DanMachi World, Hestia Familia.
After finishing dinner as usual, Cain returned from the Mist Space and found Hestia to update his Falna.
[Cain — LV.5]
[Strength: G201 → S952]
[Endurance: G265 → S984]
[Dexterity: G241 → S946]
[Agility: G234 → S951]
[Magic: G248 → SSS1905]
[Development Abilities: Swordsman G, Mage H → G, Hand-to-Hand Combat I → H, Lightning Burst I → H]
[Magic: Current Propulsion, State of Selflessness, Spirit Devouring Barrier, Dismantle]
[Skills: Unity, Mind's Eye, Song of Courage, Flesh Mimicry, Super-Speed Regeneration, Blood Evolution, Black Flash, Fist Mastery, Survival Instinct, Martial Will]
"Cain, it looks like you can level up again."
"So soon?"
"Yes. This fast."
Hestia maintained a calm expression as she transcribed the Falna.
Rapid growth in ability values, awakening a fourth Magic to break past limits, continuous level-ups...
By now, she had witnessed far too many miracles from Cain.
In just one week, his Development Abilities had improved across the board, and his level had gone from a newly advanced LV.5 to meeting the requirements for LV.6.
Something like this should have been shocking.
It absolutely still was.
"No matter how you look at it, this is way too fast!"
"I was joking last time when I said you could go from LV.5 to LV.6 in a week. Don't take that seriously!"
"Don't worry. I won't level up this time."
Cain looked at the Falna sheet Hestia handed him.
Normally, the higher an adventurer's level, the harder it became to accumulate excelia and raise ability values.
But Cain was different.
He had something that could only be described as cheating.
[Unity: The greater the number, the stronger the effect]
As his first Skill, Unity enhanced not only his growth rate but also hidden attributes such as comprehension and learning ability.
As more versions of Cain gathered within the Mist Space, the amplification effect of Unity continued to increase.
With that boost, his ability values could keep rising simply by sparring and training daily with Ottar.
Moreover, the Cains in other worlds also benefited from Unity while training or fighting.
This was not simple addition.
It was multiplicative growth.
Each new Cain that appeared significantly increased the overall growth rate.
On top of that, One-Punch Cain had been continuously hunting monsters, while Jujutsu Cain had consumed ten Sukuna Fingers in one go.
All these factors combined.
That was the real reason he could meet the requirements for a level-up within a week.
However, Cain had no intention of leveling up this time.
Previously, he rushed his level-ups because the Cains in other worlds were facing life-threatening situations.
He needed power immediately.
Now, Jujutsu Cain had already stabilized his situation, and One-Punch Cain had Saitama backing him.
Everything was under control.
With time to spare, he could wait until his other four parameters, excluding Magic, increased by another 300 to 400 points before leveling up.
At his current rate, that would only take about a week.
...
Loki Familia.
Inside a dimly lit room, candlelight flickered softly.
Loki dripped divine blood onto the Falna on Ais's back, skillfully extracting excelia and converting it into updated ability values.
"Aizuu, the update is done!"
"Can I level up?"
A faintly nervous voice responded.
"Same as last time. You're still just a little short."
Loki handed over the updated Falna sheet.
"Here, take a look."
[Ais Wallenstein — LV.5]
[Strength: D557 → D579]
[Endurance: D567 → D576]
[Dexterity: A846 → A871]
[Agility: A835 → A867]
[Magic: S902 → S921]
[Development Abilities: Hunter G, Abnormal Status Resistance G, Swordsman I → H]
"Even though you haven't accumulated enough excelia for a level-up, your Development Ability has improved, so it's not like you made no progress."
"Keep pushing a little longer. You'll definitely break through to LV.6 during the next expedition. Finn also said your recent performance has been excellent."
"…Mm."
Ais nodded slightly.
But her grip on the paper tightened unconsciously.
Her head lowered, golden hair falling over her eyes and concealing her expression.
However, as a goddess, Loki could clearly sense the frustration radiating from her.
Ais's patience was reaching its limit.
It had been three years since she reached LV.5, and her growth had long since slowed to a crawl.
Then Cain appeared.
His abnormal growth rate was like someone chasing her from behind with a Gatling gun, forcing her forward relentlessly, while the path ahead was blocked by a wall called talent.
If this continued, the pressure building inside her would eventually push her into doing something reckless, trying to break through that wall by force.
"…Looks like there's no other way."
Loki sighed inwardly and came up with a plan.
"Ais, do you have time to run an errand for me?"
"An errand?"
"Finn mentioned that the Compressed Biscuits we bought from the Hestia Familia for this expedition were very effective. He wanted to place another order."
As Loki said this, her heart quietly bled.
The biscuits were indeed effective.
Finn did intend to place another order.
But he never asked her to handle it.
He had planned to visit the Hestia Familia himself.
Right now, she was just making this up to give Ais a reason to meet Cain and stabilize her mindset.
And yet, this felt like handing over her own cabbage to the neighbor's pig.
Painful.
Deeply painful.
"Ais, if you don't have time, I can go inst-"
"I have time."
"…I mean I can go with you…"
"I'll go ask Finn about the order quantity now."
"…Eh?"
Loki instinctively reached out, wanting to say something more.
But before she could speak, the girl had already hurried out of the room, fully demonstrating the efficiency of a Level 5 adventurer.
A few seconds later, the door opened again, and Tiona skipped in cheerfully.
"Loki, it's my turn to update my Falna... What's wrong with you?"
Seeing Loki collapsed face-down on the floor in an ORZ position with a dull, lifeless expression, she tilted her head in confusion.
"It's rare to see you like this. Did Ais reject you for acting inappropriately while updating her Falna?"
"...I'd rather that were the case."
"Let's make this clear, Loki. If you do that again, I'll steal all the alcohol you've hidden."
"I told you, I wasn't being inappropriate! And how do you even know I hid alcohol?!"
"I found it while looking for something to do."
"...?"
Maybe I should just send this one to the Hestia Familia too.
Loki slowly got up from the floor, narrowing her eyes.
Someone like Tiona, who only knows how to stir up trouble, would definitely interfere if she were there when Ais meets Cain.
...
"So you came here to place an order with me?"
The next morning, Cain lounged lazily in the reception room, looking at the three girls sitting in a row across from him.
"Showing up at another Familia at six in the morning just to place an order... If I didn't know better, I'd think you came to freeload breakfast."
"Hehe, you caught us."
Tiona replied without any shame.
"I'm totally here for a free meal!"
"Um... I was just passing by and got dragged along."
Lefiya looked slightly uncomfortable.
That was a lie.
In reality, she had overheard that Ais was coming to the Hestia Familia and instinctively followed along.
"Finn said he had something to deal with, so he asked me to deliver this letter."
Ais took out a letter.
Compared to her two companions, who clearly had their own motives, she was much more serious and responsible, having properly confirmed the details with Finn beforehand.
"Hmm... This is quite a large order. Looks like Finn plans to use them for daily consumption as well, not just expeditions."
Cain opened the letter and glanced through it.
The contents were simple. The truly important item was the magic stone card enclosed within.
While placing the order, Finn had already sent the deposit for the Compressed Biscuits, showing considerable sincerity.
"Tell Finn I'll have everything prepared and delivered within a week."
"I understand."
Ais nodded quietly.
With that, the order for the Compressed Biscuits was settled.
Next, she wanted to ask about Cain's recent growth.
But just as the words reached her lips, she swallowed them again, a conflicted expression appearing in her eyes.
Unlike Finn, she spent nearly all her time training and had no experience steering conversations to gather information.
[Why not just ask him directly?]
A devil version of Ais appeared in her mind and offered a suggestion.
[No, that would be too rude.]
An angel version of Ais immediately rejected it.
[Then let Tiona handle the conversation. With her personality, she'll talk about anything. She might bring it up herself.]
The devil Ais proposed again.
[That's not good either. It feels like I'd be using Tiona.]
The angel Ais refused once more.
[Nothing works! Then you suggest something! What's the point of just saying no all the time?!]
The devil Ais snapped, pulling out a weapon and charging forward.
In an instant, the two miniature Ais began fighting inside her mind.
"Ais, what's wrong?"
Tiona looked at her in confusion.
After getting Cain's answer, Ais had suddenly gone quiet, as if she had frozen. A few seconds later, even her gaze became unfocused.
"Did you eat something bad?"
"No... I didn't."
"No? Wait... don't tell me you're like me and haven't eaten since last night!"
"...?"
The two battling mini Ais froze at the same time, both showing shocked expressions.
"You haven't eaten since last night?"
"Yeah. I heard we were coming to Cain's place to freeload a meal, so I left my stomach empty."
"Um... we came here to place an order, right?"
Lefiya reminded her cautiously.
"Details. Anyway, Cain, when do you serve food? My stomach's already growling."
"Breakfast is already over."
"Eh? Seriously?!"
"No. I just woke up."
"Hey, don't scare me like that."
Tiona let out a long breath of relief.
She wasn't joking earlier.
After receiving Loki's task last night, she had deliberately skipped meals to prepare.
After eating nothing but rations for nearly a month during the Dungeon expedition, and then fasting for over half a day, she felt like she could easily eat three people's worth right now.
"Cain! I'm ready!"
"Don't hold back, bring everything you've got!"
"I appreciate the enthusiasm, but it would be even better if you could also bring some money."
"...Cough. Our losses in the Dungeon this time were pretty serious. I need to save money to repair my weapon at the Goibniu Familia."
Tiona scratched her head awkwardly.
When she and Ais went to the 51st floor, they encountered worm-type monsters that exploded into corrosive fluid upon death.
Since it was her first time facing them and she lacked information, she attacked head-on and ruined her weapon.
Repairing equipment for a First Class Adventurer was extremely expensive, especially when it was nearly destroyed.
Forget paying for food. She was about to take on a massive debt just to fix her weapon.
"Oh, right! I've got an idea!"
"I'll spar with you, Cain, to pay for the food!"
Tiona's eyes lit up as she proposed her solution.
"I'm not interested in small fry."
"Calling me small fry is going too far!"
Tiona raised her hand in protest.
"Let's fight! I'll prove I'm not small fry!"
"You alone aren't enough."
Cain stood up from the sofa.
Tiona protesting loudly, Ais hesitating with a conflicted expression, and Lefiya glancing nervously between them.
Looking at the three girls, he gestured toward the door.
"Treat it as a warm-up before eating. All three of you, come at me together. Let me see what you can do."
Lefiya: "Huh?"
Ais: "!!!"
...
Hestia Familia backyard.
Ais was already familiar with this place.
Over a month ago, she had followed Cain here to learn Hamon.
Tiona and Lefiya had also been present at the time, though they had been hiding and watching secretly, something Ais never realized.
"Cain, looks like someone's already here."
As soon as they entered, Tiona noticed a boy practicing swordsmanship in the distance.
Since she often came over to freeload food and drinks, she recognized most members of the Hestia Familia.
But this white-haired boy was unfamiliar.
It was her first time seeing him.
"New member?"
"Not exactly. He's originally from the Soma Familia," Cain replied.
At the same time, the boy noticed them and immediately ran over.
"Captain Cain, good morning!"
"Morning, Bell. Didn't you go to the Freya Familia for training today?"
"My master said my basic training is complete, and I should start gaining real combat experience in the Dungeon."
Technically, one could also gain experience in Folkvangr.
But fighting people and fighting monsters were completely different.
To turn Bell into a proper adventurer, Hedin had assigned him the task of soloing down to the twelfth floor.
"So that's the situation."
After explaining, Bell scratched his head.
"The last time I went to the Dungeon, I got chased around by Goblins for a long time... so I'm a bit nervous."
"I woke up early anyway, so I thought I'd train here first and head to the Dungeon after breakfast."
"I see. Do your best."
"Yes! I'll work hard!"
"Wait! This isn't something you can solve just by working hard!"
Lefiya couldn't hold back any longer and interrupted, her eyelid twitching.
"The twelfth floor marks the boundary between the upper and middle floors. Sending a new adventurer who got chased around by Goblins to go solo is basically sending him to his death!"
"I agree. Not everyone is a monster like you, Cain. It's much safer to form a party."
Tiona immediately voiced her agreement, and beside her, Ais gave a slight nod.
Although they didn't know why Bell was training with the Freya Familia or how he ended up taking Hedin as his master, this assignment was clearly unreasonable.
If he were truly sent to explore the Dungeon alone, the next time they saw him, it might be as a corpse.
"Everyone, thank you for your concern."
Faced with Lefiya and the others trying to stop him, Bell showed a rare look of determination.
"I understand everything you're saying, but Master Hedin told me that you can't become strong if you only focus on staying safe."
"Captain Cain also said that he went through many life-and-death situations to reach where he is today. Only by overcoming those trials can you accumulate excelia and grow stronger quickly."
"Going alone to the twelfth floor is indeed dangerous for me right now, but I see it as a challenge. I will do my best to accomplish it, for the sake of becoming stronger."
"..."
Silence fell over the courtyard.
Looking at Bell's determined expression, Lefiya and the others, who were about to continue persuading him, froze.
Those who reached high-level adventurer status had all experienced life-and-death situations.
Because of that, they understood that Bell was not wrong.
But understanding it and actually doing it were completely different matters.
"Overcoming life-and-death situations..."
Ais murmured softly.
Perhaps she was reminded of her own past. At this moment, Bell seemed to overlap with her younger self.
However, without strength, one's words carried little weight. As a Level 1 adventurer, Bell could not command much of her attention.
Compared to Bell's determination, she was more concerned about what he had said about Cain.
"Cain, while we were away on the expedition, were you still pushing your limits?"
"More or less. Quite a few things happened recently."
Because of the Spirit Devouring Barrier incident, he had been effectively blacklisted by the Dungeon, and abnormal situations had become frequent during his recent dives.
While not reaching the level of a Floor Boss mutation, monster stampedes and encounters with powerful rare species had become routine.
Of course, for him, that didn't really count as pushing his limits.
The one truly doing that was Jujutsu Cain.
That unfortunate version of himself was either being hunted by Jogo or ambushed by Sukuna, constantly walking the line between life and death.
A skill with such harsh activation conditions like [Survival Instinct] had only ever been triggered by Jujutsu Cain so far.
"Alright, enough small talk."
After having Bell step aside for now, Cain led Ais and the others to the center of the courtyard.
"Let's finish this quickly, then I'll go make breakfast."
"Cain, aren't you going to use a weapon?"
Tiona looked puzzled.
The sword Raikiri that Cain usually carried was nowhere to be seen.
He stood there empty-handed, clearly intending to fight them unarmed.
"No weapon. I know a thing or two about hand-to-hand combat as well."
"Heh, then I won't hold back."
Tiona rolled her shoulders.
Although she used weapons when fighting monsters, her true specialty was close combat.
That was obvious from her Development Abilities.
[Fist Fighting: G], [Crush: I]. All of them focused on close-quarters combat.
"Ais, just fight normally with your weapon."
Cain glanced in her direction.
"Don't worry about hurting me. Actually, you should try your best to do so."
"If you manage to injure me today, I'll teach you a method to become stronger in a short period of time as a reward."
"A way to become stronger quickly..."
Ais froze for a moment.
Seeing that Cain was serious, she cast aside her hesitation and drew her sword.
Lefiya followed, taking out her staff, though her expression remained uncertain.
Who am I. Where am I. Why am I here.
The Elf girl, who had only come out of curiosity, suddenly felt a wave of regret.
Magic was far harder to control than close combat. She was genuinely worried about accidentally injuring Cain.
"Lefiya, I'll leave support to you."
At that moment, Ais spoke.
In order to obtain Cain's method of rapid growth, she made a rare request.
"Yes! Leave it to me!"
Lefiya's morale immediately shot up.
"It seems you're ready."
Cain waited until they finished talking, then raised his hand and crooked a finger.
"If you're ready, then let's begin. Don't say I didn't give you a chance. You go first."
"Heh! Then I won't hold back!"
The moment he finished speaking, Tiona rushed forward.
Knowing Cain wasn't the type to exaggerate, she immediately went all out.
Power capable of crushing deep-floor monsters gathered in her fist as she aimed a direct punch at Cain's chest.
At the same moment, a palm moved casually.
Her attack was deflected to the side.
"Eh?!"
Tiona's eyes widened.
It felt like striking something soft, her strength completely neutralized.
Guided by Cain's motion, her body involuntarily tilted.
In the next instant, Cain's other hand grabbed her arm.
Her vision spun.
By the time she realized what happened, Ais's face was right in front of her.
"Waaah! Ais, move!"
"!!!"
Ais, who had been following closely behind, was startled.
From her perspective, the exchange was even more shocking.
Tiona had been neutralized and thrown in just a couple of moves.
Without hesitation, Ais shifted to the side.
At the same time, another sharp sound cut through the air.
"Oh no...!"
Realizing what was happening, Ais instinctively raised her sword and slashed to the side.
"Nice reaction."
Her blade was caught between two fingers.
"But the power is lacking."
A tremendous force traveled along the blade, pulling her forward and breaking her balance.
She immediately lifted her leg to counterattack.
But Cain had already anticipated it.
Just like before, he caught her leg cleanly.
Since she was dressed casually today, the touch was smooth against his palm.
After a brief squeeze, Cain held her sword in one hand and her leg in the other, then threw her out in an awkward posture.
"Huh? Seriously?!"
In the back, Lefiya's eyes widened in disbelief.
Watching Tiona and Ais get sent flying one after another, she froze in place, even as she was about to release her magic.
What is happening?
Two First Class Adventurers taken down instantly?!
"Lefiya! Move! Aaaaaah!!!"
Thud!
Thud!!!
...
Re@d adv@nce ch@pters on p@t
guilt_free_daoist
Jo!n d!sc0rd I!nk in synops!s.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.