Rakia and a New Destination (Unforeseen Allies)

"Ughhhh… this is sooo boringgg!!!!"

Bell was currently flying towards Rakia's capital city, Valua. Yes. Flying.

Bell had figured out how to manipulate the Dao of Wind to fly through the air. It was something he had contemplated before leaving his village but had never tried since he was always either sparring or cultivating.

"I've been flying for hours and it'll still take me at least three more hours to get to Valua!!" Bell was excessively annoyed.

Normally, to travel such great distances in such a short amount of time would be impossible even with the use of magic. After all, constant utilization of high-level magic would overexert the caster and cause them to fall into a Mind Zero. However, for Bell who didn't even wield magic, but simply controlled the elements themselves… it was as easy as thinking. Quite literally…

All he had done was to imagine the wind enveloping his body and cruising him through the air, and it had done so. After his classes on magic and the elements with Alfia, he could now make the elements bend to his will.

This is also why he didn't feel the cold even though he was travelling so fast and so high. He had cast a fire enchantment underneath the wind layer, and so the heat from the fire had neglected the cold from the air.

The reason the boy was so bored was not because of the long (short??) travel time, but rather because he had not spotted a single monster in the past hour, and he had a feeling he would not for the rest of the journey. Bell only stopped if he sensed the vibration of the ground — through the Dao of Earth — created by a monster. However, after he had killed the first couple hundred monsters, the vibrations had gone silent, almost as if they had never existed in the first place.

'Are monsters supposed to be this cowardly?? Come and face me if you've got the guts!!' He sighed. 'What I should be asking is… How are they smart enough to run? How do they know when I'm approaching them? WHY do they run, aren't they supposed to at least try to attack and kill me?'

The thought was left hanging as he sensed vibrations. However, they did not belong to a monster. They were of a carriage that seemed to be… escaping from something? He quickly flew towards were he had felt the vibration and found a coach. When Bell's eyes laid upon the thing the coach was running from, he noticed that it was not something, but someone. Bandits.

"Well, looks like someone needs saving," he stated and motioned the wind to bring him down to where the coach was. One second, he was hundreds of meders in the air, the next second he had reached the ground and had already taken his seat next to the coachman. Of course, having a stranger teleport next to you whilst you are trying to escape from bandits is not something you would expect to see. Naturally, neither had the coachman. So, when he noticed a young boy sitting next to him, he almost jumped out of his seat, accidentally letting go of the reins.

Bell had quickly caught them and pulled on the reins to stop the horses so that he could deal with the bandits.

"Calm down, I'm here to help you out."

'Help us?! But you just stopped the carriage!!?' the coachman thought but did not vocalize it because he noticed that the boy next to him did not appear to have any intent to harm him.

Bell jumped off the carriage and walked towards the bandits who were still mounted on their horses. 'Two archers, three swordsmen, and one carrying a battle axe. I'll quickly take care of these guys and tie them up.'

...

"What the hell? They ran out of men, so they sent a boy to take care o' us?" the axe-man asked sarcastically.

"Hahaha! Maybe' your' right, Ans. C'mon, you take care o' the kid and we'll rob the coach before they continue runnin'." One of the swordsmen who seemed to be the leader of the gang told Ans.

"A'ight," Ans replied.

Ans got off his horse and walked towards the kid, battle axe in hand, while those still mounted leaned forward to gesture their horses to gallop to the coach which had not moved since the boy had got off.

"Sorry 'bout this kid. Nothin' personal," Ans said as he raised his axe above the kid's head.

He swung down.

To his surprise, the axe did not split the boy's body in half. No, it had not even touched him. A moment later, Ans felt his entire body sting, almost as if something was sucking away his life and soul; and then he stopped feeling anything.

...

'Hmm… that man was a beginner Level 2. Using your strength to bully the weak. Disgusting. I was planning on letting you all live the rest of your lives in a prison, but I don't think that'll do anymore. It may not have been personal for you, but it is for me now. I won't let people like you sully the name of adventurers who risk their lives protecting people who can't defend themselves.' Bell had used the Dao of Death on the man and sucked away his life force, effectively killing him and making his entire body shriveled. Anyone who looked at the man's corpse would have assumed that he had had died months ago.

Since the men still on horseback had not passed by Bell yet, they had seen the whole thing. "W-What just h-happened?!" one of the archers asked.

"I killed him," was the reply he received from Bell.

"Who-Who are you?!"

"…" Bell considered it for a second. 'I guess I do need an alias… Hmmm… that should do,' he decided.

The boy said one word… but it sent shivers down their spines for reasons they would never learn.

"Ambrose"

A single word. But it was not just any other word. It held so much power. True, raw power. Power unlike the bandits had ever felt. It was almost as if… there was something else there. Something sinister and scheming. Something… dark.

The bandits had been correct in their assumptions. Bell had tried it for the first time — instilling a Dao inside a word. And it had worked. The Dao of Darkness had traveled to all who heard the word and infected into their brain. Then, it did what darkness does best. Corrupt.

Bell's grandpa had once told him that names held power, and that some names should be used sparingly… Bell had not understood what that meant until today. He noticed that he could use words to convey HIS power. The words themselves were not powerful. But they still HELD the power of someone. The true name of a god held the power of a god, and so no one dared utter it… even if that power was limited, it was still above the realm which mere mortals could hope to reach.

'Oh. So, it does work as I guessed.'

Bell then turned away from the bandits. He did not need, nor did he want to, watch them go mad and kill each other in a frenzy. That was the Dao of Darkness. It corrupted the target to the soul and made them crazy. Of course, it had more uses such as frightening the target, but Bell tried to not use that function because even Zald, a Level 7, had nearly collapsed to his knees and fainted from Bell utilizing the Dao of Darkness against him — this was three years ago, when Bell had only recently broken through to the cultivation equaling a Level 4. Possessing the ability to make someone three levels above you kneel before you… is scary, and Bell didn't want people to be scared of him. Well, at least he didn't want MOST people to be scared of him. His friends and allies, for example. His enemies however…

Both the Dao of Darkness and Dao of Death were Daos which Bell only intended to use against monsters. He wasn't planning on using them against humans — until today. When Bell saw the bandit's speed while swinging the axe, he knew he had to make a choice. 'Do I kill them, or do I risk them getting out of prison and hurting people again?' He remembered his vow to get strong enough to protect those he cared for, and that he would do anything to do so. Bell knew that he had made his choice before even starting his journey.

He walked up to the carriage and pulled open the door, only to have a knife thrown at him, which he easily dodged. Moreover, as soon as he had done so, a sword swung down at him, forcing him to catch it between his index and middle finger. Bell then pulled the sword out of the carriage, effectively bringing the brown-haired man holding the sword out along with it.

"Hello! I'm Bell, Bell Cranel!" He introduced himself in a joyous manner, confusing the man.

The man was about to pull out another knife to strike at the boy when he heard his coachman shouting at him. "Sir Crozzo! Wait! The boy saved us from those bandits!"

"H-Huh? He did what?" the man once again looked at the boy who was still smiling. "Oh. Excuse my prior actions. I had thought you were with those bandits. My name is Vil Crozzo, I'm forever grateful for your aid."

"No need, could you just give me the directions to the capital, Valua?"

"Well, we're only a day's worth of travel away from there. Would you like to join me in the coach for the rest of the way?"

'I guess it won't hurt to learn a bit more about the world and Rakia,' Bell thought. "Sure!"

Bell walked into the coach following Vil. A couple seconds later, the carriage started moving.

Seeing that the boy wasn't planning on starting the conversation, Vil decided to ask a question.

"So, where are you from, Bell?"

"Just a remote village. How about you, Vil?"

"I'm from Valua. My whole family is… except my boy who rejected his inheritance and ran away. He doesn't even recognize Rakia as home, nor me as his father."

"…" Bell was surprised that the man was telling him such things when they had just met. 'I guess he's spilling his real feelings because he has no one else to tell them. Huh.'

"You see, he has talent, and our family needs his talent to regain our honor. But the boy doesn't want it! So now I'm going to go and find wherever he's gone and bring him back here. I was going to, at least, until these bandits started chasing us. They already took down our escorts, so I guess we just need to return to Valua and get a new escort." Vil stated.

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"I'm asking why you want to force your son to regain the honor of his family? I don't know how your family lost your honor, but if I were you, I wouldn't force the job of regaining it onto others," Bell said, staring Vil in the eyes. This statement left Vil speechless. Bell sighed. "You look like you've worked hard for a long time to regain that honor, and now that your son has more talent than you, you're just going to throw away all that hard work just to use your son for your own selfishness?"

"I…" Vil was about to retort when Bell raised a finger, signaling him to stay silent.

"You shouldn't demand your son to work in your place. His talent may be unique. Maybe unheard of in a thousand years. But! So is your determination. I'm sure anyone who knows you would've said the same thing. I can see the determination in your eyes. They are similar to those of my uncle and aunty. So, rather than stealing away your son's life, why not repair your relationship and keep working hard yourself?"

After Bell's last question, the carriage went silent. Neither spoke. The silence continued for several minutes until it was broken by Vil's laughter.

"Ha. Hahahaa! I never thought a day would come when a little boy who hasn't even grown his hair down there told me such a thing! Bahahaha!" Vil continued laughing.

"…"

Vil sighed. "You know what kid? You might just be right. Maybe I have been blinded by my own selfishness… I guess I should work harder rather than push my own responsibilities to Welf."

'Welf… Welf Crozzo. I'll remember that name,' Bell thought. "So, his name is Welf? I'll tell him to send you a letter if I ever find see him during my travels."

"Thanks, Bell. Also, do you need a place to stay in Valua?

"Oh. I never did consider that…"

"How about staying at the Crozzo Household? We have quite a bit of space, so don't worry about being imposing."

Bell considered it before answering, "Alright then, if you insist."

"Hey kid, did you…" Vil paused before continuing, "kill those bandits?"

"Yes."

Vil wasn't expecting such a frank reply from Bell. "How? You're a bit too young to… kill people."

Bell sighed. "To kill, is not a difficult task. It is more about how to kill; additionally, is it worth killing, is the question. And yes. I will not tolerate the strong bullying those who are weaker than them."

"…"

The rest of the way was Vil talking and Bell asking questions about Rakia and the Crozzo Family. He was able to learn that the strongest in Rakia were Level 3s, which did make Bell quite disappointed; he figured that he'd just have to hunt monsters, travel around, and do quests for the next two months during his stay in Rakia. What did make him excited was learning about magic swords and how they were very similar to his Dao-infused sword strikes. He noticed that this might be advantageous or disadvantageous depending on the situation. His sword would not break when Dao was infused, but it still used up quite a lot of Qi, any normal person who tried using it would die immediately after swinging it. Even high-level adventurers would age greatly if they did so. He was probably the only one who could use his Dao-infused swords whereas the Crozzo magic swords were useable by even the average soldier.

...

"Sir Crozzo, we have arrived at the household," the coachman called out from outside the carriage. Vil then proceeded to open the door and stepped out, gesturing for Bell to follow him.

Once Bell stepped out, an expression of amazement filled his face. Bell had only ever lived in his own village. There had only been several tens of houses. This city, however, was much, much greater than his little village. If he had to compare the two, it would be the same as putting a human next to an ant.

"Wow"

Vil cleared his throat, breaking Bell out of his shock.

"Oh. Yes, sorry about that."

"It's alright, it's understandable since it's your first time here." Vil stated, then pointed at a mansion a couple blocks away, "That's the Crozzo Household."

"Huh? Then why did we stop all the way down here?"

"Right. I forgot to mention that I must report the fate that befell my escort group. Also, I have to call off the search and capture order on Welf. Please take your time to tour the city," then Vil took out a badge and handed it to him. "You may use this badge whenever you want to enter the mansion. Later, Bell."

"See you later, Vil."

After giving his goodbyes, Bell turned and walked to the first tavern he saw to get a map of the city. He had already gotten lots of information about the city from Vil: top adventurers, restaurants, tailors, blacksmiths (though he had also told Bell that his family did that better than anyone else in Rakia, and that he could find Vil if he was ever in need of weapons or armor), and the location of the Guild where he would be able to get quests and exchange his magic stones.

...

"Alright, so that's the Guild then." Bell was walking towards the Guild to exchange the magic stones he had collected. He arrived and went inside, proceeding to walk to the counter where it read Exchange Counter. The werewolf behind the counter hadn't even noticed the 13-year-old boy walking up to him.

Bell cleared his throat to gain the man's attention. "Hello, I'm here to exchange magic stones."

The man cracked open an eye to take a brief look at Bell before closing it again. "This isn't a place for joking around, kid. Go away if you don't have real business."

This made Bell frown. 'I'm sure I just said I want to exchange magic stones. Does he not believe me? I guess it doesn't make sense for a young boy to be an adventurer… Well, I'll just show him the proof then.'

Bell took out a bag which he carried his magic stones in. This bag had all the magic stones he had gathered in the past five years inside it. Goblins, Kobolds, Killer Ants, Silverbacks, even Minotaur cores were inside it. The bag, however, was much more valuable than any of those monster cores. It was a storage bag his grandfather had given him. It could store lots of things inside it while taking up no more space than the size of the actual bag. It was the perfect storage unit for magic stones and small items. Bell called it "Space Bag" because of its unnatural amount of space.

This had also got him thinking about space and what would happen if he could control it. But he had 'stored' away those thoughts for later. His first priority was to get stronger and perfect the Ten Dao.

"Open your dog eyes and watch carefully!" Bell shouted and pulled the bag open and dumped the contents onto the table. Hundreds of magic stone immediately spilled out of the bag.

All heads in the Guild turned around to look after hearing the shout. When they noticed the magic stones continuously pouring out, they froze.

"W-What is this?" Someone in the Guild asked. No one answered him. They all had the same question in their minds. While most were still shocked by the sheer number of magic stones, there were some whose greed clouded their judgment.

"Boy, we'll offer you our protection if you pay us with those magic stones," a man with four others next to him said.

"Protection? Unless you're a Level 6 or higher, you couldn't even beat me. Yet you want to give me your protection? Pfff!! Ha! Bahahaha!" Bell started laughing, enraging the man and his group. At that moment, the man probably committed the worse mistake of his life, acting arrogant in front of our MC, Bell Cranel, the Ambrose, Future Harem-King.

"Boy, you dare talk to a Level 2 like that?! You'll pay for your arrogance!" The man rushed at him as yelled that. At this point in the conversation, all those in the guild were waiting to see how the situation would turn out. They never got to 'see' anything. Other than the aftermath, of course…

One second, the man was running at Bell with the full speed of an intermediate Level 2, the next, his figure had become imprinted into a wall of the Guild.

"Arrogant? I was just stating the facts." Bell was standing right where he had punched the man. He had even held back, maybe a bit too much. His goal had been to send the man through the wall, not into the wall…

"So, anyone else want to offer me their 'protection'?" He asked in the most sarcastic tone he could.

Everyone in the room shook their heads so hard they nearly ripped off their skulls from their body. The boy in front of them was likely a Level 4. They had never seen one, but they knew that anyone below an advanced Level 3 could not beat an intermediate Level 2 so easily.

One man in the room knew better than to say the boy was a Level 4. 'A Level 5 is in Valua, and he's not in Ares Familia… This might be troublesome. I need to report this to Lord Ares immediately.' He sighed and speedily walked out of the Guild before breaking into a full sprint. He was one of the few Level 3 in Rakia, as well as a general in the Rakian army.

"Hey, could you do the exchange now?" Bell asked the werewolf at the counter, bored of having to wait for so long.

"Y-Yes." The man quickly got to work counting the magic stones, getting more and more shocked seeing monster cores he had rarely ever seen before.

...

The general had arrived and had talked to Ares, the God of War, reporting the scene he had witnessed a couple minutes ago.

"Damian, invite the boy to the palace, I need to talk to this boy," Ares stated. "Also, tell the other generals to assemble just in case."

"B-But My Lord, I don't think that's our best choice. If the boy has unfavorable intentions-"

"What other choice do we have? To learn his intentions is exactly why I'm going to meet with him," Ares said, silencing Damian.

"… I understand. It shall be as you ask, My Lord." Damian shuffled out of the room and told some soldiers to find and bring back the other generals under Ares' orders, then he ran back to the Guild. 'I hope he hasn't left yet.'

...

When he arrived at the scene, he was relieved to see that Bell had not left yet. He approached the boy, who simply gazed at him for a second before looking back at the werewolf behind the counter.

"Excuse me. I'm Damian, what name should I call you by?"

"Ambrose" Bell answered.

'Immortal? An interesting choice,' Damian thought. "God Ares has requested an audience with you." This surprised some people in the room. For the aloof and remote Ares to ask to meet with someone… It was unheard of.

"Hm? Why is that?" Bell tilted his head in confusion.

"He would like to welcome you to our city and learn of your intentions for coming to Valua," Damian straightforwardly stated.

"Oh. Is that so? Well, I'll meet him as soon as I get these magic stones exchanged."

'I guess that gives us time for more generals to get to the palace, just in case…"

"Okay then, please tell me when you're ready to leave."

Bell nodded at that.

...

About half an hour later, the two headed off to the palace.

Bell was satisfied with the amount of Valis he had earned. '13 million Valis. This should last me quite some time since I don't have to worry about armor or weapons for now.'

Damian and Bell arrived at the palace and entered after the soldiers guarding the gates noticed their general was the one requesting entry.

After a couple minutes of walking through large corridors, the two arrived in a large room with several people. One of these was a man with golden hair and muscular features. Next to him was a younger blond man around the age of twenty who seemed as if he could collapse from fatigue any moment. The rest of those in the room were all donned in black armor and armed to the teeth, as if they were ready for a battle to the death with an enemy much more powerful than themselves. None of them were wearing their helmets, but each were holding their own helmet in one hand while the other lay on the hilt of their sword.

Bell walked towards them. The golden-haired man in the middle spoke first, extending his hand. "Welcome to Valua! I'm Ares, the God of War."

"Hello. You may call me Ambrose," Bell declared and shook Ares' hand, looking him in the eyes. He had not instilled any Dao into his alias like he had done while fighting (slaughtering?) the bandits, but it still made the generals' hearts skip a beat. "Quite a greeting party you have here," Bell said, earning him the glares of several generals in the room.

"Yes… it was necessary for-"

"For your safety before figuring out my intentions," Bell cut in before Ares could finish. "It's understandable."

'This boy is not what he looks like on the outside. He's smart for his age. Too smart,' Ares thought. "Indeed. If I may be blunt, what are your intentions of coming to Valua?"

"Well, I just wanted to get stronger by fighting someone stronger than myself… but it seems like that won't be possible. So, I'm planning on staying here for a month or two and gaining some money doing quests before traveling to Telskyura."

"Telskyura… you should know that that place doesn't accept men."

"Why the hell would you want to go there?" asked the blonde standing next to Ares. "I'm Marius Victrix Rakia, by the way."

"I heard that the Amazoness are born strong so maybe I'll find someone worth fighting there."

"Why not go to Orario if you want a fight, there's the dungeon there after all?" Marius asked.

"Indeed, I have heard of that. But… hihihi… my goal isn't just to get stronger, you see. My goal requires me to travel to many places… Well, I'll just leave it at that."

This left the two men confused. Why had the boy giggled in such a way? They could clearly see that the boy didn't hold any bad intentions towards them, but he almost sounded too embarrassed to tell them his secret.

"If we aren't intruding too much, may I ask which Level you are?" asked Ares.

"…" the boy considered it for a couple of seconds. "Level 0? I don't have Falna."

'What?' All heads in the room turned to Damian with either a confused or judging look. Damian himself wasn't faring any better than them. He had seen how easily the boy had taken out the Level 2. Even he himself would struggle with such an achievement.

"But. If you ask which Level I would equal, then it should be a high-end intermediate Level 5."

This statement left them even more confused. A boy no older than thirteen with no Falna claimed to be able to fight equally to an intermediate Level 5! This was simply impossible.

"Bullshit!" One of the generals shouted and pulled his sword, pointing it at the boy. "Stop lying or I'll cut you down where you stand, boy!"

Bell just sighed at that. 'Why do these arrogant people keep trying to fight me. I want some real opponents, not ants to step on!'

"He... isn't lying," Ares said. "Mortals can't lie to gods. I would know if he did."

"Oh. Is that so… Well, I am actually just a chicken who has taken the form of a human." Bell said.

"…You… aren't actually a chicken in human form, are you?"

"No."

'I take it back. He can lie to gods!!' Being 'startled' did not fit Ares' current expression. His very definition of reality had been erased and rewritten in front of his eyes. "…I'm guessing that you are indeed the equal of a Level 5 since you have the ability to lie to gods."

"Indeed, I am. Also, as I've said, I'm Ambrose, not your normal Mortal."

'Right, he's 'Immortal'. Quite a fitting alias if I say so myself.' "You said that you do not have Falna, right? How about joining my Familia?" Ares asked, further surprising his generals. Their eyes were bulging so much that their eyeballs looked like they could fall out of their sockets any second now.

"I do not plan on joining any Familia for the time being. The strength I can get from doing so would be… limited." Bell declared. "I will keep your offer in mind, though."

"What about an alliance then?" Marius asked, sensing the growing anxiety in Ares.

"An alliance?" Bell asked, tilting his head.

"Yes. It's usually a friendship between different countries, but with your talent… you'll probably equal a country soon enough. This is in case Rakia is in need of dire help. Not during sieging another country, of course. Only in the case that we must defend against a danger that threatens Rakia's foundation itself. For example, if a monster that we cannot defeat appears, we would like your help in defeating it. In return, we'll supply you with whatever you need and provide aid if necessary. Though I doubt we could be of much help…" Marius trailed off.

"…These supplies being?"

This elevated Ares' mood as he was excited at the thought of gaining a powerful ally. "We can give you many things ranging from top-quality potions to magic swords."

"You mean the Crozzo magic swords?"

"Yes!"

"Oh. Well, Vil already promised to give me the first one he makes that doesn't break."

"Vil… You mean Sir Vil Crozzo?"

"Yeah? Is there any other Vil who can make magic swords in Rakia?" The sarcastic question shocked all of them — even Ares. How had the boy known their prized sword-maker?

"You know Vil Crozzo?" Ares asked.

"Yes. I chanced upon him while he was running from bandits and took care of them…" Bell the briefly summarized the events which took place, leaving out how he had "took care" of the bandits.

"Interesting. So Vil Crozzo won't be chasing after his son anymore… Do you think he'll be able to make magic swords through hard work alone?" Marius asked Ares, who was deep in thought after hearing the short story.

"Well, I don't see why he couldn't. Maybe finally letting go of the reins he tried to put on his son and solely focusing on smithing could allow him to achieve his goal."

"Don't worry. He'll achieve it within a year or two. He has the determination; I saw it in his eyes every time he mentioned a magic sword or regaining his family's honor. Just make sure that he doesn't starve or collapse from thirst while in the smithy," Bell told them, which gained him nods form the two men.

"So, about that alliance…"

"Sure, write up the papers and I'll come to sign them tomorrow. I'll be staying in the Crozzo's manor so you can come find me if there's an emergency." Bell had turned around and started walking out of the throne room while Ares grabbed something from his pocket.

He took out a badge similar to the one Vil had given Bell, but much more lavish and elaborate. "Take this, it's a guest badge. You'll be able to get into the palace with this." He threw it at Bell, who easily caught it before continuing to walk.

"Thank you for your consideration. I'll be taking my leave now." He said as he stepped out of the room, just loud enough for all of them to barely hear.

A couple minutes passed with silence until Ares decided to break it. "Looks like he doesn't hold any unpleasant intentions towards us."

"No. We should still be wary of him, but he'll be a worthy ally."

"Hey Marius, why did you say that he'd only have to help us if we were in a critical situation?" Ares asked, slightly mad that he couldn't reel the boy into his country's wars, but also excited to gain such a powerful ally for Rakia.

"Ares. The kid might be young. But he is not stupid. Even you should've been able to tell that. There's no reason for him to get involved in our wars or obey our orders. He could probably take down tens of our army battalions alone if he wanted. All of you could probably feel it too…" Marius said, gazing at the generals, "He is not just equal to any ordinary Level 5. His aura far surpassed that. I felt it even when he spoke his alias."

"Names hold power," Ares commented to that remark.

"It seems so… I wonder what that kid will become in the future… All I know is that we should not become his enemy under ANY circumstances."

"What now? He said he'll be staying in Rakia for at least a month. There aren't really any strong monsters nearby which would be worth him fighting," Damian was the one to speak up this time.

"Well, the number of monsters also matter, right? We could just give him the location of the monster nests around Rakia and quest him to destroy them. I'm quite sure we've spotted at least seventy nests with hundreds of Level 3 and Level 4 monsters. We would have to reward him handsomely, but that shouldn't be a problem for our country," Marius suggested.

"Give him the location of all the monster nests with monsters at or above advanced Level 2," Ares announced. "It'll help both us and him. We won't have to worry about monster outbreaks, while he gets his Valis and becomes stronger at the same time. After we sign the alliance, we'll announce it to the public. Make sure the people don't act arrogant in front of him, lest something similar to that happen again."

"Understood!" The generals gave a short bow before scuttling out.

Marius was still in the room with Ares. Marius had pushed to form the alliance, but he still had doubts about it. "Hey Ares, what do we do if he betrays us?"

Ares sighed. "Sadness burns in my heart… You humans live in a three-dimensional world but why are their thoughts so one-dimensional… Marius, think about why you are wary of the boy. Do you think he might become an enemy one day?"

"Yes."

"You should know that there are no eternal allies. But think about it. Will you live for eternity?"

"…No." Marius gave a nod of acknowledgment and left the room. 'Looks like Ares isn't just a battle-hungry idiot after all…'

The room was left in silence once again, "Ambrose… Show me if you deserve that alias, young one," Ares muttered to himself.

...

The next morning, Bell went to sign the document. It read:

Alliance Agreement

Involved Parties:

Rakia

Ares Familia

Ambrose

Recitals:

1. Ambrose must aid Rakia if the country's foundation is threatened to be damaged or has been damaged before aid is requested.

2. Ambrose is not required to assist Rakia in assaulting another country unless he desires to do so.

3. Ambrose may receive any supplies from Rakia for free as long as the request is reasonable.

4. Ambrose will be given a discount on said supplies if the request is not reasonable.

5. Ambrose will be provided the locations of all monster nests which Rakia cannot destroy.

6. The same conditions previously stated apply to the Ares Familia when "Rakia" is replaced with "Ares Familia" in conditions 1-5.

7. Ambrose will be the equal of a general of the Rakian army and must be respected by Rakian soldiers and officers in the same way a general would.

8. Ambrose will be allowed to use the Guild's and Palace's services to the same extent as a general of the Rakian army.

...

After Bell signed the document together with Ares and Martinus Rakia, who he had been introduced to just before signing, he went back to the Crozzo's mansion to give some time for the news of the alliance to spread through the city. He didn't understand why Ares wanted him to do so, but he understood that seeing a 13-year-old boy constantly exchanging Level 3 and Level 4 magic stones would spread confusion around Valua, so he had agreed to lay low for the time being.

The door to his guest room opened and Vil popped his head inside.

"Hey, Bell."

"Hey, did something happen, Vil?"

"I just finished smithing these two magic swords, could you go and test them out somewhere?" Vil had been working all night yesterday. Bell was aware that the fire burning inside Vil had been reignited, and that Vil would probably work on smithing magic sword until they finally didn't break.

"Sure. But you really shouldn't push your body too much. If you're not healthy enough, then you won't be able to smith those magic swords."

"Thanks, I'm putting the sword here." Vil placed them on the ground next to the door and left. 'Back to the smithy then.'

Bell got up and walked towards the magic swords, but when he picked it up, he felt something. No. It was more like he gained a deeper understanding of that something.

Bell immediately pulled off the covers on the swords and the first thing he did was to admire the exquisiteness and beauty of them. One of them was a crimson longsword with golden lines passing through it like veins. The other was a half orange and half black broadsword. They almost… looked alive.

'No. They are alive.' Bell had noticed that there was Dao inside these swords. He didn't know how Vil had been able to make these swords alive or how he had compressed so much of the Dao of Fire into them, but he knew that Vil had achieved it. 'I need to try these out right now.'

Bell opened the window and covered himself in the Dao of Wind before taking off at a speed that no one below Level 4 could see. That's also why no one noticed Bell flying — He had flown out of the city within ten seconds and was flying towards one of the lower ranked monster nests which Marius had given him the location of.

...

Bell arrived at an intermediate Level 3 monster nest. This meant that there would only be monsters of intermediate Level 3 and lower. Bell landed in front of the entrance to a cave entrance and immediately sprinted inside. The inside was dark until he gathered the Dao of Light around him and made the cave's brightness no different from the outside. After running a bit, he arrived at a larger cave, and for the first time saw a monster nest — his uncle and aunty had already destroyed all the monster nests nearby their village, so he never got the chance to see one. He was amazed. Hundreds, thousands of monsters were inside this one cave. He could immediately tell their strength from their auras. 37 Level 3s, 349 Level 2s, and the rest were all Level 1 monsters. 'Hmm… there's quite a lot of them. It'd be quite difficult for anyone else other than a high-level mage to take them all out.

Luckily, Bell was an all-in-one package since he had the capabilities of both a Level 5 mage and a Level 5 adventurer. He could also use the Ten Dao without chanting, so that probably placed him on a different league than most mages. The Ten Dao could be used in both one-on-one battles and AoE attacks. But that wasn't why Bell had come here today, those were just backups in case what he was about to do failed to wipe them all out.

"Alright, hope this works!" Bell shouted as he swung the magic imbued broadsword.

Nothing happened. Not even a spark was created by what should've been able to incinerate at least hundreds of monsters. Then the sword shattered to splinters without causing any damage to the monsters. 'This is what Vil meant when he said that his magic swords break before he can use them… It shouldn't happen, the magic sword had the Dao of Fire in it. So why?'

Bell was in deep thought, some monsters had noticed him, but didn't dare approach him after sensing his aura. The monsters of the surface were different than those born in the dungeon. They felt more fear than their counterparts. Most likely because surface monsters didn't spawn after their nest was destroyed, whereas the dungeon couldn't possibly be fully destroyed, so monsters didn't have to fear high-leveled adventurers as much in the dungeon.

'Wait… the Dao of Fire inside this other sword is… impure? So, it can only work if it's pure Dao of Fire. Is that how Vil's son Welf… That would explain it.' Bell figured out why the sword hadn't worked, and he also understood the way to fix it. 'It should work if I support the impure fire with my own Dao of Fire. Let's try and see.'

When he added the Dao of Fire into the sword that hadn't yet been shattered to pieces and swung it, it actually worked. A flame wave similar to Bell's fire-infused sword technique traveled throughout the cave, striking down every monster it touched. By the time it had hit the cave wall, no monster below advanced Level 2 was alive. The ones left alive were… not in the best of health. The monsters that hadn't died had all suffered serious injuries — cut off limbs, severe burns, the list went on…

"WOW! This sword is amazing! I Should tell Vil about this-!" Bell fell out of his excitement and looked down at the sword which hadn't yet shattered. "Can I really tell Vil about this? What if he… gives it to Rakia and they use it against the elves… again?" He sighed. He would have to think about that after taking care of the rest of the monsters.

He turned his gaze to the barely living monsters. 'I might have been the one to put you in that situation, but please die. I REALLY don't want to see all of you in any more pain even though you are monsters.' When his gaze turned back to the sword in his hand, all the monsters had been killed by Bell's Dao of Death. 'I'll just figure out how to break it to him while I return.'

...

"…" Vil had been silent since Bell had explained to Vil what he had done and that he is probably the only one who could help craft these magic swords. Bell had also told Vil that he wouldn't tolerate the power he grants the swords to be used for slaughtering elves and burning down their homes.

"So, Rakia can only use these swords against monsters?" Vil finally asked.

"Not just Rakia, they can sell the swords to other countries if they want. But yes, only against monsters. If you agree with that condition, I can imbue not just fire, but water, lightning, and other Dao in the swords per request. The only reason the Dao doesn't disappear is because my Dao is combined with your imbued fire. The swords I imbue only my Dao into lose said Dao after one use. Even though they don't break… they still revert to a normal sword until I imbue Dao again."

"…Alright. I agree to your conditions. All I want is to regain my family's honor, and if I must get help from someone else to achieve that, then I will. If you would like, I could help you with the negotiations with Rakia…"

"That won't be necessary, just don't tell anyone my real name. All you need to know for now is that I am Ambrose." Bell turned around and walked back towards the palace, leaving Vil in confusion.

'Ambrose?'

...

"That's quite the request you have for us there, Ambrose." Bell was currently talking to Ares and Marius in the palace.

"I know this is indeed asking for a bit much, but it'll take you much longer to fend off those monsters without the magic swords when I'm gone. Also, you'll probably be able to increase the Level of several of your officers to Level 3 if you let them gain Excelia by utilizing the swords. After all, they'll still be the ones killing the monsters."

"You do have a point there… Alright. You've got yourself a deal, young man. And the swords we sell… how should we keep track of who uses them and how they're used?" Ares asked.

"Well, I believe that'll be quite easy for a country like Rakia. You won't have to take care of those that don't use them as intended. You'll tell me who they are and where they are, and I'll deal with them myself."

"…" Ares just gazed at the boy for a while when Marius replied.

"We'll uphold our part of the deal, Ambrose, as long as you give us the promised 15 unbreakable magic swords. As you've already made a deal with Sir Vil Crozzo, you'll be able to craft whatever magic weapons you want for yourself. All we want is 10 fire, 3 light, and 2 water magic swords."

Bell nodded his acknowledgement. "Should we sign another document, or…"

"It is unnecessary, both parties have already agreed to the conditions, and seeing that we're allies… we would rather not break our promises."

Bell gave a low chuckle with a smile before leaving.

...

About Two Months Later

(Rakia, The Royal Palace's Courtyard)

"You have done a great many deeds for Rakia. We will not forget you and wish you the best during your travels."

The Foolish King, Martinus Rakia, was finishing his speech in the courtyard. There stood all the generals and several of the high-ranking officers behind him. Next to him were Ares and Marius. The speech had just come to an end, and Bell had gotten up to give his last goodbyes to the friends he had gained in Rakia.

He had gained both the hearts of the soldiers and the people of Rakia by clearing out all the monster nests equal to and above advanced Level 2. At first, no one had believed that he could finish up tens of nests in a day, but when they saw his magic stones, it had been enough to shut all of them up on the spot. It was unbelievable, but they HAD to believe it.

Bell had now become equal to — if not better than — many Rakian nobles, both in the eyes of the Rakian citizens and in material wealth. He had over 200M valis after slaying so many monsters and was sooo very glad that he had his Space Bag, or he would've had to leave it all at his manor in Valua. Yes. Bell had purchased a house in the noble's district of Valua, and even though he had left behind several items that were unnecessary for his travels such as clothes made of top-quality silk, he did not want to leave his Valis there. It wasn't because he thought it wasn't safe. Quite the contrary. His mansion in the noble's district was probably safer than the royal palace itself. After all, who would dare to intrude upon the house of Ambrose, whose name had already spread to every border of Rakia — merchants and travelers had even started spreading his name to other countries. He just felt that if he ever needed the Valis, it would be better to have it available on hand rather than have to fly all the way back to Rakia to get it.

The magic swords had mostly been delivered to the Rakian generals and officers, while one had been sold to the Sword Smithing City of Zolingham upon their request — most likely to study it in the hopes of replicating it, which they wouldn't be able to achieve without Bell or someone with Crozzo Blood.

Bell's Qi cultivation had now reached a new realm and he was equal to a beginner Level 6. His body cultivation, however, was ahead of his Qi cultivation and already equaled an intermediate Level 6. His old weapons could not keep up with him nowadays. So, before departing, Bell had gotten help from Vil to craft magic weapons for himself.

They were the best magic weapons currently in existence, not even the Crozzo Ancestor had been able to reach such heights. Bell had learned several weapons' smithing instructions from the Black Book in his divine consciousness (soul). These were the weapons immortal cultivators used. He decided to use the same weapons that immortals used.

His main weapon would be the jian, a type of double-edged straight sword. He had imbued the sword with a Dao he had comprehended after mastering all Ten Dao; Bell had always thought that there were only Ten Dao, but this was not the case. There were more Dao than just Ten, and each Dao had their own sub-Daos. The Dao of Earth had the sub-Dao of Metal, sub-Dao of Stone, etc. The Dao of Light had the sub-Dao of Stars, and there were many more which Bell had yet to comprehend. The Dao he had imbued into the jian was one he had comprehended after spending a day analyzing the Space Bag. The Dao of Space.

Since he had been there while crafting the weapons, he had decided that unless he willed it, the Dao wouldn't activate, and it would be no different than a normal weapon. So, the jian which had been imbued with the Dao of Space could cut space itself only if Bell willed it to do so. He had tried it on a minotaur, and the part which had been sliced at had disappeared. Not destroyed but more like it had been sent somewhere else. Bell didn't know where, and he didn't want to learn until he was much stronger. He decided to name the jian "Null", which was quite a fitting name as everything that it cut would disappear into the void.

His next weapon of choice was a changdao, a two-handed, single edged longsword. It was so heavy that Vil could barely forge it without dropping it on his foot, and even Bell had to hold it with both hands to swing it accurately. He had decided to imbue it with the sub-Dao of Metal and the Dao of Fire. When Bell struck at something with the changdao, they would be stunned for an indefinite amount of time because of the sub-Dao of Metal. The time would depend on the strength of the opponent as well as how much strength Bell put into his strike. On top of the stun effect, the target that got hit would be set on fire and be scorched. It was indeed cruel, but he could always deactivate the Dao of Fire when he wasn't fighting monsters. The name Bell found appropriate for the changdao was "Conqueror"; he had selected it to be so because a single strike could overwhelm the opponent. It was a swift display of authority.

His third and last weapon was a longbow that was about the length of Bell himself if placed next him. He had added more Dao to this bow then the last two weapons combined. After learning how to combine Dao and use them together without decreasing their effectiveness, he was able to craft a Bow with the Daos of Lightning, Light, Darkness, and Death. The Dao were not in a state of separation, they had been… in harmony with one another. If he decided to deactivate a single Dao, then none of them would perform like they should. He decided to give the most suitable name for it he could think of: "Annihilation". He had only used it on a Level 4 monster which he had found near the northern border of Rakia, and to say that the monster had been 'killed' would be an understatement. The monster's body and soul fell into chaos. It was corruption and light fighting one another in its soul, causing irreparable damage, while lightning damaged its body and death sucked away its life force. On top of that, he didn't even need arrows as the Dao themselves formed into arrows. The bow was made to protect, but its' true purpose was to kill. If he was sparring someone, he wasn't planning on using this bow at all. Unless his goal was to kill his opponent, he vowed to not use this bow. Simply because it would be impossible to not kill them when he did use it.

Moreover, he had found a way to store all three weapons. It wasn't anything material, but something he had achieved with the Dao of Space. He had made an invisible space similar to that of the Space Bag, but it was much more advanced. It didn't need a physical container. It existed wherever and whenever Bell wanted it to.

All Bell had to do was to think of his desired item and it would appear in his hand. He hadn't been exactly sure of the process that occurred, but after repeating it tens of times, he decided to leave that for when he could perfect the Dao of Space, which he was nowhere near doing so currently. He had barely achieved the beginning realm, and he could already do so much with it. 'I truly wonder what this Dao has in store for me.'

"Ambrose, take this," Ares said while handing him a token with the Ares Familia emblem. "It will be your way of communication with us. Marius has an exact replica of it, and you can contact him using it. If you need our help, send him a message."

"Thank you. You should do the same if you ever need my help." Bell placed the token into the storage space where he had put his swords. He would always know what was in the storage space, so he could respond immediately if Marius sent him a message.

"Ambrose," Vil called out. He had learnt to not call bell by his name in public. "I do hope you take good care of those weapons, they're probably the best you'll find in Gekai."

"Indeed," Bell answered. 'At least until I get better with the Dao, they will be the best. After that…'

Bell departed with that thought left hanging… His next destination: Telskyura

...

One week later

(Gekai, Somewhere Between Preblica and Asris)

On his way to Telskyura, Bell was eating on the run, errr, on the fly? He only stopped to cultivate if he was bored of flying. For reasons unknown to him, he didn't feel the urge to eat or drink. It seemed odd to him at first, but he wrote it off as a benefit of being an immortal cultivator.

It had already been a week and Bell had flown all the way down to somewhere nearby Preblica. His plan had been to rest in Preblica for a day before continuing, but he didn't feel like it, so he just continued flying towards Telskyura.

Bell didn't know at the time, but in the future, he would look back on this day and be glad to have continued on his way.

That day, Bell made a lifelong friend. If he was told that he would ever even encounter such a thing in his life, he would've outright called it absurd. But today, Bell had encountered it.