process, Bell felt some rush going through him throughout the whole process. He felt some kind of tugging within his body, like a part of him was reaching out to something. He was tempted to open his eyes, but kept it closed as he wanted to concentrate on reaching out to his Dream Eater.

The bright flash of light soon began to fade, and Hestia and Lili felt that now is a good time to open their eyes to see what happened. At the same time, Bell and Sora also began to opened their eyes as well.

When everyone had their vision cleared, they soon saw a new entity standing before them.

The creature before them had a rather round body, and had rather stubby arms and legs. It possessed a yellow and green color scheme. It possessed rather long ears, and at the end of the ears resembled some sort of paw It has a small spike on its head, a half-circle on its cheeks, and a collar. There were dots on its ears, stripes on the collar, and the lower legs were colored purple. It's cheeks were yellow. It possessed yellow heart shaped eye in the black eye space.

And a Spirit Dream Eater symbol is located on its chest.

Sora smiled at what he saw before him, while everyone else was standing there in shock upon what they saw before them.

""""...It's a bunny!?""" Bell, Hestia, and Lili yelled in shock.

And that's a wrap to this chapter and the start of the second arc!

This chapter may seem relatively tame, but sometimes, we need the tameness. It can't constantly be action 24/7.

I've notice a good number of my Reviews pointing out how Sora is going to gain attention when he exchanges materials at the Guild. However, you're forgetting that Sora has friends in high places. Thanks to Sora's relationship with Ganesha and his Familia, he managed to avoid attention drawn to him while Shakti gained a cover story for her Level Up.

As a certain saying/meme goes, "I am four parallel universes ahead of you".

(Bell's Dream Eater)

That's right! I've decided to give Bell a Dream Eater, and it's none other than Me Me Bunny! I mean c'mon, the heavy association Bell has with bunnies is rather obvious.

A very close second was Majik Lapin, but I felt Me Me Bunny felt more personally suited for Bell for multiple reasons that'll be revealed later in the story.

So I remembered that Sora has his Skill Link to All, which can create temporary Skills and Magic for his allies when they fight alongside him. I figured, might as well milk that Skill for all its worth and use it to benefit Bell.

But Keybladewielder97, doesn't this mean that Bell can only pull this off when Sora is around? And Link to All creates temporary Skills, which also adds that Sora needs to be around? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of Bell having support when Sora isn't around?

Worry not, I actually found a solution to that sort of problem. It will be answered next chapter.

(Fun Fact of the Day)

Nomura wanted to include Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in the game, but had to scrap his idea because Disney told him that it would be "too difficult" to use him, whatever that means.

Epic Mickey crossover when?

Or Oswald from Quadratum?