Chapter 662

Broly lacked a Supporter, and Bell wanted to get a Supporter's job; coincidentally, neither could find a suitable candidate.

Whether Adventurer or Supporter, they all seemed to refuse their invitations (requests) because of their newbie appearance.

Who knows which of the two was lucky, or if both had lucky factors; they ran into each other and hit it off immediately.

"Ah, Broly-san, can a Supporter newbie like me really do it?"

However, upon learning Broly wanted to hire him as a Supporter, Bell instead lost some confidence.

Compared to the Saiyan boy who had helped him many times during his own crises, like a hero fallen from the heavens, Bell worried that as an ordinary person with no Supporter experience, he would drag the other down.

"Can you pick things up?"

In response, Broly asked him.

"Uh, yes."

"Then can you carry things?"

"In the countryside, I often helped with farm work, chopping wood and such; if it's just pure manual labor and stamina, I still have some confidence."

Bell hurriedly answered.

"Then that settles it; the Supporter I need only needs to be able to do these things."

"But Broly-san, don't you need a Supporter to do Supporter things? I heard from other Adventurers that a real Supporter must know how to provide support during battle, thereby sharing the Adventurer's burden — for example, shooting monsters with crossbow bolts — but I have zero experience with that, and I don't have a crossbow either."

Bell said with great trepidation.

"What, you share my burden? No no no, I don't need you to share my burden; on the contrary, the greater the pressure Dungeon monsters give me, the better — that lets me gain more experience, is the sustenance for my strength's growth, and is also an important path to achieving Great Feats..."

As Broly spoke, seeing Bell's dazed look, and remembering the other didn't have Falna yet, he explained what Great Feats were, and that Great Feats must be obtained through adversity and bitter battles.

After listening, Bell suddenly somewhat understood why someone as strong as Broly-san couldn't find a Supporter; with this attitude of wanting a real grand adventure in the Dungeon, for most Supporters who just want to support their families and scrape a living, it's practically throwing their lives onto a gambling table — if a normal Supporter agreed, that would be the strange thing.

But staking one's own life on the gambling table, adding weight to one's own growth, accepting adversity's trials like ancient heroes — for Bell, who grew up listening to various hero stories since childhood, Broly's image instead matched his imagination of hero growth even more.

That's right, an Adventurer who dares to adventure like Broly-san is a true hero!

"Uh, Bell, if you feel following me like this into the Dungeon is somewhat dangerous, you don't have to force yourself."

Broly saw the youth not speaking, just staring blankly at him, and thinking the other was scared, added a line.

After being rejected by other Supporters so many times, Broly more or less knew the reasons those Supporters who rejected him did so.

If it were before activating Overweight Training Skill, he had confidence to protect anyone, but now his strength is sealed by the Overweight Training Skill, and with only the Second Panel, he also doesn't dare fully guarantee that a Supporter following him into the Dungeon will definitely be safe.

So, he had no intention of forcing others.

"No, absolutely not forced; being able to go on a Dungeon adventure with you, Broly-san, is my honor."

Bell came back to his senses and hurriedly said so.

"You might die; don't just agree because I helped you and you want to repay me, accepting for that kind of reason on your own."

Broly gave a reminder.

"Ah, then Broly-san, will you protect me in the Dungeon?"

At the mention of death, Bell, currently just an ordinary boy, trembled, and asked carefully.

"If my answer is no, what will you do?"

Broly was somewhat curious.

"I..."

Bell's face flushed red, his complexion changing for a while, before he spoke his answer.

"I'll still choose to follow you; the current me already has no way back.

Either accept my ordinariness, be content with ordinariness.

Or stake it all, first become a Supporter, gain a foothold, then find a way to become a true Adventurer."

To become an Adventurer one must adventure; to become a hero one must experience adversity.

Bell wanted both, only his answering voice carried a slight tremble.

"Hah, just joking with you; I just can't guarantee your absolute safety, but once we go down into the Dungeon, I'll still do my best to protect you."

"Then..."

"Welcome to my party, Bell Cranel."

Broly extended his hand toward the white-haired youth.

"Yes, Broly-san!"

Bell grasped the extended hand and replied loudly.

To the side, seeing this combination form, the Adventurers and Supporters who had been asked by the two just now shook their heads secretly.

In their view, this party composed of a rookie Adventurer and a rookie Supporter probably wouldn't get far in the Dungeon.

They might fall apart due to encountering some danger, or even both die in the Dungeon.

Situations like this are absolutely not rare in Orario.

"As for wages, how about I give you one-tenth of the Dungeon dive earnings?"

"Ah, wouldn't that be too high? I'm just a newbie Supporter."

"Well, everyone else refused me, only you're willing to work with me; giving you preferential treatment is no problem."

"Then, thank you, Broly-san."

Bell gave thanks.

"It's settled then; tomorrow morning, wait for me here."

With the cooperation settled and the meeting agreed, Broly waved and bid farewell to the youth.

In the evening, while updating Status in the room, Broly spoke with Hestia about wanting to go to the Middle Floors tomorrow.

"Lady Hestia, I've already adapted to my current strength in the Upper Floors today; those Lv. 1 monsters, even if a hundred gathered, I feel no pressure fighting them, so I plan to go explore the Middle Floors Dungeon tomorrow, is that okay?"

"We'll have to check your status values first."

Hestia's fingertip, bearing the blood bead, touched the boy's back.

"Let me take a look too."

Hephaestus also leaned in; having already seen the boy's status board once, she now continued looking without any hesitation.

【Broly】

Level: Lv. 1

Strength: g200→s951

Durability: g200→s999

Dexterity: g200→b712

Agility: g200→s919

Magic Power: g200→c655

Development Ability: 【Newbie】【Lucky】

Both 《Magic》 and 《Skill》 were empty.

That's right, this thing is the second status board Broly obtained after activating 【Super Weighted Training】, covering his original initial board, and compared to his original luxurious initial board, the second board looks utterly ordinary... my ass!

"No way, it's only been a day and your kid's already nearly maxed out his ability values?"

Hephaestus was somewhat dazed; she had thought the 【Natural Stat Monster】 skill effect was already absurd enough, but looking now, the boy's own abnormal growth speed was even more absurd. The skill can only gain 1000 points of ability value total per day, but the other party, training alone for a day, pulled over 3000 points of ability value.

Regarding this, Hestia indicated this was basic operation, don't 666: "This kind of ability value increase is perfectly normal for my Broly."

"Hestia, your standard of normal is abnormal, you know? Do you know how much ability value increase my Familia children can obtain on average after normal training during their next Dungeon trip?"

"Uh, how much?"

Hestia looked over with some curiosity.

"The total increase won't exceed 50 points; there may be some fluctuation up or down due to experiences in the Dungeon, but it definitely won't exceed too much."

"Ah, is it that little?"

"It's not little; rather, this is the normal standard for a normal Adventurer's ability value increase after experiencing one adventure.

And, as ability values approach one's personal limit value, this increase magnitude will get lower and lower, eventually coming to a halt, and one can only rely on leveling up to solve the problem of ability values being unable to continue increasing.

Of course, your kid's ability values rise too fast, and his level can't keep up — that's actually the problem. Sigh, this really is the droughts dying of drought, the floods dying of flood.

Natural Stat Monster, plus the super high Excelia bonus from the Newbie Protection Period; if there's no limit to ability value increase within a single level, this kid Broly might really be able to ascend directly to the heavens, possibly even more terrifying than us Gods without our Divine Power sealed."

Hephaestus exclaimed with emotion.

"So, my Broly actually possesses super-divine talent?"

Hestia's eyes brightened.

"Hey, don't omit my premise condition. I said ability value increase, under the condition of no limit value."

Hephaestus corrected.

"Don't care, anyway my Broly is the most amazing~"

Hestia was very happy; after updating the second status board, she hugged Broly from behind.

Her soft chest pressed against the back where the Divine Script was gradually fading, and she embraced the boy entirely in her arms.

Broly, pressed against Hestia, subconsciously shook his tail tip, just like a cat resignedly accepting its owner's intimate snuggling.

However, he didn't reject intimate contact with Hestia; it was just that Super Weighted Training had weakened his strength overall to the extreme, and this current feeling of being held and swayed back and forth made his body instinct continuously adjust his own balance, making him somewhat sensitive.

"Super-divine talent, super-divine talent..."

Hestia, as if holding a child, positioned the boy properly and said to him.

"Broly, Hephaestus praised you for having super-divine talent. Are you happy?"

Faced with the Goddess's question, what else could Broly say?

Could he also say, "This is basic operation, don't 666"?

He could only nod helplessly, indicating that he too felt happy from receiving such praise.

Then, Broly very naturally got to enjoy the face-washing service enthusiastically provided by Hestia, his head held in her bosom.

Hephaestus watched from the side, somewhat speechless, but then a thought suddenly popped up: given Hestia's current degree of affection for the boy, she might very well develop a special relationship with this Familia boy in the future.

If so, Broly's 'super-divine' would seem to have basis, because he really could 'super' to a Goddess.

"Lady Hestia, you still haven't said whether I can go to the Middle Floors tomorrow?"

Broly propped himself up on Hestia and reminded her again.

"That's naturally no problem."

Hestia gave him a thumbs up, then pressed him back down.

"If you're going to the Middle Floors tomorrow, keep the playing moderate. Hestia, don't let this kid Broly get insufficient rest."

Hephaestus, thinking things over, reminded her friend on the bed.

And this reminder was only because she was uncertain about Broly's current state.

Whether he belonged to the 'can eat meat' category, or the 'cannot eat meat' category.

"Mm, I know. I won't play around too much and tire this child out."

Hestia nodded in agreement, and Hephaestus tactfully walked out.

In the corridor she encountered the passing Chinatsu, and called out to her own Familia's Regiment Commander.

"Chinatsu..."

"Lady Hephaestus?"

"I want to ask you something..."

"What is it?"

"Hestia's room — when you clean it every day, does the bed get messy?"

Tsubaki:???

What kind of ghost question is that? With the way Hestia-sama tosses and turns all over the place when she sleeps, it'd be stranger if it weren't messy.

"It's a bit messy, so what?"

"Is it wet?"

……

Night passed without a word; the next day, as soon as dawn broke, Broly set out.

Only, he went first to the 【Blue Pharmacy】 to purchase potions.

"Miss Naza, please give me a dozen Physical Recovery Potions..."

After he arrived at the Blue Pharmacy, he said directly to the dog-girl behind the counter, who was busy wiping it down.

"Eh, it's Broly. Hestia-sama didn't come with you today?"

Naza looked behind him, didn't spot Hestia, and asked — the subtext being: did you bring money?

"Hestia-sama went to sleep late last night, hasn't gotten up. Right, Physical Recovery Potions — I want the high-grade ones."

Broly took out the Guild's chit from his pocket.

"What about other potions, do you need any?"

Seeing it, the dog-girl's face bloomed with the same sincere smile as yesterday morning; she fetched what Broly wanted and asked once more.

"Not needed. I wasn't injured yesterday, wasn't poisoned either — those potions still haven't been used."

"Physical Recovery Potions, total two hundred thousand Valis. Acquaintance discount — just sign a chit for one hundred ninety thousand Valis."

Broly handed over the first chit he'd obtained yesterday, then put the purchased Physical Recovery Potions into the satchel at his front and left.

Behind him came the dog-girl Naza's "Welcome next time"...

When Broly arrived at this side of the Central Square, the morning mist still hadn't been dispersed by the morning light.

And the white-haired boy Bell was already standing at the place where they'd met yesterday, waiting.

"Broly-san~"

Seeing the Saiyan approach, Bell raised his hand and waved.

"How come you're here even earlier than me?"

Broly found it a bit strange; he'd arrived earlier than the agreed time.

"Got excited, so I woke up early."

Bell answered.

"Let's go."

Broly nodded, then took the lead.

"Are we going into the Dungeon?"

"No, first up to Babel Tower to buy you some Supporter equipment."

"Ah, but I'm out of money."

Hearing that, Bell's face stiffened in embarrassment.

"I'll pay. It's a welfare benefit for an employee willing to come into the Dungeon with me, and also part of ensuring personal safety."

Broly waved his hand, every inch the good boss.

He took Bell straight upstairs, found the dwarf boss's shop.

Since he lacked experience, he asked this dwarf boss what equipment a Supporter usually carries.

"Supporters generally don't go up and fight monsters frontally, so they basically don't wear heavy armor that adds encumbrance; instead they wear light protective cloaks that can resist long-range attacks.

As for weapons — if you can throw, I recommend Flying Knives; if not, I recommend Wrist Crossbows, which are easier to load and aim.

Also, if your funds are sufficient, keeping one or two Magic Swords as trump cards is also a pretty good choice."

Broly bought Bell a cloak, two Flying Knives, one Wrist Crossbow; the dwarf boss threw in a bucket of Precision Steel Arrowheads.

As for the Magic Sword, he bought one with only two or three uses left, capable of wielding flames.

Hmph. Bell hadn't even started working yet, and his body was already kitted out with 600,000 Valis of equipment — though 450,000 of that was the Magic Sword's price, a full set this lavish was still plenty; even a typical Lv. 2 Adventurer might not have gear this good.

"Broly-san, you... you're too good to me."

When they came out of the dwarf equipment shop, Bell's spirit was still a bit dazed; everyone else made him buy this and that, but with Broly-san it was him buying this and that for Bell.

"Alright, I was just worried that once we went down into the Dungeon I might not be able to look after you, so I bought these things. Now, no wasting time — time to go into the Dungeon."

Broly waved his hand unconcerned; today bringing along Bell as a Supporter, he intended to rampage through the Dungeon.

Broly took Bell into the Dungeon, but two hours later he had no choice but to bring Bell back out.

When they were at Level 11 heading for the Middle Floors, they ran into two Monster Waves — who knows what was going on, today's monster drop rate was extraordinarily high.

After Broly dealt with the two waves, drops littered the ground, and they flat-out filled the large backpack on Bell's back and his small satchel to the brim.

Once the weight limit was hit, they could only retreat helplessly.

"Honestly, why are monsters dropping so much stuff today?"

Babel Tower second floor exchange counter — still the same Guild staff member who'd exchanged for Broly yesterday. This person went straight silent upon hearing the boy's words.

Only ever heard Adventurers bragging about lots of drops; an Adventurer complaining about too many drops — first time seeing that. Must be a Luck Emperor deliberately coming before me to talk in reverse, showing off his luck, right?

"Good luck, lots of drops — is that bad?"

Just then, a voice tinged with curiosity asked from the side.

(Chapter End)