The Journey Begins in DanMachi

"Thunder--"

The next instant, the surrounding world underwent a drastic transformation.

A deafening, ear-splitting Thunderclap roared like a passing storm, instantly obliterating the cacophony of monster screeches, crumbling stone, and exploding flames, dominating every sonic frequency within sight like a tyrant.

Noah was enveloped in a profound, deep blue radiance.

Looking directly at it, one would feel that the light was more intense and dazzling than the midday sun.

Yet, as one's gaze drifted, the cavern edges suddenly plunged into darkness, as if all light had been devoured whole.

The source of this visually contradictory phenomenon was a dense, deep, and flickering dark blue arc of lightning.

Unlike any lightning Riveria had ever witnessed, these dark blue arcs neither exploded violently nor roared with clamor.

Their silent, surging movement possessed the translucent beauty of molten deep-blue crystal.

However, the elf's keen intuition for magic was sounding an alarm like a tolling bell.

Even from hundreds of meters away, Ais and Riveria felt a heavy, suffocating pressure, as if boulders were crushing their chests.

Without needing a word from anyone, they could sense that those brilliant, crystalline arcs were unimaginably dangerous.

Amidst the gloom, the suddenly flashing electric light surged upon Noah, his dense magic burning like a raging fire.

His short silver hair whipped upward, and a flash of crimson emerged within his azure eyes, shimmering with golden brilliance to form a magnificent, kaleidoscopic glow.

In the distance, Riveria, relying on the keen vision of a high-level adventurer, could see more detail—a single arc of dark lightning, no thicker than a strand of hair, swept past and annihilated a stone pillar beside Noah.

Beyond the momentary burst of light, the entire process appeared remarkably silent and composed.

Is the destructive power of this magic not too terrifying?

As Riveria marveled in her heart, she saw Noah adjust his stance, leaning slightly forward, and then—

"Boom!"

Riveria could not fully grasp what had happened; she only felt a flash of brilliance in her field of vision, and Noah's figure vanished from where he stood.

Immediately after, the stone slab where he had been standing shattered with a roar, as if struck by the force of an earth dragon!

Cracks spread outward, covering nearly a third of the cavern floor.

Looking toward the monster horde, Riveria caught a streak of lightning darting through the fray, barely able to distinguish a human shape.

He made no discernible movements; it was as if a puff of smoke were being stirred by a breeze. The lightning arcs wrapped around Noah merely brushed against the monsters, and the massive groups caught in their wake exploded into dust in an instant.

No, it was not just the monsters.

Around Noah, every rock, wall, crystal, and pillar touched by the arcs was shattered, annihilated, dissolved, and then triggered a violent explosion of soaring flames.

The Thunderclap roared in fury, and the explosive arcs eroded the wilderness.

Bathed in the shroud of electricity, Noah wove through the monsters.

Although the monsters had been unable to block his speed-based slashes before, they had never been like this—oblivious until the very moment death descended.

It was not just the monsters; everything in Noah's field of vision had slowed down.

The arcs surged around him like swimming fish, stone fragments drifted slowly, and he could even distinguish the shapes of the expanding air currents that distorted the light.

Perhaps it was not that the world had slowed, but that he had become faster.

Both his physical actions and his conscious reactions were operating at three or four times their usual speed under the enhancement of the magic.

In this light and clear world, Noah felt as if the shackles of gravity had vanished, his body seemingly on the verge of assimilating with the lightning.

He did not even need to swing his sword; Noah simply passed by the monsters, and the shockwaves contained within the arcs would annihilate them, melt them, and trigger violent explosions.

At times, Noah would casually unleash a slash.

As the arc-infused sword energy tore through the void, it expanded a hundredfold in an instant, illuminating everything in the cavern like a miniature sun.

Even so, its power remained undiminished.

It not only destroyed every obstacle in its path but finally shattered the rock wall, revealing deeper, more distant caverns behind it.

Regarding this sensation, Noah only wanted to say—it felt incredible!

So, this is how joyful it is to crush enemies head-on?

Indeed, if one can cleave an enemy away with a single sword stroke, why bother with technical styles of winning through weakness?

If not for the fear of ruining his image, Noah would have wanted to let out an excited, monkey-like shriek!

As the battle—or rather, the one-sided slaughter—continued, the scene within the cavern quickly changed.

Along the path Noah traveled, rocks turned into orange-red molten streams that slowly spread, and countless electric sparks bloomed in the air.

Furthermore, the air, expanded by heat, formed an astonishing wind pressure, painting his field of vision with colorless shockwaves like flashes of light.

The scorching gale tore through the narrow cavern, emitting an endless, demonic roar.

Powerful shockwaves spread along the ground, creating violent tremors like an earthquake, causing a rain of stone fragments to fall from above.

After wiping out the final dozen monsters in one breath, Noah finally halted his steps and dissipated the lightning magic wrapped around his body.

Breathing in the scorching air, thick with a peculiar, acrid stench of burning, Noah lifted his eyes and stared blankly at the scene before him.

Perhaps it was the sudden return of gravity's weight or the mental exhaustion from his expenditure, but he felt somewhat dazed.

The once dim and damp gray-white cavern now looked like charcoal that had been tossed into a furnace but failed to burn through, turned utterly pitch-black.

From the floor to the rock walls, and spreading up to the vaulted ceiling, countless irregular crystals were embedded within, emitting an ominous, flickering light.

Such destructive power—truly, I am impressive!

Noah sheathed his sword and walked toward Riveria and Ais, who stood on a high platform in the distance.

Even as Noah reached them, they remained in a somewhat wooden, sluggish state, their eyes fixed unblinkingly upon him.

Riveria was slightly better off, appearing merely lost in deep thought.

As for Ais, even her small mouth was agape, revealing a glimpse of her delicate pink tongue and pearly white teeth between her lips.

I have to say, she looks a bit like a hamster.

Picturing Ais wearing a fuzzy hamster onesie in his mind, Noah reached out and gently pushed the little girl's chin shut.

"With your mouth open that wide, aren't you afraid of swallowing dust?"

Startled back to reality, Ais hurriedly covered her mouth, her small face flushing red as she lowered her head.

After a long moment, she looked up timidly.

In her golden eyes, which were fixed on Noah, starlight seemed to shimmer.

"Noah, so amazing."

Facing such praise, Noah tilted his head back as a matter of course.

"Not bad, I think I'm pretty amazing too! I am practically the number one swordsman of Orario!"

This posture of utter lack of humility was met with a counterattack from a voice as cold and clear as a mountain spring.

"Then, may I ask this number one swordsman of Orario, after fighting so fiercely for so long, what exactly are the results?"

"Hm?"

Meeting Riveria's emerald eyes, which were devoid of any impurity, Noah realized the problem and couldn't help but blink.

That's right. Under the assault of a magic spell capable of turning the entire cavern into ruins, what were the odds that the monster stones and loot drops had survived?

They weren't all destroyed in the crossfire, were they?!

Clinging to a sliver of wishful thinking, he instinctively turned around, his gaze sweeping across the cavern.

Charcoal, crystals, charcoal, crystals, charcoal with a kaleidoscopic shade of black...

Gone.

Everything was gone.

Perhaps, buried under the scorched dust, one might find a few lucky, remnant monster stones or loot drops, but the vast majority of the fruits of his long battle had undoubtedly been obliterated by the aftermath of his lightning magic.

In other words, the gains from the battle Noah had been so excited about were effectively zero!

Realizing this, Noah, already mentally drained from his mana expenditure, nearly blacked out.

38 Continue Forward!

Realizing that his performance had been like a tiger in battle but a pauper in profit (Valis), Noah felt a sudden pang of heartache, taking over ten seconds to recover his senses.

As he slowly turned back, Noah struggled to adjust his expression.

When he met Riveria's clear, stern, yet always slightly mocking emerald eyes once more, Noah had regained his composure.

He raised his armored right hand, using his index finger and thumb to indicate a tiny distance.

"No problem, just a tiny, tiny problem. After all, it's my first time, so there are bound to be various issues—too fast, too much force, too impatient. As long as I'm a bit more patient next time, and a bit gentler..."

Riveria's expression changed abruptly, and she glared fiercely at Noah.

"Idiot! What are you saying in front of Ais!"

Stern and severe, she raised her staff, as if she would strike his head if Noah didn't provide an explanation.

The sudden, sharp rebuke left Noah frozen in place, his mind even more muddled than when he realized the loot had been destroyed.

Did I... do something?

His hands, still frozen in the middle of his gesture, remained suspended in the air, unsure of what to do.

Exchanging a glance with the equally bewildered Ais, Noah spoke tentatively.

"I—I was talking about the magic. Because it was my first time using it, I didn't control the output well. I was too fast during the attack, so I destroyed the monster stones and items. But I can feel that there are more precise ways to use this magic; as long as I practice more, it won't happen next time..."

Looking at Noah, who appeared like an innocent child being bullied by a villain, Riveria came to her senses.

That's right. Noah isn't Loki; why would he intentionally use lines like that to tease a woman?

Damn it, it's all that bastard Loki's fault!

Always spouting lecherous old man lines while harassing the female members of the Familia!

It's made me completely oversensitive!

Lowering her staff sheepishly, Riveria felt the confused gazes of Noah and Ais fixed upon her, and her cheeks instantly flushed with heat.

She couldn't help but raise a hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, using the motion to mask the strange expression on her face.

Explain? That was out of the question.

Otherwise, she would likely have to face looks like, "I never expected the serious-looking Riveria to know so much; she's unexpectedly cute," the kind of reaction that would make her want to dig a hole in the floor with her toes out of sheer embarrassment.

Ugh, I've become the kind of despicable adult I used to hate the most.

A faint sense of self-loathing rippled through Riveria, leaving a lingering trace.

"Ahem. S-since you are aware of your shortcomings, hurry up and get back to training."

With a wave of her arm and a flourish of her robes, Riveria returned to the stern, composed expression befitting the First Mage of the City.

"Remember for next time: do not cause too much destruction to the Dungeon environment, or you might trigger an anomaly... How is your magic consumption?"

Although he was incredibly curious about what exactly had triggered Riveria's outburst just moments ago, Noah felt that if he kept pressing the issue, something very unpleasant would likely happen.

"Hmm, I used about a tenth of it, but it's already mostly recovered in the time we've been talking."

Recovered that quickly?

Riveria couldn't help but glance back at the heavily damaged Pitch-Black Cavern, feeling a sense of awe.

Setting aside his recovery rate, was she to conclude that Noah's total magic capacity was shockingly high, or that this spell actually consumed very little?