Is it Wrong to Live Transmigrated as Bell Cranel in a Dungeon?

by Meetra 0 Surik

A fan with partial knowledge of the series is merged into Bell shortly after Zeus left him. With no perfect recall, armed with vague knowledge from the anime and other fanfics - Can our protagonist use their knowledge to save OG Bell's loved ones? Can he save the world from the OEBD? Or will he fail everyone and himself? The answer will tell if it is wrong to live as Bell Cranel!

7. Chapter 6-5: Supporter Part 2

Is it Wrong to Live Transmigrated as Bell Cranel in a Dungeon?

Chapter 6.5: Supporter Part 2

"Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough."

Franklin D. Roosevelt

---

Main POV

I blinked slowly as I came back into consciousness. I felt eerily calm, like I'm in shock. I got up, and opened up the book Syr had lent me only to find all the pages blank.

Ah, shit. How could I forget about the grimoire? Worse yet, I didn't even answer the book about anything related to fire! Not that I could have lied to the grimoire, I think. Magic, much like skills, is a manifestation of the soul. I know since I had just read that. And, frankly, I've 'seen' and read about a much wider variety of magics than Bell had. So it's no wonder that I described magic as a power to manipulate reality rather than power like fire.

I guess it really isn't the end of the world, however, as it's not like I'm trying to maintain the timeline or anything. I've just not had the strength to make big changes and I've forgotten so much about the exact timeline of events that I keep on stumbling into them like an idiot.

I wasn't opposed to following the Timeline… for the time being. I hadn't set out to make radical changes. My main goal was to protect Bell's precious people and to get strong enough to defeat the Dragon. Getting too much attention when I'm too weak to defend myself is just asking to get abducted by Apollo or Ishtar at worst or abducted by Freya at best.

Basically, unlike the majority of reincarnated people in fanfics and manga and manhwa, I wasn't obsessed with maintaining the timeline — I was just taking advantage of it out of a reasonable abundance of caution. (1)

Still, not knowing exactly what magic I have now is a stressful thought.

I take a look around, and note the time. Okay, late enough that Hestia is off of work but early enough that I don't have to get ready for working at the Hostess just yet. I'll run over and have Hestia update me before heading back for the evening shift.

A plan decided, I could feel myself relax a little as I made my way out of the dorms with the empty grimoire. Still, I had to do one thing before leaving.

I temporarily changed into my Belko outfit, because that's how desperate I was to keep the sight of 'Bell' from being in the same place as 'Belko', and went into the Hostess proper to find the girl who got me in this mess.

"Syr!" I called out frantically, "Syr!"

"Yes?" Syr replied, helping Mama Mia at the bar.

I get in close and start whispering, "T-the book! It wasn't just a book, look!"

I show her and Mama Mia the empty grimoire. "I didn't know it was a grimoire! What if the person who owns this comes back for it? Promise you guys will say I stole it or something. I know these things are expensive and–!"

Mama Mia interrupted by taking the book from my hands and throwing it in the nearest trash can, "Don't you be deciding to sacrifice yourself on our account. Nobody noticed what it really was, and it was their fault for being dumb enough to leave it behind. If anybody comes to give us trouble, I'll handle it. Got it?"

"But…" I began to protest. Even if the book was just left by Freya for me or something, doesn't mean I want some hypothetical person to put the Hostess in massive debt.

"But nothing," Mama Mia denied, "You let me worry about this sort of thing. I take care of my girls, you hear?"

"But I'm a—" I begin to point out.

"Eh close enough," Mama Mia joked with a laugh, causing Syr to giggle at my expense.

"Funny," I deadpanned, "Well, in that case, I'm going to go see my goddess real quick. I'll be back for my shift."

"You better!" Mama Mia said firmly.

"See you soon, Bell-kun," Syr said quietly before I snuck away.

Well, with that taken care of, all that was left was figuring out what spell I got.

…

After I change back. Belko is apparently such a sickly person she can't even leave the area of the Hostess. Or that's how my backstory is at this point.

---

"The hell is this!?" Hestia cried out above me as she finished frantically updating my Status. Hestia had initially freaked out over the whole Grimoire situation, but calmed down after I told her that Mama Mia was essentially covering up the evidence that it was ever even there.

"What?" I asked, tricklets of intuition starting to flood into me about how my spells basically work.

Wait. Spells?

"Look!" Hestia exclaimed, shoving a copy of my stats in front of me.

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength: S: 952 - S: 968

Vitality: SS: 1112 - SS: 1140

Dexterity: A: 869 - A: 890

Agility: SS: 1098 - SS: 1129

Magic: I: 0 - I: 0

Magic:

(Firebolt)

• Swift-Strike Magic

(Hiraishin)

• Enchantment Magic

Skills:

Liaris Freese - Rapid Growth. Fast growth as long as feelings last. The strength of the effects corresponds with the level of the user's feelings.

Singularity - The user is immune to all mental and spiritual attacks.

Focus - The user's Dexterity is increased when fighting and concentrating on a single target. Use can cause tunnel vision.

Development Abilities:

()

What the fuck.

"What's up with multiple spells, huh?! I thought you only read a single grimoire!" Hestia exclaimed, having basically the same sentiment as myself.

"I did!" I insisted, for that I was honestly stumped. Getting Skills representing Bell's soul and Mine made a sort of sense, but this still shouldn't have affected how a single grimoire gives out a single spell.

"Maybe by unlocking your magic, a spell you would have otherwise also revealed itself?" Hestia guessed.

"I guess…" I said, sounding unsure, but realizing that could fit for how I managed to get Firebolt without actually mentioning fire at all during the grimoire's questioning. It was the best bet at this point. Maybe if I talked with a magic expert like Riveria, then we could know for sure. But I didn't exactly have a rapport or alliance with Riveria or her Familia – so that was a no go for a long time.

"The first one looks pretty self-explanatory," Hestia observed, "Though I'm surprised that both of them have almost no incantation."

Firebolt was pretty self-explanatory.

Still, my Falna seemed to provide some basic intuition about the spell. It basically boiled down to knowing that I cast the spell from my palms and it would fly out perpendicularly from there.

"This other one though…" Hestia said slowly, "looks like the language from the Far East. Hiraishin? Flying… Thunder God? Some kind of lightning spell?"

"No," I disagree, my Falna given intuition telling me quite a bit on how the spell operates.

I regale to Hestia, "It seems to be a two part spell. When saying the incantation, I enchant or 'mark' a person or object with my Mind. The mark should last until I die or the object is destroyed. The second half of the spell allows me to use my Mind to teleport to any of the markers. I don't have to say anything, just will what mark I'd like to go to and use some Mind, of course."

"Teleportation?!" Hestia exclaimed, "That's insane!"

"You're right," I told her cautiously, "But I get the feeling that the act of teleporting will use a massive amount of Mind. And there's the chance that the sudden change in location may disorient me at best and make me throw up at worst. At least until I get used to the sensation."

"That… sounds likely," Hestia agreed. It was a reasonable assumption that TELEPORTATION would require a lot of magic to use.

I hummed to myself before going over to Hestia's bed. I put my hand on the wall above it and said, "Hiraishin!"

I could feel the warmth of magic inside me flash and a glow of a couple Kanji appear on the wall before they vanished. The sensation was weird, like the feeling of being watched, but I was able to kinda feel where the mark was located. But when I stopped thinking about the mark, the sensation vanished.

So the magic required a sort of spatial awareness to help keep track of the marks? No, not exactly, I just needed to have a clear way of remembering which mark was which. I could still feel the location of the mark if I 'prodded' it with my Mind by starting up the teleportation but stopping myself from performing it.

I grabbed a cup and also placed a Hiraishin mark on it. I tossed the cup onto the bed and discovered something else about the enchantment. I could tell the mark had moved. It was like instinct or intuition, but this sixth sense alerted me that the mark had suddenly moved. I basically confirmed my intuition from the question about the importance of spatial awareness.

Nudging the cup slightly, however, didn't elicit the same feeling. It would seem it would take a sudden movement of at least half a meter or so for my sixth sense to detect a mark's movement.

"You might want to get a bucket just in case," I warned Hestia before heading upstairs into the church proper.

I couldn't measure how far I was from my mark above Hestia's bed, but I figured I was about 10 meters or about 30 feet away. I took a deep breath, then flared my magic while focusing on that specific mark.

My vision blurred in a whirlwind of nonsense, colors, and confusion. I was dizzy like someone spun me around a couple hundred times in a few seconds. I tried to hold it in, but I nearly instantly began to throw up the contents of my stomach.

Thankfully, Hestia seemed to have been in just the right position to have a bucket catch it all. Though I was too busy dry-heaving to appreciate that fact.

After a moment and a couple deep breaths, most of the dizziness was gone. However, I could tell I was feeling a bit drowsy. Was I getting low on mana? No… I think this is just a headache.

I'd need someone like Ryuu to double check, but I had the feeling I used about 30% of my mana in a single go. And only to teleport 10 meters.

I had a feeling that if my Magic stat was in the S category, then it would have been only a 10% drain. Hiraishin was likely too powerful a spell for someone at a 0 Magic stat. But I couldn't know for sure until later.

"That magic is amazing," Hestia said to me solemnly, "but the drawbacks…"

"That was only… about 10 meters…," I slowly said between breaths, "Even as a last resort that isn't much distance to escape. And until I get used to the sensation, not even in a fight."

Actually, it could be very useful in a fight, if only to evade an opponent. Just… not very useful until I could stop with the nausea and dizziness.

"I wonder if practice will help with the nausea?" Hestia pondered.

"Hopefully," I said, almost pleadingly, this felt awful!

"In any case, don't use that spell in the Dungeon until you can use it safely. That's an order, okay Bell-kun?" Hestia ordered me.

"You got it," I said, complying, using it otherwise was just a death sentence. It could be a devastating ability one day, but even with Level 1 Magic at 1100 it was more a liability than anything else.

"Will you be able to get back to the Hostess alright?" Hestia asked.

"Yeah," I said, "I still feel a little queasy, but I'm good. I'll just make sure to eat lightly tonight…"

I could feel myself green a little, "...if I feel up to eating later."

"Well, just be careful, Bell-kun," Hestia said like a worried mother.

"I'll try," I promise before carefully making my way back towards the Hostess.

---

Ryuu did confirm that the figure I had given her was more or less correct. She still all but shoved a Magic Potion down my throat since it would help with the mental fatigue the spell did to me. And it was very successful at relieving my headache, but not my guilt at once again having Ryuu feed me potions from her stash.

It did help me get through the rest of the work night, however.

…It also made me too awake to fall asleep, especially since I hadn't spent any stamina from Dungeon crawling today. So, I felt it would be more productive to quickly head into the Dungeon to get a little target practice with Firebolt. ($)

It's not like I could practice the spell in the courtyard. I would not only wake everyone, but I would easily start a fire in the middle of town. Not to mention that we didn't have clearance from the Guild to have the courtyard be an official training area. IE, without the clearance, I'd have Ganesha Familia down my neck for throwing spells around in the city.

So off to the Dungeon I go to practice my one actual combat magic.

Taking only the Hestia Knife with me, I went ahead and snuck out of the Hostess and went to the Dungeon. I quickly went into Babel and down into the 1st Floor. With most adventurers gone for the night, it didn't take me long to find my first goblin.

Keeping some distance, I aimed my right hand and steadied it with my left. When I was ready, I chanted, "Firebolt!"

Scarlet lightning flashed through the hallway. No, not quite. Electric bolts carve sharp, random lines through the air before piercing the goblin. An explosive flash of light blinds me the instant the electric flame reaches the goblin's body.

Okay, try not to look at Firebolt directly…

The goblin stands there for a moment, covered in burns, its body smoking. Its eyes go white as it flops onto the floor. The last utterance of the monster echoes through the hallway.

Okay, not going to lie, that was awesome. Teleporting was super cool too, but it was hard to enjoy it in that moment with all the nausea and spinning. This, however, barely drained me and completely roasted a goblin in an instant.

However, that was an easy shot. The goblin hadn't noticed me yet and was stationary. And I took what in combat time might as well have been forever to aim.

So I kept up traversing the Dungeon, getting more of a feel for how to aim, how much power to use, and how fast I could cast the spell. That sort of thing.

I only meant to test things out for a little bit. But it's like playing Civilization V and telling yourself you'll only do 'one more turn'. You finish the turn and give yourself another turn anyway and before you know it you're all the way down to the 5th Floor of the Dungeon in Orario.

…

Ah, drowsiness my old friend. Fancy meeting you here.

It occurs to me that I am an idiot and a Magic-junkie. Can you blame me, though? If you suddenly got the power to shoot a bolt of fire you wouldn't get a little excited?

I… I would get… I am…!

Woah… this feels… I'm sooo…. s-sleepy?

I hadn't drunk much alcohol before, but this must be what a drunk person feels like. My legs are unsteady. I'm not even sure they're touching the ground. My vision spins. I glimpse the rapidly approaching floor, and pass out right then and there. (2)

---

Other POV

"…?" Ais tilted her head as she noticed something.

"What's wrong, Ais?" Riveria asked her companion.

Two adventurers entered the 5th Floor. However, they didn't come from above. They arrived from below.

Standing firm without a scratch on them, Ais and Riveria had spent three days climbing up from the Lower Fortress, Floor 37. Even though they'd been fighting off monsters for the past 46 hours straight on their journey to the surface, neither of them looked all that tired.

Now their journey's end was right in front of them, but Ais, who was walking a few paces in front of Riveria, stopped in her tracks.

The high elf looked at Ais's long blond hair as she asked what was wrong.

"A person is on the ground," Ais answered simply.

"Done in by a monster?" Riveria questioned nonchalantly, long since used to such sights.

Sure enough, alone in the middle of the room was the body of an adventurer. He lay face down on the dungeon floor, like he had tripped and not gotten back on his feet. The two girls approached him.

Riveria knelt down by the boy, "No visible wounds, healing and detox appear to be unnecessary… Looks like a classic case of Mind Down."

Riveria was amazed that this boy had been able to keep using magic to the point of losing consciousness.

Meanwhile, Ais crouched down over the adventurer with her hands on her knees, staring at his white hair. "This boy…"

"What's that? Do you know him, Ais?"

"No, he does look like the boy I saved from the Minotaur on this floor that one time," Ais responded, "But that boy had blood red hair, not white."

Riveria looked at Ais like she was an airhead, "...Ais, his hair was likely tinted by all the blood. This is that boy."

She hadn't heard much about the boy. All she knew was just that he was saved by Ais and was involved in defeating a Silverback during Monsterphilia.

Even though Riveria had warned their party member and defended the boy at the pub, she hadn't thought she'd actually run into him. It made her wonder if she should have defended him more strongly.

"Riveria, I want to compensate this boy," Ais declared.

"…There are other ways of saying that," Riveria let out a long sigh in response to Ais's choice of words. Ais looked up at her with pleading, sparkling eyes and blinked two, three times.

Realizing that Ais didn't understand, Riveria gave up and decided not to say anything.

"Well, helping someone at a time like this is common courtesy…" Riveria settled with saying.

Ais nodded twice, her clothing swishing with her head. Riveria leaned forward for a closer look at Bell.

Seeing that the boy showed no signs of waking up anytime soon, Riveria shifted her gaze onto Ais. An idea to play a little practical joke on her… student came to mind. (Like hell she was going to play into the fact that everyone called her 'mom' by admitted she helped raise Ais)

"…Ais, do for this boy exactly what I'm about to tell you. If you're going to compensate him, that should be enough."

"What?"

Riveria gave her a look to convey her real message.

"…Is it okay just to do that?"

"I'm not certain. But you will protect this spot. You don't have to do anything above and beyond that. Besides, any man would be happy because it's you."

"I don't… understand."

'You don't have to understand,' Riveria chuckled to herself.

The high elf looked down at Ais for a moment, like a mother watching her child grow up, before returning her expression to its usual refined, dignified state.

Her face back to normal, Riveria stood up, "I'm returning to the surface. I'll just get in your way if I stay here. You two have to be alone to understand each other."

"Yes, thank you, Riveria."

The elf nodded with an affirmative "Ah" before leaving them behind.

She wasn't the least bit worried about monsters attacking them.

As far as guardians went, the boy had the best one on the planet to protect him.

---

Main POV

I'm drowsy. I make out something that smells incredibly sweet and smooth. I feel like I'm being caressed by clouds themselves. I'm so comfortable I don't want to move.

Something is stroking my hair. Thin fingers run down my cheek. So gentle, so reassuring. My eyelids open slowly.

"...Angel?" I accidentally say out loud, not entirely conscious.

The fuzzy outline filling my vision stops moving. "Sorry. I'm not such a being," the figure replied.

Eh?

The person responds in a voice that goes right through me. I blink to clear my clouded eyes. As I do, the fuzzy shapes come into focus.

The first thing I can make out is shiny blond hair. Then a beautiful face. Finally, golden eyes that match her hair.

"…" You've got to be kidding me.

"Are you awake…?"

My eyes are open. My head is awake. But time isn't moving, I sure hope it isn't. My mind, still empty, I stared at the face looking down on me.

The back of my head is warm. Something soft is under it. I recognize this sensation, a lap pillow.

This person, Ais Wallenstein, strokes my hair again.

"…"

I clumsily raise my upper body.

I know it's a waste of warm comfort, but still I sit up.

She leaves my line of sight. In her place is a massacre of slain monsters and random bones - presumably from monsters that tried to attack us, but effortless fell to Ais without her even needing to move. I pretend not to see anything and turn back to Ais Wallenstein. She's still there.

"…An illusion?" I ask pleasingly.

"Not an illusion," Ais Wallenstein's expression suddenly changes. The line of her eyebrows slants.

We exchange glances for an eternal moment.

Gold and ruby-red eyes. It looks like the silence is getting to her. My face is turning redder with each passing heartbeat.

Despite my growing embarrassment at having once again being found by Ais Wallenstein while in such a pitiful state, I had enough manners to know that she once again has saved me from getting mauled by monsters.

"T-thank you very much. F-for saving me from my foolishness," I stammer out, refusing to look her in the eye.

"...Think nothing of it," Ais responded after a moment, "It is your first time using magic, no?"

"T-that's right," I confirm with a nod, still refusing to look at her.

"...Then it makes sense that you were unaware of your limits," Ais said to me, "It is praiseworthy to push yourself so far."

"…Coming from you, that means a lot," I reply, desperately thinking to myself some kind of excuse to get myself out of this situation. I may be crushing on Ais right now, but that was exactly why I wanted to be literally anywhere else. The current circumstances were just too mortifying. And if Ais offered to escort me back to the surface, I might not be able to recover from the shame.

Thankfully, Ais seems to be a poor conversationalist as she doesn't say anything to me after that. Giving me a few seconds to come up with some excuse to split ways.

Why did I want to run off despite how much of a wuss it makes me look like? I desperately hoped that my staying away from Ais and avoiding her would allow me to get over my silly crush. Any shame to rid myself of Bell's crush would be acceptable for me right now.

"A-anyway," I began, making my play, "I can tell you're coming up from a deep dive into the Dungeon. I'm sure you want to get to the surface as quickly as possible. I'll only slow you down and I have some other things to do while I'm here. I swear I'll make this up to you sometime soon! Thanks again!"

Having avoided her gaze up till this point, I'm not sure what her reaction to my words were, but she didn't verbally object as I ran away and never looked back.

---

Other POV

Ais reached out her hand to stop the boy, her mouth opened, but words escaped her. She only then realized she had once again failed to get his name.

In her moments of indecision, the boy had long since vanished into the Dungeon. It was only then that words came to her.

"…Why do you always… run away?"

If someone had been there to hear her words, they would have heard a hint of loneliness in Ais' voice. Followed by silence.

---

Main POV

I was still embarrassed with myself by the time I woke up the following morning. So much so that I insisted that Ryuu step up the harshness of her training despite her assurances my growth was more than excellent.

That was why I found myself doing pushups with a rather large rock tied to my back… with Ryuu sitting on top of the rock, lecturing me on proper Mind usage and gauging so I stop falling unconscious in dangerous places.

Falling unconscious from using too much magic while in the Dungeon was shameful and dangerous all on its own. But…! To be saved by Ais Wallenstein again!

It wasn't good. Not that I had a problem with people lending me a hand. No. There was a more fundamental problem about it that threatened my resolve. I couldn't let myself get into the habit of expecting someone like Ais Wallenstein to save me when things get tough. I'll never be able to stand on my two feet ever again if that happens!

Thus…! Harsher training. Including acclimation to the Hiraishin.

At least we were an amusing sight, based on all the looks the girls were giving us. Syr was giving some combination of a smug and concerned look Ryuu's way, though I had no clue what that was all about.

Women.

---

The next day, having run out of potions, I head over to my usual goto place for them.

The shop is located off of West Main, but I have to go through a few backstreets to get there.

Basically, it's a house that was built in a dark, damp place. But there's a sign with the Miach Familia's emblem, a completely healthy human body, above the front door. Needless to say, it isn't a store with the best real-estate for getting lots of customers.

"Excuse me, good morning…" I say as I enter the shop. My eyes look up and down the rows of shelves, trying to find an animal-person girl in the dim shop. She hears my voice and turns her half-closed eyes my way.

"Morning, Bell-kun. Long time, no see…"

With her slow voice and drowsy-looking eyes, you'd think she'd just woken up, but she's just that kind of archetype. The girl's taste in clothing is also a little strange. Her tail is sticking through her skirt, and her left sleeve comes down to her elbow, but her right sleeve goes to her wrist. She has a glove on her right hand only. She looks to be about the same age as Eina, maybe a little younger. She stops what she's doing and walks to the back of the shop and behind a counter.

"Sorry to come in this early," I apologize as I walk over to her.

"No worries. No one will come in after you leave anyway, Bell-kun… So, what're you going to buy today?"

She reaches under the counter and pulls up a closed case before setting it on the counter between us. The wide case holds many tubes filled with various colorful liquids lined up in a row.

"By the way, is Miach-sama around?" I made some small talk as she got herself situated for today's negotiations.

"Miach-sama is on a personal errand and won't be back until tonight. I'm alone today…"

My eyes were scanning the tubes when I asked her, and that was her answer.

The shop is run by Miach and belongs to Miach Familia; it also doubles as the Familia's home. The girl I'm talking to is Naaza, Miach Familia's only member.

She pulls out a very expensive-looking potion from the case and holds it out to me.

"Say, Bell-kun, what do you think? Isn't it about time to try a high potion…?"

"Ah, sorry maybe next time," I say sheepishly.

I dodge her proposal with a nervous smile. The high potion she's holding is worth tens of thousands of valis. This kind of conversation is almost a daily thing for us because we both belong to dirt-poor Familias. If there is a way to make or save a few valis, we'll find it.

Well, I'm doing slightly better financially, but it was hardly anything to write home about.

That being said, I usually just let Naaza win in these kinds of negotiations since their situation is even worse off than mine.

"Bell-kun, you haven't paid us a visit in a long time…"

"…?!" Guilt tripping already?! Naaza must be really strapped for coins right now.

"Miach-sama was very lonely. His stomach was growling…'cause he was starving," Naaza continued to say pitifully. She actually might not be lying either, which just made it worse.

Ever since I hired Lili, I haven't been to this shop. She'll prepare any item I ask for, so I haven't needed to go anywhere else to buy potions or other supplies. It was something Lili put into her contract which certainly eased the amount of chores I had. Which meant more training time for myself. It also confirmed the quality of Naaza's potions, but that was a story for another time.

Still, Naaza's words stab at my conscience; I'm breaking out in a cold sweat.

This is bad! At this rate I'll end up buying something I don't need. I could probably afford it though… Oh no, I'm doomed. Wallet, forgive me in advance!

"Ah! I just remembered! I might have passed out after using Magic in the Dungeon the other day…" Desperate to change the topic, I bring up how I passed out in the Dungeon after using magic. Naaza listens to my story before letting out an affirmative "Ah!"

"That's Mind Down. It happens all the time to adventurers who've just learned magic but get carried away…"

"...Did you have to say it like that? I'm right here, you know."

Naaza was unapologetic, and ranted for my benefit, "Magic requires mental energy to work. If you use too much, you go out like a light."

See? Despite swindling me, Naaza's still a good girl that wants to make sure I'm at least somewhat informed. Of course, it's probably so she can sell me some Mind Potions and thus make more money, but still.

"So that's why…" Naaza continues as she rustles through a box under the counter, "…you need a mind-restoring potion to avoid that. This one was just brewed the other day…"

"Uh, but… that potion is really expensive…" I play my own part in trying to drive down the price. I can be sneaky if I want to sometimes, you know.

"No worries. I'll give you a discount, being a regular and all… 8700 valis."

"All right," I said, barely hesitating. Sounded like I was getting a decent deal for once.

The dog ears on top of Naaza's head twitch happily when she hears my response, and she quickly bends over to pick up two more tubes.

"If you're willing to buy this for eighty-seven-hundred valis, I'll throw in these two potions for an even 9000… Sound good?"

Ah yes, give an inch, take a mile. I can obviously see what she's doing, but I don't mind. Still, even if its not the most efficient, a potion can still be safely used even if it isn't entirely needed so I'm still technically getting my money's worth if I have to down it before it expires. The shelf life on potions is pretty decent regardless so there's no harm in buying now.

Besides, Miach Familia's cheapest potions are 500 valis apiece. Considering that, Naaza's offer is really good. Spending 9,000 in a go is hurtful, but I'm going to need to get used to making such purchases as my profits continue to increase.

And the first rule of going on adventures is to prepare for anything and everything.

"No one knows what will happen in the Dungeon. It'd be a good idea to be thorough…" Naaza gave a final line to persuade me, though I was already sold on them.

Choosing between money and the safety of my party, I'll choose the latter. Hands down.

"Okay. I'll accept your offer."

"Thanks, Bell-kun. I love you…"

I felt a fire burning in my cheeks at her sudden words – I couldn't help but believe she was serious for a second there. Damn my brain for having trouble picking up things like sarcasm! I could dish it out but not take it — hold on this sounds familiar…

Finishing the transaction, I take the items from the lazily smiling Naaza with her half-lidded eyes, and immediately feel the need to get the heck out of here.

Naaza waves good-bye as I make a break for the wooden doors and leave the shop.

That girl! Friggin' minx! Take back all my sympathy for teasing me like that! I'll still go back and shop there again though. Even though I've all but confirmed that Naaza's watering down her potions. I mean… they still work…

But I've heard enough rumors at the Hostess to know about her situation, so I don't mind helping out in the only way I can right now.

Anyway, I leave the item shop and go down West Main toward the Dungeon.

As usual, a ton of fully equipped adventurers have already gathered in the large, circular Central Park under a bright and clear blue sky.

I look around, hoping to find Lili in the park. It's our meeting point, but she's nowhere to be seen. Which is odd because Lili is a very punctual person.

It was then that I happened to catch a glimpse of something on my way toward Babel Tower.

Over in a part of Central Park, under the shade of a large tree, Lili is standing with three adventurers.

However, the three large men are surrounding Lili. They have their chests puffed out, looking down on her and saying something while Lili frantically shakes her head from side to side. No one looks all that happy.

Members of Soma Familia? Likely the same folks that Chloe had seen harassing Lili?

As soon as the thought crosses my mind, I immediately go in their direction.

"…enough…hand…over!"

"Already…gone…Really…!"

It sounds like they're having a heated argument.

I hide behind a tree in their blind spot and prepare to jump in at a moment's notice.

"Hey!"

"!"

But then, out of the blue—

Someone grabs my shoulder as if they're trying to get in my way. I spin out of it in a surprised reflex and turn to face the grabber.

It's a male adventurer. A human with black hair, excellent physique, and a longsword strapped to his back. It's the same one from when I first met Lili.

"Heh, you're that kid from before… Don't matter, I've got a question for ya: working with that runt over there?" The asshole asked aggressively.

"I don't see why that's any of your business," I reply sternly.

"Ah, so you are just an idiot. Some kinda boy playing knight in shining armor. Better wise up, boy, there's no damsel here that deserves saving," he sounds like he's giving me an angry lecture.

"!" But I'm stunned after hearing his second sentence. At how close his words might as well be to the truth.

I squint my eyes in suspicion and anger, and the man makes a jeering smile back at me.

"But that don't matter; tell you what…We're gonna snatch her."

"!" I'm stunned by how bold this asshole is that I can't even speak. How can someone just say that straight out like that?!

"Not asking you to do it for free. I'll pay ya a bit up front and a share of what we get out of the runt," He's completely serious. And somehow expects that just a bit of profit is all I need in order to stab someone else in the back. I'm so shocked by his audacious and foolish proposal that words leave me.

"All you have to do is go into the Dungeon like usual. After that, find an excuse to leave her alone and I'll do the rest. Piece of cake, ain't it?" The man's mouth opens wide as he laughs with all his might. It reeks of a malice I've never experienced firsthand before.

Even as a chill of nervousness sweeps through my body, I clench my fist.

"Why are you saying things like that…?" I ask, trying to understand the rationality of the person in front of me.

"Huh? What's with the backtalk, kid? This is where you nod 'yes' like a good boy. Think of all the money you're gonna get from this. Hell of a sweet deal."

"Ha-ha!" The man lets out another round of ridiculing laughter. "Use your brain, boy! That's just a supporter — the runt carries the bags! You're no worse off if that useless piece of trash were gone, now are you? Wring her dry while you can and ditch the rest."

I'm pissed off now. This kind of cold, uncaring malice goes against every shred of decency I believe in!

"Not a chance in hell…!" I growl as I push him away from me.

"Friggin' brat…!" The man's face contorts into a gruesome visage. My forehead tightens as power flows into all of my muscles. A fierce energy surrounds us. The leaves on the branch above us shake, almost as if in fear of what's going on below.

We stare each other down for a minute or two until he turns on his heel with a loud click of his tongue and walks away. On some instinctive level, I guess the asshole recognized the difference in strength.

I watch him go, fury still etched on my face. I wonder for a moment if I should just shoot him in the back now, but escalating things into an actual fight isn't what I'm up for. It could easily escalate into one of us dead and it wasn't going to be me. It wouldn't be right.

"…Bell-sama?" A voice from behind me.

"!" I turn around in a flash, to find a dumbfounded Lili standing there, looking up at me. The flames of rage that had been burning inside me cooled, the spell of my anger broken.

"L-Lili? How long have you been there?" I asked, a little startled at coming back to reality.

"Lili just got here…What were you talking about with that honorable adventurer?" She asked me casually, her eyes hidden under her hood.

"Ah, Nothing much," I tell her, "Just some jerk I ran into before looking to start a fight."

Lili doesn't seem to entirely believe me. She stares at me with her mouth closed. Her expression seems a little dark.

"We should be careful in the Dungeon today," I warn her, "I wouldn't be surprised if he decides to do something rash. Anyway, you seemed to be tangled up in something a minute ago. Is everything okay, Lili?"

"So you saw that… Please don't worry. As you can see, Lili is fine," she assured me. She holds out her arms and does a small twirl before looking up at me with a big smile. No bruises or tears on her robe. At least those men didn't do anything to her… at the moment.

Still, the vibe is off. I can tell that Lili has her guard back up like the first day I met her. She's smiling but it doesn't reach her eyes, her dark, cloudy eyes.

"Lili, who were those—" I try to get her to confide in me, but she just interrupts me.

"Just like what happened to Bell-sama, they were picking a fight with Lili. Maybe Bell-sama and Lili look weak?" Smiling her usual bright smile and telling more jokes, she didn't let me get another word in. It's clear she doesn't trust me enough to talk about what really happened.

"All right, let's go, Bell-sama! Since Lili hasn't worked in two days, Lili's counting on your efforts today, Bell-sama!" Lili passes by me toward Babel. She almost looked normal, but I could still see clouds of darkness in her eyes.

I wondered how she could even see like that.

It was a good thing I stocked up on potions. I had a bad feeling Lili was almost at her breaking point.

Silently, we entered Babel and into the Dungeon. I wondered what on earth I could do… all I could think of was to continue treating her as I had been. With kindness.

---

The next day, I waited for Lili once again. I had given more detail to Hestia about Lili's situation. Hestia was uncertain if we should continue the risk of associating with Lili, but I couldn't do that. If I can't save one person, how did I ever think I would someday save the world?

And Lili was a friend to me. She had finally started relaxing and showing a bit of her true self. You don't just work in such a positive environment like we had without forming a bond. I hated the clouds of darkness in her eyes. I wanted to help her…

Speak of the devil, she finally appeared. She looked casual on the surface, but I could tell she was skittish.

At least she was physically alright. Those assholes are smart enough to not do too much above ground.

Adventurers who cause problems get put on the Guild's blacklist. Life in Orario is extremely difficult for them. For starters, if they have their registration revoked, the Exchange will no longer pay them for magic stones and drop items, instead unceremoniously taking them away. Not long after that, they'd likely be kicked out of their Familia — which was tantamount to being abandoned by their god.

Good luck getting into another Familia after that.

They could even be punished and put in jail if their violation was severe enough.

These laws would make the blacklisted adventurers a kind of outlaw, but the Guild has no choice but to take a firm stance against them. You could say that they are keeping criminal activities under control.

So, that's why if anyone is going to cause a problem, they'll do it in the Dungeon. With no witnesses, the attacker could say that they were defending themselves or they thought the victim was a monster and attacked by accident. Their escape routes are limitless.

It's why small-time assholes get away with this kind of shit, but Ryuu who did a lot of dark stuff above ground is now in hiding.

"Bell-sama," Lili called out for my attention.

"Ah, sorry. What is it?"

"Shall we go to the 10th Level today?"

"Hm?" I look down at Lili, her eyes hidden under hair and hood. "It's very sudden, don't you think?"

"Bell-sama, did you really think that Lili wouldn't notice? Bell-sama, has more than enough power to do well on the 10th Level, right?" Lili said pointedly.

Fair enough. While Hestia, Eina, and I can keep my substantial growth hidden if we keep quiet - Lili has had a front row seat for several weeks now and has no doubt started to notice my oddities.

And I had been technically cleared to go down to the 12th Floor by Eina, but she personally didn't recommend it until I spent more time on Floor 10. Which I had been avoiding because I worried about fighting large monsters.

Fighting a monster that's your size and smaller is one thing. One that towers over you is a bit more intimidating. Enough to give me pause.

…But it is something I should get over sooner rather than later. I'm definitely in the stat range where I'm more comfortable Leveling Up, though more points never hurt. You can't take back a Level Up after all.

But I think my real concern was Lili. I was fairly sure that she was not only desperate, but in a corner. I could remember that in Canon Lili left Bell in a trap while running off with the Hestia Knife. This certainly felt like the time she'd try that sort of thing if she was going to.

…Oh, well. Best spring the trap. I could handle it.

Taking my prolonged silence as unease, Lili began to try and persuade me, "Don't forget that Bell-sama now has magic. That magic is strong. The new Bell-sama has no weaknesses."

Swift-strike magic like Firebolt does let me essentially become a Magic-Swordsman without having to learn Concurrent Chanting, after all. Lili wasn't wrong.

"Lili has been as far down as the 11th Level with other adventurers, so you can take Lili's word. Bell-sama will have an easy time on Floor 10. Lili's guarantee… The truth is, Lili has to gather a large amount of money in the next few days."

"Ah…!" Lili is all but admitting she desperately needs money to me. And she has likely already inferred that my savings are minimal.

"Lili can't say the details, but it involves Lili's Familia… Can you blame Lili for being selfish, Bell-sama?"

"No, of course not," I assure her, "Willpower alone doesn't fill an empty belly."

"Lili has not heard that saying before, but it is accurate."

I sigh, "Well, I had been thinking it was about time myself. But, just in case, take this."

I offer Lili a small throwing knife, she looks at me confused but takes it.

"Keep that on your person at all times," I tell her, "And only throw it in an emergency situation where Lili's life is in danger."

"...is this some kind of magic weapon?" Lili asked, sounding confused. I was playing up this dinky little throwing knife as some kind of miracle weapon after all.

"Something like that," I answered evasively, "Just know that if you ever need to be saved, just throw it on the ground. Then the 'magic' will happen."

Lili just looked even more confused. She looked at the knife and seemed fairly convinced that it was just a normal throwing knife based on her perplexed expression.

A fair reaction. I was all but calling it a magic weapon, but it didn't look like or feel like one at all.

"...Thank you, Bell-sama," Lili finally said, tucking the knife inside her cloak.

"I have something for you as well," Lili said, retrieving a baselard sword from her bag, "This should give you a longer reach for dealing with larger foes. I got this for quite the deal with our supply funds."

"...In that case, thank you. I appreciate the foresight," I tell her, accepting the weapon, "Though I'm not exactly experienced with this type of weapon."

"How about testing it on the way to the 10th Level?" She offered logically, "The monsters down to the 7th Level would be perfect for practice. If Lili's eyes aren't playing tricks on her, Bell-sama would do very well using a shortsword."

Okay, that last bit was probably more flattery than fact. I was quite the fan of precise stabs and slashes due to my training with Ryuu. That said, she was also a user of shortswords, so I did have something of a style to work with.

Bell's brain seemed really good at picking up details like that really quickly.

The only problem was that the sheath would get in my way…

"Bell-sama," Lili got my attention gesturing to my vambrace, "If Lili remembers correctly, Bell-sama's protector can hold weapons about that size, right?"

Ah, she's definitely trying to get me to move the Hestia Knife out from under my vambrace to somewhere more reachable. Well, fine, the Hestia Knife has a Hiraishin mark on it now, just in case, anyway. So I'm not worried. In fact, this is just proof that if Lili is going to do something drastic, it's going to be today. So I'm at least mentally prepared for it.

Why was I letting her do this to me? Because I wanted to save her. And to save her from her hatred, an adventurer would need to forgive her. That adventurer was just going to be me is all. That was the idea, anyway.

So, I go ahead and swap the baselard into the Green Supporter's weapon slot and move the Hestia Knife to a pouch on my hip.

With the new setup concluded, we go on ahead and head into the Dungeon. The goal: Level 10.

---

An aspect I've noticed about Floors 8 and 9 is that the tunnels and rooms not only increase but get larger. Floor 10 seems to be a logical extension of that, as the first chamber after descending down a 40ft cliff feels as big as a football field.

Not that I could see its actual size due to all the fog.

The look and pattern of the 10th Floor is more or less the same as 8 and 9. However, the bright "sun" shining down from above is gone. Instead, it looks like a morning fog just before sunrise in here.

This is the first time that visibility has been an issue in the Dungeon.

"Lili, stick close to me," I don't know how many times I've said that to her, but I say it once more.

"…Yes," she replies after a moment. The way she hesitated put me on edge.

The 'grass' on this floor was white like snow. It was unnatural and eerie. The leafless tree looking structures also added to the creepiness factor.

Keeping Lili in my line of sight, I take a look at the baselard in my right hand.

It's been very useful. I've never really used a blade longer than my dagger, so it felt a bit awkward in my hand at first. But I think I'll be giving it my seal of approval.

The baselard's longer reach is like a breath of fresh air. I never knew how it felt to launch strike after strike from a safe distance. It doesn't have the cutting power that the Hestia Knife has, but I can't complain too much.

Maybe I'll try to get Welf to forge me some decent short swords whenever I can track him down.

"Bell-sama," Lili urgently got my attention.

I see it, a large silhouette approaching. These orcs are definitely large-type monsters. Even its footsteps cause the ground to shake slightly. It stands about 3 meters tall but is extremely round and fat. Its arms, while not so small to call stubby, are certainly much thinner than the rest of its body. But not so thin as to be unmuscular.

So I had the impression what while it couldn't move fast, its arms on the other hand were a different story.

"Well, they really are large…" I observed out loud.

"You mustn't run away, Bell-sama!" Lili must have taken my comment as fear.

Surprisingly, the orc wasn't drawing up any PTSD or similar for me. I had a feeling an actual Minotaur might be something different…

"Of course," I say simply, "If I can't beat orcs, then I have no chance of facing what comes after!"

The orc catches Lili and me in its beady yellow eyes. Locking onto its prey, the orc quickens its pace and the floor shakes even more. It makes its way through the group of dead trees, holding out its arm.

Grabbing onto one of the trees with its meaty hand, the orc pulls it out of the floor. What was once just natural scenery inside the Dungeon has become a crude club in the monster's hands. It was like magic. A landform — the Dungeon's own armory.

Yet another one of the Dungeon's troublesome characteristics. The living Dungeon itself provides natural weapons to the monsters that roam around inside it. Landforms first appear on Level 10 and give the monsters here that much more power.

"Lousy timing…" I lament.

Landforms can be destroyed, but since they are part of the living Dungeon, they grow back after a certain amount of time. It's the same as the monsters themselves. However, I've heard that these dead trees grow back almost instantly.

Normally, adventurers would cut down the landforms before monsters arrived to prevent them from being used as weapons. The timing here couldn't have been worse.

Taking a hit wouldn't be a great idea. My Vitality may be high, but it would hardly be pleasant and I'd rather not ruin my armor just for shits and giggles.

At least a large monster like this had an obvious weak point, its stubby legs and large size. Traditional wisdom dictates that large monsters have trouble dealing with tiny and nimble opponents. In a way, this is my ideal encounter.

I meet the orc's charge. The orc lifts its club high in the air. I instantly recognize the trajectory and easily dodge – much easier to dodge a vertical than horizontal swing, after all.

I quickly stab the orc just under the knee, right in the fleshy tendons below its kneecap. For good measure, I then slash the back of its knees before darting away.

The orc, its leg now completely useless, loses its balance and falls over in surprise and pain. It roared loudly, airing its pain and distress for everyone to hear.

In its weakened state, there was no resistance as I quickly jumped on top of the beast and stabbed it in the center of its chest, right at the monster stone. The beast gives a final whimper before going silent, slowly decomposing into ash.

"Bell-sama! Another one!" Lili calls out, from further away this time. Hopefully she's taking cover and watching our six.

I quickly spot the approaching beast. This time I'd like to test the effectiveness of Firebolt on these guys. Fire Ants and the other monsters before now couldn't handle more than a single magic attack from my spell. It was pretty damn powerful for a spell with no incantation.

I quickly aim and, "Firebolt!" The spell sails true and nails it right at the location of its monster stone. As the smoke clears, I can tell the attack didn't go clean through the orc. However, it did go deep enough to completely hit the monster stone, effectively killing it.

The orc fell over with a thud as it began to dissolve into ash from such a direct hit on its magical stone heart.

I take a breath as I go over the encounter in my head. It was definitely different, but the speed of the orcs' attacks didn't seem hard to evade. The main problem I could see was that it was easier to get surrounded due to the largeness of the room. A problem that didn't happen on the floors above; not just because of the smaller chambers, but because the respawn rate wasn't so high as for monsters to so quickly come back behind you for a flank.

I mean, getting flanked did happen, it just wasn't that often. Usually only when you stayed in a single chamber for too long that the passageways started spawning again.

Yeah, I didn't need to be too afraid of these large monsters. Just appropriately cautious like always.

Feeling a bit accomplished, I start to look for Lili, but I can't see her anywhere. "Lili? Lili?!"

She didn't get attacked while I was distracted, did she? Or…

Either way, I need to get moving. Weaving my way through the dead trees, a horrible smell hits my nose like a ton of bricks. I bury my nose in my sleeve and look around for the source. It doesn't take long.

There is a hunk of bloody, raw meat at the base of one of the trees.

"Isn't that… a monster lure…?" I recognize this item, kneeling down next to the oily mass of processed flesh to get a closer look.

No doubt about it. These things are sold in item shops. Adventurers like me can use these trap items to draw monsters to them and increase their haul of magic stones and dropped items without leaving their usual route in the Dungeon. I've never bothered with them, didn't seem worth the expense.

But who threw these? The adventurer from before, or…

The sound of heavy footsteps reaches my ears. Orcs. The impacts of many sets of feet are coming all at once.

And then I notice something else. There are masses of glistening, slimy meat scattered all over the place. More lures!

I stand there, stunned. The footsteps are close enough that I can get some idea how many orcs there are. At least six, but could easily be eight or ten if they are stepping at the same time.

Well fuck. At least I've now learned that those lures are very effective.

My left hand twitches, resisting the urge to instantly start blasting spells — it'd be more effective and a more guaranteed kill if I fire when they are closer. And I'd still rather avoid using Hiraishin, while I no longer committed, it still made me dizzy.

Suddenly, something flies at me from out of sight, whistling as it cuts through the air.

"Huh?!" I yelp, recognizing the sound of whizzing arrows.

One strikes my left leg holster, sending a piece of it flying. The holster containing the Hestia Knife.

I see a small golden arrow sticking out of the holster as it flew up and away.

The orcs must have seen my wide eyes following the holster, figure that's their chance, and all come at me at once.

"Firebolt!" I'm instantly back in the zone, catching one of the two before narrowly rolling under a swipe from the second.

I take aim at the second orc, but am knocked away from an attack from behind. The air was knocked out of me, stunning me for a moment, but my armor prevented most of the damage - I can tell, it would hurt more if it did.

The orcs come after me. Ironically, their numbers don't do them any favors. I can tell that there are nine remaining, but they are so big that only four or five could attack me at the same time.

Okay, those odds still sound pretty shit, but I took what I could get.

I start running around, dodging and weaving, looking for an opening to start lopping off lower limbs. I don't have time to worry about how much this situation sucks balls. All there is, is the battle before me.

As I dodge an overhead swing, I notice Lili on the cliffs we came from to enter the Floor.

"Lili?!" I yelled out, so she'd really done it!

While I'm dodging for my life, Lili picks up the piece of my leg holster and takes out the Divine Knife.

She then looks it over carefully before tucking it into her shirt and looking in my direction with the same smile she'd used the past few days. Fake.

"Sorry, Bell-sama. This is where it ends," Lili called out to me.

"Lili, what the hell are you saying?!" I yell back, cutting one of the orcs' legs clean off before running away from the collapsing monster.

"Lili thinks that Bell-sama shouldn't be so trusting of others," She calls out, almost chidingly.

I catch another glimpse of her between orc limbs: she's tilting her head to the side like a cute little girl, even though I'm screaming at her.

Her eyes aren't covered by her hood or her bangs, and as always, there's a cute little smile on her face. But her eyes are dark and lonely, I can tell even from so far away. It's that obvious.

"I hope you find an opening and escape," Lili speaks from the other side of the orcs, like she's leaving her last bit of advice. She at least seemed to mean her words, as cold as they were. I should have been mad, but all I could feel was relief that she hadn't abandoned all her humanity.

Wait, that saying doesn't work here.

I Firebolt another Orc to dust, bringing my attention back to the fight.

"Good-bye, Bell-sama. We won't be seeing each other again," Lili calls out one last time.

"Lili! Lili!—Dahhh! Enough already!" I yell in frustration, absolutely done with all these orcs trying to gang up on me. No matter how you slice it, this is a frustrating situation to be in. It's been a while since I've been in such dire straits.

Well, dire was relative. I could easily throw a dagger I marked with Hiraishin to escape this encirclement. I just didn't really feel like backing down from a pack of orcs. Call it pride or ego if you must.

I'm not too worried about my odds at whittling them down, but it only takes one mistake…

I only dodge a few more strikes before a gold and white blur runs by in a flash - so quick I almost thought I imagined it. In the next moment, the remaining five orcs suddenly collapse and fall to the ground dead as a door.

I blink and there's a beat of silence, "...Well that just happened."

Did some high level adventurer who was passing through feel pity for me? That was rare. In any case, I need to track down Lili. Once I get close enough, I might be able to feel the Hiraishin mark I left on the Hestia Knife…

There! I could feel the general direction! It was much too far for me to make the jump, but I could try my best to follow the 'signal' through the tunnels if I kept on 'pinging' the mark.

Hopefully, should anything happen, and Lili gets in trouble, she chooses to throw that knife like I told her to. That would be much easier for me to 'detect', after all.

I quickly looked myself over, noticing that the Green Supporter must have gotten knocked off of me at some point. I wince, "Sorry Eina-san, I'll try to find it later!"

I had a certain Pallum to find.

---

Other POV

"You're too nice, Bell-sama."

Lili ran through the halls of the Dungeon, carrying bags that no normal person could hope to lift. Grasping the straps of her backpack, she kept on going forward with no hesitation in her steps.

Lili had told Bell a total of two lies.

The first was that she was a dirt-poor supporter.

Lili was a thief. Or con-artist might be a better way to put it. She targeted adventurers with high income and class, especially ones who had valuable weapons and armor.

For example, she'd worked with Bell up until this point because he'd been her target. Or rather, to be more precise, the Hephaestus Familia knife he carried had been her target.

The story about being poor was nothing more than a way to approach him. Well, it wasn't wrong per say, but it was hardly the entire truth.

And the second lie…

A breeze blowing against her as she ran pushed her hood down. Her fluffy, furlike hair and dog ears were exposed. Lili reached up to lightly pet her ears as her lips recited an incantation:

"Your wound is mine. My wound is mine. Echoing the message of midnight."

As if she had been dosed in ash, a gray dust covered her head. A light flashed without sound, and the ears on her head were gone when it cleared.

That wasn't all. The bangs that covered her eyes and the furry tail behind her had disappeared as well.

If Bell had been here to see this, he would surely have been shocked. She thought to herself.

Her big chestnut eyes looked cheerful, her face that of a cute girl. The dog-girl child was gone. There was no doubt now — Lili was the Pallum girl who had run into Bell that day in the back alley.

Lili's second lie: Who she really was.

She had been running away from that male adventurer and used her "Cinder Ella" magic to change her appearance from a very suspicious Pallum girl to someone else entirely. Lili had used this special magic to fool many, many adventurers.

Her victims would charge after her in a rage, but she would change her appearance and make them think she was someone else. They had made a mistake; they couldn't do anything to her. The rumors going around among adventurers about a 'group of thieving Pallums was a testament to the power of her magic.

Sometimes she became a supporter. Other times she was an innocent civilian.

Lili had used this magic not only to change her appearance but also to change her race, and she had committed hundreds of crimes up to this point.

Looks like being careless enough to let that adventurer see her transform was a big mistake…

The man who had pursued her the other week was a victim of one of Lili's schemes, and he happened to see her reverse the effects of Cinder Ella. He saw her true face. That was the full story behind the incident in the alleyway.

She'd made a clean getaway, but now it seemed like that adventurer had told Bell some things he didn't need to know.

He had always done it, but it increased ever since she'd spotted them having a secret meeting that day in Central Park. He was always looking at her, and he hid information from her anytime she tried to ask why. It was almost as though he was suspicious of her, or he knew that she could change her appearance and was on the lookout for it.

It looked as though deciding that this was her last chance and making her move was correct…

…

This really is it…

'What a waste', she thought to herself as she remembered all the money she made while working with Bell.

It was over — the good mood and security he'd provided were gone. A part of her felt the loss. This was a strange feeling for a thief such as herself. She didn't understand.

But there was something that she did understand: No matter how much she thought about this odd feeling, it was nothing more than a useless emotion.

There was no way to continue any connection with the boy.

She couldn't ignore the risks of continuing the contract after what that man had told him. Now that Bell knew everything, there was no way he would forgive her.

"…" Lili's face became downtrodden. But she took a deep breath and shook her head from side to side.

'Who cares?' she thought to herself as she dismissed any feelings of guilt. For someone like her to be moved by the kindness of an adventurer — what a joke.

Because all adventurers were the same.

Adventurers… adventurers…!

Lili had been born into Soma Familia. Her parents were members, which meant that from birth, Lili had no choice but to join Soma Familia herself.

Just by being who she was, the gears of fate might well have been snarled from the beginning. The world had not been kind to Lili.

Both of her Pallum parents said over and over how they wanted to save money to support Lili when she was just an infant. However, they never did anything that could be considered parental, and before she knew it they were dead. Their desire for money — for Soma — drove them to prowl Dungeon Floors that were way out of their league. Apparently they were killed by a monster before they even realized what had hit them.

This left Lili on her own in Soma Familia to fend for herself, in a group that was always stealing Soma from one another. She was alone. No one in the Familia looked after her. Those were very painful days.

Since the moment she drank Soma when being officially inducted into the Familia, she too had fallen under its spell.

There was no one she could depend on. So she decided to go it alone and make money by herself. But it was futile. She didn't have what it took to become an adventurer and was forced to work as a supporter.

Then she was exploited.

Whenever she worked with a party, they would always say: "You stole some magic stones for yourself, didn't you?" "You swiped some cash, didn't you?" "You should be punished." "You're not getting any of our shares."

She frantically tried to tell them there was a mistake, that she was innocent. But all they did was turn their backs on her, smirking. When she was in the clutches of a monster, inches from death, they didn't help her. They even refused to heal her afterward. She was kicked around all the time. They threatened to do all sorts of things to her if she lost the bags.

She'd never fit in with Soma Familia. After returning from the Dungeon, a fierce argument and fight over the money earned were always waiting for her.

Lili hates adventurers… Lili loathes them…!

After the effects of Soma wore off, she ran away from the Familia, a waterfall of tears in her wake.

She threw away the title of being a member of Soma Familia and tried to live a normal life in the city. But even once she had acquired a sense of stability and happiness, it was taken from her. Members of Soma Familia destroyed her new life.

How they found her, she didn't know. But they came, their eyes driven mad with greed, and stole everything from her. Not only that, they ransacked where she was living.

The nice elderly couple who had let her stay at their flower shop kicked her out after that. Lili could still remember how they looked at her, like a soiled, rotten piece of garbage.

Even here, Soma Familia tormented her. Lili held a grudge against the god at the top, Soma. She wondered why he had created such a Familia.

She bore no ill will or malice toward him. Soma wasn't interested in them, anyway. There was no connection of any kind. Soma never did anything for them. He wouldn't. She didn't even think he knew what was going on in his own Familia. Perhaps, from his point of view, it was pointless to take pity on any of his "children" despite being their "father," their god. But Lili's grudge against him never went away.

In the end, Lili's only option was to return to Soma Familia and work as a supporter to survive. If she made a bad choice — if she failed to play her part as the faithful little supporter — all it did was invite more pain. Even if she was on good terms with a few members of the Familia. Even if she worked for free.

Yes, all adventurers were exactly the same. All of them did horrible things to Lili, just because she was weak.

Theft was only the most common of the abuses laid on Lili. Next was physical abuse, typically punches to the head or stomach. But lastly and less frequently was honestly the worst of it.

The indignities Lili had suffered…!

Lili shuddered in remembrance. She could still feel the phantom pains caused as those beasts pounded and pounded away…

Lili nearly bit her tongue off at the memory of the indignity!

Even that boy, surely… Even Bell—!

No matter how nice he was, he would have eventually raised his hand to her. There was no doubt. What was so wrong with betraying someone before they betrayed you?

The elderly couple had treated her like their own granddaughter. Just thinking about them made Lili remember their eyes. Yes, no matter what she did, she would always be thrown away at some point. She would always be abandoned.

Her thoughts did nothing to ease the ache in her heart. She picked up her pace, trying to drown out the pain.

…

…

…

Since leaving Bell behind, Lili had stayed on one clear path straight to the upper levels. She cleared the 10th Level and 9th Level with no trouble at all before arriving on the 8th Level floor.

Lili knew every twist and turn of the Dungeon down to the 11th level like the back of her hand.

Her method for relieving adventurers of their valuables was, like she had just done to Bell, to create a diversion and make her move during the ensuing commotion before making her escape — before the mark even noticed she was gone.

However, if they caught up to her, it was all for naught. The only way she had to avoid this was to memorize the dungeon maps sold at the Guild. Even if she encountered monsters, she had become an expert at leading said monsters to other adventurers and letting them take care of it. In fact, that was about all she did.

Once she got to the surface, all she had to do was return to her normal self and sell off the goods. There was no way any of her victims could catch up at that point. Alone, she could do nothing. But with a bit of planning and a vicious mind-set, Lili had tricked many adventurers.

Her reason for stealing from adventurers? To put it simply, revenge.

She decided that she'd take back what was once hers from the people who had tormented her all of her life. She had repeatedly bared her fangs at members of Soma Familia.

She felt no remorse for her actions; it was her right as the victim. All adventurers were adventurers. That had always been her reasoning, and that was never going to change.

…Everything so far had been the same, until she felt cruel looking away from one boy's face. 'Now that it's mine, Lili almost has enough money…'

She had no interest in Soma. Actually, quite the opposite — she hated it. A piece of her had a grudge against it as well. Even just the smell of it might make her fall under its spell again, make her go crazy like an animal.

The pain…

…Therefore, this money was going toward her salvation.

Someday, she was going to trade a large sum of money for her release from Soma Familia.

The point was, Lili was a possession of the god Soma. She tried to get the Guild involved, but they didn't have the resources to help her and did nothing. The only thing she could do was convince Soma to let her go by offering an extraordinarily large amount of money in exchange for her freedom.

She made up her mind; she would get her freedom with her own two hands.

"!"

Lili came to a halt as she stepped into some tall grass.

An 8th Floor goblin was walking around in front of the only exit from this room, directly in front of her. There were no signs of other adventurers. The goblin blocked her path. Even if she tried to sneak around it, she couldn't go forward. So she can't just use her usual strategy.

Doubling back and taking another route would take far too long.

While Bell surely had his hands full with the onslaught of monsters heading his direction and wouldn't be able to pursue her at top speed, there were other dangers in the Dungeon. Time was of the essence, so Lili decided to break through.

"Lili's not built for this kind of roughhousing, yeah?" said Lili under her breath as she rolled up the right sleeve of her cream-colored robe.

She pulled out a small handheld blow gun. The magic sword would be wasted on a goblin, after all!

Pallums in general were known for having amazing eyesight. Lili's round chestnut eyes zeroed in on the goblin, lining it up dead center. The monster finally noticed her as well. The goblin growled aggressively!

A golden arrow shot out of the bow gun with frightening speed. The arrow carved through the air and bore straight into the goblin's right eye.

"Excuse me!" Lili farewelled mockingly.

The goblin screamed out in pain, clutching its eye as Lili used the opportunity to scurry by the monster and to the exit.

Lili could fight, too, as long as she had a strategy. However, she had to rely completely on weapons and items. Slaying a single monster did not justify the amount of money required to take it down, not by a long shot.

Lili only fought against monsters in self-defense.

"Lili's jealous of Bell-sama. He could do everything by himself!"

Starting with her magic, Cinder Ella, Lili's strengths were not suited for combat. Lili was very weak physically.

She gained her magic shortly after swearing revenge against adventurers, and hoped that it would transform her into something stronger than her weak self. She was extremely depressed when she learned the truth about it.

However, she soon learned how to use it in a different way to exact revenge. She pushed her magic to its limits and figured out what it could really do.

As proof of its power, her magic allowed her to consistently steal many items, using the same strategy on many adventurers. Lili had become powerful enough to laugh at the weakling she once was.

She made her way up the staircase jutting out of the wall, to the next floor up. Finally at the 7th Level.

Lili kept her speed up as she raced past the light green dungeon walls. After this floor, the rest is a piece of cake. In terms of the monsters, the 7th level was the last mountain she needed to climb. It was too early to lose focus.

After this floor, she could handle everything on her own. Her lips started to curve into a smile as she bolted into the next room…!

Before getting tripped by an unseen foot, "Ain't this a surprise. I've hit the jackpot."

"Eh?" Lili yelped before falling face first, crushed beneath her heavy pack.

Dazed and confused, she put her hand into the dirt to push herself up. That's when a long shadow fell over her.

She was yanked up before she could turn around; half a second later a boot was slammed into her nose. She cried out in pain at the blow.

"I'd better be getting an apology, you piece of shit Prum!" a familiar voice growled before a powerful fist nailed her left cheek. A river of blood flowed from her nose.

Just as her eyes were beginning to focus, she took another kick to the chest. Her oversized backpack dislodged from her shoulders. The next hit wasn't far behind — the heel of a boot bore into the small of her back.

Her body bounced off the floor like a ball, bouncing once, twice. Lili was swept up in a whirlpool of pain as her body finally came to a halt.

"Hahahahaha! That's a good look for ya! Covered in blood and dirt!"

With the world spinning around her, Lili finally caught a glimpse of the voice's owner.

It was a human adventurer. The same one who'd been talking to Bell yesterday. Her former employer. The man's jaw was pointing at the ceiling as he looked down on her with a sneer.

He roughly grabbed her hair and pulled her up into the air, her head burning from the pull of his grip and gravity on her brown hair.

"Thought it was about time for ya to throw away that kid. I set up a trap for you. Been dying to say hello!"

"A… trap?" Lili gasped, her mind swirling.

"There aren't too many paths you can take on this Floor," the adventurer pointed out mockingly, "Three more of us are positioned along the other routes. But you came to see me personally!"

Lili did her best to cup her still-bleeding nose as the man, without another word, ripped off her robe, causing everything inside to fall to the ground. She was now wearing only her underclothes, unable to do anything to resist him. He then tossed her to the ground as he started to inspect the loot.

"This is some pretty good stuff!" The adventurer laughed before kicking her in the face again, "You've even got a magic weapon!"

The man was overjoyed by his discovery.

This is bad, this is bad, this is bad. Lili's heart raced inside her small chest, her brain in all-out panic mode. She knew at that moment that if she didn't get away now, she would meet a miserable fate at the hands of this man's brutality.

Just as she took in a deep breath, another man's voice came from somewhere distant.

"Looks like someone's having a good time," A new person was coming toward them.

"…?!" Lili saw someone she recognized.

He was one of the adventurers who'd tried to get money out of her the other day. Just one of the many members of Soma Familia who had tried to do the same thing many times before.

Then it came to her. The man's partners were members of Soma Familia. Most likely, after talking with Bell, he had seen them arguing with her and decided to ask them for assistance.

"Oh, there you are. That was fast. Look at this brat. She even had a magic weapon! You were right. She's been saving up."

"…Is that so?" An adult male animal person, the one called Kanu, narrowed his cloudy, dark eyes at the happy man, the adventurer called Gedo. But Gedo was in such a good mood that he didn't notice.

"Gedo-san, I wanted to ask you something. You think you could leave all her stuff here?"

"Huh?" Gedo looked at his partner with a confused smile. Before he could ask any questions, however, Kanu took the bag he was holding and threw it at the adventurer Gedo.

Gedo instinctively caught it and opened it, revealing the top half of a Killer Ant. He immediately threw the bag to the ground in shock.

"A Killer Ant?" Gedo yelled in shock. "Do you know what you've done?!"

"You might have thought at first that all of us were hunting together. There's a chance that Gedo-san, who has conquered many floors, is stronger than we are. So the three of us put our heads together and came up with this plan here," Kanu described.

Plop, plop. Two more barely alive killer-ant bodies landed close to them.

Two more adventurers had arrived in the room from separate entrances, both of them working with Kanu. The three masses of dying ants let out cries that united to create eerie echoes throughout the room, like a curse from another world.

Both Gedo's and Lili's faces turned pale.

"Are you insane?!" Gedo said.

There were three ants in that state calling for help. Just how many of their friends would answer?

The expressions on Kanu's and his allies' faces were surprisingly calm and unchanging, even during Gedo's screaming.

Only Lili correctly understood the adventurer's irrational obsession with money, having been under the influence of Soma herself.

"You don't want to become their prey while you're fighting with us, now do you?"

Five Killer Ants choose that moment to poke their heads into the room entrance behind Gedo.

This room had four entrances. Kanu and his cronies were standing in front of three of them; the last one now had Killer Ants in the way. Gedo gritted his teeth, shaking in a mixture of fear and anger. His pale face hardened as he threw everything he'd taken from Lili to the ground.

"Damn it all!"

Kanu grinned as he stepped aside to allow the man to pass. Gedo took one last look around the room before running past him.

Not a moment later, a barbaric roar erupted from the corridor, followed by the sound of a sword clang. After that, silence.

A shell-shocked Lili had no way to see what happened; there was a wall of giant ants between her and the exit. More ants were slowly coming into the room. They seemed to be patiently waiting before moving in for the kill. Lili could smell an anti-monster item being used by one of the other adventurers. For the moment, they were safe as the Ants wouldn't approach further… yet.

"You're in a bad spot, wouldn't you agree?" Kanu asked rhetorically as he got close to her. "We're both in the same Familia, right? I'll save you if you give me everything you have."

Lili bit her lip and clenched her fists as the man in front of her spoke like some kind of hero.

"Or do you think you can fool me like yesterday?" Kabu asked, twirling the magic knife in his hands.

Bell-sama's Knife somehow was still hidden between ber breasts, though Lili wasn't much concerned about that.

He wrapped his arm behind Lili's shoulder as he spoke. His tone sounded as though he were acting in a play rather than facing death.

His eyes might have been looking at Lili's quivering body, but in reality he didn't see her. All he could see was money — to be more specific, the Soma that the money would get him. Money and the pleasure it would give him.

"I know!" Kanu looked to Lili. "You, yesterday you said you had no money. Drop the act. If you try to pull something like that again…"

"Okay! I understand!"

Seeing the direness of her situation, Lili nodded with a defeated look on her face. She had no time to be angry, so Lili grabbed a small key that was hidden as part of a necklace and held it out to him.

"This is a key to a gnome rental storage unit in Orario's eastern ward… I converted the money to jewels and hid them there."

"So this is it, huh?" Another dark grin graced Kanu's lips as he nodded and grabbed the collar off Lili's shirt. With a big wad of fabric in his hand, he pulled Lili to her feet and then up off the floor, placing her level with his eyes.

"Kanu-san…?"

"Hey boys!" Kanu called out, "How much time left? I wouldn't mind having one last taste."

Lili paled with horror.

No… No… No. No. No. No! No! NO!

"Sorry boss," one said casually, "even if I could get it up with this stank, it's about run out."

"A shame," Kanu said with minimal disappointment. Lili almost let out a sigh of relief.

Kanu, however, did not let her down and instead grinned again with malice.

"We're in quite the pinch, you know. Look around. We're being surrounded," Kanu said mockingly.

At least twenty Killer Ants had made an almost complete ring around them. There was only one exit that was still open for escape. Lili futilely kicked her legs as she hung in the animal man's grasp, but it was like trying to swim in the air.

Kanu made one last big smile, "So go buy us some time."

"?!" Terror filled Lili's eyes as she looked back at him. Chancing a look to the side, she saw Kanu's partners had the same savage smile on their faces.

"But that wasn't the deal–" Lili pleaded before being interrupted.

"Without money, you're useless. And what kind of adventurer keeps a promise made to a supporter? Keep supporting us till the end of your life, supporter!"

Lili was thrown.

Making a tall arc in the air, she cleared the ring of Killer Ants.

The monsters quickly locked onto her airborne body and followed her.

For Lili, time stood still. She watched the adventurers make a break for the exit, grinning with their evil smiles, before finally hitting the dungeon floor.

The impact knocked the wind out of her, but nothing else.

"…Haaaa…" Lili gave a final sigh. She lay on her back, staring at the ceiling and laughing awkwardly, broken. The Killer Ants were all coming in her direction.

So this is how it ends, she thought to herself. There was no reason to laugh, but she couldn't help it.

Adventurers truly were not worthy of trust. If this is some kind of punishment for everything up till now, it's far too cruel, her train of thought continued.

…But wait.

If this is punishment for what Lili did to Bell-sama, maybe it's okay.

Despite being an adventurer, he didn't act like any adventurer Lili knew. If this was her reward, then strangely she felt as though it was her duty to be punished.

More Killer Ants than she could count were making noises and advancing on her in a wave of pincers and claws.

There was no way for her to escape. She had landed against a wall.

The monsters had surrounded her. They approached in an ever-closing arc around Lili as she lay helpless on her back.

A professional supporter. Always treated like something else. Adventurers never felt remorse for the luggage carrier, even if the supporter fell. They were useless.

Right where Lili, who could do nothing by herself, belonged. That was, in fact, who she was. Her pathetic self. Lili hated the person she was most of all.

"Gods…why…?"

No one ever called out to her. No one ever depended on her. She was always used, never needed. She hated how weak she was. She hated the fact that her life was always directed by someone else's hand.

Lili wanted to become someone else, anyone else but Lili. Even the magic she learned showed that she didn't want to be herself. "Why… why did you make Lili, Lili…?"

She didn't know how many times she had thought about dying. She had wished that she could go to the gods and ask for a reset more times than she could remember. But something in her insisted she keep on going.

She wanted to become a different Lili — any Lili was better than this one. In the end, Lili was too weak to go through with it. But somewhere in her heart, Lili always wanted a reset.

The Ants got even closer, as if feeding on her sorrow and despair like an appetizer.

"…That's right. It doesn't matter anymore."

Her cheek hit the floor as she turned her head to the side with a small, accepting smile on her face. There was a glitter in her eyes, but she ignored it.

One Killer Ant was so close it looked gigantic from her new line of sight. Its leg stopped right in front of her face.

"…So lonely."

Lili was surprised by the words that rolled off her tongue. It was how she really felt. Only at the end did she realize it.

Oh… Lili was lonely.

She was used to not being needed. Used to it, but the loneliness never went away.

Alone.

Not having anyone to rely on or depend on her made her lonely. She got used to being alone but never got used to being lonely.

"So that was it, Lili…"

She wanted to be with someone. She wanted someone to save her. She lamented the fact that only now did she see the truth.

Lili finally noticed the glinting in her eye was the throwing knife Bell-sama had given her.

Keep that on your person at all times and only throw it in an emergency situation where Lili's life is in danger… Just know that if you ever need to be saved, just throw it on the ground. Then the 'magic' will happen.

Those were Bell-sama's words to Lili and she shivered as she remembered them. 'Shameless', Lili thought to herself, noticing that the throwing knife had found its way into her hand - she couldn't remember grabbing it.

Is Lili so shameless to even consider trying to use Bell-sama's gift to her? To plead one last time to be saved? To ask the one she abandoned to save her?

The closest Killer Ant raised its claws. They glinted in the light shining down from the ceiling above.

Lili threw the knife to the ground.

For an instant nothing happened, and Lili felt despair at the complete normalcy of the knife - having done nothing when she did as instructed.

But then…

A flash of white.

"FIREBOOOOOOLT!"

An explosion of flames.

"...Eh?" Lili gasped.

A scarlet inferno engulfed the room. With Bell-sama standing in between her and the swarm of Ants. Right above the thrown knife.

A Hero had arrived.

---

Main POV

A minute ago…

I figured that Lili was trying to head off to the surface as fast as possible since she can barely defend herself on her own. But I also knew that she knew the Dungeon's layout far better than I did. Still, I did my best to navigate in the fastest direction to the surface.

I tried to ping the location of the Hestia Knife as little as possible. The act of 'pinging' was essentially a stopped/failed teleportation and it used a bit of mana. So I had to be careful how I played this.

By the time I got near to the 7th Floor, however, I was afraid I had lost her. I wouldn't be surprised if Lili was unlucky enough to run into monsters or those assholes from her Familia so I knew I had to get to her as soon as possible. Putting it simply, I was getting really worried about her. If I couldn't save a single girl, what chances did I have of saving anyone else? I promised I would save her, not to anyone besides myself and that was why it was so important that I fulfill it.

I started heading up the stairs to the 7th Floor proper, when I heard the telltale clicking of a swarm of Killer Ants. My gut sank a little, the only reason a swarm should exist on this Floor was because some poor adventurer accidentally… or purposefully let them gather in large numbers via their pheromones.

I was just about to rush into the fray when I felt it. My sixth sense. One of my Hiraishin marks had been thrown… just up ahead where the swarm was!

My blood raced as I quickly realized the situation. I didn't hesitate before flaring my magic and teleporting where the mark landed. Thankfully, I had trained enough with the spell that I figured out how to not get nauseous… dizziness was still an issue, however.

Definitely still an issue. All I could see was a swimming blob of red in front of me. The funny thing is though, at these ranges, I didn't exactly need to aim Firebolt all that much to wipe out swaths of the buggers.

"FIREBOOOOOOLT!" I yelled, aiming blindly but still clearing a path by killing a great many ants in a single attack.

Without looking, I then quickly grabbed the Mind Potion I had in my other pouch. I nimbly knocked the cap off with my thumb and downed the potion while the Ants were still stunned by my spell and sudden arrival.

The baselard, which had been in my other hand the entire time since the scabbard was lost with Green Supporter, I quickly flourished it as I went to town on purging the remainder of the swarm.

I kept on moving, never giving the ants a chance to pin me down as I nimbly began slashing their throats. When a few Ants tried to pierce me in my flank, I simply aimed my open palm and solved the problem with a, "Firebolt!"

The battle was a flurry of steel and fire and before I knew it, it was over. The room was now only Lili, I, and a bunch of corpses.

Leaving my new baselard lodged in one of the Ants for safe keeping, I took a relieved breath before walking over to Lili and kneeling down to her. "Lili, you're safe, right? Did they hurt you?"

"Bell-sama… H-how… did you get here?" Lili asked me, still in shock.

"Well, if you're referring to the orcs," I regaled, " I think another adventurer came by me. I couldn't see clearly because of the fog, but all the monsters between the exit and me suddenly weren't there anymore. Because of that, I was able to quickly come find you. I'm glad I made it in time."

I smiled sheepishly, trying to seem casual.

Which seemed to cause Lili to realize she was no longer in danger, and so she just started losing it. "...Why?" she said so softly I almost missed it.

"Eh?" I ask, nonverbally asking her to repeat herself.

"Why did you do it?!" Lili began yelling, her eyes filled with tears, "Why did you save Lili? Why didn't you just abandon Lili? There's no way you couldn't have realized by now Lili was fooling you! Does Bell-sama think Lili wanted to surprise him by taking that knife, or something stupid like that?!"

She emphasized this by standing up – her height now eye level with me – pulling the Hestia Knife from between her breasts and throwing it to the ground so hard it bounced twice.

"W-well no," I stammered a rejection of her last question.

Lili's sudden rage burned through the last wall of self-restraint, "Then what?! What are you, Bell-sama? An idiot? A buffoon?! An airheaded moron beyond all hope of recovery?!"

I flinch, "T-that's a little harsh."

Lili just interpreted that as an admission that I hadn't noticed anything, "Impossible! Bell-sama doesn't notice anything?! Lili took money for herself at the Exchange! Bell-sama's and Lili's shares should have been fifty-fifty, but it was closer to forty-sixty! There were times Lili got greedy and made it thirty-seventy! Lili charged you more than double the price of items when Lili prepared them! Twelve of them! Lili doesn't know how many times Lili was shocked by your lack of knowledge about items, or how careless you are with equipment! I've even said really mean things about you behind your back!"

"Er, I actually was aware of the upcharge," I pointed out sheepishly, "And I was the one who offered you a higher cut of the profits first. And lots of people don't like me."

Seriously, lots of Level 1 Adventurers scowl at the sight of me. My progress through the Dungeon in those circles has not gone completely unnoticed, but is hardly the point right now.

Lili didn't seem surprised at this revelation, and instead said, "Then you understand that Lili is a bad person! A thief! Lili's a piece of shit Prum who lied to your face over and over! Knowing all of that… Why did Bell-sama save me?!"

"Multiple reasons," I tell Lili, a soft smile on my face, "may I list them all?"

"Eh?" Lili seemed perplexed, but seemed to be desperate to hear my answer.

"Well, for starters," I began to tell her, "because you're a girl."

"IDIOT!" Lili interrupted me, incredulous at my initial answer, "Bell-sama is an IDIOT! Saying something like that again, is it the same as before?! Would Bell-sama save ANY woman just because?! Lili can't believe this! You're horrible! Playboy! Pervert! ENEMY OF ALL WOMEN!"

Lili began to pant as her rant left her completely out of air. I was impressed with her tiny Pallum lungs letting her rant that loud for that long.

Still, I then continued, ignoring her claims of me being a pervert, "Secondly, because I'm a selfish person that wants to look out for all the people I care about - Lili included."

Lili looked back at me, her eyes wide and full of tears.

I continued, "Lili is my friend, after all. Lili taught me much about Dungeon culture and practices. She also laughed at my bad jokes and watched my back in the dangerous Dungeon."

"E-eh…?" Lili gasped, seeming to struggle with the concept I was trying to convey to her. But still I continued.

"And thirdly…" I say, before picking up the throwing knife I gave Lili earlier that day, "Because you asked me to save you! Why else would you have thrown this knife, exactly like I told you, if not as a plea to be saved?"

Lili's eyes couldn't widen any further, I could tell my words had caused something to click. For after a moment of silence, she suddenly glomped me and started bawling her eyes out uncontrollably.

"B-bell-samaaaaa!" Lili cried into my chestplate, I went ahead and patted her head.

"So, Lili, whenever you're in trouble, come talk to me. I'm an idiot, so I won't know unless you tell me," I said softly, idly keeping a look out for the Dungeon sending monsters our way to ruin the moment.

"Sorry…so, so sorry…!" Lili cried out over and over again. Growing quieter each time.

"…It's okay," I told her. Because it was. It was totally worth it to have the dark clouds in those brown eyes of hers disappear. All my bold, arrogant words of being a hero were finally justified. It was a kind of joy and sense of fulfillment that can only be an approach to self-actualization.

After at least five minutes of crying, Lili had completely passed out - I could hear her slumbering breaths, so it was fairly obvious. Her face was the most at peace I had ever seen it as. My second thought was, 'cute'. And the third was, 'oh shit now to get the fuck out of here before more ants show up.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Dungeon was gathering the strength to dump more bullshit on me just to ruin this moment for me. So I felt like taking this dub and getting out for the day.

Lili's bag was gone, but some miscellaneous items had been left behind. Including some rope, so I quickly used that to tie her to my back, piggy-back style. I still kept an arm under her, but the rope was just in case.

With Lili secure, I quickly grabbed the baselard and the Hestia Knife and kept the words 'Firebolt' ready on my lips as I began bolting my way towards the surface.

Thankfully, I only ran into a few monsters that were easily bested by a single Firebolt, of which I still had several shots in the tank from that potion.

I went ahead and untied Lili from me before leaving the Dungeon proper; I didn't want to get any weird looks beyond what I was going to get for lugging around an unconscious Pallum girl…

Oh god, I'm suspicious as shit.

…Let's take the back alleys to Hestia's Church just to be safe.

---

After safely getting to Hestia's Church, I watched over Lili while waiting for Hestia to get back from her work. When she finally did, I went ahead and described that Lili had run into some bad people and that I'd like Hestia to help watch over her. When Hestia asked if that was all that happened, I couldn't lie and spilled all the beans.

Hestia was exasperated on many levels, but ultimately seemed to approve. Her main issue was my use of Hiraishin being used right in front of Lili when I can barely use it all that much. Frankly, I would be surprised if Lili even remembered I used the spell considering how stressed she would have been.

I offered to buy another bed should we get Lili to agree to stay at the Church for awhile, but Hestia just said that Lili was small enough that they could just use the bed already there. I resolved to just get another bed anyway. Forgiveness is easier than permission after all.

I went ahead and went to the Hostess for my usual shift. Where my good mood must have been obvious as the girls had grilled me about it. So I shared the basics of the story while keeping specifics to a minimum so my story wouldn't technically be a lie when omitting Hiraishin. I trusted the girls, but I wanted to get better at the spell before showing it off. And the entirety of the events weren't exactly their business.

The girls ultimately just gave me knowing grins, as if expecting what my behavior (of saving girls) was going to be and were satisfied with being right.

Though Ryuu's expression was mostly stoic as usual, she did say I was 'naive' but said it in a way that made it obvious she was somewhat impressed.

So, yeah, I was on cloud nine.

So I was a little disappointed when I learned the next morning that Lili had run off.

Hestia had talked with Lili who woke up at some point after I had left. Hestia had gotten Lili to agree to stay the night, but Lili was gone the next morning. Cheeky bugger probably left shortly after it was technically the next day. Hestia claimed that Lili was so filled with guilt she probably couldn't stand the generosity any further.

I could tell that Lili was running around since she still had that throwing knife with her. But because of how low my skill was with Hiraishin, at the distance Lili was I could only tell what general direction she was in with my sixth sense. No specific coordinates, justa vague direction of 'west' or 'south'. Which was pretty useless.

I went ahead and talked with Eina. She described how she tried talking to Hestia about Lili but got nowhere and decided to believe in me. I thanked her and apologized for losing the Green Supporter, but Eina was just glad I was still alright.

I did go into the Dungeon that day on my own, but with Lili missing, my mood wasn't great and so I barely even got any Excelia even from Liaris Freese.

My stats the next morning ended up like:

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength: S: 999

Vitality: SSS: 1219

Dexterity: S: 938

Agility: SS: 1161

Magic: A: 849

Magic:

(Firebolt)

• Swift-Strike Magic

(Hiraishin)

• Enchantment Magic

Skills:

Liaris Freese - Rapid Growth. Fast growth as long as feelings last. The strength of the effects corresponds with the level of the user's feelings.

Singularity - The user is immune to all mental and spiritual attacks.

Focus - The user's Dexterity is increased when fighting and concentrating on a single target. Use can cause tunnel vision.

Development Abilities:

()

Hiraishin on its own generated a lot of Excelia. I had repeatedly trained at the Hostess and the Church to get to my current skill level with the spell. So combined with my repeated training of Firebolt in the Dungeon, my Magic stat exploded.

But I couldn't even appreciate how stacked my stats had gotten. Not without having settled things with Lili.

Hoping to get my head back into the game, I once again went to the Dungeon. But outside Babel, I saw a certain Pallum in a white cloak with a comically large backpack. She was sitting by that water fountain when we first negotiated our job together. She was looking down forlornly and didn't even notice me approaching.

I went ahead and knelt down closer to her level and she still was unaware of me. So I went ahead and got her attention, "Supporter-san, supporter-san, are you looking for an adventurer?"

Lili jolted into alertness and slowly looked at me in shock.

I played it off, "Did I confuse you? The explanation is actually quite simple. A rookie adventurer who wants the help of a supporter is offering to hire you."

"Bell-sama…" Lili said emotionally, clearly touched by that callback.

I offered her my outstretched hand, "Will you go back into the Dungeon with me, Lili?"

There wasn't any hesitation, she slowly put her hand in my own, her face flush with happiness, "Yes, Bell-sama!"

I smile, happy as can be, and then ask, "...is there any chance you'll call me 'Bell' instead of 'Bell-sama'?"

"Nope!" Lili rejected immediately, her smile not even twitching one bit.

"Thought so…" I sighed dramatically.

Let's just say that with my mood now soaring, despite my stats being so high I managed to get at least 50 points in each field.

Maybe… maybe I actually can be a…

Maybe…

---

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength: S: 999 - SS: 1062

Vitality: SSS: 1219 - SSS: 1270

Dexterity: S: 938 - S: 999

Agility: SS: 1161 - SSS: 1210

Magic: A: 849 - S: 900

Magic:

(Firebolt)

• Swift-Strike Magic

(Hiraishin)

• Enchantment Magic

Skills:

Liaris Freese - Rapid Growth. Fast growth as long as feelings last. The strength of the effects corresponds with the level of the user's feelings.

Singularity - The user is immune to all mental and spiritual attacks.

Focus - The user's Dexterity is increased when fighting and concentrating on a single target. Use can cause tunnel vision.

Development Abilities:

()

---

Authors Notes

(1 ) I swear this passage was there long before a few individuals complained about how closely we've followed canon this far. Nowhere did I describe this story as one where the protagonist wants to make massive changes from the get-go. I described it as one where the protagonist wants to make sure to save Bell's precious people with a long term goal of dealing with the Dragon. Acting with great caution and following Canon while he is still weak and inexperienced (intentional or not) should be expected. Would you like to risk ending up in Apollo or Ishtar's sex dungeon? Or Freya's? I don't think so.

This story might as well be some kind of parody/deconstruction of reincarnated OC stories. Since common tropes involve: perfect knowledge of canon despite years of being away from the source material, a lack of caution regarding whether they are actually in a carbon copy of the world in question, and an unhealthy obsession with following canon even after it's clear that canon has long since been screwed over. Go read some Korean villainess manhwas - you'll understand what I'm talking about really quick.

A major part of writing this story was to point out how unrealistic some of those tropes are. Which is why you constantly see Bell only remembering events, especially minor details, only as they happen right in front of him. Can you pick a random episode from the anime and perfectly recount every minor detail that happened? I don't think so.

(2) The onset of side effects from Mind Down were so sudden that by the time Bell realized what was happening it was already too late. He'd never experienced the sensation yet nor knew the limits in his spell usage. He won't make that mistake again.

($) Ryuu's potion caused his Mind to overflow, the result being stupid decision making.

As far as my understanding of how Falna and Excelia work, every time travel fic makes no sense as Hestia should learn of Bell's futuristic thoughts upon the first level up. At least without a Skill like Singularity to block it. Updating the Falna has the respective god view the Excelia similar to viewing things like we watch the anime. Why else would Freya go to the lengths she does to be the one to update his Status? In any case, it is mentioned in the show that if Bell wants magic he should read more; well, the protagonist is college educated so have some Excelia I say! It didn't come through until now because he didn't have any spells yet.

Sorry for rehashing Lili's backstory. I've seen some stories that forget that Lili was out to scam Bell at the start, so I felt it was necessary to reiterate that Lili was a tragic little shit. Her marks basically all deserved it, but she's still a little shit and I say that with much affection.

That, and it was to help address the fact that this Lili had suffered more than Canon Lili. Let's just say that Lili's 'adult features' make it easy for scumbags to overlook her Pallum-like small stature.

Also, super hero moment! Bell teleporting in to save her at the last moment. I can't help but pat myself on the back. It had to be done.

Speaking of magic. Let's talk about Hiraishin. Yep, the obvious Naruto reference is obvious. Anyway, the technique has been nerfed. I'll explain a lot of the nuances of the mechanics in the story. But, in short, the distance traveled requires damn near exponential amounts of mana to achieve. And with how taxing the spell is, even with high amounts of Magic as a Level 1, he can only warp about 10 times about 10 meters and still have enough in the tank for a couple of Firebolts. Which, if you do the math, is not much distance at all. Enough for a fight, but not enough to zip around the city let alone a few blocks.

Bell's range and amount of warps will increase with his magic and Level though. But it won't be until he is like Level 6 where he can effortlessly teleport literally across the city without breaking a sweat. And even then he would still be doing something like rapid teleportations to waypoints he's littered over the city and not just a single jump from A to B. A to B jumps of significant distance are impossible at worst and impractical at best.

What this means for the story is that Bell can't use his spell to easily run away from shit unless he's laid out marks nearby beforehand. He can only rely on things he's premade and can throw. It doesn't help that the Dungeon would also eventually attack anything marked with his magic – thus destroying his markers. So getting trapped in the Dungeon is still a possibility because the Dungeon won't just let him leave waypoints within it. Even the 18th Floor is a no go since Monsters still roam the floor.

I'd argue that I'm also not breaking the Danmachi Magic system. Riveria has an enchant spell where it buffs and heals her allies and she basically casts it and forgets about it. Lili's transformation spell is also a cast and forget spell – that doesn't require constant mana consumption in order to keep up the spell. Ais' Ariel is more of an active-use spell, but it enchants objects with wind magic – Hiraishin is similar in that it enchants objects with space-time magic.

Hiraishin is a Space/Time enchanting magic. It enchants things with the teleportation mark. Flaring his mana and will at the mark is just a natural result of the magic/mark. Starting this process allows Bell to effectively 'ping' the location of his marks, assuming he cuts off Mana before the teleport actually starts – this still comes at a mana cost, however.

Hiraishin is still pretty nutty, but it's not enough to beat high level adventurers on its own. Without strength and his own agility to back it up, he'd never do enough damage to hurt someone higher level nor have the reflexes to actually land an attack. In most cases, it's only use against a higher level opponent is to help him run away or evade a lethal/debilitating attack.

Though it generates a lot of Magic Excelia upon use since its a Space-time spell. Which is part of why Bell's Magic stat increased so much even in the later stages of his current rank.

All in all, I think I've done my best to balance the spell.

I hope that covers the jist of things.

Next Chapter, Ais wants to know why some newbie is already throwing around magic on the 5th Floor and Naaza needs some ingredients 'cause she has money problems (Amen, sister).

And I leave everyone a question: what kind of gadgets/inventions would you try to get someone like Welf to make should you find yourself in the protagonist's place?

Cheers!

P.S. For all ya'll excited about shipping developments, my initial draft of Chapter 11 so far has a confession in all but name. So look forward to that, haha

EDIT: Replaced 'Prum' with 'Pallum' because people complained even though Prum is used in the anime and Light Novel translations. Prum is kept in some places as a derogatory term, so any further uses of the word is intentional and should be considered insulting.