Omniverse: The Journey Begins in DanMachi

Strength: I-0

Endurance: I-0

Dexterity: I-0

Agility: I-0

Magic: I-O

Development Abilities:

Magic:

[Thunder Decree]

[Elegy of Light]

Skills:

[Fall of the Morning Star]

[Ode to Spring]

[Movement of Truth]

[Fallen Moon Crimson Beauty]

Melody of Bliss, Visage of Female Calamity

resonating with women who recognize his charm, gains an all-around boost and removes negative status effects

under the moonlight increased

charm toward elves

'Resonance'?

That probably meant intimate interaction, right?

But how intimate did it have to be to count as resonance?

Did kissing count? What about sucking blood? Or going all the way?

Staring at the new skill on the paper, Noah fell silent.

Was this skill a little too lewd?

"Ehehe, Noah, Noah. Who would've thought you looked so serious, but were such a flirt in private? Still, you'd better be careful. If you accidentally charm Riveria, the entire elven race might hunt you down!"

Loki had come around to the idea. Since Ais losing her was inevitable, she might as well sit back and enjoy the show.

What show?

Three women made for one fine spectacle. Wouldn't adding a few more mean there was always a show to watch?

Hearing the glee in Loki's laughter, Noah narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Loki, you're right. So, to make sure I don't lose control of this skill, I've decided to test whether I can control it first."

"What? Test it? Wait, are you saying you want to—?!"

Loki's laughter cut off abruptly, like a duck being strangled.

But by the time she tried to stop him, it was too late.

Noah was already smiling at Loki, a bewitching purple light blossoming in his azure eyes—

In an instant, that devastatingly charming smile left Loki dazed and spellbound.

"Loki, I'm a little short on money lately. Could you give me some Valis to spend?"

"Huh? Oh, sure."

Her gaze hazy, as if she'd been drugged, Loki casually pulled a box from beneath the covers and handed it to Noah.

Noah opened it and found two Gnome Gems inside, their colors dazzling.

These gems were extremely valuable, with a recognized value and credit. Many people converted large sums of Valis into Gnome Gems for safekeeping.

Well, well. She was always complaining about being broke, and even used the Familia's funds to buy divine wine, yet she had a secret stash like this?!

Confiscated!

It absolutely had to be confiscated!

Without a moment's hesitation, Noah picked up the box and left the Divine Chamber.

Of course, he wasn't going to keep it for himself. He could just hand it over to Riveria.

The matron had nine ways to punish this goddess!

Nine!

"Noah!! Give me back my private stash!! Huh? Ri-Riveria?! No, listen, let me explain! I really wasn't playing on your sympathy last time! Nooo!"

With Loki's wails echoing behind him, Noah sighed as he returned to his room.

I've sacrificed so much to keep my own goddess from drowning herself in drink and debauchery.

Raul had apparently been summoned by Finn to deal with some chores, so Noah was alone in the room. He couldn't be bothered to turn on the lights.

Lying on the bed, Noah closed his eyes, ready to sleep the night away and recover from the physical exhaustion of the expedition, when—

[Beep! Good evening, Host!]

The moment he saw the glowing blue screen appear before him, Noah was so startled he nearly drew his sword and attacked.

It took him a while to realize what he was looking at.

"Oh, so you're still alive. I thought you'd gone and died somewhere."

[Beep. Host, please show this system a basic level of respect. I am the prestigious Savior System 10086, here to assist heroes and save the world.]

"Assist?"

Settling back onto the bed, Noah looked lazily at the system through one half-open eye.

"What have you ever helped me with? You've been missing ever since I got here, haven't you? If you're here to assist heroes, how about giving me a couple of divine weapons? Otherwise, I'll request a more useful system."

Silence. Silence hung over Orario that night.

[Beep. Waaaaah, please don't! I'm just a weak, inexperienced system. All the resources are monopolized by my seniors, and I keep getting assigned to all sorts of backwater dimensions, where I have to help crazy people save the world every day. You're the super-epic legendary card I finally managed to draw after all that effort. Please don't abandon me! Otherwise, I'll blow myself up right here!]

The system's sudden change in tone nearly made Noah's eyes pop out of his head.

What was with that resentful, abandoned-wife vibe?

"All right, all right. Don't cry."

"Waaah."

"I won't replace you, okay? Don't worry."

"Shut the hell up! If you keep bawling, go ahead and blow yourself up! I might as well kill myself, and then we can both be done with it!"

"...Beep. System restored to normal."

Well, it seemed everything liked to act up. Sometimes you just had to slap it around to knock some sense into it.

"Anyway, you suddenly showed up. Was there something you wanted?"

"Beep. There's a temporary world-saving mission. Would the Host be interested?"

"Oh?"

*

Fuyuki City, in a dark basement.

A black-haired little girl, her face full of terror, suddenly felt a burning heat on the back of her hand and couldn't help but scream.

74 Why was it a little girl again?

What had I done wrong?

Why didn't Mom and Dad want me?

Why had I been thrown in here?

In the cold, damp basement, the girl stared at the pit before her, teeming with countless writhing worms. Despair and tears welled in her eyes.

Once Sakura Tohsaka, the girl now known as Sakura Matou, wanted to run away, but her legs didn't even have the strength to stand.

It wasn't only because she knew that, in front of the head of the Matou Family—her "grandfather"—an ordinary girl like her had no chance of escaping.

More than that, Sakura didn't know where she could run to.

The people who had sent her here, into this den of demons, were her own father and mother.

Her parents had chosen her more capable, more cheerful, more outgoing older sister and abandoned her. To a little girl, that was all there was to understand about what had happened.

Just as "Grandfather" had said, from the moment she was sent to the Matou Family, she had nowhere else to go. She could only live on as one of the Matou Family.

Even if she escaped this den of demons, where could she go?

If she ran back to the Tohsaka Family, would they send her back again?

The disgusting sound of the worms writhing crashed over Sakura like a tidal wave, plunging her into boundless despair.

"Then it's time for you to receive these worms' baptism, isn't it?"

Behind Sakura stood a short, bald old man leaning on a cane.

His thin body was wrapped in a gray-green kimono, his limbs as withered as dead branches.

His sunken eye sockets concealed his pupils, yet brimmed with a malicious, mocking glee that made anyone who sensed it recoil from the depths of their heart.

He had a human form, but gave off the decaying stench of a rotting corpse.

He placed a hand on Sakura's frail back, then shoved her down toward the sea of worms—

No matter how brave she tried to be, the little girl couldn't help letting out a helpless cry as she watched the mass of writhing insects.

Dad, Mom, Sis, anyone...

Please, please save me...

As if responding to the girl's desperate plea, a searing heat suddenly surged across the back of her hand, like a red-hot iron pressing against it. She couldn't help letting out a soft scream.

"It hurts!"

Feeling the ripples of magic power, Zouken Matou stopped in his tracks. Then he saw a pattern on the back of the girl's hand, red as congealed blood.

It was made up of three cherry-blossom petals, its overall shape wavering like a candle flame.

Zouken Matou knew the significance of that pattern better than anyone. He had personally developed the Command Spell system.

And precisely because of that, he couldn't help widening his eyes in astonishment.

"How is this possible? There's still over a year before the sixty-year cycle!"

Zouken Matou thought his eyes were deceiving him. But reality seemed determined to prove him wrong, taking a different turn instead.

Beneath the writhing mass of worms, dazzling beams of light suddenly burst forth.

The sunlight-bright radiance burned the worms to ash with ease, then shot straight up at the ceiling, flooding the dark, damp basement with blinding white light.

The powerful surge of magic stirred up fierce winds that roared through the basement, deafeningly loud.

She could clearly feel the steps beneath her feet shaking violently, turning soft as cotton. The gale before her was like a moving wall, about to knock Sakura flying, while the dazzling light kept her from opening her eyes.