A/N: That's another chapter out! Thank you so much for the reviews, they really help. This time, we go into the dungeon and see a bit of combat. For anybody hoping Torrhen will get to see serious combat, I'm sorry but that's not going to happen for a bit. He's OP. It would take opponents at level 6 or above for him to take things remotely seriously and even then, he would not need to go all out.

Somebody in the comments mentioned pairings. I do have a few pairings in mind. Some are obvious, some are a bit rarer. Being honest though, I am very nervous to write them. I'm also not totally sure I want to go the full-on harem route. For Bell, maybe. For Torrhen? No way. I established earlier in chapter 2 or 3 that he thinks the idea is strange. If I do a pairing for him, and that's a big IF, who do you think it should be? He does have an extended lifespan but he's not immortal. If I do a pairing for him, who do you guys think it should be? Should I do the harem route for Bell or stick to one girl? Let me know what you think.

Oh, and if I do go the harem route, Hestia will not be part of it. While fun and amusing in the show and books, I feel like it causes more problems than it solves. Plus, I'm toying with the idea of a different pairing for Hestia. Not one I think anybody will see coming, but I haven't fully decided yet. Please let me know what you think.

Hearthfire

Chapter 5

Torrhen

Torrhen stood in the empty church as the sun's first light peeked through one of the holes in the collapsed roof. He had been up for well over an hour, contemplating a few things. Firstly, was whether or not he should register as an adventurer. He was interested in at least seeing what was in the Dungeon and he wasn't confident about sending Bell into it alone. Especially not on his first day. On the other hand, if registering meant releasing information about his status, that would cause a serious problem.

For the past 7 years, the strongest adventurer in Orario had been 'King' Ottar of the Freya Familia. He could just imagine the uproar when, out of nowhere, a Familia with no known resources, no history, and only two members, suddenly had an adventurer 3 levels higher than the best in the city. One nobody had ever even heard of. The chaos would be legendary, and neither Hestia nor Bell would be able to handle that. Not yet at least.

He would know more today, after they had spoken with the guild officials. If he had to wait to register, that would be fine. There was plenty that he could do on the surface to help prepare his new Familia for the fallout his existence would cause. The biggest being the state of their lodgings.

This church, or rather the basement, was Hestia's home and that meant it was her Familia's home. That wouldn't do. The state of the dilapidated building was pitiful. He'd wandered around the property already, trying to figure out if it could be saved. The lot had been given to Hestia by the goddess Hephaestus as both a gift and a means to stop Hestia from mooching off her. In terms of location, the church was actually in a pretty good spot.

The lot the church stood on was far larger than the church itself, which made for easy expansion. The lots surrounding it were either empty or had abandoned buildings which meant they could be bought at lower prices to expand even further. It was also fairly close to everything a Familia needed access to. The abandoned area was surrounded by on all sides by important areas. The guild building, the market square, the Dungeon, even the storehouses were nearby.

As for the church itself, it was in pretty rough shape. There were more holes in the roof than there was actual roofing and two of the walls looked like they were about to collapse. The only reason they hadn't was that there was no roof left for them to support. Still, the basement was secure, and the foundation was strong. He had money. More than he knew what to do with if he was being honest. He could practically hear Delvin and Vex salivating at the thought of that much gold.

It made no sense to him to keep his money to himself when he could use it to better his own, and by extension Bell and Hestia's, living conditions. He could even do the renovation himself, though, that may take quite some time. Better to hire someone to do it. He'd read that the Goibniu Familia sometimes did building projects. Maybe he'd hire them. There was a space to the back of the property that looked perfect for a forge, and he had the materials to make alchemy and enchanting tables. Monster crystals seemed to work like soul gems, but he'd have to do some experimenting to see if they'd work to make proper enchantments.

He was torn from his thoughts by the creak of the basement door opening behind him. Out came a practically giddy Bell, dragging a slightly groggy looking Hestia by the wrist. Torrhen chuckled. "I take it you're ready to get started, then?" He asked, amusedly.

"Yes, sir!" Bell said, happily. Hestia still seemed to be waking up.

Torrhen smiled. "Let's get going then," he said. "We'll grab some food on the way to the Guild."

Guild Building

Torrhen eyed the adventurers around him as they walked into the guild building. There weren't many out at this time, but a decent number of early risers were already meeting with advisors and prepping for their daily trip into the Dungoen. There didn't appear to be any signs specifically for registration, just a bunch of counters with guild officials standing behind them.

Moving to one of the open counters, he observed the official. She had elven ears, but they were considerably smaller than those of a normal elf in this world. A half elf. With brown hair, green eyes, and glasses, she seemed a bit young. Especially for a half elf. Stepping up to the counter, he addressed her.

"Excuse me," he said. "We were hoping to talk to someone about registering a new Familia."

"Certainly," the woman smiled. "It doesn't require much, just a few forms."

"We also had a few questions for the Guild that are best done in private." Torrhen said, seriously. "Are there any private area's where we can talk?"

"Oh," the woman seemed startled. "Of course! The Guild has several rooms for dealing with sensitive business. Please follow me."

She led them into a back room and, after closing the door, she sat down on one of the couches. "Allow me to introduce myself," she said. "My name is Eina Tulle, and I am one of the Guild's advisors."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Torrhen said as he sat down opposite her. Bell and Hestia sat beside him. "My name is Torrhen. This is Bell and this is Hestia, the goddess of our Familia."

"It's nice to meet you. So," she said, pulling out a rather hefty stack of forms. "These are the forms you need to register a Familia, as well as new adventurers. You said you had private business to discuss though, would you like to handle that first?"

"That would probably be best," Torrhen said. "You see, Bell and I are new to Orario. I am rather experienced as an adventurer and have been teaching Bell for a few months now, but there are some issues with my status, specifically my level, which would cause problems for the Familia if they were made public. Especially for a Familia as small as ours. I know that certain information about adventurers is made public by registering. Is there any way for me to enter the Dungeon and continue teaching Bell, but not release my information to the public?"

"Hm." Eina considered that for a moment. "Lying about your level is highly illegal and usually results in severe sanctions against a Familia." She said, "can I ask what exactly you don't want known? I give my word not to tell anyone, even my colleagues."

Torrhen had expected that and had asked Hestia to make a copy of his Status that didn't show his skills or magic. Handing over the sheet, he watched as first, Eina's eyebrows disappeared into her bangs, before her face suddenly went very pale.

"I..is…is this accurate?" She asked, shakily.

"I am willing to let you examine my Falna to confirm it, so long as you do not attempt to look at my skills," Torrhen said.

"I…yes, I'm sorry but I must confirm this." Eina seemed a bit overwhelmed. Torrhen pulled his tunic up over his head and turned his back to Eina. He'd asked Hestia to leave his status unlocked, just in case they needed to do this. After a moment, Eina spoke up again. In a quiet voice she said, "You can put your shirt down. I…Well, I can certainly understand why you would want to hide that…" She looked like she might faint.

"Is there any way for me to register but keep this hidden? Without breaking the law?" He asked as he put his shirt down and turned to face her again. The question seemed to break Eina out of her stupor.

"The level of all active adventurers is publicly announced at registration, along with each subsequent level up but," she paused. "The information on retired and semi-retired adventurers is removed from the noticeboards and kept in a file here in the guild. If you register as semi-retired then you could still enter the Dungeon, with restrictions, but your information would be placed in a file at the guild, rather than on the notice boards. The file is a public document so the information would still be available, but only if someone went looking for it."

Torrhen sighed in relief. That sounded perfect. If nothing else, it would give them some time before someone discovered the document. "If I register as semi-retired, what restrictions would I be under?"

"Semi-retired adventurers often function as teachers for newer members of their Familia. Like you're doing with him," she gestured at Bell. "The restrictions aren't too bad either. Semi-retired adventurers are allowed to enter the dungeon but only until the safe zone on the 18th floor. They are also forbidden from participating in Guild issued quests, Familia expeditions, or War Games. If you participate in any of those, level up, or so much as set foot on the 19th floor, you will be automatically moved to active status, and your information will be placed on the notice boards."

The restrictions seemed rather harsh but, they also made a great deal of sense. As a new Familia with only one active member, they were unlikely to be issued a quest or challenged to a War Game and expeditions were out of the question until they had more members. Torrhen was a bit bummed about being restricted to the first eighteen floors though. They were for Level 1-2 parties. He was level 10. While perfect for training Bell, if he went into the Dungeon alone, they would be utterly boring. Still, this deal seemed like the perfect way to accomplish their goals.

"Alright then," he said. "I'll register as semi-retired, while Bell will be active."

"Perfect." Eina said. "First we need to register your Familia, then we can do your personal registrations."

"I believe that's where I come in." Hestia spoke up.

"Yes Goddesss Hestia," Eina said. "First I need you to…" What followed was several hours of tedious bureaucratic paperwork, by the end of which, both Hestia and Bell's eyes were spinning and Torrhen's hand was cramping. He hadn't done that much paperwork in decades. Hell, he had barely done any even while serving as an Imperial Advisor. Since Bell already had a decent weapon for a Level 1, he only needed to pay for the guild issued starting armor. Eina went ahead and registered herself as his advisor. Also, since Bell was their Familia's only active adventurer, he was registered as the Captain.

Before they could leave though, Torrhen had one final question. "Would it be possible for us to buy or, at least access a copy of all the information the Guild has on the Dungeon?" The fact that Eina's eyes seemed to shine when he asked that question should have been a warning of what was to come.

What followed was a long explanation of how the Guild did not sell copies of the information, but it was fully accessible in the Guild Library. Few adventurers ever accessed it though because, in Eina's words, they were "A bunch of idiots with a Deathwish." She clearly had a problem with adventurers being reckless. He should probably try harder to keep Bell from being an idiot. As the teacher, she would likely be madder at him than Bell if the kid did something stupid.

Still, with that information in hand, Torrhen sat down with Eina and Bell and spent the rest of the day, and all of the next, going over every scrap of information the guild had on the first 10 floors of the Dungoen. Eina had extracted a promise from them that they, especially Bell, would not set foot on a new floor without first doing thorough research on what they would find there.

Meanwhile, after an extended conversation with Hestia about funding, he'd given her a decent amount of money and sent her to the Goibniu Familia home to see about hiring an architect and some builders. The three of them had spent their third and fourth days after registering going over the plans with the architect. They ended up buying all the lots around them in preparation for expansion. They all wanted the Familia to grow to a pretty decent size, maybe even rivaling Freya and Loki someday, so they had made the plans with future expansion in mind.

For now, they would turn what was the old church into an entrance hall, with a dining hall, a large kitchen, living areas, a library, and a central open courtyard all branching off of it. The living quarters were to be on the second floor, and they had decided that 20 bedrooms was a more than ambitious enough start for them. Torrhen had also ordered a private building on the back of the property to house the forge he had ordered along with his enchanting and alchemy laboratories.

Finally, on the fifth day after their trip to the Guild, they received word from Eina that their registrations had gone though. They had clearance to enter the Dungeon.

Babel. Dungeon Entrance.

Bell

Bell could barely contain his excitement as he watched the stairs down into the Dungeon. Finally! He was actually going to enter the Dungeon! He was wearing the chest plate that the guild had given him and had his dagger strapped to his side. Looking to his right, he saw Mr. Torrhen standing there in what he called his 'travel armor.' Apparently, he didn't think that the first floor warranted the use of his real armor. Considering his level, that made sense.

"Alright, kid" Mr. Torrhen said. "Remember what we talked about. We are sticking to the first floor today so you can get used to fighting in the Dungeon. The only things we are supposed to encounter are lone goblins. They don't spawn in groups and are the only hostile monster that spawns on this floor. You'll be doing all the fighting yourself. I won't step in unless it looks like you're going to get yourself killed. You got that?"

"Yes, Mr. Torrhen," Bell nodded. They'd spent hours going over information and plans that he'd done his best to memorize.

"Alright then. Let's go." The two descended the stairs and into the Dungeon.

The information that Ms. Eina had given them said that the first floor looked like an underground cave with bluish walls and that description certainly fit. The wide hall that the info said was called the Beginning Road stretched out before them when they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Head on a swivel, Bell" Mr. Torrhen said.

Trying to calm his nerves, Bell nodded and drew his dagger. He could still hear one of the first lessons Mr. Torrhen had given him. "Never sheath your weapon in a dangerous environment, Bell. If you think you might be ambushed, you either keep your weapon handy or have magic ready to cast. Drawing your weapon wastes precious time, so keep it ready." Bell didn't' know any magic yet, so he kept his dagger drawn and listened for the crack that signaled a monster spawning.

It wasn't until the corridor had started to thin out that he heard it. There was a soft crackling noise before, with a mighty CRACK a goblin burst out of the floor. Bell, used to monster encounters on the road, wasted no time. He burst forward, intending to skewer the goblin before it had a chance to react. He thrust with his dagger and… missed!? The goblin had jumped out of the way. Bell over-extended in his surprise and felt the goblin's claws rake across his shoulder before he could dodge.

He hissed at the stinging sensation as he rolled away from the goblin. Standing, he eyed it warily as he rolled his shoulder. It didn't seem to have done much damage physically, but he did feel embarrassed and angry. That had been a stupid mistake! Monsters in the Dungoen were faster and stronger than the ones on the surface. He knew that but, like an idiot, he had forgotten it.

The goblin leapt at him this time but, determined not to embarrass himself again, he was ready for it. He caught the goblins outstretched wrist and plunged his dagger into its neck. The goblin exploded into a shower of dust and a crystal dropped to the floor. Picking up the crystal, he glanced hesitantly up at his teacher.

Mr. Torrhen was standing in exactly the same place. His arms crossed, he stared at Bell and raised an eyebrow. "Do I even need to say it?" He asked.

Bell flushed with embarrassment. "No, sir. I got overconfident."

Mr. Torrhen stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "Being overconfident is a hallmark of the young, and making mistakes is how we learn. Never making the same mistake twice means we learned the lesson. Don't do that again, be grateful it wasn't a more painful mistake, and I'll consider it a lesson well learned."

Mr. Torrhen really was the best! Bell nodded and said, "I promise, I won't rush in like an idiot, and I won't get overconfident and take on more than I can handle unless I have no choice."

"Good man," Mr. Torrhen said, patting his shoulder. "A last stand is a last resort. Never take on overwhelming odds unless you have no choice. Remember that."

Bell nodded.

"Let's continue on," Mr. Torrhen said as they moved further down the passage.

After that first incident, Bell had been determined not to make any silly mistakes. Sure, he'd had to block or dodge attacks he hadn't seen coming. His chest plate had even caught a couple attacks he just hadn't been able to avoid but, none of them happened because he had rushed in like an idiot again. Mr. Torrhen had critiqued Bell's performance after each fight and seemed to be happy with how he was doing.

Despite saying that he would let Bell manage all the fighting, Mr. Torrhen did kill one goblin. It had burst out of the ground right at Mr. Torrhen's feet and he had stomped on it out of reflex. The goblin had burst into dust before it could completely pull itself out of the floor, leaving nothing but a crystal and a boot-print in the dust. Bell couldn't help himself and started laughing when that happened.

They had been in the Dungeon for maybe an hour when Bell got his first drop item. He had been dealing with a particularly vicious goblin and had only managed to beat it by grabbing a handful of dust off the Dungeon floor and throwing it into the goblins eye. When the goblin screeched and clutched its eye, Bell drove his dagger into its chest. To his astonishment, one of the goblins ears had dropped along with the crystal.

All together they spent nearly six hours in the Dungeon that day fighting every monster they could find on the first floor. Bell had never felt more exhausted or more satisfied than he did as they climbed the steps out of the Dungeon and headed for the Guild.

As they entered the building, Ms. Eina came rushing up to them. "How did it go?" She asked as she stopped in front of them.

"It went well," Mr. Torrhen said. "Aside from a single mistake at the start, Bell did an excellent job today."

Bell beamed at him, and Ms. Eina seemed happy. "Are you here to turn in your magic stones?" she asked him.

"Yes, Ms. Eina" Bell said, happily. "I even got a drop item!"

"A drop item on your first day? You got pretty lucky with that. They don't drop often on the first floor." She said as she led them to the turn in counter.

Bell placed the magic stones and the goblin ear in the tray and waited as the man behind the counter looked over everything.

"17 goblin stones and one goblin ear comes out at 6,000 Valis." He said, pushing the tray back with Bell's money in it. "Not bad for your first day, kid. Well done."

Bell grinned as he scooped up his money. He couldn't wait to tell Goddess Hestia about how today went.

Two Weeks Later

Bell was riding high as he ran through the fifth floor. He'd been delving into the first five floors of the Dungeon for two weeks now but today was different. This morning, Mr. Torrhen had said that, so long as he stuck to the first 5 floors, he was ready to go into the Dungeon solo. He was so excited, and he was doing well! He'd collected nearly 30 goblin, dungeon lizard, and kobold stones already and still felt full of energy.

He'd just killed another goblin when a loud roar echoed through the tunnel followed by terrified screams. Bell stood, nervously. He could practically hear Mr. Torrhen's voice. "A loud roar echoing through a dungeon followed by screams may be a classic of hero tales, but it means only one thing in real life. Something really bad is coming. I know you want to be a hero Bell, but you're nowhere near ready for that. Promise me, Bell that if something like that happens, you won't go rushing in. Promise me, that if that happens, you will turn around and run for your life."

"I promise, Mr. Torrhen" Bell had said. He stood, indecisive for a moment, but he knew what he needed to do. He turned back down the corridor and sprinted as fast as he could, looking for the stairs back to the surface.

He was only a few turns from the surface when he skidded to a halt. There, standing in the corridor in front of him was a hulking figure. With its cloven hooves and massive horns, there could be no mistake. It was a minotaur. What the hell was it doing on the upper floors?! Bell didn't even have time to think as the minotaur let out a bellow and charged. Bell turned and fled as fast as his feet would carry him.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" He screamed as he ran. He'd honestly thought Mr. Torrhen's lessons on how to run for your life had been a little silly but now? He was never more grateful for anything in his life. Unfortunately, in his panic, he made a wrong turn and skidded to a halt in a dead end.

He turned, hoping against hope that he could get back out of the corridor. No suck luck. There, in the entrance to the hall, stood the minotaur.

"A last stand is a last resort, Bell." Mr. Torrhen had said.

"Well, Mr. Torrhen," Bell thought. "I think I'd call this a 'last resort' kind of moment." He drew his knife and waited for the charge.

Ais

Ais bolted down the corridor, following the sound of the roars and screaming. She and Bete had managed to take down all but one of the minotaur's that had fled from them on the 17th Floor. She stopped at the sound of a battle cry followed by a minotaur's roar before rushing down another corridor.

There! She could see the minotaur. Someone was fighting it. A white-haired boy, around her age. His armor and the way he was moving screamed Level 1 but, for a Level 1, he was impressively fast. Although unable to get past the minotaur and out into the corridor, he was agile enough to not only avoid the minotaur's attacks but actually score shallow cuts on it with his knife.

Before she could act to save him, he did something that, when she had time to think later, she would be impressed by. The minotaur had swung one of its massive hands trying to brain the Level 1 but he, in a feat that was as brave as it was stupid, rammed his knife into the swinging arm and let the momentum carry him off the ground. Then the boy's own weight carried him back down and the knife, embedded in the monster's wrist, carved a trench that severed the minotaur's hand, which fell to the ground.

The minotaur let out a bellow of pain and lashed out with its remaining hand, catching the boy in the chest, and sending him careening into the Dungoen wall, his armor shattered. The minotaur pounced, but Ais was there first. Her sword carved the minotaur in half from shoulder to hip, spraying the boy with blood.

As the minotaur burst into dust, she and the boy stared at each other. He could not be more than two years younger than her, with white hair and red eyes. The smallest, most childish part of the back of her mind couldn't help but thinking it. He looked like a bunny rabbit!

"Are you alright?" She asked, extending a hand to help him up.

He didn't take it. Instead, he just sat there, staring at her. As the panic in his eyes faded, he suddenly flushed and, with a wordless scream, darted past her and down the hall, sprinting for the stairs.

Bete, who had entered the hall as the boy started to run, howled with laughter. Again, that small, childish part of her mind spoke up. The bunny boy had run away! Ais almost felt like pouting. At the very least, she would have to find and apologize to him, since this was technically the fault of her Familia. First though, she would need to shut Bete up. His laugh was so irritating!

A/N: And that's that! Bell gets to go into the Dungeon, and we see the minotaur incident! Did the registration thing make sense? How did I do on writing the combat? I've never written combat before so please let me know how I did. How did I do on Ais' part? Did it sound like her? Please leave a review if you have any questions or comments.