Disclamer : I do not own Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka?.

I looked up from my map and stared at the entrance of the Orario, the labyrinth city.

I let out a sigh. While traveling, I had even thought that I would never reach it. Well, after getting lost about 15 times, that was a given.

"Damn me and my freaking sense of directions" I cursed under my breath.

The trip from my village to the Orario was supposed to take about 2 days, but thanks to my stupidly horrible sense of direction, it took 15 freaking days.

"Oh well, might as well get over it" I murmured quietly as I started to walk toward the huge arch that was the entrance of Orario.

The arch stood about 15 meters tall, surrounded by walls on both of its sides. It was the only way in and out of the city. Unless you count climbing over the walls, of course, but it would most likely prove to be impossible, since they were easily over 50 meters tall, not to mention that they were so perfectly made that there wasn't so much of a ledge to climb on.

When I was one step from the arch I looked up and admired its sheer height and power it exuded. I could easily tell that this was no ordinary arch. It was covered with ancient scribblings, each of them exuding magic at absurd rates. It wasn't man-made by any means, it was probably crafted by one of the higher gods, long ago, such as the primordials.

I took a step closer and analyzed some of its scribblings. The closest one to me seemed to be one that made it impossible for monsters to either enter or leave the city. A pretty high level spell, since it had enough power to block a boss from the floors beyond 90.

I took a step back and moved toward the entrance of the arch. I then took in a deep breath, closed my eyes and passed through it. As I passed, I could feel a slight tickling all over my body. I ignored that, thinking it was some side affect of the adrenaline running through my veins.

I then opened my eyes and took in the huge size of the city. I could see houses, markets, tents, banks, piling up the streets. People moving from one side to another, carrying on their daily duties. Merchants announcing products, waiters inviting people into their respective restaurants, adventures with swords, shields, lances, walking around, having fun.

I took a deep breath, a sad, yet accomplished smile started taking over my features. My eyes began to water up.

'Mom, dad, I'm finally here' I thought as a tear ran down my left cheek.

I then shook my head, getting rid of the tears. I had no time for mourning. I had to find a familia, and quick.

I then steeled my nerves, since I knew what awaited me: Long, painful hours of asking adventurers for a place in their familia.

"Well, I do want a place to sleep, so I should probably start asking right away" I thought as I made my way to the nearest familia building according to the map.

After 5 minutes of searching (should have been 1, but with my messed up sense of direction...), I finally found the nearest one.

I then took a deep breath and knocked at the door. At first nothing happened, but soon enough I started hearing footsteps coming closer.

The door then was opened forcefully, hitting the other side of the wall, as a tall and fearsome looking guy came out.

He was easily 6.2 feet tall, with a menacing scowl on his face. He had a shaved head with a bunch of battle scars. One could easily come to the conclusion that the man had seen countless battles.

He then looked down at me and asked "What do ya want?"

I then looked up, meeting his gaze, and said "I wish to join your familia"

With his scowl never leaving his face, he took a step back and looked me up and down.

I then held the urge to curse, since I already knew what his answer would be. I was hoping he would want to have a spar match with me, but, sadly, he chose to judge me by my outer appearance. Even though I was indeed quite strong and skillful, I looked nothing like it.

I was small for a 14 years old, about 5.1 feet tall. I had normal brown colored air with normal chocolate colored eyes. I was thin, and showed almost no sign of muscles. In other words, I didn't stand out at all.

Instead of saying no, he placed his hand on the door handle and slammed it shut.

"A simple no would have sufficed" I murmured slightly under my breath.

"Oh well, that was to be expected, either way, I'm sure I will be able to find a familia if I search the whole day" I thought positively to myself and proceeded to walk to the next familia.

"YOU MUST BE FREAKING KIDDING ME!" I screamed out in exasperation. After spending 8 freaking hours searching for a familia, not one of them would propose a spar. I was hoping that there would be a familia experienced enough to not judge people by their appearance, but it seemed like I was hoping for too much.

I then looked up at the night sky, and taking in the position of the moon and the stars, I could tell that it was past midnight.

"Damn, seems like I'm really going to need to sleep in the streets today" I thought grimly.

Just as I was about to lay my head on the hard, cold ground, a feminine voice spoke up.

"Might you be looking for a familia, young adventurer?"

My eyes widened and my heart beat increased. 'This must be some kind of delusion, its really ironic that someone would say that to me on this exact moment. This just ain't possible' I thought.

I slowly turned my head around, and looked at the owner of the voice. The moment I looked at the person, I knew it wasn't a delusion, because there was no freaking way that my brain would be able to come up with such an exquisite person.

Standing right in front of me was a woman like no other. She appeared to be on her mid to late teens. She had roundish blue eyes and light black hair tied into two twin tails. Her hair reached down to her mid thigh. The two twin tails were held up by bows that resembled white and blue flower petals and two rectangular bell shaped ornaments. She had a small frame, about 4'2 feet tall, which emphasized her rather voluptuous breasts. She was dressed on a white mini dress with a blue ribbon around her collar and one tied under her breasts around her arms, she also wore a pair of white gloves.

I couldn't come up with an answer, as I was bedazzled by such a sight.

She then repeated again, this time with traces of annoyance in her voice "Might you be looking for a familia, young adventurer?"

I then came back to my senses and blinked a few times. I then stood up and looked at her face to face.

"Yes"

A small smile crept around her face as she proceeded "What might thy name be?"

"Bell Crannel"

She then repeated my name a few times, as if testing it and finally said her own name "My name is Hestia, Bell-san"

Since I was not too fond of formalities, I asked "Could you please drop the san?"

Her eyes widened only to narrow. "So.. how about Bell-kun?" She asked.

I smiled. "Perfect"

Hestia then extend her hands and said "So, Bell-kun, wold you like to be part of my familia?"

I took her hand and smiled "It would be a pleasure, my goddess"

She smiled "The pact is now sealed, dear adventurer"

As her words let her mouth, I felt as a surge of magic entered my fingers and extended throughout my body.

It was a blissful feeling.

The magic then stopped traveling through my body and headed to my back. I could feel as it concentrated there, truly sealing the pact.

Hestia then smiled again "Shall we get going, Bell-kun?"

My smile, which had been on my face since the pact, grew even wider "Yes, goddess."

"So, Bell-kun, how about it?" Hestia asked me as she pointed at a church who had seen better days.

At first I was surprised by the fact that a goddess lived in such a place, but quickly shook it off because I remembered something my parents once told me.

When I was 5 years old, they were already preparing me for being an adventurer, and one day the said: "Bell-kun, not all gods are rich. Even though most gods do live in huge mansions and castles, those with few familia members don't have a source of income, so they normally live in abandoned buildings"

"Bell-kun, I asked if you like your new house" Hestia repeated.

I then came back of my senses.

"Oh, it's pretty um... how can I say it?" I answered "Ah, I know, its pretty welcoming"

Hestia smiled at that.

"Oh, yeah, I remembered something. Hestia, how many members are in your familia?" I asked

Hestia looked down at the question and murmured something.

Since I couldn't hear what she said, I asked "Come again?"

She repeated again, this time a little louder, but still not enough for me to hear.

I again asked "Could you said It a bit louder?"

At that she snapped."YOU ARE MY ONLY FAMILIA MEMBER!" She screamed.

My eyes widened, I had no idea that I was the only member of her familia. "Sorry, I didn't know" I apologized.

Hestia, regaining her composure, said "No, sorry, I shouldn't have snapped like that" I only nodded.

Hestia, trying to break the silence, said "How about we come in?" I smiled "Perfect"

Hestia then opened the door and motioned for me to come in. I followed immediately. I couldn't wait to see a bed, or a couch... damn, if it had some kind of cushion, it would do.

Inside the church, there was nothing really worthy or note. It almost didn´t have decoration on the inside, whit just a door on the far end. I liked that. I prefer to keep things simple.

She then walked ahead of me and once again opened the door. Before she could motion for me to follow, I was already a few steps from it.

The room, like the rest of the church, was fairly simple. One bed on the left side of the room, a couch on the right and some small tables here and there. Like the previous chamber, it had no decoration whatsoever.

Hestia then caught my attention by coughing a bit. I looked at her, waiting for her announcement.

"Bell-kun, you will be staying on the couch. Do you have any objections?" I shook my head, while thinking it was strange for her to be so direct and formal. She probably had something important to say. Hestia then continued "Bell-kun, technically, you are not part of my familia yet. Even though I am sure you must have felt magic flowing through your body the moment we shook hands, that was just the first step. Now, I need you to take your shirt off and to get on the bed."

I nodded and proceeded to take my shirt off. When I was done, I folded it and placed it on top of the couch. I then walked to the bed and sat on it.

"What now, Hestia?" I asked.

"Lay on the bed with your back facing the ceiling." She answered, as she too walked towards the bed.

I then did as I was told. Not one second later, I felt some weight on my back. I then turned my head around, seeing Hestia on top of me. "Hestia, umm, what are you doing?" I inquired

Hestia, without even taking her eyes of my back, answered " Completing the familia ritual."

I understood that she would not say anything else, so I simply nodded. At first, the only thing I felt was her cold hand on my back. Then , slowly but surely, my back started getting warmer. And warmer. And warmer. And it didn´t stop. By each passing second, it would heat up considerably. 20 seconds later I couldn't bear it anymore. I started to scream. " THIS FREAKING HURTS!" I scream in immense pain, startling Hestia.

"Bear with it for a while, Bell-kun, its going to end soon" She answered as the heat got even higher.

For the next 20 seconds, all I did was scream swear words one after another, but then, all of a sudden, all of the pain stopped. "Huh?" I asked, surprised by the lack of pain.

"The hard part is over" Hestia answered quickly. "Now, lets see your stats".

Soon after she said that I heard a gasp, and another one, and another one….. well in total there were 9 consecutive gasps. After making sure she was finished gasping, I asked what happened. " Are my stats that good or that bad".

"I had never heard of this…..." Hestia murmured under her breath. "Such stats….. impossible…..."

"Please, Hestia just tell me already" I asked, a little impatient. Hestia then took a deep breath "Okay, they are as follow, strength- SSSS- 1750, endurance- SSSS- 1659, dexterity – SSSSS- 2157, agility- SSSS- 1972, magic – SSS-1200, luck – SS- 1045." (Before you think he is way too OP, everyone else on the series got a huge boost)

Since I did not know what was the normal stats for a starter, or how it´s ranking worked, I asked "Are they good?"

"Good? Good? Are you kidding me? They are impossible, I had never heard of a stat over SSS." Hestia answered with traces of various emotions in her voice. I could discern fear, admiration, awe, but there were much more.

At that a grin appeared on my face. "How good is that when compared to normal stats?" I asked

"Well, you are easily 100 times stronger than a rather strong level 2 adventurer" She answered. I let out a whistle. Finally something good happening to me. I then remembered something " Do I have any skills"

Hestia nodded. "Before I tell you them, I suggest you stand up" she said as she also stood up, taking the weigh of my back and allowing me to do the same. When I was about to sit up, a noticed something. 'was I always this far from my legs?' I thought as I looked at the distance between my legs and me. I then noticed something else. My abdomen, which used to be completely plain, now had a really defined six-pack. ' what the hell? This is freaking amazing' I though as touched my abs. As I admired my new body, I noticed another thing. My arms were bigger, and with more muscle. I quickly direction my head to my bicep to see that it was much larger and defined ' Oh, this is AWESOME!' I screamed mentally.

I turned around to ask Hestia about that only to find her drooling at my body. When she saw that I had noticed her she straightened herself up and asked "What?"

"What happened to my body?" I asked curiously.

"Well, the second step of the familia ritual involves stat-updating. Stat updating let you use the experience you gathered throughout your day at the dungeon, or throughout your live in your case, to better your body. In other words, it fully unleashes your hidden potential. Your body was supposed to be like that, but it seemed that something was blocking it from evolving, and the ritual tore up that lock. In most cases the transformation is minimal, but because of your lock, it was massive." Hestia answered matter-of-factually.

"Oh, I get it. Do we only stat-up when we join a familia?" I asked.

"Normally, we gods stat-up our adventurer each 2 trips to the dungeon" She answered.

"I see… thanks" I couldn't really speak more since I was really perplexed with my new body.

"Now, can you get up?" She asked again.

"Ah, sure" I answered while getting of the bed and standing up.

The moment I stood up I noticed something strange. I was much taller than Hestia. ' was she always this small?'.

At that moment, I knew something 'I need a mirror'. "Hestia, do you have a mirror here?"

"Yeah" she said as she pointed at a door on a wall opposite to the sofa. I quickly ran there and turned of the light. When I saw my reflection on the mirror I almost had a heart attack. My plain, boring brown hair had turned white and my eyes a scarlet color. I was also a few inches taller, about 5´6 now, I big contrast to my previous height, 5´1.

I couldn't contain my excitement. I was always regarded as a plain looking guy, with now outstanding characteristics. But now, it was a whole other case. I was really tall for a 14 years old, with an extremely solid build, white hair and crismon eyes. I couldn't have ever imaged me like this.

Before I could further analyze my new body, I heard Hestia calling me. I then got out of the bathroom and walked into the bedroom, standing a couple feet away from her.

"Bell-kun, do you remember I have yet to tell you about your skills?" She asked.

My eyes widened, I was so absorbed with my new body that I had completely forgotten about that.

"You have 2 skills, both unheard off, with no records in history" That part caught my interest "Your skills are: Rapidum Incrementum, which increase your growth rate, in other words it means your stats will go up much faster. Your other skill is Terminum Restrictione, which allows you to limit the amount of power you can use."

"Why would I need to restrict my powers?" I inquired.

"Currently, you are way to powerfull, so if you were to use your full strength on the first levels, there is a good chance that you would destroy the whole floor, catching the gods attention, and believe me, you dont want that."

At that I was confused, what bad would come of catching the gods attention? It would just raise the familia reputation.

Hestia, noticing my questioning glare, said "Well, normally, on the back, it only shows your stats, skills and magic. Your shows an extra one: race."

"Race? Don't tell me I'm not human?"

"Far from adventurers whose back shows race, its race is written on its own languahge. The problem is that I don't know the language your's is written in."

" What does you not knowing have to do with any of it?"

"Bell-kun, I know over 3000 languages, I'm one of the most acient active gods in existence.I am Zeus, Poseidon and Hades sister. I know each language that existed or was created after I was born and even languages from millenias before I was born. The fact that I can't read your race means it's really ancient."

"So, the bad part about it being ancient is that...?" I asked.

"In most cases, the older the age of the race, the stronger it is, since todays races only retain a small part of power when compared to it's antecessors. Since your race dates back to more than 1 millenia before the olympians, to most gods it will mean trouble and they will try to slaughter you"

"Well, can't say I like being slaughtered." I said as shiver went down my spine.

"So, in order not to draw attention, you must not use your full power."She finished

"Okay, but how do I activate the limit thingy skill" I asked.

" Well, as far as I could decipher, you must say: Limit set x, in which x is the porcentage of your power. As such, if you say limit set 3, you will only be able to use 3 percent of your power."

"So, how much of my power should I use?" I asked.

"I think that when you are alone you should use 2 and when you are with parties you should use 0.75."She answered.

"Just that?"

" With only 0.75, you would be equal to a decent level 2 adventurer, and with 2 with an experienced level 2 adventurer."

"Ah, I see..." That made sense, 2 percent alone ought to be more than enough.

"Ah,Bell-kun, one more thing. You can only change your limit once every 5 hours, so use it wisely" I nodded, it made sense for such a skill to have a cool-down.

"Now, I'm really tired, so I'm gonna sleep. I sugest you do the same."

I nodded and got to the couch. I didn't know why, but the moment I hit the couch I fell asleep immediately. Probably because of all that happened that day.

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