Baihu Familia Premise Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter! Now that Bell has both a Magic and a Skill, he has new things to work on and master! Dungeon crawling should also see a noticeable uptick as this ‘Monk’ Bell continues to fight his way through the Monsters within! But with improvement and advancement comes change. Just how will such changes affect Bell and the Baihu Familia going forward?

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 2 – The Tiger’s Fateful Meeting

Bell stretched a bit as he prepared to head into the Dungeon after taking a day off yesterday. He’d spent most of his time yesterday going through some of the techniques that Baihu had taught him and exploring a bit more of the city around the White Tiger Pavilion. Aside from a few people talking about the Loki Familia heading on another expedition in a few days, there wasn’t very much news floating around the streets on his day off.

“Well, expeditions aren’t something our Familia has to worry about, so I’ll just focus on doing my best to improve.” Bell said to himself as he left through the wooden gate and closed it behind him with a thud. Making the, now familiar, trek from the White Tiger Pavilion to Babel Tower and the Dungeon beneath, Bell was looking forward to putting his new Skill and Magic to use.

-Dungeon ~ Fourth Floor-

“Roar!” Bell incanted, activating his Tiger Aura spell and feeling the large boost to his Basic Abilities. The glowing golden aura surrounded his body, briefly looking like a roaring tiger, before cloaking him like a second skin.

“Grrrrr!”

“Bark!”

“Rrrraahh!”

The Kobolds that Bell had come across barked and snarled at the Adventurer before rushing him all at once.

Bell nearly blurred forward with both Tiger Step and Tiger Aura boosting his Agility. The increased speed became greater attack power, which was demonstrated when Bell’s jab shattered the jaws and head of the fastest Kobold. The blood flew through the air, but Bell never stopped moving. A roundhouse kick took off the head of the second Kobold as if Bell was a child kicking a ball. With excellent control of his body, hie brought the same leg backwards and shattered the skull of the third Kobold with his heel in a hook kick.

The three bodies hit the ground at almost the same instant as Bell lowered his foot back to the ground.

“That was…easy.” Bell blinked at how fast he’d taken out the three Kobolds with his magic and skill working in tandem. “I should have an easier time beating my own personal record from now on.” He said to himself as he let Tiger Aura fade away and pulled out his knife to start harvesting the Kobolds for their Magic Stones.

-Later-

“Hup!” Bell’s leg shot upwards from the ground, his foot cracking a Kobold under the jaw in a perfect high kick. The Kobold’s head snapped backwards as its feet left the ground and it briefly hung in the air before crashing to the ground, dead.

“Graaahhh!” A Goblin leapt at Bell’s back, only for Bell to spin and use a tiger claw to shatter the smaller Monster’s skull. The head of the Goblin was like a melon being smashed by an actual tiger’s paw as blood and bone painted the ground beneath the dead Monster’s body.

Bell took five charging steps to rapidly build up speed and slammed a punch into the chest of another Kobold. The Monster went flying backwards, hacking up a ton of blood, into the wall with a sickening crack, both its sternum and back broken from the attack and crashing into the wall. It exploded into black ashes a half-second later, the force having shattered its Magic Stone.

“Graa-yipe!” A snarling Kobold yipped in pain as Bell dodged its claws and shattered its arm with a well-placed punch. It’s throat was then torn out by a tiger claw and Bell left the corpse to fall to the stone floor as he rushed a group of goblins in a golden blur.

The Goblins didn’t even get to make a sound before the first one’s head was nearly splattered across it’s kin by Bell’s front kick. The second Goblin was hit by the same leg and folded over Bell’s foot before it was launched away, ragdolling through the air before crashing to the ground unmoving. Bell didn’t slow down -if anything he sped up- and the third Goblin’s head was smashed in by Bell’s fist.

“Hah…” Bell exhaled while listening for the telltale sound of the Dungeon walls cracking or the sound of any approaching Monsters. When he didn’t hear anything he let his spell fade and pulled out his knife. “I’ll need to ration my Mind until I build up my reserves more.” He opened up the nearest Goblin and pulled out the first small Magic Stone before adding it to his pack. “No Drop Item…” Bell sighed as he moved over to the next Goblin.

-Guild Exchange ~ Late Afternoon-

“Your Magic Stones, Kobold Nails, and Goblin Fangs are worth 22,436 Valis.” The woman behind the glass said to Bell as she pushed the tray over to Bell’s side. “Have a nice evening.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Bell gave the woman a quick smile as he collected his money and stashed it in his pouch. He headed over to Rose, who was waiting for him at one of the meeting areas already. “Good afternoon, Miss Rose.” He greeted her politely.

Rose nodded to Bell as he sat down. “Good afternoon, Bell.” She picked up her pen and gave him an expectant look.

“Two-hundred-fifty-two Monsters today, Miss Rose.” Bell answered the unasked question.

Rose wrote it down, knowing that Bell was telling the truth by this point, but still going to check with the Exchange just to be sure. “And how did your day in the Dungeon go?”

“Well, I spent all day on the Fourth Floor…” Bell began to tell Rose about his day of dungeon crawling and how he’d managed to once again beat his own personal record for number of Monsters killed in a day.

“Wait… Magic?” Rose looked up at Bell when he told her of his new acquisition. “You don’t seem like a magic user to me.” She knew for a fact that Bell was a martial artist by this point.

Bell didn’t know what to say to that. “It’s Enchantment Magic that boosts my Basic Abilities.” He answered truthfully, without revealing too much about his Status.

Rose nodded once and made a small note on the report. “I see. Well, congratulations on your new acquisition.”

“Thank you, Miss Rose.” Bell smiled at the pretty Werewolf woman, only to get the same reserved look as always from Rose.

The rest of Bell’s report was normal and he headed home a short time later.

-White Tiger Pavilion ~ Evening-

Bell was relaxed as Baihu watched his Excelia for the day. He was going over his own performance in his head, analyzing what he’d done and if he could’ve done better against the Monsters.

“Hmm… Not much challenge to be had on the Fourth Floor for you any longer, eh, Bell?” Baihu said, stroking his flowing beard with his free hand.

“Not really, Lord Baihu.” Bell admitted with a small shake of his head. “With my magic and skill…every Monster dies in one hit.”

Baihu had seen exactly that as he’d watched Bell’s Excelia. “Well, if the Guild hasn’t changed their recommendations since the last time I had ‘children’, once your Basic Abilities are at ‘G’ Rank, then you’ll be cleared for the Fifth through Seventh Floors.”

“That’ll be another couple of days at the rate I’m growing, I think.” Bell said as he felt Baihu’s finger move across his back a few times.

“Everything in time.” Baihu chuckled as he placed a blank paper onto Bell’s back and copied the Status over. “Here you are, Bell.” The elder God handed the paper to Bell while locking up his Falna securely.

“Thank you, Lord Baihu.” Bell accepted the paper and looked it over.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – H 152 > H 185

Endurance – H 150 > H 181

Dexterity – I 52 > I 62

Agility – H 147 > H 179

Magic – I 0 > I 41

-Magic-

Tiger Aura – Incantation: “Roar.” Enchantment Magic that envelops the user in a golden aura that vastly increases all Basic Abilities. It also protects them from harmful Magic to a degree.

-Skills-

Tiger Step – Increases the user’s Agility by a large amount. Raises the user’s attack power the faster they’re moving.

-Status-

“Oh…” Bell blinked at his growth, especially in his Magic stat. “Maybe just one more day before I can reach ‘G’ Rank.”

Baihu laughed at Bell’s comment before lightly patting the young man’s back. “Soon enough, Bell, soon enough. But let’s have dinner now.”

Bell nodded with a smile. “Sure.” He burned his Status with a candle and then both stood up and headed for the kitchen to cook up their meal.

-Guild ~ Two Days Later ~ Morning-

“Rank…G…” Rose could barely believe the Status that Bell had brought to her. She looked at Bell, then back down to the paper. She noticed the blacked out Skill and Magic section, which was normal when a Status was brought to an Advisor for permission to delve deeper into the Dungeon. Many Adventurers didn’t do this at all, just descending the Floors as they pleased…often to their own misfortune or death. ‘How did Bell grow this much in such a short time?’ Rose wondered, most Adventurers took about two weeks to get their most-used stats to ‘H’ Rank. Bell, however, had managed to reach ‘G’ Rank in HALF that time from what appeared to be sheer hard work.

“So, can I go to the Fifth Floor, Miss Rose?” Bell asked his Advisor with a smile.

Rose looked over the Status in her hands once more.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – H 185 > G 217

Endurance – H 181 > G 214

Dexterity – I 62 > I 71

Agility – H 179 > G 210

Magic – I 41 > I 73

-Magic-

-x-

-Skills-

-x-

-Status-

“Very well, Bell.” Rose said, schooling her expression back into her normal flat look. “You are cleared to explore the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Floors. Thank you for actually following the Guild’s recommendations.”

Bell nodded, even as his smile grew brighter. “I’m just listening to you, Miss Rose.” He looked towards the doors of the Guild. “I’ll return at the end of the day to give you my report!”

Rose waved Bell off and watched him leave with her normal expression. ‘At least he listens to me.’ She thought to herself as she headed back towards her cubicle. Rose didn’t even notice that her fluffy red tail was wagging just slightly behind her. It was nice to have an Adventurer that listened to her and wasn’t rushing headlong into the Dungeon towards their own death.

-Dungeon ~ Fifth Floor-

Bell descended down to the Fifth Floor for the first time with wary eyes. He looked around carefully, checking for any sign of Monsters, before reminding himself of the two greatest threats on these new Floors. “War Shadows and Killer Ants, the ‘newbie killers’. I just have to make sure that I’m able to deal with them quickly, especially the Killer Ants.”

On the Fifth Floor the walls changed from the first four Floors, becoming a light green color, and the structure of the Dungeon changed. Stronger Monsters, such as the infamous War Shadows and Killer Ants, began to appear and the Monster spawn time was faster as well. It was because of these things that Floors Five through Seven were where a lot of newbie Adventurers started to die.

Checking his map for a moment, Bell chose one of the corridors branching off the main route and headed down it to start his first day on the Fifth Floor.

It was only a handful of minutes later that Bell noticed something move in the corridor up ahead. The Monster was somewhat stout and moved along the ground with a short hop. Bell immediately knew what he was up against, even before the Monster noticed him.

“Gero!” A Frog Shooter, a large frog-like Monster with only one eye, croaked as soon as it spotted Bell.

Bell rushed forward, knowing from his lessons with Rose about the Frog Shooters fast and prehensile tongue. Building up his speed with Tiger Step let him clear the distance in only a second or so. Before the Frog Shooter could launch its tongue at Bell, a tiger claw tore out its single eye in a splash of blood…along with the top half of its head. The frog Monster’s corpse collapsed to the floor and Bell tossed the crushed flesh away with a grimace as he felt the tiny stinging of the blood on his hand.

“Ah, right, Miss Rose did say that Frog Shooters have mildly acidic blood.” Bell rubbed the blood off on the wall and the tingling went away a moment later. “Let’s see… Your Magic Stone should be around here.” He said after flipping the dead Frog Shooter over and opening it up with his knife. “That’s a bit bigger than the Magic Stones from the first four Floors.” Bell marveled at the Magic Stone, even if there still wasn’t any visible magical energy within it. He put it into his pack and sheathed his knife as the Frog Shooter’s corpse disintegrated into white ashes.

With his first Monster on the Fifth Floor killed, Bell continued on his way down the corridor.

-Later-

“Roar!” Bell cast his spell, the golden aura flaring around him in the visage of a roaring tiger for a second, before wrapping around his body closely flickering here and there like flame.

The reason for using his Magic was obvious.

“Kreee!”

“Skree!”

A group of Killer Ants were swarming towards Bell the instant that he’d entered the cavern they’d been milling around in.

The golden blur that Bell was reached the Killer Ants faster than the insect Monsters could react. A fist shattered the head of the first Killer Ant in a burst of gore. The sturdy exoskeletons of the Killer Ants couldn’t withstand the power of Bell’s fists, shattering like pottery under the martial artist’s fists. A pivot and a wheel kick crushed the second Killer Ant’s head into the ground. Bell skipped back to avoid the lashing claws of the third ant, before using a charging step to increase his speed and get into the Killer Ant’s guard. An uppercut shattered the Killer Ant’s head from below and Bell formed a tiger claw to tear off the mandibles of the fourth ant that had tried to bite him.

“SKREEE!!!” The injured ant screeched.

Bell’s fist silenced the Killer Ant as it crushed the Monster’s head.

“Kreee!” The fifth and sixth Killer Ants attacked Bell from both sides.

“Hyah!” Bell parried the ant on the left with a circle block. A half-second later and his left foot shot upwards and nearly tore the ant on the right’s head from its body from the force of his high kick. “Take this!” Bell formed a tiger claw with his right hand and swiped downward on the uninjured left ant, his fingers tearing through the exoskeleton covering the Killer Ant’s head in a shower of blood.

“Skreee!” The seventh Killer Ant shrieked as it came at Bell with clicking mandibles.

Bell met the Monster with three rapid charging steps and slammed his elbow into the Killer Ant’s head, the combination of Tiger Step and Tiger Aura empowering the strike splattered the Monster’s head while also knocking the flailing body backwards and into the eighth Killer Ant. Without wasting a second, Bell rushed forwards and brought an axe kick down on the eighth ant’s head crushing it entirely.

The snapping mandibles of the ninth Killer Ant tried to bite Bell from behind. But Bell dropped low and was beneath the ant Monster faster than it could slash at him with its claws.

“Yah!” Bell shot upwards with a rising uppercut that shattered the Killer Ant’s thorax and tore the insect Monster in half. Without slowing down, Bell charged the final Killer Ant and swept its front leg out, shattering the limb, and staggering the Monster. Before the Killer Ant could regain its balance, Bell’s fist shattered its head with a straight punch, killing it instantly.

Taking a moment to steady his breathing, Bell looked around the cavern. All of the Killer Ants were dead, there was no sound of cracking Dungeon walls, and no sight of other Monsters coming into the cavern either. With a steadying breath, Bell let his spell fade and pulled out his knife.

“Ten on one and I managed to win without getting injured. That’s pretty good, right?” Bell had no idea for sure due to his lack of experience, but with a nickname like ‘newbie killer’, a solo Adventurer of Bell’s experience must’ve done great to take out ten all by himself.

As he pulled out the first Magic Stone, Bell smiled and put it into his pack. The Killer Ant’s body fell apart into white ashes and left nothing behind. Bell grimaced slightly, but moved over to the next Monster and proceeded to harvest it.

-Later-

“Gugugu…” The odd, shadowy Monster made an odd, artificial sound as its glowing ‘face’ turned to Bell.

Bell took up his stance as he faced down the Monster. Noticing its longer than normal arms, each with a hand that ended in knife-like claws, Bell knew what this Monster was. “War Shadow.”

“Gugugu!” The War Shadow bolted towards Bell with both of its long arms swinging widely to try and slash Bell with its lethally sharp claws.

Bell backstepped to avoid the first swipe, pivoted to the right to avoid the second swing, and managed to parry the third swipe of the War Shadow’s claws. He pushed the arm away with force to stagger the golem-like Monster a step. With the War Shadow off balance, Bell took a charging step and jerked his head to one side to avoid the lashing claws of the War Shadow’s opposite hand. He felt the wind against his skin, but didn’t break his focus as he drove a palm strike straight into the ‘chest’ area of the War Shadow with the enhanced attack power from Tiger Step behind it.

The War Shadow was slammed into the ground by the palm strike. “Guuuu…” The golem-like Monster let out an oddly drawn out sound before exploding into black ashes, its Magic Stone having been destroyed.

“That was close.” Bell said to himself, gently running his fingertips over his cheek to check if he’d been cut by the War Shadow’s surprise attack. “I’m glad that I practiced my palm strike so much.” Sure, he’d lost the Magic Stone, but he’d defeated the other infamous ‘newbie killer’ without getting injured again. “That makes…” Bell counted in his head. “…two-hundred-seventy-six.”

-Guild Exchange ~ Late Afternoon-

“Your Magic Stones are worth 23,684 Valis.” The Chienthrope man behind the glass said to Bell as he pushed the tray back over to Bell’s side. “Have a nice day.”

Bell took his Valis and put them into his pouch before giving the Chienthrope man behind the glass a quick nod. “Thank you.”

“Good afternoon, Bell.” Rose greeted Bell with her normal tone and expression.

“Good afternoon, Miss Rose.” Bell returned her greeting with a small smile.

Rose already had a black report form on the table between them and she picked up her feather pen before speaking, her golden eyes looking into Bell’s rubellite. “Alright, how was your first day on the Fifth Floor?”

Bell began to tell Rose about his day, not noticing how the Werewolf woman’s eyes widened when he described his ten-on-one fight against Killer Ants.

‘This should’ve been where Bell stumbled…’ Rose thought to herself as she wrote down Bell’s account of his day. ‘Ten newbie killers against a Level 1 Adventurer with barely over a week of experience. Yet Bell took them all on and won without injury.’ Rose was a bit amazed, but quickly shook it off. ‘He got lucky one time… He won’t get lucky again.’

-Early Evening ~ Hostess of Fertility-

“Bell!” Syr called out as soon as she saw Bell walk through the door. With a beaming smile she walked over and greeted him. “Good evening, one tonight?”

“Yes, Miss Syr.” Bell smiled back at the cute waitress.

Syr turned to look at the bar. “One, now seating.” She called over to Mama Mia before turning back to Bell. “Follow me, please.” Syr led Bell to a seat at the end of the bar near the stairs to the second floor. “What can I get you to drink, Bell?”

Bell couldn’t help but smile back at Syr, the young woman was just too cute not to return her smile. “I’ll have an ale tonight.”

“Right away.” Syr giggled as she left Bell with the menu while she trotted off to the back to get his drink.

In the kitchen area, Syr was met by Chloe and Anya as she got Bell his drink.

“Nya! Syr, you stole Bell!” Anya declared while pointing at Syr.

Chloe had a little pout on her face as she looked at Syr. “You got to serve Bell last time. One of us should’ve gotten to take care of him this time.”

Syr shook her head with a playful smile on her face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She slipped past the two Cat Girls with a giggle and headed back out into the dining area with Bell’s ale.

“Hey!” Chloe and Anya called after her, both Cat Girls wanting to get some time with the man that had caught the attention of the five waitresses.

“Your ale, Bell.” Syr smiled at Bell, her warm eyes meeting Bell’s rubellite gaze as she set his drink down.

Bell smiled at Syr. “Thank you, Miss Syr.” He took a drink and enjoyed the flavor of the ale for a moment.

Syr’s smile was warm as she looked at Bell. “Do you know what you’d like to eat tonight, Bell?”

“I think I’d like the pork roast.” Bell pointed at the meal listed as the ‘special’ on the menu.

“Excellent choice.” Syr said as she wrote it down. “Have you been doing well?”

Bell nodded after taking another drink from his ale. “Yes, I’m able to explore the Fifth Floor now.”

“Really? That’s impressive.” Syr knew that Bell was a new Adventurer and to be able to dungeon crawl on the Fifth Floor already was unusual.

Their conversation lasted for a short while longer before Ayr went back into the back to place Bell’s order.

As Bell did a little people watching, he suddenly felt someone looking at him. Turning to look at where the feeling was coming he came face to face with Chloe. “Oh! Good evening, Miss Chloe.” He smiled at the Cat Girl.

“Good evening, nya.” Chloe smiled back at Bell. “Do you need anything, Bell?”

“I’m good right now.” Bell told her as he tapped his still mostly full ale. “Are you doing well, Miss Chloe?”

Chloe’s black cat ears flicked and her tail swayed happily behind her. “I’m alright, Bell. Thank you for asking.” She smiled cutely at Bell.

“Cute…” Bell said without thinking about it. When his words caught up to his thoughts, Bell looked into Chloe’s eyes, hoping he hadn’t made their conversation awkward.

“Nya~” Chloe giggled at Bell. “Thank you~” She leaned in a little closer. “I think you’re rather handsome too, nya~”

Bell blinked and he felt a little nervous at how close Chloe was. “Th-Thank you, Miss Chloe.”

“Chloe…” Syr said with a faked smile on her face as she walked towards Bell from taking care of a different customer. “What’re you doing?”

Chloe visibly flinched before shaking her head once. “Nothing. Just talking to Bell, nya.” She gave Bell another smile. “Talk to you later, Bell~” She turned and walked into the back with a slight sway in her hips and her tail cutely swaying as well.

Bell’s eyes naturally followed the swaying tail and hips and he blinked once he heard Chloe’s giggle right before she disappeared into the back.

“Bell…” Syr pouted and Bell quickly turned to look at his waitress. “Are you flirting with Chloe?”

“Wh-What? N-No…” Bell shook his head once.

Syr leaned in, their faces closer than before and Bell felt his face heat up.

Only for Syr’s little frown to become a cute grin. “I know.” She pulled away with a giggle as she walked towards the back. “You’re cute when you blush, Bell~” She teased before disappearing into the back.

Bell looked down at the bar and took a deep breath before exhaling slowly to calm his nerves.

A short time later, as Bell was finishing off his ale, a voice got his attention.

“Nya, here’s your meal, Bell!” Anya smiled brightly at Bell as she set the pork roast and sides in front of him.

“Thank you, Miss Anya.” Bell thanked the cute brunette Cat Girl with a warm smile. “Are you helping Syr?”

Anya nodded her head, but noticeably didn’t meet Bell’s eyes. “Yep, Syr’s busy tonight so I’m helping her, nya!”

Bell picked up his fork and knife. “That’s very kind of you, Miss Anya.”

“It’s no big deal, nya.” Anya waved it off as she watched Bell take his first bite of the pork roast. “Is it good?”

“It’s great!” Bell marveled at the flavor of the roast. The smile on his face made Anya smile too.

Syr poked her head out from the back and locked onto Anya and Bell chatting. “Hey, Anya. Where’s Bell’s meal?”

Anya turned and smiled sheepishly at Syr. “I already brought Bell his meal.” She rubbed the back of her head with a little laugh.

“Anya…!” Syr pouted at Anya for taking Bell’s food to him before she got to it.

“Excuse me.” Lunoire laughed as she moved around Syr and brought Bell a new flagon of ale. “I saw that you were in need of a refill, Bell.”

Bell smiled as another rale was placed before him. “Thank you very much, Miss Lunoire.” He smiled at the lovely woman while picking up the full flagon and took a drink.

“You’re welcome, Bell~” Lunoire smiled warmly.

“Hey…” Syr was pouting at Lunoire now. “You two are stealing Bell!”

Lunoire looked at Syr with a laugh. “What’re you talking about?”

Anya shook her head. “Nuh uh! We’re just doing out jobs, nya!” She had a grin on her face and her hands on her hips.

Bell nearly sputtered into his ale at what Syr had said about the other women ‘stealing’ him.

“Back to work, you lazy girls!” Mama Mia said loudly to the three waitresses that had been loitering around Bell for the last few minutes.

Lunoire, Anya, and Syr quickly went back to work, checking on the other customers. Mama Mia shook her head with a ‘humph’ and went back to taking orders at the bar.

Ryu, carrying a stack of used dishes, stopped next to Bell and gave him a short bow to not upset the dishware that she was carrying. “You have our apologies, Mr. Cranel. Sorry that your meal is being interrupted by the other waitresses.”

“It’s no problem, Miss Ryu.” Bell assured the lovely Elf woman with a smile. “I’m not used to having so much attention on me, but I appreciate their interest.”

All of the other waitresses just so happened to be close enough to Bell to hear what he’d said and smiles bloomed on their faces.

Bell looked into Ryu’s blue eyes. “Thank you for your concern, Miss Ryu. I appreciate you looking out for me.”

Ryu had the smallest of smiles on her lips. “You’re welcome, Mr. Cranel.” She nodded and headed into the back. ‘Syr was correct. Mr. Cranel is a pure soul.’ They all knew that Syr’s eyes were nearly impossible to fool, but Bell was proving her friend correct about his character.

It was with happy smiles and short conversations with all five waitresses that Bell spent his dinner at the Hostess of Fertility. As he left, a warm and happy smile was on his face, which made four of the five waitress giggle. Ryu kept her normal calm, but her friends could see the little smile on her lips as they watched Bell walk down the street for a few moments before they had to get back to work.

-White Tiger Pavilion ~ Night-

Baihu chuckled as he listened to Bell’s dinner experience before he’d come home. “Quite a lot of attention you’re getting from the fairer sex, aren’t you, Bell?” The elder God teased, similarly to how Bell’s grandfather would’ve, which made Bell smile a bit, even as his face went a bit red.

“It’s not like that, Lord Baihu…” Bell shook his head, being careful not to move as Baihu was finishing up with his Status Update.

“If you say so, Bell.” Baihu laughed brightly as he finished moving the Excelia into Bell’s Basic Abilities and watching them rise. “One more moment…” He placed a blank paper onto Bell’s back and copied the new update over. “There we go.” He handed Bell the paper while locking up his Falna again.

Bell took the paper, eager to see his growth again. “Thank you, Lord Baihu.”

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – G 217 > G 247

Endurance – G 214 > G 244

Dexterity – I 71 > I 80

Agility – G 210 > G 240

Magic – I 73 > H 108

-Magic-

Tiger Aura – Incantation: “Roar.” Enchantment Magic that envelops the user in a golden aura that vastly increases all Basic Abilities. It also protects them from harmful Magic to a degree.

-Skills-

Tiger Step – Increases the user’s Agility by a large amount. Raises the user’s attack power the faster they’re moving.

-Status-

“I’m still growing since I spent today on the Fifth Floor.” Bell was happy to see his growth wasn’t starting to decrease just yet.

Baihu nodded once. “For now, you’ll be able to continue growing at your current pace. But as you continue to grow, it will get harder, Bell. Don’t be discouraged when that happens. Instead, become more diligent in your training and constantly improve your martial arts.” He gave Bell his advice for the future with an air of wisdom.

Bell looked over his status once more before burning it with a candle. “I will, Lord Baihu!”

“Excellent.” Baihu chuckled lightly. “Let’s get some rice wine and I’ll tell you another Heroic Tale from the East.”

“Absolutely!” Bell stood up quickly and went to fetch the rice wine, making Baihu laugh at Bell’s enthusiasm.

-Ten Days Later-

Bell had been working just as hard as ever over the last ten days, just as he had been since first becoming an Adventurer. While he’d never slowed in his dungeon crawling, his growth had hit the slow point that he’d been warned about by Baihu.

However, dungeon crawling wasn’t the only thing that Bell had been doing over the last ten days. He went to the Hostess of Fertility every other day or so, quickly becoming a regular at the popular pub. The fact that Syr, Anya, Lunoire, Chloe, and even Ryu all seemed to take care of him every night he had dinner there was just a very pleasant bonus, of course. Bell had grown rather fond of all five women and considered them friends at the very least.

He didn’t know that all five of the women had become equally fond of him…but he had noticed how close Anya, Chloe, Syr, and Lunoire liked to be with him lately. Ryu, much more reserved, as most Elves were, still showed her own fondness for Bell with soft smiles and pleasant conversation. More so than she spoke with almost any other customer to come to the Hostess.

In fact, he’d stayed a bit late at the Hostess of Fertility just last night, and was now getting a Status Update in the morning before he headed off to the Dungeon again.

“Had another nice evening at the Hostess, I see.” Baihu laughed while Bell stared forward, his cheeks a faint red. Not getting a response as he moved Bell’s Excelia into his Basic Abilities. “I’m glad to see you having fun, Bell. It’s a good thing.”

“Yes, Lord Baihu.” Bell said as he felt the paper pressed into his back. He did enjoy going to the Hostess of Fertility and spending time with the waitresses there.

The new status update was held out to Bell, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Ah, thank you.” Bell took the paper while Baihu chuckled and locked up his Falna securely.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – F 331 > F 335

Endurance – F 328 > F 332

Dexterity – H 124 > H 125

Agility – F 326 > F 330

Magic –F 309 > F 313

-Magic-

Tiger Aura – Incantation: “Roar.” Enchantment Magic that envelops the user in a golden aura that vastly increases all Basic Abilities. It also protects them from harmful Magic to a degree.

-Skills-

Tiger Step – Increases the user’s Agility by a large amount. Raises the user’s attack power the faster they’re moving.

-Status-

“Hmm… At this rate it’s going to be weeks before I can get Miss Rose’s approval to go to the Eighth and Ninth Floors.” Bell remarked on his current growth and how slow it was now compared to his earlier growth.

“Diligence, Bell, diligence.” Baihu reassured Bell that perfecting his martial arts would ensure he reached his goals. Not that Bell’s innate talent for martial arts had waned in the slightest. Bell had picked up a great deal in the last three weeks since coming to Orario and joining Baihu Familia.

Bell took a steadying breath and nodded once before he exhaled. “Yes, Lord Baihu.” He burned his status update and stood up. “I’ll be back at the end of the day.”

Baihu nodded and waved bell off with a smile. “I’ll have a tale ready for you tonight, Bell.” He chuckled, only to burst into laughter at the large smile on Bell’s face.

-Dungeon ~ Seventh Floor-

“Hup!” Bell kicked a Frog Shooter in the head, splattering it across the nearby wall. He leapt over the lashing tongue of a second Frog Shooter and kicked off the wall before bringing a heavy axe kick down on its head. The second Frog Shooter died as its head was crushed by Bell’s foot. “That makes eleven, so far, today.” Bell said as he pulled out his knife and proceeded to cut into the first Frog Shooter.

It wasn’t too much longer and Bell was walking deeper into the corridors off the main path looking for more Monsters. He entered a good-sized cavern cautiously, but not seeing any Monsters, Bell began to walk across the cavern. There was a slight tension in the air as Bell walked, having the notion from his lessons with Rose that this could be a Dungeon Gimmick and that he could be swarmed with Monsters all at once, but nothing happened even as he got to the halfway point.

“I guess it’s not a gimmick?” Bell let out a breath as he looked towards the exit on the other side of the cavern. He took another three steps before he heard the noise coming from the corridor he was walking towards.

Thud

Thud

THUD

BAM

“MOOOAAARRRGGGHHH!!!” A Minotaur, a Monster from the Middle Floors, crashed into the cavern in a full charge. The red eyes of the bull-headed Monster locked onto Bell as the Minotaur came to a stop. Minotaurs were huge, standing just over two meters tall, and had large robust physiques of hard muscle and hide similar to armor, especially with their thick brown fur over parts of their bodies that helped protect them from heat and cold.

“HOW IS A MINOTAUR HERE?!” Bell exclaimed in shock at seeing the infamous Level 2 Monster from the Middle Floors all the way up on the Seventh Floor.

The Minotaur stomped on the floor, the stone shattering under the powerful cloven hooves of the Monster. “MOOOAAARRGGHH!!!” It bellowed loudly at Bell threateningly.

Bell ran through everything he knew about Minotaurs -which wasn’t THAT much considering they normally never appeared above the Fifteenth Floor- and he briefly warred with himself on whether to run or fight. All of Bell’s years of training snapped into action as the Minotaur charged straight at him. “Roar!” Bell cast his spell, the golden aura briefly forming a roaring tiger before wrapping around Bell’s body.

The Minotaur didn’t slow down as it came straight at Bell, looking to gore the Adventurer with its horns.

But Bell wasn’t there anymore.

The Minotaur’s charge missing seemed to confuse the Monster as it slowed to a stop and whipped its head around to look for Bell. It’s only warning of Bell’s location was the golden aura surrounding the Adventurer suddenly being right beside it.

“Hyah!” Bell slammed his fist straight into the Minotaur’s ribs with all the power his charge towards the Minotaur could provide.

“MOOAAARRRGGHH!!!” The Minotaur bellowed and staggered a step to the side from the force. With a snort of rage, the Minotaur swung its large fist at Bell.

Bell, seeing the telegraphed attack easily with his martial arts training, pivoted to one side and dodged it. In the same motion, Bell raised his leg and slammed a spinning side kick into the Minotaur’s knee. The Minotaur staggered and stumbled as its leg nearly gave out and swung another wild punch at Bell. A shift of the golden-clad Adventurer’s body let the wild punch go wide. Bell performed a perfect high kick, slamming his heel into the bottom of the Minotaur’s jaw, knocking the Raging Bull Type Monster’s head backwards. As the Minotaur lost sight of Bell again, the Adventurer quickly skipped back to make distance.

“Haaahhh…” Bell exhaled and took off in a full sprint, straight at the Minotaur.

The Minotaur roared as it threw its head forward and howled. “MOOOOOAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!”

The air shook from the volume alone, but the power of a Monster Howl wasn’t in the volume, but in the overwhelming pressure it placed on those that heard it. A Minotaur’s howl was known to be able to leave even a Level 1 Adventurer unconscious. However, as a howl was powered by the magic energy of a Monster (much like a spell), Bell’s Tiger Aura protected him from it.

In a streak of gold, Bell landed a punch straight to the Minotaur’s chest. There was an audible crack and the Minotaur coughed out blood. Before the Monster could recover, Bell swung his leg upwards in a high roundhouse kick that slammed into the side of the Minotaur’s jaw. The Minotaur’s head turned in the opposite direction as it staggered another step to the side. Bell slammed six quick punches into the Minotaur’s torso, the hard muscles like armor under Bell’s fists.

“MOOOAAARRGGHH!!!” The Minotaur recovered and swung a wild fist straight at Bell.

“Hah!” Bell skipped back to avoid the wild swing and the Minotaur charged after him. Bell weaved around the next wide swing of the Minotaur and formed a tiger claw that he dragged across the hide and muscle of the Minotaur’s side. Blood flew through the air as Bell and the Minotaur passed each other again.

The Minotaur spun around in a rage, four bloody red lines along its side from Bell’s last attack. “MOOOAAARRRGGGHHH!!!” The Minotaur slammed its fists on the ground and took a four-point charging stance. Its wild red eyes locked onto Bell and the Minotaur shot forward so quickly that its cloven hooves turned the stone floor into gravel with each step.

Bell charged forward as well, hyper focused on the opponent in front of him so much that two voices yelling at him weren’t even heard, and pushed his body as hard as he could. The charging Minotaur and Bell raced towards each other, but at the last moment, Bell sidestepped. The Minotaur couldn’t stop its charge easily and nearly charged straight into the opposite wall, only managing to stop about a meter form the stone in front of it.

“RAAAAAHHHHH!!!” Bell roared -not unlike a real tiger- as he blitzed the Minotaur from the opposite side of the cavern in a streak of golden light. The boost from Tiger Step and Tiger Aura synergized and Bell reached the Minotaur just as it turned around to face the incoming Adventurer. With the massive increase to his attack power from his heavily boosted speed, Bell slammed a powerful stomp into the ground, the stone cracking below his foot, and turned his hips and waist to throw all of the speed, energy, and power of his charge and stomp into a palm strike that slammed into the Minotaur’s chest.

BOOM

The Minotaur’s hooves tore twin meter-long trenches through the stone floor before its back crashed into the stone wall behind it. The wall shattered in a spiderweb of cracks from the force of impact. The deafening crash masked the loud and audible cracking from both Bell and the Minotaur. Bell’s palm imprinted into the hide and hard muscle of the Minotaur’s chest, caving in the entire sternum and ribcage.

“Gack…” The Minotaur hacked up a huge amount of blood, splattering the thick red liquid all over its own chest and Bell’s hand. The red eyes lost their glow as the Minotaur stopped breathing and its entire body went limp.

“Hah… Hah…” Bell breathed heavily as he took a few steps back from the dead Minotaur. His right arm was visibly broken, the odd angle alone a clear sign of the injury. His wrist was also already bruising visibly and swelling up. Honestly, his entire right arm from fingertips up to his shoulder was messed up, the limb turning a dark red along with purple and black. “Mmmmnnnn…” Bell barely suppressed a cry of agony as the pain throughout his body crashed into his brain as his adrenaline began to fade. A lance of pain from his right leg -the leg he’d cracked the ground with- let him know that he’d at least sprained something if not broken his leg too.

Bell swayed on his feet, the pain making dark spots encroach in his vision. He was low on Mind as well, having used up almost all of his reserves in the fight against the Minotaur. Just as Bell’s eyes drifted closed and he felt himself falling, something strong and yet soft caught him gently.

“Hey...”

“Do you have any potions?”

“No, we used them all, remember?”

“Shit!”

“Sorry about this…”

Bell vaguely felt something touching the pouch on his back as his head swam. A moment later and a vial touched his lips. He drank the liquid slowly as he was laid down on the ground. The searing pain throughout his body eased up a little, but his injuries were far from healed. A second vial touched his lips and Bell drank that one down too. A third vial was pressed to his lips and after drinking that down as well, the pain in Bell’s body finally became more of the familiar ache that he was used to from his harsh spars with Baihu.

Slowly opening his eyes, Bell was met with a slightly blurry sight of two people. As his vision cleared up, he realized that he was looking up at two Amazons. Both had black hair and green eyes and in the haze of his mind, Bell could only think of one thing to say.

“Beautiful…” Bell mumbled out as his rubellite eyes looked into the green eyes of the two Amazons.

The Amazon with the long hair smiled down at Bell. “That’s not the first thing I expected you to say after fighting a Minotaur barehanded.”

“Thanks!” The Amazon with shorter hair gave Bell a warm smile that reminded him of sunshine.

Bell couldn’t quite focus as the two women talked with each other for a long moment. He picked up several words though: Minotaurs, Escape, Seventeenth Floor, Bete and Ais, and Other Floors.

“Hey…” The long-haired Amazon gently shook Bell into focus. “I know you’re suffering from being close to Mind Down…but we need to check you for injuries that the Low Potions you had might not have healed.”

“Okay…” Bell gave them permission after a moment to process what had been said.

In the next few moments, Bell felt the two Amazon’s undo his black martial arts shirt to reveal his chest.

“Oh wow~” The short-haired Amazon let out a surprised -and approving- sound as she saw Bell’s defined body. The strong muscles covered by a healthy amount of body fat marked Bell as warrior, rather than someone trying to show off.

“Yeah…” The long-haired Amazon agreed after drinking in the sight.

A moment later and Bell felt soft hands -with notable rough areas that came from handling weapons- gently moving across his exposed skin. Light pressure was applied here and there as the hands moved across his body. Eventually, the hands drifted down to his waist and hips, then lower to his thighs, and down his legs to his feet.

The short-haired Amazon let out a relieved sigh. “I don’t feel anything broken, so the potions helped there at least.”

“We need to check his right arm.” The long-haired Amazon said and Bell felt the hands and fingers of both women gently running along his right arm, checking for breaks and other injuries. “I think his arm is alright.” She let out a relieved sigh.

Bell felt his head gently lifted and then rested on something much softer than the stone floor. Looking upwards, he saw the large breasts of the long-haired Amazon -said breasts barely contained by a purple and yellow cloth tied at the front- and if his head was clear, he’d have probably been slightly flustered with how much he could see.

“Just take it easy.” The Amazon said as she leaned forward a little so that she and Bell could look into each other’s eyes. “We won’t leave you here.”

“Yep, just relax.” The short-haired Amazon smiled at Bell warmly, her fingers drifting to Bell’s forehead and gently moving his sweaty bangs away.

Bell managed to open his mouth and speak. “Thank you…” He said quietly as he let himself relax into the lap pillow from the long-haired Amazon while the short-haired Amazon continued to gently run her fingers through his hair. Bell drifted off to sleep before he even realized it.

“He’s cute when he sleeps.” The short-haired Amazon said with a smile as she continued to run her fingers through Bell’s soft hair.

“I’d call him a bunny if we didn’t already see how ferocious he can be.” The long-haired Amazon replied with a small smile as she looked at Bell resting on her lap.

Some time later, Bell slowly opened his eyes again as he woke up. Aside from the roughness of the stone he was laying, his head was very comfortable on the soft pillow he had. It was only after he blinked once to clear his vision did he once more see the large tits directly above his face. The view of the long-haired Amazon’s underboob was very impressive to say the least.

The smiling face of the short-haired Amazon appeared in Bell’s vision, her head lightly pressing against the other woman’s large breasts. “You’re awake! Are you feeling alright?”

Bell took a second to form words, but the warm smile the short-haired Amazon gave him practically made Bell smile back at her. “Just a little tired.”

“A Mind Down will do that.” The long-haired Amazon said, her fingers gently combing through Bell’s white hair.

With a little help from the two Amazons, Bell sat up and then slowly stood up as his balance restored itself. It was only after getting a good look at both women that Bell realized who he’d been talking to.

The short-haired Amazon had multiple golden-colored neckbands around her slim neck, 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 at all. Her smooth and toned stomach was left fully on display like many Amazons preferred. She wore a golden armband on each forearm and golden anklets similar to her neckbands adorned her ankles. The pareo around her waist was a dark-yellow color with a thick band of green along the hem. 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 that had a stylized sun on it sat around her hips, over the tied-off pareo. This was one of Orario’s top Adventurers; Tiona Hyrute of Loki Familia, Level 5, and known by her Title The Slasher.

The long-haired Amazon wore blue earrings and a rather revealing outfit. While it was clearly not her typical attire just from how small it was, she had her large breasts covered by a purple and yellow cloth tied in the front. She had a yellow pareo with green lines along the hem that was folded and tied around her waist, matching Tiona’s. Beneath that was a red bikini bottom and a matching red garter belt holding up solid red leggings. Around her neck and ankles were rings of silver, and on her wrists were silver armbands. She had two braided locks of her hair on either side of her face, held together by a small silver band near the ends. She was also a famous (or infamous depending on who you asked) Adventurer of the Loki Familia, Tione Hyrute, Level 5, and the older twin sister of Tiona, who was widely known by her Title Jörmungandr.

“You’re the Hyrute Sisters…” Bell said after a second to take in the two women’s appearances.

“That’s us!” Tiona agreed with a smile.

Tione leaned forward a bit, her tits bouncing in the cloth that was doing its best to hold them back, and gave Bell a smile of her own. “See something you like?”

Bell’s face burned at Tione’s forwardness. “I… Well… I wasn’t…”

“Aww, look at him blush…” Tiona giggled at Bell’s flustered face.

“Thank you for taking care of me!” Bell bowed at the waist as he thanked the Hyrute Sisters. The fact that the bow allowed him to hide his red face was only a bonus to relieve his embarrassment.

Tiona smiled like sunshine again. “No problem! We saw how you took down that Minotaur with your bare hands! That was awesome! You reminded me of my favorite Heroic Tale!”

“I did?” Bell blinked as he straightened up. It was flattering being compared to an actual Hero from a tale.

“Uh huh! I wanted to call you Argonaut!” Tiona giggled brightly. “You faced that big go and brought it down all by yourself, even though the odds were against you!” She surprised Bell by moving forward and wrapping her arms around his left arm.

Tione playfully rolled her eyes at her sister. “You can’t just give someone a nickname out of the blue like that.” She was clearly amused by how much Tiona’s physical affection was making Bell react. “We don’t even know his name yet.”

That got Bell to focus as he realized that he hadn’t even introduced himself at all. “Ah, you’re right.” He gave Tione and Tiona a smile and a nod of his head, since Tiona had his left arm trapped and he couldn’t give them a short bow. “My name is Bell Cranel; I’m the Captain of the Baihu Familia. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Tione and Miss Tiona.”

“Baihu Familia…” Tiona looked thoughtful, as if she was trying to recall if she’d heard of said Familia before.

“I’m not familiar with that Familia.” Tione admitted after a second or two to think. “It’s odd because every Familia with a Level 2 Adventurer is known within Orario.”

Bell blinked once…then twice… “Level 2?”

Tiona and Tione looked at him, confused by his confusion.

“Yeah, you’d have to be a Level 2 to kill a Minotaur barehanded, even with that golden glow you had going on!” Tiona said with certainty.

Tione agreed with her sister, nodding once. “Even if that was enchantment magic, you’d have to be Level 2 to fight evenly with a Minotaur without a weapon.”

Tiona hugged Bell’s arm tighter against her body, her smaller breast pressing into the limb as she smiled at Bell. “It was really cool magic though! All roaring like a tiger and everything!”

“Quite fearsome~” Tione said with an approving tone, the lilt in her voice hinting at how much she’d enjoyed seeing Bell’s ferocity in battle.

“Th-Thank you…” Bell got out even as he felt like he needed to explain the mistake. “But I’ve only been an Adventurer for three weeks. I joined Lord Baihu’s Familia as soon as I got to Orario. I’m still Level 1.”

The silence from both Tiona and Tione was almost jarring.

In the next moment, Bell found himself mere centimeters away from the faces of both Amazons.

“You’re Level 1?” Tione asked, staring deep into Bell’s rubellite eyes.

“No way!” Tiona said as she also looked into Bell’s eyes, trying to discern the truth.

Bell could only nod, not trusting his voice with both of them so close.

Both Tione and Tiona stared into Bell’s eyes, looking for any hint of deceit. Spotting liars was a skill that all Adventurers developed over time. It was a necessary thing to stay alive considering that anything could happen in the Dungeon. The Monsters and Dungeon Gimmicks weren’t the only things one needed to be wary of, after all. A fellow Adventurer could be far more dangerous if they were plotting against others.

“You’re not lying.” Tione said after a long moment.

Tiona beamed at Bell. “You really beat a Minotaur barehanded at Level 1! You’re really amazing Argonaut!” Her arms wrapped around Bell’s left arm again as she giggled, moving her body against Bell as she laid her head on his shoulder.

“That’s very impressive…” Tione agreed with her sister, smiling at Bell as she wrapped her left arm around his right and pressed herself against him, trapping his arm between her barely contained breasts. “Is your magic really that powerful?” Her free hand trailed along Bell’s chest, her fingertips tracing the contours of his muscles, reminding Bell that his shirt was still unbuttoned and open. “Or are you just that strong~?”

“I… I mean… My stats aren’t impressive…” Bell stumbled over his words a bit. He thought he’d grown used to being at the attention of multiple women from his time spent at the Hostess of Fertility. Chole could be rather forward herself. But this was an entirely new level of forwardness that Bell had never experienced before. “They’re still o-only ‘F’ Rank…”

Tiona looked at Tione with a cute, curious expression. “Isn’t the average ‘H’ Rank in an Adventurer’s most used stats after two weeks of dungeon crawling?”

Tione nodded once. “It is. To get all the way to ‘F’ Rank in just three weeks is practically unheard of.” Her fingertips running along Bell’s muscled torso went lower without her even realizing. “You must’ve worked hard, Bell~”

Bell felt his body stiffen at the approving lilt in Tione’s voice. “My Advisor…” He swallowed as Tiona’s left hand began to mimicked Tione’s in trailing along his exposed torso. “…told me that I broke the record for reaching the 1,000 Kills mark…by a lot.”

“Did you hit it recently?” Tiona asked, her voice practically right in Bell’s ear as she unconsciously pressed herself closer to him.

“I surpassed it on my seventh day as an Adventurer.” Bell admitted, not wanting to lie to the one’s that had helped him and watched over him after he’d passed out in the Dungeon.

Tiona and Tione’s eyes widened in shock at Bell’s admission. “ONE WEEK?!”

Bell nodded slowly as he was once more eye-to-eye with both Hyrute Sisters.

“I see…” Tione hummed thoughtfully, her fingertips still trailing along Bell’s muscles, leaving heat in their wake that Bell was having a hard time not focusing on. “With magic like yours, I could see that being possible.”

“I…” Bell mumbled the rest, wondering if he was being too open with Tione and Tiona since they were from another Familia.

Tiona cocked her head cutely; the mumbling having been unintelligible. “What was that, Argonaut?”

Bell, nearly unable to resist the cute look on Tiona’s face (along with both women’s hands trailing along his torso and his arms pressed against their warm and soft bodies) answered clearly. “I didn’t have my magic back then. My magic manifested after my seventh day as an Adventurer.”

Tiona stared at Bell in surprise. “You killed over a thousand Monsters in seven days…without magic or even a weapon?”

Tione’s green eyes looked into Bell’s rubellite gaze with interest, wanting to hear his answer.

“Yes.” Bell’s simple answer was filled with such genuine honesty that neither Tiona nor Tione could doubt him.

The sisters shared a look with each other, a silent conversation passing between them for a moment, before both smiled at each other.

“So… Argonaut,” Tiona smiled at Bell warmly. “Let’s get that Minotaur’s Magic Stone, and then Tione and I will take you up to the surface.” The way her body was pressed against Bell’s arm and her free hand was still trailing along his muscled torso made it hard for Bell to answer properly.

“Or… We could stay here for a little longer and get to know each other more.” Tione said, pressing Bell’s arm closer to her body, her tits engulfing his bicep now. The way her fingertips teased his lower abdominal muscles was VERY distracting for Bell.

Bell let out a heated breath as Tiona and Tione’s hands trailed up his stomach, over his chest, and then each sister slipped their hand along his shoulders and pushed his unbuttoned shirt off, fully exposing his muscled upper body to their eyes. There was definite heat building now: Amazon instincts, hot blood, multiple factors were coming together fast. Bell’s left arm found its way free and took hold of Tiona’s wide hip, pulling her flush against his side. In the same moment, Bell’s right arm took hold of Tione’s hip and pulled her into his right side.

Just as Tione and Tiona were looking into Bell’s rubellite gaze with half-lidded eyes, he managed to surprise them once again.

“Let’s talk on our way up to the surface.” Bell said into the ear of each twin as he hugged them close, his heated body against theirs creating sparks of desire in all three of them. But Bell’s resolve was unshakeable as he focused on what was important…and that wasn’t giving into instinct and desire right now.

(Even if part of him deeply wanted to throw caution to the wind and give into primal instinct.)

“Mmm…okay.” Tiona agreed after a second, breathing in Bell’s scent as she enjoyed being held against him.

“Alright.” Tione said a second later, also breathing in Bell’s scent just like Tiona, her face pressed against his hot neck.

Bell let out a long breath, only to jerk slightly and let out low groan. “Tione… Tiona…”

Both women had let one of their hands trail all the way down Bell’s torso and were now cupping the hard length hidden by Bell’s black martial arts pants.

“Sorry, Argonaut…” Tiona apologized with a heated tone, even as her hand rubbed against Bell’s bulge one more time before she managed to pull it away.

“Mmm, don’t blame us, Bell…” Tione asked breathily, her hands cupping Bell’s hardness, estimating a rather sizable length and girth, before she pulled away from it as well.

Despite what their instincts would’ve liked, both Tione and Tiona were actually thrilled by Bell’s resilience and focus to stop before they all got carried away. Such resolve was rare and showed a great deal about Bell’s mental strength and his character.

Bell took a steadying breath as the three of them separated. Tione’s nipples were clearly visible through the cloth barely covering her tits. Likewise, Tiona’s white breast wrap couldn’t hide her own stiff nipples. All three of them would need a little bit to calm down.

“I’ll get the Magic Stone.” Tione said as she walked over to the Minotaur and, without a hint of hesitation, stabbed her hand into its body between the large muscles and rummaged around its insides for a moment. “There it is.” She grinned as she pulled the Magic Stone out of the dead Minotaur and watched its body start to disintegrate into white ashes. “Here, Bell.” She offered him the Magic Stone.

“Thank you, Miss Tione.” Bell accepted the large, fist-sized Magic Stone, seeing the swirling lights of magical energy within the dark purple stone. He placed it into his pack and pulled his shirt back on, buttoning it up properly as well, before the three of them left the cavern together, nearly shoulder to shoulder with how close Tiona and Tione were to Bell.

On the way back, Bell got to ask more about the two women. Tiona loved Heroic Tales, much like Bell did, even quizzing him on a few of her favorites and getting more and more excited when Bell answered everything correctly. Tione happily told Bell of her own hobbies and interests, such as cooking and swimming, which was something she’d picked up before coming to Orario.

Once the trio got back to the surface, Bell waited with Tione and Tiona for the rest of the first half of the Loki Familia’s expedition team to reach the surface as well.

“Ah~ First fresh air in two weeks!” Tiona stretched her hands above her head and stood on her tiptoes.

Bell didn’t make a sound, but his rubellite eyes drank in the sight of Tiona’s body and all of her exposed skin. While she might not be very busty, her thin waist and wide hips certainly made the more primal part of Bell’s brain react.

“The sun feels great~” Tione agreed as she leaned back on the bench she was sitting on with Bell.

Bell’s eyes were quickly drawn to Tione’s body as she enjoyed the sun. Her flawless bronze skin and her voluptuous curves were on display and Bell couldn’t stop himself from looking for a long second.

Once the first Party of the large Loki Familia expedition arrived, Tione and Tiona trotted over to their Captain, Braver Finn Deimne, to explain the situation. Bell straightened up as he saw Finn glance his way for a moment. The sharp gaze of one of the top Adventurers in all of Orario analyzing him had made Bell react without any thought. Finn gave Tiona and Tione a nod and both Amazons quickly jogged back over to Bell.

“The Captain says that we should go with you to the Guild to corroborate your encounter with the Minotaur.” Tione said with a smile.

“Yeah, they definitely won’t believe a Level 1 killed a Minotaur all by himself.” Tiona shook her head with her arms raised in a shrug.

Bell was touched that Tiona and Tione had thought about his situation even further than he had. “Thank you very much, Miss Tione, Miss Tiona.” He gave them both a thankful bow.

“Tione is fine.” Tione grinned at him as the three headed towards the Guild.

Tiona had a bright smile on her face. “Yeah, just Tiona, Bell.”

Bell smiled and agreed to the sisters’ offer of casual address. “Right, I’ll remember.”

-Guild-

Rose felt like she was in some sort of weirdly vivid dream as she listened to Bell’s story of his encounter with a Minotaur on the Seventh Floor.

One, Minotaurs were Middle Floor Monsters, not normally seen until the Fifteenth Floor. Two, Bell had not only come face -to-face with a Level 2 Monster as a Level 1…but had FOUGHT a Minotaur barehanded! Three, Bell had apparently KILLED the Minotaur by himself while barehanded…AT LEVEL 1!!!

If anyone else had been telling her this, she’d have called them a liar right to their faces. Hell, even though it was Bell telling her (the one person she knew that was honest, almost to a fault) she still wouldn’t believe it, normally. But with BOTH of the Hyrute Sisters not only confirming that everything Bell said was true as witnesses to the act, but both also confirming that the fleeing Minotaur wasn’t injured in any way before it had found Bell…it turned all Adventurer common sense on its head.

‘Somehow, Bell survived another point where he should’ve fallen.’ Rose thought to herself as she finished writing the report down. Seeing Bell wasn’t injured beyond some bruising, even if she knew he’d used up all his Low Potions to heal himself, made a little warmth appear in Rose’s heart. The jaded Werewolf woman tried to deny it, but she was glad that Bell had come back safely. “Hah… You’re going to give me grey hairs at this rate, Bell.”

“Sorry, Miss Rose.” Bell apologized to his Advisor. “I didn’t expect this to happen at all.”

“It was mostly our fault.” Tiona apologized as well while rubbing the back of her head.

“We should’ve eliminated the Minotaur horde quickly instead of treating them as a nuisance. While they’re nothing much to us, they were a great danger to all of the Adventurers on the Upper Floors.” Tione apologized as well.

Bell knew that Tione and Tiona could kill Minotaurs with a single punch or kick, as easily as he could punch the wooden training posts at the White Tiger Pavilion. The fact that he’d had to give everything he had, and it still almost wasn’t enough despite how vastly more skilled Bell was in the martial arts, made Bell’s already intense desire and determination to get stronger and become a Hero explode like a star within his chest.

‘I threw everything I had at the Minotaur…and even though I won… If Tiona and Tione weren’t there, I’d have been easy pickings for any random Monster that came along.’ Bell thought to himself, his fists clenching on his black pants. ‘I want the kind of strength that Tione and Tiona have. I want to stand where they’re standing…and then I want to go even further! I want to get stronger… Stronger than I am now! Stronger than the two that saved me! Strong enough to overcome anything, just like a Hero! I want to be a Hero that can save others when they need me, no matter what!’

Such a pure desire, one born out of dreams and selfless concern for others, further empowered Bell’s already abnormally strong determination and desire to reach the lofty, almost unobtainable goal that he’d set for himself. Such a rare combination of instances all coming together at the same time reacted with the Divinity held within the Falna upon Bell’s back.

A new possibility was born at that moment, one that could allow Bell rise to meet the dream he held, regardless of any and all that would stand in his way.

-White Tiger Pavilion ~ Afternoon-

Baihu let out a long exhale as he finished watching Bell’s Excelia. “Quite the battle you had today, Bell.” He’d certainly never expected his newest ‘child’ to face a Minotaur so early in his time as an Adventurer. “But your martial arts, combined with your magic and skill, did not betray you. Your hard work allowed you to prevail over an enemy that most in your situation could only hope to flee from. I’m very proud of you.” Baihu smiled as he gave Bell a light pat on the shoulder.

“Thank you, Lord Baihu.” Bell accepted the praise with a small smile of his own. He’d last heard ‘I’m proud of you’ from his grandpa and it warmed his heart to hear it again.

‘Hm? Something new already?’ Baihu thought to himself as he saw something had manifested within Bell’s Falna again. Deciphering the new acquisition into hieroglyphs, Baihu realized that it was a Skill and after understanding it to a degree his eyes widened in shock. ‘Truly, you are someone of great character and great potential, Bell. Willing to go against anything and everything, even the divine, to reach your dream.’ Baihu wrote the new Skill into Bell’s Falna and then moved the massive amount of quality Excelia into the Basic Abilities, only to barely keep himself from coughing in surprise as he saw how high the numbers rose. ‘The very next time that Bell overcomes a Monster stronger than himself…he’ll have overfilled his vessel and be eligible for a Level Up!’ That was the sheer growth that Bell had attained from this battle that he shouldn’t have been able to win combined with his newest acquisition.

Bell thought his update was taking a bit longer than usual, but just as he was about to aske Baihu about it, the elder God placed a blank paper onto his back. Bell waited as he felt Baihu’s fingertip swipe across the paper and then his Falan was locked up tight, indicated by the blue-white light fading away.

“Here you are, Bell.” Baihu handed the paper over, managing to keep his calm from much experience.

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

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – F 335 > D 536

Endurance – F 332 > D 534

Dexterity – H 125 > H 126

Agility – F 330 > D 531

Magic – F 313 > D 519

-Magic-

Tiger Aura – Incantation: “Roar.” Enchantment Magic that envelops the user in a golden aura that vastly increases all Basic Abilities. It also protects them from harmful Magic to a degree.

-Skills-

Tiger Step – Increases the user’s Agility by a large amount. Raises the user’s attack power the faster they’re moving.

Hǔ wáng zhī lù (Path of the Tiger King) – Removes limits of growth. Rate of growth increases in proportion to the user’s efforts to improve. As a side-effect it makes the user immune to Charms and Magics that effect the mind.

-Status-

“M-My…numbers…” Bell could barely comprehend the massive increase to his stats. It didn’t make sense…even besting a Minotaur shouldn’t result in such growth. ‘Should it?’ Bell wondered in his thoughts, once more realizing that he didn’t have the required level of experience to have a full frame of reference for such things. “I HAVE A NEW SKILL?!” He yelled out in shock as his eyes finally tore themselves away from the insane increase in his stats.

Baihu’s fir and reassuring hand on his shoulder snapped Bell back into focus.

“Take a steadying breath, Bell.” Baihu instructed calmly. Once Bell had breathed in, held it, and then exhaled slowly, Baihu spoke again. “Yes, you have a new Skill. One that will help you grow stronger…but only if you put in the effort required.” He motioned to the Status Update in Bell’s hands. “That new Skill is the culmination of all your pure desires and determination to reach your goals. But nothing has changed regarding what you must do. Only hard work is rewarded in martial arts. If you slack off or become lazy, your Skill will do nothing. Do you understand?”

Bell nodded after a moment to process everything. “I do. Thank you…I was starting to panic.”

Baihu nodded and gave Bell’s shoulder a light squeeze. “I’d be surprised if you didn’t, Bell. In all my years in Orario, I’ve never heard of a Skill like this one before.” He stroked his flowing beard with one hand. “I think it best that we keep this to ourselves.”

“Yes, sir.” Bell agreed, already knowing that an Adventurer’s Status was supposed to be kept secret from all those outside of their Familia. Having an unheard of Skill, something potentially unique to him, would undoubtedly attract all kinds of attention…and most of it probably wouldn’t be good.

“Good, good.” Baihu nodded before standing up. “Now, since you’ve come home so early from the Dungeon… I think we’ll spend the rest of the day in the training hall so that you can get used to your increased abilities. Now that you’re stronger, I won’t have to treat you so gently.”

Bell felt a shiver travel down his back at Baihu’s words. ‘I’ll be alright. Surely, Lord Baihu is just joking…right?’

Baihu was, in fact, NOT joking, as Bell quickly found out.

-End Chapter-

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Oh damn! Bell KILLED the Minotaur with his bare hands!

Tiger Monk Bell is already outside the norm in multiple ways!

Now that he’s defeated the Minotaur and gained his Growth Skill, how will Orario react to such an incident that flips common knowledge on its head?

Bell better train hard for the future that is to come!

We see our ‘little tiger’ is also attracting quite a bit of lovely attention as well! He’s become a regular at the Hostess of Fertility and all five waitresses clearly enjoy having him around! And after showing them the fight to the death with the Minotaur and his already amazing growth, he’s also got Tione and Tiona’s interest, making their Amazon Blood burn hot! But Bell is nothing if not determined, managing to wrangle in the building heat between them, much to the surprise and approval of the two Amazons!

Just what is awaiting Bell in the days and weeks to come?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!