Loki Familia Premise Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you a new chapter! As the majority of Lokia Familia prepares to go on expedition, Bell returns to the Dungeon to make his own progress. With his promise with Loki, and the burning and powerful desire within his heart to improve and be a Hero, just how far will Bell grow while the rest of the Familia is away? Some things change, others stay the same, and some feel like fate or destiny. But one can rise to meet that destiny, or they can be swallowed by it. Will Bell fall or will he rise?

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Chapter 3 – Pluck the Strings of Destiny

-Twilight Manor ~ Loki’s Room ~ Morning-

Bell slowly woke up as his internal alarm went off at roughly five o’ clock as it always did. After living his whole life in the remote farming village with his grandpa, his internal clock was still set to ‘farm time’ even after moving to Orario.

“Mm.” A distinctly feminine sound made Bell blink.

Now that he was more awake, Bell took notice of more things. One, he was definitely not in his own room. Two, he was in a bed with someone else. Three, judging by the sound earlier and the body he could feel pressed into his side, there was a woman sharing the bed with him.

Slowly turning his head while doing his best to keep the rest of his body still and not wake up the woman, Bell looked at his bedmate and saw the red hair and face of his Goddess. The tension in Bell’s body eased until it was gone, both from realizing that he’d just fallen asleep after staying up late to listen to the Tale of Beowulf, and from the fact he noticed that they were both still clothed.

“She’s cute when she sleeps too.” Bell mumbled quietly to himself as he saw the cute expression on Loki’s face as she snored softly in her sleep. His arm around her body gently pulled her closer on reflex.

Loki responded in kind as her arm that was draped across his torso lightly squeezed him closer. “Glad you think so, snow bunny.” She smiled as her red eyes opened to look at Bell.

Bell felt his face start to burn from Loki having heard his words. “G-Good morning, Goddess.” He valiantly fought not to stumble over his words.

“Morning…” Loki yawned and then nuzzled into Bell more. “Too early.”

Bell just looked at the ceiling as he processed the situation of Loki snuggling into him as they both lay in her bed. The soft snores from Loki caught his attention and he smiled and let out a little sigh as his Goddess had already fallen back asleep with her head on his chest.

About an hour later and Loki stirred again, slowly raising her head off Bell’s chest. “Mmm~” She let out a low hum of satisfaction. “You make a great cuddle pillow, snow bunny.” Loki sat up and stretched her arms over her head.

“Thank you, Goddess.” Bell couldn’t help but grin at the compliment. “But I’m not a bunny.”

Loki grinned down at Bell, ignoring his rebuttal of her nickname for him. “Look at you, smoothly getting into a Goddess’s bed so easily.” She placed her hand over his that was still lightly resting on her hip from where his arm was around her waist. “Won’t even let me go~” Her ruby red eyes looked into Bell’s rubellite as she teased him.

“At this point, it’s you that won’t let me go.” Bell pointed out factually, starting to tease back a little. After being in the Loki Familia this long (and having quite a bit of Loki’s attention on him every day) Bell could manage a bit of friendly teasing with his Goddess.

“Maybe I don’t want to let my snow bunny go?” Loki giggled and moved one of her legs over him until she was straddling him. “What if I want to keep you all to myself?”

Bell refused to blush (he’d already failed) at the innuendo. “We both still need breakfast and I was planning to do some training this morning before heading into the Dungeon.”

Loki pouted at him for not becoming a stuttering mess like he’d done the first time she’d teased him with physical affection. “It’s not as fun if you catch on to my tricks, snow bunny.”

“Sorry, Goddess.” Bell apologized insincerely before bucking his hips upward.

“Bell!” Loki let out a squeak as she felt his ‘morning situation’ press against her. The Trickster Goddess fell forward, only to be caught by Bell and flipped onto her side, now lying on her bed again.

Bell slipped out of the bed and waved to the half-stunned Loki. “See you at breakfast, Goddess!” He was out the door a moment later, heading back to his room.

Loki blinked once, twice, before taking stock of the situation. “Did…did he just get one over on me? ME?!” She sat up and had a cute pout on her face. “No one gets one over on Loki the Trickster!” She began to plot her revenge prank with evil (adorable) chuckles.

-After Breakfast-

In the back garden of the Twilight Manor, Bell was once more sparring with one of his Familia members.

“Hyah!” Bell stabbed forward with his sword, only to have it easily redirected by the blade of his opponent.

Aki grinned at Bell as she stepped into his guard and slammed a knee strike into his gut. “Don’t get too focused on my sword, Bell. You lose track of the rest of my body if you get tunnel vision.”

Bell staggered back two steps but managed to block Aki’s follow up attack as he kept his eyes on her. “Right.” Trying to utilize some of the footwork that he’d been taught, Bell pivoted to the right and brought his sword towards Aki’s stomach.

Aki’s blade met his, only for her free hand to catch hold of his sword arm and one of her feet moved in a blur to kick his leg out from under him. In a movement that was so fast it was hard to register, Bell found himself on the ground with the point of Aki’s sword resting over his throat. His own sword was still restrained as the Cat Girl hadn’t let go of his wrist after taking him down.

“Ah…damn.” Bell sighed as he realized that he’d lost already.

“You did better this time, Bell.” Aki smiled at him, helping him back to his feet after moving her sword away from his throat. “You just overfocused on my sword a bit.” Aki had seen her fair share of new members to the Familia. She’d even helped train a few of them. Bell was certainly the most determined and tenacious of them all, without question. “You’re improving quickly for not having any prior experience.”

Bell smiled and gave Aki a polite half-bow. “Thanks, Aki. I appreciate you taking the time to spar with me so close to the start of the expedition.”

Aki waved it off with a grin. “No big deal, Bell. I’m happy to help.” The last day before the expedition would almost assuredly be spent getting Raul to calm down from his anxiety that her fellow Level 4 got before every expedition. “This is a good way to loosen up before the expedition anyway.”

“Tossing me around?” Bell blinked at her.

“Ahahaha!” Aki laughed cutely at Bell’s look. “I meant training with you. But the throwing you around part is fun in its own way, I suppose.” She teased him a little and watched Bell look away for having misinterpreted. “I’ll be happy to train with you again once we get back from the expedition. Bell.”

Bell smiled at the offer. “I’d like that, Aki.” The two smiled at each other. “But if you come back as a Level 5, try to go easy on me, yeah?”

Aki’s smile softened a little. “That would be pretty amazing, but I doubt it.” She shook her head, her black tail swaying behind her. “It’s been about two years already and my stats aren’t growing much anymore. I’m well above what’s required for a Level Up, it’s merely acquiring enough quality Excelia or performing a Grand Feat great enough to overload my Falna all at once that’s holding me back.” Aki looked a little wistful, her black cat ears drooping. “Some people aren’t meant to become first-class Adventurers… Just like every Hero had retainers and warriors that fought alongside them without their names ever being remembered.”

“I know I’m only a newbie as an Adventurer…” Bell said, making Aki look back up at him from where her gaze had fallen to the ground. “But I’ve heard and read a lot of Heroic tales.” He smiled encouragingly at Aki. “Many Heroes rise up from the lowest of positions. Some take up the mantle of fallen Heroes. But the one thing that they all have in common is their willingness to keep fighting, to keep protecting, and to keep helping others.” Bell’s smile became warm and full of belief. “I don’t see someone that gives up in you, Aki. What I see is a woman that’s standing before a wall, and no matter how high that wall is or how strongly it was built, it will fall before her, because she’s far too strong to let it stop her.”

Aki felt her heart beat strongly in her chest at Bell’s words. Her black eyes looked at Bell like she’d never seen him before as a shine returned to them. ‘When was it that I started to give up?’ She recalled her years in the Loki Familia, watching the little Ais grow stronger and stronger with unrelenting determination to the point of almost being suicidal. Seeing Tione and Tiona join the Familia and outpace those like her that had been members for years. How Bete had joined up and managed Level 4 and then Level 5, while they struggled to get beyond Level 3. ‘They all surpassed us. It wasn’t like it was easy for them… But I just saw the gap getting wider and wider. I started to think I just wasn’t meant for it.’ Aki straightened her back and her cat ears perked up. “You give quite the motivational speech, Bell. I didn’t know oration was a talent of yours.”

Bell rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. “Ah…well, not really… I kind of just said what I felt. I know my opinion as a newbie doesn’t mean much.”

Aki took three steps forwards and put the tip of her index finger on Bell’s lips to stop him from talking. “It means a lot more than you know.” She smiled warmly at him, a truly beautiful look. “Thank you for believing in me Bell, even when I’d stopped believing in myself.”

“Y-You’re welcome, Aki.” Bell said once she pulled her finger from his lips.

“I’ll make sure that tossing you around is the first thing I do when I become Level 5.” Aki teased with a giggle, leaning forward a little so that her face was close to Bell’s.

“Looking forward to it?” Bell said, though it sounded much more like a question. He even let out a nervous chuckle as Aki looked into his eyes with a soft smile. ‘She really does look beautiful when she smiles.’

Aki walked away with a new fire lit within her…or perhaps her old flame as an Adventurer had been relit. Regardless, she knew that she wasn’t going to give up any more. She had someone that fully believed in her and her strength. It was something that she hadn’t even realized that she’d been missing. The slight sway in her hips was an almost unconscious decision she made to give Bell a tiny reward for his unwavering belief.

Bell’s eyes couldn’t help but drift downwards to the white skirt that covered Aki’s bottom as it swayed back and forth, giving teasing glimpses of her thighs as she walked away. The way her tail swayed along with her hips ensured that Bell’s eyes didn’t break away until Aki disappeared from his sight entirely. Bell finally blinked once he lost sight of Aki. “Was that…on purpose?”

-Dungeon ~ Second Floor-

“Bark!” A Kobold lunged at Bell with its claws at the ready and its jaws open revealing its sharp fangs.

Bell lopped its head off with a swing of his sword. “It looks slow compared to my training with the others.” The Kobold’s head hit the stone floor a short distance away as Bell crouched down and pulled out his knife to remove the Magic Stone. “This makes twenty-eight, so far.”

A bit later and Bell encountered two Goblins.

“Grah!”

“Raah!”

The two short, green Monsters rushed at him, ready to claw Bell to pieces.

“Hup!” Bell sidestepped to the right and killed the first Goblin with a slash of his sword, while putting it between himself and the other Goblin, just as he’d been taught. The second Goblin had to take a second to go around the corpse of its kin, and that gave Bell plenty of time to attack again. A single thrust with his blade and the second Goblin died as the blade ran it through. “That makes thirty.” Bell said as he flicked the blood off his sword and sheathed it, pulling out his knife to harvest the two dead Goblins.

-Later-

“Well… I wasn’t expecting this many.” Bell blinked at the pack of Kobolds in the cavern ahead of him. Sure, he was taking Ais’s advice and heading for the more out of the way areas on the Floor. But a group of Monsters this large was still surprising for the Second Floor of the Dungeon. “One… two… three…” Bell started counting them, glad that the group hadn’t noticed him yet. “Eighteen… Nineteen… Twenty… Twenty-one.”

Bell thought about the number of Kobolds and compared his current skills against such an overwhelming numbers disadvantage. Deciding that he had a good chance with his Magic, Bell unsheathed his sword. “Frost!” The temperature around Bell plummeted into the negatives instantly. Ice formed over his armor and the blade of his sword was letting off wispy cold mist.

“Grrr!”

“Bark!”

“Grawr!”

The Kobolds had heard Bell’s voice and charged towards the end of the cavern and the corridor there.

Bell stood his ground and swung his sword in a wide arc, unleashing his Magic.

Crckckle

A wave of ice spread out through the air and across the ground. The lead Kobolds were frozen to death almost instantly, their corpses hitting the ground with audible thumps. The charging Kobolds behind them slipped on the now slick floor and fell, ending their charge as they struggled to get back to their feet.

“Yipe!”

“Rraah?!”

Slice

Bell killed one of the struggling Kobolds with his sword. He moved onto the next one and stabbed downward, impaling the struggling Monster right in the gut. When he pulled his blade out of the Kobold, the wound didn’t bleed, it froze over. The Kobold didn’t move though, having died when its organs had frozen from even the brief contact with the tip of Bell’s sword.

“Grrrah!” One Kobold managed to shakily get to its feet on the frozen floor.

Bell cut it down quickly, the wound across the dog-headed Monster’s torso was long, but froze over almost instantly. The Kobold died and fell to the ground, but Bell had already moved on. Slashes and stabs finished off the rest of the almost flailing Monsters and Bell canceled his Magic after he decapitated the final Kobold. “That makes… fifty-three.” He’d killed another two Goblins on his way here, so adding them in gave him his current total. “I’m doing pretty well today.” That was true, especially given that it was only Bell’s second day in the Dungeon.

After harvesting all of the Kobolds, Bell left the cavern behind with twenty-one new tiny Magic Stones and two Kobold Nails to show for it.

It wasn’t even going to be lunchtime for a couple more hours.

-Guild Exchange ~ Late Afternoon-

“Your Magic Stones were worth 9,268 Valis, the two Kobold Nails are worth 1,800 Valis, and the Goblin Fang is 600 Valis. All totaled, your full exchange for today is 11,668 Valis. Have a nice day.” The man behind the glass of the exchange window nodded to Bell as the tray with the money was pushed back onto Bell’s side.

“Thank you, sir.” Bell picked up the coins and placed them into his backpack. He’d add these to his savings after giving the Familia their cut, of course. Bell had a promise to keep with Loki to gather enough Valis and bring in quality Drop Items and materials from the Dungeon to get his sword improved. ‘It’ll take time, but I’m making progress.’

“Bell, you look uninjured.” Sophie greeted her newest Adventurer with a nod as she sat down across from him and laid out a blank report form.

Bell smiled at the cute Elf woman. “Yep, I stayed on the Second Floor today and cleared out the areas away from the more well-traveled routes.”

Sophie wrote that down on the report form first and foremost. “And how did your day go overall?”

Bell began to tell Sophie about his time in the Dungeon and all of the Monsters he’d killed.

Later, after Bell left, Sophie would share a summary of the report with the other Guild Advisors, including Bell’s increased kill count. The newbie had managed one-hundred-thirty Monsters by himself today. Needless to say, the betting pool odds changed a little on whether Bell would Level Up within the year.

-Twilight Manor ~ Evening-

“I knew I’d be seeing you again, Bell.” Loki laughed as Bell was the first one to come by for a Status Update after dinner.

Bell pulled off his black shirt with a smile. “I think I did pretty well in the Dungeon today. I’m hoping that I’ve grown a bit more.”

Loki patted the stool next to her bed for Bell to sit on. “Sit, sit! We’ll find out!” Bell sat in front of her and Loki couldn’t resist. “Getting stronger every time I see you, Bell~” Her hands gently trailed over his back, tracing over the muscles there, before slipping around to his front. “Mhmm…”

Bell let her have her fun (it wasn’t like he didn’t enjoy her soft hands trailing over his skin) and only spoke up when Loki’s hands began to wander a bit more than normal. “Going a little low there, Loki.” Her right hand was teasing along the waistline of his pants, her fingertips occasionally dipping lower to brush the bare skin just beneath the black cloth.

“Revenge.” Loki grinned as she rested her chin on Bell’s right shoulder. “No one outplays the Trickster Goddess!”

“I see…” Bell deadpanned at her.

Loki pulled her hands away with a playful pout. “Spoilsport.” She pricked her finger with a needle and let a drop of her blood fall onto Bell’s back. The familiar blue-white light shone from his back as his Falna came into view as if a tattoo was rising from his skin. Loki watched his Excelia for the day, seeing his morning sparring with Aki and then his day in the Dungeon. “Working as hard as always, I see.” She moved the Excelia over to his Basic Abilities and watched the numbers rise as the Falna grew stronger. “Growing really well, so far, Bell.” Loki nodded after looking the numbers over. She placed a blank paper on Bell’s back and copied the numbers over with a twirl of her fingertip. “Here you go.” She handed Bell the Status Update while she locked up his Falna securely.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – I 70 > H 101

Endurance – H 109 > H 140

Dexterity – I 61 > I 98

Agility – I 66 > I 97

Magic – H 102 > H 134

-Magic-

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

-Skills-

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

-Status-

Bell smiled as he looked over his new Status. “Strength is at ‘H’ now, and both Dexterity and Agility are really close too.” It was good growth, even if it was supposed to be the easiest growth he would ever attain as an Adventurer.

“Maybe when all of them are at ‘H’ I’ll give you a little reward, snow bunny.” Loki offered with a grin as she pressed herself against his back and wrapped her arms around him, her hands once more roaming his chest and abs.

“Not a bunny.” Bell said as he let her hands play. “I should probably move out of the way too. There was a line forming behind me when I came up here.”

Loki let out an overdramatic sigh as she slowly pulled her hands back. “Alright, alright… We’ll save it for when we have the house mostly to ourselves.” She grinned at Bell while watching him put his shirt on.

“Uh-huh.” Bell said noncommittally. But, Loki noticed, he didn’t say or even hint at a ‘no’ to her offer. “Have a good night, Goddess.”

“Goodnight, Bell.” Loki smiled at him, getting a smile in return as Bell opened the door to her room and left. “Eh?!” Her red eyes opened wide at seeing the line standing outside her door. “How many of you are out there?!” It seemed like the entire expedition team was waiting for a Status Update tonight!

-Next Morning-

The expedition group was leaving the Twilight Manor soon. Bell watched the last of the preparations and was moving around wishing everyone he knew good luck.

“Bell!” Tiona nearly glomped him with a bright and sunny smile. “Here to see us off?”

“Yes, Tiona.” Bell hugged her back with a smile of his own. “Please be safe.” He said to her and squeezed Tiona a little tighter.

Tiona beamed at him as they separated. “I will! We’re going to really tear it up in the Dungeon this time!”

“That’s not exactly reassuring.” Tione said t her sister before wrapping her arms around Bell’s shoulders and hugging him. “Take care of yourself, Bell.”

“You too, Tione.” Bell replied as he gave her a hug with his arms around her waist.

Ais smiled at Bell and to the surprise of anyone that saw it, gave Bell a quick hug before pulling away. “Be careful…Bell.”

“I will, Ais.” Bell nodded with a smile. “You be safe too.”

Ais smiled softly at Bell and gave him a nod. ‘When was the last time I was told ‘be safe’? After I became the Kenki, I stopped hearing it. Reminds me of the old days… Kind of nice.’

Bell looked at Lefiya with a warm smile. “Come back safely, Miss Lefiya.”

“I’ll do my best, Bell.” Lefiya managed to call him by just his name without stuttering this time. She was surprised by how quickly Bell allowed her to be so informal with him. “Please, be careful on your own.” She requested with a gentle smile.

“I’ll see you when you get back.” Bell promised the Elf woman with a soft smile.

Lefiya gave him a small bow before she looked away, her cheeks turning a cute shade of pink.

Bell continued his rounds, wishing everyone well until he got to Aki’s group.

“Be safe, Aki.” Bell said and gave her a smile.

Aki returned the smile with one of her own. “You too, Bell. Don’t go anywhere while I’m gone.”

Bell chuckled at that. “I’ll be right here when all of you return.”

Aki held his gaze for a long moment before Bell continued on, wishing Raul, Arcs, Elfie, Narvi, Rakta, Orba, and the rest safety and good luck on the expedition.

Soon enough, the main force of the Loki Familia headed towards the Dungeon, not to return for weeks as they attempted to dive ever deeper into the Dungeon and discover new Floors. Bell watched them go with the determination to one day be strong enough to join them blazing in his heart.

“Time for me to head out too.” Bell said to himself before heading inside towards his room to get his armor, sword, and backpack.

-Dungeon ~ Third Floor-

“Sssshhhrrraaa!” A Dungeon Lizard leapt down from the ceiling to ambush Bell as he was passing through a corridor.

All it got for the attempt was landing on Bell’s sword and dying as its body froze from the inside out.

“Thirty-four.” Bell added the new kill to his count as he pulled his blade from the dead Monster’s body. Pulling out his knife, he cut the half-frozen lizard open and retrieved its Magic Stone. The body disintegrated into white ash as Bell stood up and continued on his path forward.

“Grah!”

“Grar!”

“Krah!”

A small pack of Goblins caught sight of Bell as they met at an intersection of corridors. The short, green Monsters lunged forward, but a swing of Bell’s sword unleashed an arc of ice that frozen all of them at once. The bodies collapsed to the ground and Bell broke the ice over their chests before cutting them open and harvesting their Magic Stones. “Thirty-nine now.” He continued on his way after waiting for the bodies to disintegrate, just to see if they left behind a Drop Item. When they didn’t, Bell headed down the next corridor following his map.

-Later-

“Yipe!” A Kobold whined as it’s right hand was cut off by Bell’s sword. It didn’t suffer long as Bell’s blade nearly gutted it before he let it collapse to the ground dead.

“Hah!” Bell swung his sword and unleashed a wave of ice that trapped the heads of two more Kobolds in thick ice. The dog-headed Monsters panicked as they couldn’t breathe and flailed around before collapsing.

Two more Kobolds came at Bell from behind, snarling as they leapt at him.

Bell cut the one on the left down, the wound freezing over almost instantly. The second Kobold lunged, but was stabbed through the neck and died a second later as its entire head and neck froze from the inside out.

“Bark!” Another Kobold swiped at Bell from his blind spot, its claws managing to rake across his armor.

“Missed one.” Bell grunted as he brought his sword around and nearly cut the Kobold in half at the waist. Blood flew through the air, only to freeze before it hit the ground. The Kobold staggered forward a step, then another, and then collapsed to the stone floor, dead.

With the last of the Monsters killed, Bell sighed and set about harvesting the Kobolds for their Magic Stones. While keeping a listening ear out for the telltale sound of the Dungeon wall cracking or any footsteps that were approaching, Bell also went over the previous fight in his mind while he worked. ‘I lost track of the last Kobold because I was focused on the two that attacked me from behind. I’ll have to be faster to take out the Monsters in front of me when I’m up against multiple enemies.’

All of his instructors, from Ais, to Tiona and Tione, to Riveria, to Aki, and even Finn had told him of the importance of post battle analysis. Realizing where you’d been lacking was the first step to improving the area you were lacking in. It was another lesson that Bell was thankful to his Familia for teaching him.

“I think I’ll try out the Fourth Floor tomorrow.” Bell decided as he placed the Magic Stones into his backpack. It was nearly full already and he’d only been in the Dungeon for about six hours. Clearing out the far edges of the upper Floors was proving to be lucrative at the very least.

-Guild Exchange ~ Late Afternoon-

“Your Magic Stones were worth 10,593 Valis, the Kobold Nail is worth 900 Valis, and the two Goblin Fangs are worth 1,200 Valis. In total, your exchange for today is 12,693 Valis. Have a nice day.” The Hume Bunny woman behind the glass of the exchange window nodded to Bell as the tray with the money was pushed back onto Bell’s side.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Bell picked up the coins and placed them into his backpack for safe keeping. ‘I wonder how much it’ll cost to improve my sword? Maybe I should do some window shopping to get an idea?’ Bell pondered as he headed over to the meeting area to give his report for the day to Sophie.

-Twilight Manor ~ Early Evening-

Loki was watching Bell’s Excelia for the day with a little smile. “Always such a hard worker, Bell.” She praised her newest Familia member.

“I’m doing my best, Goddess.” Bell had a little smile from the praise. “It’s kind of quiet with so much of the Familia gone.”

“Yeah, it can get kind of boring when almost everyone is gone.” Loki agreed as she moved his Excelia over and watched the Falna grow stronger. “Thankfully, you’re still around to keep me entertained, snow bunny!” She placed a blank paper onto his back to copy the new numbers over.

Bell let out a little exhale through his nose at the nickname. “Still not a bunny.” He accepted the Status Update when Loki handed it to him. “Let’s see…”

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – H 101 > H 133

Endurance – H 140 > H 172

Dexterity – I 98 > H 132

Agility – I 97 > H 130

Magic – H 134 > H 165

-Magic-

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

-Skills-

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

-Status-

“All your stats hit ‘H’ now.” Loki said with a grin. “Your hard work is paying off, Bell.”

Bell was happy to see his growth, as always, but knew that he could get better as an Adventurer. “I still have a long way to go. But I’ll get there one day, no matter how long it takes.” His determination was practically tangible in the air.

“I do like a man that has a goal and gives his all to achieving it.” Loki wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned against his back. “Did you want that ‘reward’ I talked about yesterday, Bell~” She whispered into his ear with a little purr.

“That depends on what the reward is, Goddess.” Bell turned his head to look at Loki.

Loki grinned at Bell as her hands trailed up and down his chest and abs. “I can think of a few things… But is there anything that you want, in particular?”

Bell thought about it, slightly distracted by Loki’s wandering hands. “This is only the first small milestone… I feel like I probably shouldn’t ask for anything too crazy.” Bell said as he thought about a simple reward.

“I could do something nice for you.” Loki offered with a grin before kissing his bare shoulder as one of her hands rested on the waistband of his pants, her index finger circling the button that held them closed.

Bell’s hand covered the hand that was teasing the button of his pants with his own. He picked it up and then held it before turning to face Loki. “That seems a bit much for just this first goal.” Bell then shocked Loki as he leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “Will you tell me another Heroic tale that I don’t know and let me sleep beside you again?”

Loki blinked at what Bell wanted before a smiled crossed her lips. “Aren’t you the spoiled one, snow bunny?” She squeezed his hand that was still holding hers. “I think that can be arranged. Go get into your pajamas and then come back. No point sleeping in our clothes again.” This time, she was the one that kissed his cheek.

“I’ll be right back.” Bell let go of her hand after a moment and stood up from the stool. He was out the door in only a few seconds, rushing towards his room to change.

“Such an innocent soul, aren’t you, Bell?” Loki hummed as her fingers lightly traced the spot on her cheek that Bell had kissed. The Trickster Goddess stood up from her bed and stripped quickly, pulling her shirt over her head and her short shorts down to her ankles before stepping out of them. This left her in nothing but a black thong that showed off her nice ass. “I might scare him off if I only wear this to bed.” Loki snickered to herself before going over to her chest of drawers and picking out some simple cotton shorts and a tank top for sleepwear. “Doesn’t mean I can’t tease him a little!” She knew that the loose tank top would let Bell have a peek at her small tits. “I bet he’ll like them, even if they’re small.”

A minute or so later and Bell returned, knocking politely on the door in case Loki was still changing. “Goddess?”

“Come in, Bell.” Loki beckoned him inside.

Bell opened the door and closed it behind him. Seeing Loki’s choice of sleepwear, he smiled. It wasn’t that different from his own sleep pants and t-shirt. “You look cute, Loki.”

“Why thank you.” Loki’s preening was a little over the top, but it got a grin from Bell all the same. “Lay down, lay down.” She patted her bed before slipping into it herself. Bell didn’t waste any time and sat on the edge of the bed before sliding in. “Now, let’s get comfy!” Loki snuggled up to Bell with a grin.

“Uh…Loki…” Bell’s rubellite eyes were wide as he looked down at her. He could see straight down her tank top. Her small breasts were each capped with a light pink nipple and Bell took a second to break his gaze away from them. “Your shirt.”

Loki giggled and put her arm over Bell’s torso. “Consider it a freebie~” She laid her head on his chest, cutting off his view down her shirt. When Bell’s arm came up to wrap gently around her in return, the Goddess hummed pleasantly. “Now, which tale to tell you tonight?”

Bell listened attentively and with a large smile as Loki began to regale him with another Heroic tale from her Pantheon. He pulled her a little closer and Loki put one of her legs over his, intwining them as she snuggled into him further while she continued the story.

The two would drift off shortly after the story was finished, Bell pulling the blanket over them as his eyes began to close. Without thinking, he lightly kissed the top of Loki’s head before nodding off. Loki only smiled at the affection and breathed in Bell’s scent before falling into slumber while listening to his heart beat.

-Two Weeks Later ~ Dungeon ~ Fifth Floor-

“MOOOOAAARRRGGGHHH!!!” A Minotaur bellowed out loudly as it came at the Adventurers that it saw after finally escaping its own pursuers.

“What the fuck?!” A male Adventurer yelled in panic.

“M-Minotaur?!” The Dwarf man with him couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Run!” Both the female Mage and the Chienthrope Supporter yelled at the same time as they took off. The man and the Dwarf were right behind them.

Crack

The Party of four all widened their eyes as a section of the floor was covered in ice just after they ran past it.

“MOOOOAAAUUUGGHH?!” The Minotaur slipped on the ice and crashed to the floor.

“Keep running! I’ll hold it off!” Bell yelled to the fleeing party, not thinking about the craziness of his statement at all. He’d jumped to save the Adventurers without even thinking about it at all. “Hyah!” With a swing of his sword, ice exploded across the corridor making a thick wall that was about half the height of the corridor. It probably wouldn’t stop a Minotaur’s renowned strength, but it would be an obstacle to the Minotaur continuing to chase the other Adventurers.

The Minotaur had managed to stand up by now and with a single stomp of its cloven hoof, it shatter both the ice and the stone beneath it. “MOOOAARRHHH!!!” The Level 2 Monster roared angrily at Bell. In a swift lunge, the Raging Bull type Monster was upon Bell, its large fist cocked back and ready to kill him in a single blow.

Bell wasn’t sitting around though. Logically, he knew that he was no match for a Minotaur. A single blow would assuredly kill him. But after his training with Level 4, 5, and even a Level 6 Adventurer…the Minotaur’s telegraphed punch gave him enough warning to dodge. Even as he threw himself to the side, Bell swung his sword and an arc of ice covered the lunging Minotaur’s hooves, freezing them over.

The Minotaur, unable to move its legs properly, overextended and fell forward face first into the wall of ice that Bell had made previously.

Crack

A spiderweb of cracks spread across the ice wall as the Minotaur struggled to flip itself over. “MOOOAAARRRGGGHHH!!!” With a bellow it slammed both of its cloven hooves down, shattering the ice surrounding them with ease.

“YAH!!!” Bell poured more Mind into his Magic and covered the Minotaur in a huge wave of ice.

Crack

“MOOAARRGGHH!!!” The Minotaur shattered through it with ease, its fur and hide gave it resistance to both fire and ice to a degree. Most Level 1’s, even with Magic, wouldn’t be able to actually get past a Minotaur’s hide. The Minotaur rushed at Bell (who was purposefully keeping his distance) with another wild and powerful punch.

Bell dragged the tip of his sword across the ground and flicked it upwards at the incoming Minotaur. A wave of ice froze over the ground and rose up into a thick pillar straight in the Minotaur’s path.

Bam

The ice barely slowed the Minotaur down at all. The Monster swung a punch through the mist and fog of the shattered pillar, trying to kill Bell, but the white-haired Adventurer was no longer there.

‘Fight smarter, not harder. Every opponent has a weak point that can be exploited, even if they’re stronger than you.’ Finn’s voice rang in Bell’s head as he examined the Minotaur as best as he could while maintaining his distance as much as possible.

“MOOOAAAHHH!!!” The Minotaur tried to chase after Bell, throwing a wildly powerful punch anytime that it got close.

“Hah!” Bell froze the floor and the Minotaur slammed its cloven hoof down to shatter the ice and the stone beneath. “Got you!” He thrust his sword forward and unleashed his Magic with a large amount of Mind behind it.

Crckckle

The Minotaur’s head and upper torso were encased in a thick coating of ice. The Level 2 Monster staggered backwards two steps and began to thrash around. Bell wasted no time in unleashing more and more ice through his sword, swing after swing further covering the Minotaur in thick ice.

Crack

The ice around the Minotaur’s body shattered as the Monster flexed its muscles and forced its way out. The only exception was its head that was still encased. Bell, having made distance again, watched on in surprise as the Minotaur punched the ice covering its head with as much strength as it could muster.

Crack

The ice broke and the Minotaur staggered to the side, nearly losing its footing. It was clear that it had taken some damage from its own punch. “MOOOAAARRRGGGHHH!!!” The bellowing rage of the Monster shook the air as it locked onto Bell. But the Minotaur didn’t charge right away. Instead, it shook its head twice before its nostrils flared and it snorted powerfully, two thick pieces of ice fell from the nose of the Level 2 Monster.

“I’m not dying today! Do you hear me?!” Bell declared powerfully to the Minotaur. “I’m going to keep on growing, to stand where they’re standing!” The images of Ais, Tione, Tiona, Finn, Riveria, and Gareth passed through his mind. “I’m going to keep my promise to my Goddess!” He thought of Loki and how much care and affection she’d shown him since they’d met. “I WILL become a Hero!” He readied his sword, preparing to do everything in his power to put down the Minotaur. “It doesn’t matter how big you are if you suffocate!” He had an idea of how to defeat the Minotaur now.

Bell didn’t even realize that his abnormally powerful desire had caused a reaction in the Divinity residing within his Falna. A new possibility had been manifested from Bell’s single-minded desire to pursue his goals and keep his promise.

“MOOOAAUURRGGHH!!!” The Minotaur charged at Bell full force, its head lowered and its horns ready to gore the Adventurer.

Bell pressed the tip of his sword against the ground and froze the small section of it. But his true intention was only clear after the ice had built up enough. Bell was blasted to the side by the expanding ice, leaving a frozen trail behind him.

BOOM

His impromptu high-speed was the only thing that saved him as the Minotaur’s charge had shattered the built up ice and the stone wall of the wide corridor at the same time.

 The Minotaur pulled back its head only to feel something heavy on its feet. Looking down the Monster growled to see its feet frozen to the floor. “MOOAAUUHH!!!” Its fists came down and shattered the ice as if it was spun sugar.  The large and heavy breaths of the Minotaur were coming out as great clouds of frosted breath. The temperature in this section of the corridor was rapidly dropping and had been for a while. The monster charged towards Bell again, but this time Bell blasted it head-on with a fierce gale of intensely cold ice. The Minotaur’s charge went wide as Bell threw himself aside, barely avoiding the blind charge.

The Minotaur rubbed at its face with its strong hands, brushing the ice off itself. Its eyes, nose, mouth, and even its ears had all been frozen, dampening all of its senses. The chill was starting to make it painful to breath as the cold seeped into the Minotaur’s lungs and nostrils.

The Level 2 Monster never expected what it’s brief moment of distraction would cause.

“YAAAHHH!!!” Bell leapt off the top of the ice wall that he’d made and drove the tip of his sword into the Minotaur’s left eye. “FREEZE!!!” Bell poured all of his remaining Mind into his spell, even the blade of his sword freezing over from the intense cold. The Minotaur’s head was covered in a thick layer of ice instantly. But what finally brought it down was Bell using what he’d learned from his Familia. He’d aimed for the only weak point that he could exploit on the Minotaur since it could free itself from his ice before it suffocated.

A Minotaur’s body was huge and made of solid, powerful muscles. On top of that, its hide and fur provided it resistance against both ice and fire. It was not an opponent that could be taken down by Level 1’s using conventional methods in most cases. But even with its almost armor-like body, the Minotaur still possessed two major ‘soft spots’…it’s eyes.

“Moouuuaaa…” The Minotaur’s death rattle was more of a death whimper as every blood vessel, muscle, and nerve in its head froze over from the Ice Magic flooding into it through its ruined eye. The brain fired off a few last signals in panic before it was frozen too. The Minotaur swayed on its cloven hooves before falling sideways to the frost covered ground.

Bell lay beside it, his ‘ice armor’ falling to pieces as he no longer had the Mind left to maintain his Magic. Everything was getting hazy, in fact. Bell vaguely realized that he must be hitting Mind Down for the first time before the darkness took him into blissful unconsciousness.

Coming down the corridor at speed was Ais, finally having caught up with the last Minotaur to escape the horde from the Seventeenth Floor. As she rushed it took her a second to notice the biting chill in the corridor. Her golden eyes widened as her breath came in clouds of white. “Why is it…so cold?” Her body shivered as she continued to move forward. The biting chill in the air reminded her of Bell’s Magic and as she saw the ice wall ahead she felt her heart drop into her stomach. “BELL!!!” She was at his side in an instant, the green wind of Ariel kicking up snow as she skidded to a stop. Ais looked over the situation as best as she could and as fast as she could.

The Minotaur was dead, clearly frozen to death with Bell’s sword sticking out of one of its eyes. Bell was seemingly uninjured, his clothes and armor appeared to intact, which wouldn’t be the case if he’d been hit by the Minotaur. That left only one option that made sense as Ais placed two fingers on Bell’s neck to check for a pulse.

“Bell…” Ais exhaled another cloud of white, this time in relief as she felt Bell’s pulse. It was slow, but steady. Even as she shivered from the cold, Ais managed to pull out a citrus-colored potion from her armor and uncork it. She gently eased Bell into sitting up a bit and slowly poured the Mind Potion into his mouth.

“Koff!” Bell coughed before he swallowed reflexively and the magical medicine began to do its work.

“Why the fuck is it so cold?!” Bete’s voice rang out through the corridor as he approached the scene of Bell’s fight with the Minotaur. “Is that the rabbit brat?” The Werewolf questioned as he looked between all of the ice in the corridor, the dead Minotaur, and Ais holding Bell close to her body as she helped him drink a Mind Potion. “You’ve got to be kidding me…” The puzzle wasn’t exactly hard to figure out with the pieces presented. “He killed a Minotaur at Level 1?!”

Tione and Tiona came rushing down the corridor next, though Tiona was emptyhanded, her Urga missing.

“What happened?!” Tione questioned quickly, some of her team leader training kicking in automatically.

Tiona blinked even as she rubbed her arms from the chill. “Bell?!” Her eyes zeroed in on the newest member of their Familia being held in Ais’s arms as the last of a Mind Potion disappeared into his mouth.

“Did he…?” Tione had also put all of the pieces together. “How?” It made no sense. Bell was still a newbie as an Adventurer. He couldn’t…shouldn’t…have been able to kill a Minotaur!

Bell’s eyes slowly blinked open. “My head…” He grimaced as his head throbbed with a headache. It was quickly going away, but right now it still hurt.

“Bell!” Ais looked into his rubellite eyes. “Are you…okay?”

“I think so…?” Bell slowly moved his arms and legs. “My head…hurts a bit.”

Tiona was sitting on his other side, her hand gently and carefully moving though his white hair to check for any sign that Bell had hit his head. “I don’t see any injuries. I think it’s just Mind Down.”

Tione kneeled down next to Bell now. “Bell, I know your head hurts right now, but I need you to tell me: Did you get hit by this Minotaur?” She motioned to the dead Monster next to them.

“No…I fought…smarter…like Captain…Finn…said.” Bell’s speech was piecing itself back together still.

“That’s good.” Tione let out a sigh of relief. “That’s very good, Bell.”

Tiona smiled warmly at Bell. “You did something amazing, Bell.” She kept her voice down a bit, even though she was nearly bursting with excitement.

“Mm…you did well, Bell.” Ais praised him, not sure why she liked keeping Bell practically in her lap like this, but not in any hurry to let go of him.

Bete, still looking at the dead Minotaur with the sword sticking out of its eye, looked back over to the girls and Bell. “Well…we should probably take him back up to the surface.” He would give the dumb rabbit at least some respect. He’d fought a Monster that he had no chance against, and instead of cowering and running, he’d bared his fangs and killed it.

Bell didn’t know what happened after that as he drifted back into sleep. His mind was drained, and while the Mind Potion had done its work, that still left Bell more than a little mentally exhausted.

-Twilight Manor ~ Late Afternoon-

“You don’t throw yourself at a Level 2 Monster when you’re still Level 1, Bell.” Loki sighed as she held Bell’s hand like she’d been doing for the past couple hours. She’d spent the better part of an hour just checking him over and making sure that he was okay.

“Sorry, Goddess.” Bell apologized for upsetting his Goddess. He hadn’t thought about much of anything beyond saving the Adventurers when he’d seen them in trouble.

“This was just a random accident. Wrong place, wrong time, and all of that.” Loki shook her head, her ponytail moving side to side from the motion. “Still, you did something impossible, so I’m sure you’ve grown from it.” She mentioned as Bell sat up in his bed fully. “What do ya say, Bell? You want a Status Update for pulling off the impossible?”  Loki asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yes, please.” Bell smiled at his Goddess as he pulled his shirt off.

Loki leaned forward and kissed his lips gently before pulling back. “Don’t scare me like that again, okay?”

Bell nodded absently, still processing his first kiss.

Loki grinned at his expression while pricking her finger with a needle and letting a single dop of blood touch Bell’s back. As the familiar blue-white glow appeared, Bell’s Falna was revealed. Loki watched his Excelia and saw Bell fight against the Minotaur just to save the Adventurers being attacked by it. After watching the event through the Excelia, Loki saw that something new had manifested in Bell’s Falna. Looking it over and seeing what it did, Loki gently rested her forehead against the back of Bell’s head with a little snicker.

“Goddess?” Bell looked over his shoulder once Loki sat back upright.

“Just a second, Bell.” Loki smiled at him as she wrote the new Skill into his Status and then guided the mass amount of Excelia into his Falna. Even after seeing what this new Skill did, Loki was still shocked as she watched Bell’s numbers shoot up. “I think you’ll be a surprised this time, Bell.” Loki copied his new update over to a piece of paper and handed it to him with a knowing smile.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 1

Strength – E 429 > C 622

Endurance – E 467 > C 617

Dexterity – E 434 > C 631

Agility – E 427 > C 625

Magic – E 480 > C 688

-Magic-

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

-Skills-

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

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

-Status-

“I grew so much!” Bell gaped at the huge boost to his stats from slaying the Minotaur. When his eyes got down to the Skill section, he blinked twice before the new words registered. “I HAVE A NEW SKILL?!”

“Hahahaha!” Loki laughed loudly at Bell’s reaction to his new Skill. “It fits your drive perfectly if you ask me.”

Bell read over what his new Skill did before looking up at Loki. “This is why I grew so much, right?”

Loki nodded her head. “It’s part of it, at least. Slaying the Minotaur definitely gave you a large boost, but this Skill certainly helped it get as high as possible.”

“What do I do now?” Bell asked his Goddess. “Just keep doing what I’ve been doing?”

“That’s probably for the best. But we’ll sit down and talk about it with Finn, Riveria, and Gareth later. I’ve never even heard of a Skill like this before, so we’re kind of going in blind. Thankfully, t seems to be fairly straightforward, so we shouldn’t have too many issues.” Loki gave him a smile to reassure Bell that everything would be fine. ‘And if anybody tries anything stupid…well, I’ve crushed Familia for far less reasons than trying to mess with MY snow bunny!’

Bell gave Loki a smile in return and let her take his new Status Update. The Goddess folded up the paper and stuck it in the pocket of her short shorts.

“Now, you have some concerned visitors to see you, snow bunny!” Loki stood up quickly and practically spun to the door before opening it and letting Ais, Lefiya, Tiona, Tione, and Aki nearly fall into the room.

“Bell!” Aki was at his bedside quickly.

“Are you alright?! Did you get injured?! Are you still suffering effects of Mind Down?!” Lefiya rapid fired questions loudly.

Loki rubbed her ears. “Tale it down a notch, Lefiya.”

“I’m terribly sorry! I’ll be quieter!” Lefiya apologized, at the same volume, before sitting beside Bell’s bed and speaking to him at a more normal volume.

Bell didn’t know what Finn, Gareth, and Riveria would say about his new Skill, but right now, surrounded by so many of his friends (all of them beautiful women) Bell didn’t have many thoughts other than talking with them and enjoying their company.

The young man couldn’t have known that rumors of his astounding feat were already spreading across Orario. What appeared outlandish at first (a Level 1 killing a Minotaur one-on-one with less than a month of experience) was quickly being corroborated by the Guild and those that had overheard Loki Familia talking when they’d returned from the Dungeon with their injured newbie.

Many eyes would soon be following Bell Cranel of Loki Familia with interest.

-End Chapter-

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Well damn!

Bell was already busting his ass to follow his dream and keep his promise with Loki. But now, after managing to kill a Minotaur singlehandedly, with tactics rather than brute force, Bell earns his signature Growth Hack Skill!

We see Bell and Loki getting closer and closer, especially when they have most of the Twilight Manor to themselves! Much fluffiness to be had! So adorable!

Aki even got a bit of motivation and belief that she had been lacking for a while. Bell may not plan out what he wants to say, but sometimes just speaking from the heart can do wonders!

Even Bete can’t find much fault with Bell after he killed a Minotaur at Level 1.

What does the future hold now that Loki Familia’s newest member is about to be on a meteoric rise?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!