The Guild was as busy as ever that day, many adventurers coming and going.
However, none of their footsteps or voices reached the inside of the
consultation box in the corner of the lobby.
Bell and Eina sat across from each other, on either side of a desk inside the
soundproofed room.
"Crozzo? I apologize if I'm wrong, but is he part of that blacksmith
family…?"
"He is…So they really are that well known?"
"I believe so, yes. Whenever adventurers or people in this vicinity hear the
name Crozzo, that's the first thing that comes to mind."
A week had passed since Bell received his new weapon and he was just now
passing on the information to his adviser. Eina forced a smile as she listened to
Bell talk about his new ally and contracted smith. The young man's name alone
was enough to start a new conversation.
"But, it's surprising."
"Eh?"
"That there's someone with the name Crozzo in Orario. He should be well
known throughout the city by now. A famous blacksmith like that isn't someone
who can stay hidden for long."
The reason for Welf's anonymity was quite simple: He rejected all clients
who requested magic swords.
To put it simply, it would be extremely difficult for Welf to be recognized as
a Crozzo without making magic swords. The only people who knew the truth
were members of Hephaistos Familia. By contrast, the prospective clients who
didn't know the details tended to treat Welf as a "fake" Crozzo.
"A Crozzo who won't make magic swords is useless to me." With the people
who sought Welf out saying things like that every time, rumors of his existence
had never emerged from the shadows.
While he wasn't disappointed in Eina…Bell was sad to hear that the average
person's reaction to the name Crozzo was only to think about their magic
swords.
"Excuse me, but back to what we were talking about before."
"Ah, yes…Well, can I see it, please?"
Switching gears, Bell reminded Eina why he'd come in today.
A suddenly nervous Eina stood up, her face stiff as a board.
Bell followed suit. Turning his back to her, he took off his armor and inner
shirt.
Bell Cranell
Level 2
Strength: G 267 Defense: H 144 Utility: G 288 Agility: F 375 Magic: H 189
Luck: I
"…"
Eina's jaw dropped when she saw Bell's Status. Her lips quivered for a
moment before she forced her mouth shut.
Only ten days had passed since he leveled up to Level 2. Despite that, his
highest Basic Ability rank was already F, three levels up from the lowest rank of
I.
Just how many barriers was he going to shatter before he was satisfied?
Bell pulled his inner shirt back on as he sat down. He thought now was as
good a time as ever to ask his burning question.
"My battle party is a three-man cell. Is it okay for us to go to the middle
levels?"
Bell's ruby-red eyes radiated determination as he looked Eina square in the
eyes. His demeanor catching her off guard for a moment, Eina took a deep
breath to steady herself and closed her eyes.
The first two floors of the Middle Fortress, the thirteenth and fourteenth
floors, were recommended for Level 2 adventurers with Basic Ability levels
ranging from I to H. Which meant that Bell's status was more than adequate
now.
That left a relatively capable Level 1 smith and a supporter with a very low
Status. It might have been a three-man cell, but it was very unbalanced. Be that
as it may, monsters encountered on the thirteenth floor were not much different
from the twelfth in terms of strength. Monsters like the Hard Armoreds were
also encountered in the middle levels.
As long as they didn't stray too far from Bell, there was very little danger of
them being wiped out on that floor.
Their battle party just barely qualified for permission to enter the middle
levels.
"…Wait a moment."
Eina opened her eyes and left the consultation box.
Bell twiddled his thumbs for a moment, but Eina returned quickly. She was
now carrying three pieces of paper that looked like tickets.
"Bell, take these."
"Are these…"
"They're coupons for salamander wool. Take them to Babel Tower and you'll
get a discount."
Seeing the confused look on Bell's face, Eina explained in further detail.
"I grant you permission to go to the middle levels. However, on one
condition: Everyone in your party must be equipped with salamander wool."
"S-salamander wool?"
"It's a cloth infused with spiritual protection. Without it, you must never, ever
go into the middle levels. Is that clear?"
"V-very clear!"
Eina was leaning forward, her finger in Bell's face. Bell forced his answer
through his mouth, with sweat rolling down his cheeks.
Her thin, half-elf eyebrows standing on end, Eina finally relaxed and sat back
down in her chair.
"Bell, I forbid you to try to do too much. You are to retreat at the first hint of
danger. Can you promise me that?"
"…Yes, ma'am."
Bell nodded in response to Eina's stern emerald gaze.
Eina wanted to make him understand the anxiety that came from not knowing
what was waiting in the middle levels.
She paused for a moment so that her words could sink in.
"Give it your best."
Her eyebrows relaxed, Eina gave him a sincere smile.
Bell left the Guild and headed off toward the Dungeon, where his friends
were waiting for him, that smile fresh in his mind.
"RugyaAH?!"
An arc of red light, and a silverback fell motionless to the floor.
The red light came from a dark red dagger in Bell's left hand. It cut through
the Dungeon's fog like a torch's flame through darkness.
Sensing a new monster charging through the thick fog, Bell wasted no time in
bringing the Hestia Knife into position.
"Hyaaa!"
"GEEH?!"
Stealing the first blow with speed beyond Level 1, Bell cut into his target
with a high-speed counterattack.
An imp screamed out in pain before the pieces of its body hit the grassy floor.
"The fog is going away!"
Bell heard Lilly's voice at his side, through a fog so thick it made the tenth
floor look like a walk in the park.
They had reached their destination on the lower twelfth floor: the room that
connected to the thirteenth.
The fog only filled about half of the square room. As soon as they made it
through, there would be nothing to cloud their vision.
Prums were known for their great eyesight, and Lilly was spot-on. They were
closing in on their destination.
Shuff-shuff-shuff. The three of them stayed close enough to hear one
another's footsteps in the grass. Welf stayed close by, careful not to get separated
as they advanced farther into the room.
"!"
The white fog wavered like smoke for a moment as they walked into the
clear.
A swarm of monsters greeted Bell's eyes as he quickly scanned the room.
The back wall looked like jagged boulders stacked on top of one another behind
the beasts.
The other walls up to this point had been an odd yellowish color, but now
ash-colored rocks were starting to take over. A massive hole sat in the middle of
the back wall.
—That was it!
The entrance to the middle levels.
Thump, thump. Bell's heart was in his throat.
"Haa!"
He left Welf and Lilly behind and charged forward.
Ignoring the intimidating roars of the monsters, Bell used his Agility to
weave through them with ease.
" ?!"
One swing of his red dagger, and a Hard Armored disintegrated into ash.
Despite aiming slightly lower than its chest, the shock waves generated on
impact hit the monster's magic stone and destroyed it.
'The Young Bull, Ushiwakamaru.'
It was a dagger about 15 celch in length. Made by Welf from the Minotaur
Horn, it was much different from the Hestia Knife's precise slashes in that it
utterly destroyed everything in its wake with sheer power.
Two arcs of light carved their way forward, one of purple and one of crimson.
Bell mixed his Agility with a double-bladed attack as he left a trail of dead
monsters in his dust.
"Now that's how it's done…Hell yeah!"
"Hegyaaaa?!"
Welf charged forward with his longsword over his shoulder. Watching Bell
tear through enemy ranks with the weapon that he forged brought a smile to his
face. Just ahead of him, Bell sent two more imps to the ground with spinning
kicks.
"OOWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"You've come to play, too…!"
The floor shook as a massive body emerged from the fog.
Welf changed course to engage the orc that had a natural weapon clutched in
its grasp.
"—KIIIIIIIII!"
"?!"
However, a shrill shriek pierced his eardrums before he could close the
distance.
It came from a bad bat, flying just overhead.
Welf was disoriented by the intense screams of the monstrous winged rodent
and took a knee to steady himself.
The orc wasted no time in seizing this opportunity and swung its club down
at Welf with all of its might.
"Mr. Welf?!"
"!"
Lilly's yell alerted Bell to what was going on behind him. He knew
immediately how dangerous the situation was and moved to assist.
Since the monster had Welf pinned down, Bell didn't have a clear shot.
Firebolt was not an option.
He made a split-second decision.
Slamming his foot in the ground and launching himself toward the orc, Bell
set a course to engage the monster in close-quarters combat.
"Lilly, the broadsword!"
Bell's voice cut through the chaos.
Lilly instantly realized what Bell had in mind.
She jumped forward and wrapped her hand around the hilt of a broadsword
that had been strapped to the outside of her backpack.
Pulling to release the restraints, she brought the sword handle up to her side.
The weapon itself still hung in a side strap. The blade as long as she was tall,
their combined shadow made a perfect plus sign in the grass.
Putting her body directly in Bell's path, she spun her back to him.
Bell reached out and grabbed the hilt, withdrawing the silver blade as if Lilly
herself was the sheath.
"—!!"
Full speed.
The orc's club was a mere heartbeat away from crushing Welf's head when
Bell crashed into their battle with everything he had.
"OOOOOOOOOWWWWW!!"
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
The orc's downward stroke was intercepted by Bell's upward diagonal slash.
The broadsword took the brunt of the orc's attack and sliced the natural
weapon in half.
"BUBEEH?!"
A cry of surprise.
The orc's pupils shrank in shock as it watched its powerful attack fail.
Bell's speed and momentum had combined into an attack strong enough to
overpower the orc's attack head-on.
Welf saw an opening for his own strike and jumped up and over Bell.
Spinning in midair, he separated the orc's head from its shoulders in one gallant
stroke.
"…Sorry 'bout that."
"It's okay…We're friends, aren't we?"
Welf scratched the back of his head as Bell grinned and nodded.
His eyes going wide, Welf's expression suddenly became serious.
All of a sudden: Twang! Splat!
Lilly's aim was dead-on as her arrow brought the bad bat crashing to the
floor.
"Let's go over this one more time."
The last of the monsters in the room defeated, the three of them knelt in a
circle.The grass between them had been cut so short that the stone floor was
showing through. Lilly used her knife to carve simple pictures to explain her
plan to the others.
"The path through the Middle Fortress is all gravel, so we'll form ranks.
First, Mr. Welf will take lead."
"You sure I'm cut out for that?"
"On the contrary, that's the only place for Mr. Welf. Lilly's not exactly paying
you a compliment, however…Moving on."
Lilly moved her knife to point at the middle of three circles carved into the
stone.
"Mr. Bell, take the middle. Support Mr. Welf in combat. Be warned, Mr. Bell
will have to be mindful of attack and defense. This is the most difficult position
in the formation…Is that okay?"
"Not a problem."
Seeing Bell nod, Lilly continued by saying, "By process of elimination, that
leaves Lilly at the back." She pointed at the final circle of her diagram.
"Lilly thinks you understand this already, but this party is very unbalanced.
Since Lilly doesn't have much attack strength, she can't cover you when the
tables turn against us. Regrouping would be meaningless."
"So we're toast if we make one wrong move. Harsh."
"Shall we turn back now? It's not too late, you know."
"Don't be stupid. I'm gonna be a High Smith, mark my words. Like hell I'll
turn my tail and run after coming this far."
Bell quietly listened to their banter as the three of them started to get into
position.
He wasn't really paying attention, but he snapped to attention when he
noticed the two of them were glaring at him.
"The heck are you grinning at?"
"Huh…? I-I'm smiling?"
"Yes, very much so…Does Mr. Bell realize how dangerous a place the
Middle Levels are?"
Bell put his hands to his cheeks, and he was indeed smiling from ear to ear.
He quickly apologized to both of them.
"Don't have to apologize, but why you grinning like that? Bit worried."
"Um…Well, this is exciting, isn't it?…It feels like the three of us have
become an actual battle party, and that makes me…I don't know, happy."
Bell blushed and looked at the floor as Lilly and Welf exchanged glances.
"And also, isn't this kind of exhilarating? All of us working together, going
on an adventure."
Bell's excitement was beginning to boil over, his cheeks a bright shade of
pink as he flashed another grin.
This was what being an adventurer was all about.
Taking that first step into somewhere you've never been, working together
with your allies to make new discoveries.
Getting excited about the unknown, fighting side by side and sharing the
spoils with people you can call friends…It was all very exciting.
His eyes full of youthful enthusiasm, Bell decided to ignore the teaching that
adventurers must not go on adventures.
"…Keh-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! You're right, this is one hell of a thrill! Couldn't call
myself a man if I didn't get excited about this!"
"Lilly can't exactly agree…but Lilly understands Mr. Bell's feelings."
The three of them looked at one another in turn. A smile bloomed on Welf's
face big enough to rival Bell's, as Lilly's expression softened as if she could
giggle at any moment.
His own emotions urging him forward, Bell couldn't help but smile happily
right back at his allies.
"Well, then, shall we move forward?"
"Yeah, I'm ready. Let's do this!"
"Yes."
The three of them stood in their single-file line and took their first step
toward the rocky entrance as one.
The entrance to the Middle Levels was encased in the blackest of black rocks.
The only light from within came flickering up from the floor far below.
The moist, dank rocks smelled like soil. Completely uneven and spread out
all over the place, they added to the tension that descended on the group. New,
powerful monsters they had never seen before lay waiting for them at the end of
this path.
His skin covered in goose bumps, lightly clenching his fists, Bell took a
confident step forward and looked straight into the heart of the Dungeon.
…Nothing to worry about.
He was not alone. They might not be family or part of his Familia, but they
were friends who shared a strong bond.
Together, they could do it, somehow.
All these thoughts ran through Bell's mind.
…Here we go!
A golden light of aspiration held tightly at the core of his thoughts.
Bell took his first step into the middle levels.