The first option is the only one that feels realistic. There is no way he gets to level 6 before the expedition after Omori just told us how much more difficult it is to level up as a first tier. Bell is a cream of the crop level 5 so it isn't far-fetched he can make it to the deep floors if he goes with experienced adventurers like FF (Finn said he is probably among the best of the level 5s in SO15). They will be taking Haruhime as well so he will have access to level boost as needed. I don't think are going to delay long because it is critically time sensitive mission.
I posted a translation and the illustrations of the preview. Keep in mind it is an MTL, and I didn't do any clean up on it so just watch out for the weird stuff on names. I don't want to redo it here so I will just give the link to the post on reddit:
MS20 Preview - Translation and Illustrations - Spoilers : r/DanMachi
@DingoDongo4 I can already tell we aren't going to agree on who is more compelling Ais or Ryu. You've got your favorite and I've got mine, which is fine, so I'll try to keep this brief.
I do agree that getting together with Ryu is easy, heck, he could do it in the next volume if he wanted to...but it wouldn't make sense. Why? Because Bell isn't in love with Ryu and the entire Freya arc showed why it is out-of-character for Bell's feelings and goals to change easily. Omori wrote him as the only person to reject Freya in 6-billion years. It would be really bad writing for Bell to change his mind easily after just showing how strong his feelings and devotion is to Ais. Why did he end up rejecting Syr and Freya? Why does Freya know, as stated in a MS19 SS, that those that fall in love with Bell will follow the same path as her? It's because she knows who Bell is and how unwavering his feelings are. Bell isn't keeping score, but if we continue with your analogy, Ais already built up a huge lead in the first half and she practically scored the game winning point already in MS17 unless she chooses to forfeit. Devoted, single-minded Bell isn't going to notice the other girls even if they are scoring. Ironically, Ais sitting on the sidelines in 18 and feeling how much she hated it may actually help her realize a few things and help with her with accepting Bell's feelings later on. Making honoring the favor optional opened up potential for character development there.
Bell's feelings aside, if Bell accepted Ryu, it would at that point be a different story where Bell gave up on his goal, betrayed his ideals, and broke his promise. You can read the Ryu what-if for that and yes, Omori explicitly said a story died when Liaris Freese turned off there. I can also read any romance genre for immediate romance (and there is a lot better romance out there). I read Danmachi for the story, and I do think Bell x Ais has S tier potential because of how the story and Ais are setup. Bell giving up on his goals doesn't make a compelling story. That is why I was 100% on board with Bell with Bell x Ais in volume 1, page 5 because I knew that is where the story is going. Omori has been very clear on that. I know everyone hates to hear this, but Ais's arc is the end game content, so we have to wait, but I do hope he has proper build up to it. The OEBD is the end game boss and goal, and Bell x Ais is going to give it emotional and personal weight for the MC. It isn't hard to imagine why Omori wants the story to end that way.
I also generally judge things through Bell's perspective, since he's the main character.If true, then the answer to who he wants to pursue romantically is crystal clear in MS16-19 especially in MS17. He did after all say that he has only one answer to give Ryu's confession (he can't turn his back on Ais) and who is the one who has stolen his heart and eyes.
In MS17, whether you like the writing or not or think it is justified, Ais essentially saved Bell from becoming Freya's before Hestia could bring down the charm. She not rejecting him and remembering their interactions together meant the world to him. It also showed that it isn't extremely one-sided like you think since she wouldn't be able to remember her interactions with Bell unless her emotions are strong enough to remember her bond with Bell. It has been shown repeatedly that Ais has been slowly developing feelings for Bell, but she doesn't understand them.
Ais certainly saved Bell's life many times early on in the story, but the difference is that she wasn't risking herself, it was all a piece of cake for her.I agree with @AbigailWilliams2020 on this and also, it doesn't make sense that Bell is somehow keeping track of how risky it was for Ais to save him. That to me sounds more like fan self-insert judgement to minimize what Ais has done. Ais saved him several times early on, but Bell's goal is to be worthy of her, not for her to continue to repeatedly save him.
Regardless, Ais still rushes to save him when she can as she clearly showed that in MS16-17. And don't forget she saved Ryu from Hogni when she was the first person to storm Folkvangr after the charm broke. The first thing she asked about was Bell's whereabouts and Ryu argued that that shouldn't be the first thing she asks about. Even Ryu intuitively knows that there is something there with Ais when it comes to Bell. This was also shown when she was shocked to see Ais smile not as the Sword Princess or War Princess, but as a young maiden in the SS discussed above when Ryu asked her what she thought of Bell.
If you think all of Bell x Ais is just plot, then at least consider that 18 was heavily dictated by plot armor and what Omori specifically wanted to happen. Omori put the favor in place to block Ais training Bell and he had the guild block Loki familia. Even if she went against the favor, Hestia familia would have been penalized and they would have lost if she participated as was said to Tiona. The author had to put the most barriers up to block Ais, otherwise she would have been helping Bell just Ryu and the others. Ais's top priority is still her goal, but she still does pretty well considering she hasn't had her arc like all of these other girls. And she will most certainly still keep her promise to train Bell.
You've got kind of a bizarre way of rating the girls which is fine if that were how you would rate them if Bell was you, but that is just it, he isn't you. For me, I won't ship anyone that goes against the grain of the story if it is core to the plot (like Danmachi), and I place very high priority on the what the character actually feels. I don't like forcing my bias of who my favorite girl is on to the MC if he doesn't have feelings for her. I also think it is very important to take into account character's personality. It has to make sense for the character's feelings to change if said character is already in love. This is especially important with Bell because of his personality, which leads me to your point here:
"However, if Ais, hopefully sooner rather than later, starts giving Bell reasons why she and only her is worth loving, it's okay for him to stay faithful to her."Bell is a stubborn, one-track/single minded, devoted, and pure person. There has to be a reason for Bell's feeling to change and for him to give up on Ais. We are talking about Bell here who won't give up on someone and who can't go back on his promises, the absolute fool that can't lie to himself. Omori has characterized Bell as someone whose feelings for Ais are strong enough to be the first person to reject Freya in 6-billion years. I know that is because of LF, but the reason he was able to create and maintain it is because of his strong will and purity of his soul.
Ais is the one in Bell's heart and there has to be very strong reason for Bell to start feeling differently given his incredibly loyal and unwavering nature of his feelings. What Ais does or doesn't do changes nothing of the other girls being worthy of love. People usually choose someone because of how they feel. It wasn't that Syr was a bad option or unattractive or unworthy of love, he rejected her because he wants to be with Ais (due to his feelings), promised to chase her, and that he couldn't tell a lie. Ais hasn't given him a reason for his feelings to change, quite the contrary given what happened in 17. I know you discarded it, but I think that is a double standard if you don't consider the events surrounding Ryu's participation in 18 as "plot convenience". The Freya followers "conveniently" forgot to ban any reinforcements, not to mention her double level up that shouldn't have been possible.
If you were going to be kidnapped for sexual harassment and the man you love was in a position to save you (at least try) but ignored your problem, would you still love him in the same way than before? In Bell's case, that was the case, but it's a plot convenience. It's only like that if you consider that to be kidnapped and to raped are trivial things that aren't worth it.It isn't plot convenience that Bell didn't mind that Ais didn't train him, it is him being in character. He knew that Ais would help if she didn't have her reasons (and don't try to deny she wouldn't have if she was given a free pass like Ryu was to participate by the author). She has after all already demonstrated this time and time again. Bell isn't selfish and he is kind and forgiving to a fault. He just readily forgave Syr/Freya and Hedin for all of the things they put him through. If Bell lost, he would have had to go to Freya familia, but nowhere is it stated that he would be raped. If Freya wanted to rape him, she could have done so in 17...but that isn't what she wanted. She wanted Bell's translucent soul that became hers willingly. She established the sandbox to get him think that his feelings and relationship with Ais wasn't real, just a curse. Very manipulative and pretty horrible, but she didn't rape him. We can only speculate what would happen to him after the war game, but it is still possible that he kept his feelings for Ais and would still try to see her even if Freya tried to forbid it. She isn't going to gain the man she wants if she makes him a slave or forces him to do it, that is exactly what she was trying avoid, unconditional love that she already had in spades.
Anyways, just my two cents. I can already tell you probably won't change your mind, but I do think Bell is 100% in character to stick with Ais despite what happened in 18. Bell is going to be even more understanding if he finds out she was keeping a promise. Bell is one who can't go back on promises either.
What Rabid said is accurate except that she was seven, not six. So, she has been an adventurer with Loki familia for about 9 years now. Also, Aria is likely alive since Ais's goal is to "take her back". We don't know what state she is in though. It is a common theory that the dragon absorbed her and her power somehow which is why the dragon is so strong and why Ais will likely be key in defeating it.
With the characters of Danmachi, harem really solves nothing and it would dilute Bell's original goal while also making the narrative of Freya not make sense. Bell is the single-minded, pure, devoted type so it wouldn't work anyway just from that fact alone. Also, most of them just want Bell's to themselves and it would be incredibly messy and just overall not a good dynamic.
I don't think Syr/Freya is going to be toxic anymore, that was kind of the point of Freya arc.
For me, I think a key point is Bell isn't in a relationship yet with Ais so they aren't going to give up yet. And Ais hasn't made any clear intentions yet either. If the girls continue their behavior after he gets together with Ais or if they know their feelings are mutual, or if Bell tells him their behavior is unwanted, then it would be toxic behavior. Hestia and Freya were the only ones who I think would go so far, but Freya is okay now, and Hestia has mellowed out a lot. She doesn't seem to be toxic towards Ais anymore.
@Emiya4578 Don't stress yourself out, you just got to give it time. I think it will work out in the end. We probably won't see Bell get very assertive until his is level 6, but we still could see some progress if Eina follows through on what she said would be a "pseudo-confession". And hopefully Omori doesn't keep us hanging for too long on Ryu's rejection.
Bell does have access to capable trainers, but that doesn't really matter since Bell would still want to train with her and specifically her even if it was just to spend time with her since he loves her. It'd be the easiest way for them to do so. Besides, from Bell's point of view he would probably still think he can learn from her since she is the one he admires which is actually probably true. In short, I just don't think Ryu and Hedin being able to train him really changes anything.
Really it is in Ais's court since she had circumstances as to why she couldn't train in both V11 and V18. Ais has shown it multiple times that she really wants to train him, so it'll happen when Omori allows it to happen. One of them just needs to broach the subject when they finally interact one-on-one again which hopefully happens in V20 since Omori had Tiona say Ais would come to find him.
As for the favor, it probably came down to her thinking if keeping her word or not would affect her ability to fulfil her goal to take revenge on the OEBD and take her mother back (which is why the sword statement from Ottar stopped her in her tracks). She didn't do anything wrong by fulfilling her obligation to Freya since it was a really big favor to let her train with Ottar that ultimately saved her life in SO12. Obviously wasn't easy on her though as shown by her reaction to Bell getting the crap beat of him by Ottar and I think it will help her realize some things in the long run. Bell is someone who can't go back on his promises either, so ironically Bell would have done the same in her shoes and he will understand if she ever talks to him about what happened.
@ThatRabidPotato I should have been clearer, I meant confront him at the appropriate time where they could actually discuss it, like in private. I took that scene in the restaurant as Ryu just clumsily blurting out in the moment like a "Hey, what about me Bell?!" given that Lili and Hestia were accusing him of womanizing. That was obviously no place for Bell to give her his answer.
I'm not going to give excuses for the harem baiting because it is my least favorite aspect of Danmachi, but I can acknowledge that it is believable for Bell and Ryu to not confront each other on it.
Bell is a kind person by nature and his first rejection totally blew up in his face in that Freya went totally crazy and put him and Hestia familia through a huge ordeal. It makes sense Ryu doesn't confront him yet either because she already knows the answer is a no. Omori is probably delaying because from a marketing/writing perspective there isn't a need to yet, at least until it wouldn't make sense any longer writing wise, or he wants to progress Bell x Ais.
I am hoping this stuff gets taken care of in volume 20. It would be a good place to tie up these loose ends. Bell just needs to get over that initial hump of the second confession and once he sees that whoever it is, whether it is Eina or Ryu, reacts normally, he should be fine after that.
@Leinad91 I said "alluded" she used Avenger in the battle with Udaeus. Ais's emotional state was unstable at the time and her black flames were mentioned after the fight. So, I don't think it is that farfetched to think she may have tapped into Avenger for the power boost when she had that long inner monologue about wanting more power. I honestly don't mind at all if she didn't and I can acknowledge that I may be wrong there, more power to my favorite character in Danmachi if she pulled it off without the skill 😅😅. I'll agree it is a safer assumption to assume she didn't unless Omori states otherwise in the future, I am merely pointing out that he could do so, and it would make sense given Ais's state at the time.
Omori straight up said she unconsciously used Avenger against Asterius in that quote I used, so I don't understand what you are getting at there. I was just pointing out that Avenger has been used in that way before by Ais, nothing more.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Omori didn't reveal her skill until later. Omori has always shrouded Ais in mystery. He already had her history fleshed out before he even started SO, so I assume he already knew what skill she had. Doesn't mean it was "unavailable", but it is possible he simply chose not to narrate it until closer to the full reveal (SO10).
@Longhatruong I don't think there is any doubt that it will occur, it just a question of when Omori wants it to happen since it would be absurd for Ais to not keep her promise with Bell after she kept her promise to Freya. Especially since Ais showed in 17 that she really wants to train with him and Bell would love to just spend time with her. Not to mention Bell will always get the most growth from training with Ais. None of the Freya executives or Ryu can substitute Ais's role. Anything she can teach him is a bonus at that point. I suspect the training will be used more for developing their relationship since that and delaying Bell's growth are really the only two reasons I can think of as to why Omori is delaying it so hard.
Also, I expect Bell to be 6 for the final arc and maybe hit 7 before the final battle. I just can't see Ais's arc being anything other than OEBD arc since her history is directly tied to it which will probably be the last arc.
Ais can use Avenger without using her bonkers active chant "Tempest-Avenger".
Ais unconsciously tapped into Avenger when she fought Asterius. In her fight with Udaeus, it also alluded to her drawing on it to get more power to win since her black flames were burning inside of her after. Which is why she loved her lap-pillow (and subsequent ones) with Bell so much since his purity and innocence soothes her, because only after spending that moment with Bell were her black flames totally snuffed out (her talk with Riveria helped her clamp down on most of them).
Her lap-pillow after her fight with Udaeus:
It was heartwarming to see this much effort. He was a pure young man with an untainted spirit.
Innocent, so very innocent.
Completely different from her. The purity emanating from his spirit calmed her own. The last of the black flames still flickering in the bottom of her heart were washed clean until finally disappearing entirely.
A smile appeared on Aiz’s lips before she knew what was happening.
The pure white rabbit soothed her.
An urge to stroke his hair overcame her. Her fingers drifted down and caressed his cheeks from time to time.Her fight with Asterius:
As the person witnessed the frozen features of the Sword Princess and the furious slashes filled with black flames, their voice quivered.
“That’s…the War Princess.”
Someone had called her that long ago: the War Princess, monster slayer in a girl’s skin, the one who’d built untold mountains of monster corpses, the reckless fighter who never tired of descending into the depths of the Dungeon over and over.
As her sword danced, she reverted to her appearance as the Doll Princess, one she’d long ago left behind—all the more beautiful for the perilousness of it. She inspired fear and terror in the monsters and Loki Familia.
But Aiz didn’t notice that she was unconsciously using the skill she’d forbidden herself from using on others.@Citrus Tachibana Whatever his feat may be for his 5->6, it loses impact of showing that Bell is caught up to Ais if he has to do it level boosted (and it halves the excelia gained to boot). Omori has also never had him level boosted during his feats, so for those reasons I don't think Omori will have him level boosted.
I certainly think I could be a level off, but I don't think Bell is 2 levels off from beating Asterius. Bell already has an entire skill dedicated to beat Asterius, so I'm pretty sure whenever he uses it, it will be massive boost (stated to have massively boosted him in V19 when he killed the 3 minotaurs) that Omori has creative control over since it isn't stated exactly how much of a boost it will be in terms of levels. It could be equivalent of a +1 level if he wanted it to be. So, it is at least plausible we are roughly looking at him being a +2-level equivalent because of his skill and absurd stats combined. We also can't discount the possibility that Bell will enter limit off since it will be an incredibly personal and very emotional battle, which would exponentially boost the power of his Argonaut and Ox Slayer skills at least for part of the battle.
@ThatRabidPotato Was it actually stated that he is sucking up magic stones like a vacuum cleaner? Bell won't ever beat him if his growth is outpacing Bell's or is equivalent to Bell's so Revis isn't a good example since she grew ridiculously fast. Leveling slows significantly the higher you go. It took 3 years for Ais to go from 5->6 from her average of 1.5 years per level. So, unless Ais is adventuring or training with Bell making LF go into overdrive, we can expect his 5->6 won't be as fast as his 4->5 which took nearly 3 months unless he does something with extremely high excelia value for him like beating Asterius.
@ThatRabidPotato I don't really like delving into these power level arguments because I honestly think Omori will have win whoever he wants to have win as long as he thinks it is within the realm of possibility even if just barely. He is going to choose whatever he feels is more impactful, and I can already tell you aren't going to change your mind on this. And like I said, I do think Udaeus is a good second choice.
It wasn't actually stated that the Wyvern strength was considered as just level 2. The wording Omori used to describe its strength was pretty strong:
It was a dragon.
It should have been impossible for a true dragon to appear on the upper floors. And yet, here was one with wings.
A wyvern.
A monster that inhabited the middle-floor region. From its long outstretched tail to its head, it was more than five meders long. Despite being shrouded in fog, there was no mistaking that it was a species of dragon. Wyverns’ bodies were usually a pale-red color, but the tough scales covering this one were pure black. It was clearly an Irregular, a subspecies hiding far more strength than the usual.
A black dragon.
My reasoning for saying Bell probably won't be level 7 until like maybe the very final battle is because I think Bell will be 6, same as Ais, when Ais arc occurs. And I just can't see that being anything other than OEBD arc because Ais's history is directly tied to the OEBD. It took 6 volumes to make for Bell to go from 4->5. Omori said the story was about 70% done at the end of volume 16 so it just doesn't add up in my head that we have to wait for Bell to be 7 before the final arc with Ais begins.
@ThatRabidPotato You are making an assumption that Asterius will be a level 8 equivalent when Bell fights him. He'll be stronger, but that doesn't necessarily mean he will be level 8 equivalent. He'll be at whatever Omori wants him to be for it to still be plausible for Bell to barely be able beat him. Like I said, I do agree that him beating a level 8 at five is too much though. Also, Omori hasn't stated exactly how much of a boost Ox Slayer gives him, giving him room to play with there and again, Bell will have even more stats as a level 5 adding to his already ridiculous stats.
If it isn't Asterius then I do think Udaeus is the second choice, but it doesn't have the same impact story wise or thematically that Bell beating Asterius does for his 5->6.
From a thematic and story perspective, I wouldn't discount that Asterius could be Bell's 5->6 feat, and I actually think it will be just that. It just fits too well since his 5->6 feat will be the most important for him, when Bell comes full circle on his journey to catching up to Ais. It would be very fitting that he does it by defeating his rival, the Minotaur, the monster Ais saved him from in the beginning and his 1->2 feat that set him off on his journey to becoming an adventurer/hero worthy of Ais. Ais has always been there when Bell fights Asterius, so it is only fitting she would be there for his final showdown with Asterius when he accomplishes his feat that demonstrates that he has caught up to her (she would be able to roughly gauge that since she has fought Asterius at full strength before).
I know a lot of people on here will disagree with this because of Bell's power level, and I don't intend to get into a power level debate since I honestly think the theme and story are the most important things to consider especially when Omori is the writer. Omori is the type of author that loves the underdog theme so as long as he thinks Bell has even the slightest chance, it can happen. He'll want to make Bell's probably last solo, and dramatic/personal feat be a victory on the slimmest of margins. 18 clearly reiterates that he is the type of author to do that. Asterius is said to be a level 7 equivalent, and Loki Familia indicated it was his techniques that were basic/lacking so I think that is the primary area where he will get stronger like Ais indicated. I think Bell being able to make up a 2-level difference with his absurd stats (including higher level 5 stats) and Ox-slayer is within the realm of possibility, but anything beyond that I'd think would be too much.
Also, from a story/timeline perspective, I don't think Bell has time to hit level 7 (except for maybe right before the very final battle) and I think Omori intends Ais arc, which is probably the OEBD arc, to occur when he is level 6 when he is caught up with Ais. If I had to guess, his 5->6 feat will occur probably about at the end of volume 23 or 24 (his last level up took 6 volumes), then the remaining volumes will be Ais/OEBD arc since Omori stated the story was about 70% completed at the end of volume 16 so considering 19 & 20 are a detour, we should be looking at roughly 26-28 volumes. He also stated in that last interview that we are approaching the final chapter which should be the dungeon and OEBD/Ais arc.
Also, another piece of evidence for Bell's 5-6 feat to be Asterius is that Omori had Cassandra predict in the S4 radio drama that the sequel to Bell's fight with the minotaur will be a determining factor in the heroine race. It will make sense in that context if the minotaur represents Bell catching up to Ais since Bell needs to catch up with her first before he will make something happen with Ais romantically.