In the training grounds of Loki familia, a familiar figure once again dominated the battlefield, scrawny and nimble, his rabbit-like features poking through the chest plate he wore. Facing him was a bronze skinned beauty, her movements were brutal and sudden. Every strike carried the strength of a high leveled adventurer behind it and contrasted with the boy's well practiced and calm posture, the poise of a refined swordsman, a champion of the fencing arts, though only through cunning could he defend himself from the offensive fighter.

"BOLT FORTH"

A spectral figure of sparks and lightning, a great sword that impacted steel with the sound of thunder, the magical manifestation that parried the heavy blow of a twin blade he could not, or rather, chose not to. With blade in hand lowered to the ground, the duelist swept at his opponent's legs, leaving her off balance. She fell shortly after his left hand pushed her to the ground.

*THUD*

"It's my win again… my Orna…" The boy said the last part quietly, almost whispering, far too shy to say it out loud.

With a blush and raised hand, asking for a little pull getting up, she got back on her feet, admiring the hidden talent that overcame her overwhelming strength.

"Amazing! That spell of yours is some serious stuff Argo! I thought it was only offensive but to use it to parry my attack… Why don't we bring you to the deeper floors again?"

"I am a duelist, it's only fair that I excel here, I need to give my all to my opponent, both energy and attention, I won't have this luxury in the dungeon."

Stopping her thoughts for a bit, as if to ponder a thought, she quickly came to a conclusion on the matter.

"Then we'll have to double our efforts dungeon crawling together! I know just the thing to help you!"

That conversation had been more or less a week ago. Today, the couple was in the dungeon. Bell stood in front of the entrance of the 19th floor, his heart pounding inside his chest as the dreadful waiting game started.

"For Loki's sake… Tiona, I won't let you out of my sight after this!" The albino declared to no one in particular, anxiously praying that his partner had not gone overboard…

That state of nervous anticipation was broken by the echoing sounds of a stampede, the halls of the underground labyrinth trembled as monsters poured from the long corridor, raising a trail of dust behind them as Bell readied himself, the safety net of Tiona's help was not one that he wanted to rely on.

Gun libelulas were flying overhead and Bugbears leading the charge against the enemy, luckily for Bell, there had been no parties clearing the 19th floor, leaving Tiona with full access to whatever monsters she deemed fit for Bell to fight.

The adventurer took little time throwing himself at the enemy, dashing towards a Bugbear, he unleashed a slashing bite of his steel upon the monster that fell shortly after. Keeping himself mobile, for he knew that his barrier could not neutralize the full force of the insectoid monsters' projectiles, Bell jumped at another monster, never keeping his eye on his current foe, always looking ahead to his next prey so as to maximize his analytical mind's advantage.

Weak broadside, I can puncture the stone through the ribcage! And so his falchion, though inefficient at that, was jammed in between ribs of a massive monster.

That hard chitin… I can't deal with it right now, I need to bait an attack! Just like a flashing lightning, Bell slashed at the Mad beetle, missing it on purpose to draw the beast out, and as it tried to smash his arm:

"BOLT FORTH"

The lightning fast attack was enough to sever the creature's limb, afterwards he kicked it into the crowd and, as it fell backwards, beheaded it with a sickening motion.

Unfortunately for Bell, he had spent too much time dealing with the Mad Beetle, more libelulas and another Bugbear had advanced behind his back, though he was not yet beaten:

Feeling their glares from his back, he jumped away from their frenzied attacks, running from the shots of the libelulas as he was forced to the wall. He was losing ground and fast, that wasn't an optimal situation.

Every parry and riposte was a dead monster, though they kept pouring in, Bell noticed their numbers thinning with every kill, eventually the stampede would die down, with Tiona appearing to congratulate him or save his ass.

Eventually he managed to zone the ranged beasts, all gathered in a cloud like mere insects. The young adventurer leapt at them, as he did, he found the perfect opportunity to put to the test something he had thought of, a theory of sorts.

A slash and a spark, an attack followed by thunderous bolts, arcing through the air. Like two notes arranged in the same tempo, a frenzied flurry of blows and magic, this rabbit showing fangs of steel and lightning.

Every blow was cutting off a path to safety from the storm, no monster could escape, none could defend against it, and nothing was left alive in that cluster of beasts.

Is it over…? Bell wondered to himself, he had time to reckon his kill tally, and the fact that he managed to keep himself out of any attacks, a luxury for many, though only a necessity to his fragile nature. For a second there was silence, but that too was broken as he heard the shout that heralded his last challenge for the day.

"ARGO! GET READY THIS LAST ONE IS THOUGH!"

Wasting no time, he spun on his feet to meet the end of the tunnel, there a hulking monstrosity awaited him, an irregular firebird, eyes ablaze as it swallowed the air around him, ready to char the tunnel and all that stood in the way of this deadly attack. As it prepared to devastate its opponent, Tiona watched intently as she wondered what Bell could be plotting. Though he tried running forward, to the Amazon's horror, he never reached the bird.

*FWWWWOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH*

*BOOOOOOOMMMMMM*

What started as a fiery torrent of flames became a booming explosion as the fire came into contact with something that Tiona could not see at first, though then she realized Bell's plan. Before any of the inferno met his body, the adventurer had counter acted with his barrier, Eden's veil, dissolving the restraints of its purely magical layer, it violently burst as he poured enough magic into it to cause the reaction with the bird's magical flames.

His sickness flared up instantly, but so did the limit off. Bell's reserves of mind were too low to reform the barrier, not that this was what he wanted anyways. His body pivoted positions, left foot firmly planted on the ground, his right leg went back as his sword was raised to his chest. Pulling it back as he would with an arrow, his other arm was in front of him, pointing towards the bird.

The monster would not be easily defeated however, and dove down from the air to tear through and rend apart Bell, oblivious to the sword's light, to the static building up, to the sparks that flew from it as the monster drew near.

"BOLT… FORTH!"

As lightning poured from the sword, shattering it in an instant, only continuing to come from the hilt, the albino's foe fell to the ground, dragged by momentum through the floor, stopping a few meters by Bell's feet. He would stumble forwards, in the middle of a Mind down, his only drive being that the bird still lived through it all.

Holding the rest of his destroyed falchion aloft, grasping it with both hands firmly before, in an act of violence, bringing it down pommel-first into the monster skull. There was no heroic cry or fanfare, only the sound of the monster dying and Bell stumbling down, falling to the ground as he steadied his breathing…

.

.

.

When he woke up, he noticed two things: Firstly was the burns that he suffered, his plan had not been flawless and his pale skin was now marred by those marks as well as the normal discoloration in spots where his armor had protected him. Secondly, was that he wasn't wearing his armor, only his clothes below his waist were still there, as he figured Tiona had done something for the burns.

As he tried to get up, two familiar hands went around him and helped the boy. Holding him close to her chest she set him down so he could stand on his own, not before taking a peck at his cheek, a reward for his valiant fight.

"Thank you Orna… Where are we?"

"You know, the place where we usually camp at! You'll need to rest plenty before going up, we can also take a dip at the thermal springs here! We have a day or two until we need to go to the surface."

"But shouldn't you be packing your bags for the trip to Melen? I won't deny that having privacy is nice, but you can't skirt around your chores my love."

"It's fiiine, besides, I convinced Loki to let you come! SURPRISE!" Her bubbly personality and playful behavior was as usual in full display.

"That is usually something people tell others earlier than two days before the trip, that being said, I am excited to go."

"Good! Now, wanna see your spoils? Or do you want to go over that stunt of yours?" He already knew what she meant by it.

"A while ago, while I was practicing control over my barrier, I decided to try to see its effects over physical things, fire could not normally be extinguished, a small flame maybe, but that's besides the point…"

He was always technical and precise in his discussions about magic, out of all in the familia his real interest in magical theory was only rivaled by his mother. Though Tiona unfortunately could never hope to understand such fundamentally complicated information.

"Argo, focus on reality… please?" It always hurt her a little to shut him down whenever he had such a clear interest in a topic, however she hoped to get answers and not more questions out of the conversation.

"Of course, My Orna… Well what happened differently than my previous experiments was the flame's origin. The natural magic that flared from the monster's breath suffered interference against my own. The resultant explosion seemed to stem from compatible attunement that caused positive output, feeding the creature's fire."

"Oh… So you should be able to nullify it as well?"

"My magic already does that normally, it would just require a stronger magic status and bigger mind consumption. Using this new method seems more risky than it's worth, considering I don't have the mage developmental ability."

"So it is a last resort? Very creative! I am sure that had to have increased your magic quite a bit as a result. But now you need a rest. You haven't activated the barrier yet, Bell."

"Oh, that's right... Thank you." He did as she told him, though he had underestimated the drain on his mind and overestimated the little time he had rested. He stumbled forward, into the arms of his beloved, who promptly decided on what course of action to take:

"Okay! Let's get you to the spring. It'll help you recover your mind."

As they reached the water, Tiona quickly got her clothes off and helped him undress before they both fell into the waters. The dungeon seldom had safe spots where one could enjoy such a luxury. Sitting side by side, there was no shame between them since both had done this before, despite Bell's reluctance in moving their relationship too quickly, he caved to Tiona's requests.

"You know, I think the trip might be a good opportunity! Orna, I'd like to know more about the world outside of the city, but above that, I want to know more about you. I heard from Tione that you both spent quite some time in that port, I would never force it out of you, but if there is something about those memories that you don't like I'd like to know."

There was a confidence in his words that lit a fire in her heart, she always tried to hide somethings from her past, and Bell always gave her space, but he was right, this would be a good way to lay bare her heart to him, and that meant no secrets.

"Yes… Bell, I'd like to tell you so much… I don't want to hold what happened before this close, sometimes I envy your honesty, you have been an open book to me ever since the start…"

Bell didn't trust his words to express his feelings, Tiona worried too much whenever she compared herself to another, usually her sister. Yes, that insecurity may well be because of her feelings towards her own body image, something that Bell understood deeply as he himself never enjoyed the look of his diseased flesh, the unhealthy paleness of his skin that lead to the darkened patches around his body, sometimes appearing thanks to blows or aggravated time without his barrier.

However, Tiona's lover knew her too well to chalk it up to such superficial issues. So despite not understanding their root, he did his best to comfort her, in the way he knew best. Her sulking stopped as she was lifted in his arms, Bell set her up on his lap as she captured his lips, then leaned her head on his chest. The warmth of the water seemed inconsequential when compared to the heat of the other's body.

Perhaps others would, considering Tiona's race, have a wild misunderstanding of the situation, but the couple spent its time like that, cuddling and enjoying each other's company in the privacy of the underworld's resort..

.

.

.

"Where are those two! They were supposed to get here an hour ago!" The worried voice of Riveria rang out from the busy front of the twilight manor, patiently waiting for the couple to finally arrive so they could finish the preparations for the trip.

"Oh relax mama, are ya worried that amazon corrupted yer boy?"

"Shut it Loki! No… I am worried he has caught her habit of being la-"

Her stern statement of disapproval was interrupted by the young man in question, who disarmed the situation with a quick hug. Tiona following closely behind him, knowing

"We are here mother…"

"You worried me! Either way, you two, go upstairs and begin packing your bags, we live tomorrow at dawn."

"Very well. Although, Loki, could I update my status before we go? I believe I've gotten a little progress done."

"Oh, of course! Beats having to update the other second strings! Come on!"

He quickly followed the deity into the mansion and, as they got inside, left the high elf alone with the amazon, who quickly got to asking the reason for their late arrival:

"So, Tiona my dear, what was it you and Bell did with that time, huh?" The familia often called her "mama bear" but few liked to face that side of her. With the threat of it alone often being enough deterrent for an unruly member, usually Ais.

"I had an idea to help Bell train when he is outnumbered!..."

"I meant with the time AFTER the training? Surely you did not do anything reckless now?"

"Huh? Riveria, I didn't do anything reckless! I hand picked that pass-parade for a safe but challenging encounter!" Unfortunately that was not a good response, even if it wasn't the worst thing she could have said.

"No, that wasn't what I meant by reck- WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU PASS-PARADED HIM!"

While that was happening, Bell and Loki arrived at the goddess' head office, where she took out her dagger and got to work updating the status of her child. Bell noticed there was a slight reluctance towards the end, he couldn't tell if it was good or bad however.

"Hah! These numbers are crazy…"

Name: Bell Cranel

Belongs to: Loki Familia

-Level: 2-

-Stats:-

Strength: 279

Dexterity: 323

Agility: 301

Endurance: 150

Magic: 341

-Developmental abilities:-

Sorcerer: H

-Skills-

Silent curse

Clown's march

-Magic:-

Roar of the spark

Eden's veil

A mighty impressive leap from a rather rocky start to his level two, of course he had been updating his status closely, figuring that as long as he maintained regular dungeon activities he would not fall behind on the curve of their decrease.

"That is amazing… Lady Loki, I also have to say, I was right, Sorcerer was the right developmental ability to pick."

"Against a never before seen skill?"

"Precisely, luck seemed too volatile in my opinion… And with Sorcerer being a variation of mage, I can control my barrier even more!"

Bell then went on to explain the true reason for it, as much as he relied on the veil, it was not a seamless experience. He disliked wearing it around Tiona, for instance, because he felt it numbed his skin to her touch slightly, the barrier also interfered with magic objects, such as lamps or even the stoves in the kitchen.

"Yeah, Yeah, I suppose…"

"Thank you for understanding."

"Ya shouldn't thank me for this, it's yer falna, yer decision lil one."

"Yes… By the way! I might have broken my sword, since we are technically going on a quest, should I bring something from the shared armory? As a quick fix, that is."

"No problems from me, though you should have changed that sword a while ago for something of your own, you are exploring the levels where that sort of equipment is good to have"

"Understood, I'll see it done after we are back."

"That's the spirit!"

Bell would then continue to his room alone, getting there as quickly as he could. The boy could not help but look towards a small wooden box he got as a gift from his adoptive mother. There, he kept a variety of medication that he used in his day-to-day life, truth be told a lot of it was simple painkillers, a way for him to conserve mind by substituting his barrier. Others were magical salts that once sublimated could allow him to breathe properly should his lungs fail him.

He gathered it and a small selection of clothes. Including a set of elven beachwear, he had bought it but never really used it, he enjoyed the fact that it came with a shirt that could protect his torso and arms from both the sun and the gazes of other people.

Finally setting it aside he decided to give some rest to his body, he and Tiona were late for a reason… And it mostly came down to the time they spent in the underworld resort, still it was always fun going camping in that floor of the dungeon.

He laid down on his bed, closed his eyes, and tried something new. Slowly decreasing the output of Eden's veil, diminishing its effects on his body. At first, pain and discomfort from traveling through the dungeon wrecked through his legs and feet. Slowly, tension began to build up in his muscles, and the feeling of old hits and blows he took came back to bite him.

With that pain, other sensations came to him in a more vibrant way, like the feeling of sweat on his back and the pillow's softness.

Yet he never fully dismissed the barrier, at least not consciously, Bell was fixated on keeping it as minimal as he could, yet that was like holding a breath for too long, it took too much control, too much concentration and attention to his magic, it wasn't viable yet.

"Another failure… Though it is only thanks to Sorcerer that I can do this."

Perhaps I can put the skill to good use with Roar of the spark… That shape of a great sword is great to defend myself… Though I wonder if Sorcerer has better interactions with it. Perhaps a spear of lightning? Maybe if I could mold the pure magic before it becomes the output? That would imply a good revision of the books in the library… 'Theoretical arguments for spell carving' should be a good point to start. If mother has already finished the book then I will get to it immediately.

As Bell stayed in his room, other people were running their own errands inside of the manor, that included someone being pestered by her sibling, who insisted on discovering a non-existent truth:

"Come on Tiona! spit it out. What have you two done!"

"Nothing of the sort of things you are thinking about, Tione. I said it before, we are taking it slow! And if anything, this trip may be the opportunity to advance to the next step!"

"Then why are you two taking so long? You were basically enamored with him ever since that first fight! Now you have reached level 6 and you still haven't claimed him!"

"There is more to that… I am hiding big things from him… Like our time in Telskyura, I am… Afraid that he will see me differently… He has always been kind to me but… How can I give myself to someone with such aspirations as Bell's! He deserves the full truth."

There was a heavy silence between the two, the younger sibling continued packing her bag, yet Tione didn't share her sister's fear:

"Have you gone mad?" It seemed almost too harsh at first. "You think that Mr. Goody-two-shoes, hero wannabe would judge you? He is already head-over-heels for you!"

Yet she knew that the lovable idiot's affection towards him was blinding her to just how accepting Bell was, he would never do anything to hurt her sister, of that Tione was certain. Stupid idiot…

"Then you need to seize the opportunity! You are a level 6 adventurer! And you fear the judgment of a fresh level two?"

"Don't talk of him like that! He's a better fighter than you! If it wasn't for that-"

"See? You already go on a rant just to defend him, if that isn't an expression of love I don't know what it is!.. I wish the captain would do the same to me…"

.

.

.

The first rays of sun were slowly passing through the stagecoach's blinds stopping some of the passengers from sleeping. This one had Bell, Tiona, Tione, Riveria, Line and Alicia as passengers. Another had Lefiya, Ais, Loki, Anakitty and Elfy. A few others were there too, though perhaps they wouldn't be as important.

They were all used to early mornings, though perhaps some were more tired than others, perhaps too much time was spent thinking of tomorrow and their loved one.

"You know, I never thought that the outside of the walls could seem so normal from here. Always watching from above… Making it all seem so small… It was kind of special."

"It makes me happy to see you leave the city for a while, Bell. I would have taken you outside earlier were it not for so many restrictions on familia movement."

The bumpy dirt roads that were so often traveled by merchants towards the big city seemed to be lifted by the carriage in clouds of dust. As the sun had fully risen outside the horizon and was embracing the land with its rays, they finally arrived in the port town of Melen.

"Great! We are finally 'ere, now! Me and Riveria are gonna meet with a friend of mine. Go to the water or just enjoy the town."

"Also, we are meeting here later before lunch. So don't be late for that, we will relay the details of our quest to you."

And so with their group organized, the younger members of the loki familia went to the beach, with the exception of Elfy, Line and… Ais, who volunteered to prepare lunch, with a certain airhead doing so only to escape the dangers of the sea.

So in the sunny sands of Melen, Bell found himself doing things he honestly never thought he would, currently he, Tiona and Lefiya were by the sea, Tiona trying to teach Bell something beyond the basics of swimming, and Lefiya simply doubting her ability to do so.

"See? It 's easy! Besides, be thankful that Riveria never taught YOU how to swim."

"Oh… I suppose that the version of Riveria I know is not the one most are familiar with. Anyways, how did she teach Ais to swim? I always hear about this but never knew what the fuss was about."

Tiona, the poor soul, thought hard to figure out a way to tell her boyfriend the story without damaging the figure of his mother. Eventually she decided on her sugar coating..

"Well, she had tied Ais' foot to a weighted stone… This was in the water capital."

"That… Is why Ais is afraid of water?"

HEAVENS ABOVE, MOTHER! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING! He made a mental note to offer Ais his condolences. Riveria never had the courage to scold him too much, at first because she was too afraid of stepping into the role of his mother, then perhaps simply out of attachment.

Their time on the water was cut short however, when Anakitty came by inviting them to play a sport Loki had told them about, she called it volley.

The gods often brought with them "treasures" ; these would range from all sorts of things, from the Bikini to words like Yandere and Chuni. This game was simply no different.

Starting off small, and as Bell got the hang of the game, the adventurers started being a little more competitive. This of course resulted in the escalation of strength used, which considering their levels, was probably not a smart idea. Leading up to this unfortunate situation:

"CATCH THIS ALICIA!" Shouted Tione before spiking the ball into the opposing team's side of the little court they had. Leading the panicked elf to simply swat away the ball, else it would have hit her full force.

"What's your problem Tione! Now someone needs to grab it all the way on the boardwalk!"

A disappointed sigh came from the albino, and as it did, many couldn't help but compare the boy to Riveria, some even had a faint chill creeping on their spine not unlike the ones they would when the ire of the familia's mama was provoked.

"I'll go get it, just wait for me here." He said, walking towards the stairs leading up to the wooden platform. He couldn't help but notice that, despite the light weight of his shirt's fabric, the way it hung tightly against his skin wasn't enjoyable in the slightest. Still he didn't feel comfortable taking it off.

After reaching the boardwalk, he noticed in the pier a ship that he didn't see when they first arrived in the city, though it has been a few hours or so since they arrived.

Bell looked ahead, he saw the ball, though as he went ahead to get it, he brushed shoulders with someone. Not losing his balance for something so trivial, the adventurer looked back just in time to see a hand shoot up to grab his neck.

He tried to dodge it, but the hand was just too fast, as the fingers clutched him and the figure lifted him from the ground, he could see it entirely and clearly: An amazon, with sand-colored hair. A veil was on her face but he still felt the disgust in her gaze.

As she said something he could not understand, Bell prepared The roar of the spark, concentrating the lightning blade behind his assailant, trying his best to shape the sword in the form of a treacherous dagger, lest the full force of it wreck his surroundings.

"B-BOLT FORTH!"

It struck true, and as the hand spasmed, he freed himself from it, the flood of air to his lungs felt nicer than the coughs he let out. Though the woman now spoke with more interest, and this time, the common tongue:

"You… are not a weakling…"

Those words made Bell's spine tingle in horror, being himself enamored with an amazon, he knew what that it could mean and he hoped he was mistaken.

He jumped back on his feet and readied his stance, the debate on whether or not to release his barrier was quickly decided when he took a second to gauge her strength, she was a high level warrior, probably as strong as Tiona.

As the released wave of magic washed over her, the amazon saw the young man as he was in his true state, no longer suppressing the power he had at such high cost.

This time the amazon did not react, though Bell could see that her perspective in him changed a little, and he did not like that one bit. Her stare turned from one of slight amusement to one of interest.

Yet that standoff was interrupted, as the crowd looked in awe at the newcomers to the confrontation, hearing the thunderous sound of Bell's magic, his familia came as fast as they could, and that included Tiona leading the charge.

"A-Argana!?"

.

.

.

Faster than I thought after updating my other stories... With Tiona as Bell's partner, the Melen arc suddenly gains a lot of importance, so somethings might change, rest assured that I will continue this story, though perhaps the next update will go to a fic that didn't get enough love. And ass always I'd like to see your thoughts or maybe predictions on the next chapter.