| Synopsis |
Volume 3[]
Prologue: "Alea jacta est"[]
At her room in Babel, Freya noted that Bell had become stronger. They began talking about him, prompting Ottar to bring up that Bell had some sort of destiny with the Minotaur, which led him to mention that those who don't adventure would never be able to break out of their shells. Satisfied by his answer, she ordered him to help the boy get over it, adding that he knew him better than she did.
Chapter 1: The Sword Princess Invades[]
The day after Bell and Lili reformed their party, they discussed their current situation at a cafe. Due to Canoe using her as a decoy, if she laid low the Soma Familia would think she was dead. As Lili felt guilty for her past actions, Hestia arrived at their table. He noticed that he needed to bring her a chair, though Hestia wanted to sit on Bell's lap, however he thought she was joking and brushed it off. While he was away, Hestia asked about Lili's intentions, making her promise to take care of him. After he came back, he suggested on having Lili stay at the Hestia Familia home, though she rejected his offer as it might bring danger to them.
Bell left Hestia and Lili and headed to the Guild to talk with Eina. However, when he arrived, he saw that there was another adventurer already talking with her. Eina noticed him and in response to that, the adventurer turned around, confirming his suspicions that it was Ais, who was slightly surprised that he was there. He immediately starting running away from them but Ais blocked his path. Eina caught up to them, informing him that Ais wanted to return his protector personally. She then left the two alone so that they could talk it over themselves. Both of them apologized to each other for the minotaur incident. Wanting to know more about his strength, she offered to teach him, an offer which he accepted.
Chapter 2: Ox Rabbit Training[]
Bell arrived at the wall the next morning as told to for training. Ais asked Bell to refer to her as Ais, then mentioned that she didn't know what to do for training. She took his knife to show him an example though she accidentally kicked him, sending him flying along the wall. After several more failed attempts, she ultimately decided that the best way to teach him was by fighting him. As they fought, she sensed that he was a coward and was afraid of something. She continued to teach him as they fought.
On the 17th floor, Ottar looked around for a good enough Minotaur. While he did so, he thought about the words Freya asked him about earlier. She had asked him if he was jealous of all the attention she was giving Bell, and he had stated that her love was like the wind and no one had control over it, and so there wasn't any reason to be jealous because her love extended to everyone and wasn't bound. Soon after, a Minotaur wielding a Landform appeared, the blade covered with what looked like blood. The Minotaur tried to attack him, however Ottar easily caught its attack with his left hand, destroying the Landform in the process.
The monster seemed to sense that Ottar was stronger and began stepping back. He threw the Minotaur one of the large swords he was carrying, ordering it to become able to wield the weapon efficiently. As he readied to train the monster, he knew that it was going to be a hard path for Bell, though he wanted to see if Bell was worthy of receiving Freya's love. He didn't care if Bell stole Freya's attention or monopolized her love; he simply wasn't going to let him dirty her name. Preparing to take as long as he needed, Ottar thought to himself that this was the duty Bell needed to fulfill as one who received Freya's love.
Two days after beginning the training, Lili wondered why Bell was hurt even before they entered the Dungeon. As they walked through the Dungeon, he looked at her disguised self. He complimented her on her new look which caused her to be in high spirits. Bell thought they looked like brother and sister, though to the other adventurers it looked like Lili had Bell in her sights. A little while later, he remembered that she couldn't update her status though that didn't really bother her. To update their status, a member of the Soma Familia had to give a certain amount of money, and she purposely didn't so it would look like she didn't have that much money. She then wondered if he held her in contempt for her past. Bell denied her question, telling her that he liked her, yet she knew that he meant it as a friend. Still, his words made her feel better.
Later, the two rested on the 10th Floor after defeating a group of monsters. Bell wondered if he relied too much on his magic, however Lili pointed out that it was more like a part of his actions rather than reliance. She told him that while Firebolt was easier to use, it wasn't as much of a trump card. Normally, magic was a trump card, but since Firebolt was a no chant magic, it didn't have the same firepower. He wondered if that meant that it was weak but she told him that by using it repeatedly it would grow stronger. Since normal magic required a chant, that meant that it would take longer to use in battle, and therefore wouldn't be as easy to train. She assured him that it would grow stronger as his magic stat rose. Bell thanked her for her help and the two resumed their Dungeon exploration.
Chapter 3: Black Raid[]
While training with Ais, Bell woke up and realized that he had been given a lap pillow again. She had apparently gotten used to giving him a lap pillow, giving him one every time he lost consciousness. He wondered if he really was getting better and she assured that he was, it was just that she couldn't control her power properly. As he thought about it, she asked him about why he was able to grow stronger so fast, causing him to reveal that he had someone he wanted to catch up to. Hearing his words, she began to say something in response, however her words were drowned out by a sudden gust of wind.
Soon after, Ais suggested that they should move on to practicing naps. Since she saw her yawn, Bell asked if she was simply sleepy, to which she denied his accusation and told him to sleep, Ais herself immediately going to sleep. As he watched her sleep, he heard the voice of his grandfather urging him to assault her while she was sleeping, followed by the voice of Hestia urging him to fight against it, desperate to prevent him from kissing her. Despite his grandfather's voice winning, he was startled by her sleep talking, helping him to clear his mind and decide to sleep. Freya, watching Bell and Ais train, ordered Allen Fromel to give her a warning.
After sleeping for a short while, Ais decided to treat Bell to food, leading him to a Jagamarukun stand near the wall. To his horror, the stand happened to be the one his Goddess worked at. Hestia was equally horrified to see them together and demanded an explanation. She was initially against letting them continue their training, changing her mind only after Bell's pleading, though on the condition that she could observe their training.
Allen took the Gulliver Brothers and several other Level 1 Freya Familia members with him to ambush them on their way back from the training at night. Dressed in full black with visors covering their faces, Allen and the Gulliver Brothers attacked Ais while the Level 1 adventurers attacked Bell. Bell fought back against the adventurers and he realized that they seemed to be testing his strength. After fighting back against the adventurers, Bell saw Allen attack Ais and quickly used Firebolt at him. The resulting Firebolt covered the area in fire, satisfying Allen and the others, also causing the group to retreat to report the results to their master.
Once they left, Hestia was puzzled as to why they had been attacked, pointing out that both sides had been matched in strength. She questioned Ais as to who their attackers could've been but she covered it up by answering that there was potentially a large number of people that might have a motive for attacking them. Before the three could leave, Bell felt a strong gaze that seemed to grasp his heart, and turned back to look up at Babel. Feeling a chill, he felt that something was slowly coming toward him.
Chapter 4: The Adventure's Meaning[]
The following night, Ais sat in the Loki Familia home, thinking about a way to train Bell. Tiona offered to help her with her problems but Bete told her not to as nothing would get solved. While Tiona and Bete argued with each other, Ais turned her attention to Finn and Riveria who were playing chess, asking them for advice on training once their game was over. The other members also joined in, each offering their own method. Finn agreed to give Ais a suggestion, however he asked her why she wanted to know, as her answer would change his. Knowing that she couldn't reveal her training with Bell, Ais answered that she simply become curious about it. He was satisfied by her answer and told her to teach what adventurers needed to know when they went on an adventure, adding that he had no issues if Ais had connections to another Familia for the time being, though he warned her to not endanger her own Familia. As she thought about his advice, Tiona pointed out that Ais seemed to be happy, a feeling that she had never seen Ais experience before.
The next day, Ryuu helped Bell wash dishes in the Hostess of Fertility after he was forced to help Syr with the work she had left earlier. He asked her about ranking up and she explained that stats were only a foundation that one used to accomplish something that even the Gods would consider to be impressive in order to rank up.
Chapter 5: Argonaut[]
The Loki Familia had split into two groups in order to head to the 18th Floor smoothly during their expedition. On the way there, they encountered a party that informed them that a white haired boy was fighting a Minotaur on the 9th Floor. Realizing that they were referring to Bell, Ais immediately ran off to help him, and several others followed along. On the 9th Floor, Bell recalled his grandfather out of fear, and tried to get Lili to run away, but she couldn't because of her own fear. She finally did so after he yelled at her. He tried fighting the Minotaur himself to no avail, leading to him being been sent sprawling on the floor, but before it could get close to him, Ais arrived, stating that she'd help him. Nevertheless, he refused her help, stating that he couldn't let her help him again, standing back up to fight the monster.
As Bell fought the Minotaur, the gathered members of the Loki Familia discussed the situation. Lili pleaded for them to save him, prompting Bete to do so, nonetheless they were surprised when they saw Bell put up a good fight against the monster. Up above in Babel, Freya watched the battle through her mirror, overjoyed to see that Bell's soul was clear and radiant. The Loki Familia members were surprised again when they saw that his magic didn't seem to have a chant. Although Bell cleverly avoided the Minotaur's attacks, he couldn't land a finishing blow because of the Minotaur's durability, though eventually he managed to trick it and cut off its right hand, sending it flying along with the large sword it was wielding.
Immediately, Bell grabbed the large sword and began using it, fighting against the monster with the weapon it formerly used. He succeeded in dealing damage to it, but eventually it shattered, leaving him with only the Hestia Knife to use. As both of them passed each other, he turned his body around, stabbing his knife into the Minotaur's side, and casted Firebolt multiple times, killing the monster from the inside. As his shirt was ripped and he was unconscious from a mind down, his status was visible, prompting Bete to ask Riveria to read it for him. To her surprise, his stats were all S, which she soon announced to the others, much to their shock. Finn then asked for his name, and before anyone else could say anything, Ais answered that it was Bell Cranel.
Epilogue: Pages -> Page[]
While he was unconscious, Bell dreamed about the time his grandfather saved him from Goblins. He told him that he was proud that Bell stood up to the monsters, giving him advice, and mentioned that he would be proud if he became a hero. In Babel, sitting next to his bed, Hestia tended to Bell, wondering what he was dreaming about while telling him that this was the first page.
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