Without any trouble, Bell and Lefiya arrived at floor 10.
But, unfortunately, because the whole area was shrouded in white mist, Bell couldn't see the dungeon's layout properly.
"It's difficult to see..." said Bell.
Eina has told Bell prior about the white mist of floor 10th and what kind of monster would appear there. But He couldn't keep his surprise from showing.
"On floors 11 and 12, the white mist will get thicker."
Lefiya, who, of course, already experienced it beforehand, explained to Bell.
"It should be night already, but are you still able to fight Bell?" Asked Lefiya, she observed Bell from head to toe. There are no particular wounds or signs of tiredness from Bell despite his first time going to floor 10. But just in case, she tried asking him.
"Yes, I can still go on longer."
"Good, let's get used to seeing monsters in this area first, Bell."
They both spend the following few hours hunting monsters they saw on this floor.
While Bell fought the new monsters he hadn't fought before, Lefiya kept teaching about the monsters' weakness.
For example, since it has a large body and moves slowly, Lefiya stated that orc would be the simplest monster for Bell to defeat on this level. So as long as he isn't attacked from behind. Or get encircled by a swarm of orcs. He should be okay.
"HEAAA!"
The first orc was beaten in a parry fight between the orc's cub and Bell's sword.
"Bell! It's dangerous to fight like that! What would you do if your sword was shattered!" Lefiya shrieked after she saw Bell charged blindly at the orc.
"Sorry!"
Bell apologized and ran into the second orc.
This time he dodged the cub and slashed the orc.
He then saw a group of orcs coming at him.
He ran to the group of the orcs and swung his hand while he shouts.
"Firebolt!"
He aimed his magic to the ground, and it caused the earth to explode and a shockwave to the nearby orcs.
While the orcs were trying to keep their balance, Bell appeared behind their back and slashed every single one of them.
This was something that he learned from his training with Alfia. Every normal firebolt that he shot always got dispelled by Alfia. He discovered that his firebolt can be used this way out of frustration, prompting Alfia to praise him.
On the other hand, the elf who was observing the white-haired human was taken aback.
(W-What the hell is that adaptability?! It's too fast!)
Just after the first encounter with the orc, the elf thought that this boy would die somewhere in the dungeon in the near future for reckless fighting against an opponent he doesn't know yet. But after the second and third time he fought the same monster, he started to develop his method, entirely adapting to the creature's attack pattern and analyzing their weakness.
(Is this person a battle maniac?! How broken would this character be if he acquired hunter skill?)
Then Lefiya began to teach him about the remaining monster on this floor. The small Imp that always moves within its pack and Bad bat can cause a problem if adventurers get surrounded by monsters and bad bat.
Roughly 1 hour has passed, and Bell is already completely accustomed to spotting monsters on this floor.
"Bell, let's rest for today."
Lefiya suggested resting after seeing Bell starting to get tired and judged that he's good enough to detect monsters coming.
She took out the previous blanket that she put out in a hurry before after killer ant raiding them.
They both sat beside each other. There was a brief silence around them until Lefiya remembered something.
"Bell, didn't you say something about Aria before? Would you tell me more about what you know about Aria?"
"Yes, isn't Aria a spirit that appeared in the Dungeon Oratoria tales?"
"... dungeon... Oratoria?" Lefiya widened her eyes. She was not really versed with heroic tales, but there's no way she doesn't know about that name. It's the place where they are right now.
"Yes, Aria is a spirit that became hero Albert's life companion. You should read it when you got time, Lefiya-san."
Lefiya wanted to ask more questions, but she was hesitant. She couldn't get her lips to make the word because she was afraid that something might go wrong the more she dug. She could only nod with a long face.
"Bell, since you're already tired, how about you rest today? Then, we could take turns sleeping."
"N-No! I'm fine! Lefiya-san should sleep instead!"
Bell shook his head violently.
"Bell, it's good that you are thinking about me, but you've already pushed yourself too much. It might be a bit late to ask this, but how old are you, Bell?"
"Eh? I'm 14 years old...."
"Then I'm older than you. Let your big sister protect you, alright!"
Lefiya noticed when He heard the big sister word Belt jerked.
"I'll say it for now, But I'm 15 years old, okay?! Don't think because I'm Elf, I must be 90 years old!"
"I-I got it! I also don't think that Lefiya-san is 90 years old...."
Bell scratched his head while smiling bitterly.
"Well, if you got it, then go sleep. We will switch when you wake up."
"G-Got it... please take care of me, Lefiya-san!"
(Take care? (What a way to say it, this boy...)
Lefiya wanted to refute, but she stopped as soon as she saw Bell fall asleep in under 10 seconds.
"Geez, how much did he push himself today?"
Lefiya glanced at the boy, who was now sleeping like a log.
.
.
.
(N-No one is here, right?)
Lefiya glanced around to make sure they weren't being watched by anybody else.
Then after she double-checked, she looked at Bell with her hand trembling.
Slowly she lifted Bell's head and moved it onto her thigh.
She felt warmth on her skin and a ticklish sensation on her thigh as soon as the boy's head brushed her leg.
She couldn't see her own face. But, nevertheless, she was sure that her face must be blushing madly right now.
She couldn't believe what she just did. Even if she is a girl, she is still an elf, a proud race proud of their purity. Not showing their skin is their pride, so does not let other races touch their body. Despite the fact that this is her first time doing so, she blatantly places a male's head on her thigh, even while he is sleeping!
(W-w-what am I d-doing right now!? Oh, forgive me, Celdia-sama, for I have sinned)
She was tempted to use her magic Arc ray to undo her mistake, but she would be labeled as a murderer if she did that.
In the end, she only sighed heavily, attempting to hide her humiliation.
She then looked at the boy who was sleeping and noticed his face became more peaceful than before while he's sleeping.
(Now that I look at him more closely, he does have a nice face.)
For a moment, Lefiya entered a trance state as she moved her hand to the boy's head and caressed his hair gently.
"Its... soft..."
She continued to stroke his hair, sometimes brushing her fingers across Bell's forehead.
"......."
"......."
".....??????"
Lefiya started to notice that something was wrong.
Little by little, color returned to her eyes. As she realized she had fallen deeper to hell.
"a...a......AA-"
Just as she was about to scream, she saw Bell's lips moved
She hurriedly covered her lips with both hands to keep her scream from coming out.
"Mom... more..."
"M-Mom?" Who is your mother?!" Lefiya retorted, instantly covering her lips in fright for the second time, but Bell still does not seem to be awake.
"Pat me more...."
(H-He mistook me for his mother?!)
She then looked at her hand and brought it back to the boy's head. Then the boy's face quickly became peaceful again.
"...Pfft! you're just like a child Bell."
Lefiya chuckled. Her hand continued to caress Bell's head as if she was accustomed to doing this for years.
"Still... even though I damaged the wall already around here, why is there no monster coming at all?"
She glanced about to check if there were any creatures lurking and waiting to sneak attack, but the area was quiet as if it had previously been cleared while no one was there.
"Mother..."
She looked down again when she heard Bell was making a sound.
Without realizing it, she was already accustomed to giving Bell her lap pillow and now was patting his head while humming just like a mother was.
"N-No, I'm not a mother! At least make it, big sister!"
At this point, she doesn't even know to whom did she make an excuse.
"Mother Alfia..."
"Alfia...?" Lefiya tilted her head
She recalls Bell telling her that his mother's name is Artia.
"Did he misspell it...?"
Lefiya face instantly paled when she remembered something
"Doesn't her mother also enter the dungeon earlier than us...!?"
She glanced left, right, and above, but no one was looking.
Then she gulped
Deep down, she prayed that Bell's mother had gone back and never saw this scenery.
=
Bell opened his eyes to see Lefiya seated next to him.
"Did you sleep well, Bell?" Asked Lefiya with a nervous face.
Bell, who didn't understand that, just answered honestly
"Yes! I don't know why but I feel like I just had the best sleep I had in recent years."
"!? I-Is that so.... V-Very well!" Lefiya blushing madly as she averted her face from Bell.
"Hm? What's wrong, Lefiya-san?" Bell tilted his head in confusion when he saw Lefiya suddenly acting weird.
"N-Nothing! It is my turn to sleep! Protect me well, okay, Bell?"
"Of course, Lefiya-san! I make sure no monster can approach us!"
"Fufu, how promising... B-But Bell..!, I'm sure you get this already, but don't try to touch me when I sleep, okay!? I'm still an Elf, and Elf are beings who protect their purity! So if you do something to me while I sleep, I'll hate you, okay!?"
Lefiya cringed when she said that. The sensation of Bell's head on his thigh still burned on her mind. But just as an assurance! thought her
(Sorry, Bell!) Thought her from the bottom of her heart. But she would never reveal her secret; she had already determined to take it with her to the cemetery.
"L-Lefiya-san, calm down, I get it, I get it! I'll never do something weird to Lefiya-san! Please rest assured."
Not long after that, she fell asleep.
While Bell used his time to clean his sword from the monster's blood.
This was something Artemis taught him.
"...Suya...Suya..." Lefiya slept comfortably beside him.
--!!
"I-I'll guess I'll patrol this area!" Said Bell after he suddenly stands up
Thus the first day ended with Bell patrolling while slashing the wall around to slow down the monster's respawn.
=
The next day Bell and Lefiya continued hunting on floor 10.
Bell, who was already accustomed to hunting at this floor, was making a killing. Meanwhile, Lefiya was spacing around.
"Lefiya-san, what's wrong?"
"....E....Eh? Ah no! Nothing wrong, don't mind it, Bell!"
"Is that so?" Bell tilted his head
"Oh yeah, Bell, your mother entered the dungeon earlier than us, right? Where could she have been? Do you think she is watching at us?" Asked Lefiya with a nervous tone while looking around.
"Mom Artia said she got something to do in the dungeon. Maybe she went lower?"
"Uhh, alone? Will she be safe? The dungeon is a scary place, you know? Moreover, if she's alone."
The only place that one would visit in the dungeon other than hunting would probably [Paradise] Floor 18. But to get that, you need to be level 2 at least or 3 if you want to go alone.
(Thinking about it, she's strong enough to kill those plants instantly and even knock Bete in a few moves, so floor 18 shouldn't be a problem for her... but what if she goes deeper? And for what reason?)
"Well, mom should be safe, I think? She's really strong, I never was able to land one hit against her when she trained me, and she also teaches me sword techniques."
(Wait, didn't she use a spear? So that sword he showed in Daedalus was also taught by her? So she's frontline? It would make sense if a front liner goes to the dungeon alone).
"Is that so..."
.
.
.
(TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, WHY DO I END UP DOING IT AGAIN???!!!!)
The second day came to an end.
And now, the exact thing as yesterday happened again.
Lefiya, while blushing madly, was giving Bell's lap pillow in his sleep, of course without asking for permission.
(A-And I d-did it like it was a natural thing to do?!)
The worst part is how she realized she feel calmer doing this
(I-I can't let Tiona or Tione know about this!! They call me crazed pervert Elf at this rate!)
Lefiya renewed her determination to take this secret to her grave.
(Still... it's almost the third day... what does her mother want to achieve by giving this trial to him?)
(Since he defeated silverback already, I don't think he is gonna have any problem even on floor 12.
But it's unbelievable to think he was the same person I met 2 weeks ago...)
(He's really diligent, he listened to every advice I gave to him, and he tried his best to incorporate it right away. Bell, you said that you really want to catch up to someone... I feel slightly jealous now of that person. I mean, anybody would if they saw how hard he worked...)
Lefiya smiled bitterly and stroked Bell's hair. Thinking that she, too, has to put in more work if she is to catch up to the golden knight she idolized.
(I know, I should ask Aiz-san or Filvis-san to teach me how to fight!)
=
The final day arrived.
Bell was collecting drop items from the monsters for showing it to Alfia later.
Then at that time, out of nowhere, a massive earthquake shook the whole dungeon. The monsters were howling as if they represented the dungeon itself to cry.
The monsters around Bell screamed as if they're in pain, then all of them charged through Bell.
"Bell! Watch out! Unleashed streak of light, sniper of the fairies. Penetrate, arrow of absolute accuracy. Arcs Ray!"
Lefiya shortened her chant and quickly released her magic at the monster behind Bell, turning them into black mists.
"T-Thanks, Lefiya-san!"
"Bell, the monsters are acting weird! Let's get out of here!"
Lefiya pulled Bell's hand.
Lefiya remembered the passage that was written by Bell's mother.
(This is what she mean?! Does she mean she is the one who did it?!)
"L-Lefiya-san! Look, the monsters are rushing together to one area!"
"That place... Floor 11!?"
"I got horrible feelings, quick Bell, we must return to the surface!"
But on their way to the surface, they saw countless monsters heading down.
A second later, Bell heard a loud cry coming from somewhere else, and he saw countless, glowing red eyes peering at them.
"Hiii!!! W-What's happening here!"
It's as though every monster at the moment has gone into a frenzy. And now is attempting to descend lower.
"This is the first time I experienced this too! Just run Bell! We could think about it later!"
"Wait! Lefiya-san! There's someone surrounded by monsters!"
"At a time like this!? W-wait, Bell!"
Before Lefiya could think, Bell already ran off to where countless killer ants were cornering an adventurer wearing a robe.
"Firebolt!"
Bell's firebolt startled all the killer ants on the surrounding and cleared a path to the adventurer.
"H-Hey! Are you okay!?" Asked Bell, lifting a little girl in his arm, her robe was full of blood, it could be said that she still alive is a miracle itself,
"A-dventurer...? Please let Lili alone.... Lili wants to die."
"W-what are you saying!?" That word shocked Bell.
"Lili had enough with this life already... That's why... this is fine...."
"--!!"
"... Don't say that! Not everyone has a choice whether they want to live or not!! I'm saving you!"
"... You're a nice adventurer, aren't you... "
The girl said in a low voice, which normally appears to be a compliment that would make Bell happy. But when Bell saw her face, the bitter smile as if she had already given up on everything. Her low tone signaling a different thing, as if she truly wanted to say, "do whatever you want, it doesn't matter anyway," It irritated Bell.
"Bell! What are you doing! Quick, the monsters are regrouping again!"
"R-Right! I'm taking you always alright!"
"...[Thousand Elf]... Loki Familia huh... No wonder you're so oblivious...."
The girl finally fell unconscious as she closed her eyes. Bell chose not to mind her word as he put the girl on his back.
"Lefiya-san, can you please protect me while I'm carrying this girl?"
"Right ahead, Bell. I show you the Berserker mage of the Loki Familia!"
Lefiya took the frontline position as a mage, deleting every monster that approached them all the way to the exit.
=
In another place, 17th floor, Boss room.
Aiz, who had been monitoring Lefiya and Bell since the first day, had now left both of them after determining they were safe and had gone to the middle level.
"What is happening...?"
Aiz was following all the monsters down till she came to a halt when she saw all the monsters had halted. In front of them, a black goliath had been blasted to the wall before disintegrating into black mist.
(I never saw a black-colored goliath before...)
"One after another, the dungeon is really a problematic thing, isn't it... Hmm? You... Dungeon g- No, [Sword Princess] huh?"
A robed figure is now standing alone in the room without the goliath anymore. She glanced at the monsters that came from the upper floor and sigh, then that figure saw a human mixed with the monsters.
"Who are you?" Asked Aiz
"I heard Loki Familia will launch an expedition to floor 59."
"!? how did you know?"
"News travel fast, you see. You and the floor 59 huh... The floor 59 might be a little too hard for you guys."
"...What do you mean?"
"Do your best to stay alive. I'm leaving. Take care of the monsters for me."
Saying that she walked past Aiz, leaving Aiz and the monster that were too scared to move after they saw their boss was one shot.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
So yeah, I decided to make this trial short. Actually I was planning to make it into a mini raid event in the end.
But decided to throw it away because it might mess up with Bell's growth and making it repetitive.
I decided to throw it to the next arc Bull arc.
Some sneak peak of what gonna happen next
-Bell meet Airmid Teasanare
-Alfia 'trains' Lefiya
-Aiz trained Bell
-Lili joined Bell's party
-Lefiya found out Alfia's true identity (Lily too since she already on Orario, I'll be changing Lily personality a bit)
I'll be tweaking the Bull fight a bit.