Chapter 1 - A rare start
"Lain-kun, why have you run into the Dungeon again without permission!"
In the Guild Hall, Eina Tulle, a bespectacled half-elf girl with short brown hair, glared angrily at the boy sitting opposite her.
"How many times have I told you? Adventurers never take unnecessary risks, let alone an ordinary person like you who hasn't even received a Falna!"
Lain wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, which his hairline had left exposed, and gave a dry laugh. "Come on, I was just wandering around the first floor."
"You!" Eina laughed out of sheer anger. She knew the boy in front of her probably wouldn't listen to her advice, so she simply sighed and backed down. "Lain-kun, since you're so eager to be an adventurer, why don't you join a Familia? The Loki Familia, the Freya Familia, the Ganesha Familia, and several medium-sized exploration Familias are all recruiting right now. With your strength and courage, you could easily pass their entrance tests."
When the conversation turned to serious matters, Lain's expression turned solemn as well. Wasn't the reason he traveled all the way to Orario to obtain the grace of the gods?
However...
Lain Bright
[Lv. 0]
Strength: S952+ / S999
Endurance: S951+ / S999
Dexterity: S954+ / S999
Agility: S951+ / S999
Magic: S938+ / S999
(The value following the '/' represents the maximum potential of the corresponding Basic Ability.)
[Development Abilities]
Swordsman: H
[Magic]
Mana Burst (4-Star / Mastery: 17%): Greatly increases speed and all Basic Abilities except Magic Power.
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Skills]
Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu (3-Star / Mastery: 6%): Grants the Development Ability 'Swordsman'. Allows the use of all Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu techniques except 'Kuzu-ryusen' and 'Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki'.
[Equipment]
Flying Sword (3-Star): Unbreakable, slightly accelerates mana recovery, slightly increases all Basic Abilities after using magic or active skills.
Blacksmith Apprentice's Training Leather Armor (1-Star)
Blacksmith Apprentice's Training Boots (1-Star)
Blacksmith Apprentice's Training Hood (1-Star)
[Items]
5 Health Regeneration Potions
5 Mana Regeneration Potions
32,718 Valis
[Main Quest]
Objective: Join a Familia and receive a Falna (Divine Blessing).
Rewards: Character level increased to Lv. 1, potential cap for all Basic Abilities increased by 100, Lv. 1 Dimensional Gacha unlocked.
The semi-transparent panel that appeared before him visible only to himself was a cheat Lain had obtained ten years ago when he awakened the memories of his past life.
It was a system very similar to the Falna, or rather, a system adapted and improved based on the extraordinary power system of the DanMachi world.
Among his powers, the Mana Burst from the Fate/Type-Moon universe, the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu from Rurouni Kenshin, and the Flying Sword technique from Genshin Impact, along with the potions were all obtained from the newbie gift packs distributed by the system.
Unlike the Basic Abilities granted by a Falna, which require rigorous training and life-or-death crises to increase, Lain's unique Basic Abilities and skill proficiency could be raised directly by exchanging Valis.
At this stage, it cost 100 Valis to increase a Basic Ability by one point. For skills, 100 Valis granted the equivalent of one day's worth of training memory.
As for the Join a Familia quest that had been hanging on his panel for ten years, some impatient people might have tried to complete it the moment they acquired the cheat. But Lain, having been in his thirties when he died in an accident in his previous life, knew that haste makes waste.
DanMachi is not a safe world. Setting aside the dangers posed by monsters, thieves and bandits are far from uncommon. Traveling alone, especially as a child, is a recipe for disaster. Being eaten by a beast would be considered lucky; the more grim possibility was being sold into slavery to twisted nobles or power-hungry figures.
Secondly, although Lain had only watched the DanMachi anime in his previous life, he had heard enough from other otaku online to know about the dark crises Orario had faced. Entering the Labyrinth City without sufficient strength was practically suicide.
Thirdly, and most importantly: Lain was a perfectionist.
While skill proficiency wouldn't reset when he leveled up, if Lain's prediction was correct, the system's raw Basic Abilities much like the Falna would be transformed into his hidden potential upon leveling up and then solidified.
Sosuke Aizen once said that battles between Shinigami are battles of spiritual pressure. This concept wasn't entirely wrong in the context of the DanMachi world. Battles between those who possess the Falna are battles of their respective Basic Abilities or more precisely, a battle of their potential accumulation plus their current abilities.
If your Basic Abilities are high enough, you can naturally take on challenges far above your level. Conversely, if one's foundation is weak, their adventure will eventually hit a dead end.
Lain was not Bell Cranel, the mc of this story. He wasn't the type to grow explosively in the heat of battle, nor was he surrounded by goddesses eager to gift him weapons and grimoires, or gods protecting him with tailored trials.
However, his own special ability was not weak at all.
If he could maximize all his Basic Abilities before acquiring a blessing, and combine that with Mana Burst and the Flying Sword technique, he would possess combat power comparable to a Level 2 adventurer or monster while still technically being Level 1.
With the mindset of building the strongest possible foundation, Lain had trained for a full ten years, raising all his Basic Abilities to Rank D or higher before finally arriving in Orario two weeks ago. Instead of immediately seeking a Familia, he had plunged headlong into the Dungeon.
Aside from the initial few days spent adapting to real combat, he began increasing his Basic Abilities at a rate of 15,000 to 30,000 Valis per day. It wasn't instantaneous, but it was certainly fast.
If the half-elf girl hadn't happened to pass by the exchange counter yesterday while he was cashing in his loot and asked about his Familia, Lain might have continued violating Guild rules until he successfully obtained a Falna.
That discovery led to two consecutive days of lectures.
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