Early in the morning, the white-haired, crimson-eyed youth woke up in his dormitory.
As usual, after a simple wash, he first went to the training grounds to complete several sets of physical exercises. Then, he changed into light armor and headed towards the entrance of the Labyrinth, which was also the direction of the Central Park.
Bell Cranel happened to be on a rotational break these past few days, so he planned to go into the Dungeon to properly improve his strength.
In order to maximize combat efficiency, he had specifically commissioned a Guild staff member to help find a Supporter.
The other party was from the Hephaestus Familia. The fee was basically negligible; the Supporter only hoped that after descending past the 13th Floor, Bell could protect him while he completed the accumulation of 'Feats' required for Level 2.
Previously, during the suppression of the Evils within Daedalus Street, Bell Cranel had actually participated.
However, much like the ordinary Level 1 members of the Ganesha Familia and Loki Familia, he did not go deep into the Artificial Labyrinth Knossos.
Even so, the large-scale group combat encountered on the surface still provided him with enough Feats to level up.
Yes, Bell Cranel—although the process deviated slightly—just like in the anime from the previous life, after coming to Orario and joining a Familia, he shed his rookie status and successfully advanced to become a High-Class Adventurer in just a little over a month.
If this were placed in the original world line, it would absolutely be enough to elicit gasps of amazement from the gods of Orario.
But nowadays...
One could only say that the 'Ice and Fire Wine' was simply too unreasonable.
Let alone reaching Level 2 in a month; in the existing archives of the Guild, the fastest individual—because his father was a grand noble from another country—spent a total of only two weeks from joining a Familia to completing the level up.
And that was the result of him being afraid of pain and not drinking the full quota of Ice and Fire Wine every day.
Compared to that kind of wealthy, powerful second-generation rich kid, Bell Cranel's talent was the only thing that could barely be considered passable.
At the plaza.
Seeing the white rabbit youth appear—who had not yet obtained a unique title because the Denatus had not yet commenced—the red-haired young man who had been waiting there for some time couldn't help but raise his arm and wave.
"Bell, over here!"
Bell looked towards the voice and immediately saw his Supporter.
Walking up quickly, he said with a bright smile on his face, "Welf, good morning."
"Good morning."
Unlike Bell, who was not heavily armored but still fully equipped, Welf, who hailed from the Hephaestus Familia, was currently wearing only a very thin black trench coat.
He had prepared plenty of weapons, however: a one-handed sword, a shield, crossbow bolts, and even Magic Swords...
Bell glanced at the other party.
Because he had joined a large Familia, he received careful guidance from seniors regarding many things. Whether it was combat techniques or his level of understanding regarding monsters and the Dungeon, he far surpassed the 'other self' from the original world line.
He kindly offered a piece of advice: "Why don't you go back and change into a set of armor?"
Unexpectedly, Welf shook his head upon hearing this.
Rubbing his nose with his right hand, a confident smile appeared on his face.
"Don't look at me dressed like this. If we're really talking about defensive power, it's actually a bit stronger than your light armor."
"Is that so?" Bell was momentarily stunned.
After all, he was not a blacksmith and only viewed equipment from an adventurer's perspective. He felt that the thicker the armor, the higher the defense.
In fact, among Orario's top adventurers, who didn't go down into the Labyrinth wearing cloth armor sewn from high-rank materials?
At most, they would add a layer of light armor at critical spots.
As for heavy armor, presumably only those acting as front-row shield bearers would choose it.
"Then, shall we start now?"
"Let's go, let's go!"
It had actually been some days since Bell became a Level 2, and his various Ability Stats had increased quite a bit with the help of his awakened skill, 'Guardian Heart'.
Due to his outstanding potential, Shakti and other Level 5s of the Ganesha Familia treated him as a future high executive of the Ganesha Familia to be cultivated.
Therefore, they specially spent a large price to buy a Grimoire, allowing Bell to finally awaken a magic that was completely different from the original world line, yet one that left countless knowledgeable people stunned.
——Guardian Varrion.
The chant spell is "Gospel".
The effect was not offensive, but rather summoned a transparent great bell made of energy to shroud himself and his allies, subsequently resisting all attacks, including magic and curses.
It was precisely because of the appearance of this magic that the high executives of Ganesha allowed Bell to head to the Labyrinth alone.
But he could only go as deep as the 18th Floor; for areas further back, he needed to form a team.
Although Bell hadn't awakened the rapid-attack magic of the original world line, his equally impressive shield magic, along with much more lenient finances, still allowed him to slice through obstacles like melons and vegetables, reaching the 13th Floor before noon.
Because it had been agreed upon in advance when concluding the Supporter contract, in the ensuing battles, Bell would occasionally let a monster through to the back row.
Although Welf's main profession was a blacksmith, his Ability Stats in various aspects were not low.
Especially his Strength; after purchasing two bottles of Ice and Fire Wine and drinking them, it had reached the B-rank upper limit of his potential.
Coupled with the Magic Swords he carried with him, it was no exaggeration to say that even when facing some Level 2s, he was not without the power to fight.
And the facts proved just that.
Even if the attacks of the monsters from the Middle Floors hit Welf head-on, they would at most make him show a slightly pained expression. In reality, if one lifted his outer garment, the corresponding injured area would likely just be slightly red.
Whether it was impact force or elemental attacks, they were basically all absorbed by that outer layer of the trench coat.
Seeing such a scene, Bell didn't say anything out loud, but he was incomparably shocked in his heart.
By evening, the two returned to the surface.
"Bell, thanks a lot for today." Welf hooked his arm around the boy's neck, his tone excited.
Today, he had singled out or fought '1v2' against more than forty Middle Floor monsters in total. No matter how one thought about it, it was enough to gather the Feats to upgrade to Level 2.
"You're too polite." Bell showed a shy smile.
Pausing slightly for two seconds, he spoke slowly, "That trench coat of yours, did you make it yourself?"
This was meant to be an ordinary inquiry.
But unexpectedly, Welf's shoulders slumped suddenly upon hearing it.
"Although I really want to answer 'yes', unfortunately, I only made a few adjustments regarding the size based on the original Shihakusho."
Bell tilted his head. "Shihakusho?"
Since the topic had already been broached, Welf naturally wouldn't continue to hide it. He immediately revealed the fact that the Shihakusho was a standard equipment jointly designed by the Hestia Familia and the Hephaestus Familia.
As mentioned before, Bell was being cultivated as a high executive for the next generation of the Ganesha Familia.
His perspective on viewing problems was different from his 'self' in the original world line, who became a Familia Captain right away but didn't care much about Familia development due to having Liliruca as an 'external brain'.
He almost immediately discovered the prospects of standard defensive gear like the Shihakusho.
Pondering for a moment, he suddenly asked:
"After the Shihakusho is officially listed for sale, what will the selling price be?"
____
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