Hephaestus was staring at her best friend with a glare given she was at her wits end with Hestias attitude about her child. She knew the rules gods have to abide by, yet here she was trying to prevent her child from having love.

"Let me leave Hephaestus, I need to talk to Bell about this woman he's dating" she said in a fowl tone.

"Hestia that's enough, stop acting like a spoiled brat" Hephaestus said with an very very annoyed tone.

"What? But she's taking my Bell!".

"HE'S NOT YOURS!!!" Snapped Hephaestus in anger shocking Hestia to her core "HE MAY BE IN YOUR FAMILIA BUT YOU DON'T OWN HIM LIKE SOME PET!!! HE CAN GO AND FIND LOVE IF HE WANTS TO AND IT'S AGAINST THE RULES WE GODS SET FOR US TO INTERFERE!!!".

She honestly hated screaming at her friend but... she didn't know what else to do besides this or bring her to Lord Ouranos and have him deal with her.

"B-but I love him" she said.

Sighing she looked at her friend "Hestia we may love our children more than just that, we may see them in a romantic light but we can't force our love on then. If they love someone else we have to let them love said person unless it's a serious Familia issue" she said.

"Well how would you know!?" Said Hestia annoyed at being talked down to.

"Because I've fallen for a couple of my children over the many years down here... yet none of them I pursued or we kept said relationship for different reasons but one of them was the most prominent... gods can't bear children and I don't want my child to suffer not having kids or having to know they will move on to heaven and never see me again" said Hephaestus sadly.

Then a image of a certain red headed Smith popped into her head and how she tried to make him see reason in not pursuing a relationship with her... yet... he still did and she had to admit, she did love that about him.

"B-but...".

"Hestia... if you don't stop this and grow up along with accepting your child's relationship... he will demand that he gets to leave and can sign a notice to the guild for Lord Ouranos to force a falna removal, so he can join a different Familia" said Hephaestus.

Fear went through Hestias body at the thought of that.

"I've talked to him myself and he doesn't view you in a romantic sense, he's also mentioned that he's slowly getting tired of how you keep trying to control him and at this point he's only staying since he feels Indebted to you" said Hephaestus not wanting to sound harsh, but Hestia needed to hear this.

Tears well up in Hestias eyes as Hephaestus laid it out for her.

"If you don't change and accept this... he will leave you Hestia".

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Loki was sitting on one of the nearby couches watching Riveria make sure all of Bells injuries were healed, while Tione was feeding his supporter since it's been a couple hours from when they arrived here with a healed, but still injured Bell.

Her mind then went back to when she checked his status and could only slap her forehead at Hestias stupidity for not hiding it. But this also brought up the current problem that Riveria showed her.

His stats were way to high for someone who's been here for a little over a month now. He was a level 2 and if things keep up then he may level up again soon.

Loki bit her thumb as she thought about it, this will start a war if word got out on this on more of a wide scale, she can already see the amount of gods and goddesses risking everything to get him.

"So what are you thinking Loki?" Said Finn.

"I'm thinking that this boy will start a war on par with Eviluss to just aquire him" she said "only way to stop that from happening is either he gets protection from a big Familia or he gets very strong, very very fast".

Finn couldn't disagree with that, but at the same time he felt his thumb ache at this, if he played his cards right then Bell might be willing to work with the Loki Familia or better join them.

"Ugh...".

They all turned to see that Bell was starting to wake up.

Bells eyes slowly started to open, as they did he saw Jade green above him before it very slowly started to clear "d-did I die and meet an angel?" He said to himself.

Riveria felt her cheeks heat up very slightly, but she regained her composure, she wasn't used to genuine compliments, just ones about her status or elves just trying to marry her.

"No Mr Cranel I'm not an angel, and you are very much alive" she said while ignoring the snickering from Loki.

Bell slowly sat up on the second most comfortable thing he's laid on while here in Orario, the only thing that beat it was the spare bed in the Hostess Of Fertility.

Looking around he realized he was laying on an expensive looking couch and was in a very large room that was very well decorated with things that looked more expensive than anything he's ever owned combined.

"Good afternoon Bell" said a voice he recognized. Turning around, he saw Ais staring at him with her head tilted to the side slightly.

"G-good afternoon Ais... um where am I?" He said.

"Your in my humble abode, the twilight manor" said Loki getting his attention.

"Oh um... why am I here goddess Loki?" He said deciding to be respectful infront of her Familia.

"You were critically injured from your fight against the Minotaur, so I suggested that I bring you here so we could heal you. I healed you in the dungeon and Alicia and Lefiya finished healing you up here" said Riveria.

Bell turned to see Alicia who was staring at him with a very feignt frown given what he said about Lady Riveria. His eyes then caught sight of that one elf who didn't seem to like him at all, if anything, hated him.

"O-Oh um thank you so much you three, If there's any way I can repay it please let me know" he said bowing his head a little bit.

Alicia was silent for a moment before she spoke "just answer the questions that Loki and Finn have then I'll call us even".

He nodded his head and looked back to said red head.

"Ok I'm gonna be blunt, how are ya leveling so fast?" Said Loki.

"Umm... I still don't know.. I asked my goddess after Ms Riveria told me that adventurers don't get sudden growth spurts, but she was very vague... then rushed off to work" said Bell slightly annoyed.

"Well Mama here is right" said Loki ignoring the glare from said elf "your growth isn't normal and it's starting to stir curiosity with the other gods. Plus the amount of skills you have, a level 2 shouldn't have 5 skills".

"Wait 5!? I only have 3" said Bell confused as he looked at Loki.

She looked at him and didn't sense a lie and now her anger at Hestia grew a whole lot more. You aren't supposed to hide your child's skills from them or it might get them killed.

"Yep you have 5 skills, don't know what they do exactly since Hestia managed to hide that, but ya got 5" said Loki.

Bell looked down and clenched his fists in anger that he normally doesn't allow himself to feel, but right now... he was really pissed at Hestia.

"That's fuckin' stupid, she should tell the lad what's on his own back" said Gareth before he took a swig of his whiskey "if gods don't tell us, then how are we supposed to fight effectively".

"Well given Hestia has never had a child before and his growth... it probably has something to do with that" said Loki before she looked at Bell who's fists were clenched so hard, the skin started to break.

"Cranel that's enough, I understand your angry but you shouldn't injure yourself in said anger" said Riveria looking down at him.

Taking a deep breath he calmed himself down and tried to suppress his anger at Hestia "so what now?".

"Hmmm well if I was that perv up in the tower I'd try and snatch ya right 'ere and now, but I ain't" said Loki leaning back in her chair. She was honestly a little bit conflicted with the kid, after talking with him those two times, she had to admit she had a small soft spot for him and would more than happily invite him to her Familia. "Tell me Bell.. how'd ya like to work with us every once and a while?".

"H-huh?" He said shocked at that proposition.

"Your growing hella fast and me and Finn along with everyone in this room are very curious, heck ya even got Mama over here along with my Ais-puu to train ya sometimes" said Loki with a grin.

Riveria glared at Loki again.

"Oh come on Loki I think you mean grandma, she's an old lady" said Finn.

Riveria was seriously debating on if she could hide Finns body right now.

"U-um Riveria isn't old... she looks young and beautiful" said Bell as the wise words of his grandfather came to him about protecting a girl's honor at times of need and if she deserved it.

"HA!" Finn couldn't stop himself at laughing given Bell thought Riveria is young.

"Thank you for the compliment once again Mr Cranel, I really appreciate it" said Riveria feeling her cheeks get slightly warm given his compliment was once again genuine.

Alicia and Lefiya were about to say something, but one glare from said elf shut them up immediately.

Loki looked at her second child and saw the tiny blush and couldn't stop herself from giggling, she was gonna tease her to death later.

"Boy, only person in this room older than knife ears is Loki who's what? Couple thousand now? While Riveria is 99" said Gareth.

Riveria was about to let out a sigh but Bell then spoke "but isn't that like... mid to late 20's for an elf? Most elves live anywhere from 300 to almost in rare cases 500 while high elves live up to 600" said Bell.

"He... really is nice" thought Riveria with her respect for him increasing and a very warm feeling in her chest slowly growing.

"Ok I can't hold it in any longer, argonaut-kun you did such a good job down in the dungeon fighting that minotaur" said Tiona leaning over the couch to look at him.

"A-argonaut?" He said "I-I'm not worthy of being in same class as him o-o-or using his name".

"Hehehe well in my opinion you did a really good job and reminded me of it so imma call you it" Tiona said with a grin on her face.

Gareth chuckled at seeing the fact that he's more or less surrounded by girls "Rumol knew da kid could get anek much attenasan from da opposite gendrumm (Who knew the kid could get this much attention from the opposite gender)" he said in his native tongue so the elves didn't get to mad. Hell he even noticed that Ais herself was starting to look a tiny bit jealous.

"Yir Kav othok mean mr gareth? (What do you mean Mr Gareth?)" Said Bell, shocking everyone but Loki who was laughing like mad.

Gareth actually dropped his mug and looked at Bell wide eyed, in all his years of living, he's never met anyone besides dwarves who spoke his native language, but here was a kid who spoke it more fluently then some of the dwarves in this Familia.

Riveria let out a small chuckle "he surprised me and Alicia as well when he spoke perfect Elvish".

"Oooh ooh what other languages do you know Argonaut-kun?" Said Tiona.

"Well, Dwarvern, Elvish, High Elvish, Demi Human and a tiny bit of Amazonian, I would've learned more of it, but my grandfather didn't know enough of the language and couldn't find any books" said Bell.

Finn couldn't stop the smile on his face from growing and he was really wishing this teen was in this Familia, knowing multiple languages would be so handy whenever they left Orario for a mission outside the city.

"Oooh me and Tione could teach you" Tiona said bouncing up and down.

"U-um I'd like that" he said scratching the back of his head.

He then felt a tap on his shoulder, he looked over to see Ais who pointed at herself "I.. can help teach you to get better with swords" she said.

"Ms Ais no!" Said Lefiya standing up.

"Well if he joins us on certain expeditions then I don't see why Ais couldn't train him" said Finn, he could feel it. If they helped this kid and he kept growing like he is... they might be able to clear dungeons faster.

"Ok ok ok before we get carried away, I gotta address the elephant in the room" said Loki getting everyone's attention "Bell with your level up, lots of gods have their eyes on you and will try to get you or even force you to join".

Bell looked down at that... he hated that they only wanted him now, since he's stronger and growing faster "um goddess Loki... then why aren't you trying?".

Loki let out a small chuckle "cause I already offered ya a spot and if ya ever wanna join then ya can, I'd welcome ya" she said with a small smile.

"T-thank you..." he said.

"BELL!!" Said the voice of Lily getting everyone's attention as she ran past them all, up to him and hugged him "are you ok!?".

"Um y-yeah just a little sore" he said.

"Well I did use my strongest healing spell, plus you cauterized the most serious wound, plus like I mentioned earlier, Lefiya and Alicia finished healing you" said Riveria.

"Thank you all again... Is there any way I can repay you all?" He said.

Loki was silent as she thought about something, but nothing came to mind at the moment, but then someone interrupted them all.

"Buy me jagamarukun" said Ais.

"Um Ais we nee-" "jagamarukun" Ais cut off Alicia making said elf sigh.

"I-I have some valis on me so I can buy you some and anyone else some if you all are hungry" offered Bell wanting to repay the Familia.

"Meh just eat with me at the Hostess like last time, it was really fun talking with ya" said Loki waving her hand.

"Consider my offer Mr Cranel, it may seem one sided since we are training you, but I see it more as a investment since then we might have another strong adventurer joining us" said Finn.

"jagamarukun.." said Ais again.

"I-I'll buy it for you Ais.. but first um... where's my stuff?" Asked Bell.

"Right here lad" said Gareth pulling up a box that had a minotaur horn, what was left of his armor, the infinite purse that Hermes gave him and his sword.

"Thank you Mr Gareth" said Bell taking it.

"Meh just Gareth, makes me feel old if ya add Mr" he said.

Bell grew a tiny smile and decided to get a little bit of pay back for Riveria "but you are old Gareth".

Riveria couldn't help but actually giggle at that and she even saw Alicia snort while Tiona was outright laughing.

"Hahaha been a while since someone had the balls to say that, I like ya kid" he said with a grin.

Ais's patience began to run thin so she grabbed Bells hand and began to drag him off to get her jagamarukun.

"What? Hey Ais-puu let him go!!" Yelled Loki.

"No" she then turned the corner, with Lily quickly following with her backpack on now.

"I'll join them, I wish to talk to Cranel a little more about training since Finn seems so interested" said Riveria standing up and leaving with Alicia quickly following.

"Hey I wanna talk to Argo to, don't leave me behind" said Tiona racing after them.

Loki sat where she was and had 2 thoughts going through her head "I wish I had his luck.... also.. I think mama elf us starting to slowly like him if those blushes were anything to go by".

"So Loki... why didn't you bring up h-" "drop it" said Loki cutting Finn off and shocking him a bit.

"What?".

"I said drop it... I only know a handful of gods or goddesses who can curse a mortal... and if it's who I think it is, then I need to go and see Ouranos immediately... that thing is still alive" said Loki as she stood up and left.

Finn felt his thumb scream in pain... if it was who he believed it to be... then they will need to get ready for another possible war and will have to form a temporary alliance with the Freya Familia.

___

The big group finally arrived at the jagamarukun stand and they all ordered some, with Ais ordering 3, with her immediately munching on it.

"So Ms Riveria if you don't mind me asking what were all of you doing down in the dungeon? I thought your expedition wasn't for a couple days" said Bell.

"Just.. call me Riveria and I'll call you Bell, I believe we are acquainted enough for that. Also it was to help Tiona to pay off this month's due on her rent for her weapon" she said before nibbling on her own jagamarukun.

"Wow.." he said amazed before he took a bite out of his food and wondered just how expensive Tionas weapon was. His eyes then went to Alica who was eating her own food elegantly and had her bow strapped to her back along with a small sword.

Feeling a gaze, she turned her head slightly and saw that Bell was looking at her, but not in a perverted way "yes?".

"O-oh sorry.. I was looking at your bow, it's really beautiful" he said.

Alicia blinked once at that and looked at said weapon before returning her gaze to him "thank you and.. do you know archery?".

"Um a bit, whenever I'd go hunting I'd always have a bow to do said hunting" he said.

"Hm well when you get a bow, show me how good you are" she said nibbling on her food and looking away.

"Ooooh Alicia do you finally like a man, much less a human?" Teased Tiona.

"WHAT NO!!" She yelled in both anger and embarrassment "I'M ONLY DOING THIS SINCE I OWE HIM!!!".

"And what'd he do?" She teased more.

"H-he..." her face went red as the memory of him catching her in a princess carry surfaced back to her mind.

"He caught her when she tripped" said Ais before eating her second jagamarukun.

"A-AIS!!" Said a mortified Alicia hoping no one would ever find out she was held by a human man.

"Yes?" She asked tilting her head.

Lily turned and looked at Bell with slightly squinted eyes "Bell seems to get lots of female attention".

"Uuuh... I don't intentionally try to" he said.

"Lily thinks otherwise" she said before continuing to eat but had a jealous glare on her face.

Bell just let out a sigh at that.

___

Bell was now heading to the tower to ask if Zidril would be able to repair his gauntlet shield and possibly make a bow for him, he then needed to see if maybe he could find more armor from Welf Crozzo. He of course could've asked Zidril to make it but... Welfs armor saved him multiple times so he kind of owes that smith his life.

As he continued walking to babel, he then heard someone scream.

"THERE HE IS!!!" Yelled a voice.

Turning his head a he saw a bunch of gods and goddesses running towards him, before the surrounded him.

"So your the rookie? Wanna join my Familia?".

"No join mine, we'll make you super strong".

"Join my cutey and I'll make you my princess~" said a male God.

Bell shuttered at that one and he could hear his grandfather speaking "BELL RUN FOR YOUR FUCKING LIFE BEFORE HE TRIES TO TOUCH YOU AND IF HE SUCCEEDEDS YOU WON'T BE A MAN ANYMORE!!!!".

More gods and goddesses kept asking him, who were thankfully not as creepy as that one god... but then that all changed.

"Move aside!" Said a orange haired God pushing them all aside before he saw Bell "Ah finally my love".

Bell felt another shiver go down his spine.

"I am Apollo and" he then got on a knee and took Bells hand "your just so cute... please join my Familia Bell and I'll make you shine in more ways than one".

"BELL MAKE A DEAL WITH THE ONE EYED BLACK DRAGON IF IT MEANS YOU CAN ESCAPE APOLLO!! I DON'T CARE, JUST RUN AWAY!!!!!" His grandfather screamed.

"Uuuh" Bell looked for a distraction and found one "Sword Princess!".

All the gods turned and didn't see anyone before looking back and seeing that Bell was gone.

"You can't run away forever me sweet! I will have you!" Said Apollo with a creepy grin and a massive blush "you will be mine rabbit and I'll make you purr~".

___

Zidril put down her hammer and wiped the sweat from off her forehead, before she sighed in happiness from finally getting down fixing one of her customers orders. She was about to leave to go get lunch when her door was suddenly slammed open then shut.

Looking up she saw a panting Bell who looked like someone who just escaped an Amazon trying to claim him.

"Bell you ok?" She asked deciding to not get angry at him slamming her door.

"G-gods... they tried to recruit me..".

"Oh?".

"A-apollo was one of them".

"Oh!" That immediately made more sense... he was honestly scarier than Amazon given his appetite for those he likes. "Well feel free to stay here, I'm a level 4, plus Tsubaki is here and she's a level 5 so Apollo won't try anything".

"Thank you Zidril... I owe you" he said finally collapsing and letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Well.." she then played with a small strand of her white hair "I was gonna eat lunch, would you like to join me?".

"I co- (growl)" Bells face went red as his stomach growled loudly which made Zidril giggle.

"Don't worry it's on me" she said with a smile before grabbing a cloth and wiping off her sweat, before spraying on some perfume. She then turned and walked up to him "come on I know a good place that's close so if Apollo tries anything, he'd have to deal with the Hephaestus Familia".

"O-ok" he said standing up and following her but stopped since he remembered something "Oh um Zidril".

"Hm?" She said with her hand on the door handle.

Bell reached took off his gauntlet shield and showed it to her "um... c-could you repair this? Also I got your request for Orc Hides".

She took the gauntlet along with the Orc hides, before she looked at the gauntlet over seeing lots of scratches, cracks and even a punctur.

"The hell did you fight down in the dungeon?" She said with a raised eyebrow.

"Uuuuuh, an irregular infant dragon, a red minotaur and I spared with Ais Wallenstein" said Bell.

Her jaw dropped at that and stared at him and honestly felt like kissing him for doing all of this and knowing that if it wasn't for her gear she made him, he'd be dead.

"Don't worry I'll fix it and make it stronger" she said with a warm smile as she placed it down on a table "anything else?".

"I'd like to order an elvish bow" he said.

Letting out another giggle she nodded her head "Ok we'll hammer everything out when we come back, but first lunch, I'm starving".

"Right" he said following her.

They descended the elevator in the tower before they walked about one blocks before arriving at an elven restaurant that wasn't as racist as other elven restaurants or stores.

Taking a seat they both ordered before they began talking to know one another better.

"So Zidril where are you from?" He asked curiously, since he wasn't sure if she was from one of the elven forests or Orario or just somewhere else.

"I'm originally from Hjadningavíg before I left my forest when I was 65, I then eventually arrived here and have lived here for the last 10 years. During my time here I discovered my love for smithing and.. through lots of trial and error, I managed to create something good enough to join the Hephaestus Familia and the rest is history" she said with a smile.

"Wow.. so what was it like at Hjadningavíg?" He asked her curiously since he's only heard that dark elves and light elves lived on that island since it was their ancestrial home.

"It was both nice and a living hell... the dark elves and light elves would constantly be at war over territory and resources, plus we also had to fight all the monsters on the island as well. Because of that, both of our populations are so low that we've had to resort to breeding with other elves to just stay alive" said Zidril.

"Oh...".

"Mhm so I'm one of the few full blooded dark elves left, the only other well known one is from the Freya Familia... though unlike most elves I don't mind the idea of having half elf children" she said with a tiny blush.

"I'd like to have kids one day too and I already have a beautiful mate who I hope will be with me for as long as I live" said Bell with a smile.

Zidril remembered the conversation she had with Hephaestus and the fact that Bells girlfriend or mate as he called it, was fine with him dating multiple people. She let a bigger smile grow on her face before taking a sip of her tea, maybe he will be the one for her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bell walked Zidril back to her workshop and was told about the price for the repairs and bow, which would amount 7 million valis given she told him she'd make it so it can last him till he was level 3. They also agreed that he'd pay it off in monthly payments unless he wants to make advanced payments if he makes extra valis.

"Fixing your gauntlet should only take me a day, so come back tomorrow before you go to the dungeon and it'll be ready plus I can make some basic light orc hide armor for your mid section and thighs like you asked" said Zidril.

"Right" he said before he was about to leave her workshop when she leaned over, being almost eye level with him and kissed his cheek shocking him.

"Consider that my thanks for joining me for lunch" she said with a blush before going back to work on Bells equipment.

Blushing he left and could almost tell that when he told Rose about this, she'd be smirking and would most likely tease him about it.

He got on the elevator and rode up a couple levels before arriving on the floor that had the armor he very much liked. He began to walk down the hall before entering the shop to hopefully find said armor, but as he walked around, he saw some guy with red hair arguing with the shop owner.

"Oh.. I don't see it... hm maybe I can ask the shop owner" he said to himself heading to the front counter.

"What do you mean you won't put my stuff on the front shelves!? I've sold 2 entire sets now!!" Said the red head to the dwarf.

"Still doesn't mean shit, just cause you sold 2 sets don't mean I'll put it on my best shelves" he said annoyed.

"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" He snapped in anger.

"Can I help you sir?" Asked the dwarf looking away from the red head.

"Yes I was wondering if you have any Welf Crozzo armor, I can't find any in the back" said Bell who saw that the dwarf looked at the man with red hair.

*snort*.

Looking over at the tall red head who wore what looked like Eastern styled clothing.

"Names Welf Crozzo kid, nice to meet ya" he said sticking his hand out.

"Oh Bell Cranel" he said taking his hand.

___

"So Bell I hear you want to buy some of my armor!" Said Welf a little louder than normal to make sure the other smith's heard him.

"Uuuh yes?" Said Bell wondering why he said that so loud.

"Hehehe sorry it's to ensure the other smith's know your my customer" he said "still, it's a little shocking knowing the Rookie wants to buy my stuff especially since your the fastest person to ever level up before".

"Well I do really like your armor, it's light and compact, plus allows me to fight using my speed and Agility, though it does pinch around the shoulders a bit" said Bell.

Welf nodded his head and made note of that for when he makes the next set of armor, to make more space around the shoulders to prevent the pinching. "Anything else you can note for my next set?".

"Um... nothing I can really think of besides that, I do have a set of orc hide armor being made to cover the parts of my body that your armor usually doesn't" said Bell.

Welf felt his ego dip a bit at that but relented, Orc hide isn't exactly the strongest, but it's very flexible so it'd work with a speed fighter.

"If you don't mind me asking, who's making it?" Said Welf.

"Oh Zidril, she made me a gauntlet shield a while back and I did a request for her to get that orc hide and also ordered a bow from her" said Bell.

Welfs jaw dropped, here was a teen who was probably only a couple years younger than him and only had over a month worth of experience, yet he's getting a order from Zidril.

"Then why would you want my junk armor?" Said Welf.

"It's not junk and it saved my life on multiple occasions, so I owe you" said Bell with a smile.

"Hehehehahahahahahaha" Welf couldn't stop laughing before he wiped a tear away and looked at Bell "I needed that.. also since you like my armor so much, how about we make a business deal?".

Bell raised an eyebrow at that.

"I'll keep making you armor and lower the price a bit, in exchange I'd like to join your party... I need to get to level 2 so I can unlock my smithing ability" said Welf.

"Yeah I can do that, me and my supporter are going down to the dungeon tomorrow to get some stuff then she's gonna put in a order for her own spear" said Bell.

"Hehe hey how about I make it for her, I'll even give her a discount" said Welf with a smile.

Bell smiled at that, he could tell him and Welf will get along well.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bell was now standing infront of the abandoned church and had mixed feelings swelling in his chest, but he took a deep breath and opened the door before heading down into the basement.

"God-" he stopped when he saw Hestia in a dogeza with her forehead pressed against the ground.

"Bell I'm sorry..." she said.

He stopped and looked at her shocked as she raised her head showing it was red and she had blood shot eyes from crying.

"I... I let my jealousy get the best of me and couldn't see past it or that I was hurting you... I know that no amount of apologizing will ever make up for what I did but... please give me one more chance.. please Bell that's all I ask for" said Hestia staring at her Bell.

He looked at her even more shocked and let out a tiny sigh "do you mean it?".

"Yes Bell.. I meant every word" she said "I don't care if it takes me the rest of eternity to seek your forgiveness... just please let me try".

Bell took a deep breath and let it out and looked at Hestias eyes for the first time since entering the church "one, I'll give you one more chance If you answer some questions truthfully or I'm gone".

Hestia immediately shook her head saying she would.

"Why did you lie and say I only had 3 skills?".

She went silent for a moment as she tried to think of the best way to say it, but sighed as she realized she'd have to say it as is. "I was scared... you had a skill that allows you to grow so much faster.. not only that but the other one makes someone you love, also get that excelia boost as well" said Hestia. "I didn't know what to do so.. I kept it from you hoping it'd protect you... and for that other skill".

She reached over and pulled out the paper from the last time she did a status update and handed it to him.

Skill

Liaris Freeze.

Continued desire results in continued growth. The Stronger the desire results in stronger growth and allows him to go past his limits.

Indomitable Will.

Increases all stats by 100 as long as his will doesn't waver, for a short period of time during combat, but at the cost of it not being available for two days.

Unrelenting Endurance.

Allows user to fight for 4 days straight with no sleep, food or water.

Hunter.

Improves abilities against monsters that the user has fought before and gained excelia from.

Blood Of Zeus.

Makes user stronger with the more members he has in his harem and allows him to please and make them happy. Increases chances of opposite sex getting pregnant regardless of race and allows harem members to get a boost in excelia they gain.

Gods Curse.

Lycanthrope.

Bells eyes went wide at reading his skills, especially the first one and his last one, that one really made him blush at what it meant.

"I... I can at least understand why you hid this from me.. but goddess Loki mentioned to me that other gods are after me now.. heck I was harassed earlier today" said Bell.

Hestia tightened her fists but said nothing.

"Goddess.. like I said I'll give you another chance, but... will you accept me and Rose's relationship?" He said looking at her.

"Yes Bell" she said with a sad smile "but.. I'd at least like to meet her".

"I'm taking her out for a date tomorrow.. I'll bring her here before I walk her home" said Bell.

They were both silent at that before he spoke again "I'm... gonna ask her if I can stay the night at her place, if not I'll stay at the Hostess.. I think it'd be best if we start tomorrow off fresh" he said.

"Ok... and Bell" said Hestia.

Turning he looked at her and saw a sad, but grateful smile on her face "thank you for giving me another chance".

Smiling a tiny bit, he spoke "you gave me a chance when no one else would... it would've been wrong of me if I didn't at least give you one".

Bell then turned and left, leaving Hestia alone, but she had a small smile on her face since he was giving her one more chance, when he had every right to just leave her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Bell asked Rose if he could sleep at her place for the night... her reaction sent a shiver of fear and... excitement up his spine.

He had to wait for her shift to end, which was only a hour, so he asked Eina if she'd be willing to teach him more about the middle floors, which she thankfully did.

But now he was infront of Rose's apartments door which was opened, letting him see it.

The apartment consisted of a single open room that housed the living room and the kitchen together, separated by a dining countertop. In the living room side, there were a couple of bookshelves near the entrance on the right side and further back. Immediately to his left were two brown sofas around a small coffee table with more furniture against the walls.

His eyes spotted a hall at the far left, siding the kitchen, the hallway had three doors. One in the middle to the right and two to the left. By the time he finished taking it all in, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him.

"I missed you" she said hugging him and nuzzling her face in the crook of his neck from behind given she was a couple inches taller than him, but she did note.. that he was taller than when they first met.

"I missed you too Rose" he said as he managed to wiggle and turn around to hug her back.

He felt her tail wagging faster at that, which made him chuckle.

"You looked a little emotionally drained.. are you ok?" Asked Rose looking at him.

Bell let out a sigh at that "I found out my goddess has been lying to me this whole time... apparently I had a skill for a long time and didn't know it and I gained another skill, I only learned this since goddess Loki told me when I was at the Twilight manor".

Rose looked a little sad and guided them to one of her couches before laid his head on her lap "Tell me everything".

"I..." he did want to tell her but he remembered his grandfather telling him that some woman won't view you as a man anymore if you talk about your problems.

"Bell I'm here for you, I won't judge you, your my mate and I gave my heart to you, so don't worry, no matter what happens I will always love you and never think less of you. I'm here if you ever need a shoulder to lean or cry on, just need someone to listen to you or just hold you, I'll be here" she said warmly as she stroked his hair.

Looking up at her, he saw that she was telling the truth and wouldn't think less of him no matter what, she was going to be someone who helped hold him up.

So Bell began to tell her about everything with his goddess, his past pains, his skills and even his curse and during it all, she stayed where she was and just comforted him and never judged him.

"You've been through so much in such a short time.. I'm sorry I can't help you more than just giving you my love Bell" she said sadly.

"No it's ok... you just being here is more than enough" he said before Looking up at her "could you tell me about yourself?".

"Yes but first... Zidril huh?" She said with a grin.

Bell looked away and blushed.

"Hmhmhm who knew my mate would be attracting so many beautiful woman, if I'm not careful then maybe I might convince someone else to join" she said with a smile.

"Rose...." whined Bell even more embarrassed.

Giggling a bit, she then told him how she was born and raised here in the city and has lived here her whole life and around 20, she started to work for the guild while her parents moved back to their home country given they lost to many adventurer friends here. But she stayed herself since this is all she's known and is more than happy to continue to stay here, especially now that she's found her mate.

"I love you Rose" he said looking up at her.

"I love you too Bell" she said leaning down a bit to kiss him "now how about I make us some dinner, you take a shower since you stink a little".

Blushing he nodded his head and stood up "um... I don't have any extra clothes".

Rose let out a small chuckle before walking off to her room, then coming back with some more baggy men's clothes "I didn't know your size so I just bought this in case you ever crashed here".

"Thank you" he said taking them and standing up.

"First door on the left".

___

"What the actual fuck..." said Loki looking at Riverias status with wide eyes.

Riveria Ljos Alf

Level Six

Age: 99

Race: High Elf

Strength: G243 ► G246

Endurance: G277 ► G285

Dexterity: C651 ► C660

Agility: C609 ► C670

Magic: S980 ► S996

Mage: E

Treatment: G

Abnormal Resistance: G

Spirit Healing: H ► G

Magic Resistance: H

Magic ()

Vas Windheim: Attack Magic (Wynn Fimbulvetr, Rea Laevateinn, Vas Windheim)

Via Shilhiem: Defense Magic (Liv Illusio, Veil Breath, Via Shilheim)

Van Alheim: Healing Magic (Fil Eldis, Luna Aldis, Van Alheim)

Skills ()

Fairy Anthem

Alf Regina

"What is it Loki?" Said Riveria hoping she wasn't gonna try anything perverted.

"Y-your stats... t-they... they are so high!" She said shocked having never seen such a jump in only one month.

"Show me" she said standing back up and grabbing her robe to quickly hide her DD chest from Loki who she saw trying to take a peek.

Handing her the sheet, Riverias eyes went wide at seeing these stats, sure she's been fighting more lately, but not enough for a jump like this.

"Wow..." she said feeling a bit of excitement at such a jump, if she kept pushing herself hard then she might become a level 7 before Gareth. Then again if said dwarf heard that, then he'd tear through the dungeon to level up as fast as he could.

"Yeah... now look at Ais's stats" she said handing her the sheet as well.

Ais Wallenstein

Level Six

Age 16

Strength: I 34

Endurance: I 83

Dexterity: I 89

Agility: I 74

Magic: H 102

Hunter: G

Abnormal Resistance: G

Swordsman: H

Spirit Healing: I

Skill: Avenger

Magic: Ariel

"What the hell..." said Riveria, the last time she's seen Ais jump that far was back when she was a little girl and spent 2 whole days in the dungeon as a level one and killed everything.

"Yeah, she was beyond happy to see that, but this makes me wonder, how the he... Bell" said Loki.

"What about him?".

"His growth... now both you and Ais suddenly jumping massively in such a short amount of time, question is who else does it effect" said Loki.

Riveiras eyes went wide upon realizing this massive jump was thanks to Bell and in a weird way she felt like she owed him now for that.

"Go get everyone, because if this works how I think it does.... you, Gareth and Finn could possibly level up to 7 before any of Freyas level sixes do and that will put us as the strongest Familia" said Loki. "But we gotta either get Bell stronger or have him and the shrimp move in here or the one decision I'd rather not make, would be declare war and take him".

Riverias eyes immediately narrowed at the last one, she hated that gods did that but before she could say anything Loki raised her arms up.

"Hey its just an option, I'd rather not do it either, I like the kid and he's fun to talk to" she said hoping to calm Riverias anger. Seeing it dissappear a small grin formed on her face "ya know mama, it was really funny watching him call you beautiful and young along with defend ya against people who could crush him with a flick of the finger".

Riverias cheeks gained a tiny bit of red as she glared at Loki "he was just being nice".

"Uh huh, whatever you say... angel" Loki said with a grin.

Her long ears now turned red and she then grabbed her staff and Lokis eyes went wide in horror and ran for her life.

Seeing her run away, Riveria let out a sigh and was about to leave Lokis room when she saw her mirror and looked at herself for a moment as a thought entered her mind.

"Does... he really think I'm beautiful?" She thought before shaking her head and forcing her blush down. She was 99 years old and the princess of the high elves, it would never work and if she ever did marry, it'd be a forced political marriage.

"Then why do you wait for a hero? Why do you want someone to come and save you from that fate and love you, for you" Said a voice in her head which she quickly shook off and left Lokis room to go to hers and once again convince herself, she was to die alone.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"HAHAHA FINALLY FLOOR 11!" Yelled Welf happily with a large grin on his face as he looked at Bell and Lily.

"Your so noisy and Lily really wishes Bell told her about our knew companion sooner" she pouted.

"Hey in all fairness I asked him yesterday and he said yes, plus I agreed to make ya a spear pip squeak" said Welf.

"PIP SQUEAK!!".

Bell let out a sigh as the arguing started all over again. He looked down at his new armor which Rose loved given the black clothing underneath and the whitish silver armor that covered his chest, shoulders, forearms, sides of his hips and shins, while on the left side of chest armor and shoulder plate, had a red line through it.

His mind then went over how after him and Rose ate dinner they talked for a while before she dragged him into her bedroom and had him make out with her for a while. He could tell she did want it to go a bit further, but stopped herself since she was waiting for his 16th birthday. But after they made out for a while she had him hold her in her sleep and that was some of the best sleep he ever got.

He then woke up and they had a small breakfast before walking to the Hostess to grab his lunch from Ryuu... to only get teased to death by Rose, Syr and Anya. Didn't help that Ryuu kept blushing which made her even more beautiful. He then walked Rose to work before he met up with Welf and Lily and now they are down here.

"So Bell ya need anything special? Also why you got that minotaur horn on your hip?" Said Welf.

"Oh well I just need to make a decent amount of valis to pay of Zidrils payment, then... Liky you said you needed something down here right?" Said Bell.

"I'm hoping to get some needle rabbits for a new invention I wanna make, I wanna make a explosive that will shoot the needles from those rabbits" said Lily.

"Ok well when we start to climb back up, remind us and we'll get a couple for you, now you Welf?" Said Bell.

"Just excelia so I can level up" he said but then they all heard noises and saw a bunch of Imps spawning along with Orcs.

"Lily" he said.

"Right!" She went and took a couple steps back as both Bell and Welf charged.

Welf swung his massive sword and cut through one orc, before he had to turn and block a powerful strike from a different one. In the corner of his eye he saw a orc running towards him, but before it could get to close, a arrow hit its eye.

"Aww thanks Lil bit" said Welf "I knew you liked me" he then swung the sword cleaving it in two down the middle.

"No, I find you repulsive, but if I didn't save you Bell would be angry at me" said Lily.

"Pfft" he turned to go help Bell, but his jaw dropped when saw that he already killed a small horse of 20 Imps without breaking a sweat.

"Wow..".

"Mhm that's master Bell" said Lily proudly while sticking her chest out in pride.

"Oh sorry Welf, got carried away" Yelled Bell.

"Your fine!" He shouted back before sitting down on the ground "all right your turn little bit".

"I will shoot you" she said with narrowed eyes before starting to pick up everything.

"Hahahaha I'm sure you will, Lil bit" said Welf before looking at Bell who was walking towards him "thanks for taking me down here Bell".

"No problem Welf, it's nice having a official party, plus it makes it easier for me to guard Lily" said Bell.

He then heard the sounds of the ground breaking and turned to see a hard armored climbing out of the ground.

"ThunderBolt!" A blast of lightning shot it and killed it instantly.

"Hehe good thing I'm not a monster, wouldn't wanna be on the receiving end of that" said Welf.

"Yeah, ever sense I leveled up, things have just gotten a lot easier" said Bell with a small chuckle.

"So uuuh sparkles why is your hand glowing?" Said Welf noticing a bunch if blue and white sparkles hovering around his right hand.

"No i-".

"RUN ITS A INFANT DRAGON!!!" Yelled a adventurer running past them with his party.

Lily heard the stomping and saw the dragon, she then stood up and started to run towards Bell as fast as she could.

LILY DUCK!!" Yelled Bell raising his arm "FIRE BOLT!!!!" A massive white flame with red surrounding it, shot out of his hand and instantly blew up the Dragons head, killing it.

"Wow...".

"BELL WHAT IS WITH YOU AND DRAGONS!!!" Screamed Lily.

"I-I don't know!!!" He shouted back.

"THEN STOP SPAWNING THEM!!!".

"IM SORRY!!!!!!!".

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"It's your argonaut skill" said Hestia looking at his back.

"Argonaut" said Bell shocked as he looked at her.

"Mhm plus now your stats are up" said Hestia.

"You sure are leveling up fast" said Rose next to him and drinking some tea.

She came over to talk to Hestia and thankfully, Hestia gave Rose her blessing to date Bell, but made her promise to always care for him, which Rose readily agreed to.

"So what does the skill do?" Said Bell.

Hestia handed him the paper and he looked it over, with Rose leaning on his shoulder to read it.

Bell Cranel

LV 2

Strength: 0 ► F 326

Endurance: 0 ► F 383

Dexterity: 0 ► G 252

Agility: 0 ► E 469

Luck: B

Hunter: G

Magic: 200 ► 350

FireBolt, ThunderBolt

[Quick Fire Magic]

Skill

Liaris Freeze.

Continued desire results in continued growth. The Stronger the desire results in stronger growth and allows him to go past his limits.

Indomitable Will.

Increases all stats by 100 as long as his will doesn't waver, for a short period of time during combat, but at the cost of it not being available for two days. Also helps suppress God's curse and if will is strong enough, will bend the curse to the users will and allow him to control it.

Unrelenting Endurance.

Allows user to fight for 4 days straight with no sleep, food or water.

Hunter.

Improves abilities against monsters that the user has fought before and gained excelia from.

Blood Of Zeus.

Makes user stronger with the more members he has in his harem and allows him to please and make them happy. Increases chances of opposite sex getting pregnant regardless of race and allows harem members to get a boost in excelia they gain.

Argonaut.

Allows user to build up energy and end a fight with a single shot, requires 3 full minutes of charging and not loosing concentrating for a full powered shot.

Gods Curse.

Lycanthrope.

"Wow.." said Rose with wide eyes as her tail wagged from seeing him get so strong so fast.

"Mhm, this is how Bell has been growing so fast" said Hestia looking at Rose.

"That's amazing, I knew you were always special" Rose said kissing his cheek.

Bell smiled and decided to show her something that only Hestia and Hermes have seen "Rose would you like to see the most valuable thing I own thats worth more to me than anything else".

Hearing that, she immediately nodded her head and watched him remove a stone from the wall before pulling out a package. He then sat back down next to her and unwrapped it, revealing a long wooden pipe with lightning bolts and clouds carved into the wood.

"This... is my father's... it's first thing I got that was his" said Bell.

Rose's eyes went wide at hearing that and looked at the pipe and gently placed her hand on it "I hope I meet your dad and moms standards to be your mate" she said.

"I'm more than sure you do and they'd love to meet you, if they were alive" he said.

Hestia watched all of this and smiled lightly, she was still jealous but... seeing them happy.. it made her happier than she thought she'd be.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(1 and a half weeks later).

Bell was watching Welf make a long knife with the minotaur horn he's kept on his person, it was early in the morning and Welf told him to meet him here to get his knife.

Over the last week, him and Hestia have healed their relationship to a point, it was still strained, but doing better.

He also got to train a couple more times with with Ais, Riveria and once he got his bow, he got to train with Alicia who corrected his stance a couple times, but overall he was decent with it. But they all left along with most of the Loki Familia was heading for the 50th floor to kill the monster that ruined the last expedition they went on.

Zidril also finished the Orc hide armor and he wore it, with it guarding his abdomen and parts of his back, along with his thighs and upper arms. The armor was thankfully light and flexible enough that it didn't hinder his movement or speed or weigh him down.

"And here" said Welf pulling Bell out of his thoughts "I think this is one of the best blades I've ever made, only one on par with it, is the spear I made Lil bit".

Walking over, he took the blade and marveled at the orangish red color it had, it was to short to be called a sword, but was very long for a knife, which made it perfect for Jim.

"Wow.. it's beautiful" he said admiring the blade.

"Hehehe it's called Ushiwakamaru. It's good, but nowhere near as good as your bow or sword" he said gesturing to them both.

Bell looked at his sword strapped his to lower back, then pulled out his bow. The bow was a polished dark brown bow with golden embroidery by the limb tips and the hand rest, it also had a mixture of silver contrasing the gold. The bowstring was jet black except in the center was a beautiful white thread tightly wrapped around the knocking points.

It was your typical elven bow and Bell found it extremely beautiful, plus when he tested it with Alicia she told him herself that it will serve him a long time, as long as he cared for it.

"That doesn't mean your equipment isn't good Welf, I'll keep using it as long as you keep making me armor and even blades that keep me alive" he said.

Welf smiled at that, Bell really knew how to cheer him up.

"Can't believe we are officially going to the middle floors today" he said as he pulled out 3 salamander wool cloaks that Lily managed to snag for a stupidly cheap price when with Bell, looking for some. The merchant just thought they were redish orange cloaks and sold them way below it's actual value.

"Well we do need to get stronger and this is the only way too" he said with a smile.

"Hehe true... so you gonna meet your elf cook along with advisor and werewolf girlfriend before you leave?" Said Welf with a teasing smile.

Bell looked away blushing.

"Hahahaha, go on and meet them, I need to finish sharpening my blade, I'll meet ya at the fountain with Lily, or I'll see you at it" he said waving his hand.

"Right well see ya soon Welf" he said running off, as he did he thought of everything he's been through and still how far he had to go. His hand then went to his infinity purse, before it touched his hardened potion pouch which had his father's pipe.

Bell decided to bring it with him as a good luck charm and to feel like his father was with him.

"Ah Mr Cranel" said Ryuu with a tiny smile at seeing him.

"Good morning Ms Ryuu" he said with a smile, walking up to her, now being just slightly taller than her, that she actually had to look up a tiny bit.

"Your going to the middle floors correct?" She asked him.

"Mhm, me, Welf and Lily will explore a ways into the 13 floor then come back to the surface" said Bell.

She was silent for a bit before she did something that Bell wasn't expecting, she gently reached over and grabbed his hand, holding it lightly "please be careful Mr Cranel" she said looking into his red eyes with her blue.

Looking at her wide eyed and blushing he nodded his head.

Realizing what she was doing, she quickly took her hand away and wondered why she did that, before she shook her head.

"Nya here you are Meowhite hair" said Anya holding the lunch Ryuu made him.

"Thank you Ms Anya" he said with a smile taking it.

"Mmm it's Anya Meowhite hair, Anya not Ms" she said poking his chest lightly.

"R-right sorry" he said holding his hands up.

She smiled and nodded her head "Good or else nya would've been angry, oh nya also added some Itrion in the lunch so you and your party have a snack" Anya said.

"Wow thank you so much".

"I wrapped it" said Syr forcing herself into the conversation since she was barred from cooking anything after she almost put a level 5 adventurer in a permanent coma.

"Thank you as well Syr" he said "well I have to get going and I hope to see you all tonight here with my party" he said before leaving.

They watched him leave and Ryuu smiled a bit before looking at her hand and wondered once again.

Why did touching him not bother her... if anything, it felt nice.

___

"Mikoto are you ok?" Asked Ouka looking at his companion who cut a Hellhound in half with more force than necessary.

"Yes..." she said looking down with a slightly hurt expression still.

She finally got enough courage to finally tell her God how she felt and... he rejected her. Not in a hurtful way but for a different reason.

"Mikoto... I truly appreciate that you'd feel that way about me, but... I view you as my daughter.. also I want you to find someone who you can grow old with and start a family with. I can't provide you that sadly... I'm sorry I can't give you my heart, but just know I will always be here if you need someone to talk to" said Takemikazuchi.

This of course broke her heart, but she knew in order to he a samurai and a ninja, she needed to harden her heart on adventures.

"I'll be ok" she said "don't worry I won't let this bother me while down here".

Ouka looked at her and just nodded his head.

___

"You better be careful Bell or else" said Eina glaring at him.

"I promise I will do my best Ms Eina" he said raising his hands.

She sighed, but smiled gently as she looked at him "thats all I can ask for" she said gently while looking at him, before her eyes went to Rose who was gesturing her to go on. "Um Bell I have a question".

"What's up?" He asked watching the half elf play with hear hair as her cheeks and ears went red.

"W-would... you like to go out to eat after your adventure?" She said.

Rose gave her a thumbs up and a feral grin showing she approved.

"O-oh um..." he looked over to Rose who did the same thing again, he then looked at Eina again "sure... me and my party are going to the Hostess Of Fertility after this, you can join us if you want".

"T-that'd be great" she said with a smile.

"Well... I'll see you then Ms Eina" he said.

"J-just Eina and I'll see you later as well Bell" she said.

Smiling, he walked over to Rose who was looking at him with her tail wagging slightly behind her.

"Hello handsome" she said with a smoldering grin.

"Hello beautiful" he said.

"You better be careful down in the dungeon Bell" she said.

"Don't worry I promise I will" he said looking at her.

She nodded her head before gently kissing him and not caring about the stares "Good, now get going before I make you stay here all day" she said.

"Hai" he said Turning and heading towards the fountain, next to the tower where Welf and Lily should be.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile a ways outside the city was a lone figure who was staring at the city and he had a fanged grin, before liking his long sharp teeth.

"So this is where my champion is... hehehe I bet Zeus is still pissed at me for what I did, oh well, nothing like curing his grandson" the large figure chuckled before he turned and walked away.

His time is coming soon, but he still had to build a army and wait till Bells curse was stronger for him to have his true champion that will finally allow him to kill all the gods in Orario.