This is the umpteenth time I have translated the DanMachi fanfic, and this time I will not change the mc's name like other novel, what you should know is that this novel is a Chinese novel.
If you subscribe to my patreon, your name will appear in the next chapter.
Release date August 4, 2025.
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The labyrinth city—Orario.
The towering Babel stood in the city center, with the streets radiating from it dividing Orario into eight districts.
In the eastern slums, however, the atmosphere was far from the bustling liveliness of the city center.
Collapsed houses were a common sight, moss-covered cobblestone streets stretched out in all directions, and weeds nearly half a man's height grew rampant along the roadside—clear signs of decay.
In front of an abandoned church square stood a thin figure of a young man, swinging an iron sword over and over under the blazing sun.
Sweat had already soaked through his clothes as he repeated the drills of basic sword techniques.
Slash, thrust, cleave, lift—
With each swing of the iron sword, his slender body looked as though it might collapse at any moment. But what drew the most attention was his left arm.
Its skin carried an unnatural white sheen.
Like some horrifying plague infection, the skin beneath glowed with sinister blood-red veins, clearly visible under the sunlight.
The demonic, ghastly arm had almost reached his shoulder, but was halted by the black shackles fastened with iron chains at the end.
Without that restraining device, it was hard not to imagine just how far the disease would spread.
More than a restriction on the disease, the black iron shackle was, more accurately, a seal on some unspeakable existence.
Finishing his dull and repetitive sword training, Liang Yue let out a long breath. His exhausted body demanded rest, and as all his focus was drawn into practicing swordsmanship, time slipped away like grains of sand through his fingers.
"So this is swordsmanship?"
"It really is easy to get addicted to," he muttered to himself. But when his gaze shifted to the desolate sight of the abandoned church, his eyes grew wistful.
As a transmigrator, Liang Yue had already been in this world for some time.
The way he got here was simple—none of those clichéd dramas. It was just a stroke of luck when he stayed up all night, went out to buy breakfast, and ended up here.
In a world that was, overall, quite familiar—the world of Danmachi.
He was taken in by a black-haired, blue-eyed girl who claimed to be a "god," and at her warm invitation, joined the Hestia Familia.
Becoming a god's dependent.
As an anime fan, Liang Yue understood more about Familias through Hestia's explanations—they were essentially factions formed by gods and mortals.
The gods bestowed their blessings upon mortals, forming a bond built around labor and money.
The scale and nature varied greatly, but a group could only be called a Familia if it included both the god and their followers.
And as for the core blessing mechanic—he knew it well.
After receiving a god's blessing, one would gain something akin to a "status panel," with ability values recorded on their back.
Most importantly, one could awaken a "vessel."
This essentially extracted a human's potential, slowly developing it—unlocking things like magic, skills, and other abilities.
Adventurers were also ranked by levels to define their overall strength.
Liang Yue was currently a Level 1 adventurer of the Hestia Familia.
Of course—
He was also the Familia's only adventurer.
Joining when the Familia had just been founded, starting from zero without any companions—Liang Yue didn't consider it a hellish start for a transmigrator.
After all, transmigrators usually came with a cheat system—and his was the direct cause of his left arm's demonic transformation.
The Sword Soul Template.
It came from a once wildly popular online game run by a certain notorious company, a game where every day was "a fresh 70,000" grind—the Dungeon Fighter Online.
Before crossing over, Liang Yue had been one of the game's eight million warriors. Even his all-nighters were spent raiding with a party, and now he carried the "Sword Soul Template" with him.
It felt perfectly reasonable to him.
Good news: He crossed over to a dungeon world with a game-class template.
Bad news: The dungeon was the one in Orario.
The cheat's functions were simple—it provided the Sword Soul class template, stripping away costumes, equipment enhancement, and other systems, keeping only the core feature:
A pure level-and-skill system.
Gain EXP to level up, earn SP points, and upon meeting the requirements, learn various Sword Soul skills.
Take the essence, discard the trash!
[Liang Yue]
[Level: 1]
[EXP: 0%]
[Skills: Inner Ghost Sword Techniques]
[SP: 0]
For a cheat that discarded all the tedious, pay-to-win features and kept only the level-and-skill system, Liang Yue's favorability was maxed out.
The only headache was… EXP gain.
Without Arad's quests or dungeons, how exactly could he level up his Sword Soul class? That was the key!
"EXP…"
"The dungeon here has monsters, but will killing them give me EXP to level up my Sword Soul class?"
"Come to think of it, when will I actually start adventuring?"
He couldn't help but think of that cheerful and approachable god—Hestia—who, despite being poor and lacking resources, always carried herself with a mature sense of responsibility.
When he first joined, she had said, "Liang Yue-kun is my dependent! You'll have a place to stay and food to eat!"
And then promptly brought him to the slums.
When she saw the abnormal state of his left arm, she even patted her chest and said, "Even if I have to work, I'll save enough to cure you!"
"Taking care of my Familia members is a god's responsibility!"
"…But how could I possibly let you go dungeon diving while you're still injured?"
She had said similar things countless times. For a god who took him in—a god who was unreliable yet fiercely responsible—it matched her portrayal in the original story perfectly, making it impossible for him to dislike her.
Even if material conditions weren't ideal, at least Liang Yue felt comfortable here. One could call it a modest peace amid uncertainty.
Still, his desire to grow stronger was only increasing.
It wasn't as if he could live off a god's part-time wages forever.
In this world, killing monsters dropped magic stones and materials, which could be exchanged for valis at the Guild.
If he wanted a place to truly belong in this world—
He needed not only money, but strength!
At that moment, at the other end of the church road, a girl in a white dress was making her way toward the Familia home with light steps.
Her youthful features hovered between girlhood and young womanhood.
Her perfectly beautiful face was both endearing and dignified. At least to Liang Yue, he had never seen such beauty.
Her long, silky black hair was tied into twin tails, and despite her slightly childlike face, her figure was unreasonably mature.
Wearing white gloves, she carried a box full of fried potatoes.
Hestia.
In a way, she was a legendary god in Orario—often called a "walking disaster" on North Street, a poor god in every sense.
Noticing the boy sitting in front of the church, it seemed he was waiting for her?
Hestia's smile grew even brighter, and she waved from afar. "Liang Yue-kun, that's enough training for today!"
"There's still plenty of ingredients left from the stall."
"Freshly fried potato chunks, sprinkled with pepper salt." Without the slightest godly airs, she sat beside him once she arrived at the abandoned church, opening the still-steaming paper box.
Her white-gloved hands were gentle and delicate, with long, slender fingers. Seeing his left arm was inconvenient, she used a skewer to pick up a potato chunk and brought it to his mouth.
But this time, it didn't go as smoothly as usual.
"…Hestia-sama, there's something I want to tell you." Liang Yue didn't bother keeping distance with the god and turned to face her.
"It's something important."
"…Are you tired of eating fried potatoes every day?" Hestia asked softly, though her tone carried a complicated, nervous undercurrent.
She didn't dare assume the worst, but she had to face it—Liang Yue's talent could easily earn him a place in a powerful Familia, with better conditions and treatment.
There was no reason for him to endure hardship here, living in a church basement and eating cheap food every day.
She held no illusions—it was simply the truth.
Steadying her emotions, she reminded herself that a competent god should think about their dependent's future.
Becoming a good god was difficult, but she had held on this long. She believed she could manage it.
"Liang Yue-kun… I respect your choice."
"Really?"
Liang Yue was stunned. He hadn't expected it to go this smoothly. "Hestia-sama, I want to start adventuring in the dungeon."
"After all—"
"To become a true swordsman, I have to experience real battles."
"…Huh?"
The sudden turn of events left Hestia surprised. She stared into Liang Yue's scarlet eyes—pure and utterly serious—and her heart finally relaxed.
Still curious about his true motive, she grew serious and asked, "Can you tell me the real reason, Liang Yue-kun?"
"Strength is important in Orario," he replied, helplessly spreading his hands, his tone a bit embarrassed. "And… I just can't accept living off my god's part-time wages as your dependent."
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