Chapter 4: Indeed, I Was Once a Swordsman!
Below the ruined church in the poor district, a space that should have been an underground storage room had been converted into living quarters at some unknown time.
Inside the small basement, apart from a broken wooden table, a sofa that was still barely intact, and a bed piled high with several layers of thick bedding, there were hardly any other furnishings.
Although it looked somewhat rudimentary, this compact layout created a warm atmosphere, strongly evoking a feeling of home.
"Ta-da! This is it, the Hestia Familia Camp!"
Moving aside the heavy statue blocking the basement entrance, Hestia skipped down the steps a few times, spread her arms towards the basement interior, and proudly said to the young man, who was descending the stairs, like a child showing off a toy: "From now on, Luke-kun will live here with me! Although the place is a bit small, if we work hard, things will definitely get better in the future!"
Walking down the stairs, Luke looked around the basement's layout.
It was basically the same as in the anime, making him marvel inwardly.
"It really is exactly the same..."
"What's the same?"
"No... nothing... I mean, it's really amazing!"
Having accidentally let something slip, Luke felt a chill inwardly.
Before Hestia could delve deeper, he quickly changed the subject, "The church above looks so dilapidated, yet the basement holds such wonders. Did Kami-sama arrange all this?"
"Hmph hmph, of course, I arranged it!"
Hands on her hips, Hestia said proudly, "Although the furniture is a bit old, it's very comfortable to live in, you know."
As she spoke, she sat down on the bed and patted the soft mattress.
"Luke-kun, come here."
"Gulp..."
A young girl, a young girl with a child's face and *those* assets, sitting unguardedly on the bed, wearing a warm smile, asking you to come over, with no one else around, late at night, a lone man and a lone woman...
Although he knew the kind of thing he imagined wouldn't happen, Luke's thoughts instantly went astray.
This is the pitiful weakness of men!
A moment later, Luke was lying face down in the middle of the bed, while Hestia straddled his butt with her legs apart, forcefully pulling up his clothes while complaining, "Luke-kun, don't you feel tight wearing these clothes?"
"Tight... I don't think so?"
Turning his head slightly to look at Hestia sitting behind him, Luke felt the elastic warmth on his butt while casually replying, "But maybe it's because I'm used to wearing them, so I don't feel tight."
During the plane transition, the body the system reconstructed for him was completely based on his state before being burned in the fire.
Besides his constitution, not only were his four stats identical, but even the clothes he wore were the same—a slim-fit business suit.
"Even if you're used to it, it won't do... Clothes like this that are so tight might be fine normally, but you absolutely cannot wear them into the Dungeon. Not only are they completely unsuitable for combat, but they'll also impede movement. This is no joking matter, Luke-kun."
"I understand..."
After much effort, Hestia finally managed to roll up the suit jacket bit by bit, revealing his back.
"Luke-kun, are you ready?" Hestia picked up a fine needle from the small basket beside the bed and asked in a serious tone.
"Come on, Kami-sama, I'm ready!"
Swallowing hard, Luke also felt a bit nervous.
As the unique power system of this world, the [Falna] bestowed by the gods could allow ordinary people to possess strength exceeding the limits of their life level, accumulate experience through combat, or gain [Excellia] by hunting monsters in the Dungeon, achieving rapid growth.
Such power, am I about to possess it?
Although Luke had already obtained Kirito's [Black Swordsman] legacy, his body's five stats were still maintained at 10 points.
After all, a job legacy wasn't bloodline modification.
As a pure-blooded ordinary human, 10 points was already the limit he could reach.
And now, the [Falna] from Hestia, a god, could allow Luke to break free from the constraints of human limits.
How could this not excite him?
Under his fervent gaze, Hestia lightly pricked her finger with the needle.
Instantly, bright red blood trickled from her fingertip, dripping onto his back.
Like a stone dropped into a lake, the drop of blood didn't stain his skin but transformed into a clear radiance upon contact, rippling outwards and slowly spreading across his back.
The next moment, several lines of text emitting a milky white glow began to appear.
Lying on the bed, Luke couldn't see the changes on his back, but he could clearly feel a cool stream flowing from his back as the core, continuously spreading throughout his body.
Compared to the system enhancement, this feeling didn't have any immediate effect, but it was extremely comfortable.
Every inch of flesh and bone the cool stream passed through gave him a rejuvenating sense of comfort.
However, before he could enjoy it for long, he heard Hestia, sitting behind him, let out a cry of astonishment.
"Th-this is...!"
"What's wrong, Kami-sama?"
Hestia's exclamation made his heart jump.
After all, he was an "illegal resident" who had transmigrated to this world via the system.
Even if he wasn't recognized face-to-face, during the bestowing of [Falna], under such close contact, Luke truly had no confidence he could continue hiding his identity.
This was the so-called guilty conscience.
But evidently, the system had done a good job concealing his identity.
Hestia wasn't exclaiming because she saw through something.
What surprised her were the words appearing on Luke's back.
"Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, and Agility... besides Magic, all basic abilities have actually reached S rank... Luke-kun, are you really just an ordinary human?"
"I guess... I count as one?"
Hearing Hestia was just exclaiming over his basic stats, Luke instantly relaxed, his slightly tense body loosening up again.
Then he thought of the previous system enhancement and hesitantly added, "But back in my hometown, I often did heavy labor, so my body should be better than average."
"This is already beyond 'better than average'... I haven't heard of any adventurer not starting with zero basic stats... How strange..."
Hestia clearly didn't believe his lie.
While scrolling through the characters appearing on his back, she said indignantly, "Although it's only the lowest Lv.1, S-rank values are already the limit ordinary humans can reach. If it was just physical labor, how much hard work would it take to train to this level?!"
Towards the end, Hestia's tone became stern, and she patted his back repeatedly, seemingly unwilling to let it go.
"This..."
Seeing Hestia puffing her cheeks, looking somewhat angry, he felt a headache coming on.
His body's five stats were all enhanced by the Newbie Gift Pack.
How could he explain that?
So, even though Hestia pestered him relentlessly, Luke clenched his teeth and didn't say another word, wearing an expression of 'a dead pig isn't afraid of boiling water.'
He even closed his eyes and started enjoying the enticing warmth constantly transmitted from his butt.
Finally, seeing Luke absolutely refused to talk, Hestia had to compromise and didn't pursue it further, continuing to read the text on his back.
"Magic value is zero... Magic slots are also empty... Skills... Hmm?"
Upon seeing the final skill slot, Hestia's eyebrows twitched, her face gradually showing astonishment.
After a moment of stupor, she cried out again.
"What... what is it now?!"
Startled by the sudden cry, Luke quickly turned his head and looked at Hestia, who wore an expression of disbelief, asking.
"Skills! It's skills!"
Eyes wide, looking at the characters displayed in the skill slot, Hestia felt that her decision today to pull Luke into her Familia was truly brilliant, truly forward-thinking!
"Skill [One-Handed Sword]. Sword Heart Naturally Formed. Attributes increase when holding a sword, enhances combat intuition, reduces damage taken from sword skills... Luke-kun, are you a swordsman?"
"I guess so..."
Facing the highly emotional Hestia, Luke brazenly nodded, acknowledging his identity as a "swordsman."
After all, as a successor to the legacy of [Black Swordsman], he was definitely a swordsman.
But...
Swordsman my ass, more like a shameless warrior...
Such shameless behavior made even Luke, whose face had long been tempered to be impervious by the impacts of the internet, feel somewhat ashamed.
Later, when I have time, I should practice the sword more.
Otherwise, if I get exposed, it would be so embarrassing...
A moment later, having bestowed [Falna] upon the young man and checked his personal attributes, Hestia pushed herself off his back with both hands, sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bed, her face filled with an irrepressible smile, seeming to be in a very good mood.
Feeling the sudden lightness on his back, the wonderful sensation of warmth and elasticity drifting away, Luke couldn't help feeling a slight regret.
But he still smiled and looked at Hestia sitting on the edge of the bed, revealing her smooth, fair back, asking curiously, "Kami-sama seems so happy, did you think of something good?"
"Of course, it's something good!"
Giving Luke a thumbs-up, Hestia continued, "With Luke-kun as a Familia member, our future life will definitely get better and better. Maybe we can even surpass Loki Familia... After all, having a skill right at Lv.1, and with four S-rank stats, you're the only one like that in Orario!"
As she spoke, Hestia's gaze towards Luke became incredibly blatant, like an old glutton starved for eight hundred years suddenly discovering a table full of delicious food, her eyes seemingly shining with green light.
"Speaking of which, the popular girl in Loki Familia seems to be called Wallen-something... Her title/alias is Sword Princess, right? Luke-kun, as a swordsman, you must become even stronger than her in the future. Best snatch that Sword Princess title away too!"
"Sword... Princess?"
Hearing Hestia's words, Luke was suddenly thrown into disarray.
Even if he could really pin Ais Wallenstein to the ground and rub her face in the dirt later, why would he want the title of Sword Princess?
Besides, [Sword Princess] clearly sounded like a title for women.
He should be called Sword King or Sword Saint, how could he be called Sword Princess?
But Hestia, immersed in her yearning of beautiful future, clearly hadn't thought that far, just hugging her knees like an ordinary young girl, giggling happily.
"After dawn tomorrow, first go to Babel to help Luke-kun buy some clothes suitable for combat... Right, and also need to buy a sword. After all, he's a swordsman..."
Climbing off the bed, lying on his back on the sofa with hands behind his head, Luke listened to Hestia's rambling voice while silently calling up the system interface.
[Name: Luke Starr]
[Race: Human - Adventurer Lv.1 (1000/1000) - Hestia Familia]
[Age: 23]
[Height: 176cm]
[Weight: 64kg]
[Spirit: 10 (10)]
[Strength: 10 (10)]
[Agility: 10 (10)]
[Endurance: 10 (10)]
[Constitution: 10 (10)]
[Job Legacy: [Black Swordsman]]
[Energy: 215.11/1000000]
Hestia Familia, the swordsman legacy from Kirito...
In just less than half a day, the changes that occurred to Luke were earth-shattering.
And every day hereafter, he would inevitably become stronger.
"System, if one day I learn all the job legacies, what will happen then?"
Staring at the circular dome of the basement ceiling illuminated by the warm yellow light, Luke asked the system inwardly.
[Host, please do not worry unnecessarily. The myriad heavens and myriad worlds, the number of planes is uncountable. Various job legacies are even more numerous. Even if the Host one day masters all currently existing job legacies, by then, more great jobs worthy of inheritance will appear. The path of legacy is endless.]
"Endless... huh?"
Luke didn't say much more in response to the system's answer.
He couldn't imagine how vast the myriad heavens and myriad worlds described by the system were, nor could he know where the end of the job legacy path lay, or if it was truly endless as the system described.
But he quite liked his current life.
Being able to transmigrate into favorite anime, interact with various characters, change their established destiny trajectories, while constantly strengthening himself, and welcoming new challenges...
For Luke, who not long ago was troubled by various trivial matters, this was simply the most ideal life imaginable.
"Father, mother, I hope you get over my death soon. I'm sorry for failing to take care of you in the future. Thankfully, my brother and sister are there to take care of you in the future. As for me, I'm looking forward to my new life."
"Goodnight, Orario..."
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