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"The limit of power is in the hands of the beholder" - ദ്ദി(๑>•̀๑)
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
"Still in shock?"
The calm voice of the crimson eyed man caught his attention- Edward Moriarty, a young man who had been reincarnated into the world of Danmachi.
He obtained a "cheat"- though it ended up as something closer to a "consolation prize", the ability to use Alchemy, along with the knowledge of a man who had mastered it to its peak.
Edward Moriarty had awakened in this world, a world where God's roamed the land, one where beautiful women plagued the streets-
He had dreamed of creating a harem, using his Alchemy to become some legendary adventurer, a hero whose arms were always wrapped around a woman-
It was a childish dream, but when one is shoved into a world of swords and magic, all while being given an ability that could only be described as- OP, how else would they react?
Edward was not reincarnated as Subaru, whose ability was basically "restarting the game upon death", no, his ability was one that should be OP-
Should be- is the keyword as Edward found himself weaker than even an average adventurer…
Where was the "overcoming levels trope"?
Where was the "OP protagonist trope"?
His appearance was different but in a good way, he was handsome, really attractive at that- moreover- he was young!
'Bell Cranel is 14 and rizzed up most of the cute girls! Why don't they go for me?!'
Edward had forgotten the number of times he had cursed using those words but his anger- was something he couldn't hold back.
Dreams of greatness turned into a mundane daily life of being a repairman.
He should have been hunting monsters, hunting minotaurs!
Instead he was fixing roofs and repairing furniture-
Alchemy… an ability that could terrorize cities… unfortunately, this was a world where those that receive Falna could punch through walls with ease.
Even if they couldn't they could easily dodged the obvious attacks coming from all around.
After all, adventurer's who entered the dungeon faced monsters born from the literal walls, Edward's alchemy was basically the same thing, only much less versatile and more predictable.
It was harder to dodge a monster's random attacks than to predict the attack patterns and thoughts of a man whose first instinct in combat is to hide behind an earthen wall…
Edward was aware of his faults but- what's he supposed to do? He was raised in a middle class family, with many safety nets. Even when he went to college, his parents had paid for his studies, his job? A recommendation from his uncle-
Although he didn't like to admit it before- the truth of the matter was, Edward had never really experienced true hardship in his previous life.
The worst he experienced was depression brought on by loneliness due to the pandemic.
His career path was straightforward, he ended up becoming an instructor in the university where he graduated from, he took his masters and was applying for his PhD when he died being struck by lightning of all things-
When reincarnation his thoughts were-
'They thought I was satisfied, they thought my life was going well… but while others spent their college years in bliss, losing their virginity, sleeping around I… I was studying! I had to! My parents wanted me to graduate early and they were paying my tuition so I had to work hard… there was no other way… I- I was a victim of oppression!'
[A/N: So… yeah, he's a coward, he could have lived his life but even then he feared leaving his safe zone,if that was not obvious enough. Anyway, I had to add this in as some may think that him not being taken into any familia is too weird but yeah, he wasn't simply "cowardly" his inherent nature is to hug safety, he's the type to ALWAYS jump for safety. These kinds of people- they exist you know? I met a lot of them and this character is based on them as well]
Now, after reincarnating, he tried to chase after the dream that many had but didn't get the chance to even aim for- yet…
"I guess you're really just a coward"
"WHOSE A COWARD!"
Being called a coward over and over again really pissed him off but he shook it all away. Normally he would be able to control himself but-
"So what if you're a monster who fought a minotaur at level 1? You're just a cheat! A FUCKING CHEATER! Your abilities probably came from a bunch of Blessings or some uLtImAtE aBiLiTy or sum SHIT!"
He exploded, it was one thing to be called a coward by the inhabitants of this world, people who literally risk their life daily, who face danger yet continue to smile.
It was another thing entirely to be called such names by a reincarnator! A guy who- just like him, probably had a plethora of cheats!
'I don't fucking care if you could kill me, I won't allow you to talk smack about me when all you can do is run around abusing your cheats!'
Edward cursed internally, his mind already labeling Ryuta as a bastard, a person who was-
'Just another emo-kaneki-ken-wannabe, a bitchtard who only knows to kill every "eyesore", calling out mount tai and all that- hmph! He probably lived in his mom's basement, dude was most likely a fat pig, DISCORD MOD!'
Using all the insults he could muster, Edward cursed at the man- internally, as he glared at the asshole with black hair and red eyes-
'He even fucking has that "I'm deep and emo look", fucking nerd!'
He was crashing out, but he still had control, meanwhile Ryuta-
'I wonder what kind of insults he's saying?'
Used to such glares, Ryuta didn't really mind if Edward Moriarty, the newest member of the Hestia familia hated him.
"First, you have to understand, this is not a "game world", it's also not some "happy wish fulfillment fantasy world"- it it were… I wouldn't be here"
Ryuta paused, he observed Edward but so no change in his expression.
"I didn't really think of pulling you in but, as I explained before, you were looking for the Hestia familia before Hestia-sama descended-"
At this point, Edward finally spoke, he gave Ryuta a side eye as he said-
"Hestia…-sama?"
A mocking expression crossed his face, he smirked before saying-
"You- fucking PEDO"
Ryuta showed a confused expression, unaware of the thoughts swirling in Edward's mind.
Seeing the expression on Ryuta's face, Edward chuckled as he continued mocking the crimson eyed man.
"Stop acting you degenerate! "Hestia-sama"? You and I both know that among all the God's, Hestia is the last person who deserves to be called that way! The only reason you show respect is because "she's a thousand plus years old so it's legal"- fucking perv!"
Hearing the words spoken by Edward, Ryuta did not need to know about Danmachi to understand what the man was alluding to.
'It seems that this world is indeed based on some media related to high school fantasy- most likely a harem and Hestia-sama should be a key character… perhaps.. Is Hestia-sama a parallel to Aqua? No- that can't be…'
Ryuta thought carefully, his eyes tensing up-
He couldn't associate Hestia with being a failure- it was hard for him to do so. After all-
'A God with such power… it's impossible for her to be useless… granted, she has her weaknesses, but that's more in line with her inexperience and upbringing. A God who had lived a plentiful life, with nothing to worry about- when given a pseudo mortal life, one where all her powers and riches are inaccessible to her-'
Thinking about it Ryuta found the perfect allegory-
'It's like a billionaire working a part time job at McDonalds- they may suffer some setbacks but they rarely worry too much as even if they ultimately fail, they still have their safety net- the assets that they own.'
The two men had such an exchange, Edward found himself sneering at Ryuta, the man's silence making him believe that he hit his sore spot. Meanwhile, Ryuta was more intent on deriving as much information as he can from Edward's sudden outburst.
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Hephaestus Familia, Hephaestus Office
"Hephaestus-sama… you called me here to inspect an item?"
An elf- no high elf, with long green hair, dressed conservatively and holding a staff stared at the Goddess of smiths, her brows creased as she did not see the logic behind this- meeting.
"If it's a partnership for a dungeon raid, I believe talking to the captain or to Loki-sama herself would have been a better option."
The elf spoke in a matter of fact tone while maintaining a respectful attitude.
But Hephaestus replied to her with a grin-
"You say that now but… how about you inspect these items first?"
As she finished her words, Hephaestus took out a small crate, within it was a bunch of random items. They looked like gears and equipment made for low level adventurers-
The elf looked at the items in the crate, her face curling into a frown as she could not see anything "special" about these items-
"These?"
She asked, her tone carrying a deep sense of confusion but Hephaestus maintained her grin as she took out a staff the size of a pen-
"Yes, try it, infuse your magic power into it and see what happens~"
Hephaestus spoke in a lighthearted manner, she tossed the "stick" as if it were nothing important.
The elf did not dare drop the item though as she carefully caught it in her hands. She inspected it a bit before infusing her magic power into the stick and when she did-
*SHINE*
The tiny stick shone with an azure light as a holographic staff image of a staff expanded from it- then, from her hands, the staff that was a mere projection started to take form.
The elf noticed her mind being drained, although lightly as the staff took form.
It only took a few seconds for the staff to fully materialize, as it did, azure-green veins emerged around the elf's hand. What followed was a flood of information- fortunately it wasn't too much but the information she received made her open her eyes wide in shock.
Speechless, she stared at Hephaestus unable to say anything.
"See? Special aint it?"
Hephaestus showed a mischievous smirk as she tapped on her table, her meaning clear, "tell me your assessment" is what she was silently conveying.
The elf let out a sigh, she organized her thoughts as she tested out a few things-
First, the staff was enveloped in lightning, then the lightning condensed into a ball before dissipating.
Seeing this an expression of shock appeared on Hephaestus face as she thought-
'Those idiots said this thing was only good for shooting electricity… tsk-'
The elf noticed this change in expression but did not press the Goddess, after all, she was representing her familia in a way and leaving a bad impression on Hephaestus was something no one wanted-
She then focused on the information she had just obtained, first she casted a spell-
"Wyn Fumbulvetr"
A quick chant with reduced mind input had caused her to generate a small pure white flame- she ended the spell before casting it again, this time, a bright blue ball of lightning was formed on the staff-
She cancelled the chanting and turned to Hephaestus as she explained-
"The staff seems to drain my mind continuously upon being activated, though I feel that it also drains my stamina."
"Upon activating the item, I was immediately made to understand how to use it, the staff has four abilities, one that allows for the generation and manipulation of lightning, the second one allows the absorption of flames recovering mind, the third and fourth both enchant spells cast using the staff but with different elements, one enchants spells with a "Flame Nature" the other a "Lightning Nature"."
"It's a powerful tool, very useful, but its power and effectiveness relies too much on the base power of the user. It doesn't bring much benefit to low level adventurers without much strength but it does bring a plethora of benefits to high level adventurers- specifically in improving the flexibility of an adventurer's combat style."
The elf spoke calmly, she revealed as much as she could but Hephaestus did not give much of a reaction as she asked.
"Is that all?"
"..."
"Lying to God's is not easy Riveria-san"
The elf, Riveria sighed, before continuing her explanation-
"The enchantment is particularly interesting, using it on my magic created a white flame that absorbs heat and a lightning strike that carry the properties of freezing and shattering. The white flame acts like fire, when "burned" by it, the flame would cause rapid loss of heat causing the liquids in the body to freeze and expand- the blue lightning on the other hand turns the liquids directly into gas, my spell freezes its target but the lightning enchant imbues energy/heat, when done at the same time, the moisture rapidly turns into solid and is sublimated into gas all at the same time"
The explanation caused Hephaestus jaw to drop, she stared at the staff and the only thought in her mind was-
'This was made using upper floor materials…'
Aware of who had made the items and how they were made, Hephaestus shivered as she thought of the potential that Ryuta carried.
She didn't really want to continue praising the kid but- this was just something that broke all the rules.
'Though… it does have its drawbacks'
"If a low level adventurer with an ice spell does the same thing, will it achieve results similar to yours?"
Hephaestus asked, to which Riveria shook her head as she replied-
"I'm not sure, but I believe that the same spell would try to achieve the same effects in each level. But, as I said before, the staff does not increase my magical ability. It simply adds "variety" to my spells, it's quite interesting though, this staff, even after testing it out- I feel like it does nothing yet- if used properly, this could be the gamechanger in combat"
Falna was powerful, it's a power system that allowed mortals to achieve strengths they could only dream of.
But, it also placed severe limits, one of these limits was in the magic slots. No matter how talented one was, three was the maximum and this made many mages have certain limits.
Riveria was a special case due to her combination of abilities but even she had the limit of 9 spells.
'But with weapons like these…'
She thought of the elf mage who was going to succeed her-
'Elf ring is indeed powerful and gives her extreme versatility but- her Arc's Ray, a shot of pure magic…if it could be given different natures…'
The Arcs Ray was a simple single shot magic blast, its defining characteristic being the tracking nature of the spell. It was a powerful spell but lacked versatility as it was just pure magic being shot at an opponent-
'Enchantments could turn it into a fireball, a lightning strike, a freezing blast… moreover it would still retain its "tracking" nature…'
"You said I could ask for any item right?"
Riveria quickly shifted the topic, this made Hephaestus show a devious smile as she asked-
"Are you sure you want to ask for your compensation now?"
Hearing the Goddess's words, Riveria showed a look of surprise-
'There's more?!'
She wanted to secure this staff for her apprentice but now-
'I need to see this first…'
At this point, Riveria realized that Hephaestus was not playing a joke or anything of that nature- she was seriously showing her something that would change Orario, but her mind focused on something else-
'Who made these items?'
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[email protected]/lonelymountainsage