บท 8: Atarashi yoake
Chapter Eight: Atarashī Yoake
The next day brought the familiar in with the new as Hestia Familia sat down for the ritual of breakfast. The meal was easy and smooth, surprisingly, given the circumstances; though perhaps not, given how accepting Hestia's children are, and how eager their new members were to be accepted. The food, courtesy of Haruhime and Bell, was greatly enjoyed, and plans were laid for the near future.
Bell, having recovered, was eager to return to training, but felt uncertain about approaching Aiz for their usual lessons, despite their short reconciliation after his battle with Asterius. He had barely spoken to her after the Xenos incident; he just wasn't ready to break the ice with her yet, or didn't know how to. After their last expedition, he wished to train with Ryu and Aisha more, but for now, his attention was fixed solely on their new, veteran members.
"Of course I would be happy to train with you, captain. We have some time before the Denatus in a few days, so there are a number of things we can work on"
"Thank you very much! Would you and Ms. Alfia be able to help me with magic, too?"
He nodded as Alfia smiled and replied, "Yes, Horus and I are both capable with magic" as they spoke, they arranged for Bell to train with Aedan and Alfia, as well as Mikoto who wished to learn. Lili wanted to observe and pick apart their new members' habits, and Welf would continue with the project he'd been at since their return. Haruhime was planning on keeping up with her duties, but also wanted to join in on training her magic.
On the training grounds of Hearthfire Manor, Bell and Mikoto engaged in basic sparring with Aedan to get a feel for each other, though mostly for Aedan to gain a foothold for teaching them. After some time, he called a stop, and gave them his thoughts, "Mikoto, I can tell you have a talent in martial arts; you are trained in the use of various different weapons, yes?"
"That is right, Ser Horus; my Lord Takemikazuchi trained all of our familia in the various martial arts of his knowledge. I can wield blades of various type, polearms, axes, darts, throwing knives, and a bow"
"Most excellent, that is the fundamental strength to being an adventurer: a warrior's mindset. Bell, you have this skill for combat as well, but you aren't as formally trained as Mikoto, are you? You have training, though; yet I also sense you favor that weapon, right?"
"Yeah; I have trained with Miss Wallenstein, and Miss Tiona at times, but beyond that, it's just been my own training in the Dungeon. I stick with my knives" He held up his white and black blades.
"Have you ever used other types of weapons?"
Thinking, Bell remembered the basilard once gifted him by Lili; a decent weapon, with more reach than his knives, but it didn't last nearly as long. The only other times…
"Just a few times; I've used a short sword for a bit before when I first ventured to floor 10. The other times were in two battles, both against enhanced species of Minotaurs. They were very large, two-handed blades"
"Hmmm… it is well to have a specialty or preferred tool of choice in combat, but you should strive to become familiar with using all types of weaponry at a basic level. I would say from what you told me that you can handle blades just fine; what you may want to train into will be polearms, axes, and bows. I will say though, you and Mikoto both should also consider training with clubs, maces, or other blunt weapons"
His statement gave them pause before Mikoto ventured to speak, "Erm, Ser Horus, aren't weapons such as those too… basic to be of much use at our limits in the Dungeon? When compared to our other options, I mean"
"Certainly, they aren't ideal" he explained patiently, "but even if you were equipped with Durandal weaponry of your choice, the Dungeon may deprive you of taking advantage of your preparations, through whatever means. It has come down to me before to make use of the Dungeons landforms myself to battle monsters; the most common usage of landforms is the basic, so clubs and the like"
In silence, Bell instantly thought of the anonymous party of adventurers that he and Ryu had to scavenge from just to survive by the skin of their teeth; it wasn't Dungeon landforms, but the principle was the same. Clenching his teeth, he bowed, "Please, teach me everything you know about combat!"
"Hahaha! Well, let us start with the basics, then see how far you wish to go; after all, Alfia will have her training time today whether your body is exhausted or not" so they were led through the fundaments of Aedan's knowledge in various weaponry and unarmed martial arts. Mikoto excelled, but was learning much herself, given that Aedan was pulling from different knowledge and experiences than her God had. She committed to memorizing the teaching, planning to take them back with her to further strengthen her friends when she eventually returned.
Bell, though- despite Mikoto's previous experience- proved his impressive growth right in front of Horus as the others watched in familiarity. Alfia and the man were slightly shocked at the rate at which the boy absorbed and incorporated instruction, not hesitating to rebuild himself over and over again in the course of a single training session.
They stopped after going over spears, clubs, and axes; Horus complimented both on their work, and they took a break before going into training their magic. This time, the entire Familia joined the practice, even Welf, as Alfia first had them demonstrate their abilities on Horus. Bell and Mikoto went first, surprising the two as Bell shot out a firebolt with his fast-cast trigger. Horus silently marveled that- if Bell had the same magic strength, skills and abilities that his aunt had- Firebolt could be on a similar level to Alfia's Gospel; this was something very rare for fast-cast magic, of course. Then Mikoto shocked him again with her considerably powerful gravity-type magic, a rare sort among those which appear in any race, let alone humans.
Welf had his own magic to show off, and happily asked for Aedan to cast a spell of his own; the man went to oblige, but before he could even finish a single verse of a chant, he found Welf forcibly triggering an Ignis Fattus on him. To think the blacksmith had anti-magic magic in his arsenal!
Lili brought another shock when she revealed her transformation magic, Cinder Ella; after she transformed into a perfect copy of their captain- voice and all- she made them understand that her magic and Haruhime's magic were strictly secrets to be kept to the Familia. Of course, both he and Alfia understood even before she mentioned it that these would need to be kept from public knowledge. That was even without having seen Haruhime's abilities, which were now expected to be extraordinary; she didn't disappoint.
She asked Bell and Mikoto for assistance and his first thought went to healing magic, but she suddenly cast a magic called Kokonoe, which sprouted four magical tails from her in addition to her natural tail. She cast an additional magic which seemed to consume two of those magic tails and imbued Bell and Mikoto with an aura of magical enhancement as golden hammers of light burst over them and showered the two with a bright aura, almost like an additional blessing.
Without warning, the two charged him, and he was taken off-guard by how superior their strength was than before when they sparred.
'Were they holding back before? No, I don't think so… then what is this; it's no simple enhancement magic, rather it seems almost like~!'
He realized the truth before Bell and Mikoto backed off, muttering in amazement, "An enhancement magic that effectively boosts the level of the ones it is cast on? Such a thing is possible…"
"Yes, but remember, like Lili said; this is an important secret for us, even more so than her Cinder Ella transformation magic" Bell said as Haruhime cancelled the effects of her magic, visibly tired from the ten minute exercise of her high-level magic.
"Incredible… as a familia, you all have a high level of utility in your magical arsenal: swift-strike attacks, area-of-effect demobilization, anti-magic, transformation, and level-boosting; what are your thoughts, Alfia?"
"This is good, but can be improved. Bell, we will work on understanding how investing different amounts of Mind will affect the power and effects of your firebolt. Mikoto, we will do the same to understand how to change the size of the area your spell targets, and its intensity. Welf, I will show you how to intuit the best moment to use your magic to cause the most damage to enemy magic users. Lili, we will test the limits of your transformations, to the greatest extent. Haruhime, I will ask you to help me understand the intricacies of your magics, so that I may help you alleviate the drawbacks, and improve your Mind usage. It will also be helpful to examine how your magic affects those it is cast on, in terms of drawbacks, that is"
With what for her was a grand speech, Alfia kicked off the next phase of work for the Familia.
By the end of the day, everyone had exhausted themselves. While Horus and Alfia were taskmasters, the Hestia Familia had no complaints about their weariness, as they had sought out the result themselves, and planned to do so again. Having such proper instruction was a privilege that they all recognized, and refused to take for granted.
The next day was much the same, but this time the training was kept shorter and broken into groups, as the various members had other duties to attend to, Bell and Lili in particular needed to go to the Guild to finally render their report on the last expedition, as well as make a filing for their new members. The training on that second day had unofficial guests, as the junior executives of Loki Familia couldn't restrain themselves from watching the proceeding from afar.
They kept silent until Hestia Familia concluded and dispersed for the day, when Tiona spoke up, practically vibrating in place, "I reeaalllyyyy wanna join them, you guys! Can't we ask 'em tomorrow?"
"Jeeze you battle maniac" Tione scolded her sister, "It hasn't even been more than a few days; are you really going to act before the captain gives his word on the whole thing?"
"Well, we're already friends with Argonaut; Welf and the girls are nice, too, and Horus and Alfia seem interesting. S'not like we're offering an official alliance; we just wanna meet up with our friends"
"It would be acceptable, but if we train with them, it would be best to do so where we cannot be seen, Ms. Tiona" Lefiya said, slightly apprehensive about the whole situation.
"I want to see Bell" Aiz stated simply, "I haven't trained or talked with him for a while; I want to go" Her words drew grins from the Amazons and consternation from the elf, but Tione eventually rendered a dramatic sigh.
"No doubt Bete would side with me- as unpleasant as it is to say- but I guess that means I'm outvoted; we can pop over tomorrow and see them. From there, we'll just have to see how it goes, alright?" Once they were in agreement, they decided to head to the Dungeon for a quick dive to the middle levels to let off some energy and make a bit of money.
With a new training menu courtesy of Horus and Alfia, Bell felt rejuvenated and decided on a short trip into the city that evening after coming back from their errand to the Guild. The Denatus was set for the day after next, but he didn't really feel like going out with anyone or anywhere in particular, so he excused himself to wander around Orario for some light exercise. He wanted to digest everything that had happened since the return from their last expedition. They had told Aedan and Alfia of the events from that excursion, but had substituted the involvement of the Xenos for a party of adventurers sent by Ouranos. They… didn't seem to buy it, but didn't question the story as they relayed it to them.
In the end, though they doubted the intervention by some group sent by Ouranos, the two offered their congratulations for overcoming such an ordeal, and Aedan expressed interest in meeting with Aisha and Ryu, who they mentioned had aided them. Alfia agreed after a moment, though there was something strange about her tone when she did so; Bell wasn't sure what to make of it, but it seemed like Aedan was mildly exasperated by it.
Whatever the case, he tucked any thoughts about that journey into the back of his mind, for now. He focused on his studies since returning to the surface. The public records relating to the Dungeon were fascinating. Eina had procured what she could for him, but mentioned some things were only accessible in person, and much was unavailable to the public. After what he was able to see, he wondered if there were ways he might access the more restricted material.
Records of familia now absent from Orario for whatever reason were available, including member lists, archiving basic information all the way up to the details of their feats which granted the right to level up. Histories of the different notable expeditions into the Dungeon, and locations of various commodities that could be found to be extracted within it. A lot of the information he already knew, or was partially aware of; what he did not know, was the floor by floor collection of maps the Guild maintained.
Up to a certain point, the Dungeon- to his mind and the common understanding- was well-known already. Indeed, key points, areas of interest, and most interestingly to the majority, the points of continuing deeper into the Dungeon were well-established. What was shocking to him was that the Dungeon was not fully explored beyond that; the general knowledge of floor sizes were estimates. The Dungeon was not even fully explored down to the middle floors. Only the first nine floors were completely mapped; though the maps of those all the way to the 18th were nearly complete, by the estimates.
On top of this, he learned that the Guild paid quite well for mapping work, if done well and correctly, as well as the fact the previous adventurers had gained large amounts of excellia by doing mapping of the Dungeon.
'It's certainly something we could try… Lili just levelled up, but she might be on board with it anyway, if the money is good'
He didn't expect to himself, but if they perhaps finished mapping up to the 18th floor, then Haruhime may decide to level up, too, which would be a great boon to them. Of course, there were also other motivations behind the idea; he and Ryu had accidentally discovered a hidden sanctuary below the Coliseum in the deep levels, though when he thought about that memory he had to fight off a fiery blush. Things like that were what made the Dungeon so attractive to him, though. He wanted to uncover its secrets. Maybe it would help the Xenos, maybe it could help their Familia in the future, or maybe he would just see something no one else had before. Any of those would be enough of a payoff for him. Even if they just ran into an undiscovered pantry, they could get some experience, at least.
Not paying much attention to where he had been going, Bell's feet had unconsciously carried him to a familiar pub.
"Nya! It's white-hair, he's finyally here to see us again, nya!" he jumped a bit at the cheer that went up close to his side, finally noticing Anya next to him with a broom, dressed in her work uniform.
"Hm? Oh, Mr. Cranel, it is good to see you well" Lunoire poked her head outside, but was quickly pushed aside as Chloe rushed Bell in a tackle hug.
"Yeay! It's so good to see nyou again, Bell!" he froze up a bit at the physical contact, unaware of Chloe's hand drifting downward. Unfortunately for her, the hand was grabbed by another, causing the cat-girl to yelp lightly with a wince, but the sound was so cute that Bell drew back with a blush, unsure of what had happened.
"Chloe, do not commit any unbecoming acts in front of the restaurant" Ryu scolded her, knowing what she had been playing at; she turned to give Bell a small smile, seeing him for the first time since the… embarrassing awakening at the Guild infirmary, "It is very good to see you as well, Bell" she cleared her throat softly before continuing, "We were getting a bit anxious when we went without any more news from Hestia Familia. Thankfully, it seems things are going to be alright"
He happily returned the smile, but before he could speak a green blur crashed into him, nearly sending him to the cobblestone below, "Belll!!!" Syr was hugging him tightly, with uncanny strength, squishing her body snuggly against his own. It was all he could do to not freak out at the overly-intimate display, "You're okay! You are, right? Ryu told us what happened; it was so scary to hear about it, I can't imagine how it must have felt for you all, even if you're experienced adventurers. I'm so happy you all made it out; oh! Ah-I'm sorry, I got a little ahead of myself, huh?" She released her grip on him slightly, only holding him back at arm's length, as she got her emotions under control, "Are you hungry? Why don't you come inside; I'm sure Mama Mia will be happy to see you too!" with a bit of guilt, but mostly relief and happiness, he let the girl pull into the pub for a late lunch; it wasn't too busy at the time, hence why he had been swarmed by nearly the entire staff of the Benevolent Mistress. He was seated quickly and in no time, Mia herself walked up to the booth, setting down a glass of chilled, sweetened tea of some kind; one of the specialties of her pub.
"S'good ta see you kiddo; thanks for making sure yourself and Ryu here got outta that mess in one piece" she nodded her head to the side as Ryu nodded her own in agreement. He held up his hands while shaking his head.
"N-no, you've got it wrong, Ma'am! Ryu is the one who got me out; if we hadn't been together, I wouldn't have made it far at all"
"Neither would she; listen kid, Ryu here told me a bit about what happened down there, and I've already given her some scoldin' over it" he noticed the elf's ears droop slightly in- shame, perhaps- as Mia continued, "Ya both made it because you were both with each other, and had a bit more goin' for ya. So chin up, yeah? It's good to know you're takin' my advice ta heart" his mind went back to that time shortly after he had begun adventuring, when the woman before him mentioned that he would always win, as long as he came back alive.
He couldn't help himself as tears came to his eyes, but he didn't let them fall, "Thank you, Mama Mia" his gaze was focused on the table, so he missed the soft smile she gave him as she reached a hand down, mussing his hair with gentle motions, "You're a good kid, Bell; I won't have anyone say any different; now, ya wouldn't happen to be hungry, would ya?"
"… Could I please have some pasta?" she laughed and slapped him none too gently on the shoulder.
"Atta boy! Comin' right up; Ryu, why don't ya keep our guest company?" without waiting for a response, Mia left for the kitchen, leaving him and Ryu alone at the table, but of course with nosy coworkers in the periphery.
"Er, please sit down, Ryu" he would get more nervous if she just stood there, "Are you doing alright now? Ah… you know"
"I am grateful to be home again, but I have yet to… fully recover; although I would say that I'm fine physically"
"Yeah… I've been having terrors in my sleep, most nights, actually" he admitted quietly. The truth was, he had not told anyone anything of any level of detail about what had happened during the near-calamity of their expedition. Not even his Goddess knew what he had gone through with the elf sitting across from him, beyond his excellia; though he didn't know it for sure, he also suspected that Ryu had not told anyone, and he was right. All they could do for the moment was confide in each other and have gratitude for surviving. It was something not too rare: survivors of disasters in the Dungeon having to deal with gripping terror haunting them long after the ordeal. The term given was "Deep Shock"; Bell had known of someone who had suffered it since he had first come to Orario: Naaza. She had lived through a brutal attack which claimed her arm, but was so shaken up that she couldn't return to the Dungeon at all as of yet, and possibly not ever again.
More extreme cases were uncommon, since survival was needed to be affected, after all; however, Bell and Ryu's survival in the deep levels was unique even among such cases. By rights, they ought to have been dead many times over, but in the end managed to come out of it whole enough. Still, they would never expel from their minds those harrowing memories; even for Ryu, it was more horrific to go through than the devastating loss of her Familia, though this may have been because she had that memory in her mind throughout the whole time with Bell.
Shaking his head slightly, Bell managed a genuine, shining smile at her, "But now that I'm recovered, we are looking forward to returning to the Dungeon again soon" he moved on, not wanting to dwell on the subject despite being with the one person he would readily speak to about it.
"As always you never cease to impress me, Bell. Even I find myself hesitant to imagine going back so soon" her ears drooped slightly, "but perhaps… would you mind going with me when I next go to visit the memorial? I find myself hoping for company and, well…"
"Of course"
Her eyes snapped to him in slight surprise, before she gave her own small smile, "Thank you very much, Bell. As I said, I am not eager to return just yet, but I will ask you again once I am" Bell kept his smile at her words, an idea planting itself in his mind that would not flower for some time, but firm in its rooting nonetheless.
He finished his food with gusto once it arrived, and left the pub in high spirits, quickly making his way directly home after.
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