Fairy Tail: Igneel's eldest son in Anime Multiverse

Charles returned to his workshop under the curious gazes of everyone around.

Before he could even settle in, the workshop door—which had been replaced who knows how many times—gave out again.

Unsurprisingly, the culprit was once again Tsubaki. Charles finally made up his mind: the next door would be forged from Orichalcum.

Tsubaki strode up beside Charles and slung an arm over his shoulders. "Hey! Charles, I heard you had a brawl with Ottar! So? Did you beat that big guy?"

Charles sighed. "And what good would that do me? I'd be happier if I could just forge a great piece of gear."

Tsubaki clapped him on the shoulder. "Well said! That's our Familia's star blacksmith for you! Still, I'm really curious—who won between you and Ottar?"

Charles shoved her arm off. "If you're so curious, go ask Ottar yourself! I've got work to do and no time for your nonsense."

Tsubaki replied, "Don't be like that! I was going to tell you about Welf, you know."

Charles turned back, more serious. "Welf? Did something happen with him?"

Tsubaki gave him a mysterious smile. "If you want to know, you'll have to spill the whole story about your fight with Ottar!"

Charles gave a dismissive smirk. Tsubaki really thought she could blackmail him? If he wanted to know what was going on with Welf, he could just ask Welf directly.

Leaving the stunned Tsubaki behind, Charles headed toward Welf's workshop.

He knocked, then pushed the door open to find Welf in the middle of forging a weapon.

But as Charles looked closer, he realized that the blade on Welf's anvil wasn't an ordinary short sword—it was clearly a magic sword.

Welf looked up. "Charles, you're back from your expedition!"

Charles cut straight to the point. "We can talk about that later. That weapon… it's a magic sword, isn't it? So you've given up on your old ideals?"

Welf glanced down at the half-finished magic sword, then placed it back into the forge to let it reheat.

"Yeah. A lot happened while you were gone. After you left, I made a contract with Bell. As his blacksmith, and as his party member."

Blacksmiths generally had two career paths. One was the standard route: forging equipment for sale, occasionally taking custom orders. The other was rarer—signing a contract with an adventurer to serve as their personal blacksmith, crafting gear tailored to them alone.

Both had pros and cons, but very few blacksmiths ever signed such a contract. It required mutual trust: the blacksmith needed to believe the adventurer would create a legacy with their weapons, and the adventurer had to believe the blacksmith could forge what they needed most.

That Welf and Bell had signed such a contract wasn't surprising. What Charles didn't know was what had brought them to that point.

"You really believe in Bell that much?" he asked.

Welf nodded without hesitation. "Bell's… different. There's just something about him that makes you want to follow."

Charles continued, "So you changed your mind about magic swords because of him too?"

Welf answered, "We got tricked by a certain tiny little dwarf and nearly died on the twelfth floor.

But Bell still risked his life to save her. Sounds pretty dumb, right? But that's just who Bell is—and somehow, he makes you believe heroes really exist.

He's going to keep doing 'dumb' things like that, and I don't want to be left with regrets because I couldn't help him."

Charles nodded, piecing the situation together. Looks like the bunny had already met and saved his future strategist—Liliruca Arde.

Lili was a genius in her own right. Her rare magic, Cinder Ella, allowed her to shapeshift into other people, even changing race and gender.

But Charles's thoughts quickly turned to what came next in the original story—after meeting Lili, Bell would encounter the Minotaur trained by Ottar and undergo his first true trial.

He looked at Welf and said, "Either way, finding a companion you can truly trust is a good thing. That's its own kind of growth.

But be careful in the Dungeon for a while. There might be trouble soon."

Charles's warning wasn't unfounded. Beyond Freya's "trials," the Dungeon's current state was a powder keg.

There was the fallen spirit from the deeper levels working with Evilus, the remnants of the dark factions stirring once more, and even the intelligent monsters known as Xenos.

Saying the Dungeon was simmering with danger was no exaggeration.

And Bell… he might have the main character's plot armor, but even so, his path was one no one could take lightly.

That so-called "Lucky" Development Ability? To Charles, it felt more like a cruel joke.

Its effect was supposed to help Bell survive desperate situations, but seriously—what kind of lucky guy ends up in danger eight out of ten times he enters the Dungeon?

As a rookie he faced the Minotaur incident, then got framed by Lili. First time in the middle floors, he ran into Take Mikazuchi Familia's monster experiments. Retreating into the 18th floor, he ran into an enhanced Goliath.

Then came the expedition to the lower levels—where he ran into the moss giant. And just when that was over, he got dragged into Ryuu's incident and fell straight into the deep floors.

Sure, he survived every time, but it was way too much for someone supposedly just "lucky."

No doubt about it—Bell was a fated hero. Not just Freya, even the Dungeon itself seemed to be testing him.

Charles had rushed over after hearing Welf was in trouble, assuming he'd gotten dragged into one of Bell's disasters. But seeing Welf safe and sound put him at ease. He returned to his own workshop.

Only to find another surprise waiting for him.

Tsubaki might've left, but someone else had arrived—Finn.

Charles walked up and opened the door Tsubaki had fixed before leaving. "Didn't expect you to show up this quickly. Come on in if you've got something to say."

Finn nodded and stepped inside with him.

Finding a seat, Finn got straight to the point. "I know it's a bit forward, but I wanted to ask—did you just return from a Dungeon expedition?"

Charles didn't try to hide anything. "That's right. I just got back from the deep floors."

Finn narrowed his eyes. "Exactly which floor?"

Looking Finn in the eye, Charles sighed. "The fifty-ninth."

Finn's face showed no surprise, only a quiet confirmation. "I thought so. Then… about what's on the fifty-ninth floor…"

Charles cut in, "Information about the deep floors doesn't come free. And I think what's on the fifty-ninth floor matters a lot to you."

Finn gave a wry smile. "We're planning an expedition soon. Don't fleece us too badly, Charles."

Charles grinned. "Don't worry—my terms are very reasonable."

But Finn had a feeling this "reasonable" was going to cost him plenty.

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