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"An overpowered character is a stone, the story? A pond, when the stone falls into the pond, ripples cause the pond to stir, debris clouds the water, the carp swim in a frenzy, but this would all soon calm down. The stone? It becomes another part of the pond" by Author-san trying to be poetic
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Hestia Familia base, Abandoned Church-
"He's awfully late"
Hestia complained as she stared at the door, Hephaestus had already called for new furniture to be brought in as the interior of the church was "cleaned up".
Unlike the image it had in the original series, the church now looked a lot better, at least, it didn't look like Hestia and Ryuta were drifters living in the abandoned church. Now, the place looked like a real church-
Though, the exterior still left much to be desired but it's barely been a day since the property was given to Hestia so that much is expected.
Though, as Hestia waited impatiently for Ryuta to return, excited to see the surprise on his face, Hephaestus, for some reason also stayed.
"I heard there's a beautiful elf adviser who loves to give long lectures to rookies"
She commented as she took a sip of coffee.
"Why are you still here?"
Hestia gave Hephaestus an annoyed look, she wanted to surprise Ryuta and make him believe that she was not just some freeloader but-
With Hephaestus here, it becomes harder for her to show off to him!
Seeing the expression on her friend's face, Hephaestus already knew what Hestia was thinking.
"Don't worry, I won't mention the loan, but he also has a loan with me you know"
Hephaestus said off handedly, initially, she planned to take things slow. She wanted to assess Ryuta carefully but when Hestia showed her what had become of the church- she changed her mind.
It was also the reason why she accepted Hestia's request without a problem, moreover-
'I'm still curious about his weapons- those [Brand]'s- before they were [Brand]'s, they should have been weapons- moreover, those weapons… they have a mysterious nature to them-'
The weapons that Ryuta manifested using his [Brand] had not left Hephaestus mind-
Although it was faint and nearly imperceptible, she could sense it-
Those weapons were not ordinary weapons, they were magical-
'A magic sword… does [Brand] allow them to be indestructible?'
She thought as she didn't believe that Ryuta would imprint something that would break on his body, moreover-
'Tattoos are permanent, much like Falna, even if a God dies, or an individual is kicked out of a familia, their Falna is sealed away, once under another God, the Falna would not reset, it would simply reawaken…'
Although their meeting was brief, Hephaestus had noticed the essence of Ryuta's abilities. Although she didn't understand the complete process, the magic formation that was left on the church gave her a more concrete idea on how his abilities worked.
It was still a thought, a mere theory but this theory… it gave her hope-
'If it could be shared no… but… if an idea, just a small portion of it was shared to that child … maybe-'
She recalled one of the many members of her familia, but unlike the others who were thriving, and growing, this young man was- to put it lightly, a problem child.
A young man who did not wish to use the talents he was born with- a truly…interesting young man but one with talent and will.
'Maybe this is the answer'
She thought as she patiently waited for Ryuta to return and just then-
"RYUTA!"
Hestia's panicked voice echoed in the halls of the abandoned church, Hephaestus turned towards Hestia and her gaze caught a glimpse of the opened doors-
"This…"
She was shocked, Ryuta had returned but-
"What happened?"
She calmly asked but her words were drowned by the panicked screams of Hestia who immediately rushed towards her child's side.
But, what truly made the two goddesses finally break were the words Ryuta said in response to their panic-
"Nothing happened"
Ryuta declared as he stood at the entryway, he crossed his arms and took on a calm expression, like that of a mosshead swordsman. But Ryuta-
*BANG*
After saying those words fell forward-
He had passed out and Hestia rushed towards him crying and in a panic.
Hephaestus watched this chaos, massaging her temples she let out a sigh as she thought-
'Ah… another problem child'
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Ryuta opened his eyes, the light on the ceiling, a familiar item-
'Light bulb? What? So… it was a dream huh?'
He thought as he let out a sigh, he raised his body-
'Seems like the old man really did a number on me… for me to get out means… wait! This world-'
As his thoughts calmed down, he realized a problem-
If he survived, if he had not left the world then-
Flustered he scanned the room only to see two familiar figures-
"Hestia-sama and Hephaestus-sama?"
His mind short circuited but only for a moment as his thoughts started to organize themselves-
"Sorry… I thought that all I experienced was just a dream…"
He apologized while showing an embarrassed expression but even then-
"Ryuta-kun! Tell me the truth! Did you enter the dungeon?!"
Ryuta looked at the expression on Hestia's face, although she was angry, her eyes showed deep worry. Her words carried an emotion that was foreign to Ryuta-
It was a feeling that he have never experienced before, not in his first nor his second life. It was one that gave him a deep sense of warmth-
'It's like before…'
But he had felt that feeling twice now-
First when he created the protection formation for the church, the second was right now.
'Is this what it means to be the Goddess of the Hearth? Is this her "Authority"?"
[A/N: The authority is Ryuta talks about is related to Fate lore, has nothing to do with Danmachi]
Recalling the meanings and symbolisms of Hestia-
'A Goddess who is the symbol of the hearth, a flame that brings warmth to homes- she's the symbol of family, community and the sacred nature of "Home"... in essence- she's a-'
Ryuta paused, his thoughts slowing down as a realization dawned on him-
His thought process were that of a magus, his mind constantly deriving meaning out of his experience and as such-
He was constantly understanding what was around him- even if its in his own interpretations.
Magi are such beings, some fall from grace, fall to corruption, becoming unsightly monsters but this was nothing more than a reflection of their inner self.
Prelati is an example and so was Giles-
Magi constantly face their inner selves, that is what keeps them sane in the face of the endless mysteries that envelop them.
Some may curse them as philosophers, idiots who spend to much time thinking rather than taking action but that was something that came with the title-
To curb the madness, the desire that would grow continuously, one has to be constantly looking into themselves.
To master one's own mind was the key to improving the magecraft they hold- at least, one of the methods to do so.
But this was both a blessing and a curse- and as of this moment Ryuta- was made to face this "curse".
"So?"
Hestia, upon seeing Ryuta remaining silent pushed on, her words getting more serious as she tapped her feet cutely-
Ryuta snapped out of his stupor, he turned to Hestia, the shame on his face deepening as he lowered his head once more-
"Sorry, I entered the dungeon, dived into it without knowing… I just wanted to test my limits and… I accidentally reached the fifteenth floor and fought a minotaur-"
"WHAT?!"
Although Hestia had not been in Orario for long, she was well aware of the many things surrounding the dungeon.
She knew the kind of power needed to enter the dungeon and the kind of power needed to go deeper.
Even Hephaestus found herself staring dumbly at Ryuta as the revelation shocked her but it quickly dissipated-
'This is the man whose Falna was already in the upper ranks upon awakening, he had an inherent strength that gave him a massive boost without even gaining a single point of excelia- an anomaly, compared to the stats he had, this is nothing'
Hephaestus calmed herself down recalling the information she knew about Ryuta as well as the feats he had accomplished.
But-
The two goddesses showed dark smiles as they grabbed onto Ryuta-
"Uhm… Goddesses? This is-"
"We need to give you some SPECIAL LESSONS"
"Ryuta-kun, I was worried, you know! And based on your actions today… unless I properly EDUCATE you, I would likely end up worrying about you doing more crazy things out of my sight so- S T A Y- understood?"
The two goddesses gave Ryuta a weird feeling, Hephaestus was one thing but Hestia-
A weird pressure emanated from her, despite not looking like it she- she gave off the aura of a mother… a scary mother.
These two goddesses, with their actions had made Ryuta shudder, it wasn't a fear of power or anything like that- it was something else…
"Uhm… mercy?"
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[email protected]/lonelymountainsage