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Like a Dungeon Crawler (Yakuza/Danmachi, Celestial Grimoire)

Reader mode
Ebiris said:
You're the muscle of this party, and that means you need to be able to take hits while the spellcasters do their job - unlocking the secrets of the arcane doesn't leave the much time for jogging, after all. Lazy wizards. Your stamina is much more plentiful, able to run for miles in heavy armor and only breaking a bit of a sweat, and your ability to take physical damage is likewise increased, your pain tolerance being something to be envied. This won't let you survive being vaporized by the strongest magic in this world or being reduced to paste under a giant's foot, but against blade, bow, and even destructive spells, you can keep fighting even under some of the worst of wounds just as effectively as you could before.
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Oh good, he can now fuck the entire amazon scouting party that will be sent his way.
 
Ebiris said:
It's a really good perk, but I'm personally rating it as about the stamina/toughness of a level 4 adventurer in setting. They've seen better!
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Honestly, that's incredible for Ichiban. He just got a major boosts as really, how many Adventures even reach level 4? Moreover, most people aren't going to get a clue about his endurance buff unless they spend tons of time observing him.
 
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Prospalzz said:
Level 4?!

The perk doesn't sound that impressive tbh.
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Actually it's pretty damn impressive, considering in danmachi less than 10 percent(I just pulled that number from my ass, the percentage is probably lower but it's close enough) of the adventurer population of the world reaches level 2, and that alone takes several years to achieve for the average adventurer!
 
Spiroo said:
Actually it's pretty damn impressive, considering in danmachi less than 10 percent(I just pulled that number from my ass, the percentage is probably lower but it's close enough) of the adventurer population of the world reaches level 2, and that alone takes several years to achieve for the average adventurer!
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I think the complaint was that the perk wording wasn't good enough to justify being as tough as a level 4. Which is a fair one, but it's all very subjective. This isn't a Gamer fic where I'm putting hard and fast numbers on everything, I'm making level comparisons as a way to easily eyeball things to the in-setting standard.

Although the distribution isn't that lopsided, at least in Orario it's more like half are level one and half are above, with the expected trend of less people for each level you go up by. Though I don't think that counts non-combat level ones like Demeter's familia or Ishtar members that only work inside the Entertainment District (hi Haruhime!).
 
Spiroo said:
Actually it's pretty damn impressive, considering in danmachi less than 10 percent(I just pulled that number from my ass, the percentage is probably lower but it's close enough) of the adventurer population of the world reaches level 2, and that alone takes several years to achieve for the average adventurer!
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The other way - the perk doesn't look impressive enough for level 4. That's roughly the level where "cool ninjas fight in the streets" shenanigans end and "So I am fighting a house-sized abomination that moves faster than eye can track" shenanigans begin. It is, roughly, the start of sharp upward turn of the local power curve. The perk is a vague "Well, you are kinda tough in the action movie hero kind of way, and ignore pain well" for 200CP, meanwhile.

All that said - I don't like, care about power levels specifically. I am just kinda concerned if author's image of how things are (at higher levels) going clash with stuff that happens in Sword Oratoria, and later on in the main series.

Devil advocate - JRPGs in general, and FF games in general also have a pretty stupid power curve and have Literally God as the final boss semi-regularly, so maybe a perk from FF I granting that sort of toughness is fine. IDK, just calling for some caution.
 
Ebiris said:
Although the distribution isn't that lopsided, at least in Orario it's more like half are level one and half are above, .
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Yeah, That's Orario's adventurer population ratio. But like I said the adventurer population of the world not just Orario, considering half of Orario's population are level ones and that's when they have the dungeon to gain excelia faster than those outside Orario, I'd imagine it would be extremely difficult to reach level two without access to the dungeon unless you put yourself in extremely dangerous odds or live Long enough to accumulate the excelia... Or you know do what the amazons in Telskyura did
 
Ebiris said:
I think the complaint was that the perk wording wasn't good enough to justify being as tough as a level 4. Which is a fair one, but it's all very subjective. This isn't a Gamer fic where I'm putting hard and fast numbers on everything, I'm making level comparisons as a way to easily eyeball things to the in-setting standard.
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Ah... I should really better my reading comprehension before commenting on things
 
Prospalzz said:
The other way - the perk doesn't look impressive enough for level 4. That's roughly the level where "cool ninjas fight in the streets" shenanigans end and "So I am fighting a house-sized abomination that moves faster than eye can track" shenanigans begin. It is, roughly, the start of sharp upward turn of the local power curve. The perk is a vague "Well, you are kinda tough in the action movie hero kind of way, and ignore pain well" for 200CP, meanwhile.

All that said - I don't like, care about power levels specifically. I am just kinda concerned if author's image of how things are (at higher levels) going clash with stuff that happens in Sword Oratoria, and later on in the main series.

Devil advocate - JRPGs in general, and FF games in general also have a pretty stupid power curve and have Literally God as the final boss semi-regularly, so maybe a perk from FF I granting that sort of toughness is fine. IDK, just calling for some caution.
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Yeah, that's very valid, and it's possible I'm over-estimating it a bit just because it's the first serious defensive power he's gotten, and it's purely defensive so I don't feel like it's that big a deal if I decide he can now take a punch from one of the waitresses at the Hostess of Fertility and just get rag-dolled instead of having his chest caved in. Level 4 is basically the bare minimum to 'matter' when you get to stuff from Sword Oratoria. Level 2s are basically civilians like Airmid and Naaza, level 3s kind of exist to get jobbed or only matter with Haruhime's level boost like Hyakinthos and Aisha (the stuff with Rina in chapter 4 was really my way of trying to convey that level 3 is actually a big deal), but when you're level 4 that's where you actually have some relevance to big events and aren't just fodder.

It doesn't really get seriously tested before he gets... other stuff, that kind of supplants it.
 
He's so squishy. He's really not gonna join a familia? Damn what a dedication.

I hope his durability won't be tested a random Soma level 2 can just blitz him and pop his head like a grape.
 
I haven't fully read but the concept is very interesting to me especially after watching Reggie's video on the game.Thanks for the chapter and hope to see more.
Edit:Man this is really good,Ichiban's characterization from what little I know seems really accurate,normally I always feel hesitant when the mc doesn't use the main power system of a world but here it made sense.Really hope you can get the inspiration regrading this story.
 
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Chapter 7 New
  • Threadmarks
    • The next day he got up early enough that when he reached Babel it was actually busy, throngs of adventurers heading into the tower and down into the Dungeon in a crowd that made clear just how big the Dungeon was based on how few people he generally ran into when he was down there the last two trips.

    He even ran into a familiar face as Mord called out to him, flanked by Scott and Guile. "Yo, Ichiban! You looking for a party to head down there with?" he asked as the three came over.

    "Already got one," he answered with a grin, "But we could still team up, was planning on heading down as far as the eighteenth floor today."

    Mord nodded to that. "That could work, three of us were planning on making the same trip. Who's the rest of your group?"

    And with impeccable timing, Rina draped her arms over Mord and Guile's shoulders as she pushed her way in from behind the group. "Miss me, handsome?" she cooed, causing both men to react with rather more fright than they had to her advances back when they were in a comfortable room of pillows and silk.

    "Gah, it's the psycho amazon!" Mord jerked himself away from her arm while Guile cringed.

    Rina made a pouty face as she leaned back. "Nicknames like that are going to tank my reputation, you know. Look!" she reached into her little thigh pouch and pulled out a glossy photograph featuring herself making a peace sign at the camera with a big smile and a great view down her top. "Do you look at this and think 'psycho' or do you think, 'cute girl I'd pay to spend the night with'?" she demanded, thrusting it around in everyone's faces.

    The photograph seemed to draw interest from the guys despite the real life model standing there wearing basically the same and showing as much in the way of skin. "Woah, where'd you get that?" "That is cute!" "Definitely worth the money!"

    100 - Chakra (Kage)
    Naruto
    Upgrade your reserves by an amount equivalent to the likes of Sarutobi Hiruzen at his peak, whose spiritual and physical energies blended to create an exquisuite amount of chakra surpassed only by true monsters. This is an additive upgrade, meaning the chakra will add to your existing pool, even if your existing pool is near infinite.

    Requires Chakra to purchase.

    Free - Chakra
    Naruto
    The basic Chakra system perk, you start with reserves equal to the average jonin. In future jumps, by channelling Chakra into others you can cause a Chakra system to grow inside them. In future Jumps, abilities that function using the target's chakra, such as by disrupting, amplifying, or sensing it, will continue to function as normal, either using the setting's equivalent energy types, or using life force as appropriate.

    Ichiban was a bit distracted himself as he suddenly absorbed a new ability. It wasn't so much a technique or spell though, instead an energy source. Unrefined but large and potent, he had a vague understanding that it could be channelled to improve his physical abilities but that seemed to be barely scratching the surface. This was the basis of magical martial arts stuff like that mafuba technique he'd used, but only the basis. In essence it was like the opposite of where he'd had that library of necromancy magic put in his head, giving him the core element and then leaving it to him to figure out the rest.

    But most curious of all, he did know one technique. Simply by pushing his chakra – and that's what he was sure it was called, rather than ki or qi or something like that, but if he pushed his chakra into someone else, it would awaken theirs and put them at the same starting level of figuring this stuff out as he was.

    Wasn't this the same as the falna stuff? Giving power to a person? He remembered his conversation with Hestia yesterday and how her experience of coming to this world from Tenkai wasn't that dissimilar from his own experience of appearing here. Would he be stepping on any toes if he started offering this stuff out, would they expect him to make the Kasuga familia with him as its head?

    "Come on Ichiban, if this doesn't excite you I have naughtier pictures," Rina's voice interrupted his musings, her finger poking into his chest as she waggled her photo in font of him.

    "Oh. Yeah, right," he grinned, trying to get his head together. "What's with the finger thing?" Sure it was common in Japan when taking photos, but he wouldn't have expected them to have that kind of culture here.

    "It's cute, isn't it?" she agreed. "Lady Ishtar did it when she was having her pictures taken and it caught on."

    "Huh, yeah. That's what they do back home too," he said, starting to wonder if there was some sort of connection between the gods here and earth and how it tied together with his own strange arrival and abilities. But none of them seemed to know anything about earth directly.

    Naaza's dully-voiced greeting sounded as she joined the group and then she asked, "Where's Yankimaru?"

    That at least was something he was keen to show off, and he took the small metal ball containing his giant metal robot out of his pocket. "He's right in here," he announced proudly, everyone looking at it with skepticism.

    "Still been wanting to see this Yankimaru thing everyone keeps talking about, but I thought he was bigger than that," Mord scoffed, unimpressed.

    "Heh, just wait. I'll let him out once we're deeper in the Dungeon," he pocketed it and asked, "Everyone all happy to party up together to head down to the eighteenth floor?"

    Everyone was in fact agreeable, and they decided on an even split of their takings for the trip, which reminded Ichiban that he might want to keep some magic stones to use as replacement spell components from now on.

    Descending into the Dungeon, Ichiban cast his light spell to illuminate the gloomy first floor, and immediately he could tell the difference his chakra made – the spell wasn't much of a strain at the best of times, he could run it for hours without getting tired. Now it felt like nothing at all, which boded well for the rest of his magic.

    "Huh, well that's useful for the darker floors. Feels… kinda nice," Mord said, rolling his shoulders while Scott and Guile nodded.

    "It's a hero's light!" Ichiban said proudly, the group setting off through the first floor, which was still crowded enough they didn't even run into any monsters that weren't already being fought by other adventurers, who all gave respectful way to their party as they headed deeper and deeper.

    He did get to see a new monster on the sixth floor when some big purple moths descended from the ceiling, only to all get shot clean through by Naaza before they could do anything. She was happy to claim one of the wings left behind by one as a useful potion ingredient.

    "Yeah, you and Lord Miach put up a quest for herbs from the Large Tree Labyrinth, we were thinking of trying to snag some of them when we were down there," Mord said. "Place is lousy with all those poisonous monsters though, they're the kind I hate most."

    "You've got abnormal resistance though, right?" Rina asked, which made Mord grin ferally.

    "Why do you think I hate them so much? Training that one's a pain in the ass."

    "I took hunter and I kind of wish I hadn't," Scott moaned, getting a sympathetic nod from Naaza.

    "I have some antidotes, but we shouldn't need them. Ichiban can cure us if we get poisoned," she said, the day off at least seeming to have put her at peace with the source of that spell.

    "I picked up a healing spell from Airmid," Ichiban spoke up to reassure everyone. "Speaking of, I need to pay back Izzy, since I picked up her spell too from watching her."

    "That girl needs a lot of paying back," Rina agreed with a sweet smile on her lips.

    Mord mostly took that in stride other than giving Rina a concerned look. "Shit, you can copy spells like Thousand Elf? Shame we don't have any, but if you've got Dea Saint's magic that's gonna make this trip a cake-walk!" he laughed boisterously, not even breaking his stride as a group of killer ants came skittering down the hallway towards them, cleaving through the monsters with contemptuous ease.

    Ichiban wanted to get involved too though, not having had to fight anything so far on their descent, so he ran forward and summoned his metal rod, pushing chakra through his arm as he swung down with tremendous speed. Instead of merely cracking its shell like last time, this time he went right through it and left a crack in the floor while the ant itself dissolved into black mist.

    "Hey, you've gotten stronger!" Rina observed, his display not having been impressive enough to draw much note from the other three guys, but Rina had seen him fighting in the Dungeon before and was clearly attentive enough to see the difference.

    Naaza nodded as well. "Before you needed lightning to defeat a killer ant in one blow."

    "Heh, it's something new I got back upstairs when I was spacing out earlier," he explained, straightening up and feeling pleased with himself. The other ants had all been easily killed by the others, while Ichiban felt the energy circulating within himself, ready to augment his physique and sustain his magic. "Chakra, it's like a source of energy I can move around my body and make myself better."

    There were oohs and aahs and other impressed noises, and Ichiban considered the other part. These people were his friends after all, they risked their lives fighting monsters in the Dungeon, shouldn't he help them? They were helping him after all, he'd never have made it down to the tenth floor last time without Rina and Naaza. "That's not all," he said, making up his mind, "I can give this energy to other people too."

    Wham! He found himself slammed against the wall by Rina, her hand cracking the rock beside his head, her body pressed against him in a way that would be exciting if not for… everything. Naaza and the others were making noises of alarm while Rina's dark eyes stared into his own. "Ichiban, you say things like that and it makes me want to go back to how I was the other night. And I'm your friend now. How do you think other people are going to react?"

    "I mean… I only said it because we're friends?" he choked the words out nervously as Naaza and Mord were both grabbing at Rina's shoulders, pulling her back. He was pretty sure she only moved back because she wanted to, though.

    "I'm not going to do anything," Rina shrugged the pair away as she stepped back. "But just to make sure we all understand – you're saying you can give anyone this extra energy that boosted you from hitting like a normal man to hitting like a level two? Do you know what any familia would do for that kind of advantage? This isn't a cool robot or a useful spell, this completely flips the board!"

    Naaza looked worried, hunching her shoulders and saying, "You probably should have kept it secret. That kind of thing is too big, far more than what you've been doing so far."

    "Nah, fuck that!" Mord growled, pointing between the two women, "You've both got it all wrong. This shouldn't be kept a secret, or hidden away for one familia's benefit. Give it to fucking everyone! No one gets an advantage that'll cause a fight for the top spot in Orario, instead all us adventurers get a leg-up against the Dungeon. The only one that loses out'll be this evil pit!" he thumped his own fist into the wall, cracking it.

    The other adventurers all stared at Mord, and then expectant eyes turned towards Ichiban. He felt the weight of their expectation on him, but Mord had a point. If he gave this kind of thing out freely to anyone, he'd only be helping people overcome the Dungeon. And the closer people got to the bottom, the easier his own path there would be.

    "I think I could do it," he said slowly. "It'd take time, but… it's a permanent change, I'd only ever have to do it once for anyone. Any of you guys want to test it, make sure it really works before we go any further?"

    "Pffh, no shit," Mord scoffed, before glancing at Rina. "Just maybe do Harmothoe last?"

    Rina looked disgruntled but didn't object, and so Ichiban started with Naaza. She looked determined as she met his eyes and they held hands, both of hers in his own. The chakra energy moved easily to his own hands, and then there was a resistance he had to push through to force it into hers. Curiously her prosthetic arm accepted it just as readily as her flesh and blood one after he overcame that however, and he didn't really feel any meaningful loss as Naaza gasped, her eyes shooting wide open.

    "Ahh! I feel something!" she said, more excitement in her voice than he'd ever heard from her. Her eyes narrowed as she started concentrating, and Ichiban did his best to try and talk her through it.

    "You can feel how it sort of rests at points around your body, and you can push it around, right?" he asked, comparing it to his own sensation. He could tell with his energy sensing ability that Naaza's power had grown – out of proportion to how much he'd fed into her. She wasn't as strong as Rina felt, but the gulf between them was small enough it would be a close fight… assuming Naaza could effectively use the new energy inside of her.

    "I can feel it," she agreed, letting go of his hands and touching various spots on her body not quite corresponding to her joints. She looked at her arm under the asymmetrical long sleeve of her top in surprise. "Even here… it's like pressure points, Lord Miach talked about them before…" she murmured thoughtfully.

    That was interesting, maybe Miach would have some ideas about how to better use this energy? He turned to the others, "Wasn't hard to do, you guys next?" he held hands with Mord and his crew in sequence, all of them marvelling over this strange new energy and some trying out a few punches and weapon swings as they tried to copy what Ichiban had done with the killer ant.

    400 -Landscapist
    Endless Legend
    There are many anomalies that cover this world, their magic gleaned but not understood. You, you understand it. You have listened to the voices of the Rumbling Stones. You have won a staring contest with a Wizard's Eye. You have eaten the fruit of the Life Tree, and you understand. Whenever you are within an anomaly, your magic is more powerful, growing with the strength of anomaly. Inside a chroma land, your spells would be rainbow hued and blinding. While standing within the whispering confines of the Ice Sculptures your spells would deafen your foes and sound as music to your allies. If you stood upon the Dust Tree, maybe, just maybe, you'd be on par with an Endless. You also have a better understanding of all anomalies, and how to best benefit from them.

    There was a pause as Rina held her hands out and she looked disgruntled at the delay. "I'm not going to do anything. Come on," she huffed out, and Ichiban had to hurriedly reassure her.

    "It's not that, I just got another ability," he said, looking around at the Dungeon surrounding them. It was the most unnatural place in the world, a place that defied even the gods… and that unnaturalness was exactly what now empowered his magic. In fact the deeper he got in the Dungeon, the more its power intensified, so too would his. It felt like the perfect ability for his plan to reach the bottom.

    Ironic that he got it just as he was committing to spending however long was needed to empower the adventurers of Orario with falna.

    Everyone was looking at him expectantly and he took Rina's hands while explaining, "Basically my magic gets stronger when I'm in magical places. Like this one," he told them while pushing his chakra into the amazon's hands. Chakra it seemed was magical enough to be boosted here too, and so it was easier with Rina than it had been with anyone else. His estimation of her power rose too, putting her closer to the waitresses at the Hostess of Fertility than before, and it seemed like she just got more out of it than the others did. Did the strength of a falna level feed into the strength of chakra they got?

    Rina tried a few punches of her own, little shock-waves in the air from her fists flying and he could sense her trying to move her chakra around based on what everyone else had been talking about with their own experiments. Her punches became noticeably faster after a few repetitions.

    "Feels like when I first got my falna, or ranked up, but it's not all around or just there, I have to focus to use it," she said, getting nods from the others.

    "Feels like it runs out as you use it, but it'll just come back with rest, right? This is for keeps?" Mord asked, staring at his hands as he clenched and unclenched his fists.

    "Yeah, straight up," Ichiban nodded. "It'll get better with practice, but I think this is like the most simple basic stuff, like if you can develop actual techniques with it they'll go way further. Naaza might've been onto something when she mentioned pressure points, someone like Miach might be able to figure out this kind of stuff."

    "So we're heading back up?" Naaza asked, looking around everyone. "If we go to the Guild they can spread word… although Ichiban, you're going to be stuck doing what you just did for every adventurer in town, it won't be quick."

    "Yeah, I know," he took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, "But Mord's right, this is the kind of thing that can help a lot of people survive down here. And if I'm doing it for everyone, it means no one's got any reason to get mad or try to force me into their familia just for themselves."

    The others approved of his decision, and so they turned about to retrace their steps out of the Dungeon. Even Mord and his friends gave up their plans, wanting to stick by him to see how this all played out.

    As it turned out, offering a free power-up through official channels was not quick and easy. He imagined doing this back in Japan, offering to grant people real actual magic with a touch. The government would be all over that in a heartbeat, and despite being in a fantasy world, Orario had a bureaucracy just the same.

    Rose had referred them straight up to her boss, an overweight and wrinkly elf who must have been thousands of years old considering how elves were supposed to age, and that guy had gone running to his boss, apparently the Guild had a god of its own, although he didn't give his staff falnas so clearly it wasn't being run like the other familias. That god never showed up himself but several others did.

    Miach was a friendly face of course, joined by Dian Cecht and Airmid as they wanted to get a medical opinion on this chakra business.

    Huh, chakra kind of sounds like falna, doesn't it? That didn't really help.

    Those two were just the start of it of course. A buff shirtless guy with an elephant mask over his face showed up and Ichiban had already figured it out even before he announced, "I am Ganesha!"

    Then there was Ogma, a rather unassuming moustachioed and balding middle-aged man on the surface. A short red-headed woman in a weirdly modern looking hooded tank top with perpetually narrowed eyes that was apparently Loki, of that whole expedition and minotaur business from the other day. Freya made an appearance, except she clearly wasn't a goddess as far as he could tell, her energy feeling similar to Syr's but on the level of an adventurer like Naaza rather than a god. There was some resemblance to Syr but she looked more slender and graceful and… well, the outfit definitely showed a lot more skin than the waitress uniform.

    She wasn't exactly alone in that with Ishtar's appearance, the dark-skinned goddess matching her predominantly amazon familia, and putting plenty of it on display. She was nice looking, but Ichiban could feel the menace radiating off of her even as she seemed mostly focused on trying to show how little she cared about 'Freya's' presence.

    Somehow though she wasn't the creepiest one there, that honour belonged to the blond pretty-boy god that went by Dionysus. He acted charming and affable but his shadow looked like it was primed to rise up and bite down on anyone nearby like a shark from the deep, and his smile seemed to stretch unnaturally over his face when only Ichiban was looking.

    200 - Orange Charred Ring
    Dark Souls: War of the Ancients
    A ring that was enchanted by a witch, meant for the only son of the Witch of Izalith. Since his birth, he was afflicted with sores that were inflamed by lava, leading to his sisters giving him this ring. While wearing it, you will find yourself more resistant to fire and lava, handling their heat as well as any stone in a campfire naturally would.

    "Oh ho, what's that you've got there?" the other blond pretty-boy god, this one wearing a rakish hat and accompanied by a blue-haired adventurer girl that was apparently a big deal magic item expert asked as he looked at Ichiban's hand, having noticed the ring that had just appeared on it.

    "Uh, it just appeared, Hermes," Ichiban answered, holding up his hand and looking at it himself. It was made of a burnt looking black metal, with an orange gem set into it. It gave him a feeling of flowing lava, and yet safety. He was pretty sure that meant it would protect him from the heat. "That's just kind of what happens, I think it's a magic ring that protects against fire?" Didn't really look very nice, but burn wounds look worse so he figured he'd take what he was given here.

    The woman that came in with Hermes leaned close to get a look at it while another god came into the increasingly crowded meeting room on the Pantheon's third floor. This one he knew, it was Hephaestus. "I was expecting next time I heard from you it would be another mysterious metal, Ichiban," she said in amusement as she weaved past Rina and Ishtar to get closer.

    Ishtar was currently running her finger over Rina's back, her tube top pushed up towards her shoulder-blades and a light shining from her skin. "It's written out as a new skill," the sinister feeling goddess announced, most everyone else starting to crowd around and jostle for position to see. "Give the girl some room, I can read it out for you!" Ishtar snapped, clearly annoyed at being so pressed.

    "Eight Sealed Gates: Moulds together physical and spiritual energy to achieve miracles. Harmony bestows greater results," she read out, her tone shifting as she added, "She's also gained a point to her magic statistic – this child has never had any magic before."

    Rina looked quite pleased to hear that, and nearby Ogma copied what Ishtar had done on Guile's exposed back, the greying deity confirming that it appeared the same on his back. Ichiban shifted around so he could see himself, and while mostly he just saw more of that almost-English writing glowing on Guile's skin, although above it was some kind of lion or dog holding crossed swords in its tongue which looked badass enough to earn respect among any gathering of yakuza.

    "What does it mean by sealed gates? Does that mean the skill can be further improved?" Dionysus asked.

    "The mention of harmony might be a clue," Miach spoke up from where he and Airmid and Dian Cecht were all poking around Naaza, the dog-girl enduring the presence of her loan sharks with impassive grace. Notably she had her sleeve rolled up and her glove taken off, letting Ichiban see her prosthetic arm for the first time. It was made of bright polished metal, and studded with gems, one of which Airmid was tracing a finger around. Miach kept talking, "The energy circulates inside the body but seems to be influenced by pressure points where it specifically gathers when Naaza tries to focus it towards that part of her body. There are a lot more than eight though."

    "It works through both her arms, and you can actually see it shining in the controlling crystals of her prosthesis," Dian Cecht picked up. "It gives a clearer look at what's going on, actually quite lucky!"

    Naaza's weary gaze spoke volumes on what she thought of her luck right now.

    "Well it sure sounds like an interesting skill, I bet most of my kids would love to give it a try," Loki said, sidling up next to Ichiban. "So you're just going to hand it out to anyone who asks? Just like that?"

    "I mean, yeah," Ichiban said, firm in his resolve even if it did seem like this would be a pain in the ass logistically, "Everyone keeps saying how deadly the Dungeon is, so this kind of thing will give everyone a better shot against it. I want to get to the bottom myself, so the more people pushing deeper the better. Plus if I give it to everyone that means it won't mess up the balance of power in the city, since no one's got an advantage." Still, he couldn't help but glance worriedly at Dionysus. There was something seriously wrong with that guy, and Ichiban did worry what might come of empowering his familia.

    Loki slung her arm over his shoulder so they were almost cheek to cheek. She had to pull him down a bit to do it – she was kind of strong for her size and build, but not really in a shocking way, and Ichiban mostly just let himself be dragged into leaning over as she went on, "There are some people in this city you might not want to have an advantage, hmm? But you've only been here a couple days, and you're buddying up with Ishtar's kid even after causing such a fuss in her district…"

    Despite the close position, it's not as if Loki was whispering words for his ears alone. Ishtar clearly heard and glared over while clutching her fingers on top of her subordinate's scalp. "Rina has already apologised. She took responsibility for her mistake, surely you understand that as well after your children let loose some minotaurs that nearly killed him on the upper floors."

    "Big strong guy like this can handle a little minotaur no problem," Loki said breezily, patting his back and separating, letting him straighten up. She wasn't necessarily wrong, even if the minotaurs were like twice his size.

    "This does present more wide-ranging problems when it comes to the balance of power, such a skill being concentrated in Orario… how will Rakia, or Altena react?" Dionysus asked, smoothly getting between the two arguing goddesses without any fear.

    "And what do they matter?" Freya, or at least her body double spoke up, narrowing her luminous purple eyes and sweeping her gaze imperiously across the room. "Is this not simply a mysterious blessing, like when Rakia was given its great magic swords by the spirits who favoured Crozzo? Orario is the world's vanguard against the Dungeon, and this young man is offering to aid its defenders. We will accept his generosity, and protect him from those who would abuse it."

    That mostly got nods, even if Ishtar looked fairly openly pissed. It seemed mostly on principal because it was pretty obvious she couldn't stand Freya. Dionysus smiled and bowed his head to acknowledge her point, but Ichiban could swear he heard teeth grinding.

    "Look, if anyone wants to come by from those places, so long as they don't seem sketchy I'm willing to help them too," Ichiban spoke up himself now it seemed people were getting towards concluding this business, which would only leave the actual work of infusing chakra into hundreds or even thousands of people which was going to take who knows how long. "But I can't exactly go on a world tour, I'm here for the Dungeon, so I can spend a couple days here at the Pantheon just boosting up everyone who comes by for it, and anyone who missed out after that can just find me."

    "Probably not everyone's going to take you up on it anyway," Loki pointed out. "Adventurer's pride, or being suspicious of a free lunch…"

    "They should pay then," Naaza stepped away from the trio around her, pulling her sleeve down, "Ichiban can copy spells, so every familia can pay by having its adventurers with magic demonstrate for him."

    "Uwah!" Loki recoiled as if struck. "It wasn't even little Lefiya's time to shine and she's already had her gimmick stolen!"

    "I am Ganesha!" That guy was standing on a table now and flexing. To be fair those were some big guns. "Lots of magic is too dangerous to use inside a building. We should host an event in the Colosseum where spells can be shown for everyone to admire! Also it's built to handle large crowds and move people around quickly so will be convenient for Ichiban to see everyone that way."

    Loki looked as if another blow had struck her, sagging her shoulders and saying, "I hate when that guy talks sense." From the weary nods all around it seemed to be a common sentiment.

    But with Ganesha talking sense, and some of the city's major players having agreed to accepting Ichiban's offer, they were now moving past talking and onto doing. Uniformed Guild employees went out onto the streets with loudspeakers, gods gathered their familia members that weren't currently down in the Dungeon, and what seemed like the entire city shifted its focus towards the amphitheatre on its eastern edge.

    It was impressive how fast they could get everything set up. Not only were crowds of curious onlookers starting to fill the rows of seats all around the stadium, but food stalls were already set up by the time Ichiban got there. There was a rope-lined queuing system leading towards where they set him up on one side of the open field in the middle, with the other half being cleared for magical demonstrations.

    "You've already seen my spell, but I should demonstrate now as well so everyone knows how it's done," Airmid said as she took her place at the head of the line. It had been generally agreed to let her go first, as her good reputation would encourage others, and she wasn't so powerful as to momentarily disturb the balance of power as might happen if he'd started with one of the big familias' heavy hitters.

    He doubted it would really matter given the time it took to even figure out and get used to chakra, but the gods were prideful and even just a theoretical adjustment to the relative power rankings of their familias seemed to rankle them.

    In any case, she cast her famous spell over the platform Ichiban was standing on, and he had a feeling he might want this thing later after a few hours of standing still and moulding his chakra into others, but for now he was feeling fine as he took Airmid's hands and pressed his chakra into her, the healer letting out a soft gasp as she felt the change take within her. She didn't linger over it though, she just bowed and moved on as the next person came up.

    It was Izzy, and even if he'd also seen her spell she seemed keen to show off. "Let me show everyone the fruits of my arcane talents!" she crowed, adjusting her witch hat that was clearly there to lean into the aesthetic before she cast her spell and conjured a line of radiant spheres across the empty space of the stadium, all of them detonating a second later while she already turned to take Ichiban's hands.

    Her magical power that he could feel afterwards didn't quite reach up to what Naaza's or Airmid's had been before they got chakra. It did seem like higher levelled adventurers just got more out of it. She seemed happy though, bounding off the platform as the next person came forth. "I don't have a spell of my own to show, that's okay right?" the plain-faced and dark-haired young man asked as he held his hands out.

    Despite that he was as strong as the waitresses at the Hostess of Fertility. And after Ichiban reassured him it was fine and pushed chakra into his hands, he could probably go toe to toe with Tsubaki… at least theoretically, if he used his chakra effectively. That was something everyone was going to have to learn, but it seemed Miach and Dian Cecht had ideas, and hopefully as people discovered facets of this power the knowledge would spread, and everyone would be better off for it.

    100 – Model Student
    Tsukihime
    If you find yourself regularly skipping class to go on nighttime hunts for vampires or just general adventure, then it pays to be a good student on paper if nothing else. You're a model student, soaking up what teachers say like a dry sponge and speed reading your required studies in but an hour. You learn about twice as quickly as other top students, absorbing academic and mundane skills with very little trouble, even on a time crunch. Supernatural teachings or things like complicated science take more time, but you're still an excellent learner as long as you have a good teacher – whether an actual mentor or a very informative book.

    More followed as the colosseum filled up and the line to see Ichiban surely stretched out through its entryways and onto the street, but he kept infusing chakra into people and having it broken up with displays of magic sometimes spectacular and sometimes unassuming. Blasts of elemental fury, chains that would bind targets, force-fields, healing spells, that waitress Chloe showed off illusory shadow clones when she showed up!

    Still. It was a lot to keep track of. He'd have to try and seriously think about what spells he wanted to focus on knowing and keeping in mind during a crisis, as otherwise there were far too many to reasonably sort through under time pressure.

    Luckily most adventurers didn't have any magic. Those that did generally only had one spell to show off for him. But now he was watching as a slender green-haired elf was gesturing out with her staff and performing chant after chant. Freezing up half of the stadium in a huge block of ice, calling up force-fields and healing circles, she just kept going!

    The awed whispers of, "Nine Hells!" he heard from the other adventurers waiting their turn made clear this was the woman Orin was so smitten by. And that was fair, power and beauty was quite a combination!

    He also felt an immense surge of hostility from almost every elf in sight when he took her delicate looking hands to push his chakra into her, starting off a chain reaction that made this woman – already among the strongest non-deities he'd encountered here, surge ahead even more mightily. The woman was unruffled as she merely smiled, flexed her fingers, and walked off the same way everyone else had, while one of the elves who hadn't been glaring – actually one he recognised from when he had lunch on that boat restaurant, stepped forward for his turn, adjusting his glasses and declaring, "Feel honoured that you will witness my magic from safety as few outside the Freya familia ever will."

    Very impressive sounding, and Ichiban was certainly keen to add some lightning spells to his repertoire, but he'd just noticed something, his eyes drawn to the winding line of people waiting their turn. It was a motley assortment of people, adventurer fashion being eclectic as it was, and three people in simple brown robes didn't really stand out visually. They had the magical feel of level one adventurers, common to the majority.

    Yet they also looked like bombs waiting to go off. Like for an instant as he looked at them Ichiban could see rows of cartoony red dynamite sticks wrapped around their chests.

    His heart dropped into his stomach. He knew, he just knew exactly how this was going to go down. As he stared at them he could see it in their faces, two men and a woman, their features scared and tense as they psyched themselves up for… a suicide bombing. On him. To kill him and stop what he was doing here?

    He could shout a warning. There were other higher level adventurers around, they might be able to stop the bombers before they could set things off. Or they'd just be in range to all die themselves. This elf with his powerful lightning magic would probably be able to kill them in an instant if he asked, that would certainly make sure of it, but it would still be a massacre. Three people would still be dead.

    "Hey, hold on a second," he told the elf before he could begin chanting, summoning the Hero Mage's Wand to his hand. "There's a spell I want to show off to everyone first." Glowing circles manifested around the brass metal rod as it ran through the spell process for him, but he said the words and drew the sigil with his other hand regardless. He needed this to be as strong as possible, and wasn't going to let some embarrassing new age chanting slow him down.

    The light shone forth on command. The sun was still up, it wasn't obvious, but it still banished shadows where it radiated from Ichiban in the opposite direction to the westward sun. And everyone could feel it. Backs straightened, lips curled into smiles, eyes met as people feeling the light of a hero upon them looked around and wordlessly communicated with each other that they could feel something special going on.

    And the three potential bombers felt it too. Whatever pain or despair had driven them here, to be willing to throw aside their lives on another's word, it became manageable. The resolve they'd been building up crumbled, but in its place came new resolve, resolve to live. Perhaps a temporary thing, but Naaza proved she was willing to overcome her trauma even without the light having to shine on her every step since deciding to brave the Dungeon.

    "Hey," Ichiban called out, looking straight at them, stepping off the stage and reaching his free hand out. He was tense, ready to shape a force-field if someone twitched, but he could do this. Reach out to them as a person and give them another chance. "I know you're scared, but it's okay. You don't have to do what you came here to do."

    Other people in the line were looking where he was focused, edging away from the three robed figures. The woman fell to her knees and choked out a sob. "Lord Thanatos, I'm sorry, I can't do it! This isn't what he would have wanted!"

    A ripple of uneasy murmurs went through everyone else at the name she dropped, the high levelled elf adventurer following after Ichiban and muttering, "Evilus?"

    Ichiban ignored it. "No one wants anything like this," he said soothingly, "If Thanatos cared about you he wouldn't want this. So lets just all be calm, yeah? No one wants to hurt anyone here."

    "No," one of the men agreed, his wrinkled face wracked with shame, "We just wanted to see our loved ones again, but how could we face them like this?" He tore open his robe, and while it wasn't the cartoon dynamite Ichiban had imagined when he first saw them, the bundle of round devices strapped around his abdomen were clearly bombs.

    People gasped and backed off further, but there wasn't a panicked stampede even if the ropes meant to guide the line were toppled. Unfastening the belt of bombs he wore, the old man placed them on the ground and stepped away with his hands raised up in submission. The other two potential bombers followed his example, murmuring apologies as they disarmed themselves of what would have been a deadly threat.

    The bundle of bombs were close enough together for Ichiban to create a dome force-field on top of them, which he did just in case they had someone able to remotely set them off somehow, and he spoke up since everyone seemed to be following his lead on this. "It's okay, you were being taken advantage of. That's the kind of thing that can happen to any of us, the only one that's at fault is the one who put you up to this."

    "I am Ganesha!"

    Oh that's right, there were gods in the audience still watching all this go down, and one of them just leapt from the bleachers with an elaborate jump that had him T-posing in the air before he landed squarely with his feet planted together. "Young Ichiban is right. Thanatos took advantage of your despair and I will see him punished for making a mockery of a child's grief!"

    At his declaration, several adventurers Ichiban had seen early on that were sticking around to help run things came over as well, their expressions torn between sympathetic and judgemental even as Ganesha continued. "You won't be punished for no harm was done, but come we should talk about the one who sent you here. Everyone else, please continue and show that Orario will not be threatened. And remember – I am Ganesha!"

    With one last flex and pose, he and his followers took away the potential bombers. Ichiban would certainly be keen to find out who wanted him dead that much over this. He'd never even heard of this Thanatos guy.

    "That was impressively well handled," the elf said with grudging respect. "My name is Hedin Selland, I see now why my goddess thinks so highly of you, Ichiban."

    It was just luck really. Without his strange intuition, without his heroic light, he could've just blindly let them walk up and detonate in his face. "I'm just glad they didn't go through with it. That was… kind of nerve-wracking," he admitted with a laugh of pure nervousness leaking out.

    That still left the bombs sitting there of course, and no one really wanted to get close to them. Instead a few people showed off their fire spells to melt down the ice from Nine Hells' display and they shifted everything over to that side of the stadium, and then a few other mages used their barrier spells to protect the crowd while Hedin detonated the bombs with a pin-point lightning strike that put what Ichiban had used against those bad bats the other day to shame. Interestingly they didn't detonate in fiery explosions, but rather a mixture of elements with freezing bursts and electrical discharges among them, as well as some kind of gloopy poisonous seeming sludge.

    He followed up with a far more wide-ranging spell that rained lightning arrows all over the field, more or less annihilating the residue from the bombs and seeming pleased with the display as he turned towards Ichiban on the relocated stage afterwards.

    "I had thought that would be all I would demonstrate for you, for my last spell I cannot use on myself, and will not use on those I have not recognised. But you have earned my regard, Ichiban Kasuga. Behold my Laurus Hildr," He focused then and chanted brisk words, "Play music eternally, immortal saint!"

    The spell hit Ichiban and he instantly felt it supercharge him. Lightning crackled all around his body without harming him, rather surging power through his veins… through his chakra too, he realised. He'd seen a few enchantment type spells today, ones that boosted the user's abilities, but this one felt like it was in a completely different league! Unfortunate he wouldn't be able to cast it on himself, but what a boon for anyone he travelled with!

    Hedin seemed drained from the effort, and took out a potion which he quickly drank down before waiting for the lightning to subside from around Ichiban's body. After picking up a bunch of spells like that, he well earned the boost of chakra that Ichiban bestowed upon him, putting him back on par with the green-haired elf who'd gone before him.

    Hedin smiled appreciatively at it and went off, the next adventurer stepping up being a fairly anti-climactic level two with no magic to show off, but that's how most of them went. There were no further would-be bombers or further disruptions, but Ichiban still kept picking up a variety of spells that everyone who had one was keen to show off. Despite Dian Cecht's words about intellectual property, it seemed there was actually quite a bit of competition from people who wanted their magic to be recognised by him as worth using out of everyone else's.

    It did mean most of the healers made self-effacing comments about not being as good as Dea Saint, which was kind of sad but also kind of true. The vast majority of spells he saw here he'd never actually use.

    One girl did show off an enchantment spell similar in scope to Hedin's one, which he'd actually be able to use on himself. A wind boosting tempest she called Ariel which she showed off with some blindingly fast moves before Ichiban gave her the power of chakra. And she walked away looking just as happy as she had when he'd last seen her walking away from Hestia's fried potato stall yesterday.

    He could have gone all night, the odd drink of his magic water bottle sustaining him as the sun went down, but the endless crowd did eventually thin out, and the guild staff helping to organise everything certainly looked glad for it to be wrapping up. He hoped they were being paid overtime.

    Rose thanked him for his hard work, and he did not blush this time as she led him out of the Colosseum a different way than everyone else was leaving. "Lord Ganesha wanted to speak with you about what happened earlier," she explained, "And we also have to consider your safety until tomorrow. Many familias have volunteered for the honour of guarding you."

    Yeah he might have trouble sleeping after a day like this, he still felt pretty wired, and the thought of another bomber or a high level adventurer coming to kill him in his bed was certainly something to keep a guy up at night.

    As it turned out, Ganesha wasn't the only god waiting for him. Loki and Freya – actual Freya, not the body double, were there, along with Hermes. There were also a few adventurers around – the blue-haired girl he'd seen earlier in the day, one of those halfling guys with blond hair who'd apologised that he couldn't show off his spell because it drove him insane. No great loss for Ichiban really. A huge guy with animal ears and muscles that put Ganesha's to shame, and was the highest power adventurer Ichiban had seen yet. He'd been by earlier lining up like everyone else and had shown off a spell that boosted the power of his weapon. And another woman with blue hair and a more athletic looking build than the more scholarly looking girl stuck by Hermes. Miach and Naaza were there too, the latter seeming a little out of her element while the handsome god seemed perfectly at ease amidst his peers.

    "I am Ganesha!"

    "Y-yo. I am Ichiban!" Ichiban tried to match the guy's mood, though he gave more of a wave than a flex.

    It seemed to do the trick though, Ganesha smiling in approval, and a chuckle coming from Freya. Damn, compared to her laughter when she was acting as Syr there was something really alluring about it. Or maybe it was just the way her body moved and the fact her outfit showed off so much of it. Safer to look at Ganesha and his muscles so he didn't make an ass of himself!

    "Orario is in your debt, Ichiban. Though this Eight Sealed Gates skill you've given will take time to master, our city's heroes are eager and up to the challenge," Ganesha went on, getting determined nods from the adventurers all around. Ichiban could actually feel most of them were actively circulating their chakra even as they stood there, probably trying to work it like a muscle and get used to the new ability. The big guy with Freya had a monstrous amount, further proving that the stronger the base adventurer was, the greater impact they got from adding chakra.

    Ganesha kept talking past that though, "And perhaps more importantly, you prevented a tragedy today. The children that were misled by Thanatos were like many in Orario – widows, widowers, parents who outlived their children. Thanatos preyed on their grief and manipulated them with false promises of being able to reunite with their loved ones when they reincarnated. That is not something any god can honestly offer, but even a fragile hope can ensnare the desperate. That weaselly little… ohhh! It makes me want to wring his scrawny neck!" the heartfelt speech gave way to raw angry emotion as Ganesha mimed out doing just that.

    "Those kids didn't mind telling us everything they knew after they gave themselves up," Loki spoke up now over Ganesha's growling noises. "About their hidden lair underneath Daedalus Street. We're going to take care of that, so you can keep on doing what you've been doing tomorrow, catch up anyone who missed it today. But there's something I really wanted to ask you about while I had the chance… you saw those bombers before they got near you, didn't you? Like you've got a nose for trouble," she leaned forward, her eyes opening enough for him to properly see them past her usually slitted gaze, "And they weren't the first trouble you saw today, were they?"

    "Back at the Pantheon," Hermes picked up the thread, "It was a busy time with a lot going on. And two lovely goddesses of beauty in the room to boot!" The smarmy sounding god leaned forward, "But you kept looking at Dionysus. What did you see when you looked at that charming rascal, hmm?"

    Yeah, maybe he should've said something earlier, it seemed like they were all picking up on the connection. "It's not like he's waving a sign saying 'I'm the bad guy'," Ichiban said to defend himself for letting his suspicions pass, "But I get these feelings or flashes around hidden stuff," Freya made a thoughtful sounding hum and he had to resist looking her way, "And it was like his shadow was snapping at everyone even while he was acting all nice and polite, and he just looked… creepy."

    "And no one's seen him since then," Loki said, crossing her arms over her exposed stomach, "Plenty of his kids showed up to get the new skill, they didn't act strange either. But we've questioned them and they don't know where their god is. Or Maenad, she's went missing along with him."

    "So it seems like Thanatos and Dionysus are working together. Evilus isn't as gone as we thought," Hermes said thoughtfully, and Ichiban really just had to pick at all these names they were dropping.

    "Sorry, but remember I just got here the other day. What's Evilus? Hedin mentioned it too," he asked, trying to make sense of all the drama he'd landed himself in.

    "They're dumb edge-lords, it's right there in the name," Loki answered huffily. "You've heard the saying that everyone's the hero in their own story? Well these guys even admit they're not. They're evil and that's the way they like it. We thought we'd gotten rid of them years ago…"

    "It's more of a loose alliance or ideology than a real faction," Hermes elaborated. "Some want to crack the Dungeon back open so monsters spill onto the surface, some want to provoke wars and conflicts between familias or nations. The only thing that unites them is a hatred for the current peace we enjoy."

    "That's messed up!" Ichiban gave the only response he could to such a nihilistic creed. "And they sent people with bombs on their chests to try and kill me?"

    Ganesha nodded, seeming to have regained his composure. "Indeed. Those children are being cared for now and kept safe in case anyone would try to punish them for not going through with it. But we're more worried about them targeting you again to stop you from providing your new skill to anyone else. That's why the three strongest familias in Orario are each offering to shelter you until you resume your work here tomorrow."

    Ichiban counted five gods in the room and so he glanced around to try and figure out the dynamic there. Although it was pretty obvious in Miach's case as he smiled and raised his hands, "Naaza and I would be happy to let you stay with us of course, but we couldn't promise the same kind of safety as others."

    Hermes tipped his hat and leaned back, saying, "I'm just here to satisfy my curiosity."

    Which left Ganesha, Loki, and Freya. And a stirring of tension throughout the room. Yeah there was definitely going to be fallout based on who he picked. He glanced back at Rose who was standing by the door and looking studiously neutral. Naaza just looked grumpy when he tried to catch her eye.

    Naturally his hesitation to declare which familia was strongest was picked up on by the expectant deities, and it was Freya who tittered musically. "Really Ichiban, why so nervous? We're offering you our homes, not our beds… although I don't think you're to Loki or Ganesha's particular tastes anyway."

    "Oh, that's just dirty, you sleazy goddess!" Loki growled, leaning towards Freya with indignation. "This is about safety, not sex!"

    "Well, it is the one place I can count on my children to defend to the utmost…" Freya went on innocently, cupping her cheek.

    You know what? Ganesha seemed like a cool guy!

    "I am staying with Ganesha!" he declared loudly, just to not get caught up in a divine cat-fight.

    "I am Ganesha!" the elephant masked god matched his volume, standing up and flexing. "A wise choice, Ichiban, although personally I would have picked Freya if it was me."

    "Oh phooey," Freya pouted. "Oh well, come Ottar. Just remember our door is always open, Ichiban," and as she left with the strongest person Ichiban had yet seen here in tow, he wondered if he'd perhaps let nervousness guide him into picking a less safe protector for the night.

    Loki just punched Ganesha in the arm with a growl before she left with her own adventurer escort.

    "That was probably the safest choice you could have made in at least one respect," Hermes said when it was only the winner and the neutral parties left. "It's never easy being caught between those two. Good luck, Ichiban."

    "Haha, honestly you know, it might be good for me to spend more time hanging out with another guy after the last couple of days," he admitted with a strained laugh, causing the blue-haired woman shadowing Ganesha to chuckle ruefully herself.

    "In that case I'll try and stay out of your way. You and Lord Ganesha can enjoy your boy time together. Shakti Varma, by the way. Never got to introduce myself earlier," she nodded towards Ichiban and he returned the gesture, a little embarrassed at her phrasing, but still there was no denying the thinking that had gone behind choosing her familia over the other two prospects.

    He couldn't deny though, he felt pretty reassured as they left the Colosseum with a half dozen people on Tsubaki's level all screening them through the darkened streets. Hermes vanished pretty quickly, although Rose and Miach and Naaza stuck with them a little ways until Miach indicated where their paths should diverge.

    Naaza seemed reluctant, looking awkwardly at Ichiban before saying, "You'll probably have anyone you want offering to take you down the Dungeon next time, so…"

    And yeah, sure he'd seen plenty of people today that were way stronger than Naaza, but that didn't really matter. "What are you talking about? You've been there since the moment I got here – don't tell me you want to quit on me now?"

    "No," she shook her head, seeming relieved. As Miach smiled proudly behind her she went on, "If not for me you wouldn't have gotten to see all those spells today. Someone needs to actually do your thinking for you."

    He was trying to offer a gift, not sell it. But there was no denying the usefulness of the spells he'd picked up, and it had seemed like turning it into an exhibition of magic had increased the turnout and ensured more people showed up just to see what the fuss was and then gotten chakra into the bargain. "Yeah, you're good at that," he agreed, letting her bask in the credit. "I'll come by the shop to see you when I'm ready to go back down there, okay?"

    They bade each other goodnight and went their separate ways, Ichiban continuing along with Ganesha and his familia to reach their destination, which immediately made Ichiban recoil as he beheld the hideous structure lit up against the night sky.

    "What the hell is that?!"

    300 – Chakra (Legends)
    Naruto
    Senju Hashirama and Uzumaki Naruto: shinobi with chakra reserves surpassing even the Tailed Beasts. Like these ninja, you're now peerless when it comes to the quantity of your chakra, capable of boosting even the weakest of jutsu to incredible heights. The amount of chakra you mold in each jutsu dwarves even the Gokage, weaving country-shattering power into every one of your techniques. Only with days-long protracted battles against equal or superior foes while spamming high-level jutsu will you exhaust yourself, and, even then, you might just find that final bit of chakra hidden in that seemingly bottomless pool for that pivotal moment. Unfortunately, you're still no match for the Shinju or Otsutsuki. This is an additive upgrade, meaning the chakra will add to your existing pool, even if your existing pool is near infinite.

    Requires Chakra (Bijuu) to purchase.

    200 – Chakra (Bijuu)
    Naruto
    Upgrade your reserves by an amount equivalent to the likes of Hoshigaki Kisame, whose chakra pool was comparable to that of weaker Tailed Beasts. There are few in history capable of matching your sheer quantity of chakra. This is an additive upgrade, meaning the chakra will add to your existing pool, even if your existing pool is near infinite.

    Requires Chakra (Kage) to purchase.

    The sight was so shocking it caused his new well of chakra to swell by a titanic amount. Just a match for the titanic statue of Ganesha before them that was lit up by magical spotlights against the night sky so all could see its imposing visage… and the stairs leading right up to the entrance in its crotch.

    Even for someone raised in Kamurocho, it was unbelievably tacky.

    "Haha! The sight of the Ganesha familia home always leaves visitors speechless!" Ganesha laughed while all around the members of his familia adopted sullen and downcast expressions, refusing to meet either Ichiban or Ganesha's eyes.

    At least once they were inside it was nice. Well lit, clean, spacious… there was plenty of space going by how huge the statue looked from the outside.

    The familia had a big dining hall, and the communal experience reminded him a bit of being in prison or school, even if it was obviously nicer. The curry he was served certainly beat out the government's food, a tangy blend of spices and big chunks of meat that Ichiban was happy to wolf down even if he wasn't necessarily hungry.

    He told Ganesha and everyone else lingering in earshot mostly the same story he'd told everyone else, about the Arakawa family back home, going to prison and being shot before finding himself outside Miach's shop with no clue how he got there.

    Ganesha cried even more shamelessly than Mord did.

    But Ichiban found himself distracted even as Shakti told Ganesha to get a grip on himself. It wasn't unusual for him to sense magic around and under Orario. Even now he felt something way deep underground as an adventurer probably cast a spell against a monster, or perhaps the Dungeon spawning a monster party. Even on the surface he often felt lots of spells being cast to the south edge of the city during the morning, what he assumed were adventurers practising their magic.

    But now he could feel magic being used near the surface, not far from the Colosseum. In fact he felt it was somewhere near where he kept getting those bad feelings when he was walking around that part of town yesterday.

    He couldn't really make out details, not like he could when he was close enough to look at something. It was just a frustrating awareness of magic flaring up sometimes in rapid bursts and then falling quiet before more pinged at him from somewhere close to the previous one. It was the most frustrating way possible to try and follow a battle, if that's what it was.

    "I am Ganesha!" a voice broke through his distraction, and then pointed it out, "You seem distracted, Ichiban."

    "Yeah, it's…" he grumbled and gestured at his head and then pointed vaguely south in the direction he kept feeling things, "I can sense magic, and I'm feeling a lot that way, up near the surface. Feels like there's a war going on over there."

    The masked god hummed in surprise, "There really is no end to your strange abilities, is there? That would be where Evilus is based, we learned of it from the children who surrendered. They've built a whole artificial Dungeon under Daedalus Street, they call it Knossos. Right now adventurers from all the major familias are scouting it out, and no doubt running into resistance. That's good for us, as it should keep Evilus too distracted to come after you."

    He'd mostly been able to put aside the feelings he got of magical battle below the surface. Adventurers went down to fight in the Dungeon, that's just how things worked here, it wasn't necessarily his business. But he felt a personal connection with what was going on now – they were fighting because he'd instigated something by handing out chakra to everyone. He didn't know what that magic meant – who was winning or who was losing, or if people were dying.

    He wondered if this was what it was like to be in a war zone. Hearing missiles and artillery in the distance, never knowing who was on the receiving end. And he'd set the fuse.

    "Can't help feel responsible, setting this all off," the words slipped out as he sensed another flurry of spells being cast.

    "Don't be."

    True to her word, Shakti had kept quiet until now, allowing Ichiban to mostly just shoot the shit with Ganesha and enjoy some masculine camaraderie, but she spoke up now, her voice stern and her expression serious. He looked at her and she continued.

    "A lot of us here have lost people to Evilus. If they've been hiding and regrouping their strength, it's good that they've been panicked into exposing themselves now so we can root them out rather than them striking when they felt comfortable. You've given us a chance to stop a second dark age falling on Orario…" she trailed off and clenched her fist, and Ichiban could sense chakra being moulded there as her knuckles popped, "And we're going to take hold of it with our own hands."

    Damn, what could he even say to that? "I guess you'd want to be out there too?" he asked, wondering if he was just looking for reasons to feel guilty at this point. This kind of awareness messed with his head.

    "I will be," she said with calm acceptance, a vicious smile curving up her lips, "Tonight's just scouting. That place goes deep. When the real battle happens, my spear will be there to settle the score."

    "The whole Ganesha familia will!" Ganesha declared, having leapt up onto the table and started flexing. "Are we not the defenders of Orario?" he asked, drawing cheers from all around, "Evilus will be dragged into the light and trampled underfoot like the cowards they are!"

    More cheering, and Ichiban couldn't help but get caught up in their exuberance, his mood lifting as conversation turned towards lighter topics and everyone got fired up. It helped the rest of the evening pass in better spirits, giving him a chance to learn a bit more about the Dungeon from these adventurers, and he shared some stories from back home. Ganesha had seemed very excited when Ichiban mentioned there was an elephant-headed god back on earth – or at least people believed in one, as no gods had actually physically descended to earth to walk around as they did here.

    Unfortunately Ichiban wasn't much of a religious scholar so he didn't know much more beyond his existence and aesthetic, although he did mention, "I'm pretty sure Loki's a guy-"

    A firm hand clamped on top of his lips and an elephant-masked face looked at him severely. "Ichiban, whatever you're about to say, keep it inside your mouth. None of us will like what happens if you spread something like that around."

    He nodded mutely, deciding that perhaps it would be best not to talk about trivial facts regarding deities back home. "Uh, hey it's getting late, maybe I should go to bed?" he suggested once Ganesha removed his hand.

    The room he was given might have been claustrophobic for some, lacking any windows as it was. But having spent eighteen years in a prison cell? It was just fine for Ichiban. The guards out in the hall were actually for his benefit this time.

    He wasn't exactly tired though, and sat up through the night messing with his new chakra. It might've been better to have a proper think in terms of cataloguing all the spells he'd learned today, but those were simple knowledge tucked away in his head and waiting to be used. Chakra was a resource, an enormous well of power, that he didn't yet know how to properly use.

    As he moulded chakra into his fist, he stared at the glowing aura of yellow light that shone around it, a sensation of boundless power waiting to be released. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself in stupefied awe. Feeling his own power with his magical sensing too, it was like showboating and flexing his muscles in front of a mirror.

    "Feels like the carp's reaching towards the dragon gate…"

    Author's Notes said:
    Sometimes you roll a perk which just changes everything. The ability to give chakra to others feels like a thoughtless jumpchain convenience tacked onto a freebie foundational perk, but it absolutely flips the board if dished out on a wide scale.

    No one actually has any ninjutsu knowledge so don't expect Naruto techniques to be busted out (unless Ichiban rolls a perk for that), but brute forcing chakra for physical boosts seems straightforward enough, and it's absolutely something Danmachi natives can exploit, and since it integrates with falna we might see people developing skills or spells that build off of chakra too.

    Also random aside, I wanted a bit of levity before the suicide bomber bit, and so Riveria's fans getting outraged over Ichiban holding her hands seemed a good fit. Then I figured the person after Riveria should be one of Freya's, just for how they'd want to balance things out. I picked Hedin more or less at random, figured he'd impressed by Ichiban talking down the suicide bombers, and then I looked up his spells and saw there's one he can only cast on someone he 'recognises'. Totally unintentional, the Ichiban luck is real.

    Anyway, there's a lot of spells in Danmachi, and Ichiban has access to basically all of them now. A few missed out – Haruhime is still being kept secret, Lili ignored the whole business as an adventurer thing and she hates adventurers, and she wouldn't have shown off her spell even if she showed up. But it's mostly a free-for-all past that. So if there's any spells you really like and want Ichiban to make use of, feel free to suggest them!
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    • I really like how Ichi handle the suicide bomber situation. Show that Ichi not only has the strength of a Hero, but the heart of a Hero as well. Really excited to see what this whole situation will bring. Thanks for the chapter.
     
    CrowesDebt said:
    I really like how Ichi handle the suicide bomber situation. Show that Ichi not only has the strength of a Hero, but the heart of a Hero as well. Really excited to see what this whole situation will bring. Thanks for the chapter.
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    Ichiban canonically convinces a legendary assassin to help him frame the one that paid for Ichi's death, gave a speech good enough to win him fame enough to be recognized as the Hero of Yokohama, and even talked down a suicidal man who lost everything from shooting himself or Ichiban. My bestest boy has always had it in him!
     
    Nice, great chapter and really good use of that little addon to the Chakra perk. Keeping it secret would have been the better call but it would also go against his established character and goals so spreading it around makes perfect sense. As for anyone butt hurt about him spreading his special power to everyone, that Legends perk should shut them up. Everyone having chakra means dick all when the MC is rocking Naruto/Hashirama scale reserves for himself while Ottar is probably only at the Jonin or weaker Kage level.

    Can't wait for the first person to figure out the Eight Gates and foolishly open the Gate of Death. Heck there's probably a lot of self inflicted injuries and deaths in the future as everyone tries to figure out chakra abilities through trial and error. Imagine figuring out how random hand signs affect your chakra and managing a fireball style jutsu... without knowing to coat your lungs and throat with a layer of protective chakra; or drowning yourself on dry land.
     
    Kolarthecool said:
    Can't wait for the first person to figure out the Eight Gates and foolishly open the Gate of Death. Heck there's probably a lot of self inflicted injuries and deaths in the future as everyone tries to figure out chakra abilities through trial and error. Imagine figuring out how random hand signs affect your chakra and managing a fireball style jutsu... without knowing to coat your lungs and throat with a layer of protective chakra; or drowning yourself on dry land.
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    I'm definitely having a lot of fun with the whole idea of Danmachi adventurers having to figure out chakra from first principles.

    They're lucky they have gods around that think this is incredibly cool shit and are eager to study and experiment with it, as well as the fact that adventurers are really hardy to start with. I'm not sure how anyone's going to figure out how to make ninja scrolls to actually do proper jutsus though, and coming up with stuff like the classic sticky leaf training is going to take some real mental leaps.
     
    Ebiris said:
    I'm definitely having a lot of fun with the whole idea of Danmachi adventurers having to figure out chakra from first principles.

    They're lucky they have gods around that think this is incredibly cool shit and are eager to study and experiment with it, as well as the fact that adventurers are really hardy to start with. I'm not sure how anyone's going to figure out how to make ninja scrolls to actually do proper jutsus though, and coming up with stuff like the classic sticky leaf training is going to take some real mental leaps.
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    Yeah, might be better to just dump the knowledge on Ichiban and he can give them a head start. Pretty sure it took Indra and his Sharingan to first figure out Jutsu, no one in Orario will have that kind of talent unless the Falna spits out a random skill for it. Most people will probably just see it and a body enhancement ability and nothing more. Just the mental gymnastics to figure out wall and water walking would be insane.
     
    Thanks for the chapter,This is a very unique direction for oratio to go in a fic though maybe I've just not read enough fics
     
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