excelia

Chapter Forty-Two: Excellia

Despite having been clued in on the nature of Bell's growth- that his willpower was great enough to manifest a skill in his falna to boost it- none were truly prepared for its effects even after their taste from the initial training foray into the Dungeon before.

Proximity seems to have been better for their results. Those who had spent years on Dungeon expeditions saw jumps in their status that were simply ludicrous, especially for being as high-levelled as they were, and newly levelled at that.

Those like Aisha and Falgar, who had been at the peak of Orario's level 4's, had gone from levelling to 5, to being able to comfortably level to 6, with an average of B in their stats! In some cases, a person's best stat had even jumped to the S rank for the new level 5's.

Those who were new level 6's and 7's had seen ridiculous gains, too, averaging at the C and D ranks, respectively. All were technically eligible to level-up, though. More than that, everyone could level up, the going to the 100th floor and returning alive having been enough of a feat on its own to allow them that, but Aedan forbid them against it.

"Do not advance until your stats are either maxed or average in the A rank" was his mandate.

Even with that, some did level: Nobunaga, Charles, Minerva, Thors, Hugin, Geri, Freki, Fernus, and Ryu, reaching level 6 at last. Even Finn, Riveria, and Ottar had advanced quite a bit in their levels, while Alfia and Belisarius had done the same. Aedan had, too- much to his own surprise- as his own stats jumped from their low H to an average of G rank, with his endurance being a high F rank. It was mind-boggling for him to see such a jump, but as he expected, Bell outdid the lot of them.

Bell Cranel "Fair Hare"

Level: 6}7

Strength: I-0} SS-1004 (I-0)

Endurance: I-0} SSS-1100 (I-0)

Dexterity: I-0} SS-1012 (I-0)

Agility: I-0} SSS-1128 (I-0)

Magic: I-0} S-999 (I-0)

Magic Spell Slots:

1.) Firebolt: short-chant magic that hits the target with a blast of electric flame. (Chant: Firebolt)

2.) Caelum Veil: enchantment magic which coats the user in a cloak of lightning. This boosts the agility and dexterity of the user, while imbuing additional damage to their attacks, as well as their defense; meaning that those who land attacks will be hurt by the lightning. A secondary chant can be used to launch the electricity in all directions as an attack. (Primary Chant: Rage, wrath of Heaven; secondary chant: Distel)

*There is an additional quality to the user's Caelum Veil that is currently unavailable.

Skills:

[Liaris Freese Familia]: Fast growth as long as feelings last. The strength of the effects corresponds with the level of the user's feelings. As a side effect it makes the user immune to charms. The effect of growth is extended to those viewed by Bell as family and close friends Allies.

[Argonaut]: Allows a charge for a counterattack. It requires seven minutes (formerly six) for a full charge and can either sound like a small chime or a grand bell depending on the power stored. It can be used for any type of attack but the effects will dissipate when the user attacks or they lose focus.

[Ox Slayer]: Heavily increases all abilities when fighting raging bull type monsters, potentially making the user stronger than their actual level when fighting them.

[Dragon's Bane]: increases damage dealt to all dragon-type monsters, and reduces damage taken from them. Makes finding dragon-type monsters easier.

Development Abilities:

Luck A} S

Abnormal Resistance D} B

Escape D} C

Mage D} B

Chain Attack I} G

Available Abilities:

*Spirit Healing I*

Strong Body I

Fist Strike I

Magic Resistance I

He really ought to be used to it, by now, but the boy was so defiant of any norms he could wrap his mind around. First he was most of the reason for their collective growth- with Aedan being a smaller part of that- but then his growth is spectacular even compared to theirs! He jumped from a fresh level-up to a new one, with stats maxed out or greater, all in the course of a single expedition, albeit a year-long expedition.

'Really… that boy- no… young man'

As he mused on his captain's growth, Aedan was busy organizing multiple packets of information, using the vellum scroll he had received from Methuselah as a reference, 'We can leave Kyrian, Charles, Tsubaki, and with Perseus' help, they can get to work crafting equipment with the smiths of Orario, which I can do also as we go; the rest will be focused on finding the Harbingers and Divine Artefacts…' For the moment, he was drawing up rosters and information to give each group to tackle the assignments he had to dole out. With the timeline he desired, he wanted to give them no longer than a year to see to their tasks and equipment before leaving for the Dragon Valley for their final step before confronting the One-Eyed Black Dragon.

He not only had to coordinate the teams for power, but compatibility with each other and the targets they were being sent out against. Each needed a leader, and not even he could be everywhere at once with all of them.

'This is going to be the riskiest part yet, and all I can do is arrange to go face Spica with whoever comes with me' setting his work aside for a moment, he decided to take a break.

In the meantime, Bell and some of the others were putting Welf's work through its paces. For what it was and the materials used, his arms and armor were astounding; they could easily be ranked as second-class items, with his Shikou magic weapons approaching first-class.

The archers had praised- in particular- his Shikou arrows, saying how much of a benefit they would be in the deep levels and against floor bosses. Kyrian also took notice of the work and began to establish a partner-mentor relationship with Welf in which he would mostly impart his own crafting knowledge in exchange for learning about Welf's skills firsthand. Tsubaki naturally joined in to see the process of Welf's creation come to fruition: the creation of weapons that outclassed the old Crozzo Magic Swords.

To their surprise, though, the knowledge that Kyrian shared to them was even more groundbreaking than what they had learned, particularly so in combination with those discoveries.

"Enchantments and Spirit-Bonding?"

Ryu was meditating.

Having been the one chosen by the Divine Artefact of the 90th floor, she wanted to set her mind before using it; surely a grimoire was an extreme rarity for such things, as it would be a one-time use… or would it? Being a Divine Artefact, it wouldn't decay; would it just be ineffective until she died? That seemed possible, but it wasn't important in the end; only whatever magic she gained from this would be important.

'Something useful for protecting my friends, for defeating the Black Dragon, I need to visualize that…' Once she found her center, she serenely opened the book, and was taken in by it. Almost instantly, she realized that this book was of a completely different caliber, as it drew her Mind into crafting a new magic to completely suit her.

It was unlike having her falna grant her magic, the fever dream-like experience left her feeling dazed and confused when she woke up; the Red-Skin sat inert on the table by her, still radiating power, though inaccessible for who knew how long.

'I suppose now I just need to update my status, then I'll know how it worked'

Having just recently updated her status to becoming a fresh level 6 after failing to level during their initial training phase, she was already overjoyed with her growth; when Hestia graciously updated her status again so soon, she focused on the only new thing in it.

3.) Dia Morte Demoni: Anti-demon attack magic which takes the form of an unyielding ray of light. The more the user moves and attacks after beginning to chant and before casting, the more powerful the magic cast will be.

Chant: In my hands I hold,

May the goddess of my patronage,

For my life and health follow after me,

A kindly Guardian marches on my right,

A kindly Spirit marches on my left,

The scribe of the Underworld recites

A purification before me.

By the master of the sword, be exorcised!

Evil Spirit, Evil Demon, Evil Ghost,

Evil Fiend, Evil God, Evil Dragon,

Evil Devil, Evil Monster, Evil are they,

May they not draw unto my body,

Before me, may they wreak no evil,

Nor follow behind me.

Into my house may they not enter,

My fence may they not break through,

Into my chamber may they not trespass.

By Heaven, be exorcised, by Earth, return to the Abyss!

Ryu marveled at it, her new spell. She had never seen one like it before. The chant was incredibly long, more than any spell she knew of, and with her ability to chant concurrently, it was even more powerful for it!

'What… is this about demons, though?'

Shaking off her confusion, she nodded to herself, knowing that the grimoire had delivered precisely what she needed.

"Ahhhh…" stretching her arms up into the air, Argana sighed contentedly as she enjoyed the morning sun, smiling over to her sister and commenting in their native language, "Nothing like a well-earned reward, hm?" Bache simply nodded as they walked across one of the courtyards of Hearthfire Manor. After turning a corner, they saw one of the other big names speaking with some of their familia sisters: the imperial general.

"So what is it like back in the Empire, General?"

"Do you live in the capital? I'd like to see it for myself"

"Perhaps goddess Kali would allow us an… escapade there, purely for diplomatic purposes, of course"

Belisarius had been surrounded by a trio of… exotic beauties in the forms of Sahiri, Nala, and Jasmine.

"That is an intriguing proposition, ladies, and one I would be happy to facilitate should your goddess wish to pursue it" he put up a cordial but stalwart front, his experience not failing him. However, his nature also didn't escape him, and behind his façade, he was going to pieces trying to get himself out of the situation before something blessedly unfortunate happened.

"There you are General; my apologies ladies, but I've need of his time for a while and I'm afraid it cannot wait. Perhaps we might adjourn this meeting until tea this afternoon?" his out came in the timely arrival of his second, Achelous. The high elf, sharing a likeness with Riveria, smiled serenely as she pulled Belisarius away from the Amazons, despite their consternation.

Looking on, Argana smirked at her familia, "Tough luck, nothing like running into the wall of a taken man" she taunted them in the language of their homeland. She simply laughed at the curses that were thrown her way in response.

Aedan sighed, dragging his hand down his face and the stubble peppering it. After a generous amount of time, he had finally arranged rosters for the assignments he figured would suit their needs and abilities; before they could do anything about it, though, they needed to ensure that Orario would be safe in their absence so that Ouranos would allow them to leave.

"Alright, time to arrange for the public to accept their new protectors, whether they like it or not" he mumbled to himself.

That was the problem that had eaten up the remainder of his free time: getting the Xenos accepted. Naturally, they could respond to threats in the Dungeon in their absence, but not anything in Orario proper; it may be alright given that some of their allies would remain behind, but all the same…

"Mr. Aedan?"

"Ah, Captain, I apologize; I was trying to work through one of our… peculiar problems"

"The Xenos?"

"I'm afraid so"

The young man took a concerned look on his face, "I don't see why we can't just show them that they are harmless; even if we lie and say that they are simply tamed and trained"

"It is our best bet, to claim that they are new allies of Ganesha Familia, for example; the problem is that there are risks"

Bell shot him a heated look, but he raised his hands, "I know, but I spoke with Asfi and some of our own allies. Items that effect monsters would still do the same to the Xenos; if there was a malevolent party in play, we could be doing more harm than good by being unprepared for the eventuality. If the Xenos were made to go berserk- especially while we are gone- it would do worse for the public view than keeping them below for now"

"… I see what you mean, now; isn't there a way, though? Maybe items that can counter the other ones?"

"We could try, but it might end up in an arms race, so to speak. I was thinking something more along the lines of a toned down version of what we discussed"

"Alright… How would it work?"

"Instead of making the whole affair public, we keep the front of them being tamed and trained by Ganesha Familia. Even if they are recognized, that may play to our favor, anyway.

"We will introduce them to Rivira, but build a separate settlement on the 18th floor proper, connected to the hidden villages and Knossos. This will give them and our allies the greatest benefit with minimal risk. We will introduce them to the surface when we are present to facilitate the transition"

He waited as Bell silently weighed the merit of the proposition; he didn't look overly pleased, but Aedan knew that Bell was already aware that it would be the best route. Moreover, he knew the boy wanted to be there for the Xenos when they were truly brought to the surface.

"Alright, I think we can go with that, but I want to tell them about what we decided, and why"

"By all means. Shall I liaison with Ganesha Familia to arrange the construction of a fort on the 18th floor?"

Bell shook his head, "No, I don't have anything I need to do right now, so I can go talk with Ms. Shakti about it directly"

"She is informed enough to know about the specific needs, right?"

"Yes, but I think I'll bring Lili to make sure we have all our bases covered"

"Excellent; I'll leave it to you then, Captain" he smiled at the boy as he watched him go. As soon as he had gone, another entered to take his place.

"Hard at work still, are you?"

"Always… what can I do for you, Alfia?"

"Not for me" she passed him a letter, "This was sent for you"

Brow raised, he inspected the missive. Addressed simply to him, but with a familiar emblem engraved into the wax seal keeping the envelop closed and unbroken.

"Odin and Frigg Familia…" he felt a chill grip his back as he opened and quickly read the letter. Only after reading it a second time did he relax, but still kept his body tense, "Looks like I will need to rearrange our agenda. The Valley is stirring"