Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter! Both Bell and Mikoto have completed a Grand Feat and earned the ability to Level Up! But during the life-and-death fight, Bell reached an epiphany he hadn’t before when it came to the sword. Can he possibly recreate that epiphany at will and turn it into understanding? What lies beyond the limits of strength? Is there a limit or only remove for more growth? The results of a few things will soon be revealed as well. What changes will come from them?
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Chapter 6 – Beyond Strength, Level Up, Results
It was the morning after Monsterphilia and Bell was in the open courtyard of Fushimi Taisha swinging a bokken as he practiced everything he’d learned from Mikoto and the Takemikazuchi Familia.
“Hup!” Bell swung down sharply, but even though the strike was swift and accurate, it wasn’t what he wanted. “That still wasn’t right.” He looked at the bokken curiously, thinking back to the fight yesterday against the strange Flower Monster. His broken sword didn’t have the reach to cut through the tough sinuous body…and yet, in a moment of strange epiphany or insight, he’d managed to cut without the blade directly touching his target. “A cut that reaches further than the blade…” He considered it once more and then took up his bokken in both hands again to continue his practice. “Maybe I need to use my magic like I was during the fight?” He would try all angles and possibilities to recreate the moment that he’d experienced the strange phenomenon, and it never hurt to train and practice with his magic as much as possible either.
-Three Hammers Forge-
Ais poked her index fingers together as she handed over the loaned rapier to Goibniu. The blade had snapped while fighting the strange Flower Monsters at Monsterphilia…and she knew she was going to get scolded by the Smithing God.
“Hah…in this condition after just five days.” Goibniu sighed as he held the broken rapier, his sharp eyes examining the broken edge of what was left of the blade. “You sure know how to make a blacksmith cry, girl.”
“…sorry.” Ais apologized with a short bow. “Um…h-how much?” She asked the price for the loaned weapon that she’d broken.
Goibniu sheathed the broken sword with a flat expression. “40,000,000 Valis or thereabout.”
Ais flinched as if the number had hit her like a physical force. She accepted Desperate back and secured it to her hip; her head partially hung the whole time. ‘It’s going to take me weeks to make that much…’ She promised to pay back the cost of the loaned weapon before she left and headed back to the Twilight Manor to get used to using Desperate again.
She had no idea that her friends and superiors would make her dungeon crawling to pay back her debt into a group trip to pay off debts in general.
-Shinto District-
A large plot of land was filled with Goibniu Familia builders as they dug large holes in two spots and brought in large stones, lumber, and roof tiles. Inari was there, looking over the plans with the foreman for this particular project.
“I can’t believe the bathhouse is already coming along so well!” Inari was beaming at getting to fulfill the most wished for request on the Ema board of her shrine for all of the people of the Shinto District. “Two large natural inground pools for the outdoor baths, a dozen large wooden tubs for the indoor baths, and once the basic construction is done we’ll plant bamboo for ambience!”
“Yes, Lady Inari.” The foreman chuckled at the happy Fox Goddess. “Separating the large inground pools does mean that we need a water supply system and drainage system for each though…and we’re definitely going to have to excavate the back side a bit more to have a basement area for the water catchment and filtering system.” He pointed out on the blueprint where they were planning to build the area.
Inari nodded as she looked over the blueprint again. “As long as we keep the boilers in the front part of the building here, we can feed the hot water into the pools and the indoor tubs with gravity and use pumps to put it through the filtering cycle and then back into the boilers again.” The recirculating system was necessary since they couldn’t dig deep to an underground geothermal spring for a true onsen. The Dungeon was below Orario, after all, and digging into it would only make another exit for Monsters, which the Guild would punish to the point that the Ganesha Familia and the Astrea Familia would be brought in depending on the severity of the incident. “The filters will get rid of dirt and debris, while the boiling will kill off all bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Everyone will have clean hot water to bathe in at all times!” She was giddy at giving the people what they wanted.
The foreman nodded in agreement, clearly understanding the design, even if he wasn’t an expert in plumbing. But he did have guys that were experts and he believed in their skills and craftsmanship. “We’ll have everything built and set up for you just as you specify, Lady Inari. You can count on Goibniu Familia!” He took pride in the skill of his Familia’s builders and always satisfying the customer.
“I’ll leave you to it, foreman.” Inari smiled at the man, letting him get back to work. ‘Once I know the dimensions of the two pools and all of the wooden tubs, plus the size of the water system, I’ll be able to tell Miach the water volume and the temperature we’ll maintain so that he and Naaza can come up with a perfect medicinal compound to add to the water straight out of the boilers for minute healing properties!’ Her smile was glowing and her Domain Divinity was gently spreading over the construction site and the entire Shinto District as more ‘Industry’ was performed.
-Hephaestus Familia Shop ~ Northwest Shop-
“Hmm…” Bell was looking through the selection of katana on display. He’d tested a couple, so far, but they weren’t quite the weight that he was used to. One had been too long, another too heavy, but he saw another that caught his eye and picked it up off the rack. “Let’s see…” He weighted it in his hand, finding it familiar and comfortable. The tsuba was simple enough, a depiction of scattering fire stylized into the dull metal as adornment, and the wrap on the handle was black in color and perfectly tied. Slowly unsheathing the blade, Bell smiled at the slight reflection he could see in the metal and the nicely wavy hamon pattern. “It’s nice.” He took hold of it with both hands and slowly moved through the motions of various strikes. “Perfect.” Sheathing the katana, Bell carried it up front with a smile and placed it on the counter.
“Will this be all, sir?” The young man manning the till asked with a pleasant smile as he looked at the purchase price on the tag and then checked the name on the back of the tag. He blinked once, but moved on swiftly enough that Bell didn’t notice.
Bell nodded as he watched the shopkeeper remove the tag and set it atop what looked to be a thick ledger. “Yes, sir. My last sword broke, so I needed a replacement.”
The shopkeeper nodded at that, having heard it dozens of times before. “We thank you for purchasing from Hephaestus Familia. Our quality is guaranteed.” He gave a short bow to Bell. “That will be 20,000 Valis, sir.”
“Here you are.” Bell easily counted out the coins and placed them on the counter, letting the shopkeeper collect them and count them. He took the katana when the shopkeeper handed it to him and slid it into his obi. Wearing his Adventurer gear only seemed to make sense as he was replacing part of his kit and needed to get a feel for it now before he returned to the Dungeon. Walking out of the shop with a daisho set on his hip felt right to Bell and put a smile on his face.
“Huh, Crozzo the Defective actually made a sale. Everyone is going to be surprised at home tonight.” The shopkeeper said to himself as he moved the tag to the side and opened the ledger, finding the name of the blacksmith in question, he wrote down the sale price, and the name of the weapon to mark down a successful sale. ‘Still, what is with that weird naming sense of his? Who names a sword ‘Zansho’ of all things?’
As Bell walked down the street he was surprised to spot two familiar young women. “Miss Tiona, Miss Tione!” He smiled and waved to the two Amazons.
“Bell?” Tiona beamed as soon as she saw him. In the next second she was leaping towards him and wrapping her arms around his right arm in a hug. “You’re already good to walk around and everything after yesterday?”
Tione walked over and smiled at Bell, looking him over in his haori and hakama, noticing the cloth wasn’t normal with experienced eyes. “You look alright. And you’ve replaced your broken sword.”
“Yeah, I’m alright.” Bell smiled back at the sisters. “The potions from Ganesha Familia healed my injuries.” He placed his hand on the bottom of the handle of his new katana. “Yeah, the other one was good, so I wanted another one the same length and weight. I found this one and bought it for 20,000 Valis.” Bell looked between Tiona and Tione warmly. “So, what’re you two up to today?”
“Wandering around, mostly.” Tiona smiled as she stepped back from the hug she’d given his arm. “We like to go around the city after coming back from an expedition.”
Tione looked at Bell curiously. “So, what’re you doing now that you’ve replaced your sword?” There was plenty of time left in the day to spend together, if Bell didn’t have any other plans.
Bell thought about that for a moment. ‘Inari is spending the day looking over the continued construction of the Shinto District. Mikoto is taking a little down time after yesterday and staying home. I’ve already practiced today…’ His thought trialed off as he considered what he’d been attempting to recreate. “Tione, Tiona…have either of you ever cut something with a swing of your blade that didn’t make contact?” He asked, figuring that if anyone may have experienced what he had, it would probably be high-ranking Adventurers like the two Level 5’s in front of him.
“Can’t say that I have.” Tione looked at Bell curiously. “Sometimes parts of Monsters my blade didn’t directly touch get cut through, but that’s from the force applied to its body where I did cut it.”
Tiona looked thoughtful for a moment, even cutely placing her index finger on her chin as she looked upwards. “I don’t think I’ve done what you’re talking about. When I get my Urga up to a good speed, I sometimes tear Monsters apart without the blades going all the way through, but like Tione said, that’s just the force traveling through the body.” She leaned a little closer, her green eyes curious. “Why? Did you cut something without touching it?”
“I think so?” Bell said after a second to look at Tiona’s cute expression. “When Mikoto and I were fighting that Flower Monster yesterday, near the end, my broken sword didn’t have enough reach to cut through its tough body. But as I cut it, I felt like I understood what I was doing wrong for just a second and when I changed my grip and position, the rest of the body split cleanly from the swing.” He explained the epiphany he’d had in the most important moment of the battle. “But no matter how I tried during my morning practice, I wasn’t able to do it again.”
Tione looked interested in the phenomenon that Bell had experienced. “Did you feel like time had slowed down at that moment?”
Bell nodded immediately. “Yeah! It seemed to last way longer than the second or so it had to have been.”
“Oh! You’re talking about the flow state thing!” Tiona lit up as she understood what Bell had experienced. “When everything slows down and your body just moves perfectly for whatever you’re doing! I’ve done that a bunch of times over the years!”
“Flow state, huh?” Bell hadn’t heard the term before. “Does that mean I can only attempt the cut I did then while in that state?”
“Not necessarily.” Tione said with a little grin that Bell found very cute. “The flow state matches mind to action and action to mind so that you’re in a synchronized state that you don’t normally experience. But it’s more like an insight of what you CAN do, what you’re capable of.”
Tiona nodded with a smile. “Yep! With enough practice and training you can learn how to do what you did in the flow state whenever you want!”
Bell smiled at that. “So I CAN do it if I put in the effort!”
‘He has a really nice smile.’ Tiona and Tione thought at the same time as they looked at Bell’s bright smile.
“If you want to try practicing…we could help you out right now.” Tione offered, wanting to spend some more time with Bell anyway.
“Yeah, we don’t mind at all!” Tiona’s smile was almost brighter than the sun in the sky. “It’s not quite a Dungeon Date like you had with Ais…but we’ll take it!” She giggled as Bell’s cheeks turned pink.
Tione couldn’t help but get in on the light teasing. “Oh, look at him blush~”
Bell raised his right hand and covered his mouth, trying to partially hide his pink cheeks. “Are you two sure you don’t mind helping me practice?”
Tiona nodded rapidly in her growing excitement. “We want to!”
“In fact, we can head to your place since it’s closer.” Tione said with a playful lilt in her voice that pushed the subtle innuendo just far enough to make Bell’s rubellite eyes widen for a second.
“Alright…thank you both very much!” Bell said and gave the Hyrute Sisters a thankful bow for their offer and time.
Tiona looped her right arm around Bell’s left arm. “Lead the way!” She said with a bright smile on her face that Bell found amazingly cute.
Tione took his right arm, looping her left arm around it with a smile. “We only know where the Shinto District is…we haven’t been to your home yet, Bell.”
‘They both look so cute when they smile…’ Bell thought to himself, enjoying spending time with Tione and Tiona. The fact that they had his arms pressed up against their amazing bodies didn’t hurt either, of course.
The three of them drew quite a few eyes as they traveled to the Shinto District. There were many people that clearly couldn’t believe their eyes at seeing both the Hyrute Sisters arm-in-arm with a man. The envious glares from more than a few of the men made the hairs on the back of Bell’s neck stand on end, but he just tried to push them aside as he honestly didn’t want to deal with them. Once they got to the Shinto District, Bell walked Tiona and Tione through it, letting them look around and take in the Far Eastern buildings, shops, and he even bought both of them something from a food stall.
“Mmm… This dango stuff is good!” Tiona happily munched on the confection drizzled with a slightly sweet sauce.
“We should definitely come around to hang out here on our days off.” Tione said with a smile as she enjoyed her own skewer of dango while looking into the windows of a few of the shops. “I haven’t seen a lot of Far East clothing before, but it looks interesting.” In her head she pictured wearing a few of the shorter outfits she’d seen and showing off a bit for Bell.
“This is Fushimi Taisha, the Inari Familia Home.” Bell introduced Tione and Tiona to the large shrine that was practically in the center of the new district (even if said district was still being built). He led Tione and Tiona inside and greeted the retainers at the shamusho, letting them know he had brought friends over to practice with.
Once the three of them were in the wide open training space, Bell set his katana and wakizashi to the side carefully, and then picked up a bokken.
“Show us what you’re going for, Bell.” Tiona had her hand behind her head and a smile on her face.
Bell nodded once as he took the bokken into both hands properly and focused. “Hup!” He brought the sword down in a sharp, precise swing…but didn’t get a hint of the phenomenon he’d managed during the fight with the Flower Monster.
Tione gave Bell a smile. “That was a good swing.” She pointed to the rack of wooden training weapons, spotting a short sword that was about as long as her kukri knives. “May I?”
“Of course.” Bell motioned for her to use whichever one she preferred.
“When it comes to the flow state, it’s usually not something one does consciously.” Tione said as she picked up the wooden shortsword and got a feel for the weight and balance. “But once your body has done something in the flow state, you become aware that you’re able to perform that same feat.” She was suddenly right in front of Bell and bringing down the training sword towards his head.
Clack
Bell managed to block, his rubellite eyes wide at the speed Tione had shown…not to mention the strength behind the blow that had struck his bokken. ‘I already knew… But she’s so much faster and stronger than me!’ This was the Level Gap…the sheer difference in all physical attributes that existed between Adventurers of different Levels. ‘A Level 1 like me…even with my over-the-limit stats…has no chance of closing the Gap with a Level 5.’
Tione grinned at Bell for managing to block and holding not falling to one knee from the strength she’d put behind the blow…even if she was holding back a lot. “Good reaction time, and your strength isn’t bad either.”
“If you’re up for it…” Tiona said with a smile as she picked up another bokken from the rack and swung it a few times to get a feel for the light training weapon. “…we can help you try to enter the flow state again by training you up Amazon style!”
Bell stood up straight and bowed at an almost perfect ninety-degree angle to both Tiona and Tione. “Thank you very much. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d be grateful to receive your teachings.”
Tiona giggled at the formal acceptance. “No problem, it’ll be fun!”
Tione smiled at Bell. “You’ll get a bit roughed up…but you should get closer to understanding what you experienced before.”
“I’m ready.” Bell said with determination as he held the bokken in front of him, just as he’d been trained by the Takemikazuchi Familia.
Clack
Bam
Bell hit the ground with a grunt, having blocked Tiona’s swing, but failed to react in time to Tione’s. “One more…time, please.” He couldn’t let this opportunity go to waste. How often did a Level 1 get to spar and train with two Level 5’s?
“Whenever you’re ready, Bell.” Tione beckoned him forward this time.
“Give it your best!” Tiona was all sunshine and smiles as she encouraged Bell to keep going.
“Hah…” Bell exhaled slowly, then breathed in again. With a swift charge, he swung at Tione, only for the Amazon to easily block his attack with her wooden shortsword. But the block kept her busy for a fraction of a second as Bell shifted his footing and swung towards Tiona’s midsection in a blur. The loud clack of wood on wood was heard as Tiona blocked with a big grin on her face.
Bell pivoted to one side to avoid the swing at the back of his head from Tione. Backstepped to avoid Tiona’s wide swing that would’ve undoubtedly sent him flying. When he thought he spotted an opening, he stepped into Tiona’s guard and brought his sword from below in an upwards swing. Tion shifted to one side, letting the bokken pass through empty air before her foot lashed out and took both of Bell’s legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground.
“Looks like you have some experience fighting two-on-one, Bell.” Tione said as she looked down at Bell with a little grin.
“But you got too focused on the opening you saw and lost track of my feet.” Tiona giggled a little as she reached her hand out to Bell.
Bell took Tiona’s hand and let her pull him to his feet. “Yeah, that was a mistake on my part. I’ve been taught not to focus solely on one thing in a fight.”
Tione looked Bell over, her green eyes focusing on Bell’s rubellite gaze. “So, you up for more?”
“Yes, please.” Bell readied his bokken again, the fire of determination blazing within his eyes.
Tiona let out a heated breath at the look in Bell’s eyes. ‘I really like that look~’
Tione was of much the same mind. ‘That ferocious determination…it’s really nice.’
The sisters glanced at each other and a brief unspoken conversation passed between them. In the next instant they were coming at Bell from two different directions in a pincer maneuver.
Clack
Clack
Bell managed to block both weapon strikes and then backstepped to avoid a sweeping kick from Tione, only to have to duck a punch from Tiona. With her fist passing by his face, Bell fell back on his training and grabbed the outstretched limb with his free hand before turning his body and hip tossing Tiona onto the ground.
Tiona easily brought her feet down first, catching herself mid-fall, demonstrating excellent strength and bodily control as she balanced at the awkward angle. “That was good!” She lashed out with her own bokken, forcing Bell back as she straightened up.
Clack
Tione’s training shortsword slammed into Bell’s bokken loudly as she applied a little more strength and the weight of her body to her attack. Bell angled his sword and let the blow glance off to the side, bringing his knee up to try and strike Tione’s stomach. “Very good~” She said with an almost purr in her voice, having caught the knee with her free hand as easily as an adult caught a punch from a small child. Bell barely managed to backstep far enough to lessen the blow of Tione’s counterattack, the wooden shortsword grazing across his torso and still making him stagger backwards another step.
“Are you sure you’re only Level 1?” Tiona asked with a curious look.
“Who’s Level 1?” Tione asked rhetorically as she gave Bell a once over.
Bell was certainly far and away the strongest Level 1 Adventurer the sisters had ever seen before.
“I’m still Level 1.” Bell confirmed, even if he DID have the ability to Level Up now.
Tiona and Tione looked at each other again before they both moved in to continue the sparring.
Clack
Clack
The sparring continued like this for a few hours, only stopping for a couple of breaks for water and to catch their breaths. Well, Bell caught his breath, Tione and Tiona seemed perfectly fine without even breaking a sweat. The sun was beginning to head towards the horizon when something happened.
Tiona was coming in from the left, her bokken going for his leg. Tione came from the right, her training shortsword a feint as he saw her put all of her weight onto her lead foot, a sure sign that a kick was coming. As the attacks came at him, both little more than blurs, Bell’s breathing, senses, and neural network had all been forced to the limit for so long that they stopped acting separately.
‘There.’ Bell thought as he adjusted his stance and his grip on his bokken. Time seemed to slow as his arms lost tension and moved along the only path that would strike both incoming opponents.
Tione and Tiona both saw the incoming swing, and they would normally just block or evade it. But the instant that they’d brought their training weapons into the path of Bell’s swing, their finely honed Adventurer senses flared a warning.
‘Danger!’
It was less a real thought and more of an instinct, the kind that all First-Class Adventurers had honed after surviving for years dungeon crawling.
Tione and Tiona stopped their charge and both pushed off the ground with their lead foot to take one large step backwards.
Bell’s bokken swung within fifteen or so centimeters of Tiona’s bokken and Tione’s shortsword, but only passed through open air. “Huh?” He blinked as time returned to normal in his perception. “I missed?”
“That was a good swing.” Tiona marveled as a wide smile spread across her face, her heart thumping in her chest.
“Yeah, it was…” Tione marveled as she felt her heart beat strongly beneath her breast, a warmth flooded her body as if her very blood was heating up.
Bell smiled at the praise even as he breathed in and out in a controlled manner like the Takemikazuchi Familia had taught him. He didn’t even realize how much he’d been sweating until now. “I missed though.”
Tione took hold of the tip of her wooden shortsword with just the tips of her index finger and thumb. “No, you didn’t.” She barely applied any pressure and the tip of the training sword separated from the rest of the wooden weapon…only a tiny strip of wood along what would be the spine of the blade keeping the two pieces together.
“You hit both of them.” Tiona smiled brightly as she merely flicked her bokken and the tip fell off and hit the ground; the wood sliced through cleanly.
“Eh?!” Bell gaped at the damage down to the two training weapons. “But…I didn’t hit them at all.” He couldn’t have broken them from force traveling through the wood when he hadn’t struck the wood at all. “Wait…the flow state.” It was only now that he realized he’d experienced it again and the same phenomenon had occurred with a cut that didn’t come from a physical blade. ‘This isn’t even a blade at all…just wood.’
Tione smiled at Bell. “That was impressive. Did you understand what happened this time?”
Tiona leaned in, eager to hear Bell’s answer.
Bell gave them both a sheepish smile. “Um…not really?” He hadn’t even realized that he’d reached the flow state until after it had happened. “But I think I know a little more about how to swing now.” He looked at the bokken; the training weapon was a bit battered now from the hours of sparring against Tiona and Tione.
“That’s a start!” Tiona smiled at Bell.
“Stuff like this takes time.” Tione nodded in agreement.
“Thank you both…” Bell leaned forward to bow and felt his entire body pitch forward, his muscles suddenly reminding him of their harsh usage over the last few hours.
Tiona caught him, Bell’s face pressed into her chest while her arms lightly looped over his shoulders and her hands rested softly on his back. She looked down at Bell, feeling his warm breath on her small breasts through her white breast wrap. “Comfy?” Tiona asked him with a smile.
Bell looked up at Tiona with his face going a little pink. “S-Sorry, Tiona.” He slowly stood back upright, feeling Tiona’s hands trail over him before she pulled away.
“No problem.” Tiona smiled warmly at Bell.
“Come now, sister. It’s rude not to share.” Tione said as she looked between Tiona and Bell. She opened her arms, almost looking like she was offering Bell a hug, until she flexed her pectorals and made her large tits bounce a bit. “Don’t you want to try, Bell?”
Bell felt his face getting warm, even as his muscles still felt a bit…soft, for lack of a better term. “T-Tione, that’s…I…”
Tiona gave Tione a playful glare. “Stop trying to seduce Bell with those things.”
“I’m doing no such thing.” Tione denied, even as she made her girls bounce again in her red bikini top.
“Stop bouncing them!” Tiona pointed at Tione’s tits with a little growl.
Tione had a blank expression. “I’m not.”
“Liar!” Tiona declared with a huff.
Bell coughed once to get their attention and once Tiona and Tione looked at him, he gave them both a small bow of gratitude. “Thank you for sparring with me today, Tiona, Tione. I really appreciate it.” He smiled at them both once he stood back up to his full height, being a bit taller than both of the young women. “I’d like it if we could do this again sometime?”
Tiona, playful bickering forgotten, beamed at Bell and nodded. “Sure! Any time we’re free!”
“Whenever you’d like Bell, we can make some time to be available.” Tione agreed with her own warm smile.
The three of them enjoyed some light refreshments and a snack brought by one of the retainer women before Bell walked Tione and Tiona to the front gate to see them off.
“We’ll see you later, Bell!” Tiona smiled hugged his arm close to her.
Tione took his other arm, holding it close so that Bell could feel all of her softness against him. “We’ll be waiting for our Dungeon Dates too~” She teased him lightly.
“I…that wasn’t…” Bell coughed once and then gave them both a smile. “I’ll have to talk with someone before I can make any such promises.” He thought of Mikoto and how he wanted her to be aware and approving of any other woman that showed interest in him. ‘She says that she’s used to such relationships from the Far East. But that’s still no reason to make decisions without her approval.’ Inari already thought it was cute and was more than happy to have a bigger ‘family’, but Bell thought it would be better if they all talked it out before anyone else got involved with him.
“I’d be surprised if you didn’t, Bell.” Tione said honestly, giving Bell a softer smile this time. One that she didn’t show to many people at all, in fact.
Tiona squeezed Bell’s arm a little tighter. “We can wait, no rush.” She assured him with a gentle smile, her green eyes warm with affection.
The sisters bid Bell good bye after that, both of them feeling warm and fluttery in their tummies as they practically walked on air all the way home.
-Fushimi Taisha ~ Late Afternoon-
Bell had just gotten out of the baths, washing off the sweat of training and relaxing his sore muscles, when a male retainer approached him.
“Bell-sama, a Miss Lion from Astraea Familia is here to see you.” The man said with a small bow to the Captain of the Familia.
“Astraea Familia?” Bell took a second to recall the Familia and just who ‘Miss Lion’ was. “Ah, right. Maybe she’s here to question me about that incident?” He still recalled the run in with the Prum girl and the Adventurer named Ged. “I’ll receive her.” He told the retainer, taking responsibility for their guest.
Only a few moment later, Bell stepped out of the front door of the house portion of the shrine. He walked along the stone pathway with the light ‘clack’ of the wooden geta on his feet. Once he got to the front gate he saw the beautiful Elf woman from that night waiting patiently for him.
“Miss Lion, welcome.” Bell greeted her with a polite bow.
“Mr. Cranel.” Ryu nodded to the young man, her beautiful blue eyes briefly glancing down to the top of Bell’s black and brown yukata, the cloth parted just a bit and showing off his collarbone and a bit of his pectorals. ‘Stop it.’ She thought to herself as she maintained her composure. ‘This is all Alise and Lyra’s fault.’ Both of her friends had teased her about going to deliver the results of the incident to the third party herself instead of just sending a letter. ‘I’m not looking for a relationship of that nature.’ No matter what any of her Familia members said!
“Would you like to come in for some tea?” Bell offered the hospitality of the Inari Familia, but Ryu shook her head once.
“Thank you, but no, Mr. Cranel.” Ryu politely declined. “I’m merely here to report on the conclusion of the incident that you were third party to.”
Bell nodded in understanding. “Thank you for coming yourself, Miss Lion. I’m grateful to know what happened.”
Ryu couldn’t help the small little smile that formed on her lips. Bell was clearly the polite type and he hadn’t once let his eyes roam over her body like so many of the men she spoke to while carrying out her duties did. “The adventurer, Ged Raish, was found guilty of breach of contract and attempted assault with a deadly weapon. He is being confined for a time by the Ganesha Familia, pending the actions of his Familia and whether or not they pay the fines levied against them by the Guild. The Supporter, Miss Arde, was found to have stolen items and Valis from Mr. Raish, however, upon inspection the items in question were valued at exactly what she was owed for her Supporter work. Therefore, she was not charged with any crime and has been released.”
“I see.” Bell said after a shot moment to process the outcome. “Thank you for informing me, Miss Lion. I’m just glad that Miss Arde is okay. Is there anything that I need to do?”
“Not for this case, Mr. Cranel.” Ryu said simply. “Please continue to follow the laws of the city and we will never be on opposite sides.”
Bell smiled at the beautiful Elf woman. “I’ll make sure that you never have reason to aim your blade at me, Miss Lion.”
Ryu’s tiny little smile returned as she gave Bell a nod. “Then I shall be on my way, Mr. Cranel.”
“I hope you have a nice evening, Miss Lion.” Bell waved her farewell, watching her semi-short golden locks sway slightly in the light afternoon breeze for just a moment before turning around and heading back towards the house.
Unbeknownst to Bell, Ryu’s little smile remained on her lips as she was very aware that his eyes hadn’t drifted down to her rear once she’d turned her back. She was acutely aware of her surroundings and of the eyes and looks of others. Feeling the gazes of those with lecherous and lustful thoughts was common enough in Orario when carrying out her duties with her Familia, but it was always nice when they could meet a respectable man.
‘I have a sudden certainty that Lyra and Alise are going to try and blow this out of proportion over a simple compliment to Mr. Cranel’s character.’ Ryu thought to herself as she walked through the Shinto District, admiring the trees with the last of their pink blossoms on them in the setting sunlight. It was quite a lovely area and Ryu briefly considered looking around before shaking her head once. ‘We can all come on our day off, perhaps.’ It was good to have some time off occasionally to just relax, and Kaguya had mentioned wanting to come here and look around while paying a visit to the shrine.
-Evening ~ Inari’s Room-
Bell sat with his bare back exposed to Inari as she updated his Status. “How does it look?” He asked curiously, having wanted to know if his and Mikoto’s fight to the death with the odd Flower Monster, combined with his special Skill, had been the reason he’d somehow broken the limits of the Falna…or if he could still grow stronger even now.
Inari smiled as she found new Excelia within Bell’s Falna. She watched his training in the morning and then his hours of sparring with Tione and Tiona in the afternoon. “You’re still gathering Excelia…” She moved it over into the Basic Abilities and wasn’t all that surprised when she saw how much they increased. “…and you can still get stronger.” Inari giggled when she saw Bell perk up at that.
“So it wasn’t the Grand Feat alone that broke the limit. My Skill lets me continue to grow beyond the S 999 cap.” Bell was glad that he’d held off on Leveling Up now, even if it had only been for an extra day. ‘It’s for the best that I know everything I can about how my Skill works and how it affects my growth.’
“One second, Bell.” Inari smiled as she copied the update over onto a blank paper with a twirl of her fingertip. “Here’s your last Level 1 Status.”
Bell took the paper with a warm smile for his Goddess girlfriend. “Thank you, Inari.”
-Status-
Bell Cranel
Level 1 (2)
Strength – SS 1,018 > SSS 1,210
Endurance – SS 1,000 > SSS 1,200
Dexterity – SS 1,077 > SSS 1,302
Agility – SS 1,016 > SSS 1,205
Magic – SS 1,010 > SSS 1,203
-Magic-
Foxfire – Special Fire Magic – Swift Strike Magic/Enchantment
-Skills-
Han'ei no Yokubō (Prosperity Desire) – Fast growth. Greater desire results in faster growth. Greater effort results in larger growth. As a side-effect, those who work with the user experience faster growth in proportion to their efforts.
Shukuchi (Reduced Earth) – High-speed movement that makes the user appear to blur or vanish to the eyes of others. Effect rises based on the Agility stat. Active Trigger.
(-Developmental Ability-)
(Hunter)
(Abnormal Resistance)
-Status-
“I didn’t expect my magic stat to increase so much.” Bell admitted as he looked at the paper.
“You practiced for most of the morning with your magic. Hours of constant use with the focus you had to try and recreate what you’d done is going to add up, Bell.” Inari said with a warm smile full of praise. “Are you ready to Level Up?”
Bell set the paper down on the tatami inf front of him and looked over his shoulder with a grin. “Yes.”
Inari gave him a beautiful smile as she added another drop of her blood to the Falna upon his back and the black lines of the fox and the rice stalks along with the torii gate all glowed brilliantly as she advanced Bell’s Falna to Level 2. “Which Developmental Ability do you want, Bell?” She asked, even though she was fairly certain that she knew which one Bell would choose.
“Hunter, please.” He knew that it was a rare Developmental Ability that could only be attained upon advancement to Level 2, thanks to Ouka and Takemikazuchi telling him about it, so when he’d seen it as an available choice, he immediately knew he’d take it.
“Alright.” Inari giggled softly as he wrote the Developmental Ability into Bell’s Falna and then finished the advancement before she placed a new blank paper onto Bell’s back, twirling her fingertip over it to copy the Status. “All done!” She said with a bubbly laughter as she handed Bell his new Status. “You’re Level 2 now, Bell!”
“Thank you, Inari.” Bell gave her a loving smile as he accepted the paper and looked at his first Level 2 Status.
-Status-
Bell Cranel
Level 2
Strength – I 0
Endurance – I 0
Dexterity – I 0
Agility – I 0
Magic – I 0
-Magic-
Foxfire – Special Fire Magic – Swift Strike Magic/Enchantment
-Skills-
Han'ei no Yokubō (Prosperity Desire) – Fast growth. Greater desire results in faster growth. Greater effort results in larger growth. As a side-effect, those who work with the user experience faster growth in proportion to their efforts.
Shukuchi (Reduced Earth) – High-speed movement that makes the user appear to blur or vanish to the eyes of others. Effect rises based on the Agility stat. Active Trigger.
-Developmental Ability-
Hunter – I (Improves abilities against Monsters that the user has fought before and gained Excelia from.)
-Status-
“I’m really Level 2 now.” Bell said, it was almost surreal that he’d reached this Level so quickly.
“The fastest Level Up in history!” Inari cheered with a bright laugh, her silvery fox ears atop her head and her nine silver fox tails swaying behind her in all their fluffiness. “No one is ever going to beat twenty-one days!” She hugged Bell from behind and wrapped them both in her tails as she peppered kisses along his shoulder, neck, and cheek before capturing his lips in a warm and loving kiss.
Bell eagerly returned the kiss, letting his new Status Update fall to the floor without a care. They could report his Level Up to the Guild in the morning before he headed into the Dungeon.
He had no idea that Tione and Tiona were also getting Status Updates tonight and would discover their own surprising growth from their hours of sparring with him.
-End Chapter-
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Wooo~ Bell’s not only Leveled Up just over three weeks early compared to canon (45 days in Canon compared to 21 days here) and all of his stats are in the SSS Rank instead of the SS Rank!
Inari’s Worldy Success and Prosperity Domains are ‘That Good Shit!’ when paired with a hard working young man like Bell who never backs down or gives up! Kek!
The Shinto District’s public bathhouse is coming along now! Soon healing baths will be available for all and Miach Familia will be able to start working their way out of debt! Woohoo!
Bell is trying to recreate the flow state he entered that allowed him to perform a ‘distance cut’/’flying cut’ against the Flower Monster at Monsterphilia. Tione and Tiona will happily help him with that! And get a little fire in their Amazon Blood when they see just how strong Bell has become in such a short time! Hehehe~
But Bell is a responsible young man and he won’t let more women into the relationship he already has without getting Mikoto’s approval of said women. Very good boyfriend he is, yes!
Ryu comes to deliver the result of the incident between Lili and Ged that Bell got involved in. Though she could’ve just sent a letter to the Inari Familia Home… Do we spy a lovely Elf that’s enjoying a nice and respectable man like Bell? Alise and Lyra seem to think so! The teasing between best friends/sisters in all but blood will be glorious!
What will happen once Orario finds out about Bell’s Level Up? Will a certain Supporter approach Bell soon now that she’s been cleared of any crime?
Keep reading to find out!
Let me know what you thought!
Until next time, later!