Bell Cranel (ベル・クラネル) is the main male protagonist and the captain of the Hestia Familia. After he leveled up to Level 2, he received the alias Little Rookie. Following his level up to Level 4, his alias was changed to Rabbit Foot.
Appearance
Bell Cranel is a young teenager with white hair and red eyes, often compared to a rabbit based on his appearance. He is considered cute, as many female characters have pointed out throughout the story. He prefers wearing lightweight armor and wears a hip length brown coat with a small black patch on the right side above his chest along with a long sleeved black shirt underneath. He also wears black pants, a beige belt with a silver buckle, and brown shin-high boots.
Personality
Bell is a kind, straightforward, brave, yet shy boy that desires to be a hero like the ones he grew up reading about. He cares deeply for the people around him, especially his Goddess, Hestia, and his Familia. He considers them like family due to the death of his grandfather.
After being rescued from a Minotaur by Ais Wallenstein, he fell in love with her. However, after being ridiculed by a member of the Loki Familia about the incident and for how weak he was (not knowing that he was within earshot), Bell couldn't help but acknowledge his words and thought himself foolish for thinking that Ais would be with someone like him. He became determined to grow stronger so that he could be someone that could stand beside her. The initial incident also left with him with a fear of Minotaurs.
Bell's goals didn't start out pure, as he wanted to be an adventurer in hopes of picking up girls, even thinking of starting a harem. However, after his experience with Ais and Bete, Bell seems to have forgone that dream in order to catch up to her and to become more like a hero. Although, he does get embarrassed when others find out about his desire to be a hero, as most kids grew out of that dream by his age.
Though it is a good trait, Bell is often scolded by people around him for his trusting nature. He was tricked out of his money by Naaza and Lili multiple times before he found out. In the latter's case, Hestia warned him that she may be untrustworthy; nevertheless, he still refused to abandon her. However, being the type to not hold grudges, he easily forgave both of them. When a body was discovered in the eighteenth floor and Ryuu was thought to be the murderer, he continually held doubts (despite mounting evidence seemingly pointing to her) and wanted to believe in her.
Bell is also a terrible liar. His inability to lie or keep a secret is often easily recognized by others. This inability is part of the reason why Hestia has not told him about the skill behind his extremely fast growth, knowing that he would unable to keep it a secret for long. Conversely, it has been noted by Hestia that he has an extraordinary ability to read people. He recognized the loneliness in Lili to be similar to what he felt and was able to pick up on Lyd's feelings through his facial expressions fairly quickly.
Though he gets flustered quite easily from time to time, especially around women, and can appear to be timid, Bell does possess a strong will. His feelings for Ais were strong enough to grant him a skill that highly accelerated his growth. His desire to be strong and stand next to her gave him the resolve to overcome his fear of Minotaurs and defeat one while still only a Level 1. He unknowingly went against Hermes's divine will and refused to kill Gros, choosing instead to believe in the dream of the Xenos and risk death.
When he sets his mind to a goal, he puts his all towards completing it. He is the only adventurer to endure Eina's strict lessons, and he persisted through Ais's and Tiona's harsh training in preparation for the War Game against the Apollo Familia.
Bell often acts based on his feelings, causing him to be caught up in trouble, such as when he decided to help Lili, rescue Haruhime, and protect Wiene. However, such actions have also worked in his favor. His actions caused him to earn the affection of the aforementioned women, as well as several others. He saved Mord Latro, who had kidnapped Hestia and attacked Bell, from monsters, turning him from an enemy into an ally. His staunch support of the Xenos and his belief that they are worthy of being saved has made him extremely popular with them.
His encounter with the Xenos deeply troubled him for a time. He was unsure if he could keep killing monsters, knowing that there were some that had the emotions and intelligence of people. With some advice from Fels, he decided to become a hypocrite: he would keep taking lives so that he could get stronger and protect others.
Following his loss against Asterius and ascension to Level 4, Bell has become more calm and level-headed. Due to his goals now including creating a world that both people and Xenos could live in and defeating Asterius, his desire to be stronger has grown and he approaches adventures in the Dungeon with more seriousness.
Currently, only Hestia, Riveria, Ais, Finn, Hermes, Lili, Welf, Mikoto, and Haruhime know that Bell has gone past the limits of his abilities.
History
Bell was raised by his grandfather in a rural farming village deep within the mountains. He had heard and read many stories about heroes from his grandfather, forming his dream of aspiring to be a mighty one himself.
In the past, Bell was almost killed by a Goblin and was saved by his grandfather.
After his grandfather's death, he took it upon himself to leave the village, traveling to the land of Orario to fulfill his dreams. Upon his arrival in the city, Bell attempted to enter numerous Familia but was rejected by each. Hestia, a Goddess, unable to find members willing to join her Familia, asked him if he'd like to become the first member of her Familia. Bell gladly accepted, and so started his new life, finally with a Goddess' blessing.
Abilities
Magic
Firebolt (ファイアボルト): Firebolt is Bell's only magic he learned from reading the grimoire he borrowed from Syr. It is a no chant magic, enabling him to use it without a chant, and he sometimes combines it with Argonaut for stronger damage.
Skills
Liaris Freese (
Argonaut (
He gained Argonaut upon ranking up to Level 2 out of his desire to become a hero. As of volume 9, he has become able to uses Argonaut while moving, a feat he was previously incapable of doing. Following his defeat to Asterius, Bell began experimenting with Argonaut, and came up with a new application of the focusing aspect of the skill, referring to it as dual charge (
- Argo Vesta (
聖火の英斬 ): Argo Vesta is Bell's new technique using Argonaut's dual charge that's named after Hestia. He first casts Firebolt on the Hestia Knife, then uses Argonaut on both of them to charge them at once, surrounding them with particles of light. Due to the skill, the magic envelops the blade and spreads out, making the blade as thick as a sword and as long as a short sword. The heat and brilliance increase the longer it's charged, making it give off a crimson light, and once he reaches the desired charge time, Bell slashes at his opponent. The power from the attack causes a bright flash of light and sends out both a heat wave and a shockwave.
Ox Slayer (
Development Abilities
Luck (幸運): Luck is a rare development ability Bell chose once he reached Level 2. It is an unprecedented ability, as Eina hadn't heard of it even though she was a Guild member, and Hestia states that it's close to divine protection. Overall, it improves his luck, such as finding resources in the dungeon and getting drops more frequently, in addition to winning repeatedly at a casino. Cassandra believes that his luck is what allows him to believe her prophecies.
Abnormal Resistance (耐異常): Abnormal Resistance negates the effects of abnormalities such as poison.
Escape (逃走): Escape increases Bell's speed when running away. Bell obtained it after all the running he did as a Level 3.
Trivia
- Bell achieved Level 2 in a month and a half, Level 3 in one month and achieved Level 4 in two months.
- Bell has appeared on every DanMachi light novel cover except for volume 8.
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