Akashic Records
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Is it Wrong to Skitter in a Dungeon? Chapter 14
🕑 Added 2024-09-20 17:02:01 +0000 UTCChapter 14: Rabbit Rising
As Taylor had assumed, Bell had done it. By beating the Minotaur on his own, he’d earned a Level Up. He was now Level 2, which marked him as being part of the elite. Over fifty percent of all adventurers were Level 1, and would likely never make it beyond that. Bell had just jumped that gap, and in record time.
The previous record for going from Level 1 to 2 was exactly a year. And said record holder had been none other than Ais Wallenstein, Loki Familia’s Sword Princess.
When Bell had heard he’d beaten Ais’ record, and after less than two months as an adventurer, he’d passed out from shock. Taylor couldn’t blame him.
It was the day after the encounter with the Minotaur, and everyone was still reeling from the revelations. Welf was absent, busy working on a new dagger for Bell using the Minotaur horn. That suited Taylor just fine. This was a private moment, for the Hestia Familia alone. And Lili, too, but she was basically already part of the Familia already. The sooner they found a way to get her out of the Soma Familia, the better.
“May I see?” she requested, and Bell mutely handed her his sheet after he’d woken up.
BELL CRANEL
LEVEL 1 → 2
POWER – SSS 1333 → I 0
ENDURANCE – SS 1023 → I 0
DEXTERITY – SS 1111 → I 0
AGILITY – SSS 1444 → I 0
MAGIC – S 999 → I 0
SKILLS
Liaris Freese
Jupiter Ascendant
Argonaut: Allows a charge for an active action. It requires three minutes for a full charge and can either sound like a small chime or a grand bell depending on the power needed. It can be used for any type of attack but the effects will dissipate when the user is attacked or they lose focus.
DEVELOPMENTAL ABILITY
Abnormal Resistance (?)
Hunter (?)
Initiative (?)
Luck (?)
Tamer (?)
There were quite a few interesting things on Bell’s Stat sheet. The most obvious was the brand-new Skill he’d gained. Argonaut was worded a little oddly, but from what Taylor was able to understand, it allowed Bell to build up energy, super-charging an action or Skill to make it even more powerful.
Though the charge up time would take a while for the attack to reach full-power, and the Skill would fail if he was hit at all by an enemy or he lost his concentration for some reason, it was overall an incredible new arrow for Bell’s quiver, so to speak, and with the proper training would become quite potent, Taylor was absolutely sure of it.
After that came his Development Abilities. Or rather, his choices for his first one. Bell hadn’t selected an Ability yet, and Hestia hadn’t revealed what they were beyond their names, but Taylor had a feeling whatever Bell choose, it would be perfect for him.
Though she couldn’t help but be a little bit jealous at how quickly the white-haired boy had gained truly absurd levels of power.
‘Will my own Stats end up surpassing S rank?’ Taylor wondered as she eyed Bell’s absurd Stats. It was a tempting thought. Perhaps she should venture into the Dungeon alone at some point and try to grind Excelia. Her growth had been a bit slow recently.
“So, what now?” Lili asked nervously.
“Now? I inform the Guild of this so they can update their records, and then wait for the next Denatus to receive Bell’s first alias,” Hestia sighed.
“Denatus?” the parahuman inquired. “Alias?”
“A monthly meeting of the gods,” Hestia informed the glasses wearing adventurer. “It’s mostly just complaining about this and that and arguing over stupid, petty things, but whenever an adventurer Levels Up for the first time, they’ll get assigned an alias, which is sorta like a nickname.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Taylor muttered. It sounded like when PTO chose the name for a new cape whenever they appeared on the scene. Sure, most of the adventurer names in Orario she’d heard were bad, but tastes changed depending on the culture. What sounded cringy and, as someone like Voidcowboy would say, ‘weeb AF,’ was simply a difference in norms and values.
Hestia simply winced in response at that.
“Y-yeah, not bad,” she stammered. Taylor raised an eyebrow, and something popped into her mind.
“Ah, I see. You don’t get to choose the name. It’s the other gods who do it,” Taylor realized. The bestowal of an alias wasn’t a reward. It was a punishment. Hestia nodded sadly.
‘And now the cringy and terrible names make sense,’ Taylor sighed to herself. No matter the world, you could always trust people to be people, in the end.
Glancing at Bell and Lili, it didn’t seem like they realized that the so-called ‘gods’ were having fun at their expense when they handed out the adventurer titles.
“How, uh, how bad is it going to be?” Bell asked.
“People are going to swarm and surround you,” Taylor said without hesitation. “You managed to reach Level 2, a feat that takes normal people several years, in mere months. That is not normal. Other adventurers are going to be envious of you, and many will assume you have some secret or trick or something and want to obtain it for their own uses. There will be hate and fear as well.”
Taylor shook her head. “It won’t be easy. All of us are going to end up scrutinized. We may need to move to a new home if it gets bad enough. Though the church is out of the way and nobody would assume you’d be living in a rundown place like this. We’ll just have to see.”
“That sounds… unpleasant,” Bell grimaced.
“The nail that sticks out gets hammered down,” Lili said bitterly.
“I don’t particularly like that saying, but it has elements of the truth to it,” Taylor nodded. “And yes. Take it from me, Bell. You’re going to want to learn how to control your emotions and reactions better. People will try and taunt and trick you. They’ll want you to get mad and lash out, so they have an excuse to do something in retaliation.”
“Can you help me with that?” Bell pleaded. “You’re always so cool and collected!”
“My trick for staying calm isn’t something I can teach,” Taylor admitted. “I shunt my emotions into my swarm when I need to.”
“That doesn’t sound healthy,” Lili said slowly.
“It isn’t! That’s what I’ve been saying!” Hestia exclaimed, throwing her arms into the air in frustration.
“I’m fine,” Taylor said dismissively, ignoring how everyone stared at her, not believing her claim.
“Let’s talk about something else,” Taylor suggested, steering the conversation away from her. “Namely, your choice of Developmental Ability, Bell.”
“Ah! Right, yes!” Bell nodded, turning to Hestia. “Can we go through them?”
“Sure,” she agreed. “First off! Abnormal Resistance! Boosts your ability to resist poisons and diseases as well as unusual conditions.”
“Hmm. Useful,” Taylor hummed. “Could it become so powerful that it would be able to nullify certain toxins?”
“It can,” Lili confirmed. “Lili has heard that at Rank G it can negate nearly anything from the Upper and Middle Floors!”
“Next is Hunter,” Hestia continued. “It can only be selected at Level 2, and boosts the Excelia gain when killing monsters that have been killed before as well boosting the Drop Rate.”
“That’s also quite useful,” Taylor said. That particular Ability sounded perfect for her and her swarm.
“That sounds tailor-made for Miss Taylor,” Bell said, grinning a little at the word play, revealing that his opinion mirrored her own.
“It can only be gained after killing a large amount of monsters in a short period of time, but Lili thinks Miss Taylor won’t have that problem,” Lili said dryly.
“After that is Initiative,” Hestia went on. “I don’t know much about it.”
“Lili’s heard that Finn Deimne has it,” Lili spoke up. “It supposedly lets him think fast and react faster!”
That was less useful, at least for Bell. His reaction speed was already ridiculous, and unless the Ability granted some other benefit it could probably be ignored, at least in Taylor’s opinion.
“Luck is… odd,” Hestia admitted with a sigh. “I’ve never heard of it before. And the information I was bestowed on it was singularly unhelpful. All I know is that is improves luck. Which is rather broad.”
“Weird,” Lili claimed. “But then again, that sums up this Familia nicely.”
“True,” Taylor agreed, Bell nodding in agreement.
“And lastly, Tamer. I think he got this one because of a certain someone,” Hestia drawled, shooting a look at Taylor.
“Lili thinks so, too,” the pallum said. Bell nodded again. Taylor just rolled her eyes.
“I think we can all agree that Tamer doesn’t fit Bell,” she said.
“Yes,” Bell confirmed. “And I think… I think I want to take Luck.”
“Are you sure?” Hestia asked.
“Yes,” he said firmly, determination in his eyes. “Nobody’s ever heard of this Development Ability before, right? And it involves luck. So it has to be something good!”
Taylor wasn’t so sure it was going to be like Bell believed. Bad luck was still technically a form of luck as well. Only time would tell, she supposed.
“Well, it’s your choice,” Hestia sighed. “I’ll make the adjustments now.”
They retreated to the bedroom then emerged a little bit later, the selection completed.
“Feel any luckier?” Lili asked, and Bell gained a pensive look before shrugging.
“No, not really.”
“We should see if it affects games of chance,” Taylor suggested. “Shall we play some card games tonight?”
“Lili likes that idea,” the pallum grinned.
“We’re not playing for money,” Taylor quickly said, causing the girl to deflate in disappointment.
“That sounds like a lovely idea,” Hestia said cheerfully. “What do you think, Bell?”
“I like it!” he agreed.
Taylor smiled a little at that reaction. The banter and comradery was nice. It reminded her of the Undersiders at time.
“Now, who wants pasta for dinner?” she asked, and everyone perked up excitedly.
“Can we have lasagna?” Bell asked eagerly.
“Sure, we can make it for tonight, as a celebration,” Taylor agreed. “I’ll even make Snickerdoodles.”
Bell pumped his fist happily at that, and even Lili and Hestia couldn’t help but grin widely at that.
‘Mom’s special recipes win once more,’ Taylor thought a little smugly.
No matter what troubles may come from Bell’s utterly ridiculous growth, at least some things would stay the same.
111 ^^^ &&& ^^^ 111
Hestia shifted nervously, fidgeting a little as she approached the massive chamber at the top of Babel where the other gods of Orario had gathered for the Denatus.
It was tradition for the gods whose Familia members were going to receive a nickname to wait outside the conference room while the others gathered first and gossiped for a bit. It was a bit rude, in Hestia’s opinion, and obviously designed to stress them out as their minds raced, trying to imagine what terrible name would be assigned to their child.
Trying – and failing – to not think about what the other gods might call Bell, Hestia was just about to start pacing back and forth when a voice called out, distracting her.
“Hestia, is that you?”
“Ah! Take!” Hestia said, bouncing on her feet as she saw the Far Eastern God of War approach. “It’s been a while!”
“Yes, it has,” the god confirmed. “We should grab drinks with Miach at some point. Or perhaps we can go drinking tonight to celebrate.”
“Sounds like a plan!” Hestia nodded happily. “I take it one of your children has Leveled Up?”
“Indeed, my dear child Yamato Mikoto reached Level 2 just the other week,” Takemikazuchi said proudly. “One and half years to reach it. Excellent work. Though it’s nothing compared to your own child’s success.”
“Ah, you’ve heard of that, then?” Hestia replied with a wince.
“I don’t think there’s a god or adventurer in the city who doesn’t know about the boy who reached Level 2 after two months,” Takemikazuchi drawled.
“Figures,” Hestia sighed. “If there’s one thing gods and mortals share in common, it’s a love for gossip.”
The Far Eastern God of War nodded in amusement. “Quite. Now, shall we go and face the music?”
“Might as well,” Hestia agreed, and they walked off towards the doors that would lead them into the chamber. The torches that lined the hallway had turned from red to blue, meaning it was time for them to enter and deal with the other gods.
The doors to the chamber opened automatically, some enchantment or magical tool allowing them entry as soon as they approached.
Takemikazuchi and Hestia entered, ears battered by the sounds of dozens of gods and goddesses speaking.
“Okay, okay, settle down, folks! For today’s Denatus, I, Ptah, shall act as the committee chairman!” the green and blue haired god of crafting called out, slapping the table loudly to get everyone’s attention.
The gods passed the duties of chairman around every Denatus, letting a different god handle things each time it happened. Even those with weak Familias, like Hestia and Takemikazuchi, would have a chance, though given how recently they’d arrived to Orario, it would likely be a while before their turn arrived.
'I heard Loki was supposed to be the one in charge this time, but she turned it down last minute. Wonder why?' Hestia thought to herself.
“First on the agenda is assigning the aliases for two new Level 2’s! Yamato Mikoto of the Takemikazuchi Familia, and Bell Cranel of the Hestia Familia!” Ptah stated as the two gods in question took their places at the massive round table that was only capable of holding them all thanks to a bit of creative use of Arcanum.
“So, floor is open! Give ‘em your best ideas!” Ptah said, a wicked grin born of Schadenfreude flashing across his face, and many others.
“Dancing Darkness for Yamato Mikoto!” Demeter shouted out, opening the flood gates.
“Mystery Maiden of the East!”
“Rising Sun Swordswoman!”
“Flashing Sword of the Shadows!”
“Flashing Sword of the Eastern Rising Sun!”
“Oi, you just mashed together a bunch of other people’s suggestions! You can’t do that!”
“Don’t tell me what to do, Audumbla!”
“I AM GANESHA!”
“Cutting Maiden!”
“Dazzling Shadow!”
“Ooo, I like that one!”
“The shadow bit is nice, I agree! But we can do better!”
Takemikazuchi slumped further into his seat with every terrible name thrown around, until the gods finally settled on one.
“So be it! Yamato Mikoto’s alias as an adventurer shall be ‘Absolute Shadow!’” Ptah declared.
Takemikazuchi groaned a little and held his head in his hands, which only made the other gods laugh mockingly.
Hestia shot him a pitying look before steeling herself for the barrage of dumb alias suggestions. However, it seemed some people had other ideas.
“Before we start, I want to know is how the hell that midget managed to get her Familia member to Level 2 in only two months!” Loki shouted out, causing murmurs of agreement to ring out around the table.
“Have you ever considered that my darling child is simply built different, Washboard?” Hestia shot back.
“Bullshit!” Loki shouted. “I call bullshit!”
“Are you sure you’re not just upset that Hestia’s child managed to beat the record your little Sword Princess previous held?” Freya giggled, waving a fan in front of her mouth.
“Of course I am! But I can multi-task!” Loki declared. “I can be both upset at losing the record and incredulous that it was the teeny-tiny itty-bitty goddess that somehow managed to beat me!”
“Fair enough,” Freya chuckled. “I’ll admit, I am also curious.”
“I do not have to tell you anything about my child’s growth,” Hestia sniffed imperiously.
“Ah, come on, Hesty! Surely you can let us know what your secret is!” Hermes cajoled.
“No! Never!” Hestia retorted.
“I do find it odd that a newbie adventurer managed to become so powerful so quickly,” Ishtar said, her tone sultry while her eyes were narrowed at the twin-tailed goddess. “Can we be sure he is, in fact, as new as he claims, and is not from some other Familia?”
“I am Ganesha!” the elephant-masked god called out. “And Ganesha can confirm the boy has only been in the city for three months!”
“That doesn’t mean he couldn’t have been from an outside Familia,” Dian Cecht pointed out. “Perhaps he is from Rakia, with how strong he seems to be?”
“No, the boy is not from Rakia,” Hephestus interjected, her tone carrying a hint of warning about continuing that line of thought.
“I hear Solingen fields some impressive swordsmen that can supposedly reach Level 3,” a god Hestia didn’t recognize stated.
“That’s only due to being equipped by the city’s famous bladesmiths,” another god drawled. “I think it’s far more likely some sorta stat-boosting drug was involved.”
“Those don’t exist,” Miach claimed. “And even if they did, tis no crime to use something like that in the Dungeon.”
A small argument then broke out about whether or not it was sporting for an adventurer to use drugs to boost their performance in the Dungeon, completely derailing the whole conversation that took Ptah a few minutes to get people back on track.
“What about Red Eyed Slasher for a name?” Selene offered.
“Red Eyed Cow Killer? Because he killed a Minotaur to Level Up?”
“Rejected!” Audumbla shouted. “I propose White-haired Monkey Boy!”
“Albino Rat Blade?”
“Red and White Jumper!”
Hestia whined a little from all the terrible suggestions, squirming in her seat as she was forced to listen to them.
“Hmm… Hestia, I have heard that your child has a never-before seen Development Ability. Luck, was it?” Freya hummed, and Hestia tensed up. She didn’t like how blatantly the Goddess of Love was flaunting her connections to the Guild, and from the grimaces and scowls a few other deities gained, she wasn’t alone.
However, Hestia had to respond to the thinly veiled probing from the other goddess. “It’s true,” the Goddess of the Hearth confirmed. “The Guild claims to have never encountered an Ability by that name.”
“I see. In that case, I propose the alias of ‘Lucky Rabbit’ for our new record holder,” Freya declared.
Most of the other gods weren’t exactly going to challenge Freya on this. After all, Freya ruled the strongest Familia in the city. And the average god of Orario would be lucky to have a dozen Level 1 Familia members. Opposing her was a foolish decision.
It helped that the name Freya had come up with was both on the nose and insulting, with a side order of cringe. From the way Hestia twitched when the suggested alias was spoken, she knew it was bad, but it could have been worse.
Seeing her rival twitch, Loki grinned viciously and raised her right hand. “Seconded!”
With that, the dominos fell, and the rest of the gods at the Denatus threw in their support for the name.
“Very well, the alias for Bell Cranel is ‘Lucky Rabbit!’” Ptah announced. “And that concludes today’s naming session! Up next! We have a noise complaint from Hecate against Parvati, the Guild is calling in the bar tabs owed by Hermes, Dionysus, Sobek, Shiva, and Magni, there’s a grazing dispute between Audumbla and Hathor, oh, and Ganesha wants to remind everyone that he is, in fact, Ganesha…”
Hestia sighed and settled in for a long, boring session of godly bickering. She wondered what her Familia was doing right now?
