"Welf! Liliruca!"
Bell found his two teammates by a fountain. Welf was still carrying his weapon and hadn't changed much of his clothes, stuffing several skewers into his mouth. Liliruca, on the other hand, had empty hands and was dressed differently from her adventuring attire; she had clearly dolled herself up.
"Bell!"
Liliruca was enthusiastic about Bell's arrival, while Welf just mumbled a greeting while chewing his food.
After swallowing his skewers, Welf asked, "Where are we going next? Aren't you going to the Dungeon during this time, Bell?"
Because the Denatus was approaching, Bell was also very much looking forward to his title. After the War Game ended, Bell had explored the Dungeon with the two of them a few times, but then paused due to the housewarming, until now.
"Mhm, tomorrow is the Denatus, so I want to wait until my title comes down before going. Sorry for making you wait for me."
"It's fine. If you hadn't let me join your party, Bell, I'd still be wandering the upper floors without a party. A few days is nothing; let's just take this opportunity to rest well."
The lowest-level adventurers had to go to the upper levels of the Dungeon every day to collect Magic Stones just to make ends meet. The prices in Orario were almost perfectly calculated; the lowest-level adventurers could only survive in this labyrinth city by constantly adventuring. However, adventurers who could descend below the tenth floor didn't necessarily need to go every day, as constant slaughter in the Dungeon could greatly affect one's mental state.
"Mhm, and I've learned a lot of new techniques from Fu Hua and Takatsuki during this time. They should come in handy when we go to the Dungeon again."
As he said this, Bell felt that the gap between himself and the other members of the Familia was growing wider. Although they were all companions who joined the Familia at the same time, he had been left far behind by the others. Although he had a slight advantage in terms of level, even the three LV1s had stronger combat power than him.
However, Bell's personality did not lead to jealousy because of this; instead, he admired the others as his seniors.
But Bell also knew that his seniors all came from the same place. Although they didn't deliberately exclude him, there was still a deep generational gap between them invisibly.
For example, in the recent War Game, Bell couldn't get involved at all.
After all, Bell could see that Takatsuki alone could decide the outcome from a thousand miles away.
The appearance of the others was actually just an opportunity to be seen, but it was a pity that Bell couldn't fight one against ten like the others. Otherwise, you know, a city has four walls.
But even his current weak self had the chance to become stronger. Before they came to Orario, the fastest leveling speed was set by Ais of the Loki Familia, reaching LV2 in one year.
But after they arrived, although he couldn't compare to Fu Hua, who shot straight to LV5 in a month, Bell's own leveling speed had already broken Orario's previous record.
And he also had companions who could grow with him.
Bell looked at Welf and Liliruca walking beside him and smiled.
If Haruhime were here, that would be great.
Walking on the street, Bell looked in the direction of the Entertainment District, thinking this. Although he didn't know why, he knew from their time together that Haruhime was forbidden from leaving the Ishtar Familia's main base, which was within the Entertainment District.
"Bell, what are you thinking about?"
Welf asked the dazed Bell.
Although Bell denied it, Welf still saw some clues: "Don't tell me, you're thinking about a girl."
"Welf! Don't talk nonsense!"
Before Bell could say anything, Liliruca got excited first, making Bell a little flustered.
"That… I…"
Before he could say anything, a loud bang sounded nearby.
At the same time, there was a panicked scream.
"What happened?!" *3
The three of them looked at the crowd constantly fleeing in their direction and were also bewildered.
However, Liliruca made a judgment first: "Bell! There must have been some kind of attack over there just now, we should hurry and escape too."
"Attack…"
Before Welf could express his stance, Bell spoke up and refused: "No! In that case, we absolutely cannot run away!"
"Many people on the street are just ordinary people! If even we adventurers run away, who will fight?!"
Without any hesitation, Bell walked against the crowd towards the direction where the disturbance originated.
"Welf and Liliruca, you two go back. I can go alone."
The white-haired boy, who had just embarked on the path of a hero, reached for the short sword tucked behind his back, going against the flow.
"Bell!"
"Bell!"
Welf and Liliruca did not leave because of Bell's words; instead, they followed behind Bell.
"What kind of talk is that? We're teammates, how could we leave you alone like this?"
Welf took down the greatsword from his back and held it in his hand: "Besides, how can an adventurer be afraid of adventure?"
"Welf is really too rude."
Liliruca said with disdain, then turned to Bell and said, "Since Bell has decided to go, then Liliruca will follow Bell as well. Even if it's not in the Dungeon, Liliruca is Bell's supporter!"
"Hey, Liliruca, what about me?"
Welf grinned and asked Liliruca, to which Liliruca just rolled her eyes: "As for Welf, just support Bell. After all, Welf is only LV1, right?"
"How can that be…"
Bell, who was leading the way against the flow of people, heard the words of the two behind him, and his previously tense emotions eased a little.
Before reaching the source of the incident, the three saw dozens of meters tall, snake-like monsters rampaging everywhere, constantly destroying surrounding stalls and items.
If Takatsuki or some members of the Loki Familia were here, they would be able to recognize that these monsters were the man-eating plants encountered when defeating the Corrupted Spirit.
However, at this moment, their flower buds were not open, so they looked like snakes.
"What is that?!"
Welf exclaimed, looking at the unknown monster.
"Oh no!"
Bell, more concerned than Welf who was focusing on the monster, immediately saw a child hiding under a stall due to excessive fear. At this moment, the monster was attacking that stall.
"Bell! Use this!"
At the critical moment, Liliruca handed Bell a dagger from behind. Bell reached out and took it.
The arm strength of LV2 was fully displayed here. The dagger tore through the air and smashed towards the man-eating plant.
Clang!
Naturally, a defense that even LV5s found difficult to break could not be broken by Bell's LV2 attack.
However, Bell's attack attracted the man-eating plant's attention. The man-eating plant stopped its indiscriminate attacks and turned towards Bell and his two companions.
"Such strong defense."
Bell gritted his teeth, seeing that his previous attack had no effect, and said to Liliruca: "Liliruca, go help that child!"
"Please be careful, Bell!"
Liliruca didn't act coy and immediately ran towards where the child was hiding, while Bell and Welf charged towards the man-eating plant.
"Bell! This monster's strength and defense are exaggerated; we can't confront it head-on."
"Mhm! I know!"
Bell responded, then suddenly leaped up to dodge the man-eating plant's surprise attack. He stabbed its body with the short sword in his hand, but the normally invincible blade left no scratches on this monster.
"So hard!"
After one ineffective strike, Bell quickly dodged the man-eating plant's next attack, but it was clear that he was not a match for these man-eating plants.