Hestia

(A/N: Tired and depressed that I had to rewrite this chapter all over again, I think the other one was better, I was not satisfied with this chapter for some reason)

Bell was heading to the dungeon with excitement written all over his face.

Why wouldn't he be excited?

He just met not just a companion but also a teacher in the name of Meliodas who pretty much reached the level of a God at one point in time.

A gleam of hope flashed through his eyes as he looked forward to the future, not only was his dream of becoming a hero became more feasible with Meliodas' guidance.

But also the thought of becoming someone as great as him or at least close to his level left a wide smile on his face.

His thoughts drifted into the land of daydreams, he imagined himself standing in a heroic posture, wearing a fancy armor while holding a beautiful woman in his arms.

The influence of his grandfather reading him hero stories left a deep impression on him throughout his childhood and probably most of his life.

(Hey, you better get your head out of the gutter, don't get distracted inside the dungeon and die on me)

Meliodas' reprimanding voice rang inside his head.

That slapped Bell awake as his dream bubble popped, bringing him back to the real world.

"S-s-sorry"

Bell said with a cheeky smile while scratching his left cheek with his index finger.

(Geez, if you die somewhere in the dungeon, I don't know what will happen to me, your soul can just reach heaven and reincarnate, I don't know if the same will happen to me, I don't have my usual strength to protect you)

A reality check suddenly slapped Bell in the face, his body jolted at what Meliodas just said.

(So I'm gonna need you to be careful, I'm only telling you this because you look like your gonna die early, not to be rude, but that is probably why those factions rejected you)

The smile on Bell's face stiffened and his head hung down in shame, he couldn't refute Meliodas' words.

Seeing Bell's reaction, Meliodas smiled wryly while shaking his head.

Bell looked like the textbook example of someone who would die early in the dungeon, a cookie-cutter anime protagonist who would always be saved by plot armor whenever a level of danger that should normally get them killed happens.

Melidoas was sitting down in a meditation position while patting the ground that he was sitting on like he was trying to console Bell.

(Don't be sad, instead use that feeling to fuel your dedication to get stronger, prove them wrong and make them regret rejecting you, you feel me?)

Bell's sullen mood lightened up upon hearing this and nodded like an obedient child.

*Step

Bell's face turned solemn upon reaching the entrance of the dungeon, there were adventurers everywhere because it was in the middle of the day but Bell proceeded to move forward without pausing.

(I've seen plenty of dungeons in my world, but I can feel that this dungeon is the most ominous one I've seen so far, it almost feels like this dungeon is alive)

Meliodas commented.

Since they could share the same senses, Melidoas could see what Bell could see, the vibe that he felt from the dungeon is strangely familiar to his home, the demon realm.

Bell unsheathed his weapon as he gazed warily at the surroundings.

In the distance, he could see several short monsters with green skin running toward him with a crazed look on their faces.

The first floor just mainly consists of goblins, the weakest monster.

Bell had already fought this type of monster before, so he slashed through them with his cheap dagger without much trouble, collected their magic stones, and moved on to the second floor.

The second floor was nearly the same as the first one but the area had some subtle changes, the monsters here just consist of kobolds, lizards, and goblins.

A kobold, a dog-headed monster, emerged from the dungeon walls and tried to attack Bell without any regard for its own life.

The kobold managed to scratch Bell's leg with its claws as the latter sent an attack through its chest and plunged the dagger deeper.

Another kobold tried to attack Bell in the back, but the latter reacted quickly, turned his body around, and stabbed the monster in the head.

The monster slowly turned to black ash, leaving just the magic stone behind.

Meliodas put his fingers up his chin and was a bit intrigued by how the dungeon monsters would just disappear into ash, different from how his old world worked where the monster's corpse would stay until it rots.

Meliodas also took the time to analyze Bell's battles and used them as a reference to training him in the most efficient way possible.

He noticed that Bell specialized in relying on his agility and used a hit and run tactic for the majority of his fights.

"Happ"

Bell made a slashing motion with his dagger and a goblin turned into ash, he picked up the mana stone on the ground and headed on to the third floor.

"Hehe, at this rate I might be able to reach the fifth floor within an hour"

Bell's confidence was at an all-time high, rumbling noises reached his ears and several monsters appeared and surrounded him.

The third floor is where things get a little difficult for Bell, but he was already strong enough to handle any problems that would occur on the third floor.

He encountered a group of kobolds and got into a tight spot but he found an opening and turned the tables on them, he was fighting at 120% because he wanted to impress Meliodas which boosted his morale when he was fighting.

At the end of the struggle, he was surrounded by black ash and mana stones lying on the ground, he crouched down and went to pick those up as well.

He navigated and found the stairway that led to the fourth floor and headed there without hesitation, the scenery significantly changed around them.

(How deep does this dungeon go?)

Meliodas wondered, he looked into Bell's memories to find an answer but found himself unable to.

The deeper the floors, the stronger the monsters become, the fourth floor is where things Bell starts to struggle a bit.

A bunch of dungeon lizards had ambushed him and as a result, he was covered in small cuts all over his arms.

But this was not enough to beat him, after getting pushed back, Bell managed to position himself and stabbed as many monsters as he could, a dust cloud of black ash covered his figure.

After wiping the sweat between his brow, Bell turned his head and looked at the ground and spotted a monster drop that is different from a monster's mana stone.

"A kobold nail, looks like luck is on my side today"

Bell smiled and proceed to pick up the monster drops on the ground.

After a while, Bell reached another set of the stairway that led to the fifth floor of the dungeon, and just as he was about to head there, Meliodas' voice rang inside his head.

(You're not ready for the fifth floor yet Bell)

Meliodas's sudden warning startled Bell and his steps paused.

Meliodas recalled a set of Bell's memories when a receptionist named Eina warned Bell to not enter the fifth floor because it was too much for him to handle, Meliodas agreed with her words as well, which is why he stopped Bell from advancing further.

"Why? I was doing so well and I'm not that injured"

Bell protested, he looked at his condition, other than suffering some small cuts that were already healed from drinking some potions, he was relatively fine.

He thought that he could still take on a few more floors.

(Are you serious? Haven't you read the report about the fifth floor of the dungeon? With your current stats, it will be too dangerous for you right now)

Bell sighed and listened to Meliodas' warnings, he too thought that the fifth floor was a bit dangerous for him right now but the adrenaline and overconfidence clouded his judgment which is why he was so eager to advance deeper.

After another hour of fighting and climbing back up the floors, they finally reached the surface.

Bell looked around only to see that the number of adventurers around the dungeon entrance did not decrease one bit.

Bell proceeded to walk forward and headed to the guild.

He was greeted by the half-elf Eina and proceeded to exchange his magic stones for valis.

"Oh my Bell, that is quite the haul you got, hmm... that will be 3500 valis"

Eina calculated the value of Bell's loot as she handed him a small pouch full of coins which Bell happily received.

"Thank you miss Eina, I'll see you tomorrow"

Bell walked through the streets of Orario and headed back home.

They arrived in front of an old abandoned church, but Bell did not mind his living conditions and proceeded to open the door and went inside without a hitch.

Bell looked around inside the house and saw that Hestia was still not home.

"Looks like Goddess Hestia is still at work"

(When you look at the outside, this place looks like a dump but the inside is cozier than I expected)

Meliodas commented as he looked around Bell's home.

"This is our familia home, me and Hestia took the time to take good care of it, well it was mostly just me"

After taking off the armor that he was wearing, Bell sat down on the couch and closed his eyes.

"When I make it big, I wanna gift my goddess a familia home worthy of her, after all, she is the goddess of the hearth and architecture"

Bell inhaled deeply as his thoughts drifted off into the future.

(You sure care a lot about your goddess huh)

"Well, she accepted me when everyone else rejected me, she gave me everything, a home, and a familia, I can never be thankful for her enough"

Bell said as his eyes gleamed in appreciation and gratitude.

As they were having their conversation.

Hestia entered the house and managed to hear what Bell just said.

When Hestia heard Bell talking to himself, she immediately thought that Bell had gone crazy and began to worry.

But his words touched her heart and her eyes turned misty.

"Bell-kun"

Hestia launched herself towards him like a missile and started hugging him as she planted her face on his chest.

"Bell-kun"

*sniff

"Bell-kun"

Bell was startled by her sudden appearance and blushed when he noticed that her breast was pressed against his chest.

Hestia raised her head and looked at Bell with a loving gaze, snot came out of her nose with a hint of red appearing on her cheeks.

Bell did not know what to do and hugged her back out of instinct.

Meliodas had long noticed her arrival and baited Bell to say those things.

Even though he never met Hestia personally, the memories he received from Bell were more than enough for him to know about her character.

A cheeky grin appeared on his face at their interaction and was suddenly reminded of Elizabeth.

'We'll see each other again'

Meliodas said in his thoughts.

After things have calmed down, Bell wore a pondering expression on his face, he was thinking about how he should tell his goddess about Meliodas and his existence.

After a moment of hesitation, Bell shook his head and look at Hestia in the eyes.

"Goddess there is something I got to tell you"