~{Author's Notes}~

And this right here is yet another of the one-shot fanfic concepts I'd love to continue writing if received well! This one is a Danmachi x Solo leveling fic where Bell gets the system in the world of Orario! No forcing the concepts of rankers or all that, just if Bell got the system and the dungeons/monsters that come with it!

I hope all of you enjoy reading and let me know what you think!

Well, if it isn't the consequences of his actions.

This phrase would've amused Bell if the mentioned consequence wasn't currently trying to kill him.

The newbie adventurer of two weeks ran at full speed through the green-lit cavern that was the fifth floor, a terrified look on his face as thundering steps followed him from afar.

"Why, why, WHY!? Why is there a minotaur on the fifth floor!?" He screamed, aimlessly running down caverns.

Why did he think it was a good idea to head straight to the fifth floor despite only being an adventurer for two weeks!? So what if the monsters on the upper floors hadn't felt too challenging to him, he shouldn't have just decided to go deeper on a whim! His advisor Eina had kept warning him about this!

An adventurer shouldn't be too adventurous!

He should've turned back the moment he had noticed something was amiss! Monsters wouldn't stop showing up on the fifth floor without a reason! Why did he think that if he just kept going that he'd soon run into some monsters to fight!?

"Groaaaaaaaar!"

"EEEEE!" Bell squealed as he heard the minotaur roar, realizing it was much closer than he had assumed.

The monster was clearly gaining on him, and Bell didn't know what to do. He knew there was no way he could take on a minotaur at his level, but he also knew it wouldn't be long before the monster finally caught him.

And the young boy didn't even have time to devise a plan, for his heart dropped at the sight of a stone wall at the end of the path.

"A-A dead end!?"

Bell slid to a stop right in front of the cavern wall. His eyes were anguished as he felt the surface with his hands as if trying to find some secret switch that'd magically open some secret compartment to save him. But the close thuds of the minotaur's footsteps made him turn around and lean against the rock, tears swelling as he saw the brownish monster finally arrive just a few yards from him.

The minotaur reared its head back before opening its mouth.

"GROAAAAAAAAAAR!"

The force of his roar terrified Bell to the point where his legs were shaking, barely able to hold him up.

"S-Someone..." He sniffled, eyes unmoving from what would be his executioner.

The minotaur huffed through its snout before dropping on all fours, its intentions obvious.

"N-No! I only just became an adventurer!" Bell sobbed.

The minotaur then charged, advancing on all its limbs as it aimed its horns for the human's head.

Bell closed his eyes.

"I DIDN'T EVEN GET TO PICK UP ANY GIRLS YET!"

At this moment, Bell's legs finally gave out from under him, causing him to drop to the ground and narrowly avoid the minotaur slamming headfirst into the wall where his head had just been.

Then something unbelievable happened.

The minotaur's attack created a large web of cracks in the wall behind Bell, and as the monster pulled its head out of the rock, the cracks spread along the surface, all the way up to the ceiling above them.

Bell didn't notice this, as he had curled into a small ball on the floor while the minotaur stepped back and glanced down at him, intent on not missing this time. However, it heard the cracking above and felt a few pebbles landing on its head, prompting it to look up.

There was a moment of silence.

And then, in an almost comedic fashion, both wall and ceiling crumbled down simultaneously, with the latter doing so right on top of the minotaur.

A startled cry came from the monster as piles of rubble fell on top of it, a large cloud of dust kicking up as it was buried in rock.

Bell instinctively protected his head as a few small pieces of rock landed on him, with the larger pieces conveniently missing him by inches. He didn't dare move as he heard the earth crumble around him, only waiting for what he believed to be his inevitable demise.

Surprisingly, it didn't come. Instead, a calm silence took place as the cave-in finished, and that was when Bell finally cracked an eye open.

He waited a few more seconds to be sure he wasn't still in immediate danger before slowly lifting his head, his vision obscured by the thick clouds of accumulated dust.

"What happened?"

The human boy hesitantly stood to his feet, looking around as the dust started clearing up.

The first thing he managed to see was a large pile of rubble in place of where the minotaur had just been, in addition to a large chunk of the ceiling gone.

"The tunnel caved in?" He muttered, unable to believe his eyes.

After processing this for a few seconds, Bell fell to his hands and knees with an exasperated sigh of relief.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaah... That was so scary! I can't believe I made it out of that completely fine..."

As if on cue, a small rock fell and nailed Bell on his head.

"Ow!" He winced as he clutched the back of his skull and shot to his feet, looking up while cautiously backing up as he searched for any more signs of the ceiling going to come down.

However, since he wasn't looking where he was going, Bell tripped on one of the larger rocks that had fallen, a cry of alarm echoing as he fell on his back with a thump.

"Ugh... Today just isn't my day." He groaned from the ground, tired eyes staring straight up.

But as Bell stared at the ceiling, he realized something.

Shouldn't he have backed up into a wall?

The young adventurer tipped his head to look upside-down behind him, to which his eyes widened tremendously before he scrambled upright with his jaw-dropping.

The dead-end the minotaur had crashed into was completely gone, revealing a long, dark tunnel that didn't hold any of the green lights the rest of the fifth floor had to illuminate the area.

"Th-This cave wasn't here before!" Bell stammered, overwhelming excitement growing within him, "Is this uncharted territory!?"

Uncharted territory, when a new path not on the maps is discovered on a floor of the dungeon. They were one of the rarest things to ever find as an adventurer, a new area that had been completely missed on floors already explored!

And to think, Bell had been the one to discover one!

The white-haired boy sparkled as he stepped towards the new tunnel, his adventurous side tempting him to go in. There were so many things he could find in there! Anything was possible, like some sort of uncommon plants for potions or maybe even a rare item!

He could use anything he found to help him get stronger, or maybe he could sell what he finds to help out his goddess, who works so hard just like him to support the two!

The thought of going deeper was just so... irresistible.

But Bell's near-death experience was still fresh in his mind, the flash of the minotaur's roar bringing chills down his spine.

His excited expression slowly gave way to tired resignation, his arms falling limp at his sides.

"No... I just barely survived a random minotaur. I can't push my luck like that."

Coming to a decision, he sighed once more in disappointment as he turned away from his discovery.

"I'd better go back and report this to Eina-"

Bell didn't even get a step before the large pile of rubble suddenly exploded, catching him completely off guard and with enough force to send him tumbling backward.

"Gah!" He rolled on the rocky ground before stopping just inside the new path, hissing in discomfort.

Wondering what happened, Bell sat up while rubbing his head, only for his scrunched-up glimpse of pain to morph into one of absolute horror.

"I-It's alive?" His voice cracked.

Blocking his escape, the minotaur that Bell had presumed dead was pulling itself out of the piles of rocks it had been buried in, frothing from the mouth like a rabid animal. The left side of its head was entirely coated in blood, making it look even more menacing as it tunnel-visioned on Bell in pure fury.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"

Its roar of pure outrage shook the very earth, making Bell almost faint at the murderous pressure.

"I have to run!"

Bell screamed and turned around, stumbling to his feet and nearly tripping as he sprinted down the unknown path he had found. He didn't even think about the fact that it could hold something dangerous; anything on this floor would be lessdangerous than a minotaur!

There was no light on the path as Bell raced through it, yet he could faintly see it was straight. He desperately hoped it'd split off at some point, as maybe he could lose the minotaur by taking a path and waiting for it to take another.

But instead, the path maintained its straightness all the way until it ended.

Bell had only been running for about a minute before his eyes widened, and he came to a halt. Confusion filled him to the brim as he came face to face with a pair of... doors?

Even in the dark area, Bell could see well enough to know that he was staring at a massive pair of doubledoors, the very last thing he had ever expected to see in the dungeon. He pressed his hand against one, feeling its stony texture, and squinted enough to see two large, golden door knockers on them, with additional golden decorations on the doors themselves.

"A door? There can be rooms in the dungeon?" Bell frowned in confusion. Had this place been used as some sort of safety point before? But why would it be so close to the surface? Or maybe this was actually some kind of secret treasure vault?

Bell didn't get to ponder over this too much, for the echoing footsteps of the minotaur reminded him of the danger he was in, dread seeping through his blood as he placed his shoulder on one of the doors and shoved as hard as he could.

Instead of the resistance Bell had expected from the century-old entrance, the right door flew wide open. So easily, in fact, that Bell fell forward inside the room with a cry of alarm.

He managed to use his hands to break his fall, holding himself up as he lifted his head to see where he had ended up.

To say Bell was floored was an understatement.

"What in the gods!?"

The room he ended up in was unlike anything he's ever seen in the dungeon in his two weeks of exploration. It was a large, circular chamber with mysterious blue flames lighting the area through torches circling the upper walls of the circumference; in addition, there were two pillars by the entrance with larger blue flames searing at the top through braziers.

The center ground of the chamber was clear, with different assortments of statues circling around the edges of the room, two facing each other right in front of the door while the rest all faced the direction of a strange emblem in the very center of the large space. These statues appeared to have been modeled after old knights, as most were designed with the look of armor and held different weapons, although some appeared to be musicians instead, if their held instruments were anything to go by. Bell would've thought the statues looked amazing were they not cracked and covered with moss.

At the very back of the room was a giant stone throne holding the biggest statue of them all. It faintly resembled a king, as its design included a crown and robes, and its presence made Bell feel the smallest he's ever felt.

The boy would've been amazed at the statue's sheer size if he wasn't so unnerved by it. The blank expression it held, the black marks trailing down its eyes as if crying blood, and... and how it felt like it was staring at him.

But that can't be the case... right?

Bell walked a bit into the room, so many questions plaguing his mind. Why were the flames of all the torches blue? Why were they lit even when it looked like no one had been in the area for years? What did all these statues represent?

A bad feeling gnawed at his gut as he stood in the room, unable to determine its problem.

Why did it feel like he had just made a giant mistake coming here?

*BAM!*

Bell flinched and turned around, breath hitching to see that the injured minotaur had slammed open the giant stone doors after having caught up. It was a miracle the doors didn't even so much as crack by the force of the impacts, but this thought didn't even pop up in Bell's mind, only overwhelming fear at the realization that there was nowhere to go.

The minotaur tiredly huffed before opening its mouth.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"

Its powerful roar was only enhanced in the echoing chamber of the room, the power and volume of it causing Bell to fall to his bottom as two tears trailed down his cheeks.

"I'm trapped!"

There was nowhere else to go! Just like before, the minotaur was between him and his only escape, only looking several times angrier than before.

Bell whimpered in fear and desperately scooted back as the minotaur focused its sights on him, taking two thundering steps forward to finally get the prey it had worked so hard for.

But then it was as if the air had shifted, a chilling cold spreading through the room that caused all the torches to faintly flicker.

*BAM!*

The open double doors suddenly banged shut powerfully, spurring the minotaur to pause its pursuit and glance back at the sound.

Seeing their exit sealed, the monster seemed to momentarily forget about Bell, turning around and facing the doors as if they had personally offended it. It then bellowed at the lifeless structure before cocking a large fist back, letting out another roar before punching a singular door with the force of a dozen men.

Only... nothing happened.

Despite the loud and powerful punch, no visible damage was left on the door as the minotaur pulled its fist back, even tilting its head somewhat confusingly at the result.

"What? Not even a dent!?" Bell noted, confusion joining his terror.

The minotaur seemed to decide to focus on the doors later, though, as it turned around to address Bell again, growling as it started to move towards him.

It didn't notice how something else moved behind it.

It all happened in an instant. One moment, the large statues by the door were still, then in the next, the one closer to the minotaur was swinging its spear-like mace in a fluid upward motion, taking the monster's arm clean off all the way to its shoulder.

And just like that, the minotaur was the least scary thing in the room.

"They move? These statues MOVE!?" Bell's breathing grew frantic as he stared wide-eyed at what was supposed to be an inanimate object. "No way..."

He then glanced around at all the other statues holding weapons of their own, barely able to breathe.

"No, no, no, NO! Are they all monsters too!? Or is there something controlling them!? There shouldn't be any monsters like these on the fifth floor!"

As for the minotaur, it struggled forward with blood gushing out of its shoulder, alive only because the rest of its body had barely been out of range of the statue that had struck. It clutched its wound as it continuously roared in pain, turning around to confront its attacker. But by then, the statue had moved back to the same position it had originally been in. The only sign it had even attacked was the blood splattered onto it and its weapon.

But in its blind fury, the monster didn't make the connection and focused on what it thought to be the only cause of this attack, the small boy with pure white hair.

Bell took a large inhalation of air as menacing red eyes zeroed in on him, screaming as he flew back to his feet. He turned away from the minotaur and dashed towards the back of the room, hoping to somehow get away.

The minotaur gave chase, still clutching its bloody shoulder as it followed with rapid steps, obsessed with killing this adventurer after all the trouble it's faced.

However, as Bell got close to the very center of the room, he came to another realization.

"Wait, if all the statues can move, then that means-!"

He looked up with a distorted face of despair as he saw the eyes of the largest statue in the chamber.

They were staring right at him.

He hadn't been mistaken before. Something had been staring at him, but to think it was the most noticeable figure in the room. And if the staring hadn't been clear before, the yellowish-orange glow in its eyes made it clear now.

Bell slid to a stop in the very center of the room, whimpering as he looked back and forth. If he went anywhere near that statue, wouldn't it attack him just like the one by the door had to the minotaur!? Where was he supposed to go!? There was danger all around him! He can't go back and escape through the doors because of the statues guarding them, he can't hide around the edges of the room because of the other statues that could crush him in an instant, and he can't even stay in the center of the room with the minotaur chasing him around!

Is this really how it ends!?

The boy's misery paused momentarily as he heard the rumbling in the air, and he noticed that the yellow lights in the statue's eyes were starting to get intense to the point where sparks were flying as if they were charging... up...

Bell's gut twisted and his instincts screamed.

The novice adventurer dropped to the floor with his hands over his head just as a beam of pure energy blazed across the room above him.

Conveniently, this was the exact moment the minotaur had raised its remaining fist just behind Bell to crush him, only to get engulfed in the powerful attack. With a dying wail, the minotaur was vaporized all the way down to its magic stone, although its feet were spared from this and deteriorated into dust normally, leaving an item drop behind.

Bell stayed on the floor until all was silent, and then he slowly tilted his head upward, completely pale, as he stared at the now smoking eyes of the statue.

He then robotically turned his head to see the results of the large-scale attack. The ground behind him had been carved into a rough half-cylinder with webbed cracks, the stone floor smoking and red-hot from the laser's heat. There was no longer any sign of the monster behind him, the only thing proving it had even existed being the minotaur skin just to the side.

"Y-You're kidding, right?" Bell brokenly laughed at the sight.

This had to be a dream, some sort of nightmare that he was stuck in.

Minotaurs are level two monsters, and yet, that statue at the entrance had effortlessly sliced through its arm with a blunt weapon not even meant to do so.

So if all the other statues in the room were the same, then they all had to be at least level three! And that didn't even include the giant one that had fired a magic beam with power akin to high-leveled adventurers!

And then there's him, a level one! ONE! Someone that shouldn't even be in this room! He would've had a better chance fighting the minotaur from before than trying to escape the situation he was in now!

Bell muffled an ugly sob, the stress starting to get to him. But he took a moment to focus and catch his breath, holding himself together before looking up at the statue as he waited for it to fire again. He hesitantly rose when it didn't do so immediately, only for the glowing to start again. Bell then dropped into a crouch as he got ready to jump to the side, only for the glowing eyes to fade away, leaving only its cold unnerving gaze staring at him.

Bell continued to wait for any indication of another laser, only for it not to come. He tried to stand up again, but that was when the statue's eyes lit up, only to fade away once more as he dropped to the ground.

"It... It won't fire if I don't stand?" He discovered.

The concept bewildered Bell, reminding him that this chamber didn't follow the usual rules of the dungeon. For one, if the statues of the room had been normal monsters, then he'd already be dead by now. Any of them could come over at literally any moment and crush him even easier than a bug. But they weren't. And the only thing he could think of as a reason was that he, someone who had stumbled upon the room, had to accomplish something within it.

He remembered some of Gramps's stories telling him about heroes that had stumbled upon rooms with trials or puzzles to overcome, all to either get some sort of reward or to survive.

Maybe that was the case here?

So Bell started looking in all directions, trying to find some clue or indication of what he should be doing. Luckily, it didn't take long for him to find something, as on the right side of the room stood a statue that held neither weapon nor instrument.

The statue had angelic wings and a large hood obscuring whatever face it could have. But the most unique part of it was the large stone tablet it held, a tablet with writing on it.

Bell quickly scurried on the ground like a rabbit towards the statue, getting close enough to where he could read the long text.

"C-Carthenon Temple's Commandments," He read aloud. "First, worship the lord. Second, praise the lord. Third, prove your faith."

He paused, registering the religious phrases. Were these instructions of some kind? They had to be, right?

"Those who do not follow these commandments-"

Bell hesitated at the last words, gulping down saliva.

"W-Will never return alive."

Welp, wasn't that reassuring?

It had already been clear to Bell anyway that he wouldn't be able to escape the chamber with his own power; it was impossible for a level one like him.

But these commandments... aren't they implying a chance?

"Those who do not follow these commandments will never return alive," Bell repeated the last phrase, hands clenching along the ground.

"So if someone does follow them... they'll get to leave?"

It was evidently Bell's only shot at leaving the room alive. That, or staying still until a party of powerful adventurers discovered it. But that could take weeks if the dead-end from before had already been known as such by experienced adventurers. Everyone tended to just head to the next floor rather than explore some obscure area of the upper floors where nothing valuable even tended to be.

Bell closed his eyes with a deep breath. Even though he was scared, no, terrified of where he had ended up, even though he was trembling at the mere presence of the giant statue, he couldn't give up. Gramps would be chastising him right now, not for being scared, but for starting to lose hope when he should be fighting to survive like a cool hero should! He can't give up now!

Especially now that he had someone important to get back to.

"Kami-sama..." Bell thought of his beloved goddess, Hestia, the goddess of hearth and family. The one who had accepted him when no other familia had. Even if others would claim that it had been out of desperation to gain a familia member, Bell knew better, for he just knew that even if his goddess already had a big familia when they'd met, she still would've accepted him, that was just the kind of person she is.

He couldn't leave her behind.

So for the first time since the minotaur had started chasing him, Bell's opened his eyes with an expression filled with pure determination.

"Don't worry, Kami-sama, I'll come back home."

Bell took another glance at the stone tablet, rereading its first commandment.

"Worship the lord..."

He glanced over his shoulder at the enormous statue staring down at him.

"That's you, isn't it?"

He didn't get any response back, but it seemed evident that this statue was waiting for something.

Bell gulped nervously before crawling back to the center of the room, already having an idea of what to do based on the statue's attack triggering past a certain height.

Soon, he was on top of the odd emblem, facing the statue.

"Here goes..."

Bell breathed deeply before getting into a perfect dogeza, forehead touching the cold ground.

"This should be perfect, right?"

It was the only thing that seemed fitting as 'worship.'

About ten seconds of silence passed before Bell got any sign of results, which came from the sound of grinding stone. He jerked his head up at the sound, only to freeze as his mouth opened.

The 'Lord' was grinning.

It was a sick grin that reached ear to ear, cruel and sadistic, as if reveling in Bell's submission. Not only, but somehow, the statue's eyes had started glowing a menacing red with its scleras entirely black.

"Wh-What's with that face?" Bell shivered. "Is it... enjoying this?"

He didn't like its expression one bit.

"Okay, ignore how it looks." The adventurer told himself, glancing to the side at the stone tablet. "I got the first commandment down; now for the next. Praise the lord... What does that mean in this context?"

A loud rumble cut Bell from his thoughts, the entire room shaking with bits of the ceiling even falling down. His heart rate spiked as he saw the statue start to move, grasping the armrests of its throne before lifting itself from its seat.

Bell watched with a silent scream as the Lord stood to its full height, which had to be akin to several floors of the Babel tower above the dungeon.

"N-No way-!"

The Lord took a slow step that shook the entire room upon landing, sending debris flying from its foot.

Bell scrambled to his feet and backed up in fear.

"It's moving! It's moving towards me!"

He turned around and broke into a sprint, releasing panicked sounds as he focused on making distance between himself and the murderous statue.

"What do I do!? What do I do now!? How am I supposed to 'praise the lord!?' I'm not supposed to literally praise it, do I!?" Bell panted as he ran toward the chamber doors, only to remember that he'll die if he got too close. So he curved his path towards the statues to the side, trying not to get too close to them either.

"Am I supposed to use something in the room!?" He guessed, eyes scanning the chamber. "But there's nothing in here but the statues! And if I get too close, I'll get killed by their weapons and... instruments?"

Bell's eyes widened in realization.

Right, there ARE statues holding instruments instead of weapons! Does that mean they won't attack him? What'll happen if he actually approaches one? Would the Lord attack him if he stayed close or behind one?

If the statues with weapons attack anything that gets close like the minotaur had, wouldn't that mean that getting close to a statue with an instrument would prompt their own response?

But what if they end up being just as hostile?

The crashing of the Lord's footstep made Bell grit his teeth.

"I don't want to try it, but it's all I can think of right now!"

So the young boy made a mad dash toward the nearest statue with an instrument, one holding some sort of large horn to its mouth. Bell stopped right in front of it, panting and legs shaking but ready to jump out of the way at a moment's notice.

"Cmon, please be good!"

His plea was answered when a gentle melody started flowing from the horn, bringing the first burning light of hope back for Bell, shown by his open-mouth smile.

"It activated! That means I'm on the right track, right!?"

But Bell's relief was literally stomped away as the smash of the Lord's footstep shook the room, making his paleness return. He took a quick scan of the chamber, counting how many statues there were and planning the fastest route to get to all the ones with instruments.

Three statues holding weapons stood at each side of the instrumental statues, outlining the entire chamber in a circle. From what Bell could see at a glance, there were at least ten statues with instruments, meaning there were at least thirty with weapons. He didn't know if he did that math right, but he couldn't exactly take the time to think it accurately with a giant monster threatening to crush him with a single step.

But what mattered to Bell was the fact that for each statue with an instrument he wished to get to, he'd have to go through three hostile ones trying to kill him.

He could try staying out of their ranges as he went to each instrument, but then the Lord would inevitably catch up and crush him; its steps covered far too much ground. If Bell didn't wish to get caught under its foot, he had to keep running while taking the shortest path from statue to statue.

Which means he'll have to run in the way of each and every statue holding a weapon.

"Damn it...!" The boy wept at his conclusion yet took off running with burning eyes of resolution. "DAMN IIIIIIIIIIT!"

What he was doing was practically suicide, but he wouldn't die. He can't die! Not now!

It only took a few steps before Bell got in range of the first of three statues. The sound of grinding stone screeching in his ear as the monster moved, lifting up a short sword with both hands before swinging it horizontally at his head.

Bell saw the attack coming due to the monster's large size and wind-up, so he ducked low to the ground and avoided the blade slashing above him as he ran. He then raised himself as he got in range of the second statue, jumping while tilting his body to avoid its large spear diagonally piercing the ground he had just been on. He stumbled a bit as he landed but regained his footing just in time as he made it to the third statue holding an ax. He watched as the larger figure raised its weapon directly overhead, to which Bell jumped forward into a roll just as the weapon came down, avoiding getting slashed in half.

He untangled from his roll just at the feet of the next statue, one holding a violin with a large bow. Bell's chest rapidly rose and fell as he lay on his back, watching the statue as another gentle melody started playing from it.

He held his breath as he pushed himself off the ground, the stomping of the Lord following him as he made a beeline to the next statue.

"I can do this! Just keep the rhythm!"

Bell jumped over the low swing of a longsword, dodged the destructive swing of a mace, and had to avoid the slash of a naginata before making it to the next statue. He wiped his brow, panting harder as the drums the stone structure held started playing. He glanced back and tensed as he saw the Lord not far behind, following him like a cat stalking a mouse.

Bell adjusted his breathing before taking off.

"Keep going, keep moving!"

Another jump, another swing from a curved blade, another slam of a blunt weapon, and he was at the next statue. Bell didn't even stop to wait for the statue to play this time, just giving it a tap of his hand and hearing the music before he kept running, not bothering to look back at the Lord. He kept going; he didn't dare stop.

He jumped, ducked, spun, just whatever he could to narrowly avoid more difficult-to-dodge swings, getting to yet another statue with an instrument, a harp. He kept his rhythm as he made it around the room, refusing to show any moment of hesitation or risk dying for it. He was already doing fine so far; he just had to make sure he didn't stop!

And yet, Bell couldn't keep it up forever.

He managed to go around more than half of the room before his exhaustion had piled up to a degree. He was soaked in sweat all the way down to his novice adventure clothing, he was struggling to catch his breath as he blundered forward, and his movements were getting sloppy as his body burned at the overabundance of sharp moves he had performed. He already had a few close calls with a few statues, as his arm and cheek were partially cut from blades that had been a little too close for comfort.

And yet Bell kept going; he kept pushing his body to its very limits, knowing that if he stopped at any moment, he'd die.

"I'm almost there; just two more!" He panted, sprinting yet again. "Don't stop!"

Bell kept his breathing even as best he could, blinking away salty sweat getting into his eye. He focused on the next statue in his path, one with a large hammer at the end of a staff.

However, he saw sudden movement from the corner of his eye, movement not from the statues in front of him. Bell sharply turned his head and saw the statue of an archer near the end of the circle, aiming its bow right at him.

His blood turned cold.

"THAT ONE HAS RANGE!"

The statue released its hold on its bowstring, sending its large arrow flying.

The world went in slow motion as the arrow soared in Bell's path, striving for the very center of his forehead. But the boy managed to react even as the fast projectile came at him, tilting his head to the side to just barely avoid getting it shot clean off. However, despite doing so, the shot had been too close, grazing him by the ear and tearing it off entirely.

Bell felt the burning pain and winced, blood flinging from the damage as he tightly pressed his teeth together with a hiss. But the ache of his ear and the sudden shift of his weight caused him to stumble forward as he ran, losing his balance. This lost him a part of his speed right at the last moment, and as a result, the giant hammer of the statue he passed slammed directly behind him, the impact sending him collapsing forward.

"Gah!" Bell bounced and tumbled along the ground, rolling right in front of the next statue, one with demon-like horns holding an ax in each of its hands.

Bell lifted his head just in time to see the statue raise one of its axes, the weapon reflecting off his terrified red eyes.

"MOVE!"

He dove forward and avoided the first slash.

But he couldn't avoid the second.

The slicing of flesh echoed throughout the chamber as Bell tumbled out of range of the statue, crimson red spilling onto the floor.

Along with it came pain.

"AAAAAAAAH!" Bell screamed bloody murder as he collapsed in front of a statue with a guitar, his left hand up to his elbow having been sliced clean off, gushing blood.

He clutched his injury with another cry of agony, unable to stop the massive tears pouring out of his eyes. He didn't even care that the statue beside him had also started playing music, too focused on addressing his bleeding while his missing appendage lay completely limp just to the side.

"It hurts... It hurts so much! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!" Bell wept as he tried to vainly cover the injury to keep it from leaking, but it was only for a moment as the crashing of a footstep slammed once more.

Bell swerved his head to see Lord only another step away from him, his momentary setback having been all it had needed to catch up. Its sadistic grin all but mocked him as its foot pressed down on the ground, cracking it even more than it already had before its other one slowly lifted itself to bring it forward.

Once again, it seemed as if the world around Bell had slowed, the boy staring at the slowly rising foot of the Lord with faded red eyes.

"No one... is coming to save me."

Bell had already come to this realization the moment he entered the chamber with the minotaur, but it had only been emphasized by the discovery of the Lord and the other moving statues.

He was completely alone.

He wasn't going to be saved, he wasn't going to be helped, he wasn't going to be given any chances to lighten his burden. He only had his novice body to get through this, a body that hadn't even trained for a month in the dungeon and had only faced the smallest goblins and kobolds so far. There was absolutely nothing about Bell as he was now that would get him to survive a place where only veteran adventurers should be.

And yet, despite the hopeless circumstances, despite being nowhere close to the levels of these monsters, despite the loss of his limb that could jeopardize his entire career as an adventurer...

He knew that he had to keep going.

"I didn't ask for this adventure... but I'm here now."

Adventurers shouldn't be too adventurous; those had been the words of his advisor, an oxymoron meant to teach a person that they shouldn't get too full of themselves and should only stick to what they can handle, that they shouldn't go looking for danger.

But if that was the case, how did anyone ever truly grow? How did anyone ever reach the heights that they desired so much? How are they meant to overcome challenges if they never bother trying to challenge themselves in the first place?

How do heroes become heroes if they never break their limits?

"If I don't move right here, I won't ever get the chance to reach higher!"

Bell grit his teeth as fire ignited in his eyes.

"I want to keep going on adventures! I want to get stronger! I want to save people!"

Even with a bleeding limb, a part of him was glad no one had come yet.

"I don't want to be the one saved, not in this pathetic state!"

The naive boy knew enough that he had to keep going. No matter how much his arm hurt, no matter how much he wished to just lay down and close his eyes, he couldn't let his determination break, not if he wanted to get back.

Not if he wanted to return to the blinding smile of his goddess.

His kami-sama.

"Get up!"

Tears and blood dripped to the ground as Bell shakily stood back up, clutching his bleeding injury while thinking of the woman that had given him a chance when no one else had. He couldn't prove her faith in him wrong!

"Keep running! You've come too far to give up now!"

He's all alone, but that's fine.

He's lost an arm, but that's fine too.

As long as he's able to hold himself up, as long as he's able to move his legs, he'll keep running. He has to overcome this himself, to overpower the challenge in front of him and escape! He can't pray for anyone to show up and save him because it won't happen, and he doesn't want it to!

Because...

Because...

"What kind of hero can I be If I can't even save myself!?"

So Bell made a mad dash for the final statue he needed, moving just in time to evade the giant foot that crushed the ground behind him.

"Don't stop!"

The force of the impact sent him flying forward a few yards, but he managed to land on his feet and uphold himself as he kept sprinting.

"If you stop now, then you'll die!"

He jumped to the side and avoided the slam of a shield from above.

"Keep running!"

He ducked and jumped to evade two slashes from dual-wielded swords but kept sight of the last statue with its bow loading yet another arrow.

"Survive!"

The archer let his arrow fly just as the sword-wielding statue attempted one final swing at Bell from behind.

"SURVIVE!"

"YRAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" With a war cry straight from his heart, Bell pulled out his dagger with his remaining hand and swerved his body, swinging his blade diagonally upward as hard as he could while avoiding the oncoming arrow.

The blade of his weapon immediately shattered upon contact with the stone projectile, but Bell did hit it just as it was flying past him, barely changing the trajectory upward. This resulted in the arrow striking the sword being swung at him from behind, halting its momentum and bouncing it back.

Bell nearly fell from the impact of his dagger shattering but regained his equilibrium as he made it to the final obstacle in his path, the archer that had already fired twice.

The statue pulled out a third arrow, but seeing as Bell had gotten too close, it firmly gripped it in its left hand before swinging it down to stab the boy.

But Bell spun his body right before the arrow struck the ground in his path, twirling around it and continuing forward. However, this last statue seemed quite stubborn, for even as Bell was getting away, it swung the bow in its other hand in a wide swing, something that the boy hadn't expected.

So Bell's back was slammed by stone, sending him flying forward with all the air knocked out of him.

"GAH!"

Blood flung from the remaining part of his left arm as he bounced off the wing of the final statue, an angel singing with an open book. The impact echoed throughout the chamber before he fell to the ground with a thud, the side of his head bleeding from the impact.

Bell coughed hard as he clutched the aching remainder of his arm, weakly glancing back at the statue with a bow. It had started to load up yet another arrow from its quiver, only to freeze as a chilling yet beautiful voice joined the rest of the music in the room.

The level one struggled to turn his head but managed to see that the eyes of the angel were faintly glowing blue as its beautiful voice flowed out, which only meant one thing.

He had done it.

The Lord's enormous figure stopped moving just beside the archer statue Bell had just been at, seeming to be listening to the beautiful song being played by all its followers.

Bell braced himself, pleading that this statue, monster, or whatever it was would stop its torment on him.

For the most part, it seemed like his prayers had been answered as the Lord stepped away from him, heading near the center of the room.

"Is it over?" Bell panted, forcing himself to sit up, still clutching his severed arm in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding. "No... There was one more commandment... right?"

He could only hope he had the strength to follow it.

Bell watched as the Lord waved his hand toward the center of the room, to which the entire chamber seemed to shake violently. For a second, the boy's heart dropped at the thought of the entire space caving in, but instead, the circular emblem in the middle rose up, with the outer circle around it also rising to make a short pedestal.

A mix of confusion and wonder took to Bell's mind as he wondered what the pedestal was and what was on it, only for his breath to hitch at a realization.

"I-Is that an altar?"

Bell had never known much about religious practices, as the concept had been redundant when the gods descended to the mortal world. But even he knew of the old and forbidden practices in which cults or dark worshippers would sacrifice living beings in ceremonies in order to appease whichever god they desired.

So for an altar to show up? One not in a church? It could only mean...

Prove your faith.

Bell couldn't breathe.

Prove your faith.

This was the third commandment.

Prove your faith.

He had to die? After everything he went through, he was meant to be used as a sacrifice!?

Prove your faith.

"N-No-!" He gasped, scooting back until his back touched the base of the angelic statue. "I can't-! I won't-!"

Prove your faith.

Bell curled up against the statue and sobbed once more.

"Please..."

Prove your faith.

He can't get out of this, can he? Not when he was slowly bleeding out and could feel the gaze of every statue in the room on him.

If he didn't move now, they'd most likely kill him.

But if he did move, they'll still likely kill him.

Should he not give them the satisfaction and die going against them?

Or... does he go to the altar and hope to survive?

If there was even a small chance for him to live by following their commands, shouldn't he take it?

"Those who do not follow these commandments... will never return alive," Bell repeated the last phrase in a small whisper.

That was what the stone tablet had said, hadn't it?

"Will never return alive..." he muttered once more.

He had already gone through this thinking before, that fulfilling these commandments meant leaving this place alive, but the altar implied something different. Was he just overthinking this? Or will he literally be walking to his own death?

But if it gave him a chance to see his beloved goddess again...

Bell tightly gripped his arm before standing up, teeth pressing together as hard as his hold.

"For my Kami-sama."

He waddled forward right for the altar, ignoring how all the heads of the statues followed him as he made it to the pedestal.

Bell stopped right at the edge of it, pausing. But rather than wavering, his resolve peaked, and he stepped onto the platform and next to the altar.

Then a whoosh came from behind.

The boy turned around and saw orange fireballs flare to life, lighting up one at a time clockwise all around him until the circular pedestal was surrounded.

Bell braced for impact, partially expecting to suddenly die right on the spot, only for another ring of blue flames to emerge on the outer, larger circle of the area, these ones numerous but still circling around him.

Then came the sound of stone shifting, and Bell whipped his head to see the chamber doors open by themselves.

His breath hitched, his body nearly breaking into a run to finally escape this place, but he locked himself in place and didn't dare move.

It was too good to be true; there was no way this wasn't some sort of bait.

But at the same time, a block of ice dropped in Bell's stomach at several more sounds of grinding stone, to which all the statues, excluding the Lord, moved from their spots, slowly heading towards the altar where he stood.

In his building fear, he almost missed how the blue flames of the outer circle started snuffing out, doing so in both directions and starting to travel around him.

A timer? A timer for him to leave? Or a timer for him to last through? If the statues are really going to kill him here, then it'd be the former, wouldn't it? But that wouldn't make sense! Considering...

Bell jerked his head toward the archer, expecting another arrow to come, but instead saw it approaching him slowly, just like the other statues.

"If I was meant to be a sacrifice, there shouldn't be all these extra factors! And if everything in here wanted me dead, they would've killed me long ago! That means..."

Prove your faith.

It was as simple as that.

So reluctantly putting his fate in the one who had trapped him here, Bell stood his ground, shaking as he glanced around at the statues approaching him. But as he looked around the room, he realized that any statues in his direct line of sight would suddenly stall.

"I can slow them down to run down the timer!"

So even with his broken, tired, bleeding body, Bell forced himself to continuously look around, freezing statues evenly as they approached.

He ignored how the doors were slowly closing.

"It's a trap!"

He ignored the possibility that this could be his only chance to leave.

"Don't fall for it!"

He ignored how if he was wrong, he'd be torn apart.

"It's the best option!"

Because following the commandments had kept him alive so far. He could only keep faith in them in the end.

The timer of flames continued to tick down while the chamber doors got to a point where even if Bell were to run now, he wouldn't make it.

It was all or nothing.

He wasn't even paying attention to the flames at this point, only focusing on stalling the statues' movements as much as he could.

The doors closed, the flames continued to smother out, and despite Bell's efforts, the statues were getting too close.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Even as Bell stumbled from his spinning and dizzied from his blood loss, he didn't dare stop moving.

Until a spear pierced right through the upper-right side of his chest.

Bell belched blood from his impalement, the statue following up by brutally flinging him upward, nearly severing his other arm from its shoulder as blood flew from him like a sprinkler. The young adventurer spun in the air several times before slamming back-first on the altar itself, red splattering on the engravings of the stone.

At this point, the only thing keeping Bell conscious was the pain scorching through him like molten lava. His body burned with it as he spasmed with the scleras of his eyes matching the blood around him. He had a horrid-blank stare as he stared straight up at the ceiling of the room, sprawled out on what would be his final resting place.

And with his remaining strength... he cried.

"It was a sacrificial altar after all?"

Bell closed his eyes and choked on a sob full of blood.

"No... I don't wanna die... I want to live!"

The statues closed around him, with the nearest one raising its curved sword overhead.

"I want to accomplish Gramp's dream for him!"

It firmly gripped its blade and winded up.

"I want to pick up girls in the dungeon!"

It swung its blade down.

"I WANT TO BE A HERO!"

The last blue flame extinguished.

And time itself froze.

The blade that had been plunging stopped just two feet above Bell's head, all sound cutting off from the world. And in addition, a 'ding' played aloud as something popped up above the boy's head, right between the sword and his face.

Bell stilled just as much as the world around him.

"Huh? What... What's this?"

(!)ALARM

[You have completed all the necessary requirements of the secret quest 'Courage of the Weak.']

Was he... hallucinating?

How else could he explain the sudden blue yet transparent magic screen before him?

[You have earned the right to become a PLAYER. Will you accept?]

"A player? What does that...?"

[You do not have much time remaining.]

[If you refuse, your heart will stop at approximately 0.02 seconds later. Will you accept?]

Bell tensed.

"If I don't accept, I'll die, but if I say yes... I won't?"

Was some kind of external force saving him? Or was this his 'reward' from the Lord?

Either way, his answer was obvious.

This was another chance to live for him, to accomplish his dream of becoming a hero. There was no reason to refuse.

He'll take this chance and whatever comes with it.

[Ẃ̷͓̯͈̯el̶̞̥̀c̷͕̕ǫ̴̤͕͍̂̎mȩ̵̻̈̆ PLAYER]

[Wȩ̶̼̲̩̗̃͗̋͊̒̊́͠lc̵͕̖͎̯͕̍͗̓ô̸̢̭̻̲͔͉̰̋͂̔̿͆͘͜ͅm̸̹̹̜̺̑̇̿̌̉̌̕̚͠͝ḛ̸̭̭͓̤̳͍̣̈͑͌ͅͅ ̸̛͕̺̜͔͙̞̓̍̔̎̈́̐ͅͅͅP̶͈͍̭̳̂̀͌̃̚͘͜LȂ̶̧̝̘̪̟͔̮̭̤͖͐̓̊̄̊̈́̇̃̚YĖ̴̛̟̗͔̮̜̟̦͆̏̀́͛͝R̷͚̘̰̐́͊̇̊͑͝͝]

(!) ERROR

[Part of a foreign power was detected in your body.]

"Eh?"

[Foreign power is interfering with the implementation of the system. Commencing scan of foreign power.]

"A... foreign power?"

[Analysis complete. The PLAYER's growth will benefit if the foreign power is absorbed and adapted into the system. The PLAYER will keep all current stats if done so.]

[Will the PLAYER absorb or expel the foreign power?]

[Absorb] [Expel]

"Ab...sorb? What does that even-?"

[Absorbing foreign power.]

"Huh!? Wait, I didn't mean-!"

[Once more, welcome PLAYER]

A bright light engulfed the entire chamber.

Ais Wallenstein sprinted her way around the fifth floor of the dungeon, something akin to worry, along with a bit of irritation, taking place inside her.

Not too long ago, her familia had run into a large Monster Party of minotaurs on the seventeenth floor when returning from an expedition. They weren't anything her group couldn't handle, but the problem was when the minotaurs seemed to realize how outclassed they were, which resulted in them attempting to escape through the upper floors of the dungeon.

So the expedition group had been forced to run after them with hopes of slaughtering them all before anyone could get hurt, but to think that she had missed one and let it get all the way to the fifth floor!

Ais's glimmering blonde hair flowed behind her as she ran around, looking for any sign of the monster a level one adventure couldn't handle. She and Bete had shown up on the fifth floor not long ago and had split up to find the missing minotaur, but as the minutes passed, Ais's frustration grew while the small version of herself was frantically hanging on to her hair.

She would've expected her or Bete to find it by now, but there wasn't any sign of the monster.

It hadn't already moved on to the fourth floor, had it?

The thought plagued the Sword Princess's stomach as she took off toward the entrance to the upper floor, only to stop when she saw Bete running from that direction.

"Did you kill it?" She asked as the two stopped in front of each other.

The werewolf's answer was on his face before he even spoke. "Tsk! No, I checked to see if it had gone up to the fourth floor, but a group of adventurers coming down told me it hadn't come by. I sent them running already."

That reassured Ais a little, and the miniature version of her breathed a sigh of relief just to the side. However, frustration was still growing in the high-level adventurer at being unable to find the missing monster.

"Ais! Bete!"

The two level fives turned their heads to see the Loki familia's vice-captain, Riveria, also known as the Nine Hells, a tall, beautiful elf with jade-colored hair, catching up to them.

"Did you manage to find the minotaur yet?" The elf asked in pure seriousness.

"No, but Bete said it hasn't gone to the fourth floor."

"Then it must still be on this one. Have the two of you searched it entirely?"

"Damn it! I swear I've looked everywhere!" Bete clicked his tongue, glaring at the area.

"I'm sure I did too..." Ais added.

Just where could they have missed it? She and Bete had evenly searched the different sides of the fifth floor, the two even having passed each other at some point, and not once had they seen any sign of the minotaur. And there was no evidence of anyone having killed it already. Otherwise, they would've found out by now.

"There are a few obscure dead-ends on this floor, have you searched those to see if it was hiding?" Riveria asked them.

"I've already searched the ones by the entrance of the fourth floor," Bete grumbled.

"I looked at those around the west side," Ais admitted.

"What about the one near the entrance to the sixth floor?"

Ais and Bete blinked while mini-Ais cutely tilted her head in confusion.

"There's one there?" The swordswoman asked.

There was a moment of silence between the group, one that ended when Ais took off running toward the sixth floor's entrance, Bete and Riveria running after her.

This was good; if the minotaur is in an area by the sixth floor's entrance, that means it hasn't encountered anyone yet. Ais knew there wasn't anyone else on the fifth floor since she and Bete had searched it, so she didn't need to worry now.

And yet... why did it feel like something was amiss?

"To think a single damn minotaur would be causing us so much trouble!" Bete hissed.

"It's our fault for letting them run off instead of taking care of them immediately." Riveria admonished.

Ais agreed. Their group had been a little too nonchalant about the minotaurs showing up since they weren't much of a threat, and it had resulted in them being completely caught off guard by the massive herd suddenly running away. So now it was their responsibility to stop them before they could cause any harm, and yet, Ais had let one slip all the way up to where they were now, where beginning adventurers could've been killed at any moment.

She couldn't bear the thought of someone dying because of her mistakes.

Soon the three came upon an area Riveria pointed to, a somewhat hidden path that blended with the rocks.

"If I'm right, it should be just up ahead." The high elf said.

Ais pulled out her sword as she ran, ready to strike the instant she caught the monster in her sight.

Only...

She blinked in confusion before suddenly stopping, Bete and Riveria doing the same.

Instead of a minotaur desperately hiding in a dead-end, there was a pile of rocks and more scattered about near an opening in the wall.

An opening that shouldn't be there.

"Was this path always open?"

"No, this should be a dead-end!" Riveria exclaimed in shock, examing some pebbles still falling from the ceiling. "It looks like a cave-in occurred recently and collapsed the wall."

"So the big guy got pissed and broke it down?" Bete mocked, referring to the minotaur.

"Uncharted territory." Ais simply pointed out in a stoic voice.

"Let me illuminate the area ahead," Riveria said, stepping in front of the two before lifting her staff and whispering a quick spell.

The top of her staff immediately started glowing, illuminating the dark passage she stepped into, leading the other two inside as a gentle calmness took to the air. After all, they no longer had to hurry to look for the minotaur before it hurt anyone, as they now knew where it was.

But after walking for a few minutes, the high-level adventurers once again came to a stop. This time, in front of something they hadn't expected to see on the fifth floor.

"The fuck? Is that a door?" Bete piped up, staring incredulously at the large blue entry point.

"A door? In the dungeon?" Riveria was left in a similar state of disbelief.

Even Ais was bewildered at the sight; any veteran adventurer would be too. While the concept of a door being here may not appear significant at first glance, it was actually one of the most unbelievable things to ever find in the dungeon.

After all, the dungeon has always had two undeniable facts about it; there are monsters, and there are landscapes, both naturally forming in the depths of the floors. So anything considered 'odd' discovered had always fallen within one of those two categories, whether it was the rare strengthened species of monstersthat sometimes form from the digestion of magic stones, or all the unique geography that forms as you traverse down the lower floors.

But a door? A door to a room within the dungeon? Neither monster nor geography explained it, because a door isn't something that naturally comes to be.

It means someone had built it.

Ais narrowed her eyes, stepping in front of Riveria.

"Do I open it?"

"I'd normally say yes, but this all seems far too suspicious." Her superior pointed out.

Bete scoffed. "We're high-level adventurers on only the fifth floor; even if another Monster Party is waiting for us inside, there ain't anything we can't handle."

The elf sighed.

"I suppose, but just be sure to remain vigilant. A door signifies that people have been here before."

Getting the go-ahead from their vice-captain, Ais moved her hands to a door each, pushing them open.

But Ais hadn't expected the doors to actually be so light despite their size, so with her high-level strength, she ended up shoving them so rough that they swung to the walls with an ear-splitting impact, making both Riveria and Bete wince.

"Oi!" Bete snarled while Riveria frowned in disapproval.

Ais turned to them apologetically. "Sorry. They were... light for some reason," she explained before glancing back into the room.

When nothing immediate came at them, Riveria stepped forward with her glowing staff, brightening the area.

There was nothing special about it; it was only a small cave with stone on all sides. The only thing even worth noting was the altar in the very center of the area, one with...

"!?"

"Is that a person!?" Riveria gasped.

Ais immediately rushed forward to them and crouched down, checking the condition of the lone boy they had found. He was clearly alive based on his elevating chest, but definitely unconscious, for Ais doubt that anyone could've slept through the doors slamming as loud as they had.

He was... small. Not in the sense of malnourishment, but in the way to describe someone young, especially since he seemed short. His skin looked smooth and soft for your average male adventurer, and his snow-white hair looked even softer.

He almost reminded her of...

"A rabbit..." She muttered, mini-Ais holding her cheeks with stars in her eyes at the sight of him.

Riveria, crouching next to the Sword Princess, raised an eyebrow, only to look back at the unconscious adventure and blink.

"Well, it's an understandable comparison..."

The Nine Hells shook her head at that random thought, not knowing why she had gone along with it, before continuing to examine the young man sprawled out in front of them.

"The brat's definitely a newbie." Bete pointed out behind them, crossing his arms with an unimpressed look. "He hardly has any equipment besides that chest plate."

"But just what is he doing here?" Riveria asked, giving the boy a look-over. "He doesn't appear to have any wounds on him, yet he's completely unconscious, why is that?"

"Something might've caused him to shit his pants and pass out." Bete chuckled.

"That's revolting, Bete." Riveria glared.

"Whatever, old hag." The werewolf rolled his eyes.

"The minotaur..." Ais muttered, eyes turning sharp as she stood up, looking around the room. "It went here, didn't it?"

But even as the girl looked around, she saw no signs of the monster. However, the room was lit enough to where she could see something on the ground by the entrance, to which she walked over to it and got to one knee.

"Ais, did you find something?" Riveria asked, standing up since the white-haired boy didn't need healing.

The stoic girl remained silent as she picked up an item off the ground and stood back up, turning around and returning to the elf before presenting it.

"Minotaur skin." She stated factly.

Riveria raised an eyebrow. "So it had really come here, but..." She glanced back down at the boy. "He couldn't have been the one to kill it, could he?"

"Hell no." Bete dismissed with a growl. "This guy is a clear rookie, a level one newbie! If he was any other level, then he wouldn't have run all the way to this room like a damn weakling, especially as a moron that lost his weapon!"

Ais looked down, noticing that Bete was right. The boy didn't have any sign of a weapon on him, but there was still a sheath on his belt for it, albeit empty.

Had he lost it while running away from the minotaur? But why hadn't she or Bete found one while searching the entire fifth floor? And what would have killed the minotaur if the boy hadn't done it? He didn't look strong enough to do such a thing and showed no signs of even getting into a fight, but how had he ended up in this strange room with the monster in the first place? Had someone else shown up and saved him, only to rob his weapon and take the magic stone while unconscious? But then why would they leave such rare minotaur skin behind? Had they simply missed it? But wouldn't she and Bete have seen anyone exiting the fifth floor if they had been here in the first place?

There were so many questions and things that didn't add up, and it hurt Ais's brain just thinking about it. Mini-Ais was already on the ground, holding her head with swirling eyes at the rampant thoughts.

"I'll tell you what I think happened!" Bete rose his voice, snapping Ais out of her thinking. "A newbie adventurer went to the fifth floor and got full of himself, thinking he was the hot shit! And he kept going like an idiot until he ran into the minotaur! Then he pissed himself and ran all the way here before passing out!"

"Ignoring that vulgar wording, I also think the minotaur chased the poor boy here, but there isn't any explanation as to how it was killed." Riveria frowned, gazing down at the boy. "And it also doesn't explain why the boy is... Wait, is that-?"

Ais saw Rivera's expression shift into something more serious as she slightly bent down, passing her hand over the engravings of the smooth stone platform the boy was on.

"What is it?" Bete asked impatiently.

The Sword Princess watched in concern as she witnessed Riveria's eyes widen in horror.

"Th-This is an altar," Riveria stuttered, something so rare to hear that even Bete sharply focused his gaze in complete seriousness.

"An altar?" Ais tilted her head. "Like... the ones in churches? For ceremonies?"

"Except this one looks sketchy as fuck, meaning it's probably one of the ones where sick pieces of shit sacrifice people!" Bete barked, looking even more pissed off.

Ais's eye twitched before her usual stoic expression wrinkled. Did he mean someone had considered using some small, innocent boy in some cruel ritual?

She also saw Riveria's expression morph into a dark gaze she was familiar with. It was the same look she had whenever something threatened Lefiya or herself when she was younger, a protective look of maternal instincts, promising unbound, merciless fury.

"We're taking him back to the surface," Riveria commanded, leaving no room for argument, not that the group would've even considered leaving the boy in the first place. "The only thing we can do right now is leave him in the care of the guild and give them our accounts of this room. They'll question him when he wakes up, and if it's as serious as we think, considering the position he was left in, the Ganesha familia will be brought into it."

Ais took the initiative and reached for the boy, putting his arms over her shoulders before lifting him into a piggyback carry. She leaned forward slightly, to which the boy's head also moved forward next to hers.

"Mmm..."

She paused, wondering if the fellow adventurer was waking up, only to completely freeze when she felt him nuzzle the top of his head against the side of hers, hair rubbing against her cheek.

Bete released a cry of outrage and held up a fist with irritated cross-veins popping out, but Riveria sent him her sharp glare to shut him up, being in quite a bad mood from their 'discovery.'

The werewolf tensed before turning away with the click of his tongue. As for Ais, she wasn't sure how to react to the boy and simply started carrying him out of the room.

It wasn't as if she was disgusted or offended by what he did; he was unconscious, after all.

If anything...

His hair was really soft.

...

Ais ignored the sudden impulse that came to mind, but the miniature version of her cried as she tried but failed to reach his hair herself.

~{Author's Notes}~

I'm honestly really proud of how I wrote this chapter. To me, it feels like everything that happened felt natural and flowed well, I hope it was the same for all of you.

Oh, and I hope the formatting of the system notifications was good, because I made it so they centered the page to better fit the aesthetic of the system itself. Let me know if that looks good for you.

And as always, if you want to see this continued, leave me comments letting me know! I'll be posting this on ArchiveOfOurOwn too, and if one of the two sites gets enough comments, I'll continue it for the other one too.

Have a nice day!