"I… no longer feel sleepy for some reason. I suspect something within me changed. Janus-sama… Is it alright if you can update my Status?"
Intrigued, Janus raised a brow. His eyes seemed to gleam in understanding.
Despite Najin's apparent listless inaction, that didn't mean that his mind had gone into silence.
With the god having guessed at something, he did not have to ask any other questions.
"Sure," answered Janus, "Sit by the window table and take off your shirt."
Najin pushed his excitement down and sat looking out the window, just as he had done for days on end. Then, the hum of the glass stiletto being unsheathed from its box filled his senses.
Even without seeing the blade, he could perceive its movements from the way the refracted light shifted around the living room. It felt as if he was tracking the god's every move through implication and deduction alone.
It was a qualitative leap from his previous Falna-blessed heightened senses. A superhuman cognition that would be integral to descending the dungeon as an adventurer.
—Click.
Janus pricked his finger and began updating Najin's Status. With the divine script revealing its wisdom to the god of doors, the mortal waited.
A subdued chuckle tickled Najin's ear.
Still, the god did not speak, continuing to carve this
In a few more moments, the updates were complete.
"It seems like the uniqueness of your desperate mind has somehow granted you something rare."
Janus placed a piece of paper on the table beside Najin.
"Have a look."
With a slightly trembling hand, Najin grasped the page. Feeling the coarseness of its make in vivid detail, almost guessing correctly at how it was made, he began to read:
* * *
Animos Najin
Lv. 1
Strength: I 0
Endurance: I 0
Dexterity: I 0
Agility: I 0
Magic: I 0 » I 14
[]
[Augur Milefili]
All-analysing Paranoia
• Grows with Magic
• Threads of information expand as Mana increases
• Predicts short-term outcomes from what he senses
• Sharpens perception and decision-making
• Mental Recovery restores focus unless in Mind Down
* * *
After understanding the nature of the Skill he had acquired, a wide smile appeared on his face. This was it, the first gift of his [Divine Virtues].
A manifestation of his convictions and proof that this was the path he could take.
Moreover, his Magic's proficiency had gone up, and all he did was think.
But his thoughts swirled obsessively and endlessly in a maelstrom of anything and everything. Silently drowning his mind in fears and anxieties. Some part of him had likely gone insane, buried in the details.
Satisfaction could not begin to describe Najin's current state.
"Thank you, Janus-sama. It's time I register our Familia at the Guild and prepare for my first descent into the dungeon."
Hearing these words, Janus nodded and smiled, returning to the couch at the centre of the living room. Opening the book he was reading, he spoke:
"Head down to the basement before you go. I have a collection of old items that a new adventurer can use. It's about time for them to go for one last journey."
Janus then paused, falling into thought.
"Right, go and bring the book and pouch behind the counter to a small shopkeeper at the corner of the street before heading to the Guild."
Najin stood up, grateful for Janus' presence.
"Thank you, Janus-sama. I'll do as you've asked."
* * *
After descending two staircases, Najin found himself in the shadows of the store's basement. Only the soft glow of a few mana stone lamps illuminated his face.
Having expected a dusty basement, he wrinkled his nose. As he walked further into the room, however, he realised that note a mote of dust rose from his disturbance.
The dim basement was pristine, maintained by a meticulous hand.
In a way, Najin wasn't surprised. His god was low-key, seemingly not one for high aspirations, but he still embodied an omnipresent cosmic concept.
Beginnings.
Ends.
Transitions.
Nothing can exist without a beginning, nor can anything find meaning without an end.
'…All that exposition just to say that Janus had high standards for his collections.' thought Najin, rolling his eyes.
Said eyes then scanned the room, looking for the part that screamed adventurers and utility to him. Needless to say, it was easy to spot when a ginormous blade, longer than he was tall and wider than his head, was hanging on the wall.
From there, he spotted a bronze bracer and an iron gauntlet. A whip was hung beside the giant sword, followed by a bow, an exquisitely-adorned short sword whose blade was torn in half, and a few more blood-scented weapons.
Najin hesitated, having realised that he had never fought with a weapon before.
What would he choose?
What could he choose in the first place?
Daggers brought him too close for comfort, nor did it seem appropriate for fighting beasts that would eventually tower over him.
"Much less, a dragon…" sighed Najin as he glanced over a box of deadly polished cutlery.
His eyes moved to the great sword, and the other swords in a large cabinet, all neatly arranged.
Those were a bust too, as he would still have to survive in melee range and he didn't have years of training under his belt to use such a deceptively simple yet incredibly profound weapon.
A spear seemed nice, but still too close.
Even a bow and arrows felt like too much because he would be helpless in close combat.
"…Hm," Najin suddenly took a step back. "My paranoia is getting the best of me."
With the surge in his mental capacity, his mind had grown a sense of wanderlust, drifting across hallucinogenic realms and daydreams. All of his senses had grown sharper, but his emotions went through the same enhancement as well.
Najin grumbled:
"I need to keep myself in check."
So his gaze scanned the room once more, trying to go for a fresh view. If conventional weapons did not work for his anxieties, could he go for something else?