Loki Familia Premise Chapter 7 (Patreon)

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you a new chapter! After the incident at Monsterphilia, the Loki Familia’s leadership starts looking into these vibrant Monsters with the oddly-colored Magic Stones a bit more. But the rest of the Loki Familia, including Bell and Lili, continue to go about their days as normal. It’s time for Bell to step onto the Tenth Floor and face the Large Category Monsters that spawn there. Just what will these new Floors challenge Bell with?

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 7 – Large Monsters and Transcended Limits

Ais was out in the garden of the Twilight Manor with her sword, Desperate, in her right hand while her left hand was held to the small of her back to keep it out of the way. A somewhat formal stance and pose for a sword user when practicing. Ais moved the sword through a series of intricate movements that, while beautiful to look at, would become a terrifying sight if a living body was put directly in front of the blade.

‘Weight. Balance. Grip. Cutting edge. Adjustments complete.’ Ais brought her sword to a stop, back in the starting form once again. She’d now readjusted to using Desperate again after using the loaned rapier for a while. ‘But now I have to pay Goibniu Familia back for breaking that sword…’ Ais hung her head slightly at how much debt she’d gotten into from pushing the weapon beyond its limits.

A single leaf fell from the nearby tree and fluttered through the air in front of Ais.

There was a series of blurring slashes from her blade before Ais returned to her stance.

The floating leaf developed a grid pattern across its surface before falling into perfectly cut squares, like confetti, that all floated towards the ground.

Pleased that her skills weren’t getting rusty, Ais sheathed her sword. It was only then that she noticed that she was being watched.

“Th-That was amazing, Miss Ais…” Lefiya gushed, her cheeks pink as she held a book close to her chest.

“Lefiya.” Ais smiled at her friend. “Good morning.”

“S-Sorry… It was so captivating…that I forgot to announce myself.” Lefiya apologized for watching Ais without saying anything.

“…thank you?” Ais wasn’t really sure about Lefiya’s compliment on her swordsmanship. To Ais, it was an effective method to kill Monsters, there was nothing beautiful about it.

“So, it is true that you practice so early in the morning.” Lefiya smiled at Ais, having nothing but praise for her friend. “That’s why you’re so strong… I must learn from your example!” Lefiya tilted her head slightly. “Who instructed you in the art of swordsmanship?”

Ais looked down a bit, staring at the green grass before she spoke. “…my father, I guess…” Memories of those times brought some happiness, but it was always tainted by grief and sadness that swelled up if she thought about them for too long.

“Is that so?! Even as a Magic user I can tell that you’ve really honed your technique! So, it’s from your father…” Lefiya was delighted that Ais was willing to share such things with her. “If I may ask, what are your parents doing right now?”

“Lefiya, how much time does it take to retrieve one book?” Riveria asked from behind the younger Elf. She picked Lefiya up by the back of her shirt, easily holding the cute Elf girl off the ground.

“L-Lady Riveria!” Lefiya almost panicked that Riveria had come looking for her because she’d taken too long.

Riveria let out a small sigh. “You have your own training to attend to.” She reminded Lefiya of why she was fetching the book in the first place. They were going even more in-depth today because of what had happened at Monsterphilia with Lefiya getting injured. Riveria turned her gaze to Ais with a small smile. “And you, Ais? It has been a while since you last joined us.” Lefiya glowed at Riveria’s suggestion and the idea of having early morning lessons with Ais. “Physical strength is not all that’s required to improve.”

Ais recalled the strict lessons that Riveria had forced on her as a child and slowly backed away while waving off the offer with her left hand. Anyone looking could tell that the blonde’s entire demeanor had become almost fearful.

“I see. That is unfortunate.” Riveria turned and carried Lefiya away. “Lefiya, we’ll continue until breakfast.”

“M-Miss Ais!” Lefiya held out her hands towards Ais.

Ais could only sigh in relief that she’d managed to escape. ‘I’ll go into the Dungeon for a little while after breakfast.’ She needed to make money to pay back her debt after all.

-Cafeteria ~ Breakfast-

“My hair, perfect!” Tione, dressed in an apron over her normal clothing minus her pareo, declared with a bright smile. Her long black hair was tied into two twin tails going down her back to keep it away from the food. “Apron, perfect!” She beamed at the white cloth covering her front. “Home-cooked breakfast, perfect!” She pointed the ladle in her hand at a large, whole-cooked fish that was on one of the large counters in the kitchen area. With a happy giggle, Tione put the ladle aside and hoisted the huge platter holding the large fish that was almost half her size into the air with one hand. “You there! He doesn’t need any dishes! Bell’s breakfast is right here!”

Bell blinked at the large platter and at the sheer size of the fish on it. “A-All of that?” He appreciated Tione cooking for him, of course, but there was no way that he could eat all of that by himself.

Ais had walked into the cafeteria just as Tione was declaring that she’d made Bell’s breakfast. Looking between Bell and Tione as the Amazon set the large platter on the table before Bell distracted her for a moment.

“Good morning, Ais!” Tiona practically threw herself at Ais and hugged her friend warmly.

“Morning, Tiona.” Ais said as she returned the hug.

Tiona gently pulled Ais towards the table where Bell and Tione were sitting. “Let’s chow down!”

Bell greeted them both with a warm smile as they sat down. “Good morning, Ais, Tiona.”

“Morning, Bell!” Tiona’s warm smile was like sunshine, as always.

“Good morning.” Ais gave Bell a soft smile as she sat down next to him.

Aki slid into the seat on Bell’s opposite side with a grin. “Room for one more?”

Bell returned her smile. “Of course, Aki.”

“Miss Tione…” Lefiya had walked over to the table with a platter filled with multiple dishes of food and multiple cups of tea. “Bell needs more than just fish for breakfast.”

Tione, holding a forkful of the fish that she’d cooked out to Bell for him to eat, looked at Lefiya for a long moment. “I guess…” She clearly wanted Bell to enjoy her food the most.

“Mmm.” Bell took the bite offered to him and chewed it. “It’s good, Tione.” He smiled after swallowing the bite.

“Glad you like it, Bell~” Tione’s cheeks darkened a little from the compliment and she nearly swooned as Bell began to dig into more of the fish that she’d prepared for him.

Lefiya set down the platter that she’d brought and began to pass out the various dishes to everyone with a happy smile. “Today’s breakfast is filled with Demeter Familia’s fresh vegetables!” Once everyone had gotten a plate, Lefiya began handing out the tea. “To help you recover from your morning training session, Miss Ais, I’ve prepared lemon-honey tea.” She set the cup next to Ais’s plate with a cute smile. “Since you seem more energetic than normal today, Miss Tiona, I made you a cup of herbal tea to help you calm down.” She placed the cup in front of Tiona with a small giggle. “I’m drinking the same tea as you, Miss Ais!” She held up her own cup with a bright grin.

“What about the rest of us?” Aki asked with a smile, a teasing lilt in her voice, while her black cat ears flicked atop her head.

“A warm cup of black tea to give you a bit of caffeine to start your day.” Lefiya answered as she placed the cups in front of Aki, Tione, and Bell.

“Thank you, Lefiya.” Bell said with a bright smile.

Lefiya’s cheeks went pink as she sat down at the end of the table, next to both Ais and Tiona. “Y-You’re welcome, Bell.”

“So, Ais, what’re you doing today?” Tiona asked as she started in on her breakfast.

Ais set her teacup down after taking a sip. “Well, yesterday at the Goibniu Familia…” She sulked a bit just remembering what the God had told her. “I have to pay for the sword I broke…forty million Valis.”

Bell nearly choked on his first sip of tea at the amount that the rapier had cost. Aki gently patted his back to help him clear his throat.

“I’ll have to prowl the Dungeon for a week to make that much.” Ais said with a metaphorical cloud over her head.

“Is that all?” Tiona’s bright and cheery personality wouldn’t let the cloud stay over Ais’s head for long. “I’ll go with you!”

Ais looked at Tiona curiously. “Huh?”

Lefiya leaned forward from her seat. “Me too…if it’s not a bother!” She offered to go into the Dungeon with Ais and Tiona almost frantically. Lefiya didn’t want to miss her first chance to do so after Ais had told her that she could come along back at Monsterphilia.

“I’ve got to pay off Urga too, you know?” Tiona laughed as she put her hands behind her head, clearly not seeing the massive loan that she’d taken out for her new weapon as any big deal.

“Okay.” Ais agreed with a cute little blush at her friends’ willingness to accompany her. “Please join me.”

Tiona looked thoughtful for a moment. “To make enough money to pay off our debts, we’ll probably be gone for a few days…. We should tell Finn.”

Lefiya nodded in agreement. “The next expedition is still a ways off…but I we should let him know.”

“Hey, Tione…” Tiona turned to her sister with a bright smile. “We’re gonna hit the Dungeon for about a week, you want to come?”

Tione looked over at Tiona from where she was sharing the fish she’d cooked with Bell. “I’ll pass. A week away from Bell is too long.” She looked back at Bell with a lovely smile.

“Tione.” Bell felt his own cheeks heat up a bit at how much Tione cared about him.

“But Bell can’t go down to the Middle Floors and the Lower Floors yet.” Tiona pointed out. “We need to go that deep to take care of our debts. If Bell was Level 2 or 3, then we’d definitely take him with us!” She gave Bell a smile filled with belief in his growing strength.

Bell couldn’t help but return the smile. “Thank you, Tiona.” It was nice to have so many Second-Class and First-Class Adventurers that believed in him.

Tione knew that was the case, for all that Bell’s strength was growing at a frankly ridiculous speed…he wasn’t ready for the Middle Floors yet. The Lower Floors were completely out of the question. “Hmm… It has been a while since we roamed the Dungeon at our own pace.” She looked between her friends and sister and then back at Bell.

“You should go with them, Tione.” Bell encouraged her to spend time with her friends and sister. “The more strong people you have, the faster you’ll make the money needed, right? Then you can return sooner.”

“I’ll take good care of Bell while you guys are gone.” Aki said with a cheshire grin. She leaned into Bell’s side and wrapped her arm over his shoulders, making Bell fidget a little as he felt all of Aki’s curves press into his side.

Tione, Tiona, Ais, and Lefiya all looked at Aki with suspicion.

Aki cracked up laughing at the looks. “Relax! I’m not going to steal him.”

Tiona had the proverbial lightbulb appear over her head. “Let’s ask Finn to go with us too! He has the Middle and Lower Floors memorized, so we’ll make better time through the Dungeon!” They could still have their fun at their own pace, but with Finn there they wouldn’t have to worry about taking a wrong path by mistake and having to backtrack.

“Alright, I guess I have no choice.” Tione stood up and tossed off the white apron she’d been wearing, revealing her bronze skin in just her red bikini and match red garter belt and leggings.

Bell was quick to drink in the sight.

“I’ll come along! Be grateful.” Tione tossed her hair to the side as she freed it from the twin tails, looking at Bell the whole time as she showed off her body to him. She loved having his rubellite eyes on her, running up and down her body. It was a thrill unlike anything else.

“Yay!” Tiona cheered playfully, throwing her hands up into the air.

“Y-Yay.” Ais and Lefiya mimicked after a second of hesitation.

The four young women were quick to finish their breakfasts and then head up towards Finn’s office, leaving Bell and Aki at the table together.

Aki still hadn’t moved away from Bell in the slightest as she looked at him fondly. “Looks like I have you all to myself for about a week, Bell~” She purred slightly into his ear. She grinned as she felt the small tremor that passed through Bell’s body.

“Aki…” Bell looked at Aki, rubellite eyes meeting black as the two were so close together.

Their lips met for a short, chaste kiss without either of them realizing that they’d leaned in until it happened.

“Bell~” Aki giggled as she smiled warmly at him. “When did you get so bold?”

“I…I don’t know.” Bell said with a small shake of his head. Normally he wouldn’t initiate a kiss like that in the cafeteria

Aki leaned into his ear with a sexy purr in her voice. “I like it~”

Bell felt his body straighten and was thankful that he was sitting down as he reacted below the belt to Aki’s sexy purr.

With a cheshire smile, Aki placed a quick kiss on Bell’s cheek and stood up. As she walked away from the table, Bell’s eyes fell to the sway of her hips and the way her tail swayed about, clearly meant to draw his eyes to her bottom.

“This might be a long week…” Bell mumbled to himself as he picked up his teacup with a red face and took a sip while he waited for his…situation, to calm down.

-Dungeon ~ Tenth Floor-

The Tenth through Twelfth Floors kept the same overall structure as both the Eighth and Ninth Floors, however the light from above was reminiscent of morning mist. The ceiling was higher as well and the grass-covered floor sprouted the snags of dead trees. Not a single leaf was on any of the branches, yet they grew from the floor as if they were living plants. According to Sophie, this was to provide the Large Category Monsters with landform weapons to use against Adventurers; which Bell made sure to remember and factor into his upcoming fights on this Floor.

“Something moved.” Bell spoke softly, just loud enough for Lili to hear him. The light creaks from the dead trees and the rustling of grass alerted both of them to the presence of something hiding at the edge of the mist. “Lili, stay close.”

“Yes.” Lili moved to stand behind and just to the left of Bell, but just out of reach, so that she could watch out for him without being in his way.

“Gii!”

“Gii!”

“Gii, gii!”

“Bell, they’re Imps!” Lili informed him after hearing the sounds. She had been to Floor Ten and Floor Eleven more than a few times after converting to Loki Familia as a Supporter, so she was well aware of the Monsters that inhabited these Floors.

The short Monsters revealed themselves as they came flying out of the misty fog. Small Demon Type Monsters with jet-black skin, humanoid bodies, small wings on their backs for limited flight, and long tails tipped with what looked like small axe heads. Their eyes were a nearly glowing red, they had small mouths full of little fangs, their ears were sharply pointed, and they each had a single small horn on their heads.

“Imps travel in groups.” Bell recalled as he drew his sword. He was honestly surprised at how easy it was to keep track of their movements. Bell thought that Tenth Floor Monsters would be faster. He didn’t realize that he was already above the rank that was advised for this Floor, ‘B’ in his stats, and that his ‘A’ rank and ‘S’ rank stats made the Imps seem slower to him than they would be to most Adventurers that were coming down to the Tenth Floor for the first time.

“Gii!” The lead Imp rushed Bell with its claws and was followed by two more Imps on either side, just slightly behind.

“Hah!” Bell swung his sword and decapitated the first Imp. The second was impaled through the chest, killing it near instantly, while the third took a powerful front kick that slammed it into a dead tree a few meters behind it with a sickening crack.

“Gii!” The remaining four Imps had split into two pairs and tried to flank him.

Wsh

Wsh

The two Imps on the left both died as a bolt pierced each of their heads from Lili’s bowgun.

“Gii!”

“Gee!”

The last two Imps were both cut down by Bell in a single swing of his sword. The corpses hit the grass and rolled a short distance, staining the grass with their blood.

“Thanks, Lili!” Bell smiled at her over his shoulder.

Lili smiled back at him. “No problem, Bell!” She was wanted to gain as much Excelia as she could as she prepared to Level Up for the first time. Whether that was the slow and steady gain of quality Excelia, or a Grand Feat, Lili wanted to be ready.

“Buwaah!” The guttural growl and the heavy footsteps gave away the next Monster’s identity before it had even cleared the fog.

“An Orc!” Lili called out to Bell, knowing that this was the first time that he’d seen one.

The Orc was a huge, pig-headed monster standing roughly three meters in height. It had greenish skin and wore what looked like old hide around its waist like a skirt or kilt. “Gwaarrrggh!” The Orc let out a cross between a hog’s squeal and a roar as it raised its club and rushed at Bell. The Monster slammed the club down at the white-haired Adventurer, but only succeeded in smashing the ground as Bell had already moved.

“Hyah!” Bell reappeared in a small burst of snow, right in the Orc’s blind spot, and hacked through its right leg. The loss of the limb destroyed the Orc’s balance and it collapsed to the ground with a loud thud.

“Buuaaahhh!!!” The Orc bellowed in pain, only to be silenced a second later as Bell’s blade stabbed through its head.

“That was amazing, Bell!” Lili smiled and clapped for him. “You took it down so easily, and it was your first time ever fighting an Orc! You didn’t even use your Magic!” It was rather a rather impressive showing of all that Bell had learned from his time training and sparring with Tiona, Tione, Aki, and Ais.

“It was big and strong, but not that fast.” Bell mentioned, pulling his sword out of the Orc’s head.

“If you can flip the Orc over for Lili, it’ll be a lot easier to get its Magic Stone.” Lili requested as she pulled out her knife and started opening up the Imp corpses that she’d already gathered together.

“No problem, Lili.” Bell easily rolled the dead Orc onto its back to make harvesting its Magic Stone easier for Lili. “Eight Monsters already and we’ve only been down here for a few minutes.” He noted the number and hoped to make some good progress today.

-Later-

“Frost!” Bell activated his Magic and the ice ‘armor’ covered part of his body while a frigid mist rose from his sword. He vanished into a burst of snow and was suddenly behind an Orc.

“Buhii…” The Orc’s pained grunt was cut off as the slash to its shoulder froze over rapidly, even encasing its head in thick ice.

“BUUUAARRGGH!!!” More Orcs bellowed as they charged at Bell and Lili, all of them raising their landform clubs high.

Wsh

Wsh

Wsh

Wsh

Lili quickly fired bolt after bolt into the charging Orc’s knees, dropping the tow that were in front of the pack. The loud thud they made as they hit the grassy ground was partially drowned out as the other Orcs moved around their fallen kin to continue their charge.

Three clouds of snow appeared around the charging Orcs. Bell was using his Snjógöngur Skill as best as he could to take out the large horde of Orcs. One was cut across its large gut, the wound freezing over and killing the Orc quickly as its organs froze. The next Orc lost a leg, and then its head, the ice creeping across its flesh as it fell. The third Orc’s head was encased in ice from a swing of Bell’s sword as he rushed past it to get to the rest of the group. He vanished into a burst of snow as a landform club smashed the ground where he had been. The confused Orc had no time to wonder where Bell had gone as a sharp pain tore through its back and it fell dead.

“There’s so many!” Lili shouted as she threw a Purple Moth Poison Grenade at the two downed Orcs to poison them before they could try and get back on their feet. She aimed her bowgun and unleased a series of bolts as fast as she could into the faces of the Orcs coming towards her.

“Buhi!”

“Buuah!”

“Baaugh!”

The Orcs howled and staggered around as their eyes were blinded by Lili’s accurate shots.

‘Lili needs to thank Finn again for all of his training and practice over the past year!’ Lili thought to herself as her accuracy with her preferred weapon had greatly increased thanks to Finn.

“Gii!”

“Gee!”

“Gi Gee!”

“Gee Gii!”

“Bell! Imps are coming!” Lili yelled out a warning as she put more bolts into the blinded Orcs’ heads to kill them before the Imps arrived.

“Got it!” Bell shouted back as he unleashed a massive wave of ice at the remaining Orcs, freezing most of them to death quickly as the frost and chill entered their bodies through their opened jaws and large snouts.

The Imps flew out of the mist, their small claws reaching out and ready to slice flesh.

“Hup!” Bell suddenly appeared to the side of the group of Imps in a burst of snow.

“Gii!” The Imp closest to him shrieked, only to lose its head a split-second later.

Bell stabbed the second Imp, dodged the claws of the third and cut it down, and then pivoted to dodge the fourth Imp before slashing its exposed back, nearly cleaving it in half.

“BUUUAARRGGHH!!!” More Orcs bellowed as they came lumbering through the mist.

Lili bit out a curse. “Why’re there so many all at once?” This was more than normal, even for the Tenth Floor. She quickly chucked two more Purple Moth Poison Grenades into the approaching horde, the thick purple clouds covering the approaching Orcs.

“Hah!” Bell swung his sword across the ground while pouring Mind into his spell.

Crkkkle

Ice covered a wide area between the approaching Orcs and where Bell and Lili were.

The hacking and choking Orcs staggered out of the poison cloud, only to slip on the thick ice and slam down hard.

“Buuhi!”

“Buahh!”

“Baauh!”

The Orcs roared and bellowed out as they tried to get back to their feet.

Wsh

Wsh

Wsh

Lili fired bolts into the heads of the staggered and collapsed Orcs, taking the best aim she could to try and thin their numbers.

Bell practically skated across the edge of the ice field he’d made, making sure to stay out of Lili’s line of fire, and brought his sword down on an Orc that was trying to make its way around the frozen ground.

“Buuah…” The Orc’s bellow was abruptly cut off as Bell’s blade passed through its neck, removing its head from its shoulders. The severed head froze over, as did the stump of the neck, but Bell didn’t see either of them as he vanished in a burst of snow.

“Hyah!” He reappeared behind three Orcs and swung his sword in a wide arc, unleashing a wave of ice and frost to encase the pig-headed Monsters. “Still more to go.” Bell said as he vanished into snow again and stabbed another Orc through the chest before it could process his sudden appearance in front of it.

The two-man Party had no way of knowing that the large increase of Monsters on the Tenth Floor was because dozens and dozens of Monsters were fleeing from something on the Eleventh Floor.

-Late Afternoon ~ Guild Exchange-

“Your Magic Stones were worth 54,342 Valis and the Drop Items, including Orc Hide, Imp Horns, and Needle Rabbit Tusks come out to 22,853 Valis. Your total for this exchange is 77,195 Valis.” The Guild worker behind the glass nodded to the pair as the drawer was pushed onto their side, nearly filled with Valis coins.

“So much in one day…” Lili sighed, slightly worn out. She had never made this much in the Dungeon with only one Party member before. “The Dungeon was so…busy…or active?” The term didn’t matter, really, but the Tenth Floor had been a gauntlet for the better part of the day.

Bell placed the money into his hip pouch, nearly overflowing it, and gave Lili a nod of agreement. “So, that really wasn’t normal then?” He asked Lili as she was much more experienced than him.

Lili shook her head. “The last time that Lili was on the Tenth Floor, the Party was able to have a bit of downtime between fighting Monsters.” They should definitely report that the Tenth Floor seemed unusually active today. “You killed most of those Monsters all by yourself, Bell. Lili only took down a fraction of them.” Lili gave Bell a smile for all the work and fighting that he’d done.

“No problem, Lili.” Bell returned her smile. Truthfully, by the time the ‘gauntlet’ had ended, he’d been out of breath from using Snjógöngur so much. He’d even needed a Mind Potion during one of their brief bouts of calm until the hordes had stopped showing up. “Want to split the money when we get home?”

“Lili has no problem with that.” Lili nodded, both of them wanted to get home and relax after the day that they’d had.

As the two left the Guild, after Bell gave his report to Sophie and explicitly mentioned how overactive the Tenth Floor had been that day, the two walked down the streets of Orario, heading back to the Twilight Manor.

-Twilight Manor ~ Evening-

Loki perked up as the door to her room opened after a quick knock. “Lili Bean is the first to see me tonight?”

“Yes, Goddess.” Lili replied with a playful roll of her eyes at the nickname. “The Tenth Floor was incredibly busy today. Lili is sure that she broke her personal record for number of Monsters killed in a single day.”

 “Well sit down and let’s see, Lili!” Loki patted the stool in front of her with a smile.

Lili pulled off her shirt and held it over her chest as she sat down with her back to Loki. She felt the drop of blood touch her back as the familiar blue-white light appeared behind her.

“Hmm…” Loki hummed as she watched Lili’s Excelia for the day. It was fairly simple at first, but the day continued and quickly turned into an almost never-ending horde of Monsters. Loki actually blinked in surprise at the sheer number of Monsters that Lili and Bell had managed to slay. “You two weren’t anywhere near the Pantry, right?”

“No, Goddess.” Lili shook her head. “We only covered maybe a fifth of the Tenth Floor today before we returned.” There had simply been too many Monsters to make substantial progress.

Loki nodded at Lili’s words and made a mental note to ask Finn and his group if they’d noticed an upsurge in Monsters on the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Floors once they returned in a few days. Loki moved the Excelia into Lili’s Basic Abilities and watched as the numbers increased. “Well, we might want to decide on how to increase your Party size a bit faster than planned if this is how the Dungeon is going to treat you and Bell, Lili Bean.” She placed a blank paper against Lili’s back and copied the new update over with a twirl of her fingertip.

 “That might not be the worst idea, Goddess.” Lili nodded after a moment to think about it. Forming a Party was based on trust, after all, so they couldn’t just toss a few random people together and expect good teamwork right away. “Lili will look into it and see if anyone would be a good fit, or if we might be able to merge two Parties together.”

“Such a hard worker, Lili Bean! That’s why Finn likes you so much!” Loki teased Lili a little before handing her the new Status Update.

“Goddess…” Lili blushed cutely as she took the paper from Loki.

-Status-

Liliruca Arde

Level 1

Strength – F 392 > E 400

Endurance – E 485 > E 497

Dexterity – B 794 > A 806

Agility – A 818 > A 829

Magic – A 871 > A 882

-Magic-

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

-Skills-

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

-Status-

“Lili grew a good amount again.” Lili was happy to see that the harsh day in the Dungeon has at least paid off in her stats.

Loki gently hugged Lili from behind for a moment. “You’re doing amazing, Lili. I’m sure you’ll Level Up soon enough.” She encouraged her ‘child’ with a soft smile.

“Thank you, Goddess.” Lili smiled at Loki over her shoulder. She burned the update with the candle on Loki’s desk and put her shirt back on with her back facing Loki. “Hopefully, one of the next updates will be Lili’s Level Up!”

“I’m sure one of them will be, Lili Bean.” Loki laughed as Lili left her room.

It was only a minute or so after Lili left that another knock on the door alerted Loki to her next visitor.

“My snow bunny!” Loki joked as soon as she saw Bell.

“Good evening, Loki.” Bell smiled at Loki as he let her get away with her nickname for him.

Loki grinned at not getting a retort from Bell about the nickname. “Oh? Are you finally admitting to your cute bunny likeness?” She teased as Bell pulled off his shirt. “We could put a rabbit’s drive to the test, if you want~” Loki tempted Bell with a sexy little smirk.

“I’m starting to think that you’d like that even more than I would, Goddess.” Bell said with an amused chuckle.

“Maybe I would, snow bunny~” Loki giggled as she placed a drop of her blood on Bell’s back, watching as her Falna rose from his skin. The blue-white light glowed as she started to watch his Excelia for the day, seeing the seemingly endless horde of Monsters from Bell’s eyes.

Bell was patient as he listened to Loki hum and occasionally gasp as she watched his Excelia. Lili had confirmed that today had been unusual for the Tenth Floor, so he was sure that Loki was equally as surprised. ‘Hopefully tomorrow is closer to normal.’ Bell thought to himself, interested in what the ‘normal’ amount of Monsters was for the Tenth Floor compared to the gauntlet he and Lili had gone through today.

“The Dungeon really tried to steamroll you and Lili today.” Loki said with an annoyed ‘tsk’ as she got to the end of Bell’s Excelia. As the Goddess of an Exploration Familia, she’d lost more ‘children’ to the Dungeon than most, especially given just how far her Familia had delved into the depths. She still remembered them all, of course, but it never failed to tick her off when the Dungeon decided to be ‘pissy’ and have some irregularity happen to her Familia.

“Lili says it was way more active for the Tenth Floor than any other time she’s ever been down there.” Bell said with a thoughtful look on his face. “I can only hope that it’s not like that every time.”

“If it is, then we’ll combine your Party with another one for a while, just for safety.” Loki assured Bell that she’d look out for him and Lili if things remained abnormal on the Tenth Floor.

“Thank you, Loki.” Bell gave her a warm smile as he looked at her over his shoulder.

Loki returned Bell’s smile with her own as she moved the Excelia into his Basic Abilities and watched the number increase. ‘That’s a lot… But with Bell’s Skill, it’s kind of normal for him.’ She laughed a little in her own mind. The numbers didn’t stop when they should’ve though. ‘Wait…what?!’ Loki’s eyes widened, revealing her ruby gaze, as she watched the numbers of ALL of Bell’s Basic Abilities blow past the ‘S 999’ cap. “Th-That’s… N-No way…” She breathed out in absolute shock at what she was seeing.

“Goddess?” Bell looked over his shoulder again, growing worried as he saw the absolute shock and disbelief on Loki’s face. “Loki?”

“J-Just a second…Bell.” Loki managed to focus as the numbers stopped rising. Not seeing anything new manifest…which she was grateful for as Loki wasn’t sure that she could handle another shock…she placed a blank paper onto Bell’s back and copied the update over. ‘What a time for Finn and Riveria to be away.’ Loki thought to herself as she pulled the paper from Bell’s back and quickly locked up his Falna. ‘No other Deity can EVER be allowed to see this!’

With slightly shaking hands, Loki handed the Status Update over to Bell.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – A 894 > SS 1,006

Endurance – A 889 > SS 1,001

Dexterity – S 902 > SS 1,017

Agility – A 890 > SS 1,005

Magic – S 947 > SS 1,063

-Magic-

Aurora – Incantation: “Frost.” Ice Enchantment Magic.

-Skills-

Eilíft Frost – Provides protection from cold along with Ice and Water Magics and makes all Ice Magics the user casts use less Mind while significantly increasing their power.

Einhuga Löngun – Fast growth as long as desire lasts. The strength of the effects corresponds with the level of the user's desire. As a side effect it makes the user immune to Charms and Mental Magics.

Snjógöngur (Snow Walks) – Allows the user to vanish into a burst of snow and rapidly accelerate in a desired direction. The distance able to be covered and the speed at which the user moves are dependent on the Magic and Agility stats. Active Trigger.

-Status-

Bell’s eyes were just as wide as Loki’s now. “D-Double…’S’?” He knew that wasn’t supposed to be possible. Loki had told him about the Falna...it capped out at ‘S 999; for the Basic Abilities. “L-Loki…?” He looked back at his Goddess, only to be pulled into a warm and protective embrace.

“We’ll figure this out, Bell.” Loki said to him, projecting just a tiny sliver of her Divinity to let him know how serious she was about this. “You have me and our entire Familia behind you. This changes nothing about that!” She assured him as she poured all of her love and care for Bell into her hug.

Bell’s arms wrapped around Loki and pulled her close. “Thank you.” He mumbled into her neck as they held each other.

Loki held Bell for an unknown amount of time. She comforted him, assured him that everything was going to be fine, and let him know with absolute certainty that nothing was going to happen to him. ‘I won’t let anyone try anything, Bell.’ Loki swore that to herself as she held Bell close. She’d destroyed Familia that had done less than attempt to poach one of her ‘children’ before… ‘And I’ll do it tenfold if I have to, just to make others understand that Bell is off-limits!’

“Thank you, Loki.” Bell finally pulled back from their embrace with a soft smile. “I’m alright now.”

Loki kissed him gently and Bell responded with the same gentle love and affection.

“That’s my Bell.” Loki sighed with a little grin once she pulled away from Bell’s lips. As much as she didn’t want to, she let Bell go and stand up. “Can you go get Gareth for me? I’d like to share this with Finn and Riveria too…but their off in the Dungeon right now, and this can’t exactly wait.”

“I’ll be right back.” Bell said as he quickly put his shirt back on, leaned down to kiss Loki’s cheek, and was out the door a second later.

Loki was thrilled by the affection, of course, but right now her mind was swirling with too many thoughts for her to really enjoy the kiss.

Only a couple of minutes later and Gareth entered Loki’s room with a serious expression. Bell hadn’t told him what was wrong exactly, only that Loki needed to see him immediately.

“What’s goin’ on, Loki?” Gareth asked as he sat down in the chair that Loki motioned to. He was surprised when Loki handed him a Status Update. “Did something strange manifest in Bell’s Falna again-” Gareth’s words died in his throat as he saw the ‘SS’ Rank on Bell’s stats. “I… That’s…”

“That’s what we said.” Loki sighed heavily as she pulled out the ‘good’ liquor from a drawer in the dresser in her room. She even had cups for it.

Gareth ran his hand through his beard as he looked between the Status Update and Bell. “You really don’t do things by half, do ya, lad?” He managed a friendly chuckle for Bell and felt a little tension ease off his shoulders at Bell’s sheepish look.

Loki handed Gareth a glass of the liquor and took back the Status Update. “I think we all agree that this is the result of Bell’s Einhuga Löngun Skill, right?”

Gareth and Bell both nodded, and Gareth took a pull from the cup of liquor.

“But what do we do about it?” Gareth asked the 1,000,000 Valis question. “It’s not like we’re planning to tell anyone other than Finn and Riveria about this. But if he can go past the limit…then is there no limit to how much Bell can grow, even as a Level 1?”

“I have no idea.” Loki shook her head, her hands clasped together in front of her. “The Falna is set to max out at ‘S 999’ that’s just how it was made. For Bell to transcend that limit through his Skill means that the ‘rules’ regarding growth don’t really apply to him.”

Gareth nodded at that and then downed the rest of the liquor in his cup. “So we keep his Status secret from everyone like we do with all the others. But the Guild will probably ask questions about his strength if he continues to grow without a Level Up.” That would be the tricky part. The Guild was neutral in all things concerning Familia…up to a point. But they did have the right to help enforce law within Orario and perform investigations.

Loki downed her entire cup of liquor in one shot and then let out a long exhale. “For now, until we can make Riveria and Finn aware of this when they get back, this stays between us and Bell goes about his normal day. If we don’t do anything out of the ordinary, then no one should notice Bell’s over-maxed stats.”

“That’s about the best we can do, for now.” Gareth agreed as he thoughtfully stroked his beard. “Most won’t try to question our Familia as it is, so we should be able to keep a handle on Bell’s unique situation.” He gave Bell a smile, much like a kind uncle would give to their favored nephew.

“I’ll keep going into the Dungeon with Lili then.” Bell said strongly. “I just have to keep doing my daily routine until Finn and Riveria return, right?”

“Yep!” Loki smiled at Bell, once more seeing his unwavering resolve. “Once we have all the leaders of the Familia here to brainstorm, then we’ll make a plan going forward.”

Gareth chuckled and slapped his knee once. “Can’t wait to see the look on Finn and Riveria’s faces when they see that Status Update!”

The trio talked for a bit longer before Gareth bade the two goodnight and headed for bed.

Loki was about to tell Bell that he could stay with her tonight…but Bell had beaten her to it. He pulled off his shirt again and tossed it on top of Loki’s dresser. When he let his pants drop to the floor and kicked them off, Loki stood up from her chair.

“Bell? Mmm~” Loki’s words were silenced with a warm kiss filled with love as Bell pulled her into his arms.

“Let me stay with you tonight, Loki?” Bell requested as he pulled back from Loki’s lips.

Loki answered by pulling her sleeves and hood off, before taking off her crop top, leaving herself topless. With a smile she shimmied out of her short shorts and guided Bell to her bed. The two climbed beneath the blankets together and were cuddled close in seconds.

“Love you, Loki.” Bell said to his Goddess.

“Love you too, Bell.” Loki returned his love with her own as she leaned up to kiss him again.

The two fell asleep after a few more gentle kisses. Both needed the comfort of holding each other tonight after the shocking reveal that Bell could transcend the limit of the Falna. Whatever came tomorrow, they’d deal with it then. But right now, what they needed was each other and for the world to stay outside of Loki’s bedroom as they drew strength and support from each other.

-End Chapter-

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Bell and Lili certainly had one hell of a day in the Dungeon! Irregulars often cause other irregularities to the Dungeon’s normal routines just from how the Irregulars diverge from the normal actions of their kind.

There’s no way that whatever is lurking about on the Eleventh Floor could possibly come into direct contact with Bell and Lili…right?

Bell broke the limit!

Loki is shocked! Gareth is shocked! Finn and Riveria will definitely be shocked!

But Loki Familia is one of the strongest Familia in Orario. Surely, they can handle this situation without anyone trying to nose their way in.

Loki assures Bell that nothing will change and she and the entire Familia are there for him after the reveal of his over-the-limit stats.

Bell is able to relax after that, but both he and Loki need to hold and snuggle with each other tonight. So much Warm and Fluffy!

What will happen with Bell in the days that Ais, Tione, Tiona, and Lefiya are in the Dungeon with Finn and Riveria?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!