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Chapter 52: Limit Break
Eventually, the tense discussion between the Hestia and Takemikazuchi Familias reached a conclusion, and the two parties successfully reconciled.
"Looks like everything worked out," Tsuna said, approaching Hestia as she exited the tent.
"Yeah. Just barely," Hestia sighed.
The group that emerged from the tent still carried some lingering awkwardness, but the suffocating, murderous tension from before had dissipated. They had successfully avoided the worst-case scenario of harboring eternal bad blood.
"I know you just finished a grueling discussion, but do you have a minute? I have something to discuss with you," Tsuna asked quietly.
"Hm? What is it?"
"I'd like to speak with you in private."
"Alright. I don't mind."
Sensing from his tone that this wasn't something meant for other ears, Hestia nodded, and the two of them slipped back into the now-empty tent.
"Before you begin, there's something I need to say, Tsunayoshi," Hestia said, crossing her arms.
"What is it?"
"Thank you for coming back alive, just like you promised."
"Hestia..."
"I know it probably looked like I was only worried about Bell and his group, but I was just as terrified for you, you know."
Hestia knew better than anyone just how absurdly powerful Tsuna was. But knowing that he was plunging into the unimaginable nightmare of the 59th Floor, there was no way a Goddess wouldn't worry for her child.
"That's all I wanted to say. Now then, let's hear what's on your mind."
"Right. It's about my Status."
"Did something happen to your Status?"
"I awakened a skill, didn't I?"
"!?"
Hestia flinched. She had kept his skills an absolute secret, fully intending to take that knowledge to the grave if necessary. The fact that Tsuna already knew left her completely shaken.
"I knew it."
"Yeah... you've already awakened one."
Seeing the sheer guilt on her face confirmed it. Realizing there was no point in hiding it any longer, Hestia confessed.
"Still, how in the world did you figure it out?"
"Well, I was fighting, and I kind of just noticed it, I guess..."
"'Kind of just noticed it'...?"
Hestia stared at him in utter disbelief. The idea that a mortal could instinctively deduce the existence of a hidden Falna skill through sheer combat experience was simply unheard of.
"It lets me absorb magic and convert it into my own power, right?"
"Yeah. For the record, the skill is named [Zero Point Breakthrough: Revised]."
"I... see."
Tsuna frowned, a complicated swirl of emotions welling up inside him. He never expected his Falna to literally rip the name of his own signature technique and register it as a localized fantasy skill.
"If you figured that out, I suppose not even you could notice that one..."
Having decided to lay all her cards on the table, Hestia brought up the other major anomaly on his back: the [Blood of Vongola].
"Eh!? I have a second skill!?"
"Well, normally it's impossible for an adventurer to notice any of their skills without checking their Status, but still..."
"S-So... what is it...?"
"This one actually manifested the moment I gave you your Falna. The skill is called [Blood of Vongola]. It's an ability that drastically accelerates your growth speed."
"I... see..."
Tsuna slumped. He didn't care about the details of the skill's mechanics—the fact that the word "Vongola" had followed him all the way to a parallel fantasy world made him want to bury his face in his hands.
"Both of these are unprecedented, ultra-rare skills. I knew that if the public caught wind of them, malicious people would try to use your power for their own ends. That's why I kept my mouth shut."
"Yeah. Finn told me the exact same thing. He guessed my Goddess probably hid it because it was too rare."
"Braver figured it out...? Does that mean the Loki Familia kids know about your skills!?"
"No one knows about that one. Only a few of the Loki executives and Tsubaki from the Hephaestus Familia know about the magic-absorbing skill. But Finn promised me they'd keep it an absolute secret from anyone outside their inner circle."
"I see."
Knowing Finn Deimne's reputation as a man of his word, Hestia let out a sigh of relief.
"Also, Finn told me there's a way to lock a Status so other people can't see it."
"Eh!? Is that true!?"
"Yeah. I was going to tell you as soon as I got back to the surface, but since you showed up here, I figured I should mention it now."
"Got it! I'm going to ask Hermes how to do it right now! Wait here!"
Terrified at the prospect of her precious child's overpowered stats being exposed to the world, Hestia bolted out of the tent in a frantic rush to interrogate Hermes for the locking method.
Fifteen minutes later, she returned, completely out of breath.
"Tsunayoshi! I got the locking method from Hermes! Let's do it right now!! We'll update your Status while we're at it!!"
"O-Okay..."
Overwhelmed by her sheer desperation, Tsuna quickly complied. He removed his shirt and lay face-down on the cot. Hestia bit her finger, letting a single drop of divine blood fall onto his back to initiate the update and apply the newly learned lock.
"It's done..."
"What's wrong, Hestia?"
The update and the lock had been completed successfully, but Hestia was staring down at the sheet of parchment in her hands with a hollow, dead-eyed expression. Tsuna tilted his head, wondering what had gone wrong.
"Your Status... it's completely absurd..."
With trembling hands, Hestia read over the freshly printed Status sheet once more.
[Status Window]
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Name: Sawada Tsunayoshi
Level: 1
Strength: F350 → SSS1500
Endurance: F300 → SSS1300
Dexterity: G200 → SSS1200
Agility: F330 → SSS1600
Magic: I0 → I0
"Magic"
[]
"Skills"
[Blood of Vongola]
• Accelerates growth.
• Increases strength through combat.
• Effect increases against stronger opponents.
[Zero Point Breakthrough: Revised]
• Absorbs an opponent's magic and converts it into own power.
• Cannot absorb magic mixed with impurities.
• Over-absorption causes self-inflicted damage.
[Tri-Ni-Sette]
• Can freely change flame attributes.
• Usable attributes: Storm, Rain, Lightning, Sun, Cloud, Mist.
• Changing attributes also changes the partner's attribute.
• Cannot use multiple attributes simultaneously.
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I knew he went all the way down to the 59th Floor with the skills he had, so I tried to mentally prepare myself... but for every single basic ability besides Magic to shatter the limit break, AND for a brand-new skill to manifest... I feel like I'm going to lose my mind...
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