After Asfi took the letter and departed, Shaka was led to the backyard by Astraea. It was a quiet place, stacked with old files and books.
"These are notes and research passed down from former children of the Familia," the goddess explained gently. "Before heading out on any adventure, I believe it's best if you spend some time studying here, Shaka-chan."
Following her gaze, Shaka picked up one of the books—it turned out to be a recipe for creating gunpowder, handwritten by a former adventurer from the City of Sins, likely a prum.
As he flipped through more pages, he found notes from mages and scholars, writings on magic theory, and even a collection of dungeon maps.
"There's even a full dungeon layout in here…"
"Yes," Astraea's eyes sparkled, "All earned through the sweat and blood of your predecessors. Remember to treasure these , Shaka-chan. Don't let their efforts go to waste."
"I understand."
Shaka nodded seriously. Without these notes, he wouldn't even know how to begin casting magic—let alone how to properly control mind to generate mana energy. In the world of Danmachi, magic wasn't as simple as reciting a chant and unleashing power.
Putting aside short chants and instant-cast styles like Bell's, long and especially ultra-long chants posed a real risk. A mistake during the process of channeling energy could lead to a catastrophic explosion. Though Falna minimized failure risks, they weren't completely negated.
This was why parallel chanting was a mandatory technique for any high-level magician —a high-end skill that only the elite on minimum level 2 adventurer could use.
With at least a week until Asfi returned to Orario, Shaka resolved to absorb as much knowledge as he could and refine the blueprint forming in his mind.
Yet, just as he was about to dive into his studies with passion…
Lunch time arrived, and so did his first real-world isekai dilemma.
"You can't just freeload your way through this!" Cecil declared coldly, standing before him with arms crossed.
"If this were normal," she continued, "as the 'captain,' I'd naturally cover my subordinate's expenses. But! Right now we're rivals! There's no way I'm helping you—feeding the enemy is out of the question!"
Then her stern expression cracked a bit.
Blushing slightly, she added,
"A-At least not until we settle who the real captain is. Until then, you're on your own! You'll have to earn your own valis, find your own food and lodging, and even get your own gear!"
Clearly flustered, she turned her head away and mumbled,
"B-But… if you want to surrender now, I might be kind enough to help out…"
Oh shit... She's got the full tsundere package.
Still, Shaka wasn't upset. If anything, he found her reaction… oddly charming.
The fact that she even considered paying for his expenses after the rivalry was settled said more than enough.
I'm officially a man who has a girl willing to sponsor me. Not bad.
But right now, he faced a serious problem—he was broke.
The 50,000 valis Asfi had handed him had already shrunk to 40,000 after gathering intel. Buying even a basic adventurer's kit would nearly wipe him out.
And this wasn't Orario.
In this Swordsmithing City, even rookie blacksmiths put their pride into their work. You'd never find trash-tier gear made just for newbies. Everything was high-quality, or it got melted down and reforged.
The industry here was a blacksmith's battle royale—zero tolerance for mediocrity.
Which meant a cheap 20,000-valis gear set? Impossible.
It also meant his dream of immediately diving into the dungeon and hunting monsters was dead in the water.
But…
"I'm not in a hurry to level up anyway."
What Shaka was waiting for was Ryuu. If she learned of his existence and offered even a sliver of goodwill, it could massively boost his abilities. Until then, he'd focus on side jobs and odd commissions on the surface.
In the meantime, he'd hone his magic—and develop his mysterious skill further.
---
Three days later.
Asfi prepared to leave for Orario, and Shaka went to see her off.
Hermes had learned about Shaka joining Astraea Familia and didn't seem surprised. Instead, he handed over a small card.
"I figure you're not the type to stay in obscurity. Sooner or later, you'll want to head to Orario, right? When that time comes, give this merchant caravan a visit—they owe me a few favors."
Shaka looked at the card, then tucked it safely away.
"Thank you, truly."
Hermes grinned, eyes gleaming with mischief.
"No problem. Just don't forget to come find me when you get there—I'll show you the real Orario."
Once Asfi was gone, Astraea gently pulled Shaka aside.
"You have turned down Hermes' offer now… Though he's harmless for now, he might play a few tricks on you. Be careful next time you see him."
Shaka blinked, then nodded in realization.
Right… he did kind of just abandon Hermes without saying a word. Not very polite.
And remembering the way Hermes had toyed with Bell in the past, Shaka figured the god wouldn't kill him… but a little suffering might be coming his way.
"I'll be careful," he promised.
Astraea smiled.
"Well then, shall we continue? I believe you're ready to test your magic now."
Indeed—after three days of focused training, Shaka had mastered the art of converting mind into mana through chanting.
It was time.
They stepped into the backyard, which had been converted into a practice field with wooden dummies for sword testing.
"Let's go!"
Shaka closed his eyes, focused, and began channeling his energy.
"Keystone of the world, terminus of space and time—
Fate twined twice over becomes inevitable.
Shine, o spirits of myriad realms—
Heed the call of the summoner—
O stars, gather here!"
A chant filled with grandeur.
A swirling distortion of space the size of a thumb appeared in front of him—a miniature portal.
"…So small!"
He poked a thin sword into it. On the far side, a wooden target was cleanly sliced open. But when he tried to shift it sideways for sweeping damage, the sword just passed through harmlessly.
"No dice. The spell has no offensive force by itself. Anything that touches the edge just phases through—it's like trying to cut with a phantom blade."
Only by directly targeting the object could the magic connect.
He pushed harder. As he pumped more energy in, the portal grew to about three fingers wide—then instantly collapsed.
Shaka fell to one knee, gasping for air.
"Just one cast… and I'm wrecked…"
Astraea, watching from nearby, commented,
"With your current reserves, that's your limit. But as your magical attributes increase, so will the size and duration of the portal."
Shaka nodded, catching his breath.
"Alright. Next test."
He placed a goblin finger bone on the ground, then used melted magic stone solution, stolen mythril, and iron shavings to manually draw a magic circle around it.
With the help of his [Mystery] skill, Shaka manually imbued a spell field into the ground.
The pseudo-development skill [Arcane Field]—normally an ability of high-level mages—was now being crudely replicated through raw technique.
"I remember Saint Amide—known as the Battle Healer—also used 'Mystery' to construct advanced fields that enhanced her healing spells. She even split her spells apart like formulas."
"She even helped gods brew divine potions without possessing the [Harmony] skill. Talk about mastery…"
With the circle complete, Shaka began tweaking his incantation—attempting to override the default settings of the spell.
"Silver and iron, bound by stone—
Winds that surge, form the walls—
Close the gates of the abyss—descend now, from within the sealed domain—!"
Red light surged from the array, and the goblin bone began to glow.
A small, green-skinned figure emerged from the glowing seal.
A goblin. The same one Shaka had defeated earlier.
"Success…"
Sweat dripped down Shaka's forehead as dizziness set in, but he smiled as the summoned goblin responded to his commands. Its strength and speed were nearly identical to when it was alive.
Fifteen minutes later, it vanished in a shimmer of light, and the bone crumbled to dust.
"You revived a fallen enemies to fight alongside you… That's miraculous," Astraea whispered in awe. (T/N: Solo leveling?)
"Mm." Shaka looked up at her. "Another piece of my puzzle is complete. Time to test the next one."
"There's more?"
Even Astraea was stunned. Summoning a dead monster was terrifying enough.
In theory… with a dragon scale, Shaka might even call forth the infamous Black Dragon.
But now she was hearing there was still another phase?
"What are you planning…?"
Shaka grinned with mystery.
"You'll see. It's going to be mind-blowing ! Hehe...."
---
That evening, under the pale moonlight, Shaka and Astraea returned to the training field. Cecil was there too, curious about what he'd attempt next.
He approached the arcane circle he had drawn earlier and pulled something from his robe: a badge depicting a sword and a pair of wings.
"That's…!" Astraea froze. "The captain's emblem… Alise's badge!"
Shaka said nothing. With solemn hands, he placed the badge in the center of the circle.
Then he began to chant.
"Fill… fill… fill…"
"I am the one who performs all acts of good.
I am the one who punishes all acts of evil.
Thou, who art shrouded in the three sacred words,
Come forth from the wheel of suppression—
O guardian of the heavenly scales!"
A crimson light flashed across the field.
Shaka let out a strangled grunt and collapsed onto the ground.