Bastet Familia Premise Chapter 1 (Patreon)

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you a brand-new story! It’s Danmachi again! Since the Series still has the stranglehold on my

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you a brand-new story! It’s Danmachi again! Since the Series still has the stranglehold on my Muse’s throat. Once again, Hestia never descends to Gekai. But this time around we’re going Egyptian! How different is this Bell and how different will the world and timeline change if certain events happen earlier? Bell may be the Hero that the World wants, but the world doesn’t revolve around him alone. Things can change without Bell ever having to be involved. How will such changes compound with a change in the Goddess that takes Bell in?

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

IMPORTANT!!! This new Premise is ALL Secretary of Defense, Kyros Vasera’s, fault! He made me do it with his Tier Reward! Blame him!

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Chapter 1 – The Hero Dreamer and the Cat Goddess

Descending from Tenkai was an interesting experience for the Goddess currently doing so. She was gorgeous, as many Goddesses were, with a darker complexion, long, black hair that went down her back with her bangs kept shorter to avoid getting in her golden, cat-like eyes. She was dressed in a royal blue top with golden embroidery along the hems, the top showed off a generous amount of her cleavage and was tied off behind her back. She wore a matching long skirt; however it was slit up both sides to give her legs their full range of motion, letting her flawless legs be seen by all. Though she usually went barefoot, she currently wore simple sandals on her feet woven of leather and dyed royal blue to match her outfit. Her most distinctive features, aside from her beauty, were the black cat ears atop her head and the black cat tail swaying behind her as she descended.

This was the Goddess known as Bastet.

The Egyptian Goddess of Music, Dance, Medicine, Women, and Protection.

As she finally reached Gekai, Bastet felt the binding of her Arcanum take effect. The agreement that had been made by every Deity when they decided to descend a thousand years ago applied to everyone as soon as they arrived in the lower world. It was empowered by the will of every Deity within Gekai and the control of it was held under Ouranos’s Domain of Divine Authority so that no one could break the rule without being sent back to Tenkai immediately.

As Bastet’s feet touched the ground, a smile spread across her face. “Nailed it!” She giggled as she had landed gently upon the ground with the Dungeon City, Orario, within her sight. “Now, let’s go see what the others are up to.” She hummed a tune as she walked down the road towards the city, seeing Babel Tower rising high into the air.

The Egyptian Goddess knew that a number of her fellow Pantheon members made their home and Familia within Orario. And now, after waiting three centuries for her turn, Bastet wanted to make her own Familia within Orario. With any luck, they’d be able to help her out a little as she got herself started.

-Orario ~ Later-

“Not good…” Bastet sighed as she sat down with another Goddess of her Pantheon that she’d met after a few hours to wander the sprawling city and let Ouranos’s Guild know that she was taking up residence within the city. “I can’t believe they tried that…twice!” Bastet nearly facepalmed.

An absolutely gorgeous Goddess sat across from her at a table as drinks and snacks were set out for the two Deities. With near perfect looks, proportions, and curves, the Goddess Hathor gave her friend a small smile. As a Goddess of Beauty, Love, Pleasure, Singing, Dance, and Maternity, Hathor was just as beautiful and flawless as Freya or Ishtar, but was much calmer and more relaxed than either of the other Goddesses. She wasn’t called the ‘Mother Goddess’ by a large majority of their Pantheon for nothing.

“It happened, I’m afraid, and our Pantheon weakened significantly in Orario because of it.” Hathor shook her head slightly, her little smile never leaving her lips. “Set, Osiris, and Sobek all allied and challenged the Zeus and Hera Familias a couple centuries ago. They were soundly defeated and greatly weakened as a result. Then, about twenty-seven years ago…or was it thirty?” Hathor didn’t look like she particularly cared about the accuracy of the date. “They tried again after building their Familias’ strength back up. Only to be crushed again…this time even worse than the first time. All three Familias are only shadows of their former strength now. Sobek Familia has fallen completely into decline since then and they barely have any Adventurers anymore.”

“Well, screw that power struggle stuff.” Bastet popped one of the snacks into her mouth with a shrug. “I’ll make my Familia about revelry and the enjoyment of life.” She smiled brightly at Hathor. “Unless someone comes to cause us trouble, of course.” Her cat-like eyes seemed to glow for a second while the slitted pupils thinned. Many Deities might forget, but aside from her Domains, Bastet was a protector of the Sun God, Ra, and wielded the power to destroy those that would challenge their Pantheon’s leader.

“About that.” Hathor smiled softly at Bastet as she motioned to one of her Familia members to bring something over. “Consider this a gift for your arrival in Gekai.” She handed Bastet two, somewhat large, metal keys.

“What’s this?” Bastet tilted her head to the side in confusion.

“A key to a property that I own.” Hathor told her with a melodious laugh. “It’s a decently-sized house, and I’m not using it, so make it your Familia’s home.”

“Thank you, Hathor!” Bastet beamed at the other Goddess and nearly leapt over the table to hug her.

“Yes, yes.” Hathor giggled, returning the hug and gently running her fingers through Bastet’s long, silky, black hair. “Welcome to the lower world and Orario, Bastet. I know you’ve been waiting a long time.”

“Mhm!” Bastet’s tail was wagging back and forth as she held the hug for a while longer.

-New Bastet Familia Home ~ Late Afternoon-

“Eh?!” Bastet nearly gaped at the house she stood in front of. “This is what she calls ‘decently-sized’?” The house wasn’t just a house, but a plot of land with a stone wall around it and a wooden gate banded with iron. The grounds within the walls were filled with stone pathways through grass and had trees around the property to provide shade. The house itself was two stories tall, and built in a functional mix of their Pantheon’s architecture with the building style more common to Orario given their climate and four seasons. Instead of ventilation windows, glass windows that could be opened and closed took their place. Aside from that and some other minor features, this large home wouldn’t look too different than what one would’ve found in Ancient Egypt. “I mean…yeah, Hathor’s place was like three times this size…but still.”

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Bastet used one of the two keys to unlock the gate and push it open enough to enter. She closed and locked it behind her as she admired the grounds. Entering the house, she unlocked the front door with the second key and stepped into the large lobby/foyer that was the first room of the home. It was furnished and decorated tastefully, not over-the-top or especially extravagant, but Hathor had never cared overly much for such things anyway. Bastet enjoyed the nice mix of Egyptian art and furniture mixed with pieces that were clearly from Orario and reflected the city’s melting pot of cultures.

As the Cat Goddess traipsed about her new home, admiring the nice baths for her and her future Familia members, she made sure to count the number of bedrooms as she looked for the master bedroom. “Hmm, I could house a good number right off the bat. So, I guess I don’t need to worry about space when I start recruiting!” She grinned brightly while checking out the kitchen, finding that it had enough food stored to last a while made her happy. “I’ll take a couple of days to get settled and learn the city, then I’ll start looking for my first Familia member.” Bastet nodded to herself as she headed for the bath, eager to wash up and relax before heading to the master bedroom and the large bed that had many pillows for her to laze about on.

At the same time that Bastet was rejoicing her good fortune, a young man with white hair and red eyes had arrived to Orario.

-Orario ~ East Gate-

Bell Cranel, newly arrived within Orario, had been traveling with a merchant caravan for the last couple of weeks from his remote farming village. Having lost his grandfather, the only family he had in the world, earlier in the year, he’d decided to leave his remote farming village in the mountains and come to the Dungeon City of Orario to make his dream of being an Adventurer, and a Hero, come true! He’d made money by selling all of the goods that he and his grandfather had, along with their cabin. He’d only kept a few very meaningful mementos from his grandfather’s things, and a few supplies for the journey.

“Finally here.” Bell grinned up at Babel Tower, standing imposingly in the center of the sprawling, walled city. The young man headed down East Main street, trying to take in everything around him as he walked.

Orario was everything that Bell had imagined and more! So many people of all different Races and cultures! Humans, Prums, Beastmen of more types than Bell knew existed, Dwarves, Elves, Amazons, and so many beautiful women too!

His grandpa, a bit of a pervert and very appreciative of the female form, may have rubbed off on him over the years.

“All right…now, I just have to find a Familia and then register as an Adventurer; according to the guards at the gate.” Bell mumbled to himself as he started walking down the large street. The various Deities that called Orario home were spread out, having homes wherever they pleased, apparently. Now it was just a matter of finding them.

That, however, turned out to be harder than Bell had initially thought.

-A Week Later-

For a full a week Bell had circled Orario looking for any Familia that would have him. He’d tried all of the big Familias first, of course. When that hadn’t worked out, he’d started heading to the mid-sized Familias…and then the small Familias. Bell was denied time and time again. A few had literally slammed the door in his face! He must’ve checked with almost fifty Familias already. He was sure that was only a fraction of the total number that existed within Orario, but he was running out of Valis and would soon be unable to afford the cheap room he was renting. Once he ended up on the streets, Bell was certain that would be the end of his dream to become a Hero as his grandfather had always encouraged him.

“What am I doing wrong?” Bell pondered as he sat on a crate in an alleyway next to one of the many streets in Orario. He looked himself over, patting down his clothing a bit in the process. He was a healthy young man, strong enough from doing farmwork for most of his life, and he had a bit of basic fighting instruction from his grandfather. He wasn’t a kid…so it probably had nothing to do with his age. But something about him must seem unreliable for all of these Familia to reject him, right? “There’s still plenty of Familia left to try…but can I find anyone that’ll take me in before I’m on the streets?” After a solid week of rejections, the light in Bell’s eyes had definitely started to dim.

“Nya…” A woman’s voice came from Bell’s side, startling the young man as he’d been deep in his thoughts. “You’re looking for a Familia?”

“Y-Yes?” Bell turned to look at the woman and swore he felt his heart skip a beat. She was gorgeous, with long, raven-black hair, golden eyes with slightly slitted pupils, a complexion reminiscent of an Amazon’s, and her curves instinctively made Bell run his eyes over them. Breasts that were large, but not overly so, were almost proudly displayed by her top with all of the cleavage that Bell could see, her top stopped just beneath her bust, leaving her entire midriff exposed, and her legs peeked out from the slits on either side of her long, royal blue skirt. Her cat ears and tail made him think she was a Cat Girl for a moment…until he felt the Divine Aura about her.

This was a Goddess; Bell could literally feel it. The Gods and Goddesses exuded a natural Divine Aura at all times, unless they chose to hide it. All of the children (Mortals) could pick up on this aura. There was no faking being a Deity.

“Beautiful…” Bell uttered out absently.

Bastet smiled brightly at Bell. “Thank you…” She eyed him up as well with a giggle. “You’re rather handsome yourself.”

Bell decided not to open his mouth, lest he stick his foot in it.

“So, you’re looking for a Familia, right?” Bastet repeated her inquiry.

Bell nodded, before realizing he should answer properly. “Y-Yes, Goddess, I am.” He gave her a short bow.

“Would you like to be the first to join mine?” Bastet offered, holding out her hand to Bell. “My name is Bastet.”

‘My Goddess.’ Bell thought as he smiled at Bastet.

That was how Bell became the very first member of the Bastet Familia.

-Bubastis ~ Bastet Familia Home-

Needless to say, Bell was walking with a bit of a spring in his step. Seeing the wall surrounding the Bastet Familia home (reminding himself to learn to pronounce the name correctly) and the large wooden gate banded with iron that allowed entry, the boy from a rural village was already impressed.

Bastet eagerly led Bell into the manor-like house and promptly had him sit on one of the couches in the large living room area. “Now, Bell, let’s give you a Blessing.” Bastet smiled brightly at her first Familia member.

“Yes!” Bell beamed back and Bastet’s tail swayed side to side, liking Bell’s smile very much.

“Alright, take off your shirt and turn your back to face me.” Bastet instructed, making Bell blink at the Goddess.

“What?” Bell questioned, confused.

“You need to have your back fully exposed so that I can write the hieroglyphs of the Falna onto you.” Bastet explained simply as she prepared a needle to get a drop of her blood.

“Alright…” Bell didn’t know that was the process of receiving a Falna, but Bastet was the Goddess here. He removed his shirt, revealing semi-pale skin and a body that was used to farm work. Bell put his shirt to the side and waited for the process to begin. He fidgeted a little, having never been in a situation like this with a woman back in his village.

“Are you okay, Bell?” Bastet questioned him curiously, her ears twitching a little. “I’m about to draw the hieroglyphs of your Falna, so try not to move too much, alright?”

“Y-Yes, Goddess.” Bell forced his body to hold still as he felt Bastet’s bare hands on his back. ‘Her hands are so soft...’ He noted before he felt a drop of something hit his back. A glowing light appeared in his peripheral vision, emanating from his own back as the Goddess worked.

For almost a full minute Bastet’s hands ran over his back. Her soft skin against his own was like nothing Bell had ever experienced before. He was a healthy young man with a beautiful Goddess running her hands over his bare back. He could be forgiven for the dopey smile he had on his face!

‘I know exactly what to make the symbol of my Falna.’ Bastet smiled as she traced the shape of a cat, with a sistrum next to its left front paw, an ointment jar next to its right front paw, and a solar disk above the cat, onto Bell’s back. After the basic shape was made, she wrote in the hieroglyphs that would make up Bell’s Status. A place for his name, his Level, his Basic Abilities, a place for Skills to manifest, another for Developmental Abilities, and two slots for Magic were able to be added, which hinted that Bell had at least some aptitude for Magic in the future. With the Falna complete, Bastet pushed a tiny scrap of her Divinity into it and watched her Falna appear on Bell’s back like a tattoo that had been inked by a master artist.

Bell noticed when the light faded away and felt when a piece of paper was placed on his back for a few seconds. When Bastet finished, she looked over the paper for a moment. With a nod of satisfaction, she handed the paper to Bell.

“Welcome to my Familia, Bell!” Bastet beamed at him and Bell took the paper into his hands to see his Status for the first time.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 0

Endurance – I 0

Dexterity – I 0

Agility – I 0

Magic – I 0

-Magic-

-

-Skills-

-

-Status-

“My Status…” Bell’s hands shook slightly as he finished reading the paper. A week of constant rejection had almost made him think he’d never get to see this. “My own Blessing.” He couldn’t help but smile at finally having his own Falna.

“Bell?” Bastet spoke up, noticing that Bell hadn’t moved from his spot on the couch, only to blink when Bell wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. “Nya?!”

“Thank you, Goddess Bastet! Thank you so much!” Bell hugged his Goddess warmly, but gently so as not to hurt her.

“Thank you, Bell, for becoming my first Familia member.” Bastet smiled at him and returned the hug, snuggling into Bell’s arms a bit as her tail swayed happily behind her.

After a somewhat lengthy hug, Bell pulled away and bowed his head in apology for holding onto Bastet for so long. Bastet giggled and lightly flicked his nose to show that she hadn’t minded at all.

“It’s still early enough, you should be able to make it to the Guild and register as an Adventurer.” Bastet noticed the time and that the Guild wouldn’t close for a few more hours. “After that, you should probably get your stuff from whatever inn you were staying at and move in here.”

“Yes, Goddess, I’ll be back as soon as I can!” Bell beamed at her as he pulled his shirt and jacket back on before rushing out the front door towards the Guild.

Bastet shook her head with a laugh at Bell’s excitement. “He’s going to be a lot of fun, I can tell.” She happily hopped up to her feet and headed for the kitchen to see what she could make for dinner. “Maybe I can make something special to celebrate Bell joining up and the start of our Familia?”

-Guild-

“Hello, how may I help you today?” The woman behind the counter asked politely.

“Hello, I’m new to Orario and I wanted to become an Adventurer.” Bell informed her with a polite tone.

“Ah, I see, well we’ll need to get the paperwork done to register you.” The woman reached under the desk and pulled out a set of forms. “Do you have a Familia yet?”

Bell nodded to the woman, a smile spreading across his face. “Lady Bastet accepted me and made me the Captain of her Familia.”

“All right then, please fill out these forms.” The woman gave him a polite smile before placing an odd item on the counter. “If you could, please place your hand on this so that we may confirm your Falna.” She placed a flat wooden tablet with what looked like a crystal set into it on the counter.

“What’s that?” Bell looked at the device curiously.

“A Divinity Sensor.” The woman explained patiently. “If you place your hand on it without having a Falna, nothing happens. If you do have a Falna, the crystal lights up for a few moments. We can’t let unblessed people enter the Dungeon, because it’s basically suicide. I’m sure you understand?” That particular rule had been put in place after several hundred deaths over the years from unblessed people filling the role of Supporter.

“That makes sense.” Bell nodded and placed his hand on the device. A second later and the crystal lit up with a light blue glow for several seconds.

“Falna, confirmed.” The woman nodded and began helping Bell finish the paperwork for his registration. When he got to the line for Familia, Bell happily wrote ‘Bastet Familia’ onto the blank line of the form.

Once the paperwork was done, the woman took it to be processed by the Guild. It would officially make Bell an Adventurer and he’d gone ahead and registered as a resident of Orario while he’d been at it. Not like he was planning to leave and live somewhere else any time soon.

As Bell waited, he found his eyes drawn to the goings on around the Guild. Adventurers were starting to return from their day in the Dungeon, some of them were solo Adventurers carrying small bags filled with Magic Stones, others were full Parties with a designated Supporter carrying a large back full of larger Magic Stones and Drop Items.

Naturally, Bell’s eyes wandered over the various women. So many beautiful women of various races. Elves, Chienthropes, Humans, Cat Girls, Hume Bunnies, and the ones that drew Bell’s eyes the most…Amazons. He didn’t know why, but ever since he’d come to Orario and first seen Amazons, he’d been attracted to them. The race of female warriors was beautiful and strong, and their culture of wearing skimpy clothing certainly didn’t hurt. Bell had barely been able to keep his face from burning as he’d gotten to see so much exposed skin, all a range of darker complexions, from wheat to bronze to mocha. It was so different from what he’d grown up with in his mountain farming village, but his instincts as a healthy young man certainly enjoyed it.

“Sir?” The Guild woman spoke up and Bell nearly jumped, having been completely focused on watching a Party of Amazons turn in their spoils for the day.

“Y-Yes, ma’am?” Bell gave her a smile, hoping that she hadn’t seen him watching the women coming through the Guild building.

“You’re required to go through a lesson about the Dungeon from one of the Advisors. Do you have a preference for who you’d like to advise you?” The woman questioned Bell.

“Oh…um…maybe a woman?” Bell chuckled and looked off to the side.

“I see.” The woman chuckled and flipped through a few papers. “I’m afraid we don’t have any Amazons employed at the Guild.” She giggled when Bell looked down at being caught staring. “I’ll guide you to one of the lecture rooms, your Advisor will meet you shortly.”

Bell met his new Advisor a few minutes later, a lovely young woman by the name of Anna Claes. She had long, waist-length flax-hair, blue eyes, and a cute face. Like the rest of the staff, she wore the Guild uniform, a long-sleeved, white, button-up shirt, a black vest, black pants, and dress shoes on her feet. She carried a stack of papers in her arms and set them on the table with a smile.

Anna and Bell got along easily, Bell being polite and Anna (who was a couple years older) quickly taking on a big sister role for the newbie Adventurer.

What followed was almost two hours of learning everything that an Adventurer had to know about the profession. How the Guild worked, the Exchange where ALL Magic Stones had to be turned in within Orario, as selling them anywhere else was technically illegal. How the exchange of Drop Items worked, what merchants or Mercantile Familias had good trust with the Guild if he wanted to try making more money by selling to them instead. The Weapon and Armor Grading System, which had seven levels from Inferior Grade (used items) all the way up to Legendary Grade (unique masterworks forged by High Smiths that could cost hundreds of millions). Then to the first four Floors of the Dungeon and the Monsters found there. Bell learned where the Magic Stones for Goblins, Kobolds, and Dungeon Lizards were located, how each Monster attacked, and which ones were most often found in groups (Kobolds, followed by Goblins, with Dungeon Lizards mostly being solitary).

Needless to say, by the time Anna was done with the lessons, Bell’s head hurt a little and his brain was full. Regardless, he followed her advice and bought a map of the Upper Floors of the Dungeon so that he could navigate with some reliability when he started dungeon crawling.

-Bubastis-

Bell walked into his new home with the few things he’d kept at the cheap inn that he’d been renting. He smiled at the smell of something cooking and headed up the stairs to the second floor. Bastet had been somewhat insistent that he take the bedroom right beside the master bedroom. Bell had acquiesced to her request and moved into the second largest bedroom, placing his things where he wanted them and putting away his clothes.

Once dinner rolled around, Bastet and Bell began to chat more. Both wanting to get to know each other better.

“Goddess?” Bell smiled at Bastet. “If it’s okay… Could you tell me about yourself?”

“About me?” Bastet tilted her head cutely, making Bell want to reach out and pat her head.

“Yes.” Bell nodded while resisting the urge to head pat. “I want to know more about you. What’re your Domains? What do you like to do for fun? Stuff like that.”

“Oh, sure thing.” Bastet grinned at how interested Bell was. It seemed that their relationship would be quite friendly. “But you have to tell me more about yourself too, Bell.”

“Of course, Goddess.” Bell agreed easily, eager to know more about his Goddess.

Bastet giggled at how eager Bell was. It was nice to have someone so interested in her. “Well, my Domains are Music, Dance, Medicine, Women, and Protection.” She began to tell Bell more about herself, going through each of her Domains and then moving on to her hobbies and interests. Bell took in all in with rapt attention and a smile.

“That’s what I want to do. I want to help and protect others.” Bell smiled warmly at Bastet after she finished talking about herself and her Domains. “I have a few dreams like that.” He admitted with a sheepish grin.

“Oh? Well now I’m curious, Bell.” Bastet grinned at him, her cat ears perked up and her tail flicking back and forth. “What’re your dreams? Where did you live before coming to Orario?”

“My dreams are…well…” Bell didn’t want to blush, but a man talking about dreams like his might be a bit laughable. “I want to be a Hero.” He admitted, looking up and catching Bastet’s golden eyes with his rubellite gaze. It’s been my dream since I was just a small child. I never let it go, I came to Orario to make that dream a reality.” The intensity that Bastet could see within Bell’s eyes nearly made the Goddess get lost in his gaze. It was rare to see such intense determination and resolve in a mortal man.

“You said ‘dreams’…so, what’re the others?” Bastet couldn’t NOT know now! Not after having witnessed the intensity that Bell had for his dream to be a Hero.

“Well…there’s really only the one other…” Bell unconsciously smiled as he thought of his second dream. Noticing Bastet leaning forward over the table a bit in interest, Bell looked into her golden eyes again, his ruby eyes showing a depth of passion and longing that made her heartbeat speed up. “I want to have a family of my own.” After losing his grandfather, Bell had wanted nothing more than to not be alone in the world. But since all of his family was gone, that left him with only one solution…to have a family of his own one day.

“That’s a wonderful dream to have, Bell.” Bastet gave him a soft smile filled with warmth and approval. “Many a man of your age thinks of sex only as a form of pleasure to be had. But you want more than just sex…you want love and family…children and wives, right?” She giggled when Bell sputtered at the ‘wives’ part.

“A wife is fine…” Bell trailed off and Bastet could practically hear his thoughts.

“But more wives wouldn’t be bad either, huh?” Bastet laughed brightly when Bell looked at her in surprise. “You’ll find that in Orario, multi-partner relationships aren’t all that uncommon, Bell. Harems, polycules, throuples, they all exist here.”

“I…I didn’t know that, Goddess.” Bell swallowed audibly and his face was starting to turn a bit red. A few of his memories of his grandfather started to play in his head…all of them pertaining to the old man’s talk of harems and love and romance. ‘Maybe grandpa was a bad influence?’ Bell thought to himself as he realized just how much his grandfather talked about such things.

Bastet got her laughter under control and decided to move the conversation along for now. “So, what kind of life have you lived, Bell?”

“Well, I grew up in a remote farming village in the mountains…” Bell began to tell Bastet about his life before coming to Orario. Bastet listened intently to her first Familia member, wanting to know everything that she could about Bell.

The two would talk somewhat late into the night before finally getting to bed.

-Next Morning ~ Breakfast-

“You don’t want me to go into the Dungeon?” Bell had to repeat what Bastet had just told him. It was the opposite of what an Adventurer should do, after all.

“No, no, I just don’t want you to go into the Dungeon right now.” Bastet clarified her request. “I’m going to do my first act as your Goddess and get you the best weapon possible!”

“A weapon? The best weapon possible?” Bell was equal parts excited and confused now.

Bastet nodded with a grin. “Yep! I’m going to have someone that owes me a favor forge you the best weapon they can!”

“Who?” Bell would wait on going into the Dungeon if that’s what Bastet wanted. The promise of the best weapon that she could have made for him was exciting too.

“You’ll see!” Bastet grinned at him, looking very much like the cat that ate the canary.

-Hephaestus Main Shop-

“It’s been quite a while, Bastet.” Hephaestus greeted the Cat Goddess.

She was a beautiful woman with long, dark red hair that she usually kept up in a bun to keep it out of the way while she worked. Her sharp eye matched her hair in color, being a deep red, and her right eye (along with a good amount of the right side of her face) was covered by a large black eyepatch. She wore a button up white shirt with the top buttons left open, showing off the Olympian Goddess’s impressive cleavage. On her hands were black work gloves that went all the way up to her elbows, and she wore black pants along with brown, knee-high, leather boots.

“It really has, Hephaestus.” Bastet smiled brightly at the Goddess of the Forge.

“So, is this just a visit to let me know that you’re in Orario?” Hephaestus asked as she finished up some paperwork. A few of the other Deities that she was on good terms with had done that over the years when they arrived in Orario.

Bastet shrugged. “Partly.” She saw Hephaestus look at her with curiosity. “I’d also like to call in that favor you owe me form way back.”

“Ah.” Hephaestus remembered that favor still. “I figured you’d eventually come to claim your favor.” It’s not like most Deities ever forgot when another owed them, after all.

“Of course,” Bastet’s tail flicked side to side behind her. “After all, Ptah wouldn’t have gone to that meeting of Crafting, Smithing, and Building Deities if I hadn’t persuaded him.” She and Ptah, the Egyptian God of Creation, a Patron Deity of Craftsmen and Architects; had a good relationship, even being consorts for a time. Even after they’d separated, he would still listen to her if she ever asked him about things, though usually she just wanted to chat and help keep the workaholic from isolating himself.

“True enough.” Hephaestus admitted as she put her quill pen down. “Ptah is one that doesn’t stray far from his work. Even if all of us ask him to come and share ideas or get together and show some of our latest creations.” The older Deity was simply too engrossed in his own work and creations most of the time. It was why Hephaestus had gone to Bastet to ask a favor in the first place those eons ago. On the very rare occasions when Ptah did join them all, the meetings were always lively and interesting. “So, what did you want to resolve this favor that I owe you?”

“Nothing much.” Bastet assured Hephaestus with a grin. “I started my Familia yesterday. I only have one member right now, but I’d like you to make my Captain, Bell, a weapon to the best of your abilities.”

Hephaestus deadpanned at Bastet for a long moment, but the Cat Goddess simply smiled at her. “Hah…” She sighed heavily. “You want me to forge a weapon to the best of my ability, for a brand new Level 1 Adventurer that hasn’t even been in the Dungeon yet?”

“Yep!” Bastet nodded with smile.

Hephaestus almost felt a headache forming already. “Your child…what weapon does he use?”

“He told me that he has some experience learning to use a shortsword from his grandfather.” Bastet answered, recalling what Bell had told her of his past.

‘Since I’m the one making it, it has to be the best. But it’s for a newbie Adventurer.... If it’s too strong for him, then he won’t grow. But making a weak weapon goes against my policy. Now then, what to do…?’ Hephaestus pondered as she stood up form her desk. “I’ll need you to help me, if you want the best that I can do without Arcanum.”

“Sure thing.” Bastet agreed easily. “What do you need?”

Hephaestus grinned at Bastet. “This’ll probably take three days, give or take a few hours, you should send a message to your child.”

“Three days?!” Bastet nearly choked on her breath.

“Can’t let you be lazy since we’re settling an old favor.” Hephaestus smirked a little. “You’re the one that wants the ‘best that I can make’, right?”

“Yes.” Bastet said with a cute pout. “Let me borrow some paper and a someone to run this message over to my home.”

“Of course.” Hephaestus agreed with a small chuckle.

-Bubastis ~ Later-

Bell had been surprised by the ringing of the bell at the wooden gate. Curiously, he’d left the house to see who was visiting them. “Can I help you?”

The man on the other side of the gate was somewhat burly, clearly the type that worked hard labor every day. He handed Bell a letter. “A message from your Goddess. Apparently, she and my Goddess will be busy working together for a bit.”

“Huh?” Bell quickly opened the letter and read it over. “She’s helping make my weapon?” He hadn’t expected that at all. “Three days?!” That was going to make four days of not going into the Dungeon in total. “Thank you for delivering the letter.”

“It was a request from my Goddess, don’t worry about it.” The large man waved it off and started walking back the way he’d came.

“Looks like I don’t have much of a choice but to wait.” Bell closed the gate and headed back inside with a sigh. He truly appreciated what Bastet was doing for him, but he really, really wanted to go into the Dungeon and take his first steps as an Adventurer!

Because they would also be the first steps on the path towards his dream to be a Hero.

Choosing not to linger on the delay, Bell decided to do what he could to prepare himself for the Dungeon. “I’ll do some workouts, read some of the books I saw on that shelf in the office, and when Bastet comes back, I’ll be ready to enter the Dungeon!” With his plan made, he headed upstairs to the office/study that had a bookshelf within. He wasn’t sure what books were there, but surely some of them would be useful!

-Three Days Later ~ Hephaestus’ Private Smithy-

Bastet ran her finger along the curved blade of the shortsword that she’d spent the last couple of days helping Hephaestus forge, letting her blood cover the edge. The hieroglyphs on both sides of the blade lit up with a glow after her finger passed close to them. The glyphs glowed an ethereal white-blue for a few moments before the light faded away.

“And we’re done.” Hephaestus smiled as she looked at the completed weapon. The weapon was made of Mithril and Orichalcum, Bastet’s hair and blood, and was finished by the blessing that the Cat Goddess had just bestowed upon it.

“We’re done?” Bastet’s joyful smile nearly lit up the smithy. Her golden-eyes were sparkling while her cat tail was swaying side to side. Hephaestus couldn’t stop herself from smiling at the cute look.

“Does it meet your expectations?” Hephaestus asked as Bastet looked over the completed weapon.

“Absolutely! No complaints at all!” Bastet beamed as she looked up from the shortsword.

The weapon that Hephaestus had forged was incredible. Bastet had chosen a Khopesh as the style of shortsword, it had a royal blue wrapped handle, it was pitch-black along the back of the blade, including the spine of the weapon, while the cutting edge was a gleaming, almost reflective, silvery-white. Along the pitch-black parts of the blade were ornate, gleaming, golden designs, hiding the hieroglyphs from view unless they glowed, the very small guard as well as the pommel of the one-handed sword were shiny gold in color. It couldn’t be called anything less than a Treasure Sword.

“Listen closely, Bastet. This sword is alive, it has your blessing. Right now it’s about as strong as tissue paper, but once it reaches the hands of Bell Cranel, it will take its first breath and grow. However, it can only be used by a child that has your Falna; that is also its defect. It grows with its wielder. It will never be too strong or too weak. A weapon that can instantly become more powerful is like cheating to us smiths, so I won’t be making one like this again.”

“Thank you, Hephaestus!” Bastet smiled as she wrapped her arms around the redhead in a hug. “Now it just needs a name!” She let go of Hephaestus with a grin. “What would be good?”

“Why not keep it simple: Bast Sword. It is made form your hair and blood after all.” Hephaestus suggested with a shrug as she undid her hair, letting the long red locks cascade down her back.

“Ooh, using one of the other pronunciations for my name! I like it!” Bastet’s ear perked up and her tail swished about. “I can’t wait to give this to Bell!” She held up the Khopesh Treasure Sword with a beaming smile.

“Take it easy, we’ve been working almost non-stop for three days.” Hephaestus cautioned the Cat Goddess even as she sat down herself, watching as Bastet sheathed the Divine Weapon into the toughened leather sheath that she’d made while waiting for the Orichalcum to get hot enough to work with.

Bastet nodded to Hephaestus as she carefully held the Treasure Sword with both hands. “I’ll rest at home as soon as I give this to Bell. Thank you so much, Hephaestus.”

Hephaestus waved Bastet off with a small grin. “I was just paying back an old favor. Take care of your new Familia, alright?”

“Of course!” Bastet laughed warmly before heading out of the smithy, she was eager to get home and give the Bast Sword to Bell so that he could head into the Dungeon. She knew how much becoming an Adventurer meant to him, so she was glad that she’d been able to get him the best weapon possible right off the bat.

-Bubastis ~ Later-

“Bell!” Bastet called out loudly as she nearly burst through the front door.

“Goddess?!” Bell had jumped up from the couch where he’d been reading and had his hand over his heart. “You startled me.”

“Hehehe…sorry about that.” Bastet apologized as she quickly crossed the distance. “But I wanted to make sure that you got this as soon as possible!” She handed him a sheathed shortsword of a style that he’d never seen before.

“What’s this?” Bell couldn’t stop himself from asking, even as he unsheathed the sword and saw the intricate designs briefly glow with blue-white light. ‘What was that?’ Bell felt it a second after the glow had vanished from the ornate designs on the blade. ‘This sword…it’s powerful, isn’t it?’ He didn’t know HOW he knew that, but he just felt it. It didn’t seem overly special aside from its masterful design and ornate, yet practical, appearance. But something inside told Bell that this sword was truly incredible.

“It’s a Khopesh Treasure Sword, Bell.” Bastet answered his question with a warm smile. “This sword is yours.” She told him happily. “It’s the only one like it in the whole world. It’s alive, and as you grow stronger, so will it. It’s called the Bast Sword and I want you to have it.”

“Bastet!” Bell sheathed the sword and pulled her into a hug without thinking about it. He just wanted to express how grateful he was to her.

“Nya~” Bastet smiled happily as she returned the hug and snuggled into Bell a little bit. “I’m glad you like it.”

“I love it.” Bell pulled back from the hug slowly, glad that Bastet had reciprocated and his spontaneous action hadn’t become awkward.

“You can go crawl the Dungeon now, AFTER you buy yourself at least some basic light armor.” Bastet playfully flicked his chest.

“Yes, Goddess!” Bell smiled at her and rushed off to get ready for his first day in the Dungeon.

Bastet saw him off a few minutes later, his new sword strapped to his left hip, and on his way to the Guild to buy some standard beginner armor with the last of his Valis. “Now…time for a nap.” She yawned and headed for her bedroom.

-Dungeon-

“Wow, it’s massive, and there are so many Adventurers.” Bell walked along with the crowd as he headed for the Dungeon entrance for the first time. Heading down a long spiraling staircase with the huge crowd of Adventurers, the white-haired young man took a deep breath to settle his nerves. With his desire of being an Adventurer in mind, along with his dream to become a Hero in his heart, Bell entered the Dungeon for the first time.

He broke off from the majority of the Adventurers that were heading for deeper Floors and headed off on his own. The First Floor was well-mapped and Bell had bought his own map of the Upper Floors at Anna’s insistence. So, he had a fairly good idea of where he was going. As he was walking along the corridor, he took two turns and entered into a larger cavern. It was there he spotted his first Dungeon monster.

“A Kobold!” Bell noticed the dog-headed Monster. It was short, about a head shorter than Bell, it had clawed hands, sharp fangs in its muzzle, and reddish eyes with no pupil. ‘Remember what Miss Anna taught you.’ Bell reminded himself as the Kobold noticed him and started growling. ‘A Kobold’s Magic Stone is just right of the center of its chest. If worse comes to worst, a single stab in that area will instantly kill it by destroying the stone. Their other weak points are the same as any humanoid creature: the head, the neck, and the stomach area.’ He drew his Khopesh Treasure Sword and held it at the ready.

The Kobold snarled as it rushed at him with its claws raised to strike. Bell answered its charge with his own and the shorter Monster quickly lost out. The new Adventurer only had to use his greater reach to bury his curved blade into the Kobold’s neck. Blood flew through the air and the Kobold twitched a little before falling to the stone floor, dead.

Taking a moment to breathe and collect himself, Bell smiled at his first successful kill in the Dungeon. Sure it was only a common Kobold, a weak Monster, but it was the first step on his journey to be a Hero! Now all he had to do was retrieve the Magic Stone. It was a shame that Drop Items didn’t appear too often on the first few Floors; the new Bastet Familia could use the extra Valis. A quick slice with his old knife (something he’d brought from the village) opened up the Kobold’s chest and he saw the tiny purple Magic Stone. It wasn’t anything impressive, you couldn’t even see the swirling magic energy inside like you could with larger Magic Stones, but every Adventurer had to start somewhere. Bell removed the stone out of the corpse with the tip of his knife and placed the fragment into a small leather pouch on his hip.

“That’s one.” Bell patted the pouch before watching the corpse crumble away into white ash. It was an odd sight, seeing it the first time, but Bell cleaned off his sword and continued on his way through the Dungeon. “Lets see how many I can get today!”

-Later-

“Hup!” Bell swung his Khopesh down onto a Goblin’s head. The curved blade split the weak Monster’s skull, killing it instantly. Bell let the body drop to the Floor and swiped the sword sideways to throw the blood off of it. For whatever reason, blood didn’t seem to stick to the blade if he used a little extra force in a swing. It made cleaning his blade between kills a lot easier, that was for sure. “Whew… This makes thirty-two today!” Bell marveled at his success and smiled at his sword. He didn’t want to think he was amazing or anything, but he really felt like he was getting the hang of the Khopesh. ‘Maybe I have some minor talent for this type of sword or something?’ It was something to think about later. For now, he had a Magic Stone to harvest!

Bell was indeed taking well to his new weapon. The Treasure Sword felt good in his hands, even though he was right-handed, Bell only felt a slight loss of speed and coordination when he wielded his sword with his left hand. He was starting to build just a little confidence in his ability to wield the sword after so many successful kills on his first day.

“Not that it’s been perfect.” Bell was reminded of his amateurish failures by the brief sting of pain from a few small injuries here and there, mostly from Kobold claws. The dog-headed Monsters weren’t overly strong, but they were bigger and faster than Goblins, which made them a bit of a threat to a newbie like Bell. “Got it.” Bell collected the new Magic Stone and put it into his hip pouch with a smile. He watched the Goblin disintegrate to make sure that he didn’t miss a Drop Item and then continued on his way after confirming that there was no Goblin Fang left behind.

-Exchange ~ Late Afternoon-

After giving his report on his day to Anna, Bell walked over to a free window with a happy grin on his face. Seeing the tray pushed out onto his side, Bell untied the pouch at his waist and carefully dumped the various small Magic Stones into the tray.

“Hmm?” The man on the other side of the window noticed the amount of small Magic Stones. “You’re Anna’s newbie, right? You collected this many Magic Stones on your first day?”

“Yes, sir.” Bell nodded, slightly confused.

“Not bad, newbie.” The man behind the glass chuckled as he placed the collection of Magic Stones on a scale to weigh. The man noted the weight, checked another piece of paper, and then wrote something down in the ledger in front of him. “All total these’re worth 4,852 Valis. Not bad for your very first day. Keep it up!” The man encouraged the newbie Adventurer as he placed the various Valis coins into the tray and pushed it back onto Bell’s side.

“Thank you very much, sir.” Bell nodded to the man as he happily took the Valis from the tray and put them into his small hip pouch. He couldn’t wait to tell Bastet how much money he’d made on his first day!

-Bubastis-

“Goddess, I’m home!” Bell called out as he entered their home and closed the door behind him.

“Bell!” Bastet smiled brightly at him. “Are you okay? I was worried because it was your first day in the Dungeon.” The Cat Goddess looked him over from every angle to make sure that he wasn’t hurt.

“I’m fine, Goddess.” Bell assured her as he removed the light armor breastplate that he’d bought this morning. “I followed Miss Anna’s advice and stayed on the First Floor. I got a little scratch up here and there, but it’s not bad.”

“I’m glad, Bell.” Bastet smiled softly at him, already looking over the minor cuts and scratches he’d gotten. He was right, the injuries weren’t that bad, but she still pulled him over to the couch and had him sit down while she went to fetch some ointment and small bandages. “How much did you make?” She asked conversationally as she sat down next to him with the first-aid items.

“4,852 Valis!” Bell grinned proudly as he handed the small pouch to Bastet.

“Really?” Bastet blinked as she opened the small pouch and saw the coins inside. “That’s amazing, Bell!” She praised him with a bright smile. If Bell was able to bring this much back every day that he went into the Dungeon, they’d be able to cover the cost of maintaining his gear, buying him Low Potions, and paying for some necessities.

“Thank you, Goddess.” Bell accepted the praise with a smile. He felt some pride at successfully making it through the Dungeon today. If he kept up like this, then he and Bastet would be able to make ends meet without trouble, especially once he got stronger and started going deeper into the Dungeon.

“Let’s update your Status, Bell.” Bastet grinned as she placed the money pouch on the end of the couch. “As your Goddess, I have to do everything I can to support you too!”

“Yes, Goddess!” Bell removed his jacket. He was very excited to see how his stats had increased after a full day of dungeon crawling. Removing his black shirt he turned his back to face Bastet.

“Alright, here we go.” Bastet took a needle out and pricked her right index finger, allowing a single drop of her blood fall onto Bell’s bare back. The glowing light appeared and her Falna reappeared on Bell’s back as she unlocked it. Bastet watched Bell’s experiences, his Excelia, from his time in the Dungeon today. “Hmm, not bad, I think. You’ve made your first improvements, Bell.” She praised him lightly as she moved the Excelia into the Falna and watched his stats increase.

“Thank you, Goddess.” Bell smiled as he felt Bastet’s soft hands on his back.

In just a few moments the process was complete and Bastet placed a blank paper onto his back. “Everything went up a bit this time, but as a newly Blessed Adventurer, that’s supposed to be normal.” She mentioned as she copied the update over with a twirl of her index finger. She made sure to lock up Bell’s Falna again (thankful that she’d asked Hathor everything she could about the Falna) and then handed him the paper with his updated Status on it.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 0 > I 7

Endurance – I 0 > I 5

Dexterity – I 0 > I 7

Agility – I 0 > I 6

Magic – I 0

Magic

-

Skills

-

-Status-

“Twenty-five points today.” Bell didn’t know if that was good or bad for a first day, but he felt like he’d done well.

“It’s pretty easy to grow at the beginning, Bell.” Bastet explained to him as she applied ointment to his scratches and cuts. “As you grow stronger, the amount of Excelia that you need to grow will increase and your growth will slow because of it.” She finished with the ointment and picked up the small bandages. “But as long as you come back alive, that’s all that really matters. Growth can take time, but your life is more important. Don’t forget that.” She gently tapped the tip of Bell’s nose with her index finger. “I don’t want to lose you, Bell.”

“I won’t leave you alone, Goddess.” Bell promised Bastet with such intensity that the Goddess blinked at him and felt the fur on her tail stand on end a bit. His rubellite eyes were practically burning with the determination and passion that he spoke of his dreams with. “I’m dedicated to our Familia. I’ll do everything that I can to make our family one of the best in Orario!”

Bastet could only smile at Bell’s declaration as she placed the last bandage on him. “Thank you, Bell. I’ll do everything to support you too.” She gently ran her hands over his bandaged injuries. “These will heal easily tonight.” She nodded to him. “You’ll be good to go in the morning.”

“They’ll heal that fast?” Bell blinked at his treated injuries in surprise.

“Being Blessed means that you heal a bit faster than non-blessed people, Bell. A little perk you could say.” Bastet giggled at him. “Plus the medicine will help too.”

“Amazing.” Bell smiled at his Goddess, marveling at the power of the Falna, even one as new as his own.

“Anything in particular that you’d like for dinner?” Bastet asked as she stretched her arms above her head, unintentionally drawing Bell’s eyes to her breasts as they bounced in her small, royal blue top.

Bell stared for a second before snapping himself out of it. “I wouldn’t mind some chicken, the blend of herbs and spices you used last time was completely new to me.”

Bastet grinned at Bell, happy that her cooking was good enough for him. “Glad that you like them. I’ll get started on cooking while you wash up a bit. The bandages won’t come off if you get them wet, so make sure you get clean.”

“Yes, Goddess.” Bell chuckled and headed for his room to grab a change of clothes before his bath.

-Dungeon ~ Next Morning-

“Alright, let’s try and get even more Magic Stones today!” Bell smiled as he moved through the corridors of the First Floor. His Khopesh in his right hand at the ready in case of any sudden surprises, his senses were sharp, looking for any movement and listening for the slightest of noises.

“Gereh?!” A Goblin rounded the corner and stumbled backwards as it nearly ran into Bell.

“Hup!” Bell cut the Goblin down with his sword before it could get its bearings and attack him. The small Monster hit the stone floor, dead, blood pooling from the large laceration across its torso. “That’s one.” Bell smiled as he kneeled down to quickly harvest the Magic Stone with his knife.

-Later-

“Forty-seven!” Bell cut through a Kobold’s throat with his blade. “Forty-eight!” The second Kobold was nearly bisected at the waist as Bell spun, adding centrifugal force to his swing. “Forty-nine!” He flipped the Khopesh around fluidly and buried the curved blade into the third Kobold’s neck. The Khopesh was a great slashing and chopping weapon, cutting and cleaving into the Monsters of the First Floor with ease.

As the third Kobold fell dead, Bell had to juke to the side to avoid being slashed from the side by the fourth and final Kobold.

“Ow, damn it!” Bell cursed as he hadn’t been fast enough and the tips of the Kobold’s claws had drawn blood from his hastily raised arm. The Khopesh Treasure Sword spun once and then lopped off the Kobold’s head. The Monster’s body hit the floor, blood pouring from the neck, while the head fell a meter away with a thump. “Ow…that stings.” Bell grimaced as he pulled up the sleeve of his jacket to inspect the injury. “It’s not that deep, at least.” He took out a bandage from his backpack and covered the injury before moving to start harvesting the Kobolds’ Magic Stones with his knife.

A pack of four Kobolds was uncommon on the First Floor, but aside from those scratches, Bell had won without too much trouble. It was only his second day in the Dungeon too! The newbie Adventurer felt a little pride in his accomplishment of beating four-on-one odds.

“This one made fifty, so far.” Bell was keeping count of the number of Monsters that he killed. He wanted to hunt more each day for as long as that was possible as a solo Adventurer. “It’s all for Bastet and our Familia.” He smiled as he finished taking the last Magic Stone. But after the Monster disintegrated, something was left behind.

One of the Kobold’s black claws lay among the white ash on the stone floor.

“A Drop Item!” Bell cheered at getting one for the first time. “Put that in the backpack!” He took the Kobold Nail and placed it away for safekeeping. “Let’s keep going!” Bell was determined to get stronger and do better in the Dungeon. For the sake of his dream, and for his Goddess!

-Guild Exchange-

“Your Magic Stones are worth 6,348 Valis and the Kobold Nail was worth 900 Valis. Your total exchange today is 7,248 Valis.” The Hume Bunny woman smiled as she pushed the tray of Valis coins back onto Bell’s side of the glass. “Have a nice day.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Bell gave her a smile as he collected the money and put it in his leather hip pouch. Now he just needed to give Anna his report and he could head home.

“Bell!” Anna’s voice was clearly heard in the Guild as she went into ‘Big Sister’ mode and lightly admonished her new Adventurer for the injuries he’d sustained. Hearing that he’d fought a pack of four Kobolds went a long way to explaining why he had a few bandages on his body.

-Bubastis-

“You’re injured!” Bastet was quick to look Bell over and check on his injuries almost the second that he’d entered their home.

“I’m alright, Goddess.” Bell smiled at her concern. “I just hunted more today than yesterday.”

Bastet was already pulling his armor off. “I’ll be the judge of that!” She quickly had his jacket open and was pushing it off his shoulders.

Bell felt his heart beat strongly at practically being stripped by Bastet. She was a lovely Goddess, so he could be forgiven for the little dopey smile on his face as he pulled his shirt off and let Bastet run her soft hands all over his chest, back, and arms.

“You look alright…that’s good.” Bastet sighed in relief as she leaned into Bell’s bare chest to cuddle him. “Let’s update your Status, I’m sure you’ve grown a bit from working so hard.”

“Okay…” Bell agreed, though he was really enjoying having Bastet pressed up against him like this.

“I’ll cuddle you more later.” Bastet saw the look on Bell’s face and knew what he wanted.

“G-Goddess!” Bell turned away to hide his flustered face, leaving his back to Bastet.

“You’re too easy, Bell.” Bastet giggled as she got her needle and a blank paper ready. With a drop of her blood, the Falna reappeared with the blue-white light. Bastet took her time to watch Bell’s Excelia and see the four-on-one fight with the Kobolds. Feeling proud for Bell’s achievement, Bastet moved the Excelia into the Falna and watched it grow stronger. “You’re growing well, at least I think so, Bell.” Bastet didn’t have any experience for this since she’d never given her Blessing to anyone before. “Here you go.” She handed him the paper after transferring the new update onto it.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 7 > I 16

Endurance – I 5 > I 14

Dexterity – I 7 > I 16

Agility – I 6 > I 14

Magic – I 0

Magic

-

Skills

-

-Status-

Bell was happy to see his growth had increased from yesterday. “Thirty-five points, hunting those extra Monsters really paid off.”

“You’re working hard, Bell.” Bastet smiled and wrapped her arms around him from behind, pressing her body into his back. “It’s only natural that you’d grow well.”

“I want to get even stronger, Goddess.” Bell turned to look at Bastet over his shoulder. “I want to do more for our Familia, for you.”

Bastet grinned at Bell and kissed his cheek. “You’re already doing enough, Bell.” She giggled seeing the stunned look on his face from her kiss. “I want you to be okay above all else. I love that you’re so dedicated to me and our Familia.” She squeezed him a bit, tightening the hug and pressing herself against his back more. “I’ll take care of you here at home, but you have to take care of yourself in the Dungeon so that you can make it back home, then I’ll spoil you. Agreed?”

“A-Agreed.” Bell nodded, his rubellite eyes wide at Bastet’s words.

"Nya~” Bastet’s melodious laughter filled the air. “You’re so stunned, Bell.” She snuggled into his back again.

Bell knew his face was red, but he couldn’t help it. His Goddess, so beautiful and kind, was giving him such unexpected affection. Deciding to ‘man up’ as the saying went, Bell turned around and wrapped his arms around Bastet’s waist, returning her hug with one of his own.

“Mmm…” Bastet purred happily, her tail swaying lazily as she enjoyed the hug, resting her head on Bell’s shoulder.

No more words needed to be said as the two just held each other on the couch, enjoying each other’s warmth and affection.

-Five Days Later ~ Dungeon-

On the Second Floor, Bell fought a small group of Goblins. Three of the short green Monsters were trying to claw at Bell, but the Adventurer had gained some good experience in the last five days when it came to Goblins and Kobolds.

“Hyah!” Bell lopped off the lead Goblin’s head with his sword. Pivoting to the side, he dodged the second Goblin as it swiped at him with its claws. With a swing of his blade he cut down the Goblin from behind. “One more!” Bell backstepped to avoid the third Goblin’s attack and then brought his Khopesh down on its head, splitting it in half. The dead Goblin flopped to the ground a second later. “Woo~ Not bad for the Second Floor…but I’m trying to get to the Third Floor and make some progress.” He sheathed his Treasure Sword and crouched down to start extracting the Magic Stones of the Goblins.

Bell had been working as hard as he could each day to make more progress into the Dungeon. In the last five days he’d dropped down all the way to the Third Floor and was working his way through it. His current goal was to reach the Fourth Floor, the cut off point for new Adventurers. Anna had been rather insistent that he not go down to the Fifth Floor until his stats were at least ‘G’ Rank.

“That just means that I have to keep working hard.” Bell smiled as he collected the final Magic Stone and placed it into his black backpack. With his work done, Bell headed towards the stairs leading down to the Third Floor. With any luck, he’d get close to the stairs for the Fourth Floor today and he could start preparing to drop down another Floor.

-Exchange ~ Late Afternoon-

“Your Magic Stones are worth 7,521 Valis.” The man behind the glass smiled as he pushed the tray of Valis coins back onto Bell’s side of the glass. “Have a nice day.”

“Thank you, sir.” Bell gave the man a nod as he collected the money and put it in his leather hip pouch. No Drop Items today, but he’d still made some good money. Now he just needed to give Anna his report and he could head home.

Bell sat on one of the couches in the meeting area and just ‘people watched’ while he waited for Anna. As had become normal for him, Bell’s eyes followed the Amazons in the Guild building as they returned with their spoils for the day. The lovely warrior women had quite the variety among them. Short, tall, voluptuous, svelte, buxom, long hair, short hair, brunettes, ravenettes, white hair similar to his own, redheads, and a range of clothing of many colors, though all of it was rather skimpy. Bell’s libido enjoyed the differences as he watched on.

“Bell.” Anna’s voice snapped Bell out of his appreciating.

“Miss Anna.” Bell greeted her with a sheepish smile.

“Sorry to interrupt.” Anna teased him lightly. “But we should get your report done.”

“Y-Yes.” Bell agreed with a small chuckle.

-Bubastis-

“Mmm…” Bastet hummed as she watched Bell’s Excelia. “It looks like your Endurance is starting to grow more from how hard you work, rather than form your injuries.”

Bell appreciated the compliment to his slowly growing, but still self-taught, skills. “I’m not getting injured as often, which is good. And the Bast Sword just feels so…right…in my hands.”

“I’d say you have some talent for this, Bell.” Bastet agreed as she moved the Excelia into the Falna. “You just didn’t realize it because you never had a need to exercise this talent.” She smiled as she saw something manifest in Bell’s Falna and happily wrote it in.

“You think so?” Bell mulled the idea over as Bastet finished his Status update.

Bastet leaned over Bell’s head, letting her breasts rest atop his soft white hair, as she held the paper in front of him. “I know so, Bell. I’ve watched it all, remember?” She giggled as Bell took the paper, not saying anything about her tits resting on his head. He’d grown more comfortable with her displays of affection and now he even reciprocated them.

“I’d still like to be able to do more.” Bell took the paper from Bastet’s hand. “We’ll eventually have more members and I want to support them too.”

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 60 > I 74

Endurance – I 54 > I 66

Dexterity – I 61 > I 75

Agility – I 55 > I 68

Magic – I 0

Magic

Treasure Light – Incantation: “Light of heaven, the song of life, the dance of the guardian. Protect my treasure, restore my treasure, and strengthen my treasure.” Abjuration Magic that heals a target while also boosting their stats and providing protection for a limited time.

Skills

-

-Status-

“EEEHHH?!” Bell shot to his feet in surprise. This toppled Bastet backwards onto the couch with a shocked ‘nya’. “Goddess! Is this real?! I’ve become a Magic user?!” His rubellite eyes were sparkling as he looked at his Status update.

“A bit of an overreaction…but yes, you have.” Bastet looked up at him from the couch with an amused grin. “Congratulations, Bell.” She sat up and gently pulled him back down onto the couch so that they could go over his new Magic together. “Abjuration Magic, huh?” Bastet leaned into Bell’s side with a pleased grin. “Did my Domains of Protection and Medicine rub off on you, Bell?”

Bell smiled warmly at Bastet. “I hope so, Goddess!” Bastet was the one that blushed slightly this time, though it was harder to see on her darker complexion. “I can support and protect our Familia with this Magic.” His smile was nearly as bright as the sun as he read over the spell again.

“Yes, yes, you can, Bell.” Bastet giggled brightly as she hugged him. “Healing, buffing, and protecting, all in one spell. A perfect fit for you and your dedication to family.”

“I can’t wait to try this out!” Bell was beaming as he enjoyed the new development in his Falna and the affection of his Goddess.

“Why wait then?” Bastet titled her head. “Cast it on yourself, or on me.”

Bell blinked at Bastet, before leaning forward and kissing her cheek. “Thank you, Bastet.”

“Hehehe…” Bastet shook her head with a pleased smile. “You’re the one that manifested the Magic, Bell.” She let him go as Bell stood up and looked over the incantation again. “Okay, let’s try this out.” He took a steadying breath before he began. “Light of heaven, the song of life, the dance of the guardian. Protect my treasure, restore my treasure, and strengthen my treasure. Treasure Light!”

A golden glow suffused Bell’s body. Any minor, lingering soreness vanished instantly and he felt a noticeable rush from what he assumed were his stats being boosted. The golden light continued to surround his body, not moving far from his skin. “This is…amazing.” Bell looked over his glowing body with wonder.

“My turn, my turn!” Bastet was eager as she stood up from the couch, her cat ears twitching and her tail flicking back and forth behind her.

“One second, Goddess.” Bell chuckled and raised his right hand towards Bastet with his palm facing her. “Light of heaven, the song of life, the dance of the guardian. Protect my treasure, restore my treasure, and strengthen my treasure. Treasure Light!” He cast again.

“Ooh~!” Bastet felt the rush of the Magic as it filled her, making her body feel good. “This is neat!” She playfully ran around the living area, vaulting over furniture and even running up the walls and pushing off the ceiling, only to land lightly on her feet like a cat. “Ahahaha! This is fun!”

Bell could only laugh at his excited and energetic Goddess as she ran about.

The golden glow faded away after a couple of minutes and both of them sat back onto the couch with smiles. The rush had been fun and the feeling of Bell’s Magic was soothing. Bastet gently climbed into Bell’s lap and snuggled into him with a grin. Bell wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head, chuckling at the cute way her cat ears twitched.

Dinner was another wonderful meal and the two went to bed that night with smiles on their faces.

-Miach Familia Home ~ Blue Pharmacy-

The next morning Bell entered the Blue Pharmacy to buy his first potions. He’d been making do with just bandages and the medicine that Bastet kept at their home. But as he went deeper into the Dungeon, he needed to consider all possibilities. His Magic could heal, but he couldn’t restore Mind on his own, so he’d have to prepare ahead of time to make sure that he didn’t run out of Mind while in the Dungeon. “Hello?” He greeted the God standing behind the counter.

“Good day to you, young man. How can I help you?” The God known as Miach smiled at the white-haired and red-eyed young man. He had long dark-blue hair and matching dark-blue eyes. He wore a simple black robe; a tan stole that reached down past his shoulders, and sturdy brown shoes. Miach spoke with an accent that Bell had never heard before, yet the friendly tone in the God’s voice made it pleasant.

“My name is Bell Cranel, Lord Miach. I wanted to buy some potions.” Bell gave the God a short bow of respect. “My Guild Advisor told me that you have good prices on quality potions here. Now that I’m going deeper into the Dungeon, I think it’s a good idea to have some potions in case of an emergency.”

“That is a good idea,” Miach nodded with a gentle smile. “You never know what could happen in the Dungeon. A potion to heal injuries at the right time can make all the difference. Not to mention things like antidotes for getting rid of poison or Mind Potions to restore lost Mind.”

“Hmm, how much are the cheapest potions?” Bell asked as he looked over the various stoppered vials on display.

“500 Valis for one, if you buy five the fifth one is free.” Miach informed the new Adventurer.

“Hmm, five for 2,000 Valis doesn’t sound bad.” Bell thought it over for a moment. “I’ll take five then, and a Mind Potion.” He decided, and handed Miach the Valis. A cute Chienthrope woman collected five of the light-blue potions and one of the citrus-colored vials, before handing them over.

“Thank you for your business, Bell.” Miach grinned at the boy. “This is Naaza Erisuis, the Captain of my Familia. She works the front desk while I work in the back usually. I hope you two will get along.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Naaza.” Bell shook the woman’s hand with a smile.

“Likewise, Bell, I hope you’ll continue to buy potions from us in the future.” Naaza gave him a soft smile. The white-haired young man thought her dog-like ears were fluffy and cute. He really hoped she didn’t notice him looking at them. That might be embarrassing if she got the wrong idea. ‘Resist the urge to touch the fluffy ears.’

Bell left the Pharmacy with his new potions safely stored in his backpack. “It’s a smaller shop, but the people are nice.” He smiled at the experience while heading for the Dungeon. He’d stop by one of the food shops near Babel and buy a packed lunch for later while he was dungeon crawling. He hadn’t come close to trying all of the various options yet!

-Dungeon ~ Fourth Floor-

“Okay, first time on the Fourth Floor, I can do this.” Bell had his Khopesh Treasure Sword held at the ready. Before him was a group of Goblins, five of the green-skinned monsters. The group charged toward him with shrieks and growls and Bell rushed to meet them.

A flash of his blade opened the throat of the first Goblin to come in range. The blade was flipped as it came back around to fully decapitate the second Goblin. Bell backstepped to dodge the third Goblin’s attack, pivoted on his left heel to avoid the fourth’s attack and slashed its back open in a spray of blood. The fifth Goblin met the same fate as the first, its throat slashed open as it collapsed to the ground and quickly bled out. The third tried to attack from behind only for Bell to spin to his back and cut it down.

“Woo… A group of Monsters right as I got to this Floor. Monsters really do appear more often as you go lower.” Bell exhaled as he flicked the blood off his sword and sheathed it before crouching down to harvest the Goblins’ Magic Stones. “I wonder if I can break my record for number of Monster’s hunted today?”

-Later-

“This wasn’t what I meant when I wanted to break my record for the day.” Bell hissed out as he moved backwards to make some distance from the pack of Kobolds. He’d managed to kill three of them, but the remaining five were using pack tactics to keep him on the defensive. Their claws had cut him in multiple places, but his breastplate had kept his vitals safe so far. His stomach hurt a bit from a slash that had gotten through, but Bell hadn’t had time to get a potion out with the constant attacks.

“Grraah!”

“Bark!”

“Grrrr!”

The Kobolds were trying to encircle him again, preventing Bell from escaping while they attacked from every angle.

Deciding to go for it while he had the chance, Bell put his back to the wall and began his incantation. “Light of heaven, the song of life, the dance of the guardian. Protect my treasure, restore my treasure, and strengthen my treasure. Treasure Light!” He finished his spell just as the Kobolds charged at him. The golden glow suffused his body, healing his injuries, and boosting his stats while the light protected him.

“Grrrkh...” The lead Kobold had lunged at Bell, its jaws opened wide to bite him, only for the glowing Bell to swing his Khopesh through its neck, decapitating it.

The flying Kobold head hit the ground with a thump.

By the time it had landed on the stone floor, Bell had cut down two more of the Kobolds that were closest to him.

“Hah!” Bell was on the offensive now, lunging forward and bringing his sword down on the fourth Kobold, slicing through its arm and opening a laceration down the length of the Monster’s chest. He spun with the Treasure Sword and nearly bifurcated the final Kobold as it tried to swipe at him with its claws.

With the five Kobolds dead, Bell let out a breath, only to hear something that he’d become familiar with in the last few days.

Crack

Crack

Spinning around, Bell saw two more Kobolds emerge from the wall.

“No you don’t!” Bell rushed towards the two newly born Monsters before they could get their bearings.

“Grr-yipe!” The first Kobold had started to growl at the approaching Bell, but was cut down as bell closed the distance far faster than the Monster had anticipated.

“Bark!” The second Kobold tried to bit Bell, aiming for his head.

Bell swung his blade at the wide open jaws and cut the top of the Kobold’s head off, split cleanly between the upper and lower jaw. The Kobold fell dead, just like the rest, and Bell waited for a long moment to see if any more Monsters would be born.

When nothing happened after some time, Bell saw the golden glow of his spell fade away and sheathed his Khopesh. “Alright then.” He pulled out his knife and went to each body, one by one, to harvest the Magic Stones. “A Drop Item!” Bell held up the Kobold Nail that he’d gotten from the fifth Kobold. “Nice.” He put it into his backpack while heading towards the next dead Monster. Once he was finished, he took a moment to update his count. “With the two new ones that were born…plus the eight that were already here… That makes one-hundred-three so far today!”

At least he’d broken his record like he’d wanted to.

“With my Magic, I bet I could hunt even more Monsters per day.” Bell unsheathed his sword as he left the cavern. “Let’s see just how many I can do today!”

-Exchange ~ Late Afternoon-

“Whoa…” The woman behind the glass blinked as Bell emptied his backpack and a pile of small Magic Stones was quickly filling the tray. “Slowdown, slowdown… Take a few of those out so that I can pull the tray to my side, please.” She instructed and Bell did so. It took two trays to get all of the small Magic Stones onto the other side with the Guild employee.

Bell pretended not to notice the small amount of attention that he was getting from some of the other Adventurers and Guild staff. He knew that he’d hunted more than normal, but surely this wasn’t THAT much, right?

“Alright, your Magic Stones are worth 12,469 Valis. And your two Kobold Nails are worth 1,800 Valis, while the Goblin Fang is worth 600 Valis. Your total exchange for today comes out to 14,869 Valis.” The woman informed Bell, seeming a little surprised by the number she just spoke. “Have a nice evening, sir.” She placed the Valis coins in the tray and pushed them back over to Bell’s side.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Bell nodded to the woman as he collected his coins and put them in his money pouch. “Anna will be surprised, I’m sure.” He chuckled as he headed over to the meeting area to give his report for the day.

-Guild Advisor Offices-

“Look at this guy!” A pink-haired woman by the name of Misha Flott held up Bell’s newest report, which she’d swiped off of Anna’s desk.

“Misha!” Anna quickly took the report back with a pout at her coworker.

“What? That’s an impressive number for such a new Adventurer!” Misha declared as she pointed at the paper. “One-hundred-seventy-two Monsters in one day is nothing to scoff at, even on the Fourth Floor.”

Anna sighed as she sat back down at her desk. “Bell is working very hard since he’s the only member of his Familia. He’s been getting better and better every day that he goes into the Dungeon. It was only a matter of time before he did something crazy with how quickly he seems to be growing.”

“Most newbies grow fast in the beginning, he’ll stall out around ‘H’ Rank in his stats like most Adventurers do, then it’ll be slow growth from there.” One of the older Advisors spoke from experience. After all, that was why the majority of Adventurers in Orario never made it past Level 1.

-Bubastis-

“Your new Magic is impressive, Bell.” Bastet could hardly believe her eyes as she watched Bell’s day in the Dungeon through his Excelia. Every time he’d been injured, he healed himself and then used the buff and protection aspects of his Magic to defeat even more Monsters for the time that it was active. It was a rather efficient method of making use of his Abjuration Magic to hunt the Monsters of the Dungeon.

“Thank you, Goddess.” Bell smiled at the praise as Bastet updated his Status.

Bastet finished the update and locked up Bell’s Falna again. “You’re just getting better and better, Bell.” She handed the paper over to him with a smile.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 74 > H 104

Endurance – I 66 > I 98

Dexterity – I 75 > H 106

Agility – I 68 > H 100

Magic – I 0 > I 30

Magic

Treasure Light – Incantation: “Light of heaven, the song of life, the dance of the guardian. Protect my treasure, restore my treasure, and strengthen my treasure.” Abjuration Magic that heals a target while also boosting their stats and providing protection for a limited time.

Skills

-

-Status-

“One-hundred-fifty-five…” Bell gaped at his massive jump in stats.

Bastet giggled at his stunned face. “You hunted over one-hundred-seventy Monsters by yourself with all of your stats still at the ‘I’ Rank…of course you were going to get a huge boost from that, Bell.” The Cat Goddess playfully nuzzled against him. “Most newbies probably couldn’t have done what you did, but your determination and the smart use of your Magic made it work.”

“St-Still…” Bell had to take a deep breath to calm himself. “I’m glad that I’m growing so much.” He turned his head to smile at Bastet behind him. “It’s exactly what I wanted. Thank you, Goddess.”

“You’re the one doing incredible things, Bell.” Bastet shook her head, squeezing him a little tighter.

“And I’ll keep going too, for our Familia.” Bell promised as he put his hand over hers.

-One Week Later ~ Dungeon ~ Fifth Floor-

“Where did this thing come from?!” Bell skipped back and ducked around a corner.

“MOOOAAARRRGGGHH!!!” A Minotaur’s fist smashed through the rock. The rampaging bull-headed Monster came around the corner with powerful stomps, its cloven hooves cracking the stone floor beneath it.

Minotaurs were classed as Level 2 Monsters by the Guild, and they should’ve only been on the Middle Levels starting around the Fifteenth Floor. It was no surprise that Bell was beyond confused at the appearance of one on the Fifth Floor. And what he did next was even less of a surprise to anyone that would get to know him.

“Run!” Bell yelled at a Party of four Adventurers that had been coming down the corridor that he’d ducked into. The four didn’t need to be told twice, seeing the Minotaur heading their way. All four booked it as fast as they could run while Bell put himself between the Minotaur and the fleeing Level 1’s.

“MOOAARRGGHH!!!” The Minotaur roared loudly before rushing at Bell.

Bell went low as he spun and brought his Khopesh across the Minotaur’s side. Blood flew through the air form the small laceration left by the Divine Weapon. Had Bell’s stats been in the upper Ranks of ‘b’ or ‘A’ he might’ve been able to substantially injure the Minotaur, but as it was his stats weren’t that high yet.

“MOOOAAAHH!!!” The Minotaur grabbed its side with one hand, growling at the pain. When it pulled its hand back and saw the small amount of blood, it charged at Bell headlong, looking to gore him.

“Shit!” Bell threw himself to the side.

BAM

The Minotaur shattered the wall it hit as Bell got to his feet and slashed at the back of the Raging Bull-Type Monster’s leg. More blood flew through the air from another small laceration.

“MOOOAARRGGHH!!!” The Minotaur swung its fist in a wide backfist to try and kill Bell. Bell felt the wind off the Minotaur’s fist as he retreated, barely able to avoid the swing. He whirled his Treasure Sword around and sliced the overextended limb with as much force as he could muster. “MOOOAAUUHH!!!” The Minotaur actually bellowed in pain as this cut was much deeper than the ones on its side or leg.

“GUKH!!!” Bell had barely seen the Minotaur turn the rest of its body to lunge at him. He’d barely managed to avoid a direct hit, but the Minotaur’s glancing blow was still more than enough to send bell flying down the corridor, his Average Grade armor torn form his chest as the leather straps snapped.

“MOOAARRGGHH!!!” The Minotaur stomped towards the downed Bell.

Bell spit blood from his mouth and onto the stone floor. His chest hurt…a lot…but he was still able to breath, so he hadn’t punctured a lung at least. He heard the Minotaur getting closer, felt the vibrations of its heavy stomps getting stronger as it closed in. He swore his life flashed before his eyes; his time as a child with his grandfather, the Goblin that had almost killed him as a little boy, losing his grandpa, coming to Orario, meeting Bastet. “I promised…” He forced himself to focus, even as his body screamed in pain. “I promised her…I dedicated myself to our family!” He tightened his grip on the Khopesh Treasure Sword that Bastet had given him. His breathing was ragged, but Bell forced himself onto his hands and knees anyway. “Light of heaven, the song of life, the dance of the guardian. Protect my treasure, restore my treasure, and strengthen my treasure. Treasure Light!” Bell saw the golden glow suffuse his body, felt the instant relief as his injuries healed and his pain vanished, and then felt the rush as his stats rose.

“MOOGH?” The Minotaur seemed confused as it looked at its outstretched hand. Three of its fingers were missing. It had been about to grab the injured human and kill it…but then it had glowed golden and swung its weapon. The Minotaur figured out what had happened just as the pain hit it. “MOOOAAARRGGGHHH!!!” It bellowed in pain and tried to stomp Bell to death.

But Bell wasn’t there.

“HYAH!!!” Bell swung for all that he was worth, aiming straight for the Minotaur’s neck as the golden glow of his Magic surrounded his body.

CLANG

Bell nearly cracked a tooth as the jarring pain travelled up his arms as his sword hit the Minotaur’s horn, the Monster having moved its head to block the attack. The horn held up for a second, only for the Divine Weapon to break off the tip and finish its swing. Unfortunately for Bell, most of the power was gone, and he left only a shallow cut across the Minotaur’s neck. It bled, but it hadn’t reached deep enough to land a lethal blow at all.

“MOOAARRGGH!!!” The rage of the Minotaur was palpable as it saw its broken horn and felt the stinging pain along its neck. Bell barely leapt far enough back to avoid be crushed by the Minotaur’s fist. The wind from the punch ruffled his hair, but Bell was already preparing to bolt, knowing that his spell wouldn’t last too much longer.

Shing

Bell’s eyes widened as a large flash of metal separated the Minotaur’s head from its body. The Level 2 Monster’s body collapsed to the ground as its flying head was snatched out of the air by the one that killed it.

“Not bad…” The woman gave Bell a grin.

She had bronze skin, purple eyes, and long black hair that covered the right side of her face. Her clothing was reminiscent of a dancer, with sheer, purple pants that were see through, allowing one to see her white bikini-like garment beneath. Her large breasts were covered with a purple breast wrap, leaving almost her entire body exposed, from her ample cleavage to her flat stomach and her trim waist that gave her an hourglass figure. She wore golden earrings along with various gold decorations around her chest and belly that seemed to be attached to the purple and gold collar around her neck. Her wrists each sported a golden bracelet as well to finish off her look.

Bell felt his heart thump in his chest at the sight of the beautiful Amazon.

“You put a hell of a fight.” Another Amazon spoke up, and Bell suddenly realized that he had an audience.

An audience of seven Amazons at that!

The one that had just spoken looked to be about the same age as the woman with the large sword that had decapitated the Minotaur. She had silver-gray hair, reddish eyes, and a lithe and toned body. She wore a white bikini bottom and a matching white top that appeared looped around her back to her front, covering her breasts while still leaving all of her cleavage visible, and being attached behind her neck. Around her upper arms and her shins were four matching golden circlets with orange tassels along the bottom, and in each ear was a golden hoop earring.

“Aisha, you could’ve saved him as soon as we got here.” The second woman spoke to the first.

“But then we wouldn’t have gotten to see such a stimulating fight.” Aisha said, licking her lips slightly as she looked at Bell. “Besides, if you weren’t just as interested as I was, Samira, you would’ve killed this cow yourself.” She tossed the head onto the body that lay between them and Bell.

“It was a nice fight.” Samira eyed Bell up and down with a grin.

Two of the Amazons stepped forward, and Bell instantly recognized both of them.

“You should’ve let us finish it off as soon as we got here.” The beautiful Amazon narrowed her eyes at Aisha. She had long, black hair going down to just past her butt. Two long, braided bangs framed her face and were held together with silver-colored hair ornaments near the ends. Her ears were pierced, each one sporting a round, blue gem. Silver-colored neckbands adorned her neck and a deep-red bikini top covered her very large breasts. The garment was wrapped around her back, and was tied off behind her neck. A circular, silver moon ornament kept the top pulled tight to prevent any slipping. She left her toned and smooth stomach fully displayed. She had a folded pareo tied around her waist, a dark yellow color with a green band around the hem. Red leggings attached to a garter belt around her waist drew the eye of many a man. She also had silver-colored armbands and anklets to finish off her look.

This woman was Tione Hyrute, ‘Jörmungandr’ of the Loki Familia, a Level 5 Adventurer.

“She’s right, what if he died?” The Amazon beside Tione questioned the larger group of Amazons. She had short, black hair, with two long bangs framing her face. Each of the longer bangs was held together with a simple bronze hair ornament near the end. Around her neck were golden-colored neckbands, the largest of which sported three blue gems. Her chest was covered by a white breast wrap that left just enough to the imagination. She wasn't very busty, but it certainly didn’t detract from her beauty in the slightest. Her smooth and toned stomach was left fully on display, just like her sister’s. She wore a golden armband on each forearm and had golden anklets similar to her neckbands adorning her ankles. The pareo around her waist was a match to her sisters, though it was worn longer, the ends falling around the woman’s ankles. The garment partially covered her legs and the brown loincloth that hung down to her shins. A thick, brown and white belt with a golden buckle featuring a stylized sun sat around her hips, over the tied-off pareo.

This was Tiona Hyrute, ‘The Slasher’ of Loki Familia, another Level 5 Adventurer; though she was missing her signature weapon, Urga.

“We wouldn’t let him die, that wouldn’t be nice.” One of the Amazons that was with Aisha and Samira replied with a friendly smile. She had long, gray hair that was put into a side ponytail and green eyes, however her most notable feature was her massive breasts. Barely restrained by a skimpy, leopard print top with straps over her shoulders. Bell had never seen such large breasts in his life…this woman made even the other busty amazons look smaller by comparison! Her midriff was left exposed, revealing its trim shape, countered by her wide, child-bearing hips. She wore matching leopard print short shorts and had two silver bracelets, one on each wrist.

“Chacha’s right, we were ready to step in at any moment. We were just letting him fight.” Another of the Amazon group waved off Tiona and Tione’s concerns. She had white hair, similar to Bell’s, but with brown tips, and her long lock were kept in a low ponytail that trailed down her back and stopped just above her butt. Her eyes were a silver-gray color and she had a smirk on her lips. Her bust was large and held by a tiger print bikini top with a tied off, button up shirt over it that still gave a look at her immense cleavage. Her midriff was bare, like the others, and she had on black compressions shorts that stopped above mid-thigh, emphasizing the thickness of her thighs.

“Matora, don’t start a fight.” The final Amazon woman cautioned her friend. She was blonde, her hair an almost golden color that stood in contrast to her darker complexion, though her skin tone was lighter than some of the others. Her green eyes looked between Tiona and Tione, obviously knowing who they were. Her immense bust, looking just a little bit smaller than Chacha’s, was held back by a white bikini top with a red flame pattern along the bottom hem. Her flat tummy was left exposed and her bottoms were a tiny pair of denim shorts with a large blade sheathed at her hip. She had a collar around her neck held with a metal clasp and on her back was a large pack. In her left hand was a sword equally as massive as Aisha’s, but this one was straight and the cutting edged was a line of sharp cutting hooks, almost looking like a saw blade.

“I wasn’t gonna, Ikumi.” Matora denied trying to provoke the Hyrute Sisters into a fight.

Bell was a mixture of starstruck at seeing the Hyrute Sisters up close, both being some of the most well-known Adventurers in Loki Familia, and Orario itself, and immensely overwhelmed by all of the gorgeous Amazons. With so much skin on display, Bell was having a hard time knowing where to look. He wasn’t sure if he should speak up, or if he should remain quiet and just continue enjoying the view.

“Are you alright?” Tiona asked as she trotted over to Bell with a smile.

“Y-Yeah, I’m okay.” Bell answered after a second to collect himself.

“That’s great!” Tiona smiled at him. To Bell it was like sunshine in the Dungeon.

Tione walked over while looking Bell up and down. “We would’ve jumped in sooner, but those five got in the way.” She motioned towards the other group of Amazons. “You look like you took a bad hit.” She pointed out his destroyed breastplate. “Are you sure that you’re alright?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Bell nodded to Tione with a smile. “My Magic heals.” He wouldn’t give away too much of what he could do, but if it would alleviate Tione’s worries, Bell would tell her how he was fine after taking a glancing blow from the Minotaur.

“Don’t hog the man all to yourselves.” Aisha stepped forward with a grin at the younger Amazons. “He’s proven himself quite the warrior.” Bell felt like he was prey before a predator for a moment as Aisha eyed him up appreciatively.

“There she goes.” Samira joked with a smirk on her face. Aisha shot her a look, but Samira only smirked right back at her.

Chacha smiled and bounced on her heels, making her massive tits bounce, which Bell thought would make her pop out of her top. “He did great though!” She praised Bell with a friendly smile. “If it hadn’t gotten its horn in the way, he totally would’ve killed it!”

“He was a bit too slow. I would’ve killed it before it had a chance to guard.” Matora grinned wildly at the dead Minotaur.

“He’s probably a new Level 2.” Ikumi waved off Matora’s appraisal of the fight. “He may not have even been to the Middle Floors yet; so cut him some slack.”

Samira nodded in agreement with Ikumi. “His fighting was a bit too amateurish to be a seasoned Level 2. But he still nearly killed the cow, so he’s earned some respect.” She shot a grin at Bell that made his heart thump in his chest.

“Thanks for fighting this thing, by the way.” Tiona motioned to the dead Minotaur. “It would’ve been real bad if it had attacked some Level 1’s after we had to chase down the horde all the way up from the Seventeenth Floor.”

“This was the last one too, thankfully. Ais went to take care of the other one that got up to this Floor.” Tione let out a sigh of relief that no one had died from the fleeing Minotaur horde.

“…Level 1.” Bell finally spoke up, his mind kickstarting itself again at being called a Level 2.

“Hm?” Tiona leaned in closer. “What was that?”

Bell saw all of the eyes on him and forced himself not to flinch. “I’m…Level 1. Today was my first day on the Fifth Floor.”

“What?” Every Amazon said the same thing simultaneously.

The next thing Bell knew, he was surrounded.

“There’s no way a Level 1 could injure a Minotaur like that.” Tione looked deep into Bell’s rubellite eyes for any hint of deception.

“She’s right, especially not a newbie.” Aisha had Bell’s chin held in her hand as her entrancing purple eyes bore into his ruby gaze.

“No way in hell.” Matora agreed with them.

“I’ve heard that some Familia don’t report their members’ Level Ups, but you don’t need to lie to us.” Samira told Bell with a shake of her head.

Chacha seemed to think it might be true though, the bustiest Amazon looking at Bell with a smile. “Are you really Level 1?!”

“There’s no way, right?” Ikumi looked at her friend and then back to Bell.

Tiona decided to ask again. “You’re Level 1?” She was very close to his face now, much like Tione and Aisha were.

“Y-Yes, ma’am…” Bell answered, not having expected the sudden interrogation. “I can’t show you my Falna, but I’ve only been an Adventurer for about two weeks. You can ask my Advisor, Miss Anna Claes.”

“Holy shit…” Tione breathed out, not seeing a hint of a lie in Bell’s eyes. “You’re not kidding…are you?”

“He’s not. I know a liar when I see one.” Aisha had a sultry smile on her lips.

“Really?!” Chacha clapped once with a bright smile, bouncing on her heels a bit in excitement, which did interesting things to her breasts.

Bell didn’t know it, but the hearts of the seven Amazons before him all beat powerfully at the same time. He did catch the slight shivers that passed through their bodies, but didn’t know that all of the women felt as if fire had just started to run through their blood.

“I’ll take him.” Aisha pulled Bell face into her breasts as she wrapped her arms around his head.

“No fair, Aisha!” Chacha and Samira retorted instantly.

“Shouldn’t that be his choice, fahişe (prostitute)?” Tione narrowed her eyes at the slightly older woman.

“Yeah, you can’t just claim him like he’s property!” Tiona agreed with her sister.

“You girls aren’t being true to your Amazonian nature.” Samira tsked at the Hyrute Sisters. “We Amazons have claimed strong men for ourselves since time immemorial.”

“She’s not wrong.” Ikumi spoke up, cocking an eyebrow at Tiona and Tione. “No matter what Tribe you come from, that’s a core of our people’s way of life.”

“If he got stronger, I’d be more interested.” Matora looked away from Bell, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Are you blushing?” Chacha teased her friend with a giggle.

“No!” Matora denied with a growl. So what if this guy almost beat a Minotaur as a newbie Level 1! She wouldn’t let just any strong guy lay with her! Even if he was sort of cute with his white hair and red eyes…looking like a bunny… Matora quickly shook her head.

“Pah!” Bell finally pulled himself from Aisha’s breasts as air became an issue. He stumbled a little and raised his right hand to catch himself, only to feel it sinking into something soft.

“Oh~” Chacha giggled as Bell accidentally groped one of her large tits. “Do you like big boobs?”

“I-I-I’m sorry, Miss!” Bell pulled his hand away and managed to stagger out of the encirclement before bowing at the waist. “I didn’t mean to do that. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

“No big deal,” Chacha grinned at Bell. “I like strong guys. To have a strong man take me into his arms and sweep me off my feet as he holds me close would be wonderful~” She giggled and swayed her hips from side to side as she imagined it.

“When did you become such a girly-girl?” Samira grinned at Chacha’s little daydream.

“You’re blushing a lot, are you okay?” Ikumi asked Bell, seeing the flustered look on his face.

“S-Sorry…I just…no, no, it’s nothing.” Bell shook his head.

“If you have something to say, just say it.” Aisha looked at Bell with challenging eyes. “A man shouldn’t be afraid to speak his mind.”

Bell saw all of the women nod, even Tione and Tiona seemed to agree with Aisha. With a slow breath to steady himself Bell stood to his full height. “My name is Bell Cranel, Captain of the Bastet Familia, thank you for saving me.” He bowed to Aisha specifically, and the rest of the women that would’ve stepped in if it looked like he was about to die. “I appreciate your help and all of your attention.” He stood back up, only a hint of pink on his cheeks at admitting to enjoying their sudden attention towards him.

“You’re welcome.” Aisha replied with an easy smile. “But you enjoyed our attention, huh?” Her easy smile became seductive.

“Amazon Fever~” Tiona smiled at Bell, her bright eyes teasing as she sidled up to Bell and wrapped her arms around his left arm.

“There’s only one way to cure that.” Tione grinned at Bell.

“Well, cure it or make it permanent, one or the other.” Aisha licked her lips.

“Fifty-Fifty odds.” Samira chuckled as she eyed Bell up again.

Chacha raised her hand into the air. “I vote to make it permanent!”

“If he gets stronger, then sure.” Matora agreed, her silvery eyes looking Bell over as her blood remained hot in her veins. If Bell was this strong now…just how strong would he get with some more time? She nearly groaned at the thought.

Ikumi seemed to be a bit more reserved about it, until she leaned forward and let her large tits bounce and draw Bell’s eyes to them. “Get stronger, Bell, I like a reliable man.” She licked her lips and Bell felt a spike of something primal shoot up his spine and into his brain. He didn’t know how to describe it other than instinct.

“I’ll do my best.” Bell stated firmly as his heart beat powerfully in his chest. He moved his lower arm until it rested on Tiona’s hip, his fingers feeling her soft, warm skin. “I’ll have to talk to my Goddess though.” He admitted with a small grin.

“Already bedding a Goddess?” Tione cocked an eyebrow as she copied Tiona and sidled up to Bell’s right side. “You’re something else, Bell.”

“Not quite, Miss Tione.” Bell’s right arm slowly wrapped around her waist, giving her plenty of time to swat it away if she didn’t want to accept it. Tione only eyes him with approval as he pulled her a little closer.

“That means he’s working on it.” Samira sauntered up to Bell, getting close to his face. “We’ll be watching your progress, Bell. Feel free to try and romance us.”

“When a man wants to take a woman away, he should do so by force.” Aisha said with a smoldering look directed at Bell. Matora nodded in agreement with Aisha, the battle lover wouldn’t mind Bell getting strong enough to match her…then they could let one thing lead to another.

Chacha pressed herself against bell’s back, squashing her massive breasts against his back and draping her arms over his shoulders. “Romancing us and showing off your strength aren’t mutually exclusive, you know?” She whispered into Bell’s ear with a bubbly laugh.

“What’s…going on, Tione, Tiona?” A woman’s voice spoke up from behind the group of Amazons. The speaker was a very beautiful young woman with long golden-blonde hair, gold eyes, and a slender body, her breasts and hips giving her curves that could easily draw a man’s eyes. She was wearing a white and black battle cloth, black arm covers, and long blue boots up to her thighs. Her armor consisted of a head guard, breastplate, arm guards, hip guards, and knee guards. In her hand was a straight sword that even Bell could tell was of high quality.

This was Ais Wallenstein, the ‘Kenki’ of Loki Familia, another famous Level 5 Adventurer.

“Ais!” Tiona beamed at her friend. “We were just chatting with these Amazons, and Bell who fought the Minotaur that escaped.” She explained to the swordswoman.

Ais looked between the Amazons, the dead Minotaur, and the young man that had Tiona on his left, Tione on his right, and an Amazon woman that she didn’t know behind him. “Mm?” She tilted her head, confused by the situation that she’d stumbled upon.

“Oh yeah, we should get the Minotaur’s Magic Stone for Bell.” Ikumi’s cheeks reddened as she realized how caught up she’d been in her Amazonian instincts. She pulled the blade form her hip, revealing it to be a large black cleaver. With a single swing, she split open the Minotaur’s chest and revealed the fist-sized Magic Stone within.

“But I didn’t kill it.” Bell tried to deny the Magic Stone, knowing that it was definitely valuable.

“It’s no big deal, you’re the one that fought the Minotaur. I just finished it off.” Aisha refused his attempt to let them keep the Magic Stone.

Ikumi tossed the Magic Stone to Chacha, who caught it and then put it into Bell’s black backpack since she was behind him.

Bell was left with no choice but to accept after that.

-Bubastis ~ Afternoon-

The rest of the time after the Minotaur’s Magic Stone had been given to Bell was a whirlwind of activity. Bell had been escorted out of the Dungeon with a force of Amazons surrounding him. Ais Wallenstein led the way, occasionally glancing back at the group, seeing how they surrounded Bell.

Anna had been shocked at what Bell had to report, and even more so when his report was backed up by two Level 5’s, two Level 3’s, and three level 2’s. The Amazons word carried some weight given they were all upper class Adventurers.

After the Guild, Bell separated from the women. Tiona, Tione, and Ais had to meet up with their Famili that was coming back from their expedition. While Aisha, Samira, Ikumi, Matora, and Chacha were heading home after having spent two days in the Dungeon, making it all the way down to the Eighteenth Floor and the town of Rivira.

Bell didn’t leave empty-handed…or unaccosted…the Amazons having taken his hands and placed the on their bodies in some way or another. Tiona and Tione while he’d had his arms around their waists. Aisha, Chacha and Ikumi and pressed his hands into their tits, letting Bell get a feel. Samira and Matora had felt Bell up while placing his hands on their tits and their asses.

The stunned young man didn’t know that this was a part of Amazonian culture. The touching was a way to state plainly to the man and other Amazons that they were interested in more than just a quick fuck. Bell’s strength to fight against a Minotaur despite his Level was already attractive. Adding in his potential on top of that and none of the seven women wanted to let him go.

Now Bell was back home and lying on the couch as Bastet updated his Falna.

“Thank you, Goddess.” Bell smiled at the praise as Bastet updated his Status.

“Of course, Bell.” Bastet gently purred to help soothe Bell from his encounter today. “I’ll be done in just a moment.” She’d nearly punched on him when he’d told her why he was home early today. But after seeing everything through his Excelia, she knew that he was physically fine, so now she just needed to take care of his mental state. ‘Those seven Amazons showing interest in him like that certainly helped.’ Bastet thought to herself with a grin. ‘Who knew that Bell had Amazon Fever this bad?’ The Goddess barely held in a giggle.

As Bastet continued to work, she blinked when something new manifested within Bell’s Falna. She saw its name form in hieroglyphics and read what it did. With a loving smile she wrote the new addition into Bell’s Falna. ‘You’re truly dedicated to me, our Familia, and your future dreams.’ Bastet mused with a warm feeling in her heart.

Once she was done with the update, she placed a blank paper onto Bell’s back and copied the numbers over with a circle of her fingertip. Looking it over, she smiled and nodded to herself that it was all as it should be. She locked up Bell’s Falna securely and then let him sit up. “You never cease to amaze me, Bell.”

“Hm?” Bell blinked at the unexpected words before he took the paper when Bastet handed it to him.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – G 202 > G 276

Endurance – H 199 > G 280

Dexterity – G 204 > G 279

Agility – G 200 > G 268

Magic – H 150 > G 201

Magic

Treasure Light – Incantation: “Light of heaven, the song of life, the dance of the guardian. Protect my treasure, restore my treasure, and strengthen my treasure.” Abjuration Magic that heals a target while also boosting their stats and providing protection for a limited time.

Skills

Tafani Al Usra (Dedication to Family) – Fast growth as long as feelings last. More desire results in faster growth. More effort results in stronger growth. Those the user sees as ‘family’ have accelerated growth in proportion to their efforts. As a side-effect it makes the user immune to Charms and Magics that affect the mind.

-Status-

“I grew so much…” Bell nearly forgot to breathe at seeing such a large increase. He’d worked himself to near exhaustion to get his stats up to ‘G’ Rank…but just fighting the single Minotaur had been worth DAYS of dungeon crawling on the Upper Floors. It was when his eyes finally dropped to the Skill part of his Status that he shot to his feet in surprise. “I HAVE A SKILL!”

“Ahahaha!” Bastet laughed beautifully at Bell’s reaction. “Yes, Bell, and it fits you so well.”

Bell slowly sat down again as he read over his new Skill. “Fast growth…feelings…family…” He couldn’t say this Skill didn’t fit him, that was for sure. “How does this work?” He looked to Bastet for answers.

“It’s pretty straight forward, it seems.” Bastet said as she moved over and wrapped her arms around Bell. “But any nuances can be worked out over time.” She began to purr softly, leaning against Bell. “For now, you need to rest. You had a very stressful day in the Dungeon. Even with all of those Amazons showing you so much attention.” She revealed that she’d seen that part of his day within his Excelia.

“I…I…” Bell’s face turned a bit red as he tried to speak.

Bastet only purred more as she began to run her fingers through his white hair. “You’re fine, Bell.” She assured him quietly. “Just relax and let me soothe you.”

“Goddess…” Bell breathed out before surrendering to Bastet’s warmth, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her close as she purred. He was asleep a short time later as Bastet continued to hold him close. She wouldn’t let one random incident hamper her Bell’s growth and progress towards his dreams.

“I’m your Goddess, Bell, you can always rely on me.” Bastet murmured softly to him as he slept.

-End Chapter-

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All of the fluff and goodness from the Cat Goddess! Nya!

Bell’s desire for family has resulted in a different path of growth!

Bastet called in an old favor and got Bell a Divine Weapon right off the bat! The Khopesh Treasure Sword made a good difference in the fight against the Minotaur too!

With a Bell that’s already gained Magic, is already busting his ass in the Dungeon, and has multiple dreams to fulfill, it’s no wonder he’s growing so fast!

Bell’s desire and determination is not to be underestimated!

Nor should his Amazon Fever! Kek!

He’s already attracting quite a lot of Amazon attention too!

You may recognize the looks and names of the three new Amazons! Chacha Akaza from Maken-ki, Ikumi Mito form Shokugeki no Soma, and Matora Mikogami from Yuragi-sou no Yuuna-san!

I love these girls and they make for some fine Amazon women! Helping to increase the number of Amazons in the Series so that I can finally have my Amazon Harem! *Cackles in plans*

How will this Bell continue to grow and develop with so many changes already happening?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!