Otherworldly Counterparts.
This was the name Cain gave to his cheat ability.
Although he didn't know why, there were some issues when he transmigrated, causing him to traverse to numerous worlds simultaneously.
This misty square was the platform connecting him across different worlds.
Here, as long as Cain touched his counterparts from other worlds, he could share their memories and power.
Through exploration, Cain and the others had gained some understanding of the scope of sharing.
Power sharing was divided into three aspects: physical fitness, mental strength, and skills.
Memory sharing depended on how much access the sharer was willing to grant.
Cain's rapid improvement in cooking was because he obtained the memories of Chef Cain, who had diligently practiced cooking for over twenty years.
As for the one greeting him now, the martial artist-dressed Cain.
That counterpart had transmigrated to the world of Demon Slayer.
Compared to DanMachi Cain and Chef Cain, Demon Slayer Cain's experiences were a bit more tragic.
After transmigrating to the Demon Slayer world, he became a bottom-tier vagrant wandering the slums. Not long after, he was attacked by an evil demon.
If not for the luck of having a Demon Slayer Corps member passing by, he would have lost his life there.
However, it was precisely that experience that made Demon Slayer Cain realize which world he had transmigrated to.
To protect himself, he joined the Demon Slayer Corps, and not long after that, he arrived at the Mist Space.
After sharing, Demon Slayer Cain's physical fitness greatly increased, and he quickly learned a Breathing Technique.
This time, appearing in the Mist Space, he came to notify them of this good news.
After sharing the newly learned Thunder Breathing, Demon Slayer Cain looked at the two people before him.
"How about it? Can you learn it?"
"Seems possible."
" I don't have any problems on my end either."
DanMachi Cain and Chef Cain replied.
The worlds the three were in theoretically all possessed supernatural power.
However, currently, the things the three could access were limited. Whether it was DanMachi Cain or Chef Cain, both were still in the 'newbie village'.
On the contrary, Demon Slayer Cain, who joined the Mist Space last, was the first to come into contact with special power.
"It's good that you can learn it. This way, you'll have some self-protection ability in your respective worlds."
Demon Slayer Cain looked at DanMachi Cain: "The next Final Selection is in two months. Before that, I'll do my best to improve my Breathing Technique proficiency. As for physical fitness improvement, I'll rely on you."
DanMachi Cain nodded: "No problem."
They were all the same person, very clear on what was most beneficial for themselves.
In fact, after sharing their respective memories, they had already formulated a plan to get stronger.
Demon Slayer Cain would improve his Breathing Technique proficiency and martial arts. DanMachi Cain would rely on these to go to the Dungeon, fight monsters to get stronger, and update his blessing to increase proficiency.
As for Chef Cain, he just needed to work hard on improving his cooking skills.
Food is the paramount necessity of the people; he who gains delicious food gains the world.
Although it seemed inconspicuous, both Demon Slayer Cain and DanMachi Cain had obtained their first startup funds thanks to the other's cooking skills.
From this point of view, Chef Cain was the MVP among the three.
...
DanMachi World.
Leaving the Mist Plaza, Cain walked out of the room and found Hestia.
"Update the blessing?"
Hestia, who was slurping noodles, blinked, a trace of confusion appearing on her face.
"Cain, did you go to the Dungeon?"
"I didn't go, but I took some time to train a bit. I wanted to see if my status values increased."
"Hmm, I see."
Hestia suddenly understood.
Because there was a Dungeon right beneath their feet, adventurers in Orario would go to the Dungeon to fight after receiving a blessing.
But in reality, actual combat was only one way to increase status values. As long as one trained hard enough in daily practice, status values could also increase.
Cain had just received his blessing not long ago, and it was the time when he was most concerned about his own growth.
Being able to endure for a whole week before updating his status values seemed very restrained to her.
"No problem, let's update it right away."
Hestia put down her rice bowl and led Cain to the bed at the back of the room.
"Take off your clothes."
"Mhm."
Cain took off his clothes, revealing his sturdy arms and eight neatly defined abdominal muscles.
"Huh? Cain, have you gotten more muscular?"
Hestia tilted her head, extended a small hand, and poked Cain's abs. They were hard.
In her memory, eight days ago when she engraved the blessing on Cain, he wasn't this muscular.
"My talent is pretty good. After a few days of training, I became like this," Cain replied casually.
In reality, this was the result of him sharing the achievements of the other Cains.
Whether it was cooking or slaying demons, both placed great demands on physical fitness.
To become stronger, Chef Cain and Demon Slayer Cain trained their bodies every day.
Additionally, there was one more point: the flow of time was different between worlds.
Although only a week had passed for Cain here, both Chef Cain and Demon Slayer Cain had already spent a long time in their respective worlds.
Especially Chef Cain. From their recent exchange, he learned that six months had already passed over there, which was astonishingly fast.
The combined training of the two manifested on Cain's body as a sudden surge in physical fitness, transforming from an ordinary person into a muscular powerhouse.
And this was also the reason Cain sought Hestia's help to update his blessing.
He wanted to test whether the training results of Demon Slayer Cain and Chef Cain, as well as the recently learned Breathing Technique, could be reflected in the blessing.
"Here, the tools."
Cain handed the needle, paper, and pen to Hestia, then turned and lay face down on the bed.
"I'll leave the rest to you."
"No problem!"
Hestia climbed onto the bed, her prominent peaks swaying slightly, dizzying Cain who happened to look back at that moment.
Adjusting her posture to sit on Cain, Hestia pierced her fingertip with the needle, squeezed out a drop of blood, and let it fall onto the dense text on Cain's back.
Although it was her first time updating a blessing, Hestia had already familiarized herself with the process in advance.
Her slender fingers pressed on the spot where the blood dripped. Using this as a starting point, Hestia drew a line to the side, beginning to update the blessing on Cain's body.
"Huh?"
'What's wrong?'
"Cain, your status values increased a lot, and you gained a new skill."
Hestia picked up the paper and pen, copying the updated blessing content onto it.
"See for yourself."
[Cain — LV.1]
[Strength: I0 → H101]
[Endurance: I0 → H113]
[Dexterity: I0 → H107]
[Agility: I0 → H116]
[Magic: I0]
[Spells: None]
[Skill: Unification: The greater the number, the stronger the effect]
"Cain, have you... encountered anything recently?"
"No, I haven't."
"Liar!"
Hestia didn't believe a single word.
Although Hestia hadn't been in the lower world for long, she still had some understanding of the blessing system.
Skills were related to a person's essence and state of mind.
It was impossible to gain a new skill just by lying down and sleeping.
"Alright, I did encounter some things."
Cain replied: "I found myself."
"Found yourself?"
Hestia tilted her head.
Even with their divine power sealed, gods were still gods, able to tell if a child of the lower world was lying.
She could see that Cain's words were true.
But the problem was, how could a person just 'find themselves' out of the blue?
"You didn't get a sudden impulse and sneak off to the Dungeon, did you?"
Between life and death, enlightenment was most likely to occur.
In Hestia's mind, an image had already formed: Cain, tired of fried rice, ran off to the Dungeon, fought monsters for three hundred rounds, and achieved enlightenment on the spot.
"I didn't go to the Dungeon."
That sentence was the truth.
"Then how did you find your true self?"
"I found it while sleeping."
Huh? That was also the truth?
Hestia widened her eyes, an incredulous expression on her face.
"That doesn't make sense!"
"It makes perfect sense."
"But... how exactly was it done? Why would sleeping make you awaken and find yourself?!"
"It's on, never off."
'...'
Hestia fell into silence.
She couldn't understand why such a strange reply still carried not a hint of falsehood, only truth.
"By the way, Hestia, starting tomorrow, I'll temporarily stop setting up my stall."
"Huh? Why?"
Hestia's attention was diverted.
"Training above ground is still too slow. Going to the Dungeon to fight monsters is more efficient."
"Hmm... alright."
As a cheerful goddess, Hestia wouldn't restrict her child's actions.
"Speaking of which, have you bought your weapon?"
"Not yet."
"Let's go buy it together tomorrow!"
Hestia made the decision.
For Cain's safety, she needed to put in more effort too.
...