"Hey, Shaka you're alive!"
Sanae Dekomori rubbed her eyes and climbed out of bed. When she saw the bandages on Shaka's hand, her face twisted in horror:
"Could it be...?"
Shaka covered one eye in a dramatic pose: "You guessed it, it's that one..."
"Hiss—" Dekomori stared at his legs in alarm and backed away two steps.
"My right hand seals immense power! Once released, the world will be destroyed! Hmph."
Pinoch(the fairy): Huh? When did I say anything about destroying the world?
Shaka: Just now.
Pinochius: I don't want to.
Dekomori watched as Shaka "suppressed" his trembling right hand, flame patterns seeping out from under the bandages.
"GateMaster! So cool, death!"
"Haha! Thank me! The world owes its survival to me!"
Knock knock knock.
A gentle voice interrupted their theatrics: "Did I come at a bad time?"
Shaka stiffened and turned to see Leon smiling at him knocking on a door that had been wide open the whole time.
"You saw everything?"
"Yep. Saving the world and all, what a grand dream."
Shaka's face flushed bright red. Dark history +1, dark history +1...
Anyone who got along with Dekomori and the others was bound to have a touch of chuunibyou. Playing hero and acting tough came with the territory. In DanMachi's world, heroes were respected but lines like "A world-destroying monster is sealed in my arm" or "My right hand..." had long been spread by gods as a universal meme.
"Aaaaaahh—"
Shaka lunged at Leon, grabbing his collar and shaking him frantically: "Forget it! Forget it all!"
"Hahaha I'm not old enough to forget something from two minutes ago." Leon let him fuss without resistance.
Dekomori crossed her arms, her face full of admiration: "Mortals can't comprehend the great death of the GateMaster."
Stop talking, Level 7 is just a mortal?
"Am I right, great GateMaster?!"
Shut up!
"The whole world should kneel and thank you, GateMaster!" Dekomori patted his shoulder with pious enthusiasm.
You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?
"GateMaster—"
"ENOUGH! Be quiet!" Shaka clamped his hand over Dekomori's mouth, then turned stiffly to Leon: "Professor Leon, we need to handle some... household matters. Would you mind stepping out for a moment?"
Leon smiled and closed the door.
A moment later—
"Oh ho!"
"Eeya!" "Oh my god—"
Screams and distinct slapping sounds echoed from inside. The door opened again, and Leon asked calmly: "Done?"
Shaka straightened his clothes and nodded seriously: "All taken care of."
In the Reception Room
Leon and Shaka sat facing each other.
"I apologize for disturbing you while you're still recovering," Leon said, bowing deeply to Astraea before getting to the point. "Regarding the incident where our students' actions led to the death of a member of your familia..."
"Um..." Shaka scratched his cheek awkwardly. "If I said she didn't actually die—just got moved to a safe place would you believe me?"
Leon blinked in surprise: "Really?"
Shaka nodded, placing a Flying Thunder God kunai on the table: "You've seen similar transfer magic before."
"Indeed how convenient. So about this matter..."
"Wait," Shaka interrupted, leaning forward. "Shouldn't you explain something? It's odd that a Level 7 couldn't shield me from that attack."
Leon smiled mysteriously: "Didn't you gain benefits from it?"
Shaka wasn't surprised just curious.
"Were you that sure the fairy would save me?"
"Just an experiment. If it failed, I could always use my sword to remove the branches from your body," Leon said casually.
In this era, divine contracts between humans and fairies were rare. Having risen to Level 7 and transitioned from adventurer to educator, Leon was one of the "insiders." To boost their chances in the coming decisive battle, he nurtured successors in his own way not as stepping stones, but as guides. He saw potential in Shaka and had placed his bet.
"The result satisfies me," Leon said. "If you have complaints, I can offer private compensation."
"Then give me a few bottles of panacea," Shaka said offhand.
Leon reached into his pack and pulled out a dozen five of them purple-grade potions.
He actually gave them...
Shaka accepted them without hesitation. Pride? Please these cost at least 2.5 million francs. No reputation is worth that!
Seeing his eagerness, Leon chuckled: "Then we're even."
"Even indeed." Shaka stowed the potions carefully they were worth five extra lives.
"By the way, the school district heads back to Orario tomorrow," Leon continued. "What are your plans after that, Shaka-kun?"
"Tomorrow..." Shaka paused. The school district had been here long enough; recruiting blacksmiths for the forging department should have taken a week at most.
"Wait here a moment."
He hurried to the backyard, returned with a backpack, and said: "Let's go we're heading to the academy level."
The Training Ground
When students saw Leon with an unfamiliar face, they gathered around curiously. Shaka emptied his backpack onto a training table, explaining as he laid out items:
"Magical gear, Monster Manifestation Device. Offer dungeon soil and monster magic stones as offerings, and it summons phantoms of the corresponding monsters for simulated battles.
"Plus [Fictional Weapons] that can hit the phantoms, and [Fictional Armor] that calculates damage from them."
Shaka channeled magic into the array, and a goblin materialized on the small arena.
"Put simply, it's AR technology. You might not get that term, but..."
He strapped on the gear, picked up his weapon, and faced the goblin. Each swing left visible wounds and damage numbers; when hit, the armor vibrated and his health gauge dropped. As he swapped magic stones to summon stronger monsters, the crowd gasped.
"That's a barbarian warrior! And a half-goat man they say it's Level 4!"
"Wow, he dodged! Counterattack! Why isn't he losing health?"
"Down! He's down killed by the monster!"
Trainees cheered in admiration or winced in sympathy, eager to try themselves. After testing all functions and confirming everything worked, Shaka removed the gear:
"The simulation equipment is ready. Please inspect it."
Leon was impressed. While not identical to real combat, completing a fight without taking damage meant the user could do the same against actual monsters. Adventurers were often limited by their lack of knowledge if they could study a monster's tactics thoroughly, defeating higher-level foes became possible. Great achievements would no longer be out of reach.
"Excellent stuff!" Leon scanned the crowd and spotted a familiar face.
"Lefiya!"
"Yes!"
The little elf trudged over, her spirits low.
"Want to give it a try?"
"Yes."
Without another word, she put on the gear and stared blankly at the monster phantom then was easily defeated.
"I'm sorry..." She apologized quietly and melted back into the crowd.
Shaka glanced at her, then scratched his head at Leon: "Sorry the mage-focused content isn't finished yet."
"It's fine this is more than enough."
Leon had a teacher organize the students for turn-based trials, then walked with Shaka to discuss next steps.
"I won't be going back with the school district," Shaka said calmly.
"Oh? Why not?"
"I'm still recovering from my injuries and have some matters to handle. But don't worry I'll head to Orario once I'm done. For now, please look after our familia's children."
"Is something wrong? Do you need help?"
Shaka shook his head: "Just searching for more fairy essences. I'll keep maintaining and upgrading the [Monster Manifestation Device] too."
Originally, Shaka had planned to build a fully realistic dungeon simulation, but time, strength, and magic constraints led him to scale it back to this practical version. Summoning phantoms instead of physical copies meant he didn't need to expend massive magic power. It also reduced production difficulty and allowed the device to operate independently so long as the school had resources and corresponding magic stones, it could summon teaching monsters on its own.
As they entered the living area, Shaka spotted Shadow diligently selling potato balls.
"Two servings of red bean cream, please!"
"Coming right up!"
Shaka took the snacks from Minoru Kageno and sighed...
As expected of Lord Shadow he finds the world's destiny points instantly. The potato ball shop staff are all capable.
After all, even if Bell is Level 5 and can take down Level 8 foes, Hestia still sells potato balls. Takemikazuchi does too... Potato balls are a surefire way to win over Ais, taming a Level 6 swordswoman, like how Ichiraku Ramen wins over Naruto!
Shadow's already infiltrated the core group. Terrifying to think about.