Sarutahiko Familia Premise Chapter 15

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter! While Bell’s Party heads into the Middle Floors for the first time, that isn’t the only thing that Bell is focused on. He has many girlfriends that he wants to give his love and attention to, after all. A certain Elf is about to have a lovely evening. However, Ishtar isn’t the only Deity that’s taken notice of Bell and his incredible growth and monstrous talent. A God noted for his intense passions also turns his attention and desire onto Bell.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 15 – Floor Thirteen, Date, Sun’s Scrutiny

It was morning in Orario and the Floating Bridge Mansion was filled with activity. Everyone had finished breakfast and were going about their tasks for the day, or preparing for their tasks, in the case of the five Adventurers of the Familia.

“We’ll see you tonight, Captain!” Kaede smiled and waved to Bell as she, Momiji and Coco were heading out for another day in the Dungeon. The Hume Bunny girl’s rabbit ears perked up with excitement for the day ahead.

“Th-Thank you for seeing us off, Captain.” Coco thanked Bell with a shy smile and a short bow. The Prum girl was slowly coming out of her shell, but she still got a bit shy from time to time.

Momiji gave Bell a short bow as well. “Today is the Eighth Floor, so we shouldn’t have problems. But we’ll be careful, Captain.” Her black fox ears flicked atop her head and her black fox tail swayed behind her a little.

Bell smiled at the three girls like an affectionate older brother. “That’s good. You three have your bento?” He asked and Coco nodded before turning slightly to show the backpack that she had on her back. “Look out for each other and I’ll see you tonight. If you’re all in good condition, we’ll spar tomorrow morning.”

“Yes! Thank you, Captain!” Kaede beamed at Bell for offering to spar with them again. She wanted to get stronger too, and Bell’s instruction and his Skill helped her grow faster, so she was a big fan…even if she got defeated and tossed around every time.

After seeing the three girls off for their day, Bell looked over his own armor one more time, even patting it down and checking his potions in their special holder and then resting his hand on the hilt of his chokuto. “I’m as ready as I can be for today.”

“Bell, Lili is ready.” Lili greeted her lover as she walked towards the front gate where he was waiting. In her blue mid-sleeve shirt and matching pants, with her black muffler around her neck and her han kote vambraces on her forearms, Lili looked every bit the kunoichi that she was becoming. “We’ll meet Mr. Welf at Babel as usual and head for the Thirteenth Floor today.”

“Right.” Bell nodded to Lili with a warm smile as she adjusted the mid-sized backpack on her back while they headed out.

-Dungeon ~ Thirteenth Floor-

The Thirteenth through Seventeenth Floors were known as the ‘Cave Labyrinth’ by the Adventurers of Orario. The entrance to the Thirteenth Floor was even nicknamed the ‘First Line’ as it was the cut-off point between the half of Adventurers that never Leveled Up and those that did and continued to push deeper into the Dungeon. Starting from the Thirteenth Floor, the walls, ground, and ceiling were made of tough, grey-blue bedrock. The light became dimmer and the air seemed to be slightly moist, as if a source of water ran through the stone tunnels, even though one had never been found. While the Upper Floors of the Dungeon were each just a flat, circular maze, the Middle Floors had more complex layouts, which included intertwining upper and lower tunnels. There were even vertical holes leading to deeper floors that appeared randomly; some of which were hidden beneath thin patches of fake ground just waiting to collapse when a Party of Adventurers walked over it.

The more complex layout and the faster spawning rate of Monsters in the Middle Floors made them much more dangerous than the Upper Floors, so it was known to be very difficult for Level 2 Adventurers to solo these floors. The Monsters on the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Floors were not much different than the ones on the Twelfth Floor in terms of strength, so even Level 2 Adventurers with Basic Abilities of ‘I’ and ‘H’ were capable of exploring these two floors somewhat safely. But starting from the Fifteen Floor, multiple Monsters categorized as Level 2 individually, such as Minotaurs and Ligerfangs, began to appear and the Guild recommended for Level 2 Adventurers to have at least ‘G’ Rank in their Basic Abilities to pass through those floors and arrive on the Eighteenth Floor safely.

“Wooo~” Welf whistled as the three-man Party made their way through the first part of the Thirteenth Floor for the first time. “Quite a shift from the Twelfth Floor, huh?”

“It’s a bit darker, but at least there’s no more fog and mist everywhere.” Lili said, her Prum eyesight naturally good at seeing in low-light conditions. “Keep a look out though, the Middle Floors are never empty for long.” She’d done plenty of studying to prepare for their first trip onto the Thirteenth Floor.

Bell smiled as he lead the way forward, his eyes focused and his ears sharp, even as he turned to look over his shoulder at Lili and Welf. “I’m glad that we were able to get Salamander Wool on sale.” The half cloak of reddish wool that Welf wore over his black yukata-like clothing, the poncho-like cloth that Lili wore, and the over shirt of the same material that Bell wore beneath his grey shinobi armor were all Salamander Wool, cloth made by Spirits—Salamanders in this case—and blessed with their magical protection against their own element, which was fire for the Salamanders, of course.

“How much did this stuff cost, by the way?” Welf asked as he touched the Salamander Wool he was wearing. “I know it’s not cheap.”

“Let’s just say there were five zeroes…” Bell tried to downplay the cost of the Salamander Wool.

Lili glanced at Welf with a little grin. “Make sure to pay Bell back in full, Mr. Welf…”

Welf deadpanned at Lili. “I will, I will… Always a breath of fresh air when it comes to money, aren’t ya, Little Lili?”

“Grrrr!” The growls of wolf-like Monsters filled the air as a pack of them came rushing towards the three-man Party.

“Hellhounds!” Lili called out, easily identifying the well-known Monsters.

Bell unsheathed his chokuto and held it at the ready. “The Monster nicknamed ‘Baskerville’, right off the bat!”

Welf brought his greatsword to bear. “That’s quite a few Monsters to just suddenly appear!”

“Normal armor won’t stand up to a Hellhound’s fire breath!” Lili reminded Welf and Bell of the danger that these Monsters posed most of all. “Slay them quickly!” Her arm moved and a senbon flew through the air to stab straight into the lead Hellhound’s left eye.

“Yipe!” The Hellhound yelped in pain as it reared up on its back legs.

Bell moved past the injured Hellhound and decapitated it with his chokuto. Welf followed right behind him and when Bell leap upwards, drawing the attention of the Hellhounds as their red eyes followed Bell’s movement, Welf swung his greatsword through three of the Monsters in one swing, painting the ground with their blood.

“Hup!” Bell came down, landing feet first onto one Hellhound’s head, crushing it beneath his weight. His chokuto cleanly sliced through two more Hellhounds within reach before he saw the flames erupt from the jaws of three more Hellhounds.

“Shit!” Welf cursed as he turned his sword to the side, using it as an impromptu shield while allowing the Salamander Wool to protect the parts of him that were still exposed.

Wsh

Wsh

Wsh

Lili fired three quick shots with her bowgun, nailing each of the fire-breathing Hellhounds in the head, killing one, but stopping the wave of flames entirely. “Bell! Welf! Are you two okay?!”

Her answer was Bell blurring through the dying flames to cut down the two still living Hellhounds with his chokuto.

“I’m alright, Lili!” Bell called out as he saw the remaining Hellhounds splitting into two smaller groups, one going left and the other right.

“Never better!” Welf yelled back as he charged the group of Hellhounds on the right, managing to cut the lead Hellhound in half with his greatsword.

“Yip!”

“Yipe!

The other two Hellhounds yelped in pain, each with a senbon stuck into them as they backed off, getting out of the range of Welf’s sword.

“Thanks, Little Lili!” Welf said as he brought his sword to bear, only to see both Hellhounds hacking and staggering a bit before collapsing, their bodies twitching slightly as their breathing grew shallow and then they stopped moving entirely. “They’re dead…” He blinked, glancing back at Lili and seeing her focusing on Bell now. “Little Lili’s poison skills are kinda scary.”

Bell had no trouble cutting off the small group of Hellhounds trying to flank the Party from the left. The first Hellhound was cut in two, the second’s neck made an audible crunch as Bell kicked it across the face, and the third found Bell’s chokuto stabbed down its throat when it had tried to unleash its fire breath at pointblank range.

“All clear!” Bell called out to Lili and Welf as he pulled his blade from the dead Hellhound’s throat.

“Clear over here!” Welf called back to confirm the Monsters on his side were all dead.

Lili pulled out her knife as Welf and Bell dragged over the six dead Hellhounds while she gathered up the ones that had been killed closer to her position. A pile of sixteen Hellhounds was made while Welf and Bell kept watch so that Lili could harvest the Magic Stones safely.

“Salamander Wool is amazing.” Bell said as he patted off his grey armor a little. “The flames were hot, but they almost rolled off of the cloth.”

“Lili would expect nothing less of ‘Spiritual Protection’. She will take good care of it.” Lili smiled as she patted her own Salamander Wool before getting back to work.

Welf lifted part of his own Salamander Wool and looked at it with a sigh. “But, you know, looking at this flimsy fabric it’s hard to believe that it’s strong enough to put High Smiths to shame. I can’t compete. Spirits are just something else when it comes to protection from certain elements.”

“They’re certainly worth the money.” Bell said with a grin. “We’ll have less to worry about when it comes to the Hellhounds, at least.”

“Drop Item!” Lili cheered, getting Welf and Bell’s attention as she set the Hellhound Fang to the side before pulling over the next Monster corpse and cutting into it.

It only took Lili another minute to harvest the rest of the Hellhounds, though she lamented at not getting another Drop Item. With the small pile of Magic Stones beside her, Lili pulled a scroll from her mid-sized backpack and unrolled it, revealing the lines of script on it forming a circle. Placing the Magic Stones within the circle, Lili placed her hand on the paper and in a cloud of smoke, the Magic Stones were sealed away safely. Lili rolled up the scroll and put it into the backpack along with the Hellhound Fang a second later.

“Ready to go, Lili?” Bell asked with a little smile.

“Ready!” Lili confirmed with a grin. She’d even managed to recollected her bolts and her senbon from the Hellhound corpses, so she was in a good mood about that.

The three-man Party continued into the Thirteenth Floor…for all of a minute.

“Pyik!”

“Pyk!”

Three bipedal rabbit-like monsters with white fur, red eyes, and two horns atop their heads blocked the way ahead.

“We barely walked a hundred meters and we’re already being attacked again!” Welf said with a grunt as he held his greatsword at the ready. “But these things kinda remind me of someone…”

Lili looked at the three Monsters and then glanced at Bell. “White rabbits… Master Bell?” She barely held back a giggle as she saw Bell’s deadpan expression.

“They’re Almiraj.” Bell had also studied quite a lot about the Middle Floors and knew most of the Monsters that spawned from the Thirteenth to the Seventeenth Floors.

Welf, getting in on the joke, shifted his stance a bit. “Gotta fight Bell… No time to play around…”

Bell shot a flat stare at Welf before looking at the three Almiraj.

‘They’re kinda cute…’ All three of them thought at the same time.

The Almiraj proved that their looks were deceptive as they grabbed small rocks on the ground and pulled upwards, revealing them to actually be stone landform weapons in the shape of hatchets.

“Pyik!” The Almiraj in the center threw its hatchet straight at Bell’s face like a buzzsaw.

Bell snatched the landform out of the air and threw it back in a blur, splitting the middle Almiraj’s head open in a shower of blood.

“Pik!” The other two Almiraj charged swiftly at the Party, their hatchets raised high to bury the rough stone blades into their targets.

They both died as a single senbon pierced through each of their skulls before they could close the distance. As the two Almiraj collapsed to the ground, Lili grinned at her improving skills with her senbon.

“They’re not very tough.” Lili said as she walked forward and pulled her senbon free, wiping them off on the Almiraj’s fur, and then putting them away in their proper pouch again.

Welf nodded as he dragged over the one that Bell had killed with its own weapon. “Yeah, I’ve heard from some of the other blacksmiths in my Familia that Almiraj are most dangerous when in large groups. In small groups, or alone, they’re not really much stronger than an Imp.”

Bell couldn’t help but agree after seeing how easily the three rabbit-like Monsters had been taken out. “Well, hopefully we don’t have to deal with a swarm of them today.”

Lili already had the first Almiraj cut open and was pulling out its Magic Stone. “Lili will work quickly!” She watched the first Almiraj disintegrate into white ash before moving onto the second. “Hey, a Drop Item!” Lili smiled as the Almiraj left behind a pelt of fur. “Almiraj Fur isn’t incredibly rare, but I bet we can sell it for a decent Valis to certain Mercantile Familias.” The third Almiraj didn’t yield a Drop Item, so Lili merely unrolled her storage scroll and sealed away the three Magic Stones and the fur before rolling it back up and placing it into her backpack again.

“Let’s keep going!” Bell said with a smile, encouraging his friends as they were doing well, so far, and he wanted to keep up their momentum.

-Later-

“ROOOAAARRR!!!” A large Hard Armored roared out, along with four more of its kind.

“Grrrr!”

“Bark!”

Hellhounds barked and growled.

“Pyik!”

“Pyk!”

Multiple Almiraj with their stone landform hatchets moved forward as well.

“For the record, you jinxed us, Bell!” Welf said as the Party faced down a large group of Monsters less than a third of the way through the Thirteenth Floor.

“Lili agrees!” Lili said as she readied her bowgun.

Bell stepped forward, his rubellite eyes focused. “Then I should be the one to handle this, huh?”

Crack

Crack

Crack

Crack

Crack

Crack

The ceiling shattered as a flock of newly spawned Bad Bats took to the air and screeched loudly, preparing to unleash their debilitating Howl.

“Earthly God’s mastery…” Bell swiftly went through five hand signs. “…Rai!” Lightning crackled around Bell before he spread his arms wide and arcs of lightning spread widely in front of him. Bolts tore through the Bad Bats in the air, snaked along the ground to electrocute the Almiraj and the Hellhounds, and even the Hard Armoreds roared out in pain despite their high defensive strength.

“Even having seen his magic during the War Game…it’s still crazy how strong it is.” Welf said as he winced slightly from the brightness of the lightning within the dimmer Middle Floors.

Lili watched the lightning magic in almost fascination as it practically wiped out the Monster Party all at once. “Bell has always been amazing.”

The two snapped themselves out of it as Bell’s spell ended and a few of the Monsters were still alive. Charging forward, Welf cut down a Hard Armored that was twitching, unable to roll itself up into a defensive ball. Lili threw senbon into the heads of a couple of Almiraj and Hellhounds, finishing them off before they could hope to recover. After finishing off the injured Monsters, Lili began harvesting them while Bell and Welf dragged the dead Monsters closer and put them into a pile.

While Lili was working to harvest all of the Magic Stones, Bell and Welf kept watch, as normal. But the Party was once more reminded of why the Middle Floors were different from the Upper Floors.

Crack

Crack

Crack

Crack

Crack

The floor erupted as newly spawned Almiraj tore their way out, many of them grabbing landform hatchets at the same time. Bell, Welf, and Lili quickly found themselves surrounded by the rabbit-like Monsters.

“Shit!” Welf cursed as he pivoted to one side to dodge a lunging Almiraj, kicking it in the gut with his boot to punt it into a second one. He shielded himself with his greatsword as a hatchet spun through the air and hit his blade with a clang. “You little!” He swung his sword and lopped off the heads of two of the Almiraj in a single swing.

Bell kicked one Almiraj into another, stabbed both through the chest with his chokuto, spun into a low kick that took a third Almiraj’s feet out from beneath it before stomping on its head to finish it off. His pulled his blade from the now dead Almiraj and it blurred before bisecting a fourth Almiraj, blood flying through the air as the two halves hit the ground. “Lili!”

Lili grimaced as she managed to kill the first Almiraj with a senbon through the eye and into its brain. Two more fell dead as she threw more senbon, though it took three to kill the one on the right as it had a landform to block one of her weapons, while the one on the left died with two sticking out of it while foaming at the mouth from the poison.

“Pyk!”

“Pyik!”

“Pik!”

More Almiraj rushed at Lili, the one closest to her raising its landform hatchet to bury the stone blade into the Prum.

“Sage’s mystical palm. Shōsen!” Lili activated her new magic, the soft green light covering her hands. “Mesu!” She chanted the Spell Key and the soft green light became a blue aura that surrounded her hands instead of covering them.

Shing

The landform hatchet split in two straight through its stone blade. Behind the weapon, the top of the Almiraj’s head separated from the rest of its body…sliced so cleanly that most blades would be hard-pressed to give such smooth cuts. The Almiraj dropped dead and Lili shot forward, her spell passing through the necks of the other two Almiraj in wide sweeps of her arms and hands.

The two rabbit-like Monsters didn’t even realize they were dead until their heads fell from their necks and hit the ground.

“Lili is fine!” Lili called out as she cut through another Almiraj without touching it, her insanely sharp magic passing cleanly through the body.

Welf split the last Almiraj attacking him in two, vertically, with an overhead swing a moment later. “Hah… Hah… Was that the last of them?!” He looked over to Bell and Lili, seeing both of them having already finished off the remaining Almiraj.

Bell searched to the limits of his Kanchi Skill but found no other Monsters around or heading their way. “That’s the last of them, for now.”

“The spawn time is already so fast and this is only the Thirteenth Floor.” Lili said with some surprise as she let her spell fade away. “Lili will finish quickly with the harvesting!” She set to work with renewed determination, quickly opening up one Monster after another and taking their Magic Stones before moving on, not waiting to see if a Drop Item was left behind. ‘Lili can pick them up after all of the Magic Stones are collected.’ Lili now knew that she had to put the speed of her Supporter work to the most efficient use in the Middle Floors, rather than collecting everything from each Monster one-by-one.

“The ‘Mesu’ part of your magic performed as well as we suspected it would.” Bell praised Lili as she worked swiftly, earning him a quick smile from Lili as she continued working. It was a good thing that she’d gotten to try out her spell’s Spell Key in live combat for the first time though. While Bell had helped Lili practice with it before, after seeing how cleanly it cut through anything that wasn’t metal, it was quickly agreed upon within the Sarutahiko Familia that Lili wouldn’t train with that aspect of her magic against people for fear of an accident.

“Didn’t know that healing magic could do something like that.” Welf agreed with a chuckle. “You can be kinda scary, Little Lili.” He joked with her lightly.

Lili would’ve made a joke in response if she wasn’t working quickly to harvest the remaining Monsters.

-Late Afternoon ~ Orario-

The three-man Party had split up after heading for the Guild to cash in their loot for the day. Welf had taken his cut of the Valis from the Magic Stones, along with his pick of the Drop Items that would make up the rest of his portion. With a wave to his friends, Welf had headed back to Valka’s Crimson Chamber, the Hephaestus Familia home.

Bell and Lili had headed for one of the Hephaestus Familia shops that was on the way to the Floating Bridge Mansion to sell their Drop Items. Lili barely even had to haggle much, given that the shop manager had taken one look at Bell and quickly agreed to Lili’s third demanded price. They’d managed to sell Almiraj Furs, a few Almiraj Horns, and several Hellhound Fangs, all for a nice sum of Valis.

“Let’s head home,” Lili took Bell’s hand into hers with a smile. “You have a date tonight.” She said with a little giggle as they walked down the street hand-in-hand.

“I do.” Bell agreed, gently squeezing Lili’s hand in his own. “I hope Miss Ryu likes what I’ve planned for us.”

-Floating Bridge Mansion-

Once Bell and Lili had gotten home, they were quick to set their gear down in their bedroom and then head for the baths. Give the time, they didn’t try to sneak a bath together, and instead just went to bathe on the appropriate sides of the gender-separated baths.

Before Bell got ready for his date, he joined Lili, Momiji, Coco, and Kaede to get a Status Update. As the Captain, and just being his normal kind self, Bell let the girls go first while he waited outside of Sarutahiko’s office.

Lili urged the younger girls to go first with a smile as she sat on a cushion in front of Sarutahiko, but not the one directly in front of the elder Deity.

Coco went first, shrugging off her yukata top with a small blush, using the long sleeves to cover her breasts. She’d not only gotten used to wearing yukata around the home, but they’d become her favorite type of loungewear.

Sarutahiko put a drop of his blood on Coco’s back and watched as his Falna appeared on her skin amidst the familiar blue-white glow. He watched her day in the Dungeon with Kaede and Momiji through Coco’s eyes and saw the numbers of her Basic Abilities increase notably from her hard work. “Very good work today, Coco.” He praised her with a small smile.

“Thank you very much, Lord Sarutahiko.” Coco appreciated the praise from her God, having grown to enjoy it during the regular Status Updates that they’d all been able to get since joining the Sarutahiko Familia. She took the paper handed to her a moment later.

-Status-

Coco Collins

Level 1

Strength – G 275 > G 287

Endurance – G 243 > G 254

Dexterity – F 316 > F 329

Agility – F 338 > F 349

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

Demure Potential – Increases the user’s stats by a large amount.

-Status-

“I’m still growing well.” Coco almost sounded relieved that her growth was still increasing as much as it was. “Strength will reach ‘F’ Rank soon too!”

Sarutahiko chuckled softly. “That’s because of your hard work, Coco. You have a lot of potential; you just have to realize it.” He assured Coco gently.

“Yes! Thank you, Lord Sarutahiko!” Coco nodded as she put her yukata top back on properly and then moved off the cushion and made sure to burn her update with a nearby candle.

Kaede took her place with a smile as she shrugged off her yukata top and held the sleeves over her chest for modesty. “I’m ready!”

Sarutahiko placed a drop of his blood on her skin and the Falna appeared on the Hume Bunny’s back a second later in the familiar blue-white glow.

“Am I still growing just as well as before, Sarutahiko-sama?” Kaede asked after feeling the elder God’s finger leave her back a few moments later.

“Yes, Kaede. You’re doing just as well as you have been.” Sarutahiko said with a chuckle as he handed her the paper while locking up her Falna.

-Status-

Kaede Tsukinokami

Level 1

Strength – E 401 > E 414

Endurance – F 372 > F 383

Dexterity – E 436 > E 450

Agility – E 445 > E 459

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

Usagipo (Rabbit Step) – Increases the user’s speed and lets them clear distance in fewer steps. Active Trigger.

-Status-

“Hehe! Soon all of my Basic Abilities will be ‘E’ Rank!” Kaede cheered happily at her continued growth. Growing stronger had been her entire goal for leaving her hometown on her training journey, and ever since she’d joined the Sarutahiko Familia her progress had greatly increased.

Momiji switched places with Kaede as the Hume Bunny slipped her yukata top back on and then burned her update just like Coco had done earlier.

“Are you ready, Momiji?” Sarutahiko asked as the Renard undid her yukata, then moved her long black hair over her shoulder to expose her bare back, before she covered her chest with the sleeves of her yukata.

“Yes, Sarutahiko-sama.” Momiji looked over her shoulder at her God with a soft smile, the way her fluffy black fox tail lightly moved against the floor made it obvious that she was looking forward to seeing her own improvements.

Sarutahiko placed the drop of his blood onto her back and let his Falna appear with the familiar glow. He watched Momiji’s Excelia for the day and smiled at how hard all of his children were working. “You all continue to make me proud.”

“Thank you for saying so, Sarutahiko-sama.” Momiji had a smile on her lips and light pink cheeks from the praise. She accepted the update paper when it was handed to her a short moment later.

-Status-

Momiji Shinonome

Level 1

Strength – G 255 > G 264

Endurance – G 230 > G 242

Dexterity – F 370 > F 385

Agility – F 351 > F 366

Magic – E 417 > E 432

-Magic-

Shūryō (Cool Autumn Wind) – Incantation: “A wondrous change, a season of brilliant colors that fade. Little fox, curious of the cooling breeze, play among the leaves. The divine blessings of nature wither this season.” Magic that appears as orange, red, yellow, and brown leaves that cut like blades with a cool breeze. Those cut by the leaves have their Status lowered. The decrease in Status is dependent on the user’s Level.

-Skills-

Kurokojutsu (Black Fox Magic) – Increases the effects of the user's magic and improves Mind usage.

-Status-

“Dexterity will reach ‘E’ Rank soon!” Momiji beamed, happy with her growing skill using her ōnusa as a short staff thanks to Bell’s instruction. After putting her yukata back on properly she moved over to Kaede and Coco and was promptly congratulated by her friends before she burnt the paper like they had done before her.

“Your turn, Liliruca.” Sarutahiko smiled at Lili.

Lili sat in front of Sarutahiko, shrugging off her yukata top before covering her breasts with the wide sleeves. “Lili is ready, Lord Sarutahiko.” She smiled over her shoulder at the elder God.

Sarutahiko watched Lili’s Excelia for the day, seeing the Monster Party that had she’d run into with Bell and Welf and how they’d handled it, only to be suddenly attacked by newly spawned Almiraj shortly afterwards. “Quite the first day in the Middle Floors for your Party, I see.” He moved the Excelia into Lili’s Basic Abilities and watched as her numbers climbed. Once they stopped, he placed a blank paper onto her back and copied the new Status over with a swipe of his finger. “Here you are, Liliruca.”

Lili accepted the paper with a smile after putting her yukata back on properly.

-Status-

Liliruca Arde

Level 1

Strength – G 297 > F 315

Endurance – F 300 > F 317

Dexterity – D 509 > D 536

Agility – C 652 > C 677

Magic – C 638 > C 664

-Magic-

Cinder Ella – Incantation: “Your wound is mine. My wound is mine. Echoing message of midnight.” Transformation Magic that enables the user to transform into anything around their size.

Shōsen – Incantation: “Sage’s mystical palm.” Healing Magic that surrounds the hands and can heal both internal and external wounds of the user or others. Can also help relieve afflictions like poison. The magic energy surrounding the hands can take on razor-sharp cutting properties instead of healing by chanting Mesu.

-Skills-

Artel Assist – When the user is carrying a certain amount of weight, this Skill will help compensate in abilities. The amount compensated depends on the weight.

Storage Scroll – Allows the user to store non-living objects in scrolls. The scroll’s script must be written with ink that is mixed with the user’s blood.

-Status-

Lili smiled at her improvement. “Strength went up to ‘F’ Rank.” It wasn’t overly impressive, given that Coco, a fellow Prum and her junior as an Adventurer by a few years, was almost to the same rank in Strength, but it was still good growth that she was happy to see.

“You’re growing wonderfully, Liliruca.” Sarutahiko told her warmly. “You’ve set yourself on a different role as an Adventurer, so there’s no need to compare yourself to others.”

“Yes, Lord Sarutahiko.” Lili smiled at him as the four girls stood up from their cushions and bowed to their Deity.

Once the girls had left the room, Bell entered and sat before Sarutahiko. He easily shrugged off his yukata top and revealed his bare back. “I’ll be out for dinner tonight, Lord Sarutahiko.” He told his God with a smile.

Sarutahiko chuckled and nodded to Bell. “I remember. We’ll get your update done swiftly so that you’ll be on time.” With that, he let a drop of his blood touch Bell’s back, revealing his Falna with a soft blue-white glow. Watching the Excelia showed Sarutahiko the same events as Lili, but through Bell’s eyes as the Monster Party was wiped out and the other Monsters of the Thirteenth Floor were dealt with by the Party. “Your skills continue to grow by the day, Bell.”

“Thank you, Lord Sarutahiko. I’m doing my best to improve and help Lili and Welf out as well.” Bell said as he felt the piece of paper being pressed against his back. He always enjoyed helping others when and where he could; and he found it to be a very heroic trait to have…in his opinion.

“Here you are, Bell.” Sarutahiko handed the new Status Update over to Bell with a grin.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 2

Strength – G 238 > G 283

Endurance – G 234 > G 279

Dexterity – G 245 > G 291

Agility – G 240 > G 286

Magic – G 252 > F 300

-Magic-

Gogyō (Five Elements) – Incantation: “Earthly God’s mastery.” This Magic allows the user to use five different elemental Magics by using the appropriate word modifier: Sui for Water Magic, Do for Earth Magic, Fū for Wind Magic, Rai for Lightning Magic, and Ka for Fire Magic.

Kokushin (Black Needle) – Incantation: “Disrupt.” This Magic allows the user to create a black material in the shape of needles, batons, or rods at the cost of Mind.

-Skills-

Fugō (Sign) – Allows the user to change the form of a spell by making different signs with their hands.

Shihyō (Paragon/Teacher/Model/Leader) – Removes limits of growth. Rate of growth increases in proportion to the user’s efforts to improve. Growth of others increases when instructing them.

Kanchi (Sensing) – Allows the user to sense living things within a certain range of themselves and distinguish between Monster and Non-Monster. The range increases based on the Magic stat. Active Trigger.

-Developmental Ability-

Martial Mastery – I (Massively increases all Basic Abilities, greatly enhances perception and reaction time.)

-Status-

“My Magic stat reached ‘F’ Rank, and all of my other stats are very close too.” Bell had a bright smile on his face as he saw his continued growth.

Sarutahiko nodded to Bell as he watched his Captain burn his update paper with the nearby candle. “Your dedication to your goals and your hard work to reach them are the reason that your Skill works at all, Bell. Never forget that you are far more than the Falna upon your back. Though it records your ‘story’, it does not make you who you are.”

“I will remember that, Lord Sarutahiko.” Bell bowed to Sarutahiko for the freely given wisdom and guidance before he left the room to go get ready for his date.

-Hostess of Fertility-

Ryu fidgeted just slightly as she stood to the side of the pub, partially hidden in the alleyway to avoid too many eyes. She wore a white dress that went just past her knees, soft lace the color of a lilac went across her chest to accentuate her breasts a bit, while the hems of her sleeves had larger lace accents in the same color surrounding her wrists, and the neck of her dress had thinner lilac lace all the way around to pair with the small bow of the same color at the base of her neck. It would be considered conservative by human women, and probably a bit ‘boring’ for Amazons, but for an Elf woman, it was blatantly bold without being ‘too much’ as it softly hugged Ryu’s body to show off her curves a little.

“Ryu…” Bell called to her as he approached, only to trail off as he took her in. “…gorgeous.” He breathed out as he looked at Ryu with wonder.

Ryu blushed, she couldn’t help it, her heart fluttered at the way Bell’s rubellite eyes took her in like she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. “Bell…” Her own blue eyes took in Bell’s attire for the evening, a nice white button-up shirt with a brown jacket that matched his slacks and gave off an informal and relaxed ‘suit’ style with a simple pair of leather shoes on his feet. “…you look handsome.”

Bell blinked, seemingly shaking himself from his stupor of seeing Ryu. “Thank you. You’re beautiful, Ryu.” He told her with warmth and sincerity, making Ryu’s pink cheeks turn red as her Elven ears wiggled just slightly from her happiness. ‘They do wiggle when she’s happy…’ Bell thought to himself, his inner voice like a child’s that had just discovered something wondrous and amazing. “Shall we?” He offered Ryu his arm.

“Yes.” Ryu agreed as she gently looped her arms with Bell’s and the two began to walk down the street.

Neither of them noticed that Syr, Anya, Lunoire, and Chloe were all peeking at them from the doorway of the Hostess as they walked away.

“So cute, nya~” Anya giggled to herself.

“It’s adorable.” Lunoire agreed with a little grin.

Chloe’s tail flicked behind her. “Nya, Ryu is so lucky~”

Syr giggled behind her hand, her eyes practically sparkling. “Their love is so pure and cute~” Inside she reveled in the True Love that was so clear to her.

“Get back to work, ya lazy girls!” Mama Mia shouted at the four of them from the bar.

“Yes, ma’am!” The four yelped out and hurried to get back to their work.

-Orario ~ East Main Street-

Ryu and Bell walked the streets of Orario, taking in the city lit up at night as they passed through specific areas that gave them great views. The two were still arm in arm together, and Ryu had completely forgotten that she had no idea where Bell was taking her tonight. As they stopped at a certain shop, Ryu couldn’t help but blush as it was a small and cozy café run by an Elven couple.

The wife and husband that owned the café smiled at seeing a young Elven maiden clearly in love. As drinks were brought out, Bell gently held Ryu’s hand the whole time. As the two enjoyed their tea, a special blend of Elven origin that Ryu found quite soothing and delicious, they perused the menu together.

“There’s a meal for couples.” Bell noticed as he looked at the specific meal on the menu.

Ryu blushed cutely as she looked at the meal listed. A platter of seasonal vegetables and fruits, perfectly seasoned venison that was a specialty of the Elven Forest from which the owner couple hailed, along with creamy herb soup and fresh bread. All of it served on one platter—and one bowl for the soup—for the couple that ordered it to share.

Bell looked into Ryu’s eyes with warmth and affection. “Should we get that?”

“Y-Yes…” Ryu nodded, having a hard time looking into Bell’s eyes as her heart thundered in her chest and her emotions soared.

Once the order was put in, Bell and Ryu talked softly about anything and nothing. They shared parts of their early lives with each other, Ryu telling of her childhood and growing up to be a protector of her homeland’s sacred tree. While Bell told of her of his life in the quiet mountain farming village and of his grandpa, the kind old man that had encouraged Bell to follow his dreams to become a true Hero.

When their food came, the Elven man giving the two a gentle smile as he set the platter on the table between Bell and Ryu, the couple each picked up their forks and took some of the fresh, seasonal vegetables to eat. Ryu hummed pleasantly at the taste, Elven cooking being something that any Elf would recognize upon the first taste.

“It’s tender, but still so fresh…the flavor is brought out by cooking, yet the vegetable isn’t too soft or overdone at all.” Bell marveled at how a vegetable could retain its full flavor profile when cooked and barely change its consistency at all. “It’s like it was freshly pulled from the ground already perfectly cooked.”

“That’s Elven cuisine, Bell.” Ryu smiled warmly at Bell, seeing how he enjoyed her people’s food. “While for many, meat is a rarity, several of the Elven homelands partake in hunting or fishing and incorporate meat into their recipes.” She motioned to the venison at the center of the platter.

Bell smiled, loving to learn more about Ryu and her people, as he lightly stabbed the venison and found that while it looked whole, it had been sliced perfectly into thin strips, each a perfect bite-size. “Amazing…” The skill to cut cooked meat with a knife so precisely that it still looked whole on the plate wasn’t something that just any chef could do. Picking up the small piece of venison, Bell smiled as he held it up to Ryu. “Ahhh~”

Ryu’s blush went from pink to red so fast that Bell would’ve missed it if he’d blinked. “B-Bell…” She stumbled over her words, looking anywhere but at Bell as he held up the bite of venison to feed her.

“Yes, Ryu?” Bell asked with a playful smile.

“Y-You… I…” Ryu tried to come up with words, but found herself unable to.

Bell didn’t make it better with his next words. “You can feed me a bite right after.”

Ryu felt like her face was getting far too hot, even as her pointed Elven ears wiggled in joy that poured from her heart. “I… O-Okay…” She was still as red as a tomato, even as she opened her mouth and let Bell feed her the bite of venison. She enjoyed the warmth of the meat and the simple, yet elegant flavor of the seasoning, almost able to see the forest that the Elven couple that owned the café hailed from. “It’s delicious…”

Bell smiled softly at Ryu as he looked at her fork and then at the venison, silently hinting at what he’d like her to do.

“A-A-Aahhh…” Ryu stuttered out as she used her fork to lift a piece of the venison up towards Bell’s mouth. Her face couldn’t possibly get any redder and she was thankful that there were currently no other customers in the café.

Bell took the bite of venison and hummed in enjoyment at the taste while Ryu watched him. “That’s amazing venison.” Bell agreed with Ryu, he’d grown up having venison from time to time, and this was easily the best that he’d ever had.

Ryu smiled at Bell again, her heart still beating powerfully within her chest, but now she could only be happy that she’d given Bell his first taste of Eleven cooking, even if he’d been the one to plan their date. That didn’t stop her from blushing throughout the entire dinner as she and Bell shared everything from the same platter and even fed each other soup as well.

“Those two remind me of a certain young couple…” The wife of the Elven owners said with a little giggle after Bell and Ryu had left the café. “But the genders are reversed.”

“I got better…” The husband wrapped his arms around his wife’s waist with a smile.

The wife nodded with a grin. “And it only took you two years~”

The two shared a soft kiss together before they separated, only to have a few customers come shortly afterwards.

Bell and Ryu, once more arm in arm, walked down East Main until they got to one of the lightly forested areas within the massive walled city. Ryu leaned into Bell as they strolled through the small woodland together, moonlight falling on them through the gently swaying leaves of the trees. When they got to a small clearing within the trees, Bell stopped them and took Ryu’s hands in his with a loving smile.

With the moonlight pouring down on them both, Bell held Ryu’s hands and spoke to her genuinely and from the heart. “Ryu, from the moment that we met and to this very moment, I’ve cared about you and have fallen deeply in love with you.”

Ryu’s blue eyes reflected the moonlight as her heart began to beat in time with Bell’s while they looked into each other’s eyes. “Bell…”

“Ryu, no matter what happens in the future, I want to share my life with you. To love you forever and make you happy.” Bell told her softly; his words filled with his love for Ryu. “Can I love you like that, with you at my side?”

Ryu could swear that every thought and belief she had about romance was coming true at this very moment. Her eyes filled with unshed tears of joy and love as she nodded to Bell. “Yes! Bell, I want to stay by your side, sharing love and everything else forever!” Ryu poured out her own feelings, seeing them reflected in Bell’s rubellite eyes.

Neither of them even noticed when they’d moved, only when their lips met and Ryu’s arms gently rested on Bell’s shoulders while his arms gently held her waist. Time lost all meaning as they held each other softly and kissed tenderly, their emotions doing all of the communication for them.

Sometime later, Ryu and Bell pulled away from each other, but just enough to be able to look into each other’s eyes as they talked.

“Bell, this was perfect.” Ryu told him sincerely; her blue eyes filled with love. “How did you know about Elven traditions?” She asked softly, thrilled that Bell had clearly gone out of his way to make sure that he conveyed his feelings to her in the Elven ways that she still held close to her heart.

Bell smiled and told Ryu the full truth, even as he looked just slightly sheepish about it. “I asked my Advisor, Miss Sophie, about how Elven traditions went regarding relationships and courtship. She thought I was talking about her and swatted me once with a rolled up stack of papers before I could tell her that I was asking because I had an Elf girlfriend.” Bell chuckled lightly at that memory, before Sophie had answered his question in apology for misunderstanding him.

Ryu leaned into Bell and held him close, laying her head on his shoulder. “Thank you…” She said softly, the little Elven girl that had once learned about romance back in her home forest was completely fulfilled by Bell’s perfect proposal of courtship. By the Elven traditions of Ryumilua Forest—Ryu’s homeland—they were one step below engagement, as that required an actual ceremony, and Ryu couldn’t be happier as Bell took her left hand into his right hand while they held each other.

“Don’t let go of the man that is able to take your hand one day, Lion.”

Ryu swore she heard her old friend Alise’s voice again as she stood there in the woodland clearing under the moonlight with Bell. ‘I won’t, Alise.’ She thought to the memory of her friend while she gently squeezed Bell’s hand for good measure, smiling softly when Bell gently squeezed back.

-Elsewhere-

In a grand three-floored mansion with an inner garden, corridors, and a large front garden with flowers and trees, all protected by a large iron fence around it, a God sat upon a long chaise lounge indulging in a bit of high-quality wine and a charcuterie board of fine cheeses.

The God in question looked like a tall handsome man with scarlet red hair with bright and wavy locks gliding over one another, though it could appear to be radiant blonde hair that looked as if sunlight had been condensed together if he let even a fraction of his Divinity flow freely. Many would also say that he had a smile that was equally as brilliant. He wore a beige toga-like garment as he lounged and a laurel wreath upon his head.

This was Apollo, God of the Sun, Poetry, Prophecy, Archery, Athletics, Dance, Healing and Disease, among other Domains. His Familia was rather large and boasted multiple Level 2’s and his Captain was Level 3. As he lounged and enjoyed himself, he was looking at a paper in his hand.

“Oh my, such a talented and handsome child is wasted in such a small Familia.” Apollo said with a smile as he looked at Bell’s picture on the Rank Up notice that the Guild had posted upon the record breaking Level Up. As a Deity, Apollo was well known for his excessive ‘passion’ for both things and people. A large number of his Familia had been people that had caught his attention and passion and that he’d followed across the lands until they’d fallen agreed to join his Familia. “But I know that I can’t be the only Deity thinking such things. Perhaps I should…extend an offer to you, Bell Cranel~”

While Ishtar was patient enough to bide her time for years if need be to get what she wanted; Apollo was the type to chase down his passions until he had them in his grasp. Two opposing methods, but both had proven successful in the past for their respective Deity.

While Bell and Ryu slowly walked back towards the Hostess of Fertility, arm in arm. The Captain of Sarutahiko Familia had no idea that multiple other Deities were plotting to obtain him like a prize. His monstrous talent that had pushed him to break the record for fastest Level Up in history as well as take down the entire Soma Familia in a one vs one-hundred battle had made him the object of fascination for many within Orario.

The upcoming Denatus would be quite the event, this time around.

-End Chapter-

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Bell and Ryu are so lovey-dovey and cute together~

All of the warm and fluffy for the Best Elf!

As Bell, Lili, and Welf start to take on the Middle Floors, they already see the difference from the Upper Floors. Monster Parties, spawn times, strength of Monsters, everything has been kicked up a notch and this is only the Thirteenth Floor!

Thankfully, they’re able to handle it as a team! The next goal is to get all the way down to the safe zone of the Eighteenth Floor, the Under Resort: Rivira! How long will that take the three-man Party with Bell’s monstrous talent leading the way?

Just what will happen to the Sarutahiko Familia with TWO other Deities with much larger Familia plotting to take Bell for themselves?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!