Starlight, First Revealing Its Edge

Kashu Animusphere

LV.1

Strength: I(0)

Endurance: I(0)

Dexterity: I(0)

Agility: I(0)

Magic: I(0)→I(1)

--Magic--

[King's Wind]

· Bestowed magic. Ultra-short chant.

· Wrapped weapons in wind to increase attack power and accuracy, or released the wind pressure at once as a piercing ranged attack.

· Chant: "Wind King's Barrier, Wind King's Hammer."

[Crystal of Stars]

· Permanent magic. Can be activated at any time. Release restricted.

· Vastly increased attack power, defense, and recovery.

· The strongest fantasy, a sliver of starlight.

--Skills--

[Red Dragon Emblem]

· Vastly increased magic resistance.

· Vastly increased conscious perception.

· Possessed the bloodline factor of the strongest phantasmal species, able to generate endless magic power with every breath.

[Eternal Blessing of the Star Spirit]

· Vastly increased adaptability to the outside world.

· Vastly increased the user's luck.

· A blessing from the Earth Mother and the Primate, praying that its bearer would never fall into calamity.

[Brilliant Journey]

· Currently opened gates: 0.

· Invited you to cross dimensional gates and traverse the unknown within infinity.

Kashu slowly walked out of the living room, holding the parchment Loki had translated as he felt the faint yet genuine new power within him.

According to her explanation, level, basic abilities, magic, and skills were the fixed components of a Status.

As a product of the gods' systematic planning over thousands of years, it could effectively reflect the children's progress in growth.

"Levels, stats, magic, skills... It kind of sounds like those online games mentioned in the records."

"Fou~ (〃^ω^)"

Fou lightly leaped onto his shoulder and poked its head out to look at the parchment, seemingly curious about what was written on it as well.

Kashu raised a hand to scratch Fou under the chin, then smiled and held the parchment closer for it to see.

"If those lunatics in the magecraft world learned that the gods' blessing could awaken magic, their expressions would definitely be interesting."

Fou comfortably narrowed its beastly eyes and lifted its chin, immediately tossing aside the little interest it had shown in the parchment.

Seeing that the little fellow had lost interest, Kashu helplessly shook his head and snuffed out his insignificant urge to share.

He folded the parchment and slipped it into his pocket, then turned to look at the towering gray-white spire at the center of the city.

"Babel Tower, uniting humanity across the world."

"For a city built above a dungeon filled with monsters, isn't a building like that a little too conspicuous?"

Kashu had only just learned from Loki that Orario was a city suppressing a subterranean monster den.

Before the gods descended and humanity received blessings, monsters from the Dungeon had invaded the surface without restraint.

Later, the gods, craving entertainment, descended to the lower world. Humanity sounded the horn of counterattack with the power of blessings and built a fortress city surrounding the Dungeon's entrance.

Over time, that fortress gathered the gods and the finest adventurers, gradually developing into the world's greatest dungeon city: Orario.

At that thought, unconcealed excitement and curiosity flashed through Kashu's eyes.

"Not only are there all kinds of fantasy races and gods, there are even evil monsters to oppose them. I love this place!"

"Come on, Fou. Let's begin our adventure!"

"Fou!"

Tap, tap, tap—!

Kashu's footsteps echoed through the empty cavern. At this moment, the Dungeon was as quiet as a graveyard.

As an underground labyrinth in the literal sense, it possessed tunnels extending in every direction.

Even adventurers already accustomed to battle could easily lose their way without a map to guide them.

Kashu flipped through the general guide issued by the Guild. "Let's see... The common monsters on the first floor are kobolds?"

"That's strange. Dog people are beastmen, but kobolds are monsters. What's the difference between the two?"

The Dungeon was more than willing to answer his question.

Squish! Squish!

Accompanied by the eerie sound of walls breaking apart, short kobolds with sharp fangs, claws, and blood-red pupils leaped out one after another.

"Gah!"

The kobold closest to Kashu let out an incomprehensible roar, dropped onto all fours, and sprang forward with its claws raised.

An ordinary person who had just become an adventurer would inevitably panic if suddenly attacked by a monster. Some more timid adventurers might even flee in terror.

But to Kashu, combat was simply part of everyday life.

He calmly closed the guidebook. Fluorescence like glowing circuit lines spread from his hands and feet, and before the kobold's claws could descend, he drove a fist into its face.

The sheer force blew the kobold apart. What remained of its body collapsed limply before slowly turning to ash and fading away.

That violent sight made the remaining kobolds slam to a halt. They only dared to growl threateningly at Kashu from afar.

Though surrounded by monsters, Kashu acted as if he had heard nothing. He clenched his fist, paying the kobolds no mind at all.

"Hmm. The effect of reinforcement magecraft has improved by around sixty percent. That proves the initial blessing also enhances physical ability."

"Next, let's test the magic awakened by the blessing."

"Gah!" ×4

Apparently, the kobolds' patience was limited. Driven by their ferocity, they chose to swarm Kashu together.

Clang—!

Amid flying golden fragments, Kashu swept a broad-bladed longsword through the air. The blade had not even left its sheath, yet it had already cut down every kobold.

Bang! ×4

The platinum longsword inflicted almost crushing damage upon the kobolds. Before they even hit the ground, they exploded into ashes one after another.

???

Kashu hurriedly raised the platinum longsword before his eyes, staring at his magic in surprise.

"It's this sharp? It hasn't even been unsheathed."

In truth, the moment he received the blessing, he had already gained a basic understanding of the two magics he had awakened.

King's Wind was similar to a spell formula that controlled elements in battle.

Crystal of Stars, meanwhile, was a longsword that could be summoned at his side.

Kashu truly had not expected the sword to be so sharp. Loki's translation had simply been too absurd.

The strongest fantasy, a sliver of starlight.

Anyone who saw a description like that would take it as exaggerated embellishment.

Click!

Kashu raised a hand and tried to draw the longsword, but a metallic locking sound came from the sheath, preventing him from taking the next step.

"I see. So this is what 'release restricted' means. Its true name..."

"Fou~"

At that moment, the five magic stones that had fallen to the ground caught Fou's attention. It patted its owner's cheek.

Kashu stopped examining the platinum longsword and frowned.

"You want fried potato balls? I'd rather save some money to buy armor."

Fou was dissatisfied. Fou raised a paw.

"Ow, ow, ow! Don't pull my hair. Fine, I'll buy you fried potato balls."

Kashu hurriedly bent down to collect the five magic stones, feeling exhausted by the willful pet he kept.

Looking at the walls around him, which had already returned to normal, he pondered for a moment before taking the general guide from his pocket again.

"Judging from my physical abilities, the monsters on the first floor can't provide any training at all. Looks like I'll have to go deeper."

He closed the guidebook and looked toward the deeper, darker passageways of the Dungeon.

That was where true danger and opportunity coexisted, and it better matched what he expected from an adventure.