"Aaaaah!!"
Hestia suddenly screamed.
I winced and leaned back slightly. Before I could speak she pointed his trembling finger at me.
"You!" she accused.
"You! Your Falna! That thing on your back!"
Ah.
Right.
That.
"Your stats!" Hestia sputtered, arms flailing. "Do you have any idea what I saw on your back?! Do you even—how—what—"
I stayed silent, watching her spiral.
Hestia paced back and forth in front of me, clutching her head like someone trying to keep their brain from leaking out.
"Tell me. Leon Mishima..who exactly are you?"
She suddenly stopped mid-rant.
Then she inhaled slowly.
One deep breath.
Two.
By the third breath she seemed to regain some control over herself. The frantic energy drained from her posture as she straightened and turned toward me.
This time, when she looked at me, there was no panic.
Only focus.
Her blue eyes locked directly onto mine.
"Tell me," she said quietly.
"Leon Mishima…"
She took a step closer.
"…who exactly are you?"
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
The question lingered between us, heavy and unavoidable.
I held her gaze, considering how much I should say.
Telling her the truth—that I came from another world entirely, that I already knew how this world worked, that I had walked into this church fully aware of who she was and what would happen in the future—would only complicate things.
And probably give the poor goddess another reason to faint.
So instead, I gave her the simplest answer I could.
I shrugged lightly.
"Your first familia member."
Hestia stared at me.
The silence stretched for several seconds.
Then her eye twitched.
"…That's not what I meant."
"I know."
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"You're hiding something."
"Everyone hides something."
"That's not reassuring!"
I couldn't help smiling faintly at that.
Honestly, I wasn't even trying to dodge the question.
But explaining the truth right now would open far too many doors.
And if her reaction to my Falna was anything to go by…
Her brain might actually explode.
So for now, silence was the safer option.
Hestia studied my face for another long moment, clearly trying to decide whether to press further.
Eventually, she exhaled through her nose.
"Hmph."
Her shoulders relaxed slightly, though the curiosity in her eyes hadn't disappeared.
"Fine," she muttered.
"But we are definitely talking about this again later."
"Looking forward to it."
She glanced at me again, then shook her head like she was trying to reset her thoughts.
"…Still," she murmured under her breath. "I can't believe I recruited such a monster as my familia member."
Then suddenly—
She started laughing.
"Hehehe…Fufufufufu—HAHAHAHA!"
Hestia threw her head back and laughed like someone who had just won the greatest lottery in existence.
"I can't wait to see Loki's face!" she declared, practically bouncing with excitement. "That smug fox is always bragging about her familia! 'Oh look at my first-class adventurers, oh look how strong my children are!'"
She puffed out her chest and imitated Loki in a mockingly nasal voice.
Then her grin turned downright wicked.
"But THIS—!"
She pointed dramatically at my back.
"THIS is going to wipe that stupid grin off her face!"
Her laughter returned, louder this time.
"Fufufufu… oh I'm definitely rubbing this in her face."
I watched her for a moment.
Then another moment.
Then I sighed.
"Are you done?"
"Huh?"
She blinked, snapping out of her villain monologue.
"My stats."
Hestia froze.
"…Oh."
"Yeah."
Her eyes widened.
"Oh!"
Right.
Now she looked embarrassed.
"I—well—yes, right! Of course! Your Falna!"
I crossed my arms.
To be fair, I couldn't blame her for getting distracted.
But I had been curious ever since earlier.
Deadly curious.
Unfortunately, my goddess had fainted before she could actually explain anything.
And while I had managed to look at the Falna using my little mirror trick…
Divine script wasn't exactly readable to me yet.
"I'd like to know what's written on my back," I said.
Hestia straightened immediately, regaining her composure.
"Yes! Right! Of course!"
Hestia clapped her hands together and walked behind me again.
"Okay, okay, sit down!"
I sat on one of the pews and leaned forward slightly.
A moment later I felt her small finger press lightly against my back as she leaned closer.
The room fell quiet.
For a while, the only sound was the faint scratch of something moving behind me. I couldn't see what she was doing, but I could imagine it well enough. Hestia was probably copying the Falna onto paper so it could be read normally.
Divine script wasn't exactly convenient for mortals.
I waited patiently.
"Hmmm…"
The scratching continued.
"…Wait, what?"
Then more scratching.
"…No way."
I raised an eyebrow slightly but stayed still.
Another minute passed.
Then suddenly—
"Okay! Done!"
Hestia straightened up behind me with a satisfied clap of her hands.
A sheet of paper appeared in front of my face a moment later.
"Here you go!" she said proudly.
I took the paper from her and began reading.
The first thing that caught my attention was exactly what I expected.
Attributes
Strength: I (0)
Endurance: I (0)
Dexterity: I (0)
Agility: I (0)
Magic: I (0)
I nodded slightly.
That made sense.
Everyone started there.
Falna growth required experience and excelia. No matter how strong someone already was, the system still started from the same baseline.
What mattered wasn't the starting point.
It was what came next.
My eyes moved down the page.
And that's when things got… interesting.
Skills
— Monas
— Arete Ascension
— Mana Burst
— Foresight Strike
— False Dragon
…
…
And the list kept going.
My eyes slowly scanned the page.
There were more than a dozen skills written down.
Not even counting the magic section below.
I couldn't help letting out a quiet whistle.
"…That's a lot."
Hestia crossed her arms proudly beside me.
"Tell me about it! I've never seen someone start with this many!"
But as I read through the list more carefully…
Something became clear.
Most of them were familiar.
Mana Burst.
Foresight Strike.
False Dragon.
Even several of the magic spells listed below.
I had seen them before.
Because they already existed.
In my grimoire.
Realization slowly clicked into place.
So that's how it works.
The Falna wasn't creating abilities out of nowhere.
It was converting them.
Taking the abilities I already possessed and translating them into the system of this world.
Then amplifying them.
That actually made sense.
Falna was designed to turn experiences and potential into measurable growth. Naturally it would adapt whatever power system the bearer already had.
Still…
As my eyes continued scanning the page, two names stood out.
Two skills that didn't look familiar.
Monas
And—
Arete Ascension
My gaze lingered on them.
"…Hestia."
"Yeah?"
I tapped the paper lightly.
"These two."
She leaned over slightly to see where I was pointing.
"Oh. Those."
Her expression immediately turned complicated.
"…Yeah," she said slowly.
"Those two are… weird."
"Monas… and Arete Ascension."
I tilted my head slightly.
"Any idea what they do?"
Hestia scratched her cheek.
Then shrugged.
"…Nope."
I blinked.
"…That's it?"
She threw her hands up defensively.
"Hey! Don't look at me like that!" she protested. "Normally skills come with a general description when they manifest. Something that explains the effect, the trigger conditions, or at least what they're supposed to do."
She pointed accusingly at the paper.
"But yours don't!"
I glanced back down.
She was right.
All of my other skills listed had a short divine explanation written beneath it. Same with most of the magic spells.
But those two…
Nothing.
Just the names.
"Which," Hestia continued, frowning thoughtfully, "is really weird."
She folded her arms.
"I've never seen a skill without a description before."
I leaned back slightly against the pew, the paper still in my hand.
Monas.
Arete Ascension.
In Greek monas is Μονάς. Which directly translates to singularity or 'The One'.
I frowned slightly, turning the word over in my mind.
Singularity…
Was it related to me being a transmigrator? A dimensional traveler? The thought didn't seem far-fetched.
After all, I didn't exactly belong to this world.
Still, the term itself was… flexible.
In most of the anime and stories I'd watched, singularity rarely meant just one thing. Sometimes it referred to an anomaly—something that shouldn't exist in the system. Other times it meant a point where everything converged.
A beginning.
Or a center.
Or something that stood outside the rules entirely.
My fingers tapped lightly against the paper.
Yeah… that could mean a lot of things.
Then my gaze shifted to the other skill.
Arete Ascension.
Ἀρετή.
In Greek philosophy, arete meant excellence. Virtue. The highest state a person could achieve—the fulfillment of their potential.
In simpler terms…
The perfection of a hero.
Out of all the skills listed on the paper, this one felt… different.
Most of the others were familiar. Abilities I already possessed, now translated and reinforced through the Falna system. Mana Burst. Foresight Strike. False Dragon. Even the spells listed below were things I recognized from my grimoire.
But this one?
This one didn't feel like something I brought with me.
If anything, it felt like something the Falna itself had produced.
Something born from this world's system.
My only unique skill here.
Like how Bell had Liaris Freese.
This—
This was mine.
Arete Ascension.
Even if I still had no idea what it actually did.
But strangely enough, that didn't bother me.
If anything, it made things more interesting.
Whatever it was… I'd figure it out eventually.
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