"I'm sorry!"
Simon flinched as the boy he had rescued apologized for the fifth time in a row. He started to scratch at his cheek, ignoring the blood that still covered his body. A chuckle left his throat as he spoke, "Uh, you said that already. And, I told you before. You don't have to apologize for trying to run away. I'd just like to know why? I didn't scare you did I?"
"No!" the boy shouted as he shot up from the sitting position he was just in. He rapidly shook his head while keeping his red eyes locked on Simon, "You didn't do anything wrong! I'm apologizing because I tried to run after you just rescued me! It was rude of me to do that to a fellow adventurer that just saved my life and I-"
"Hold on. Senior adventurer?" Simon raised a hand to get the kid to stop talking. He clammed up instantly upon seeing Simon's hand. Which only made him feel worse. The two of them were still in the room where he had killed that monster. Bell was sitting on his knees while Simon was cross-legged. The monster's body was still on the ground behind them, but Simon paid it no mind. Nor did he care about how the entire room was caked in blood and viscera. He instead focused his efforts on the boy he had saved. Which is what led them to their current situation.
Simon shook his head and let his hand fall, "Don't worry about it. Let's just start from the beginning. Are you hurt anywhere? None of that blood is yours, right?"
Temporarily stunned, the boy started to slowly shake his head, "N-No. I'm fine. He didn't hit me at all."
Some of the tension left Simon's shoulders, "Good. Next, how about you tell me your name? Wouldn't want to keep calling you, well, 'you'."
"It's...it's Bell. Bell Cranel."
Simon thrust his right hand out to Bell, "Good to meetcha! My name's Simon. Simon the Digger."
Bell looked from Simon's smiling face to his outstretched. Still nervous, he reached out with his left hand and gripped Simon's. Simon's firm confident grip contrasted with Bell's loose and unsure one. When the two separated, Bell stared at his left hand with a bit of awe in his eyes. Simon's eyebrows rose in confusion. Which only got worse when Bell started flexing his fingers while nodding to himself about something or other. After getting Bell's attention by clearing his throat, Simon continued, "Anyway, mind telling me why you tried to run away after I saved you? I didn't scare you or anything, did I?"
Bell's eyes went wide as he swiftly shook his head, "No! No! It's just I wasn't sure what to do or say and I was still trying to...to...uh..."
Bell went quiet when he saw Simon chuckling at his reactions. Simon put a hand on the younger boy's shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly, "Well, glad that I didn't drive you away. Wouldn't be able to say a job well done if I ended up scaring off the person I was trying to help."
Simon's chuckle turned into a full laugh. Bell, not entirely sure what was going on, responded with a nervous laugh of his own. They stopped a few seconds later, an awkward silence falling over them as they both went silent. Simon broke it by jerking a finger behind him, "So, mind telling me how you ended up nearly getting crushed by that thing?"
"Huh? Oh right! The magic stone!" Bell nearly slipped as he got to his feet. He ran passed Simon, pulling his knife out of his back and rushing towards where the monster fell. He got to his knees next to the hulking beast's body and aimed his knife where its heart would be. Confused, Simon stood up and walked to the kneeling boy. He watched as the young man tried to stab through the monster's chest with his knife, only for it to get caught in the muscles without getting very far.
"What?" Bell said, pulling his knife out and stabbing at the monster again to no avail. His blows became more frustrated as he kept trying to pierce its hide, but wasn't getting anywhere. He pulled his knife back as he spoke, "Its..its hide's too thick. I can't through it with this. Aw, and this would've given us a lot of money we could've used!"
He hung his head dejectedly as if he could see all the profits from this little adventure of his slipping through his fingers. Simon walked over and crouched next to Bell. Then he tapped him on the shoulder, "Don't give up yet. You can get through."
"Huh?" Bell looked over at Simon, confusion plain as day on his face.
Simon jerked his head at the dead beast, "Keep going. It's not over unless you give up. Whatever you want is in that...uh...what is this thing?"
"You don't know?" Simon shaking his head seemed to surprise Bell more than what he said about getting at the monster's chest. Bell looked from Simon to the dead beast, "How do you not know what a minotaur is? Every level one adventurer knows to stay far away from them and...wait. You attacked a minotaur despite not knowing what it was?!"
Simon nodded without a hint of regret, "Yeah."
"...Who...who are you?"
Simon grinned, reaching up to tap on the sunglasses on his head, "Told you already. Simon The Digger. Now, back to the task at hand. That minotaur? It has something you need, right?"
"Yea-yeah but hold on-"
"Then don't stop here. Keep going at it."
"But...I can't. My knife won't cut it."
"You don't need to use your knife. You've got something way better," his eyes moved toward Bell's left hand. Bell followed his gaze and lifted his palm. Inside he found the small drill that Simon had tossed him before.
Bell held the drill up to the light, "This? But it's...it's so small. It won't get through this thing's hide."
"Don't underestimate it just cause it's small. It's still a drill. And if there's one thing drills excel at, it's breaking through a hard obstacle," Simon felt a strange bit of nostalgia as he spoke. For a moment, he felt like he was talking to a kid who doesn't know what Spiral Power is. Then again, considering he was supposed to be way older than he looked right now, he supposed the comparison wasn't just hyperbole.
Bell didn't look he bought into Simon's words. Simon kept grinning, waving a hand at the dead minotaur, "There's no harm in trying, is there?"
Bell pursed his lips before turning back to the minotaur's body. He ignored the sharp smell of blood and death in the room, focusing his all on the spot where its magic stone should be. Taking a breath he holds the drill in his right hand and places its tip where he was stabbing with the knife. While shallow the wound did make a good hole to start from. Once the drill was there, he started to turn it with his hand and...nothing happened. He got a bit further in but other than that-
"It's not working," Bell said as he turned to Simon.
Simon nodded, "Of course, it won't work the first time. Hardly anything does. The point is to keep going. Keep on drilling. Cause once you've dug through the last barrier, you've won."
Simon placed a hand on his chin as he looked at the minotaur's body. Then he reached out and placed his hand over Bell's, "Here. Let me give you a hand. Start turning it counter-clockwise."
Bell followed Simon's instructions. He made note of how, despite his rough looks, his hands were surprisingly soft. And his grip was rather gentle. Careful even as they started to drill through the minotaur's chest.
And drill they did. It was slow going. Lots of blood started seeping out of the wound as they got deeper and deeper into it. But as he kept going, Bell noticed it started getting...easier. The minotaur's muscles and bones didn't break in one rotation or anything. But they weren't as hard to break through as they were with his knife. In addition, the hole didn't just get deeper. It got wider. It was the size of his hand by the time Simon let his hand go. He hardly even noticed. He was too engrossed with getting at the magic stone.
Bell was elbow deep in the minotaur when he finally strike something solid. Blinking, he pulled his arm out and reached into the hole he made with his left hand. As the minotaur's body disintegrated, he pulled the large purple crystal out into the open air.
"I...I did it," he gasped out, barely convinced that he managed it himself.
He jerked forward at a sudden weight against his back. Looking to the side, he saw Simon patting him on the back. His face was split into a proud smile that reached his eyes, "Told ya you could do it! And now you've got what you were looking for. Great job, Bell! Knew you had it in ya!"
"Th-Tha-Thanks, Simon," Bell said, his lips quirking up into an awkward but genuine smile. He looked at the heavy magic stone in his hand, mind already thinking of how happy his Goddess would be to see the money he got from the exchange. But a stray thought made his expression fall. He looked over at Simon and held the magic stone out to him, "Oh, right. Sorry, Simon. This is yours. You killed the minotaur so-"
"Keep it."
Bell blinked in surprise. Then he looked over at Simon to see if he was being serious. The smile on Simon's face told him he was. Bell pointed a finger at the magic stone, then at himself, "Re-Really? But...you killed it?"
"Yeah. So?" Simon shrugged, "You're the one that did the work to get it out. You should take it. Besides, I wouldn't know what to do with it anyway."
Simon's last words went over Bell's head as he focused on the fact that Simon was just giving him a valuable magic stone. For free. When Simon didn't say he was lying, Bell got to his feet and bowed deeply to the older man, "Thank you so much! For saving me and for giving me this!"
Simon stood up and started chuckling, "No problem. Now, then, hmm...mind doing me a favor, Bell?"
"Of course! Anything," Bell said as he straightened himself up.
"Do you know what this place is? And the way out of here?"
Bell tilted his head in confusion, "You mean the way to the Guild?"
"The Guild?"
"You don't...wait...Simon...how did you get here? To the fifth floor? In fact...where did you come from when you kicked the minotaur?"
"Oh, from up there."
Simon turned around and pointed at a spot above them. Bell followed his finger to see a cliff hanging over the building they were in. At the top was a ledge that had a direct shot toward the minotaur if someone had jumped off it. Only issue?
"That's...that's at least ten meters high," Bell said.
"Yep," Simon declared.
"...You jumped from ten meters up. And kicked the minotaur in the face."
"Uh-huh."
"...Simon? Sorry if this is rude but...what's your current level?"
"Level?"
Eina Tulle's pointed ears twitched. The female half-elf receptionist looked up from the book she held in her hand. Her black guild uniform moved with her thin frame as she looked towards the entrance to the guild. Numerous adventurers were walking through the doors, many having come back from their recent trips to the Dungeon. Humans, beastmen, dwarves, and more marched in and toward the Exchange. Some with their heads held high, others with their shoulders slumped and feet dragging. It was clear to all who had had a fruitful trip with a single look.
Eina's emerald eyes scanned the crowd as she looked for a familiar head of white hair. She swore she had heard the light voice of the fourteen-year-old adventurer that was in her care. She placed her book under the counter she stood at while leaning over it with both hands. Her eyes narrowed until she finally spotted the starting adventurer. Her smile at his safe return morphed into a confused frown as she saw that he wasn't alone. Walking right along with him was another adventurer. At least, Eina assumed he was an adventurer. He had to have come out of the Dungeon if he was with Bell.
He stood at least twenty-three celch taller than the fourteen-year-old boy. A pair of red goggles sat atop his dark blue hair, and underneath those were a set of pure red sunglasses. She wasn't sure how they managed to not fall off his head, as she couldn't see them holding onto anything from where she was. The rest of his outfit was equally strange. He wore no armor save for two metal belts around his waist and five black bands around his stomach. The legs of his dark blue pants ended at long black and red boots that matched the coat flowing around his shoulders. His chest was fully exposed save for a single small object that hung from a string around his neck.
Eina frowned, watching the man as his head kept swiveling around. His eyes seemed to observe and take in everything around him. From the floor, to the ceiling, to the magic stone lights. But the main thing that he focused on was the people. His eyes would follow after many of the non-human adventurers that passed him and Bell by. A look of fascination was on his face the entire time. Eina started to wonder whether they had an adventurer like him record, but then she took notice of something else. Something that only occurred to her after Bell and the newcomer made it to her counter.
That being that they were both covered in blood.
And tracking it to the guild.
"I'm back, Ms. Eina!" Bell said as he triumphantly held up the large purple magic stone he got from the minotaur blood dripping from his sleeve onto the counter. He turned to the newcomer with a smile, "And I found this person in the Dungeon."
"Hey there. My name's Simon," the now-named Simon spoke without a care in the world, more blood falling onto the floor.
Eina was speechless. As were all the other guild employees and even some of the adventurers.
Then someone screamed.
"EEEEEKKKKK!"
"You know, Bell, after getting covered in blood, you should at least take a shower before coming in here..."
Bell hung his head in shame in his seat, "Sorry, Ms. Eina."
After watching the boy repent for a few moments, she turned her attention to the third occupant of the room. The newly introduced Simon. He was sitting next to Bell in another chair still drying his hair off with a white towel. When he finally finished, he pulled it over his head and onto his neck while shaking his hair out. He let out a thankful sigh before reaching towards the table between them. He spoke as he grabbed up his glasses and goggles, "That felt great. Don't know when the last time I had a shower was. This place is pretty nice. What did you say it was, Eina?"
"The Guild headquarters," she spoke plainly as she watched Simon loop the goggles around his head and lift them to his hair. Then he simply placed the sunglasses on his forehead. And they just...stayed there. She watched, waiting for them to fall but nothing happened.
Simon nodded as he looked around the room. A low whistle escaped his lips, "Got it. And you're supposed to be Bell's advisor or something, right?"
"That I am," she glanced sidelong at the white-haired adventurer in question. One eyebrow slowly rose as she stared at him, "And I'd like to know why he thought it was a good idea to come here in such a state."
Bell shrunk back into his chair under Eina's piercing gaze. Tears started to well up in the corners of his eyes, but Simon leaned forward and waved his hand through the air, "Eh, cut the kid some slack. He was just really excited to get here. Especially after he managed to bring that home."
Simon pointed a finger toward the magic stone sitting on the table. All eyes were drawn to the large purple crystal that released a dull glow into the room. It was the size of Bell's palm and almost as long as his arm. A stone of its size would be worth quite a large sum of money. Considering that, it made some sense that Bell had forgotten about the blood covering his body at the time. For a low-level adventurer like him, that was as good as finding an untapped gold mine.
Eina's frown softened and she leaned back in her chair. She adjusted the glasses on her face as she spoke, "I suppose you have a point."
Bell pulled himself from his seat, his eyes filling with hope.
"But that doesn't completely excuse you. Be more careful next time, alright?"
"Ye-Yes, Ms. Eina," Bell said, nodding his head up and down as fast as he could.
Eina gave him a big smile before turning her attention back to Simon. The man was staring at her with an intense gaze. His eyes were narrowed and they seemed to run up and down her body. She was already starting to feel a sense of disgust and exasperation, but masked it behind practiced professionalism, "Is there something you needed, Simon?"
"Yeah. Eina? What exactly are you? Cause you look human, but have those ears. Are you a beastman?"
Eina was temporarily stunned. Her elvish ancestry was obvious to anyone who looked at her, after all. How could he not know that? And why would he confuse her with an animal person? For a moment, she didn't know how to react and just stared at Simon with a blank look on her face.
"Mr. Simon! That was rude. And Ms. Eina is half-human and half-elf. You can tell from her ears," Bell suddenly said, leaning onto the table while staring at Simon.
Simon stretched his chin and looked bashful, "Uh, sorry. But I'm not gonna find out by just staring at her, am I? Better to just ask her for the answer. And I told you to not call me Mr. Simon's fine."
"Still, you should just ask someone that. I'm sorry, Ms. Eina. Mr...I mean, Simon is...new around here."
Eina's confusion only grew as she looked between the two of them. She shook her head and then cleared her throat to help center her focus. When she had herself under control, she placed both hands on the table in front of her. Then she spoke in an even tone, "How about you two tell me what happened in the Dungeon today? From the beginning, please."
And so they did. Bell told Eina everything that had happened up until Simon had saved him, and Simon took over from there. The two kept their stories as straight as possible, having gone over what they would say before they made it to the Guild. At first, Eina's facial expression got more and more upset as Bell described the events that led to him almost dying to a minotaur. But after Simon finished describing his brief part in the tale, her expression changed to curiosity.
"Hold on," Eina held up a hand to get their attention. She met Simon's gaze as she spoke, "Can you go back a bit? To when you fought the minotaur?"
Simon shrugged, "Sure. I was running along, trying to find the source of that scream. Ended up above Bell while he was about to get stepped on. I jumped off, aimed toward the monster, then kicked it in the face hard enough to break one of its horns. It fell over but wasn't done yet. So I got out my drill here-"
Simon grabbed the item in question from around his neck, holding it up for all to see, "-and ran right at it. I parried its attack, jumped up, stabbed it in the face, and blew its head off."
Simon mimed his takedown of the minotaur, a wide grin on his face. Bell was looking up at him with a small smile of his own. Eina stared in complete bewilderment. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke again, "I see. And where did you say you came from?"
"Uh...that's kind of complicated," Simon let his drill fall while rubbing the back of his neck, "And a long story. But I can tell you that I woke up in the Dungeon and that ended up finding Bell."
Eina turned to the boy in question for confirmation. Bell nodded, "It's true, Ms. Eina. In fact, there's more to it than just that. He...He doesn't know what Levels are. Or Falna. Or, as you saw, elves. I don't think he's from Orario."
"But then what-wait...he...Simon...you don't know what Falna is?"
Simon shrugged, "I kind of do. Bell filled me in on the basics. It's a blessing that makes you stronger, right?"
"Yes. But you didn't know that before he told you?"
"Yep."
"Then...do you have a Falna?"
"Nope."
Silence filled the air for a long time. It was quiet enough that you could hear a pin drop.
Then Eina slammed her hands onto the table, voice cracking as she yelled at him, "How is that possible?!"
Bell nearly fell out of his seat, completely shocked at Eina's response. Simon, on the other hand, merely smiled at her question. He raised a hand and started counting off his fingers, "Some martial arts training, my trusty drill here, a little bit of luck, and fighting spirit."
Eina's expression just got more incredulous at Simon's explanation, "You're joking."
Simon shook his head, "Nope. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. Besides, it's not even the biggest thing I've ever fought."
"You've fought bigger things than a minotaur, Simon?" Bell asked, eyes widening as he stared at the older man.
Simon smiled, "Damn straight. If you want, I'll tell you about some of them when we leave here, Bell."
"Y-Yes, please!" Bell shook his head up and down furiously, Eina's scary face forgotten as he thought about hearing Simon's stories.
The table rocking got both of their attention. Bell got up and ran to Eina's side, the half-elf having face-planted into the table. Simon did the same, rushing to Eina's left and helping Bell lift the woman into a sitting position. She took a deep breath in and addressed them while putting her glasses back on, "Thank you. Both of you. Ow."
"Do you need me to get you anything, Ms. Eina?"
"No, Bell, it's alright. Please sit, both of you," after sharing a look, Simon and Bell did as the half-elf asked. Once they were back in their seats, Eina focused an angry glare at Bell, "And, Bell, why exactly were you in the fifth floor where a minotaur was? What have I been telling you ever since you started solo adventuring?"
Bell flinched and hung his head as he spoke, "Uh, that adventurers shouldn't go on adventures."
Silence filled the room as Eina glared at the rookie adventurer. Bell avoided her eyes out of shame. They both knew exactly what she meant. He was a low-level, solo adventurer. His best bet was to stick to the upper floors of the Dungeon and not go any deeper than that. If he did, he'd die. Just like what had happened today. Going on an "adventurer" had nearly got him killed.
However...
"Don't think I can agree with that statement, Eina."
Eina's gaze shot to the other occupant of the room, while Bell stiffened in his seat. Both turned their eyes to Simon, and the older man crossed his arms while staring Eina down. There was no fear in his voice despite the glare that Eina leveled his way, "I get what you're doing. You're telling Bell to be careful and not try to do anything reckless that will get him killed down there, right?"
Eina silently nodded, wondering what Simon was getting at. Simon leaned forward in his seat, "Yes, taking risks is dangerous. But if you're constantly refusing to do something because it's dangerous, then you'll never get stronger. You'll stay stuck in the same place. And people aren't meant to do that. They're meant to advance, getting better at what they do every second they do it. It's how people grow."
"Are you suggesting that I let Bell go into the lower floors and die to the other monsters there?"
"Nope. But what I am suggesting is that your advice shouldn't be a golden rule. Adventurers should go on adventurers. They should just be as ready as they can be for it."
Simon and Eina stared each other down for a few moments. Bell could only look between the two of them with a confused expression on his face. He didn't know why, but he felt like the two of them were having a silent argument. And that it involved him. The tension in the room got to the point that he couldn't even say anything. It wasn't until Eina called his name that the spell was broken.
"Bell, could you go get me something to drink, please? And something for Simon as well?"
"Water would be good if you can, Bell," Simon said, looking over and smiling at the young boy. Bell said yes, got up from his seat, then quickly made his way out of the room. He stopped at the door to look back at the two of them for a moment. Then he walked out, making sure to close the door behind him.
Eina pushed her glasses up onto her nose and spoke with a serious tone to her voice, "I will ask you this but once, Simon. What are your intentions with the adventurer known as Bell Cranel?"
Simon matched the calculating glare Eina sent his way with a stern one of his own. The two were silent as they stared each other down, their wills clashing as neither backed down. Then Simon broke the tension in a way that Eina didn't expect.
His lips curled into a bright, genuine smile, "I don't have any."
Eina blinked, "Huh?"
Simon starts to scratch the back of his neck, "I mean, I just met the kid. He seems pretty nice though. And I can tell he's got spirit in him. So, I figured I'd hang with him for a little bit. If he wants me around anyway. Really, I'm just kind of fumbling around. Trying to get my footing in this new place. Don't really have any long-term plans but that's never stopped me before. And it won't stop me now. Gotta keep on moving forward, even if we don't know what's ahead of us."
He started to laugh, a proud and happy tenor leaving his throat. As he did, Eina focused on his face and looked for any hint of deceit. While he did say he didn't have any intentions, she did know of a few people who could lie with smiles on their faces. And while she wasn't a god, she could tell a few things about how a person really felt based on observation. But as she stared at the laughing man, a strange sense of nostalgia overtook her. She felt like she had seen his face before. Not as someone she had met before, but the general feeling it gave her. The confident and radiant smile, the bright eyes always looking forward, his sharp yet kind gaze and-
Her eyes widened as the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. He...he reminded her of Bell.
She shook her head to clear those thoughts then cleared her throat. Adjusting her glasses yet again she continued, "Regardless, I hope you understand that you won't be getting any vals for defeating the minotaur. If you do not know what a Falna is, then that means you're likely unregistered with the Guild. Thus you are not allowed to use any of our services."
"Vals? Oh, right. Bell said that was your word for money around here. Yeah, I don't care. Let Bell take all of it. I've got everything I need right here," he beat a fist against his chest with a confident smile.
Eina hummed then crossed her arms, "Fine. Lastly, please refrain from putting too many wild ideas into Bell's head. If he ends up dying in the Dungeon because of something you told him, you'll be the one to take the blame."
Simon stared at the half-elf with a blank look on his face. Then his lips curled into a knowing smile, "Ah. I gotcha. Don't worry. Long as I'm here, your crush won't be in any danger."
"Good that-wait what?!"
The door opened before Simon or Eina could continue. Bell stepped through with a tray held in both hands. A cool glass of water sat on the left, while a steaming cup of tea sat on the right. He looked around the tray at the two and spoke, "Sorry I'm late! There was a line. What did I miss?"
Eina glared daggers at Simon, daring him to continue his original train of thought.
Simon just chuckled, "Oh, nothing, Bell. Just that Eina here really, really likes you. A lot."
"Oh, is that so? Uh, th-thank you very much, Ms. Eina," Bell smiled at the half-elf.
She continued to glare at Simon who ignored her.
