Author's Note: Happy New Years! This chapter took me a bit longer to upload since my original plan was to finish the Monsterphilia arc but as it turns out, writing can be difficult! I ended up taking what I had written and split it in half as I'm still finishing up the last scenes of that arc. I greatly appreciate all of the kind reviews and follows/favorites as usual.

Special thanks to Rexias and Manatris for reviewing this chapter and my questionable grammar. Also thank you to Xenon for allowing me to bounce some ideas off of each other.

It's been 5 days since Bell Cranel last got his status updated.

Status Level 1

Strength: I32 - G230

Defense: I13 - I96

Dexterity: I41 - G251

Agility: I63 - F302

Magic: I0

Loki's face blanched after she saw the rookie's updated status.

'An increase of over 600 points total!? Not a single child in my familia has ever had a status update this huge, and they're freaks! It has to be this rare skill.'

A shirtless Bell Cranel was seated in front of the goddess on a small chair in her room with his back facing her. The adventurer's status shined brightly as Loki finished his status update.

"Say Bell, how often have you been going in the dungeon?" The red haired goddess inquired, not showing her internal surprise in her voice.

The shirtless boy jolted at the question.

"Every morning." Bell mumbled under his breath.

"Every morning?!" Loki's shout made the already nervous adventurer nearly jump out of his skin.

"Jeez kid! You're already becoming Ais 2.0! Let me guess, you've been going in alone?" Asked the exasperated goddess.

Still turned around, Bell nodded his head in embarrassed admittance.

"I made sure to get approval from captain Raul though!" He added on, at the last minute.

"Raul?" The goddess imagined the boy in front of her begging with puppy dog eyes to the timid Raul. "That's… not surprising at all." Loki sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Look Bell, I understand that you're determined, but remember what I told you! If you don't take breaks, I'll make you take a break!"

Despite being turned around, the rookie adventurer could've sworn he saw an evil aura seep through his peripheral vision.

Gulp*

"Understood, goddess." He responded meekly.

Loki was happy with his response but knew the moment he saw his status, it would have the exact opposite effect of her words.

"Alright, here's your updated status. Don't let the big jump go to your head." She said as she handed the excited boy his new status. "Oh, and keep in mind that I'll be gone tomorrow. I have a banquet that I'll be attending."

Still overwhelmed by how much his status has increased, Bell nodded in understanding to her words. However, his mind was elsewhere with his eyes glued to the piece of paper in front of him.

"Have fun at the banquet!"

The Tower of Babel was commonly known as both the center of Orario, as well as the entrance to the massive dungeon that lay beneath the city. However, as it turned out, the higher floors had a variety of offerings that ranged from stores to even first class inns with rooms to stay overnight.

Bell looked around at all of the stores in awe. He internally thanked Eina for telling him about this. As the rookie walked through one of the shopping district floors of Babel, he had a specific plan on what items he needed to buy.

Weapons and armor.

He already purchased some cheap health potions earlier and still had a solid chunk of valis left for a new weapon and hopefully some type of armor.

He came across a shop window with an obsidian black knife that looked absolutely gorgeous. Even his unrefined eyes could see the well crafted intricacies of the blade, but the adventurer's vision reluctantly travelled downward to the price and he instantly turned starch white.

'That's wayyyy too many zeroes!' He closed his eyes and looked away in pain. 'Keep walking! One day I'll be able to afford a weapon like that but that day is not today.' He grabbed his valis pouch, beginning to understand he may not have had as much money as he first thought.

After he wandered up a few floors, Bell eventually found a smithing store that was more in his price range. The store was a bit smaller than the rest and had a big sign on the front of it that had the words 'Bargain' on it. He walked in and saw a dwarf sitting at the front counter who seemed to be more engrossed in the book he was reading rather than any potential customers. Bell briefly scanned the interior of the store and lasered in on a set of barrels in the back that were labeled with the same 'bargain' sign out front..

The rookie shifted through the barrel and noticed that many of these weapons and armor actually looked surprisingly high quality. Any other equipment he found in a normal shop for this price outside of Babel was nowhere near this level of quality.

Bell took out a silver chest plate and inspected it, rapping on it a few times with his knuckles. He wasn't the most adept at analyzing gear but he could tell it was sturdy enough to completely negate a variety of monster attacks. The broke adventurer took a look at the price tag and sadly accepted that it would take over half of his total valis he had saved.

Right as he was about to move on to the next barrel, the light above him glinted off of a weapon down next to the armor. Bell reached for it and pulled out a short sword that had the initials W.C on it.

It was a silver blade with a black hilt, that was about 15cm longer than the knife he normally used. It was so finely tempered that he knew for certain that it was a step above the rest of the gear in this section. The rookie wasn't sure what to think about it. He wasn't traditionally taught to use any particular weapon, but the young boy had grown accustomed to his dagger fighting style throughout his trips in the dungeon.

Still on the fence about what he thought of the weapon, Bell held the short sword in various battle poses. He thought about the potential its increased range would give him in battle, and as he held the blade like he would his usual knife, something just clicked within him.

It just felt right.

Bell looked down at the price tag of the blade and the color nearly drained completely from his face.

'39,600 valis! That's nearly everything I have. I won't have enough valis for armor if I buy this.'

He looked down at his current knife he just recently got from the starter kit Raul gave him. It was already chipped and falling apart. Worried it would break any minute on his solo trip was Bell's primary reason for this shopping trip in the first place.

In the end, the rookie decided the weapon was worth it. It even came with a matching black sheath! Upon purchase, Bell fastened the blade and its sheath to his waist and it was a perfect fit. He couldn't wait to test it out!

The courtyard of the Twilight Manor was dim. The sun was only just starting to rise for the new day. However, despite how early it was in the morning, two figures on separate sides of the courtyard were earnestly training.

Bell was a little shocked to see someone else who was actually up this early in the morning to train, but after he recognized his fellow familia member as one of the executives, his shock quickly turned into respect. The golden haired adventurer known as Ais Wallenstein, was performing one crazy maneuver after another. Bell's vision, enhanced by his level 1 status, was barely able to keep up with even the simplest of moves that took place in front of him. Even someone as powerful as the Sword Princess herself, was practicing diligently and strived to surpass her limits.

As he finished his brief warmup, Bell took a deep breath to focus his thoughts. He thought back to his trip in the dungeon yesterday with embarrassment. He was so excited to use his new shortsword he didn't actually think about how different it would be from his usual knife. While it wasn't a huge difference, the longer length of the blade was enough to throw him off more than once when monsters came at him with the full intent to kill. Luckily, he realized this pretty early on in his trip and only stayed on the higher floors. After he practiced on goblins and kobolds for a few hours the rookie ended up getting the hang of it, but was still far from his proficiency of where he was with his knife.

Bell slashed through the air a few times as held the shortsword in typical longsword fashion. He then switched his hold on it back to his usual reverse grip with his knife and did a couple more swipes in front of him. The full length of the blade could reach from his elbow up to the palm of his hand, hovering at around 46cm. While it felt a bit weird, the young adventurer thought he could make it work given enough practice to get used to the length.

Bell continued slashing about the courtyard, with a clear vision of the monsters he encountered the day prior. He thought about how he distanced himself from the enemy normally with the knife, and then how much of an adjustment he needed to do with the shortsword. Unbeknownst to Bell, Gareth was on the edge of the courtyard watching him bounce around back and forth with a discerning eye.

It's only been about a week since the aged dwarf encountered this newbie adventurer in the dungeon that fateful day with the minotaur. Despite the fact that his form and technique still screamed rookie, Gareth was hard pressed to believe he had improved this much after such little time. He had seen numerous newbies join and rise up in the Loki familia over the years and none of them except for maybe the girl on the other side of the courtyard looked like this after one week. After a few more minutes of watching, the dwarf decided to step in. His original intention was to check in on the boy but this would be a good opportunity to see what he's got.

Bell's focus was interrupted as he heard footsteps head towards him from behind.

"Lad, your form is fine, but you look about as sturdy as a wet elf." Bell heard a familiar voice. "A goblin or a kobold won't feel like much, but once you start reaching the real nasty beasts deeper in, they'll run right through ya in the blink of an eye."

The white-haired boy embarrassedly turned around to greet his superior with a quick bow. "Good Morning, Mister Gareth! Thank you for the advice!" As Bell rose back up, he had a confused look on his face. "Actually, I'm sorry, but can you please explain what you mean by that?" He said with a bit of hesitance.

The dwarf smirked at the young man's question.

"How about a game lad? Take a ready stance like you would in battle. If you can block a punch from me without falling over, I'll give ya a reward." Gareth said as a smile stretched across his bearded face. He swung his right arm in a circular motion, stretching his muscles.

Bell could see the dwarf's massive muscles bulging out of his black undershirt. He gulped heavily in fear as his brain replayed the image of what his senior in front of him did to that minotaur just last week. The young rookie closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. He made a promise to himself that night after he ran out of the bar. He would get stronger and being afraid of challenges like this would do nothing for him.

"Deal." Bell resolutely took his battle stance and looked directly at Gareth, ready for his punch.

"I like that look in yer eye lad! Don't worry, this probably won't kill ya!" The dwarf chuckled, now louder with excitement.

Suddenly time stopped for Bell.

Despite his eyes locked onto the first class adventurer in front of him, his brain couldn't process the speed at which he moved. It was as if the hulking figure before him magically teleported a step away from him. At this same moment, as Bell's thoughts came to a standstill, a cold chill ran up his spine.

A primal fear erupted in his core.

This dwarf was terrifying.

Bell fought every instinct in his body that screamed at him to run and barely held his stance.

BOOM*

Gareth's fist collided with Bell's blade where he held his block. At the moment of impact, Bell felt as though he was just hit head on by a cannon as his entire body slid back across the courtyard at breakneck speeds. At first, he barely kept his footing, but then with the fear still fresh in his soul, his knees buckled and he inevitably ragdolled all of the way to the back of the garden before his speed eventually sputtered out.

A few seconds passed and the boy didn't move.

The golden haired girl on the other side of the courtyard stared at Gareth like he just committed a murder.

cough cough*

The boy shakily sat up as he coughed up dirt and inspected his body to make sure everything still worked properly.

"Hahaha that was pretty good lad! Most of the time they go flying on impact!" The dwarf heartily laughed in good sport.

Bell slowly hobbled back over, dusting himself off on the way. Despite the dwarfs' infectious laughter, his own face showed disappointment.

"Ah, come now boy, don't feel bad. That was a solid hit you just took right there." Gareth said to the rookie, noticing his disappointment.

Bell gulped heavily as he stopped in front of him.

"Mister Gareth, how do you do it? What motivates you to be so strong?" He whispered.

Bell thought he understood the level of strength he was striving to reach. He made a promise to himself that night in the bar to get stronger. Even now, that resolve burned bright within him.

However, the fear he felt moments ago was still fresh.

Bell finally looked up at his senior with the sun now fully risen behind him. His actual stature was barely to the boy's chest, but to the rookie he was as large as life itself.

Gareth walked a few steps closer to the boy and put a hand on his shoulder as he softly spoke.

"I could tell from the day with the minotaur. Bell, you have grit."

The dwarf's words brought a confused look to the boy, like he wanted to rebuke his statement.

"But you still haven't realized, you're part of a familia now. You're not alone. It's not wrong to keep your eyes forward, but take a look around. What do you want to protect?" Gareth's quiet words echoed proudly throughout the silent courtyard.

The confusion that was on Bell's face washed away and was replaced with wide eyed realization from the truth of the dwarfs' words. He noticed on the other side of the courtyard, the blonde haired sword princess gave an enthusiastic thumbs up as her face beamed in agreement at Gareth's mention of not being alone.

"Once you find that answer, it won't matter what monster you're up against or what your status is, you just have to overcome it. Simple as that." The words left the dwarfs mouth as if they were common sense.

Bell thought back to his original reason for coming to this city. He thought about all of the heroes he admired so much and what drove them to achieve their legends. He thought about all of the help he's gotten so far, from Loki, Line, and even Eina's lessons. Gareth was right, he was not alone. A small smile came across Bell's face.

"Thank you, Mister Gareth."

"Hahaha, of course lad!" The dwarf heartily laughed, giving Bell's shoulder a friendly pat. "I'll knock some sense into you anytime!"

Bell shuddered slightly at that last part but he started to feel much more comfortable as a member of the Loki Familia.

Later that day at the Banquet of the Gods*

"I… am… GANNNNEESSSSSHHHHHAAA!" Loudly shouted the god Ganesha on a huge stage in front of all of the deities for this event.

Ganesha was the host of the banquet this year. He was a tall muscular man with tanned skin and long, shaggy, ash-brown hair. His attire was similar to that of a monk, excluding the fact that he wore an orange cloth sash across his chest that was plentiful with gold jewelry and other decorations across his person. He also had a large red and yellow elephant mask across his face.

None of the gods really knew why he wore such a mask and anytime one of them asked he would just flex wildly and shout "I am Ganesha!" as if it was only natural he would have one.

He was typically known as one of the more eccentric gods among the bunch in Orario, which said a lot, considering every deity was quirky in some sense. The banquet hall itself also belonged to the Ganesha familia and ironically it too, was named 'I am Ganesha'. And as it turned out, the building was carved in the shape of, who would have guessed it, literally the god Ganesha himself. The entrance was his crotch for crying out loud.

Loki sadly shook her head as she looked at the elephant god on stage flexing repeatedly. 'Crazy as usual I see' She chuckled to herself.

Someone new to Orario would not guess that such a crazy figure would actually have the largest familia in the city with over one hundred upper-tier adventurers. They even worked as Orario's policing force.

Loki looked around the banquet hall at all of her peers, hoping to find a particular twin tailed goddess. The room was massive with numerous tables stacked to the brim with delicious looking foods and drinks. The goddess herself wore a beautiful crimson dress that matched her hair color perfectly. Her normal shoulder-length hair was tied up in a braided bun for this banquet as well.

A few minutes passed by with no luck in her search. As Loki walked around, she heard whispers from multiple deities all around the banquet hall as they made comments about her non-existent chest in the dress she wore. Annoyance boiled within her as she remembered very quickly why she disliked being among her peers. The trickster goddess met their gazes with a cordial smile and pretended not to notice but internally she noted every last one of their faces to crush them later. Loki eventually settled near one of the tables and took one of the food samples.

'Dang, is that shorty really not here? I thought I'd be able to laugh at how she can't even afford a dress for the banquet.' She grumbled to herself as she munched on some expensive looking bread.

As she scanned the various deities across the room one last time, she finally noticed a familiar face and raced over.

"Hephaestus! It's been a while! Where's the pipsqueak? I heard a rumor through the grapevine that she'd be here."

Loki stopped in front of a woman with short crimson hair. She wore an eyepatch that did little to mar her beautiful features. She also wore a crimson dress but hers had a large snow white flower fastened to her hip that went together with gloves of the same color.

The woman was the smithing goddess Hephaestus who was in charge of one of the largest familias in the city. While her children did participate in dungeon expeditions, it was mainly for the purpose of gathering materials since they were primarily smiths.

"Long time no see, Loki. I see you're impatient as always." Hephaestus spoke with an unsurprised look on her face. "Hestia was… not feeling well enough to attend the banquet today." She finished while breaking eye contact.

Loki could instantly sense a lie.

"Oh come on, Hephaestus. You know you can't hide anything from me. Fess up!" Loki said with a huge grin. "You know I'll find out anyway." prodded the trickster goddess.

The smithing goddess' brow creased as she thought long and hard about whether to tell the truth to her old acquaintance. After a few moments she determined Loki was right, the goddess had her hands everywhere. Even if she chose not to say anything now, Loki finding out the truth was all but inevitable.

"Fine! She's been holed up in the church I've sanctioned out for her for days now!" Hephaestus began. Right as she was about to continue, both herself and Loki heard a commotion coming from the other side of the hall. The source of the noise turned out to be none other than the goddess of beauty, Freya.

Only arriving at the banquet a moment ago, Freya walked directly towards Loki and Hephaestus upon noticing them. Gods and goddesses alike swooned and cheered like hungry dogs from her innate charm. While she was always drop dead gorgeous, tonight she donned an ornate white dress that hugged her figure leaving very little to the imagination. Her long silver hair had two black flower-like ornaments on each side that complimented her dress.

By their aura alone, Freya and Loki were almost complete opposites. Loki who was loud and boisterous was a large contrast to the prim and proper goddess that walked towards them. However, they both undoubtedly led the top two strongest familias in the city. The guild itself did not know who would be considered number 1 but the rumor was that if the Freya familia's top executives actually put aside their differences and worked together, they would be unstoppable.

"Hephaestus, Loki, it's been quite a while, hasn't it?" Freya innocently asked as she finally made it to their little group.

"Ugh, can't you turn off the charm sometimes, Freya? They're like a pack of wild animals back there." Loki complained.

Behind the goddess of beauty, numerous other deities had their eyes glued to her every step. Some of them were even drooling.

While the use of a deity's godly powers were prohibited in the mortal plane, some still had passive abilities that pertained to the domains they ruled over. For instance, Hephaestus was still a world class blacksmith. Another example was the god Takemikazuchi, a god of war, who was a master martial artist capable of taking on adventurers with no falna himself through pure skill. In Freya's case, her charm remained due to her sheer level of beauty.

"Now now, Loki. You know I have no control over that." Freya said as if it was obvious. "It's been a while since we've all last spoken. I hear a lot about both of your familia's these days. Especially your Sword Princess, Loki."

"Ah, the Sword Princess, Ais Wallenstein. I've heard a lot about her too." Hephaestus added in.

"Of course! Ais is my pride and joy!" Loki declared proudly. "Though, I do wish she would slow down sometimes." She muttered more to herself than anyone else.

"Anyway, where's Hestia? I figured you two would be at each other's throats by now Loki." The goddess of beauty inquired.

Freya's comment snapped Loki back to her true reason for being here as she brought her attention back to Hephaestus.

"Yeah, where's the pipsqueak Hephaestus?! Continue what you were saying earlier." Loki chimed in.

The smithing goddess sighed in response to their words. "As I was saying earlier, Hestia hasn't been in a good mood lately. She's had terrible luck trying to recruit members for her familia. She's been holed up in her home for days now. I think she didn't want to come to the banquet after so many unsuccessful attempts."

"Hahahahaha. That sounds like her alright." Loki burst out laughing. "I wouldn't want to show my face either if I were her!"

"Aw poor Hestia. I'm sure she'll find someone soon." Freya said empathetically.

"Hestia swore to me that she almost found a young rookie to recruit, but she immediately hit rock bottom when she saw him enter the dungeon and realized he was taken. Some white-haired boy who she said looked like a scared rabbit." The smithing goddess finished.

Immediately as she finished the last part of her explanation, a surprised look appeared on both Freya and Loki's faces. Realization then dawned across Loki's.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! That boy is the newest member of my familia! I just recruited him a couple of days ago, what are the odds?! Oh man, I wish that pipsqueak was here so I could rub it in her face." Loki laughed maniacally as she wiped some tears away from her eyes.

Hephaestus was flabbergasted at the information that was just given to her. Loki rarely accepted any new familia members these days, and when she did she only accepted true talent. The boy Hestia described was a complete novice.

Unbeknownst to the both of them in the midst of Loki's boisterous laughter, Freya's face for the briefest of moments turned ice cold at this information. Then, only a second later, her face turned back to her normal innocent appearance as if the information was only slightly surprising.

"My, that's interesting Loki. I didn't know you were just recruiting anyone these days." Casually spoke the goddess of beauty.

"Yeah, I never thought I'd see the day that you'd let a complete newbie into your familia. One that isn't a beautiful woman anyway." Added on Hephaestus.

Finally calmed down from her laughing fit, Loki had a mixed look on her face to her fellow goddesses words.

"Yeah… it's a bit complicated, but to skip over all of the extra details some of my kids vouched for him so I let him in. Simple as that." Admitted the trickster goddess. "He's a bit of a handful, but he's a good kid."

"That's actually really nice of you for once." Hephaestus said with a bit of shock in her words. "What are the odds of you recruiting the rookie Hestia had her eyes on. This is gonna crush her." She finished while rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Well congratulations on the new child Loki. I have other obligations to attend to. It was good talking to you both again." Freya gave them both a curt nod before heading off to a different direction of the banquet hall.

As Freya walked away, a look of remembrance came across Hephaestus's face.

"Ah, Loki. Before I forget, Hestia did give me a note to hand you in case we ran into each other. She told me it was top secret and only meant for your eyes though." She pulled out a thinly folded piece of paper and handed it to Loki.

Loki grabbed the note and only took a moment to unfold it completely to read it. The moment her eyes laid upon it, a massive vein bulged out on her forehead.

Mostly blank, the piece of paper only contained a crude drawing of what looked to be large breasts and the middle finger.

"Damn this little pipsqueak! I swear, the next time I see her I'm gonna let her have it! Mark my words Hephaestus!"

Freya had a dark look on her face as she marched away from Loki and Hephaestus, lost in her thoughts. Other deities attempted to reach out for conversation as she walked by but they were all ignored.

'Of all familia's for you to fall into, Loki is the last one in the city I expected. This is going to be trouble, but so be it. I will have you, my Odr...'