"I've got the basics of swordsmanship down. As long as I shore up my live-combat skills, I should be fine to start exploring the Dungeon."
Keyaru didn't take that as Hestia belittling him. He knew she was worried about his safety—why else would she have asked Takemikazuchi to give him special training? Some things were awkward to say out loud, but he still wanted to set her at ease. "No matter what, I'm not going to play games with my safety."
"Good. Then let's eat first, and I'll update your stats after."
Seeing he'd made up his mind, Hestia dropped it and chose to trust him. Compared with debating it, dinner clearly mattered more. She'd been at the Hephaestus weapon shop all day—not exactly exhausting, but… not seeing Keyaru all day had made her miss him.
"Dinner is chicken pasta—extra large. It'll definitely fill you up!"
"Thank you, Lady Hestia."
He didn't take anyone's efforts for granted. Watching the plate set on the table—chicken tossed with pasta—he fell into brief thought. DanMachi felt like medieval European fantasy, yet modern elements were mixed in everywhere: maid uniforms, pushcarts, even casino vibes. A classic Japanese fantasy stew—with one perk: cute girls everywhere you looked.
Compared to the salty fried potato balls at noon, dinner wasn't even in the same league, and there was plenty of it. Once he put it all away, the fullness washed over him.
After a short rest came the part he was most looking forward to: a status update. Getting fluent with the basics was a tangible effort, but in the early game your "strength" shows up most clearly in the numbers.
"Ready?"
"I can't wait to update you," Hestia said, delighted to actually do something godlike for once. She laid out the tools and rubbed her hands, eager. She believed in the work he'd put in for the Dungeon, and while she couldn't help much with the training itself, she could give trust and encouragement.
The process was the same as yesterday. She straddled his waist, pricked her finger with the silver needle, and let a drop of divine blood fall on his back. Soft light surfaced, divine script reshuffled, and the new numbers overlaid the old. When she finished, she took a rubbing onto parchment.
—
Keyaru
Lv 1
Strength: H135 | Endurance: H150 | Dexterity: H101 | Agility: H103 | Magic: H157
Development Abilities: None
Magic: Heal
Skills: Imitation
—
Hestia held the parchment in both hands. Seeing the updated numbers, her brows knit despite herself.
Every stat had jumped hard—straight from i-tier to H-tier. The leap was huge. How much had he pushed himself to pull that off?
"That's… a lot of growth."
New adventurers do improve quickly after receiving a blessing—but that's usually from Dungeon runs. Can pure fundamentals really do this? Then she saw the highest number was Magic and had a guess. As her eyes drifted further and landed on the skill line—"Imitation"—her smile froze.
"Hm?"
Imitation
Effect: A derivative ability of the magic "Heal." When you restore a target, you also synchronize the target's injury experience.
This skill can only be used to imitate combat experience; it cannot copy special techniques.
…
Hestia had never doubted he was talented; who else unlocks a rare magic right out of the gate? But she still hadn't realized she was underestimating him. Deriving a skill from Heal alone already put him ahead of most of Orario's adventurers.
She decided to let Keyaru discover the good news himself.
"Keyaru." She handed him the parchment and, testing her hunch, asked, "Did you use Heal on yourself?"
"I did. I trained through the morning and my muscles were wrecked. I didn't want to waste the afternoon, so I used Heal to reset."
He scanned the sheet. The stat gains were about what he'd hoped for—his effort hadn't been wasted. But when his eyes hit "Imitation," even with mental prep his pupils tightened. It was close to the Redo of Healer version: copy the other party's combat skill and experience, but not class-specific "specials." In DanMachi, "skills" happen to count as those specials; even so, the utility was off the charts.
If you had to rank it at equal levels: powerful magic > skills > live-combat technique > raw stats.
During healing, imitating the target's techniques and experience would give him a clear boost.
"This skill… you got it while casting, didn't you?" Hestia asked, noticing the change in his expression.
"Yes. It's huge. If possible, I'd rather no one but you knew about it."
Copying someone's combat experience wasn't just a shortcut—it was a scandal waiting to happen. Hestia didn't even want to imagine how dangerous Orario would become for him if this leaked.
"Done reading?"
"Mm."
"Give it here, then. Burning it is safest."
That sounded right to Keyaru. Battle-honed techniques earned through life-and-death fights—being copy-pasted by "Imitation"? Unless you were a saint, no one would stomach that.
He watched the girl crouch in the corner and set the parchment alight, then shrugged. "Barring surprises, I plan to use this skill on myself—basically double the return on physical training."
Emergencies would be another story. With his belly full and his status updated, his plans were clear. "I'm going to see Lord Takemikazuchi tonight. The sooner I lock in real combat skills, the better."
"Okay." This time Hestia didn't try to stop him. This wasn't just "pulling an SSR" anymore; even in Orario's history—had anyone like Keyaru appeared? A child in her Familia who might rival the heroes of old… At this pace, where would he end up?
She couldn't imagine it.
"I can't wait to see the day you truly come into your own, Keyaru."