Another fantastic offering in this amazing series!
Ah, Bell-Kun, you made it out by the skin of your teeth yet again. How many times does Aiz have to save you? And this time, Lily & Welf, too? And here comes Hestia, with what is probably the most overpowered dungeon party in history! Looks like you have a LOT of powerful friends, Bell! So, you have powerful friends, & also powerful enemies! Hermes is up to no good, as usual. He really fancies you, lad. Not good. Just when it looks like you are in trouble, more of your special abilities kick in, & turn things in your favor. Then in comes the calvary, led by recently freed Hestia. When are you going to realize that your goddess is madly in love with you? Come on, she's a knockout! Totally hot. How can you spurn her??? Yeah I know you like Aiz, & yes Aiz is gorgeous, but come on, look at Hestia's body! She's not a goddess for nothing! Ah, the folly of youth. Chasing what you think you need, when what you truly, truly need is sitting right next to you. Don't break Hestia's heart, Bell. She has literally gone through Hades & back for you! You've get to get a handle on this hero worship thing you have going with Aiz. I tell you Bell, you've got a whole bunch of beautiful women, human & otherwise, who love you & adore you. You are one lucky boy, laddie! Even Lily is a fantastic catch. I know, she's just your adventuring supporter, but she's cute, too, & she absolutely adores you. So now, enter a tremendous floor boss... in the "safe" zone?!?! Looks like Hermes & Hestia are literally bringing down the house, by doing the forbidden, & entering the depths of the dungeon. Actions have consequences, as they say. Now for the boss battle!
Nearly dead after having a group of monsters attacking his party (thanks to another group running away through them) and through luck and perseverance they use shortcuts to make their way to a safe (well sort of safe) zone where Loki Familia as well as others are based after coming back from an expedition. Thanks to his connections and kind nature Bell and his friends have a chance to recover and experience all sorts of new things but with the good there is also some animosity from within the area and some divine visitors come to visit with their own guests. Be sure to read so you can experience Bell and everyone else's growth in all this visual glory. :)
It isn't easy to choose a favorite moment in a book that I find as amusing as this book but I can tell you one of the most memorable moments is Hermes tricking Bell to come into a tree with him that overlooks the springs where pretty much every female is bathing at once (must be an established rule they all have to go at the same time) that leads to some mortified girls, super embarrassed Bell, and a history lesson with Lyu which makes sense since she is also the cover girl for the volume. :)
Bell continues to try to make his way in the world as an adventurer and after defeating - and surviving - a major "monster" his stats have jumped and he is coming more and more to the attention of other adventurers. Chief among those is Aiz who Bell immediately is drawn to at the discomfort and jealousy of his patron god Hestia.
Now, he has made it through the dungeon to level 18, a level designed to allow adventurers to rest and recover. But things have a way of changing when you least expect it and soon, the place that was designed to be a haven becomes a battle to survive.
Another wonderful entry in this series by Fujino Omori.
This follows the anime very closely. I prefer the anime only because I enjoy the voice acting and color but other than that the story here is solid and entertaining. A little too much fan fare but other than that its enjoyable.
Well . . . I'm sorry I didn't buy volume 10! This volume continued the excellent story and ended with a cliffhanger. Sometimes I buy junk and keep going because I don't sample it. Other times, I buy silk and stop because I don't sample it.