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Point out any mistakes please.
____
It's been quite a few years since I've reincarnated into this world but I only found out what world it actually was recently. Honestly I don't even know how, the village I've been living in for the last 15 years was relatively small after all.
I knew I was in some sort of fantasy world and not just medieval times because over the years I've heard the older men of the village talking about monsters like Goblins and Kobolds. Though I haven't seen any fully intact ones myself yet.
Thinking about it now, I would have probably found out where I was if I had gotten even a glimpse at a kobold, their representation in this world was pretty uncommon in fantasy.
Now the question remains, how did I end up finding out what world I was in? Well, I saw the main character of course
A few days ago I was simply wandering the village like the average village girl with nothing better to do, then suddenly in the corner of my eye I see a vibrant white flash that blinded me for a second. Who knew flash-bangs existed in this time period.
Seriously though, the afternoon sun had reflected off this dudes bright white hair directly into my eyes. When my vision finally cleared up I saw him in all his twinkish glory, Bell Cranel.
Though I could only see him from the back he had the same body build I remember from the beginning of the anime, and was wearing the same outfit too.
He and some old guy that I assume was Zeus, what other unnaturally tall old guys did bell know otherwise? Were meandering between stalls and buying groceries. I followed them from little ways away to remain unnoticed though I doubt I was actually unnoticed I was following Zeus himself after all, a God who had likely faced Hundreds if not thousands of assassination attempts in the mortal world, there's no way he didn't notice my obvious pathing.
As I followed them they eventually stumbled upon a bakery and went inside, I didn't follow them inside because well that would be a little too bold. After a while they came out holding a cake, this gave me enough context clues to find out basically what's going on.
Bell was leaving for Orario, likely in a few days and they are celebrating it. I also stopped following them after that as following them all the way home would probably be a death sentence as even without his divinity Zeus would still be able to fold me a 15 year old village girl with absolutely no combat experience in half.
Now we fast forward to present day which was only three days after my abrupt stalking
I have many things to contemplate. First of all how have I never once run into them before? I literally grew up in this village and last I checked Bell grew up in only one village so we literally grew up here together but not once have I ever even seen a glimpse of him.
It's not as though this village was large or anything, though I don't know the exact number but at max two-thousand people live here. This has got to be some type of cosmic joke, whoever or whatever sent me here probably did it too.
Secondly how have I never heard anyone mention adventurers or Orario at all, from what I know Orario isn't even all that far away if I'm not mistaken it's only a few days away on foot, no actual travel distance was stated in the series but it can be implied that bell traveled alone and likely didn't bring much with him on the travel.
Honestly something smells really fishy here, something's not right and I feel it's related to my parents somehow.
Lastly do I even want to become an adventurer? Although normal life in this type of world for the modern era youth is like me is super boring, being an adventurer is dangerous. What's the point of alleviating boredom if you end up dead.
The average adventurer never makes it past level 1 and while many like to say it's because they didn't have potential or the skill neither are the full truth, the truth is that they simply didn't have the mindset.
To level up you have to do something impressive even by the Gods standards though this requirement is quite arbitrary it's quite simple. You must do something that should be statistically improbable with your current skill set. For example Bells first level up, at his level of strength he shouldn't have been able to defeat that empowered Minotaur however he used his skill set and knowledge about the enemy creatively and managed to pull off a victory.
To level up it didn't need to be that extravagant though, it simply has to be something extremely hard for the person doing the action.
Do I believe myself to be better than the average adventurer? Am I a risk taker?...
"Pft"
In the comfort of my own home I couldn't help but let out a giggle. Comparing myself to the average adventurer is a little unfair to them. Even though I call myself average I'm anything but.
I was born with jet black hair with red highlights, yes I know, the average emo protagonist hair color not much I can do about it sadly. This is important because both my parents have regular brown hair and they have told me that nobody else in either of their family trees, that they know, of had anything similar.
I know I'm not a doorstep baby because outside of my hair I'm almost a clone of my mom from facial structure to my eyes, they are the same. So obviously I was born with something from my reincarnation….. I think this as though I haven't already experienced what that reincarnation bonus is. Who am I
being vague to?
…..
Anyways, I was born with not only a different hair color but also a special ability. Once in a while my body, usually my hands, will release this sort of hazy crimson energy that would disintegrate anything it touched. Many household items were lost.
As of right now I have absolutely no control of it, there's simply no way to to properly even attempt to, the release of the energy lasts on average 1 second with the longest I've ever recorded being 3 seconds. And times when it releases is almost completely random. The release seemingly happens whenever this energy, that I've assumed was mana over the years builds up to a certain point, once it reaches the proper threshold it instantly releases.
Though now that I know what world I'm In I now know that this is actually called "mind" silly name I know, I'll Just keep referring to it as mana to myself.
Now you might look and say this isn't random then, however here lies the other issue, the rate at which my mana recovers isn't consistent and I can only faintly sense it right before it builds up to the threshold, so if I'm ever doing something, I'm never able to feel it before it happens. It builds up and releases even when I'm asleep too.
"This is such bullshit"
Thinking about it again simply brought forth frustration. But now that I know what world I'm in I think I may have a solution, a falna.
For you see a falna aka the blessing of a God allows for the person using it to get stronger by earning something called excelia, basically exp, by defeating monsters and doing certain actions like strength training or magical training.
Alongside this, falnas seem to allow for the easier use of magic and other abilities, AND it also straight up tells you what abilities you have so I'll actually be able to find out what this thing I have is. Although I do have my own theories.
"How would I even get into a good familia though?"
Although my ability may seem powerful when you look at it on a broad scale at its current development is quite pathetic, it's essential a dud ability in the state it is in. How many Gods and Goddesses would actually willingly take the risk?
Of course someone like Hestia would agree instantly, the only type of person she'd ever reject is someone who was quite literally just evil. Loki? Maybe if I could convince her, she is the risk taker type after all. Freya… yeah we don't talk about her, I also don't want to get charmed so yeah I'm staying far away from her….. Hopefully my soul isn't unique enough to interest her
Hephaestus is a pass even if she was willing to accept me, I'm not really the crafter type though not everyone is a blacksmith it's more of exploration gathering type familia that focuses on gathering materials in the dungeon to then craft equipment.
Miach is one I wouldn't necessarily mind being in and they do eventually get out of their debt, but I'd rather not experience it for the couple months they stay in it after canon starts. This assumes canon hasn't already changed though…
Most minor familia couldn't really handle taking the risk, either I returned on the investment or I was another dud they have to take care of only the true risk takers would do it. Or someone with nothing else to lose, but not sure I'd even want to be in such a familia anyway.
You'd wonder why they wouldn't just kick people out, but to me it seems pretty obvious. It's about reputation, kicking out someone who you're supposed to see as "family" isn't a good look amongst the Gods, Even if they'd have done the same thing.
At this point I can only see a few options, Take the safe option in Hestia, try to convince Loki, or take the risk in Miach.
Hestia has no real benefits outside of just being a guarantee and not having any risk of information leaking, she does however have the risk in Bell being in her Familia, As long as the timeline doesn't change, and all the drama he'll bring.
Loki has a lot of benefits with very few downsides, first of all, money. Second of all Riveria when it comes to magic. And finally just the overall reputation of the Familia, just being apart of the Loki familia basically makes you immune to attacks from other adventurers, at least openly.
A downside of Loki outside of her eccentric personality is someone like Bete Loga who is just an asshole. Doesn't matter if he has good intentions behind his asshole personality, I still don't like him.
Then there's Miach, downside, he's in debt. Upside…. Like Hestia there really isn't one, I guess the free potions are good but well I'd essentially be getting the same thing from the Loki familia even though I'd probably have to pay it back later once I become strong enough to dive deeper in the dungeon.
Yeah the answer is pretty obvious, the only real option is to try and convince Loki. At the very least there isn't really a downside to trying.
"Now I just have to convince my parents to let me go."
Yeah that's the main issue now, from what I can tell so far they were likely preventing me from finding out about adventurers and Orario on purpose. Certain days they'd tell me to not leave the house, people across town sometimes looking at me in strange ways, people talking in hushed tones when I'm around or straight up just stopping there conversation when they are saying something I'm not supposed to hear.
To go this far…. They must really cherish me…. Or they are trying to sell me but that's a little dark so I'll ignore that possibility for now.
Today too is a lucky day, both Of my parents are here today. It's also one of those day I'm not allowed out. It's bright and early, confrontation time.
Walking out of my room and through a short corridor I see my parents simply sitting in the living room sipping tea and reading books. They were about as relaxed as you can get.
"Mom, Dad. We need to talk" I said with a face of faint seriousness.
Without even looking up my mother said "About what Camellia?" As casual as the moon in the early morning sky she took another sip of her tea.
"About what you both have been trying to hide from me."
"Hak!"
And as disruptive as the blazing Sun she choked on the tea, my words taking her by surprise.
She put her now almost empty tea cup with much of its contents having spilt from her jolt.
"And what could we possibly be hiding from you dear?" She said trying to pretend that whole thing didn't just happen.
She really thought their plan was foolproof didn't she. At least until today.
"Must I really explain? Your reaction just now confirmed most of my suspicions anyway." This whole situation was really awkward and I'm not even 100% sure if I'm right that they've been keeping this secret on purpose.
I need to bait out some hints
My dad who in stark contrast to my mom was still cool as a cucumber and as mother attempted to speak again he cut her off
"I did tell you she'd find out eventually, villagers are too chatty to be trusting this type of thing to. I told you this was a bad idea to begin with too"
YES! My suspicions were right then, this would've been so awkward if they were thinking of a different secret.
Letting out a sigh of relief I ask "Can I at least know why? From what I've been able to gather from the villagers when they didn't know I was close by, this could be a way to solve my issue."
I watched as they exchanged looks with each other expressions of concern blooming before they looked back at me
"Look Camellia, it's not that we didn't think about that, it's likely that the help from a God could solve your issue. However, Gods and Goddess won't help us for free. They'd want something…they'd want you" Even without her words I could tell they did put a lot of thought into this. This also confirms it was out of love and not some dark way to sell me off. These two my new Mother and Father, Siriel and Jonas Cindel, truly loved me, their daughter Camellia Cindel.
The daughter who has caused them quite a bit of trouble through repair costs and close calls with death.
It's enough to make a grown man cry.
It's taking everything I have not to burst into tears, in my past life I wasn't loved by my parents. I wasn't abused or anything, overall they were good people but they both made it very clear that I wasn't wanted, that I was an inconvenience and obstruction in their lives. I grew up like that for 19 years and died like that via just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Bank robbery that went wrong. I was at the bank trying to deposited a check when out of nowhere, some guys in black ski masks burst through the door carrying guns. At first they did the average threatening the lives of the people inside to get the clerk to give the money but she didn't listen to them at all. I couldn't really hear what was going on because I was in the middle of having a panic attack, I was just 19 years old, and even though my life wasn't the best I didn't want to die just yet yah know?
Either way, because the clerk wouldn't listen the robbers trying to get the money they gunned me and everyone else down, I think I got hit with at least 30 bullets.
She listened real quick after that lol
Taking a calming breath I resolved myself "Yes, I understand that. But things can't continue as they have, I need to gain control over this power. The only reason nobody has died yet is because I've been able to react in time. What if the day comes where I can't? I'd never be able to live with myself. Especially if it ends up being one of you"
Looking at their faces I can see they were this close to being convinced, they had already been thinking about this for quite some time now after all.
"There's a solution sitting right in front of our faces, potentially the only one. I think this is something I should do, not just for me but for everyone around me too. And besides, there's no way all the Gods are evil or anything like that. I just have to find the right one." I smiled at the end of my statement just thinking about how many Gods in the series truly were untrustworthy asshats.
While I was in my own world my parents held a silent conversation between one another. Standing up dad walk over to the bookshelf standing in the right corner of the room. After pulling down the books that rested on the highest shelf, he reached into a hidden compartment and pulled out an…envelope?
"What's that?"
"Some money we put to the side in case this ever happened. Can't go to Orario of all places with nothing After all."
My eyes widened at his words "Really!? You guys are fine with me going?"
Sitting back down he motioned for me to join them at the dining table.
Walking over and sitting down mother spoke this time.
"We've been thinking about this for years now, from when your powers started to manifest more frequently. It used to only happen once in a few weeks then slowly it kept increasing from three weeks to two, from two weeks to one, from one week to three days and to now where it happens at least once a day."
Her voice was soft with a tone of reminiscence
"When do you want to leave for Orario?" Father asked suddenly
"As soon as possible really, the faster this gets done the better I'll feel."
I watch as dad contemplated my answer then in his eyes I saw he clearly had a Eureka moment.
"Tomorrow, a young man named Bell Cranel, is leaving with a small caravan. They are all heading towards Orario first thing in the morning."
That hit me like a ton of bricks, that dude still hasn't left yet? I guess he didn't just go alone after all. Also, so quickly? I was expecting to be stuck here for a little while longer.
"That's a lot quicker than I was expecting." I said awkwardly
Laughing a little mom said "You did say as quick as possible dear."
I could only side eye at her smug tone, she was right so I couldn't even argue.
In that instant though I started to feel strange definitely something I've felt before….My Mana is surging!
I jumped out of my chair and bolted for the the door, this was feeling far larger than every other time so far. I stepped outside and ran to the back of our house and ran for the forests edge. This is probably the fastest I've run, like ever, I could feel this release was gonna be the biggest it's ever been and I didn't want to damage the house.
As I stepped into the line of trees everything burned a bright red, my clothes were instantly vaporized. The power burst forth from my entire body causing arcs of destructive crimson energy to blast all around me.
They slammed into the trees erasing off chucks of wood and causing several of them to fall.
Throughout this though I saw an opportunity to gain some control over this power before reaching Orario. But so far it's like trying to Wrestle a Gorilla, this energy is extremely Volatile. Over the last 30 seconds I've only been able to grasp it for around 5 before it lashed out erased even more chucks off tree.
So instead of trying to control it as it currently is, I'll instead try to condense it for now. Concentrating I feel out for the releasing energy and started to pull with everything I have.
Slowly it was withdrawn towards me the lightning like arcs slowed, I could budge for even a second if I let it lash out even once during this part I could feel it could be dangerous even for myself.
Alongside this being the largest release, it has also been the longest, even though I couldn't really track time in this state it's at least been more than 3 minutes.
After it was fully pulled into myself I slowly began to shape it into the most simple possible object, a sphere.
It's going just about as well as you'd expect from someone who's doing this for the first time, it's a wobbly unstable mess but it's the best I can do for now.
And with a mental push I launched the unstable orb of crimson death into the forest. Most of the animals should've run away by now from the noise, but hopefully none die to that. I would've launched it into the sky but I don't want to cause a scene to the whole village.
In the dark recesses of the forest I see a flash of crimson light quickly illuminate everything then just as quickly vanish.
Now with that problem done, I now have another. My clothes were vaporized with the energy release so I can't just walk out of the forest, the noise definitely attracted attention. Even though there's not that much to see on my body it's not as though I want some random old guy to see me naked.
"Hopefully Mom and Dad come with some clothes" I say quietly
And as if mentioning them summoned them they both came trotting into the forest edge.
"It's a good thing we decided on this today huh?" I joked to try and fully clear the air
Though the crater I was sitting in and the graveyard of trees that surrounded me weren't really helping.
It seems it did work on them though as their concerned faces quickly shifted to those of relief.
Mom who was carrying a cloak swiftly walked over and covered up my naked form. It was very appreciated.
__
The night was long and filled with discussion, mainly about what I'd do when I reach Orario. They believed it was necessary because even though they want to come with me the caravan was conveniently too small to have two extra adults coming along. Alongside this they can't both leave the village for several days.
Dad is a part of the Guards/Hunting squad of the Village and with the increase in Monster activity they need all hands on deck.
Mom on the other hand runs one of the biggest clothing shops in the village and materials are coming in tomorrow and without her the store would be in chaos.
….
It's getting a bit on the nose isn't it? Whoever or whatever is doing this needs to find better excuses. It's not as though I mind, I'd have tried to convince them not to come either way. I want to be able to use my knowledge without looking suspicious.
In the end I gave them a less detailed run down of my plan. Which was basically, I get to Orario, do some research on the gods in the city find a trust worthy one and go from there. After everything is settled I'll come visit in a few weeks, if I don't then they can come looking for me.
On a lesser note it seems after the energy outburst my appearance has changed slightly, mainly my hair and eyes. My once green eyes had shifted into a dull gray fading into red, and my black hair that was once filled with highlights of red now was start black from the roots that then transitioned into a vibrant red.
"Ugh"
Packing belongings is such a bother, especially in the dark. Oil lamps do exist in this era and we do own some but I never kept any in my room because I don't like the smell. And while magic stone lamps, which don't really emit a sent, exist they are extremely rare outside of Cities like Orario.
Even for us they are a bit too expensive to invest in when a cheaper alternative exists.
"Let's just stuff in clothes, no reason to bring extra stuff."
Closing the suitcase and moving it next to the door I jumped onto my bed.
Tomorrow huh, I'll be leaving this small village and heading into one of the biggest cities in this world. One filled with superhuman individuals…
Orario wasn't a happy go lucky city that a lot of the anime portrayed it as. With the small amount of control of my magic ability that I now have I'm in less danger but for the average joe?
One wrong turn into a dark ally and you might never be seen again. As tourist or a first timer in the city, nobody knows you and no one is going to go looking for you. Getting sold to the entertainment district is probably the best outcome in terms of what could happen to you.
Well, unless you see death as a better outcome but that's just a moral dilemma.
As long as I stay on the main street I should be fine, not many people have the guts to kidnap someone in broad daylight with the Ganesha familia around.
….
Now I'm feeling eepy
____
Waking up before the Sun even rises must be some form of torture, the only thing nice about it is the ambiance and in the morning that's the last thing I care about.
I slowly drag myself out of bed and headed into our bathroom, let me tell you, people don't bathe very often in this world. Despite that though, people generally don't stink as bad as they realistically should.
When in doubt chalk it up to mana existing.
Thinking about it now I could probably use my magic to keep myself clean without having to bathe… nah bathing feels nice.
I don't have the time to be contemplating right now, so a quick one it is.
_
Carrying my suitcase I walk towards the entrance of the village with my parents in tow, they had already contacted the caravan yesterday evening to discuss me going with them but wanted to see me off at the gate. Understandable, they won't be seeing me for a few weeks.
As we approached the gate we saw the caravan already packed and ready to go, I also saw the ever unique Bell standing awkwardly to the side. He's such a cutie patootie, too bad he's gonna get traumatized by the juggernaut in a few months.
As they say, suffering builds character.
Reaching the wagon I handed my suitcase to the man who seemed to be one of the 3 guards of the 2 wagon caravan. He wore what seemed to be an iron?steel? breastplate with similar leg and arm armor. He didn't say anything and simply placed my suitcase with the rest of the luggage, which was in Wagon 2.
Excluding the guards there are 8 people, Me, Bell, the Merchant, the merchants daughter, some old guy(what could he possibly be going to Orario for?), a blonde woman with 106's, another kid with brown hair probably in a similar situation to Bell and I, and last but not least someone covered head to toe in a cloak.
Wagon number 1 is filled with the merchandise so only a single person can be on it which will likely be the merchant himself. Wagon number 2 has the luggage and has space for 6 out of the 7 of us who don't have seating.
The merchants daughter is an obvious, my parents paid for my guaranteed seating, nobody is willing to let the old guy walk(tch! Old people privileges), the blonde lady also paid for her guaranteed seating, and the mysterious one has already taken a seat in the wagon and nobody seems brave enough to question them about it either.
It just leave Bell and the other kid.
But before they could start discussing who'd get the seat I clapped to gain everyone's attention.
"How about you both duel to see who'll get the seat?"
They both looked at me with confusion clearly wanting more details
"You guys are heading to Orario to become adventurers right? Which ever one of you loses walks with the guards. Look at it as building a bit more stamina for when you start exploring the dungeon."
I see the brown haired boy go from confused to locked in instantly "What are the rules?"
Bell facing the sudden situation wore a panicked expression and constantly looked back and forth between me and his supposed opponent. Clearly he was feeling ready for this fight at all.
It's not like I'm doing this just to mess with him though, I want to see if anything about him has changed. From what I remember in the anime Bell essentially had zero combat experience against humans and kind of sucked when it comes to fighting anything except monsters.
Though it is funny watching Bell panic I Had to answer the other boys question "Whoever lands the first clean hit win, however no hits to the head. And no weapons, don't want to risk injury."
Bell seemed to panic even more just from his expression I could read what was going on in his head 'No weapons!? I've never fought unarmed before!!'
If it's any consolation, I'm sorry Bell. I could've just asked when the trip started.
But if there's one thing Bell does with fervor is trying to prove himself. So even in this unexpected situation he'd try his best.
No one in the group refused as this was technically the fastest way to get this over with.
My parents, who were still here, looked at me strangely, they definitely didn't expect this either.
Coughing into her hand mom said "Well I'll be heading to my store now. Today is going to be a busy day"
But before she left she dragged me into a hug and whispered "Good luck honey, and be careful."
I hugged her back tightly but said nothing, everything could already be felt. Letting go she gave me a small kiss on the forehead and walked back into town.
Watching the public display the others looked between each other not really sure about what's going on but choosing not to pry.
During this time they'd cleared out a small spot for the fight.
"You guys ready?"
Bell who now has stopped panicking and has accepted the situation nodded in confirmation. The other guy did the same .
I really need to find out his name, can't keep referring to him as brown haired boy or other boy in my head.
"As this is a duel, introduce yourselves"
Out of nowhere though, the cloaked figures called out "Can you guys hurry it up a little, I want to reach Orario as quick as possible."
Their voice sounded distinctly feminine, now I really want to know who she is.
"You heard her lads, introductions quickly" I said cheerily.
They quickly faced each other properly and began introductions
The brown haired kid replied first "My name is Ravian Sofwell"
Strange last name
Bell went next "M-My name is Bell Cranel"
And with that I raised my hand high and loudly proclaimed "Go!"
Ravian charged first but instead of directly going for a punch he rapidly shifted his feet and dashed for Bell's side.
Bell who was expecting a straight forward attack barely had time to raise his guard and block the haymaker Ravian sent at him.
He didn't just sit still and let Ravian recover though, he quickly recovered from the sting the attack left on his arms and lashed out with a kick to the opposing boys shin.
As Bell winded up for another kick Ravian jumped away to safety. From the looks of it that kick was quite strong, and to the shin too. I could see Ravians leg quiver slightly as he landed. A few well placed kicks from Bell and his leg was likely going to give out, Which would almost guarantee the white rabbits win.
They stared at each other, trying to decide what each of their next course of actions should be.
Ravian lost his patience first, clearly not the patient type. He charged in once again looking like he was going for the same attack.
Seeing this, Bell widened his stance to prepare his guard but as Ravian got closer all expectations were shot to hell when he dropped low and slid between Bell's legs. He stood back up in a flash and let out a jab at the white haired boys exposed back.
I thought it would end right there, then like a ballerina Bell dropped into a perfect form split. And in that same instance he hit Ravian with a spinning back fist directly in the stomach. It wasn't a very strong hit due to not being able to use his feet, but it was a direct hit nonetheless.
My jaw dropped, that isn't how I thought the fight would end, not at all. I thought they'd at least have a few more exchanges while Bell would keep trying to take out Ravians leg, you know the slow and steady approach.
Whose first thought is to drop into a split? He could've just dropped into a crouch or something.
Even father was surprised, I could here him mutter "Which one of them even taught him how to do that" with confusion written all over his face.
That's definitely not something you do unless you're used to do it in some fashion. So that proves it then, he got some extra training.
"Uhm…Did I win?" Bells quivery voice came, disrupting the shock.
____
Finally, this is the first time in my 15 years of life in this world fully being outside of the village. I've sometimes explored parts of the forest surrounding the village, but it's only ever been a few dozen meters due to monsters living in the forest.
Before we left out, I experienced the most anime thing to ever anime thing. My dad ruffled my hair and told me good luck and to be safe. He had also congratulated Bell on his victory though they both looked at each other awkwardly not really sure what to say to each other.
Now we've started on our journey and are already a few kilometers from the village, at first I simply enjoyed the scenery with some small talk popping up here and there but my enjoyment in scenery doesn't really last that long.
It's not like in every fanfic ever where the MC acts like the modern era was some sort of disgusting experience and the forests were somehow far superior to the ones on Earth, yeah there a bit more lush and I guess healthy looking but generally speaking, it's basically the same.
I looked away from the scenery and into the rest of the wagon, on the left sat Bell, the old man named Henry, the cloaked woman. On the right was me, then merchants daughter who was named Illiana, and then the blond woman who was named Amaris. Also the coachman sat at the front but he doesn't really count.
Looking across everyone I picked my target to bother "Hey, cloak lady"
She shifted a little to look at me "What is it?"
Hehe "I was just wondering, why are you heading to Orario? Everyone else has already said mentioned there's in some way. Illiana was brought along by her father to see how he does business, Bell and Ravian are becoming adventurers, old man Henry is visiting friends, and Ms. Amaris is planning to try and start a life there."
Letting out a huff she replied "Hm, I could say the same thing about you. Your reasoning is vague at best."
Of course she'd say that
Smiling I said "Will you tell me yours if I tell you mine?"
She probably thought I'd back off thinking it was some sort of secret but I don't really care if it gets out, as once I become an adventurer it'll get revealed sooner rather than later anyway.
"…if it's satisfactory" unsurprisingly she herself didn't back out.
That basically means if I give a normal reason she won't tell me anything.
"I was born a bit more special than the average kid, I have this power that I can't fully control that we think only a gods blessing could help with. So I'm heading to Orario to get help from a God or Goddess."
A smile spread across my lips "So, is that a satisfying enough answer?" I said cheekily
"How do I know you're not lying? You look entirely human and I've never heard of a spirit blessing that gives a uncontrollable power."
Understandable suspicion, in this world and many others humans have zero interesting characteristics and usually have no chance to have a inherent ability unless blessed by something inhuman. Technically I was in fact blessed by some higher power but I can't really say that.
Shrugging I say "I don't know anything about a spirit blessing but I was born unique among my family with my hair and ability. I could demonstrate if you want"
After the mana surge I had gained a bit of control over this power. But it isn't as simple as it seems, I have to keep it compressing it everytime it flares until it eventually calms down. This has also made it so my mana has been able to regenerate beyond a wisp, and let me tell you, I have quite a bit of it. Likely because of the constant use it's been facing over the years, though I don't have an exact comparison I think I probably have the mana of a high level 1 mage.
"Wait! Is that even safe? You said that you still can't fully control it." Bell says in a panic, the others nodding in agreement with him
Technically no, so far I've had two surges of energy that I've been able to suppress and compress alongside the left overs from yesterday. If I were to mess up control it gets released it would probably erase this wagon and everyone on it in one go.
I obviously can't tell them that though
"Nah it'll be fine, even if I lose control I'll definitely be able to aim it out of the way of anybody. There's plenty of forest to aim at after all."
"If your confident in not messing up then proceed, just know you're playing with lives here." The hooded woman said menacingly
Suspicious "Hm, you think I don't know that? I've had this power since I was born and have had to stop it from killing people I'm near more times than I can count by now."
Lifting my right hand I point my palm upwards and concentrated, I slowly uncompressed the destructive energy and let small amounts of it leak out and guided it to my palm. Once enough gathered I re-compressed the inter destructive energy and focused on the amount that's gathered upon my palm.
Currently it looked like a dazzling crimson flame. Covering it with my left hand I began to compress it into the only shape I can right now.
You know it! A sphere, the most wonderful shape.
Unclasping my hands I showed them the completed product, a shining sphere of crimson energy. No one came forward, they could all feel it instinctually, if that sphere touched them then they were done for.
Except one
"What in the world is that!" the cloaked woman said in shock
"Not fully sure, but that doesn't matter right now. Let's get rid this." Standing up I shuffled between legs to the back of the wagon. Moving luggage out of the way to get a better view of the forest I put my hand as if to flip a coin and placed the small red orb at my thumb.
Taking aim into the woods, I flicked it forward. It zipped from my hand like a missile with far more force than I could possibly have hit it with, like a bullet it punched holes through trees until I couldn't even see it anymore. There wasn't an explosion this time at least.
Sorry trees, you guys are just the easiest things to test things on you know?
Turning around I see that the others had also stood up and shuffled behind me to witness the spectacle.
"Yes Yes, I know! I'm super impressive, don't wait you can praise me now!" I said sarcastically
They didn't look too impressed at my joke.
"Huff! Whatever you guys aren't any fun anyway. So cloak lady, you ready to spill the beans yet?"
"…fine. I'm heading to Orario to find a wayward child of mine, she went through something devastating a while back and I'm checking up on her." Sadness emanating from her
A wayward child? "Oh? So you're a mother? …. Or are you actually a Goddess."
That got a reaction "After all, I heard that Gods and Goddesses refer to their familia members as their children."
"… What gives you the impression that I'm a Goddess, that statement is a stretch at best." She said wearily
Yes, keep feeding my curiosity. "I'm a very curious person you see, so when I'm interested in something I make many theories in my head about the answer to something. And what I'm curious about right now is who you are.
The only people that cloak up like you are usually criminals, Gods and Goddess trying to hide their true identities when moving without their familia members due to having enemies, or someone trying to hide something like their gender or such other things.
In those cases it's to not be taken advantage of by the men they are traveling with but in this group two of the guys are upstanding teen boys, an old guy and two other middle aged men who probably already have a family.
There's not much to be afraid of, but I'm also sure you're not a criminal, at least not one with a bounty due to your care for the lives of random people you don't kn-"
"Wait! Just wait a sec, aren't you Just over thinking it? That seems like a lot for simple curiosity."she asked in confusion
"I mean, probably? This journey is a bit boring and I have nothing better to do so all I can really do is this." I say in a faux frustrated tone, though it wasn't fully fake, there really isn't much for me to do.
I could practice with my magic but I'm saving it just in case we run into anything dangerous on the journey.
"A person who thinks all the time, has nothing to think about except thoughts." The old guy said out of nowhere.
Okay man it's not that serious, no need to get philosophical on me. Silence followed for a while after his statement, of course because what do you even say to that.
Flipping my previous tone to one of curiosity I ask "So am I right?
Staying quiet she shifted her shadowed gaze away from me. Hehe
"I'll just take that as a yes, I won't bother you anymore. At least for now."
____
I can see the walls, and let me tell you, they are better than any wall trump could ever hope to built. It's huge, bigger than any wall I've ever seen. From the looks of them they are about as tall as sky scrapers on Earth.
It's been about two and a half days of travel with almost no incident. There was only one exception.
Earlier today we encountered some guy "Passed out" on the side of the road. Obviously we didn't stop due to the chance of it being bandit bait.
Bandit bait is basically when someone pretends to be knocked out to get help from passing people of the road, where once they gain the general trust of the group, the group will then get ambushed. In the middle of the ambush the person used as bait will either take someone hostage or sneak attack a guard to make the job easier.
Other than that though my mana has surged 5 times over the course of the travel and with each suppression it get easier and easier to releases and control the energy. And Finally! My mana has reached its current max capacity.
On a side note Ravian has been doing pretty well with the guards and has managed to mostly keep up with them.
From my own estimates we're only a few hours maximum from Orario.
"So Bell, since we're so close to Orario now what familia do you plan on trying to join?"
Slightly startled by the question he answered awkwardly "I-I haven't really given it a specific thought, any familia will be enough for me."
How fitting "No way! Absolutely not! You seriously just going to join any familia that says yes?"
"Is something wrong with that?"
I blinked at his question, forgot he's still an innocent bean.
"Let me tell you something about the Gods in Orario, not all of them nice or upstanding, honestly a lot of them aren't, if you join just any familia you could end up getting taken advantage of by some creep."
"But I'm a guy?" He said in confusion
"…Bell, I don't know how to tell you this properly but you are probably one of the cutest guys around. Shiny white hair, nice red eyes, cute face. You are literally prime femboy material. There's plenty of women interested in that type of thing….Men too." I explained in exasperation, does this guy not know gender doesn't matter if your cute enough?
His face went red at the compliment "uhm not really sure what to say, thanks? Though I'm not sure what a femboy is."
"Pft! Hahaha!" Illiana burst out laughing
The rest of the wagon inhabitants following along
Sighing I placed a hand on my forehead "here's what I'll do, I'll tell you the familia's you should definitely avoid. Okay?"
"Okay" he said with a nod
"First of all, avoid the Freya familia I doubt you'd get accepted in the first place due to the familia members being Hard-asses but just don't try to join them, trust me. Second the Soma familia, they are a bunch of addicted drunks it's not a healthy environment for a new adventurer. Third the Apollo familia the Gods a creep that should be reason enough.
Next is most familia's that accept without some sort of interview when they have a decent amount of members already, medium familias don't have the luxury to be accepting people willy-nilly, they are likely just going to use you as fodder In the dungeon, or you'll be locked down as a supporter for the rest of your career.
There are some Gods who are genuinely kind and willing to let rookies in but those types are more than likely going to collapse for some reason or another, sooner rather than later.
Also don't join any Gods who have their familia in the entertainment district.
I could keep going but that's generally most the no's." Geez that was a lot, being kind is such a burden /ᐠ ◞ ᆺ ◟マ
"Wow.. that's quite a lot. Do you have any recommendations as well?" Bell said with stars in his eyes, impressed by my knowledge.
"Recommendations… that depends really, do you have any sort of special training, ancient martial techniques, any achievements to brag about?"
Staring at me for a brief moment he responded with a wavering "I don't think so?"
Your the protagonist and the reincarnation of the legendary hero Argonaut, you just don't know it yet hehe.
"Yeah didn't think so. The best Familia's for you are going to be ones who are either still low on members or are just starting out. You are trained enough to be accepted into those types.
You could also end up getting lucky and join larger familia's too like the Ganesha familia or Loki familia, Deities are pretty whimsical after all."
"Thanks for the advise, I really appreciate it." He said sincerely
"What about you?" The cloaked woman said
"Hm?"
"What familia do you plan to join, with your ability almost any familia would take you in." She emphasized
"Why? Do you want me~?" I said teasingly
Her stare remained completely deadpan, I couldn't see it but I could definitely feel it.
"Ahem, Anyways! I plan on joining the Loki familia, I did quite a bit of thinking on it and she's simply the best choice overall. It's impossible for me to stay lowkey for long so might as well not be lowkey in the first place." I said while turning away from her gaze
"…Good choice." She said
Looking outside once more I see them, the gates! Wait have we really been talking for that long? There's no way… even if my estimation was wrong we still shouldn't be this close already. Whatever it's not like it really matters.
Based on the Sun it should be around 2-3pm right now, I still have some time to find the twilight manor before dark. Let's see if I can do this without spending a dime.
____
I in fact could not do it without spending a dime. When I say Orario is massive I really mean it. How do regular people even survive in this city.
All I know about it's to the extreme north of Babel, conveniently too they had a map there. Half way through the walk though, I got hungry, starving actually. That's what an hour walk does to a mf.
And either I was scammed our Orario really is that expensive, I just paid 200 valis for a few meat skewers which is around 20 USD by my estimate…I def got scammed. Whatever, I still have 4000 valis left.
This place is pretty jolly and peaceful, maybe I'm just simple minded but I never really understood why people want to erase this joy. Boredom? Selfishness? A sick and twisted mind? Perhaps it's all of them. But do you know what I say to that? Get a damn job man, find a hobby, go do something.
…..
Anyways! I've arrived! The twilight manor, even if I didn't already know what it looked like, it's pretty hard to miss as it's literally a large gated tower like mansion at the northern edge of the city. For how big the Loki familia is, it's property isn't actually that large in comparison to freya's.
Now I'm wondering… do I just go in? There's nobody at the gate and it looks open.
Meh, might as well.
Walking through the courtyard I come face to face with door. Now I feel anxious, ergh.
Knocking the door I immediately hear a female voice call out "Yo somebody get the door!"
"Tch! Who is knocking at this time of day anyway."
God damn it, it's him. It's always him.
The door flew open with the aggressiveness of a bull on crack, how has it not broken with it being handled like that.
Bete loga the guy that gets face-slapped in every story ever created about this world.
"What do you want kid." He said, with a glare sharper than any blade I've ever seen.
"Is Goddess Loki here right now? I'd like to join the familia." I said as smoothly as I could.
His glared sharpened even more, at this point he might as well be squinting "What makes you think you have the qualifications to join this familia little girl."
"Does natural magic count?" I replied swiftly
He's given me far more time of day than I was expecting honestly.
"What?!" The female voice from earlier called out
From behind the door the squinty eyes red head herself jumped out, shoving Bete aside we came face to face.
"You were seriously born with magic? As a human no less?"
Magic is extremely rare in this world, like the idea of being "Born with Magic" technically doesn't exist at least not for mortal creatures. Not unless blessed by a spirit and even then in most cases it manifests as a special type of skill rather than magic. Like the Crozzo family magic sword creation skill.
The only exception to this outside of monsters is Ais who was born a half spirit, which should be impossible btw, but Albert was literally just that much of a giga chad he got a race which was said to be infertile pregnant.
"Yes" I replied with a nod.
"Come right in! Let's have a chat" she said enthusiastically
Gods can tell when mortals are lying so she immediately trusted what I said.
Walking in I immediately see some familiar faces, Ais, Riveria, the Amazon sisters, Gareth, Lefiya and a few others, no Finn though, probably busy with other business.
They're just chilling in the lounge area which isn't surprising, unlike other adventurers these guys are all lvl 4 and above, so they have to go much deeper to gain solid stat growth, the further down you go the more dangerous it becomes so unless your someone like Ottar(And bell of course) who got their stats close to the cap before leveling up, soloing the lower floors is basically impossible.
Loki continued past the lounge area into a small office office space, clearly an interview space. All it really had was an office table two chairs for the table and a couch to the side.
"So tell me, why did you come to me instead of another familia." She said while taking the main seat of the office table.
Closing the door behind me and placing down my suitcase I took the other seat "Mostly because I think your familia has the most to offer in basically every aspect, the only thing you guys lack is being lowkey but my ability is too…extravagant to remain lowkey for long."
"My kiddi's are the best after all!" She said with a grin "So what type of magic do you have anyway? Didn't even ask yet."
Tapping my chin in thought of how to explain it simply "to explain simply it's a type of energy that causes complete destruction to what it hits. Thinking about it now, it would actually be akin to a unique skill rather than magic since I don't need to chant to use it. And it isn't a single type of magic, it's an energy I can create using my mana that I can then manipulate at will. Though it is very hard to control." I replied concisely.
Her slitted eyes opened ever so slightly "how hard exactly?"
I've always like the fox eyed characters, it is always so cool and menacing when they do end up opening their eyes. My favorite out of all the ones I know is probably Gin Ichimaru.
"Ah, I guess this is something that needs explaining huh" I said awkwardly
"You see for long time I've actually been struggling to control this ability of mine, not just because it's hard to control but because from childhood up until recently it would constantly drain my ma-mind, to force itself to activate. I've actually only recently been able to start practicing with it due to having a major outburst a few days ago. My parents and I believe that the only way to fix it is a Deities blessing." Whoops almost tripped up there.
"Huh?" She said in surprise "Did you live your life in a constant state of mind down or something?"
Mind down, though it has a fancy name it just means you pass out because you overused your mana/mind.
"Actually, I've never experienced mind down, I'd sometimes feel tired but I've never passed out because of it, so I think I might have another skill alongside my magic one." I state confidently.
Ever seen a wide eyed cat? That's basically what Loki looks like right now.
"You know what? Yeah your in, whatever it is that you've got going on I can't turn you away and let some random familia have you, especially not Freya." She said covering her face with her hands.
That was a lot simpler than expected
"All that's left is the falna then, right?" I ask questioningly
"Of course! Almost forgot about that. I've never heard of anything like this before. Just take a seat on the coach and remove your top." She said while reaching into a drawer at her desk.
I'm wearing a open brown jacket over a white dress shirt and a brown knee length skirt. Total top tier fashion if I do say so myself.
Removing the jacket and hoisting it over the chair, I unbutton my shirt and just like that my upper body was bare. Except my bra of course.
Mentioning bras I don't think I ever seen a single female character in Danmachi wear one. That's really strange.
Grabbing a small needle and piece of paper from the drawer Loki walked over. Taking a seat on the arm of the couch she said "Just turn your back to me, the rest is up to me."
Doing as she says I shift my posture with my back to her and hunched forward for better placement. The wait was a bit awkward but after a moment I felt her unclasp my bra and then another moment I feel a warm sensation spread across my whole body.
I could actually feel myself getting stronger. But the most important thing I could feel is that both my mana/mind(I gotta stick with one) and my destruction energy now felt buttery smooth.
It's like they were both given a god tier massage and every piece of tension they contained simply disappeared. And it felt good, way too good.
The moment felt like it would stretch on for eternity but slowly the feeling faded. Good, if that kept going I might have done something…unsavory.
"Holy shit." Loki said in surprise.
( ╹ -╹)?
"What is it?" I asked
"You should just read it yourself… this is the strangest thing I've ever seen, this is probably beyond even the statuses of old kids of Zeus and Hera."
Wait seriously? I was expecting it to be strong but not that crazy. Those guys were able to match things multiple levels higher than themselves due to their skills. Zald has a budget gluttony that allows him to get stronger by eating beasts, monsters, and even people.
While Alfia had her crazy magic and skill that let her be in the limit off state at all times.
And she's saying I might be beyond that?
….
YOSHA!!
She handed me the brown paper(why is it brown?) and I began to read.
.
.
.
What the hell.
***
{STATUS}
Name: Camellia Cindel
Strength: I0
Endurance: I0
Dexterity: I0
Agility: I0
Magic: I0
[Development ability]: None
[Magic]: N/A
Skills:
Mage of Origin: A mental and magic support type skill. It Grants the user perfect memory of any magic they've ever seen and allows for replication and creation of new types of magic. It protects the mind of the user from memory manipulation and anything that may cause the user to be forcefully rendered unconscious.
-Perfect recall
-Analytical sight
-Mental protection
-Congenital Magic creation
-Chant empowerment
Destruction Incarnate: A Magic type skill. It allows the user to use all magic that is destruction based but also making it so that is the only magic the user can obtain and use. As the user grows stronger they gain access to different types of destruction based magic.
-The Power of Destruction
-Locked
-Locked
-Locked
-Locked
-Locked
-Locked
-Locked
______
And that's a wrap for this chapter, man I don't know how authors can pop out 10k word chapters twice a week this shit took me what? 2 weeks? Obviously I wasn't working on it all day every day but damn. Honestly it wasn't even supposed to be this long but the way I'm writing this is that I'm writing based on what I want to happen in the chapter and I wanted to introduce things while Camellia also getting her falna, so it kind of just kept going and going.
I'm trying to portray her as a sarcastic and mischievous person who is also a little awkward. She doesn't struggle with talking but likes to tell sarcastic jokes that sometimes fall flat due to not being able to read emotions too well yet. I'm trying to learn how to do proper characterization and make conversations that feel more natural.
I'm also trying to work on descriptions because yeah that's definitely something I struggle with especially when it comes locations and fights. I can imagine them in my head but I just can't put them into words.
Anyways see you next time.