NOVEL FROG [6] : Going Back to Danmachi
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"A duel?"
When Tanjirou heard Mika's question, he first showed a puzzled expression, followed by joy.
It had been half a year since Tanjirou had completed his training.
In the past six months, Sakonji Urokodaki had not taught him any new techniques, so Tanjirou had to repeatedly polish the skills he had learned before.
However, despite all of this grinding, he still couldn't achieve his goal.
He still couldn't split the rock in front of him.
This made him quite anxious.
Unlike his continuous progress in the past, Tanjirou now received no feedback, causing his mental state to deteriorate and his overall condition to worsen.
Therefore, Mika's suggestion brought Tanjirou great joy.
After all, it was only through sparring that he could find out his shortcomings.
"Shall we begin?"
"Of course!"
Seeing that Tanjirou agreed, Mika's smile widened slightly.
Drawing his sword and grasping the hilt with both hands, Mika and Tanjirou quickly assumed a fighting stance and watched each other.
In the next moment, Tanjirou was the first to strike.
He swung his sword at the nearby Mika.
To Mika, Tanjirou's swordsmanship had improved significantly compared to his swordsmanship half a year ago.
In terms of precision, speed, and strength, this strike was perfectly executed.
But for Mika, there was no mystery in the strike.
Accurately parrying Tanjirou's sword, Mika quickly took the offensive.
From that first strike, Mika had seen through Tanjirou's swordsmanship, for they were both taught by the same master and shared identical techniques.
Currently, Tanjirou's swordsmanship was still at an improving level, far from reaching its peak.
Especially regarding the most important breathing techniques.
He still had to integrate them into his flesh and bones.
"It seems I have to give you a lesson, Tanjirou!"
With a change in his breathing rhythm, Mika's physical abilities received a significant boost.
Immediately, Mika entered the state of "Total Concentration Breathing", enhancing his body's abilities.
Then, with a single swing, Mika disarmed Tanjirou and disrupted his stance.
He then struck Tanjirou with the flat of his blade, knocking him to the ground.
"Although I graduated six months after you, don't think that you left me far behind. I was never far behind you."
"Tanjirou, training is about cultivating yourself, refining your mind. The techniques Urokodaki-sensei taught us are universal. To improve them, you must first make them your own."
"And then keep refining them."
"The process of refinement is extremely tedious and boring. You may not see any progress, but don't get discouraged. Keep going, and eventually the end of the road will appear beneath your feet.
Watching the thoughtful Tanjirou sitting on the ground, Mika shared his understanding.
Then he turned and left.
Mika knew that Tanjirou needed time to think.
And Mika himself?
He knew that he couldn't cut through the rock yet.
His skills weren't honed deep enough.
"Let's try again tomorrow!"
"We should spar more often to recognize our weaknesses and overcome them."
Looking around the dense forest, Mika hummed a happy tune as he left, planning for the future.
...
"What the heck?"
Hidden in the forest, Mika watched Tanjirou practicing swordsmanship with the air, his expression full of dissatisfaction.
"Of all times, he had to come now."
"And he didn't even bring me!"
Mika, who had read the original work, of course knew Tanjirou's current state.
Tanjirou met the souls of Urokodaki-sensei's deceased students. With their help, Tanjirou had made rapid progress over the past six months and reached the point of cutting through the rock.
Mika was also interested in Sabito and Makomo who were sparring with Tanjirou.
But obviously, they didn't include him.
"At this rate, Tanjirou's strength will explode in the next six months!"
Mika knew that even though Tanjirou hadn't been on the right path before, his relentless training over the past six months had strengthened his foundation.
Therefore, once he was on the right path, his strength would skyrocket.
Six months later, cutting through that huge rock would be the best proof.
"Hey, hey, hey, you're cheating, Tanjirou!"
Thinking about the fact that Tanjirou might leave her far behind, Mika couldn't help but frown.
But soon, a smile appeared on his lips.
"You're not the only one who can cheat, Tanjirou."
Turning around, Mika walked away.
"It's been a year and a half since I came to this world. It's time to go back and check things out."
...
As the light faded, a familiar yet strange scene appeared before Mika.
This was the place where he had lived for almost ten years.
It was also where he had started his travels.
"So nostalgic!"
Looking at the scene in front of him, Mika couldn't help but feel sentimental.
"Nostalgic? How long have you been there?"
A clear voice came from behind Mika, but he wasn't surprised at all.
After all, the moment he had returned, everything in this room had been exposed to his senses.
Including the presence of the goddess behind him.
Calmly turning around, he looked at the astonished Yahweh and replied with a grin: "I'm back, Yahweh-sama."
"Welcome back!"
Observing the changes in Mika, Yahweh roughly estimated the time he had been away.
Without caring about Mika's wishes, Yahweh reached out to touch his body.
"Wait, Yahweh-sama, what are you doing?"
"Don't move, let me see how much you've grown."
After examining Mika's body, Yahweh understood his changes.
"It looks like you've gone through a lot of training! Not only has your aura changed, but your muscles have also become more toned."
"Judging by the marks on your hands, you've been practicing swordsmanship, right?"
Yahweh was very pleased with Mika's progress.
As a member of the new family, Yahweh's family had no predecessors to offer Mika various help. From now on, he had to solve everything on his own.
Without any help, entering the dungeon as a beginner would be extremely dangerous for Mika.
But now, the training in another world had perfectly made up for the shortcomings of their new familia, allowing Mika to face potential threats more confidently.
That was perfect for Yahweh.
"Let's not talk about anything else for now. Tell me all about your experiences in this world. I'm very curious about other worlds!"
In front of Yahweh's bright eyes, Mika gave in immediately.
"I understand! Let me start with when I met that swordsman."
"..."
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"Is it a world where humans and demons fight each other?"
"That sounds fascinating!"
Lying on Mika's bed, her head resting on her hand, Goddess Yahweh listened intently to Mika's experiences.
The Demon King Muzan, the Upper and Lower Moon Demons, the Demon Slayer Corps, the Blood Demon Arts and Breathing Techniques.
Everything about this other world made Yahweh incredibly curious.
"If only I could go to another world."
Yahweh sighed.
According to their research and speculation, Mika's journey to another world might allow him to take others with him.
However, there seemed to be strict requirements regarding the strength of those he could bring.
For example, their strength couldn't exceed Mika's.
In short, at this stage, there was no way for Yahweh to accompany Mika on his journey to another world.
"So it looks like you'll just have to be patient, Yahweh-sama!"
"I suppose so."
After hearing Mika's explanation, Goddess Yahweh became a bit depressed.
Just as she was about to complain, the sound of the front door opening came from the courtyard outside Mika's room.
It was followed by a cool, clear voice.
"Mika, are you awake?"
When Mika heard the voice outside, she shivered. Even though a year and a half had passed, the voice was still so familiar.
"Airmid, you're back!?"
Seeing Mika running quickly outside, Yahweh paused for a moment and then remembered who it was.
Airmid Teasanare.
She was Mika's childhood friend.
Both had been raised by their grandparents, and their last remaining relatives had died.
Before Airmid's grandmother died, the already orphaned Mika had lived with her.
Now they depended on each other to survive.
After the adults in their families died, Mika and Airmid received help from the village in various ways, and they helped out whenever they could.
Last night, Airmid went to the cloth shop owner's house to help rush the last batch of cloth so that it could be delivered to Orario on time.
Therefore, Yahweh did not see Airmid last night.
"How are you, Airmid? Did you stay up all night? Do you need to rest?"
"I'm fine. Actually, we finished the last batch of cloth last night, but Mika insisted that I stay and not return in the middle of the night."
"Mika did the right thing. It's dangerous to go out at night."
"So I stayed the night."
Standing at the door, leaning against the door frame, Goddess Yahweh couldn't help but smile as she watched the boy and girl talking in the courtyard.
This childhood friend of Mika's was a petite girl.
With her silver hair and purple eyes, she looked even younger than Mika.
Though she was small, Yahweh sensed a hint of maturity in her.
"Is that... the goddess?"
As Yahweh watched Airmid, Airmid noticed the Goddess leaning against the door frame.
With a single glance, Airmid confirmed her identity.
After all, in the world of Danmachi, the gods had an extraordinary appearance.
This kind of transcendent beauty made gods stand out in any crowd, extremely eye-catching.
"That's right, this is Goddess Yahweh."
Seeing Airmid's confused look, Mika immediately introduced her.
"When you left yesterday, I was setting traps. Who knew I'd catch a goddess instead of a beast? So, of course, I joined Yahweh-sama's family and became a real adventurer."
"I see."
Seeing Mika's proud and satisfied expression, Airmid nodded slightly.
Airmid was well aware of Mika's obsession with becoming an adventurer.
Two years ago, after Mika's grandfather died, Mika had the idea of going to Orario to become an adventurer, but he was always too young and was always caught and stopped by the village elders.
Still, he often talked about going to Orario.
However, after Airmid's grandmother died, Mika rarely spoke of going to Orario.
Airmid knew it wasn't because Mika had changed his mind.
He was waiting until they were both grown up so they could go to Orario together and join the same Familia.
And she shared this thought.
Ignoring Mika's continued bragging about his 'great achievements', Airmid went directly to Goddess Yahweh.
"Yahweh-sama, my name is Airmid Teasanare."
"I humbly request to join your family and become a member of the Yahweh family."
Seeing the serious look in the girl's eyes, Yahweh's smile widened.
"To join the Yahweh Familia, huh?"
Yahweh sighed and then looked at Mika with a smile.
"Well, Captain Mika of the Yahweh Familia, does this girl named Airmid meet your approval?"
Hearing Yahweh's question, Mika was stunned at first, but then smiled and said, "If it's Airmid, she definitely meets my approval!"
"In that case!"
Yahweh reached out to take the girl's hands and smiled, "Congratulations, Airmid! As of today, you are a member of the Yahweh Family."
"Yes, I will work hard."
Airmid replied seriously.
Watching this scene, Mika's face was full of smiles.
This way, he and Airmid would not be separated by different families.
...
Name: Airmid Teasanare
Level: LV.1
Stats: Strength: I0, Stamina: I0, Dexterity: I0, Agility: I0, Magic: I0
Magic: ['']['']]
Skills:
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"It seems that Airmid has a higher potential for magic than you, Mika!"
Looking at the translated stats on the paper, Yahweh teased Mika.
As normal humans, both Mika and Airmid had such starting stats, with no rare skills or magic.
However, Airmid had two slots for magic, while Mika had only one.
For normal humans, this was an excellent qualification, as they usually had between none and one slot for magic.
Usually, only elven adventurers had up to three magic slots.
"I'm just glad that Airmid has good magic potential!"
Mika said nonchalantly.
He was well aware of Airmid's talent.
In the original story, she had joined the Dian Cecht Familia and was considered one of Orario's top three prodigies.
As a childhood friend, Mika had never envied her abilities.
Besides, having only one magic slot was of no concern to him.
As a traveler who could move between different worlds, Mika was destined to have multiple abilities in the future.
Therefore, having only one magic didn't bother him.
"You have a good attitude!"
Yahweh was very pleased with Mika's attitude.
As a Familia captain, strength might be lacking, but a broad mind was essential.
Otherwise, the Familia couldn't prosper.
"By the way, even though you only became an adventurer yesterday, you've already spent a year and a half in another world."
"How about updating your stats?"
Mika's eyes lit up at Yahweh's suggestion.
"Of course!"