TLH Chapter 10: Knights of Dawn
A/N: Rizzing my way uptown.
Glad to see some reviews telling me about what they think so I'll be honest about the ones that pop up by the time I upload this.
First, Drake Atlas, thank you for your review. To start with your point about the harem, what you said is true. It's true Bell doesn't pursue a harem currently, though the reason for that is that his focus is somewhere else. The reason I had proposed a harem, in this case, was predominantly due to 2 main factors,
1) Bell isn't some shy little naive kid, but rather he's a bit warier than those around him. Also, the reason he seems to not pursue anything is that so far, his main interactions have been from Loki familia, which we all know is another hurdle.
2) For an idealistic harem MC one would wish for a strong, driven character, someone who has enough sense to both reject and accept those he so wishes to do so. A driving factor in his harem is the simple presence of Zeus to be honest, in this, he's been badgered about harems since young. Though, I can assure you that if the harem doesn't seem to be working out in the future, I'll just cut the harem or make it a small companionship instead.
Moving on about your point of Hedin and Hogni...well...wait on that, can't be spoiling things.
Bell was initially a high-level 4 coming to Orario, he became level 5 after dungeon trips and killing the amphisbaena single-handedly, though now that I reflect upon the method used, I must admit I killed off the amphisbaena in a STUPID WAY (sorry for that). But yeah he became a level 5.
Also, I assumed people would get it, but the monster was not LEVEL 4. It may have been found in water city, but it was a monster that is certainly known for its ability to adapt and pair the fact that it had access to dungeon magic stones, it wasn't unthinkable for it to become a strong monster. (Kind of like the Moss huge from the OG series)
I'm a bit baffled by what you say about Mia but Ryu isn't revenge-driven, they just owe Mia for something and Mia had asked them to sometimes work in the pub to drive sales and pay the favour back, more on that later though.
Finally, yes. The training will be extended to the rest of the Takemikazuchi familia, though at some points the interactions may be limited to Bell and Mikoto for obvious purposes.
To address, Shadinho about pairings, I must apologise brother. I've finalised a list of ships, I can understand EXACTLY what you mean and with how the story starts off alas, I'm going to accommodate it somehow. ALTHOUGH, the romance will be perhaps subdued and won't take up entire chapters or something if that's something you are worried about.
Tata~
"Allen Fromel is a high-level adventurer in Freya familia, one of her executives, and extremely loyal to her," Bell described as he threw a punch straight into Allen's face. The cat person just barely bringing up a cross guard to not be hit in the face.
'Heavy.' he thought as he flew towards the northern wall.
" Known as the fastest man in Orario, his level 6 prowess is truly something for people to be afraid of," Bell continued as he cracked his knuckles, loud crunches resounding in the silence. " However, he is also a blind man. Devoting himself to a deity while abandoning his sister, truly what a stray cat you are." Bell shook his head in mock pity.
His aggravations found their mark as Allen began to thrust his spear faster at Bell. The fool didn't even try to consider how Bell even knew about him. After a full minute of dodging an unrelenting barrage of attacks, Allen roared in anger.
"Is running the only thing you can do?!" Allen shouted.
Bell's eyes narrowed and with even faster speed than before he closed the distance and dashed straight to Allen's position before driving a hard punch right into his noggin'.
"Know your place, shorty," Bell growled, even if he was only a few inches taller than Allen. "You've been following me around the entire day. Me, a level 5 adventurer wouldn't notice you? Is your Goddess an idiot?"
Hearing the insult caused Allen's fur to stand on edge, anger flooded his blood vessels and pure rage poured out of him. However, he failed to notice Bell's entire intention is what he's doing now.
Going out of control would make his movement predictable, thus easier to dodge and lead, and would just leave him open for a counter.
"Flow freely, my body is a cloud, ZAP." Bell cast as he electrified his punches. His gloves in actuality had a very thin layer of mithril coating on them. Not simply to prevent tearing in the dungeon but also for this very purpose of allowing them to conduct magic.
If Allen felt pain from Bell's normal punches, he had another thing coming. The electric punches were quite literally a thunderstrike to wherever they made contact.
A punch to his gut forced him to buckle over and heave. Though Allen too was a high-level adventurer, one that was a higher level than Bell.
Besides agility, Bell didn't have any stats over Allens. Even though his stats could go above 999, that only happened since level 3 because that was when he had enough access to the dungeon to have such a thing happen.
Allen grabbed the uppercut Bell was about to give, wincing as his hand burnt a bit, but instead he glared at Bell before kicking him sideways. Bell's core was abnormally strong but it achieved the purpose of pushing him away.
Although this fight could continue, Allen knew that he would be constrained to hold back and well Bell was clearly ready to go ham. Begrudgingly Allen began to pull back.
"This isn't over." he hissed as he began to run into an alleyway and disappeared.
Bell waited a couple of moments before coughing and spitting out a wad of blood. He stared at the stain on the ground before narrowing his eyes, "I'm still not strong enough."
With that, he too left the area and made his way to Ouranos.
The rest of the trip was uneventful and Bell appreciated it, though he had no one to thank.
"It is unlike you to be late, Spades," Ouranos spoke as stoic as ever. He was sure whatever caused Bell to be late, was a valid and good reason.
After all, even living outside Orario hadn't caused Bell to be late even once.
"Ah well, a stray cat deciding to pounce at me for a bit." Bell chuckled dryly. Rubbing his sides for a bit before crossing his arms. "Has Fels gone to collect it?"
"Yes." Ouranos replied with a nod, "What are your thoughts?"
"About the current state of Orario or this incident?" Bell asked.
"Both, I presume you've interacted with enough people of interest. What's the current situation?"
Bell thought for a second, reflecting on his interactions. Truthfully speaking, he had a little too much fun for the past few days but he achieved his goal of going around and checking things out.
" Honestly? Beyond disappointing." Bell sighed, "Almost so that it makes me feel like my aunt died for no reason."
Alfia. The monster of talent. Alias: 'Silence'.
A woman who had the same illness as his mother, but had the vessel of a level 7, had been able to copy and technique she saw once and her magic was as much of a cheat as can be.
"Get that type of woman and multiply by 100 and that's basically the force that lost to the one-eyed black dragon. Right now Orario can't even must 3 Alfia worth of power, and that's the entire city." Bell glared. "What the hell has this city been doing? Did Silence and Gluttony's warning mean nothing?"
His aunt and Zald had joined hands with Erebus of Evilus to launch an attack on Orario. Though Evilus' collective goal was to cause chaos and destruction, however, Erebus was different. He wasn't one enraptured in madness but rather one that knew the basic fact that tough times allow people to grow, so he convinced Alfia and Zald to sacrifice themselves in a fake attack to 'wake' Orario up.
To show the world wasn't safe.
To show they weren't safe.
Yet it seemingly fell on deaf ears.
The momentum lasted for a bit, Ottarl made it to level 7, and Finn and the Loki familia made genuine haste in exploring more in the dungeon. But now?
'They are too scared.' Bell bit his thumb in exasperation. 'What kind of braver is this much of a coward?'
They are scared of losing more, refusing to risk their lives in the dungeon. Staying back and just merrily hanging along with the occasional issue that crops up.
What's more infuriating to Bell was Freya's familia. Forget expeditions, those selfish pricks are so obsessed with Freya's love that they just fight to get stronger by themselves, but can't even go that deep because they keep fighting by themselves.
To make it worse, the darn woman has the strongest ones acting like suckers and they rarely even bother to leave her side to 'protect' her.
"The worst thing is the fragile power balance may become even more fragile." Bell sighed.
Ouranos quirked an eyebrow, "How so?"
"The slaving orb," Bell reminded, " isn't held back by level power. It embeds itself into your body and takes control, forming a connection to the original stone. So far, there has been no observation of where the limit is. The only one capable of overriding it is the charm of a Goddess of beauty and most likely the divine power of a God." Bell explained.
"I see what you mean now." Ouranos nodded, "Though Freya's familia cannot be considered at risk due to Freya's charm the main issue is-"
"Loki Familia." Bell finished, "Hell not even just them. Even Ganesha is a bad case, and in either case, the deity themselves can probably remove the curse, but in the process will end up having to back to Tenkai meaning the disbanding of the familia."
It was a horrible Lose-lose situation, no matter what they did here if the person manipulating the orb was smart enough then he could gain control over the entirety of Orario.
"We don't have enough info. We know nothing about the guy who procured these how many he has and what he plans to do with them." Bell wanted to split his head open. He had only recently arrived in Orario and there were already major issues.
" We can assume the man is rather intelligent, after all, if he's testing out the effects of it then he did so discreetly and with a monster that is known for its adaptability," Ouranos said.
"But then why let us keep the slaving orb?" Bell asked confused.
"It can indicate one of 2 things," Ouranos began, "Either he simply doesn't care for it as he had a lot of the slaving orbs. Or, he simply didn't expect someone like you to show up."
After all, the response happened in a very quick manner. The man had released the monster from level 3 to level 4, to see how effectively it could kill second-class adventurers and let it gain strength.
Normally, if any such abnormalities pop up, the guild just puts it up as a quest or if it's an emergency, the guild gets a familia to go specifically for it. But Ouranos, Fels, and Bell operated through a private network, immediately letting Bell know allowed a high-level adventurer to get there before the monster was strong enough and he managed to defeat it.
"I will ask the Xenos to become more aware and keep an eye out. Do you have a way to deal with...Orario's situation?"
Bell rubbed the back of his head before sighing, " I swear this city will claim my entire family." he muttered before looking up, "If actively showing them of their weakness didn't work, we'll just have to do it the old fashioned way."
Bell turned to walk out, "Level up in a hastened speed and beat the crap out of the ones more easily agitated." He smirked, "It's a crude way sure. But I can think of a couple of beast folk in either familia who would be so pissed by getting pummeled that they will grow instead."
"That isn't easily achieved Bell." Ouranos shook his head, "The solution will only work out if they maintain such emotions for an extended period. You yourself are limited being a solo familia, they will soon stop caring about an irregular like you."
Bell too knew the weakness of this plan but he had yet to finish.
"Did you know Ouranos," Bell looked at him, "Enyo seems to be in town?"
"!"
"Heh, if Evilus used us once, it's only fair we used them too." Bell walked off.
'It's time for the second dark age to begin, but this time? The knight in shining armour is the one orchestrating everything.'
"So, how's Ouranos holding up?" Zeus asked as Bell knelt in front of him showing his back as his status was being updated.
"Oh well, the same as always. He still looks stressed out of his mind," Bell began, "Although, I suppose if you keep praying to one thing that much and even a deity will have that effect."
Zeus smiled solemnly, "He's one of the first to descend after all, he's always been open to ideas. Giving the first falna and all." He reminisced, "If you were there you would've laughed your ass off at how much we were freaking out. This guy just comes along and gives his blessing to some mortal and all, we lost our shits."
"Though I doubt you were more amused than worried," Bell replied with a smile.
"That I was." Zeus laughed, before the look returned on his face, "But you know Bell, even if 1000 years isn't much to a God, Ouranos spent that entire time watching over Orario, from the time it was just wooden cabins to what it is now. The centre of the world and it's a gaping hole of despair. He's prayed constantly ever since, it can even be argued that no one loves the Gekai as much as he does."
It was common knowledge that deities came down from Tenkai mainly for entertainment, they felt bored from having everything and dealing with the souls of the dead. But Ouranos and the first few were different.
They had seen the misery of the world, ever since Albert's time, Argonaut too. The Gekai was a pitiful place, overrun by monsters and overall, chaotic. Humans and other races would simply keel over from even a goblin.
In that respect, Ouranos and the others pitied them enough to come down to try to help out.
"Here, you are growing nicely. Though maybe going into the dungeon more will make you level up faster. At the current speed, you'll be maxed out by the end of the year." Zeus picked his nose as he handed Bell the status sheet.
Name: Bell Cranel
Alias: Spades
Level: 5
Str: 0- 72
Vit: 0- 32
Dex: 0- 50
Agi: 0- 99
Mag: 0- 101
Skills:
Survivor- grants a significant status boost when in near-death condition, their consciousness is forcefully kept until the danger passes or they die.
[?un?r R?na?t: J?e?] Allows for an exponential rate of growth, status limits have been readjusted to 1500 and the owner will grow at an enhanced speed. Extra effect:?
JUPITER'S CAST: All Lightning-based attacks are boosted to 200% of the normal strength, and Resistance to lightning is increased by 200%.
Hare: Dexterity boost when fighting stronger opponents.
Magic:
-Zap.- {Flow freely, my body is the clouds}
-Hellflame-{ Unholy flames of purgatory surge, the war has long finished, cinders rise and ignite once more. Burn the slaves of hell who are sinners, What's dead is brought back from the ashes of life, and incinerated by the hateful flames of vengeance, Hell Flame!}
Developmental skills:
-Luck: A
- Abnormal resistance: C
Brawler: S
"Oh nice a new skill." Bell whistled. "Why wasn't it there when I first levelled up?"
"Ah because I only changed your level at the time and didn't do the rest, just needed you to be at level 5 to get that alias."
Bell nodded before getting up and going off to prepare dinner. He dismissed the maids and told them to just go to their quarters and he'll be making to food today, which no one refused. However, 15 mins in and he hears screams of the maids, letting him know that his grandpa is at it again.
With a loud sigh he went straight to the maid's baths to collect his peeping deity and once more threatened that he would lose dinner.
Besides that, it was a rather uneventful night.
The next morning was an early one as always. He had to make his way to the Takemikazuchi familia to collect Mikoto and her friends to go train on the wall.
In all honesty, he saw the passion to get stronger and all only in Mikoto, but perhaps seeing her strive would cause them to do so as well. Who knows, maybe they can even become a vassal familia. For now, he had to give himself time to get himself to speak.
Reaching the home, the God of said familia once more gave Bell a bear hug before bidding his children goodbye.
"So, should we call you master?" Chigusa asked as they walked. The early mornings of Orario were quiet in contrast to the village he used to live in. People over there used to get up early in the morning, ready to work in the fields.
Although, there was a fair share of market owners setting up stalls, and getting their products ready.
"No need for such formalities," Bell cringed, "I'm only helping out."
"Even if you had told us to address you as master we wouldn't of." Ouka huffed though not impolitely.
"Ouka!" Mikoto called out, "Don't be disrespectful."
"It's true though," Bell joined in, "Calling someone master is a prestige given to those with the dedication to the craft. I'll be teaching you combat for the dungeon though my expertise stretches a bit wider than that. Besides, you are not necessarily my disciples, I'm not so grand."
Mikoto nodded at the humble attitude Bell put out. After getting back she had cooled down a bit and realised she had become a bit too ecstatic in the dungeon. She had acted so hyper yesterday due to the adrenaline that she hadn't fully realised how disrespectful it may have been.
She decided fully control herself today.
Bell had chosen to guide them to the top of the eastern walls, climbing up the 1000 steps wasn't much of a challenge but it was rather interesting to see how the guards were basically dozing off, not even noticing 4 people go up.
Atop the wall was a beautiful sight, especially in the early morning and the rising sun, the view was a perfect place for many events.
Except training.
"Uh Bell dono, I don't mean to complain but," Mikoto pursed her lips thinking if she should finish the sentence.
"You are going to say there isn't much space to move around right?" Bell finished for her, taking her eyes widening as an affirmation, " I know. But don't forget, I am training to become a better monster slayer in the dungeon. Let's start with a quiz for you to see the purpose of coming here. Tell me what do you think is the most important aspect of a party in the dungeon?"
The 3 took a second to think before Ouka raised his hand, "The ability to communicate."
Bell nodded at his answer, "That's true, a clear chain of command is crucial and being able to relay clear messages amid combat is very crucial."
Mikoto sensing a change in the direction asked, "But?"
"But there may be a situation where you cannot speak. You may be about to be trampled by a lot of monsters, or you may be against a very sound-sensitive monster, in which case you can't even talk to each other."
But the question was what was the most important aspect of a party? Simple.
"It's being able to know what you each have to do without even speaking." Bell put up his index finger, "That is what you would call true coordination. Being able to know what each other will do not only saves a lot of time but also allows you to play with your strengths."
"But that requires a lot of trusts no?" Ouka asked.
"Exactly why it would work for you guys best. Friends from childhood, you've been through thick and thin. If there was anyone to understand each other completely it'd be you guys. Now if only you had a healer." Bell sighed. "Regardless, not everyone is perfect. Your job will be to attack me as if I'm a monster and try your best to get a hit in. Now...Come."
Ouka narrowed his eyes in indignation, seemingly offended by how his goal was to lay a single hit on his opponent.
'The prime cause of death in the dungeon is always' Bell thought as Ouka dashed with his axe raised, a clear vertical slash about to be made at Bell, 'Arrogance.'
Without even moving Bell moved his left hand and batted the axe away as if it was a stick, kicking Ouka's foot at the same time and simply flipping him over his head.
"Monsters may not be the smartest but they know how to fight, especially the longer a monster lives. You have no way of knowing how long a monster has lived, so always go into the dungeon with the mind that the fight is against the strongest variation of that monster." Bell taught as he moved towards Mikoto and Chigusa.
The two seemingly caught in a stupor didn't react at all. Bell's crimson eyes looked at them, the hollowness of them would've made them shiver had his voice not.
"What's wrong? Are you going to let yourselves be killed?"
In a matter of 2 hours, the 3 adventurers lay on the ground, exhausted, bruised and battered to from head to toe. The entire time, they hadn't been able to even land a single hit on Bell, they tried everything, frontal assaults, timed techniques and even a sneak attack from Chigusa shooting an arrow when he'd least expect it.
Yet nothing.
Nothing reached him, he'd simply bat it away.
"Is...this truly...the difference of a...first class?" Mikoto asked as she gasped for air, greedily devouring whatever she could get.
"Truly...an astronomical difference," Ouka added as he shook his head.
Bell chuckled but threw a potion at them, "Drink that. In the meanwhile, I'll review what's occurred so far." Bell told them.
The Takemikazuchi familia wasn't by any means weak. In fact for a lower-class familia, they were decent, especially considering the level of technique the members had.
"First of all, I must commend you guys for the level of effort you have put in. You guys as expected, have a good flow and can work in a team very well."
Ouka scoffed, "Don't patronise us. What were we meant to learn from you tearing us into shreds?"
Bell glanced at Ouka but ignored him, "The level of technique you have shown is also pretty good, especially you, Mikoto."
Mikoto blushed a little bit, "Oh no, I'm not worthy of such praise. Besides, it was Takemikazuchi sama that told us the importance of having individual skills outside of just status is crucial. If we were to ever be put in a situation where we no longer had our falna, it'd be our techniques that'd be able to save us."
"He'd be entirely correct too. However," Bell paused, "Your status is lacking. Don't forget you guys are adventurers, you have a blessing on your backs. Techniques and status are just as important, sometimes having the sheer advantage of a few status points can make all the difference."
" Say how deep have you guys gone in the dungeon?" Bell asked.
"We have made it to Rivira before, though we only went after we knew that the Goliath was defeated," Ouka informed him.
" Chigusa let's start with you," Bell called out causing the shy girl to get startled. "You have a good sense of timing on you, you shoot your arrow with a good pacing and make sure to not hit your allies."
"However, you leave you're back open too much. In that spar we had, do you remember the number of times, I had appeared by your side and punched you?" Bell asked as Chigusa looked down in shame, " There's nothing to be ashamed of. As the archer, you are at the back of the formation in your three-man team. But you are prone to be attacked by a monster behind you. Though I know you can use martial arts and all you are a bow user. Your quiver and bow itself take up a decent amount of space, understandably you carry a dagger."
Bell sat down and looked right at Chigusa. A gleam of seriousness overcame his eyes as he continued to speak. "But do you think a dagger is enough against something like a minotaur? What if your party is busy with other monsters, and there is no way for you to distance yourself from it?"
Bell's repeated questioning gave her a lot to think about.
"Next, Mikoto. Your skill with the Katana is superb, I also like the variation you put in your fighting style with the kicking and punching which ties in well with your ability to fight hand to hand." Bell complimented, "But you must realise the weakness of your own weapon."
Mikoto seemed to be confused by that, "My own...weapon?"
"The katana is a great slashing weapon but because of its curved nature and the way you handle it, when fighting an enemy you are entirely dependent on dodging the blows of the enemy. You cannot parry with a katana as easily as you could with a longsword. Not to mention the reach simply put is very hard to deal with."
"Though the weapon isn't the only issue, Mikoto, your footwork could be put to better use by adopting a new weapon. One that can compensate for your lack of range." Bell smiled, "A spear."
"B-but I'm nearly not as proficient with the spear as with the other weapons." Mikoto worried. She cared deeply for her allies and by going into the dungeon with a weapon she wasn't used to she could put her teammates at risk. Was that something she could truly live with?
" Just because you don't know how to use it as well as the other weapons, doesn't mean you can't become good with it. I'll be teaching you to use it."
"Finally, Ouka." Bell addressed. The one he least wanted to compliment. Throughout the entire spar session, Ouka was strong-headed, a quality necessary to be a leader but sometimes in his blind faith in himself, he becomes frustrated, especially against an enemy he can't beat.
"You are quick and decisive with your movement and the fact that you make sure to cover for your allies is actually the first stage of what the intention of this training is anyways."
Ouka simply nodded at the compliment but didn't say anything since he knew that something negative was coming.
It wouldn't be alright to say that Ouka wasn't a bit annoyed at the fact that someone younger than him was here schooling him, but he knew better than to let this opportunity escape for his familia.
Being guided by someone of Bell's calibre was something people would hundreds of thousands for, yet he was doing this just because Mikoto piqued his interest a bit.
To him, Bell was more of an oddball than some super powerful high-level adventurer, though he admitted (although begrudgingly) that Bell was skilled. He had fought the three of them with the abilities of a new level 3 so that the difference in status wasn't too large.
But they couldn't even land a blow, if Ouka threw his axe he'd simply tilt his head.
If Chigusa shot an arrow he'd catch it.
If Mikoto went in for a slash, he'd kick her sword! What the heck?! Who kicks a katana as their first line of defence?!
Yet through it all, Bell found the time to counteract. He easily weaved through anything they did and just threw a straight punch to their face.
"What went wrong?" Ouka asked, taking the initiative as the captain of his familia. His pride be damned, if learning something from this bastard was going to help him keep his friends alive for a second longer than he'd learn.
Bell nodded with a smile, pleased with his willingness to listen, "Your attacks had too much weight behind them. No doubt as an axe user your hits should be heavy, but you lean a little too much into your strike, delaying your response to any other attacks. Furthermore, your eyes are always too focused on your teammates."
"But you said-"
"I know I complimented your coverage for your teammates," Bell put his palm up, "But this and that are two different things. You focus on their states so much that sometimes you get caught off guard by what's quite literally right in front of you. Have a little more faith in your party and practice to have more awareness so that you can be their shield when they need it, and the attack when you need to."
With that, they ended their session, Bell told them to come back tomorrow to this place early in the morning. Though he had asked Mikoto to stay behind. (1)
"Bell dono, did you need something?" Mikoto asked wondering why she had been kept back. She worried a bit if she had done something wrong though Bell didn't seem like he was there to scold her for making a mistake.
"Yeah, we are going to get you started with your task. Training to use a new weapon requires more than sparring and honestly, it'd be difficult to teach you the spear while training those two. It'll require you to train more than them, is that alright with you?" Bell asked.
'Ah,' Mikoto realised what it was. It could indeed get in the way of the rest of her party. Though she felt more inspired to learn as much as she could, as she too wanted to help her familia out as much as possible.
"Yes. I look forward to learning from you, sensei!" Mikoto bowed, paying her respects to Bell.
"Oh, I'd appreciate it if you don't address me as sensei, just Bell is fine." Bell waved his hands. "Then let's get going."
Mikoto quirked an eyebrow at that, "Go? Where?"
"Why to get you your first spear of course." Bell smiled. 'I know just the guy too.'
Hephaistos Familia Home
"Bell dono! T-This is the Hephaistos familia home!"
Bell looked around with a fake face of shock, "Oh really? I didn't know that. Oh, how oblivious I would've remained had you not told me that. Thank you."
"..."
Mikoto couldn't respond to his sarcasm, which quite frankly didn't answer her questions at all.
Bell laughed a little bit before continuing, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Just follow me."
And follow she did.
Honestly, the Hephaistos familia was as expected, many of their members were short but muscly and well-built dwarves, with an occasional human here and there. Most of them gave them a discerning glance before noticing Bell and quickly going off to mind their own business.
"Oh? Well well well, isn't this a new occurrence? The legendary Bell Cranel, walking around with yet another beauty with him." Tsubaki smirked, "What? Did Nine hells bore you already?"
Bell let out an exasperated look, "Hahaha Tsubaki you are so funny. How about you quit forging and being a comedian, it seems to be the only thing you are good at anyways."
Tsubaki immediately snorted, "Psh you ungrateful bastard, there would be a line of people begging me to make them a simple knife. I know what I'm good at." She jumped down, "Well then, what brings you to our humble abode?"
"I would like to speak with Hephaistos sama," Bell told her.
"Do you think you can meet her just by asking?"
"Well, I need her help. We can do something about it once we get there." Bell shrugged uncaringly.
"Wait, Bell dono. It's fine, if it's a spear, I can get one from the stores in Babel." Mikoto insisted. Truth be told, she felt a slight bit of uncomfortableness being in such a place, Hephaistos familia weapons were always expensive, and even if their younger members' weapons were cheaper, no casual adventurer would simply walk into their house.
"Yeah under normal circumstances that's what you should've done. However, you need a good spear. We can't have you running around with a spear that'd break on you."
"Seriously though, who is this?" Tsubaki asked curiously as to why the two were there. Bell's words insinuated that he was going to have a spear made for whoever this girl was.
"Ah sorry I should've introduced her sooner," Bell stepped to the side, "This is Yamato Mikoto of the Takemikazuchi familia. She's someone I'm helping out a bit."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tsubaki dono." Mikoto bowed respectfully.
"Yes yes, I'm not one for formalities so just Tsubaki is fine." She waved off. "Either way, come. You are lucky our Goddess is free right now."
Bell smiled at the white lie she told him but followed her regardless. Soon they reached the room of Hephaistos before knocking and entering.
Hephaistos's office was nothing out of the ordinary. A simple room with a tea table and two sofas facing each other in the middle. A polished and smooth oakwood table by the window with piles of paper. On the walls, was the adorning Hephaistos familia symbol with a motto written below it.
'Victory assured through our weapons.'
'Nice line. Wait till I end up breaking one of their weapons and die.' Bell rolled his eyes.
"You just thought something disrespectful didn't you?" Hephaistos asked narrowing her eyes.
'Deity or not, her eyes- I mean eye surely is sharp.'
"You thought something disrespectful again."
"Oh, how could I ever, I was simply admiring your beauty." Bell exaggeratedly waved his arms around. Though it didn't do anything to hide the small blush that adorned her face.
"H-Hush now, liar."
"You, of all people, should be able to tell if I was lying or not," Bell smirked.
"Just state why you are here. I'm a busy person y'know?" Hephaistos sighed trying to change the topic.
"Weird your captain here stated otherwise," Bell smirked glancing at the now whistling Tsubaki, "I need your help with making a spear for Mikoto over here."
"Are you asking me to make a weapon for her?" Hephaistos glared, clearly conveying her opinion on that matter, though it didn't matter much to Bell.
Bell sighed, "I know what I asked. But I never mentioned you making a weapon for her."
"You should've phrased yourself better."
"Well, I never expected you to stare daggers at me. is this type of person you are?" He teased.
Hephaistos huffed as she spoke, "I'm not. I don't like doing this either, but you wouldn't want the number of people that keep asking me for a divine weapon. The list is endless, it's quite frankly annoying. But if you didn't want me to make a weapon, then why did you come here?"
Though Hephaistos had mixed feelings about how familiar he was acting with her, she didn't particularly mind a little bit of a break from all the endless worshipping. Bell was a lot like Tsubaki in this regard (not that she would ever say it) in which she felt both were a refreshing change from everyone simply bowing and trying to get her to make divine weapons for them.
"I'm looking for a blacksmith with specific qualities. I need a contracted blacksmith for her and maybe her entire familia, meaning the guy has to be able to create a multitude of weapons and armour. They are on the upper end of the third-class familia, but I need your help."
"What is the compensation you'll provide me?" Hephaistos asked with a smile that screamed of mischief. In reality, the compensation of one of her less experienced familias getting such great feedback and all was already a big boon.
Considering it's an adventurer that Bell himself brought, she'd have to be a bit skilled.
" I'm providing a client for whoever it is, why do I need to pay you?" Bell asked a bit annoyed, " Besides, I could always go to Goibniu familia, so it'll only be your loss."
Hephaistos grit her teeth in frustration. One thing she came to realise about Bell was that he was very good at manipulating people. From the few interactions she's had and rumours she's heard (mainly of a certain person of Hermes familia) it seems as though Bell was willing to play some rude tricks to get what he wanted.
This time too... it worked.
"Ok ok fine jeez." Hephaistos rubbed the back of her head. "Tsubaki, tell them how to reach Welf."
Tsubaki raised an eyebrow, "You wanna give it to Welfy? You sure about that?"
"It'd be a good experience for him, plus he should be able to create all the things he's mentioned." Hephaistos reasoned.
"Fine then." Tsubaki shrugged before leading them to directories and telling one of their members to guide Bell and Mikoto to Welf's shed.
"It's weird for you to entrust him to someone of the level of Spades." Tsubaki returned and leaned against the wall.
She was no fool, she was the captain of the Hephaistos familia after all. If anyone would know that something was weird with their deity it'd be her of all people.
"If you gave me a bit more time, I'm sure I could convince him to"
"There is no point with that Tsubaki." Hephaistos shook her head, "words aren't enough to get to him and you know that. As one who's seen the disaster and atrocities his bloodline has committed he's within all rights to reject the creation of magic swords."
"But still, it's such... a waste of talent," Tsubaki muttered the last bit. It was a weird cycle for her, she felt as if Welf's ability to create magic weapons was going to waste, considering his magic weapons were better than hers, but then she knows what has happened to him and his people, and she ends up feeling even worse about herself being so selfish. "Regardless I didn't think you had any special inclination to Spades, what's up?"
Hephaistos hesitated to speak, as her cheeks turned rosy leaving Tsubaki to make an 'O' face.
"Well, it's just that...he wasn't lying."
"Lying?" Tsubaki repeated confused.
Hephaistos blushed even harder, "When he said he was a-admiring my...beauty. I felt no lie come from him."
Oh.
Oooooh... Tsubaki was going to have fun with this.
Bell and Mikoto quietly walked towards the east of Orario, the mid-day sun raining down its warm rays of sunlight. The streets were at an all-time high of bustling though with the lack of adventurers who have already begun their day in the dungeon.
Streets filled with vendors and stores. Many people gather at the jagamarukun stand. A sweet smell wafted through the air, potent enough to even reach them.
Suddenly a low growl emanated from near Bell.
A man next to them suddenly stopped grabbing his sword, "Oi. Ya, hear a goblin's growl just now?"
At his question, Mikoto immediately blushed a bright pink as Bell stifled his childish desire to giggle.
"Nah, think you need to rest some more man," Bell replied with a grin that he used as a substitute for the previous giggle.
"Maybe yer right...I've been stressed for the past few days anyways." The man relaxed his grip on his sword and walked off. Meanwhile, Bell looked over at Mikoto with a smug grin.
"So...gobbo's hungry?" Bell asked.
"Bell dono!" Mikoto seemingly blushed even harder, "please don't tease me."
Bell chuckled, amused at how embarrassed she had become, "Well we haven't stopped since the end of the training, why not take a quick break and grab something to eat?" Bell asked pointing towards the jagamarukun stand.
"But I left my wallet."
'Of course, you did, why wouldn't you?' Bell rolled his eyes at how the universe was playing a game on him. "It's fine, it's just jagamarukun anyways."
Bell then took her over and got a quick bite for them to eat, 4 jagamarukuns. 2 classic and 2 sour cremes.
He remembered how Ais seems to find them very delicious, and well he's been force-feeding his grandfather these as punishment so, it was a snack that was very involved in his life at the moment.
He took these and Mikoto to sit in a nearby park, away from the bustling streets and somewhere with moderately low traffic.
Quietly they both nibbled on it, though it was obvious how much Mikoto was trying to restrain herself.
'Maybe I should take some sandwiches to train next time.' Bell thought.
"Say Bell dono." Mikoto called.
"Hai?" (3)
"Why is it that you are helping us out?" Mikoto asked before biting into the jagamarukun once more, "Please take no offence to my question, but it's a bit hard to believe that just because you found us a bit interesting you are helping us out."
"True, I could be using this time to do something probably more productive," Bell admitted not being afraid to tell the facts straight to her even if it may hurt her. "But you guys remind me a lot of my past."
"Your past?" Mikoto tilted her head. Though she had spent the walk back from the dungeon to learn more about Bell, he was still much of an enigma and his motives remained to be questioned. It was just an odd sense of calm about him that let told her instincts that he had nothing harmful in mind.
"Well, I wasn't always a level 5 you know." Bell chuckled before taking on a more sombre look, "There was once a time when I too was part of a group. A group, though not as close as your familia, we called each other brothers. Together we held up a level of peace outside the walls of Orario."
" We began only two, just me and Alvin. But as we went around villages rescuing and helping more and more people, we started finding those who wanted to join our cause. All similar age to us, sick and tired of their lives being harmed by the surface monsters."Bell explained.
"We started upscaling our efforts, from simple guarding of villages against goblins to escort, we did a lot of work. We had clients from all over, and when people couldn't reach the busy adventurers of Orario, they'd turn to us." Bell continued, his eyes shimmering with an emotion Mikoto couldn't quite put her mind on, " as a result we all trained and helped each other grow, fighting off monsters, assassins, whatever we had to do to maintain peace, we did. We had a bond stronger than whatever money could buy and we all believed in a strict code of justice, only helping those who are genuinely in need or have done nothing to warrant whatever was occurring."
"These gloves," Bell looked at the poker card gloves on his hands, "aren't even mine. They are Alvin's. Well, I won't bore you with much more detail. But what you would need to know is that we had gotten over our heads. We became arrogant. With so many successes and well wishes we thought we had worked to truly create a utopia." Bell's face took on a harsher look as he glared at seemingly nothing in front of him. The change in tone caused Mikoto's heart to drop, sensing what was coming, she was filled with dread as the next few words left his mouth.
"We hadn't noticed the black apple. The one to ruin everything. My brother's paid the price of it with their blood. Alvin included." Bell spit in anger, and an aura descended on them, making it harder for Mikoto to breathe.
His red pupils shook in chaotic anger, " Those Bastards stole everything from me and I wasn't strong enough to do anything." He sighed, seemingly getting rid of the aura. As if he had realised what he had been doing, "Sorry. What I meant to get across was that I don't want you guys to experience the type of loss I did that day. Very few familias have the sense of togetherness as you guys do, but the stronger the love, the harsher the despair always is. So I want to at least increase your chances of surviving." Bell told her with a smile. "Sorry, I must've ruined the meal with that story."
"..." Mikoto was caught in a stupor. She couldn't have thought of such a deep message behind his actions. His story was one that made her feel deep sadness, as one who always holds up honour, his tale only painted him in the light of a saviour.
Of a hero.
But the harsh reality of the good ones being the first ones to go came true even in this wonderful family, and it robbed him of everything.
As a victim.
"No. I apologise for prodding you into such a sensitive story, Bell dono." Mikoto replied after finishing the last of her now cold Jagamarukun. "For what it's worth, your action was honourable and I pray that your friends may find peace in Tenkai."
"Thank you."
"If it isn't anything too much, may I ask what your group was called?"
Bell looked over his shoulder, smiling in what she could guess was the pride he responded, "The Knights of Dawn."
A/N: And that's a wrap. I know the quality is dipping a bit maybe and well I figuring my way around the type of lore I wanna build so do give me some time I suppose. Once I get my head through, I should be filling up any holes here and there.
I'm going to try and improve my writing style more because I think that there is a lack of complexity in my writing which could be improved.
(1) Probably will be one of the very few times we will go that much into detail with the training, mainly because I don't enjoy writing these scenes and I doubt many enjoy reading these scenes.
Though, on occasion maybe even next chapter I may include a bit of spear training for Mikoto and well yeah.
(2) This was meant to indicate divine aura, something I'm not too sure about myself in all honesty, though what I will make sure of is that in this scenario, divine aura and Arcanum are DIFFERENT concepts. The idea of divine aura came from a series I read recently (forgot the name) but in that, there was a scene where Hestia released her divinity a bit making everyone in the vicinity bow to her.
Though it wouldn't be the same here, the adventurers at the very least will feel different measures of an Oppressive existence and depending on their level, react differently. This is a way for gods to sort differentiate between each other and assert dominance I suppose.
(3) Just an innocent reference to Irejasmine. I actually prefer this to a certain extent but too late to change.
Bless.