DanMachi Universe, Lower World, Orario.
"Fine, then let's get to it," Tatsuo said with a grin. Then he looked at the other members of the Familia and asked, "So, who's first?"
As the members of the Aislynn Familia sat around the main hall of the Dragon's Nest, they exchanged glances after hearing Tatsuo's question. However, it was not because they were deciding who would go first. Rather, the competitive personalities of the members were on full display as they wondered who would show the greatest improvement after this past week of grinding.
Well, who would have the greatest improvement after Tatsuo, the damn protagonist, anyway?
"Let's go by team again," James finally said as he placed his Status sheet on the table between the couches. "And since I was the first one to say something, I'll go first."
With that, everyone looked down at the first of the ten Status sheets that would be shown off tonight.
Status
Name: James Alaverus
Level: 1
-Attributes-
Strength: I84 -> H123
Endurance: I61 -> I92
Dexterity: H142 -> G211
Agility: H147 -> G215
Magic: H108 -> H155
-Magic-
Senbonzakura
-A bladed weapon in hand breaks down into a thousand cherry blossom-shaped blades that the user can control with their Mind. Movement speed, sharpness, and distance scale with Mind usage.
-Chant: Scatter, Senbonzakura.
Flash Step
-A movement spell that uses magical energy to bridge the gap between two points. Distance scales with Mind usage while speed scales with the Agility Stat.
-Chant: Chantless
[Empty]
-Skills-
[Empty]
Status
Name: Minami Violet Sumire
Level: 1
-Attributes-
Strength: H110 -> H173
Endurance: H143 -> G212
Dexterity: H101 -> H156
Agility: I68 -> H100
Magic: I70 -> H103
-Magic-
Arx Custos
-The user gains increased Endurance and Defense for the duration of the spell. Spell duration and power scale with Mind usage.
-Chant: Blessing of Steel. Wisdom's guardian. With strengthened will and the desire to overcome, Arx Custos.
[Empty]
-Skills-
[Empty]
Status
Name: Aletia Galdea Vesperitio Avatari
Level: 1
-Attributes-
Strength: I20 -> I33
Endurance: I19 -> I32
Dexterity: I45 -> I66
Agility: I65 -> I87
Magic: H156 -> G223
-Magic-
Dragon of the Five Elements
-Allows the user to conjure a dragon of one of the five elements of Fire, Water, Earth, Lightning, and Wind to attack a target. The size and power of the spell scale with the Magic Stat and Mind usage.
-Chant: Oh, [Insert Element Here], I beseech thee. Gather at my call and smite mine enemies. [Insert Element Here] Dragon.
[Empty]
[Empty]
-Skills-
Super Regeneration
-As long as the user has remaining magic power and Mind, injuries will heal automatically.
Status
Name: Elicia Marcus Taylor
Level: 1
-Attributes-
Strength: H101 -> H136
Endurance: I75 -> I90
Dexterity: H165 -> G220
Agility: H150 -> G200
Magic: H141 -> H186
-Magic-
Administratio Filorum
-A spell that allows the user to create threads with magic and manipulate the conjured threads. The threads' length, duration, and degree of control scale with the Magic Stat and Mind usage.
-Mend the Seams of Reality. Administratio Filorum
Implicatio Filorum
-The user conjures a large amount of magical thread before spreading it through the area. Then, at the user's command, the threads converge to immobilize a target. The scale and strength of the spell scale with the Magic Stat.
-Chant: Set the trap and reel in the net. Implicatio Filorum
[Empty]
-Skills-
[Empty]
"About the same as last week," Violet said while looking over her Status sheet.
"Speak for yourself," Elicia said with a huff. "Why is my growth so much lower this week?"
"Because you didn't cause any disasters this week?" Tatsuo asked, tilting his head.
"Disasters?" Elicia asked in an offended tone. "Stop blaming that on me. All those Irregular Situations last week were definitely NOT my fault."
"Sure, keep telling yourself that," Tatsuo replied with a shrug. Then he turned to look at Alfonzo. "So, should your team or our team go next?"
"You go ahead," Alfonzo replied with a shrug of his own.
"All right," Tatsuo replied, putting down his Status sheet on the coffee table in the middle and drawing everyone's attention.
Status
Name: Soramoto Tatsuo
Level: 1
-Attributes-
Strength: G220 -> G260
Endurance: H118 -> H133
Dexterity: G263 -> F358
Agility: G293 -> E400
Magic: G246 -> F334
-Magic-
Blink
-Allows the user to teleport short distances.
-Chant: Chantless
Transmutation
-With adequate understanding, materials can be deconstructed and reconstructed into a form of the user's choice.
-Chant: Mankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. This is known as the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Transmutation.
[Empty]
-Skills-
Magic Circle Creation
-The user is able to create magic circles of any attribute. By paying the corresponding Mind cost, the user can cast the circle's magic.
Void Destiny
-As one destined for greatness, the speed of Excelia gain is greatly increased.
"Yup! He's still a damn cheat," James said in an exasperated tone. "How the hell did he get a stat to jump all the way from G to E in a damn week?"
"At least he's not getting upgrades like that across the board," Alfonzo said, shaking his head. "Then again, it's only a matter of time before he starts focusing on the other Attributes, too."
"But that E is kind of a big deal," Elicia pointed out. "That means he can go down to the Eighth Floor if he wants to."
"Wouldn't that be dangerous, though?" Violet asked in a somewhat worried tone.
"For anyone else, maybe," Zelretch said while stroking his beard. "But with Tatsuo's [Blink] spell, he can run at any time... provided he still has enough Mind to burn."
"I guess..." Violet replied, looking at Tatsuo with worry.
"We can talk about that later," Tatsuo said with a shrug. "For now, let's keep going. I wanna see how high Sakura-Chan's Magic stat is now."
Hearing that, Sakura placed her Status sheet on the table, and everyone turned their attention to it.
Status
Name: Matou Sakura
Level: 1
-Attributes-
Strength: I41 -> I67
Endurance: I20 -> I33
Dexterity: I71 -> H110
Agility: I69 -> H111
Magic: G227 -> F323
-Magic-
Kage Sosa
-The user gains the ability to stretch their shadow to connect with other shadows in the surroundings and control those saturated with their magic power.
-Chant: Bind, trap, restrain, and skewer. Oh shadows, follow my will and do my bidding. Kage Sosa.
[Empty]
[Empty]
-Skills-
Shadow Space
-The user has the ability to store all manner of things inside their shadow. However, the user will be subjected to 100th of the weight stored inside. Also, living beings can be kept in the shadow. However, without oxygen, it is not recommended to stay there for long.
"Sakura-San's Magic has grown a lot, too," Momo said while looking over Sakura's Attributes. "And it looks like the training has been helping, too. Her physical values have increased by quite a bit as well."
"And like Aletia, her physical stats went up by a fair amount as well," Zelretch said, pointing at the Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, and Agility Attributes.
"I guess Violet is good at training people, huh?" James asked rhetorically.
"Actually, that's thanks to what Tatsuo-Kun taught me when he came to my world," Violet replied humbly. "I'm just using the same methods he used when he helped train me."
"All right, that kid gets enough praise as it is," James said in an exasperated tone. "Let's just move on. I don't know if the house could handle it if his head got any bigger."
"Pause," Alfonzo said with a shit-eating grin on his face.
"Ah! Damn it!" James exclaimed after realizing what he had just said.
"*Sigh* You two are something else," Akatsuki muttered while shaking her head. "Anyway, I'll go next."
With that, Akatsuki put her Status sheet on the table, and everyone looked to see how much she had improved that week, with the rest of her team following shortly afterward.
Status
Name: Hanekura Shizuka
Level: 1
-Attributes-
Strength: I82 -> I98
Endurance: I87 -> H106
Dexterity: H160 -> G213
Agility: H172 -> G228
Magic: I0
-Magic-
[Empty]
[Empty]
-Skills-
Silent Step
-A skill that allows the user to move in relative silence. Silence scales with Dexterity, while movement speed scales with Agility.
Sneak
-A skill that allows the user to lower their presence at the cost of movement speed. The degree of presence concealment scales with Dexterity, while movement speed can be increased with higher Agility.
Status
Name: Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg
Level: 1
-Attributes-
Strength: I88 -> H106
Endurance: I60 -> I78
Dexterity: H117 -> H162
Agility: H112 -> H152
Magic: H185 -> G260
-Magic-
Kaleidoscope
-Allows the wielder to create a passage glowing with kaleidoscopic colors to anywhere the user has been before. However, this spell cannot move between separate spaces.
-Chant: Pierce a hole to the Root, and show me all of the world's mysteries. Kaleidoscope.
Jewel Magic
-Allows the user to seal magic energy into jewels or magic stones to cast one-time spells. Different jewels and the magic stones of different monsters have different effects.
-Chant: Chantless.
[Empty]
-Skills-
[Empty]
Status
Name: Yaoyorozu Momo
Level: 1
-Attributes-
Strength: H111 -> H184
Endurance: H122 -> H182
Dexterity: H107 -> H180
Agility: H120 -> H181
Magic: I0
-Magic-
[Empty]
[Empty]
[Empty]
-Skills-
Material Creation
-Using the lipids in the body, the user is able to create any inorganic materials or items they have sufficient knowledge of.
Status
Name: Alfonzo Marcus
Level: 1
-Attributes-
Strength: H128 -> H191
Endurance: I75 -> H112
Dexterity: H135 -> G205
Agility: H142 -> G208
Magic: H130 -> G200
-Magic-
Corpus Fulmineum
-A spell that enhances the user's body with Lightning Magic. Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, and Agility increase with Mind usage.
-Chant: Oh, lightning, descend into this body and grant me the power to vanquish my enemies. Corpus Fulmineum.
Analysis Materiae
-A spell that allows the user to pulse magic power into an object to learn specific details about its makeup.
-Chant: Open your secrets to me. Analysis Materiae
[Empty]
-Skills-
[Empty]
After looking at all the Status sheets on the table, Momo's complexion paled significantly. At the same time, she lowered her head to hide her expression, which was on the verge of tears.
And the reason for that was simple. Of all the members of the Familia, she was the only one who had not raised an Attribute value to the G-rank, leaving her with a severe feeling of inferiority.
Naturally, everyone in the main hall noticed Momo's mood drop. However, instead of saying something about it, they all turned to look at Tatsuo, letting him know they wanted him to do something about it.
{Pic}
Noticing all the eyes on him, Tatsuo rolled his eyes. But he did not refuse to try and help.
"Momo-Chan," Tatsuo said, his voice much gentler than usual. "I know what you're thinking."
Hearing that, Momo shuddered for a moment. Yet, she did not raise her head.
"You're thinking something stupid like..." Tatsuo continued. "I'm holding the team back, or I don't belong here, right?"
This time, Momo's shudder was much more pronounced than before. Still, she did not raise her head, though she did nod minutely.
"Are you taking into account that you're literally the person with the least combat experience in the room?" Tatsuo asked. "Or what about the fact that you had one of the biggest improvements of anyone here? On top of that, you're probably the most well-rounded Adventurer in our Familia."
"But... I didn't raise any Attributes to G..." Momo said weakly.
"And?" Tatsuo asked with a raised eyebrow.
"That means I'm going to fall behind the rest of you," Momo said. "I don't want to hold anyone back. With my Attributes like they are, someone will have to stay on the Fourth Floor with me when they could be exploring the Fifth through Seventh Floors."
"Who told you that?" Tatsuo asked in a dry tone.
That finally made Momo raise her head to stare at Tatsuo with confusion.
"We might have people running ahead alone..." Tatsuo said, looking into Momo's eyes. "But we don't leave anyone behind."
"But... I'm not ready for the next section of the Dungeon," Momo said as she started to lower her head again.
"Then next week is gonna suck for you," Tatsuo replied with a vicious grin, causing Momo's head to stop before she could lower it. "Because you're gonna be the vanguard for a team on the Fifth Floor when we go back into the Dungeon. So, you'd better do whatever you have to do to make sure you're ready."
Immediately, Momo's expression turned to shock. At the same time, the others' eyes widened before they, like Tatsuo, smiled. However, their smiles were not nearly as spartan as Tatsuo's.
"What?" Momo asked in a disbelieving tone. "But I... I'm not..."
"Like T said, we don't leave anyone behind," Alfonzo said with a smile at Momo.
"Yeah, we'll definitely pull you up to the level you need to be at," James added. "Even if we have to drag you there kicking and screaming."
"Do you have to make it sound so terrifying?" Akatsuki asked, rolling her eyes. Then she turned to look at Momo. "But they're right. We're here to help you, Yaomomo."
Hearing the encouragement, Momo slowly looked around at the other members of the [Dimensional Chat]. When she saw even more encouragement in their eyes, her own eyes reddened and tears began to well up.
"I... I don't..." Momo began to stammer, unsure what she should say in a situation like this. A moment later, however, she took a deep breath, put on a smile, and continued with tears streaming down her face. "Thank you... Thank you all. I promise I'll work hard and catch up to everyone."
Seeing Momo's happy tears, everyone's smiles widened. More importantly, they all saw the determination glinting in her eyes.
'I bet she's gonna end up with a Skill like Bell's after this,' Tatsuo thought to himself as the atmosphere in the main hall brightened considerably.