Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix, or Danmachi. All of them belong to their respective owners.
Sorry to keep you waiting! I bring you all a chapter after a month of waiting.
Sorry to keep you all waiting. I was having way too much fun with Fate Samurai Remnant. Honestly one of the most fun Fate games that I've played, and it's my first time playing a Musou game in a sense. Dorothea and Assassin are my favorites.
Now I want a Fate game in the form of BOTW, or a Souls-like game. That would definitely be fun IMO.
Moving on from that, I'm truly thankful for all of the support that you guys kept giving me, especially with Mid's reveal. I will admit, I was nervous when I revealed Mid at the end of the chapter, but you guys were truly accepting of such a reveal, and I'm thankful for it.
In any case, this is my Halloween treat to you guys.
Let's start the chapter.
Chapter 20: Middle Floor Troubles
"Sorry to drag you out this early in the mornin', Phai Phai. Don't want you to think I'm forcin' ya."
"It's nothing. I'm always alone, so it's nice to eat breakfast with someone every now and then."
Two certain Goddesses are at a wooden building that also serves as a dining establishment. The two Goddesses sat across each other while casually eating their breakfast.
Loki didn't really have much to do ever since her children went off on their expedition. And because she has a lot of free time, she may as well spend that time with her fellow Gods. Inviting Hephastois to breakfast was one of the plans. The two were having an amicable conversation, with Loki thanking Hephastois for lending some of her children for the expedition, while Hephastois simply replied that having access to the drops from the Dungeon is all the thanks she needs.
But soon, a particular topic was brought up by Loki.
"...By the way, Phai Phai. Got any info on shrimp's kid? Anything at all?" Loki asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What's this? You're suddenly curious about Hestia?" Hephastois asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Curious ain't the right word...She's just so full of herself. Swinging those ridiculous knockers of hers around for the whole world to see, gettin' all cocky. It's really pissing me off..." Loki grumbled.
Hephaistos couldn't help but crack a smile of amusement as Loki continued her litany of complaints.
"One of my children has joined a party with Hestia's child. I believe they're going to the Middle Floors today." Hephastois recalled.
It was to her surprise to learn that Welf managed to join Bell's party of all people. And that meant working together with Sora. And because she learned of that, she made sure to have a good talk with Welf, warning him to be very careful when exploring the Dungeon. However, she felt that Welf would be fine so long as Sora is around.
Hephastois almost snorted in amusement when she thought about Tsubaki. The moment Tsubaki discovers that Welf is working alongside Sora and getting a chance with the Synthesis materials will make Tsubaki absolutely go mad with fury.
"Eh? So you've been two-timin' with me and shorty? Sending smiths all over the place, aren't ya?" Loki accused in a mock-offended tone. "That aside, since you're buddy buddy with shortstack, I don't suppose you know a thing or two about her other child, Sora?"
Hephastois blinked when she heard this, but she was expecting that sort of question.
Hestia has been complaining to her how Loki has sent her children looking out for Sora for their expedition, and that even included having some of her children visit her shops to search for Sora. It just shows how interested Loki is when it comes to Sora. And now Loki is coming to her for information.
"Sora? I believe I met with him briefly when Hestia was introducing me her new child. He has...very interesting weapons." Hephastois simply commented while her eyebrow was twitching at the thought of Sora's Keyblade.
Loki simply snorted when she heard this.
"Yeah, I've seen one of them in action. Seriously, I've never seen a set of weapons that could perform ice magic to such an impressive degree. I could've sworn that they're similar to Bete's weapons, but they're entirely different." Loki remarked.
"Is that right?" Hephastois responded neutrally. "Seems like I'm going to have to ask Hestia about those."
"So even she doesn't share that much with you? Seriously, that shorty is hiding way too much with that child of hers." Loki grumbled.
'On the contrary, I know way too much...' Hephastois mentally remarked.
It was then Loki glanced towards the outside as if trying to spot something amiss, before she turned back to Hephastois with a serious look.
"Tell me Phai Phai..." Loki started with a serious look. "What do you know about these dark monsters?"
Hephastois's eyebrow could only twitch when met with that question. This is another issue that Hestia has been complaining about, and that's the fact that Loki is trying to look into the Heartless, something that they're trying to prevent others from discovering.
"What are you talking about?" Hephastois asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Not sure if you're playing dumb, but I'll just go ahead and say it." Loki said with a bit of an annoyed look. "My children have encountered these dark monsters multiple times, and they're completely different to your average Monster from the Dungeon. I don't know what they are or where they came from, but the fact of the matter is that they're a threat that can't be taken lightly."
'At least she's taking them seriously as a threat...' Hephastois thought when hearing this from Loki.
"And after looking at recent events, I have an inkling that these dark monsters are responsible for the disappearance of Adventurers as of late, and I don't want my children to be the next batch of victims. Your children are also at risk as well, so I think it's best to get as much information about these dark monsters." Loki said with a serious tone.
Hephastois knows full well how dangerous the Heartless are. After all, one of them gave her Familia Captain a lot of trouble when they fought. And it seems like Loki is trying to appeal to her by saying that sharing information with her will increase the chances of their children being safe.
It certainly seemed logical, to work together in times like this in order to prevent a threat from becoming worst. However, Sora is already working on taking care of the threat. Not to mention, Loki is playing with fire if she's trying to look into the whole Heartless matter. The more she looks into this, the more likely that Loki is going to suffer some serious consequences in getting involved with the Heartless.
"...Well, as you said from Denatus, it's best to be careful from this point on. In my personal opinion, I think it's best you stay away from these dark creatures." Hephastois simply answered.
"And yet shorty is allowing her child Sora to take on these dark creatures. What's up with that?" Loki asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Who knows? Maybe you should ask Hestia herself if you want the answers. I'm not running her Familia." Hephastois simply answered once more, causing the Trickster Goddess to click her tongue.
"Even if I did, I doubt shorty is going to give me the answers I want. Why do you think I'm asking you in the first place?" Loki asked.
"Why indeed?" Hephastois simply answered while sipping her coffee.
Loki didn't say anything, but she simply gave a small huff.
'Looks like Phai Phai isn't talking. Damn it, they really are trying to keep this under wraps...' Loki thought with annoyance.
She was hoping for Hephastois to give some kind of hint or silver of information on the dark creatures. The Trickster Goddess meant it when she wanted to share information in order to keep their children safe. However, it seems Hephastois is in league with both Hestia and Ganesha, meaning that she's keeping information like this under wraps.
'Looks like I need to think of other plans to truly figure things out...' Loki thought to herself.
What a pain in the ass.
~ Break ~
"So this is the industrial district. There sure are a lot of warehouses." Sora remarked when he was taking a look around his surroundings.
Orario's industrial district is, as the title suggests, more industrialized compared to the rest of Orario. All around Sora were large warehouses and factories. His ears could also pick up some industrial sounds, which may be the sound of magic stone technology being made. And it was certainly busy too, if the bustling amount of workers going around the streets were any indication.
It's certainly an interesting area to visit, but Sora isn't here to sightsee. The main reason why he's here in the first place is at Bell's request. Ever since Bell discovered who made the Trancheuse knives, he wanted a similar set of knives made by this person known as Midadol Telamon.
Bell felt that he needed to upgrade his throwing knives and needed a more advanced design. Welf offered some throwing knives of his own, but they didn't fit Bell's preferences. So Bell felt that he'd hold off the throwing knives for now, but he wanted to look at the designs Midadol has to offer. Thus, Bell asked Sora to go on his behalf to see what he can find.
Sora had no problem doing what Bell asked, but he found himself doing this alone. That's because everyone decided to spend their morning doing a bit of house hunting. Bell decided to go to the Guild and see if Eina has any information on houses appropriate for their Familia, while Hestia and Lili are out examining houses that caught their attention and see if it's appropriate.
But the biggest problem Sora has to deal with...
"Where do I exactly find her?" Sora muttered while folding his arms as he looked around.
He didn't exactly have Midadol's work address, only that she works in the industrial district. And he can't exactly just go to every building and see if Midadol is there. He didn't even know who she looked like.
'Maybe I should ask around...' Sora thought when he looked around his surroundings, and soon spotted one particular worker who was examining the crates, and he didn't look too particularly busy. So Sora decided to approach the man.
"Um, excuse me?" Sora called out to the man, which caught the man's attention as he turned to face Sora.
The man appeared to be middle-aged. He currently wore a white long-sleeved shirt, and there was a dark blue and brown colored vest over the white shirt. He wore black pants, along with black boots. He had short black hair, and a short beard, mustache, and sideburns.
When the man looked at Sora, he merely raised an eyebrow.
"Well aren't you a new face in these parts?" the man remarked.
"That's because I am...?" Sora responded with a raised eyebrow.
"Well aren't you the cheeky one?" the man responded with a bit of a sarcastic tone. "Out with it. I'm busy, and I have no time to do playtime with a child."
Sora's eyebrow twitched the way the man was speaking to him, but he chose to focus more on important things.
"Do you happen to know where Midadol Telamon works? I'm trying to find her." Sora asked.
"And what exactly do you want from her? Not many people outside this district want to pay her a visit." the man questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm here to check out the weapons she has to offer." Sora answered.
Sora's answer caused the man to blink in surprise upon hearing this.
"Weapons, you say...? Well I'll be...never thought she'd have an Adventurer actively seeking her out for her weapons of all things..." the man muttered while looking a bit surprised.
"Um...?" Sora tilted his head in confusion and uncertainty.
"Right...give me a minute." the man told him as he turned back to the large crate before him. "I'll lead you to her, just need to move this big old crate to the other side of this building. I swear, his incompetency is going to be the death of me..." the man grumbled. He placed a hand on his back and gave it a push, as if he was preparing himself for a heavy task. It was something that Sora took notice of.
"Oh, let me help you out then!" Sora immediately said as he made his way to the crate, and immediately picked it up with both his arms and easily held it above his body.
The man before him blinked in surprise to see the sight before him.
"...Adventurers are truly another breed, aren't they?" the man muttered, before he broke out of his stupor. "Well, I won't say no to some additional muscle. Follow me then, and be careful with the goods."
And just like that, Sora proceeded to carry the large crate to the other side of the warehouse with little to no effort at all and placed it where the man instructed. As soon as they were finished with the task, the man was leading Sora through the industrial district.
After a few minutes of walking, they soon arrived at a building and had the symbol of two V's crossing next to each other while a downward sword was beneath them above the entrance of the building.
"Right, this is where her workshop is." the man said.
"So this is where she works..." Sora muttered, before he turned to the man before him with a grin. "Thanks for the help."
"I'm merely returning back the favor you did for me, that's all." the man waved off, before he walked up to the door and opened it. "Follow me. Hopefully, she's still here and not bothering other people to help her out in her little projects..."
When he and Sora entered the building, Sora was greeted with the sight of multiple devices and machinery laid all around the interior of the building, and a working desk that was on the other side of the room.
"Mid! You there!?" the man called out.
There was silence for a bit, before they began to hear footsteps being made their way towards them. And soon, they saw someone walk down the stairs to the floor they were on.
She has floor-length blonde hair tied into a braid. She wears a red neck scarf and another black scarf over it, fastened with a leather strap. She wears a white vest with leather straps. She wore a green and white beaded bracelet on her left wrist over a leather wristband. She has black trousers and thigh-high boots.
The young woman before them gave a smile.
"Otto! What brings you here?" the young woman cheerfully greeted, before she took notice of Sora. "And who is this?"
"A customer interested in your secondary wares." the man named Otto told her.
"Oh!" the young woman known as Mid looked rather surprised to hear this. "Well this is unexpected! I didn't think an Adventurer would come all the way here for my weapons!"
"Well, he's clearly here." Otto said with a bit of a sarcastic tone, before he turned around. "Well, I've done my part. I gotta get back to work."
Otto walked next to Sora, before he patted him on the shoulder. "Good luck. She can be a bit of a handful."
With his piece being said, he left the building, while Sora looked behind him with a raised eyebrow. When the two of them were left alone, Mid simply looked amused at what she saw.
"I'll take that as a compliment. Well, it isn't every day that Otto warms up to someone who he just met." Mid remarked with a smile.
"That was him warming up to people?" Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course! He may be a grumpy old man but he's a caring guy deep down. That fact that you managed to get past his grumpy mug is a sign he likes ya!" Mid explained. "But enough about that! I'm Midadol Telamon, but just call me Mid. And you are...?"
"It's Sora." Sora told her his name.
"Sora, pleased to meet you. You're my first customer that ever took notice of my weapons and directly visited me! Normally, I just sell my weapons and designs to whatever weapons shop that suits my fancy."
"Well, I'm glad to be the first customer!" Sora said with a smile of his own. "I have a friend who's deeply interested in the throwing knives that you've made, and I'm wondering if you have any more designs or knives to share."
"Is that right? Well, I certainly shouldn't disappoint then! But..." Mid started.
"But...?"
"I'm afraid I don't exactly have a wide selection at the moment. Weapon creativity comes and goes for me, so I just made one set for the time being." Mid explained as she walked towards her work desk, and on the work desk was a box.
She reached into the box and took out a few knives and put them on display for Sora to see.
Sora blinked at the designs of the knives he saw. They had the most unorthodox designs. They had an oblong shape. It has an "S" shape with a small, red handle. The rest of the blade is black with gold edges.
"...This is a throwing knife?" Sora asked with a raised eyebrow when he picked up the knife and gave it a look.
"It sure is. Strange as they look, they do have functionality. Thus, I've decided to call them the Irrégulier." Mid told Sora with a smile.
"That so...? Well, I don't know anything about knives, and if they'll fit with Bell's preferences." Sora admitted. "You mind if I take a picture and show it to Bell?"
"Picture...? You mean, draw it out?" Mid asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I have something even better." Sora simply answered with a smile as he took out his Gummiphone.
Mid blinked at the device Sora took out of his pockets, and her eyes widened when she saw Sora hold the Gummiphone above the knives and began to take pictures of them.
"You mind if I show these to Bell? I'll have Bell take a look at them and-" Sora explained, but was soon cut off when Mid immediately leaned over the desk with a shocked and amazed look.
"Just what is this device!?" Mid questioned with wonder.
"Woah, what the-!?" Sora yelped in surprise.
Mid then proceeded to yank the Gummiphone out of Sora's hand, and was giving a rather thorough look at the device in her hand.
"How could a small device be able to just record what's in front of you!? In such great detail as well! I've never seen such a device be able to do such a thing!" Mid said with amazement. "Where does the magic stone fit? What components are used to make this possible? How did you manage to install such a function onto such a small device?" Mid listed off questions while constantly turning around the Gummiphone.
"Um..." Sora sweat dropped at the young woman's enthusiasm and curiosity towards the device. "I honestly don't know how it exactly works. You're going to have to ask Chip and Dale."
"Chip and Dale? They're the inventors of this device?" Mid asked with sparkled in her eyes. "I just have to meet the two of them! I want to learn what they did to make such a wonderful device!"
As soon as Sora heard that, Sora soon realized that his tongue slipped once more and gave away critical details about him. The Keyblade Wielder soon grew a nervous smile and scratched the back of his head.
"W-Well...that's not really possible at the moment." Sora answered.
"And why is that?" Mid asked with a raised eyebrow.
"They're...not here...in Orario." Sora answered with an unsure look.
Mid hummed in thought, before she leaned forward in a curious manner.
"Then perhaps I could write a letter to them then. Perhaps you could put in a good word for me since you received such an interesting device from them." Mid told Sora with a smile.
As much as Sora would like to do that for the inventor before him, the circumstances are really complicated.
"Sorry, that's not possible either." Sora answered with a small frown.
"And why is that?" Mid asked once more with a raised eyebrow.
"It's...a long story." Sora tried to find the right way to explain while scratching the back of his head. "I...got separated from my friends and ended up here. And I have no idea where to find them, even if you were to give me a map of this entire World. The location is rather...I guess you could say secluded."
"Is that so...?" Mid muttered while a soft frown appeared on her face. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were under such troubling circumstances."
"Hey, it's not trouble at all, and you didn't know!" Sora reassured her. "And besides, I have faith that I'll reunite with them eventually! It's all a matter of time, that's all!"
"...Well if you put it like that, then I guess there's nothing to worry about then!" Mid said, a smile returning to her face. "Still, quite a shame that we're not able to find those wonderful inventors who made such an interesting device. Imagine being able to make such a device and share it with the rest of Orario!"
"That would be rather interesting," Sora remarked.
"Is it?" Mid chirped, before she curiously looked at the Gummiphone. "Still, even though this device is one of a kind, I would still like to have a good look at it. Perhaps I could reverse engineer it so I could make a device similar to it. And don't worry, I'll properly compensate you for the troubles." Mid reassured.
"Oh, well..." Sora kind of trailed off there.
In most circumstances, he has no problem with others taking a look at his Gummiphone if they're curious about the technology. However, the Gummiphone itself could serve as a clue about the Worlds beyond Orario. It wouldn't be a good idea to expose Mid to this sort of information.
At the same time, however, he doesn't exactly want to sour the relationship with Mid. Mid is, after all, the creator of the throwing knives that Bell likes to use. If he keeps denying her, it may deter her from creating knives that Bell may need. After all, she's quite whimsical when she wants to make the knives.
'I gotta distract her somehow with something...' Sora thought, trying to think of a way to divert Mid from wanting to study the Gummiphone.
Mid is an engineer, so another piece of technology should be...
Sora blinked when he realized another device he has on him, and suddenly reached into his pocket.
"Actually...there is something else I want you to work on." Sora started, his hand trying to reach for what he was looking for.
"And what exactly is that?" Mid curiously asked.
It was then Sora found the object he was looking for, and he brought it out for Mid to see. Mid could only blink at what she saw before her.
It was a black and red headset with two prongs. There seemed to be some kind of visor that was both transparent and blue.
"Well isn't this a fancy looking device." Mid remarked. "Just what am I looking at?"
"This is called the AR Device. You wear it on your head, and it will create pictures before you." Sora explained.
"A device that allows you to see a picture pop up before you? Now that is an interesting device to hear!" Mid remarked as she picked up the AR Device before her.
The engineer curiously looked at the device before her, before she placed it on her face.
"So when do I expect the pictures to show up?" Mid asked while looking around the room.
"Yeah, about that..." Sora said while scratching the back of his head.
"Another issue, I take?" Mid asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah. See, I have a friend named Hiro, and he's the one who actually made that device. He was able to send pictures to the device through a computer." Sora explained.
"Computer?" Mid repeated with a confused expression.
"Ah..." Sora soon realized he threw out another unfamiliar term for the engineer. "It's...another device to send images. Don't know how else to explain it. But long story short, Hiro isn't around to send images to the headset. But I soon realized a possibility..." Sora said as he brought up the Gummiphone.
"Maybe it's possible for the Gummiphone to send images to the AR Device." Sora told her. "The problem is I only know the basics of how to work a Gummiphone. I was thinking an engineer like you could figure it out."
The AR Device truly worked wonders for Sora during his time in San Fransokyo. It helped Sora with his training when he was trying to regain the strength that he lost. But now that he regained his strength, Sora has no need for it anymore. But Bell could certainly benefit from the device. The problem is, however, Hiro isn't around to send data to the AR Device; that means the AR Device is practically functionless outside of San Fransokyo.
However, it's possible that the Gummiphone could connect with the AR Device and send data to the device. After all, Ienzo managed to set up a network between Radiant Garden and Twilight Town's computer, and they were in two different Worlds. Surely, with the Gummiphone's capability of communicating with Gummiphones, it should do the same with the AR device.
But there's another problem: Sora is not good with technology.
Sora has a grasp of the mere basics and jargon of technology at best. Outside of that, Sora has no clue how to operate a Gummiphone beyond its basic functions.
But with Mid, who's an engineer, she may have the mindset and intuition on how to properly operate the Gummiphone and link it to the AR Device.
It was a possibility that Sora wants to explore.
"Well you've come to the right person!" Mid chirped. "I'm always excited to take a look at new inventions and figure out how they work!"
"Well that's great then! I'll leave this matter in your hands. Oh, but, um..." Sora soon realized something.
"Oh what is it now?" Mid responded with an exasperated smile. "You keep blindsiding me with new things that I'm starting to think you're doing this on purpose."
Sora gave a sheepish chuckle while scratching the back of his head.
"It's just that the Gummiphone has some rather sensitive information that I prefer others not wanting to see. Just...don't go reading the Story, Glossary, Secret Reports, Character Files, or certain sections of Adversaries." Sora told her when pointing to the different icons on the Gummiphone.
"Fair enough. Though what do you mean by certain sections?" Mid asked.
"Here, let me show you..." Sora demonstrated before her.
In the Adversaries section, the Gummiphone is able to record all sorts of enemies: Heartless, Nobodies, Unversed. Even outside of them, the Gummiphone is able to record data on other encounters, like the Dungeon Monsters.
Sora is hoping that Mid would stay true to her word and just focus on the Dungeon Monster section and not the others.
"I see...as much as I'm curious about the other sections, I understand the terms of confidentiality among clients. If you're that concerned, why not make a contract on it then?" Mid offered as she brought up a sheet out of nowhere and placed it before Sora.
Sora could only blink at where she got it from, but soon shook it off as he looked at the contents of the contract.
From what Sora could basically get from the contract, it's that Mid would respect the privacy of her clients, and if she were to break it, then she would give Sora the appropriate compensation, depending on the damages done.
Seems like it's a fair contract in Sora's opinion.
"Well...I don't see anything wrong with the contract." Sora remarked.
"Great to hear then! Just sign the contract and I'll be working on your two devices!" Mid beamed at Sora's choice.
"Yeah, I look forward to it!" Sora said. However, he suddenly got this feeling that he was forgetting something.
When he made a glance towards the desk, he soon saw the knives before him. He soon blinked in realization of why he came here in the first place!
"Oh, right, about the knives..." Sora reminded, causing Mid to blink upon realization as well.
"Oh right, the knives. Tell you what, I'll give you this set of knives at a good discount, since you brought me an interesting project to work on!" Mid told Sora.
"A-Are you sure? I mean, I have the valis to pay for them-" Sora tried to dissuade her, but Mid simply held up a hand.
"No need. Besides, things have been getting quite monotonous lately, and I was hoping for something new. You just came in at the right time and place!" Mid told Sora.
"Well, if you sure..."
"I'm sure. Now then, any other things that need to be brought up, since you tend to do that." Mid told him with a sly smile.
"Let me think..." Sora tried to think if there was anything else that needed to be brought up to attention. There was nothing important that came to mind, but there was a personal and curious thought that came to mind.
"Well...how come you're making weapons, when you're mainly an engineer?" Sora curiously asked.
Mid blinked when she heard that question, before a soft giggle escaped her lips.
"You know, I've been asked the same question by my dad and Otto! Ah, what a small World." Mid remarked.
"Is that a good or bad thing...?" Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I suppose it's a good thing, at least from my perspective anyway." Mid told Sora, before she shrugged as she looked around her workshop.
"I guess you could say that I've decided to do blacksmithing out of boredom and curiosity." Mid told Sora, which made Sora blink at what she said.
"Boredom and...curiosity?" Sora repeated with confusion.
"Yep. See, when you work as an engineer in magic stone technology, you're hammerin' and cuttin' away all sorts of metals to make the products that you need. But that also meant having leftover metal parts lying around. I thought it would be a shame to let them go to waste, and thought to myself, hey, why not turn these scraps of metal into something useful? So I've asked my dad to see if he can set me up with a blacksmith who's willing to teach me. And sure enough, he managed to find somebody and gave me all the lessons and basics on how to forge a weapon." Mid explained.
"So you're doing this because you don't want to waste?" Sora asked.
"Exactly!" Mid answered.
"Then...what about these designs?" Sora curiously asked when he saw sketches being hung up on the wall, each of them being designs for weapons. They weren't knives, but designs like spears, swords, maces, etc.
"Oh, those? As I said, sometimes my imagination takes me to places and I couldn't help but put in paper form. I don't really forge large weapons because they're not exactly my cup of tea. So I just sell the designs to the blacksmiths, seeing how they have better usage out of them." Mid explained.
"That so..." Sora muttered.
"It is so. There's no complicated backstory to the motive whatsoever. I guess that's something you're not used to." Mid giggled.
"Heh heh, you're not wrong..." Sora gave a sheepish chuckle while scratching the back of his head.
Everything about him is quite complicated, as Hestia would love to describe him.
~ Break ~
Sora was running to the plaza, as it was time for the party to gather up and proceed to the Dungeon. It was also the day that Bell, Lili, and Welf enter the Middle Floors for the first time. With him around, he'll make sure that the party will be safe. He soon spotted his party standing at the fountain.
"Hey everyone! Hope I'm not late!" Sora greeted everyone as he ran up to them.
"Oh, Sora, you're here." Bell greeted with a smile, and Welf and Lili wave their hands as a gesture of greeting. "You've managed to finish things on your end?"
"I sure did." Sora answered with a grin. "Want to take a look?"
Bell was about to open his mouth, before he soon realized that Welf is also here with them as well. He felt that this isn't the right time or place.
"Let's, um, do that later." Bell told Sora while using his eye movements to gesture to Welf.
"Oh...right, got ya." Sora soon realized what Bell was referring to.
"What are you two talking about?" Welf curiously asked.
"Oh, um...I'll tell you after we go through the Dungeon." Bell told Welf with a shaky smile.
Welf raised an eyebrow at Bell's behavior, but soon shrugged it off.
"That so? Well alright then." Welf simply said.
Bell gave an internal breath of relief that Welf wasn't pushing this any further.
"Lili takes that everything has been taken care of then? Including preparations for the Middle Floor?" Lili asked.
"I'm sure we have everything." Bell said as he checked over his equipment. "The Salamander Wool is taken into account as well."
Bell, Welf, and Lili are wearing Salamander Wool in the form of a cloak. Salamander Wool is a type of cloth imbued with the power of a Salamander, which grants them protection from any fire-related attacks. Getting these were rather pricey, but they had enough valis to not put a serious dent in their budget.
"Though...where is yours Sora?" Welf asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't worry about me. I got all the defensive equipment to protect me against the elements." Sora reassured Welf while patting himself on the chest.
Welf raised an eyebrow at Sora's statement, and gave him a quick look over. The spiky-haired teenager was barely wearing any armor on his person. Though, Welf would be hypocritical if he were to criticize Sora's lack of armor, when he doesn't even have that much armor as well.
"Well...if you're sure."
"I'm sure." Sora said while nodding. "In that case, we'll be heading for the Middle Floors then. Leave the Upper Floors to me; I want you to conserve energy for what we're about to face. Welf, be prepared for the Heartless. They're not your typical Dungeon Monster that you normally encounter."
"Heard you loud and clear." Welf said while nodding while slamming his palm into his fist. "I'm ready for anything that they'll throw at me!"
~ Break ~
"Crap!" Welf cursed when he moved his head to avoid getting nearly pelted by a very large piece of flaming coal. "What kind of monster throws flaming hot coal of all things!?"
"Pay attention Master Welf! Another Heartless is coming to the left!" Lili warned Welf as she was firing off arrows from her crossbow.
"Just great...!" Welf clicked his tongue, but focused on his task as he immediately moved as he slashed at the Bag O' Coal Heartless, sending the Heartless flying back from the slash.
Just as Welf delivered the slash, he immediately had to raise his sword to block an incoming block from a punch from a Fat Bandit Heartless. The force of the punch sent Welf back a bit. The Fat Bandit Heartless immediately opened its mouth to breathe out a fireball, but Welf took notice of it.
"Blasphemous Burn! Will-O'-Wisp!"
Immediately, invisible streams of magic flew into the Fat Bandit Heartless's mouth, and the Heartless immediately exploded before Welf. Welf then had to move once more to avoid being pelted by hot coal from the Bag O' Coal Heartless. It would've thrown more, if it wasn't pelted by another arrow that Lili fired at.
Welf closed the distance and swung downward, immediately cleaving the Heartless into two. It soon dissipated into Darkness, and Welf immediately checked his surroundings. Thankfully, there were no signs of Heartless coming his way, something to Welf's relief.
"I've managed to finish my end..." Welf muttered to himself.
Even though Welf prepared himself for whatever the Heartless would throw at him, the Heartless showed him why Sora and Bell are concerned for his well-being. Each Heartless felt like they came from lower Floors. And to add to it, they possessed strong durability and magical abilities that make them difficult to defeat.
'And here I thought my magic was for niche situations. It saved me more times than I could count...' Welf thought to himself.
His ears could pick up the sounds of battle going on, and he turned his head to see how Sora and Bell were doing on their end.
He could only be baffled at the sight before him.
Sora was completely dominating the battle before him. Sora has mentioned that his Skill attracts Heartless to him like moths to a flame, and it shows. When the Heartless showed up, they appeared in very large numbers, something that made Welf alarmed at the situation they were in.
Immediately, however, Sora just jumped straight into the horde before him...and began to absolutely decimate whatever Heartless came his way. Sora began to blitz around the battlefield with such speed that it was hard to keep track of where Sora was heading. And whenever Sora stopped at one spot, he immediately began to deliver a storm of slashes all around him, destroying the Heartless around him.
It was then a crowd of Hook Bat Heartless began to fly towards Sora. Sora immediately pointed his Keyblade forward, and a large amount of Light magic began to form at the tip of the Keyblade. It was then a burst of Light bullets shot forth from Sora's Keyblade, with each bullet hitting its mark and destroying the swarm before him.
'How...?' Welf thought in bafflement and confusion, seeing what was happening before him.
That Magic Sword. Sora is using its abilities without any second thought, and yet the Kingdom Key remained pristine as ever, and no sign of breakage.
It was a fact that continues to baffle Welf. How in the world was such a weapon created in the first place? What methods made it possible? A Magic Sword that doesn't break...right before his very eyes. Then...?
Welf had to shake those thoughts out of his head. They were in the middle of battle!
Welf then shifted his attention towards Bell to see if he needed any help...and it seemed like he's got it under control.
When Bell fought the Heartless Infant Dragon, the Skyward Seeker had a difficult time trying to defeat the hybrid since the monster was out of Bell's range. But with the Heartless showing up being close to mid-range monsters, that was when Bell truly showed what he's capable of.
Bell cleaved an incoming Bandit Heartless in half with a single swing of his Hestia Knife, then proceeded to flip into the air to avoid a pincer attack from two Earth Core Heartless trying to crash into him. When the two Earth Core Heartless collided with each other, Bell landed on the ground and immediately pointed his hand forward, firing off a Firebolt, and incinerated the two Earth Core Heartless with ease.
A sizable group of Wight Knight Heartless soon went after Bell. Bell immediately brought out his second knife, Ushiwakamaru, to fight the crowd. A Wight Knight attempted to swipe at Bell, but Bell cuts off the incoming arm and immediately stabbed his secondary knife into the Wight Knight. Bell then yanked it out and kicked the Wight Knight straight into the group behind it, knocking over the other Wight Knight Heartless.
Before they could properly get up, Bell immediately went in and delivered a myriad of slashes to take them all out.
Just as he did, his senses screamed at him to move, and he immediately jumped to the right to avoid getting hit by a Hook Bat Heartless that came out of nowhere. Bell narrowly avoided the attack, but the hook left a cut on his left cheek. The cut wasn't too grievous, but some blood began to leak out.
The Hook Bat tried to go after Bell, but a familiar figure dropped from the air and landed straight on the Hook Bat, making it crash into the ground. The Heartless struggled to pick itself up, but Bell plunged his Ushiwakamaru into the Heartless, making the Heartless dissipate into Darkness.
Bell gave a thankful smile to his Dream Eater, to which the Me Me Bunny pumped its ears up and down in excitement. At the same time, he saw his secondary weapon a brief green glow, and a faint green aura seeped into his body.
As it did, Bell could feel a small amount of energy welling up within him. And just to check, Bell's hand went up to his cheek and rubbed it.
The cut was no longer there.
'...To think the Heartless Minotaur horn gave the Ushiwakamaru an ability...' Bell thought to himself in amazement, looking at his golden-colored knife with black streaks on the blade.
When they encountered a group of Heartless before they began fighting the current one, Bell wanted to test out Ushiwakamaru's capabilities. During the fight, Bell took a graze from a surprise attack of a Driller Mole Heartless. Bell immediately took it out with his Ushiwakamaru.
Bell wanted to use a potion to take care of the wound, but to his surprise, the wound was gone, as well as feeling a bit rejuvenated after the battle.
When he shared this with the party, everyone looked surprised to learn about this.
Welf was especially confused and baffled at what the weapon could do. He thought the Heartless Minotaur horn was able to give a strong and durable knife, not have a unique ability. He was sure that he didn't use his bloodline to Magic Sword, and his sixth sense wasn't signaling him that it was a Magic Sword.
Sora, after taking a look at the blade, said that it could possibly be thanks to both the material of the Heartless Minotaur, as well as a Synthesis material being mixed into the horn. Heartless drop Synthesis materials when defeated. The Heartless Minotaur, while a hybrid, managed to gain a synthesis material and gain abilities from the material.
'To think such an ability existed...' Bell thought to himself, before noticing that the room was cleared of Heartless.
"Phew, glad that's over..." Welf sighed in relief while using his sleeve to wipe his forehead.
"Yep!" Sora agreed as he made his way to the group. "Great work everyone! We're going to take a 5-minute break before we move on to the next."
"Right. Lili, could you give me a mind potion please?" Bell asked, using this time to refuel his magic.
"Got it. Do you need one as well, Master Welf?" Lili asked while she was digging through her bag.
"I could use one as well. Never thought I'd be using my magic far more often." Welf remarked as he accepted the magic potion and drank its contents. "But seriously, it baffles me how you're able to take on these Monsters on your own Sora."
Bell gave a shaky smile. "W-Well, let's just say that Sora is very experienced in fighting."
"I'll say. I never knew your Familia had a high-Level member. Kind of feel reassured that we have someone like you watching over us." Welf commented as he took a sip of water from his canteen.
Again, Bell simply gave a shaky and strained chuckle at Welf's statement, not bothering to correct Welf about Sora's actual Level. He soon noticed that his Dream Eater was slumping over in exhaustion as well. Bell kneeled down to his Me Me Bunny and began petting its head.
"...Thank you for your help. Why don't you get some rest?" Bell told his Dream Eater, who helped him greatly when they fought the Heartless.
The Dream Eater looked up to Bell, before it waved its stubby little arms in a goodbye gesture and disappeared into a pink puff of smoke. Seeing that his Dream Eater returned to the Sleeping Worlds, Bell turned to Sora.
"Sora, do you want to bring out Meow Wow?" Bell asked.
"I would like to. Meow Wow has been eager to get in some action as of late." Sora said as he accepted the Heartbinder from Bell.
A shame that the Heartbinder could only bring forth one Dream Eater at a time. Well, there is a time when Sora summons a plethora of them when Meow Wow brings forth a bunch of his other Dream Eaters to create a stampede, but that's only for a very short moment. Bell and the others would benefit greatly from having other Dream Eaters join in on the fight, making fighting the Heartless easier to deal with.
However, this didn't concern Sora too much, as he felt that this wasn't much of an issue to be fretting over.
Sora was about to tell everyone that they are going to move on to the next area to find the Heartless, before his ears began to pick up a noise. A noise that started to get louder as time passed on.
"Hey guys...do you hear that?" Sora asked while turning his head towards the source.
"Lili doesn't hear anything," Lili said.
"I don't hear anything as well," Welf told Sora with a raised eyebrow.
"...Wait, Sora may be on to something..." Bell said, as his heightened senses from his Level 2 status is starting to pick up the noise as well.
Not long after, the group heard loud footsteps echoing throughout the Dungeon. When they turned their heads to the source, their eyes widened at what they saw.
They saw an Adventurer Party, who seemed to be garbed in Far Eastern clothing, running with all of their might as they were trying to escape what kind be described as a large horde of Heartless chasing after them.
A very large horde of Satyr Heartless, to be more precise.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me...!" Welf muttered with disbelief. "And they're heading straight towards us!"
"And isn't this number larger than we usually encounter!? How did they manage to attract so many!?" Lili questioned with confusion and alarm. It's her first time seeing a group of Adventurers have this many Heartless chase after them.
"It doesn't matter!" Sora declared as he prepped his Keyblade. "They're not going to hurt anyone on my watch!"
"Wait, are we-?" Welf couldn't help but ask in surprise.
And just like that, Sora proceeded to speed forward toward the crowd of Heartless before him.
"We gotta help them out as well!" Bell told the group as he followed after Sora.
"Of course Master Bell immediately follows Sora..." Lili muttered as she decided to follow them. After knowing Sora's capabilities, especially since he's able to reach the 50th Floor within a week, she felt that Sora would be fine and take care of the Heartless.
Bell, on the other hand, felt that she needed to stop him from being too reckless, considering the fact that she's pretty much the voice of reason besides Hestia in their Familia.
"I guess we're doing this then...!" Welf sighed with exasperation, seeing how everyone was practically jumping into danger.
~ Break ~
This day could not get any worse.
Mikoto quickly glanced behind her, and those strange humanoid horned monsters were still chasing after them. She frowned even further when she glanced at Chigusa's state. There was a landform weapon deeply embedded in Chigusa's upper back, thanks to an Al-Miraj that caught them off guard.
But soon, a large crowd of these dark monsters popped up out of nowhere they set their sights on them. And immediately, they began to chase their party, trampling over the Dungeon Monsters in the process.
And they were slowly catching up to them.
"They're catching up!" one of their party members cried out in panic.
"Damn it! What the hell are these monsters!? They're faster than any Hellhound!" Ouka cursed, before he shook his head. "Doesn't matter! Just keep running! We'll find a room to hide to throw them off."
"Right..." Mikoto muttered, focusing on trying to get away.
When she looked forward, she could only blink at what she saw.
"Wait, I see someone up ahead!" Mikoto told everyone.
When everyone looked forward to see what was ahead of them, they all saw a spiky-haired teenager in strange clothes running towards them.
"What is he-!?" Ouka said aloud in confusion, seeing why the teenager before him is running towards them and not away from the danger.
Before the Familia Captain could finish his sentence, the spiky-haired teenager immediately sped past them at speeds they'd never seen before.
They all blinked at what happened, before they turned their heads to see the spiky-haired teenager running towards the the stampede.
"He's...going to fight them head on!?" Mikoto said aloud with an incredulous expression.
"Is he crazy!?" one of their Familia members exclaimed with shock as well.
The spiky-haired teenager didn't seem deterred in the slightest.
"A Trinity Guard sure would be nice in this situation..." Sora muttered, thinking back on how he dealt with the Satyr Heartless back on Olympus.
But he'll make do with what he has now.
Sora proceeded to perform a Prism Windmill, spinning his Keyblade in front of him while forming a defense barrier in front of him. When the distance closed between him and the Satyr Heartless stampede, the Heartless were bulldozed by the force Sora sent their way, with a large majority of them being destroyed or sent flying away.
Once Sora finished his technique, he was soon in the center of the Satyr Heartless crowd. Just as he wanted.
A flash of light soon surrounded him, and he immediately entered Second Form.
Sora then proceeded to cut down the Heartless before him, and then proceeded to unleash an Explosion, decimating the surrounding Heartless. He immediately jumped in the air and performed a Magnet Spiral, forcing the Heartless to be dragged towards him, and then sent flying back or destroyed when he unleashed a magic force.
"Eyes on me!" Sora called out to the Heartless, and he immediately fired off his Ragnarok to destroy a good chunk of their numbers.
The Takemikazuchi Familia just watched the battle with astonished expressions. They thought the teenager before them had some sort of death wish, but were proven wrong when Sora proceeded to cut down their numbers with efficiency.
"He's...taking them all on his own...and winning...!" one of their party members muttered in shock.
"He is..." Ouka muttered with bewilderment, before his ears could pick up Chigusa groaning in pain from her wound, reminding him of the situation they were in. "He managed to buy us some time! We need to get moving!"
This snapped everyone out of their trance as they realized their situation.
"Right! We should use this chance!" Mikoto told everyone.
"This way!" another voice called out to them.
Mikoto and the others looked forward, and they could only blink in surprise at who they saw before them.
"The Skyward Seeker...?" Mikoto said with surprise and recognition.
"Just keep running! We'll keep you covered!" Bell told the group as he ran past them, and then pointed his hand forward and began to fire off his Firebolt spell on any Satyr Heartless that went past Sora.
"...You have our thanks!" Mikoto replied as she soon realized that they were being rescued by another party, something that is welcomed.
"Unfortunately, we have another problem." Welf spoke up with a frown as he pointed ahead of them, and they could see a large group of Hellhounds and Al-Miraj making their way toward them. "Seems like all the fighting here attracted their attention!"
"Damn it!" Ouka cursed with a scowl. "And we don't have any other way to go! We're going to have to fight!"
"Leave them to me then. I'll cut us a way through!" Mikoto declared as she drew her katana.
"Don't leave me out on all the fun." Welf said as he prepped his sword as well. "Fighting Dungeon Monsters is a nice change of pace!"
"For once, Lili agrees." Lili remarked as she held up her crossbow.
"Everyone! Lend them your assistance as well!" Ouka told his other Familia members, to which they all nodded as they drew their weapons to fight.
As everyone went to fight off the Dungeon Monsters that came their way, Bell was focused on his own battle as he was shooting down any Satyr Heartless that came his way. And once he fired off enough Firebolts, Bell soon felt his hands heat up.
The conditions have been achieved.
Bell immediately sheathed his Hestia Knife, and held out his arms to the side to bring out his Firebolt Raids. He immediately threw the flaming towards a line of Satyr Heartless, and they were immediately cut down easily. Seeing how quickly their numbers went down, Bell decided to push forward.
It was time to test if he managed to get down Riku's Fire Raid correctly.
Bell ran forward and threw forward a Firebolt Raid upward to slash a Satyr Heartless that got close to him. He then threw two Firebolt Raids forward, mowing down a line before him. A horizontal row of Satyr charged at Bell, only for Bell to unleash three Firebolt Raids that spun around him and cut them down.
Bell was getting close to the crowd of Heartless that Sora was in the middle of fighting.
"Burn!" Bell threw forward four Firebolt Raids going in different directions. The white flaming swords slashed their way through the crowd of Satyr Heartless like they were made of paper. After they dissipated into Darkness, a large space was left before Bell.
However, Bell's actions in taking out a chunk of their numbers caught the attention of the Heartless, as they all turned their heads towards him and no longer focused on Sora.
Bell immediately manifested more Firebolt Raids when he saw that he got their attention.
Before he could move forward, however, a flash of light erupted between them that obliterated the Heartless. Immediately, Sora landed next to Bell.
"Hey Bell! Didn't expect to see you here!" Sora happily greeted, before he noticed the state Bell was in. "Seems like you're getting used to Riku's Fire Raid!"
"Yeah! It's thanks to Riku that I've managed to take out a good number of them." Bell replied.
"That so? Riku is going to be happy to hear that." Sora remarked, before he turned forward to see the Heartless before them. "But I think we should put an end to this once and for all!"
The moment Sora said that, a glow manifested between the two.
"This is...!" Bell muttered in shock, seeing what was happening between them.
"Seems like it! It's about time we use an attack of our own! Ready Bell?" Sora asked with a confident smirk.
"I am!" Bell immediately nodded, his heart pounding in excitement at what he's about to do with Sora.
Following what their Hearts told them, Bell and Sora held up their arm into the air.
Sora's Keyblade floated up into the air, while a white sword of flames also hovered into the air. They soon hovered closer to each other, before the two combined to form a double-bladed sword, with the blade of the Keyblade and the blade of Light Firaga sticking out.
The combined weaponry soon began to spin rapidly, to the point where it looked like a sharp golden flaming disc.
Bell and Sora threw their arms forward, letting the double-bladed weapon fly through the air and mow down any Satyr Heartless that was in its way.
When the double-bladed Raid soon reached the middle of the crowd of Heartless, it soon exploded into multiple copies that flew in different directions. Each of the copies homed in on different Heartless around the crowd, and each one embedded themselves into each Heartless.
The constructs then glowed brightly, and then unleashed a large explosion that caught the Heartless around it.
Bell could only watch in awe as there was a large amount of explosions that occurred all around the battlefield. There wasn't a single Heartless that could escape the destruction that was happening around them. Each and every single one of them burned away in the white flames.
Not soon after, the bright explosions began to die down and the smoke began to clear before the two.
There wasn't a single Satyr Heartless in sight.
Bell remained speechless at the scene before him, and turned his head to look at Sora. Sora looked at him with a knowing smile of his own, as if he knew that something amazing occurred.
"Heh." Sora simply held up his fist towards Bell.
Bell lets out a smile of his own as he bumps fist with Sora.
"Holy crap...you two just wiped out an entire horde in an instant." a certain blacksmith said.
The two blinked, and turned around to see everyone staring at them with astonished expressions. Welf was standing at the front of the group while resting his weapon over his shoulders.
"Oh, you guys managed to take care of things on your end?" Sora asked.
"We have, thankfully." Lili sighed in relief. "Lili supposes having more people around made it easier to deal with the numbers."
"That's good to hear then." Sora said while nodding in relief.
It was then Mikoto made her way towards the Hestia Familia (and Welf).
"...We are truly grateful for what you have done for us." Mikoto thanked them while bowing forward in gratitude.
Seeing the gesture made Sora give a sheepish chuckle while waving his arm.
"Hey, no need to bow! I'm just glad that we were around to help you guys out." Sora told her while giving a reassuring smile.
"Even so, it's only right to show thanks for what you have done for us. If it weren't for you and your Familia's assistance, we would've been in grave danger." Mikoto told him with a resolute expression, not budging on this topic. That is, before she turned around and took a look at Chigusa's injured state, who was being carried by Ouka.
"Still, we need to get moving. One of our Familia members is critically injured, and we need to get her to the surface for treatment." Mikoto explained with a serious and troubled tone.
"I can help with that." Sora immediately spoke up as he made his way towards Ouka and Chigusa. "I have a healing spell that greatly takes care of any injuries."
Sora's statement made the Takemikazuchi Familia look surprised upon hearing this.
"R-Really? You can heal Chigusa's wound?" Mikoto asked in surprise.
"I can." Sora told her with a reassuring smile. "I just need you to take the weapon out of her so I can heal her properly."
Ouka looked a bit hesitant, but slowly nodded, deciding to put his trust in Sora since he saved all of them. The Captain gently sets Chigusa on the ground, and his hand went to the landform weapon lodged into her back.
"Please bear with it for a moment." Ouka warned as he gripped the weapon.
Chigusa gave a small nod, and gave small scream of pain escaped from her gritted teeth as the weapon was taken out of her.
Immediately, Sora pointed his Keyblade towards the girl.
"Heal!" Sora immediately casted Curaga.
Everyone watched a flower materialize above Chigusa, and proceeded to shower Chigusa with a green light. Immediately, they all saw the wound on Chigusa's upper back quickly beginning to close. And in a mere moment, the wound was completely gone and the skin looked like it never received a wound in the first place, save for the blood stains that surrounded the wound.
Chigusa was silent, surprised to feel the pain go away so quickly. She reached up towards her upper back, and felt no wound whatsoever.
"I-I'm all better now..." Chigusa muttered with surprise.
The Takemikazuchi Familia collectively gave a sigh of relief, glad that their Familia member was no longer in danger.
"I guess that's one less thing to worry about." Ouka remarked with a small wry grin while scratching the back of his head.
"Indeed." Mikoto agreed with a relieved look, before she turned to the Hestia Familia. "You have our thanks."
"It's no sweat off our backs." Sora simply waved off once more. "In any case, I think I can say for everyone here had enough excitement for today. Wanna head back to the surface together?"
Everyone collectively nodded around Sora.
"I'm not opposed to that plan." Ouka welcomed.
"Yeah, I think I had enough excitement for today, thank you very much..." Welf groaned as he stretched his body.
Bell couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Even though he's used to fighting the Heartless alongside Sora, today just proved to be far more than what he expected. Though, he had a feeling that today's events is just the tip of the iceberg for what they'll experience in the Middle Floors of the Dungeon.
~ Break ~
In the end, everyone made it out of the Dungeon without any trouble. The Takemikazuchi Familia soon departed, but not before Mikoto told them that they wished to have their Familias meet in the near future, so Takemikazuchi could properly give his thanks for what they have done.
Afterward, Sora and Bell felt that they needed to take care of one more thing before they decided to call it a day. Once they exchanged the drops they got from the Dungeon, they decided to go to Welf's workshop while having Lili head on home without them.
Once they were...
"...You serious?" Welf asked with a raised eyebrow.
Bell and Sora were standing before Welf, and on a table were three particular items: a sheet of parchment with the schematics of the Irrégulier, the Irrégulier knife itself, and the drops of the Heartless Infant Dragon.
Bell shared an incredibly awkward look, fully aware of what he was doing. Sora, on the other hand, was giving a sheepish expression.
Bell felt really awkward and guilty about what he was asking. The reason he's doing this in the first place is because Sora told him that it didn't hurt to ask.
"Y-Yes. I would like you to forge the materials before you into the knife design that I want..." Bell requested.
Welf just stared at the two with an incredulous expression, before he gave a small sigh while rubbing his forehead.
"...I have a question." Welf started.
"A-Ask away..."
"Why do you want me to use someone else's weapon design?" Welf asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It's because her designs fit Bell's preferences." Sora answered. "Bell likes to hold the knives between his fingers. And from what Bell told me, the knives you made are either too clunky or shallow to be appropriate to use."
"...That so?" Welf muttered with a frown.
"P-Please don't misunderstand!" Bell frantically spoke up. "I'm happy with the works that you're giving me. I really like your armor and Ushiwakamaru! It helped me greatly! I-It's just...!"
"This particular weapon suits your preferences." Welf replied, before he gave a small disappointed sigh. "It stings my pride as a blacksmith that one of my weapons doesn't suit your preferences."
"S-Sorry..." Bell muttered with guilt and looked ashamed.
"However..." Welf immediately started.
"However...?" Sora repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"Where to start...?" Welf muttered while furrowing his eyebrows. "While I'm pretty confident in my skills to forge weapons and armor, there are a few things that I don't exactly feel confident in. For example, Lil'ly's crossbow; I don't exactly understand how they work and how to tweak them to improve their firepower. The same goes for throwing knives. The ones I've made are more for standard use. The ones you're using are really unorthodox, and the fact that you found great use out of them clearly means that my knives don't suit you."
"I-Is that so?" Bell quietly said.
"Yeah." Welf nodded. "Following up on that, any blacksmith worth their salt should know how to do custom orders from their clients. I can certainly customize a sword to be lighter, heavier, longer, or shorter depending on the client's preferences and needs. In all honesty, the fact that you're giving me a frame of reference to work with, rather than giving me some broad request helps a lot."
Both Bell and Sora blinked in surprise to hear this from Welf.
"So...you're not mad?" Bell carefully asked.
Welf gave a snort.
"Not really. As a blacksmith, I feel miffed that you're turning to other people's works rather than mine. But when I look at the big picture, I can understand why you're doing this." Welf said while folding his arms, but then gave Bell a pointed look.
"That said, you don't plan to use the knives you got from Telamon, are you?" Welf asked with a raised eyebrow.
"N-No!" Bell immediately replied. "I just got these knives as a reference for you to use when you use the drops we got from the Dungeon!"
"And if it helps, I'm the one who bought the designs, not him. So technically, Bell didn't get these weapons from another blacksmith." Sora also threw in.
"Then there aren't any issues." Welf said while nodding, and then looked at the two with a frown. "That said, this case is an exception. If you were to go to Telamon and get a sword design and like hers over mine, then that's an issue."
"Of course!" Bell immediately nodded. "It's just the throwing knives, and nothing else, I promise!"
"I'll hold you to it then." Welf replied with a smirk. "Anything else you want to address since we're here?"
"Not really. We just wanted to bring this up with you." Sora said.
"Alright then. I'll get started working on the throwing knives then."
"Thanks Welf. We'll see you next time then." Bell thanked with relief, glad that things didn't turn out to be as bad as he expected.
And with that, the two Hestia Familia members left the workshop. As Welf was left alone in his workshop, an introspective look formed on his face as he took a look at the Heartless Infant Dragon scale drops.
"...Ushiwakamaru gained a unique ability when I forged it from the minotaur horn. So making a weapon from these drops will definitely..." Welf quietly said to himself as he picked up one of the scales.
While certain monster drops and the Blacksmith Developmental Ability do give special traits to a weapon, the drops that came from those darkened Dungeon Monsters will guarantee a unique and special ability, and no Blacksmith Developmental ability is required.
What he's holding is the equivalent of a monster drop from a Monster Rex from the Lower Floors.
"I'm rather curious what ability will emerge from this..." Welf quietly said to himself.
~ Break ~
"So you've managed to rescue Take's children from the Heartless. I suppose you were lucky enough to be around to save them from the Heartless." Hestia remarked.
The entire Hestia Familia were sitting around the dinner table. All of them were eating Sora's fried fish that he learned to cook from Mama Mia, along with caprese salad.
"Still..." Hestia sighed while rubbing her forehead "I'm going to have to create a cover story for Take to hide what's going on. It's a good thing we're meeting up with him sooner thanks to his kids."
"Lili finds it concerning how the Heartless are acting more aggressively as of late. It's nothing like the Heartless from the Upper Floor." Lili pointed out with concern.
"The Heartless Minotaur, Zanis's Heartless, the Heartless Infant Dragon, and now the large pack of Satyr Heartless...and it hasn't been a month." Bell listed with a frown.
"All we know for a fact is that there's someone on this World directing the Heartless to do these things..." Sora said while folding his arms.
Silence fell onto the table, with everyone looking troubled at the current events. Even so, Hestia felt that such a gloomy atmosphere didn't belong to the dinner table.
"In any case..." Hestia spoke up. "I have some good news to share with all of you."
"""Good news?""" everyone repeated with a bit of surprise.
Hestia gave a proud smile.
"I have found us a new Familia home to move into! We're going to be moving in a couple of days!"
And that's a wrap to this chapter.
Wooh boy, writing this chapter was certainly a doozy. Let me tell you something, adding in a new character to a story is more exhausting than you think it is. Also, surprise appearance of Otto from FF16 as well.
(Bell's Ushiwakamaru Upgrade)
As you all know, Bell's Heartless Minotaur Horn drop was something special. It was only natural that if you defeat a Heartless, they drop a synthesis material. The Heartless Minotaur was no exception, and it possessed the Hungry Stone mixed within the horn.
The main ability for Bell's Ushiwakamaru matches the title of the Hungry Stone: it consumes and gives "vitality".
Whenever Ushiwakamaru comes into contact with the target's flesh, it will absorb the vitality of the target, and Ushiwakamaru will channel that vitality to its wielder. That vitality is used to heal Bell and restore Bell's stamina.
Basically, Bell's Ushiwakamaru has the Drain Ability from Kingdom Hearts.
(Fun Fact of the Day)
During the developmental phases of this fanfic, I've always intended to include a Final Fantasy character behind Bell's throwing knives. There was one particular character that I wanted to use, and it was Cindy Aurum from Final Fantasy 15. I thought to myself, she's an engineer as well, and thought she was a fun character to work with.
However, I soon realized that Cindy didn't fit in with the Western medieval setting of Danmachi. Cindy is way too modern of a character to be even included in such a setting, and her accent is too out of place. Initially, I thought about redesigning her character to fit in with the setting, but that would essentially erase the charms of what makes Cindy special and unique.
So, I decided to move on to a Final Fantasy character that fits in with the Danmachi setting. And lo and behold, FF16 came before me, and the rest is history.