In the sacred chamber. "Genshin? Launch!" "Palworld, launch!" "League of Legends! Diablo! World of Warcraft! DNF! Launch!" "...Launch!" Zani
In the sacred chamber.
"Genshin? Launch!"
"Palworld, launch!"
"League of Legends! Diablo! World of Warcraft! DNF! Launch!"
"...Launch!"
Zanis pushed open the door, watching with puzzlement as Kael repeated these strange phrases.
"What are you doing?"
Kael snapped to attention and saluted, "Captain, I'm testing my Skills!"
"Hmm... made any progress?"
"Not yet, sir! But I know I can make great contributions to the family!" Kael declared with conviction.
Hmph, perhaps Soma was right — if even the Gods can't understand these Skills, how could an ordinary person know how to use them?
Though a power that can't be used is worthless... but what if it works?
Consider it — if even the Gods can't decode it, how powerful must that Skill be? The boy is only 12, and with careful control...
"Kael..."
"Yes!"
"You want some Soma, don't you?" Zanis shook the wine gourd in his hand, filled with his skimmed portion from the event.
As he removed the cork, a rich aroma wafted out. Desire flickered in Kael's eyes, though whether genuine or feigned remained unclear.
"Please, give it to me! I can't survive without Soma!"
Zanis measured out a bamboo tube's worth and tossed it to him.
"Want more? Then bring back plenty of money using that Skill even the Gods can't decode! Hahaha..."
Kael didn't hesitate. Despite his uncertain future, this maniac posed his greatest immediate threat. Following an odd sensation in his body, he instinctively tilted his head back and downed the bamboo tube of Soma.
The hallucinogenic drink surged straight to his brain. His small face flushed crimson, his body swayed, and his vision blurred until he collapsed with a heavy thud.
"Is that all you've got..." Zanis sneered.
No matter what the boy's Skill might be, as long as he maintained control, Kael would serve as a perfect tool.
But Soma alone wouldn't suffice — it could only control actions, not thoughts. He needed to ensure the brat's eternal loyalty.
With that in mind, Zanis left to gather sacrifices.
❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈
A moment later.
Kael rose unsteadily. Though his eyes betrayed intoxication, his mind remained sharp. The Falna on his back burned hot — his Skill was activating.
In that instant, information about the Skill's abilities materialized in his mind.
╔══════════════════════════╗
║ Skills:
║ [ Drunken Rage ]
║ • Activates With Strong Alcohol
║ • While Drinking: Reduces Damage, Increases Durability
║ • After Drinking: Extends Attack Range, Damages Nearby Foes
║ • Higher Durability Means Stronger Damage
║ • Immune To Drunkenness
║
║ Tip: After this drink, there's another! — Gragas
╚══════════════════════════╝
What's going on? This Skill shouldn't be among my abilities?
Kael staggered to his feet. The Soma's craving made his entire body tremble uncontrollably.
"Don't panic... this isn't cocaine, as long as I avoid it for a while, I won't get addicted." He steadied himself while processing the Skill's prompts.
Beyond gaining the Skill effect, he also discovered his unique Skill's true form.
╔══════════════════════════╗
║ Skills:
║ [ Second Dimension Pandora ]
║ • Refreshes Falna Panel Once Per Week
║ • After Refresh, Skills and Magic Change Unpredictably Based On Luck
║ • Effects Last One Week
║
║ Unstable soul, echo of the chaos vortex, child of fortune, spin the wheel of flux!
╚══════════════════════════╝
"Holy crap! I get it! It's just like the Pandora's Bench from TFT!"
Kael exclaimed in shock. Such a concise yet random effect!
You see, the Skill description says it refreshes the Falna Panel — not just this Skill alone. This means that every week, not only will this Skill transform into something new, but his Magic and other Skills could change too, even possibly his Development Abilities!
"Though... can Development Abilities actually be refreshed? That needs testing."
The obvious benefit was clear: he no longer needed to rely on the Gods to update his abilities.
Furthermore...
"If my baseline ability is LoL Gragas's Drunken Rage, could I randomly get Siphoning Strike? Or Phenomenal Evil? Even scarier, what about Feast (Cho'Gath) + Soul Furnace (Sion) + Heartsteel (Item) + Grasp of the Undying (Item)? Wait..." Kael paused thoughtfully. "The random description doesn't seem limited to League of Legends only..."
Then... Leveling too slow? How about Deus Ambrosia (Zald) + Liaris Freese (Bell) + Gif Blessing (Alfia)?
Not enough damage? Nine-fold + Fierce Demon Spear + Argonaut?
Support? Honor's Blessing + Grandma Kled + Thousand-Treasure Hammer?
Damn, my imagination... why is it blank now? Can't think of any more combinations."
{T/N: I won't waste more time on this. I identified the ones I could, but know that the rest are random skills from Danmachi, but it's very difficult to find them by their pinyin.}
He slapped his head hard, trying to knock the alcohol out of his brain.
But... these combinations all required incredibly good luck. Kael didn't think that with his luck — which got him this job and into the district, plus being reborn starting with Soma — he could draw such combinations.
But...
"Any single one of these Skills would be terrifyingly strong!" Soon, he gave up on that train of thought, doing a backflip with arms raised, "Woohoo! Cheat Skill! Launch!"
Whatever the combination, Kael knew one thing: he was awesome now!
Just the baseline Skill let him temporarily avoid being affected by Soma. Next, he'd take things one step at a time.
After some time, his excitement settled. His past life's experiences had taught him not to get carried away. Grasp the key points and strike true — that's the truth.
Kael took several deep breaths, meditated seriously for a quarter hour, then finally composed himself and left the sacred chamber.
No matter how powerful a Skill is, that's for the future. Right now he still has no real means of self-protection.
❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈❈
Crossing the corridor and descending the stairs, he found his room tucked away in a corner of the basement, guided by memory.
Kael slowly pushed open the door.
"First, let's take inventory of my starting resources. As expected... not much to hope for."
The room assigned to him was more storage closet than proper quarters — less than 10 square meters total, barely fitting a small bed. One glance took in the entire space. Besides a huge supporter's backpack, it was completely bare.
Kael rummaged through the backpack, finding only some monster-attracting herbs, V$500, a Magic stone lamp, and an ordinary dagger for dissecting monster corpses. A further search of the room revealed some leftover bread and two sets of spare clothes.
These were all his worldly possessions.
"Tch, typical newbie starter gear."
Through the fence gaps, the sunset's last rays filtered in. Kael sat on the bed, in no hurry to go adventuring.
"Let's review what I know... what resources in this world can I use? Maybe a manual at the bottom of a cliff? Or some lost sugar mommy on the street?"
Reviewing the Danmachi story, Kael struggled to find similar opportunities. The protagonist's biggest advantages were Falna and Skills, followed by connections!
Starting out with two Goddesses' backing, a 200-million-valis dagger and 100-million-valis grimoire — over 300 million in total investment. Some Adventurers couldn't earn that much in their entire lives.
"Tch, 300 million valis... how many fried potato balls would that buy? Enough to fill all of Orario? Damn! I want a sugar mommy too, I'd even take Freya!" Kael hugged his knees and rocked on the bed, accidentally smacking his head against the wall.
The pain snapped him out of his fantasy.
"Ugh... what am I thinking? Forget sugar mommies — just escaping from the Soma family would be a life goal."
Need help?
His twelve years of native experience told him this approach wouldn't work.
Soma's wine wasn't contraband — on the contrary, it was a bestseller! High demand, short supply! Reporting it wouldn't accomplish anything.
As for bullying within the family... Sorry, but that's Soma's family business, like beating your kid on a rainy day — it's their private affair.
In this era... who has time to care about such trivial matters?
"The only way out is to either take down Zanis or deal with Soma... For Zanis, I'd need to reach at least Level 3. He controls over a hundred family members — I can't fight those numbers without being Level 3. As for Soma..."
Humans in this world have an innate fear and reverence for the Gods. Simply put, you can't attack NPCs without red names.
Hmm... wait? This... era?
Memories suddenly surfaced in his mind as cold sweat dripped down his forehead...
"Last year — no, nine months ago! The Sword Princess Ais Wallenstein broke the city's Level 1 speed-leveling record, reaching Level 2!" Kael swallowed hard, his lips trembling, "Now it's... seven years ago! Until the legendary Seven Deadly Days, there's... three, no, just over two months!"
BOOM————
As the sun's last rays disappeared, a rumbling sound came from far away.
Kael leaned on the railing, watching smoke rise and commotion build in the west as cold sweat ran down his back:
"Holy mother, compared to that, the Soma family people are super nice, every one of them is talented, I really love it here. Could it be... my luck is actually not bad?"