Chapter 8: LV2 Combat Power, Teaching Breathing Technique (Patreon)

The golden-haired elf sprang off the bed, dashed to the window, and leaped out without a moment's hesitation.

Only as she plummeted toward the first floor did Ryu finally get a clear look at the scene in the training ground not far away.

Kaguya Gojouno, who never missed a chance to needle her with words, was holding a wooden sword in one hand, settled into a counterattacking stance.

Not far in front of her stood a black-haired youth.

He was neither handsome nor ugly, the very picture of an average face. At most you could call his features proper, the kind you'd glance at twice on the street and then forget.

He held a wooden sword too, but on closer inspection, yellow-white arcs of electricity seemed to flicker along the hilt, the blade, and all around him.

The next instant.

The youth suddenly moved. One moment he was about ten meters from Kaguya, and in the blink of an eye he was in front of her as if he'd teleported.

Then.

Crack!

Crack! Crack!

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

The two wooden weapons collided at a speed the naked eye could barely follow.

Dull cracks rang out one after another.

Kaguya Gojouno was a Level 4 adventurer bearing the epithet "Yamato Gentian." She also came from a noble family of the Far East and had been taught swordsmanship by renowned masters since childhood.

Her strength ranked firmly in the top three of the Astraea Familia, and only Alize, the Captain, could hold a slight edge over her.

The youth sparring with her, on the other hand, seemed to be using an enchantment-type magic similar to their Captain's, only with the lightning attribute.

Even so, by Ryu's judgment, his combat power was roughly mid-to-high Level 2.

In all of Orario, that made him a person of some note, neither great nor negligible.

But in the eyes of "Gale," a fellow Level 4, it was still a bit lacking.

While she thought it over, the golden-haired elf landed steadily on the ground.

She took two steps forward, apparently wanting to watch the match up close.

Just then, someone gently tapped the girl's shoulder.

She turned and found her own patron goddess, Astraea, smiling at her.

"Lady Astraea," Ryu said dutifully.

The brown-haired goddess nodded, but her expression was a little odd.

"I saw it just now, you know," she said mildly. "Ryu jumped down from the second-floor window."

Caught in such a reckless act by her own goddess, Ryu flushed. "Um, I apologize. I'll be more careful next time."

"No, I think it's wonderful. I know Ryu was worried about her friends in the Familia. But..." Astraea paused, then raised a jade-white arm and pointed at the elf girl in front of her, or more precisely, at the sleepwear she was wearing. "Normally it wouldn't matter, but a boy happens to be visiting the Familia today. If he saw you looking like this, you might never find a husband~"

Ryu froze for half a second, then slowly lowered her head.

Worried that an enemy had gotten into the Familia, she hadn't thought of anything and had bolted straight out of her bedroom.

She hadn't even had time to change her clothes.

Of course, Ryu was an elf renowned for her purity in the DanMachi world, so even her pajamas weren't a skimpy or sheer sort. They were plain cotton, covering her limbs and torso.

But obviously, no normal person would go outside in them.

Much less show them to a stranger.

And so...

Under the brown-haired goddess's gaze, the golden-haired elf girl's cheeks went red at a speed visible to the naked eye, and faint white wisps of steam even rose from her head.

Half a second later...

"Kyaaaaaaah!!!!!"

In the training ground.

At the sudden scream, Renan, who had been trading blows with Kaguya Gojouno (or more precisely, attacking while she defended), took two steps back and stopped, turning instinctively toward the sound.

Then a wooden sword swished across and stopped right in front of his eyes.

"Sorry, one of my girls seems to have done something silly. Please don't mind it, and no peeking, okay~?"

Kaguya Gojouno's "gentle" voice sounded at his ear.

Renan caught the threat behind her words. He didn't know what had happened, but he didn't plan to dwell on it either. He gave a small nod and turned the other way.

About five seconds later, the Yamato Gentian's voice came again. "You can look now."

Renan shrugged, turned back to her, and asked, "So? How did I do?"

Kaguya Gojouno hesitated, a flash of conflict crossing her face. She didn't answer directly and asked instead, "You really only became an adventurer the day before yesterday?"

When the youth nodded, the girl, who looked like a proper Yamato Nadeshiko but was in truth even more sharp-tongued and rough, couldn't hold back. "Then the gods of Orario must all be blind. They passed up a jewel delivered right to their doorstep."

Renan smiled awkwardly and offered no explanation. "So what level is my strength at right now?"

This time Kaguya Gojouno didn't change the subject. "Without that enhancement skill, as a frontline fighter you're equivalent to a Level 2 adventurer, and one who leveled up after raising every Ability to B or even A. If we count that enhancement skill and the sword techniques that go with it..."

She exhaled a long breath, her face turning two shades more serious. "Among Level 2 adventurers, you're already at the very top. Even against some Level 3s, if you're careful, you'd have a real chance of beating them or at least fighting them to a draw."

Before coming to the Star Hall today, Renan had already vaguely guessed he had Level 2 combat power.

But guessing was one thing. Getting confirmation from the Yamato Gentian herself still made him let out a breath of relief.

Renan hadn't forgotten the vile things Zanis, Captain of his own Soma Familia, had done in the anime of his past life.

For now, Renan only wanted to grow stronger, and he didn't even plan to return to the Familia's base. But no one could say whether Zanis or his underlings might lose their minds one day and turn on him over some trivial matter.

If he had only Level 1 strength, there was nothing to be done. Until he actually reached Level 2 or even 3, he'd have to keep his head down and tuck his tail between his legs.

But if not...

His thoughts raced. Renan straightened his face, put his right hand over his chest, and bowed to the black-haired girl. "Miss Gojouno, thank you for your guidance."

Kaguya Gojouno shook her head. "No need to be so formal. This was our agreement to begin with." As she spoke, something seemed to occur to her. "Also, with your current strength, going to the middle floors to challenge Level 2 monsters probably won't earn you a great deed. Even Level 3 monsters in the lower floors won't do it unless you take on the kinds found past the 30th floor, or kill several dozen at once, to reach your goal of leveling up."

In the DanMachi world, an adventurer who wanted to raise their Falna level had to accomplish a great deed, one that astonished even the gods.

To put it more bluntly, it meant challenging your own limits.

Renan already had combat power approaching Level 3 from Level 2. Going to the middle floors to fight Level 2 monsters would be dangerous for him, but it was hardly a great deed.

Even as Kaguya Gojouno said, killing the Level 3 monsters spawned on the first few lower floors would most likely add only a trace of accumulated deed.

And if, in the meantime, the shared space brought in someone new and Renan finished sharing power with them, the difficulty of earning a great deed would climb even higher!

Seeing the black-haired youth lost in thought, Kaguya Gojouno couldn't help smiling.

She stepped forward and patted the shoulder of the person across from her. "Don't worry. Now that we have an agreement, the Astraea Familia won't leave you to fend for yourself. On our next expedition, you're welcome to come with us down to the lower floors. Just kill a few monsters past the thirtieth floor and you should about reach your goal."

"But before the expedition starts, you should work a bit harder and push your Abilities up a little."

For the sake of the enhancement skill she was about to get, Kaguya Gojouno had really racked her brains.

Renan nodded. "I understand."

Even the weakest adventurer in the Astraea Familia was Level 3, with very sharp senses.

And Renan, during his earlier bout with Kaguya Gojouno, had given nearly everything he had, aside from a few killer moves he held back.

The noise that erupted was hardly faint.

So while the two talked, several more girls appeared at the edge of the training ground. Unlike a certain hopeless elf who had run back to her room, every one of them was fully dressed.

"Lady Astraea, who's that guy over there with Kaguya?"

Alize, the Astraea Familia's Captain, her red hair tied in a single ponytail, glanced at the youth standing with her friend in the middle of the training ground and turned to ask her patron goddess.

The others said nothing, but they all cast curious looks too.

"His name is Renan. He's a new recruit of the Soma Familia, but he's on poor terms with his patron god and can't even get his Falna updated. That's why he came to me, and in return for my help updating his Falna, he gave me information about the future." Astraea pressed her palms together, a faint smile on her lips, and told them the truth.

Beside her, Lyra, the pink-haired pallum girl with short, ear-length hair, narrowed her eyes. Something had occurred to her, and surprise crossed her face. "Information about the future... That Renan guy must have awakened a pretty incredible skill~"

Alize might look easygoing, but she hadn't become Captain on strength alone. Her intelligence was no slouch either. She looked at her patron goddess, her brow set with seriousness. "That information about the future, does it concern us?"

Astraea nodded and retold the details about Juggernaut that Renan had mentioned earlier, in the simplest words she could.

At the end, she added a couple more lines. "I don't think the information is false, but I'll still go ask Uranus to confirm it. If it checks out, then..."

Alize caught her meaning without being told, and patted her fairly full chest. "There's really no way to counter a first-encounter kill, but now that we know the details, we can plan our tactics around Juggernaut's traits. So don't worry, Lady Astraea. We won't leave you so easily."

The others nodded in agreement.

Hearing her Captain's promise, the brown-haired goddess smiled warmly. "Mm, I believe you. Still, the more backup plans, the better. So I actually made a second agreement with Renan just now. He'll teach you all an enhancement skill that anyone can learn, and in return, when he goes into the Dungeon later for a great deed to level up, the Astraea Familia will give him all the help he needs."

At these words, the girls gasped.

It was the same as ever. An enhancement skill, and a universal one at that. Never mind how large the boost was, to an adventurer it was like a fish dangled in front of a cat.

Anyone would want to learn it.

It was only because Astraea and her Familia leaned toward order and goodness that they were willing to deal with Renan in a relatively fair way.

Had it been some nasty god or adventurers, Renan's fate would surely have been far worse.

But looked at the other way around, it was precisely because he knew the Astraea Familia's alignment that Renan dared to reveal his special side. And in his view, Thunder Breathing really wasn't much. As for his true secret, the shared-transmigration cheat, he'd never planned to tell anyone from start to finish.

...

Since the deal with the Astraea Familia was sealed, Renan had no intention of wasting time.

After being dragged along by the goddess to share another meal with everyone, a breakfast Astraea had cooked herself, he laid out every key point of the Thunder Breathing from the memories of his self in the Demon Slayer world, all in one go at the training ground, and demonstrated the matching sword forms twice besides.

Astraea didn't recruit only exceptionally promising children the way Loki and Freya did. But humans were creatures of limitless possibility.

When most of the people around you are outstanding, even someone of ordinary talent will push to improve, and end up with combat power that isn't the best but is certainly not weak.

Within an hour of teaching, Alize and Kaguya Gojouno, the Astraea Familia's Captain and Vice-Captain, had already learned the basics of Thunder Breathing.

About ten minutes later, Ryu and Lyra followed and got the hang of it too.

The other Familia members, who had only a few shots in the anime, performed more like ordinary people. But they were all high-level adventurers after all, and by the time noon approached, they had each picked up the enhancement skill, though they couldn't yet apply it smoothly in battle.

"The Thunder Breathing I've taught you can become instinct, a constant boost on your body," Renan said, standing in the middle of the training ground as he gave out the last bit of information. "That state is usually called 'Total Concentration Constant,' but unfortunately, I haven't reached that level myself yet."

He didn't mention the later stages, the Marks and the Transparent World. Unlike the Breathing Techniques, those two abilities were skills only beings of the Demon Slayer world could master.

Even having learned the Breathing Techniques, the people of the Astraea Familia most likely couldn't comprehend them.