Welf Crozzo is a 17‑year‑old human blacksmith and adventurer in the series “Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?”, a former member of the Hephaistos Familia who later converts to the Hestia Familia and becomes known under the title “Ignis,” the Uncooling.
Name: Welf Crozzo
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Race: Human
Height: 175 cm
Occupation: Adventurer, Blacksmith
Affiliation: Hephaistos Familia → Hestia Familia
Level: 1 → 2
Second Name / Alias: Ignis (meaning “Uncooling”)
Origin: Rakia Kingdom
Voice Actor (anime): Yoshimasa Hosoya
Welf begins the story as a blacksmith of the major smithing faction Hephaistos Familia in Orario.
Shortly before the “War Game” between the Hestia Familia and the Apollo Familia, he converts to the Hestia Familia to fight alongside his friend Bell Cranel.
He is a descendant of the fallen noble “smith family” Crozzo from the warlike Rakia Kingdom ruled by the war god Ares.
Though his ancestors gained nobility by selling the overwhelmingly powerful “Crozzo magic swords” to the kingdom, their reckless use led to disaster and the family’s downfall.
As an adventurer he rises to Level 2 and is granted the second name “Ignis” by the gods.
This title is derived from his embarrassingly passionate love confession to Hephaistos, which became the talk of the divine community.
Welf is a young man with short red hair reminiscent of flames and a sharp, determined face.
He typically wears a black kimono‑style work outfit and keeps a tenugui‑like cloth around his neck, which he ties around his head when forging.
His overall build is that of a lean, active craftsman rather than a heavily armored warrior.
The image he gives is rugged but earnest, fitting a frontline “battle smith” who swings a large blade.
Welf has a big‑brother temperament: generous, reliable, and good at looking after others.
Within the Hestia Familia, whose members are mostly younger, he is treated as the eldest brother and often acts as an informal advisor.
He is also stubborn, hot‑headed, and quick to start fights when provoked.
When something upsets him, he tends to shout “Cut the crap!” and throw himself into the fray.
He judges things by his own standards and lives with a strong craftsman’s pride, for better or worse.
Despite being from a fallen noble family, he shows traces of cultured upbringing, such as being able to play the violin and prepare good tea.
Thanks to his noble background, he is perceptive about people’s bearing and manner.
For example, he correctly senses that Asfi Al Andromeda is of royal origin just from her conduct.
As a smith, Welf’s skill is solid and highly regarded.
Even as a lower‑ranked smith, he had already caught the eye of the smith god Hephaistos.
However, his sense for naming his creations is infamously terrible, which is why his works never sold well despite their quality.
A famous example is Bell’s armor: Welf originally named it “Hopping Rabbit Armor” and later “Pyonkichi,” which traumatized Bell when he learned the name.
Weapons forged for Bell and Mikoto Yamato such as “Ushiwakamaru” and “Kotesu” were initially going to be called things like “Mino‑tan Short Sword” and “Tiger Jiro.”
To Welf, these sounded genuinely cool, and he was truly disappointed when they were rejected.
Interestingly, the less he overthinks, the better the names become, while serious thinking produces the worst ones.
This running gag is later echoed when his ancestor, the first Crozzo, shows the same disastrous naming sense.
As a magic sword smith, Welf’s potential exceeds even that of Tsubaki Collbrande, the “Master Smith” and captain of the Hephaistos Familia.
This is largely thanks to his blood‑inherited skill “Crozzo Blood,” which allows him to craft superior magic swords far beyond contemporary standards.
Welf’s core belief is that “a weapon is the wielder’s other half” and “a weapon must never betray its user.”
Because of this, he hates conventional magic swords, which grant overwhelming power but inevitably shatter, often abandoning the user at the worst possible moment.
He sees such self‑destructive weapons as fundamentally wrong “shortcut tools.”
His disgust is also tied to how his family abused magic swords for selfish gain.
Due to this conviction, while in the Hephaistos Familia he stubbornly refused to forge magic swords at all.
His refusal, combined with jealousy from other smiths at his talent, caused constant friction and earned him the insult “defective Crozzo.”
Tsubaki and others criticized him for denying his own talent and letting pride get in the way.
But Welf clung to his principles until outside events forced him to reevaluate.
Hephaistos’s message—“Stop putting your pride on one side of the scale and your comrades on the other”—finally shakes him.
After joining the Hestia Familia and finding a true home, he chooses to forge magic swords again, not as merchandise, but as trump cards to protect his friends.
Over time, his skill and training raise his magic swords’ durability and power far beyond the crude mass‑production of his ancestors.
The “Crozzo magic swords” he creates are no longer symbols of greed, but weapons forged for and wielded in defense of comrades.
This ideological journey culminates in the creation of the “Shigou Series,” magic swords that no longer break and that grow with their wielders.
These new swords embody a synthesis of his beliefs and his bloodline’s power.
The origin of the Crozzo bloodline dates back to before the divine era.
The first Crozzo saved a spirit from monsters and was mortally wounded in the process.
To save him, the spirit shared its blood, granting him life and strange powers.
He gained the ability to create magic swords that could unleash true spell‑level magic without any casting.
These powers did not pass down naturally to his descendants.
However, when the divine era began and the gods bestowed Falna, his descendants sometimes manifested skills similar to his.
The Crozzo magic swords became infamous as weapons capable of “burning the sea.”
The family sold them to the Rakia Kingdom, gaining noble status as “smith nobles.”
But their glory collapsed when their greed led them to flood the battlefield with magic swords.
Elf forests were incinerated, nature was devastated, and the hatred of elves and spirits turned on both Rakia and the Crozzo.
As a result of spiritual wrath, the family lost the ability to create magic swords.
All existing swords shattered during wartime, leaving the kingdom, now dependent on them, to suffer defeat after defeat.
Rakia then scapegoated the Crozzo, stripping their title and letting the family fall into disgrace.
The once‑proud house became “fallen smith nobles,” despised by surrounding nobles.
In later generations, the Crozzo tried to rebuild by forging conventional weapons instead of magic swords.
It is in this ruined family that Welf is born.
At around age ten, upon receiving Falna from his first patron deity Phobos, Welf manifests the lost ability to forge Crozzo magic swords.
His family immediately tries to force him into being a tool to regain favor with the Rakia royal house.
Feeling betrayed and trapped, Welf decides to flee Rakia entirely.
He uses one of his own magic swords to cut down Level 2 Rakian knights chasing him, and the overwhelming destructive power horrifies him.
From that moment, he swears never again to forge a magic sword.
With Phobos’s help, he escapes the kingdom and leaves his family behind.
He then lives under an alias as a live‑in smith in the “Swordsmithing City” Zolingen.
There, his work catches the eye of Hephaistos, who recruits him to Orario and the Hephaistos Familia.
As for why Welf’s power returned when the family had lost it, the story never gives a definitive answer.
Bell speculates that either “the spirits’ anger has cooled” or “because it is Welf,” whose heart uses magic swords for comrades, not greed.
Hephaistos
Hephaistos is Welf’s former patron deity and his romantic interest.
He joined her Familia after falling in love at first sight with a weapon she had forged.
She has always kept an eye on his growth and stubbornness.
Welf, in turn, admires and loves her deeply.
By this point in the story they are effectively mutual but unspoken lovers.
Hephaistos has not clearly responded, and Welf’s obliviousness keeps them in an ambiguous state.
Bell Cranel
Bell Cranel is Welf’s best friend and little brother figure.
They become close almost immediately after meeting, with Welf later calling himself Bell’s partner.
Welf is moved when Bell is the rare customer who seeks out “Welf’s work” rather than just Crozzo magic swords.
Because of this, he signs an exclusive smith contract with Bell.
Finding in Bell a hero worth forging for, Welf vows to keep growing as Bell’s personal blacksmith as Bell climbs to ever higher levels.
He repeatedly risks his life to support Bell and often gives him emotional advice as a “big brother.”
Tsubaki Collbrande
Tsubaki Collbrande is the captain of the Hephaistos Familia and a “Master Smith.”
She calls him “Welf‑boy” and loves to tease him, which he finds annoying.
Despite the teasing, they are not truly at odds and converse normally when they meet.
She is one of the few who can frankly scold his stubborn refusal to accept his magic‑sword talent.
Liliruca Arde
Liliruca Arde is one of the initial Hestia Familia members alongside Welf.
He teasingly calls her “Lili‑ske” and treats her like a bratty younger sibling.
At first, Liliruca resents him for intruding on her precious alone time with Bell.
But shared adventures gradually turn them into true comrades who can joke and argue freely.
Ōka Kashima
Ōka Kashima is Welf’s long‑term “bad friend” and frequent bickering partner.
Initially Welf hates him for causing the “pass parade” that nearly killed Bell’s party in the middle floors.
But seeing Ōka shield Bell with his life during the battle with the “Black Goliath” changes Welf’s mind.
They become close enough to argue without reserve and sometimes adventure together or waste time chatting.
Allen Fromel
Allen Fromel is a recurring adversary in Welf’s story.
They first meet during the Ishtar Familia incident, where Allen’s arrogant insults kindle one‑sided hatred in Welf.
Because Allen’s level far outstrips his own, Welf is repeatedly beaten down in every encounter.
Only in the end stages of the grand “Faction War” does he finally contribute to turning the tables on Allen.
Family Members
Gallon Crozzo is Welf’s grandfather and his first true teacher in smithing.
From Gallon’s back and hammer strokes, Welf learned what it means to be a blacksmith.
Gallon’s teaching—“Listen to the voice of the iron, heed its ring, put your feelings into the hammer”—forms the core of Welf’s smithing philosophy.
Even after severing ties with his clan, Welf preserves this teaching alone.
Vil Crozzo, Welf’s father, clings more to noble status than smithing.
He sees Welf only as a tool to revive the family’s glory by forcing him to mass‑produce Crozzo magic swords.
Their values are utterly opposed, and Welf despises Vil’s coercion and fixation on status.
Their confrontation during Rakia’s war with Orario becomes a turning point where Welf rejects his lineage’s warped ambitions to Vil’s face.
Phobos is his first patron deity in Rakia.
Unlike the rest of the Crozzo, she appreciates Welf’s pride as a smith rather than as a noble tool.
To Welf, Phobos is less a worshiped deity and more a troublesome but beloved older friend.
She helps him escape Rakia, but takes responsibility and is sent back to heaven, leaving Welf with lasting gratitude.
Before the Main Story
Welf is born into the fallen Crozzo smith nobles in Rakia.
He enjoys learning smithing from his father and grandfather, caring only about improving his craft—not about magic swords or family revival.
On his tenth birthday, when Phobos grants him Falna, the lost skill to forge Crozzo magic swords resurfaces.
His relatives immediately pressure him to forge for the royal family and restore their court position.
Horrified at being reduced to a tool, Welf chooses to abandon his house and homeland.
Using one of his own magic swords, he easily defeats Level 2 Rakian knights, and the terrifying power convinces him that magic swords are foul weapons.
After escaping Rakia with Phobos’s aid, he hides in the swordsmithing city Zolingen under a false name.
There he is scouted by Hephaistos and brought to Orario to join the Hephaistos Familia.
Meeting Bell Cranel
At the Hephaistos Familia’s shop one day, Welf is complaining about the poor treatment of his armor by the staff.
Bell happens to visit, looking for armor he previously bought and used.
Learning Bell not only bought but came back specifically seeking his work, Welf is deeply pleased.
On the spot, he hands Bell a new piece of armor free of charge and suggests an exclusive smith contract.
They quickly hit it off and form that contract.
Welf also asks to temporarily join Bell’s party so he can gain enough experience to level up to 2 and obtain the Development Ability “Blacksmith.”
Because other Hephaistos Familia members have excluded him from parties, he has been stuck at Level 1, unable to gather enough excelia.
Bell readily accepts him as a party member, and they begin exploring the Dungeon together.
Middle‑Floor Disaster and the “Paradise of the Labyrinth”
After steady progress, Bell’s party pushes into the middle floors.
There they are hit by a “pass parade” caused by the Takemikazuchi Familia, leaving them all badly wounded and stranded.
Liliruca proposes a desperate march to the “safety point” on the 18th floor, the “Paradise of the Labyrinth.”
Welf hobbles on an injured leg, leaning on Bell, and uses his anti‑magic spell “Will o’ Wisp” to block hellhound fire along the way.
Overusing magic triggers a severe mental exhaustion (mind down), causing Welf to collapse.
Bell literally carries him until they finally reach the safety point.
Black Goliath Battle and First Magic Sword
Healed by the returning Loki Familia on the 18th floor, Welf also reunites with Hestia, who has come looking for Bell.
She brings him a message from Hephaistos—“stop weighing pride against comrades”—and returns a magic sword Welf once forged: “Fire Moon.”
After a brawl in Rivira, where the townspeople assault Bell in a jealous “baptism,” Hestia uses her divinity to end the riot.
The Dungeon reacts to her divine aura and spawns the floor boss “Black Goliath,” with power equivalent to Level 5.
Welf, still only Level 1, cannot fight the Goliath directly.
Instead he uses Will o’ Wisp to block the boss’s roar‑wave and cuts down surrounding monsters, supporting Bell and the others.
When Bell and Ōka are badly injured by Goliath’s attacks, Welf sees Ōka risk his life to shield Bell.
Moved, he abandons his anti‑magic‑sword pride and decides to wield his hated Crozzo magic sword.
Unleashing “Fire Moon,” Welf inflicts huge damage on Goliath and opens the path for Bell’s final “Heroic Strike.”
This moment marks Welf’s acceptance of magic swords as tools to protect comrades, not objects of greed.
Joining the Hestia Familia
Thanks to his performance during the middle‑floor crisis and the Black Goliath battle, Welf is promoted to Level 2.
He obtains the Development Ability “Blacksmith,” finally becoming an upper‑grade smith.
Soon after, the Apollo Familia targets Bell and forces a War Game against the small Hestia Familia.
At the same time, Liliruca is recaptured and imprisoned by her old Familia, the Soma Familia.
Welf joins the assault team to storm the Soma Familia base and helps defeat their captain, Zanis Lustra, rescuing Liliruca.
Once she is safe, he resolves to convert to the Hestia Familia to help Bell in the upcoming War Game.
When Hephaistos asks why, Welf laughs and answers simply: “For my friend.”
Hephaistos accepts this answer and permits his conversion, proud of his choice.
War Game Against the Apollo Familia
During the War Game, Liliruca disguises herself as the Apollo Familia adventurer Luan using magic.
She guides Bell and Welf into the seized castle, Shrime Fortress.
When Daphne Lauros’s unit attempts to bombard Bell with magic, Welf times Will o’ Wisp to cause magic power backfire, wiping out the unit in a chain explosion.
He then holds back Daphne herself to prevent interference in Bell’s duel with captain Hyakinthos.
Pleasure Quarter Incident and First Encounter with Allen
When Bell and Mikoto Yamato are captured by the Ishtar Familia in the Pleasure Quarter, Welf joins Hestia and the Takemikazuchi Familia to infiltrate.
He ends up fighting battle prostitutes of Level 3 and is quickly overwhelmed, showing the gap in combat ability.
At that moment, the Freya Familia launches its own raid on the Pleasure Quarter.
Their vice‑captain Allen Fromel appears and instantly annihilates Welf’s opponent.
Allen glances at Welf and dismissively mocks him.
This casual contempt leaves Welf humiliated and furious, planting seeds of deep animosity.
Conflict with Rakia and Confronting His Father
Soon after the Pleasure Quarter incident, Rakia wages war against Orario.
Welf’s father Vil appears in Orario and reveals that Rakia’s real goal is to kidnap Welf and regain Crozzo magic swords.
Welf naturally refuses, until Vil threatens to burn Orario with old Crozzo magic swords if Welf does not return.
Welf agonizes but ultimately goes to the arranged meeting point with Bell at his side, carrying his own magic sword.
They are soon surrounded by the Hephaistos Familia and Orario’s forces, who had been monitoring Welf as bait to uncover Rakia’s infiltrators.
The Rakian soldiers are arrested, and Vil is cornered.
Even then, Vil clings to dreams of revival and fires a Crozzo magic sword at Orario’s defenders.
Welf counters it with his own sword “Retsushin,” completely neutralizing his father’s weapon.
Furious at Vil’s pathetic behavior, Welf beats him while shouting that he should reclaim his pride as a smith, not a noble.
At this point Gallon appears, acknowledges Welf’s firm resolve, and declares they will no longer try to drag him back to Rakia.
Vil and Gallon are taken into Guild custody, while Welf silently watches them go.
This conflict conclusively severs him from the twisted ambitions of his bloodline.
Confession to Hephaistos
After the Rakia incident, Welf sits alone, emotionally drained.
Hephaistos visits him, offers encouragement, and helps him regain his usual spirit.
Welf then tells her: “When I forge a weapon you acknowledge, please go out with me.”
Hephaistos bursts into laughter, recognizing the line as the same confession many of her past children used.
She explains why she intends to reject him: gods and mortals have different lifespans, cannot truly build a family, and she bears a disfigured face under her eyepatch.
Welf calmly looks at her bare face, accepts it without flinching, and responds with his now‑famous line: “The heat of this iron you tempered in me isn’t going to cool off from something like that.”
He vows again to hone himself into a smith worthy of her.
Hephaistos later drunkenly retells this entire episode to Hestia, and the story spreads like wildfire among the gods, who find his line so embarrassingly “hot‑blooded” that it becomes a long‑running joke.
Meeting the Xenos and Wiene
On the 19th floor, the Hestia Familia finds Wiene, a monster girl with intelligence and emotions.
Bell cannot abandon the crying girl, so they secretly shelter her in their home for a time.
Initially Welf opposes hiding a monster, insisting she is humanity’s enemy.
Yet her innocent behavior gradually disarms him, and he ends up trimming her claws and looking after her like a doting older brother.
Eventually, at Guild god Uranus’s order, they escort Wiene to the 20th floor.
There they discover the Xenos’ hidden village and meet Lido and other intelligent monsters, learning their situation in detail.
The Xenos Riot and Return Operation
After Wiene is entrusted to Lido and the others, Welf and the Familia feel a deep sense of loss.
Soon, however, the Ikeros Familia’s atrocities cause the Xenos to go berserk and rampage across Orario.
With Bell heading into the Dungeon under Uranus’s command, the surface team led by Welf tries to track information on the Ikeros Familia.
Liliruca leads them to Daedalus Street, where Wiene and Bell suddenly reappear in the midst of the chaos.
Bell chooses to protect Wiene even at the cost of making the entire city his enemy.
Wiene survives, but the Hestia Familia’s reputation plummets.
A few days later, Fels sends a letter asking for help to return the trapped Xenos to the Dungeon.
Bell tries to go alone to avoid burdening the Familia further, but Welf and the others insist on joining and supporting him.
Anticipating this, Welf has been secretly preparing new magic swords for the operation.
When Bell apologizes for causing trouble, Welf brushes it off and says, with a grin, “Next time, don’t leave us behind.”
During the operation, Welf and Mikoto stay invisible via Fels’s magic tools and protect the Xenos column.
They disable pursuing adventurers with ice swords and even blow away the Level 6 Hiryute sisters using the wind sword “Fubu,” earning Tione’s deep resentment.
On the lower levels, they run into Gareth Landrock, one of the Loki Familia’s strongest warriors.
Welf’s ordinary magic swords cannot break through, and he struggles greatly.
Prompted by Tsubaki—who arrives under Hephaistos’s divine orders—Welf finally uses “Ice Hawk,” a terrifyingly powerful ice sword he had been reluctant to wield.
Its power is comparable to Riveria Ljos Alf’s magic, and it manages to stall Gareth long enough for the operation to succeed.
Awarding of the Second Name “Ignis”
After the Xenos incident is resolved, the gods hold a Denatus to assign second names to newly ranked adventurers.
When Welf’s turn comes, the gods instantly latch onto his line to Hephaistos, “the heat you tempered in me won’t cool,” and derive “Ignis” (“Uncooling”) from it.
The name is chosen in a flash and unanimously approved amid laughter.
Upon hearing it, Welf blushes and clutches his head, mortified that his corny confession has become his public title.
Dungeon Expedition and Forging “Shigou Kogetsu”
When the Hestia Familia’s rank reaches D, the Guild forces on them a “mission,” their first full‑scale expedition.
While Bell is separated due to trouble, the floor boss “Amphisbaena” appears before the remaining party.
Even without their ace, Welf refuses to give in and rallies everyone to fight.
He freezes the lake on the 25th floor with ice magic swords to create footing and, empowered by Haruhime Sanjouno’s level boost, helps launch a fierce offensive.
After they manage to defeat Amphisbaena, the party pushes toward the 27th floor to regroup with Bell.
Exhausted and out of magic swords, they are cornered in a dead end by a massive horde of deep‑floor monsters.
They have no trump card left and appear doomed.
At that moment Welf recalls Hephaistos’s words: “If you have a hammer, iron, and a burning passion, you can forge weapons anywhere.”
He makes an insane decision: to forge a magic sword right there in the Dungeon under live monster attack.
Even veteran Liliruca shouts “Impossible,” but Welf refuses to back down.
Protected by his comrades, he begins forging under the most extreme conditions he has ever known.
Driven by the single thought “For my friends,” Welf reaches a new limit and completes “Shigou Kogetsu,” a magic sword that will not break.
The sword’s blazing flames annihilate the encroaching monster horde.
The party then reaches the 27th floor, where they learn Bell and Ryuu Lion have fallen into the deep floors, prompting a massive rescue effort with Tsubaki, the tavern “Hostess of Fertility,” and the Xenos.
“Orgyas Saga” and Slaying a Spirit’s Avatar
Soon after returning from the expedition, Welf and his Familia are drawn into the final battle against “Enyo,” a mastermind plotting Orario’s destruction.
This conflict is later known as the “Orgyas Saga.”
Powered up by Haruhime’s level‑boost magic, Welf joins Riveria’s second unit against a “Demi‑Spirit,” an avatar of a spirit.
The Demi‑Spirit’s potent spell attacks are completely negated by Will o’ Wisp, while Shigou Kogetsu inflicts massive damage.
Welf effectively “hard‑counters” the magical entity and helps the team overpower it.
The battle showcases the terrifying synergy of an anti‑magic caster wielding a non‑breaking, spirit‑linked magic sword.
Goddess Festival and the “Box Garden” Memory Rewrite
During Orario’s autumn “Goddess Festival,” Bell goes on a date with Syr Flover.
The rest of the Hestia Familia is conscripted to work at the Hostess of Fertility tavern and spends the first day swamped with customers.
On day two, Welf runs into Bell in front of the tavern and quickly realizes he is running away from Syr, who confessed to him.
Welf scolds him, telling him not to flee from someone who has confessed and urges Bell to face Syr properly, even if that means rejecting her.
After Bell turns Syr down, her other persona, Freya, snaps and begins to act without restraint.
Determined to claim Bell, she orders her Familia to attack and eliminate Hestia’s children.
The Galliver brothers knock out Mikoto and Haruhime almost immediately.
Welf tries to hold off Allen to let Liliruca escape, but Orario’s fastest adventurer cuts him down in an instant, leaving him gravely wounded.
While Welf and the others are unconscious, Freya uses her charm to rewrite the memories of everyone in Orario.
In the new “box garden” reality, everyone believes Bell has always been her child.
When Bell visits the Hestia Familia home, Welf and the others see him only as “Freya’s child.”
They greet him with suspicion and hostility, their shared memories erased.
Yet because Bell was such a central presence in Welf’s life, the erasure leaves a lingering sense of wrongness.
In his workshop, Welf finds Bell’s custom armor and wonders why he would forge a light armor that no one is supposed to use, yet senses it was created with deep care.
After Hestia breaks Freya’s charm, everyone’s real memories return.
Feeling guilt for how they treated Bell while brainwashed, the Hestia Familia falls into self‑reproach.
Welf is the first to shake it off, sharply chiding them for wallowing.
He pushes the group to stand back up and go take Bell back.
Preparing for and Fighting the “Faction War”
Even after her charm is undone, Freya cannot give up on Bell.
She demands a new War Game over Bell’s conversion, which Hestia accepts, setting up the largest War Game in Orario’s history—the “Faction War.”
After rescuing Bell and confirming he is safely back in the Hestia Familia, Welf and the others still feel guilty about ever turning their blades on him.
But Bell tells them he does not blame them and asks for their strength in the coming War Game.
Resolved, Welf devotes every available moment to forging Crozzo magic swords.
Knowing how much he hates them, Bell tries to dissuade him, but Welf refuses—he’ll use every means he can to protect his friend.
When the Faction War begins, Welf’s magic sword barrage inflicts heavy casualties on the Freya Familia’s Einherjar.
Yet he is internally tormented that he has once again relied entirely on magic swords, just like Rakia did.
Almost mockingly, the rear‑line healer group “Andvari” led by Heith Velvet casts an ultra‑wide‑area recovery spell.
The enemy recovers, while all of Welf’s Crozzo blades shatter after their first use, leaving the “Faction Alliance” in dire straits.
As the melee devolves into chaos, the superior Freya Familia picks off allies one by one.
When Welf tries to assist Tsubaki with magic, Allen ambushes him again, leaving him critically injured and unconscious.
Eventually he regains consciousness and, dragging his broken body, heads toward the “House of the Gods” where Freya waits.
At the climax, Bell and Allen begin a final duel to determine the War Game’s outcome.
Thanks to Liliruca’s “Command Call” skill, her orders reach every ally including Welf.
He intercepts Allen’s magic destruction attempt on Bell by triggering magic backfire with Will o’ Wisp, then uses Shigou Kogetsu’s flames to finish off the wounded Allen.
By removing Allen and the last guards, Welf opens the path for Bell to reach Freya.
This contribution is crucial to the alliance’s final victory.
Orario‑Piad “City Games” and the “Dragon Valley” Trip
After the Faction War, the mobile education institution known simply as “the Academy” returns to Orario.
Tensions rise between the Academy and Orario due to the Guild’s heavy‑handedness.
To resolve this, the gods arrange a representative match between Orario and the Academy: the “Orario‑Piad” City Games.
Before the tournament, at Hestia’s request, Bell travels with Academy students Leon Vandenberg and Niina Tulle to the “Dragon Valley,” one of the world’s three great unexplored frontiers.
To support him there, Welf forges a large adamantite greatsword and a Crozzo magic sword dagger.
During the City Games’ final match, Bell faces Leon, and Welf watches via a magical “God’s Mirror.”
Leon’s technique “Afterimage” quickly shreds the adamantite greatsword Welf forged.
Seeing how effortlessly his work is worn down, Welf is stunned by Leon’s overwhelming skill and speed.
Loki Familia Rescue Operation
In the later “Loki Familia Rescue Operation,” Welf is assigned the “Shield” card and joins the Defense Force forming a “pseudo‑shaft” defensive line.
His task is to hold the line and protect the retreat route from monsters.
On the 28th floor, a Demi‑Spirit appears and begins casting.
Welf triggers Will o’ Wisp, causing the first spell to partially backfire, though he nearly dies in the process.
He then coordinates a barrage with other adventurers while the Demi‑Spirit is staggered, allowing them to destroy it.
Though his original post was on a higher floor, Liliruca’s tactical reshuffle brought him there at just the right time.
Later, when Bell is swallowed by a “Corrupted Spirit” on the 60th floor, he escapes by using a Crozzo magic sword hidden on his person.
This sword was one Welf had forged for the earlier Dragon Valley expedition but which went unused at the time, indirectly saving Bell’s life.
Welf calls himself a “blacksmith who can fight” and uses a broad, single‑edged greatsword in battle.
His basic parameters at the end of Level 1 are around C or D rank on average, indicating a balanced but unremarkable stat line.
By the time he reaches Level 2, his status is still relatively low because he has not had time to accumulate excelia.
His true strength lies not in melee, but in magic and anti‑magic support.
Crozzo magic swords, which only he can forge in the lower world, vastly exceed ordinary magic swords in power.
Their destructive power rivals Riveria’s high‑tier spells, and they do not require chant time or casting, allowing rapid, repeated bombardments.
Combined with his spell “Will o’ Wisp,” Welf is both an overwhelming “spear” and “shield” in magic warfare.
His ability to cause magic backfire makes him a nightmare opponent for mages and spell‑casting monsters alike.
Even elf specialists consider him their worst‑case matchup.
Hedin Selland remarks that Welf’s fighting style is an “absolutely terrible” match‑up for elves.
In close combat against opponents of higher level, Welf usually loses if reduced to pure swordplay.
He shines when allowed to control the battlefield with his anti‑magic abilities and his custom weapons.
Status
Level 1 (final known values):
Strength C 617
Endurance D 521
Dexterity C 645
Agility D 509
Magic I 70
Level 2 (as of volume 18):
Strength H 185
Endurance G 213
Dexterity G 266
Agility H 142
Magic H 102
Development Ability:
Blacksmith I
Skills
Crozzo Blood (Magic Sword Bloodline)
A unique smithing skill that manifests only in Crozzo descendants.
It allows Welf to forge extremely powerful magic swords on par with his legendary ancestors.
Veritas Burn (Flame Transmutation Creation)
A skill that appears after the Dungeon expedition, likely due to his extreme‑condition forging experiences.
It grants high resistance to fire and increases the effectiveness of flame‑attribute attacks, greatly boosting the power of his fire magic swords.
Magic
Will o’ Wisp
Chant: “Burn out, heretical art.”
This is an anti‑magic spell that triggers magic power backfire when timed against an enemy spell, causing the enemy’s magic to explode on themselves.
Will o’ Wisp’s power scales with the target’s magic—stronger spells cause stronger backfires.
This makes it particularly effective against high‑tier mages, magic‑using monsters, and species like elves.
Its major weakness is that Welf must complete his short chant before the enemy’s spell fires.
Against casters with even shorter chants, or enemies who simply do not rely on magic, the spell has limited impact.
In‑story, it is suggested that this spell manifests from Welf’s own wish as a weapon craftsman.
He wants people to fight by steel rather than by “cheap tricks” of magic, and Will o’ Wisp enforces that wish on the battlefield.
Great Blade (“Unnamed”)
A broad, single‑edged sword forged by Welf for his own use.
He does not name his personal weapons, calling them simply “nameless.”
Kimono‑Style Work Outfit
This is his black smithing wear, with some resistance to heat and fire.
It provides little physical protection, so he layers armor on top when entering the Dungeon.
Fire Moon
The first magic sword Welf ever forged after joining the Hephaistos Familia, with a fire attribute.
It has only a single use due to his then‑inexperience but its power is immense, enough to devastate the Black Goliath.
Purple Thunder Princess and Fire Shadow
Two sister long swords forged hastily for the War Game against the Apollo Familia, one purple and one red.
Purple Thunder Princess releases purple lightning, while Fire Shadow hurls massive fireballs that demolish thick castle walls in a single shot.
Retsushin
A red longsword‑type magic sword.
It releases powerful flames surpassing even the ancestral Crozzo magic swords that relied only on bloodline, and is used to counter Vil’s attack.
Ice Swallow
A blue short sword forged without sleep during the Xenos incident.
It unleashes a freezing wave that can immobilize even high‑level adventurers, designed specifically to disable enemies without causing lethal damage.
Fubu (Wind Warrior)
A blade focused entirely on non‑lethal neutralization rather than damage.
It releases a blast of wind that blows away everything in its path, strong enough to send the Level 6 Hiryute sisters flying.
Ice Hawk
A deep‑blue long sword even more powerful than Ice Swallow.
Its terrifying ice blasts are so strong that Welf hesitates to use it, and Gareth himself compares its impact to Riveria’s magic.
Red Fang
A red long sword with an even higher fire output than Fire Moon.
It easily exterminates large groups of deep‑floor monsters in a single strike.
The “Shigou Series” is the collective name for a new line of magic swords created by Welf after being inspired by Hephaistos’s “Hestia Knife,” which grows alongside its wielder.
They are fundamentally different from traditional Crozzo magic swords and are better described as “Welf’s magic swords.”
Their signature trait is that they draw directly on the wielder’s own magic power.
As a result, they no longer have usage limits and never self‑destruct.
Instead, the wielder’s mental energy is consumed with each use, just like casting a spell.
This eliminates the worst flaw of conventional magic swords—breaking at the crucial moment after their charges are used up.
Their raw power scales with the user’s magic.
Multiple users can pool magic into the blade to boost its output.
When wielded by Welf himself, the sword resonates with the spirit blood in his lineage.
This resonance allows it to reach or exceed the destructive level of ancestral Crozzo magic swords.
In short, these are unprecedented “everlasting magic swords” that stay with the user and grow with them.
They perfectly embody Welf’s belief that weapons must never betray their wielders.
Shigou Kogetsu (First of the Shigou Series)
Shigou Kogetsu is the first Shigou sword, a long sword with a flame attribute.
When Welf swings it, its power surpasses that of any previous Crozzo magic sword, incinerating entire monster hordes in an instant.
Because of his Veritas Burn skill, Welf’s use of Kogetsu becomes even stronger over time.
It is expected to increase in power as both wielder and blade grow.
The sword was forged in the middle of a crisis in the Dungeon, under attack from monsters, in a situation no smith had ever attempted before.
Its durability is extraordinary—during the Faction War, it withstands a full direct assault from Allen at Level 6 without even cracking.
Tsubaki, the Master Smith, declares that Welf has “placed his hand on the summit of god‑forged weapons.”
Hephaistos herself judges it “not bad,” which in god‑smith terms is extremely high praise.
In the mobile game “Memoria Freese” second‑anniversary event “Argonaut,” the first Crozzo appears as a character.
He becomes the partner to Argonaut, the previous incarnation of Bell Cranel, after saving him from danger.
He forges a “Flame Magic Sword” for Argonaut to fight a Minotaur.
At first, he tries to name it “Mino‑tan,” short for “the sword born to slay the Minotaur,” revealing his atrocious naming sense.
This clearly shows that Welf’s terrible naming is hereditary.
In the novel version of “Argonaut,” it is heavily hinted that the first Crozzo is not only Welf’s ancestor but also his own past life.
Given the parallels between Argonaut and Bell, and between the first Crozzo and Welf, their modern meeting through Welf’s armor feels like destiny.
Bell being drawn specifically to Welf’s work, and their partnership thereafter, is framed as an intentional echo of their previous lives.
Origin of “Will o’ Wisp”
Welf’s spell name “Will o’ Wisp” references global will‑o’‑the‑wisp and ghost‑light folklore.
Its alternative name “Ignis Fatuus” (“fool’s fire”) is mirrored in the story as the term for the violent magic backfire effect.
Crossover With “Strike the Blood”
In the “Memoria Freese” crossover event “The Otherworldly Familiar and the Cursed Magic Sword” with “Strike the Blood,” Welf plays a main role.
He shares a voice actor with Strike the Blood’s protagonist Kojou Akatsuki, and characters in‑story frequently comment on their identical voices.
The heroines of Strike the Blood tend to ignore explanations and rush headlong, venting on Welf just because he sounds like Kojou.
Welf quickly becomes fed up with their unreasonable behavior.
Near the climax, in an unexplored Dungeon area, Welf discovers a blade forged by the first Crozzo.
Sensing the dense human malice and obsession in it, he decides to use the sword as raw material to forge a new magic sword to survive the crisis.
With the help of Akatsuki Kojou’s sister Nagisa Akatsuki, he taps into the stored feelings of the first Crozzo.
He then forges “The Dawn Magic Sword,” imbued with the power of the spirit Urs, the first Crozzo’s partner.
Learning About Hephaistos’s Former Lover
In the “Memoria Freese” 4th anniversary event “Aedes Vesta,” Aphrodite appears as Hephaistos’s former lover.
Upon learning that the woman he loves once dated another woman, Welf is shaken to his core.
The fact that Aphrodite is a very air‑headed goddess only worsens his confusion.
Hermes, hearing about this, sympathizes with Welf’s shock.
Liliruca, Mikoto, and Haruhime scold Welf for overreacting, but he flips the script.
He demands, “How would you feel if Takemikazuchi and Miach were like that? Or if Hermes and Bell were an item?” prompting their horrified screams.
Only then does he exclaim, “Now do you get how I feel?!” and extorts apologies from them.
Hermes, for his part, protests being paired with Bell even as a hypothetical, grumbling, “I’m the one who should be yelling ‘Cut the crap’ here.”
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