Multiverse Adventure – My Journey Begins in Danmachi 76

Multiverse Adventure – My Journey Begins in Danmachi 76

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Edited by: Tiny Fan Fiction

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Chapter 76 Matou Kariya: Is there anything more delightful than death?

After killing the insect, Noah stood still for a moment, making sure there were no other signs of life in the entire house, before returning to the room.

Oh, wait, if I had to say there was someone breathing, there actually was one.

However, in Noah’s perception, this person should be an Ordinary Person, so he subconsciously ignored them.

But what puzzled Noah was that, although he had restrained himself, the noise should still have been quite loud, so why was this person staying still like a corpse?

With a hint of puzzlement, Noah approached the door to that room and knocked lightly.

“Hello? Can I come in? If you don’t respond, I’ll take it as a yes!”

After inquiring in a voice barely louder than an ant’s, Noah paused for a few seconds before lifting his foot…

With a loud “boom”, the door was completely kicked open.

At the same time, the person lying on the bed in the room jumped up as if electrocuted.

“Who? What’s going on?”

Smelling the strong scent of alcohol in the air, Noah scrunched up his face and quickly retreated.

Okay, now I know why this guy was like a corpse.

This was a middle-aged man with seaweed-like blue hair, who looked like he was only in his thirties or forties but already had a face full of wrinkles and deep eye bags.

His features were actually quite decent, but his entire being exuded a strong sense of decadence and laziness.

No matter how hard Noah tried to sense, he couldn’t feel any threat from this individual.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man had finally sobered up and looked at Noah with a dazed expression.

“You, who are you?”

Silver armor, silver hair, silver long sword – was this a cosplayer who had run out of a manga convention?

No, that’s not it.

After rubbing his eyes and taking another look, Matou Kariya felt a somewhat different aura from the silver-haired youth in front of him.

A suffocating feeling, as if a huge boulder was pressing on his chest, which couldn’t be simply explained by the fear of encountering a strong enemy.

It was more like the feeling of standing in front of a towering snow mountain or under the aurora, a clear recognition of one’s own insignificance, a trembling fear.

The other party hadn’t shown any malice, but the huge gap between them was enough to inspire awe.

Although he hadn’t been involved in the world of Magecraft due to his lack of talent, Matou Kariya still had a bit of discernment.

So, he immediately realized that the youth in front of him was likely not human.

And, most likely, an Enemy.

Seeing the black-haired girl in Noah’s arms, Matou Kariya formed a guess in his mind.

After all, given that old Monster’s personality, as long as there was a choice, he absolutely wouldn’t allow such an existence to enter the Matou Family.

So, that old Monster has finally been defeated?

From a standpoint of identity, if Matou Zouken is defeated, then the possibility of himself being treated as an accomplice is also very high.

But, Matou Kariya’s heart still couldn’t help but produce a strong sense of joy.

“Please, please, who are you? That old man?”

“I’m just a passing Hero. As for the old Grandfather in the basement, he’s already dead and gone.”

Grasping his sword hilt, Noah observed the expression of the middle-aged man in front of him, analyzing whether he should send him down to the dungeon.

However, even though Noah had considered many possible situations, the expression on the middle-aged man’s face was still a little beyond his expectations.

His eyes drooped, his mouth twitched upward, and the muscles on his cheekbones trembled.

His opened mouth didn’t utter any meaningful fragments, only a long, drawn-out “hehe.”

That expression had a daze, sadness, reminiscence, but more importantly, relief and ecstasy.

If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Noah wouldn’t be able to imagine how a human face could make such a Distortion and complex expression.

“Finally, finally dead!!! That Old Worm!!”

Just like his appearance, the world’s opinion of Matou Kariya was basically mediocre, decadent, and useless, but he himself didn’t care about it Fundamental at all.

Compared to the fear of living under the control of a Monster, being considered trash was Fundamental nothing to him!

Around the time he could gradually remember things, Matou Kariya was told that the Matou Family was a Magecraft family with hundreds of years of Inheritance.

But before he could be happy that he could master extraordinary Strength like the protagonist in a fairy tale, he was told the cruel truth that he had no talent for Magecraft after the test.

Matou Kariya’s only purpose was to combine with a woman chosen by Matou Zouken who had good genetic qualifications, to see if he could win the jackpot and give birth to a descendant with talent.

And the head of the Matou Family was to be his younger brother, Matou Kariya.

Although Matou Kariya’s talent was equally very low, he made an effort and still managed to become a Magus.

Even if it is just the lowest.

This sense of loss only lasted a brief moment, for when Matou Kariya realized that Matou Zouken, a name that appeared every century in the Matou Family tree, was in fact an ageless, undying monster of Distortion, he felt only relief.

Once the woman with whom he shared little affection but had nonetheless borne his child was thrown into the worm nest by Matou Zouken, Matou Kariya’s heart was utterly Distorted.

Fear, hatred, agony, terror… these emotions tore at his heart like the worms in the basement nest.

Yet, when Matou Kariya left and Matou Zouken offered him the position of nominal head of the Matou Family in exchange for inheriting their considerable assets, Kariya agreed.

Although Matou Kariya numbed himself with luxury and wealth, he also vaguely sensed that perhaps he had already lost the courage to resist Matou Zouken deep within his heart.

But this old worm, who had caused him to lose the will to resist, had died today!

Died!

Is there anything in this world more joyous than a father’s death?!

His emotions erupted like molten lava, assaulting Matou Kariya’s consciousness.

The suppressed alcohol from his recent awakening surged, and with a flutter of his eyelids, he fell unconscious once more.

“…Is he out of his mind?”

Watching the laughing madman, Kelp Head, collapse again, Noah shook his head and left the room.

He could see now that they were all mad.

One chose madness, the other was driven to it.

The moment he arrived in this world, Noah’s mind was flooded with knowledge.

Knowledge of this world’s languages and scripts, the use of technology like mobile phones, gas stoves, electric lights, and the roles of organizations like governments and hospitals in society.

Noah felt that the purpose of this knowledge was probably to prevent him from standing out and drawing attention.

Therefore, he didn’t waste much attention in various places.

After simply confirming the structure of the residence, Noah found a room that resembled a study.

He placed the still unconscious Black-haired Girl on the sofa and began searching the bookshelf.

Just like when he first arrived in Orario and immersed himself in the library for 3 days, Noah spent the entire night flipping through the notebooks on the shelves.

Probably due to the owner’s preferences and habits, these books and notes contained little general history, mainly focusing on the history of Magecraft and various studies, as well as personal journeys.

By gathering the records from these books, Noah roughly analyzed the development of this world…

In ancient times, this world had the existence of gods, elves, monsters, mana, and other phenomena.

However, for about ten thousand years, for reasons unknown, the gods and mana began to fade, and the world gradually transitioned from the age of gods to the modern era, with humanity embarking on a path of technology centered around manipulating material change.

As mana faded, the supernatural laws that were common in the age of gods inevitably began to decline, becoming anomalies.

What could be replicated by human technology was called Magecraft, while the 5 types of miracles that even technology could not replicate were referred to as the 5 great magics.

Noah did not understand those 5 great magics, but to him, this Magecraft seemed somewhat similar to the magic in the Orario world.

Orario draws mana from nature or the body, channeling it through magic circuits to invoke various spells.

And just like in Orario, where some areas have a high concentration of magical energy that can enhance magic, in this world, different regions have varying mana concentrations and attributes.

Magi, in regions compatible with their mana attributes, over the years, transform the area and inscribe magic circles, forming their own Magecraft foundation.

In Noah’s view, the main difference between the two lies in the total amount of mana, while the method of use is merely a minor detail.

As for those offensive arts of Magecraft, Noah glanced through them and then pushed them to the back of his mind.

No matter how varied these Magecraft may be, at the end of the day, they all boil down to the use of mana, specifically how to make the most of the limited mana in the modern era where mana is fading.

However, if there’s enough Mana, it wouldn’t be that complicated, and you could just take them down with one slash, just like yesterday’s old Grandfather.

Oh, Noah now knows, his name is Matou Zouken.

Noah believes that if the Magecraft of this world’s Age of the Gods is strong enough, it should also be heading in this direction.

After all, combat ultimately comes down to a balance of 3 things: Offensive Arts, Speed, and Defense, just like the principles of DanMachi’s Adventurers.

On the other hand, the ideas behind the application of various Magecraft are more worth Noah’s study, such as artificial Servants, Magus Barriers, and Magic Crests, which seem to be inspired by the concepts of TYPE-MOON’s Nasuverse.

When a Magus dies, they can pass on their Magic Circuits, which they’ve spent years researching and training, to their descendants, allowing them to recreate the spell without complex incantations, just by inputting Mana; this is what’s known as a Magic Crest.

Could this be described as engraving a Magic Sword into the human body, much like the concept of a Reality Marble?

Huh!

An idea sprouted in Noah’s mind.

If it’s possible to engrave Magic Circles onto the human body, wouldn’t it be possible to enable anyone to instantly cast Magic, much like the abilities of a Heroic Spirit?

However, human experimentation seems to be forbidden by the gods in Orario as well.

So, after hesitating for a few seconds, Noah gave up on this dangerous idea… and decided to try it on himself when he had the chance!

After all, not creating something extraordinary would be a waste of the Mystic and Magic Development Abilities he’s acquired, which are reminiscent of the abilities found in the world of Fate.

As he flipped through the pages, the sky outside the window gradually brightened until the bright morning sunlight illuminated the study.

However, this didn’t catch Noah’s attention, as he was getting closer to the inner part of the large bookshelf, flipping to a notebook with ‘Makiri Zōken’ written on it.

The sunlight only shone on the sofa, where Matou Sakura was sleeping quietly under Noah’s cloak.

Where am I?

The ripe, heavy ears of grain and the wild grass among them swayed in the evening breeze, along with the golden sunset that was about to spill into the valley, creating a magnificent, heavenly scene.

Basking in the warm, honey-like glow, Matou Sakura asked herself.

I must be dreaming.

When she heard footsteps coming from behind her, Matou Sakura realized.

Turning around, Matou Sakura saw a child… although she wasn’t much older herself, she just wanted to call them that.

Judging by their height, they might be around the same age as Matou Sakura, but their arms and neck, exposed from their tattered clothes, were almost skeletal, with only a thin layer of skin covering their bones.

From the footprints on the tattered clothes, the straw sandals with half the toes showing, and the dull complexion, one could tell the child’s predicament.

But, Matou Sakura’s first notice was the child’s soft silver hair swaying in the wind, and a pair of azure eyes reflecting the setting sun’s glow.

He was carrying a bundle of firewood roughly the thickness of his arm, slowly walking across the field to trade for a few loaves of bread and a slice of smoked meat with a peasant family.

The peasant seemed to be in a good mood because of the harvest, and even gave him a piece of amber-colored soft jelly.

Although its shape was different from the honey he had seen before, Matou Sakura immediately recognized it as honey.

But the child seemed to have never encountered honey before, looking at it with confusion for a while before hesitantly putting it in his mouth.

Then, his pupils widened slightly, radiating a joyous light.

Watching him walk towards a dilapidated old house at the edge of the mountain village with a slightly excited gait, Matou Sakura suddenly felt a tightness in her chest.

She instinctively chased after him, but at the boundary of light and shadow in the mountain valley, she was instantly transported again, landing in the darkness.

Looking around again, she found that the originally tranquil and peaceful mountain village was now in ruins, covered in smoke and blood, with severed limbs and broken arms hidden in the darkness.

In front of a slope covered with crosses, Matou Sakura saw the child again.

No, at this moment Matou Sakura recognized him as the silver-haired older brother who had saved her from the most perilous moment.

At this time, he was probably only 11 or 12 years old, but he already had the bearing of the Matou Sakura’s memory.

The only difference was perhaps the dead eyes that remained even in the firelight.

Sitting before the grave mound, his feet were stained with blood and flesh, his sword was long and sharp, and in his hand was a large chunk of bloody honey.

He had several gruesome wounds on his body, but he didn’t seem to notice.

All he did was stare intently at the mountain village while stuffing the bloody honey into his mouth.

After finishing it, he sat quietly in place.

Until another dawn broke through the darkness, casting its radiance into the valley, he slowly got up, dragging his sword, and slowly walked out of the valley.

Although there are many differences, when he saw him turn around and look at the last glance at the valley as if he was about to say goodbye, like a burning eye of a bear Flame, Matou Sakura immediately reminded the young Heroes in the fairy tale.

Some kind of throbbing from her heart made her take steps and want to chase her, but she immediately fell to the spot.

The pain spreads across the limbs, allowing Matou Sakura to immediately sense Body, and his consciousness is like floating up quickly from the deep sea and returning to the real world.

The first thing she felt was a faint fragrance coming from Breathing Technique, as well as a warm and heavy feeling covering her whole body.

As she opened her eyes, she found herself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.

“Hey, you’re awake? How’s your body feeling?”

Matou Sakura turned towards the source of the voice, meeting a pair of azure eyes that shone like the morning sun, and for a moment, she lost her ability to speak, her mind a complete blank.

Staring blankly, only aware of the girl staring back at her, Noah couldn’t help but furrow his brow.

What’s going on here?

Do all the girls I’ve protected have to go through this foolish phase, like a curse from the Grail itself?

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