The smell of blood was the only thing Bell Cranel could process.
It was everywhere—coating his hair, soaking through his rookie leather armor, and filling his lungs with a copper tang that made him want to retch. Just moments ago, he had been a hair's breadth away from being crushed by a Minotaur, an irregular monster that had no business being on the 5th Floor.
He had been saved, but the shame felt heavier than the threat of death.
"A-Ais Wallenstein..." he whispered, his voice cracking.
The Sword Princess, the strongest woman he had ever seen, had looked at him not with contempt, but with a confusing sort of pity. Covered in the red mist of the monster she had effortlessly slaughtered, Bell had done the only thing his legs would allow he ran.
He sprinted through the damp, purple-walled tunnels of the 5th Floor, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. Up the winding stone stairs he went, pushing past other lower-level adventurers who recoiled at the sight of the "Tomato-Kun" sprinting toward the surface.
He could see it now. The light on the surface.
The exit of the Dungeon was just ahead, leading into the base of the massive Babel Tower that pierced the sky of Orario. If he could just reach the Guild Hall, he could hide. He could disappear into the crowds of the Central District.
Bell reached out a blood-stained hand; his fingers inches away from the threshold of the Dungeon's exit.
Then, the world groaned.
It wasn't a sound of stone breaking, but a sound of reality tearing. A violet rift, jagged and pulsing with an energy that felt nothing like the "Will" of the Dungeon, snapped open directly in his path.
"Wait—!"
Bell tried to skid to a halt, but his boots slipped on the fresh Minotaur blood coating the floor. His momentum carried him forward, straight into the abyss of shimmering light.
The transition was violent.
The enclosed, suffocating pressure of the Dungeon was replaced by a sudden, terrifying lack of weight. For a heartbeat, there was no Babel, no Orario, and no goddess Hestia waiting for him at home. There was only a golden vacuum that seemed to peel the very Falan from his back.
THUD.
Bell hit the ground hard. The air was knocked out of his lungs, and he rolled across a surface that felt… soft?
Gasping for air, Bell pushed himself up. He expected to see the marble floors of Babel or the busy streets of the city. Instead, he saw gold.
Everywhere.
He was standing on a cliffside covered in swaying, dying grass. The sky above wasn't the blue he knew, but a bruised, majestic shade of gold and twilight. Dominating the entire horizon was a tree so massive it defied logic—a gargantuan, glowing titan of light that dwarfed even the Babel Tower.
"Where... where am I?" Bell stammered, reaching for his hip.
His hand found his only weapon: a cheap, chipped iron dagger. It was a pathetic tool compared to the legendary gear of the Loki Familia, but it was all he had.
"Oh?"
A calm, mocking voice drifted from the shadows of a nearby stone structure.
Bell spun around, his knees shaking. Standing by a small, flickering campfire of golden light—a Site of Grace—was a man dressed in white surcoats with a disturbing, expressionless mask covering his face.
"A new soul has crossed the fog," the man said, his voice dripping with feigned politeness. "Though I must say... you are quite a mess, little rabbit. Drenched in blood and shivering like a leaf."
"Is this... is this a secret floor?" Bell asked, his voice trembling. "Are you an adventurer?"
The masked man let out a short, dry chuckle. "Adventurer? No. We call ourselves 'Tarnished' here. And as for you..." The man tilted his head, his eyes cold behind the mask. "You are clearly maiden less. Without a maiden to turn your 'Runes' into strength, you are destined to die in a ditch somewhere in Limgrave".
Bell looked at the massive tree, then at the vast, open plains that stretched into infinity. There were no walls. There was no ceiling.
He wasn't in the Dungeon anymore. He wasn't even in Gekai.
Bell Cranel arrived in the Lands Between.
--
Status Report:
Name: Bell Cranel.
Race: Human.
Origin: Orario (Hestia Familia - Level 1).
Current Title: The Maidenless Rabbit (Assigned by White Mask Varré).
Current State: Level 1.
The "Inert"Falna(DanMachi Stats)
Attribute Rank
Strength-I-77
Endurance-I-13
Dexterity-I-93
Agility-H-112
Magic-I-0
The "Active" Attributes (Elden Ring Stats)
Vigor: 10 (Determines HP and survival).
Mind: 9 (Determines FP for future magic or skills).
Endurance: 12 (His ability to dodge and sprint).
Strength: 10 (Physical power for weapons).
Dexterity: 14 (Primary focus for daggers and speed).
Intelligence: 9 (Magic potential).
Faith: 10 (Reflects his pure heart).
Arcane: 11 (Discovery and luck).
Equipment & Inventory
Weapon: Chipped Iron Dagger (Scaling: Dex C).
Armor: Rookie Leather Set (Physical Defense: 15.5; currently bloodstained).
Consumables: * 1x Empty Potion Vial (Orario grade). 1x Valis Pouch (Contains 10 Valis - Orario currency).
Special Item: None
Special Skills
Liaris Freese (Dormant): Fast growth as long as his feelings last. Current Effect: +300% Rune gain while "feelings for the Sword Princess" persist.
Argonaut (Dormant): Heroic charge; currently locked
--
End of Chapter 1.