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

Chapter 9: Aftermath

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."

– Walter Winchell

"Well you seem to be in a good mood," Eina said to me as I approached her teller station.

"That obvious?" I say with a grin, trying to ease her anxiety. I hadn't been by the Guild for three days now, ever since the encounter with that Minotaur. The first day was spent recovering, as my stamina and Mind were completely shot. The second day was spent making up for lost time at the Hostess and a bit of training with Ryuu-sama to get used to the sudden boost caused by becoming Level 2. Today, on day three, was when I finally went about going outside proper to start getting ready for heading into the Dungeon.

Eina blinked her emerald eyes slowly and nodded her head, as if to say, "Go ahead and spill it."

I nodded back brightly. Just behind Eina, Misha fought back a smile by biting her lip. The human girl backed away from the mountains of paperwork on her desk and slowly stood up, inching ever closer to the conversation.

"W-well, you see…" I said slowly, preparing myself for what was to come.

"Yes?" She asked me patiently.

I flashed my teeth again in another happy smile and a twinkle in my eye before saying, "I'm Level 2 now!"

Misha's paperwork fell to the floor with a great swish sound. The human girl froze like a statue, her back toward Eina and I. Misha and much of the staff knew me decently well at this point, since I'm here so often for Eina's lessons. So it's no surprise that Misha knew how long I'd been adventuring and was shocked.

Eina smiled. It was a beautiful smile. A moment later, shock took over her face as she, too, froze. To be more precise, it was as if time had stopped – that is how still she was. It was as if the two ladies were in a bubble; the usual noise of the lobby couldn't reach them. That's how stock still they appeared before me.

"…huh?" She made a noise of shock, finally.

A corner of her mouth started twitching.

"Like I said, I'm Level 2! Me! Since three days ago!" I happily repeated himself, completely aware of Eina's shock. I couldn't help it, the look on her face was priceless!

Eina shuddered in her chair at the counter, "Level 2?"

"Yes!"

"Three days ago?"

"Yes!"

"And that's the truth?"

"Yes!"

"Bell-kun, when did you become an adventurer?"

"A month and a half ago!" My words hung in the air. We shared a smile, the conversation fresh in their minds.

Squeak! Eina shot up from her chair — and exploded.

"LEVEL 2 IN SIX WEEKS?!" Her shrill scream cut through the commotion of the lobby.

Every Guild employee sitting in the office behind the reception counter suddenly jumped to their feet as Eina's voice thundered through.

Taking the brunt of the blast, I broke out in a cold sweat as I leaned away from her. There it was, the reaction I was expecting a minute ago.

There was a beat of silence as Eina panted to recover her breath. Then she paled in realization, likely about yelling my Level loud enough for everyone to hear. She frantically grabbed me and dragged my now limb body over the counter and away to a secluded room.

I could have prevented her from dragging me away, but I thought it was better to let her do her thing, so I went limp.

In any other circumstance, I thought, the rest of the staff would think Eina was dragging me away to do something lewd. I wouldn't be surprised if this moment comes back to haunt her later.

Another exciting morning.

The only downside was that I wasn't exactly thrilled about… every aspect of my level up…

Main POV

Roughly Three Days Ago…

Sometime after I had, apparently, been brought back to the surface by the Loki Familia, Hestia managed to sneak me into my room at the Hostess. After getting her 'are you okays?' and 'you're an idiot' spiels out of the way, Hestia was more excited than I was for updating my Status.

So I was lying on my stomach as Hestia straddled me and did her thing. I could feel as the Falna began to retract into my back as Hestia finished up.

Hestia began to shudder in place on top of me, which made me anxious. What was causing that reaction?

Hestia then began attempting to hide a snicker.

I had a bad feeling about this.

No, not just a bad feeling. I could feel some of the intuition the Falna gives me trickling in. A new spell! And it… it…

I began to pale.

No… how could…!?

Hestia began laughing the loudest I've ever heard her, period, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!"

I blushed in mortification, "I-It's n-not funny!?"

Hestia just kept on laughing, "HAHAHA… HA…. HAHA…. Oh…! I-I can't breathe! HAHAHA!"

I put my head deep into my pillow, doing the equivalent of burying my head in the sand. Anything to blot out Hestia's hysterical laughter.

"HAHAHA! Y-You got a genderbender spell! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Hestia laughed at my expense, seeing how 'fitting' it was for a regular crossdresser to get such a spell.

Spell Name: Hermaphroditus. Incantation: Fluid like water. Distortion through the looking glass. Reversal of all things. Effect: A physical transformation into a female form and back. My mass stays the same, though I have some degree of control as to my… proportions. But I can't really change my facial structure too much (besides what changes to make me turn into a girl) or my eye or hair color or stuff like that.

Basically, I can't disguise myself as someone else, just as a girl version of myself. Where I get to choose my hair length and my… three sizes.

I shudder at the thought. Why? How? How is it that my third spell slot is taken up by something so useless…(in battle)?

I certainly wasn't some kind of trans person – not there is anything wrong with that per say; I just mean to say that this isn't something like Singularity where it's a part of my soul from Before.

Maybe… The Falna does incorporate RPG elements, because the gods felt like it or something like that. Could there be a hidden 'achievement' system that is responsible for things like acquiring certain Spells and Skills? Because that seems to apply to Development Abilities. So why not with the other aspects?

It would make sense that I would unlock such a spell for crossdressing undetected for a certain period of time… I'm going to go with that theory, its the most comfortable.

Hestia had finally managed to calm herself down while I was lost in thought. She panted as she grabbed a glass of water to help her presumably parched throat. "Hah! That was amazing… Though I'm not a fan of how the spell name is Hermes and Aphrodites' theoretical love child."

"Eh? What?" I questioned in confusion, partially removing myself from my pillow.

"Yeah," Hestia shrugged, "There was this one time where we all joked that if Hermes and Aphrodite had a child that it would be androgynous. Your spell seems to be a reference to that."

"I see…" This must be some kind of minor Greek mythology reference that I simply haven't heard about before. I knew a fair bit of Roman and Greek mythos, but that tidbit must have eluded me.

Hestia then said, "Speaking of spells… I guess you don't need to worry about using all of your spell slots just yet."

"What do you mean?" I ask, glad that the topic of my new spell had shifted to anything else.

"Now that you have that third spell," Hestia revealed, "I can feel that you have additional slots."

"Really? Is it from a Skill?" I ask. I felt that I had two additional Skills show up, but the 'intuition' is taking time to process in my head still.

Hestia shook her head, "No, you just… have twice as many Magic slots."

I had the feeling that Hestia wasn't even surprised anymore. I asked her as much.

"I've just come to embrace the fact that you can't do anything normally," Hestia said with a grin, "I knew you were special!"

"I can't help but feel like there was an insult in there," I said with a deadpan, unable to ignore the opportunity for banter, "And I do normal things! I work a normal job in a bar for crying out loud!"

"Yeah," Hestia agreed with a smug look, "The same bar where you will find much use out of that new spell of yours!"

I… couldn't respond to that. Somehow this felt like a pyrrhic victory… at best.

At least the rest of my Status ended up being less humiliating… For the most part…

Main POV

Present

"I'm so sorry!" Eina clapped her hands together with a loud smack and bowed her head.

They had moved from the Guild Headquarters reception counter to a small conference room just off the Guild lobby. This modestly decorated room was normally used for one-on-one conversations because it was soundproof.

We sat across from each other on either side of the desk as she apologized over and over.

"To scream like that when there were so many members of other Familias there… I'm very, very sorry!" Eina apologized, her face was burning red in embarrassment. It was adorable, not gonna lie. Ryuu-sama and Ais are the top girls in my heart in that order though. Hestia-sama doesn't count, that's different. She's like, beyond the confines of a list.

"It's alright," I assure her, "That information would have been announced by the Guild anyway, it's just a few people found out a bit early. That's not a big deal, is it?"

The half-elf hadn't even tried to raise her head, and it was starting to make me feel uneasy. After a minute, she finally made eye contact and her gaze was filled with worry. Was it because of how fast I Leveled Up? That the gods and goddesses might notice and start giving me trouble? Then sorry, Eina-san, I plan on trying to reach the next height as quickly as possible. I'll just have to deal with the attention as I go along.

Allow me to elaborate. Basically, unless I refused to tell the Guild I had Leveled Up — something that's illegal after about a week unless there are extenuating circumstances — then it would be public knowledge regardless.

Which considering how long I'd been an adventurer was also public record… it meant deities were going to notice me whether I liked it or not. Which meant I had 2-3 weeks, maybe a month, before gods and goddesses started to really meddle in my business. Why so long? The logistics needed to support over the top plans took time to muster, of course.

I could still vaguely remember what lengths Apollo went to in order to declare a War Game without harming his own reputation.

Declaring war against a one person Familia was just in bad taste.

So the plan was to grind and get as close to Level 3 as soon as possible. Make money and allies along the way. And hopefully use my burgeoning reputation to help adventurers start to push themselves so they might one day be ready for the One Eyed Black Dragon.

Eina seemed to be lost in her thoughts and anxiety. So I patted her shoulder, "Don't worry about me! With my new Development Ability 'Luck' I'm sure things will work out!"

"...Luck?" Eina asked slowly, her mind rebooting, "I'm not familiar… Oh, Bell-kun…"

She finished with exasperation. Which is a fair response to the protagonist getting a never before seen Development Ability.

"It was that or choose between: Abnormal Resistance, Hunter, and… Breach," I reveal to Eina my choices in Development Ability, listing the last one hesitantly.

"So many?" Eina said, a little in shock, "Poison resistance is always good, and Hunter is sought after and rare as it is… and another ability I've never heard of? Oh my…"

Resistance to poisons was obvious in its benefits, though I wonder if Liaris Freese would allow me to do the same thing if I inoculated myself – it sure seemed to in the face of Syr's lunches. I didn't do so much as blink at the toxins of the Purple Moths anymore, for example. If so, I might even be able to make myself immune to the effects of various drugs like Soma Wine or Ishtar Familia-branded adrophisiacs.

It's just a matter of getting samples for the inoculation process…

Hunter was desired by the average adventurer since it boosted your stats when fighting a monster you've already gained Excelia from before - which essentially meant any monster you've defeated before. It's great for those who aren't looking to progress and instead make more money more easily, but that's about it.

Breach… I don't even know what that one's about, but… It does seem to be going along with the theme about that the obvious part of me that doesn't belong in this world. But as to the actual effects of taking it is hard to say. So I went for the odd Development Ability which could only have good connotations.

My stomach rumbled at the thought for some reason.

"…So Luck then?" Eina asked.

"Yes, that's what I selected," I confirmed to her.

"Well, can I ask what Hestia-sama had to say about it?" Eina asked, trying to get some idea on what 'Luck' even did.

"She didn't know much, either…" I tell her sheepishly. "Ah, but… Hestia-sama did say that she thought it would be something like…'protection.' That kind of 'luck'."

"Hmm," said Eina quietly as she gathered her thoughts, "Well, that's one possibility. But there are other areas where Luck would be useful for adventurers… like more drop items, maybe?"

"Ah, yes, that's true," I agreed, though I personally believed it affected all luck related things in general. Going to a casino would be a good way to test that theory…

"But that sounds a little bit too money-related. I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be of much assistance," Eina finished a little sheepishly.

I waved off her concerns. Money was still a vital resource after all. Armor, weapons, and food and such don't exactly grow on trees.

Eina then got out some papers and asked, "Well, as part of the Level Up registration process, could you tell me everything you've done as an adventurer up to this point?"

"How much detail should I go into…?" I ask slowly, pondering how much I should let be public record.

"Even a rough outline is okay. The kind of monsters you fought, the quests you completed, things like that," Eina answered.

It's not like I didn't know this was going to happen. It was part of why I was here today to begin with.

The Guild collected and announced data on how adventurers leveled up, so long as it didn't cross the lines set by each Familia pertaining to the personal information of their members. This was all to help increase the collection rate of magic stones from the Dungeon.

Since I had just achieved the fastest level-up on record, Eina wanted to focus on the way I gathered excelia. My name would likely be well known soon, and a record of my exploits would be something no one would overlook.

In short: "This is how Bell did it. Follow his example and get stronger."

It would be an important tool in helping inspire adventurers into improving themselves; so that hopefully Orario would be ready for the time the One-Eyed Black Dragon once again prowls the Earth.

Eina also clearly wanted to get this information because casualties would decrease if other adventurers knew how to grow as fast as me. So she was extremely focused as she listened carefully to everything I had to say.

I kept the details of Hiraishin and Liaris Freese on the downlow. As in I didn't mention the former and reminded Eina not to record the latter. I finally reached the events of three days ago.

"A M-Minotaur…" Eina finally lost her composure when I revealed the events of three days ago. Eina closed her eyes for a moment to shake off the dizziness before opening them in a blaze of anger.

She glared accusingly at me as if to say, 'After all those times I told you not to go on adventures!' I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, under her fierce gaze.

Eina is scary.

Needless to say, but I was scolded profusely before Eina finally let me go.

My next stop was the Blue Pharmacy. As opposed to the past, the store actually had some customers. The popularity of the Double Potion was great enough that people went out of their way to, well, an out of the way shop like this one.

I was glad that Naaza and Miach were making more stable money.

"Oh! Bell-kun… good morning!" Naaza slowly greeted me as she finished ringing out a customer.

"Good morning, Naaza!" I called back, "I've got a consult when you get a minute!"

"Go ahead… into the back room… I trust you, Bell-kun…" Naaza told me.

Ah the perks of being a regular.

I made my way into the back room, the same potion making room that we had developed the Double Potion in. Good times.

I waited around for about 5 to 10 minutes before Naaza hobbled her way in, "So… what can I… do for you, Bell-kun…?"

I started to explain my medical concerns to her, "Lately, even before Leveling Up, I'd been getting really hungry early in the morning and late at night. I was eating so much that even Mama Mia got nauseous watching me…"

I described the specific amounts I'd been eating and when the unusual hunger struck me, which was in the morning and late evening.

Naaza seemed confused and concerned, "…it isn't unusual for an adventurer's appetite to increase… in comparison to the diet you had been used to."

"But this is too much?" I asked, getting that vibe from her.

"Yeah… I'm not really sure what's causing such an extreme reaction… Maybe because of how fast your growth was…?" Naaza hypothesized.

It was an idea with merit. I had managed to Level Up in something like 6 weeks. It could be putting a lot of pressure on my physical body despite the influence of the Falna. It just didn't explain why I seemed to be more or less fine during the middle of the day…

"What should I do?" I asked her.

Naaza hummed, deep in thought. Suddenly, her dreary eyes widened like she had an idea… Her eyes grew distant as greed took hold of her thoughts.

I guess Naaza came up with an idea she thinks could make her a lot of money.

Naaza finally addressed me, "I think I have an idea to help you, Bell-kun… Come back this time tomorrow… I should have something ready for you then… but…"

Naaza seemed shy and sheepish at the end. Based on how she was essentially saying she was going to develop some kind of potion/medicine for me, I could tell she was embarrassed about asking for money ahead of time to get ingredients.

"You'd like some money put down to get ingredients?" I deduced, "Will 10,000 valis do?"

I was aware that potions and their ingredients could get pricey. I came prepared to spend 'big' money.

Naaza perked up, her tail wagging ferociously, "Yes… that would be very helpful… I won't charge you for the potion tomorrow, of course…"

"Then we have a deal! Thanks again for the help, Naaza!" I said with gratitude, the weird hunger pains had really started to concern me. I wasn't getting my family's health issues was I?

Naaza smiled, "Your welcome, Bell-kun… it's my pleasure."

Having friends is nice.

Later that night, I was manning the bar at the Hostess. I was trying to ignore the worry about how my strange hunger pains had started acting up in the middle of the day and afternoon, which was highly unusual. I even had been having less physical activity today since I hadn't gone to the Dungeon!

So I was currently distracting myself at work with other things. And, yes, I was using my new spell in order to avoid having to pad my chest. And, no, I didn't oogle myself in the mirror (for too long) nor did I immediately start exploring how different parts felt.

My hair had gotten slightly longer and my height shrank slightly. And let's just say my chest and hips got bigger as my waist did the opposite. Thankfully, walking hadn't turned me into other Anya who clumsily dropped dishes left and right.

Frankly, I mostly did it so I didn't need to change my voice as I worked. That was killer on the throat I tell you. But I told no one about the spell yet. I… needed more time to come to terms with it.

Anyway, the bar is normally Mama Mia's post, but even she needs to eat so she's on her own dinner break. The girls agreed that I should cover her break since it helps keep up the charade as a sickly waitress — since it doesn't require me to move around as much.

Part of the job of manning the bar is to watch over the store for unacceptable behaviors that naturally happen in a place with good booze. It also happens to give me a good excuse to watch Ryuu-sama as she works.

Though at the moment, she's beating the crap out of some Level 2 adventurers who got drunk enough to hit on her a little too much. Oh, Mord-san, you really should know better.

In any case, I know it's a little weird to be looking at someone for this long for no reason, but I can't help it. It's not like I decided one day that I wanted to have feelings for her or something!

A pit forms in my stomach, however, as I'm once again reminded that I can't – shouldn't – act on those feelings. For one, I'm not strong enough to stand by her side – until I reach her level of strength, any relationship would just be me relying on her and that's not fair to anyone.

Second, considering how instrumental she's been in my training, I wouldn't be surprised if she just sees me as a little brother figure(I might die if I was considered a little sister figure). Her having respect for me doesn't mean she has romantic feelings at all – they are completely different emotions.

Thirdly, even if she did like me in that way (which I doubt she does) she wouldn't allow herself to act on those emotions. I can tell her past still haunts her, haunts her in a way different from the rest of the retired girls of the Hostess. In the mornings, when Ryuu hasn't realized she's being watched, she will have this far-off, haunted look in her eyes.

It's a heart-wrenching sight.

She also has no hobbies - she only works at the Hostess and trains her skills. It's not healthy.

It's one thing for me to have no hobbies: between Dungeon diving, training, and work at the Hostess I don't have time for hobbies – I'm actively working towards building a career, a future.

Ryuu, on the other hand, has plenty of time for hobbies but she just doesn't use it. I'm no psychiatrist, but Ryuu's survivor's complex might be the reason she trains so much – basically that if she was a bit stronger and more skilled she might have been able to save her friends.

As long as Ryuu is stuck in the past, she can barely appreciate the present, let alone think about the future.

I sighed to myself, there was no easy solution to help Ryuu. Especially since she keeps everything so locked up…

"What is this?" a cheeky voice asked behind me. I turned to see Syr with a mischievous grin, "That forlorn look and sigh… has Belko-chan fallen for our resident elf?"

I smile sadly and look back towards Ryuu. "Yeah," I answer wistfully.

"Eh?" Syr said in confusion, not expecting that answer.

"Ryuu-sama was really cool," I told Syr, "When I was feeling down last week, Ryuu-sama said just the right words in just the right way. She lifted me up and got me out of that funk. How could I not fall in love? Ryuu-sama is Ryuu-sama."

"Y-you were pretty down in the dumps," Syr acknowledged, "Even my homemade cooking wasn't enough to raise your spirits."

"I thought that was an assassination attempt," I teased her, seriously Syr's culinary skills were deadly.

I could hear Syr pouting, "It wasn't that bad!"

She hit my shoulder playfully before standing next to me in the bar. She then said, "So what's got you looking like that now? If it's about that one time, that was just a joke. While I'd prefer you to pick a certain someone to be your special someone… Ryuu-chan isn't a bad match either."

Syr was referring to the time she said that Ryuu being interested in me was Zero Percent. The tone in her last sentence was an obvious allusion with Syr basically saying, 'I'd rather you just pick me to be your girlfriend'.

See? I told you that even when she said 'oh, don't answer my confession yet' that she was still going to tease me about it. Minx.

I shook my head, "I don't think either of us are ready for a relationship. I'm still working on me, like you said. And besides, I honestly doubt Ryuu-sama looks at me in that way. I'd just be content with making Ryuu-sama happy."

Syr seemed interested with my words, "You don't think she is happy?"

"Come on, Syr, you're her best friend and been with her the longest," I point out, before making sure to whisper to her, "While she does love the Hostess of Fertility, it's obvious that she's still hung up on what happened to her Familia and her actions as Gale Wind."

I could see Syr's eyes widen, "Did she…?!"

"No," I shook my head, "I pieced it together. Don't tell her, please?"

"I should," Syr said with crossed arms, but an amused smile, "but you are right. Ryuu-chan deserves to be happy and I think with your help we can do it."

"Good to hear," I told Syr, my new apparent partner in crime, with a smile, "I just wish we could get Astrea-sama to help as well. I know she's no longer in Orario. I wouldn't be surprised if Ryuu-sama is still in communication with her patron. However, I think an in person discussion might help Ryuu-sama get some closure. Hopefully…"

Syr hummed in thought, then said, "I bet if you could get into contact with Hermes-sama, he might be able to find a way."

"Hermes-sama?" I ask, "He's a messenger of the gods, among other things, right?"

"Exactly," Syr confirmed, "I heard he's in Orario at the moment, Denatus was earlier today after all."

"Thanks for reminding me about that," I said with a deadpan, "You didn't happen to spill our conversation about Titles with anyone, did you?"

"Just with Mama Mia and the other girls?" Syr said questioningly.

When talking about my Level Up after I woke up to the girls' well wishes, I complained to Syr about my hopes that I would not get a weird Title. In general, it was me hoping that I didn't get some kind of rabbit-based title. But some specific titles I hoped to avoid were: Little Rookie, Kaguya, and Eostre.

Little Rookie is just bad and a reference to my being small and new to adventuring. Kaguya, because of its potential as a Naruto-reference to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki who is nicknamed as the Rabbit Goddess in that setting. And Eostre because it is a reference to the Goddess Eostre, whom while she hasn't descended to Tenkai, it is already well-known that her symbol is a rabbit.

There was a final title I had mentioned to Syr and Syr alone…

"I ask," I tell her pointedly, "Because my Title ended up being weiẞes Häschen! Hestia-sama told me that Freya-sama was very insistent on it!"

When complaining to Syr, I had explained that in a foreign language (Elvish/German) it meant something along the lines of 'Cute White Bunny' or 'White Club Waitress in Rabbit Costume'. That it would technically be appropriate considering how I crossdress at the Hostess.

They even did the thing where the word isn't capitalized, which makes the word 'cuter'. It's like the universe likes to make fun of the fact my face is rather feminine! The fact I look good doesn't satisfy my male pride!

Syr looked away, "What a coincidence! Maybe Mama Mia passed it along to Freya-sama as a joke?"

I sigh, "That's more likely than you being Freya-sama in disguise. Because otherwise I have no idea how she came up with such a Title."

Syr blinked, "T-that's so funny! Hahaha! You have the wildest ideas sometimes, Bell-kun!"

Syr was initially nervous but quickly laughed it off. I was at least 99.99% confident now that Syr really was Freya in disguise, and that at least that much of the original timeline was also in effect in regards to Freya herself.

"Huh?!" Mama Mia said loudly as she came back from her break, "I only recall asking for one of you two to be working back here!"

Syr started sweating, "I was just–"

"-Slacking off," I finished for her.

"Belko-chan!" Syr yelped, betrayal in her voice.

Needless to say, we both got yelled at before getting ushered back to work the rest of the evening.

That evening, I was finishing up the last of the cleaning when Ryuu-sama came over to me.

"Meet me before turning in," she said before walking off as quickly as she arrived. She needn't say any more, however, as there was only one place she would mean - our training spot out back.

A few minutes later, I headed out to the training ground just in time to see Ryuu come back from the dorms holding a long and narrow wooden box. She walked over before handing it over to me.

"What is this?" I asked as I accepted the container.

"A gift," Ryuu told me, "For becoming Level 2."

I could feel myself blushing, hopefully the light of the Moon wasn't giving me away, "Ah, Ryuu-sama you shouldn't have. Just celebrating like we did the other night was plenty."

The celebration was just us having a nice meal together with the other girls of the Hostess, Lili, and Hestia-sama. Aside from Hestia and Chloe getting especially plastered, nothing really happened, it was just a nice night.

"Ryuu not Ryuu-sama," Ryuu chided me, then said, "Accept it. Consider it the next step in your training if you must."

Curious now, I went ahead and opened the box to see a pair of short swords. They were made in the Eastern-style like Ryuu's own short swords. Kodachi maybe? The quality wasn't as good as Ryuu's own weapons, but were much more in line for tier-1 weapons used by adventurers of my skill level.

"I've noted that you lost your previous weapon which has more of a reach, that baselard," Ryuu explained, "You will find these to be a suitable replacement. And as I am familiar with them, I can more easily train you in their use."

"This is really thoughtful of you, Ryuu-san…" I said, genuinely touched, "In that case, I'll gladly accept! Please train me into the ground tomorrow!"

Ryuu just gave a small smile, as if saying 'of course'. She then said after a moment of silence, "You've looked different since then."

"Huh?" I asked, confused as to her meaning.

"Since that day, before you Leveled Up," Ryuu elaborated, "You look at peace. It is a good look for you."

I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, Ryuu was all but admitting to looking at me enough to keep track of my mood. "H-how could you tell?"

"I'm not sure," Ryuu hummed, "It's like you're glowing, but only when I see you out of the corner of my eye. It's inspiring, really. In any case, I just felt like I had to tell you."

"Well, it's only because your words reminded me to be true to myself. So thank you, Ryuu-san…" I said sheepishly. My mind, however, was whirling.

Was this an effect of Inspiring Leader, one of the new skills that appeared after that day?

Inspiring Leader. Subskill of Liaris Freese. Companions that unconditionally believe in the user grow quickly at a portion of the user's growth rate. Companions are more inclined to listen to the user's words. The strength of effects corresponds with the target's feelings and distance from the user.

Lili had mentioned something similar, that I looked like I was glowing to her. Could it just be a coincidence? My intuition was telling me that it wasn't. But with unknown Skills, it was hard to say as there was no precedent. No records to be pulled from to explain them like average, common skills were.

Well, with no way to update Lili or Ryuu's Statuses, there was no way to confirm either way.

There was just one thing that was bugging me now…

"I'm not sure I deserve your favor, Ryuu-san," I said sadly.

"Whatever do you mean now, Cranel-san?" Ryuu asked, a little harshly.

"It's embarrassing to say," I explain sheepishly, my blush growing further, "but in my village, it was expected that you only love a single woman. That was the norm. But now I have feelings for multiple girls… I can't help but feel like a jerk."

I was being honest here. I'm not like those terrible anime protagonists who find themselves in some medieval setting with slavery and instantly be like 'okay this is normal now let me proceed to get a cute slave waifu'. I'd been raised, like most people I'd reckon, to love only one person romantically. So don't be surprised when I actually feel like an asshole for having romantic feelings for Ryuu and Ais — and others to varying degrees.

Ryuu, however, looked at me like I was an idiot. She slowly said, "…was that, not always your intention?"

"Eh?" I was honestly confused.

"Everyone knew you were aiming for a harem since day one," Ryuu said matter-of-factly, like one would confidently say the sky was blue.

I was horrified. I mean, that was joked about when I first met everyone, but I didn't think anyone would take it seriously at all. It was just a reference to how perverted Grandpa-Zeus was! "B-But…"

"And this is Orario, the center of the world," Ryuu continued to say factually, coincidently preventing me from defending myself, "With how many different cultures collide here - it's like a melting pot. And it is a city of adventurers, if there was widespread moral outrage over such relationships then the Pleasure District wouldn't exist, at least so openly."

It felt a little weird for Ryuu to mention the Pleasure District so casually.

Ryuu then narrowed her eyes at me, "Not that you have any reason to go there, right?"

"Of course not!" I deny, "Though I reserve the right to go in the case of rescuing damsels in distress!"

There, casus beli for rescuing Haruhime has been locked down! And I had my reasons for not tracking her down and breaking her out yet — sue me.

Ryuu just rolled her eyes and smiled slightly, "Of course."

I chuckle, trying to not think about how beautiful Ryuu's expressions are, and ask, "Then… that only explains why others might not mind. But… what does Ryuu-san think of it? Of me?"

Ryuu looked at me, as if gathering her thoughts, and finally said, "…As long as Syr is alright with it, then that's that."

That… was sad to hear. A complete dodge in consideration of Syr's feelings. And rejection of her own opinion on the matter.

Thankfully I thought of a plan to elicit a reaction.

I dramatically hunched over and started the waterworks, "I knew it, Ryuu-sama hates me! Ryuu-sama thinks I'm scum! I honestly wasn't aiming for a harem, but fell in love with multiple girls and now Ryuu-sama hates Bell!"

I deserve an award for best actor. Actress? I feel like this girl form of mine is able to cry on command a little too well. I feel like I should be concerned…

"Eh?" Ryuu sounded flustered, which was a rare thing indeed. "N-no! That's not what I was saying at all!"

"You don't hate me?!" I ask excitedly, "Then how do you really feel? I'm an idiot, so I won't know unless you spell it out for me!"

My eyes focused on Ryuu's embarrassed expression and posture. Ah, it was enchanting - the moonlight bouncing off her skin made her skin ethereal like an angel.

Ryuu finally said, "…The Bell I know is honest and with integrity. So I know that if he says he l-loves someone, it is not some superficial whimsy. He means it and will treat them well. That is what I think."

Hmm, I guess going into third person allows her to sound more distant and thus makes the words easier to say. But it still looks like she did emotional damage to herself as she is still not looking me in the eyes.

It is clear to me, however, that while she was embarrassed with her words, they weren't in reference to a hypothetical relationship regarding herself. Ryuu was flustered at the idea of a romantic, sensual relationship – not at her being the object of one.

That was how stuck in the past she was. She couldn't even imagine such a future for herself. Or believe she deserved one.

Still. I could also so easily use her words against her for an awesome confession… but I've already stated why such a thing would be poorly timed.

So I settle for letting my face light up, the warmth of her words also warming my face into a deeper blush. And say, "…I see. I'll be less harsh on myself and more true to the Bell Cranel that you see."

"Good," Ryuu said with a satisfied smile, and just like that, I'd fallen in love again. With the fairy elf under the glowing moon.

"...One last thing," Ryuu then began to ask.

"Yes?"

"...why are you a girl now?" Ryuu finished asking, somehow having realized the effects of my, still active, new spell.

Did she… realize since I still sound like a girl when I would have normally let my voice go back to normal by now since we aren't in front of customers?! Too perceptive!

In any case, I paled with mortification. Having to explain you have a gender bending spell to your crush is… less than ideal.

I hesitantly explained the new spell I had acquired and how it made my disguise at the Hostess easier.

All Ryuu had to say was, "Interesting." She seemed to be in deep thought as she abruptly left after saying that to me.

…What was that reaction?!

Needless to say, I felt like crying myself to sleep with a blush and tears of embarrassment. Lamenting at the ever decreasing odds of a successful relationship with a certain elf.

Not too long later, I actually lay there in my bed, unable to sleep as I wondered about the exact consequences of Inspiring Leader.

Companions that unconditionally believe in the user grow quickly at a portion of the user's growth rate. Companions are more inclined to listen to the user's words. The strength of effects corresponds with the target's feelings and distance from the user.

Let's break each line down one at a time in order.

Unconditional belief. That… is subjective and really weird phrasing. Believe in what about the user, AKA me? It's as unhelpful as Liaris Freese in defining 'growth'. Otherwise, there isn't much controversial about the line. Just that I can't consciously control it since it is a passive skill that only activates due to something the receiver does.

The second portion of the first line, pertaining to growing at a portion of the user, was much more understandable. It's effectively applying a portion of Liaris Freese to everyone under the influence of this new Skill.

The second line… is worrying. The words 'more inclined' are the only thing that comfort me. Those words mean that whatever influence this Skill seems to have, it can't make someone do something they don't want to do. It seems to be more like encouraging actions the target might otherwise be too afraid or proud to do if they… are in regards to me?

The third line just goes back to further explain how the Liaris Freese bonus works. Someone who is near me often, and feels strongly about whatever that 'belief' is, the stronger the effect of Inspiring Leader.

I'll need to keep an eye out for how Line 2 effects people… because the bonus to my friends is too great to pass up. I can already think of how much Lili can benefit from me having this Skill.

I get the feeling that Lili blames her own lack of strength over other's moral failings in regards as to why she had a bad life so far. Changing that misconception takes a lot of therapy I'm not entirely skilled for. I'm not so blind as to fail to realize that Lili is really dependent on me.

So, the only way to help Lili grow as a person is to play her game by helping her get stronger.

Obviously, until Soma Familia is dealt with, this is hard since we can't update Lili's Falna. Perhaps Soma can be confronted during the chaos of whichever God or Goddess challenges Hestia Familia first – Apollo being the likeliest candidate for obvious reasons. It helps that if Apollo moves, it is likely that Soma Familia will move anyway.

In the meantime, that doesn't mean we can't build up Excelia for Lili whenever we can update her Status. Maybe we can see if there is a why to Update Lili's Status without Soma? Maybe someone came up with a magic item for this exact kind of thing? I hope so.

I nodded to myself, a vague plan of action I was resolved to follow through on. With that settled, I finally had enough peace of mind to get some rest.

The next morning, I had a bit of a twist on my usual routine of getting beat up by Ryuu-sensei. Whereas I'd normally get to witness the beautiful dew on the courtyard's foliage, all I could see now was cloth and darkness.

"…Why did I agree to this?" I lamented my future fate to myself.

"You are the one who asked for assistance in perfecting the technique behind that spell of yours," Ryuu said matter-of-factly, missing that my question was rhetorical.

I told Ryuu about Hiraishin and it alone. Only Liaris Freese was officially on info sharing lockdown via Hestia-sama's orders. Hiraishin being kept quiet was left to my discretion.

Basically, I was upset with how poorly I used Hiraishin in the Minotaur fight. I can remember scenes of Minato casually tossing knives around himself to avoid attacks. Teleporting at the last moment and never getting hit. I needed to get myself to a similar level of skill, but I didn't have the years of World War Ninja in order to get good.

But maybe some intense training and Liaris Freese bullshit will help make up the gap in my skills. So I went to Ryuu. She had an idea.

I marked a handful of rocks, because throwing knives around while blind was a safety hazard. I was, obviously, blind. Ryuu argued that instincts would pick up danger faster than I would see it. Which made a sort of sense — as it takes time to process light data from eyesight into whether whatever is approaching is dangerous or not.

Ryuu had her own pile of rocks. She was going to throw them at me. My goal was for me to either toss one of my rocks in my vicinity to teleport away or to use a marked rock already on the ground in order to dodge.

Again, while blindfolded.

And Ryuu was going to use somewhere between 50 to 75 percent of her strength and speed. And she'd, of course, be attacking me from multiple angles by not being stationary.

And I was blindfolded.

You can see my concern.

I sure can't. Because I've been blindfolded. I know, I'm hilarious.

"…just try not to hit the face, okay?" I sighed, not wanting to argue with Ryuu about semantics.

"I'll heal you if I do," Ryuu promised me casually, not easing my concerns one bit.

I opened my mouth to protest, only for an impact to my stomach to knock all the air out of my lungs. I choked and coughed as I fell on my back. I think I heard the faint whistling from the rock, but hadn't reacted because I hadn't realized we were starting.

"Monsters both literally and metaphorically will not wait for you to be ready," Ryuu chided me from a different direction than before.

"Yeah, yeah," I groaned as I stood up. I had just gotten into my feet properly, when I heard another whistling sound and instinctively jumped to the side.

Just to get a rock to my hand at Ryuu's full strength for breaking the 'no normal dodging' rule.

"Fu—!" I cut myself off from swearing. Then frantically tossed one of my rocks into the air besides me and flared my mana. I imagine I vanished and reappeared less than a meter away in a flash of white or something.

Again, I'm blind.

I felt momentarily satisfied with my successful dodge. Only for my spirits to be tested with a rock moving at what felt like Level 3 speeds hit my thigh.

I flinched at the impact - wanting to run the painful bruise that would no doubt form, but knew better than to do it. Another rock was already whistling in the air.

Let's just say I took more hits than I dodged by the time Mama Mia woke up and yelled at us for throwing rocks around the courtyard.

After getting healed up by Ryuu and getting the Hostess squared away for the morning, I went towards Babel Tower. I'd say I went without my gear - but since my armor was banged up and in dis-repair, that went without saying.

Lili was given off until tomorrow, I made sure to slip her some extra valis after she checked up on me the day after the Minotaur. I'd need to go talk to her sometime today in order to start her own training.

Yesterday, after meeting with Eina, was spent with further self-training and getting used to my enhanced power level post-Level Up. Today, I was going to track down Welf Crozzo. Or, at least his armor anyway. Either would work.

Think you can ignore my calls? (Really just Hestia asking around for him) I'll track you down! Hah!

But for real, I had some coin to spend and needed gear to match my Level 2 stats. So it was the perfect time to track down and recruit Welf.

I started my investigation by going to the shop Eina had taken me to, which had the original set to begin with. I figured I'd be able to follow the trail from the shop back to Welf since his stuff had been sold there before.

I arrived to find the store rep getting yelled at by an irritated, red-haired blacksmith…

No way…

"…I put my life on the line to make this and you can't even give me some decent shelf space?! You know, off the floor about eye height?! Come on!"

"This was a decision made by management… it needs to actually sell and without that—"

"Oh, so you're going to bring that up, huh?! Well, then I've got a few things to say—!" The adventurer in the black body-length jacket is not backing down.

It's totally him isn't it? Is this the power of Luck?

I internally grin as a prank comes to mind.

The second clerk, a woman, greeted me then with a smile, "Welcome! How can I help you?"

"Yes, do you still have anything by Welf Crozzo?" I asked the clerk.

Silence. The argument a few feet away halts abruptly. Awkward silence fills the air. The clerk in front of me already looks embarrassed. The other two slowly look at me.

"…Um," the other clerk, by the adventurer, "are you looking for Welf Crozzo's work…?"

"Uh, yeah…?" I reply awkwardly, acting oblivious but internally am laughing my ass off at the looks of everyone.

The power of Luck! I found him effortlessly! Thanks divine protection!

The adventurer next to me starts laughing his ass off. "Hahaha! Well would you look at that! There is at least one name on my list of clients!"

My eyes widen in mock realization, "You're…!"

The now (officially) identified Welf Crozzo picks up a box and slides it over to me on the counter. Inside is a set of well-made, silver light armor. The design is slightly different, but even I can tell that this was made by the same maker as my previous armor set.

"That's right," Welf said with a satisfied grin, "the name's Welf Crozzo. Currently a low-level smith from the Hephaestus Familia. Pleasure to meetcha!"

"Ah, I'm Bell Cranel, likewise," I introduce myself.

"The weiẞes Häschen huh…" Welf seemed to recognize me.

Not too surprising, my name seems to have entered the public consciousness now that I've leveled up so quickly. Some were in awe, but most adventurers seemed to be jealous. I even had one encounter outside the Hostess where a group of Level 2s had some choice words for me (Mord-san, I thought we had a connection!) but thankfully Mama Mia chased them off before anything escalated.

Either way, I flinched at the use of my title and proceeded with trying to buy the armor set before me. Apparently, it had been sold to the store already so I had to buy it from the clerk. Which was a little awkward to do under Welf's hawklike gaze over the entire transaction.

15,000 valis well spent later, and I was waved over by Welf for a discussion — which considering my goal in the first place I had no reason to reject — so I followed. Welf led me to an open area of Babel with an open wall overlooking the city. It was essentially a public resting area.

A few eyes followed us as we sat down.

"So," Welf started saying, "you're the one who's been buying my armor. The weiẞes Häschen himself, ain't that something?"

"Oh shut up," I laugh, Welf by his tone noticed I wasn't the biggest fan of my title, "I'm just in disbelief that I found you, Crozzo-san, so quickly."

Welf looked uneasy at my words and said, "…Hey, you can take it easy with that 'Crozzo-san' stuff. I'm not one for formality, okay?"

"Uh, sure thing Welf-san," I said, still maintaining a level of distant politeness - I did just meet the guy after all.

"Still got the 'san' huh? Oh, whatever. Let's go ahead and get down to business," Welf said, crossing his leg over his knee. He then loudly and dramatically said, "Well, Bell Cranel, this is the second time you've purchased my armor. I'd say that makes you a very satisfied client!"

I noticed a few nearby onlookers click their teeth and scoot before waking off.

I look at Welf, amused, "The heck are you up to?" Welf gave off very 'chill' vibes so it was easy for me to lower my guard around him.

"Sorry about that," Welf apologized with a grin, "Just a little territorial dispute, if you catch my drift. Let me be frank, I don't want to lose you."

"How do you mean?" I went ahead and asked for him to clarify.

"Doesn't matter if it's weapons or armor, my stuff doesn't sell. I don't want to sound too full of myself, but I know I'm making good, high-quality pieces. The only other thing I've sold, besides to you, was returned almost immediately. I can't figure it out," Welf all but ranted in exasperation.

My first thought is agreement that his work is clearly a cut above the rest. My second thought is that part of his problem is probably his naming sense, but I don't quite have the balls to say that to his face when we've just met.

"Despite all of that, here you are. An adventurer who appreciates the value of my work," Welf said, clearly working up some kind of sales pitch.

"And so…" I lead on expectantly.

"Truth is, lower-level smiths like me have to fight over clients, steal them if need be. Once one of us gets famous, everyone and their mother will go to them for weapons and armor," Welf explains with blatant honesty, "The same is not true for the unknowns. We fight tooth and nail to talk with adventurers, get their advice, and sell our work. That's the world we live in. You with me so far?"

I nod slowly. Considering what Eina had already mentioned about how various low-level smiths sell their work on the cheap in order to improve… this seemed like the natural result of such a system.

It's just simple economics, wondering if a customer will be loyal or not. And it's natural for a smith to become famous if an adventurer using their gear gets famous. It's not exactly like advertising but it might as well be.

"So yeah, it's really important when a smith's work gets recognized," Welf continued honestly, "like I've said, you recognized my armor. There is nothing that could make a smith happier than that. You're my first, so I don't want to let you get away… I can't let that happen."

I can see how he'd feel that way, from an emotional and financial perspective. And it shows to Welf's integrity that he is being upfront about his circumstances and his biases. He didn't need to share any of this, he could have gotten straight to shoving some lucrative deal in my face to scam me.

But he didn't. He was upfront with me, and I can respect that. Welf is clearly a good, easy going guy. I'm sure it'll be easy for me to include him in my trusted circle of friends.

"So what are you offering exactly?" I ask him.

"I'd like to make a contract with you," Welf started talking about details, "You'll come to me for all your armor and weapons. Especially if you'd like something from a drop item. And I'll only charge a minuscule commission over the price of replacing material as it applies."

Those conditions, for the most part, were damn near for free then.

"A question," I lead with, "how good are you with precise metalworking? Like making small components for example?"

"Not my usual work," Welf admitted, "I'd probably need some new tools, but I'm good at all things metal. No bullshit, that's my honor as a smith you have, I swear."

"That's good," I said. I had a few ideas for gear and equipment, but they needed very precise metalworking to pull off. "But are you so sure that such a contract is necessary?"

Welf leaned over and wrapped his arm around my neck, pointing my head in the direction of other shops. I can see a smile on his face out of the corner of my eye.

"Have a look over there, to those guys standing there. They're staring right at us," he says, pointing out nearby adventurers.

"Yeah, I see them…" I said, a little nervously, not expecting the close contact.

The gazes of many humans and demi-humans meet right where we are. It's almost like they're expecting something to happen…

"All of those guys, they're after you. They want to sign a contract with you, just like me," Welf said confidently.

"Really?" I asked in surprise. Welf was so confident, he must have a reason for thinking that way.

"Not just you. For better or worse, all adventurers who level up to Level 2 are targeted. That's the difference between lower and upper class, my friend," Welf explains.

Which makes sense now that he mentions it. The vast majority of adventurers never make it past Level 1. Level 2s are in demand for their strength and higher profit potential. But there is a far fewer supply of Level 2 adventurers. Essentially, a shortage.

I noticed Welf sending all of the other smiths a very smug look, as if he's already won. "Well, that's how it is," he says with a grin and releases me.

"I want to be your go-to guy for smithing. If I sit back and twiddle my thumbs, some other smith is gonna sign you, and I'll lose my first customer. So I have to pull out all the stops to get you first.

"And it's really good for my rep if I can sign an adventurer with a lot of potential like you," he adds with another laugh.

After he takes a breath, he finishes saying, "…On a bit more of a personal note, your Level doesn't really matter to me, believe it or not. Never thought there would come a day that someone would say they want my work, after looking at all the other options out there… You get it?"

"…I think so," I said, reminded of all the people who have faith in me. Welf could hardly be blamed for not wanting to let go of the first adventurer to acknowledge him.

"It's like, this awesome feeling inside me just piling up, you know? It's a smith's badge of honor," Welf added shyly.

All in all, this seemed like a good deal. And besides, he's an important member of the cast in the OG Timeline - I can remember that much at least. I promised to save him, so I had to follow through.

"…All right, then. I'll sign a direct contract with you, Welf-san."

"That settles it! Don't know what I would've done if you'd said no!"

I stand up and take his outstretched hand.

"Looking forward to working with you, Bell," he says, his face beaming with enthusiasm.

Not only is his hand bigger than mine, it's as hot as a furnace.

"We'll worry about the official contract later, but for right now…" He vigorously shakes my hand up and down as he speaks. The other smiths who were watching us droop their shoulders and turn to leave. Welf is putting on another show to let them know he won; not that I mind.

After watching the last one go, Welf immediately releases my hand and drops his head in apology, "I know this is a little early… but would you be willing to do me a favor?"

My eyes pop open as I look back at him, not expecting him to bow so deeply to me.

"Of course, I'm not expecting you to help me for nothing. I'll reimburse you for the armor you bought today and will make some gear for free.."

"HUH?!" I exclaim, utterly perplexed at how this man plans on feeding himself.

"Don't be so surprised. It's common sense that adventurers want items from smiths, right? Here it is. Are you ready?"

"Uh, sure, what is it?" I ask, completely lost. How does this man eat? Money from Dungeon Diving?

"Let me join your party."

Not long after my discussion with Welf, I was headed towards the spot on the city walls where I trained with Ais. Not that I was meeting her there or anything.

It was just a secluded place in the city where I could train alone. I would go train at the Hostess, but with it being the middle of the day, there was a high chance of being seen and thus people connecting the dots between me and 'Belko'.

And I didn't want to go into the Dungeon on my own. After getting used to having Lili with me, I'd rather not go back to going solo if I can help it. While the Dungeon can be beautiful, it's just as eerie and scary.

I was heading up North Main Street, when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck lift up. I was being watched, not just by Freya right now, but by someone on a nearby roof. I had the feeling that there wasn't any hostile intent, but that was just a feeling and so I couldn't be sure.

I felt glad I made the decision to wear my new set of armor after leaving Welf. On the off chance they were another hostile ambush, I would at least be prepared. Not that I thought it was an ambush. It was the middle of the day on one of the main roads, it would be beyond idiotic for someone to jump me here.

Still, I wanted to know who was trying to spy on me this time. So I casually looked around for the best route to the roofs. After finding the optimal route, I used my incredible speed to bolt over, jump, and run up onto the nearby roofs.

In the couple of seconds it took me to run from my initial position on the roofs to where I sensed my watchers, I felt a wave of hostile intent.

I blocked an attack on instinct with the Hestia Knife – I don't even remember drawing my weapon.

F-fast! I instantly recognized that the person who attacked had to be Level 4. Their attack speed was inferior, but close to Ryuu's. If I hadn't known they were there, or what it was like to be attacked with the strength of a Level 4, I wouldn't have been able to even hope of blocking that attack.

Ryuu's training from this morning probably helped too. It functionally also was training for improving my reaction time, after all.

My eyes quickly absorbed the appearance of my opponent. She was a human girl, early twenties, with aqua blue hair and cyan colored eyes. She also wore glasses. She was wielding a two-sided dagger and I could see senbon-like weapons in her free hand.

"Whoa, whoa!" A male voice called out disarmingly, he had blonde hair and orange eyes. He was wearing a feathered hat. He was slender and of medium height with skinny arms and legs sticking out of his clothes, with orange hair with flowing locks. He also has effeminate looks and his presence was that of the Divine.

"Let's just put our weapons away and talk civilly, okay?" The god asked, his voice disarming and charming at the same time.

"But Hermes-sama!" the woman protested.

"I appreciate the concern," Hermes interjected, "but it was us who attacked first, so we should be the first to disarm, right? Besides, it's not like Bell Cranel-san was looking to start a fight in the first place. Am I wrong?"

"No," I answer, drawing back as Asfi did and then sheathing my weapon, "Just wanted to figure out who was watching me. Hermes-sama, correct?"

"A pleasure to meet you," Hermes confirmed with a dramatic bow. He smiled and put his arm around the adventurer with him, "And this is my dearest Asfi, captain of my Familia."

"Hermes-sama…" Asfi sighed.

"It's nice to meet you," I said to him, I could tell that Hermes was honestly trying to calm things down and be inoffensive, "But can I ask why you were watching me so intently?"

"Is it really such a surprise?" Hermes asked instead, "You, Bell Cranel, beat Ais Wallenstein's record for fastest Level Up! Can you blame me for being a little curious?"

"I guess not," I admit, "I was on a public road and not a private residence or anything. Still, I've been attacked in the city before, so you'll have to understand my reaction."

"Of course, of course!" Hermes said to me, "I didn't mean to cause any harm or distress! You just happened to be passing by and I couldn't help but observe a little. Still, this is a shame. I would have liked to have our first introductions be on a nicer note. Is there anything I can do to make up for this misunderstanding?"

I opened my mouth to wave off the whole situation. After all, my instincts were telling me that while Hermes wasn't entirely truthful, he was honest in his intentions and apology. I didn't have a lot of information on Hermes — all I remembered from the OG was that he was mischievous in both harmless and unintentionally serious matters. And that he was generally a good guy and probably had deals with gods like Freya.

But I remembered my conversation with Syr and realized this was a golden opportunity.

"…Hermes-sama, you are called the 'Messenger of the Gods', right?"

Hermes' smile widened, "Why indeed I am, Cranel-san! What, want me to deliver a love letter to a certain golden-haired adventurer?"

"No! And you're giving away how much spying you've done on me, you know?!" I immediately deny, playing the straight-man in a comedy skit to hide my embarrassment at my crush being called out.

I was less annoyed with myself now for crushing on Ais after spending a week with her. The gap moe between her competence as an adventurer and her airheaded-nature was endlessly endearing. Though it was still safe that this was just a crush, because I still didn't really know Ais Wallenstein. I knew how she's half-Spirit and technically over a thousand years old but had been frozen like Aang from Avatar or something. But that's not really knowing Ais.

In fact she probably had more against her than for her at the moment. Maybe I've missed out some killer character development by not watching Sword Oratoria. But my impression of Ais is that she acts primarily on her own selfishness, entirely dictated by her past trauma. She only acts to help her friends and others because they are right in front of her/nearby. She doesn't go out of her way. Maybe I'm being too harsh to try and quell my feelings, because Ais still is a good person, someone I don't mind trying to be friends with, and is one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen.

Anyway, it was still embarrassing to have my feelings shoved in my face by a relative unknown!

Hermes grinned unapologetically, no doubt aware of how the mood has changed from hostile to casual. Asfi looked beyond exasperated.

I coughed into my hand, trying to regain control of the conversation. "…No. I'd like to get a letter sent to Astrea-sama."

"Oh?" Hermes asked, his eyes narrowing, "And may I ask why you'd like to reach out to Orario's wayward Patron of Justice?"

I realized my answer to this question would determine whether Hermes would bother sending it or not. He could very easily claim to have sent it along but got no reply.

Recognizing that entertainment is part of why the gods and goddesses descended to Earth in the first place — it helped me phrase the truth in a manner he would appreciate.

"I just think it's about time that Astrea-sama and her child have a proper conversation after not seeing each other for five years," I said to him, a knowing smile on my face.

"Oho!" Hermes exclaimed with interest, "You're indeed well acquainted with Ryuu-chan, aren't you? Though I don't think that elf told you anything herself, did she?"

I smile sheepishly, "I couldn't help but look into her after seeing her posters at the Guild."

I then had a more serious expression as I said, "Ryuu-sama is a good person and deserves to be happy. I think resolution with her goddess will be good for her…"

I then look around, a little unsure as I then add, "…And I think Orario could use a Goddess of Justice in the times ahead."

Hermes raised an eye at that, "And what do you mean by that exactly?"

"Now I'm just being an armchair historian here," I preface before giving my hypothesis, "But I can't help but feel like the Familias could break out into conflict soon."

"An interesting claim," Hermes said with interest, "what makes you say that?"

"It's only been five years since Evilus was defeated. And five years since the Freya and Loki Familias have established domination over Orario. But compared to the centuries of power being held by the Zeus and Hera Familias, that amount of time is barely anything."

Hermes hummed, following along with my trail of logic, "You mean to say that the Familias think they have a shot at being the top dog now that they've had half a decade to recover from the Dark Period?"

"I'm sure you could make a list of all the gods and goddesses that would love to take Freya's and Loki's spots from them," I say in agreement with Hermes' rhetorical question.

"If only I was so skilled!" Hermes said with a laugh before petting Asfi's head, "That's what my wonderful Asfi-chan is excellent at though!"

"Hermes-sama!" Asfi blushed in embarrassment.

"Still," Hermes then said more seriously, "You made an interesting observation. Maybe you see it so easily since you're still fairly new to Orario… Very well, I'll pass along your letter. Just leave it with Mama Mia at the Hostess of Fertility - she's something of an acquaintance of mine you see."

"I'm familiar with the pub," I said casually, giving nothing away about how much I'm actually familiar with the place.

"Good! Then that's settled!" Hermes said cheerfully, "Don't let me hold you up any longer, Bell-san!"

"Sure," I nod, "despite the rough start, it was good to meet both of you."

"You're too kind!" Hermes said with a laugh, before turning with a wave goodbye.

A thought accorded to me then, so I called out, "Hermes-sama!"

"Hmm?" Hermes paused, looking back to hear me out.

"Do you happen… to know of a magic item that lets another goddess update the Falna?" I asked cautiously.

Hermes expression stayed still, "...What an interest—"

"My first party member is from Soma Familia," I cut him off, explaining myself before he shut himself off. I could tell Hermes hadn't approved of my question. "She was abused and is currently in hiding. She… it isn't safe for her to return much less be able to negotiate a Conversion. So…"

Hermes' expression lightened, "I see…"

Hermes got close to me and whispered, "There is an item called 'Status Snitch' which is a more advanced version of the 'Status Thief' item. The latter of which is illegal to have unless authorized for criminal investigations, making the former illegal by proxy. The thief version allows for viewing a locked Status. The snitch version does just what you are looking for… though I hear that Skills and Levels can't be added."

"Oh…" I said with multiple layers of disappointment. So while the item I was looking for Lili did exist, it was both illegal and likely expensive to get. It seems like I will have to resort to waiting for Lili to get her Status updated until after Soma Familia is confronted.

"Don't fret, my young friend," Hermes assured me, "I'm not so unmagnanimous to dangle that information in front of you and do nothing about it."

Oh boy, what kind of deal with the devil am I about to be presented?

"Don't look like I'm about to ask for your first-born…" Hermes whined, was I too obvious.

Hermes coughed into his hand, "Can't I just be empathetic for your friend's plight?"

"You seem too smart to have such simple reasoning behind your actions," I deadpanned.

Hermes' grin seemed amused, like he was impressed or something. He then said, "How about this: I'll provide you the item in question for as long as you need them for your friend. In exchange, you'll owe me a favor."

I ran the wording through my head before asking, "Me? Not Hestia Familia?"

"Well, to be fair, right now those are one in the same," Hermes defended himself before saying, "But yes, I wouldn't try to make you act against Hestia's wishes. I dare say we are friends, after all!"

I wasn't thrilled at the idea of owing anyone like Hermes a favor. Then again, I did have a feeling in my gut that said he was still mostly a good guy… mostly.

I did like his wording of 'for as long as she needs them' which implied – for me – that Hermes already had guessed that this was a temporary solution and that Soma Familia was on my shit list.

Good to know we are on the same page then?

I shook Hermes' hand, sealing the deal. Hermes promised to get me something in the next day or so – to Asfi's choked protests.

With everything squared away, Hermes with his escort proceeded to travel on the roofs on their merry way to Babel Tower. At least, based on the direction they were heading.

With a shrug, I turned and jumped down into an alleyway before heading on to my original destination.

"Why are we illegally on the walls, Bell-sama?" Lili asked me with a groan, "And what's with the wooden rods?"

"Catch!" I said, tossing a wooden staff to Lili.

"Bell-sama?" Lili asked in confusion as she caught the training weapon.

"I've acquired something of a Skill that helps… certain people in their training," I explained to Lili, sparing details for her own embarrassment, "I figured you would appreciate me using it to help boost your own skills should you find yourself in a pinch."

"Are you unsatisfied with Lili's–" Lili began to say something self-deprecating before I cut her off.

"No, I am completely satisfied with how Lili is right now," I assure her, "I just know that… you want to get stronger too, don't you? You have something to fight for, something worth risking your life on the daily for, don't you?"

Lili's eyes snapped to mine. So many emotions swirled in them, it was hard to pin them down. Eventually she said, "...Yes."

"Then I will train you! Every day after we are finished Dungeon diving," I tell her.

"Eh? But won't we be exhausted?" Lili questioned.

"That's what potions are for!" I declared.

"But, the money–" Lili then said before I cut her off.

"I'll pay for all potions, of course, I'm the one who proposed this all anyway," I tell her.

Lili looked at me like I was stupid, "...So you are going to use your limited remaining freetime to train someone else entirely. Someone who is utterly talentless. And you're going to do it for free and pay for their potions and other expenses? Bell-sama, do you secretly enjoy poverty?"

"I do not!" I retort, "And I wouldn't do this for just anyone! I'm doing this because Lili is Lili!"

Lili's expression turned surprised, her cheeks blushing, "O-oh… I see."

"Now…" I said, transitioning into teacher-mode, "We have extra time today since lunch wasn't too long ago and I don't have plans for a fair bit today. I hope you don't mind that I've chosen a spear-esk weapon for you. I figured that someone of your stature would benefit more from something with a longer reach."

Lili looked a little annoyed at the reference to her height, but didn't deny my point. She then looked down to the staff in her hands.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Lili doesn't know…" she said at first, "It just feels like it feels right in Lili's hands, or something. Never mind. Let's get started, Bell-kun!"

I smirk, readying my own mock spear, "No take backs!"

I ignore the hunger despite my recent meal and launch myself at Lili – who 'eeps' in the process.

Hours later, Lili was lying on the ground of the walls with swirls in her eyes.

"Bell-sama… has no mercy…" Lili moaned weakly. Her body was covered in bruises and her hands were blistered.

I blinked.

Maybe Ryuu's teaching method was a little too rough.

Then again, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Yeah, I'm not sorry.

Besides, Lili had made a lot of improvement. It had been clear at first that Lili had never held a spear-like weapon in her life before. But even after a couple of hours, she went from horrendous to look at to only embarrassing to look at when using it. Considering how Lili is supposed to represent all of the Talentless or something, it just went to show that Inspiring Leader really was putting in good work for giving my friends a boost of their own for their 'growth'.

Basically, if we could keep this up, Lili could get some serious self-confidence. Which would make both of us really happy. It would also help mitigate the anger in Lili's heart. Basically, I finally found a path to help Lili rather than the stop gap I've had so far.

Lili moaned in pain again. I remembered to finally get out the potions for her.

It would take a bit of time before that, though.

After doing that training with Lili, and having been hounded constantly with hunger pains since this morning, I was glad to finally make my way back to the Blue Pharmacy.

Actually it had been worse than that. Maybe it was just because I had run out of water while training, but I had even started coughing occasionally. Maybe they were unrelated, but it was really making me concerned about my health.

I thought part of having a Falna would make my body more resilient? Was this just something Liaris Freese didn't apply too? But that would be inconsistent?

These kinds of thoughts circulated in the back of my head as I entered the shop.

"Good evening!" I greeted as I entered.

"Welcome, Bell-kun…" Naaza said. The store was empty for the moment, in fact she was about to close up shop for the day.

Naaza waved me to follow her into the back room. Her tail idly went back and forth as she hobbled away. I silently followed her.

I was led to a solitary potion vial situated in a metal tri-pronged holder. The vial was easily three times the size of the average potion. It was colored a sickly yellow-orange. And while all the potions I've seen were of a consistency similar to water, this one looked to be nauseatingly chunky.

The sight of the potion put me on edge. I shakily pointed at it, "W-what is that?"

"I call it a Nutrition Potion…" Naaza said to me, "This is the trial version… the ingredients I wanted to use were hard to come by… so I had to do some substitutions… I guarantee it's full of essential vitamins… and roughly 14,000 calories…"

I could see the appeal based on the nutritional value. Meals take up a lot of storage space in backpacks — I know this from experience from hiking trips during Before. But a single potion like this took up much less space and had much more nutritional value; multiple days worth even.

The only problem was how unappealing it looked to consume.

Naaza seemed to realize this too, "Some of the ingredients… turn poisonous when mixed with sugar… it's why I didn't want to substitute things… I should be able to make ones with less disturb— less effort this time next week."

"You were about to say 'disturbing ingredients'! Don't think I didn't miss that!?" I pointed out hysterically.

Naaza tilted her head, her eyes still half-lidded as always. She brought her hands up to her head like they were paws and said, "But… I'm cute…?"

"You are, but that isn't enough to distract me!" I instantly retort.

Naaza clicked her teeth.

"So you know it tastes awful!" I deduced then, having seen the efforts she went to distract me.

Naaza's eyes turned distant, "…who do you think had to taste the tests… to develop this thing?"

"Ah, you have my condolences…" I apologized for bringing up the obvious, recent trauma.

"Anyway… give it a try, I guess…" Naaza said, her voice empathetic to my plight.

I hesitantly retrieved the potion vial and slowly removed the cap that sealed the contents within.

It was horrid.

It was like rotten eggs combined with dead rats combined with horse shit.

I looked at Naaza in horror only to find her face nonchalant as her nose was clogged with a clothespin.

Of course.

Realizing that the longer I put it off the more I'd suffer, I channeled all the bravery I'd gathered as an adventurer and started chugging.

Oh god.

It had the consistency of sludge. It tasted like macaroni and cheese mixed with scrambled eggs, hot peppers, cotton candy, and dog shit.

My whole world spun as I attempted to consume the potion. I have no idea if I even managed to drink the entire thing before darkness claimed me…

I woke up an undetermined amount of time later, feeling like I'd lost something vital to my soul.

At least I wasn't hungry.

"Ah good… you're finally awake…" Naaza greeted me back to the world of the living.

"Did I…?" I asked, wondering if I somehow managed to finish off the potion at least.

"You finished off most of it…" Naaza answered, "I had you drink the remainder while unconscious… mouth-to-mouth…"

My face lit up with embarrassment(and a little arousal), "W-w-what?!"

Naaza smirked and I realized I'd been played for a fool.

I resisted the urge to pout. "Jeez!"

A thought then occurred to me, "How did you even manage to finish this potion on time when it's that horrid?" Surely it caused Naaza to pass out too?

"Oh… I took a Taste-Remover Potion," Naaza informed me.

There was a beat of silence.

"…And you didn't think to offer me one at cost? And why were you so traumatized then?" I questioningly accused her.

"The consistency is still horrible…" Naaza defended herself. And to be fair, she had a good point. She satisfied my second question.

"That answers my second question but not the first," I said insistently.

Naaza whistled innocently. What else could Naaza be motivated by beyond money…?

Realization.

"Are you seriously pranking me for knowing you were scamming me and not saying anything about it?!" I couldn't believe this!

Naaza looked smug, "You can take the adventurer out of the adventure… but not the adventure out of the adventurer."

That is to say, Naaza might be traumatized by the Dungeon but she isn't a pushover. She's still got plenty of passion and energy in her.

I squinted at her, "I will remember this."

"Bring… it…"

In the end I was given a case with 7 more of the godawful potions. Apparently these terrible tasting versions were worth as much as I'd given Naaza already. The ones that wouldn't taste horrid would go for at least 10,000 a pop.

My poor wallet.

"Finally, the 11th Floor!" Welf exclaimed his arms out wide as he spun in place to face us, his weapon over his shoulder as he announced our arrival to no one in particular.

Just like he so vigorously said a moment ago, we're on the 11th Floor of the Dungeon. The day after I got those damned potions. It seems to help with my symptoms, but I'm still hungry late at night and when I wake up…

We've just stepped off of a very wide stairwell and into the room that serves as the starting point for this floor. Just like the 10th above it, a thick fog fills every room on this Floor except for this one.

With nothing to block my vision, I can see that the floor here is covered in ankle-high grass just tall enough to hide my boots. There are also several dead trees scattered throughout the room. Monsters can annoyingly use these landforms as weapons.

"Didn't you say this is the lowest you've ever been, Welf-san?" I ask, making small talk.

"Yep, that's right. Sorry about this, Bell. I've thrown a lot of information at you since we met," Welf apologized casually.

The reason for Welf wanting to join the party was simple. If he could get to Level 2, he could get the Development Ability - Blacksmith. With it he could make weapons, armor, and other metalworking better and with added buffs.

"Don't worry about it. The sooner you get 'Blacksmith' the better it is for me now that we are contracted," I assure him.

"Glad to hear you put it like that," Welf said with a grin, I assumed he was pleased we were on the same wavelength. "In any case, I'm grateful, Bell. Familias tend to be picky about who they work with, but I'm glad you could throw that way of thinking out the window."

"I'm sure it's a great deal for him, but…" Lili said suspiciously, her tone passive aggressive and annoyed, "Why doesn't he go adventuring with his own Familia?"

I did ask him this question myself already, but Lili wasn't exactly there for it and it hadn't come up until now.

"Well, you see, Lili, Welf-san and his Familia, they…" I started to explain, choosing my words carefully.

A bead of sweat rolls down my cheek. Lili's disapproval of the arrangement came across loud and clear. I look over my shoulder to see her a few paces behind, hands clamped firmly on the straps of her backpack and a very irritated look in her eyes.

I could tell her there's a misunderstanding, but from her point of view, it really might look like I was bribed. I was wearing shiny new armor, after all. Well, I already got it a little dirty, but it was still clearly new.

I also didn't want to bring up that Welf's situation reminded me of Lili's situation with her Familia. At least, not make it sound like that was a major factor.

But Lili was too perceptive. She sighed and deduced, "He doesn't get along with his Familia, right? You believed his sob story, and he bribed you with a new set of armor. Why didn't you come and talk to me first?"

"Was… are you that upset that I…?" I began to ask, thinking she was offended that I added someone to the party without asking her fist.

"No, not that, but if Bell-sama doesn't talk with Lili first, Lili might get in trouble! Hestia-sama entrusted Lili with making sure Bell-sama is safe!"

Was Hestia that concerned I'd get scammed again? No one but Naaza seemed to believe that I actually knew what she was up to the entire time. Lili did at first, but at some point convinced herself that I was just saying that to spare Naaza's feelings. I wasn't sure if I should be offended or not.

"W-well…" I started to say, a little nervous at how upset Lili had gotten.

But Lili was on a role, "And what is this? 'Until Blacksmith is acquired'? He's just taking advantage of us! And isn't this too-perfect timing to find a party member?! As soon as this no-name smith meets his goal, he'll leave and we'll be back to where we were before! One step forward, one step back! This is a complete waste! There's no light at the end of this tunnel!"

"O-our contract is only for the short term to make sure we work well together," I insisted, silently reminding her that I did the same thing with her contract, "And besides, while I don't think Welf-san is a bad guy, if he did do something wrong, I knew you'd come up with something to make him regret it."

"I just heard some scary words just now…" Welf said quietly.

Lili, however, was a little mollified, "Lili doesn't like being used as a crutch, but Lili does like being of use to Bell-sama. Humu… I can think of a few ideas…"

Welf decided it was time for him to cut in, "Oh, am I getting in the way, Li'l Shrimp?"

Lili clearly is not too fond of Welf already, but her chestnut-colored eyes went ablaze after being called "Li'l Shrimp."

"Lili is not Li'l Shrimp! It's Lilliluka Erde!"

"Okay, pleasure to meet cha, Lil-Lili!" Welf bends over and sticks his toothy grin in Lili's face like he's making fun of her, which I'm pretty sure he is. Lili lets out a small "Humph" and looks the other way.

"…Lili doesn't care anymore. It's pointless!"

He doesn't seem to mind Lilly's reaction; on the contrary, he looks like he's enjoying it… Hopefully this turns into one of those friendships where the two parties talk crap about each other but don't really mean it…

"Anyways, I'm sorry Lili for springing this on you, but I really like Welf Crozzo's work. So–"

"Crozzo?!" Lili interrupted me incredulously. Welf looked uncomfortable. Lili continued saying, "Did you just say Crozzo?!"

"Um, yes," I said, surprised by her sudden incredulous reaction.

"As in the cursed magic weapon smiths? The fallen blacksmith nobles?" Lili asked rhetorically.

"That sounds vaguely familiar…" I say honestly. I just remembered that Welf could make Magic Swords and didn't like them because of how they break and abandon their users'. And perhaps on some level feels guilt over how his ancestors used their Magic Weapons like they had against the Elves.

"So you basically know nothing, Bell-sama?! The Crozzo family was a clan of famous blacksmiths who made powerful magical items. But one day, they all lost their abilities, and now they're completely destitute," Lili said informatively.

"Yeah," Welf agreed. He scratches the back of his head for a few seconds, his hair wavering back and forth. Then he lowers his hand and waves, a forced smile on his face, "It's the name of some broke nobles. That doesn't matter now, does it?"

"But–" Lili went to protest, but at that moment, the floor cracked as Imps and an Orc started spawning around us.

Crack, crack, crack! Sounds keep coming from the dungeon walls. Now the sounds are echoing from every direction in the room, and monsters are right behind them.

I'm suddenly reminded that many adventurers have reported that monsters will suddenly emerge in large numbers in the same room, starting around the 10th Floor of the Dungeon.

The walls basically fall apart as the room is inundated with monsters. A "monster party," that's what this is called.

They are, of course, very dangerous. Especially if you happen to be in the middle of the room when it happens, since you'll be surrounded in no time flat. I take a step back, a dumbfounded smile on my face. Have I become a battle junkie? Maybe. A little.

"There is no reason to panic. There is no fog in this room and it is very wide. There's little chance of being surrounded and we can retreat to the 10th if necessary," Lili speaks calmly as she adjusts her backpack with a small sigh.

She has traveled with many adventuring parties, and this isn't her first trip to the 11th floor. Her Status might be far below ours, but she knows what she's doing.

"All right, I got dibs on the Orc," Welf declared.

"Eh, are you sure?" I give Welf a surprised look. He had been the one who did most of the fighting to get down to Floor 11. I wouldn't have relatively gotten much Excelia from them anyway. I instead practiced gaining Excelia for my Development Ability 'Luck' by flipping a coin and guessing if I'd get heads or tails.

I was getting a 99% chance of accurately guessing the right side of the coin. Which was… extremely high. Disturbingly high. The potential to clear out casinos is high. I'm not exactly sure how the Falna is manipulating reality to such a degree…

I guess it's due to the Falna being derived from divine power? Scary.

In any case, Orcs are extremely strong. If a Level 1 adventurer, or even a Level 2, takes a direct hit from one of these monsters, that person won't be getting up for a long time. Assuming they have average Vitality. If they were stacked like me, they could tank a few hits with… relative(?) ease.

Welf's eyebrows sink, a grin back on his lips as he looks at the surprise on my face.

"Should be great news, yeah? The things are slow and stupid. Even I'm more than a match for them."

Well, that's that then, he seems to believe that an Orc will be no problem. He takes a step forward, jerking his jaw in the direction of the beast.

Hephaestus Familia might be a group of smiths, but they're also very powerful. Warrior smiths, if you will. And Welf seems to be no exception — although he claims it's all just to get the Development Ability - Blacksmith. As in, he is more passionate about smithing than adventuring. From what I've seen of his fighting style so far he definitely won't hold us back. He may be a Level 1 adventurer, but there's no doubt he's one of the most powerful. He's likely got most of his stats in the C range at least – or that's the impression I had anyway, not like I checked his back out or asked him directly.

"Bell-sama, please fight as you like. Lili will support the smith from behind. To be honest, Lili would appreciate Bell-sama checking on us from time to time," Lili commanded, directing our plan of attack.

"Oh? What's this? I thought you hated my guts, Lil-Lili?"

"Of course Lili does. But Lili doesn't want you to get in Bell-sama's way."

Lili grins at him, her eyes sparkling. I can only grimace at the look on her face. I hope she doesn't 'accidently' let Welf die. Best do as she says and keep an eye on them.

Oh well, I don't really mind the opportunity to try out my Level 2 abilities on some monsters for once. Ryuu-sama still had an easy time beating the crap out of me during our training session this morning. Oh, she definitely increased the amount of power she was using in her attacks and speed when dueling with me, but it was still clearly a fraction of her true power.

And this would be a good chance to try using these kodachi Ryuu-sama had given me.

Facing the Imps to our rear, I counted about a dozen. I put my hands on the hilts of Yin and Yang, and charged at the nearest Imp.

The next moment the distance was closed. I realized the Imp hadn't been able to even react. I drew Yin and in a single swipe removed the Imp's head. I barely registered this though as I passed it and unsheathed Yang into the next.

This was a technique I observed from Ryuu. She seemed to be a fan of not unsheathing her weapon until her initial strike. It was a rather efficient move, to not bother unsheathing until you were in striking distance and to use the force of the draw into the swing.

About half of the accompanying Imp swarm is distracted by their comrade's flying heads and by the arc of silver light that took it off. Their surprise at the sudden turn of events opens the window I need to keep going forward and take on the rest.

Downward slash. Another limb removed.

My body is as light as a feather, I weave my way from Imp to Imp like a lightning bolt through the sky. One of the monsters drops to the ground in pieces with every hit. I'm on to the next before they even knew what hit them.

It only takes one hit. I tear through the Imp swarm and leave a trail of bodies in my wake.

They're so slow…Wait—

I'm taking the first strike. None of them have even tried to counterattack. My enemies aren't slow.

I've become so fast that—

They can't counterattack!

I've changed. I've completely changed. Nothing's the same as before! So this is the true meaning of Leveling Up! The power of the Falna! I had to be really careful when attacking a pack of Imps before now, but here they couldn't even muster a defense. It was like night and day.

Excuse me for getting excited there. The jump in power was just so great, I couldn't help but get worked up. I hadn't noticed before in training, because I wasn't really being too serious. Ryuu had kept things relatively easy since my Level Up was still recent.

I land a spin kick square into the chest of an oncoming Imp. It's launched with the speed of an arrow off of my foot and straight into the dirt. After bouncing and tumbling a few times, it comes to a dead standstill and doesn't move again.

An Imp swarm that once contained more than ten individuals is now completely wiped out.

A new monster appears in front of me, howling, halting me from turning back to the rest of my party.

It's about as tall as I am. It stands on two short, stubby legs, but its two long arms end in a very deadly looking set of claws. Its back and arms are completely covered by a series of shells, almost like it's wearing a suit of armor. The shell on its head comes to a point in front of its eyes, like it's wearing a battle helmet.

Another one of the armadillo-like monsters emerged. The two of them advance on my position.

"Hard Armoreds," I say, recognizing the monsters. They first appear on the 11th Floor.

I've never seen one before, but luckily I've got a monster encyclopedia in my head courtesy of Eina's aggressive lectures. What did she have to say about these guys again?

Much like the Killer Ant, Hard Armoreds have very strong defense courtesy of their thick shell-like armor. However, their unprotected underbelly is very vulnerable to attack. Compared to the killer ant's full-body protection, it's easy to see where to strike… However, their defense is by far the better of the two.

Out of all the monsters on the lower 11th and 12th Floors, their defense is second to none. In other words, when it comes to taking a hit, they can withstand more damage than anything else in the upper levels.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that adventurers need Basic Ability levels ranging from B to S, in order to survive on the lower 11th and 12th because of Hard Armoreds. That's at least what Eina claimed, in any case.

Which meant from a numbers perspective, I had the advantage, but it would still be a good idea to not rush in blindly.

My powerful legs burst forward.

One of the Hard Armoreds curls his body into a ball and rolls at me with blinding speed.

That thick shell on his back is a very sturdy defense, but it can be a powerful weapon at the same time. One of these attacks has enough power to plow through entire parties and send them flying. Nothing short of a powerful blow will bring them to a stop.

The rolling beast is practically a man-size boulder careening toward me. Covering the area between us in no time flat, I barely avoided an impact that would have sent me reeling for days. Not because I was too slow, but rather because I underestimated how fast it could move. I won't let it happen a second time.

I set my sights on the other one. It's still on its feet, so if I take care of this one first, then I can focus on the roller without having to watch my back.

The beast charges at me, claws drawn and ready.

I bring my blades forward and hold my ground until the last possible moment — before jumping up and to the side.

"?!" The beast makes a noise of surprise and confusion.

My body arcs just in front of the monster's nose and eyes. Unable to follow my movement, I completely disappear from its line of sight. I'm in its blind spot, diagonally behind its head.

I lean forward with my weapons facing me, draw them across the beast's neck, and then pull up and away. The Armored's neck is ripped apart into bits of blood and gore. I jump off of the beast as it falls forward, unmoving.

I flick the blood off of my weapons, and sheath one of them. I quickly found the last attacker. The remaining Hard Armored has regained its balance and is rolling at me at full speed.

I aimed my hand, and yelled out, "Firebolt!"

An electric inferno roars to life. Each bolt is louder, faster, and thicker than ever before. Orange-red light flashes over the beast just before the flames tear into it.

I was actually a little shocked at how much Mind was suddenly available to me - which caused me to charge it way more than intended or was necessary.

The shock wave from the explosion blows past me, the Hard Armored's burned body emerging from the smoke a moment later. Part of the shell on its back is completely gone. Other pieces fall off as its lifeless body collapses to the ground.

The completely exposed Hard Armored's smoldering remains lie in silence, smoke pouring out from its mouth.

Even my Magic is stronger…

Watching the remaining sparks fizzle out, I bring my arm in front of my chest. My power is on a whole other level. The scale is completely different. It's not just my Firebolt; I can't deny that I feel like I don't have full control of this power yet, but I can't deny how much of a self-esteem boost this was. It was like watching as a workout routine finally had visible returns.

Part of me can't help but wonder how much more effective my Hiraishin spell is now, but I can hardly test it right now. Even now I can see other adventurer parties moving around the outside edges of the chamber, trying to avoid my party's kills.

The roar of an Orc caught me off guard and brought me back into the present.

Suddenly, Lili's words run through my head and I look in that direction. The noise leads my eyes to the spot where Welf and an Orc are preparing for combat.

Welf almost immediately feels my eyes on him, and he looks over at me. Welf flipped up his chin and grinned as if to say, 'Quit checking on me.'

Nodding back, I go back to watching their flank. As if the Dungeon was underestimating me, another squad of Imps had spawned and charged at me. It was a simple matter to weave around them, hacking and slashing as I went. I aimed to keep my movements as simple and quick as possible and to use spinning moves without exposing my back.

After the squad was dispatched, I looked back over to how Welf and Lili were doing. They looked to be bickering over a pile of ashes - Welf must have destroyed the magic stone and was getting a lashing from Lili for it. But in doing so, they almost didn't notice two small Silverbacks coming up on them.

A third Silverback appeared, having jumped down from a large tree and landed between Welf and Lili.

Needless to say, this was a dangerous situation for the two of them. So with a silent apology that Welf would forgive me, I charged over to assist them.

Neither my party or the beasts seemed to detect my movement, which led to a perfect sneak attack as I launched himself like a javelin at the nearest Silverback. My kick caught the beast in its jaw. Caught completely off guard, the beast's head spun to a gruesome angle as it plowed into another silverback.

Welf and the other beasts stood in stunned silence at the sudden turn of events.

"Welf-san!" I yelled, trying to get Welf to focus on the fight at hand. At the same time, while I was still in the air, I threw the kodachi still in my hand at the Silverback directly behind Welf. It flew through the air so fast it caused a breeze and struck the Silverback in its eye, cutting down to its brains.

Welf, now focused on the fight, turned around just as my blade hit the Silverback. Using his longsword, he finished off the beast with a deep gash into the Silverback's upper body.

I saw this out of the corner of my eye, as I drew and plunged the Hestia knife deep into the chest of the second Silverback as I fell back down to earth.

"I could really get used to this party thing," Welf said after a moment, when it was clear that the Dungeon was giving us a reprieve.

I turned around and nodded in agreement with a big smile. I hopped off the dead Silverback, quickly scanning for Lili. I found her easily enough, she didn't look injured at all. Not with how easily she was dragging monster corpses around that is.

Welf walked over to me, placing his sword back on his back, and said, "You are one fast dude, you know that? I didn't even see you fly in."

"Hehe, I'm of the philosophy that dodging an attack is better than tanking one. It was natural for me to focus more on speed. Though I've learned I'm surprisingly durable…"

Ryuu-sama's training… she has no mercy, similar to Ais. Or rather Ais is similar to Ryuu? Now that I think about it, they have relatively similar fighting styles: staying on the move with agile, precise attacks supplemented by relatively quick magic casting. Just that Ais has more of a focus on using kicks than Ryuu does. If Ryuu isn't just batting away an attack aimed at her, she is nimbly dodging around it.

"This dungeon-crawling thing sure is easier when you've got a strong ally with you. Of course, I can't rely on you always saving my ass," Welf says to me, going over the previous encounter with me as we briefly rest.

"I have a feeling that I didn't slay as many monsters as I usually do," I comment.

"That's the good thing about being in a party. Your mind and body don't have to work as hard, and you're free to move however you want. Your allies cover your blind side,"Welf said, making some good points. The concept of teamwork isn't lost on me, but the specifics on how it pertains to Dungeon Crawling is still useful information.

"I thought we did pretty well, considering today's our first day as a group. We're not exactly reading each other's minds, but our movements meshed… That's all thanks to Lil-Lili," Welf concluded, giving praise to Lili.

"Thanks to Lili?" I asked. It seemed that Welf was definitely one of the good adventurers that understands how vital a supporter like Lili truly is.

"Yeah. Her actions seem minor, but she had a big influence on the way down here. Alerting us to new monsters, keeping us from running into each other, she did a great job coordinating us," Welf praised.

I hear Welf then say, "She knows how adventurers move."

I slowly nod as his words click and say, "Ah, that makes sense." Considering all of Lili's experience as a supporter and as a thief, I bet she knows the way adventurers think like the back of her hand.

"She really is something else, Lil-Lili."

"It's times like these when you really can't think of anything bad to say about supporters…"

"You can say that again," replies Welf as he looks over his shoulder at Lili. She's in a deeper corner of the room, collecting magic stones and drop items with amazing speed and efficiency. She even retrieved my kodachi for me.

The two of us had slain a lot of monsters, so naturally there was a lot of work to be done. We offered at that moment to help, but she turned us away immediately. "This is Lili's job, rest while there's time," she had said as she pushed us away from the monsters' remains.

She said she wanted to do her share.

"Well, whadda you know, we've got even more company. Should we head somewhere else?"

"Hmm, we could do that…"

There are a few groups of adventurers in the room now who weren't here when we arrived. Which isn't too surprising.

Many adventurers pass through here, since this room connects to the floor above. Quite a few parties use this room as a staging area because there's no fog. Needless to say, it's difficult to find any monsters to slay in this spot.

It would be miserable to have to compete with them for loot, and even worse to have something happen that causes problems between Familias.

It's an unwritten rule among adventurers: We stay out of one another's way as much as possible while in the Dungeon.

Lili seemed to be quite aware of this fact. As she immediately gathered the bodies of slain monsters in one spot to protect our loot. Kind of like, 'These are ours, don't get any ideas.'

I don't know if she's just got an eye for details, but that's something that only an experienced supporter can do for their party.

"…Since we're already here, why don't we eat lunch? There are a lot of people in here, so we shouldn't need to worry about monsters sneaking up on us," I suggested.

"Good point. Plus, it'd be a real pain to give up this spot. Let's take advantage of the situation. Lunch sounds good," Welf agreed with me. Needless to say, we'll start eating as soon as Lili gets back. Until then, we keep a lookout for unexpected surprises.

I look at the nearby adventurers, trying to guess what kind of weapon styles and skills they might have. The thought reminds me that I have no idea how to use that Argonaut Skill. I remember enough to know it was Bell's second OP skill from the OG and that its charge time can be expanded by the amount of Level's I am. But the specifics on how to use it are not as clear.

"Active Action. Choose to move. Attack, not counterattack."

I tilt my head to the side as I remember Hestia-sama's words. "Hmmm…"

I have no idea what she was talking about. Choosing to move, attacking and all that… That's normal to me. And yet nothing unusual has happened. Maybe it takes more than movement to trigger it? I think I'm not allowed to attack while charging or it will activate prematurely?

No, that's only part of it. I remember now, it's a representation of Bell's desire to be a hero. To overcome insurmountable odds. Or rather… our desire to be a hero…

That's kind of embarrassing in a way…

So, the Skill likely needs me to think heroic thoughts in order to start charging. Thoughts like: 'I need to save that person!' or 'I must defeat this to keep them safe!'.

Hestia's puffy cheeks, filled with fried potatoes. Lili looking up at me with a smile in her eyes. The girls of the Hostess smiling mischievously. Syr holding a plate of her deadly cooking. Naaza over a potion of dubious origin. Ryuu's lips twitching upwards. Ais Wallenstein staring at Hestia's potato stand.

…Some of those thoughts are weirder than others.

"…Hey, Bell. What's that?" Welf asks me, dragging me out of the depths of my memories and back into the present in the blink of an eye. Welf is standing in front of me, eyebrows cocked in confusion.

"!" I'm about to ask him what's wrong, but I follow his gaze to my right arm first. Small specs of light are shimmering around my arm.

"…Eh?" My eyes go wide as a dumbfounded sound rolls off my tongue. The small lights are spinning around my forearm, their white light softly pulsing.

The lights are smaller than a snowflake, about the size of a grain of sand. They disappear as they rotate toward my arm, only for new ones to appear in their place in an endless cycle.

Sparkle, converge, dim, and repeat.

It's as if my arm is stuck in a whirlpool of sparkling white light.

Ping, ping. The lights are making sounds as they glisten. All like little chimes.

Welf and I look at each other.

He looks just as surprised and confused as I am. I didn't think it was that simple to charge it up. Maybe since my intentions are pure?

I can see Welf's gaze going from my face to my arm over and over again. Just as he's opening his mouth to speak — it happens.

A ferocious roar stampedes through the room, startling me as I don't immediately recognize it.

Welf and I flip around to look in that direction. No, not just us. Every other person in the room is looking that way, their eyes wide with terror.

It's in the room's entrance. Amber-colored scales emerge from the fog flowing in from the next room. Not only scales, there is a long tail, sharp claws, and a ton of fangs as well.

It's only about 150 centimeters at its tallest, but it looks like it's more than 4 meters long — it's a small dragon.

"An Infant Dragon…?!" The voice of an adventurer I've never met rings out.

This four-legged beast is a species of dragon, said to be the most powerful type of all the monsters in the Dungeon. While it doesn't have wings, its muscular body is covered in thick amber scales. Its head twists from side to side as it scans the room with red eyes the size of dinner plates.

Infant Dragon. It's a rare monster that only appears on the lower 11th and 12th Floors of the Dungeon. This is something I, again, learned from Eina.

Considering that, supposedly, only four or five of these things roam the Dungeon at a time, it takes a considerable amount of luck to encounter one of them. Then again, Infant Dragons have annihilated entire parties of Level 1 adventurers. So 'lucky' is a matter of perspective.

There is no "Monster Rex", or Floor Boss like the Goliath, on these floors, so it's safe to say that infant dragons are the 'mini-bosses' of the upper levels.

The dragon springs into action the instant the man screams, as though the cry is an opening bell. Flinging its long tail around like a whip, it hits an elf who happened to be close by and sends him flying. He slams into a wall in a heartbeat, eyes wide. He falls to the floor like a puppet whose strings have been cut, head limp. A chorus of new screams erupts throughout the room a second later.

It may not be as strong as that Minotaur, but I wouldn't be surprised if this beast is also categorized as Level 2. Now is the time to ignore the adventurers' unwritten law, and everyone else realizes it. All the nearby parties act as one big coalition. Numerous spell incantations start as Amazons and dwarves charge forward with swords and axes drawn.

"Lil-Lili! Get out of there!" Welf's scream cuts through the chaos.

My eyes widen as I recognize the potential for tragedy appearing before me. The dragon is charging toward Lili, who is still in the corner of the room collecting magic stones.

I see her stand and turn to face the monster. Her face, she's terrified as she too recognizes the threat.

Lili? Afraid? Unacceptable!

Suddenly, my body starts moving on its own. My still-sparkling right arm thrusts forward as the muscles in my throat tighten to yell, "FIREBOLT!"

Half a moment later. Everything goes silent for moment, and then–

A beam of pure white light.

The entire room is bathed in a flash as a sound rivaling the dragon's roar rings in my ears. Flaming bolts of lightning explode from within the white light surrounding my right arm. Firebolt.

But it's completely different. The usual scarlet bolts of my Magic are surrounded by white shards of light and are so thick that they could swallow a person whole. The flames are headed toward the Infant Dragon.

Engulfing the beast in plasma, the Firebolt continues past the dragon and smashes into the wall beyond. A massive explosion follows.

Those amber scales that looked so sturdy a moment ago flake off like ash in the wind.

The dragon can't even leave a final whimper of pain, because its head and parts of its neck are entirely missing. I've heard that dragons have a natural resistance to flame, but its exposed skin is burning away amid the smoldering remains of everything around it.

All that's left in the corner of the room now is the burned remains of the dragon dissolving into the air. The wall that took the blast is heavily damaged. Covered in cracks, more and more pieces fall to the ground every moment.

A large segment collapses to the floor like an afterthought.

An uneasy stillness descends on the room. All of the other adventurers have stopped moving and are looking at me. Lili and Welf, too.

Shock, shudders, and… hostility. I don't react to any of the emotions being slung at me. Coming back to myself, I pull my right arm down and toward my chest. The glimmering specks of light are gone, and my arm looks like nothing ever happened.

For the first time, I felt fear at the power I could wield. I never thought I could understand that trope about the world being like cardboard. This… this was scary.

One wrong move, one time of not thinking through my actions hard enough…

How much tragedy would I cause if I missed the mark…?

Having confirmed Argonaut's destructive potential, it felt fitting to visit Hestia right away. Well, after training with Lili again and waiting for his Goddess in question to get home from work.

"No doubt about it," Hestia commented after hearing my tale, "That was your Argonaut Skill. It's the ability to overcome any difficulty. For a stupid kid who wants to be a hero, it's just the ticket to pulling that off…"

"Oi, that's a little harsh…" I say jokingly, trying to laugh away my nervousness.

I then look at Hestia worriedly, as her own thoughts seem to be elsewhere, "Is everything okay?" I ask her.

"…Um, Bell-kun? Can I ask you something?" Hestia asked after a moment, silently handing a copy of my Status over to me.

"What is it?"

"Have you ever met Freya… Ah, a silver-haired goddess?" She asked me.

"A goddess with silver hair? No, though I suppose I can't know for sure…"

"What do you mean by that!?" Hestia asked, suddenly alarmed.

I put my arms placatingly, "I-I just mean to say that if a god or goddess was hiding under some kind of spell, I might not realize if it's hiding their divinity. That kind of thing."

"Ah, so that's what you meant…" Hestia sighed in relief, "You really do come up with some crazy ideas, Bell-kun."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment," I mutter good-naturedly, before cautiously looking over my Status.

Bell Cranel

Level 2

Alias: weiẞes Häschen

Strength: F: 349 - E: 401

Vitality: F: 398 - E: 489

Dexterity: F: 378 - E: 433

Agility: F: 382 - E: 472

Magic: F: 302 - E: 466

Magic:

(Firebolt)

• Swift-Strike Magic

(Hiraishin)

• Enchantment Magic

(Hermaphroditus)

• Fluid like water. Distortion through the looking glass. Reversal of all things

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.

Argonaut - Heroic Desire. Allows a charge for a counterattack to overcome insurmountable odds.

Inspiring Leader - Subskill of Liaris Freese. Companions that unconditionally believe in the user grow quickly at a portion of the user's growth rate. Companions are more inclined to listen to the user's words. The strength of effects corresponds with the target's feelings and distance from the user.

Development Abilities:

Luck - I

Getting the crap beat out of me by Ryuu-sama netted that vast majority of those stat points. Easily 60% of them. One might think that training with the same person for so long would have diminishing returns. But Ryuu-sama always knew when to up the ante and pull out something new from her bag of tricks. The fact that she was an experienced warrior and adventurer was telling everytime we sparred.

But my eyes could only really focus on the Argonaut Skill. A memory of a white beam of pure energy flashed in the back of my eyes…

"So," Hestia said, "What has you so riled up? I couldn't help but feel it as I updated your Status…"

Remembering how I could have easily solved my bad mental state by just talking to people who care about me, I told Hestia, "I was just shocked at the sheer power of it."

It was clear I was referring to the Argonaut-buffed Firebolt.

I continued saying, "Is it okay for me to have that kind of raw destructive power at my fingertips…?"

I looked down at my hand with a haunted expression. One careless action, one little mistake, and I could end so many innocent lives…

Hestia put her hand under my chin and lifted my gaze to her. She had a warm motherly smile. I couldn't help but be reminded of the realm of divinity she represents.

She then ruined the serene moment by bonking me on the head with her other hand.

"Ow!" I yelped reflexively, though I didn't really get hurt at all. "What was that for, Kami-sama?!" I complained.

"Because Bell-kun is an idiot," Hestia declared, "An idiot, but he's also a good boy. I'm sure you'll only use this skill when you have a good grasp on it and it's necessary to save some damsel in distress or something."

I looked at Hestia skeptically. Her words were nice, but platitudes were not enough to solve my concerns.

I couldn't help, however, to protest saying, "…I can save guys too."

Hestia looked at me like I was an idiot. Why do I have this reputation as some kind of womanizer?!

Hopefully everyone just loves pulling my chain… but I have the feeling that everyone is taking this 'harem' thing that I supposedly desire too seriously.

Hestia rolled her eyes at me and then said, "But if that isn't enough for you, how about some logic? I don't think you can even activate that skill unless you have good, heroic intentions and know it is necessary to use it. How about them apples?"

That… was a good point. It would only activate if I had pure intentions, so the chance of misuse was low. I'd probably only be able to use it with the full understanding of the consequences of using it.

In other words, my subconscious probably wouldn't let me start charging it up if I should be fighting in a residential area or something similar. Somewhere when/where innocents might get caught in the crossfire.

I could feel my lips twitch upwards. Hestia was the only one I could so easily reveal my insecurities to. While Lili and others may believe in me… Hestia was the first to do so unconditionally.

"Hestia… thank you," I said to her gratefully, with lidded eyes and a smile.

Hestia's face turned red like a tomato and stammered nonsense. I laughed at the sight, putting my fears aside as I enjoyed spending every moment I could with my Goddess before I had to leave for my own work.

The next morning, I trained with Ryuu as usual, before going to see Hestia in the morning like I normally would. She seemed to be in high spirits about something, but refused to share.

But she did use the opportunity to tell me about how Welf is not well received by his Familia because he is actually able to make Magic Weapons, but refuses to do so.

This felt vaguely familiar, but certainly filled in why Welf had been a little awkward when his family was brought up. It was easy to deduce that his family wanted to milk him for magic items to satisfy their greed and lust to regain their lost power. Welf, however, clearly had a pure passion for metalworking that didn't mesh with such material desires.

Before I left, Hestia informed me that Lili had sent a message that she couldn't make it to the Dungeon today since that Gnome friend she was staying with was sick and she wanted to take care of him.

With that in mind, I went to find Welf at the base of Babel to inform him on the situation…

"...and that's why Lili can't make it," I told Welf.

"I see…" Welf said, thinking of something before asking me, "…Bell. If you've got nothing else going on, can I have some of your time today?"

"Mmm? What for?" I tilt my head to the side at his suggestion.

The corner of his mouth rises in a grin; his hands wave from side to side, "I made you a promise, didn't I? A full set of new equipment."

Welp. Guess it's crafting time.

"You know, I didn't think you'd mean to make something so soon," I said as I entered Welf's workshop.

"No need for modesty. A smith never goes back on his word." Welf said, telling me to mind the mess as he hadn't anticipated a guest.

I know I already agreed to it, but the thought of receiving brand-new equipment for free makes me feel like I'm taking advantage of him… how is this man supposed to eat? Is he getting a stipend from Hephaestus-sama? Surely he can't be just relying on his cut from Dungeon Diving?

I had tried a few more times to decline or postpone the offer, but he just waved me off, saying, "Leave it to me."

"Bell, I don't pretend to know everything, but you should go after the best stuff you can get. Adventurers never know if there's a tomorrow. Because you don't know what's coming, you should always have the best weapons and armor on you at all times — right?" Welf argued, making a valid point.

"Yeah…"

Everything is pointless if you die. I don't know how many times Eina has said that alone – not counting anyone else I know.

And I promised Hestia-sama that I wouldn't leave her alone. All things in moderation, but… the most important thing is not to make the final mistake, I guess.

In the end I said, "I'm looking forward to your work."

Welf grinned from ear to ear and said, "Coming right up. So? Do you have any idea on what you might like? Feel free to have a look around if you'd like."

I looked around as I thought about what I might like to add to my arsenal. Finding a decent-sized sword, I couldn't help but want to compare it to my new kodachi and lifted it.

I give the blade a cautious swing, testing its weight.

"Nobody would buy it," Welf told me.

"Really?" I said, not realizing this particular weapon had been up for market, "But it's a good sword."

Welf then chuckled.

"What?" I asked, not seeing anything funny about it, if anything it was sad that such a well-made weapon had been passed over.

"Were you hoping for a magic item?" He asked mirthlessly, but not in an accusatory manner.

I blinked, the thought hadn't really entered my mind. Wielding a magic sword seemed like a poor idea without someone to show me how to use it without blowing myself up.

"You heard from your Goddess, Hestia, that I can make magic items, right?" Welf asked rhetorically, misunderstanding my surprise.

I set the sword down as Welf sat and crossed a leg over the other. Welf told me, "I heard she was asking around about me."

"Sorry about that…" I apologize. Needless to say, it was kinda rude to go poking into other people's business.

"No, it's fine," Welf assured me, "I'm under contract with someone in her Familia. So I understand how she feels. But, I was worried you might change your attitude once you learned more about me. Sorry to test you like that."

Welf ended his words by putting his hands together as if in prayer.

"No, don't worry about it," I then assure him, "I'm sure you have your reasons. Besides, I'm interested in getting some help with crafting something a bit… different anyways."

"Oho?" Welf asked, interested, "You did mention you had a few ideas you'd like to see the light of day. You really trust me enough to share already? Not afraid I'll run off with your ideas?"

"I trust you, Welf-san, I can tell you're a good guy," I tell him, before grinning darkly, "And if you did run, I'd sick Lili on you."

Welf shuddered good-naturedly, "Scary…"

He then perked up, "Well! Let me hear it, and we'll see what we can do."

I grab some nearby paper and start drawing a rough sketch, Welf looking over my shoulder as I go.

"It's a hidden blade," I tell Welf as the sketch comes together, "The idea I had was, 'what will I do if I've lost my weapon?' I know it's a sin as a warrior to drop your weapon, and that you should always have a handle on your weapon even after taking a hit. But…"

"All it takes is one moment of weakness to lose your weapon," Welf finishes, "And the Dungeon will definitely take advantage if you let it. I can see the trail of logic. Though you are also right, the ideal adventurer would never drop their weapon in the first place."

I point to the bracer/gauntlet, "The bracer would hold a retractable blade, sent out and in with a mechanism once you flick your wrists. Short of losing your entire arm, you'd always have a backup weapon. A last resort, if you will. It wouldn't be strong enough as a frontline weapon or against armor. But a well placed strike to weak flesh or things like eyes…"

"I see…" Welf said slowly. I think he was already thinking on how to create such an item.

"...And I didn't have it in mind for just myself," I tell Welf, "I… know some girls that work at a pub that mostly caters to adventurers. They can take care of themselves well enough, but I'd rather not take any chances…"

Welf looked amused at my words, the exact reason for that - however - eluded me.

"So that's how it is, huh?" Welf said, as if finally figuring something out.

"Don't worry," I said insistently, "I'll pay for all the others, if you insist on mine being free. I just want you to not sell the final product commercially. This kind of weapon… is a bit…"

"Yeah," Welf said, noticing what I was getting at, "It'd also serve well as some kind of assassin's blade. Yeah, should we get these made, I'll only make them if you order them, Bell."

"Really?" I said, surprised he was placing so much discretion in my hands.

"It's your idea after all," Welf said dismissively, putting the fact he was the one actually making the sketch into a functional design as some kind of non-factor.

"Now shape up," he said, "this is going to take all day if we're lucky. Some gears, sockets, screws, and a small chain ought to do it. Go grab some from that bin over there while I try and sketch out some specific schematics here…"

"Roger!" I said, and just like that we got to work.

"I don't like magic items," Welf started to regale to me as he worked on putting the finishing adjustments on the prototype hidden blade. The sun was nearing the horizon, which was good because I'd need to leave for the Hostess soon.

"Truth is, I used to have plenty of customers," Welf told me his story, "But they all knew I was a Crozzo, so all they ever asked me for were magic items. I got really sick of it. They wanted something to make them stronger, to make them famous. Everyone said the same thing.

"But that's not right. That's not how you should use a weapon. It's not just another tool, or something that brings fame. A weapon is part of its wielder. No matter how bad things get, your weapon will never betray you.

"That's why I don't like magic items. They shatter and leave their wielder behind. Their power ruins all who get involved. It defiles both the dignity of the wielder and the pride of the smith. That's why I don't make magic items anymore."

"Then why are you helping me make these?" I ask, "Don't they go against that philosophy?"

"I'm not so prideful as to not understand the necessity of a backup weapon," Welf says, sounding a little upset with himself, before adding, "Besides, I can tell you are more interested in being able to protect those friends of yours over anything else. That's something I can get behind."

"There's still one thing that's bothering me," I say to him as he continues tinkering, "And to clarify, your dream is to make a weapon on par with a Divine Weapon, right?"

"That's putting it a little simply, but essentially," Welf huffed, a little put out at how simply I stated his dream.

"Then why not start by making a magic weapon that never breaks?" I ask him.

"What? That's not possible," Welf immediately dismisses my words. Whether due to his distaste for magical weapons or my casual ignorance of smithing is hard to say.

"How do you know that?" I ask him instead, "Have you actually tested it? Or have you just been relying on the words of others who also didn't bother trying for themselves?"

Welf looked up at me, surprised at the argument I was making.

I continued, saying, "Magic weapon smiths are already rare, and any special techniques they may have discovered likely died with them. And isn't there an inherent incentive to keep on making powerful weapons that break? I bet barely any such smiths bothered seeing if they could make an unbreakable magic weapon because they could instead make a ton of money off of repeat purchases."

Welf looked at me in shock, like he was surprised at my logical deduction. I'm not sure if I should take that as an offense or be proud I thought of something that he had not.

I finish saying, "The point is, you never know if a crazy idea will work if you never put yourself up to failure…"

I emphasize my point by looking at the gadget Welf had just finished making.

Welf looked down, then he lifted the prototype in the air, inspecting it. The bracer was made out of black leather. The metalworking wasn't stylized at all – speed and functionality were the main concerns in its construction.

Carefully pointing it away from himself, Welf nudges part of it and a blade suddenly protrudes out from the gauntlet. Another nudge and it retracts.

He looked at me, deep in thought, then back at the hidden blade.

"...No doubt about it," Welf then said, "It's the most complicated gadget I've made. Should we name it?" Seems like Welf wanted to think about my words about magic weapons. I got the impression from his focus on the hidden blade to drop that part of the conversation for now. Besides, something big like this would never change his mind with just a single conversation.

"Eh? You think something like it should get its own name?" I ask, perplexed he wanted to give the hidden blade like one would a unique sword or something.

"Hmm, I guess you're right. It's not exactly a proper weapon," Welf said, also realizing that naming a hidden blade was a little superfluous.

He then put the gauntlet towards me as if offering to hand it over.

"Thank you so much, Welf-san," I said, grabbing the gadget, but halted as Welf refused to let go.

"Hm?" I made a questioning noise as I looked at Welf, who was looking away solemnly.

"We've only known each other for a few days," Welf said, almost sadly, "So I know I can't ask for you to somehow trust me completely. But… treat me more like a comrade, like Lil-Lili does?"

Did… did calling him 'Welf-san' make him feel that excluded? I had thought I had gotten pretty casual with him otherwise. Then again, Welf didn't seem to have many friends so maybe he was just a little insecure? I dunno.

I can't help but grin, and say, "All right, Welf."

Welf lights up like embers in a forge. I can't help but be glad to have a new friend to help combat the amount of estrogen I'm surrounded with on the daily…

Bell Cranel

Level 2

Alias: weiẞes Häschen

Strength: E: 401 - E: 436

Vitality: E: 489 - D: 579

Dexterity: E: 433 - E: 465

Agility: E: 472 - D: 531

Magic: E: 466 - D: 510

Magic:

(Firebolt)

• Swift-Strike Magic

(Hiraishin)

• Enchantment Magic

(Hermaphroditus)

• Fluid like water. Distortion through the looking glass. Reversal of all things

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.

Argonaut - Heroic Desire. Allows a charge for a counterattack to overcome insurmountable odds.

Inspiring Leader - Subskill of Liaris Freese. Companions that unconditionally believe in the user grow quickly at a portion of the user's growth rate. Companions are more inclined to listen to the user's words. The strength of effects corresponds with the target's feelings and distance from the user.

Development Abilities:

Luck - I

Authors Notes:

The protagonist isn't exactly an engineer, but you think he wouldn't try to bring over any technology from Before to the world of Danmachi? Admittedly, guns probably can't keep up with the the durability of deep floor monsters. But grenades would likely be very useful against monsters on the lower and middle floors. It's just that Bell hasn't been able to invest into Naaza actually developing gunpowder yet. Doing it on his own would be… dangerous. So, Bell makes a blatant Assassins Creed reference instead.

The reference isn't just for laughs, by the way. I will serve as a potential plot device in an arc I've planned for the future.

Bell got a gender bender spell, taking one of his valuable spell slots to boot. His deduction about it being some sort of achievement for deceiving so many people for so long is basically what caused it. Remember, magic can sometimes just appear – Lili didn't use a Grimoire to get her transformation spell, after all. Thankfully, Bell still has 1-3 spell slots left.

And no, Bell's new spell isn't just for laughs or to make working at the Hostess easier. It will probably have some great utility during the Xenos Arc when Bell inevitably has the entire city looking at him like he's trash for daring to advocate for a minority group to have Sentient Rights. White hair is also really easy to dye…

That, and there are certain unintended uses that comes along with a complete Transformation Spell. Something that will be elucidated in the upcoming 'interlude' chapter.

The strange hunger line from last chapter wasn't just a one off. Something is going on with Bell's body. Thankfully, Bell and Naaza have come up with a nutrition potion that seems to help with Bell's symptoms. Bell's hunger correlates with something in his daily schedule, or lack thereof – that's the only hint I'll give you to the nature of his condition.

I'm a little surprised, myself, at how large this chapter was. Essentially since it was mostly a 'acquire Welf and help set things up for the next chapter' kind of chapter. Even though Bell wasn't counting on meeting Welf yet, he would have been satisfied with just finding more of his gear.

Somehow, Bell using Inspiring Leader to help train Lili wasn't something that was originally included in this Chapter. It was as I was writing my pre-write for a future chapter that the thought came to me, and I felt stupid for not doing it. That and I read the wiki page for Fianna a little bit. So, anyway, Bell will owe Hermes a favor in exchange for a supply of Status Snitch. I'm aware of the irony in Bell using this item in question. It's a favor, because while Bell has some money, it's definitely not enough to pay for Status Snitches in the quantities he would like.

Why does Hermes bother when he's just met Bell? It's an investment into Zeus' grandson, who Hermes sees potential in. Especially since Bell was acting to help one of his friends – the kind of do-goody thing that Hermes can get behind. It definitely helps that Hermes can tell that she'll is telling the truth about it only being for a friend — not that Hermes knows that Bell is technically able to lie to the gods.

How is Hermes able to get/make Status Snitch considering it requires ichor from multiple gods? Well, at the very least he is connected to Orario's black market considering the whole Killing Stone thing. That, and I wouldn't put it past him to have nabbed some stuff from the Familias of Evilus as they were destroyed.

Bell's daily schedule is so packed. Poor bastard. He'll probably need to stop working at the Hostess at some point, but that's not going to be for a while still. Thank goodness for potions, I guess. Naaza will be happy.

Next chapter is 9.5 and is mostly a slice-of-life interlude. There is still important content in the half-chapter so sorry about that? Since it's a smaller chapter, I'll release it in a few days or something. Be spoiled. This story's word count go brrrrrrrr