When Zomo had first opened his eyes and found himself on a carriage headed to Orario, he knew he had been Isekai'd. As someone who had always wanted to be isekai'd, he didn't panic, nor did he feel fear. Instead, he felt excitement and intrigue... DanMachi had always been one of his favourite stories, after all- even if he was annoyed it was another 'fake' harem story.
And when his system had activated shortly after, introducing itself as the diary system... He immediately knew that things weren't as they seemed.
Along with being a big anime fan, Zomo also read many fanfictions- frankly, he had read more fanfictions than manga by the time he had been isekai'd into the world. And, precisely because of that, he knew that the Diary was both a helpful aid but also a trick.
If he wasn't wrong- and he doubted that he was- then the diary also existed in the hands of other characters throughout Orario and perhaps even outside of it... They would be reading this diary and would likely act according to the information he shared within it. It was a classic setup he'd seen in countless stories before.
That was when he'd gotten an idea...
To pretend.
Rather than reveal himself to be a dimension traveller, he instead decided he would write in the diary as though he were a Time Traveller who- through means unknown to him- had been flung into the past after the battle with the Black Dragon and had been given a second chance to ensure Orario wasn't destroyed.
By doing this, he could write whatever he damn well pleased in the diary, and they would have no choice but to believe it was the truth- especially with the information he already did have on the future from reading and watching the DanMachi story.
After all, how could he know such information if he wasn't a genuine time traveller, right?
With that, he would find it easier to get support in the future... And perhaps he could even get girls to fall in love with him after learning about what he 'would' do in the future. And, once he followed through?
Well, that was for the future.
As he closed the diary for the day, his eyes lit up at the screen appearing before his eyes.
[Diary Entry Completed.]
[You have obtained the Skill: 'Silver Tongue.']
[You have obtained the Skill: 'Flame of the Sky.]
[First Time Bonus! You obtain the Growth-Type Skill: 'Dia Kaos.']
Zomo's eyes lit up. Three skills were far more than he had expected, he thought he might get a single skill at most- but he wasn't going to complain, and he checked the three skills he'd just obtained.
[Silver Tongue - What is a lie but merely a twisted truth? Your lies cannot be seen through; even the gods will be unable to tell if you are lying.]
Zomo felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders. That was, indeed, his primary worry about the diary. While he could write all that, a major obstacle in his path was the fact that Gods had a build in Lie Detector when it came to mortals. But with Silver Tongue, he would never have to worry about his deceptions coming to light.
[Flame of the Sky - The mysterious power of another world. Not aura nor magic, but instead the life force and will of one who fights with all their soul. You may wield the Flame of the Sky, which carries the property of Harmony. Prolonged exposure to your flames may result in others awakening their own flames.]
The Flame of the Sky from Home Tutor Hitman Reborn- one of the Dying Will Flames of the Sky.
The Flames were very impressive in that they acted as actual flames, but each flame also had their own unique properties that helped them stand out. Sky Flames were the rarest flames, usually reserved for the leader of a group of Flame Wielders. They carried the property of Harmony- a state without contradiction or flaw in which balance of the whole was maintained.
The Harmony attribute was not only capable of petrifying, but it could also combine with other types of Dying Will Flames to create new ones. The Harmony attribute could even be utilised to absorb other flame types and re-fill one's energy.
Zomo immediately saw the use in this. The Sky Flame itself was powerful, but if he could awaken the Dying Will Flames of others, he could greatly increase the strength of the people around him, ensuring greater adaptability during battles in the future.
However, Zomo knew the real treasure was the final skill.
[Dia Kaos - Passing through eternity, the soul and body have become more malleable. The only thing required to grow is to fight. Increases growth and crystalises emotions. Attacks can be imbued with the void attribute by using mind. Growth increases the stronger one becomes.]
He couldn't help it, he grinned.
A growth-type skill, just like Liaris Freese. Though his was an improved version over the original.
Firstly, his had a flat growth boost that only increased the stronger he got. This meant that his didn't rely on his love for another person or his desire to get stronger, instead he would just grow. And the stronger he became, the more he would grow. An endless cycle that purely benefited him.
He also still had the same benefit of Crystalising his emotions- essential in order to ensure that he didn't fall for Freya or Ishtar's Charm. It likely also gave him a resistance to mental based attacks, which were always some of the most dangerous ones to contend with- as Dix Perdix had shown.
However, the last benefit was the one that showed his skill was greater than Liaris Freese- the ability to use Mind to imbue his attacks with the Void Attribute.
While he'd need to try it out for himself to learn just how powerful it was, he knew that anything with 'Void' in it was undoubtably powerful. After all, the Void represented Chaos- the abyss of nothingness from which all things were born. Such a thing would definitely be powerful- and dangerous.
While Zomo marvelled over his skills, the other girls waited with baited breath to see what rewards they would obtain.
Everyone knew that Hestia was going to receive a reward- Zomo had definitely mentioned her more than anyone else in the Diary, after all. However, the girls who's names had been mentioned- Ais, Loki, and Freya- could all hope to obtain a reward from the random reward.
[Diary Entry Complete. Distributing Rewards.]
[Reward 1: Hestia obtains 1% Divine Power Allowance.]
Hestia and the other Goddesses with the diary sucked in a deep breath, eyes widening at what they were reading.
Sealing up their Divine Power was one of the conditions for a God to descend to the lower world. Sure, Gods could use more passive authorities with minimal divine power- such as Freya's charm, or Demeter's presence aiding in the growth of crops. Freya would even push it to the absolute limit and charm an entire city or nation should she desire- though spreading it any further would require her to unleash her Arcanum.
But Hestia obtaining a 1% Divine Power Allowance... That meant that she could release 1% of her Arcanum without being forced to return to Tenkai. While it didn't sound like a lot, it was a huge amount. That amount of Divine Power would mean that Hestia could heal herself from attacks, essentially meaning that forcing her back to Tenkai by trying to 'kill' her would be nearly impossible.
Hestia was absolutely thrilled by the reward and immediately felt herself relaxing. Ever since Hephaistos had kicked her out, she had been worried about living on her own- she wasn't naive enough to believe that she would be untouched just because she was a Goddess. But with that allowance on her Arcanum, she knew that she would truly be safe.
[Reward 2: Ais Wallenstein obtains the Skill: 'Emotional Resonance.']
Ais's eyes lit up. She was glad that she had obtained a reward- a skill on top of that. She only had a single skill, so obtaining a new skill was something she was happy about.
[Emotional Resonance - Growth is not only about combat- it is also about the bond one shares with their comrades. Increases growth depending on the bonds and emotions ones shares with others.]
Ais gripped the diary hard, her eyebrows lifting being the only sign of shock on her face.
A never before heard of skill- a growth-type skill... With it, she would finally be able to grow stronger and perhaps push past the gap from Level 5 to Level 6.
Although...
Ais frowned heavily... The skill only helped her grow depending on the bonds and emotions she shared with others. That was rather difficult for her, she'd never been good at showing emotion or bonding with others.
Still, it was important to her...
Maybe she should ask Riveria for help? She was sure Riveria must have a copy of the diary too, Riveria would surely know how to build bonds with others to aid her skill.
[Liliruca Arde has been chosen to decide the Topic for the next Diary Entry.]
Liliruca- Lili as she was also known- blinked in surprise as she saw that she had been chosen to choose the next topic for the diary.
Truthfully, Lili wasn't happy about being chosen. She just wanted to lay low and keep gathering money so she could leave the Soma Familia- having her name put in the Diary meant now others knew she had the diary and might target her.
Thus, she felt stuck. She could likely try and appeal to others by putting them as the topic, but maybe one of them would feel offended instead. She felt like her only choice was to, instead, put herself or the Soma Familia as the topic and hope that her name was mentioned enough for a guaranteed reward.
She bit her lip in frustration, holding the sides of her head with the desire to tear her own hair out. Why did this have to happen to her? She would have much rather only been mentioned occasionally and maybe obtain a random reward, now she had to deliberately draw attention to herself. So frustrating...
She took a deep breath... She really hoped that the reward she received would be worth it, otherwise she was about to out herself, her history, and perhaps even her future for literally no reason.
With that, she set the topic for the next diary entry as 'Liliruca Arde.' She hoped things would go well for her...
While Lili worried over her soon to be exposed dealings, Loki was meeting with both Ais and Riveria in her room- a private meeting to discuss the diary.
"It's not a magic item," Riveria confirmed. "At least, it shouldn't be. You know that I'm very sensitive to magic, but I feel literally nothing at all coming from the diary. It is as though it's just an ordinary item, and yet words keep appearing on the page."
"Did you conduct any other tests?" Loki asked her.
"Of course," she nodded. "I tried destroying it, soaking it in water, burning it, stabbing it... I was completely unable to damage it. Perhaps I might be able to destroy it should I use Rea Laevateinn, but that is a bit much and definitely not something I should try in the manor."
"Then... We can confirm if it is real if I have the new skill on my back, right?" Ais asked.
Loki gave a nod. "Yes... With the diary seemingly indestructible, we can absolutely confirm if its contents and rewards are true by checking your back."
Ais nodded and turned around, sitting on a stool. Her dress exposed her back anyway- it was why Ais got the dress in the first place. It made it easier to update the Falna without needing to remove any clothes.
Loki pricked her finger and, under Riveria's watchful eye, dropped her divine blood onto Ais's back and updated her status. Azure light filled the room as words and numbers that only Riveria and Loki could understand spread to life on Ais's back.
"... It's there," Loki confirmed, though in slight disbelief. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, couldn't believe that such a small book was capable of bestowing a skill onto an adventurer.
Normally, skills were developed either by an Adventurer's bloodline, their natural talent, or their will. Ais's 'Avenger' was a perfect example of a skill developed by one's desire... Ais's sheer hatred and rage towards monsters due to her past had manifested in the skill, becoming destruction incarnate. The skill was so potent that it even had a will of its own.
But this skill had nothing to do with Ais herself- it was simply bestowed directly onto her by the Diary.
"Then that means that shorty really did get a 1% Divine Power allowance..." She bit her nail.
"This could be big," Riveria murmured. "While we don't know how much this skill will help you grow, Ais, I imagine it won't be a small amount. After all, if the diary could give a God allowance to wield divine power on the Lower World... Then the growth you will get from this skill likely won't be small either."
Ais nodded seriously, but there was no hiding the pure joy in her eyes... Finally, she knew she would be able to get stronger. And, at the same time, she was curious about the owner of the diary...
Even before his arrival in Orario, the eyes of many people had turned to the gates- awaiting the arrival of Zomo Amaechi.