Chapter 4: The First Mission and the First Mistake
The internal clock of a soldier woke her up at exactly four in the morning. The sky over Orario was still dark. She walked down to the courtyard behind the tavern to set up a training space and found Bell waiting for her. He was pacing back and forth to keep warm in the freezing morning air, nervous about his very first day as an adventurer. In his hands, he held a cheap iron knife. He had spent the very last of the savings his grandfather left him on this single weapon, leaving him with absolutely no money left for armor or a proper meal.
He stopped pacing and tried to stand up straight when he saw his goddess. His posture was terrible.
"Your shoulders are too tense, Bell," she said. She spoke with a calm, absolute confidence that immediately commanded his attention. It was the natural authority of a leader who knew exactly how to handle pressure, forcing the boy to lock his eyes onto hers. "If you enter the Dungeon like this, a goblin will take your arm off before you can swing."
"I am sorry, Goddess," Bell said, his voice tight from nerves.
"Do not apologize. Learn," she replied, inspecting the weapon. She did not need divine power to see the flaws; her old military experience told her everything. The balance was off, the grip was loose, and the edge was dull. "This blade is poor quality, Bell. It will dull quickly against monster hides. But it is what we have for today. We are going to the Northwest Main Street. We need to visit the Guild so you can register as an official adventurer before you enter the Dungeon."
They walked through the quiet streets toward the massive Guild headquarters. Inside, the main lobby was vast and built from white stone. A few early morning adventurers were already walking through the halls, heading toward the desks or the exchange counters.
She led Bell to one of the open reception counters. A half-elf woman with glasses looked up from her paperwork. Her name tag read Eina Tulle.
"Good morning," Eina said, looking at the pair. "How can I help you today?"
"I am the Goddess Hestia," she said, keeping her tone direct and businesslike. "This is Bell Cranel. He is the first member of my Familia. We are here to register him as an official adventurer."
Eina blinked in surprise. She looked at Bell, noted his small frame and his nervous expression, and sighed. "He looks very young, Lady Hestia. Has he received any combat training at all?"
"I am handling his combat fundamentals myself," she said, ensuring Eina knew the boy was not completely blind to danger. "He knows the layout of the upper floors and the basic rules of engagement. He is ready for the first and second floors."
Eina handed a thick stack of registration papers to Bell. "Fill these out, please, Bell. Since you are a new adventurer without a large Familia, I will be your official advisor. That means you must report directly to me after every single trip to the Dungeon. Do you both understand?"
"Yes, Miss Eina," Bell said, nodding quickly as he began writing.
While Bell focused on the paperwork, Eina looked across the counter to address both Hestia and the boy. "Lady Hestia, Bell, please listen to me carefully. The first and second floors are full of goblins and kobolds. They are weak individually, but they hunt in packs. Many new adventurers die on day one because they get arrogant and let themselves get surrounded."
She gave Eina a firm, respectful nod. "I understand the danger of underestimating the enemy. I will ensure he stays alert."
Once the registration was complete, they walked to the Plaza in front of the Tower of Babel. The massive stairs led straight down into the stone under the monument. The walls of the entrance thrummed with a faint, organic blue light.
"Your objective today is simple," she told Bell, stopping him before the stairs. "Stick to the first and second floors. Engage the monsters cleanly. Kill at least twelve goblins to get a real feel for your movement and pacing. Collect their magic stones. Do not go down past the second floor, and do not try to be a hero. Do you understand your orders?"
"Yes, Goddess," Bell said. He gripped his cheap knife tightly, his determination returning.
"Go. I will be waiting at the tavern."
She watched the boy walk down the stairs until the shadows of the Dungeon swallowed him. Her soldier's mind hated letting a subordinate go into a hot zone without direct backup, but she knew he had to take his own first steps to build real combat experience.
Four hours passed. She sat in the tavern, helping Elara prep the kitchen for the lunch rush. Her soldier's mind kept track of the time, calculating how long it should take a rookie to clear the assigned targets and return.
The heavy wooden front doors of the tavern suddenly burst open.
Bell tumbled inside, slamming the doors shut behind him. He collapsed against the wood, breathing heavily. He was completely covered in dark blood, dirt, and purple monster fluid. He was shaking violently, his chest heaving, and his clothes were torn to shreds.
"Bell!" Elara gasped, dropping a wooden spoon onto the floor.
She immediately stepped out from behind the bar, her eyes scanning him for injuries. Her military instincts took over, checking for major trauma. He was covered in blood, and unlike the completely unharmed appearance from earlier, she spotted dark bruises forming on his arms and a shallow gash across his cheek where the beast's near-miss had clipped him. He was hurt, but it was minor; he was mostly suffering from shock and exhaustion.
"Report, Bell," she commanded, her voice steady but firm. "What happened down there?"
Bell looked up with wide, horrified red eyes. He looked completely traumatized. "I am sorry, Goddess. I failed. A minotaur... a minotaur came from the deep floors while I was hunting."
"A minotaur on the deep floors?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.
"It was a monster train," Bell whispered, his hands trembling as he clutched his cheap knife. "It broke away from a party on the lower floors and ran all the way up. It charged me. I tried to move, but it threw me against the wall. I thought I was dead."
"How did you escape a minotaur at Level 1?" she asked, knowing a rookie with a cheap iron knife could never defeat a mid-tier monster.
"I didn't," Bell said, covering his face with his hands, his voice cracking with pure shame. "The Loki Familia was pursuing it, Aiz Wallenstein cut the minotaur down right before it could swing at me again She saved my life."
She listened closely as Bell explained the encounter. He described how the Sword Princess cut down the beast in a single strike, leaving him drenched in its blood. He explained how he panicked, felt completely humiliated looking like a fool in front of her, and ran out of the Dungeon as fast as his legs could carry him, bypassing the Guild entirely to hide in the tavern.
She looked closely at him. His minor cuts and bruises would heal quickly, but his pride was entirely shattered.
She felt the golden bond between them shift. Her unique vision allowed her to see a spark igniting deep within the boy's soul. The skill hidden in his status was burning hot, reacting directly to his intense desire to catch up to the girl who saved him.
She placed a hand on the boy's head. "Look at me, Bell."
The boy raised his eyes, tears pricking the corners.
"You faced an unpredictable threat on your first day," she said, her voice steady and commanding. "In war, the battlefield changes without warning. You took a hit, but you survived. You saw the massive gap between you and the strongest person in this city."
She stood up straight, pulling the boy to his feet.
"We are going up to my quarters," she said. "You are going to clean those scrapes, and then we are going to update your status. If you want to catch up to the Sword Princess, you have to work harder than anyone else in Orario. The real training starts now."
Bell wiped his face and nodded. "Yes, Goddess."