"Oh? Lord Dian Cecht! He's awake!"
My eyes slowly opened after hearing a voice shout followed by a door closing and I looked up to see a white stone ceiling. Who's awake? And where am I? And why is my vision blurred?
The last thing I can remember was that I…was…reincarnated…
Oh right. So that really happened then. Well…here's to a new life as an Adventurer in Orario. This is what I signed up for after all.
I slowly sat up from the bed that I had apparently been lying in and turned to the side for my legs to hang off of it, and then stretched my body that had been feeling stiff when I sat up. So I'm really in the world of Danmachi then?
I looked around and couldn't help and despite my blurry vision, I couldn't help but notice that this room seemed to look like an infirmary. Hold on, didn't that voice call for Dian Cecht. Isn't that one of the names that belong to the pantheon of Celtic Gods? And isn't this one a god of healing as well? So maybe I really am in an infirmary.
I looked down at my body to look for any signs of injury and didn't seem to see or feel anything out of the ordinary, so that's a bit of good news. I then looked around the room to see if I could spot anything that would help give me a better idea of why I could possibly be in here, but I came to realize that for all intents and purposes, I was really near-sighted, so I couldn't even make heads and tails of what was around me, barring the door, and a table across my bed.
On the stand next to my bed though, I did see a mirror and when I leaned in to get a closer look of my reflection, I could see in my reflection the face of a young teenager, around high school aged if I had to guess, with very light brown hair, bordering on blonde, and gray eyes.
Weird…am I a younger version of Robert Accutrone perhaps?
Looks aside though. Even more than that...I could feel something in the air. Whatever it was, it was everywhere whether it was around me, or even outside the window of my room where I could see a few buildings that seemed oddly damaged. I could feel something in the air, invisible and intangible, and yet at the same time, I felt like it was possible for me to see them and also interact with whatever it was. Was this perhaps Reishi? Or maybe this world's equivalent?
If it was, maybe it explains the two masses that seemed to be approaching my door when I took in this feeling.
I looked over to see the door to my room open and in spite of my blurred vision, lo and behold, I saw two people come into the room. An old man with gray hair dressed very nicely, who I can only assume to be Dian Cecht given his presence that I could actually feel emanating from the man. The other was a young girl with silver or gray hair, but I couldn't tell what color her eyes were along with the old man's. She definitely has those unique anime girl features, but I don't think I recognize her? Maybe she's not one of the main characters who Bell Cranel happens to pick up? No, she seems a bit young for that. I tried to squint at the two to see if I could somehow pick up any more details.
"Oh? Looks like our patient is actually awake after all. And look at that Airmid. It looks like you have an admirer in this young man! You are an adorable child after all. Maybe the two of you would be great friends eh?"
What is he talking about, I'm trying to actually look at you guys.
"N-No Lord Dian Cecht, he was looking at both of us, and I know what's wrong. Hold on a moment, alright? I know I put them here somewhere…"
The girl, Airmid, walked across the room toward a table to grab something and walked over to the bed to hand what I realized were a pair of glasses in one hand with a glass of water in the other.
"Here, put these on first and then take a drink of water. I'm sure you must be thirsty."
Now that I think about it…yeah, I think I am feeling very thirsty.
I reached out and took the glasses first, noticing its thin square silver colored frame before putting it on and noting how much clearer the world was, now that I got my vision back. It honestly makes me wonder if I was also this nearsighted in my past life. Needless to say, I can actually see better now.
I then took the glass from her hand and then took small but fast gulps of water, draining it before handing it back to the girl.
"Thank you, Miss Airmid." I said and then looked up at the girl.
Oh. She has purple eyes then with silver hair. Well, her God isn't wrong, she is a cute kid with those striking features, but then again, I guess it's an anime girl thing to have that unique hair color and eyes that just stand out.
"You're very welcome." She said with a smile before walking back to the table to put the glass away and joining her God's side.
"So, can you both tell me where I am and why I'm in what seems like an infirmary?" I asked the two, being the person to initiate the conversation.
"You're in the pharmacy of one of Orario's medicinal type Familias, my Familia's pharmacy in fact, young man. But you don't remember how you ended up in our pharmacy?" Dian Cecht asked me with a frown, but it didn't seem to be directed at me. More so the fact that I apparently don't remember. Did something bad happen?
"No, I don't. Actually...I don't even know my own name. I only know about you two being Dian Cecht and Airmid. And from what I can tell, you're a God, and I guess Airmid is your child. And that I'm apparently in Orario. Can you tell me what happened?" I asked them, knowing the answer to my question, but why does Airmid look sad? I mean, sure I lost my memory so maybe the reaction is expected, but why is she looking at me like a kicked puppy? Did something bad really happen after all?
"I see...I suppose you deserve to know the truth." Dian Cecht told me before he pulled up a chair and sat by my bed while Airmid stood attentively by his side. "You see, young man…"
And that was how I learned when in the timeline I had been reincarnated. Just shortly after what would become known by the Gods and Adventurers as the Seven Deadly Days or the Great Feud, a seven day war fought between Orario and the organization known as Evilus, a name that I'm somewhat familiar with based on my knowledge of this world, even if I don't recall all the events with them. That means I've been reincarnated seven years before canon.
On top of that, it looks like the era of the Hera and Zeus Familias has finally come to an end then. What a shame.
Apparently I was found amidst the rubble as Adventurers clashed with Evilus on the streets of Orario with a head injury, and I had been under the care of the Dian Cecht Familia since, considering the fact that no one wanted what seemed like a civilian of all people to have to lose his life just by being in the crossfire. Apparently for all purposes, I should have died in the midst of the destruction, but I feel like the only reason I didn't was because there was no way I was going to die even before my reincarnation could begin. Isn't that a bone-chilling thought?
"I see...I don't know how to pay you back, Lord Dian Cecht. You guys pretty much saved my life, but I don't even have a single...the currency is called valis right? I don't have my memories, but I still have some basic knowledge. Yeah, valis. So I don't know how to repay you back for this debt." I said to the old man who shook his head.
"In these times, I find it best that we help everyone we can. We've lost a lot of fine adventurers and even Gods have lost their children as well. It would be salt in the wound to charge them for their actions in helping Orario." He said to me before looking over to Airmid.
"Airmid, can you bring the briefcases?"
Briefcases? What briefcases?
"Of course, Lord Dian Cecht." The girl said with a nod before walking to the corner of the room where there were two silver briefcases that were resting in that spot and picked it up before carrying it over to me. She set them both on the bed next to me and pushed them my way.
"When we found you, you were holding onto these for dear life, and we didn't want to invade your privacy by going through your belongings if they were yours." She explained to me in a professional voice for a young kid.
I reached over and then undid the latch on the first one before slowly opening it to see what was inside, Dian Cecht and Airmid also seeing what had been inside as well.
"Oh wow…they're so pretty…" Airmid murmured at my side as she leaned in to take a closer look at them.
A set of fifteen Quincy Crosses shaped like pentacles were nestled into openings that were made for them. In addition, there were a set of five black gloves with the Wandenreich symbol on the back with silver colored lines running alongside the finger. The Leiden Hant, the gloves needed to use the Quincy Vollständig. And finally there were what looked like ten silver-colored rods that were lying neatly next to each other, a loop on one end and all slotted into two thin blue bands, five apiece. Rods that emitted a unassuming yet lethal blue blade made of Reishi, the Seele Schneider.
Airmid was only half right. They weren't just pretty. They were…
"Beautiful…" I mumbled and then reached out to grab one of the Quincy crosses and fastened the bracelet to my wrist. I reached out to also grab hold of the Leiden Hant, but then I stopped.
No, that's not a good idea. I don't even know my capabilities yet, but at the very least I know that wearing the glove will not help me at all, and although I really want to use it, I doubt I could actually pull off a Vollständig at all or train effectively with the German version of the Sanrei Glove, so I closed the briefcase and fastened the latches.
"Um…do you know what those are?" Airmid piped up, her curiosity probably having gotten a hold of her, and I nodded.
"Yeah I do. Like I said, I don't have my memories of my life, but what I still have is knowledge. These are all my weapons, and while they seem unassuming, trust me, you don't want to fight someone who has one of these." I answered with a smile and then closed my eyes in concentration as I pulled at the Reishi surrounding all of us, siphoning it from the rich air around me as my mind took hold of the mental image of a bow. Long, curved, a line of blue connecting both ends and the whole structure forming with energy.
And in that next moment, much to my surprise, a bright blue light began to build up around my left hand and in a matter of seconds, my initial Spirit Weapon was formed: the base version of the Heilig Bogen, or Kojaku, that is the basic weapon for all Quincy.
Holy crap that was so cool. I guess that I have some instinctive knowledge of how to form a basic Heilig Bogen
"Wow, that's so amazing!" Airmid exclaimed as she looked at my Quincy Bow and even Dian Cecht looked astonished as he seemed to come to a realization.
"You took the energy in your surroundings and molded it to create your bow. How amazing." The God said to me as he looked at me in shock.
"You could tell? How about that. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a God could figure it out. But yes, while it's somewhat more complex than that, you're not wrong. But this is only a basic Spirit Weapon that I can form. Once I become stronger, I'll be able to create a better form of the Heilig Bogen." I answered before dissipating the bow after feeling the strain from maintaining the weapon's form.
"And what about the other items that you had? Like the rod and the gloves? I saw you trying to reach for them before you stopped." Airmid continued to question me as I looked over to her and then gave a small smirk and a wink, my finger hovering over my lips in a gesture of silence.
"Well I can't tell you all my secrets. But let's just say the stronger I become, the more capable I am of using them." I answered before turning my head to the other briefcase and opening it.
And unlike the first one, this one had all white garbs. A white hooded cloak, a folded white trench coat, white trousers, white dress shirts, and a white belt and blue ties having been rolled up. And finally five white boxes which I can only assume are glasses cases. Seems like I was looking at a Sternritter's uniform, most likely a version of Robert Accutrone's.
"Oh, I think you had a similar set of clothes when you came to Orario but of lesser quality. Unfortunately, they were damaged and torn when we found you, save for a pair of white shoes." Airmid commented to which I nodded. At least I had white shoes to go along with this.
"That's fine, at least I have these to wear. In any case, I can guess why I came to Orario, which was a pretty simple reason, all things considered: to become stronger to be able to use my powers. Now all that's left is to find a Familia to join, but I don't know what options I realistically have though." I said before I slowly looked over to Airmid and the God, an idea coming to mind.
"Unless…you've got room for one more member, Lord Dian Cecht."
[3rd POV]
"Excuse me?" Dian Cecht asked with a surprised expression, something that was mimicked by Airmid. Why would he offer to join their Familia? Even if he is in fact a hopeful Adventurer, the fact that he has some unknown yet unique skill would make him a shoe-in to possibly be recruited by Familias such as the Loki, Freya, or Ganesha Familia. So why would he be offering to join their healing-oriented Familia?
Thankfully, Airmid took the reins of the conversation to ask them both the question that they had on their minds.
"Um…while we are flattered-"
And they really were.
"You do remember that we're a medicinal type Familia right? So we focus on healing Adventurers who come in our doors, not go into the Dungeon? Are you sure you would want to join us and not a Familia like the Loki or Freya Familia? Even if you're just starting out, you still have something that I don't think I've ever seen in Orario before." She asked only for their nameless patient to shrug. While she did think that their patient was actually fairly cute with his light brown hair and gray eyes, especially since he was around her age so they could be friends, she also knows that her Lord Dian Cecht's Familia isn't one that specializes in diving into the Dungeon, so it might be a problem for him if he wanted to go there.
"It's fine. If there is anyone who is capable of going into the Dungeon alone, it would be a Quincy to be honest due to the nature of our weapons. Besides, this is the perfect way to repay my debt back to you for looking after me, Lord Dian Cecht, even if you did so out of an obligation." He answered and while the God wanted to say that he didn't mind treating and watching over the boy, because while he does enjoy the wealth that comes from running his Familia's Pharmacy, he's not so cruel as to let a youth in these times be left out to die, he would be lying if he said he wasn't interesting in having another possible rising star, considering that bow...it...
"Are you sure, young man?"
"Well, if I wasn't sure, I wouldn't be offering to join, would I? And to add a cherry on top, what's the fastest time to reach Level 2?" The patient asked to which Airmid answered.
"An Adventurer named Ais Wallenstein from the Loki Familia, who is even younger than me, reached Level 2 in one year."
"Alright then. In that case, give me less than a year, and I'll reach Level 2 and soundly beat the record. That way, your Familia's name will grow even bigger not just because of the services you provide, but also because even a medicinal type Familia is capable of having a child who can also be just as talented as the folks from Loki and Freya's Familias." The young teenager confidently stated shocking Airmid who made an exclaimed noise of shock upon hearing his admittedly outrageous claim. On the other hand, Dian Cecht had been quiet as he could tell that the amnesiac child was absolutely confident in his ability to set the record in reaching Level 2, and he couldn't help but want to believe that. Even if he isn't able to do that, since Ais Wallenstein is admittedly an exceptional talent, the God felt like the boy would still be a good addition regardless if he should want to stay.
"Hm...very well." The God said with Airmid turning her head in surprise at him before he stood up from his chair and turned to leave the room to grab something to be used to draw blood. "Airmid, feel free to keep our young friend here company will you?"
"Oh! Um, yes Lord Dian Cecht." Airmid said before her patron God left the room and closed the door behind him, leaving her alone with their patient, an awkward silence developing between the two who were looking at each other, Airmid not knowing what to say in an effort to start a conversation. Thankfully he started first.
"So, what's it like? Being in a Familia I mean?" The nameless patient asked her with a look of curiosity on his face.
"It's been very nice. While I hate to hear about how a lot of Adventurers have been hurt from the war with Evilus, I'm happy to be part of the Dian Cecht Familia so that we could help them however we can. Lord Dian Cecht even gave out prosthetic limbs to Adventurers who had suffered in battle, allowing them to be able to go back to a semblance of their normal lives!" Airmid answered with a smile, happy to answer that question for the boy.
"Is that right? How nice. You must be a talented worker for someone so young. I can admire your amazing work ethic, you know." He said to her, causing a small blush to erupt on her face from the compliment.
"Oh no, I'm nothing special. I'm only just Level 1 after all!" Airmid said in an attempt to downplay her efforts in the face of what he had said to her.
"Well, I'm sure you'll make it to Level 2 someday. After all, you're still...sorry, how old are you?"
"I'm twelve years old."
"Oh nice, well, you're still young, so you'll definitely be able to make it to Level 2 at some point, so just keep up the hard work okay?"
"Wait, so how old are you?" Airmid asked and then faltered, realizing that her nameless patient was still an amnesiac. "I'm so sorry, I asked you such an insensitive-"
"I'm fourteen."
"...huh?"
"I think I remember my age. I'm fourteen I think…but I'm not sure what my actual birthday is."
"That's amazing that you know how old you are, and I hope you rediscover your birthday." Airmid responded with him giving her a small smile and then the two fell in a slightly more comfortable silence. And just as she was about to ask what a Quincy was, since she had heard him use the word to describe himself, the two turned their heads to the door upon seeing or hearing it open and saw Dian Cecht come in with a small knife to prick his finger with.
"And I'm back. Now young man, if you wouldn't mind, can you take off your shirt and then lie on your stomach so I can give you your Falna?" The God said after closing the door behind him once he came in.
"Oh, sure thing…Airmid, do you want to leave? I'm sure you don't want to see a boy take off his shirt in front of you." The nameless teenager said with a raised eyebrow when he looked the young healer's way.
Once again, Airmid blushed before she quietly nodded and quickly left the room, leaving the God and brunette young man alone.
"Alright, now let me give you your Falna…"
…
…
…
[1st POV]
Well then, I have to admit, this is quite the development. My eyes scanned the sheet that had my copied Falna and needless to say, there were just a few surprises in there.
"Well then…" I murmured aloud with Dian Cecht nodding in agreement as the sheet lied between the two of us.
"Indeed." He responded as we just re-read my Falna Status.
—-
Name: Sigmund Gulbrand
Level: 1
Strength: I0
Endurance: I0
Dexterity: I0
Agility: I0
Magic: I0
Skill: Devil's Luck, Son of Lies, Schrift N, Last Son and Successor of Yhwach
Magic: Quincy
Development Ability:
Luck I
—-
While I expected to gain Schrift N, since the name is as implied even if there doesn't seem to be a description of it, I didn't expect to still be acknowledged as the 'Last Son and Successor of Yhwach' through a skill that apparently 'allows the skillholder to reach the pinnacle of the might of the Quincy so long as they stay true to the Quincy ways'. Maybe it's a growth enhancement skill then?
Apparently Quincy techniques are listed as a form of Magic granted due to the 'blood of the Echt Quincy', but something tells me that they're still Reishi based, unless this world's version of Reishi has something to do with magic or something along those lines. It is pretty useful to know actually, even if slightly unsurprising due to a Quincy's nature, especially with how we absorb Reishi to perform stuff that may very well be like magic.
And then these two. Son of Lies and Devil's Luck, a skill that gives the ability to successfully lie to the gods, while the other provides a boost to the excelia I gain as well as the Luck Development Ability. A Development Ability at Level 1. Shit, talk about the Devil's Luck indeed, but I guess I may as well actually take advantage of it since it's there. Was this what Helel meant when he said he was blessing me with a happy life?
Because it sounds like he's doing that literally and also setting me up for trouble to boot! I mean, it's definitely useful, but still, what the heck?!
"So...should we check out if this skill to lie works?" I asked my newly appointed patron God who nodded.
"I hate Airmid." I told an obvious lie to him to which he got wide eyed and nodded.
"I know you are lying and yet it registered as if you meant what you said. This is quite an odd feeling, a mortal lying to a God."
Well damn it, it works. No offense Dian Cecht, but you just got the smallest taste of how it feels for mortals to lie to each other, so how do you think we feel?
"We should make sure that we hide this tidbit from everyone. Actually, it's best that we hid all of this from everyone barring whoever will be the new Captain. And even then, we need to make sure they're trustworthy." I said to him, mentioning the 'new' Captain in light of the fact that the previous one as well as the Vice-Captain had fallen in the war with Evilus trying to help many of the injured adventurers, and Dian Cecht looked over to me and nodded. After all, if people were to find out that I had multiple skills, one of which promoted excelia growth and let me lie in the Gods' faces, then people would be clambering over each other to get their hands on me.
"Agreed." He said in agreement, having already locked my status and then looked at the sheet before asking me a question.
"Your skill that calls you the son of Yhwach. Do you know who this Yhwach is?" He asked me to which I hesitated for a brief moment, wanting to carefully choose what I told him. He was courteous enough to not ask me about my Quincy 'Magic', and I appreciate that, so I'll give a vague answer.
"He was known as the Father of the Quincy in many legends and it's said that his blood flows through every single Quincy that came after him. That's all there really is to know." I answer, telling the truth, all things considered. I'm sure he could come to the conclusion of what the 'last son and successor' part meant, but hey, I'm glad he isn't saying anything.
"Ah, I see…and one last question. You said you lacked your memories but still had your knowledge. While I have an understanding of what you meant, can you explain how you know about your belongings?"
Ah, this is actually easy to answer.
"Well, like I said, I don't really have my memories."
Which is the truth.
"That said, when I laid my eyes on them, I instinctively knew what I was looking at. Maybe seeing them triggered an echo within me, even if the associated memory was gone."
Not exactly the truth, but I can probably play the amnesiac getting flashes of my 'memory' back from looking at my Quincy gear. And it'll serve as a good setup for knowing about my Quincy techniques yet needing practice to actually use it myself.
"Is that right? Very well then."
He seemed to easily accept the answer before he swiped the sheet and folded it, with the intention to probably burn it or something once he had access to a fire.
"In any case, welcome to my Familia, and it's a pleasure to meet you Sigmund Gulbrand." He said to me with a smile, something that caused me no small amount of amusement inside.
Once my eyes saw those names, I instantly knew what they had meant. 'Victory' and 'God's sword', names fitting the German motif and someone who also had a Vollständig to boot, even if the God whose Familia I joined was a Celtic God.
"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you as well, Lord Dian Cecht." I said with a nod of my head before my God walked over to open the door and let Airmid come in.
"Airmid, I'd like for you to meet the new member of our Familia, Sigmund Gulbrand." He said to the girl, causing her to look at me with a happy smile as she quickly made her way to my bed and then stuck out her hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Sigmund. My name is Airmid Teasanare. It's nice to meet you!"
I reached out and took her hand into mine as I smiled up at the happy girl.
"Hello Airmid Teasanare. It's nice to meet you as well. Like Lord Dian Cecht said, my name is Sigmund Gulbrand."
And so begins my adventure as a member of the Dian Cecht Familia, and I would enjoy every bit of it, even when I would come to discover how scummy and troublesome my god could be even if he felt like it was for a good reason, although agreeable was up for debate...sometimes, I wonder if I was more of a babysitter for him.
...
Oh Airmid, I pity you sometimes.
—Later in the night—
[3rd POV]
Dian Cecht looked at the Status sheet of his new child and contemplated what he had read.
"The Son and Successor of Yhwach…" He murmured to himself, vaguely recalling the name of a god who resided in Heaven who was arguably one of the most powerful amongst them all, even nearing the power of Ouranos himself and yet he was always someone who always did his best to keep his distance from others.
In fact, Dian Cecht would probably wager that had this god descended and started a Familia in Orario, their might would have surpassed that of even Freya and Loki's children.
"Yhwach…I wonder if this name is in fact related to that man…that boy…when he created that bow, I had seen..."
He had seen what should have been the impossible, a miracle imposed onto the lower world. When that boy had created his bow, Dian Cecht had seen it. A bow formed of an unseen energy that lingered in the air around them, and when it had come into existence, he had recognized something that shouldn't have existed. A bow of light that was formed through a mortal's hand and yet it had a sliver of power that was a mockery of that god's Arcanum. And yet, mockery it may be, it was as close to the genuine article as it could have been and yet didn't seem to hold any true divinity as to possibly irritate the Dungeon.
A mortal weapon blessed with a God's light.
"Have you descended and no one knew of your arrival, and this boy is a unique existence brought into this world by your hands? Or is this truly a miracle that was brought about by mortal hands? If so, they are certainly more than we bargained for, aren't they...Yahweh?"
Shaking himself from his thoughts, Dian Cecht proceeded to tear the sheet up and then put it into a lit fire and watched as it eventually burned into nothing.
'As it is, it's best to just not approach this topic, and whoever this Yhwach is, it's possible that he may not be related to Yahweh at all. For now, I'll just see how everything plays out in the future.'
AN: Alright folks, here's the second chapter.
I bet that a few of you were surprised about my choice of Familia weren't you? Normally you'd think someone with extraordinary powers who reincarnated would join a greater Familia, like Loki's, Freya's, or even Hephaestus, right?
But nah. Sigmund doesn't want to deal with any of the mentioned people because two of them are a bit of a pain, and no offense to Hephaestus as he just isn't a blacksmith, and my man will never have to pay for armor or a weapon, ever.
And so I had him join a Familia that's a bit out of the way, the Dian Cecht Familia because they had little screentime in the DanMachi anime and LN that I'm aware of to show how Sigmund's knowledge of the world is incomplete, and honestly, I think my Bleach Abridged reference hit me too hard since I also apparently am having him being essentially an Ishida, a Quincy who works in the field of medicine. And that means he'll get a first hand experience of how much of a pain Dian Cecht can be once things improve in Orario, since I'm showing him acting a bit differently in light of the fact that there was a small war going on just recently so they had to help take care of a lot of people. And Dian Cecht apparently isn't that bad a guy when it comes to something outside of Miach since the familia gave prosthetics during this era, so I wanted to portray that a bit in this chapter.
And the last bit of this chapter, what did you guys think? I wanted to do a small play on the fact that the Wandenreich and Sternritter were pretty much going on theme of God and how Yhwach was pretty much Quincy Jesus due to being the Soul King's son and how the Sternritter got their Schrifts through essentially drinking his blood, which can be seen as an allusion to the blood of Christ. Heck, even their Vollständig have a holy angel motif with names having the meaning of something that is 'of God' or 'God's XXX'. So I wanted to bend the lore a bit with a small play on Ais' circumstances, except it deals with Gods instead of Spirits and introduce a bit of paranoia in there somewhere.
But what do you think? Is there something really going on in this world regarding Sigurd's existence, or is Dian Cecht reading into it too far?
Also, I'd like to state for the record that any future interaction with female characters will be unavoidable since literally Danmachi. That's literally my reason, just DanMachi, and you guys hopefully should know what that means. In any case, just because he talks with girls in the future doesn't mean that this is a harem story or any of that nonsense. My guy will only have one waifu for him, though I don't know who it will be yet. Any possibly suggestions?
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!