Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 4 (3 page)

“Well—that’s one possibility. But there are other areas where Luck would be useful for adventurers…like more drop items, maybe?”

“Ah, yes, that’s true.”

“But that sounds a little bit too money-related. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be of much assistance.”

“B-but—!”

Bell waved his hands in front of his chest, shaking his head no.

Feeling very apologetic that she couldn’t do more, Eina decided to ask about
Hestia Familia
’s opinion.

“What would you and Goddess Hestia like to do, Bell?”

“My goddess wanted me to learn Luck. She made a fist, kind of like this, and shouted, ‘You need this ability!’”

Sounds a bit risky
, thought Eina as she raised an eyebrow at the young boy.

It was a bit late to be asking now, but she was getting very curious as to what exactly Bell had done to learn this new ability.

Meanwhile, Bell couldn’t understand why he was feeling overwhelmed by the look in Eina’s eyes.

“…What about you, Bell?”

“Hunter is cooler…I mean, no, but, it’s just, I can’t ignore it, and yeah…”

“Heh-heh. I understand what you’re getting at. And then?”

“Um, then again, just as my goddess said, I can’t just ignore Luck, either……”

Despite his indecisiveness, she had a pretty good idea of what Bell was thinking.

Hunter was indeed a very strong ability. Adventurers who faced the dangers of the Dungeon firsthand day in and day out would all most likely jump at the opportunity to acquire it.

The other option was Luck—a never-before-seen ability with unknown effects. But it was in human nature to react quickly to the words “rare ability,” especially if you were the only one who had it.

Considering that Immunity could be acquired the next time he leveled up, most likely Bell was leaning toward choosing Hunter.

Truth be told, he probably wanted both.

She could relate to Bell’s situation, his having to make a hard decision. Eina couldn’t help but grimace.

“I’ve often said this, but the one who has to make the final decision is you, Bell. So I don’t want to say anything that would make you lean one way or the other. Therefore, I’ll give you something else to think about beyond the choice itself.”

“S-sure.”

Eina waited for Bell to fix his posture before she continued.

“The simplest way is to think about what the differences between your goals might be.”

“My goals?”

“Yes. If you would like to powerfully and thoroughly work your way through the Dungeon, then Hunter will serve you very well, Bell. If you want to crawl the Dungeon with great efficiency, then I highly recommend it.”

Eina paused for a moment before looking directly into Bell’s ruby red eyes.

“But if your goal is something loftier—to get somewhere that is currently beyond your grasp…That path has nothing to do with mere ability. I believe that Luck might be a better ally when the time comes.”

“…”

“In which case, I think that you might indeed need Luck.”

The room was silent for a moment.

Bell took a deep breath before looking down at the palms of his hands.

As the boy flexed his fingers into a fist, Eina felt that he had reached a decision by the look in his eyes.

“There is no wrong decision here. So it needs to come from you, Bell. Whichever one you choose, it will come through for you when you need it.”

“…Yes. Thank you.”

Bell held his chin high, a look of determination on his face as he nodded to her one last time.

He might have reached Level 2, but he still had burning questions on his mind.

Eina looked at the boy who had just made his decision and decided it might be a good idea to look after him a while longer. A gentle smile rose to her lips.

“Goddess, I’m home—!”

I push open the door to my home, a hidden room under an old church.

The goddess lifts her face out of a book that she’s been reading on the sofa the moment I say hello, and smiles.

Tap tap tap
—her feet smack the floor as she gets up and walks over to greet me.

“Welcome home, Bell. Well then, have you decided? What ability will it be?”

“Yes. I would like to learn Luck.”

Eina’s advice helped me make up my mind.

It’s not about now. I’ll take the future.

I don’t know for sure whether or not I’ll need this Luck ability, but Eina’s words really hit home. I believe them.

The goddess happily grins at me and lightly whispers, “All right.

“So, shall we? You’re still not leveled up.”

She walked all the way up to me just to say that? I’m pretty nervous but I nod in agreement.

The two of us go over to her bed and start preparing for my last Status update as a Level 1 adventurer.

“At long last you’re Level Two, Bell…is what I’d normally be saying, but in your case, it was so fast I didn’t have time to feel nostalgic.”

“R-really?”

“Yep. I remember it like it was yesterday—that time that you slew a goblin right after joining my
Familia
and came back all smiles. Kind of a strange feeling, actually.”

The goddess keeps on talking, going on and on the way she does. I can’t get a word in edgewise, except for the occasional “wow” and “yes.”

I’m becoming Level 2.

For some reason every little movement I make on the sheets is really noisy. It’s very comfortable, though. The thought of leveling up is making me a bit full of myself. I know many have done this before me, but still.

Other than that, nothing’s really going on in my head, and my body feels normal, too. Well, actually, everything from the neck down feels pretty warm, now that I think about it.

I’m not nervous or anxious; I’m just quietly waiting and listening to my heartbeat…Then suddenly the moment comes.

The goddess’s fingers stop moving.

“!”

“…It’s done.”

I sit up as soon as I feel her get off my lower back.

Sitting on my heels in the middle of the bed, I take a look at my hands.

I can feel the goddess’s eyes on me from my side, watching as I open and close my fists.

“…I don’t feel all that different.”

“What were you expecting? The sudden urge to yell, ‘The power flows within me…!’ up at the sky?” The goddess acts out the scene in front of me, skillfully pretending to shake with newfound energy before giggling.

It might be a little rude of me to say my true feelings, so I just nod.

I leveled up, but I’m still the same.

I thought my body would be lighter. I thought I’d feel like the world was different. Or something like that. But there is nothing. I feel no different than I did the moment I got home a few minutes ago. Where’s the feeling of accomplishment that comes with leveling up to Level 2?

This is really disappointing…Like all the wind in my sails just disappeared.

“It’s not like the structure of your body changes, you know?
Sorry if I made you think you’d have some kind of dramatic transformation.”

“Ah, no, it’s not that…”

“Ha-ha, but your Status improvement is the real deal, you know. The ‘container,’ your spirit, has gotten much bigger. It’s very obvious to me and any other gods. You might not realize it now, but the next time you’re in battle, it’ll feel like you flipped a switch. You’ll pull off attacks that you never knew you could.”

The goddess laughs to herself again as she starts writing my new Status in Koine, the common language of humans and demi-humans.

I know that when an adventurer levels up, all of their Basic Abilities return to zero. I’ve heard that those points don’t just disappear, but instead are hidden in the new Status as “extra points.” What was it the goddess had called it—a “hidden parameter”?

Since I know that it will be all zeros on my new Status, there isn’t really any point in looking at the sheets the goddess is holding right now…But what’s the harm in checking?

I tilt my head to the side a little as I get up from the bed. My usual undershirt was torn to shreds in the battle against the Minotaur, so I grab a spare and put my arms through the sleeves.

My eyes meet the goddess’s gaze the moment my head pops out of the collar of the shirt, and she hands me the paper.

“It was going to be a surprise, but I think I should tell you first.”

“?”

The goddess beams with happiness as I take it from her.

I don’t even have a chance to glance at it before she says, “Good news, Bell.” I’m about to ask her what it is, but she’s faster. “A Skill.”

“Huh?”

“It’s your sec—No!…I mean, um, you know. It’s what you’ve always wanted: your own Skill!”

Several moments pass in silence.

Her words sit in my mind for a few seconds before everything suddenly clicks and my eyes race to the paper clutched in my hand.

I can feel the pupils of my bloodshot eyes pounding as I will them to focus on her handwriting.

Then,

My eyes have never been this wide.

There’s something in my Skill slot.

My head snaps up. The tiny goddess, much older than I am, is looking up at me with a gaze of approval. She silently mouths, “That’s right.”

My cheeks pull back into a smile all on their own. Happiness floods through me. This is definitely the highlight of my day!

The muscles in my face are refusing to relax. Even I can tell my eyes are shining as I take another look at the paper in my hands. That’s when I notice something.

…“Heroic Desire”?

All of the joy in my body suddenly evaporates, my eyes stuck to that one spot of my Status.

That seems rather exaggerated for a description…Every corner of my brain has cooled off and is now sending up red flags.

…Wait a second.

My lips go numb. My smile disappears.

I’ve heard that the Skills and Magic in an adventurer’s Status are not only affected by excelia but by the blessed person’s personality and aspirations as well.

Even the name of the Skill…So an adventurer’s Status is like a reflection of their soul?

And now the phrase “Heroic Desire” is literally carved into my back…That means the cat’s out of the bag that, even at my age, I want to be a hero…

Creeeeeaaaak.
My head rises from the sheet of paper with about the same efficiency as a rusty door, my ears burning red.

And standing directly in front of me, the goddess with her warm gaze and perky smile—

“—Guh, DAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!”

I scream at the top of my lungs as the goddess looks at me like she could burst out laughing at any moment.

Throwing the piece of paper into the air, I spin around and collapse into the fetal position on the floor, hands covering my ears.

No, no no no—!

She knows! The goddess knows that even now I want to become a hero like the ones in the picture books! She knows!!!

This is pure agony. I feel just as ashamed and embarrassed as all the times I messed up in front of Aiz. I’m sure my face is just as red. My soul is on fire, cooking me from the inside out.

I’m dying! Something please put me out of my misery!

“Bell.”

Zing!
Her voice shoots through me like a firecracker, my body shaking.

But her voice is gentle. I can feel her soft fingers on my shoulder.

She’s right behind me; I should at least look up at her. Trying to blink the tears out of my eyes, I turn to face her, fearing the worst.

She’s wearing a very bright and loving smile.

“—That’s so cute!”

“Uwaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!”

Why, Goddess, why—?!

“Uoohhh…”

“Hey, how long do you plan on sitting there?”

I’m still in the corner of the room, hugging my knees to my chest.

Falling from heaven all the way into hell leaves a pretty deep wound. The scar’ll probably stay on my heart forever.