I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I want to issue my sincere thanks to everyone who has given me their opinions, be it feedback or just that they like or dislike something.

As of right now, my massively slowed writing schedule has not been fixed, so uploads in best case scenario remain weekly.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danmachi or any characters within them nor do I own any rights to other material referenced or used in this story.

"Talking"

"Thinking"

"Monsters, Gods with Arcanum etc. talking"


Premise:

The World is starting to settle with the fact there is a level 12, but many people are looking to get in his good graces out of fear or admiration, and Eobard is having none of it while making final preparations before entering Knossos for his first step of the mission, unaware of the inconvenience he will be struck with...


If I could voice my mood in one word? Annoyed. No scratch that, annoyed doesn't even come close. I am absolutely and utterly done with everything and everyone you can think of and would like nothing more than to become a complete hermit and isolate myself from society and all it entails.

Ever since I had curbstomped Freya's little cult, the entire city had been trying to kiss my ass nonstop, from people coming by to bring me offerings 'in good faith' (yeah, as if I am that stupid to miss they just want to butter up my good graces), or seeking partnerships with Takemikazuchi Familia as a whole.

The most noteworthy offender of latter is, to absolutely nobody's surprise, Loki Familia and Hestia Familia. Loki because she wants me in on the next expedition, or rather Finn does, and Hestia because Bell and Haruhime are convinced I am some kind of new coming of a hero due to my sheer power, and so they were just mad fanboying over me. I am already not exactly the type that likes the kind of attention that violates my personal space, but leave it to Bell to show me the new height of stubbornness.

Currently, I was out in Take's garden, doing one of the few things I had been actually good at in my past life: Making Tea the old fashioned way. And when I say Old Fashioned, I do mean like you see asian wise monks and elderly do with the entire process of grinding out the leaves and cooking the whole mix under a fire with a pot before filling porcelain cups with it. There was an actually good reason I got good in doing so, and that reason was extended family. My grandmother father's side was one of my, if not the favorite person in my entire life and she was a massive fan of old fashioned tea preparations. I learned it in order to spoil her every now and then, and it sure was worth it, I'd trade nothing for the smile she gives me whenever she caught me making the whole setup ready.

Back to the present, as I was preparing tea for me and Take, Bell was currently on his knees, head bent down next to our table. "Please, Sir Madara, Train me!"

I heard this sentence only about the 6th time today alone, and it's been 2 days since the Wargame and the Sun had barely reached the pinnacle of its height at high noon, meaning it was just about 12 o'clock and Bell had literally begged me at a frequency of once an hour.

If I am fully and completely honest, I am indecisive regarding him. He seems like a good, earnest kid, someone who seems to never lose sight of the rainbow at the horizon, and making him stronger could help him keep that outlook as he would be able to keep going with his life and its contents without loss or compromise. But there is also the downside, being that I am the complete opposite of him. Any sin you can think of I have either done or helped someone else commit. If Bell was the image of purity, I was his counterpart, the personification of impurity, and I feel tremendous guilt just contemplating the idea of having someone like him near someone like me.

"Ask me again in an Hour, Bell." I said. It was my response every time he asked me, it bought me time, if only a bit, and he successfully fooled himself into believing it to be a struggle of his patience vs mine.

"Yes sir!" Bell responded and got up, giving a respectful bow to Take before he departed.

As Bell left, Ouka walked past him and stopped a few feet away from our small tea table. "Lord Take, Madara, Lord Hermes is here to see you..."

"Ho?" I mused lightly. It was always my plan to establish contact with that little weasel. If there is one thing I found out about him from both rumors and the imprinted knowledge given to me, it is that Hermes is better than anyone else in the whole world at gathering information and getting his hands on shady items on request, for the right pricing of course and often only informing his captain about it. His network is a must-have for any adventurer with half a working braincell.

"Let him in, Ouka, and thank you." Take responded while taking the small porcelain cup and taking a sip from it.

"About time I met him..." I voiced before following suit and taking a gulp from my own cup.

A few seconds later and the wild west wannabe God was here, wearing his typical outfit of a leather jacket, a hat with a wide span and a face so smug even Buddha would wanna punch it. "We meet again, Take. Always a pleasure, my friend" he spoke in a tone that was absolutely dripping in amusement.

"Take, as my God and head of the Familia, obviously you will want to be informed about my business, but I ask of you to give me and Hermes privacy, what I am about to discuss with him must not involve any of your other children, which means even you need to be in the blind."

The God of War and Martial Arts eyes me for a good moment in silence before he exhaled a loud sigh. "I just hope you make sure nothing leads the consequences to the others. I trust their strength, but they are only level 2s so whatever you get yourself into is almost surely above their paygrade." With that said, the god lifted himself up and turned towards his backside porch, walking towards it and then inside his familia home, closing the doors so me and Hermes were by ourselves.

"And you must be Madara, the Level 12 who completely messed up Freya's children" Hermes started, reaching his hand out for a shake with mine. I gave a small grunt and oblidged, albeit visibly showing that I did not like it. "It seems you have been expecting me... now why would you do that?"

I will be completely honest, I absolutely hate his tone of voice. Good got this guy grinds my gears without even really trying. Something something the type of guy I can never get along with that everyone has is what I heard once. But he is important because even I cannot destroy the pure Orichalcum gates guarding the many entrances of Knossos, so I do need me one of the keys to open them, and if Hermes can't get me one, no one who doesn't already have one can.

"I did indeed, Hermes" I spoke and wave at him to sit down where Take had been sitting just a bit ago. Once the God of Messages was eye to eye with me, I continued. "You are someone who can gather information and goods better than any other mortal or god in the entirety of Gekai. And you are in the know-how of many affairs regarding Orario that the public is unaware of..." I began explaining, taking my porcelain cup and emptying it before I finish my sentence. "...such as the sentient dungeon monsters known as the Xenos and the Knossos Labyrinth made by old Daedalus and his descendants."

Hermes smirked knowingly, but it also had an air of seriosity, as if he was challenging my guts by appearing like a predator daring me to make the next step, a tactic all too common with informants in order to test their opposite's character and see for what purpose they are revealing their part of information and what they might be asking of them.

I grabbed the teapot and poured myself another fill before also filling a cup for Hermes. "I will get right to it, I need a key to enter Knossos. The Orichalcum gates are invincible to conventional means, even mine. I MIGHT be able to brute force them open but I would exhaust myself to the point I'd be easy pickings for the vermin hiding there."

Now Hermes' smirk broadened and the predatory aura in it was gone, replaced with sheer, morbid curiosity. "Oh? And for what purpose do you want to enter Knossos? As you said, I am a gatherer of information and items, but before I even contemplate taking your request, I should know what I will be enabling by delivering such a key to you."

Of course he'd wanna know. But, Hermes is someone who can keep his lips sealed... so long as he isn't being charmed by Freya, that is, but since I caved her zealots in, she would know better than to catch my ire, so I am most likely in the safe from any leaks even through her, which translates to: Yes, I can tell Hermes.

"If you must know, fine." I start and take my porcelain cup, emptying it all in one go and setting it down before I explain. "The remnants of Evilus have something I require in order to complete a mission of utmost importance. 7 years ago, Alfia and Zald dedicated themselves to the roles of villainy in a vain effort of pushing this city to a higher level because if two familia full of level 7 to 9s could not kill the One-Eyed Black Dragon, then whatever was left behind in Orario couldn't even dream of faring half as well. When they died, Evilus collected what they could save of their corpses and embedded them within large crystals to preserve them in the hopes of using their bodies and the powers their Falnas had given them to create superior Creatures far more powerful than Revis. I need to retrieve their bodies for genetic samples so I can resurrect them and aquire information only they have."

Gradually throughout my explanation, Hermes' face shifted from a curious smirk to a forced smile then to a twitchy frown down to a very serious stare, so serious that not the slightest hint of his usual, playful character was present.

"...Resurrection, you say?" He asked, receiving a nod from me. "Ignoring that it violates one of the tightest, strictest taboos in the world, how would such a feat even be possible? And why do you intend on ressurecting those two?"

I took a deep breath before answering. "I will answer the latter question first. As they are the ones who fought the Black Dragon, they are the only ones who know its last whereabouts before it disappeared into slumber. Their knowledge of its last whereabouts are important in finding it so I can then proceed to kill it."

Hermes became displeased as he heard this because in his heart he has staked his hopes on Bell being the one to kill the beast, to be the Last Hero of this world that vanquishes the final of the Three Great Quests. But if someone as powerful as Madara seeks to end the creature, then Bell cannot be that final hero. That was what I know at least.

"As for how? I am in possession of an arsenal of abilities that are comparable to Magic but are not the same, which is why they bypass several of the usual limits such as the 3 spell slots per Falna. One such ability is the Impure World Resurrection, a technique that forcibly summons a soul back from the afterlife, from Tenkai, into a target host body, corroding the body's original soul in the process, before using the surrounding dust, dirt and microscopic debris to reform the body into the afterimage of the ressurected person in their prime. Because their bodies are shaped of dirt and muck, they are liberated of the earthly desires such as hunger, sleep and necessity of recovery. An immortal, inexhaustable body with infinite mind capacity. But the Impure World Resurrection has several requirements and limits and getting their genetic samples is one such requirement."

Hermes listened with utmost attention from what I could observe, the air of seriosity only growing around him. He remained silent for a few seconds before he slowly nodded. "What are the requirements and limits? I wish to know them all. Depending on what I hear, I will make my decision."

I nod once more. "The requirements are: Genetic samples of the target of resurrection and a living mortal sacrifice that can host the target's soul within them. The limitations are that it requires huge amounts of mind power to perform, even someone at my level could probably only bring back about 6 or 7 people at most, and it cannot resurrect people who have passed on free of any regrets. Whoever is brought back to life must have something they wish they could have finished during their life, something that serves as an anchor that guides them from Tenkai back to Gekai."

Hermes sunk deep into thought, judging by his gaze lowering and his humm from his throat. He was deeply contemplating his options it seems, but knowing how cunning he can be, I am expecting him to create some manner of condition I have to cave to before he agrees. I know his type too well to hope for the best.

Hermes sighed out and nodded. "I can organize a Key to Knossos for you, but there are requirements from my end that you have to abide towards."

Called it. I simply shrug and nudge my head upwards, giving him a wordless sign to voice them.

"Number 1: I will organize a party to accompany you made up of highly capable people, there to both help you navigate Knossos as well as be my witnesses to report there. You HAVE to tolerate them being with you all up until you have fulfilled your task."

Not the worst he could ask of me. I can actually see this being one of the most logical requests. Sure, my Sharingan can help with sighting and scouting, but it was not a Byakugan, so I could not see through walls or nearly as far, not to mention I don't have omnidirectional sight. But it also serves as a de-facto limitation on me. I can't go too crazy there and break too many taboos and laws. It is smart, but not even a hindrance to me.

"Number 2: Whichever living sacrifices you use for the resurrection technique you explained to me MUST be low ranked minions from Evilus' Remnants. Their high ranked members and any deities in their mids must be captured alive and brought back in good enough condition to be interrogated."

Makes sense. They want to know as much as they can, about Knossos, their plans, the full extend of their membership and any cells they have outside of Orario. I would have done that part regardless of his request. What I dread however is what might come next, the last requirements are, if the stereotypes are to be believed, always the worst and most inconvenient ones.

"And lastly, Number 3: I will only agree to giving you the key if you agree to offer your full scope of knowledge in training young Cranel and raise him until he is at a high enough level to accompany you on your quest to slay the dragon. If you lie to me about any of this requirement, I will immediately reject."

THIS FUCKING WEASEL! Oh I knew he had some blatant favoritism for Bell but to make him a requirement I have to see all the way through? There are not enough words in the entire vocabulary of several languages that can describe just how much I want to strangle this little shit here and now! And worse, because he is a God, he will know if I lie about either my intent or my dedication to it, which means I have to fully and consciously choose to train Bell all up until he can accompany me to kill the Dragon without being dead weight that will die in the process, which means AT LEAST until he is level 8.

I let loose the by far deepest, loudest of my sigh, my discomfort upon this requirement clearly visible on my face. I give Hermes a glare but nod my head slowly. "Fine, I will agree to fully train Bell Cranel so that he, if nothing else, can give it the killing blow and live to tell others about it."

Hermes returned to his usual smug smile and tipped his hat to me. "Then I can get to delivering you a Key. It will take anywhere from a few days to a month depending on how well my dear Asfi can catch one of their grunts that carries a key around. The last key we possessed was given to Ouranos, who then gave it to young Cranel when he challenged the Ikelos Familia in order to free the Xenos they captured a while ago, so I will have to get my hands on a new one."

Of course he would say that... for all I know he could be lying and just wants me to get started in training the little white-haired bundle of purity while he observes how serious I am about this before deciding to give me the key. Hermes was careful like that, but I could either agree to this or just bust Loki's doors down and snatch the key she has. Easy as this would be, it would also antagonize me from Orario and deprive me of a peaceful retirement for life as they would go to great lengths to either get rid of me or kick me out. If there is one thing that always bugged me the most, it's mosquitoes buzzing around my ear while I am trying to sleep, and I was not about to experience the human equivalent of such a peace-shattering inconvenience.

"Very well..." I spoke, caving in to Hermes' demands as I fully aknowledged that he has outsmarted me in this. "I will agree to all your requirements."

Hermes got up and clapped his hands together, his smug smile growing brighter at that. "Excellent, I will make preparations right away and let you know as soon as I have the key. I will also inform Loki to keep her familia from storming Knossos until then, as they have been eager to finish Evilus once and for all."

My eye visibly twitches at hearing that. Loki wanted to do what now? It seems I will have to pay her a visit after all.

"Very well. You know the way to the exit, show yourself out" I spoke, watching Hermes pretend to be hurt for the sake of comedic relief, but he promptly left.


About an hour later, precise to the exact second, Bell appeared in our garden again, bending his head once more and asking the damned question. "Sir Madara, Please Train me!"

If not for Hermes, I'd tell him to ask me in an hour once again, but... that damned God of Messages has just earned himself a spot in the top 5 of my shitlist.

"How many times have you asked me now, Bell?" I ask, keeping my voice as neutral and emotionless as I could.

"Uhm... a total of 23 times?"

"16 times yesterday, once per hour from 8 in the morning all the way to 4pm afternoon, and another 7 times today, starting at 6am, with now being 1 o'clock past midday. You have conviction and stubbornness, I will compliment you that much" I answer, which was actually and completely honest. I don't think many people have the patience to follow 'ask me in an hour' 22 times. "As such, I accept. I will join your Familia by its mansion in about 3 hours, I have something to do before I dedicate my attention to you."

Bell's head perked up instantly and he had this gleam in his eyes, which I could swear looked like his pupils became actual stars. Something something fictional trope, I assume. I have no idea what kind of different world I have been tossed into as I was not big on any fictional material, I only know some of the clichées at best. "Really!? Thank you so much! I won't disappoint!"

"I'm sure you won't" I mumble absentmindedly while the young white-haired boy left our property faster than he came into it. Once he was gone, I got up from my spot at the tea table and dusted my lower thighs off lightly, more to get a sense of relaxation than really getting rid of any dirt. "Now then, to pay Loki that visit..."

I body-flicker away from the scene and swiftly make my way across the rooftops to the north of Orario, where the Twilight Manor resides.


Finn left out a loud sigh as he went over the paperwork while also curbing his frustration about yet another rejection from Madara Uchiha of Takemikazuchi Familia. His power is indispensible for future explorations, but he just couldn't figure out what to offer to get his cooperation on the matter. It was like the level 12 was just so... BORED with whatever Finn cooked up for him. As if he is sick of the boons and rewards from always having received them. He did not understand, he truly did not, and it was becoming mildly frustrating with risk of further escalation.

Riveria and Gareth were also in the room, as this day was one of the Loki Familia's off days where they did not go into the dungeon and also did not undergo anything major, as such, the two executives had no excuse to shy away from aiding in paperwork.

"Well..." Riveria began, fixing her glasses for a moment. "Some good news are coming up, it appears we are no longer financially in the red. At the rate of increasing earnings we have made so far, we might even be able to affort miscellaneous purchases in a month or two if the upward gains remain consistent with this month's reports."

"That is good news indeed. I am more than happy to finally be rid of the debt we have with Goibnu" Finn agreed before putting one papersheet aside and going over the next one. "And adding to that, it appears that the cost reductions for bulk potion purchases have gone up a bit. Dian Cecht has given us his most recent updates with bulk rates and boons for regulars. The price drop per healing potion has gone up from 8% per 100 purchases to 8.6%, which means slightly lower costs for us. His boons for regulars have also been upgraded, we now receive 5 medium grade and 2 high grade healing potions as well as 10 low grade and 6 medium grade mind potions per month as long as we continue our business relationship with exclusively his familia, saving us a couple hundred thousand Valis each month."

"Ha, now thas' mighty generous of the ol' Dian Cecht" Gareth spoke, a chuckle accompanying his words. "The fella is so tight about money I'd never expected him to up his boons like that!"

"You are right on that, Gareth, but we shouldn't complain with how it benefits us" Finn added before he went to yet another sheet of paper. "And this is-"

"This month's accumulation of all irregular dungeon monsters throughout floors 1 to 16."

"Indeed it is-" Finn suddenly jumped from his seat because the voice that finished his sentence did NOT belong to either Riveria nor Gareth.

The other two also drew their weapons for a moment when they saw the source of the voice: Me.

They had left the window to their office open so I snuck in and decided to spook them, and I think I just made Finn have a major out of character moment with how jumpy he was for the entirety of the 3 seconds until he realized I was just standing against the wall behind his seat in the office, arms crossed and an amused smirk on my face.

"Madara!" Riveria spoke, her parental guardian mode being activated. "Don't just sneak up on us like that! We could have attacked you!"

It was honestly amusing to see her be so casual with me because of her prioritizing future prevention of accidents like what she mentioned. Almost made me feel like I was in the presence of an actual mother chastizing her children. "But you didn't, so nothing bad happened, Riveria" I responded, watching as she let out a sigh, but then, something in her demeanor changed. She seemed a bit less tense, a bit less uppity. From what little I learned in Orario, Elves have a tendency to be very stuck up and holier-than-thou because of their longevity and unrivaled racial aptitude for magic, and Riveria was something akin to their crown princess, daughter of the ruling High Elf lineage. My educated guess tells me that she often gets put on a pedestal and is relaxing because someone isn't being such an asskiss to her. A trait we share, it seems.

"Anyway, why are ya here, lad?" Gareth asks. "Ya decided to accept Finn's offer?"

"Still thinking about it, but no, I am here for a different reason" I respond and uncross my arms. "Hermes has informed me that you have been planning to storm Knossos and be rid of Evilus once and for all."

The executives and the captain of the Loki Familia all stiffened at this information. Finn decided to be the voice, because he was the most intellectually flexible one with sensitive discussions like this one. "Why would Hermes divulge such information?"

"Because I want to storm Knossos myself, of course" I respond, earning narrowed eyes from Finn, slightly widened eyes from Riveria and a belly-laugh from Gareth, but one that was not in mockery of my intent, but sheer amusement at the fact we align in that idea.

"Then why not join with us on that endeavor?" Finn questioned, seeing the opportunity there.

"Because, quite frankly, you would be in the way, so I need you to call it off on your end."

Now Finn was frowning. "And how, pray tell, would we be in the way? I am sure you know that we are second only to Freya, and you have seen first hand that they are capable, even if compared to yourself they are extremely weak. When it comes to the world as a whole, we are at the top-"

I interrupted him by lifting my right hand and making a 'stop' sign with it. "It is just as you said, to me and my power, you are as a level 1 would be to you. If you accidentally stand just slightly too close to me, the range of my abilities could kill you instantly. And if I can avoid having having to explain the end result of your own egotistic idiocy to Loki, I will."

The insult seems to have riled them up a bit, or at least Riveria, with the frown she had on her face. "There is no arguing that your might is mountains beyond what we are familiar with, but even you can fall for traps, surprise attacks, and even you can be dragged to exhaustion eventually. However slim the possibility may be, if there is a way to defeat you, Evilus will exploit it to the fullest of their capacity. You will need back up, as assurance if nothing else."

Not going to lie, that is a fairly sound and strong argument. I decided to engage it. "I will aknowledge that even my stamina is not infinite, but it is vastly multiplicative to what you know. The day I face genuine exhaustion will be the day miracles become true. Without a single break, even for eating and sleeping, I can go on for up to 7 days and 7 nights in a fight. But even aknowledging the possibility of that, Hermes is organizing a personalized party that will accompany me for when I go down into Knossos, so you can tell him that he may pick some people from your Familia if he so wishes."

I could see their dissatisfaction with my words, no matter how well they hid it. It is one of the few feelings I am so intimately familiar with that I recognize any and every single one of its signs on anyone who doesn't have the most perfect pokerface in the world.

Finn voiced a small sigh before he lowered himself on his seat again. "Then let me cut to the important question: What is so important about your venture into Knossos that requires such careful planning and preparation to the point of ensuring no second party crosses ways with yours?"

I shrug my shoulders and move off the wall. "If Hermes feels like telling you, he can. I said what I wanted to, and you can either do as asked or not. Just understand that if I do see anyone unauthorized by Hermes in Knossos, I will bring them back in a state of dire need for Airmid's emergency treatment. I do not entertain tresspassing on my plans lightly and I do not deal mundane punishments for those who dare do so anyway."

With that said, I body-flicker out of the window, leaving them to their thoughts.


My next destination was the Hearthfire Manor, home of the Hestia Familia.

Since I keep using body-flicker to move around, I was there in less than a minute, sat atop the tree they had in their large backyard as I observed what was occuring. The entire Familia was training from the looks of it. Haruhime I could see meditating in order to expand her focus and grow her magic as well as her understanding of it, possibly in hopes of awakening her third spell? A possibility I will address later on. Lily was training her agility by dodging throwing stars shot by Yamato, though with Madara's level of skill in possession, her aim looks a bit shoddy. Definetly can improve it, and likely will. Welf was sparring with Bell, though I could see that it was more for him than for Bell's sake as the white-haired boy was clearly holding back quite a bit.

Well, their day is about to change. I drop down from the tree and land with no effort, dusting myself off. Bell was the first to notice me due to the rustling of the leaves. Welf's eyes followed first, then Lily and Yamato's, and with the sudden silence engulfing the area, Haruhime interrupted her meditation to look at me as well.

"Don't let me interrupt your training, little ones" I commented while I cross my hands.

"Sir Madara, you came!" Bell excitedly voiced, only to have his forehead harmlessly flicked by my right middle finger.

"Don't call me Sir, makes me sound way older than I am. Anyway, as agreed, I am here to begin your training."

Bell nodded at first, but then his face morphed into confusion. "But you said you would be here around 4 in the afternoon. That is still over 2 1/2 hours away..."

"Well, I took much less time than I initially anticipated. Now then, first things first... Do you have a whiteboard and something I can draw on it with?"

A few minutes later, we were all situated in their backyard, the five of them sitting a few feet away from me while I had a blackboard and a piece of white chalk in my hand to write on it with. Whiteboards and Markers weren't a thing apparently, but as long as I can demonstrate, oh well.

"What I will teach you today is the theory and practical knowledge of how to properly strike your enemy. It is simple yet very versatile and applicable with all manner of combat, including weaponry and projectiles." I explained and drew a small 3-dimensional square on the board. "Now, the theory behind it is actually fairly easy, but I intend to see whether or not you can figure it out yourselves. The question: What determines the momentum of an object?"

I watched as they were all thinking about it before Yamato lifted her hand and I silently pointed at her. "The mass of the object?"

"That is a part of the equation, yes" I said and wrote down the mathematic symbol for mass, being a lowercase m, a good chunk higher than the square I drew earlier. "What else?"

It seems physics in this world is sorely lacking because they were thinking in silence for well over a minute, but no answer came. I suppose I should have figured, considering this world has magic and uses it for almost every day to day technology, so conventional science has been left behind severely. I sigh out loudly before I write down the full equation of m*v=P. "The mass of an object multiplied by its velocity equals the Momentum of the object."

They all had clearly awed expressions on their faces at this piece of information as if it was some revolutionary discovery... well, for this world's standart of scientific advancement, it might as well be.

"The two values that matter therefore are mass and velocity. Both can be malleable individually to increase or decrease the resulting force of the object in question. A tiny object can have the same impact as a meteor if the velocity is adjusted accordingly and two objects at the same velocity can have varying forces if their mass differs from one another. Now, next question, adding to this one, how do you determine the force of an object?"

Silence once more, which at this point did not surprise me at all. I sighed once more before I wrote the next equation down, being the mass times acceleration equals force, or m*a=F. "The mass of an object multiplied by its acceleration. Now you will see that the two equations for Momentum and Force are very similar, but just how similar are they?" And yet again a contemplative silence as they were all thinking. I decided to just throw the towel and reveal it all in one go. "The acceleration of an object is its velocity divided by time, v/t. However, we know that velocity is the distance divided by time, s/t, so the end equation of acceleration a is s/t / t." I explained, the second division line bigger and thicker. "And if we have such a multi-layered division, we can change it into a multiplication by flipping the latter division. In which case, s/t / t/1 becomes (s/t)*(1/t) or (s*1)/(t*t). This results in acceleration being the distance divided by the square power of time, s/t^2. So the force of an object is its mass multiplied by acceleration, m*(s/t^2)=F. Now, onto the most important question, why am I teaching you physics?"

Lili answered first, given she's the smartest and most attentive of them it did not surprise me. "You said there are practical applications to the theory, so something about this is useful when fighting?"

"Correct" I answer in a monotone voice before moving the chalkboard aside enough to have plenty of free room for demonstrations. "By applying acceleration rather than a steady velocity, you will be able to manipulate the force of your attack in a fight as well as micro-manage how much energy you exert in each attack. The differences may be small individually, but cumulatively they can buy you many much needed minutes in a battle. And the potency of the attacks also varies greatly."

I took a firm yet simple stance, my left foot pivoted forward, my left hand struck out with its open palm facing forward, my right hand balled into a fist and placed at my hips. I then made a first strike, causing a slight gust of wind that went across barely a few feet in distance. "This was a moderate punch with a steady velocity and no acceleration beyond the initial motion. Now, I will repeat the punch with the same strength, but I will vastly increase the extend of the acceleration for an ever-increasing velocity up until the end point" I explained and withdrew my fist back to the hip, then made my second punch, which broke the sound barrier and created a loud thunder clap as well as a much stronger gust of wind, almost a minor shockwave even. "As you can see, the acceleration makes very large differences. You can also mix-match this by applying higher acceleration over shorter distances to create an equally powerful punch but with less movement, in case of restricted room for motion. So, all of you will practice how to continuously accelerate your punches until you have exceeded your strongest strikes enough to satisfy me."

The five Hestia Familia children immediately got up and started to do as told, all 5 of them emulating my stance from when I demonstrated and started throwing punches with one hand to try and get the hang of it.

And meanwhile I was inwardly sighing because this was going to be a very long waiting period until Hermes gets me that damned key...