Danmachi: A Different Hero

Chapter 4: Humiliation

This is a 100 view special I guess. 1000 words this time.

...

Slash, slice, stab.

Slash, slice, stab. 

Bell repeated the same thing over and over again, for hours. 

No matter how many injuries he had, he never stopped. 

His determination and bravery kept him going; or at least that's what Bell wanted to think. 

He knew that the only thing making him fight was his cowardly desire. 

It wasn't his sheer power, nor was it his bravery. 

It wasn't even his overwhelming aspiration to become a hero; no, this was he desperate attempt to survive. 

If he even stopped once, it would spell out the end for him. 

This was his income, his way of getting money. It was no more than a selfish struggle for survival. He wasn't strong enough to worry about saving other people, he needed to save himself right now. 

Unfortunately, that was almost impossible. 

There is a gigantic difference in strength between an adventurer with no Falna, and even a Level 1 adventurer. With a Falna, you can continue to grow and become stronger, using your increased stats. 

If you don't have a Falna, you rely on instincts and physical training. 

That was the big difference between Bell and the other adventurers. 

That difference was becoming apparent to Bell. 

He couldn't simply grow like the others. 

The deeper he went, the harder it became to even kill the weakest monster of that floor. At this rate, the 8th Floor was becoming impossible; it was a challenge to even slay a Killer Ant. 

He was getting stronger, but not fast enough. 

He couldn't run away as swiftly as he would like, or stab a monster as hard as he would prefer. 

The monsters were no longer sloppy or slow. 

He couldn't react fast enough to an attack. 

His supplies were starting to run out. 

He simply wasn't fit to become an adventurer; or at least, not without a Falna. 

Yet no Familia would ever take him. It was a cruel reality that Bell had just realized. With this in mind, he decided to finally go up to the surface for a break. He wouldn't be able to survive like this.

He climbed the familiar stairs of the Dungeon, once again heavily injured. 

He walked down the streets of Orario, the gazes of passerby were no longer focused on him. (Bell guessed that they had gotten used to him being there) 

He went back to the Guild and exchanged his Magic Stones for Valises. It wasn't much, barely enough to buy a small lunch, but that was all Bell really needed right now. 

He stumbled across Orario, until he found a shop he had never seen before: The Hostess of Fertility. 

Upon entering, he realized that it was a bar, somewhere that he could get food. He sat down at a table. A waitress with silver hair quickly went over to him.

"Hello, what would you like?" she asked, with a smile. 

"The cheapest item on the menu." he said, too tired to check said menu. 

She wrote down his order, and ran off to the kitchen. He slumped down, not caring about the weird looks of the other adventurers. They all talked in whispers, yet Bell could still hear them.

"What's up with that kid?"

"He looks like a mess."

"He's probably a new adventurer."

Bell wasn't awake enough to care. 

He partly agreed with them, even. 

He was a mess. 

He was somehow even bloodier than before. 

Bandages were draped all over his body, despite the healing of the medicine, he still had plenty of cuts and bruises, and his previously snow-white hair was now stained with crimson blood. 

He was fatigued and damaged. 

Just as he was about the fall asleep right then and there, all of a sudden a loud shout echoed across the room.

"The Loki Familia has arrived!"

On cue, a group of adventurers walked in. The group consisted of a spear-wielding Pallum with blonde hair, a High Elf mage with emerald-green hair, a gray-haired Werewolf with a blue tattoo on his cheek, two Amazon sisters, a red-haired woman, and a golden-haired swordswomen.

The appearance of the newcomers shut up everybody already in the restaurant. They found a table, and sat down. 

Once everybody got over their "shocked" state, the busy atmosphere returned, and everybody started talking again. The Loki Familia ordered, and then they, too, started talking.

"Hey, do you see that kid over there?" the Werewolf suddenly said. 

"That kid?" the rest of the table asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, him!" the Werewolf repeated, now pointing at.. Bell?

Bell suddenly didn't feel so tired anymore. 

Why were they talking about him, the new adventurer that nobody knew about? 

His posture straitened up, and he tried to hear them better without looking like he was trying to hear them better.

"That beat up kid, he reminds me of Tomato Boy!" Werewolf dude exclaimed, capturing the interest of the rest of the table. 

"Both so pathetic, and weak!" he added.

"So, Ais saved this other stupid kid from a Minotaur that escaped.." he started. Bell suddenly knew where this was going. Ren had told him about how this girl named "Ais" saved him from a Minotaur on the 5th Floor. 

Why were they talking about that?

"And the Minotaur's stinky blood got all over him! And he looked like a tomato! So, Tomato Boy!" the Werewolf said, barely containing his laughter. 

"That kid is so pathetic, too! Why go into the Dungeon when you're that weak? Weaklings don't deserve to be adventurers." he then said, clearly now talking about Bell.

Bell then zoned out all of the rest of the Werewolf's story. 

He was not only making fun of him, but also his friend. 

Why should Ren be ridiculed because of the Minotaur that they let escape? 

It wasn't fair. 

A familiar person suddenly stood up from the seat near him. 

It was Ren! 

Crap! Ren heard them..! Please Ren.. Don't pick a fight. 

But what Ren did was the opposite: He ran. 

And all Bell did was watch. He didn't go chase after him, or comfort him. 

He just sat there, frozen with shock. 

Bell gritted his teeth. His actions weren't the actions of a hero, no. 

His actions were that of a coward. 

Bell's fists balled up. It was too late, but he was going to go chase after him. 

Bell stood up, (Attracting curious looks of the Loki Familia and the other customers) payed for his food, and then ran off, wondering where Ren could possibly be.