'She really did well.'
Bell acknowledged Liliruca's talent. She was definitely gifted—it was just that her previous Familia had held her back. If she had joined the Loki Familia from the start, she might not have had to wait this long to showcase her abilities.
'As a commander, what she's really lacking is situational awareness and the ability to make quick decisions on the fly.' The problem was that Orario's technological development wasn't great—there were no short-range communication devices.
If such tools existed, commanders could grasp the battlefield situation faster and devise countermeasures more efficiently.
Liliruca was fundamentally a supporter. She didn't possess the exceptional Status values that many top-tier adventurers had. In fact, her greatest strength wasn't agility or dexterity—it was her magic.
Still, Bell had no intention of helping her with that.
Progress doesn't come solely from outside assistance; it often stems from personal growth.
That's why helping her now wouldn't really be help—it would only stifle her own development.
"Ah!!"
A sudden cry pierced Bell's ears.
He instantly pinpointed the source—roughly 2,000 meters away.
'Are there other adventurers here?'
Though he heard the voice, the distance made it impossible to identify who it was.
But 2,000 meters wasn't too far. After locking onto the location, Bell stepped into the space portal that opened before him.
With a single stride, he emerged at the sound's origin, 2,000 meters away.
There, he saw a Firebird-type monster preparing to strike a Vouivre.
The sight made Bell's brow twitch.
In the Dungeon, monsters generally didn't fight each other—unless it was one of those rare enhanced species. Those special monsters, driven by a thirst for power, could consume magic stones to evolve, and only they would attack fellow monsters.
But this Firebird clearly wasn't an enhanced type—it looked like a normal monster.
Which meant the issue lay with the Vouivre being targeted.
'A Xenos?'
Bell's eyes swept over the dragon girl curled up on the ground, arms feebly trying to shield her head. He confirmed her identity in his heart.
If he hadn't known, he might've walked away.
But now that he had seen her, he couldn't just ignore it.
Invisible wind surged around Bell, forming like a formless hand that grabbed the charging Firebird-type monster mid-air.
Wind blades gathered in rapid succession and sliced through the Firebird in a flash, reducing it to shredded fragments.
Once the Firebird was handled, Bell turned to face the dragon girl, who was still crouching on the ground with her head buried.
Her hood had likely fallen during her escape, revealing blue hair and a gem-like object on her forehead—perhaps a unique trait of Vouivre witches.
After a quick inspection, Bell judged her strength to be at Lv. 2. Her aura was unstable—she must have been newly born in the Dungeon.
Her consciousness was still hazy, but driven by instinct alone, she had been running through the Dungeon non-stop.
'She's exactly like the Vouivre from the original story. No... she is the Vouivre from the original story.'
"Loki-sama, she's not just a monster. What are we supposed to do?"
"What the hell!?"
Loki, who had been casually watching while eating hot pot with the Hestia Familia, widened her eyes at the sight of the completely defenseless Vouivre.
Her mind went blank. She didn't know how to react to this situation.
Hephaestus and Hestia, watching the screen, murmured,
"She has self-awareness... and she's being hunted by Dungeon monsters. Is this what Bell-kun meant by the Guild forces?"
A monster with self-awareness is, by nature, no longer a monster.
Monsters act purely on instinct. But once they begin to think and develop a sense of self, they're no longer monsters—they're humans wearing a monster's skin.
"No, that Vouivre isn't part of the Guild forces yet."
Hephaestus had a clearer understanding. As far as she could tell, the Vouivre was still a monster born in the Dungeon, not one of the Guild's own.
"In the Dungeon, the Guild forces are usually seen as anomalous beings and are shunned by the other monsters. They should be living in groups. One showing up alone like this isn't normal."
"!?"
Loki finally snapped out of her daze.
Looking at the dragon girl, whose reactions didn't resemble a monster at all, she found herself at a loss for what to do.
"Uh... can I just say "take care of her"?"
The sheer nonchalance in Loki's voice earned her a synchronized eye-roll from both Hestia and Hephaestus.
"If you hadn't seen her, maybe. But now that you've seen her like this... can you really treat that Vouivre as just another monster?"
Well, Hestia's words hit home for Loki.
If she didn't know, she could've pretended not to. But seeing the unmistakable humanity in the dragon girl, Loki couldn't bring herself to see her as just a monster anymore.
"Ugh..."
Loki scratched her head, unable to come up with a good solution. She could already tell this was a huge can of worms—and it was going to bring a lot of trouble.
"You little brat, take that dragon girl to see Finn. Tell them not to lay a hand on her."
They couldn't just leave her behind anymore.
Hephaestus and the shortie were watching. Loki knew she couldn't play the cold-hearted card here.
Besides, she still owed the Guild a favor for Haruhime. That alone made it impossible for her to just turn her back on the dragon girl.
With Loki-sama's order, Bell naturally had no intention of abandoning the dragon girl.
"You can get up now."
The dragon girl, still curled up on the ground, cautiously lifted her head when she heard the voice. She saw a man standing there in a cloak and hood.
Her eyes remained wary. She had been hunted by people like him before—she'd only managed to escape by pure luck.
Bell could see the guarded look in her eyes. He could tell she'd been through a lot in the Dungeon.
"Get up. If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't be talking to you."
"If you don't want to be hunted by monsters and adventurers anymore, stand up. If you'd rather not come with me, I'll pretend I never saw you. You can keep running."
The dragon girl stayed on the ground for a moment before slowly getting to her feet.
Seemed she had some sense.
Bell didn't say anything more. He opened a space portal, glanced back at the dragon girl, and said,
"Follow me."
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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