After learning that Ron was a novice adventurer who had never come into contact with combat before, Takemikazuchi already had a simple plan in mind for the targeted training that would follow.
The first step was to become familiar with weapons.
Starting with developing a sense of the sword, he strengthened weapon control through continuous grip and stance training.
Then came strength training for the waist and upper limbs.
He repeatedly practiced basic sword techniques such as chopping, slashing, thrusting, pointing, lifting, and parrying… over and over, until Ron formed primitive muscle memory for each move.
And because this guidance had been entrusted to him by Hestia, Takemikazuchi took the instruction very seriously.
Only after Ron was able to repeat this entire training routine without any mistakes in the details did he feel at ease enough to conclude and remind him, saying, "Follow this method."
"Once you reach the level where skill comes from familiarity, it will become much easier."
"At the very least, you should be able to handle ordinary dungeon monsters—things like goblins and kobolds. As for combat techniques, there's no way to teach those."
"You can only comprehend them through continuous combat."
Could he really fight strengthened goblins and kobolds?
Ron lacked confidence. After all, in the Souls game system, even the most ordinary monsters had the ability to overturn the protagonist—let alone himself.
To truly become at ease in the dungeon…
He would probably need to accumulate enough soul fragments, draw the corresponding NPC character cards, and master part of their abilities before the difficulty could be reduced even slightly.
After finishing the basic swordsmanship training, Takemikazuchi no longer maintained the stern demeanor he had during instruction. He reached out and lightly patted the boy on the shoulder. "Do you have any other questions?"
"My head has learned it," Ron said with a grave expression. "I just don't know whether my body will still remember it when I actually face monsters…"
"In any case, thank you very much, Lord Takemikazuchi."
"Just a small effort."
Naturally accepting Ron's thanks, Takemikazuchi added before parting: "Having just obtained a blessing and become an adventurer, I recommend that you head into the dungeon to begin exploration as soon as possible. That way, your abilities can improve relatively quickly."
"I can only teach you this much."
"If you want to truly learn martial skills, it would take at least half a year."
Half a year would be required.
Even if the DanMachi storyline had not fully unfolded yet, Ron did not have that much spare time to study. He might as well focus on researching this cheat ability instead.
The Souls-style interface—so long as he could survive cautiously, its future growth potential would at least not be bad!
Watching Takemikazuchi's departing figure, after calming himself slightly, he looked down at the short sword in his hand. What he needed to do next was very simple.
"Good."
"It's time for my favorite segment again."
If this were a game...
Ron would feel there was no need to practice at all—everything would be firmly in hand. But considering that this was reality, he only felt that the time left to him seemed insufficient.
No stats, no mechanics.
Only sweat and effort, making preparations in advance for tomorrow's dungeon exploration.
...
Borrowing wages in advance from her close friend Hephaestus, she rented a room in a shared dormitory. The price was that starting tomorrow, she would need to go to work every day.
For Hestia, this was indeed a challenge.
But thinking that she could help Ron in other ways gave her a steady stream of motivation—though this kind of help was limited to improving living conditions.
Standing by the second-floor window of the dormitory.
The girl looked toward the figure of the boy in the courtyard, repeatedly training without pause. Even with the trees providing cover, sweat still thoroughly soaked his clothes.
"It's very hard…"
"But this is something he has to go through."
Responding to Hestia was Takemikazuchi's extremely calm explanation. Although he was not clear about the secret Ron carried, it might have been what prompted her to make the commission.
That only further showed the weight this familia member held in her heart.
Takemikazuchi could tell—Ron was training seriously. Various basic sword techniques, through uninterrupted repetition, were gradually shifting from unfamiliar to proficient.
Toward a boy willing to put in effort, his impression could hardly be poor.
"However, compared to my other children, Ron's dungeon exploration will indeed be much more difficult. The only thing he can rely on is himself."
"But I think."
"Ron is also fortunate. There really aren't many children who can make a god go to this extent."
"In the end, it's still because I, as a god, am not competent enough…"
The girl fell silent—rarely so.
She did not continue to linger in the room. As time drew close to evening, what needed to be dealt with next—was the matter of Ron's dinner with her.
Given their tight financial situation...
A popular restaurant like "Hostess of Fertility" was definitely not Hestia's first choice.
From Takemikazuchi's recommendations, she found a relatively affordable restaurant whose portion sizes and flavor were both deeply loved by ordinary adventurers, and packed up dinner.
A carbohydrate staple.
Vegetables to supplement vitamins, and a calorie-bomb pork cutlet.
By the time Hestia had packed up dinner and returned once more to the shared dormitory, the slightly thin boy was still training hard in the courtyard.
Only the location had been changed, to an open area with lighting.
She raised the bento box she was carrying in her hand, and made her tone sound as cheerful as possible. "Ron, today's training should be about enough for now!"
"I packed dinner back—eat it while it's hot."
"Okay."
Ron did not refuse. His physical condition had returned to a teenager's peak state, and after receiving the god's "blessing," he was clearly much more resilient.
But that was limited to abundant energy.
As a carbon-based organism, consuming physical strength would inevitably bring bodily hunger.
Feeling his shirt, soaked through by sweat and then dried by the wind, he immediately added, "But before eating, I should probably go to the bathhouse first."
"Then I'll wait for you."
Hestia had thought of many things.
She had even prepared her wording: if it really came to it, she would have Ron slow down his dungeon exploration, and trouble Takemikazuchi to help him first solidify his fundamentals.
But when she saw the boy return from washing up, relaxed in demeanor, she ultimately did not say those words.
Ron's gaze swept over the abundant dinner laid out on the table.
Chicken fried noodles, pork cutlet, a vegetable-and-fruit salad—within a medieval background, this was already quite a good standard overall.
The key point was that all of it was fed to him by a beautiful young goddess.
As for the price paid, it was very likely that Hestia would need to go to the Jagamarukun stall during the day, or work in Hephaestus's shop to keep things going.
'Living in DanMachi, starting off as a kept man?'
If it were a wealthy, beautiful young woman, Ron would not have the slightest psychological burden.
But now, this stable life was built on the fact that the familia's goddess went out to work for it. Just that alone made it hard for him to accept the benefits with a clear conscience.
Moreover—
Having transmigrated into a fantasy world with supernatural power, Ron felt that the first thing he needed to figure out was this cheat ability of his, the "Souls game protagonist." He turned his head and proposed to the girl beside him: "Lady Hestia."
"I'm planning to go take a look at the dungeon's upper levels tomorrow. According to the guild staff's introduction, even if monsters like goblins and kobolds undergo mutations…"
"I should be confident I can deal with them!"