Bell awoke after getting the last few hours of sleep that he could after his dream. The rays of sunlight shone through the blinds as Bell stretched.
He got out of bed and grabbed a shirt before putting it on. He grabbed Longclaw and Blackfyre and attached them to his belt before attaching his dagger behind him.
He picked up Silver and put him on his shoulder before shaking Met awake.
"Wake up, girl," Bell softly said.
The Dire wolf opened her eyes and licked Bell in the face before getting up and walking to the door.
The trio exited the room, and Bell headed downstairs into the cafeteria. Bell grabbed a light breakfast of a few waffles but made sure to grab sausages and other meats for his pets.
After eating, he got ready to head out but stopped when he saw Alfia standing near the entrance. She was dressed in her normal gothic dress with Dark Sister at her side.
"You know you don't have to come with me. I'll be fine on my own," Bell said.
Alfia grimaced. "Are you sure? It's really no big deal for me."
Bell chuckled. "Always the worry wort. I'll be fine, Alfia. We're not even going down that far, and if you come, you'll scare away all the monsters."
"Hmm, but what if you run into those people again? I don't know, Bell, it seems risky."
Bell rolled his eyes. "Alfia, you worry too much. If I run into those people again, I'll simply fight them. Besides, I have a big ass wolf and a dragon by my side. Go and explore the city for the day. The last time you were here was when I was born. Go and see how much it's changed, and I'll be back for dinner."
Alfia frowned but relented. "Fine, but be careful the dungeon-
"Is a dangerous place that will chew me up and spit me out if I'm not careful, I know. Really, you're worrying too much. Welf and I aren't leaving the upper floors."
Alfia sighed and wrapped her arms around Bell. "Alright, if you say you don't need me for today, I'll let you go. But be careful, Bell; anything can happen while you're down there."
Bell chuckled and hugged her back. "I'll be fine, don't worry. If not, Met will tear out some throats, and Silver will burn things."
Alifa laughed at the joke before letting Bell go.
"Well, I'm off. Gotta meet up with Welf. Tell me about your tour of the city when you get back," Bell said, leaving the Manor.
Alfia watched as Bell walked away. His back was the last thing she saw before the door shut.
"They grow up so fast, don't they?" Loki joked from behind Alfia.
Alfia just shook her head and looked at the goddess. "I wish he wouldn't. Feels like just yesterday he'd climb into my bed after waking up from the nightmare."
"Well, everyone has to grow up sometime. Although if he grows anymore, you might have to beat the girls off him."
Alfia clicked her tongue. "Like I'd let some harlot get close to him like that. Bell needs someone who can take care of his needs. Like cleaning and cooking. He doesn't need to be married to a fighter."
Loki laughed. "You chose the wrong city for that, then. Just don't let him near any amazons."
"You don't have any amazons?"
"I do, but they don't act like that. Well, at least the twins don't."
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"So, what floor are we hitting today?" Welf asked as he and Bell descended into the dungeon.
"Let's hit 11 again. I don't want to go too far down and have you get overwhelmed."
"But wouldn't you be there to save me?"
"True, but my aunt always said you can never underestimate what the dungeon will throw at you."
"Your aunt sounds like a wise lady."
The two arrived on the 11th floor, and Bell sat back as Welf got to work. Silver took off again and killed any of the bad bats that got close to Welf while killed anything in his path.
He didn't notice the imp sneaking up behind him, however, and Bell let out a whistle, causing Met to jump into action.
She ran forward and pounced on the tiny monster, ripping its tail off before it bit down on its head, killing the monster.
Welf turned around and looked at the Dire wolf in surprise. Met just let out a bark and panted happily at Welf.
"Thanks for the save girl."
Met happily barked before growling at an orc that appeared. Welf swung his greatsword, cleaving the thing in two with little effort.
Bell chuckled as he looked up and saw tiny flames being spit out of Silvers maw. The fire attached itself to bad bats, and their shrieks of pain rang out across the floor.
Bell just sat on his rock and watched the carnage unfold. That was until he heard stomping heading their way. Welf heard it, too, and turned around, causing his eyes to widen in shock.
Behind Bell was an infant dragon slowly approaching him. Bell slowly cocked his head back and raised an eyebrow.
This fake dragon didn't think it really had a chance against him, did it? The orange lizard looked down at the white-haired boy who lazily sat on a rock.
Bell simply gave it a side eye, and the dragon opened its maw at this offense. Bell could see the fire in its throat and was about to blow its fiery breath.
Bell simply raised his hand and shot an icicle through its neck. The fire, having an open hole, spurted before blowing up and severing the infant dragon's head.
"You have chantless magic?" Welf asked in amazement.
"Yeah. I inherited it from my mother. Pretty cool, right?"
"Pretty cool chantless magic is very rare. They say only one in a million have it."
Bell just laughed. "Well, shit, looks like I got pretty lucky then."
Silver flew over to the corpse of the infant dragon and began clawing at it while shooting tiny amounts of fire out of his maw.
"Silver, it's dead, and I'm fine. Leave it be," Bell ordered.
Silver stopped and, tilted his head, and looked at Bell. It looked back at the corpse before pecking at it again.
"Silver!"
Silver flew away from the corpse and back into the air.
"Looks like he's very protective," Welf joked.
"Imagine him at full size."
Welf felt a shiver run down his spine at the thought.
"I'd rather not."
"Yeah, but we could ride him at that point."
"Riding a dragon does sound fun."
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Many hours passed, and it was approaching the evening. Welf had killed hundreds of monsters while Bell watched. Met and Silver watched Welf's back to make sure nothing snuck up on him.
Welf killed one last orc before letting out a deep breath. "Alright, I think I'm done for the day."
Bell pushed himself off his resting spot and walked to Welf, handing the pouch of monster stones he had earned.
"Say any cool drop items today?" Welf asked as he and Bell began their ascent.
"Well, you are the proud new owner of a dragon hide and some of its teeth. Plus some orc hides and rabbit horns," Bell explained.
"How did you get a dragon hide?" Welf asked.
"Cause I skinned the dragon before grabbing its stone. Valyrian steel daggers are very sharp."
"That must've been a lot of blood," Welf commented.
"Don't worry, I was able to clean my hands."
"So nervous about meeting the rest of your familia?" Welf asked.
"Eh, not really. They're just people, and I'm a great people person. Case in point with you and me"
"Well, you have a point there. So does that mean we're parting ways after you meet up with the rest of your familia?" Welf nervously asked.
It was the question that had been bugging him all day. Bell was only diving with him until he could meet with the rest of his party. But Welf had enjoyed the little time he spent with Bell.
Looks like he would have to try and find another party.
"Nah, I'll just drag you along with me. If the party I'm assigned to says no, I'll just leave their party and hang out with you."
Welf stopped walking and stared at Bell. "Why? Why would you do something like that? If you're with them, you can go down farther and not be held back by me."
Bell stopped and turned around, looking Welf in the eyes. "Cause I know you better than anyone in the Loki familia. Therefore, I'm more inclined to hang out with you. Besides, you still owe Silver a steak."
Welf was quiet for a minute before chuckling. "So you're keeping me around to give a steak to your dragon?"
"Hey, Silver loves steak. It'll make him grow big and strong if he eats it."
"How were you even able to get steak in Hearthome? Isn't it cold as shit there?" Welf asked.
"You do know we traded with people, right? We aren't some isolationist hillbillies in the mountain."
"So, how cold is it in Hearthome?"
"Cold, and don't even get me started on the blizzards. I swear it was a constant winter every day. But that's the charm of it. Just pure snow as far as the eye can see, and also dangerous monsters at the peak of the mountain."
"How dangerous are we talking?"
"Uh, their apex predators who eat their weak, so their gene pool keeps getting stronger and stronger as they get older. So pretty dangerous."
"You ever fight any of them?"
"Only the weaker ones. If I went to the peak of the mountain to fight, I'd be dead by now."
"That bad?"
"Oh yeah,"
The group arrived on the 9th floor but stopped as they heard screaming coming back from the tenth floor.
"The hell is going on down there?" Welf asked.
"No time to think, let's go," Bell ordered before rushing down the stairs.
Welf didn't have to be told twice and was already following Bell. The two ran down the halls of the 10th floor, mist limiting their vision.
Bell and Welf could still hear the screams of someone close.
"Met find," Bell ordered.
Met sniffed the air before running off in the direction of the scream. Bell and Welf followed while Silver took to the skies to provide air support if needed.
Met barked so that Bell and Welf wouldn't lose her in the mist. The two kept following her until they came upon a blonde-haired elf cornered by a group of Minotaurs.
"Welf hide, Met, get their attention," Bell ordered, unsheathing his swords.
Met barked, causing the Minotaurs to turn around only for them to see a white blur. In an instant, two of the Minotaurs were decapitated.
Bell rolled forward and dodged the fist of a Minotaur. He stood in front of the elf, his swords drawn and his will strong.
"Just stay behind me, and you'll be alright," Bell calmly said.
A Minotaur charged at Bell, who swiftly dodged and sliced its head off. He brought his Blackfyre up and parried a landform club. He brought Longclaw down and slit a Minotaur's throat.
He quickly spun around and slashed his two swords down a Minotaur's chest before stabbing the final one in the mouth.
It only took Bell 45 seconds to kill them all.
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Bell took one last look around his foggy surroundings. Not seeing or sensing any more Minotaurs, he sheathed his swords before turning around and crouching down.
"Are you alright? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?" Bell gently asked.
"My ankles twisted, and I'm exhausted. My party and I were running from them since the 14th floor," The elf explained.
"The 14th floor? But Minotaurs don't spawn until the 15th. What happened to send them to the 14th miss-
"Laurier, and I don't know what happened. I was just showing some new level twos the ropes in the middle floors when they appeared. I tried to buy time for them to escape. But I don't know if they did or not."
"Well, Welf and I didn't see anyone on our way back. But we didn't see any other Minotaurs either, so there's a good chance they at least made it off this floor."
Laurier let out a sigh of relief. "Well, that gives me some hope, but I have a favor to ask you."
"What is it?" Bell asked.
"Can you carry me back to the surface? I'm too tired to walk, and I think my ankle might've been sprained as well."
"But you're an elf? I thought elves didn't like to be touched it carried?"
Laurier waved his concern off. "Yeah, I don't really care about that stuff."
"Alright, well then, let's get going. Maybe we'll see your party on the way back." Bell said as he threw Laurier over his back.
Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she nuzzled into him as Bell began walking to the 9th floor.
"Welf, you can come out now," Bell called out.
Welf walked out from behind a rock with Silver on his shoulder. He looked at Bell, and a teasing grin appeared on his face.
"Wow, look at you. Second girl you saved this week. Aren't you just a regular Prince Charming?" Welf teased.
"Met, do me a favor and bite him for me."
Met happily barked before walking over to Welf and giving his hand a little nibble. Welf yelped in pain before glaring at the dog, who only looked happily at him.
Silver flew off Welf's shoulder before landing on Bell's with the space left over from Laurier's arm. Silver looked at the elven woman in curiosity.
"A-a dragon?" Laurier asked.
"Hmm, oh yeah, that's Silver. The Dire wolf is Met. You can pet Silver if you want," Bell answered.
Laurier reached up and softly patted the top of Silvers head. Silver let out a happy chirp as he nestled into her palm.
"Looks like he likes you," Bell commented.
"So you're a Targaryen?" Laurier asked.
"Yup. Although I don't know how many more are out there," Bell answered.
Silver flew up and landed on Laurier's shoulder, nudging her in the face.
"Ah, what is he doing?" Laurier asked, a little worried.
"Getting a closer look at you. He's never seen an elf this close before. So he's interested in you. Silver down"
Silver chirped before landing back on Bell's shoulder.
"Your dragon acts like a child."
Bell chuckled. "Well, he kind of is a child. He's only two."
"I didn't mean that as a bad thing. I think he's adorable."
Silver happily chirped as Welf and Bell thought the same thing.
"He's gonna be swimming in chicks with those animals by his side," Welf thought.
"You were right, Grandpa. Chicks love a guy with a pet."
Bell, Welf, and Laurier arrived on the ninth floor with relative ease. It seemed the dungeon was really quiet on their way back.
Laurier's face brightened when she saw her two party members alive and well. However, life can sometimes have its complications.
"What are you doing with Miss Laurier like that?" An elf asked, her bow aimed at Bell.
Off to the right was a human with his sword drawn.
Bell simply blinked. "Well, I'm carrying her after saving her life."
"Amy put the bow down. Alex put the sword away. This boy and his companions saved me," Laurier tiredly stated.
The two lowered their weapons as Welf chuckled.
"Better thank your party leader there. Else Bell would've knocked you two on your ass."
"Welf, no need to taunt them," Bell said.
"I'm just saying if a fight broke out, my moneys on you."
Laurier's companions glared at Welf, who didn't seem to care.
"Well, now that you're all reunited, who's your god so I can escort you back?" Bell asked.
"We belong to the Hermes familia," Laurier answered.
"Fuck don't tell me he's in the city," Bell complained.
"You know Lord Hermes?" Laurier asked.
"Well, he's technically my uncle. So yes," Bell answered.
"Uncle? Where did you grow up?"
"Hearthome"
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"Do my eyes deceive me, or is that you, Bell? Oh, and you appear to be carrying dear Laurier. Whatever happened to her?" Hermes greeted.
"Yes, hello, Hermes. I have recused your children from the deep, dark depths of the dungeon. Asfi, hello, good to see you again," Bell lazily said.
Asfi gave him a sympathetic look as a few members of Hermes familia came out of his house with potions for Laurier. Bell let her down after she drank one and fixed her ankle.
"Go inside, Laurier dear. Get some food and some rest. You've had a long day," Heremes ordered.
Laurier did as he asked and walked back inside the Manor with the rest of her familia.
"Well, I'm done here. It was unpleasant to see you, Hermes," Bell said.
"Oh, come on, you still can't be mad about me pushing you into that lake. It was a year ago," Hermes complained.
"It was cold asshole! Besides, now that I'm here, you're gonna have a whole lot of chances to mess with me."
Hermes faked hurt. "Mess with you, I would never. I only have your best interests at heart. But we do need to talk soon, Bell."
Bell nodded when Hermes voice turned serious. It was a rare sight, so Bell knew he couldn't take this lightly.
"Alright, I'll come by later with Alfia. I'll try and make sure she doesn't kill you accidentally."
"Oh, come on, don't tell me she's still mad about that lake. You got me back right after by dragging me in as well," Hermes complained.
"No, she just doesn't like it when you're around me. You know how overprotective she gets."
"Right, she thinks I'm a bad influence. Well, I'll send you a letter for when we meet. What familia are you a part of these days?"
"Loki, so just send a letter to her."
Hermes nodded, and Bell began to walk away. Welf had already parted ways with him after they exited the dungeon.
"Oh, and Bell," Hermes called out.
Bell stopped and turned around.
"It's good to see you again."
Bell turned back around and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, good to see you too, asshole."
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Bell arrived back at the Twilight Manor, seeing the house all lit up. Bell turned and looked at the sun setting over the horizon and remembered the rest of his familia would be back soon.
He walked inside and saw Alfia waiting at the door.
"Do you just stand here all day?" Bell asked.
"I want to make sure you get home safely," Alfia answered.
Bell smiled as he walked closer. Alfia frowned as he did so.
"You smell like a woman. Where have you been, and what have you been up to?" Alfia asked.
Bell chuckled at her concern. "Oh yes, Bell, it's good to see you returned safely from the dungeon. You're not tired or anything, are you? Perhaps you're hungry and would like to eat first?"
Alfia's frown deepened at his teasing. "Bell"
"Alright, alright, I'll answer. Basically, I saved a girl from a bunch of Minotaurs that ran up the floors for some reason. My guess is they were scared. After I did that, the girl I saved couldn't walk, so I carried her back to the surface," Bell explained,
"And that's all that happened?" Alfia inquired, her eyebrow raised.
"No, she rewarded me for my help."
"Bell!"
"I'm kidding. Calm down"
Alfia took a deep breath before giving Bell a level glare. He only smiled at her while his pets hid behind them.
"You enjoy teasing me, don't you?"
"Absolutely"
Alfia sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alright, go and wash up. Loki said the rest of her familia would be here by dinner time."
Bell nodded before giving Alfia a hug and running upstairs. Alfia shook her head and sighed.
"That boy"
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Finn stepped into Loki's office. He was tired and hungry from the expedition but also a little angry that it had to be cut short.
"So wanna tell me why you're back early?" Loki asked.
Finn sighed and put a hand to his head. "These weird plant monsters appeared. It melted through our weapons like they were nothing. They also have a weird monster stone," Finn explained as he set the yellow crystal on her desk.
Loki examined the monster's core and looked at it in curiosity. It wasn't like anything she'd had ever seen before. Normally, monster stones were supposed to be purple. So why was this one yellow?
"Hmm, I'll see what any of my contacts can dig up. Is everyone alright?"
Finn nodded. "Yeah, no deaths and only a few injuries. Any news on the home front?"
Loki grinned as she was excited to tell Finn the news. "The silence is back in town, and her nephew joined our familia."
"Alfia's back since when?" Finn asked in surprise.
"Since two days ago, and her nephew is probably my new favorite child. He has stuff I've never even seen. Although he keeps leaving before I can greet him," Loki pouted.
"And does this nephew have a name?" Finn asked.
Loki snapped her fingers. "Oh yeah, his name is Bell. Oh man, I want to tell you so many things about him, but he's only here temporarily."
Finn quirked an eyebrow. "Temporarily? You're new favorite child is one who's here temporarily?"
"He won't be temporary if I can convince him otherwise. Lucky for me, I know who he was raised by and know how to keep him here. I have plenty of beautiful girls to do so."
Finn just sighed and shook his head. Looks like Loki was on one of her tirades again.
"Oh, and another thing. He'll be his own separate entity from the familia."
"What, why? That would just throw everyone out of sync," Finn complained.
Loki shook her head. "No, he won't. He was trained by Alfia and Zald. He'll go where he's needed, not where he's told. So none of you can tell him what to do. Also, he most likely won't listen either."
Finn sighed. "That still doesn't explain why I can't tell him what to do, Loki."
"Because Bell is gonna act on his own and go where he's needed. His battle sense is better than yours because he was trained by Alfia and Zald, and those two were monsters. I hate to say it, but give him two months, and he'll outgrow you."
Finn just sighed. This Bell kid sounded like a headache, and he hadn't even met him. Add the fact he has no control over him, and he can already hear the conflicts arising.
"You also can't tell Alfia what to do."
"I wasn't gonna even try that," Finn muttered.
"Good, so let Bell do his own thing. I've gotten a good read on the kid, and if his rescue of Take and Hermes kids is anything to go by, he has a good heart. So he won't willingly put you guys in danger. That said, make sure he doesn't die. Alfia would kill us all if that happened."
"No, she can't. We can take her now. Ever since Gareth reached level eight, we were in a position to take on Zeus and Hera if needed."
Loki clicked her tongue. "What have I told you about that line of thought? Banish it from your mind, and besides, they'd still kick our asses. Both of them are level nine."
Finn's eyes widened in shock. "How?!! They haven't been able to access the dungeon for over a decade?!!"
"Well, manticores and chimeras made it possible. Alfia said they're comparable to deep-floor monsters. So no letting Bell die, OK?"
Finn shakily nodded his head and began rethinking his approach to the boy named Bell.
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Bell grabbed his change of clothes and began putting them on. He was still in the bathroom after finishing his bath. It was a quick but nice one, and he enjoyed it.
However, a certain trickster had another plan.
Before Bell could put his clothes on, Loki threw open the door to embarrass him.
"Hey kid, guess what?" Loki asked, a teasing grin on her face.
"Hmm, what's up," Bell asked, completely calm.
Loki stared at him in disappointment. He was supposed to be nervous and flustered, not calm.
"Why are you calm? Shouldn't you be nervous being seen naked by a girl?"
Bell looked down and then back up. "I don't see why I should be flustered. I have nothing to be ashamed of," he bluntly stated.
"Yeah, I can see that horse boy, and damnit, you were supposed to be scared and flustered so I could have some fun."
"Well, too bad, and horse?"
"Take it as a compliment."
"Oh yeah, you would know what a horses looks like," Bell joked.
"Just put your clothes on," Loki deadpanned.
Bell chuckled as he put his pants on. He could feel Loki's eyes looking at every inch of him. He didn't really care, as with the amount of times he bathed with Alfia back in Hearthome, he didn't care about nudity anymore.
"So what is it you wanted to tell me?" Bell asked, putting his black shirt on.
Loki shook herself out of her leering session and answered.
"Two things. One, I'm gonna introduce you as a new member at dinner tonight, so don't come in until I tell you to. Second is you're your own separate entity in my familia. So go where you think you'll be the most helpful."
Bell nodded. "Ok, that's good to know because I wasn't gonna listen to your captain anyway. Zald is my one and only captain."
Loki chuckled. "Thought so. Just don't do anything that will get my children killed. That's all I ask. Now, then, go and grab your pets. It's time for dinner."
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Loki walked into the dining room and saw all of her familia gathered and already eating. She smiled and was glad that all of her kids were back safely.
It had been lonely for her as the gate guards Ganesha sent didn't really interact with her. Then Bell and Alfia showed up and relived a little of her boredom, but Bell was always heading to the dungeon, and Alfia wasn't much for conversation and was constantly worried about Bell
But now her children were back, and she would have some excitement until they went on their next expedition. Which Bell would join, and Alfia would tag along like the worrywort she was. Leaving Loki all alone and bored again, wondering if her children were gonna die this time.
But those were thoughts for another time. Today was a day for celebration.
Loki grabbed her wine glass and a fork, clinging the two together to get everyone's attention. Everyone stopped what they were doing and paid attention to their patron goddess.
"Alright, I got a few announcements to make, but I'll keep 'em short so you can go back to eating. First one is the Silence from the Hera familia is back in town and is staying with our familia for the time being. Don't bother her, as she most likely won't talk to you, and I don't feel like having you healed cause you pushed your luck. Second announcement, we got a new member. He's the Silence's nephew, and he's a lot more sociable than his aunt. Also, Raul, he's your new roommate. You probably saw his pets when you went to your room."
"Is that why there's a big ass dog in there, and there was also a dragon that scared the shit out of me!" Raul yelled.
"Yeah, they're friendly, don't worry about it. Now get in here and introduce yourself, Bell," Loki ordered.
Loki and everyone else looked to the entrance to the dining room and watched as Bell walked through the door.
On his right shoulder was Silver looking at everyone curiously while Met's mouth was watering at all the food on display.
The three arrived at the front of the room, where everyone was staring. Bell wasn't bothered by this at all, as public speaking didn't really bother him.
"Well, anything you want to say to everyone?" Loki asked.
Bell simply waved. "My name's Bell, and this is my dire wolf Met and my dragon Silver. They're both friendly as long as you don't pose a threat to me."
"How the fuck do you have a dragon?!!" A werewolf shouted in the crowd.
"I found him," Bell answered.
The werewolf clicked his tongue at the basic answer.
"Alright, nobody ask him how he has these pets while he's up in front of everyone. Not fair for him to say his secrets in front of a crowd who doesn't know him," Loki stated as Bell walked away.
He walked to the kitchen where the food was and grabbed two plates. One for him and the other for Met and Silver. He stockpiled the second plate full of meats while his plate had meat and some vegetables.
After grabbing his food, he walked back into the dining room and saw a black-haired man waving him over. He walked to him and set his food down at the table.
Getting a closer look, he saw who he assumed to be Raul and his party from the picture he had.
"Hey man, I'm Raul. I guess we're roommates now. Your pets aren't gonna murder me in my sleep, are they?" Raul nervously asked.
"Nah, like I said, they're friendly. Unless you pose a threat to me, they're alright."
Raul let out a sigh of relief while Met just stared at the cat girl. The black-haired cat girl looked at Met, too, and it was like they were having a standoff.
"Met behave," Bell ordered.
Met barked before walking over to the cat girl and playfully head-butting her leg. The catgirl jumped slightly before hesitatingly reaching her hand down and petting Met.
Met sat down and happily wagged her tail, enjoying the pets.
"See, friendly," Bell said.
"Well, that right there is Anankitty, but everyone calls her Aki," Raul said, gesturing to the cat girl who was petting Met.
"Nice to meet you," Aki greeted.
Bell looked to his left and saw an orange-haired elf looking intently at Silver. Silver walked to Bell's left shoulder and looked back at her just as intently.
"How is it a human can have such a strong magical beast?" the elf asked.
"Because I'm a Targaryen," Bell answered.
"You mean you're related to ancient dragon riders?"
"Yes, and this here is my buddy. Isn't that right, Silver?"
Silver happily chirped, and Bell threw him a piece of beef. Silver caught it in his mouth and happily ate it before flying over to the plate and eating more.
"Hey, save some for Met," Bell ordered.
Silver chirped, signaling he would.
Bell then turned back to the elf. "Just a reminder that just because I'm human doesn't mean I'm not good at magic. I mean, my aunt is better than any elf at magic. Hate to tell ya."
The elf grumbled but didn't say any retort as she knew Bell was right.
"Well, you've met our resident elf, Alicia. Don't worry. She'll warm up to you eventually," Raul said.
Bell then looked to the last member of the group and saw the chienthrope eating his spaghetti unbothered.
"That there's Cruz."
Cruz looked up and waved at Bell.
"Sup," he said before going back to eating.
Bell gave him a simple wave back.
"Well, that's everyone for right now. The rest of our party is at different tables. So, any questions you have for us, Bell?" Raul asked.
"Uh, what level are all of you?"
"Well, the four of us here are level four, and a couple of our other members are level three. But we're mostly comprised of second-tier adventurers," Raul explained.
Bell nodded his head. "Seems like a good group of people you got."
"Eh, we try our best. Say, what level are you, Bell?"
"Level three, but I can level up if I choose to."
"Let me guess, want to get your stats higher?" Aki asked.
"That's the plan."
"I'm guessing you're a swordsman since I saw two swords in our room?" Raul asked.
"Yeah, been practicing most of my life. My aunt says I've surpassed her and Zald, so apparently, I'm good at it," Bell calmly stated.
Alicia dropped her fork. "You're a better swordsman than Silence and Gluttony at level three?" She asked, her eyes wide.
"That's what they've said."
Alicia looked at her party members, who looked at Bell in shock.
"That means he's better than Ais," Aki muttered.
Raul just nervously laughed while Cruz stopped eating his spaghetti.
"Is that a big deal?" Bell asked, confused.
"Bell, they call Ais the sword princess. Of course, she's nowhere near as skilled as Silence and Gluttony. But if you're better than them, you might be the best swordsman in the world," Raul explained.
Bell was quiet for a minute before speaking. "Oh, that's cool. I guess"
Bell then went back to eating a carrot. Alicia thought he looked like a rabbit as he did so.
Raul's mouth was agape, and Aki just stared at Bell wide-eyed. Cruz didn't care and kept eating his spaghetti. Alicia was just frozen in place.
"Bell, you do know what it means to be the best swordsman in the world, right?" Alicia asked.
There's no way this boy was that dense.
"Yeah, I know. I just don't care. Besides, it's just a title. It doesn't mean anything unless I prove that I am."
The group had to admit Bell was right. They were just spouting out speculation, but they hadn't heard of anyone as good as Silence and Gluttony outside of Orario.
Bell tapped Silver on the head, and the dragon stopped eating and flew back onto Bell's shoulder. Bell whistled for Met, who walked away from Aki after enjoying her attention.
Bell set the plate down and gave Met the go-ahead to finish it. The dire wolf began eating as Bell looked around the table. Everyone was staring at him, minus Cruz.
"What?" Bell asked.
"Oh well, I was wondering if you wanted to join our party. We could always use an extra hand."
Bell finished his food and answered. "Sure, but I got a blacksmith buddy who I want to bring along. He's a level one, but the way I see it, if we watch his back, he can do weapon maintenance while we're down there."
Raul shrugged his shoulders. "Fine with me. I don't have a problem with having a blacksmith. He part of Hephaestus's familia?"
Bell nodded. "Yeah, so it should be fine since Loki and her are friendly with each other."
Bell then stood up from the table and excused himself. "Alight, well, I'm off to bed."
"Already? It's still pretty early," Alicia asked.
Bell chuckled. "Trust me, I won't be getting much sleep anyway."
Bell then took his dishes to the sink in the kitchen and washed them before heading upstairs and to his room. Leaving a confused table in his wake.
Well, gonna end this here. Not much happened other than Bell saving an elf and meeting the rest of his familia.
I wonder how their relationships will bloom and what Finn had planned for Alfia and Zad. The threat of the white walkers isn't well known yet, and Bell keeps having dreams.
Is it a warning of what's to come, and why did those strange people in white try and kidnap Mikoto? How big is the army of the dead?
Find out later as you keep reading.