On the next day in the morning.
Bell is found in the large dining room of the Underworld Castle as he is having breakfast with his family members. Their meal all served by brown skeleton like creatures with glowing red orbs in their chest, these creatures are known as Skeletal Servant that works as loyal servants for the Kaisers.
"ugghhh….i need a barrel of coffee" Polemos said as he has his head on the table and he looks very sleep deprived. "I'm so damn….tired….."
"make that two barrels…." Melinoe added as she looks to be in the same state as her brother.
"i-I'm not sure that it's good to drink that much coffee, Uncle Polemos, Aunt Melinoe…" Bell said with an awkward smile.
"we told you two to do your work more earlier but you decided to put it aside for later and look at where you are now." Hephaestus said as she walks by Polemos and Melinoe while holding a cup of coffee. She shakes her head and sighs before she went and sat near Helios who is yawning before being given the coffee to wake his nerves up. "you two are Kaisers but you two are so lazy in doing paperwork."
"we're made for battle, not for signing papers!" Polemos said with an annoyed tone as he looks up and sees a cup of coffee placed down beside him by Alfia who came by. "thanks, Alfia."
"drink it and resume your work." Alfia said as she walks away and sat beside Meteria who is sitting beside Yuki and is helping her feed Yukina her morning milk bottle. 'you have 3 more stacks of paper to be done by the end of the day.' The silverish white haired woman then looks at the red haired elf. "the same for you, Melinoe."
"uuuughhhh~! I hate paperwork~!" Polemos and Melinoe groaned in agony together.
Bell awkwardly chuckles to see his aunt and uncle's state before he continues to eat his breakfast which is just a plate of bacon, eggs, and bread, simple and delicious.
"has anyone seen Kenji?" Ploutos called out as he came into the dining room with Miwa, both wearing matching black and yellow yukatas. "we couldn't find him at his room"
"he left earlier on to make an appointment at the guild for Bell's test." Helios said as he drank up his coffee and sighs. "he needs his adventurer's license today, remember?"
"oh, right." Ploutos said as he sat down with Miwa. He then looks at Bell "now that I think about it… Bell, you prepped yourself for the two tests, right?"
"yes." Bell nods. 'I learned all about the Dungeon's monsters from the books that Dad and Baku told me to read and also prepared for the physical tests as well.' He then grins a bit. "I'm prepared for anything."
"that's a good and firm answer, but you need to be ready for when you choose your Familia." Hephaestus said as she leans against her seat and was served a cup of tea by a Skeletal Servant. "getting the adventurer license is easy but choosing a Familia perfect for your standing is not that simple."
"really?" Bell asked while blinking his eyes twice before he looks a bit confused. "now that you mention it, how does one join a Familia?"
"it all depends on your capabilities." Melinoe said as she gets her head off the table and yawns before leaning against her seat. "if you have good level of skills, you will get recruited to any Familia."
"but there are certain Familias that has priorities and conditions for an adventurer to join." Ploutos said as he gets a mug of coffee from a Skeletal Servant, he drinks up and sighs then points a finger towards Hephaestus "like Hephaestus' Familia that are all blacksmiths and craftsman, you can only join the Familia if you got skills to be a blacksmith. If you don't have the skills, you can't join at all."
"so I have to have certain skills if I want to join certain Familias, right?" Bell asked as Ploutos nods
"to be more precise, you have to see on what the Familia's type is if you want to join one." Miwa added in while pointing a finger out. "in Orario, the Familias are in several classes. Exploration, Hunting, Smithing, Agricultural, business, and medicinal. There are various of classes for many Familias, but the most basic ones are the Exploration types."
"the Exploration Types are the Familias that have their adventurers go and venture into the Dungeon." Polemos stated as he drinks his coffee. "they do so for collecting magic crystal or drop items, or doing adventuring that can be done by one's own desire or requests."
"requests?" Bell blinks his eyes twice. "you mean like a job request?"
"something like that." Polemos said as he sips his coffee and sighs. "you'll know more once you get your adventurer license and meet your guild Advisor."
"Guild Advisor? What's that?" Bell asked.
"Guild Advisors are the staffs working under the guild whose main job is to give guidance to rookie adventurers who first start exploring into the Dungeon." Miwa explained while pointing a finger up to an imaginary bubble that shows a cartoon of her explanation. "it's in the rules that rookies have advisors for about 4-5 years before being admitted as full pledged adventurers."
"do note that you must obey the guidance of your guild advisors." Alfia said as she holds a cup of tea near her lips. 'disobey and your guild license will be revoked along with your rights to become an adventurer.' She then glance a bit coldly at Bell. "remember that very carefully."
"y-yes…." Bell replied a bit shakingly to his mother's sister.
After breakfast, Bell went back to his temporary room as he had taken a quick bath and then begins to wear a black shirt and jeans along with the gears of armor and weapons that he got for his birthday one month ago.
Bell straps on the white armor chest plate to his chest and then the shoulder pads along with the arm and leg guards. He adjusted them on him as he made sure that they were strapped tight to not let it fall and not too tight that it'll make him uncomfortable.
"alright…" Bell whispers as he wears gloves on and then began to adjust his boots. "almost…"
"Bell?" Meteria's voice called out to the young man who turns and sees the door to the room opened then the white haired woman came walking in. "are you ready?"
"yes, just a minute, mom." Bell said as he adjusts his boots and taps the tip on the floor a few times then grabs his weapons which is his father's old hunting knife along with the Sunset Edge that he sheaths and strapped to his back. "all done!"
"come on." Meteria said with a smile as she reaches out a hand to her son. "let's go to the guild together."
Bell nods with his own smile as he went and held hand with his mother, both left the room with the door shut closed.
A few moments later, upon the surface of Orario.
Meteria with Bell walks upon the road as they are accompanied by Kenji who is leading them to the Adventurer Guild that is located near the Babel Tower.
"your test for your adventurer's license will start at 9.00" Kenji said to Bell. 'the first test is the education test where they test you for your current knowledge of the Dungeon, and the second test is your physical test.' He then folds his hands behind his head. "you pass both and your license is done."
"it's that simple, huh?" Bell said as he begins to imagine how the tests would be for him. "I wonder how they will do the second test?"
"it is usually done by checking your skills in a variety of ways." Kenji replied while waving a hand to the side and then cupping his chin. 'from how strong you are to how fast you are.' He then points a finger up and looks at Bell. "there is also the occasion where they check on your magic capabilities too."
"oh… so that's how?" Bell said as he looks rather interested.
"remember not to overdo it, Bell." Meteria said to her son while smiling. 'I know it's important for you to do your best for the test, but it is alright if you weren't able to get your license after your first try.' She went and stroke his head a few times. "there are other times you can do the test, so just do your best with a bit of a relaxed way."
"yes" Bell nods. "I got it, Mom."
"ah, here we are." Kenji said as the group came to a stop because they arrive to the Guild which is a large three story building that has banners and is roamed by many people who seem to be adventurers. "here is the Pantheon, the main building of the Adventurer Guild."
"it's big…" Bell said as he looks a bit amazed. "although the Underworld Castle is big, it's still amazing in size…"
"it kinda does." Kenji grins a bit as he crosses his arms and looks at Bell. "okay then, let's go and get you ready for your tests, Bell."
Bell nods to Kenji as the three soon went into the guild where adventurers meet with the people of the guild who are staff working as their advisors or informers.
Kenji leads Bell and Meteria as he went to an empty counter where a half elf woman with short shoulder length brownish hair who looks to be a teenager, is standing behind the counter while wearing the guild's uniform which is a black vest and pants with a white collared long sleeve shirt underneath that is completed with a grew bow tie.
"yo, Eina." Kenji greeted the half elf whose name is Eina Tulle. "morning."
"ah, good morning and welcome to the Guild, Kenji-san." Eina replied in greeting to Kenji. "what can I do for you today?"
"I'm here for the reserved appointment for Bell Cranel's test to receive his Adventurer's license." Kenji replied before he motions a hand towards Bell who came near him from behind. "this is Bell Cranel and he is prepared for the test."
"ah, I see." Eina said with a nod as she did a head bow greeting to Bell. "pleasure to meet you, I am Eina Tulle. I will be the observer for your test and will hold responsibility in seeing if you are capable to become an adventurer to which you will receive your adventurer's license afterwards."
"yes!" Bell nods before he bows back. "pleasure to meet you, Eina-san!"
"yes" Eina replied with a smile before she waves a hand to a door nearby. "please enter the private test room and we will begin the first test shortly."
"yes" Bell replied before he faces Kenji and his mother. "I'll be going."
"do your best, Bell." Meteria said as she pecks her son's head and then gives him a hug. "don't worry if you fail for the first time. There is always next time, okay?"
"okay" Bell nods as he separates from the hug and then sees Kenji grinning while doing a thumbs up.
"break a leg, Bell." Kenji said as Bell nodded before he walks towards the door that has been opened by Eina who holds a small stack of papers to her chest.
Bell waves to his mother and Kenji who waves back and watches him enter the room with Eina.
Afterwards, Kenji let out a sigh and looks at Meteria.
"I'm okay with the idea of Bell wanting to become an adventurer, but is it really okay to let him stay here, Aunt Meteria?" Kenji asked her. "he's still young and still very inexperienced unlike me and the others, right?"
"he'll be fine, Kenji." Meteria said with a smile. 'I know he will.' She glanced at her nephew and giggles. "he's my son after all."
Bell sat in test room as it is small, has no windows, and its furniture are a pair of chairs and tables.
"the first test is an intelligence test where you must answer questions that are presented." Eina said as she sat on one chair with Bell sitting across from her. the half elf presenting a few stacks of papers for the young man that is filled with many questions about monsters of the Dungeon and items used in the underground labyrinth. "there are 100 questions and each one is worth 1-2 points each. The time limit is one hour and the minimum score to pass is 70 points. Do you understand?"
"yes!" Bell nods as he takes hold of the prepared pencil and takes the papers. "I understand!"
"are you prepared?" Eina said to Bell who nods and she soon checks her watch to check the ticking time. 'you may begin.' She looks at the time and sees the moving arrow moves to 12 and pass it. "now."
Bell begins his test as he concentrated on each question and give the best answers that he can think of with the knowledge given by his father and Baku during their training.
an hour later, Bell is brought to a field that is behind the guild as it is a simple field of sand with white lines and a circle at the center.
"now that you finished your first test, it is time to begin your second test." Eina said as she claps her hands twice and a wooden human dummy appears at the center of the field. 'here we will test your capabilities in your weapon of choice along with your magic capabilities.' She held up a board with a paper written with Bell's name, age, and everything. "do you perhaps use magic?"
"yes, only one." Bell replied with a nod. "should I use it now?"
"yes." Eina nodded and motions towards the dummy. "please hit the dummy with your magic and I will evaluate your level."
"I understand." Bell said as he takes a few steps forward and held out his right hand towards the dummy while his left hand grips his right elbow. The young man takes a deep breath and slowly exhaled it before looking serious. "Firebolt!"
Bell shouted his magic's name loudly as sparks of fire ignites upon his palm and unleashed a fireball that flew and burns the dummy in an instant.
'a super short chant that has basically no chanting needed!?' Eina looks a bit surprised as she sees the dummy burning into ashes before to Bell who slowly lowers his hand. 'that's a very rare magic he has.' She looks down and writes an A on the magic criteria. 'a really rare one.'
The test continued as a new dummy was made to stand at the center before it was cut down into two by Bell who wields his Hunting Knife and Sunset Edge in a dual backhanded grasp.
"more are coming." Eina called out as more dummies appeared around the field and they were getting cut down one by one by Bell. the half elf guild staff checks on his movement as she evaluates his strength, speed, and stamina. "he's very trained…" she writes different letters to each criteria from an A for speed to a C for endurance and Stamina.
After a few minutes, all the dummies were cut down and disappeared as Bell finished them all off.
"I've finished them all." Bell said as he went to Eina while sheathing away his weapons to their scabbards on his back.
"yes." Eina scribbles her pencil upon the paper on the board before she lowers it down to look at Bell. "I have finished evaluating your second test. Please wait 20 minutes or so for the Guild to evaluate your score and process the result."
"yes, thank you very much, Eina-san." Bell said as he did a head bow that Eina returned.
Afterwards, Bell left the field with Eina who brought him to a private waiting room in the guild as he sat by a couch while the half elf guild staff went back to her counter.
As Bell waits for the process of his test's result to be finished, Baku appears into the scene. The big monk man walking into the room and waves to Bell.
"yo, Bell!" Baku greeted the young man with a grin as Bell smiles while getting off his seat. "you finished your tests already?!"
"Baku!" Bell called out to the big man who went and ruffles his hair a bit. "did you finish your task with Aunt Thalia and dad?"
"yeah!" Baku replied with a bigger grin. 'I finished it up in a jiffy and went straight back for Orario!' he then did a thumbs up. "I promised you that I'll show you the best places in Orario, right!?"
Bell nods with a grin in reply before he begins to tell Baku about his tests while both sat down and waited for Eina to finish the evaluation of his results.
"afterword I cut them all down with my blades." Bell said with a grin as Baku laughs and grins back.
"now that's something I would've wanted to see!" Baku chuckles before he patted Bell's head and ruffles his hair. "more and more, you're starting to act like Uncle Zagreus when he was active as an adventurer back then."
"Dad was a Kaiser and an adventurer as well?" Bell said in surprise. "really?"
"really." Baku nodded in reply as he crosses his arms and close his eyes while smiling. 'I was just about your age when I first saw him in action.' He sees a flashback of his younger past-self in the Dungeon, the young man watching in awe to see a horde of Monsters getting slain one by one by Zagreus who wields a silverish red sword while his eyes were glowing. "Uncle Zagreus was fast, strong, and very inspirative. He's the reason why Orario has never ever fallen to any disaster in the past. He's a hero in the shadows."
"hero in the shadows?" Bell blinks his eyes twice. "what does that mean?"
"you remember that Uncle Zagreus revoked his lineage as a Kaiser and as the candidate King for Orario, right?" Baku said to Bell who nods slowly. "then you should know that doing such a thing would make him quiet unliked by many."
"why?" Bell asked.
"many people sought out to Uncle Zagreus cause he was in this current age, the strongest, kindest, and bravest Kaiser in history." Baku said as he looks away and smiles a bit. 'not even my mother along with Uncle Helios and the others could compare to him.' he crosses his arms and closes his eyes to remember a time when Orario was at war with another kingdom. "he led the Kaisers through countless battles and achieved victory with the lowest casualties on both side. It was through his many achievements did many want him to become the King for Orario." He opens his eyes and looks at Bell. "I'm sure you now can understand how his one action of just revoking his lineage and his candidacy to become King just to be able to marry the woman he loves with all his heart; would lead to a large number of people in the city to just hate him for what he did. Yet he still protects the city no matter what."
"b-but… I thought that he just… he loved Mom and.." Bell said before Baku patted his head.
"it's fine." Baku said. 'what Uncle Zagreus did that day, me along with the others in the family understand his reasons very well. After all, he did so much for the city and for the many people. he deserved to have his own happiness.' He then ruffles Bell's hair and grins. "those people who just complain all the times, like we give a damn about their complaints!"
Bell looks at Baku in silence for a moment before he hears the door to the room opening as he turns to see Eina coming in with a folder in hand.
"thank you for waiting, Bell-kun." Eina said as she came in with a smile before looking surprised to see Baku who gets off his seat. "ah, Baku-san. why are you here?"
"yo." Baku greeted before he scratches the back of his head. 'sorry for the sudden barging into the room, Eina. I just had to come and check on Bell here.' He motions a hand to the young man. "he's a very close acquaintance of my mother that I had to look after for a while." He laughs a bit. "since today is his test, I just had to see and check!"
"oh, I see.." Eina said with an understanding nod before she turns towards Bell who gets off his seat and faces her. 'the results of your tests have been evaluated by the guild and deemed as a pass.' She opens the folder and takes out a piece of paper along with a small card that she hands over to the young man before her. "congratulations, Bell Cranel. You are now registered as an adventurer of Orario."
Bell takes the paper as he checks that it is filled with his information with a green 'PASS' mark stamped over his profile picture and then to the card that is his adventurer's license.
"wow!" Bell said in amazement as he looks happy to getting his license that he bowed to Eina. "thank you very much, Eina-san!"
"you are welcome." Eina said as she did a bow in return.
"hahaha! I knew you pass on your first try!" Baku said with a grin to Bell before he looks at Eina. "by the way, since he passed as an adventurer and is considered a starting rookie. Who will be his Guild Advisor?"
"ah, that would be me." Eina said with a hand to her chest. "my superior tasked me with Bell Cranel's guidance as his guild advisor."
"ooh!" Baku nods a few times before he grins while crossing his arms. 'now that's good news! If it's Eina who is Bell's advisor, I can relax!' he then slaps Bell's back once. "come on, Bell! meet Eina as your guild advisor!"
"y-yes!" Bell replied as he bowed once again. "pleasure to meet you, Eina-san! please take care of me!"
"likewise, Bell Cranel." Eina said with a smile while bowing back.
After getting his adventurer license, Bell and Baku leaves the guild while waving goodbye to Eina who stands by the front door.
"alrighty~!" Baku said as he pumps a fist up while grinning to Bell. "since you pass your test with ease, let's go and celebrate by a bar with good grub!"
"yes!" Bell said with a nod as he smiles happily to his Adventurer License that he holds in his hands. 'my Adventurer License…..' he smiles even more. "i finally get to become an adventurer!"
"you need to be more correcting on that part, Bell." Baku said as he and Bell walks upon the road and into a crowd. "you'll be an adventurer if you're a part of a Familia."
"ah… now that you said it…" Bell spoke out as he looks up. "I need to be with a Familia…" he then started to think while cupping his chin. "I wonder which Familia should I join?"
"considering your stats, your main choice would be the Exploration Type Familias." Baku said as he and Bell passes some people before they got to a horse carriage. "you don't have the skills to be a Healer like me or a Blacksmith like Kenji. Therefore, an Exploration Type is your only choice."
"I see…" Bell said as he sat on the carriage while Baku speaks to the driver and paid money for him to get them somewhere. He looks at the paper filled with his information as it has one criteria that shows Available Familias along with the list of names. "there are a lot of Familias in Orario…"
"about 107." Baku said as he adjusted himself on his seat. 'but that number is still increasing by the passing day.' He then crosses his arms and sighs. "by the end of the year, we might have 150 or more."
"I guess Orario can fit that much, huh?" Bell said as he checks the list of available Familias for him to choose and a few got his attention. 'hey, Baku. What types of Familias are the Loki Familia and the Freyja Familia?' he looks at his cousin. "its listed here that they're the top ranked Familias in Orario."
"ah, that.." Baku said as he nods once. 'it's true that they're the top ranked Familias because they have large numbers in forces, but they're just plain old Exploration Type Familias.' He then looks serious. "but Bell, if you plan to join a Familia. you have to make sure that you don't join those two Familias at all cost."
"eh? Why?" Bell said while Baku takes his paper and checks the list.
"you see, those two Familias have a lot of troublemakers in their ranks." Baku said as he takes out a pencil from his pocket and began to scribble down on Bell's paper. 'to be precise, it is some of their members who just make troubles and it's because of them that Orario is still unstable in some parts.' He then returns the paper to the white haired boy who checks and sees that the big man x marked a few Familia names. "they make peace with the Kaisers, but they tend to make trouble that we have to clean up." He then points a finger out. "to make my point, one member from the Freyja Familia tried to assassinate a Kaiser in the past and one member from the Loki Familia tried to steal the Devil's Bane."
"a-assassinate!? steal?!" Bell said. "someone from the Loki Familia and the Freyja Familia!?"
"yeah." Baku nods. 'it's the main reason why the Kaisers are not on good terms with either the Loki Familia or the Freyja Familia.' he then reaches out a hand and patted Bell's shoulder. "listen well, Bell. you cannot tell anyone that you're directly related to the Kaisers. You also cannot ever join those Familias and do not ever come near their members, okay? They keep good in the city, but they always do underhanded things that are considered dangerous by our Family, alright?"
"yes" Bell nods. "I understand."
Baku nods before looks to the front as he watches the carriage walks through a crossroad and goes left.
Sometime later, at a well crowded restaurant that has a bar inside. Baku with Bell arrived as they got greeted with a few calls from some people in the building.
"hey, Baku!" 'you came for a drink!?' "Looking good, big guy!" the customers called out to Baku who grins with a wave to them while he goes to the owner at the bar with Bell.
"yo, Baku!" the owner who seems to be a bearded dwarf wearing plain yet simple green and blue clothing with an apron on top, he grins and place an arm over the bar. "the usual?!"
"the usual, Owner." Baku said with a grin while pointing up. "are Kenji and the others already upstairs?"
"they are, and they're already started before you." The owner replied as he grabs and cleans up a beer mug. "better get going before the grub is all gone!"
"thanks, owner!" Baku replied before he motions Bell to follow him. "come on, Bell."
"yes" Bell replied as he did a quick bow to the owner before following Baku who went up to some stairs.
Reaching to the second floor, Baku walks up first, and Bell followed but soon gets rains of cheers and confetti by Meteria along with Hephaestus, Miwa, Yuki, Yukina, Makaria, Sotares, Takeshi, and Kenji.
"Congratulations for passing your adventurer's test, Bell!" they all cheered in unison as Bell looks surprised at first, but he soon smiles.
A celebratory feast was prepared on the bar's second floor as it is private party that the family had made for him.
"I told you that he pass his test on the first try!" Baku said with a laugh as he slaps Bell's back a few times with his right hand while holding a big mug of beer in his right hand. "he's Bell after all!"
"we get it, so stop slapping him." Takeshi said to Baku as Bell looks very uneasy from the constant slapping to his back. "you'll leave a hand mark on his back if you don't."
"ah! sorry, Bell!" Baku said with a grin as Bell just nods with a small smile. "just happy that you passed the test that I just!"
"i-it's fine, Baku.." Bell said as he stretched his back a bit before Baku placed a hand and emitted a greenish glow. 'eh?' he looks at what his big cousin is doing and he soon felt his back no longer aching. "what was that?"
"you know that I'm the current Saint Kaiser's son, right?" Baku said as he holds up his hand that still emits the greenish glow but soon fades away. 'I'm a Fighter and a Healer at the same time.' He grins. "doing something like that is a piece of cake for me!"
"speaking of cake." Takeshi said as he and the others turn to see Meteria coming near as she held a large blue, purple, and white cream cake that she placed in front of Bell. "here is yours, Bell."
"mine?" Bell said as he looks confused and looks at the cake that has writings made with frostings that says 'congratulations on becoming an adventurer~!' with the addition of chibi images of everyone in the family. "this is?"
"a celebratory cake for the celebration of Bell's success in becoming an adventurer." Meteria said with a smile. "it's the reason why he holds this little celebration party after all."
"but I just passed some tests that everyone does." Bell said with a small smile. "it doesn't need to be celebrated that much."
"what are you saying?" Kenji said as he came near while folding his hands behind his head. 'don't you know that you're the very first person in Orario's history to pass your adventurer's exam in one go?' he soon grins with a snicker. "not even Old man Helios or old man Zagreus have ever pass the exam in one go. Even some of us here had to do the exam multiple times."
"like you who had to redo it five times." Miwa stated with a small smile to her son. "you failed for 4 years straight and only succeeded on the fifth try."
"d-don't tell him that!" Kenji exclaimed to his mother with a blush while everyone shared some laughter together.
"by the way, where are Uncle Helios and the others?" Bell asked to Meteria. "are they busy right now?"
"they are." Meteria said as she turns towards Hephaestus. "if I'm not mistaken, they had to do work about a diplomatic meeting right, Hephaestus-san?"
"yeah." Hephaestus nods while twirling a glass of wine in her right hand. "Helios said that he's going to be busy with the others for a few days because of it."
"I'm really glad that I sticked being a librarian." Makaria said with a chuckle as she sat at a table with Thalia, Yuki, and Yukina. "if I became the ruler of Orario, I'll go crazy from how much paperwork and meetings that's that I have to do."
"like it's not the same with your current job, Makaria?" Sotares told her triplet sister. "you're able to attend this party because you left your job to Kamui, didn't you?"
"well, he's going to become my successor." Makaria said with a small smirk of a smile. "I should give him some of my responsibility to him for experience, right?"
"Aunt Makaria you can't be that lazy because of paperwork." Yuki said with a sigh to her aunt while she is cradling Yukina who she feeds milk from a bottle.
"they all wanted to be here to celebrate your success in the test, Bell." Meteria said with a smile to her son. "even Zagreus wanted to come."
"dad?" Bell said as Meteria nods, the young man looks down and then looks back at his mother. "where is he now?"
"he had to attend a quick diplomatic meeting with Athens…" Meteria said as she places a hand to her chin and looks up. 'Helios had plans to deepen the friendship with the kingdom and had asked Zagreus to send a message directly to the ruling goddess; Athena.' She then looks at Bell. "he won't be back for at least a week or so."
"I see…" Bell said with a small frown. "a week…"
"just why are you frowning?" Hephaestus said to Bell while smiling. "don't you know that Zagreus was the one who proposed the idea for this party?"
"eh?" Bell looks at Hephaestus a bit surprised and confused.
"it's true." Meteria said while nodding with a smile. 'he told me to host this party cause he knew that you'll pass your test on your first try.' She giggles and points a finger up. "when I asked him how he knew you're going to pass, he replied that 'he's our son, he'll pass this test with ease'. Like that."
Bell looks at his mother before he smiles a bit while imagining his father who is walking at a barren land while wearing a cloak over himself.
"alrighty then!" Baku said as he held his mug up. "let's continue this party with another cheer for Bell who pass his test and is an adventurer now!"
"right~!" everyone cheered in unison as Bell held up his glass of juice while smiling.
The day was soon gone as the sun was setting off the horizon.
After the celebration party, Bell is now walking at the street with Kenji and Baku who are accompanying him somewhere.
"so this Coliseum is where rookie adventurers gather to join a Familia?" Bell said to his two cousins who nodded.
"to be precise, it's where adventurers with no Familias go to show their skills and talents." Baku replied. "afterward, the Gods and goddesses along with their Familia's Captain who gathered at the crowd seat would go and offer the adventurers a spot in their Familias."
"but this is mostly attended by Exploration, business, and a few other types Familias." Kenji said while having his hands folded behind his head. "basically the ones who are lacking members in their numbers."
"I see…" Bell said as he looks at his paper and to the list of Familias available for him to join.
During the party, Bell told everyone that he had to join a Familia but he didn't know which one to join nor where to start. In return, his Family told him that the best way to do that was to show his skills and talents upon an Adventurer Tryouts that is usually held by the Ganesha Familia in their coliseum. This results to the current situation where the young man is heading to the place with Baku and Kenji accompanying him.
"hey, Bell. do you really want to join a random Familia?" Kenji asked Bell. 'you can get into any Familia connected to the Kaiser Familia, you know? we can put in the word for you and you get accepted no matter what.' he unfolds his hands from his head and then pocketed them to his pants. "why bother doing this?"
"hey, you don't get it yet, do you?" Baku said to Kenji before he placed a hand on Bell's head and ruffles it a few times. 'Bell here wants to become a hero and he wants to do it in his own way.' He then grins. "a path to become a hero is long and harsh. It is never easy and short. Right?"
"a hero, huh?" Kenji said as he sighs and looks up. 'that's a good aspiration and all.' he then looks at Bell. "but are you really serious about this, Bell?"
"I'm serious, Kenji." Bell said with a nod as he looks back at the paper in his grasp. 'I want to be an adventurer and be a hero in my own way. I don't want to take any easy path with the help of you guys or the others.' His ruby eyes soon showed determination in them. "just like the Original Kaisers who became heroes because they wanted to. I will do the same."
"just like them, huh?" Baku said with a small smile as he crosses his arms and sighs a bit. "you're showing so much resemblance to Uncle Zagreus every single moment…"
After some more walking, the trio arrives to a large coliseum owned by the Ganesha Familia. it is large and has the symbol of the Ganesha Familia along with the Kaiser Familia; that is a Skeleton's head covered in fire and lightning, that are engraved to its walls and showed on its many banners.
"here we are." Baku said as the group stops to look at the large stone structure. "the Ganesha Familia's Battle Colosseum."
"big…." Bell wowed to see how large the colosseum is from his point of view.
"hey~!" a feminine voice hollered out as the trio turns to see a short blue haired woman in her early 20s, wears a dress that looks to be mixed with several adventure gear, but the most prominent would be how her jacket shows the symbol of the Ganesha Familia mixed with the Kaiser Familia symbol together. "you guys~! Hey~!"
"yo, Ardee!" Kenji greeted the woman as her name is Ardee Varma who came to the trio. "been busy?"
"you know it" Ardee said with a smile. "with how much work there is to be done, every moment is just busy!"
"sorry for making you skip your work a bit, Ardee." Baku said before he motions a hand to Bell beside him. "but we got a rookie here who wants to show off his skills and talents on the Colosseum in order to join a Familia."
"oh, a newcomer?" Ardee said as she looks at Bell and smiles while holding out her right hand to him. "nice to meet you! My name is Ardee Varma!"
"y-yes! Nice to meet you too!" Bell said as he holds Ardee's hand and shakes it once. "I'm Bell Cranel."
"Bell Cranel? You're the one Onee-chan talked about before, huh?" Ardee said with a smile. "a white haired boy with red eyes and looks like a rabbit!"
"Onee-chan?" Bell asked with a confused face.
"she means Shakti Varma, the person who was stationed at the entrance to Orario the day you arrived." Kenji said to Bell who instantly remembers Shakti.
"I guess this means we're Family, huh?!" Ardee said who soon hugs Bell. "nice to meet you, Cousin-in-law!"
"um? What?" Bell looks confused as Ardee patted his back several times before separating. "family? How?"
"her sister Shakti is married to Hayate" Baku explained as Bell looks in shock.
"eh?! married!? Hayate-niisan!?" Bell said with a very shocked voice as the Hayate person is the second son of Melinoe who the young man has yet to encounter in Orario. "when!?"
"about a month back." Kenji said while scratching his chin. "now that I think about it, you were busy training that you didn't know about it, huh?"
"we wanted to tell you, but I guess we forgot." Baku said with a laughing grin while scratching the back of his head. "sorry, Bell!"
"oh come on! You didn't tell your own cousin about my sister's engagement!?" Ardee puffs her cheeks. "that's just mean!"
"sorry, sorry. Forgive us, Ardee." Baku said with a hand raised in apology. 'we'll make it up to you later on, so can we please focus on Bell here for today?' he then patted his cousin's head. "he just passed his adventurer's test and could really need the help in finding a Familia to become a real adventurer."
Ardee puffs her cheeks even more before she sighs and smiles.
"okay~! I'll have him sign up for the show lickity split!" Ardee said while doing a thumbs up. "leave it to me!"
"we're counting on you, Ardee." Baku said with a smile and a nod to the enthusiastic woman before he turns towards Bell. 'we'll leave you in her care, Bell.' he then did a thumbs up and grins. "we'll be cheering for you at the crowd stand, okay?"
"yes!" Bell said with a nod as he looks at Kenji who just grins and nods in return.
After parting ways with Baku and Kenji, Bell follows Ardee who leads him to an underground locker room where there are other adventurers prepping up their gears and themselves.
"here we are." Ardee said as she went to one empty locker and points a hand towards it. 'this will be your temporary locker for the battle soon, Bell.' she then reaches a hand into her pocket and takes out a piece of paper that she hands to the young man. "also, this will be your number."
"3?" Bell asked as he sees the number three written on the paper.
"there are other adventurers going to show off their abilities and skills on the colosseum, but I slipped you in for a participant who didn't come." Ardee said while motioning a hand towards the adventurers in the room beside them. 'Each Participant is designated as a participant of their number.' She then looks at Bell. "Also you can use any weapons you have along with the magic in your disposal."
"um, how do we do the showing off part?" Bell said as he blinks his eyes twice while looking confused. "do we fight dummies or?"
"the rules are simple, you go out and you will fight Monsters that are released." Ardee replied as Bell gawks a bit in surprise which made her giggle in return. 'relax, they're Monsters from the surface that have been tamed by my Familia's Tamers.' She then waves a hand a bit carefreely. "there's no way we would use Monsters from the Dungeon for something like this, you know?"
"still… I got scared for a moment…" Bell said.
Bell knew that it was common knowledge for anyone in the world that Monsters spawned by the Dungeon and the ones left on the surface have a certain difference in level, one of them being that the ones left at the world nearly thousands of years ago before the Dungeon was sealed tends to be weaker than the one still spawned by the labyrinth and they're much stronger and dangerous.
Soon, both hears a gong echoing about from above as it rang loudly.
"oh, there is the starting gong." Ardee said as she then smiles at Bell. "I'll be going up to watch with the others, Bell. good luck."
"yes. Thanks, Ardee-san." Bell thanked her with a head bow as Ardee waves a hand in goodbye while leaving the locker room.
Bell turns to his locker room as he placed away some of his gears and begins to readjust his attire.
"I should leave it here so that it doesn't fall…" Bell said as he takes off his locket and the Medallion that he got from Helios and Hephaestus on his birthday.
As Bell readied himself, he felt someone's gaze on his back as he turns and sees that no one was looking at him.
"what was that?" Bell asked before a member of the Ganesha Familia came into the locker room.
"may I please have your attention!?" he called out loudly. "The Try outs in the Battle Colosseum will begin in a few more minutes. All participants are to prepare themselves at the entrance tunnel!"
"y-yes!" Bell replied as he quickly placed away some of his belongings into his locker and prepped his gear.
At the crowd stand of the Battle Colosseum, Baku along with Kenji are sitting on the crowd stand as they are looking at the arena field along with the other spectators who are a mix of citizens along with gods and their captains who brought a flag with their Familia's symbol.
"hey" a voice called out as Baku and Kenji turned to see Takeshi appearing along with Miwa. "sorry for the wait."
"finished up your work already?" Baku asked as Takeshi and Miwa sat beside him.
"all done." Takeshi said as he sighs a bit. "I finished up my work early while Alfia-san is tormenting my old man who has barely finished his work."
"you're living a rough life having such a mom, huh?" Kenji said as he can imagine how Alfia is nagging at Polemos who is in agony from writing on so much paper.
"is Bell preparing himself for the tryouts?" Miwa asked as everyone looks at the arena field where a member of the Ganesha Familia made an announcement that the tryouts are about to begin in a few minutes.
"he should be." Baku replied while crossing his arms. "we met up with Ardee and asked her to slip Bell in within the numbers."
"knowing her, she would do so easily…" Takeshi said as he leans front while resting his elbows on his knees. He then glance his eyes around. "also, you guys spot the people around the area?"
"plain old citizens along with some good Familias are here." Kenji said as he glance to the side and hardens his gaze when he spot a few people that caught his attention. "along with the bitch and the joker too."
"I get the joker, but that bitch sure doesn't know the meaning of limits…" Baku said as he glance to where Kenji is seeing, both are looking at a group of people as their main focus is on a red hair pony tail flat chested woman and another who is a silverish gray haired beauty who wears a cloak, both respectively are the goddess Loki of the Loki Familia along with the Goddess Freyja of the Freyja Familia who came with their Familia's captains. "her Familia already almost have at least 200 members, right?"
"we should inform this to the Old Man and the others." Takeshi said as his eyes glows in a menacing glare. "there's no telling that those piece of shits are thinking of doing."
"but they won't dare do anything considering that a lot of our Familia's allies are also here." Kenji said as he points to one area of the spectator's seat as the others sees the Goddess Astraea who smiled and waved to them while beside her in a scarlet red haired adventurer girl who just waves at them all frantically and happily. "well… I wouldn't count on Alise for support in this type of situation."
"be nice, will you?" Takeshi said to Kenji while waving a hand in return with Baku doing the same, although a bit enthusiastically.
"it is beginning." Miwa told the three as she looks at where they are looking before they turn to the arena field. "the tryouts are starting."
Baku and the others turn as they watch a Ganesha Familia member by the name of Ibri Achaa come to the field with a magic voice microphone in hand.
"ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for coming to Orario's 777th Adventurer's tryouts!" Ibri exclaimed all enthusiastically. "I am your host from the Ganesha Familia, Ibri Acha! The Fire Inferno Flame! Thank you for coming all!"
As Ibri continues his explanation of the tryouts to the crowd, at a tunnel gate there is Bell who is awaiting to be called with the other participants. He is adjusting his attire a few times and then readied his weapons.
"Preparations are ok." Bell muttered out before he took a deep breath and sighs, the young man preparing his heart, mind, and body for the action. He slaps his cheeks twice and then huffs once. "let's do this!"
"now! Let us welcome our adventurers to the field!" Ibri exclaimed as a gong rang and Bell with the adventurers ran out of the tunnel and into the arena field.
Bell got to the field as he hears some cheers from the spectators. He looks around and smiles to see Baku and the others who waved and gave him some cheers.
"now! Let us deploy the barrier field for our spectator's protection!" Ibri exclaimed as he jumps off the arena and to the border line where blue energy gathers and creates a blueish transparent barrier that soon fades away. "to our dear participants! There is no time limit for these tryouts as it will only end when the Monsters that are released, have been slayed! are you all ready!?"
Bell and the other adventurers nodded while readying their weapons.
"well then!" Ibri exclaimed as he raised a hand. "release the Monsters!"
Upon his command, cages arises from the arena and each one holding a monster that has been tamed and caught. They were screeching, screaming, and roaring in their cages that soon opens to let them loose.
Bell readied his weapons before he rushes in first and cuts a Goblin in half with his blades.
The spectators started to cheer for the adventurers while Baku and the others just watched.
"he's fast." Takeshi said in seeing how Bell jumps and cuts a Kobold's head from the back then kicks away an Al-Miraj that gets stabbed with his hunting knife. "and precise."
"one month of training in the Kronos Stasis will do that for him." Baku said with a grin. "of course, I am the one who trained him to be this strong!"
"seems like Bell be able to get a lot of invites with how much Monsters he is killing than the other adventurers." Kenji said as he smirks a bit in seeing how Bell is mowing down the Monsters faster than the other participating adventurers. "I feel sorry for them."
"There is always next time." Miwa said while having her arms crossed.
The group watches Bell take down another Goblin that he stabbed to the ground before he turns and swings his Sunset Edge to cut a Harpy that tried to attack him from behind.
"look at that! Participant no 3; Bell Cranel has mowed down nearly 20 monsters in the last 5 minutes!" Ibri exclaimed all loudly. "he's fast, agile, and very precise in his every movement! Look at the rookie go!"
Bell held his blades to his back and threw them towards a Bloodsaurus that gets killed before it could kill an unarmed participant. The young man soon raises his right hand out and grips his right elbow with his left hand as he aimed at a Harpy flying down at him.
"FIREBOLT!" he chanted and unleashed a fireball that flew and hits the harpy that gets scorched into flames.
"and that's the last one!" Ibri exclaimed as he watched the harpy fall and became ashes when it crashed. "the test is over! Bell Cranel finished up the last monster! folks, we have one heck of a rookie here!"
Bell picked up his weapons and sheaths them away before he helps the unarmed participant get up to his feet.
"are you alright?" Bell asked the participant who nodded a bit shakingly before thanking him.
"he's so much like his Mother and Father…" Miwa said with a giggling smile. "brave, kind, and helpful to anyone in trouble."
"I think he's more like Aunt Meteria than Uncle Zagreus though?" Kenji stated as he crossed his arms. "he has more of her than him, right?"
"that's just your assumption from how his hair is like his mother." Takeshi told Kenji.
"hey, they're starting with the selection." Baku said as Ibri was shouting loudly on his mic on a Participant who had chosen a Familia to choose.
"okay! Let's go on for Participant no 2; Aengus Soft!" Ibri exclaimed as the participant with the number stepped forward and faced the crowd. "are there any takers for this strong buff man!?"
From the spectator's seat there are several gods and goddesses who raise their hands while some were just watching in silence.
"seems that there are a few takers!" Ibri said as he turns to Aengus. "well then Participant Aengus! Who will you join!?"
"Magni Familia." Aengus said as he grins towards a god who nods with a grin in return.
"very well! Aengus Soft is joining the Magni Familia!" Ibri exclaimed as everyone gave a round of applause. "let's for our next participant! Participant no 3; Bell Cranel!"
Aengus left the field as Bell takes the next turn while facing the large number of gods and goddesses who are looking at him.
"I can without a doubt say that Participant Bell Cranel here is the ripest fruit in the batch!" Ibri exclaimed on the mic. 'he dealt with all the monsters that were released with speed, strength, precision that is equivalent to that of a level 3 adventurer! It would be crazy talk if we all hear that he is a rookie!' he then waves a hand towards the young man. "so!? who wants the potentially gifted Rookie here!?"
Without a second passing by, nearly all the gods and goddesses in the spectator's seat raise their hands in response.
"Those two got interested as expected, huh?" Takeshi said with keen sharped eyes glancing at the location of the goddess Loki and Freyja. "they see the potential in Bell."
"Baku, you did tell Bell on which Familia he shouldn't join, right?" Miwa said to Baku who nodded while doing a thumbs up.
"I reminded him very clearly that he should never join that joker and slut's Familia no matter what." Baku stated very firmly. "You got my word on that."
"I hope he learns your words very clearly." Miwa said before she realized something and turns to look at her son and nephews. 'wait a minute, why is that Freyja interested in him!?' she then turns towards where the goddess is. "she shouldn't be able to see Bell when he has the Medallion, right?!"
"she shouldn't…" Kenji said before he made a noise and cups his chin while looking at Bell. "or perhaps…"
"god damnnit!" Takeshi said as he turns towards Baku. "didn't you tell him to keep that Medallion on him!?"
"he must've put it away for this tryout!" Baku exclaimed. "it's the only explanation!"
"we need to intervene!" Miwa said as she gets off her seat. "now!"
"right!" Baku and the others replied as they get up and followed Miwa who leaves her seat.
While the four left their seats, Bell looks at the many gods and goddesses who wants him to join his Familia.
"so!? which Familia are you planning to join, Bell Cranel?!" Ibri asked Bell who is checking each gods one by one before scratching his cheek with a rather troubled look on his face. "seems that you're in trouble! But I guess that's an obvious thing since you're the best rookie in the batch! How will you ever choose a Familia!?"
"um… i… um…" Bell scratches his cheek as he felt the pressure on choosing the Familia that is right for him. "I would choose.."
Bell soon tensed up as he felt the gaze from before in the locker room, once again that felt stronger for some reason. He turns to where the gaze is coming from and he locks gaze with the Goddess Freyja who is smiling down on him.
Not knowing the reason, Bell felt like he was going into a trance as he stares at Freyja whose eyes begins to glow pink.
'come and join me~' a soft feminine voice echoed in Bell's head as the young man felt like he was being caressed by soft clouds from behind. Freyja raises her hand and held it towards the rookie adventurer who slowly raises a hand in return. 'join me…'
"Stop" A dark voice spoke out from out of nowhere as this caused Bell to snap out of his trance.
"eh?" Bell shakes his head as he blinks his eyes rapidly and then looks around confused. "that was.."
Freyja turns as her glowing eyes are now filled with hatred and anger towards someone who is walking down the stairs by the spectator's seat and getting the attention of many in the Battle Colosseum.
"h-hey, isn't that…" Takeshi called out as he is by the entrance tunnel that connects to the arena, he and the others planned to get down and go to Bell but stopped when they heard the dark voice that echoed.
"Why is she here!?" Kenji said as he and Baku looks surprised while Miwa seems baffled before she had a small yet uneasy looking smile.
"darkness always lurks, huh?" Miwa whispers as she looks upon the person walking down the stairs by the spectator's seats who is revealed to be a woman who is a goddess. "Hades-sama."
This goddess is named Hades who is a long and subtle darkish black haired woman with an inhumanely beautiful complexion, she has snow white pale skin, crimson red emotionless eyes, has a black diamond earring on her right ear, wears a pure black one piece leather suit with a grayish black opened overcoat that serves as a cape that has an insignia of a black silhouetted woman holding a human skull, a fingerless glove on her left hand, darkish gold bracelet on her right wrist, and wears black high heel boots.
"there are no gods nor goddesses in this Colosseum that may have Bell Cranel in their Familia." the dark haired goddess spoke out in a rather emotionless tone while her eyes glows red. 'none are worthy.' She then glance towards Freyja who looks infuriated. "for one tried to Charm Bell Cranel."
"t-that's not allowed!" Ibri exclaimed as he looks around the spectator's seat. "the use of Charm or any type of mind influencing actions are not allowed! This is against the rules! Who is it that tried to use Charm?!"
"hahahaha! You're busted, slutty Freyja!" Loki snickers at Freyja who glance angrily at her for a moment before towards the dark haired goddess who looks back at her with her glowing red eyes before she turns and scoffs.
"following with the rules set by the Kaiser Familia, the tryouts for Bell Cranel's selection of his Familia is been denied and cancelled." Hades stated. 'henceforth, he will be under the care of the Kaiser Familia for the time being. He will only leave their care when he chooses a Familia for himself to join.' she then glance to the side and glares a bit darkly at the gods and goddess in the spectator's seat. "are there any who deny this proposal?"
No one spoke a word as many of the gods and goddesses gathered have a look of fear and nervous towards Hades who glance at them all before landing at Freyja who she scoffed in a mocking way.
"Hades!" Freyja growls out angrily as she clenched her fists tight.
"Ibri Achaa." Hades calls out to the MC who made a noise and yelps towards the goddess who is looking down at him with her glowing red eyes. "this tryout for Bell Cranel is cancelled, he shall be taken to the Kaiser Familia. understood?"
"y-yes!" Ibri exclaimed while saluting. "I understand!"
Hades looks at him for a moment before she turns and looks at Bell who is looking back at her in surprise.
"G-Grandma… Hades?" Bell muttered out as he looks at the goddess who emotionlessly looks at him before she close her eyes and turns to walk away. The young man watches her before he turns when Baku and the others came into the arena.
"Bell, you ok?" Baku said to his cousin as he hands over his Medallion and locket. "you should've kept this on you!"
"eh?" Bell made a confused noise.
"let us discuss this in a more private area." Miwa said to Baku as she looks at Bell. "there are things that needs to be explained to him which he needs to learn and understand very well."
"she's right." Takeshi said with a nod.
"I'll inform the others while you guys get him to the Underworld Castle." Kenji said as Baku and the others nodded.
"come on, Bell." Miwa said as she held her white haired nephew's right hand and leads him away with the others.
Bell looks at his aunt and cousins before he takes a glance to a tunnel entrance at the crowd stand where he caught sight of Hades walking in before she turns and showed a glowing red eye at him.
"Grandma Hades…" Bell whispers before he turns and followed Miwa and the others who went to the tunnel with him.
That's a wrap!
Bye bye