Miach Familia Premise Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you a new chapter! Red Mage Bell has been fully kitted out and is ready to take on the Dungeon! He also has his day-off healing services to offer and he always tries to help out around the Blue Pharmacy too, of course. Being a jack of all trades is certainly helpful! What insights might Bell glean from his combination of Healing Magic/Offensive Magic/Melee skills?

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 3 – The Way of the Red Mage

Bell shifted in his bed and blinked his eyes open as he woke up at five in the morning as usual. “Yaaawwwnnn…” Bell stretched as he yawned and then tossed his blanket aside. He rubbed his eyes and got dressed for the day, putting on his new armor and briefly admiring how it looked on him for a second.

“I look like a real Adventurer now.” Bell said to himself with a little smile. He left his room and was quickly in the kitchen where Naaza was cooking breakfast.

“Good morning, Bell.” Naaza greeted Bell with a soft smile.

Bell returned Naaza’s smile and stepped up behind her, gently hugging her from behind. “Good morning, Naaza.”

Naaza’s cheeks turned a soft pink and her fluffy tail wagged against Bell. “Bell…”

Bell smiled as he released Naaza, their relationship had definitely grown recently and both of them acknowledged that with small shows of affection. “I’ll help with breakfast.”

The two cooked side by side for a while before Miach came into the kitchen and instantly smiled at seeing Naaza and Bell together. “Good morning.” He sat at the table with a warm look in his eyes.

“Good morning, Lord Miach.” Naaza and Bell said in unison.

Naaza looked at Bell. Bell looked at Naaza. Then both smiled at each other.

Breakfast was simple, as usual, but the food was good and the small Familia talked about their normal plans for the day.

Shortly after breakfast, after the dishes were washed, Naaza made sure that Bell’s backpack was stocked with potions as she always did. Bell gave Naaza a warm smile and -not knowing what prompted him to do it- leaned in to place a light kiss on her cheek.

“Thank you, Naaza.” Bell smiled at Naaza while putting his new hat on his head.

Naaza touched her left hand to her cheek which was rapidly turning red. “Y-You’re welcome, Bell.” Her tail was wagging out of her control from sheer happiness. “Be safe and come home.” Naaza said as her lovely purple eyes watched Bell leave.

Bell smiled over his shoulder at Naaza. “I’ll be back in the afternoon!”

“Hah…” Naaza let out a longing sigh after the door closed behind Bell. She felt the warmth in her chest and couldn’t help the little smile on her lips. ‘I’m already completely in love with Bell…’ She thought to herself as she turned and began to get the shop ready for the day while humming a soft tune to herself.

-Dungeon ~ Fifth Floor-

The sounds of wood hitting flesh filled the cavern that Bell was in.

“Hup!” Bell spun his staff and cracked a Kobold across the head, cracking its skull and killing it instantly. The staff stopped and the bottom was jabbed into the throat of a second Kobold, crushing its windpipe and making the dog-headed Monster hack out a mouthful of blood.

“Geee!”

“Gree!”

“Grah!”

Five Goblins rushed at Bell from behind, their arms raised and their small sharp claws ready to tear into Bell.

“Burn brightly.” Bell spoke the super-short incantation as he aimed the white crystal on the head of his new mage staff at the charging Monsters. “Lasair!”

Fwooosh

The cloud of flames engulfed the Goblins and set them ablaze.

“GRAAAH!!!”

“GEEUUAH!!!”

“GAAUUHH!!!”

The five Goblins flailed around in panic and pain as they burned.

Bell took advantage of the Goblins’ panic to attack. A swing of his staff shattered the skull of the first Goblin. The second swing killed the second in the same way. The third and fourth Goblins were both folded over the staff as it smashed into their stomachs. The fifth Goblin fell to the ground as it continued to burn and Bell crushed its head with the butt of his staff.

“Not too bad.” Bell looked over the group of Monsters. “Seven more adds up to… Thirty-three, so far.” It was a good beginning to the day. “Let’s get the Magic Stones, quickly.” He pulled out his knife and opened up the first Goblin closest to him.

-Later-

“Burn brightly.” Bell spun his staff around with the expert handling that he’d developed over years. The Monsters that had surrounded him rushed in, the snapping of Kobold jaws, the growling and shrieking of Goblins, but the noise didn’t matter to Bell. “Lasair!”

Fwoooom

The flames exploded from the top of the spinning staff, but the spinning spread the flames widely in a circle around Bell. The waves of fire washed over the charging Monsters and stalled the attack instantly. The roar and shrieks of the dying Monsters was the only thing heard over the crackling of flames before they all fell dead as they burned.

“Wooo…” Bell exhaled as he stopped spinning his staff and pouring Mind into his spell. “Adding melee moves to casting Lasair is working out rather well.” He said to himself while pulling out his knife. “I’ll have to keep experimenting and see what else I can do with my spells and mixing them with my melee attacks.”

Unbeknownst to Bell, he was beginning on a path that very few Mages ever followed, and would eventually make his own way to something completely new among Adventurers.

-Guild ~ Late Afternoon-

“Not a bad haul today.” Bell said to himself as his money pouch was nice and full. As he made his way over to the meeting areas to give his report to Anna, his eyes met with a woman that had just left her own meeting with a pink-haired Guild Advisor woman.

The woman was rather beautiful, with long blue hair and light green eyes. Her face was half obscured by her long hair, but that only made her cuter in Bell’s eyes. She had fair skin and a soft look in her visible eye. The long black dress that she wore had a collar with a yellow ribbon tied through it, white stripes on the shoulders, and red cuffs on the long sleeves. Though the black dress wasn’t meant to show off anything, it couldn’t hide the curves of the woman’s body and the slit up both sides of it revealed the woman’s lower legs and the brown leather boots on her feet.

Bell, seeing the woman’s face starting to turn red as they continued to stare at each other, gave her a short bow. “Sorry for staring. I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable, Miss.”

The woman lightly shook her head. “N-No… I-It’s fine.” The cute little stutter made it apparent that the woman was a bit timid.

“Cassandra, if you’re done, let’s go.” A woman’s voice called out, getting both Bell and the woman’s attention.

The speaker was a beautiful young woman who exuded a strong aura. She had medium-length dark red hair and sharp, light yellow eyes. Her voice was strong and cutting, fitting with her clearly bolder personality as compared to Cassandra. She wore a shorter white dress similar to Cassandra’s that stopped at her mid-thighs, the yellow ribbon through her collar was tied like a tie, the lines on her shoulders were black instead of white, though the cuffs on the ends of the long sleeves were still red. The brown leather boots on her feet were similar to Cassandra’s as well, but the black thigh-high stockings on her legs were certainly bolder than what Cassandra was wearing.

“Who is this?” The woman asked Cassandra as she looked Bell over with her sharp yellow eyes.

“I… I…” Cassandra hadn’t even been able to ask the man his name yet.

Bell pulled his feathered hat off his head and held it to his chest as he bowed to both of the women. “Bell Cranel, an Adventurer of the Miach Familia, pleased to meet you both.”

Cassandra’s eyes widened and her face turned pink at the greeting from the -rather dashing- Adventurer.

“Daphne Lauros,” Daphne introduced herself, not showing the same reaction as Cassandra…though her thoughts were similar. ‘Polite and easy on the eyes…’ Daphne pushed those thoughts aside and motioned to Cassandra. “This is Cassandra Ilion.”

“Miss Lauros and Miss Ilion, the pleasure is mine.” Bell smiled at Cassandra and Daphne as he put his hat back on his head.

Daphne nodded to Bell and turned around. “Come on, Cassandra. We need to get back.”

“O-Okay.” Cassandra followed after Daphne, glancing over at Bell once more. Seeing the friendly smile from Bell once more, Cassandra felt her cheeks turn pink as she caught up to Daphne and walked next to her.

Bell’s eyes dropped down to take in the bottoms of the two women as they walked. Cassandra and Daphne both had nice hips and cute butts that their dresses didn’t fully hide. ‘Stop it.’ Bell chided himself as he pulled his gaze from Daphne and Cassandra’s bottoms. It wasn’t a bad thing to appreciate a woman’s beauty and figure…but to blatantly stare would be rude. With a small shake of his head, Bell made his way over to Anna to give his Advisor his report.

-Blue Pharmacy ~ Early Evening-

“I’m home.” Bell said as he walked through the front door.

“Welcome home, Bell.” Naaza greeted him with a warm smile.

Bell placed the money he’d made in the Dungeon on the countertop. “It was a pretty good day.”

Naaza quickly took the Familia’s cut of the money. “You’re working hard as always.” She said, only to sigh as Bell pushed more of the money towards Naaza. “Bell…”

“Take it.” Bell said firmly. “The Familia needs it and I have enough money for the moment.”

“Thank you, Bell. I love you.” Naaza said as she often did…though this time it wasn’t in the teasing, playful way that it used to be.

Bell couldn’t stop the warm smile that spread across his face. “Love you too, Naaza.”

The two smiled at each other and leaned across the counter until their lips met for the first time. It was a simple kiss, soft and warm, communicating their love and affection for each other. Naaza and Bell held their kiss for a long moment before they finally pulled away from each other.

“You don’t look injured today.” Naaza mentioned as Bell began to take off his armor.

“Yeah, the attacks that managed to hit me didn’t make it past my armor.” Bell said with a smile as he patted down his red cloth armor. “It was definitely a great purchase.”

Naaza, looking Bell over again with warm, appreciative eyes, smiled. “I’m glad.”

Bell returned her smile as he took off his coat. “I’ll get started on dinner.”

“Alright.” Naaza said with a grin as Bell walked into the back.

-Later-

Bell sat in reverse on one of the kitchen chairs with his shirt off as Miach gave him a Status Update.

Miach let a drop of his blood touch Bell’s back and watched his Falna appear from Bell’s skin in the familiar blue-white glow. As he began to watch Bell’s Excelia for the day, Miach hummed thoughtfully. “I see you’re already experimenting with your new spell.”

“I want to see how I can use my magic along with my melee skills.” Bell explained simply as he thought back to what he’d tried out in the Dungeon that day.

“I see that.” Miach chuckled as he finished watching Bell’s Excelia and oved it over into Bell’s Basic Abilities. The growth was impressive as the numbers rose rapidly until they finally stopped. “Just another second…” A blank paper was placed on Bell’s back and with a swipe of his finger, the new numbers were copied over. “Here you are, Bell.”

Bell accepted the paper with a little smile. “Thank you, Lord Miach.”

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – F 304 > F 385

Endurance – F 306 > F 388

Dexterity – F 305 > F 389

Agility – F 302 > F 383

Magic – G 259 > F 352

-Magic-

Leigheas – Incantation: “Gather the herbs to heal the body. Banish the evils of pain and sickness. Restore the body to wholeness; succeed where the father failed. Heal all who seek wellness.” Healing and Cure Magic that restores the target’s body and stamina, while also removing abnormalities like poison, paralysis, curses, and charms.

Lasair – Incantation: “Burn brightly.” Conjures fire in proportion to how much Mind is used.

-Skills-

Edelbell Asabria (A Willful Promise to a Deity) – Fast growth. The greater the effort towards the user’s goal, the greater the effect. Blocks things that would interfere with growth, such as Charms.

-Status-

“That’s…a lot.” Bell said after seeing how much that he’d grown. “A bit lower than the Minotaur…but I didn’t actually kill the Minotaur either.” He mused as he looked at his growth for a full day in the Dungeon.

Miach chuckled at Bell’s musings. “It’s a lot of growth…but you most certainly earned it.” The amount of Monsters that Miach had watched Bell kill through his Excelia was impressive for a solo Adventurer. “Remember that your Skill doesn’t make you any stronger by itself, Bell. It only maximizes what you put into it.”

Bell nodded at Miach’s words. “I’ll keep working hard. I have dreams to reach and a promise to keep.” He said as he shot Miach a smile over his shoulder.

“Good lad.” Miach said with a laugh as he locked up Bell’s Falna.

As Bell headed for bed, Naaza approached him with a soft smile. “Goodnight, Bell.” She pressed herself against Bell a little.

Bell wrapped his arms around Naaza’s waist. “Goodnight, Naaza.” He leaned in and kissed Naaza softly.

“Mmm~” Naaza hummed into the kiss, her hands pressed against Bell’s chest.

“Cute…” Bell mumbled once the two broke their lip lock.

Naaza gave Bell a curious look. “Me?”

Bell nodded. “You…and your tail.”

“My tail?” Naaza realized that her fluffy tail was wagging behind her in happiness. A bit of red burned on Naaza’s cheeks as she leaned into Bell. “Don’t stare…”

“But it’s cute.” Bell said as his hands trailed up from Naaza’s waist and up her back. His right hand cupped her cheek -which Naaza softly nuzzled against- while his left hand gently ran through her semi-long hair before it found one of her cute dog ears and began to lightly play with it.

Naaza hummed cutely as she enjoyed Bell’s simple affection. “Bell…” She leaned in and kissed Bell again.

Bell returned the kiss and the two zoned out the rest of the world for a moment before they pulled away from each other.

“Goodnight.” Naaza pulled away with a smile.

“Goodnight.” Bell said with a warm smile of his own.

They both headed for their rooms with warmth in their hearts as their relationship continued to deepen.

-Apollo Familia Home-

Cassandra Ilion lightly tossed and turned in her bed. Her dreams were filled with images and words, the message didn’t make sense, just like always. Poems of omens, images of people she knew and didn’t, but one thing -one person- was clearly the center of focus.

A white-haired man in red that held out his hand to her, his face hidden under the brim of his feathered hat, but a feeling of warmth of safety radiated from the unknown man like an aura. It was welcoming, accepting, and she reached out to it without hesitation.

“Bell…” Cassandra heard her own voice.

“Ah!” Cassandra awoke with a shout. Unlike her normal dreams, she wasn’t terrified or soaked in sweat…she was breathing heavily though, her heart pounding in her chest. Her black sleep shirt had come undone, letting her breasts fall out into the open air from their size. Cassandra’s eyes were wide as she got her breathing under control. Her left hand cupped her right breast unconsciously, but she felt her face burn a dark red as the fuzzy dream flashed through her mind again.

“Cassandra?” Daphne opened the door to Cassandra’s room, having been up still since she normally went to bed a bit later than Cassandra. The coincidence that she just happened to be walking by her friend’s room as she cried out could be called a quirk of fate.

Cassandra looked over at Daphne for a second, her green eyes searching her friend’s face, making it continue to burn a little longer as one of the people that had been in her dream was Daphne. “Daphne?”

Daphne, having seen this before, let out a small sigh. “Another dream?”

“Y-Yeah…” Cassandra nodded shyly as she finally covered up her breasts with her black sleep shirt. “This one was…different.”

“I’m sure it was.” Daphne walked over and sat on the edge of her friend’s bed. “But it’s just a dream. You can forget about it.”

Cassandra slumped a little. “Daphne…” She wished her friend would believe her about her dreams. But nobody ever did… A phantom feeling of acceptance and warmth filled her body as the image of the man in red from her dream passed through her mind. ‘What does it mean?’ Cassandra wondered as she subtly enjoyed the feeling.

“Alright… What was it this time?” Daphne asked, knowing that Cassandra wouldn’t feel any better until she shared her newest dream.

“W-Well…” Cassandra mumbled and Daphne raised an eyebrow at how red Cassandra’s face turned.

A coupe of minutes later and Daphne’s cheeks were just as red as Cassandra’s.

Daphne shook her head. “Wh-What kind of dream is that?” The idea of a man coming for them both, offering acceptance and warmth, was ridiculous. “It’s just a dream, Cassandra. Forget it. You know Lord Apollo won’t let us leave the Familia.” Their God had chased both of them across the lands from one place to the next, hounding them the entire time until they’d eventually had to give in and join his Familia. No one that got taken into the Familia because of Apollo’s ‘passion’ was ever allowed to leave.

“B-But Daphne…” Cassandra gently took hold of Daphne’s arm. “I saw it… Warmth…acceptance… L-Love…”

“Stop it.” Daphne said with finality (though it was softer than she used with others). “It’s just another dream.” She saw the sad look on Cassandra’s face and pulled her friend into a hug. “We’ll be fine. I’ll keep looking out for you, so you keep looking out for me, okay?”

Cassandra nodded into Daphne’s shoulder as she returned the hug.

‘It would be nice though… To have someone like that.’ Daphne thought to herself as she held Cassandra and gently rubbed her back. Both of them were Level 2, stronger the half of all Adventurers in Orario that never managed to Level Up at all. Yet they were trapped by their own Familia and their God with no way out…and no one to save them.

-Next Day ~ Dungeon ~ Fifth Floor-

Fwooooommm

Flames torched a large group of Monsters as Bell spun his staff in a wide arc.

“Hah!” Bell attacked the flailing Monsters that had survived the flames as they were distracted as they burned. A jab of his staff crashed into a Goblin’s head, cracking the skull and sending blood flying. A low swing took a Kobold off its feet, only to be finished off as Bell brought his staff down on top of it. Two quick swings shattered the chests of a pair of burning Goblins, stopping them cold. A swing from below shattered the jaws of a smoldering Kobold that had managed to put out the flames on its body.

Crack

Crack

Crack

Crack

Crack

The cracking of the Dungeon’s walls alerted Bell to the spawning of more Monsters.

Seeing the five new Monsters a distance away, Bell aimed the top of his staff at them before they could get their bearings. “Burn brightly. Lasair!” Fire poured from the top of Bell’s staff and formed a large cloud of flames as he poured more Mind into the spell to make up for the distance.

“Graah!” A Goblin growled and backed away from the flames.

“Bark!” A Kobold barked at the flames that didn’t quite reach the five Monsters.

“Damn!” Bell cursed as he realized that his spell didn’t have a long enough range to reach the Monsters. He cut off the Mind and the cloud of flames dispersed. Without wasting a moment, Bell charged in with his staff and swung it straight at the closest Kobold’s head.

“Yipe!” The Kobold yelped in pain as its head whipped to the side.

Bell spun his staff and shattered the injured Kobold’s leg, knocking it to the ground. A jab crushed the face of a lunging Goblin, a low swipe broke the leg of a second Goblin and the Monster didn’t get a chance to cry out before Bell smashed its head in. The second Kobold swiped at Bell with its claws, only for the staff to knock them aside with one end, spin a full one-hundred-eighty degrees, and the other end shattered the side of its head. Bell pivoted to one side as the final Kobold lunged at where he’d been, its jaws snapping on the empty air loudly.

“Burn brightly. Lasair!” Bell jabbed his staff forward and the white crystal glowed as flames erupted from it. The staff slammed into the Kobold’s chest and blasted the flames straight into it, scorching the fur off the dog-headed Monster before its skin and flesh blackened from the heat.

The Kobold was dead as it flew backwards, being consumed in a cloud of flames. The burning Monster corpse hit the ground with a thud before exploding into black ashes as its Magic Stone had been destroyed by the pointblank strike of staff and spell.

Bell breathed in and out to steady his heart as he carefully looked around to see if there were anymore Monsters. Not seeing or hearing anything, Bell let out a long breath and looked around at the many broken and burned Monster corpses. “That was effective.” He murmured of his last strike against the Kobold. “I wonder if I can find some way to increase the range of my spells?” The fact that his largest spell hadn’t made it to the five newly spawned Monsters had opened Bell’s eyes to the limit of his fire spell.

He’d continue to ponder on that as he pulled out his knife and started harvesting the Monsters for their Magic Stones.

‘Is there a way to further control my spells? I can combined spells with melee strikes well enough… Could I combine my spells too?’ Bell wondered as he removed the Magic Stone from a Goblin, watching as its body broke down into white ashes. Bell wasn’t a traditionally trained Mage, but he was fairly certain that no one could chant two separate incantations at the same time. Messing up an incantation was a good way to cause a loss of control of magical energy which could result in an Ignis Fatuus. “Maybe if you chanted one spell and cast it then chanted a second, different spell right after?” He mumbled thoughtfully on how to potentially combined two spells together.

With the last Magic Stone harvested, Bell stood up and continued on his way through the Fifth Floor. He was exploring well enough and making good time, so in the next day or so he should reach the stairs to the Sixth Floor after having thoroughly explored the Fifth.

-Blue Pharmacy ~ Early Evening-

Naaza hummed as she wrote on one of the papers on the desk she was sitting at. She grimaced as she scratched out one of the lines and then wrote something else in its place. “It would need to be Blue Papilio… But what else? There’s another reagent that needs to be compounded into the solution. Something that stimulates the regeneration of Mind more strongly than anything else.”

Her dog ears perked up as she heard Bell’s footsteps approaching. With a smile Naaza felt Bell’s warm arms wrap around her shoulders from behind and a soft kiss was placed on her cheek.

“What’re you working on?” Bell asked with a smile, genuine interest in what Naaza was doing filling his voice.

“An idea for a new potion.” Naaza answered before kissing Bell’s cheek in return. “I need a rare ingredient from the Dungeon and I’m still trying to figure out what the last reagent that I need to add for the solution to be stable and do what I want it to.” She explained her current work and how she’d stalled on it a bit.

Bell looked at the various words on the paper and the various mixture ideas, including all of the different measurements for various ingredients. “I can’t really make sense of all of that.”

Naaza laughed softly as she enjoyed being held by Bell. “So, there are things that even our jack of all trades can’t do?”

“Apparently.” Bell smiled as he kissed the top of Naaza’s head. “But I know what Blue Papilio are, Miss Anna told me about them. They’re rare monsters that’re normally found on the Seventh Floor.”

“Yes.” Naaza nodded as she looked at one of the main reagents that she wanted. “They’re a bit hard to find to say the least, but their Drop Item is a very good reagent for potions.”

Bell looked at the paper again and smiled. “Whatever you need from the Dungeon, I’ll go get it for you.”

Naaza turned her head to look at Bell, their eyes meeting instantly. “Bell, you’re only on the Fifth Floor right now. Don’t skip Floors trying to hunt down rare Drop Items for me.” She lightly held onto Bell’s arm with her left hand.

“I won’t skip Floors, Naaza.” Bell promised her. “But I’ll do my best to clear the Sixth Floor and start dungeon crawling the Seventh Floor so that I can look for Blue Papilio for you.”

Naaza slowly stood up and pulled Bell into a kiss. They wrapped their arms around each other and their kissing continued as they poured their love and affection into their lip lock. When Naaza pulled away from Bell’s lips, her purple eyes were half-lidded as she looked into Bell’s rubellite gaze. “You’re too good to me, Bell.”

Bell shook his head once. “Nope…just good enough.” He said with a bit of laughter in his voice at the subtle ‘jack of all trades’ joke. “Can you explain more about your new potion idea?”

“Of course.” Naaza kissed him again and sat Bell down in her chair before sitting in his lap. Feeling Bell’s body stiffen for a moment at her sudden move made Naaza giggle. When Bell’s arms wrapped around her waist Naaza leaned back into his chest and began to go over her idea. “What I want this potion to do has never been done before…”

-Later-

Bell sat with his shirt off as Miach gave him a Status Update. It was later than they normally did an update, but Miach had only chuckled knowing that Naaza and Bell had been spending time together.

“So, you know what Naaza’s current project is now.” Miach said as he watched Bell’s Excelia for the day.

“Yeah, it’s an incredible idea.” Bell said with a smile as he thought about what Naaza was trying to make. “Naaza’s incredible.”

Miach laughed warmly at Bell’s words. “She is, indeed. A real pride for our Familia.” He moved the Excelia into the Basic Abilities and watched the Falna grow stronger. “You’ll need to progress steadily in the Dungeon if you want to help Naaza complete her creation.” The wisdom of those words weren’t lost on Bell. Miach had most likely seen his former ‘children’ rush ahead before and how it turned out.

“I will, Lord Miach.” Bell said as he felt his God place a blank paper on his back.

“Good, good.” Miach nodded as he copied over the update and then handed the paper over to Bell.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – F 385 > E 466

Endurance – F 388 > E 470

Dexterity – F 389 > E 472

Agility – F 383 > E 464

Magic – F 352 > E 443

-Magic-

Leigheas – Incantation: “Gather the herbs to heal the body. Banish the evils of pain and sickness. Restore the body to wholeness; succeed where the father failed. Heal all who seek wellness.” Healing and Cure Magic that restores the target’s body and stamina, while also removing abnormalities like poison, paralysis, curses, and charms.

Lasair – Incantation: “Burn brightly.” Conjures fire in proportion to how much Mind is used.

-Skills-

Edelbell Asabria (A Willful Promise to a Deity) – Fast growth. The greater the effort towards the user’s goal, the greater the effect. Blocks things that would interfere with growth, such as Charms.

-Status-

Bell smiled at the growth of his Basic Abilities. “I just have to keep working hard.”

“That’s right, Bell.” Miach agreed with a smile. “No need to rush. There’s plenty of time.” He locked up Bell’s Falna and then patted him on the back. “Goodnight, Bell.”

“Goodnight, Lord Miach.” Bell said as he burned his Status Update before heading to bed.

-Dungeon ~ Sixth Floor-

“Gero!” A Frog Shooter croaked at Bell as soon as it saw him.

“First time fighting one of you.” Bell readied his staff.

The Frog Shooter launched its tongue at Bell, only to have it knocked aside painfully by Bell’s staff. As the Frog Monster was retracting its tongue, Bell rushed in and raised his staff over his head, bringing it down as powerfully as he could atop the Frog Shooter’s head.

Splat

The soft body of the Frog Shooter wasn’t known for high defensive ability. The bludgeoning attack had easily splattered the large single eye and the head itself. With the Frog Monster dead, Bell rolled it over and pulled out his knife to harvest the Magic Stone.

“Well…this is slimy and gross.” Bell complained a bit as he managed to get the Magic Stone out of the Frog Shooter’s guts.

With his loot acquired, Bell stashed it into his backpack and continued on his way.

-Later-

Bell eyed the strange, pitch-black Monster as it walked towards him from the shadows. “War Shadow…”

The War Shadow was a golem-like Monster with a humanoid body, with extra-long arms that ended in razor sharp knife-like fingers. Their ‘face’ was a circular crystal cylinder that went from the front of its head to the back, allowing the Monster to see both in front of itself and behind it. Their fast movements and minimal blind spots had allowed these Monsters to kill an uncountable number of new Adventurers over the years, which had earned them the nickname ‘newbie killer’.

“Gugugu…” The War Shadow made an odd noise, unlike what a flesh and blood creature would make. It was just artificial and a bit unnerving to those that heard it.

The War Shadow rushed forward and its right arm lashed out at Bell, the razor sharp claws aiming straight for Bell’s face. Bell backstepped to dodge, the tips of the War Shadow’s claws glancing off his red coat, the cloth armor protecting him from being injured at all. The second hand cut through the air, heading for Bell’s side.

“Yah!” Bell smacked the long arm away with his staff and pivoted to the side to avoid the opposite hand. The end of his staff came up from below and slammed into the War Shadow’s ‘face’ with all the power that Bell could put into it.

Crack

The crystal-like cylinder shattered under the force and killed the War Shadow instantly. As its body collapsed to the ground, Bell took a breath.

“Fast and dangerous.” Bell breathed out, now fully understanding how the War Shadow had earned the ‘newbie killer’ nickname.

Crack

Crack

Crack

The sound of the Dungeon’s walls cracking made Bell spin around quickly.

“Gugugu…”

“Gugugu…”

“Gugugu…”

Three War Shadows pulled themselves from the stone walls and locked onto Bell instantly. In the next moment they all rushed straight at the Adventurer with their claws at the ready.

“Burn brightly. Lasair!” Bell chanted rapidly and waved the head of his staff in the direction of the charging War Shadows.

Fwoooossshhh

A wave of fire spread through the corridor and engulfed the three War Shadows.  The golem-like Monsters didn’t feel pain though, so they charged through the flames after stumbling for a moment.

Crack

The lead War Shadow met the end of Bell’s staff face first. The crystal cylinder shattered instantly from the force. With the first War Shadow dead, Bell spun his staff and took out the leg of the second War Shadow, making it fall to the floor.

Crack

A smack from Bell’s staff shattered its ‘face’ before it could try and get back up.

“Gugugu!” The final War Shadow slashed at Bell with both hands.

Bell managed to backstep the left hand, but raised his arm to deflect the right hand, letting the razor sharp claws bounce off his vambrace. “Hyah!” He jabbed his staff into the War Shadow’s chest, knocking it backwards a few steps. Bell spun his staff and then brought it around in a wide swing that crashed into the side of the War Shadow’s head.

Crack

The ‘face’ of the third War Shadow shattered and it was taken off its feet from the blow. As it crashed into the floor, Bell quickly looked around, listening intently for any sounds of Monsters approaching or the Dungeon walls cracking to spawn more Monsters.

“The Sixth Floor is a bit more dangerous than the Fifth.” Bell muttered to himself as he pulled out his knife to start harvesting the War Shadows. “Miach and Naaza were right… I can’t rush through the Floors if I want to come out in one piece.”

The first War Shadow that Bell killed disintegrated into white ashes and left something behind.

Bell picked up the sharp black blade from the white ash. “A Drop Item!” The War Shadow’s Finger Blade was a good Drop Item with a nice selling price to due to the ease of making a weapon from it. Even just setting the Drop Item into a handle would make a decent knife. “Into the backpack with you.” Bell placed the Drop Item into his backpack with a smile. More Valis was always appreciated for his promise to get his Familia out of debt.

With his spoils of battle collected, Bell continued on his way through the Dungeon.

-Base of Babel Tower ~ Late Afternoon-

“Come on! We’re almost there!” A woman’s voice called out, getting Bell’s attention.

A Party of Adventurers were helping two of their members along as they managed to reach the bottom of the huge spiral staircase that led up to the ground floor of Babel Tower. The Party was five members: A human man that looked to be a swordsman, a Chienthrope man helping to support the swordsman, the woman that had called out a second ago, who appeared to be an archer, and two Sheep people, one a male holding a large shield and the other a woman that he was helping support who was clearly favoring her right leg.

The blood following behind the Party showed just how bad their situation was.

Bell was moving before he realized it. “Do you need healing?”

The archer woman whipped around quickly, her brown eyes looking Bell over quickly. “Who’re you?”

Bell bowed slightly to the injure Party. “Bell Cranel, Adventurer from Miach Familia.”

“Miach Familia?” The Sheep man looked hopeful. “You’re the guy that heals people outside of Babel every few days, right?”

“That’s me.” Bell confirmed as he looked at the two injured Adventurers. The swordsman was in bad shape, his chest in bloody bandages and his left arm wrapped in blood-soaked bandages as well. The Sheep woman had a similar injury on her leg…it almost looked like something sharp had tried to cut through her leg from both the front and the back.

The Chienthrope man snapped Bell out of his inspection of the injuries. “How much?”

“What?” Bell blinked as he looked at the man.

“How much to heal them?!” The Chienthrope asked harshly, clearly worried about his friends.

Bell pointed the white crystal atop his staff at the injured Adventurers. “No charge, I’m not doing business today.” He smiled at the Party, making both of the women blush just slightly -even though the Sheep woman was in pain- and Bell began his chant. “Gather the herbs to heal the body. Banish the evils of pain and sickness. Restore the body to wholeness, succeed where the father failed. Heal all who seek wellness. Leigheas.”

The light of Bell’s spell shone from the crystal of his staff and bathed the entire Party in the gentle glow. The swordsman jerked slightly and took a deep breath. The Sheep woman let out a relieved sigh as her pain faded away while her body healed. Even the Chienthrope, the archer woman, and the male Sheep man let out light sighs of relief as their own pain and minor injuries were healed almost instantly.

“There we go.” Bell smiled as he ended his spell.

“Holy shit…” The swordsman looked himself over and stood on his own two feet patting himself down. “I don’t hurt at all.” He unwrapped the bloody bandages on his arm and marveled at the completely unmarred skin.

The Sheep woman looked at her leg in surprise. “There’s not even a mark left.”

“Thank you.” The archer woman gave Bell a bright smile. “You really helped us out!” Her cheeks were still pink as she smiled at Bell.

The Chienthrope man looked between his Party and Bell. “Are you sure that you don’t need to be paid?”

Bell waved it off. “No, it’s fine. This is just Adventurers helping Adventurers.” His smile made the Sheep woman and the archer woman’s cheeks go from pink to red.

“Thank you for helping my sister.” Th Sheep man shook Bell’s hand strongly with a huge smile on his face.

“No problem.” Bell said as he shook the Sheep man’s hand just as strongly.

With his task complete, Bell walked towards the large spiral staircase and started walking toward the surface. He barely heard all of the Adventurers that began to talk about him and he completely missed how many of the women were looking at him appreciatively, their eyes running up and down his body, admiring his face and his red cloth armor and feathered hat.

-Blue Pharmacy ~ Late Afternoon-

Naaza looked towards the front door as the overhead bell rang. Her sleepy look quickly became a warm smile as Bell entered their home. “Welcome home, Bell.”

“I’m home, Naaza.” Bell smiled at Naaza as he walked up to the counter. “Here’s what I made today.” He placed the heavy money pouch onto the countertop.

“Are you okay?” Naaza asked as she counted out the money and made sure that Bell got his cut while placing the rest into the till for now before they added it to the Familia’s savings. Her purple eyes looked Bell over, but didn’t see any bloodstains or obvious injuries.

Bell shook his head once. “I need a new Mind Potion.” With a little grin he leaned in towards Naaza. “But I wouldn’t mind having you check me for injuries.”

Naaza’s matched Bell’s grin as she took his hand in hers and pulled him into the back. “Lord Miach, can you watch the shop for a bit?”

Miach looked over at the two and laughed brightly. “I’ll take care of it.” He looked at Bell with a smile. “Welcome home, Bell.”

“I’m back, Lord Miach.” Bell returned the greeting before being pulled towards his room by Naaza.

Miach chuckled as he stood up and headed out to the shop. “Young love is quite the balm for the heart.” He said to himself as eh took up the spot behind the counter with a smile.

-After Dinner-

Bell still had a dopey smile on his face as Miach gave him a Status Update.

Miach, not one to pry, only grinned as he watched Bell’s Excelia for the day. “War Shadows… Rather dangerous for newbies.” He mentioned as he saw Bell fighting the golem-like Monsters.

“They ignored being set on fire.” Bell said after a moment to bring himself back to the present. His mind had been filled with the soft touch of Naaza’s left hand as she’d trailed it over his body to ‘check for injuries’. She still didn’t want to touch him with her prosthetic, but she’d more than made up for that with all the kissing they’d shared. ‘One day, I’ll find a way to heal that wound for you, Naaza. I’ll get stronger and delve deeper into the Dungeon, collect whatever material that you need, I swear it.’ Bell promised to himself, the star of desire and determination within him flaring and growing ever stronger.

“The War Shadows don’t feel pain like bestial Monsters do as they’re not alive in the same way.” Miach explained as he got to the end of Bell’s Excelia and moved it over, watching as the Falna grew stronger. The numbers rose, as normal, but Miach’s eyes widened a little as something new manifested within the Blessing on Bell’s back. ‘Something new already?’ He glanced at Edelbell Asabria where it was written on Bell’s Falna for a second before focusing on the new manifestation. Deciphering it didn’t take long and Miach was more than happy to write it into Bell’s Falna a moment later.

Bell looked over his shoulder at Miach. “Did you say something, Lord Miach?”

Miach gave Bell a quickly smile. “Just a moment, Bell.” He wrote the new acquisition into the Falna and finished the update. Placing a blank paper on Bell’s back, Miach copied everything over with a swipe of his finger. “Here you are, Bell.”

“Thank you, Lord Miach.” Bell took the paper as felt Miach’s finger moved across his back as his God locked up his Falna again.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – E 466 > D 548

Endurance – E 470 > D 551

Dexterity – E 472 > D 553

Agility – E 464 > D 546

Magic – E 443 > D 537

-Magic-

Leigheas – Incantation: “Gather the herbs to heal the body. Banish the evils of pain and sickness. Restore the body to wholeness; succeed where the father failed. Heal all who seek wellness.” Healing and Cure Magic that restores the target’s body and stamina, while also removing abnormalities like poison, paralysis, curses, and charms.

Lasair – Incantation: “Burn brightly.” Conjures fire in proportion to how much Mind is used.

-Skills-

Edelbell Asabria (A Willful Promise to a Deity) – Fast growth. The greater the effort towards the user’s goal, the greater the effect. Blocks things that would interfere with growth, such as Charms.

Spell Control – Allows the user to control their spells for a bit of extra Mind per cast, allowing for changes in range and shape while retaining their function.

-Status-

“I have a new Skill!” Bell exclaimed excitedly as he read over the new acquisition. “Change range and shape of my spells?” He thought back to how his fire spell had reached the limit of its range before and all of the thoughts that he’d had about how best to make up for or improve his range. “That could be powerful…” If he could figure out ways to control his spells properly and alter their range and shape for different tasks or strikes…it could be like having multiple spells of the same type.

Miach patted Bell’s back to get his attention. “Your new Skill will require just as much work and effort put into it as your magic, perhaps even more. But it could very well be the key to growing your strength and reaching your dreams like you want to, Bell.”

Bell smiled at Miach and gave him a nod. “I won’t give up, Lord Miach! No matter how much practice and experimenting it takes, I’ll figure out everything that I can do with this new Skill!” He would never let his Familia down if he could help it. This was merely a new tool in his kit to reach his dreams and keep his promises!

Miach’s warm laughter brought Naaza into the kitchen and when she saw Bell’s new Status Update and his new Skill, she smiled and happily let Bell pull her into his arms before they kissed. They’d all be going to bed a little late tonight as they celebrated Bell’s newest achievement.

-End Chapter-

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Bell makes it through the Fifth Floor and drops down to the Sixth Floor! Woohoo!

Naaza and Bell’s relationship deepens and grows further as well. So cute!

Bell met two new lovely ladies in Cassandra and Daphne!

That same night, Cassandra has one of her prophetic dreams and Bell is part of it! What does that mean for the future of Daphne and Cassandra? What about the future of the Apollo Familia?

Bell keeps dungeon crawling, learning more about dealing with the new Monsters that show up the deeper he goes, while developing his ‘Red Mage’ fighting style!

He’s also charming the ladies with his style and rizz…just like a Red Mage does! Yet he, much like Miach, is completely oblivious to it! Hah!

What will happen next for Red Mage Bell?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!