It was an ordinary memory.
Even after three days, Bell could still recall it with perfect clarity. The clash of dagger against rapier, the cheers from onlookers, and Ais's clear, ringing voice—what should have faded into a blur now echoed as vividly as if it were happening before him.
Ais wasn't good at teaching. Her training style was extremely simple: exchange strikes, and stop the moment it became dangerous.
When Ais left Rivira Town, she had taken a plain rapier with her. But in her hands, it moved with the grace and precision of a rare treasure.
Bell lasted only a few rounds before being defeated.
As compensation, Ais let the dazed youth rest with his head on her lap. While lying in that irresistible lap pillow, Bell looked up at her breathtakingly beautiful face.
Ais's eyes always drifted toward the distance—not toward the dungeon, but toward some faraway place, something sadder, something more hollow.
"Ais-san, why do you want to become stronger?"
Bell couldn't help asking.
"I cannot... tell you..."
Ais lowered her gaze, her expression dimming.
"You offered to practice swordsmanship with me because you wanted to know why I've been improving so quickly, didn't you?"
Bell saw through her intent instantly, cutting straight to the point.
Ais froze for a heartbeat, then quietly apologized for her selfish motivation.
"Yes... I'm sorry..."
The dagger and rapier crossed, sharing their thoughts just like their wielders.
"Ais-san, you don't need to apologize. I'm hoping to steal a few techniques from you too."
Bell gave a light smile.
"You... are very strong..."
Ais spoke her honest impression.
"On my first day in the dungeon, I killed a Goblin with one strike... but even after half a year, I couldn't reach the tenth floor..."
Those golden eyes, tinged with sorrow, seemed to dig into Bell's secrets.
The weakest adventurer—once beaten by goblins—had, in just a few days, handled the kobolds on the tenth floor with ease. If this ever reached the ears of Orario's people, they'd assume the source was some drunkard spouting nonsense.
At this point, the youth already had the ability to reach Lv2. Even Ais, hailed as a prodigy, had needed a full year to achieve that Excelia.
"Why... is he this strong?"
Thinking back on the quarrel between Bete and Tiona, Ais suddenly noticed something. Ever since entering the dungeon, even when he was drunk, Bete had never insulted the boy. No "weakling," no "trash"—none of those words had left the wolf's mouth.
Bete must have noticed as well.
The boy was strong. Stronger than anyone.
So strong that during practice, Ais couldn't teach him anything. She could only defeat him again and again through sheer difference in Status.
His precise movements, his unwavering charges, his stubborn persistence in getting back up every time. As an adventurer, compared to her past self, Bell had already surpassed her by a wide margin.
"Bell... why are you this strong..."
Ais swung her rapier and asked once more.
"Let me answer that."
Finn, who had been observing, finally spoke.
"Simply put, Bell Cranel's heart has already reached its peak. Even I was surprised. Young man, have you been training yourself ever since you were old enough to understand things?"
"Yes. Because I have a dream I want to achieve."
Bell answered honestly.
"I see."
Finn nodded in thought.
"Have you heard the legends from before the gods descended to the Lower World? At that time, humans had no divine Falna, yet monsters emerged from what is now the dungeon and ravaged the land."
Finn slowly recounted the distant past written in books.
"To us, it seems impossible—how the world didn't fall into ruin without the blessings of the gods."
"Bloodlines, heroes, and skills forged through countless trials—those were what protected everything."
"Bell Cranel, as an adventurer, you're like the people in those stories—completely out of place in this era."
"..."
"..."
The two listened quietly to the end.
Ais understood the deeper meaning.
"Everyone... has grown too used to the Falna..."
With no cost at all—simply by bearing a god's blessing etched onto their back—they could achieve a dramatic leap in strength.
Fearsome monsters became nothing more than experience points, and adventurers laughed through each day, carefree, until tragedy inevitably struck.
When receiving Falna, it seems everyone loses something important.
The youth aimed to become an adventurer, yet refused the shortcut of Falna. He advanced step by step, tempering his heart to its absolute limit. What remained was simply the size of his vessel. Across the entire world, there was surely no second person like him.
Without Falna, there are no experience points, and thus no way to grow. Anyone who understood this would only laugh at his efforts and call them meaningless. But whether his techniques held value depended entirely on how far he could rise.
If an adventurer's heart and vessel were compared to glass cups, then everyone possessed cups of roughly the same size. Adventurers received Falna first, swapped out their cup for a larger one, and then filled it with technique and experience—repeating that process over and over.
But since childhood, the boy had used a slender spoon to tirelessly polish his inner self. Although his vessel could hold no more than one cup's worth, the accumulated effort had already grown into an ocean.
As a Level 1, the immediate results were naturally small. But every time he grew, his vessel made use of one hundred percent of what it gained. Once he adapted to that process, he would be able to climb far faster than ordinary people. This was the source of Bell Cranel's strength.
"He... isn't impatient at all...?"
Ais was shocked beyond words.
The boy had gambled his entire life on a distant future. He must have had high-level adventurers sparring with him during training as well. But was that even possible?
To master the techniques of high-level adventurers as a mere ordinary person—how much grueling practice would it take to memorize all those details? It was effort with no feedback at all.
No matter how hard he trained, it could never compare to the dramatic growth granted by Falna. Did he not feel envy? Did he not feel despair? Did he never question why he continued such seemingly pointless effort?
Ais couldn't do it. As a child, even the slightest stagnation would drive her to frustration. Even now, though she had matured, she still felt anxious whenever she sensed herself standing still.
But the boy had kept going. Ignoring the thoughts of others, firm in his own beliefs. Gathering strength at the very starting line, wagering his entire life. From nothing, he piled up invisible grains of sand until they formed an unfathomable mountain.
Ais trembled. How could someone be this foolish? And yet, that foolishness carried a kind of overwhelming determination.
Just as Finn had said—the boy was indeed behind the times. But there was another meaning to those words: Bell Cranel was like a figure out of ancient legends. Practically... a hero...
Sparks flew as dagger and rapier collided.
Bell was reminded once more of that day's training. Ais's surprised expression had been unexpectedly cute, and he couldn't forget the comfort of her lap or the faint fragrance that lingered there. Nor could he forget the admiration from the Loki Familia.
"Bell Cranel, how did it feel taking care of that unruly Sword Princess? I could see from afar that both of you worked hard."
Riveria gave a soft laugh as she handed him a small care package.
"Regarding information about you, the Loki Familia will keep it confidential. You helped us tremendously this time, and we're willing to form friendly relations with the Hestia Familia."
"Should the need arise, we'll do everything we can. Even if Loki disagrees, I'll push it through myself."
Finn made his promise.
"Young man, watching your fight got this old man's blood boiling! Next time I see you, you'll probably be Lv2!"
Gareth laughed loudly.
"Eh—heading back already? Be careful, alright? I'm still waiting for you to teach me those recipes!"
Tione returned to the campsite with a large sack of ingredients in hand.
"There's still a mountain of cleanup to handle. Move it, white-haired brat."
Bete, who had delivered the report, urged him impatiently.
"Argonaut! Tell me more adventure stories next time!"
Tiona's smile was as bright as ever.
"Th-that... don't forget about the Crystal Drop. I-I'll come find you in a few days..."
Lefiya leaned in and whispered by his ear.
"Bell... let's go back..."
Ais spoke the last words softly.
Those words were from three days ago.
Why was it that even now, he remembered them so clearly?
Bell reached out his right hand, as though trying to grasp the fading silhouettes in his mind.
The members of the Loki Familia gradually disappeared into the distance.
Then, suddenly, Bell saw it.
His own arm—soaked in blood.
What... happened?
Scarlet. Terror. Ending. Darkness. Helplessness...
On the third day after returning from the expedition, Bell Cranel met his death.