I do not own Danmachi/Jujutsu Kaisen or any other referenced franchise, only my own OCs.

{Thoughts}

"Speech"

Character Sheet / System Text

"Tvs, Radios, Texts, and newspapers…"

(Disclaimers)

*Onomatopoeia*

"Cursed Speech"


Another one bites the dust.

Dun Dun Dun

Another one bites the dust.

And another one gone and another one gone.

Another one bites the dust!

I continue humming and silently singing as I walk through the dungeon.

That's basically how my experience on the first floor of the dungeon has been so far.

As I encounter another lone Kobold, I quickly impale it upon my spear while humming before grabbing its stone as it falls and placing it in my bag.

I spot a group of goblins emerging from the walls and open my mouth to finish this quickly.

"Get Crushed" I order, and the world obeys.

The entire group of goblins gets crushed into the ground, exploding into black mist and leaving behind their loot.

I feel like I'm playing something like AFK arena, except I'm not AFK and I can't go to sleep and wake up later to collect a shit ton of rewards.

"Download Raid Shadow Legends today to get-" I begin meme'ing only to stop in my tracks as I spot it.

The thing I've been waiting for this entire time! (It was like 30 minutes)

The Jack Bird.

It spots me, and I feel it narrow its eyes at me as if it can recognize that while I am not a cheating level 2 or up, I am still a worthy challenge.

It raises its leg, preparing to start the chase-

"Sleep" I command cheerily as the Jack Bird falls to the ground, unconscious.

I hum as I make my way toward it and infuse it with a ton of Cursed Energy.

It twitches slightly in its sleep, showing signs of waking up, but I immediately stab forward with my spear and pierce it cleanly.

Dropping from its remains is a huge golden egg, easily bigger than my entire hand.

"THE BANK HAS BEEN ACQUIRED!" I yell out to the world as I quickly put it in my secret pouch.

"Bread." I announce as I grab the rest of the magic stones from the goblins and kobolds I killed.

I HAVE ACQUIRED BANK. THE BREAD HAS BEEN ACQUIRED.

I hum to myself happily as I start making my way back up.

Looking into the walls, I see that the dungeon has calmed down slightly.

Once Bell and I split up, the dungeon began releasing a ton of monsters at me in hordes.

Considering the very understandable fact of: I don't want to die, I decided to Explode all the enemies out of worry for my life.

So… bad news, the magic stones and drops went kaboom. Good news, my Cursed Energy reserves grew significantly.

Not anything ridiculous like a two times increase, maybe like a 30% increase, but that's HUGE. That's like… months of training for Toge.

After the dungeon stopped the initial horde, it began periodically spawning groups of Kobolds and Goblins all around me. I used this as an opportunity to practice my spearmanship, swordsmanship (but with daggers), and even hand-to-hand at some point.

I also kept an eye out for any Jack Birds. The dungeon kept spawning every type of monster at a rapid rate. Surely it'd eventually spawn one of the million-dollar eggs, right?

I was correct! It did!

And because of some experimenting that I did after formulating a theory from when I killed that Kobold with Bell and it dropped a monster drop from the leg I twisted….

I found out that infusing Cursed Energy into the areas Monster Drops originate from almost guarantees their drop.

Not only that but infusing them with more Cursed Energy could (potentially) raise their quality!

Additionally, I found out how normal monster drops form!

When the dungeon finishes making the last monster out of a single concentration of Cursed Energy, the remaining Cursed Energy that is too little to form another monster is instead infused in the last forming monster and increases its strength slightly while dropping a Drop Item as a reward.

I am currently swimming in monster drops and stones. Not to mention the Golden Egg I have.

I stop my giggling as I look at the last Concentration of Cursed Energy (near me) as it forms one last group of goblins.

They break out of the walls and land on the ground, growling and snarling at me as I smirk.

"Come." I taunt them with my spear pointed at them as they all roar and charge.

I take a deep breath and step forward to meet my adversaries!

I slash my spear in a wide arc as the first goblin flies to the wall from the force before spinning and using my momentum to slam dunk the next one, crushing its head while also getting some style points~.

I infuse my spear with a little bit of Cursed Energy, just enough to cover it with my Cursed Energy Aura (which is a Violet Purple FYI) as I stab forward, impaling two goblins as they pop out of existence.

"Double Kill!"

The last two goblins lunge in the air for me as I smirk.

"Blast Away!" I command, and they obey.

The last two goblins stop in mid-air for but a moment before violently flying in the air and into the walls.

*Bang!*

They pop into black mist like the others as I puff my chest out proudly.

My Cursed Energy reserves are doing just fine, but my Mind is low right now.

That's another discovery I've had! Cursed Speech took away the drain on my stamina and instead made it a drain on my Mind, which is fucking amazing.

This means that I can fight with both weapons and magic without having to worry about my stamina constantly, and the only pool of energy I have to worry about constantly is Cursed Energy as I use it for both, but it's also my biggest pool and I easily recover it just by being in the dungeon!

I merrily pick up my last drops of the day before heading towards the exit, passing a party of Adventurers on the way.

They stare at me warily as I completely ignore their existence and move past them.

One thing to note, a lone person happily walking back to the exit with absolutely no scratches or injuries? That's basically announcing to the world that you're a high-class adventurer and any of the… bad adventurers avoid you like the plague.

So… any adventurers I met avoided eye contact with me and moved at an even faster rate than they already were.

Fake it till you make it baybeeee!

I hum a nice tune to reflect my good mood as I finally exit the dungeon and begin heading toward the Adventurer's Guild.

With this new money, first thing Imma do is get me and Bell some potions. After that, I'll probably get some actually good equipment as well, nothing that would hamper my and Bell's potential but something that would last us a while.

I should also have gotten enough money to buy a house. As nice as Hestia was allowing me to live in the church, it was a bit… broken down. So I'll find a better one to house Hestia and Bell as thanks for letting me crash with them for a couple days!

Aren't I such a generous man?

I make my way through the streets of Orario and to the Adventurer's Guild as I enter the building and spot Bell and Eina at a relatively empty counter.

"Mike!" Bell calls out to me with a wave as soon as he sees me, smiling brightly in his usual way.

"Bell." I reply simply with a smile, my tone infected by my own giddiness.

I walk to the duo as Eina narrows her eyes at me, trying to see any scratches or bite marks like Bell had.

"I was not hurt. Miss Eina, are you by any chance allowed to exchange magic stones and drop items privately for me? I wish to exchange mine in a private setting." I request immediately as Eina blinks while Bell tilts his head in confusion.

"I am indeed capable of doing that, is there a reason you wish to do so?" She asks with narrowed eyes as I smirk (not that she can see it).

"Yes." I answer, my eyes contrasting my smirk by deadpanning.

"... Right. Please follow me to a private room." She leads me and Bell to a private room as we walk past some Guild Employees who stare at us weirdly.

As we enter the room and close it behind us, I take out my pouches and open the first as I begin emptying it into a small box on the table.

Dozens of Goblin Fangs, Kobold Nails, and Magic Stones all smoothly fall out of the bag and into the box as Eina and Bell's jaws fall to the floor.

"I had a productive half an hour." I humbly state, still smirking to high heavens.

"... and the other pouch is filled with just as many items…?" Eina asks, dreading the answer.

"No. It only has a single Drop Item." Eina breathes out a sigh of relief.

"Specifically, this Drop Item." I take out the Jack Bird's Golden Egg as the duo's jaws drop again.

"Is… IS THAT-" I quickly move to put a hand on her mouth as she's about to yell out for everyone to hear.

She freezes after feeling my hand on her mouth and stares at me in confusion as I deadpan at her.

"I asked for a private room. If we are to start yelling out everything then we might as well have done this in the middle of the lobby." Her ears turn red as she pushes my hand off and sputters.

"Ah- I'm so sorry! I was just shocked since this is the biggest Golden Egg I've ever seen and it's just-" She makes a strangled noise come out of her throat as Bell's eyes try their damn hardest to fall out of their sockets.

"It is of no issue. Could you please calculate our total and try your best to not spread around our earnings?" She stares at the box silently for a few seconds.

"First, may I ask how many monsters you've fought down there?" Eina stares at me with a pissed expression and narrowed eyes.

"... I'm not sure? I wasn't counting. I and the Dungeon have a love-hate relationship as I've come to realize. It throws a lot of enemies at me, but they give a lot of drop items as you can see." I gesture to the dozens of Drop Items in the box as Eina blinks.

"... I see." She eventually says.

The room turns quiet as Bell and Eina stare at me without saying anything, making this entire scene unnecessarily awkward.

Shaking my head. Mongrels amirite?

"... I will be right back. Please wait here." Eina eventually says, cutting the awkwardness and taking the box away after she covers it carefully.

Once she's gone, Bell quickly runs to me and bombards me with questions.

"Howdidyougetsomanyitemswhatwasthatbiggoldeneggisitexpensivedidwegetalotofmoneyhowdidyoufightsomanythingsinsuchlittletimewhatisalovehaterelationshipwhyareyoucompletelyunhurt-"

"Stop speaking" Bell's mouth shuts as he stares at my unimpressed half-lidded eyes and blushes in embarrassment.

We stare at each other for a few seconds as Bell tries to speak but isn't able to and I just stare at him with amusement as he mimes words but doesn't say anything.

Eventually, my command dissipates and allows Bell to speak again.

"Sorry! I was just shocked and excited after seeing the drop items and magic stones! Oh! By the way, here's the um… money for the first kill we had." He takes out a small pouch and offers it to me.

"We'll add it to the Familia treasury. I'll be giving you a certain amount of money to spend on whatever you want as well as equipment. Use that money wisely, okay?" I take the pouch and place it with my own as Bell nods his head seriously.

"By the way, why is the Jack Bird Egg thing so shocking? How much Valis is it worth?-" Just as Bell was about to ask, Eina walks into the room with a suspiciously small pouch as she sets it on the table under my unamused expression.

"Your total comes up to… 2,055,635. Twenty-five thousand has been deducted from your total amount in exchange for this bag of holding that can hold all of the coins without being… unnecessarily large. I trust that this is not an issue?" She stares at me pleadingly, as if dreading the alternative if I deny the bag.

"Shake." (Salmon) I give her a thumbs up, ignoring Bell who's fallen unconscious on the chair he was standing next to.

She lets out a sigh of relief as I take the Pouch from the table and open it… only to find more pouches…

"They are divided into 10000 in each pouch inside the pouch." She explains at my confused expression as I deadpan at her.

"... Inefficient. Here." I throw a pouch with 10k inside of it at her and she catches it with confusion.

"That should be my and Bell's loan now repaid, no?" I explain as her face lights up in understanding.

"Yes. Now, can I help you with anything else?" Her face now looks weary as she stares at me.

"... No. Well… actually, one thing. Where would I go if I am looking to buy a new house?" I might as well ask since I have no fucking idea where I'm going or where anything is, and I doubt Bell would be the most knowledgeable about such things.

"Oh. That's easy, there are a few familias that deal with Real Estate, Construction, and Furniture. I'll write you a list with their names and their addresses." She takes out a small notepad, scribbles something in, and rips it out before handing it to me.

"Thank you. That is all I will be needing today. Thank you once again for all of your assistance. As well as for taking care of Bell." I put the other two pouches into the money pouch before I attach it to my waist and then hoist Bell over my shoulder like a potato sack, much to the sweatdropping Eina's confusion.

"... It is of no issue. Merely my job. Also… You are allowed to wait for him to wake up before leaving if you wish…?" I'm so thankful no one can see my grin under my collar.

"I have things to do. I cannot waste time waiting for him to wake up." Read: It's funnier to walk through town with him on my shoulder.

"... I see." She's way too done with her life to actually try and discourage me from doing this.

Good! I do what I want!

I bow to her slightly before exiting out of the little booth and out of the Guild Hall.

What a great day!

[King Crimson! Timeskippu!]

"Lady Hestia. We've returned." I call out from the door to the basement knowing that today's the equivalent of Saturday, so she shouldn't have left for work.

"ALREADY!?" I hear the familiar voice of my goddess scream as I open the door and enter.

"Yes. Would you have liked it if we stayed out longer?" I ask, knowing the answer already.

"NOPE! Welcome home! Where's my Bell-" Hestia runs in front of the staircase with a happy smile only to be greeted with the sight of me holding Bell over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"MY BELL! WHAT HAPPENED?!" She screams out so loudly I think my ears bled.

I'm supposed to be the one with a Cursed voice damn it.

"His wrist got scratched." I answer with a monotone as Hestia glares at me.

"WHY IS HE UNCONSCIOUS WHEN HIS WRIST ONLY GOT SCRATCHED!" Fucking Banshee Sakura moment.

"... Lady Hestia… Please use your inside voice. He fainted after hearing our earnings today." I explained as Hestia stares at me angrily.

"How much money would you have to have gotten for him to faint!?" At least she isn't as loud anymore.

"Two million Valis." Hestia's jaw drops to the floor.

"Awawawawawawa… WHAT?" She grabs me by the collar as her eyes widen to a ridiculous degree.

"2,000,000 Valis." I repeat.

Hestia stares at me for a few seconds before joining Bell in bye-bye land and fainting.

I watch as her eyes roll back to the back of her skull and she begins falling, only for me to catch her and throw her over my other shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

A sack of Jagamaru-kuns? Perhaps.

I chuckle slightly as I unceremoniously drop Hestia on her chair and Bell on the couch before taking a seat on my own chair.

Now to wait until they're awake…

I sit in my seat for a few minutes while rocking my feet back and forth, expecting them to wake up any second now only to be disappointed as I hear Bell snoring and Hestia mumble stuff about her 'Bell-kun'.

I contemplated using my trump card on her as punishment for being cringe and using honorifics, that being my 'Shit Yourself' command, but I decided not to for obvious reasons.

Hmmmmm….

Hmmmm….

Hmmm…

Can I wake someone up if I say 'Wake Up'? That would be very useful in a survival situation.

Lemme try it.

"Wake Up" I command.

Nothing happens for a few seconds, but suddenly, Hestia and Bell yawn collectively and rise to sit while looking around in confusion.

"BELLLLLL~" Until Hestia spots Bell and shoots herself at him to hug the life out of him.

"Ahaha… Hello, Lady Goddess." Bell wryly hugs the goddess back as I snicker and give him a thumbs up.

"Would you both like a reminder of the last thing that happened before you fell unconscious?" They both look at me and make a thinking expression before they both remember a specific number and rapidly return to being shocked.

"AH! Two Million? How did you get that much?" Bell jumps from his seat, thankfully not yelling for the world to hear.

I stay silent for a moment as both of them stare at me before I dramatically take a deep breath.

"... I will tell you guys how, but I need both of you to promise to not tell anyone anything at all. Not a single soul should know of this information, am I understood?" I look at them very seriously as they both gulp and nod seriously.

"You all remember my Cursed Energy, correct?" At Hestia's nod and Bell's confused look, I realize that we haven't told Bell anything about that yet.

"Okay, Bell, the energy I use for my magic, the one I've shown you multiple times, is not just Mind, but also another energy named Cursed Magic. Now, when I use this energy, I expend it and force it on my enemy to obey my commands. I found out that if I infuse my Cursed Energy into the monsters, they are guaranteed to give a drop item. If they were already going to drop one, they drop it at a higher quality." I explain as Bell's jaw drops again and Hestia looks thoughtful.

"Do you know why it does that?" Hestia asks as she puts a hand up to her chin.

"Well, the monsters are made from Cursed Energy, I believe. Or at least partly." Hestia's eyes widen once she hears that and jumps up to her feet.

"WHAT!? What the heck do you mean that monsters are made from Cursed Energy?!" She grabs me by the collar and begins shaking me back and forth.

Leave me alone woman, your Bell is over there.

"When I was in the dungeon, I noticed that the Dungeon moved Cursed Energy to the walls just before a monster spawned." Hestia stops shaking me for a second and looks as if she's contemplating her entire existence.

"Is everything okay, Lady Goddess?" Bell asks worriedly.

"Michael Inumaki. Tell me, are you able to create monsters like the dungeon?" Hestia surprisingly ignored Bell and looks at me seriously as she asks her question.

Oh shit, she used my full name. ABORT.

"No. I don't even think that's… possible?" I hesitate slightly at the end and Hestia narrows her eyes.

"What is it?" She demands.

"Nothing. I was thinking of Cursed Spirits, but I realized I can't create those either." She huffs and lets out a sigh of relief as she smacks me on the head repeatedly.

"You are probably the most annoying child I've ever had!" She declares as I and Bell stare at her.

"I'm one of your only two children." I point out as she looks at me smugly before making her way to where Bell is.

"I know! And my Bell is nowhere near as annoying as you are." She sticks her tongue out at me as Bell looks at me apologetically.

"... Right. Anyways, let us move back to the topic we were speaking about. I saw a Jack Bird, which is a bird that drops an egg that could be sold for at least 1 million Valis." The duo's eyes widen slightly as they finally understand.

"You found two Jack Birds?" Or not.

"No, Bell. I found one, ordered it to sleep, infused it with a large amount of Cursed Energy, and then killed it. The single egg it dropped gave us 2 million Valis." They both let out a little 'ooh' as they nod.

"I thought you'd done something stupid like going to the middle floors or something." Hestia admits sheepishly as I stare at her.

"I think I'd only need to kill 100 minotaurs to get a million Valis. Not a terrible guess." My smirk is hidden behind my Collar, but I enjoy Hestia and Bell's choking faces.

"YOU ARE NOT TO FIGHT ANY 'MINOTAURS' UNTIL YOU ARE AT LEAST LEVEL TWO!" Hestia declares loudly with finality as I stare at her weirdly.

The minotaurs that fucked Bell up should come out in two weeks. It seems I either have to reach level two before then or I'll be breaking that command.

Oh well.

"Understood. Bell, you should get your Status updated first. I'll get mine updated after yours." I get up and head to the kitchen to see what's still here and what's not, letting Hestia do her thing with Bell.

I rummage around the kitchen for a few minutes before I hear Hestia call out for me.

I move back into the room just as Bell puts his shirt back on and then stares at the paper in his hand.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Name: Bell Cranel

Race: Human

Level: 1

Ability Scores:

STR: I- 4

END: I- 3

DEX: I- 6

AGI: I- 7

MAG: I- 0

Magic:

[]

[]

[]

Skills:

"Ah… Still no skill." His smile becomes slightly strained, but it returns full force once he sees me.

"Don't worry about not having a skill yet, Bell. I know that you have more potential than everyone else in Orario. Just keep at it. Plus, 20 stat points in one day is amazing." I pat him on the head as he grows red and lets out an extremely quiet 'thank you'.

Hestia looks at me weirdly after saying that though.

"I guess it's time for my update. Bell, do you mind?" He quickly nods and then runs to the room shutting the door behind him.

I look to Hestia and go to whisper in her ear.

"Lady Hestia… Please keep my status a secret from Bell. I do not wish to discourage him by showing him the amount of improvement, magic, and skills I have." I request quietly as her eyes widen before turning to me and nodding seriously.

"I understand. Now, get naked!" I deadpan at her but comply before laying down on the couch.

She sits on my back and I feel something cold touch drop on me before a gasp ensues from Hestia.

"Don't Yell" "How did you gain this much improvement?" Hestia was about to scream but my command made her whisper just as she was about to speak.

Her eyes widened and she facepalmed.

"Sorry! Good thing you caught me in time." She whispers in my ear, this time willingly.

"It seems that I've already figured out my own Goddess while only knowing her for under two days." I feel her smack my head as I smirk before a paper is pushed on my back and a glow emanates from it and then dies down.

"Here, look at your stats already you annoying child." She slides the paper into my face as I rise up, pushing her off of me roughly, and look at the paper.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Name: Michael Inumaki

Race: Human (Jujutsu Sorcerer)

Level: 1

Ability Scores:

STR: I- 44

END: I- 98

DEX: I- 53

AGI: I- 59

MAG: H- 136

Magic:

Cursed Speech:

This magic allows the user to infuse their words with cursed energy to improve the spirit of their commands, forcing all those who hear it to obey.

[]

[]

[]

Skills:

Cursed Energy Manipulation:

The ability to gather, channel, and release Cursed Energy. The greater the Negative energy present, the more energy can be channeled and gathered.

Privative Gathering:

Increased Excelia gained from the gathering of Cursed Energy.

"Hm. This makes sense." I nod as Hestia's lips twitch and she smacks me twice on the head.

"How does this make sense?" She whispers angrily as I turn to her with amusement, my collar sadly not present as I smirk.

"My Cursed Energy Reservoirs grew significantly in the dungeon because of the amount of Cursed Energy present there. It makes sense that my Magic stat would scale with my other 'magical' energy, or at least try to grow alongside it so it isn't overtaken easily." I explain to Hestia as she once again grows thoughtful.

"What about endurance?" She asks next as I think for a little bit.

"Well, before I had… a lot of magic as I do now, I used to use my Stamina for my Cursed Speech. It seems that my stamina, aka Endurance, also tries to scale with my Cursed Energy since it used to be the other pool of energy I expended. That's also not mentioning the fact I ran around everywhere without stopping for rest while in the dungeon." I formulate a theory and present it to Hestia as she nods.

"Bell, you can come back now." I put my shirt out and hide my paper inside it as Bell slams the door open and looks at me expectantly.

I look at Hestia's amused expression before removing my own amusement.

"You won't see my Status just yet Bell. It has something on it that I don't feel comfortable sharing with anyone except the goddess. Mostly because I don't really have a choice with her sadly." She punches me lightly on the arm as Bell's expression turns crestfallen.

Sorry, little one. It is for your own good.

"Don't worry. I haven't had much progress either. My magic grew by 10 because of my use of it against the Kobolds though." I pat him on the shoulder as he nods before becoming excited again. Hestia looks at me weirdly as I ignore her.

"Goddess! I have to tell you about my first encounter with monsters!" He excitedly drags Hestia to the couch as he begins narrating our first encounter with those first five kobolds.

"I will be heading out and searching for some houses for sale. You both can have fun." I straighten my clothes and begin heading for the stairs as Hestia and Bell wave at me.

Yare Yare Daze~

[Two Week Timeskip!] (yay our first big timeskip!)

The last two weeks have been… somewhat eventful.

I've had a ton of progress. Which is fair considering how my skill works and my goal of getting a lead on Bell before he overtakes me with his ridiculous anime protagonist powers.

I've made it all the way up until the 8th floor, mostly because if I went down any deeper some unsavory individuals would notice my magic stones from the lower floors and begin asking questions.

Eina had a fucking panic attack when I came back with Magic Stones from the 8th floor. She didn't speak to me for a few days before Bell eventually convinced her that I was 'sorry'.

I wasn't. I'd do it again!

Other than that, I've been masquerading as a more experienced adventurer despite having only been one for the last two weeks. I've asked Hestia to lie to anyone who asks how long I've been an adventurer if only to keep some of the heat off of our familia for a little while longer.

I've realized that my growth is definitely gonna be able to keep up with Bell's, and considering I'm already as strong as a level 2, I should always have a little bit of an edge over him as long as we stay on the same level.

Worst case scenario, I sacrifice more time going dungeon diving alone to catch up.

The woes I must endure to keep my competent older brother image…

I've also been giving Bell some lessons in our free days to hopefully get him up to speed faster, mostly basic combat stuff like awareness and strategy.

We haven't had to really worry about making money ever since I got that Jack Bird. I was able to find a great house for 1.6 Million Valis with over a dozen different rooms and a ton of space both inside the house and outside in the backyard.

An average house in Orario is about 800,000 Valis, 1 Million for one with a backyard. That's a normal-sized house with 3-5 rooms at most and a couple bathrooms.

The house I was able to acquire was a bit cheaper than its land value was worth, mostly because it's near the Hephaestus family home and its forges which makes a ton of noise at almost every hour of the day.

I was smart though and picked the furthest house from the Hephaestus familia home that was still in the area affected by the price decrease. With a little bit of soundproofing and renovations, we had a perfect starting home for our familia!

Other than that, I spent 100,000 Valis on all types of potions, high and low grade as I was taking absolutely no fucking chance. Nuh-uh. Antidotes? Elixirs? Mind Potions? Gimme Gimme Gimme.

Lastly, I got Bell and me some low-tier weapons that would be good for the first 5 floors but nothing else (up to floor 8 for me, but don't tell him that). I don't want to waste his potential by letting him use stronger equipment on the higher floors, so I'll only allow us to upgrade when we're on lower floors and NEED the upgrade.

Other than that though, I've had some major improvement in my stats.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Name: Michael Inumaki

Race: Human (Jujutsu Sorcerer)

Level: 1

Ability Scores:

STR: E- 422

END: D- 598

DEX: E- 453

AGI: E- 480

MAG: B- 769

Magic:

Cursed Speech:

This magic allows the user to infuse their words with cursed energy to improve the spirit of their commands, forcing all those who hear it to obey.

[]

[]

[]

Skills:

Cursed Energy Manipulation:

The ability to gather, channel, and release Cursed Energy. The greater the Negative energy present, the more energy can be channeled and gathered.

Privative Gathering:

Increased Excelia gained from the gathering of Cursed Energy.

I could've had more by now if I said fuck it and dove into the deeper floors, but first, I have to keep up appearances, and second, I don't want to be too far from Bell's level for when I show him my status or he might be discouraged.

Bell's sheet:

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Name: Bell Cranel

Race: Human

Level: 1

Ability Scores:

STR: I- 28

END: I- 25

DEX: I- 39

AGI: I- 46

MAG: I- 0

Magic:

[]

[]

[]

Skills:

Honestly, even for a normal adventurer, this is pretty good for two weeks on the first and second floor. At this rate, he would maybe level up in a year or two, which is fucking amazing.

Bell didn't have another person to help him understand that his speed of growth was already decent, so he always seemed disappointed in the anime I think.

Not like it matters anyway, only I know that he's gonna say fuck you to logic and level up in the next two weeks.

I stop musing and thinking to myself as Bell finally exits our familia home and runs to me happily, his adventurer's gear equipped and ready to go as I turn to greet him.

He's wearing a light set of leather armor and has a few Daggers strapped to him alongside a pack with potions and a compartment for magic stones.

This is gonna be the moment of truth. Or the day of truth, I don't know.

The minotaurs should be released today and attack the 5th floor, and Bell has been antsy and keeps 'subtly' trying to request to go on a lower floor.

I'm gonna take him down to the 5th floor to 'show him how scary it is' before 'bringing him back'.

Oh, by the way, I'm the Familia Captain.

I asked Hestia if I would be allowed to appoint myself Captain and she told me yes.

I am kind of carrying the Familia on my back right now so… It's not too absurd for me to be the Captain.

"Are you ready for today, Bell?" I stare at him with my usual expressionless but secretly amused gaze as he salutes me with a bright smile.

"Yes! Are we by any chance traveling to… maybe… a lower floor…?" He squirms a little as he speaks as I make a show of dramatically sighing.

"Yes. Today I will be taking us both down a couple floors to show you what it's like deeper in the dungeon. I will only be taking us down to the fifth floor, where the only unexpected enemy we will face would be Dungeon Lizards, but you WILL remember that the Goblins and Kobolds are much stronger the deeper in the dungeon you go. They even use Landform weapons." I steel my gaze at Bell as he whoops happily before standing at attention while saluting again.

"Sir yes sir!" He happily yells out.

"You are also to follow EVERY command down to the last letter without questions. We are not messing around. Understood?" I narrow my eyes at him as he gulps before nodding hastily.

"Y-yes!"

"Good. Let's go. You shouldn't need to go to Miss Eina today so we are going to head straight for the dungeon. Are you sufficiently prepared?" I turn around and begin walking while turning my head slightly to keep an eye on him as he nods with a big smile.

"I've got everything that I need and I checked twice! Weapons, armor, potions, and pouches!" He lists off his equipment as I nod, satisfied.

"I've seen enough. I'm satisfied."

As we walk through the town and make our way through the streets, we make it halfway toward the Tower of Babel before I suddenly stop in my tracks and snap my head up.

My Cursed Energy alerted me of someone watching me and Bell momentarily before stopping after a few seconds.

It was only for a second, but I was able to feel it and trace back its general location.

That location specifically being…

I smirk as I stare at the highest floor of the tower, Bell glances at me in confusion after he bumped into me once I suddenly stopped moving.

"What's wrong Mike?" He places a hand on my shoulder and shakes me slightly as I look away and grin.

"Nothing. I felt like the world was giving me a sign for a second." I mysteriously answer as Bell stares at me inquisitively.

"... Was it a good sign or a bad sign?" He asks me carefully as I silently chuckle.

"Yes."

That was all I said before I began walking again, leaving Bell to gulp nervously and silently follow.

[Elsewhere…]

I stare at the shattered mirror in my hand as my Ottar rushes to me in a panic, checking for my well-being while angrily searching the surroundings.

I ignore him as I do my best to burn the image I had just seen into my mind.

A beautiful transparent soul, unlike anything I've ever seen.

It was pure, uncolored, naive, even weak.

But it was so beautiful…

Next to it, an otherworldly Platinum shell of a soul filled with an even more otherworldly Violet soul that compliments it perfectly yet does not seem to originate from the same… existence?

The soul's shell was somewhat similar to a normal soul, yet still much different than any other soul in almost every other way.

But the soul using it as a shell…

It was not in any way similar to ANY soul I've seen in my life. Not in its shape, color, feel, or anything that I've ever seen… It had a depth to it that I have never seen before.

It is unlike anything I've ever seen… But that is not all…

Inside the Violet and Platinum soul was a giant pool of Negativity. Anger and Wrath, Sadness and Grief, Hatred and Malice.

It was disgusting. Revolting. One of the worst things I've ever seen.

Yet it did not affect the otherworldly soul whatsoever. It perfectly encased and contained the disgusting Negative Energy and did not let it affect it at all. Instead, it allowed it to grow and gather more Negativity, sapping it from everyone and everything around it without exception.

Any negativity that tried to make its way to the pure transparent soul was quickly derailed and absorbed into the otherworldly soul before it can even get within an inch of the soul.

I saw it for only a moment, yet the souls all around it, which would normally be filthy and disgusting, shone brighter than they ever should have.

I put a hand to my mouth as I struggle to stay standing.

I want.

I have never wanted more than I do right now.

I take a deep breath and compose myself as my Ottar continues trying to ask me about my plight.

"My dear Ottar. Could you please ask the Adventurer's Guild for information about two new adventurers, both of them having a similar white hair color with one having a darker shade and purple eyes while the other has a lighter one with red eyes?" I smile and look up at my Ottar as he nods and moves to fulfill my commands without any questions. How adorable.

I turn away from him and stare down at Orario as I try my best to get one more glance at the two souls despite knowing that one of them somehow sensed me.

Those two souls will be mine. No matter what.

[Back to the Duo]

That's one good sign. Freya has her eyes on Bell just as she did in the anime, so the timeline hasn't gone to shit just yet.

As we finally reach the dungeon, I wryly smile at the walls of the dungeon's first floor.

What was once filled with Anger and Wrath, is now filled with calmness and contentment.

I can feel its joy at seeing me enter the dungeon once again, and every time I leave the dungeon it briefly feels sadness.

Oh don't get me wrong, there are plenty of monsters still going around. Shown by how no one has reported a shortage of monsters spawning to the guild yet.

But as I watch a Kobold break out of the walls from afar, I can feel that the dungeon is breaking off the exact amount of Concentrated Cursed Energy needed to spawn a Kobold instead of attempting to push a metric ton and spawn a Goliath on the first floor.

I've also noted that the dungeon still seems to hate adventurers, as every time I pass an adventurer party the nearby walls reek of anger and disgust.

Thankfully Bell and I are excluded from the wrath of our Elevated Dungeon Superior.

EDS. Edias is what I've come to refer to the dungeon as I murder the monsters it spawns on me.

We slowly descend the first four floors, eventually reaching the fifth floor as I put my hand on a nearby wall.

There is still excessive Wrath and Anger on this floor. It seems I haven't 'exorcised' this floor fully yet.

I feel Edias's sadness directed at me as I pat the wall consolingly.

"It's alright, Edias. I'll murder everything on this floor soon." I reassure as Bell stares at me in shock and confusion.

"Mike?" He asks in confusion as I ignore him in favor of focusing on Edias's little feeling of joy.

"Hm Hm. Alright. Now, Bell. Tell me, have you learned what monsters are on the fifth floor yet?" I command and Bell quickly rights himself before answering.

"Yes! In addition to the occasional Goblin, Kobold, and Dungeon Lizard that move down from the fourth floor, Draconids, a small humanoid dragon creature, spawn regularly!" I nod my head as I briefly wonder why I haven't seen any of these Draconids in the anime before coming here.

[A/N: Sorry guys, the Danmachi wiki states that Goblins, Kobolds, and Dungeon lizards only spawn up until floor 4 before stopping until floor 8. There's literally no monster written for floor 5, so I just added DnD Kobolds and gave them generic draconic names. Weird af]

"Good. Oddly, we have not encountered any monsters here yet but we will move further in to fight a couple Draconids and see where we go from there." I let Bell know my 'plan' before beginning to walk, with him walking behind me cheerfully.

I already know that the most likely reason for the lack of monsters is that the Minotaurs are here so the dungeon doesn't spawn any new monsters out of fear of them fighting and it wasting energy.

I keep that to myself though and slowly walk through the dungeon as Bell becomes increasingly spooked by the lack of monsters.

"Is-" Just as he's about to ask about it though, a loud roar followed by a couple more roars rattle the 5th floor.

My face grows serious as I take out my spear and watch Bell freeze in fear.

He hasn't yet seen anything above the second floor, so a powerful roar of a Minotaur would shatter any will inside him immediately.

Powerful stomps echo all around the floor as Bell flinches with every stomp.

"Bell. Leave. Now." I command as I watch Bell take a deep breath and stare at me with his pale face.

"N-no… won't… leave you… alone." He breathes out between terrified gulps of air.

Just as he says that a group of three Minotaurs round around a corner and turn to us, staring at us as Bell loses all color on his face.

"Run Away!" I order Bell as his eyes widen and he begins running away with all of his strengths.

I turn just in time to see the three Minotaurs charging at me, probably trying to catch Bell, who's running away right now, and kill me.

Fools.

"Blast Away." I command as they all freeze for a second before flying to three separate sides of the room and slamming into the walls harshly.

I watch Bell get out of sight before grinning like a loon.

That took half of my Cursed Energy.

It's time that I fight something that can actually serve as a challenge. I have been waiting for this for so long!

I take out a hidden dagger in my clothes and ready it in front of me as the three Minotaurs get out of the walls with a groan.

It's a weapon suited for the floors Minotaurs spawn on, I got it in advance in preparation for this situation.

"Alright, I haven't had a good steak in a while so please prepare to be seasoned and roasted. Not that you need any more roasting with how pathetic you all are." I smirk as the Minotaurs roar in anger as if sensing I was mocking them, before charging at me headfirst.

I steady my gait as I move to intercept them while channeling as much Cursed Energy into my weapon as it physically can handle while rotating my inner Cursed Energy to improve my physical strength just as we are about to clash.

The first Minotaur dives forward in a headbutt as I jump above it while kicking it in the back of the head mid-air before slashing forward at the second Minotaur with my dagger, grazing its head and landing mere inches in front of it.

It winds its fist back and punches as I move to intercept it with my dagger only to be surprised at its strength and punched back several meters, almost colliding with the prone Minotaur that tried to headbutt me.

The third Minotaur kicks the ground with its hooves before charging at me like a wide bull with its arms extended to catch me.

"Trip!" I yell my command as it obeys and trips mid-charge, falling face first and sliding on the rough ground until it's mere inches away from me.

I take my chance and slash down on its neck, driving a deep gash down the right side of its neck-shoulder area before I jump away just in time to avoid the lunge of the enraged first bull.

I raise my dagger in a stance with a smirk as the Minotaur 2: Electric Boogaloo charges at me with the dropped weapon of the third Minotaur raised and it slashes it down at my much smaller figure.

I sidestep the sloppy attack before slashing my dagger down on its wrist, cutting through halfway before I'm forced to turn around and raise my free arm to block the first Minotaur's punch.

I minimize the damage slightly with my arm but I'm still knocked back once again and my grip on my dagger loosens just a little before I grip onto it for dear life.

I land several meters away on my back before rolling and standing on my feet while staring at the Minotaurs. My Dagger arm aches in pain at having to block two full-powered punches from a Minotaur and my head feels a little light from my landing.

Yet my smile is still present, never once even straining.

Huh, never knew I was a battle maniac. You learn something new every day I guess.

Minotaur #2 cries out in pain and anger at its disabled hand as Minotaur #3 pushes it and takes back its weapon before angrily charging at me again.

It seems the injury on its neck is messing with its thought process.

Oh, who am I kidding? These things don't think.

I switch my Dagger to my other arm as I smirk at the incoming Minotaur.

"Trip" I once again command as the same Minotaur I tripped trips again, falling to the ground and sliding inches away from my foot.

"Die." I bring my dagger down on its neck once again, this time being the final one as I cleanly cut into its neck with my Cursed Energy-infused dagger, killing it and watching as it dissolves into black mist and leaves behind a patch of hide, a horn, and a magic stone.

I triumphantly rise to my full height and stare at the remaining two Minotaurs as they stare at me.

I switched my dagger to my hurt hand before picking up the landform club they had in my healthy hand and holding it menacingly over my shoulder.

"This weapon has bits of Adamantium in it, right? Or was it some other metal? Oh well. It'll make for a great beating stick to push all the blood out of the meat." I smile menacingly as out of the corner of my eyes I watch the Cursed Energy from the Minotaur swirl and slowly move toward me.

I take a step forward just as the Cursed Energy enters me and-

POWER

Power courses inside me as my eyes widen in delight and I begin to laugh maniacally.

My reserves have grown by leaps and bounds ever since I started entering the dungeon, but right now?

They almost doubled.

Is this what it feels like to defeat one of the strongest levels two monsters on the middle floors?

If so. I want MORE.

I continue laughing maniacally as I watch the Minotaurs look at me warily, and I think I might have imagined it, but they almost looked… afraid.

"Get Crushed. Blast Away. EXPLODE!" I order and command with delight as the Minotaurs slowly get crushed as if gravity was increased a hundredfold before suddenly freezing in place and then being violently thrown against the walls, indenting them with Minotaur-shaped holes.

Just as they were about to scream out in pain, they felt a weird feeling in their stomachs for a second before fire and pain engulfed their senses as two explosions sounded out across the field.

Two charry bodies slowly fall out of the walls as I laugh while approaching them slowly, taking my time as if I have all the time in the world.

Which, I do(n't).

I approach the first Minotaur and easily stab it through the neck as it explodes into mist before entering me.

I'm greeted with another explosive jump in strength if only a little less than the first one.

Just before I go to stab the last one, finishing it permanently, I wonder how Bell is doing right now?

[Good question! Bell POV]

As I run through the unfamiliar walls of the fifth floor, I curse my past self for not paying attention to the way when I was walking with Mike.

Now I'm being chased by a Minotaur after I left my only Familia member, my only friend, to die against 3 Minotaurs.

I know how amazing Mike is. I've seen him do many awesome things and even teach me things I couldn't have learned alone.

But he's going up against Minotaurs. One of the fiercest monsters in the middle floors and a Level 2 monster.

Not just that, if he was fighting only one, I'd bet that he had a chance. But… he's fighting three of them! Three level 2 monsters as a level 1!

All because I kept insisting on going to a lower floor in search of adventure.

All because I couldn't follow orders fast enough.

All because I'm weak.

Tears continue flowing down my face as I run as fast as my legs can carry me.

I hear the monster roar behind me and I quickly swerve right into a side room-

It's a dead end…

As my already pale face loses all of its colors, I slowly turn around to face the Minotaur that is now simply walking toward me while raising its landform club into the air, letting out a few noises that my brain mistakenly thought might be laughs as it stomped forward.

This is it.

This is the end.

The Legend of Bell Cranel. It ends here.

As my tears slowly begin to make my eyesight blurry, I begin to remember.

[Flashback] [A/N: yes this is happening]

I slowly raise my two daggers and charge at Mike as he slowly raises his spear and -faster than my eye can see- trips me before pointing his weapon at my head.

"I win." His expressionless voice sounds out as I groan.

"Of course you did… the difference between us is too big! If I can't outspeed you, can't beat you in strength, and can't outsmart you, how am I supposed to ever win?" I complain out loud, knowing that Mike wouldn't be offended.

Instead of the snarky reply I was expecting, Mike stays silent while staring at me.

We were both shirtless right now, I could clearly see his face with the 'Snake and Fangs' seal he got from his clan.

As I was about to speak, Mikey roughly slams his spear into the ground next to me before speaking.

"If you ever fight an enemy that wishes to kill you, and you are outclassed in every single aspect of combat, then there's only one thing you can do." He declares as I listen intently.

"Rage. Yell, Shout, Scream. Do not give up, no matter what. You should sooner kill yourself than allow yourself to give up against an enemy." My eyes widen at him as a scary smile makes its way to his face.

"You fight something stronger and smarter than you? Abandon any strategy or plan in your mind and simply let your anger flow. Turn your fear into anger and let your primal wrath dictate the battle. It stabs you in the chest? You stab it in the eye. It takes your arm? You take its legs. If I were fighting something that outclasses me in every single aspect, I would simply fight it again and again until I win. The battle is only over when I win. If I have not won, then I will. I will rage until my enemies are slain. I will fight until either my enemies are defeated or my body is destroyed. And if my body is destroyed, I will push it to work again until I win. There is no other option. There is no other choice. The only reality I will allow is the one where I WIN." His smile turned downright murderous now as he extended his arms to his side while laughing at something I did not know.

I would never admit it to Mike, but right now, he was the scariest thing I had ever seen.

He would probably be the scariest thing I have ever seen, forever.

[End of Flashback]

I stare at the Minotaur in front of me and compare it to that day, to him.

It was lacking.

I slowly raise my quivering hand and aim my dagger at the Minotaur as my eyes unblur. I take a deep breath as I prepare my nerves for this.

I will not tarnish Mike's teachings and allow myself to die as a coward. I will either die here with dignity, or I'll escape with my life and honor his sacrifice.

Those are the only realities I will accept.

As the Minotaur raises its club into the air to smash me into red paste, I lunge forward with my daggers and scream until my lungs ache and my throat becomes coarse.

Just as I am about to reach the Minotaur, and no doubt be crushed by its club…

I see red.

[POV Switch]

As I run down the hallways on the fifth floor, I spot a Minotaur about to crush a small white-haired adventurer and quickly dash forward.

"Tempest!" I channel my wind and stab forward, splitting the Minotaur in two as the adventurer is splashed with blood, covering him from head to toe.

Oh… I messed up.

He stops in place and stares at me with his jaw open.

I thought I saw his face turn redder than it already was. Which should have been impossible considering he's covered in blood.

I don't say anything as I'm torn between apologizing or asking if he's okay, so I just stay silent and stare at him as he eventually shuts his mouth.

Probably because blood got in it.

"A-a-a-a- Um- W- E- H-" He seems to be trying to say something, but the traumatic encounter with the Minotaur must be messing with his brain.

Or something…?

"P-please save Mikey!" He suddenly yells before running away from me at speeds that no one on the fifth floor should be running at.

Specifically, it's too slow.

I stare at his leaving back for but a moment while contemplating if I'm scary or not before I realize…

'Save Mikey'? That means that there are still more Minotaurs and more Adventurers being attacked!

I quickly dash and begin making my way through the walls of the dungeon while searching for this 'Mikey'.

In my search, I see Riveria and Finn who are running around like I am and killing Minotaurs. I offer them a nod before we dash together into a room and find a peculiar scene.

A man hunched over a particularly black Minotaur with a dagger as he stabs it through the throat, with two Minotaur Magic Stones and Drop Items fallen on the ground near him.

As the Minotaur he stabbed explodes into black mist, it drops another set of Drop Items as I hear Finn mutter something with widened eyes, and Riveria also widens her eyes in surprise. The adventurer quickly grabs the magic stones and drop items around him and puts them in his pouch before turning around and facing us, crossing his arms.

He was somewhat short, 5'4, with Violet eyes and a weird outfit that covered everything except the upper part of his head, nose and up, his hands, and his feet.

I could see blood dripping from his forehead, and his Platinum Blonde hair is stained red as well, yet he does not even flinch or wobble in any of his movements.

Finn decides to begin the conversation as the man seems content facing us with his arms crossed and without saying anything.

"Hello there, could you please tell us what happe-" "Nothing Happened."

Riveria and Finn freeze as the man speaks with such finality, they simply lose their rhythm as they stare at him incomprehensibly.

"… Are you 'Mikey'?" I ask him hesitantly as his expression finally changes into one of surprise and worry.

"Since you are asking this, I presume that you met Bell and he told you to help me. Is he well?" He asks in a soft tone as I breathe out a sigh of relief.

"He's covered in blood." I inform and immediately wince as his eyes narrow dangerously. Riveria facepalms behind me.

"Minotaur blood." I 'helpfully' add, which barely affects his tense stare.

"… I killed it before he could be hurt?" I add hesitantly as he nods and looks away with a relieved expression.

"Thank you." I nod to him as Finn coughs into his fist and smiles wryly.

"If it's not a bother, we'd like to know what happened here and if you've seen any other Minotaur as they are our responsibility due to a certain mishap…" Finn requests with a professional tone as the man stays silent for a second before speaking.

"I was showing Bell the fifth floor for the first time to show him how different it is compared to the higher floors. I was only planning to have him fight a single Draconid before taking him back. We encountered three Minotaurs and I ordered him to run. Once he ran away, the three minotaurs mysteriously disappeared." He slowly explains and Finn and Riveria sweatdrop at the last part.

"I assure you that those three will not be seen again. Call it a gut feeling." He helpfully informs, and I let out a sigh of relief as Riveria facepalms for some reason and Finn continues smiling wryly.

"I… see. Thank you for telling us Mr…?" The man nods to Finn and me.

"Inumaki Michael. Captain of the Hestia Familia. I must go now. I need to make sure Bell is safe. Goodbye and good luck." Michael does not wait another moment as he dashes away from the group, leaving me, Riveria, and Finn.

"That was the strangest thing I have ever seen." Riveria stares as Finn nods and I tilt my head in confusion.

What was strange about that?

It seems that my question was obvious on my face as Riveria quietly chuckles and Finn begins walking back to our Familia.

No, really. What was strange about that?


NYAHAHAHHA! I finished the chapter while I was on a 7 hour drive!

Writing on mobile is so ASS. Good thing google docs has offline writing.

By the way, the otherworldly soul thing should be obvious but, the shell was Toge who is also from the anime, while the Violet was Mike as he is not an anime person and the 'depth' is that he's a third-dimensional being in a world that's technically 2D.

Reviews time!

Tenz0 thank you for your review! Glad you liked the last chapter and hope you like this one!

Guest, thank you for your review! Damn I wanted you to have both cringe and satisfaction! Foiled again! Hope that 9/10 becomes a 10/10 some time in the future!

That's all for reviews. Thank you for your time and I hope you enjoyed.

See you all later!